20/02/2017 BBC News at Ten

On the front line as Iraqi forces continue their assault

With helicopter gunships in the skies, troops take more

territory from IS as they advance on the city of Mosul.

The town of Abu Saif is under attack.

It's all that lies between these men and Mosul city proper.

But they are running into stronger resistance and roadside bombs.

Theresa May perches on a step to keep an eye on the House

Famine is declared in South Sudan - a country devastated

We do have famine, and food insecurity has worsened in many

parts of this country, largely because of this

An increase in council tax in nearly every authority in England -

but it's still not enough to pay for social care.

And the dream is over for Sutton United as Arsenal head

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News,

the five sports that lost their Olympic and Paralympic

funding have had their appeals rejected by UK Sport.

There's been ferocious fighting between Iraqi forces and so-called

Islamic State as troops battle their way towards

Their helicopter gunships now control the skies, but the road

to IS's last stronghold in Iraq is littered with roadside bombs.

To win back Mosul is crucial as it's Iraq's second largest city.

An offensive on the east of Mosul began last October.

Now Iraqi troops, supported by British

and American special forces, are trying to take

control of the west, where 750,000 people

Our Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville and cameraman

Nikki Millard are the only international journalists

Their report contains some graphic images.

Iraq says its Mosul operation is the dawn of victories

and on the second day of their offensive, its troops

again prepared to face the so-called Islamic State.

An armoured force, set on the city's west.

Yesterday, Iraqi forces moved like a blitzkrieg

The reason being, all along this route, there are suspected roadside

Slowed to a crawl at times, bomb disposal technicians

But above, they have full command of the skies.

In their sights, a small IS-held town, Abu Saif.

Emptied of people, every home there became a target.

The town of Abu Saif is under attack.

It's all that lies between these men and Mosul city proper.

They managed to get here in record time and now,

from the air, and from land, they're trying to take Abu Saif.

For the first time, these forces have sight of Mosul.

For Colonel Fallah Ali Wabdan, it is an important prize

TRANSLATION: Abu Saif is very important for us

because it's on high ground and that is very good

in helping us win control of the airport, which is below us.

Iraqi forces are using the latest warfare tools.

Filmed this morning during the battle, watch

American and British special forces are a mostly

This motorbike was cut in half by an air strike.

The corpses, believed to be two IS fighters, lie in the dirt.

By the afternoon, Abu Saif was back in government hands, but it

hadn't slipped fully from the militants' grip.

They struck back, killing at least two soldiers.

And the day ended as it began, with IS home-made bombs.

So these tactics are designed to slow down the advance

IS are using them in greater concentration,

in bigger towns and villages, so as these troops move forward,

they will experience better defences and more resistance,

Still, this was another important Iraqi victory.

But winning against the Islamic State comes at a cost.

Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, on Mosul's southern front.

As the House of Lords began debating the Brexit bill today,

Theresa May sat in on the session, the first time in nearly 20 years

Downing Street denied her presence was a form of intimidation,

but peers were warned not to try to stop Brexit

Our Deputy Political Editor John Pienaar has more.

Blue lights flashing, Theresa May was determined not to miss this.

She'd already sent peers a clear message while out campaigning.

Brexit is coming - get out of the way.

Properly, there will be debate and scrutiny in the House of Lords

but I don't want to see anybody holding up what the

Prime ministers scarcely ever appear here, perched by tradition

As the PM watched, reported threats to abolish the Lords if peers

blocked Brexit were dismissed to her face.

We will not be threatened into not fulfilling our normal

And neither will we be goaded into acting irresponsibly.

If we ask the House of Commons to look again at an issue,

it is not a constitutional outrage, but a constitutional responsibility.

190 peers wanted to speak, a modern record.

Labour's former Trade Secretary was scathing about Government

claims that Britain could keep its trading rights.

Not, he said, if the UK abandoned EU rules.

And to say otherwise, my Lords, is a fraud on the public.

The Lib Dems want a second referendum, although no one now

For many of us, the approach being adopted by the Government

For those of us, and there are very many in Your Lordship's house,

for whom Europe has been a central theme of our entire political lives,

to sit on our hands in these circumstances is both

These EU migrant workers protesting today want their right to live

and work in Britain guaranteed, not later in talks - now.

In the coming days, ministers will be pressed to agree.

But here were over 50,000 letters demanding the law to get Brexit

started should be passed quickly with no changes, an argument

supported by some who had campaigned against it.

I voted to remain in the European Union, but I support

this bill because I believe the referendum was decisive.

A former Chancellor said no deal was better than a bad one.

As soon as it is clear that sadly, our European Union partners

won't accept our offer, we should move on.

There is nothing to be gained by protracted

They will be talking until the early hours and tomorrow until midnight.

