and for the new arrivals, the only option is to wait their turn. >> hoda abdel-hamid is live. extraordinary pictures in your report. tell me more about what you are seeing now, right behind you? >> well, the port is behind me. it's complete chaos. they are accused of refugees going in both directions for hundreds of meters, and the wait is extremely long. all of these people are dying to be processed inside the port. to get a piece of paper allowing them to board a ferry. the greek authorities are overwhelmed. it's a long weight. sometimes they can go up to more than a week. some of the refugees are tired. what you see behind me is happening all over the town mere. wherever it is that the public space is available. wherever it is that you find people camped out. the greek removed thousands in this port. they are outside of the city. in an empty land. i was speaking to the head of the unrcr. trying to make a registration. as we speak, hundreds are offpouring into the island. >> we talk about people being registered and going on to a ferry. what's then? where does the ferry take

hoda abdel hamid has more. >> they arrive on overloaded boats from turkey, the refugees are syrian. >> i didn't want to leave. these are my children, they stopped going to school in university, there's no life, only fear, we had no life. >> reporter: a few meters away, another boat on the horizon, another, and more. this rubber dinghy's engine was broken so they were adrift. we heard them scream and shout. for a moment, there's an outburst of joy. but there's also so much anxiety. in a faint voice she says, i'm scared. no one cares about us. >> translator: we have no value anymore, we become a commodity, people make money off our back. we are a trading commodity. >> reporter: the entire northwest of the coast is like this, pile after pile of life jackets. a tiny little life jacket. one can just imagine the baby on board and here is the ruke rubbr dinghy they come across with. the first thing they do is puncture it, they're afraid to be sent back. but there's absolutely no one here. >> i was.expecting the police to help us out at least for the first night. we don't have food or water.

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 goi

and standing by for us in lesbos, hoda abdel hamid. erday, hoda, just to recap when we spoke you were on a beach in a different part of the island, a boat had come ashore and the refugees new they had to walk to the part if they wanted to get to the mainland of greece. did you go with them? >> reporter: yes, these are some of the people. we did meet this morning, one of the young men that had crossed last night when we were doing that broadcast. all of the people arrived here because this is where the port is, and this is where they can board the ferry to go to athens. this is one of five or six ferries that have been departing from here over the last 24 hours because the authorities came together and decided that you have to de -- deacon guest the island if you want to make livable conditions. this long line behind me, those are people waiting to buy their tickets. the registering process has sped up. it has moved to a stadium on the outskirts of the city and there are many more screening teams there. so people are getting their paperw

hoda abdel hamid has the story. >> children are often crammed in the middle. some are only a few months old. for others, it's an experience that will mark them, as much as the war they fled. >> translator: we were really frightened on the boat. i thought we were going to drown. we were also so scared that the coast guard would take us back to turkey. we had life vests, but we were so scared. i couldn't sleep on the shore of lesbos that's it. >> they met ayman, they became like brothers they say. giving courage to each other, as they continue their travels. there is no age limit to be a refugee. entire families are on the move, walking on roads, sleeping wherever they can. there's little space for youngsters to be children these days. parents say it is for their sake that they beg their way through europe but often it's the kids and their resilience that gives them the courage to continue. decided to leave kabul after her school was bombed bithe taliban. >> see with my eyes that my friend died. my teacher die. that's not very good. that's very bad. after the bo

hoda abdel hamid reports from the greece macedonia border. >> reporter: from the island they took the to the mainland, traveled through the night, and reach the border in the morning. it's pouring with rain. many are not prepared for this weather. children are soaked to the bone, yet the refugees are still determined to continue their journey, but it's one full of obstacles. the border police had blocked their path, and frustrations grew once more. the rain continued to pour. imparent the refugees press forward, the police push back, until it became too much to cope with. this is not the first time for the macedonian border guards to use force. others could just not wait anymore. and yet again risked their lives some today they were running out of money, others out of time. the macedonian police eventually let everybody in, and in the rush, probably by fear that the border will close once again, they left their personal belongings, like nappies for babies, sleeping mats, shoes for children, and even their tents that they will probably need, because they still have four countries to go

