can improve the safety and efficiency of the new generation of trains, al jazeera. a bit more of trains if you head over to our website you can see the front page there with the lead story we have been following the situation in egypt, all that for you there on al jazeera.com. >> fallout from a catastrophe at sea. hundreds die, 27 survive when a ship goes down in the mediterranean. two survivors are under arrest this morning. >> protests on the streets of baltimore after the death of a black man in police custody. what the department is now doing in an attempt to calm the critics. >> come on, dude, stay with us.

you're all right. >> seconds from disaster, police pull off an amazing rescue just in the nick of time. >> this is aljazeera america. good morning live from new york city i'm randall pinkston. the captain and first mate of a ship that sank off the coast of italy have been arrested, the captain charged with homicide. prosecutors say he was responsible for the ship capsizing with hundreds onboard. more than 800 of believed to have drowned. the victims were fleeing the violence in libya. we have more from italy. >> the boat carrying those 27 survivors from saturday night's catastrophe arrived after midnight local time. the survivors were immediately taken away from here, 25 of them

went to various reception centers, the duties went to one and the four minors that were involved in this went to another. two people have been taken to the police station. the captain of the boat and his ship's mate we understand have been charged with the following regularless multiple homicide and the charge of facilitating or propagating illegal immigration. we've also had survivors come here and been able to speak to some of the people onboard during the rescue. we spoke to a volunteer doctor from the order of malta a volunteer group helping with the operation. he spoke of the terrible situation on saturday night where although the waves were not too high, it was pitch black out there in the middle of the sea. they were unable to see anything apart from the spotlights of their own search lights. there were no lights from the boat. the boat must have gone down extremely quickly.

all they could go on was the screams of the survivors. he painted a par rowing picture of the panic and desperation of those survivors. he said when people were brought onboard, many broke down uncontrollably sobbing such was the relief of rescue. the estimates of 800 dead, he said that appeared accurate to him given the fact that the boat went down very, very quickly and given what he knew about the size of the boat, a figure of 800 is certainly entirely possible. >> that's paul brennan reporting from italy. joel millman is a spokesman for the international order of migration and joins is from geneva, thank you for joining us, good morning. as we have watched this tragedy unfold in the mediterranean do the migrants have any idea when they are on land what might await them when they go to the sea. is anybody telling them about all these deaths? >> they absolutely know.

this has caused some consternation. we know of some cases of migrants forced into these boats, bludgeoned, stabbed, one wouldn't get on the boat, and we know the traffickers are reckless and we know that a lot of the migrants know this. we don't think of it as a smuggling situation but a trafficking situation because they are coerced sometimes kidnapped, forced to pay money to get on a boat that they realize is unsafe. it's an enormous crap game, they are gambling with their lives but they have no control. the thousands that have been rescued at sea they're the lucky ones, but, you know, it's absolutely tragic what's going on right now. >> what do you think about the 10-point program announced yesterday by the european commission for dealing with the migration crisis? >> we understand that so much

more needs to be done and any step in that direction is what we welcome. greater resources on the high seas for rescue, more open policies to allow safe and legal migration, family reunification humanitarian visas resettlement quotas there's a long list have things. the entire world should be engaged with this problem now. we encourage anything that comes out of these meetings and any level they'll discuss. >> one of the proposals is to do something about the traffickers to stop the boats from leaving the shore. is that realistic and if so, how do you think that could play out? how would that work? >> i would -- it's not unrealistic. the world came together to stop the somalia pirates in the last five years that was harassing shipping and around yemen and the gulf of aden. resources can be deployed, but the problem is these boats are so small and they're going out pretty much with a game plan to

put as many dozens, sometimes hundreds of people they can get on the boats and give somebody a satellite phone and say get out to sea and start calling. it's not responding to a signal of distress. i don't think europe or anyone could deploy enough boats to seal that sea. it's an enormous boiled of water. the first response people have, tighten border security. we see what happened in the u.s. you can tighten it and people go to more and more isolated spots more people crossing and more people dying. it is not restricting the boats. that's not realistic. what is realistic is finding a way to manage this migration. >> thank you for joining us on aljazeera america. >> egypt's first democratically elected president mohamed morsi has been sentenced to 20 years

in prison. a court delivered the ruling this morning. he was convicted of inciting protestors in cairo in 2012 after he took power. in one incident, at least 817 protestors were killed when security forces opened fire on a sit-in. he was deposed by the army in 2013. he faces charges in three other cases. >> the adjustment i also beefing up military presence in the waters off the coast of yemen today. two u.s. warships are on the way to the gulf of aden. the u.s. also s thee dover roosevelt will join our navy ships to ensure shipping lanes remain open and safe. the deployment is also intended to send a message to iran. >> one of the concerns that we have with irani behavior and impact they are having on the broader region is they continue to supply weapons and offer support to the houthis in yemen.

