italy has not been touched by empire studio b. and script on al-jazeera. the u.s. closes its borders with mexico and canada for nonessential travel to contain coronavirus. but i'm ok mine peter w. watching al-jazeera live from doha also coming up italy records its highest number of deaths on one single day spain and germany see a surge in infections europe struggles to come to grips with the pandemic. the biggest single day jumping cases in thailand and singapore records its 1st deaths because of code with 19 we'll take a live update in other headlines. we'll tell you how more than 2000000 palestinians in gaza are coping with

a growing pile of garbage under the israeli blockade. the coronavirus pandemic has hit another grim milestone with global deaths passing 11000 the battle has governments worldwide imposing strict unprecedented measures to stop the spread of the disease tens of millions of americans have been told to stay at home and the white house has now closed its borders with both mexico and canada for all non-essential travel italy recorded 627 deaths on friday the biggest day to day increase italy and spain are also struggling to stem new infections despite unprecedented lockdowns now the u.k. has joined them ordering the closure of cafes pubs and gyms thailand reported over 89 new infections the biggest daily jump in the number of cases so far taking.

total infections to 411 and singapore has recorded its 1st 2 deaths from the virus typical pollen joins us live now from hong kong so did via the numbers in singapore going in precisely the wrong direction that's right peter and they reached another very troubling milestone with 2 fatalities today they announced that both people had underlying issues but singapore has faced a spike in recent days and the government says it is because of imported cases casing cases from coming in from abroad and this is very troubling news for singapore is that it's been touted as an example as to how a nation has managed to keep a lid on the outbreak but the health minister has had this to say to reassure the nation i know singapore is to be worried and anxious we must stick our rich and not give in to a few of us we have announced

a series of save distancing measures yesterday and remus all to their society precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe we must unite that work together support one that and the look out for each other this way by staying together we will be able to prevail and overcome could be a 1000 infection and be a spike in thailand as well. that's right this time it is a spike from within a domestic spike they say it's most many people who attended a boxing match on march 6th at an entertainment complex they were infected there were thousands of spectators they seem have they since have spread across the country so we saw the numbers increased by 809 and that's quite a jump about 25 percent that brings thailand over the 400 mark at this point thailand has since given a directive to closed leisure centers entertainment centers in the capital

including markets and schools malaysia are also is struggling and they now have the highest tally in south but more than a 1000 meanwhile further up north to south korea has also seen a jump in number of cases after keeping somewhat stabilized this week cabinet ministers have had a meeting and then said that they're going to donate 30 percent of their monthly salary to the victims of coronavirus over in china there seems to be somewhat again some notion of stability no new domestic cases no new divest to cases at the place that was the epicenter that was hot in the province who bay that city has been in lockdown and heavy lockdown over the past few weeks is people not being able to leave their homes the government now says they are thinking of the fighting restrictions due to the fact that there have been constant consecutive days of no

new infections so they're going to allow people start opening a shopping complexes or commercial rate at retailers those that provide food or necessities and allow each household to send one person for 2 hours a day to go shopping for what they need thanks very much. confirmed infections in the u.s. of now risen above 19000 and that's led to some unprecedented restrictions mike hanna has that story from washington. the trumpet ministration continues to wreck a top preventative measures in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic the latest action aimed at cutting traffic across the country's northern and southern borders president trump was at pains to emphasize this was done in consultation with the governments of canada and mexico the nation's top health care officials are extremely concerned about the great public health consequences of mass uncontrolled

cross border movement only us citizens with fellow documents will be allowed to cross and this puts an end to any form of undocumented migration the introduction and spread of the coronavirus and the department's border patrol stations and detention facilities presents a serious danger to migrants our frontline agents and officers in the american people mexico confirmed its 1st case of coronavirus related death on wednesday against this backdrop the us president was asked about another controversy in washington reports of a merge that some lawmakers are profiting from the crisis republican chairman of the senate intelligence committee richard burr is one of them researchers to produce true reports he allegedly dumped $1700000.00 worth of stocks in mid february these were shares in the travel and leisure industry one of the hardest hit economic sectors one political observer put it this way trading is you know

