>> the airstrikes may be over, but the campaign could just be moving into a new as yet unclear phase. >> we will continue to talk to the houthis to avoid them attacking and hurting yemeni citizens. we'll continue to support the evacuations and the u.n. humanitarian support. we'll continue the three goals there would be some military actions whenever deemed necessary. >> international aid agencies having concerns over the rising number of civilian casualties. the "world health organization" said that 944 people were killed and nearly 4,000 were injured since the start of the military campaign almost four weeks ago.

the bombing alone is not going to do--would never achieve its objectives. with the civilian casualties, i think the saudis realize they have done everything they can and the best thing now you can have is a negotiated solution, and this was a face-saving way out for them. >> the airstrikes have come to an end. but peace may be a long way off. fighters backed by troops loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh are still across the country. abd rabbuh mansur hadi is likely to be replaced by the vice minister of yemen. bahah was backed by the houthis. now he faces the delicate tact of putting an end to the fighting. >> mike viqueira joins us live

from washington. mike how is the u.s. reacting to this news, and what does it mean for u.s. ships near the gulf of aden? >> well, good evening to you. this has always been a three-level issue for the united states. a lot at stake right here. all of it getting tangled up in the situation in yemen right now. late in the afternoon the white house put out a somewhat perfunctory is statement welcoming what the saudis have announced. they want the u.n.-brokered peace talks to go forward in yes pen. obviously those talks in somewhat of a shambles. but when you look at the coming to yemen and has been for the last several years, it's defeating al qaeda on the arabian peninsula, through the cooperation with the president.

and his president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. with the government advancing, they are enemies, and enemies of a close ally the saudis, and the saudi arabia-led coalition, the americans over the course of the last four weeks, since the outset of the air strikes, leading support in terms of logistics and help to the saudi government and others employed in the coalition fighting. now we have the presence or the possibility of front front takes. many in the u.s. suspect the iranianships has arm for the houthis the convoy is concerned about the effect of it. the aircraft carrier, the u.s.s. "threo door roosevelt", and "normandy", to join off the coast of yemen, leaving no doubt that there's a possibility of a

confrontation at sea, if the ships are carrying arms for the houthis. here is the spokesman earlier today. >> we continue to be mindful of the destabilizing activities that they are engaged in in supporting the houthis, and supplying them weapons. and the united states is serious in sending it to the international community when it comes to the arms embargo in place by the u.n. >> make no mistake, u.s. officials are keeping a close eye on the iranian convoy as it approaches the coast. >> mike viqueira in washington thank you. >> al jazeera's international affairs contributor joins us this evening. good to have you with us. first, the simply question why has society decided to stop bombing when the houthis have not retreated.

>> the saudis realised that the campaign was never going to cause them to retreat. they have inflicted damage on arms depot, and made the houthis less formidable. there has been a certain amount of embarrassment. and high civilian casualty rate. 150,000 people have been forced from their homes. as your correspondent said. and so i think continuing the campaign has a high cost and the american the obama administration is pressuring them to call a halt to this campaign. >> you think the u.s. got involved and pressured them after the bombing yesterday, the scud missile base which had terrible consequence, killing dozens and there was terrible video proof of that. you think the u.s. pushed for restraint? >> the obama administration secretary john kerry announced

that we were providing logistical support in this operation, that we backed it. as the bombings went astray and civilians were killed the united states was suffering from that image as well. president obama today, i think, implied that he disapproved of going forward with this. >> what happens now, would the yemeni government return, will he be in charge, will it be the newly named vice president who seems to be more acceptable to most yemeni political groups? >> there was a political process in yemen. it was messy. it was tribal factional. people were talking to one another, trying to find a way forward. they want to have new presidential and parliamentary elections, and i think the houthis over stepped. they claimed a lot of power, they took over the capital.

