>> this is d.w. news live from berlin. tonight, independence for the kurds in iraq. baghdad says no way. 92% of kurds said yes to independence in monday's referendum. baghdad says it will not recognize the vote and is sending federal troops to retake control of the kurdish region. will a vote for freedom lead to a future of war? also coming up, saudi arabia says it will lift its ban on women drivers but is there more behind the wheel here? could more reform in this notoriously conservative kingdom

be just around the bend? and bomb's away. canada's bombardier brings out the big guns to defend its airline business in what some fear could be the start of a trade war with the u.s. plus, we'll have an exclusive report tonight on the fight against al-shabaab in somalia. civilians are paying a heavy price in the struggle to defeat jihadists on top of the hardships of 30 years of civil war. brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have with you us. tonight, iraq is faced with the question of how to keep the country together after kurds in the north of the country voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence. kurdish authorities say over 92% of kurds backed independence in a referendum held on monday but iraq's central government in baghdad refuses to respect the

results and has threatened sanctions against the kurds. that could put them on a collision course with a newly confident nation in waiting. >> there were euphoric scenes among iraq's kurds after the official results were announced. kurdish authorities said that with a 73% voter turnout, the poll was a resounding success. translator: at this historic moment i want to congratate you on the success of the referendum on kurdistan in the autonomous region. in baghdad, the reactn couldn't be more different. iraq's government opposes the kurdish put for statehood and has demanded annulment of the vote. iraq's government has already taken retaliatory steps, threatening to halt flights in and out of the kurdish autonomous rion. it's also dandedhat those behind the vote, including

kurdish leader bazanne, face charges. the prime minister says he wants to keep the country united without resorting to force but parliament has given him the authority to deploy the military to the kurdish area. >> we will impose federal authority on the whole of iraq with the force of the constitution and the force of the law. this is not a threat. some people have made threats and some have used force to impose their will in the disputed areas. we will use all the tools provided by the constitution and the law. >> the measures passed by parliament also called for the closure of foreign diplomatic missions in the autonomous kurdish region. neighboring countries, turkey and iran, are worried that the referendum will embolden their own kurdish minorities and are applying pressure with sanctions of their own. brent: for more, i'm joined by

journalist campbell mcdermott. it's good to have you on the show. we know that baghdad has proposed a range of sanctions if the result of this vote is not annulled immediately. are people in the kurdistan region concerned of what will happen next? reporter: i think we're seeing a bit of brinksmanship at the moment. baghdad had to respond strongly with constituents of their own they need to appease so while we're seeing measures of sending military troops to kirkuk, i don't think anyone is in a hurry to see this devolve into outright conflict but no one here is quite sure what the next few weeks will bring. brent: it begs the question, why did iraqi kurds decide to go ahead with the vote? there's not one country in the world that has come out for

their independence except for the country of israel. reporter: i think that was a bit of a surprise to the kurds. they thought that after their pesh merga fought isis on behalf of the world, is how they see it, that they would get a little more support for this. they realized there was never going to be a time that was perfect for this announcement but i think they gambled on is as they proceeded, more people would come around to it but by the time they realized no one supported them, they had gone too far to back down. it would have been difficulty to postpone the referendum. brent: what about the neighbors, iran and turkey? they're not happy about this referendum. ankara is threatening a blockade. how hard could this hit kurdistan? reporter: they've both got big kurdish populations of their own whom they'll be watching closely but the kurdistan region of iraq is land lacked, between federal

iraq and turkey and iran. most of the trade goes through turkey. a lot the products in the stores here are from iran and turkey and, of course, the oil goes through turkey and ankara has been threatening to cut off that supply so that is a real risk here, but at the same time, it's turkey's second largest trading partner here so that's going to cost them, as well, if they blockade the region. brent: journalist campbell mcdermott joining us tonight from iraq's autonomous kurdistan region with the latest and the fallout from that independence referendum vote. campbell, thank you very much. saudi arabia says that it's going to allow women to drive. this is a big leap forward for the ultra conservative country, the only one in the world with such a ban. a royal decree is due to take effect next june allowing women, for the first time ever, to apply for licenses without the permission of a male relative.

reporter: the streets of saudi arabia have long been a battleground. on one hand, women, wanting to drive. on the other, the religious conservatives who have called them too stupid, their mobility a threat to society. now, it's the women who have won. >> i'm so happy. i actually haven't slept since the news broke because i'm so happy. i'm 27 years old and i have been dreaming about this for my entire life and now it's finally coming true. i can hardly wait another nine months until this goes into effect. reporter: the king has issued a decree giving them the right to apply for driver's licenses and the freedom of the roads to be implemented by june next year. it's a huge step for saudi arabia, enough to warrant a special announcement at the united nations.

