Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.
uncertain
life → meet → people
The annual high-level gathering at the U.N. General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: Can the leaders do anything to end them?
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leaders → consume → them
And what can they do about the relentless rise of global warming threatening the future of the planet, the growing inequalities within and among nations, and shocks to the global economy as blocked shipping routes and supply chains increase the cost of living and slow growth?
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routes → do → growth
The U.N.’s 193 member nations have agreed to a wide-ranging reform package that includes updating key institutions such as the powerful U.N. Security Council, where the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France hold inordinate sway because of their veto power.
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U.S. → agree → power
Reform, however, is easier said than implemented.
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Reform → say → ?
Behind the scenes, there will be speculation about who will lead the United Nations next.
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who → lead → Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ second five-year term ends Dec. 31 and no clear successor has emerged.
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successor → end → ?
There is still no question that the U.N. remains THE gathering place for its 193 member nations and their leaders.
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U.N. → be → nations
Some 130 heads of state and government are expected to speak at the General Assembly starting Tuesday along with dozens of ministers.
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heads → expect → ministers
Both will speak Tuesday after Guterres’ opening “state of the world” address.
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Both → speak → address
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian speak Wednesday.
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Zelenskyy → speak → ?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — whom New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani wanted arrested for his treatment of Palestinians in Gaza until he learned he has no such authority — will address the assembly on Thursday.
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he → want → Thursday
For a second year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won’t be coming to the U.N. because the U.S. has refused to give him a visa.
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U.S. → come → visa
He will nonetheless address the assembly by video the same day.
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He → address → video
The United States, under its agreement with the U.N. to host the organization, is required to allow diplomats from all member nations to attend meetings.
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diplomats → host → meetings
Equally telling is who else isn’t coming.
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coming → come → ?
China’s President Xi Jinping is meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, yet he is skipping — some diplomats say snubbing — the U.N. gathering and sending a vice president instead.
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diplomats → meet → president
Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t coming either, and Indian President Narendra Modi has backed out.
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Modi → come → ?
France’s U.N. ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, said it is “extremely critical” for world leaders this week to support the U.N. as the place where the world’s nations meet — especially at a time of such polarization.
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nations → say → polarization
“We believe in multilateralism,” he said, “and we believe that the high-level week is the occasion for countries in the world to reaffirm that they prefer cooperation and dialogue to confrontation.”
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they → believe → confrontation
United Nations has not had a great year
There is no doubt it’s been a tough year for the world body.
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it → have → body
It has been pushed to the sidelines when it comes to its key responsibility of ensuring international peace and security and trying to end major conflicts in the Mideast and Ukraine.
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it → push → Mideast
The U.S. failure to pay billions of dollars in outstanding arrears has left the organization’s finances in rocky shape.
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failure → pay → shape
But veteran U.N. watcher Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s global issues and institutions program director, says 2025 was even worse.
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2025 → say → ?
A year ago, he said, people were contemplating that Trump would use his U.N. speech to announce that the United States would leave the world organization.
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States → say → organization
Trump didn’t announce a pullout last September and the U.N. muddled through the past 12 months with financial troubles that forced cutbacks to its peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid.
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that → announce → operations
In recent days, the U.S. paid $725 million of its dues to the U.N.’s regular operating budget for this year, enough to keep the Trump administration from losing its vote in the General Assembly.
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U.S. → pay → Assembly
The payment was a strong indication Trump will keep the U.S. in the United Nations.
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Trump → keep → Nations
The U.N. is no longer “in freefall,” Gowan said, but it “is stuck in an open-ended or permanent crisis.”
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it → say → crisis
Put more graphically, he said, “The U.N. may not be in emergency care like it was last year, but it does seem to be trapped in a trauma center for the foreseeable future.”
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it → Put → future
Former U.N. deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch-Brown, a United Nations Foundation board member, said, “While the world still trusts the U.N., the global public is eager for change.”
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public → say → change
AI is pushing toward the center of the agenda
The future of artificial intelligence has pushed to the forefront of global concerns, with its speeding advances and the dawning recognition that there are no industry controls, let alone any global guardrails for a technology that has many advantages but also many disadvantages and unknowns.
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that → push → advantages
Days before the global gathering, leaders of three major AI companies warned about the technology getting out of human control and called for a pause, but Trump dismissed their concerns as “a hoax,” and urged continued advances to keep the U.S. ahead of China.
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Trump → warn → China
The U.N. Security Council added a high-level meeting on AI to its agenda on Wednesday afternoon, a sign of the growing apprehension and need to address the issue.
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Council → add → issue
It was already slated to hold a high-level meeting on Ukraine with Zelenskyy on Wednesday morning.
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It → slat → morning
He previewed his speech last week, telling U.N. reporters that power is shifting in “an era of deep uncertainty.”
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power → preview → uncertainty
“At a time when the world faces three existential threats,” he said, “international cooperation is more necessary than ever.”
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cooperation → face → threats
Others will be vying for the spotlight on issues from rising sea levels and funding education to the fight for gender equality.
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Others → vie → equality
Hundreds of private meetings will also convene in U.N. cubicles, hotels, diplomatic missions and restaurants.
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Hundreds → convene → cubicles
Esther Brimmer, a senior fellow in global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs in the Obama administration, said in-person meetings can help countries hash out ideas that get implemented months later.
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that → say → ideas
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
