a deadly milestone in the mediterranean. over 2,000 people die this year trying to reach europe. ♪ hello and welcome to al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. i'm sami zeidan. also coming up . . . a free man, south african politician leaves court to jubilant cries. tens of thousands homeless and roads underwater myanmar

seeks international help for victims of flooding. and senegal tries to clean up its act by going green, but dirty habits are proving hard to change. ♪ 2015 is turning out to be the deadliest year on record for migrants crossing the mediterranean. the number of people who have died trying to reach beater life in europe has now passed 2,000, and they still come. another 306 people have just arrived in italy, rescued by the italian coast guard. approximately 188,000 migrants have been rescued in the mediterranean so far this year. earlier i spoke to leonard doyle in geneva. i began by asking him if recent tragedies had lead to any

positive changes. >> i think the european union has a very big shock when the people drowned off of lampedusa, and they deployed the navies tla has been a huge effort to rescue people and bring them to safety. so while we have reached a milestone in the number dead undoubtedly there's a big rescue mission taking place at the same time. >> the focus has shifted from what is happening at sea to what is happening in places like calais. explain what people arrive on shore. are they not being processed, housed registered? >> they arrive in what is calling the european union, but you might as well call it the ununited ununited union. the italians fingerprint those that are willing to be

fingerprinted, and some say they turn a blind eye, because they don't want to deal with them their fellow european members seem to turn away while many of the migrants refugees what have you, get on the bus, get out of town as fast as possible and try to get over the border to where they probably have family or feel they have a better welcome. >> it sounds like you are saying given the divisions between european countries, these people are falling between the cracks of european politics. >> let's put it this way, they are exploiting the cracks. they are recognizing it is united europe, while nobody is quite in tune with each other, that there are opportunities to slip through. and that enables many to get to places where they have a proper welcome, or have family or cultural links. >> if northern european countries don't agree to the

quota system for jointly sharing the responsibility for settling asylum seekers and migrants will things only get worse for both european countries as well as asylum seekers themselves. >> probably at least in the immediate to short-term. but this is the story of the construction of europe that it goes in bits and starts, it usually takes some time for politicians to get over the difficulty they have and when we saw the ship sinking in april, that's when they recognized they could haven't blood on their hands every weekend, and they sent people out to save people. and the calais situation will bring improvement as well. they are working hard not to attack each other. they are looking at it as a problem to be solved not a problem to be exploited. >> what do you think the answer is so far? >> you have to speak to

different audiences, but at the end of the day what we need to think about is the humanity of these people. you have asylum seekers for people who are entitled to protection. these are people who we all know need to be protected under the very proud tradition in the u.k. of protecting these people. at the same time government leaders have to protect their borders. it's a balance, though and i think sometimes the balance is lost and in the height of the hysteria we forget these are human beings in need of our support. >> as we heard, many of those who make it on to land make it into the french city of calais. that's where the channel tunnel is that connects france to the u.k. that's the desired destination for many undocumented migrants. charles stratford has this report. >> reporter: aukmed insists we hide his identity he has seven children and a wife in

afghanistan. it has taken him four months to travel across western asia and europe. he says he is determined to take it to the u.k. >> we want asylum here in u.k. to make our life easily to bring our family. if the situation is good for example if the situation is better, so we are want to go back to our country. >> reporter: many of the peoplelying in this camp seem to be genuine asylum seekers fleeing political persecution and conflict in their countries. and they say they want to be in an english language-speaking country. britain and france are being criticized for not doing enough to address real asylum claims. >> so the u.k. need to look closely at who wants to ask for asylum if we take those people in england, look at their request. if they don't fit the bill

then yes, send them back to wherever i mean i don't know make the decisions, and france needs to do the same thing. you know if today you decide to ask for asylum in france because you are tired of trying and not successing to go to the u.k. your first appointment to register your asylum request is in november. >> of course there are many here wanting a better job, a better life in the u.k. so-called economic migrants. they say it is easier to find work in the u.k. than in france. the u.k. go has offered france help with security but says all of europe should help find a solution. local officials in calais totally disagree. >> translator: this is totally a british problem. everyone in europe sees it as their problem. they can't keep sending security to france as if calais is a suburb of the u.k. we're not england and we never

will be. >> >> reporter: the fence is being repaired again. it has been cut prepared to risk their lives for a life in britain. aukmed says he will do the same. charles stratford, al jazeera, calais. the corruption case against south african opposition leader has been thrown out of court. he already has a hate speech conviction and he was facing charges of racketeering fraud, corruption, and money laundering. >> the judge said i'm free and south africa should know from said that i'm free. and on thursday i will be in parliament summa will know us better because we are free. free to execute any responsibility given us to by our people. there are no allegations, none

whatsoever. but i know, because we are dealing with dogs they are going to manufacture something new. they are free to do that. let them manufacture whatever you target against me they will never win in a neutral court of law. our correspondent is where the trial was being held. >> reporter: free to go those were the words of the judge. certainly music to his ears. the left the court smiling after the matter was instruct off of the court role and that's because one of the coaccused in this trial was unavailable due to illness. the judge said he was presented with a number of options, one was a proposal and application by the state to have the case postponed. the judge said that wasn't an application that he would consider because the matter had been ongoing for over two years

