World News in Brief: West Bank demolitions accelerate, urgent support for Sudan, Haiti diplacement, AI hub to boost gender equality

In a call for an immediate halt to the demolitions, the UN Office, OHCHR, said that Israeli bulldozers demolished homes, farm buildings, water tanks and solar panels in the village of Jinba on Wednesday.

“The forcible transfer of a civilian population from their land by an occupying power is a war crime,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

Ethnic cleansing fears grow

Three more villages in Msafer Yatta have already been “almost entirely” destroyed in September 2026, OHCHR said, highlighting fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Overall, there are 12 villages in Msafer Yatta housing over 1,100 Palestinians, most of whom have owned and lived on the land for generations

Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure have displaced 1,500 people in the occupied West Bank so far this year, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

Sudan needs urgent support as El Niño compounds food insecurity

Funding shortages are limiting UN efforts to aid communities in Sudan impacted by ongoing war and displacement – just as El Niño threatens to bring 30 to 40 per cent less rainfall than usual.

In an alert, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned of worsening food security, for farmers, pastoralists and fishing communities in regions largely reclaimed by Government forces, during the protracted war with former paramilitary allies, the RSF.

The agency has several ways of supporting the most vulnerable, such as vaccinating millions of livestock and providing goats to displaced women-headed households and mothers, so that children have a ready supply of nutritious milk.

Boosting food supply

FAO’s Rein Paulsen said the agency’s response is focused on mitigating the impacts of rainfall loss and drought on livestock to maintain healthy herds.

“This is about ensuring that the body weight of animals are retained, that they’re vaccinated against the types of diseases that will compromise their health, that they have access to animal feed concentrate.”

Another successful ongoing project that’s brought investment returns of 30 to one involves purchasing drought-resistant seed for farmers. From an initial $17 million outlay, farmers produced sorghum crops worth more than $500 million.

This year, the agency needs $193 million to support its initiatives. It is currently only 23 per cent funded. 

Haiti’s displacement crisis spreading beyond capital, IOM warns

Haiti’s displacement crisis is spreading beyond Port-au-Prince, with some of the sharpest increases now occurring in regions once considered relatively safe, according to new data released this week by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The latest assessment recorded nearly 1.5 million internally displaced people nationwide, with almost 80 per cent now outside the capital as violence spreads into other areas.

The steepest rise was in Artibonite department, where displacement grew by 16 per cent between May and August. 

Once a refuge for families fleeing violence, parts of the department are now facing escalating insecurity themselves.

Mass displacement

Recent attacks in Kenscoff, near the capital, displaced more than 4,000 people, with homes burned and reports of kidnappings and deaths.

“Violence, displacement, food insecurity, forced returns and climate risks are all unfolding at the same time, placing enormous pressure on families and communities,” said Elise Verron, IOM’s Senior Emergency Coordinator in Haiti.

With the Atlantic hurricane season underway, many displaced families are living in informal settlements or host communities with little capacity to withstand further shocks.

IOM is appealing for $60 million to reach 6.4 million people under its 2026 crisis response plan.

UN Women launches digital hub dedicated to gender equality

UN Women on Friday launched a Digital, Innovation and AI Hub focused on its core remit: gender equality. 

It brings together researchers, governments, technology companies and women’s rights organizations to help shape artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that benefit women and girls. 

The launch comes as world leaders coalesce for the General Assembly’s 81^st session, where AI is high on the agender – but women and girls remain largely absent from the debate, the UN agency said. 

8 in 10 AI jobs held by men

According to UN Women, men hold nearly eight in 10 AI jobs and almost nine in 10 senior leadership positions shaping the technology. 

“The artificial intelligence systems we build today will shape how we live and work tomorrow. If women are missing from their design and governance, we risk carrying the inequalities of the present into the future,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. 

A global analysis of 133 AI systems by the agency, found that 44 per cent showed gender bias. 

Additionally, nearly one in four women human rights defenders, activists and journalists surveyed by UN Women reported experiencing AI-assisted online violence. 

The hub will generate evidence on how emerging technologies affect women and girls, support Member States in developing gender-responsible digital and AI policies and work with technology companies to embed gender equality principles into technological design and governance. 

“AI can deepen gender inequality or help overcome it. That is a human choice – and those choices are being made now by engineers, companies, investors and governments,” Ms. Bahous said. 

“Equality is not only about representation. It is also about power,” she added.