mosul, will leave outside mosul. brigadier tahseen ibrahim, thank you forjoining us. it feels as if we have come through the opening thundering salvos of brexit and we are now, really and truly, heading for the exit. but what does the route to that exit actually look like? today donald tusk issued guidelines at the eu summit in malta, and there was an early change in the mood music, indications that after all, if sufficient progress is made towards the divorce, uk trade talks could start. here's our policy editor chris cook. both sides have started laying out their stalls. today, donald tusk, the eu council president, set out the eu 27's draft guidance on what happens now. the talks which are about to start will be difficult, complex and sometimes even confrontational. there is no way around it. the eu 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive approach. brexit in itself is already punitive enough. the most significant part of donald tusk‘s statement today was about sequencing of the forthcoming talks. specifically

mosul. first islamic state group is under increasing pressure in iraq and in syria area in the iraqi city of mosul, government troops are closing in on the jihadi held western districts, u.s. backed forces have captured a major bridge which leads directly to their stronghold and they now control two out of the city's five bridges. liberate mosul, the last iraqi city under isis control, began back in october. france 24 is there. what is the latest? is what wehe latest witnessed on the ground in mosul today and over the past 48 hours. it is certainly a fluid situation. those we spoke to are openly admitting it is a complicated task, the one they are faced with because of the fierce resistance their forces are encountering in the ground. jihadists using hard bombs and suicide operations to stymie the offense of those iraqi troops. western mosul is a lot more complicated to navigate than the eastern counterpart. narrower inlot terms of the space, the alleyways and the urban planning if you can c

there was about a month pause between the fighting in east mosul and the renewed fighting in west mosul. perhaps if that had been used to conduct a proper investigation and review of civilian casualties that occurred in the hundreds in east mosul, it might have informed the strategy to pursuing west mosul, and perhaps , incidents such as that reported on march 17 with a very large loss of cicilian liveses according to reports, perhaps ththose incidents might have ben avoided. nermeen: before we conclude, could you tell us what the situation is of civilians trying to flee west mosul? , fleeing the fighting is very difficult, but we are seeing civilians fleeing west moselle and much, much greater numbers than the numbers that fled from east mosul. partly perhaps because the message has gotten through to civilians that staying in your homes, as they were advised to do, is not necessarily the safe option. -- safest option. many more people are taking the risk to try to flee with their families. it is risky for them to remain and it is risky for them to flee. we are seeing a much larger numb

. —— inner—city decisive mosul without civilian casualties. the point we are making is not everything is allowed in war and the fa ct everything is allowed in war and the fact that isis uses civilians as human shields does not relieve the iraqi forces of the coalition forces from their obligation and their international law. where all the visible possible precautions taken to minimise civilian casualties? 0ur findings show that no, there was more that could and should have been done and that could and should be done and that could and should be done right now because fighting is still ongoing in mosul and civilians are still being killed and there are steps that can be taken in terms of using more precise munitions with a smaller blast radius that cause less collateral damage. so it is not possible but absolutely necessary for them to take more precautions to ta ke for them to take more precautions to take civilian casualties. donatella rovera. hundreds of syrian rebels and their families have left their last stronghold in the city of homs und

. >> ninan: overseas in iraq, the battle for mosul rages on. that's a car bomb rattling western mosul. it was likely set off by isis. several police officers were wounded. iraqi forces, backed by the u.s. military, are trying to retake want city from isis. meanwhile, the terror group is suspected of carrying out a chemical attack on civil glans mosul this past week. here's jonathan vigliotti. >> reporter: reena, the united nations in a statement today war crime as they wait for confirmation on what cems, if any, were used. the u.n. confirmed at least 12 people are being treated at a hospital in erbil. among the injured, five children and a one-month-old baby. according to the red cross, the alleged chemical weapons caused blisters, vomiting, and severe swelling around eyes. the injuries happened in two separate attacks in eastern mosul beginning wednesday. this woman said a rocket landed in her home and sprayed her family with what she described as an oily chemical. eastern mosul was once controlled by isis until u.s.-backed iraqi forces recapt

