amnesty. but if they are caught with the ivory after the deadline tuesday, they could face up to a hundred thousand dollars fine. this is all part of a program to clamp down on the illegal ivory trade here in thailand. a reminder you can keep up to date with all of the news all the time at aljazeera.com. survivors under arrest hundreds dies when a ship filled with migrants went down in the mediterranean. now two of the lucky ones are behind bars. a fierce fire fight in the isil-held city of ramadi. al jazeera goes on the ground where the iraqi government says it is making gains. and demonstrations on the streets of baltimore after the death of a black man in police custody. today the department is making

an attempt to calm the critics. ♪ this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. homicide charging today for the captain of a migrant ship that sank off of the coast of libya. he was among two dozen survivors who made it to an italian port overnight. another 800 on board are believed to have drowned. and today hundreds more migrants were rescued off of the coast of italy. barnaby phillips has more from catania. >> reporter: some 40 people were rescued this morning in the early hours of the morning to the southeast of sicily. they were on a wooden fishing boat. it was leaking badly. and they were helpless and they were very very lucky that an

italian fishing troller found them just in time and then they were rescued by the coast guard, and we believe they will be taken ashore during the day. of course here in the mediterranean, summer is approaching, the weather is getting warmer the sea is getting calmer and so people in italy but also in countries like spain and in greece are bracing themselves for more arrivals and sadly, the possibility of more disasters in the weeks and months to come. the captain is a tunisian man, and he has been charged with multiple manslaughter. what the italian prosecutors say is that there was a collision between a portuguese ship which you may recall went to rescue this over crowded boat that was coming from tripoli, and that during that collision, the -- the boat sank. according to people on board, there were many hundreds of

people who were locked into the lower decks, and they didn't stand a chance. the italian prosecutors are absolving the portuguese crew of any responsibility. they were trying to help they say. but of course it is the captain who now faces those charges, and there was one other member of the crew amongst the 27 survivors who were brought here last night. he is a libyan man also in his 20s and he has been charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration. european leaders will meet later this week to again discuss how to deal with this migration crisis. at a meeting on monday they revealed a plan that includes strengthening the mission in niger. the plan also calls for destroying boats used by traffickers in the mediterranean. and officials say they will work

to strengthen operations triton and pa sigh done. >> translator: our first priority has to be improving sea operations so fewer people die. secondly we know the push factor of migration will not let up as long as conditions in north africa remain unstable. >> reporter: the e.u. has been criticized for a slow response to the crisis. egypt's first democratically elected president has been sentenced to two decades in prison. he was convicted of inciting the killing of protesters in 2012. >> reporter: mohammed morsi -- >> reporter: mohammed morsi narrowly escaped the death penalty. he has been sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole for what

prosecutors say was his role of the arrest and torture of protesters in 2012. three protesters were killed. he can still appeal this conviction but he also faces several other charges, including an attempt at a prison break in 2011, where some prison officers were killed. a verdict on this is expected next month. spying. he is accused of conspiring to commit terrorist acts in egypt with hamas. fraud in connection with the muslim brotherhood. he is all thes charged with insulting the judiciary. several other defendants were also sentenced to 20 years. it was a long road to egyptian democracy. in 2011 mubarak was kicked out of office. then morsi became the first

democratically elected president, but the celebrations wouldn't last long. he angered many by issuing an order to not allow any courts to overrule his actions. that lead to protests on the streets. his decision tos a -- s a shufrped temporary power. he escalated a power struggle between the military and the president. >> i guess a decision has been taken by the military before running this election the first democratic election fair elections, that at a certain point the military were -- will intervene and take over. >> reporter: on june 30th, 2013

millions of people rallied across egypt calling for his resignation. three days later, the man who morsi appointed as the defense minister lead a coup that removed him from power. sisi took over the day-to-day running of the country. mohammed morsi promised to form a government for all egyptians, but his opponents say his rule only increased dwiegs and mistrust. any sentence against egypt's first democratically elected president is seen as a big blow to the muslim brotherhood and its supporters. and now to yemen where saudi lead air strikes again took name at the capitol today and thick smoke could be seen rising in sana'a. the saudi-lead strikes have been going on for nearly a month. the world health organization says the fighting in yemen has now killed more than 940 people and injured more than 3,000.

and more u.s. warships are on their way to the coast of yemen. they will join other u.s. ships in the gulf of aden the deployment is designed to ensure shipping lanes remain open and safe but pentagon sources tell al jazeera, the presence is also intended to send a message to iran. >> one of the concerns we're having with the iranian behavior is the fact that they continue to supply weapons and offer support to the houthis in yemen. >> iran has repeatedly denied it is backing the rebels. and government forces are locked in fierce battles with isil fighters in ramadi. government trips say they liberated the children's hospital taken a few days ago, but local officials worry isil could take the town within days.

it is much the same story near a major oil refinery in the north. >> reporter: on the outskirts of beiji refinery the war is not over. the target is isil fighters inside the sprawling energy complex. plumes of smoke arise from a distance, while the fighting continues. these iraqi special forces backed by shia paramilitaries are part of the government's reinforcements after isil fighters stormed parts of the refinery last week. the plan is to attack from three directions. on the western front these men need to clear the surrounding areas. while hitting isil positions. >> translator: we're in the third front towards the refinery. we're trying to clear it. they control parts of it. we have been attacked by isil in the areas next to the refinery, but our forces are advancing.