>> iran has repeatedly denied that is backing the houthi rebels. >> families are reacting to word family members were planning to join isil. >> the recruiting of young people is something that those in the twin cities are familiar with. underway in the area for years six somalia men are accused of trying to join isil. >> they were not confused young men or easily influenced. these are focused men intent on joining a terrorist organization by any means possible. >> federal authorities say the men were recruited by a friend

who slipped past u.s. law enforcement last may to join isil in syria. according to the criminal complaint from his low kale in syria, he provides assistance those who want to fight abroad. the f.b.i. says that source had been a part of the group seeking to join isil before he began request cooperating with the investigation. community leader has said that the efforts to stop recruiting in the minneapolis area are a challenge. >> it is our community. we are on the lookout. we don't want anyone to steal our young people. we don't want our young people tom be radicalized and stolen from us and sent to the same fire line we run away from. >> authorities say since 2007, more than 20 somalia men have been recruited by al shabab to fight overseas.

a few dozen americans have traveled or attempted to travel to syria to join isil. >> we had 23 that went to somalia and we've had zero since then but have a dozen that have gone to join isis in syria and iraq there is going to be a slow merging of all these groups. it would be great with al-qaeda and isis would stay at odds. it's not going to happen. the reason is because the kids that are willing to go join al shabab are the same kids that are willing to join isis. their membership is really of similar thought. >> authorities say a few dozen americans have traveled or tried to travel to syria to join isis. we've seen cases in colorado, here in illinois and once again in minnesota. >> in boston, the penalty phase

begins at the trial of boston marathon bomber dzhokar tsarnaev. the same jury that convicted him must now decide if tsarnaev will get live is prison or the death penalty. a husband and wife who lost limbs during the attack asked the federal government not to put him to death. last week, the parents of the bombing's youngest victim made the same request. >> six police officers are suspended in baltimore as city officials investigate the if i say rous death of a man in their custody. it is the latest in a series of cases nationwide involving african-american men dying in confrontations with police. john henry smith is here with more. john, there is one detail in baltimore different from the other cases. >> that one detail deals with the weaponry. we can't call the victim in this case an unarmed black man. records say freddy gray had a knife on him tell the of his arrest however there's no

indication that he brand issued it at officers in any way. the latest video related to the death doesn't seem to add much to the investigation. previously ground level video already showed a screaming gray being led by officers into the back of a police van. however, at some point gray sustained an injury severe enough to almost completely sever his spine. he died a week after his arrest. city officials tried to assure the public that all measures were taken to get to the bottom of what happened. they say it's in that sphere that they released the latest video. >> it is our video that has been unedited that is raw. we are not in the business of hiding facts. >> i'm angry that we are here again, that we have had to tell another mother that their child is dead. i'm frustrated that not only

that we're here, but we don't have all of the answers. >> well, officials expect the investigation to conclude may one. beside getting to the bottom of how freddy gray got hurt, investigators will also be looking into a reported 30-40 minute delay before officers got medical attention for him. in our next hour, i'll have more on the protests that have sprung up in response to this latest incident. >> there are questions for police in new york city, as well. it's a story getting a lot of attention on aljazeera.com. a brooklyn teenager's family disputing the nypd account that their son died after he was struck by a subway train two years ago. police records show officers were about to arrest him for not paying a subway fare when he jumped on to the tracks. the boy told them he was beaten after he climbed back on to the subway platform. he later died from injury complications.

the family is suing the nypd and wants an independent investigation. for more on this story and more, head to aljazeera.com. >> the ground has been devouring a small louisiana town for three years. a massive sinkhole swallowing everything above it. residents say it's a man made problem and could get worse soon. >> b.p. needs to come clean for the restoration of the gulf. >> the debate over how much b.p. should cough up five years after the worst environmental disaster in american history.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. it's 7:46 eastern. taking a look at today's top stories. >> fierce gun battles between iraqi troops and isil fighters in rimadi, 75 miles west of baghdad. government troops say they liberated the hospital. government troops have regained territory near government buildings. >> military exercises today in the philippines. thousands of u.s. and philippine soldiers taking part. the joint drills went to practice amphibious raised and

improve coordination between the forces. >> in tokyo hundreds mark the return of taco bell to japan. crowds were greeted by the chain's mascot, tack toe man. it operated in japan in the 1980's but later closed up shops. prices are double or triple compared to the united states. >> for nearly three years a huge 32-acre sinkhole has been causing problems for small town louisiana. most have fled the area and the company believed to be responsible for it wants to start drilling again. we have more. >> it's 32 acres and growing. a massive sinkhole in bayou corn louisiana. the texas company responsible for this damage was digging down hundreds of feet into the ground looking to extract salt back in 2012 when the sinkhole formed. now the hundreds of people that

lived in this little cajun area have dispersed because of the danger of natural grass lying under the ground that is coming up and deadly and totallic or people who live there. texas brian has paid $48 million in damages and compensation to those folks. new issues have arisen. the accident brian wants to drill down again and extract salt but cannot, because their neighbors, dow chemical also doing experimentation on the land is just a foot away from texas brian's new land. because of the new regulations by the state of louisiana that say that these companies cannot be drilling or doing experimentation unless they are 200 feet away, there's an issue. robert ray, al jazeera. >> that issue is now headed to court. you can watch robert's full report tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >> we're taking another look this morning at impact of the deep water horizon disaster on

the gulf coast. it has been five years since 11 workers were killed and 5 million-barrels of crude were spilled. the disaster cost b.p. billions. the company is waiting to hear how much it will be find by the federal government. >> shorelines stained in oil are no longer common in gulf coast communities and the once pervasive tar like odor has passed. what lingers five years after the worst oil spill in u.s. history are decisions and debate about b.p.'s financial liability, just how much should the company pay for polluting the water and other damage to the environment. since 2010, b.p. has spent more than $14 billion on response and cleanup, surveying and removing sludge along hundreds of miles in the gulf. regular cleaning operations ended last year. the company also paid $13 billion in claims and settlements for the thousands of

businesses and people who suffered losses. since a judge found b.p. was grossly negligent for the spill it faces up to $14 billion in civil fines under the federal clean water act a setback the oil giant says it can't afford. >> in court feelings last month b.p. revealed its u.s. unit is limited in its ability to pay a fine more than $2.3 billion. that rally hope said b.p. continues to dodge responsibility and should pay the maximum penalty. >> this is a huge multi-national corporation and they're arguing that, you know, maybe their american subsidiary might not have the resources on hand, liquid resources to pay these fines but clearly this huge corporation can come up with the money. >> even with the global company reporting $30 billion in operating cash last year, oil analyst said a nearly $14 billion fine could be devastating. >> we have oil prices at half

