UNGA 2026 LIVE: UN chief bats for safe AI as world leaders gather for session; Trump to speak shortly

• World leaders are gathering at the United Nations to address escalating global wars and economic uncertainty. • The Middle East conflict has expanded to involve regional nations and resulted in the closure of a vital waterway.

• CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise official visit to Cairo to meet with President El-Sisi and the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate. • The meetings focused on international maritime security and geopolitical challenges across the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.

• Diplomats from across the globe described the current state of the world as messy and unpredictable during interviews leading up to the annual United Nations meeting. • Current and former ministers and ambassadors highlighted a stark picture of crises facing the international community and the 193 member states.

• Prime ministers from Australia and Iceland addressed the global climate crisis ahead of a United Nations meeting. • These leaders discussed the specific environmental impacts on their nations while other world leaders avoided the issue due to inflation and war.

• The United Nations is shifting its strategy in the Sahel region toward diplomacy and humanitarian aid as the 81st UN General Assembly begins. • The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) now operates as a special political mission focused on mediation and conflict prevention rather than a peacekeeping operation with troops.

• World leaders are gathering in New York for the 81st annual United Nations General Assembly to address widening global conflicts and a trust deficit. • Some actors are controlling fuel and food supplies to create scarcity and increase costs on a global scale.

Officials say one pilot safely ejected as F-16 believed to have crashed on approach to Spangdahlem after training drill⁠An F-16 fighter jet assigned to the US air ⁠base Spangdahlem ⁠in ​western Germany crashed on Tuesday, the US military said, ⁠adding that one pilot had ejected safely and was receiving ⁠medical treatment.The cause of the incident ​is under ‌investigation, the military ‌said in a statement, with ‌emergency response personnel at the scene of the crash. Continue reading...

Combination of Miuccia Prada with Belgian designer Raf Simons once again spins gold for fashion houseMiuccia Prada’s style formula is simple: begin with a great skirt. Her personal uniform is a knee-length skirt, A-line or pleated, most often with a plain sweater and kitten heels. The Prada collection that opened Milan fashion week made a compelling case for her favourite outfit, with a skirt the star of every one of the 63 looks – no dresses, no trousers. It won the room over, so expect to see the personality skirt on a high street near you soon.For the past six years, Miuccia Prada has shared design duties with Belgian designer Raf Simons, 20 years her junior. The arrangement was considered unusual when announced, but the house of Prada has always had a way of spinning gold from quirky ideas, and it has worked. “She had the idea to focus on skirts this time,” Simons explained before this show. “And I said, why not make it an all-skirt show?” Continue reading...

Billionaire owner of Ineos says company ‘cannot compete’ with global market despite efficiency of Humberside sitesBillionaire industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe is pausing production at three chemical plants in Hull, blaming the UK’s “ridiculously high” gas prices.Ratcliffe’s chemicals conglomerate, Ineos, said on Tuesday it would “mothball” three chemical plants because the cost made it difficult to compete in the global market. Continue reading...

Church, a prominent supporter of Palestinian causes, criticises Sheeran over removal of Macklemore from US tourCharlotte Church has accused Ed Sheeran of choosing “consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing” over the removal of his friend and support act Macklemore from his US tour.Sheeran’s tour was thrown into crisis after Macklemore made “free Palestine” declarations on stage. After a significant backlash, including pressure from the owners of stadiums hosting scheduled shows, the rapper was removed from the tour. Shortly afterwards, Sheeran’s other support acts quit in solidarity. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Nearly half of survey respondents aged 16-24 have experienced violence on the internet, with many saying their complaints were not taken seriouslyWhen Jane* learned that intimate photos of her had been posted on a website without her consent, she expected the police would help her. Instead, she was warned that researching where her photos had been shared might put her at risk of breaking the law.After she was handed a leaflet on internet safety and told to go to tech companies for help, but to expect little from them, the case was closed. Continue reading...