Resignation and reforms to the monarchy scott hardly has moved from bangkok. You know another. In this process and the government protests that we have seen over the last several months this is before large scale protests that weve seen since july thousands gathered at democracy monument here in central bangkok it marched on to those thousands marched on to Government House area they broke through Police Barricades they bunkered in if you will for most of the night until this emergency decree came through yemens heathy is how the release to u. S. Citizens in exchange for 250. The freed rebels have arrived in yemens capital. On a swap is a fast of several prisoner exchanges expected in the coming days between the Saudi Led Coalition and the who face. Europe is battling to contain a 2nd wave of coronavirus germany has imposed tough the measures on gatherings and mall squaring france is introducing a nightly curfew and in the u. K. And new 3 tier system is in force. Tens of thousands of afghans have been forced to escape days of heavy fighting between Government Troops and taliban fighters aid agencies say hospitals are becoming overwhelmed by the wounded from the battles which began insolvent afghanistan fighting continues to escalate between armenia and azerbaijan those areas say they have destroyed missile launches inside on mania that were targeting their cities the armenian government confirms ministry positions hit. Protests are continuing in cyprus against government corruption they follow an aljazeera investigation of senior politicians who are willing to sell separate paul sports to convicted criminals those are your headlines counted the cost is next. During the closing 19. Americans suffering an epidemic of wrong to target and to. Want to win a street new generation was watching them on aljazeera. Hello im gerri navigate out this is counting the cost on aljazeera your look at the world of business and economics this week exit from the pandemic trillions spent on keeping the Global Economy ticking over but how much is needed to get the world back on its feet by getting vaccines to those without deep pockets. Also this week how the threat of u. S. Decoupling is forcing china to rethink its growth plans with an ambitious goal of 1000000000 middle class citizens. Plus can cast robinson bob way strike oil well tell you about the little known Australian Company thats using mounts from the 1990 s. To find the oil. Without a covert 1000 facts seen millions of people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic are unlikely to find work some businesses are struggling more than others to operate at full capacity and Government Central banks and Development Banks will need to provide trillions in aid to keep economies ticking over with a pandemic has also set back the fight against Poverty Reduction by more than a decades so just where are we with the hunt for a vaccine there are more than 200. 00 vaccines in various stages of development thats according to the World Health Organization in august russia registered the 1st vaccine although at the time it had been tested on fewer than 80 people the most promising from astra zeneca in Oxford University was pauls temporarily after one participant became ill so as the hunt continues governments have spent about 10 trillion dollars in various stimulus programs to keep economies ticking over the. The Global Economy of the pandemic could be as high as 9 trillion dollars thats according to the Asian Development bank and thats huge sums of money but the cost of exiting the pandemic by getting vaccines to the worlds poorest doesnt have to cost the earth right now the World Health Organization has launched a program to raise 35000000000. 00 to make sure vaccines reach low income and developing countries the w. H. O. Wants to make sure it can deliver 2000000000 doses by the end of 2021 from geneva im joined by dr Bruce Aylward hes a Senior Advisor to the director general of the World Health Organization thanks very much for your time with us dr bruce counting the costs so in the history of Vaccine Development there hasnt been such a herculean effort to get a vaccine into circulation from your perspective from the w. H. Perspective where are we in this effort and can we expect the serious contenders here by the end of the year. Indeed this has been a herculean effort and what the World Health Organization our partners have put together is something that is an integrated International Effort we call the act accelerators to try and accelerate the availability of vaccines as rapidly as possible the end of this year is going to be very very ambitious the leading candidates 10 leading vaccines are what we call phase 3 trials theyre going to have to be completed were going to have to generate the safety data analyze those data so its going to be very very tight for the end of this year or more likely were going to be looking at the 1st quarter of 2021 but its going to depend a little bit on some factors that we dont control so it could be anywhere in that time period heres the thing though when you look at the private Sector Development and the production of vaccines most preferred that theyre going to be doing this at cost except johnson and johnson for does that play a role in your choice of where the vaccine comes from well obviously its going to be a balance between getting access to the best possible products as early as possible as well as the price now were working through the kovacs facility that weve established of this is a huge International Effort that brings together already 168 countries to procure to to pool their procurement power to be able to get the best possible prices so we think that we will be able to negotiate great prices on all of these products we are aware that theres a range of pricing strategies that countries or Companies Rather are bringing to the table but this is still very much an ongoing. Area of work and id like to highlight you mentioned johnson and johnson but in fact theyve come out saying that theyre going to offer at a very good cost so im not sure that thats one of the ones that wed be most concerned about in terms of getting the best possible prices rise ok so out of the more than. 150 bucks vaccines currently under development are they all to france or are there overlapping studies going on yeah absolutely the incredible thing about this herculean effort as you called it to develop a vaccine is that were looking at products that are being developed across 5 or 6 different what we Call Technology