coming up in the next 60 minutes, crowds of refugees push past police on the border between macedonia and greece after a tense standoff. a massive explosion kills 12 people in the afghan capital including afghan civilians and three american workers. hailed as heroes. france's president thanks a group of passengers for overpowering a gunman on a train.

what else is there to do? either you sit down and die or get up and die. we have all the sports including the latest from the world championships. usain bolt runs in the 100 meter semis in beijing. hello. our top story this hour. macedonian police allowed hundreds of refugees to cross into the country two days after a state of emergency was called and the border was closed. it follows a tense day for refugees trying to make their way to western europe. we've been following the events on the greek side of the border. >> reporter: 48 hours after macedonia shut its border to reef gees, the gathering crowd

makes a break for it. they didn't come this far to be held back. hundreds do get through, sprinting across open fields as armed police units fire percussion grenades in this case directly at a mother and her two children. until thursday this was an invisible, open border. railway tracks leads from greece through macedonia towards serbing ya, the eu and serbia beyond. now refugees from idlib, syria have no idea why they're being treated this way. >> i'm not a terrorist. these are not terrorists. we are humans. where's the humanity?

where's the world to see us? look at everyone here. they are families. we don't need anything. just clothes. we don't need money. let us cross. let us cross. i want to cross to germany. >> reporter: among them are some sent back from macedonia alleging harsh treatment by the local police. you say the police in macedonia were hurting you? >> this is police. >> reporter: this is the police in macedonia, the same mother and her daughters are trapped and terrified. what has happened to you? tell us. >> your family got across, and you are stuck here? she begs to be allowed to cross. we've just heard the sound of small arms fire going up above

the heads of these people hidden in bushes alongside ifield in macedonia. they have taken staggering rivengs to get this far. they traveled the sea in plastic dinghies and did not expect inside the borders of europe to be confronted by violence from armed police. the european union has so far shown its complete inability to deal with this vast movement of refugees, and the macedonians seem to be no better. as night fell, it was clear the police couldn't stop them, so they stopped trying. for now this route is open again. jonah hall, al jazeera on the border between greece and macedonia. >> earlier we got this update from adomini. >> reporter: we spoke to amnesty international on the ground who watched the events during the day. they described the actions of the macedonian police to us as clear breaches of international

human rights law. the opening of this route, of course, doesn't change that, nor do we know for sure frankly whether this route will remain open because macedonia still has a state of emergency in place, and there's been no official word from the government as to its intentions here. we also don't know what will happen on the other side of the this border to all the hundreds of people that made this through during the course of this day. whether or not they will have trains for them, as was the case before, to take them through the country. they certainly hope so, because really all they want to do is get into macedonia, pass through it and get out of it as quickly as possible. >> for more on this freelance journalist andrew connolly joins us via skype where thousands are trying to board trains to continue their journey. are you able to tell us if people are still crossing the greek border into macedonia right now? >> reporter: the border at the moment has been reblocked after

today when hundreds and hundreds of people managed to breach it not just on the train tracks but over the barbed wire and even through the woods and the field. now, as late as i saw it an hour ago, the police aren't letting anyone in again. obviously, you can't stop this huge wave of people. people are still going around different routes, but for the moment it seems to be closed yet again. whether that will change tomorrow, we'll see. today the police really did seem to almost unilaterally randomly just stand down, and not even stand down. just wave refugees through. some of them even smiling to them and encouraging them to come. >> of course, once they're inside macedonia, crowds of people head to the train station where they head north to other countries in europe. have you managed to speak to many people about where they are from and where they want to go? >> reporter: the majority of people i spoke to are from

syria. the train tracks today after the stun grenades and the police beatings resembled a bit of a war zone. there were walking wounded hobbling along the train tracks resting there. some of them are recent injuries from the police batons, possibly even from the stun grenades. some of them also showed me their very deep scarring, including one man who had a very deep scar in his leg. they're going mainly to germany, some to finland, some to sweden, and some to belgium. it depends. some people have more knowledge about which country might be able to accommodate them more. some people are just hoping for the better, and some people don't know. they know once they get past the hungarian fence and into austria and the eu, they'll find their way somehow. >> you mentioned injuries from police. what have you witnessed in terms of how the police there have been handling the situation?

