this is g w news live from berlin donald trump has made good on his threat to halt funding for the world health organization the us president said his administration had quote deep concerns as to whether american generosity has been pushed the best possible use also coming up on the show the international monetary fund it warns of a bleak forecast for the world with a coronavirus of smothering growth the i.m.f. says 2020 could be the worst a downturn since the great depression almost a century ago. and

a turkey releases prisoners to ease overcrowding amid the pandemic but opposition parties it say anti-government critics are being kept behind bars while murderers and rapists are going free. and clear richardson welcome to the show we begin it with another body blow by the trumpet ministration on the international world order in the midst of a global pandemic the us president says he is halting u.s. payments to the world health organization he accused it of failing to carry out its basic duty and said lives could have been saved if the w.h.o. had better investigated early reports about the virus from china today i'm instructing my administration to halt funding of the world health organization while a review is conducted to assess the world. health organization's role in severely

mismanaging and covering up the spread of the corona virus everybody knows what's going on there american taxpayers provide between $400000000.00 and $500000000.00 per year to the w.h.o. and contras join it contributes roughly $40000000.00 a year and even less as the organization's leading sponsor the united states has a duty to insist on full accountability time to take a look now at other news around the world its former u.s. president barack obama has endorsed a democratic contender joe biden in the race for the white house mr obama announced his support for his former vice president in a video message describing biden as the right leader to guide the u.s. it through one of its quote darkest times and. south korea's military says north korea has launched several missiles into the sea of japan the south claims jonghyun

fired cruise missiles and air to ground rockets the launch comes just days after north korean state media showed leader kim jong un visiting an airbase. profits at 2 major u.s. banks plunged in the 1st quarter wells fargo reported an 89 percent drop in earnings that's as it sets aside almost $4000000000.00 to cover potential losses on loans that due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier j.p. morgan chase an ounce to 69 percent drop in quarterly aren't earnings. today saw a bleak forecast of the likes of which the world has not seen since the 1930 s. the international monetary fund says the global economy is on track this year for the kind of downturn and that wrecked economies and lives during the great depression and it has everything to do with the far reaching measures designed to save lives in the coronavirus pandemic. amid lockdowns business shutdowns and

travel restrictions due to the covert 19 pandemic the outlook is bleak for the global economy the i.m.f. is now forecasting a decline of 3 percent this year before the pandemic emerged as a grave threat to public health and economic activity the organization was expecting over 3 percent growth in 2020. the i.m.f. chief economist says the current measures to contain the pandemic make a severe slowdown on avoidable remarked but this is a deep recession it is a recession that involves solvency issues it is the president that in walls unemployment rates going up dramatically and these tend to leave scars and while there are many very strong policy actions being taken some of this will spill over into the end that 2nd half of this year into 2021 the i.m.f. is optimistic about a robust recovery next year predicting global growth of 5.8 percent the institution

is providing loans to nations that need help in dealing with a pandemic. we are actively deploying our one trillion dollar lending capacity to support vulnerable countries including through rapid dispersing emergency financing. and debt service relief to a poorest member countries and we are calling on official credit has to do to say the i.m.f. caution that its forecast is clouded by on certainty about the path the corona virus will take a 2nd outbreak of the pandemic next year could make the economic collapse far more extreme. well turkey's parliament has passed a law releasing tens of thousands of prisoners as the country tries to reduce overcrowding in jails and curb the spread of the coronavirus but opposition parties and other critics say the law excludes anyone critical of president and of one's government it temporarily says don't cover people jailed on terrorism charges

including politicians and journalists who were arrested in the crackdown that followed an attempted coup in 2016 it's an awkward moment for a group photo members of the once party ignore appeal is your physical distancing from the president of the turkish parliament perhaps not too surprising since they also ignored the opposition's criticism of a bill that commute sentences for about a 3rd of turkey's prisoners excluded from the bill are journalists aligned with the opposition or others critical of the government jailed on what are widely seen as flimsy terror charges. this is a sentence commutation that fits your political priorities. the law introduced by edwin's a k party and backed by his nationalist allies the m h p converts some prison terms to house arrest the turkish justice minister says 17 prisoners have the coronavirus and 3 of them have since died women's organizations

and human rights activists have been campaigning against the legislation. almost all the crimes committed include theft fraud physical assault sexual assault and violence against women all of them $90000.00 inmates will be released from prison the coronavirus pandemic is keeping turkey's daily life on hold a 48 hour curfew went into effect last weekend and beginning friday residents of over 30 cities in the country will be on lockdown when germans are waiting to hear what chancellor angela merkel will say on wednesday about scaling back the lockdown here she's due to meet with state leaders to discuss recommendations that include a gradually reopening schools and stores but any rollback of the current restrictions will involve a delicate balancing act. germany has a tough decision to make keep restrictions in place like france or like austria start the country down the path towards normal life the consequences could be

