And election in the time of a pandemic South Koreans carefully head to the ballot box also. A kind of leadership doesnt just belong in our state capitals and Mayors Office belongs in the white house. Former u. S. President barack obama breaks his silence and endorses joe biden. U. S. President donald trump says he will suspend funding to the World Health Organization the u. S. Sends 402500 1000000 dollars a year to the w. H. R. Trump says the organization botched the initial response to the corona Virus Outbreak and spread what he called this information from china which made things worse the u. S. Is the chose biggest fund. We have deep concerns whether americas generosity has been put to the best use possible. The reality is that the w. H. O. Failed to adequately obtain vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion the world depends on the w. H. O. To work with countries to ensure that Accurate Information about International Health threats is shared in a timely manner and if its not to independently tell the world the truth about what is happening the w. H. O. Failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable. The International Monetary fund meanwhile says the world is heading towards the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930 s. The i. M. F. Chief Economist Says lockdowns aimed at containing the pandemic could cost the Global Economy more than 9 trillion dollars over the next 2 years one sector thats taken an immediate hit is the Airline Industry it is expected to lose more than 300000000000. 00 in revenue this year travelers will also feel the crunch with ticket prices predicted to surge because of new safety regulations once flights to resume well lets get more now on all of this with mike hanna who is live for us in washington d. C. Migrates talk about President Trump cutting funding to the w. H. O. He really did not hold back in that press conference did he. What it was extraordinary criticism President Trump has been critical of the w. H. O. In the past but in this particular news briefing he was exceedingly hard exceedingly harsh with the astounding statement in which he claimed that. Its responsible for a 20 fold increase in the amount of deaths in this pandemic so certainly the strongest criticism yet hes once again saying that the u. S. Will stop funding or suspend funding pending a review of the performance in combating this particular pandemic but President Trump as he said in the past particularly angered it would appear by the fact that the opposed his decision to limit flights to china at the end of january advising at that time that International Travel would not help stall the pandemic president taking a particular bridge to this particular point hes repeated it often enough in the past few days as part of his criticism of the w. H. O. But hes also accused the w. H. O. Of being as he puts it china centric in the past saying that it appears to be biased towards china that it did not insist enough to get the full details of what was happening at the source of this pandemic that it took a lot of what china said at face value so very very strong criticism of the w. H. O. Indeed president claiming that the u. S. Is the major contributor to the w. H. O. That is in fact the 6th largest contributor to the w. H. O. But a suspension of u. S. Fans would obviously have a massive impact on the organization that is at the frontline of combating the pandemic and might present trouble also spoke about the role and the powers of individual governors in the reopening of each of the states tell us more about that. Well theres been an ongoing dispute between the governors and President Trump in the recent day in which President Trump said that he is all powerful that he can direct the governors to do whatever he wants no say the governors they have certain powers granted to them under section 10 or amendment 10 to the u. S. Constitution its up to the governors they insisted decide when or how to lift restrictions on movement in combating the pandemic president transparent a day insisting that he could do what he wanted to and then he basically reversed in this News Conference saying that it would be up to the governors to decide how to exercise any lifting off the restrictions within each individual state he also insisted that it was the governors who should have been doing the testing not the Central Government this despite the fact that the governors have been pleading with the Central Government to provide the necessary testing equipment so President Trump clearly a kind of jekyll and hyde time begin its relationship with the states this is what he had to say there are numerous h that are in great shape right now theyre viewing the rest of the country like we dont even believe this is happening we have a lot of those states theyre set to open practically now i mean they would be open now were going to let them open sooner than the date were going to pick a date were going to get a date thats good but its going to be very very soon sooner than the end of the month but there are many states out there that are looking at this and theyre reviewing it and theyre saying we shouldnt be even included in this you know there are some that want to open up almost now now if we disagree with it were not going to let them open and mike just