Hello, I'm David Harper with the BBC news.
The price of oil has fallen by nearly 30% to its lowest level in years, sparking another bout of selling in international markets. Asian and European stock markets have taken a big hit, and the ruble, the currency of one major export of Russia, fell by 6%. Dominic O'Connell reports. Last week, the club of oil-producing nations OPEC met to try to agree production cuts to maintain prices as demand fell thanks to the impact of the corona virus. A non-OPEC member, Russia, refused to play ball and now Saudi Arabia has decided to take the Russians on. Saudi Arabia had been expected to cut production to 9 million barrels a day, but will now produce 10 and perhaps 11 million barrels per day.
The Italian prime minister has called the corona virus outbreak his country's darkest hour. Giuseppe Conte said Italy would overcome the virus if people followed the rules. He said the sacrifices required for the good of all as the north and east work up to a second day of restricted movement. He also promised increase spending to offset the economic impact. Bethany Bell is in Bologna. We're beginning to get a slightly clearer picture of how the authorities are planning to police this. We're told that anybody who turns up at an airport or at a train station will have to justify the reason for their wanting to travel either in or out of these regions. On the other hand, though, the transport ministry has said that anybody who is a visitor or a tourist should leave and go home. Schools and universities will remain shut until the beginning of April. Cruise ships have been told that they can't dock in Venice, which of course is another part which is under lockdown.
The virus has prompted Japan to introduce tough border controls for people from China and South Korea. Three million visas for visitors to Japan have been cancelled. All arrivals will have to spend two weeks in quarantine. South Korea, where the spread of the virus appears to be slowing, has brought in similar restrictions for people from Japan.
Meanwhile, a cruise ship that was barred from Malaysia and Thailand because of outbreak fears will be allowed to return to Singapore. Jonathan head has this report. The Costa Fortuna left Singapore, its homeport six days ago with more than 1600 passengers on board. It was denied permission to dock in Malaysia, which has now stopped all cruise ship visits and refused by Thailand too because of the presence of more than 60 Italians on board. However, the Singapore authorities are allowing it to return as scheduled on Tuesday. They say they will let all of the passengers disembark once they've been screened by medics for any signs of corona virus infections. The ship has so far reported no illnesses on board. Jonathan Head reporting. Live from London, this is David Harper with the latest world news from the BBC.