hoda abdel hamid reports. >> reporter: from the island they took the ferry to the mainland, traveled through the night, and reached the border in the morning. many are not prepared for the weather, yet they are still determined to continue their journey, but it's one full of obstacles. macedonian border police blocked their path, and frustrations grew once more. the rain continued to poor. impairment the refugees push forward, the police bush back. this is not the first time for the macedonian border guards to use force. others risk their lives yet again. some said they were running out of money. others out of time. the police eventually let everybody in, and in the rush probably because of fear that the boarder would close once again, they left their personal belonging, even their tents, that they will probably need, because they still have four countries to go through. >> reporter: for a while, the border stayed calm. aid workers and volunteers were getting ready for another human wave. most of the refugees stuck on the greek islands have been evacuated. about 20,000 people are exp

but let's take you now to hoda abdel hamid. in the greek border town south of the macedonian border. and hoda we were seeing earlier shocking footage of police using batons to control the refugees. >> reporter: yes, indeed. that actually happened this morning. there was a large group of refugees probably between a thousand and 1,500, it was pouring rain, like ask happening now. they were very eager to get into macedonia, the macedonia border police were stopping them. so there has been a little bit of scuffle as they were pressing and the police were pressing them back. this is not the first time the macedonian border police used such tactics. it has been going on ever since the refugee crisis spilled on to this border. because the border is about 50 meters behind me, and if you see there is a whole continuous flow since about half an hour ago, a continuous flow of refugees arriving now by bus, because greece has changed their regulations over the past few weeks, so they are allowed to take buses, and i can see a bus, again, ar

hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, on the greek macedonian border. >> australia's air force has completed its first operation over syria. no weapons were used during the mission which comes two days after australian prime minister tony abbott expanded operations against i.s.i.l. from iraq to syria. >>> turkey's government has lifted a curfew in the southeastern city of jizra. after fighting broke out with kurdish rebels. 30 fighters have been killed but kurdish politician he say the dead include almost 20 civilians. military had jizra under siege. >>> a magnitude 5.2 earthquake has struck japan's capital tokyo. there's no risk of a tsunami though. warning of possible landslides after heavy rainfall. shinzo abe has been visit is the areas hit by floods. many are left homeless. more than 100,000 have been affected by the floods and landslides. at least three people were killed. more than 20 others are still missing. >> japan is certainly used to tropical storms and types of. this is the 18th typhoon to sweep across the country this year so far. more rain fell in the 24 to 48 hour period tha

first, let's join hoda abdel-hamid at the border between greece and macedonia. many are waiting behind you at that crossing. many of them children. some of them unaccompanied miners. >> well, there are a lot of children among the refugees, i'd say the vast majority are travelling with parents, elder brothers, uncles or sisters. today the situation at this time seems a little calmer, in the spents that there are less refugees, that is not an indication that the flow is stopping in any shape or form. it's because it takes a long time to move the refugees from islands in to the mainland, and then usually when they reach it. they try to get a rest. and they have money sent from home. they make their way and continue their journey, there's a lot of children among the refugees. >> reporter: when boats land on greece's shores, children are crammed in the middle. some are a few months old. for the others, it's an experience that will mark them as much as the war. >> we were really frightened on the boat. i thought we were going to drown. we were so scared the life guard

hoda abdel-hamid has been following the plight of refugees off the greek island of refugees in lesbos. >> reporter: refugees pour into the island of lesbos, earlier we saw a rubber dingy carrying 25-30 people making it to the coast. through the binoculars, there's a rubber dingy stranded in the middle of the channel. they are waving for help. no one has arrived. so far night is settling in, there's little current or wind. it may take a while for them to reach the island. we see further away another boat that appears to have left shortly the coast of turkey. when they arrive here, they are happy. you hear them laughing and cheering and kissing each other, it's probably the last thing they do. we are 50km away from the capital, the island, where they have to go. they are not able to go on public transportation. they'll have to walk through the night. there's little assistance, there's a few volunteers giving them water. it will be a long walk. once they reach there, they may be surprised at the chaos that? the city. thousands and thousands of people are back at the port trying to figure