what they used to be. we have a structural change in the industry in terms of how we used to find oil how we operate. on top of i have the, we have a situation where b.p. has diverted of $38 billion worth of assets. it is a much, much smaller company. >> a judge could rule on the penalty amount this month. regardless of what happens. b.p.'s financial burdens are far from over. jonathan martin, al jazeera, new orleans. >> while b.p. deems with the repercussions in court over the oil, the marine life suffers. how are fish being affected by the after effects of the spill? >> this is still five years later and we're still seeing deformities and problems. with many of the marine life, we just had specific images of the fish. let's do a recap. the first image is from noa

dolphins swimming through the oil. they think dolphins and sperm whales ended up caught up in this, they were having miscarriage problems. we remember all those birds covered in oil. 700,000 coastal birds dialed as a result of all of this, and still problems today. then as you just mentioned the fish about 5% of blue fin tuna were impacted and 20% reduction in the size of the class. this image shows not long after hatching is the top and when exposed to that crude oil during development, and a host of developmental disabilities. taking a closer look, you can see the nice one but the second one has a poorly deformed eight

the yoke sack is displaced the 15 is out of alignment and that is just from a year ago. you can see how widespread this is with deformities still today. >> it could be the future of high speed travel, a train that goes nearly as fast as a plane and doesn't even touch the rail. how japan just broke two records in one week. >> if diamonds are a girl's best friend there could be a mob outside today trying to get their hands on this gem.

>> come on! >> come on, dude! come on! >> an amazing rescue in texas. you're watching police pull a man from a burning car. they arrived at 4:00 a.m. sunday with the driver trapped inside unconscious. the officers pulled him out and took the driver to the hospital. he is expected to be ok. police are investigating what

caused the crash. >> on the science beat this morning, imagine traveling 375 miles per hour underground. that's what engineers in japan accomplished. they broke the world train speed record for the second time in a week. they are using magnetic technology to change the future of high speed travel. >> on a track west of tokyo japan's super conducting train at 603 kilometers an hour. it breaks the world train speed record. this train is set up the same way as we'll use it commercially. the comfort of passengers at high speed improved and this test should lead to stable commercial use in the future. >> it is part of a plan to build a high speed line between tokyo and here. the 280 kilometers could be traveled in around 40 minutes.

>> when they go off the 500 kilometers an hour, they do make a lot of noise. having them deep underground it's thought that they're out of the way. once you're underground you don't have to worry about navigating around corners because you can have almost an exact straight line. >> opposite poles attract and light poles repel each other and this is the idea behind it. powerful super conducting magnets in the track and train lift it 10 centimeters off the ground and another set of magnets push it along. because it is riding on air there is little friction, it makes it smooth and fast. >> japan's hoping to sell its high speed train technology to the u.s. last april there was a push to find overseas customers to

recover research and development cost. it's a response to china's efforts to sell high speed train technology some of which originally came from japan. >> it's start to go look at though the japanese may be slightly in the lead in their technology and so maybe slightly superior. i think japan is thinking this is where we can really push forward and have an advantage over other countries. >> some critics say the technology remains too expensive, power intensive and potentially unsafe. they say an earthquake could knock the train off loin and at such high speeds, it would be a devastating effect. japan's engineers say the early warning system can deal with this and improve the efficiency of this new generation of trains. >> almost flawless, this 100-carat emerald cut diamond is

for auction. it was extracted a decade ago. it is expected to fetch $125 million. >> a royal salute in honor of the queen's 89th birthday.

>> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet >> show of force more u.s. warships positioning themselves off the yemeni coast could lead to a standoff with iran. >> 20 years in jail, former egyptian president mohamed morsi sentenced. >> very few answers in baltimore, emotions running high over the death of a black man in police custody, the city trying to diffuse the anger.

>> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. the president of iran is calling for an immediate ceasefire in yemen as two u.s. warships make their way to the gulf of aden. the uss theodore roosevelt and normandy of joining several other ships. they were moved to ensure vital shipping lanes remain safe and open. the show of force is really about sending a message to iran. >> the u.s. already had a half dozen warships off the coast of yemen and now added two more, including the aircraft carrier theodore roosevelt with normandy dispatched to waters off yemen. the navy said the flexioning of american military muscle is to ensure vital shipping lanes

remain open and safe in the wake of instability in the region. pentagon sources say it's intended to send a message to iran which the u.s. excuses of directly supporting and arming the houthi rebels who overtrue yemen's government. >> one of the concerns with irani behavior in terms of the destabilizing impact on the region is they continue to supply weapons and offer support to the houthis in yemen. >> iran continually denied it is sending military support to the rebels but the u.s. is keeping close tabs on a group of seven iranian ships carrying unknown cargo the u.s. suspects may have arms bound for the houthis. for now the vessels are in international waters. if they attempt to dock in yemen, they will be boarded though not necessarily by the u.s. >> in more than three weeks of bombing, this was one of the largest attacks yet. saudi arabia targeting a scud

missile base in sanna. the explosion destroyed buildings, killed dozens and blew out windows in homes and offices. picking through the devastation hole residents voice their anger. >> the munition hilt our homes. this i also what the cowards use to bombard civilians. >> saudi arabia has led an alliance against the houthi fighters and force the loyal to ali abdullah saleh. that other military facilities throughout the country are targeted. >> the coalition forces succeeded relatively to this draw in the military infrastructure of the deposed president sala and those of the houthis, including weaponry depot which are totally destroyed. >> while the pentagon says the mission is to help maintain maritime security, officials

