Long welcome my names peter w. Watching aljazeera live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up the u. N. Approves a team to investigate claims of war crimes in yemen but not before making a few major compromise. Surviving but struggling people in whats a rico a trying to rebuild the law itself to Hurrican Maria plus. I mean i remember the span of time about. The plan to. Have a plan to close the country. Thank. The catalonia region and spain is twenty four hours away from a political confrontation a bands a session referendum a shuttle to take place on sunday a final rally in barcelona the catalan separatist leader collars told supporters there would be no turning back. You mean get any more sheet or on sunday we have a date with the future and on monday as well and all week because on monday we will begin to walk with solid steps sovereignty and dignity that they try to take away from us and we will look ourselves in the mirror again. Well campaigners for a yes vote are occupying schools to be used as polling stations but the Spanish Government insisting there will be no vote it says the referendum is illegal and spain is deploying the police to ensure no ballots are of a cost whole no reports from. The fields and into the political fray. Farmers are vowing to turn their tractors into barricades if police try to crack down on the referendum. We have come to the fence country and we are fighting for democratic rights on the right. As. You can see from the reaction of the people with one hundred twenty zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero will drive. This is like coming thanks. The night before in the hof light of a small square neighbors gather. This is one of many so cool Defense Committees grassroots groups controlled by any Political Party on a mission to defend that they are strategizing to resist police who are under orders to close down schools to stop them being used as polling stations. The children will sleep in the schools to stop the Police Closing them down were afraid our neighborhood could be the first target of the. Marching to the same drum beat students have occupied university and set up their own Defense Committee theyve been sharing practical advice on civil disobedience tactics. I even think. They have been used also to volunteer with different organisations to Walter Russell mead. To dont get me going to dirt. And i dont think this is something you can erase. Catamounts a deeply divided in the centrist party is among those opposing secession regional lawmaker lauren are all dan is concerned about the emergence of citizen Defense Committees during the civil war days barcelona was run by rival militia factions. Like the Catalan Government in its head mr. Driving a car with no brakes and a heading over the precipice and crashing into all cattle lands. As evening fell process session groups put plans into action taking over schools to preempt Police Operations to close them. People its people if the people want something nobody can like a poster. And in a final rally supporters wave what they hope will become the standard of their breakaway republic. Panel aljazeera barcelona spain. The United Nations has agreed to start an independent investigation into human rights abuses by all sides in the war in yemen the decision follows weeks of negotiations since twenty fifteen Yemeni Government forces backed by a coalition have been fighting the rebels supported by iran. Has the story. The decision has been described as a game changer the Uns Human Rights Council will send a delegation to investigate a possible war crimes and yemen more than ten thousand civilians have died since the countrys devastating war started in two thousand and fifteen and that number could rise the International Community faces several urgent tasks in yemen including the protection safety and security of civilians the u. N. Delegation is expected to investigate attacks on schools markets and even hospitals final between harvey rebels and a Saudi Led Coalition which sides with president. Condi has torn the country the commission will also investigate attacks carried out by the rebels i think that the point becomes one of does the International Community stand by the laws that have. All yemeni lives as valuable as any other lives the decision was met with resistance a last minute compromise between western powers and arab countries including saudi arabia eventually made it possible experts say blocking the investigation could have led to more unwanted attention you see mounting pressure at the International Level for this to go ahead at a level that the u. S. The u. K. Saudi arabia whove been instrumental in the past really blocking this kind of investigation going ahead would struggle to justify their reasons for doing so right now along with the war an estimated twenty million yemenis continue to go hungry and a nationwide cholera epidemic is ravaging the country since april more than two thousand people have died from the illness the red cross believes there could be a million cases of suspected cholera by the end of the year but access to treatment is limited airport is completely sealed off on the three planes roughly are entering the i. C. R. C. Plane m. S. F. And un plane and no other plane is coming in. Even planes that could do some humanitarian transfer of patients that want