U.S. diplomats walked out of a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine after accusing France of making "disingenuous grandstanding" by comparing Washington with North Korea, Russia and other authoritarian states.
The walkout followed a weekend of exchanges between the two allies on social media after France criticised the U.S. for voting alongside Russia, North Korea and seven other countries against extending the term of Volker Türk, the UN's human rights chief, by four years.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz hit back, accusing France of backing a rights chief who criticises democracies such as the U.S. and Israel while "cozying up to the world's worst oppressors."
During Monday's Security Council session on Russia's war in Ukraine, Alternate U.S. Representative Dan Negrea said the American delegation had walked out during France's remarks and would continue to do so until Paris "renounced" what he described as "condescending and disrespectful rhetoric", branding the comments "politicised drivel."
The row centres on Friday's UN General Assembly vote, which overwhelmingly backed a four-year extension for Türk, an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's actions in Gaza, who has also called for inquiries into deaths in U.S. immigration custody.
The proposal, put forward by Secretary-General António Guterres, passed by 144 votes to 10, with 13 abstentions. Russia, Israel and the U.S. were among those opposed, with Washington threatening to reconsider its funding and engagement with the UN over the decision.
The dispute underscores worsening relations between the Trump administration and the UN, with Washington having already cut funding to numerous bodies within the international organisation and withdrawn from dozens of agencies.
Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq declined to comment directly on the walkout, saying only that the UN expected member states to respect decisions made through the General Assembly.
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Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 500 injured as strong winds and torrential rain brought down trees, cut power and disrupted transport across the island.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described a deadly shooting in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris, as a racist attack and ‘a turning point’ for the country.
Israeli forces have maintained a tight closure on Hebron in the occupied West Bank for a second day, with Palestinian media reporting home raids, mass detentions and dozens of residents forced outside following a shooting incident the day before.
German police have detained a suspect after a major fire broke out at the historic Kehlsteinhaus, known as the “Eagle’s Nest”, a mountain retreat once used by senior Nazi officials, including Adolf Hitler.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to the South American nation almost a year after she secretly left the country to travel to Norway for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
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At least five people were killed and several others injured in overnight attacks across Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, 25 October, as officials reported strikes on residential areas and industrial facilities, while Moscow claimed to have targeted logistics infrastructure and a cargo vessel.
Protests against war and rising living costs took place in major Italian cities on Saturday, with some incidents of violence and clashes, a week after unrest erupted across the country.
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