greeks go to the polls again to decide which party will lead them through their continuing economic struggles. hello, this is al jazeera live from doha i'm adrian finighan. still ahead, left in lega in lis countries argue who will let refugees in. and rugby world cup history.

as japan beats south africa. it has been just nine months since the left wing syriza party swept to victory in greas greeca platform to stop austerity. a staff photo was called after syriza lost its parliamentary majority in august. the party of the leader alexis tsipras plummeted. , after syriza had promised to oafoppose austerity measures. let's go live to greece's second national city, thessaloniki.

hoda abdel hamid is there. >> even just two months ago when the greeks went to vote in the referendum they voted no to a third bailout program. they said it was about greece's dignity and then when the prime minister had to accept that bailout, then that dignity was scorned. so now they're coming back to the ballot. lots of people i spoke to said we don't know who we're going to vote, doesn't really matter, even that different ie image tht alexis tsipras was giving, is he

really different from the old establishment? when you look at the old opinion polls they put a new democracy not very far behind the syriza party of alexis tsipras, sometimes the margin twi betweee two is less than 1%. that will show you how split and how confused greeks are considering all what they've been through since the beginning of the case. >> if that is the case what is the chance of anyone who wins this election today holding on to power for very long? >> whoever wins this election will not have an outright majority. he will have to form a coalition government. there will be a lot of political bickering going on also according to many of the greeks i spoke to and many wonder this coalition that will be formed will be effective enough to bring political stability.

the parliament has to pass like 60 bills of reforms very serious ones, very painful ones for many of the greek people before the end of the year and many wonder whether a coalition that was maybe forced upon that maybe the parties within that coalition are not really convinced of what they are doing will bring that political stability that the country needs at this stage. >> all right, hoda abdel hamid, thank you. after the boat they were traveling in sank, 20 have been rescued. a total of 46 people were on board when the vessel capsized. many refugees who make it across the mediterranean then move to other countries to try to get into the european union. today, thousands of people have been stuck between hungary, slovenia and croatia.

some have been forced to sleep outside. most are relying on volunteer for food and water. the latest from lawrence lee who is on the croatia slovenia border. >> the croatian strategy of people-dumping continues. absolutely a miserable night for people who don't have a tent. providing shelter was too complicated for croatian government and the lack of logistical support, an iraqi man told me had to wave good-bye to his wife and children, they are somewhere in slovenia, he claims there are people coming past him because there is no way of organizing a queuing system. a group of syrian men say they were charged 500 euros for a

taxi from zagreb, only 20 minutes down the road, he said he would drop them at the border, he ended up dropping them 20 kilometers away. to compound things, croatia isn't really able anymore to drop any of the refugees at the hungarian border, abecause the e hungarians say they won't cooperate anymore. croatia is probably starting to bring more and more people to the slovenian border who are putting women and children in buses and taking them to the camps there. so many of them tell you they simply have no idea which country they're in. >> saudi led air strikes have pounded yemen in one of the

heaviest bombardments of the campaign. preparing to retake sanaa from houthi rebels. hashem ahelbarra has covered the latest conflict since its beginning. is that what they're doing effectively the saudi led coalition are trying t to soften up the rebels? >> yes. ultimately have reinforcement from the saudi led moving to those areas building up, they have been pounding mareb for quite some time and the push is now underway. >> what are the chances of them doing that, of retaking sanaa and the northern part of the country given that the houthis are going to put up a determined

fight? >> northern yemen is a houthi stronghold, and rebels loyal to the former president ali abdullah saleh is a painful push. mountainous area. extremely difficult to send tanks to capture sanaa. that is exactly why for time being they're relying on air strikes. >> is there any chance this operation will not be needed? that at some point the houthi rebels will be forced to the negotiating table? >> the united nations has been trying, met with president hadi a few days ago, he said i'm not going to go to negotiate a political settlement, i want to tell the united nations that unequivocally we'll pull out of the areas, these chances are slim so i think the saudi led coalition and hadi are willing to make some significant military gains and say you know what we have made our fight now

it's time for apolitical settlement. >> and of course we have the government back in aden the president yet to return to the country but what do you think the chances are ultimately of there being a north-south split in yemen once again? >> components for that split are there adrian on the ground because the containing of huge plots in the ground, they would like the south break away from the north. the president moved from aden, secessionists are telling him, we have to tell the international community southern yemen is an independent state. it is a very delicate situation, not only for yemen but for international community as they are trying to put together a new nation from scratch. >> hashem, thank you very much indeed, hashem ahelbarra. diplomatic push to end the war in syria, secretary of state

