Turkey was recovering from its first recession in a decade when the coronavirus hit. Now the economy is on the brink again, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is running out of options.

Hopes for a vaccine to treat coronavirus and a further easing of lockdown measures around the world spurred a rally on Asian markets Tuesday as investors tracked a surge across Europe and Wall Street.

The coronavirus pandemic could cut up to 9.7 percent off the global economy, the Asian Development Bank said Friday, doubling its previous estimate as the virus stifles trade and leaves millions jobless.

Restaurants and cafes began reopening in parts of Europe and Central Asia on Monday after weeks of closures, eager to again welcome hungry patrons albeit under strict regulations, as schools also reopened in some countries.

World stock markets rose Monday on a further easing of coronavirus lockdowns around the world, sending US oil prices back above $30 per barrel, but haven investment gold hit a 2012 pinnacle on festering economic fears, dealers said.

Restaurants and churches will reopen in Italy on Monday as part of a fresh wave of lockdown easing in Europe, but rising coronavirus death tolls in Brazil, South Africa and other parts of the world showed the worst is still to come in many countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss a joint initiative to spur the EU's recovery from the coronavirus crisis on Monday, which will be presented during a joint press conference afterwards, the French presidency said.

More parts of Europe opened up on Friday despite fears of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as shock new figures revealed the extent of the disease's toll on the U.S. and German economies.

Newly released economic data shows the US economy is in a terrible state and may not rebound quickly even when the devastating lockdowns imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic are lifted.

Greece said Friday it will reopen some air and sea links from Monday as it begins exiting coronavirus lockdown in the hope the disease is sufficiently under control to allow tourists in.