Saying catalonia session vote wont happen supporters of the referendum have occupied polling stations in barcelona bad determined their voices will be heard coming up a live update from a very tense. Also on the grid hitting puerto rico while its down trumps accusing the islands mayor of bad leadership as the u. S. Territory tries to recover from the strongest hurricane to hit in almost a century and the uns announced an investigation into potential human rights abuses in yemen by all sides its what yemenis and human Rights Groups have called for for years but really what sort of success right do these sorts of groups even have. And im leon harding thousands are expected to march in washington d. C. Demanding an apology for black men and women immigrants and taking it were following that conversation online but we want to hear from you think about the hash tag it james. You know we can use good live on air in streaming online through you tube Facebook Live and aljazeera dot com and we are now less than twenty four hours from the planned secession referendum in spains catalonia region the build up it has been long it has been fraught it has been tense and even now theres not actually any confirmation it will take place yes the council on Regional Government is determined it will the spanish Central Government says its illegal and that they will. Reject it. Even willing to go as far as forcibly removing people from polling booths on sunday though thats not deterred some people these pictures from barcelona where sometimes entire families have camped out overnight inside some of the schools being used as Voting Centers almost two hundred schools are being occupied to ensure the referendum goes ahead or at least tries to but the Spanish Government says police have already sealed off more than half of the schools lets go to barcelona now here is karl penhall overlooking that beautiful city there but wow tense was the word i use and i imagine the tension all these things building now absolutely you need to know when families start to organize themselves into citizens defense committees things have sunk to a new low theyre simply occupying those schools trying to keep them open so that they can be used as voting stations the spanish Central Government has a different idea and this morning the Civil Guard Police into the Information Technology department of the capitol and government shutting down software and applications that would be used to take count the votes in the event that the referendum goes ahead this is all part of the battle between regional and Central Government over whether this vote is legal at all thats why i want to bring in not a health care out shes a constitutional lawyer at hellyeah were kind of going into unknown territory here because the constitution does say that this kind of referendum is not legal this is not constitutional but does that necessarily mean its illegal. Wall right now if we see how the constitution is written and then how theyre our Constitutional Court has interpreted the constitutional provisions we could say that its not legal but it doesnt mean that we cant change our constitution or even easier if the politicians in madrid above all they go there they were they agreed to. Me to allow such a referendum it could take place legally but is it not a question looking at people on the street theres a grassroots growth of expectation there should we not be just thinking about breaking apart the constitution putting it back together make it more responsive to peoples needs actually i mean yes of course i mean our constitution taken up by the the catalan conflict needs and. Needs to be reformed needs to be updated because it has its has already for two years it has a slide slightly has been referred to us but i mean many Many Political parties many sections of their population they say we say we need to realize that our constitution to our needs so there catalan conflict to catalan question is one of these things that that needs to be re accommodated in a new not new constitution but in a reform of difficult that constitution yes of course of course laws have an impact on peoples lives what are you seeing there in terms of the divisions and also the threat that a lot of the people taking part in the referendum now will be faced with fines or even prison how is that going to play out i mean that their situation right now is terrible i mean i think that nobody one wanted to to get to this point the cut down society is divided right now into two parts one that all three parts section. Why i want but the thing that the referendum should take should take place and it did legal and its our right to defend it done everything then a second bar coming from a part of spain or some some parts of spain that say no do dont have the right to have a referendum and then a third party in the me the lattes we should have a referendum but a legal one so its Like Fighting three parts. At least two of these two parts the the want these disproportionate answer to those who are celebrating the referendum but by the other side we have to have we have to have clear that the reform in the meets not constitutional so when you breach or when you are in breach with the legal order there are some consequences the thing is that we have done all that they cut. The last weeks in my opinion they have doing that they have following the brome way so it may have this but consequent consequences for everyone thank you very much out of here so from what we can see from what i have just been telling as it kind of reflects what a lot of people on the streets have been telling me too that they feel that Catalan Society in many ways has been broken by the issue of this referendum and that is going to take a lot of putting back together both in legal terms but also in social terms as well. Thank you cal busy day coming up here in the rest of the