on al-jazeera. malaysia's borders are closed as it tries to track down thousands who attended a mass gathering linked to an international spread of coronavirus. columcille rahman you're watching out as their life my headquarters here in doha coming up in the next 30 minutes don't go travelling australia brings in unprecedented emergency measures to try to combat the pandemic also the u.s. gears up for an increase in the number of cases and announces a trillion dollars aid package. plus georgia's orthodox church takes a unique approach to tackling the pandemic but it is is it really helping to

contain it. welcome to the program malaysia is racing to track down potential coronavirus carriers confirmed cases spiked to $673.00 nearly 2 thirds of those are linked to a mass gathering of muslims have late last month now thousands of attendees still haven't been tested across the globe restrictions are becoming more severe as the number of infections worldwide approaches 200000 australia's prime minister is calling on citizens to avoid any international travel and there's now a ban on indoor gatherings of more than $100.00 people in the united states the trumpet ministration has announced a one trillion dollars stimulus package in a bid to lessen the economic fallout but oil prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2003 with wall street due to open very soon. in italy coronavirus

patients are being moved to a new treatment center in rome more than 2500 people have died there and more than 30000 are infected and spain's prime minister has been delivering updates on the situation to a near empty parliament cases there are nearing 14000 and more than 550 people have died 7 o'clock joins me now from hong kong you're really taking in the asia pacific and what's going on across the region there sara let's start with australia and the prime minister really making very clear what his government's position is. well it's announced scott morrison the prime minister has announced the highest travel alert yet is basically advising all strains to stay at home and not travel abroad he's also banned non-essential gatherings of particularly those people 100 people or more they've been banned as well as that's indoors and outdoors $500.00 people or more in those assemblies

they've also been banned now the essential gatherings which are still allowed to go ahead and he's defined them as those gatherings are assemblies at airports on public transport in factories and at schools and the public transport the transport system he said will remain open but he said the public schools and the state schools as well as the universities they will also remain open now around 70 countries around the world have forced closures met a trick closures of schools to try and curb the spread of the virus but at this stage the prime minister scott morrison said the schools will remain open now and that day events this is a big event that's commemorated in australia all those events have been forced to close except for the one that will go ahead at the astride in war memorial in kamber and that will be televised across the country he's discouraged panic buying this is been that we've seen some quite celtic scenes in supermarkets where people have been hoarding and buying up medicines and groceries he's trying to stop that he's also said that we must continue this social distancing rules these are

exhausting people to stay 1.5 metres away from each other and no more handshakes but certainly he said the new supplies of the crown of ice testing kits they're on their way but the governor general has now declared a human biosecurity emergency in australia and that simply gives more powers to the prime minister and the health minister greg hunt to try and deal with this crisis of infections spreading in australia so early the land turned to 14 days as seen the economic markets go up and down across the world especially in asia pacific of course late on tuesday we heard president trump prop up the the us market as such how is that impacting on the markets where you are. well most stock markets in asia initially rallied at the news of this particular stimulus package being announced by donald trump china and japan led that initial gain but the softer tone as markets closed across asia the stock market fell as people are worried about the crowd of eyes pen dimmick more so than what they this

particular stimulus package can do japan's benchmark the nikkei it was down 0 ended at 1.7 percent saying in hong kong it was down by 3.3 percent and china shanghai composite it was down by 1.8 percent and i was struck it's working on its own economic stimulus package to try and deal with this particular crosses it's trying to provide a safety net for not just individuals but small businesses who are struggling as these are the travel restrictions are put in place and the japanese prime minister shinzo by has also announced reportedly about to announce that he'll put together a panel of economic ministers and the governor of the bank of japan to try and work out his measures to prop up japan's economy as well so a clock in hong kong thanks very much now while countries around the world ramp up efforts to contain the pandemic new infections are continuing to slow down in china 13 new cases are reported on choose day china's foreign ministry says the virus has exposed the shortcomings of the global health system will no doubt don't you and

your we need to enhance global public health governance this pandemic has exposed the shortcomings and deficiencies in the global governing system in health we are facing an urgent task in housing this governance system we support the w.h.o. and un in playing core roles within emergency public health incidents and have seen the global system we call for greater priority to be placed on global health security. governments across europe are further tightening already strict containment measures as thousands more cases appear to cross the continent the has now closed its external borders for 30 days travel between member states is also restricted. lawrence lee joins me now from london a lower insists a war of words than actions is in the offing between france and the united kingdom over covert 19. yes to to a degree that's right because and clearly the longer the lockdown goes on in parts

