Transcripts For ALJAZ NEWSHOUR 20240713

Measures. Music with a serious message how global stars are helping Health Care Workers. Leaders we need to strengthen Health Care Systems. And. Also wanting to help out the biggest names in mens tennis aiming to set up a fund for financially strapped lower ranked players. But its leaders are defending themselves against a damning criticism that theyve mishandled the coronavirus pandemic the sunday Times Newspaper or points the finger directly at Prime Minister baraks johnson it accuses him of wasting precious time in stopping the spread the paper usually supports Johnsons Conservative Party but it says he ignored scientists warnings he failed to replenish stocks of protective medical equipment and he failed to attend 5 initial emergency meetings about the outbreak since then more than 15000. 00 britons have died in hospitals thats the worlds 5th highest National Death toll and the 2 total could be much higher the government statistics dont include the deaths of people in care homes for the elderly that total is estimated to be around 7 and a half 1000 ok for more on this lets talk to paul brennan whos live for us at westminster paul lets talk about the newspaper report 1st of all how is the government reacting to this. Well front page news here there and comfortable reading for the government and spread across 2 pages inside as well pages 6 and 7 of the sunday times. As you say its pretty damning stuff i mean the essentially the accusations are that there was complacency there was mismanagement there was bad judgments and essentially there was political inertia and that valuable weeks were lost in that period between the tail end of january when the real scale of what was happening in one hand on the International Implications for really started to be warned about by scientific officers early march which is when the Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended his 1st National Crisis committee thats the cobra is its acronym criticism of that the government has come out and rebuffed the narrative that the sunday times is putting forward the Cabinet Office minister michael gove has been doing the rounds of the sunday morning t. V. Political shows the idea that the Prime Minister skipped meetings that were vital to our response to the growing of us i think its protests and the truth is that the other meetings across government so much richard by the Health Secretary some chaired by other ministers but the Prime Minister took all the major decisions and i think anyone who considered what happened to the point is just a little while ago nuki can see that the throwing heart and soul into fighting this virus and all of this against the backdrop of the virus this is spreading through the u. K. Were getting some more data i believe about how the corona virus has been affecting people in care centers in the u. K. Yes we heard yesterday from england who estimated that 7 and a half 1000 deaths above and beyond what would normally be expected at this time of year had arrived in the last 2 weeks now what theyre not saying is that all of those are definitely down to coronavirus but its a massive spike and unexpected today sunday were getting another reinforcement of those this time from the National Care forum which looks at well its an Umbrella Group for the norm for not for profits care homes and theyre estimating that coronavirus deaths could be as many as 4000 in the u. K. And the implications for that a serious it essentially means that the government is chronically underestimating the impact of coronavirus in this country both deaths and infections and its down to the lack of testing until the tail end of this past week people who were living in care homes and the staff who worked there were not being tested for coronavirus so many people who most likely were dying of coronavirus were not being assessed as such that the deaths were being put downs of other factors such as the underlying conditions and its important because without a really good handle on exactly where coronavirus is whos being affected by it its very difficult for medics and the government to set out a policy in a strategy to combat it paul brown of bringing us up to date from london paul thanks a lot well earlier i spoke to sonia pernelle whos written a biography on Boris Johnson and she says johnson is unsuited to the role of Prime Minister. The fact is i think it is possible that person some will now go down as one of the worst Prime Ministers that weve ever had and weve had him in charge all illegibly in charge during this time and nick the sunday times describes it as a spiders web of failure even that i think may be an an underestimate people are losing their lives have lost their lives lost their livelihoods people are grieving because thousands of extra people are grieving because of the failings of this government run by paris johnson it is a grotesque having to use that word its a grotesque failing at the house of government is it right to to hold the promises soley to blame or should those advising him and surrounding him also be held to account over this well of see never just one person but this is become a sort of cult of personality in the u. K. This government its all about Boris Johnson it is almost as if hes a president rather than a Prime Minister so whatever he says goes he won that big majority of 80 seats at the last election his his you know his word was supreme and like school and not word unfortunately was we shouldnt take this pandemic seriously we should go around shaking everyones hands we should shut turned down offers of help of protective equipment of testing of ventilators and tell it was too late and britain is now heading for the worst think is probably in the world apart from possibly the United States this is an appalling state of affairs were it did have a bit of warning of this and did nothing with that time just awful how significant is it do you think that this report is coming in a newspaper which is widely regarded as being supportive of the conservative party barres johnsons own party. Well i think one shouldnt a little too much tension to that the sunday times has always been a very good insight to even pick has always been very good at exposing wrongdoing and failings by politicians that said the prominence