A suspected drone strike has left at least 40 dead in Sudan's Blue Nile State - near the Ethiopian border - according to initial reports from the ground, according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. Most of the casualties were women and girls.
Fighting in the region has escalated in the last few months as clashes have intensified between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Government.
Border battle
They are fighting over strategic towns and bases near the Ethiopian border, as part of the broader battle for control of Sudan that has been ongoing since April 2023.
In recent weeks, thousands of civilians have been displaced in the area due to sustained attacks.
Mr. Dujarric condemned the "horrifying reports" stressing that attacks directed towards civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
He called for those responsible for these violations to be held accountable.
Syria: Civilians bear brunt as Israeli incursions intensify
Israeli military incursions into southern Syria are intensifying, with some 280 incidents recorded in September alone - the highest monthly figure this year, the UN human rights office ( OHCHR ) said on Friday.
The incidents include reported raids on homes, restrictions on movement, harassment of civilians and arbitrary detention.
Spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said 49 Syrians are believed to remain in Israeli custody, though the figure has not been independently verified.
Former detainees describe detention lasting over a year in some cases, no reasons given and transfers to unknown facilities. They also allege torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, prolonged forced standing and threats to their families.
Recent shootings
On Monday, a 22-year-old man from Jaba town in Quneitra governorate was killed by Israeli forces near Al-Hamidiyah.
He was reportedly walking at night and did not know an Israeli military position lay ahead. No warning shots are known to have been fired.
On Wednesday, a farmer with a disability was reportedly shot in the leg during an incursion in northern Quneitra, then detained while bleeding and released an hour and a half later.
High Commissioner Volker Türk called for a "prompt and impartial investigation" into the killing and urged Israel to stop harassing civilians.
Gaza: Women and girls a forefront of the humanitarian crisis
In Gaza, nearly 50,000 women and girls have been killed or severely injured since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in October 2023, according to the specialised UN agency UN Women .
This includes more than 38,000 killed and 11,700 left with injuries so severe that they now live with lifelong disabilities.
Today, almost all women and girls have been forced from their homes, and most are now living in tents or amid the ruins of their homes.
Women now lead one in four households in the Strip, often while facing deeper poverty and repeated displacement with increasingly limited resources.
Trauma burden
UN Women's Sofia Calltorp told the story of Nour, one of the women behind this statistic.
Her home was destroyed, and her husband, a nurse, was detained - she has not heard from him since. At times, she says she becomes so lost in thought that she is unable to respond even to her children.
At the same time, because of funding cuts, nearly two thirds of the organizations contacted by the agency in Gaza and the occupied West Bank said they have been forced to put women and girls on waiting lists or turn them away altogether.
Every organization surveyed also reported an increase in gender-based violence, poverty and mental health distress since 2025. And all but one had seen an increase in child marriage.
