UNited Nations

1. Guterres welcomes Palestinian announcement of elections as ‘crucial step’ towards unity

   The UN Secretary-General has welcomed Friday’s announcement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the first full parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years, scheduled to begin in May.

2. Peacekeepers under attack again in Mali, as one Egyptian blue helmet dies, another seriously injured

   The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned another fatal attack carried out against a peacekeeping convoy that left a ‘blue helmet’ from Egypt dead, and another seriously injured on Friday.

3. First Person: Cheese proves key to survival for Syrian refugee family amid pandemic

   Syrian refugee Fatima Hussein Al Ahmad, a mother of four, lives on a farm with 50 other workers in Sahba, Jordan. COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that didn’t work for two months in 2020, and feeding her family became a daily struggle.

4. Cameroon: Authorities urged to seek justice for recent deadly attacks

   UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in Cameroon to take steps to prosecute perpetrators behind two recent deadly attacks in the Anglophone provinces of the country, his Spokesperson said on Friday. 

5. Air travel down 60 per cent, as airline industry losses top $370 billion: ICAO

   A new report from the UN’s air transportation agency confirms there was a “dramatic” fall in international air travel due to COVID-19, of around 60 per cent over the course of last year, to levels last seen in 2003.

6. COVID-19 committee stresses need for equitable vaccine access, more data sharing

   As COVID-19 cases spike in parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas, and new variants of the virus emerge in some countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called for greater global collaboration in ending the pandemic.  

7. Child labour ‘robs children of their future’, scourge must end urges UN

   Although child labour has decreased significantly over the last decade, one-in-ten children are still caught up in harmful work, the UN’s labour agency said on Friday, kicking off a year-long bid to eradicate the practice.  

8. As COVID deaths pass two million worldwide, Guterres warns against self-defeating ‘vaccinationalism'

   With more than two million lives now lost worldwide to COVID-19, the UN Secretary-General appealed on Friday for countries to work together and help each other to end the pandemic and save lives. In a video statement, Secretary-General António Guterres noted that the absence of a global coordinated effort has worsened the pandemic’s deadly impact.

9. Pandemic curbs trend towards ever-increasing migration

   Travel restrictions and other curbs to movement put in place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a significant dent in migration figures, but the overall trend shows 100 million more people living outside their countries of origin in 2020, compared to the year 2000, a new UN report revealed on Friday.

10. Deadly earthquake hits Indonesia: Dozens killed, hundreds injured 

    At least 35 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the West Sulawesi Province of Indonesia on Friday morning, according to the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA).