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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.
Afghan burqa-clad women in Kabul. Photo: AFP
Afghanistan

New Taliban law in Afghanistan implies that child marriage is permitted, UN says

UN says the new family code tacitly permits union with minors, despite Kabul claiming forced weddings are banned.

Africa

DR Congo police fire warning shots as protesters burn Ebola patient tents

War and conflict

Opinion | Malacca Strait could be the next hinge point if Asia isn’t careful

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Hong Kong politics

China will actively help to resolve international conflicts, diplomat says

Han Zhiqiang delivers pledge at Global Prosperity Summit, where political heavyweight Regina Ip also calls for creating Apec think tank council.

Chinese diplomat Han Zhiqiang delivers his keynote speech at the Global Prosperity Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Photo: Edmond So
China-Russia relations

Putin hails ‘unprecedented’ ties ahead of China visit hot on Trump’s heels

Russian leader’s trip is widely seen as a move to boost energy relationship with Beijing as the Iran war disrupts global supply.

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World Health Organization (WHO)

‘Crises’: WHO kicks off annual assembly amid Ebola, US withdrawal

Aid cuts ‘have disrupted health systems, widened inequalities’ said UN chief Antonio Guterres, with WHO budget down by almost US$1 billion.

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India

India has 1.42 billion people – but some Modi allies want bigger families

India’s fertility rate has been dropping, prompting calls for more babies with cash incentives.

Commuters crowd on a train platform in Mumbai. The UN projects India’s population will keep rising for ‌about four decades, peaking at around 1.7 billion. Photo: Reuters
Israel-Gaza war

Israel says close to killing all architects of October 7 attack

Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration follows Israel’s killing of the commander of Hamas’ armed wing in a Gaza strike.

US, Israel war on Iran

Is China’s new mediation body gaining steam as Western brokers’ influence wanes?

Summit encourages countries to join Beijing-led initiative as stalled US-Iran peace talks reveal limits of traditional solution mechanisms.

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Israel-Gaza war

‘No nation’: Palestinians in Gaza mark anniversary of 1948 mass expulsion

Some say an even greater catastrophe is happening now, ‘because our displacement has happened multiple times’.

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Palestinian Yusuf Abu Hamam, centre, who was expelled from his town during the first Israeli-Arab war, in 1948, poses for a photograph on Wednesday with his grandchildren at his home in a refugee camp in Gaza. Photo: AP
Africa

Africa calls multi-nation health meeting amid fatal Ebola outbreak

There have been 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far in the DRC, around five months after the last outbreak was declared over.

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Health workers dressed in protective gear work at an Ebola treatment centre in Beni, Congo, in 2019. File photo: AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | North Korea is not Iran. The same pressure tactics won’t work

North Korea’s nuclear reality and the overlapping interests of the US, China and Russia make tension reduction a prerequisite.

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European Union

EU won’t ban LGBTQ ‘conversion therapy’ but will push states to act

Such bans already exist in eight of the EU’s 27 nations.

Singapore

Strong international sea laws ‘vital’ for small nations like Singapore: Wong

The prime minister warns of a direct impact on Singapore’s trade if the international law framework is weakened.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the SGLaw200 Youth Forum held at the Singapore Management University on Wednesday. Photo: Jacky Ho for SGLaw200
US-China relations

Opinion | US maximum pressure tactics unlikely to work with China

As the Trump-Xi summit approaches, China will be going into negotiations with a new diplomatic posture.

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A US Air Force C-17 lands at Beijing Capital Airport on May 11, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP
My Take

My Take | The path to the future is renewables, but not in Donald Trump’s America

China is leading the world to make the transition but Washington is stalling under a president whose energy motto is ‘drill, baby, drill’.

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United States

Opinion | Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order

With the UN, IMF and World Bank mired in old power structures, universities could be the platform to shape how the global future unfolds.

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Hantavirus

‘Not another Covid’ says WHO, as new suspected hantavirus cases found

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief, is in charge of MV Hondius’ evacuation; latest patient sat on plane near woman infected during cruise.

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Sant Joan university hospital, where a woman with symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection is being treated, is seen in Alicante, Spain, on Friday. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

China plan to be global arbitration hub fighting Western distrust: experts

China’s newly revised Arbitration Law marks the most significant overhaul of the country’s commercial dispute framework since 1994.

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The Philippines

Philippines shifts defence strategy with Japan, eyes wider security focus

Defence chief Gilberto Teodoro says the Diaoyu Islands are now considered a ‘serious concern’ and the Balikatan drills will also be expanded.

Science

Will Iran war threaten next harvest? Which countries are most at risk?

As the Hormuz blockade cuts off vital agricultural inputs, Food and Agriculture Organization official views China as key food security partner.

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Blockades in the Strait of Hormuz have sent the price of urea – a widely used nitrogen-based fertiliser – soaring in the US and Brazil, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Photo: Handout via Reuters
Disease

Nations race to trace passengers of hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Cruise operator says 29 passengers left the MV Hondius in St Helena on April 24, after the first death.

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A person in a white hazmat suit disembarks a medical aircraft in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Photo: ANP via AFP
North Korea

‘Groundless’ claims: North Korea says nuclear status is not up for debate

Since withdrawing from the non-proliferation treaty in 2003, North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and built up an arsenal of warheads.

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United States

CNN founder Ted Turner dies at 87

Aside from business and sports deals, Turner gained attention for his personal life and his ventures in philanthropy and the environment.

Diplomacy

Opinion | As power flows through submarine cables, law of the sea must evolve

The global commons of the seabed is in effect being governed by private actors with the capital and tech to build and maintain cable systems.

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An Estonian naval ship sails in the Baltic Sea on January 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up Nato patrols in the region following suspected sabotage of undersea cables. Photo: AP
North Korea

North Korea’s own-brand phone is sleek, colourful – and possibly watching you

Reports suggest North Korean-produced phones periodically capture screenshots that are stored in hidden folders accessible to authorities.

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Domestically produced Jindallae mobile phones are displayed during the Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair on Monday. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

An Asian alternative to Nato? How Cica is rethinking Middle East security

Chief of lesser-known security forum says it provides ‘architecture for de-escalation’ and allows members to project soft power.

Thailand

Thailand scraps 25-year-old agreement with Cambodia on energy exploration

Cambodia ‌will now initiate a compulsory conciliation ‌mechanism under the ⁠UN Convention on the ‌Law of the ‌Sea.

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