Foreign is being blamed for a coronavirus spike and finding the funny side of comedians in cars are using humor to raise awareness of covert 90. Thank you very much for joining us north korean state media says kim jong un has made his 1st public appearance in almost 3 weeks and in the past hour a video has been shown on state television these images a say to show their leader opening efforts lies of factory speculation over kims health and whereabouts had been growing after he failed to appear at Birthday Celebrations for his late grandfather last month less speak talk correspondent in Seoul South Korea iraq mcbride rob for us we had still pictures now of these moving images from north korean state media will these pictures finally silence the room as you think. It does show that kim jong un looking remarkably healthy especially as some reports had him barely clinging to life just a couple of days ago these are said to be video images taken at this Opening Ceremony of this fertilizer plant yesterday friday there were earlier reports from state run news agency k c. N. A. Accompanied by photographs but now while on state run television we have had extensive video coverage of this whole Opening Ceremony the Ribbon Cutting kim jong un accompanied by his younger sister kim jong seemingly in good health interacting lightheartedly with officials around him giving field guidance which he often does on these events many officials of b. D. In the taking notes surrounding him he is pictured largely sitting down looking at the ceremony then in a control room again sitting down but he has been Walking Around the plant inspecting the production line it has to be said that hes movements are fairly slow but then we know that kim jong un does move fairly slow in any case whats interesting is the speed at which these videos have now been released coming so soon after the event it does possibly seem as though the North Koreans wanted to dispel as decisively as they can all of these swirling rumors that have built up over the past couple of weeks weve also had the Unification Ministry confirming this event took place we were only have reports of course from state run media in north korea but it has been confirmed this event did take place by the Unification Ministry here in south korea officials here have cautioned against some of the rumors that weve seen circulating and speculation about his health and they have used this event a spokesperson from that ministries talking about the groundless content when people have been talking about Career Affairs north korean to create. It unnecessary confusion of course all of these rumors started circulating when kim jong un missed a very important ceremony that was the birth state celebration of kim il sung the founder of north korea and kims grandfather it led to speculation that it had some sort of heart problems possibly requiring a surgical procedure that possibly went wrong one new source in japan even reporting that he was in a vegetative state as a result of that and are now a number of high ranking defectors here in south korea who had claimed that possibly he could be dead the taking of the awful lot of criticism for the way that they have speculated about his Health Condition and the speculation of course raise questions once again about who would replace kim jong un if he were to die i know its very hard to know whats going on inside north korea but is there a Succession Plan in place theres been a lot of talk about his sister neatly kim young gentleman whom we saw on the pictures that state television has released. It is a timely reminder just of the unique nature of the kim dynasty and of the line of succession that we have now established in north korea and the fact that there doesnt seem to be in place an heir apparent yes kimya jiang his younger sister public possibly his closest ally in north korea has recently been promoted to the politburo has been gaining influence but its by no means certain that she would take over so it has led to a certain amount of uncertainty just about what would happen given the cult status of north koreas leader if suddenly there wasnt a leader there and what or who would fill that vacuum i think its also worth pointing out that probably this whole episode has raised again concerns about kims health probably something did happen not as seriously as some of the rumor monger rumor the rumor mill would have had this believe that possibly there was some procedure that he underwent but he seems now certainly to have recovered from it but again once again these videos do show he is still extremely overweight and still smoking cigarettes very heavily indeed we did say of those that picture of him smoking thank you very much for that rob mcbride live for us there in seoul. Now an experimental antiviral drug has been approved for emergency use in treating coronavirus patients in the United States 1500000 vials of the drug rendez affair will be distributed to hospitals from monday after study showed improvement in Recovery Time pain has more. This is a president that throughout has tried to project a feeling of hope as the coronavirus rips through the world and his country now bringing the c. E. O. Of a Pharmaceutical Company to the white house to herald the results of a possible treatment for him to severe really people that are not doing well people that are sick people that have his horrible plague that set in to our country and that were getting rid of and were going to be were going to be having some really incredible results we have. Very promising studies coming out on the vaccines we have promising studies coming out on therapeutics. In the 1st widespread trial the drug it did shorten the length of the hospitalizations days for the virus and it slightly decreased the mortality rate but