platforms using novel new approaches like the m r n a vaccines that youve been hearing about and viral vector vaccines all the way to more classical approaches like inactivated vaccine we dont know which of these at this point are going to prove to be the most efficacious or the safest so were pursuing a an approach that invests across a whole range of technologies but also and uniquely in the case of the kovacs of silicate that were running we also look across a whole range of geographies all the way from the west to the far east to scan the horizon for the best possible products out of that what are now well over 200 candidate products that are out there but of all of those that are into your point theres a very small number only about 10 that are right now in phase 3 trials and that were really looking at most closely at this point all right so heres the thing i mean we hear a lot of the western developments when it comes to the sale but what if the chinese and russian efforts will whats your take on those. Well thats a super important point because these countries also have you know a long history in developing vaccines and medical products so there are also important players in the big scheme of things and when you look at those 10 products that i talked about that are in phase 3 trials 4 or 5 of those are actually from china and russia one from russia and 3 or 4 now from china so its incredibly important that we are looking right across the full spectrum of potential products because we dont know yet which of these are going to be successful let me ask you about let me turn your attention to the u. S. For just a moment and talk us through the antibody treatments that were given to President Trump how effective are those. Well this is a really important area of development as Everybody Knows in going into a battle against an opponent such as the coronavirus or covert 19 you want to have a full armamentarium of tools you want to diagnostics therapeutics and vaccines so one of the big pushes that weve been looking at is in this area of new drugs or therapeutics lets say one of the most promising is what we call these monoclonal antibodies which are very special antibodies that are developed. To try and target the virus and you give it as an infusion usually before or just as someone is getting you know to try and prevent the progression of the disease in every one of the studies that have been done so far theyve looked more and more promising but we are not at an advanced stage to be able to say that this could be approved for emergency use listing yet or even for licensing so its really still the most advanced of these products are only in phase 2 studies at this point and looking at the the the scale of this corona virus pandemic the w. H. O. Has committed 50000000. 00 to these antigen tests and providing also 120000000 antigens test some low and middle Income Countries the thing thats really enough. Well this is one of the other breakthroughs that weve had just over the last couple of weeks so its really just a start what weve found working through the acting salaried are is a 2 new rapid and aging tests that have received emergency use listing by w. H. O. And in parallel with testing in assessing those products weve worked with the manufacturers to get price and volume guarantees from low and low middle Income Countries now theres 120000000 tests that can be available over the next 6 months its a big improvement on where we are today but it is not enough we have to make we need at least half a 1000000000 tests over the coming year and thats what our target is what were working toward but the biggest problem and challenges and were starting to face now terry is not actually the technology in the products but rather the financing to be able to procure enough of these to fully exploit the opportunities we have 50000000. 00 is only a 10th of the 5600000000. 00 that we need to be able to fully operational lies that that deal and hence control in low and low middle Income Countries right and speaking of funding the 35000000000. 00 fund to get vaccines to the poorest parts of the world how are you doing on that is not fully funded. No and it as a super important point in fact the 35000000000 dollar budget for financing gap for the act accelerator thats the gap a process are working on the vaccines therapeutics and diagnostics now nearly a half of that is in the area of vaccines however now weve had a really good initial financing about 44000000000. 00 now that has helped in the startup phase but now we need to move from the proof of principle to the scale up and procurement of these products in the near term and thats why were going to need this 10 fold basically increase in financing this is going to require an extraordinary effort it will not be able to finances just from overseas Development Assistance or what we call traditional o. Da and so what were doing now is laying out the economic case for countries to invest stimulus financing into the act accelerator because what we are developing and how we will roll it out could be a critical part of the global effort to get global economies moving again as well as societies and Health Systems right dr bruce allen great to talk to you thank you very much for speaking to us from the World Health Organization thank you. Later this month chinas government will rubber stamp a 5 Year Economic plan 13 previous plans have carefully charted chinas move from an agricultural economy to the factory of the world this plan is likely to check out growth targets and favor of quality and Structural Reforms in many respects china has been forced down this path as the United States attempts to decouple from its reliance on the worlds 2nd biggest economy lets discuss this with rubin monta hart hes joining us from hong kong hes a professor for asian initiatives for the i. E. S. E. Business school at the university of navarro thanks very much for your time with us so i guess efforts to keep growth above 6 percent come what may has been thrown out and this is partly in response to washingtons economic war partly in response brooke they have also many other issues to contend with so i know it is the main the main story is what you call the jewel circulation which is the 1st circulation called infernal circulation it will be the boast the growth gone in from domestic consumption. Everything domestic Domestic Development for example of the he cal brands Domestic Development of technology especially in in the supply chain regarding the knowledge of ai and other things its all of that domestic but the domestic integration really in china of Economic Growth centers what for example there are 31. 