ok i'd like to go back to erbil here well it's very interesting to me i mention senator chuck schumer who's the leader of the democrats in the u.s. senate a very powerful figure we had during the campaign donald trump's people were making some sounds about supporting kurdish independence ok now the administration seems to be waffling at this point russia has come out saying that it will speed respects the into the territorial integrity of iraq or not believe it doesn't support secessionist movements and then you have turkey here now the u.s. is sending mixed signals the turks are certainly not sending any mixed signals here this again is part of the puzzle here. you have a very strange a ray of forces right here do the kurds have any chance whatsoever because it seems like the entire neighborhood would stamp them out and it could be very real very real military conflict could occur go ahead in erbil. look the real problem is i think america has been saying mixed signals when they says we are against the day after the referendum that said that we will still deal with iraqi kurdistan an

more than you can chew big enough for the reason why we got this crisis situation now ok if i go in erbil which really interesting that the kind of crisis is that is developing from a western perspective middle east is that you have normally to america now is a kurdistan and iraq ok collectively one country but two different groups of people here and making promises that both this is what happens when you make promises to two different parties that don't necessarily get along go ahead. well to start there for there would just like to respond to the point about the constitution the constitution provides says very clearly that iraq is a unitary it is a voluntary union between the kurds arabs and the others and the cation of this constitution is the guarantor of the territorial integrity of iraq this is clearly stated in the preamble of the constitution the war there for. round them is mentioned three times in the constitution for other issues so the actual for and them is not illegal percy there are different interpretations when the constitution was written back in two thousand and five co

and erbil areas that are officially under kurdish control disputed areas outside it's administration claimed by both the kurdish government any rocks national government have also voted and these include the oil rich province of kirkuk which has further infuriated baghdad as you heard so why is there so much regional opposition and well iran turkey and syria if you. that an independent kurdish state in iraq could fuel further separatist ambitions among their own kurdish populations which you can see marked in orange on the map the united nations the u.s. and britain to name a few are also opposed to this referendum washington described the vote as provocative and destabilizing let's now go live to charlie stratford who is in muchmore that's in one of the disputed regions we've just mentioned charlie tell us about the mood where you are did people come out and vote in big numbers as they did in erbil. well certainly what we've witnessed it seems that they have i mean one of three camps in this area in one of the disputed areas areas where the peshmerga have taken control subsequent to

of monday secession vote to be canceled shortly before the ban came into effect protestors outside erbil international airport when he's balloons carrying messages of peace a central government of baghdad has ordered for an alliance to stop services to the region but domestic flights will still continue as normal monday secession referendum received a ninety two percent yes vote on the abdul hamid joins us live now from erbil international airport as a whole to tell us more about the disruption that this has caused over there and the reaction to this move. no more international flights to and from both. ports actually the parts inside is completely empty. and this should last until twenty ninth of december according to the director of the of the airport she says though that she has been trying to reach out to the authorities in baghdad to understand what exactly do they require these airports to do she said that nothing happens here without prior approval from baghdad in the first place and the airport comes under. observers and supervisors come regularly to their present check that the

defense secretary michael fallon is here in erbil where he is meeting with kurdish president must me he was earlier in baghdad and he said from there that he was coming here to try to convince the kurds to postpone the vote he also said that the u.k. was firmly against it at this point now this comes after earlier in the day the federal supreme court issued a state order cooling for the suspension of the referendum until it reaches a final ruling now this is actually an order that should be by the forward to kurds even though shortly after the supreme court expressed itself a statement came out from the regional prime minister's office saying that the referendum was still going ahead but according to the thousand and five constitution well the federal supreme court is the authority that rules in case of ethnic sectarian and regional political problems in this country and the kurds were fully part of the process of writing that constitution so they are at the moment at least publicly showing still that posture of the foreign whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between

