they fought they were american until they broke the law. now they're deported to cambodia for life. one of the families fighting for their loved ones at this time on al jazeera. and the war of words between the u.s. and north korea no sign that either side is willing to back.

us in this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up. celebrations in a veil and a cross in iraqi kurdistan but the way forward for iraq's kurds remains unclear. from texas to the caribbean the struggle to recover from a devastating series of hurricanes. plus watching raw injured villages burn from just across the border in bangladesh. north korea's foreign minister has accused the us president donald trump of declaring war and says his country now has the right to shoot down american warplanes the accusation is in response to a tweet by trump that north korea's leadership quote won't be around much longer unquote if it continues its rhetoric out diplomatic editor james bay has more.

as he left his hotel heading out of new york north korea's foreign minister really young ho addressed reporters with a statement that further ramps up the tension with the u.s. . last weekend trump claim that our leadership wouldn't be around much longer and hence at last he declared a war no country or do you like the more that given the fact that this comes from someone who is currently holding the seat of the united states presidency this is clearly a declaration of war his latest comments go further than his address to the u.n. general assembly two days earlier he was clearly responding to president trump's tweet after that speech in which he referred to little rocket man and warned they may not be around much longer he also referred to u.s. show of force which took place just before he spoke on saturday u.s. fighter jets and b. one bombers flying close to north korea's eastern coast but still over international waters can be will be years when done. since the u.s.

declared war in our country we will have every right to make ken a measures including the right to shoot down the united states strategic bombers even when they're not yet inside the airspace of our country throughout. the foreign minister . said many things last week and this week and the japanese ambassador to the united nations among those who wouldn't publicly dignify the comments of the north korean foreign minister with a response diplomats are hoping they can be a poor's in the war of words bartz with the constant provocations coming from north korea and the instant replies on twitter from president trump that seems a little unlikely james bays out zero at the united nations or the u.s. government says it's not seeking to overthrow north korea it also rejected pyongyang is characterization of president trump's tweet as a declaration of war. we've not declared war on north korea and frankly the

suggestion of that is absurd and it's never appropriate for a country to shoot down another country's aircraft when it's over international waters our goal is still the same we continue to seek the peaceful deep nuclearization of the korean peninsula that's our focus doing that through both the most maximum economic and diplomatic pressure is possible at this point on kathy novak is joining us live from seoul coffee every time you and i talk about this on the air we always have to preface it with the with the phrase ramping up the rhetoric but now it's reaching a new level how's it being responded to in the region there while here in south korea the government tries to stay away from that kind of language that we've heard being exchanged between donald trump and the north korean foreign minister and indeed kim jong think the south korean government representatives understand how seriously north korea takes insults against the leader and indeed suggestions of regime change south korea's president has repeated several times

that this country does not seek regime change in north korea and we've heard from south korea's foreign minister saying that south korea and the u.s. must work together to prevent further escalating tensions or accidental military conflicts that could spiral out of control repeating that she does not want to see another war here on the korean peninsula that seems to be echoed by china's ambassador to the u.n. who says that china wants things to calm down but the situation is getting dangerous and it can only be handled through negotiations because the alternative would be disastrous for all. cathy is there any suggestion that so as korea is able to put any additional pressure on the white house to try to pull back from the strong statements that have been coming from the childhood ministration of the moment. well you hear south korea and the united states often talking about being in lockstep about this steadfast relationship that they have and as i say south korea has repeated that there will be no war on the korean peninsula so south korea

must use that relationship that it has with the u.s. and any pressure it can bring to bear to hammer home that message to the u.s. government because of course the fear here is that is the u.s. were to attack north korea that north korea would be likely to respond with an attack on south korea and in particular this city seoul south korea of course is home to tens of thousands of u.s. troops and not only the troops u.s. ex-pats and we saw a nuclear crisis back in the ninety's in one thousand nine hundred four and the president of south korea at that time in his memoirs talked about pressuring and persuading the then president bill clinton to not conduct an attack on north korea so it may be that kind of back door negotiations and diplomacy that might have to happen with the relationship between the u.s. and south korea to bring down these tensions that we see escalating every day rob because he's very very much. hundreds of kurds in northern iraq have taken to the