they are the first in the queues >>> that is hoda abdel-hamid live from greece. so much more information on this story and al jazeera has a special refugee spotlight page - articles, opinion, photo galleries and reports there. the spotlight section of aljazeera.com. there is more ahead on the newshour, including this... ..the united arab emirates declaring three days of national mourning for 45 killed in yemen, and warnings of drought in ethiopia, 4.5 million could need food aid. in sport, tom brady breaks his silence after being cleared by a judge in the debate gate. jo will be here with more on that. >> there has been protests in syria over the killing of a druz leader. look at the video, showing the aftermath of a car bomb. killing 25 others on friday. activists say they were against the syrian government and the armed society fighting against it. protests turned violence and governments were destroyed. in iraq, some sunni tribes are cooperating against the militias. for the tribe, it's less about unity, and more about fighting a common enemy. we have that rep

hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera. >>> secretary of state andrew mitchell on the phone with us. mr. mitchell we have seen the people who have had to leave they say syria and other place of conflict. we saw them there trying to get on in europe. is there a way of making the people who remain in syria for example feel like they are safe that they don't have to seek refuge? >> well, britain has been a staunch supporter of those caught up in the syrian catastrophe. and indeed the british government has announced today an increase in the funding of humanitarian support. but there are many of us who believe that while treating the symptoms of all of this, we're not properly addressing the causes. and the idea that i'm very keen to support is the idea of an international enclave, a place where people can go within syria under unite united nations ausps from troops of the region given air cover and air support as well. so the idea of having safe havens inside syria i think would provide so far what has not been available for syrians displaced. half the entire population there is now displac

hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, kiev. >>> meanwhile ukraine's prime minister had harsh words for russiaay. he clearly defined moscow as the enemy. >> translator: for the first time in the history of independence, there is a clearly identified enemy and aggressor in the draft doctrine, and it is the russian federation. >> he went on to the say the doctrine and joint military exercises would act as a warning to russia. a fragile truce between the ukrainian government and pro-russian separatists appeared to be holding today. both sides were attempting to mark the first day of school by keeping it free from violence. the two sides blame each other for regular violation of a ceasefire reached in february. for more let's bring in former u.s. ambassador to ukraine william tailor, good to see you, ambassador. let's start with this new ukrainian military doctrine identifying russia as an enemy and aggressor. will declaring it that way be counterproductive, further provoking the russians? >> apparently the russians don't need to be provoked. they act with or without provocation. but this new doct

usually they arrive in smaller rubber dinghies. >> hoda abdel-hamid reporting. european leaders have not come up with a policy to deal with the crisis, but today the leaders of the germany, france and great britain made pledges to try to address the issue, angela merkel said her country would set aside $6.7 billion to deal with the crisis. fans will take in over 24,000 asylum seekers for the next two years, and great britain accepting 20,000 refugees in syria. barnaby phillips has more from london. >> another boat from lesbos arrives in the harbour. almost 2,500 on board. many fled war, all for a better life in europe, or, at least, to give their children a chance. >> now they reached the mainland. they want to carry on. that suits greeks, who provide buses to take them to center athens, for where most of these people travel northwards. germany, most often the preferred destination. >> but if angela merkel's government has been among the most generous, they are looking for other european countries to do their part. >> translation: we need a strengthened european

