Sudan’s brutal civil war is pushing more children towards the brink of starvation, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday, highlighting a sharp and alarming rise in severe acute malnutrition (SAM) cases across the country.

Escalating conflict and targeted violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have forced some 150,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh over the past 18 months – the largest exodus to the neighbouring country in years.

Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarian officials have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.

UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (IPS) - Over the month of June, the security situation in Haiti has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with armed gangs continuing to coordinate brutal attacks, seizing more territory, and obstructing critical humanitarian aid deliveries. In the past week, new waves of hostilities were reported in the nation’s Centre Department, which has elicited concern from humanitarian organizations that gang influence could soon completely overpower state control.

UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (IPS) - UNAIDS called the funding crisis a ticking time bomb, saying the impact of the US cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could result in 4 million unnecessary AIDS-related deaths by 2029.

UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (IPS) - Once landlocked, now connected, the UN Global Compact has bridged the gap between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East: having many call it the “New Silk Road”.

NAIROBI & BHUBANESWAR, July 10 (IPS) - The global population is aging at a time when heat exposure is rising due to climate change. Extreme heat can be deadly for older populations given their reduced ability to regulate body temperature. Already there has been an 85 percent increase since 1990 in annual heat-related deaths of adults aged above 65, driven by both warming trends and fast-growing older populations.

Systematic rape and sexual violence are being used as weapons of war in Darfur, the International Criminal Court (ICC) warned on Thursday, as part of a widening investigation into what its Deputy Prosecutor said are escalating atrocities against civilians in the conflict-ridden region.

UN agencies on Thursday warned of devastating recent attacks across Ukraine due to Russian strikes, record civilian casualties recorded last month – and growing deprivation facing children under fire across the country.

The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced deep dismay over the “unconscionable” killing of children during an aid distribution in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday.