>> macedonian police beat up refugees trying to make their way through the hungar hungary/macedonia border. hello. welcome to al jazeera. also ahead, russia confirms it's providing military aid to sear and will continue to do so. voting is under their singapore. plus, scientists say they have discovered a new human-like species.

>> macedonia may follow hungary building a fence. up to 4,000 refugees are making their way trying to reach northern europe. the situation is becoming increasingly tense. >> from the islands, they took the ferry to the mainland. it's pouring with rain. many are not prepared for this weather. children are soaked to the bone. yet the refugees are still determined to continue they were journey, but it's one full of obstacles. macedonian border police have blocked their path. the rain continued to pour. impatient, the refugees press forward. the police push back.

until it became too much to cope with. this is not the first time for the macedonian border guards to use force. others could just not wait any more. yet again, risk their lives. some said they were running out of money. others out of time. the police eventually let everybody in and in the rush, by fear the border will close again, they left their personnel belongings like scarfs, sleeping mats, shoes for children and even their tents that they would probably need because they still have four countries to go through. for a while the border stayed calm. aid workers and volunteers were getting ready for another human wave. most of the refugees stuck on the greek islands have been evacuated. about 20,000 people are expected to stream through here in the coming hours and days.

some people living in the area have also come to help. sophia says the plight of these men, women and children hits close to home. >> translator: why are we doing this? because our ancestors are refugees. i'm seeing what they experienced. >> reporter: clean clothes are more than welcome. his parents left syria 25 days ago. they entered greece through the island of rhodes. she feared her baby would not make the crossing. >> we are not extremists. some people don't want us, but it's still better than syria. >> reporter: it's that belief and hope that gives them the strength to continue the voyage full of uncertainties. >> hungary's government is

considering declaring a state of emergency. it's struggling to cope with the refugees. >> reporter: at the beginning of the day, conditions were miserable. tonight it is still raining, the temperature is colder. behind me you can see refugees being put on to buses. they are going to be taken to a camp just a few kilometers away from here. we have tried getting access to that camp so we can talk to the refugees, see how they are being treated, we have not been able to gain access. neither have other journalists who are here covering this crisis. some say conditions are terrible, they are appalling. that the hungarian government must do more to help the refugees. the hungarian government announced that they may, they may be imposing a state of crisis or state of emergency in

the next week that would make it easier for the government to deploy troops. we know for the past week they planned to do so. now we are told that could happen next week. they want to do all they can to staunch the influx of refugees from serbia into hungary. we were there along the border yesterday, we are here today, it doesn't seem as though that influx will stop any time soon. >> u.s. president barack obama has ordered his country to take in more refugees. human rights groups say the government must do more. >> reporter: as tens of thousands of refugees continue to try and scrape their way through europe, the obama administration announces it will increase the number of syrian refugees it takes in during the next fiscal year to 10,000.

that's not as big of a change. >> it's 5,000 to 8,000 refugees. so justen increase of 2,000. what does that e this mean for those fleeing iraq? >> i don't get the 5, 8 and 10 thing. >> is this just 2,000 more? >> my understanding is, i guess i can't account for what they previously said what they are hoping to do for next year. >> it will take two years to make it to the united states. meanwhile, the flight continues. more accusations of the assad regime dropping barrel bombs. and now russia is sending ships into syria claiming russian troops are also fighting on the ground. the russian foreign minister denies there is a military

buildup. >> translator: we have helped and will continue aiding the syrian government and equipping the syrian army with all that is necessary to prevent a repetition of the libyan scenario and other events that occurred in this region because of an obsession with ideas of changing unwanted regimes. >> reporter: if russia does increases its involvement, that could be a huge change. >> the trick to this is trying to arrange a process where he feels sufficient pressure and is cajoled to move off the stage but in an ordinarily fashion, if possible, that allows the state institutions to remain. >> something assad's allies don't want to happen. but it has to for negotiations to be successful. world leaders fighting over the future of one man whose fate

will determine what happens to millions. president obama haled the senate's iran vote as a victory. they tried to block the vote. now republicans and the house of representatives say they will pursue a legal challenge to the nuclear agreement. the u.s. says it's deeply troubled by the conviction of venezuela's opposition leader. he's been sentenced to 14 years in jail for insighting violence during last year's antigovernment protest. 40 people were killed. his supporters say he's being used by the president as a distraction from the ongoing economic crisis. polls have opened in singapore in what's expected to be the most competitive election in decades. they have been in power for 50 years. but for the first time a huge

