03/01/2016 BBC News at Ten

The battle for Ramadi - our exclusive report

from inside the Iraqi city on the front line against so called

Thousands of civilians are living among the ruins,

with little food or water - days after the Iraqi government said

IS militants still control parts of the centre -

their flags are still flying just a few hundred yards from here,

At the same time a new propaganda video from IS in Syria -

After protests in Iran over Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shia

cleric, the Saudis break off diplomatic relations with Tehran.

Here, an extra ?40 million is promised for flood defences

in Yorkshire, but the Government's approach is criticised

And in South Africa Ben Stokes hits the fastest ever double

Nearly a week after Iraqi government forces claimed to have liberated

the key city of Ramadi from so-called Islamic State,

large parts of it remain under the extremists' control -

Thousands of civilians are trapped in Ramadi,

and the BBC's become the first international broadcaster to reach

Our correspondent Thomas Fessy travelled into the heart of the city

This is what the fight against Islamic State has

Six months of brutal Jihadi rule, a government offensive

and coalition air strikes have devastated the city.

We set off with the Iraqi special forces to see

what the victory they claimed a week ago looks like.

As we push into the centre, it is clear that the

This is the front line in Iraq's war against IS.

This building used to be a school, but guns have now replaced

The soldiers say that they have regained much of the city,

but the fight is still going on and IS militants still control

Their flags are still flying just a few hundred

Peer through the sniper's window and you can see

But look to the right - you can see the black banners

Government troops say fighting IS is the hardest of all battles.

Much of the front line is rigged with

explosives and IS is an unpredictable enemy.

The West has trained Iraqi soldiers for this fight.

The US, Britain and their partners are conducting air strikes

The support from coalition forces is important

to us, because without them we would suffer a lot more casualties.

An air strike is called in as families emerge

Iraqi troops are taking them to safety.

This woman says her house was blown up, and she told me

that she and her husband were taken by

the Jihadis and used as human shields.

Each time there was bombing, our homes would shake.

We had no food, no bread, no water and we were

A warm meal and a first taste of freedom.

This woman escaped with her children, still traumatised.

Their mother tells me how IS ruled their lives.

We were not allowed outside without a man and we were forced

We were not allowed to use mobile phones.

Victor Riu is still with a wind here. -- Victor Riu is still.

The war against Islamic State in Iraq is not ending,

There will be more destruction and more families to save.

Islamic State militants in Syria have released a video claiming

to show the execution of five men accused of spying for Britain.

The video, which we're not showing, features a masked man

speaking English with a British accent, who threatens the UK.

With me is our security correspondent, Gordon Corera.

There are a lot of propaganda videos released by IS. What is different

about this one? That's right, there are. I think there are a few notable

elements to this one. It isn't that long since Jihadi John, the man

known as Mohammed Emwazi, was killed in the inner strike -- drone strike

in Raqqa. But here we have a man, with a British accent, appealing to

want to take on the mantle of Jihadi John, as propagandist in chief for

IS, at least when it comes to Britain. Intelligence sources will

be trying to work out who he is, but in terms of the content of the video

it is a bit more unpredictable. You hear the individual making threats,

talking about an invasion of Britain, David Cameron. Also his

involvement in the execution of five people alleged to be spying for

Britain. They do not appear to be Britain's themselves, but appear to

be Syrians. They make confessions but they could be coursed. It is

possible those are activists trying to get information to the outside

world and the public in the outside world about what was going on,

rather than spies. It is hard to be sure but the point is to deter

people from becoming informers because it may well have been

informers that track down Jihadi John. Another disturbing aspect of

the video is that there is a child in it? That's right. Towards the end

of the video there is a brief section where we see a child about

five years old speaking and speaking in English. It is hard to tell from

the accent whether they are definitely British or not. It is

known that some people have gone out to Syria with children and security

forces will also be investigating that to try to establish the

identity of that child. Thank you very much.

Within the past few hours, Saudi Arabia has announced it's

severing ties with Iran, as the diplomatic crisis

between the two countries intensifies.

The Saudi government's decision yesterday to execute a prominent

Shia Muslim cleric, along with dozens of other prisoners,

has led to more protests today in Iran, a Shia country.

As our diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall reports,

the row is fuelling tensions across the region.

