target, 7% growth will be hard to achieve. more than adrian brown. the chinese premier was a nervous man, among those in the audience, c.e.o.s from around the world, trying to understand the strange generations in china's economy right now. the speaker was significant. it was the first time he had addressed the problems in china's economy since the stock market began falling back in june. of course. in august, the government made the decision to devalue the chinese currency, and since then it's fallen more than 4% against the u.s. dollar. the premier today sent out a message of reassurance. saying that the economy is still a sound. yes, there would be ups and downs during a period of transition, but that could be expected. he gave a guarantee, a promise

that china will achieve economic growth of 7% this year. and hinted that it was going to be difficult to do that. so overall, the premier was suggesting that china's government did in this for the long hall, and said, you know, have faith in us, we are a country with an economic growth rate better than any other developing economy. on the day that the premier was speaking, new figures came out to show china's deflation rate is at 2%. it was the same as the interest rate. that means there's a lot of cheap money sloshing around the system at the moment, and there's a reason for that. the chinese wants people to send more. they want to shift the economy away from manufacturing to consumption, and wants chinese people to buy more stuff, ideally chinese made stuff. nalts say it's a high risk -- analysts say it's a high-brisk

strategy. >> ahead, we'll be in singapore, where the election is shaping up to be the most hotly contested in the 50 year history. and we'll be in venus as the film festival avoids the sinking feeling, riding a wave of cinematic change. brief, a fast paced look at the stories shaping your day. >> sending a strong message to the rest of the world. >> stories with impact. news with importance. >> people gotta have water. >> get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations, and the latest from the worlds of science, tech, health and culture. no matter where you are in the country, start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion.

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and landslides have been triggered. >> people have been rescued from the roofs of their homes in tokyo china's premier convincing the world of the wealth of his country. he said china would hit a target of 7% growth but conceded it would be difficult. refugees in hungary are being kept in closely guarded camps, surrounded by barbed wire fences, 3,300 refugees were taken to the camp, the highest number in a single day thousands of refugees continue to make a perilous journey from turkey to the greek islands in in an effort to reach europe. bernard smith spend a night on the g.m. coast and met some of those preparing to attempt that dangerous crossing it is a deeply affecting sight. a family prepared to risk everything to make it to europe.

children far too young to be doing something like this. a baby who never remembers this night, if he or she makes it. we counted 17 people from one afghan family. all to be squeezed into this dingy. they are on the g.m. coast, 12km from the greek island of cos. >> we are afraid of dying, of course. some died recently, that is better than dying here. >> reporter: a problem. the outboard motor won't start. they begin to pack up up. they say they are a minority targeted by the afghanistan taliban. they tried to make a life in turkey for the last three years. apart from syrians, turkey does not accept refugees.

there's no way for them to settle legally here. >> here or elsewhere, i'll go back to afghanistan if there's no law. i love my country too much. i can't pay my daughter's bus fair. we'll try again and again. if they catch us 100 times, we'll try 100 times. >> the family is desperate to leave and will try to fix the engine. they are making their own way to cos to avoid being ripped off by smugglers. the engine will not start. they'll stay here tonight. a few minutes drive along the coast we find another group.

they are wet. it doesn't go well. they are syrians, they salvage their lives, but the boat is left to drift off. this is what these people go through to try and make it. it's impossible not to be moved, really. and you know that now they have been forced to go to turkey, because they didn't make to this time, they'll risk it again. their lives again, to make it to europe. >> with down we see another boat. toss backed and slow in the water. passengers are paddling. some are bailing out water. corrs is in the distance. it seems tanned liesingly -- tant liesingly close. maybe the people will make it. the turkish coast guard appears, the refugees are taken on board. dreams of a new life in europe

are frustrated for now people in singapore vote in a general election on friday. the same political party has been in power for 50 years. the vote is expected to be the most keenly contested. >> reporter: at 95, this man had to wait much of his life to vote in elections, where he has the choice of one candidate, as the veteran of world war ii, he flew for the army against the japanese. he has witnessed the founding and development of singapore. unlike many of his generation, he welcomes the change. >> people thinking should move on and on. they should have competition. contesting. >> it will be the younger voters

who have the most impact in the poll. >> this will see the highest proportion of young people voting compared to other elections. a younger generation who don't necessarily have loyalty to the ruling party. and with different priorities. >> for many, moving out of the family home into their own apartment is the biggest concern in this high priced city. >> i think everyone is concerned about housing, how they'll afford a house, moving out before they are 50. jill and her boyfriend both work, but they live at home with their families. at least now concerns like housing and other election issues can be shared with other voters, thanks to social media, another big influence in this election. >> honestly, it's a scary choice

