Ryder on the storm of Trump's divided nations

IN New York not much gets in the way of the bustle of living or the hustle of making a buck.

- BY NEIL LESLIE

Not even when the stakes are the fate of the free world.

The city has seen it all. So when the third week of September rolls around each year and the leaders of 150 nations come to town, New Yorkers just worry about the gridlock.

For anyone else, like myself, who has not witnessed the spectacle of the United Nation's General Assembly during 'High Level Week' up close before, it is still a sight to behold.

Presidents and prime ministers jostle on the New York pavements as they make their way to UN Plaza on the banks of the East River.

Delegates arrive in national dress from a kaleidoscope of African, Asian and Arab nations.

Every tongue in the world is spoken. An alphabet soup of US law enforcement greets you at their First Avenue line of defence.

There's FBI, ATF and NYPD. There are traffic units, dog units, drone squadrons and the Secret Service.

The heavy armour and weaponry could hold its own in a warzone.

GOLD

Going through airport-level security in front of me is the "national media team" for an authoritarian former Soviet republic.

In matching black bomber jackets with gold embossed lettering, they could be doing a ring walk with a heavyweight boxer.

Inside, the media tent is a bedlam of wires and screens and languages.

But on this morning even the wearied regular, UN-beat hacks sense something in the air.

The venerable institution that has been part of the postwar order is marking its 80th year.