Staggering milestone the United States remembers the 500000 people who have died from cave at 19. Nearly a 3rd of the worlds freshwater fish are facing extinction well find out what it means for tens of millions of people. So we begin with some breaking news from malaysia where the Immigration Department has defied a court order and has deported more than 1000 Asylum Seekers and children to me and mom a Malaysian Court granted the migrants a temporary stay being followed appeals from human rights activists malaysia had promised not to deport ranger or u n registered refugees thats because memories in the middle of a crisis following this months coup the military is coming under increasing International Pressure the g 7 a group of the worlds wealthiest nations has condemned the jointer for its violence towards. Testers saying the use of life i mean it is unacceptable 3 protesters have been killed since february 1st they are refusing to back down until deposed leader i fancy she is released lets go straightaway to tony chang our correspondent joins us live from the thai capital of bangkok im tony will come to the deportation in just a 2nd but 1st up what is the latest with the protests are we seeing them at the same scale as monday not of the same scale but they are still going on large numbers out on the streets in yangon others down in the south and away and i think the protesters are very keen to maintain the pressure they worked out yesterday on the military to get that message across that they are not going to back down despite the intimidation and the crackdown we saw particularly in mandalay on saturday went to protesters were killed when when the Security Services opened fire we also saw in mandalay the funeral of one of the 2 people who were killed there. People have become a sort of representation for the protesters of the kinds of sacrifices they feel theyre prepared to make and theyre absolutely adamant theyre not going to back down and in addition in yangon today protesters targeted the Indonesian Embassy after they heard that the Indonesian Foreign minister was trying to convince Southeast Asian nations to persuade the burmans military to accept a compromise where a new election could be run the protesters say they are adamant. The the Election Results of november last year which the energy won overwhelmingly should be respected in the nations have say that this is not true they are not planning any such thing as a side bar to this we have the story of the malaysia has broken a court order and has deported more than as a 1000 Asylum Seekers and children back to me and mark. Indeed and this came as something of a shock couple of hours ago after we heard earlier in the afternoon that the Malaysian Court had decided that all of those those Asylum Seekers would have a temporary stay until tomorrow when a further ruling would be made weve heard that 1086. 00. Have been put on 3 navy ships that are waiting in Malaysian Navy dogs have now set off to be repatriated and the malaysian immigration chief says that all those on the ships have gone back voluntarily and there werent any refugees on those ships but the court case involved 6 people who the u. N. H. C. R. Said well more than 6 people who said the u. N. Said they had recognized as refugees and minors who were one of whom is parents we understand is still in malaysia so at this stage its unclear whether they have removed some of those people and kept them back for that 2nd Court Hearing tomorrow but i think something of a shock also theyve defied the court particularly sending back so many people to a country which has undergone a military coup and where some of those come from ethnic minorities who could very much be under threat when they return into the hands of the military government or right to tony thanks very much indeed for that thank you. Well lets speak now to Phil Robinson who is from Human Rights Watch get further. Thoughts on this phil 1st of all so there we were to speak a couple of hours ago on the refugees deportation yes was on hold but not so they are now deported and heading back to a country in the midst of a clue. You know this is outrageous and unacceptable the malaysian Immigration Department apparently thinks that it is above the law and outside of the courts i mean there was a clear limp or High Court Order that state any action to remove this group until the court met tomorrow they have defied that all i can think is that apparently the malaysian Immigration Department cares more about the needs of the myanmar navy that sent 3 boats to pick these people up and their inconvenience then respecting a court in malaysia and what weve seen that not only is that director general of immigration previously lied about this group you know when he claimed that there were no refugees or Asylum Seekers among the 1200 be sent back but you know now hes basically operating outside the law so he needs to be investigated the Prime Minister must order an investigation of him in the Administration Department i think the National Human Rights Commission soha com must also need to investigate will more do we know about this group who have been repatriated will own routes to going back to me and maya in the sense of other Asylum Seekers whats the make up. We mean the experts in these matters which is the Un Refugees Agency u. N. H. C. R. Has not been allowed to access these 1200 people and thats actually what we were asking for this whole period is that allow them to have access allow them to check who these people are you know find the people who are refugees with human h. C. R. Cards find the people who have a legitimate claim to political asylum and pull them aside if they dont have a claim to asylum or theyre not a refugee and theyre not a child being separated from their parents then you know they can be deported but the reality is that none of that happen u. N. H. C. R. Has been come lately left out of this and the immigration has just again done whatever it wanted completely outside the law and what all youll concerns now full of these people as they head back to the country in the state of crisis well my concerns is that they are going to face hostile interrogation and possible persecution by the military junta and its representatives in the navy who picked them up today in malaysia that theres going to be a lot of hard time that theyre going to be forced to try to explain why they went to malaysia this is a government now and myanmar that is a military junta and that has traditionally looked very badly at people