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When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes to his feet at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York later on Thursday, he does so at a critical point in both his political career and in his country’s long and fractious relationship with the international body.

Israel has faced repeated accusations of genocide at the UN, as well as systematic war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Those criticisms continue to shape the country’s fractious relationship with the body.

For Netanyahu, appearing in front of the UNGA for the 15th time, the stakes have rarely been higher. Addressing a domestic Israeli audience that polls show to be losing faith in him and his Likud party ahead of crucial elections later this year, Netanyahu has already pitched himself as Israel’s primary voice on the international stage.

Nevertheless, analysts say Netanyahu’s address could prove a pivotal moment domestically, amplified by international criticism of Israel and expected to dominate headlines and be carried live across the country’s television networks.

“This is a regular fixture for him,” former Israeli consul general in New York and ex-government adviser Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera. “It’s his way of being seen in Israel as standing up against the world and of telling members that he will never give up or surrender. He’s also turned the event into some kind of national holiday in Israel, with everyone sitting down to watch the address on television. He’s brainwashed people in Israel into believing his speech is somehow an announcement of policy, stated in defiance of the [rest of the world] who don’t believe a word he says.”

A history of hostility

Israeli leaders have long framed their stance towards the UN as one of defiance in the face of hostility. The UN has long been a platform for critics of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land and repeated attacks on its neighbours. It has included attempts to censure Israel over what UN investigators have described as apartheid in the West Bank, as well as accusations of genocide and pogroms across the occupied Palestinian territory since October 2023.

There have been numerous UNGA resolutions criticising Israel’s conduct — nearly all dismissed by Israeli lawmakers as evidence of institutional bias — culminating in Israel declaring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata and severely restricting the operations of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

“Generally speaking, many Israelis tend to see the UN as anti-Israeli,” Nimrod Goren, the president of the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policy, Mitvim, said.

Against that background, criticism from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani — already cast as anti-Israel in the Israeli press — has drawn greater public attention to the event. Underscoring the sense of hostility towards Israel are stories within the country’s media suggesting that Netanyahu’s visit to New York has been curtailed due to unspecified security concerns, with the Israeli premier expected to fly out of New York on the same day as his arrival.

In response, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, who has repeatedly accused the organisation of waging “diplomatic terrorism” against the state called for Mamdani’s arrest for what he said was the mayor’s incitement against New York’s Jewish community ahead of Netanyahu’s visit.

“Netanyahu is going into his UNGA speech with not one but both eyes focused firmly on the upcoming Israeli election,” Goren said. “The speech is usually treated in Israel as a major event, receiving broad coverage and dominating the news cycle. Netanyahu will likely try to leverage this to bolster his image as a close ally of the US and to talk up the threat posed by Iran.”

US backing

Some have interpreted US President Donald Trump’s apparent lack of availability to meet Netanyahu during this trip as a sign of waning support. But US backing for Israel at the UN has remained steadfast since the October 7 attack and has contributed to growing frustration within the UN over what they see as Israel’s ability to resist international censure.

Alongside the creation of the Board of Peace, which shifted significant responsibility for Gaza’s future from the UN to the Trump-founded organisation, Washington has repeatedly used its veto at the UN Security Council to shield Israel from resolutions it opposes. The US has vetoed at least six UN Security Council resolutions on Gaza since October 2023, most of them demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“There seems to be genuine frustration within the UN General Assembly over the body’s failure to play a significant political role in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in its failure to protect its own staff and agencies,” Chatham House Associate Fellow Zizette Darkazally, who previously worked with the UN, said.

“However, it’s worth remembering the context the UN operates within in the occupied territories and the important humanitarian role it plays. The UN continues to get aid and medical support into Gaza and the West Bank, which are both areas where Israel has absolute control over access,” she said. “It’s also worth remembering that the UN is only as strong as the commitment of its member states.”

“That, combined with a system of veto that’s more than 80 years old, has left the organisation weaker now than it had ever been,” she said of the confrontations between the UN and Israel. “And we’re seeing the effects of that, not just in Palestine, but in Yemen, Sudan and Iran, where the UN is playing next to no political role.”

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi and Turkish President Erdogan pledged deeper security cooperation at UNGA.

Turkiye and Iraq have agreed to a gradual transfer of Ankara’s military base in Bashiqa to Baghdad, according to a statement released by the Iraqi prime minister’s office.

The announcement followed a meeting on Wednesday between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“Within this framework, they reached an agreement on fully establishing state authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of outlawed foreign armed elements,” Iraq’s prime minister’s office announced, in an apparent reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has maintained a presence in the mountainous Sinjar region of northern Iraq.

