03/03/2017 World News Today

An apparent chemical attack on east Mosul has left 12 people,

And as many more remain trapped in the conflict in Mosul,

a captured commander of so-called Islamic State tells us using human

US police search the home of a man arrested in connection with recent

threats made to eight Jewish organisations.

Another blow for the French presidential candidate,

Francois Fillon, as his spokesman resigns, adding to a slew of

This is the scene, being streamed live

from an Animal Adventure Park in New York State,

as millions of followers wait and wait for April the giraffe

Thousands of civilians are fleeing from the besieged city of Mosul

as Iraqi and coalition forces try to defeat so called

Islamic State, which has occupied the city for almost three years.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped in Mosul and,

in a BBC interview, a senior IS commander, who was recently

captured by Iraqi forces, has justified the group's practice

111-year-old boy suffered severe burns and blistering. The Red Cross

has condemned this use of chemical weapons, but haven't identified what

kind they were. Hundreds of thousands of people

are still trapped in Mosul and, in a BBC interview, a senior

IS commander, who was recently captured by Iraqi forces,

has justified the group's practice Next to the rubble of Mosul's

bombed-out university, a new campus It was only opened two days ago,

but aid agencies say it For these people, freedom of sorts

after almost three years under There are thought to be

750,000 civilians trapped Under siege without food or water

and in fear of their lives, It is one of the worst

crises in the last decade. So, yes, if you can see around

and you talk to people, Fighting is still heavy

but government troops say they are easing Islamic State's

grip on Mosul, its last With IS threatening to kill those

who leave the city and relentless shelling from the government side,

escape is not easy. This family was inside the western

part of the city this morning. As they escaped, there was fighting

going on inside their house. Two members of the security forces

that freed them were killed. According to these civilians,

many more are being kept by so-called Islamic State

as human shields. This man tries to defend

the practice of using A senior Islamic State

commander, he has admitted to sending suicide bombers,

including boys, At a detention centre

where he is being held in northern Iraq, he spoke to the BBC

in a rare interview. TRANSLATION: Anyone who is in danger

hides himself behind the others. It is like if you're

drowning, you might drag In order to survive,

people do everything they can, even if it means using

humans as shields. That warped logic is

rejected by this man, having escaped Mosul with his family

of six and surviving for now Under IS, having a simple Sim card

for a phone, or a woman refusing to cover her face,

can mean certain death. TRANSLATION: My kids have not been

to school for three years and we lived in constant fear

of upsetting the Islamists. IS might be facing imminent defeat

in Mosul, but the scars run unimaginably deep for those

who suffered at their hands. In the US, a 31-year-old man has

been arrested and charged with making at least eight bomb

threats against Jewish centers. Police have been searching the home

of Juan Thompson in Missouri. Federal officials have been

investigating bomb threats made against nearly 100 organisations

in three dozen states. Prosecutors said he was also charged

with stalking his ex-girlfriend. Our reporter Nada Tawfik

in New York updated us For more let us go to

Nada Tawfik in New York. In theory, this was revenge for an

ex-girlfriend and it caused so much anguish and damage. Absolutely, once

he broke up with his girlfriend is when he started this campaign of

harassment. He sent e-mails and made phone calls to several Jewish

community centres, childcare centres and schools in her name and in his

name, showing that she was trying to frame him. Some of the e-mails were

horrific in nature. He said that she wanted to kill as many Jewish people

as soon as and he said that she wanted to create another new town,

of course referring to the case in December 2012 when 26th of June were

shot. Police have now arrested Mr Thompson and charged him with

cyberstalking in relation to these incidents. Narine a lot more is

coming about about this man and one he was. A former online left leaning

publication said she was a journalist with them and was fired

because he fabricated stories and saucers. If you look at his Twitter

feed, on that feed there were several times when he referred to

his ex-girlfriend is trying to frame him. Again, part of this story he

created that investigators have now said he'd used as a campaign of

harassment against his ex-girlfriend. Investigators are

also trying to work out these 100 threats to various Jewish community

centres. There is a chance that is an allegation that he could be

behind those as well, is that correct? We know for example that

police in misery are now questioning him in regard to the cemetery there.