Then next week, the Government may just lose votes on migrant rights

and on the right of Parliament to demand a better deal.

But when it comes to a test of who backs down, Theresa May

Peers spotted Boris Johnson in the House, too, a show

The betting is that Lords won't defy the elected MPs or the referendum.

Ministers mean to keep the final say on Brexit and start divorce

Nearly every local authority in England is planning to increase

council taxes in the coming year to provide care for

From April, council tax could rise by nearly 5%

But the Local Government Association says that still won't be enough

and warns there will have to be deep cuts to other council services.

147 of them plan to raise council tax specifically to pay

Our Social Affairs correspondent Alison Holt reports from Surrey.

This is where the pressure on the social care

system can at times be seen most clearly.

81-year-old Margaret Williams has been in hospital since she had

a fall, but is waiting for the care she will need

And it is social workers in Surrey who are trying to arrange

Because I've been in here for how many weeks?

So obviously, I'm going to be weaker.

Yeah, so we think you need someone to come in at least four times

In a busy hospital, she knows her bed is in demand, but for

the council, finding funding and companies to provide home

When I met her, she had been in hospital

And then they sent me home, but I had to

come back in two or three days and I've been here ever since.

I'm just phoning up regarding Margaret

Williams, which we are waiting for the joint funding.

Social workers were able to get her the care she

But according to today's local government survey, most councils

for this sort of support for people in care homes or their own homes.

In Surrey, they say it is relentless.

I've worked in adult social care for 20 years

and I've never known the

And there's no simple solution to it.

People are living longer, and their needs are

And Surrey's chief executive believes

they have no choice but to raise council tax to meet the growing

We are struggling to balance next year's

budget and we are really struggling to balance and make it sustainable

I think our services are at breaking point.

Surrey's Conservative-led council abandoned plans to ask

voters for a 15% tax rise after what were described as government

But like most authorities in today's survey,

council tax here is likely to rise by nearly 5%.

And many councils warn that other services like bin collections

and road mending will still face cuts.

There has been a united voice of local government to say that

they need to have more funding into social care

and that the crisis in

But the Government says extra money is already being put into

social care, particularly services like this, which help people regain

It also says local authorities will soon be able

to keep all the money raised by council tax and business rates,

giving them more control over their spending.

Meanwhile, NHS managers in England say winter pressures,

including an unexpected number of hospital admissions and A

patients, have contributed to an overspend that will see

the Trusts collectively miss the national financial target.

NHS finances have been under pressure for some time. The

Government says it has helped by helping hospitals reduce their

agency staffing bills and that has had an impact. Even so, figures are

worse than expected. Last November, the regulator, NHS improvement,

predicted a full-year deficit for trusts in England of ?580 million.

