A sixth child has died in Gaza this month as the enclave’s people continue to endure dire living conditions linked to freezing rains and the Israel-Hamas war, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced. The development comes as aid agencies urged Israeli authorities to reconsider revoking the licences of dozens of humanitarian partners that provide assistance across the devastated enclave from 1 January.

LONDON, December 30 (IPS) - Satellite images show corpses piled high in El Fasher, North Darfur, awaiting mass burial or cremation as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia tries to cover up the scale of its crimes. Up to 150,000 El Fasher residents remain missing from the city, seized by the RSF in November. The lowest estimate is that 60,000 are dead. The Arab militia has ethnically cleansed the city of its non-Arab residents. The slaughter is the latest horrific episode in the war between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces, sparked by a power battle between military leaders in April 2023.

The General Assembly has approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for the United Nations for 2026, following weeks of intensive negotiations and one of the Organization’s most important reform initiatives, UN80.

Afghanistan is expected to remain one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises in 2026, UN agencies and humanitarian partners warned on Tuesday, launching a $1.7 billion appeal to assist nearly 18 million people in urgent need.

Sexual violence against children has become entrenched, systemic and increasingly widespread across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with new data showing a sharp rise in cases since 2022, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Sudan’s deepening war is driving unprecedented levels of hunger, child malnutrition and displacement, UN agencies report, as new data from Darfur and a renewed refugee influx into Chad underscore the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Follow our live coverage as the General Assembly and its Fifth Committee meet today to finalize negotiations and vote on the United Nations’ regular budget for 2026. The Fifth Committee is responsible for administrative and budgetary matters, including the Organization’s finances and staffing. UN News app users can click here and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.

USERRA DAS ALMAS, Brazil, December 29 (IPS) - “The work of collecting seeds saved me from depression,” caused by her daughter’s suicide at the age of 29, said Maria do Desterro Soares, 64, who lives in the poor rural community of Jatobá in northeastern Brazil.

CIVICUS discusses environmental accountability in Zambia with Christian-Geraud Neema, Africa editor at the China Global South Project, an independent journalism initiative that covers and follows China’s activities in global south countries.

Severe weather conditions have led to further casualties and heightened health risks in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported on Monday.