The US ambassador to the UN has said Washington is prepared to "engage without preconditions" to avoid further conflict. Iranian officials have warned the US against launching another retaliatory attack.

Tensions are high in Agadez, a major hub for African migrants en route to Europe. Police arrested more than 300 people after a refugee camp was set ablaze last Saturday. The UN is calling for restraint.

Chinese authorities have ruled out several known viruses, including SARS, the UN's public health body has said. Dozens of people have been treated for a mystery illness in Wuhan, including several in critical condition.

Turkey is preparing to send troops and advanced weapons to the embattled UN-backed Libyan government. The military muscle flexing puts it at odds with Russia and several Arab states backing Libya's rival government.

Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar is attempting to seize the seat of the UN-backed government in Tripoli. Turkey signaled it was ready to send in troops if requested by the government, while Egypt is backing Haftar.

As the Madrid climate talks rumbled on, Extinction Rebellion members unloaded a pile of horse manure in front of the UN meet. Squabbling over details was like "rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic," the movement said.

Tehran said in a letter to the UN that it was "determined to resolutely continue" enriching uranium. This came following an EU letter rebuking the government and a Russian firm suspending cooperation.

China has criticized the UN high commissioner for human rights after she suggested Hong Kong authorities should launch an investigation into the use of force during protests.

Antonio Guterres has taken the world's major economies to task for not "pulling their weight" to reduce emissions. Ahead of the COP25 climate summit, the UN head said we were rapidly approaching the "point of no return."

Unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 percent each year, the world will do not meet the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, a report from the UN Environment Programme warns.

Over half of Zimbabwe's population faces starvation. According to the UN, continued food insecurity could sow the seeds of civil unrest. And the government of Benin expels the EU ambassador from the country over what it calls political interference.

More than 80% of global teens don't get at least one hour of daily exercise, according to a UN health agency study. The findings have implications for physical and mental health as well as youth education.