The Hall

Guterres: cracks have become canyons. His last Assembly.

War and peace. Wealth. Climate. Artificial intelligence. He named Russia. He did not pick a fight with Trump.

The Rocket News · United Nations Bureau · New YorkSeptember 22, 2026 · 4 min read

Guterres, last Assembly: cracks have become canyons. Four tests of power.

António Guterres gave his last address to the General Assembly on Tuesday morning. “Cracks have become canyons.” Four tests, he said: war and peace, the power that concentrates wealth, climate, and artificial intelligence. The World desk files a secretary-general on the way out, and a hall that would hear Trump an hour later.

He named Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and for breaking food and energy lines. He walked around Trump. The United States is the host and the top donor. The Times: a verbal tightrope. Xi is skipping the Assembly for Washington.

Cracks have become canyons.

Video

#UNGA 81 General Debate Live — 22 September 2026 (Day 1) · United Nations · Watch on United Nations

The World desk files Tuesday as it is: canyons, four tests, and a president who took the same podium to talk about annihilating a member state.

Wire and further reading: nytimes.com

Filed under World

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