and the time given to this to suggest that there is exhaust the ration at the highest levels of perhaps you know the sunday times on c its Rupert Murdoch i mean thats a nice sort of speculation it is interesting that the sunday times was the paper who ran this but i have to ask you know myself and ask other journalists why they were also not doing this kind of investigation the failings have been clear the problem with our Prime Minister is that his kind of mindset is why should i do this why shouldnt i just do what i want and of course a look down all those measures you have to take to deal with a pandemic totally against that kind of outlook they also go against a brick set i mean. Triumphal it about you know breakfasting from the e. U. At the same time as this Global Pandemic was on its way to hit us it was as if they were celebrating this at a time the and they really shouldnt have been doing sentient being concentrating on on this instead and the sunday times has been ambivalent about brechts it clearly now if we go ahead with with it then there will be yet another came and we simply cannot cope with the pandemic as it is. Also on our increasing scrutiny for its handling of the pandemic is the United States the question of when to ease lockdown restrictions is dividing the country as it and donald trump keeps pushing a positive message he says there are signs covered 1000 has passed its peak but experts are warning that moving too fast could be disastrous and a gallaghers in florida with that story. After weeks of stay at home odors hundreds flocked to the reopened beaches in Jacksonville Florida the medical of this controversial move as essential activity even as the state hit more than 27000 coronavirus cases its what authorities call a pathway back to normal life. But in other parts of the u. S. The scenes a very different across the country a small but growing protest movement is calling for restrictions to be eased from utah to wisconsin in both republican and democratic led states people are taking to the streets urging a return to normal life we are still a free country at least for now and people have to make a decision and thats their personal decision if they dont want to be 6 feet apart or 7 peter peter parker i cant i cant dictate to that to them despite declaring that individual governors are in charge President Donald Trump seemed to encourage the protests in a series of tweets on friday all 3 states have democratic governor as his tacit support is seen as deeply political in a time of crisis and you know it is there are a lot of protests out there and i just think that some of the governors have gotten carried away you know we have a lot of people that dont have to be told to do what theyre doing theyve been really. Doing everything weve asked him in new york the epicenter of the pandemic measures to ease restrictions still far off the states governor says this is no time to play politics how does the situation get worse. It get worse quickly if you politicize all that emotion we can not go there thats where i work so hard when anyone raises any political agenda to me i work so hard to distance myself from it. Some states are beginning to ease restrictions many are still battling the coronavirus and testing is in short supply the desire to get back to some kind of normal is clear the careful approach to doing so vital thank you very much a nation divided it was perhaps inevitable the politics would play a part no matter what challenges lay ahead throughout this crisis the mantra has been were in it together but any sense of unity now seems to be falling apart conservatives believe the cure is worse than the disease others and has to be a more science based approach the fact remains many states a yet to peek in their coronavirus cases the decisions governors make now will be crucial but that hasnt stopped some trying to score political points at the gallacher aljazeera Miami Florida odonnell times accused of stalking islamophobia as well but after raising questions about social distancing and mosques during the holy month of ramadan White House Correspondent Kimberly Hauck it has more. There are increasing questions about a retreat by u. S. President trump on saturday accusations he may be stoking islamophobia in the United States the reach we read lets see if authorities enforce the social distancing orders for mosques during ramadan like they did churches during easter i asked the president about this retreat heres what he had to say didnt put him back on the list that the moms wouldnt follow so i think i just had a call with a mom so i just had a call with ministers rabbis we had a tremendous call with the faith leaders no i dont think that at all i am somebody that believes in faith and it matters not what your faith is but our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently and they seem to think and i dont know what happened with their country but. The Christian Faith is treated much differently than it was and i think its treated very unfairly now when it comes to enforcing social distancing the department of justice did take on the case of at least one church in mississippi where worshipers attended in their automobiles with the car windows rolled up the department of justice said that these worshippers were simply exercising their right under the 1st amendment of the u. S. Constitution now many in the United States watching very carefully to see if this same effort will be applied when it comes to those who may want to celebrate during ramadan which begins in the u. S. On thursday. Turkey has overtaken iran as the country with the highest recorded number of covert 1000 cases in the middle east but it has figures push it up to 8 highest in the world just after china coronavirus in turkey has also killed nearly 1900 people more than 82000 infections have been confirmed and nearly 3800 of those cases were diagnosed in the past 24 hours a lockdown has been extended for 15 days prohibiting travel between 30 of turkeys biggest cities then id shellac is the managing editor of daily south its a progovernment english language newspaper in turkey and he says residents are complying with lock down measures and theyre happy with the governments handling of the pandemic majority of the people regardless of what car or what party they