Reporting published on October 12, 2026, highlighted a new warning from the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification partnership that famine risks are increasing across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan. Conflict, an El Niño-related drought, restricted humanitarian access and inadequate funding are combining to worsen hunger. Surveys in two displacement camps in Eastern Jebel Marra found acute malnutrition among children at 38% and 30.8%, above the malnutrition threshold associated with famine. Across Greater Darfur, 13 of 17 nutrition surveys conducted since January recorded critical levels of acute malnutrition. Drought now affects more than half the country, damaging harvests and livelihoods, while violence continues to disrupt markets and relief deliveries. The famine review committee cautioned that insufficient survey data prevented a complete assessment, but called for an end to fighting, sustained humanitarian access and substantially greater funding.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44323))
Nepal: Emergency aid mobilized after flash floods destroy homes and bridges
📍 Nepal
📍 Gorkha
🔭 Floods
🔭 Disaster response
An October 12, 2026, report described an emergency UN aid operation following flash floods in Nepal’s central Gorkha district on October 11. Authorities reported at least five people missing and 95 rescued, with hundreds affected after floodwaters swept away homes and bridges. A landslide blocking the Budhi Gandaki River was believed to have caused the disaster. The World Food Programme dispatched three trucks carrying ready-to-eat food and relief supplies, while UN agencies supported national disaster authorities. Damage to roads, crops and livestock threatened food security and complicated access to affected communities. Drones and satellite imagery were being used to assess areas unreachable by road. UNICEF was also preparing assistance for displaced families, including water-treatment supplies, hygiene kits, clothing, education materials and psychosocial support.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44321))
Colombia: UN warns that rising insecurity threatens the peace agreement
📍 Colombia
🔭 Peace process
🔭 Security
🔭 Reintegration
Reporting published on October 12, 2026, covered a Security Council briefing in which UN representative Miroslav Jenča urged full implementation of Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement. Nearly a decade after the accord, he acknowledged advances in rural development, transitional justice and victim reparations, but warned that insecurity and implementation shortcomings continued to threaten its achievements. Communities remained exposed to armed groups, child recruitment and attacks against women and civil society leaders. Government figures presented to legislators indicated that illegal armed groups had expanded from approximately 15,000 members in 2022 to around 28,000. More than 11,000 former FARC-EP members nevertheless remained committed to reintegration, developing thousands of productive projects and hundreds of cooperatives. Jenča called for reliable funding, stronger institutions, economic opportunities and better protection for former combatants; the report recorded 501 former combatants killed since the agreement was signed.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44327))
United Nations: Pandemic declaration adopted despite opposition from three countries
📍 international
🔭 Public health
🔭 Pandemic preparedness
🔭 Diplomacy
On October 12, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response by 153 votes to three, with two abstentions. Argentina, Israel and the United States voted against, while New Zealand and Paraguay abstained. The declaration had originally been intended for consensus approval on September 25, but objections prevented that outcome. Although non-binding, it calls for stronger cooperation guided by science, equity and human rights, and welcomes the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Agreement. WHO urged governments to complete outstanding negotiations on pathogen access and benefit-sharing, intended to connect the sharing of biological samples and genetic data with access to resulting vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. Separately, WHO announced a five-year strategy for its pandemic intelligence hub, with the goal of identifying emerging health threats within 24 hours.
([globalissues.org](https://www.globalissues.org/news/2026/10/12/44328))
United States: IMF warns inflation will rise before easing in 2027
📍 United States
📍 international
🔭 Economy
🔭 Inflation
🔭 Artificial intelligence
An EL PAÍS report published on October 13, 2026, examined IMF forecasts suggesting that US inflation would increase in 2026 before easing the following year. The outlook anticipated oil prices remaining above their levels before the Middle East war, adding pressure to the inflation picture. The report also highlighted the increasingly important role of artificial intelligence investment in supporting US economic growth. That dependence creates a vulnerability: a slowdown in the technology boom could weaken an important source of economic momentum. The assessment therefore paired continued growth prospects with caution about persistent price pressures and the volatility of the forces sustaining expansion.
([english.elpais.com](https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-10-13/imf-forecasts-us-inflation-will-pick-up-in-2026-before-easing-next-year.html))
France: Cyberattack disrupts supermarket refrigeration and destroys merchandise
📍 France
🔭 Cybersecurity
🔭 Retail
🔭 Food supply
Le Monde reported on October 13, 2026, that a major cyberattack had targeted refrigeration systems at several hundred French supermarkets. Freezers and cold-storage rooms overheated overnight from October 11 to October 12, causing the loss of tonnes of merchandise. A vulnerability linked to software made by Danish company Danfoss had been identified, and France’s cybercrime office opened an investigation. The incident disrupted physical store operations and food storage rather than merely affecting websites or customer records.
([lemonde.fr](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2026/10/13/a-disastrous-day-for-french-supermarkets-after-massive-cyberattack-targets-refrigeration-systems_6758535_19.html))