International

Saudi Arabia has abandoned efforts to support crude prices and is now preparing to flood global markets with huge volumes of cheap oil, a stunning shift in strategy that has pushed oil futures into a dramatic tailspin and set the stage for a battle royale with rival producers including Russia …

From Venice to Bejing to Bethlehem, places that are usually packed with visitors are now unusually quiet as people practice “social distancing” to help limit the spread of coronavirus.

The US president has also declared a national emergency, freeing up to $50bn in relief funds.

A state of emergency will come into effect on Saturday amid a steep rise in coronavirus deaths.

US-led coalition airstrikes are underway against multiple Iranian-backed militia sites in Iraq, according to a US official.

Friday’s slump follows the biggest one-day declines in the US and UK since Black Monday in 1987.

As the novel coronavirus began spreading around the world this year, one common refrain from skeptics of the emergency measures being put in place to stop the outbreak was that it was just like the flu — dangerous to sensitive groups but routine and not something to get into lockdown …

Schools close, museums shut, sports events are off and lockdowns widen as the coronavirus spreads.