17/10/2016 Outside Source

place. Keep up to date of course as ever by checking out the BBC Weather

Centre. Welcome to Outside Source. The

battle for most Salah has begun and we are on the front lines. They are

just about to move forward in the distance is only about 300 metres.

Today, they liberated ten villages. But they will have to liberate

another 70 before they are on the outskirts of the city. Update on all

enrolments of the story from BBC Arabic coming up. Donald Trump is

telling his supporters that the US elections have been wrecked. Not for

the first time senior Republicans disagree with them. We will be live

in Washington, DC to discuss that. There it is. The BBC got rare access

to the launch of a man's Chinese space mission. I will play you that

report in full and for the first time since they were released, we

have heard from some of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria. I

will play you that as well. Night has fallen on the day one of

the operation to retake morsel. And this matters because it was the fall

of Mosul in 2014 vert helped the world pay attention to the Islamic

State group. Iraq's Prime Minister announced the offensive earlier. The

hour of victory has arrived. Operations for the liberation of

Mosul have begun. I announced the start of this heroic operation to

free you from the terror and the oppression of Daesh and God willing,

soon we will meet on Mosul soil to celebrate liberation and your

salvation. The ground offensive is approaching from several directions.

It is also being supported from the air by the US-led coalition. The BBC

has correspondence on all major fronts. First of all, lets go to the

east of Mosul where Kurdish forces are gathering. Orla Guerin is with

them. You can see some of the heavy weaponry that the Kurds have

applied. We were with the Peshmerga units as they moved forward. They

came across the plains here, kicking up clouds of dust. Lots of tanks

moving forward. They advanced to this position and you can see the

fighters at the top of this berm. Islamic State are just on the other

side. The distance, we're told, is just 300 metres. The aim of this

operation is to clear those villages so that the Iraqi army can pass

through this territory and continue on the road to Mosul. That was a

lull in the fighting but we have heard artillery and mortar shells

being fired this morning. We have had at least two coalition air

strikes called in when the fighters here thought they saw suicide

bombers approaching in vehicles on the other side. In the last few

hours, we have certainly seen the start of this long-awaited

offensive. Trying to drive Islamic State out of the city, but this

really is the first phase. Orla Guerin, to the east of Mosul.

To the south of the city, our Defence Correspondent is with Iraqi

forces close to the bermQayyarah airbase. Earlier, our correspondent

tweeted this: I can now play you a report that has come in with him.

This is a very different Iraqi army that fled in the face of Islamic

State just two years ago. Not just because of coalition air power but

many of these Iraqi forces have been trained over the past few months by

British and American forces. Today they moved ten miles north, still 30

miles short of the outskirts of the city. To give you a sense of scale,

today they liberated ten villages and they will have to liberate

another 70 before they are on the outskirts of the city. As far as

resistance on the front line, we saw mortar fire and we know that there

was also an anti-tank missile fired that killed an Iraqi soldier. But it

was fairly limited and the Iraqis are confident, because they have one

key asset, that they are getting intelligence from Iraqi civilians

under Islamic State control who are passing on information about

positions, strength in numbers on their movements, and what kind of

weapons they have. As far as how long this will take, one Iraqi

commander told me he thought it would be about a month and they

expect fierce resistance when they reached the outskirts of Mosul.

