International

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:25 UTC

  Whatever you call it, Beijing has made a mess of the Covid-19, 'China virus' and jinbu

  

  By Gwynne Dyer – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has run afoul of the language police. Last week, he called the coronavirus, which already has killed 0.000013 percent of the world’s population, the “Wuhan virus.” When challenged about this criminal violation of linguistic propriety, he just said it again. The World Health Organization (WHO) was shocked.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:24 UTC

  IMF rejects Maduro's request for coronavirus aid loan: who runs Venezuela?

  

  The International Monetary Fund has quickly rejected a surprise request on Tuesday by Venezuela for an emergency US$ 5 billion loan to fight the new coronavirus, which threatens to push its already battered economy over the edge.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:20 UTC

  Policy Action for a Healthy Global Economy

  

  By Kristina Georgieva (*) – While quarantining and social distancing is the right prescription to combat COVID-19’s public health impact, the exact opposite is needed when it comes to securing the global economy.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:12 UTC

  Brazilian meatpackers considering suspending operations because of China

  

  Brazilian meatpackers JBS and Minerva Foods are considering suspending operations at some slaughterhouses in Brazil due to supply chain issues from China, JBS and sources close to Minerva said this week.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Beijing furious with Vargas Llosa for saying combating the coronavirus outbreak would be different if China was a democracy

  

  China hit out on Monday at Peru's Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa for allegedly expressing “irresponsible and prejudiced opinions” over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:02 UTC

  British supermarkets appeal to consumers to be more considerate after shelves were plundered: “we have adequate supplies”

  

  British supermarkets have called on consumers to be more considerate and reiterated they have adequate supplies, as the coronavirus saw shelves plundered and a surge in online orders. The country's leading grocery retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose, penned a joint letter to customers, which ran in newspapers on Sunday and Monday appealing for calm.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 07:53 UTC

  Boris asks UK industry to manufacture health equipment, and considers using hotels as hospitals if needed for the pandemic

  

  Britain has asked manufacturers including Ford, Honda and Rolls Royce to help make health equipment including ventilators to cope with the coronavirus outbreak and will look at using hotels as hospitals.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 07:34 UTC

  Nightmare: assessing the coronavirus damage for the cruise industry

  

  The novel coronavirus is becoming a financial and public-relations nightmare for the cruise industry, from failed quarantine attempts on ships to passenger lawsuits and a stream of cancellations.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:19 UTC

  G7 global rescue: Fed cuts rates to almost zero and launches US$ 700bn stimulus program

  

  The US has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a US$ 700bn stimulus program in a bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus. It is part of a coordinated action announced on Sunday in the UK, Japan, the Eurozone, Canada, and Switzerland.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:18 UTC

  France, Spain join Italy in imposing lockdowns for the next two weeks

  

  France and Spain joined Italy in imposing lockdowns on tens of millions of people, Australia ordered self-isolation of arriving foreigners and other countries extended entry bans as the world sought to contain the spreading coronavirus.