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Six big takeaways from a turbulent week of UN diplomacy

Published

1 week ago

September 26, 2026

Bilal

– Limousines whisked world leaders away from the United Nations on Friday after a week of speeches, meetings and hallway diplomacy.

While they reached no breakthroughs on the world’s most intractable conflicts, talks on the Iran and Ukraine wars inched forward, and global powers used the venue to debate AI risks with industry leaders.

Here are the big takeaways from scores of panels, hundreds of meetings, hours spent in lines and listening to speeches — and countless cups of coffee:

Reboot of Iran diplomacy

The UN was probably most useful for facilitating the first shuttle talks between American and Iranian officials since the collapse of a ceasefire in July. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators.

The efforts must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, even as Iranian and American leaders exchanged sharp words at the General Assembly hall, with the US threatening to “annihilate” Iran and Iran accusing the US of a “bullying mentality.”

The senior Iranian official said Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to its proposals, which include lifting a US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

But no agreement appeared imminent. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that a deal would involve hard work over time.

Ukraine grain and energy

Rubio also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, after which he said Ukraine and Russia had both voiced an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets.

Ukraine and its allies are racing to secure limited agreements on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter, fearing renewed Russian strikes on power and heating facilities.

But hours after Rubio spoke on Wednesday, Lavrov addressed the Security Council meeting on Ukraine, showing no indication Russia was prepared to engage on any subject. “Europe, whatever it thinks, just wants to get a pause, and it wants to use it to pump the Kyiv regime with weapons,” Lavrov said.

AI steals climate’s spotlight

Climate change — a focus of UN discussions in recent years — was largely pushed aside by debate over artificial intelligence.

The festival of diplomacy coincided with an unprecedented outpouring of concern around AI after several safety breaches, and as top researchers warned it could destroy humanity.

The UN convened a Security Council meeting featuring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who made an appearance in person, as well as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The industry leaders appealed for governments to work together to manage AI.

Underscoring the concerns, just as they spoke, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that an AI agent developed by OpenAI infiltrated an Australian government website in June, accessing public and non-public files.

US President Donald Trump, who has dismissed AI risks as a “hoax” and “sick conspiracy,” told the UN he “rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control” AI, describing it as amazing while promising the US would be careful.

Surprise arrival

The biggest surprise arrival at the UN was Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who used her trip to hold first in-person talks with Trump since coming to power after US forces grabbed then-President Nicolas Maduro in a dramatic nighttime raid.

The Venezuelan delegation’s focus was on restructuring its billions of dollars in sovereign debt as it met US officials, multilateral lenders and companies.

Trump used his speech to the body dedicated to global peace to declare that in Venezuela: “to the victor belong the spoils,” and called an oil deal the US signed with Caracas last month “perhaps the biggest deal ever made.”

As Rodriguez and Trump met in New York, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado made three unsuccessful bids to return to her country.

Surprise absence

The biggest surprise absence was the Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The US withheld his visa in a move that Sudanese and other sources said was linked to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Khartoum has resisted.

The dispute, first reported by Reuters, threatened to deepen tensions between Washington and Sudan’s army at a critical moment in the civil war, which the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Burhan had represented Sudan at the General Assembly since the coup. Another notable absentee was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who addressed delegates by video and condemned US curbs on the Palestinian mission’s access to the UN.

Uncertain future

The cash-strapped United Nations may no longer be in “freefall,” but it remains stuck in an “open-ended crisis,” International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan said. The organisation is grappling with shrinking budgets, waning influence and mounting geopolitical conflicts.

Wars in Ukraine and Iran rage on, while Trump has denounced the 193-member body as bloated and globalist, slashed US funding and withdrawn from dozens of UN agencies.

As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received a standing ovation after his final General Assembly speech, a small group of politicians and former UN officials lobbied publicly and behind closed doors to succeed him. His second five-year term ends on December 31, leaving little time for the world’s major powers to agree on a replacement.

The race, conducted according to an arcane multi-step process involving “straw polls,” has no clear frontrunner, but former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan and Guyana’s UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett are leading the pack.

Whoever gets the world’s most difficult job will inherit an organisation buffeted by crises, low morale and declining political relevancy. That person, too, will welcome the leaders to New York for next year’s summit.

Latest News

Maryam inaugurates 5 road projects under Punjab PPP Authority

Published

5 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Bilal

– Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has digitally inaugurated five road projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority, with the management and operation of the five roads handed over to the private sector.

The transfer of the projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority is expected to generate Rs22 billion in revenue for the Punjab government. Modern electronic toll plazas will also be established on roads shifted to the PPP model.

