WASHINGTON -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday urged finance ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) to strengthen cooperation to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and boost global recovery.

"For more than a year the global community has faced a historic challenge from the dual health and economic crises caused by the pandemic," Yellen said in a letter to her G20 colleagues, one day ahead of a videoconference of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

(Yellen-G20-Recovery)

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FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank (ECB) will need to continue providing ample monetary accommodation for an extended period, even after the disinflationary pressures caused by the pandemic have been sufficiently offset, ECB chief economist Philip Lane said on Thursday.

"Looking ahead, it is clear that the successful containment of the virus and the fostering of a sustainable recovery will require an extended period of favorable financing conditions for all sectors of the economy," Lane said, according to a version of his speech published by the ECB. (ECB-Monetary policy-COVID-19)

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MEXICO CITY -- The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico revised the fall in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) from 8.3 to 8.2 in 2020, the worst record since the 1930s as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the INEGI report released Thursday, in 2020, Mexico's industrial activity, closely linked to the United States, stumbled 10 percent, while the service sector, the largest contributor to the Mexican GDP, fell 7.7 percent. (Mexico-Economy-GDP)

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CANBERRA -- Australia's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen to the lowest level since 1995 as coronavirus restrictions limited travel.

Data released by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on Friday revealed that emissions fell by 4.4 percent in the 12 months to September 2020. (Australia-Emissions-COVID-19)