a significant amount of money in a very short period of time all selling stocks that were right. questions have also been asked about trades made by several other senators including the georgia senator kelly lefler who sold stock on generally the 24th the same day of a close senate health committee briefing democratic. senator dianne feinstein also traded stocks in this period though she contends that was a decision taken by her financial adviser you would look at whether the senators made unusual transactions during that period or whether this was part of their normal buying and selling and if it's not doesn't amount to a significant amount of money or if it is as you said par for the course for these senators then that would suggest that they were deliberately trading on the inside information of the coming pandemic president trump says he knows nothing about these reported trades though he was quick to remark that a democrat was also apparently part of the group that conducted trades so don't

hold groups waiting for the return for that head of the intelligence committee and it also wouldn't put senator kelly in class clerk and so the question is whether or not they should be investigated for that here who are also includes dianne feinstein a democrat you didn't mention her name what in your mention her name and i think she's a very honorable person by the way so i'm not saying but you know it's interesting you mention to people that you don't mention one that happens to be a democrat or a senator should they not i you know because i have to look at it possibly but i find them to be honorable people the matter will now be referred to the senate ethics committee which will decide whether these trades constituted unethical if not criminal behavior mike hanna al-jazeera washington well the border between the u.s. and canada will be closed for at least 30 days in toronto daniel lak says there is some movement but it is very limited. well both sides the canadians and the

americans are saying they want to minimize the disruption clearly they would say that but this is a border that sees about $2000000000.00 a day in trade between canada and the united states alone and tens of thousands of people crossing at a whole series of crossings across a long border some 6000 kilometers long so what they're doing is they're allowing commercial trade and essential travel but not tourism or recreation that means they're giving border guards on both sides a great deal of discretion to decide whether or not someone's across is the law of the cross what they have to do is balance the needs of families who live on both sides of the border and also people who work in one country and live in another it's going to be a big challenge it's unprecedented only after the september september 11th attacks of 2001 has that border been shut down like this and then it was quickly reopened to trade and travel once the worst was passed this is supposed to be

a 30 day shutdown but the way things are going with the growth of covert $900.00 cases in both canada and the united states officials are warning it could be close this way for much longer well more u.s. states are establishing unprecedented lock down rules telling tens of millions of americans to state at home new york illinois and connecticut to follow the states of carolina in rolling out sweeping measures to combat the spread of coronavirus it means all but essential businesses will close and that people should only leave home for trips to the supermarket the pharmacy or the gas station i did your pastors in washington with more details on the basis u.s. state to go into lockdown. illinois now is the 3rd state to issue these drastic orders to all of its residents for everyone to shelter in place starting tomorrow until april 7th now president trump was asked to address these measures earlier in

the day during his coronavirus briefing now with 14000 americans who are infected and more than 200 dead he was asked to stall directly to americans who are seen this happen in are scared but rather than answer the question he attacked the reporter calling that a nasty question and accusing the reporter of sensationalizing the story now even even as this was happening president trump also dug into his much pand comments from yesterday claiming that an anti-malarial drug is effective in treating the corona virus again calling this medicine a game changer he said that even though now a 2nd top u.s. scientists has contradicted that claim saying that there was no clement clinical evidence that the stroke was effective that it was all an anecdotal president trump then clarifying his statement saying that he simply had a good feeling about this drug now of course this is the same president who just 2 and a half weeks ago said that he thought this corona virus may just disappear quote like

a miracle. ok let's get more now on the developments this europe has pulled random . across europe coronavirus lockdowns have launched the emptied the streets to reduce the chances of person to person infection paris residents face a $150.00 fine if caught outside without good reason exercise is permitted even encouraged but new restrictions have been imposed along the river scene and around the eiffel tower. and we are at the start of this crisis as i have reminded the french people in the beginning of this week we put in place measures to absorb this 1st wave it's a race against the virus despite many 2 weeks. in lockdown it's early has seen the numbers dead and infected hitting record new highs people are only allowed out for work medical reasons or emergencies and those allowances are expected to be made even tighter this weekend this is just a snapshot of life in central london but compared to the lockdowns in france and

italy the difference is striking shops are still open people are still walking around driving around each and every contact an opportunity for the virus to spread i have a message for young people you are not invincible even if you don't get seek their choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else until now restrictions in the u.k. have been advisory rather than compulsory but in order for schools to shutter finally has come into effect and the gates will not reopen on monday. at his latest daily coronavirus briefing the prime minister's guidance to leisure venues became a closure order we are quick to be telling tele cafes pubs bars and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not to open to more newly published documents hint at the struggle ahead

