adrian brown al jazeera. >> heading to brussels to bridge a deal with its creditors.any of greece's small- and medium-sized businesses have already gone bust. >> for generations this family would catch fish and sell to restaurants. now now it sells to high-end consumers, but this business is the exception. most small- and medium-sized enterprises don't have the money to invest in their turn around. >> the elections would declare the market began to freeze. it's been dead for six months. people could rent a film for a week for $1.50. even that gives people pause now. the people elected the government to make decisions. they have to take those decisions so we can make our plans, too. we're in total darkness. >> greece's economy was supposed to grow by 1.5%. but the election and stand off has cut that to just one-half percent. many have lost their income in the early years of the crisis and and that's why this government was elected to bring more growth and less austerity. but the longer talks drag on the further it departs from that goal because people are not spending

adrian brown reports . >> previous bans failed proirming e-primaryprimarydue to be lack of enforcement. churn are most affected by this, clear signs authorities appear serious this time. >> for the first time the regulations very clearly spell out what happens if somebody doesn't adhere to the regulations. and it's not only that the smokers themselves will be fined. more importantly the owners and managers of a business will be fined quite healthy fine if they don't keep the be premises free. >> the great wall and forbidden city are now also off limits to smoking. but in beijing the risk to passive smoke could be the least of your problems. doctors say breathing the air on aparticularly polluted day can be equal to smoking a pack of cigarettes. a packet of cigarettes in china costs on average just $1.50. the world health organization hopes that can change. >> the more expensive cigarettes are the less people will smoke so for us the more expensive the better. >> but the industry's unlikely to be squeezed too hard. the taxes it pays accounts for 10% of all government revenues. china has

adrian brown. >> ukraine's president is warning today that russia is planning an invasion. moscow has some 9,000 members in ukrainian territory. more now from moscow. >> russia maintains the stance that that is a complete lie. the russian president described anyone found in eastern ukraine is a volunteer, so he says. there are certainly a lot of troops on that border. a lot of troops in that area. they have a right to conduct those military exercises anywhere like russian territory. certainly military analysts we have spoken to describe the weapons that we saw two of them, they say this is an end case of two things possibly one a troop rotation the troops being changed served down there for a year, but they also said that it potentially shows what they described as the beginnings of a summer campaign. but of course we can't confirm any information like that. with respect to the peace process, the developments in the last 24 hours pose a great challenge just many the last hour or so, though, a representative for the self-proclaimed people's republic is told a russian t. v. c

adrian brown reports from the scene of the disaster on the yanksy river. >> reporter: more than 5,000rgency workers have so far been deployed. on tuesday they heard yells from help coming from within the upturned hull but not since. the most dangerous work is being undertaken by drivers operating in the strong currents. and this is reportedly the last glimpse of the vessel recorded by a security camera on a nearby ship half an hour before it capsized. access to the site remains blocked by place and paramilitary troops. but on wednesday the government organized a boat trip to the area for foreign and chinese journalists. >> currently the focus of the operation is to try to find the survivors. we will keep the hope to the last minute. >> reporter: moving into position a crane that might be used to support the vessel. the government has promised an investigation into why the eastern star sank so quickly. but it is clear what happened here on monday night is turning into the country's worst maritime accident in recent times. state media says the vessel was hit by a cyclone and capsized in

adrian brown, al jazeera. southern china. >> we can find out much more on our website and all those stories at aljazeera.com. >> ...i come around that corner... >> you don't want this?

. >> they banned smoking but as adrian brown tells us if anybody's listening it's smoke and mirrors really. >> china has been a smoker's paradise. now beijing's government is trying to enforce its ban. children have been at the forefront of the campaign leading up to the ban since they're considered to be most at risk from passive smoking. antismoking campaigners say there are now clear signs the authorities appear serious this time. >> for the first time, the regulations very clearly spell out what happens if somebody doesn't adhere to the regulations. and it's not only that the smokers themselves will be fined. the owners of a building will be charged quite hefty charges if they don't help to make sure that their places stay smoke-free. >> it's not just bars and restaurants that must comply, local tourist sites including the great wall and forbidden city are off limits to smokers. but in beijing the risk from passive smoking can be the least of your problems. some experts say breathing the air on a particularly polluted day can equate to smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. antismoking