streets of outbuild to celebrate the end of voting a controversial secession referendum. seventy percent of more than five million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots the voters factored to deliver a comfortable win for the procession count pain although it's not binding referendum is fiercely opposed by iraq and its neighbors which fear it could ignite conflict. has been speaking to cause about what the historic vote means to them she's got more from. it's a day iraq's kurds say they had hoped to see in their lifetime so eager to be defers to cast their ballots suzanne was so excited about the referendum she had a restless night that is the first time she's been able to vote. i am so happy i wanted to be one of the first ones here i only slept for three hours this is

a historic day for us it's not the first time it has voted but he too was in early he does his blue finger was pride. i have voted in presidential and parliamentarian. but this is the most important one because it's about independence . everyone arabs syrians you know everyone who needs safety wants to live in freedom. similar scenes will be repeated around the kurdish region people streaming into polling stations however they could areas where kurdish president. has a strong foothold so happy today. also went to despite fears it could further alienate than arabs nearly half of the city's population who feel they have been marginalized by the kurds so this is the ballot paper the question. areas out.

everything on the ballot is written in three other languages arabic assyrian and turkish the regional government sending a message that the future kurdistan state will be inclusive. but william benjamin is not convinced he's an assyrian christian and has voted no. the same interest in us and other political events before this referendum it's just a way to lure the minorities we respect their promises but until now they've not respected all rights and they've rewritten the history of this land excluding all part and it's the kurdish president has said that it's time to end a failed partnership with baghdad a message that resonates among kurds who hope that this is the day that they write what they consider to be

a historical wrong but by taking over the disputed terry cheese but is only now faces those who feel history is repeating itself this time against. the u.s. has ramped up emergency relief efforts in puerto rico most of the u.s. territory is still without power five days after how dick and maria hit medical services are in a critical condition residents are being told it may take months to fully restore services well how to going maria has killed more than forty people across the caribbean most of those deaths were reported on the tiny island of dominick. is there. approaching domenica from the shoreline the first signs of a battered country on shore at the port the picture is clear. when the cruise frantically unload water some of the first aid to reach the island all week but as we'll find out later it's not nearly enough

a group of dominique ansel live abroad have reached the island to rescue family members bring in supplies and they get a first glimpse of a home landed ruins i love this country i know it's devastating for me was. he at least knows his family is alive but not everyone is so lucky they started going through. a lot so i lost my niece my niece my brothers and not in a critical condition i haven't seen my daughter. through all the old girl i don't want to say again with both airports shut down people crowd the gates at the port to try to get on one of the few ships evacuating people out and piss is why in this neighborhood near the capital everything is gone schools homes

roads it's all badly damaged some beyond repair the people of this island nation of seventy one thousand are desperate some still in shock you know and i have to see it came up with a vengeance the hurricane destroyed the power lines there's been no electricity for a week supermarkets are flattened leaving little food this seventy eight year old man hadn't eaten in days you know so i tried to i was going. to write you know there was no no shop nothing will get anything. it went to a kid and it took. eight operations are still in the early phases but it's clear domenico will need the world's help to rebuild not for days not months but for years but that can wait water can't hear their

thirsty and in this neighborhood bottled water finally arrives given the nature of the destruction it's almost like the country of domenico no longer exists and in some ways it doesn't once a small but vibrant island nation buzzing with our culture music and life all of that is now gone the entire country has been reduced to a debris field the heart of any country is not its buildings or roads and it dominique their will is being tested in ways no people should ever have to endure but will is all they have left. domenico. still ahead and al jazeera we look at the anti immigration a.f.d. party gained a foothold in the german elections. plus a force to scavenge from things for food and what was once south america's richest