teams tomorrow and looking forward to that coverage of the well well see what happens theres always two sides to an ongoing of course in this case it is the spaniards and how theyre taking all of this really well people in the capital madrid have been out protesting against the catalonia referendum they say they are supporters of the united spain the Spanish Foreign minister has called the vote i quote mockery of democracy. And the dispute between catalonia the rest of spain has been bubbling away for years it has to be said an interesting way people elsewhere in the country feel they too should be able to have a say thats why some in madrid decided to hold their own mock vote and its funny but we discovered the spanish civil war is actually still very much on peoples minds. Its pains most familiar to me but these are estonia has lost some of its meaning since catalonia started its drive for cessation and its forthcoming referendum. On friday madrid held his own referendum purely symbolic but the people here equally important the question people were asked was do you want catalonia to remain part of spain because you want to remember to remind everybody that you know spanish sovereignty its you know should be decided by all spaniards not just one part of spain which is catalonia you know these this year would affect holy spain i want to make sure that Everybody Knows that you know spain has a voice here yes maybe thats you live in i came to vote because what they do in catalonia is an outrage against the constitution against spain and against history those people deserve the worst adjectives even a lot of fun oh yeah if franco was alive we would just shoot them against the wall live franco lives by we dont want your communists welcome or nice that thats an extreme view but there are still many in spain who think former military leader Francisco Franco was a hero and not a villain to the tranquil countryside north of madrid is the valley of the fall and a monument created to remember those killed in the civil war it was built by Political Prisoners and is where franco is buried if theres anything that symbolizes the divisions in Spanish Society its this place is supposed to commemorate the dead on both sides of the civil war but for many its a monument to the fascist victory and the defeat of the republicans many of whom were catalan. Many on spains left believe that francos legacy lives on in every aspect of spanish life from the judiciary to politics and they support the catalans right for selfdetermination we have a lot of alto retiring frank and so the National Question is been through. In a completely practical way we believe that catalonia referendum can be a democratic key another example for all the nations that lives in it are now on the institution of this kind of state. In madrid vote people overwhelmingly wanted catalonia to stay part of spain but on sunday the question is will it still be a case of be the last spaniard or will it be farewell catalonia tony bertie aljazeera madrid. Now lets think about borders here because its not just internal matters to worry about of got the map here with barcelona in the catalonia region but if we zoom out look how close it is to the French Border for example the city of perth being on that means there would in the event of secession be a new border to be established but it also means you have catherine living on the french side of the border they wouldnt have a vote but the change would obviously affect them as well now in fact perpignan is the second biggest catalan city after bus alone or home to nearly half a million gallons Natasha Butler went there to find out what this referendum could mean for their future. Its primetime at radio at earls frances only catalan news station for more than thirty years its been broadcasting to the southwest and peppino region where a third of people speak the language the radio is a way of keeping their culture alive. Where a region where our language is under threat three centers it was banned slowly its coming back especially in schools so our radio is helping this renewal by developing the language and maintaining our catalan identity Rolling Vineyards and sweeping mediterranean beaches define this part of france known as northern catalonia southern catalonia is a few kilometers away just across the spanish border peyronies separate the two but people are united by their catalan roots traditions and pride it certainly feels very unique carried feels very different from other parts of france there are catalan colors and reminders everywhere and people say they are looking very closely at the referendum which is taking place just over the border so whats interesting is great the people in french catalonia say that they would want independence from the state. By the Catalan Association in the center of pep in your Office Activities for all ages while many catalans in spain want to vote for a clean break from madrid those here say they wish to remain part of france but with a more regional autonomy. Underneath all of the unemployment is widespread here young people are jobless the french state does little for us we want a special status corsica which would give a small town im a great education going to me and taxation. The mesmerising side down a dance was banned in the one nine hundred forty s. By spanish dictator general franco who regarded the catalans as a threat. The people here grew up with it its intricate moves have been passed down through generations and classes like this are popular enough land of ignore them on the new south fire along with our mountains the sadhana our language its everything a sketch islands have its our inspiration. With no great momentum for independence the focus for most catalans here is on keeping in step with france but dancing to their own tune the tasha butler aljazeera. Heres liam out later going to take going after