and i doubt it's easy to assume that cities are fertile ground for spreading viruses and diseases millions living working and commuting in such tight visions but one expert says it's about much more than just density it's about how this was put together and how it's run. 'd 26000000 americans have now filed for unemployment benefits. devastates the global economy. this is just. coming up a warning from germany's leader the country's only at the start of the crisis as new infections rise for a 3rd day. after 9 years of war in syria the 1st trial linked to a legit state sponsored torture begins in germany. dangerous.

united nations criticizes israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied west bank saying it violates international law. we begin in the u.s. where figures released just hours ago paint a devastating picture of the economy just 5 weeks tens of millions of jobs being wiped out let's take a look at the numbers then last week another 4400000 americans filed for unemployment benefits that's fewer than the week before more than 5300000 registered for jobless support for the scale of these figures is unprecedented in all more than 26000000 americans have now applied for unemployment benefits since the end of march. that was when president donald trump made the 1st of his covert

19 outbreak declarations a white house correspondent kimberly hallock is live from washington d.c. for us so kimberly as we all know this is the administration that long touted jobs jobs jobs how serious a blow is this. this is a you know a serious blow to the u.s. president because this is what he single handedly was hoping to win reelection on and this is a very divided country and even those that didn't like donald trump were potentially considering voting for him again just to keep the job make sure they could keep food on the table but all of that has disappeared not just the jobs created since downturn came to office but even the one since the sort of last recession here in the united states in the late 2000 so this is a real concern for this administration and that's why you see the u.s. president cheerleading so hard to try and get the economy reopened and while he is

listening to public health officials for the most part saying that this will be sort of a phased reopening and there will be a social distancing in place in many of the states it's still only going to be about 40 percent of the economy as it was in the united states pre-code a virus and so that's the challenge for this u.s. president we're seeing these job losses all across the spectrum of employment whether it's the hospitality industry the construction industry and we're now starting to see it in those white collar jobs where many thought that things would spring back that this would be a so-called v. shaped recovery now many people starting to question that as they realize that returning to normal won't be the normal that they knew previously we should also point out there are protests that are continuing to grow across the united states many americans who are struggling without a paycheck pushing their governors to reopen but again many feeling that this might

be premature fearing that a 2nd outbreak of coronavirus could hit the united states if things reopen too quickly. the same time all of this he thinks not only in the streets but inside congress to them putting together an aid package houselights going. yeah another aid package being passed by the u.s. congress at the request of the white house it's already passed the u.s. senate it's going through the house of representatives and donald trump is hoping to sign it by the end of the week it as it's what it contains is another package for small businesses to try and keep people on their payroll to try and alleviate this loss of jobs this time it's 370000000000 was so successful last time the 350000000000 ran out a matter of weeks so this is a refilling of that program there's also in this legislation 75000000000 for hospitals and 25000000000 for the start of sort of

a national testing type program that will be implemented by the states this was a request by democrats because of course you're going to have people go back to work you have to make sure that they are safe to go back to work so this was critically important but what's not being discussed in all of this is how to pay for it in the end because already we're hearing talk of another rescue package that could bring about jobs in the future this is still a long way off but this would be an infrastructure package to rebuild some of america's crumbling infrastructure and create jobs that's still a long way off but already we're hearing that this could be another rescue package in the trillions of dollars and again no discussion about how all of this is going to be repaid or events can really help help us on the perspective that washington d.c. . has millions of americans lose their jobs those considered essential workers are stepping up to keep the u.s. economy going but in doing so they're often putting that own health at risk but i sure am reports now from chicago. when you work at

a jail keeping the lights on and the power flowing or a matter of public safety beatrice thompson is among the team of electricians working at the cook county correctional facility in chicago it has been a little stressful being an electrician carries its own set of risks but these days going to work also means potential exposure to a covert 19 outbreak about 9 detainees and a correctional officer have died and more than 700 have tested positive for the virus at the facility thompson says she pushes the stress aside to focus on being as meticulous as she can about implementing coronavirus safety measures to me is not an option i mean we just have to continually move forward. and whatever stronger us. just deal with it. from transforming mccormick place

