AP: World harshens its virus response as epidemic worsens by day “Saudi Arabia cut travel to Islam’s holiest sites, South Korea toughened penalties for those breaking quarantines, and airports across Latin America looked for signs of sick passengers as a new virus troubled places around the globe. With the number…

Reuters: U.S. grants sanctions waiver to ease humanitarian aid to Iran “The United States on Thursday granted a license to allow for certain humanitarian trade transactions with Iran’s sanctioned central bank, a move it said was in step with the formalization of a Swiss humanitarian aid channel. The newly created…

New Humanitarian: In Venezuela, the elderly are the ‘invisible victims’ “…The ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis in the country — once one of the richest in South America — is making it nearly impossible for [elderly Venezuelans] to scrape by, stay healthy, and receive care and support in their old…

NPR: U.N.: Humanitarian Crisis In Syria Reaches ‘Horrifying New Level’ “The humanitarian crisis in Syria has reached a ‘horrifying new level,’ according to a U.N. official. That’s how Mark Lowcock, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, described conditions in northwest Syria, based on eyewitness accounts…

AP: U.N. Security Council approves resolution on Yemen sanctions (Lederer, 2/26). AP: East Africa’s huge locust outbreak now spreads to Congo (Muhumuza, 2/25). BBC News: Appeal for more funds to control locusts (2/26). MedPage Today: A Doctor’s Story: Death and Hope in Syria (Firth, 2/25). Reuters: Scottish parliament approves free…

Washington Post: Syria’s carnage nears a horrific climax Editorial Board “…According to the United Nations, some 900,000 people have fled a new offensive by forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its Russian and Iranian allies since December. That includes an estimated 500,000 children. Most of these civilians are…

Al Jazeera: Yemen: U.S. to stop aid in Houthi areas if rebels do not cooperate “Aid agency USAID has said it will suspend aid to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, where most of the country’s people live, if the rebels do not remove impediments obstructing aid operations…” (2/25). Reuters: Donors, aid…

Al Jazeera: ‘I wish I was a boy’: The Kenyan girls fighting period poverty (Mire, 2/24). Devex: Migration, LDCs key concerns for NGOs as French development bill progresses (Chadwick, 2/25). Devex: What do strategies from 2019 tell us about donors’ priorities? (Stibi, 2/21). Devex: Can village nutrition schools reduce widespread…

AP: U.S. to stop aid in Yemen’s Houthi areas if rebels don’t budge “USAID said late Monday that it will suspend aid to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, where most of the country’s people live, if the rebels don’t remove impediments obstructing aid operations. In a statement, the agency said it…

NBC News: No guarantees for Afghan women in draft U.S.-Taliban deal “The United States once vowed to liberate Afghan women from the draconian repression of the Taliban, but a planned deal between the U.S. and the insurgents offers no protections for the country’s women, who fear that their hard-won rights…