KAMPALA -- The World Bank on Thursday said its board of executive directors approved 48 million U.S. dollars to help Uganda fight a desert locust invasion threatening livelihoods.

The funds under the Emergency Locust Response Program will help Uganda monitor and manage locust swarms to limit the growth of existing and new desert locust populations, the bank said in a statement. (Uganda-Locust)

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MOSCOW -- The Russian government will allocate 25 billion rubles (352 million U.S. dollars) to support the domestic automotive industry hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Thursday.

"Of the funds, five billion rubles will be spent on purchasing ambulances," Mishustin said at a government meeting. (Russia-Auto Industry)

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TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday, remaining pressured after Wall Street's weak lead overnight after U.S. shares lost ground overnight on jobless claims data showing that millions of Americans are continuing to lose their jobs each week due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 164.15 points, or 0.80 percent, from Thursday at 20,388.16. (Japan-Stocks-Closing)

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MANILA -- The COVID-19 pandemic fallout has bitten into the Philippine tourism sector, with international visitor arrivals in the country fell by more than half in January to April this year over the same period last year.

"For the first four months of 2020, the DOT recorded a 54.02 percent decrease in foreign arrivals, the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) said in a statement on Friday. (Philippines-Tourism)