u.k. government's latest scientific advice makes sobering reading sage has warned the government that a combination of case isolation household isolation and social distancing of vulnerable groups is very unlikely to prevent critical care facilities being overwhelmed and in general social distancing and school closures to the mix would probably work it kept in place for a long period how long the government has been warned the to be effective a policy of alternating between more and less strict measures would need to be in place for at least most of a year around the world governments are enacting emergency powers imposing draconian restrictions and confining whole populations in their homes and there is no imminent exit strategy paul brennan al-jazeera. still to come here on al-jazeera live from the lockdown in france we'll take a look at how people are adjusting to restrictions on movement their. north korea has tried to projectiles in other news into the sea off the fence in the east coast

. hello and welcome to international forecast they're seeing big changes in the weather across more eastern parts of europe we have this frontal system which is moving southward and behind it significantly colder but dry as expected to move in so still looking pretty woman across southeast naris $22.00 in bucharest 20 in sarajevo during saturday but we'll see those temperatures dropping away meanwhile further towards the west we've got a low pressure system pushing towards island low pressure over the iberian peninsula giving some heavy rain before 24 hours we still see some rain across abir impinged dry across the u.k. remember those temperatures will see snares dropping by about 10 degrees as we head on through into sunday but dry weather for the most part fine conditions but

obviously the risk of night time frost developing now as you move into northern and central parts of africa we've got a circulation across north africa giving some dust across parts of algeria and through into central parts of tunisia so a lot of dust around some storms along the coast very strong winds in disturbed conditions generally run the coast of the gulf of guinea region west africa scattered showers those shows becoming more widespread a thing as we head on through into sunday temperature wise we're looking at so it's how much is spent this time of year 31 degrees in lagos. frank assessments the one thing about these bushfires is it's really the politics of climate change in full. depending on the economy i think is actually what's keeping donald trump afloat right now the critical debate sequel on thursday is going to be told what the story is all 'd about this argument is astonishingly

patronize a in-depth analysis of the day's headlines this is the beginning of the new iraq of a new conscious and aware use of that struggle against an ethnic sectarian kotor inside story on al-jazeera. welcome back you're watching al-jazeera live from your top stories this hour the united states and mexico have become restricting non-essential travel across their shared border to contain the spread of the coronavirus it follows a similar agreement between the u.s. and canada. while european countries italy and spain are struggling to stem new infections the u.k. has joined the lockdown ordering the closure of cafes pubs gyms and other

businesses thailand turns reported more than $89.00 new infections the biggest daily jump in the number of cases so far taking its total infections to $411.00 singapore has reported its 1st 2 deaths from corona virus. well the french are adjusting to drastic changes in their lifestyle because of the pandemic natasha but takes a look now at how the restrictions are affecting them. instantly recognizable from the sky a closer look reveals that paris is a changed city the calls are scarce on roads usually snow with traffic neighborhoods once vibrant on nearly deserted as days past people are forced to adapt to the french president's order to stay indoors to stem the spread of the coronavirus a reduced french parliament discuss the crisis less than 30 m.p.'s were allowed to see it in accordance with the new rules. irrespective of our personal

responsibilities or our convictions that our times can diverge we stand by the idea here that it is in all our interest and that of the country to guarantee continue to serve our citizens during the confinement people may leave home for essential work to buy medicines or food at a market in a paris suburb some shoppers ventured out at a bakery people kept their distance. i know we are not allowed to get out. to be able to go to the local bakery burials are being held behind closed doors with only close relatives allowed thousands of police officers have been deployed to enforce the regulations those breaking them are find across france it is a similar picture looked up cities both small and in picturesque harbors in the west of the rural town of chalet is shuttered and quiet the sports center closed only to supermarket open well this is a pretty typical small town in regional france and on

a day like this with fine weather normally the cafe behind me on the main square would be packed with people enjoying the sunshine but it is empty the streets are empty there are very very few calls and i have to say it is very eerie. life under lockdown is clearly challenging but as coronavirus cases in france rapidly crime opinion poll suggests that most people support the restrictions. and in such an unusual time there are displays of solidarity that ease the tension each night in france's cities towns and villages cheers ring out to thank the health workers who battled tirelessly to save lives. natasha butler al-jazeera western france. well one of australia's most iconic beaches has been closed after people ignored a ban on mass gatherings officials made the decision after big crowds were seen at sydney's bondi beach on friday despite

