>> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello everyone. you are watching the news hour live from london. coming up, russia confirms it is sending military supplies to president assad's forces in syria. the u.s. warns of the risk of confrontation. authorities struggle to retain control as europe's refugee crisis continues to worsen. 100,000 people forced from their homes by the worst floods

in japan in a half a century. and scientists reveal they have found the remains of a new species of human. i'm live from doha, serena williams takes to the court in the coming hours, and i'll tell you why at the age of 34, roger federer is playing the best tennis of his career. ♪ hello. it's been the subject of intense diplomatic speculation for weeks, but now russia has confirmed it is flying military equipment to syria. sergei lavrov saying shipments are being made along with humanitarian aid. aircraft has been flying into the airfield in the syrian port

city. several russian ships have also been unloading equipment at its naval base 100 kilometers south. russia of course has backed syrian president bashar al-assad throughout the country's four and a half year civil war, and says he must be included in any settlements. >> reporter: there is a major russian buildup in syria's western port and at an airfield in a province. it says it is to help syrian president assad and its forces. the foreign minister denies any military build up. >> translator: we have helped and will continue aiding the syrian government in equipping the syrian army with all that is

necessary for it to prevent a repetition of the libyan scenario, because of an obsession by some of our western partners with ideas of changing unwanted regimes. >> reporter: the syrian opposition and u.s. officials say russian is sending ships, personnel carries, and naval infa try to syria. there are unconfirmed reports of russian troops fighting on the ground in syria. russia is also sending more naval vessels to the mediterranean. russia has maintained a base along the mediterranean since the 1970s, and after the collapse of the soviet union it was eager not to lose that spot. meanwhile in eastern syria, fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant say they are making gains. this video shows the group overrunning a small base. it also took control of military positions including a rocket

regiment close to the airport. inside the city of [ inaudible ] isil fought government forces in at least three neighborhoods. government forces still control several areas, but they are struggling on multiple fronts. the government relies heavily on iran and shia militias. it also depends on russia for military and political survival. several european countries have said they won't allow russian flights to fly over their territory. peter sharp has more. >> reporter: it's no secret for decades russia has been sup plying military equipment and advisors to syria, but the kremlin stated today these troops are there to train the syrians in specialist military equipment that is being sent in. in the last few hours, though,

there have been developments regarding the russian air flights into syria. the foreign ministry says that, yes, military equipment as well as humanitarian aid is now going in to the air base in syria, and that has caused some of syria's, russia's neighbors to close their air space. bulgaria has closed its air space, ukraine has. turkey grounded one of its flights in 2012, and russia is very reluctant to use that route. if the last few hours the russian spokesman in terran says iran has now agreed that russia can fly over its air space which is giving it a pretty open line into syria. the u.s. has warned that supplying military equipment could risk a confrontation with its forces fighting against isil in syria. rosiland jordan has more from the state department in

washington, d.c. >> reporter: even before sergei lavrov's confirmation the u.s. government has been very concerned of what is an apparent military buildup inside syria. the u.s. has constantly warned moscow not to try to provide any concrete support to assad's government as it continues fighting a civil war against opposition fighters. that said the u.s. is very concerned now that the presence of additional russian troops could be destabilizing, because its ongoing fight against isil has meant that the u.s. and syrians have agreed not to engage, however, the presence of a large and powerful military force in the form of the russian military could aggravate tensions and possibly cause something that the u.s. does not want to have to respond to.

the russians have long had a long-standing military presence at a military installation there. it's really the russian's only access to the mediterranean sea. but the u.s. government has been very concerned about anything that would help bashar al-assad stay in power, and certainly the support of a very powerful nation's military could help bashar al-assad achieve just that. the director of the council for arab british understanding is with me now in the studio. how significant do you think is the confirmation of these military deliveries? >> i think the really important is, just exactly what russia is aiming to achieve here. what is not clear is, is this reinforcement with whatever they are bringing in, designed to ensure that the regime doesn't crumble? is it out of fear that somehow damascus could collapse and everything that would mean for russia, because historically,

