World leaders return to UN and face many escalating crises

World leaders will be back at the United Nations for the first time in two years on Tuesday, with a formidable agenda of escalating crises to tackle, including the still raging COVID-19 pandemic and a

World leaders will be back at the United Nations for the first time in two years on Tuesday, with a formidable agenda of escalating crises to tackle, including the still raging COVID-19 pandemic and a relentlessly warming planet.

Other pressing issues are rising U.S.-China tensions, Afghanistan’s unsettled future under its new Taliban rulers and ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region.

Last year, no leaders came to the U.N. because the coronavirus was sweeping the globe, so all their addresses were pre-recorded. This year, the General Assembly offered leaders a choice of coming to New York or remaining online, and more than 100 heads of state and government decided to appear in person in the General Assembly hall.