World

• The government says the real case numbers are likely significantly higher, and separate data published recently by the health ministry suggested the actual death toll from coronavirus may be at least 60pc above the confirmed figure.

• White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the meeting would be hosted by Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top economic aide, Brian Deese.

• Weekly jobless claims increase 61,000 to 719,000.
• Planned layoffs fall 11% to 30,603 in March.
• Manufacturing activity accelerates in March.

• The move could give the fledgling US electric vehicle industry a big boost by granting it fresh incentives and a new revenue stream. But the idea would introduce new actors like Tesla Inc into a program that has already bitterly divided the oil and corn industries.
• Electricity from biogas is already technically eligible for generating RINs under the RFS, but the EPA has never approved applications to do so because the agency hasn't yet figured out the logistical issues.

• The figures from the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat were marginally better than Rosstat's preliminary estimate that gross domestic product fell by 3.1% last year.
• The coronavirus outbreak paralysed business activity in 2020, prompting the central bank to slash interest rates to a record low 4.25%, while a drop in global oil prices dented Russia's revenues.

• "Last week, I made an urgent request to countries, with doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have WHO Emergency Use Listing, to share 10 million doses immediately with COVAX," he said.
• I requested manufacturers to help ensure that the countries that step up can rapidly donate those doses.

• In a readout of their telephone call, the Kremlin said the Saudi prince outlined initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the Middle East.
• Putin spoke of Russian efforts to protect the environment, the Kremlin said.

• Last week Chancellor Angela Merkel accused state premiers of failing to stick to earlier agreements to reimpose restrictions if infections rose again as the lockdown was gradually relaxed.
• The DIVI association for intensive and emergency medicine said Germany urgently needs a two-week lockdown, faster vaccinations and compulsory tests at schools.

• February's 0.7% fall in industrial output was significantly weaker than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists for a 0.4% rise. The following chart shows that several months of slowing growth have finally turned into outright decline.
• Statistics agency IBGE said the year-on-year rise was 0.4%, also well below the Reuters poll forecast of 1.5% growth.

• The new administration of US President Joe Biden is already making payments to households under a new $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and plans to plough $2.3 trillion into infrastructure investments to fire up the world's biggest economy.
• "The best response to US ambition isn't to fight it. It is to match it. Europe needs to challenge itself like America does," he added.

• Exporters act to ditch 'Made in Turkey' tags.
• Unofficial boycott began last year on political grounds.
• Turkish-Saudi tensions worsen since 2018 Khashoggi murder.
• Ankara raised boycott issue at WTO meeting this week.

• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last week gave Facebook and Giphy five working days to offer proposals to address its concerns over their merger deal.
• "We will continue to fully cooperate with the CMA's investigation," a Facebook spokesman said in an emailed statement.

• The IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 58.5 in March from 54.8 in February, posting the highest reading in the 10-year history of the survey. A reading above 50 shows growth in the sector.
• The new orders index rose to 58.0, its highest since November 2013, from 54.4 in February, while the measure of output was at 57.7, up from 52.0.

• "I'm afraid you can see what's happening in France... It's very sad actually - it's very very sad," Johnson said. "When they get it in France and they get it bad, two or three weeks later it comes to us.

• The move comes after the United States halted work at two consulates in Russia last year, citing safety and security issues at the facilities where operations had been curtailed over COVID-19.
• US-Russia ties have been strained by issues ranging from conflicts in Ukraine to Syria, as well as allegations of Russian interference in US politics, which Moscow denies.

• The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in favor of BP Plc, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips , Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc , rejecting the city's efforts to sue under state law for trespass and creating a nuisance.

• Suu Kyi's lawyer says new charge filed.
• Junta orders wireless internet suspended - providers say.
• At least 538 civilians killed since coup - activist group.

• President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered France into its third national lockdown and said schools would close for three weeks as he sought to push back a third wave of COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
• The French central bank said last month that the euro zone's second-biggest economy was set to grow 5.5% this year.

• The initial 2020/21 target of 1.425 trillion rand was set by the National Treasury before the coronavirus pandemic struck in March last year.
• Treasury revised the estimate down to 1.112 trillion rand in October, but then upped it to 1.212 trillion in the February 2021 budget.

• "It should be a quiet Easter, with those closest to you, with very reduced contact. I urge you to refrain from all non-essential travel," Merkel said in a video message, adding this was the only way to help the doctors and nurses fighting the virus.

• The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Thursday its index of national factory activity jumped to a reading of 64.7 last month from 60.8 in February. That was the highest level since December 1983.
• President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a plan to spend roughly $2 trillion on infrastructure like roads and bridges over 10 years.

• Of those, only 49 countries are eligible for debt relief measures adopted by the Group of 20 major economies, UNDP Administrator Achim Stein told reporters, calling on G20 members to quickly expand a moratorium on debt service payments and a common framework for debt treatments beyond the poorest nations.

• "The Myanmar military has sunk to a new low with the wanton killing of innocent people, including children," Raab said.
• At least 538 civilians have been killed in the protests, 141 of them on Saturday, the bloodiest day of the unrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

• The shot was also 100% effective in preventing illness among trial participants in South Africa, where a new variant called B1351 is dominant, though the number of those participants was relatively small at 800.
• While the new overall efficacy rate of 91.3% is lower than the 95% originally reported in November for its 44,000-person trial, a number of variants have become more prevalent around the world since then.

• Once praised by the World Health Organization for its decision to procure vaccines through the global scheme, South Korea is now facing criticism at home as the government scrambles to meet the supply shortfall.
• South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are among countries to be hit by shipment delays to vaccines they have been promised following export curbs by manufacturer India.

• "I don't want to say that the government is going to agree with absolutely everything in it, but it has some original and stimulating work in it but I think people need to read and to consider," Johnson said.
• "There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address, we've got, we've got to do more to fix it and we need to understand the severity of the problem," he said.

• India decided to delay big exports of the shots made in its territory by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to make sure it could meet local demand, two sources told Reuters last week.
• The African Union had planned to vaccinate 20%-30% of the continent's population by the end of the year he said. "If the vaccines are delayed we are unlikely to meet our target," he added.

• The vote was to take place later in the day, after Rutte appeared in parliament to explain why he had told reporters he had not discussed a political appointment for one lawmaker, but it later emerged he had.

• Last week Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda picked central bank board member Simkus for the job, pending parliamentary approval. Vitas Vasiliaskas's second term in the jub ends on April 7.

• "We were surprised, and very pleased," Moss told reporters at a briefing about the findings. "But, of course, this does go with the excellent clinical protection that we're seeing with the vaccine - so it does correlate."
• Pfizer and its co-developer BioNTech said earlier on Thursday that updated clinical trial data showed their vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing COVID-19 cases.

• The total number of deaths in Europe "is fast approaching one million and the total number of cases about to surpass 45 million," it said.

• It has offered inoculations to all residents 16 and above, the group currently approved to get the vaccine.

*The median forecast of more than 30 strategists was for the Canadian dollar to rise a further 0.6% over the next three months to 1.25 per US dollar, or 80 US cents. * "We expect the Canadian dollar to be a general outperformer among the G10 over the coming year," said Erik Nelson, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.

• Authorities currently offer China's Sinovac and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

• Doctors have long complained of a lack of beds and drugs in hospitals as well as inadequate protective kits.

• President Zuzana Caputova told the new ministers: "It is your responsibility to restore the trust of citizens".

• The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February.
• Death toll from the violence has risen past 500 as the junta struggles to quash dissent.

• The WHO's European region comprises 53 countries and territories and includes Russia and several Central Asian nations.

• Mitsotakis will travel to Tripoli on Tuesday "to normalise and restore relations", Greek government spokeswoman said.

• At least 128,851,200 cases of coronavirus have been registered.

• WHO has said that the AstraZeneca shot is safe.

• Those working in the Hajj and Umrah sectors are required to get vaccinated before the start of Ramadan, which will be on April 12
• Saudi authorities increased inspection campaigns to ensure adherence to remaining measures such as restricting the number of gatherings in social events to 20 people only

• Sputnik V has been privately imported and is being sold for around $70 (59 euros) for two doses to wealthy Kenyans.

• Helmand provincial council head told AFP that the helicopter was carrying security personnel from a meeting in the province.

• After seizing power in February from a civilian government, Myanmar's military has regained control of state companies.