syria and russia have had very close ties. for moscow having that access to the mediterranean, having a country that is an alley in the middle east where it has precious few is strategically important. so is it for that reason? or is it to take on isil. are they fearing that as isis moves further west, it reaches homs, remember it was in may that isis captured palmieri in the center of syria, or is it out of really naked self interest that they see things transforming on the syrian scene and may want to get their forces and advisors in there to make sure they are securing the kind of outcome. certainly they do not want to see a government in damascus

that isn't close to moscow, and that might be seen in as in the western or american camp. >> the west would see this as a bad move that russia would have even more influence on syria, but turning it on its head, could it be a good thing, the people who could actually influence bashar al-assad are the russians and iranians that he perhaps could be persuaded to go? >> this all depends on what the russian intent is. they have been pushing for further talks. russia wants to be center stage in whatever happens. so does this mean that by having a greater presence in damascus and on the coastal regions that it could have a better outcome in i think it's unlikely given its historical record, but we

have many different axis in this conflict. all of them are trying to reinforce their own positions in advance of political talks that may go forward. of course the united nations is now trying through its envoy to push forward its own initiative, even though i don't think that many commentators or experts on syria really see this materializing quite yet. >> everyone broadly seems to agree that there needs to be a lot of international cooperation and compromise to end the war in syria. do you think that russia should be a part of those talks going forward? and how actually syria unfolds? >> it's inevitable, whether you like the russian position or not. you need to have at one level an american russian understanding of what should happen to the future of syria -- >> and they all oppose isil.

>> there are some common threads. and they don't necessarily want to see a collapse of the state in syria. the state is still paying salaries, running health services and education, certain things are still happening in syria. if that collapses completely, then the refugee crisis we see at the moment will expand monumentally. so there is also interest in that. there are talks that the americans have somewhat halted the advances of the opposition that it backs, because it doesn't want to see a sudden implosion of the regime. so there are a lot of conflicting arguments, the reality is nobody is really quite sure what is the best solution, and how to move it forward, and so this is why i think we see certain expressions of interest in bombing syria. it's not a joined up strategy,

and all of these politicians are finding it very tough to see a way through this. >> really good to get your analysis, thank you for joining us. thank you. and the fighting in syria continues. dozens have again been injured by government air strikes. let's show pictures of the aftermath of one of those attacks. barrel bombs were dropped on the city in idlib province. now there have been shocking scenes in macedonia of police using batons to hit refugees who gathered at the border with greece. meanwhile record numbers of people continue to stream into hungary as europe remains bitterly divided on how to cope with the crisis. >> reporter: it is a journey made much harder in the rain. they have taken enormous risks to get to greece, traveled the entire length of the country, including many kilometers on foot to the macedonian border,

only to be confronted with this. [ shouting ] >> violence from the macedonian police. there is little comfort ahead. the journey through hungary on the way to austria, is equally forlorn, austria has been forced to suspend onward rail services. >> translator: from serbia to hungary to budapest. people have to face the police. they hold you for three days. everyone is going through the forest, homeless, sleeping on the floor, getting lost. >> reporter: human rights watch has described conditions in hungary has horrific saying people are being treated like animals on the doorsteps of europe. it's a charge the hungarians deny. but these people will leave hungary as soon as they can.

most heading to germany. there the chancellor continues to hold the door wide open. on thursday she stressed the importance of teaching german to child ref geese. >> translator: it's worth making an effort for every child. there is so much readiness to learn. we want to give them a good future. >> reporter: germany has already registered 450,000 refugees and migrants this year, 105,000 in august alone. not all want to stay in germany. on wednesday denmark briefly suspended train services from germany, carrying hundreds of people towards sweden. europe's refugee crisis is spreading northwards, and it's getting bigger. >> for my son and my wife and my life. because in syria, don't have

life. >> reporter: the latest e.u. plan to share out 160,000 refugees between states would be the block's biggest formal gesture yet. but with more than 3,000 people arriving on the beaches of greece each and every day, it's nowhere near enough. jonah hull, al jazeera. mohammed jamjoom joins us life on the hungarian serbia border. i know it has been horrible weather there, but the refugees continue to trek through the area. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. conditions were miserable this morning. it is still raining here. the temperature continues to drop, and there are still dozens of refugees around us trying to figure out what they will do. whether they get on buses or

