German Foreign Minister pledged 3.5 million euros of extra refugee aid for the conflict-ridden state struggling to emerge from the throws of civil war. The money will be used to improve the catastrophic conditions seen in the refugee camps across the country, with systematic sexual abuse and violence reportedly widespread. In the first five months of this year, 60,000 refugees have come to Europe via Libya, a rise of 26 percent compared to the previous year. Approximately 1,700 people were killed as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea from January to May 2017.

It was December in northern Syria and the temperature was dropping fast. U.S. special operations forces urgently needed to get blankets to their partners. They turned to a small charity run by Jim Hake, a former venture capitalist. Within eight hours, 200 blankets had arrived, paid for by Hake’s NGO, Spirit of America. [...] And Hake argues, if extremists are relying on private donations to launch terrorist attacks, why can’t private citizens in America donate money to help U.S. forces fighting them?  “To prevail, we need all elements of national power — private and public,” Hake said.

Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said 16 countries had rushed relief supplies and medicine to Sri Lanka to assist more than 600,000 people who were driven away from their homes following Friday's monsoon deluge. India and Pakistan have also deployed medical teams on the ground in some of the worst-affected areas, he said. The United Nations has said it will provide water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.

Part of the beauty of travel is coming to the realisation that we are all citizens of the world. Look past the cultural differences and language barriers, and it is evident that people across countries and continents are the same. TripAdvisor is banking on that sentiment to aid refugees in crisis. And the travel search site - through its TripAdvisor Charitable Foundation - is calling on travellers to join its relief efforts.

China and the US have conducted joint humanitarian and disaster relief exercises at the US Bellows barracks in Hawaii. On Sunday, troops from the two countries practised providing emergency aid to a third country hit by a devastating typhoon.

King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aids began distributing 30,000 baskets of food supplies to needy families in the Hudaydah province in Yemen. It's expected for this aid to help 180,000 people in need. The number of beneficiaries from the center's food programs in the province until the month of October will thus reach 400,000. The food programs have been implemented by a group of local and international partners. 

The world’s first academy for humanitarian relief is to be launched, aimed at training 100,000 aid workers from over 50 countries in organising rapid responses to disasters and emergencies.