#News: Ex-FBI director James Comey charged with making false statement, obstruction, AP source says.

The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of #Trump’s chief grievances, the long-concluded investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, to face prosecution. Trump has for years derided that investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign, and has made clear his desire for retribution.

Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.

The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Bondi is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies. It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the operations of the Justice Department, blurring the line between law and politics for an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle.

Comey was fired months into Trump’s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation. He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in charges.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

The office that filed the case against Comey, the Eastern District of Virginia, was thrown into turmoil last week following the resignation of chief prosecutor Erik Siebert, who had not charged Comey and had faced pressure to bring charges against another Trump target, New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a mortgage fraud investigation.

The following evening, Trump lamented in a Truth Social post aimed at the attorney general that department investigations had not resulted in prosecutions. He nominated as the new U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who had been one of Trump’s personal lawyers but lacked the federal prosecution experience that would typically accompany the responsibility of running one of the Justice Department’s most prestigious offices.

Halligan had rushed to present the case to a grand jury this week. Prosecutors evaluating whether Comey lied to Congress during testimony on Sept. 30, 2020, had until Tuesday to bring a case before the five-year statute of limitations expired. The push to move forward came even as prosecutors in the office had detailed in a memo concerns about the pursuit of an indictment.

The two-count indictment consists of charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Comey’s lawyer had no immediate comment.

Trump has for years railed against both a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia preferred him to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and the criminal investigation that tried to determine whether his campaign had conspired with Moscow to sway the outcome of that race. Prosecutors led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish that Trump or his associates criminally colluded with Russia, but they did find that Trump’s campaign had welcomed Moscow’s assistance.

Trump has seized on the fact that Mueller’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign and the Kremlin colluded, and that there were significant errors and omissions made by the FBI in wiretap applications, to claim vindication. A yearslong investigation into potential misconduct during the Russia investigation, was conducted by a different special counsel, John Durham. That produced three criminal cases, including against an FBI lawyer, but not against senior government officials.

The criminal case against Comey does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation but rather accuses him of having lied to Congress.

The indictment comes against the backdrop of a Trump administration effort to cast the Russia investigation as the outgrowth of an effort under Democratic President Barack Obama to overhype Moscow’s interference in the election and to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s victory.

Administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have declassified a series of documents meant to chip away at the strength of an Obama-era intelligence assessment published in January 2017 that said Moscow had engaged in a broad campaign of interference at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, Comey was picked by Obama to lead the FBI in 2013 and was director when the bureau opened the Russia investigation in the summer of 2016.

Comey’s relationship with Trump was strained from the start and was exacerbated when Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private White House dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president. That overture so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, an action later investigated by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice.

After being let go, Comey authorized a close friend to share with a reporter the substance of an unclassified memo that documented an Oval Office request from Trump to shut down an FBI investigation into his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump and his allies later branded Comey a leaker, with the president even accusing him of treason. Comey himself has called Trump “ego driven” and likened him to a mafia don.

The Justice Department, during Trump’s first term, declined to prosecute Comey over his handling of his memos. The department’s inspector general did issue a harshly critical report in 2019 that said Comey violated FBI policies, including by failing to return the documents to the FBI after he was dismissed and for sharing them with his personal lawyers without FBI permission.

Earlier this year, the department fired Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, from her job as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She has since sued, saying the termination was carried out without any explanation and was done for political reasons.

By Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer And Michael Kunzelman.

Kunzelman reported from Alexandria, Virginia.

#MOSCOW, September 24. The #Ukrainian army lost about 1,495 troops in clashes with Russian forces across all combat areas over the past 24 hours, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine issued by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

The updated figures show that the Ukrainian side lost up to 130 troops in the zone of responsibility of Russia’s Battlegroup North, some 230 troops in the sector of the Battlegroup West, up to 215 troops in the area of the Battlegroup South, over 535 troops in the sector of the Battlegroup Center, roughly 315 troops in the area of the Battlegroup East and up to 70 troops in the sector of the Battlegroup Dnepr.

Units of the Battlegroup North neutralized four mechanized brigades and two assault regiments of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlements of Andreyevka, Alexeyevka, Varachino, Novaya Sech, Pavlovka and Khrapovshchina in the Sumy Region. In the Kharkov direction, Russian troops overpowered a motorized infantry brigade and territorial defense units near the settlements of Bochkovo, Volchansk and Okhrimovka in the Kharkov Region. As a result of these actions, Ukrainian forces lost five vehicles, two artillery systems (including a 155mm French-made TRF-1 howitzer), a counter-battery radar and an ammunition warehouse.