break away from this facility and try to make it on their own. we were told that a few hundred refugees actually left this froms illty, and that they walked on their own to the train station here. and we're told the worry is that could become a tense standoff with the police. there have been tensions the last two days with police who have been ordered to make sure the refugees stay in this area, and then are bussed to a refugee camp where they are fingerprinted, but many are afraid to go to that refugee camp because they have heard horrible things about the treatment of refugees that happen in that camp. we tried to gain permission to go in that camp, but were denied. we were told by human rights watch that conditions in that camp are abdomenable. so we're trying to figure out

what is going on there. men while these refugees are very worried about what is going to happen next. and all thes very cold, just wanting to get comfort and shelter for the days to come. >> the reality is of course, at ri ri risk itself are not in the camps, the hungarian police will be watch by people around the world. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. they know they are being closely watched. they know that criticism is mounting on to the hungarian government from the e.u., from the international community because of the treatment of refugees thus far. but even with all of that attention, you look around a campsite like this today, you see what it's like. you hear the complaints from the refugees as far as how cold they are -- even though there are volunteers, even though there are medics and aid workers.

all the refugees we have spoken with today say that they need more, that they are lacking in resources and aid and food and water they are quite concerned about what is going to happen to them here in the days to come. one more thing to menning, we have heard that hungary's government may impose a state of crisis, or state of emergency in the days to come, that would make it easier for the government to send troops to its border with serbia. which we know now for over a week that that is the plan of action they would like to take. there are training exercises going on now for hungarian military units that they plan to deploy so they can work with police to help with the flow of refugees. refugees know that will make it easier for them to be caught illegally entering the country and possibly put into jails starting next week.

>> thanks so much. the pressure on countries across the world to take in more refugees growing. the u.s. has announced it plans to greatly increase the number it will provide homes for during the next 12 months. >> the fiscal year that will end at the end of this month, the united states is on track to take in about 1500 syrian refugees. the president has directed his team to scale up that number next year, and he's informed his team that he would like them to accept -- at least -- make preparations to accept at least 10,000 in the next fiscal year. coming up china's prime minister tries to reassure the world about the health of his countries economy. i'm in karachi. coming up we'll be investigating the city's water mafia.

and later in sport we'll hear from new england patriot's quarterback, about how he is pumped up about the new season, of course following the deflategate scandal. ♪ now floods in eastern japan are affecting up to 800,000 people. at least 100,000 have been forced from their homes. the flooding has lead to a leak of radioactive water from the fukushima nuclear plant. our correspondent has more from tokyo. >> reporter: another natural disaster strikes north of tokyo. this time it was an in-land sea of water which hit the area just after lunchtime, taking everything in its wake. the muddy wall of water uprooted trees and shook house from their foundations. in this city, rescuers couldn't

keep up with the desperate pleas for help. only a lucky few were moved to safety. as it unfolded live on television, the national broadcaster urged people in cars and houses not to give up hope, but do whatever they could to survive. >> translator: we have had heavy rain in the past, but it have not seen this much in decades. >> reporter: the river broke its banks after a second day of unusually heavy rain. the weather bureau says it's the kind of rainfall that happens once in half a century. the typhoon has now moved off of the coast. but the rain lingers across the affected area. >> translator: these heavy rains are unprecedented. we can say this is an abnormal situation, and that there is imminent serious danger. serious disasters such as

landslides and flooding have occurred and are still happening. >> reporter: the prime minister has urged local governments to be as ready as possible for the disaster. >> translator: the heavy rains are unprecedented and likely to continue. the government will prioritize people's lives and take every possible disaster measure. >> reporter: more th than -- 800,000 people have been urged to evacuate. rescue authorities are now waiting to see what daylight brings. china will reach its economic growth target and its current problems will not trigger a global recession. that is according to the chinese premiere lead. he did concede that the 7% growth target will be hard to achieve. the shanghai stock exchange has plunged 40% in the past three

months. there are fears it will start affecting the global economy. adrian brown has more. >> reporter: the chinese premier appeared a very nervous man as he addressed this economic forum. among them in the audience, ceo's from around the world who are trying to understand china's economy right now. the speech today was significant, because it really was the first time he had addressed the problems in china's economy since the stock market began falling back in june. in august the government made the decision to devalue the chinese currency, and since then it has fallen by more than 4% against the u.s. dollar. but he said that china's economy was still a sound bet. yes, there would be ups and downs during a period of transition, but that was to be expected, but he gave a promise, a pledge that china will achieve economic growth of 7% this year,

