[ ♪ ] the next step in their journey into europe. hundreds of refugees allowed into macedonia as security is eased at the border. hello. here is what else is coming up. it's scenes like this many are escaping from. we report on the people scavenging for food in syria. also ahead - frustrations on the streets of beirut. thousands protest what they say is a dysfunctional government. . >> i'm in bogota, where hundreds

of cuban doctors that fled venezuela are caught in the limbo here in columbia security forces in macedonia have given up trying to stop thousands of refugees crossing the border from greece. they are letting group of people through, and authorities are supplying buses and trains to take them to serbia, the next step in an e.u. journey. it was a different scene on saturday when hundreds of refugees and migrant made a run for the border. security tried to use stun guns, they were overwhelmed. this is why we are seeing a rush of people at the border. they are trying to get to hungary, a major crossing point into the e.u. hungary is building a 4 meter barbed wire fence. along the border with syria. the rush is on to get through before it's finished. we can get the latest from

andrew simmonds who is in macedonia. >> reporter: two trains have left. these are the people behind, trying to get their papers, all it is is a stamp for them to be moved up to the serbian border. let's look around here. they are mainly men here. women and children were given priority to get on the trains. the system was disorganised, it was hit and miss, and there were moments of tension with the special police, and the people. people were calm compared to the confrontation that happened on the border. what happened is they know that there's a way out. they know there's a route to the serbian border and on to hungary, from there to france, germany and there's a belief

that their journey may have an ending. whether that is happy is extremely unclear. much uncertainty and a lot of suffering. people of all groups, backgrounds, many from syria. it's been a long crisis. it's not any easier at all. numbers are growing and the macedonians don't know what to do apart from move people on. people have started to gather on the platform. no one is told the exact time of when there'll be a train. we think there may be another on sunday, but the crowds certainly will get bigger. take a look at the conditions. there's little in the way of humanitarian help. down there there are some stalls, there are some people getting food. you have to have money, if you don't have money, you are stuck completely and the situation here is desperate, buts the numbers right now are getting

fewer andrew simmonds there in macedonia. live to jonah hull on the great boarder down, where the prospect is of more coming in, what is the situation there right now? >> i'm not just down the railway track from a town where people are being picked up from. this is where the harrowing events took place on saturday as hundreds and hundreds of refugees broke away, evading police lines, armed units of the macedonian police and sprinted across the fields with sun grenades exploding all around them. it's hardly a greater contrast. frankly there's almost more journalists than aid workers. the reason for that is the mass gownians allowed 300 people through, and people are coming all the time. just this morning a ferry load

docked in athens. 2,500 got off there. they are making daily shuttle runs across the water from turkey, bringing people from athens, and they'll come up the way, relentless tide of humanity. this situation will continue, the pressure will be on, but the least that can be said is that there is aid at this point. and water so that these people can have a break before they continue what are the prospects, jonah, at this point of more people continuing to come in, given the factors that are leading. they are not going to change any time soon. >> there's no sense at all that the situation will abate in terms of the bigger picture, the overall flow of refugees, of people leaving countries like

syria. a dozen other countries besides, frankly, and making their way by a variety towards europe, towards the european union. this route flowing out of syria, through turkey, on to the greek islands, up through greece and into macedonia and serbia is a busy one, and is simply not going to stop. as i say, ferry loads arriving daily in their thousands jonah hull, live for us on the greek side of the border with mass doingia italians have been rescuing people trying to reach europe via a different route by crossing the mediterranean sea. the italian coast guard said it carried out 22 separate operations, bigging up 4,400. more than 2,000 died trying to make the crossing. many refugees are accepting the war in syria. 34 have been killed in

government air strikes there. the rebel held town of duma, laying east of the capital came under heavy bombardment on saturday. activists say buildings in the town were trapped by shells. rescuers were working on sunday to find survivors. the town is target by government forces. air strikes killed 100 there weeks ago. >> in the south-west, a town is under siege. it lies north of damascus. food is in short supply. people are dependent on aid, relief agencies say they are blocked from entry. erica wood has more. with food supplies dropped the children are doing what they can to find something to eat. scavenging on the secrets. >> this man and his children

came to the area to escape a siege in another city nearby. 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 in neighbouring lebanon, lebanon's prime minister says all political forces are to blame for the unprecedented protests in beirut. he says the outcry cannot be ignored and lebanon needs to elect a president. thousands fought with riot police on saturday. 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 lebanese government. the parliament stole from the people's pockets, forcing youth to emigrate. we are here to protest lack of jobs, poverty 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 on a scale not seen in beirut for years, the

government is facing bigger problems . >> still to come on al jazeera, iraq's prime minister responds to protest about a promise to tackle corruption. but they have powerful enemies. plus... >> i'm scatherine wambua-soi in one of kenya's poorest lands. i'll tell you how this card helps people here get clean water cheaply. cheaply.