>> you may be interested to know that a few minutes ago, a royal decree has been issued in saudi arabia giving women the right to drive! [applause] this is an historic day for saudi society, for men and women. reporter: for years, some saudi women have gone behind the wheel as part of a campaign with global support on social media. this activist lost her job when she was caught. others have gone to jail. now they're celebrating their victory. saudi law enforces a strict form of islam. women have to obey strict dress codes. they can't associate with unrelated men. if they want to work, travel, or access healthcare, they need the consent or accompaniment of a

male guardian but slowly things are changing. on saturday, women were allowed for the first time into a national stadium for celebrations marking the kingdom's anniversary. and saudi women are already wealthy, well educated and ambitious. >> women now are at all levels. they're on the government advisory council and they're doctors. why shouldn't we join the men that matter most to our nation? reporter: that boldness would suggest that saudi women will carry on the fight for greater rights. brent: there is a new plan in the works to improve the way europe deals with the migration crisis. the european commission wants to resettle 50,000 more refugees and better enforce the deportation of migrants whose

asylum applications are not approved. since the mass influx of refugees, the issue of immigration has divided the e.u. >> scenes like this have become familiar in the past two years and the e.u. wants to stop them. on wednesday, it launched another attempt to tackle the migrant crisis. migration commissioner demetrius avamopolous announced a new scheme to resettle immigrants directly from crisis areas to dissuade refugees from attempting the journey by themselves. >> with more than 65 million displaced around the world, we cannot stop showing solidarity towards these desperate people and the countries hosting them. this is why we are proposing to support the further 50,000 resettlement places with half a billion euros and i really can't remember states to make

ambitious pledge. reporter: but member states' generosity is far from guaranteed and the scheme is voluntary. it follows a compulsory plan to redistribute migrants who've already arrived in europe, a scheme that met with sheriff's p resistance. the minister said he expects countries like hungary to compply -- comply. but the e.u. has to increase the number of people it sends back, namely economic migrants with no right of asylum. >> we have to be clear and brutally honest, people who have no right to stay in europe must be returned. reporter: the scheme is set to run for the next two years as the e.u. seeks to bolster cooperation on a deeply divisive issue. brent: here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. pope francis has launched a campaign to tackle growing

worldwide anti-immigrant sentiment, attempting to raise awareness of the migrants' plight and change people's view of them. many refugees turned out to hear the announcement in the pope's weekly address in st. peter's square. thailand's top court has sentenced former prime minister, yingluck shinawatra, to five years of jail for negligence in the management of a rice subsidy program. ms. yingluck wasn't present for the verdict. sources within germany's conservatives say this man is to step down from his post as finance minister to become the president of the german parliament. that move could help chancellor merkel as she seeks to negotiate a new coalition following sunday's federal election. you're watching d.w. news live from berlin.

still to come, an exclusive report from war-torn somalia. are civilians paying too high of a price for the ongoing fight against islamists? daniel's here now. donald trump and his much and have tax plan on the agenda tonight. daniel: his plans could see cross-party support, both sides of the aisle in congress might be in favor of his plans. as we speak, u.s. president donald trump is unveiling tax reform plans today. the speech in indiana, one of the biggest changes is a drastic tax cut for corporations from 35% to just 20%. in his speech, trump has pledged to make it easier for americans to file their taxes, saying they waste billions every year because the system is too complex. according to his plans, smaller businesses will see a cap put on their taxes. the trouble is, a lot of them are already paying a lot less. they're feeling left out by trump's reform plans.