It has now had to revise that up to a new figure of up to ?850 million

for those trusts over the year. To put that in perspective, that is

against a total budget of 80 billion. What other reasons? The

first lies in A Between October and December last year, the numbers

of patients going into A were up by 200,000 over the same period the

previous year, more than expected. That costs hospitals money. Another

reason is difficult it is discharging patients back into the

community because of social care problems. That means hospitals are

close to being full. They have had to cancel routine surgery and

operations. That costs them money, because they don't get the income if

those operations are cancelled. Once again, that is social care affecting

NHS finances. So all eyes are on the Budget now. Ministers say they are

coming up with a package of measures for social care in England. NHS

leaders will be watching closely to see whether they make a difference

thank you very much. Footage has emerged of the moment

the exiled brother of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un,

was attacked last week The CCTV images appear to show

a woman walking up to Kim Jong-nam He died a short time

later and so far, four Our Tokyo Correspondent Rupert

Wingfield-Hayes reports. These are the last moments

of Kim Jong-nam's life as he walked into Kuala Lumpur Airport

a week ago today. Suddenly, a woman in a white top

grabs him from behind and places The whole thing has taken

less than five seconds. Moments later, Kim Jong-nam can

be seen seeking help He told them he'd had

something wiped on his face These final images show him being

led to the airport medical centre. A short time later,

he collapsed and died. The accusation that North Korea's

dictator had his own brother assassinated today

prompted this response. It has been seven days

since the incident, but there is no clear evidence on the cause

of the death, and at the moment, we cannot trust the investigation

by the Malaysian police. Malaysian police now have four

suspects in custody. These two women from Indonesia

and Vietnam are accused They claim they had no idea

what they were doing, that they were paid to take part

in what they thought Then on Saturday, police detained

a 46-year-old North Korean man But four other North Korean suspects

appear to have got away, flying to Jakarta on the day

of the murder. The Malaysians still don't know

what was on the cloth that was wiped A second autopsy has now been

ordered to try and identify A state of famine has been declared

in parts of South Sudan, the first to be announced in any

part of the world since 2011. The government and the United

Nations report that around 100,000 people are currently affected,

and just under five million people, 40% of the country's population,

are in urgent need of food. South Sudan is the world's newest

country, having gained independence But hopes of prosperity have been

shattered by three years of civil Alistair Leithead sent this report

from the capital city, Juba. When famine hits,

the smallest suffer. There's acute malnutrition

here in the children's hospital in the capital,

but it's far worse upcountry, His distended belly and painful skin

condition are obvious Malnutrition is really bad

because it has increased. It has been here for some

years, but this year, Hadiya gets one or maybe

two meals a day. Her mother, Mary, can't afford

to feed her, amid the economic chaos This is Unity State,

a rebel stronghold where 100,000 people now feel the effects

of famine, and 1 million Some aid has been

delivered but not enough. Famine is not declared lightly,

only when help doesn't reach, and when large numbers of people

are starving to death every day. The real tragedy is that this

is largely man-made, and we do have famine and food

insecurity has worsened in many parts of the country,

largely because of this Because of fighting,

because of insecurity, because of access challenges,

also because of attacks on humanitarian workers

and sometimes looting of assets, we have not been able

to provide assistance For more than three years,

a civil war has been fought across South Sudan,

largely along ethnic lines. The former vice president

and president Salva Kiir, in the hat, are from

the two main tribes. Their political spat

tore the country in two. Well over 3 million

people have been forced Hundreds of thousands

of them are in camps set up by the United Nations,

across the country, 1.5 million have fled

to neighbouring countries, creating one of the worst refugee

crises in the world. Towns have emptied here

in the crop-growing south of the country, adding

to the food shortages. In the last six months,

450,000 people have fled to Uganda. Thousands still cross

the border every day, and describe atrocities,

rape and murder, by The UN has warned of the potential

for genocide and now a deepening Alastair Leithead,

BBC News, south Sudan. We can speak to our UN correspondent

Nick Bryant, who's in New York. Now the UN has declared a state

of famine in South Sudan, what difference will

that practically make? The declaration of a famine by

itself does not automatically trigger a heightened international

response. What the United Nations is hoping for is that it will focus

more global attention on the crisis in South Sudan and also get more

local access on the ground for relief agencies who are trying to

feed these are starving people. Unicef has more than 600 feeding

stations in South Sudan right now but it can't reach the famine

affected areas because it is simply too dangerous to go into them. One

official I spoke to a few moments ago said he hopes this declaration

of famine will bang heads together of some of the warring factions, so

they will grant humanitarian access. Global attention is a key problem as

well, especially at the time when so much international diplomatic

bandwidth is taken up by countries like Syria and Yemen. To give you an

illustration of the problem, the United Nations has appealed this

year for $1.6 billion to help the situation in South Sudan. As of

tonight, it has received less than 1% of that figure. Despairingly, a

senior UN official said to me tonight, that is part of a larger

problem. The international humanitarian system is just being

completely overwhelmed right now. It cannot cope simultaneously with

these crises in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and other countries as well.

The UN to night is considering declaring famines in three other

countries, northern Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. What is so frustrating is

that these famines Ahmad made. Yes, they are exacerbated by drought and

crop failures, but primarily, they are caused by conflict and war. Nick

Bryant at the UN in New York, thank you.

After one resignation and one refusal, President Trump has now

named his latest pick for the role of National Security Advisor.

General HR McMaster replaces General Michael Flynn,

who was forced to step down earlier this month after making

secret phone calls with Russia and misleading the vice

Mr Trump has just been speaking about why he made

He's a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience.

I've watched and read a lot over the last two days.

He is highly respected by everybody in the military,

and we are very honoured to have him.

Let's talk to our North America editor Jon Sopel.

So who is General McMaster and is President Trump likely

Welcomer if you had General Mike Flynn here, conspiracy theorist,

controversial, McMaster is on the other side of the scale altogether.

He is mainstream, a soldier's soldier, described as the US Army's

for most warrior intellectual. He has written a very good book on

Vietnam in which he criticised the way the government handled it. He

has also been closely involved in the campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan

and saying they did not do enough about counterinsurgency. Under the

Obama administration, he was also brought in to look at the kind of

hybrid warfare being waged by Russia and the lessons that needed to be

learned and the threat posed by Russia. A very different kind of

individual. A lot of people are saying, frankly, Donald Trump could

have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had appointed general McMaster

in the first place. His appointment has been welcomed by some of the

mainstream Republicans, also, interestingly, the vice president

Mike Pence had a say in who should be appointed. What we don't know is

whether he has got the autonomy to appoint his deputies. That was a

controversial matter with regards to Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of

State who couldn't. We will have to see over the coming days. Just one

other thing to bear in mind, you talked about the one person who

rejected the president, there was some talk that may be Donald Trump

would struggle. General McMaster is a serving military officer - he

couldn't say no. Jon Sopel, thank you very much.