>> reporter: there are not nearly enough police to even start to control this situation. this morning i was at the train station to see a huge line of people waiting for their temporary papers, which gives them 72 hours to pass through macedonia into serbia. there was one police who was sporadically poking, hitting, kicking refugees, abusing them at swearing at them. it got worse. finally, after a huge surge of people managed to breach the -- just through the fields, the barbed wire didn't even come that far, and this is only about 500 meters away from the barbed wire. police were beating women, children, fathers holding their babies on their back. it was the kind of behavior you would expect it a riot situation or dictatorship. there was no regard for people's vulnerability, their age, our their jernld at all. >> i was going to ask you about those that may be vulnerable who are present.

certainly we have seen pictures of families, children, small babies. what can you tell us about how they are coping with conditions there, particularly when they are unable to board a train because, of course, there are so many people, so many refugees, and it's not very easy to get on a train. there aren't enough of them. >> there aren't enough trains at all. i've seen two so far today. the one in the mother-in-lawi mother-in-lawimother-in-lawing morning had four kaefrjs and the one later ha three carriages. that means 300 people to get on. there were at least 1,000 people still waiting unsure for the next train. about children, i think along with the police brutality today, one of the most abiding images is that of children being separated by their parents either from being lost in the melee or confusion or as i saw families lift over children, lifting their children over the

barbed wire to the macedonian side, and just making the children run. there was some organizations waiting with the children until the parents would be able to get over. i witnessed quite a few reunifications of up families who then continued on. for children they're hearing explosions just as they would have done, say, in syria, but for the moment they look very calm and peaceful, the ones i met. of course, in the crowd it's a different story. you hear children crying. they're confused. they're being jostled. it's a very, very intensely traumatic situation for them bearing that they've been on the road for weeks already escaping war. >> it's very difficult. thank you very much, andrew connolly, for joining us from macedonia where, of course, many of the refugees are headed to the train station there after crossing into the country from greece. the italian navy has rescued almost 1,000 refugees from sinking boats off the coast of

libya. authorities received sos calls for at least 18 different boats on saturday. 14 inflatable dinghies and four boats were crowded with refugees making their way to europe. the italian navy reached two vessels, each carrying about 500 people. dozens of refugees landed on the greek island of lesbos in inflatable dinghies. eight boats landed within an hour on saturday each carrying up to 60 people. many refugees were women and children. at least 20 people are dead and 200 more injures after more syrian army attacks on douma. missiles struck the town on the northeastern outskirts of the capital damascus, leaving many civilians trapped under the rubble. it comes as relief agencies warn of the deterioration of the humanitarian situation south of damascus where millions of civilians are living under

siege. french president francois hollande thanked a group of passengers hailed as heroes for overpowering a heavily armed gunman on a train in northern france. u.s. president barack obama has telephoned the men to thank them personally. the gunman confirmed as a moroccan citizen managed to fire a shot before being tackled to the ground. we have the latest from paris. >> reporter: tie upped and sub dued. mobile phone footage shows the gunman that tried to cause carnage on a french high-speed train. he was confronted first by afrench passenger and overpowers by a group of american passengers including off-duty u.s. military personnel. spencer stone was injured, though, with cuts to his neck and hand. >> spencer ran a good 10 meters to get to the guy, and we didn't know that his gun wasn't working or anything like that. spencer just ran anyway. if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been spencer for sure. we're very lucky that nobody got

skilled especially spencer. >> reporter: authorities say the swift intervention of passengers prevented a potential massacre. he was armed with an at-47 rifle and luger pistol and a box cutt cutter. >> my thoughts were, i'd probably die anyway. let's go. i'd rather die being active trying to get him down than simply sit in the corner and be shot. >> reporter: the gunman is a 26-year-old moroccan man. spanish intelligence flagged him up to french counterparts who created an s file on him, effectively placing him on a watch list. according to the french interior minister he's a member of a radical islamic movement. >> translator: 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. >> reporter: because the gunman boarded the train in brussels,

belgian authorities have also commenced a terrorism investigation into the circumstances of the attempted attack. once again, the effectiveness of the intelligence services is under scrutiny, but also the security of europe's rail network. high-speed rail passengers traveling between france and eng land must go through stringent security including baggage x-rays, the reason being the channel tunnel, the 50-kilometer stretch underneath the english channel and the risk of a gun or bomb attack en route. across the rest of the french network, including trains to belgium and amsterdam and the netherlands, there are no such security provisions. they sent a memo to regional leaders to raise the level of alert around the transport network. in the meantime, the bravery medals have already been award the to american and french passengers that overpowered the man and french president

