at 7:00 pm eastern time. the news continues next live from london. ♪ welcome to the news hour. i'm david foster. these are the stop top stories. at least 65 people are killed as a crane collapses in saudi arabia. scores of people have been hurt. the panic at a rail station as syrian refugees are crushed in the crowd as they fight for help. >> saudi-led forces have an air

battle with a weapons store. decisive victory in singapore as elections and the ruling party taking power for the 12th consecutive time since independence. >> i'm robin adams with the sports. serena williams is on the court right now hoping to take another step towards tennis history. this last contest at the u.s. open wraps up in less than an hour from flushing meadows later in the program. we start the newsroom with a story out of saudi arabia that at least 65 people have been killed as a crane collapsed on the grand mosque in mechanic -- mecca. it was during storms in saudi arabia and just before the annual pilgrimage that begins on

september 21st. saudi arabia reduced the numbers permitted blauz of safety reason because of construction work to enlarge the grand mosque. let's talk to hasan patel close to the grand mosque. last time we spoke, you said you'd seen a number of emergency vehicles going to and from the area. do you have any update on the number of casualties on what precisely appears to have happened? >> reporter: david what i've basically heard, and i talked to one police officer and he said that there's been no official confirmation yet. ambulances and emergency services are still going up and down in the main road into the grand mosque of mecca. rather than walking into the grand mosque, they're walking back out. i spoke to a lady from pakistan. she's part of a group of around

300 people that came on the tour. she hasn't been able to find anyone yet. she hasn't been able to speak to anyone from her group, and she's worried that something may have happened to them. there's a lot of people here trying to get a hold of loved ones. i spoke from someone from egypt who said that he lost his friend. he got the bad news he passed away while people are trying to escape from the grand mosque. >> i'm going to try and describe the mosque to those of our viewers unfamiliar with it. as we look at pictures of the bad weather passing through saudi arabia, it is a vast structure covering something like 40 to 45 hectares. it's all around a large rectangle, so praying take place both inside and outside and the center part is the kaba, which is the focus of all the prayers during the pilgrimage. millions of people come to this mosque.

it's not just a small temple where people pray. this is the center of the islamic faith, and this is just one section of a very, very large building. even though it doesn't begin until september 21st, very much in evidence all right, correct? >> reporter: well they reckon by sunday about 875,000 pilgrims will be in mecca because that's when the hajj pilgrimage begins. when i walked towards the grand mosque, he counted around 25 giant cranes in and around the grand mosque. it's one giant construction site for them, but inside it's not a problem. sometimes i think people are

questioning whether it could be safe. i think that's what's happened now, the questions will be asked about safety for pill grgrims a they expect northwestern 500,000 people to turn up in the next few days as well. >> i'm looking at a website with a picture of the skyline of mecca. i'm counting at least 20 cranes in it. it looks like a dock yard. this is all part, hasan, is it not, of a massive expansion program that's been going on for a number of years designed to perhaps boost the mosque's ability to host as many to 2 to 3 million people? >> reporter: the extension plans are going over six years. i talked to one individual this morning, and it may continue for another few years. the main gate of the mosque is

where thousands of people come in and out on a daily basis has been locked down virtually. for that reason, people are going around the confines of a smaller gate and smaller entrances. i was here a couple of days ago myself. we were in a group and we were lost not knowing which way to go. people are coming from all directions, and i think in this moment what took place when the crane did fall it reminds me -- if there was any rain there, the fact is at the moment the entire complex there is looking out for the pilgrims. at the same time, they're continuing the work in order to make this place accommodate more people as well. has hasan, thank you. we'll come back to you later and

see what else you can find out for us. let's go to my colleague who is live in qatar, in the capital of qat qatar, doha. i believe you are planning along with millions of others to set out for saudi arabia pretty soon to complete the hajj, one of the five pillars of islam, which muslims are supposed to do at least once during their lifetime. do you think what we've seen here so far is going to mean that there will be many changes to the pilgrimage this year? >> reporter: i don't think there will be any changes introduced. the mayor of mecca orred a very swift investigation into the authorities and the civil defense there, and he wants to basically know what led to the crane falling. now, we know it's the bad weather, but given the scale of the hole and how big the hajj

