indian mining company is heading to australia to build one of the world's biggest mines will it be an economic bonanza or an ecological disaster. at this time when i visit. on countering the cost of scandal made in japan kobe steel admits that it fakes data on components used by the world's biggest makers of planes trains and automobiles. troubled by the i.m.f. a signaling danger ahead for the global economy even as growth ticks higher counting the cost at this time on al jazeera. celebrations as iraqi forces drive away fighters to me take him company find out what this means for kind of independence go.

jadedness is al jazeera live and coming up. fails to clarify whether the region will decay or independence from spain and instead to search for more talks. turkey steps in to help the victims of somalia's turn bomb attacks as the death toll rises to more than three hundred plus the better sex is ridiculous horrible unfair most definitely being i mean the tax and so it is to help fight obesity in one of america's largest cities news's it's fits. to begin with major developments in iraq where government forces have taken control of the contested city of kirkuk from kurdish forces tension has been mounting in the oil rich region ever since the kurds held a referendum on suspicion last month. from it bill.

the kurdish flag no longer flies in the center of kirkuk the city now officially back in the hands of the iraqi government its forces but made a rapid advance launched in the middle of the night fifteen hours later the industrial area airports military base and critical all fields were under the control of iraqi forces. soon after they marched into the center of the city. iraqi officials were quick to declare victory. the joint military operation was launched at dawn and progress significantly as the troops approached the area to crete and the north oil company were confronted by some rebels who tried to hinder the progress of the advancing units turned five in style and fourth thank god today we have achieved all our goals according to our plan. the u.s. military which a trained both sides in this dispute trying to downplay the escalation in

a statement blaming the firefight on the darkness calling it a misunderstanding. but kurdish fighters painted a different picture of what was happening on the ground. now the moment i don't know what is happening exactly because we have been in the fight since four in the morning in the areas of tasa we have suffered casualties including martyrs and now we have withdrawn into this position and some of the other forces have pulled out they didn't fire a single shots and that's all but when the seventh brigade holding up position here . thousands fled the city as the forces approached mixed in among them kurdish fighters now as the u.s. urges dialogue and calm the question is what's next will iraqi forces and their militias pursue the kurdish people and fight is that answer will have an impact here and around the globe oil prices are climbing with the news the possibility.

of a civil war perhaps in iraq with coalition forces fighting both iraqi army and possibly iranian militias. did not play well with the with the well so traders and so the perception is that prices will rise. until that's what we meant risky is completely character russian would say and understand most world powers at will the kurdish regional government and not to go ahead with a non-binding referendum where the majority of people voted for secession from iraq now the people of this region and their government finding out there is a very real price to be paid in this search for independence the speed with which the iraqi army were able to achieve their aim is left the kurdish regional government shocked and wanting and already there are questions being asked as to whether certain members of one of the main two kurdish political parties may have colluded with the iraqi military in order to ensure such

a swift and easy victory in and around kirkuk strafford al jazeera. the united states has expressed concern at the race the u.n. secretary general is edging the two sides to resolve their dispute through dialogue . he appeals to the federal government at the kurdistan regional government to take ordinated steps to prevent and avoid further clashes escalation or breakdown of law and order the secretary general calls on the parties to jointly manage the situation and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue in a manner that is consistent with the constitution of iraq so why is the region so crucial for both the iraqi government and the kurdish leadership could cook lies outside the kurdish autonomous region but it has a large kurdish population and is considered the center of their historical homeland kurdish peshmerga rebels had held the city since two thousand and fourteen they captured it for myself after the iraqi army was pushed out of the region to

coax rich oil fields have been a key source of revenue for the kurds comprising more than half of their oil exports tension has been mounting in the region ever since the kurds held a referendum on secession last month which was seen as unconstitutional by baghdad rhonda slim is the director of the program on conflict resolution of the middle east institute she says the current crisis is the result of a series of missteps by both sides. i think the kurds have have miscalculated on two in two in two ways one day they thought that is that going to use a military approach to resolve political disputes that's one and they also miscalculated on. americas of the united states coming to their rescue if such military approach has been adopted by the bulk of the authorities but also but that has miscalculated in the run up to that if it ended because they bet that