come from and even if they do have some sort of criticism they support the way the way the government has handled this this issue in fact the trust for it for the for the Health Minister for example has been like skyrocketing like no other ministers before how he has handled the information sharing the transparency with regards to that has been largely supported by the public and in fact the reason why. You know of course the numbers are rising in turkey but this has a lot to do of course with our population with the numbers of testing and you know it has passed us in our neighbor but if you look at the testing numbers we have done tookie has done double the tests in iran so far and the measures prior to the 1st case in turkey are significant post 1st case and treat when it comes to treatment for example d the situation of the Health Care System in turkey is not comparable to its neighbors. In the neighboring region. So yes there is of course there is there will be some criticism regardless of how the government is acting in there may be some room for a bridge in india but i think overall if you look at a big picture 2 years handled this virus in a successful way fire has damaged one of the largest migrant camps in greece the blaze and silence started hours after the protest of 47 year old iraqi Asylum Seekers who are being cleared of having coronavirus died in the overcrowded camp refugee camps in greece have been under quarantine in recent weeks the authorities trying to keep residents apart from locals John Psaropoulos is joining us now from athens john just give us some of the background as to why this far far began. It seems that a lot of the people staying in the camp were worried the woman who died had died of corona virus she had been to hospital a week earlier with a high fever she had been diagnosed negative coronavirus evidently Something Else was the matter because she died days later in the camp but these facts were not known to the people who started this protest and it seems sort of court house of hand part of the administrative facility has been burned down mainly offices belonging to the european and the Greek Asylum Services which have been suspended since late march because of corona virus so there was no activity there and no one in the camp was hurt thankfully the camp is also under strain because apart from the general anxiety refugees have about catching coronavirus in overcrowded conditions there are also restrictions on movement to the government weeks ago decided to allow people in and out of these open reception sensors on the 5 eastern asia and islands under certain conditions for shopping or for medicine but not to come and go as they wish and that creates an extra strain there also tents for people to be tested outside the camps in time the government wants to turn those into field hospitals for kit for positive cases because it wants to keep the refugee cases separate from any cases from the greek population which will go to the general hospitals regionally we have had camps with positive tests but they are here on the mainland 28 people tested positive in the last few weeks in 2 camps north of athens and those camps have been placed in quarantine the tracing work has been done from the original infected of the alpha patient as it were to the people closest to them and or thirtys are satisfied that those situations are contained. But refugees are very worried and they dont have the same level of information about this that the greek population does they dont have News Services that case it to them so they are worried that people arent looking out for them and that is why this riot took place John Psaropoulos in athens thanks very much indeed john. Music talent and hope united millions for an Online Charity concert in the fight against corona virus some of the industrys biggest stars join forces to Honor Health Care workers around the world events so far raised more than one 120000000. 00 for the uns covert 19 Response Fund Victoria Gate reports. Hes performed for huge crowds in stadiums but on saturday night Stevie Wonder sang from his living room the fans watching this superstars abuse it world were united in a common cause in a time of crisis. This time our leaders that we needed to strengthen the Health Care Systems all round the world so that crises like this never happens again. The one world concert organized by lady gaga and the Charity Global citizen is the biggest music events is the coronavirus shut down concerts and spurred a flurry of live streamed performances by quarantine musicians who have been humbled by the bravery and selflessness of doctors nurses and other key workers. To those in the Food Industry the memory workers mail carriers and sanitation working so that we can be safe in our homes we thank you for yourself mr. Black america disproportionate to be in 2 parts of the work i do not have the luxury of working. This concert is being compared inevitably to live a the 1985 benefit organized by both geldof to raise money for starving ethiopians the question of how much concert such as these benefit the people they aim to help is always quickly debated but organizers say this concert is about entertainment. In solidarity at a time when many people are living under look downs when i had to the snake if i can just mention for. Running. Around in there. In. The concert has raised tens of millions of dollars safe for the uns cave in 1000. 00 Response Fund its all safe it is detention on Health Care Workers who in many peoples eyes other real stars victoria gay to be out 0. Concerts involving a ray of famous performers are shown across the world have proved a successful mix for charity in the past one of the biggest was live aid in 1905 organized by bob geldof amid your concerts in london and philadelphia were broadcast globally raising more than 100000000. 