Syria’s new leaders at the UN General Assembly: ‘Syria is back after six decades’

Full Episode
50:10

Syrians gather at Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, to watch a public screening of President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s address to the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.

Ghaith Alsayed/AP

This week at the United Nations General Assembly, Syria’s new interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa came with a message: Syria is back after being isolated for about six decades. Also, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the UN Climate Summit the country’s first national emissions reduction targets. It marks a shift in China’s approach to climate policy, which, until now, allowed emissions to grow in tandem with economic growth. And, Denmark issued a formal apology yesterday for forcing Indigenous women and girls from Greenland to use contraceptive devices. Beginning in the 1960s, Danish doctors inserted IUDs into thousands of Inuit women and school-age girls, often without their or their parents’ knowledge or consent. Plus, climate change has exacerbated drought and extreme weather in northern Ghana, leaving many in the agricultural region struggling to grow enough food. Chef Fatmata Binta sees a solution in fonio, a grain similar to couscous, indigenous to West Africa.

Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.

In This Episode

Syria’s new leaders at the UN General Assembly: ‘Syria is back after six decades’
6:24
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video link to UN General Assembly
1:11
Twice-yearly HIV prevention drug to be offered at new, low cost
5:25
China releases first-ever national emissions reduction targets, signaling shift in approach to climate policy
6:48
Oxford English Dictionary can’t get enough of Caribbean food
1:06
A discussion about Denmark’s forced IUD program for Greenlandic Inuit women and girls
Special Coverage
17:17
When in drought, plant fonio
Special Coverage
7:33