>> reporter: security forces in the area suggest there are isil fighters still inside the refinery but the u.s.-lead coalition says army forces are now in full control of the refinery, and are fortifying defense positions. they describe isil's latest infilt trags as an attempt to boost its online propaganda but proves the group is still capable of attacking and advancing. the group posted videos like this showing its fighters storming the western entrance. many parts of the refinery have been destroyed. u.s.-lead coalition jets have carried out 47 air strikes in and around the refinery in the last ten days. in baghdad, the prime minister lead the military funeral for the top commander who was in charge of protecting beiji's refinery. he was killed last week. he also met the commander of

u.s. central command. beiji was high on the agenda. the fight for iraq's biggest oil refinery has proven to be a tough one. u.s. military commanders say the town of beiji and the refinery remain a top strategic priority. the challenge for the government is to open the refinery and resume production. the battle for the refinery is proving to be hard long and costly. it has become a symbol of the challenge between the warring sides. neither of which is able to fully control and declare victory. the production of more than 175,000 barrels of oil a day has stopped, and the refinery has been shut down since june last year. the penalty phase is now underway in boston at the trial

of the marathon bomber. a husband and wife who lost limbs during the attack have come out against putting him to death, and last week the parents of the bombings youngest victim did the same. six police officers in baltimore are now suspended as officials investigate the mysterious death of a man in their custody. it is the latest in a series of cases nationwide involving african american dying after confrontations with police. 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. >> reporter: but the video doesn't add much to what we already know. >> this is a very very tense time. >> reporter: six officers were suspended monday as the city

investigates. >> i want to know where the officers pursued mr. grey. i want to know if the proper procedures were followed. i want to know what steps need to be taken for accountability. >> reporter: a group of officers pursued and arrested grey after he ran from them. four minutes later, officers put a screaming grey into their van. three minutes later the van driver reports pulling over and applying leg irons to an irate man. 41 minutes after grey who suffered from asthma entered that van, officers called for medical assistance. >> i know a that when mr. grey was placed inside that van, he was able to talk. he was upset, and when mr. grey 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. it was noticed that ho was having a little trouble breathing. >> reporter: grey died sunday

suffering from his families lawyers describe as a severed spine and broken neck. >> we had no evidence physical or video, or statements of any use of force. there was no physical bodily injury that we saw. >> reporter: several dozen protesters called for justice outside of city hall. police say the baltimore pd will change. >> any time someone requests medical attention in any context, immediately we are to respond to that. >> this is not ferguson. this is a city where we have worked very hard under this current administration to develop dialogue with the community. >> reporter: the commissioner says the investigation will wrap by may 1st. john henry smith, al jazeera. we're following some developing news in washington. it looks like the senate may finally vote on the nomination of loretta lynch.

mitch mcconnell says dps and democrats have reached a deal on a human trafficking bill. republicans had been holding up the lynch nomination until that bill got a vote. chevron accused of destroying a section of rain forest in south america. al jazeera looks at the latest claims against the giant. and china's biggest city set to crack down on pollution. the new laws that could force certain cars off of the road.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, it is 10:47 eastern. south korea's prime minister is stepping down amid claims of bribery. he has been at the center of a corruption scandal. military exercises today in the philippines. thousands of u.s. and philippine soldiers took part. the joint drills are meant to

practice am fibbous raids. a fig salute for queen elizabeth. she marks her 89th birthday today. a retrial for energy giant chevron is underway here in new york. it started two decades ago with a class action lawsuit alleging the company polluted ecuador's rain forest. as kristen saloomey reports now chevron is fighting back. >> reporter: he has been found liable in this new york for bribing a judge and ghost writing a court decision in ecuador. but this lawyer denies he did any of that in trying to hold chevron accountable for rain forest contamination. >> they go after anyone who is effectivive 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 and go

after the lawyers. >> reporter: at issue is billions of gallons of toxic waste dumped in ecuador by texaco which has since been bought by chevron. 30,000 villagers first tried to sue the oil company in new york in the 1990s, but the company insisted on trying the case in ecuador and lost. ecuador's highest court up head the billion dollars judgment in 2011. the judgment against chevron has been found by a u.s. federal court to be the product of proud to chevron said in this statement. does chevron has any intention on making good of that $9.5 billion judgment? >> nice try. >> reporter: their lawyers wouldn't answer questions on camera. the plaintiffs have also taken legal action in canada and brazil in an attempt to get chevron to pay the $9.5 billion awarded by the ecuadorian courts. what happens here in new york however, could hurt those

