Not yet planning to postpone even as pressure grows plus violence in guinea ahead of a controversial referendum that could extend the president s term in office. Welcome to ours is there a lockdown of indias major cities has begun in one of the biggest single government moves to try and slow down the spread of the coronavirus pandemic the capital new delhi the Business Capital moment by and chennai as well as calcutta on once the curfew is also in place nationwide and International Flights have been banned for a week. Grounding the fleet says the crow virus cripples International TravelSingapore Airlines for example is the latest to cut back operations taking 96 percent of its fleet out of commission that follows decisions by. Emirates and Turkish Airlines also hold nearly all of their passenger flights japanese Prime Minister shinzo our day has conceded that the Tokyo Olympic games may need to be and thats after weeks of insisting that the major sporting event would go ahead in july as planned and dozens of cuban doctors have arrived in italy to help stop the spread of the virus italy is one of the countries thats been hardest hit more than 5000 people have died lets cross over to indian our correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me from the capital new delhi and a new reality dorms for millions of people across the country including those in the capital elizabeth. Absolutely so 20000000 people nearly 20000000 people just in delhi and the city is under lockdown and so as you mentioned a number of major cities around the country mumbai kolkata chennai bengal just to name a few the 14 hour curfew that the Prime Minister met in the morning called for on sunday half way through the day it was decided that that curfew would be extended in all 75. 00 districts of the country with confirmed cases of corona virus and that is now 80 districts thats more than 10 percent of the country including major cities and states a number of states including the delhi region have closed their borders there is no there are no trains around the country no interstate buses and within some states there are no buses at all no Metro Services around the country either sunday saw another really big jump saturday was the single biggest jump in the number of cases sunday there was another big jump and were looking at Something Like 414. 00 cases now confirmed cases and 7 people have died the government also took the step of. Doubling the number of Testing Centers very low number of Testing Centers for a country of this size there was Something Like 52 government run Testing Centers they have brought in private hospitals to double that number and that is a seen as a very necessary step because there are increasing concerns that the lower level of testing the lowest anywhere in the world among affected countries could be hiding the real number of cases here it didnt cause elizabeth what we saw maybe about a week ago was the prime Ministry Video conference with his opposite number as you might say in the region part of the stock Economic Community not very much actually transpired out of that meeting but its. Was ringing the warning bells to the public at large that there is a problem so while youve been in india what sort of discourse has there been either in the media or in the street to the people youve been talking to is there real concern are people should people be worried and are they worried yet. They are so and you know while promised a more he held that conference with south asian leaders and he was asking for an Emergency Fund to set up an Emergency Fund to fight the virus in the region since then the discourse has changed nationally people are concerned and a sign of that is Prime Minister mori actually said that sundays 14 hour curfew was a voluntary curfew well the streets were completely empty no one was outside its no longer voluntary and the only people saw that were out with those migrant laborers indias so many migrant laborers that were just trying to get home get back to their villages you know before the borders were shot and then. Indian railways decided to close all cancel all trains buses did that metros did that and what people really want to know now is as well as taking these steps containing people expanding testing stopping all International Flights from arriving in india for a week what is the government going to do for all those and india who like migrant labor as a daily wage earners they have to work every day to survive i was speaking to the only person who i saw out on the road today a vegetable vendor who was saying that if he didnt go out and sell his vegetables his family wouldnt have enough to eat thats what other Street Vendors have been telling us for the past few days and so while all state governments are starting to look at how theyre going to support these people the Central Government is also now doing that and were waiting to hear from them you know about a sort of a financial stimulus package what is it going to do is again as well as containing the spread stopping it from getting into the Community Transmission everyones worried about that phase 3 Community Transmission how theyre also going to support all the very many hundreds of millions of indians who are being told to stay at home and to do social distancing that they need to go out to work to survive and we will be keeping focus on the issues in india in the coming hours certainly does not look down continues elizabeth brought them in new delhi thank you. Cross the part of our correspondent in hong kong a lot going on across asia pacific lets just begin with Singapore Airlines the reverberations of that decision impacts across the whole region thats right you know so hell