00 for those hit by famine in ethiopia geldof was criticized for using patronize and stereotypes in the charity hit do they know its christmas 20 years later he organized live 8 for im t. Poverty count pains globally he was criticized for not having enough african performers but it did prompt World Leaders to double aid to poor nations to 50000000000 dollars one world together at home united performers digitally it had a Diverse Group of musicians well its got more in this with David Sinclair hes a music journalist in london david thank you very much indeed for joining us on aljazeera there were a lot of overheads in staging shows like live aid and life 8 using this new technology does this mean that more of the money raised can actually go to the the targets that its trying to reach. Well thats a good question the. Thing about the old days with live aid and band aid was that the you know there was a very targeted there was a very clear target for the the money that was being raised and it was it was a desperate situation in ethiopia and. It was expensive to to to raise the money but i think it was very clear where the money was all going. Im not quite sure with this you know the money is obviously being raised to help the. Medical people and the Health Services and and and the whole global world situation but im not quite sure how much more efficient its going to be in actually raising money in the 1st place and nor getting it to the right people i dont know its a much more diffuse kind of problem that weve got now we saw a clip from Paul Mccartney theyre sending a message to World Leaders to strengthen Health Care Systems around the world so that this kind of thing doesnt happen again is there any proof that World Leaders actually do listen to specific messages like that. Wow. Well again its a difficult situation to address isnt it i mean back in the live aid era it was we got quite used to the sight of bomb but guild of having meetings with everyone from george bush to the british british political classes as well some. How much actual practical. Effect though those kind of lobbying efforts how it is very hard to to say you know in with the Current Administration certainly in america youd have to think that there was not going to be an awful lot of leverage that this kind of. This kind of event is going to exercise on the political leader directly but you know theres no doubt about it in terms of mobilizing popular opinion and people just in the street who want to get involved this is a an amazing p. R. Exercise of doing that. How big is the rest of the thing that people around the world at this particular time in the middle of a pandemic around the globe are running the risk of compassion fatigue when it comes to events like this. Well i think everyone is looking for a bit of solace in a bit of comfort and a bit of entertainment above and above all else in this in this kind of rather trying times that were all faced with. Compassion fatigue is one of those phrases it comes up at some point in all of the cycle as of these kind of efforts. People have only got so much that they can develop to feeling and you know compassion for others and all the rest of it and entertainers are there to entertain basically this is an a sort of a rather see a separate function that they come to that they bring us all together in a time of terrible crisis and a need and i think by and large this event will have had quite a quite an impact i mean its theres no doubt its reached out to to an awful lot of people and you cant you know the sincerity im sure the performance is not in doubt but i guess you got to say well you know theres a very practical problems that are going to be addressed and the end of the day this is kind of something of a distraction perhaps you know you dont think that the world has become a bit too cynical about events like this when in fact as you say we are seeing people entertainers around the world who are doing what they can with the skills that they have in order to try to do something positive at a time of crisis and that we should actually just accept it for what it is rather than trying to peer into it too deeply. I totally agree i accept it i think you you do have to accept it for what it is because people enjoy it and people want it and they are making a serious effort to address a problem a serious issue that were all faced with at the same time it is a p. R. Coup i mean these are all the biggest acts in the world and as it were theyre all all competing for our attention all the time in the marketplace that they operate in and this certainly wont have hurt any of their prospects in that regard maybe that is too cynical you know i wish them all well and i and i think its a great event that they put on and you know good luck to them everything fair is a music journalist from london david we really appreciate your time thank you very much indeed thank you. You know its time for the weather and here is jenny and i understand that the u. S. Is likely to see more storms yes very worrying so youre right rob because it was literally this time last week that these severe tornadoes the severe storms actually began the outbreak of course over the easter weekend but this is what were watching this massive cloud here across the southeast this is where the tornado if there co within the severe storms could develop as we go throughout the downside but i just want to remind you what we were looking at this time last week because it was across all of the south so here we go into northern georgia and then down into southern mississippi in most in mississippi this was where 8 people died in total 34. 00 people died of that also this last week of the tornado outbreak but in particular it takes a while of course for the National Weather service to confirm what these tornadoes actually were how powerful they were the one in most is right up there nearly at the top of the scale e. F. 4 that saw me and holmes fiji to scale the definition is devastating the actual damage that is done by a tornado of this power the winds look at between 267 and 322 kilometers an hour but it was the width of this is well 3. 