With Covid-19 spreading worldwide, the global economy faces mounting downward pressure. Uncertainties are on the rise. China’s foreign trade is encountering major difficulties,” said Chinese customs spokesman Li Kuiwen. Overall in the first quarter of 2020, China’s exports dropped 13.3 per cent, with imports down 2.9 per cent.Last week, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that imports and exports had improved…
Read MoreDay: April 14, 2020
Coronavirus: how much of Covid-19’s social distancing is here to stay?
The devastating coronavirus pandemic has forced the world into an unprecedented social experiment: a “new normal” of social distancing. In an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, the pneumonia-like disease caused by the virus, governments have first encouraged, then compelled people to practise social distancing, or keeping a physical distance between individuals. People have been told to stay and work at…
Read MoreVancouver protesters call coronavirus fake news and say distancing rule should be defied, appalling health authorities
Authorities in British Columbia have decried a Vancouver protest that depicted Covid-19 as “fake news” and called for the defiance of physical distancing rules, with the provincial health minister blasting “self-promoters” for exploiting the suffering of others. Social media photos and videos showed about 15 people taking part in Sunday’s protest, gathering at City Hall in spite of provincial health…
Read MoreGlobal consortium plans to pour billions into Pakistan
Pakistan may have another financing window that may be almost equal to, if not bigger than, the investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the Global Investment Consortium (GIC) mulls over investing billions of dollars into the country. The consortium is considering investing up to €50 billion on a public-private partnership basis in different megaprojects like Naya Pakistan Housing…
Read MorePakistan seeks rollover of half of $28b debt
Pakistan plans to seek rollover of half of nearly $28 billion external public debt that is maturing over the next three years, as the Bretton Woods Institutions begin their meetings that will also review possibility of writing off loans of member nations. The country seeks the fiscal space to help out its citizens affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as an…
Read MoreCovid-19 lockdowns brought blue skies back to China, but don’t expect them to last
China’s air quality has improved dramatically in recent weeks as a result of the widespread city lockdowns and strict travel restrictions introduced to contain the coronavirus epidemic. But experts say the blue skies could rapidly disappear as factories and roads reopen under a government stimulus plan to breathe new life into a stalled economy.According to the Ministry of Ecology and…
Read MoreREC Incorporates Seven SPVs for Developing Transmission Network for Solar Projects
REC Limited, a public infrastructure finance company in India’s power sector, announced that its board of directors had approved a proposal to incorporate seven project-specific special purpose vehicles (SPVs) as wholly-owned subsidiaries of REC Transmission Projects Company Limited (RECTPCL) to develop transmission projects. The RECTPCL is a subsidiary of REC Limited that will be developing the following projects allocated by…
Read MoreBaluchistan and NA Have-Nots Deprived of Gas by the Haves – Once Again
KARACHI: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Cabinet’s decision has been taken as surprise to shelve all the LPG air mix plants installation which were meant to provide the poor with a clean, environmental friendly, cheap and safe resource of energy besides uplifting of country’s remote area in Balochistan, Northern Areas and AJK. Baluchistan was first deprived of Sui Gas and…
Read MoreWHO Says 70 Vaccines in the Works, With Three Leading Candidates
There are 70 coronavirus vaccines in development globally, with three candidates already being tested in human trials, according to the World Health Organization, as drugmakers race to find a cure for the deadly pathogen. The furthest along in the clinical process is an experimental vaccine developed by Hong Kong-listed CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, which is…
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