theme. this is our t. international the polls are opening right now in germany as the country starts voting in the federal elections. and our other headlines this hour north korea warns that a missile strike on the u.s. mainland is inevitable after american bombers fly close to its coastline and president from takes another swipe on twitter plus.

mass protests and arrests in the spanish region of catalonia this week as it pushes for independence from madrid. good morning from moscow this sunday the twenty fourth of september one bright with a mix of today's world developments and some of the biggest stories of the week first for you. the north korean foreign minister says a missile strike on the u.s. mainland is now more inevitable he was addressing the u.n. on a day that saw american bombers flying off the east coast of north korea trump fired back on twitter saying the foreign minister and the country's leader won't be around much longer if they continue their rhetoric as americans go the latest the crisis has escalated today even more after the u.s. flexed its military might ok. adding to the pentagon the u.s. sent b. one b.

bombers from guam as well as f. fifteen fighter jets from okinawa japan on a mission in international airspace off the eastern coast of north korea. this is the farthest north of the demilitarized zone that any u.s. fighter or bomber has flown in this this century the pentagon says that this mission sends a clear message to the d.p. r. k. that the u.s. has a many military options to defeat any threat this all comes amid a heated dialogue between the two leaders both issuing insult on time sounding identical we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime know one of them trump himself is on a suicide mission if innocent american lives at home because of a suicidal attack trump will be held entirely responsible yes it looks like the

north korean leader was particularly affected by trump's comments because the foreign minister responded saying that trump's actions were an irreversible mistake you can't have med men out there shooting rockets all over the place of rockets and should have been handled a long time ago. he tried to insult the supreme dignity of my country by referring to it isn't rocket but by doing so he commits an irreversible mistake of making a visit by our rockets to the entire u.s. mainland all the more never the russian foreign minister urged the u.s. and north korea to end its saber rattling and engage in political dialogue accusing both leaders of behaving like a kindergarten children china and russia will continue to insist on a movie reasonable approach in contrast to the emotional one we see now where they behave like children fighting each other in kindergarten and nobody can stop them

with the tensions escalating and between both countries the situation remains quite unstable at the moment so it's unclear where this is all headed off as they president trump imposed new economic sanctions on north korea after a meeting with the leaders of south korea and japan in new york we got some expert opinion on the escalating crisis from the u.s. state senator richard black. provides us with powerful new tools but i want to be clear the order targets only one country and that country's north korea the rhetoric surrounding north korea has really reached very dangerous levels of north korea and certain way bear their share of fault because they they have been extraordinarily provocative in what they have done and then we in turn have. been rather bellicose in our response both sides need to deescalate

the rhetoric because of the risk that if if there should be a nuclear exchange the people the people always thought for from these games the nations play hopefully there will be some movement towards diplomacy. this time next week the spanish region of catalonia could be voting in a referendum on breaking away from spain today sold rival crowds face off in the regional capital basile in. was was there a was was was was directed at i had i was i was.

on wednesday spanish authorities arrested fourteen senior catalan officials including a junior economy minister they were all charged with misappropriation of funds breach of official duty and disobedience they're also being fined up to twelve thousand euros for every day they continue organizing the referendum protests to say the determine to vote and won't tolerate the authorities crack down the cattle on leaders says madrid's actions are an act of aggression. over about a look at the lure the catalonian government has been subjected to coordinated aggression from the police force of the spanish interior ministry was. god was and we are here to defend our. future state students are very important part of our society the youngest so we need to make

them conscious of what's governing here we're really going to put these to take this forward and to go all the way to independence you know my what's spain is god where men are spanish. police who will try to do our gains that will be on the streets and we'll try to vote. madrid's used a range of measures in an attempt to stop the referendum taking place next sunday it declared the upcoming vote illegal and conducted numerous raids to seize pro referendum material currently more than seven hundred mayors are under investigation over their support for the vote madrid's also announced plans to take control of catalonia as budget in order to ensure that the money isn't spent on the referendum is how events have unfolded since that first non-binding vote on independence took place in twenty fourteen thank. god thank you.

thank. you member of barcelona city council says the international community should be stepping in to prevent madrid abusing the region they don't want to let us vote but people are voting with their feet they are actually crossing the street going over to wherever the intervention has taken place and defending the institutions from the street massively this is an attack on democracy this is actually a state of exception where we ask the international community to intervene and stop this abuse this abuse on the catalan people on democracy in catalonia and in europe in general this concerns all of us because right now it's catalonia tomorrow it

could be the rest of spain or even other places in europe with today's world news and some of the highlights of the past seven days you're with the weekly this sunday thanks for watching more after the break.

