Relaxed in thailand but without tourism many still need food handouts. Welcome to the program the global hunt for a Coronavirus Vaccine and treatment took a leap forward on monday with World Leaders pledging billions of dollars to the fight the European Commission hosted a virtual Fund Raising Conference a nations promise to contribute more than 80000000000. 00 towards research 3 and a half 1000000 people have now been infected by the virus about a 3rd of those have recovered but about 250000. 00 people have died and gradually country by country in some instances even city by city lock downs are being lifted one of the hardest hit countries italy was among the nations that began easing restrictions on monday will be live initially a little later now so join a whole begins our coverage from oxford where scientists are working on a potential vaccine. Coronavirus is going away so the world must find ways to live with it better ways of testing for it more effective ways of treating it most importantly eventually a vaccine against it. The packers are many the goal is one to defeat this virus and e. U. Led virtual pledging conference aims to channel billions of dollars into the Global Response its not just about pouring money into research but also about pooling resources and expertise for the common good. Measure of sense and. If were really. Now. Why. The u. S. Isnt involved and while china is offering to help there are concerns the worlds 2 Top Economists already at political loggerheads may engage in a vaccine war donald trump has already claimed a vaccine is just months away scientists point out that even if a vaccine is discovered in months itll be a lot longer than that before its stale dup and available to the billions wholl need it which is why its so important to find drug treatments that work in the meantime both are central to the funds being pledged and both are at advanced stages of trialing and research here at the university of oxford professor Martin Landry is leading the Worlds LargestClinical Trial into coronavirus drug treatments a project called recovery hes hoping to find an existing drug or combination of drugs that works to save lives well before a vaccine becomes globally available. I think your is probably too strong i dont think theyll be a single drug that suddenly wipes out clone a virus but i think effective treatments are in sight and theyre critical theyre critical because patients are dying today and tomorrow and the day after and even with the best will in the world 18 months off having a scaled up vaccine at best we need treatments that deal with the problem of now. Only in europe and parts of asia are there real signs of an infection slowdown globally new cases of covert 19 are being reported at more or less the same rate as they were a month ago heres a greatest for the developing world where social distancing is an adequate or impossible the greatest hope lies in a global effort against a global threat jonah how aljazeera oxford. Italy has begun a slow return to normality a tweeks after becoming the 1st country in europe to go into lockdown 4 and a half 1000000 italians are now allowed back to work and relatives can reunite schools and cinemas remain shut indefinitely alexy obrien reports. The hard because theyve been waiting for for 2 months the. Old grandfather and granddaughter reunited. Despair at the. During the korean teen we were desperate because now i cant even speak for how excited i am to excited we have only seen her with video calls for 2 months but it was not the same it couldnt be the same. Bundle of restarted quarter when i saw her my heart stopped it seemed to be a century since id seen her after the longest lockdown in europe family visits are allowed but only of relatives live in the same region. Elsewhere the queues were back at romes main a terminal station though its not just take it but temperatures being taken. By a lot of the obviously after staying at home for almost 60 days it feels good i feel good and i feel safe. Across italy more than 4000000 people were back at work as construction sites and factories reopened and restaurants were allowed to sell takeaway food but taking public transport is still being discouraged by government and mosques a compulsory when sharing public spaces and doors. Funerals remain limited to 15 people but the bereaved able to lay flowers on the graves of the did the florists nearby carefully disinfected. With more than 210000 reported cases and around 29000. 00 deaths italy is one of the worst affected countries government leaders fear the loosening of restrictions will. Lead to a resurgence in cases Health Care Workers are taking extra measures to track infections isolate and to make sure hospitals arent overwhelmed again. With every. Were being careful trying not to do too many things but at least were finally outside and breathing some fresh air families making the most of the sunshine and parks that have been reopened playgrounds remain off limits but youre happy because finally today they have opened the field up again after having closed for a month and a half even though obviously my daughter was disappointed to find the playground are blocked off there are many reminders that life isnt the same with school cinemas and theaters shot indefinitely but those ancient country has witnessed plagues before and recovered italians just need to find a balance between staying safe and embracing their new found freedom. Brian aljazeera. Or carla korver ferrari joins us live now from via skype carola good to see you we last spoke to you actually almost exactly 8 weeks ago when he had the just gone into lockdown how do you feel 2 months later and whats the 1st thing that you did today the 1st day of relative freedom. I feel tired and it has been very tiring and exhausting. But as a matter of our fact it has gone faster and today weve entered a socalled phase 2. So we were allowed to go out for walks or for jogging in parks that had been closed up