:00:00. > :00:23.From here in the BBC Newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring
:00:24. > :00:26.you the best stories from across the globe.
:00:27. > :00:30.They killed the children, and the women.
:00:31. > :00:35.As a fragile Syrian ceasefire takes hold, Jeremy Bowen reports
:00:36. > :00:39.from inside the shattered remains of the city.
:00:40. > :00:45.You can't bring back all those who died and the country
:00:46. > :00:52.The scorched earth of so-called Islamic state - Orla Guerin joins
:00:53. > :00:58.Iraqi forces on the road to Mosul, the last bastion of IS in Iraq.
:00:59. > :01:03.They were driven out of this twon in just two days,
:01:04. > :01:05.They were driven out of this town in just two days,
:01:06. > :01:09.but the decisive battle is yet to come - the offensive for Mosul.
:01:10. > :01:11.Is Hong Kong on a collision course with China's political masters?
:01:12. > :01:13.Carrie Gracie meets the pro-democracy activists
:01:14. > :01:19.turned politicians calling for independence from Beijing.
:01:20. > :01:21.The stage is set for another serious confrontation.
:01:22. > :01:24.But not on the streets, where it took place two years ago,
:01:25. > :01:32.The rise and rise of France's far right -
:01:33. > :01:36.as election season hots up in France, the father
:01:37. > :01:38.of the National Front, Jean Marie Le Pen, tells
:01:39. > :01:44.# No, je ne regrette rien #.
:01:45. > :01:53.Printing people - Karin Giannone finds out what it's like to be
:01:54. > :01:56.It is so bizarre to see yourself like this.
:01:57. > :01:59.I can honestly say I am very honoured to have been
:02:00. > :02:11.After five years of bloody conflict that's cost more than 300,000 lives
:02:12. > :02:14.and seen millions flee their homes, Syria edged a little further
:02:15. > :02:23.towards a tentative peace as a fragile ceasefire began this week.
:02:24. > :02:25.The seven-day truce, brokered by the United States
:02:26. > :02:29.It's aimed at stopping the fighting between Syrian government
:02:30. > :02:32.forces and a wide range of opposition groups.
:02:33. > :02:37.One of the worst-hit areas is the city of Aleppo,
:02:38. > :02:39.split between the rebel-controlled east and government-held west.
:02:40. > :02:42.Jeremy Bowen entered Aleppo just before the truce began and found
:02:43. > :02:44.the shattered remains of what was once a thriving
:02:45. > :02:56.In a divided, destroyed city, after thousands of deaths,
:02:57. > :02:58.with hundreds of thousands of lost homes, no wonder
:02:59. > :03:07.they are still sceptical a few hours into a ceasefire.
:03:08. > :03:11.This is the west side of Aleppo, controlled by the government.
:03:12. > :03:14.Many more have died on the east side, but the pain of death
:03:15. > :03:23.Not much else unites a country that the war has left in fragments.
:03:24. > :03:29.A soldier showed me a shell improvised by rebels.
:03:30. > :03:32.He said they pack empty cooking gas bottles with explosives,
:03:33. > :03:41.weld on a tail and fire them from home-made mortars.
:03:42. > :03:48.So, he is saying that this is C4, which is an explosive.
:03:49. > :04:01.Hundreds, thousands of explosions?
:04:02. > :04:09.It was a small violation of the ceasefire, but this man
:04:10. > :04:14.is haunted by years of shelling and by his grandchildren's fears.
:04:15. > :04:22.He lost an eye and his son a leg to a gas bomb attack.
:04:23. > :04:35.They killed the children, and the women.
:04:36. > :04:36.We don't know what happened to Syria.
:04:37. > :04:51.This Father, a Maronite priest, a Christian,
:04:52. > :05:05.Many Syrian Christians support the regime.
:05:06. > :05:08.He backs the ceasefire and believes pouring more weapons into
:05:09. > :05:18.TRANSLATION: From this church I call on all the countries of the world
:05:19. > :05:26.The money spent on weapons could feed many people and build
:05:27. > :05:30.On the east side of Aleppo, which is controlled by rebels,
:05:31. > :05:35.They have faced much greater firepower than the west.