• CanSinoBIO’s chief scientific officer says a second shot given to trial participants six months after their first injection could offer substantial protection against the virus
• Tao says accurate and precise results could only be gathered after more clinical trials

• The European Union will target eight Iranian militia and police commanders and three state entities with sanctions next week over a deadly crackdown in November 2019 by Iranian authorities
• Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations by the West of human rights abuses.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is facing calls from the United States and Britain to commit India to a net zero emissions target by 2050
• Kerry will also visit the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, which experts say is especially vulnerable to climate change

• The reported death toll rose by 201 to 76,543, the tally showed.

• The country reported 459 deaths, taking the total to 162,927, the data showed.

• Even after two doses, they found that a small subset of patients failed to mount an antibody response.

• The city has already banned public events, closed cafes and restaurants in an attempt to stop a new wave of disease.

• Moon said this week he took the public furore seriously, ordering full investigations and measures to stamp out any irregularities in the real estate sector.

• California governor Gavin Newsom posted on Twitter: "Horrifying and heartbreaking. Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight."

• He was knighted for his services to business management.

• "There have been attempts by some to... disrupt relations" between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, he added, without elaborating.

• Australia has been relatively successful in curbing the spread of coronavirus, with only one nationwide lockdown during the pandemic so far and most regions now enjoying few restrictions.

• "Somalia's electoral process is at a critical stage," Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, told reporters.

• Suu Kyi, 75, has not been seen in public since she was deposed but a member of her legal team, Min Min Soe, was summoned to a police station in the capital Naypyidaw for a video meeting with her.

• "It's a once-in-a-generation investment in America, unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago."

• The J&J vaccine has won praise for its single dosage and because it does not need to be frozen -- unlike the shots from Moderna and Pfizer -- making distribution much simpler.

• The country also recorded 304 new deaths, bring its total toll to 95,667.

• The 24-hour death toll reported by the health ministry Wednesday also set a new record: 3,869.

• Regional bloc the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held emergency talks in Harare to discuss the violence.

• Floyd says repeatedly that he can't breathe. "Mama, I love you," he says. "My stomach hurts, my neck hurts."

• "Lives and properties of the people of Myanmar and foreign nationals and businesses should be protected, and any attack on them is unacceptable."

• He is openly nostalgic for Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, despite its rights violations, including the kidnapping and torture of dissidents.

• "I had dreamed of whales before so I was really keen to come."

GENEVA: UN experts expressed concern on Wednesday over reports of “grave human rights abuses” by Russian...

SINGAPORE: PipeChina will start operating four major gas pipelines and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal from...

WASHINGTON: The Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines were shown to be 90 percent effective against coronavirus ...

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK: A year of pandemic-driven shortages of vital safety goods and medicines - not to mention...

LONDON: Prejudice persists in Britain but the country is not “institutionally racist”, according to a...

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince hosted Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi in Riyadh on Wednesday, as...

ROME: Italy expelled two Russian officials on Wednesday after an Italian navy captain was caught red-handed by ...

WASHINGTON: US private employers hired the most workers in six months in March as more Americans got vaccinated...

LAGOS: Critics of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari have caused an outcry after he flew to London for a medical...

WASHINGTON: Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, according to provisional ...

ADEN: War-torn Yemen received the first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday, the UN children’s agency said,...

WASHINGTON: Crammed between the cultural extremes of the baby boomers and the millennials, members of Generation X...

BRUSSELS: International donors on Tuesday pushed to meet a United Nations call for $10 billion in aid for Syria and...

KUALA LUMPUR: The United States will seize products made by Malaysia’s Top Glove after concluding the firm uses...

DAKAR: The terms of China’s loan deals with developing countries are unusually secretive and require borrowers to...

SINGAPORE: Malaysia has paid Singapore over $76 million compensation following the cancellation of a controversial...

GENEVA: Two Chinese coronavirus jabs are safe and effective, WHO experts said Wednesday after reviewing partial ...

MOSCOW: Russia announced Wednesday it had registered what it said was the world’s first coronavirus vaccine for...

FRANKFURT: German car giant Volkswagen voiced regret Wednesday over a publicity stunt that duped major media outlets...

• The official figures also showed 30,905,538 people had received their first dose of a COVID vaccine.