They said it: Leaders at the UN, in their own words

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Many leaders saying many things about many topics that matter to them, to their regions, to the world: That’s what the U.N. General Assembly invariably produces each year.

And each year, certain voices dominate. Here, The Associated Press takes the opposite approach and spotlights some thoughts from leaders who might have not captured the headlines and airtime on Friday, the fourth day of the 2026 General Debate.

“We do not own the ocean. We belong to it.”

—Matthew Cooper Wale, prime minister of the Solomon Islands

“We all need to wake up and act.”

—Hilda Heine, president of the Marshall Islands, on climate change

“The systems confronting us today do not wake up with hatred in their hearts. They multiply ours."

—Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania, on artificial intelligence

“This country exists behind the images of crises … We need to recreate the conditions so the world can come to Haiti again and rediscover it.”

—Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, prime minister of Haiti

“Our people should never be forced to choose between their homeland and their future.”

—Feleti Teo, prime minister of Tuvalu, on climate change

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“Iraq has never been on the margins. Rather, it is the heart of history beating in the modern world. Iraq is a nation worthy of partnership as we move toward the future.”

—Ali al-Zaidi. prime minister of Iraq

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“Today, that is our task: preventing the world from destroying itself.”

—Christophe Mirmand, minister of state of Monaco

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“As conflicts and injustice multiply, the UN too often fails to act inside this building. That failure can look like another meeting without a decision."

—Beate Meinl-Reisinger, federal minister for European and International Affairs of Austria

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger addresses the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo prepares to speak during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Haiti's Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé addresses the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Marshall Islands' President Hilda Heine speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — A cooldown in oil prices helped release some of the pressure that’s built up on Wall Street, and U.S. stocks closed out their first winning week in the last three. The S&P 500 added 0.5% Friday to pull within 0.7% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%. Stocks got a boost after the price of a barrel of Brent oil dropped below $98. That helped Treasury yields ease shortly after the 10-year yield briefly jumped near its highest level since 2007.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — A cooldown in oil prices on Friday helped release some of the pressure that’s built up on Wall Street, and U.S. stocks are rising toward the finish of a winning week.

The S&P 500 added 0.4% and is on track to break a three-day losing streak marked by big swings due to rising yields in the bond market. The main measure of the U.S. stock market's health pulled closer to its all-time high set last month and is heading for the finish of its first winning week in the last three.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 438 points, or 0.9%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.

Stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent oil dropped 2.8% to $97.44 per barrel. It’s been yo-yoing on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East. Prices go down when hopes rise for a possible deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, and they go up when doubts resurface.

But trading was shaky again Friday, particularly after a report on U.S. consumer sentiment sent Treasury yields higher in the morning.

The report from the University of Michigan said U.S. consumers are bracing for inflation of 4.6% in the coming year, up from their forecast of 4% the month before. It also said that overall sentiment among consumers was not as bad as economists expected, even if it was the lowest in four months.

The expectations for high inflation are potentially dangerous for the economy because they could encourage behavior that leads to a vicious cycle that makes the cost of living spiral even higher.

Some consumers told the survey that buying some kinds of products now would help them avoid higher prices in the future. If they rush to make such purchases, it could encourage sellers to raise prices further.

Following the report on consumer sentiment, the yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly jumped above 5.22%, up from 5.18% late Thursday, and was near its highest level since 2007.

High yields slow the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, while undercutting prices for stocks and other investments, and the 10-year yield has been jumping from 3.97% before the start of the war with Iran.

Rising yields worldwide are rattling all kinds of financial markets. They're on the rise because of worries about high inflation, expensive oil, big government debt loads, signs of continued economic strength and other factors.

But yields later eased as the price of oil pulled lower, and the 10-year yield eased back to 5.17%. That helped stocks on Wall Street regain strength.

Helping to lead the way was Akamai Technologies. The cloud company's stock rose 4.7% after it announced an $11.6 billion, multiyear agreement with Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot.

Costco Wholesale added 2.7% after the retailer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Such strong profit reports from U.S. companies have helped the stock market remain resilient despite all the worries about high inflation and oil prices.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following bigger moves in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1%.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Michael Pistillo works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

John O'Hara works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)