hollande has invited them to the presidential palace in paris. paul brennan, al jazeera, paris. >> spencer stone, the man who first accustomed the gunman, has left hospital. stone, a u.s. airman, was seen with his arm in a sling as he left the hospital in france. according to his family, his finger was nearly severed when he tackled the gunman to the ground. much more still ahead on the al jazeera news hour. a food emergency in southern africa. we tell you how millions could be affected by extreme weather. deserted destinations. why holiday makers are staying away from scenic spots like this one. and sepp blatter makes it clear he's still in charge at fifa. we'll have all your sports a little later on. n. now, thousands of people have taken to the streets in the lebanese capital beirut to protest over the government's

handling of rubbish disposal. police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. it's the biggest demonstration since rubbish began piling up on the streets after the capital's mainland fill was closed a month ago. the lebanese red cross says 13 people have been injured. gunmen from the so-called islamic state of iraq and levant killed 50 soldiers in iraq. a top provinceal officials says the soldiers were killed in two separate ambushes in anbar province west of baghdad. elsewhere isil fighters killed 53 iraqi soldiers and their allies fighting in the largest province of anbar. they were ambushed in ramadi. iraqi forces have, of course, been trying to recapture the city since the armed group seized control three months ago. moving to afghanistan now where there's been an explosion in the capital. the latest in a wave of attacks across the city. 12 people were reportedly killed in the blast including afghan

civilians and three u.s. citizens working in the country as foreign contractors. the attack on a military convoy happened close to the main road to the airport near the u.s. embassy. more than 100 people were injured in the explosion. jennifer glasse is in the afghan capital of kabul with the latest. >> reporter: that car bomb went off at the busiest times of the day in an afternoon on a very busy street in a residential area just outside a hospital not far from a school at a time when people were leaving work heading home. the car bomb -- the target was an armored convoy carrying civilian contractors for nato. a number of civilian cars, afghan civilian cars were also damaged in that. civilians and those contractors among the dead. more than 100 civilians injured in that blast. it comes as afghans are on edge. security a very big concern here. just two weeks ago three blasts, three attacks in kabul over a 24-hour period killed more than 50 and wounded more than 250.

that was the deadliest day in the afghan capital in several years, but the security situation remains precarious. the taliban have denied responsibility for this latest attack, as they often do if there are any civilian casualties involved. a sense of how precarious the situation remains here, afghan police found four rockets just on the outskirts of kabul province they say were positioned to be fired into the city and impact a province that borders with pakistan. the afghan intelligence service captured a truck and driver, that truck had 7 tons of explosive material. so the security services remaining on high alert here, and afghans very concerned about the security situation. belarus has released six political prisoners in a clear indication it attempts to

improve relations with the west. they let out prisoners including nikolay who ran against him in 120. the european union and u.s. have maintained tough sanctions on belarus because of the violence during that election. seven people have died after a jet crashed into several cars near an air show in southern england. the fighter jet which dates from the late 1950s came down on a main road close to the coastal city of brighton. witnesses say the aircraft hit trouble when it tried a loop during an arrow battic displace. in china there are reports of a exmrongs in the eastern prov inks of shang don. it's located 1 kilometer away from a residential area. so far no casualties have been reported. earlier this month at least 116 people were killed by an explosion further north in

tianjin. peace talks between india and pakistan fell over before they even began. there's been rising tension between the two countries over the disputed kashmir region. we have more if r now from pakistan administered kashmir. >> reporter: for the past several weeks the headlines across fabricing st pakistan an india is the dangerous escalation of ceasefire violations. we have seen dozens of kashmiri families that have to escape their villages because of incoming mortar and light arms fire. they were terrorized and traumatized by the events unfoldi unfolding. the fear is it would escalate into a bigger confrontation if they're not able to control the skirmishes along the border. importantly the people are suffering. the stakes are high, and without talks, cross-border incidents are likely to intensify and endanger peace between india and pakistan. so it is a crisis that needs