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. i will leave you with this report on the loss of police officer keith palmer. honouring a fallen comrade. at 9:33am this morning, a minute's silence for pc keith palmer. 48 years old, a husband and a father, who went to work but never came home. boxing instructor and former soldier tony davies saw the knife attack as he left a function at the houses of parliament yesterday afternoon, and immediately ran to keith palmer's aid. he brandished two knives, i had seen, attacking one of the policemen. that's the decision i took to then leap the fence and try and give assistance in any way i could. you ran towards the violence? most people were running away. yes, but it was a split—second decision and people needed assistance. tony davies was once in the same army regiment as lee rigby, the fusilier stabbed to death in a terrorist attack in 2013. he remembers how no—one went to his colleague's aid that day and thinks that is part of the reason why he ran towards danger to help pc palmer.

the more you on western mosul you will kill civilians. eastern mosul was a different thing. all be civilians are in western mosul. what confidence ge think people will have foran confidence ge think people will have for an investigation? —— to you. confidence ge think people will have for an investigation? -- to you. the operation has come to a halt. they have to have control of the territorial to do that investigation. but they also have to talk to the iraqi government fall bad intelligence, and i put that in quotes. you have no reason to drop a bomb in bad. it is not help you when you are part of a mass civilian casualties producing event. —— to dropa bomb casualties producing event. —— to drop a bomb in mosul. in other news: a gunman who killed one person and injured another has surrendered to police, after barricading himself inside a bus on the main strip in las vegas. the standoff began near the cosmopolitan hotel casino. part of the las vegas boulevard was closed after the shooting. uber technologies has suspended its pilot programme for driverless cars, a

fleeing western mosul on foot during a lull in the battle. countless numbers are likely to follow, their life reduced to a few bundles. streets, now liberated, but deserted, many didn't leave until the fight came right to their door, like abdul razsack. at 76, forced to leave home for the first time in his life. he told us a mortar landed nearby, just moments before. his ten—year—old grandson, and name sake, clutching his school bag though his only lessons here were in war. "i'd like to go back to school right this minute", he said. so—called islamic state stopped him going years ago. now back in iraqi hands, for what it's worth, several more neighbourhoods. troops remain watchful. the militants are about a mile away. explosion. they were driven from here just four days ago. this is the engineering department of mosul university. 0n the is curriculum here, only fanatism and death. well, this was a place of learning, it was a source of pride for the people of mosul, and you can see what's become of it. it was also a key strategic locatio

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. scotland yard says there's no evidence of any link between khalid masood, who killed three pedestrians and a policeman in westminster, and the islamic state group or al-qaeda. masood's mother has spoken of her shock and sadness, saying she's cried for his victims. the family of one of the victims, the american tourist kurt cochran, have been speaking about their pain — but said they bear masood no ill will. our correspondent daniela relph reports. it had been their first visit out of the usa — a tour of europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. but on the final day of their trip, kurt cochran was killed on westminster bridge. his wife, melissa cochran—payne, seriously injured. today, 13 members of theirfamily spoke publicly for the first time. from utah, they are a mormon family, who have found strength in their faith. i think it's hard for most of us to imagine here what it must be like to lose somebody in this way. can you give us some sense of the impact on the fami

which the troops feel they have full control of, to the western part of mosul. these bridges, was a been rebuilt, they will help the ferry men and equipment between the two sides of the city. but again, the end goal is the old city, and by all accounts that will be the toughest part of this battle for mosul, and it has yet to begin. recapturing that part of the city will be extremely difficult because of the number of civilians who are still in there. reporter: exactly. accordingf thousands to observers and residents who have described for us what the very narrowks like, alleys, making it difficult to navigate and maneuver heavy equipment through there. it's going to be close combat and the presence of those civilians will highly complicate the task of those iraqi troops who will have to avoid what military personnel call collateral damage as much as possible. that's probably going to take the aircraft operations out of the equation. they will still be able to monitor activity with drones and aircraft, but those aerial equipment or the aerial support is not goin