usually they arrive in smaller rubber dinghies. >> hoda abdel-hamid reporting. european leaders have been scrambling to come up to plans to deal with the crisis. germany pledged to take in thousands. britain says it will take in thousands, but only from camp in the middle east. barnaby phillips with more. >> another boat from lesbos arrives in the harbour. almost 2,500 on board. many fled war, all for a better life in europe, or, at least, to give their children a chance. >> now they reached the mainland. they want to carry on. that suits greeks, who provide buses to take them to center athens, for where most of these people travel northwards. germany, the preferred destination. >> but if angela merkel's government has been among the most generous, they are looking for other european countries to do their part. >> translation: we need a strengthened response, and only with common european solidarity will we master this challenge. >> reporter: in paris, the french president is in agreement. his country will participate in an e.u. wide quota system for refugees. >

al jazeera's hoda abdel-hamid is outside a polling station there. hoda abdel-hamid, nine months after they were last asked to vote for a government. how did people feel about the election? > well, they are tired and exhausted about the economic turmoil. a couple of months ago they were in the same police. there were many voting in the everyoned um. it is six -- referendum. it is six hours before the polling stations close down. i was inside the school, and the ballot boxes looked empty. as you recall in july. things were difficult for the greeks, in the sense that there was capital control that exists, but the banks were closed. there was conversation about whether greek will exit the eurozone or not. that conversation has taken a backseat, at least at the moment, since the bailout agreement has been reached. so it looks slightly better for the greeks. even though they are tyred, and whoever -- tired and whoever will win the election is trying to get a mandate to push forward with more austerity measures, more reforms, and what many greeks were worri

. >> a birthday to round off that extraordinary voyage, hoda, thank you, hoda abdel hamid, on the greek island of les bos. lesbos. >> in other southwest of the iraqi city tikrit, progovernment forces took the city back from i.s.i.l. in april. >>> united states has delivered more arrangements and equipment to sunni tribal fighters to iraq's anbar province. they are expected to join the counteroffensive against i.s.i.l. but they are mistrusted by government troops and shia militia. as zeina khodr reports, the offensive is slowing down the advance. >> on the front lines against i.s.i.l. these men who operate under the government-backed popular mobilization forces have been doing most of the fighting in the absence of a capable military. but their growing strength in the sunni province of anbar has raised concerns in washington. >> translator: if the international coalition and its regional partners are reducing from 103,000 to 71,000 they want the number of the sunni fighters to increase from 15,000 to 50,000 this has caused tensions from the leadership of the popular mobilization forces a

hoda abdel hamid has been speaking with some of the newest arrivals. >> they are volunteer from denmark who are helping, giving them water and fruit. you can see on this there were a lot of children on this boat, tiny kids, these children as young as two years old and the other two babies are less than 1 year old. and it's the birthday actually of the little girl in yellow who's holding the apple in her hand. now they have arrived on this wooden boat here. it is actually one of the largest boats we have seen arriving, on this coast, usually they arrive in smaller rubber dinghies and in much smaller groups. >> thousands of refugees have been pouring into germany, many of them are now living in makeshift shelters and already planning their next move into other parts of the country and into other countries in europe. rob reynolds sent this from munich. >> inside a cavernous conference center in munich, refugees who entered germany over the weekend are finding temporary shelter. bus he are prepared to move them on to other areas of the country. each section, a quota of how many to take in d

hoda abdel hamid has been speaking with some of the newest arrivals. these children as young as two years old and the other two babies are less than 1 year old. and it's the birthday actually of the little girl in yellow who's holding the apple in her hand. now they have arrived on this wooden boat here. it is actually one of the largest boats we have seen arriving on this coast, usually they arrive in smaller rubber dinghies and in much smaller groups. >> i.s.i.l. fighters have captured parts of the last major oil field that was under syrian government control. the jazal field just northwest of the rebel held ancient city of palmyra. government workers had managed to secure the border in june, holding syria's natural gas fields and multimillion dollar extraction facilities. the u.k. says it's used a drone to kill three members of the islamic state of iraq and the levant, two were british nationals. it happened in raqqa in syria more than two weeks ago. the british prime minister called it an act of self defense. anna hayward reports. >> he spoke calm,

hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, on the greek macedonian border. >>> japan is searching for the missingow that flood waters are starting to recede near tokyo. at least three people died after levies broke. at least 22 are missing. wayne haye is in a hard-hit town northwest of tokyo. >> reporter: it was a day really when the weather cleared, which was the first piece of good news, and we also noticed that the water receded quite quickly. so that certainly enabled a lot of people who had spent the night in evacuation centers and friends and families homes to come back here and check on their homes and possessions. but still a lot of work to be done here. the city is largely in darkness, certainly this area where the river burst its banks and took everything with it. the banks are some 4 meters high. there was reportedly some construction work that was planned very soon, actually to fortify those banks. obviously too late to prevent this disaster. it did burst its banks some 70-odd years ago, so it has seen this sort of disaster before, but this level of rainfall the officials was saying w

. >> hoda abdel-hamid has more from baghdad. >>> turkey has confirmed the kidnapping of a number of their citizens. those were construction workers, they were taken from the actual site of the construction in the early hours of the mark. we understand from the iraqi military was na marked men wearing iraqi uniforms, they were responsible for seizing the turkish workers. among them a number of iraqis well. the baghdad operations demand has launched an investigation. re do not know who was responsible for this act. and we don't know the motives. there are some who suggest that this could be a criminal act simply because kidnapping for ransom are quite common in the iraqi capital. or whether or not there were political motives behind this action. where this took place - it took place in a neighbourhood north-east of baghdad. this is in the sadr city, a place where shi'a militias are strong, we know that shia militias have been critical of turkey's role in the fight against i.s.i.l. some blaming and accusing turkey of buying complicit. we know the relationship between turkey and iraq has been

now the democratic party poses a great challenge to syriza, as hoda abdel-hamid reports. >> reporter: just a couple of months ago in exactly the same place, many more voted in that referendum than they are today. there's six hours before the polling stations closed. could be they come later on. i was inside the school and the ballot boxes looked empty. if you recall in july. things were difficult for the greeks, in the sense that there was capital control, but the banks were closed. there was conversation about whether greek will exit the eurozone, that conversation has taken a back seat at the moment, since the bail out agreement has been reached. so things look slightly better for the greeks. even though they are tired and whoever witnesses elections will get a mandate to push forward with more austerity measures, more reforms, and that is what many greeks are worried about now >>> now to the war in syria, rebels trained by the u.s. entered aleppo from the turkish border. activists say 75 fighters crosseded in a convoy of cars, offering air protection from the united states. this, a

has hoda abdel-hamid reports the situation is tense. >> reporter: from the islands they took the ferry to the mainland, travelled through the night, reached the border in the morning. it's poring with rain. many are not prepared for the many are not prepared for the weather, children are soaked to the bone. yet the refugees are determined to continue their journey. it's one full of obstacles. macedonian border police blocked their path. frustrations grew once more. rain continued to pore. impatient, the refugees press forward. the police push back until it was too much to cope with. this is not the first time for the macedonian border guards to use force. others could just not wait any more. yet again risking their lives. some said they were running out of money, others out of time. macedonian police eventually let everyone in, in the rush, feared that the border would close once again. they left their personal belongings like cars, nappies for babies, sleeping bags. shoes for children and the tents, that they would probably need, because they have four countries to go through. for a w

hoda abdel-hamid, we have not seen a huge amount of enthu yax for the vote. you can understand when either way greeks will be hit with more austerity. >> well, definitely they are going to get hit with more austerity, the whole point of the next government. and that is why alexis tsipras tried to call for this snap elections. he wants to get a mann day if he wins to push forward with the austerity measures, something like 60 builds that need to be voted in parliament before the end of the year. difficult moments ahead. obviously what kind of measures should be taken, what should be accepted has been at the heart of the debate. as you said, there's a lock of enthusiasm. i was inside the school, the polling station, and we went from classroom to classroom and the number of voters is low. could be sunday morning it's good whether, and they'd come later. i spoke to election workers, and they said that it is quite low, less than 10% of voters in this school cast the ballot. that's probably because greeks are now tired, and disillusioned. >> absolutely, and the eco