6 kilometers wide this particular tornado the widest ever recorded in the state of mississippi said this is why when you see storms like this developing throughout the day oversea concerns are high because they could well be severe and that means you have the threat of tornadoes and as we go through monday said to be sunday sunday night it usually is and then across into the mid atlantic pushing up into the carolinas really on monday again the threat of these severe thunderstorms now once the system works its way into the northeast it then pushes well as the pictures so it is a fairly quiet picture say across the south we have got some more rain up into the far northeast but really rolled the concern as well is this is choose day but by wednesday the middle of the week we could have another outbreak of severe thunderstorms and you will watch it absolutely jenny thanks very much indeed more coronavirus coverage ahead on aljazeera. Sunrise to sunset in new york a city thats gone to sleep. And the balancing faith and not all church goers awash in pain from a distance. And in sport find out how south africas Rugby World Cup winning captain is helping the fight against covert 19. Medieval western society it was a Feudal Society that detailed. The way out of the bubble and as soon as the pope ended his speech some people stood up and said well see again and the entrance to the city was horrific they killed people in the streets in their houses and in. The crusades an arab perspective of the sold one shop. On the jersey. When the news breaks over the night of the dumping of garbage in the river by the government has wrecked our lives when people who need to be hurt and the story needs to be told to many coming to this place in the only chance they have to eat at least once a day with exclusive interviews and in depth to me its obvious reasons as the world battles potential new pandemic will bring you the latest developments from around the globe aljazeera has a team summary ground to bring new moon brutally documentaries and life. We want you all to see it a reminder of our top stories this hour the British Government ministers described reports that Prime Minister Baucus Johnson skipped critical coronavirus meetings alley in the outbreak as grotesque the sunday Times Newspaper of edges that the British Government was too slow to respond to the threat from the pandemic. Pressure is mounting on us governors to ease coronavirus lockdown rules protests encouraged by donald trump have been held in several states for the 3rd day in a row the president says some states will begin easing restrictions as early as monday. Turkey has replaced iran as the middle eastern country with the highest number of reported infections close to 3800. 00 were diagnosed in the last 24 hours raising the total to more than 82000. 00. Aarons one the u. S. Of a decisive response to what it called any dangerous actions by American Forces in the gulf it follows an incident on the web in the state when the u. S. Military says 11 vessels from irans elite revolutionary guard came close to its ships in the gulf the u. S. Called the moves provocative in response iran has stepped up the gods patrols in the region. Forces working for libyas u. N. Recognize government say theyve resumed their military operation towards talk after successfully completing stage one they are battling to recapture the stronghold of warlords. The western city of talk is where many of his men come from Government Forces say they killed 10 of those fighters and captured dozens in italy ation heart those forces intensified shelling on residential areas in tripoli. And lets go to our correspondent mahmud are the warhead in tripoli. Just for those viewers who are joining this story at this point why is tough such a key target for both sides. Will definitely because its a who is the major stronghold for have to his forces in the whole west of libya especially of their defeat in the coastal area as you know that theyd have to his forces last civil cities along the coast west of tripoli last week and they also lost the strong in the previous a stronghold in the city of again last june. Attorney who interview may is the major stronghold for have to force about 90 kilometers in the southern east of the capital tripoli from. The lion the lifeline for half of its forces comes from the city of the huna fighters i mean ition fuel and everything and the city of the horn. To represent the majority of have to the forces fighting in the front lines in southern tripoli the Government Forces are now besieging guitar who are not from the main axes and in fact today military sources of the government say that their air force get it out to strikes against have to look asian in horn and meanwhile the forces dropped leaflets into who are now addressing get the residents in a message saying that warning them that saying that there is a dent in the whole now should stay away from have to force a location and also should not let have to come near their homes it was also in the russian language of the message as dressing the verb in the company mercenaries to leave the city mahmud our daughter who is bringing us up to date on the situation in libya live from tripoli thanks very much indeed 44 prisoners found dead in a cell in chad appeared to have been poisoned all were suspected members of the on Group Boko Haram they were arrested following the killing of 98 soldiers of the child in arms largest one day last last month autopsies on 4 bodies found traces of a lethal substance also in charge of 5 civilians died when a warplane on the ground accidentally fired a missile the rocket shot through a fuel truck now only missed another fighter jet and hit a house next to the airbase children are among the dead in the capital and. Voting is underway in the 2nd round of legislative elections in mali lets get more on this from a Nicholas Hytner whos following developments from dakar in neighboring senegal nick given the fact that the country is facing a possible pandemic and also the main Opposition Leader has been kidnapped how significant is it that this vote is actually going to head a toll. I mean this is taking really everybody by surprise especially molly ivins who according to the latest numbers that weve had from the Election Commission have not come out on mass to vote only 8 percent of the electorate compare this to what happened 2 weeks ago in the 1st round where outside of the capital the government said 80 percent of the electorate came out to vote in the north of the region in the center of the region where armed groups are active where the government says the ruling party won most of the votes of course those numbers are contested by the opposition now the government is going ahead with this election because it was part of a Peace Agreement signed with armed groups in 2015 that a parliamentary election would take place then an amendment to the constitution to give more power to