>> this is the true definition of tough love. a looming humanitarian crisis in kunduz while the afghan army battles of taliban street by street for the city. ♪ ♪ hello, i am sammy zeidan, you are watching al jazeera. also on the show, iraq's prime minister opens parts of baghdad's green zone to the public for the first time in 12 years. record rainfall batters the southern united states.

south carolina's governor calls it a one in a thousand year event. and unlikely visitors, hundreds of whale sharks gathering each year in the heart of the gulf. the northern afghan city of kunduz has become a battlefield form a week now control of the streets this one backwards and forwards between government forces and the taliban. now while the fighting rages, civilians suffer. doctors are refuse to go operate in the main government hospital for fear of air strikes. let's go straight now to to south of kunduz city. so, is the government offensive coming together now? >> reporter: well, sammy, we have talked with the residents of kuhn dues city and afghan security forces, they are telling us now afghan security forces are in control of city center kunduz city. afghan security officials are telling us that the taliban are still hiding in the neighborhood

around the city. i have talked with one of the leading generals of this operation from afghan government side, he told me that they have changed their strategy, they are trying to engage taliban at the outskirts of the city. they say that simple for the reason to avoid civilian casualty. that's why they are trying to take the fight to go the outskirts, they have confirmed heavy fighting is still ongoing around kunduz city. >> what i am hearing about the humanitarian situation, if you need medical help in kunduz today you are going to struggle to find a doctor? >> reporter: yes, a team of doctors arrived from kabul yesterday. today they were denying to go and work out of the main provincial hospital in kuhn dues city. they said simply we don't trust nato air force they will not repeat the mistake again and bomb the hospital.

so they have launched -- they have established a medical center near the airport where afghan government has the control. and the injured are coming from the city by ambulance to them and they are treating them there. we talked with the residents of kunduz city they said the they e now busy collecting the dead body from the streets where they were lying for more than a week to bury them. the few shops are open the prices are very high, but at least residents are saying now they are on not suffering from lack of food and water in i more. >> and you whose really e emboldened perhaps, to talk about today it's been a week since this offensive began or trouble began in kunduz. what sort of less sun this establishing in the mind of people and perception about the battle against the taliban? >> reporter: well, afghan president a few days ago he admitted that the first lesson that they learned from here is

cooperation among afghan security forces. all this week afghan security forces were suffering from a lack of leadership and coordination among them. that's the first lesson that they learned. second lesson for afghan people that they have lost the faith on afghan security forces. no one would believe two months ago the taliban would manage off 13, 14 years to get control of a big city like kunduz, so people in the neighboring provinces, people of kunduz city they all lost their faith on afghan security forces. >> all right, we'll leave it there for now, thanks so much. palestinian teenager has been killed in violent clashes in the occupied west bank. the 18-year-old died when he was shot by israeli troops at a checkpoint. more than 180 others were wounded. there was also an israeli air strike on northern gaza.

the army says it was in response to a rocket attack that hit southern israel earlier. now baghdad action heavily fortified green zone has been open to you are to the public. i been largely off limits to the local iraq are rack is since the u.s. invasion in 2003. let's talk to imtiaz tyab who is live for us in the iraqi capital. whenever talk about opening the green so, no doubt a significant open. but how open is it? >> reporter: well, in short, sammy, not very much. the iraqi prime minister made a very big show just last night, sunday night, when he announced that the green zone would be open. but the facts on the ground are very different. in fax, what we understand is that only one main road of the green zone has been opened. and a few small side roads as well. in saying that we tried to go out there earlier this morning and we were told that actually, those roads are now close today

what we were told was for maintenance reasons. so practically on the ground the green zone is still closed. now, the green zone, for the viewers who may not be familiar with it. is a 10 square kilometer-sized zone, it's very heavily ford fight, blast zones, barbed wire and a huge security zone around it. inside the green zone is where many foreign embassies are and indeed where many major iraqi ministries are and for your average iraqi, for your average citizen of baghdad it symbolizes not just the american occupation which began in 2003. but also symbolized the disconnect between the iraqi government and the needs of the people, which is perhaps why we had this announcement from the prime minister in the first place. he's trying to push through a series of reforms after months of protests on the streets. right across iraq and indeed here in baghdad. but as we have been saying

