EghtesadOnline: The Cabinet has set 12 million rials ($88.8) in annual perks for government employees and pensioners paid before the onset of the Iranian New Year with their salary for 11th month of the Iranian year (Jan. 21-Feb. 19), Mehdi Qamsarian, the spokesman of Plan and Budget Organization said.

EghtesadOnline: China is struggling to contain rising public anger over its response to a spreading coronavirus even as it took unprecedented steps to slow the outbreak, restricting travel for 30 million people on the eve of Lunar New Year . The turmoil comes as the virus is proving more difficult to contain than other pandemics, stymieing efforts to track infected patients before they travel, Bloomberg reported.

EghtesadOnline: Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has named the new Iranian year, which began on March 21, the year of "Boosting Production" to help shore up Iran's sanctions-hit economy without reliance on other countries.