adrian brown filed this report. >> reporter: behind me the yangtze river, a powerful symbol in this part of china, and the focus of this friendsied and continuing rescue operation. it is a rescue operation that continues to be hampered by the weather. we had torrential rain during the past 24 hours, it has eased you have during the past few hours. not enough to make it easier for teams of divers working around the clock. they are looking at the possibility of drilling three holes to make it possible to enter the vessel that way. an option understand consideration is to right the vessel float it. it's a challenging task. it continues to yield more dead than living, another body brought ashore this morning. china's premier has been visiting the scene saying that that this rescue operation will continue as lop as needed. china's president xi jinping receives regular updates, and later the families of the missing will arrive in the city where what is shaping up to be the country's worst marr time disaster in recent times conditions to unfold. >>> adrian brown on the yangtze river in china >>

adrian brown is along the yangtze river for us. what is happening there, now that it is thursday morning? well this will be the day that the death toll continues to rise it stood add around about 30 but jumped to 65. i think it will continue rising. at the scene emergency workers drilled two holes into the upturned hull. they went inside, had a look around and didn't find survivors. increasingly this operation is yielding the dead and not the living. rescue workers are drilling a third hole into the upturned vessel to look around and are saying by tonight, 72 hours since this vessel capsized, they will probably begin an provision to lift the "eastern star." yesterday when we went on a river trip organised by the government and foreign agencies we saw a large crane in position, and barges at the stern and bow to steady the ship as the operation happens. as you mentioned in your introduction the weather is hampering this operation, and it's really going to be a tricky operation, indeed if they attempt to lift the vessel during strong

adrian brown has more. >> reporter: the three-day recovery effort yielded little so the only option toove bodies was to right to wright the eastern star two large floating cranes were used helping to slowly turn the vessel up right. nets were spread around the ship to catch what fell from inside. >> translator: the next step is to pump water out of the ship make it float on water and salvage it. we will also search for victims and check for leaking oil. >> reporter: this began after the government announced it didn't expect to find anymore survivor survivors. powerful currents of the river have dragged some bodies further downstream. along the river bank volunteers are helping in the grim process of recovery a task that could go on for many days. there are more than a thousand family members of the missing in this city it is closest to the accident and where many local team have been traumatized. such spontaneous gatherings would normally be a cause of unseize for the authorities, but they allowed the candle lit vigil to go ahead. >> translator: he came here by ourselves to pray. we ho

adrian brown, al jazeera, southern china. >>> egyptian president sisi is in germany, seeking to boostd economic ties. the president greeted him in the capitol berlin but his arrival has caused divisions among german politicians. >>> a quarter of a million of greece's small and medium-sized businesses have already gone bust and there are thousands more barely surviving. john psaropoulos met with some. >> reporter: for three generations this family caught fish and sold them to restaurants, but the restaurants stopped buying during the crisis, so two years ago, the family reinvented its business it now sells directly to high-end consumers, but most small and medium-rised enterprises don't have the money to finance their own turn around, and business around the country has fallen more sharply since the january election that brought the party to power. >> translator: the elections were declared and the market began to freeze. it has been dead for six months. people can rent a film for a week for 150 even that gives people cause now. they have to take decisions so we can make plans too. we'

adrian brown reports. >> china has long been a smokers' paradise. previous bans failed mainly do to lax enforcement lacks enforcement. since children are considered to be most at risk from passive smoking. antismoking campaigners say there are clear signs that the authorities appear serious this time. >> for the first time the regulations clearly spell out what happens if someone does not adhere to the regulations. it's not just that the smokers will be fined but the owners of a business will be charged quite hefty charge if they don't help to make sure that their places stay smoke-free. >> it's not just bars and restaurant that must comply. local historic sites including the great wall and forbidden city is now off limits for smokers. but in beijing the risk from passive smoking can be the least of your problems. some doctors say breathing the city's air on a particularly polluted day can equate to smoking a whole pack of cigarettes. they say that the ban is a start but does not go far enough. they want a significant rise in tobacco tax point out t

let's go to adrian brown from beijing, the toughest anti-smoking laws to date yet adrian. show that the chinese government is serious about curbing smoking? >> reporter: elizabeth, i think it does. i mean in the past as you point out, this has been something of a smoker's paradise but the banners behind me draped over the iconic birds' nest stadium here in beijing illustrate clearly those days are now very much in the past. now, the laws these anti-smoking laws that have been introduced amongest the toughest ever introduced in china t comes about really as a result of pressure from a number of groups including the world health organization. i am joined by dr. angela pratt from the who. do you firstly think that the government is serious this time? because previous attempts to prevent, you know, smoking in public places have basically failed. >> yes i do think that the government is serious this time. you pointed to the bird nest behind us as illustration but this new law in beijing is a very tough law. it's the strongest law that we have seen in china and, in fact one of t

