In steps towards a new normal. And europe steps up the search for a Coronavirus Vaccine new boss special a funnel line wants to raise 7500000000. 00 euros to fund an affordable vaccine for the whole world. A michael oku glad to have you with us north korean state media say leader kim jong un has made his 1st public appearance in nearly 3 weeks kim is said to have opened a Fertilizer Factory near the capital pyongyang the official News Agency Says he was greeted with hundreds cheers its the 1st report of kim carrying out an engagement since he missed National Anniversary celebrations last month there has been speculation he was seriously ill or even dead. Joining me now is correspondent frank smith in seoul hello frank how reliable easiest information coming from the state news agency showing kim jong moon alive and well well id have to say that Korea Central News Agency is much more reliable vote the reporting of kim jong un in the north korean elite then you know the websites that were suggesting he was in a way vegetative state or or perhaps even dead over the past week or so the photographs that were shown particularly a photograph of him with his sister in the background indicate that that kim jong un is in fact alive so all indications dead easy in fact. Alive but or are north korea watchers able to actually authenticate that these are in fact recent pictures of the north Korean Leader well thats a good point you know i mean we need to perhaps maybe see some pictures of him some video of him for you know real true definitive proof of his status but looking at some of the other pictures i think there were indications that this was a recent event there was a photograph of the thousands of people that that you mentioned releasing balloons and they were Wearing Masks indicating that this event had taken place after the coronavirus had had perhaps seeped into north korea. Does this kind of speculation about whether that the north Korean Leader alive or whether theyre recently authenticated pictures is that a kind of conversation then actually happens where you are in the media yes it is you know i mean theres been speculation about. Health and death of of kim jong un its happened before this you know sort of fake news out of north korea is a very common sort of thread in terms of the information that we get out of the north one of the things that that has been really carefully addressed is the leadership sort of succession in communal jong his younger sister at 32 has been for put forward in in recent reports as the most likely heir to become the next leader of north korea perhaps with a coterie of kim jong uns close advisors those high in the military and and high in north Korea Workers Party thank you frank thats our frank smith in seoul u. S. President donald trump is threatening to slap trade tariffs on china over the coronavirus much of chinas industrial output is made for export to europe and america where demand for its goods has collapsed beijing is trying to kickstart the economy but for many chinese businesses it may already be too late. Physical distancing and slights masks at the great wall of china life is slowly returning to normal. But gyms in beijing are still closed they opened briefly last month but were then forced to shut after fears of a 2nd wave of the virus. We have were not to reopen as soon as possible coronaviruses hitting assad and no one knows how the situation will pan out from my own them. The Restaurant Industry has also taken a hit food outlets are now gradually welcoming customers back exporters are also under pressure its not known when demand from the u. S. And europe will rebound so many small and medium sized businesses may not survive. Where expecting at least 22000000. To lose their jobs this year and that will push the Unemployment Rate up to around 10 percent however an additional 250000000. 00 people are going to experience some kind of wage cuts between 10 to 50 percent here in harbin a city of 10000000 people theres been a cluster of new cases the threat of more shutdowns looms large in china. Lets give you a roundup of some of the later spent demick developments the u. N. Is warning that millions of children risk missing out on vital medicines because of travel disruption has delayed shipments u. S. Regulators have given fast track approval to figure a drug which appears to help some covert 1000 patients to recover faster the World Health Organization says the rate of infection across africa is increasing and singapore is easing restrictions as cases there begin to subside again. Now for a brief look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world the white house has blocked Top Health Official anthony found chief from testifying before Congress Members are investigating the trump administrations handling of the Virus Outbreak she has often contradicted trump the Administration Calls it counterproductive for a member of the Covert Response Team to testify that. Shares in the electric car maker tesla tumbled by more than 10 percent after a series of bizarre tweets by its chief executive must posted that the stock price was too high and said he would sell off most of his possessions the here in berlin hundreds of people defied a ban on public gatherings to celebrate may day traditionally a day of leftwing protest in the german capital activists protested against growing a virus restrictions and conditions in greeces overcrowded refugee camps. Austria has become one of the 1st countries in europe to lift many of its lock down restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the corona virus after 7 weeks where social contact was strictly regulated the country is relaxing its measures and trying to slowly return to a new normal austrians are now allowed to meet people from outside their own household but still at a one meter distance. Were joined now by correspondent carrie skye ring in the