is, i don't think that particular incident, although it's tragic, at least 65 people have been killed, i don't think it will affect the course of the pilgrimage, david. i do think, however, it will put pressure on the authorities to enhance the measures of safety and security for the pilgrimage in a few days to come. let me give you an idea what we're talking about. the saudi authorities have announced that until today at least 855,000 people have arrived in saudi arabia for the pilgrimage. that's less than a million. in the next few days the number will double. that's why it's very, very important for the saudi authorities to make sure of the safety and security of the pilgrimage, david. >> we know little more than that at the moment. thank you very much indeed. hasan patel is reporting live

from saudi arabia in the terrible events a short while ago that saw an extremely large mechanicized crane fall on part of the grand mosque in the center of mecca. just ahead of the hajj pilgr pilgrimage. okay. we're going to take a look in this news hour now at the desperate journey story we've been following for months. more than 430,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the mediterranean to europe this year according to the international organization for migration. it also says 309,000 people landed in greece. that's almost three-quarters of the total number. well, the rift in europe's approach to dealing with this refugee crisis has widened with the eastern european countries of hungary, poland and the czech

republic and slovakia all rejecting refugee quotas. hungary has announced tough, new law allowing it to jail refugees entering illegally from next week. across the hungarian border in the austria town, refugees tried to rush onto a train. as police held people back from boarding it on friday. on board there were refugees which they thought he were going to vienna. the scene turned chaotic. pressure from the crowds and young children needing treatment because of injuries. almost 4,000 crossed into usa yea on thursday, but just 450 were allowed onto the train. hungary has been receiving an awful lot of criticism about its treatment of the refugees. as mohammed reports from the south of the country.

>> reporter: in an overcrowded refugee camp, the hungry are frantic for food. in this scene of chaos and confusion in hungary, the authorities distribute what they have by throwing it through the air. the lucky ones are able to catch their meal. the refugees on these buses behind us are waiting to be taken into this refugee camp in ruska. we're trying to get in, but they're not letting us again. everyone aboard the buses are worried about what they face once they get in. many fear what being fingerprinted in huj remay mean for them. i'm trying to get to holland, but i've heard that germany is the only country that will take refugees processed and fringe printed here. causing even more concern is how exactly they'll be treated. rights groups say conditions inside the camp are appalling.

>> the hungarian government has neither the capacity or political will to address the needs of these people. >> reporter: he shows me videos of men and women fenced in des plate to leave. he said they look more like prisoners than refugees. these are thoroughly miserable conditions? >> absolutely, yeah. people are just crowded this tents like animals. >> reporter: he believes that the hungarian government is attempting to send a message by deliberately mistreating refugees. >> they frankly want to make their lives as miserable as possible to word gets out to the many thousands still planning this journey to avoid hungary to every extent possible. >> reporter: in a statement to al jazeera, the interior ministry says the images were taken out of context and that the media shouldn't jump to conclusions. here on the country's border with serbia, the influx continues even as the weather

worse worsens. huddling together toe stay warm, they use everything neck to stay dry. throughout hungary the stories are getting worse. refugees desperate and deprived who can't understand why they are unwelcomed. >> i met a man at the station who escaped from a town held by isis. he told me sitting there at the station with his three children, it's better in syria, because in syria if there's an explosion, you die once. here i'm dying a thousand deaths of humiliation in front of my children. >> reporter: having fled their homes and the last thing they expected was to be stripped of their dignity. >> with us here now from the head of united nations refugee agency telling al jazeera that a complete overhaul of european policies is vital if this crisis is to be controlled.

>> the present situation is absurd. people coming to greece, and then from greece they move to macedonia and then they move to serbia, and from serbia to hungary and from hungary to austria and from austria to germany. it is like a model way in which you have a traffic jam that sometimes moves and sometimes is stopped. people should come to greece. they come to an island. they are properly treated in that island. they are screened. if it is proven that the person is a refugee, then they should move either to sweden, germany or france and be received properly, be integrated into the society, be offered a future instead of having to go on step by step, country by country, border by border in the rain. this needs to stop. we need to have an orderly system. this is manageable. we are talking about 4,000 people a day. in the european union that has 500 million people. >> antonio gutierrez there.

turkey is where many refugees get onto boats bound for greece. authorities have rescued thousands of people off the coast this week alone. they say they have done 77 different operations since monday, and has pulled 2,300 refugees off what it claims to be dangerous boats. this is off the coast of western turkey. more than 4030 refugees have crossed the med ter ryanian. that's more than double the number last year. with more and more refugees ending up on the greek ilans, afghan refugees arrive close to turkey on friday. lesbos has been the starting point for the refugees arriving

in greece so far this year. germany anticipating 800,000 refugee applications in 2015. one of the country's politicians insisting germany can deal with the numbers, winning the hearts and minds campaigns in small villages is a challenge. rob reynolds went to the eastern german town of zelo and sent us this. >> reporter: in eastern germany seelow is a town near the polish border with 550,000 residents and there were refugees in the region. with refugees surging into germany each day, there will be hundreds more placed here. some residents welcome them. this woman said she herself was a refugee following germany's defeat in 1945. >> translator: i know how it feels when you're on the road with no food, water or a place to stay. >> reporter: others say refugees are a burden and get too many government benefits.