>> 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. the top stories on al jazeera, hundreds of refugees boarded a

train that will take them from macedonia to serbia. macedonia saw a rise in the number of people trying to cross the territory on their way to northern europe at least 34 people have been killed in syrian government air strikes in the rebel held town of duma, buildings struck as shells, least 200 people reported to be trapped under the rubble. >> lebanon's prime minister said political forces are to be blamed for the unprecedented protests. the outcry can't be ignored and lebanon needs to elect a president as soon as possible. malaysian police say they found 24 bodies they believe are migrants that died in the hands of people smugglers, the bodies found in the jungles in the northern state near the thai border, used as a transit point for people smugglers. in may more than 100 bodies were

discovered in the same area. most believed to be from the rohingya community. and migrants from bangladesh top officials from north and south korea resumed talks to ease cross-border tensions. the two countries have been locked in a war of words. talks lasted 10 hours at a border village. harry fawcett is close to the south korean border with the north. >> in the history of these periods of heightened tensions it's not unclear for the messages by both sides to be mixed. so it's turned out. sunday the south korean delegation drove through the checkpoint across the bridge behind me, towards the village where the talks took place. at the same time south korean media reported a military source as saying there has been significant manoeuvres north of the border. most what is happening with the

fleet, 50 of north korea's 70 submarines have been deployed from their bases on both coasts of north korea, undetected by south korean ships and planes, and artillery on the northern side has been doubled while the talks have been going on. it's worth pausing and thinking house we got to this point. it's on august 4th, when there were landmines of a demilitarized zone that injured two soldiers. the south said it was a north korean attack and restarted propaganda broadcasts across the border. the north denied responsibility and demanded that they be ended up to a point of issuing a deadline otherwise there would be a strike against them, before the talks took place. south korea said it will not end the broadcasts until and unless north korea apologise force the land mine attacks. there's a divided situation,

even though we have had talks over the last couple of days. >> harry fawcett reporting there. high level talks between india and pakistan collapsed hours before they were due to start. pakistan pulled out saying it will not accept india's preconscious, wanting to discuss the dispute over the kashmir region, india wants the meeting between the national security advisors to focus on terrorism. >> reporter: britain and iran reopened their embassies in each other's capitals for the first time in four years. british foreign secretary hammond travelled to iran. iran expelled the british ambassador in 2011 and the compounds was stormed by protesters days later about 250 protesters are blocking access to a major port in southern iraq, rallying outside the port since friday,

demanding jobs and political reform. the program haider al-abadi is promising a shake-up in governance and to fight corruption. he's warning that some people are standing in the way of progress. zeina khodr reports from baghdad. >> reporter: it's a protest movement that has brought society together and brought into the open the power struggle between the iraqi shia politicians. iraqis from different sects and walks of life at first demanded better services every friday. 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 process.

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 ayatollah sistani. whose as considerable influence over the shia population, through his statement he urged haider al-abadi to press ahead with reforms. it was a message of support and to his rival - don't stand in his way. he took over and replaced nouri al-maliki a year ago, accused of sectarian practices. after i.s.i.l. took over much of the mainland. 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 replaced an army that 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 shi'a house. this is very dangerous. haider al-abadi tried to stop shia groups meddling in state affairs. it didn't work. >> 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. there's more at stake, including the future of iraq as a state thousands of experts gathered in stockholm for world water week. the theme is water for development, focussing on making sure resources used efficiently, and we have enough for the growing needs. normally 40% of the world's water is consumed in four

countries, china, india, the u.s. and braz ail. -- brazil. 750 million don't have access to safe water. 40 million live in sub-saharan africa. from kenya, catherine wambua-soi reports on a scheme developed for people without water. this card has never been more important for people in this township on the outskirts of nairobi. it pays for water. at half a u.s. cent. this person and several other card holders gets 20 litres of clean water. an average family using 120 litres a day. in an area where water has been expensive, this atm style dispenser is welcome news. >> it helped me. we used to go far to look for water. now if there's no water from the city council, we can get water here. >> this is a slum of half a million people.

