IMF sees global economy shrinking 4.4% in 2020
The pandemic-hit global economy is expected to contract by as much as 4.4% this year, the International Monetary Fund forecast.
Global Issues
Global issues are complex challenges that require international cooperation, from mitigating climate change to addressing global poverty and geopolitical conflicts. Of the U.N.'s 169 targets for sustainable development, only 35% are on track or making moderate progress toward their 2030 deadline.
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China, Russia join U.N. Human Rights Council
Despite criticism from the U.S. and human rights groups, China, Cuba and Russia were among 15 nations that won seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Eight nations craft rules to develop Moon from business 'safe zones'
The U.S. persuaded seven nations to sign agreements for cooperating and extracting resources from the Moon's surface.
Report cites climate-linked rise in disasters
A new report found disasters due to weather may force nearly 162 million people to seek humanitarian aid by 2030, almost 50% more than in 2018.
WFP wins Nobel Prize to focus world on hunger
The Nobel Peace Prize went to the World Food Program for its efforts to alleviate hunger amid the pandemic and to urge more international cooperation.
Trump pushes New START before election
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be pushing for a foreign policy win before Election Day, seeking to renew a nuclear arms control deal with Russia.
Report finds pandemic erodes 80 democracies
Democracy and human rights deteriorated in 80 nations since the coronavirus pandemic began early this year, Freedom House reported.
Mixed progress cited with 1995 gender goals
Leaders at a high-level U.N. meeting lamented the world's slow progress over the past quarter-century for advancing the rights of women and girls.
U.N. virus tracker shows deficit of gender policies
Just 25 nations, or 12% of the world, have comprehensive measures in place to protect women against the pandemic, a new U.N. data tracker found.
U.N. panel decries 'rampant' corruption
Governments lose trillions of dollars a year to corruption, money laundering and tax avoidance that could aid people in poverty, a U.N. panel reported.
UNGA converts into global stage of virtual diplomacy
The U.N. General Assembly opened its first virtual meeting of world leaders, forced by the pandemic to turn its global stage for diplomacy into a ghost village.
Coronavirus cases top 30 million worldwide
Global coronavirus cases topped 30 million with 944,000 deaths, with the U.S., India, Brazil and Russia accounting for about half of the pandemic.
New UNGA chief warns nationalism fuels pandemic
The president of the U.N. General Assembly warned against unilateralism in taking on the pandemic, and called for more global cooperation on vaccines.
Treaty shows global diversity goals off-track
Humans are trashing the planet so fast it would take 1.7 "Earths" to regenerate all the biological resources used up from 2011 to 2016, a U.N. treaty reported.
U.N. rights chief censures virus-fueled hotspots
The U.N. human rights chief denounced violence in Belarus and systemic racism in the U.S. among hotspots of global turmoil compounded by the pandemic.
Anti-corruption sports organization in works
New momentum for creating a global organization to investigate corruption in sports surfaced as FIFA and UNODC signed a cooperation agreement.