leaders

Sept. 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump will meet Monday with the top four congressional leaders in a bid to avert a potential government shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced in a news release late Saturday that Trump had agreed to meet with them in the Oval Office of the White House ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline to pass a spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown.

“As we have repeatedly said, Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” the top Democratic lawmakers said in the joint statement.

“We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican healthcare crisis. Time is running out.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, both Republicans, will join them at the White House, NBC News and CBS News reported.

The announcement of the meeting came after Trump cancelled a planned meeting last week with the Democratic lawmakers at the request of Johnson and Thune.

Congress has been deadlocked for weeks. Republicans are pushing to keep the government open with a short-term spending bill that would extend funding into November. Their bill would not restore recent Medicaid cuts, and it omits an extension of the currently enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits scheduled to expire.

Democrats, led by Schumer and Jeffries, have said they won’t support any stopgap bill unless it protects healthcare programs. They argue that those healthcare protections must be included in any emergency funding deal, not delayed for later talks.

“They want all this stuff. They don’t change. They haven’t learned from the biggest beating they’ve ever taken,” Trump previously said about meeting with Schumer and Jeffries. “I’d love to meet with them, but I don’t think it’s going to have an impact.”

So far, both sides have tested their positions with failed votes. On Sept. 19, the House passed the Republican plan to fund the government through Nov. 21, but the Senate rejected it. Republicans hold a slim majority of 53 seats and need Democratic support to get the 60 votes required to pass a funding bill.

Democrats have tried to advance their own version that included the healthcare protections, but that measure also failed to clear the Senate.

The standoff has raised fears of a repeat of past shutdowns, which disrupted federal services and cost the government billions of dollars.

Sept. 26 (UPI) — Several European leaders were to participate in talks Friday afternoon to discuss a “drone wall” to prevent drone attacks from Russia or others.

The event stems from recent unidentified drone sightings in Denmark over Skrydstrup air base as well as Esbjerg and Sonderborg. The country has had to close Aalborg Airport for the second time in three days for safety concerns.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulson said in a news briefing that the pattern of attacks appeared to be a “professional actor.”

“This is an arms race against time because technology is constantly evolving,” Lund Poulsen said. “We are going to find the people who are behind this.”

There have also been recent Russian drone sightings over Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

Petteri Orpo, prime minister of Finland, has called on Southern European states to help finance a proposed EU “drone wall” to protect the EU’s eastern border from aerial drone incursions. The system would cover eastern EU countries, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

“This is Europe’s border. We are defending Europe here,” The Helsinki Times reported that Orpo said. “We have shown economic solidarity to Southern Europe for 20 years. Now we expect solidarity in security.”

Helsinki’s defense minister Antti Häkkänen echoed the prime minister’s sentiment.

“We think that because northern Europe [showed] solidarity to southern Europe during the pandemic, now it’s our turn, that the eastern flank countries and the northern Europe’s countries must also [get] the solidarity from the western and southern Europe. Everyone has some kind of a crisis in some years, and now it’s our turn,” The Guardian reported Häkkänen said at a morning press conference.

The idea of a drone wall was endorsed this month by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. Ukraine has a similar system in place, and the EU said it will learn from Ukraine to protect its lengthy eastern border.

Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine are participating in Friday’s discussions.

EU defense minister Andrius Kubilius will lead the talks, with NATO also involved “at the technical level.”

Recently, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that US support for “everything that the Israeli government is doing” limits the EU’s leverage to change the situation on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

Subsequently, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, proposed sanctions to Israeli ministers and partial suspension of Israel trade deal. On Wednesday, the EU Commission’s review discovered – after 21 months of mass atrocities in Gaza and violent pogroms in the West Bank – that actions taken by the Israeli government in the Palestinian-occupied territories represent a ‘breach of essential elements relating to respect for human rights and democratic principles,’ which permits the EU to suspend the agreement unilaterally.

Recently, these sentiments were reinforced with the recognition of the state of Palestine by U.S. allies – the UK, Canada and Australia – and more recently by France. 

Observers of Brussels declared that the EU had become tough on genocide. In reality, it was a last-minute effort by the two EU leaders to fuse rising outrage against EU’s Gaza policies and charges they were complicit in Israel’s atrocities.

How Kallas emboldened Israel in Gaza

Addressing the annual EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) conference in Brussels, Kajas said that US backing of Israel undermines EU leverage to stop the “Gaza war.” Yet, the United States has supported Israel for more than half a century.

“We are struggling because 27 member states have different positions,” on the issue, Kallas explained. “Europe can only use full force when it acts together.” In this way, accessorial complicity is first deflected to Washington and then attributed to the absence of European unity, which Kallas has long called for, to confront Russia. In other words, the EU Gaza apology was a thinly-veiled effort for a plea to unity Kallas hoped to turn against Russia in Ukraine.

When asked about “double-standard” accusations towards the bloc on its Gaza policy, Kallas said it is not true that the EU is inactive on Gaza. Yet, previously she had opposed intervention in Gaza. In mid-July, Kallas and the foreign ministers of the EU member states chose not to take any action against Israel over alleged war crimes in the Gaza war and settler violence in the West Bank.

The then-proposed sanctions against Israel would have included suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, suspending visa-free travel, and blocking imports from Israeli settlements. This decision emboldened the Netanyahu cabinet, which saw the EU’s decision not to impose sanctions on Israel as a diplomatic victory. It also led UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese to conclude that EU officials like Kallas were complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, accounting for a third of Israel’s total trade in goods with the world in 2024, whereas Israel is only the EU’s 31^st largest trading partner. Consequently, the EU could easily have sanctioned Israeli trade right after the first genocidal atrocities in late 2023, yet it chose not to. Why?

