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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.
Sun Lei, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a Security Council briefing on threats to international peace and security in New York on Tuesday. Venezuela requested a Security Council meeting, citing escalating tensions resulting from “US aggression” against the country. Photo: EPA
SCMP Highlights

China, Russia clash with US at UN; Taipei mayor visit: SCMP daily highlights

From Beijing accusing Washington of violating international law to a study on animal fats, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

China-Latin America relations

China, Russia clash with US at UN over Venezuela oil seizures and naval pressure

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Myanmar

UN says Myanmar junta using ‘brutal violence’ to force people to vote

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China-Latin America relations

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

Situation intensifies as Beijing condemns tanker seizures and US security chief calls to remove Nicolas Maduro from power.

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A US military helicopter flies over the Panama-flagged Centuries, which was intercepted by the US Coast Guard on Saturday. Photo: DHS via Reuters
Singapore

Singaporean charged with making fake terrorist threat after church bomb hoax

The man reportedly placed an item resembling an improvised explosive device inside St Joseph’s Church premises in Bukit Timah.

Africa

Nigeria secures release of 130 children abducted from Catholic school

Presidential spokesman confirms ‘none left in captivity’ after an operation frees students taken by gunmen in November.

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Africa

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

The conflict has split Sudan in two as the army controls the north, east and centre while the UAE-backed RSF dominates Darfur and parts of the south.

A Sudanese refugee girl from Darfur rests beside a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) tent inside the Touloum refugee camp, on the outskirts of the town of Iriba in Wadi Fira province, eastern Chad, on November 30. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

UN declares Gaza famine over, but ‘situation remains critical’

Meanwhile, Oxfam says hunger in Gaza remains ‘appalling and preventable’, accusing Israel of blocking aid from humanitarian agencies.

Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

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Africa

UN says Sudan’s RSF killed 1,000 civilians in horrific 3-day attack on camp

New report details three days of terror at the Zamzam displacement camp in April, citing mass executions and gang rapes.

Fire and smoke at Zamzam camp near the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher in April, where Sudan’s RSF carried out an attack that killed hundreds. Photo: Maxar Technologies via AFP
Myanmar

Are Myanmar hospital air strikes a bid to ‘intimidate’ voters ahead of poll?

The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say.

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People check a hospital that was hit by a military air strike in Mrauk-U in Myanmar earlier this month. Photo: AP
China-Latin America relations

China FM Wang Yi reaffirms Beijing’s backing for Venezuela as US pressure grows

In a call with his Caracas counterpart, the Chinese foreign minister says mutual trust and support are a tradition of bilateral ties.

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War and conflict

War-torn Sudan tops global humanitarian crisis watch list for third year

International Rescue Committee highlights a stark concentration of human suffering in a small number of countries in latest rankings.

War and conflict

Editorial | World must heed UN’s appeal for aid funding to ease suffering of millions

Nations need to prioritise conflict prevention and provide more relief as overstretched and underfunded humanitarian groups struggle to cope.

A Sudanese girl from Darfur rests beside a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees tent inside the Touloum refugee camp on the outskirts of Iriba in Wadi Fira province, eastern Chad, on November 30. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

Can UN anti-corruption pact bring Zaldy Co back to Philippines?

The former lawmaker, who is facing charges linked to the Philippines’ flood control scandal, is suspected to have fled to Portugal.

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Fugitive Philippine lawmaker Zaldy Co (left) and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. Photo: Handout, AFP
Human rights

Aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’: UN

‘The sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance’ has inflicted ‘so much unnecessary pain in its wake’.

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Thailand

Thailand considers blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as conflict escalates

Thailand last year exported 2.2 billion litres of fuel to Cambodia, according to the energy ministry’s data.

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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.

Israel-Gaza war

‘My future is paralysed’: Gaza amputees desperate to walk again

The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the Israel-Gaza war, 25 per cent of them children.

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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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The tanker as it was being seized by US forces off the coast of Venezuela this week. Photo: US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s X account via Reuters
Australia

Opinion | Australia’s social media ban offers a path between excess and inaction

For policymakers elsewhere, Canberra’s approach to children’s social media use isn’t a model to copy but one to learn from.

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A child tries to unlock a social media site after receiving an age verification message at her home in Sydney on December 10. Photo: AFP
Thailand

‘May he rest in peace’: remains of last Thai hostage in Gaza repatriated

Sudthisak Rinthalak’s remains returned to Thailand after being held in Gaza since 2023, allowing his family to perform funeral rites.

Cambodia

Cambodia quits SEA Games in Thailand amid deadly border clashes

The national team had attended the opening ceremony in Bangkok on Tuesday, but was ordered home less than 24 hours later as fighting surged.

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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
Middle East

A year after Assad’s fall, can Syria’s new leader deliver lasting peace?

Despite progress, sectarian violence and Kurdish tensions persist as President Ahmed al-Sharaa pushes toward future elections.

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People gather as they celebrate the first anniversary of Bashar al-Assad’s fall, at Ummayad Square in Damascus, Syria on Monday. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

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.

Thailand

‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

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