a government ban on gatherings of more than 500 people images sparked widespread anger across the country the authorities say the closure will extend to other beaches if social distancing advice is being ignored. afghanistan at least 22 people have been diagnosed with corona virus but with limited checks along the border with iran the illness is spreading rapidly health officials worry the number could quickly grow. as more. these refugees are back home in afghanistan their life in neighboring iran came to a standstill when the new coronavirus spread across the country with no jobs and a growing pandemic they decided to leave the moment because i'm put on my friends and i we all came back to afghanistan we left even though that we were still old months worth of unpaid salary the situation is very serious there i saw with my own eyes how people were buried in mass graves. about 3000000 afghan refugees live in iran health leaders now fear many of them could be bringing the virus both with

them. when refusing started to come back in light february we had about 1300 people every day just yesterday we had over 13000 people we used to make that around 90000 people have returned to afghanistan voluntarily the biggest cluster of infections has been recorded in the western province of herat which shares a border with iran many refugees returned unchecked raising panic in nearby communities and reports emerged of infected patients fleeing hospitals modern they've got to make other carriers are they coming back in a russian and a chaotic 2nd start says those who are infected with the virus would definitely contaminate their friends it's a really serious issue for the ministry of public health facilities. to try and limit infections clinics have been set up along the border stephens checking temperatures in teaching groups just how easily the virus spreads course what kind of a i was at fortunately we increased our staff we are registering people depending on

their provinces now we have temperature guns and we will install a scanner to check them but with thousands of people were. turning from iran health officials fear this pandemic will spread further into afghanistan. who simply on al-jazeera. cinesias join the list of countries that have ordered a national locked a list to stop people leaving their homes and traveling between cities cafes and restaurants in all major cities will also be closed and as he recorded his 1st death on thursday a 72 year old woman became the 1st by wrestling death earlier this week. haiti's announces 1st 2 cases of the virus the president declared a state of emergency in a country with an already fragile health system. as more. the poorest country in the americas is on lockdown haiti's airports schools factory and seaports are closed worried shoppers are stocking up with basic supplies. i'm asking

all of you to stay calm even if you've heard everything is shutting down goods will continue to come to the country we ask everyone to follow the advice of the government to prevent the worst. president said the 2 patients who tested positive are in quarantine and came from abroad but the pandemic is expected to hit haiti's crumbly health care system hard there are just over 100 intensive care beds available for the 10000000 people that live here 2 thirds of the population don't have access to decent sanitation regular hand washing is a luxury the state of emergency is being enforced to stop new cases but health care workers are concerned it could also prevent medical supplies and volunteer doctors from coming in argument against it but again we don't have supplies we haven't even heard from the ministry of health we don't have clubs or mosques to fight the virus

in 2010 u.n. peacekeepers were responsible for bringing and cholera to the country at least 10000 people died the. cholera caused major damage in haiti. with the arrival of the corona virus in the face a major crisis could contain cholera and would be even worse for the coronavirus. gas stations ran out of fuel on friday he's fighting against kovac 19 is likely to be brutal we heard in al-jazeera ok let's run through some other top stories for you north korea has fired 2 missiles into the sea off the peninsula's east coast according to the south korean military earlier this month the last several missiles into the same area as part of what its leaders called firing drills the u.s. and china have been pushing north korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear and missile programs rob mcbride has more now from the south korean capital seoul the difference between this test and the previous 2 tests we have had this series does seem to be more sophisticated weaponry on show the 1st 2 tests at work

from the east coast of the peninsula and it that they appear to have been either rocket launchers or low range artillery these launches of 2 projectiles were from the west coast they flew right over the peninsula 400 kilometers landing in the sea that separates the from japan and it does appear that south korean military officials here know that they were short range ballistic missiles and also they noted that the guidance system appeared to have been in use so it's led people here to conclude this is part of a new more sophisticated guided weapon system that the north koreans have been developing south korea has condemned this launches saying that it is extremely inappropriate to say the least to be conducting this sort of test while the rest of the world is struggling with the coronavirus outbreak. almost 30 security forces