capital city. from dusky sunsets over the sprawling savannah. to sunrise atop an asian metropolis. tropical depression that never developed much more than that went across high now and yesterday and the clouds you can see has gone across into vietnam a lot of rain came from that in six hours not form and we just fell off the coast but that's going to dissolve disintegrate and do its darndest to make people rather too wet in northern thailand probably me and in the next day or so and vietnam still got the feet of the most suggesting more showers on that coast there's a big gap until you pick up shanghai under these green is repetition of rain has been falling recently more than a month's worth in one day fell

a couple days ago which of course is the real problem shanghai has had a wet summer and that line is developing once more so i think the potential for flooding is going to be realized it's still hot to the south of forty one is forecast in the future that really is quite outstanding in hong kong thirty four humid degrees otherwise though fairly dry they do expect the rain bands to be going south this time the and indeed they are still plenty there in the philippines and now increasingly through malaysia and they should get fairly daily there in jarvis a jackass is likely to get a few showers and if you're in singapore used to it by now as to thailand yeah it's still wet. the weather sponsored by qatar and nice. too often on the streets of eighty million are victims but a new force is that plain. female police officers are come back in sexual assault and domestic abuse. but changing society is

a challenge and so is life behind the bags for india's lady called. at this time. you're watching all to zero a reminder of our top stories this hour it's been a month since how to can harvey made landfall in the u.s. state of texas killing at least eighty two people there are fears of disease following heavy rain and the flooding it's caused havoc in the ria has cut off power lines across parts of rico crippling the medical services in the island. north korea's foreign minister has accused the u.s.

president donald trump of declaring a war claiming pyongyang has the right to shoot down american bombers the white house has dismissed the suggestion is declared war as absurd. hundreds of kurds in northern iraq have taken to the streets to celebrate the end of voting in a controversial society referendum seventy eight percent of more than five million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots the votes are expected to produce a comfortable win for the procession campaign although it's not binding under simmons has been following developments just over the border in turkey where opposition to the poll has been strong. as iraqi kurds took part in their historic vote here on the iraq turkey border the symbolism of conflict and russia type two on the turkish president using hostile words again and accusing the kurdish leadership of opportunism this is what he had to say. our armed

forces are on the borders with iraq to do whatever it takes iran is well will do whatever it takes our air force stands ready we will never allow anyone or anything to go from turkey to iraq this week we will adopt so many other measures will close the borders nothing to go across the border. after the president spoke officials clarified what he said saying that there was a list of actions which was being rolled out over the coming days if not weeks the president also went on to say that the oil flow from kurdistan that's more than a half a million barrels of oil a day in the pipeline that runs through turkey could be stopped just like that and what would the kurds do then who would they sell their oil to now the prime minister banani yield to him also spoke he was more measured calmer in his tones and he said that the exercise here was not to be read as an act of war as

confrontation with the kurds he said that there could be dialogue but he also was bitter about what the kurdish leadership was doing suggesting that in bad times they'd been helped out and now this he said that there could be small or possibly large action from the military but this would be on measured ground location focused as it is with syria he also said that the number of other measures may be taken that issue of the border here and whether it's closed is slightly unclear but it could be that it will be closed in one direction first and the other later on that. along with other measures which could not only. but also. with its economy. groups are pushing for an independent investigation into allegations that hindu

villagers have been murdered in iraq and state these twenty eight bodies of missing villages have been discovered in two mass graves the government blames the out of congress just salvation army but the group denies involvement or muslims have been the target of the military crackdown in myanmar hindus have also been killed the united nations has called it a hinge exodus from e.m.r. to bangladesh the most urgent refugee emergency in the world new video shows how fast a refugee camps in bangladesh are spreading more than four hundred thirty thousand refugees have fled from me in ma many live in makeshift shelters reports from bangladeshi border post where burning range of villages can be seen in me and. this is as close as we can get to direct where an ethnic cleansing is currently happening just moments ago we saw villages in the distance. it's through this land border between me and moore in bangladesh that