also privately concede that there is a message to ran. loosely it is translated at back off. >> along with that deadly attack on the military base, sectarian fighting rages in yemen. in aden, fighters loyal to pat hadi have been pushing houthi rebels out of an air base. the rebels have been forced to abandon part of that base. there is heavy fighting in taiz where pro hadi fighters are gaining ground thanks to the airstrikes. along the border with yemen, we have this report. is there any sign of the violence slowing? >> all signs indicate nothing has changed since the beginning of the airstrikes except

escalation after escalation. we have seen those airstrikes yesterday. there were more today more fighting in aden between the supporters of president hadi and houthis and ali abdullah saleh loyalists, those supporting the former president and standoff in the air base five kilometers outside aden. we have seen more fighting in taiz, as well. also the latest report that we have just received are that there have been more activities by the houthi fighters near the border with saudi arabia, particularly near mizran. the bombardment never stopped according to the citizens. all indications are that there is only escalation and no lull in the fighting across yemen

today. >> are you hearing any reaction to the move of u.s. war ships to the coast off of aden? >> >> it's too early here for reactions by iran or saudi arabia. the moving of u.s. war ships towards the gulf of aden has come a couple weeks after iran has moved about a dozen war ships to the area. iran said the purpose is not to participate in the war or to bring any weapons to the houthis, but to confront pirates in the high seas there. that story is not believed. they believe everything happening right now is because of iran interference. they accuse iran of helping the

houthis, because they are shia just like iran. it has about 2,000 kilometers of border with saudi arabia. it is a majority sunni country and they see after iran's interference in syria iraq and bahrain, it is too much for the saudis to see iran gaining influence in yemen. >> thank you. >> egypt's first democratically elect president has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. mohamed morsi was charged with inciting the killing that protestors in cairo in 2012. in one incident, at least 817 protestors were killed when security forces opened fire on a sit-in. some say the whole thing was calculated politically. the whole thing had been calculated right from the start

politically. in my estimation and the way i see it, the trial itself, the trialles of morsi have been politicized, like many other cases, which is either pending trial or actually being tried now. >> morsi was deposed by the army in 2013. he faces charges in three other cases. >> an indonesian court convicted an american couple of murder. 21-year-old tommy schafer was sentenced to 18 years in jail for beating his girlfriend's mother to death in a hotel room in bali. heatinger mack was convicted of helping. she received a 10 year sentence. >> the captain and first mate of a ship off the coast of libya that sank are under arrest, the captain charged with homicide. prosecutors say he was responsible for the ship capsizing, drowning 800 people. the victims were trying to flee the violence in libya.

barnaby phillips is live in the sicilian port with more. good morning. >> good morning. yes. they are charging the captain. he's a tunisian man with multiple manslaughter and one member of the crew, as well, a libyan man is charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration. they were amongst the only 27 people who survived the disaster on this overcrowded boat which sunk in the early hours of sunday morning off the libyan coast. it is feared that as many as 800 people drowned in that incident. >> we are hearing reports of about six other rescues of migrants fleeing africa just in recent days. what can you tell us about those

cases? >> the italian coast guard said they rescued 600 people yesterday in six incidents all off the libyan coast heading toward lampedusa and sicily where i'm speaking from. there have been more. >>s today another 400 people rescued off the southern coast mainland italy including more than 150 women and children from a boat which was leaking badly. there is every expectation that this migration will separate in the weeks and months to come. >> e.u. leaders are reviewing a plan to deal with the migrant crisis. what is the plan?

>> well, e.u. leaders have come up with a rather hurried series of proposals in the wake of these latest disasters and that is to expand the scope and the capacity of the existing operation, which is known aspiration tight to know. they'll cover a wide area of the sea, have more vessels more visibility from the air, as well and they will have greater powers to arrest smugglers and to destroy smugglers' boats. european leaders are operating under constraints. only a year ago they scaled back their operations in the mediterranean because they felt they were too expensive and also felt that a highly effective search and rescue plan actually encourages more people to try and come into europe, and of course european leaders have to responsibility to the concerns

of their own elect receipts, who are concerned and hostile to an increased wave of immigration. >> the proposed measure includes strengthening the e.u. mission in niger, hoping to stop migrants to head towards europe. the plan calls for destroying boats used by traffickers in the mediterranean. those boats have mostly proven unseaworthy. officials will work to strengthen operations it true to know and poe siden joint efforts to safe refugees in the mediterranean. >> improving operations so less people die is the primary consideration. >> european leaders will be

meeting on thursday to review what else needs to be done. >> in boston today the penalty phase begins at the trial of boston marathon bomber dzhokar tsarnaev. the same jury that convicted him must now decide if tsarnaev will get life in prison or the death penalty. a husband and wife who loft limbs during the attack asked the federal government not to put tsarnaev to death. the parents of the bombing's youngest victim made the same request. >> baltimore police are revealing new details about the investigation into the death of a young african-american man. six officers have been suspended as lease try to figure out how the man was injured in their custody and later died. john henry smith has more. what has really been an angry reaction in baltimore. >> people want answers to what happened here. despite having multiple videos of the arrest, police are still hard pressed to explain how gray went from apparently healthy when captured to mortally

