no going back and no way out. thousands of refugees are desperate to leave as the syrian army rages war in aleppo. welcome to al jazeera at our headquarters. also coming up in the next half hour. the police fire warning shots during a night of violence with protesters in hong kong. the search for life continues in

taiwan as it emerges the apartments that were toppled were built with tin cans. and also news from new hampshire thousands of syrian refugees are trapped at the border with turkey. as many as 30,000 people are trying to reach safety, but turkey has only allowed a small number to cross the border. they're fleeing heavy fighting with the syrian army attempting to retake aleppo and russian air strikes pounding their homes. live to our correspondent. what is the latest on the humanitarian crisis? >> reporter: there is a humanitarian tragedy. like you mentioned, tens of thousands of people are on the move in search of safety,

really, in the turkish border is closed. they're not able to cross into turkey. there are many front lines on the ground in northern syria. in fact aleppo province as a whole is a battleground because of the intense russian air strikes. the bombardment is only escalating, the air strikes are targeting roads as well as towns. so the people are on the move. human suffering and on the ground the government is continuing with its military campaign. it has two objectives. the first objective is to reach the border crossing. they want to seal the turkish border. they are now 25 kilometers south of the border. in order to advance north they have to capture a main area which is fortified and it is not clear if the rebels can hold their ground. they have been forced to withdraw from a number of towns because of the aerial bombardment, but it is also the opposition is facing two opponents really on the ground. apart from the government,

there's a kurdish armed group the y.p.g. and they have been capturing towns over the last week. they too are close to the border. one objectives is to reach the border. the other is to encircle the city of aleppo, the eastern portion under the control of the government. they still haven't managed to do that, but the people inside the city are preparing for that eventuality. there is a fuel shortage in syria, so the people living in the east of the aleppo city are proposing for a siege. supply lines have been disrupted by the government's offensive. fuel is needed in a city without electricity and the city that relies on pumping wells for water. >> translation: there has been a rise in the price of basic goods because roads have been cut. most supplies are coming in from the western countryside. our supplies are low. we don't have enough supplies. what we have is only enough for

a few days. >> reporter: it is not known how many. 300,000 people in the east have left, but there are those who are too poor to pay for a ride out. a siege would only cause more suffering in a city devastated by years of war. the syrian government and its allies have still not managed to lay siege to the rebel controlled east of aleppo city. the only opposition controlled road leading into those neighborhoods is coming under heavy air strikes. russian air power has also allowed the government to advance towards the border with turkey. they have expanded their control entering town after town as they try to reach the main rebel stronghold which is about 25 kilometers from the border. the rebels have been fighting back. on many fronts they have had to withdraw because of heavy aerial bombardment and people are growing increasingly concerned. they have started to leave the main place of refuge for those

displaced from the recent offensive. it is a ten-minute drive to the border. there are those who have not lost hope. activists have returned to the street to demand the creation of the united aleppo army. >> translation: we are calling on commanders and people or else we tell them the people will remove you from power. >> reporter: they also had another message. the people of syria don't want bashar al-assad, they chanted. it was a clear message from the heart land of the opposition that winning on the battle field won't lead to peace the opposition's line seems to be, look, the russians are going to kill us all. so they, obviously, have an expectation of somebody helping them, but there's no clear idea, nobody seems to know what that help might be if, indeed, help is offered. >> reporter: yes. they're facing a real threat.

the opposition has been calling for military assistance. they want their foreign packers to provide them with anti aircraft missiles, for example. they don't believe they can win the war if the russians control the sky. they are appealing for more weapons. at the same time we say late yesterday in ankara, politicians and leaders of groups saying how can they confront this military operation. they're appealing on the international community to take a stand against russia. like they said, they want more weapons, but it hasn't arrived. it is unclear what has happened. the important thing to mention here is that the ffs, their stronghold is in aleppo. you weaken them there and the so-called moderates no longer exist and they're the ones that the international community is in they who they were

