We begin with breaking news u. S. Senator Bernie Sanders has ended his bid for the democratic partys nomination in the president ial election his announcement. To be the presumptive nominee to challenge president donald trump. In the early primaries attracting strong support from progressive voters the 70 year old became the frontrunner but. Was a substantial lead in the race for delegates. Well bring you more on that story in subsequent bulletins going on now the European Commission is urging you Member States to extend the current ban on nonessential travel into the passport free zone until at least the 15th of me the emails to contain the coronavirus pandemic the ban was agreed on the 17th of march for an initial period of 30 days but it is up to Member States to decide whether to go along with the proposed extension some European Countries are starting to relax their locked arms restrictions while others are tightening them. Silence reigns in europe paris is like a city deserted france is 3 weeks into its coronavirus lock down and there are signs its finally beginning to work. Like italy and spain france has seen a slight decline in the rate of new infections but the fight against coated 19 is far from over and attempts to ease restrictions on public life could be disastrous warns the World Health Organization. No is not the time to relax measures it is that to once again. Efforts to suppression with the whole support of the society i go on all. Good in a state this often is mission. Activities in city areas. Several European Countries are not planning to heed that warning austria is set to become the 1st b. U. Country to scale back its lockdown rules the conservative led government has announced that some nonessential businesses will reopen next week. Optimism is not the prevailing mood in the u. K. Where the daily death toll from the virus is on the rise Prime Minister blair as johnson spent a 2nd night in intensive care fighting the virus and handing the reins over to foreign secretary tommy rob the pressure is building on London Hospitals as they take on more and more of it 9000 patients patients like iran hamid you dont know. How bad it is until it actually hits here and so i would absolutely. Everybody to listen to the government guidance and stay away from people. That British Government is due to review lockdown restrictions next week lets get to some more developments on the corner of august bend the noble death toll from covert 19 is now at more than 83000 with almost one and a half 1000000 infections confirmed since the outbreak began e. U. Finance ministers have failed to agree on a joint plan to ease the Economic Impact of the pandemic the main stumbling block is socalled corona bonds which are favored by southern members such as spain and italy but opposed by northern members led by germany and the number of confirmed cases of covered 19 in africa has passed 10000 according to figures compiled by the World Health Organization germanys Economic Cooperation and Development Minister gad miller has called for joint e. U. Action to help developing countries fight the coronavirus pandemic he also warned of hundreds of deaths of the refugee camp in greece if the virus breaks out their headquarters we cannot leave greece alone 15000 migrants live in the overcrowded camps most of them children. For more on this be joined by martin phone matia a member of the German Parliament for the conservative c. D. U. Party mr fun marshall thanks for being with us now eat your Development Ministers met in brussels today what was agreed at that meeting ringback. Well basically that was a call for action and then that is something which we have to do and just trying to now because for the moment being you have been mentioning it before we have been working on a National Level and now are trying ireland but not yet fully successfully to to build a european a european funding for for karuna disease combat but we are not headed by commenting coronavirus in the bill become text and that is what get media told us that we need to go forward because many many millions people especially in refugee camps and especially in the african continent badly affected and as germany is a global actor depending both an expert d but also on imports we also have to move very carefully that supply chains will be working but 1st of all we need to save lives also in other countries and then means strengthening the poor over how theyre going to say she isnt done you each all but also the World Food Program has many many people might not have easy access to food because of the restrictions of their mobility but germany has called for solidarity of the you never know but as you mentioned that germany is a global act what is stopping germany from acting alone and providing aid when its needed. We do both we do we do act on european level that is why i. Was together with history leaks today but we have bilaterally also and that is what we are going for the minister is preparing a 7 points package. d to to to act now and what does that mean it means that we have to look where we need to shift activities that it with in the ministry of Economic Cooperation and he isnt preparing your shift of a budget of about 1000000000. 