24 Sep 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian Workers' Party announced on Friday that Laws No. 54 and 55 are "fascist and are a serious threat" to the people's aspirations for freedom and democracy.

The party stated that the two laws "do not have any legitimacy" because they are based on an "illegal Constitution".

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities Saturday as Kremlin-orchestrated votes continued in occupied regions of Ukraine to pave the way for their annexation by Moscow.

Zaporizhzhia Gov. Oleksandr Starukh said the Russians targeted infrastructure facilities in the Dnieper River city, and one of the missiles hit an apartment building, killing one person and injuring seven others.

The Russian forces also struck other areas in Ukraine, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic and an unequal recovery have cost the world three years of development progress, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday at the 46th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China.

Guterres said that advancing the Sustainable Development Goals "has been his focus during high-level week" when world leaders converge in New York to discuss solutions to the pressing challenges facing the global community.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (NNN-PSM) – Maldives Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid, yesterday, called for climate action and reform of the multilateral system, to address global challenges.

The raging climate crisis remains an existential threat, especially to small island developing states, Shahid told the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

He said, the country is pursuing a national plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, a goal it can only meet with international support.

24 Sep 2022; MEMO: The President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan called on the African Union (AU) on Friday to "correct" its decision to freeze his country's activities in the AU after measures taken on 25 October.

This was raised during his meeting with Senegalese President Macky Sall at his residence in New York City.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the "crisis" in Ukraine, its foreign minister Wang Yi told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, adding that the pressing priority was to facilitate peace talks.

"The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture," Wang said in his address.

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of greetings to participants, hosts and guests of an international forum on Christianity in the Caucasus marking the 1,100th anniversary of the Christianization of Alania, according to a telegram published on the Kremlin website on Saturday.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 24 counties as Tropical Storm Ian gathers strength over the Caribbean and is expected to bring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds to the state next week.

DeSantis issued the order Friday encouraging residents and local governments to make preparations as the storm moves toward the state. He has also requested a federal pre-landfall emergency declaration.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Fiona washed houses into the sea, tore the roofs off others and knocked out power to the vast majority of two Canadian provinces Saturday as it made landfall as a big, powerful post-tropical cyclone.

Fiona transformed from a hurricane into a post-tropical storm late Friday, but it still had hurricane-strength winds and brought drenching rains and huge waves. There was no immediate confirmation of fatalities or injures.

NEW YORK, Sep 24 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left New York for London Friday night after leading Pakistan’s delegation to the 77th session of United Nations General Assembly(UNGA).

He was seen off by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, Consul General in New York, Ayesha Ali, and other senior officials.

During his 5-day hectic visit, he met a number of world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, attending the 193-member’s high-level debate.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In speech after speech, world leaders dwelled on the topic consuming this year’s U.N. General Assembly meeting: Russia’s war in Ukraine.

A few, like Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, prodded the world not to forget everything else.

He, too, was quick to bring up the biggest military confrontation in Europe since World War II. But he wasn’t there to discuss the conflict itself, nor its disruption of food, fuel and fertilizer markets.

SANAA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has reaffirmed the GCC's support for Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the internationally-recognized government, the national Yemen TV reported Saturday.

Al-Hajraf made the remarks when meeting with Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the PLC, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

The two sides reviewed "developments in Yemen and the efforts to renew the ongoing humanitarian truce," said the Yemeni news outlet.