A pandemic South Koreans carefully head to the ballot box plus. This is a crisis like no other International Monetary fund says the coronavirus is sending the world towards the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression. And fears the corona virus is spreading through palestinian neighborhoods undetected. U. S. President donald trump has announced hell hold funding for the World Health Organization thats the top u. N. Body at the forefront of a Global Response to the coronavirus pandemic what trump is accusing the w. H. O. Of both a coverup and debauching the National Response to the outbreak he says the group has been spreading disinformation from china where the virus was 1st detected which he said made things worse. 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 but the u. N. Secretary general says now is not the time to reduce resources for the w. H. O. Which is on the front lines of what he called one of the most dangerous challenges the world has faced in our lifetime and is a dire forecast on the economic front the International Monetary fund says the world is heading towards the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930 s. The i. M. F. Chief Economist Says lock downs could cost the Global Economy more than 9. 00 trillion dollars over the next 2 years well the World Health Organization is the uns Agency Responsible for Global Public health last year the u. S. Contributed 15 percent of its funding the most of a single donor in total the u. S. Paid nearly 900000000. 00 china contributed about 9 about 10 percent of that well Lawrence Gostin is a professor at Georgetown University and the director of the double h. As collaborating center on national and Global Health law he says the u. S. Governments slow response to the pandemic is outrageous the United States had ample warning. The degrade show very early on said that the world had to brace itself. And to do confinement. Contact tracing testing quarantines. The World Health Organization. Similarly. Disclosed the genetic sequencing of the virus and the president and everybody in america could see as a tsunami of katies were sweeping across africa then east and a sorry night africa china and then east asia then to europe and then finally to the United States so we had so much time to prepare and we just didnt it was dismaying. And you know made me almost ashamed to be an american because at a time when were facing literally a once in a century Global Health crisis when tens of thousands of people are dying when this is the time more than ever. For our Global Health leadership and Global Solidarity to have the United States undercut the World Health Organization was indeed painful to watch i never thought i would see an american president. Undercut a vital u. N. Agency in the way the president tried did and i think it will do will happen or it will just the United States has now lost all voice all influence over. International relations and Global Health and affairs. I think that the world will be outraged by this act while the u. S. President is still keen to lift social distancing restrictions in some states possibly by the beginning of may is that although with some governors who want to make that decision themselves mike hanna has more from washington d. C. President trump also against the advice of his medical experts continues to press for an earlier opening of many u. S. States saying that its quite possible that a number of states could have restrictions lifted by the end of this month this is what he had to say there are numerous states 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 now voting is underway in south koreas parliamentary election its the worlds 1st National Election to be held during the pandemic voters are required to wear masks and gloves plus maintain social distancing south korea has seen more than 10000. 00 infections and more than 220. 00 deaths bride joins us live now from outside a polling station in the capital so rob so just talk us through what sort of special restrictions have been put in place to allow the vote to go ahead. Thats right special restrictions special precautions but it hasnt put off voters we know from the Election Commission here that when you combine some early voting that we had last week with voter turnout on this main voting day then we are seeing a much bigger turnout in fact than the last election but you are right there are various precautions in place here as people turn up we are in a fairly busy residential part of seoul and weve seen varying numbers come throughout the hours that weve been here but they all have to go through the same process everybody has to keep a distance of at least a meter apart as they enter the polling station you have your temperature checked you have Hand Sanitizer of you see everybody is wearing a mask but you are also given special disposable gloves with which you can handle your ballot paper and when you leave the voting station you throw those gloves away again everybody taking absolute precautions that no infections are passed on as people go out to vote interestingly if people do turn up here and they are found to have a temperature they are not turned away they are sent to a special voting booth where you can still have your vote what also is happening on this election day is that the end of the regular polling that youre going to remember that there are Something Like 50000 people throughout south korea who are in self quarantine at the moment who are still have a right to a vote so what happens is that although theyre in self quarantine theyre not meant to leave wherever they are sheltering or whether