so there was an awareness that the battle was going to be much tougher in the west of mosul. but i don't think they were expecting that level of competition. and the convocations themselves, is it is fighters using civilians as human shields, is it the fortifications that the is fighters have? are they simply putting up much more stiffer resista nce putting up much more stiffer resistance in the western half call wise it proving so difficult?m resistance in the western half call wise it proving so difficult? it is a mixture of all of the factors. we have to remember that even liberating the other areas in iraq, was a very tough battle for the iraqi forces and the number of isis fighters was much lower. compare to the ones that are considered to be in mosul, we are talking about between 2000 and 4000 isis leaders, that makes it much more competition for the iraqi forces to liberate the city. given the firepower of the western alliance, and the iraqi forces, it is probably more likely to bea forces, it is probably more likely to be a case of when rather than if they eventually

fleeing western mosul on foot during a lull in the battle. countless numbers are likely to follow, their life reduced to a few bundles. streets, now liberated, but deserted, many didn't leave until the fight came right to their door, like abdul razsack. at 76, forced to leave home for the first time in his life. he told us a mortar landed nearby, just moments before. his 10—year—old grandson, and name sake, clutching his school bag though his only lessons here were in war. "i'd like to go back to school right this minute", he said. so—called islamic state stopped him going years ago. now back in iraqi hands, for what it's worth, several more neighbourhoods. troops remain watchful. the militants are about a mile away. explosion they were driven from here just four days ago. this is the engineering department of mosul university. 0n the is curriculum here, only fanatism and death. well, this was a place of learning, it was a source of pride for the people of mosul, and you can see what's become of it. it was also a key strategic location

orla guerin, bbc news, mosul. the us defence secretary has promised a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. in a statement, james mattis said the practice was unacceptable, showed a lack of respect and undermined cohesion. andy beatt reports. the pentagon has been shocked and embarrassed by relations of servicemen posing naked images of service women online. of servicemen posting naked images of service women online. reports last week covered widespread photo sharing and cyber bullying by current and former marines on facebook. now, the bbc has seen evidence that the problem is far more extensive, involving personnel from other branches of the us military. in some cases, names, ranks and contact information were also posted, together with a welter of offensive and demeaning comments. we claim that being a marine is a special title and something that you will earn. there is honour. but there is no honour in denigrating fellow marine. we will be

nat derry —— notjust bought mosul. we are seeing the highest number of them have ever been recorded. the mosul around 70% of the allegations are what we grade as contested, they may have been claimed to be coalition actions but they may be by artillery, or by so—called islamic state themselves using took bombs or mortars or other means. so, we know a large number of civilians are dying in mosul as the report made clear, what we do not necessarily know is what is killing them. generally speaking, most of the fire going in the mosul right now is incoming fire from the coalition, from iraqi forces and unfortunately thatis from iraqi forces and unfortunately that is what is killing most of the civilians right now, we think. we have heard donald trump say that we have heard donald trump say that we have got to be less politically correct in the way we fight these battles, do you think there has been any change in the rules of engagement for us forces when they oppose keeping these aspects?‘ difficult question, the word

did a us air strike killed hundreds of civilians in the iraqi city of mosul? the us says it is now investigating, but admits coalition forces were carrying out air strikes where many people have been killed. the fight to retake the city from the group calling itself islamic state began last october. the iraqi army is being supported by us—led coalition airstrikes. they have reta ke coalition airstrikes. they have retake in all of eastern mosul and have now made key gains in the western half of the city. they are now closing in on the densely populated old city. this area in red is still being held by the so—called islamic state. the united nations says it is stunned by the terrible loss of life caused by recent airstrikes. eyewitnesses say many victims are buried under the rubble. other residents say is is using civilians as human shields, but blamed indiscriminate airstrikes for many of the deaths. translation: blamed indiscriminate airstrikes for many of the deaths. translatiosz is iraqi and coalition aircraft is, is snipers positioned themselves on top

iraqi forces say they hope to recapture all of mosul within a month. the battle to liberate the last iraqi city under a jihadist control began in october, but the islam is a putting up a fierce resistance. fighting raging near the city's antiquities museum where government groups seized yesterday appear let's go to iraq. we are in the north of the country where there has been going into mosul with the troops throughout the day. tell us what you have witnessed in the last 24 hours. reporter: well, on the front line, iraqi troops are fired up, if we can use that, the expression, simply because the end goal is in sight. they have eyes on the mosque, a symbolic price for them to because that is the mosque where islamic state was - bylaimed by a dowdy an00 baggdadi. but also because it is in the old city. these troops are now very, very close to fully recapturing mosul, although, they are also keenly aware that this last phase of this battle for mosul will be the most dangerous for them, because the layout of the alleys,y narrow which makes it difficult to