convention center into an alternate care facility to ensuring people can stock up on groceries essential workers are keeping the american economy humming yet great risk to themselves and their families they are continuing to fight for safer workplaces across the u.s. there have been protests workers have walked off the job and others have threatened to strike essential workers the ones who must go to work in order to make sure that our city in our state or country keep moving are oftentimes the ones who are paid the least have the fewest rights on the job and are generally overlooked by a large swath of society at the chicago federation of labor which represents half a 1000000 union members is lobbying political leaders to expand a paid sick and family leave the spokesman says this health crisis has highlighted the need for workers to become empowered to organize and advocate for their rights

. thompson says at times the coronavirus pandemic feels like an unpleasant dream yet the limited social interaction both on and off the job has brought benefits for me it has been a time of reflection i have been able to re-evaluate my own life and the things that i do and and how i do them despite the risks thompson is also grateful she's still bringing home a paycheck her union says about half of its 10000 electricians are now unemployed the talks are going to aim jazeera chicago. german chancellor angela merkel is calling for unity among the leaders in the fight against with 19 during a speech to parliament merkel said success can only come if the bloc fights the virus together the number of new infections in germany rose for the 3rd day merkel

is warning politicians the country is still the beginning of the outbreak newmont with the government nobody likes to hear it but it's the truth we're not living in the final phase of the pandemic but still at the beginning we will have to live with the virus for a long time just a few hours after merkel's call for unity european leaders met online to discuss the block's economic response to the pandemic the e.u. is seeking a joint financial fund of up to 2 trillion dollars to aid recovery efforts the block has already agreed on a $500000000000.00 package to help those countries worst hit by the outbreak. we'll have more on the coronavirus pandemic shortly but 1st let's take a look now at some of the other news from around the world to syrians suspected of being former intelligence officers are on trial in germany the men are accused of committing crimes against humanity during the early days of syria's revolution it's

the 1st court case linked to allege and state sponsored torture by president bashar al assad's government dominic cain is following the trial berlin. the case against these individuals is that in different capacities at the start of the syrian civil war they were part of the intelligence and security apparatus of president bashar assad's government and in those capacities they either carried out or were complicit in the carrying out of multiple murders of torture there's one allegation of rape and other serious violent attacks against the syrian people as i say at the start of the syrian civil war what's interesting about this is these individuals came to germany at different times and presented themselves to the authorities as refugees and yet starting today for the course of the next few months they're going to hear claims that they are anything but that they are guilty as i say of the crimes and the offenses which i just outlined outlined of course the presumption of

innocence applies here they deny the charges there are other interesting elements about this the german government is choosing to to implement the jurisdiction it claims that it has under the universal genet jurisdiction for serious crimes such as genocide and other serious crimes and that is what's being applied here and many international human rights organizations and other campaign organizations say that what is happening today and will be unfolding over the next few months represents a watershed the 1st chance for the victims of the sort of offenses that are alleged to have taken place here to see justice being allowed to progress. the u.n. says it's concerned about the reports of chemical weapons use in libya on wednesday the internationally recognized government in tripoli accused ward after of using them the u.n. secretary general special representative in libya says the report is alarming and

a special panel is looking into it. i did have an exchange with the interior minister last night and it is a very concerning way or now i would make 2 comments here but be at the signatory to the n.p.t. w they can certainly go that route in terms of requests. and we have also referred this to the panel of experts who will be looking into it so it's again you know it's a very very concerning report. they wanted nations says israel's plan to axe parts of the occupied west bank violates international law and deals a devastating blow to the 2 state solution u.n. special coordinator for the middle east peace process made the comments to the security council it comes after u.s. secretary of state mike pompei o said it was up to israel's new government to decide whether or not to make such a move on diplomatic at the james bases more from the united nations well clearly

the new coalition government in israel makes the prospect of the annexation of parts of the west bank much more likely that means that areas currently seen as occupied under international law will be brought under israel's sovereignty at least that's how israel would see it the u.n. on these issues particularly on this subject is always very very careful not to upset any side particularly about something that hasn't happened yet and yet in the security council meeting the special coordinator mcnichol i'm allowed enough was very strong the dangerous prospect of an accession israel parts of the right most bank is a growing threat such a home were implemented it would constitute a serious violation of international law deal a devastating blow to the 2 state solution close the door to ridicule of negotiations and threaten efforts for advanced regional peace. we also heard from the palestinian ambassador to the u.n.

