21/01/2018 BBC News at Ten

opening up a complex new front

in the conflict.

Turkey is acting against a Kurdish

militia that has been

fighting Islamic State,

but it regards as

a terrorist group.

Turkey is clearly committed

militarily to this operation,

and has widespread popular support

here.

But if the Turks suffer losses

or a civilian casualties

grow, that could change.

With an emergency debate due

at the United Nations tomorrow,

Turkey's being urged

to show restraint.

Also tonight:

Is your relationship with her over?

No comment.

Ukip leader Henry Bolton's personal

life costs him the support

of the party's ruling body -

now the membership

will decide his fate.

EXPLOSION.

The 12 hour battle to end

an attack on a Kabul hotel,

where foreign nationals

were targeted and killed.

Heavy rain brings flooding and

mudslides to South West England -

elsewhere snow and ice cause

problems on the roads.

And at last something

to cheer about down under,

as England win the one day series

against Australia.

Good evening.

Turkey is being urged to show

restraint tonight, as it continues

an offensive into northern Syria

that its feared will further

destabilise a war-torn region.

Turkish troops crossed the border

with Syria as part of a military

effort to target a Kurdish militia

in the province of Afrin.

The Kurdish group has been backed

by the United States in the fight

against so-called Islamic State.

But Turkey regards it

as a terrorist organisation.

From the border, Mark Lowen

reports on a potential

new front in the Syrian war.

As if Syria needed more of this.

Artillery fire from Turkey,

launching a new ground

and air offensive.

It's called Operation Olive Branch,

though it's anything

but a gesture of peace.

From the air, Turkish

F-16s struck yesterday.

Their target - the Syrian

Kurdish militia, or YPG.

Turkey sees them as terrorists,

linked to the outlawed PKK,

who have long fought an insurgency

in Turkey on behalf

of the Kurdish minority.

And it wants them pushed back

from the border town of Afrin.

Turkey's president has his own

troops fighting for their hero.

And with elections next year,

war rallies his support base.

TRANSLATION:

This is

a national struggle,

and in this national struggle,

we will crush anyone

who stands against us.

That's a message that

resonates in border villages,

where grape grower Omer Gazel

and his friends watched the jets.

TRANSLATION:

We felt proud

and happy as they took off.

Everyone came out

to bid them farewell.

But the YPG has backing, too.

Both in Syria, where Kurds

rallied today, and beyond.

TRANSLATION:

We condemn

the attack on Afrin,

and we tell our brothers

there that they are in our hearts,

and that we are with them.

Because of the bravery

of the YPG heroes, we will win

the battle in Afrin.

The US armed them in the fight

against the Islamic State group,

infuriating Turkey.

France too voiced support

for them today, calling

on Turkey to pull back.

But the Turks are ploughing on.

This unverified footage posted

on pro-government media aiming

to prove Turkey's military might.

In the hills beside the border

we found a further build-up,

as the offensive shows no

sign of ending.

Reinforcements are perched here,

a show of strength, ready to back up

the ground troops and fighter jets

who are ready inside Syria.

Every few minutes, you hear the thud

of an artillery strike.

Turkey has clearly committed

militarily to this operation,

and has widespread popular support

here.

But if the Turks suffer losses

or civilian casualties

grow, that could change.

And the risk is clear.

This border town was hit

by a rocket, said to be

from the YPG, killing one

and injuring more.

Turkey is on dangerous ground,

and a likely long, costly offensive

is only just beginning.

Tonight Turkey is looking

diplomatically isolated. The US,

France, Russia and Iran have spoken

out against the offensive, a

reminder of how Syria has dragged in

summary different powers fighting

their own proxy wars. France has

called on the UN Security Council to

discuss the operation tomorrow. But

it is the US most at odds with

Turkey. One has armed the YPG, the

other fighting to destroy it. Turkey

and the US are vital Nato members,

but this new front in the Syrian war

has thrown this vital relationship

towards breaking point.

Mark Lowen, thank you.

Ukip's National Executive Committee

has backed a vote of no confidence

in the party leader, Henry Bolton,

as he faces further questions

over his personal life.

After a brief relationship

with Jo Marney - whose texts

about Meghan Markle became public -

he says his personal life shouldn't

affect his political career.

Party members will now be asked

to vote on his future.