to get treatment abroad or Something Like that this is not possible so you dont have access to drugs and youre going to go out. To war in yemen is showing no signs of ending but the Uns Human Rights Council hopes the investigation will lead to a greater level of accountability on all sides. Now dizzier. Well before the un announced its decision more deaths were reported in the conflict in yemen five people were killed in a Saudi Led Coalition air strike in santa province six others were injured sources told al jazeera the strike target a car seeking workers to a Water Project the. Tension between the kurdish leadership in Northern Iraq and their neighbors is increasing in the wake of mondays secession vote iraq says its coordinating with iran and turkey to take control of border minister to areas by the semi autonomous Kurdish Regional government it follows a refusal by kurdish leaders to relinquish management of border posts to the authorities in baghdad it is part of a campaign to pressure the kurds to an old the results of the referendum in which ninety two percent voted in favor of a split from iraq the government in baghdad says the vote was unconstitutional International Airlines have stopped landing at airports in the region after a request from iraq while the us which is supporting kurdish led forces fighting isis on the neighboring syria says it doesnt recognize the votes as being legitimate the u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson says the u. S. Supports a quote united federal iraq. Reports now from. The last passengers to catch a plane before to closure of the airspace to International Flights over to kurdish region for arranged. It meant cutting short of a kitchen that was two years in the coming. It was the first time his two year old son born in new york visited the homeland he says he didnt feel safe transiting through baghdad. The measure was taken by the Central Government in baghdad after the kurds went ahead with their referendum against. Iran was the first to close its airspace to the kurdish region a few days ago. This airport. For a period of three months only. But with prior approval. Anyone else wanting to travel from here. Will have to transit through one of the domestic airports outside of the kurdish region or they can travel out. To the rest of iraq by land but some drivers told us they have avoided going south because they felt unwelcome iraqs government says its. The whole country to preserve its unity and kurdish authorities replied that they wont hand over any border controls to baghdad. I mean. Actually because. A lot of people you know. And you have a big number. Right now. Prime minister he said the closure of the airspace was not meant to starve. But people. Dont agree he traveled from sweden to take part in the referendum. This decision is wrong from minister a body have no right to do this just the referendum but. Again the future doesnt look good. The kurdish region is landlocked turkey iran has threatened to also close their border crossings and many kurds are now bracing themselves for what their leader described as collective punishment but at that hammy airbase. Well the city of kirkuk in Northern Iraq has some of the biggest oil reserves in the country for decades theres been disagreement about who should control it peshmerga units loyal to the semi autonomous k r g patrolled the city but its inclusion in mondays vote the referendum on secession has angered baghdad as Charles Stratford now explains. The Kurdish Peshmerga took control of kirkuk after the iraqi army fled in islip pensive in two thousand and fourteen but theres never been agreement between the Kurdish Regional government ok argy and the federal government in baghdad about who should be in control here and benefit most from the areas vast oil wealth. Kirkuk at an eighty percent turnout in the referendum on kurdish the session the day after the vote the Iraqi Parliament asked Prime Minister hyderabadi to send troops into kurdish controlled disputed areas like kirkuk and take back control of the oil fields and the kurdish governor of kirkuk hopes he doesnt heed to parliaments demand Prime Minister about he has made it clear that force is not how you will approach this thing. And i agree with him and we dont expect a force to be used but of course there are people maybe not under his control who may try to do this Parliament Earlier this month voted to remove mr karim but he has refused to go and anything thats comes against me for my patriotic position. Its its an ominous for me many kurds call kirkuk their jerusalem but there are also turkomans arabs and christians here too there are also hundreds of thousands of arabs that have arrived here in recent years fleeing eisel and they feel very let down by the baghdad government theres also considerable opposition amongst the arabs and the turkmen about any idea with respect to kirkuk being part of a future independent kurdish state the vast majority of turkmen and arabs who have lived in kirkuk for generations boycotted the referendum this if you to the area and the borders of k r g is not a clear and this specially kirkuk will be. Space officer try going on between and by that and may be. A war about kirkuk the way to solve this a problem is not independency and therefore and on the way is. The two thousand and five constitution