News in Brief

UNICEF blankets and food supplies are about to be distributed in Lattakia, Syria, as the UN calls for a country-wide truce.
© UNICEF/Mebrahtu

News in Brief 31 March 2020

31 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Aid agencies push for workarounds in Libya as COVID-19 hampers distributions
  • Syria’s vulnerable not forgotten as UN food relief agency adjusts to pandemic precautions
  • DR Congo healthcare weaknesses exposed as never before by coronavirus – UNICEF 
Audio -
4'9"
Only in exceptional circumstances and with incontrovertible evidence of intentional murder does international law permit the death penalty. (file)
© UNICEF/Josh Estey

News in Brief 30 March 2020

30 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Release prisoners and detainees in Yemen, urge UN rights experts
  • Assistance ramped up to Pacific islands facing COVID-19
  • 2.5 trillion dollar rescue package needed for emerging economies: UNCTAD
Audio -
3'16"
An elderly customer buys provisions at a shop in a South London suburb in the UK.
Liz Oke

News in Brief 27 March 2020

27 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Abandoning elderly at risk from coronavirus is ‘criminal’: OHCHR
  • Asylum-seekers’ concern over #COVID-19 restrictions – UNHCR
  • ‘Social bomb’ could explode as those on society’s margins struggle under COVID-19
Audio -
3'37"
UNICEF has provided tents to the Philippines, Government as part of its response to COVID-19.
©UNICEF/Jake Verzosa

News in Brief 26 March 2020

26 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Philippines ceasefire welcomed after Guterres COVID-19 appeal
  • ‘Double-digit’ percentage of global GDP is needed to avert COVID-19 catastrophe: UN chief 
  • Latest Kabul attack comes amid growing insecurity in Afghanistan 
Audio -
3'
Medical equipment supplied by UNICEF is checked at a warehouse in Indonesia.
©UNICEF/Arimacs Wilander

News in Brief 25 March 2020

25 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Massive humanitarian response plan mobilized to aid ‘ultra-vulnerable’ in COVID-19 fight
  • Protect health and safety of prisoners, urges UN rights chief
  • Immediate ceasefire needed in Yemen, urges UN chief
Audio -
2'32"
Displaced children share a meal inside an underground cave where they are sheltering with their families in Taltouna village, Syria.
© UNICEF/Ali Haj Sulei

News in Brief 24 March 2020

24 March 2020
News in Brief
  • UN Syria envoy appeals for nationwide ceasefire to halt COVID-19  
  • Countries must keep cross-border transport of food, medicines going, during pandemic 
  • UN Geneva Director-General urges greater international cooperation in face of coronavirus  
Audio -
4'3"
A young boy stands in front of damaged buildings in Saada, Yemen.
WFP/Fares Khoailed

News in Brief 23 March 2020

23 March 2020
News in Brief
  • UN chief calls for global ceasefire to take on common enemy - COVID-19 
  • Rights expert raises alarm over migrant ‘pushbacks’ at Turkey-Greece border  
  • Measuring water ‘more essential than ever to tackle climate, boost development’ 
Audio -
2'56"
Violence in West Darfur has forced thousands of Sudanese across the border into Chad.
©UNHCR/Aristophane Ngargoune

News in Brief 20 March 2020

20 March 2020
News in Brief
  • UN aid teams work round the clock to ensure humanitarian support to millions  
  • UN aid teams race to assess emergency needs, ensure supplies continue  
  • Airlift flies relief to Sudanese refugees in Chad  
Audio -
2'52"
A woman wearing a protective mask and gloves checks her phone while walking along the East River in New York.
UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi

News in Brief 19 March 2020

19 March 2020
News in Brief
  • UN health agency does not recommend against using ibuprofen for COVID-19 
  • Israel has ‘legal duty’ to ensure that Palestinians in OPT receive essential health services 
  • ‘No justification’ for information restrictions by Governments during coronavirus outbreak 
Audio -
3'18"
Shoppers at a mall in Dar es Salaam as new measures are being implemented following the announcement of corona virus cases in the country.
UN News/ Stella Vuzo

News in Brief 18 March 2020

18 March 2020
News in Brief
  • Africa should wake up to COVID-19 epidemic, the says UN health agency chief 
  • Pandemic could mean 25 million jobs threatened – ILO 
  • Blueprint launched to manage Earth’s fragile peatland carbon sinks 
Audio -
3'46"