ASEAN and the United Nations have reaffirmed their partnership to work towards the realisation of the ASEAN Community and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ending weeks of infighting, the US Congress on September 30 voted to avert a government shutdown just hours before a midnight deadline, passing a stop-gap measure to extend funding for federal agencies until December 11.

US President Barack Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at the United Nations on September 29 in a rare one-on-one meeting between the former Cold War foes as they work toward improving relations after decades of animosity.

Taliban fighters clashed with Afghan government forces near Kunduz airport on September 29, a day after the militants seized control of the northern city in arguably the biggest victory of their 14-year insurgency.

(VOV)- Public Security Minister Tran Dai Quang is leading a Vietnamese delegation to attend the 10th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC 10) and related meetings that opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 29. 

(VOV) -Cuba’s President Raul Castro delivered his very first speech at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly this week, calling on the US to lift the trade embargo on Cuba and return to Cuba the Guantanamo naval base. 

Russia and the United States agreed on September 28 to look for a diplomatic end to the Syrian civil war but clashed over the central question of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should retain power.

President Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 28.

Central African Republic's interim president, Catherine Samba-Panza, left the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 28 to return home due to the worst violence in the capital of her country this year, two Western diplomats said.

US President Barack Obama announced on September 28 more than 50 countries have pledged some 40,000 peacekeepers for possible deployment on United Nations missions, as well as helicopters, medical units and training and equipment to deal with roadside bombs.

Russia appeared to seize the initiative in international efforts to end the conflict in Syria on September 27 as Washington scrambled to devise a new strategy for the war-ravaged country and France sent warplanes to bomb Islamic State targets.

Thailand was elected as Chair of the group of 77 developing nations (G-77), the largest intergovernmental organisation of the United Nations’ developing country members.

Cuba's President Raul Castro, speaking at the United Nations for the first time, on September 26 hailed renewed diplomatic ties with the United States as "major progress" but slammed a US trade embargo as the top obstacle to Cuba's economic development.

The death toll in a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage outside Mecca rose to 769, Saudi Arabia said September 26, as arch-rival Iran said Saudi officials should be tried in an international court for what it called a crime.

Pope Francis, speaking in America's birthplace on September 26, offered stout words of support to Hispanic and other immigrants in the United States, telling them not to be discouraged at a time when some prominent politicians are directing hostility toward them.

(VOV) - Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to the US has drawn positive comments as well as skepticism about the likelihood of any breakthrough. 

US Secretary of State John Kerry will try to launch a new initiative for a political solution in Syria during meetings in New York in the next week, starting with talks with his Iranian counterpart on September 26, US and other Western officials said.

Pope Francis on September 25 condemned the craving for material gains and power, warning an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that greed is destroying the Earth's resources and aggravating poverty.

Thailand's national police chief said on September 24 it is premature to conclude that a foreign suspect detained over the deadly bombing in Bangkok in August is really the bomber, despite local media reports that the suspect recently confessed to being the yellow-shirted man seen in security footage at the blast site.

An offshore earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the east of Papua region in Indonesia, injuring at least 62 people, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The US called for the next round of ministerial meeting for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement next week in a bid to clinch the deal, Office of the United States Trade Representative announced on September 24. 

Pope Francis beseeched Americans to end hostility toward immigrants in a historic speech before the US Congress on September 24, weighing in forcefully on a divisive issue that is stirring debate in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on September 24 for a state visit and talks with President Barack Obama that are expected to be clouded by differences over alleged Chinese cyber spying, Beijing's economic policies and territorial disputes in the East Sea.

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in New York on September 28 at a time of high tension in Europe and the Middle East, but the Kremlin and the White House disagreed on September 24 over the top priority for the talks.

Leaders of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) met in Phnom Penh on September 23 to discuss issues regarding the amendment of the election law in preparation for the commune elections in 2017.

A Thai court on September 23 issued an arrest warrant for a new suspect in the Bangkok bombings last month, raising the total number of arrest warrants issued in connection with the blast to 14. 

Malaysian police on September 23 announced the arrest of eight suspects, including four Malaysians, over the Erawan shrine blast in Bangkok, Thailand last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for unilateral air strikes against Islamic State in Syria if the United States rejects his proposal to join forces, Bloomberg reported on September 23, citing two people familiar with the matter.

EU leaders pledged at least EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) for Syrian refugees in the Middle East and closer cooperation to stem migrant flows into Europe at a summit described as less tense than feared after weeks of feuding.

(VOV) -On September 22, Pope Francis arrived in Maryland, beginning a six-day visit to the US.