willing to risk it all, the refugees determined to go to greece, even though many will be sent back. ♪ hello, i'm bash are sarah, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, why a $160 billion merger has been dropped between two of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. [ cheers ] >> wins for bernie sanders and ted cruz in wisconsin, but will it be enough to push them ahead of the front runners. i'm andrew thomas in the

pacific island nation of vanuatu, i'll explain why the poor condition of this runway is a man made disaster equivalent to the cyclone that hit this country last year. ♪ hello, thank you for joining us. the controversial deal between the e.u. and turkey to send refugees back from greece is failing to deter some from making the trip. even though refugees know they could be sent back, some are still trying to reach europe. harry fawcett witnessed one attempt from the turkish coast. >> reporter: you hear it before you see it. anxiety, exhaustion, desperation, so many children have drowned making this journey, yet more still come. even if this is one of the rare

life jackets that actually floats, it's of no used to the tiny body inside. others make due with rubber tubes. even then, not everybody is wearing them. these are iraqi families who probably paid hundreds of dollars a head for passage. but the boat is too small even for the 40 or so packed into it, this is how families are separated in a moment. he can only call out, look after the woman. it has been a chaotic few minutes here. the message is that these kind of voyages are futile, these people will be sent back, but still they are desperate to go. a handful are left on the shore. we ask why think are risking all of this.

>> translator: we were under oppression, living with bombs, killing and kidnapping. greece does want to accept us, turkey doesn't want us to stay. where else should we bo? should we just sink into the water? is it better to sink into the water with our children. >> reporter: this time no sinking, no death, but no safe passage either. it's a trade facilitated by men like this. a former free syrian army fighter he tells us, he has been smuggling people to greece for nearly a year. he says with business down sharply, agents like him are trying to convince reluctant customers that they still have a chance. >> translator: i still send them to greece because they have a choice to apply for the asylum program. if they have relatives they can be taken there. otherwise they will be sent to a country chosen for them.

>> reporter: europe is trying to close the door. wednesday was supposed to see the first official batch of syrians sent back to greece under the terms of the controversial deal. instead the only arrivals were those who had been on the water a matter of hours. >> translator: we were going to greece to escape the war. do you think it was a holiday? we cannot leave here. everyone treat us badly. they exploit us. >> reporter: what happens to them now is far from clear, still in the same country as those they left behind on the shore, but separated from them. the children play a wharped version of a morning on the beach. a life jacket whistle becomes a toy instead of a call for help. the european union's asylum office has sent more staff to greece's islands. it says returns refugees has got off to a good start but is

urging turkey to do its part to help speed up the process. zana hoda has more. >> reporter: the migrants and refugees were locked up in detention centers and have been holding protests and sit-ins asking not to be deported back to turkey, chanting freedom, chanting we are not illegal. they are increasingly worried that they will be sent back. and they now are applying for asylum, but if the claims are rejected they will be send back. this is a huge operational effort, and greece requires assistance. the e.u. has sent more staff to try to speed up the process. >> i know a large am of people which are here have expressed their willingness to apply for asylum, and i need to emphasize here that this is not an automatic return system, so this will not be automatically sent

or -- to -- to turkey. it doesn't work like that. every case will be treated on its own merits, legislation in place, permits, that under certain conditions in particular where there's the article related to the safe country, and then there is also another article related to the first country of asylum, which means this person has been given protection in another state. so then it becomes obvious that this person can be safe and protected in another place. >> reporter: the e.u.-turkey deal came into practice on monday with the first deportations, but there haven't been deportations since. there is a number of reasons, not enough people have volunteered to return. another reason is that the e.u. now needs to process the asylum requests, and what we also understand is the e.u. is waiting for reassurances from turkey that the political

