Things to know about the UN General Assembly: there will be K-pop, gridlock and Wagyu beef for lunch

About 130 world leaders are gathering at the United Nations this week for the annual high-level debate to address pressing global issues, from scrapping North Korea’s nuclear weapons to financing development. Here’s a look at this year’s session:

Gridlock in Manhattan

With so many world leaders in one place, security is ultra-tight. New York police are shutting down streets to traffic near UN headquarters in midtown Manhattan and warning New Yorkers to brace for gridlock. The annual gathering elicits complaints from New Yorkers having to deal with a steady stream of motorcades and detours to get to work.

Diplomatic speed-dating

From Tuesday, 81 heads of state and 47 heads of government along with dozens of foreign ministers will take turns at the General Assembly podium. US President Donald Trump will be the second speaker, right after Brazil’s President Michel Temer. France’s Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rowhani are also speaking on the first day. On the sidelines of the speeches, some 342 meetings are scheduled and hundreds of bilateral talks in a marathon that UN ambassadors have dubbed “diplomatic speed-dating”.

New faces

Several leaders are making their debut on the world stage including from Africa: Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Angolan President Joao Lourenco. Other newcomers include Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez.