Moscow plans to conscript some 300,000 troops in an apparent escalation of its Ukraine invasion that began in February and has left thousands dead, displaced millions and reduced towns to rubble.

The US describes the meeting of the 15-member body as a chance for Russia to explain itself, while Russia signalled it could try and block it.

The head of UNDP in Afghanistan said, 'We need to find a way to make sure that if we support the banking sector, we are not supporting Taliban'.

North Korea has been subjected to UN sanctions since 2006, which have been steadily strengthened in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

India had filed a dossier against Pakistan a day ago, this tit-for-tat moves come ahead of India joining the 15-member council for a two-year term starting January 1, 2021.

Beijing, in turn, accused him of "lies" and abusing the UN platform to provoke a confrontation.

Washington argues it triggered the return of sanctions - known as "snapback" - because a UN resolution that enshrines the pact still names it as a participant.

The embargo is due to expire in October under a 2015 deal among Iran, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, France and the US that prevents Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.

"Once local transmission of COVID-19 is under control, getting students back into schools and learning institutions as safely as possible must be a top priority," Guterres said. "Consultation with parents, carers, teachers and young people is fundamental."

Trump, who announced the decision over a month ago, has to give a one-year notice and pay all Washington's dues under a 1948 joint resolution of the U.S. Congress.

The attacks that targeted the Abqaiq and the Khurais oil plants caused a spike in oil prices, fires and damage, and shut down more than 5% of global oil supply.

The council will meet behind closed doors for the first time since a similar gathering in August, which was also called by Pakistan ally China after India read down Article 370.

Trump had retweeted a clip of the 16-year-old's speech to a United Nations climate summit, mocking her efforts to enlighten the community about climate change.

The crackdown drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

After a week of UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden, the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed Yemen government foes agreed last Thursday to stop fighting in the Red Sea city of Hodeidah and withdraw forces. The truce began on Tuesday.

The measures against Eritrea _ which include a travel ban and asset freeze on certain people and entities – were imposed in 2009 after UN experts accused Eritrea of supporting armed groups in Somalia.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a renewed commitment to a rules-based order with the UN at its centre and warned against a spreading "politics of pessimism".

At last September's annual UN gathering of world leaders, the council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution – after a year of talks with Iraq – asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to create the team "to support domestic efforts" to hold the militants accountable.

The UN report said North Korea is cooperating militarily with Syria and has been trying to sell weapons to Yemen’s Houthis.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a letter sent to member states that as of June 30, the core UN budget had a deficit of $139 million and the United Nations had "never faced such a difficult cashflow situation this early in the calendar year".