The Battlegroup West’s units enhanced the tactical situation. Russian troops took control of 115 buildings in Kupyansk in the Kharkov region. In addition, strikes were carried out against personnel and equipment of four mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a national guard brigade near Boldyrevka, Kolodeznoye, Petrovka, Smorodkovka, Staroverovka (Kharkov region), Maslyakovka, and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic). Enemy losses amounted to up to 230 troops. They also lost a British-made Snatch armored fighting vehicle, 14 vehicles, and three field artillery guns. A counter-battery radar, seven electronic warfare systems, and nine ammunition storage sites were also destroyed.

The Battlegroup South improved the situation along the line of contact and continued to eliminate enemy forces that had been encircled in the Donetsk People's Republic south of the Kleban-Byk Reservoir. More than 4.5 square kilometers of territory were secured in this area during the past 24 hours. Strikes targeted formations of two mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a territorial defense brigade, and a national guard brigade near Ivanopolye, Ilyinovka, Konstantinovka, Nelepovka and Seversk (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy lost up to 215 troops, a tank, three armored fighting vehicles, six vehicles, and six field artillery guns. Three electronic warfare stations, five ammunition, fuel, and materiel storage facilities were destroyed.
Center, East, Dnepr

The Battlegroup Center’s units took more advantageous positions. Four mechanized brigades, a tank brigade, an assault brigade, three air assault brigades, two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a marine brigade, a territorial defense brigade, and a national guard brigade were targeted near Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk, Krasny Liman, Novopavlovka, Petrovka, Rodinskoye and Torskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic. Ukrainian losses totaled more than 535 troops, two armored fighting vehicles, five pickup trucks, two artillery pieces, and a US-made AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar.

The Battlegroup East’s units continued to push deeper into enemy defenses. Russian forces engaged a mechanized brigade and a marine brigade near Malomikhaylovka (Dnepropetrovsk region), Novogrigorovka, Poltavka, and Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region). Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 315 troops, a tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, three armored fighting vehicles, ten vehicles, three field artillery guns, and an electronic warfare unit.

The Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted significant losses on personnel and equipment of a heavy mechanized brigade, a mountain assault brigade, and a coastal defense brigade near Kamyshevakha, Lukyanovskoye (Zaporozhye region), Verovka, and Veseloye in the Kherson region. The enemy lost up to 70 troops. A US-made HMMWV armored vehicle, four vehicles, two artillery systems, two electronic warfare stations, and three ammunition depots were also destroyed.

#UN, September 24. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, emphasized the need for meaningful steps to resolve the conflict in #Ukraine on a long-term basis, Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State Tommy Piggott said in a written statement.

According to the document, the US Secretary of State "reiterated President Trump’s call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution" of the conflict in Ukraine.

The meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began without opening remarks for the press and went on behind closed doors. It lasted about 50 minutes.

On July 10, Lavrov and Rubio held a nearly hour-long bilateral meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN-related events in Malaysia. In addition, Lavrov and Rubio held multiple phone calls in 2025. Furthermore, the heads of foreign policy departments led the Russian and US delegations at the February 18 meeting in Riyadh, which lasted approximately 4.5 hours. The Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State also participated in a "three-on-three" negotiation during the summit in #Alaska.

#Drone fired by Yemen’s Houthis wounds 22 in southern Israel, in a rare breach of missile defences

#Escalatorgate: White House urges probe into Trump UN malfunctions. U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to laugh it off Tuesday when an escalator and a teleprompter both malfunctioned during his United Nations visit -- but for U.S. officials it was no laughing matter.

The White House said an investigation had been launched into whether the moving stairway was stopped on purpose to humiliate the U.S. president, who later bashed the global body in his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.

“If we find that these were UN and staffers who were purposefully trying to trip up, literally, trip up the President and the First Lady of the United States, well, there better be accountability for those people, and I will personally see to it,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Tuesday evening.

A UN spokesman said the mishap happened because someone in front of Trump accidentally set off a safety mechanism on the escalator, causing it to shut down.

In a statement earlier in the day, Leavitt pointed to a report in the Times of London newspaper on Sunday saying that UN staff members had joked that they would turn off the escalators and “tell him they ran out of money” amid sweeping U.S. funding cuts.

Several other White House figures and conservative commentators also speculated about a plot against Trump.

