wow. no hope in sight, more bad news for refugees stuck in greece as slow introduces new border restrictions. this is al jazeera live from doha. also ahead on the program, seven palestinians killed. nearly five years after the took seem that disaster, the closure of more reactors ordered closed over safety fierce. >> in senegal, the practice of

female genital mutilation continues, despite laws against it. refugees and migrants stranded in greece are losing hope they'll be able to cross into macedonia. tens of thousands are stuck in an increasingly unsanitary camp on the border and many are considering where to go next. the route is a popular way for refugees to reach countries like germany is being shut down. slovenia has introduced border restrictions. only people who plan to seek asylum or those with clear humanitarian needs will be allowed entry. that prompted serbia to announce plans to shut down its borders with macedonia and bulgaria to anyone without valid documents. the country had tightened their border controls in response to the spiraling crisis, leaving thousands stranded in greece with no clear path forward.

we have a report from the greece macedonia border. >> i think the one word that would sum it all up is that conditions are miserable. the weather not helping, when you can see just hint me, it is a big mud puddle, the whole camp, and it's like this everywhere. the tents of absolutely drenched. we've been watching throughout the day, people just falling to the ground because it's so slippery and then there's all the health hazards especially for the children. the greek authorities have dispatched two mobile units to give vaccinations to children here who have been having a very hard time. there's a lot of cases of diarrhea, of high fever, so it's becoming very, very difficult, especially that now people don't have money anymore. they've been here for two or three weeks, things are more expensive for refugees than they

are normally. people had limited budget to reach their destination, now that budget is all about you gone. >> many of those refugees are making their way to europe are syrians. those living in camps in lebanon tell a harrowing tale about living over seas living on grass. >> free to play without fear of a bomb being dropped on them, these syrian children are now safe in a lebanese refugee camp. it took a two month trek through a war zone for this family to get here. >> there was shelling, said this 10-year-old, people were dying and planes were dropping bombs. when they weren't hiding from the bombings, they were looking for something to eat. >> when we didn't find food, we ate grass from the ground. we had to lie to the children and tell them that it was edible. they would say to me this is grass, but i would have to tell them i bought it.

>> they had escaped from the city. much of the surrounding province is controlled by isil fighters. there now laying siege to parts of the city still in government control. >> they weren't letting food or anything in. my children were only eating grass, but my husband and i were eating anything, because we lost our appetite. if there was bread available, we'd eat it. >> save the children said shelling, bombings and airstrikes leave lasting psychological scars on children. this family's story isn't unique. there are not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of syrians suffering similar traumas. bernard smith, al jazeera. of course one of the major conflicts pushing refugees to europe is the war in syria, and while a shaky limited truce continues there, the people tasked with getting aid into besieged areas have been meeting in geneva. al jazeera's dip editor james

bays is at the united nations in geneva, and james, there's also been discussion about the next round of planned talks involving the warring sides. what can you tell us about that. >> this is supposed to be the day that those stalled talks, stalled back in february while people were here in geneva talking about the future. staffan de mistura, the special envoy said the talks start today but the only people arriving are other u.n. officials. he is hoping the two main parties will come in the coming

days. >> the focus would be on substance, on the agenda, on new government, constitution and future election in 18 months time, both presidential and parliamentian. the issue of ceasefire and we hope in practice should not be addressed by the talks, because we do have the two forces who are going to be simultaneously addressing those and therefore taking away the alibi in the way of those who may want only to talk about ceasefire and forgetting that at the end of the day, ceasefire and humanitarian aid alone are not the solution. the solution is a political transition in syria. >> well those comments have been welcomed by that the main opposition block, the high negotiations, i spoke to the

spokesman. he said he'd like to hear those comments from mr. staffan de mistura. they have not yet decided to come to geneva but if they do want to focus on the future governance of syria moving beyond the one current ruler. >> james, we reported earlier on the desperate humanitarian conditions for many people still in syria. what discussion has there been on that. >> there has been discussion on a task force meeting in the last hours saying they are making progress. out of the 18 besieged areas, they've reached 10. they have plans in two other areas, yarmouk, the refugee camp in damascus, they believe they'll start to get aid into that palestinian refugee camp. they are working on their plans for another attempt to an airlift, leaving six areas. i then pressed to the advisor on