Singapore Airlines had planned to cut half its flights last week because there were just no passengers and now the singapore governments announcement that they were not going to allow transit passengers or tourists into the country they have decided to take that even further cutting capacity 96 percent this is something Many Airlines across the region are doing as we are seeing more blockades and border restrictions come into place Cathay Pacific last week cut its capacity by 95 percent as truly as quanta has grounded almost all its flights many Domestic Airlines many Budget Airlines are also grounding their fleet this is something that airline analysts say is just beginning as more and more lock downs come into place as many countries battle what theyre calling imported infections surveil and of course the bills thats reverberated across asia pacific and thats the markets not sold down really perhaps to a decision in the u. S. Which is impacting where you are we expect what impact across europe when the markets open later in the day. Thats right the u. S. Is inability to come together to present a 2 trillion dollar stimulus package that would prop up the worlds biggest economy is affecting markets across the board here if i had a chart here you would see is sea of red as talks tumble and almost every country im going to start with india where as elizabeth was saying the lockdowns are having a massive effect at the bombay sensex thats one of the main stock indexes had to activate the Circuit Breaker as talks plunged 10 percent to trading stocks for 45 minutes before it started again the other market performing very badly with heavy losses as a strangely as a s. X. That has sustaining 5 weeks of losses now its also taken another head dropping nearly 6 percent now i believe on the news that the government is not only going to lock down its borders but also going to try and limit businesses closed on pubs restaurants and to try and limit the Domestic Travel hong kong to yuri seeing the markets really taking a pummeling here down 5 percent this mainly on the news that the Hong Kong Financial secretarys call the economy in a dire situation and said the worst is yet to come the city is facing a new wave of Coronavirus Infection to the surge not even seen at the beginning of the outbreak china meanwhile yes markets have dropped their not as much perhaps as the rest of the region down 2 percent for the shanghai composite index china has said its economy is slowly coming back together but it is being overshadowed by the possibility of a global recession the only market were seeing in the region that is bucking the trend is japans nikkei that started the day in positive territory that also has edged up are mainly on investors taking hope from the fact that the tokyo 2020 olympics may not be cancelled and may just be postponed so just one glimmer of hope in this whole region will cover gauges of it for a. Very much. Well staying in the region the japanese Prime Minister shinzo has not conceded a perspiring mint of the tokyo games must be considered canada has announced it wont send its teams to compete if theyre held this july as planned alexia brown reports. After weeks of insisting the show must go on now something of a turnaround from the japanese Prime Minister. We hope to hold the games to mark that the world has defeated the coronavirus i thought that cancelling them is not an option at all but if that becomes difficult we will think of the athletes 1st and foremost and we may have no option but to consider postponing. The games to see it to be held in july but the virus thats caused both a human catastrophe and economic crisis across the globe is great thing the worlds biggest sporting event canada became the 1st country to announce at the olympic and Paralympic Games be participating in the games urgently International Olympic committee and the tokyo organizers to push back the event by at least a year. Were witnessing a remarkable upsurge in athletes speaking out against the International Olympic committee who has been very slow to act in the face of the coronavirus situation and in that sort of leadership vacuum youve seen athletes and sport bodies rise up and what canada has done just moments ago is absolutely remarkable tokyos olympic chief is warned that the games 1000000000. 00 budget and he is planning are at stake and that cancelling would be bad for both stakeholders and athletes if they did see you know get a leg or we never intend to talk about a consolation but japan and International Olympic committee will talk together about what to do postponement will only be one of the many scenarios the increasing pressure from athletes to call off the games is not just because bringing hundreds of thousands of sportsmen and women coaches and fans together could help spread the virus that they argue that having them continue high level training is putting them and their families at risk. I think again it should be postponed and i think its the best option is the least worst option available to us no so theyve got an amazing opportunity here in the games and then theyre doing well together so we see the back of this bonus. Just a few weeks ago the idea of postponing the olympics was unthinkable now its looking more and more likely another victim of these unprecedented times the i. O. C. Says it will make a decision within the next 4 weeks and now the Olympic Torch Relay is set to go ahead from thursday that without the usual fanfare with crowds are urged not to attend. Aljazeera. Still had here on aljazeera scientists in chile race to find a vaccine for quote a virus hoping to beat the Big Pharmaceutical Companies and kenya just towards total lockdown but people say theres