local officials including members of parliament but the problem is rob is that since then new armed groups are active in mali like. In the greatest or the al qaeda affiliate. Loosely mean to groups that called on the boycott of this election and we spoke to one 1st member of Parliament Candidate a full lonny from the center of the region and he says that the government should be negotiating with these armed groups to bring peace to mali take a look at this report. Wanting to bring change to mali is what brought 1st time parliamentary candidate how much to politics fear is what is preventing him from campaigning in his constituency in the Central Region where al qaeda affiliates are telling people not to vote because brother is in the moment was abducted days before the 1st round awarding to those taking part in these elections. I am scared i had to hide to visit my own constituency and i am scared because there is nobody to keep us safe i am scared because if they have abducted our Opposition Leader for more than 21 days now they could even a block the president they can take anyone they want. The governments mediator was kidnapped while negotiating for the release of Opposition Leaders from majlis you see who was abducted while campaigning in the countrys north its unclear which group is behind the kidnapping but theyre demanding around some of 80000000. 00 for several weeks alqaeda affiliate tomatoes thought to be a slum one was lean mean and these comics in the greater sorrow have been fighting each other for control of land and resources in malis north and Central Region. Is a full on the herder whos escape the violence joining hundreds of thousands of others displaced in the capital bamako they have turned this Cattle Market in slaughterhouse into makeshift camps. I am not afraid i will vote this sunday for my country and i am also elected m. P. s to find a solution and end this conflict so we can go. Diego fears the vote will be rigged in the 1st round he says no one dared to vote in his constituency but local Officials Say there was an 80 percent turnout with the ruling Party Winning the majority of the vote in the 2nd round of this election mali ins will have to brave the threat of armed groups and the corona Virus Outbreak while the stakes for the country are high taking part in the vote has not just become risky and dangerous it can also be fatal. There are violence reported today in the region of ghosts here with polling station being burnt just outside of. And in the bunk house area at 7 30 in the morning on groups at polling station it seems there is no letting go of the violence in mali despite the presence of more than 14000 troops 12000 of them being Un Peacekeeping troops and this comes at a time as the United States one of the biggest funder of these peacekeeping mission is reassessing its funding to this stabilizing force in mali its 1000000000. 00 a year off. Its also the deadliest peacekeeping operation in the uns history just last week the chaldean president announced that it was removing all its troops from the region its unclear if hell be removing from this peacekeeping mission because its the largest contributor to this peacekeeping mission so it seems there is no end to this violence despite this election rob nicholas hockin ducker for us thanks very much indeed. Every floods in kenya have killed 3 people and left 20 missing including Police Officers who were on a rescue mission in west pocket the current has been Strong Enough to uproot trees and sweep them along a fast moving time and schools homes and a market around the water. Ok back to a coronavirus coverage in the shutdown of new york has turned one of the most vibrant cities in the world into a ghost town its set to stay that way until at least the middle of next month aljazeera is given elizondo to spend a day exploring the even the stillness a city thats gone to sleep. The american poet Carl Sandburg once wrote the moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to. This is a day in the life of a lonely empty city. 6 20 am the 1st rays of sun over new york. 7 oclock in the morning the normally bustling harlem is hushed. With the 125th street subway station at 7 45 am but the rumble of the one train cuts through the eerie stillness. A few minutes after 8 am time square the bright lights but not a soul to see that. 7th avenue in midtown manhattan this is morning rush hour. This is new york suspended in time by a silent and deadly virus. A siren from an ambulance off in the distance. 140 in the afternoon the surreal shutdown of the city is hard on everyone especially the elderly many of whom are alone. To 46 pm and here its busy because theres a hospital. People linger outside maybe waiting for word on a loved one inside. At 4 15 pm a few signs of life in this residential neighborhood in brooklyn. For the essential workers life is hard. At 6 pm there is no rush to get home from the Office Everyone is home. By early evening more people secluded in their apartments all day begin to come out masks are required. This is the new normal. As another day draws to a close and a paralyzed city area minder that new york will be back. But the vibrant. City that never sleeps every turn or that might take a while gabriel is around 0 aljazeera new york. The number of confirmed cases in japan has doubled in just 10 days another 568. 00 were reported on sunday raising the total to more than 11000. 00 further increases are expected as more testing is done the state of emergency in tokyo and 6 other urban areas has been expanded nationwide its a different story in south korea but the daily tally of infections has fallen to Single Digits for the 1st time in 2 months just 8 new cases were confirmed and the governments been praised for its widespread testing program. A growing number of private clinics in france are offering coronavirus tests but Public Hospitals a long way from delivering widespread screening that could delay government plans to loosen the lockdown in the middle of next months bottle reports. In the northern french city of beauvais this private part 3 tests for corona virus using blood samples the equivalent of 30. 