number of voters born after the country's independence will be taking part. and that could change the outcome. we have more now from singapore. >> voting has been brisk throughout this island republic. there was already a line of people waiting when the gates first opened at 8:00 in the morning. this is the east coast constituency. it is very marginally fought between the ruling party and the opposition party, the workers party. in the last election in 2011, the two sides came within 10% of each other. and this constituency is known as a group constituency. it represents four seats in the parliament. what people are looking for is if there will be another upheaval. during that poll, one of these group constituencies changed from the government falling to the opposition in what was the

biggest upheaval this political system has seen since its independence. the workers party has seven seats in parliament out of a total of 89. they are hoping to get into double figures. they are realistic in what they can achieve in their pollings, they have been telling people vote for us, but not vote for us, this is what we'll do as a government. vote for us so we can be a stronger opposition, a balance and check against the government as this system moves steadily but slowly towards a multiparty system. a river has broken its banks in japan. the damage has been bad. some 800,000 people have been affected by the floods. a hundred thousand have been forced from their homes. we have this update from tokyo.

>> reporter: this morning two more rivers have broken their banks. this time north of those affected areas yesterday into miyagi prefecture. it's inundated a town of osaki at the moment. the pictures from the area don't look as dramatic or distressing as the pictures we saw yesterday of people being stranded in their homes. we hope that what has happened is that early this morning an evacuation order was issued for that town and that most of those residents moved to higher and dryer ground. 2,000 personnel are on the ground there now operating a relief and rescue effort. 40 evacuation centers are being set up to bring people who have been left without houses into some kind of temporary shelter. overnight there were about 350 people who still required rescue from residential and commercial buildings and some people were

stuck on the roofs of their cars. that situation is improving as the morning progresses. the footage we are seeing out of those areas this morning shows that the floodwaters have subsided. it's not the muddy tore rents of yesterday, but the devastation that's been left behind is extreme. still to come on the program, a symbolic moment for u.n. votes to allow the palestinian flags to be raised at its headquarters. an a story of love exploding on to the screen in venice.

only on al jazeera america.

>> our top stories on al jazeera, macedonian police have used batons on refugees. it may follow hungary's example and build a border fence. russia's foreign minister is ready to increase support for syria's government. russia has flown in more weapons and humanitarian aid. voting is under way in what's expected to be singapore's most competitive election in decades. the people's action party has been in power for 50 years but the opposition is contesting all seats in parliament for the first time in singapore's history. a man who attacked the u.s.

ambassador to south korea has been jailed for 12 years. he was found guilty of attempted murder after lungeing at him. more than 30 judges and 100 other judicial staff have been implicated in a corruption scandal. they were caught on camera taking bribes and extorting money. we have more. >> reporter: this will call come about as a result of a documentary by an award winning filmmaker. in this documentary which is due to be aired later this month, we understand there is video footage of judges and other officials receiving money, receiving bribes in order to effectively offer cases over the outcome of the justice system. people we have spoken to have been shocked by the extent of

this but not surprised. >> [indiscernible] >> you realize this is what is happening in the court. people will use other means than going to the court. >> i don't need to see it. i know. >> we have spoken to people in the legal profession. what we understand is that the mood genuinely is one of happiness that these allegations are brought to the surface. >> it's a mixed reaction. in the majority, lawyers are excited because like me, i feel this is a golden opportunity for the manager's of the system. >> there's been controversy surrounding whether the documentary should be aired. the filmmaker has come under

pressure not to air this documentary. but the general mood amongst people is that they should see for themselves what has been going on. >> more now on the elections taking place in singapore. joining us from singapore is a professor of southeast asian politics. thank you for joining us. the p.a.p. are expected to win and by a large margin. why are the opposition even bothering? >> he will win overall, the fact that the opposition stands the best chance of winning a substantial share of seats or a larger presence than it's ever had is reason to run. i think the key issue is on the one hand that you have really rising discontent with the process of p.a.p. policy making. the results of some of those

policies which are seen as allowing a rising cost in living, allowing the breakdown and necessary public facilities like the train system. at the same time, also, not acknowledging the desire of many to have a voice in parliament. to have more clear representation of parties or policy possibilities that might help to add nuance. >> how much damage do you think the death of the founder in march actually how much damage was done to the p.a.p.? do you think it emboldened the youth to speak out and voice their discontent? >> i don't think it's so much that it's emboldened the youth. it's a continuation of a process

that's been developing over a number of years. so it's rather than his emboldening, there is a sense that the p.a.p. we have now is not the p.a.p. it used to be. it's a greater focus on the specific personalities who are contesting, whether or not they are likable, whether or not they are in touch with the common people, whether the p.a.p. is hand selected way of choosing candidates regardless of political skills is the way to go. and he himself was a master of that. but it is widely perceived that some of the third and fourth generation of leaders now are not quite of the caliber. i think the main effect is a sense that the p.a.p. now is not the p.a.p. of the past and that, therefore, there might be more space for those who are already feeling more emboldened by new media and issues, but general

