25/09/2016 BBC Weekend News

Britain accuses Russia of war crimes against civilians in Syria,

as the air and ground offensive intensifies

Syrian troops continue a massive offensive to drive out rebels,

At the UN Britain's Ambassador says the conflict has

Bunker busting bombs, more suited to destroying military installations,

are now destroying homes, decimating bomb shelters, crippling, naming,

killing dozens, if not hundreds. We'll hear live from

the United Nations in New York This was to cure a medical

condition. Speaking for the first time

since his medical records records were leaked,

Sir Bradley Wiggins defends his use Let nobody in the Labour Party claim

a monopoly of principal. Senior Labour MPs are told

to stay in the party and fight for their beliefs -

despite Jeremy Corbyn Prince George gets a little

fatherly reassurance, Britain has accused Russian forces

of committing war crimes against civilians in Syria,

where government troops backed by Russian air power are continuing

a major offensive to retake the northern city of Aleppo

from rebel fighters. At an emergency meeting of the UN

Security Council in New York, the British ambassador said Russia

had "unleashed hell". The United States accused

Russia of "barbarism". Russia has insisted that

it's fighting extremism, and accused Syrian rebels

of sabotaging The Syrian government as Michal

Duris assault continues, diplomacy apparently unable to stop the

carnage. In rebel held eastern Aleppo, home to more than 250,000

people overnight air strikes leave buildings smouldering, fires

blazing. After 1500 days of war the people of Aleppo thought they'd seen

it all. The scale of the latest destruction is stunning. At least

150 air strikes and a mounting toll of civilians, including many women

and children. Britain now accusing Syria and Russia of the gravest of

crimes. After five years of conflict you

might think that the regime has had its fill of barbarity, that it's

sick bloodlust against its own people has finally run its course.

But this weekend the regime and Russia have instead plunged to new

depths. In short it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with

the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes. Among this weekend's

desperate scenes, the miraculous rescue of five-year-old girl pulled

from the rubble of a building where her parents and four siblings are

said to have died. Her name is being invoked in this diplomatic row. It

is apocalyptic, what is being done to eastern Aleppo. Surely a

five-year-old who has lost her entire family, this council can at

the very least have the courage to say who is responsible for this and

in a single voice tell Russia to stop. But Russia is in no mood to

apologise, saying its terrorists not civilians it is trying to hit.

TRANSLATION: More than 200,000 people in Aleppo have become

prisoners of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist

groups. They are trying to use women and children as a human shield.

There is no doubt fighters once loyal to Al-Qaeda are playing a key

role in the battle against government forces. The assault on

Aleppo is indiscriminate. The city is running out of food, medicine and

fuel. The UN is warning that if this is the prelude to the ground

offensive what's left of Aleppo will be destroyed. Paul Adams, BBC News.

Let's speak to our North America correspondent Nick Bryant who's

Nick, the language from America and Britain at the Security Council

meeting is very, very strong indeed. What impact is it likely to have,

though? Clive, over the years we've seen

many angry Security Council meetings where Western ambassadors have

joined together to condemn the actions of the Syrian government.

What we saw today was something different. America, Britain and

France joining together to launch a blistering attack on the Russians.

Saying that when it comes to the bombing of Aleppo the Assad regime,

and Vladimir Putin's government, are the selfsame thing. Britain's

ambassador said that the Russians were partnering with the Assad

regime to carry out war crimes. He also said at a time when the

Russians should be trying to salvage diplomacy they were trying to stymie

it. The Americans and French made the same point. How could the

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appear at the United Nations

last week and say he was committed to be ceasefire agreement at the

very moment when Russian warplanes were being loaded up with these

sophisticated weapons and readying themselves to launch fresh attacks

on Aleppo? Russia's ambassador has said tonight that peace in Syria is

now all but impossible and Britain's ambassador is well said the

diplomatic track that led to that ceasefire agreement is all but dead.

Nick, many thanks for that, Nick Bryant in New York.

The Olympic champion cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins,

has defended his use of medical certificates allowing him to take

otherwise banned substances to treat his asthma.

Online hackers, calling themselves Fancy Bears,

leaked confidential medical records last week.

Last month Sir Bradley Wiggins became

Today he was defending his reputation.

The cyclist is one of many leading athletes who have had

their therapeutic use exemptions, or TUEs

These allow the use of banned treatments

The hack revealed Sir Bradley received TUEs for powerful steroid

injections days before the Tour de France in

2011 and 2012, the year he won.

But in his first interview since the controversy erupted ten

days ago Sir Bradley told the BBC's Andrew

Marr programme he took the

This was to cure a medical condition and

The governing body, the World Anti-Doping Agency,

This wasn't about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage.

This was about putting myself back on a level

playing field in order to

What's to become of a cycling superhero?

The interview was recorded before a former team doctor

of Sir Bradley's told BBC's Newsnight he was

surprised the cyclist was allowed to use the corticosteroid

In his autobiography Sir Bradley wrote that he'd never used a needle.

I was writing it with a cycling journalist who was very

knowledgeable on the sport and lived through the whole era of the Lance

From your point of view needles meant

having been doping and the answer was no?

