President Barack Obama conceded on Tuesday that the United States and other world powers have limited ability to solve the most profound challenges facing the world, while calling for a

“course correction” for globalisation to ensure that nations don’t retreat into a more sharply divided world. > I don't believe progress is possible if our preservation of our own

> identities leads to dominating another community @BarackObama at > #UNGA > — Taruni Kumar (@TaruniKumar) September 20, 2016 Obama, in his final speech to the UN General Assembly,

acknowledged that the extremist and sectarian violence wreaking havoc in the Middle East and elsewhere “will not be quickly reversed.” Still, he stuck faithfully to his insistence that

we know that no external power is going to be > able to force different religious communities or ethnic communities > to co-exist for long,” Obama said. “Until basic questions are >

 answered about how communities co-exist, the embers of extremism > will continue to burn. Countless human beings will suffer.” In a clear reference to the ISIS, Obama also urged all

countries to come together and fight the “outside force” as it does not “respect humanity.” In a less-than-subtle jab at Donald Trump, the Republican running to replace him, Obama said, “The

world is too small for us to simply be able to build a wall and prevent (extremism) from affecting our own societies.” UNABASHED CRITIQUE OF RUSSIA > The president was unabashed in his 

critique of Russia as he laid out > his diagnosis of the world’s ills. Obama’s longstanding > differences with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his actions > in Ukraine have 

accompanied intense disagreement over Syria’s > future and a series of failed attempts by Russia and the US to > resolve the civil war there together. “In a world that left the age of

empire behind, we see Russia attempting to recover lost glory through force,” Obama said. The tough talk about Russia illustrated how little progress has been made in reconciling the

diverging interests among the two powers that has allowed the Syria crisis to continue to fester. A year ago, Obama stood at the same podium and declared anew that Syrian President Bashar

Assad must leave power, while Putin gave a dueling speech warning it would be a mistake to abandon Assad. Obama sought to use his last appearance before the global body to define how his

leadership had put the world on a better trajectory over the last eight years. At the heart of that approach, Obama said, is the notion that the biggest conflicts are best solved when

nations cooperate rather than tackle them individually. In another apparent reference to Trump, Obama bemoaned how terrorist networks had spread their ideology on social media, spurring

anger toward “innocent immigrants and Muslims.” THE NEED FOR “COURSE CORRECTION” Obama lamented that the world has become safer and more prosperous at the same time that nations are

struggling with a devastating refugee crisis, terrorism and a breakdown in basic order in the Middle East. He said governing had become more difficult as people lose faith in public

institutions and tensions among nations spiral out of control more rapidly. “This is the paradox that defines the world today,” Obama said. “We must go forward, and not backward.” The

president cited his administration’s outreach to former adversaries Cuba and Myanmar as key examples of progress, along with global cooperation to cut emissions blamed for global warming. At

the same time, he said he sought not to “whitewash” challenges across the globe, some of which he attributed to deepening anxieties about the profound shifts inflicted by technology and

growing international interdependence. > Endorses the idea that it's okay for host countries to say refugees > must adhere/adapt to the countries' culture @BarackObama at 

#UNGA > — Taruni Kumar (@TaruniKumar) September 20, 2016 “In order to move forward though, we do have to acknowledge that the existing path to global integration requires a course

correction,” Obama said. President Barack Obama also told world leaders they have to do more to open their hearts to refugees who are desperate for a home. Obama said the world is more

secure if leaders are prepared to help people in need, but they have to follow through even when the politics are hard. He says leaders must have the empathy to imagine what it would be like

for their families if the unspeakable were to happen. Published: 20 Sep 2016, 11:07 PM IST