00 people without a prescription can find out within a week if they are or have been infected the test measures antibodies that a created to help the immune system fight infection or be detected the body is in a phase of active infection which means the virus is present and antibodies are developing if the test is negative the person is either not infected all there in the incubation period so its too early to see the antibodies the test can also show if you came into contact with the virus a few weeks ago because the body has developed specific antibodies some Health Experts say the blood tests can help track cases but a less reliable than the nose and throat swab tests favored by the government and while private testing is growing in france its not enough to fill the shortfall in the Public Health system the french Health Minister says france tests 150000 people a week half the number in neighboring germany since the beginning of the Health Care Crisis in france there havent been enough testing kids in the countries that means that only people in hospitals like this one or in care homes for the elderly are being tested for coronavirus presence Emanuel Mcgraw admitted france wasnt prepared for the crisis but said the country will be in a position to test widely in a month when the government plans to loosen its lockdown. Me. At the city did by may 11th we will be able to test everyone who shows symptoms were not going to test everyone in france that would make no sense but everyone with the symptoms needs to be able to be tested they way people with the virus can be quarantined looked after and monitored by a doctor you know interviews this doctor says the testing is key but so is more research into understanding the coronavirus. What were missing is research on infected people how people infected the virus in different regions and how widely the virus is circulating in the population the studies havent been done. The french government has ordered millions of tests from companies in europe and asia and boosted Domestic Production but unless it has the capacity to carry out widespread testing in may to track and isolate coronavirus patients easing the lockdown could put people at risk of a 2nd wave of infections and its actually partner al jazeera from. Orthodox christians are celebrating the most important holiday on their calendar under a very different conditions but coronavirus restrictions havent stopped the faithful finding ways to join easter Midnight Services many gathered outside the cathedral in bulgaria as capital sofia despite government advice to stay at home the head of the author talks church led an open air service or the congregation of war mosques and kept their distance from each other. Falling bruce with churches closed worshipers gathered on their balconies to celebrate together normally 2000000. 00 greeks travel to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday. In Georgia Health officials fear a spike in infections after the religious holiday despite fines for gatherings of more than 3 people churches have stayed open critics have accused the government of failing to hold the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox Church to account from tbilisi robin 1st a walker reports. The most important date in the orthodox calendar is also a critical moment for the spread of coronavirus the at tbilisis so maybe cathedral the Orthodox Church opened its doors to the faithful least the. Last of the. Worshippers who have chosen to participate in the traditional midnight eastern mass had to get here early to avoid breaking a nightly curfew and its been decided between the church in your fortys that they can stay here overnight all together under one roof until the curfew is lifted in the morning. Restrictions including a ban on gatherings of more than 3 people have been in place for weeks but for the head of the church and his followers those rules do not apply. This satirical video illustrates what critics say a double standards. With the state refusing to intervene in matters of faith this is a subservient to the church because. Of the church and because of. This year so the government does this year to directly or a church which is encouraging each parish in years to attend their Easter Service as Prime Minister has said about. Allens must be found between staying safe and practicing faith. I want to assure you that both the state and the church fully understand their responsibility towards human health to upholding this good christians and the law and the functioning of the challenge finally called imbalance which you would you has enjoyed a gentle infection until now with social distancing largely observed at least in celebrations have the scientists worried this is the now the problem for us this for 5 days if this social distancing will be less of a chance of the spread of danger action and increasing the rate of the new infection will be much more all the. Many georgians have chosen to stay home to pray with their families and prayed for the safety of their nation robin 1st you walk. Tbilisi and its time for the sport heres peter rob thank you so much the 3 most successful players in mens tennis history want to club together to help their fellow professionals affected by coronavirus never talk about Roger Federer and rafa nadal are talking about setting up a fund to help lower ranked players financially the fund will look to assist players ranked outside of the worlds top 200 jacket which says the a. T. P. And the grand slam organizers could also get involved to help the fund. Meanwhile Serena Williams as tennis coach patrick commodity has launched a new live stream tournament to give fans something to watch during lockdown its called the ultimate tennis showdown and will fill the gap left by the mens and womens 2 is which was suspended last month the 5 week tournament starts in may and will host 50 matches at model togolese academy in the south of france they will be minimal staff strict social distancing and fans can only watch online. In a bid to attract a younger audience and sponsors viewers that will be able to hear play of conversations and interactions with a coaches it wont be as many Code Violations of players will be encouraged to express themselves more freely millions of dollars in prize money will be offered but distributed differently to help lower ranked players and a full list of competitors will be released soon but we do know will them attend devon golf and will play in the 1st match however tennis journalist Craig Gabriel is not convinced that this is the best idea i dont think its going to really make any difference whatsoever theres Nothing Official about it is in essence an exhibition you know people might shoot in to watch it but lets not forget that Patrick Moore talking to is a very good sort of promoter and you know without any tennis happening hes not getting the attention by sitting courtside of Serena Williams is playing or any of the other players he works with is on court you know this is certainly getting his academy a bit of attention but it means diddly squat i think the fact that Novak Djokovic Roger Federer 100. 