Overview
- The UN projects roughly a 15% budget cut in 2026, about $500 million, along with a 19% reduction in staff due to persistent cash shortfalls.
- More than 140 leaders are convening in New York, with some participating remotely after the United States denied a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
- Ahmed al‑Sharaa is described as attending with White House rehabilitation, marking the first appearance by a Syrian president at the Assembly since 1967.
- Member states are delaying or withholding payments, and major donors such as China, Japan, and the European Union have not increased contributions to compensate for U.S. disengagement.
- A wave of recognitions of the State of Palestine by France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Portugal contrasts with refusals from Italy and Germany, underscoring divisions as the Security Council remains hamstrung by veto powers.