quickly when trump was talking about the w. H. O. He also took aim at china what might that do to the u. S. China relationship given they have only just signed phase one of a trade deal after a trade war. Well another jekyll and hyde type aspect one must remember that at the time the w. H. O. Was declaring the coronavirus pandemic President Trump was praising trying out for its transparency he was insistent in that some would contend are not criticizing china because he didnt want to damage that particular trade deal he once again in this news briefing went out of his way to say that hes got nothing against china or indeed the chinese leader that he has a very Good Relationship and i was just very quickly too that the trump family the president himself and members of his family have massive business interests in china in terms of brands in terms of sharing finances on the building of golf courses so certainly theres a lot about china that President Trump wants to continue to come for to wants to continue not to be too critical and above all certainly better a deal that you spoke of which he wants to use as part of his Election Campaign so many issues creating a dichotomy and how president does approach china thank you there mike hanna there live from washington d. C. Well as we mentioned the International Monetary fund is predicting a grim few years for the Global Economy due to the coronavirus reports before we International Monetary fund a stark warning this is a crisis like no other which means there is substantial uncertainty about the impact it will have on peoples lives and livelihoods as unemployment lines grow around the world is manufacturing growing to hold too many sectors as businesses are forced to close the Economic Impact of the covert crisis is bowing to the i. M. F. Issues regular reports on the Global Financial situation 3 months ago they were predicting widespread growth for one of us has radically changed the landscape we are projecting Global Growth in 22024. 00 to minus 3 percent. Now this is a downgrade of 6. 3 Percentage Points from general 2020 a Major Division over a very short period of time this makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression and far worse than the Global Financial crisis one of the biggest drops will come in the European Union zone which is expected to take a hit of 7. 5 percent the u. S. Where the president is pushing to reopen the economy is looking at a contraction of nearly 6 percent japan 5. 2 percent down the same as latin america in china where the pandemic began and has begun to reopen its economy its expected to record growth of just over one percent the i. M. F. Is predicting that if things dont deteriorate there will be a rebound for the Global Economy in 2021 but one economist warns that might be short lived i think hes going to run into a lot of headwinds in terms of the kind of the draft thats going to come from all of that the big shock thats happened over the past quarter in terms of bankruptcies in terms of lost jobs and that is going to weigh quite heavily on demand and that is why governments and Central Banks have been stepping up stimulus to try and give the economy this extra boost when it comes out of this shock this didnt use shutdowns when you are seriously impacted the Airline Industry it seems passenger numbers drop by half globally airlines no think theyll lose more than 300000000000 dollars this year much more than expected the i. M. F. Is urging countries to walk together to beat the pandemic saying there is no tradeoff between saving lives and saving livelihoods alan fischer aljazeera virginia. Well for more lets bring in Barry Eichengreen he is a professor of economics at the university of california berkeley thanks so much for your time you believe there are parallels between what is happening now with the pandemic and the Great Depression talk to us about what those parallels are and what lessons can be learned i think the International Monetary fund was correct to call out the parallels this is the. Most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930 s. In addition this is a global downturn like the Great Depression was the financial crisis in 20082009 was primarily in advanced country problem and a lot of emerging markets get it through it but this problem is global and this problem is unfolding much more quickly than 20082009 christs what does the speed of the downturn mean for how deep things might go and how fast or otherwise the recovery might be. Well one way to think about it is that in the 1st year of the Great Depression between 129. 