MARKETS Global stock markets and oil prices plunged yesterday after a fight among major crude-producing nations jolted investors who already were on edge about the surging costs of a virus outbreak. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell to 19,698.76 after the government reported the economy contracted 7% in the October-December quarter, worse than the original estimate of a 6.3% decline. Markets last sentence incomplete. Should read: Both Hong Kong and Shanghai bourses recorded steep declines. More on p7
SAUDI ARABIA closed off air and sea travel to nine countries affected by the new coronavirus yesterday as Mideast stock markets tumbled over fears about the widening outbreak’s effect on the global economy. The state oil giant Saudi Aramco led the financial losses, dropping by 10% on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange and forcing a halt to Aramco’s trading.
IRAN says the new coronavirus has killed another 43 people, pushing the death toll to 237 amid 7,161 confirmed cases. The Health Ministry announced the new figure at a news conference yesterday. There are over 7,640 confirmed cases of the virus across the wider Mideast. Some experts worry Iran may be underreporting its cases.
IRAN continues to provide international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities, even after its announcement it was no longer bound by “any restrictions” of the landmark 2015 deal with world powers designed to prevent the country from producing a nuclear weapon, the head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog, Rafael Grossi (pictured), said yesterday.
RUSSIA A special North Korean flight believed to be carrying dozens of diplomats and other foreigners arrived in Russia’s Far East yesterday, as the North tightens a lockdown intended to fend off the coronavirus. North Korea has not publicly confirmed a single case of the COVID-19 illness, but its state media have reported that thousands of people have been quarantined as part of strict prevention measures. More on p7
FRANCE The Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland was postponed in a move aimed at preventing the coronavirus from further spreading. The decision was taken after discussions with tournament organizers and the French rugby federation. The match was due to take place on Saturday at the Stade de France. A new date for the game has yet to be announced.
BRITISH supermarket chain Tesco has agreed to a $10.6 billion deal to sell all its stores in Thailand and Malaysia to companies belonging to the CP Group, Thailand’s biggest conglomerate. CP is controlled by the Chearavanont family, which Forbes magazine lists as Thailand’s richest outside of the country’s royal family.
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Brussels for talks with European Union officials amid a standoff between Ankara and Brussels over sharing of responsibility for refugees and migrants. Thousands of migrants have massed at Turkey’s land border with EU-member Greece after Erdogan’s government made good on a long-standing threat and announced that Turkey would no longer prevent migrants and refugees from crossing into EU countries.
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