they imprisoned the elected president. and there's some hope that they may realise now that they went too far. and come back to the negotiating table. although to be fair they say they never left it. >> do you think this will calm matters in the gulf of aden, where there's a sphere of confrontations between u.s. warships and iranianships? >> if the houthis themselves come back to the negotiating table, and the yemeny political factions find a way forward, that will have a calming effect. i think the iranians would be wise to unload arms at aden to the houthis there's a u.n. embargo. the u.s. might intervene in that case. the u.s. has to be careful. if there's nothing on the ships, that's a black eye. >> has the bolling hurt or

helped -- bombing hurt or helped u.s. interests especially seeing houthis took over a military base. >> i think the bombing campaign was iladvised. with the collapse of the government. the collapse of the houthis, al qaeda feigned a free hand. it's undesirable. they are the most vira lent in wanting to hit the western targets. they have a strong interest in restoring the government that can deal with them. >> good to have your perspective on this. >> iraqi citizen - officials said that government soldiers were engaged in a battle to

refake sophia one of three nearby villages that fell to i.s.i.l. last week. more than 100,000 fled ramadi since the fighting erupted. >> the u.s. is voicing concern over the sentencing of former egyptian president mohamed mursi. a court in cairo sentenced mohamed mursi to 20 years in prison on charges linking him to the killing of p in 2012. mohamed mursi was ousted in 2013, a year after being elected. a senior muslim brotherhood says there could be harsher penalties against the group if the international community remains silent. if as they expect the international community issues a statement and watches i believe they would be encouraged for the coming other cases to give a hartcher sentence that would be a death sentence.

>> all egyptians are entitled to equal and fair treatment before the law, including right to due process. mohamed mursi faces trial on other charges. we look at the event behind his rise to power, and his downfall. >> reporter: it was a long road to democracy. in 2011 hosni mubarak was kicked out of office then in a divisive election in 2012, mohamed mursi was the first democratically elected president. the celebrations wouldn't last long. he angered many egyptians, issues an order, effectively allow him to move unchecked until the drafting of a new constitution. that led to violence on the streets with mohamed mursi as a dictator and a new farro. his decision to overrule the

judiciary prompted them to go on strict. mohamed mursi sacked the head of the armed force escalating 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 election, that at a certain point the military would intervene and take over. >> on june 30th, 2013 millions of people rallied across egypt, calling for his resignation. three days lair the man who mohamed mursi appointed as a defence minister led a coup that removed him from power. abdul fatah al-sisi took over the day-to-day running of the country, mohamed mursi was imprisoned. when taken, mohamed mursi promised to form a government for all egyptians. his rule increase division and its trust. the defendants in the first

trial were acquitted of intend to murder. a sentence against the democratically elected president is seen as a blow to the muslim brotherhood and supporters. arrests after disaster this weekend. struggling to find a solution to stop the tide of people in leaky boats. >> and those driven out of south africa by national

bodies were everywhere - the words of first responders in relation to the boat accident off libya. >> one described desperate

scraping in the water. the u.n. believes more than 800 migrants drowned. it has not stopped more migrants trying to reach europe. the italian coast card saying it rescued -- coast card staying is rescued more than 400 today. >> reporter: still they keep coming. no matter hour dangerous the journey. 446 people the wooden boat leaking. all they can do is appeal for help in the seas. they were lucky, an italian fishing boat found them in time. in sicily the authorities help the few frightened men who survived the sinking of an overcrowded boat off the libyan coast. the initial stories of the scale of that disaster have turned out to be horribly accurate. >> they have now interviewed most of the survivors of saturday's boat tragedy in the mediterranean. according to them the boat

departed from tripoli and libya. it had some 850 people on board. many of these were children. among those on board for 350 eritreans, and people from sierra leone, mali senegal, ethiopia and others. >> reporter: this man was the captain of the boat. he's been custody, charged with reckless homicide and causing a shipwreck. another member of the crew has been arrested accused of assisting in illegal deportation. more is emerging as to how many were died. >> migrants were crushed in a boat. isn't small, it was 23 meters long. a few hun tread were forced into the hole at the lowest level,

