CAIRO, Egypt, Oct 28 (IPS) - Violence in the Middle East has escalated dramatically since the Hamas terrorist attack in October 2023 and the fallout that has since followed. There is tension, if not a state of war, between all the major opponents on the ground.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 28 (IPS) - As it continues to leave a mounting trail of death and destruction in Gaza, Israel has come under severe attack from the international community, including the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, Western allies, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and scores of human rights experts.

Monday’s vote by the Israeli Knesset banning the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) contradicts principles of the UN Charter, violates Israel’s obligations under international law, and sets a dangerous precedent, the head of the Agency, Philippe Lazzarini has warned.

Independent human rights experts on Monday called on France to reverse bans that prevent Muslim women and girls who wear the hijab from participating in sports, citing concerns that these restrictions are discriminatory and violate international human rights obligations.

Proposed actions by countries to mitigate the worsening impacts of climate change “fall miles short of what is needed,” according to a major UN report has revealed on Monday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday the people of Sudan are trapped in a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”, as the brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to rage.

We will be following the latest breaking news over the day, including from UN staff on the ground in the Middle East, dispatches from Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region as well as the emergency Security Council meeting following escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. UN News app users can follow here.

After a weekend of continuing Israeli military operations throughout the Gaza Strip and especially the north, UN humanitarians warned on Monday that the already dire aid situation “is only getting worse”.

New data released by the UN on Monday indicating that greenhouse gases have hit a record high shows once again that urgent action and not words is needed from the world’s major polluters to protect us all from climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted.

CALI, Columbia & BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Oct 28 (IPS) - "How we prepare and eat food should not be at the expense of our biodiversity," says 3-Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco, who is on a mission to change our relationship with food and what we choose to eat.