Scientists Say its the 1st real hope that a drug can work against the virus we have to remember this is the very 1st one its a new drug being used for this and yet showed i would call it a bright spot in the search just what 90 days after being notified of this of a drug it looks like its got very promising results and the company that makes it says it will donate its stockpile which the food and Drug Administration cleared for use on friday will be working with the government to determine how best to distribute that within the United States will be working very closely to get that to patients working with female working with other parts of the government to make sure that we get fed to the patients in need as quickly as possible because there are patients out there that can benefit from this medicine today that are hospitalized and we dont want any time to waste for that the white house trying to project a sense of hope of a near return to normal for the country but as some states begin to reopen like georgia for bodie numbers in additional 1000 cases diagnosed in a single day and experts say it will take as many as 2 weeks to determine the true cost as cities and towns begin to reopen pedicle hanging l. Just 0 police in malaysia have detained more than 700. 00 refugees and Migrant Workers they were rounded up during rays in kuala lumpur they live in areas where covert 900. 00 cases surged last month triggering claims that foreigners us fighting the virus and being a burden on Government Resources a nation doesnt vote for many recognized refugees regarding them as Illegal Immigrants florence lee has more from kuala lumpur. A couple of days ago malaysias senior minister said the government would detain undocumented migrants it had identified in areas under lockdown and these include several apartments in kuala lumpur where the raids were carried out on friday the police chief who was at the operation was quoted by local media as saying they would have the detaining on documented migrants because they are difficult to trace and so it made more sense to hold them in Detention Centers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus but the timing and the manner in which these rates have been carried out have been criticised the u. N. H. C. R. Said several Asylum Seekers and refugees have also been picked up and it had been informed by authorities that they were being held for the purpose of very fine their identity and were also weve also seen videos of people being held at close quarters with no opportunity for physical distancing not everyone was wearing a mosque were also getting reports that children were also detained so the raids have apostle being criticized as inhumane and theyve also been described as foolish Human Rights Watch said malaysia is making the mistake of singapore which has a high number of cases among its Migrant Workers and malaysia could be following singapore down that path now others point out that the rates seem to be at odds with the ministry of health initiated or aim which is to have as many Migrant Workers undocumented foreigners and refugees tested as far as possible but in recent weeks weve seen more anger among malaysians directed at refugees and foreigners with some accusing them for spreading the coronavirus and others saying that the resources that the country has should be used to help malaysians 1st over foreign is and why fanfic so they have accused the government of playing to the sentiment in carrying out these raids. Well lets speak to one of those Rights Groups now and Human Rights Watch that is Phil Robertson is the deputy asia director at Human Rights Watch he joins us via skype from bangkok thank you very much for being with us fail 1st of all can you tell us more about who the people whove been detained by malaysian authorities are and what reason thought is giving for holding them well these are refugees and migrants theyre primarily from the countries of pakistan india nepal bangladesh an indonesia but there are also some other burmese refugees mixed in there as well. As are claiming that these people are undocumented that they dont have the right to be in malaysia. The problem is of course that by hurting them into unsanitary immigration Detention Centers its a great way to ensure they all end up with covert 19 what sort of. What have what effects have they been on these migrants in malaysia in particular face when it comes to this crisis a lot of locals of course have blamed for nez for spreading the virus how have the migrants being treated as a result of this crisis. Weve seen a wave of real zina phobia and nationalism including hate speech against the rohingya which the government has done absolutely nothing to stop i think the government is riding the wave of this nationalist feeling using it to target foreigners and basically get away with not responding quickly i mean its important to remember that the Prime Minister oh yes seen and his government were all busy playing politics and march rather than getting ready for a covert 19 they were busy replacing the government and you know they were a couple steps too slow and now its easier to blame the other blame the vulnerable defenseless refugees and migrants yeah. The malaysian authorities as youve said have said that these migrants who are being detained for the purpose of Identity Verification what are you most immediate concerns right now regarding this situation and you say any recourse for for these people well the from a Public Health perspective this is probably the most stupid thing that the government of malaysia could do what theyve done is send a signal to my going to workers and others you know which number in the millions and malaysia that if you see from someone coming from the ministry of health run the other way and what were