i spoke to a man who is part of the christian community in erbil.e says he feels that he is a second-class citizen. he fears his rights could be cartel should kurdistan -- he fears his rights could be cartel -- curtailed. he wonders if there could be consequences. there are fears among minorities about the future of kurdistan, what their place would eat in an independent kurdish state. baghdadhe government in says it does not recognize this vote. how are kurds hoping to proceed without baghdad's cooperation? >> the president said the referendum would be a first step in negotiating i independence wh baghd. ththey will speak ababout their future as two separate countries. rejectedas of course that pay they have asked kurdistan to cancel or delay the referendum. right now, there is no willingness on the side of the federal government to enter into dialogue. the international community is also watching this referendum. they could play a part in mediating, but they are on the side of the iraqi government. it will be difficult for kurdistan to declare ind

defense secretary michael fallon is here in erbil where he is meeting with kurdish president me he was earlier in baghdad and he said from there that he was coming here to try to convince the kurds to postpone the vote he also said that the u.k. was firmly against it at this point now this comes after earlier in the day the federal supreme court issued a state order for the suspension of the referendum until it reaches a final ruling now this is actually an order that should be. for the kurds even though after the supreme court expressed itself a statement came out from the regional prime minister's office saying that the referendum was still going ahead but according to the new thousand and five well the federal supreme court is the authority that rules in case of ethnic sectarian and regional political problems in this country and the kurds were fully part of the process of writing that constitution so they are at the moment at least publicly showing still that posture of the foreigners whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between erbil and baghdad at the moment is so

to call off the boats were alive to erbil the kurdish regional capital and around the world in less than eighty days on a bicycle british operate michael moore has written through russia china new zealand and north america and is a bot to claim the world record for his efforts we'll tell you about his remarkable journey with a live report from the finish line in power and blocks al-jazeera in saudi arabia the kingdom says the content breached local laws but is a straight up censorship a major chapelle sinister questions and comments throughout the show is a news group. clem here with news grid live on air and streaming online for you tube facebook live and at al-jazeera dot com u.s. president donald trump has set the stage for his united nations debut on tuesday with a speech about the bureaucracy that he says is holding the world body back his address a u.s. sponsored event which aims to reform the united nations' desk go straight to our diplomatic as a james basis at the u.n. in new york james donald trump us called the u.n. week and incompetent in the past did he softened his tone a l

in a cafÉ in erbil, a group of kurds originally from turkey and now living in europe have gathered.traveled here just to witness the historic vote and show support. they are not iraqi citizens so cannot vote, but to them a kurd is a kurd. >> ( translated ): we don't say we are kurdish from turkey, or kurdish from iran or kurdish from syria, we say we are from northern kurdistan or eastern kurdistan or western kurdistan. we are from kurdistan. >> reporter: to these men the issue of u.s. opposition to the referendum is just a case of political necessity for now. professor dlaweer ala'aldeen heads up the middle east research institute in erbil. >> now, when the current administration says ¡don't do it' this has not translated into people feeling abandoned or bitter about it. people still love america. but what they expect is that after the referendum, and if they enable this process of independence they expect that understanding from america. that there will be more friends respecting this move and trying to calm things down. >> reporter: baghdad angrily rejects the referendum, and the

which just ticked over so we're going to focus on erbil international airport for a moment to show you just how significant it is not just in the amount of traffic it seems but also because it is in one of the calmest regions in iraq and therefore it's a good option for travelers going in and out so that the stats here from the erbil international airport website first of all the carriers you've got big names the coming in the turkish airlines kataria was also a royal jordanian emirates simle so early in sweden austrian so european airlines all coming in as well scuse me all the destinations as well it goes as far afield as london gatwick airport and manchester as well when you look at the numbers over the years this graph shows back in two thousand and six it was only seeing one hundred sixty thousand passengers a year that has grown incredibly over the years to be at this point now where at least this was twenty fourteen i believe these numbers were up past one point five million so just highlighting the fact that it is very important. has been outside of bail international airport a

commission says it will and announce an initial results of the session referendum this hour we are live in erbil. i joined up this is al jazeera life and was a coming out. guilty verdict the supreme court in thailand sentences former prime minister yingluck shinawatra to five years in prison for corruption. the u.s. defense secretary and nato secretary general in kabul sells a new afghan policy that may not be all that new plus. a show of force from south africa's largest workers' union its main demand president jacob zuma must go. iraq's kurdish region is about ten ounces the official results from monday's succession referendum an official estimate say kurds have voted yes iraqi prime minister body is ready regional leaders to cancel the results it's good morning from me joining us live from bill we waiting on the results what are you hearing how is it going to work. well we're waiting for the results the first said that they were supposed to be announced a short while ago. however the room where the press conference is going to happen is full with journalism everybody is really on standby even

