The u. N. And United States are appealing for calm on both sides. Fresh protests erupted at the catalan capital of barcelona. The government is refusing to drop its bid for independence. Plus, calls for justice growing louder in malta following the murder of an anticorruption journalist. Demonstrators take to the streets to pressure the maltese government. And from great hope to great misery, south sudan is one of the worlds newest states, but today, millions of the people there are reliant on food aid. We have a special report on one womans struggle to survive and feed her family. Brent im brent goff. Good to have you with us. Tonight, residence in the syrian city of raqqa are bringing to a close their first day free of the rule of the socalled Islamic State. The syrian city was the capital of the Islamist Groups socalled caliphate. Troops fighting i. S. Say they have captured one of the militants last holdouts, the hospital you see right there. But there are still pockets of resistance in the city. One of them is reported to be a stadium complex in raqqa which was used by i. S. As a prison and arms dump. Dozens of fighters have made a last stand there. Once the state of the Islamic States the seat of the Islamic States power, the fight for raqqa has left all of the city in ruins. Reporter a fivemonth battle is over for the syrian, kurdish, and arab fighters. Backed by the United States, they killed dozens of i. S. In the final push. Raqqa is now a shell of a city. There is nothing left. We are near the end. We have not seen any i. S. Militants. We have not seen them near the stadium ideas are. Thats either. We have not seen them near the stadium ieither. I. S. Took control of raqqa in early 2014 and made it the capital of its selfstyled caliphate. The militants imposed a strict interpretation of islamic law and used extreme means a such as beheadings and torture to quash those who opposed to their rule. It became home to thousands of jihadists across the globe after a call by iborra baghdadi to migrate to the city. In recent months, the socalled Islamic State has steadily lost territory in his syria and iraq. The fall of raqqa is a major blow to the militant group, but the extremists still controlled territory in neighboring regions on the iraqi side of the border. A long road lies ahead to heal wounds and rebuild the ruins city of raqqa, despite the fighters celebrations. Brent how long will a celebrations last . We want to cross over to a journalist who joins us from northern syria. Good evening to you. We have got the liberation of raqqa today. Does that mean that the back of Islamic State has finally been broken . Yes, of course, because raqqa was the capital of crisis in syria. I talked to those who said if god was with isis, he would have given them victory, but they are defeated. The fight is largely over in syria. Brent so the fight is over, but the people remain, particularly the residents in raqqa and around the city. How much support from area residents is still there for isis, do we know . I dont think there are many people who supported isis in raqqa. They depended on them for salaries. In support was very low. Now that isis is defeated from nobody supports it, at least not many people, because it was foreign fighters in isis their prophetic and not the Syrian Crisis fighters. Brent now that the city is falling, the military campaign is over, what has to be done politically to restore some semblance of stability to the city civility to the city . Wladimir well, the u. S. Coalition, u. S. Aid, raqqa civilian counsel, they are working on reconstruction of raqqa. The problem is the many mines, clearing out the rubble. Then they will start on preparing telecommunications preparing the telik mitigations network and the water and electricity. Repairing the Telecommunications Network and the water and electricity. As the water and electricity will be back sooner. Brent and what are you hearing in terms of where the fight against isis goes from here . What is the next the next city, for example, that antii. S. Forces will be targeting . Wladimir well, there is a very strategic city at the syrianiraqi border. There is a sort of rice and competition between both sides. They are still fighting in that province against isis by the regime and sdf. Brent all right, journalist running us tonight from northern syria, talking about the fall of the axis capital, isis capital, raqqa. Thank you very much could going to syrias neighbor iraq and another government flashpoint. Forces say they have controlled major oilfields in the disputed north of the country, following cast on the heels of their capture of the kurdishheld city of kirkuk. Reporter celebrations into cork as iraqi for in. As iraqi forces role in. Supporters of the iraqi Central Government cannot contain their joy. Hours earlier, thousands of kurdish residents fled the city ahead of the advance. We are heading to erbil because the situation is getting worse. The iraqi troops have entered and it was no way we could stay. Them are children were terrified. We were afraid there would be clashes and a mortar round would hit us. Reporter to cook kirkuk had been under kurdish controlled since iraqi forces fled and the Islamic State militants swept through the region in 2014. Now it is back under the control of the iraqi government. The advance comes three weeks after residents in the kurdistan region and here in kirkuk, voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in a controversial referendum. Kurdish peshmerga leaders say the seizure of kirkuk amounts to a declaration of war. Brent