Palestinian president to address UNGA via video

Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to speak to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday via video, after Washington had refused granting him and other aides visas to New York.

Despite Abbas being barred from attending in person, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to allow him to make his speech in a video message.

Abbas, along with another 80 senior Palestinian officials, was refused a visa by the US State Department, which cited “national security concerns”.