Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 28th, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1. Baku hosts founding conference of Global South NGO Platform

Today, the founding conference of the Global South NGO Platform, a landmark initiative uniting civil society leaders and NGO representatives from 116 countries covering nearly 80% of the world’s population, is being held in Baku.

This significant event is hailed as a major milestone for the civil society of the Global South, encompassing Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania - regions that together represent two-thirds of the world's countries.

The initiative to establish the Platform was proposed by the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum during COP29 in November 2024. Gaining rapid international support, the COP29 NGO Coalition subsequently raised the issue of institutionalizing the platform with the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, further cementing Azerbaijan’s leadership in global civil society efforts.

2. Trump urges Russia to stop attacks; Rubio says US might walk away from peace efforts

President Donald Trump urged Russia on Sunday to stop its attacks in Ukraine while his top diplomat said the United States might walk away from peace efforts if it does not see progress.

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said he was disappointed that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and said his one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday had gone well.

"I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal," Trump said of Zelenskyy.

3. Last day of Canada’s election campaign jolted by Vancouver attack

At least 11 people are dead and dozens injured after a driver rammed through a Filipino street festival in Vancouver on Saturday night.

The vehicle, reported by witnesses to be a black SUV, left victims, debris and chaos in its wake, with those who were at the scene describing their families being separated and bodies flying high into the air. 

4. Amid U.S.-Iran talks, Netanyahu says Iran's entire nuclear program must go

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled, as Washington and Tehran engage in talks for a nuclear accord.

The United States and Iran have so far held three rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Gulf state Oman, aimed at sealing a deal that would block Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but also lift crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington.

Netanyahu said the only "good deal" would be one that removed "all of the infrastructure" akin to the 2003 agreement that Libya made with the West that saw it give up its nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programmes.

5. Death toll from blast at Iran's Bandar Abbas port rises to 40

The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran's biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 40, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire.

Saturday's blast took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, Iran's biggest container hub, shattering windows for several kilometres around, tearing metal strips off shipping containers and badly damaging goods inside, state media said.

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