attention. it needs also the attention of the world community to try and resolve this outstanding issue between two nuclear arms nations. at least ten somali soldiers are dead after a suicide bomb attack on a military camp. the bombers rammed their car into the gates of the university campus used to train soldiers to fight the armed group al shab b shabaab. they have said they were behind the blast. there's a large explosion in the somali capital of mogadishu. the explosion which some reports say was a car bomb was close to the internal security ministry and a large hotel. the recent attacks have a huge effect on kenya's tourism industry. many western visitors are too scared to go to the region after being warned off by governments and resorts are virtual ghost

towns. we're in the indian ocean region where he had no problem getting a hotel room. >> reporter: the warm and sandy beaches tell the stories of its troubles. in good times this beach would be full of sunbathing tourists. it's been this empty for a while now. holiday makers have shunned kenya's beaches after attacks blamed on al shabaab fighters from neighboring somalia. they have issued warnings. it's only the most ardent now returning. jane and stewart ray and their daughter from england have come here for the last eight years. >> it's the most unspoiled place on this planet, and it has a magic. it's like paradise when you step off it, and when you step off that boat, you don't want to get back on it. >> reporter: while the island has largely been peaceful, it's proximity to somalia has worked

against it and scared away tourists. many hotels have either closed down or have been forced to lay off the workers. he says he's not had a guest for a while. >> in the history of tourism here, we have never had such an experience. it has come a time when we have three months without a single guest. we're just cleaning our pool and cleaning our rooms and cleaning our kitchen, but no guests. >> reporter: every morning along the waterfront young men wander in search for jobs. it's these uncombped youth that worry them most. >> it's sleepless nights when i imagine the number of people unemployed. when i imagine their families who are not able to have food on the tables. >> reporter: there was good news for kenya's ailing tourism recently when britain, the source of more than half of the country's tourists, lifted a

travel advisory covering most of the coastal region. this has set the stage for the recovery of what is a crucial sector to the kenyan economy. for many it still remains a no-go area. well, as many as 27 million people in southern africa will need emergency food aid by the end of this year according to the southern africa development community, which includes 15 governments from the region. it says one in ten people have to rely on food handouts. maize production is expected to drop by up to 90% in some countries. the food shortage has been caused by erratic rainfall, flooding, and high temperatures. the extreme weather is affecting the regional breadbasket, south africa, which is suffering its worst drought in over 20 years. we've been to meet some of the farmers worst aif he canned in the south african farming

region. >> reporter: maize farmer is having a bad season. his harvest has dropped by half because of poor rainfall. >> it's dry. it doesn't look like other years when we've had enough rain. you can see it from the stalk, it's not what it should be. >> reporter: this is the worst drought he's seen in 20 years. he's due to start planting maize in a couple of months, but this year the soil may be too dry to do that. >> you can't even cover the costs of planting and other stuff, like the inputs. it means a lot. you can't even break even. >> reporter: it's not only crop farmers affected by the drought. livestock farmers rely on grain to feed their animals.

with demand outstripping supply, they're feeling the pinch of rising grain prices. in the last year alone, the price of grain has risen by more than 50% due to drought and a flack waiting local currency. cattle farmers now have to improvise to make sure the livestock survive the lack of water. >> translator: cattle need more water to drink during wintertime. you need a lot of money to put sdeels in a tractor and fetch water. if you can't afford it to put water back on the farm. >> reporter: the conditions caused the maize production to fall by 5 million tons this season. >> the biggest problem for farmers after the drought is they have lost half of the maize crop, they haven't got enough money to plant the next year. so finances are a big problem for the farmers. they haven't got enough assets to go to i abank to say, listen, help me. >> reporter: usually a net exporter of the crop, south africa may have to import up to 750,000 tons of maize to feed

the country this year. still, several southern african nations includes botswana and other countries rely on south africa for up to 80% of their maize imports. >> neighboring countries have to buy maize at a much higher price because we link to the international market. if there's a drought and there's not enough, it pushes up our prices. >> reporter: while those countries will receive most of their supply, it's added additional pressure on an already struggling south african maize industry. al jazeera, newcastle. still to come for you on al jazeera. >> if somebody works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. >> the self-professed socialist senator bernie sanders takes his message to south carolina. seeking better treatment.

why cuban doctors are protesting in colombia. in sport, could anyone stop lewis hamilton claiming pole position in the belgian grand prix.

