Crude oil producers have just fallen into the depths after world oil prices for the first time in history fell to US$-37.63 per barrel. Moves to save the oil market from the brink of collapse were immediately launched, but efforts have been extremely fragile.
Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies discussed weaknesses in health systems that made the world vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak and other pandemics, a statement said after a virtual meeting on Sunday (April 19).
A scenario of socio-economic disturbance in the Middle East and Africa has been forewarned by experts if the regions cannot control the COVID-19 pandemic. With many countries being quite vulnerable, the Middle East and Africa are suffering from "strong shocks”, with economic downturn, rising unemployment and food security concerns.
Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam Permanent Mission to the UN, has appreciated the positive results of a peace agreement in Colombia and believed that this will contribute to ensuring security and safety for people in the country, especially those in conflict areas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that lifting restrictions too soon could lead to a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 as some countries are easing their social and economic restrictions amid the outbreak.
The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday as the country with the highest reported coronavirus death toll, recording more than 20,000 deaths since the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally.
The Republic of Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday (April 8) the government will make an additional KRW36 trillion (US$29.5 billion) worth of cheap loans available for exporters hit by the coronavirus.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Tuesday (April 7) declared a state of emergency to fight new coronavirus infections in major population centres and unveiled a stimulus package he described as among the world's biggest to soften the economic blow.
US state of Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Sunday (April 5) announced that the state will return more than 400 ventilators received from the Strategic National Stockpile to help states having higher numbers of COVID-19 cases.
The regional economic growth in developing Asia will decline sharply in 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic before recovering in 2021, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released on Friday (April 3). The report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020, forecasted the regional growth of 2.2 percent in 2020, a downward revision of 3.3 percentage points relative to the 5.5 percent ADB forecasted in September 2019.
The G20 trade and investment ministers vowed on Monday (March 30) to ensure the continued flow of essential supply, especially medical and pharmaceutical equipment, amid the current global crisis. They issued a statement on the website of the G20 General Secretariat of Saudi Presidency, expressing concern of challenges facing workers and businesses, particularly the most vulnerable ones.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) successfully test-fired super-large multiple rocket launchers on Sunday (March 29), the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday (March 30) morning. The report said the test was conducted by the Academy of Defence Science to verify the tactical and technological specifications of the launch system once again "to be delivered to units of the Korean People's Army."
US President Donald Trump said Saturday (March 28) he asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue travel advisory for the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, scaling back from an earlier suggestion to impose quarantine on those areas.
Vietnam requests China to respect its sovereignty and take no actions that escalate tensions and complicate the situation, affecting peace and stability in the East Sea and the region, as well as efforts of countries in negotiations of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said.
A recent comment by Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra - "We are driving through the mist and we don’t know what the next phase looks like” - might cause confusion but it accurately reflects the reality of economies in the Eurozone. Recognising the imminent risk, the only monetary union in the world has yet to agree on measures to respond to the "economic shock” caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) to help launch a stimulus package in the trillions of dollars to keep businesses, workers and households afloat in face of the coronavirus. By the end of this year, the cost of this pandemic is likely to be measured in the trillions of dollars, Guterres told G20 leaders in a letter dated March 23.
With surging confirmed COVID-19 cases, European nations adopted a raft of further measures on Sunday (March 22) to peg back the contagion, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put herself in quarantine after a doctor she met Friday tested positive.
Over 100,000 people across Europe had tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Thursday (March 19) evening, prompting European governments to unleash more anti-virus measures.
Numbers for both new deaths and new cures from Italy's coronavirus outbreak released Wednesday (March 18) are the highest on record, as health officials scramble to find enough doctors to confront the outbreak's spread.
The World Bank has earmarked a US$100-million fast-track loan to help the Philippines fight COVID-19, the Philippine Department of Finance said. The Philippines now has 193 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 14 deaths. Four patients have recovered from the viral disease.
Cambodia on Sunday (March 15) banned entry of visitors from Iran for a month in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19. The 30-day ban on foreigners will take effect from March 18 at midnight, said a Ministry of Healths statement. For Cambodia, the country has so far recorded a total of seven COVID-19 patients.
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday (March 12) decided to leave key interest rates unchanged but rolled out a comprehensive package of monetary policy measures to ensure liquidity support amid COVID-19 concerns.
Economic ministers of the ASEAN member countries have discussed orientations to promote the negotiation and signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in late 2020.
(HBO) - Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, reported 17 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 17 deaths on Monday (March 9), the provincial health commission said Tuesday (March 10).
Following working sessions with Hanoi’s leaders and the inspection of quarantine areas, leaders in the Ministry of Health and health experts have affirmed that the spread of Covid-19 is still being controlled well.
