PALESTINE: The world’s leading authority on food insecurity said today that the situation in Gaza has improved since famine was declared last year, but it warned that conditions remain at crisis levels and could slip back into catastrophe.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said a reduction in fighting and the fact that Israel was allowing more aid into the coastal strip had a “significant impact, albeit unevenly across areas.” But it noted that most families living in the war-battered enclave still weren’t getting nearly enough to eat.

IRELAND: Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee announced today that €10 million (£8.5m) will go towards 154 peace building projects across the British-controlled north.

At least €7m (£5.98m) from her department’s reconciliation fund will go to 30 strategic partners over three years, while the rest will fund 124 one-year projects that will begin this year.

Ms McEntee said the funding was “an investment in those organisations and in the people who work every day to build trust, strengthen relationships and create a more peaceful and shared future across Northern Ireland.”

THAILAND: The authorities said today that they are searching for those responsible for an attack in the country’s troubled south that killed five soldiers and injured several civilians.

About 10 attackers opened fire and threw pipe bombs at soldiers at a security checkpoint near a residential area in Narathiwat province on Wednesday evening before fleeing, according to the regional Internal Security Operations Command.

It said six civilians were injured during the attack, including a 10-year-old boy who remains in hospital in a stable condition.

UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump said today that a new agreement reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear programme will require the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

Saudi Arabia has made clear that doing so would first require the establishment of a clear path to Palestinian statehood. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects this, claiming it would be untenable for his country’s security.