Here, there have been protests in several cities around the UK over

Mr Trump's planned state visit to the UK.

The biggest, in London, saw thousands of demonstrators

It coincided with a debate in Westminster following a petition

signed by nearly 2 million people calling for the visit

The Government says the state visit will definitely go ahead,

but that didn't stop MPs from clashing over it.

What are we contributing to by allowing President Trump

to continue in that rhetoric which divides people

and tells us that Muslims are the enemy, that the Muslims

That is me as a Muslim in this house.

I am not an enemy to Western democracy.

We can refer to all the things about Donald Trump,

as some people have, even though he is

While we have been on air, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed

that five teenagers have been arrested in London on suspicion of

the preparation of terrorist acts. The arrests are understood to relate

to plans to travel to join a banned organisation.

UK Sport has rejected appeals by seven sports that won't receive

funding ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Archery, weightlifting and wheelchair rugby

won't get any money, and badminton, which secured

a bronze medal in Rio, has been stripped of its funding, too.

Our sports editor Dan Roan sent this report from

the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes.

Public money has transformed Britain's Olympic and Paralympic

fortunes, but as well as winners, there are losers.

These are among the seven sports that today learned their desperate

appeals against funding cuts have been rejected.

Perhaps the unluckiest, badminton, which had ?5.7 million wiped out

despite meeting its Rio medal target with this bronze

The woman who controls the purse strings told me

Badminton and wheelchair rugby and other sports have

got medal potential, but it is not strong

enough for it to be higher in the meritocratic table.

We have just run out of resources to be able to reach that far.

But here at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes,

they are reeling from a decision that threatens jobs

Absolutely devastated. I'm gutted.

From a player point of view, you need that funding to help

you get in the best shape possible, to go out there and win a medal

And knowing that you haven't got that support from UK Sport just

means that everything is hard work, everything is an obstacle,

But with falling ticket sales hitting all-important

National Lottery funding, UK Sport says its resources

UK Sport's no-compromise approach has helped transform

Britain into an Olympic and Paralympic superpower.

But for the first time, sports with real medal potential

are being excluded from funding and rarely before has this winning

The approach that we take has worked and it will continue to work as long

as we are not deviated from it by a general feeling

that there might be in the general public that actually,

the resources should be spread across more athletes

Actually, that will compromise the results and we will do less

well in the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.

?350 million is being invested in a bid to better Britain's triumph

in Rio but for those sports cut adrift, the future

The journalist and broadcaster Steve Hewlett has died

The former BBC Panorama editor and presenter of Radio 4's

The Media Show had movingly documented his final months

The BBC's Director-General Tony Hall said Steve Hewlett had been

a trusted voice who embodied the best of public

Football, and the dream is over. In United. The non-league club had

hoped cause a major upset tonight and secure a place in the

quarterfinals of the FA Cup. But in what was the biggest match

in the club's history, Our sports correspondent

Natalie Pirks was watching. Sutton United are not used to seems

like this, the arrival of Arsenal through Gander green lane into

temporary chaos. As the Premier League stars battled their way

towards the dressing room, sat in United's fans dreamt about what

might be. We have to be careful because they don't play an

artificial grass. -- they have to be careful. It will be harder for them.

We have home advantage as well. We could beam but -- win but if we get

beaten 5-0, Nick Scruton has been amazing. In the goldfish bowl of

this tiny ground, one manager was under far more pressure than the

other but for the part-timers, who once had top-flight dreams, to night

with their showcase, particularly the ones who used to play for

Arsenal, like Roarie Deacon. But as the 12 time FA Cup winners got to

grips with the plastic pitch, they began to grow in confidence. They

began to find the gaps. Lucas Perez' classy crosscourt at the South

Londoners. A pub of the fists to lift the early tension. But if

Arsenal needed a reminder they were still in a game, they quickly got

one, a crunching one. Ospina could have done with a wake-up call, too,

his mistake almost leading to a southern equaliser. But quality

always find a way. 100 up for Theo Walcott in Arsenal red and white.

Arsenal's longest serving current player with a century for the club.

That would be that, surely, wouldn't it? Sutton had other plans. It was

sufficiently worrying enough for Arsen Wenger to centre the crowd

pleasing cavalry. Here comes Alexis Sanchez. But in truth, the

cholesterol levels on the bench looked to be the bigger threat.

Arsenal had done their job but so had Sutton, desire, heart, pride. It

has been one hell of a ride. Arsenal's team was packed with

internationals and a World Cup winner, yet still there was no gulf

in class. Of course, in the end, quality and fitness told by force

Sutton United, this cup run has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now

it is over to Lincoln city, the only non-league side left in the FA Cup

and the night, the Sutton manager has urged them to go out and enjoy

their