From India-China clash to North Korea escalation: the non-coronavirus news you might have missed

At least three soldiers killed in India-China clash

At least three Indian soldiers, including a senior army officer, have been killed in a confrontation with Chinese soldiers along a disputed frontier high in the Himalayas, the Indian army said on Tuesday.

Thousands of troops on both sides have been facing off in the area for more than a month. China is thought to have also lost soldiers in the confrontation, but has not released any official figures.

The army said a “violent faceoff” took place in Galwan valley in the Ladakh region on Monday night “with casualties on both sides.”

“The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers,” it said. “Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation.”

North Korea blows up inter-Korean liaison office near border with South

North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border on Tuesday, after days of increasingly virulent rhetoric from Pyongyang.

The demolition came after Kim Yo Jong - the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un - said at the weekend the "useless north-south joint liaison office" would soon be seen "completely collapsed".

Footage of the explosion released by Seoul's presidential Blue House showed a blast rolling across several buildings just across the border in Kaesong, with a nearby tower partially collapsing as clouds of smoke rose into the sky.

Analysts say Pyongyang may be seeking to manufacture a crisis to increase pressure on Seoul while nuclear negotiations with Washington are at a standstill.

After an emergency meeting, the National Security Council said it would "react strongly" if Pyongyang "continues to take steps that aggravate the situation".

"All responsibility for repercussions stemming from this action falls squarely on the North," it added.

UN rights experts condemn Israel's annexation plan and US support

UN human rights experts said on Tuesday that Israel's plan to annex significant parts of the occupied West Bank would violate international law banning the taking of territory by force, and urged other countries to actively oppose it.

A joint statement, signed by nearly 50 independent experts, voiced dismay at US support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "unlawful" plan to extend sovereignty, de facto annexation of land that the Palestinians seek for a state.

"The annexation of occupied territory is a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions, and contrary to the fundamental rule affirmed many times by the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly that the acquisition of territory by war or force is inadmissible," it said.

"What would be left of the West Bank after annexation of about 30 per cent would amount to a "Palestinian Bantustan", it said.

There was no immediate reaction from the government of Mr Netanyahu, who has set July 1 as the date to begin advancing his plan to annex Israel's settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, hoping for a green light from Washington.

US President Donald Trump has unveiled a peace plan that includes Israel keeping its settlements and the Palestinians establishing a state under stringent conditions.

Palestinians have rejected the proposal and voiced outrage at Israel's proposed annexation.

Africa urges UN probe of US 'systemic racism' and police violence

African countries are pushing for the UN's top rights body to launch a high-level investigation into "systemic racism" and police violence in the United States and beyond, according to a draft resolution seen on Tuesday.

The text was being circulated to diplomats for consultations ahead of a so-called urgent debate on the topic at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

The debate was called for following unrest in the United States and elsewhere over George Floyd's death in police custody.

In the draft resolution, the African group strongly condemns "continuing racial discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent and structural racism endemic to the criminal justice system, in the United States of America and other parts of the world recently affected."

The draft resolution, which could still be revised before it is tabled later Tuesday, calls for the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry (COI) - one of the UN's highest-level probes, generally reserved for major crises like the Syrian conflict.

The commission, the text said, should "establish facts and circumstances related to the systemic racism, alleged violations of international human rights law and abuses against Africans and of people of African descent in the United States" and elsewhere by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the deaths.

The aim, it said, should be "bringing perpetrators to justice."