After Covid-19 pushed the world’s biggest diplomatic meeting online for the first time, more than 100 world leaders are heading to New York next week for the UN General Assembly, with climate change and the pandemic squarely on the agenda.
The UN hopes to get consensus on issues from the Taliban’s lightning take-over of Afghanistan, how to meet ambitious climate change targets and global unity in rolling out vaccines and halting the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We need to re-establish confidence. The current geopolitical division in the world is an obstacle," Secretary General Antonio Guterres told AFP.
The world "is really in a very dangerous situation," he said. "We need to sound an alarm to wake up political leaders."
US President Joe Biden will address the General Assembly for the first time on Tuesday and a day later will convene a virtual summit on Covid-19 as he seeks to show US leadership on vaccines.
With the Delta variant triggering renewed infection spikes, Mr Guterres said the world was "heading in the wrong direction in all areas" on the pandemic.
"It's absolutely unacceptable that there are countries where 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated and some where two per cent are vaccinated," he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will come to New York on Monday to seek action on climate change ahead of a UN conference in Glasgow in November as temperatures and severe weather rise to startling levels.
Other world leaders set to attend include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett who, like Mr Biden, will be making his first appearance.
The United States discouraged heads of state from visiting and asked that delegations be kept small as a way to fight Covid-19. French President Emmanuel Macron, a frequent UN presence, will be among leaders who cited Covid-19 concerns for sending a pre-recorded video.
UNGA 2020 goes virtual - in pictures
"We are concerned about the UN event being a super-spreader event," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters.
"Leaders have to be responsible, and they have to take responsibility for their actions."
One leader who is not minding the guidance is President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, which by tradition is the first nation to speak.
The far-right leader said he plans to come to New York even though he is not vaccinated against Covid-19, defying New York city authorities who want everyone to present proof of vaccination.
Mr Guterres defended the record of the UN, which quickly went mostly virtual last year at the start of the pandemic that has claimed more than 4.5 million lives worldwide.
"I am very proud this was never a centre of spreading Covid and I hope it will remain so," Mr Guterres said.
The UAE on Saturday announced the team it is sending to New York to “advance solutions to pressing global challenges, such as Covid-19, the digital divide, climate change, and gender inequality.”
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, will lead the UAE delegation with both hybrid in-person and virtual meetings. Of particular focus will be the UAE’s two-year term on the UN Security Council from January 2022.
"With the enormous strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE believes that this is a key moment to heed the Secretary-General’s call to 'Build Back Better'," said Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN.
"As an incoming member of the UN Security Council, the UAE will deepen its commitment to improved cooperation on global health, promoting gender equality, building resilience to climate change, and harnessing the potential of innovation for peace."
The UAE’s statement will be delivered to the general debate on September 27.
Ms Al Hashemy will be joined at the UN by a number of ministers and officials, including Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change; Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of State; and Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State.
Russia and China, veto-wielding members of the Security Council, are not even sending their foreign ministers.
Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations at the International Crisis Group, said the two powers were also sending a message.
"The Chinese and Russians are not going to invest a huge amount in this General Assembly, perhaps to show that they are not really that bothered by Biden's arrival," he said.
Mr Biden, accelerating an effort under his predecessor Donald Trump, has identified a rising China as the paramount concern for the United States in the 21st century.
Vowing to focus on the larger challenge of proving the democratic model, Mr Biden has sought both to invest heavily at home and pulled the last US troops out of Afghanistan in August.
The Taliban's swift takeover is set to be a major topic of discussion at the UN, with western powers pressing against recognition and looking to see the Islamists' track record on issues of concern, such as the rights of women.
Afghanistan remains represented at the United Nations by the fallen government of president Ashraf Ghani, who fled on August 15.
The UN ambassadors from Myanmar and Guinea, likewise, have remained in place despite military takeovers, with Myanmar's envoy outspoken against the five-month-old junta.
Afghanistan, Myanmar and Guinea are all scheduled to speak on September 27, the last day of the General Assembly, with the possibility they may end up speaking in front of empty chairs.
The years Ramadan fell in May
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Elvis
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
WITHIN%20SAND
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
CREW
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Hot%20Seat
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
ENGLAND TEAM
Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
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Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