john kerry insists that bashar al-assad must step down, but the russian presence inside syria is of concern. paul chadidigian reports. >> rebels say a voice belongs to the pilot of an antonof cargo plane. asking to decrease altitude and to land. >> translator: after a while it was clear to us there was a cargo plane in the sky accompanied by four military jets going from southeast to northwest. >> these are exclusive al jazeera pictures of what is believed to be the russian cargo plane, its destination, the airport 20 miles south of

latakia city. that's where support staff was sent to, they say, help syrian president bashar al-assad's fight against i.s.i.l. but john kerry says the air to air components have little to do with i.s.i.l. >> clearly, surface to air missiles raise serious questions and that is precisely why we are engaged in series conversation about deconflicting their operations from ours. >> syria is very important for russia because it's the only ally in the center of the arab world. russia would have no beach head, no port city. >> meanwhile in homs rebel

groups are keeping an ear on air traffic to see which steps russia's military will take next. paul tradergian, al jazeera. agreement between iran and the iaea to work more closely. the two signed a confidential road map in vienna in july meant to ease concerns over iran's nuclear program. all right still to come here on al jazeera. back to school in northern nigeria. these children defy threats of violence to return to the classroom. and cuba's complicated relationship with catholicism. as pope francis touches down in havana.

>> as the global refugee crisis intensifies... >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> and the e.u. struggles to cope... >> we don't know, they stop

us here. >> what's being done while lives hang in the balance? >> we need help now. >> hello again the top stories here on al jazeera. greeks are voting to elect a new government in the snap election, the poll that was called after left wing syriza lost its parliamentary majority in august. hundreds of refugees spent the night sleeping outside on the slovenia croatia border. those can't agree how to handle the influx of refugees. saudi air strikes pound yemen, apparently preparing a major push to retake sanaa

houthi rebels have taken the city for over a year. pope francis, a reconciliation for the rest of the world, he made the comments after touching down in cuba for a four day visit. two nation tour that will also take him to the united states. the first latin american pope is quoted as helping to restore the relationship between the two country. >> as part of the role they are supposed to play in favor of peace, the well-being of people of all the americas as an example of reconciliation for the rest of the world. >> pope francis will be meeting president raul castro and his ailing brother the former president fidel castro in a few hours. lucia newman has more on the

applicancomplicated relationshi. >> they say once a believer always a believer. raul castro shocked his compatriots in may when he visited the vatican, saying he was so impressed with pope francis that he was considering going back to praying. >> translator: only he knows is what he feels inside, i can only point you to his upbringing. >> brought up as catholics. no sooner did their revolution triumph but they expelled foreign priests and nuns. proclaiming the cuban state and themselves atheist. amaya marcos, a devout catholic, remembered 40 years ago she was afraid to baptize her daughter.

>> my husband could have lost his job but a lot has changed since then. >> surrounded buy soviet style housing project, a new church will be built near this half finished parish house as a gesture to the vatican. >> i think cuba wants to be seen as part of the world and in the world. the clique church as an influence and the pope visits those countries. >> reporter: the pope for his part will want to reap the benefits of normalizing u.s. cuban ties. greater influence and play a bigger role in cuban sewed. for example, having control to state access media. >> translator: if we only had a few hours a week in one of the

radio stations that would be wonderful. >> reporter: the catholic church is still clearly on a short leash in socialist cuba but out of faith or enlightened self interest the cuban president is eager to embrace this pope. lucia newman, al jazeera. speculation that vice president joe biden is inching closer to joining the presidential race. patty culhane reports. >> we will soon know whether the third time will be the charm in his quest to be president of the united states. he's waited a while, facing the heartbreaking loss of his son beau to brain cancer. using and deleting tens of thousands of e-mails hillary

clinton sent and received in office, in a highly unusual move she was using a private server that is now investigated. polls show people don't only trust her but they are not excited about her campaign. joe biden is seen as exactly the opposite, trust worthy and honest. when the president won his legislation. >> don't listen to rumsfeld, he doesn't know what the hell he is talking about on this. >> he knows how to work a room. his history is one that americans can relate to. he isn't worth millions, but some believe he won't be able to overtake clinton in the primary. >> i have a difficult time