How von der Leyen undermined EU’s credibility

Von der Leyen has a track-record of intimate relations with Israel. It was a source of controversy already before the Gaza catastrophe. On the 75^th anniversary of Israel’s independence, half a year before October 7, 2023, she referred to Israel as a “vibrant democracy” in the Middle East that made “the desert bloom.” These remarks were criticized as racist by the foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority because they erased the history of Palestinians in what is today Israel.

After the Hamas offensive, von der Leyen was criticized by EU lawmakers and diplomats for supporting Israel and not calling for a ceasefire. A week after October 7, she rushed to visit Israel to express solidarity, even as the Netanyahu cabinet spoke openly on the coming destruction of Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Then-EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized her for the pro-Israeli stance which “had a high geopolitical cost for Europe.”

The visit and the rhetoric also sparked furor among 841 EU staff who signed a letter to von der Leyen criticizing her stance on the conflict. In their view, the commission was giving “a free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime in the Gaza Strip” and warned that the EU was “losing all credibility and the position as a fair, equitable and humanist broker.”

In reality, that credibility has eroded for years. By the early 2020s, more than 800 European financial institutions, including Europe’s most luminous financial giants, had financial relationships with over 50 businesses that were actively involved with Israeli settlements.

Why the belated moral outrage

Recently, the European Commission presented a proposal for tougher measures against Israel to the European Union, which featured suspending parts of the EU-Israel trade agreement and sanctioning Israeli far-right ministers and some West Bank settlers, along with Hamas leadership. These measures are very much in line with the EC chief’s previous warning. But why do they come only now – after 21 months of genocidal atrocities, the obliteration of Gaza and a quarter of a million killed or injured Palestinians?

A qualified majority vote among EU governments will still be required to pass the measures, with the support of at least 15 of the 27 EU members representing two-thirds of the EU population.

Moreover, von der Leyden’s Gaza criticism was carefully calculated to limit the scope of possible sanctions. “Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war,” she said. “For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity – this must stop.”

Yet, Israel’s weaponized famines did not start few weeks ago. They date from the 2006 Palestine democratic election, which was won by Hamas in both Gaza and the West Bank. It led to Israel’s blockade, which was supported by the U.S. and the EU, and the Israeli-manufactured famine, designed to starve Gaza. The blockade paved the way to almost two decades of impoverishment, hunger, unemployment and thus to October 7, 2023. But it did not trigger condemnations by von der Leyden or the then-EU leaders.

Worse, the world witnessed the first starving victims in Gaza already in spring 2024. Yet, neither von Der Leyden nor other European leaders demanded the end to Israel’s actions at the time. And by the turn of 2023/24, still another famine way ensued, with similar silence in Brussels. It was only the third wave of famine in mid-2025 that changed their views. But why?

“What is happening in Gaza,” von der Leyden said, “has shaken the conscience of the world… These images are simply catastrophic.” That was the difference: not the realities of weaponized famines, which the world had witnessed for almost two decades in Gaza, but the images.

As those photos of starved bodies, particularly of children and babies, could no longer be halted or sidelined in international media, EU politicians, pushed by their constituencies, were compelled to act.

What European leaders chose not to do

It was when the European leaders were charged for accessorial complicity that von der Leyden and Kallas reacted. What the former proposed was “a package of measures” against Israel over its ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza. Or as she put it – and let’s italicize the key terms – “We will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers. And we will also propose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.”

The EU would not use its full arsenal to change Israel’s conduct. It would only go after a few ministers of the Netanyahu cabinet, but not the cabinet itself, even though most of its members had been complicit to the Gaza catastrophe with some supporting even harsher measures, including “nuking” Gaza.

Similarly, the EU would only go after a few token settlers, not the illegal settlements that now house up to 750,000 Jewish settlers. Nor would the EU go after hardline Israeli politicians and civil administrators who have been preparing the incorporation of the West Bank into the pre-1967 Israel since their electoral triumph in late 2022.

The ties between Israel and the United States have expanded from hedging and strategic partnership into a virtual symbiosis. Since 1950, Israel has received more than $120 billion in U.S. aid, most of it in military aid; after October 7, this aid has soared up to $23 billion. But Washington is not Israel’s only ally. In the past half a decade, only three countries—the US (66% of Israel’s total arms imports), Germany (33%) and Italy (1%) —have supplied most of Israel’s arms.

Several other European countries have supplied vital military components, ammunition and services, including the UK, France and Spain. Meanwhile, small EU members like the tiny Finland are increasingly reliant on Israeli arms imports.

The elevated arms transfers reflect the contested European shift toward rearmament, at the expense of welfare and social services – despite the soaring challenges of aging demographics and climate change.

Genocide investigation against von der Leyen

Both Washington and Brussels are complicit to mass atrocities, due to their arms exports to Israel and financing through military aid, not to mention diplomatic and intelligence support. Article 3 of the Genocide Convention defines the crimes that can be punished under the convention, and these crimes include complicity.

In May 2024, the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI), an NGO with UN consultative status, requested an investigation against the EC president, Ursula von der Leyen, for complicity in war crimes and genocide against Palestinian civilians. Her complicity was attributed to “violations of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute by her positive actions (military, political, diplomatic support to Israel) and by her failure to take timely action on behalf of the European Commission to help prevent genocide as required by the 1948 Genocide Convention.”

According to Professor William Schabas, perhaps the leading scholar of genocide, ”von der Leyen is clearly reflecting a position taken by many EU-governments, which is one of very unconditional support of Israel, and they’re doing this flying in the face of public information suggesting that Israel is committing terrible crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The issue with too many European leaders is no longer only the crime of complicity, but also the concerted effort to deny that Israel’s crimes and atrocities against Palestinians constitute genocide. Such denials should be seen as a form of “incitement” to hatred and violence, condemned by the Genocide Convention.