>> my name is imran garda. the show is called "third rail". when you watch the show, you're gonna find us being unafraid. the topics will fascinate you... intrigue you. >> they take this seriously. >> let me quote you. >> there's a double standard. >> you can't be a hypocrite. >> you're gonna also get a show that's really fair, bold, never predictable. >> they should be worried about heart disease not terrorism. >> no, i wouldn't say that at all. >> you'll see a show that has an impact on the conventional wisdom, that goes where nobody else goes. my name is imran garda, i'm the host of "third rail" - and you can find it on al jazeera america.

welcome back. you're watching the al jazeera news hour. let let's update you on the top stories. beating people back from the border, macedonian police are allowing thousands of refugees to cross from greece. french president fran choice howl landy thanked a group of passengers for overpowering a heavily armed gunman on a train in northern france. thousands of people have taken to the streets in beirut to protest over the lebanese government's handling of rubbish disposal. in other stories we're following, the spiritual leader of egypt's muslim brotherhood has been given a life sentence by the cairo criminal court. according to state media madia along with 18 others were found guilty of enciting and parting in deadly violence.

the case relates to a storming of a police station in 2013. he's already been sentenced to death in a separate trial. now, he's the only contender to the u.s. democratic party's presidential nomination able to give hillary clinton a run for her money. senator bernie sanders. who he is, and why is he turning heads? tom ackerman reports from the campaign trail in south carolina. >> reporter: across this conservative state, thousands of people flocked to hear self-described socialist bernie sanders declaim his favorite populist themes. >> this campaign is sending a message to the most powerful people in this country. to the billionaires, and what we are saying to them is, you're no longer going to be able to get off. it is not a radical idea. it is an american ideal that if

somebody works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. [ cheers ] >> reporter: the 73-year-old senator from vermont wins praise from his admirers from qualities lacking in the democratic front-runner. >> i see hillary clinton as being beholden to corporations where bernie sanders is getting his support from the people he claims to represent. >> reporter: sanders has been steadily narrowing the gap with clinton in recent polls ranking even with her in early primary voting states. as much as sanders and managing to draw democratic voters away from hillary clinton, his big challenge in states like south carolina is to attract more blacks and hispanics, the party's base here. besides his calls for free higher education and more jobs he promises to protect black

voting rights from republicans they say restricting them. >> i'd like to see her touch on it like bernie did. i agree wholeheartedly that he'll probably steal a whole lot of votes from hillary. >> what sanders refuses to do is confront clinton head-on. >> there are many issues we disagree on, but i won't engage in personal attacks and character assassinations. that i will not do. >> he's impressed some local leaders with his forthright approach to his concerns. >> he didn't have an answer but said he would do more research. to me, that's a good sign. he could have brushed the question off like some people do. >> reporter: the first primary voting is still five months away. time enough for sanders to make clinton's nomination once regarded as inevitable increasingly less assured. tom ackerman, al jazeera in south carolina. joining me live from washington is jason johnson, a professor of political science and communication. thanks for speaking to us.

what does bernie sanders bring to the table that hillary clinton doesn't? >> something new. i mean one of the things very clear that we see already in the democratic primary is everyone has known hillary clinton for 20 years, and so however people feel about her is what they feel. bernie sanders is new. he has a very, very focused messa message. he's someone speaking to issues hillary clinton maybe only dances around, and that's why he's so popular at least right now. >> tell me about the issues he's been focusing on. a very strong message from him on income inequality. how is that resonating among people, among prospective voters there? >> well, it's huge. it's huge in south carolina. it's huge across the country, because the united states has been in a recession for ten years now. really realistically. we got into this recession because of republican administration. the recession we're in now has still been managed by democrats, and even though politicians have

talked about improving the economy, bernie sanders is pretty much basing his entire campaign around income inequality. that really resonates with a lot of americans who feel that all the bailouts and job issues in the country no one has talked about fairness, and that's what he's focused on. >> we've seen he's been greeted by cheering crowds. possibly building his support in south carolina. could it really be up for grabs, those crowds going to translate into actual votes? >> i wouldn't bet on it. the reason why is, look, getting a crowd of 2500, even getting a crowd of 15,000 people to cheer for you in august doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to get people really working for you in iowa five months from now. so bernie sanders' ability to galvanize the crowd is amazing and excellent, but he has to have money and people on the ground and he has to have people willing and dedicated to caucus on his behalf in iowa in