going to see is a lack of cooperation from the migrant communities for any efforts by the government to try to can control coven 1000 because they correctly fear they will be arrested and hauled off into camps where they may spend months in even years before theyre allowed to go home theres very little recourse for those who have been taken right now i think that theyre going to basically stay in these immigration Detention Centers where we have seen outbreaks of Infectious Disease in the past and deaths of migrants from things that were certainly preventable all right thank you so much for speaking to us about this Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch joining us live from bangkok thank you for your time. Thank you. Still ahead on al jazeera. Canadians deserve more than violence prayers canadas ban on assault weapons in response to last months tell you how far it goes past Us Democratic president ial hopeful joe biden speaks out for the 1st time about allegations of Sexual Assaults thats. How we got some shot in showers across much of europe at the moment mind you into the south its looking largely fine and dry warm sunshine pushing across a good part of spain as we go through the next couple days we look a little further north theres lots of cloud lots of rain piling in from the atlantic blustery showers rattling across the northwest pushing into northern parts of germany and pushing their way right across into the Baltic States easing over towards that western side of russia russia showers into central parts down into the balkans pushing over to. Pushing cross remain here and up into ukraine there you go theres that sunshine into spain madrid at 26 celsius and rising we could hit 32 degrees by the start of next week about 29 there as we go on through sunday still some showers there into france but fewer and further between george see the showers a little further east with some of them on the shop side from time to time in turkey staying in the mix with some shabby rain from time to time across Northern Africa here it is settled you can see the seasonal rains across the heart of africa some big downpours that bring up just around Central African republic easing over towards cameroon into west africa some of them in the shop side from time to time and the showers doing very nicely pushing right across sierra leone. Freezing winds and rugged terrain and at times seem impossible. But for afghan traders who brave their work on kauri that is no choice. Combating the impossible to sell their goods in isolated areas. We follow that daring journeys as they overcome the extremes. Risking it all afghanistan on aljazeera. In the in the in the in. The watching al jazeera live from doha a reminder of our top stories north korean state media has released video it says shows kim jong own in his 1st public appearance in almost 3 weeks in the past hour these pictures were broadcast on state television appearing to show the media opening a factory it follows weeks of speculation over a kames. An experimental on tie viral drug has been approved for emergency use in treating coronavirus patients in the United States 1500000 vials of the drug red disappear will be distributed to hospitals from monday a major study showed the drug shortened Recovery Time and may have free do stats and police in malaysia have detained more than 700. 00 refugees and Migrant Workers say live in areas where covert 1000. 00 cases searched last month sparking claims that florida is a spreading the virus Rights Groups say they could be held for months in dangerously cramped conditions. Now for the 1st time in more than a month people in spain are being allowed to exercise and go for walks outside this was a scene earlier in madrid people are taking advantage of the latest step towards easing the strict coronavirus lockdown theyre limited to specific hours still and can only go within one kilometer of their homes the government plans to gradually relax restrictions in faces over the coming weeks. Islands frei minister leo varadkar has announced an extension of strict coronavirus containment measures until may 18th he says if the number of new cases continues to drop the government will ease restrictions in 5 stages with a goal of island returning to normal by august we need 2 more weeks of tight restrictions to weaken the virus further so it doesnt have the strength to make a comeback when we start to interact with each other again unfortunately the risk of a 2nd wave of the virus is ever present so we can only move from one phase to the next if the virus stays under control between each phase has sent to other world news now and at least 10 soldiers from the Iraqi Paramilitary group the Popular Mobilization forces have been killed in 2 separate attacks by eisel find his they were both carried out in the province of salahi dean overnight on friday the northern town of make was targeted as was tell the hop that speak to someone a 14 in baghdad for a simona how significant is this attacked 1st. Well as the finally the most brazen attack we have seen by i saw over the past few months or even a year at least 10 dead as you mentioned according to distaste and we have seen from the Popular Mobilization forces which is this Umbrella Group of mostly shia parliamentary Paramilitary Forces were still waiting for a statement from the drawing Operations Command which is the command that governs all military activity in iraq to confirm the exact numbers but there were at least 2 attacks in 2 separate occasions that it could be others as well resulting in these casualties now earlier today i spoke to the commander of the p. M. S. Brigade in. Which saw the biggest number of casualties 9 people were killed in that attack which involved the gunfire as well as roadside bombs and according to that