Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called for intensified pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, arguing that Moscow continues to incur massive losses while prolonging a conflict whose consequences are increasingly being felt far beyond the battlefield.

The Security Council has been briefed by some of the world's top AI executives on the huge benefits and huge risks the frontier technology presents. With warnings mounting that the world may be losing its grip on systems built to outthink us, Yoshua Bengio, a recipient of the prestigious Turing Award and one of the godfathers of machine intelligence, said the dangers of AI beyond human control represent an unprecedented threat for countries “that none can contain alone and that does not respect the borders we defend”.

From deadly floods in the Himalayas to wildfires and extreme heat across Europe, 2026 has brought a succession of stark reminders of a changing climate. The task is immediate: Protect people from the impacts already unfolding while rapidly cutting the emissions of harmful gasses driving climate change. World leaders have been meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to turn those priorities into action.

Argentine President Javier Milei told the General Assembly on Wednesday that the UN has broken the “sacred covenant” on which it was founded, failing at what it was meant to do – while excelling at things beyond its remit.