SEOUL -- South Korea's central bank slashed its 2020 growth outlook for the economy to 0.2 percent contraction on Thursday amid rising worries about an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement after the rate-setting meeting that the economy is forecast to contract 0.2 percent this year. It was sharply down from the BOK's previous forecast of 2.1 percent growth unveiled three months earlier. (South Korea-Growth Outlook)

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NEW DELHI -- India's federal health ministry Thursday morning said 194 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 6,566 positive cases were reported since Wednesday in the country, taking the number of deaths to 4,531 and total cases to 158,333.

"As on 8:00 a.m. (local time) Thursday, 4,531 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," reads information released by the ministry. (India-COVID-19-Cases)

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HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong police issued a statement on Thursday morning to condemn the illegal acts of rioters, who set fire and paralyzed traffic in Hong Kong Wednesday.

According to the statement, some people took to the internet to call for blocking roads at various locations of Hong Kong on Wednesday morning, in an attempt to paralyze traffic and obstruct police, before blocking the Legislative Council. (Hong Kong-Riot)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate to a new record low of 0.50 percent to tackle an economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and other monetary policy board members decided to slash the seven-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to an all-time low of 0.75 percent. (South Korea-Rate)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Senior officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies held a virtual meeting on Wednesday night to discuss measures to increase cooperation on the COVID-19 outbreak and to facilitate economic recovery, Malaysia, the host nation of APEC 2020, said Thursday.

Hairil Yahri Yaacob, a senior official from Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Ministry who chaired the meeting, urged participating economies to prioritize the undisputed flow of essential goods and services across the region. (Malaysia-APEC-COVID-19 Meeting)

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KATHMANDU -- The Nepali government will hold a discussion with the Chinese side regarding when to announce the height of the world's tallest peak, said Padma Kumari Aryal, Nepali minister for land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation.

The minister made the remark after an eight-member Chinese survey team Wednesday reached the summit and remeasured the height of Mount Qomolangma, known as Mt. Sagarmatha in Nepali. (Nepal-China-Qomolangma Height)

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HONG KONG -- A recent statement from the Hong Kong Bar Association on the national security legislation disregards the facts and lacks legal basis, legal experts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) have said.

They stressed that the legislation will provide key support for maintaining social order and the rule of law, and will not undermine the legitimate rights and freedom of Hong Kong residents.(Hong Kong-National Security Legislation) Enditem

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