The white house said US President Donald Trump and Qatari leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have agreed in a phone call on the importance of reduction in violence in Afghanistan,

This comes after the clashes between government forces and Taliban fighters that killed dozens nationwide this week.

The attacks are threatening to derail a fragile peace process, with the Taliban rejecting the Afghan government's repeated calls for a ceasefire as the country also attempts to deal with a growing coronavirus outbreak.

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Zoom is set to release an improved version of its hugely popular video conferencing app this week.

This comes after issues with the company's data security and privacy measures have come under intense scrutiny.

Zoom's chief executive Eric Yuan said in a statement that the firm said Zoom 5.0 will include upgraded encryption features to help protect data and fend off so-called "Zoombombing".

The platform is now being used by hundreds of millions of people for work and leisure, as lockdowns are imposed around the world.

While SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said the company was "fixing" the brightness of his company's satellites.

Stargazers around the world and including many Britons have witnessed unusual constellations made up of the low earth orbit spacecraft.

SpaceX has been launching large batches of satellites as part of its Starlink project to improve global internet coverage. The most recent launch took place on Wednesday.

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Vietnam eased social distancing measures Thursday, with experts pointing to a decisive response involving mass quarantines and expansive contact tracing for the apparent success in containing the coronavirus.

The Southeast Asian nation has recorded just 268 virus cases and zero deaths, despite sharing border with China,

Although the numbers tested for COVID-19 are relatively low and experts caution the authoritarian government’s health ministry is the sole source for the figures, they also say there is little reason to distrust them. There has also been aggressive contact tracing.

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China announced on Thursday that it will donate another $30 million to the World Health Organization to help the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

His comments come around a week after the United States also the WHO’s biggest contributor said it would halt payments to the UN body after accusing it of mismanaging” the COVID-19 crisis.

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More in south Africa, Rand gained against the dollar early on Thursday, before President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks later on the phased reopening of the economy.

At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 18.9000 per dollar, up 0.63% from its previous close.

Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a 500 billion-rand rescue package, equivalent to 10% of South Africa’s gross domestic product, to cushion the economic blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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South Africa, Sasol oil said on Thursday that it expects a loss on its Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP) this year and will cut the pay of its CEO and other management to protect its balance sheet.

It explained that CEO Fleetwood Grobler will donate 33% of his salary for three months from May and take a 20% pay cut for five months to December, directors’ fees will be reduced by up to 40%, and executive committee senior leadership and junior management will take salary cuts for 8 months. This will help protect the company’s balance sheet and liquidity until at least the end of financial.

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Gold Fields on Thursday said it expects to lose 32,000 ounces of production at its South African South Deep mine due to a nationwide lockdown.

The miner said group gold production for the quarter ended March 31 was 537,000 ounces, down from 542,000 ounces a year earlier, with all regions tracking the annual guidance.

Gold field said the impact of the pandemic has been relatively muted on operations, with production only slightly affected. However, if lockdown continues it may lead to production disruptions in future.

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South Africa’s Anglo-American Platinum (Amplats) said on Thursday it aims to save around 4 billion rand ($211 million) through cost cutting and capex savings this year to offset production losses during a nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The company said the approach pursued was to deliver capex reductions that supported the updated production profile whilst ensuring the long-term asset integrity and maximising immediate reduction in planned spend.

Total platinum group metals (PGM) production fell 7% in the first quarter to 954,800 ounces due to the impact of the nationwide lockdown, which started on March 27 and has been extended until May.

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According to the Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana’s economy grew by an estimated 6.5% for 2019 which is the second-highest figure recorded after the economy was rebased in 2017. The country’s economy grew by 8.1% and 6.3% in 2017 and 2018 respectively. While the total value of all goods and services for last year also reached GH¢164.56 billion. A further breakdown of the sectorial performances shows that the services sector recorded the highest growth of 7.6% in 2019. It was followed by the industry sector with a growth of 6.4%. The agricultural sector recorded the least growth of 4.6%.

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The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board has approved a disbursement of $363 million under its Rapid Credit Facility to help Democratic Republic of Congo confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The fund said Congo is experiencing a severe shock as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The short-term economic outlook has deteriorated quickly due to the fall of minerals’ prices and the impact of needed containment and mitigation measures.

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