Legal efforts to go after genocide complicity entered a new stage recently, when a group of lawyers filed a criminal complaint against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, key government officials and arms trade executives on Friday. A dozen high-ranking officials of the former and current German government and CEOs of arms manufacturers were accused of aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC). “Given the undeniable, genocidal consequences of this support, we seek to hold them accountable,” said Nadija Samour, ELSC’s senior legal officer.

Recently, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez noted that “what we’re now witnessing in Gaza is perhaps one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21^st century.”

Tragically, the European leaders share full accessorial complicity in the decimation of Gaza and the genocide of its residents, plus the incorporation of the West Bank – that is, the massive moral collapse that is likely to cast a long, dark shadow over the 21^st century because what has happened in Gaza is likely to be replicated elsewhere, with even more lethal results.

Author’s note: Building on The Obliteration Doctrine, the original commentary was published by Antiwar.com on September 23, 2025.

The reason for the meeting, set for next Tuesday, remains unclear, with Trump dismissing concerns as not ‘a big deal’.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned senior United States military officers from their posts around the world to a meeting next week in Virginia, for what is expected to be a rare gathering.

The summons was reported in US media on Thursday and confirmed later in the day by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

It was not immediately clear why Hegseth ordered the generals and admirals to meet in Virginia on such short notice or what the meeting’s agenda will look like.

There are approximately 800 generals and admirals in the US military, and such senior officials can, in some cases, command thousands of troops, including in sensitive locations overseas.

Most have detailed schedules that are set weeks in advance. One military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the news agency Reuters that those schedules have now been upended.

“People are scrambling to change their plans and see if they have to attend,” the official said.

For his part, Parnell declined to offer specifics about the meeting, telling reporters, “The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week.”

At an Oval Office signing ceremony on Thursday, Trump expressed optimism about Hegseth’s meeting, describing it as a good idea.

“I love it. I think it’s great,” Trump said. “Let him be friendly with the generals and admirals from all over the world.”

He also appeared to downplay concerns that the event could take military leaders away from posts critical for national security. He expressed surprise that the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, had gained national attention.

“Why is that such a big deal?” Trump asked a reporter. “The fact that we’re getting along with the generals and admirals? Remember, I’m the president of peace. It’s good to get along. It’s good. You act like this is a bad thing.”

Vice President JD Vance, who was at the Oval Office meeting, also sought to brush aside the anticipated criticism.

“It’s not particularly unusual that generals who report to the secretary of war and then to the president of the United States are coming to speak with the secretary of war,” Vance said, adding it was “odd” that reporters were asking about it.

Since Trump took office for a second term in January, he and Hegseth have taken on a campaign of reimagining the Department of Defense.

They have, for instance, fired top military leaders, including CQ Brown, a former Air Force general who was serving as the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In May, he ordered a 20-percent reduction in the number of four-star officers, adding that there would be an additional 10-percent reduction among general and flag officers across the military.

Hegseth has also called for the military to end its diversity initiatives, and several officials have been terminated for their alleged roles in such programmes.

Instead, Hegseth has called on the military to increase its “lethality” and “restore” its “warrior ethos”.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an order making it his policy to refer to the Defense Department as the Department of War, as it had been until 1949.

But the name change will remain largely confined to the executive branch. A permanent change would require Congress to pass legislation adopting the new name.

Sept. 25 (UPI) — War Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned the nation’s military leaders from around the world to meet at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., for an unspecified reason on Tuesday.

The number of generals and admirals called to the meeting is the most summoned for a meeting in many years, according to The New York Times.

Other media outlets reporting the meeting include The Hill and CNN, which said hundreds of military leaders are expected to attend the high-level meeting.

“The secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” War Department spokesman Sean Parnell told The Hill in a prepared statement.

He did not elaborate on the meeting’s primary purpose.

“It’s being referred to as the general squid games,” an unnamed military official told CNN.

Many in the military have suggested the meeting might regard conditions with the Defense Department, a widespread purge of military officers or possibly a major military campaign that might be in the works.

Hegseth’s directive to attend the meeting went to all senior officers holding the rank of brigadier general and higher and their counterparts in the U.S. Navy.

More than 800 generals and admirals could heed the call and arrive at the meeting, which has raised security concerns regarding having that many senior military officials gathered at the same place at the same time.

An unnamed congressional aide suggested the meeting might involve overhauling the U.S. military command structure or possibly a pending major military campaign.

When Hegseth was being vetted for his current position, he criticized the large number of four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military and said the nation won World War II with far fewer.

At least 85 Palestinians killed across the territory, including 12 at a makeshift shelter, as global leaders demand end to the war at UNGA.

At least 12 Palestinians, among them seven women and two children, have been killed in a strike on a stadium sheltering displaced families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, as Israel pressed ahead with its relentless attacks despite calls for a ceasefire from world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

The al-Ahli Stadium, which has been converted into a makeshift refuge for Palestinians fleeing the Israeli onslaught, became the site of another massacre on Wednesday.

“I only had what I had in my hand. I left with nothing,” Najwa, a displaced woman from Gaza City, told Al Jazeera. “We are frightened. Transportation is expensive. We can’t pay to bring our things.”

‘Inflicting terror’

Israel’s assault on Gaza intensified overnight, with at least 85 Palestinians killed across the territory on Wednesday – more than double the number of those killed yesterday.

As the UN warned that Israel’s military is “inflicting terror on the Palestinian population of Gaza City and forcing tens of thousands to flee”, Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir claimed Palestinians were being pushed southward “for their safety”.

But UN investigators have rejected those claims. A commission of inquiry this week concluded that Israel’s actions are aimed at establishing permanent control over Gaza while ensuring a Jewish majority in the occupied West Bank and inside Israel.