of the shangri. the more and more glaring the gap is between that and what's happening in the u.k. france as you said and germany in these countries are now closer airports or people from outside the european union in france a military plane has been taking severely ill people from milhouse in the east of the country too long in the south the police to be given extra powers to fine people even more for being outside the right talk human station and the health minister there says that people. were based things very seriously accepting all these sacrifices and he thinks that france might start to see a dip in numbers of cases between 8 and 12 days from now so it's a really big contrast with the united kingdom where the schools are still open people are being advised not to go out to things like pubs and restaurants but they most certainly still are based on my experience in london last night and it's very

irritating for european leaders who are putting all the sacrifices on their own people and seeing the u.k. not doing the same thing and so consequently the french prime minister and the death say speaking not just from self but from the european leaders so that if the u.k. doesn't go to some sort of lockdown of its own in the coming days they might take matters into their own hands is what he said. it'll kill if we want to be coherent all those who within the european zone need to adopt coherent methods and processes to fight the epidemic italy france spain and maybe tomorrow other states have chosen to be in confinement it goes without saying that if other countries especially neighboring countries for example the united kingdom stay in a logic in which they do not apply these measures it would be difficult for us to accept british nationals with the now territory who could move freely within their country and then come to france. as you said lawrence e.u. leaders seem to be on message certainly when it comes to getting the message out to the public at large i mean what other senior. leaders what are they been saying.

it's to do with the medical response really the head of the european commission announced this big rollout of the supply ventilators across the european union which incidentally willing to the u.k. even though the u.k. obviously left the now next of goodwill so that's good news for the u.k. because it can provide enough and status for itself she also suggested that the might be a vaccine in europe before the autumn and that's really interesting there's a lot of news globally about about the apparent success of trials one in japan is that there's no idea the plasma from people who've recovered from the virus might be used to treat people with it and in germany a country called here fact which has been given 18000000 euros by the european union think that it might have seen by the or some as well now this leap it's still spring and also feels like a long lead lay but it is a little bit of good news and it's the update lawrence thanks for joining us from

our london broadcast center. let's head back to the middle east because iran has issued its strongest warning yet about the coronavirus suggesting that many people could die if they keep ignoring health guidance a journalist on state television to the public to respect travel restrictions the government says 1135 people have died and more than 17000 are infected on monday crowds of conservative iranians storm 2 major shrines that have been close due to the virus. well still ahead here on the news hour food prices soar in sudan following the discovery of coronavirus and many wonder how the families.

hello there we have had a mild couple of days across areas of home showed that is about to change the temperature is all still above the average where we've got most of the weather sunny in terms of rain is into southern china very heavy at times very persistent we could have some localized flooding 20 celsius in taipei with those rain showers 24 in hong kong and these temperatures in home share but as i say it will change we've got this system to the east and that is feeding in winds across from the west we have got those temperatures a little bit lower on friday 13 in sendai there's a chance of showers and certainly a chance of showers in sapporo with a high of 10 that is though still above the average that we had across tools india very warm sunny through the interior 36 in non-poor there is a chance and rain. but really off to that it's a fairly dry picture certainly for friday a time which is still pretty warm $35.00 in poor and he can see $33.00 celsius over in mumbai and then to the middle east some very active weather has certainly across northern areas you can see this massive cloud this is bringing rain and also snow

there's more in the forecast but it's already pretty good dumping on the ground to something to be see in georgia this is the national park again a very snowy see more in the forecast widespread rain showers certainly and then further towards the arabian peninsula not a bad day on friday and warm into 25. from fossil fuels to a renewable as societies develop the energy demands increase requiring innovative solutions to meet such demands as a global power development in this. company brash power is uniquely positioned to deliver against the stick around we provide business growth promote social economic benefits and provide innovative safe and viral mentally sound energy solutions for future generation the brash and the ring future energy.

