Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Divorce is still illegal in the Philippines, although a bill that's currently with the

Congress may change that. We ask why the country's politics and its politicians are so much

more socially conservative than the citizens seem to be. And the era of delivery by drone

is nearly upon us. But how will drones avoid the thieves and the mischief makers who will

try to down them? We look into some technology that may help keep drones and your delivery

safe.

But first, over the weekend global reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic led to more travel

restrictions, more border closings and more cancelled flights. Spain began a national

shutdown like the one in Italy. France shuttered all of its non-essential public buildings,

and today Germany will close its borders.

Rwanda, Morocco and Kenya, among other African countries, put tighter controls in place,

halting flights and closing schools and universities. America's ban on travelers from Europe to

cold, leading to chaos in American airports. Without a national plan in place, American

cities and states are enacting their own restrictions. New York's mayor, Bill de Blasio,

closed public schools. So this is a decision that I have taken with no joy whatsoever

with a lot of pain honestly because something I could not in a million years of imagine

having to do. But we are dealing with a challenge and a crisis that we have never seen in

our lifetimes and is only just begun.

The most decisive top-down move came from America's Federal Reserve, which cut interest rates

to near zero and promised to pump $700 billion into the economy.

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