al-jazeera the news and current affairs that manti t.e.o. . just the. world leaders call for any coronavirus vaccine to be free and universally available . i'm richelle carey this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up. the country's got to get back and it's going to get back as soon as possible mixed messages president tunnel top and north advice from his top virus task force experts. hunger during a pandemic entire households in south africa are struggling to afford enough food

also. coronavirus changes the way you millions of people work one swedish company hopes monkley driven vehicles can make truck driving a stock a time job. they began this this half hour with a global plea from world leaders calling for a covert $1000.00 vaccine to be distributed free of charge to all countries and an open letter more than $140.00 current and former leaders nobel laureates and academics call for the global sharing of data and technologies related to this virus and that when a virus is developed it's distributed equally and according to need a comes as french pharmaceutical company says that it would give the u.s. preference to buy the vaccine because it was the 1st to fund the research but the french government says that that is an acceptable organization has warned the virus may never be wiped out that says without

a vaccine it could take years for people to build immunity. this wire is may become just another in demi virus in our communities and this virus may never go away hiv has not gone away we've come to terms with the virus and we have found the therapies and we found the prevention methods and people don't feel as scared. as they did before and we're offering life to people with hiv long healthy lives to people with a jury that whole joins us live now from london so donna what else can you tell us about this letter this plea to basically make sure everybody who wants a back can get this vaccine once it's available. yes this is a letter with a pretty illustrious list of signatures as you mentioned they're public figures some 50 former world leaders some current world leaders as well it's fronted by the south african president still from opposer the pakistan prime minister in iran current and others and it reflects clearly real concerns in the developing world

the global south to use the terminology in the letter that a vaccine when it's found will come from the richer world the developed world the global north and be used there 1st before it's distributed more widely to countries that don't have the resources the funding the finances to perhaps pay for secure their own share so the letter says that that has actually when it's discovered if it's discovered that should be made public and free it to be produced at scale to be made available to the billions of people worldwide who will need it at no cost for the greater global public good specifically it says we cannot afford for monopolies for crude competition and near-sighted nationalism to stand in the way now as we speak of course the race for a vaccine is hotly underway there are more than $100.00 clinical trials taking place all over the world 'd many of them in europe in the united states at

different stages of progress the most advanced one the biggest one is taking place here in the u.k. at oxford university and the best guess that they're able to come up with there is that they may if they're lucky have a vaccine within months but that staling it up for global use could take a lot longer well into or even beyond next year and this is obviously the developed world very keen that they don't get made to wait even longer than that ok. thank you very much. ok let's go now to order to is covering this story for us from paris so what about this pharmaceutical company this french company that says that the u.s. will get priority when it comes to this vaccine. yes well this is going to stir in france because on wednesday the side of the french pharmaceutical company said that if they were able to develop

a vaccine they would give the united states priority in supplying the vaccine because the united states has invested so heavily in the research now at that caused quite a stir in frauleins with many health experts saying that was simply unfair and the french government also waded in a french deputy minister saying that those comments were unacceptable and unacceptable because of any vaccine that is found by a country and this is president who said this several times should be equally shared in the world because this is a pandemic it is touched people everywhere in all countries and the vaccine should be readily available to everyone without any preference for a particular country and also the french states has invested a lot in santa fe sun if he has benefited from tens of millions of dollars worth of research credits over the years so controversial comments by the boss of sound of people since then today the french health minister all of a whole says that he has spoken to the boss of santa fe and he is reassured he says

that these comments were simply clumsy and the boss was sound if he has actually retracted these comments saying this would not be the case and that the health minister says he's reassured that in fact a vaccine is developed by the french pharmaceutical company that it would be readily available equally to all countries at the beginning of the prime minister of france is asking for help when it comes to tourism france is one of the most popular countries in the world for people to visit obviously that is not what's happening so what is it that he wants to see happen. yes the french prime minister. unveiling a rescue plan if you like for for old says tourism industry that has been battered by the current of our response to make and the subsequent knockdowns you're looking at a situation in which people have really not been able to travel people so need open taking holidays restaurants and hotels cafes museums shot the tourism industry has