what politicians do you shut up to. put themselves on a lot. to get accepted or rejected. so when one of the first century. or something want to reach. out you'd like to be closer to see what before three of the more people get. interested in the waters and what. they're sure. about your sudden passing i've only just learnt. taken your last wrong turn. caught up to you as we all knew it would i tell you i'm sorry i could so i write these last words in hopes to put to rest these things that i never got off my chest . i remember when we first met my life turned on each breath. but then

my feelings started to change you talked about war like it was a case still some more fun to feel those that didn't like to question our arc and i secretly promised to never be like it said one does not leave a funeral the same as. and enters your mind it's consumed with this room. to speak to you every now and then take. aim at mainstream media has not its make. financial i don't buy any i'm on it. as a sum of my ex in the future trucker watch guys are. welcome

back without the international it's a big day for germany of course voters now heading to the polls to choose who they want to represent them in the next bundestag. the polls opened at about twelve minutes ago so the first early keen vote is getting ready to cost their ballots colson vying for a fourth term she's been there for twelve years already and young people in germany there's already been hardly any time for them in their political lives without her in the background of course.

the time i remember she was always there i mean i can remember a time when she wasn't like the chancellor and i don't even know who came before her mission a mission to underline that as an image on us that we wanted the makeover said i think she was elected in two thousand and five for the first time i was like seven she's just been around forever she's always been an image she's been in power a long time i think there's a piece of ideas in my kind of us lies also. i've never seen an adult without governing. in two thousand and five she was elected for the first time i was only thirteen. i pierced my ear lobe. a boy from my school died in a traffic accident. in fukushima the core melted people died. i went to mississippi for a year as an exchange student. blacks voted obama whites. barack obama

became president. and. so there were a big choice for the younger generations in germany as well as for every voter in that country in fact go for what they know will try something new only time will tell will know i suppose in the next eighteen hours when those first exit polls come through for now though the first fifteen minutes of voting underway polling opening here are some live pictures of one of the polling stations in the lead in a slow but steady stream of people coming in it is early on a sunday morning of course and they've got all day to vote and they will be choosing whether i'm going to merkel does indeed get that fourth term in office some of the biggest intrigue has been around which of the smaller parties will get a better chance to become a kingmaker and form a coalition or even together first chance of

a tug seat anyway let's go live to berlin now. is that charlotte hi there what's the choice for germany today. well there is a big choice many parties are pro lection in this big election here in germany in two thousand and seventeen as you can see some people already heading to the polling station that i'm outside of here. this morning ready to cast their votes now the way the system works in two parts there is hot the seats in the rug elected by the post and the other half a proportional representation and this is why we normally see in germany a coalition government rather than an outright majority now the voters this morning have the choice between some of the bigger parties like the c.d.u. this is a party or. s.t.p. and they are still likely to be the major holders of the seats at the end of this

election the results we should be getting at least some first indication polls at around eight hundred local time here in germany but there are many smaller parties and these smaller parties could be key to forming the next coalition next. germany and it's the smaller parties that the. party. will have to get on board to form a coalition with the most seats if either of them to become the next chancellor here in germany some of those smaller parties. who are left party we've got the green party there's the f.t.p. and there is of course the f.t. this is an election that they are hoping to gain seats in and the suggestions are that they could actually be the. formal position in the next parliamentary session here because all of the other parties have forming

a coalition with them now there is one thing to be said about coalition government and that is no matter what the parties have come during this election period if they form. together they are likely to have to draw up a new coalition agreement a pavement road map for the next year and as a result of that many of the policies that they say that they will guarantee if they're elected into office could fall by the wayside not a surprise for many people in germany who are used to coalition governments but obviously it can also be an excuse for governments to say well we couldn't do this because the guys we went into government with said they didn't agree with that well let's have a look now at some of the options available for germany's next coalition government . german parties really emerge with a solid majority from the elections so when it's over the try to make friends which is not easy after having tried hard to undermine this policy. but the good news is

for the politicians you can always see we can't keep our promise because our coalition partners. which is not good news for the voters though might ask. when you basically get a program that you didn't vote for. there is no guarantee that what you would like to have. politics turn out there is no guarantee you will be in the majority after the election and therefore there is no guarantee that what you. want. politics will really work out in this way. so what kind of government might germany get. to twenty seventeen range of coalition. there's a combination known as the jamaica coalition if merkel's christian democratic union