the extremists captured mosul with ease. a gang of violent fanatics who claim to have established a new islamic state. now iraqi forces have regrouped and isis have been beaten back. some iraqi commanders told us they already have isis surrounded in mosul and they're pummeling the extremists. [ explosions ] but this is the cost of liberation. >> down the street the main government building. >> reporter: a city smashed beyond recognition, its people frightened and exhausted. they survived more than two years under isis, only to see their neighborhoods turned into battlefields. god bless you, said this woman to the troops. it's been a horrible week. on this street, they've defused a roadside bomb. a parting gift from the extremists. mosul will soon be free of isis, but they have left the city and its people with deep scars. the so-called islamic state is crumbling. iraqi forces are now on the edge of mosul's historic old town. one of the extremist's last strongholds. isis fighters are being killed and rounded up as prisoners.

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. to: a brief time ago i spoke a retired lieutenant general who is now a senior fellow at the institute for the study for. -- study of war. thank you for joining us on "world news america." you trained iraqi forces in 2007, 2008. they have come a long way since then. what has the difference been to get islamic state on the back foot now? was 2010the bad period to 2013, when former prime minister maliki took deliberate steps to reduce the effectiveness of his own forces. he was selling senior positions, he was stopping all professionalization, stopping all continued training. he gutted out his own security forces. once that stopped in 2014, you could start rebuilding confidence, the main thing required for the fight. tim: these special forces trained by the united states and others, they are up to the job now. what is the split now in terms of the coalition forces? have you got american fighters and special forces on the front line actually involved? >> i would say actually yes. it is th

this assault on mosul has been going on for months. it is hard to tell how much progress is being made and how come you know, the objective is to take the whole of mosul, but quite how far they are in achieving it. i remember reports months ago suggesting that mosul was about to fall and you got the impression that this was something that was going to happen in the next few days. it is extraordinary how much iraq hasjust few days. it is extraordinary how much iraq has just forward few days. it is extraordinary how much iraq hasjust forward of the front pages of our newspapers. but, you know, good for the observer for putting it back there. well, a tragic civil war, we know that. at the end of the day, the iraqi forces will actually prevail and they will we take mosul. this attack actually took place last week. it has suddenly come into view. the un has raised concerns about the number of civilians and whether if you like the ends justify the means. civilians and whether if you like the endsjustify the means. let's be honest about this,

thousands of people have been forced to leave mosul with their lives at risk. with the city still divided between is and the iraqi army, our middle east editorjeremy bowen is in western mosul and sent us this report. this is the iraqi solution to an offensive that's stalled over the last week or so, attack again. it feels as if the air war over mosul is intensifying. the gunship pilots fly low. they seem confident they won't get shot down. and every day, a few thousand more people come walking out of the areas of mosul still held by the jihadists who call themselves islamic state. many said is used them as human shields, shooting out from the cover of their homes and streets, but the response, more air strikes, horrified them. translation: they destroyed our homes, our cars, everything. they destroyed us. entire families are gone, they are under the rubble. translation: a lot of people died, children, women and men. houses collapsed on them. i lost both my sons. some very sophisticated modern weapons are in this fight, and so are these, locally made rockets ove

orla guerin, bbc news, mosul. russia's president, vladimir putin has praised the co—operation developing between russia and turkey over military operations in syria. it follows talks in moscow with turkish president erdogan. the two leaders said ties were returning to normal, after their relations soured last november when turkey shot down a russian bomber on the syrian border. speaking to a news conference, president erdogan said the special relationship between the two countries will go even further. translation: we have discussed issues keeping our agenda at busy as well as what we can do in order to ove i’co m e well as what we can do in order to overcome them. we want to take the historic and special relationship between turkey and russia even further. sadly we have lost precious time because of the incident in 2013 that hurt us badly. translation: as a translation: as a result of co—ordinated actions, the ceasefire in syria is in place. the level of violence has dropped immensely. we agree with turkish