wounded it turns out when officers retrieved him from the back of one of their vans. >> police in baltimore have released new video of an arrest that resulted in the death of a young black man. >> it is our video that has been unedited, that is raw. we are not in the business of hiding facts. >> the video doesn't add much to what we already know about what happened to 27-year-old freddy gray. >> this is a very, very tense time. >> six officers were suspended monday as the city investigates. >> i want to know why the officers pursued mr. gray. i want to know if the proper procedures were followed. i want to know what steps need to be taken for accountability. >> according to police reports a group of officers pursued and arrested gray after he ran from them. four minutes later officers put a screaming gray to his van. three minutes later they pulled

over and applied leg irons. 41 minutes after gray who suffered from asthma entered that van officers call for medical assessance. >> when mr. gray was placed inside that van, he was able to talk, he was upset and when mr. gray was taken out of that van, he could not talk and he could not breathe. >> he asked for the inhaler as he was going into at one or two of the stops, it was noticed that he was having a little trouble breathing. >> gray died sunday, one week after his arrest, suffering what his family's lawyers describe as a severed spine and broken neck. >> we have no evidence, physical or video or statements of any use of force. there was no physical bodily injury that we saw. >> several dozen protestors called for justice outside of city hall. police say the baltimore p.d.

will change. >> anytime someone requests medical attention in any context, immediately, we are to respond to that. >> this is not ferguson. this is a city where we've worked very hard under this current administration to develop dialogue with the community. >> the commissioner says the investigation will wrap by may one. >> baltimore's commissioner said once the investigation is done, the report will go to state prosecutors. it's at that point that we'll learn if the officers will face any charges in the death of freddy gray. >> questions for police in new york city as well as is a story getting a lot of attention on aljazeera.com. a brooklyn teenager's family disputes that their son died after he was struck by a subway train almost two years ago. police records show officers were about to arrest him for not paying the subway fare when he jumped on to the tracks. the teen's family said the boy told them he was beaten after he

climbed back on to the subway platform. he later died from injury complications and the family is suing the nypd. they want an independent investigation. for more on this story, you can read it at aljazeera.com. >> on the agenda today iran nuclear talks resume in switzerland. high level officials won't there, but will talk about the details ahead of deadline. >> the 93-year-old bookkeeper of auschwitz goes on trial today it could set legal precedent for other holocaust convictions. >> china's president wraps up a visit to pakistan. >> comcast and time warner try to keep their deal on track. the potential effect on consumers. >> blue bell ice cream pulls all of its products over fears of bacteria. ia.

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new york governor cuomo and a group of leaders are wrapping up a trip to cuba today. monday he met with leaders of the catholic church. he took a walk through old havana and met residents. the trip is a first by a sitting u.s. governor in 50 years. >> an attack last week killed 11 government soldiers. leaders of farc say their committed to the process but the government said the group has lost credibility. >> thai officials seized four tons of african elephant ivory. they were labeled as beads and shipped from the democratic republic of congo and worth an estimated $6 million. >> on the money beat, the fight to save a megamerger, the wall street journal reports that representatives from comcast will meet with the justice department tomorrow to try to rescue the cable and broad band

giant's merger with time warner. the concern is that the combined company would wield too much power. >> according to anti trust watch dogs department of justice is leaning toward blocking the merger. at issue is whether the merger will harm consumers creating a company that has too much power he is special lib in the broad band market. comcast is the largest cable and broad band company. if these two companies tie the knot they'll control roughly a third of the nation's pay t.v. market and 57% of the high speed internet market. that's a lot of power too much say opponents who fear a combined company would result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers. comcast unleashed a massive lobbying effort and media blitz

to sell sceptics, arguing it will lead to faster internet service, and give more access to wi-fi hot spots. comcast argues the combined firm would not be anti competitive because it doesn't have a presence in time warner cable markets and therefore would not eliminate a competitor. opponents say this is not a straightforward cable merger, given the leverage a combined company would have over t.v. channel owners and netflix. the d.o.j. is just one hurdle this deal has to clear. the f.c.c. has to sign off on it. >> they have to convince much more than just the skeptics. what might comcast do to try to rescue this deal? >> offer concessions, for example to shed comers or divest from key markets, for example such as new york or l.a. we don't know what concessions will be on the table. >> they might make it so they

appear smaller to the justice department. what makes this different from any ordeal? >> it is the changing landscape. a lot of people are cutting the cord from cable and really the way people access content more and more people are getting streaming videos. the focus is on that broad band leverage. >> thank you. >> blue bell creameries is recalling all of its products over a listeria outbreak, saying the bacteria was found in ice cream made in two states. this recall follows a smaller one in march after contaminated ice cream was linked to the deaths of three people in kansas. >> looking for new ways to bring a fragile fruit to market. california is the nation's top strawberry producer. farmers are testing a robot they hope will make harvesting easier. >> human handled versus robotic

arm, a battle fought in factories across america. now, it's about to happen down on the farm. the terry family has been farming in ventura county california since 1890. while the world has changed dramatically since then, one thing hasn't changed. >> in 1969, we put a man on the moon and brought him back safely yet we are harvesting the same way we did 150 years ago. >> juan bravo is the founder of a spanish robotics manufacturer, a growing number of high tech companies hoping to revolutionize how farming is done. he has chosen california as a testing ground because it is the larkest producers of view berries in the world. here's how the robot finds the

ripe ones, as the arms are lowered, cameras take 20 photos for second, scanning for red about herries. computer algorithms analyze the images separating each strawberry by shape and checking its color. if 80% of the berry is a ripe color, a blade snips the stem. the whole process takes four seconds. it still needs human hands to package the delicate strawberries and pick those missed. only four people are needed to harvest taken agers a job usually taking 10 people. >> last year, because of weather, you had a really narrow window for harvesting. >> right. >> how were you able to get workers in to do the job? >> we couldn't, because the crop