understanding whether anyone who got in now would be organizationally prered to web. sending hail mary passes hoping that hillary clinton stumbles further. >> u.s. president barack obama intoses. they volunteer intshe -- endors. >> the president describes the vice president as the smartest political decision he's made in political service. >> taking point with congress on budget issues, he was also the lead on u.s. involvement in iraq. that issue could hurt him. along with what he did in the senate pushing for stronger prison sentences for drug offenses now a very unpopular stance. at 72 years old he would be the oldest president ever elected. one of the factors he'll have to

consider along with this: the dying wish of his son who reportedly told him that he wanted him to try again. to run for president of the united states. patty culhane al jazeera, washington. >> an interim government is to be reinstated in burkina faso following a military coup there, will be led by michel kafando. the u.n. says boko haram attacks in west africa countries have forced nearly 1.5 million children from their homes. mostly displaced in northern nigeria but most military victories are encouraging residents to return to their homes. and as ahmed idris reports.

>> boko haram, translated, education is forbidden. aysha studies in this old prison yard. it is converted to a temporary school. >> translator: i don't know why they are destroying our schools or what is going into them. all we wanted was to get an education. >> reporter: the government has launched a program to continue education. the hunger for education remains and hundreds of children are back in school. a defiance under difficult conditions like this. massive reconstruction work is underway as the nigerian military continue to campaign

against boko haram. the military which claims to have the momentum against the group says it wants to secure both students and school infrastructure from further attacks. >> you have to be there to provide a strategy for the inhabitants, have to be there to instill confidence in them that yes they are now protected or there are arrangements in the event of anything from this terrorist group. >> reporter: for micary l the two year wait is over. she's trying to catch up with her studies after returning to school but after two years she hardly remembers what she learned. she also wants to be a doctor so she can help victims of violence. after the military successes over boko haram there is much

optimism here. for children in the region it's a chance to be kids again and to chase their dreams. ahmed idris al jazeera, maiduguri, northeastern nigeria. nepal will don't its first formal accusation shortly, key of maoists that came to power in 2008, ending the 240 year monarchy. a new law in myanmar requires women to seek permission before marrying men of other religions. florence looi reports. >> they are from myanmar but live across the border to

thailand. nine years ago they married and moved to the thai border town where they say they face less discrimination as a mixed faith couple. now a new law in myanmar, mohammed fears myanmar will become increasingly less tolerant. >> this is the family's business. why do we have to ask permission from the government? if in the future we have problems in our family do we have to report every conflict to them? >> reporter: under the law interfaith couples have to notify the local government and post a public announcement of their intention to marry. they'll be allowed to wed if there are no objections. the law is one of four put forward by a hard line nationalist group mabasa, or the committee for protection of nationalism and religion. mabata insists the law is not

discriminatory. >> the other three religions, christianity, islam and hindu have laws to protect women, buddhists in myanmar don't have laws to protect them. >> more than 140,000 people are still displaced. a monk and former political prisoner leads a movement that works towards better ties between muslims and buddhists. he says the new law will only widen the rift between the groups. pander to the nationalists for its own gains. >> they want to maintain their power to control the country. that's why they created this problem and they want to continue to use their power. >> that power will mean interfaith couples such as mohammed and salima will find it

more difficult to be together. florence looi, al jazeera, rangon. >> at the rugby world cup, mark graham reports. >> the celebration from players, coaches and the fans showed what this meant to japan. south africa ca schooled the fit try, crossing the line in the 18th minute. but japan showed they weren't intimidated by the world's third ranked team and muscled up against the pack and captain michael leech reduced the score to 10-seven after 30 minutes. the spring box scored just four minutes into the second haft, with bursting through to extend south africa's lead but japan stayed in touch and tied up the

match at 22-all with 20 minutes left. south africa edged ahead again only minutes later though when substitute hooker adrian strauss broke away. but moments later, replacement khan scored for hedgepeth in penalty goals. >> the carnlg at th carriage ate could get a try, a good result, but to have the win was a fantastic result. >> the 34-32 win in brighton could have a significant impact on the game back home as the country prepares to host the flex world cup in 2019. british born author jackie collins has died in los angeles.

she was 77 and had been suffering from breast cancer. collins career spanned four decades and sold more than 500 million books, many of her books depicting the bedrooms and board rooms of hollywood elite. she's the younger sister of actress joan collins. >> the wonder of the world's forests... is often found in the creatures that live in them. but the most rare and precious of animals are increasingly falling prey to poachers. the u-n now classifies the trafficking of exotic wildlife... as second only in scale to the illegal drug trade... so vast and lucrative is this black market underworld.... that authorities say its driving more species than ever into extinction. while there have been seizures and arrests...