leaving the country without permission and they could they could be prosecuted for leaving myanmar without authorization. What about any recourse is there anything in any action that cannot be taken. Well i think that the investigation into the director general of immigration and his Immigration Department needs to happen i think they should face severe penalties for defying the court i think there also needs to be action based on the concerns that we and other human Rights Groups have raised that people here were probably Asylum Seekers and refugees in that group you know this is a completely outrageous violation of interNational Human rights law by the malaysian authorities and and i think that the Immigration Department has to pay for it and if they order their order from higher up the people who gave that order have to be held responsible as well. Phil robertson dempsey there are fewer rights which is Asia Division thanks very much indeed for that thank you. Peace and georgia have stormed the offices of the opposition and have arrested its leader become 1000000 is demanding new elections off the losses disputed parliamentary polls to which his Prime Minister resigned last week in protest against plans to arrest 1000000 say it would make the political a crisis with us robin 1st it will cause the latest now from to b. C. Dozens of Police Officers surrounded the building at dawn and then we saw these dramatic scenes they used to fire brigade aerial ladder to climb up the multistory building and enter from from from the it looked like from the rooftop and from of course from below and then we saw how the opposition supporters inside tried to stop them from arresting mr malley tear gas some claim to take us being used or at least pepper strips pepper spray some people injured and also theyve been additional arrested as well as mr malley whod been seeking shelter inside the headquarters of the the Largest Opposition Party for the last week and its been a fraught week in politics because the previous Prime Minister had offered his resignation in fact resigned over this whole issue because he believed that arresting mr melia wouldnt serve you which is interests of the country is deeply polarized the Political Forces here weve got we had the election in october that all opposition parties claim were falsified and they have been refusing to Enter Parliament so parliament being boy go to boycotted at a Prime Minister resigning over this whole affair and now a much more hardline government led by a new Prime Minister who has promised to restore law and order because he says mr marriott broke the law and now must pay the consequences. The u. S. Death toll from kevin 1000 has passed half a 1000000. Bells tolled 500. 00 times at the National Cathedral in washington in memory of the victims while the u. S. Death toll is the worlds highest in absolute terms several other countries have lost more people as a proportion of their populations christian salumi reports now from washington d. C. President joe biden marked the somber milestone from the white house acknowledges the half 1000000 lost to cove it 19 not as a number but as individuals the people we lost were extraordinary they span generations born in america emigrated to america but just like that so many of them took their final breath alone in america. As a nation can accept such a cool for a while before i knew this pandemic for so long we have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow after addressing the nation the president headed outside for a moment of silence 500 candles lit 4500000 dead and were still not out of it a half a 1000000 deaths its just its terrible it is historic we havent seen anything even close to this the grim milestone comes after winter storm stalled Vaccination Efforts in parts of the nation so far just over 80 percent of the doses that are available have been administered Health Officials say they should be back on track this week vaccinating at a rate of 1800000. 00 shots per day while hospitalizations and pay tallies remain high the most of any country in the world theyve begun to decline dramatically coping 19. 00 in the United States has been declining for 5 weeks with a 7 day average dropping 74 percent since the 7 day average on january the president has promised to vaccinate 100000000 americans in his 1st 100 days in office and white house officials expect to meet that goal but that may be small comfort to those whove lost a loved one nevertheless the president offered the grieving a message of hope you could be ok. And to hear he said we must remember kristen salumi al jazeera washington. But americas half 1000000 covered 19 deaths represents about 152. 00 out of every 100000 people that is the 9th highest figure worldwide but the death rate has been significantly higher in countries like belgium the United Kingdom and in italy the 1st country to be badly hit off to china and the nation with the most number of deaths relative to its population is the tiny principality of san marino with more than 70 in a population of just 33000. 00 thats about 213. 00 deaths per 100000 people. Still ahead here around 0 the beginning of a new chapter why sri lankas Muslim Community open today a visit by pakistans Prime Minister could help. On blogs why facebook has agreed to reverse its news ban on a string inside. Its time for the perfect gentleman. Sponsored point Qatar Airways however weve had some balmy conditions across china and the Korean Peninsula recently sunday afternoon temperature in beijing got up to 25. 6 celsius thats the 1st time we see the temps to get above 20 degrees celsius in the month of february or greco so some exceptional heat in northern parts of china and across the Korean Peninsula normal conditions will be received as we go through the next couple of days temperatures a back near where they should be at around 5 celsius there for basic we got some wintry weather sliding into central and northern parts of china right on the southern flank of that and that will continue to make its way further eastward push across the yellow sea as we go on through thursday well see some western weather coming into south korea southern parts of japan something of a wintry mix too into northern parts of japan tokyo should be largely dry but much colder than it has been recently ice is just 11 degrees celsius or so sit down around 10 degrees on recent values across south asia slightly fine and dry we got a few showers just pushing their way towards for lanka over the next day or so wintry weather just