adrian brown is there for us. hi there adrian.re some people we can see behind you but are they -- these crowds anywhere as large as last year? and are they all against this plan? >> reporter: well, the crowds here are actually quite small compared to say last october when this area really had thousands of people present outside the legislative assembly. today i would put the crowd really at no more than a few hundred and it comprises those who support the government and those who oppose its measures to expand democracy here in the former british territory. what is happening right now this defining moment here in hong kong, is that 70 lex 70 legislators in the building behind are are involved in a marathon debate. i say marathon because there are 70 legislators and each can speak if i have teen minutes so this will go on for a very long time. the measure they are discussing was approved by china's parliament the national people's congress back in august. and in essence it gives the people of hong kong the right to choose their nex

from hong kong adrian brown reports. >> after two days of intense and impassioned debate, it all endedy quickly and chaotically. the government supporters in the legislature voted with their feet and walked out ensuring a comfort majority to their opponents the governments plans were now in tattered. >> at this point, i feel pained and disappointment that the reform has been vetoed i can no predict when it can step forward again. >> it was a surreal moment. had voted down the chances for more of it. the opposition say the motion they rejected had offered hong kong fake democracy a public vote to select it's next leader but with no more than three candidates vetted by beijing. the community is deeply split, there are others that want to oppose it. >> the government disheartened supporters knew in the end the vote would be a formality as they didn't have the numbers. then they will start screaming, why wasn't there a universe salt lake suffrage, they have only themselveses to blame. this was perhaps the best and last chance for more but the proposal fell well short of what the parties we

our adrian brown is live for us in beijing. an let's talk more about just how tough this law is going to be for people in beijing. >> reporter: well, this is some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation ever introduced by a local government in china. and those fines, you have just outlined really give a measure of how draw join the measures are by kind as standards, $1,500 for the owner of a calf bay bar or restaurants. who allows someone to smoke in his establish: that is, you know something that's never happened here before. fines in the past as you outlined in your introduction have been very low. the other issue, of course, is enforcement. china has passed strong anti-smoking legislation before it did so just before the olympic games and the problem was enforcement. the question remain to be seen if enforcement will be the concern. we were filming nearby where there was a smoking ban and we were openly shown the door by the owner. so this gives you an early indication of whether the authorities are going to be able to compr

adrian brown reports. >> reporter: after to days of intense and passion debate it all ended very quicklyhaotically. the government supporters and legislature voted with their feet and walked out of the chamber ensuring a comfortable majority for their opponents. the government's plans were now in tatters. >> translator: at this point i feel painted and disappointed that the political reform plan has been vetoed. i cannot predict when hong kong democratic document development can step forward again. >> reporter: politicians who spend years campaigning for full democracy voted down the chances for more of it. the opposition say the motion they rejected offered hong kong fake democracy to select the next leader but with no more than three candidates vetted by beijing. >> the community is deeply split split. it's very sad. there are half who support it and others oppose it. >> reporter: the government's disheartened supporters knew it would be a formality because they didn't have numbers and for now hong kong leader will be appointed by a select committee generally loyal to the government. >

adrian brown, central china. >>> still to come on al jazeera new york state offers $100,000 reward forscaped prisoners who left a note saying have a nice day. plus. >> i'm nick clark in cuba home to some of the world east most intact environments including some of the most spectacular corral reefs. ♪ without warning. >> they would not have been able to get the car bombs to the front of the embassy. >> did yemeni officials knowingly allow these attacks? >> did you prepare the bomb? with xfinity from comcast you can manage your account anytime, anywhere on any device. just sign into my account to pay bills manage service appointments and find answers to your questions. you can even check your connection status on your phone. now it's easier than ever to manage your account. get started at xfinity.com/myaccount just because i'm away from my desk doesn't mean i'm not working. comcast business understands that. their wifi isn't just fast near the router. it's fast in the break room. fast in the conference room. fast in tom's office. fast in other tom's office. fast in the foyer [pronounced

adrian brown joins us live with with reaction from there. >> reporter: well, yes, it all ended very quickly and very chaotically. some of the legislators from the pro-government parties i think knew that today was not going to be their day the vote want going to a formality and they walked out of the chamber en masse, which meant there were just 37 legislators left most from the pro-democracy party. so being, they the go the day. to remind you what was being discussed today. what has been discussed for the past few days in the legislative assembly behind me say proposal that effectively would have given the people of hong kong the 3 million people registered to vote, the chance to select their next chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017. but with restrictions. no more than two or three candidates, and those candidates would have to be approved by a special committee. so even though it offered the hong kong the prospect of more democracy it was a deal that the democratic partys weren't prepared to accept. i am joined now by emily who is