stipulates that the federal government send seventeen percent of the federal budget to the kayla g. Every year it stops sending the money in two thousand and fifteen. And baghdad has since accused the kayleigh ji of not sharing the oil wealth but any fighting here could jeopardize the battle against icily and how we around fifty kilometers southwest of kirkuk. Who could truly was killed cook was at the halls of the referendum and could issue independents you could say they will fight anyone who tries to take it from them. That aljazeera. Still ahead here on aljazeera. How the Russian Air Campaign in syria not only changed the course of the whole but strengthened moscows influence as well. Also i had a flight with Us Health Secretary rizzoli swallowing a scandal to his use of private jets thats when we come back. Hello again you know there is still sun still running around greece sometimes western turkey in southern italy this is just wont go away its not the most active area of weather in the next few days in europe but at the moment yes it is but mostly over water theres been a string across north and that probably disappeared now but just watch the area around the igi still being fed by cold winds down through ukraine from russia so max only thirteen in kiev still twenty two in ankara but sixteen in bucharest this is a sunday but if you look further west this is the atlantic weather breaking through now that eventually i dont think hes going to come by the into the weekend when it involves the remains of hurrican merrier and hurrican. But that will produce a lot of cloud a lot of rain maybe a bit of wind as well so wet spells fifty for the British Isles a little bit to the north and france as well as some of the showers have been spinning out of the aegean my well carry on catching the eastern side of libya benghazi in particular go to see it looks dry and i. Likelihood of being of cloud building particularly in north now dearie and eventually tunisia by the end of sunday or the off into sunday to bring some pretty big showers here scattered but big. Welcome back here with aljazeera from doha our top story so far today supporters of spains catalonia region holding a two seed on sunday. Schools that will act as polling stations the Central Government in madrid says the vote is illegal and it will Deploy Police to block the ballot. And the United Nations has agreed to start an independent investigation into human rights abuses by all sides involved in the conflict and war in yemen. The Us Health Secretary has resigned amid a controversy over his spending about least four hundred thousand taxpayer dollars on private planes tom price was mr trumps choice to lead the movement to repeal and replace Barack ObamasHealth Care Program alan fischer reports now from washington. Tom price may have gotten his annual flu jab but he couldnt protect himself from the president s anger donald trump give a broad hint the health and Human Services secretary time in charge would soon be over a very fine man but were going to were going to make a decision sometime and i know hes resigned even though twenty four hours before he thought he could still save his job were going to work through this and. I think we still got to the confidence of the president price faced growing criticism for his use of private flights which sometimes makes government business with his own personal agenda the cost to the taxpayer more than four hundred thousand dollars. He also made trips to europe on military jets which could take the figure to more than a million thats enough to annoy the man who wanted to dream washington swarm so i was disappointed because i didnt like it because medically or otherwise price offered to write a personal check for the cost of a seat on the private jets and he promised to fly only commercial in future it wasnt enough the other senior Trump Officials are facing questions about their travel and must know be increasingly nervous interior secretary ryan zinke he took a private jet from las vegas to his home in montana at the taxpayers expense the cost Twelve Thousand dollars and Environmental Protection agency boss scott pruitt flights to various parts of the u. S. Costing fifty eight thousand dollars questions are being asked about the treasury secretary steven munitions travel and requesting a government plane for his european honeymoon i think theyre doing it because the example is that from the top we see donald trump violating ethics norms on a daily basis and so i think other people think we dont really need to worry about the ethics rules and that appearances really dont matter prices resignation is another high profile friday departure from the white house is now lost more than a dozen senior staff in just nine months. Washington. Government is strikes have killed more than forty five people and wounded dozens more in Northern Syria at least twenty five people died in the province of italy and fighter jets also targeted hama and aleppo prophecies with syrian and Russian Troops about in opposition fighters. Its been two years since russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War and its involvement changed the dynamics of the conflict and propped up the syrian president Bashar Al Assad mohammed jam june reports. In the northern countryside of homs a russian delegation attempted to negotiate a sation