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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.
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
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

Myanmar

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

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.

Jared Kushner speaks during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. on February 19. Photo: TNS
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.

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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.

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.

A sailor from the navy of Yemen’s Aden-based government stands on board a vessel patrolling a shipping lane off The Hanish Islands in the Red Sea in July. Photo: TNS
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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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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Ukraine war

10 killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine, while Kyiv sinks Russian cargo ship

Russia has stepped up strikes ⁠on ⁠Kyiv in recent months, while Ukraine ‌is short of air defences capable of ‌downing ballistic ‌missiles.

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Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following Russian missile attacks in Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: AP
China-Latin America relations

Chile’s Kast courts China day after US hits exports with forced labour tariff

Chilean president, who campaigned on aligning Chile with Trump, meets Beijing delegation as his party claims Washington cannot be trusted.

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China's ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao, and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast at the La Moneda Palace in Santiago on Friday. Photo: Handout
US-China relations

Selection for next UN chief gets under way with Grynspan early front runner

United Nations Security Council started the process on Thursday to pick its new secretary general as successor to Antonio Guterres.

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South China Sea

Beijing accuses Manila of ‘flagrantly infringing’ on sovereignty in seabed claim

Beijing urges United Nations commission not to consider the Philippines’ filing to extend its continental shelf in the South China Sea.

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