“The two sides also agreed to expand the volume of bilateral trade and investment, to implement signed agreements immediately, and to accelerate joint strategic projects, particularly the Development Road project,” the office added.

The decision to transfer the facility addresses a longstanding flashpoint between the two neighbours.

Turkiye first established the base in Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, in December 2015 through an agreement with the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to train local forces fighting the ISIL (ISIS) group.

The deployment of up to 600 Turkish soldiers drew criticism from Baghdad, which viewed the presence as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The Sinjar region has long been a focal point for Turkish military operations targeting fighters from the PKK.

Cross-border operations in Sinjar had eased following a landmark peace process between Ankara and the PKK in 2025, paving the way for federal authorities to assert control over the border zone.

Wednesday’s accord caps months of efforts by Baghdad to consolidate state authority over northern flashpoints, while aligning with Ankara on trade corridors and security coordination along their shared frontier.

The heads of several major AI firms told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) their industry urgently needed global oversight to avoid dangers that could threaten the whole world.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” Dario Amodei, the chief executive officer of Anthropic, told members of the body on Wednesday.

Sam Altman, the head of rival company OpenAI, echoed his concerns, telling the 15-member council tasked with tackling major crises globally that humanity could “lose control of the future of AI”.

The meeting, which coincides with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) gathering in New York City, was convened by France and comes at a time when experts are increasingly warning that the rapid development of AI needs more human oversight to ensure it does not slip out of control and cause a global catastrophe.

Altman and Amodei called on world leaders to take action.

“If AI is to be democratic, the most important decisions cannot be made by labs in San Francisco alone,” Altman told members. “They must be shaped through democratic processes and by governments accountable to the people they serve.”

Their concerns were shared by several representatives on the council, including the foreign ministers of France and the United Kingdom, who said the international community needed to step in and create common frameworks for how the technology should be controlled.

Hugging Face CEO Clement Delangue, whose company has come under attack by out-of-control AI models in recent months – incidents used by the other companies as evidence of the need for more safety measures – told the UNSC his company had relied on the technology to defend itself in those same incidents.

Delangue said Hugging Face had relied on a Chinese AI model to help defend against the attack by OpenAI’s AI agents, because it faced fewer restrictions than comparable US tools.

“We were attacked by AI, but more importantly, we defended ourselves with AI,” he told the council.

US and China reluctant to impose restrictions

In the United States, though, where the largest and most influential companies developing AI are based, the administration of US President Donald Trump has baulked at imposing new guardrails on the industry.

The administration’s representative at the UNSC meeting, Michael Kratsios, told members, “We totally reject all efforts by international bodies to assert centralised control and global governance of AI.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to discuss whether and how to regulate AI during a visit to Washington, DC, this week. The two countries are locked in a technological race to develop more powerful AI tools, a competition that experts say makes it less likely that either country would want to impose any major new restrictions on their efforts right away.

Yet there is a growing recognition at the UN of the danger AI potentially poses to the world, said Daniel Forti, head of UN Affairs at the International Crisis Group. Member states understand that “there will be much more of a need for international cooperation, setting some rules of AI, even if the biggest players are more focused on growth opportunities than on some sort of collaboration,” Forti said.

For several years, the UN has been participating in multilateral meetings to shape everything from protections for workers from AI in emerging economies and ensuring open access to this technology, to following how AI is used in military conflicts. In 2024, the UNGA unanimously passed its first resolution on AI, a nonbinding statement that called on member states to protect personal data, monitor AI for risks and safeguard human rights.

The adoption of AI has taken off dramatically since then, and with it have come dire warnings from environmental groups, human rights advocates, and even the tech moguls whose companies are developing the tech.

The future of AI “cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a global summit held earlier this year.

Last year, the UNGA formed two new bodies to deal with AI: the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI that brings together experts to provide governments with independent assessments, and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which provides a regular forum for discussing approaches to AI governance.

“The dangers are real and imminent,” Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian expert on AI and co-chair of the Independent International Scientific Panel, told the UNSC on Wednesday. “This council faces an unprecedented threat, one that none of its members would ⁠choose, that none can contain alone, and that does not respect the borders we defend.”

With world leaders at the UN General Assembly podium this week, play our quiz matching famous quotes to who said them.

This week, world leaders converge on New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where representatives from the 193 UN member states are expected to take to the podium.

Over the decades, that same podium has hosted some of modern diplomacy’s most quoted moments, from Cold War warnings to wartime appeals.

Match each line to the leader who spoke it from the UNGA podium in the 10-question quiz below.

US-led anti-cartel alliance backs sanctions against crime groups after Trump urges stronger action.

United States President Donald Trump has pledged to use “unmatched military might” against drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere during a meeting of the Washington-led Shield of the Americas coalition in New York City.