Here's our political

correspondent Ben Wright..

I'm not making any comment.

Shortly before Ukip's top brass met

to discuss their beleaguered

leader's fate, Henry Bolton

came out fighting.

You could at that point say

the National Executive Committee

of my own party don't have

confidence in me as leader,

I'd better stand down.

I could do but I shan't.

You won't?

No, I won't.

The former soldier has only been

in the job for months,

and it is his fleeting relationship

with 25-year-old Jo Marney that

has got him noticed.

Last week he dropped his

new girlfriend after it emerged

she had sent racist text messages

about Prince Harry's

fiancee, Meghan Markle.

But the two of them were then

spotted out at a London bar.

We're now talking about this

leadership thing being a moral

court, as to the state

of my marriage and my

personal relationships.

What is important to

the nation and to the voters,

and the 17.4 million people

who voted to leave

the European Union, is that this

country gets its independence back

from Brussels and that we can move

forward on that basis

towards being a confident nation.

Henry Bolton became the fourth

Ukip leader in a year,

and promised to bring fresh focus

to the fractious and

floundering party.

But even some of its leading

figures think it could now

be curtains for Ukip.

If we have got a situation

where we are wiped out

in the county council elections,

and then in the general election,

if we are wiped out again

in the district elections too,

then maybe people are going to have

to get round the table and say,

"Is the electorate is trying

to tell us something?

Is that, thank you very

much and good night?"

Earlier this month, the UK

National Executive agreed

to have an emergency meeting today

about their leader's recent antics.

Today's emergency Ukip meeting has

been held in huge secrecy,

and after a lot of digging,

we found out it is being held here,

in the office of the Ukip general

secretary, Paul Oakley,

who's a barrister.

Now this meeting will determine,

possibly, Henry Bolton's fate.

He went in insisting

he was not going to quit.

But it's clear that many

on the Ukip NEC want him to go.

The meeting lasted three hours,

and passed a unanimous vote

of no-confidence in the Ukip leader.

Henry was offered the opportunity

to resign but he has made clear

that he feels he is the right man

to lead the party forward.

And he will now go through

the process of defending himself

to the party via the EGM.

That means the wider Ukip membership

will have to endorse or reject

today's decision at a general

meeting within the next 28 days.

But for now, Henry Bolton soldiers

on without any support

at the top of his party.

Ben Wright, BBC News.

14 foreign nationals working

in the Afghan capital Kabul have

been targeted and killed

in a terrorist attack

on a major hotel.

It took Afghan security forces 12

hours to take control

of the Intercontinental Hotel,

killing the gunmen who stormed it.

Four Afghan citizens

were also killed.

The Taliban says it

carried out the attack.

Zia Shahreyar

reports from Kabul.

The final moments of a fight that

had lasted all night.

Gunfire and explosions,

as Afghan special forces

battle to regain control

of the Intercontinental Hotel.

One soldier throws a grenade.

He moves away, then the explosion.

The room is soon on fire.

Evidence of the struggle

that had taken place.

The Afghan national flag

waving from the roof,

proof that the building

has been retaken.

We are in the area.

You can see the Hotel

Intercontinental on the hill

in Kabul, and as you can see,

it has been burned, part

of the hotel has been burned.

And black smoke blackens

the southern part of the hotel.

More than 150 people,

including some foreigners,

were inside yesterday evening

when gunmen burst

in and opened fire.

Eyewitnesses said they

were after foreigners.

TRANSLATION:

The attackers

were knocking on the door of each

room, trying to reach their targets.

They killed ordinary

people and officials.

They were also targeting foreigners.

These images filmed by local TV

showed people escaping by climbing

down the sheets that they had

tied to balconies.

This telecoms engineer fell

from the sixth floor

as he tried to get away.

TRANSLATION:

When the sixth floor

caught fire this morning,

my roommates told me to either

burn or escape.

I got a bed sheet and

tied to the balcony.

I tried to come down but I was heavy

and my arms were not strong enough.

I fell down and injured

my shoulder and leg.

This sustained and complex assault

will prompt urgent questions

as to how the gunmen got through.

A 54-year-old man has been arrested,

after the death of an eight-year-old

girl from stab wounds.

Mylee Billingham was rushed

to hospital from a house

at Brownhills in the West Midlands,

but couldn't be saved.