negotiating with. the area is controlled by international community and considers them terrorists. for the opposition they're fighting for their survival if they want a place on the negotiating table. what is clear is that the government is negotiating on the battle field. it is hoping more gains on the ground will give it leverage in political negotiations thank you. the israeli parliament has voted to compel nongovernmental organizations to publish the origins of overseas donations. the controversial transparency bill has passed the first stage. opponents say it will unfairly target groups which help palestinians and the critical of israeli policies more than a hundred people have clashed with the police in hong kong pelting stones and setting fires in streets. police fired warning shots after

protesters started rioting throwing bottles and bricks at the authorities. violence broke out after government officials tried to evict food vendors during the lunar new year's celebrations. >> translation: we can never tolerate that and the police will spare no effort to arrest the rioters. i would like to give my kon dollences to those injured in the riot the hong kong chief executive condemned the violence of the rioters. we will get that for you in just a second if we can. the north korean satellite launch is tumbling in orbit rendering it useless. that hasn't stopped people celebrating the launch in pyongyang. the japanese parliament is debating a resolution that

condemns the launch as a serious military attack. what they have learnt about the launch? >> reporter: there seems to be a briefing to local media earlier on tuesday giving some information that the south korean side says that it has learnt from this launch, saying that according to its measurements, that the first, second and third stages all separated as normally as they intended to do. the booster stage hay have been intentionally exploded over the sea in an attempt to prevent the south korean intelligent services from learning too much from that first stage. however, they will, they say, be attempting to recover what debris they can in order to analyse the pieces that they do find.

they say that some technical improvements have been made from the 2012 launch by north korea saying that the range seems to have been extended from 10,000 kilometers estimated then to 12,000 kilometers, the size of the satellite has been doubled and the rockets more powerful, but it seems a very similar rocket to the one that was launched in december 2012. as far as the satellite is concerned, as you said, the u.s. media reports there saying it's tumbling in orbit. the south koreans are not saying publicly whether they believe whether it is functioning as normally. they say it is rotating, but it is too early to tell whether it is actually performing as intended what about the international efforts to up the sanctions package in place against north korea? how long until those added sanctions actually kick in? >> reporter: first they need to be agreed in the u.n. security

council. that is something that is, obviously, still being negotiated at the moment, and the chief obstacles would be the reservations of the russian sides and more importantly of china, but those powers, japan, south korea and the u.s. have been talking at the highest levels on tuesday. president obama have discussions with president abe and park geun-hye and abe had a conversation of their own, all in a few minutes of each other and expressing the will at least to try and get the tougher sanction sz possible through the u.n. security council, also talking about possible other measures. the prime minister of japan saying that japan may up its own unilateral sanctions against pk. park geun-hye and obama talking about other sanctions that they could exercise outside of the

u.n. security council. the resolutions and sanctions will be the most important from u.n. and china is the country to look through to get that through the u.n. security council and enforce it afterwards billions of dollars wiped off japanese stock markets. they plunged more than 5% on tuesday. it fell almost 5%. investors were spooked by turmoil in europe and u.s. as well as the rising value of the japanese currency which will hurt exporters. the first votes have been cast in the first primary of the u.s. presidential race. people in the smau town began to cast their votes. voters and the rest of the state will have to wait another few hours to have their say. our correspondent alan fisher is in new hampshire.

>> reporter: almost 100 years this dictates this should always be the place for the american first primary. the politicians come here through the snow and the chill of a north-east winter to woo the voters. gym gill four wants to be president. he is a republican and he side stepped the caucuses in iowa, instead starting his campaign here. >> iowa as wonderful as the people are have a very difficult process to participate in. that's a pace that can destroy candidacy and it did destroy four. instead i'm here in new hampshire to start my campaign because this is a direct vote of the direct people in this state. >> reporter: it doesn't matter about the weather or the long hours. if you're a presidential

candidate in new hampshire, you have to put in the effort. if the people here don't like it, then this is where your campaign will end. candidates will spend more than a quarter of a billion dollars here to get their message back. it is great for the local businesses every four years. it is a concern that this place is not representative of the u.s. as a whole. it's overwhelmingly white, few immigrants, higher home ownership rates than the rest of the country. >> terrorism, i.s.i.s. and the general concern over the economy and jobs, that ask shared broadly no matter where you go. the first two primaries don't have a lot of concerns with things like urban issues or race or some of the things that you would find being more concerning if you were in michigan or south carolina. >> reporter: the state has a