adrian brown joins us from beijing. what else did this report highlight, adrian?er: well, this report is an annual report and it's been issues every year since 1991. essentially, jane, it is china's government doing a self assessment on its human rights record so far. and it's given itself basically eight out of 10 on its scorecard. this looks not just at human rights but at standard of in china today the report makes the case already more rural cinemas and libraries and radio and tv stayings for ethnic minorities. but no mention, of course, of the dissidents that were arrestedded and detained in 2014. the report makes this point jane it says china has upheld its unique pattern of protecting human rights, in other words in, our definition of human rights we are making tremendous progress. well recently, i was in the central chinese province where we found many complaints, many grievances amongst ordinary people, all of them related to corruption. and all of these complaints coming f their voice simply isn't being heard. onon the outskirts of the city the road is b

adrian brown was one of them he joins us now from china where it is already thursday morning. adrian how much progress if any has been made on the rescue operation? >> reporter: well, antonio i can just update you on the death toll. it is now confirmed as 65. so in the past 24 hours the death toll has more than doubled. and i think antonio this is going to be a day that we see the body count rise significantly. yesterday i went on this cruise that was organized by the local government and the chinese ministry of foreign affairs so we could see firsthand the efforts that would be made to try oretrieve to try and find those who might still be alive. we have seen a bunch of men in orange vests on the eastern star star. attempts may be made to lift the vessel sometime later on today. upturned hole of the vessel wide enough for a body to pass through. my understanding is they will be digging a total of three holes. one is to try to enter the vessel thrust these holes that they are drilling in the hull. but that operation has now come to a halt, antonio because of the weather. as you

here is adrian brown our china correspondent. >> china has long been a smoker's paradise. previous bans failed mainly by lack enforcement. now beijing's government is trying again. children have been at the forefront of this campaign since they are considered most at risk from passive smoking. antismoking campaigners say now there are clear signs the authorities appear serious this time. >> for first time the regulations very clearly spell out what happens if somebody doesn't adhere to the regulations and is not only that the smokers themselves will be fined, very importantly the managers and the owners of a business will be charged quite quite hefty charges if they don't help to assure that their places stay smoke free. >> reporter: it's not only bars and restaurants that must comply local tourist spots are now off limits to smokers. but in beijing the risk from passive smoking can be the least of your problems. some doctors say breathing the city's air on a particularly pluddedpolluted day can equate to smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. the ban doesn't go far enough,

but at adrian brown reports from beijing, there is still many allegations of corruption of power. >> on the outskirts of luyang city the road to modernity is blocked. the occupants of the house are refusing to move so this motor way around them. they want more compensation. beneath the chinese flag, it warns of citizens to act within the law but the owner is taking no chances. >> to be honest i'm scared. came to my home many times. at least 30 of them. mostly at night. last time they came and smashed our windows. >> her story is not unusual. and neither is this. documents containing what they say is more evidence of local government corruption and abuse of power. this man is 84, former soldier in the people's liberation army beaten up he says when he too resisted eviction. >> translator: local government at worst people, i fought the government in the korean war. they are worse than americans. they treat me like this, they demolish my home. >> reporter: these protesters say they have faith in china's presidential but all attempts to get a hearing with officials below him have so far

adrian brown reports. >> reporter: on a day of fading hopes, the chinese government is throwing whatn at this rescue operation. more than 5,000 emergency workers have so far been deployed. on tuesday they heard yells for help coming from within the up urned hull but nothing since. the most dangerous work is being undertaken by driver operating in the strong currents swirling around the eastern star. and this is reportedly the last glimpse of the vessel recorded by a security camera on a nearby ship after an hour before it capsized. access to the site remains blocked by police and paramilitary troops. but on wednesday the government organized a boat trip to the rescue area for journalists. the message, the operation will continue if there's even a slight chance someone is alive. >> currently, the focus of the operation is to try to find the survivors, we will need the hope to the last minute. >> reporter: moving into position a crane that might be used to support the vessel if the decision is made to cut the hull. it is clear what happened here on monday night is turning into the coun

adrian brown is in china with the latest. >> the three-day recovery effort yielded little. so the only option to remove bodies was to try to identify right the eastern star. they would slowly turn the vessel up right. nets were spread around the ship to catch what fell from inside. >> the next step is to make it float on water. also we will search for victims and look for leaking oil. >> the salvage operation began after the government confirmed on thursday night that it didn't expect to find any more survivors. divers groped through murky water after cutting through the hull searching every cabin on board. the powerful currents of the yangtze have dragged some bodies further down stream. along the river bank volunteers are helping in the grim process of recovery. a task that could go on for many days. there are more than a thousand family members of the missing in the city closest to the accident, and where many local people have been traumatized by the events of the past few days. such spontaneous gotter gathererings would be a call for sorts, but they allowed the candle

