Increasing rice prices from India's ban “raises substantial food security concerns for a large swath of the world population."
Food prices notched a 1.3% monthly increase with Russia's suspension of a wartime deal that allowed Ukrainian food shipments to reach global markets and India's ban on exports of non-Basmati white rice.
The Food and Agriculture Organization's Food Price Index, which shows the monthly change in global prices of food commodities, rebounded in July mainly due to the rising price of rice and vegetable oils. The last such increase was in April due to higher sugar prices.
The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity has increased every year since 2019.
The U.N. body also demands Israel be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ruling orders Israel to allow aid trucks loaded with food and supplies to enter Gaza unhindered "without delay."
WHO warns disease and hunger are at alarming levels in the Congo, where almost 10 million people are on the move.
Fourteen cases remain under investigation by U.N. investigators, who have met with authorities in Israel.
The chair of the talks called for optimism despite divisions among plastic-producing nations and those urging restraints.
The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity has increased every year since 2019.
The group of organizations that reviewed the U.N. agency recommends several ways of strengthening its neutrality.
