the afghan army still fighting on te outskirts of kunduz seven days after the taliban first took the city. ♪ ♪ hello, i am sammy zeidan, you are watching al jazeera. also on the shore iraq's prime minister opens parts of baghdad's green zone to the public for the first time in 12 years. record rain foul battles the united states. south carolina governor's calls it a one in a thousand years

vents. hundreds of whale sharks gathering each ear in the heart of the gulf. ♪ ♪ for a week now, control of kunduz has swung backwards and forwards between government forces and the taliban. the center of the ski is calm with people on the streets for the first time in days. but there is still fighting on the outskirts. let's go straight to south of kunduz city. does it look like the army is in control of at least the city center right now. yes, afghan security forces in control of the center of the kunduz city but they confirm that the taliban are riding in residential area around the city. i talked this morning with one of the leading afghan generals in this operation, he told me

the strategy changes. he was saying they were trying to engage taliban outskirts of the city not inside the city to avoid civilian casualties. >> what does that mean for the humanitarian situation which residents are facing there? >> reporter: i talked with a couple of residents, they were very happy to see the shops are open, that life is going -- start to going towards being normal. they are telling us after one week -- more than a week now they are able to buy some food and some water from the shops. they were living under heavy fighting in the past week, with no water, no food, no electricity. now the locals also business toy bury dead bodies remember there were so many dead bodies lying in the streets. now they are burying their dead bodies, taking their injuries there, but, remember, sammy, the

team of doctors that arrived from kabul, they are still denying to go and work from the central hospital there from provincial kunduz hospital, simply because they don't trust the incidents of the bombing of the hospital will not be repeated again. so what happens now there is a medical center in the outskirts of the city near the airport where afghan government controls and where th the ambulances brig injuries or sick people to them for instrument. >> to what extent to the ball of kunduz in the hands of the taliban to what extends to that raise questions about the ability of the security forces. >> reporter: we walked to many afghans not just in kunduz but lives in the provinces around kunduz, they are telling us that they have lost their faith on

afghan security forces. 7,000 -- about 7,000 afghan security forces were involved in this operation. and it took them more than a week to take the control of -- full control of the city. that all raised eyebrows of locals of how much they could trust their forces. now also the afghan who were stuck in kuhn dues city in the past week, they were complaining about use of artillery, heavy bombardment, use of artillery from both sides. they are saying that no side respects their safety. >> all right, thanks so much for that update there. the palestinian teenager has been killed in violent clashes in the occupied west bank. the 18-year-old was shot dead by israeli troops at a check point. more than 180 others were injured. there is also an israeli air strike on northern gaza. the army says it was in sponge

to a rocket attack which hits southern israel earlier. parts of baghdad's heavily fortified green zone has been open to the pub lil', it's been largely off limits to older iraqs since the u.s. invasion in 2003. imtiaz tyab reports from baghdad. >> reporter: following the surprise announcement by the iraqi prime minister that the green zone would be reopened, it, of course, was welcomed by many people here in baghdad hoping for an easing of the major congestion that we see in this city of 7 million people. and perhaps just as importantly, a symbolic shift in the way the city operates. the green zone, of course, is a 10 square kilometer large area which eats up three big neighborhoods in the heart of the iraqi capital. it is where large embassies are based, where the seat of government is based and to open that up, really in the views of many people here, was symbolic

in the sense that it would perhaps lead to this perception or the end of this perception and the disconnect between the rulers here in iraq and the needs on the street. they only have to consider just what exactly followed the announcement of the prime minister, we tried to access this newly opened section of the green zone, we were told that it was closed for what was described as maintenance purposes. so while the prime minister is promising huge reforms, reforms that people have taken to the streets for months to di demand, it would appear on the ground that very little has changed. hundreds of women in yemen are protesting against called i-led airstrikes on their country think they gathered in the capital supporting slogans in support of the houthi rebels and condemned the u.n. to stop the killing of civilians by mainly gulf nations. the japanese government is

expressing outrage over the killing of one of its citizens in bangladesh, japanese investigators inspect the site where he was killed again, a group with links to isil said they carried out the attack it's the second killing of a foreign national in the less than a week. the southern portion of the united states has been hd hi hiy record rainfall. hundreds have had to be rescued from the flood waters as john hendon explains. the eye of joaquin skirted the u.s. mainland but its rains pounded the coast from south carolina to the northeast, stormed ripped downpour lines, watched out roads and wrecked homes. >> and i heard this loud boom and it was loud. i knew it wasn't -- i knew it was a industry. >> reporter: high winds and rain dismantled 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 the hardwood floor has done popped up and everything is floating and the water is up below the tv. above the sofa it's three feet pretty much deep 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 the freighter of a cargo shift that left florida with 33 on board headed toward por puerto o when it lost contact with the coast guard. >> the ship became disabled because of a mechanical problem. and the ship found its bay in to the path of the storm. >> reporter: the historic downpour left residents banding together to rescue the stranded 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. hundreds of caught mall ans are feared dead after thursday's landslide. search teams are losing hope of finding survivors in villages in the south. they found the bodies is of 131 people. the area was identified in a report last year as high-risk. north korea says it will release a detained south korean student. he crossed the north korea china border earlier this year. pyongyang 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 in pee wrong yang to make a public admission of his guilt. >> 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 college student