>> translator: there are too many. they are overrunning us. >> translator: german society will go under because we're being put into a corner. >> reporter: this area is economically depressed and has been losing population for decades. >> translator: in many places lots of buildings are empty. people are afraid of the refugees because people don't know foreigners here. they have never left this region and only know their community. >> reporter: getting people to overcome those feelings takes a lot of work says the local administrator. >> translator: the first thing we do is to explain what kind of position these asylum seekers are in. some people don't really know anything about that. >> reporter: this shelter outside of townhouses 65 people, refugees from several countries. we visited with a refugee and two of his friends in the room where he's lived for nine months.

>> translator: it's clean. we get medical care and everything. we get our benefits, so we're pretty content. >> reporter: the residents are isolated here. hussein says he's never spoken with a single german person outside the shelter. >> translator: we would like to mix with other human beings in order to get used to these people. >> reporter: the people here say they are perfectly happy with the way their being treated, and they've had no conflicts with any germans, but they're anxious to leave this place and move on to find their own place in german society. this woman and her husband mohammed and 3-year-old daughter fled from syria. >> i had to afford my daughter a good future. i want to complete my studies here at the university.

we love german people. >> translator: maybe these children already learning german at school will help their families integrate into their new land and pave the way for thousands of new arrivals. >> rob returned from seelow to berlin now joins us live. from your story i got a sense of confusion from the people of that area. they didn't really know what was happening, but did you get a sense that there was any real anger? >> reporter: not so much anger or hatred or any strong emotions like that, david. more a sense of confusion and resentment. a lot of people believe that refugees receive benefits from the state that they're not really entitled to. people grumble about taxpayer's money being used to support people who have just recently arrived in the couldn't. a lot of people also are kind of resentful of the fact it's being

imposed upon them by impersonal government forces without their true consent. >> angela merkel seemed to be the one saying come here, come to us. we will give you a good home. i wonder if that's turning sour with her supporters and those who didn't support her in the first place? >> reporter: you could hear in the report that some people don't like the policy that the chancellor has advocated. her sister party in the state of bavaria is adamantly opposed to the refugee policy she's espoused. all, governors or presidents as they're called here in regions such as mecklenburg say they don't have enough money to house all the refugees. even the local officials in seelow say they need the money faster. her biggest problem is not with the people in germany oez posing

her as the states of hungary, slovakia, the czech republic and poland who do not want to accept any of the quotas and relieve some of the pressure from germany of taking in all of these refugees. >> thank you, rob. you're with us on the al jazeera news hour. stay with us. in just a moment we will be off to the japanese city where torrential rain has flooded thousands and thousands of homes. we have the sport and recognizable face. floyd mayweather is building up to his final fight dominated by doping clam claims. we've got that, and we've got robin. a tv station in yemen has been destroyed by saudi attacks.

there were rocket attacks in the city of mowri where 20 people lost their lives. we have more. >> reporter: military jets strike houthi positions in yemen's capital of sanaa. coalition forces led by saudi arabia say they are targeting ammunition depots on the outskirts on the city. the fighting has escalated across the country. in the central city of teys, forces loyal to the exiled president hold their ground. despite a surprise attack by houthi fighters, they will retake areas they recently lost. houthis backed by troops local to the president insist they still have the upper hand. >> we can't solve yemen's crisis by war, and that has been proved in the last six months where no side has been effective out

here. the only side that has lost over the last six months has been the people here, the 25 million people now suffering and are going growing very fierce. >> reporter: these are coalition reinforcements. that's where most of yemen's oil and gas installations are located. fighter jets are also targeting houthi military bases, rocket launchers and troop gatherings. a coalition buildup is planning an offensive to retake control of sanaa. the capital was captured by the houthis a year ago. they spread nir military and political influence. the u.n. is planning to hold talks between all sides, but it's not clear whether yemen's main rivals are willing to put an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people and

