UN News Today 29 October 2025 |

No child safe in Sudan’s El Fasher, warns UNICEF

Horrific stories of mass-atrocities committed by the RSF militia continue to emerge, along with the tens of thousands of civilians who have fled the North Darfur city of El Fasher in Sudan.

Many have sought safety in Tawila some 60kms away from the regional capital of El Fasher, which until a few days ago was the last remaining government-controlled city – now in the hands of RSF fighters following more than 500 days of siege.

The World Health Organization says it’s appalled and deeply shocked by reports that 460 patients and their companions have been killed at Saudi Maternity Hospital in the city.

Mohammed Elgoni is from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, he says for those who have fled, services are stretched to the limit in Tawila – but humanitarians are doing the best they can:

“Those are the volunteers from the emergency. They provided meals for the newly displaced people from El Fasher, so they are doing a great job for the newly-displaced people.”

“No child is safe,” said UNICEF chief Catherine Russell. The estimated 130,000 children based in El Fasher are at high risk of grave rights violations, including sexual violence.

There are also reports of humanitarian workers being detained or killed.

The UN is calling for an immediate ceasefire, safe, unimpeded humanitarian access, protection for civilians and safe passage for those escaping the RSF takeover.

Türk calls for full implementation of Gaza ceasefire, amid overnight killings

Reports that over 100 Palestinians were killed overnight in a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza – mainly on residential buildings, tents and schools – are appalling, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday.

Israeli forces launched the strikes in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier. Hamas denied responsibility for the attack with both sides claiming the other had breached the faltering ceasefire.

Mr. Türk said that the rules of war are clear on the “paramount importance” of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

He said Israel must comply with its obligations under international law and be accountable for any violations, adding that Gazans had just begun to feel hope that the “unrelenting barrage of violence may be at an end.”

The UN rights chief said all parties to the conflict must now “act in good faith to implement the ceasefire.”

“We must not allow this opportunity for peace and a path towards a more just and secure future to slip from our grasp,” Mr Türk said.

‘Yawning gap’ remains between climate adaptation needs and pledges

“Running on Empty” – that’s the name the UN’s given to its latest annual look at the huge gap between the money needed for poorer countries to adapt to global heating and extreme weather, and the amount they’re actually receiving.

The Adaptation Gap Report, is used to inform negotiations on tackling the climate crisis at the annual UN Climate Conference.

COP 30 is being held next month in Belém, Brazil, where ramping up financing for developing nations will be high on the agenda.

Report authors, the UN Environment Programme, says that by 2035 developing nations will need well over $310 billion per year to survive and thrive in a planet altered by polluting fossil-fuel emissions.

In 2023, they received around $26 billion – just one twelfth of the recommended amount.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday that the gap leaves the world’s most vulnerable exposed to “rising seas, deadly storms, and searing heat.”

Closing or at least narrowing the gap “is how we protect lives, deliver climate justice, and build a safer, more sustainable world,” he added.

Matt Wells, UN News