President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has made a declaration of "war" against the coronavirus, as the country's total cases surpassed 5,000, making it the largest outbreak outside China. Addressing the alarming rise of the disease in South Korea, President Moon Jae-in apologized for shortages of face masks and pledged support for virus-affected small businesses in Asia's fourth-largest economy. The country reported 851 new cases and three more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 5,186 and 28 deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moon announced that the government will inject over 30 trillion won (US$25 billion) into the economy to tackle the "grave" situation caused by the outbreak, emphasizing that the entire country has mobilized for a bat...

On Tuesday, March 3, South Africa's statistics bureau (Stats SA) reported that the country entered a recession in the final quarter of 2019. The economy contracted by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, following a revised 0.8% contraction in the third quarter, marking the third recession since the end of apartheid in 1994.     In 2019, South Africa's economy only grew by 0.2% in real terms, following a meager 0.8% growth in 2018. The fourth-quarter decline exceeded economists' predictions as the economy grapples with the aftermath of load shedding.     Weak agriculture output and transport were the primary factors contributing to the economic downturn, outweighing positive contributions from finance and government spending. Construction, mining, and manufacturing also added to the negativ...