. a last minute bid to calm tensions twine north and south korea. top officials agree to meet here from headquarters in doha - also ahead - desperate for a better life, the latest on the refugee crisis in macedonia. the u.s. says it killed the second in command in an air strike in iraq. plus... >> i'm on a kenyan island. once a spot for tourists, and why they've been avoiding it

hello, we begin with the latest on the tensions between north and south korea. it looks like there's a last-minute attempt to mediate a solution. right now it's centered on the huge loud speakers, which are blasting north korean propaganda along the border. the top aids to both sides are to meet this hour. let's get the latest from harry fawcett, who is near the seen border. signs of hope here. looks like both sides are looking for a way out of this. >> it does. 40 minutes or so ago we saw the seen delegation going across the bridgeehind us, towards the peace village, which is in the middle of the demilitarized zone. it traverses the demarcation between the two countries. what is key to the meeting is

the seniority of the delegation on both sides. on the north korean side we have the senior army official, the head of the politburo of the korean people's army, the head of the military, his opposite number from south korea will be attending, and president park geun-hye's senior security advisors, these are men with lines of communication to the senior members. the question is how they can come to some kind of common ground. north korea will wont south korea to end the propaganda forecast. and it has been threatening to strike militarily. south korea said it will do that if it was behind a mining blast.

>> there are things that they can talk about, such as restarting family reunions, but without north korea admitting responsibility, it's hard to see how south korea can back down over the broadcast. and south korea will not admit responsibility, saying it's a plot to incriminate north korea. >> as far as the situation at the border itself, what is apping here? >> the deadline -- happening here. >> the deadline passed. it was unclear whether north korea met south korean time. both of the deadlines - there has been no report of any military action on either side. earlier in the day there were reports that the south korean military detected movements of

the guns, appearing to target the round speakers. there was a show of force by the jets flying over the territory. now we have talks under way, we are not clear as to when we find out what transpired at the talks. and that the south korean minister will, himself, brief the reporters in seoul, for some time, before appreciating the results. >> harry fawcett live for us near the south korean border. >> macedonia - hundreds of people are camped out along the border, hoping to cross over macedonia. it has become the latest flashpoint of the refugee crisis that is overwhelming europe. jonah hull is in the peak side of the border. >> until thursday, this was an invisible borderline between greece and macedonia. set along the railway line connecting the country now. now, of course, it is borne by

razor wire and armed units of the special police. keeping a crowd of people backwards, a crowd growing all the time. we see them lining the highways. walking the fields. unstoppable wave on humanity. crossing over from turkey. the sea, on to the southern islands, up through athens. at this point, of course, knowing on the other side in the town, they can get on to thames taking them to the capital. through macedonia, through serbia and into the european union. the macedonians say they had no option but to take the action. declaring a state emergency, the country saying it couldn't cope across this. in the past two months, alone, the result now is that thousands of people are tlaped here in an

increasingly dangerous zone, with armed units of the macedonian army. chances of confrontation all the time. >> the second in command of the islamic state of iraq and levant has been killed in an air strike. he was apparently travelling in a car in the iraqi city of moss eel n tuesday. they announced his debt saying the main role was to move weapons, explosives and people. zeina khodr is live in baghdad. how significant is the strike then. >> well, undoubtedly he was a high langing official, and a man with military skills in

background. he was serving in the iraqi army, in charge of i.s.i.l.'s military operations in iraq. i say was the charge. there's no confirmation from the group, other sources, that he was killed. i spoke to the iraqis that have contact in mosul. what it said was that their contact informed them that i.s.i.l. lost a high-ranking member. but in one way for another. in man had a legitimacy or credibility if you like, because he was an iraqi or a foreigner. he knows the area, the people, the culture. this, of course, is an advantage, specially since i.s.i.l. lost a lot of support among the population because of this interpretation of islam, the way it rules, the very fact that it doesn't accept any form of dissent. undoubtedly this is a setback. we have to remember something.

i.s.i.l. is a secretive organization. there's intelligent information that the power structure is not centralized. leaders outside iraq, al qaeda and iraq had a centralized command structure. leaders learn from that. adapted, whereby they give flexibility. over all operations are not affected if they lose a leader. in the short term, undoubtedly we'll have to see how it affects the situation on the ground. >> zeina khodr live in baghdad. thanks for that now, international aid group doctors without borders is calling on yemen's warring factions to stop fighting in civilian areas. the group said 65 civilians in the city of tiaz were killed in a 24 hour period. tiaz is the focus of fighting.

