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Paraguay supports Taiwan joining the United Nations system, the South American country's president, Santiago Pena, said on Tuesday, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA).

Due to a 1971 U.N. resolution, Taiwan has been excluded from the international body, which recognizes the People's Republic of China as the legitimate representative of China to the U.N.

"The government of Paraguay expresses its support for the Republic of China - Taiwan to be an integral part of the United Nations system," Pena said.

Paraguay is the last South American country with formal relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

When asked about Taiwan last week, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said exclusion of anyone can harm global goals.

"Every person matters, whether it's Taiwan or otherwise. And I think it's really important for member states to find a solution," she said.

However, Taiwan has conceded it would be "very hard" to achieve membership. (Reuters)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to underline "illicit, dangerous" military dealings between North Korea and Russia at the United Nations on Wednesday, his aides said, following the two countries' rare summit last week.

Yoon was set to deliver a speech to the annual U.N. General Assembly after arriving in New York on Monday, just as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned from a week-long trip to Russia, during which he and President Vladimir Putin vowed to boost military cooperation.

Seoul and Washington have expressed concern that Russia could be trying to fetch ammunition from the North to shore up its thinning stockpile due to its invasion of Ukraine, while Pyongyang secures technological aid over its nuclear and missile programmes.

In his remarks, Yoon would warn against any military trade between Moscow and Pyongyang and promote South Korea's efforts to help Ukraine fight Russia's aggression, a presidential official said.

"He is expected to call the international community's attention to the illicit and dangerous nature of military transactions between Russia and North Korea, and urge a united response from the international community," the official told reporters.

Any activities assisting with North Korea's weapons programmes are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, and Putin has said his country would "never violate anything."

But the official ditched Moscow's claim, saying South Korea has been "watching military transactions take place for several months prior to the summit" between Kim and Putin.

Any new U.N. resolutions are unlikely for now, but discussions are underway with the United States and other countries to impose more sanctions on Russia and North Korea, the official said.

"The Security Council is divided as you know, and it is impossible to draw a unified position on Russia there, so for now there could be cohesive action within the solidarity of freedom, centering around allies and friends," the official said.

On Tuesday, South Korea's vice foreign minister, Chang Ho-jin, summoned Russia's ambassador to abandon any potential arms deals with the North, warning of "clear consequences." (Reuters)

The Australian government said it will stop trying to eradicate the Varroa mite, a parasite that kills honey bees, and will instead try to manage its spread, which is likely to make pollination of crops such as almonds more costly.

The decision ends an A$132 million ($85.3 million)eradication plan that has destroyed more than 14,000 hives in southeastern Australia since the mite was discovered there in June 2022.

The federal government said the decision was taken on Tuesday by the National Management Group (NMG), which is driving the Varroa programme nationwide.

In a statement on Wednesday, the New South Wales government, speaking on behalf of the NMG, said non-compliant and illegal movement of hives had spread the parasite further and made it impossible to contain.

Commercial crops including almonds, apples and avocados are dependent on pollination by European honey bees, with huge numbers of hives moved during spring flowering to bring bees to plants.

The Australian government has said a widespread mite infestation could destroy most wild European honey bee nests and managed hives not adapted to Varroa, reducing pollination and causing losses of over A$70 million a year.

"The recent spike in new detections have made it clear that the Varroa mite infestation is more widespread and has also been present for longer than first thought," the New South Wales government said in a statement.

"The potential to eradicate is no longer possible ... We now need to work collaboratively to manage and minimise the impact of Varroa."

Varroa is a reddish-brown mite around 1 mm in diameter that attaches itself to European and Asian honey bees and feeds on them, weakening them and killing colonies.

The mite also carries viruses and has caused the collapse of honey bee populations around the world.

Varroa does not target native Australian honey bees. (Reuters)

The United Nations has recorded over 1,600 incidents of rights violations against people detained by the Taliban authorities, nearly half of them acts of torture and ill-treatment mostly by police and intelligence agents, a report released on Wednesday showed.

The U.N. Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 18 people had also died in prisons and in the custody of police and intelligence in the 19 months ending July 2023.

The Taliban have staffed and controlled the police and the intelligence agency since they took over the country as foreign forces withdrew in 2021.

"In attempts to extract confessions or other information, detainees were subjected to severe pain and suffering, through physical beatings, electric shocks, asphyxiation, stress positions and forced ingestion of water, as well as blind-folding and threats," UNAMA said in a statement.

Other violations included not being informed of the reason for arrest, not being able to access a lawyer and inadequate medical care in custody.

Around one in ten of the violations were against women. Journalists and civil society members accounted for nearly a quarter of the victims of the violations.

In a response published with the report, the Taliban-led ministry of foreign affairs said the number of reported violations was not accurate, especially the number of journalists or civil society advocates affected.

The ministry said the authorities and the judiciary were working to increase oversight and ensure compliance with decrees by the supreme leader that prohibited torture or forcing confessions.

The U.N. said the decrees, and allowing access to the prisons, were "encouraging signs", but called for more action to redress the situation.

"These documented cases highlight the need for urgent, accelerated action by all," said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA. "There is a pressing need to consider more engagement with the de facto authorities to end these practices." (Reuters)