practically on the ground. very little has changed. >> does this mean security has improved in the capital? i was just looking at some of the head lines the last few weeks we have had the deputy minister of justice abducted, foreign workers kidnaps. >> reporter: indeed. and only two days ago 24 people were killed and 57 were injured in a double suicide car bombing in the northeast of baghdad. the security situation in this city and indeed in many parts of iraq that are still under the loose control of the central government. the security there remains extremely precarious and you only have to consider the fact that many western diplomats have expressed some concern privately about this announcement of opening up the green zone, they are concerned that this area at least this one main road, which the prime minister has announced would be open, could be the target of attacks. so the situation here in iraq and indeed in baghdad from a

security point of view remains very unstable and as we have been saying there is some concern that with the easing of at least some of the restrictions on the green zone that, it could fall prey to various groups who want to target it in violence. >> all right, imtiaz tyab there from baghdad. thanks for that. syrian activists say isil has destroyed a nearly 2,000-year-old arch in the ancient city of palmyra. the syrian observe story for knehuman rights said they grew p the arch of triumph. it was one of the top attractions in the middle east before syria's war. hundreds of men and women are protesting against the saudi-led air strike strikes inr country. that chanted supports for the houthi rebels and condemned the united nations for not stopping the killing of civilians. against the campaign against the houthis by mainly gulf nations.

the japanese government is expressing outrage over the killing of one of its citizens in bangladesh. japanese investigators expected the site where he was shot dead. a group claiming links to isil said it carried out the attack. it's the second killing of a foreign national in less than a week. north korea says it will release a detained south korean student, he crossed north korea-china border earlier this year. he says he did so illegally. harry fawcett is in seoul with more. >> reporter: just 10 days ago north korean officials placed him before the cameras to make a public admission of his difficult. >> i am not very sure about my future. but because i broke the law by illegally entering i will accept any judgment as given. but as a young col student -- who wanted to satisfy

his cure curiosity i hope to be cheated vein generously. >> reporter: i across over in april. at one point of his' test he said he wanted to prompt a big vent in i want korean relations. marking the 770th anniversary of the ruling workers parties. there has been speculation that north korea might mark the moment by firing a long-range rocket. although there is no reported evidence of april raises. such an act would jeopardize a recent agreement between north and south which ended a heightened round of tensions in august. his release could be read as a gesture of goodwill, a continued investment in improved relations. however in june north career crew a sentence towards other south korean nationals to life with hard labor espionage charges. a baptist church was given the same. south korea is insist on the ground the release of all three

men. an official from the unification ministry which deals with interim korean affairs called it a relief. harry fawcett, al jazeera, sole. ups are feared death after a landslide. rescuers do not think they'll find anybody else. they found the bodies of 131 131 people the area was identified in a report last year as high-risk. the southern united states has been hit by record rainfall. south carolina's governor is calling it a one in a thousand year event. hundreds have had to be rescued from the flood waters as john hendon explains. >> reporter: the eye of joaquin skirted the u.s. main land but its rains pounded the coast from south carolina to the northeast. storms ripped town power lines, wash out roads and wrecked homes. >> i heard this round boom.

it was loud. i knew it was a tree. >> reporter: high winds and rain dismantling this home in new jersey and floated it down the bay. thousands heeded government warning to his evacuate. others took their chances and were trapped. >> well, it's all of the hardwood floors done popped up and everything is floating and the water is up above the show as. it's three feet deep pretty much in the whole house. >> reporter: the storm focused its fury on the carolina coast leaving residents to improvise their commutes. coast guard search and rescue crews have found only parts of a ferry from florida that had 33 on board. headed to puerto rico when it lost contact with the coast guard. >> the ship became disabled because of a mechanical problem and the ship found its way in the path of the storm. >> reporter: the historic downpour left residents banded together and left kathy jefferson cleaning up and bracing for more rain.

>> my house is totally full of water. the floors are all damaged. the furniture is all wet. everything is gone. >> reporter: coastal flood warnings have been issued for parts of delaware, maryland, new jersey, north carolina and virginia as the storm heads northward. still to come on al jazeera. >> reporter: a car wash in a petrol station is at the center of brazil's largest scandals ever. i have come take a look. what's fueling ma lik malays currency crisis.

maybe freddie gray didn't have to die. >> is there still a blue wall of silence in american cities? >> did somebody get shot? fault lines baltimore rising only on al jazeera america