An already dangerous rift is widening in the Middle East. In

Tehran today, anger at Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent

cleric was not abating. Death to the house of Saud, referring to the

Saudi royal family. They say he was put to death with links to terrorism

and in Iran he now has marked status. A street was named after him

right outside of the Saudi embassy, which last night was stormed by a

furious crowd which set fire to posters of the Saudi King -- martyr

status. Iran's moderate president said the attack was unjustified. But

addressing clerics today, Iran's supreme leader took a harder line,

warning Saudi leaders would face divine vengeance for spilling a

martyr's blood, and this evening the Saudis retaliated. The Saudi Foreign

Minister accused Iran of distributing weapons and funding

terrorist cells across the region. In response, he said the Saudi

kingdom was severing diplomatic relations and ordering all rainy and

diplomats to leave within two days. This row is not just about the Saudi

executions -- all Iranians diplomats. This goes back centuries.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest Sunni power in the Middle East and Iran is

the biggest Shia power. Because this cleric came from Saudi Arabia's Shia

minority it is probably inevitable his death would cause trouble and

across the Middle East there will be repercussions. In Syria and Iran and

Saudi Arabia have backed opposite sides, Proulx and against President

Assad and getting them to unite will now be much harder -- pro and

against. They also compete in Iraq and in the past year they have been

engaged in a fierce and bloody proxy war in Yemen. The worry is tensions

will no snowball. These protests today were in Bahrain, another

country where Shia and Sunni are divided. Tonight the United States

appealed for calm, but it is not clear they are in a mood to listen.

Here, the Government has pledged an extra ?40 million for flood

defences in Yorkshire, after it was battered

But concerns have been raised about nationwide levels of funding.

Drainage experts have warned that the number of homes at risk

of flooding could almost double within 20 years,

unless there's a significant increase in spending.

Our political correspondent, Chris Mason reports.

Look beyond the water, and you find resentment,

It is about preparation and forward planning.

That's really what government is for.

People are upset about it, and there is a lot of anger.

Now the Government's promised ?10 million to repair and improve

the barrier on the River Foss that failed, leading to 600

The problem here was that the Foss barrier, the electrics

in that were in danger of failing

and if it had been stuck in the down position without the pumps

operating, we would have seen 1,800 houses probably

flooded, three times as many as we sadly did see flooded

At flooding, of course, is nothing new.

The Somerset Levels, two years ago, and familiar argument is about flood

The Association of Drainage Authorities points out

that the annual cost of flood and storm damage is estimated

It also says that the number of households in England and Wales

at significant risk of flood damage could increase from 330,000

currently to 570,000 in 2035 as a result of a reduction

in our capacity to manage water levels.

This is an row about more than money.

Crises like flooding can help shape the perception of a government

Ministers are proud of trying to create what they describe

as a northern powerhouse, but opposition MPs returning

here to Westminster this week will suggest that

that is an empty slogan.

We've seen year on year cuts from this Government from 2010,

apart from a brief blip when they were shamed into action

Now all we're getting is ?40 million, only spent in Yorkshire.

It is nowhere near enough money to make up for the backlog

of repairs that have accumulated since 2010.

Ministers insist that flood defence spending is going up and will reach

But the consequences of heavy rain continue.

This was Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire, today.

Here and elsewhere, more people are asking if their homes

Meanwhile people in parts of eastern Scotland are being warned to expect

more flooding, with heavy

rain forecast in areas which are still clearing up

In all, more than 30 flood warnings are in place in Scotland,

as our correspondent Catriona Renton reports.

People in Ballater are still coming to terms with last week's flooding.

When the water came down here, it got up

You've seen pictures of it, just at the botom of this wall.

Then obviously into the house, blew the manhole covers off.

But the people I have talked to, I mean,

It came up withhin about ten, 15 minutes.

And then stayed up for a while, then the levels went down

again, but in that time frame it just wiped the caravan site,

went through all the houses, the devastation was

With persistent rain since yesterday, and an already

swollen River Dee, this flood barrier is providing reassurance.

From a psychological point of view, over the building of the barrier

yesterday we had a large number of locals coming up to us and saying

that, you know, really they felt a lot safer with the fact

And that they would be better in their homes at night.

And this was the dramatic moment, when the Aberdeen lifeboat team used

rockets to help reconnect power across the river.

Upstream, 450-year-old Abergeldie Castle near

Balmoral is on the brink after the river eroded the banks.

So far this flood barrier hasn't had to be

tested yet, but this is a waiting game.

The Met Office amber warnings are still in place for more than 24

hours, so people in affected parts of Scotland will have to wait

and see what the weather has to throw at them.

A member of Labour's Shadow Cabinet has warned that the party needs

a diverse front bench, in response to reports that

Jeremy Corbyn is planning a reshuffle to remove those

who disagree with him on key policies.

Michael Dugher, the Shadow Culture Secretary, made a plea for unity,

saying Labour was a "broad church, not a religious cult".

