The foreign ministers of the United States and several European countries issued a joint statement accusing Russia of violating a ceasefire in Syria, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was "appalled by the chilling military escalation" in the city of Aleppo.

Fierce fighting has taken place in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as a shaky ceasefire collapsed and the government launched a massive offensive to retake the city.

The Syrian military has gained ground in the north of the city with its fresh offensive. The east remains under Syrian opposition control, though government shelling meant that repairs at the Bab al-Nayrab pumping station, which supplies water to 250,000 people, were not carried out.

In retaliation opposition groups reportedly shut down the Suleiman al-Halabi station, which pumps water to 1.5 million people in the government-held west of Aleppo.

Hanaa Singer, the Unicef representative in Syria, said,

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote a joint letter to the UN Human Rights Council this week, urging member states to initiate an “international, independent investigation into civilian deaths and injuries in Yemen".

“The council has missed critical opportunities to address alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Yemen," said the letter. "No valid human rights-based reason has been identified that would justify failing to create an international inquiry."

Thousands of civilian deaths have occurred with millions more facing malnourishment and displaced from their homes.

The merger of the German drug company Bayer, one of the world’s largest producers of crop protection chemicals, and Monsanto, a US producer of genetically modified seeds, has raised concerns amongst activists battling the problem of food insecurity around the world.

The Summit on Refugees and Migration took place yesterday at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, with world leaders pledging to adopt a plan aimed at protecting the rights of refugees and migrants. 

193 member states agreed to the “New York Declaration” – a commitment to respond to the needs of refugees and migrants, as well as to find solutions for future humanitarian disasters.

As many as five million people in Somalia do not have enough to eat, warned the UN with hundreds of thousands of children acutely malnourished and requiring urgent assistance.

A report by the global body released this week states that up to t40 percent of the population have been affected by food insecurity amidst conflict between al-Shabab and the African Union backed Somalian government.

"The situation is of serious concern and comes at a time when we are already facing multiple drivers of needs, including drought and risk of flooding, conflict and access constraints - as well as increased refugee returns," stated the UN.

A panel of experts warned the UN Human Rights Council of the risk of genocide in Burundi this week, calling for the establishment of a commission of inquiry.

The experts, examining events in the country over the last 14 months, said “gross human rights violations have and are taking place, committed primarily by state agents and those linked to them". "Impunity is pervasive," they added, after Pierre Nkurunziza ran for president for third term.

They went on to note that some of these human rights violations could amount to crimes against humanity.

"Given the country's history, the danger of the crime of genocide also looms large," the experts warned.

The war crimes trial against the former Serb paramilitary leader, Dragan Vasiljkovic began on Tuesday in Croatia. 

Mr Vasiljkovic who was a commander during Croatia's war of independence, is accused of murder of civilians, extrajudicial killing of prisoners and torture. 

He was arrested in 2006 in Australia, however was only extradited to Croatia in 2012 and officially indicted in January. In July, he pleaded not guilty, stating "I defended Yugoslavia". 

Independent United Nations investigators said they have compiled a list of suspects who should be prosecuted for possible crimes against humanity in Burundi.

Speaking on Tuesday, Independent UN investigators said that it was impossible to know the full extent of the crimes, but they had evidence of rapes, murders, disappearances, mass arrests and torture.

The Untied Nations suspended its aid shipments into Syria following a deadly attack on a convoy transporting humanitarian supplies on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

The Syrian army and Russia, who is allied to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, both denied that either of their air forces or armed forces were responsible for the attack.

Syria’s army on Monday declared to the US and Russia backed ceasefire on Monday, whilst the US said it was still hopeful of extending the truce.