>> more than a hundred people are killed in saudi arabia after a crane collapses at mecca's grand mosque. hello. this is al jazeera live from doha. also on the program -- >> my friend die, my teacher die. it's very bad. >> we meet the young children among the thousands of refugees making the desperate journey to europe. pardon for the pope, cuba releases thousands of prisoners ahead of the pontiff's visit to the island.

and a major upset at the u.s. open, serena williams' grand slam hopes shattered by the italian. at least 107 people have died after a construction crane collapsed on to the grand mosque in saudi arabia. the holy city is preparing for the arrival of millions of people for the annual muslim pilgrammage. >> reporter: the moment the crane collapsed, captured on amateur video. another clip posted on-line provides an idea of the chaos that followed. the construction crane toppled through the roof of the grand

mosque in the holy city of mecca. >> nobody had a clue what happened. just compare the situation like a bomb blast. you don't know what happens. almost like that. it was like a thunder storm. >> for several hours scenes inside showed emergency crews rushing to help victims and clear the site of debris. >> translator: incident happened at 5:23 p.m. due to the severe rain and wind speed at high as 83 kilometers. this caused the crane to collapse. it collapsed on the upper side. >> this is the buildup to the busiest time of the year for the sacred mosque. it starts later this month when millions of muslims make the

pilgrimage. >> i would like to convey condolences. we hope god accepts the victims in paradise and we hope for a speedy recovery of the injured. >> reporter: the grand mosque is a construction site. cranes surround the site. the shear number of people converging on mecca each year creates security challenges that also resulted in tragedies such as stampedes. the saudi government goes to great lengths to ensure safety of attendees. >> thousands of people are expected to march through london hoping to convince the politicians that britain should welcome more refugees.

european nations have come up with a plan. many refugees have been struggling to get out of budapest. let's take you live to the capital. andrew simmons is in budapest. we have seen these images of people struggling to get out. how are things there now? >> it's ebbs and flows. right now there are quite a number down here on the lower floor, a place that's become like a village for refugees. transiting their long, long journey here, taking a rest. sometimes with tents, getting donations of shoes, clothes and food from volunteers. but the whole situation in getting to germany is getting more complicated because austria has stopped running its rail service into munich and stopped

running it from hungary. it won't come to hungary anymore in or out. certainly for the this weekend. we boarded one of the last trains that was to get to germany with a very large number of refugees. father and daughter, alone with their thoughts. they have come so far from one place to the next. like the others here, bedding down for the night, it's the uncertainty that hurts nearly as much as the bruises and sores. >> sometimes you feel like we will die. everywhere, we sleep inside, in the street, when you are without anything. >> if all goes well, this is the day the painful aidc painful au.

but this is the only way you can board a train in budapest. and it's the strongest who make the most effort. without help, the youngest are in danger of being crushed. the police have ordered to let through only enough people to fill one carriage of each train. they have waited eight hours to get to this point. but they made it. on the move again, destination germany. >> how is your dad now? >> i just want to know i'm strong and make him strong. he seem like i am happy. that make him happy. >> reporter: this young man ended up separated from friends

in a detention center. he showed video of a camp and says he had no means of leaving. >> let us to speak to make a call. to do anything. >> reporter: he's under 18 and classed as a child. but he's grown up on this trip. >> it was cruel. and i feel i miss my father and my mother. >> reporter: every one of these carriages is filled with accounts of tragedy and persecution from all over the globe. but as this train hurdles through the countryside for many it's the last leg, the atmosphere isn't necessarily one of joy. there is a somber realization of the people and places they have left behind. but they are going to safety. she hopes to settle her father

in sweden. she wants to complete her university studies and return to her homeland as a medic. >> i will come back to syria and make everything, everything for people, for children, for syria. for free syria, of course. >> translator: god, please look after the syrian people. >> how do you feel about leaving syria, are you sad? but arriving in munich, he's composed again. germany is offering boar more of a welcome than anywhere else. this mass movement is shaking some of the complacency of western europe. it's polarizing opinion in some communities. she tries to disguise it.