destroyed much of the country. al jazeera, yemen. they have closed the most competitive general election in history. they have been in power for the past 50 years and is almost certain to stay that way, but a widening wealth gap and demand for change from yup singaporeans has led to opposition gains in recent years. >> reporter: people were already lining up when the polling stations opened. voting here is compulsory, but the wider choice of candidates for a general election that is usually predictive has added a new dimension. casting his vote is the prime minister and the son of the founding father of singapore. >> we have had some impact. of course, we'd like people to listen and absolve more always, but i think we have our messages across. >> he presented the people's

action party as the obvious choice to manage the economy and provide strong leadership. subtle references i were made no neighbors malaysia. while the haze that hung over singapore for much of the election period, is a reminder of the forest burning going unchecked in nearby indonesia. the ruling pap party has played on the need for unity at a time of regional uncertainty, often portraying this republic as the tiny red dot at the heart of southeast asia. combine that with the worsening economic argument, it makes a strong argument for staying with what you know. are people generally happy or not? >> well, i am. i'm hoping the rest of the singapore is. >> there is a lot of talk when people want a choice. when things are really good, i

don't know that a choice is actually required sometimes. >> reporter: this campaign has seen a maturing of singapore's opposition parties in a tightly controlled city state not used to dissenting voices. spurred on by a largely younger generaling rags wanting more choice, opposition rallies have been well attended. >> in the past this persuasive culture of fear has really kept people from going even to listen to what the opposition has to say. so i think that's the key difference. that in some ways really overshadows the actual results themselves. >> whether they make the gains they have been hoping for, this election represents a work in progress for those with opposing views. rob mcbride, al jazeera, singapore. severe flooding in japan has prompted the country's prime minister, shinzo abe, to hold an emergency cabinet meeting. at least three people have been killed, but the astonishing figure is more than 100,000 have

been forced from their homes. we have a report from a city in one of the worst affected areas. >> reporter: japan's 18th typhoon of the year continued the destructive path as it moves up the island of honchu, it dumped an unprecedented amount of rain. >> translator: it was awful. i'm happy i've been rescued. >> reporter: the self-defense force and coast guard led the rescue and recovery effort from the air as two rivers burst their banks in niyagi preeffect tur. further south a river unleashed its fury on the city of joso. several days of rain saw the river burst and take everything with it. >> translator: we were preparing to evacuate when the firefighters rushed to tell us that the riverbank had collapsed. so we got in our cars to escape the flood, but by that time the water was up to our knees. >> translator: it's worse than i

expected. buildings near the river are completely destroyed by the power of the water current. i've been to many disaster sites, but once again i was reminded of the energy of water disasters. >> reporter: those with no homes to go to are given shelter and food. >> translator: we decided to help out victims of the flood as they go through this tough time. >> this is swuft worst flooding japan has seen in more than 60 years, but for now the situation seemings to improving. the good news is this the water is receding quickly and the weather cleared which will enable a cleanup operation to begin. clearly, it's some time before many people are able to return home. wayne hey, al jazeera, joso, japan. stay with us. we continue in just a moment asking the question. are these the safest houses? there's cheap land in zimbabwe that appears far to go to be

true. we have the sport, and a new record at motogp's latest stop. the rivalry is between two of yama yamaha's two riders.

>> 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 >> saturdays on al jazeera america. >> a team of scientists are taking their inspiration from nature. >> technology... it's a vital part of who we are - >>they had some dynamic fire behavior... >> and what we do... >> transcranial direct stimulation... don't try this at home! >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie... what can you tell me about my future? >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> sharks like affection. >> techknow, where technology meets humanity... saturday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

the top stories here. at least 87 people have died and more than 184 are known to have been injured when a crane collapsed in saudi arabia's grand mosque in mecca. thea the annual hajj pilgrimage is to take place later this month. scenes of kay wros and panic at the awes yann border where they reject the idea of quotas refugees. a yemeni building was destroyed. it was allegedly used by rebels as a weapons store. 87 is the number given by saudi officials now of the

confirmed dead. a crane, big, massive crane collapsed in saudi arabia's grand mosque in mecca. we have a saudi affairs specialist now on the line from the capital of riyadh. this is the most enormous structure, the grand mosque in mecca expecting the most enormous number of pilgrims within the next week on so. the mosque is an area all the way around the outside on different levels, indoors and outdoors where the pilgrims come to pray. for something like this to have happened, there could be nothing worse in saudi arabia i would hazard to guess? >> we're all saddened by this tragedy. nothing worse could happen than what happened today. the souls left us in mechanic