♪ ♪ welcome back. let's recap the headlines here on al jazeera now. doctors in the afghan city of kunduz are refuse to go operate in the main government hospital for fear of airstrikes. medical charity doctors without borders wants an independent investigation after one of its hospitals was hit on saturday killing at least 22 people. a palestinian teenager has been shot dead by israeli soldiers during violent clashes in the occupied west bank. israeli security forces conducted raids in the area after two separate attacks on israelis in recent days. baghdad's heavily fortified green zone has been open today the public, the area has been largely off limits to ordinary iraqis since the u.s. invasion of iraq in 2003. the refugees cries cries will dominate talks with

turkeys' president in brussels today. e.u. officials have suggested sending financial aid to turkey to keep migrants while they process their asylum requests, al jazeera's enter nad smith is there meeting some of the refugees trying to leave. >> reporter: this is a major transit hub on the journey to europe for syrian refugees. a chance to rest before one of the hardest parts of the journey. smugglers hang around the cafe. we heard this man offering 250,000-dollar seats syrian refer sees don't have the right to work in turkey so many don't see a future here. >> there are no job opportunities in turkey. if there are any you have to work more than 12 hours a day for 300 to $400 a month. people here see a syrian they think they can make him work more but earn less.

>> reporter: they plan to swim to grease. they have plotted a four-kilometer route between the turkish coast and a greek island. they say they have already twice made it more than halfway across, but the coast guard caught them. next time, they'll swim at nig night. >> translator: i don't want to make money. i am a gold keeper i j are just want to achieve my dreams and live like anyone wants to live. i lost my future in syria. what is happening there you can't even describe. >> reporter: most of these refugees will say the same thing. they have a basic human desire for a peaceful light with opportunities. while turkey has significantly opened its borders to syrian refugees its policies have been based on the idea that eventually they would return home and not settle here. a large economy by no pay no, rights and, no protection. a professional footballer who has played in the syrian

national team, actually made it to europe. but he says living in austria was too much of a culture shock. he came back to turkey. >> translator: i think for a young religious muslim person european countries can be very hard, they might tell you say your prayers and after that you can go to bars without any problem. people tell you you can do anything you want to do. but me, i couldn't handle that situation. >> reporter: these people will tell you putting their lives in the hands of smugglers, spending their last dollars on life vests is the last thing they want to do. many are still waiting it out in turkey. but as the war in syria drags on, more and more refugees are seeing life in europe as the only long-term solution. bernard smith, al jazeera, in southern turkey. portugal's center right party has won an election victory but needs to form a coalition to govern.

outgoing minister says he's ready to talk to other parties. the election was seen as a test of the government's tough austerity stance in the wake of the global economic crisis. >> translator: we did not manage to achieve a majority in parliament as we had picked for. i told all the portuguese peopled it would have been a faithful way of facing the neck four years but i respect the decision of the portuguese people. now to all corruption scandal that's reached some of brazil's most powerful people. it came to light when brazilian police uncovered the money laundering operation at a car wash is. >> reporter: these yellow and green rib ups the colors of brazil's flag have been tied around trees in the city to show support to a police force which, for the past year, has put some of brazil's most powerful people behind bars. executives of oil join petro

brass. have all been charged in a multi billion dollars corruption case. a car wash is at the center of the police investigation. a money laundering scheme involving a car wash that used to be in a gas station led federal police to the first indications that petro brass executives woo be behinds what has become the largest corruption scandal in brazilian history. the astonishing amount of money involved and how far up the political system the scandal goes have enraged many. thousands have taken to the streets to protest against corruption and the ruling party. >> this car wash was partly possible precisely because it was led by a judge from a minor state with no visibility but who along with a group of young prosecutors took o on the job to go off the corrupt tours, the big businesses, political leader and not just those corrupted. >> reporter: for the federal police their task never thought to be a simple one, has surprised even them.

>> translator: in the first stage of our investigation, we realized this involved high-ranking figures. by the seventh stage, we were arresting the owners of brazil's largest construction conglomerates. now we are in the 18th stage and the investigation's reach is only getting wider. >> reporter: with the recent. [ inaudible ] of the ruling workers party. many fear the accusations could reach as high as president dilma rousseff who served as chairwoman of petro brass before taking power. so far, rousseff has not been accused but police say more of her close aids may be soon. >> translator: this is about a corruption scheme that was reproduced throughout the country's public institutions we are now investigating contracts with the ministry of planning. ministry of health as well as brazil's largest public bank. >> reporter: government critics say it has been uniquely successful in bringing the powerful to justice, but also