for everyone. i think change is good. people in singapore need change and need to step out of this bubble that very a. certainly we are looking at pa different landscape. this election may not produce a huge change, but the way this and future polls are conducted could changes forever. >> border crossings between venezuela and columbia have been closed. one of them is one of the reasons largest trade hubs closed on tuesday. a standoff between neighbours began, venezuela began a crack down, and then began to deport columbians who they said were living there without the correct legal status. more from our correspondent who is there. >> reporter: this was the last major border crossing open

between venezuela and columbia, that changed tuesday when the president nicolas maduro ordered the closure of this crossing between the popular state in venezuela, and here in columbia. behind me many venezuelans going back to their country. they've been waiting to do so. now for a day. there hasn't been many from columbia. it continues to move back to the country of origin, essentially saying that they fear reprisal, because the government is blaming them for the shortages in the country. the closure seems to have closed the door and possibility, at least for now, of a meeting between president santos and president nicolas maduro. wednesday the president had some of the hardest words yet against the venezuelan government.

>> the ball varyian revolution is out to destroy. it's destroying itself because of the result. not because of columbian president. >> the solution, and the economic consequences will continue to be harsh for the people living here, who were used to moving through the borders. >> gunmen in the pakistani city shot dead a technician working for a private tv network, opening fire on a van. the largest broadcaster. it's the latest attack targetting the media for years armed gangs have controlled parts of the water supply in karachi. the so-called water mafia stole a million dollars worth of water, and sold it on the black market. police are finally cracking down on them on the outskirts of the city, within view, is an illegal

station. the owners have tapped in underground pipeline owned. all day trucks fill up with stolen water and sell it across karachi. >> translation: we sell for $4, they resell it to the people for $25. >> reporter: the water mafia thrives on the fringes of the city. armed gangs control the neighbourhood. >> reporter: this is one of karachi's illegal water pumping stations, what is shocking is the water comes from a well, pipe pd through here, powered by motors and sold on as drinking water to the people of karachi. carr ampy only -- karachi only has enough water to meet 50% of

its needs. 30% is wasted, stolen. it's a powerful business, worth millions of dollars. water barons earn about 16,000 a day. the waterboard is cracking down on them. 200 pumping stations have been raided. >> this illegal money is showing other illegal and terrorist activities in karachi. they survive in an area. this area affected with the terrorists and gangs. >> over 70% of the stolen water is sold to industrialists. five years ago this area was closed because there wasn't enough water. the owner guys from the black market to keep his clothing business open. >> they are holding it. this is because a few big people

are involved in this. those who are the people who are making money, good money out of that. because it cannot do such a big operation like this. >> reporter: despite the crackdown, the leaders of this underwater world are still operating. the cost of water in karachi has doubled. somewhere, someone is making a lot of money the venice film festival is the oldest, embracing new technology. online video streaming sites are offering other ways for people to watch movies. we have this report from venice. >> reporter: like the ancient city itself, the venice film

festival had a sinking feeling that cinema is dying. this year they are riding a wave of change, welcoming films from the online streaming site netflix. the first ever feature film "beast of no nation", is the harrowing tale of a child soldiers in an unnamed african country, and is a contender for a prize. the other a documentary charting change in ukraine. when released the films will screen in cinemas and online on the same day. netflix's move into the film is controversial. some chains refused to play their times, accusing online stealing audiences. >> on a train i see young people with two sets of headphones watching a movie on an iphone,

it upsets me. they are missing something that is very important, the cinema experience that we had since 1895. >> reporter: here they realise the way people watch films is changing. they don't want to be left behind. as video on demand is tearing up the distribution. crowd funding is revolutioning films of finance. the animation film from award winning director part paid for by fans. >> movie reel: we want to the mike a monet lisa without the interference of a studio process." >> reporter: the funding profile proiveredz endless -- provides edgedless possibilities. >> we asked for $200,000, and ended up with $406,000 and it was a miracle. we chose to go this way. we had a specific vision, it's our job to protect these guys, their stories, the ideas. and the dreams for the project.

>> the feature is one where audiences choose when and where to see movies and dictate if they are made at all don't forget. more real news from al jazeera, along with video analysis and comment at aljazeera.com. . >> there were warnings for months about a softening chinese economy. real state people looked ready to burst. country evalued. when china teetered, so did a lot of other things, including stock markets. commodity and investor confidence. is the world economy intertwined. if the chinese have a bad year,