>> hello, i'm martine dennis in doha. also coming up on the program, top level talks in an effort to end pensions. three american men are hailed for overpowering an armed

gunman. >> well, we saw police using stun grenades on refugees who are trapped on the board for a second day. many escaped the war in syria. >> this was an open border, railway tracks leading towards serbia, the e.u. and germany and beyond. now it is a border drawn by razor wire with an army in support. they're here to confront refugees, many fleeing syria's civil war. like this family from idlib.

we are humans. where is the humanity. everyone here. they are families. we don't need money. wlet us go. i want to go to germany. among the refugees are a number sent back from macedonia alleging harsh treatment by the local police there. >> you say that the police in macedonia were hitting you. >> this is the police in macedonia. >> it is all another sign of the european union's complete inability to deal with this vast movement of people. there are private donations of

water and fast food vendors profiting for their most basic needs. >> it is beginning to rain. i spoke to the aid agencies on the ground with just a skeleton staff. they don't know when there will be able to make former arrangements because if they don't open this border soon there is every chance that the people will leave here and find another way across. >> for now they're determined to wait. the most vulnerable huddled together on muddy ground with nowhere else to go. al jazeera on the border between greece and macedonia. >> while thousands are trap in the area, the rescue effort is on the coast of libya to save others. they say at least 18 vessels carrying 3,000 people have been sited off the coast of libya.

300 people have died this year alone trying to make this perilous journey across the mediterranean to europe. >> let's go to afghanistan now where there has been a big explosion in the capital of kabul. it happened close to the u.s. embassy. bring us up-to-date. >> martine, nine afghan civilians including one woman was killed in that blast. three nato contractors are also killed in that car bomb. apparently the targets of that car bomb is the von very of armored vehicles. it is a very middle class area of kabul right outside of the area of hospitals and not far from the american embassy.

it comes at a very delicate time. afghan is very concerned and very much on edge. three different attacks within 24 hours in kabul. and wounded 250, that's the de deadliest day that they've seen in years. a devastating attack. afghans are very concerned about the security situation here. >> it comes a week or so after the reports coming to the u.n. telling us that the vast majority are civilians why afghanistan. >> that's right. that remains record high this year. many killed in the first month of this year, and many injured,

many women and children. it is afghan civilians that the attack happened. one of the busiest times of the day. people are coming, heading home from work, school children, heading home from school, that's a very busy part of town. a part of town that has not only a hospital and schools but a marketplace, and often very busy any way. whoever was responsible for this car bomb obviously not carrying about the civilians around it. even though they said they were targeting foreigners there were many foreigners hurt in this attack. ex- >> high level talks taking place on the border area, harry fawcett has the latest from the

capital of seoul. >> in 2013 one set of talks lasted 16 hours and 13-hour sessions of talks. there is a great deal to talk about given how heightened the two sides have been in recent days. the kind of rhetoric that we've seen up to this point, they're talking about the regime, the north korean reported these talks. and called it by its proper name. obviously a big shift in tone. they are very senior players talking in these discussions. the most senior political member in terms of military. they have close links to

respective leaders of these countries as wells the heads of the two government agencies entering talks from both sides of the border. both sides have extremely opposed positions. south korea said that it will continue it's loud speaker broadcasts until and unless north korea admits responsibility for landmine blasts. finding resolution with those two positions being so opposed will be difficult. >> to syria now, 20 people have been killed by shelling by government forces in douma. the air attacks began on saturday morning in the rebel-held town east of the capital of damascus. many remain trapped under the

rubble. >> according to state media, 19 were found guilty of inciting and participating in deadly violence. the leader of the muslim brotherhood is among those sentenced. the case relates to the storming of a police station in 2013. they had already been sentenced to death in a separate trial. the justices in southern iraq demanding government restorm have cut off road access to a major port. the area receives grain shipments and heavy equipment used in the oil industry. they're refusing to let in trucks or employees. long side thousands of protesters came out in the capital of baghdad.

hyder al abadi had announced an anti-corruption drive. >> he was isil's man in iraq in charge of overseaing the group's military separations from logistics to finance. his position was confirmed by the white house, which released this statement. al hay a li was an isil council member and senior deputy to isil leader abu bakr al baghdadi.

