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and the UN, with Washington having already cut funding to numerous bodies within the international organisation and withdrawn from dozens of agencies.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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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday (13 November) after a communications failure at air traffic control centres caused chaos at airports and triggered the longest nationwide shutdown since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
More than 30 people have been taken to hospital after a cargo ship collided with a passenger cruise docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday (13 November).
Europe will send a team of diplomats to Ukraine peace talks rather than a single envoy, EU leaders agreed on Friday at the end of a summit in Dublin.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh and three drones in its oil-rich Eastern Province on Sunday (15 November), as Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed separate attacks on a U.S. military facility in Bahrain.
SpaceX's spacecraft on Saturday returned from a 22-hour voyage in orbit and descended for the first time into the grasp of giant mechanical arms at the Texas tower it was launched from a day earlier, a catch that is essential to the company's decade-long effort to develop a fully reusable rocket.
The Philippines and Australia signed a new defence cooperation arrangement in Manila on Sunday, aimed at accelerating joint military activities and strengthening security ties amid tensions with China in the South China Sea.
Southeast Asian leaders opened the 49th ASEAN Summit in Manila Sunday, with Myanmar's crisis, security and economic uncertainty dominating talks. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for continued engagement with Myanmar and urged a stronger response to conflict and energy disruptions.
U.S. air travel is not expected to return to normal schedules until late on Sunday (15 November), the head of the FAA said, as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry.
Irish army bomb disposal experts safely neutralised an explosive device discovered in central Dublin on Friday (13 November), close to where European leaders gathered for dinner the previous evening during a two-day summit. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
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