>> lauren copsy opened his bicycle repair shop in washington, d.c. five years ago. business is going well. so well, in fact, that he's about to move to bigger premises along with his five employees. but despite lauren's success, his company doesn't make enough money to benefit from trump's tax plans. >> the mom and pop shops on main street are not the ones that will be affected by this, from my reading of what the bill might be so it's going to be much larger businesses that are able to sort of benefit from the deductions that would be able to take and the lower tax rate. i don't think it's going to hit the people that you think of as small businesses. reporter: who would get a tax cut? doctors, investment bankers and high turnover companies, very fr example, and what's more, the new proposals would cut corporate tax. republican supporters have long argued that giving tax breaks to

big business would boost the u.s. company and they say that cuts on everything. >> there are other reforms besides tax reform that are important. full expensing, making the tax code simpler, easier to pay. those are benefits that help small and big business. reporter: as far as lauren is concerned, the cuts do matter, reducing costs for larger companies inevitably increases competition for businesses like his. >> the margins for small businesses are so, so slim, our profits are not huge. we all want to be able to make a decent living but those that are making outrageously large profits, i think maybe there should be more tax burden on them. reporter: the republican proposal would make sweeping changes to the tax code but it wouldn't change much for lauren's bike shop. for the moment, trump's tax proposal is just that, a proposal. he now needs to rally support

before a more detailed bill could be put before congress. such deep tax cuts would leave a large hole in the budget. trump and the republican party have yet to explain why exactly the money to plug the hole would come from. brent: sophie szymanski has more on this from wall street. are firms optimistic that trump can keep his promises this time around? sophie: first of all, this is only a plan. it is far away from being anything like a bill that congress could even vote on but if we look at the plan like it is right now, you can definitely see from issues coming up. i think it shouldn't be too big of a deal for everyone to agree on cutting the corporate tax but the conservative freedom caucus is probably really unhappy with one thing and this whole plan, you don't find any suggestion on how trump wants to finance these tax cuts and the freedom caucus really hates everything about the idea of making the deficit

larger instead of shrinking it and even if the republicans can figure out a way to agree, the democrats will have to say a word or two. let me quote chuck schumer here, "it's a little more than an across-the-board tax cut for america's millionaires and billionaires." brent: so the plans aren't exactly straightforward. i'd like to bring up bombardier, the u.s. putting a 220% tariff on the canadian planes. is it justified? sophie: it will take economists a while to answer this. discussions about subsidies like this have always been an issue due to globalization. what is different this time is that target is not a country like china but the western countries and government officials from canada and the u.k. feel boeing is simply trying to keep the product from the u.s. market.

it is in the eye of the beholder if it is dumping or subsidizing but it is not on boeing to make that decision. in this case, it will be the international trade commission. brent: the canadians think the tariff is plain crazy. thank you very much. we'll get more on this, the feud between plane makers boeing and bombardier is gaining altitude. the u.s. commerce department is slapping a preliminary 220% tax on bombardier's planes. now, the trade tension is threatening to spill over to the other side of the atlantic. >> this canadian aircraft would cost three times more in the u.s. if the u.s. government carries out its intentions. bombardier called the punitive tariff absurd. the american's actions are designed to push them out of the u.s. market, they say. the canadian government is not happy about the situation, either. >> obviously we're disappointed by the decision and i will

continue to fight hard for good canadian jobs. >> the dispute is about the sale of 75 bombardier c-series aircraft to the u.s. airline, delta. boeing accuses the canadians of selling the planes below cost of producing them while receiving subsidies from the canadian government. bombardier rejected the claim. the canadians even build some of the parts of the c-series in europe. bombardier builds the fuselage and wings in belfast, northern ireland. over 4,000 workers are employed here but their jobs might be in danger soon. that's why the british government has made an appeal to boeing. >> boeing is a major defense partner of the united kingdom and was one of the big winners from the last defense review so this is not the kind of behavior that we expect from a long-term partner and i've made that very clear to boeing when i met them earlier in the summer.

