G4 Ministers Renew Push for UN Security Council Reform at 80th UNGA

The foreign ministers of Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan – the so-called G4 nations – renewed their demand for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling for an expansion in both permanent and non-permanent membership to reflect “contemporary geopolitical realities.” Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 80th session, Foreign…

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Security Council Confronts AI

The United Nations Security Council will hold a high-level open debate on Wednesday on artificial intelligence (AI) under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda, chaired by Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung. Briefings will come from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Yoshua Bengio and Yejin Choi (Stanford University). The debate will explore AI’s…

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A Clash of Visions: Survival vs. Sovereignty on the World Stage

The United Nations turned 80 this week, but the milestone felt less like a celebration than a stress test. From the green-marble podium of the General Assembly, leaders laid bare their visions for the future. Secretary-General António Guterres pleaded for unity in the face of multiplying crises. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock pressed for renewed…

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UN revises 2026 budget downward by 13.5%, safeguards key programs

Regular budget reduced to $11.6 billion; peacekeeping support trimmed 15% but aid for refugees and technical cooperation preserved. Secretariat trims regular and peacekeeping accounts while maintaining support for UNHCR, UNRWA, and development in fragile states. The United Nations Secretariat has released revised estimates for its 2026 program budget and the 2025/26 Support Account for peacekeeping,…

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At UN80, Guterres Warns of a World at Breaking Point

As the United Nations opens its 80th General Assembly this week, Secretary-General António Guterres stood before journalists in New York and delivered a blunt assessment: The world is drifting toward “an endless nightmare” of conflict, inequality, and institutional paralysis. His words were not just a curtain-raiser for a week of diplomacy, but a stark reminder of what…

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Ban Ki-moon Named Honorary Chair of UN Staff for Gaza

In a significant move underscoring the growing concern among international diplomats and humanitarian workers, UN Staff for Gaza has announced the appointment of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as its Honorary Chair. The announcement marks a critical moment for the organization, which has mobilized United Nations staff in response to what it calls “brazen…

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The U.S. still needs the U.N. as much as the U.N. needs the U.S.

A Troubled Marriage Between the U.S. and the U.N. Manhattan’s Turtle Bay waterfront, roughly 42nd–48th Street on the East River, was once a dirty and industrial area crowded with slaughterhouses, stockyards, and coal yards. Locals even called the block “Blood Alley.” Everything changed in December 1946, when philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased six blocks…

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