The UN Secretary-General opened the General Assembly high-level debate with a stark message: the world is awash with overlapping crises – from wars and humanitarian emergencies to climate breakdown – and leaders must decide now “what kind of world we choose to build together.”

It’s Tuesday morning in New York, and in a few minutes' time the President of the General Assembly will gavel open the UNGA80 General Debate. She opened the meeting, followed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who will welcome world leaders to this historic, 80th session. The presidents of Brazil and the United States will be the first two nations laying out their priorities for the year ahead. Follow our live meetings coverage below – UN News app users can click here.

Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 23 (IPS) - US President Trump’s snide barbs against his appointee, US Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell, have revived support for central bank independence – long abused by powerful finance interests against growth and equity.

UNITED NATIONS, September 22 (IPS) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging global efforts to address and invest in tackling non-communicable diseases, and that by doing so, can yield economic benefits of up to USD 1 trillion by 2030.

KNAPSTAD, Norway, September 22 (IPS) - “We shall have to do more with less” was the summary message from a meeting in Oslo, Norway, this spring (2025), where the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide and Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the UN and Chair of UN80, both spoke about UN80 and the necessity to reform the UN.

NEW YORK, September 22 (IPS) - As world leaders convene in New York, September 22-30, for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, they will confront a humanitarian sector in crisis. With only 9% of the $47 billion requested for global humanitarian needs currently funded, the sector faces what UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher calls “a crisis of morale and legitimacy” alongside devastating funding cuts. So where do we go from here?

FREETOWN, September 22 (IPS) - Eunice Dumbuya, a young activist in Freetown, Sierra Leone, still remembers being called promiscuous after getting a contraceptive implant a few years ago. She knew the risks of an unplanned pregnancy in her conservative country, so she made a choice.

The time has come to free the 48 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza and to stop the bombing, massacres and displacement in the embattled enclave, French President Emmanual Macron told delegates in the UN General Assembly Hall on Monday.

Without greater international engagement, Haiti risks sliding deeper into crisis, leaders warned on Monday at a meeting in New York convened to address the country’s security collapse.