In a meeting with leaders and foreign ministers from the anti-cartel alliance, Trump on Tuesday urged member countries to join the US in targeting 24 criminal organisations, which he earlier described as the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere”.

He said he was asking “all nations in the Shield of the Americas to formally designate narco-terrorists as common threats to stability and apply crushing sanctions” against all of the groups. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.

The coalition’s 15 governments later issued a joint statement saying they intended to impose asset freezes and visa restrictions on members and supporters of the groups and to pursue criminal charges against them.

At the top of the list are two groups that have been declared “terrorist” organisations by Washington: Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) – one of Central America’s most powerful criminal gangs – and Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that is also active in Colombia, Peru and Chile.

The list also includes major Mexican cartels, Colombian armed groups such as the National Liberation Army, Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho groups, and Peru’s Shining Path.

Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, Colombia, said the statement was largely symbolic for now, because each country must follow its own legal procedures.

“For example, here in Colombia, it will require a law to pass in Congress. We understand that the government here has asked Congress to move forward in drafting such a law. So while the consequences may not be immediate, this is clearly an important step towards building what the US has been trying to do in Latin America [through] this alliance,” he added.

The coalition is made up of governments closely aligned with Trump, including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador, whose leaders he has praised or endorsed. Colombia and Peru joined after Trump-aligned presidents took office in recent months.

Brazil and Mexico have not joined.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended, praised “the emergence of strong leaders who are committed to the challenge of taking on transnational terrorism”.

The gathering was the administration’s latest effort to rally the region behind a more aggressive approach to drug trafficking. Since returning to office last year, Trump has designated cartels as foreign terrorist organisations and ordered dozens of strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that US officials say were carrying narcotics bound for the US.

The strikes have killed more than 223 people, and UN experts say they violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.

The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, released late last year, laid out plans for a revamped Monroe Doctrine, the 19th-century policy asserting US primacy in the hemisphere that critics associate with decades of US intervention.

Trump has also spoken of retaking the Panama Canal and annexing Greenland and Canada. On Tuesday, he signed an agreement on Greenland that stopped short of his demand that the island become US territory.

The focus on the hemisphere has raised concerns across the region.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in his UN speech, bristled ⁠at the approach, warning countries in Latin America and the Caribbean of “renewed hegemonic temptations”.

“Brazil is nobody’s back yard,” Lula said.

Canada pledges 100 million Canadian dollars ($71m) in aid for Palestinians as the UK and France call for action against Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that Canada is pledging 100 million Canadian dollars ($71m) in international assistance for Palestinians in an effort to preserve “the possibility of a two-state solution”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Carney outlined that 80 percent of the funding will go towards direct humanitarian aid. The remaining 20 percent will be allocated to “support peace and security”, including Canada’s multiyear initiative to train Palestinian police in the occupied West Bank.

Carney prefaced the pledge by noting that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure “immense human suffering”, while Israelis confront “existential threats from Hamas and from Iran and its proxies”.

The prime minister was also critical of Israel’s E1 settlement project, with the “intention to bring forward trade restrictions targeting goods produced in those illegal Israeli settlements”.

Canada is one of the 12 states that announced restrictions on trade in goods ⁠with settlements in the occupied territory.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Ottawa has pledged more than 600 million Canadian dollars ($426m) in aid for Palestinian civilians.

‘Shame on all of us’

Carney was not the only Western leader to speak on Palestine. French President Emmanuel Macron also slammed world leaders for restrictions on aid in a UNGA speech on Tuesday.

“There are those who claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened the way for humanitarian aid deliveries. This sight is shameful. Shame on all of us,” he said.

“But what is our credibility worth if we remain inactive in the face of Gaza?” he added.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said failure to deliver a two-state solution will “corrode trust” in politicians who have talked about the issue but not taken action.

Burnham told delegates from dozens of countries that the UK has also banned trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank because the E1 settlement expansion plan is “a deliberate attempt to block a two-state solution”.

“We all live in an era of low trust in politics. Many people in this room, many politicians around the world, have spoken for decades about a two-state solution. But if we fail to back those words with deeds, we will further corrode trust in the political, diplomatic and international process,” Burnham added.

The annual general debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) starts on Tuesday morning in New York amid dire circumstances. Besides traffic gridlock and overpriced hotel rates, cavalcades of motorcades and successive dignitaries delivering calibrated speeches, this session will hear Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s last speech on the state of the UN.

Guterres headed the UN for 10 years, and during that time, he repeatedly failed to defend it when it came under attack. He passes on his post at the top of a world organisation on the verge of financial collapse and more marginalised than ever before.