but as ernie will eventually lent and will not go ahead with the effort and him so we are we are here because of his use of miscalculation and misperception by all stakeholders in this conflict the whole region is not ready for to give up or to abandon this principle of territorial integrity region we can see the reaction you know to key iran or even saudi edited they have thrown their support for a for a bit of that that is a locked and not only in the region but also in the international communities to have unilateral change of borders and so nobody wants in other south sudan in their in their neighborhood in their midst so for now i think especially with the loss of the key fields or most of the oil fields i don't see for it to be and for the

good for the iraqi kurdistan if pathway to have in economically viable independent goodish states catalonia is leader has failed to clarify whether his region plans to secede from spain just hours before a deadline from the spanish government colors pritam or instead asked for more dialogue in a letter to the central government he has until thursday to respond or face the prospect of direct rule so no gago reports from barcelona. it was supposed to be a monday deadline but the catalan president's response to madrid's demand that he clarify his position on succession lacked any definitive answers in his letter to spain's prime minister might enter a catalyst but the suspension of the political mandate given by the polls october first demonstrates our firm will to find a solution and not confrontation not exactly the yes or no response required by the

spanish government before it decides whether to push ahead with suspending catalonia as autonomous powers them and they're going to pretend that i know that on such an important issue we only asked for clarity to extend uncertainty were only favor those who wish to end peaceful coexistence and to continue with the poor project the government hopes that in the following hours up until the next deadline on thursday mr persia will give the clarity that all citizens demand and the rule of law requires we can understand his preservations and confusion and that he is doing that to meet the demands of the most radical groups the spanish government is maintaining it's tough stance on mr preacher man but it has given away just a fraction on the question of the deadline the ball and the fact is back in the catalan government's caught with a constitutional crisis is far from over. the back and forth between madrid and barcelona has prolonging the standoff between the two sides and the catalan government is adamant about its position organizing a referendum is not

a crime so that when we are confronted with there is no separation of powers in the spanish there is no respect for the basic laws and the only thing we can address east politically to respond would be is demanding us to do. in madrid the head of the catalan police force just serp us capital was questioned at spain's national court despite pressure from the prosecution he's not being detained but all thora teams have withheld his passport he's accused of. failing to enforce a ban on the october first referendum a vote to madrid says that was illegal under the constitution. it has angered many in catalonia who is a hero to the region secessionist after his force took a much less aggressive position than the national police force they came under international criticism for their violent crackdown on voters. there is little clarity about how this will end and which side will back down and many here

whatever the capital and government decides to do it will pay the price for holding the referendum in the first place. our jazeera barcelona. hundreds have protested in barcelona after spanish judge and jailed the leaders of two pro independence groups georgia sanchez and joining being investigated for sedition for organizing demonstrations their groups are urging catalans to protest by stopping work on tuesday. and i don't mean lose your loan unfortunately the judge's decision is to take away our freedom it's an act that doesn't correspond to any principles of justice it's an act aimed at frightening us and punishing us for defending freedom and peacefully taking to the streets as we have done so many times and that's why i want to sincerely ask that every response given in the coming days and the overall response will be to permanently protest which will lead us to the proclamation of the republic we will give them the same attitude that has made us stronger united

polite and self-confident they can't defeat us if we remain strong when the threat of people have died in saturday's truck bomb explosion in the somalian capital mogadishu as hospital struggled to cope with the hundreds injured forty of the most severely wounded have been flown to turkey for further treatment it is the worst suicide attack in somalia's history. from nairobi. attack military plane was used to transport several somalis with serious injuries from saturday's attacks in mogadishu. they'll receive treatment in touch. other countries like kenya and ethiopia are also offering logistical help while locals have reason to the occasion helping where they can like retrieving bodies from the rubble providing food and water for my agency workers and just being there for those who are grieving. we have been able to take. the stance of the government and