maybe there are home but for one day only they are allowed to leave and then come to certain polling stations which are going to be kept open just for them so they have a vote and have their say in this ballot rob so what are the key issues then for voters or has the coronavirus dominated everything that. It has absolutely dominated this poll you talk to people even things like the north korea issue kim jong un north of the border launching missiles it matters not a jot it seems when compared to the coronavirus people talk about a yes livelihoods of being impacted the state of the economy but all of that of course is because of the impact of this virus so you cannot separate out the virus and it has dominated here and people are waiting to see whether that is going to feed into the kind of support that we will see for the members of the National Assembly in the parties who support the president in he has largely benefited i think from what has been seen as a successful tackling of this outbreak and we have seen his poll numbers shoot up at the start of the crisis he was polling very low numbers Approval Rating of around 41 percent his Approval Rating is now well over 50 percent more than half of South Koreans it seems believe he has done a very good job. In the south korean capital seoul rob thank you for that well as we mentioned the International Monetary fund is predicting a grim few years for the Global Economy due to the virus is alan fischer. From the 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 as manufacturing grains to halt in many sectors as businesses are forced to close the Economic Impact of the covert crisis is biting the i. M. F. Issues regular reports on the Global Financial situation 3 months ago they were predicting widespread growth but on a virus has radically changed the landscape we are projecting Global Growth in 20224 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 crises one of the biggest drops will come in the unit paean euro 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 that 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 drag 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 in stepping up stimulus to try and give the economy this extra boost when it comes out of this shock this didnt used by the shutdowns one area seriously impacted the Airline Industry its seen as 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. Time for a short break here aljazeera when we come back a few european nations take the 1st course of steps out of lockdowns to revive their economies. And on the other side of the world businesses in australia are pushing for restrictions to be lifted more than stay with us. Hello there it has been a rather unsettled couple of days across areas of the middle east is fine to rain showers and will funnel storms into the full cost but were seeing a very heavy amounts of rain of coals impacting areas of yemen in particular of the capital this is a picture just like a couple of days ago the streets really are under water weve had some very heavy downpours in a very short space of time to come this is it on wednesday really developing through Central Society and on its way east was across much of castle and all the time this system is done of the next 2 or 3 days we could be picking up potentially as much as 50 even 60 millimeters of rain that could well lead to some localized flooding certainly some dangerous flash floods and you can see that rain really all the way down into southern areas a soggy in again the chance of you showers and thunderstorms across into yemen meanwhile to the north wanted to showers across northern Western Areas of turkey but apart from that its a fairly quiet picture that rain working its way east was into southern areas of iran as we go through in again it will be very heavy at times so the chance again of some isolated flooding and then down into Southern Africa still those showers and some heavier thunderstorms impacting eastern areas a south africa and again tanzania for the next couple days very heavy rains along those coastal areas and also heavy rains in the gulf of guinea. Join the global conversation to ask the bubble to the people to expand their brains maybe have a difference here this is a dialogue women in cambodia are in fact selling their hair we dont know how much theyre getting paid for it its hard to track its hard to trade everyone has a voice tell us what you think and your conversation could be a lot right here in this case we need to step away from gaming people are not necessarily game perfect this is a journey of progression not perfection on aljazeera. Welcome back a good amount of our top stories here on aljazeera u. S. President donald trump is suspending funding for the World Health Organization and says the w. H. O. Botched the initial response to the outbreak and spread what he called disinform ation from china u. N. Secretary general says now is not the time to reduce resources voting is underway in south koreas parliamentary elections its the worlds 1st National Ballot to be held during the pandemic voters are required to wear masks and gloves plus maintain social distancing. On 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 aimed at stopping the outbreak could cost the Global Economy more than 9 trillion dollars over the next 2 years. While the i. M. F. Is also forecasting that latin america would plunge into a recession that could set the clock back more than 50 years in terms of Economic Growth of the 635000000 people who live in latin america and the caribbean at least a 3rd could lose their livelihoods as a result of the pandemic the sea anyone has more