Footage showed the 79-year-old president and First Lady Melania Trump getting on the escalator at UN headquarters, before it stopped with a lurch after a short distance.
‘A bad escalator’

Trump’s bad luck continued when his teleprompter was not working for the start of the speech.

“Whoever is operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” said Trump.

He then went on to -- apparently jokingly -- link the two incidents to what he said were the UN’s multiple failings, including a lack of support for his peace efforts in a series of conflicts.

“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations,” Trump said.

“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape.”

He added: “These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much.”

But the United Nations insisted there were simple explanations for it all.

“A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.

A videographer filming the U.S. delegation’s arrival “may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above,” the statement continued.

The escalator was “reset” and was soon back in operation, Dujarric earlier told AFP.

“Regarding the teleprompter, we have no comment since the teleprompter for the U.S. president is operated by the White House,” Dujarric said.

AFP reporters said escalators at #UN headquarters in New York were frequently out of order.

Activists say Gaza aid flotilla attacked by ‘multiple drones’. Organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists said late Tuesday they heard explosions and saw multiple drones that targeted some of their boats, currently situated off Greece.

“Multiple drones, unidentified objects dropped, communications jammed and explosions heard from a number of boats,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement, without adding whether there were any casualties.

“We are witnessing these psychological operations firsthand, right now, but we will not be intimidated,” the statement said.

German human rights activist and flotilla member Yasemin Acar said in a video she posted on Instagram that five vessels had been attacked.

“We are carrying only humanitarian aid,” she said. “We have no weapons. We pose no threat to anyone. It is Israel who is killing thousands of people (and) starving a whole population.”

In an earlier video, Acar said the activists had “sighted 15 to 16 drones”, adding that their radios had been jammed as loud music could be heard.

One video posted by the flotilla’s official Instagram page showed an explosion it said it recorded from the Spectre boat at “01:43 GMT +3”.

In another video posted by the same page, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila said four boats had been “targeted with drones throwing devices” just before another explosion was heard in the background.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona earlier this month with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering aid to the territory.

It currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are situated off the Greek island of Crete.

It had already been targeted in two suspected drone attacks in Tunisia, where its boat had been anchored before resuming its voyage towards Gaza.

Among its high-profile participants is environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Israel said Monday it would not allow the boats to reach Gaza.

Israel blocked two earlier attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.

Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza, which has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.

Last month, a body backed by the United Nations officially declared famine in part of #Gaza.

And on September 16, #UN investigators accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the besieged territory, nearly two years after the war erupted following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Carney sees possibilities for #Canada as he wraps up trip to UN General Assembly.

“In every moment where there’s a crack, where there’s a rupture, there is possibility — and it’s our responsibility, it’s our opportunity as Canada in this moment to find it,” Carney told media Tuesday evening. “And after my visit to the United Nations General Assembly, I can assure Canadians that there is light, there are many possibilities.”

Carney earlier Tuesday listened to Trump’s roughly hour-long speech at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, where the president complained about the United Nations and preached about his “America First” policies that have abruptly upended geopolitics and sent shock waves to countries around the world.

“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked as he criticized the institution for being full of “empty words.”

Trump said the United Nations has tremendous potential, “but it’s not even coming close” to living up to it. He was particularly aggrieved that there were issues with an escalator and his TelePrompTer ahead of his address.

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad TelePrompTer,” he said.

The president later reassured diplomats concerned over the tone of his grievance-filled speech. Earlier this year, Trump ordered a review of the United States’ involvement in the United Nations, withdrew from its Human Rights Council and froze U.S. funding.

He told Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that he may disagree with the United Nations sometimes, but he is also “so behind it because the potential for peace at this institution is great.”

Trump, in his speech, also pushed back on U.S. allies, including Canada, who took part in a co-ordinated effort to recognize a Palestinian state. Trump said the move would reward Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Carney did not have a one-on-one meeting with the president. He did attend a reception on Tuesday night for world leaders hosted by the president.

The prime minister used the General Assembly to meet with CEOs and world leaders in an ongoing effort to diversify Canada’s trade and economic opportunities in the wake of Trump’s efforts to realign global trade through devastating duties. Carney met with leaders from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

During a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Carney noted that since the two had spoken on the phone, “our two countries, our officials, have begun to engage much more regularly, much more constructively.”

“We have an opportunity in a world that is changing rapidly,” Carney told Li. “We have an opportunity to bring that partnership back and bring it to a new level, across a range of areas.”

