World Leaders Meet at UN As Global Wars Rage

Nearly 130 heads of state gather in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, facing mounting global conflicts, funding shortfalls, and debate over AI safety risks.

President Donald Trump returns to the rostrum for a second consecutive year, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping skips the event in favour of bilateral talks in Washington.

The summit unfolds as the UN grapples with a prolonged financial crisis, ongoing U.S. funding cuts, and leadership uncertainty as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres completes his term at the end of 2026.

Debates over artificial intelligence will take centre stage following warnings from tech leaders who urge a coordinated slowdown of the technology.

Guterres advocated for global governance and common guardrails to avert “a gigantic disaster,” directly contradicting Trump, who dismissed AI safety concerns as a hoax.

Concurrently, the UN Security Council plans high-level sessions on the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran, stalling peace negotiations, and escalating energy prices driven by Houthi attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The assembly will also address Russia’s four-year war in Ukraine and its severe toll on global food security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will both deliver addresses, as Guterres pushes for safe Black Sea transit to secure food, fertiliser, and energy exports.

Addressing the UN’s fragile standing, International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan noted that while the organisation has stabilised since last year, “it seems to be trapped in a trauma centre for the foreseeable future.”