The top United Nations envoy in Syria called on Tuesday for an immediate country-wide truce, allowing citizens to save lives and tackle the common threat presented by the COVID-19 coronavirus.

As countries across the world grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Health agency reminded everyone on Tuesday, World Tuberculosis Day 2020, that TB remains the world’s most deadly infectious disease.

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday called for an easing of sanctions against countries such as Iran to allow their medical systems to fight the disease and limit its global spread.

The International Olympic Committee declared on Wednesday that it is postponing the 2020 Summer Olympics which were due to take place in Japan.

As regular hand washing is a key tool in combating COVID-19, the UN and its partners are taking steps to ensure people living in informal settlements have access to running water at this critical time.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched a new platform on Monday to help global networks under increasing strain and facing rising demand during the COVID-19 crisis to remain “safer, stronger and more connected”.

A new awareness-raising campaign, led by the world’s top football stars, called ‘Pass the message to kick out coronavirus’, was launched on Monday by the UN health agency, WHO, and international football’s governing body, FIFA.

In an appeal issued on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against  COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind.

Floods, extreme rainfall, droughts and melting glaciers…many of the major signs of climate change involve water.

Hawaii has committed to reaching 100 per cent clean, renewable energy for electricity by 2045.