but he also hinted that it would be very difficult to do that, so overall he was suggesting that china's government is in this for the long haul, and said, you know, we have faith in us, we have an economic growth rate better than many other developing economies right now. new figures came out to show that china's inflation rate is at 2%. inflation rate is basically the same as the interest rate. that mean there is a lot of cheap money sloshing around the system, and that's because the chinese government wants people to spend more. it wants chinese people to buy more stuff, ideally chinese-made stuff. analysts say this is a high-risk strategy, but it is one the rest of the world hopes will work. the yemeni capitol sana'a

has been hit by the fiercest series of air attacks in the five-month conflict. there were no immediate reports of casualties. the coalition has stepped up attacks since the houthi missile attack killed 60 soldiers seven days ago. conflicting reports are coming from turkey about the number of people who died in a town currently underer c curfew. the government says between 30 and 32 kurdish militants and one civilian dies in the gunfire. but the pro-kurdish people's democratic party says 21 civilians have been killed in the last week. and iraq has condemned an unauthorized incursion into its northern territory by turkish ground troops. the forces crossed the border in

pursuit of kurdish fighters two days ago. they say this is an violation of iraq's sovereignty. still to come on the program, trouble upstream, this hydro power producing lake in zambia is running low. and the australian women's football team pull out of a lucrative tour to the u.s. just ten days before the opening match. we'll tell you why. ♪

great time for a shiny floor wax, no? not if you just put the finishing touches on your latest masterpiece. timing's important. comcast business knows that. that's why you can schedule an installation at a time that works for you. even late at night, or on the weekend, if that's what you need.

because you have enough to worry about. i did not see that coming. don't deal with disruptions. get better internet installed on your schedule. comcast business. built for business. >> i've been asked to keep my voice down cause we are so close to the isil position >> who is in charge, and are they going to be held to accout? >> but know we're following the research team into the fire >> they're learning how to practice democracy... >> ...just seen tear gas being thrown... >> ...glad sombody care about us man... >> several human workers were kidnapped... >> this is what's left of the hospital >> is a crime that's under reported... >> what do you think... >> we're making history right now... >> al jazeera america >> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. start your day with a view of the world. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning 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. ♪ >> hello, welcome back to the news hour. and a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. russia has confirmed it has flown military equipment as well as humanitarian aid into syria. the admission comes after days of speculation that there has been a russian build up in the country. macedonian police have been filmed using batons against refugees who gathered at the board we are greece.

and at least a hundred thousand people have been forced to leave their homes in japan. italian police have released video that refugees filmed while crossing the mediterranean from africa. few people have been trying to cross to italy this week because of bad weather, but preparations are now being made for more arrivals when the conditions improve. >> reporter: for most of the 120,000 who arrives in italy by sea this year, this dock is where they have made their first longed-for steps in europe. there are fewer african faces among those waiting for the food handouts. those wanting to move through italy don't linger here if they don't have to. those who are here are waiting for verdicts on they asylum

applications. like this man who arrived here 15 years ago, they have been here for a long time. he supports the sentiment behind the yourian commission's president's plan for a $2 billion fund for africa. >> translator: if you want to help then you have to satisfy their needs at home. >> reporter: 40 outside is the refugee center, nearly 3,000 live here. waiting for asylums to be processed. the plan is to set up hot spots in places like this to speed the process. also surely recognition that the local response has been inadequate. >> translator: of course there have been inefficiencies by the

police, but italy has been left alone in facing this problem. since the tragedy in april in which 800 died at sea, and after the picture of the young boy who died on the beach, something has changed. >> reporter: even before this crisis began, this was hardly a rich town in a poor part of italy. the new plans are aimed at relieving the pressures on places like this, but they are just plans. the lull in number has been entirely temperature, based on the weather. 20,000ore can be expected to come here in the next few weeks whether italy or europe are ready or not. crossing the mediterranean is very dangerous, so a group has been formed to organize for refugees to fly into europe.