Zamir added that “most of Gaza’s population has already left Gaza City” and that the army “will continue a systematic and thorough advance” into the enclave’s largest urban centre.

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, at least 65,419 Palestinians have been killed and 167,160 wounded, with thousands more believed to be buried beneath the rubble. Israel launched what campaigners say is a war of vengeance after 1,139 people were killed in Israel in a Hamas-led attack in October 2023. About 200 were taken captive by the Palestinian fighters, out of which more than 40 still remain in Gaza.

Condemnation at the United Nations

At the UN General Assembly in New York, Israel’s war on Gaza has dominated proceedings, drawing condemnation from leaders across the world.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told world leaders: “If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot pertain. Those criminals who bully by murdering children are not worthy of the name ‘human being’, and they shall never prove to be trustworthy partners.”

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa also demanded an immediate ceasefire: “We stand firmly with the people of Gaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggression. We call for an immediate end to the war.”

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Al Jazeera that quiet talks are taking place on ending the conflict, building on the “New York Declaration” roadmap endorsed by 142 states in July.

“Those of us who are closest to the Israeli position are beginning to understand that we cannot just continue with this endless, senseless war, and that includes the United States,” he said.

Meanwhile, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was “hopeful … even confident that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough” and confirmed that President Donald Trump’s 21-point peace plan had been circulated among world leaders.

But previous peace proposals have been derailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier this month, Netanyahu ordered the assassination of Hamas leaders gathering in Doha to discuss a peace proposal by Trump.

The Israeli leader unilaterally pulled out of the last ceasefire agreement on March 18 and launched fierce air strikes and imposed a total aid blockade, resulting in famine and starvation deaths. He faces an arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court.

As Israel becomes increasingly isolated, protests have erupted in Tel Aviv. Hundreds gathered at Ben Gurion airport to denounce Netanyahu as he departed for the UN meeting.

Before leaving, the Israeli prime minister once again rejected international calls for a Palestinian state. “The shameful surrender of some leaders to Palestinian terrorism will not bind Israel in any way,” his office said.

Picture the crowded sidewalks and standstill traffic of New York City. Pedestrians jostle past street vendors as they rush to their destinations. The wail of sirens mingles with the sudden screech of car horns.

Now add to the fray an influx of world leaders and diplomats, accompanied by gaggles of journalists, advocates and security officers.

Each year in September, the bustling east side of Midtown Manhattan becomes even busier as it hosts the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

New York briefly transforms into the centre of international politics as presidents, prime ministers and royals descend on the UN headquarters to speak at the opening debate for the latest UNGA session.

This year, the summit arrives amid heightened security concerns in the United States following the assassination of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk. It also comes at a time of growing global outrage at the horrors that Israel is inflicting on Gaza.

Traffic has been blocked in the eight city blocks flanking the UN complex, establishing a restricted zone that can only be accessed by authorised personnel.

Hundreds — if not thousands — of heavily armed local and federal law enforcement agents surround the area, ensuring that no one gets near the summit without prior approval.

Due to the restrictions, many local residents told Al Jazeera they feel a mix of apathy and annoyance towards the annual gathering, which has been informally dubbed the World Cup of Politics.

Ugur Dikici, who operates a fruit stand across from the UN, said it may seem cool to have leaders from across the world come to your neighbourhood. “But when you’re stuck in traffic for two hours, it’s not fun,” he told Al Jazeera.

Dikici added that the event also hurts his business; tourists and delegates don’t buy fruit and vegetables as much as locals, who may be deterred by the commotion.

However, he said having New York as a global platform is still worth it. “You can deal with three, four days once a year. It’s fine.”

‘International ideals’

Entering the UN headquarters during the general debate requires navigating through a maze of checkpoints.

Delegates, visitors, staff and journalists are distinguished by different badges that allow them access to certain areas — but not others.

Even within the UN complex, some buildings and floors have their own airport-like screenings for multiple layers of security.

The East River, which borders the four main UN buildings, has also not been spared.

Only police and US Coast Guard vessels, about a dozen of them, can be seen on the water at any point. No ferries, cruises or commercial ships are allowed.

Authorities have declared the stretch of the water a security zone that is blocked to most ships during the summit.

Despite the intricacy of the security arrangements, the event tends to go on smoothly every year.

The occasional hiccups do occur, however. On Monday evening, for example, the motorcade of US President Donald Trump blocked the path of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, as he tried to reach France’s embassy.

Video captured the French leader gently haggling with a police officer to let him and his delegates pass. “Guess what? I am waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you,” Macron later told Trump in a cellphone call.

New York has been hosting the summit at the same spot for more than 70 years, and the city’s leaders take a lot of pride in it.

“The iconic UN sits near the East River [and] remains a symbol of not only peace but a symbol of hope,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said last week.

“And I’m proud to be the mayor of this city that would house this important conversation.”

But in his speech to the UNGA on Tuesday, Trump disparaged the international body, describing it as little more than a conveyor of “empty words”.

Dozens of protesters had gathered outside the event to denounce the US president. Paul Rabin, one of the demonstrators, said he hoped to show his support for the UN’s founding ideals — values he feels Trump is trampling.

“This is a city of people from all over the world,” he said of New York.

“The international ideals are in alignment with the ideals of New York. And we want to call out people who are against the values that the UN and the United States are really founded on.”

‘I lose business’

But Harry Khan, who owns a corner store nearby, was not as thrilled about the summit.

“When there is a road closure, I lose business. My regular customers, they avoid coming outside,” he told Al Jazeera.

And the influx of tourists does not offset the losses, according to Khan.

