saudi arabia ends its military air strikes in yemen saying a new phase to rebuild the country has begun. welcome to al jazeera. coming up in the next half hour from president to prisoner egypt's former leader mohammed morsey is sentenced to 20 years in jail calls for urgent action as april is confirmed the deadliest month for migrants to get to europe.

plus. >> in brazil the number of motorcycle fatalities has increased dramatically in the last ten years. authorities want to bring sanity and safety to the streets. saudi arabia has announced an end to its military air strikes in yemen for now. the saudi-led coalition says it's ending its month-long operation after achieving its objective of weakening houthi control over certain areas. now operation renewal of hope will begin focused on protecting civilians and allowing humanitarian aid to get to those in need. however, saudi arabia says that it will still continue to monitor houthi movements. the u.s. has welcomed the end of those strikes. first, this report.

>>reporter: saudi-led strikes in yemen are over as coalition forces say they've achieved their military goals. according to them the houthis are no longer a military threat but warning any future attempts to destabilize yemen will be met with force. the strikes may be over but the campaign moves into a rather unclear phase. >> we'll continue to target the houthis to prevent them from hurting or attacking yemeni citizens. we'll also help with evacuations and humanitarian support. operations will continue regarding those three goals. there will be some military actions whenever deemed necessary. >>reporter: the coalition says it began the offensive at the request of president hadi. shortly after the cessation was announced, hadi addressed the people of yemen. >> i say with all honesty we

never imagined the scale of the pursuit of revenge for the houthis. we will exit this crisis soon with god's help and return to our precious land soon to restore hope and smiles on the faces of our people. we will start a new yemen. >>reporter: the houthis reject the authority of president hadi. they have so far ignored all calls to leave the areas they control in yemen. >> the bombing alone will not achieve its objectives and with the casualties and everything i think the saudis realized they've 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. >>reporter: the air strikes may have ended but peace remains a

long way off. troops loyal to former president saleh are still active across the country. hadi might not be able to commandeer the support needed in yemen and likely will be replaced by the vice president and prime minister. u.s. president barack obama says the conflict can only be resolved through dialogue. he made the comments during an interview with msnbc. >> that's always been an fractious country with a lot of problems. it's very poor. and right now, there are a lot of people inside of yemen suffering. we need to bring the parties together and find a political arrangement. it's not solved by having another proxy war fought inside

of yemen and we've indicated they need to be part of the solution not the problem. >> we have more now from washington d.c. >>reporter: the obama administration says it welcomes the decision of the saudis to end the air war against houthi targets in yemen. officials at the white house and pentagon say they're very supportive of efforts now underway to try to deal with the humanitarian suffering of yemeni citizens. they also say that they're very supportive of efforts to try to negotiate a political settlement between those who support president hadi and those who support the houthis as well as those who support the former president saleh. this political negotiation is supposed to be worked out with the united nations and the sast expected to support that process because it considers it very important to restore stability to this country as quickly as

possible. am necessity international calls the sentencing of president morsey a travesty of justice. tuesday he was ordered to 20 years in prison for the deaths of three people. >>reporter: president morsey escaped the death penalty and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for what the prosecution says was his role in the arrests and torture of protesters at the presidential palace 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. spying. he's accused of conspireing to commit terrorist acts in egypt

with hamas. leaking state secrets and endangering egypt's national security. fraud in connection with the muslim brotherhood's economic and social program. he's also charged with insulting the judiciary. muslim brotherhood leader along with several other defendants were also sentenced to 20 years. it was a long road to egyptian democracy. in 2011 the president was kicked out of office during a revolution against his rule. then in a devicive election in 2012 morsey became the first democratically elected president. but the celebrations didn't last long. he angered many egyptians by preventing any court from turning the over any of his decisions. morsey sacked the head of the armed forces 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 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 he appointed as the defense minister led a coup that removed him from power. any sentence against egypt's first democratically elected president is seen as a big blow to the muslim brotherhood and its supporters. the u.n.'s refugee agency says april has been the deadliest month ever for fleeing migrants in the mediterranean. about 1,300 migrants have

drowned this month alone and 1,700 have died so far this year. that's a big jump from the same time last year when the number of people who died was 56 by the end of april, 96 had drowned at sea. a total of 3,279 migrants died in 2014. and the international organization for migration warns that if action isn't taken, 30,000 people could drown this year. the deaths of an estimated 800 migrants in the mediterranean on saturday is the worst of its kind. only 28 people were pulled alive from the water. we've spoken to one of the survivors. a 16-year-old from somolia who is now recuperating at a reception center in sicily. >>reporter: it looks like a normal youth club with its table tennis and its television blaring. but these teenagers have endured

hardships few in europe can even imagine. the latest to arrive here are probably the luckiest of all. to protect his identity we're calling him jamal and he was one of just 28 survivors from last weekend's deadly sinking in the mediterranean. in somolia he told me there is no happiness, only al shabaab. what jamal experienced at the hands of libya's people traffickers was even worse. >> the problem we faced in libya was mainly around the fact we had our money taken and we were beaten up very badly. some individuals i know died of starvation. the trafficker didn't allow us to speak to our families. we were not given food and were constantly beaten. one time the trafficking ring was uncovered and a woman was blamed and beaten severely. >>reporter: eventually jamal was herded onto the trafficker's boat for the journey that would turn into disaster.