pushing in across northern parts of pakistan easing across the far north of india so some concerns here it stays dry in new delhi with more fog and smoke. Sponsored poll Qatar Airways in india identity politics on the rise what were seeing is the construction of budget issues in cuts and loads of people across the country and theres a dockside can do is we do see the grid from his office the majesty of the him fix it to something more like the team i didnt help the british football i meet with victims of violence and discover what life is like for minorities in the country join me on my journey in search of indias soul on aljazeera. But again youre watching aljazeera reminder about top stories this malaysia has to fight a court order and deported more than 1000 silent seekers and children to me in my belly a Malaysian Court granted the migrants a temporary stay that ruling followed appeals from human rights act. G 7 Foreign Ministers have condemned men miles military for its funds towards prodemocracy demonstrators 3 protesters have been killed since the fabric the 1st coup or dozens of others have been detained. Police in georgia have stormed the Party Headquarters of the opposition and arrested its leader became melia is demanding new elections after losses disputed parliamentary polls as supporters are gathering in the capital tbilisi right now. District councillors and other elected officials in hong kong will soon have to swear an oath of allegiance to keep the position this pledge is included in a draft bill Just Announced by hong kongs government and those who violate the oath we barred from elections for 5 years katrina new is following developments from the Chinese Capital and she says that beijing is aiming to have the bill passed during the National Peoples Congress Next month this move will take hong kong one step closer to resemble any other mainland province will make it very very difficult for any dissenting voices to hold Public Office in hong kong now hong kong officials gave a press conference on trees they often in announcing this draft bill which will essentially require a District Council to take an oath of allegiance to the government that is pledge their loyalty essentially to beijing now this also applies to lawmakers and they will also take into account possible hevia and anybody considered to be. Not following through with this or the villages to beijing will be banned from election for 5 years now this affects hong kongs 400 or so District Council is and many of those District Councils won their seats in the 29000 election and whats key to remember is overwhelmingly these District Council is prodemocracy or opposition figures now the result of this election was extremely embarrassing for beijing which has been trying to sell the message that most of the people of hong kong are for the communist party now another similar election was due to take place last year and that was postponed due to call of it and it was expected to take place later this year and analysts were predicting another prodemocracy landslide so this change really is beijings way of preventing that from happening now this form this law as you said is still in its draft form it will be tabled and its expected to be passed during chinas National Peoples congress which is going to take place here in beijing in early march. Focus on the Prime Minister has just arrived in sri lanka for a 2 day visit imran khan land to the airport where he was that welcomed by Prime Minister and director parts of both leaders are expected to discuss bilateral trade and sign multiple economic agreements as you like as Muslim Minority has high hopes for a different reason no fernandez reports now from colombo. Sri lanka imports more than half of its onions and the dangers from pakistan they are part of the range of food items including bassinet the rice and mandarins that are brought in from pakistani ports up a market to go to Pakistan Pakistan is a big help to our market we can get what we need quickly and easily and at a good price. Driven commerce under media focus of Prime Minister imran khans visit to colombo but thats not all hes been urged to discuss lankas minority Museum Community has complained of being marginalised in recent years it says cool that 19 has made things much worse with the government forcibly committing all victims disregarding its a practice for britney sloan. Prime minister khan who is portrayed as a champion of islamic rights has been asked to help in the practice communities members. Make games themselves appeal to muslim countries including pakistan. So in that context hes. Very critical khans visit comes as the un human rights chief presents a highly critical report on sri lanka it highlights the countrys failure to ensure justice and accountability 12 years after the bloody end of the civil war between Government Troops and the tamil tigers officials here were hoping that Prime Minister imraan khan would help rally support against any critical resolution at the un in geneva but the government forced cremation policy of covert 19 victims which has angered its Muslim Population could make that support unlikely enough and then there are those they are. Facebook has announced it will restore news content to its uses in australia the moment all Australian News pages are blocked from sharing material on facebook and all its uses a ban from sharing links to Australian News sources the decision comes out of the governments agreed to amend legislation that would make tech giants pay for Australian News content peter lewis is the director of the astray Institutes Center for responsible technology and he explains why the Australian Government is pushing hard for media bargaining law the legislation thats making its way through the is trying empowerment the moment is to create a psych unit to force commercial negotiations on what our competition regulated designated to be a monopoly advertising businesses google and facebook theres been pushed back by both of them to be subject to legislative code forcing that negotiation and what google has done is say to do a series of jails and call the code becomes law facebook was resisting the idea of the card fitting into the lore and whats happened to die is that the governments offered a number of procedural amendments to stretch out any prices that would be treated in the event that the coyotes tree good but the assumption is that now into negotiations to really tight the name for the card on the type this was or why its legislation to force the negotiations