i -- who wanted to satisfy his curiosity i hope to be treated generously. he cross ed in to north korea from china in april. and the one point during his captivity he was quoted as saying he wanted to prompt some big vent in inter korean relations. his release comes five days before a huge military pa paid is due to be held in pyongyang marking the 70th anniversary of the foundation of ruling worker's party. there has been speculation that north korea might also mark the moment by firing a long range rocket. no evidence of preparations though. his release could be read as a gesture of goodwill, a continued investment in good relations, however, in june north korea sentenced two other south korea nationals to life with hard labor on espionage charges a baptist mission irrelevant air i was given the same sentence last year. south korea continues to insist

on the release of all three men but has welcomed the decision to hand over the student. all it be after months of demands from seoul. an official from the unification ministry which deals with inter career an affairs called it a relief. harry fawcett, al jazeera, seoul. still to come on the show. we immediate syrians in turkey waiting to brave the dangerous sea journey to europe. and it all comes out in the wash. how a humble car wash in brazil help today uncover the country's biggest corruption are corruption scanned think. scandal.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

welcome back. let's recap the headlines here on al jazeera now. doctors in the afghan stew of kunduz are refuse to go operate the main government hospital for fear of air strikes. the 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 israeli police. baghdad's heavily fortified green zone has been open to the public. area has been large on off limits to ordinary iraqis since the up advantages of the u.s. in 2003. at least eight people have been killed from shootings in the capital of burundi. ongoing tensions between police and protesters since the president was elected for a third term in july.

people are accusing the police of killing unarmed civilians, caroline malone reports. >> reporter: in the suburb a woman cries out for her husband. he's one i've number of people whose bodies were found on sunday morning. people in the area say he was shot by police. she says she can't look after their children without him. there were similar scenes in neighboring districts, an administrator has confirmed there are a number of dead. >> translator: as you have seen for yourself there were bodies on the ground. it leaves us to believe yesterday's situation wasn't normal. >> reporter: people living in the area say the police rounded up a group of young men and took them way on saturday. other people armed with guns and grenades tried to stop them. the restless didn't say the police came back later and shot people in the area. but the police have denied officers were involved. and said those responsible were

criminals that the police were pursuing. >> translator: when the police patrol was doing a round in the area the local population informed them that bodies were discovered. six bodies in total. which brings the number to eight people that have been killed. >> reporter: there have been protestprotests and an increasen violence the president won a controversial third term in all. he changed the law that allowed leaders only two terms. he announced a one-month amnesty for people to hand in weapons last week. at least 100 people have died in lex-related violence since april. and with these recent deaths that number is only growing. caroline malone, al jazeera. asylum seekers at an australian prison will be allowed to move freely around the central pacific island. justice minister said the changes would mean a more companionate regime. nauru says it will process 600

remaining refugees claims in the next week. the australian ey high court wel example will he at of the offshore area this week. erdogan is on an official visit to belgium. e you feel officials have suggested sending financial aid to turkey to keep people there while they process asylum requests. bernard smith has been meeting some of the refugees planning to leave. >> reporter: a major transit hub on the journey to europe for syrian refugees. a chance to rest before one of the hardest parts of the journ journey. somethingalers hang around cafes waiting for customers. we overheard this man offering 25, 800-dollar seats on a seven-meter dinghy to a creek island of syrian refugees don't have the right to work in turkey. so many don't see a future here. >> translator: 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 per month. when people here see a syrian they think they can make him work more but earn less. >> reporter: they plan to swim to greece. 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 night. >> translator: i don't want to make money. i am a goalkeeper i just want to achieve my dreams and live like any humans want to live our lives have been destroyed. i lost my future in syria. what's happening is something you can't even describe. >> reporter: most of the refugees say the same thing. they have a basic human desire for a peaceful life with opportunities. while turkey has a significantly opened its borders to syrian refugees, it's poll a policy has always been based on the idea that eventually they would return home not settle here.