other partners we will prevail. but people here are also angry hundreds to to the streets of the city protesting against the attack blaming al shabaab the armed groups fighting the government and african union peacekeepers inside somalia. it was a massacre i've never seen anything like it in the last twenty seven years i saw a little boy's head lying on the ground it was shocking. no one has yet claimed responsibility but while speaking to al-jazeera and al shabaab spokesman refused to confirm or deny responsibility the president has visited the scene blamed what he calls terrorists targeting innocent civilians saturday's attack happened in two different areas during rush hour a busy intersection in another business district in the heart of the city the number of those killed continues to rise residents of mogadishu still cathy zoi

al jazeera nairobi the eiffel towers dimming its lights in solidarity with somalia after the market this year tax the monuments in the french capital usually stays listen to late at night in recent times the mayor of paris has asked for the towers lights to be dimmed to honor victims of attacks around the world. still ahead on the legal challenges loom as israel approves more illegal jewish settlements and a meeting voice against corruption in malta his side. by the sky. or off the coast of the italian riviera. how i would i think we've pretty much seen the last of typhoon coming final warning through the course of monday still some of the wet weather in place just into the

gulf of tonkin just pushing up into the fog north of vietnam and i still a case as we go on into wednesday that wet weather still very much in place much of southern china not too bad hong kong looking fine a dry northeasterly wind here temperatures around thirty one celsius but the showers they do continue into central parts of vietnam china was on the other side of the south china seas and that joins up with some very wet weather that we have a close to the philippines on the side of the philippines we have tropical storm making its way in across the region i think it should just generally stay to the east of the philippines in places i just push a little further north with but you can link these two systems up here. just storms right across the philippines some very wet weather coming in. at the worst of the waynes the worst of the heavy right will stay to the east of the philippines but still some rather heavy downpours in the offing heavy downpours in the offing too across parts of india well circulation in the go bring some heavy showers into

possession too additional as well further north this warm dry and sunny day with a top temperature thirty five the weather sponsored by cattle and face. in recent years the sawhill of north africa as witness the so-called war on terror . but is this official narrative. masking a larger battle. a battle for the earth's natural resources. shadow war in the sahara at this time.

top stories this hour iraqi government forces have taken control of the contested city of kirkuk from kurdish forces tension has been mounting in the oil rich region ever since the the referendum last month. his leader has failed to clarify whether his region plans to announce independence from spain. has three more days to make the decision people protesting after a spanish judge jailed the leaders of two pro independence. and three hundred people have now died after his worst suicide attack in history hundreds more injured in the train a bomb explosions on saturday forty of the most severely wounded have been sent to turkey for further treatment and more civilians are leaving a self-proclaimed capital in syria as the final assault to push out the group's last fighters gathers pace u.s.

backed syrian forces say victory in iraq is near despite resistance reports from head to border with syria. a group of men believed to be i.c.l. fighters. they are mostly syrians who handed over themselves to local officials after the deal brokered by tribal leaders. who wish that you start a new life and turn the chapter of the dark to. remove those ideas that were injected into our brains and which made. into our country. the deal was not extended to foreign fighters who still remain in the city syrian democratic forces a coalition of kurdish groups backed by the u.s. . they are seen here demanding i sell fighters surround but i still is known for using snipers suicide bombers and trapped buildings to

block that enemy advancing i mean. i still will be defeated so they launch attacks under the cover of the night they capabilities have diminished civilians caught up in the fighting are fleeing the area they have been trapped in iraq since i still took control of the city into thousand and fourteen. the s.d.f. accuses i said of using civilians as human shields. records a big deal we were trapped for three years we tried three times to escape but couldn't because i saw snipers shoot anyone who was leaving the city taking control of iraq is crucial for kurdish faction since the start of syria's conflict the kurds have expanded their influence in the region they now control an area stretching from the north all the way to three on the border with turkey the

capture of rock is a major setback for i said which is losing ground in eastern syria the armed group is now retreating besieged from everywhere by the kurds the syrian army and constantly under threat from the u.s. and russia and. its presence in syria is now approaching and. on turkish border with syria israeli government has approved the building of new illegal israeli settlement units in hebron in occupied west bank it's a first time new construction in the city has been given official approval in fifteen i four said reports from hebron. hadrons newest israeli settlers are due to live here on what is now a military base adjoining another settler building the approval for plans for thirty one housing units is the first in this bitterly divided city since two thousand and two. need to be on to the balcony of the house that he was born in

