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United Nations humanitarian agencies expressed concern Monday that an estimated 200,000 people are facing “sharply deteriorating conditions” in the besieged western side of Deir-Ez-Zor city in Syria, while the top UN relief official stressed that the world body continues to act “impartially, neutrally and independently” to reach people in need throughout the country.

The international community must make greater efforts to end the conflict in Syria or risk prolonging the world's biggest humanitarian crisis for many years to come, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday.

Speaking on a visit to Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp three weeks after taking up office, Grandi said he had chosen to travel to the region on his first overseas trip to focus minds on finding solutions to the nearly five-year-old conflict.

Life in the Nizip refugee camp, in south-eastern Turkey, has been a succession of long days and small tasks.

President Schulz condemned the terror attacks in Istanbul and Ouagadougou on 12 and 15 January and called for more EU-wide cooperation to counter terrorism. He pledged that terrorism would be fought on the basis of democratic values, using the police, the rule of law, and EU-wide cooperation.

In Dubai, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks with reporters at the launch of the High-Level Panel report on Humanitarian Financing. 17 January 2016.

The Security Council votes on a resolution.

Mass deaths and economic devastation are now on the immediate agenda for the population of the United States, as well as Europe, as the effect of Wall Street’s policy as implemented under the Obama Presidency. “There is no possibility of keeping people alive, under the present trends of conditions,” Lyndon LaRouche warned in a discussion with the LaRouche PAC Policy Committee today, emphasizing that the collapse of the international financial system of which he had warned in mid-December, is fully underway.

Following the release of a report confirming that Iran has completed necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation of a plan of action aiming to resolve the nuclear issue, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 16 January welcomed the achievement of having reached “Implementation Day,” highlighting that he is heartened by the lifting of sanctions on Iran.

Today, the people of Taiwan have voted. Respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights underpin the successful conduct of these elections.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said:

“The Presidential and legislative elections held in Taiwan today are testament to Taiwan’s thriving democracy. I offer my warm congratulations to the people of Taiwan on the smooth and mature conduct of those elections and to Dr Tsai Ing-wen and her party for having won their support. I hope that Taiwan and the Chinese Government will continue their dialogue to resolve differences and maintain the recent trend of constructive relations.”