00 euros now from other areas to combating the corona beer is and its and its and its advantages for the future and that is what were talking about i think you will be presenting his his plans to the parliament to the can needs in the parliament very soon i have just left a telephone conference of my colleagues from the committee of Cobra International corporation martin for marshall a member of the German Parliament for the conservative c. D. U. Thank you very much for joining us and thank you so much theres rising concern that the coronavirus could set off a humanitarian disaster in the last battlefield in the syrian war a shaky cease fire has been holding but aid organizations warn that the province where over 3000000 people are kind and forgiving is wholly unprepared for an outbreak or did a beautiful game has been keeping in touch with people in england this is their story. Whats it like to live in it live in constant fear of assads approaching forces in constant fear the Aerial Bombardments will resume. For weeks now 26 year old students are hazaar to our has been sending us our impressions images from the last rebel held city in syria where the coronavirus is on everyones lips about and im taking it seriously but its difficult when i go outside i try to wear a mask and gloves i worry that my family or i will get infected im not any the ceasefire has been holding an ad lib for 4 weeks now the city is coming back to life and the streets and markets a bustling but just as people savor the sweet taste of freedom the threat of the coronavirus is looming. In other countries but the coronavirus people are cocooning the town. Nobody is taking the danger seriously everyones going shopping nobody is taking any precautions. In the refugee camps around the corona virus seems a distant threat to hundreds of thousands of people live here and die a conditions essential Health Measures such as keeping a safe distance or washing hands are impossible in many of the camps Health Workers are trying to raise the alarm however they can. Quote you will have to understand how dangerous the situation is we as doctors have extremely limited means at our disposal to tackle this pandemic. Dr catto is an anesthesiologist and general manager at one of the few hospitals still operating in adelaide province hes trying to prepare the clinic even though it only has 2 intensive care beds and a single ventilator there are only 95 ventilators for the whole region with a population of more than 3000000 dr says it could get worse than an italy. There could be right soon we will have to make some really terrible decisions here the who should get a chance to live and who should be let die. Because we have no people in there no gloves and above all no ventilators or in the clinic stuff posted this photo on facebook will stay here for you you stay at home for us but the appeal has fallen on deaf ears too has stopped wearing a mask when she leaves the house she says she cant stand being stared at and laughed at any more and more tough times are ahead. For lets get you up to speed with the other stories making headlines around the world the World Trade Organization expects to comment coronavirus for social to be the worst downturn in living memory it predicts that while trade could drop almost a 3rd of this year and of course all the International Cooperation going to shore a quick economic recovery in the months ahead. Russias president Vladimir Putin has announced additional measures to help businesses and workers cope with the consequences of the current of artist and the government will provide more Financial Support to Fund American workers and families and then be helpful small and Medium Sized Enterprises to reassure jewel that. In the chinese city where the core of it is outbreak was 1st reported a months long lockdown has started to ease drastic measures taken there have served as a model for other countries battling the pandemic after 11 weeks chinese authorities are now allowing residents of more freedom of movement there is relief but also fear of new infection as the scene of city opens up once again. As the clock struck midnight and we have one of the major last day measures was removed by in travel an impressive light show marked the occasion featuring Health Workers and the words heroic city others werent pausing to celebrate instead thousands of travelers flock to catch trains or take advantage of removed roadblocks. I feel great the epidemic has maybe stabilized to some extent so were able to travel now. But the way it has lost a lot in this epidemic and its people have paid a big price and now that the lockdown has been lifted i think were all pretty happy. Its the city where the coronavirus a break began many people have been trapped for more than 2 months they will leave for hand to rejoin Friends Family and return to work. I came back before Lunar New Year and planned to stay for a few days it wasnt even 2 days and it was announced to how it would be locked down and i couldnt leave so ive been stuck in the whole time. The easing of the lockdown comes as china reported no new coronavirus deaths for the 1st time since it started publishing figures. But authorities still urged caution. Since 0 new covered 19 cases does not mean 0 risk with the lifting of the knock down does not mean the lifting of Epidemic Prevention and control. Who hand has been breathing a tentative sight of relief more shops are open and there are more people on the streets though a return to normality appears far off the areas restrictions on movement within the sprawling metropolis will remain in place to guard against a 2nd wave of infection. Youre watching did of a news live from berlin on British Comedy the be more news in 45 minutes but before we go one more bit of sad news to report american folk and country star john prine has died at the age of 73 due to complications from covert 19 he was known for his little song writing which the praise of both dylan and johnny cash and one of 2 Grammy Awards the singer passed away in nashville tennessee but his music as. Combating the pandemic. Where does research stand. What are scientists learning. Background information and. Our corona. Special next on d w. Im doing great big thing in time. How to handle newlines in times of the