enormous either way easing restrictions could put people's physical health at risk but there are also risks to keeping them in place and the kindness to actions are warranted but they have a very high cost not just an economic cost but also a social and psychological cost we need to think about how we can transition responsibly step by step into some sort of renormalizing nation and i think we need to do that quite soon. germany's public health institute the r k i is not against relaxation but wary of how it happens as of tuesday morning the r.k. ised latest figures for germany were $125098.00 total cases that's an increase of 2082 from the previous day total deaths are now at $2969.00 overall new cases have slowed that's the good news the r.k. i said but they've plateaued at

a high level so any optimism must be the cautious kind macas cabinet ministers weighed in today some are hinting at a rollback on restrictions with caviar. we should do it step by step and keep control over the outbreak and make sure that we're able to keep treating patients patient and 100. on wednesday the chancellor is set to discuss the country's options with the leaders of germany's the eckstein states as a federal system they have to be on board with what happens next a final decision is expected shortly thereafter a change in social distancing regulations would require all to comply but is this image shows even politicians and doctors sometimes have difficulty following the rules. well spain is one of a number of european countries that have taken some 1st cautious steps to lifting coronavirus restrictions the nation has recorded the 2nd highest number of corona

virus deaths in europe so far it's allowing some people to get back to their jobs but only in accordance with strict safety guidelines. volunteers distribute face masks in central barcelona as spain allows some sectors of the economy to reopen the government hopes the masks can prevent a surge in new infections though opinion is divided on whether restrictions are being relaxed too soon or where we were running out of money our food supplies were running short so i'm glad i can return to work. it seems premature to me there are too many people out today. for 2 weeks the people of spain were told to stay at home except for those working in essential sectors like supermarkets or hospitals now construction and manufacturing firms are allowed to operate again unions are concerned that workers are being put in

danger. we've already received several complaints people arrived at work and there was no protective gear nothing they observed that the risk of infection is extremely high. the spanish government believes the peak of the outbreak has passed but by relaxing the lock down now many fear it could end up contending with a new wave of infections. for years colombia has been a haven for venezuelans are driven from their country by the economic crisis and violence nearly 2000000 have found refuge there since 2015 but after colombia imposed a strict social distancing rules thousands of venezuelans are now returning home many works in the informal economy lost their jobs and can't afford to stay what looks like a family stroll is really the beginning of an odyssey carrying the few possessions

they hold dear and some wearing only flip flops on their feet these venezuelans are on their way home. they came to colombia seeking a better life but ever since the coronavirus forced the country into lockdown it has become increasingly difficult for venezuelan migrants to make ends meet. my husband lost his job when he was laid off and we lost our home. that's why we decided to return the minute. i want to leave but i also want to stay at the current scene is hard even for colombians there's no work how are we supposed to pay our rent are we supposed to buy food on their way out of the returnees receive care packages provided by the united nations refugee agency. nobody knows when they'll get their next meal with the country under quarantine the unofficial pit stops along the way have shut down it's a dangerous trip they're embarking on for hundreds of kilometers they'll have to

navigate adverse weather conditions and armed groups controlling rural areas worried about their well being aid organizations try to convince the migrants just day get in there and go to dinner when they cross the border with venezuela i'll have to quarantine that's another challenge in venezuela the conditions for placing a large amount of people under lockdown that aren't ideal. but. that's why the un hage c.r. and other agencies in coordination with the colombian government are discouraging returns on go. but not everybody wants to leave helen and her family arrived in bogota 2 months ago on foot despite the difficulties they face in colombia the young mother doesn't want to risk venturing back to venezuela. people can i prefer to stay there i want to be going to do in venezuela we may have

a house of our own but i supposed to wait for my daughter to starve to death. with the little money they had spent on food helen and her family couldn't pay this month's rent unable to work during the lockdown they risk being kicked out by their landlord desperate helen stepfather pleas for solidarity. i beg of the colombian government to help us armed with the rental payments for my lot in that's why they could assist us in all these things because we're human beings we're not animals. but many of their fellow venezuelans have already lost faith in the authorities coming to the rescue tired of being treated like 2nd class citizens during the pandemic they have to cited to leave returning to venezuela with a political crisis still underway may not have been what they planned but if they make it at least they'll be at home already having thought about it is what. you're

watching the news from berlin remember you can get the latest headlines on the day or on our website w dot com and do follow us on twitter and instagram. i'm thanks so much for joining us. the global corona crisis you can find more information online at d w dot com and on t.w. social media channels. every day. and.