World leaders speak on fourth day of UN General Assembly: Live | United Nations News

Leaders from the Palestinian Authority, Germany, Nigeria, Pakistan and Japan among the speakers during the annual gathering.

The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly continues with a fourth day of high-level meetings and addresses by Heads of State or Government.

On Friday’s list of speakers are the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, Germany, Nigeria, Pakistan and Japan.

On Thursday, heads of state and government from across Africa condemned the uneven distribution of coronavirus vaccines as access remains extremely restricted on the continent.

This year’s meeting began with a strong appeal from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who warned that the world was on the “edge of an abyss” that could only be averted through global cooperation.

Here are all the latest updates:

11 minutes ago (13:28 GMT)

Iran says talks on nuclear deals should resume “very soon”

Iran will “very soon” return to negotiations to resume compliance with the Iranian nuclear deal of 2015, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters on the margins of UNGA.

“We are not striving to leave the negotiating table,” said Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

“We will certainly conduct negotiations that serve the rights and interests of our nation.”

The foreign minister also described talks between Iranian and Saudi officials as “constructive” and said Tehran had put forward dynamic proposals to achieve peace in Yemen.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke from a distance on Tuesday at the 76th General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. [File: Timothy A Clary/Reuters]

55 minutes ago (12:44 GMT)

Young people are returning to the streets around the world to fight climate change

Young people around the world took to the streets in their biggest protest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to call for urgent action to avert catastrophic climate change.

The strike comes five weeks before the United Nations COP26 summit, which aims to bring more ambitious climate action by world leaders to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet.

A landmark August UN climate science report warned that human activity has been causing climate disruption for decades – but that quick, large-scale measures to reduce emissions could still ward off some of the most devastating effects.

Activists hold banners during a protest march as part of the Fridays for Future climate movement in New Delhi, India [File: Manish Swarup/The Associated Press]

1 hour ago (12:33 GMT)

Senior UN official urges Myanmar “before it’s too late”

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned of a human rights disaster under military rule in Myanmar and called on the international community to do more to prevent the conflict in the country from escalating.

“The national consequences are terrible and tragic – the regional consequences could also be profound,” Bachelet said in a statement. “The international community must redouble its efforts to restore democracy and prevent major conflicts before it is too late.”

The warning comes when the military rulers of Myanmar applied for representation in the United Nations. More than 350 Myanmar and international civil society organizations have urged the global body to continue recognizing the deposed government representative, Kyaw Moe Tun.

The UN Authority Committee is expected to look into the matter in the coming weeks.

Read more here.

Human rights groups have called on the UN to continue recognizing Kyaw Moe Tun as a representative of Myanmar. [File: AFP]