he said the boat was so crowded that at one point he fell over and had to be dragged back in. >> when we were on the ship we had no food or water and i only had one fish. we traveled for a day with no water or food. then we saw the ship from europe. >>reporter: and just as he thought they would be rescued disaster struck. >> i was with a friend who was hungry so i shared my fish with him but after yelling for help we overturned and he died. i was under water for five minutes thinking allah, and then i managed to swim to the surface and shouted for help and was rescued. >>reporter: hundreds of others weren't so lucky. the migrants had capsized in the dark out at sea and rescuers were working almost blind. >> the sea is completely dark and after just a few meters you can't see anything. the only thing we could see were the beams of light from the

search lights. we had to rely on what we could hear listening out from the screams to rescue any survivors. >>reporter: jamal feels nothing but bitterness towards the traffickers who jamal believes deliberately put the passengers in mortal danger. the migrant boat's captain and the ship's mate are now facing charges of reckless multiple homicide. jamal is already looking to the future. >> god willing i intend to bring my parents over here. i'm working hard on that. >>reporter: from what the survivors have told us about what happened on saturday it's truly remarkable that anybody actually managed to survive and the matter of fact way they are describing the circumstances of the rescue is evidence of deep psychological scars they will have to cope with. but now here in italy they have a chance to build a new life a chance denied to hundreds on the

vowage with them. still ahead on al jazeera, protesting over a controversial electoral reform plan in hong kong and a powerful storm batters ausa's southeast leaving three dead and thousands without power. power.

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the saudi led coalition says its air campaign in yemen is now over and being replaced by operation renewal of hope focused on humanitarian needs and preventing further houthi advance. am necessity international says the sentencing of former egyptian president mohammed morsey to 20 years in prison is a travesty of justice. he was egypt's first democratically elected president but was toppled in a military coup in 2013. the u.n.'s refugee agency says this month has been the deadliest for fleeing migrants in the mediterranean. 1,300 migrants have drowned making the riskty sea crossing to europe. on tuesday, more than 400 asylum seekers were rescued off the coast of italy. hong kong's government has announced a road map for leadership elections that offered no concessions to

prodemocracy protesters. demonstrations against the decision to rule out the open vote in the election in 2017, outside the main government building. sarah clark sent us this update. >>reporter: the government's electoral reform plan has deeply divided the people of hong kong. last year it triggered months of protests which shut down parts of the city including here at government headquarters. today some of those protesters returned for another round of demonstrations. essential to the government's electoral reform plan is ruling out a free election in 2017. instead, it will be china or the national people's congress who will screen candidates. but that's angered law makers who vowed to veto the plan. lining the sidewalk around hong kong's government headquarters is a handful of tents. the site of last year's two and

a half month long sit in looks more like a camp site with a small group of protesters embodying the prodemocracy campaign. >> we have to persist and believe we'll soon reach success. >>reporter: the number of tents is growing. a library has been recreated. some are even building seating in the hope that more students will return. but it's inside the government building where the fate of hong kong's political future will be unveiled. the city's chief secretary will present the long awaited electoral reform package for the 2017 election. she's ruled out an open election and is standing firm on beijing's decision to screen those candidates who stand for chief executive. >> the work on the political reform resolution is required to follow the basic law and the relevant interpretation and decision of the national people's congress.

>>reporter: it's that ruling that triggered last year's street occupation in central hong kong. prodemocracy law makers are demanding the right to freely elect the candidates and vow to block the government's reform plan when it comes to a vote. >> all of us would veto veto any package restrained by the 831. >>reporter: the government's election proposal needs the backing of hong kong's legislative council if it proceeds. but with more than a third of the 70 law makers against the reform plan it looks unlikely to get the go ahead. student group who is led last year's protest are hopeful that will be the case. >> the veto means a lot to us all the people who participated in the movement. >>reporter: but with the vote not expected until july the government is likely to pull out

all the stops to make sure its election plan becomes law. sarah clark, al jazeera, hong kong. the prime minister has expressed deep remorse over wartime aggression. a move seen to signal warming relations with china. he made the comments in the capital of indonesia where he's attending the asia africa summit. beijing has repeatedly urged tokyo to face up to its aggression in world war two south korea's government has -- killing more than 300 people. there have been ongoing -- launch a more in-death investigation into the accident. most who died were teenagers on a school trip. nine bodies remain missing to syria now where the conflict has entered a fifth year. hundreds of thousands of people

have been displaced by the violence, many of whom are finding it even more difficult to find shelter. here's a report now on the plights of families fleeing the violence in western syria. >>reporter: this abandoned mosque is damaged and cold but it's a safe haven for this family. >> i don't have money to pay rent so hopefully i can find a job but i look and look and i can't find anything. >>reporter: even though its roof could collapse at any moment and the windows have no glass, he knows he's lucky. >> . because he and other families like his fled this the chaos in the country side where syrian government forces continue to battle opposition fighters. the city has been targeted by raging barrel bombs and no one is spared.