>> everything will be like i want. >> the figures are enormous, 40,000 refugees are walking down that platform in a matter of six days. we are expecting another mass here coming up the line from all the way from greece through macedonia and on through serbia, here hoping that they can get to germany. and every step they take is matched by the political heat rising all the time in this, the biggest crisis to face europe since the second world war. and what's happening is quite obvious to everyone. that politicians are trying to find a solution, at the same time trying to smooth over the domestic problems in dealing with this issue. the prime minister of hungary has said in a newspaper in

germany, as far as he's concerned, he wants a 5 billion u.s. dollar gift to be made by the eu to all neighboring states of syria as a means of trying to keep refugees within that region and not this continent. back to you. >> thank you. back to our top story, the crane collapse in saudi arabia where more than 100 people were killed. joining us on the line is the editor of the saudi gazette. thanks for being with us, sir. more than a million people are expected in mecca. this massive construction site there, are there continued safety concerns? >> of course, there will be safety concerns, especially in the light of this tragic train collapse.

it was unexpected. i think the first thing the authorities should do is check all other cranes if they are properly positioned where the mechanics can double-check and see there are no loopholes. the other thing also is that the area now for the pilgrims to come within the confines of the grand mosque will be made less accessible to the people, because the area, there could be a collapse of whatever it is which is not possible, but anyway, it has to be taken into consideration. >> so certain parts. grand mosque will be off limits. do these cranes, the massive construction project that's under way there in mecca detract from the religious and spiritual

experience of the pilgrimage? >> personally, i see all these cranes. it's not a sight i like to see. but it's construction needs to be i think now, there has to be a time frame and see to it there is no compromising of the quality of the construction, and see to it that ends up as soon as possible. many say that removes the spiritual sense of the place. >> as living standards improve around the world, many muslims are able to afford the trip, coming back a second and third time. it's understandable that the areas that the pilgrims visit need to be expanded so that more people can attend.

can you understand those that criticize the expansion of the grand mosque? >> there are two schools of thought. the first also is that saturation level. we can go on expanding and expanding. people from all over the world are coming in. easy transport to people in and out, unlike a few decades ago, people came by ship. right now they come in and then they are out. i also think that we have to sort of make a study on where the saturation level will be. because this could boom range and go out of control. the authorities need to do a little bit of soul searching. not more than what is needed be there. there has been country its that

have been critical when saudi arabia, rightly so, made that rationing, if i may use the word, for every million saudi pilgrims, ask for more. but i think safety. and this incident has relayed that fact to all of us. >> good to talk to you. thanks. japan's prime minister has been visiting areas of the country hit by severe flooding. the water is now receding. but many people have been left homeless. more than a hundred thousand people have been affected by the floods and landslides. four people were killed. more than 20 others are still missing. prime minister abe has been visiting areas of the country at a were hit by those severe floods, as we said. still to come here on al jazeera, it wasn't a complete

walk over. singapore's ruling party in the general election. a future stars of the silver screen go on strike over alleged political interference.

>> top stories here on al jazeera. 107 people have died after a construction crane collapsed in mecca. more than 230 people were injured. the holy city is gearing up for

this year's hadge. three people were killed, 20 still missing in japan. more than a hundred thousand people have been affected by the flooding. european nations continue to struggle to come up with the united plan. thousands of people are expected to march through central london later on saturday hoping to convince politicians that britain should take in more refugees. for many have set off on the journey, their children met some of them on the border. >> children are crammed in the middle. some are only a few months old. for the others, it's an experience that will mark them as much as the war they fled.

>> translator: we were frightened on the boat. i thought we were going to drown. we were so scared that the coast guard was going to take us back to turkey. there is nothing i could say. i had a sleeping bag, i rolled it out on the street and slept. >> reporter: they left syria four weeks ago. along the road, he met amed. and they became like brothers, giving courage to each other. there is no age limit to be a refugee. entire families are on the move, walking on roads, sleeping wherever they can. there is little space for youngsters to be children these days. parents often say it's for their sake that they beg their way through europe. often it's the kids and their tr

resilience that give them the courage to continue. >> see with my eyes, my friend die, my teacher die. it's not very good. it's very bad. after the bomb we don't have a school because the school goes to air. and i stay in home, don't go out because my father said if you go, maybe they kill you because you are young girl. we have difficult life. we have difficult travel. i wish, i wish, i want better life, without kill, without stress. i want a life, simple life. >> the children have their own uncertainties and challenges ahead. he doesn't know when he will see his parents again. he hopes as soon as he will get

his paperwork done. he's worried that perhaps the road ahead is more difficult. some in europe don't want him or his friend amed. >> translator: please, open the borders so we can continue. don't be frightened of us. we are escaping war, that's t we are not here to hurt you, we don't eat people. we left because we risked dieing from barrel bombs. we are coming to europe to protect ourselves, just a little. >> worries of an adult felt by a child. the people's action party in singapore has won the general election. it's been the ruling party for 50 years. it won 83 out of 89 seats. >> this has been a big result for the ruling p.a.p. party,

