UN General Assembly opens with wars, AI, and climate change in focus

World leaders are gathering in New York on Tuesday for the UN General Assembly's annual high-level debate, with wars, climate change, economic pressures, and artificial intelligence dominating the agenda. Around 130 heads of state and government are expected to address the assembly. Conflicts in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar are central concerns, alongside climate shocks, widening inequality, and disrupted global trade. The rapid development of AI has also emerged as a major worry due to a lack of international safeguards for increasingly powerful technology. The UN faces financial pressures and renewed calls for reform, with questions over whether its institutions reflect 21st-century power balances. US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are due to speak Tuesday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled for Wednesday.