now from santiago. Alexander galavis is trying to make enough to cover one days expenses selling secondhand electrical goods on the street its illegal but he has little choice made and i told the police many a city police are let us work because its going to get worse if we cant sell now well have to go out this deal later. Are pretty good i left. They say theres nothing worse than kicking someone when theyre down and thats exactly what call that 19 is doing to latin america. I was away but all the restaurants closed so now im trying to survive doing this just to pay the rent and that. The pandemic got the region on an already poor 40 with anemic Economic Growth rising. Time and social unrest fanned by severe inequality the forecast now is even more bleak. In the area standing. Extreme. To me and so. To 210000000 people in a. Very human these fears failure. The biggest problem is unemployment and many latin american countries are too insolvent to provide viable economic rescue plans for small and medium sized businesses. Venezuela ecuador argentina and most to Central America and deep in debt already but all without exception will have a hard time keeping their heads above water even after the pandemic subsides between 19952015 tens of millions of Latin Americans woes from poverty and into the lower middle class many of them were able to buy apartments like the ones you see here now these are precisely the people who stand to lose everything i mean the i. M. F. Predicts the region will suffer its worst recession in half a century a lot may depend on if and when latin americas main trading partners china the u. S. And europe recover nothing is certain to disappoint except the regions main weakness a structural inequality that will take much longer to cure than the pandemic you see in human aljazeera santiago all 3 European Countries have taken the 1st steps to partially open their economies after weeks on the lockdown but most shops and businesses in spain its me and austria remain closed and social distancing measures are still being enforced reports. After more than a month under government imposed closure the shutters are starting to be razed europe is taking its 1st cautious steps out of lockdown many italian book shops Stationery 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 and. 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 a totally site that both workers and customers then 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 austria are also reopening for the 1st time since mid march and although shoppers are being urged not to stampede to the sales there is a sense of optimism among viennas retailers. Cynthia hoffnung yes actually were in good spirits 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 were hopeful that 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 figures develop in the wrong direction that 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 themselves underestimates 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 italy austria and spain in starting to lift its coronavirus confinement orders paul brennan aljazeera sorry sweden has reported a sharp rise in corona virus deaths 114 people died from the disease in the past day up from 20 the previous day more than 11000 of tested positive and over a 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. In the occupied East Jerusalem theres concern that the virus is spreading through palestinian neighborhoods undetected the number of cases shot up this week to 41 but Health Workers fear it may actually be double that is how to force it. So at this hospital in occupied East Jerusalem an improvised new ward has been set up 16 beds readied to isolate patients who test positive for coronavirus already 3 patients who have tested positive have been sent to hospitals in west jerusalem after an infected man from a nearby neighborhood visited his elderly father here all spittal director says the Israeli Government has failed to help prepare you stew slims Health System to tackle the pandemic not enough protective equipment only 23 ventilators between 3 hospitals serving 350000 people this is too little i mean the. People. Population in egypt please please please because you know if there. Goes out of course there is nothing we can do that he surely we can do the Israeli Health ministry has said 1000. 00 patients from East Jerusalem could be treated in the west of the city and that a major outbreak isnt expected but in recent days cases here have started to spike despite attempts by local committees to enforce lockdown measures. The Israeli Occupation was not happy with this and they clashed with the groups i think israel must understand that we all humanity are in a war against corona and it is not the time for issues like who is sovereign here. True slim has the highest crooner virus numbers of any city on the Israeli Health ministries list its been reported that ultraorthodox jewish neighborhoods account for about 3 quarters of them israeli Officials Say palestinians have largely abided by the lockdown restrictions they may also have been protected by a younger average age and fewer contacts with people whove been overseas but theres also been a large of some weeks between Testing Facilities being set up in jewish areas and in palestinian ones more and more Testing Centers like this one are opening up for residents of occupied East Jerusalem but the concern is that the delay is still preventing Health Authorities from getting an accurate picture of just how widespread this disease is palestinian israeli politician ahmed tb has demanded greater Testing Capacity now hes calling on palestinians