Donald Tusk, the head of the European People's Party and the former president of the European Council, says the coronavirus crisis could spell the end for the EU. He urges Germany to show more solidarity with weaker countries and hopes to prevent Hungary from becoming a dictatorship.

Everything will be different after the COVID-19 pandemic. But how? Who will emerge as a winner amid all the changes sweeping the globe? Six economists, diplomats and pollsters share their prognoses for the post-coronavirus future.

Each year, thousands of South Africans die from the consequences of coal-fired power generation. The respiratory disease COVID-19 is exacerbating the country's health crisis.

Even before the arrival of COVID-19, humanity found itself stuck in several crises at once. The current shock delivered by the coronavirus could accelerate a paradigm shift that was already underway. It may result in a better and more sustainable world.

Iceland has the coronavirus pandemic better under control than most other countries. In an interview, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir explains the next important steps for her country.

Pathologists are eager to quickly conduct autopsies on as many COVID-19 victims as possible. They aim to determine who is at greatest risk from the virus and what damage it causes inside the body. Initial results are already available.

In an interview, medical historian Frank Snowden discusses how the coronavirus pandemic mirrors past outbreaks and argues that we must quickly apply the lessons learned today in preparation for the next disease.

Germany’s strict limitations on contact between people haven't conquered the virus - they have merely bought the country more time. Epidemiologists believe a second wave will come.

International aid workers are having a tremendously difficult time doing their jobs due to all the travel bans around the world and other quarantine measures. In the face of the coronavirus, however, they are needed more than ever before.

The number of coronavirus cases is slowly sinking in Italy, but the country is now facing the next phase of a serious crisis: how to kickstart an economy that has been at a standstill for weeks.

Alcohol consumption is a problem in many African countries. In the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, off Africa's western coast, many residents don't want to hear about, fearing it could damage the country's international image as burgeoning travel destination.

The first coronavirus infection in the United States was confirmed in Seattle 100 days ago. A team of DER SPIEGEL reporters has documented what has happened since, following a dozen people as they struggle to come to terms with the health catastrophe.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, the pharmaceutical company Gilead pulled remdesivir out of its storeroom. The drug, which had proved to be ineffective against other illnesses, could have a future in the battle against COVID-19. But it's likely not a "game changer."

On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a number of world leaders are launching a massive fundraising endeavor to raise money for tests, medicines and a vaccine for the coronavirus. Only one major country is missing in the effort.

The corona crisis is changing the global economy. Production security is growing more important than efficiency. Here is what that might look like.

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President Moon Jae-in said on August 15, "Another war in the Korean Peninsula must be resisted at any cost. Military action on the Korean Peninsula can only be decided by South Korea and no one else can decide to take military action without the consent of South Korea." In congratulatory remarks in celebration of the 72nd Liberation Day in Seoul's Sejong Culture Center, he said in relation to the North Korean missile crisis, "The government will do everything it can to prevent a war with Nort...

A government study said it had injected a total of 168.7 trillion won (US$150.8 billion) since the 1997 Asian financial crisis as part of an effort to clean up insolvent financial services firms and has only recouped 115 trillion won as of the end of the second quarter of this year. This is the recovery ratio of 68.3 percent in 20 years' time. Even though it looks good in appearance, there is a big difference from that of the U.S. government. The U.S. government had spent $426.4 billion for...

Despite the record-high results, the R&D investment level of the nation's petrochemical industry is still miserably low. According to industry sources on August 28, the amount of R&D investment of Lotte Chemical, which achieved a record-high sales revenue of 7,849.4 billion won in the first half, fell short of 44.5 billion won. This is only 0.57 percent of the total sales. Even last year when the company posted the highest operating profit (2,547.8 billion won) among all petrochemical...

SK Engineering & Construction has won a large-scale petrochemical plant project in Thailand. The company said on August 29 that it clinched a deal worth US$210 million to build polyol plant within the Hemaraj industrial zone in Thailand's Rayong. This followed news that the company signed a $1.6-billion project to modernize an oil refinery in Iran earlier this month. The plant, located 150 kilometers southeast of Thailand's capital Bangkok, is commissioned jointly by PTT Global Chemical, ...