this family also escaped the violence. their new home is basic but there's an old well for water and the children entertain themselves the best they can. they worry about their future. >> we keep moving because of the heavy bombardment but life is just as hard here as there. i'm looking after my brother's three children and i have 12 children of my own and no jobs and no way to get money. >>reporter: other families nearby have no shelter at all. rents here are ten times higher than before the war and food is increasingly hard to come by. this part of the country may have escaped the violence so far but life here is still far from easy. in iraq a battle between isil fighters and government forces for control continues. isil attacked the capital of anbar province ten days ago capturing areas to the north and east but iraqi forces say they're pushing isil back and

have retaken areas around the city south africa's defense minister is sending troops to johannesburg to prevent attacks against foreigners. protesters have gathered outside parliament while a constitutional amendment is being debated. >>reporter: the key changes promised by the new government contained in the 19th amendment to the constitution being debated in the parliamentary chamber down the road here but there have been -- offending many of his supporters as you can see many of those who came here this morning essentially demanding that those summons before the bribery commissioned on the former president be

withdrawn saying that the bribery commission has overstepped its limit and there's no reason he should be summoned. we're hearing reports that summons is connected to a ministership that the former president offered to a then opposition parliamentarian while the elections were taken place. this morning there's a standoff here with the police as you can see behind me just behind the protesters and roads barricaded. police are not allowing the demonstrators to go

and that support now is very much in question. a storm that's battered the east coast of australia has killed three people and cut power to more than 200,000 homes. winds crushed cars and uprooted trees. >>reporter: even for a country used to extreme weather, the severity of these storms took australia's southeast by surprise. more than 30 centimeters of rain dumped on parts of new south wales in less than 24 hours. >> we had to swim for it. we were getting sucked towards the bridge there. then we got in behind the toilets and got her jumper and

hung on and we were there for quite a while. >>reporter: even telephone poles struggled to resist high winds. trees also toppled. >> i was looking at a couple of the other trees up there. looks like a slightly -- a lot smaller tree than that one -- has deflected it just enough. >>reporter: leaving to narrow escapes. at sidney's beach, the waves were much less welcoming than usual. damaging properties along the coastline. with the city's harbor well above its usual level, some were warned they might have to evacuate. a short trip by ferry resembling the high seas. the state's premier says the storm was much more serious than had been expected. >> no doubt this is a very severe storm event. it is probably more severe than was anticipated so clearly the

consequences are quite significant across new south wales. >>reporter: more than 200,000 homes were left without power. authorities warned the worst of the storm might not be over with more flooding expected. andrew potter al jazeera. brazil's fight against poverty has resulted in unexpected casualties. as incomes rise people have turned to motor bikes as a relatively cheap alternative to public transport but that's led to an increase in motorcycle deaths. >>reporter: it's a cheap, easy way to get around. it's also very dangerous. it's getting a reputation in brazil one it doesn't want. in this area in the last ten years the number of fatal motorcycle accidents has gone up by 140%. that's because there are more motorcycles on the roads and

more motorcycles being driven badly. people here use motorcycles for everything. even things that should not be moved by . >>reporter: this gives you some idea of what it's like to navigate around the city. on just one sunday last year the local trauma hospital treated 98 victims of motorcycle accidents. it's now at 1,200 a month, twice what it was two years ago. >> if the number of accidents keeps rising at the same rate that we have today, our health system won't have conditions to treat all those patients because they demand a high specialized

treatment. >>reporter: he was on his way to work when he hit another bike and broke his leg in three places and has lost the use of his left arm. he thinks he was lucky. >> i'm not buying a new motorcycle. i'll take a lift the bus. we need to have patience and slow down. it's safer. >>reporter: it's now been identified as one of ten cities around the world who needs help from the global road safety initiative. it can plug into a $120 million fund to improve safety and education and discipline. >> this will show us the best practices and ideas and we can use them here. that is a great thing. >>reporter: the city will find out shortly which programs are approved and what initiatives it can launch. it's an important decision. for someone, it could mean life

or death. the world's largest flawless diamond has gone under the hammer for $22 million. the 100 carat diamond is the size of a walnut. it was snapped up by anonymous buyer after only three minutes of bidding. of bidding. it is america versus china in a face off for global economic dom naying, the white house -- domination, the white house wants to fast-track an asian trade deal freezing the chinese ou. it's bad for the american worker says a man i talk to. china's balance with a push to plug asia's infrastructure trap. you hear from a man calling it a wake-up call for washington. om-ali velshi,