Gaining a vaccine to help contain the novel coronavirus would provide a big boost to the global economy in 2021, but the initial geographic distribution of that benefit will likely depend on which vaccine candidate works first. Public health officials around the world increasingly believe at least one of the vaccines now in the later … Read more
SÃO PAULO—The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged Latin America, killing more than 300,000 people, erasing years of social and economic gains and plunging millions back into poverty. But from Mexico to Brazil, a recent slowdown in new cases and fatalities is raising cautious hopes that the hard-hit region might be turning a corner. While the U.S. … Read more
AUARIS, Brazil—Arnaldo Sanuma, who lives deep in the Amazon, didn’t know Brazil’s president is Jair Bolsonaro, but he was aware of the pandemic that was sweeping the country. On a recent day, the 24-year-old member of the indigenous Yanomami tribe walked and paddled his canoe five hours from his village deep in the Amazon to this hamlet of thatched-roof … Read more
President Trump used a virtual speech at the United Nations General Assembly to assail China on Tuesday, blaming Beijing for the coronavirus pandemic that has stricken the world while weighing on the global economy. “The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump, facing a re-election challenge while grappling … Read more
This article is part of a Wall Street Journal guide comparing President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on issues from climate change to health care and jobs. WASHINGTON—President Trump and Democratic opponent Joe Biden have profound differences in key areas of U.S. foreign policy, but hold similar views about some major goals, … Read more
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven nearly 37 million people into extreme poverty and reversed two decades of progress in vaccinating children against once-common childhood diseases, according to a new report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The number of people living in extreme poverty globally has risen 7.1% so far this year in the … Read more
From India to Mexico and Brazil, the world’s biggest poor countries are witnessing some of the steepest economic contractions on record, throwing tens of millions out of work and turning back the clock on gains against poverty. Poor nations haven’t felt this kind of pain since the Great Depression. India’s economy shrank by nearly a … Read more
NEW DELHI—Investors across the globe are hoarding gold in the Covid-19 pandemic. In normally gold-obsessed India, there’s a glut, as struggling families stop buying and start hocking jewelry. International investors have lifted the price of gold to all-time highs this year, trying to get their hands on more gold coins, bars and exchange-traded funds. Many … Read more
NEW DELHI—India’s economy shrank by a record 23.9% last quarter—the biggest blow the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to a major economy so far—as a nationwide lockdown and fear of the fast-spreading pandemic strangled spending. Gross domestic product took a beating in the April-through-June quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to government … Read more
The global scramble to thwart the coronavirus has a vast blind spot: sub-Saharan Africa. In Tanzania, the government outlawed coronavirus testing and declared its national outbreak defeated, even as hundreds of people died monthly from unexplained respiratory problems. Last month in Zambia, 28 people died at home in a single day with Covid-19-like symptoms while waiting to be tested. In South Sudan, … Read more