93 the Unemployment Rate in the United States rose from 3 and a half percent to 9 percent so we accomplished that if accomplish is the right word this time in 2 weeks rather than in one year thats my best guess 99 percent plus what the Unemployment Rate is now so this is some massive disruption to the economy the difference is that the Great Depression continued to deepen for 3 and a half years we got up to 25 percent unemployment in the United States only in 19334 years into the contraction we could well get up to 25 percent unemployment in a quarter this time so that implies massive disruptions to the real economy and i think there is a danger that those will feed through into the banking and Financial System which is stronger than it was 12 years ago which is being backstopped better them 12 years ago but i think is will will turn out to be fragile and will turn out to need help. Were going to think countries at different stages of the pen dimmick opening their countries getting back to work at different rates will that make a difference to the Global Economic outlook i think that process of opening will be sporadic or bumpy that a lot of countries that open will have to shut down again when the virus returns in the fall or when the virus returns in the winter it is true as you said that the advanced countries experienced the virus and have to shut down earlier them. Low Income Countries and developing countries so if we in the global north open up again and then. The situation deteriorates in low Income Countries we could reimport economic we weakness and even worse we could reimport the virus so the fact that were opening up at different points in time is a mixed blessing its not entirely good everyone obviously wants to predict the bottom of the recession who have a canned could be very wealthy as a result it is a tough question whats your prediction about when were going to see the bottom of the earth recession my advice is to ask an epidemiologist rather than one in a columnist it depends 1st and foremost on the virus and politically on our capacity to ramp up testing. Tracing and isolation but my view is that we will continue to dumb down word for some time and well be lucky indeed if growth resumes in the 1st half of 2021 on a global scale thank you for your time but well have to leave it there thats Barry Eichengreen a professor of economics at the university of california at berkeley thank you. Still come here on aljazeera has the infection rate slows in australia business groups push for restrictions to be lifted. His Virtual Birthday party. And tell living in current inas force people to come up with creative ways to get home with day. Hello there the middle of the week should be showing some much Better Weather conditions across areas of japan you can see quite a massive cloud still clearing away quite steadily away from the north and east of home she says sadly by wednesday if any bus trip that left behind maybe want to show. But really as a say a much better picture time it is not too bad 20 in tokyo asenath 21 across into seoul in the north in beijing a very warm day 26 degrees the quite a bit of cloud will be popping up and also the chance of some rain showers and sunday by thursday a band of very heavy rain working its way east was beginning to push on towards a crimp in seville not quite making it a throughout the day and generally much of china is fun enjoy for amounts of cloud but again a failure warm day 26. 00 ounces down in hong kong and then in tunisia the usual ray of thunderstorms for the next 2 days will see more in the way of rain developing across the malaysian peninsula also some are just seeing some heaviest spells of rain and then just really areas a scattered showers across much of thailand a little bit heavier across into cambodia there showers again through coastal areas of in similar story. Very heavy rains particularly into the southern areas of thailand and then india the story really here is very much about the heat with a very hot day on wednesday not poor 41. Russia has jeopardized the United States security interests we know what you are doing and you will not succeed perceptions from the outside looking. Good whats the picture from the inside. Still i think russias Foreign Policy is too soft to us russian goals have been achieved not peace and give you full russia all knowledge is in. Order. Watching are just there a reminder of our top stories this hour u. S. President donald trump is suspending funding for the World Health Organization he says the w. H. O. Botched the initial response to the outbreak and spread what he called distance from ation from china which made things worse. The International Monetary fund says the world is heading toward the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930 s. The i. M. F. Chief Economist Says lock downs aimed at stopping the outbreak could cost the Global Economy more than 9 trillion dollars over the next 2 years. 3 European Countries have taken the 1st steps to partially reopen their economies after weeks of a lockdown but most shops businesses in spain italy and austria continue to remain close and social distancing measures are still being enforced paul brennan reports. After more than a month from the government imposed closure the shutters are starting to be razed europe is taking its 1st cautious steps out of lockdown many italian bookshops Stationary Stores and Childrens Clothing shops were allowed to reopen on tuesday albeit with strict conditions but in a country which has seen more than 20000 fatalities from the virus the relief is mixed with fear but this is also the i think the right thing is to prevent every possibility of infection obviously one needs to balance this with the need for normal life to resume but always remembering that the risk is still very high. The. Better to be alive and poor if the shops that reopen are totally safe for both workers and customers than i am in favor i worry that there will be a lot to do to get to that stage though italy is not made up of just Large Companies