it's still unclear whether those threats will actually materialize into anything practical i mean erbil for example right now where over the past few days there's been all sorts of gossip news rumors about. blockades being imposed. crossings being closed but none of that is actually founded on it has actually taken place it's very important to separate what's gossip and news from the realities on the ground if indeed there is a blockade and it has to be the worst blockade in history most flights are operating for example airways is still operating quite flights haven't been canceled much of this will depend on. what happens post referendum and from the people i've spoken to here within the kurdish leadership there is a willingness and an effort a genuine effort to. remedy tensions with baghdad to alleviate those concerns that regional powers have had varying a mine of course at the k r g has over the past seven or eight years in particular strengthened its ties with countries like turkey there is on ongoing dialogue that will be crucial to ensuring cooler heads prevail mr al of the next

from the iraqi government to erbil and started from two thousand and three and till two thousand and fifteen or two thousand and forty so there is a problem now for some sort of problems that we give you the money to stay in iraq now you are you want to be outside iraq so give us back our money so it's it's some sort of new levels of sanctions airports the land. borders and now we are talking maybe there are talk about financial crises it will be happen between baghdad and about the seventeen person maybe it will escalating for more but i think with the. well with the with the presence of the u.n. with the presence of the international community in baghdad i think there will be some sort of movement against any harsh measurements. for the kurdish people special of the kurdish people already they hospitalized about three million refugees most of them are iraqi so it's supposed to be one of the important event that happened to the iraqis that they went to kurdistan they've been welcomed in kurdistan so even on the social level now the people in baghdad looking for kurdistan as a safe z

while tension has been rising in the region since the referendum vote all foreign flights to and from erbil in the kurdish region will be suspended from friday evening after an order by iraq's central government in baghdad let's go live to hold abdul hamid who is live from the airport in erbil how to tell us about the situation there what's the scene like. well at the moment the flights are arriving and departing as scheduled. all international be suspended from fifteen hundred g.m.t. which is six o'clock local now we do only flight that has been suspended is the one from tehran iran having closed the airspace for all flights to and from the kurdish region since the day the referendum took place there we did see some people leaving earlier than predicted especially people from the kurdish diaspora who had come here to take part in the referendum to witness what they call a historical day many of them said they had to cut short their time here with their families because they were worried that the only way out of here would be transiting through baghdad and some said that as kurds they didn'

whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between erbil and baghdad at the moment is something that one could fairly be confident about. aid workers say the range of crisis at the bangladesh me and more border is now one of the worst biggest humanitarian catastrophes in the world they say they're struggling to meet the needs of more than four hundred thousand refugees who fled the violence in may amassed and august the twenty fifth. as more from southeast bangladesh. a month after renewed violence began in myanmar's rakhine state of rohingya are making the journey to the border with bangladesh every day they're escaping ethnic cleansing by the myanmar military. we were six people in our family now there's just three of us left they killed my father one of the girls and my husband. this man is a volunteer with the regional cycling center. he's one of. the i guess. this is a disaster it's a manmade disaster what's happening in myanmar is inhumane and we are proud the bangladeshis are showing their humanity but the volunteers are being overwhelmed every time a food truck arrives d

showing still that posture of defiance whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between erbil and baghdad at the moment is something that one could fairly be confident about. syrian activists say government troops are close to encircling a pocket of i saw fighters in there as or after crossing the euphrates the river serves as a demarcation line between government allied forces and the u.s. backed rebels syrian government troops have been fighting ice on the west side of the river while u.s. backed rebels are battling the armed group on the east side actually how barra has this update the syrian army the. competing to take over territory that was under the control of the as seen by the americans as a key ally in the fight against. one of the russians provide significant military assistance the syrian army. and the clashes between the as the of of the syrian army this could lead to more tension between the americans and the russians so this is quite a significant development in syria. aid workers say the range of crisis at the bangladesh me a large border is now one of the bigg