adrian brown has a report. >> it is hot humid and very loud in this corner of hong kong. behind me some of the rival groups in this debate. these are the people that support china's efforts. china has agreed that hong kong can choose its next candidate as long as there are no more than two or three candidates and those candidates are vetted buy special committee. the prodemocracy camp says that amounts to fake democracy which is why they will be voting against it. the government needs two-thirds of legislators for that resolution to pass, and at the moment that seems unlikely. just how polarized hong kong remains. it's only been nine months since thousands of student demonstrators occupied the is center of hong kong itself. >> south korea reported more cases, the total being 164. four are at the hospital, the ability to contain the disease that's killed 20 people in less than a month. al jazeera has been given exclusive access to bank notes allegedly hand he over by australian officials to indonesian boat people. refusing to confirm or deny whether this took place. andrew

adrian brown reports. >> more and more start to appear as this salvage operation continues. the rescue operation has really been helped by a vast improvement in the weather conditionsconditions here. remember we have had torrential rain in this part of china in the past few days. two, 500-ton contemporaneous are on either side of the vessel, and cables support the vessel and this is what gives the jibs something to attach to. a vast net is in the area to catch any debris or bodies that fall into the water. this operation is confirmation that the authorities accept there can be no survivors. relatives of the passengers have been arrive l in jinle. there was a candle lit vigil by this community which has been so traumatized by this incident. they feel so full of sorrow that something to tragic could happen so close to their city. >> the united states is turning out to the the unlikely agent to clean up international football. a sport that is struggled to take off in north america. andy gallagher reports from miami. >> now blatter he's not going down quietly. >> now, it is not

adrian brown al jazeera in eastern china. >> a damming draft report by the united nations says it's peace keepers regularly pay for sex is with cash and other goods exploiting women who they are supposed to be helping. they found that poverty and women are driving hundreds of women to sell their bodies. the u.n. has more than 125 police deployed in 16 operations around the world. in 2003, it places a ban on peace keepers paying for sex in countries are they were deployed. bass it underhighed the credibility. >> the u. n. is making no comment. they say this is a leaked report and they didn't comment on it until this report is formally published. this is a report from the office of internal oversight, that's a part of the u.n. that's there to investigate other parts of the united nations. clearly, it is embarrassing coming just weeks after allegations of sexual abuse in the central african republic. they were serving in a country where theun was present, they are accused of sex is wall abuse of young boys. i suspect we will once the formal report is published get comment, and also from the

adrian brown, al jazeera. >>> a park in central hong kong has been turned into a sea of candles, and thousands gathered to mark the remember of the crackdown. they paid tribute to the hundreds who had died during the crackdown. >>> our technology editor explains it could change the way we explore our universe. >> reporter: the movement of a joy stick signals success. it is linked to another joy stick on board the international space station. both mean feel the force of the other pushing and pulling with only the tiniest of delay. >> we control the joy stick here on the ground. he felt him on the hand. we had video overlay to it. and we showed it is possible to literally touch things. >> reporter: they say it will take the technology much more user friendly. with my arm in this exoskeleton, i'm immediately able to manipulate the movement of this robotic arm just a few meters away. in that robot arm could be in space or even on another planet. >> astronauts have plenty of tasks to execute, and part of it is controlling robots and it takes months and even years of training before they b

rescuers are drilling holes in the hull, but without success, as adrian brown reports from janely. ... this is what pan axe n is waiting for. his grandfather is one of the mi have spent more time with him after i came home from overseas. we let him travel alone with friends. we didn't expect this. >> they are trap pd in the cold administration -- trapped in the cold administration of loss. at the local hospital, other families gather around the front desk desperately leaving phone numbers, asking to be called. at a meeting with a government official, they are told the priority is to save lives, not identify bodies please be patient, he tells them. but they weren't patient on wednesday night, as they tried to break through a police cord job, after being denied access to the rescue site. >> many of the families direct their anger against the authorities, complaining of a lack of information, a lack of sympathy and question why so many survivors were members of the crew. >> i want a responsible attitude from the government. i hope the government can think about the mood. sensing the mood

adrian brown has this report. >> this will be a death toll where the death toll rises significantly. emergency workers drilled several holes into the upturned hull of the "eastern star", they've been inside looked around but have not found survivors. local government officials say some time this evening an operation may lift the "eastern star" out of the water. wednesday we saw a giant crane in position aside the "eastern star", and at the stern and bow, there were vessel they were holding it in place. it will be hazardous. the waters around the eastern star are murky making it difficult for the dyeing operations. there are many relatives that have arrived in the city from where the rescue effort is coordinated. 200 locked after by 400 counsellors. in other development, it's emerged that the maritime agency said back in 2013, the "eastern star" failed a safety test. that is something that will further spoke up anger among the relatives, it emerged that a sistership of the "eastern star", has been ordered to stop sailing operations >>> four soldiers have been killed in an ambush in so