it's called refugee air, based in stockholm and that's where one of its founders joining us now. tell us more about the group that has been formed. are you all from sweden? and how are you going to pay for the flights? >> we are all from sweden, ander we were also very much touched by seeing the picture of the young boy dying on the brink of europe, and we're trying to do what we can to help the situation, and we believe safer routes of travel by air is one of the pieces to help solve the problem. >> you are talking about chartering aircraft to go over and fly the refugees in; is that right? >> that is correct. there is a campaign called let them fly, with the hashtag that you see on my shirt, which is more lobbying. but there's also a short-term

solution, because people are dying every day, and if large corporations have longer decision processes than we have, we can charter airplanes and fly people in and still be within the confines of the law. i think the problem is information asymmetry. people think it is more complicated than it actually is. the e.u. director regarding the responsibility of the carrier is not applicable to asylum seekers. and the cost is much smaller than people actually imagine. so it's the classic issue of information asymmetry that we're trying to solve. >> talk about the money involved, how many aircraft you hope to charter, and how many refugees you hope to fly over. >> we're just a small piece of a larger complexity that is the refugee situation here in europe. we want to charter at the first

stage, one aircraft to know that our model works, and then we want other citizens throughout europe to replicate the model that we have pioneered and bring that across to their own countries, and towards the end the airlines could be able to pick this up and do it themselves. >> where would you fly the refugees too? would it be to sweden? >> i mean, sweden has the heritage. we have been a nation that has supported refugees throughout history and myself is one of the examples of it. i'm super grateful for it. so we're going to try to organize a flight from turkey or lebanon and fly those people to stockholm to show that it can work. >> this is humanitarians.

>> we haven't raised any money. honestly, i'm so humbled of the people that have gathered here. we have over 30 volunteers at have gathered, they are doing everything from home pages to flight bookings, to legal due diligence, and we have not raised one single euro to do this. everything you see behind us is purely pro bono. >> it's quite extraordinary. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. for years armed gangs have controlled part of the water supply in pakistan's largest city. the so-called water mafia have stolen millions of dollars of waters and sold it on the black market. but the police are finally taking action. >> reporter: on the outskirts of the city, hidden from view is an

illegal water station. the owners have tapped in to underground pipeline owned by the state. all day trucks fill up with stolen water and sell it across karachi. >> translator: we sell containers for $4, then they resell it to the people, a whole tanker, for $25. >> reporter: armed gangs control this neighborhood. so what is here? >> sewage water. >> reporter: this is one of karachi's illegal water-pumping stations, and what is so shocking about it is the water comes from a sewage well. it is sold on as drinking water to the people of karachi. karachi only has enough water to meet 50% of its needs, and the water board estimates around 30%

of it is wasted or stolen. this is a powerful business worth millions of dollars. water barons with 30 to 40 tankers earn around $16,000 a day. >> hydrants which are illegally made. >> reporter: but the water board is cracking down on them. >> this illegal money is also supporting other illegal and terrorist activities in karachi, because if they can survive in an area, this area infected with these terrorists with these gangs. >> reporter: over 70% of the stolen water is sold to industrialists. five years ago, the fabric dyeing plant here was closed because there wasn't enough water. now the owner buys from the black market just to keep his clothing business open. >> they are holding us from our neck, basically. and this is all because a few

big people are involved in this and who are the caretakers and who are the people who are making money, good money out of that, from these people, because of course the mafia cannot operate such a big operation like this. >> reporter: despite the crackdown, the leaders of this underwater world are still operating. and the cost of illegal water and karachi has now doubled. somewhere, someone, is still making a lot of money. nicole johnston, al jazeera, karachi. the first minister of northern ireland has resigned. he heads northern ireland's probritish party is stepping aside. mr. robinson wanted london to take over after allegations the [ inaudible ] party was linked

to recent violence. an official opinion poll in the spanish region has put proindependence parties slightly ahead of those wanting to stay part of spain. the poll suggests separatists parties would win nearly 70 seats in regional elections this month. but that would be just short of the majority in the parliament, something independence politicians say they need in order to break away from spain. south sudan has received billions of dollars in international aid since it gained independence four years ago. but there are concerns about where much of that money has gone. in the first of a four-part series on charity said, natasha ghoneim reports on one project that is being hailed as a success story. >> reporter: this south sudan's first and only paved highway, since it was completed almost three years ago, it has become a