personnel have been killed in an attack on an afghan military base the government blames the attack in zabul province on the taliban the armed group signed a peace deal with the u.s. last month as part of the agreement the taliban was supposed to begin talks with afghan leaders about reducing violence but the process stalled after a disagreement over the release of prisoners. for years an informal recycling industry inside gaza has accounted for at least some of the huge amounts of plastic waste generated by the strips more than 2000000 residents but in recent years thanks both to the israeli blockade and a lack of proper waste management has been declined environmental experts say the consequences could be long term and damaging is harry fawcett. in the skies over gaza migratory birds look for an easy feed drawing them here in a giant landfill east of gaza city they aren't the only one sifting through the more than 2000 tons of solid waste dumped every day. just. across

the road and his team represent the 1st layer of gaza's informal plastics recycling industry they each earn about $9.00 a day. i should start them off. it has had the workers i have here they separated all out it could be used for pipes coathangers blankets even furniture others collect plastic from the streets bring it to people like mahmoud shihab at his factory it's shredded washed and reformed into hoses for electric cabling or irrigation 5 years ago there were more than 70 plastics factories like this now there are fewer than 10 mahmoud blames the israeli economic blockade for cutting demand and hampering the electricity supply but he says gaza's hamas leadership needs to do more. of the blast that the government needs to tell people how to dispose of plastic properly and at the same time send plastic to factories like ours in big amounts it's much better than

throwing in the garbage given gaza's other challenges widespread poverty repeated conflict between its armed groups and israel its unsurprising that recycling hasn't been a priority but that means more than 90 percent of the plastic discarded more than 300 tons a day is simply dumped and this is what that looks like on the ground or more to the point in the ground and that's why gaza's plastics problem is also a chemical contamination problem. some 2 thirds of the waste here is organic as it rots away it takes with it toxic material from plastic and other waste it's mixed in with that further degrades garza's already tainted soil and water and threatens its food chain. from the health. of the. catastrophic environmental conditions that we are living here. in one small area of gaza city though there is at least an effort underway

a pilot project to encourage separation of waste such projects have been tried before and shelved but it is at least a step towards reducing gaza's plastic problem carrefour said al-jazeera gaza the american country music kenny rogers has died his family said he died at home in georgia he was 81 rogers won 3 grammys and performed for 60 years retiring from touring and 2017 his most notable notable hits including 2 seal and islands in the stream but he performed along with dolly parton. this is al-jazeera these are the top stories the u.s. and mexico have begun restricting non-essential travel across their shared border to contain the spread of the coronavirus it follows a similar agreement between the u.s. and canada on european countries italy and spain are struggling to stem new

infections the u.k. has joined in the lockdown ordering the closure of cafes pubs gyms and other businesses thailand's reported more than 89 new infections the biggest daily jump in the number of cases so far taking its social infection rate to 411 singapore has recorded its 1st 2 deaths from the virus. i know singapore is to be worried and anxious we must stick our rich and not give into office we have announced a series of save distancing measures yesterday and remus all took their society precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe we must unite to work together support one another look out for each other this way by staying together we will be able to prevail and overcome could be $1000.00 infection in other news north korea has fired 2 missiles into the sea off the peninsula's east coast that's according to the south korean military earlier this month that launched several missiles into

the same area as part of what its leaders called firing drills the u.s. and china been pushing north korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear and missile programs almost 30 security forces personnel have been killed in an attack on an afghan military base the government blames the attack in the province of zabul on the taliban the armed group signed a peace deal with the u.s. last month kenny rogers has died his family said he died at home in georgia at the age of $81.00 he won 3 grammys and performed for 60 years retiring from touring in 2017 some of his biggest hits including lucille and islands in the stream up next it's inside story i'm back after that with 30 minutes of al-jazeera world news i will see you then. talk to al jazeera what will force will when you saw that document for the post or we listen after the world war saying you'll be in to go build you know at this stage of you but we will not be with you we meet with

global news makers and toolkit about the stories that matter just 0. is total lockdown the cure for the coronavirus the city at the center of china's crisis reports no new cases for the 2nd day in a row of other cities following han's lead and imprisoned millions of its people for weeks and is china's experiment the model for us all this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program i'm homage i'm joined the world was stunned when trying his government announced the shutdown of war on the city at the center of the coronavirus out.