for a say in erbil in northern iraq. still ahead on al jazeera should get barnes get a sour reception in cambodia they're accused of stealing land from unsuspecting commons and the pressure grows on pyongyang beijing on its north korean businesses in china shot by the end of the here. from the waves of the south. to the contours of the east. hello and welcome to international weather forecast now we've still got a battle going on across europe with this high pressure across eastern areas not a cloud underneath and quite chilly conditions meanwhile across the west we've got low pressure sensors moving in and some deep lows expected to form in the coming days it's all looking a bit unsettled across more western part of the united kingdom but ahead of it we're still getting a southwest the first of temperatures for this time of year pretty good paris there at twenty three moving on into the start of the weekend but high and that cold front will see temperatures dropping quite sharply meanwhile across more central areas we'v

showing still that posture of defiance whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between erbil and baghdad at the moment is something that one could fairly be confident about but children's charity says the british weapons industry has made eight billion dollars from sales to saudi arabia since the war began in yemen warchild campaign a city u.k. government spends more on humanitarian aid in yemen than it earns in tanks from those weapons sales on the whole looks at how the crisis has unfolded in yemen. since saudi arabia first began bombing yemen in two thousand and fifteen one point one million children have been displaced by the fighting their homes and schools destroyed more than thirteen hundred have been killed mostly by weapons sold to saudi arabia by the united kingdom that's despite the u.k. arms sales rules which say that if there is clear risk that weapons might be used in violation of international humanitarian law well then they should not be supplied warchild says the sales are not only unethical but also a false economy the argument for in favor of our trade with

of monday secession vote to be canceled shortly before the ban came into effect protested outside erbil international airport carrying messages of peace monday's secession referendum received in one thousand nine hundred percent yes vote abdel-hamid sent us this update from erbil international airport. there are no more international flights to and from both. airports now this should last for a period of three months according to the director of this airport she said that she has been trying to reach out to authorities in baghdad to try to solve the situation but received no response the prime minister said that this was not a move intended to quote. people it was simply a move to extend the federal authority to the entire territory of iraq including the kurdish region but many of the people i spoke to today didn't agree with that and many were from the kurdish despero who had actually come here to take part in this referendum and they said that they felt bittersweet happy and one sided to have a voted but they. were leaving now many ahead of schedule simply because they didn't trust wh

correspondent in erbil in iraq kurdistan i came across as very interesting opinion piece on al jazeera dot com on the regional implications of this kurdish referendum i got a dolly of al-jazeera sent to studies asks whether common concerns about u.s. policies in the middle east and also kurdish statehood ambitions can bring turkey and iran together a very interesting perspective do it if it do read it if you can it's on al-jazeera dot com and don't forget you can send in your questions and comments on this story and others we're covering on the news great today as ever a.j. news grid and all the other ways to get in touch with us on your screen right now. moving on to other world news now and israeli forces have raided the home of a palestinian gunman who opened fire at israeli security personnel at the entrance to a settlement in the occupied west bank he killed three and wounded another before being shot dead live to harry fawcett who joins me from the rake very close to the settlement harry what more have we learned about the nature of this attack and what have been the reactions we

referendum and the result and he say he will not have any dialogue with the kurdish regional government in erbil without cancellation of the outcome of the referendum and he said as well that he holds onto the you'll do you want to make them he gave the conditions regional government asked to hand over the airport controls this means sort of money yeah that'd be you know and kirkuk as well although in kirkuk we don't have civil aviation we don't have military every nation and then he wants to have full control about the border in with turkey and iran which could include his son faces so and this will must happen until friday six p.m. if not he will close the airspace and he will close the borders and cut istanbul be isolated so this is the last position i go i say that this referendum and i was opposed not only within iraq but also internationally of america and turkey amongst the critics given the opposition internally and externally what was that what is the kurdish leadership hoping to achieve with this vote. well first of all about money wants to have an independent state he wants to lead co