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. scotland yard says there's no evidence of any link between khalid masood, who killed three pedestrians and a policeman in westminster, and the islamic state it had been their first visit out of the usa — a tour of europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. but on the final day of their trip, kurt cochran was killed on westminster bridge. his wife, melissa cochran—payne, seriously injured. today, 13 members of theirfamily spoke publicly for the first time. from utah, they are a mormon family, who have found strength in their faith. i think it's hard for most of us to imagine here what it must be like to lose somebody in this way. can you give us some sense of the impact on the family? i think it's brought us really close together. our family's been always close together, and we've also had some wonderful, wonderful times together. we just love and support each other so much, and i think it's made us even that much stronger. kurt cochran ran a music studio back home, an ent

this is the day of forces in mosul. we have seen them go to the edges of the old city of mosul. that's where it is believed many of isis fighters are holed up. they have taken the government complex in the last 24 hours rece, which includes the central bank and museum. just a few years ago in 2015, isis madmen vandalized the statues and looted everything of value. at this point, it appears that iraqi forces control three father quarters of mosul since the offensive of 17th of november last year. we are hearing extensive civilian casualties in the western part of the city as a result of the fighting and the result of the intense bombard m ment and land and air backed up by the u.s.-led coalition. regarding the travel ban, it seems all is well that ends well. iraqis are happy to be off that list of banned countries. i was checking the newspapers in baghdad this morning. not one mentioned on the front page iraq exclusion from the executive order. dave. >> certainly other priorities there. ben, thank you. >>> 24 minutes past the hour. dialogue about north korea under way at the high

this is the engineering department of mosul university. on the is curriculum, how to make chemical weapons. this was a place of learning, a source of pride for the people of mosul, and you can see what has become of it. it was also a key strategic location for the so—called islamic state. it gave them high ground to dominate the area. it was heavily dominated by uzbek fighters, and this is just one of the areas that will have to be rebuilt wembley battle for mosul is finally over. some uzbek militants are still lying where they fell. no decent burial for those who terrorised a city. nearby, a suicide belts they didn't manage to use. at dusk, troops gather for the belts they didn't manage to use. at dusk, troops gatherfor the next push forward. increasingly they strike under cover of partners. hunting for the extremists who wa nted hunting for the extremists who wanted nearly a third of iraq. some of the hardest fighting may be ahead in the narrow streets of the old city. they will need to move on foot. beneath a sky lit only by embers of

the battle for mosul, our holly williams is in northern iraq. and an all-female flight crew claims an around the world record. this is the "cbs weekend news." >> quijano: good evening, i'm elaine quijano. this is our western edition. washington is bulling out over president trump's unsubstantiated claim this weekend that president obama bugged his new york office before the election. the president made the accusation on twitter early saturday and followed it up with an official white house statement sunday requesting a congressional investigation. tonight "the new york times" reports fbi director james comey is asking the justice department to publicly reject mr. trump's claim. the president spent the weekend at the so called winter white house. his mar-a-lago resort in palm beach, florida. errol barnett is there. >> president trump was here in florida a thousand miles from washington when he claimed a series of tweets claiming president obama issued a wiretap of trump tower. no evidence was provided and president obama denied it democrats and r

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. the tussle over how donald trump plans to get rid of obamacare is becoming ever more bitter, as both the republicans and democrats prepare to debate what happens next. the planned vote has been delayed until friday. i asked laura bicker what this meant for donald trump's plans. this is an embarrassing setback, not just because the vote has been delayed but the timing of the announcement was crucial because moments earlier president trump had said that there were enough votes and the deal would be done and then congress and announced that there would be no vote this evening. that is what we are here for, that is what we have expected. it has been to malta was day on capital hill as the president was once again they're trying to twist the arms of republicans to vote to these health—care reforms. and you are correct, it was a key campaign cry. he wanted to repeal and replace obama care. why? considering the numbers show that millions more are insured under obama care. in some states th

the americans say he left mosul. if you know that, why did you not kill him, for example, if you have information about him and he is still alive and he managed to run away. who is going to liberate? and what will happen after day liberate mosul and raqqa? who will be the sovereign ruler. raqqa is part of syria. there is a huge problem between the russians and americans and between turks and the russians, when it comes to syria. the americans would like the kurds, the syrian democratic army, to do the syrian democratic army, to do thejob the syrian democratic army, to do the job because they trust them. but turkey doesn't. they say we are sunnl turkey doesn't. they say we are sunni, they are sunni, and we should do thejob. sunni, they are sunni, and we should do the job. where is the united states in this? we have seen marines are part of this. several hundred marines. i do not think the mission has been clearly explained, it was done quietly and i do not think the media has had a chance to ask questions of the trump