a few weeks ago hundreds of thousands of ranches crossed the border since the more security forces have put up barbed wire fencing and planted land mines on the border the general in charge of this clearing operation says that all its citizens are welcome back to me and more except. we're considered illegal immigrants by yangon. but for bangladesh these ranges that are in counts here belong to me and more and they have to go back home bangladesh has deployed its military on its border it's beefed up its presence with border guards increasing their patrol on the border area the relationship between young dawn and hockey is at its lowest point yangon refuses to recognize ranges bangladesh wants the un to mediate the return of the to their homeland meanwhile this border is getting increasingly tense as there is when it started four years ago now it's going to

become the third largest party in parliament it's also being called dangerous and democratic and racist. i see the f.t. as a respectable conservative party with plenty of liberal ideas it's going to great lengths to represent this viewpoint and draw a clear line between itself and far right attitudes that's the only way it can be successful. here in the eastern in eastern germany the policy has solid support in fact in this region saxony the f.t. received more votes than any other party frank born locally just after the second world war says many people here feel neglected by the traditional parties but the a.f.p. is also been boosted by chancellor merkel's decision to let in hundreds of thousands of refugees two years ago dear b. i involve i think asylum seekers and immigrants are treated better than people on low incomes and the f.t. brings that out into the. given the a.f.d.

success here you'd think it would be easy to find people who voted for it but you'd be wrong who we've been here quite a while trying to find an a.f.c. supporter will explain their choice to us but we simply haven't found anybody who like mitt on camera to voting for the party but what about in the working class suburbs here we did find one unashamed a.f.d. voter. i feel left behind barely never understands me that was disturbing me this couple say they didn't vote but think many people back to the f.t. for reasons other than immigration against it i think it was just a protest yes. and when al jazeera asked foreigners living here if the success worried them this also was typical. and it whatever happens i think germany will remain a good to your credit country it will be your main towards refugees whoever is in power and that's certainly a hope shared by a majority of german voters what's less clear is how much pressure the newly

strengthened day if the will exert on the government to toughen its line. al-jazeera dresden president emanuel is facing growing protests from french labor unions against his overhaul of employment laws truck drivers have blockaded roads and fuel depos in major cities across france the demonstrations have prompted the panic buying of fuel hundreds of petrol stations have run empty u.s. president donald trump with the national football league has stretched into a fourth day dozens of n.f.l. players coaches and even some owners have joined in protests against trump's call for a boycott he suggested players who knelt during the national anthem were disrespecting the u.s. flag and very hard has more from washington. white house press secretary sara sanders is defending donald trump's criticisms of players who neil during the national anthem arguing the u.s. president is not dividing the nation when it comes to race i think that it's always

appropriate for the president of united states to defend our flag to defend the national anthem and to defend the men and women who fought and died to defend it still when pressed by reporters about this controversy and the accusations that it is about race white house press secretary sarah sander saying in fact that she believes the argument is somewhat hypocritical that this is about the flag and those who believe it is about police brutality including the players should be protesting the police who are protecting them not the american flag then as well as foreign minister has hit back at the u.s. criticisms of his country president donald trump addressed the political and economic crisis in venezuela during his speech to the u.n. general assembly last week u.n. correspondent roselyn jordan has more. it should come as no surprise at venice while it was not pleased with the u.s. president's speech on tuesday and his remarks before the u.n.