locked and prevented from coming out. several hundred were closed in the second. on top. under a cover, were another 100 migrants. >> in sicily and across europe there's sympathy for the victims of the disaster and ott rage at the act -- outrage at the activities at the ruthless gangs. european governments disprgd on ways to intrest the disasters -- ways to prevent the disaster at sea, and ways to prevent more from risking the perilous journey. >> the problem goes beyond italian waters. further west. off the coast of spain, 44 africans rescued by coast guard, coming from morocco on a wooden boat. some too exhausted to walk ashore. some so young they may not remember how they arrived to start a new life in a new

continent. >> to help put the immigrant crisis in context, we spoke to daniel trilling from london. asking if the thousands ricking their lives to get to europe end up with a kind of life that they are hoping for. >> the first thing to recognise is these people are not migrants. they are refugee, and the situation is that they are escape escaping,posing a threat to safety and lives. these are the people fleeing the war in syria or dictatorship in eritrea. the reason they come to europe they hope to find a safe haven. >> for the large part they do. once they are in europe, they are in a part of the world where they are not at risk of conflict. the journey and struggle doesn't end there. at the moment europe's asylum system is not providing refugees with the support they need to

help get settled, find a job, learning a language, help them integrate into the society around them. >> there was a lot of political pressure to discontinue the operation. some right wing parties say that actually that operation encouraged more migration from north africa to europe. has that turned out to be true. has the fact that mare nostrum has been scrapped discourage migrants making the journey? >> no. if that reasoning seemed hollow last year, it's criminal now. what's happened is that thousands of migrants continued to attempt to make the journey. without a search and rescue operation in place, many more have died. i should stress that it isn't just parties on the right in italy that are pushed to end the search and rescue operation, the

british government's position was that it was not going to fund a european search and rescue operation for the same reasons, and they were told at the time that the result would be more deaths, not fewer migrants. that's what's happened. >> obviously looking at the pictures that we have been seeing over the past few days and month, the priority is saving lives. but the long-term issue politically in europe is one of immigration. europe is in financial trouble. people are disillusioned with politicians, there's a perception that europe may be more vulnerable to attacks by i.s.i.l. it's a tricky situation. what do you think e.u. politicians should do what will the elect rates let them do. >> you are right. there's a political paralysis, where politicians allowed them to be dragged down an anti-

anti-immigration pass whereby they are enable to deal with the crisis. and blame immigrants for their own failings really. what happened in europe and recent years is systematically europe's external boarders are militarized. it cast refugees not people in need of hep and protection. as some kind of criminal threat. now is the suggestion that i.s.i.l. - there's a risk that i.s.i.l. may send occupants over and it's the latest iteration of exaggerated fears about the threats migrant pose. in fact. europe's border policies are a threat to the refugees. these are the people. it's crucial that european politicians have the courage to

step forward and change the way they are going, opening the border to people in need of help. >> thank you, daniel trilian, editor of "new humanist magazine", from london. eritrea has beaten out north korea as the world's most censored nation. it's the eritry jan president has been successful in running a campaign of fear media, making journalists, even those from state-run outlets afraid of being arrested. north korea is close second, pyongyang prohibiting most internet access less than 10" of the population have cameras. after a wave of criticism for other governments south africa deployed soldiers to battle anti-immigrant violence. south africa announced the move after weeks of attacks and looting of immigrants shops.

hundreds of mying friends were forced -- migrants were forced into shelters. a spate of attacks started in 2008. the violence frightened some returning to their own counties. we spoke to families that went back to neighbouring zimbabwe. >> joyce worked as a hairdresser in south africa. the $200 she earnt looked after her children. she said some of the locals resented her for accepting low pay. when attacks on migrants started, she feared her family would be targeted. >> we are afraid of being kid. they were going to schools. that's why i'm with my daughter. they were attacking the foreigners in schools. >> so to come. >> at the zimbabwe border post. they are relieved to be save.