00 part of the mens Council Player council have come together to talk about this and create what im used to turning a player fund to be able to contribute to some of these younger players and players lower ranks who are not earning any money to give them some sort of compensation i think is a very good thing but what i think needs to go beyond that is that they cease to be a better distribution of prize money at the events south africas Rugby World Cup winning captaincy a khaleesi has brought forward the launch of his foundation to help the fight against corona virus the country has more than 2500 cases of the disease and polices foundation aims to help the hospitals with Hand Sanitizer mosques and goggles which are already on their way to facilities in capetown and Port Elizabeth grew up. Thats the toughest closer. To everybody and in. Resources the protection gear to everybody so that they can be strong in keeping social tissues will include is really really hard because you know to me it was no you cant meanwhile these Springbok Team mates could be out of action for some time after the chairman of rugby global governing body said it is possible that there will be no International Test matches for the remainder of 2020 world rugby have also announced a relief fund of 100000000. 00 to 8. 00 National Federations that money will come in handy to the National Federation of the United States who filed for bankruptcy 3. 00 weeks ago however its not just the sports smaller nations who are under pressure Rugby Australia estimates it will lose 120000000. 00 if they are no more matches this year over in new zealand theres a freeze on various fees for the players and teams in a bid to keep the sport financially stable until the Coronavirus Crisis comes to an end easy to play union c. E. O. Rob nicol says everyone is just trying to pull their weight currently in still very very professional sport when you calculate on the field the broadcasters are they are on the entire sponsorship struggle so yeah we realise that thats why weve developed a model by a knock on not climate here. And will be up to much greater than what we claim for it you know are probably very real. Coverdale i mean do is there an impact on the government i guess around the spirit of the last 20 odd years and working with a professional class without a lot of literature in it. The right people are not right you are right it just happens to be what they do it will decide people and weve got a long. Stride here and other countries around the world including a lot of england and ireland and others around it without what they are about never thought of writing or arctic region. Back on in the region we do that its not the current military seems pretty but it reminds us of christian right but given the injury that we need to create it in my. Culture its arkansas our country. We have always been very very common short platted planes of the future staying 1st has been an issue for professional cyclists who have been told to prepare for a delayed Tour De France in late august it sat in a Standard Team rider the day martinelli is trying to do just that while helping his local community martinelli is now delivering medicines to people and the lock down near his home in northern italy he says the few people that go to the pharmacy the less risk of spreading the infection ok robert be back here again later with more sports news thanks very much indeed a war veteran special exercise regime has now raised 32000000 dollars for Britains National Health Service captain tom originally aimed to collect a 1000. 00 by walking 100. 00 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday this month but his dog a determination has attracted a flood of donations from people of all walks of life. And thats it for me rob madison for this news im going to be back in a moment with more of the days news stay with until then probably. Be the hero the world needs right now. Washroom. As the world fights the corona pandemic were learning more about this every day its a new threat that your join our Global Community its how we come to be able to fight on soaring your questions can i just ask you time to see directly that coming on on you tube as youre saying im concerned about the fact like oh nothing or a question that keeping you up to date im using countries between barack and beating back successfully the stream on 00. 0 good winning the programming from international till may cause as the bodies of its yeah we are going to wife in 2nd life if we carry on this work out just the arrest sets the stage and hes no longer here naivety is no longer an excuse giving voice to the voiceless so are we ready to go for global expats and discussion that culture still had said and theyre still for batting that today open your eyes to an alternative view of the wild today on aljazeera. In the far reaches of the New Siberian Islands gold rush fever is in the air. Hunters searching for priceless woolly mammoth tusks of on earth the holy grail. An incredible journey into the realms of Science Fiction cloning and Synthetic Biology have scientists playing god. Witness genesis 2. 0 the hunt for the woolly mammoth on aljazeera. Context is the. Storytelling of the biggest issues but had to do you should do it again. Accused of wasting valuable time scathing criticism of the british Prime Ministers handling of the corona Virus Outbreak. About the sun this is obviously a live from doha also coming up growing moves in the us to let people out of lockdowns are being branded as dangerous. Part of the largest refugee camp in greece is destroyed by fire following an arrest of a covert 19 same