World leaders begin convening Monday at one of the most volatile moments in the United Nations' 80-year history, and the challenges they face are as dire as ever if not more so: unyielding wars in Gaza and Ukraine, escalating changes in the U.S. approach to the world, hungry people everywhere and technologies that are advancing faster than the understanding of how to manage them.

The United Nations, which emerged from World War II's rubble on the premise that nations would work together to tackle political, social and financial issues, is in crisis itself. As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week: "International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes."

U.S. stocks are drifting on Monday as Wall Street lets off the accelerator for its seemingly relentless rally.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 103 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:57 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged. All three set their latest all-time highs on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Moscow will adhere to nuclear arms limits for one more year under the last remaining nuclear pact with the United States that expires in February, and he urged Washington to follow suit.

Putin said that the termination of the 2010 New START would have negative consequences for global stability and could fuel proliferation of nuclear weapons.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 rocked the San Francisco Bay Area early Monday, waking up many people, with more 24,000 saying they felt it, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake was just east-southeast of Berkeley, the survey said. It happened shortly before 3 a.m. PDT.

Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who has been in prison for almost all of the past 12 years.

A statement from the president's office said that another five prisoners were also pardoned. It was not immediately clear when they will walk free.

The U.K., Australia and Canada formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday, prompting an angry response from Israel, which ruled out the prospect.

The coordinated initiative from the three Commonwealth nations and longtime allies reflects growing outrage at Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza and the steps taken by the Israeli government to thwart efforts to create a Palestinian state, including by the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he still has good memories of U.S. President Donald Trump and urged Washington to drop its demand the North surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy.

Speaking to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, Kim stressed that he has no intention of ever resuming dialogue with rival South Korea, a key U.S. ally that helped broker Kim's previous summits with Trump during the American president's first term, according to a speech published by state media on Monday.

An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed five people Sunday, including three children, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family.

The state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, near Bint Jbeil, had targeted a motorcycle.

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's ruling party opened official campaigning Monday to find his replacement who can restore political stability and voter support for the beleaguered Liberal Democrats.

Five candidates are vying for the Liberal Democratic Party's top job ahead of a highly unpredictable vote in early October. The race has a slogan: "Change, LDP."

A 30-day window to stop the reimposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran is closing, likely meaning Tehran will face new pressure on its ailing economy as tensions remain high in the wider Mideast over the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.

As the U.N. General Assembly meets this week in New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have a last chance to try to halt the sanctions. The clock started when France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Aug. 28 declared Iran wasn't complying with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.