BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NEW YORK -- Oil prices were under considerable pressure after the U.S. benchmark crashed nearly 30 percent Monday morning to trade below 12 U.S. dollars a barrel.

The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery shed about 29.7 percent to 11.91 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery slid more than 8 percent to below the 20-dollar mark.

Risks on the demand side amid the COVID-19 pandemic fallout have reignited fears over availability of storage capacities, experts noted.

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MOSCOW -- The current crisis caused by COVID-19 should not be used to settle domestic problems by pursuing "selfish" short-term interests and attacking other countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"It is paradoxical when countries posing themselves as champions of human rights and main guardians of democracy continue to actively use illegitimate instruments of so-called sanctions bypassing the UN Security Council and try to politicize the provision of humanitarian aid," Lavrov said.

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TOKYO -- The Japanese government on Monday submitted a reworked supplementary budget to the parliament to finance a number of emergency measures to help mitigate the overall economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

"The virus infections have been exerting an enormous impact on the domestic and overseas economies, and the extremely severe situation is expected to continue until we can see signs of the outbreak coming to an end," Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso said in the lower house, calling for the budget's speedy approval.

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BEIJING -- China Monday expressed strong opposition to embroiling China in U.S. electoral politics, in response to a memo exposed by news outlet Politico that urged U.S. Republican candidates to address the COVID-19 crisis by aggressively attacking China.

The 57-page strategy document, obtained by Politico last Friday, is focused on three main lines of assault: That China caused the virus "by covering it up," that Democrats are "soft on China," and that Republicans will "push for sanctions on China for its role in spreading this pandemic," Politico summarized.

"Why have some political forces in the United States spared no effort in smearing and attacking China in the name of the pandemic? The answer is self-evident," said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang at a press briefing.

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MADRID -- Over 100,000 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Spain, the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services said on Monday.

According to the daily figures published by the ministry, 100,875 patients have beaten the virus -- an increase of 2,144 over the last 24 hours.

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NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced an extention of the country's pandemic-related state of emergency until May 11, the press service of the head of state said Monday.

"The state of emergency will be abandoned on May 11 unless a new massive outbreak of the COVID-19 takes place. I hope it (will) not happen," said Tokayev, adding that the country has yet to pass the peak stage of infection. Enditem

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