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Antonio Guterres

Antonio Guterres
Antonio Guterres is the current United Nations Secretary General, championing human dignity, focusing on climate action, peacekeeping and UN management reform. He is known for his extensive career in public service and diplomacy. His responsibilities include mediating conflicts and advancing sustainable development. Previously, as prime minister of Portugal, he oversaw the euro transition and played a key role in resolving the East Timor crisis. He also served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, significantly improving the organisation’s response to global displacement. His expertise spans humanitarian affairs, international relations and administrative efficiency.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Photo: AFP
United Nations

‘World stands at a crossroads’: UN chief issues grim New Year message

Antonio Guterres laments US$2.7 trillion global arms race and urges leaders to choose ‘people and planet over pain’ in 2026.

China-Latin America relations

China says US broke international law by seizing oil tankers off Venezuela

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Africa

Sudan war drags on as drone attack kills 10 in Darfur market

Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

People hold a vigil outside the Australian High Commission in central London, Britain on Sunday following a terrorist attack on a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Photo: PA Wire / dpa
Africa

6 UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan drone strike blamed on RSF paramilitary group

The victims were all Bangladeshi nationals working at a United Nations logistics base in Kadugli.

Americas and the Caribbean

Tanker seized off Venezuela to be taken to US port, as threat of war grows

White House justifies targeting ‘black-market oil’ as Russia expresses support for its ally, Nicolas Maduro.

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Africa

63 children among 114 dead in strikes on Sudan kindergarten, hospital: WHO

Reports paramedics were also targeted during rescue efforts, as WHO director general condemns attack.

The logo of the World Health Organization is pictured outside the agency’s office in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: Reuters
United Nations

UN hits out at global ‘apathy’ as it slashes aid appeal for 2026

UN unveils streamlined plan to raise at least US$23 billion to help 87 million people in the world’s most dangerous places.

China-Japan relations

Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks ‘greatest challenge’ to ties, China’s UN envoy says

Ambassador Fu Cong sends second letter to UN chief insisting Tokyo must retract comments or bear ‘all consequences’.

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China-Japan relations

Why China took Japan criticism to UN twice but did not raise it at G20

Analysts say Beijing views the UN as a platform to ‘anchor’ its position on Taiwan, particularly because it offers a wider reach.

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Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the UN, has described the comments of the Japanese prime minister as “gravely erroneous” and having a “profoundly malicious nature and impact”. Photo: Reuters
United Nations

Fire breaks out at Brazil’s Cop30 talks, forcing delay at critical phase

Fire forces evacuation at summit site in Belem as nations attempt to resolve contentious climate issues.

People use fire extinguishers to put out a fire at the Pavilion of Countries in the Blue Zone. Photo: Reuters
My Take

My Take | Poppies remain a poignant reminder of the catastrophic human cost of war

It is a tragic irony that commemorations on this Remembrance Sunday are taking place against the backdrop of today’s conflicts.

Africa

Mass graves, blood stains: satellite images point to horrors in seized Sudan city

Analysis of imagery shows mass graves being dug near a hospital and a mosque, raising alarm over the scale of the carnage in El-Fasher.

Africa

Tanzanian president wins in landslide after deadly protests

Samia Suluhu Hassan wins almost 98 per cent of the vote amid claims that she presided over a ‘wave of terror’ ahead of the elections.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan casts her vote during the general elections on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Asean

‘Meek diplomacy’: is Asean doing enough to end the Myanmar conflict?

Asean’s individual members will decide whether to send observers to monitor what critics say will be a ‘sham election’ in Myanmar.

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Myanmar’s soldiers stand in front of a captured police station in Kyaukme, a town in Shan state that the resistance forces had controlled for more than a year. Photo: AP
Africa

Sudan war sparks global alarm after hundreds killed at hospital

The Rapid Support Forces have been accused of mass executions and other atrocities after capturing the provincial capital of North Darfur state.

Myanmar

UN chief urges Myanmar junta to prioritise aid over holding election

Antonio Guterres has also called on all parties to support Asean’s push for an immediate end to the conflict in Myanmar.

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Vietnam

More than 60 UN members sign cybercrime treaty in Vietnam amid rights concerns

The treaty’s broad language has raised fears that it could lead to abuses of power and enable cross-border repression of government critics.

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Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang signs a document during the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi on Saturday. Photo: EPA
Africa

Army officer sworn in as Madagascar’s president after military takeover

Colonel Michael Randrianirina took the oath of office after a military power grab that sent President Andry Rajoelina fleeing.

United Nations

UN to slash 25% of global peacekeeping force due to funding strains

The US, the UN’s largest donor, reduced its contribution by hundreds of millions, forcing cuts to peacekeeping missions.

Diplomacy

US retreat from UN may create ‘tremendous opportunity’ for nations like China

Global body is at a crossroads, and observers say a ‘leaderless’ era could emerge during second Trump administration.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Americas and the Caribbean

UN Security Council approves new military force to battle Haiti’s gangs

The security force can deploy up to 5,500 uniformed personnel, five times the size of the current law enforcement mission.

A Haitian police officer patrols in Kenscoff, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Photo: AFP
United Nations

Letters | UN must confront its paralysis or risk becoming a stage for posturing

Readers discuss the United Nations’ crisis of credibility, a fireworks stunt in the Himalayas, and the US-Russia-China nuclear impasse.

United Nations

Calls grow for first female UN chief in 80 years: ‘let’s make history’

All nine people to hold the top job have been men, including Secretary General Antonio Guterres, whose second term ends next year.

Ukraine war

Lula says Zelensky ‘more willing to talk’ as he revives Brazil-China peace plan

Brazilian leader also says he is studying rare earths ‘so that no one can fool me’, as US and China vie for control of the nation’s reserves.

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left) meets Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Photo: Handout
Israel-Gaza war

France joins other Western nations in recognising Palestinian state

‘We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution,’ French President Macron told a UN summit.

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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a United Nations summit at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

UN General Assembly: will China rise up to fill US void created by Trump?

Budget cuts, shifting alliances and clashing messages raise questions about the UN’s future role in global governance.

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United States

Diminished UN flooded by non-profit, philanthropists sidelined by funding cuts

The UN’s largest funder, the United States, has frozen funding or sought to claw it back, prompting major lay-offs and programme reductions.

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