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UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (APP): The UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, has warned of potential risks as more countries move to lift lockdown measures put in place to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Michelle Bachelet — a former doctor, health minister and Head of State — acknowledged the challenge facing governments as they grapple with the medical crisis, while also trying to save their economies from collapsing.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Kingdom urged Myanmar’s military Thursday to extend its recently announced cease-fire to include the escalating conflict in northern Rakhine and Chin states where civilians are suffering a heavy toll at the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK Mission to the United Nations made the appeal after a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council that it called because of growing concern about fighting in the two states between government forces and the Arakan Army, a well-armed guerrilla force representing the Buddhist Rakhine minority.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Thursday released some of their long-delayed guidance that schools, businesses and other organizations can use as states reopen from coronavirus shutdowns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted six one-page “decision tool” documents that use traffic signs and other graphics to tell organizations what they should consider before reopening.

NEW YORK (AP) — As calls grow nationwide for mandatory coronavirus testing in nursing homes, New York facilities are sounding alarms about the state’s ambitious new demand to test roughly 185,000 workers twice a week.

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Against the backdrop of a devastating pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by 3.2 percent this year, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2020 report published on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged governments, civil society and health authorities on Wednesday to urgently address mental health needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic, warning that psychological suffering is increasing.

The U.N. chief said in a video message launching a policy briefing that “after decades of neglect and under-investment in mental health services, the COVID-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress.”

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on religious leaders to play a key role in limiting the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the recovery from it.

“We know from previous public health crises — from HIV/AIDS to Ebola — that the actions of faith leaders influence people’s values, attitudes, behaviours and actions,” he said at an online meeting with leaders from the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths as well as diplomats on Tuesday.

THE UNITED NATIONS, May 13. /TASS/: The United States cannot demand the extension of arms embargo against Tehran since it is no more a party to the Iran nuclear deal, Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya told a press conference with journalists via a video link-up.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or eight “top” candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s death toll from the coronavirus may be thousands of fatalities worse than the tally kept by the city and state, according to an analysis released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between March 11 and May 2, about 24,000 more people died in the city than researchers would ordinarily expect during that time period, the report said.

That’s about 5,300 more deaths than were blamed on the coronavirus in official tallies during those weeks.