humanitarian issues to mr. staffan de mistura about those remaining six areas and he confirmed that those six areas are all areas besieged by the syrian government. >> all right, james bays reporting to us lives from geneva. now there have been several more attacks across israel and the occupied palestinian territories in the past 24 hours. israeli police have shot their two palestinian drivers after the men allegedly opened fire on a bus. the incident happened in the remote area of occupied east jerusalem. in the occupied west bank, a palestinian was shot dead after attempting to stab an israeli soldier. we have been following events from west jerusalem. >> two palestinian men were shot near a checkpoint that went up on tuesday. that was after reports that at least one of them had tried to attack a member of the israeli border police.

now we're now hearing that one of those palestinians has died of his wounds and he's been named locally as sammy ahmed, a 16-year-old teenager from the occupied west bank. not long before that, that incident in occupied east jerusalem, what happened first of all was that two palestinians traveling in a car fired towards an israeli bus in the area. no one was hurt in that incident, but the israeli police gave chase and during that chase, the palestinians then fired at a jewish israeli and they actually wounded that person before then being shot dead by the israeli police. on tuesday, there were incidents not just in occupied east jerusalem, but in other parts in israeli itself, including notably in the port city of jaffa outside tel-aviv where a

man committed several stabbings before being shot as a palestinian attacker responsible for several different incidents. one of this is victims, an american tourist died of his wounds. that happened just down the road from where u.s. vice president joe biden was holding a conference with the former president of israeli perez after he landed in the country. >> the upsurge in violence marred a visit to israeli by u.s. president joe biden. easy met prime minister benjamin netanyahu and criticized palestinian leaders for not condemning attacks against israelis. >> you never need to doubt that united states of america has israeli's back. we know israel has our back, as well, i might add. it's not a one way street. we're committed to making sure israel can defend itself against all serious threats, maintain it's qualitative edge with a quantity sufficient to maintain

that. it's critical, because israel lives in as maybe knows better than anyone lives in a very, very tough neighborhood, a tough and changing neighborhood. >> we have taken many steps in recent months to fight palestinian terrorism, and we're taking even stronger measures now. i believe to fight terror, all civilized society must stand together. while israeli has many partners in this decisive battle. we have no better partner than the united states of america. it's a partner anchored in common values, confronting common enemies and striving for a more secure, prosperous and peaceful future. still to come on the program, just how is lebanon's economy reacting to the g.c.c.'s travel ban to the country. parts of asia and the pacific fall into daytime darkness during a total solar

eclipse.

>> that harmony, that politeness and that equilibrium that

japanese people call "wa". at the other side of history, fukushima's heroes were not enough. people have lost their trust, especially in the authorities. the myth of nuclear energy, of it being economic, safe and clean has been swept away. >> "fukushima: a nuclear story," narrated by willem dafoe. the top stories on al jazeera, slovenia is the latest balkan country to tighten border controls to stem the flow of ref jeers and migrants into europe. throes of refugees are stranded on the border between greece and macedonia. there's been a surge of attacks in israel and across occupied palestinian territories during the past 24 hours. one of the latest incidents was in occupied east jerusalem. israeli police shot dead two

palestinians after the men allegedly opened fire on a bus. in geneva, talks on the cessation of hostilities agreement end syria's human crisis are kicking into gear again. the task force has set a goal to reach an extra 600,000 syrians in besieged areas by the end of april. >> foreign ministers from the gulf cooperation council or g.c.c. are meeting in saudi arabia. they're latest talks are going on at a time of tension between the block and lebanon. the g.c.c. has declared the lebanese based on group hezbollah, a terrorist organization and told their citizens not to travel to lebanon. the moves are having an economic impact. >> visitors visiting beirut, this is perhaps the most popular destination, the down town full of designer shops and cafes. most sit empty.