00 is the great there bay area surrounding Guangdong Province which includes. The c. P. Itself and then the 2 others are to ones around shanghai wrong beijing the extend out is the one thing you are everything and do but remember that greece is a different i mean from all the previous times of china since the beginning of the reforms started but there shall be. For example the the just to have the greek enumeration the several pieces the problems they have it several of these bits are all external i one good bet the drum the knowledge that a communications saw trait so all of those are going to be difficult issues for for china plus the geopolitics the shining of Academic Research of china the bottom in Public Opinion on the problem and see its all about the internet its all of those are the external circulation that chinas to contend with so they have not contended with these doctors in the past so this will be the 1st time that they really have. By and dealing with their external circulation area so the solution they have for the external is to develop their relationship with asia especially the areas laundry is the asean reach Us Population of about 650000000. 00 proximately like the European Union and then also the other one is there see what they can do with this original comprehensive Economic Partnership which they want to pour next here with Asian Countries that the nearby china let me ask you what the focus will be then for the next 5 years. Then thats the next 5 years will mean that they will boast and you saying that the straight at for example to food production. Local energy production. Consumption of Light Industrial goods saw Services Domestic tourism to take advantage of the improving and burgeoning neagle class that is happening now in china they are like 30 to 35 percent of their population classifies middle middle income so that is a big source of possible domestic growth and speaking of growth now china already has a lead when it comes to 5 g. And possibly are to fill Artificial Intelligence as well but now its identified chips as an area it really needs to focus on because the u. S. Sanctions so how long before it catches up and overtakes the u. S. In this field if that were to happen. Well we are talking here of basic research thats why over this past 10 to 15 years china us really been trying to get the knowledge. To bring that that knowledge is from the rest to china at the moment theyre going to tell basic. And of technology. Microchip semiconductors for example theyre still dependent on on the u. S. So although this is going to be less and less china well have to invest more so that they can fast track this so this will think maybe i found another decade but they are they are doing their best. To upgrade their technology in this area the supply chain the relates to this technology the 5 g. For example that is still not 100 percent and they can be still affected by the sanctions that the u. S. And even some other western countries are going to do because china for example its its its fast export driven growth reached a point it provoke a reaction from the west it provoked a protectionist kind of element from from the west so done thats whats the picture now that china is experiencing that at the moment when one of the Biggest Challenges will be getting a 1000000000 people into the middle class thats going to be some achievement. Yes but that also that also has a cost because we also comes the aging. Population so even if they relax they want child policy to Children Policy thats not going to solve the immediately so Technology Support is supposed to feel in the blanks what the labor force is going to do and of grendel the last by the labor force to be covered up by technology but that knowledge is not coming fast and we have the Current Situation and this technology is being hampered because of the sanctions imposed on china for them by the western countries then this is going to be a problem for them i. E. Saying that there will be an adjustment i think it will take about 10 years and that move however i guess will last only lead to an economy worth a staggering 30 trillion dollars thats the thats the figure thats expected and also surpassing the United States towards the end of the decade but also its going to create a huge domestic market so where the u. S. Decoupling has little impact the u. S. Policy is very dependent on the care and ministration so yes trump wins that we will see the same the same story going on is there will be a dramatic shift if there is a change you know ministration then there could be also a change in in china and the hopes and the pine table really really also change depends on on whether to supply chain will be stopped or rather the supply chain will continue right through until later when he was yeah yeah all right thank you very much a reuben among the heart thank you very much for speaking to us from hong kong. Zimbabwe has been an economic trouble for more than a decade but 2 years ago there was a ray of hope for the caste starved nation the possible discovery of oil and gas in the north of the country on the border with mozambique the Energy Minister winston should tondo said the oil and gas deposits are africas Largest Oil Reserves discovered to date the Company Behind that discovery is little known outside the industry Invictus Energy is an australian listed or lng gas company and its only real assets are those in zimbabwe where the fines if proven commercial could be a game changer invictus has already signed a 20 year deal to provide 100000000 cubic feet of gas to a local Power Company well from Perth Australia via skype were joined by Invictus Energys managing director and founder Scott Mcmillan thanks for your time with us today how much oil and gas deposits do you believe is in the cup or about a region weve had some into ministry its carried on and based on. These independent consultants there is a method that around about changing cubic feet and 300000000. 00 barrels of condensate it could be present in the koresh basin thats equivalent to around 1100000000. 