even if companies are rough. the reality of being in zimbabwe, is sinking in. >> it's less than 20." it's between 80 and 90%. families are not sure what they are coming back to. many admit they are worried. some blame policies of robert mugabe's ruling party for damaging the economy. they were left at the height of the crisis in 2008 with nothing. he returned with nothing. >> i don't know what we'll do. in zimbabwe we just come. >> reporter: government officials and aid agencies are trying to help. >> bring device to assist.

in which case i'm talking about many. i'm talking about food items, anything that kansas the guys. there's a lot of emotion, and they are so traumatised, there a need for counselling service. >> reporter: some say they want nothing to do with south africa. >> no i don't want to go back. the way people are killed i don't think i'll go back there. others say if things are difficult. they'll have to across the boarder into south africa again, as soon as it's safe to do so. >> seeking justice - 70 years off the end of world war ii. >> a former nazi concentration camp guard is on trial. coming up, a case against a man known as the book-keefer of auschwitz. russia is paying over the ukranian crisis and why some russians say it's worth it.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm barra sara. >> and i'm antonio mora. coming up, a legal battle. the rainforest all landing in a new york courtroom another world record for a train travelling the equivalent of san francisco to los angeles in over an hour a look at the stories making headlines - the senate can now hold a confirmation vote for the president's attorney-general nominee. the confirmation for loretta lynch was held up until a deal was reached on a human trafficking bill. the vote expected in the coming days. >> pope francis accepted the nomination of a bishop who failed to report child abuse. he was sent to 2 years probation

for not notifying authorities about lude photos of young girls on a priest's computer the justice department in baltimore announced it would investigate the death of gray. onlookers captured cell phone video of the incident. six officers have been put on paid suspicions as the baltimore police department vets one of the last survivors of the auschwitz camp went on trial. 93-year-old oscar the account of auschwitz, admitted that he shares moral guilt for what happened at the death camp but did not acknowledge in participating in the crime. more from berlin. >> he entered the courtroom, a frail old man, with a dark past. in his youth oscar worked as a

clerk for the ss at the auschwitz death camp. his past caught up with him, accused of being an accessory in the murders of 3,000 people. he told the court he acknowledged his moral guilt, but said it was for judges to decide whether he should be convicted. auschwitz was the single most murderous camp the nazis ran in the course of their final solution at the jewish question. it's thought that 1,100,000 people the vast majority jews but others, were exterminated at the camp during the 4.5 years of its existence. oscar was at the camp between 1942 and 1944. his role was to deal with the collection and sourcing of the belongings of those murdered.

he has responsibility for the foreign currencies found among the possessions. one of the jewish children who survived being experimented on by ss doctors at auschwitz was in court to hear oscar. ava's parents and elder sisters died at auschwitz. eva spoke about what seeing hill on trial meant for her. >> it has meant a lot. physically and emotionally and mentally - he did a lot of things. i think in one respect, functioning at that level. he's doing his best. it's a long day. >> in previous interviews 10 years ago. oscar chose to speak about his

time at auschwitz, to oppose those who deny the exterminations ever happened there. but now his trial has heard he accepts his own moral guilt. >> joining us now is belinda cooper, a senior fellow the editor of war crimes the legacy of neerim burg and the daughter of a holocaust survivor. thank you for joining us. oscar admitted guilt and knew what was going on but didn't do anything to stop it. >> he is guilty of something. it lessens his guilt of not killing anyone. it's a question of the level of guilt or complicity. >> his case is during. in germany, he's one of the few people that came out and spoke about what had gone on and his

