The conflict in Sudan has become one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century, leaving millions of women, children and displaced families suffering from violence, food insecurity and the collapse of essential services.

Recent military actions by Israel are undermining Syria’s political transition and the chances of a new security pact between the two countries, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday. 

As governments and global markets struggle to deal with the massive upheaval unleashed by the United States’ unilateral trade tariffs, Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN trade agency (UNCTAD) told UN News on Thursday that the poorest countries – which have a negligible effect on the US trade deficit – should be exempt.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday began hearing Sudan’s case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which it accuses of being complicit in acts of genocide against the Masalit community in West Darfur by backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Millions of deaths could be avoided from meningitis if countries are able to adopt new guidelines designed to diagnose and treat the disease more effectively, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. 

Six schools run by the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem have been issued “illegal closure orders” after being forcibly entered by Israeli security forces, according to the agency’s head Philippe Lazzarini.