>> one step closer to europe. hundreds of migrants and refugees board a train taking them from macedonia to serbia hello, this is al jazeera live from doha. also ahead on the programme - hungry and desperate. we speak to families in the besieged syrian town thousands of anti-government protesters clash with riot police in beirut north and south korea resume talks in an effort to ease

tensions hello, macedonian police allowed hundreds of refugees to pass through the border from greece after failing to stop them from breaking through. the small balkan country of macedonia saw a rise in the number of people trying to cross its territory on their way to western europe. many of them are refugees fleeing wars, in the middle east, and africa now, we have reporters on both sides of the border covering the story. andrew simmonds is in macedonia and jonah hull in a border town. andrew, what is the situation on the macedonian side? >> over an hour ago this entire area, the whole railway station had a mass of people in it.

now there are hundreds here, but they are left behind. >> two trains left here heading for the serbian border, and these people, let's take a look along the platform here. these people are those that have not been able to get on board. it was a confused situation. some have papers, some don't. some rush to the border overnight. they isn't it have confrontation. they were allowed to across the boarder, there were scenes of confrontation all along. if you have a look, mainly children have been on the trains that were left here. there has been sense to what has been going on, but the special police at some stages have been picking out people as they desperately pleaded to get on the train, and sometimes saying yes. right now, if you look over here, on that corner over there, people are pleading with the police. there are no humanitarian

workers here. no u.n., no in. there's just the police, and people are pleading with them to get some sort of access to the transport system. it is quite clear that the macedonians want them to move on, move on to serbia. thousands have been transported by rail and road. more than 50 buses taking passengers overnight - migrants and also refugees to the serbian border. a big problem is now welling up there, because the numbers are enormous. there has been throughout the crisis, there has been a large number of people here, but now the numbers are four to five times what they were three weeks ago. a real crisis. we are seeing crisis management. decisions taken on the hoof, it would seem. by the macedonian government. who are trying to get the people out of here. >> and any expectation at this point that more trains will be laid on. there's recognition in there, in

macedonia that for the vast majority of these people, they don't intend to stay in macedonia, it's a transit point for them. >> that's right. we have seen - the point is the more trains that come, the more the crowds gather, what you have here is a situation that is self perpetuating. now that the people are seeing a way out, there's movement, more will gather on the border. there's a situation now where more than thousands ever people have been moved by train. there are hundreds here, more than 1,000 on this station alone. you can see them here dispersed by the special police. there are still arguments going on about whether people have the right papers. there's a lot of abuse hurled not just by people at the police, but by the police at the people. some of the police have been careful, very careful indeed at

selecting women in need. sick old people, children. a desperate situation earlier on, where a youngs woman who had a -- young woman who had a family with her, was pleading with a special policeman to let her family on board. he said no. it was a spur of the moment thing, it wasn't a rational analysis of her needs, it was a spur of the moment thing. you'll see the same happening with so many syrian people here. i spoke to a man from aleppo. he was desperate. he was middle class, he had money, spent thousands to get this far, and was trying to persuade a taxi driver to take him from here to the serbian border. figures of up to 200 was paid for a ride that would normally cost around 15-$20. that is what is going on at all levels, sections of society. this is not people in poverty, it's people that want safety and a home.

they are treated in an appalling way. they want to get them out of here as quickly as possible. we are also hearing that a camp is being set up now. so there is a changing policy by the macedonian government. it's unclear on where the policy is headed. >> all right. for the moment, andrew simmonds on the macedonian side let's go back - live to the greek side where jonah hull is on the border town. contrast those refugees being led in now in contrast to the desperate and chaotic scenes that we saw the day before. >> a huge contrast here as you say, to the events of saturday when we saw people in there. many hundreds breaking across the fields near the railway lines. evading police units on the

macedonian side as stun grenades were released around them, and a huge contrast with scenes that andrew described on the platforms. behind me, i don't know how much you can make out. we are on the railway track. there's 300, 400 gathered here, taking shelter in the trade. in theory, this has opened up for them, moving through greece, and it's controlled by the macedonian police, who are still here. the tactic, i think, is probably to allow them through when there is capacity on those railway platforms and trains available to take them on, because they don't want crowds and crowds of refugees hanging around in the villages in macedonia. the contrast in particular here is that there is now, today, sunday, aid available on the ground. it arrived albeit is day or two late. there's food handed out.

