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United Nations

United Nations
The UN is an international organisation founded after World War II that aims to provide a dialogue platform between countries, fortifying international corporation and preventing future wars. There are currently 193 members led by five permanent members of the Security Council - US, Russia, UK, France and China. The organisation currently has six principal organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, International Court of Justice, and the Trusteeship Council.
UN High commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. Photo: AFP
United States

UN Security Council to hold meeting on AI amid international concern

UN rights chief Volker Turk called for countries and AI firms to act urgently to rein in a technology that posed ‘unprecedented risks’.

US, Israel war on Iran

US blocks Iran nuclear chief from Vienna meeting

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France

France apologises for criticising US’ human rights record after backlash

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Diplomacy

Opinion | The Global South cannot afford to let its maritime border disputes fester

Cambodia’s compulsory conciliation with Thailand under UN sea law shows how international law can deliver peaceful outcomes before tensions boil over.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Climate change

Opinion | Cop31: Forget climate pledges, countries like Nepal need actual cash

No payout from the loss and damage fund has reached vulnerable nations. Cop31 must focus on delivering the money already promised.

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Extreme weather

August was hottest month ever recorded globally, scientists say

UN warns of ‘spiralling price’ of fossil fuels after Earth’s record-shattering summer temperatures.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Nuclear agency board refers Iran to UN Security Council for first time in 20 years

IAEA remains blocked from key sites damaged during June 2025 military strikes by the US and Israel.

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A satellite image taken in February shows a new roof over a previously destroyed building at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site. Image: Planet Labs PBC via Reuters
China-Latin America relations

Marco Rubio arrives in Colombia with China ties, trade deals on agenda

Washington’s top diplomat lands in Barranquilla on first leg of three-country tour, with critical minerals, civil nuclear deals to be signed.

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China-UK relations

China’s Xi Jinping urges deeper UK ties in first call with new PM Andy Burnham

Xi asks to ‘transcend differences’, while British leader speaks of will to restore ties to ‘highest historical level’, Xinhua reports.

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European Union

Nicaragua accuses Germany of ‘multiple violations’ of law in Gaza genocide case

Nicaragua says Germany has breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention with its support, notably arms shipments, for Israel.

The Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the International Court of Justice, on Monday on the opening day of public hearings in the case of Nicaragua v. Germany. Photo: AP
Hong Kong society

Beijing sends record 16 Hong Kong civil servants for UN roles

Officers sent under UN Junior Professional Officer scheme come from 13 grades and departments, topping earlier deployments in 2019 and 2023.

(From left) Senior Inspector Danyl Wu of the police force, scientific officer Cindy Lam from the Observatory, Assistant Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Felix Yung, Acting Chief Investigator Cindy Ho of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and engineer Leo Ng of the Drainage Services Department. Photo: Silvia Siu
United States

UN demands accountability over deaths in US immigration custody

Human rights chief voices alarm over rising detention fatalities and reported ICE plans to deploy electric shock gear.

Israel-Gaza war

Evidence of Israel’s ‘atrocity crimes’ risks being removed, UN expert warns

Francesca Albanese says rubble in Gaza is ‘material record’ of war, and implications of Israel’s large-scale debris removal are ‘profound’.

Science

PLA highlights ‘major danger signal’ from Japan in nuclear terror study

Study by a rocket force medical team also warns there is a risk of attacks on cities ‘driven by geopolitical or religious conflicts’.

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China and four other nuclear powers have stated “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. Photo: Reuters
Artificial intelligence

UN rights chief warns AI could pose ‘existential’ risk to humanity’

Volker Turk calls for ‘cast-iron guarantees’ to secure AI against risks that his office says includes disruptions to critical infrastructure.

UN High commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a speech during the 63rd session of UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on Monday. Photo: AFP
Germany

Germany urges UN’s top court to dismiss Gaza genocide case

Berlin says judges lack the jurisdiction to rule on the case and dismisses Nicaragua’s accusations as ‘inaccurate and distorted’.

Nepal

Nepal puts UN climate fund to test after fatal US$2.5 billion flood

Nepal has petitioned the UN Loss and Damage Fund to ‘respond rapidly, directly and effectively’ after its worst natural disaster in decades.

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Middle East

Hundreds killed in deadliest Yemen fighting since 2022 truce collapsed

Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed forces fight over control of a key Red Sea gateway.

Forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government deploy in the Hays district, south of Hodeidah. Fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels has left hundreds dead. Photo: AFP
Serbia

Commemoration held for late Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic

The ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ will be buried in Belgrade on Monday in a ceremony expected to draw thousands despite international condemnation.

Israel-Gaza war

US ambassador calls violent Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’ after West Bank unrest

Mike Huckabee on Saturday met Palestinian American residents who described the impact of the violence on their lives and properties.

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United Nations General Assembly

UN adopts new map: Africa bigger, North America and Europe smaller

The US was the only vote against the resolution for a shift to the Equal Earth cartographic projection over the traditional Mercator map.

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National flags fly outside the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York. Photo: Shutterstock
Pacific nations

France digs in on Pacific islands claim as Vanuatu turns to World Court

Vanuatu says it will seek UN General Assembly opinion if Paris does not accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction on the disputed outcrops.

The volcanic islands of Matthew (pictured) and Hunter lie several hundred kilometres east of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia but are also claimed by Vanuatu. Photo: Google Maps
Middle East

UN report confirms Syria was building nuclear reactor during Assad rule

Syria’s Deir el-Zour site bombed by Israel in 2007 was an undeclared nuclear reactor under construction.

Diplomacy

Countries must consider reparations for slave trade, UN committee says

At least 12.5 million Africans were ‌taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries, according to the committee.

Hong Kong society

Former UN official says Hong Kong’s low fertility offers opportunity. Here’s how

Siddharth Chatterjee, former UN resident coordinator in China, outlines proposals to help Hong Kong earn ‘Child Friendly City’ status.

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Siddharth Chatterjee now serves as an honorary adviser to the Hong Kong Committee for Unicef. Photo: Sun Yeung
Diplomacy

Opinion | US-China AI rivalry needn’t preclude cooperation

Forcing countries to choose between the US’ and China’s initiatives would be counterproductive to global AI governance.

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The first session of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 6. Photo: Xinhua
Nepal

China-Nepal floods: rescuers pull out survivors caked in mud as toll climbs

Nepal has reversed an earlier decision and says it will allow foreign teams and experts to help with rescue efforts.

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The Netherlands

Dutch court jails man for life over role in Rwanda genocide

He had prevented Tutsis from escaping and threw a grenade into the crowd.

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