All of the questions at that time were very much loaded

Competing in Belgium today, Team Sky, who Wiggins used to

ride for, have always claimed to have a strong ethical stance on

doping and have defended their use of TUEs.

whether it is performance enhancing and although there is no suggestion

Sky or Sir Bradley broken the rules some

are not happy the drug was

A lot of people will be very disappointed that they have crossed

an ethical line, if not a legal line. For a lot of people I think

the drug that Bradley Wiggins used does cross an ethical line. With

trust in sport wearing thin the league of confidential information

has raised serious questions over whether the TUE system needs reform.

With his legacy on the line Sir Bradley Wiggins insists he stayed

within both the letter and the spirit of the laws.

Sir Bradley Wiggins finally breaks his silence and he and his advisers,

no doubt, will hope that that interview this morning will quell

some of the criticism he has received. The problem he faces,

however, is some issues were not addressed and therefore inevitably

remain not least that he was struggling with his help in the

build-up in 2012 in the build-up to the Tour de France yet there is no

reference in his book and explanation of why he went from

inhalers to put steroid injections. Questions for Team Sky and why they

supported those TUE applications. They've said nothing apart from a

short statement. Sir Bradley Wiggins has established himself both on the

road and the track as one of cycling and Rogic sport's greats but this

evening he and Team Sky and the whole TUE system face scrutiny like

many before. Many thanks, Dan Roan.

In America, a man has been arrested after five people were shot

dead at a shopping mall in Washington state.

The 20-year-old suspect, who's a US citizen born in Turkey,

was taken into custody following a 24-hour manhunt.

The motive for the killings isn't clear.

NHS managers and patients' groups, have welcomed the suspension

of all planned strike action by junior doctors in England.

The British Medical Association is calling

off industrial action because of concerns about patient

safety, but says its dispute with the government over

The BMA says doctors will seek other ways to oppose its imposition.

In the wake of Jeremy Corbyn's resounding re-election

victory as Labour leader, several senior MPs who wanted him

to step down say they'll stay in the party and fight

The former Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, whose sacking led

to a wave of resignations, told activists they should rise

above the most vile abuse being thrown at them by other

Our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, reports

from the party conference in Liverpool.

This is our party and we stay and we fight.

APPLAUSE Packed in, hardly room to stand. In

this room Jeremy Corbyn's victory was a loss. These MPs and activists

are the outsiders now. So many gathered they filled the

back lane too. Let nobody in the Labour Party claim a monopoly of

principal. But Speaker after speaker have said

that they are destroyed by yesterday's result.

People are disappointed but, look, we live in a democracy and Jeremy

won, we have to accept that and I congratulated him on his victory and

now we've got to move on. Those 9 million people who voted for

the Labour Party, we need to talk to them.

When there is the most vile abuse from people who say they are members

of the Labour Party directed at other members of the Labour Party,

or I would say to you is this, we must rise above it. We are better

than that. The rally upstairs was so packed

this meeting has spilled out into the speech dot-mac Street, an

impromptu meeting of activists and MPs, many distraught at yesterday's

result but determined they are going nowhere. His detractors say Mr

Corbyn believes his own hype. But his clear double victory puts him

firmly in charge. What should happen to those MPs who took him on and

lost? Well, the relationship between an MP

in their constituency is a complex one. Let's have a democratic

discussion. I think the vast majority of MPs will have no problem

whatsoever. He delighted some of his vast group

of supporters. The surprise guest at a rally fresh from the studio.

Thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time.

CHEERING But he might please them even more

with plans to give members much more of a safe.

And I want to see much greater democracy within the party and

unleashing and unlocking of ideas and potential.

For Mr Corbyn's supporters this conference is a chance for a show of

strength. They have cast their villains too in the drama over the

last 12 months. Lots of serving right-wing Labour

MPs were constantly stabbing Jeremy in the back. It seemed to me the

first thing they must do when they wake up of a morning is think, what

stick can I hit Jeremy Corbyn with today?

Labour's been noisy, angry and passionate too. For peace both sides

believe there is much to forgive but can they forget? Laura Kuenssberg,

BBC News, Liverpool. China has begun operating

the world's largest telescope. It cost more than ?100

million and is the size The Aperture Spherical

Radio Telescope will look Beijing is heralding

its construction as a symbol The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

have arrived in Canada for their first Royal tour

with both their children. The couple, along with

three-year-old Prince George and 16-month-old Princess Charlotte,

were greeted by Prime Minister Here's our royal

correspondent, Peter Hunt. The Cambridges in Canada and a brief

taste for Prince George and Princess Charlotte of the royal

life they've been born into and that On the tarmac, a tired George needed

the support of his father. Now was not the time to tell him

that, as things stand, both will one day be

kings of Canada. For Charlotte, a teething

16-month-old, this is her first On bended knee, a rare defeat

for Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau - well-versed

in kissing babies but who was Away from the airport and away

from public view for Their parents are determined

to shield them from the spotlight. William and Kate are here in a city

which was named after Queen Victoria and which has strong historic ties

with the British Crown. But across Canada, a sizeable

minority of the population yearns for an elected

Canadian-born head of state. The majority, though,

still favours the status quo. His destiny means William will have

to brush up on his French The royal walkabout

is a way to be seen and to We're really looking forward

to the rest of the weekend. You will only enjoy it,

it is beautiful. We both love mountains and water,

which, by the looks Mountains, a rainforest and a trip

in a canoe are on the agenda Peter Hunt, BBC News,

Victoria, British Columbia.