koran a pandemic reporter. Just like everyone else and shes looking for answers thankfully with the help of guinea expect. Thank you is not life as we know it. As the death toll of 19 keeps rising scientists still uncertain about where this deadly virus came from in the 1st place its believed that it jumped from animals to humans. And babs. To market in china the most likely candidates for the virus doesnt stay with humans. There are signs that its also spreading to other animals a tiger at the bronx zoo in new york city has tested positive for cope with 19 developing a dry cough a couple of lions also show signs of the infection. And there are reports in hong kong that dogs have tested positive without having any of the usual symptoms Scientists Say that cats are very susceptible to the virus and the people around the world are now worried about what that means for them and their pets and farmers also wants to know how dangerous the virus could be to their livestock pics chicken and dogs at least im not likely to get infected but about the rest. Welcome to our covert 900. 00 special here and news and want to get jones in berlin good to have you with us what role do animals play in the coronavirus pandemic which species can get infected which is immune and whats this mean for our interaction with pets and farm animals lets ask professor tomas mitten lighter hes a bar ologist and the president of the Leffler Institute which studies Animal Health and infections which can be transmitted from animals to humans good to have you with us on the program let us start with pets a lot of people now are wondering whether their pets could transmit the virus what do we know about that so far. Hello foam insole reams what are you actually doing now is that cats can get infected experimentally and by. Exposure we know very little of transmission because all the instances that we seen so far they clearly hint to infection of the pats by their owners this is biased one of ours to infect the owners so the the owner is more dangerous for the pet than vice versa what does this mean for the interaction with with our pets i mean we have terrible stories about some owners are ready putting their pets down because of this no there is no reason for doing that at all i mean of course i would stay away from my pet if i am sick myself and as is particularly true if im sick with a coronavirus too so i should really take caution in that aspect on the other hand its still very clear that this is a socalled anthroposophy knows this which means that humans are the ones that infect the animals and not in this particular case the other way around so what does this mean for lifestyle i mean we already heard that picks up probably not so says susceptible to the virus but what about coulson how would a pharma know that his cow for example is infected. We have Experimental Evidence that picks chicken and ducks are indeed not susceptible to infection we have no Experimental Evidence of any other of the of livestock and for producing animals that colleagues all over the goal actually testing these animals as we speak and we hope that we have more information on that in a couple of days actual so its not knowing everything yet also worries people of course certainly consumers is that any advice you have for consumers for example when it comes to milk. At the moment we have no indication that any food really presents a risk for contamination or for transmission of the infection and as i said before i mean picks are not susceptible chicken adults are not susceptible and from what we can deduce from the previous sars coral of ours from 2002 into his arms we would be very surprised to see that cattle are indeed in infected birds this is under experimental. Examination at the time as we speak of course were still trying to learn more about this new coronavirus professor mitten like to thank you for now we have more questions for you so dont go away because 1st we want to look at how scientists a working to find out how the virus was transmitted to humans in the 1st place. When it comes to the transmission of infections from animals to humans the Global Wildlife trade plays a major role take pets in some parts of africa in asia theyre considered a delicacy. But theyre also a source of viruses among them the corona virus. One study found that a corona virus found in bats shared 96 percent of its genetic material with the virus behind the current pandemic known as sars kovi 2. But this particular bat virus is unlikely to have infected human cells directly and what is more likely is that the virus jump to humans via another animal one prime candidate is a pangolin the corona virus found in pangolins has similar surface proteins which dr receptors to the virus currently infecting humans but other animals are also potential transmitters to search for the source of this pandemic is still in full swing. Back to profess them in light of on the free trade lefler institute on Animal Studies what is the significance of bats carrying so many viruses and how does this knowledge help us deal with a current outbreak so probably bets are a good reservoir for different kinds of viruses not only coronaviruses we actually dont know why this is the case that they can control the virus better than other species to might have a special in human system which is able to control the viruses but so far its unclear what the basis of this reservoir function really is i but we can state is that there are frequent events that viruses actually jump towards humans from the bad reservoir of course were all trying to find a solution to this crisis and your infection studies actually found that ferrets are a good model for humans whys that. I mean ferrets are animals that are being used as a m