yes. the most traditional sign doodle at any time. check in with the web special. take a tour of germany state by state on g.w. dot com. this is due to the news coming to you live from berlin showdown in spain over catalonia plans for a separate as referendum expands government says the vote is a legal and must not go ahead but had world leaders insist everything is in place

and that vote is happening also coming up america's relations with cuba hit a bum note after a brief fall the u.s. is pulling out half its embassy staff and warning travelers to avoid the island that after mysterious attacks that left some diplomats deaf. and dozens of rohinton drowned as they flee violence the united nations is calling on myanmar's government to and what it terms of the nightmare treatment of the muslim minority group. i'm sara harmon welcome to the show it's good to have you with us. authorities in the spanish region of catalonia say they will proceed with sunday's independence referendum madrid says the vote is illegal and must not take place catalonia is home to more than seven and a half million people and already has

a high degree of autonomy now separatists secured a narrow majority in the cattle on parliament of a regional elections in two thousand and fifteen but it's unclear if that means most catalogs are willing to back independence still the regional government is determined to find out and says everything is in place for sunday's vote these are the ballot boxes that the leaders of self governing council lonia say its citizens will use to vote in the planned referendum from spain on sunday. and i was dry from the catalan capital barcelona where thirty's in the town of vic insist residents will be able to vote despite the ban from madrid. mayor says for her the issue is personal but i mean. for me the worst punishment would be to go out into the streets and not be able to give my citizens the opportunity to express their opinion and decided. in the.

past i am not afraid of what the spanish government can do because we are not committing any crime. invicta hoping sunday's vote will go ahead. but the spanish government has other ideas it says the planned ballot threatens the country's very foundations. is the professional. secessionist process is illegal and it is based on illegal premises don't believe the other legation of the rule of law and if every single government is to prevent it from happening. this is a specialist initiative is only trying to destroy spain. replace. in barcelona the farmers brought their tractors on to the streets to back their

demand to hold the referendum polls suggest catalans are evenly divided on how they would divert. what is the tensions already running high alright let's cross over to our correspondent pablo foley elliot's joins us now on the spanish capital madrid how well you've just returned from barcelona how divided are people generally. i was harry you're absolutely right i mean people are incredibly divided over this issue i was very interesting to speak to so many people about this on the streets of barcelona and what i felt was that people were very determined to have this referendum whether they're on you know the pro independence saw you do or against this there is also a lot of concern over what could happen on october the first but what was interesting was that if you speak to people it's become in some ways a to do subject and then the other ways it's not i mean people are quite happy to

open up to talk about it with their friends and family but at the same time they will really talk about it openly because they feel that maybe it's such a divisive issue with people you know with really strong feelings about whether you should be independent or not so often it's best to leave it and just not discuss it yeah understandable that people are avoiding that as kind of a touchy issue do you think that cadillac plans are going to be allowed to vote on sunday because the spanish government seems to be doing quite a bit to stop them. you're absolutely right i mean the spanish government have confiscated twelve million ballot papers and also ballot boxes as well they've also shut down the cattle and the government's referendum website that was shut down and several times and then it was sort of reopened. they opened it abroad and then of course the social media as well has been sort of cracked down upon and they've basically said that people shouldn't vote there's also talk of fines for people who go and work in the polling stations across catalonia and that this is in sharp

contrast to what the cattle and regional government are saying they're absolutely determined for people to turn out on sunday and vote and they've said that polling stations which will be in schools will be opened and there are ballot boxes there was an event held on friday showing what the bought of boxes looked like so you know it's a basically a complete and utter standoff so it'll be very interesting to see whether people will turn out on sunday and from what i was saying to before talking to people on the ground barcelona everybody seems quite determined to go out on sunday and go to the polling stations people determined to have their voices heard what can we expect on sunday. that's the million dollar question sara no one really knows and it's not often that we actually say that really nobody knows what's going to happen that what we do know what the moment that the. regional police in catalonia has