efforts. if he loses, experts say the case will have a chilling effect on other class action lawsuits. >> what we fear is that chevron's play book 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. >> reporter: environmental groups like amazon watch continue to stand by the lawyer. >> he didn't commit any fraud. what he did was stand by his clients despite the fact that rev chon would try to destroy him. >> reporter: they say they will continue to fight chevron until the spill has been cleaned up. kristen saloomey al jazeera, new york. we're going to have much more on the chevron case coming up at 9:00 pm eastern right here on al jazeera america. the wisconsin national guard has been activated to help deal

with a crisis in pole try farms. an estimated 13 states have been hit by the flu strain. blue bell creameries is recalling all of its products over a listeria outbreak. the potentially deadly bacteria was found in two cartoons. china recently declared fighting pollution one of the key ways to help its economy. since then the government has pledged hundreds of billions of dollars towards cleaning up its air. but not everyone is happy with their approach. >> reporter: business is slow at this secondhand car market. so traders wile away the day playing cards or board games that really are for the board. this man has had a dealership

for eight years, but he fears he may soon have to close. >> translator: actually a lot of people in this business have disappeared because it is now so hard to do business. >> reporter: demand for secondhand and new cars took a hit from an earlier government decision to restrict car sales to tackle worsening air pollution problems. now the authorities are going a step further. cars that fail to meet new exsuhs emission standards will be taken off of the road even if they are only a few year's old. >> reporter: we hope the government can be more relaxed on car emissions and issue more license plates. >> reporter: both owners and dealers want the government to raise compensation rates for decommissioned cars. and this is where many of those vehicles end up. it is shanghai's biggest scrap yard for cars but the officials here have a problem, because of

the sheer volume of vehicles being dumped here they are running out of space. the problem is piling up between 40 and 50 vehicles arrive here every day, 90% having failed the test. but thousands of other condemned cars are still on the road having been sold on to owners in nearby towns and cities where the new restrictions don't apply. so for now, avoiding this fate. adrian brown, al jazeera, shanghai. last year air pollution in parts of northern china reached 20 times what the world health organization says are safe levels. 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. plus big changes for google. it may make searching on our mobile device easier but it may

also hurt small businesses.

♪ come on man! >> come on dude! >> come on!

>> an amazing rescue in texas. you are watching police pull a man from a burning car. the driver was trapped inside unconscious, when the officers pulled them out, and took him to the hospital. he is expected to be okay and police are investigating what caused the crash. google is changing how it does searches made on mobile devices. some say this could have a real impact on small businesses many of which haven't invested in designing their sites around small screens. imagine traveling 375 miles an hour. in that is what engineers in japan have just accomplished. they broke the world train speed record for the next time in a week. they are using magnetic technology to change the future of travel.

>> reporter: japan's train hit 603 kilometers an hour. in doing so it breaks the world train speed record. >> translator: this train is set up the same way as we'll use it commercially. the comfort of passengers has been proved. >> reporter: the test is part of an ambitious plan to build a $47 billion high-peed line. if completed as planned in 2027 the path could be traveled in around 40 minutes. >> they do make a lot of noise, so by having them deep underground, at least 40 meters underground, it is thought they are out of the way. and once you are underground, you don't have to worry about trying to navigate around corners, you can have an almost exact straight line. >> reporter: if you have ever played with magnets, this is the

idea behind this train. another set of electromagnets push it along, because it's riding on a cushion of air, there's little friction. it makes it a smooth ride and potentially very fast. japan is also hoping to sell its high-speed train technology to the u.s. the push to find overseas customers is an attempt to recover some of its research and development costs, and a response to china's effort to sell high-peed train technology. >> the germans also have a system, it is starting to look as though the japanese may be slightly in the lead in their technology and may be slightly superior, and i think japan is thinking this is where we can really be pushing forward and have an advantage over other

countries. >> reporter: but some critics say the technology remains too expensive, and potentially unsafe. an event like an earthquake could knock the train off of its line. but japanese engineers say their early warning system can deal with this and the continuing tests will prove the safety and efficiency of this new generation of trains. by the way the fastest commercial train in the u.s. travels at only 150 miles an hour. when japan's train goes commercial it will be carrying passengers at more than twice that speed. a wild cow chase overnight in ohio. police had to rescue and herd the livestock. officials managed to round up a dozen cows but several others were killed or injured when the driver lost control of the vehicle. thanks for watching. we leave you now with a live look in boston where the penalty

phase of the boston marathon bombing trial is now underway. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm live from our headquarters in doha. our top stories. the u.n. says the death of over 800 migrants is the worst-ever incident in the mediterranean, and the italian coast guard was in action again today. saudi arabia orders the national guard to counter the threat along its border with yemen. also this hour