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Government policy

India's central bank cuts lending rate to 4% to aid economy

India’s central bank on Friday cut its key interest rate to 4% to counter the blow to the economy from the coronavirus ...

China boosts spending for virus-hit economy, takes up HK law

China’s No. 2 leader on Friday promised higher spending to revive its pandemic-stricken economy and curb surging job losses ...

China hikes defense spending by 6.6%, lowest rate in years

China will increase its defense spending by 6.6% in 2020, the lowest rate in years as it battles an economic crisis brought ...

China may pass bill to crack down on Hong Kong opposition

China's legislature will take over long-stalled efforts to enact national security legislation in Hong Kong, a move that ...

Coronavirus-triggered layoffs in US hit nearly 39 million

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S.

White House report blasts Chinese 'malign activities'

Beyond its hard-hitting rhetoric against China over its handling of the coronavirus, the White House has issued a broad-scale ...

China focused on jobs as national legislature meets

As job losses surge, China is joining the United States and other governments in rolling out stimulus spending to revive its ...

Fed officials worried in April about toll of deep recession

Federal Reserve officials last month worried about the coronavirus pandemic's toll on the U.S. economy, especially its impact ...

US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirus

A Trump administration policy of quickly expelling most migrants stopped along the border because of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Death of 74-year-old in immigration jail is seen as suicide

A 74-year-old South Korean man died of apparent suicide at a U.S. immigration detention center after advocates said they ...

Germany breaks taboo in effort to get EU through pandemic

Germany’s agreement to share debt with other EU countries to finance an economic recovery plan is being greeted as a ...

Asia Today: Hong Kong increasing coronavirus testing

Hong Kong’s leader says the city is ramping up testing for the coronavirus, especially for workers at the busy international ...

Report: Treasury fund to ease virus crisis off to slow start

The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve have lent hardly any money under a $500 billion fund created by the economic ...

Ukraine's overburdened doctors in desperate virus fight

A breathing machine at a Ukrainian hospital breaks down, leaving a coronavirus patient gasping helplessly for air. Dr.

Asia Today: India extends lockdown for 2 more weeks

India on Sunday extended its nearly 2-month-old lockdown by two weeks after reporting nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases, but ...

Jordan warns Israel of 'massive conflict' over annexation

Jordan's king warned Israel of a “massive conflict” if it proceeds with plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, ...

China uses trade as weapon to silence virus criticism

Trying to silence criticism over the coronavirus pandemic, China is deploying a well-used weapon — trade sanctions.

3 million more US layoffs intensify fears of lasting damage

Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak forced more ...

Head of World Trade Organization to step down early

The head of the World Trade Organization said Thursday that he will leave his post a year early, a “personal decision” that ...

EU-UK talks struggle amid pandemic, cross-Channel division

Slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and whipped up by a U.K.-imposed deadline, talks between the European Union and Britain ...