As mammoth as the UNGA is, its impact on New York is limited to the immediate neighbourhood outside the restricted area.

In the vast and densely populated city, signs of the UNGA start to dissipate within a few blocks from the UN complex.

With the world’s eyes on the summit, some of the city’s 8.5 million residents say they’re more worried about daily struggles. More than 18 percent of New York City’s population lives under the poverty line.

On Tuesday evening, a young woman grew visibly frustrated when she found out that her bus stop was barricaded within the security zone.

When asked how she feels about the UNGA being in New York, she replied: “Because it stops traffic, I don’t care for it. I can’t get to my bus to go home. Now, I’ve got to find another route.”

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn, including 15 in Gaza City, according to medical sources.

Sept. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump plans to meet this week with the two top Democratic leaders in Congress, as a Sept. 30 funding deadline to keep the government open nears, according to a source familiar with the planning.

Trump is expected to meet with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, on Thursday after receiving a letter, the source told Roll Call, CBS and NBC News.

The president told reporters over the weekend he is not expecting any breakthroughs but will “continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time.”

“They want all this stuff. They don’t change. They haven’t learned from the biggest beating they’ve ever taken,” Trump said. “I’d love to meet with them, but I don’t think it’s going to have an impact.”

One of the biggest sticking points is healthcare. Democrats are demanding any resolution include an extension of the Affordable Care Act‘s enhanced tax credits, which are currently set to expire at the end of the year.

“I hope and pray that Trump will sit down with us and negotiate a bipartisan bill,” Schumer told CNN on Sunday.

On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting is still under consideration.

“Discussions are ongoing with both Republican and Democratic members of Capitol Hill,” Leavitt said. “I don’t have any meetings or any scheduling updates for you today. But what I will share is … what this White House wants and what Republicans want, we want a clean funding extension to keep the government open.”

The Republican bill to keep the government running narrowly passed Friday in the House before lawmakers left Capitol Hill for a week. The short-term funding measure that would have kept the government open through Nov. 21, and boost security funding for lawmakers by $88 million, failed in the Senate.

A Democratic measure, prioritizing heath care at the expense of Trump policies while keeping the government open until Oct. 31, also failed.

“Tens of millions of Americans are on the brink of their healthcare costs increasing by thousands of dollars per year, risking bankruptcy for many families,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote to Trump.

“We do not understand why you prefer to shut down the government rather than protect the health care and quality of life of the American people.”

Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have recognised Palestinian statehood, a symbolic response to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and territorial expansion in the occupied West Bank.

More states, including France and Portugal, are expected to recognise Palestine in the coming days after the announcements on Sunday.

Israel has responded in recent days by doubling down.

Shortly before the announcement, Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the PM had called the act “absurd and simply a reward for terrorism”.

At an event in occupied East Jerusalem on September 15, Netanyahu promised his supporters that there “will be no Palestinian state”.

While this act by the three states – Canada, the UK and Australia – grabbed the world’s attention and many headlines, analysts tell Al Jazeera that it is a small, symbolic step in the ongoing indignity, murder and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, albeit it one with some weight.

“Recognition matters in this case because close US allies have so far reserved it until the day after a negotiated agreement,” Rida Abu Rass, a Palestinian political scientist, told Al Jazeera.

“It matters because these countries broke ranks. In terms of its impact, Israel finds itself further isolated, and I think that’s meaningful.”

On the same day as recognition was announced, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza on Sunday. At least 37 of them were killed in Gaza City, where the Israeli army has unleashed another brutal campaign of violence.

Performative recognition?

Analysts have expressed scepticism that recognition might improve the material conditions of Palestinians currently suffering under Israeli aggression.

Israel has killed at least 65,283 people and wounded 166,575 in its war on Gaza since October 2023; figures that are thought by many experts to be much higher. During the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, 1,139 people died, and another 200 or so were taken captive.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military and violent settler attacks have killed more than 1,000 people, as the Israeli government threatens to completely annex the entire territory.

Israel’s war, which both Israeli and international experts and human rights groups call a genocide, is not expected to subside after Sunday’s actions, analysts said.

“As long as it doesn’t come with concrete actions, such as sanctions, arms embargo, and the implementation of a no-fly zone in occupied Palestine with a coalition of forces from the international community to alleviate the suffering of the people, I remain pessimistic,” Chris Osieck, a freelance researcher who has contributed to investigations from Forensic Architecture and Bellingcat on Palestine and Israel, told Al Jazeera.

Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that the move is mainly performative.

“I think they’re under increasing pressure from the international community and also from their local populations to do something,” he said.

“This is, I think, their way of doing something or saying that they did something without actually taking substantive action.”

Still, recognition does mean that the three countries can now enter into treaties with the Palestinian government and can name full ambassadors.

For its part, the UK will recognise Husam Zomlot as the Palestinian ambassador to the UK.

Zomlot said in a statement that the “long-overdue recognition marks an end to Britain’s denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, freedom and independence in our homeland”.

“It marks an irreversible step towards justice, peace and the correction of historic wrongs, including Britain’s colonial legacy, the Balfour Declaration and its role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Joining international organisations

Much of the world already recognises the State of Palestine.

The recent additions mean that only the United States, a handful of European and Baltic states, South Korea, Japan, and a few other states do not recognise Palestine.

However, even with most of the world on board with Palestinian statehood, the country is still not a full member state of the United Nations.

“[Recognition] brings no new UN privileges, nor does it enable Palestine to become a member of new intergovernmental institutions – not without US support,” Abu Rass said.

“Palestine is currently a ‘non-member observer state’,” he explained. “To become a full member would require the recommendation of the UN Security Council [followed by UN General Assembly vote] – unlikely, to say the least, given US veto powers.”

Still, it could be a first step.