no room to isolate. Quite a lot of dry weather across parts of europe at the moment but we have got some lively showers down towards the southeast adding days some long spells of fright some wind as well pushing into northwestern areas but you can see it picks loss of clear weather that we do have just around what a good part of the British Isles right into the next continent right central pass as well fabulous snow some wintry weather now replacing the recent heat that weve had down around hungary in playing towards the black sea 3 celsius the top temperate book rest over the next couple of days actually with some sleet and some snow or a fair bit of that pushing back into the balkans as we head towards the middle part of the way theres actually weather to get up to around 12 celsius in paris as we go through each day add a date into london recovering a little as you pick up something of a southerly breeze on always but some longer spells of rain there just around scotland around the highlands and islands and some missing pieces of wet weather into well both sides of the mediterranean some showers there just affecting parts of eastern spy and the valley eriks as we make our way through choose day that increase in fact the far northwest of africa say some clouds and rain rolling in here over the next couple of days what weather for morocco and algeria. Frank assessments the one good thing about these bushfires this is really what you know the. Climate change informed opinion is economy i think is actually whats keeping donald trump afloat right now critical debate sequel of those trees dont even know what the noise is all about this argument is astonishingly pantomimes an indepth analysis of the days headlines this is the beginning of the new iraq of the new conscious and aware use of that struggle against an ethnic sectarian kotor inside story on aljazeera. War. Of the back youre watching i was there with me so romney a reminder of our top stories india has extended a curfew across major cities to fight the spread of the coronavirus this follows a sharp rise in the number of cases in the past few days on sunday over a 1000000000 indians stayed home under a 14 hour lockdown. Also Singapore Airlines and its subsidiaries are grounding 96 percent of their fleet in response to the corona Virus Outbreak both emirates and Turkish Airlines of also significantly reduced their operations and the International OlympicCommittee Says its considering spoiling the 2020 tokyo games by up to a year because of the virus its been under mounting pressure from athletes and National Bodies to cancel or delay. Now the Worlds Largest pharmaceutical companies are investing millions of dollars into research for what could be a very profitable vaccine to protect against corona virus but there are others even in smaller developing countries who are joining the race latin america to lucy in human has more from chiles capital santiago. From canada to the u. S. China and europe scientists are working round the clock to find a vaccine for the corona virus with some suggesting theyre close to a breakthrough. But who and where the discoveries made could make a big difference i dont know if theyre that matter not if the large private transitional laboratories purpose is to generate profits for their owners and shareholders but they arent the only ones who are innovating there are many public entities and universities that are working it is very different a very when this risk to discover a vaccine when a private labs do. And not just scientists in developed countries who could have the answers. And we all know how the corona virus behaves how our immune system works what is needed for it to recognize a virus and destroy it this knowledge is shared across the world and then there is the individual creativity that can be in africa asia the United States or chile scientists at the Millennium Institute of chiles Catholic University believe that within 2 months they could have a vaccine prototype for the coronavirus theyre basing their bets on accumulated experience in developing successful vaccines against 2 major respiratory diseases this incisional virus and the met a new move iris but limited resources are a handicap for example for Clinical Trials and access to g. P. Or good practices laboratories which has a Latin Americans brace for a viral tsunami they need to produce their own vaccine becomes more evident in the pneumonia one and. If for example germany finds the corona virus that you can be sure that the europeans asians and north americans will be the 1st to whom will be sold what as is usually the case will be standing in line waiting for the needs of the developed countries to be satisfied 1st. But theres another reason for developing countries to invest more in biotechnology these people are waiting to be vaccinated against influenza with imported vaccines but viruses are constantly mutating are no different in every region and thats another incentive for countries to design their own vaccines in accordance with their reality. Adjusting the vaccine is of course much easier than starting from scratch there is already widespread contact and sharing of information among the Global Scientific Community the secrecy only begins when a company or group is close to hitting the jackpot. If that were to change and scientists of countries were to Work Together not for profit or glory but for humanity the chances of discovering a vaccine against the Worst Epidemic in nearly a century would certainly improve. Seeing human aljazeera sente out of Serious Health minister has confirmed its 1st cases coronavirus a 20 year old has returned from overseas now theres concern about the impact of the virus on syria in a global loan there are a 1000000 displaced people thousands dont have tents and conditions in the camps have been described as horrifying aid workers have warned an outbreak here would be devastating new zealand will go into lockdown for a month that attempts to stop the virus spreading Prime Minister just in the art and isles that all nonessential businesses and schools must close and residents must stay at home the government has frozen rent increases as more than 100. 