been ordered to go to the polling stations at six o'clock in the morning on sunday and make sure that they are locked and also to take away any. ballot boxes and they've also said that this is where it's a little bit of a gray area they've been also told that they you know it depends how should they act if things got a little bit out of hand because obviously there is a bit of a concern will it turn violent i mean you know i don't like to use that word but i mean you never know what i mean people are very heated there's a lot of tension and it'll be interesting to see and also it is worrying to see how the police because they've been reinforced as well from with police officers from other parts of spain it'll be interesting to see how they react to the protests. and protests to the protests some people turning up to the polling stations on sunday a problem we've seen pushes for cattle on independence in the past this isn't a brand new issue what makes it different this time. what makes it different is i

mean the cattle on the independence movement is not something new book particularly since around two thousand and twelve regional governments have been very determined to hold a referendum and actually just a few months ago in the regional parliament and they passed legislation which was essentially the legal groundwork and framework that would be implemented if catalonia did decide to vote yes in a referendum for independence and that was immediately struck out by the constitutional court here in madrid and of course the government of money and of the holy has said that you know this is completely and utterly unconstitutional but the regional government has decided to ignore that and they've pushed ahead with it and this is where we are in the situation where basically the word i would describe for it is confusion either confusion will continue on sunday when the vote either happens or doesn't you'll be reporting for us probably fall. for that after losing its license in london if you were is fighting back daniel has that

story that's right sara and fighting is that the the new head of the rite aid and service caution or shock he is on his way to london on tuesday fighting for his firm's survival in europe's biggest city the capital's transport agency says it will not renew his license when it expires this weekend citing the company's poor record of corporate responsibility but wants to appeal the ruling but it is beginning to feel the heat on wednesday hundreds of activists marched through london calling for it to grant basic workers' rights to its drivers who has about forty thousand drivers in london and over three million customers. and sophie szymanski is on wall street for us now sophie always seeing a major culture shift from silicon valley after all it's not just google who's been asked to change with the times. yeah right i mean many of these innovative silicon valley companies are trying to disrupt industries and that usually means

they don't play by the rules from the very start and they different their founders think differently and they have to otherwise they wouldn't sound disruptive companies think about adding the for example the platform has been facing multiple regulatory issues and in various cities because it is hard to define a completely new business model that is clashing was a traditional one take the taxi industry and move with case and hotels and abbey indy's case and other interesting shifts that has to be made in order to say no business being faced by facebook right now they have evolved to as promised ocean networks to an opinion farming medium so they have to play around new rules so the disrupters are being disrupted sophie now moving on september is usually seen as a bit of a cost money for investors now or at the end how is it being. not cursed at all the ending of september twenty seventeen was different that our jones

actually gained around four hundred points or passing the record level of twenty two thousand points and best a step in incredibly resistant and patiently waiting for their march along to the taxpayer funded stuff performance is even more remarkable when you think about all of the historical realities officer market stocks typically have performed porus during the month of september and the stock traders elma next for example was passed that on everest september is the month when the stock market usually is really performing the poorest in all three industries seems this year is bucking the trend so if you szymanski thank you very much for that have a good weekend. i'm moving to asia now beijing has decided to ban bit calling chinese regulators have warned the service providers to stop accepting the crypto currency by the end of october all face consequences one of the largest

big climb platforms bt c.c. has said it would stop trading completely by tomorrow in the last few days deals involving the digital currency have slowed to a trickle but china's clampdown hasn't really dampened interest because markets in neighboring south korea and japan have reported a surge in activity since the announcement. now we've heard about catalonia all day another independence referendum now except this one has actually already happened at almost ninety three percent it's an overwhelming victory for the kurds who backed independence but could cut the stand go it alone. supporters of the referendum celebrate the results as if an independent kurdish state were already a reality kurdish leaders have asked the central government in baghdad to respect the will of the people and to start negotiating. this is the area in northern iraq that the kurds are claiming and it would be the capital for the population of five