vital trade route. it is the quickest way to reach the port in kenya. about 50 kilometers in, drivers can stop at this tiny store for a drink or even a diaper. >> translator: before the highway was built i used to make 50 pounds a day, now i make 200 to 300 pounds a day. >> reporter: this highway cost $225 million to build. it was funded by the u.s. agency for international development usaid. they designed the project, hired the contractors, and oversaw each mile of this highway until the end. >> we have a responsibility to american taxpayers. oftentimes the governments around the world would prefer that we give them the money

directly. it is more efficient and effective to go through local non-government organization, or a partner to make sure that the resources get to the people who need them. >> reporter: south sudan's auditor general says the americans have the right approach. >> you can't just write a check and go away. >> reporter: he is trying to track where every dollar of government money is going, that includes billions donated to south sudan by other countries. >> i haven't seen much in terms of the kind of things that we would expect in terms of infrastructure, agricultural investment investment in human sources, schools, health infrastructure. i haven't seen it. and if i haven't seen it, it means the money hasn't gone there. >> reporter: he can't say what may have happened to the money. his mandate doesn't give him the authority to investigate that. his advice, donate money and

oversee the project to ensure every dollar reaches its intended destination. the nigerian army has release 128 people expected of belonging to boko haram. human rights groups have repeatedly accused the military of arbitrarily detaining civilians in the northwest. a drought in zambia has seen the level of the world's largest man made reservoir drop to its lowest in years. the amount of water in the lake, a major source of hydro electric power has receded to less than half of its normal capacity, forcing power cuts, and communities around the lake suffering the most. >> reporter: the golden shores and waters of this lake, for

local communities the lake is part of their every day life. it's dam provides zambia and sim bah way with hundreds of megawatts of hydro power. >> the cycle normally is that in february, the lake gets to its minimum, and then begins to rise. but in february this year, the lake didn't rise. it just stabilized and instead of coming up, it actually kept going down. so we have lost probably another two or three meters since the beginning of this year, when we should have been gaining water. >> reporter: steve thompson has owned this lake side lodge for 12 years. >> if the lake gets too low then they will not be able to generate power, which will affect the whole of sambyia. >> reporter: the dam is just under 40% full, impacting the

plant's ability to generate power. >> they imported power from south africa. south africa has its own issues and challenges. so it's -- it's been importing some power from mozambique, and no quick fix and structurally they have challenges with regards to the electricity sector and that will take time to resolve. >> as smaller towns just like this one, and bigger cities across zambia develop, the demand for electricity continues the grow. businesses and residents here rely on its waters to keep things going. local businessman says if he loses electricity, his business will come to an end.

>> people just survive by the grace of god. that's all we can say. >> reporter: for paul and this community, there are few things more valuable than this water. they say without it, life would be impossible. all right, still ahead on this news hour, the face of a new species, this human ancestor. scientists overjoyed at the find in south africa. and the iranian sportswoman aiming to make olympic history. robin will have that and the rest of sport coming up.

hello again, as promised robin with all of your sport now. >> thank you very much. we're going to start with tennis and serena williams is just two games away from completing a calendar year grand slam. they have played each other before with williams winning on all four occasions, and she is on-odds favorite. she only lost three. few would bet against serena making it to the final. in 2015 alone she has won 26 matches. the men's semifinal lineup is already complete. roger federer is a step closer to ending his three-year grand

slam drought. >> reporter: roger federer hasn't dropped a set at this year's u.s. open so far, and against this frenchman he was again, barely challenged. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: the swiss showed off all of the qualities that have lifted him to 17 grand slams. he didn't face a single break point, prevailing in just 87 minutes. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: at 34 years of age, even federer is surprised by the ease of his victories. >> at my age to run through five opponents the way i have done here, i don't consider that to be normal, even though i expected to play well, and i have played so well over the last one and a half years, i don't feel like i'm as old as i have. >> reporter: federer's 38th grand slam semifinal will be an all swiss affair. his teammate was just as