water, doctors on hand. the red cross is here. the u.n.h.c.r. is here. these people are cared for. it may be that this becomes a temporary weigh station in the days ahead for the people wanting to move through into macedonia jonah hull live there on the border with macedonia. >> many of the refugees making their way to europe are fleeing the war in syria. for most of those left behind, they are dependent on aid. relief agencies say they are being blocked from going into a town outside of damascus. all the entrances have been closed by the syrian regime forces. crucial aid can't get in. erica wood has more. >> reporter: with food supplies blocked, these children are doing what they can to find something to eat. scavenging through the rubbish on the street. >> this man and his children

came to the area to escape a siege, another city nearly. now they are living under another one. >> we were sitting in our home, there were air strikes over our heads. i have four children. they get scared. fighting was in front of our house, that's when we decided to flee. >> thousands came here hoping to find security and food. they found neither. >> they have been under various levels of siege since the start of the syrian war. the residents started peaceful protests against the government earlier on in the uprising, but that was when the town's buildings were whole. they never imagined what would follow would be four years of hardship. they have had intermittent access to basic necessities like electricity and water. now that the town is under siege, aid agencies like the red crescent are unable to take in crucial supplies. >> all entrances are closed off.

no basic medical supplies can enter. the situation is getting worse, because of the growing shortage of basic materials. >> the clinics are having to shut down because they don't have the medicine to treat people and as the routes in and out are blocked, the residents go hungry in neighbouring lebanon, thousands of anti-government protesters fought with riot police in down-town beirut, the worst unrest in a month since rubbish piled up on the street after the main landfill was closed a month ago. protesters were frustrated with more than a lack of waste management. richard thompson explains. >> reporter: these were by far the biggest protests since the crisis began. and now it's about much more than just rubbish collection. many people have been pushed to their limits by unreliable power

supplies, expensive water and what they say is a dysfunctional government. >> we are against the sectarianism of the government. the parliament stole from the people's pockets, forcing youth to emigrate. we are here to protest lack of jobs, posterity and hunger. we have no electricity or water. >> reporter: it wasn't long before the protest became a standoff. riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. dozens of demonstrators and police were wounded. the crisis began a month ago with the closure of lebanon's biggest landfill site. rubbish piled up across the city. the summer heat made the fumes and smell worse. >> it's the stench of political corruption and paralysis that is driving the movement. there's no lasting solution to the waste management crisis, but

with unrest not seen in beirut for years, the government is facing bigger problems a beirut-based academic and analyst - they say people are protesting over more than waste management. >> what has happened is that there's an accumulation of garbage in the streets, and anger by citizens across the whole political spectrum about the manner in which they feel they are mistreated by their own government, or the fact that there isn't really a functioning government. there's problems and electricity cuts. water shortages, drop in wages, lack of job opportunities, a lack of basic political integrity of the system, and ordinary citizens are fed up with it. what you are starting to see is the kind of expression of anger that mirrors what we saw in many of the protests in egypt and

tunisia and other places. in other words, a sense that citizens feel they are treated by their own government with heavy-handedness, shooting yesterday at a peaceful protest and political disdain. ordinarily citizens feel they have no value, they don't count, they are feeling the tangible consequences of water, electricity, jobs, rubbish in the streets. it's qualitatively different to the protests seen before. >> i think the government will have to respond substantively. what the government does, the political elite, the ruling class, they blame each other or politicians on tv, supporting the demonstrators, while they ask the politicians to step down and get out of the way while good efficient people govern the country. the ruling class has not