houthi fighters trying to retake it, the aftermath of a showing on friday leaving 23 dead, including children. france's interior minister praised the actions of passengers that overpowered an armed man from amsterdam to paris. the man fired a shot and wounded one passenger before being tackled and tied up. four men were off-duty. one of them is treated in a hospital nor knife wounds. another passenger who helped to tie up the gun plaun was a british -- gunman was a british businessman. >> relief no one was killed. and there could have been real carnage. >> reacting so quickly and bravely. >> he was the first one over there, after being injured himself. he went to help the man waiting

also. without his help, he would have died. that man was bleeding from his neck. he just went over there and saved his life, as if he was meeting himself. >> we didn't know his gun was not working or anything like that. we ran anyway. if anyone got in trouble, it would have been spencer for sure. we were lucky no one was killed. >> this is al jazeera, we'll take a break. when we come back, troubling times in turkey. consumer confidence drops to the lower level in. we meet the first female graduates of the u.s. army ranger school. school.

>> 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. the top stories on al jazeera. senior officials from north and south korea are to meet in a bid to lower tensions. north korea is demanding the south dismantle loud speakers blasting propaganda across the boarder. der. in macedonia hundreds are camped out on the border, hoping to cross over. macedonia became the crisis. the second in command from islamic state of iraq and levant has been killed in an air strike. they said that they were killed as they travelled in a car to the city of mosul on tuesday. >> worries about the health of a chinese economy rattled stock markets across the world.

the main dow industrial average fell more than 500 points on friday. it's the worse the stocks suffered in four years. it was part of a global market. which saw a price hit a 6-year low to under$40 a barrel. technology companies were hit with billions whipped off their value. figures show turkish confidence is at its lowest in six years. the currency feeling the pressure, but the lack of stable government and increased stance hits the economy. bernard smith reports from istanbul. >> turkey's consumers are nervous. a lack of optimism fell to a low, according to the institute. a political stalemate and violence fuelled uncertainty. now the country's currency is

suffering. as long as the dollar stops, business will be bad. they are not investing in cheese and olives, i brought dollars with 1500, and made 5-00 leera profit. businesses are bracing for the fall out. >> translation: we buy our raw materials from abroad, in foreign currency. because we operate in the domestic market, it automatic relates to retail. >> currency in other markets are also struggling. but turkey has added domestic pressures. >> in order to deal with the turmoil in the financial market. turkey needs a strong government. it could not be established.

making it more of an eternal risk. it is a huge deficit at high inflation. >> the leera lost 20% of its value. >> there'll be another election. what happens between the leera now and them could play a huge fold. it wins back to the majority in june. >> brazil, lat yib america's largest economy is in trouble. it's at a high. commodities are on the rise, that and a series of scandals lead to a deal of anger. it's the least popular. this report from sao paulo. >> this woman was a part-time

personal trainer - more for fun, than of necessity. since her husband lost his job, he has become the sole breadwinner, also selling clothes from home. even at discounted prices, few clients are buying, and she can't make ends meet. >> i'm constantly having a headache. there's no future, no jobs, no end in sight. we need to choose which bills to pay. we had to negotiate a discount at the school. the forest with the past decade is losing its privileges. >> it's the biggest market in latin america, selling everything at unbeatable prices. even here, avengers are

struggling. >> reporter: there are plenty of people. few are buying. emanuel owned this for 15 years. he comes from the north-east. once called by the president dilma rousseff. >> i went to the protest. he's seeking the country. we don't call it that often. it's in another state. i'm really worried. it's like a monster behind the door, and he does not go away. >> reporter: he plans to return to the village with his wife. it's cheeper there. all social classes are feeling the pinch, and much of the blame is unprecedented. >> we have a lot of problems with the new president. i believe the moment when i was

13 years old. all the same, i believe in the future. now, there is a future. >> president dilma rousseff started a campaign to win back her people. but with so much enchantment. hers is a struggle in which few politicians succeeded venezuelan president nicolas maduro declared a state of emergency. maduro closed two border crossings, sending 1500 soldiers to the border area. guatemala's vice president has been detained over links to a corruption scandal. a group of protesters demanded her impeachment. she was taken to a military

prison and implicated in a customs kickback. the president perez is also involved 27 million people in southern africa needs emergency food aid. according to the african development community, including 15 governments from the reason. one in 10 rely on food handouts. production drops by 90%. rainfall, flooding and high temperatures. the extreme weather is affecting the bread basket of south africa, which has seen its first drought in 20 years. we have this report. >> reporter: this farmer is having a bad season. his harvest dropped by half because of poor reform.

