World News in Brief: Settler attacks in the West Bank, Madagascar hunger crisis, obesity in Europe

“Many of these attacks are linked to Palestinians’ attempts to harvest their olive crops,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Palestinians have been killed and injured. Their homes and property damaged. Their livestock attacked.”

Record levels of damage

Mr. Fletcher said that more trees have been damaged, and more communities affected this year than in the previous six years combined.

“The failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law,” he warned. “Palestinians must be protected. Impunity cannot prevail. Perpetrators must be held accountable.”

His remarks follow warnings from the UN Spokesperson’s Office last week that violence by Israeli settlers has surged across the West Bank, often under the watch of Israeli security forces.

The UN has repeatedly urged Israel, as the occupying power, to prevent further attacks and ensure accountability.

The incidents coincide with the annual olive-harvest season, a crucial source of income for thousands of Palestinian families, now increasingly disrupted by harassment and destruction of farmland.

Madagascar hunger crisis deepens amid drought and disease, UN warns

Madagascar is facing a worsening humanitarian emergency as drought, cyclones and disease outbreaks devastate communities in the south of the country, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.

Speaking in New York, Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the situation in the regions of Grand Sud and Grand Sud-Est has become “increasingly dire” due to successive climatic shocks and the lingering impact of El Niño.

“The combination of drought, the recent cyclone season, a malaria outbreak and strained health systems has left many communities with little ability to recover,” he told journalists.

© ILO/Zoll Rabe

A farmer in Madagascar harvests his crop.

Hunger rising fast

According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, the number of people facing emergency food insecurity in Grand Sud is expected to quadruple to 110,000 by January 2026, while nearly 160,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Mr. Haq said that aid operations have been crippled by funding cuts, forcing partners to shut down life-saving programmes.

A new National Humanitarian Response Plan aims to raise $185 million to tackle hunger, malnutrition and disease through April 2026, but faces a $125 million shortfall.

“The UN is appealing for $85 million to meet the most urgent needs of 1.5 million people,” he said.

Against this backdrop, the country is also experiencing serious political upheaval. The UN last month condemned what it described as an “unconstitutional change of government” in Madagascar, following youth-led protests and a military takeover.

Escalating unrest and instability add further strain to humanitarian efforts and underscore the urgency of the crisis.

Only 5 per cent of European 7 to 9-year-olds eat enough fruit and vegetables

Only five per cent of children aged seven to nine across Europe eat enough fruit and vegetables, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

That’s according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) study, showing the obesity and overweight numbers remain stubbornly high.

This is contributing to rising rates of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other life-threatening noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

According to the WHO, across participating countries, one in four children aged seven to nine were overweight – which includes cases of obesity.

The study found that boys were more likely to be obese than girls.

Online ordering – new obesity threat

Unhealthy food remains widespread, yet, for the first time, WHO reported an increasingly important dietary factor: ordering online.

Across 18 countries surveyed, up to 39 per cent reported ordering online at least once a month, suggesting a trend towards greater reliance on prepared or delivered meals.

According to the WHO, maintaining healthier diets – such as eating more fresh fruits, consuming fewer sweets and soft drinks – and engaging in regular physical activity, is closely linked to socioeconomic background.

The report noted that healthier eating habits are more common among children whose parents have higher levels of education, while children from families with lower parental educational attainment are more likely to walk or cycle.

“Healthier food environments, better labelling and taxation on sugary products can help make nutritious choices the easy choices and tackle the obesity epidemic”, underscored the UN health agency.