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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.
The Iranian newspaper Jame-Jam with a cartoon of US President Donald Trump, the title reading in Persian “Duplicated Sanctions version”, outside a kiosk in Tehran, Iran on Saturday. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions

Warning that nations joining the US ‘economic war’ would be deemed enemies, Iran said the move could affect trading partners including China.

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Myanmar

Myanmar air strike kills 14 praying at monastery, rebel witnesses say

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong hits back at Western ‘slander’ over verdict on Tiananmen vigil leaders

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Scams and swindles

Asia faces scam ‘epidemic’ threat as gangs exploit agentic AI, analyst warns

The technology could allow scam syndicates to carry out multiple tasks to cheat victims at the same time without needing human intervention.

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Losses from transnational online scams in Asia-Pacific surged to US$114 billion last year. Photo; Shutterstock
South China Sea

Opinion | How China can turn its ‘blue cradle’ into a bridge with Southeast Asia

A jointly governed, tiered South China Sea ocean data framework would transform knowledge of a contested sea into stewardship of a shared one.

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Israel-Gaza war

Israel admits its troops killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza

The Palestinian girl died after being trapped in a car for hours while begging for help, in one of the highest-profile incidents in the war.

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Myanmar

Myanmar’s president heads to Moscow seeking Russian arms and oil

Fresh off a five-year military deal, Min Aung Hlaing is meeting Vladimir Putin for talks on further economic and security cooperation.

Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing waves as he boards a plane bound for Russia on Monday. Photo: Myanmar’s Presidential Press and Information Bureau / AFP
Middle East

Kushner talks with Israel, Hamas end without breakthrough on Trump Gaza plan

Netanyahu has rejected a US-backed agreement that would see Hamas surrender its arms in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Gaza.

Israel-Gaza war

Far-right Ben-Gvir urges Israel to kill ‘30 to 40 every night’ in Gaza

The national security minister does not have power to order strikes but is one of the most influential people in Israel.

Afghanistan

Pakistan border sees 724 humanitarian trucks enter Afghanistan

Nearly 14 million Afghans are facing acute hunger after deadly earthquakes last year, several climate-related disasters this year and the return of millions of refugees.

Afghan refugees receive food rations donated by Saudi Arabia, in Kabul on July 30. Photo: EPA-EFE
Myanmar

UN atrocity report adds friction to Myanmar junta’s push for legitimacy

The report says abuses escalated around the time Myanmar was conducting junta-led elections that saw Min Aung Hlaing elected as president.

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Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing reviews a Thai guard of honour during a welcome ceremony at Bangkok’s Government House on August 6. Photo: Reuters
Natural disasters

Colombia quake death toll hits 265, as rescuers race against the clock

As many as thousands of people are still missing, with the first 48 to 72 hours being crucial for retrieving survivors.

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US-China relations

US panel on China sees confidence masking economic anxiety after rare visit

Congressional advisers cite AI optimism but question Beijing’s openness after being denied access to Hangzhou tech firms.

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Ukraine war

Ukraine says Russia fired North Korean missiles in deadly attack

‘The city was struck with North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons,’ President Zelensky said of the strike on Zaporizhzhia that killed 7.

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Firefighters work at the site of an overnight Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Afghanistan

2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover: UN

The United Nations is urging an end to the ‘discriminatory’ Taliban policy that prevents girls from studying beyond primary school.

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Afghan girls at a primary school in Kabul. The Taliban does not permit girls to study beyond primary education. Photo: AFP
United States

Rights groups sue the Trump administration over ICC sanctions

Lawsuit says Trump’s executive order targeting the International Criminal Court for investigating Israeli crimes in Palestine is ‘illegal’.

Pakistan

Pakistan says ‘purely defensive’ Mecca accord is open to others

Egypt is likely to join the defence deal, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey amid rising tensions between the US and Iran.

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Artificial intelligence

Outside In | Why Asia need not match West’s fear over data centre buildout

The spread of data centres in Asia does not seem to have sparked the kind of protests it has in the West, but good policies are needed to ensure that remains the case.

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Demonstrators participate in a nationwide protest against data centers in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on July 18. Photo: Reuters
Middle East

UN warns Yemen at greatest risk of renewed major conflict since 2022 truce

The Houthis said on Friday they had targeted Saudi-backed forces, a day ‌after at least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in strikes.

US-China relations

In Focus | Race for UN top job enters final stage: choice may ‘make or break’ bloc

A strong, visionary leader is needed as next secretary general as Iran war rages during one of most ‘unpredictable times geopolitically’.

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Myanmar

Can war-torn Myanmar finally realise its economic potential?

Myanmar’s economy has shown signs of life after years of sky-high inflation and negative growth, but experts say it is far from recovering.

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A road in Yangon, Myanmar in March. Experts say Myanmar remains far from recovering its previous footing which began with political and economic reforms in 2011 – a period of growth abruptly ended by the coup. Photo: EPA
Myanmar

Myanmar president heads to Thailand amid civil war at home

Thailand’s acknowledgement of Min Aung Hlaing’s legitimacy stems from a ‘straight up pragmatism’, analysts say.

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Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing leaves after delivering a speech in parliament on Friday. Photo: AP
Taiwan

KMT accuses Taiwan’s government of failing to uphold South China Sea claims

Opposition figure calls on DPP administration to protest to Manila over Philippine attempt to chart a boundary around Scarborough Shoal.

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Canada

UN experts urge Canada to protect Sikh activist facing threats to life

Rights monitors press Ottawa over alleged foreign intimidation targeting Moninder Singh.

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US-China relations

Trump election claims debunked, US-China AI gap: 7 US-China relations reads

From smaller US-China AI gap to crawfish soup on Mars, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of July 2026.

US President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office of the White House on July 29. Photo: AP
Thailand

Thailand hits back at ‘inaccuracies’ in UN expert’s Cambodia findings

Bangkok says no efforts were made to verify the claims of UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews with Thai authorities.

A concrete sign bearing the word “SIAM” is displayed at the base of a gate along a section of the border fence between Thailand and Cambodia in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi province, in Thailand on July. Photo: Reuters
South China Sea

‘Rich and powerful options in South China Sea toolbox’: Beijing warns Manila

Strongly worded PLA Daily article is latest in a series of countermeasures as Scarborough Shoal row flares, including military drills.

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South China Sea

PLA and coastguards hold South China Sea drills days after Philippine seabed bid

Supersonic anti-ship missiles deployed during exercises near disputed Scarborough Shoal seen as ‘powerful deterrent against provocations’.

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