Paradoxically, Guterres has the United States, the host government of the UN, and its mercurial president, Donald Trump, to thank for this dismal state of affairs.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration withdrew from dozens of UN agencies and organs and, in an extraordinary move, ceased all payments of its dues to the regular and peacekeeping budgets of the UN. But these drastic policy decisions did not spring out of nowhere. Trump’s unhappiness with the UN is multifaceted, and his decision to stop fulfilling Washington’s legally binding financial obligation may well be the logical culmination of decades-long US policy.

In the mid-1980s, the Reagan administration accused the UN of being a third-world, anti-US forum. To compel the organisation to better serve its interests and under the guise of the ubiquitous need for reform, which all secretaries-general fell for, the US started to withhold a share of its assessed contribution, which accounted for a quarter of the regular budget and a third of the peacekeeping budget back then.

By 1987, the US relaxed its payment withholding policy, but the precedent was set. Washington continued to use the threat of withholding payment to maintain its grip on an organisation it viewed and continues to view as a vehicle serving its national interests rather than a multilateral agent serving the whole of humanity.

Ever since the Reagan years, the US has kept the UN on a short financial leash, and to this day, has been deliberately accruing arrears. It currently owes an estimated $4.2bn – that is equivalent to 120 percent of the regular UN budget for 2026.

Trump has readily embraced this policy of financial blackmail. His administration has slow-walked mandatory payments, although earlier this month it paid $827m towards its outstanding dues so it could preserve its voting rights in the UNGA.

The president’s ambivalent view of the UN may be rooted in a lesser-known detail. In 2001, Trump, then a real estate developer, lobbied then Secretary-General Kofi Annan to be awarded the billion-dollar renovation project of the UN headquarters, but he did not get his way. That was probably not forgotten.

But just like during the Reagan years, there is another major factor driving Trump’s assault on the UN: US congressional politics. As Israel faced growing backlash at the UN for its genocide in Gaza, pressure from the Israeli lobby in Washington mounted. The Iron Dome diplomatic cover the US provided to Israel in the UN Security Council (UNSC) was no longer sufficient.

By 2025, two years into the genocidal campaign, Guterres’s tepid and overdue criticisms of Israeli policies, critical UNGA resolutions and scathing reports by special rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council – including Francesca Albanese, whom Washington placed under sanctions in violation of its host country obligations – became too much for Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US Congress.

In the 1980s, Washington deemed the UN a third-world anti-US forum; today, it is deemed anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. The US’s blind and unconditional support for Israel has brought it growing isolation at the UN, as has its decision to launch a war of aggression against Iran.

Against the backdrop of these developments, the selection of the next secretary-general is dominating the behind-the-scenes agenda. Guterres’s lacklustre tenure at the helm of an organisation on the verge of financial bankruptcy and political demise will soon be forgotten. But what should be remembered is that his appeasement policy vis-a-vis Washington since the first Trump administration has evidently failed.

The new secretary-general will inherit the modus vivendi under which all secretaries-general since Javier Perez de Cuellar have had to operate — chronic cash flow problems due to US arrears.

That should motivate the new UN leadership to consider an overhaul of how the UN budget is put together and how member states’ contributions are allocated. Leaving the power of the purse in Washington’s hands is a self-inflicted perpetual wound that could prove lethal for the organisation.

Another fundamental question is whether the UN would be better off had its headquarters not been in the US. For too long, Washington has seen the UN either as a vector of its national interests or in adversarial terms. It has even used its position as a host to exclude world leaders it has viewed as hostile or undesirable, such as PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and today Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Evidently, those are decisions only the UNGA can take. But a secretary-general with foresight and political backbone ought to provide views and leadership on those seminal questions to save the organisation from further marginalisation and possible demise.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

On Tuesday, nearly 130 heads of state and government are expected to begin taking the podium at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York as the high-level general debate opens.

The debate is the key event of the UNGA’s annual session, which began on September 8, when Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh took office as president.

In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera looks at what happens at the UNGA, who will speak, and the key moments to watch.

When is UNGA 2026?

The debate opens on Tuesday, September 22, runs through Saturday, September 26, and resumes on Monday, September 28, as no sessions are held on Sunday.

It runs in two daily sessions: from 9am to 2:45pm local time (13:00 GMT to 18:45 GMT) and from 3pm to 9pm (19:00 GMT to 01:00 GMT the next day).

Statements are expected to observe a voluntary 15-minute limit, though many run longer, and meetings continue until all scheduled speakers have spoken.

Who is speaking at UNGA 2026, and when?

The session opens with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who introduces his annual report and is expected to give his final address, followed by UNGA President Khalilur Rahman, who formally opens the debate.