until now and we are now allowed to visit family and relatives not friends but family so the day i saw my parents after 2 months but when we didnt hug i kept a distance and we mat at the park so that we could play safe being outdoors it was hard very hard not to kiss and hug of them but we want to be safe. Because of course there are still a lot of restrictions that make the taliban lockdown still very strict what would you have said the atmosphere was on the streets of milan was there happiness was there fear perhaps of a possible relapse when it comes to infections how would you describe it. Well people were very happy to be outside the feelie was being thrilled about being now free again especially kids children were riding their bicycles or scooters so you could really sense their freedom of being there and there were a lot of people outside i think too many you need to keep a distance still and you need to wear masks and everybody was but you know now its we have to slow it down i think we have to careful here. So it really was the 1st country in europe to go into lock that it didnt have any other countries to use as an example really among its neighbors so its been the longest lockdown and definitely one of the strictest from the friends that youve spoken to how was that impacted the people in milan and elsewhere initially. Yes we had the strong feeling of being the 1st ones and experimenting everything and you know us that sometimes we were kind of lost because you are hit with an avalanche of news and information and as time passes by you end up being hit by this huge amount of information and some of them are incorrect some are fake news and even the saw called x. Parents or sometimes have to rethink their theories. So that happens when youre in the 1st place that having to deal with something so tremendously. Different from anything else that youve experienced in your life a. Bit we also felt very proud of very very proud. Of about our doctors and nurses and about our selves our people i think we all reacted with an extreme proud and and a seriousness carol a court of law. And resident thank you so much for sharing your experience with us both 8 weeks ago and now thank you thank you thank you. Lets go to thailand now which has also begun easing its restrictions after a steady decline in the number of new corona virus infections but the connery has been hit hard and many people now need help putting food on the table scott heide live reports from bangkok. As thais enjoy the easing of covert 1000 restrictions many remain reliant on food handouts from charities and local communities i dont know and in some cases theres not enough to go around for those whove been waiting many closed businesses are able to reopen after almost 2 months of being shut but the state of emergency remains in place along with the 10 pm to 4 am curfew the ban on International Flights to thailand continues until the end of the month restaurants can have died in customers but only one person per table and no alcohol for cereal on the pet soon on its better than nothing but it might be too late for my own party yeah im very worried about the Tourism Industry ties dont have the same purchasing power as foreign visitors the chinese koreans and japanese spend a lot of money but theyre all gone i think it may even take a year for things to get better. The government will evaluate the situation every 2 weeks either determine to further ease the restrictions or if theres a spike in confirmed cases reimpose some of the rules while the government is a very much focused on the here and now of tackling covidien one thing theres a growing concern about the future some businesses opening up is good news but this country is so were lying on the Tourism Industry thats at a standstill like the empty streets here in all of bangkok there are many types of businesses connected with tourism so a downturn cuts deep into the population here we are an economy that depends a lot on globalization we depend a lot on the movement of people in terms of the pentagons on tourism i think contributing to 20 percent of the g. D. P. We also depend heavily on export pet grooming shops have also opened their doors the owner of bark lounger used her personal savings to keep the business afloat for her it paid off. A lot of my customers are starting to come back i think because my shop was closed for a long time during the temporary shutdown my clients had no choice since the government lifted some of the restrictions my customers are fighting to be the 1st in line. Thailand southern neighbor malaysia also began loosening covert restrictions most businesses including restaurants can reopen but some states are keeping restrictions in place they want more time to study the potential risks from relaxing the curbs back in the cramped low income neighborhoods of bangkok many dont work in the industries or businesses that every open so they still need the food handouts but theres hope that this is a 1st step that could lead to more restrictions being lifted and that they soon can return to providing for their families on their own scott heiler aljazeera bangkok youre watching aljazeera live from london still ahead irans of reopens mosques but only in some cities and on condition that a strict Safety Measures are met plus instead of standing outside doing google maps calls mounds to allow more internationally trained doctors to practice in canada. Hello theyre mostly good clear sunny skies much of the mediterranean called say the same the further to the north across much of your it is a very unsettled picture plenty of even some heaviest rain but it has been nice for once across into lisbon imports will people enjoying the sunshine the wall and also the same across into dam upgradable Cherry Blossom of course in a very nice sunshine this room or that sunny in denmark on tuesday because these are rain showers there pushing trails into the portugal goal that as a spain and then really a very