involvement in it. in the '80s, charges were dropped, and he spoke to the bbc in a documentary in 2005 where he was open about what happened and this is what ipp directly led to the trial. what does it say, do you think, about a lot of people that come out and speak and have down so is it counterproductive. >> there's not many it would affect. there's argument that you would rather have people, as with the south african truth commission where you provide amnesty. there's a deterrence of people lesslike ily to speak up. he did. >> he said he told a story to fight against the holocaust. and he said "i was there, it happened. >> it was poignant. the trial itself is more about, i think, germany, and how it is dealing with the past, and a symbolic value that they

for years didn't prosecute people involved, but didn't kill anyone. the fact that they change their lives and are prosecuting people, this person the significance symbolically. there's not many more people who will be involved. it's more about germie dealing with -- germany dealing with the past. >> exactly, he's 93 he looked frail. if guilty he is facing between 3 and 15 years. at his age it's a death sentence. what do you make of sentencing someone at this sage. what do you make of the images? >> i see the problems. not so bad as one that was carried in on a stretcher. someone that you try someone that age who is frail. in this case he's in better shape, clearly. there's an issue about the fact of his age and prosecuting someone for a crime seven years

ago is not swift justice. it's better served when it happens right away when there's victims alive to appreciate it. when - it's a little bit problematic to prosecute people. it's symbolic that no one will get away with a crime, no matter how long it takes to prosecute. there's two sides. >> in many reports some of the victims were happy it came to trial. >> some said they didn't care about the sentence, but the symbolic nature of the trial. >> it will be harder or will it do you think, to keep the memory alive when the perpetrate scores and survivors will over the next few years die. >> certainly. once they are not around it is going to be harder. it's about education, keeping the memories alive. a trial is not the only way. there's memorials, education. there's many ways you can do it. the armenian genocide 100 years ago. the perpetrators are no longer

around victims are no longer around and so many of the issues is getting an issue, aget and apology. there are ways to keep it and education, and learning. >> thank you so much for joining us. ukraine's government is warning the situation there is deteriorating. violence increased in the east. now, kiev is rallying the troops much the ukranian government is worried about the attacks during the festivities on may 8th the, when the nation gathers to mark 73 years. 10,000 guards were deployed. >> ukraine is not the only country weakened by the violence. the rm said western sanctions are damaging his economy. >> he stood by. >> for many the return of crimea was the restoration of justice, which in its significance is equivalent to

the fall of the berlin wall the re-unification of germany. >> western leaders, u.s. nato and the u.n. refuse to recognise the move. the cost to the economy reached $27 billion. that figure could balloon to more than 80 billion this year. >> hard times may be on the way. reports say european regulators announce antitrust charges against the energy company. the charges accuse gazprom of inflating prices and forcing out the constitution it could mean a billion in fines. >> japan and the u.s. hope to create a trade pack. talks on the trans-pacific partnership are in their final stages. the economies of japan and the u.s. would make up 80% of the entire group. >> japan's prime minister xi jinping sent an offering honouring the war dead.

china calls on them to acknowledge the contep somehows hist -- contentious history, before the two nations plan to met at app asian summit in indonesia. they are hoping to improve strategic ties. more than 20 years ago ecuador jans went to court over an oil drilling operation. chevron refused to pay the cost. the case has moved back to new york. details coming up a powerful tornado tears through a brazilian town.

china appears to be making protests when it comes to the environment. issue pollution is down 31% from a year ago. it's based on data released by the government. it was called a significant step in the right direction, but pollution is a serious threat. hundreds of chinese cities do

not met the air quality standard. >> in the off the radar segment. a bruising legal battle over an environmental disaster in ecuador that began 20 years ago with a class action lawsuit against a u.s. company. the latest chapter is playing out in manhattan. stuck in the middle. indigenous people are struggling for compensation. >> reporter: this is the latest twist in the showdown between chevron and people in a remote part of the ecuadorian amazon. >> nice job. >> reporter: a video shows chevron employees and consultants finding oil and laughing about it, at sites the energy client claims were cleaned up. it's one of several videos that amazon watch said it got from a