adrian brown is in honk kong and sent this update. >> reporter: well as you can see, the protests camps up outside the legislative building here in hong kong never really went away. and while the crowds are much smaller today, the mood is very similar to what we saw in october. this is a defining moment for hong kong, essentially a vote on its political turnover. now the legislators in this building here, are essentially right now debating a proposal that was approved by china's parliament back in august that basically said hong kong should choose the next extivetive in 2015 so long as there were only two representatives. and they say it is better to have no democracy than a little democracy. >> do you call that real choice? do you call that real universal suffrage. how can people not be our own bosses? >> reporter: many of the people outside are from parties that want this political reform package to pass. there are 70 legislators and each can speak up to 15 minutes, so it could be friday before we get a vote. the probeijing group say it is better for hong kong to have this political r

adrian brown is in janely. >> more of the "eastern star" is starting to appear as the salvage operation continues. it began on thursday night. the rescue operation helped by an improvement in the weather conditions. we had torrential rain in this part of china for the past few days. what is happening is this: two 500 tonne cranes are either side of the capsized vessel. a series of steal cables are used to support the vessel and this gives theins on the crane something to attach to. a vast net is in the operational area to catch any debris or bodies that fall into the water. this operation, though is confirmation that the authorities accept that there can be no survivors. >> relatives and families of the missing have been ask in the city. there's 1200 of them. and last night in the city there was a candle lit vigil by the community, which has been so traumatized by the event of the past few days. they feel great sorrow that something traumatic could have happened so close to their city >>> thousands of migrants headed for europe are picked up by rescue boats in the mediterranean. many ar

adrian brown, al jazeera, in southern china. >>> thailand is facing a huge migrant crisis as it crackson human trafficking. the government is trying to stop the country being used as a transit point for people smugglers. >> reporter: people in thailand's government know the recent exposure of camps of trafficked people along the border and the boats that mostly rohingyas, have put the issue of human trafficking on the international agenda like never before. people here told me in previous years there have been little more than talking shops among government officials. the presence of the prime minister here to give the keynote address suggests that this issue is being taken more seriously. he was keen to point out this issue is one of his government's top three priorities and officials were landing out the list of the amendment to the anti-human trafficking laws. the issue is whether this will amount to more prosecutions because thailand's record on that score is pretty poor. just 104 people were prosecuted last year despite the attitude that it is getting worse, not better. >>> the wo

adrian brown has more from the river bank. the three day recovery effort so the only option to remove bodies was to try to right the eastern star, two large floating cranes were used for that delicate task helping to slowly turn the vessel upright. nets were spread around to catch what fell from inside. and next step is to bring the water out of the ship. also we will search for bodies of victims at the same time we will find the leaking oil. >> the powerful currents of the sea have dragged some further downstream. in the grim process of recovery, a task that could go on for many days. >> there are more than a thousand family members of the missing the city closest to the accident, and where many local people have been traumatized by the events of the past few days. such spontaneous gathers would normally -- but they allowed this to go ahead because so many wanted to express their saturdayness and sorrow. we came here by ourselves to pray, we hope we can lead the world peacefully. >> it is heartbreaking have been taking care o

adrian brown al jazeera, central china. >> eritrea's government refutes acan acusayses of gross human rights violations. the u.n. said it is so widespread that they can only conclude that the government's policy is to encourage its use. >> we seldom seek human rights violation of this scale as we see in eritrea today. it is not surprising to us that these days a large proportion of those crossing the mediterranean and using other irregular routes to reach europe are eritreans. they're fleeing a country ruled not by law but by fear. >> 23 new cases of mers has been identified in south korea. schools are closed to stop the spread of the disease. >> it's not a typical monday. home with mom following instructions from her school to stay indoors. no school means no, no after school cramming lessons either. >> this is a nationwide problem. i don't feel that it's that series. a few days ago my daughter got a fever, and the school asked that she be tested, but she was fine. >> schools were ordered shut despite the fact there has been no confirmed transmission of mers outside of a hospital or