. partners with the business friendly free democratic party and the green. if this greens and the social democrats managed to form a team. take the black out and replace it with the freedom across a. traffic light coalition. part

of any coalition is germany's socialist party it must be the wrong shade of the color red the left part is to radical by bigger party it's. a similar case but the opposite end of the spectrum is the alternative for germany branded as far right by critics. could be an interesting touch but so far german politics seems reluctant to rule over the coloring books lines polish. will be called then an earlier time of. preparation and after voters. no longer think this wide with having two major parties if they ever get up our presentation which we have heard. so those are the options now the choosing is underway in order as it sounds to talk about who might be

succeeding or not lower down the pecking order let's not forget this is your most powerful economy your in the e.u.'s biggest nation let's go live to outside the right building now the election team is there and neil harvey. very good morning to you colleen great job to come over to as i think the political metaphors are absolutely everywhere here this morning if you can see this just behind me but it's very very overcast and misty a very very deep mist and it's just starting to rise now and that's so out of that i would say has been a political nobody could quite see over the last few months the future of the country politically they're not quite sure the certainly not going to be an outright majority win and that's going to mean a coalition no one quite see which coalition going to get so many possible combinations of charlotte do basically just explained but that is just starting to lift now we're going to find out in what probably ten hours the first exit polls will suggest where exactly germany is heading also if we can just see it any point

you see lots of people walking alongside the river spray here they're wearing runners out but they're heading off to the bill in marathon that's about to get underway around nine o'clock our time it's been a political marathon it's been going on for such a long time now we are going to know shortly though who the winners are so it's all going to unfold in the next as i said ten hours or so but it's been lots of last minute campaigning very decisive day yesterday for the leading candidates they were out on the campaign trail trying to win over those kind of last minute votes from people who aren't quite sure where they want to go politically so one of the most controversial parties to. it's expected will come third but you know they need to really pull out all the stops at the last moment bill to germany party very controversial frequently criticized for their strong anti immigrant anti islamic stance my colleagues kevin nikki are and they spoke to one of the party's regional and. we are not the right to assume party we want a center we want to get the confidence of the people who lost confidence and i'm

going maryland turned to government so you come on i mean look back i'm just looking at some quotes back in two thousand and thirteen there was an email from one of the one of your party's lead candidates their analysis middle. she's making derogatory remarks about arabs as well as the to the roman gypsies. we were the first. one immigration law for anglo-saxon standards like canada has it we need for demographic reasons we need immigration we know that. we always say we are the party of political realism it's not about right it's about the right direction and the government failed in this direction and i'm sure we will recover and we will recover confidence of the german people. just one of many guess we'll be bringing you throughout the day now having spent years at the helm of the european union's powerhouse angela merkel's become the decisive figure for the books politics but not every decision that she has made has been welcomed by the member states.

the world that this is being challenged as a whole it has to find it also is one of the every interest in playing a leading role in this world. i know. that. i don't like michel because of this migrant issue she was the one who told him to come to hungary right. being that she has to be. a. day meet when. we. can see. i live i. should have very negative impact on some of the

new because she promoted german interest at the expense of the interests of individual countries especially greece and italy. very capable for. in terms of politics and i'd like her to keep her doing her job so that you can be guided towards positive goals we really need it. to go together but unfortunately germany has turned greece into a lab rat it has turned it into a german colony and through greece tries to socially demolish all of europe and its workers rights. but it is not just like the america it was a huge supporter of the european union so said main rival martin schultz let's find

out a bit more about it. to make europe great again. out it's not a political love affair it's not just the e.u. the two main party leaders agree on the other explains. choices

choices choices to leave or to remain trapped in clinton macron for the past one of the monumental decisions with global weapons question now it's germany's track must go this is sure thing nice this north that much of a different take merkel's refugee policy nobody else has and i have a chance of being a refugee in which at that time i must step. and he is sure to mention some of those people bring us is more valuable than money that's what europe believes in the same story with europe they want more of it more you roughish war union and more brussels with germany but we'll. europeans who believe trans national democracy is the best model for us to stand up and break this

silence shoots a former president of the european parliament. the leader of europe's powerhouse as a stink at the europeans hello fleet in our own hands i will continue to maintain i did the twenty seven member states must work intensively together for all of his shipping to consider the two even share a dislike of if not hatred for the man in charge across the ocean. and in the top to get to their most of the series around the pressure on the extreme defeat to leave the united states of america peacefully but you have to bring them on the pos oppression now and and that means diplomatic solutions to. the problem that we have with trump is that he is unpredictable in that sense who should we tool to not even a pre-election debate can get the two to clash. spock's to fly what was supposed to be a jewel looked more like

a jew at the ball and stella could us over. america staged. we have them by the differences. but one german we put it the biggest difference between merkel and shoots is that the four eyed guys do you see. do you care about the future of germany and hence the future of the european union if you do i think you do you want to join us next hour.