responding differently to how it has in the past. this is troubling, this is why people are out in the streets, because they are fed up with this. it was annoying before, embarrassing, it's hurting when you don't have fresh water in your home, electricity is cut 10-12 hours in the day. they are simple logistical things to resolve. the government can't make a decision on how to solve the problems. there's a deeper structural problem in the incompetence of the governing structure in lebanon, and many lebanese are saying they've had enough, and want something to change our top diplomat in south korea are talking again as they try to ease cross border tensions. the two countries locked in a war of words since trading artillery fire. the talks lasted 10 hours, at a border village. harry fawcett is at the bridge, close to south korea's border

with the north. talks are back on. south koreans are saying that there's significant military activity north of the border. >> that's right. local media here are reporting, based on an unnamed military source, that the south korean military has detected two interesting things. firstly that 50, about, of north korea's 70 or so submarines are not at their bases. so they are underwater away from their bases, not detected at the moment by seen assets. and so those assets have been mobilized to try to find out where they are. as well as that. the south koreans saying that the amount of artillery ranged this way from the north of the border doubled in size, even as the talks have been under way. as well as that, we are hearing from north korea's state media. slightly more hostile tone, talking about the puppet regime

again. whereas yesterday they were talking about the state of south korea by its proper name, the republic of korea. that's extremely respectful. on the other side of the ledger, we have talks going on, and as well as that, there are south korean reporters, and a south korean youth football team in pyongyang at the moment. the south koreans reporting that they are able to do their work. relatively freely harry fawcett live on south korea's border. >> we'll take a quick break. more ahead when we come back, warming ties between u.k. and iran as both countries due to reopen embassies later today. plus - views art, we visit an online gallery with a

difference. hello again, you're watching al jazeera, a reminder of the top stories, hundreds of refugees prepare to board a train taking them from macedonia to serbia. they have seen a rise in a number of people trying to cross the territory on their way to northern europe. in lebanon, dozens have been injured as protesters fought with riot police, the worst unrest in a month of demonstrations, sparked by a waste management crisis. >> top diplomats from north and south korea are talking again as they try to ease cross-border

tensions. the two countries have been locked in a war of words since trading artillery fire on thursday. >> about 250 protesters are blocking access to a major port in southern iraq. they have been rallying outside the port since friday, demanding jobs and political reform. the prime minister is warning some are standing in the way of progress. there's a growing split with shia and their party over the fight for corruption. zeina khodr has more from baghdad. >> reporter: it is a protest movement bringing society together. and brought into the open the power struggle between iraq's shia politicians. every friday iraqis from different sects and walks of life at first demonstrated better services. now they want change. >> people don't just want water and electricity, we want political reform, and government

institutions. >> prime minister haider al-abadi promised to do that. the protests a show of support for a pledge to fight corruption, reforming the sectarian political system will not be easy. the prime minister said he is facing powerful enemies. >> translation: there are people that want to bring down the political increase. they have money and run television and radio stations. we will stand in their way. >> they have the backing of the highest society in iraq. the grand ita tolea cyst tenny. it was a message of support and to his rival - don't stand in his way. he took over and replaced nouri al-maliki, accused of sectarian practices. his mission was to reconcile the

communities, and reassert state authority. he's been challenged by forces within the leadership. >> shia militias, known as the popular mobilization forces collapsed. they have political ambitions, some have links with iran and are allies of maliki, who have the largest single block in the iraqi parliament. >> there are serious divisions within the she ha house. this is -- within the shi'a house. >> reporter: the protests emerged from a grassroots movement. but there's fear they may be hijacked by political forces who are stronger than the state. haider al-abadi needs to make people's expectations to ensure credibility. including the future of iraq as

a state britain and iran are reopening the embassies in each other's capitals for the first time in four years. ceremonies in london and tehran. british frelenty -- foreign secretary hammond drotravelled iran. relations improved since world power struck a deal in july. >> paul brennan has this update from the embassy in london. >> it's remarkably low key start to what is a significant development in diplomatic ties between britain and iran. it's sunday morning, we are in a weekend outside of office hours. nevertheless there's a steady stream of officials going in and out of the building. the ceremony will be behind closed doors at the diplomatic residence, 100 yards from here. you see they are being cautious,