say unless the legal system is completely renewed, this, the biggest scandal in brazil's history will soon be followed by one that makes it pale in comparcomparison. malaysia's currency is hovering around its lowest level against the u.s. dollar in 17 years. in just three months it has dropped 16%. making it more expensive to import goods in to the country. a cost which normally gets passed on to consumers. it is sitting at 4.39 against the u.s. dollars. it isn't the only asian currency to fall. the singapore dollar hit a 6-4 low against the u.s. dollar. the thai slipped to its lowest level in nine years and indonesia fell to its lowest level against the dollar in 20 years, many faxes or are driving it down, a wrong them lower oil price asks a slowing chinese economy. and a financial scandal

involving the prime minister, florence l on. oi reports from wall a lumpur. >> reporter: she started her own business five years ago. she sources and packages for corporate gifting. many of the items she buys are from abroad and quoted in u.s. dollars, the depreciating local currency is i can mag business tougher. >> i have canceled the order from my client. i had to cancel a approximately o. because what i quoted back in july, for example, the rate was below 4. and it was a large jim that i cannot cover my costs. >> reporter: it is now asia's worst performing currency. having fallen to its weakest level since late 1997. an economic slow down in china. ma raich's largest trading partner and the slum inch the

price of oil be contributing to the decline, it doesn't help that foreign investors the world over are pulling out capital from emerging markets such as malaysia because of concerns of global growth. the problem is also made worse by a political crisis. a stayed-owned investment arm has ran up huge debts and is accused of false auditing. the prime minister is also implicate in the financial scandal. it's alleged that seven hung million dollars channeled to his personal bank accounts flowed through the fund. but he said the money was a donation too his political par party. >> there is so much uncertainty. what will it turn out like. what the federal reserve do there is such uncertainty that nobody knows whether or not we have reached rock bottom. >> reporter: times are tough, and she says some clients have canceled orders telling her they are cutting costs, no one can

say for sure how long this period of economic turmoil will last. florence looi, al jazeera, koala lumpur. announced asylum seekers in prison at an australian descension center will be allowed to move freely on the island of the island's justice minister says the changes would mean a more companionate regime. that roo says it will process 600 remaining refugees claims. a court will examine the legality of the process this week. trying to limit the human impact on ocean life. a report on an unlikely marine sanctuary. >> reporter: we are speeding out to a site in the heart of the arabian gulf. close to the maritime border between iran and qatar.

80-kilometers out, the oil field. a high-security zone closed to the public. right here, every summer, something extraordinary happens. the whale sharks arrive in huge numbers, gents think giants, filter feeding on the surface. it is a bewildering sight. and they come right up to the boat. some nine meters long or more nearly 400 have been identified here. you would think for all the world there would be nothing here at all. the outside air temperature is plus 40. it's not that different in the sea itself. and yet every summer there is this enormous action games of this iconic spice u species.

the platform owners have researched this for four years. we are getting our equipment ready and getting our satellite tag ready. we want to know where the females are going because we really don't know whether they give birth and hopefully the tags here can tell us a little bit more about where the females go. from the surface it's impressive. from below it's astonishing. the sharks come in sucking in the inning available aches of small too tuna. the question is what draws them to waters thought to be too hot for such biodiversity. >> we think that the secret to this place is the currents. the sigh chronic current and it actually sucks cold are water up. and maybe the platforms. >> reporter: the platforms have turned in to artificial reefs which attract species that would not otherwise live here and perhaps help to concentrate the mackerel tuna spawning.

>> it's a unique place to see the whale sharks, you haven't got the influence of people being in the without we are them at the same time. there is a lot of problems and a lot of conflict with altruism. but obviously here it's very far ashore it's quite a hostile environment. >> reporter: but at the laboratories. the scientists monitor the signals put out bite the satellite tags. >> they are still aggregating around the flat forms. and then we still have four females that are tagged so it's going to be really exciting to see what they do next. hopefully go on a long journey and, you know, reveal where they actually give birth to their young. >> reporter: it is an unlikely sight in the heart of an oil and gas field. soon the whale sharks will disappear for the winter, to return next april. the natural wonder that only

goes to demonstrate how important it is to look after the oceans of the world. nick clark, al jazeera, the arabian gulf, qatar. and if you want to get more on that story and all the others we have been telling you about, just head over to aljazeera.com. humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. tonight: technkow in search of the great american prarie. >> we're in the prarie state yet ironically, we have such little of it left. >> farming and overdevelopment killed it, now get ready for this... an explosition of color and the return of these native animals.