now, and had experienced a number of postponements already. he decided instead to strike the matter off of the role because the coaccused was not available for court. government forces in sudan are being accused of committing war crimes in the south. amnesty international says civilians are being killed in air and ground attacks. the human rights group says cluster bombs are being used and schools and hospitals are being deliberately targeted. myanmar is appealing for international help for fooding problems. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: this is one area of myanmar hit by floods. a stream overflowed in this region. they are dealing with the consequences without government

support. >> translator: this situation is not good for us every day we need to pay for a boat just to get out of our house and buy groceries. >> reporter: and nearby monastery has opened its doors. monks are trying to support this group of mainly women and children with the help of private donors. >> translator: i'm very sad for the people because the government does nothing for them. government neglects flooded communities. it's not good. it has been the same for 11 years, and unless we get more donations, we will run out of supplies in ten days. >> reporter: government aircraft are dropping supplies in the states. it's hard to know just how badly people have been affected here as phone lines are down and roads washed away. >> translator: first we focus on first. we have prepared boxes of rice drinking water, instant noodles, we have to drop the rations off

two meters above the ground. >> reporter: 200,000 people have been effected their homes are flooded and they can't access normal services and there are concerns rivers may burst their banks leaving even more vulnerable. >> reporter: children bare the brunth of the consequences of any emergency. there could be distress due to displacement, children have lost their routine. these are also areas with relatively high rates of malnutrition. >> reporter: international aid groups and the u.n. say the government is better prepared to deal with the disaster than it was in 2008, when a cyclone left 140,000 people dead or missing. but some people say they are not getting the government help they need. lots more still to come on

al jazeera president under pressure. malaysia's government is embroiled in a $700 million corruption scandal. doubt, drought, and now default. we'll tell you about the problems plaguing puerto rico's economy.

♪ welcome back. you are watching al jazeera, let's recap our headlines now. 2015 is turning out to be the deadliest year on record for migrants crossing the mediterranean. the international organization for migration says more than 2,000 people have died so far

this year. the corruption case against south african opposition leader is being thrown out of court. he already has a hate-speech conviction. he was facing charges of racketeering, fraud, corruption and money laundering. myanmar's government is calling for international help to assist about 200,000 people affected by flooding. it is the worst flooding in the country for decades. the u.n. envoy to yemen says his plan to end the four-month conflict is starting to be accepted by warring factions. anti-houthi fighters are advancing with the support of saudi-lead air strikes. yemen's biggest military base has now been recaptured. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: yemen's largest military base is now under the control of pro-government forces. the base was seized from houthi

rebels and force loyal to former president saleh. forces who call themselves resistance fighters used air support, tanks, and armord vehicles provided by the saudi alliance. >> the southern resistance was able to manage themselves enough to -- in a semimilitary faction to gain this victory. >> reporter: it the city of ta'izz has seen some of the fiercest fighting. >> translator: without the implementation of u.n. security council resolutions, we cannot initiate a political process that will include houthi and saleh militias after they have committed all of these crimes. >> reporter: this sprawling complex has been used by u.s. forces against al-qaeda as well.

it's capture won't be the game changer pro-government fighters want it to be. the union of yemeni opposition to the houthis includes many who call themselves southern resistance. and they don't seem convinced to push further north. >> they are adamant that they will not venture into northern territories, north of the borders of 1990 which is ta'izz and upwards to sana'a. it is going to be a herculean task for the government to raise resistance in the northern provinces from its own people. >> reporter: the currency has dropped in value by 20% in the last few days. 80% of yemen's population faces shortages of water, food fuel and power, and the most pressing

task is to provide much-needed aid to the millions of yemenese still stranded amidst fierce fighting. the u.s. says it will push the issue of islands in the south china see at the summit of the association of southeast china nations. china wants the summit to focus on cooperation. the government in malaysia is grappling with a $700 million corruption scandal. >> reporter: the headlines, it's all quiet since the government slapped a three-month ban on all of its pub gagss. it has been investigating a money trail. funds from the finance ministry ended up in the bank account of

the prime minister allegegily. they filed for a judicial review and were unable to comment at this time. it was the "wall street journal" that initially reported it had seen documents implicating the prime minister. he has been fighting the accusations leveled at him. yet when questioned by a deputy and investigated by the attorney general, he decided to fire them both tuesday. for opposition parliamentaryians, such move are drawing concern. he is now barred from leaving from the country. >> i have not been charged. i have not been requested to assist in any of this investigation. it clearly points to an act of desperation in an attempt to [ inaudible ] the [ inaudible ] against the prime minister and his handling of [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the actions of the government are reminiscent of

the 1980s when several reputable newspapers were shut down for a period. >> i really think it's a serious indication of a failure to engage in a healthy democratic way in terms of relationship with the state and its citizens. >> reporter: the government are making their position clear. >> because of the nature of allegations, it could very well undermine the security of the nation and the stability of the economy. we believe a temporary suspension of the publication is the best way to go pending investigation both by the -- by the thai government and also by domestic investigators and authorities here. >> reporter: recent elections have seen both votes and opinion move towards opposition parties. malaysia has just over two years before the next general election, enough time for the government to recover and restore faith in the public but more issues like this will only