his death will adversely effect isil operations given that his influence spanned isil's finance, media, operations, and logistics. he was killed with another isil operative, who died. this is not the first time the u.s. has claimed to have killed hayali. he was claimed dead in an attack in 2014 as well. a former officer under saw dam hussein, who served in an u.s.-run prison, hayali played a role in the capture of mosul. while his death is undoubtedly a blow to isil, the group seems to be prepared for such eventuallities. >> isil is a secretive organization, but intelligence gathered over the years indicate that the group's power is not snarlized. many of its leaders were members of al-qaeda and iraq, which had a former command structure,

and proved to be a weakness. they seem to have learned from that experience. they're believed to have created a system that gives leaders flexibility so that over all operations are not affected if a top official is killed. on the ground the coalition and it's local partners have few successes to claim, and if has been over a year and isil remains deeply entrenched in mosul where it controls all aspects of life. there are those who believe despite the death the u.s. has no long term strategy to defeat isil. >> i think the challenge has been who are we backing on the ground? there is a larger regional position. >> they're leading the fight in sunni arab areas. and the lack of reconciliation allowed the capture of mosul in

may. hayali's death may an short setback for the group, but isil will require a political solution to conflicts in iraq and syria, where isil patrols significant territory. al jazeera, baghdad. >> still to come here on al jazeera, we meet the first female graduates of the elite u.s. army ranger school. plus stunning beaches, but they're almost empty. find out why the island in kenya is struggling to attract the tourists.

>> hello again. i'm martine dennis. these are the top stories here in al jazeera. in macedonia, police using stun grenades in greece for a second day. the police had been blocking them from crossing over. but some have pushed their way through barricades and crossed into macedonia. explosions in afghanistan, happened in the diplomatic districts near the u.s. embassy. in south korea there are meetings, the two countries have been locked in a war of words since exchanging fire on

thursday. india and pakistan are accusing each other of starting hostilities in the kashmir region. they agreed to hold talks on sunday you but the escalation of cease-fire violation are now threatening to derail negotiations. >> for the past several weeks the headlines that pass pakistan and i do not has been an increased escalation of cease-fire violations. we've seen dozens of families who have had to escape their villages because of incoming mothe mortar and fires. the main crux of the problem will of course will be how can are able to handle the cease-fire along this line of control. the fear is that this conflict could escalate into a bigger confrontation if they're not able to control the skirmishes

along the border. importantly the people of kashmir on both sides are suffering. pakistan wants to talk about kashmir. the indians want that off the table. and are only willing to discuss terrorism. theindia opposes that. while it is not certain whether they will go ahead oar not, the stakes are high, and without talks cross-border incidents are likely to intensify and endanger peace between india and pakistan. it is a crisis that needs attention. it also needs the attention of the world community to try to resolve this outstanding issue between two new nuclear-armed nations. >> the french interior minister said that a man who was shot on a train was known to them. the 26-year-old moroccan, whose name was not made public, was identified to fran's france's

anti-terrorism unit last year. >> this man was over powered as he open fired on passengers traveling on a high speed train between amsterdam and paris. two american service men and one of their friends charged the man later identified as a 26-year-old moroccan. >> he ran a good ten meters to get to the guy. we didn't know that his gun wasn't working or anything like that. spencer just ran any way. and if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been spencer for sure. we're really lucky that nobody got killed, especially spencer. >> the second american identified as spencer stone, a member of the american air force received cuts to his neck and hand. he was taken to the hospital, where he was syd to be out of

danger. >> i was here to see my friends in europe. we saw a terrorist. it was crazy. >> the train was traveling across belgium after the attack made the emergency stop. the french interior minister said that the americaned had thwarted a major attack. >> together with the prime minister and the president, i want to express our gratitude and admiration for the two american passengers who were especially courageous. >> france's anti-terrorism police have now taken charge of the investigation. the three men and the british passenger who also helped were awarded medals of bravery by local authorities. >> now, we're getting reports of a plane having crashed at an airshow in sussex in the south of england. witnesses are speaking of the jet having carried out an aerial loop, then it crashed on to a nearby road 37 so far it is

unclear if there were any casualties. >> venezuel >> two more towns are threatened by the wildfires in the u.s. state of washington. the army has been drafted in to help the firefighters. three of them were killed on thursday while trying to put out the flames in the town where 3.2 square meters of rural brush has been destroyed. and hundreds of troops are being sent to the state of california, where 18 wildfires are burning. a heatwave combined with four years of drought has made the state even more vulnerable to these fires. two women have made u.s. military history, the first