00 barrels of Oil Equivalent so pretty substantial by Global Standards and something that were very excited about how did you come by this find however because i understand that mobile which is now of course part of eczema bill did some testing back in the 1990 s. And youre using some of their geological studies. That creates a model to carry out an Extensive Campaign in the early ninetys integrators n. B. C. Got it and the 1st part in our Exploration Program was to reevaluate the data that they get behind and we were able to obtain the original feel tapes and Seismic Shift is that they acquired reprocess spent data and share your knowledge on the basin and its petroleum attentional. And now weve completed those the studies and were Going Forward without Expression Program on the ground and in fact weve got a team going into the country and into the basement next week to start some reconnaissance prop in a campaign which were planning to start next year following the rainy season im not asking as it is based on behalf of mobile of course but from your understanding why did mobile decide not to drill at the time was it not commercially viable for a company of that size some of them were exploring for big oil targets and this is back in the ninetys and when they had finished that evaluation of the of the basin they concluded that the Petroleum System was more likely to be gas prone as opposed to well and back then there was no structured market for gas in the region and in fact there are already some logic to see discoveries in neighboring mozambique im sure with the sun and mana fields which were discovered in the early sixtys that was still sitting on the benefits of mobile so very little point in trying to discover even more gas. For 25 years how it got and the Energy Dynamics and the gas market in particular has changed dramatically theres not a burgeoning but the mystic market as well as a regional market and we see a great opportunity big to become not only a significant slot mystically but also in the region of particular so that africa which is a very large gas market which is one of those to it and is facing a supply shortage by the mid twentys twentys so is there enough gas than in the spine to make the country and Energy Independence so the Expression Campaign is successful and we discover what we believe is there then not only will the country have the ability to become Energy Independent but also an Energy Exporter and that can be in multiple forms that theres a lot of ways of monetizing gas not youve got cast a pall youve got 3rd laza youve got small scale in g. As well as picture going to. So all of those can play mix and and ensure that spends a lot of becomes and it Energy Exports and what does this mean for the local economy and particularly for jobs for many of the local people will for a discovery that is as the sort of potential in terms of its size it will be an absolute huge boost to the economy and as well as jobs it will naturally follows that you know youre talking about well thousands of jobs during the construction and Development Phase but directly at that of the project then in the operations phase that will take it down but then other will also result in a lot of jobs created in the mix youre going to downshift and and so youre going to have a boost not only to the overall economy and significant contribution to the fiscus but a lot of jobs created as well and just for claritys sake youre employing local people now or are you relying on outside expertise to get to the oil and gas. So weve got a mix of. In our team in what isnt this is mainly were out optical which is undertaken sadly we dont have the expertise in zimbabwean in the only guess. But were hoping to develop the skills and local skills as we go and as our Program Advances we have it in our office thats its obvious top of locals and in fact out a country manager that actually ran mobiles previous Exploration Programs that hes very well those and will be you know great for the upcoming operations and now that were on the ground in convincing field activities operations in country will start to ramp up as well so theyll be more mobile and going to was right it would project right ok and what about the funding are you sufficiently funded or to to make sure that you can see this project through so we funded for a forward feel program coming up and in addition weve any to continue to augment program to bring in additional. By the end of the and then theyll see is funded for the Drilling Campaign coming up as for the governments of zimbabwe do they have a stake in this at all will they be relying on or will they be relying on tax revenue so at the moment were in the midst of finalizing a production sharing agreement with the government and that will result in the country receiving a question of either the product or the profits over and above the normal taxes in worlds east so this production sharing agreement would ensure that the country gets officiate. All the resources by implementing means all right Scott Mcmillan thank you very much for speaking to us from australia thank you thank you very much for having me. Thats our show for this week but theres more for you online at aljazeera dot com slash c. T. C. And thatll take you straight to our page which has entire episodes for you to catch up on. For this edition of counting the cost im getting you know from the whole team thanks for joining us the news on aljazeera is next. It began with war and to put it just here i got shot i fall down i felt like i was that the documentary filmmaker once granted unconditional asylum contrasts his experiences with those seeking refuge today and intimate you know what the consequences of the policies of detainment is really almost the sort of all this misery they cannot absorb this number that people have to suffer in this way it is an excerpt of refugees tale on aljazeera. I am Steve Clemons and i have a question because these days its hard to filter out the noise and keep track of whats really important to you the bottom line tackles the big issues that is shaping the United States its people its economy and the way it deals with the rest of the world the bottom line only on aljazeera. Talk to old jews there oh this is the government not taking the necessary action to really address some of the structural issues we listen i still think that air travel is the safest mode of travel and to spend that we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on the old a 0. Earthquake a. Ride please clear protesters in the toy capsule in a crackdown months of antigovernment demonstrations. On monday insight this is al jazeera live from doha also coming. To us citizens are set free in exchange for hundreds of who the fight is ahead of a big in a prisoner swap in efforts to end the conflict in yemen. Held the magazine for all its newest