seventy years ago it overlooks the site for him this decision will only increase the burden of restrictions on movement that hamper his daily life. we can hardly manage it with ten settlers in front of this can you imagine how two hundred we turn our lives upside down. hebron streets are marked by stark close quarter separation hundreds of settlers kept apart from thousands of palestinians of cages barbed wire and a large israeli army presence conditions which attract mostly religiously radical right wing settlers the approval would change the designation of this land from a military base to housing use and given that the israeli army seized it on security grounds that does open up the prospect of a legal challenge hebron as mayor says he plans to do just that this is the first announcement in a series of approvals planned for this week nearly three thousand eight hundred housing units are expected to be given either advance or retrospective approvals bringing this year's total to more than twice that of twenty sixteen all of which

are illegal under international law. israeli prime minister while telling certainly groups he remains under u.s. pressure to rein in construction apparently feels freer to build with president donald trump in the white house than with his predecessor the israeli government is offering no comment beyond announcing the approval in recent weeks netanyahu has been looking to shore up his prosthetic credentials so not a single israeli settlement would ever be given up the one in hebron is due instead to get bigger hurry forsett al-jazeera hebron in the occupied west bank else is there is demanding the release of its journalist but his saying he has now been in prison in egypt for three hundred two days he's accused of broadcasting false news to spread chaos which he and al-jazeera strongly deny saying has repeatedly complained of mistreatment in jail he was arrested in december while visiting his family a journalist who has been leading the fight against corruption in malta has been killed by a car bomb definitely. has made several allegations against senior business and

political figures matheson has a report the burn drag of daphne koller one ugly thea's car lies in a bolt he's feeling flung over a wall by the explosion which killed the crusading journalist it is inherent in the crime. you know covering corruption that. unfortunately. there are some seventy. year old and many of. the i was at the center of often fiery anti corruption campaigns in malta some of her allegations were based on revelations in the so-called pan about papers leak in twenty fifteen over eleven million documents gave details of the personal financial information over wealthy people. some are said to have shown evidence of fraud as

well as evasion of tax and international sanctions earlier this year. said the wife of malta's prime minister joseph most got was the owner of a company. claimed large sums of money had moved between the company and bank accounts in azerbaijan the prime minister and his wife denied the accusation the prime minister called and one early elections in june as a vote of confidence to counter on a girl of his allegations in a tweet on monday he said this is a spiteful attack on a citizen and freedom of expression i will not rest until justice is done the country deserves justice. in the town of crowds have gathered to pay their respects to a reporter who they believed held powerful people to account and. i think that's. absolutely. a fourth pillar

of our democracy and that today's heinous crime was not only against against a journalist but against a pair of everyone's democracy how do want to go if he has website called running commentary is said to have been one of the most widely read on the island and one of our final posts he wrote there are crooks everywhere you look now the situation is desperate rob matheson. storm ophelia has killed three people in island and left three hundred sixty thousand properties without power schools have also closed and the irish government has deployed the army to flood defenses people in northern island. as ophelia makes its way to the u.k. but. from space an ominous sight storm ophelia approaching an island at dawn in the skies about the southern coast it

seemed the crows knew something unusual was coming no longer a hurricane by the time she hit land but ophelia battered island's coast and inland her winds wreaked havoc knocking things over sending them flying even as if in rage a school's roof picked up and thrown we were further north in donegal where the worst of the storm didn't arrive until towards the end of the day. in this town as in towns all over ireland it's been a very unusual day streets all but deserted shops closed pubs close restaurants closed schools closed families waiting at home for the worst of ophelia to pass without the local topless mormon and it was like a christmas eve it was packed with paper stuff you know we're in for the storm kind of certain undertone that nobody in the street to carry i'm looking forward to getting home. i think we're just in the brunt of it right now for the next couple