the way we communicate now is in effect i was going to say good way to fit to play a very effective yes and its been used to it is and wiki leaks cofounders been writing about on twitter too but this identity battle is definitely playing out on line between catalonia in spain both sides are talking about it now julianna songe like i said the week ulicks founder he actually called it the worlds first internet war he accuses spanish intelligence agencies of freezing communication links occupying Telecom Buildings and censoring hundreds of sites and as a result assad has called on tech savvy folks around the world to help fight that battle now more than seventy academics from north america have signed this letter also calling for the Spanish Government to stop all censorship this outcry is a reaction to several incidents that have happened so far for example google was forced to remove the catalonia referendum app from its spanish store after a high court there demanded that it do so the app gave voters information about polling stations and then the watchdog media dot cat they have built this map to monitor ways that the Spanish Government has censored media related to the referendum these dots here represent different elements that have been affected in society the brown ones i have are of newspapers that have been censored and then there are these little green dots here those represents artists or academics who have been silenced for supporting the referendum now on his twitter posting on friday a songe went on to say along with posting this picture that catalan response to Prime Minister repression is impressive and he said its also strategic catalans quote keep it light with humor and calm he says ensuring that people are not afraid to vote and directing Reactive Energy into growing their institutions and away from fear and violence but others. They say that cats line authorities are censoring just as much as the spanish authorities this article here says that the referendum is unconstitutional and being forced on the region through propaganda we heard from the author of this article heres what he had to say the situation has been quite worrying and surprising catherine authorities have been trying to influence the coverage of this campaign. For instance in june there was a notion passed in parliament proposing not to fund those media that were not support in the referendum in the last few weeks weve seen how journalists have been criticise in the in social networks and media for not siding with the government or with the spin. Weve seen how. Publicly subsidise media and continue to come quite partial view and the situation has been you know its by prisoners decisions by reporters with of by their side and many other institutions clearly we have accusations on both sides as we head into the much awaited referendum on sunday no of course be following the story very closely here at aljazeera so be sure to check back and you can also connect with us with the hash tag e. J. Newsprint thank you lia so did the sun last night still relevant though the catalonia referendum billups been going on for some time so this all you need to know feature will take you back to basics and remind you of why its all happening its in the europe news section at aljazeera the common also back in pulled us was the talk about a zero team spoke to khalis bridge them all who is the president of the catalonia region who outlined why he was calling for the referendum so that sunline into talked about as a reception bobs the team that actually interviewed him again today and here is a quick taste of that. General can you know i am no criminal im not responsible for sedition normally when there is a coup detat temped its against democracy you dont normally get a coup detat with ballot papers that are comparable yoke it is inconceivable that a peaceful people trying to express themselves peacefully could be repressed by violent means we are in a paradox for the past six years we organize demonstrations that are brought together millions of people with zero instance of violence we can organize big demonstrations we can mobilize large masses now we have ten times more police should we be scared of violence or whatnot but the Spanish State is acting like an arsonist its putting wood on the fire its acting totally irresponsibly it is a lack of spanish patriotism and its he was editing that interview literally right as we speak its going to be put online as soon as possible and then the First Television screening of it will be at twenty two thirty g. M. T. Tonight saturday get in touch with us once you twitter at a. J. English hashtag a j news grid facebook dot com slash news good for the live stream you can comment as you go there will send us a message on whats that plus nine seven four five or one triple one four nine right lots to get through were going to look at the Iraqi Government now which is coordinating with iran and turkey to take control of its International Borders in the semi autonomous kurdish region baghdad sent troops to its shared Border Crossings part of iraqs attempts to isolate the region after it of course voted for secession so here is where its happening these borders iraq shares with turkey and iran theyre critical routes for trade and supplies in and out of the country the area shares two major Border Crossing with iran at haji oman and iranian t. V. Is reporting its military will hold joint border exercises with iraqi troops and we know there are currently iraqi troops on the Turkish Border here at the border and are simmons was supporting reporting from there last night that we have to note that all these crossings are actually still open. To widen out a bit we have to see how far fade how far afield the kurds actually live this is from al jazeera dot com and the important thing to note here the brown shaded areas those are all areas inhabite