to use it putting aside any worries about social stigma we have if he does ship. Docked that physicians Health Ministry in order to convince people that it is wrong not to be tested it is right to go and to be tested for the sake of yourself and your community this week the Israeli Government committed to provide testing 4150000 palestinians living in parts of East Jerusalem cut off by the separation wall after a Court Petition by a palestinian israeli rights group more densely packed communities where the scale of the spread has been so far unknown perry forsett aljazeera occupied East Jerusalem when a stranger has so far boarded a large scale outbreak of covert 19 with slow infection rates but social distancing measures are hurting business and the economy and some australians are asking for those restrictions to be lifted as nicola gage reports now from sydney. Come along bato has managed the seafood 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 are taking place on la and instead with staff delivering produce to horns those casual staff that we used to utilize. In a in a retail shop weve moved them around to suit the. 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 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 i 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 delicate balance for the government at this stage it says its too early to ease any social distancing measures worried 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. Some restrictions lately until that happens businesses on navigating a new normal is the Government Works on how and when life can return to what it was before the crisis you can gauge aljazeera needs well one New York Hospital battling the pandemic has received much needed backup. A group of 46 nurses some across the u. S. Was given a surprise welcome by stop at north bell health the citys largest Healthcare Provider that training to help treat the influx of coban 1000 patients in new york has more than 200000 positive cases at least 10000 adults i just feel like this is a calling that i felt several weeks ago i left family kids grandchildren behind to come out and help these people that need our help ive never been more proud to be a nurse and this is by far the most rewarding career ive ever had in my life and id like to thank them for welcoming us so much. And former u. S. President barack obama has endorsed his 2 term Vice President joe biden in his bid for the white house in a video message obama said he believes biden is the candidate that America Needs during this crisis he also praised his former running mates leadership skills and empathy the backing comes next now we come to Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the democratic partys nomination. 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 were our work places were 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. But joe biden is also thinking further allegations of Sexual Assault a california woman previously accused him of touching her neck and shoulders when she worked for him in the senate in 1903 now she says he also sexually assaulted her that same year bidens Campaign Team denies the claims. Are a time for a quick check of the headlines here on aljazeera 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 this information from china not the nations 2nd general says now is not the time to reduce resources in the middle of a pandemic 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 travel from china saving untold numbers of lives thousands and thousands of people would have died had other nations like was suspended travel from china countless more lives would have been saved instead look at the rest of the world look at parts of europe other nations in regions who follow w. H. O. Guidelines and kept their borders open to china accelerated the pandemic all around the world voting is underway in south koreas parliamentary elections as the worlds 1st National Ballot to be held during the pandemic voters are required to wear masks and gloves and all cementing social distancing. 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 aimed at stopping the outbreak could cost the Global Economy more than 9 trillion dollars over the next 2 years months long containment measures in 3 European Countries are starting to ease spain italy and austria are letting some businesses reopen but social distancing is still being enforced in occupied East Jerusalem theres concern the corona virus is spreading through palestinian neighborhoods undetected the number of recorded cases shot up this week to 41 but Health Workers fear it may be double that and former u. S. President barack obama has and doors to his 2 term Vice President joe biden in his bid for the white house obama said he believes biden is the candidate that America Needs during the coronavirus crisis. Well those are the headlines the news continues on aljazeera after the stream station consorting but now. If you want to help save the world. Needs a new euro. Welcome to the stream im femi oke i more and more people are this thing africa to reconnect with their past and its helping inspire them in the present today we look at how the African Diaspora is really examining the culture achievements and struggles of ad sisters through travel and how its empowering them you can join the conversation through twitter i need. To know where youre going you have to know where you have come from that is the loose translation of sun co for it is a guy named principal inspiring one u. S. Organization that is helping young people travel to africa to examine their roots every here but africa sense people of africa