World leaders gather at UN as wars, AI warnings, and doubts cloud its future
World leaders are gathering at the UN General Assembly this week amid major wars, AI warnings, and doubts about the organization's future, with some 130 heads of state expected to speak. The agenda is dominated by conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere, as the UN has been sidelined in peace efforts. Leaders will also address climate change, inequality, and UN reform, including Security Council changes, while the US paid $725 million in dues to maintain its vote. US President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron speak Tuesday, followed by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Thursday, while China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin are skipping the event.