Remember, it has an estimated 2000-5000 Islamic State fighters who

have died in there among a population of about 1 million. And

there are worries about civilian casualties. Fierce resistance will

come from the several thousand come from the several thousand

Islamic State fighters inside of morsel. But it is not just the city

where Islamic State is filling pressure. Let me show you this map

from January. All the areas marked in red is territory controlled by

Islamic State last year. Take note, to the west of Baghdad, and to the

north of Iraq. Because when I bring in the equivalent map for where we

are right now, you can see the territory that Islamic State

controls has reduced. This is where we were at the beginning of 2015 and

this is where we are now. Islamic State is losing territory. While

that is the grand scheme of things, at the moment there is a lot of

attention on Mosul, not just from a military point of view but from a

civilian point of view. Thousands are still living there and they may

well get caught up in this violence. The UN is saying it is concerned

that this may cause up to 100,000 Iraqis to flee towards Syria and

Turkey. They say plans are underway in Syria to receive up to 90,000

Iraqi refugees. If ever there was a stark illustration of the flight of

appears to be one of the better appears to be one of the better

options now. We often turn to our correspondence, Edgard Jalled, from

BBC Arabic. In the first age, they are looking to check how Islamic

State fighters will face such an offensive. So far we have

conflicting reports. Some people say that some of their leaders are

fleeing towards Syria. Some other reports say that no, they have

decided to fight inside Mosul and they are following the usual tactics

in defending themselves, digging tunnels, trying to booby-trap,

planting explosive devices around. They are ready for the fight. They

know that there is momentum that they need to capture in this battle.

And it is believed that there is a deadline that they have to meet,

before the US elections. That is why the Iraqi forces are putting all

their weight in this battle. That is only a few days away. That is why

they are putting all their weight now to achieve this. The first day

was focused on the eastern part of Mosul but saying that, this is not

the most difficult part of the city. In the western part, Islamic State's

defences are stronger. What they have achieved today is considerable

because according to the Kurdish forces, they have retaken nine

villages, and the president of Kurdistan has given a press

conference. He said that 200 square commenters were liberated from

Islamic State, so it is still the first day in a big battle so far. In

terms of the civilians inside Mosul I mentioned that some may try to get

to Syria but can they leave the city? Is there an easy route out? It

is very difficult. You imagine with bombing and air strikes, it is

difficult. The second challenge is difficult. The second challenge is

getting away from Islamic State fighters, who are in a fighting

mood. It is not easy for them and this is what aggravates the

situation and worries the international community about the

situation. Hundreds of thousands of civilians inside the city. That is

one conflict we are covering closely. Another is in Syria.

Particularly in Aleppo. There has been a significant announcement

today. Russia says that attacks on Aleppo will be paused for eight

hours on Thursday to allow civilians and rebels to leave the city if they

choose. Here is one quote. A senior Russian officer saying that during

the eight hour period the Russian air force and Syrian government

troops will halt air strikes and firing from any other types of

weapons. Yet more harrowing pictures coming in from Aleppo, showing the

aftermath. These pictures show a boy

being rescued from rubble after an airstrike

in Aleppo on Sunday. As you can see, he was left hanging

precariously from the upper The EU Foreign Affairs Council has

been meeting to discuss It has been updating us online.

Today it said: In those conclusions,

the EU condemned Syria 'clearly disproportionate' bombing

and said that the regime's actions That is an echo of what the French

president, Francois Hollande, said last week. The EU foreign policy

chief also gave a press briefing earlier.

The EU agrees on this is our common basis to call, urgently, for an end

to military flights over Aleppo. The immediate cessation of hostilities

to be monitored. And to end the conflict, with humanitarian access

agreed. Our priority is to save Aleppo and save human life. And if

you want more information on the conflict, there is a huge amount of

background information online. Let's update you on the US election.

This time last week, Donald Trump told us he was glad

And we're getting to see what that looks like.

A major fall-out with the Republican Party,

sneering that a woman wasn't good-looking enough for him to have

assaulted her as she claimed, calls for Hillary Clinton to take

On Twitter, as you would expect, he said:

Sad perhaps, unsubstantiated certainly.

There was no evidence that has happened. But Mr Trump continued,

saying: Browser goes there is no evidence? -- perhaps because there

is no evidence? And then, in what is becoming

somewhat of a routine for the Trump campaign,

running mate Mike Pence contradicted We're going to accept the will of

the American people but between now and election day we will work our

hearts out. The American people are tired of the obvious bias in the

national media. That is where the rate collection sense goes.

The latest polls of polls shows the gap widening.

And this graph from Politico shows that 41 percent

of Trump supporters are deeply sceptical

covering this from Washington. In a covering this from Washington. In a

normal election cycle, if a candidate said something that was

have their feet held to the fire by have their feet held to the fire by

the press. Does that not happened to Donald Trump? Had does he avoid the

comeback from this? I think there is a lot of questions being raised here

about the voracity of what he is saying about elections here being

raped. The Washington Post has done a study showing that between 2000

and 2014 it found only 31 cases of voting fraud in the United States.

New York University has come up with similar numbers and they are being

put out quite clearly today. The press is asking Donald Trump what is

evident is that the election is rigged. What Donald Trump is really

talking about is something that Mike Pence was picking up on, that a lot

of people on the right of American politics firmly believe that the

press in America slants towards the left and is biased against

Conservative candidates. And that is really what he is railing about. We

have seen that in his rallies, the antipathy towards the press corps.

You always get some of this. In 2008, following Sarah Palin's

rallies, her base, not dissimilar to Donald Trump's, was very anti-media.

Saying that it was a rate system. Conservatives feel like they cannot

get elected in America because of the media bias, as they call it. I

think that resonates more than the idea that there is actually fraud

going on in the polling booths. And whether this is a good strategy or

not, we will leave that to Mr Trump to decide but is he getting some

traction? Because he needs something to stop this downward slide. Well,

we have three weeks and one day. Only three weeks and one day, we're

nearly there. We are at the finish line. He does need something. He

needs something big to turn this around, potentially something to

happen to Hillary Clinton. I'm not sure that there is more that Donald

Trump can do two races numbers. Clearly his supporters are still

with him. There was an extraordinary poll that came out today showing

American voters see him as honest American voters see him as honest

and trustworthy than see Hillary Clinton as honest and trustworthy.

More photos also think he hasn't got the character to be president and

they think that she does. These narratives are set in place and it

will be difficult for him to change that perception of himself and his

candidacy so probably something is going to turn this race around in

the next few weeks, if it was to do that, it would have to be something

dramatic happening to Hillary Clinton. And while I have you on the

programme, I promise I will not turn your microphone down but you got

involved in a sharp exchange with Ben Carson, a man who wanted to be

president at one stage. You were disagreeing with him on MSNBC over

the way that the coverage of these alleged assaults has played out. Is

that still a political issue or are we in a remarkable situation where

one week on, that has moved to the back of the agenda? The whole issue

of assault, and the question I asked doctor Carson was whether he thought

the women who had accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment were

lying. It was a simple yes or no question but he did not like the

question and he asked if my microphone could be shut off. I

think 4-4-2 as this is a big issue. You could see that reflected in the

polling among female voters. This is not going down well with women and

it is not going down well with Republican women.

And we are seeing a dramatic shift in the polling of college educated

women from the Republican camp to the Democratic camp. That is very

bad news for Donald Trump. I have told you this before but women have

decided the last five elections in the United States. They vote more

than men. He is going to have to turn his numbers around with them

and the drip drip of allegations of abuse do not help them. Thank you

very much indeed. Those of you watching, if you have not seen Katty

Kay against Ben Carson, there is only going to be one winner when it

comes to turning the might off. You can see it now on her website.

One other important story to update you on.

A Republican Party office was firebombed over the weekend.

It happened in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

A bottle filled with flammable liquid

inside was thrown through the window of the Orange County

Republican Party headquarters in the middle of the night.

These pictures show you the damage this caused.

A message reading "Nazi Republicans leave town

or else" was also sprayed on a building nearby.

No-one was hurt, but other Republican offices are now on alert.

Donald Trump suggested Democrat supporters were behind the attack.

In a tweet, Hillary Clinton described it as "horrific

In a little while we are going to bring you the latest business and

sport. I am also going to play you all of this report which contains

some emotional scenes. Emotional scenes as the families

of twenty-one of Nigeria's Chibok schoolgirls are reunited

with their daughters. British detectives investigating the

disappearance of toddler Ben Needham say they believe he died in an

accident on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago.