of hostilities at stake establishing checkpoints revealing the fates of detainees and introducing much needed humanitarian aid one more reminder of how strong a presence russia has in syria since it intervened two years ago in the very beginning of the operation the theme coming from the crown on this is was that this is going to be a shortened gauge month actually several months after the russians went then in march sixteen. That the object of the mission has been accomplished and russias beginning it would draw a limited military mission may have been invision when russia launched its first air strikes in syria but that soon changed the message now that now russia has a solid base in syria its naval base and darkness is being expanded we have also an air force powerful base in command me im. Near the mediterranean coast and so russia has of course. In the mediterranean and so russia has a serious three foot hold in the middle east and thats franks nato and thats more or less what do the russian public that this is a great military success while you dont and hezbollah have also been instrumental in backing up syrian president bashar assad since the beginning of the war it was russian airpower that changed the dynamics of the conflict giving assad the upper hand. The establishment of deescalation zones in syria has become a priority for moscow but even with the presence of Russian Military personnel in various parts of the country its still a question as to how they will be enforced still having solidified its influence in such a strategically important country in the middle east the cost of military involvement in syria seems to have been well worth it for russia. At least sixty three refugees are feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of bangladesh survivors were trying to escape the violence to me in ma tun v a child some of them in coxs facade across the border in bangladesh. You can see the beach behind me this is where the boat wreckage tragedy took place on thursday evening we spoke to some of the survivors in this boat racket they told us there were at least two hundred people in that boat behind. Me we travelled the whole night by the bangladesh. Before. Something hard on the sea and capsized near the beach a lost my mother sister brother in law. I lost eight family members this boat i meant for only barely twenty five to fifty people you can see the boat on my left side part of the records theres other wreckage all spread across the bridge now most of this people are fleeing central iraq and they said the people in northern part came to their villages and told that you need to flee because im is going to crack down in the central part of the villages at least within the last two days theres been thousands of people left crossed into baghdad that the exodus isnt over the pace is slower but im guessing our people are crossing into bangladesh every day we spoke to the authorities there say that been received two thousand five hundred people on when i am said that there is a twenty five thousand people between when it crossed into bangor that the camps the temporary shelter just unable to cope with the sheer number of refugees coming into buying of those. The mayor of ricos capital has accused the trumpet ministration of killing people with inefficiency ten days after Hurricane Maria devastated this u. S. Territory it could be months before life returns to normal historys about. In the Central Mountains of debris and he was one of the worst hit areas by hurricane the eye of the storm passed right through this part of the island. In the course my says she cannot help but cry when she things of everything shes lost you. Can see i cry for what happened for what we lost but brenda is not alone many here are struggling to recover from the hurricane people tell us that this area used to be filled with green trees but as you can see theres not many left in fact many of the houses in this area were completely blown away. This for example is the only standing left from this house. That we cover e. F. Four its around away all around the island the electricity grid was destroyed so the island is currently dependent on generators. The hurricane was so strong that it destroyed the old posts the new posts nothing survived we are all doing what we can to get the island moving again at the towns shelter there are more than one hundred people left homeless they have lost everything they own the citys mayor has played a crucial role in organizing relief efforts private donations are paying in but more is still needed and. We desperately need his water to continue providing people here with what they need we have some food clothes for them and now we need to see how we help them to get their lives back together. Was struggling before two consecutive storms hit the island heavily in debt with high levels of poverty local Authorities Say they need help because we have three point five millions of american citizens in need right now so we will need a lot of fell of the federal government and to Recovery Program this will take years to be in the position we were before the recovery effort will probably take months people like that in the gulf and i say theyre bracing themselves for a long struggle. And he dont want. Australia is stuck in a time warp because of its coal Energy Policies according to the former