commitment that they made are now being enforced. zana hoda reporting there from the island of lesvos. meanwhile the u.n. refugee agency says e.u.-member states need to share the burden to help end the crisis. >> there needs to be a much more collective approach. we have seen in greece that it's just before overwhelmed by this flood of people, and it's -- the -- the mechanisms were not in place to deal with in, and people were originally coming through from turkey to greece and heading up into europe with the borders closed suddenly greece finds itself having to deal with something it never expected would be there, and this is what we have to respond to. ♪ swiss police have searched the headquarters of european

football's governing booedgy after its former secretary general was named in the panama papers leek. he was the legal chief in 2006 when a champion's league tv rights deal was signed. the search was related to that contract, which was also signed by two businessmen who have since been accused by the fbi of bribery. he is now the head of fifa and has denied any wrongdoing. pfizer has scrapped a $160 billion merger with irish rival allergan after new measures were unveiled to stop tax avoidance. the u.s. government is cracking down on companies using oversees accusations to reduce their tax bill. the new rules will limit company's abilities to shift profits out of the u.s. >> reporter: less than 24 hours

after new rules went into place limiting corporate tax inversions, the biggest such inversion seems like it will not go through now. the deal was announced last november between pfizer and allergan. this deal was valued at about $160 billion. it will now not go through. pfizer wanted this merger because right now pfizer pays about 30 to 35% corporate tax rate. if they were to move to ireland after this merger, they would pay about 12 to 13% corporate taxes. so it would have saved pfizer billions every year. many companies practice corporate inversions such as this, but this pfizer deal that was going to go through would have been the biggest such inversion deal in history. the u.s. government and barack obama had been speaking out against this, saying i that it was poor practices by companies to do such deals, and now barack

obama and his government sees this as a major victory closing what they see as a huge corporate tax loophole that was really global. the front runners in the democrat and republican presidential contests both suffered defeats in the latest presidential primary in the state of wisconsin. bernie sanders picking up another win over hillary clinton and on the republican side, ted cruz won against businessman, donald trump. cruz called it a turning point in the republican presidential race. >> reporter: it was a desiegsive victory for ted cruz in wisconsin, dpeeting front uner, donald trump in the state's primary. it was a win cruz promised would change the course of the republican race for the white house. >> tonight was a bad night for hillary clinton. [ cheers ] >> it was a bad night in the democratic primary, and it was

an even worse night for her in the republican primary. [ cheers and applause ] we are winning because we're uniting the republican party. >> reporter: the cruz campaign claims the latest victory will propel him to win future state contests and cause trump to fall short of the candidates needed to win the nomination before the july republican convention. it's a convention where cruz hopes to become the party nominee to take on democratic front runner, hillary clinton. but the path to her party's presidential nomination has also become more complicated. bernie sanders was the winner of the democratic contest in the midwestern state. >> with our victory tonight in wisconsin, we have now won seven out of eight of the last

caucuses and primaries. [ cheers and applause ] >> and we have won almost all of them with overwhelming landslide numbers. [ cheers and applause ] >> sanders says his grassroots support will propel him to win bigger, up coming contests. but the maths favor clinton. she still has the lead in delegate support. and the next contests in pennsylvania and new york will be a challenge for sanders, given clinton once represented the state as a senator in the u.s. congress. what is clear from this wisconsin primary is that the momentum of both the republican and democratic front runners has been blunted. goth ted cruz and bernie sanders saying the course of the complain has been changed, and while it could be a messy path

now it is expected these nominating contesting will go right to the july convention. much more to come here on al jazeera, including activists warn syria's largest city could face a devastating siege amid fighting between kurdish and opposition forces. plus we'll tell you why thousands of peruvians have taken to the streets over a political dynasty.