The historic cemetery where 200 Jewish tombstones were vandalised

and turned over. We don't know why he is a suspect in that yet, but we

know he is being questioned. We are seeing if there are any other ties

or clues that would link him to the other incidents. Officials had been

very swift in their condemnation of this. The US Attorney General says

whatever the condemnation, the said it was un-American. They have said

it strikes at US democracy. Jewish groups have been meeting with the

FBI in Washington about this. Ahead of the charges. The FBI gave

assurances that all of these threats would be fully investigated and it

would look to make more arrests. In this polarised political

environment, he saw threats that have increased recently, that the

Jewish community is very concerned about. Gas, understandably so. Thank

you very much for clarifying all of those details. Our correspondence

reporting from New York. Staying in the US and Donald Trump

is calling it a witch hunt. But the pressure on America's top

law officer continues to build. Jeff Sessions say's he'll step down

from an FBI investigation into alleged Russian interference

in the US elections. Democrats say the Attorney General

lied under oath in failing to declare he met Russia's

ambassador twice during At the centre of the latest

allegations of contact between the Trump administration

and Russia, the Attorney At his confirmation hearing,

he'd failed to tell the Senate about two meetings

with the Russian ambassador. Senior Democrats accuse him

of lying under oath. President Trump says

he still has his full confidence. Jeff Sessions has resisted pressure

to resign, but he has now removed himself from any investigations

looking into the election campaign, including allegations

of Russian interference. The reason I believed

I should recuse myself is because I was involved

in the campaign. To a degree, I think it would have

been perceived but I wouldn't have been objective in participating

in an investigation that might I did not confirm or deny

any investigation. I just felt like I

should clear the air. But he's denied he did anything

wrong, and describes what's been said about his meeting

with the ambassador as unfair President Trump has come

to his defence, tweeting: The real story is all the illegal

leaks of classified and other information.

It is a total witch-hunt. This is Russia's ambassador

to the US, Sergey Kislyak. It's a post he is held

for almost a decade. There has been a furious response

from Russia to allegations in some US news reports that he is a spy.

The Foreign Ministry describing it as a media provocation

and a stunning charge. And when Russia's Foreign Minister

was asked today about the continuing controversy over his ambassador

meeting Jeff Sessions, his reply echoed words

President Trump had used earlier. TRANSLATION: I can only

quote the phrase that has Saying that all this closely

resembles a witch-hunt. Or times of McCarthyism,

which we thought had long passed Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior

adviser, Jared Kushner, was with Michael Flynn,

who has since been sacked as national security adviser,

when he met Ambassador Kislyak after the election.

Daniel Boettcher, BBC News. For more on Russia's reaction

to this story here's the latest from our correspondent

Steve Rosenberg in Moscow. I think there is a recognition here

that not only is Jeff Sessions under pressure, but also Donald Trump is.

That we've have optimism that the state media was pumping out,

building up Donald Trump of the night in shining armour is going to

rescue Russian relations. That may have been misplaced. I want to show

you some Russian newspapers from today, do you get a flavour of what

the media is thinking here. This is from a popular tabloid which is

pro-Kremlin. One of its headline is Trump should get his teeth stuck in

and not give up his own guys. This is advice from the papers with

regards to Jeff Sessions. The paper says that he should actively fight

for Jeff Sessions because he is loyal to him. The paper says if

Donald Trump is weak, he will give him up, but if he is a fighter, he

should get his teeth stuck in and not give him up, otherwise, they, in

other words, Trump's opponents will find more links with Russia and

tried to paint the US administration as a team of cheats. The headline

here is Donald Trump is repeating the mistakes of Richard Nixon. What

does it mean by that? It says that Donald Trump has committed a

colossal mistake in getting rid of Michael Flynn, his national security

adviser, because that created an opening for his opponents to exploit

and make their opening bigger. They will increase tax on the president.