or the. book about kill watching al-jazeera means the whole romney mind of our top stories malaysia has closed its borders as the 1st to corona virus deaths were recorded as well as 790 infections nearly 2 thirds of the infections have been traced to a mosque in the capital kabul known paul. australia's prime minister scott morrison is advise ing citizens not to leave the country the government's declared a human and biosecurity emergency giving it the power to seal off cities and impose curfews and in the united states the trumpet ministrations announced a one trillion dollar package to help stabilize the economy during the coronavirus pandemic the proposal also includes giving money to individual citizens. now the

us government is proposing a trillion dollar package for businesses struggling to survive the effects of the krona virus the emergency aid includes immediate cash payments for individual citizens $100.00 american deaths are linked to the disease of nearly 6000 infections a white house correspondent can really help get us more. as ordinary americans cope with the economic impacts of coronavirus the white house announced it was pushing congress to make a media cash payments to struggling americans what we've heard from hardworking americans many companies have now shut down whether it's bars or restaurants american state cash now and the president wants to get cash now and i mean now in the next few weeks congress has already put forward a bill to provide sickly as well as food assistance to children and the elderly it still needs to pass the republican controlled senate before us president donald trump can sign it into law. but the new proposed payments which also need to be

approved by congress would be part of a package worth more than a trillion dollars. clude help for the airline and other industries hit hard by the slowdown in business this is worse than 911 that for the airline industry we're going big with this invisible enemy we don't want airlines going out of business we don't want people losing their jobs the hotel industry has also been hard hit tuesday maryon the world's largest hotel company started furloughing thousands of employees as their hotels see fewer customers but it's not just the economy that has the white house worried it says public health remains a priority on standby in new york the army corps of engineers to increase hospital capacity in response to the pandemic new york remains one of the states with a high cluster of coronavirus cases my hunch is it would probably be quicker if

it's done at the state or local level but if we can do it quicker we should we were prepared to do that but i think at this point the key is speed still there are signs it will be weeks if not months before life returns to normal beloved events like the kentucky derby horse race now delayed until september. and in an election year the ohio presidential nominating contest was also called off the american red cross on tuesday also put out a call for blood donations the coronavirus task force here at the white house says the next 2 weeks will be critical for containing the virus that's why it's urging young people to abide by public health warnings to ensure more vulnerable americans aren't exposed can really help at al-jazeera the white house. from the crowd a virus so far but many fear they won't be able to afford a doctor if they catch the disease now the government's announced

a state of emergency and close its borders and food prices are rising shortages were some of them. coming from work empty handed has become the norm for. the daily makes little money and food prices have soared since the discovery of the corona virus here than iceland and then. we don't have health insurance if someone in the family gets really sick we try to get them treatment but if we don't have the money we wait for the almost past we rarely eat nutritious food now with this new disease i've not even thought of stocking up because i barely have money for one day. fruit prices have tripled since the virus was found in sudan several government directives have been issued containing the spread including banning large crowds but over the past few weeks fuel and bread shortages have resulted in long queues and that's not the only challenge the guy behind me is filling mosque a 50 pounds apiece that's the equivalent of $1.00 using the official exchange rate

an entire box is worth $50.00 health workers here say prior to the detection of the coronavirus a box of masks was worth just $5.00. masks as well as hand sanitizers quickly disappeared from shelves in shops and pharmacies and are now sold in the streets with have of sudan's 14000000 officially living in poverty there are a luxury many can't afford. i we're talking about thousands of infections potential infections i would say by people reacting in the streets i would say it's become more of a careless because i cannot afford that i would rather buy food. so that i can live with the virus will affect everyone so we should be working together to fight it and try to protect the country to make sure the virus doesn't spread. the government has also prepared isolation centers like this one near the border with egypt a country where more than 100 cases have been reported but sudan has suffered 20 years of international sanctions and has less than 7 doctors for every 1000 people

visit equipments also in short supply america. the equipment for testing the places the doctors and the kits are very limited in number but we have to centralize it to make sure that the testing for this new virus is done safely and correctly there was a test that was negative and then a 2nd test that showed a positive this is common in many diseases and complicates matters so we have to do repeated tests and now we're working to get the support for that. says he has little hope of providing for his family with the needed to help protect them but he hopes that if the coroner virus does reach his family they get the medical support needed he will morgan of his their own heart i'm. certain georgia has taken a unique approach to tackling the crowd a virus our break sprinkling holy water georgia has $34.00 cases a priest say they have turned to god to save the country robin forestay walker has more from tbilisi. in georgia the church