The prime minister has worked to restore diplomatic efforts that were strained when Canada — largely to align with the United States — hit China with targeted tariffs on key industries like steel and electric vehicles. In return, China targeted Canada with duties, particularly on canola, which has hit Prairie province farmers.

Before his departure from New York, Carney is set to attend a UN summit focused on a sustainable, inclusive and resilient global economy. He is also scheduled to meet with the prime minister of Jamaica.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

A mother stranded in Gaza City says she and her daughters are ‘waiting to die’.

Explosions shake the walls of the dim basement in Gaza City where Noor Abu Hassira and her three daughters are sheltering. They can’t see much through a small, raised window. But if the sounds of buzzing drones and booming airstrikes are any indication, Israeli forces are getting closer.

Abu Hassira is staying behind despite Israeli warnings to evacuate. She has debilitating leg injuries from an airstrike that destroyed her home at the start of the war and, like many in the devastated territory, she cannot come up with the $2,000 she says it would cost to move to southern Gaza and pitch a tent in a displacement camp.

While most Palestinians in Gaza City have fled south at some point in the 23-month long war, Abu Hassira has been largely bedridden — except for the 11 times she’s had to relocate within her city to keep safe from Israeli assaults.

Her husband is in an Israeli prison, and she and her young girls — Jouri, Maria and Maha — are among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City, which before the war had a million residents.

“It feels like we’re just waiting to die, I don’t really care that much anymore,” Abu Hassira wrote over text.

Israel says its offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing hostages taken during the attack that started the war. It says it is taking steps to mitigate harm to civilians.

If the Abu Hassira family could somehow make it to the south, their troubles would not be over.

“I’m afraid to live in a tent with my daughters. I’m afraid we will drown in the winter. I’m afraid of insects. How will we get water?” she said.
An airstrike destroyed their home

Eight months before the war, Abu Hassira and her family moved into an apartment in Gaza City. She worked as a medical lab technician.

Her husband, Raed, was a journalist for a media outlet suspected of links to Hamas. Abu Hassira said her husband was not a member of the militant group.

Jouri, their oldest, was in elementary school. Maria was about to start kindergarten. Maha was just a baby.

“We worked and saved for 10 years to have a comfortable, nice home — our dream house. Now it’s gone,” she said.

After Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and abducting 251 people, Israel responded with heavy airstrikes across Gaza and a ground invasion. That December, the Abu Hassiras’ apartment building was struck.

The blast collapsed a concrete pillar that pinned Abu Hassira under the rubble, shattering her shoulders, back and legs and knocking her into a coma. Her daughters were also buried in the rubble, though all survived.
Israeli troops raided the hospital

Abu Hassira awoke at Shifa Hospital. Her daughter, Maria, lay beside her with a fractured skull.

Israeli forces had raided the hospital weeks earlier, accusing Hamas of sheltering there. Supplies were running low. It was packed with displaced families and doctors were preoccupied with a steady flow of casualties coming through the gates.

Her husband sent the other two girls to stay with an uncle so he could care for the mother and daughter at the hospital.

“He would change my diapers, my clothes,” Abu Hassira said. “I lay on my back for three months, and he took care of me, combed my hair, and bathed me.”

In March 2024, Israeli troops raided the hospital again, arresting scores of men, including Abu Hassira’s husband. He is now one of hundreds of Palestinian men Israel has rounded up during the war whose whereabouts and legal status remain unknown.

She hasn’t heard from him, but Addameer, a Palestinian legal aid group, said an attorney visited him in an Israeli prison last November.

Israel’s prison service, Shin Bet intelligence agency and military declined to say why he was arrested or where he was being held.

“Maha was just over a year old when they took her father away,” Abu Hassira said. “She’s never once said the word ‘daddy.’”
She feared her daughters would die

Israel’s military said it killed some 200 militants over two weeks of fighting inside the sprawling Shifa hospital. The World Health Organization said 21 patients died during the siege. Israel denied harming civilians.

Abu Hassira, who said soldiers told her to leave, fled the incursion with a single bag, leaving her wheelchair and most of her clothes and food behind.

The family spent the rest of the year moving from one place to another as Israel carried out raids in and around Gaza City.

“The hardest part is living at other people’s homes ... especially with small children, and everything is expensive. I had no clothes or belongings, so I had to use theirs,” she said.

In the fall of 2024, Israel largely sealed off northern Gaza, including Gaza City, launching major ground operations and heavily restricting humanitarian aid. Clean water was hard to find. They ate little more than bread. Jouri, her oldest, grew malnourished and sick.