By tradition, Brazil is always the first country to speak, a practice that began in 1955 when it volunteered to open the debate, when no other country would. The United States, as the host country, usually speaks second, and President Donald Trump is expected to take the podium after Brazil on Tuesday morning, likely around 9:45am local time (13:45 GMT).

For all other member states, the speaking order is determined by the level of representation (head of state, head of government, or minister), expressed preferences, and geographic balance.

The Holy See (Vatican City), the State of Palestine, and the European Union are also invited to participate, with their speaking slots set according to their representation.

Speakers for day one are shown in the graphic below. The speaking schedule for the remaining days will be published in the coming days.

Where is the UNGA held?

The UNGA is held at the UN headquarters, which is located along the East River in Manhattan, New York.

The complex, built between 1949 and 1952, is owned by the UN and is considered international territory. It serves as the main hub for international diplomacy.

The UNGA has not always been held in New York. The first six UNGA sessions took place in different cities, beginning in London and later including Paris. Since 1952, however, nearly all sessions have been held at the UN headquarters in New York.

Some notable exceptions include 1988, when the UNGA met in Geneva, Switzerland, after the US denied a visa to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

This time, for the second year running, the US has denied visas to Palestinian officials, so President Mahmoud Abbas will address the UNGA by prerecorded video after member states voted to allow it.

The Trump administration’s decision has drawn widespread criticism, with the UN asserting that it violates the Host Country Agreement, which obligates the US to allow heads of state and government to travel to New York for annual meetings and other diplomatic business, with full diplomatic immunity.

What is on the UNGA 2026 agenda?

The 81st UNGA has the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all”, which is set out in the UN’s information note on the arrangements for the high-level week.

Alongside the speeches, the UN has scheduled high-level meetings on climate action and a just transition and on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development (September 23), on sea level rise (September 24), on pandemic preparedness (September 25), on the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration against racism (September 28), and on eliminating nuclear weapons (September 29).

Many speeches are also expected to focus on the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the UN’s funding squeeze, while diplomats watch the race to succeed Guterres, whose term ends on December 31.

Who will be the next UN chief?

The UNGA formally appoints the secretary-general, but the choice is not expected to be made this week. The UN Security Council (UNSC) is still holding straw polls and must recommend a candidate first.

Guterres’s second and final term ends on December 31, and the race to succeed him is under way. There have been nine secretaries-general since the UN was founded in 1945, all of them men. Several UNSC members have said they want a woman to lead the organisation for the first time.

Seven candidates remain in the running, four women and three men, but more could still enter the race:

• Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica): Secretary-general of UNCTAD and former vice president of Costa Rica
• Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana): Guyana’s permanent representative to the UN and former foreign minister
• Ivonne Baki (Ecuador): Diplomat and former minister of foreign trade
• Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador): Former president of the UNGA and former foreign minister
• Rafael Grossi (Argentina): Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency
• Macky Sall (Senegal): Former president of Senegal
• Olara Otunnu (Uganda): Former foreign minister and ex-UN undersecretary-general

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet withdrew on Saturday after winning support from only one of the 15 UNSC members in the latest informal vote. The same vote put Costa Rica’s Grynspan narrowly ahead, with nine of the 15 members encouraging her candidacy, five discouraging it, and one with no opinion. Guyana’s Rodrigues-Birkett came second, with eight votes to encourage, six to discourage and one with no opinion, diplomats and sources close to the process said.

The UNSC must settle on one candidate with no veto from its five permanent members before recommending them to the UNGA.

When did each nation join the UN?

The UN was established after World War II, growing from 51 members in 1945 to 193 today, with two non-member observer states: Palestine and the Holy See (Vatican City).

The aim of the UN was to prevent future conflicts, promote international peace and security, foster cooperation among nations, protect human rights and support social and economic development worldwide – goals that many critics say it is increasingly failing to deliver on.

Each member has one vote in the UNGA, whose resolutions are generally nonbinding recommendations. That sets it apart from the 15-member UNSC, where five permanent members hold a veto and decisions can be legally binding.

Use the table below to find out when each country joined the UN.

The UN chief’s mandate ends on December 31 this year, with a successor yet to be named.

The state of the world seems to be getting worse due to a “dramatic geopolitical divide” that is leaving “the most vulnerable countries and populations in very dramatic situations” and that “paralyses the Security Council”, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Al Jazeera.

Speaking on Monday, the first day of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, Guterres said that major military conflicts happening in the world at the moment, the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Israel war on Iran, have created a crisis due to the continued violations of international law by “superpowers” that are key members of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

“That creates an environment of impunity, in which midsize powers believe that they can do whatever they want because nothing will happen to them,” Guterres told Al Jazeera, admitting that “wars are becoming multiplied, and more and more complex”.