disgruntlement. >> we have run out of time, but thank you very much for that. now the palestinian flag will fly at the u.n. headquarters in new york after the general assembly approved a resolution on the matter. the flag has to be raised within 20 days which is in time for a visit later this month. >> the general assembly, the representatives of the nations of the world, had before them a vote about internal u.n. practice. >> we shall now proceed to consider draft resolution. >> but it was a highly charged and symbolic one. should the u.n. fly outside its headquarters the flags of observer states like palestine. before the vote, the u.s. ambassador told her colleagues they should say no. >> raising the flag is not an alternative to negotiations and

will not bring the parties closer to peace. >> she did not stop her resounding victory for the palestinians, 119 countries in favor, 45 abstentions including many eu nations and 8 countries voting no. moments after the vote, condemnation from the outgoing israel ambassador. >> the real question we face is not whether the palestinians will raise a flag, but whether the united nations will raise a white flag and surrender the principles of this institution itself. >> reporter: his palestinian counterpart said this was an important moment about more than just a flag. >> raising the flag will signal to our people everywhere who are watching us tonight that their freedom is inevitable and that international community supports them in their journey for justice for their rights and for

the independence of their state of palestine with jerusalem as its capital. >> the resolution is that the flag will fly for the first time 20 days from now. that's when world leaders are gathering here in new york and happens to be the day that president mahmoud abbas will make his speech to the u.n. general assembly. this is the place outside where the palestinian flag will soon fly beside the flags of the other nations of the world, the timing in itself is a victory for the palestinians. scientists say they have discovered a new human-like species that may have lived some 3 million years ago. >> reporter: it was unveiled in front of the world's leading scientists and media. a new link in our evolutionary chain.

this is one of our earliest relatives, a new species, part ape, part human. >> it walked like you and i do. the feet are like you and i. but standing next to us, you would not think it was a human. about five foot tall, a tiny head. the brain would be the size of my fist. very primitive and high shoulders like an ape. >> the fossils were found in a cave two years ago. never before have so many fossils been found in one place. there are 15 partial skeletons. but what's more significant is what it tells you about the behavior. scientists say the remains were put there deliberately suggesting a burial ritual. that's something scientists only we did. >> we don't see evidence of

behavior that they are doing, 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 are seeing here. it's one of the first steps toward humanity. >> it's revolutionary in other ways. the brain grew bigger before, but it's the other way around. scientists don't know how old these fossils are. but could have walked the earth for a hundred thousand years a ago. south africa's deputy president was as delighted as the scientists. it confirms south africa as one of the richest sources of answers of mystery.

>> we have the director of the human evolution research center at university of california berkeley. he says there is little he evidence the fossils are a new species. >> we learned that what they were is something that we already knew from places like java and the republic of georgia. even south africa itself. these are small species that's not terribly well known, but it's known since the 1800s. new knowledge from these bones about this species was something we have been looking forward to and yet what we learned, we heard the doctor say their brains are small. the ones from the former soviet republic of georgia are small, too. this is one from georgia that's been published. a new species is really

unwarranted at this time and the conclusions about ritual behavior. they don't know how old the remains are. they don't have any evidence other than the bones themselves deep in this cave. we no little more than we knew a couple of days ago. >> a film shot is giving insight into one the last traditional tribes. tana is a love story told by nonactors. some of the cast left their island home for the first time and ventured to the film's premier. >> until two years ago, these people had never seen a film. now they are the stars of one. in a production they helped cowrite, a story of love and tragedy based on their experience which echos the tail

of romeo and jewe juliet. they made it to venice to see themselves on the big screen. >> this is a multicultural environment, tall buildings and cars everywhere and crowds of people, very, very strange. everything looks so strange compared to our culture where we live with nature. >> the scenery is see ducttive, no special effects. tourists might flood in after seeing their home on screen. but they want the world to understand their culture. here at one of the most expensive hotels the cast says their community is the happiest on earth. >> in our culture there are no

homeless. there are no poor people, everyone is equal. we have overcome traps of money. we have overcome the lows of government because we want to maintain happiness. >> the directors and their children lived with the tribe for seven months, learning about their way of life. >> they don't live because they have to, they don't know about anything else. it's a choice. they live only about nine hours drive where there are shops and people live on money. they choose not to have anything to do with that. >> proud to show off their customs on the red carpet and on screen, it's proof that no matter how foreign, stories of love are universal.

>> that looks like a stunning film. i must watch. you are watching al jazeera. just to remind you you can keep up to date with all the news on our website. the address is at the bottom of your screen, www.aljazeera.com. with iran. blocking the republicans disapproval revolution will not stop the lively debate over the deal, one involving many americans, including jewish americans. it strained ties between the united states and israel and