really suffered and millions of people run the tourism industry especially in falls one of the most visited countries in the world for their livelihood so what the french prime minister wants to do is try and revive this industry get it working again but of course it's very difficult in this coronavirus pandemic is the crisis continues so he is no one's going to lines for hotels and restaurants to be able to open hopefully the beginning of june with special sanitation measures and so through distancing measures in place he's also announced $18000000000.00 euros of that's about $18000000000.00 of a helpful to tourism industry to get back on his feet if you like. for us in paris and hotshot thank you the leader of the country worst affected by coronaviruses going against the advice of his top infectious disease experts president donald trump says he wants the u.s. economy up and running again as soon as possible but his message comes a day after dr anthony warn the rushing to reopen could have serious consequences

including needless death and suffering i can report from washington d.c. . the president met with the governors of colorado and north dakota and urged them to look into reopening schools as soon as possible the country's getting it back and it's going to get back as soon as possible and i don't consider a country coming back and the schools are closed it's a message at odds with that given by dr anthony fauci who told a senate committee tuesday that there were real dangers in reopening states too soon making particular reference to schools we don't know everything about this virus and we've really got to be very careful particularly when it comes to children presidential candidate joe biden was quick to comment i would trust the guy who's one of our nation's top public health experts he tweeted not the one who pondered injecting disinfectant into the body and look directly at a solar eclipse there are federal guidelines for governors to consider among the

recommendations that the rate of infection drops for 2 weeks before mitigating measures are eased that a proper tracing procedure be established and that testing protocols be in place none of the states that have begun to reopen meet all these criteria and in wisconsin another denial of the concerns of medical experts the supreme court has struck down the governor's stay at home order siding with republican leaders who argue the administration had overstepped its legal authority it's an argument that has received explicit support in tweets from the white house mike hanna al-jazeera washington the mayor of the biggest city in south africa says people are almost 1000000 households do not have enough to eat johannesburg has been locked down for more than 6 weeks now along with the rest of the country many businesses remain

closed and that is leaving families without work and minimal reports. candace played says she's making the most of the little food she has she lost her job at a job printing company when it was shut as the lockdown began weeks ago with no income she depends on government support to feed her 4 children were moved from the log down it wasn't really asked for on the fly and yet times it was really difficult because it was for the whole month we had to wait for the whole month to get like the child support money so it was a struggle for me every day and though we received the money last week last few days to go by and we lose him by going in stuff like that the wife of food like full groceries for the mind by the end of the day we still struggling the mayor of johannesburg says people in a 1000000 households don't have enough to eat the national government in pretoria has increased the child support grant and it's created a special grant of $20.00 a month to help workers who've lost their jobs survive the lock down government

leaders say they're spending the equivalent of almost 3000000000 dollars on the unemployed and the poor but even before the lockdown 45 percent of johannesburg's 5 and a half 1000000 people lived in poverty to make the crisis even worse many workers have lost their jobs since the lockdown began the government says it's handing out food parcels to about 2000 homes every day but it's simply not enough organizations like this one a cry for help or would go up by handing out 2 cooked meals every day. neuron gain has run this food charity for 7 years but says she can barely keep up since the lockdown began. when i've started the feeding we started with about her in 50. and it's turned over in a matter of a week after the lockdown to almost 4 to 500 a day saturday as i did 300 right now is standing on 1200. on

a saturday alone the organization relies on donations and she's not received any help from the government jones has run this barber shop for 16 years it's been closed for weeks leaving for staff members with no work and dia without any income she's applied for a government grant but has not heard back instead her customers help to buy food with an economy largely stalled and no clear indication of when the lockdown will end many are relying on handouts to survive for me to al-jazeera johannesburg still ahead on al-jazeera and understanding the unpredictable how our knowledge of rhinovirus is changing and what that means for future. and i a starring role as saudi arabia is turning to hollywood to invest.