riyadh munns or i quote while world leaders call for negotiations with certain they didn't mean negotiations but he netanyahu and gans to determine what palestinian land they would steal and illegally and next the israeli ambassador danny dent on said israel was helping the palestinians with code 19 yet at the same time the palestinians were using hate and anti semitic incitement against israel it's worth pointing out as the other members of the security council been speaking that apart from the u.s. none of the other 14 members would tolerate the annexation of palestinian land in the west bank but as a security council there is very little they can do because the u.s. is a permanent member and it has a veto on any action they might plan. still ahead on al-jazeera why our current north. south africa results to its biggest military deployment in modern history to enforce its lockdown. robots are being used to sanitize

exam rooms in hong kong this questions as to whether one of the most important tests for students should go ahead. hello there plenty of insider weather calls will northern sections of the middle east finally a bit of a break the cross much of the arabian peninsula but you will of course remember we have just recently had the flooding into yemen and just look at this now this is literally the day off to say this is what is left in the streets all this rubble this mud or of which of course has got to be kid away but the power of that water as you can see has done a lot of damage to the roads but the good news is through friday and saturday we might just say nothing as heavy as we have seen lately the heavy rain is across those attack he pushes across into northern sections of iran and it'll stay in the

focal says ago through saturday some showers back your forecast through the eastern end of the med some fairly strong winds as well into those coastal areas now the rains across central and southern africa sutton across the deal congo these have really eased off we go through the next couple days well they will ease off they certainly ease really the last 24 hours that fairly widespread across towns near across into kenya again and also plenty of rain friday throughout much of madagascar up some heavy rain back in the forecast through central and eastern areas of south africa so if you shot along these coastal areas by saturday a very heavy rain is generally around the gulf of guinea on saturday. i easily test trades and trace frank assessments why is it it's only struggling to cope with the number of her own virus failure to take really aggressive action we

put them behind her informed opinions it's going to be much more challenging in a place like haiti where there is one ventilator 3000000 people in depth analysis of the day's global headlines as india done enough to nip the spread of coronavirus in the inside story on al-jazeera. the world. welcome back you're watching al-jazeera time to recap our headlines another 4 and a half 1000000 people in the u.s. have filed for unemployment benefits that means in just 5 weeks more jobs have been lost than would gain since the end of the 2009 recession. european union leaders

are holding a virtual conference to discuss the block's economic response to the pandemic seeking a joint financial fund of up to 2 trillion dollars to help recover and avoid economic collapse or a country's. 2 syrian suspected of being former intelligence officers are on trial in germany the men are accused of committing crimes against humanity during the early days of syria's revolution a. south african army has now called up its reserve forces to help in force and national locked out more than 70000 soldiers almost the entire standing army being deployed leaders in cities like cape town say they've seen a surge in looting since the restrictions were imposed let's bring in for me the mirror she joins us now live from johannesburg so what we expect things from a poser to say about easing those restrictions. well some may have indicated in the last 2 days that that would be the case in that

they're looking at a phased in approach with regard to easing the existing restrictions but we also heard from the department of health and experts there around what south africa would consider when planning its next move in dealing with the school overall pandemic and that if numbers continue to rise it would determine if whether or not there would be an easing of restrictions tonight the department of health has released the latest figures which shows south africa's biggest jump in 24 hours the number of confirmed cases has increased by $318.00 which so far is the biggest rise in numbers to 3953 cases and 10 more deaths so we're certain that this will be a consideration for the president when he speaks to south africans about whether or not there will be an easing of restrictions or which businesses can reopen which

