International

• Tuesday, April 21st 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Germany urges China more transparency on the coronavirus outbreak and crisis management

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged China to be as transparent as possible about the coronavirus outbreak, as Beijing faces mounting pressure over its management of the crisis.

• Tuesday, April 21st 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Merkel calls for an end of “discussion orgies” as Germany moves out of a gradual lockdown

  

  Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her frustration in a party meeting on Monday that moves to edge Germany out of lockdown had led to “discussion orgies” in some regions that risked higher rates of coronavirus infection, German media reported.

• Monday, April 20th 2020 - 08:35 UTC

  Boris Johnson “on top of things”, says government; but where is he? asks the media

  

  The British government insisted on Sunday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “on top of things” as he recovers from the coronavirus facing criticism of his early handling of the crisis.

• Monday, April 20th 2020 - 08:32 UTC

  Chile: controversy over alleged donation of Chinese ventilators to combat COVID-19

  

  Chile is expecting China to donate ventilators to help cope with the coronavirus outbreak, a government official said on Sunday, contradicting earlier statements by China's ambassador to Chile that he was unaware of such a shipment.

• Monday, April 20th 2020 - 07:39 UTC

  US oil falls to below US$ 15 a barrel and Brent dropped to US$ 27

  

  US crude fell about 20% to below US$15 a barrel on Monday, its lowest level in about two decades, as a coronavirus-triggered collapse in demand eclipsed a deal to cut output. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, fell 18.7% to US$14.84 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was off 1.5% at US$27.64 a barrel.

• Monday, April 20th 2020 - 06:51 UTC

  Norwegian Cruise Line exploring financial options including sale of a stake

  

  Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to explore financing options that could include the sale of a stake in the company, according to a report filed by Reuters.

• Saturday, April 18th 2020 - 11:40 UTC

  World Medical Association regrets Taiwan exclusion from WHO and condemns politicizing health

  

  In a letter to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leaders of the World Medical Association, WMA say that the WHO’s failure to listen to early warnings from Taiwan about the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with its decision to ignore Taiwan during much of the SARS crisis, were errors that led to the world paying a high price.

• Saturday, April 18th 2020 - 10:00 UTC

  Where to watch WHO’s global special concert ‘One World: Together At Home’

  

  From Eddie Vedder to Andrea Bocelli, and Paul McCartney to Maluma, artists from all over the world will play on the “One World: #TogetherAtHome,” a six-hour streamed and broadcasted music festival that will take place on Saturday organized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• Saturday, April 18th 2020 - 08:41 UTC

  Raab says China has some “hard questions” to answer about the coronavirus epidemic

  

  British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says China will have some “hard questions” to answer about how the coronavirus pandemic started.

• Saturday, April 18th 2020 - 08:30 UTC

  Beijing's advance in UN organizations as Trump's US gives up its predominance

  

  As President Donald Trump announces a halt in World Health Organization funding, accusing it of kowtowing to China over the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing is building on a well-established strategy of leveraging its global standing wherever the US lets go of the wheel.