adrian brown travelled to the village where his career began. >> reporter: deep in china this is the village of once arguably one of the most powerful men in china. a vast and empty com pound stands on the spot of this man's home. according to state media, it was built with government funds. a charm to ward off evil spirits hangs by the front door. many villages resent the media scrutiny, that made the village infamous. it was about the only place in china where people are prepared to speak up for him. >> he made the village better, he did a lot. he was good. now people think he's bad. i don't understand. >> is he a good man? >> even if i say he's a good guy, it's useless. the government says it's bad, and that's the conclusion. >> the chinese character on the wall besides the village entrance says "be loyal to your master", and this village remains just that. until three years ago, he was master of china's secrets. head of the vast security apparatus. this community prospered from his patronage. beside the village, a modern but largely empty highway. >> a year ago it would have been

china's correspondent adrian brown has more. >> the clean-up is beginning outside the legislative assembly. the numbers of protesters are thinning out. it's been a good day for the pro-democracy groups. they ensured a deposit proposal to broad ep democratic reform in hong kong would not and has not passed. in a sense, it's an irony having democrats calling for democracy, voting down a proposal to do that. they had to because what was offered was, in a sense, a fake democracy. it ended quickly and chaotically. i think the pro-government parties realized that the vote would be a formalitiality. they knew they didn't have the numbers, they knew they'd lose and walked out of the chamber before the vote. ensuring that the democrats got their way >>> groups affiliated with i.s.i.l. claimed responsibility for a series of car bombings in yemen's capital. dozens have been killed. the violence comes as the factions meet, where they are struggling to make progress on peace deal. car bombs hit a stronghold in the capital. it is an area on the outskirts of sanaa. one of the houthis headquarters is loca

droip sends this update -- adrian brown sends this update. >> this is where the weary rescuers come tot - police, fire crews and divers working in shifts around the clock in treacherous waters. the currents in the river, in this part of the river are very strong indeed. rescue officials discuss two options of reaching those. they still believe they could be alive. they are thinking of drilling three large holes into the upturned hull. the other plan under consideration is to try to lift the vessel. we saw two large barges beside the eastern star with cranes on either one, that's an operation that could beunderway in the coming hours. relatives of those missing have been arriving in the town of jinly, and it's from there the rescue operation is bing coordinated.anli, and it's from there the rescue operation is bing coordinated. and emotions are going from sadness to grief. they want to no why it sank so quickly and why the captain and chief engineer survived. these are the questions people want answered. we are on call for this sadly becoming a serious maritime accident in china in rece

adrian brown has this story. >> reporter: it is hot, humid and behind me are some of the rival groups. these are the people that support china's proposal to extend democracy. in essence, china agreed that hong kong could choose the chief executive in 2017, by universal suffer rig, as long as there's two or three candidates and they are vetted by a special committee. the pro-democracy camp says it amounts to faith and democracy, which is why they'll vote against it. at the moment the government sees two third of regulators to support the resolution. at the moment it is unlikely. the scene here is a reminder of how polarized hong kong remains. remember it's nine months since thousands of student demonstrators were occupying not just this area but hong kong the center of hong kong himself. the question now is could it happen again >>> south korea reported one new death and ate cases of m.e.r.s. the middle eastern respiratory syndrome. that brings the total number of cases to 162. 20 people have died so far. world health organisation called the epidemic a wake-up call. and warns of vigila

righted the cruise ship that capsized in the ynngtze on monday and most were elderly tourists and adrian brownre. >> reporter: and the star is appearing to be a salvage operation as it continues and began late on thursday night and the rescue operation has really been helped by a vast improvement in the weather conditions here and remember we had rain for the past few days and cranes are on either side of the vessel and a series of cables are being used to support the vessel and this gives the jibs on the crane something to attach to and a vast net is in the operational area to catch debris or bodies that fall into the water. this operation of course is confirmation that the authorities now accept that there can be no survivors. relatives and families of the missing have been arriving in the city of gin lee and now are some 1200 of them and last night in the city there was a candle lit vigil by this community which has been so traumatized by the events of the past few days and feel sorrow that something so tragic happened so close to their city. >>> lots more to come in the program including o

adrian brown reports. deep in the lush country side this is the village of a politician once arguably one of the most powerful men in china. a vast and now empty compound stands on the spot of his childhood home. according to state media it was built with with government funds. a charm to ward all evil spirits still hanging above the front door. >> many resent the scrutiny. that's made the village infamous. >> and it is about the only place where people are prepared to speak up for him. >> he made our village much better. he contribute add lot to our village. he was good, now people think he is bad. i don't understand. >> is he a good man. >> even if i say he is a good guy, it is useless. the government says he is bad, and that's the conclusion. the chinese character on the wall beside the entrance says be loyal to your master. and to joe this village remains just that. until three years ago, he was master of china's secrets he is of the mast security apparatus which commuter prospers aside the village ad