point five million the region already has a great deal of autonomy almost all revenues of the regional government come from rich oil reserves which rival many countries the kirkuk fields as one of the largest oil fields worldwide. what's more the kurds are also sitting on other valuable natural resources the region as large deposits of iron copper chrome gold and platinum so the government in baghdad is fearful of a strong kurdistan neighboring countries are putting on the pressure to iran and turkey fear that the kurdish minorities in their countries would want to join the newly formed kurdish nation. no you said we have to prevent the iraqi kurdish regional government from making even more serious mistakes it's important that the international community sides with iraq's

territorial integrity and put a call unity to. the iraqi government has refused to negotiate the results of the referendum but the kurds get more confident with every passing day. well after a thaw in the united states is relations with cuba fresh troubles have a more the u.s. is ordering most of the personnel and its cuban embassy to leave the island all in what it calls a series of attacks targeting diplomats some embassy workers have reported injuries including concussions and hearing loss u.s. authorities are now working to establish exactly how these mysterious injuries occurred and who could be behind them. and for more let's bring in washington bureau chief alexander fun naaman alexander thanks for joining us and u.s. embassy workers allegedly under attack in cuba these mysterious injuries do we know

what's causing them. state department officials told us today that they don't know the means to methods what how these attacks have been carried out because the devices used in these attacks have never been found but that of course there are a lot of speculations going on in the u.s. media some sources saying that we are talking here about a sort of weapon that. sound waves capable of inflicting physical harm and we are dealing here with physical symptoms including as you said had they. and even hearing loss and because these symptoms vary so greatly doctor as a consultant here in the united states could far not come to any come conclusion what caused the trauma very intriguing it sounds like something out of

a sky movie now alexander the u.s. state department is pulling most of its personnel out of cuba what's your take is this about ensuring the safety of embassy staff or are we witnessing a real deterioration in the relations between the u.s. and cuba so something a lot of people predicted would happen under president trump. yes you are right the state department itself of course the decision was necessary and was made to protect the health of u.s. diplomats and the travel warning was issued to protect u.s. citizens but we have to say that the whole case is so mysterious at the beginning for example the officials were talking about incidents now they are talking about attacks and we still do not know enough food to judge what's behind the whole case but we have to keep in mind that president trump is convinced that his criticisms

decision to restore diplomatic ties with hugo was wrong and that he votes to cancel completely cancel the deal with cuba but so far not much has really happened but this decision today has the potential of being a set back to you as cuban relations all right very mysterious indeed we know you'll be monitoring that situation for us very closely alexander phenomena in washington thank you. it's been ten days since hurricane maria slammed into puerto rico and the situation for people on the island is dire abandoned homes litter the island more than three million residents are still without power and struggling to find food and drinking water the storm brought the u.s. territories economy to a standstill with little hope of recovery in sight a.t.m. zur running out of cash fuel is hard to find and many people are wondering how

they're going to survive. for more on the situation in puerto rico i'm joined now on the line by journalist carla minette she's in the puerto rican capital juan carlos thanks for joining us tell us what the situation is like on the ground right now. all right now. trying hard to get back. to. the days. we have no water. no internet or phone connections. we are still very sickly strong that no. help most people die. because they will not. survive these. or any kind of survival.

they have so we are really how do you have a very hard time right now it's a desperate situation you're just scribing when you talk to people what's a priority what do they need most right now. it depends a lot about what does that mean just you when you're five maybe. more exposed to be lived in the coast you don't have a home so you are in our refuge on looking for. a median me like taking a bath and having your children. or something like that. was you will be. you know trying to get water. trying to get food. trying to get gas to move around to look for you

know whatever you need to go to war to try to go to the school. you know is everybody has a very different situation but you know it's it's no routine for for anybody right now not retain for anyone right now are people in puerto rico still hopeful that the u.s. government is going to provide aid to them. oh yeah i think most people feel the u.s. is partly responsible for what happened. was over the hard. no responsible for what happens in the going terms that we are america. and also because. the recall is you know a u.s. territory a colony of the u.s. . a lot of what has happened because of the here it cane

is just. the worst part of a crises that we have been living for the best eleven years and economic crises. were lots of people have come have migrated from. us of people have lost their jobs. we have been living a very good only situation eleven years so now with the here and maria. it's just it's like. the turning point for or for the situation we go so thank god otherwise. yeah definitely definitely and transfer response to hurricane relief in puerto rico has been controversial what is the feeling toward him at the moment in puerto rico.