however another big area of rain is developing in southern china maybe not that obvious and satellite picture but it is this cloud here and as it develops subtle take rain straight out through shanghai to the korean peninsula and then of course it will sink down through a major part of japan north of the dollar still quiet and wall $26.00 in beijing and to decisive just on the edge of it in hong kong $32.00 degrees on the high side of your temperature range you might notice on a storm or 2 out of it but probably not the main reason this is such as a rookie goes through honshu just comes out sasa tokyo so no one home she's got a couple of draw days attempts in the low twenty's. and there are quite a few developments the moment in india and pakistan there's been some heavy rain in the north of pakistan from this massive cloud as development in the bay of bengal probably will turn into a tropical psycho but it's slow moving and of course you've got the big showers

a develop ahead of the main monsoon right in the northeast of india in bangladesh an increase to get rain down the coast from carol who is as an investor lanka so let's just focus on this developing cycle it looks like it's coming into was the coast but it's taking a long time doing it doesn't quite make it the forecasts even for now isn't that what. we. do when these young street kids who filmed in the windy little kid they have imagined that there she is later they'd be reunited on camera. an intimate portrayal spanning a life time probes the twists and tons of friendship survival and the quest for meaning. in another life and witness documentary on al-jazeera.

the. this is al jazeera and these are the top stories right now dozens of current and former world leaders have made a plea for free and equal access to a covert $1000.00 vaccine once it's been developed the request is made an open letter which also urged countries to share data and virus related technologies as president on alter opposite nor in the advice of his top infectious disease expert he wants the u.s. economy up and running as soon as possible because the 1000 task force member dr anthony fauci says rushing to reopen that lead to needles to. the mayor of one of south africa's biggest cities johannesburg says people in almost a 1000000 households to not have enough food many businesses remain closed because

of the pandemic. that's more than 5 months now since the 1st known case of the corona virus but there's still a lot to learn about how it impacts the human body early on people were warned to watch for fever shortness of breath and try cough but as medical understanding of the virus grows more is being warned about other ways covert 1000 appears to attack the body we now know it can cause damage to kidneys organs that filter waste from the blood meaning some patients may require dialysis it could also weaken the heart and cause like clots and some patients that can trigger heart attacks or stroke if the blood clots large and large that is in the brain then there's vomiting in formation of the eyes loss of smell and taste skin rashes rashes and other issues related to the immune system they are conason national health service doctor and a senior lecturer at the lead school of medicine in the u.k. he says some of the viruses effects can impact patients for the rest of their lives

. it's a new disease so everything is new we're learning new things about it all the time it was initially thought just to be a respect retrieve iris like other coronaviruses the common cold saws and miss but we now know that the reset to the binds to the ace to reset to is it can get into the intestines in the kidneys quite easily it can travel along the nervous system as well so we're seeing all these new long term problems developing so with with adults usually get the fever cough with children it seems to have a predisposition for their intestines and they get that they gastroenterologist diarrhea or an abdominal pain in terms of long term consequences is there is evidence to suggest that actually it can do permanent damage to the lung something called pulmonary fibrosis way the lungs don't inflate and deflate as well even after the person has cleared the virus and that can lead to permanent problems with breathing shortness of breath and minimal exertion that kind of thing we're also

seeing people with chronic kidney disease at the end of the virus because what it does is a fex a tiny tiny blood vessels in the kidneys which feed the filtration system in the kidneys and once that filtration system gets damaged it's irreversible so those people can end up with chronic kidney disease and a small number again and upon dialysis and that isn't reversible they will be on dialysis for the rest of their life. as harsh restrictions remain in place across europe life in one country hasn't looked too different during the pandemic and sweden there has been no walk down restaurants schools and shops have all state of the football people have been trusted to adopt social distancing the approach has attracted curiosity and criticism its death toll now more than $3400.00 as much higher than its neighbors at the phenomena of the virus is projected to be lower than the euro zone average is carson is a heresy professor in the c.e.o.

of the ratio institute a swedish think tank focusing on the economy and politics he says sweden's approach will have long term advantages as the world mourns to live with the virus. the short term consequences the deaths compared to other countries is a bit higher current click compared to norway denmark and so on it's lower them from the ok but the long term consequences what will happen to the economy what will happen to total deaths after a 2nd or 3rd wave that may hit other countries harder than sweden that's the big question what we know so far we don't have a vaccine a vaccine may take one year 2 years nobody knows so the efforts to contain the virus is doomed to fail i think so much of the world will have to handle to manage the virus and i think there are lessons here in suede i'm. we are approaching or at least augmenting immunity in stock on the projections on shore of