general assembly the venezuelan foreign minister jorge out of hossa said that the u.s. should think twice about trying to invade his country given its ongoing political crisis one input on the on a as if he were the world's emperor president donald trump used this room built for peace to announce from your and the total destruction of member states he uses threatening unilateral and illegal measures as if he had dictatorial absolute power over the sovereign members of this organization from out he also also spoke with reporters after his speech before the un general assembly he said that the u.s. is too fixated on venezuela's socialist economy and that it should be looking for a closer relationship with god all of us however it's not clear whether the foreign ministers called for a more dialogue will actually resonate with the trumpet ministration. well as the crisis deepens in venice when our hunger continues to grip the country a survey by

a top university has found the average for this well and has lost nine kilograms in weight in the past year many families are now forced to scavenge for food in what was once south america's richest country in america i didn't see a newman reports from the capital caracas. there are rarely any leftovers after lunch is served at this soup kitchen run by the catholic church in caracas you know that i would. bring my children here to ensure that they get at least one good meal a day but the kitchen runs on donations only enough to serve one hundred children so every day giuditta assia is forced to turn many people away. every day more children come our crisis is such that as they say shame has been forgotten people would rather beg for a plate of food for their children than watch them go hungry she says many of the

children were given a special formula to help them recover from severe malnutrition but the parents who are not entitled to a meal are not so lucky. sometimes my wife and i do without food so at least the children can eat twice a day. when israel is prolonged an acute economic crisis characterized by food shortages and hyper inflation has seen infant mortality rise to almost thirty five percent and maternal mortality sixty five percent in just the last year a name is rampant the oil rich country is now leading latin america in what is called acute malnutrition the type described by experts as a rapid decline in nutrition the put a child's life at risk. never in my twenty two years of humanitarian work have i seen an emergency expanded on so many fronts as this one and so jenner. raided by the state was such a bad prognosis because there's no sign that the government wants to rectify and

recognize that it has to address a humanitarian crisis. the catholic church and all position leaders have called for the government to open a humanitarian corridor but constituent assembly president reagan's tells al-jazeera she flatly rejects such a notion. because under international humanitarian law by definition a humanitarian crisis can even facilitate and justify foreign interventions of international coalition. whatever the definition the venezuelan state seems unable to halt a crisis that is driving thousands of families across neighboring borders. and while home a lucky few still receive help the number of deaths from malnutrition grows. you see in human al jesse to get access. you can get lots more on the website the address for the. al-jazeera dot com.

this is al jazeera and these are the top stories north korea's foreign minister has accused the us president donald trump of declaring war saying pyongyang has the right to shoot down american bombers the white house has dismissed the suggestion is declared war as absurd. last weekend claim that our leadership wouldn't be around much longer and he declared war on our country. the fact that this comes from the united states president is clearly a declaration of war. since the united states declared war on our country we have every right to make counts measures including the right to shoot down united states strategic bombers even when they're not yet inside north korea. hundreds of kurds

in northern iraq have taken to the streets to celebrate the end of voting in a controversial secession referendum. seventy eight percent of more than five million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots the vote is expected to deliver a comfortable win for the procession campaign although it's not binding referendum is fiercely opposed by iraq and its neighbors which fear it could ignite conflict. the u.s. has ramped up emergency relief efforts in puerto rico most of the u.s. territory is still without power five days after how it can maria hit medical services are in a critical condition residents are being told it may take months to fully restore the services. the united nations has called it a hinge an exodus from state to bangladesh the most urgent refugee emergency in the world a new video shows how fast refugee camps in bangladesh are spreading more than four

hundred thirty thousand refugees have fled from me in march and many live in makeshift shelters international advocacy groups are pushing for an independent investigation into allegations that hindu villagers have also been targeted in murders in iraq and state president emanuel mccrone is facing growing protests by french labor unions against his overhaul of employment laws truck drivers have blocked roads and fuel depos near the belgian border and in major cities across france the demonstrators have prompted the panic buying of fuel causing hundreds of petrol stations to run empty and those are the headlines now it's inside story by foot.

the resurgence of the rise and germany chancellor angela merkel wins a fourth term thought how is it produced for the first time since the nazis a nationalist far right party has members of parliament and merkel's main rival is one and had to expect strong opposition how will the veteran be the governor this time this is.