whistleblower inside chevron. >> these videos are, essentially the smoking gun evidence undermining chevron's defense in ecuador, showing their own employees admitting the toxic waste admits in sites they swore they clean up. >> reporter: chevron told al jazeera the videos were taken out of context saying they demonstrated the process used to identify pits at oil field sites, which is practice nothing secret about the process. videos come to light just as the long-running case is back in court again. >> from 1964 to 1992 texy coe explored and drilled for oil. the people there are accusing texy coe which chevron bought of spilling thousands of bral else

of oil and billions of gallons of toxic waste into soil and rivers. environmentalists call the result a rainforest chern on ill, a disaster that sickens the people who live a largely traditional lifestyle. >> for us the amazon is our supermarket. this is where we find food. the jungle is our pharmacy. we find our medicine here. with the pollution all is gone. >> our health is affected. my family is sick i'm sick my bones ache and my son is ill. >> reporter: chevron argued a $40 million clean-up by traxi coe, an -- texy coe and an agreement signed in 1988 obsolves them of all responsibility identify. their approach was summed up by a spokesman who said "we'll fight this until hell freezes over. and then we'll fight it out on

the ice." in 2011 the villagers won $19 billion in an ek wattedorial -- equatorial court reduced to $9.5 billion. it was not over. chevron accused the american lawyer representing them of fraud. the charges included bribing a judge in ecuador, and righting the verdict against chevron. last month chevron scored a victory that the team had engaged in a conspiracy block the the plaintiffs using u.s. courts to collect the judgment. >> the ruling against you was that the verdict that you want that presented and won in ecuador was procured by fraud. >> that was a ruling by a united states trial judge who we frankly disagree with his decision. he ran a completely flawed

proceeding from beginning to end. he would not let us put in evidence of the contamination. there were 105 reports reallied on. finding chevron liable. and again in ecuador. >> many call you a hero. chevron calls you a crook. they want a verdict against you. >> i have worked hard as a lawyer. there's never been a single complaint against me. i believe chevron is the cook. they concocted a story to taint the judgment. so they can evade paying for what they owe to the people of ecuador. >> the appeal got underway in manhattan. chevron lawyer would not talk to us. >> reporter: does chevron have an intention of making good on the ecuadorian judged? >> very good nice try. >> reporter: the appeal could

last for months leaving the people waiting we are joined by the president of csr strategy group, representing a group of chevron shareholders and was subpoenaed by chevron in connection with this case. is this a case where neither side has clean hands. starting with chevron first, it was sued in new york in the '90s. it had the gays thrown out. chevrolet lost there, it's suing back in new york. >>. >> i mean regardless of, you know who has got clean hands and who doesn't, the fact right now is chevron had a 9.5 billion judgement. and the communities in ecuador are seeking to seize assets. that's the real issue right now, and the risk to chevron. >> right. they have not had great success in seizing the assets.

let's talk about the ecuador yaps whether they are -- ecuadorians, whether they want their chaining. -- cake and eat it two. they spent several millions cleaning up the air. got a release from the government and are being sued again. >> chevron got a release from the government, but the inhabitants of the ecuadorian amazon who filed a civil suit. the communities were not a party to the agreement that chevron signed with the ecuadorian government so are not bounded by that. >> chevron argues that the pollution is not their responsibility pointing the figure the petro ecuador, do they have a point? >> well you know chevron is trying to claim that they are not responsibility for any of the pollution. and, you know that's laughable.

>> what is the situation in ecuador now for the people the indigenous people in those areas. >> there's no dispute that the land and ble the water has been polluted and continues to be polluted and that had an flent on people's health and livelihood. that is not in dispute. to what extent is chevron liable and responsible. and, you know the ecuadorian courts spoke on this. three levels of ecuadorian judiciary focused on this. and levied a fine. that's the facts on the ground. >> chevron argues that there was corruption. in the end, why has there not with respect a settlement. the litigation is going on in every imaginable venue. the cost for everyone involved is so high. easily into the tens of

millions. certainly. you know we are shareholders. i represent shareholders who thing it would be - i've urged chevron to consider settling the case because the cost of the company and the risk to the company and the cost and risk to shareholderses is so high. >> good of you to join us to make our way through the long-standing case. good to have you with us. a foot of rain has fallen in south-eastern australia, the results are kata stlofic. >> the results on the flash floods and widespread power outages. >> the world's fastest strangers set a new speed record.

>> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day. breaking it down. getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find... the inside story. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. in belgium honouring the victims of a large-scale attack in world war i. the army unleashed a poisonous cloud killing thousands of troops mostly branch. it was the beginning.

both used chemical weapons, killing hundreds of thousands and injuring more. form we talk on how chemical weapons are used and stockpiled despite a ban. >> on the global news segment. how news outlets are reacting to events. jerusalem "post" takes on i.s.i.l. the editorial argues that i.s.i.l. is a nation state and should be confronted by one, by cutting off it financial resources and denying it access to the internet and social media. all in addition to a campaign. >> the guardian calling on south africans to come together. under the head line, our ugly moment of xenophobia is almost ipp compre helpsible. the violence against other africans is cutwrenching

horrible -- gut wrench horrible. and we need serious pulling together of dialogue to get through this. >> spain offers an editorial cartoon about disasters involving migrants crossing the mediterranean to reach europe. it shows a relaxed european union floating above a graveyard at the bottom of the sea. a picture payments 1,000 words, that brings home the tragedy. >> absolutely. over 1,000 people were forced from their homes after a tornado hit the state. over 100 people have been hospitalized with injuries. it brought winds of up to 200 miles per hour. the storm lifted cars into the air, blue the roofs off homes and knocked down lamp posts. tornadoes are rare but can be common in the south. australia has been battered by intense storm and flooding.

three people are dead, 200,000 homes left without power. winds travelled as much at 90 k/hr uprooting trees along the east coast. as andrew potter reports, there's more on the way. >> for a country used to extreme weather, the severity of the storms took the south-east by surprise. more than 30 centimetres of rain dumped on parts of new south wales in less than 24 hours, leading to flash floods and little time to get away. >> we had to swim for it and were sucked towards the bridge. we went in behind the toilet. got colleen's jumper wrapped it to a weed pile. hung on and have been there for a while. >> telephone polls struggled to resist high winds. trees also toppled. >> i was looking at a couple of other trees up there. looks like a slightly - lot

smaller than that one has deflected it enough so it didn't come through the bd rom. leaving it. the waves at bond joy less welcoming than normal. damaging properties along the coastline. with the city's well above the usual level. some warned they may have to evacuate. a short trip by ferry resembling the high seas. the storm was more serious than expected. >> there's no doubts it is a seize storm a one in 10 year eventment more severe than anticipated. clearly the consequences are quite significant across new south wales and it is clear that they were in the midst of challenging weather. >> more than 200,000 homes were left without power. authorities warn the worst of the storm may not be over with

flooding expected for the second time japan's bullet train set a world record for speed. it hit 374 miles per hour on a test track mere mt fuji breaking the record set in 2003. at that speed the train travelled between san francisco and los angeles in little more than an hour. it uses electrically charmed magnets to lift and move the cars above the rail tracks. it will not carry passengers until 20027. a train ride on a high train. for a shorter distance between new york and washington takes three hours. i look forward to that. >> reporter: a judge has granted a writ of habbious corpus not unusual, but she granted it for two chimpanzees. at 11:00 p.m. eastern and 8 passive ib, we talk to an animal rights activist about the

decision and what it can mean in it the future. >> thank you for watching, "america tonight" is next. see you again in an hour. . >> bye-bye. on"america tonight" n urgent warning for tens of thousands of american women, surgery and why there's increased worry that it mite spread cancer. >> i did not know initially. it's not something they tell you when they say your surgery which went well. they don't say your surgery wept well and very shredded things up. >> also tonight -