Two UN agencies have warned of rising food emergencies, including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali are said to be facing or already suffering from the same emergencies due to the restricted movement of people and goods. The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen at the highest alert levels. They say communities are already facing or are projected to face starvation with the risk of sliding towards catastrophic conditions, the report by the World Food Program and the food and agriculture organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. It warns that 1 million people are expected to flee Sudan while an additional 2.5 million inside the country face acute hunger in the coming months with supply routes through port Sudan disrupted by safety issues beyond the 9 countries at the highest alert level, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as hotspots risking acute food insecurity. I'm Lawrence Brooks