CAS imposes Russia ban for next 2 Olympics
The world's top sports court blocked Russia from fielding teams at the next two Olympics and any world championships.
John Heilprin
Award-winning U.N.-accredited journalist, with 30+ years on four continents, almost half of it for AP in Washington, New York and Geneva.
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U.S. currency dispute puts IMF role in spotlight
The IMF was thrust into a dispute over currency manipulation as the U.S. accused Vietnam and Switzerland of currency manipulation.
WTO subsidy talks to curb overfishing drag on
Diplomats failed to meet an end-of-year deadline for a deal on halting government subsidies that contribute to overfishing, WTO officials said.
Study projects pandemic adds 168K child deaths
Hunger from the pandemic will likely cause millions more children to suffer from severe malnutrition and add 168,000 child deaths, a new study said.
Five years on, Paris climate accord recharges
World leaders honored five years of the 2015 Paris Agreement at a virtual summit energized by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's vow to rejoin it.
Global coronavirus cases exceed 70 million
Confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 70 million with 1.58 million deaths as the pandemic raged out of control and nations pinned hopes on rolling out vaccines.
UNEP report points to catastrophic warming
Unmet promises to cut carbon emissions put the planet on track for temperatures to rise "in excess of 3 degrees Celsius this century," UNEP reported.
Big pharma sees wide use of vaccines by late 2021
Several CEOs of leading drugmakers expressed confidence the pandemic can be brought under control starting sometime in the second half of next year.
New U.N. 'day' to aid efforts against epidemics
After holding its first high-level session on the pandemic, the U.N. General Assembly created a new "international day" to prevent health crises like COVID-19.
U.N. calls on nations to end 'war on nature'
The U.N. chief appealed to world leaders to start fixing our "broken" planet by ringing in 2021 with a commitment to a carbon pollution-neutral future.
IUCN finds climate top threat to UNESCO sites
Climate change is damaging one-third of the world's UNESCO sites and has become the single-biggest threat they face, IUCN warned.
Humanitarian aid groups confront toll of pandemic on poor nations
U.N. officials released a 2021 humanitarian plan that projects a 40% increase in people who need aid from a year earlier.
Report: UNDP audit looks into GEF projects
UNDP said in response to a news article it examined possbible "misuse of funds" affecting almost US$100 million in GEF-funded projects.
U.N. talks open on Syria national governance
Syrian representatives, dogged by mistrust from an almost decade-long civil war, began a fourth round of peace talks on a new system of governance.
WHO plugs need for testing even after vaccines
Even after COVID-19 vaccines become available, nations must offer widespread testing against infections to end the pandemic, WHO's chief said.
CERN particle collider to reopen in 2021
CERN's atom smasher will restart for the first test beams in May 2021, two months later than planned, and operate from March 2022 until the end of 2024.