The UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday he was following the latest exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip with “deep concern” over the escalating conflict, and “risk of further loss of life.”

The Russian government must provide the jailed opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, with urgent and comprehensive medical care in light of his gravely deteriorating health, the UN-appointed independent expert on torture cases said on Wednesday.

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday, called for an end to the violence that has continued across parts of Pakistan, following the arrest a day earlier of former Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

A “large-scale” outbreak of the Moroccan Locust, one of the world’s most damaging plant pests, across eight provinces in Afghanistan’s wheat basket, could cause massive crop losses and “dramatically” worsen food insecurity.

The grim prospect of record hunger levels in Sudan is becoming more likely by the day, as heavy fighting continues, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday.

JOHANNESBURG, May 09 (IPS) - Parliamentarians from more than 30 countries agreed to send a strong message to the G7 Hiroshima Summit in Japan later this year, focusing on human security and support of vulnerable communities, including women, girls, youth, aging people, migrants, and indigenous people, among others.

MOMBASA, May 09 (IPS) - Along coastal Kenya, historical sites and monuments are threatened due to the impacts of climate change—structures along the Indian Ocean are falling to ruin or collapsing into the ocean because of high tides.

BANGKOK, Thailand, May 09 (IPS) - The latest synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes for grim reading: Every fraction of a degree of warming comes with escalated threats, from deadly heatwaves to severe hurricanes and droughts, affecting all economies and communities.

A “silent emergency” that is claiming one million tiny lives born premature each year requires concerted action to swiftly improve children’s health and survival, according to a new report released by UN agencies and partners on Wednesday.

Haiti needs “urgent” support from the international community to stop the suffering of people at the hands of violent gangs who have been shooting people at random and burning them alive, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned on Tuesday.