also a sense of relief after the excitement of having to face battles in each constituency in singapore. they have presented themselves as the expertise when put up the relative inexperience has been telling with the voters. for their part, the opposition can argue that this is part of their long-term strategy of changing the political landscape here. they made big gains in parliament back in 2011. largely over unpopular policies that were in place back then. the government has done a lot to change since then. for example, housing and immigration. sadly, for the opposition, those policies seem to have worked with the electorate. >> students at one of india's top film institutions demand the removal of the school's new

chairman. they are on hunger strike protesting against a series of questionable appointments. >> the entrance makes it clear there hasn't been a normal day for a while. inside we see why. these students began a hunger strike on thursday. adding to a three month long protest by all students against an actor who students say is unqualified to be chairman. it's part of a string of questionable appointments here. >> [indiscernible] does make us feel that freedom of expression will be hampered. we'll be asked to make certain propaganda videos [indiscernible]. >> earlier during the protest,

some of the students were arrested at night after a confrontation with the institute's director. now the crowds have thinned. most students stay in their hostiles waiting for word that the strike is having an effect. but the government says the students are being unreasonable and that he was the only candidate willing to take the job. the minister in charge said on thursday unfortunately, the students have taken an extremely hard line stand. we are ready to resolve all issues. we have had multiple talks with them. meanwhile, the students say they will continue their protests. the fact that the students have kept this protest going for three months, missing classes, facing arrest, demonstrating their determination to force the chairman out. but some of their supporters worry that this is an issue that goes beyond just this institution. the government doesn't officially have to consult anyone to make appointments to some of india's top educational

institutions. but the students and their supporters say in the past jobs have gone to people with well established experiences and careers. >> unless they are questioned and unless they are constantly debated, that's the only way to make a dialogue going on. one can't really keep these appointments, make these appointments with a casual approach. >> the strike is likely hurting the education of these students. but they believe it's a worthwhile sacrifice for their school and its standard of excellence. >> cuba is to release more than 3,500 prisoners ahead of pope francis' visit. but this includes people convicted of violent crime. >> another pope is coming to cuba which means the country's

crowded prisons are losing some of their inmates. >> translator: the council of state, the republic of cuba agreed on the visit to pardon 3,522 prisoners, taking into account the nature of the crimes which they committed, their behavior in prison, time served and health considerations. >> on the streets of havana, many welcome the announcement. >> many people might think it's a publicity stunt because the pope is coming. it's a reflection of the reality we live in. >> the pope is coming. those pardoned have the right to a second opportunity. >> not for everyone. this gesture of good will ahead of the visit excludes prisoners who committed murder, rape, illegally killed cattle or committed crimes against state security.

although the government denies it has political prisoners, the commission estimates there are 60 emprisonned political dissidents. 53 others were release in december. during pope john paul ii trip to cuba, then president fidel castro released more than 100 opponents. but not this time around. it most visible opposition group known as the ladies in white is asking for a meeting with pope francis to discuss human rights, a meeting that the vatican has apparently ruled out. >> all italian women's file will be the highlight of the u.s. open on saturday after serena williams suffered a defeat.

>> 85 minutes, three dropped games and novak djokovic enters his fourth grand slam final of the year. it was the most one-sided final. the defending champion dispatched and now an all star showdown awaits. roger federer reached his first final at flushing meadows since 2009. despite going three years without a grand slam title, federer hasn't lost at this tournament and dropped third just twice. >> i hope the crowd is happy to see me in the final after six years i haven't been in a finals. sounds like a big deal, not that long ago. >> he's always going to perform on a high level. rarely he drops his level. so he always makes you play your

best. >> it's the final officials will be happy to have after serena williams knockout. the completion of the calendar grand slam was considered a mere formality for the world number one. but the italian spoiled the party. >> i don't want to talk about how disappointing it is for me. if you have any other questions, i'm open for in a. >> how well did she play? >> i thought she played the best tennis in her career. she's 33 and she's going for it at a late age. so good for her to keep going for it and playing so well and i guess it's inspiring. >> for the first time, two italian women will feature in a grand slam final.

>> a special program we have got coming up later, with extended coverage of the refugee crisis, a special half hour program begins at 12 mid day gmt. 8:00 a.m. eastern standard time. >> this week on "talk to al jazeera", one of the most recognizable singers of a generation - kate pierson of the b-52s. >> (singing the song "love shack"). >> the greatest thing i think a band can do is give people this joy and make them happy and make them dance or sing or just, you know, just kind of give them a joy. >> the group was once given the title "america's favorite party band" by rolling stone, but pierson said beneath the bee-hives, there was a message. >> we felt we were misunderstood and we felt like everyone's just

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