ever since war erupted in neighboring syria, tourism has dropped. >> things here are just getting worse. this decision by saudi arabia will affect us even more, we hope things get better, but all we have is hope. >> saudi arabia and its regional allies told its citizens to leave lebanon and warned against future travel speaks filing security concerns. they declared hezbollah, lebanon's most powerful political and armed organization a terrorist group. saudi arabia is seen for pushing lebanon to allow iran to become so powerful across the down theory. >> it's not just the sharp decline in tourists that has

lebanese government leaders worried. they're also concerned that saudi arabia and gulf allies could impose restrictions on lebanese workers in the region, including canceling their work permits. >> more than 300,000 lebanese workers live in gulf countries. they send home around $5 billion in remittances every year. it's a major portion of lebanon's economy and foreign currency reserves. >> the one who can be heard is the people who support saudi arabia at least in lebanon. there's large portion of the country, at least the future movement, another organization big supporter of saudi arabia and they actually are the one who work in saudi arabia. >> lebanon has been caught in the regional rivalry for years.

it's unclear if iran is willing to step up its economic support to the government. whatever the case, the one thing most lebanese are sure of is that more insurgency lies ahead. al jazeera, beirut. a research analyst at the bahrain center for strategic international and energy studies says cutting aid to lebanon is a wake-up call for a country getting closer to iran. >> lebanon has been moving closer and closer to iran, even with all this going on in large part because of hezbollah. there seems to be this vacuum which no one has tried change. hezbollah has jumped into that vacuum and taken advantage of the situation and politicians have just, you know, accept you had it. there seems to be this idea that the gcc states are a blank check that will just keep on giving and giving, even though people

are working against their interests, and their allies, themselves haven't done much you to change that. this is a move to wake up lebanon, show that the lebanese people are suffering because of hezbollah's actions. something needs to be done. there is no proper government. it hasn't been functioning as a proper sovereign state. something has to give. >> japanese judges ordered the shut down of two nuclear power reactors because of safety concerns, that ruling becoming two days before the fifth anniversary of the fukushima in a nuclear disaster. the magnitude nine earthquake off the coast of japan triggered a tsunami, swamping the nuclear power station, causing three of its six reactors to meltdown. the crippled cooling systems caused massive leaks of radioactive water, which is still poisoning the sea. harry fossett reports from

fukushima where cleaning up the disaster is expected to take decades. >> i'm guided through the streets of this hometown. the chinese restaurant here he says made the best ram men noodles in the world. he finds small signs of hope like the almost magical appearance of a new gate at the shrine, an area designated to store radioactive waste. >> the people made this gate. jo. >> his home abandoned five long years, be a but he is determined to keep a sense of connection to it and his community. his delight is clear when he

bumps into an old school friend. his hope is to share this feeling by making a film about his town to show that life hasn't forever been extinguished here. >> watching my fear. i will make the community again. >>s scat that scattered the population began five years ago but it's not over. along the coast, thousands of workers struggle to stabilize let alone decommission the crippled power plant. >> the problems continue to accumulate. hundreds of tons of ground water are newly contaminated every day. this disaster still goes on. >> its effects are felt far away. forty kilometers away, there was a hot spot of radioactive fallout. parts of it are still under an exclusion zone.

endo used to go to school here. now he practices his art, his music influenced by disaster and dislocation. >> when i am performing, i don't think that even that in state of mind my emotions, memories and the future of my hometown. it all comes through as my music. >> he is worried about the effects of five years of fractured life on his community. he is part of a long community of drumming. he is trying to pass it down, a bridge to keep generations connected. two young men doing what they can to hold on to an idea of home. harry fossett, al jazeera, fukushima, japan. now the main opposition coalition in tunisias presidential election withdrawing from a runoff vote which is supposed to happen later this month.

