https://www.scmp.com/rss/521467/feed 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... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse North Korea’s UN envoy said his country was not bound by the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) on nuclear weapons and external pressure would not change its status as a nuclear-armed state, official media reported on Thursday. Pyongyang threatened to withdraw from the treaty in 1993 and formally did so in 2003. It has since conducted six nuclear tests – prompting a raft of international sanctions – and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads. Signatories of the NPT have been holding a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352681/north-korea-says-nuclear-status-will-not-change-despite-external-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3352681/north-korea-says-nuclear-status-will-not-change-despite-external-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 01:23:18 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. The United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries effective May 1 has an immediate and practical explanation. Hemmed in by production quotas that cap output well below the UAE’s stated ambition of 5 million barrels per day... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3352162/uaes-opec-exit-reflects-complex-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3352162/uaes-opec-exit-reflects-complex-world?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 03:30:09 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The United Nations is bloated, costly, badly in need of reform, and too often works against US interests, but pulling out of the international organisation would see China expand its influence and leave Washington at a major disadvantage, according to testimony before a House oversight committee on Wednesday. The hearing came as the administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed an “America first” overhaul of international funding, leaving the UN, over the past 18 months, at what... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351920/un-bloated-costly-china-fears-should-keep-us-involved-house-committee-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351920/un-bloated-costly-china-fears-should-keep-us-involved-house-committee-told?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:39:41 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US ⁠has placed specific conditions on releasing billions of dollars it owes to the United Nations, including further cost-cutting, and moves to counter China’s influence at the world body, a development news wire reported on Tuesday. The report by Devex, an independent news organisation covering global development, ‌said two diplomatic notes circulated by the US called for nine “quick-hit” reforms as a condition for releasing more funds. It said these included: Overhauling the UN pension... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351762/us-conditions-paying-un-dues-include-china-curbs-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351762/us-conditions-paying-un-dues-include-china-curbs-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:51:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Signatories of the landmark nuclear non-proliferation treaty began a meeting on Monday at the United Nations in New York as fears of a renewed arms race escalate, with atomic powers again at loggerheads over safeguards. In 2022, during the last review of the treaty considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned humanity was “one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation”. On Monday he warned “the drivers” of nuclear weapons... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351625/looming-risk-nuclear-arms-race-un-proliferation-meeting-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351625/looming-risk-nuclear-arms-race-un-proliferation-meeting-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:41:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3351500/mali-junta-crisis-after-defence-minister-killed-and-key-city-captured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3351500/mali-junta-crisis-after-defence-minister-killed-and-key-city-captured?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 18:37:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said. A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility. “Corporal Anicet Girardin … brought home yesterday from Lebanon, where he was badly wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning of the consequences of his wounds,” Macron posted on X. One... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351049/second-french-peacekeeper-dies-after-ambush-blamed-hezbollah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351049/second-french-peacekeeper-dies-after-ambush-blamed-hezbollah?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:19:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The gap between rich and poor nations is growing even wider as actions agreed to by many countries last year, including overhauling the major global financial institutions, remain unfulfilled promises, a UN report has concluded. The report assessing the blueprint adopted in Seville, Spain, last June to narrow the gap and achieve UN development goals for 2030 was issued ahead of next week’s spring meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the main global... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3349731/global-wealth-gap-grows-aid-worlds-poorest-sees-record-drop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3349731/global-wealth-gap-grows-aid-worlds-poorest-sees-record-drop?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 05:34:12 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press With US President Donald Trump’s deadline rapidly approaching for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the massive bombing of the country’s infrastructure, Iran on Tuesday urged youths to form human chains around power plants and its president said 14 million people had answered calls to volunteer to fight. Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Tuesday 8pm EDT deadline (8am Wednesday Hong Kong time) to allow shipping traffic to fully... