Muslims across the world began marking the holy month of Ramadan under unprecedented coronavirus lockdowns on Friday as the United States (US) added another half a trillion dollars to its already-massive support package to help its pandemic-ravaged economy.The virus has upended life around the planet as nations try to stop the spread of the disease that has so far claimed nearly 190,000 lives, infected close to 2.7 million people and hammered the global economy.Ramadan spirits have been dampe

With the coronavirus continuing its brutal global rampage, it takes a particular sort of malign genius to put the United States (US) in the political dock as the death toll mounts and economic devastation spreads. Yet, that is what President Donald Trump is doing.But first things first. In every country, medical workers and support staff have been on the front line fighting the pandemic on behalf of the rest of us.

Assuming the coronavirus infection rate does tail off and life eventually carries on as normal, Southeast Asia is well placed to champion growth and get its economies back up and running. The driver for this is the purchasing habits of the ASEAN consumer and their love of social media and technology.If the Asia-Pacific region was never a cohesive entity before the pandemic, it will be even less so in the aftermath.

The coronavirus pandemic could cost the global economy US$4.1 trillion as it ravages United States, Europe and other major economies, the Asian Development Bank warned on Friday (3 April).The estimated impact is equivalent to nearly five percent of worldwide output based on a range of scenarios, but the lender said losses from "the worst pandemic in a century" could be higher. "The estimated impact could be an underestimate, as additional channels such as...possible so

Singapore's economy suffered its biggest contraction since the financial crisis during the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, data showed Thursday, an ominous sign of the devastation being inflicted on the global economy.The finance minister meanwhile announced SGD48 billion (US$33 billion) in fresh stimulus, taking to about SGD55 billion the amount so far pledged by the government to help the export-reliant financial hub weather the downturn.One of the world's mos

COVID-19 is ravaging advanced economies such as Italy, France, Spain, and the United States (US).

One of the main concerns of enforcing nationwide lockdowns is the economic repercussions of the strict measures and the fear that it would have a lasting impact on social wellbeing and economic performance in the country. With China as the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, governments in ASEAN have now put stringent measures in place to contain it; threatening to stall economic growth in major markets.

The coronavirus outbreak that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan has spread across the country and beyond its borders, leaving governments at all levels in China scrambling to limit further person-to-person transmission of the virus, now known as COVID-19. Wuhan, with a population of 11 million, is under lockdown.

A recent survey in Thailand showed that Thais are more concerned about their safety than ever before and most say the economic slump the country is going through is the cause for this.The survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, was conducted from 15 to 18, January on 1,365 people throughout the country following a spate of serious crime news – including rapes, robberies and drug dealing – culminating in a gold shop heist in Lop Buri province.On 9 January, a man shot and

Earlier this week, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was quoted as saying that rallies were a “waste of time”. He was, of course, referring to Sunday’s Future Forward Party (FFP)-backed rally referred to as “Run Against Dictatorship” by some quarters and “Run to Oust Uncle” by others.“I am not an enemy of anyone.