>> north korea's leader orders his army to be war ready after exchange of fire on the border with south korea. hello. welcome to al jazeera. also on the program, stepping down, greek prime minister resigns and calls early elections. prosecutors in brazil charge a former president and speaker of the lower house in the country's largest ever corruption scandal. back bending and mind bending.

we look at a circus with a difference. japan is urging north korea to show self-restraint after the leader order its border units to be ready for war. troops should prepare. seoul fired artillery shells. it said it was responding to attacks. that is something that the north denies. but they are angry over loud speakers that are playing propaganda messages. it's calling them provocation and given seoul 48 hours to dismantle those speakers. >> reporter: on thursday,

general staff sent an ultimatum that it would launch a strong military action unless south korea dismantles its spokers. >> we have this update near the border between north and south korea. >> reporter: here we are about five kilometers away from the demilitarized zone. there are elderly people and children still underground in that shelter. they say there is a level of worry despite the fact they are used to these warnings. they heard the retaliatory fire after the north korean rocket was launched on thursday afternoon. south korea says it will respond resolutely to any proof case. north korea says the south is

doing the provoking. they have to disarm by sunday or there will be action. a professor says north korea's war footing is quite unusual. >> we have had this before when they have bombarded a few years we had that. then we had occasional exchange of fires. in my recollection, the north korean leader with alertness, is a little unusual to me. so they have been there before. this time the state level of

alert, they believe we should offer a gesture of reconciliation. not necessarily backing down on the ministry side. i don't know whether that would be realistic or not. there is a concern we have to do all we can in order to be tough on north korea's provocation here. the nation is divided in terms of its opinion. greeks are heading to the polls again in as little as four weeks time. in a televized address, he said he represented the country his best. they are hoping the voted will end dissent within his party's ranks. we have more from athens. >> reporter: it takes the prime minister less than a minute to walk to the president's office to resign. this move has been carefully

considered for weeks, just as the first of the bailout dollars arrived, the man responsible told the greek people their vote was needed. >> translator: the people have exhausted its limit. now again the sovereign people should take the vote. you with your vote should decide if you represent the country with the courage with the difficult negotiations required. >> reporter: the strict austerity conditions, they did a u-turn too far. he is now the victim of a rebellion in his own party. $14 billion over three years. further painful stakes, far reaching pension reforms angered many in his party. rebels have announced they will now split and form a new anti-bailout movement. >> he had to rely on the votes

of the opposition to get the bailout through. it can't go on like that forever. he needs to seek a freshman date. he's trying to portray himself as the guy that got the best deal possible for greece. he said it's not a great deal, but to one else could have gotten a better deal and he's looking into the future with lots of optimism. >> reporter: he decided to go straight to the nation in an attempt to silence his rebels. it could work. he has claimed the election rule book devastatingly well. by triggering other elections, he advanced his party's vote by 20 points. that helped him take the party he inherited seven years ago to power with 36% of the vote in january. a familiar political shrewdness is as work. he is popular and asking the greek people to re-elect him before the effects of the new

bailout measures are felt. he will also be giving them minimal time to organize. his message suggests he wants a strengthened majority to finesse the effects of austerity and stand up to his creditors more effectively than he did this summer. a desperate journey made by thousands of refugees. macedonia declared a state of emergency. the government plans to deploy troops. many are seeing conflict in iraq, syria and afghanistan. >> translator: we expect the involvement of the army will bring two desired effects. it will increase security and allow an approach for people applying for asylum which we

want to respect. >> refugees are arriving from greece. the national humanitarian agencies are stretched to their limits. they are not getting enough help from the local authorities. >> reporter: the sea front at the height of the holiday season has become a refugee camp. tourists lingered here for the view. they don't anymore. outside the police station, frustration rises by the day. those with more are given priority. others fend for themselves. >> thank you, thank you. >> reporter: international agencies are trying to help speed up the process. they are getting little help from the local authorities.

>> we have offered the municipal authorities our support. we can provide tents, we can provide services. >> how quickly? >> we can provide it quickly. but we need them to provide us a site where we can put the tents. >> the greeks are dragging their feet? >> this is the formal accommodation, an abandoned hotel with meager facilities. >> some diseases, infectious diseases we are facing diseases that are coming from their country. >> reporter: could the authorities be doing more, do you think? >> they could help a little bit more, a little bit more. >> reporter: how long have you been here? >> five days, ten days and 20 days. >> reporter: have you had any help, any support?