good record of the winners going on to secure the position. when most people think of the u.s. presidency, they think of the white house, the situation room and the global tours. before all that comes the breakfasts, the meetingss and the engaging with voters in new hampshire still ahead on the program. >> reporter: i'm in near the constitutional court. there is a trial that is gripping south africa high seas horror. passengers describe a terrifying ride as their cruise ship sails into a storm.

>> the nation's first primary, and a critical next step on the road to the white house. >> republicans, democrats... >> stay with al jazeera america for comprehensive coverage that's...

welcome back. you're watching al jazeera. tops stories. thousands of syrian refugees fleeing heavy fighting in aleppo province are trapped in the border with turkey. 30,000 people are trying to reach safety. turkey has only allowed a small number of people to cross the border. police have shot warning fights in hong kong. riots broke out after a crackdown on illegal food street vendors. votes have been cast in the first primary of the u.s. presidential race. people in the small town placed their votes.

turning to south africa where the president is facing a demand to repay state funds. he used to upgrade his home. the court case in johannesberg has been brought by opposition parties. they were outraged that takes yeahs had to pay for his swimming pool and a theater. what is going to happen today? >> reporter: too many things are happening. right now we're at the center here where the opposition supporters and the economic freedom fighters are starting to gather. they plan to march the constitutional court and demand that president pays the money back. it is about an hour's march from here. they should be meeting in 30 minutes or so. there will be 18 lawyers there from different sides, opposition, lawyers representing the president and other people. they will hear the matter and basically determine whether

president zuma should listen to the issues he has offered to repay some of the money. how has that offer been received? >> reporter: opposition parties, they're singing behind me, they say it is too little too late. why did he leave it so long. it has dragged on for many years. he wants to pay on his own terms. he wants the auditor general to determine the amount. they say they feel that he broke the rules by using taxpayers' money to upgrade his private residence. they say it essentially is corruption. that's why they're marring. he has agreed to-- marching. he says he is doing it for not being guilty but to put an end of the matter

aerial pictures we have seen, it looks like something that a film star would be living in, not the president of an african country. has he been asked to justify why he, for example, had to have anam pitheater? >> reporter: his supporters, people like the police station and ministers, saying those things are necessary for his security. he is a president, he needs to live in such a venue. the people who live around are mainly poor people have been looking at this mansion going up, some supporting and some saying why so much? the upgrades, even though they weren't necessary, his supporters say they are necessary to protect him and for his security, including the swimming pool we just want to show you some live pictures coming to you

out of southern taiwan. you can see here quite clearly what is the clean up operation after that big earthquake struck that country just about two and a half three days ago now. you see the diggers. they've moved in. you've got a really good idea of what happened when buildings went from being 17 stories high, vertical, obviously, to toppling over in a matter of seconds in a matter of minutes. we are assuming as well that there are no survivors in that particular location because, obviously, if there were survivors there, they would not be knocking that rubble around as they're doing right now. the boss of the construction company which built an apartment complex that collapsed in that earth quake has been found. he has been detained from questioning. the disaster has claimed the lives of 41 people in the worst hit city of tainan. questions have been raised as to why the complex came down so quickly. others did not-- and others did

not. they still are finding signs of life. one survivor has spoken about his ordeal, trapped inside the build with his girlfriend >> translation: towards the end i had already given up because to save my girlfriend i had to proper myself up against a wall so i didn't fall on her. in the end my body fell on top of her. she would soon not be able to breathe. i said to her i had to lay on top of her and she said it was okay rob mcbride was at the sights. rescuers have started using heavier equipment but only after extensive negotiations with relatives of people trapped inside. their concern is any further collapses could endanger the lives of the people they're trying to save. they insist that they're not bulldozing the site, only taking out larger pieces of debris and

