World leaders return to UN amid wars in ME, Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20: World leaders gather in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, bracing for President Donald Trump's return to the rostrum for a second year running, with talks centering on the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence.

Nearly 130 heads of state meet with the post-World War Two order under strain and with the UN itself struggling to remain relevant and weathering attacks from Trump, who has slashed America's contributions and withdrawn from dozens of UN bodies.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who last addressed the diplomatic jamboree via video in 2021, will skip New York in favor of one-on-one talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday, fueling debate about the UN's relevance in addressing global crises.

Compounding the crisis of morale and finance are questions about the next leader of the 80-year-old organization: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres completes his term at the end of 2026, with no clear frontrunner in the race to replace him.

The 15-member UN Security Council may hold high-level meetings on Ukraine, AI and the Middle East, including talks with Arab leaders, diplomats said.

More than a year into Trump's second term, "we would no longer say that the UN is in freefall, but we would say that it's stuck in an open-ended crisis," said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.�" REUTERS