International pressure has intensified on Israel to end its war on Gaza, particularly from Europe. Boycott campaigns are gaining momentum that could see Israel expelled from Eurovision and participation in international sporting competitions.

And the European Union has recently discussed increasing tariffs on some Israeli goods and applying sanctions to some Israeli leaders.

“Recognition has no direct impact on Israel’s actions in Gaza, but it may signal these countries’ willingness to take real measures, which would have a direct impact on Israel’s actions in Gaza, such as two-way arms embargos – meaning, neither selling weapons to Israel, nor buying weapons from Israeli manufacturers,” Abu Rass said.

Leaders ‘saving face’

Analysts told Al Jazeera they believe some Western states, despite discussing Palestinian recognition for months, are taking the step as a punishment for Israel’s aggression on Gaza and the occupied West Bank. This is bolstered by conditional support for statehood expressed by some states.

They say that these leaders are responding to myriad domestic pressures in their own countries, including pressure from pro-Israel groups with ties to establishment parties, at the same time that a growing chorus of constituents is calling for state action and penalties to stop genocide.

“This is happening now because of growing domestic pressures on these centre-left governments,” Abu Rass said.

“Nothing changed, per se [but] what we’re seeing is a slow, cumulative reaction to a low simmer – a growing liberal disaffection – and these steps should be seen as a low-cost way to satisfy constituents’ demands.”

“They’re saving face,” Abu Rass added.

In July, the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would recognise Palestine unless Israel took “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza.

On Sunday, Starmer reiterated that recognition comes as a response to the political realities in Israel and Palestine today.

“This is intended to further that cause,” Starmer said on Sunday. “It’s done now because I’m particularly concerned that the idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many years.”

Australia also made its recognition conditional, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying: “Further steps, including the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of embassies, will be considered as the Palestinian Authority makes further progress on commitments to reform.”

A special burden

One hundred and eight years ago, the British government signed the Balfour Declaration, declaring its support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in the land of Palestine.

The United Kingdom has been a historical ally for the state of Israel against the Palestinians, so recognition of the state is also, to some, a recognition of the UK’s complicity in the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.

“Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said during a speech at the UN in July.

Despite the historic symbolism, analysts were not convinced that the future would break from the last 100 years.

“Even if Palestine is recognised by every country in the world, little would change for Palestinians unless the Israeli occupation is dismantled,” Abu Rass said.

“International pressure has a role to play here, but it needs to move further than mere recognition, including sanctions, cutting diplomatic ties, the prosecution of war criminals, and cultural boycotts.”

WASHINGTON — As a possible federal shutdown looms, the Democratic leaders of Congress are demanding a meeting with President Trump to negotiate an end to what they call “your decision” to shut government offices if no action is taken by the end-of-the-month deadline.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Saturday that Republicans, at Trump’s insistence, have refused to enter talks. Democrats are pushing to preserve healthcare programs as part of any deal to keep government running past the Sept. 30 funding deadline.

The New York Democrats’ remarks come after the House passed a spending bill Friday to avoid a shutdown but the Senate remained stalemated.

“We write to demand a meeting in connection with your decision to shut down the federal government because of the Republican desire to continue to gut the healthcare of the American people,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote.

“Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position,” they continued. “We are ready to work toward a bipartisan spending agreement that improves the lives of American families and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis.”

A Trump administration official, who was not authorized to comment on the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, was dismissive of the Democrats’ demand.

Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, failed to address the funding issue before lawmakers left town Friday for a break.

The House approved a Republican proposal to keep the federal government funded into November, but the measure failed in the Senate. A Democratic proposal that would have boosted healthcare funds also failed.

It all leaves Congress and the White House with no easy way out of the standoff that threatens a shutdown in less than two weeks when the current budget year and funding expire. Trump’s first term in office saw a monthlong shutdown, the longest in federal history, in 2018-19.

Trump predicted Friday that there could be “a closed country for a period of time.” He said the government will continue to “take care” of the military and Social Security payments in the event of a closure.

Republicans have contended that they are not to blame for any possible shutdown, blaming Democrats.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have put forward the short-term measure, which is a typical way that Congress resolves such logjams. That would keep government operations running at current levels as talks get underway.

While the House was able to narrowly pass the temporary funding measure on a mostly party-line vote, in the Senate the process can require a higher 60-vote threshold, which means support is needed from Republicans and Democrats.

Democrats are working to protect healthcare programs. The Democratic proposal would extend enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus reverse Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans’ massive spending and tax cut bill enacted in July.

Republicans have said the Democrats’ demands to reverse the Medicaid changes are a nonstarter, but they have also said there is time to address the health insurance subsidy issue in the months ahead.

Mascaro writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Leaders from across the region are gathering in the Qatari capital to discuss a formal response to Israel’s strikes on Doha last week, which it said targeted Hamas leadership and reverberated through the Middle East and beyond.

Israel launched the missiles as Hamas members gathered in their Doha office to discuss a deal proposed by United States President Donald Trump to end Israel’s two-year genocidal war on Gaza.

The attack came hours after Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Israel had accepted the Trump proposal, which would release all 48 captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a ceasefire.

Israel killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official in the attack, although it did not kill the Hamas leadership it said it was targeting.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the attack on Thursday.

How is Qatar responding?

Qatar has invited leaders from Arab and Islamic countries for meetings that will culminate in the emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that “the summit will discuss a draft resolution on the Israeli attack” that signifies another instance of “state terrorism practised by Israel”.

A meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday will work on the draft, which is expected to add to the international chorus of condemnation for the Israeli attack.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who met Trump in New York on Friday, said Qatar will pursue a collective response to the attack, which has put the entire region at risk.

Qatar has long had a mediation role, working to end Israel’s war on Gaza and generate regional unity.