reinforcement the opinion that the power that has been in power since independence may no longer be trusted. >> puerto rico has defaulted on its debt for the first time in its history. it missed a $58 million payment to its creditors. that's just a fraction of its $72 billion debt burden. >> reporter: puerto rico's economic downfall is by now a well documented decline. for years the island's economy has failed to grow. unemployment is twice that of the united states and thousands continue to leave for better opportunities elsewhere. but puerto rico is in debt to the tune of $72 billion, and now for the first time in its history, it is in default. businesses are already struggling with higher taxes and spiralling energy costs, things are already tough. this business owner is dealing with the drought that many blame

on mismanagement of resources. >> we don't have the water. we have to buy water, increase our cost and we can pass those costs to the customers. so at the end of the road you suffer from that -- for this crisis as the same we suffer from the crisis from energy and the crisis for freight. >> 57,000 people have already left. >> reporter: the young are leaving -- >> the young and the professionals. >> reporter: this economist believes the island has been heading in the wrong direction for years, and says things will only change when the economy veers away from its heavy reliance on government. >> we need to go to back to education and work. we cannot sustain a welfare population that maybe the states can afford it but we can't. >> reporter: puerto rico's economy has been in sharp decline for the past decade.

there's little doubt the worst is yet to come. but there are some who see opportunity in crisis. >> i see things differently. and the real estate market of course is one that feels the changes. >> reporter: rafael has returned to puerto rico after 17 years, as an investment consultant who sees an opportunity to change the island's economy and future. >> i want to help be part of the change of puerto rico be part of the people that want to change puerto rico because i have an vested interest. i'm puerto ricoian, and i see an opportunity. >> reporter: budgets will be severely cut, jobs lost. it seems the island's population of 3.5 million will pay the highest price. u.s. airlines united american, and now delta say they won't transport big game

trophies anymore. there has been a big backlash after a u.s. dentist shot a lion called cecil during a hunt in zimbabwe. hunting is big business. one online firm is charges $42,000 u.s. to kill an elephant. it costs 24,000 to shoot a lion. hunting buffalo will set you back $14,000. south africa's hunting industry is worth around $1 billion a year in zimbabwe where cecil was killed it is worth around 20 million annually. south africa has outlawed canned hunting. that's when animals are shot in cages or tranquilized before being shot. president of the safari operation of zimbabwe his company organizes hunting trips

which he says are a vital source of income. >> it helps 800,000 peoples directly. in terms of building of hospitals, education, schooling for the kids and sanitation. so we consider hunting as part of tourism which contributes directly to the livelihoods of those families here in zimbabwe. we pride ourselves quite significantly in terms of conservation efforts, and in terms of security we provide procedures around that control. we are trying to demonstrate how valuable hunting is as a conservation tool. not only in terms of providing economic livelihood [ inaudible ] in africa but also should be considered as part of an economic tool which really can upgrade and uplift the standard of life -- of living of people.

religious leaders in senegal are being urged to help solve a nationwide problem with plastic bags. they continue to litter the streets despite a government ban which started three months ago. >> reporter: it wasn't always like this the litter the junk and plastic bags accumulated over time. this man never understood how people got so easily accustomed to this pollution, how his own neighbors, people who go to mosques and pray five times a way, also throw their garbage here. polluting what was once a native preserve. >> translator: islam is clear that this is a sin. >> reporter: to reduce the pollution, members of parliament voted recently to ban plastic bags all together. carrying one of these is now illegal, and throwing 1 on the

streets could lead to a six-month jail sentence and a $300,000 fine. but the large is still largely ignored. >> translator: if we get rid of these bags what am i going to use for my customers? >> reporter: so old habits remain. dumping them even into the ocean. it will take thousands of years before they disintegrate. in the meantime someone needs to pick them up. there is so much pollution, local officials say they can't cleanup and enforce the law all on their own. so they have asked for the help of local religious leaders, offering preaching that stresses to proverdict the environment. known as the green ammon, he is preaching in the mosque and outside to young and old, he is

calling on muslims to take care of the environment. >> translator: god has handed out to humanity the responsibility of conservation of nature and other measures on this earth. >> reporter: taking responsibility for the waste we create. for this ammon it's a call for local action and a small change in habits. what is at steak is not just protecting nature from human pollution, it's about saving what connects us to the spiritual world. adam goods has returned to training for the sydney swans. the footballer has been the subject of a fierce debate on racism over the past week and a half. one of the afl's most well-known players took indefinite leave from the sport after several months of booing from

supporters. he said it is because the fans didn't like him as a player supporters claim it was rich shally motivated. you can get more on that story if you head over to aljazeera.com. ♪ a circus tent collapses. investigators are trying to figure out how it happened. firefighters battal new front in california. a wild fore jumps the containment line forcing new evacuations. and new york city tries to find the source of a legion