♪ welcome back. here is a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. refugees and migrants are

continuing to try to cross the seas to europe despite an e.u. deal to vettel them in turkey. both began transporting refugees back to turkey on monday. but many migrants are still hopeful they will be granted asylum in europe. swiss police have searched the headquarters of european football's governing body. they are investigating a television rights deal signed in 2006 when fifa head was uefa's legal chief. he denies any wrongdoing. ted cruz and bernie sanders have won the republican and democratic primaries in wisconsin. it may complicate things for front runners, donald trump and hillary clinton, who still, though, enjoy comfortable leads. there are con flirting reports as to whether a ceasefire between azerbaijan and armia. they agreed to halt fighting after four days of conflict.

armenian backed forces say the ceasefire held overnight. but the defense ministry is reporting 115 armenian violations in the past 24 hours. turkey is an ally to azerbaijan and the turkish president says armenia's troops need to put down their weapons. >> translator: i hope armenia will respond to azerbaijan's efforts to stop the armed clashes. but if it doesn't respond, and so far there is no response, this crime is armenia's fault. russia says turkey is taking sides. if you are looking for those who are taking sides, the most significant country doing that is russia. it loves to take sides. russia took sides in ukraine, georgia, and now in syria. >> robin sent us this update here the disputed enclave.

>> reporter: i have been on the ground covering the northern part of nagorno nagorno karabakh. we have seen a lot of shell and artillery damage. you can see behind me, i would like to point out, all of the destroyed buildings, these were actually destroyed back in the '90s in the war between azerbaijan and armenia. many thousands of azerbaijan people became refugees, and now are across the boarder back in azerbaijan, and it's just a very sad place to be, uninhibited largely, and all of these buildings completely destroyed. but the nagorno nagorno karabakh, armenian nagorno nagorno karabakhs say they will

stay. they insist it's their land, and they leave that to the end. and the forces will fight for us. russia says it will support u.n. brokered talks between all sides in the syrian conflict. the russian foreign minister made the pledge to the special envoy. the peace talks have stalled because the syrian negotiators have been unwilling to discuss the possibility of president assad leaving office. he offered praise for russia's involvement in the liberation of palmyra. >> i also want to make a point that [ inaudible ] we are extremely pleased on how -- the indication came from the liberation of palmyra, which has been a symbol of -- for the whole international community appears to be the beginning of

freeing areas which are of international value, which we have been waiting for. on that case, that is something that we need to acknowledge. activists in aleppo have confirmed that the only road linking the city to turkey has been cut off by kurdish forces. >> reporter: achmed and his family rely heavily on food handouts, but it's barely enough. he is scared that kurdish fighters could cut off the only road out of aleppo. >> translator: god forbid if the road is closed it will be a big problem for us. there will be shortage in flour, cooking oil, and food stuff. the other problem is that people are poor. they don't have the ability to stock food.

>> reporter: aleppo is syria's largest city. it's center is divided. government forces control the eastern side while the opposition controls the western side. and since the truce began in late february, syrian forces backed by russian air power have advanced on rebel-held areas. there is also fighting in the cities northern parts, kurdish forces known as the ypg seen as allies of the government are making gains. there are fears that the government and the kurdish fighters are coordinating their campaigns. activists warn that up to 300,000 people could be effected if the road is cut off. at this marketplace, the produce is abundant and fresh. people say they are worried, yet they remain defiant. >> translator: we have everything. thank god.

there is food, even if a siege happens. >> reporter: this man relies on farming to feed his family. he says it is the best way to survive. >> translator: we have beans, spinach and whatever vegetables you can think of. we can live like our grandfathers which farming and relying on animal stock if there is a siege. >> reporter: there could be tough days ahead for these people. fighting is still continuing and it's not clear if the kurdish forces can sustain their siege. but if they do, it will be the people of aleppo who will suffer the most. thousands of peruvians have been protesting across the country against a run for president. her father is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and human rights abuses. our correspondent is in lima, following the latest developments. >> reporter: thousands of

peruvians are marching against the candidacy of the woman not only here in the center of lima, but in other cities around the country. and these are not the first marches throughout this electoral campaign, there have been many people marches, rejecting the candidacy of the daughter of the man who is in jail for human rights abuses and corruption. he is serving a 25-year sentence. people here tell us that they cannot forget the years when the death squads were killing university students. they cannot forget the years when the security forces, the government security forces were killing peasants, most of them poor people, while they were fighting terrorism. now they can also -- they are also telling me that they cannot forget the years where the

