Pope backs UN chief's call for global ceasefire to focus on coronavirus | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
May 28, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2025
Pope backs UN chief's call for global ceasefire to focus on coronavirus

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
29 March, 2020, 06:25 pm
Last modified: 29 March, 2020, 06:36 pm

Related News

  • Cardinal Prevost elected Pope Leo XIV, first US pontiff
  • White smoke billows from Sistine Chapel as new pope elected
  • Indo-Pak military escalation: Time for UN to act and let Kashmiris decide their fate
  • Catholic cardinals signal with black smoke there is no new pope yet
  • Israel shuts 6 UN schools for Palestinians

Pope backs UN chief's call for global ceasefire to focus on coronavirus

More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 30,751 have died

Reuters
29 March, 2020, 06:25 pm
Last modified: 29 March, 2020, 06:36 pm
FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis is pictured at St. Peter's Square during an extraordinary "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing - normally given only at Christmas and Easter - as a response to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Vatican, March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis is pictured at St. Peter's Square during an extraordinary "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing - normally given only at Christmas and Easter - as a response to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Vatican, March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool/File Photo

Pope Francis on Sunday backed a call by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire so the world can focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at his weekly blessing, delivered from the official papal library instead of St. Peter's Square because of the lockdown in Italy, Francis specifically mentioned the appeal Guterres made in a virtual news conference on Monday.

Saying the disease knows no borders, Francis appealed to everyone to "stop every form of bellicose hostility and to favour the creation of corridors for humanitarian help, diplomatic efforts and attention to those who find themselves in situations of great vulnerability".

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 30,751 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

About a third of the deaths have been in Italy, where the toll passed 10,000 on Saturday, a figure that made an extension of a national lockdown almost certain.

Confirmed cases in Italy stood at 92,472, the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the United States.

The Vatican, a 108-acre city-state surrounded by Rome, has had six confirmed cases and on Saturday spokesman Matteo Bruni said tests were carried out after a priest who lives in the papal residence tested positive.

Bruni said the pope and his closest aides did not have the disease.

The social effects of the pandemic have drawn comparisons with painful periods such as World War Two, the 2008 financial crisis and the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

The United Nations has been trying to mediate an end to conflicts in countries including Syria, Yemen and Libya, while also providing humanitarian assistance to millions of civilians.

Guterres warned that in war-torn countries health systems have collapsed and the small number of health professionals left were often targeted in the fighting.

In his Sunday address, Francis also appealed to authorities to be sensitive to the particular problem coronavirus poses in prisons around the world, many of them overcrowded.

He said the prison situation "could become a tragedy".

Prisoners have rioted in a number of countries, including Italy, where at least six inmates died earlier this month. Prisoners rioted at a jail in northeastern Thailand on Sunday.

Several countries, including Germany, Sudan and Iran, have released inmates in order to reduce the strain on their prison systems.

Pope / UN / Coronavirus

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, 19 March, 2023. File Photo: Reuters
    Netanyahu says Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been eliminated
  • Leaders and activists of BNP gather at Nayapaltan ahead of the rally of three BNP affiliated organisations on Wednesday, 28 May 2025. Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Start preparing to ensure election is held within December: Tarique issues instructions at youth rally
  • News of The Day, 26 MAY 2025
    News of The Day, 26 MAY 2025

MOST VIEWED

  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon
  • Graphics: TBS
    Suspicious banking activities surge by 56% since July: Cenbank
  • Representational image of cable car/Freepik
    Cable car to be installed from Himchari to Reju Khal in Marine Drive Road
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh sees highest-ever per capita income of $2,820 in FY25, BBS provisional data shows
  • IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
    IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
  • Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of National Bank Limited. Sketch: TBS
    'Regulatory support must for National Bank to restore depositors' confidence'

Related News

  • Cardinal Prevost elected Pope Leo XIV, first US pontiff
  • White smoke billows from Sistine Chapel as new pope elected
  • Indo-Pak military escalation: Time for UN to act and let Kashmiris decide their fate
  • Catholic cardinals signal with black smoke there is no new pope yet
  • Israel shuts 6 UN schools for Palestinians

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

1d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

2d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

3d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

News of The Day, 26 MAY 2025

News of The Day, 26 MAY 2025

33m | TBS News of the day
Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon

Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon

1h | TBS Programs
Poor documentation, evidence plague stolen asset recovery efforts

Poor documentation, evidence plague stolen asset recovery efforts

2h | TBS Insight
Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is 'playing with fire' over Ukraine

Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is 'playing with fire' over Ukraine

3h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net