january. if he doesn't have that, all of these crowds really won't amount to anything, and hillary clinton will still beat him. >> what else does he need to do, then, to win more support from black and hispanic voters? >> well, first off, he needs to recognize what the concerns are of african-american and latino voters. bernie sanders makes a mistake that a lot of probleming sif and often progressive white politicians make. if income inequality is finally handling, then racism and discrimination will disappear, and that's not how it works. we've seen with the black lives matter protesters at several bernie sanders' events, they say, look, discrimination and police violence has nothing to do with whether you have a job or not. he needs to become more sensitized to those issues like immigration. he has a build a brawleder coalition to really challenge hillary clinton. >> thanks very much, jason johnson from washington, d.c. thanks very much. all right. well, to our global series on public transit now. cities on the move.

today we're in india's capital of new delhi where a bus transit system aims at easing traffic congestion led to more problems for commuters instead. we explain how the world's second most populous city is coping with the chaotic traffic. terrible is how most people in new delhi would describe traffic, especially along the city's bus rapid corridor or brt. with dedicated lanes that were supposed to make traffic smoother, but those traveling along the 5.8-kilometer route every day say it's anything but. >> twice i've been stuck here for more than two hours. >> reporter: after some distance the brt suddenly ends creating traffic jams on adjoining roads. the corridor has dedicated lanes for different types of vehicles, but those are blatantly ignored as all fight for whatever space to find, forcing pedestrians off

the sidewalks. one of the main ideas behind the brt was to encourage public transit, but those who rely on it complain of problems just getting to the bus stops located in the middle of the road. >> translator: coming from the footpath to the bus stop here, the cars sometimes are moving so fast it's difficult to cross. if there was a bridge going over the traffic, it would be very ea easy. >> nothing seems to be easy for anyone on the brt, which is why it's now being scrapped. even crossing the street becomes something of an obstacle course, whether at designated crosswalks or wherever people can manage. locals say it's just another flaw, but ever since the brt opened there have been complaints and petitions and a high court order to open up the bustling traffic temporarily. with everyone complaining, it begs the question, what went wrong? urban planners agree that the brt as a concept is a good idea.

the problem with this one is it didn't go far enough. >> the city is huge. you need to have connectivity to all of the city. if i have a bus transit system throughout the city, i must think of using it. if i have it for one kilometer and i have to switch to another line or some other mode of transport, it becomes very difficult. >> reporter: some critics also blame cultural differences saying that trying to regulate traffic where everything from trucks to push carts share the road was doomed to fail. the new state government that is scrapping the brt says it has plans for a new one focusing on buses in the outer part of the city. commuters say they're willing to try anything if it means a smoother, quicker commute. al jazeera, new delhi. talks between north and south korea resumed on saturday after nearly a year. the meeting stretched into the early hours of sunday morning. the delegations are meeting

again later in the afternoon. escalating tensions between the two countries have pushed them to the brink of a possible military confrontation. the supreme court judge in brazil has asked for an investigation into president dilma rousseff's 2014 re-election campaign. the judge says there's evidence it may have been funded with money stolen from the state petroleum company. meanwhile, a speaker of brazil's lower house of congress says he won't leave his post despite being charged with corruption and money laundering. brazil is latin america's largest economy, but it's in big financial trouble. the unemployment rate is at a five-year high and a series of corruption scandals has led to widespread public anger. we have the report now from sao paulo. >> reporter: she used to be a part-time personal trainer. more for fun than out of necessity. ever since her husband jose lost

his job three years ago, she has become the sole breadwinner, also selling children's clothes from home. even at discounted prices, few of her clients are buying these days, and she can barely make ends meet. >> translator: i constantly have a headache. i'm always tired. there's no end in sight. we need to choose which bill to pay every month. we had to negotiate a discount at the school. >> reporter: their story is typical of the class c, the brazilian middle class that flourished over the past decade and now is losing privileges. this is the biggest market in latin america. it sells just about everything at unbeatable prices, but even here vendors are struggling. there are plenty of people, but few are buying. emanuel silva has owned this