The UN chief outlined the real-life impacts that these two wars are having on people on a humanitarian level, particularly around food accessibility, rising fuel prices, and global inflation.

“The combination of the war in Ukraine with the problems of exports of foods, fertilisers, and energy through the Black Sea, if you combine it with the difficulties in the Strait of Hormuz [in the Gulf], in the Bab al-Mandeb [in the Red Sea], and in the attacks [on] oil installations in several countries of the [Middle East] region, we are creating a situation that has a devastating impact on many economies around the world,” Guterres said.

He added that rising interest rates and fuel prices in developed countries could eventually be managed, whereas people in the developing world “are in a desperate situation” due to the increasing energy and food costs and the lack of fertilisers.

Dire need for reforms

Guterres, who previously served as prime minister of Portugal and UN high commissioner for refugees, has been the UN chief since January 1, 2017, though his mandate is coming to an end on December 31, 2026.

His successor, who is yet to be named, will take charge of an organisation that is grappling with multiple crises and is, in Guterres’s opinion, in dire need of reforms to stay relevant and important on the global stage. He notably cited the UNSC, saying it “still essentially represents the world of World War II”.

Candidates in the running to replace Guterres include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Rafael Grossi, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ecuadorian diplomat Maria Fernanda Espinosa.

To be recommended by the UNSC, a candidate for UN secretary-general needs at least nine of the council’s 15 members to vote in favour and must avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – before a final vote in the UNGA.

Michael Carrick has struck a defiant tone after Manchester United equalled their worst start to a Premier League season, but a woeful 1-1 draw at Fulham left the beleaguered boss under mounting pressure.

Trailing to Lisandro Martinez’s farcical own goal, United were just moments away from a third successive defeat on another dispiriting afternoon for Carrick on Sunday.

Matheus Cunha’s deflected 89th-minute equaliser spared United from new humiliation.

But escaping with a barely deserved point against a winless side placed second-from-bottom of the Premier League was hardly cause for celebration.

With only one win so far this season, United have matched their lowest points total after five matches in the Premier League era.

Sitting in 12th place with five points, Carrick’s men equalled the mark set by Louis van Gaal’s United in 2014-15, when they went on to finish fourth.

The statistics are damning enough in their own right, but the eye test during their moribund performance at Craven Cottage provided an even more insightful look at what ails United.

Lacking a cutting edge in attack, bereft of defensive organisation and, in the words of Cunha, short of energy and drive until they fell behind, this was the kind of flawed display that has scarred so many United seasons since their last title in 2013.

Carrick was expected to build on last season’s climb to a third-place finish during his spell as interim boss.

But having hauled United from the wreckage of Ruben Amorim’s self-destructive reign, Carrick is in danger of losing his way in his first season as permanent boss.

A wretched 2-0 defeat at promoted Hull on the opening weekend set alarm bells ringing among the United faithful.

Beaten in the Manchester derby by an Erling Haaland goal that should have been disallowed last weekend, United then blew a two-goal lead at home for the first time in 50 years in a League Cup meltdown against Brighton.

‘Fine margins’

Already 10 points behind leaders City, Carrick’s team were so underwhelming against Fulham that even one of the manager’s former teammates took a swipe at United.

Commenting on the match for Sky Sports, ex-United defender Gary Neville was scathing in his assessment of their performance at the start of the second half.

“I’ve watched Man United since the age of five and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely pathetic,” Neville said.

The 51-year-old added: “I’ve never seen such a lack of effort. What must Carrick be thinking?”

Carrick does not have the confrontational personality of some of his United predecessors, but he tried his best to quiet the noise as he searched for reasons for optimism.

“It’s not been ideal. It was always going to come at some point, and it’s come at the start of the season,” he said.

“On the other side of it, at Everton, a 25-yard shot, top corner for their equaliser. The City goal that’s not a goal. Today, own goal, that’s one of them things.

“It’s pretty fine margins that have flipped it. I know we can do better; we need to do better at certain things.

“But I’m not despondent because I think we’ve shown some good signs as well.”

Carrick has three weeks to stew on United’s miserable start during an extended international break.

Questions about United’s transfer policy and fitness regime are growing louder.

‘We’ll get back to winning’

The 45-year-old must come up with answers before they return to action with a crucial clash against bottom-of-the-table Tottenham on October 10.

Losing to Roberto De Zerbi’s side would be a huge blow to Carrick’s hopes of turning the tide, especially with tricky trips to Atletico Madrid and Leeds looming after Tottenham visit Old Trafford.

But Carrick is putting his faith in United’s players absorbing the lessons from their painful start.

“You learn about each other, they learn about me, I learn about the individual and as a team, how we respond, what our reaction is,” he said.