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349248/iran-calls-human-chains-around-its-power-plants-trumps-deadline-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349248/iran-calls-human-chains-around-its-power-plants-trumps-deadline-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:10:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”, despite opposition by the United States and some European countries. In a move advocates hailed as a step towards healing and possible reparations, the resolution was adopted to applause by a vote of 123 in favour, three against and 52 abstentions. The US, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained. Ghana’s President John... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3347954/un-designates-african-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3347954/un-designates-african-slave-trade-gravest-crime-against-humanity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:37:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned on Monday. The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2025, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) weather and climate agency confirmed, in its flagship State of the Global Climate annual report. Last year was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 degrees Celsius above the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3347542/flashing-red-un-alarmed-heat-trapped-earth-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3347542/flashing-red-un-alarmed-heat-trapped-earth-hits-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 05:03:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Turkey expressed deep concern on Saturday over Israel’s ongoing strikes on Lebanon, voicing fears it could commit “a new genocide” under the guise of fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah. “We are frankly concerned [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is moving toward a new genocide under the pretext of fighting Hezbollah,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference. “The international community must act as soon as possible in the face of the crimes that Israel continues to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346629/israel-may-commit-new-genocide-lebanon-using-iran-war-pretext-turkey-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346629/israel-may-commit-new-genocide-lebanon-using-iran-war-pretext-turkey-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 17:40:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that diplomatic channels remain open to end the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah and urged the international community to support Lebanon. “There is no military solution, only diplomacy, dialogue and full implementation of the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions. The diplomatic avenues are available, including through my special coordinator for Lebanon ... and through key member states,” he said on Saturday during a visit to Beirut. Lebanon... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346625/un-chief-says-diplomatic-avenues-are-available-end-war-lebanon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3346625/un-chief-says-diplomatic-avenues-are-available-end-war-lebanon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 15:29:09 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s pitch for a United Nations Security Council seat this week was notable for his sidestepping of an issue at the core of Manila’s foreign policy in recent years. As he appealed to UN members in New York, Marcos framed the Philippines as a bridge connecting developing countries and middle-income economies, without making any direct reference to the South China Sea dispute. The president’s restrained speech, which avoided mentioning China despite ongoing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346401/philippines-bid-un-security-council-seat-sidesteps-maritime-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346401/philippines-bid-un-security-council-seat-sidesteps-maritime-row?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday they were willing to negotiate after Pakistan ⁠bombed their forces in major cities and said the allies-turned-foes were in “open war”. Pakistan struck the Afghan capital Kabul, the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders were based, and other towns, a Taliban spokesman said. The attacks were its first directly targeting Afghanistan’s government over allegations it harbours militants seeking to overthrow the Islamabad government. Taliban spokesman... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344949/afghanistans-taliban-open-talks-pakistan-open-war-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344949/afghanistans-taliban-open-talks-pakistan-open-war-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:09:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes. Journalists in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, as Pakistan launched air strikes on the Afghan capital and the southern power base of the Taliban authorities. Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344796/pakistan-declares-open-war-afghan-taliban-after-morning-strikes-kabul-kandahar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3344796/pakistan-declares-open-war-afghan-taliban-after-morning-strikes-kabul-kandahar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 01:01:15 +0000 Cale Holmes Cale Holmes The United Nations is broke. According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the institution can’t pay its bills. Members, such as the US, haven’t paid their dues. The UN doesn’t just face a liquidity crisis. An old rule obliges it to pay members back for unspent money, even from dues it never received. The UN Secretariat and some major operations could close by July. The UN is far from ideal. The secretariat and agency headquarters are massive bureaucracies, the General Assembly is widely... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343337/more-funding-un-needs-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343337/more-funding-un-needs-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A top Israeli official said on Tuesday that measures adopted by the government that deepen Israeli control in the occupied West Bank amounted to implementing “de facto sovereignty”, using language that mirrors critics’ warnings about the intent behind the moves. The steps “actually establish a fact on the ground that there will not be a Palestinian state,” Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio. Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights groups have called the moves announced... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:09:10 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan A deepening cash crunch at the United Nations has reignited debate over the future of multilateralism, with analysts warning that the crisis also reflects a more profound shift in how the United States views the world body. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week warned that the organisation was at risk of “imminent financial collapse” as unpaid contributions threatened programme delivery, with funds potentially running out by July. In a rare letter addressed to all 193 member states,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342614/un-grapples-cash-crisis-dont-expect-china-fill-gap-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342614/un-grapples-cash-crisis-dont-expect-china-fill-gap-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse First, the jihadists sent a letter saying they were coming to the village to preach, said Nigerian chief Umar Bio Salihu. When no one attended, they went on a rampage, killing people and torching houses, he said. Salihu is the traditional chief of Woro, a small, Muslim-majority village in west-central Nigeria where alleged jihadist gunmen are reported to have perpetrated a massacre late Tuesday. Details were still emerging from the attack, but it was one of the country’s deadliest in recent... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342625/survivors-recount-terror-nigeria-massacre-where-people-were-burned-inside-houses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3342625/survivors-recount-terror-nigeria-massacre-where-people-were-burned-inside-houses?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 06:45:50 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is unlikely to pose a credible challenge to the United Nations, analysts say. They also warn that legal ambiguity, as well as doubts over credibility and funding, make the initiative’s long-term viability uncertain. Beijing was likely to respond cautiously but might also see some advantages if Washington’s attention was diverted elsewhere, leading to China potentially taking on a more proactive role in some regional security matters, they said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342092/trumps-peace-board-no-match-un-and-possible-boon-china-analysts-find?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342092/trumps-peace-board-no-match-un-and-possible-boon-china-analysts-find?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:00:11 +0000 Sophie Wushuang Yi Sophie Wushuang Yi For decades, the defining debate in international relations centred on whether China, as it developed into the world’s second-largest economy, would seek to revise the established world order. Would Beijing demand a greater share of global resources? Would it challenge American primacy? The non-Chinese speaking world watched anxiously for signs of Chinese revisionism, debating the “Thucydides Trap” – the theory that a rising power and an established hegemon are destined for conflict. Enormous... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341875/forget-china-threat-real-disruption-trumps-us-old-order-not-coming-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341875/forget-china-threat-real-disruption-trumps-us-old-order-not-coming-back?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 03:00:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters Uganda’s opposition leader Bobi Wine’s wife was taken to hospital after soldiers invaded their residence, partially undressed and choked her, the couple said. Wine, a pop star-turned-politician, was not at the property and is in hiding after he escaped a previous raid on his home last week ⁠hours before he was announced as the runner-up in the January 15 presidential election. Incumbent ruler President Yoweri Museveni, 81, president since 1986, was declared winner of ‍the vote with 71.6 per cent... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341129/uganda-opposition-leader-bobi-wines-wife-hospitalised-after-soldiers-invade-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3341129/uganda-opposition-leader-bobi-wines-wife-hospitalised-after-soldiers-invade-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 16:03:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations. Only ‍Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats. Other governments appeared... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340349/world-leaders-show-caution-trumps-broader-board-peace-amid-fears-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340349/world-leaders-show-caution-trumps-broader-board-peace-amid-fears-un?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 17:43:10 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim The American attack on Venezuela on Saturday could further undermine international institutions and accelerate a global arms race, analysts warned, with one likening Washington’s actions to issuing a “death certificate” for the United Nations. On Saturday, in a surprise precision operation, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were later placed in detention in New York. President Donald Trump later said the US would run the South American... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338782/us-attack-venezuela-death-certificate-un-will-trigger-global-arms-race-analyst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338782/us-attack-venezuela-death-certificate-un-will-trigger-global-arms-race-analyst?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations urged global leaders on Monday to focus on people and the planet in a New Year’s message depicting the world in chaos. “As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads. Chaos and uncertainty surround us. Division. Violence. Climate breakdown. And systemic violations of international law,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a video message. In 2026, as war rages in Ukraine and elsewhere, world leaders must work to ease human suffering and fight climate... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338076/un-chief-antonio-guterres-calls-world-leaders-get-serious-grim-new-year-message?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338076/un-chief-antonio-guterres-calls-world-leaders-get-serious-grim-new-year-message?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 18:23:34 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick China accused the United States on Monday of violating international law by seizing oil tankers off Venezuela, as Washington intensified pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government and a senior US official openly suggested that he should be removed from power. At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the United States “seriously violated international law” by intercepting foreign vessels and reiterated China’s opposition to unilateral... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337400/china-says-us-broke-international-law-seizing-venezuelan-oil-tankers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337400/china-says-us-broke-international-law-seizing-venezuelan-oil-tankers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:25:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A drone attack on a busy market in Sudan’s North Darfur state killed 10 people over the weekend, first responders said, without saying who was responsible. The attack comes as fighting intensified elsewhere in the country, leading aid workers to be evacuated on Sunday from Kadugli, a besieged, famine-hit city in the south. Since April 2023, Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 12... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337246/sudan-war-drags-drone-attack-kills-10-darfur-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3337246/sudan-war-drags-drone-attack-kills-10-darfur-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 15:26:40 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse World leaders voiced horror and revulsion at Sunday’s mass shooting in which 15 people were killed and dozens injured at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “shocking and distressing” attack, which Australian police are calling a “terrorist” incident, was “beyond comprehension”, after assailants fired on a gathering celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog condemned what he called a “very cruel attack on Jews” by “vile... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3336413/world-leaders-express-horror-bondi-beach-terror-attack-vigils-are-held-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3336413/world-leaders-express-horror-bondi-beach-terror-attack-vigils-are-held-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 21:49:55 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A drone strike hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. The strike hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement. Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). “Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3336358/6-un-peacekeepers-killed-sudan-drone-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3336358/6-un-peacekeepers-killed-sudan-drone-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:38:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States, the White House said Thursday, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries. Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s “regime”. President Donald Trump’s administration has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336132/seized-tanker-be-taken-us-port-venezuela-war-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336132/seized-tanker-be-taken-us-port-venezuela-war-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:06:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that 114 people, including 63 children, were killed in “senseless” strikes on a hospital and kindergarten in Sudan’s South Kordofan state last week. The strikes “hit a kindergarten and, at least three times, the nearby Kalogi Rural Hospital, killing 114 people, including 63 children, and injuring 35 people,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media, citing the UN health agency’s Attacks on Health Care monitoring... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335638/63-children-among-114-killed-senseless-strikes-sudan-hospital-kindergarten-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3335638/63-children-among-114-killed-senseless-strikes-sudan-hospital-kindergarten-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 12:59:38 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations on Monday hit out at global “apathy” over widespread suffering as it launched its 2026 appeal for humanitarian assistance, which was limited in scope as aid operations confront major funding cuts. “This is a time of brutality, impunity and indifference,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told reporters, condemning “the ferocity and the intensity of the killing, the complete disregard for international law, horrific levels of sexual violence” he had seen on the ground in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3335569/un-hits-out-global-apathy-it-slashes-aid-appeal-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3335569/un-hits-out-global-apathy-it-slashes-aid-appeal-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 06:00:51 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen A diplomatic clash between China and Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heating up at the United Nations. Chinese ambassador Fu Cong has sent a second letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan as the “greatest challenge” to bilateral ties and urging Tokyo to retract them. Fu’s message on Monday was issued in response to his Japanese counterpart, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, who last week accused Beijing of “stifling” bilateral... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334892/china-japan-row-widens-un-taiwan-remarks-called-greatest-challenge-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334892/china-japan-row-widens-un-taiwan-remarks-called-greatest-challenge-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 08:03:11 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim In a span of just four days last week, Beijing’s envoy to the United Nations criticised Japan – and its leader’s comments related to Taiwan – twice. Fu Cong first said, during a debate on reforming the UN Security Council last Tuesday, that Tokyo was “totally unqualified” to seek a permanent seat on the group, calling Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s earlier comments on Taiwan “brazen” and “provocative”. Takaichi on November 7 suggested that Japan could deploy its military forces in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334131/why-china-took-japan-criticism-un-twice-did-not-raise-it-g20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334131/why-china-took-japan-criticism-un-twice-did-not-raise-it-g20?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:35:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A fire broke out Thursday inside the UN climate summit venue in Brazil, burning through the roof and causing a panicked evacuation and the suspension of talks entering a crucial phase. The blaze engulfed pavilions in the summit site in Belem around 2pm, torching a hole through its fabric ceiling, sparking a rush for the exit as smoke filled the corridors and people cried “fire!” It was the third major incident since the Cop30 negotiations started last week in the Amazon region, after Indigenous... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333604/fire-disrupts-cop30-climate-talks-brazil-just-negotiators-reach-critical-final-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3333604/fire-disrupts-cop30-climate-talks-brazil-just-negotiators-reach-critical-final-days?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 20:35:59 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The commemorative activities to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war this year have ensured the sacrifice made by those who lost their lives is not forgotten. Parades, fly-pasts, church services and street parties celebrated VE Day in May, the anniversary of the Nazi regime’s surrender in Europe. It was followed, in August, by VJ Day, recalling the defeat of Japan. Then, Victory Day, in September, marked the formal surrender of Japanese forces in China, with events on the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3332067/poppies-remain-poignant-reminder-catastrophic-human-cost-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3332067/poppies-remain-poignant-reminder-catastrophic-human-cost-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Satellite images analysed on Wednesday appear to show mass burials being conducted in El-Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized it, further raising concerns about the scale of the violence that descended on the city. The images of El-Fasher come as the two-year war grinds on in Sudan despite growing international outrage, with local media and the United Nations reporting a drone strike targeting a funeral in another city called El-Obeid, killing at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331722/sudan-satellite-images-point-horrors-seized-city-el-fasher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331722/sudan-satellite-images-point-horrors-seized-city-el-fasher?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 04:53:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won a landslide election victory, official results showed on Saturday, after key candidates were jailed or barred from a vote that has triggered days of violent protests. The final result showed Hassan won 97.66 per cent of the vote, dominating every constituency, the electoral commission announced on state television. A quick swearing-in ceremony would take place on Saturday, state TV said. At stake for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331166/tanzanias-president-wins-landslide-amid-protests-opposition-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331166/tanzanias-president-wins-landslide-amid-protests-opposition-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2025 07:17:45 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran As the 47th Asean summit came to a close this week, questions remained over the bloc’s handling of the Myanmar crisis and whether it had done enough to bring peace to the war-torn country. The three-day summit saw the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations discuss various issues, including the ongoing clashes between Myanmar’s junta and opposition forces. Several members also signed trade deals with the United States. “Myanmar was lower on the agenda at the summit compared with other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330894/aseans-meek-diplomacy-sufficient-end-myanmar-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330894/aseans-meek-diplomacy-sufficient-end-myanmar-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Oct 2025 10:00:34 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg World leaders have called for renewed talks to halt the war in Sudan, as reports emerged of widespread atrocities in a city recently captured by the paramilitary group fighting the army-backed government. Since seizing El-Fasher in western Sudan on Sunday, the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of executing hundreds of people, while about 30,000 civilians have fled the famine-hit capital of North Darfur state. Sudan’s Deputy Commissioner of Humanitarian Aid, Mona Nour Al-Daem, said on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3330826/sudan-war-sparks-global-alarm-after-hundreds-reportedly-killed-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3330826/sudan-war-sparks-global-alarm-after-hundreds-reportedly-killed-hospital?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:55:29 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Aidan Jones Joseph Sipalan,Aidan Jones United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Myanmar’s junta to focus on increasing aid to its struggling people instead of holding an election, which he said would be neither free nor fair. Myanmar’s junta has been widely pilloried for pressing on with the election starting this December, while it continues to bomb civilians in a civil war that has killed thousands and displaced more than 3.5 million people. Guterres, who was in Kuala Lumpur for a summit between the UN and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330513/un-chief-urges-myanmar-junta-focus-boosting-aid-forget-about-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330513/un-chief-urges-myanmar-junta-focus-boosting-aid-forget-about-election?