came on so quick, we are about 50% short of our labor needs. >> what did that cost you? >> the loss per acre ranged from $10,000 to $15,000 an acre loss. >> do you see a day when the advances in technology would actually mean that farmers don't spend as much time in the field? >> no matter how far the technology gets, how out mailed the processes get you still have an intimate relationship with what you're growing you never can replace that human tough. it's impossible. mmm. >> that's good, huh? >> really good. >> for more science and innovation stories tune in to techno this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. eastern. >> stemming the wave of anti immigrant violence in south africa. what's being done to stop attacks against foreigners. >> also changes to google starting today could make it easier to browse on your phone but small businesses may take a big hit.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. it is 8:28 eastern. a bigger u.s. military presence is heading to yemen. two u.s. war ships on their way to the gulf of aden. pentagon sources say it is intended to send a message to iran. that nation is accused of offering support and weapons to the houthi rebels. iran denies that. >> the captain and first mate of a ship that sank off libya are under arrest in italy. the captain was responsible for the ship capsizing with hundreds onboard. more than 800 people are believed to have drowned. >> a court in cairo sentenced deposed egyptian penalty mmm to 20 years in prison in connection to the deaths of protestors in 2012. he faces charges in three other cases. >> in africa, seven people have been killed in attacks against foreigners in the past two

weeks. hundreds have been forced to head home. >> people are relieved. they've been on the road for 24 hours by bus and they say they feel safer now that they've crossed into zimbabwe. a lot of people seem traumatized especially women and children. one woman came from durbin where a lot of violence happened and she feels her daughter, she was on the street and this group of people said you're the child of a foreigner get out we don't want you here and start pushing her daughter. one man said one night men broke into their home and started stealing and looting and beating them up. his wife and children hid under the bed and only when the men left did they feel safe enough to go to these camps. these people feel relatively safe from the attacks. >> reporting from zimbabwe, south africa said it will deploy

the army in johannesburg to protect the foreign workers in alexandria. a teacher at colombia join us. put these current attacks in context for us. >> it's difficult to put it in context precisely because i think the causes are the same as the causes of the 2008 attacks. the basic cause of it all is 20 years into democracy i think south africa is experiencing unprecedented levels of poverty. many people are just simply desperate. >> i want to get into the issue of poverty but there was also a speech given by the zulu king recently and some say that set off this wave of violence. talk about his influence on the

people there. >> the king is really not the incidents gator, he is kind of an opportunist taking advantage over anti indian sentiment amongst his followers. what he said in that speech, and i listened to a little bit of it is really about and ironically about africa and the role of the zulu people on the african continent but then with that he also sort of inserted this idea that somehow for the purposes should pack their bags and leave. >> how do you square that with the legacy of apartheid. you and i have discussed that many times before and the cries then for pan african system. how do you square that? >> in a way ironically and paradoxically, it is from apartheid. under apartheid, south africa engeneral lived in a kind of bubble both ideologically and economically so the apartheid

state had a national project basically of import substitution and so they've created a lot of jobs. fifty years ago having a job in south africa meant you worked in a factory. there was predictability, there was constantcy, there was no rapid change in your status as a worker. you could earn a good living. >> this is partly nostalgia for the apartheid era. >> the wordness stall. >> also needs to be contextualize. people loved apartheid not really. what people are missing is the economic security that the apartheid state provided through this kind of protectionism created by sanctions. as i say africa was a little bubble and it didn't have cheap chinese imports coming into the country. it didn't have the competition. south african products did not

have competition, they were protected from international competition. >> the conversation is similar to this one where there is a concern that somehow local jobs are being taken by these immigrants. is there any validity to that argument? i know unemployment is high, it's 24%. >> right. i was reading the stats and in the former sector, non-stricken immigrants only account for 4%, so that's not a lot of jobs. they are taking a vermin malnumber of stricken jobs. not only that, they benefit the south african economy. that's not as, you know, prejudice doesn't respond to statistics. you cannot use it as an antidote to people's prejudice. really this is about prejudice rather than actual facts. >> we are hearing reports of prejudice against south africans in other countries including

zimbabwe where a lot of these immigrants is coming from, so this is spreading. >> it is retaliation. again, the sad part is exactly the stick ken companies have spread through the rest of the african captainment. you can go to a spring ken supermarket in other countries. president south african telecommunications company dear arrives 70% of its revenues from nigeria. in a way, south africa is profiting from the rest of the continent. these are not statistics available to people. they people the shopkeeper has more than what they have. >> how much do you think is this movement if you will, is going to grow and is president zuma handling it well and in the right way?

>> it is going to grow because the problems aren't going to go away very soon, because problems like housing, the provision of electricity, health care are all long term projects. south africa is suffering an energy crisis at the moment and the government slow in responding. i read that the president canceled his trip to malaysia and is now sort of sitting still and being there for the crisis, but i don't think that there's anything he can say other than to say and remind africans that our constitution actually protects all south africans and people living in in south africa. >> thank you. >> here in the u.s., the white house is confident an appeals court will lift a stay on president obama's executive actions on immigration. many families are watching to see what the court does. as we report, that includes a

man who was adopted and brought to the u.s. as a toddler. easy on the verge of being deport. >> adam born in korea raised in the u.s. could have his life turned jump side down again. >> somebody took me as a child sent me to this country and failed neglected to finalize the adoption through the naturalization process. >> he was three when his mother left him and his sister at this other manage. adopted by american parents he bounced from home to home before taken in by tom and dolly. they were eventually convicted on a dozen counts of criminal mistreatment and assault on members of his adopted family. adam had his own troubles with the law including a conviction for burglarizing their home after they will kicked him out. >> i went to prison. >> how long? >> 25 months the first time. >> is adopted served just 95

days in jail. he has served three prison terms over the years the most recent in 2013 for assaulting a roommate. >> i won't say that i'm a guy who should be absolved of everything i've ever done. no. i'm responsibility for those things and i did that time. >> he's also learned that his criminal record could cost him and his new family. >> i'm right there. >> his recent efforts to become a permanent u.s. resident tripped a homeland security background check. immigration officials tell the stay at home dad he could be deported sent back to korea because he has those felony convictions and is not a u.s. citizen. he has no contact with any korean relatives and doesn't speak the language. >> nobody ever made your citizenship official. >> no. >> the family didn't, adoption organizations didn't. nowhere along the line were up made a u.s. citizen. >> no.