The paper notes that Richard Nixon tried the same tactic in 1973 by

getting rid of his vice president to save himself, but the paper says

that did not work. This paper it talks about surrogate if they act,

the Russian ambassador in Washington. It says he is in the

spotlight which is grating altars are problems with the ambassador and

the embassy. The paper says the Americans will be running away from

Russian diplomats in fear, because any contacts will be seen as

espionage. That was the reaction from Moscow.

Germany accuses the journalists are being a German agent and hurrying

terror. The US man who was shot while trying

to intervene in a deadly gun attack on two Indian men at a Kansas bar

has been invited to visit India. Ian Grillot has been praised

as a hero by Indians. Mr Grillot was shot in the hand

and chest when he tried to stop Malaysia has issued an arrest

warrant for a second North Korean man in connection with the murder

of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother

of North Korea's leader. The man, who works for North Korea's

national airline, is thought to have got to Malaysia two weeks before

the killing at Kuala Lumpur airport. Two journalists in Zimbabwe

have been arrested over a newspaper report describing

President Robert Mugabe as being in bad shape when flew

to Singapore for a medical check-up The editor of the newspaper

and the journalist were charged with undermining and insulting

the office of the President. Another campaign blow

for Francois Fillon, the main centre-right candidate

in the French presidential race. His spokesman has resigned

in the latest fallout over allegations he paid member

of his family for The former Prime Minister will speak

at a major rally on Sunday, where's he's called for supporters

to attend in large numbers The BBC's Hugh Schofield said it

will no doubt be a critical point for the future of his campaign

after todays resignation. The spokesman was

a public face for the campaign, so obviously that

in itself is very embarrassing, but it's not just him,

it's many, many others, sinking ship is how they would see

it in the last couple of days. What's happened is that

we've just seen at this momentum building up,

kind of haemorrhaging now of support, to the point where we

really feel that the situation is fluid.

He is really clinging on by his fingernails

He has a big meeting on Sunday in Paris.

He has called for his supporters to come there from all

over the country to meet him at the Trocadero opposite the

Eiffel Tower, where he is going to give a big

speech and he hopes prove that

he has the bedrock of support of right-wing voters across

If it turns out there is a very big turn-out there, broad-based

support, then he can survive, but you know, no one knows

All one can say is that the pressure is building and

building and building against him, and this other option in the party

of Alain Juppe candidacy is taking greater shape as we speak.

Early results in Northern Ireland's election suggest the main

pro-Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein, will win more seats

Support for the main party that advocates staying part of Britain,

the Democratic Unionists, has fallen, but it's expected

Our Ireland Correspondent Chris Buckler is at a count in Belfast.

The Belfast reputation has long been linked to divisive politics. The

latest announcement from Stormont has been linked to that. People

return to the ballot box to make their choice. After the collapse of

Northern Ireland's power-sharing Government and that is anything but

a laughing matter. For those who find themselves voting against just

ten months after the last election. Think there is too much bickering

and fighting and instead of what they were elected for, instead of

looking after the people and trying to do something for the people,

there is too much in-house fighting. I think they are trying to blame

each other for what is happening in the country. It is a stalemate.

Nothing is happening. The results of these votes look unlikely to make

much difference to that stand-off at Stormont.