reporter: the punitive tariffs against bombardier have not yet gone into effect. the u.s. international trade commission will rule on them at the beginning of next year. daniel: so canada and the u.s. claim not getting along but you have a special report from east africa. brent: we'll talk about the human cost of fighting terrorism. in somalia, where the government has been struggling with a jihadist insurgency for years. with international support, efforts to defeat the al-shabaab militia have picked up but the fighting has led to more hardship for civilians. in an exclusive report, our correspondents bring us the story of people already devastated by nearly 30 years of civil war. reporter: bakbaru means to survive in somali, a fitting name for this refugee camp on

the outskirts of mogadishu where life is a struggle for the next meal and bucket of water. fatema and her daughter found refuge here two weeks ago. they're still waiting for official assistance. but that's preferrable to starving in the village where the islamist militant group al-shabaab is in control. >> they would rather let us die than accept any aid from infidels. reporter: not all somalis are fleeing hunger in al-shabaab. a few kilometers away in another refugee camp, we meet marianne from south of the capital. at least 10 civilians were killed there in an attack by somali and u.s. forces almost a month ago. marianne's husband was among the dead. >> we're used to the fighting but this was by far the worst

we've ever seen. reporter: in march, u.s. president donald trump ordered the u.s. military to intensify the war against al-shabaab, bringing in special forces. the militant group killed more than 4,200 people last year. its leaders, in allegiance with al qaeda, want to establish a theocracy. a new government has been in place in mogadishu since february and it's getting a lot of international support but the drones and raids employed to combat terrorism are endangering the local population and this is being exploited by al-shabaab. one former member of the militant group tells us that the people in disputed areas fear the government backed soldiers just as much as the militants. >> the people here don't trust the government in the areas controlled by al-shabaab, people

fear the military will loot and rape them and al-shabaab has become skilled at tapping into these fears. reporter: peacekeeping troops from the african union are also serving in somalia under the u.n. the u.n. special representative is convinced the conflict cannot be solved only through military means. while he welcomes u.s. involvement, he wants the main objective should be strengthening the new government and state institutions. >> too many civilians are being killed, particularly by the insurgents, particularly in mogadishu because they are soft targets and yes, if you're fighting an insurgency, being careful not to kill civilians is incredibly important because if you do, you lose the support of the population. reporter: internally displaced

somalis arrive in the capital every day. almost seven million are dependent on emergency aid. that's about half the country's population. these women and children will likely have to wait years before they can live in a state that can keep them safe. brent: our correspondent is here with me now. it's good to have you on the show. excellent reporting. it's rare that we see a report like that come out of somalia. you know, when you consider that so many civilians now are being shot, being killed, accidentally, by the u.s. and by government forces, do people there necessarily know who the good and the bad guys are? sandra: not really, no. as people told us time and again, we're just scared, we don't know who is shooting at us and it depends on who you talk to. are you in a government controlled area or in an area controlled by al-shabaab. yes, al-shabaab has been driven

out of major cities -- out of mogadishu, for instance, but as you leave town, a few kilometers out there, it's al-shabaab country and people there, we don't really have access to them unless they come to us. brent: which is how you got that interview? sandra: for instance. that guy had to come to meet us. he's in a deradicalization program, kind of. we had to make him anonymous. brent: you took a leap of faith in letting him come to you. sandra: we decided on where we would meet him but usually as you go around mogadishu, even visiting a refugee camp, most journalists would take armed guards with them and so did we. brent: i know you visited several refugee camps in somalia. what are the biggest challenges people are facing there? sandra: day-to-day issues. it's a struggle for enough food,

enough clean water. like, if you -- especially if you have a look at the kids and the elderly, because of the cramped conditions in the camp and filthiness, a lot of people suffering from upper respiratory tract infections which is easily turned into pneumonia if you're famished. and you see a lot of cases of watery diarrhea which can turn into a cholera epidemic if untreated and inside the capital, humanitarian aid workers have access but outside it's difficult for aid to reach the people. brent: we know a new government was installed earlier this year. do you think somalia is moving towards stability? sandra: a little bit more towards stability but we're talking decades. it took 30 years for the country to fall apart and will take a long time to fix it. brent: we appreciate your reporting, thank you very much. after a short break, i'll be

back to take you through the day. tonight, iraq's kurds, isis fears them, as formidable fighters so why does the world fear them as an independent nation? that and more in just a moment. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.]

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