00 have mostly imported cases of the virus in the region australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison has already announced similar measures to new zealand he says the world is facing an unprecedented challenge so together and with the rest of the world we face this unprecedented challenge a once in a 100 year of it a Global Health pandemic that is fast becoming an economic crisis the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression life is changing in australia for every australian and life is going to continue to change for many young and old 2020 will be the toughest year of our lives. Kenya is edging towards a total lockdown as the number of crow virus cases rises to 15 the government is suspending all International Flights from wednesday and has ordered pubs and restaurants to remain closed kenyans are also being urged to take social distancing seriously but thats a problem in a sprawling informal settlements were people have no room twice late or even access to Running Water catherine so explains from the capital nairobi. Many of the conversations in nairobi the episode of 1000 in kenya are about the disease the government has restricted International Travel and closed schools and universities kenyans advice to wash hands regularly stay home if possible and avoid large gatherings. But doing that in makeshift slum housing is nearly impossible areas where millions of people call home many sharing single room shocks a few spaces to isolate or enjoy the luxury of walking from the house most leave on last in 2. 00 a day this is one of the most densely Populated Areas in the city people here are not just worried about the disease and how it may affect them but also how they will survive with no money to feed their families or even enough water to regularly wash their hands. Dont wash his clothes for a living she shares 2 rooms with more than 10 oftens lispro. Her biggest concern right now is finding water in normal circumstances she uses 80 liters a day costing around 4. 00. Some nonprofit organizations are setting up water points but theyre not enough. Money to. Get government quarter only thrice a week which we have to go in for check for to point they tell us to wash our hands all the time we want to or without water supply what can we do. In math are recorded the hustle and bustle in the slum for aljazeera following the introduction of the Government House restrictions he tells us disease is rife including the common flu which poses a problem. By doing. Even though many people have the flu children are always coughing its a common thing and difficult to tell if its caught on or not these noire here where we can get tested its very hard for the response to both because beetles in town used to self medicate. The government to step up with symptoms and their contacts as well as starting random testing targeted areas but medical experts are urging preparations for mass testing should the disease start spreading quickly we need to have a lot of people to. And on testing that is number one number 2 we also needed to expand our Testing Facilities beyond where we had him out doctors say they hope to minimize the spread of covered 19 to areas such as madara with some of the most vulnerable kenyans leave bad dejan others here want more preventative measures now to keep them safe catherine sorry aljazeera there will be kenya. Emergency services in spain have paid tribute to one another as they continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Medical workers gathered outside to madrid hospitals joined by police and other Civil Servants they held signs saying thank you and chanted yes we can and spain is one of the hardest hit countries with nearly 1800 kroner virus deaths so far the number of confirmed cases rose to more than 28000 on sunday. 30000000 children in the u. S. Get free or subsidised school meals every day when school is in session but with classes canceled to stop the spread of the virus private groups have stepped in to ensure that those peoples dont go hungry most small nonprofits like virginia based mobile hope in her graffiti tagged bus found at 1. 40 delivers breakfast and lunch to families she brought along. Im Donna Fortier and im c. E. O. And founder of mobile home. We had probably 80 to 100 volunteers come in and we packed about 1200 bags. And i think now if were at this rate were going to one out of food probably the 1st week of distribution. And i think theres more of an urgency with the families and the families are a lot of them cant go to work and so now theyre really starting to worry about are they going to be able to pay their rent and then says to ok all right what do you want to be in the most the wealthiest county in the country as were now and we still have all those needs its kind of this unforgotten you know or the forgotten community or one of those rooms and where youre going to be going and so every little bit that we can do that helps them save money to be able to do that is what were here to do. With people and that will always work he says hes feeling great. It really affected me because you know 3 kids and babysitting and them to get destroyed was when they go bordeaux home with their home from the school or special my oldest kid shes 7 and shes like i love school but when i go somewhere i go to school and get them from birth or dont like dumplings. So they have something to eat own home. Thank god its been always something that the school has been helping out with and speech was basically this would be i kid. And theres a lot of good thanks and there something youre really going to enjoy. Landed in afghanistan on an unannounced visit to help salvage a deal between washington and the taliban meanwhile the 1st direct talks have taken place between Afghan Government officials and the taliban about exchanging prisoners last month the deal the group in fact signed a deal with the u. S. In qatar aimed at ending the 18 year conflict the agreement included the release of 5000. 