In the meetings on Sunday and Monday, it will leverage pro-Palestinian sentiment and opposition to Israel’s attacks that have been expressed across the region.

Who is attending?

Leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the 22-member Arab League will attend.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian is confirmed to attend, as are Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

On Saturday, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani issued what he called a “warning to Islamic governments” and said they must “form a ‘joint operations room’ against the madness” of Israel instead of resorting to mere statements.

The full list of dignitaries in attendance on Monday is yet to be confirmed.

What can come out of the summit?

At the summit, a strongly worded statement against Israel is guaranteed.

The leaders will discuss potential ways they could take action to address Israeli aggression across the region.

Israel has also bombed Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen as its genocidal war on Gaza and military raids on the occupied West Bank continue relentlessly.

The sense of security enjoyed by Qatar and neighbouring states has been shattered, which could prompt them to seek new security or defence arrangements with the US that go beyond buying arms.

There are political considerations at play, however, especially with Washington still offering ironclad support to Israel despite growing international frustration.

As ministers and leaders arrived in Doha on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders. Among other things, they are likely to discuss plans to annex large parts of the West Bank.

That plan has been described by the United Arab Emirates, a member of the US-sponsored Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel, as a “red line” that would undermine the agreement.

Saudi Arabia and other regional states being eyed by Israel and the US as future members of the Accords are seen by analysts to be the furthest they have been for years from normalising relations with Israel.

Among the tools that states have at their disposal to respond to rogue aggression are acts like downgrading diplomatic ties.

Arab states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE also have vast financial capabilities at their disposal as leverage, as well as large sovereign wealth funds with international investments that could impose curbs on Israel, including trade limitations.

Qatar has said part of its response will be legal, including through pursuing Israeli violations of international law.

Qatar is hosting Arab and Muslim leaders to plot a course of action after Israel’s ‘cowardly’ attack on Doha.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and the conservative movement were stunned Wednesday by the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a disruptive leader in GOP politics who accomplished what was once thought a pipe dream, expanding Republican ranks among America’s youth.

Inside the White House, senior officials that had worked closely alongside Kirk throughout much of their careers reacted with shock. It was a moment of political violence reminiscent of the repeated attempts on Donald Trump’s life during the 2024 presidential campaign, one official told The Times.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”

Kirk, a founder of Turning Point USA, was instrumental in recruiting young Americans on college campuses to GOP voter rolls, making himself an indispensable part of Republican campaigns down ballot across the country. That mission made his shooting on a college campus in Utah all the more poignant to his friends and allies, who reacted with dismay at videos of the shooting circulating online.

His impact, helping to increase support among 18- to 24-year-old voters for Republican candidates by double-digit margins in just four years, has been credited by Republican operatives as driving the party’s victories last year, allowing the GOP to retake the House, Senate and the presidency.

Democrats have recognized his prowess, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosting him on his podcast earlier this year in an appeal to young, predominantly male voters lost by the Democrats in recent years.

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” Newsom said on X in response to the news.

As videos of the shooting circulated online, a number of prominent Republicans, including senior members of the Trump administration, reacted to the news by asking the public to pray for the young activist.

“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said federal agents were at the scene of the shooting in Utah. FBI Director Kash Patel added the FBI will be helping with the investigation.

Wilner reported from Washington, Ceballos from Tallahassee, Fla.

The Pentagon’s two top leaders traveled to Puerto Rico amid growing tensions with Venezuela and its leader, Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. territory is serving as a staging ground for the arrival of equipment and personnel as the Trump administration continues bringing assets to the fight against drug cartels. The Trump administration considers Maduro a narco-terrorist and cartel leader.

During his visit, Hegseth flew a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey to the USS Iwo Jima, the lead ship in the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG). The ship is part of the counter-narcotics effort and currently stationed about 30 miles south of Puerto Rico.

Pacific Island leaders have kicked off their annual summit in the Solomon Islands, with climate change and security expected to take centre stage amid the battle for influence in the region between China and the United States.

The weeklong gathering began in Honiara on Monday with a meeting of the group’s small island states.

The leaders of the 18-member forum, including Australia and New Zealand, will head to the seaside settlement of Munda for a retreat on Thursday.

Notably, this year’s summit will take place without the forum’s two dozen donor partners, including China, the US and Taiwan, after a dispute over Taipei’s attendance caused the Solomon Islands to bar those observers.

Among 18 forum members, three have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, three have defence compacts with the US, and several are French territories. Thirteen of the members have ties with China.

Divavesi Waqa, the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, said this year’s meeting will cover “regional priorities”, including “climate change, ocean governance, security, [and] economic resilience”.

“These are not just policy issues. They are lived realities for our people,” Waqa told reporters on Sunday.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, who welcomed leaders from neighbouring countries to Honiara, said the meeting’s theme “Lumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent” reflected the “urgency for regional unity and action”.

“If ever there was a time that demanded strengthened Pacific regionalism and collective action, it is now,” Manele said, according to a statement.

The Solomon Islands leader, who has sought to strengthen relations with Australia after Western criticism of his predecessor’s close ties with China, has previously defended his decision to bar foreign observers.

Manele told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) last month that the decision was temporary while the forum updates its procedures for non-member participation.

“The Pacific region must always lead, drive and own their own agenda and not be distracted by divisive issues pushed by external media,” Manele said, in apparent reference to reports that the decision was related to a decision not to include Taiwan in this year’s meeting.

“We are not under pressure from any external forces,” he said.

“Let me be very clear: Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation. Our government acts in the best interests of our nation and the region.”

At this year’s forum, the Pacific Islands leaders are expected to sign the Fiji-proposed “Ocean of Peace” Declaration, which the country’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said comes as the Pacific region has “endured catastrophic calamities caused by climate change” as well as “its rich resources exploited by many”.