orla guerin, bbc news, mosul. jane: the ongoing tragedy of mosul there. tens of thousands of south koreans came to the streets of seoul after the president was removed from office following a corruption scandal. supporters of park geun-hye clashed with police following a court ruling to remove her. her opponents celebrated into the night. as steve evidence reports from seoul. steve amazing scenes outside : court as pro-park protesters clashed with police. officers struggled in a tug-of-war to stop a bust being turnover. two protesters died. moments earlier inside court, president park was sacked. the chief justice said the president had broken the law and the trust of the people. tonight, anti-park protesters have been holding a victory rally. >> i certainly felt shivers going down my spine and i'm sure i'm not the only one in south korea to feel this way. it is such an extraordinary thing in your country to see a president removed through a democratic mechanism. reporter: in 2014 and 2015, park met the head of samsung could decided a deal was done. samsu

this is the engineering department of mosul university. on the is curriculum here, only fanaticism and death. well, this was a place of learning, it was a source of pride for the people of mosul, and you can see what's become of it. it was also a key strategic location for the so—called islamic state, it gave them high ground to dominate the area. it was heavily defended by uzbek fighters and this is just one of the areas that's going to have to be rebuilt when the battle for mosul is finally over. some uzbek militants are still lying where they fell, no decent burial for those who terrorised a city. nearby, a suicide belt they didn't manage to use. at dusk, iraqi forces gather for the next advance. armoured vehicles give some protection against car bombs, but they won't fit in the narrow streets of the old city. troops move under cover of darkness and this time on foot. hunting the extremists, who once controlled almost a third of iraq. some of the hardest fighting may be ahead, going house to house and street to street beneath a sky li

hakim, bbc news yalda mosul. it has emerged that people living close to the site of a major explosion on merseyside, reported smelling gas at least 2a hours beforehand. the national grid has confirmed that reports of leaks were investigated, before the suspected gas blast in bebbington in wirral on saturday. two people were seriously hurt and dozens others injured when several buildings collapsed. bt has been fined a record £a2 million by the communications regulator ofcom. it found bt‘s openreach division had cut compensation payments to other telecoms providers for delays in installing high speed business lines. the company said it "apologised wholeheartedly" for the mistakes. simon clemison reports. whether at home or at work, cable switch connectors are still provided by bt. some carry large amounts of data at great speed. but there are cases where the company has been slow to deliver the lines. and the uk relies on the bigger cables, which make up the network, as they support mobile and broadband operator

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. the latest in a series of special reports on the fierce fighting in western mosul with our middle east editorjeremy bowen. a court in london has reduced the sentence imposed on a british marine for killing an injured taliban fighter in afghanistan, meaning he could leave jail in weeks. alexander blackman was originally given a life sentence for murder at his trial in 2013 ——a conviction that was changed earlier this month to one of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. duncan kennedy reports. cheering it was the news fellow marines had been waiting four years to hear. and, moments later, their euphoria was shared in the reaction of alexander blackman‘s wife. we are overjoyed at the judge's decision to significantly reduce our sentence such that he can be released imminently. this is the moment we've all been fighting hard for. it's hard to believe that this day is finally here. as a marine sergeant, alexander blackman had been a decisive, accomplished leader

we're seeing far too many go to west mosul. we're seeing many civilians being reported killed in northern syria as well. the assault on raqqa hasn't even begun yet yet we're seeing 2, 3, 4 civilian casualty events around raqqa. civilian deaths are way up with the coalition. what is still somewhat difficult to untangle is whether we would have seen that under obama. the strikes were rising, the deaths were rising steeply in the last months of obama. trump has inherited obama's battle plan to some degree. even so, we're hearing from iraqi officials that it is easier to: airstrikes now, particularly u.s. strikes. the picture is confused. i think -- we need a straight answer from the pentagon, from the white house. lifted restrictions? the iraqi civilians have a right to know that. amy: i want to ask you about another recent harrowing attack involving the united states and its allies. in syria, a u.s. reaper drone recently struck a gathering in the rebel-held village near aleppo. as many as 49 people died. according to the syrian o

