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Coronavirus pandemic

UN to require $2 billion for refugee aid amid pandemic, says Secretary-General

Guterres appealed to the international community to support measures to provide support for refugees

UNITED NATIONS, March 23. /TASS/. The United Nations will appeal to its sponsors to allocate $2 billion for humanitarian response to the novel coronavirus spread, particularly for refugee aid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Monday during a video conference with journalists accredited to the organization.

Guterres appealed to the international community to support measures to provide support for refugees that "will be included in a humanitarian appeal that we will launch on Wednesday, asking for $2 billion to allow us to make our humanitarian response more effective." He also added that the funds will primarily be needed to support refugee camps where people are most vulnerable to the pandemic.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in more than 150 countries, including Russia.

On March 11, the WHO declared the outbreak a global pandemic. As of now, over 330,000 people have been infected around the world and more than 15,000 have died. Russia has identified 438 cases so far, 17 patients have recovered. The Russian government has launched an Internet hotline to keep the country informed about the coronavirus situation.

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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Cosmonauts complete spacewalk two hours ahead of schedule

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Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 24th

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There is confirmed evidence of his connections with French secret services

Russian children’s commissioner holds first face-to-face talks with Ukrainian counterparts

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Press review: US tries to strong-arm China and Zelensky's bid to bring men home

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, April 25th

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Foreign delegations show great interest in Russian defense products — security official

The 12th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues took place in St. Petersburg on April 23-25