The proposal includes guiding principles, including “protecting and recognising the Pacific’s stewardship of the environment” as well as “peaceful resolution of disputes” and “rejection of coercion”, he said.

According to ABC, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Honiara on Wednesday after visiting Vanuatu, where he is expected to sign a landmark pact to strengthen economic and security ties.

Vanuatu recently led an important case before the International Court of Justice, which saw the United Nations’ top court rule that states must act urgently to address the “existential threat” of climate change by cooperating to cut emissions.

Australia’s bid to host next year’s COP31 climate change meeting, as a Pacific COP, will be on the agenda in Honiara, amid criticism of Canberra’s mixed record on reducing its own emissions and fossil fuel exports.

Australia has previously pledged to work closely with its island neighbours to raise awareness of the challenges they face from rising sea levels and worsening storms.

The forum’s 18 members are Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — Several leaders from the tech sector will travel to the White House on Thursday for the fist event in the newly renovated Rose Garden.

Guests expected to attend include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, among more than two dozen other prominent tech and business guests.

Venture capitalist David Sacks, who has served as the White House czar on AI and cryptocurrency, will also be in attendance.

According to a press release, First Lady Melania Trump will host a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education, at which she will speak, alongside Task Force members and leaders from the private AI technology sphere.

President Donald Trump will then lead an event in the Rose Garden with the guests, which will be the first such happening there since it was renovated under the direction of the Trumps.

“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Hill.

“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” he added.

Those in attendance will see changes to the Rose Garden such as pavement over the former grassy space, with umbrella-shaded tables set in similar fashion to patio arrangements found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

One top tech leader not on the guest list is Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who served as an advisor to Trump and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Trump and Musk famously feuded shortly after Musk left working with the government.

Chinese leader pledges $280m in aid to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at summit in Tianjin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged regional leaders to oppose “Cold War mentality” at a gathering of a security bloc that Beijing has touted as an alternative to the Western-led international order.

In a speech to attendees of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Monday, Xi said that member states are facing increasingly complicated security and development challenges as the world becomes “chaotic and intertwined”.

“Looking back, despite tumultuous times, we have achieved success by practising the Shanghai spirit,” Xi said.

“Looking to the future, with the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit, keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better perform the functions of the organisation.”

Calling for an “equal and orderly multipolarisation” of the world, Xi said the bloc should work towards the creation of a “more just and equitable global governance system”.

The Chinese leader said Beijing would provide 2 billion yuan ($280m) in aid to member states this year and a further 10 billion yuan ($1.4bn) of loans to an SCO banking consortium.

“We must take advantage of the mega-scale market… to improve the level of trade and investment facilitation,” Xi said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko are among the more than 20 world readers attending the two-day SCO summit, which opened on Sunday in China’s northern city of Tianjin.

Established in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation began as a grouping of six Eurasian nations – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – but has since expanded to comprise 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries.

Analysts say that China intends to use the gathering to promote an alternative to the United States-led global order and repair ties with India amid a shifting geopolitical environment under US President Donald Trump.

Weapons and support from the West, led by the United States, have been central to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The United Kingdom’s and European Union’s relations with Israel remain essentially unchanged despite the war.

Is this complicity? And could there be legal consequences for Western nations and their leaders?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Michael Lynk – former United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in occupied Palestinian territory

Yara Hawari – co-director of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network

Ralph Wilde – professor of international law at University College London

Background

China will hold a large-scale “Victory Day” parade on September 3rd, an annual parade marking Japan’s surrender in 1945 and the end of World War 2. The parade is concurrent with a broader rivalry between China and the West, with Beijing strengthening its ties to nations under heavy Western sanctions. Analysts describe the alignment as an “Axis of Upheaval”, a loose coalition of states discouraged by the long-standing Western world order.

What Happened?

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Mlaing in Beijing on September 3rd.

It will mark the first joint public appearance of Xi, Putin, and Kim.

In total, 26 foreign leaders will attend, essentially no Western heads of state will be in attendance. The only exceptions being; Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Serbia’s Aleksander Vucic, both of whom have maintained alignment with the Beijing/Moscow sphere of influence.

Tens of thousands of Chinese troops will march in the parade, doubling as an international show of strength in addition to celebration of a historical occasion.

Why it Matters:

The parade highlights China’s role as a diplomatic hub for sanctioned and otherwise isolated leaders, further enforcing Beijing’s willingness to spearhead an alternative power bloc to the West. By unifying Putin, Kim and others, Xi emphasizes global leadership stature while reinforcing alliances that bypass Western sanctions. The gathering also underscores the immense economic leverage of China, from buying 90% of Iran’s oil exports to sourcing strategic rare earth minerals from Myanmar.

Stakeholder Reactions:

Analysts: Note that the “Axis of Upheaval” provides critical, mutual lifelines to resist sanctions, whether by supplying energy, blocking trade routes, or reinforcing each other diplomatically.

Western observers: Concerned that the absence of major Western leaders contrasts sharply with the presence of sanctioned figures, signaling a deepening divide in global alignments.

Alfred Wu, NUS Singapore: Asserts that XI is projecting strength, showing that leaders he once admired now stand beside him, and in some senses now look to him, symbolizing his rise as a global leader.

What’s Next?

The parade is likely to amplify rhetoric about resisting Western dominance and provide new opportunities for side meetings between sanctioned leaders. As China balances this coalition with its own global economic interests, that still undoubtedly relies on some level of cooperation with the West despite growing tensions. Said growing tensions stemming over energy security, Taiwan and sanctions enforcement are likely to intensify over the years. The event will serve as a visual reminder of shifting alliances and who stands on each side of the contemporary multipolar world order.

With information from Reuters