The top UN official for humanitarian aid, Valerie Amos, who oversaw international relief efforts in Syria and other trouble spots, is stepping down, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

The first wave of volunteers from Britain’s National Health Service arrived in Sierra Leone Saturday amid what the World Health Organization has described as an “intense” surge in cases.

A leftist Russian party has prepared a parliamentary motion calling for immediate military, technical and humanitarian aid to the governments of Syria and Iraq in their fight against Islamic terrorists.

Several newly flourishing institutions have attracted both media and public attention for culturally interacting with other nations and providing humanitarian aid. Without a doubt their efforts bolster Turkey's influence in its surrounding region.

"Lack of knowledge and myths about the disease are killing people as surely as Ebola is," said BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks. Quality information from both within and outside the countries affected about how the risks of Ebola can be safely managed will save lives. "The range of emergency activities on Ebola from the BBC World Service are in the finest traditions of the humanitarian instincts of our broadcasting."

An unconfirmed report suggests the Islamic State may have beheaded a second British hostage Saturday, less than a week after the execution of another UK citizen, and on the same day the militants released 49 Turkish hostages from Iraq unharmed.

Turkey was the world’s third most generous country for the allocation of international aid in 2013, according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report released on Sept. 11. The country provided $1.6 billion last year for international humanitarian assistance, while the U.S. spent $4.7 billion and Britain spent $1.8 billion. Japan spent $1.1 billion and Germany donated $949 million.

The UK’s Department for International Development has pledged a further £30m to help the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.  ‘The extra support from the UK government will deliver supplies urgently needed by people who have been forced to leave their homes and move to neighbouring countries.’