female soldiers to graduate from the elite army ranger's school. but they're unlikely to join the front line any time soon. as we have reports from new york the u.s. is still debating the role of women in combat. ♪ and the rockets red glare >> a graduation ceremony for new soldiers of the u.s. army elite division, but this is one unlike any other. 65 years since the first class of rangers for the first time female graduates. >> ranger welcome. >> it's a key moment in u.s. military history when it comes to the delicate question of integrating women in combat roles. why they can say they're among one of the best trained soldiers they won't be in combat, at least not yet. while women are allowed in 95% of military occupations including fighter pilots, historically it was thought that

women did not have the same strength as men to fight on the front lines. but that could change after the women finished the grueling combat course considered one of the most physically rigorous training that the u.s. conducts. they'll review the ban on women in combat and the position today is clear. >> the department's policy is that all ground combat positions will be open to women unless rigorous analysis of factual data shows that the positions must remain closed. >> that review is happening right now by all the military branches, the army, air force, navy, and marine corps. it's expected that they'll give their recommendations to the u.s. secretary of defense next month, and then a final decision is expected later this year on which, if any, combat roles will be open to women. it's expected to have wide-ranging implications. there are 1.3 million people serving in the u.s. armed

forces. of those about 202,015% of the total are women. today 17 countries allow women in front line combat roles including france, germany, canada and israel among others. now the united states might no noter far behind. >> 14 somali army recruits have been killed in a car bomb attack, it happened at a military training center and eyewitnesses say that the explosion was followed by gunfire. two attackers were killed and two others were arrested. the armed group al-shabab has claimed responsibility. hotel operators on kenya's coast say tourism is struggling after recent attacks by al-shabab. the palm-fringed beaches are almost empty, and the hotels have had to layoff staff.

in good times this beach will be full of sun bathing tourists. it's been this empty for a while now. they blame al-shabab fighters, and they issue warnings of trouble to the coast. they have been coming here for a the last eight years. >> it's just the best place on this planet. it's like paradise, and you step off that boat you don't want to get back on it. >> while the area has been peaceful, many hotels have had to close to down or be forced to layoff workers.

in we've never had such an experience. it comes a time when we can stay three months without a single guest. we're cleaning rooms, cleaning our pool, our kitchen, but no guests. >> every morning along the waterfront young men wander in search of jobs. it's these unemployed youth that worry the governor most. >> it gives me sleepless nights when i look at the number of young people who are unemployed, when i imagine their families who are not able to perhaps to put food on their tables. >> there was good news for ken kenya's ailing tourism recently when britain, the source of more half of the country's tourists lifted the travel advisory covering most of the coastal

region. but for many this remains a no-go area. al jazeera, lamo island in kenya. >> as many as 27 million people in southern africa will need emergency food aid by the end of the year. that's one in ten people who will have to rely on food and outs. it has been caused by flooding and high temperatures. >> the harvest has dropped by half because of poor rainfall. >> it's dry. >> this is the worst drought he has seen in 20 years. he's due to starts planting

maize in a couple of months but the soil may be too dry to do that. >> it. >> it's not only crop farmers who have been affected by the drought. livestock farmers rely on grains to feed their animals. with demand outstripping supply they're feeling the pinch in the grain prices. >> cattle farmers now have to i aimprovise. >> cattle need more water to drink during wintertime. you need a lot of money to put diesel in a tractor. if you can't forward to do that opposite your farm.

>> it has caused the maize production to fall. >> the biggest problem is that they've lost half of the maize crop. they haven't got enough money to plant for next year. finances is a big problem. they haven't got the assets to go to the bank and say help me. >> south africa may have to import 750,000 tons of maize to feed the country this year. still several african nations rely on south africa for 80% of their maize imports. >> if there is not enough, it pushes up our prices.

>> it's added additional pressure on an already struggling south african maize industry. al jazeera, newcastle. >> well, you can find out a lot more about all the day's news. a lot of background, a lot of opinion pieces on the al jazeera website www.aljazeera.com. >> oh my god! >> by scientists. >> tonight, saving the macaw. >> i'm in the peruvian amazon and we're on the search for endangered macaws. >> now techknow is on a one of a kind mission. >> look at those wings. >> the macaw; graceful, elegant, and in some parts of the world,