United Nations

The Security Council has been briefed by some of the world's top AI executives on the huge benefits and huge risks the frontier technology presents. With warnings mounting that the world may be losing its grip on systems built to outthink us, Yoshua Bengio, a recipient of the prestigious Turing Award and one of the godfathers of machine intelligence, said the dangers of AI beyond human control represent an unprecedented threat for countries “that none can contain alone and that does not respect the borders we defend”.

From deadly floods in the Himalayas to wildfires and extreme heat across Europe, 2026 has brought a succession of stark reminders of a changing climate. The task is immediate: Protect people from the impacts already unfolding while rapidly cutting the emissions of harmful gasses driving climate change. World leaders have been meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to turn those priorities into action.

Argentine President Javier Milei told the General Assembly on Wednesday that the UN has broken the “sacred covenant” on which it was founded, failing at what it was meant to do – while excelling at things beyond its remit. 

President Masoud Pezeshkian opened his General Assembly address with a direct rebuttal to US President Donald Trump, who a day earlier had branded Iran the “number one sponsor of terror.”

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that his country “is rising” on many levels, thanks to the strength of its people.

Five years of war. Another winter closing in. Today, the Security Council once again debates a path to peace – though any resolution still runs up against the veto of Russia, one of its own permanent members, whose objections have repeatedly stalled any consensus. As world leaders take the floor, the gap between diplomatic process and battlefield reality appears to be stark.

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking Declaration on the Right to Development this December, world leaders gathered at a High-Level Week meeting on Wednesday to map progress made and the 21st century challenges still ahead – from narrowing the digital divide to levelling the AI playing field – as the UN chief presented a “blueprint” to address promises that remain unfulfilled.

More children and young people are beating cancer, but progress remains uneven across regions and age groups, highlighting the need for increased investment to boost survival rates.

More than 130 days into the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health experts said on Wednesday that response efforts have been scaled up significantly and “the first encouraging signs of progress” are now being seen.

The United Kingdom will fight disinformation at home and abroad, and work to ensure global safety standards for artificial intelligence (AI), new Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday evening in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. 

Rising sea levels and ever-more-powerful storms are eroding shorelines, submerging land and threatening to evict millions of people from their homes worldwide. 

El Niño is strengthening in a world that is already hotter, raising the risk of drought, floods and crop losses across some of the world’s most important food-producing regions. But unlike many disasters, this one can be seen coming. UN experts say the months ahead offer countries a chance not only to protect the next harvest and our food security, but to prepare for a more unpredictable climate in the long run.

The first generation to grow up with AI may also be the last one anyone thinks to ask about it – and that has to change, the UN's top human rights official said on Tuesday.

The UN chief warned on Tuesday that the two-State solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict is at risk of collapse amid illegal Israeli settlement expansion and annexation. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that the world faces a stark choice: “Do we want to live…with a return to the law of the jungle – or do we want to live in a civilized international society?”

The crisis in the Gulf should come as a surprise to no one, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said on Tuesday, describing it as the cumulative result of years of delay, crisis management through temporary fixes, and unrealistic policies.

The United Nations continues to be weakened, and those who have tied their hopes to the world body – from Palestine to Sudan – have been disappointed, Türkiye’s President said, while adding that his country is committed to restoring confidence in the Organization.

US President Donald Trump used his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to defend recent military action against Iran, urging countries to maintain economic pressure on Tehran – and declaring that he now faces a choice between making a deal, or taking far more drastic steps.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the General Assembly on Tuesday that the UN needs to become a “temple of peace” once again, as it confronts one of the most critical periods in its 80-year history.

The UN’s survival for 80 years is not, by itself, proof of success, and now, the institution must confront painful truths if it hopes to rebuild public trust, said Khalilur Rahman, president of the General Assembly’s 81st session on Tuesday.