those that try to enter the workforce end up in the large informal economy with low 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. there they might tell you that you say your prayers and after that you can go to bars without any problem. people tell you you can do anything that 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 that 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 only long-term solution. bernard smith, al jazeera, in

southern turkey. portugal center right party has won an election victory but needs to form a coalition to govern the 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 pushed for. i told all the portuguese people it would have been a safer way of facing the next four years but i fully respect the descension of the portuguese people. now to a corruption scandal that has reached some of brazil most powerful people. it was first discovered at a car wash. >> reporter: these yellow and green ribbons the colors of brazil's flag, have been tied around trees in the city here 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 giants petro bass, the owners of con sphrudges conglomerates and high-level politician have all been charged a car wash is is he 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 indication that hi petrobras coe involved. the astounding 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. >> translator: operation car wash was possible because it have led by a judge from a minor state with no visibility but with a group of young prosecutor took on the job to be off 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 a rest the owners of brazil's largest construction conglomerates, now we are in the 18th stage and the investigation's reach so many getting wider. >> reporter: with the recent. [ inaudible ] many fear that the accusations could reach as high as president dilma try steph who served as chairwoman of petrobras before taking power. so far she has in the 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 minute industry of plan, ministry of health, as well as brazil's largest public bank.

>> reporter: government critics say it has already been uniquely successful in bringing the powerful to justice. but they 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 comparison. virginia lopez, al jazeera, brazil. 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 than expensive to import goods in to the country, a cost which normally gets passed on to consume, he the malaysian ring let is not the only currently to fall, the sing on poor dollar 6-year low and the thai nine years low. and 20 years. many factors are driving the malaysian money down, among them

lower oil prices and a sluggish miny economy. also a financial scandal involvementing the prime minister. florence looi reports. >> reporter: she started her own business five years ago, she sources and packages gifts for company to his give to their clients, it's known oscar pratt gifting. many of the items she buys are from a broad and quoted in u.s. dollars, a did he flesh 80ing local currency is make business tiff. >> i have canceled the order from my client, i had to cancel a p. on. because what i quoted back in july, for example, the rate was below four. and just less than one and a half months the it went up 4.1 or if you are .2. so it was a large jump that i cannot cover my costs. >> reporter: it is now air's a worst perform is currency. having fallen to its weakest level since late 1997. an economic slow down in china,

mmalaysia's largest trading partner and the slump in oil are contribute to this decline, it doesn't help that foreign investors the world over are pull out capital from emerging markets such as malaysia because of concerns over global growth. but the problem is also made worse by a political crisis. a state-owned investment arm known as 1mdb has run up huge debt and accused of false auditing. the prime minister is also implicated in the financial scandal it's alleged that $700 million channel today his percentage bank account flowed lou the fund but he says the money was a donation to his political party. >> there is so much absurdity, so many variables what will the political situation turn out. what will the federal reserve do. there will be region containment, there is such absurdity that nobody knows whether or not we have reached

rock bottom. >> reporter: she knows times are stuff, she says some clients have canceled orders tell her they are cutting costs, thon can say how long this period of economic turmoil will last. the u.s. and chile are expected to close large stretches of water to fight illegal fishing for the first time in 15 years the u.s. will declare two new marine sanctuaries in lake michigan. meanwhile chile bill block off more than 200,000 square kilometers near the world famous easter island. world leaders are meeting in chile for a conference on how to limit the human impact on ocean life, nick clark reports from the arabian gulf 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. the high security zone close to the public. right here every summer, something extraordinary happens. the whale sharks arrive in huge numbers. gent 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 no nothing here at all. the outside air temperatures is plus 40, it's not different in the sea itself. and yet every summer there is this enormous aggregation of this iconic species. the platforms are onlied by oil and for five years they have been researching this annual arrival. >> the plan right now is to get our equipment ready and get this

satellite tag ready. we really want to know where the females are going we really don't know where they give birth and hopefully the tags here can tell us a the bit her where about where females go. >> reporter: from the surf at it's impressive. from below, it's just astonishing. the sharks come here mouths a gape sucking in the invisible eggs of small mackerel tuna that have spawned in the millions. 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. you can sailed cyclone, sigh chronic current that actually sucks colder water up and maybe also the platforms. >> reporter: the pat platforms have turn ed in to artificial reefs which attract piece that's would not otherwise live here and perhaps help to concentrate the type a spawning. >> it's a unique place to study whale sharks you haven't got the

influence of people being in the without we are them at the same time. the aggregations, a lot of problems and conflict. [ inaudible ] but obviously here it's very far ashore and it's quite a hostile environment. >> reporter: back at the laboratories the scientists continually monitor the signals sent out by the tags. >> they are still around the platforms. and then we still have four females that are tagged it will be exciting to see what they do next, hopefully go a long journal and i 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 i for the winter to disappear nec next year. it just demonstrates how

important it is to look after the oceans of the world. nick clark, qatar this if you want to see more of nick swimming with call sharks as well as another stores is it's all for you there at al aljazeera.com. new york new york 8.4 million people call the city home. >> it's snowing hard in central park and 20 in midtown and snowfall one to two feet and saying we could have snow hour. >> the coldest winter in 81 years and coincides with a grim reality. more people in new york city are homeless today than ny