Speaking in Kos - where they've been carrying out an extensive search -

South Yorkshire Police say an accident remained "the most

probable cause" of Ben's disappearance.

It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an

accident near to the farmhouse here where he was last seen playing. The

events leading up to and following that incident have been explored by

my team and experts to a great extent. The fact that we have not

had a direct result during this visit does not protrude the fact

that we know to be true. During the last three weeks a number of items

have been recovered from both sides. Some of these 93 items will be

brought back to the UK for further analysis. Our lead story this

evening is that Iraqi government forces have begun a long-awaited

offensive to recapture morsel from the Islamic State group. -- to

recapture Mosul. The Austrian government has

announced it will take possession of the house where Adolf Hitler

was born and tear it down. There's been concern

that the building had become a gathering place

for neo-Nazi groups. And many of you have been watching

this video of a humpback whale calf recieiving assitance after it became

entangled in a shark net off The whale was accompanied

by its mother which was trying All ended well and the mother

and calf swam away You can see the video on the BBC

News app. Earlier we saw emotional pictures coming in from Nigeria of

some of the schoolgirls that were kidnapped by the Islamist group of

Boko Haram and have now been reunited with their families. Before

I play you that, reminder from one of the Twitter feeds supporting

these girls, revealing that they have in fact been gone for 915 days.

Martin Patience was there as some of Martin Patience was there as some of

the reunions were happening. After two and half years, free at

last. Uncontrollable emotions. Daughters reunited with their

parents in the warmth of their embrace. It was a time for

celebration. But also reflection. TRANSLATION: We are so excited. We

never thought this day would come. These girls were among the 276

students abducted by the Islamist group, Boko Haram. One of them

describes the horrors that they endure it. TRANSLATION: I never

thought I would see you again. There was a day when a bomb dropped nearby

to where I was. It was only by God's race we survived. Some days we were

without food but now we are here. The parents wanted their daughters

to get an education but it was a choice that they thought had cost

them their children. TRANSLATION: I said to her, are you really alive?

And she replied, yes I am. We both burst into tears. What did she tell

you about her time in captivity? They were told their parents were no

longer alive, that we had been killed. All they did was cry. They

us again. Officials say negotiations us again. Officials say negotiations

are continuing. But dozens of students reportedly do not want to

come home after marrying fighters. For now, these girls are free to

rejoice, but recovering will not be easy, with so many of their

schoolmates still being held. Martin Patience, BBC News, Abuja. Time for

our business section. Netflix has results coming out later. This is a

company whose performance has had people green with envy in the TV

everything its own way. Last time we everything its own way. Last time we

discussed this, the big issue was pulling up subscriber numbers in the

they absolutely have to. In the last they absolutely have to. In the last

few minutes we have seen that Netflix have released earnings and

to give you an indication of how happy investors are with the

results, in after-hours trading, the share price is up 20% because they

really were able to increase their subscriber growth. They have

predicted that they were going to get 2 million new subscribers. They

actually got 3.2 million new subscribers and that is

internationally. When you look at their subscriber growth here in

United States, the expected 300,000 United States, the expected 300,000

400,000. So that is really some very 400,000. So that is really some very

encouraging news and when it comes to their overall moneymaking, I have

to look down at my notes, and they saw $2.2 million coming from

streaming revenue, 40% of that having to do with international

streaming and that is really important. We see that Netflix has

really expanded into about 130 countries. It really needed to

capitalise on some of that and they have been able to do that at least

in this last quarter. Thank you very in this last quarter. Thank you very

much indeed. Let me quickly tell you that a number of airlines have

followed what happened in the US in banning Samson Galaxy Note seven

smartphones. This is a phone no longer made now because they were

catching fire. They were banned on planes in the US and now virgin is

following suit. I will be back with you in a couple of minutes. In this

weather forecast we will be looking at typhoons, snow and flooding. The

biggest weather stories around the world. First of all,