course but some people say that may june or something we will reach something approaching herd immunity than the virus will the democrat go down automatically we have to find ways of handling this without a vaccine and we cannot do it by the severe lockdowns the authoritarian ashes that been used all over the world because the economic social psychological counter consequences are dishonest because we will see unemployment rates are heard of since the 19th thirty's and those costs have to be taken account as well. staying in this weekend as many people continue to work from home one company is developing new technology that could allow truck drivers to do the same paul race reports i send out and southern sweden. this may not be the most thrilling

driving experience just yet but it could be the future of long distance trucking this is a testing site for i mean right already in commercial operation with one haulage company in sweden on right builds remote controlled trucks driven from a far from the comfort of an aerodynamic office chair. we just have to show the general population that the trucks are safer or safer of them the crooks that we have on the roads today they will never get tired they will never fall asleep and the reality of today is that there's a shortage of truck drivers if you're doing trucking it's very very hard to find drivers it's hoped that some may find this less exhausting than life on the open highway now from the point of view of a truck driver taking this job instead of buckling up for a long day on the road they're just arrive to the office drive the truck from here perhaps go to the gym at lunch time and even at the end of the day of the truck was hundreds of kilometers away they could be home in time for dinner. the trucks all

fueled by battery operated via mobile data so it sends out in progress some measures the distance the government right now restricts them to 5 kilometers per hour so the trucking company already using them only does so at their own premises the actual top speed is still secrets but is already much closer to national traffic limits on rights say the trucks can also keep the flow of goods moving during crises such as the corona virus pandemic while the remote's drivers remain isolated. it's not an idea as yet fully embraced by sweden's existing army of truckers here in the southern city of mile might. die you know you'll to go i'm a job. i like my job you meet many people say hello sometimes 60 stops a day this thing can work and floats would mean ferry terminals but the way we drive i don't think so doing that let the meeting make it make things easier when

it works but it's hard to replace a human being who doesn't force me into retirement anyway i don't want things to change too fast. or to closures and reduced production have caused job losses in sweden's trucking industry but the lack of a lockdown has helped keep it rolling remote's driving maybe a vital addition if not a replacement for a system that keeps people and the economy alive pull race al-jazeera some told sweden. prosecutors in malaysia have agreed to drop a money laundering case against the stepson of former prime minister najib razak and exchange will return assets worth more than $100000000.00 to the government or as louis has more from kuala lumpur. the full terms of the sense of man have not been disclosed but prosecutors in malaysia say the government will receive a substantial sum running into millions of ring get prosecutors also say they will seek a full acquittal for result as is once the agreed some has been paid in for now reservist

charged last year with 5 counts of money laundering he's accused of receiving nearly $250000000.00 through the bank accounts of red light that's a hollywood production company he co-founded prosecutors say that money was stolen from malaysian state investment fund one empty beat and red grandma has also been tied to the corruption scandal the u.s. justice department has said 3 films were financed with money stolen from the fund including wolf of wall street which starred dicaprio and red granite has since returned $16000000.00 to u.s. authorities and these are just 2 cases tied to the corruption scandal at one end the u.s. and malaysian authorities have said 4 and a half $1000000000.00 was stolen from the fund which was set up during the administration of former malaysian prime minister razak who's the stepfather of

oz's u.s. authorities have described the corruption scandal at one m.t.b. as clip talk abt its worst one m.t.b. officials and their associates have used the money stolen from the funds to buy luxury properties expensive jewelry and fine art the u.s. has returned or helped malaysia recover around $600000000.00 from the sale of some of those assets and the former prime minister himself. is facing dozens of charges related to the corruption scandal at one m.t.b. including criminal breach of trust and money laundering he's pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing. more on the virus in a bit 1st a 2nd look at some of the other news of the day a suicide bombing in southeast afghanistan has killed at least 5 civilians and injured more than 20 the attack happened in a military facility in paktia province the taliban has claimed responsibility saying it was in retaliation to the government's decision to resume an offensive

against the group the explosion comes 2 days after more than 50 people were killed in kabul and har fighters loyal to war locally for are launched a rocket attack on the capital tripoli overnight that's where the u.n. recognize government is based the hospital and civilian areas were targeted and we're going to least 14 people after has intensified attacks on civilians this month after the tripoli government's military repelled his forces recent advances u.n. agencies are warning that libyans are being threatened by both fighting and the coronavirus the u.n. says there's a high risk the outbreak will escalate following the deaths of 3 people and dozens of infections is also warning that fighting is hampering the delivery of aid and having a catastrophic effect on civilians that includes migrants and refugees entertainment industry is one of the sectors hardest hit by the global pandemic and that's giving some nations like saudi arabia a chance to invest arbonne will support some los angeles. as the world economy