control over iraq's borders to watch turkey and iran and poor bought full control over the airports in erbil and still money and kirkuk as well although in kirkuk you have what is only military airport and not a civil airport so the automatic yeah you mentioned the critical situation. baghdad is threatening sanctions what should the region expect where the region will expect that first of all it's a lesson for mr baez and this is how i see it it's a lesson for mr burroughs i need that he's not an island he's not alone on this what in the past to consider the interests of others he has to consider the interests of baghdad the interests of the neighbors turkey and iran this is i think the lesson he has to take ok now. is preparing for a deployment of iraqi government forces in kurdish territory are we likely to see that. well i don't see the push matter much of a team order and before you have to consider that they are operating anyway in the into province of kirkuk just fifty kilometers south of your cook is how we judge and how we jet is still controlled by isis so now operating that togethe

imran khan is in erbil in northern iraq joins us live now and ron i guess these comments from hydrilla body contributing to general sense of tension around this vote. well that's absolutely right what we're hearing from kurdish sources is comments have been met with a mixture of anger and defines anger at what he's actually saying the kurds are saying that this is all moment of self determination and we are going to run a referendum for independence on september twenty fifth they're also angry because they feel that he might have escalated what would be already a tense situation it really depends on what the prime minister of iraq does next he has a number of options does he reach out to to his neighbors turkey to iran and also them to help to try to intervene or does he militarized the conflict within could cook itself one of the ways he could do that is by implementing a military government to take over cook there's already been a little pasta this is yes this rather that the the governor of cocoa he was a cat should be removed now if you employ a military governor that will be forci

thing implementing them i mean to put some sort of international embargo on flights here in there in erbil would would basically imply some sort of movement into the city to try and take control of the airport and what is becoming clear that although all sides the rhetoric is increasing. certainly analysts are saying this is probably an indication as well of the respective leaders playing to their respective domestic audiences the turkish president is in order one obviously has huge fears about any kind of move towards independence here amongst the kurds in iraq. with the huge kurdish population in his country in particular an organization that not only turkey but the international community considers to be a kurdish terrorist organization the p.k. k. so it's no good to one sitting back and letting this happen and of course we have an election here in iraq next year. the iraqis will go to the polls and vote for a new government in iraq so there's no way that prime minister labadee cannot be seen to be ramping up the rhetoric and making these kind of threats that's certainly what analysts a

imraan khan is in erbil in northern iraq joins us live now and ron i guess these comments from hydraulic body contributing to general sense of tension.

approved the referendum on friday the votes will take place in the provinces of the hoaxer money and erbil areas that are officially under his control disputed areas outside its administration came by both the kurdish government and baghdad also voting that includes the oil rich province of kirkuk and this us further on get the national government in baghdad which along with iran turkey and syria is against a vote they fear an independent kurdish state in iraq could fuel further separatism among their own kurdish populations mocked in orange there at the u.s. is also opposed to describing the vote as provocative and the stabilizing now in the last hour iraq's prime minister spoke to reiterate his opposition to the referendum taken as we are within one year on this constitution has been voted. on it by all the iraqi people including the one of the iraqi population so i think to challenge the constitution in this manner there will be no. if you challenge the courts to show and if you challenge the borders of iraq on the border of the region then there will not be this is a public invitation

defense secretary michael fallon is here in erbil where he is meeting with kurdish president masoud barzani he was earlier in baghdad and he said from there that he was coming here to try to convince the kurds to postpone the vote he also said that the u.k. was firmly against it at this point now this comes after earlier in the day the federal supreme court issued a state order for the suspension of the referendum until it reaches a final ruling now this is actually an order that should be barring the four do kurds even though shortly after the supreme court expressed itself a statement came out from the regional prime minister's office saying that the referendum was still going ahead but according to the thousand and five constitution well the federal supreme court is the authority that rules in case of ethnic sectarian and regional political problems in this country and the kurds were fully part of the process of writing that constitution so they are at the moment at least publicly showing still that posture of the foreign whether there are some sort of negotiation going on between erbil