here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has declared malawi city liberated from terrorists from visiting the Southern City one day after the last 2 islamist leaders there were killed. But military leaders say the battle is still ongoing. Taliban militants in afghanistan have carried out a suicide car bombing and gun attack on a provincial police headquarters. It is an attack that killed at least 33 people. It was part of a series of attacks against Police Across the country that have left at least 78 people dead and hundreds wounded. U. S. President Donald Trumps third attempt to ban travel from several countries have spin blocked by a federal judge in hawaii. Hours before it was set to go into effect. The judge said trumps order discriminated based on nationality and failed to show that people coming from the listed countries would be detrimental to u. S. Interests. Portugal has declared three days of National Mourning as for at least 41 people died in forest fires. Firefighters have brought most of the 500 blazes under control. The government says the fire is the worst in more than a decade, and were caused by higher than average temperatures and drought. Catalonias Regional Government has said that madrid is choosing repression over dialogue. That after spanish authorities jailed 2 leaders of the catalan separatist movement in a sedition investigation. Around 200,000 protesters took to the streets of barcelona calling for their release. The Spanish Government warned catalonia that it must revoke its declaration of independence or face direct rule from madrid. But a Catalan GovernmentSpokesman Says the autonomous region will stand by its decision. For more now, we want to go to barcelona where our correspondent is following developments for us tonight. Good evening to you, barbara. The rest of these 2 separatist leaders has inflamed the situation, hasnt it . Reporter totally, because it has been relatively quiet throughout the past week, and it was like a standoff. Every side was looking at the other end awaiting what they would be doing. However, after the high court in madrid decided to arrest of those 2 independence leaders, emotions are boiling up, and of course, the Independence Movement, the spokespeople of those are trying everything to really soak the fire. They announced their will be more demonstration in the days to come. This the first one, it was entirely peaceful. People behind us with candles chanting liberty and to free the two leaders now in jail. However, we will see the showdown on tuesday, whether madrid will impose rule over catalonia or not. Brent that is that the question, and if you consider what we are seeing tonight, knowing that this new deadline is, what, 48 hours away, it looks like crunch time, the next two days, has already been decided. Would you agree with that . Is the catalan president going to back down . Barbara absolutely not. What we see here is like 2 trains racing towards each other, and it will end in a big political crash, because both of them, the Regional Government in catalonia and, of course, Mariano Rajoy in madrid, have dug themselves and. They wouldve totally lose face if they turned around and said, ok, we didnt really mean anything bad. The time for that is passed. This is not going to happen. We will see the final showdown on thursday. Brent barbara, this is the biggest political crisis that spain has seen in decades. You have to go back to the early 1980s to find something this severe. You have been talking to a lot of people, gauging public sentiment. Do you think is that the potential of spilling over into civil unrest . Barbara we dont know. So far, the Independence Movement stresses that we are completely peaceful, we want negotiations, but we want independence. On thursday, after 10 00, after the deadline runs out, if madrid then sense in the state police and even sense in troops and and troops are already in the harbor here in barcelona things could get nasty quickly, because emotions are running high here, and people feel that clearly something bad has been done to them. They say that spain is losing its Democratic Values since the 2 independence leaders are in jail. Nothing could be set at the moment that this will really stay quiet. Brent our correspondent Barbara Wesel reporting on renewed volatility between catalonia and the Spanish Government. Barbara, thank you very much. And that crisis over catalonia weighing on the spanish economy. Reporter thats right, brent. It is a tired old phrase that businesses dont like uncertainty, but it is absolutely true. Catalonias bid for independence will have an impact on Economic Growth across the whole country, according to the Spanish Government. In catalonia itself, tourist activities down 15 . Consumers, businesses alike are looking for a quick resolution, but both sides of the political divide are holding firm. Reporter this was the scene outside the headquarters of the Catalan Government on monday night. Protesters expressing their outrage over the rest of 2 proseparatist leaders. It is only the latest twist in a battle of wills between madrid and barcelona, and the political turmoil is swiftly translating into economic uncertainty. The crisis over catalonias quest for independence has prompted the Spanish Government to lower its growth forecast for next year from 2. 6 to 2. 