Results for World

The environmental roots of the COVID-19 pandemic need to be addressed to further protect people's health and the planet, the sixth session of the Committee on Environment and Development (UN-ESCAP) decided, because the destruction of the living world undermines our only support system and makes pandemics more likely.

The shock of COVID-19 has pushed the number of people who need humanitarian assistance worldwide to a record high – up by 40 per cent compared to the same time last year. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said yesterday that humanitarian aid budgets face dire shortfalls as the impact of the global pandemic continues to worsen and called for the world to mobilize resources and “stand in solidarity with people in their darkest hour of need." Multiple famines loom on the horizon for poor countries.

New York Times reporting: A day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to stay home for Thanksgiving, more than 1 million people in the United States got on planes, marking the second day that more than 1 million people have flown since March. Nearly 3 million additional people have flown in the days since. For some, the desire to see family is worth the risk of potentially getting the coronavirus while traveling.

New York Times reporting: At the end of a tough year, spiritual leaders offer some ways to prepare yourself for whatever comes next. By Erik Vance.

New York Times reporting: After eight years of talks, China and 14 other nations from Japan to New Zealand to Myanmar on Sunday formally signed one of the world’s largest regional free trade agreements, a pact shaped by Beijing partly as a counterweight to U.S. influence in the region.

New York Times reporting: The voter fraud, perpetrated Monday in New Zealand, was real. And the contenders were, er, fowl. As the citizens slept, a hacker slipped more than 1,500 fake votes into an election database, sending one flightless bird to the top. The scandal has roiled Bird of the Year 2020, an online popularity contest among the native birds of New Zealand. ...

New York Times reporting: The former vice president achieved victory offering a message of healing and unity. He will return to Washington facing a daunting set of crises.

New York Times reporting: From the droves of people voting by mail to the widespread protests for racial justice to the pandemic and worries about the electoral process itself, the 2020 US election cycle provides “a recipe for a lot of angst” on Election Day, Nov. 3 ...“We’re seeing a huge increase in the need for mental health services,” said Eva Escobedo, a therapist in Texas. “I think that people are way more polarized even within their families and essential groups than they ever have been before.” So how can you engage with friends and family members across the political divide on Election Day and afterward without succumbing to fights and finger-pointing? By Katherine Cusumano.

New York Times reporting: That old political heartbreaker, the presidential battleground of Florida, lured the two White House contenders to the same city on Thursday, as President Donald Trump and Joe Biden confronted some of their biggest political vulnerabilities in a state that is once again shaping up as the most elusive prize in next week’s election. By Katie Glueck and Patricia Mazzei