to blunt iraqi kurds who are on the streets of erbil on monday celebrating historic vote for the pearl independence from iraq the outcome of the referendum will likely be yes when official results are revealed later in the week now that despite heavy international pressure especially from the u.n. and the united states both oppose and. turning now to the fallout from the german election on the back of faces a tough task as she sets out to form a new governing coalition she's most likely to link up with the pro-business f.d.p. the free democrats and the environmentalists greens two parties very far apart on central issues now here in germany is being called a jamaica coalition will ask our political correspondent what that means for germany's future first let's take a look at this report to find out how to make or actually the colors in its flag fit into german politics. they now are to stay cool in jamaica black yellow and green are the colors of the flag in germany these colors represent the most likely incoming coalition conservative c.d.u. the greens in the pro market f.t.p. people

by parliament to quote take all measures to preserve national unity out of syria's imran khan is in erbil and has more on the day's events in iraq. southern iraq has been spared much of the violence that the rest of the country has seemed to in the west and in the north and now this attack took place just after lunchtime gunmen attacked the checkpoint which leads into southern iraq and then two suicide car bombs exploded outside a restaurant full of taurus the death toll currently stands at fifty we are expecting that to rise the health ministry said there are a number of people with very serious injuries now iraq as i say has been spared much of the violence and i still have claimed responsibility for this particular attack now they do claim responsibility for a number of attacks not just here but abroad as well but it is likely to be an isolated attack this is a message really from the group saying that you may have beaten us. in mosul you may have surrounded us in the last remaining stronghold but we all still able to attack you in places that you wouldn't expect so now that's a real c

kurdish regional authority in the living iraq if the vote goes ahead hoda abdel-hamid has more in erbil which is the kurdish region in northern iraq she says iran is worried about how the kurds living in its territory would react to a referendum in neighboring iraq. this might be the first explicit statement coming out of iran but certainly there have been several warnings by the iranian government over the past few months relations actually between tehran and the kurdish authorities have been strained for quite a while now at the bottom line iran sees this as a threat to its own national security in the sense that iran has a sizable kurdish population several iranian kurdish opposition parties are based here in northern iraq and iran fears that this referendum even though nonbinding if it goes ahead might to pull the aspirations of the iranian kurds just those are exactly the same fears that turkey has for example now the mood here remains the find over the past few days president and he has held rallies and he has said very bluntly that the referendum will go ahead because the alterna

for september twenty fifth from western powers as well as united states imran khan reports now from erbil. iraqi prime minister hydrilla body reacted with strong words the kurdish part of its decision to hold an independence referendum on september twenty fifth if you challenge the constitution and if you challenge the board cuts off you are on the border of the region and there will not be this is a public invitation to the countries in the region to violate iraq the borders well which is but again justification. of bodies were to admit with a mixture of defiance and anger in the kurdish region of northern iraq the president of the kurdistan regional government masoud barzani spike at a rally north of erbil in the city of the old. rejected our partnership not us if you have a look at the iraqi constitution it says the commitment to this constitution keeps the free unity of iraq we decided to live with baghdad but they didn't accept our partnership now they have to accept we will be good neighbors if they want to accept our partnership we won't be their servants. one source of tension is

still that posture of the foreigners whether there are some sort of negotiations going on between erbil and baghdad at the moment is something that one could fairly be confident about. more than one hundred thousand posters promoting a planned referendum on independence in catalonia the controversial vote is planned for next month but the spanish government has ruled that illegal call penholder accords. in the shadow of church spires clay tile roofs a rebellion is brewing. in towns and villages across catalonia mayors are preparing to hold a referendum to break away from spain but state prosecutors are threatening to arrest them after ruling the ballot unlawful. never asked for the leftist c.-u. people r.t. . was a left wing pro independent separatists i've always question the spanish state and the capitalist system now as mayor i'm just as rebellious independence will not just be the work of one of two people but of everybody united. over the weekend spain's chief prosecutor said more than seven hundred mayors could face charges ranging from wasting public funds on the referendum to in

and erbil. turkey's foreign ministry issued a statement and said that there would be consequences if this referendum actually goes ahead on the twenty fifth of september. is the region going to take any heed of what turkey says. i think the world and this is a very interesting part of the story. about two thousand and four turkey made a very clear threat that if the kurds were to take control of kirkuk they will invade it was ambiguous and it was only the intervention of the american government that prevented anything happening since then prime minister birzeit me and his government have worked very hard to improve relationships with turkey so much so that they are very worried very close. trade links between the the regional government and turkey and so how this dynamic between. promise of resigning and turkey is changing is really significant because without turkish support what might happen is that if kurdistan decides to become independent they will be isolated because they will have no rout