hoda abdel hamid has been speaking to some of the newest arrivals. >> they are volunteers giving them water and fruit. as you can see, there were a lot of children on this boat tiny kids. these children as young as two years old. and the other two babies are less than one year old. and it's the birthday actually of the little girl in yellow who's holding the apple in her hand. now they have arrived on this wooden boat here. it is actually one of the largest boats we have seen arriving, on this coast, usually they arrive in smaller rubber dinghies and in much smaller groups. >> british mp andrew mitchell, is the former undersecretary of state for international develop. he says setting up in home countries is one of the most important things the international community can do. >> there are many of us who believe that while treating the symptoms of all of this we're not properly addressing the causes. and the idea that i'm very keen to support is the idea of an international enclave, a place where people could go within syria under united nations auspices heavily defended of course but p

. >> hoda abdel-hamid reporting from the greek island of lesbos. >>> next, major changes in the catholic church, a policy on annulments. not everyone from the vatican is happy. later this hour - remembering a leader of the selma markets. the leg as aof amelia boynton robinson. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >>> pope francis is changing the process for annulments, at the moment they can cost hundreds of thousands. at the moment couples will have to pay a small administrative fee and take less time. they will no longer have to be reviewed by church officials before being approved. francis kissling is a former president of catholics for choice, a former nun.

first we go to hoda abdel hamid who is at the greek island of lesbos.n the chief says that there needs to be a way to increase ways to refugees to allow legally. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: they really arrive by crossing the channel between here and turkey, and then they are really left to their own devices, now we have a few volunteers waiting for them. giving them water, fruit, and clothes for the children. but they arrive. they don't know exactly where they are. and many are very survived that from their arrival point that have to walk a long ways to make it where i am now. behind me is one of the ferries that has started carrying refugees to the mainland. roughly about 2,000 can get on that ship. and that process started to speed up since last night. as we understand it. 8,700 have already left the island. that doesn't mean the pressure is easing. because while they leave, more are coming on to the island. but they pressed on the local authorities, on the greek government that that had to happen very quickly, because the island was so co

hoda abdel-hamid sent this report from lesbos. >> tensions have ease the up because the registration process has improved. most teems arrived to the island and the operation has been moved to a stadium. thousands of refugees were able to get the registration paper allowing them to board the ferry and continue the journey. the first stop is athens, and across several ball can countries. it's estimated between 8,000 to 10,000 left this island. many more are still waiting here. living conditions are very poor. >> you can see there's garbage everywhere. kids are playing and many people sleep on the pavement. those that have a little more money can buy tents at inflated price sis. apart from that, there is nothing else. many come and ask you where is the toilet. we have seen kids having showers here on the pavement just with bottles of water. it's been extremely difficult, but now that it's some sort of a process, so the refugees do know at least what is going to happen to them in the coming days. these young men are actually landed here last night. we have met them along the coast. when

first, let's join hoda abdel-hamid at the border between greece and macedonia. it look, as i say, much calmer there today. there's not the flow of refugees behind you there that we have seen over the past few days. >> yes, it does look much calmer. since this morning. maybe 1,000, 200 refugees crossed into macedonia. that's not an indication that the human wave has stopped moving. it comes by portions, i would say, in the sense that they are moving from the islands in to the mainland. usually they stop. maybe they have money transferred to them. they can check into a hotel, have a shower, a nice sleep in a bed after spending so many nights on the streets of the island. and the buses bring them here. be know in the coming hours there'll be 10 buses coming. throughout the day you see more. as an indication, the ferry company said that over the last three days it had sold 29,000 tickets from lesbos alone. so all of these people are going to come here. half of them to the border, and among them an enormous amount of children. >> reporter: when boats land on greece's