Let's join our political correspondent, Alex Forsyth

What is his response likely to be to this? It is no secret the Labour

leader disagrees with some of his key secretaries, like Hilary Benn

who supported air strikes in stereo or Maria Eagle who supports the

renewal of the Trident nuclear system, and there is widespread

speculation that Jeremy Corbyn will reshuffle his Shadow Cabinet perhaps

as early as this week to remove those who disagree with him. The

risk is that by doing so he will deepen the divisions in Labour,

because some say that runs contrary to Corbyn's on claim to welcome

debate and differing views. Others say Labour must speak with a united

voice on these key issues. While Jeremy Corbyn wrestles with yet

another leadership dilemma, some backbenchers are warning that all

the time Labour is focused on its own internal issues it cannot be an

effective opposition to the Government. Alex Forsyth, thank you

very much. With all the sport, here's

Olly Foster at the BBC Sport Centre. The England all-rounder Ben Stokes

says he was just trying to score as many boundaries as he could

beacuse it was too hot to run He made 258 in the second Test

against South Africa, the fastest Test double century

by an Englishman. His 399-run partnership

with Jonny Bairstow for the sixth Test cricket is often about waiting

- not when Ben Stokes goes On 74 overnight it took him three

deliveries to hit his first four. In less than a quarter of an hour he

had gone past 100. Stokes batting like a man

who believed he could stick one on top of there, against a team

still officially at Test cricket's Some see shades of Ian Botham

and Andrew Flintoff. No Englishman has got

there quicker in Test cricket. Jonny Bairstow had been operating

in the shadows by comparison, He had waited a long time

for his first Test century. No English pair had scored as much

of this in nearly 60 years Alastair Cook declared

shortly afterwards. If your opponents have scored 629

runs, there can be a tendency There is a time for

patience as well as power. Wickets would not come

that easily again. South Africa resisted any further

heroics. The South African captain Amla

led them to the close. Tomorrow they will need guts

and a little genius. England players were wearing black

armbands today in memory of the Sussex bowler

Matthew Hobden whose death The 22-year-old was in the England

performance programme and was due to travel to South Africa

later this month. His death is currently

being treated as "unexplained". There were two matches

in the Premier League today, and the goals are on Match

of the Day 2 after the news, or following Sportscene if you're

watching in Scotland, either way, I've got

the results, if you want them. Chelsea beat Crystal Palace

3-0 at Selhurst Park. Interim manager Guus Hiddink says

they can still qualify The other match today

was at Goodison Park, with fourth placed Tottenham draeing

1-all against Everton. Harlequins are up to third

in the Rugby Union Premiership. They beat Worcester

at the Sixways Stadium. Their wing Charlie Walker scored two

of their three tries and at one Worcester rallied but Quins hung

on for the victory 24 points to 20. Gary Anderson has retained his PDC

World Darts Championship title. The Flying Scotsman beat

Jackpot Adrian Lewis seven sets to five

in an enthralling final at Alexandra Palace,

that had a record 34 1-80's thrown. Lewis was a double champion himself,

but Anderson prevailed to claim the 300 thousand pound

winner's cheque. Well done to him. Actor Michelle. --

back to Michelle. To mark the 40th anniversary

of the Prince's Trust, the Prince of Wales has been

speaking about the difficulties In an interview for an ITV

documentary, he said that at first "people didn't see the point"

of the Trust. Our royal correspondent

Peter Hunt reports. Not an audition for Royals got

Talent - rather an Ant and Dec documentary about the future king,

focusing on the Prince's Trust, which for 40 years has helped

disadvantaged young people. A lot of people thought

you were pretty mad, that a prince of the realm would go

out and help disadvantaged children and youngsters and help them

get on the right path. That is the same story

of my life, really. We had to overcome people

who don't see the point. In their quest to understand

the trust, which has helped hundreds of thousands of people,

Ant and Dec also quizzed Charles' son about his father

and the impact of fatherhood. I'm a lot more emotional

than I used to be. I never used to really get too wound

up or worried about things, but now the smallest things can make

to well up a bit more. You get affected by things that

happen around the world or whatever a lot more, I think, as a father,

just because you realise how It puts it all in perspective,

the idea of not being around During filming, Charles became

a grandad for the second time. He is delighted but his doting

doesn't yet extend to some duties. No, I don't think -

I'm not sure I would! I suppose at a pinch,

I could. It is so nice having

a granddaughter. Hopefully somebody to have an eye

on me when I am tottering about. You have to go to the gym

after all the food you have eaten. You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.