unsettled picture maybe not see bad across much of germany but the rain working its way east was a very unsettled throughout much of Eastern Europe western russia in particular the time of 1000 degrees in moscow on wednesday 21 on tuesday theres another system just waiting in the wings that not making much progress trying to push across into southern. And southern regions of the u. K. In time it is not too bad as well beginning to come up of course once the sunshine reappears plenty of sunshine and high temperatures throughout much of north africa with the mediterranean clear it is fair as well so people enjoying again the sunshine cooling off in the walls and also courting of the horses in the water in ship elaina as a pretty warm here 33 in shipley on tuesday again more this case sunny skies and even hotter on wednesday with a touch of 8 above average. From fossil fuels to modern day renewable as societies develop the energy demands increase requiring Innovative Solutions to meet such the mountains as a Global Power DevelopmentInvestment Company nebraska power is uniquely positioned to deliver against eastern mounds we provide Business Growth promote social economic benefits and provide innovative safe and environmentally sound Energy Solutions for future generation the british pound pioneering future energy. Or will. A reminder of the top stories on aljazeera World Leaders have pledged more than 80000000000. 00 to Fund Research into a vaccine and treatment for the corona virus several countries have begun loosening lockdown measures on monday among them was italy with more than 4000000 people returning to work after 8 weeks at home and some Asian Countries are also easing restrictions thailand has lifted some measures because of a steady decline in the number of new infections. Major area has joined a host of countries easing restrictions following a 5 week lockdown at medical workers a warning that a large crowds returning to the streets could result in a major spike in cases. Reports now from abroad. That nigerians in the capital take tentative steps towards normal life after a week lockdown but scenes like this shock medical workers on the front lines of the fight against corporate 90 it is not a good decision. I distilled and theyre hopeful which this is a step that is not strong. If we have about people. Who really know how to carry capacity of the hospital beds to be able to take care of those who may have been affected. Some of the citys open markets are being closed frustrating many traders have not sold anything for more than a month. And. The lockdown has taken a toll of mice and livelihoods and many here are in a hurry to recoup their losses. The collapse in oil prices has been another major blow for nigerias all dependent economy. Stores a full were trying to keep the prices as they are we dont want to even think about how losses as a businessman your priority is to keep your customer in good and bad times remember that many people didnt own any money for weeks now but some Health Experts insist the government should continue to enforce emergency measures the government says are certain restrictions are being lifted night will start from 8 oclock until further notice and wearing off mask like this well outside and social distancing will not be strictly enforced in addition to reducing presenter numbers on public transport. For now all places of worship will remain closed with government worried about enforcing social distancing and other nigerians fear the lifting of restrictions when infractions are on the rise could be disastrous. Chinese state media has accused the us of unprecedented propaganda warfare over the origins of covert katrina you has more now from. Theres been a escalating war of words between the u. S. And china in recent months and this latest state media editorial is only adding fuel to that fire so it was in the global times which is a Chinese State media newspaper and its published both in english and mandarin and both of those ins really had searing words attacking secretary of state mike pompei oh in particular they called him a liar saying that he quote is engaging in filthy behavior to mislead the public and that hes lost his moral compass theyve also accused Michael Pompei of really only being interested in getting donald trump reelected in the next elections in november and in store king and the chinese hatred in order to do this now this is in response to the comments we had earlier of my composure saying that theres significant evidence that corba 1000 a region agent in a chinese lab in the institute of roller g. And beijing has flat out denied this its also denied that its engaging in any cover up would just Information Campaign and this editorial is really demanding that mike pompei and his colleagues really produce this evidence that they say they say that they have and these just said look hes really just engaging according to state media in a bluff in a big bluff and really just continuing this anti chinas Smear Campaign in order to divert attention from washingtons mishandling of the crisis back home a White House CorrespondentKimberly Halkett joins us live so it can really as we heard there from beijing strong words from the chinese about what secretary of state mike compare oh said although he did seem to contradict himself that here. Yes he did on the one hand the secretary of state would not sort of. Definitively confer in fact that what he was saying initially and that was that this is something that the trumpet ministration believes in terms of covert 19 that it originated out of a lab in china i think what that indicates is that it is difficult for this administration to point the fingers at china without also offering evidence something that of course china has called upon to do but the argument has been up to this point that its classified and so there is not going to be that evidence forthcoming at least not made publicly but this comes on the heels of a report by the depa