700,000 civilians still trapped inside western mosul. that is may now be using chemical weapons is a huge concern. sami mahmoud and his family survived the warped logic of is and say they are lucky to have escaped with nothing but their lives. "under is, having a phone card or a woman refusing to cover her face could mean certain death", he says. this latest incident showing no—one is safe from an organisation that offers its own people precious little humanity. earlier, chemical weapons expert cindy vestergaard gave us her views on the attack. the icrc issued a statement 13 hours ago saying that there were seven victims that were being... ..or seven individuals being treated for symptoms that seem to be similar to what would be blistering agent. now of course it's always hard in the early hours to have independent confirmation of something like this. if it is blistering agent it causes redness in the eyes, it basically burns the eyes, it does what it says, it creates blisters on the skin, coughing, vomiting. the one thing about a must

in mosul, butthey are under orders to not hate the residents of mosul."we aren't doing anything wrong to you, are we?" says thispoliceman. "no no," the boy says."you've treated us very well." freedom for omer qais and hisfather means being allowed to work again.both of them are sculptors. this relief depicts monumentsthat don't exist anymore. i.s. blew them all up. >>when they destroyed themonuments and the sculptures in the streets, at that time ithought it was so dangerous for us to remain there.and i intend to travel away from the city but i couldn't. >>the islamic state bans makingsculptures. it condemns them as idolatry.the two artists spent two and a half years working in secret, inconstant fear of being caught by the extremists.now they're planning a sculpture exhibition. >>we want to do something formosul. it's our city and we want lifeto once again return to normal. >>there's a light of hope in away, so i'm really happy that i could work in honor and completewhat i was working on. i still have a lot of work inprogress >>i.s. was able to capturemo

iraqi forces are determined to take back west mosul but they are up to take back west mosul but they are up againstan to take back west mosul but they are up against an enemy willing to fight to the very end. what now needs to be looked at is what happens next, what happens to mosul after it falls back into the hands of the iraqi government? this is an incredibly divided city and country, and it's about bringing these people back together again. thank you. two technicians in hong kong have been arrested for perverting the course of justice after been arrested for perverting the course ofjustice after at been arrested for perverting the course of justice after at least 18 shoppers were injured when an escalator in a shopping centre suddenly change direction and sped up. videos of the incident show dozens of people losing their balance — and piling up at the foot of the escalator. two people are in hospital and in a stable condition. the city government has ordered immediate tests on all escalators which are more than 15m high. the two men were suspected of tampering with the escalat

. >> mosul is shattered. iraqi forces, pounded isis. and the people of this once wealthy city, fled with their bundles of possessions. sometimes with just the clothes on their backs. a part of the world so ancient it is mentioned in the bible. now, brought to its knees. in the neighborhood, around 150 yard from the front line, mohammad yunis made it to safety with his young fame loo. he told us isis fighters are hiding in people's homes. including four in his. before it was hit by a mortar. as the the iraqis claw back one street at a time, isis has smashed its way from house to house. so its fighters could move without being detected from the sky. iraqi forces claimed they recaptured mosul's many government building on tuesday. but today we couldn't get within a block of it, the general told us isis is still sniping at his men. contesting every inch of territory even as it is forced to retreat. and when isis is finally pushed ou mosul, which could be in weeks, scars will remain. assan ali fled with his wife hallah and five children. but

jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. in northern ireland, the political parties have been given more time to try to form a power—sharing government afterfailing to meet today's deadline. after three weeks of talks, there's still no sign of agreement between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein. the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire said he believes there is no appetite for yet another election, as our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. there's been a lot of talk in northern ireland about restoring power—sharing, but at times it's felt like sinn fein and the dup have been speaking a very different language. much of the funding for this class for migrant workers in dungannon comes through stormont, but with no government, there's no budget. and that means this community group can't be sure how much money they'll have once the new financial year begins, and that's just next week. if there's no funding, it would mean imminent closure within two months and alljobs lost. that's how serious it is