co-and the people injured and that died. you have over a dozen cranes actually trying to expedite the expansion of the mosque and feel they're responsible for all the muslims affairs through it. there's all this construction through the cranes in the middle east and you have this sudden thunderstorm and heavy winds. they were conducting the

construction over there, so i think what's happened is what happened to the saudi authorities. they're very efficient in any part of the kingdom to get it cleaned up immediately with an extra pr precaution in the comi day and they're going to take and step up the major laws on the construction company that is conducting this expansion in the holy mosque. >> when you say they would give them the task of expediting it, to me, that sort of implies they were told to hurry it through as much as possible. are you suggesting in any way this may have been tackled too quick. it was a massive piece of work. they wanted a certain amount finished by the time of the pilgrimage in about ten days time. >> yes. the cause of the crane that

actually fell was purely the thunderstorm and heavy, heavy wind that played with that. i'm sure there has been to be more -- more precautions have been taken but it's never factored in their mind. you get hit by an earthquake. this is something they've always asked to have 100% secure, but it could help. look at the expansion of mecca. it's enormous. look at the biggest tower in front of you. it's built in record time with almost zero casualties or zero injuries. these things you expect to happen. putting this task to be done really quick, i don't think that was vulnerable in order to, you know, for it to come down. i'm talking about one of the biggest cranes in the middle east. so i think there was a mistake definitely somewhere somehow, but there was a cause for this mistake. that was a calculated or unexpected. >> how will this affect the hajj

pilgrimage? >> from an islamic point of view this won't affect a bit of hajj, because people think that the people that died with this unusual hit or unusual act of god, they consider themselves some of them consider themselves lucky that actually they came all the way from their countries and they died in the holy land of mecca. they look at it from a positive way. this is how people are mourning to it or their families. however, the government and the authorities, you know, look at it from a different view. this has to be the committee that's formed by the governor of mecca in order to crack down on exactly what happened and how to prevent it and who is responsible behind it. i don't think it will affect anything about mecca, because being inside the kabar and i

think the beginning of the performance and the end. the whole pilgrimage process wouldn't be in the same area you're looking at right now. it's in the other suburbs where they go to the valleys and to the mountains where the prophet is asking god for his superintendent likz and all that stuff. it won't affect the flow of the pilgrimage to mecca. >> thank you. talking to you from riyadh about events in mecca, and we have received these picks here. this is an enormous structure and a result of casualties and no surprise that 87 people have

died. the number may go up after the events in mecca in the grand mosque. in the last couple of hours they rejected a change to the right-to-indict legislation. it would have allowed dock r to prescribe lethal injections to patients terminally ill. david cameron spoke against it along with a number of religious leaders. we have the report. >> reporter: on friday they abated legislation allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to a term alall allally na ill patient that requested it. one former director of public prosecution argued it would clear up a legal mess. >> those that have reached a voluntary, clear, and settled and informed decision to end their lives can be comforted with compassionate assistance of loved ones without exposing them to the law.

they cannot have the assistance from theory, but they can't have professional help. >> leslie close is a firm believer in assisted goiing. her brother john was a marathon runner but in 2001 he was diagnosed with motor neu neurodisease and he went to the swiss clinic to inject himself with lethal drugs provided by doctor. >> he couldn't speak, but you can tell from kind of grunting sounds that he made and expressions on his face that he needed something. he couldn't even tell his nose itched or needed to go to the lavatory. life is just a timetable at someone else's demand. >> more than 300 people went from britain to switzerland to end their lives with the help of doctors there. supporters of assisted suicide

say achange in the law would mean people in distress didn't have to travel abroad. opponents say it will mark the start of the slippery slope. this member is also a medical doctor. >> i've had three patients come up and say will you do away with myself? no, i'm a christian and a doctor. i don't want that second argument to be taken away and say, you're a doctor. you can do this. colleagues in my situation will be pressurized into doing something that they actually don't want to do themselves but feel they ought to. >> when it came to the vote the legislation was evenly defeated. these campaigners say they will carry on pushing for dig nyed dying. al jazeera, london. let's talk to somebody against that assisted dying bill. sean vasy, a member of the group not dead yet who believe ill and disabled people need more support rather than help to end their lives. sean, you got involved with this