frankly i i think that most of the people don't even know he will be here in a few days because they don't have. internet and they don't have. ways of seeing t.v. or you know and even if they know i think it is that is not a priority for nobody right now so he come and go but the call is going to be on notice for locals. older than all the dishes of course. but it is you know i think people still like she should take a look at what's happening here and anyway all right karl i'm in a think for speaking with us we wish you all the best for a swift and full recovery from the hurricane damaged. united nations chief antonio good terrace is calling on myanmar's leaders to end

the nightmare facing rule hinge of refugees fleeing the country his comments come after the drowning deaths of dozens of refugees whose boat capsized off the coast of bangladesh many are still missing in the last month more than half a million were had to have fled myanmar because of a violent crackdown by the country's military. over his refugees lined the shoes of naani beach in bangladesh. they were fleeing violence in myanmar when their boots cup size in the bay of bengal. most of the dead. women and children. so fivers are now burying their friends and family but their journey is not over. this is where they're headed a refugee camp in bangladesh basic supplies are scarce. humanitarian

organizations working here say overwhelmed people need to be drawn and and clean and they need to have a place to sleep so these are the immediate needs obviously for that we need money bangladeshis have been very generous but individuals cannot address this me even the bangladeshi government cannot address this to me and the united nations security council frustration over the crisis is mounting to the united states is now calling for action against military leaders in myanmar formerly known as burma . we cannot be afraid to call the actions of the burmese authorities what they appear to be a brutal sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority condemnation but myanmar rejects claims of ethnic cleansing the buddhist majority still says violence against the muslim minority is not based on religion but to

fight terrorism. i wish to stress that no ethnic cleansing and no genocide. ethnic cleansing and genocide are serious charges and this should not be used lightly as the un's most powerful body grapples for a solution. into arrive at the border with bangladesh since august the number of feeling myanmar has talked to half a million. german police are hunting for a man they say is blackmailing companies for millions of euros by threatening to poison food including baby food authorities have released footage of a suspect putting food products on shelves in a supermarket in southern germany five jars of baby food contain a lethal amount of poison and they were later discovered the manhunt is

on this suspect is believed to have placed poison baby food in this supermarket in the southern city of feet. he warns other cities in europe are next unless he's paid over ten million euros. and this is an exceptionally severe case of extortion and we have to assume that we're dealing with a very ruthless six torsion who's willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants and who's even prepared to kill in an e-mail the suspect told several local supermarkets that he contaminated five jars police say they were able to find all of them the suspect has threatened to poison even more police say he may have accomplices and urging people to be alert and check supermarket products for potential manipulation. for. food and glass johnson's usually vacuum sealed. so you should hit pop when you can it's.

clock and police have now released these surveillance photos hoping for clues that could lead to the rest they say they've already received several hundred tip offs. well here's your mind on the top story we're following for you right now thousands of students have rallied in barcelona to defend what they say is catalonia is right to hold an independence referendum on sunday the government. for them is illegal and it will stop it from taking place. at state of the news you're up to date as always don't forget you'll find the latest on our web site for you dot com harmon in berlin yes ma'am.

an infant behind bars. said khan's parents are both journalists both have been detained in texas prison but the two year old lives with his mother and is

sometimes permitted to visit his father. with seconds life ever intentional. in sixty minutes d.w. . the fast pace of life in the digital noise. shift as the lowdown on the web showing new developments and providing useful information the wittiest finds and interviews with makers and users. in forty five minutes.

it's all about the moments that lie before. it's all about the story inside. it's all about george chance to discover the world from different perspectives. join us inspired by distinctive instagram others at g.w. stories the topic of each week on instagram. tensions are running high in spain over catalonia plans to hold an independence referendum the spanish government says the vote is illegal and won't go ahead but come on leaders insist they've got everything in place and the people's voices.