The projects include the 80-kilometre Muridke-Narowal Road, 33-kilometre Shakargarh-Narowal Road and 97-kilometre Faisalabad Ring Road. The 52-kilometre Faisalabad-Sahianwala Road and 56-kilometre Faisalabad-Samundri-Rajana Road are also part of the PPP projects.

Under the arrangement, private contractors will collect tolls linked with the National Highway Authority for seven years, while the private companies will also be responsible for maintenance, construction and repair of the respective roads.

Vice Chairperson of the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority and Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb briefed the meeting on the projects. She said projects involving hostels, hospitals, parks, sports grounds, waste-to-energy facilities, parking plazas, tourism, water supply and recycling were also in the pipeline under the PPP authority.

Effluent treatment plants for filtering toxic industrial wastewater, as well as Zarrar Cafe, tourism and food street projects, will also be completed under the PPP model.

The processing time for projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership Authority has been reduced from less than two years to six months.

Four more roads in Punjab will be shifted to the PPP model, including the 42-kilometre Bahawalpur-Yazman Road, 43-kilometre Yazman-Ahmadpur East Road, 28-kilometre Raiwind-Changa Manga Road and 26-kilometre Gajjumata-Kasur Road.

Water and sanitation services projects in Chakwal and Kasur will also be completed under public-private partnerships. In Lahore, the Tourism Department will develop a Time Travel Park under the PPP model.

For the first time, an FMD vaccine protection plant will be established to combat foot-and-mouth disease among livestock. A parking plaza and multimodal commercial facility will also be developed at Badami Bagh bus terminal, while a bridge will be constructed at Sahuka Pattan over the River Sutlej under the PPP model.

Black soldier fly larvae facilities will be established for solid waste management at vegetable and fruit markets across Punjab. The management of 100 sports grounds and other facilities will also be carried out under the PPP framework.

A modern truck terminal will be developed in Faisalabad under the PPP model. Girls’ and boys’ hostels will be constructed at Punjab University and 28 other public-sector universities, while hostels at three medical colleges will also be developed through public-private partnerships.

Fourteen hostels will be established across the province for working women under the PPP model. The operation and development of the Nursing Hostel at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital and Faridia Park Sahiwal will also be undertaken through public-private partnerships.

Projects worth up to Rs500 million can be approved and implemented through the divisional PPP working party headed by the commissioner.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif appreciated Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil, Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar, PPP Authority CEO Dr Zeeshan Hanif and their team for their efforts. Provincial Communications Minister Sohaib Ahmed Bharth, Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil and Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar also addressed the ceremony.

Business

Jet fuel price rises by Rs9.05 per litre in Pakistan

Published

5 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Bilal

Jet fuel prices have once again increased in the country, along with the price of kerosene oil.

The price of jet fuel has been increased by Rs9.05 per litre, while kerosene oil has become Rs7.68 per litre more expensive.

Following the increase, the new price of jet fuel has been fixed at Rs355.52 per litre, while kerosene oil will now cost Rs329.54 per litre.

Meanwhile, according to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the price of petrol has also been increased by Rs2.10 per litre, taking its new price to Rs392.76 per litre.

Business

Govt sets deadline of 20th Oct for pilgrims to pay 2nd Hajj installment

Published

5 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Bilal

The religious affairs ministry stated late Friday that the federal government has fixed October 20 as the deadline for intending pilgrims selected under the government Hajj system to deposit the second installment of their pilgrimage dues.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has set aside 107,526 slots for the government plan, including 30,000 for a shorter package, and another 71,696 slots have been granted to the private scheme for next year’s Hajj.

The country on Aug. 25 completed online booking of all tickets in the government Hajj scheme, the first time the whole quota has been filled through a digital reservation system.

The ministry of religious affairs said in a statement on Friday that the applications of pilgrims for next year’s Hajj will be cancelled if they did not pay by the deadline.

“The dates for depositing the second installment of dues for Hajj pilgrims under the government scheme have been fixed from 5 October to 20 October, 2026,” the ministry said.

“If the second installment is not deposited within the deadline, then the Ministry said the pilgrim’s application will be cancelled and the amount deposited earlier will be refunded to the pilgrim’s account,” the Ministry said.

Under the government arrangement, pilgrims can pay the second payment of Hajj dues through the ‘Pak Hajj App’ or digital Hajj site within the stipulated deadline.

The government said that submitting the Hajj medical fitness certificate on the ‘Pak Hajj’ app or the digital Hajj portal was essential before depositing the second installment.

This year the government announced that pilgrims will pay Rs1.2 million ($4,334) for a 40-day Hajj package and Rs1.3 million ($4,695) for a shorter, 20- to 25-day package under the government system.

The first installment of dues for seats under the shorter government package was paid within 24 hours of the process starting on Aug 18 and the rest of the seats under the plan were booked by Aug 25.