because you had a conditions since childhood that affects yu muscles and the way you can move. >> yes. >> tell us about that. you felt so strongly you wanted to see this voted against. >> i have spinal muscular aatrophy, and that affects the muscles. i was diagnosed at the age of 2. i've always lived with my condition, so i never had a huge urge to -- i've never felt miserable about it because i'm used to. other people who acquire their improvement say at some time in their adult life i think they go through a difficult period. >> do you think there is a sense that some people, campaigners for this time of thing tend to look at those who have terminal illnesses to look on them as victims who need help to put an end to it all rather than people encouraged? >> i think people have a lot of funny ideas about disabled

people. one of the them is that they are suffering. people make all sorts of assumptions along those lines. i mean, i'm sure people think i might be suffering, and you know, i know i'm not suffering. i know that no disabled people have to suffer if the right resources are put in and people get the things they need. being disabled can be a fairly normal part of life. it doesn't have to radically change things. >> you say that that is very different for you, because you grew up with this. it's something you've known all of your life. if you get an impairment, something that stops you from being the person you once were, your life changes dramatically physically and mentally, too. >> i think human beings are quite tough on the whole, and i think we can adapt thing and sort it out and get on with life. basically that is what we have

to do. >> doesn't it come down to individual choice? that's what this bill would have done. it would have given people the right to choose their end if they wanted to. it wasn't going to become compulsory that you have the choice. >> i think choice is very complicated in this -- on this subject. i think if you introduce choice, you introduce lots of potential problems. people will find that there are less resources available for disability. there will be less social care around and less health care around. >> because people might rush to take this way out? >> i think this will be one of the pressures that people find they're under, and that is the pressure of how you're using society's resources in order to get through life. >> what about those people -- i don't know them by name, but there will be people following today's developments in the u.k.

parliament with a personal interest because they wanted to see this pass so that they could perhaps take the way out that they wanted. what about their feelings tonight? how do you think -- if they believe their living to be intolerable, who are you to say or i'm to say that they shouldn't end it this way? >> i think if you make a law that legalizes killing people, that puts a lot of people at risk. while there are some people who feel this is really what they want, i think the evidence shows that they don't usually try to take a suicidal path, but they are very concerned about end of life issues. basically resources are needed to improve pallative care and ensure everybody gets an easy death. you don't get an easy death from assisted dying. if you go to switzerland, it

might be very uncomfortable indeed. >> very difficult subject. so good to see you smiling in the face of what is a difficult thing to talk about. you say you've never felt story for yourself at all. thank you. >> thank you. we have been leading this news hour with the coverage over the last couple of hours on al jazeera has been as extensive as we can about the terrible events in mecca in saudi arabia. these are pictures we have of a huge crane falling down on top of the grand mosque. that massive structure about 45 hectares from the center of mecca. there it goes. we have pictures there. all the other cranes that you see are those involved in the renovation of the grand mosque just ahead of the hajj pilgrimage coming in just about ten days' time. good to have you with us on the al jazeera news hour. when we come back it will be one

of the south pacific's last traditional tribes is in the spotlight and quite happy about it, too, in the venice film festival. a week ago he wanted to go with real madrid, but the goalkeeper has made a massive u-turn. stay with us if you can.

the movie shot in the south pacific island is giving you gos

awe rare insight into the traditional tribe. it's a love story set in a remote village, and some of the people that live there have left their island homes for the first time and traveled to see the premiere in venice. >> translator: until two years ago, they had never seen the film. now they're the stars of one. they helped to co-write a story of love and tragedy based on their experience that echoes the tale of romeo and yule juliet. they have made it to venice to see themselves on the big screen. >> this is such a multi-cultural environment that we've never seen. tall buildings and cars everywhere. crowds of people. it's very, very strange, and everything looks so strange compared to our culture where we live with nature. >> the scenery is seductive,

lush and stunning. no special effects needed. the filmmakers warned that tourists might flood in after seeing their home on screen. they say they want the world to understand their culture. here at one of the biggest hoelgss in venice, the cast of the film tell us how the south pacific is the happiest on earth. >> in our culture there are no homeless, there are no poor people. everyone is equal. money is very rare. we have overcome the traps of money. we have overcome the laws of government. we want to maintain the revocation of the happiness. >> the directors and their children lived with the tribe for seven months, learning about their way of life. >> if they don't leave with this full-in culture because they