with big space as they can easily be organized shops in awe. 3 are also reopening for the 1st time since mid march and although shoppers are being urged not to stampede the sales there is a sense of optimism among viennas retailers. Cynthia hoffnung spoiled yes actually were in good spirit is the people have been locked up until now and we have already received some requests by phone and email or in the mood for some addresses yes we are hopeful. Indian our approach over the coming months is going to be very clear as much freedom as possible as much restriction that is necessary but let me add should the biggest develop in the wrong direction we will of course hold the emergency brake which we have in place should it become necessary. Accurate data is crucial in knowing how and when to apply that emergency break the virus is ripping through the continents care homes where elderly residents are particularly vulnerable to infection but in the u. K. The governments daily death and infections to to stix only include hospital patients and new data suggest the real totals are much larger care home providers say the suggestion that u. K. Government statistics are under estimating coronavirus deaths by some 15 percent are themselves under estimates hit c 11. 00 of britains largest operating 329. 00 homes including the one behind me said the virus is now present in 2 thirds of its residences and that the deaths of one 3rd of its residents in the past 3 weeks of involved coronavirus thats more than 300 people. Britains coronavirus restrictions are being reviewed this week with a decision by thursday on the Current Evidence there is no possibility that the u. K. Will be joining its early austria and spain in starting to lift its coronavirus confinement orders paul brennan sorry. Sweden has reported a sharp rise in coronavirus fatalities 114 people died from the disease in the past day up from 28 the previous day or that 11000 people have tested positive and over 1000 have died the infection rate is highest in the capital stockholm sweden has been criticized for taking a more liberal approach to the pandemic and many other countries. The strain here has so far avoided a large scale outbreak of covert 19 would slow infection writes that social distancing is hurting businesses and the economy the claygate reports from sydney. Come along bato has managed this the fruit shop in sydney for 3 decades and is used to seeing thousands of people pass through its doors each week now is on the head full and hes had to adapt to survive the business is still open but most of its sales the taking place online instead with staff delivering produce to horns those casual staff that we used to utilise mean. In a retail shop weve moved them around to suit the young. Other businesses in the sydney fish market on so lucky some have core used others have seen revenues drop by up to 80 percent within our retail tenants who certainly theres been. Concern about the job losses which is really unfortunate. But strangely it isnt in lockdown but strict social distancing measures main shopping strips remain for the most part to empty with doors shot and many out of work but keeping people at home seems to be working despite some outbreaks the strategy is in fiction right has slowed recording fewer than 100 new cases a day well down from weeks ago and its had a relatively low death right with the economic costs rising business groups are pushing for restrictions to start being lifted and there are petitions from local people who want to return to be choose any prospect of lifting restrictions as i delegate balance for the government at this stage it says its too early to ease any social distancing measures or that it could lead to a 2nd wife of cases similar to other countries like singapore and japan. Infectious disease experts agree for strict sions were to be lifted they say it would have to happen slowly with International Borders remaining closed for some time. Until that happens business is on a new normal as the Government Works on how and when life can return to what it was before the crisis. Aljazeera. South korea is holding the worlds 1st National Election during the pandemic early voting saw a record turnout and its reports from seoul south koreas handling of the outbreak might be a boost for its leaders on the ballot. How to hold an election at a time of pandemic carefully in a country already following strict preventive measures extra precautions are in force at polling stations this was early voting last week that had a record turnout including among coronavirus patients who were provided with their own polling stations but. After learning i can vote i feel very grateful that patients like myself were given a chance to vote. This polling station was in the countrys most densely populated province around the capital so. We can ask patients to give up their right to vote on but we also cant let them vote with regular citizens so we set up this facility so that patients can vote casting his vote early president. Before this outbreak he was struggling in the opinion polls with poor Economic Performance domestic political scandals and a stalled reconciliation policy with north korea in the early days of the crisis the spiraling number of infections combined with moons refusal to ban people arriving from