Joe Biden also commented briefly on the civil war in Sudan, which has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises but received comparably less attention from foreign governments and the public.

The US president called for countries to stop arming the warring parties, though did not name specific nations. Reports have emerged that the United Arab Emirates has provided a steady stream of weapons to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been battling the Sudanese army in the conflict that began in April 2023.

“Gaza is not the only conflict that deserves our outrage. In Sudan, a bloody civil war unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Eight million, eight million on the brink of famine, hundreds of thousands already there,” Biden said.

He continued:

The United States has led the world in providing humanitarian aid to Sudan, and with our partners who have led diplomatic talks to try to silence the guns and avert a wider famine. The world needs to stop arming the generals, to speak with one voice and tell them, stop tearing your country apart, stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people, end this war now.

Here’s the latest on the conflict in the country:

Joe Biden then shifted to the Middle East, where he called for a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza and the release of hostages taken in the October 7 attack.

“Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and … ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” Biden said.

He then shifted to the escalating hostilities in the Middle East, decrying Hezbollah’s rocket attacks and calling for diplomacy:

Since October 7, we’ve also been determined to prevent a wider war than engulfs the entire region. Hezbollah, unprovoked during the October 7 attack, launching rockets in Israel almost a year later, too many on each side of the Israeli-Lebanon border remain displaced.

Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even if the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes and the border safely. And that’s … what we’re working tirelessly to achieve.

Here’s the latest on the crisis in Lebanon:

Joe Biden went on to address one of the United States and its allies’ top national security priorities: Ukraine and its defense against the Russian invasion.

“The good news is Putin’s war has failed at his core aim,” Biden said.

He then promised to continue to support Kyiv until it achieves a “durable peace”:

He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out the weaken Nato, but Nato is bigger, stronger, more united than ever before, with two new members, Finland and Sweden, but we cannot let up. The world now has another choice to make. Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war, to preserve its freedom, or walk away and let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed.

I know my answer. We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away and we will not let up on our support for Ukraine, not until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace in the UN charter.

Joe Biden is taking the stage now in New York City, where he’ll address heads of state gathered for the United Nations general assembly.

This will be Biden’s final address to the global body as president. We’ll let you know what he has to say.

Kamala Harris has received the endorsement of more than 400 economists and economic policy experts, who wrote in an open letter that the vice-president “will work relentlessly to build a strong, pro-growth economy for all Americans”.

The group includes former treasury, commerce and labor secretaries; a former vice-chair of the Federal Reserve; and a Nobel laureate, among many others.

Of Donald Trump, the group writes:

Donald Trump’s proposed policies risk reigniting inflation and threaten the United States’ global standing and domestic economic stability. Nonpartisan researchers have predicted that if Donald Trump successfully enacts his agenda, it will lower GDP growth and increase the unemployment rate.

The endorsements of Harris follow similar open letters from a group of more than 100 Republican foreign policy and national security officials, and more than 700 former military and national security officials.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Joe Biden will make one of the final big speeches of his presidency at 10am ET today, when he addresses the UN general assembly in New York. The annual gathering of world leaders is a significant moment for any president, but even more so for Biden, because he’s due to depart the White House in January. His administration has not given many hints of what he might say, but in his speech you can expect him to make the case for his handling of everything from climate change to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and potentially the escalating crisis in Lebanon.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, will be in Savannah, Georgia, to give a speech at 1pm billed as discussing his policy on taxation and manufacturing. The ex-president’s economic proposals have centered on a combination of tariffs and tax cuts that he argues would lower prices for consumer, after several years of high inflation under Biden. Economists aren’t so sure, and chances are Trump veers away from the subject anyway – he’s known to go off topic throughout his speeches. We’ll be keeping an eye on what both men have to say.

Here’s what else is going on:

• Antony Blinken may soon become the latest Biden administration official to be held in contempt. The Republican-led House foreign affairs committee has demanded he testify today, but he has reportedly told them he is busy with the UN general assembly, and when the committee meets beginning at 10.15am, they may vote to sanction him.

• A scandal brews in New York City’s suburbs. The New York Times reported yesterday that freshman Republican congressman Anthony D’Esposito gave part-time jobs to both his lover and his fiancee’s daughter, which may be a violation of House ethics rules.

• A vote in the House on a short-term funding measure to prevent a government shutdown is expected on Wednesday.