UN

Papua New Guinea’s voting right in the UN was suspended due to non-payment of its membership fee of US$180,000 (K571,000).

"This government has been reckless and cannot hide anymore behind the excuse of commodity prices. When the previous government was thrown out illegally, our economy was buoyant despite the Great Financial Crisis that affected world economies in 2008,” Kua said.

"Therefore if the PNG UN Mission has used up its operating costs, it also means the Government has been reckless in not funding operating costs forcing the Mission to divert funds.

The contest will cover university students only who are to write an essay about 2,000 words long, or less on global citizenship and  cultural understanding, and how different languages can play a part in fostering this.

Participants need to be 18 years or older and must write the essay in the participants second language.

Altogether 60 students will be awarded a chance of a lifetime to travel to the United States of America to attend the Global Youth Forum.

Holiday shopping, the city's marathon, and the US voting against the rest of the world at the UN over Washington's Cuba embargo.

On Wednesday, however, the US took the small but significant step of changing its vote to an abstention on the annual UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the US economic embargo of the island nation.

President of the PNG Media Council Alexander Rheeney challenged 15 journalists from various media newsrooms in Port Moresby including one from Loop PNG who underwent the Thomson Reuters journalist training.

Speaking during the presentation of certificates to journalists on Friday afternoon in Port Moresby, Rheeney thanked the United Nations for funding the training as well as the trainers who ran the week-long Reuters foundation course.

The United Nations says an immediate pause in fighting is needed to allow the water and electricity networks to be fixed.

Some two million people are without vital supplies, the UN says.

Fighting between government forces and rebels has intensified in recent weeks.

At least 250,000 people are believed to have been trapped in rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo since a key route into the area was closed by government forces in early July.

On Sunday, rebels cut off the government's key access route into western Aleppo.

In a Cabinet meeting that went well over time on Thursday, Mr Rudd's case was pushed by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and supported by Attorney-General George Brandis.

The backing of some other ministers who spoke in favour has been described as lukewarm.

But many spoke against nominating Mr Rudd, including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Treasurer Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who argued he was unfit for the role.

In the end it was left to the Prime Minister to make the call with the undertaking the leadership will support his decision.

The report's authors said the toll was "alarming and shameful", and that history would judge leaders on all sides on their response.

A total of 1,601 civilians deaths were recorded among all ages between January and June, of which 388 were children.

In the latest attack, 80 people died in a huge bomb blast in Kabul on Saturday.

It estimates that 65.3m people were either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced at the end of 2015, an increase of 5m in a year.

This represents one in every 113 people on the planet, it adds.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee chief says a worrying "climate of xenophobia" has taken hold in Europe as it struggles to cope with the migrant crisis.

The influx of people, the biggest since World War Two, has led to greater support to far-right groups and controversial anti-immigration policies.

The Fund, which aims to provide a rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners, will directly support the Zika strategic response framework, developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in consultation with UN agencies, partners and international epidemiological experts. 

Donors will contribute to a central point and an advisory committee will direct funds to the highest-priority activities in the affected countries. 

The president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said last Friday: “We must remember that El Niño is not a one-off event but recurring global phenomena that we must address for future generations and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said president Oh Joon at the opening of a special meeting on Impacts of the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon: Reducing risks and capturing opportunities at UN Headquarters in New York.