of hours meanwhile to the east over england calm but ophelia brought a strange glow to the sky not an impending apocalypse a scientists but sunlight filtered through dust pulled up from the sahara and the forest fires in spain and portugal barnaby phillips al-jazeera on islands west coast. so often companies in the u.s. are breathing a sigh of relief after a county in chicago became the latest area to overturn a tax on fizzy drinks john hendren reports. after two months chicago's soda tax has fizzled a citizen rebellion forced cook county home of chicago to repeal the two month old and he announced tax on drinks with added sweetener i think it's ridiculous people are going across the border and getting it anyway and it's robbing and everybody is upset about it some compared it to the boston tea party when a british tax prompted american colonists to dump into boston harbor hoping to

spark the american revolution it's the latest wave of syntax launched in two thousand and ten by then new york mayor michael bloomberg if we are serious about fighting obesity we have to be honest about what causes it and we have to have the courage to tackle it head on the sugary drink tax movement spread across liberal jones in the us from philadelphia to seattle i think a penny a penny an ounce isn't very much and if it gives back to the community and to the city i think it's a good idea and they are very very impactful and they're impactful on the people that they want them to be which are the younger kids if you're using it to raise money it's going to eventually lose its punch and it's dollars but if you use it to have an impact you she's very impactful in the first five years so pay happily it's probably a good idea as obesity in america is rising so that's one of us a several. take away from that some pay grudgingly i think via the logic is flawed

personally if you just paid it it's a penny announce that looks like sixteen cents a day and i'm not going to because you got to have but perhaps no one has paid more than bloomberg who reportedly funded a ten million dollars campaign on radio and t.v. advertisements like this one. drink soda pop they are getting a lot more than they bargained for. because just one soda a day to lead to an extra ten pounds of gear and that leads to some very serious health problems but the soda tax can make a difference reducing the epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes the money helping to support cook county hospitals and health programs and that's going to help keep our kids on line healthier. the movement toward drink taxes repealed in chicago defeated in santa fe new mexico has recently shown signs of going flat a victory for big soda which spent millions on ads like this this is one of the

worst managed counties in all of the united states you can't budget period the better sex is ridiculous horrible unfair most definitely last thing i mean this is not promoting healthier lifestyles it's angering people it really makes me angry it makes me angry because there shrinks out that have zero sugar zero calories that are still affected by this tax i think people should call their commissioner to have a beverage tax repeal find a way to balance a budget don't find a way to tax me for something else. the drink tax was billed as a band that in the battle against obesity but complex rules have made that hard to follow these sodas with sugar or corn syrup text orange juice not text but some brands add sugar then they're taxed milk not taxed chocolate milk taxed this starbucks coffee taxed but this starbucks coffee prepared by a barista not taxed the complexity of it all has many consumers scratching their

heads and in many cases taking another sip john hendren al-jazeera chicago. well the top stories on al-jazeera iraqi government forces have taken control of the contested city of kirkuk from kurdish forces tension has been mounting in the oil rich region ever since the kurds held a referendum on secession last month the united states and the united nations sacred general are both calling for dialogue to resolve the dispute he appeals to the federal government at the kurdistan regional government to take ordinated steps to prevent and avoid further clashes escalation or breakdown of law and order the secretary general cause other parties to jointly manage the situation and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue in a matter that is consistent with the constitution of iraq catalonia as leader has failed to cairo five whether his region plans to announce independence from spain

colors freedom or has three more days to make a decision people are protesting in barcelona after spanish judge jailed the leaders of two pro independence groups more than three hundred people have not died off to somalia's worst suicide attack in history hundreds more injured in the two in the ten bomb explosions on saturday forty of the most severely wounded have been flown to turkey for treatment israeli government is approved the building of new illegal jewish settlement units in hebron in the occupied west bank says he one units have been given the green light these settlements are illegal under international law this is the first on the government has given official approval for construction in the city in fifteen years a car bomb in malta killed an investigative journalist who had been leading the fight against corruption definitely khurana wrote a blog on alleged bribery and fraud between politicians and businessmen some of the accusations involve the prime minister just of most who has denounced the killing.

three people have been killed off the. island three hundred sixty thousand properties are now without power as the headlines the news continues on. story. victorian austria's national election feels to the right so where will the so-called take. what this is draw is made for europe this is inside story.