3 . The move comes after economists raised concerns over the potential fallout over the crisis last week. Rating agencies have warned that the uncertain political and Economic Situation could affect the catalan economy, and if Companies Continue to lead, the result could be a recession. That would undoubtedly affect the growth of gdp. Proseparatists have long maintained that catalonia would prosper without financial obligation to spain. But since the crisis broke out, companies have been leaving the region in droves. The two biggest banks have moved their headquarters elsewhere, and Smaller Companies have packed their bags, too. Accounting for over 1 5 of the national gdp, what happens to catalonias economy happens to spain as a whole. Daniel nafta talks are said to continue into 2018. The negotiators on the trade deal between the u. S. , canada, and mexico say there are still significant gaps left to fill. The talks were supposed to conclude this year. Of course, it is not just the three countries that are affected. Many foreign firms are hoping that a deal is reached as soon as possible. Reporter it is business as usual here. These workers are carrying on as normal. The uncertainty is high. No one knows whether the u. S. Will impose import tariffs on cars produced in mexico. The u. S. , canada, and mexico are renegotiating the north American Free trade agreement, nafta. The u. S. Has demanded that nafta is renegotiated every five years. It isnt positiona it isntr mexicans and companies that make decisions for longer periods of time that five cycles. But other Latin American Companies are not as dependent on the usa as mexico. South america has a stronger trade relations with china and the eu than the u. S. Most Foreign Investments in brazil are from the eu. Opportunities for companies are also immense. The colombian economy has grown more than 2 , and new doors for investment are opening up following the Peace Agreement between the government and the farc rebels. Tourism, infrastructure, and the Renewable Energy sector. While there are many opportunities in latin america, there are several risks. The Peace Process in colombia is far from over. The situation in venezuela is extremely unstable, and corruption is a widespread problem, especially in brazil. Anyone looking to invest in the region needs to closely examine where the money is coming. Daniel lets head over to wall street now. Not long after trade had gotten underway today, the Dow Jones Industrial average briefly broke through the 23,000point mark for the first time. Inmate feel like it may feel like dow records are coming faster than ever, and that is because they are. They smashed several thousandpoint milestones along the way. And jns korte is at the New York Stock Exchange for us. What has let that fire under the dow recently . Jens well, an epic rally, that is what Morgan Stanley calls it. It is a mark the dow jones crossed for the First Time Ever since the president ial election. Right now we are experiencing the fifth consecutive quarter that u. S. Companies see an increase in profits. Overall, the economy is doing rather well, and there are still the promises that there might be less regulation for the financial institutions, that we might see tax cuts at some point. There are fundamental reasons, and there is a little bit of hope that the administration might bring, why we see this epic rally. Daniel u. S. Stock prices have had a blazing run of late, but is a correction around the corner, or as some predict, a crash . Jens stocks are certainly not cheap at this point. I just talked to a traitor here who was here 30 years ago trader here who was here 30 years ago. We remember black monday. Almost precisely 30 years ago. He told me that when he came in that morning, nobody experienced what would happen then, that the markets would crash by more than 20 just within one day. You never really know where the next crisis is around. By now we do not have a trigger, so the real reason to sell the market there are not that many alternatives. At this point, when he is still cheap. If money is still too. Right now money is still cheap. Lets say Earnings Growth cools the next two months or some other unexpected event happens. This market seems to be ripe for correction of some sorts. Daniel whether it is sooner or later, we will talk you over again. Thank you very much. That is all your business. Back over to grant. Brent daniel, thank you very much. Mourners and amateurs have industries the streets in malta after an anticorruption journalist was murdered. Daphne galizia had accused politicians of corruption and exposed moneylaundering. She was still on monday. Reporter hundreds of maltese gathered to show outrage at the journalists murder. Some pointed a finger at the state authorities. We are here today to ask the state to protect us. The state did not defend daphne. He did not do anything. Everyone who said she has gone too far and is honing in on personal issues, they are all guilty. We expect everyone to do everything for us, but these days we have to look after ourselves. Two weeks ago, Daphne Caruana galizia told police she was receiving death threats. Our car she was driving exploded not far from her home north of the island. I condemn without reservation the barbaric attack as one against freedom of speech in our country. Everyone knows that Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic, lyrically and personally. Politically and personally. But nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way, against holding in the and civility against all dignity and civility. Malta was long considered a tax haven, and it was the focus of catalan Caruana Galizias reporting. She wrote many reports alleging government corruption. Her accusations included the prime ministers family, suspected of owning a firm in panama that funnels funds to her from the leader of azerbaijan. One of the journalistss three sons to