china meant his Approval Rating plummeted further to 41 percent but as the outbreak has been brought under control so his fortunes have improved with more than half of South Koreans now believing hes done a good job that could see a boost for the ruling party and its allies the popularity of the president has been searched and the ruling party can really pin you banging on the surge in popularity of the e. U. Directive branch of the government and the effective management of the situation in. This new reality there are new norms for how Candidates Campaign balancing the need to connect with voters with a more pressing need for a safety limit of over wouldnt because candidates still have to publicize themselves and meet voters we have the idea of wearing clear face masks instead of ones that hide your entire face it seems stark contrast to the more exuberant style of campaigning that South Koreans are used to. But as south korea has been providing other countries with lessons on how to deal with the pandemic its also giving points is on how to hold events like elections in the middle of one robot bride aljazeera so for us president barack obama has endorsed his 2 term Vice President joe biden and his bid for the white house in a video message obama said he believes biden is the candidate that America Needs during the Coronavirus Crisis he also praised his former running mates and leadership skills and empathy the backing comes less than a week after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the democratic partys nomination leaving only biden if theres one thing weve learned as a country for moments of great crisis its that the spirit of looking out for one another cant be restricted to our homes or our work places were in neighborhoods or houses of worship it holds so has to be reflected in our National Government the kind of leadership thats guided by knowledge and experience honesty and humility empathy and grace that kind of leadership doesnt just belong in our state capitals and Mayors Offices it belongs in the white house and living in quarantine know under some sort of lockdown has then weve had to make big changes friday the lives of people around the world have been adapting to this new way of life and finding creative ways to pass the time so new houston is one mother in the u. S. Who has documented her familys experience has this story. So im. Pretty good in warning its probably take me about 3 weeks to get into this. You know just to kind appreciate things like this. Science project together. Been very helpful. So on a day after. Learning trying to get my son through the end of 6 very. Unhealthy. We should all be too occupied in one still doing college work and one doing music. Big instant hot cakes right cousins Virtual Birthday party lives are like that supposed to be the next. Day. They go away they are. Ok. But. This is all just there are these the top stories u. S. President donald trump is suspending funding for the World Health Organization he says the w. H. O. Baulch the initial response to the outbreak and spread what he called this information from china which made things worse. One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the w. H. O. Was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from china and other nations they were very much opposed to what we did fortunately i was not convinced and suspended drivel from china saving untold numbers of lives thousands and thousands of people would have died had other nations like was suspended travel from jona countless more lives would have been saved instead look at the rest of the world look at parts of europe other nations and regions who followed w. H. O. Guidelines and kept their borders open to jonah excel aerated the pandemic all around the world. The International Monetary fund says the world is heading towards the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930 s. The i. M. F. Chief Economist Says lock downs and stopping the outbreak could cost the Global Economy more than 9 trillion dollars over the next 2 years spain has reported the lowest increase in new cases in nearly a month bringing hope the infection right there is slowing authorities reported another 567. 00 deaths on tuesday pushing the total past 800000 calls have opened in south koreas parliamentary elections the worlds 1st National Election to be held during the pandemic vote is a required to wear masks and gloves plus to maintain social distancing for me u. S. President barack obama has endorsed his 2 term Vice President joe biden and his bid for the white house in a video message obama said he believes biden is the candidate that America Needs during the Coronavirus Crisis he also praised his former running mates leadership skills and empathy. Those are the headlines the news continues here on aljazeera after inside story. What impact is corona virus having on the worlds climate and with planes grounded and dust real production reduced and emissions declined are there lessons that pandemic can teach us about living with nature moving forward this is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program im Richelle Carey and as capital is one of the worlds most polluted cities but its guys have turned blue i mean the people can see the himalayan mountains for the 1st time and Italys Venice canal