World leaders have condemned Russia for weaponising food in its war against Ukraine. By blockading Ukrainian grain shipments in ports and besieging civilians in the nation’s cities, Russia is using starvation as a war strategy.

Tom Dannenbaum, Alex De Waal and Daniel Maxwell explain that military powers have done this for thousands of years, typically without being held to account. Now, however, international law clearly forbids starvation of civilians as a warfare tactic. “It is time to confront the criminality of this practice,” they assert – and to do it in places like Syria, South Sudan and Ethiopia as well as in Ukraine.

At least one person is killed every two days in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Many of these cases go unreported – and most that are reported are never resolved. Cases are often characterised by shambolic investigations that produce insufficient evidence and are dismissed from court. Douglas Lucas Kivoi sets out why police are failing to unravel murder cases and offers solutions that could lead to better outcomes.