00 taliban prisoners by afghan authorities in exchange for 1000. 00 Afghan Security forces personnel held by the taliban trafficking now where guineas opposition says at least 10 people have died in violence following a controversial referendum and parliamentary vote that follows months of protests against the vote which will decide if the president can stay in power. Reports. There were several attempts to stop this election it was boycotted by antigovernment protesters who say its a ploy designed to extend the power of guineas president potentially for 12 more years surrounded by Security Forces the 82 year old president walk to a Voting Center seemingly unfazed by months of criticism and the threat of a new coronavirus that is that. This is a message of peace and solidarity weve made all the arrangements we have had washing units every where people are keeping a safe distance even though weve only had a few cases before voting day clashes broke out on the streets of the capital opposition leaders accusing curity forces of killing at least 10 demonstrators in some cities government offices and schools that were to be used as polling sites were set on fire by protesters to prevent people from voting with. Roads were blocked and businesses closed the disruption caused voting delays in some districts but no cancellations what did. You see when we brought the voting material and form the section chief of the area was not safe there have been violent clashes some officers climbed the fence to escape opposition leaders are now calling for more antigovernment protests they say its time for the president to step down. Little bit of my d. D. s fuss up the government is irresponsible it doesnt care about the lives or the health of the people of guinea president condi is only interested in a 3rd term in office. While opponents and says the vote is being used as a power grab supporters of the government call it a crucial step for his development whatever the result its unlikely to heal the countrys divisions. Dizzier. Your child is there with me said robin a reminder of our top news stories india has extended a curfew across major cities to fight the spread of the corona virus but this follows a sharp rise in the number of cases in the past few days on sunday over a 1000000000 indians stayed home and a 14 hour lockdown also Singapore Airlines and its subsidiaries a grounding 96 percent of their fleet in response to the crowd Virus Outbreak both emirates and Turkish Airlines have significantly reduced their operations asian markets have plunged although playing more countries go into lockdown over the fight of the pandemic stimulus measures are failing to get Investor Confidence as infections continue to search globally the International OlympicCommittee Says its considering to stone in the 2020 tokyo games by up to a year because of the pandemic its being under mounting pressure mathlete said National Bodies to cancel or delay on course isolated while the International Community is being severely affected in a negative way we hope to hold the games to mark that the world has defeated the coronavirus i thought that canceling them is not an option at all and the decision that will be made by the committee is in line with what i just said but if that becomes difficult we will think of the athletes 1st and foremost and we may have no option but to consider postponing. Italys daily coronavirus death toll has fallen but the country still reported 651. 00 deaths on sunday raising the total number to nearly 5 and a half 1000 comes as countries around europe are putting in place increasingly strict measures syrias Health Minister has confirmed its 1st case of coronavirus a 20 year old who returned from overseas now theres concern about the impact of the virus in syria. Alone there are a 1000000 displaced people thousands dont have tens and conditions of accounts have been described as horrifying aid workers have warned an outbreak here would be devastating. New zealand will go into lockdown for a month to terms to stop the virus spreading the Prime Minister. Announced that all essential businesses and schools must close and residents must stay at home the government had frozen rent increases and there are more than 100. 00 mostly imported cases of the virus that those are the headlines about could more in half an hour next to its inside story stay with us. As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic well bring you the latest developments from around the wound. With updates about travel restrictions and how to protect yourself. Coronavirus pandemic special coverage on aljazeera. Coronavirus catastrophe the death toll is rising and unprecedented level the government is taking more drastic measures that will reduce the number of people dying and what lessons can overcome. This is inside story. Hello welcome to the program im Bernard Smith hospitals and morgues overwhelmed bodies piling up in churches and just under a