>> it doesn't look ke other years, when we had enough rain. it's not how it should be. >> reporter: this is the worst they have seen it. this year, the soil may be too try to plant. >> we can't cover the cost of planting. wages for people. it means a lot. >> it's not only crop farmers affected by the drought. livestock rely on grain to feed the animals. with demand outstripping supply, they are feeling the pinch of prices. >> reporter: in the last year alone, the price of grain has risen by more than 50% due to

drought and the fluctuating curren currency. farmers have to improvise. >> cattle need more water. you need a lot of money to put diesel in a tractor. if you can't afford to put watered on your farm. >> traditions caused production to fall by 5 million tonnes. >> the biggest problem for the farmers is half of the crop haven't got enough money to plant the next year. finance is a big problem for the farmers, and they don't have enough assets to go to the bank to say help me. >> usually a net exporter of the crap. farmers may have to import 50,000 tonne of maize. several african nations, botswana, namibia and swaziland rely on south africa for 80% of their imports.

>> neighbouring countries have to buy at a higher price. because we are looking at the international market. if there's a drought, it's not enough. it pushes up our process. the countries will receive most of their supply. it added additional pressure on a struggling south african industry hotel operators on the kenyan indian ocean say tourism is struggling. the beaches are empty, and hotels have been forced to lay off staff. from the island, we have this report. >> the warm beaches of the island tell the story of trucks. in good times this would be full of tourists. it's been this empty for a while. holiday makers shunned the beaches after attacks blamed on

al-shabab forces. western government issued warnings against travelling to the coast. only now do they return. they have been coming here for the last eight years. >> it's the most unspoilt place on the planet. it has a magic. it's like paradise. we step off the boat. you don't want to get back on it. >> the island, itself, has been peace: it's predicted somalia has scared away tourists. many have closed down or been forced to lay off workers. this is a hotel owner. he says he has not had a guest for a while. >> in the history of tourism, never has such. there's a time when we can say three months without a single guest. where we are just cleaning our rooms, cleaning our kitchen.

not all this. >> reporter: every morning along the water front, young men in search of jobs. the unemployed growth worry the government the most. >> i imagine the people who are unemployed. when i imagine their families, who are not able to put food on the tables. >> there was good news for the ailing tourism group. where more than half of the tourists lifted an advisory covering the region. these are setting the stage of what is a crucial sector for the economy. for many, it remains a no-go area the colima volcano in mexico erupted with ash and smoke, 2.5kms into the air.

the volcano has been active since july. thick ash blanketed the villages. it must erupt in february, and is part of the pacific ring of fire. >> the u.s. state of washington put out evacuation orders. the army has been drafted in to help firefighters. three were killed on thursday while trying to battle flames. hundreds of troops are sent to the state of california, where 18 wildfires burning. a heatwave on top of four years of drought made the state vulnerable protesters march through the u.s. city where a miss trial was declared in the shooting case of an unarmed black man. demonstrators walked through the city. in a standoff. an officer was on child for

killing john ferrell in 2013. he had stopped his car, looking for help. and a white police officer shot him. there has been cases, several in the u.s., where face-offs were accused of using force against an unarmed blackman. >> two women made u.s. military history. the first female soldiers to graduate from the elite army trade school, unlikely to join the front line. u.s. is debating the role of women in combat. >> reporter: a graduation ceremony for new soldiers of the u.s. army's elite ranger division. this is unlike any other. 65 years since the first class of rangers, for the first time, female graduates. >> strangers - welcome to the club. >> it's a key moment history, when it comes for the delicate

history. while the two women say they are some of the best trained soldiers, they won't combat. at least not yet. while women are allowed in 95% military operations, including fighter paths. historically it was believed women did not have the same physical as men to fight on the front lines. it could change after ranger's gruelling combat course, considered rigorous training mentally and physically. in 2013 the pentagon announced a review on women in combat. the condition it clear. >> the policy is all ground combat positions will be open to women, unless rigorous analysis of factual data shows that it is closed.

>> reporter: that is happening in all branches of the defense forces, expected to give recommendations next month. and a final decision is expected later this year on which, if any, combat roles will be open. they have wide-ranging implications. >> there's 1.3 million people serving in the u.s. forces. of those, 1,200 are 15% of the total, are women. today 17 countries allow women in front-lying combat roles, including french, canada, isolate. now the united states may not be far behind. >> police in denmark released surveillance video as part of a search for two art thieves. a man with a broken nose was stolen from a canadian open museum. a busk by 19th century rodan. security showed two men taking

the artwork in broad daylight. it's worth $300,000. >> as always, there's more on the website. aljazeera.com. the latest on all the stories, a round up of headlines is next. for those in the u.s., your local programming. programming. a nonfactor in the race likely to be gone before the first votes were cast. now that guy is leading in primary, state and nationwide polls and all those electable candidates are far behind. many in single digits. but what is really interesting is donald trump's impact on the issues side. the huge republican field has no