which ones will stay shut with or not people can return to work with or not schools would reopen but it's quite an analysts are quite certain that it would take some time before any of that happens given that south africa is under one of the world's strictest lockdown so far that only people working in essential services are able to leave their homes and people are only able to leave their homes for food and to buy medicine. for me to give us an idea of what life is like mel under the current restrictions as they are. well it is a very strict lockdown there are hundreds of patrols as well as police and army roadblocks across the country to ensure that people aren't hearing to the restrictions we know that all religious gatherings have been banned we have schools are closed they are no whippings that can take place more than 120000 people have

been charged with contravening the restrictions put in place and it has led to some level of frustration by parts of south african society people aren't able to go to work some have lost their jobs economists also predict at least a minimum of $1000000.00 jobs will be lost because of this lockdown as south africa already has a almost 30 percent unemployment rate so there is quite a devastating effect on the economy and this is also where potentially the deployment of additional forces additional soldiers to streets in south africa would come into play so father about 7000 soldiers on the streets to ensure that people at here to these restrictions the army has said to that the 73000 additional soldiers are at the moment on standby but are prepared to be deployed we've seen some looting in provinces like the western cape so there does have

a high level of crime and so far we've seen more incidents of crime and some of it linked to the frustrations of people are having in that they don't have the money to buy the food that they need and now resorting to looting stores so analysts would say that potentially the deployment of even more troops would also be in place perhaps to deal with potential civil unrest if that were to happen thanks so much for minimal or. the people of somalia have struggled through years of conflict locus forms and now 19 health workers are facing the prospect of treating patients without adequate medical resources we have about our ports. mogadishu's martini hospital which dates back to the italian era is somalia's only medical facility dedicated to treating its growing number of corn up patients. due

to its limited capacity the hospital only caters for the sickest of patients this doctor runs the schools that is leading somalia as a response to the pandemic a little bit at least 219 patients of chrono have come to martini hospital since the outbreak 21 of those were admitted to the few beads available 17 people are still here while 3 patients died at the hospital. it's hard to tell the severity and spread of the virus in somalia until recently the nation like the capability to test for the new virus meaning some pulse was sent abroad and results delayed for more than a week also limited capacity by the government to trace people the 1st victims of the virus came into contact with. the good news however is that 4 people have so far recovered from the virus but she is one of them who knew he was provided good

care by the doctors and the nurses from the day it was confirmed i had the virus they also gave me good consul and when they broke the news to me so i was mentally prepared for everything i went through. all international and domestic flights except for emergency medical and food cargo have been suspended the borders are also being closed as part of an all out government effort to stop the spread of the disease in the gulf are going to have a massive public awareness campaign has also been mounted in the capital and in the media the source of the film that we're encouraging people to practice social distancing we're also will learn. them about what the viruses and the effect it can have as well as the importance of washing their hands and disinfecting any equipment they're using beyond the capital for fighters hold sway in many parts of rural somalia this means there's little access for medical and humanitarian workers to carry out lifesaving work al-shabaab fighters also carry out frequent attacks in

the capital and other major cities something else that hinders a proper response to the outbreak there now increasing fears that the disease will spread through comes housing displaced families who huddle and the hearts built from sticks and all drugs many of the 2400000 somalis displaced by conflict and other disasters over the years live in comes like this when a critical shortage of medical supplies and personnel also continues to creep hospitals across the nation. with some doctors and nurses now same thing being forced to choose between the health of their patients and their own. i'll just sit. there i think nations secretary general has warned the pandemic is fast becoming a human rights crisis and turning to terrorise is stressing that any emergency measures must be nondiscriminatory this threat is the vitals not people we must ensure that any emergency measures including states of emergency are legal

proportionate necessary and nondiscriminatory if a specific focus and duration and take the least intrusive approach possible to protect public calls the best response is one that responds proportionately to immediate threats while protecting human rights and the rule of law. there's been a mass burial for victims of the corona virus in brazil these images are from the now it's the capital of amazonas state the death rate in the region has more than tripled since the outbreak began a local mayor is warning of a public calamity is already strained hospitals deal with an influx of covert $900.00 patients in europe why some schools and brawl areas are reopening after being closed for a month has been a decline in the number of confirmed infections in the country but attendance at school the mandatory europe way has 500 cases and 12 deaths. students