Police are waiting to speak

to the man, who's also in hospital

with a stab wound to the stomach.

Officers say they're not

looking for anyone else.

Thousands of women are demonstrating

in Las Vegas tonight,

in the latest protest to mark

the anniversary of President

Trump's inauguration.

Rallies have already taken place

this weekend in other US

cities and in Europe.

In Las Vegas, women are being urged

to register to vote ahead of this

year's mid term US elections.

Rajini Vaidyanathan reports.

All the way from Paris to London, to

Las Vegas, women have been making

their voices heard.

Last year we

were angry. And that's why we turned

out. This year we are organised and

that's why we are turning out.

Empowered, and I'm ready to get

people talking about these issues

and get people excited.

A year into

Donald Trump's presidency and the

focus is not just on the man himself

but his policies. Many believe his

immigration plans adversely affect

women.

He is pushing to make birth

control less accessible to women.

This is just ridiculous how he is

supposed to be for the people, but

he is against the people.

In the

wake of the B2 movement and a

growing conversation around equal

pay, many are here to fight on other

issues. Franey, who came here with

her five-year-old daughter, this is

personal.

For 12 years I was the

victim of domestic violence that my

children observed, now I am free,

finally, thank goodness, through no

help of the systems that are

supposed to help us. I hope the

world will listen and we can create

systematic change to help little

girls like Charlie and myself.

One

way organisers think that change can

help is by getting more women to

register to vote and even run for

office. They are channelling their

energy on this year's mid-term

congressional elections. The state

of Nevada was picked for this rally

because it is a swing state, a

Senate is -- a Senate seat Democrats

believe they can win back. There may

be thousands of women here, but

don't forget, anyone the election

with a majority of white women

voters. Many of those think he is

doing a great job for women. And so,

like so many issues here in the

United States, even women's rights,

is one where this country is deeply

divided.

divided.

A former Premier League

footballer is about to become

president of the West African

nation of Liberia.

George Weah - who played for Chelsea

and Manchester City -

told the BBC he was ready to meet

the expectations of his people.

He will be sworn in tomorrow.

His victory is the latest

extraordinary chapter in Liberia's

emergence from the horrors

of civil war.

From the capital Monrovia, here's

our Africa Editor, Fergal Keane.

A fanfare for the people's man

who rose from the slums to become

an international football star,

and now president of his country.

How are you doing?

George Weah is the face

of a changing nation.

For the first time in over 70 years,

power is being transferred between

democratically elected leaders.

Can you possibly be as successful

a president as a footballer?

Well, you only look at me

as a former footballer,

but I am a human being.

I strive to be excellent,

and I can be successful.

COMMENTATOR:

George Weah,

he has one to contend with,

he plays a 1-2, George Weah!

Today he was leading a team of

friends against an army selection.

And still scoring.

It was in Europe, playing for teams

like Chelsea and AC Milan,

that he became a legend.

Fifa Footballer of the Year.

George Weah inherits

a nation still struggling

with the legacy of war.

Nearly two thirds of the population

live below the poverty line.

In Claratown, the slum

where he grew up, they are hoping

he will bring jobs,

health care, housing.

When you come here to the streets

where George Weah grew up,

the scale of problems facing Liberia

is very clear.

For any kind of meaningful change

to take place, peace is essential,

and this is a generation that has

grown up without knowing war,

in a country that was once

a byword for anarchy.

In 14 years of war, a quarter

of a million people were killed.

Child soldiers like Joseph Duo

became symbols of pitiless violence.

Today, he's one of those looking

to George Weah in hope.

Like his nation, Joseph

is scarred by the past

but determined not to repeat it.

Doing homework with his children,

Joseph's life challenges those

who would write off a nation,

even a continent, as failed.

What do you hope George

Weah can do for you?

We hope he will design programmes

and bring investors,

Joseph tells me, so there will be

jobs, and we can have a better

Liberia than before.

Expectations are high.

Can George Weah possibly

meet them, I asked?

Whether or not I am going

to meet the expectations,

because the one thing,

when people love you,

you have to strive for them.

The Liberians love me,

for what I have done before

in my life, and to make

sure that they are OK,

I am going to do it again.

Football teaches that

you can't succeed alone,

and the new president has

the people on-side.

But, more than anything now,

George Weah is going

to need their patience.