head of a un panel on Climate Change australians are suffering from soaring electricity prices and power cuts the government hopes it can improve this by extending the life of an aging coal fired power station melhem the reports. The owner of the oldest coal find how station in australia says its showing its age millions of dollars are being spent to keep the forty five year old little plant running before we times in five years but the government is pressuring operator a. G. L. To continue producing power for another five years beyond them saying its key to securing electricity supplies a. G. L. Is considering the request but says it would be better off investing in new cleaner technologies such as wind and solar so its a natural progression of whatever anything comes to the end of its technical life youd run the roller over whether you extend it or whether you. Do something new in this but certainly the economics to lead you towards your goals being provided for energy and. You know very flexible efficient technologies providing that capacity the Hunter Valley north of sydney in New South Wales is at the center of the Energy Debate here because its a major coal mining and power provider the little power station is in muscle growth and the towns mayor says its time to look to the future. If it is becomes a choice between extending little for an additional five years knowing that the jobs will come to an end at that point or closing it and repurpose ing it for fifty years of new Generation Power then that is clearly the preferable option. Not only is the is draining government pushing to expand a prolonged the life of coal fired power stations like this one in the Hunter Valley its also backing a new coal mine which is built one of the largest in the world. Despite Community Opposition these trading governments approved the multibillion dollar indian owned car market coal mine but there are serious concerns about its financial viability the architect of the United Nations paris climate agreement which agreed to cut Greenhouse Gas emissions says. Developing calm winds now makes no sense so you know if that project had been proposed in the year nine hundred fifty it would probably have been a good project to propose that project in two thousand and seventeen frankly its like Science Fiction time warp except that Science Fiction usually looks forward this one is a Science Fiction that is looking back astray is expected to remain the Worlds Largest exporter of coal for at least the next twenty years despite that abundance some power station operators see a future in Renewable Energy and reduced carbon gas emissions. Aljazeera muscle brooke in the Hunter Valley. Welcome if youre just joining us youre watching aljazeera and. Your headlines of supporters of spains catalonia region holding about a seat on sunday occupying schools that will act as polling stations they say they want to protect their vote the Central Government in madrid says the vote is illegal and it will Deploy Police to block the ballot when a final rally in barcelona the cattle and separatist leader calloused told supporters there would be no turning back. On sunday we have a dates with the future and on monday as well and all week because on monday we will begin to walk with solid steps and the sovereignty and dignity of that they try to take away from us and what will look how selves in the mirror again. The un has agreed to start an independent investigation into human rights abuses by ole sides involved in the conflict in yemen it comes as another saudi the Coalition Air strike killed five and injured six others and province yemens u. N. Envoy says his government will cooperate with the investigators in a little fun with the little matter we had in the complex circumstances that yemen is going through requires from the council and the International Community support so the government can fulfill its obligations with regards to human rights the Yemeni Government has always expressed its determination to cooperate with the u. N. In order to promote and protect human rights. Iraq says its coordinating with iran and turkey to take over control of borders currently managed by the Kurdish Regional government it follows a refusal by kurdish leaders to hand over responsibility for border crossings following mondays a session referendum. Government air strikes have killed more than forty five people and wounded dozens more in Northern Syria at least twenty five people died in italy province fighter jets also targeted hama and aleppo provinces where syrian and Russian Forces are battling opposition fighters. The american Health Secretary has quit after spending at least four hundred thousand taxpayer dollars on private jets tom price was president trumps choice to lead the movement to repeal and replace obamacare. The magic of television ive got ninety seconds to get inside story. On counting the cost of the worlds Fastest Growing startup created a new labor market can that Business Model clear the regulation roadblocks ahead. The fact is an Oil Prices Enter a bull market counting the cost at this time. Iraq International Airlines to stop flying into its kurdish region follows mondays session which passed with overwhelming support but who baghdads pressure forced the Regional Government to cancel the result or will it backfire this is inside story