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:42:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi on Saturday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to strengthen international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries were seen to sign the declaration on Saturday, which means it will go into force once ratified by those... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3330304/more-60-un-members-sign-cybercrime-treaty-vietnam-amid-rights-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3330304/more-60-un-members-sign-cybercrime-treaty-vietnam-amid-rights-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 06:41:29 +0000 Reuters Reuters Madagascar’s coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as president on Friday to cheers, blaring trumpets and raised swords, days after taking control of the island nation in the wake of youth-led protests that forced out his predecessor. Ex-leader Andry Rajoelina, whom lawmakers impeached after he fled abroad at the weekend, has condemned the takeover and refused to step down while in exile, despite widespread defections in the security forces and the High Constitutional Court... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329405/army-officer-sworn-madagascars-president-after-military-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329405/army-officer-sworn-madagascars-president-after-military-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 08:25:44 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The United Nations will begin slashing its peacekeeping force and operations, forcing thousands of soldiers in the next several months to evacuate far-flung global hotspots as a result of the latest US funding cuts to the world body, a senior UN official has said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, briefed reporters on Wednesday on the 25 per cent reduction in peacekeepers worldwide as the United States, the largest UN donor, makes changes to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328313/un-slash-25-global-peacekeeping-force-due-funding-strains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328313/un-slash-25-global-peacekeeping-force-due-funding-strains?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 04:23:28 +0000 Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao Orange Wang,Shi Jiangtao After a week-long gathering of leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York, its president struck a positive tone on Monday. Annalena Baerbock, the former German foreign minister, said there was a collective will to “choose the right path at the crossroads”. “If high-level week is any indication, this house is fulfilling that purpose – the United Nations is still relevant,” she said. But 23 years after Kofi Annan spoke of the UN’s “fork in the road”, when he was secretary general, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3327827/us-retreat-un-may-create-tremendous-opportunity-nations-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3327827/us-retreat-un-may-create-tremendous-opportunity-nations-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to transform a UN-backed security mission in gang-dominated Haiti into a larger, full-fledged force with military troops. The new force can now have a maximum of 5,500 uniformed personnel, including police officers and soldiers, unlike the current mission, which is just law enforcement. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the vote by 12 council members “to transform the Multinational Security Support mission to the new gang... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3327489/un-security-council-approves-new-military-force-battle-haitis-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3327489/un-security-council-approves-new-military-force-battle-haitis-gangs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 07:05:01 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words As somewhat expected, the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly has felt less like a celebration of humanitarian cooperation and more like a reckoning. US President Donald Trump’s presence served as a sobering reminder of the UN’s struggle to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3327214/un-must-confront-its-paralysis-or-risk-becoming-stage-posturing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3327214/un-must-confront-its-paralysis-or-risk-becoming-stage-posturing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 03:30:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters In its 80-year history, the United Nations has never had a woman serve as secretary general – a fact that some world leaders now view as a glaring symbol of gender inequality at the highest level of global diplomacy. With Secretary General Antonio Guterres due to complete his second five-year term at the end of 2026, some at this week’s annual UN General Assembly were vocal in their call for a woman to assume the role. “It is high time for a woman to be chosen as UN Secretary General,” Estonia’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3327058/calls-grow-first-female-un-chief-80-years-lets-make-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3327058/calls-grow-first-female-un-chief-80-years-lets-make-history?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:40:36 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday said he saw new signs that both Kyiv and Moscow may be edging towards negotiations to end the three-year war in Ukraine, reviving his joint peace push with China and urging the United Nations to take a central role. Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lula said he believed both sides now understood the limits of their battlefield ambitions. “I felt Zelensky was much more... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326753/lula-says-zelensky-more-willing-talk-he-revives-brazil-china-peace-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3326753/lula-says-zelensky-more-willing-talk-he-revives-brazil-china-peace-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 04:00:10 +0000