staggers under the shock of the coronavirus saudi arabia led by de facto ruler crown prince mohammed bin sol mon is going. these are very speculative investments but it does seem like they will spend money at any place that's asking the $320000000000.00 saudi public investment fund has bought big stakes in companies devastated by covert 19 as the funds governor explained in an investor's video conference. would look and to me opportunities i mean if you look at different sectors like an alliance. and to think that the saudi fund snapped up 8.2 percent of carnival cruise lines some of whose passengers were sickened by corona virus in the early stages of the outbreak carnival's stock price

was in the cellar the fund also invested $500000000.00 in live nation parent company of ticketmaster and a leader in big live concerts featuring the likes of madonna they are little bit scattershot they're mostly in entertainment as saudi led group is trying to buy newcastle united football club in the english premier league for about $370000000.00 and the saudis are reportedly seeking a stake in warner music which bones and operates some of the world's biggest record labels and music publishers look i think every company that needs money is lining up in cop and calling saudi arabia and that wasn't the case a few months ago indeed the saudi regime was for a time an international business pariah following the murder of the journalist joe moll khashoggi inside the saudi consulate in istanbul a killing investigations by the un and the cia concluded. it was most likely

orchestrated by the crown prince but things have changed you know in a market where if you want to survive you have to go into business with partners you don't want the plays a risky if the search for a covert 19 vaccine and treatments drag on for years cruise lines and entertainment companies could go belly up leaving shareholders like the saudis holding the bag even as the shopping spree continues saudis are being asked to tighten their belts the government recently announced it would triple the value added tax to consumers pay after state revenues fell 22 percent in the 1st quarter due to a collapsing oil prices rob reynolds al-jazeera los angeles to big landmarks and southwest germany have disappeared in just a few seconds. this cooling

towers are part of the now closed phillipsburg nuclear power station all of germany's nuclear plants are being phased out by 2022 that's a decision that was made after the fukushima disaster and japan growing activists welcome the latest demolition and call for more investment and renewable power sources. i'm shocked kerry these are the headlines on al-jazeera that's of current and former world leaders have made a play for free and equitable access to a covert $1000.00 vaccine once it's been developed the request was made in an open letter which also urged countries to share a tattoo and virus related technologies john hall has more from london. it's fronted by the softly president from opposing the pakistan prime minister. and others and reflects clearly real concerns in the developing world the global south

to use the terminology in the letter that a vaccine when it's found will come from the rich or will the developed world the global north and be used this 1st before it's distributed more widely to countries that don't have the resources the funding the finances to. pay for secure there yeah there's been criticism in france after the pharmaceutical companies said that it would give the u.s. preference to buy this vaccine because it was the 1st to fund the research the french government had earlier said that was unacceptable but the country's health minister has now said he's been reassured after talking with the head of sanofi is president donald trump is ignoring the advice of his top infectious disease expert he wants the us economy up and running as soon as possible to coburn 1000 task force member dr anthony fauci though says that rushing to reopen could lead to needless death the mayor of one of south africa's biggest cities johannesburg says people at almost a 1000000 households do not have enough food many businesses remain closed because

of the pandemic a suicide bombing in southeast afghanistan has killed at least 35 civilians and entered more than 20 it's back happened in a military facility impact here province the taliban has claimed responsibility saying it was in retaliation for the government's decision to resume an offensive against the group the explosion comes 2 days after more than 50 people were killed in kabul and nagar fighters loyal to war locally for have tar launched a rocket attack on the capital tripoli overnight that's where the un recognized government is based at all and civilian areas were targeted injuring at least 14 people. tens of thousands of people have been forced into emergency shelters after it's at the eastern philippine power thing cut off and homes destroyed by when's of up to 180 kilometers an hour. a set of headlines keep it on al-jazeera inside story is next.

we'll have a direct talks between the afghan government and the taliban following further atop the resumes offensive operations against what the president calls the enemies the taliban calls this a declaration of war this is inside story. hello welcome to the program and it's from the cradle to the grave it seems no one is safe from afghanistan and list.