>> immigration and customs enforcement spokesman said nobody tracks how many have been deported. we asked ice or an on camera interview and were turned down. they offered to answer questions by email. the spokesman responded in part although ice was not initially aware of the full extent of his childhood history the agency that weighed those facts with all other factors in his case, and due in part to the violent nature of some of his convictions, and convictions as recent as 2013, ice is exercising its prosecutorial discretion and will pursue his removal case in court. there is no provision for older adults so at 40 years of age he could be uprooted, sent to

his native and very foreign country. >> even though i've made a lot of mistakes along the way and learned hard lessons i still am an american. >> for a few more months at least, this is still home. >> this is my neighbor's house. >> al jazeera vancouver washington. >> the washington post and family of a reporter detained in iran are pledging to fight the charges now leveled against him. jason has been held for more than eight months. his lawyer was finally able to meet the reporter on monday and for the first time found that he is charged with espionage. he faces 20 years in prison. >> al jazeera journalist mohamed fahmy has been grand a passport. he had his canadian passport seized when he was jailed on false charges that he supported the muslim brotherhood. he has been working to get a new one so he could get married and move around cairo.

fahmy is due in court tomorrow. >> a retrial for energy giant chevron is underway in new york. it started two decades ago with a class action lawsuit alleging the company ruined swaths of ecuador's rain forest. the appeal is called a political move. >> he's been found liable in new york for bribing a judge and ghost writing a court decision in ecuador. the lawyer denies he did any of that in trying to hold chevron accountable for rain forest contamination. >> they go after anyone who is effective at holding them accountable for their environmental crimes and fraud in ecuador. they have made a calculated decision to distract attention from their own liability to go after the lawyers. it's unethical inappropriate and i don't think it's going to work. >> at issue is billions of gallons of toxic waste dumped in ecuador by texaco, which has

since been bought by chevron. 30,000 villageries tried to sue the oil company in new york in the 1990's, but the company insisted on trying the case in ecuador and lost. the highest court upheld a $5.9 billion judgment in 2011. the judgment against chevroned in ecuador has been found by a u.s. court to be the product of fraud, chevron said in a statement. >> does chevron have intention of making good on that $9.5 billion judgment. >> very good. >> he wouldn't answer questions on camera. >> the what happens in new york could hurt efforts. >> if every loses experts say the case will have a chilling effect on other class action lawsuits.

>> what we fear is that chevron's playbook which is to throw enormous resources against the attorneys and the plaintiffs and their allies in the case will become the model for other corporations facing similar lawsuits in the future. >> environmental groups like amazon watch continue to stand by him. >> he didn't commit any fraud. what he did was stand by his clients did he say spite the fact that chevron tried to dry him. i'm sure he didn't know when he started this they would go to such lengths. >> they will fight chevron until the spill has been cleaned up. al jazeera, new york. >> ball beban will have more on the chevron case at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on aljazeera america. >> we are looking this morning at the fallout from another environmental disaster, the oil spill in the gulf of mexico five years ago. marine life is still struggling to rebound. let's bring in nicole mitchell. how are fish affected five years

after the spill? >> very dramatically along with other marine life. we had a guest talking about some of the impacts but widespread. you remember the dolphins swimming through the dramatic images of the oil and now they are about five times more likely to have severe lung disease a lot of miscarriages in that marine life community. we remember the dramatic images of allle birds just soaked in oil, about 700,000 of them died as a result of this spill and still problems. it's most dramatic if you can actually what it does to a developing baby. that's when we look at the tuna. problems with both the blue 15 and yellow fin this is yellow fin. the top shows you a larva that's healthy, not exposed and the second one look how different that is after being exposed to the deep water horizon crude oil. taking a closer look at changes we have the healthy one.

as we zoom into the unhealthy one, exposed to the oil it has a poorly formed eye the yoke sack is displaced. just above that area, heart defects and irregular heartbeat. fins are malformed and fluid built up in the tissue because of poor circulation. this is recently that this is happening, so animals all through the gulf, but some migrate across florida and up the east coast widespread impact still. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> the governor of wisconsin declared a state of emergency because of a bird flu outbreak at poultry farms. the state's national guard has been activated to deal with the crisis. >> in iowa, more than 5 million exposed chickens and turkeys need to be killed to stop it from spreading. an estimated 13 states have been hit by the h5n2 strain. doctors say it cannot spread to humans. >> this particular strain h5n2

is not thought to have made the jump between animals and people, between poultry and people but in general these flus are very close to being able to cause disease in humans. that's one reason we need to control it aggressively. every time it multiplies in 5 million chickens, you have more mutations and the possibility of a jump. the other reason is it kills a lot of chickens. >> it could mean a temporary hike in egg prices. >> on the healthbeat this morning, an experimental blood test could hem detect cancer faster a liquid biopsy checks for fragments of cancer cells. it predicted occurrences long before they showed up on c.t. scans. >> the f.d.a. is considering controlling homeopathic

medicines. why are they reconsidering this? >> the remedies have been around for more than a century based on the idea that substances in the body can fight disease. 1988 the f.d.a. decided not to regulate homeopathic drugs. at the time it was a multi-million dollars market, today it's valid at nearly $3 billion. they are used by nearly four mill adults and 1 million children. there are also more homeopathic drugs on the market now. with that growth, the f.d.a. is considering subjecting them to the same review at other drugs. >> are there cases where people who have taken these medicines have gotten more sick? >> well of course the government the f.d.a., the poise that control center tracks all adverse reactions to medicines including specifically problems with homeopathic remedies. in its 2012 report, the poison control center reported more than 10,000 cases involving momentum yo pathic remedies.