CHEERING If walking out of Government was a

gamble for Sinn Fein, it has paid off. They have increased their share

of the vote, narrowing the gap between them and their old partnered

the DUP. A personal success for the only reader and potential Deputy

First Minister Michelle O'Neill. The Deputy First Minister need to do a

lot more than anyone else who is elected. They need to step out of

their comfort zone, make sure they are true to the principles of

power-sharing and work on the basis of equality. Those words will be

seen as a direct message to Arlene Foster on the leader who was forced

out of the office when Sinn Fein brought down power-sharing. The

ordinary man and woman of Northern Ireland once an assembly up and

running and working for them. They want all the parties playing the

role. We are up for that, we have proved we are calling on the other

parties to follow through with that. Stop messing about the devolution

and work for the entire community. The DUP and Sinn Fein have three

weeks to do a deal. Otherwise, people face the prospect of a

Westminster Government taking over the running of Northern Ireland and

beast for a period. To avoid that, Irish nationalists and British

Unionists must come together again and what might matter is how much

they value power. BBC News, Belfast. Farmers use them to optimise crop

yields, delivery companies hope they'll soon play a large part

in their operations. In Ukraine, campaigners

are using them to fight corruption. But drones are a controversial

tactic, as Tom Burridge We want to show people

that corruption kills. So, they film properties belonging

to officials which they believe are disproportionate in size

and value to the salary officials And in this case they say the judge

who lives here hasn't declared This house that costs

about half a million dollars, we don't believe that she made it

in lawful way, that is why we film We have come to meet the judge that

campaigners are investigating. Ever since pro-European protesters

forced a president who was friends with Russia from power,

there has been a massive push And there is a consensus here that

many of the decisions taken in the past by judges

were often swayed by money Judge Malvina Danilova says she has

never been involved in corruption and she claims all of her

wealth is legitimate. And she argues she didn't need

to declare the house filmed by campaigners because it

belongs to her boyfriend. TRANSLATION: Being

rich isn't a crime. I declared everything I had

according to the law and I think the activists were intruding

into my personal life. Do you at least think

that it is good that civil society is scrutinising the wealth

of public officials like you? They have branded the entire

judicial system with a black mark There are a lot of clever

and experienced judges. Simply dismissing everyone

just wouldn't be right. So in Ukraine the judges

are being judged. So is this degree of scrutiny needed

to clean this country up? A pregnant giraffe,

who's due to give birth at a zoo in New York State,

has become an internet sensation. Managers at the Animal Adventure

Park at Harpursville have set up a livestream,

which we can see now, so members of the public

can watch the giraffe, One problem - April doesn't

seem anywhere close Her plight has attracted

nearly 20 million views Let's speak to Jordan Patch

the owner of the Animal Adventure How is able doing? We are doing good

and she is doing well. She is doing very well. She seems to be standing

around a lot, what can we expect as she starts to give birth? Bushby

lying down, I have no idea. Juhasz give birth whilst standing up. A

good thing about the labour process is they hide all signs of labour

because the knee while they would not want predators waiting for her

to become vulnerable. She's going to Mass clues labour resigns from us

pretty well. In the end, what we are looking for is the baby who is

starting to appear. When we see those, it will be anywhere from 30

up and told 60 minutes. It is a very quick process. We are watching all

of the flies. With the idea to stream this come from? We came up

with the idea because many of her supporters knew she was expecting

and people had been checking in to see whether or not she had given

birth. We thought we would put a webcam up and allow guests to check

in on her on their own. We did that and now we're receiving a lot more

interest than we ever expected. You have 20 million viewers. It is just

so staggering that there is that much interest. Who doesn't like

giraffes? Look like that is a fair point. She is 15 years old and this

is her fourth baby. She is pretty experienced. Very much so. She is an

experienced mother. We are not concerned that she is taking a

little bit longer than we anticipated. She knows what she is

doing. We're letting nature take its course. She has never had... She has

never lost a baby or had a stillborn baby, so you're pretty confident

this is something that everybody can enjoy watching? Yes, absolutely. We

do not anticipate any intervention needed by us or any bets. We are

prepared for any offence. I will advise that in the event is an

issue, we may to cut the feed to give it a relatively safe learning

environment for all ages. 94 specifying that. We wish all of you

the best of luck. That is fantastic. The anonymous street-artist, Banksy,

has released his latest But it's completely different

to anything we've seen before. This time, Banksy has designed

a hotel, built along the wall that separates the Palestinians

and Israelis in Bethlehem. An apparent chemical attack on east

Mosul has left 12 people, Shells were fired into the east of

the city. This comes as thousands of civilians continue to escape the

embattled city. A recent capture by Iraqi forces has justified the group

pot practice of using so-called human shields. You're watching BBC

News. Good evening. The weather will be

flip-flopping between sunshine and