>> everything is very bad now. >> reporter: where do you want to go? >> germany. >> reporter: germany. >> yes. >> you? >> germany. >> there was a day when multiple nationalities gathered around the pool. these days they come from countries like nigeria, pakistan, afghanistan. the hotel captain offers holidays from hell. back on the coastal strip, the restauranteurs complain they have driven business away. there is a reluctance to offer more practical assistance. the tourists walk on in search of a place to eat with a better view. the leader of brazil's lower house and former president have been charged in the country's largest ever corruption scandal. they are accused of taking a

$5 million bribe linched to petronas. the supporters marched across the country. people are angry about the corruption scandals and the economy sliding into a recession. >> reporter: the people here came out in support of the president. not necessarily because they see that she's doing a good job as the leader of this country, but many of the banners, no to the coup. they see that the cause for impeachment made by the opposition really amounts to destroying democracy in the country. they are calling fo calling forr of the house to step down. a few months, waging a campaign against her inside congress. now he has also been indicted in

the scandal surrounding the oil giant petronas. >> it's marvelous that he's been charged. for us it's very important so the government can start working for the interests of the poor. >> reporter: even though in numbers, the antigovernment protest, th this country has ben through a difficult time during the military dictatorship which was not so long ago. they say unless it's proven, she should be allowed to finish her term. anyone who wants to oust her should run in the elections in 2018. still ahead, documenting

evidence of chemical attacks in syria. plus a bitter pill to swallow. the european union says no to hundreds of generic drugs. ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> could normalization change cuba forever? >> i'm afraid for cuba. >> we ask cubans about their hopes and fears. >> i would love to see my business grow into a transnational company. >> hello again. good to have you with us. here are the top stories. north korea leader ordered units be ready for war. they fired a lari shells into

the north. the televised address said he represented the country with courage, but his mandate to leave has expired. macedonia declared a state of emergency on its borders to limit the flow of refugees. they have brought in the army to keep numbers at a minimum. police will be deployed to the french port to strengthen security there. that's part of the deal. thousands of refugees in camps. the crisis in calais is part of a much wider problem. >> the situation we are facing in calais is a result of global migration. the countries will continue to

work closely together to make sure the rest of the european union and transit and source countries from which my grants are coming are playing their full port in solving this problem. we must also relentlessly pursue and disrupted the criminal gan gangs, often with total disregard for their lives. in syria, more government air strikes and rebel rocket attacks have been reported near damascus. al-jazeera has been unable to verify this video. the united nations said the bombing may amount to a war crime. two years ago up to 1,500 people died when rockets filled with gas struck a syrian town. the government denies being

behind the attack. the witnesses are worried they will never see justice. >> the dead and dieing, there was no blood on their bodies, noviceble injuries. the attack was different. rockets carrying chemicals landed in the damascus suburb on the morning of august 21, 2013. >> it took seconds. i wasn't able to breathe or even to scream to alert my friends. so i have to pound my chest really hard just to try to take a single breath. i felt like somebody was tearing out my chest with a knife. >> reporter: he survived. hundreds of others didn't. two years later he has a new life in the united states. but he remembers that day clearly. >> it was a scene from judgment day. dozens of people, men, women,

children running and falling on the ground, suffocating. the terror, the confusion, it was something unbearable. i just didn't know what to do. >> reporter: at the time he was a photographer working in syria, he wanted to document the evidence of a crime he believed the world should see. >> i asked the doctor about what i need to know. he showed me the dark blue of the color that changed. the eyes and things coming out from the mouth. >> reporter: he says he can't forget what he saw that day. >> i'm a war photographer. for me to see a dead body with blood, it's normal. when you see them, the first thing you think they are sleeping. then you realize after like one or two seconds, your reality

becomes facing what's really going on after the strike. >> reporter: he was an activist where he used to film the suffering of people who continued to live under siege. since the attack he tried to raise awareness even at the u.n. and u.s. congress. but it has all been in vain. >> i feel like i did nothing. i feel like after all this talking, all the people that i met, not just me, like thousands of syrians here, we felt like there is no hope. >> reporter: the u.n. did conclude that sarin gas was used. there is a new resolution to investigate gas attacks in syria. but the attacks before 2014 wouldn't be included. again, denying justice to the people. 700 dba anywheric medicines made in india will be banned in the u.n.

chemical tryings will manipulated. it's considered the world's third largest. they ordered $15 billion worth of medicines. $3 billion of drugs went to europe. the ban will cost citizens $1.2 billion. india deferred free trade talks. >> reporter: in his multibillion dollars drug industry has been hit by a ban. the eu regulator alleges that clinical trials were manipulated. they will be banned in all 28 member states until retesting can be done. but banning all the drugs based on a technical issue is unfair. >> they have already done some of the work on the molecules. and it should be analyzed in another lab.