between big tech and the maybe that werent going to happen without incident intervention at the end of the dive price books accepted the premise that there needs to be an accommodation between them their market dominance in advertising and the Public Interest having journalism and news content in australia. U. K. Prime minister Brian Johnson is due to address british farmers during their unions annual meeting the 1st Conference Since the brics a transition period and it farmers organizations of warn that some sectors are facing a crisis due to the twin challenges of brics it and the pandemic that in barbara has more from essex and southeast in england the basic message is that the governments committed to the long term future of Food Production and the Agriculture Sector here in the u. K. This conference or annual general meeting is of the English National Farmers Union but the message is countrywide and it is were going to stick by you of course there are lots of our knowns right now partly because the u. K. Has left the European Union a very an approach of a change of direction from the government theyre saying that britain could become. Exemplary in terms of higher production standards basically raising the quality of what base. But the big change in the short term is going to be the loss of subsidies from the European Union which are worth around 4000000000. 00 u. S. Dollars per year to the u. K. Now the governments approach those are going to be phased out over 7 years the governments approach is that it wants to get farmers involved in a Sustainable Future paying them not to produce but paying them for example to protect Wildlife Habitats to combat flooding to plant trees and the like saying that thats the way that their livelihood can be guaranteed and in fact its thought that 3 quarters of farming businesses are not profitable without those current subsidies we dont know how thats going to work out in the coming years but the message from government is there will need to be a new direction a new focus from british agriculture. The World Wildlife fund is warning that one 3rd of freshwater fish species face extinction could have devastating consequences for the 200000000 people across asia africa and south america we were on a freshwater fish is the main source of protein the industry employs 60000000. 00 people worldwide generating 100000000000. 00 a year the w w f says populations of giant freshwater fish have declined by 94 percent in the last 50 years and numbers of migrate 3 freshwater fish for them by 76 percent in the same period it should or is the global freshwater lead at the world wide fun for nature and explains some of the steps that countries could take to help save their freshwater species. Freshwater environments are only one percent of the entire earths surface and as this report highlights 51 percent of all fish species on the planet are in fresh water freshwater environments are heavily modified by us by industry by irrigation by Energy Supply we pollute them weve been draining wetlands on an incredible rate over the last 40 years and i think this report is trying to shine a light on the fact that these critical ecosystems are vital of course to the economy in society who we need to look after them a lot better this species crash is a great indication that nowhere is the nature crisis as evident as in the fresh water environment governments will be meeting this year in china weve put forward with partners a very simple 6 step plan that is very simplistic but implementable its around flows around Water Quality protecting and restoring the most critical habitats ending overfishing and looking increasingly into issues like sand mining controlling Invasive Species and really removing these those obsolete dams and obsolete infrastructure that we have in our rivers those are 6 simple steps that we are asking all governments to take into that meeting we feel that if governments can implement this we can make a huge difference in the in the threatened nature of freshwater species around the world. Farmers in central java struggling with flooding that destroyed nearly 2000000. 00 worth of crops they blame authorities for damaging the land to make it less fertile jessica washington reports now from jakarta. It might look like a river but this is actually a paddy field in the village of sumpin in patty regency this community of film is in central java is trying to salvage the crops days of severe flooding have destroyed most of their hard work and most of the rice is rotten. Most of it out of supply and look all around everything is ruined there is no harvest. This community is used to heavy rains but farmers told aljazeera past floods didnt reach the petit fields they say land degradation is to blame for the worsening flooding. But number and all of that time i said that there are many mining activities going on uphill mining for the cement factories forest destruction plantations when it rains the water flows straight to the jawan a river that overflows. The Disaster Agency says 7000. 00 hectares of land is flooded and in some areas the water rose more than a metre and a half. A minute how far along aside from the la nina effect we cannot deny this flood is caused by environmental destruction especially in the forest. Environmental groups are campaigning for a moratorium on mining permits they blame the worsening floods on upstream mining for the Cement Factory but local authorities in how to maintain the floods are caused by heavy rains. These floods are because the join a river overflowed it happens annually when the rainfall is high. This week severe flooding affected thousands of households in jakarta and nearby cities and local authorities also blamed heavy rain flooding in java causes millions of dollars of damage every year in jakarta and in smaller cities and authorities are often reluctant to make the connection between environmental damage and the worsening floods. In 30 the local government says it will give seeds to the affected farmers but the farmers are still concerned. If it continues like this all is lost the complex again seeds they say will not be enough if the bigger issues arent addressed as well just go washington aljazeera jakarta. Or lets have a recover headlines here and aljazeera and. Has defied a court order and deported more than 1000. 00 Asylum Seekers and children to. Migrants a temporary stay ruling followed a court appeal by Human Rights Watch. Has more now from the thai capital of bangkok the cold case involves 6 people who the u. S