On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russia’s attitude toward US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project remains unchanged, and that Moscow considers any restrictions to be a manifestation of unfair competition and a violation of international law.

Three major airlines have announced plans to slash 30 percent of its workers over fears that post-COVID-19 recovery efforts may take longer than expected, it was reported this week. The news follows profit warnings issued from two key British carriers in April, who plan to cut up to 15,000 jobs.

A wave of bankruptcies has hit the aviation industry as airlines suspended entire routes and grounded most of their fleets because of worldwide travel bans. Here's who hasn't managed to wait out the storm.

The production was halted for four months following two deadly crashes in less than five months, which killed all 346 people on board, with software programming problems being identified as the primary cause.

At the start of the week, on 25 May, China stocks had closed higher, buoyed by signs of gains in consumer companies, despite Washington and Beijing repeatedly exchanging barbs over US accusations of cover-ups and lack of transparency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A healthy bilateral relationship will be important to Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to China, which will be the only meaningful market in the coming decade but one that is undergoing a structural change, Chinese industry insiders said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Most OPEC+ nations want to preserve the April conditions of the deal and reduce oil production by 7.7 million barrels per day starting July, but there are some objections, a source in a delegation said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Unit Corporation said in a statement on Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy after acquiring debt of more than $650 million thereby becoming the third oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States to become a casualty to the measures implemented to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 500 points on Tuesday after news that biotech company Novavax had begun human trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine and more parts of the US and several European economies reopening after lockdowns.

According to the airline, it had to scale back its operations by 95 percent amid the collapse in global travel. Per the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Latin American company could face a $15 billion loss in revenue this year.

Russian scientists are getting ready to submit their proposals to the Nationwide Action Plan to counter the pandemic in the Russian Federation. Which sectors of the economy will be the drivers of development in the post-pandemic world? Does basic science have the capacity to provide an adequate scientific response to the challenges of the pandemic?

Last week, US officials reportedly indicated that they may further tighten the rules that aim to cut the Chinese tech giant Huawei off from global chip sales.

PARIS (Sputnik) - French Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin expressed confidence in an interview with Le Figaro that the country's state debt would exceed 115 percent of the GDP by the end of year.

The price of gold has seen a significant increase (12 percent) this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has wrought severe financial damage. Recently, the price jumped due to rising tensions between the United States and China over what Washington labelled Beijing’s cover-up of the disease - a claim Chinese authorities deny.

The ongoing crisis on the energy market could be a blessing in disguise for American energy companies, who are using it to replenish their stockpiles of a valuable resource and at a discounted rate.

In mid-May, Republican Senator Ted Cruz proposed a bill aimed at reducing US reliance on Chinese rare earth metals. China remains the world's largest producer of these strategic minerals needed to produce consumer electronics and a spate of weapons.

Earlier in the week, the Associated Press reported that unemployment claims in Britain jumped by a record amount in April thus underscoring the destructive impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country's economy despite the government's programmes to assist workers.

In October 2019, Washington put several Chinese artificial intelligence firms on its Entity List in order to restrict their access to US technology, the same blacklist the Chinese firm Huawei is on.

American LNG exports are estimated to have dropped by around a half since January due to a collapse in demand which led to lack of storage space in overseas facilities.

The value of the Russian central bank’s gold reserves grew by $6.244 billion last month, despite plummeting global oil prices and overall economic contraction as a result of global economic activity grinding to a virtual halt amid the coronavirus pandemic.