Politics
Absent World Leaders Worsen UN’s Gridlock and Frustrations at 75
- Virus reduces General Assembly in Manhattan to virtual event
- Leaders divided by move toward nationalism as crises persist
A man passes the UN headquarters in New York. The UN General Assembly that usually brings about 10,000 diplomats to Manhattan is being held virtually this week.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
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As the United Nations turns 75 this year, the world body keeps churning out increasingly grim reports on the global threats it was created to ameliorate.
Biodiversity is being destroyed, climate change is accelerating, war and famine are creating more refugees than ever in human history, the world body warns. And now the Covid-19 pandemic is pushing hundreds of millions back into poverty as renewed lockdowns loom.