“That’s part of growing as a group. You have to go through certain things to get to the end of it.”

Carrick said he had “mixed” reactions to the match but was focusing on the positives and bouncing back after this “first chapter”.

“There are parts we can do better. The way we responded to going down was really pleasing, the boys were really positive and played with good purpose,” Carrick said in a post-match interview.

“I’m convinced we’ll have a good season. We’re having a spell that feels bigger than it actually is to the outside. We’ll get back to winning football matches and we’ll be all right.”

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has called on states to respect sovereignty as a condition for security in the Middle East, warning against “cycles of escalation” after “an earthquake” caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The region needs a “framework in which sovereignty is respected” and no state can pose a “threat to another”, Sheikh Mohammed said on Sunday at the opening of the Qatar Economic Forum’s UN General Assembly-adjacent event in New York City.

Sheikh Mohammed – who is also Qatar’s foreign minister – described the economic fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran as “an earthquake” with “its shock waves” reaching far beyond the borders of the Middle East, “challenging assumptions about security and stability”.

“During the crisis, almost every conversation began with security and de-escalation, then turn[ed] to energy supplies, shipping routes, and with our investments, plans will continue. These were different expressions of the same question. When so much is being disrupted, what can still be relied upon?”

He said that Qatar has weathered the test to the “foundations” of the country’s economy and security, but acknowledged that the ongoing conflict in the region is having an impact.

“Permanent security cannot be built through arrangements that leave any state permanently exposed to insecurity,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “We must address the sources of tensions and build confidence.”

Reporting from New York, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey said that message “no doubt will be repeated” when Gulf leaders meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday during the UN General Assembly.

Qatar’s $38bn domestic investments

The PM also outlined a domestic shift in Qatar’s investment strategy by pledging more than $38bn in spending on Qatari infrastructure over the next five years.

“That’s meant to attract private investors and send a message of Qatar’s resilience,” Saloomey said, while the PM is nonetheless acknowledging that the ongoing conflict is “having an impact on the region”.

The UNGA starts on Monday and ends on Friday.

The situation in the Middle East and its global ramifications are expected to be high on the agenda during speeches and diplomacy.

Also on Sunday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, told US media in New York that the mediation efforts by his government are ongoing to restart talks between Tehran and Washington to end the US-Israel war on Iran.

Man United have won only one league game this season, leaving Michael Carrick under pressure ahead of Fulham trip.

Who: Fulham vs Manchester United
What: English Premier League
Where: Craven Cottage, London in United Kingdom
When: Sunday, September 20, at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have all the build-up to our live text commentary stream from 12:30 GMT.

One month into the new ‌Premier League season, excuses about bedding-in processes and newly assembled squads needing time to gel are wearing thin and for Manchester United ⁠there is an acute sense ⁠of urgency as the international break looms.

United are by no means the only ‘big club’ enduring a faltering start to the campaign but after so much pre-season optimism, the spotlight has fallen very much on manager Michael Carrick ahead of ⁠Sunday’s trip to Fulham.

Al Jazeera takes a closer look at the game:

How have Manchester United started the new season?

United have ⁠lost three of their six matches in all competitions and suffered a damaging League Cup exit on Wednesday, surrendering a 2-0 ⁠lead to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Their only win in four league games came at home to promoted Ipswich Town.

United started the better in the VAR-dominated Manchester derby last Sunday, but played second fiddle to the away team after City were reduced to ten men.

How have Fulham started the new season?

The London club have made a slow start under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa and are yet to win in the league.

A draw at Liverpool last week and a League Cup win at West Ham United in midweek offered glimpses of better things to come.

What has Carrick said about United’s start to the season?

Carrick accepted responsibility for the team’s poor start but said the focus must remain on finding ⁠solutions rather than assigning blame.

“It’s my responsibility and I’m fine with that. It’s not a blame ⁠game. Blame me, no problem, but it’s ⁠not about blaming people,” said the 45-year-old boss.

“It’s about finding solutions. It’s a whole collective thing. It’s about what you focus on. I know where we want to get to ‌and we want to get there fast.”

What happened the last time Fulham played Man Utd?

United won 3-2 in their last meeting which came in the Premier League at Old Trafford on February 1.

Casemiro and Matheus Cunha put United two up before a chaotic finale that saw Raul Jiminez net an 85th minute penalty for the Londoners before Benjamin Sesko and Kevin traded injury time strikes.

What happened between Fulham and Man Utd at Craven Cottage last season?

The teams shared a 1-1 draw in the Premier League match. Emile Smith Rowe’s 73rd minute goal levelled matters after Rodrigo Muniz put through his own net in the 58th minute.

When did Fulham last beat Manchester United?