kiosk for 15 years. he comes from the northeast, once a stronghold of president dilma rousseff. >> translator: i went to the protests. we need to remove the lady in charge. she is sinking the country. we cut many things. we canceled the internet. we don't call our parents that often. they live in another state, and it's too expensive. i'm really worried. there's no end in sight. it's like a monster behind the door, and he does not go away. >> reporter: he plans to return to his village with his wife. life is cheaper there. they hope to finally have a baby. also classes across brazil are feeling the pinch and much of the blame is on the president. >> we have a lot of problems with the military dictators. i leave that moment when i was 13 years old. i was very young, but all the

time i believed in the future. but now with t50 years old, thee isn't a future here. >> reporter: president rousseff has started a campaign to win back her people. with so much disenchantment hers is a trouble in which few politicians have succeeded. al jazeera, sao paulo. cuban doctors have held a protest against their visa status in bogota. they left venezuela where the cuban government sent them to provide medical assistance. they hoped by reaching colombia they would be given safe passage to the u.s. under a 2006 state department program, but that hasn't happened and they say they're in limbo without passports. we have this update from the protests in the colombian capital of bogota. >> reporter: these cuban doctors illegally entered colombia enticed by the province to have

a safe passage to the u.s. under this program. they were expected to receive an answer to their visa request within 30 to 90 days, but most of the them have been waiting for months, up to seven months now without receiving a response or having been denied the visa. now, these people believe they are victims of the change of political environment of the renewed diplomatic ties between the u.s. government and cuba. that's something, though, that the u.s. state department on thursday told al jazeera is not the case. he was very specific in saying that there is according to them no ties or connection to what's happening to the people and the renewed diplomatic ties between cuba and the u.s. government. be it what it may, these people, though, are caught in limbo here in bogota and are at risk of being deported to venezuela, their last port of entry, or to

cuba. of course, they're hoping that will not be their fate, but so far they haven't received any answer and they are wondering if this will be the end of their journeys. the president of venezuela closed a major border crossing and declared a state of emergency in the western region after three army officers were killed while searching for drug smugglers. the president said the crossing will remain closed until the attackers are caught. peru's congress has unanimously approved a law allowing the military to shoot down any aircraft suspected of smuggling drugs. its trying to tackle the rising number of the flights sending narcotics abroad. the policy had been banned in 2001 after the army fired at a plane carrying missionaries. we have the report from lima. >> reporter: tons of cocaine airlifted daily out of peru. until now the police and army could only intercept them on the

ground. in 2001 security forces were banned from attacking shipments of drugs in the air after a plane carrying american missionaries was accidentally shot down killing a woman and her baby. now the congress reinstated the measure in a unanimous vote to allow suspected planes to be shot out of the sky. this congressman says the use of force is necessary because the amount of drugs coming out of peru is appalling. >> translator: today, according to the united nations, peru produces 320,000 kilos of basic washed paste of cocaine. of those 320,000 kilos there's a phenomenon in the past three years. before, most of it would exit the country through the sea. today, mr. president, it goes out by air. they estimate 180,000 kilos exit on small planes that enter per rooufian air space illegally, violating our air space. >> reporter: peru is the top

cocaine producer and exporter. experts say for the most part bolivian light planes airlift the drugs. experts say the bill may threaten millions of dollars in aid and anti-drug cooperation between the united states and peru. the u.s. embassy here said it will not comment on the bill. however, many legislators believe the relationship with the united states won't be affected. >> translator: the job we have to do with the drug traffickers is joint with the united states. we always have the support and effort of the united states government, and i think that this relationship doesn't have to be damaged by something of this nature. to the contrary, this relationship must be strengthened. >> reporter: the president has to sign the bill. most of peru's cocaine is produced in the region in central peru. as the army and police continue to combat trafficking there, experts say the measure may force traffickers to begin transporting the cocaine as

before by road or foot. al jazeera, lima, peru. there have been explosions inside ecuador's volcano. a column of ash and steam was blasted a kilometer into the air after they came out. it's just 50 kilometers from the capital, and a state of emergency in the region has already been declared. still ahead for you on the al jazeera news hour, we'll be bringing you all the latest sports news including the hearing from the marathon man making history at the world athletic championships.

welcome back. time for the sport with san a. >> thank you very much. usain bolt began his visit to prove he's still the man to beat on the track. bolt won his 100-meter heat at the world championships atiba -- at beijing. history also was made for the african country of erisia z as sarah kohtz reports. >> seven years ago the bird's nest stadium is where usain bolt won his first olympic gold medal. he's back in china to proouch he's still the world's fastest man.

