UNGA 2026 Highlights: Trump rejects ‘globalist scheme’ to control AI, says should be called ‘super intelligence'

Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue during his address at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, calling for the dispute to be resolved through dialogue.

“In South Asia, it is important that all disputes, including the Kashmir issue, be addressed through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations Charter and of relevant resolutions,” Erdogan said.

US State Department has, for the second consecutive year, refused visas to top Palestinian officials, effectively barring the Palestinian government from attending the UN General Assembly.

Speaking at the UNGA on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue to be “the voice of a free and sovereign state of Palestine” at the global forum.

Erdogan also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying the world was “faced with a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing.”

Trump dismissed warnings from AI programmers, executives and experts about the technology’s risks, saying he would encourage “super intelligence” rather than rein it in.

Trump compared AI warnings to what he called the “Russia hoax” and past warnings about global warming, arguing that the same people were behind both.

Trump called on all members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resign immediately, branding it a “rogue institution.”

His administration has repeatedly criticised the court and imposed sanctions this year on its president, chief prosecutor and nine judges. Critics argue the ICC overreaches into the affairs of sovereign nations, while supporters view it as a key pillar of the rules-based international order.

Amazon said Tuesday that its cloud service for handling sensitive government documents is now available to all NATO countries, potentially helping the alliance improve coordination on military planning.

Amazon already plays a major role in providing classified cloud computing services to US intelligence agencies and the military.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the joint defence alliance with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia aims to strengthen regional solidarity and find solutions to conflicts from within the region.

He said efforts were underway with regional actors to end the “climate of conflict” and war in the Gulf, warning that attempts to spread the fighting to neighbouring regions would serve no one’s interests.

President Donald Trump has signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security, easing tensions over his repeated calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.

The signing Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York comes days after Trump announced the deal to bolster U.S. military presence on the vast, icy island but keep it under Danish control. The governments provided few details of the agreement before the signing.

Greenland’s prime minister said the country recognises the long-term security threats that Trump has rightly highlighted.

King Abdullah said it is clear Israel will not change its rejection of Palestinian statehood, pointing to continued settlement expansion and land seizures. He called it a “dangerous illusion” that the Arab world had never sought peace, citing the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offered Israel normalisation with 57 Arab and Muslim states in exchange for peace and Palestinian statehood.

Trump’s latest speech saw little of his usual criticism of Europe, a relief for many European leaders watching from the UN or overseas.

He highlighted European security, saying a new Greenland agreement with Denmark would give the US greater control over security needs on the territory. Trump said the deal would prevent US adversaries from establishing military presences or making sensitive investments in Greenland without US approval.

He also said the US would build two major military bases there, arguing that a larger American presence in the Arctic would strengthen security for both the US and Europe.

Trump is expected to appear shortly with Danish and Greenlandic leaders, where more details of the agreement could emerge.

As Trump began to talk about the on-and-off US military strikes against Iran, the delegation of Iranians at the UN General Assembly began to walk out, with only one person, a lower-level staff member, remaining seated.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in New York for the annual meeting but didn’t arrive in the General Assembly Hall for the US president’s speech.

Trump reiterated his opposition to global efforts to regulate artificial intelligence, rejecting what he called a “globalist scheme” to control AI.

Calling it “super intelligence”, Trump said the term artificial intelligence made the technology “sound fake” and announced that US documents would use “super” instead of “artificial”.

In his concluding remarks, he urged the world to rally together against what he called “the enemies of all humanity”.

“If we reject the voices who would have us give in to fear and doubt, if we refuse to shrink from our duties to our people, then together, through bold action, we will make this world far safer and a far better place,” he said.

Trump said his administration intervened to stop the International Maritime Organization from introducing what he called a “very expensive” global carbon tax on shipping.

The US had pushed to block the measure using trade and visa threats, which could have made shipping the first industry to face a global price on its pollution.

Trump’s claim that “To the victor belong the spoils” marks a departure from the longstanding US practice of saying its foreign interventions were not driven by material interests, particularly control of foreign oil.

Trump said his administration had slashed the UN budget by about 15%, claiming the cuts led to 4,000 staff layoffs. The US, the UN’s largest donor, has also withdrawn from several UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNESCO.

Trump invoked the phrase “To the victor belong the spoils” while celebrating the outcome of the US military operation in Venezuela. He made the remarks near the prison where former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being held after his capture by the US in January. Since then, the US has expanded access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.

“Communism with never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to Cuba,” Trump said, adding, “We will not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep.”

US President Donald Trump said the US had reached an “unprecedented agreement” with Denmark and Greenland over the strategically important territory. He said the deal would allow Washington to build two major military bases, strengthening the defence of North America and Europe and NATO.