commander there has been a steady increase in eyes like t. V. Or over the past few months it is important to say that that specific unit is actually socalled tribal or sunni p. M. O. Which draws its members mostly from local tribes and local communities and these forces are the 1st line of defense against eisley in these remote rule areas which is where the group has been mostly active over the past few months and what weve seen more recently is that previously the group was very active in remote rural areas they would perhaps at most to lay an i. E. D. Or harass civilians but this attack specifically targeted at a checkpoint of the Security Forces definitely marks an uptick in eisel why is it is that we have seen recently why why is that not what i would be subtle actors go ahead. Yes there could be several factors for this we have seen a steady rise in eyes look to do since the beginning of this year earlier in january day was an increase in tensions between the u. S. And iran on iraqi soil which resulted in the suspension of. By the Us Led Coalition against. Now since then. Has actually begun withdrawing its troops partly due to covert 19 but also partly as a result of these tensions that and that has led to a suspension and reduction in operations there has been a reduction in these rural areas sometimes of joint operations carried out by iraqi and Coalition Troops and that has given a window for eisel to regroup but of course there have been other factors as well currently there is a curfew that has been imposed in both nationwide to spread the stem of coronavirus and lets remember that iraq currently has a caretaker government its dealing with many crises at the same time and that has given iceland an opportunity and one that the group has been quick to capitalize on thank you very much for that simona 14 live for us in baghdad fighting on the many island of socalled trial has stopped after an agreement was reached between Government Forces and separatists. Troops pushed back a separate his from the islands for eventual capital on friday under the agreement saudi forces will secure the town and both sides will remove checkpoints and military vehicles. Joe biden has all but certain to take on donald trump in this years u. S. Election has publicly denied an allegation of Sexual Assault the accusation has come from a woman who works for biden in the early ninetys from washington alan fischer reports. It still many to talk about the biden president ial campaign for weeks and it wasnt going away former senate aide tara reid claimed she was sexually assaulted when she what with then senator joe biden and allegations she only made public in the last few weeks an allegation biden could no longer ignore no it is not true im saying on a quickly it never never happened and didnt never happened i dont remember any type of complaint she may have made it was 27 years ago and i dont remember nor does anyone else that im aware of democrats have been pushed to address the allegation in the last few days Speaker Nancy Pelosi who endorsed by this week insisted she has no doubts about the former Vice President i have a great Comfort Level with the situation as i see it with all the respect in the world for any woman who comes forward. Republicans accuse democrats of double standard saying they were ignoring the allegation against their president ial hopeful while they piled on when Supreme CourtJustice Brett kavanaugh was accused of Sexual Assault the for his eventual confirmation more than 20 women have accused President Donald Trump of Sexual Assault he was also caught on tape bragging of assaulting women he denies all the allegations and offered tepid support to joe biden at the white house on thursday you know. It could be false accusations like know all about false accusations have been falsely charged numerous times and there is such a thing one political analyst says republicans will use the one allegation against joe biden to continue to attack him one of the things that the trump people do in their strategic. Verse is they dont try to claim to be superior they trying to create moral equivalence so they say youre just as bad as i am which makes you a hypocrite which makes you works you know and you know its very of what they do joe biden knew he could no longer ignore the allegation against him hes ahead in the polls particularly with women hell be hoping by addressing you know will continue to be an issue in the vendors election alan fischer aljazeera washington. Canada is banning assault style weapons after 22. 00 people were killed in the countrys worst mass shooting 2 weeks ago a ban comes into effect immediately but theyll be a 2 year amnesty for people to dispose of weapons they are already on than iraq has a story from toronto. After the worst mass shooting in canadian history the most sweeping gun controls the country has ever introduced shocking and horrific images of the aftermath of a rampage by a lone gunman in nova scotia prompted the federal government to ban about 1500. 