the nairobi water company, which provides water to the city's residence has installed four dispenses, facing competition from the illegal vendors who divert the water to sell. >> see that water point there. that's an illegal connection, it appears to be busier, the many water points here in the states to be operated by landlords and vigilante groups. those that live here buy water by the carteks at illegal points at twice the cost. >> we don't have the facilities. because we don't have resources. it is open. >> reporter: local community

workers are used, including skeptics to buy the cards. this woman has brought one and says although the new water points are cheaper, they're an inconvenience. >> the water points are few, the water pressure is low. we have to queue, wasting a lot of time. the water provider hopes to install 1,200 water dispensers to reach all those in the slum. until then they have no option but to operate alongside the cartels. stealing from it margaret batty is the director of global policy and campaigns for water aid. and explains what is discussed at the conference in stockholm. >> it's interesting in stockholm at world water week, there's a gathering of the world's community and water sanitation.

the anticipation because we are four weeks away from the sustainable development goals, and the overall head line is to eradicate poverty by 2030. you can't do this unless you address access to water sanitation and hygiene. at stockholm this week, the organizations like my own, international none governmental organizations, world health organisation government, private sector all come together to say how can we step up. what's the transformational change we need to achieve so everyone everywhere has water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. this is a big agenda. the next four weeks are pivotal 14 members of one of el salvador's street gangs has been killed in a gaol, 30km from the capital of san salvador.

a state of emergency was declared in the prison after fighting broke out between members of the same gang. >> hundreds of cuban medical professionals hoping to reach the u.s. are stranded in columbia's bogota. the doctors are thought to take advantage of an initiative granting them visas in u.s. sporting white gowns and showing their diplomas, these cuban medical workers are caught in limbo in bogota. they reached columbia legally, fleeing the medical mission. they were enticed to do so by the 2006 cuban medical parole programme. a u.s. government initiative promising them a fast and safe passage to the u.s. >> we expected our cases to be resolved within 15-90 days. that's how the programme works. some waited up to seven months without response, or have been turned down. >> dozens are crammed in small apartments, savings running out.

and facing deportation. this nurse fled five months ago with just $600 in his pocket. >> translation: we are facing true hardship. we left families and jobs for something that was 99% certain, and now we don't know what will happen to us. >> this dentist is six months pregnant, unable to pay for a hospital, she's visited bay colleague. -- by a colleague. >> translation: i'll soon be giving birth. i don't know where and how. what will happen to us. >> reporter: cuba started its international medical brigades in 1963. currently more than 50,000 work abroad. the island received oil and cash. cuba demanded an end to the parole programme, blaming it for blame train. so many thought it was a consequence of renewed ties

between the u.s. and cuba, something the u.s. government denies. >> i pointed to the u.s. citizenship and immigration service to speak to these cases, and what these medical personnel are going through. but it is not at all related. not to the new policy with cuba, there's no time, no connection. >> the u.s. agency responsible for the programme said they were unable to provide specific answers, and in a statement they have seen increasing cases and were dedicating resources to the pending case load, but with more doctors arriving in bogota, it's unclear whether their journeys will end here digital art is nothing new, it's been around as long as the computer. the art form is becoming more sophisticated and so is the way

it's being show cased. kristen saloomey explains. >> reporter: hi, meet latervo. >> i'm a digital artist. >> this is the curator of panther modern. >> i create architecture for other artists to create site=specific instalations. >> unlike other online galleries connected to a physical space, panther only exists in the virtual world. the visual art world and exhibits was designed to be viewed online. in traditional galleries, the emphasis is on post internet art using digital technology but moved beyond the web to create 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. crazy graphics. what is it artists can do with

that space. what do they do? what can they bring to the mix. i don't know if that's a totally resolved question. >> most art isn't digital art like this, it's meant to be viewed in person. not on a deserving top. panther modern with 3d rooms looks like it could exist in the real world, but the art couldn't. for artists like photographer mark dorph 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. things like 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

way you meet me in the virtual space. >> it seems that's where she and her gallery is most at home. more on the website, as always, aljazeera.com. >> get the latest on all the stories. hello, i'm richard gizbert, and you are at "the listening post". here are some of the media stories, another country paces an anti-terrorism law that has