is calling on god to protect the people from the virus. priests sprinkled so to mingle with the snow and rain. in tbilisi cathedral hundreds of liters of water were blessed for the purpose. the church continues to welcome congregations. its priests believe in the healing power of prayer. we see how hard the situation is in our country the whole world and how the virus is spreading that's why the church has decided to pry this from the book of judges or thirties have identified fewer than 40 cases of covered 19 with the prime minister on tuesday warned it's now spreading among the general population should it be to me if we are moving from the stage of stopping the epidemic to containing spread this transition is very important and we need to be ready 1st and

foremost of the health care system. georgia has been preparing schools and universities closed 2 weeks ago its borders are shut and public transport is about to be limited. to dogs priests have refused to alter their rituals. their presence remains a comfort to many. for a deeply religious society at this time of anxiety this is the georgian orthodox his way of providing some spiritual support and guidance at these difficult times robin 1st year walker al jazeera tbilisi. the government protesters in iraq are rejecting the latest nominee for prime minister. has been given 30 days to choose a cabinet and says he'll hold elections within a year of forming a government summon a full team has more from baghdad. in the latest effort to end the months of

political crisis president barham saleh has appointed of nuns of feet as the new prime minister designate it with a clear mandate hold early elections and unite a deeply divided iraq. bring together all the sides heal the wounds on the roofs that is the 1st mission of this main. is among a dozen names who have been considered for the post and the 2nd person to be officially named as prime minister designate since caretaker prime minister abdullah of the mahdi resigned in the event following the deaths of many anti-government protesters demanding change just like previous nominees demonstrators were quick to reject sort of who was a member of parliament oh i guess all unanimous well as a government official he is rejected by the people he is not an dependant he is with elma see a party. the nomination came hours before the imposition of a weeklong curfew to stem the spread of coronavirus protesters accuse the

government of using the curfew to silence public dissent i don't want that so why the curfew was chosen at this time so they can get this candidate through parliament so they can fill us in on the people this is a recluse disregard from the government with regard to the will of the iraqi people we will continue protesting here but on tuesday square was almost empty as iraqis prepared for the lockdown. months of unrest and the dramatic fall in oil prices have taken their toll on iraq's economy iraqis are also caught up in escalating tensions between the u.s. and iranian backed armed groups many are exhausted and simply want a candidate whole restore stability. so i don't. want the prices are going up even our mental health was affected for the past 3 to 4 months we've had. then they brought mohamed tawfik. then i don't know but now we hope that he will bring good

things and i wish that the parties and the people will support him. i've nonvoter 5th place is the dual challenge of securing support from protesters and at the same time the political establishment they oppose anti-government demonstrators reject $34.00 representing the status quo while political parties fear he won't protect it some parties have already come out to say that they will not endorse a candidate chosen without their input in the past the prime minister has been a consensus candidate chosen by the largest group of m.p.'s following secretive backroom discussions but after major political parties failed to agree on a candidate ahead of the march 17th constitutional deadline president barham saleh made his own choice that has angered the iranian linked fatah alliance the largest bloc in parliament a market here i will and i'll let you can wash it he was rejected for many reasons

1st of all he is in fatah's nominee secondly in his statements he was mostly adopting the american and western point of view all this stance towards iran was adversarial. certainly has 30 days to form a cabinet kurdish sunni and some shia parties are likely to back him but without the support of iranian backed groups so he may struggle to secure the majority in parliament on a full team al-jazeera but that. joe biden has extended his lead in the race for the democratic presidential nomination the former u.s. vice president defeated bernie sanders by big margins in the primaries in illinois i resign or florida reports from miami. of polling stations in florida arizona and illinois wasn't just the democratic process officials were concerned about the rapid spread of the coronavirus saw low voter turnout furious cleaning and polling stuff not manning the boobs over health concerns many voted early mail but those that turned out on tuesday were cautious so you know let's say

we're here sexts a way other than us the best you can do all you can do is just try to stay clean wash your hands limit any public action if you can i mean i'm going to go home after this i'm not going to be out hanging out with people so officials in ohio declared a health emergency delaying their primary until june the state's governor called it an unprecedented health crisis that left some voters disappointed i really want to vote you know i want to make sure my voice is heard especially you know from all the years of back in the past where we were you know african-americans. despite the confusion concerns and recommendations not to gather in large crowds the night belonged to joe biden the former vice president now has the momentum delegate counts and is seen by many as best able to take on president trump all this together. this is one for each of us to see and believe the best in everyone of us