the jailed opposition leader came in in second place in february. incumbent president won more than 48% of the vote. critics say the polls were rigged. the united nations says 3 million girls went through genital mutilation last year in africa alone. the practice is illegal in senegal and those who participate risk five years in prison. the law's been in place for two decades. we have this report from southern senegal. >> like every other girl, this 8-year-old loves being with her mom. playing jump rope with her friends. and getting her braids done. what sets her apart here is the decision her mother took not to circumcise her. the practice nine as female genital mutilation is

widespread. in this community of southern senegal, it's considered an act of purification. >> cutting a piece of my daughter's flesh to make her pure makes no sense to me. i want to save her from none r. unnecessary suffering. we've been shunned for taking no to the cuts. >> it is illegal, by age old tradition takes precedence over the law. girls as young as two have it done. because she hasn't, some adults curse her, saying she is impure and dirty. >> we don't really talk about it between us. >> that arty's otherwiseville forums, getting local celebrities, muslim leaders or. >> mams to speak out. >> he explains in christians

have nothing to do with islam. >> local artists encourage them to denounce those who mutilate young girls. despite these efforts, the practice continues. it takes place away from town, deep in the countryside. >> we're on our way to meet a woman that continues to circumcise young girls. she's been doing it for the last 20 years. she knows it's illegal but parents from the surrounding villages in this area continue to bring their daughters to her to get the procedure done. >> for each cut, she receives two bars of soap, six-kilos of rice, a chicken, and $3 in payment. >> not just tradition, it's our job. if you take this away from us, do you think an old lady like me can find a job? this is the only way to support

our family. >> mothers have suffered and challenge tradition who are bringing an end to this practice. despite what others may say or think about her, she feels free, protected and proud of her mother. nicholas hawk, al jazeera in senegal. the executive director for the foundation for women's health and development, a leading agency in britain is fighting to end female genital mutilation. she says organizations need to join forces to stop the practice in senegal. >> you find that in senegal, we see that a lot of religious leaders still believe that f.m.g. is a requirement for muslims, so we want religious leaders to come out. yes, there has been a law in senegal since 1999. there has actually been a national action plan working to end f.g.m., but the reality has

been that there hasn't been much effort to actually join up effort. you'll find that in senegal in particular, n.g.o.'s are working in different areas, but there is very limited funding for local n.g.o.'s in terms of how to work strategically and get the capacity to make that difference. afghanistan's women's football team have a new kit that would allow players to compete while following their faith. many women in the muslim majority country choose to cover their bodies and heads. the strip includes a hijab and leggings. it falls in line with fifa rules which lifted its ban on head covers in 2014. >> for some of these girls, if they are to play football, they have to, they want to wear hijab. instead of saying we have a choice to make, let's make one with is cool, fashionable, functional. people have been gazion at

the sky in wonder while others knelt in prayer as an eclipse happened in asia. we have a report. >> waiting for the moment when the moon is between the sun and earth, the spectacular solar show brought people together from all over the world. for some, it was their fifth total solar eclipse. most indonesians have never seen one before. >> i can see the total solar eclipse for the first time in my life. second, i will share my experience with all my friends and family. i will make them envy. >> traditionally, many in indonesia believe something bad will happen during a total solar eclipse.

before the last big eclipse in 1983, the government appealed to everyone to stay indoors. 33 years later, many came out to watch how day turns into night for two to three minutes. [ cheering ] >> slowly now, night is turning into day again here. it seems to be a bit eerie right now after all the cheering and excitement, people are kind of quiet, like they're in awe of what they just have witnessed here for the first time in their lives. >> i can't express it, but looks like wow! yeah. >> daniel from the united states was worried he would miss his third total eclipse because of the clouds blocking the view. the supreme moment is when the corona, the golden glow from the sun, draws a circle around the moon. >> when there is no clouds, the corona just goes out and out and out, it's amazing. this is beautiful, amazing, i still have goose bumps and heart

pumping the adrenaline. >> indonesia uses the total eclipse to promote tourism. next year, on august 21, it's the united states' turn to be amazed. there's lots more on our website, aljazeera.com. get the latest on all the stories we're following there. a pivotal night for a race in the white house. donald trump tightens his grip on the republican nomination. >> go ahead and shoot me, put the laser right there, put the bullet through the head. >> under scrutiny, the f.b.i. investigates its own in the fatal standoff with oregon occupier finnegan. ♪