Portugal and Austria have been elected to the UN Security Council, defeating Germany in a competitive race for the rotating seats.

Portugal and Austria defeated Germany for seats on the powerful but deeply divided UN Security Council on Wednesday in a hotly contested race after intense campaigning. The 10 rotating seats on the 15-member Security Council are earmarked for different regions of the world. The assembly elects five countries by secret ballot every year to serve two-year terms alongside the council’s five permanent veto-wielding members – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. In the other contested race,...