dominate. he knocked off africa's kevin anderson. >> the last two years for sure, i get closer from him. my level improved a lot. i'm playing better tennis. >> reporter: he has beaten federer just three times in 19 meetings. but the most recent clash in this year's french open quarter finals. the head of australia's federation has confirmed that it's women's team will not be taking part in the tour in the usa. they receive just under $15,000 a year. stray -- australia was set to play against the usa this month. they are looking at an increase in their sal ray. the women's annual salary is as

i mentioned $15,000. that breaks down to a daily wage of $106. they were given $880 for making the semifinal stage. >> what happened today was quite extraordina extraordinary, because effectively we have been told, and we were told this earlier in the week, that unless we meet a wage claim for some $120 million, the bulk of which, which will go to male professional players in the next period, unless we agree that, then the matilda's would not be participating against the usa. malaysia's sports minister labeled the crowd trouble in his

country as an international embarra embarrassment. local fans launched flairs and fireworks from the stands. players from both sides fled the pitch. a report on the incident has been sent to fifa. season number of the nfl gets underway tonight with the patriots taking on the steelers. much of the off season dominated by deflategate. roger goodell originally banning the quarterback for four peoples and that was overturned by a judge next week. >> i'm excited -- i'll be excited to run out there thursday night. it's obviously been a long seven months for everybody. but i think now the goal is to focus on what my job is, and

what i need to go out there and do to help our team win. a sports website in the united states is claiming floyd mayweatherer was given an exemption after taking a banned intervenous injection before his fight with manny pacquiao back in may. the unbeaten mayweather is aiming for a 49th career win. in contrast to his last fight, tickets for this bought have been rather slow with thousands of them still available. >> i'm pushing myself. i believe in my skills. and i believe in my talent. and i have been in there with the best. and the result is always the same. >> an iranian dressage rider has a chance to make history on

friday. she's be completing in the rio 2016 qualifying event in germany. if she reaches the required standard she will be the first iranian in the olympic games. the 49 year old is based in the u.k. and says she has received plenty of support from the iranian government. >> i'm so happy. first of all i'm so proud to ride for my country iran, which has always been my dream. and for now living my dream, it's incredible. but i'm also pleased to be representing people in iran -- not only iran, but the middle east, and it's a great feeling. it has been a very busy day of sport, the u.s. open notwithstanding, and counting down to that all-important semifinal. the details are at

aljazeera.com/sport. aljazeera.com/sport for more. that is where we leave it for now. >> robin thanks very much indeed. scientists have discovered the remains of a new human-like species in a cave in south africa. they could have evolved about 2.8 million years ago. tanya paige explains. >> reporter: it was unavailabled in front of the world's leading scientists and media, a new link in our evolutionary chain. this is one of our earliest relatives and new species of hominid. >> he walks on two legs, has long legs, in fact the feet are like you -- your and mine. but if it was standing next to us, it would be about 5' tall

and a brain about the size of my fist. >> reporter: the fossils were found in south africa two years ago. never before have so many early hominid fossils been found in one place. there are 15 partial skeletons, but what is more significant is what it tells you about their behavior. scientists say the remains were put there intentionally, suggesting a burial. >> we don't see any evidence of symbolic behavior that they are doing, but yet that emotional basis, that social basis, some recognition that a dead member of their own group, their own species is special in some way, that seems to be what we're seeing here. it's in some ways maybe one of the first steps towards

humanity. >> reporter: it is revolutionary in other ways too. common thinking was the early hominid's brain grew before its body grew like ours, but here it's the other way around. scientists don't know how old these fossils are, but they could have emerged around 2.8 million years ago, and walked the earth as recently as a hundred thousand years ago. the deputy president was clearly as delighted as the scientists. it confirms south africa as one of the world's richest sources of answers to one of our greatest mysteries, where and from whom did we come? you almost want to kiss it, though. you can find out much more on any of our stories on our website. the address is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com for all of the international news. stay with us, lauren will have

more of the day's news in a couple of minutes. bye-bye.

♪ weeks of speculation and russia confirms it is sending forces to syr syria. also coming up, wielding police try to push back hundreds of refugees in macedonia as europe remains divided on how to cope. a periless rescue is fleeing people from their homes and scientists found remains of a new species of human in south