Preliminary evidence collected since Myanmar's military junta seized power shows a systematic attack on civilians “amounting to crimes against humanity," a UN investigator said on Saturday.
Driving the news: The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has received over 200,000 communications since the army takeover in February and has collected over 1.5 million pieces of evidence that are being analyzed.
An oil tanker explosion in Sierra Leone killed at least 98 people and injured dozens more, AP reported, citing hospital officials.
Driving the news: The explosion took place late Friday after a collision in Wellington, a suburb of the capital, Freetown. Crowds had gathered to collect fuel leaking from the tanker, per AP.
More than 100 world leaders — as well as thousands of diplomats and business leaders — converged on Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 31 to try to set new emissions reduction goals at the COP26 climate summit.
The latest: President Biden on Tuesday said that China made a "big mistake" by not showing up to the UN climate summit, adding that Beijing has "lost an ability to influence" other countries as a result.
COP26 is morphing into a climate conference, filled mainly with experts, journalists and bureaucrats who specialize in the subject.
For the opening days, CEO and celebrity sightings had lent a "Davos meets the UN General Assembly" vibe. Heads of state were popping up everywhere — identifiable because they don’t wear ID (they don lapel pins rather than badges).
LGBT Rights Advocacy China, an influential Chinese advocacy group, abruptly announced Thursday it was disbanding but did not disclose why, AP reports.
Why it matters: The group, which advocated for same-sex marriage and the protection of gay rights and provided legal support for the LGBT community in China, is shutting down amid a governmental clampdown on social activism.
The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia urged Americans to "leave the country as soon as possible" on Friday in response to rebel forces from the northern region of Tigray converging near the capital of Addis Ababa, calling the situation "very fluid."
Why it matters: Ethiopia's government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday over the presence of rebel forces, allowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to impose curfews, order citizens into military service and restrict the news media.
Europe is "back at the epicenter of the pandemic" and approaching record COVID-19 case numbers as the Delta variant spreads and vaccination efforts stall in several regions, a top World Health Organization official warned Thursday.
The big picture: Germany reported Thursday its highest number of new coronavirus infections in one day since the pandemic began (33,949). New cases across Europe have risen 55% in the past four weeks, per WHO European director Hans Kluge. "We are at another critical point of pandemic resurgence," he warned.