masonry, to get access to the lower area. they have to pair in mind the relatives of people who know that their loved ones are in the lower parts of this structure, people that haven't been reached by the rescue teams and have to get rid of some of this debris from the top in order to do so. there has been a grim prediction of the mayor of tainan that ultimately the death toll from this tragedy will probably be above 100 some flights have now resumed into and out of pakistan after nearly a week of strike action by workers for the national carrier. pab stan international airline staff are opposed to government plans to prioritise the airline. thousands of passengers, however, do remain strand episode. -- pakistan. >> reporter: for hundreds of people across pakistan, this has become a daily exercise. they come to the airport hoping to board flights they paid for, but because of an airline strike, they can't. >> translation: i've been waiting at the airport for the

last two days to fly back to saudi arabia, but there are no pia flights and i could lose my job. >> translation: the situation is very hard. we don't know what to do. >> reporter: the strike turned violent last week when they were forceably stopped. their relatives are calling for justice over the death of two workers. >> translation: whoever was responsible, whether an individual or a wider sxers conspiracy, they should be punished >> reporter: they want the privatization to not go ahead. the strike is affecting thousands of people. workers say that the government should give them time to turn the airline around. the government insists that it cannot continue to spend millions of dollars required to keep running the airline. >> reporter: the state owned

airline and other poorly performing public entities are costing the government more than 60 million dollars a year. staff say they don't want flights to resume unless their demands are met >> we don't want to let the passengers travelling or the public suffer. the government needs to look into this. >> reporter: the government is willing to negotiate, but it won't be bullying into changing its policies >> government will do anything to retrieve the situation, whether it has to show some flexibility or whatever, but the basic principle on which we stand today and on which we stood previously, the process of privatisation, the strategy partnership will continue >> reporter: some flights have resumed, but it will take weeks before flight operations resume completely and that is once both sides come to an agreement a man has been shot dead in

dublin in what has been thought to be a feud between gangs from ireland and spain. a man in his 50s has been shot. there is confusion as to who the perpetrators. a man claimed responsibility saying he was a spokesman for the republican splinter group, the continuity ira. the irish national broadcaster ite reports there was another statement from the same group saying they have no involvement. carnival in brazil often a chance for the nation to forget its troubles and party, but this year brazilians are finding it harder to escape from a failing economy and other issues. >> reporter: carnival in brazil, a time for sam ba and good humor

during an economical and political crisis. not everyone is forgetting their problems. like this woman who came dressed as a box of basic foods and goodsd used to measure the cost of living. >> translation: the basics have become so expensive, inflation is high and so is corruption, so the poor are suffering. >> reporter: indeed, this street party is loosely titled what a mess, the good times are over: an opportunity for people to make fun of their ruling class. >> translation: the wife of the president of congress is accused of hiring a tennis champion for $59,000 for private lessons with our money, so we're dressed up as her. >> reporter: at another street parade we run into presidents, both being mocked. >> translation: i am a billionaire but i've got no idea

where i've got the money. >> translation: men and women of brazil, just to let you know, your light bill is going up 60%. >> reporter: brazil is facing a steeper recession and the president is fighting to avoid an impeachment process. this as brazilian see the standard of living drop >> they are going back to where they were 10 years ago because after rising of unemployment, because of the rise of inflation and so that's what is happening here. brazil is going to be where it was 10 years ago. >> reporter: even carnival is being down sized. no expense is being spared here for carnival, but in other parts of the city and the country, many traditional street parades have been cancelled because they can't afford it.

it is a year that doesn't bode well for the economy a big cruise ship has been forced to return to port in the u.s. after sailing into severe weather. passengers on board of the ship posted pictures on line showing toppled furniture and shat reasonable doubt line. more justice at aljazeera.com >> thanks for joining us on "america tonight." i'm joie chen. tonight we look behind bars and beyond them. as you would expect, there is often enormous stress for the convicts inside but consider the pressure on corrections officers those charged with keeping things under control and in a prison town where so many residents work in the industry, it's hard to make a get-away even after work. "america tonight's" michael okwu brings us a look into