When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it. ***This week, as wars continue to rage in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and beyond, world leaders are convening in New York for the 79th annual United Nations General Assembly. We asked four experts to tell us what they expect to come out of the summit, what issues they expect to take center stage, and if they think the meeting will yield any substantial solutions to the world’s many ongoing conflicts and disasters. Read more below.Mark Kersten Assistant Professor, The University of the Fraser Valley & Senior Consultant, Wayamo FoundationThe saber-rattling and palpable fears over escalating violence in the Middle East are set to dominate the 79th U.N. General Assembly. The situation in Gaza and the West Bank will be front and center on the agenda. The ongoing violence there is a fulcrum for the international community. Indeed, what purpose does multilateral diplomacy serve if it cannot abate a war that no major power has an interest in deepening and worsening? Can states set aside their differences to address atrocities committed in Israel, Palestine, and the wider region? Will Israel’s novel — and terrifying — corruption of supply chains to place booby traps into pagers and walkie-talkies bring a renewed sense of drive to end this war, or will the violence and war crimes continue to spill outwards as capitals bicker and finger-point? If leaders do make progress, the benefits are clear: They can turn to resolving intractable violence in Ukraine and Sudan and to the pressing question of climate change. Or might some make the connection between the two? The climate