SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Oct 29 (IPS) - The conclusion that Donald Trump is a fascist has gone mainstream, gaining wide publicity and affirmation in recent weeks. Such understanding is a problem for Trump and his boosters.

In a new report report launched on Tuesday the UN independent expert on human rights in Russia exposes alarming patterns of torture used as a State-sanctioned tool of repression to stifle dissent and intimidate communities abroad.

Escalating violence and new atrocities in Sudan have pushed the humanitarian crisis to unprecedented levels, with displacement now exceeding 11 million people amid reports of mass killings and systematic-sexual violence across multiple regions, UN officials said on Tuesday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for decisive action to restore harmony with nature, warning that environmental crises are pushing humanity toward tipping points that threaten ecosystems, livelihoods and global stability.

Countries from around the world are meeting in the Colombian city of Cali, to discuss how best to protect biological diversity and develop a lasting blueprint that will allow humankind to live in harmony with nature.

Join us through the day as we bring you the latest news from the Security Council, UN Headquarters and dispatches from across the Middle East as tensions escalate and the war on Gaza and Lebanon grinds on in the shadows of a new Israeli ban on UNRWA, the agency serving nearly six million Palestine refugees in the region. UN News app users can follow here.

Top UN officials continued to line up on Tuesday to defend the irreplaceable role of the global body’s agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, insisting that if implemented, the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban it would only deepen suffering in Gaza.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29 (IPS) - It was two weeks before October 7—when Hamas attacked Israel—that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood behind the rostrum in the United Nations General Assembly hall clutching a crude map of what he called the "new Middle East," a visual that erased the land of Palestine.

BOSTON / PHILADELPHIA, Oct 28 (IPS) - The students and the common people of Bangladesh dared to do something in 36 days of July-August that was considered simply impossible by most people just days before August 5, 2024. They said ‘enough is enough' to an old order that outraged their humanity, robbed their dignity and the rulers imagined that their citadel of power was simply impenetrable. The revolutionists refused to bow down to the murderous regime that knew no bounds to its cruelty and plundering. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the besieged nation.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28 (IPS) - Critical levels of nationwide hunger in Sudan has only increased to critical levels since the start of the Sudanese civil war in April 2023. Escalated hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have led to limited mobility and repeated blockages of humanitarian aid. This, coupled with the volatile floods and droughts, have decimated crop fields which has only exacerbated famine levels greatly. All of these factors have left nearly 25 million people in Sudan in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024.