have to because they're too remote and don't know about anything else. it's a choice. they live only an hour's drive from the town where there are shops and people live on money and all the rest of it. they choose not to have anything to do with that. >> reporter: proud to show off their customs on the red carpet and on screen, tanaa is proof no matter how foreign, stories of love and loss are universal. al jazeera, venice. time for the sports. robin is waiting for you in doha. >> thank you so much. a busy day of semifinal tennis to make up for the postponement yesterday. serena williams is in action right now. she won the first set 6-4. she fought back in the second. william was broken in the deciding third set trailing 4-3. she needs to win two more matches to complete the calendar

grand slam. they already have one confirmed final, i guess, in the women's. panetta stunned her with the second seed. she wrapped up the 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 59 minutes. the men's semifinals get underway after the women's championship. thej roger federer will continue thiz bid to win a firgs grand slam in three years. he has yet to drop a set in the tournament. facing him is dobrinki. he's seated five and he's become a french open champion. he trails 16-3 in the head to head although he won the most recent contest at this year he's french open. that's your sports news now. they're a practice ahead of the grand prix with a record lap on friday as he looks to chase down rossi in the final race. he went around the circuit

edging out the titleholder mark marquez who topped the stands in the opening session while he move add head of lorenzo with a win in the last race. finished fifth faster in what is the home race. the pressure is important on this track. >> i think we're competitive and i'm not satisfied with the front because i think the high one is better. they say this is better. we don't have the time to try some. tomorrow we're going to do it. >>. >> he's attracting them, and usually where we were very strong. laes year for me it was a very important race and victory because i came back down on the first place after a long, long time. but as always my arrivals are very strong. >> he has a two-second advantage

after the first driver wins three stages to move into the top spot of the new south wales course. it's second until the world championship standings. you can win and keep up the pressure and leader ojeer is third in the race. he's 2.6 seconds off the lead. 12 days ago he was all set for real madrid, but the goalkeeper has agreed to a new contract at manchester united. it was announced by the club on friday. the 24-year-old was in the last year of his original contract. it means he could have left the club next year for free, but friday's news means he could leave man united only for a large transfer fee. >> in spite of all the media writing he was going to real madrid, no, i don't want to sell him. no. we didn't sell him, no.

he is here. of course, when real madrid has paid the price, what we want and put in the papers in the right order and on time, he was here. i believe that always playing -- i believe that he wants to play for a club. >> the ongoing dispute between australia's football team and the football federation took another twist. they're on strike for a pay dispute. it's reported that the ffa rejected a proposal to introduce a paid maternity policy. it means that pregnant players could risk having their contracts canceled. they have also refused to pay for parental assistance. many players have to pay travel expenses their their children and careers if nept to accompany them on tour. the new england patriots had a successful start to a teelths defense beating the pittsburgh steelers in their season opener. quarterback tom brady through

for four touchdowns in this 28-21 win. brady recently had a four-game ban for colluding with the deflating of match balls. that was, of course, overturned in new york last week. >> i was excited. our whole team was excited you know. we haven't had one of these games in a long time. it's fun to be out there and get the opportunity to play. we take advantage of it. it was a good win. our guys played hard. and there's a lot of things we can do better. we'll get back to work. we have ten days before we go up to buffalo, and that's a tough place to play. we have a lot studying ahead and hopefully get a little rest this weekend and get back to work inches floyd mayweather is denying he violated any doping regulations the night before his big fight with manny pacquiao. it's reported that he received an tra venous injection of sa line and vitamins. he was given them intravenously isn't permitted and the world

anti-doping agency rules overshadow the buildup to the latest bout on saturday in las vegas. it's a fight that mayweather has hinted to be his last. the 38-year-old insisting he's done nothing wrong saying haez the full support of the united states anti-doping agency. england beat australia and leads the aussies made 299 in nir innings and morgan had a runable 92. in the grand chase, the series is level at 2-2 with the decider taking place on sunday. that's your spot. back to david and the rest of the news hour team in london. robin, thank you very much indeed from all of us here on this news hour, thank you very much for watching. they'll be more on all the dmroer stories with sarah in just a ducouple of minutes with full update on events at mecca

in saudi arabia. bye-bye for now.

>> collapses in mecca. scores more are injured. horror at mecca's grand mosque. we'll have live this developing story.hello there i'm barbara serra, you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program: panic at an austrian rail station. refugees beg for help. saudi led forces carry