to look out for our neighbors understand the fear and stress and so many are feeling biden now has a net insurmountable lead over bernie sanders he didn't address his losses on tuesday instead appealing for more federal help for the pandemic we need to provide a direct emergency $2000.00 cash payment every household in america every month for the duration of the crisis to provide them with the assistance they need to pay their bills and take care of their families in his remote address to the nation joe biden spoke directly to sunda supporters telling them i hear you sound as movement is still a powerful force and biden's appeal is perhaps a sign of things to come the former vice president wants to unite both the country and the party and to do that he'll need those supporters on board and gallacher al-jazeera miami florida and finally 30 years ago to burglars in boston carried out

what's being called the heist of the century they stole 13 rare works including several by the dutch master rembrandt which haven't been seen since roslin joel explains at the isabella stewart gardner museum in boston a 30 year old mystery still brings pain and questions who bluffed their way into the museum tied up the guards and made off with 13 rare paintings drawings and objects where the works now. 2 of the most important works that were stolen the concert by their me are just one of 36 of his works in existence and christ in the storm on the sea of galilee by rembrandt his only painting featuring a seascape scene reports that the stolen items are worth $500000000.00 or more and pragmatically that's a fair estimate however i like to to point out that the pieces that were stolen

from the gardener really are the true definition of priceless ness because they can never be solved they can never be replaced. a few years ago the f.b.i. thought this surveillance video could solve the case it shows an unidentified man walking through the museum after hours just one night before the heist but that and other clues just weren't enough to help investigators another problem it turns out both suspected robbers died a year after the theft the message to the public if you know something it's ok to come forward we acknowledge the fact that any or all of these pieces could be in the hands of individuals who had nothing to do with the original theft or may not even know that they're stolen 30 years on the museum's $10000000.00 reward sits unclaimed while curators and law enforcement hope these works one day will return to the gardners walls rosalyn jordan al-jazeera washington. and of course on

our website at al-jazeera dot com continues to follow any updates on coronavirus across the globe it's updated through the day log on and have a quick read. what you all just sit around with me as a whole rama reminder of our top stories malaysia has closed its borders is the 1st to corona virus tesoro called it as well as 719 factions many 2 thirds of the infections have been traced to a mosque in the capital caught a long pull from a slippery house mall from the capitol. not everyone is heeding the government's orders to restrict their movements people have been queuing at restaurants which are allowed to open to. deliveries and takeaways police have also been going on patrol to warn restaurant owners and customers that they're not allowed to dine in

there was also chaos just hours before the restriction on movement came into effect there was very heavy traffic going into singapore these 2 countries are separated by a very narrow strait many people who work in singapore and they make that daily commute so there was a rush to get into singapore before the border closed australia's prime minister scott morrison is rising citizens not to leave the country the government's declared a human bio security emergency giving it the power to seal off cities under impose curfews and in the united states the trumpet ministration as announced they want trillion dollar package to help stabilize the economy during the coronavirus pandemic the proposal also includes giving money to individual citizens trying to serve the coronavirus pandemic is exposing the shortcomings in the global health system the comments from the foreign ministry because many of the countries are dealing with a growing number of cases beijing reported just 13 new infections on choose day almost all of them originated abroad. governments across europe are further

tightening already strict containment measures as thousands more cases appear across the continent the e.u. has now closed is it sturgill borders for 30 days travel between member states is also restricted. but iran has issued its strongest warning yet about to cry in a virus outbreak suggesting that many people could die if they keep ignoring health guidance a journalist on state television to the public to respect travel restrictions the government says 1135 people have died and over 17000 people are infected you can follow all those stories on our website at al-jazeera dot com i'll be back with more news in half an hour next on al-jazeera it's inside story do stay with us for.

how low can all prices go crude oil drops below $30.00 a barrel as a price war between $2.00 of the world's biggest producers worse and how badly will that hurt the global economy already suffering from a coronavirus pandemic this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program and tailor the coronavirus pandemic is triggering fears of a global recession businesses around the world a shot stock markets are suffering massive losses on top of all that an oil price war between 2 of the world's biggest producers the dispute between saudi arabia and russia.