President-elect Joe Biden is signaling a stark shift from the Trump administration’s “America First” policies with his likely selection of centrist Antony Blinken for the coveted secretary of state slot. And, Ethiopia has profited from Chinese investment, which is credited with restarting the East African nation's economy. But an internal struggle between Ethiopia's central government and the opposition party that runs the northern Tigray region poses new challenges.

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Once a vaccine for COVID-19 is approved, UNICEF is planning to do a massive airlift to get the vaccine to countries who need it, especially poorer ones. What will it take to get the vaccine distributed? And, Australia has released a scathing report that finds that members of Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan. Also, mental health has become a growing concern in the pandemic, and researchers are gaining a deeper understanding of the magnitude around the globe. It's not good, but there are some glimmers of hope.

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Be a superhero and help keep The World spinning! Our coverage wouldn’t be possible without incredible individuals working behind the scenes. Donate today to support the work of our superhero staff and help keep our coverage free and open to all. Donate $100 or pledge $8.33/month to receive an invite to a virtual party with Marco Werman and The World team! Visit theworld.org/whoweare to make your contribution and learn more about the superheroes behind The World's compelling stories! Thank you for your support. 

The coronavirus crisis is leading to mental health and lockdown fatigue. How are people coping with ongoing needs to social distance, wear masks and stay at home? As part of our regular conversation series on the pandemic and as a special podcast in The World's feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health psychiatric epidemiologist Karestan Koenen.

Find more of The World's Coronavirus Conversations here

This conversation was presented jointly with The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

European Union countries whose economies have been battered by the coronavirus pandemic are impatiently waiting to get their hands on the recovery fund, sanctioned by the EU. But earlier this week, Hungary and Poland effectively vetoed that budget worth a total of $2.1 trillion. And, following two extremist attacks the past month in France, President Emmanuel Macron has begun pushing a new proposed law that would crack down on so-called "Islamist separatism." Also, a pet food company has released what they're billing as the first Christmas song ever produced specifically for dogs. 

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Be a superhero and help keep The World spinning! Our coverage wouldn’t be possible without incredible individuals working behind the scenes. Donate today to support the work of our superhero staff and help keep our coverage free and open to all. Donate $100 or pledge $8.33/month to receive an invite to a virtual party with Marco Werman and The World team! Visit theworld.org/whoweare to make your contribution and learn more about the superheroes behind The World's compelling stories! Thank you for your support. 

US President Donald Trump has fired Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and the Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the federal agency tasked with securing elections. Krebs and CISA had been commended for fending off threats by foreign and other actors during the 2020 election cycle. And, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller has announced a major troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 in both countries. Plus, there's a new effort in Spain to recognize women painters who were peers of people like Pablo Picasso but don't get nearly the same attention.

Be a superhero and help keep The World spinning! Our coverage wouldn’t be possible without incredible individuals working behind the scenes. Donate today to support the work of our superhero staff and help keep our coverage free and open to all. Donate $100 or pledge $8.33/month to receive an invite to a virtual party with Marco Werman and The World team! Visit theworld.org/whoweare to make your contribution and learn more about the superheroes behind The World's compelling stories! Thank you for your support.

Peru appears to be emerging from a political crisis. The new President Francisco Sagasti — who is the third president in a week — is someone who many hope will restore some stability to the country. And, Hurricane Iota made landfall in Nicaragua on Tuesday and is expected to bring up to 30 inches of rain onto already saturated areas, creating life-threatening flash flooding. Also, a new monument in Berlin of a Korean "comfort woman" is aggravating a deep rift between Japan and South Korea, with Germany stuck in the middle. 

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In the last week or so, there has been some good vaccine news. Pfizer and now Moderna have announced that their coronavirus vaccines were 90% and 94.5% effective based on preliminary results from their trials. And, as the US finds itself at a crossroads between one president and another, the United Nations happens to be conducting its regular review of where the US stands on human rights, as it does every four years with each of its member states. Also, one of the most important telescopes in the world, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, is on the brink of collapse after two supporting cables snapped. 

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Thank you for your support. Visit www.theworld.org/give to donate.

The escalating conflict in Ethiopia northern Tigray region is raising concerns the country may be nearing civil war. And, China’s vision for the next century is with itself as the top power in Asia. India is not on board with that — and it’s looking for ways to counter China’s ambitions with its own vision of a more multipolar Asia and world. Also, we remember former Ghana's former President Jerry John Rawlings, who died this week. 

Big news! The World is participating in NewsMatch. From now until the end of the year, every dollar of support will be generously matched by a coalition of national funders. This means a gift of $50 will provide $100 of support for The World’s critical journalism. Double your impact today!

Thank you for your support. Visit www.theworld.org/give to donate.

For many decades, the US has presented itself to the rest of the world as the gold standard when it comes to free and fair voting. So how does that square with President Donald Trump now refusing to concede after losing? And, China has four COVID-19 vaccines in phase 3 trials. But with so few coronavirus cases in the country, it’s forced to hold trials in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Brazil. Also, “Transplant,” a new Canadian TV series, offers a fresh take on medical dramas.

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Big news! The World is participating in NewsMatch. From now until the end of the year, every dollar of support will be generously matched by a coalition of national funders. This means a gift of $50 will provide $100 of support for The World’s critical journalism. Double your impact today!

For many, 2020 has been a scary year. In an effort to get to the root of why many people feel this way, the first thing we did was something we probably should have done a long time ago — we reached out to a psychiatrist. In a new season of "Things That Go Boom," The World's partner podcast from PRX, host Laicie Heeley also asked listeners, friends and family to answer what might seem like a pretty simple question: How safe do you feel? The answers weren't simple at all.

Guests: Arash Javanbakht, psychiatry researcher; Bunmi Akinnusotu, host of What in the World?

Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals, Carol Cohn

The politics of fear: How fear goes tribal, allowing us to be manipulated, Arash Javanbakht

When mask-wearing rules in the 1918 pandemic faced resistance, Becky Little

As the 1918 flu emerged, cover-up and denial helped it spread, Becky Little