700 cases required hospitalization. the vast majority of them, 8800 of the cases involved children five years and under. >> that may be enough for the f.d.a. to look at this. how do scientists and doctors view homeopathic medicine. >> a lot of doctors say there is no scientific base at all to prove they work. we have millions of people who believe in them and doctors who are prescribing them. >> thank you. >> starting today google is changing how it handles searches made on smart phones and tablets. the updated formula will have mobile friendly websites. websites that don't make their sights easier to read will be pushed down lower in search results. some say this could impact small businesses which haven't invested in designing they're sites to look good on small screens. >> in today's digit albeit, india is the latest country in a

battle over newt neutrality. some indian comedians are involved. >> the only thing worse than no internet is slow internet. telecom operators want to carve up the internet into a bunch of different sections such that you have to pay to access every single one of them separately. >> this video which urges the public to get involved has gone viral. activists want all internet traffic treated equally. they target a practice known as zero rating. that is when big companies offer some of their services for free to internet subscribers. activists say this swabs start ups. a mommy emails have been sent to regulatory agencies in the last 10 days. public figures have been tweeting about it with the hash tag save the internet and newt

new at. >> imagine traveling 375 miles per hour underground. that is what engineers in japan just made happen, breaking the world train speeled record for the second time in a week. the trains use magnets to lift and move cars, cutting friction to almost zero and leaves open the possibility of radically changing commercial travel. >> giving kermit a run for his money. the new species that is clear as glass and clearly reassembles a very famous muppet. we take you to london where artifacts are on display from one of the world's oldest cultures.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. the sentencing phase set to begin in the trial of boston marathon bomber dzhokar tsarnaev the jury that found him guilty deciding whether to give him life in prison or the death penalty. >> a court in indonesia convicted an american couple of

murder. the 21-year-old was sentenced to 18 years in jail for beating his girlfriend's mother to death. his partner heatinger mack is the woman's daughter and received a 10 year sentence. >> blue bell creameries recalled all of its products over a listeria outbreak. a bacteria was found in ice cream made in oklahoma and texas. this rahm follows a smaller one in march connected with three deaths. >> voters in the navajo nation today are choosing a new president. it's an election delayed for months over a deep divide on the role of a language in selecting leaders. we have this report. >> there's a contentious election happening on the navajo nation. after months of lawsuits, protests hearings and court rulings, navajo go to the polls. a disqualification sparked

intense debate and delayed an election that was supposed to happen in november. >> language is important it identifies who we are where we come from. >> it's unclear if today's election will take place or be delayed further by the navajo courts. >> does the language requirement need to stay in place? >> anyone wanting to be president and vice president needs to take time to learn the language. >> language and navajo identity go hand-in-hand and fewer and fewer con speaking the language of their ancestors. it's created a divide between old and young lawmakers and the courts. all believe the language must be preserved even if they can't agree on who should be the next penalty or if he should be required to be fluent. al jazeera on the navajo nation. >> a new species of frog has been found in costa rica. it is very much like kermit the frog actually, except its

translucent. its skin is so clear, you can see its internal organs from its underside. this type of frog only found in south america. it is distinct from its coloring skin texture and sound of its call. >> the british museum is showing part of its collection of aboriginal artifacts. it will travel bringing items home for the first time in centuries. >> this shield was picked up on the beach by british explorer captain cook or one of his men when they landed on australia's east coast in 1770. the story goes that two saw the white men thought they were ghosts and ran so fast, they dropped their shield. it's never been back to australia. that will change when it travis to the national museum. the british museum is stuffed

with artifacts from around the world and there are demands for much which it to be returned. so should the objects traveling to and you say is a remain there? >> the fact that these can be linked to australia many for the first time since they were collected will be a significant moment and understandably, these issues will be raised and discussed. >> the exhibition is a sweeping introduction to one of the world's oldest enduring cultures. it is familiar to many, but most works including spear heads are unknown outside of australia. aboriginal painters celebrate love of country and land. this forms a water mark in current australian passports. the culture endures because the artists update their ancient themes. the tourist straight islanders have a modern take on their baskets, one made from rope bits washed up on the beach.

>> it includes contemporary paintings by aboriginal artist plus hundreds of artifacts collected by british explorers and brought back to the british museum in the 18th century. the exhibition also doesn't shy from the on going discussion about discrimination of indigenous people. >> the organizers hope the art the history the beauty will spark a conversation, a discussion of why the indigenous populations still struggle for their rights. al jazeera london. >> coming up, more on the migrant crisis in the mediterranean. the captain of a ship that capsized now faces homicide charges. that's it for us here in new york. thanks for watching.

>> welcome to the al jazeera news hour live from doha. our top stories: >> another day and another rescue by the italian coast guard. 400 migrants are brought to safety. >> egypt's former president mohamed morsi gets 20 years in prison in the first verdict against him since he was ousted from power. >> also this hour, forces loyal to yemen's presidents