. >> reporter: a city filled with sadness and so much more to come, adrian brown in southern china. >till to come ghanna in mourning for the victims of fire and floods and we will have the latest. and aiming high new rules for mexico's elections open the fields to some more candidates. ♪ ♪ the top stories on al jazeera, ionia's food safety regulators ban the sale and production of maggi instant noodles after they were found unsafe to eat and swiss manufacturer nestle denies they are danger and south korea try to pinpoint the mers outbreak after a fourth person died of respiratory syndrome and infected doctor came in contact with 1500 people and chinese authorities admitted there is no hope of finding more survivors from a capsized crew shape and cranes have been raising the vessel from the yangtze river and united states of a major cyber security attack are irresponsible and u.s. says computer records of four million current and federal employees were broken into last month and we have the story from washington. >> this is likely the largest theft of u.s. government data in the histor

adrian brown now has a report. >> reporter: slowly more and more of eastern star is starting to appear as this salvage operation continues. it began late on thursday night the rescue operation is really been helped by a vast improvement in the whelgtser conditions here, we have torrential rain in this part of china for the past few days, what's happening is this, two 500-ton cranes are either side of the capsized vessel. a series of steel cables are being used to support the vessel. and this gives the jibs on the crane something to attach to. a fast net is also in the operational area to catch any debris or body that his fall in to the water. this operation is confirmation that the authorities accept there can be no survivors. relatives and families of the missing have been a raving in the city. there are now some 1200 of them and last nate in the city there was a candle-lit individual ill by this community which has been so traumatized by the events of the past few days, they feel great sorrow that something so tragic should have happened close to their city. >>> every day hundreds of

more from china correspondent adrian brown joining us live from hong kong. bring us up to date on the vote and what is happening now? >> well this breaking news just happened in the last few moments. in the end, only 37 of hong kong's 70 legislators voted. the parties that supported the government the pro-establishment groups basically vetoed - boycotted the vote. in the end we only this 28 voting against the government. and eight in favour of the government, with one abstention. what happens now is we return to the status quo, the system whereby hong kong's leader is basically selected by a committee of local business and political elite. some 1200 of them. this reform package, which the government was so hopeful would pass today would have extended universal suffrage to hong kong's 3 million voters giving them the opportunity in 2017 to vote their chief executive into office. but the conditions attached to this made it unpalatable for the pan democrats. because beijing insisted that no more than two or three candidates be put forward, and they had to be ap

adrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. >>> a solar plane attempting to fly around the world making an unscheduledcause of bad weather and the impulse aircraft was 36 hours into his flight across the pacific when the decision was made to land in japan. and he took off from china on sunday on what was to be the longest leg of a journey a six-day over 8,000 kilometer flight to hawaii and more on our website as always al jazeera.com and get the latest on all the stories. >> key parts of the patriot act now expired after an emergency meeting ends with no deal. >> this is a debate over your right to be left alone. >> kentucky senator rand paul leads the charge to limit the government spying programs, but some say it's all about politics. >> storms end in texas and oklahoma but swollen rivers are still threatening to overrun their banks. >> a travel ban

adrian brown, al jazeera, in the province central china. >> monday is world ocean day and focus for scientistshow human activities continue to effect marine life, one concern of coral reefs rapidly disappearing because of over development and over fishing but in cuba tough conservation measures are having positive results and environment editor nick clark has more from the bay of pigs. >> reporter: you probably have heard that wherever you go in the extraordinary island nation you will see things that resonate from a long time gone. travel 2 1/2 hours south of havana and you come to a historic stretch of coast, the bay of pigs rooted in cuban identity is the scene of victory over u.s. backed mercenaries in 61 and this is years of isolation of the pristine coral reef and around the world 50% of coral reefs have disappeared and it's a different story in cuba waters where marine systems have the authority to thrive. >> cuba in enormous program of environmental protection, world leading so here in cuba they are protecting 25% of their waters in marine protected areas and that compares to maybe abo

adrian brown has this update from hong kong. >> reporter: it's hot humid and very loud in this cornerhong kong. behind me some of the rival groups in this debate. these are the people that support china's proposal to extend democracy in hong kong. in essence they agree that hong kong can choose its next chief executive in 2017 by universal sovereignty as long as there are no more than two or three candidates and those candidates are vetted by a special committee. the pro-democracy camp says that amounts to fake democracy which is why they will be voting against it. at the moment, the government needs 2/3 of legislators to support that resolution for it to pass, at the moment that seems unlikely. the scene here really is a reminder of just how polarized hong kong remains remember it's only nine months since thousands of student demonstrators were occupying not just this area but the center of hong kong itself. of course the quell now is could it happen all again. >>> south korea has reported one new death and eight new cases of mers the middle east respiratory syndrome and that brings