the jamaican has been struggled with an injury for much of the season but did win his heat in a time of 9.96 seconds. >> it was a good run. overall i feel good and am happy with my performance and got it done. trrp . >> a lot of people sigh difference. >> i'm here to compete against everybody, and that's what i'm here for. >> reporter: gatlin has served two suspensions for doeping and was booed before his heat, but it didn't seem to slow him down. gatlin crossed the line in 9.83 seconds. his fastest time the day. mo ferris had a troubled leadup to the event. his coaches say doping allegations and his released personal medical data in a bid to prove he's running clean. the 32-year-old let his ability do the talking.

he obtained his 10,000-meter title. history has been made at the championships with a maiden gold medal for the african country of aritraia. it came by the youngest ever marathon world champion with 19-year-old jeremy showing his rivals how it's done winning in two hours, 12 minutes and 27 seconds. >> this is very special for me and for myself. i try my best to go out well in order to make history in rio and other races. >> while olympian champion leads in four events, on wednesday she aims to win her second world

title. novak djokovic has set up a cincinnati masters final with roger federer. the serb got off to a shaky start in his semifinal losing the first set 4-6, but he came back winning the second 7-6 in a tiebreaker. djokovic is the first player to win all nine masters and 1 thousand to you titles in his career. 6-2 wrapped up the match. over to the english premier league where manchester united are level on points with surprise tabletopers drawing at home against newcastle. the game ended goalless, meaning the side only has two goals from the games. the boss isn't giving much away about new signings. >> you can ask about all the players in the world, but you are doing it every personal

instance, and every time i have to say i have to protect the interest of manchester united. i have to protect the players in my selection. i have to protect the people in my organization. celtic is gearing up nicely for the second leg of the champions league playoff on tuesday. they beat united 3-1 earlier in the scottish premiership where they currently sit second, but they can expect a tougher time in sweden having conceded two away goals in the 3-2 first leg of the win. fifa president sepp blatter has denied ever resigning from the top job at football's world governing body. this is despite the fact that in june blatter officially announced he would step down from the post. blatter has been talking in his hometown in switzerland. fifa is the subject of two

criminal investigations with the new president set to be elected in february. despite his apparent nonresignation, blatter has previously said his name won't be on the ballot paper. >> translator: i didn't resign. it's a mistake. i never resigned. considering the situation we had and the pressure, one day i'll tell you all the pressures and fifa and myself faced. i only had one option like we say in football to kick the ball back into touch to calm things down. lewis hamilton will start from pole position for sunday's belgian grand prix. he will share the front of the grid with his teammate rosberg. this is hamilton's tenth pole of the season. the britain elite was up by 21 points in the overall standings. >> very conscious that pole position is a great thing to have, but the race is a long race and a long, long stretch

down to turn five. i'm just happy with today. my goal today was to get pole position, and qualifying was very close. my last two laps were the two best laps i had all weekend. i'm very, very happy with them. again, just very grateful for the big effort, big push the team continued to put into to give us the car we have. sri lankian matthews did his best to keep his side in contention. matthews scored 102 with his side and all in reply to india's 393. india finished day three on 70 for 1 in the second inning. sri lanka leads the series 1-0. that's all your sports. >> thank you very much. remember, you can find much more on our website, news, sport, everything right there. aljazeera.com. i'll be back with a roundup of your headlines and a full bulletin coming up in a few

moments' time. >> one of the worst catastrophes in u.s. history. >> most of south louisiana is all sediment, plant growth and decay... there's always a risk of flooding. >> now, new cutting edge technology that could help prevent future disasters... >> the system has really evolved. >> and what it means for new orleans. >> our big take away is new orleans is on a good track, but the job is not done here. >> techknow investigates 10 years after katrina.

civil rights leader, julian bond. >> here are these ordinary people, innocent people doing nothing at all, walking down the street, bam, bam, bam, please policemen jump upon them, beat them, in this hor inc. way. >> as the 50th anniversary of the voting rights march from selma to montgomery and bloody sunday was, protesters across the country today are calling for an end to what they say is rachel discrimination in the u.s. criminal justice system.