austrian capital vienna carrie its good to see you. As of today all shops or allowed to open of course are you expecting lots of people to head out. Yes there will be a lot more people on the streets and on the roads today this is the 1st time in 6 weeks that us troops have been able to visit a hairdresser place or to go to the Major Shopping Centers that they opened for the 1st time today we have a lot of Small Businesses open but now Major Shopping CentersDepartment Stores are going to be open and yes there could be some queuing at some of those establishments when the 1st set of easing of restrictions took place 2 weeks ago thats what happened that people will be a little sensible and stay at home until next week but yes when you look at the traffic on the road on the wing struck the major route around the city yesterday afternoon it was almost like a normal day of traffic so when its through how exactly austria has dealt with the coronavirus so far well like many countries there were a few missteps at 1st if you remember in the tourist resorts of to roland for alberg there was a rapid spread of infections and many tourists returned home to many places in europe and spread those infections to other people now the authorities reacted a little late. After that austria in the middle of march imposed a fairly Strict Lockdown and since then weve seen the numbers improve and right now there are less than 500 people in hospitals being treated for corona virus the number of new infections each day is down to somewhere between 50. 80 each day and that gives the government some confidence to do this and that at no point has the Health System here being overstretched so the numbers are very manageable there im curious do people in austria support the lockdown easing or people also afraid of a 2nd wave of infections just as people cross the world or. Yes you get both reactions i think we can say there is a pro and consensus for the governments moves they seem to move the case for it fairly clearly using the statistics and so most people are quite happy to see restrictions lifted there are concerns though in debates flare up about the wisdom of sending the children back to school which starts a phased return of school from next week and people are worried that children simply cannot be your convinced to practice social distancing that its not practical and a spate elderly people who feel that it is too early and many of some of those that ive spoken to say they will continue to impose isolation upon themselves the big step the next step will be in 2 weeks time and that will be when. Hotels will not Hotels Hotels towards the end of the month but cafes and restaurants will be able to open from the middle of the month and i think thats what most austrians are really looking forward to. Kerry skier in keeping an eye on developments there in vienna thank you so much for that. Now germany and france are spearheading european efforts to Fund Research into a Coronavirus Vaccine a virtual pledging conference next week is aiming to raise 7500000000 euro here paean Commission President ursula funda line says the goal is to develop vaccines treatments and tests to be available worldwide and affordable price. A scientists around the world race to develop a vaccine the e. U. Is trying to rally Global Support in the fight against coronavirus in an interview with the table you Commission President ursula von the lion called for a cool ordinated approach have to build up capacities to manufacture it zillions of those and then we have to make sure that we can deploy to every corner in the world in a fair and affordable price and thats what exactly were working on for that we need money and we need to go global corporation. The pandemic is also putting a strain on state finances countries like italy and spain want support in the shape of socalled corona bones effectively shared debt between euro zone countries but illustrating the blocks north south divide the plan for each use solidarity has met opposition from germany and the netherlands. In the whole instrument we will have certainly the right balance of loans and grants this is the process where we have to negotiate with all 27 Member States of course i think this is democracy we have to speak about the detailing out the tailor made programs but all i do agree that it is important to support the countries that are hardest hit by the virus and the economic consequences. The majority of e. U. Countries have declared states of emergency in a bid to contain the virus but the lion had a warning for any government seeking to abuse those powers. Were looking very closely to how these measures are implemented when it comes to the European Values indeed the freedom of speech the freedom of media for example so we stand ready to intervene immediately if this is not appropriate and time limited. For now the priority remains saving lives and stopping the spread of vaccine the key to some kind of return to normality. And you can see our full interview with funded line on our website thats the g. O. P. Dot com some sports news now hopes of restarting the german football season have suffered a blow after 3 people at cologne tested positive for the virus all are symptom free and in quarantine the club is not disclosing the names or positions of those who tested positive Group Training for the team is continuing the league hopes to restart matches without spectators later this month. Youre watching t w news for all of us here at the w in berlin the well stay safe and if you have a hankering for more news well have that as always at the top of the hour im Michael Okuda will cease of. Combating the corona pandemic. Where does research stand. What are scientists learning. Background information and news. Our corona update. From the 19 special next on d w. How does a virus spread. Why do we have it and then well. Introduce through the topic for