'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Many countries are bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the poorest are not and a significant number are seeing conditions deteriorating, a report from the UN Development Program said Wednesday.
Achim Steiner, head of the agency, said that after two decades during which rich and poor countries were coming closer in terms of development, the finding is "a very strong warning signal" that nations are now drifting apart.
The Human Development Index that the agency has produced since 1990 is projected to reach record highs in 2023 after steep declines during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
But development in half of the world's poorest countries remains below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, the report said.
"It's a rich person's versus a poor person's world in which we are seeing development unfolding in very unequal, partially incomplete ways," Steiner said at a news conference. "Why does this matter? Not only because it creates more vulnerability, it creates also more misery and protracted poverty, growing inequality."
The growing inequalities are compounded by the concentration of economic wealth, the report said.
It pointed to almost 40 per cent of global trade in goods concentrated in three or fewer countries.And it said the stock market value of the three largest tech companies in 2021 -- Amazon, Apple and Microsoft -- surpassed the gross domestic product of more than 90 per cent of the 193 UN member nations that year.
Steiner said the world's nations should be joining forces to focus on major threats in the 21st century, especially climate change, the next pandemic and the emergence of a digital economy and artificial intelligence. But instead, he warned, there is increasing division and growing frustration and polarization.
He said a significant response has beenthe emergence of populism, which is anti-elite and hostile to international cooperation. He said that "is increasingly dividing societies, radicalizing the political discourse, and essentially turning more and more people against each other."
The report says advancing global collective action to tackle the world's major challenges is hindered by an emerging "democracy paradox" -- 90 per cent of people worldwide endorse democracy but for the first time over half the respondents in a global survey expressed support for leaders that risk undermining the foundations of democracy.
Territorial conflicts will continue to crop up, but the threats to human security in the 21st century will more often require being able to collaborate, Steiner said.
"We are driving ourselves deeper and deeper into a condition where our ability to solve problems is actually being compromised," he said. "You will not stop climate change with missiles. You will not stop the next pandemic at your border with a tank, and you're certainly not going to stop cybercrime with missiles."
Steiner said it is important to dial down the temperature, misperceptions and misinformation "because they're actually being weaponized in turning people against each other."
He said there also has to be a very careful look "at where inequality has become so extreme that it actually erodes the political willingness to cooperate."
The report calls for more spending on global public goods that benefit all people, including to stabilize climate and the planet, to harness new technologies to improve human development, and to improve the global financial system to benefit low-income countries.
The agency's Human Development Index measures key issues for a long and healthy life, for gaining knowledge and for achieving a decent standard of living.
Based on the latest figures from 2022, the 10 states with the highest human development scores are Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Ireland tied for seventh, Singapore, and Australia and the Netherlands tied for 10th place. The United States tied with Luxembourg for 20th place.
The 10 countries with the lowest human development were Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Burundi, Mali, Chad, Niger, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia. All but Yemen are in Africa.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.