this is bbc world news i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: the european central bank launches a multi billion dollar emergency scheme to ease the impact of the worsening coronavirus pandemic. stock markets across the world continue to plunge dramatically in response to the pandemic, with investors in asia worried about the economic impact. china records no new domestic case of the coronavirus for the first time since the pandemic began in the city of wuhan last year. while in the uk, emergency legislation to tackle the worsening pandemic there is being introduced in parliament, as schools are set to close from friday.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. the european central bank has announced it will pump three quarters of a trillion euros, around $820 billion, into the financial system by buying up government and company debt. the move came after an emergency meeting following more chaos on financial markets. the ecb say the bond purchases will continue until the ‘crisis phase' of the coronavirus pandemic is over. markets in asia reacted positively to the announcement, but that didn't last long. let's go to singapore for the details. let's get some reaction from shara njit leyl in singapore. the positivity did not last long at all? absolutely not, in spite of all those stimulus

measures implemented globally, that didn't actually see markets open positively initially but they are all lower now and that is after the european central bank's latest promise of stimulus only briefly comforted investors here, a lot of them are worried about the economic fallout from the coronavirus, the ecb pledging billions. christine lagarde, its head tweeting that there are no limits to the ecb's commitment to the euro. the australian central bank has also made a historic rate cut, pa rt also made a historic rate cut, part of its measures which included injecting $7 billion of support for the banking sector and elsewhere. shortly after the us markets closed also at sharp lows, the dow jones index falling below the 20,000 mark for the first time in three years, president trump signed off yet another stimulus bill, none of this, though, seems to have helped soothe investors fears, there continues to be a massive

sell—off in firms, particularly badly hit by the virus, for insta nce badly hit by the virus, for instance with so many travel restrictions around the world, you've got airlines like qantas which has become the latest major airline to cancel international flights. major airline to cancel internationalflights. it major airline to cancel international flights. it said would send home some two—thirds of 30,000 strong workforce, and its low—cost unit, jetstar, as well as qantas, they will be suspending all of their overseas flights from late march until at least the end of may. so every market in the region is in red and perhaps most dramatic fall, i should and today, is for philippine stocks which plunged by nearly 2596, stocks which plunged by nearly 25%, just moments after the manila stock exchange redeemed trade. that's following a two—day trading suspension prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, wall street is the other market planning to follow suit next week, saying it is shutting its trading floor and reverting to electronic trading asa reverting to electronic trading as a move to deal with the

pandemic. thank you very much indeed for that analysis. let's turn to the wall street now, where another day of brutal falls triggered a halt in trading, for the second time this week. now the virus has made its way to the actual floor of the new york stock exchange, which has decided to close its doors on monday. the announcement comes as more measures are passed to try and cushion the financial blow of the pandemic, as samira hussain reports. us financial markets remain open for business, but beginning monday, the trading floor will go dark. the floor of the new york stock exchange isa of the new york stock exchange is a symbol of american capitalism, remaining operational was a sign to the world that the country was still open for business. but the fast spreading disease made its way here. to people tested positive for the virus, making it clear business as usual could not continue. the decision was made the same day

the us senate finally passed and economic relief will to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. it will ensure free testing, paid leave for some workers and other benefits. now that the measure has been signed by president trump, lawmakers will get to work on another stimulus package. this time with more than $1 trillion. some of which would go directly into the pockets of americans. anything that gets money into the hands of those who have been displaced from their employment, have lost income, this will help people to try to keep paying their bills, to frankly keep food on the table and stay in their homes and that is urgently needed, and i think this is why day after day, financial markets are looking for more rapid action from elected officials in washington because we have been talking about this for days and weeks, and yes there has been legislation passed but still in the early

stages. we need economic stimulus to address what really isa stimulus to address what really is a haemorrhaging situation in the us economy. this is the kind of bold action that wall street has been craving, but with financial markets so volatile, it's unclear if this will stop the freefall. danae kyriakopoulou is chief economist at the official monetary and financial institutions forum, which is a think tank that looks at monetary and economic policy. thank you so much forjoining us on thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. big bazooka from the ecb, is going to be enough, do you think, to help these countries in europe which are these countries in europe which a re really these countries in europe which are really being impacted economically by this pandemic? it's hard to say if it will be enough because we don't have a situation will continue. but it is certainly a very big package and it follows up on more that they have offered before, so it builds on the 120 billion that

they announced previously. this isa they announced previously. this is a 750 billion programme. and it is the first time we are releasing the ecb not act alone, not be the only game in town so we can think of it in the context of what other actors are doing, particularly fiscal policy. into the question of is that not enough, i think ecb has also left it open but it stands to do more if it needs to do so. it is a very flexible programme, it is open ended and they wouldn't be surprised if later down the road we were to see a part two, so road we were to see a part two, so that is also an option. what we have seen yesterday is that the ecb is there to do what it can with no limits to support the economy. absolutely, and the economy. absolutely, and the ecb boss tweeted that there we re the ecb boss tweeted that there were no limits to its commitment to the euro. what you think a phase two would entail stopping what mortals does the ecb have? the