the iranians and the british, about the fanfare that they give this. it is significant. phillip hammond, his visit to tehran is the first by a foreign secretary in 12 years. the two embassies have been closed for four years. reopening them is significant. what is also significant is the reason behind this. this is more than politics or diplomacy. the delegation to tehran comprices delegates to the foreign military and the treasury. senior representatives of energy, mining and electricity companies. the reality is there are billions of dollars of business that is likely to open up as relations thaw between britain and iran, and the british do not want to miss out on the dollars. >> reporter: planned talks between india and pakistan collapsed hours before they were due to start. pakistan pulled out staying it will not accept india's preconditions, it wants to

discuss the dispute over kashmir's region, england wants the meeting between the national security advisors to focus on terrorism. we have more from the indian capital new delhi, but first let's hear from our correspondent in kashmir. >> although the indian prime minister narenda modi and the pakistani prime minister agreed to talks would move forward, but the pakistani prime minister analysed a statement by india's prime minister, butting conditions, and india says it cannot but conditions for the talks, they should be unconditional, should discuss the kashmir issue, kashmir is not opposed to discussing terrorism, but couldn't stick to this alone. the pakistanis are objecting to

the second point that the pakistanis would not be allowed to meet the kashmiri leaders likely to attend the talks, and india would not accept a third party. pakistan coming to the conclusion that the talks are not productive. the fear is that with the breakdown of talks, tensions along the line of control in the disputed region of kashmir was likely to get worse before things got better india described pakistan's decision to back out of the national security advisor's talks as unfortunate. the stalling boils down to what was going to be on the agenda in terms of what the leaders were going to talk about. india says talks were going firmly on terrorism. terrorism, that the indian government says pakistan is aware of and has the ability to help solve. without it, the indian government says without decisions there can be no viable

or sustainable discussions between both countries, islamabad was a more broader pallet. including the issue of disputed kashmir regions. the disputed kashmir region is not on the agenda in the talks. >> anti-abortion protesters staged rallies. at thousands ever sights across the u.s. banners condemning the practices. the rallies were planned following the release of a video from an anti-abortion group on friday, saying it shows members of planned parenthood negotiating prices for aborted foetal tissue. the protesters want funding cut to the group digital art is nothing new. it's been around as long as the computer. as the art is more sophisticated, so, too, is the way it's show cased. >> reporter: hi, meet latervo.

>> i'm a digital artist. >> this is the curator of panther modern. >> i create architecture for other artists. >> unlike other online galleries connected to a physical space, panther exists in the virtual world. the visual art world and exhibits was designed to be viewed online. in tradition algal ris, the emphasis is on -- traditional galleries, the emphasis is on gallery-worthy works. an online gallery that replicates a physical one is new. >> you can go into a lot of virtual spaces and see crazy things. what is it artists can do with that space. what do they do? i don't know if that's a totally

resolved question. >> most art isn't visual like this, it's meant to be viewed in person. panther modern looks like it could exist in the real world, but the art couldn't. for artists like mark doors. that's part of the appeal. his work combines traditional photography with digital images. >> these images are made to replicate a reality, but they go beyond that. they can lose a lot of the rules and laws of our physical existence, things like physics, budget. space. so you can go to town. >> encouraging artists to create work that cannot exist in the physical world was a goal, like panther modern, she can only be reached online. >> i don't seek to be anonymous. i ask people to meet me in the virtual space. >> it seems that's where she and her gallery is most at home.

>> kristen saloomey al jazeera new york. >> there's a lot more news on the website aljazeera.com. follow the latest developments on all the stories we are covering for you. aljazeera.com. for viewers in the u.s., earth rise is next. for everyone else, a round-up of international headlines. ♪ ♪ >> i'm russel russell in the pacific northwest. >> it's exactly the habitat that has been missing for 100 years and that they desperately need.