“I felt weak, lonely, helpless,” Abu Hassira said. “I was terrified my daughters would die and I couldn’t do anything for them.”

A neighbor volunteered to take Jouri to a malnutrition program where the girl began to recover.

In January, a long-awaited ceasefire took hold, raising hopes that the war would wind down. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to Gaza City, Abu Hassira’s extended family was reunited, and Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow in.
The war resumes

But Israel shattered the ceasefire in March, launching more airstrikes after halting imports of food, medicine and other goods — a complete blockade that would only be eased 2 1/2 months later.

In Gaza City, families like the Abu Hassiras are often without food, which costs 10 times what it did before the war: a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of sugar around $180, a kilogram of flour around $60.

Over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, but U.N. agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties.

In August, international experts determined Gaza City was experiencing famine. Weeks later, Israel launched an offensive to occupy the city, saying it was needed to pressure Hamas into releasing 48 remaining hostages, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

Abu Hassira has seen the evacuation leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft. Many of her neighbors have packed up and left.

But she can barely walk, and a truck ride south would cost around $900. A tent would cost around $1,100, she says, and who knows where they would put it. The Israeli-designated humanitarian zone largely consists of crowded camps and demolished buildings.

Families who have moved to new grounds for the displaced have found them sparse and lawless, with armed gangs patrolling the area to demand rent.

For now, Abu Hassira says she and her daughters will remain in her parents’ basement in the once-upscale Rimal neighborhood, near the Mediterranean Sea. She says she can’t cook or wash, and spends her days sitting in a chair or lying down. She needs help to use the bathroom.

“I wish my daughters and I would die together before we are forced to leave,” she said. “We are exhausted.”

___

Julia Frankel and Sally Abou Aljoud, The Associated Press

Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut.

Chile puts forward ex-president Bachelet for UN top job. Chile on Tuesday put forward its former president Michelle Bachelet as a candidate to replace UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term ends next year.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Chilean President Gabriel Borick said Bachelet, 73, was the perfect choice.

A pediatrician by profession, Bachelet served as Chile’s only woman president twice -- from 2006 to 2010, and again from 2014 to 2018.

A member of Chile’s socialist party, she has also served as the executive director of UN Women and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“Bachelet is not only a widely known and respected figure on the global stage, she is a woman with a biography deeply coherent with the values that inspire this organization,” said Boric.

The UN has never been led by a woman in its 80-year history, and has had only one secretary general from Latin America to date: Peruvian Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991.

#Trump set to address UN General Assembly after allies support Palestinian state.

NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to chastise American allies, including Canada, for a co-ordinated international effort to recognize a Palestinian state in his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday morning.

Canada joined the United Kingdom, Australia and Portugal on Sunday in recognizing an independent Palestinian state before world leaders arrived in New York City for this week’s 80th Session of the general assembly.

President Emmanuel Macron announced France would also recognize Palestinian statehood during a high-profile meeting at the general assembly Monday. Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco added their voices to the chorus — announcing or confirming their recognition of a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Mark Carney told world leaders during Monday’s meeting that the Israeli government is “working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said Trump disagreed with the move and accused the nations of rewarding Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that set off the war in Gaza two years ago.

Leavitt said recognizing a Palestinian state is “more talk and not enough action” from U.S. allies. She said Trump would speak about it at the general assembly during his address at the UN.

Ahead of the general assembly, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and he was forced to give his address on Monday by video.

Trump’s Tuesday speech at the general assembly’s high-level debate is highly anticipated. The assembly’s theme this year is “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” but Trump has pulled back America’s support for the UN and other multilateral institutions.

Trump ordered a review of the United States’ involvement in the United Nations, withdrew from its Human Rights Council and froze U.S. funding.

Last week, the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. American officials said the resolution didn’t go far enough in condemning Hamas.

Canada and European countries will also be watching to see what Trump says about Russia’s increased attacks on Ukraine and incursions into NATO allies airspace. The high-level general debate is taking place just days after the incursion of three Russian fighter jets into Estonian airspace and a week after Russian drones went into Poland.

Trump claimed last year during his presidential campaign that he could end the war in a day but it has continued to prove difficult, despite a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Carney is scheduled to attend the high-level debate to hear Trump’s speech on Tuesday morning. He is set to co-chair an event with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focusing on Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

Carney will then have meetings with other leaders and CEOs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press