the rest of the world airlines from egypt and jordan have stopped all flights to the kurdish city of erbil iran and turkey have held military exercises on the border with the kurdish region just this week and don't forget about the oil baghdad's government is sending federal troops to take control of all fields in the kurdish region a showdown between a club of strongman leaders and the people who used the ballot box to declare their desire to be free. euphoric scenes among iraq's kurds after the official result was announced could issue authority said that with a seventy three percent voter turnout the poll had been or resoundingly success. at this historic moment i want to congratulate you on the success of the referendum on the independence of kurdistan in our autonomous region and the areas outside the autonomous region which kurdistan claims. in baghdad the reaction couldn't be more different iraq's government opposes the kurdish push for statehood and has demanded an immediate an element of the vote. of our position on the kurdish referendum is firm and clear we oppose the process be

so abrasions have swept through the streets of erbil the capital of the kurdish populated region of iraq the kurds have voted in an independence referendum this spite opposition from both baghdad and abroad. we just want to show the world what our people want to the world that we want to head for independence in a democratic way through dialogue and negotiations with baghdad this is an unconstitutional decision against the social fabric of our citizens we will not recognize the referendum or its results. six million people were eligible to vote on turnout was reportedly seventy percent official results are expected to be end of the week but the prediction is that there will be an overwhelming yes vote by dent sees the referendum us another source for a destabilization of an already fragile state and doesn't want to lose its oil rich region the kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups without a state some forty million people spread across four neighboring countries turkey syria iraq and iran all of oppose the referendum fearing it would embolden their own kurdish community iran has clo

kurds inside those countries let's leave it there as we leave in pictures of people milling around in erbil after hearing the results of an unofficial referendum held in iraq's kurdish region we've just found out that ninety two voted in support of it and seven percent voted against the all real regional and international concerns threats of already being leveled against them we'll find out more next. on october the first catalonia plans to hold an independence referendum yet the central government insists it's unconstitutional and the courts have judged it illegal as the state clamps down and catalans take to the streets where this crisis and. zero for the latest. and you're in the stream now live on you tube today uncertain future of the iran nuclear deal has u.s. president donald trump's rhetoric against the deal steps up what's the conversation in iran. iran deal was one of the worst and most one sided transactions the united states has ever entered. u.s. president donald trump has made no secret of his disdain for the twenty fifteen iran nuclear deal last week in his first speech to th

he is a freelance broadcast journalist and in erbil we crossed he's an analyst.

northern iraq the president of the kurdistan regional government masoud barzani spoke at a rally north of erbil in the city of the whole. rejected our partnership not us if you have a look at the iraqi constitution it says the commitment to this constitution keeps the free unity of iraq we decided to live with baghdad but they didn't accept our partnership now they have to accept we will be good neighbors if they want to accept our partnership we won't be their servants turkey's president also voiced his concerns referring to his country's national security so you know. we will have a meeting with the iraqi prime minister mr a body in the united states and from what we can see our goal is the same our goal is not dividing iraq but now the northern iraqi authority is taking a step towards the separation of iraq. one source of tension is the disputed territory of coke cook which the kurds say belongs to them but is also claimed by iraq the kurds have been clear that the referendum will take place in part cook and have sent troops to the city but the local iraqi shia led militia says any ballot bo

attacks and other threats to security as well for the kurdish leadership what i've witnessed here in erbil so far is a certain level headedness don't forget of course this is a leadership that has long standing ties to the main players actors in baghdad some of them even fought alongside each other against the former ba'ath regime for example i also mentioned earlier that the k r g has had a strong relationship and they continuously developing relationships with regional powers like turkey those channels will be crucial to ensuring things develop in a peaceful way and as i said earlier ensuring that cooler heads prevail at the end of the day war will be costly for everybody whether that's the key argy whether that's baghdad. this particular stretch right now as it continues its operations in the rest of iraq mr elden i'm afraid that is all the time we have today thank you to all our guests. and latha and thank you for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com and for further discussion go to our facebook page that facebook dot com forward sl