second most powerful man of those years, the right-hand man of the leader give out thousands and thousands of dollars in bribes to politicians, congressmen, businessmen, journalists, right and left, so people here are saying that they will not -- that they will not vote for anyone with that name. now she was the first lady during those years, was never accused of any crime. however, she wants and she needs to win the hearts and minds of some of these people at least to win the presidency, because polls say that at least 50% of peruvians are against her candidacy, and they say that they will never vote for her. china is stepping up

pressure on neighboring north korea. beijing has banned most imports of coal and iron ore. it will also stop exporting jet fuel and oil products used to make rocket fuel. china buys two-thirds of north korea's exports. >> reporter: the trade restrictions are part of the u.n.'s tougher sanctions on north korea after conducting nuclear and missile tests. and the import ban includes coal, iron ore, and rare earth. these are an important source of income for north korea who's main trading partner is china, so these restrictions will hit north korea hard. but the statement from the chinese ministry does come with what some people say is a loophole. it allows trade to continue as long as the proceeds are for the people's well-being, and not for north korea eaches nuclear or

missile programs. but what unclear is how china plans to monitor that. china has supported the u.n.'s tougher sanctions, but china, has traditionally preferred a softer approach when it comes to north korea, favoring dialogue and incentives. analysts say this is because china fears the collapse of the kim regime could lead to a flood of refugees, and possibly the presence of u.s. troops on the korean peninsula. but this latest announcement could be seen that china is perhaps willing to change its approach when it comes to dealing with north korea. the number of people killed from an outbreak of yellow fever has now risen to 225 in angola. the disease has now spread to 16 of 18 provinces. the outbreak started late last

year, and just last month the world health organization had reported 158 deaths. it is also estimated there have been 1,600 recorded cases. a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the pacific island nation of vanuatu on wednesday. there were no immediate reports of damage, but as andrew thomas reports from the capitol, the earthquakes aren't helping vanuatu's already fragile tourist industry. on the bay, daniel and will are getting a fairly unique experience. the company hiring these boats used to have 60 customers a day. now the rasmussens are two of just 14 all day. >> it was so quiet, and we don't make much out of it. and yes, so we're just really

down. >> reporter: the reason is here. vanuatu's international airport. this is more than just a runway. for vanuatu, a country dependant on tourism, this stretch of tarmac is crucial to the economy. but the runway is damaged. workers are carrying out emergency repairs. >> we're committed to making sure that this runway is completely safe, and that's -- that's basically what we're doing right now. >> reporter: but the patch-up job has come too late, three big airlines have suspended services to vanuatu. that's cut seven flights a week. a year ago, vanuatu was hit by cyclone pam, the biggest in its history, but for many, the runway, a man maid disaster is worse. it's peak tourist season, but this hotel is barely half full, and that's after slashing prices

by 55%. >> it is a terrible situation. a lot worse than pam. >> reporter: losses amounting as cancellations grow. cruz ships are still coming in, but passengers sleep and mostly eat on board, these tourists are worth much less to vanuatu than those who come by air. last month taxi drivers fought over customers here. now police and the army keep watch. >> we need food on our table every day. so we cannot stay there and close our hands. at least we have to find some ways to earn our income. >> reporter: some think the runway damage was caused by plains like this one, which delivered aid in after the cyclone. most, though, blame politicians for ignoring earlier warnings about the runway's condition. air vanuatu is still landing here. international airlines, though, have ended co-chair agreements with a national carrier, and

won't sell it seats, nor will they say when or whether they will be coming back. andrew thomas, al jazeera, vanuatu. and you can get much more and everything else on the website. ♪ god bless the great state of wisconsin. [ cheers and applause ] >> let me take this opportunity to thank the people of wisconsin for their strong support. [ cheers and applause ] >> underdog upset, senators ted cruz and bernie sanders win big in wisconsin. backlash against new laws in the south, the fallout over the rules many say discriminate against the