in hong kong are preparing for some of their most important academic tests more than $52000.00 of them will now city exams that were perspire on last month the bigger part of reports. how do you hold a major state exam during a pandemic it's one of the toughest questions the hong kong government has faced since the outbreak started as high school students sit for what's seen as the most crucial test of their academic lives the diploma of secondary education or d.s.e. this exam is a theory where we important for them if we do not do it do it well and then if there is one of the wires here and there will be a trouble not just to b.s. the students but also to the city. infection controls for the 350 exam centers include spacing tables nearly 2 metres apart and ensuring students temperatures are checked and they're wearing mosques along with the invigilators the 52000 students taking these exams in halls like this across the city will be under intense

pressure all their formal education over the past 3 years culminates in these tests but this year along with the stress of having to perform well they will be dealing with concerns about their health and personal safety welcome please clean your hands and good luck. thank you. this school has enlisted the help of robots to minimize human to human contact and maintain sanitation the government has given basic guidelines and minimal funding for mosques and sanitizers. off to initially being postponed the government announced the exam dates just over a week before they were due to begin it feels like when you're told to go for a 400 meter race but then when at last 10 letters and then tell you that this is. an $800.00 metres race so it's like so frustrating to feeling is usually at the top

of her class but taking these exams in unpredictable circumstances is making her nervous. us are really worried about the situation that will happen like one week after during our exile maybe someone local coughs and examination and you and everyone just really really really panicked about that. schools have been closed since january due to the corona virus outbreak stephanie has been careful to maintain social distancing and sent us this footage of her studying from home. her teacher says they have continued lessons using video and teleconferencing apps but hong kong small living spaces and family distractions make it tough i think learning a school is still the replaceable expected to communicate with students in the lesson when you can check their understanding into me. the d.s.e. relies heavily on final exam results the government says it had little choice but to go ahead with it. but many are questioning whether that's the right decision for

the students and the future of the city. if you go pauline al-jazeera hong kong. this is al jazeera and these are our headlines another 4 and a half 1000000 people in the u.s. have filed for unemployment benefits that means in just 5 weeks more jobs have been lost some weight gain since the end of the 2009 recession kimberly how has more from washington d.c. . specially hard hit is the hospitality industry restaurants and hotels but also construction so the u.s. president had been the jobs president he brought on a platform as he campaigned in 20162017 the promise to create jobs and for the most part he delivered it but all of those gains have evaporated this is a president trying to run for reelection so this is why you hear the tone from the

u.s. president very eager to reopen this economy but again these numbers make that especially challenging european union leaders are holding a virtual conference to discuss the block's economic response to the pandemic it seeking a joint financial fund of up to 2 trillion dollars to help recover the void economic collapse in its poor countries. head of that meeting germany's chancellor angela merkel called for unity among e.u. leaders during a speech to parliament merkel said success can only come if the bloc fights the virus together she also warned germany's still at the beginning of the outbreak has been a mass burial for victims of the corona virus in brazil's man else the capital of amazonas state 3 times as many people are dying every day compared to before the outbreak a local mayor is warning of a public calamity is already strained hospitals deal with an influx of patients

brazil has reported more than 46000 cases to syrian suspected of being former intelligence officers are on trial in germany the men are accused of committing crimes against humanity during the early days of syria's revolution it's the 1st court case linked to a legit state sponsored torture by president bashar al assad's government. first south african army is called off its reserve forces to help enforce a national lockdown more than 70000 soldiers almost the entire standing army are being deployed leaders in cities like cape town say they've seen a surge in looting since the restrictions were imposed south africa has $65.00 deaths and over $3600.00 infections it's inside story now.

how much of a threat is corona virus to the world's food supply is there a serious warnings of a global shortage as the pandemic spread so how can the availability of food be safeguarded and can a famine crisis be averted this is inside story. hello welcome to the program i'm bernard smith widespread famines of biblical proportions the u.n. is warning covert 19 could call.