Global Prayer Alerts
COVID-19 Crisis Won't Necessarily End With Vaccine, WHO Says
The World Health Organization’s Europe director says the COVID-19 crisis won’t necessarily end with a vaccine, but with societies learning how to live with it. In an interview with British broadcaster SKY News Wednesday, WHO Europe Director Hans...
Locust Swarms Threaten Food Security in East Africa
Since late 2019, parts of Kenya have been under siege by swarms of locusts. The numbers of flying pests have been the highest in recent memory, the result of environmental factors. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story of farmers in an impoverished...
Hurricane Laura Forecast to Be Life-Threatening for US Gulf Coast
Forecasters say Hurricane Laura could strengthen to a powerful Category 4 as it moves towards an expected landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast Wednesday night or Thursday morning. As of Wednesday morning, Laura was located 510 kilometers from the city...
Armed Violence Displaces More Than 1 Million in Burkina Faso
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The U.N. refugee agency reports the number of internally displaced people in Burkina Faso now has topped 1 million, with more than 450,000 people, newly displaced this year. This is an astonishing increase since January 2019,...
Somali, AU Forces Capture Shabab Stronghold
WASHINGTON - Somali government troops, backed by African Union (AU) forces, have taken control from the al-Shabab militant group of a strategic town in the Lower Shabelle region, freeing dozens of children in the process, residents and official...
Trump Announces UAE to Open Diplomatic Ties with Israel
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish diplomatic ties, a development that is part of an agreement to stop Israel’s annexation of occupied land in the West Bank sought by...
COVID-induced Hunger Could Destabilize Latin America, WFP Warns
GENEVA - A COVID-19-induced hunger pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean could threaten the stability of countries in the region, the World Food Program said. Latin America is the region with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases globally,...
UN Chief: COVID-19 a Challenge to Global Peace, Security
NEW YORK - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is profoundly affecting peace and security worldwide. “Collective security and our shared well-being are under assault on many fronts, led by a...
DRC Ebola Outbreak Officially Ends, as Coronavirus Surges on African Continent
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Amid a global pandemic, a glimmer of hope: The Democratic Republic of Congo has officially beaten its tenth Ebola outbreak, which raged for two years in the nation’s volatile east. As top international health officials...
In Pandemic's Wake, Many Jews Move to Israel
Thousands of Jews around the world are considering making what's called Aliyah. It's Hebrew for immigrating to Israel, partly to find shelter in a place that, as of Wednesday, has suffered few coronavirus deaths compared to other countries. While...