POSCO Daewoo has opened Lotte Hotel Yangon on September 8 in Myanmar's capital Yangon. The five-star hotel, located near Inya Lake in the central business district of the city, consists of a 15-story hotel building (343 rooms) and a 29-story long-term serviced apartment building (315 rooms). POSCO Daewoo is responsible for the overall management while Lotte Hotels and Resorts taking charge of daily management. On the opening day, Myanmar Minister of Hotels and Tourism Ohn Maung, Chief Ministe...

As international coal prices are on the rise, Hanwha Chemical's prospect is getting brighter. That's because the Korean company uses naphtha to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) while its rivals in China are largely based on coal, which will make it more price competitive vis-a-vis the Chinese chemical producers. According to Korea Resources Corp. and chemical industry sources on September 10, the freight-on-board (FOB) price of bituminous coal out of the Chinese port of Qinhuangdao was US$95....

The youth unemployment rate has hit a record-high level in August since the Asian financial crisis. As for the number of net job increase, it fell to a low of 54 months. Even though the government is doing everything it can to create jobs, jobs-related figures won't budge. According to a report "August 2017 Employment Trend" published by the National Statistical Office on September 13, the jobless ratio of those aged between 15 and 29 was 9.4 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from a year ago. ...

The Daesan petrochemical industrial zone in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, will transform into an advanced chemical industrial complex. The nation's major petrochemical companies may invest up to 10 trillion won in this area. On September 14, S-Oil, Lotte Chemical, Hanwha Total, South Chungcheong provincial government, and Seosan city gathered in Lotte World Tower and signed a memorandum to create a Daesan specialized industrial complex. Currently the area is home to large petrochemical ...

Private-sector power generators are complaining mightily about the government's pressure on them to switch coal-fired power plants they are building into ones based on liquefied natural gas. That's largely because the government is mum about the sunk cost and other costs to retrofit the plants estimated to be as high as 2.6 trillion won. According to private-sector power generation industry sources on September 17, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy requested to POSCO Energy, SK Gas,...

Chief executives of the nation's leading companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and LG Display have made a request to the government to relieve the problem of labor shortage in the area of semiconductor and display. Kwon Oh-hyun, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, said on September 18 in a discussion session held in Kensington Hotel in Seoul's Yoido presided over by Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Baek Woon-gyu, "Skilled workers are in short supply in fast-growing industries...

As the government pronounced illegal on the practice of companies relying on subcontract workers for a long time such as the cases in Paris Baguette and Mando-Hella, the whole industry in shock. This is not just restricted to manufacturers but is spread to services and the food franchise industry as well. The corporate sector expected on September 24 that companies like Tous Les Jours, Samsung Electronics service centers, and LG U+ will likely face the same problem any time soon after the Min...

POSCO, Korea's largest steel maker, has completed on September 22 the construction of a steel wire service center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons. The plant will supply steel wire goods to be used for bolts, nuts, and bearings to auto parts companies. Started in April last year, the service center cost the company US$20.9 million to build. The high-quality steel materials produced in the new plant will be supplied to companies like Simplex Korea, Taeyang M...

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“SEHK”), wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, has published a consultation paper last Friday 22 September 2017 which proposed changes to the Main Board Listing Rules (“MB Rules”) and the Rules...

The Securities and Futures Commission (the “SFC”) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) issued a joint consultation paper on proposed enhancements to the Stock Exchange’s decision-making and...

Introduciton On 5 December 2017, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published its proposals for a revised UK Corporate Governance Code. The Code is shorter, building on the FRC’s...

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) is conducting further public consultation on the listing of companies from emerging and innovative sectors.  The consultation paper published on 23 February 2018 (the &l...

After nine years pursuing her claim against her employer, Michelle Alabaster walked away with an award of just £204.53.  However, the impact of the decisions of the ECJ, and now the Court of Appeal in the maternity pay case of Ala...

Employers, the leasing industry, professional advisers and many government departments including the DTI, were taken by surprise when withdrawal of the tax relief on computers supplied to employees was announced in the recent Budget. Numerous re...

Following a government call to extend flexible working rights to all workers, including non-parents, employment law experts at Eversheds believe the move could prevent tensions arising between workers with children and those without. Research condu...

The Chancellor has announced some important changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime. These changes may have a significant impact on the tax payable by your employees holding shares in your company traded on the full list. Abolition of taper r...