>> reporter: even if and when that happens, those in the dba anywheric drug industry say the damage to their reputation has already been done. >> we have lost the prospective buyers and as a contract manufacturer. secondly, we are talking about indian companies like us, we will face a lot difficulty. >> reporter: the fear is the bad reputation should spread and affect sales in other countries, including the lucrative u.s. market. many of the drugs being banned by the eu are widely available here and many other countries. local manufacturers are asking the indian government to do what it can to lift the ban. this issue goes beyond a single industry. it's already affecting negotiations for free trade deal between the european union and india. india has canceled talks that were set for the end of august in response to the drug ban. further stalling the free trade

deal that was supposed to be signed last year. this trade expert and former government consultant says the deal has been delayed over issues of human rights and trade protectionism. and the drug ban will slow negotiations more. >> you bring in a new point. what's the point of going through the fda anyway. >> india is willing to wait to ensure its industries get the best deal. eu drug ban may be a case of bad medicine pushing india to focus trade if other parts of the world. >> peru's congress has shot down planes carrying drugs. peru is the world's top cocaine

producer with most sent abroad in small aircraft. sri lanka's new prime minister is being sworn in. his party won 106 seats in monday's parliamentary election. he was 7 short of forming a government. he made a deal with a faction of the opposition group to build a coalition. some areas of south africa are in the midst of a surge crisis. many of the treatment plants are not coping with increased demand. and that's causing smelly and unhygienic problems for people living nearby. we have this report. >> reporter: the sewage treatment plant is filled to the brim. its operating at double capacity because it hasn't been upgraded to handle the number of people living here.

excess is pumped on to the road that skirts a river. dead animals and some living float by. cows have been wallowing in it. nearby people are trying to make a living by recycling rubbish. it's made worst. the river of waste flows through farm land to the dam from where water is drawn and treated before being supplied to 10 million consumers. it emerged last month that half the municipalities around the dam are releasing effluent containing unsafe levels of e-coli. >> we need to stand up because our human rights are being violated. >> the government ordered the sewage treatment plants, half failed the inspections. although the picture looks dire,

overall the government says the water and sanitation situation is improving. >> even though we are seeing progressive upward movement, but we cannot be satisfied that we are where we need to be. what kind of assistance do they need and what is it that we need to do. >> a plan to upgrade this plant can't come soon enough. these cows are eating grass that's growing in dirty water. there were plans to replace the cows and farm land with 2.5000 new homes. that will put more families in harm's way. her backyard is regularly flooded by sewage. she has photos to prove it. >> they promise they will come and fix, but they don't do anything. >> reporter: while the government insists its doing something, progress is too slow

for family whose have to walk past pools of sewage every day. two men say they found a train full of nazi gold in poland. the valuables were stolen from jews and being sent back to germany. the men will hand over the gold if they are guaranteed a 10% finders fee. this event is most famous for comedy. but one venue invested almost a million dollars in two circus big tops. >> reporter: roll up to the big top tents where you will find a circus revolution in full swing.

the clowns are replaced by thrilling stunts to make the audience think. borders and crossings are one theme with narrative. the palestinian trip exposed the concept of freedom mixing security checks with acrobatics. with no tradition of circus in the palestinian territories, they have devised their own style. >> it's my role in society to spread awareness, to raise the question, not only to entertain the people. it's part of my job. but also through entertainment we could also go out with questions and the question of our daily lives, question ourselves. >> reporter: the belgium troop has put the plight of the

refugee on the stage. it's dark and disturbing and designed to prick the conscience of the viewer. >> i'm pleased. it's the reason i got into it. i found it being a fresh, new art form that was finding new ways to talk about hot topics. >> reporter: they believe it should be a showcase for comedy and dance. >> you should push the boundaries. thannew things come along. so far the audiences have been receptive. >> with these shows circus is reinvented. there's been two accidents canceling shows. but there are stories being told and issues being explored, too. with no rules, performers can jump from politics to pole

vaulting. and no words makes this fresh new art form appeal to a wide range of audience. leaving them all wanting more. for more news, go to our website. i'm ali velshi, "on target" - over worked and under pressure, corporate america making billions off the backs of stressed out american workers. working for the weekend - why your boss should embrace the 4-day working week. tonight we talk about stress on the job. we are not working fewer hours, employers wants us on the job, and in many cases they want us