22/10/2016 Reporters - Short Edition

From here in the BBC Newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring

you the best stories from across the globe.

Orla Guerin joins Kurdish forces as they try to retake the last major

stronghold of so-called Islamic state in Iraq.

We're now at a distance of about 300 metres

But this is really just the first stage of what is expected

Almost a year after losing his wife in the Paris attacks,

survivor Antoine Leiris finds a means of escape

The long-awaited siege of Mosul began this week as thousands

of Iraqi and Kurdish forces attacked the last major stronghold controlled

The assault got underway more than two years after IS forces took

The Iraqi Prime Minister said the hour of victory had arrived.

But there were concerns for many thousands of civilians fleeing

the fighting with no safe routes out of the city.

Orla Guerin was with Kurdish forces, the peshmerga, north-east

of Mosul as the first wave of attacks began.

At first light, the advance on so-called Islamic State.

Zero-hour had finally come, bringing an offensive that

could decide the fate of the extremists and,

We joined Peshmerga fighters from the autonomous Kurdish region.

Their name means "those who face death", and they were ready

Well, the offensive is now well under way.

The Kurdish forces have been moving forwards steadily, and we've been

We're now at a distance of about 300 metres

But this is really just the first stage of what is expected

It could take months to drive the IS fighters from the city

First, they have to be flushed out of the villages up ahead.

There were only a handful of IS remaining, but the Peshmerga

Here's what happened when one attacker approached

Before he could reach them, his vehicle exploded.

IS attempted at least three more suicide and truck bomb attacks

but the Kurds pressed on, with help from air strikes

The Peshmerga say they are fighting a global battle.

They are not just fighting the Kurds or the Shia", says this Colonel.

We want to defeat them for everyone's sake."

And this is the territory they took from the enemy today,

Any civilians were already long gone.

There was little enough resistance here, but it will be a very

The Kurds are supposed to clear a path to the city,

But as they drive out IS, they've been adding to their territory

and what they've captured they intend to keep.

Just one of the ways in which the battle for Mosul

It was a day the Nigerian people thought they might never see. The

Boko Haram girls who were kidnapped... After two-and-a-half

years, they're free at last. Daughters reunited with their

parents. It was a time for celebration. But also reflection.

Praise the Lord. TRANSLATION: We are so excited. They

never told us they'd come. These girls were among the 276 students

abducted by the Islamic group Boko Haram. Speaking at an event to mark

their release, one girl describes the horrors they endured.

TRANSLATION: I never thought I would see you again. There was a day when

a bomb dropped close to where we were. It was only by God's grace we

survived. Today's worked out good for yet we are here. The parents

wanted their daughters to get an education, but it was a choice 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? TRANSLATION: They were told their

parents were no longer alive, that they'd been killed. All they did was

cry. They never imagined that they would see us again. Fishes say

negotiations are continuing, but dozens of students reportedly don't

want to come home after marrying fighters -- officials say. For now

these girls are celebrating their freedom but recovering from their

kidnapping won't be easy, especially when most of their school mates are

still being held. Martin Patience, BBC News, Abuja.

Next month marks a year since the deadly attacks on Paris where

Now, 130 people were killed next month marks a year

where 130 people were killed, among them was Helene Muyal-Leiris.

She was in the Bataclan music Theatre.

You may remember at the time her husband, Antoine,

wrote a very moving tribute to his wife.

Well, a year later he has been telling his story

On Friday night you stole away the life of an exceptional being.

The love of my life, the mother of my son.

I do not know who you are and I don't want to know.

Today, Antoine Leiris remains defiant, dignified,

For me it's the only way to not fall in craziness.

Yes, sometimes it's difficult, sometimes hate comes and knocks

on my door and says, "Hey, I'm there, I'm simple,

You can go with me, it will be easier for you."

But I just let her out of our house and, yes, I think it was

His new book is an intimate diary, how he dealt with the loss

When you close a dead person's eyes, you give them back a little

She looks like the woman I watch wake up each morning.

I want to lie next to her languorous body, warm her up, tell her she's

It was like the walls of my room when I was alone were about to fall

But writing was an open door to learn freedom.

So writing has been Antoine's escape.

Imagined to her from their two-year-old son, Melvin.

Papa promised me that we would come to see you tomorrow, the two of us.

OK, well, I can't wait to see you tomorrow and the day

after tomorrow and all the days after that.

I miss you, mama, I love you. Melvin.

And while he holds no hate for his wife's killers,

there is one thing Antoine has refused to relinquish, his grief.

Because it's a connection to your wife?

like, even a physical testimony, you know.

You felt it inside you, very strongly.

It's a testimony of how I loved Helene.

Damian Grammaticas, BBC News, Paris.

Antoine Leiris, a year after the Paris attacks.

And that's it from Reporters this week.

From me, David Eades, goodbye for now.