Fulham won 2-1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on February 24, 2024. Harry Maguire appeared to have sealed a point for United in the 90th minute when he cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s 65th minute goal, but Alex Iwobi got Fulham’s winner in injury time.

United have won three of the five meetings since then.

When did Fulham last beat Man Utd at Craven Cottage?

Fulham have not recorded a home win against United since December 2009. Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff sealing a 3-0 home win.

Of the 10 matches since then, United have won nine, scoring 21 and conceding six.

Prediction: Fulham vs Manchester United

Opta’s supercomputer has given Manchester United a 47.4 percent chance of winning, while offering Fulham only a 28.3 percent chance of victory.

Head-to-head: Fulham vs Manchester United

This will be their 94th meeting, with Manchester United winning 59 of the encounters and Fulham 14.

Fulham team news

Kenny Tete misses out due to concussion at Anfield last week.

Tom Cairney is also absent with a knee injury, but Ryan Sessegnon will have a late fitness test as he returns from a groin problem.

Predicted Fulham lineup

Leno; Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Charles; Bobb, King, Iwobi; Garcia

Manchester United team news

United will make a late decision on whether to include Luke Shaw and Carlos ‌Baleba ‌in the squad. Both have had ankle problems, but could feature.

Manuel Ugarte, Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt and Amad Diallo all remain sidelined with injuries.

Predicted Manchester United lineup

Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

The United Nations General Assembly will allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address via a prerecorded video.

The European Union says it regrets the denial of visas by the United States for the second year running to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials seeking to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, urging it to reconsider the decision.

The statement on Saturday comes just days after the UNGA voted to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the body during the upcoming 81st session via a prerecorded statement.

“In light of its existing headquarters agreements with the UN and its obligations as host state, we urge the United States for this decision to be reconsidered,” said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesman for the EU’s diplomatic service.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed regret at Washington’s decision, adding he was concerned about its impact “on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations”.

The US Department of State announced on Wednesday that it would prolong visa sanctions on officials of the PA and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the State Department said in a statement.

The department accused the PA of violating US law by bypassing direct negotiations to seek international recognition of Palestinian statehood.

It also cited the PA’s decision to take its dispute with Israel to international courts and its financial support for people the US and Israel label as convicted attackers and their families.

No Israeli officials face equivalent US travel restrictions, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Abbas’s address this year is expected to push for international recognition of Palestinian statehood and revive momentum for a two-state solution, building on a wave of formal recognitions by the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other Western nations last year.

His speech will also highlight the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza alongside the rapid growth of illegal Israeli settlements and settler pogroms across the occupied West Bank.

Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the UN resolution passed on Thursday allowing Abbas to address the assembly next week, saying it “represents a breaking of the attempt to prevent Palestine’s participation” in the UNGA’s annual session.

Michael Carrick says he expected tough season start as he rebuffs questions about his role as Manchester United manager.

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick said he expected to have to ride out a storm at some point this season after a dreadful start to the current campaign.

Carrick was appointed on a permanent basis after his successful temporary spell at the end of last season secured third place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League.

But United have taken just four points from their opening four league games this season and were dumped out of the League Cup in a 3-2 defeat by Brighton in midweek after blowing a two-goal lead at Old Trafford for the first time in 50 years.

“In terms of the future and ownership and how long I’ve got, it’s totally nothing. Thinking about it is ridiculous in the position I’m in. It’s ⁠just not on the radar. We’ve got to ⁠perform and we’ve got a lot of games to plan for,” Carrick said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fulham.

“History tells you that any team that’s successful goes through periods when you have to work through it, come through it and improve.

“We’ve had a small period, in recent time, when it hasn’t been exactly what we want it to be.

“I was expecting a point when we would go through it, it was going to come. We had such a good spell last season, going into this season.”

Former United and England midfielder Carrick also has reason to bemoan his side’s luck in recent weeks.

United received a swift apology from referees’ chiefs after Erling Haaland’s winning goal for Manchester City last weekend was wrongly awarded because the VAR officials did not spot an offside against Enzo Fernandez in the build-up.

Carrick’s men were also heading for three points at Everton last Sunday before until Toffees defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles produced a stunning strike into the top corner from long range.

“It is a week or two, the games haven’t gone our way,” added Carrick. “It’s tiny margins in some of those games. We will work through it. Winning games is always the answer, it can cover up a lot of things at times as well.

“Sometimes it’s the small disappointments that lead to something a bit bigger. It’s part of coping and being at this great football club.”

United could be boosted by the return of Luke Shaw from injury for the visit to Craven Cottage.

Carlos Baleba is also in contention to make his first appearance since a 70 million pound ($94m) move from Brighton.