Antonio Guterres

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, addressing the Security Council in its first physical meeting at New York City headquarters since March 12. It is unclear when the Council will meet again in the UN building. 
As the number of Covid-19 cases skyrockets globally — and the United States remains the epicenter with nearly 3.6 million confirmed cases — the United Nations Security Council met physically on July 14 for the first time since March 12.

A Saudi-led post-bombing scene in Hodeidah, Yemen. The US is the world’s largest exporter of explosive weapons, and Saudi Arabia is its biggest customer. DIETRICH KLOSE/FLICKR

President Trump boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md. July 10, 2020, en route to Miami. The administration notified the UN on July 6 that the US was withdrawing from the World Health Organization, effective exactly one year later. TIA DUFOUR/WHITE HOUSE
In a final straw to the current troubles between the World Health Organization and the United States, the Trump administration notified United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on July 6 of its withdrawal from the agency, effective July 6, 2021.

The Security Council virtual meeting on June 30, debating the status of the Iran nuclear deal’s arms embargo, which expires Oct. 18, 2020. US Secretary of State Pompeo attended briefly, above, to make his pitch to keep the ban. He met resistance, as expected, from members.

Secretary of State Pompeo leaving the Pearl Harbor-Hickam joint base in Honolulu, June 17, 2020, after meeting with Chinese officials. Amid rising Covid-19 cases and nationwide protests against racial injustices, President Trump has been golfing and tweeting white supremacist slogans. RON PRZYSUCHA/STATE DEPT.
Deep uncertainty and unease are descending across the United States just as Americans are preparing to celebrate their most important “political” holiday, Independence Day, on July 4.

While Secretary-General António Guterres held a virtual press briefing on June 25, his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, above, moderated. Guterres spoke about the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Charter and the relentless devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic. MANUEL ELIAS/UN PHOTO

Mary Robinson, chair of The Elders, an organization of eminent leaders, attending a youth world summit in London, 2019, with Manoly Sisavanh of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Laos. What do older statespeople and those ready to inherit the earth feel about the UN on its 75th birthday? That it has averted a third world war so far, but that it must also prevent another one: climate catastrophe. THE ELDERS

On June 17, 2020, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, left, the current president of the General Assembly, announced the results of numerous elections by webcast and to an empty Assembly Hall; Movses Abelian, a UN official, right. The UN celebrates its 75th birthday on June 26, 2020, marked by a declaration that envisions renewed “collective action,” the authors say, toward a more perfect world. EVAN SCHNEIDER/UN PHOTO

Katalin Bogyay, the ambassador of Hungary to the UN, about to cast her secret ballots for the elections in the General Assembly Hall, June 17, 2020. The process required new procedures amid the pandemic, but it went well by all accounts. ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO

The Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on poor countries is hitting children hard, forcing some of them to work while navigating unsavory home lives. In wars, children’s status is worse than ever. Here, in Madagascar, the health system is strained and schools are closed. HENITSOA RAFALIA/WORLD BANK