Hospitals are overwhelmed and families are sheltering in the open after a deadly 6.9 magnitude earthquake tore through northern Cebu in the Philippines, killing at least 70 people and displacing more than 20,000, according to local authorities and humanitarians on the ground.

Thursday’s terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester, which left at least two worshippers dead on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, has been strongly condemned by the UN Secretary-General.

When the gates of Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison opened soon after the fall of the Assad regime last December, graffiti scrawled on the walls offered a frightening glimpse into what was widely known as the “human slaughterhouse”. “First day, severe beating,” one prisoner wrote.

UNITED NATIONS, October 1 (IPS) - On September 30, the United Nations (UN) convened a high-level meeting on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar shortly following the end of the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80). The conference was an opportunity to draw global attention once more to the Rohingya refugee situation with dialogue from UN officials, world representatives and civil society organizations.

UNITED NATIONS, October 1 (IPS) - The international community convened for a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters, this time to mobilize political support for the ongoing issue of the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, October 1 (IPS) - The dust was already swirling when Asherly William Hogo lifted himself from a makeshift bed before dawn. The 62-year-old pastoralist, lean from a lifetime of walking these plains, slipped into his sandals and stepped outside. Stars glittered over Dodoma, but the air was warmer than it used to be, Hogo swears. He whistled for his cows. Years ago, this hour meant an arduous trek to distant waterholes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been engaging with both sides in the Ukraine conflict in efforts to restore external power to the beleaguered Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in the south of the country.

Member States, UN officials and civil society came together on Wednesday to shift the global perspective on ageing, with a call for new policies and action that bring older persons in from the margins of society.

Over 190 world leaders spoke from the General Assembly podium during high-level week – underscoring the UN’s enduring relevance as a form of “life insurance” for many of the world’s developing countries, said President Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.

The “colour line” still exists today – proof that more must be done to stamp out anti-Black racism, the head of a UN platform that promotes greater inclusion and equality of the global African diaspora said on Wednesday.