announcement yesterday... the issuer limits suggest how much of the bonds the ecb can purchase. but the ecb could look to change that, and yesterday's announcement left that flexible. also the t that directs how much of each capital's bonds the ecb can buy, so it can support countries that are more in need than others, like italy or spain. we could see a bigger programme or tweaks and those parameters. we saw co-ordinated action by the uk, japan, canada, switzerland. do you think there is significant level of cooperation in terms of economic policy, in a sense

where you don't get it so much in the political sphere? yes, i think there is more of that certainly in countries like the uk orthe us certainly in countries like the uk or the us where you have a single central bank for the economic jurisdiction. single central bank for the economicjurisdiction. it is even more impressive that we got that this time, it is not something we have got in the eu area. there's a lot that governments are doing, there is co—ordination there. in terms of the politics aside, yes, we are starting to see some co—ordination there but not as much is on the economic side. and let's talk about the us, and this $1 trillion stimulus package that we are expecting. that is a massive gamble from the us, isn't it? it is a big package, and it is reacting to also what the economic implications of the virus are, but yes, we have seen also the federal reserve act in the us, you have to remember at this

time ofa you have to remember at this time of a global crisis, the us dollar becomes very important and access to the us dollar becomes very important, so the bank has taken action in that regard but it is also looking primarily at what the impact is on the us. all right, danae, thank you very much your analysis. let's get some of the day's other news: qantas has become the latest major airline to cancel international flights as it struggles during the coronavirus pandemic. the australian flag carrier says will send home two—thirds of its 30,000—strong workforce. qantas and its low—cost unit jetstar will suspend all overseas flights from late march to at least the end of may. ford and general motors say they are in talks with the white house about how they can support the production of medical equipment including ventilators. gm, ford and fiat—chrysler have all announced they are suspending vehicle production. countries around the world have raised concerns about potential shortages of the ventilators needed to treat critically ill patients suffering

from coronavirus. uk broadband providers have experienced a surge in demand as more people work from home because of the pandemic. vodafone said it is experiencing a 30% rise in internet traffic across its uk fixed—line and mobile networks. talktalk said its daytime network traffic had risen 20% since monday. 0ne eu official has suggested that online tv services should stream content in lower resolution to protect broadband infrastructure. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll be having a look at how the coronavirus pandemic is being covered in the global newspapers. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway

passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the european central bank

launches a multi—billion dollar emergency scheme to ease the impact of the worsening coronavirus pandemic. meanwhile, stock markets across the world continue to plunge dramatically in response to the pandemic, with investors in asia worried about the economic impact. now it's time to look at a few of the stories making news in other media. as you would expect, the headlines continue to be dominated by coronavirus. we begin with the times. its lead headline is ‘exams cancelled after virus forces schools to shut down'. the paper says it's the first nationwide schools closure in uk peacetime history. the financial times says that the pound — and numerous other currencies — are taking a hit, as london may be forced to go into lockdown. the japan times stresses the need for governments to make supporting jobs and firms a priority to cushion the economic fallout.

the washington post says the coronavirus pandemic is redefining donald trump's presidency, with his $1 trillion stimulus a huge gamble, eight months before the us election. and wired reports on what might be a silver lining to the pandemic by highlighting the fact carbon emissions are falling as industries slow and people fly less. we normally have a guest in the studio to review the papers with us but because of the coronavirus outbreak the bbc has decided to implement a little social distancing. so, this morning we're talking to our reviewer from the comfort of her own home. she's inga beale, a businesswoman and the former ceo of lloyd's of london. very nice to see you, inga. i am sorry you could not be here sat next to me as always. but we can still manage to do a paper review together, kindly? yes commented we can, we can do it virtually. let's start with the times. this they had lay

many papers will be going with the day. exams cancelled, schools closed —— headline. this is huge for so many people who have kids in school, so many pupils who have been studying for years for gcse‘s and a level. a huge step by the government. it is. and every time the government comes out with another sort of order around coronavirus that we have to do something, it raises more questions. so this article also picks up some those questions. so the children of key workers are still going to go to skeleton schools, and then who cou nts skeleton schools, and then who counts as the key workers? which schools are going to be the schools that are open? and then how is that assessment going to made of those pupils who have been studying for so long when they actually get their grades and they are not going to have exams as such? how will that work out? it is such a dynamic situation. you can understand that not all the a nswe rs a re can understand that not all the answers are going to be there. it is also one of the