00 types of semiautomatic military grade rifles the Prime Minister said it was time to get rid of guns that mostly harm human beings these weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time there is no use and no place for such weapons in canada. The list of prohibited weapons includes hundreds of versions of the a ar 15 Assault Rifle last used in a mass shooting in canada in 2017 when a gunman killed 6 men in a quebec city mosque such attacks are much rarer here than in the United States canadians are far more accustomed to hearing of mass killings across the border such as the los vegas mass shooting that left 58 people dead in 2017 an assault weapons ban like this is widely supported in canada and polls indicate thats only increased since the events in nova scotia gun rights advocates say its a politically expedient move that ignores the fact that most gun killings in canada come from illegal handguns smuggled across the u. S. Border and not from assault weapons some measures in the new legislation are similar to those in new zealand which banned Assault Rifles and conducted a highly successful Buyback Program in response to the Christ Church mosque massacre last year canada 2 will offer a 2 year amnesty to existing legal owners of banned weapons and will offer compensation there may also be new laws coming to allow cities to ban handguns which are already tightly regulated gun control advocates of welcome the new measures and say they look forward to further action to make canada a much safer country and your lack of his era toronto. At least one person has died and more than a dozen were injured after a fuel truck exploded in nigeria a truck rolled me a petrol station in naples causing it to spill fuel which then ignited has managed to control the place before it reach the station. Now young people in work enough fossil are turning to comedy to deal with mounting uncertainty with the country already struggling for me is a violence comedians are now using their humor to address Serious Health issues like the global coronavirus because its hot reports. The coronavirus is no joke explains comedian abilities kerry also known as in general but that doesnt mean we cant laugh about it governments are asking too much from people he explains in the sketch like everywhere else people here in britain afonso are dealing with the outbreak and diarrheal disease these doctors are using comedy to bring awareness to these important Health Issues diarrheal disease alone killed over 5000 people here last year the government tells people to wash their hands but the country has little Running Water this is confusing and absurd explains kerry of the comedy helps people wind their fear into loss or yes there is a deadly pandemic that people need to love this is not the end of the world. But away from the comedy there are serious issues facing burkina faso 800000 displaced people most of them children have been fleeing the north of the country where. In the Greater South and alqaeda affiliated armed groups are fighting each other and attacking civilians schools in the north have been shut for nearly 2 years only last month did the government start broadcasting classes on television because of the covert 1900 break but watching t. V. Is not an option for hungry and displaced children living in camps without electricity some armed groups argue online that corona virus is a punishment a western invention saying that they have a cure and then type viral this is a trick to learn younger kreutz watching from her dorm room as law student appalled that people would believe in this she has other more pressing concerns before the lockdown i sold cell phones as our job to support myself since the lockdown is launched i can no longer go to market the measures are affecting everyone surviving has become difficult. In a country where most people live in poverty a day without work is a day without food closing these markets is as dangerous as the virus itself confinement is not an option and social distancing a luxury few can afford the virus continues to spread with only 855 doctors for 19000000 people comedians are stepping in humor in these trying times has become the healer of the masses Nicholas Hawk aljazeera. Again im fully back to go with the headlines on aljazeera north korean state media has released video it says shows came jungle in his 1st public appearance in almost 3 weeks the images appear to show the need to opening a factory speculation over his health has been growing after he failed to appear at a Birthday Celebration for his late grandfather last month from a bride has this update from seoul. Does show that kim jong un looking remarkably healthy especially as some reports had him barely clinging to life just a couple of days ago whats interesting is the speed at which these videos have now been released coming so soon after the event it does possibly seem as though the North Koreans wanted to dispel it as decisively as they can all of these swirling rumors that have built up over the past couple of weeks. An experimental antiviral drug has been approved for emergency use in treating coronavirus patients in the u. S. 1500000 vials of the drug ring disappear will be distributed to hospitals on monday police in malaysia have detained more than 700. 00 refugees and Migrant Workers they live in areas where kovi 1000. 00 cases searched last month surged last month sparking claims that foreigners a spreading the virus for the 1st time in more than a month people in spain are being allowed to exercise and go for walks its one of the governments plan to isa strict coronavirus lock down and in other news at least 10 soldiers from the Iraqi Paramilitary group the Popular Modernization forces have been killed in 2 separate attacks by eisel fight as they were both carried out in the provinces salaheddine overnight on friday. Youre upset with headlines on aljazeera ill have more news for you after inside story to stay with us. Talk to al jazeera what will force was when you saw that document for the 1st story we listen to after the war saying youll need to be in to go build you need to stage a view that we would not be with you we meet with global news makers and toolkit about the stories that matter on their own just 0. Where resuming warfare those are the words of colombias largest army who after a month long cease fire the National Liberation army says the government is willing to talk so what does that mean for peace in colombia this is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program. Were talking colombia today the national