Fergal Keane, BBC News, Monrovia.

Extreme weather is affecting

several parts of the UK,

with flooding and mudslides in South

west England and snow and ice

causing problems elsewhere.

The Met Office issued

yellow "be aware" warnings

for many parts today.

Tonight there's concern about ice

as temperatures fall

in North East England.

Phil Bodmer reports.

After the snow came the rain,

and with it, flooding.

The south-west bearing the brunt.

Police say a number

of roads are affected by

flood water and mud slides,

like here in Mudeford, North Devon.

At the Jack Russell

in at swing bridge

near Barnstaple, they were surveying

the damage caused by the flooding.

The kitchen's just as bad.

We've turned everything.

Emergency services helped others.

This flood water rose

in Barnstaple and Kuhn Martin.

In Scotland, two climbers

were airlifted to safety in

the Highlands.

The pair were winched to safety

from 3000 feet after a night

on the mountain in Glencoe.

Glasgow airport closed

for a brief period

this afternoon, so that the runway

could be cleared, after some very

heavy snow.

Well, tonight, much of Britain

remains in winter's icy grip.

Here in Leeds, gritting teams have

been working nonstop to keep

the road network sorted,

with temperatures hovering around

zero degrees.

Northern England also

experienced heavy snow.

This was South Yorkshire.

In Sheffield, drivers

left their cars

at home.

With forecasters predicting milder

conditions ahead, there may

be some better news

for commuters next week.

Phil Bodmer, BBC News.

With all the sport, here's

Lizzie Greenwood Hughes

at the BBC Sport Centre.

Thanks very much.

Good evening.

England's cricketers bounced-back

from their Ashes defeat by winning

the one-day series against Australia

with two games to spare.

Man of the match Jos Butler hit

a brilliant century in Sydney to set

the hosts a target of 303.

And despite losing fast bowler

Liam Plunkett to injury,

England went on to win by 16 runs.

Kyle Edmund says, "You have

to believe", after reaching his

first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

The British number two came

from a set down to make

it to the last eight

of the Australian Open Tennis,

as our correspondent

David Ornstein reports.

Carrying the hopes of a nation is no

easy task, but in the absence of

Andy Murray Britain has a new

flag-bearers. Kyle Edmund's rise has

been steady, his form spectacular.

It did seem that was about to change

when against Andreas Seppi he lost

the opening set and went down a

break of serve in the second. He was

quick to respond. A switch of shoes

coinciding with a change in fortune.

There was no looking back. A decade

Seppi's Junior, Edmund is the higher

ranked and soon the Gulf in quality

became apparent. Both men were

struggling -- hoping to reach a

grand slam semifinal --

quarterfinal. Edmund became the

first British man other than Murray

to make the last eight in Melbourne

since 1995.

Hopefully we have more

British the future. For me,

personally, I'm very happy to get

through and I will keep doing my

best. I know people are waking up at

home at silly hours. I'm grateful

for that.

He now faces Grigor

Dimitrov. Whatever the outcome,

Britain appears to have a new star

to celebrate.

David Ornstein, BBC News.

There was just one game

in the Premier League today.

Match of the Day 2 and Sportscene

are on BBC One later,

so if you don't want to know

the results, you know what to do.

Southampton are still in the bottom

three after drawing with Tottenham.

Harry Kane scored the Spurs goal,

and now only needs one more

to reach his 100th in the Premier

League.

And Hearts beat their Edinburgh

rivals Hibs to a place in the fifth

round of the Scottish Cup.

Former Malaga manager

Javi Gracia has been named

as Watford's new head coach,

hours after they sacked Marco Silva.

Watford are currently 10th

in the Premier League.

Saracens' hopes of a third

consecutive European

title were kept alive,

thanks to Premiership rivals Wasps,

who beat Ulster in the Champions Cup

today, gifting Saracens

the last quarterfinal place.

They join Scarlets as the only

British teams in the last eight.

And while we have been on the air,

Mark Allen as just won Sanogo's

masters for the first time. He held

off a comeback from Kyren Wilson to

win 10-7 in a tense final at

Alexandra Palace. That is it from

me. There is more on the BBC News

channel, including how Tommy

Fleetwood stormed to the Abu Dhabi

title. Back to you. Thank you.

That's all from me, stay

with us on BBC One ,

it's time for the news

where you are.