:05:36. > :05:38.Air strikes, including barrel bombs, and more recently the power
:05:39. > :05:46.The ceasefire coincides with one of the biggest Muslim holidays
:05:47. > :05:49.of the year and, despite widespread doubts that the ceasefire
:05:50. > :05:52.would last, parents here, like those near the frontline
:05:53. > :06:00.TRANSLATION: I took my kids to the swings today.
:06:01. > :06:03.It was a risk because I don't believe in the ceasefire at all.
:06:04. > :06:12.But I said that the kids should have fun.
:06:13. > :06:15.I could not cross into east Aleppo, but this was close
:06:16. > :06:18.to the frontline in the old city - a tangle of medieval
:06:19. > :06:23.alleys that used to be the greatest souk in the Levant.
:06:24. > :06:28.Aleppo's old city was an extraordinary human creation,
:06:29. > :06:38.The disruption here is tragic, but it doesn't match the loss
:06:39. > :06:46.Now, let's assume the ceasefire lasts.
:06:47. > :06:49.First of all for a week, then perhaps for a bit longer.
:06:50. > :06:51.The question is what can be built upon it.
:06:52. > :06:56.Could there be a political process that inches this country
:06:57. > :07:00.away from war and a tiny bit towards peace?
:07:01. > :07:04.Or will it be like other attempts at ceasefires,
:07:05. > :07:07.just a time when fighting men can rest, rearm, regroup and get
:07:08. > :07:27.Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Aleppo.
:07:28. > :07:30.From the war in Syria to the conflict in Iraq now,
:07:31. > :07:32.where the so-called Islamic State are also still proving a major
:07:33. > :07:36.Two years ago, IS overran Mosul, Iraq's second largest city,
:07:37. > :07:38.and went on to take control of a third of Iraq.
:07:39. > :07:41.Since then, IS has lost much of the territory it once held
:07:42. > :07:43.and Iraq's Prime Minister has pledged to retake Mosul
:07:44. > :07:47.The Iraqi army's most recent victory was taking back the town
:07:48. > :07:50.of Qayarra, some 60 kilometres to the south of Mosul.
:07:51. > :07:56.From there, Orla Guerin sent this report.
:07:57. > :08:02.A parting gift from the so-called Islamic state.
:08:03. > :08:10.Oil wells set ablaze, covering the retreat
:08:11. > :08:11.Oil wells set ablaze, covering their retreat
:08:12. > :08:19.Defeating IS will mean a lot more scorched earth.
:08:20. > :08:23.By the roadside, remnants of their rule.
:08:24. > :08:29.The Iraqi troops who drove them from here are still jittery.
:08:30. > :08:31.Our journey was suddenly halted when a home-made bomb
:08:32. > :08:47.Clearing this strategic town is a key victory
:08:48. > :08:53.Troops are closing in step by step, with help from US
:08:54. > :09:00.And what happened under the dark reign of Islamic State
:09:01. > :09:08.We were given a tour of one of the jails.
:09:09. > :09:11.We were given a tour of one of their jails.
:09:12. > :09:13.A tiny space the prisoners were kept in.
:09:14. > :09:15.Locals said up to four men could be crammed into a cell,
:09:16. > :09:22.They were even handcuffed to the doors.
:09:23. > :09:34.We don't know their fate. and the crimes - smuggling,
:09:35. > :09:37.For this tribal commander, the fight here is very personal
:09:38. > :09:48.His village, in the distance, still under Islamic State control.
:09:49. > :10:01.I have not seen her for more than two years.
:10:02. > :10:06.My brothers are also there, in front of me, and I can't
:10:07. > :10:09.reach them, but we hope to retake the village soon.
:10:10. > :10:12.Then we get access to a hidden layer built by the extremists
:10:13. > :10:18.Well, here, deep in the hillside, Islamic State carved out a network
:10:19. > :10:23.This was a place where they could hide, where they could take cover
:10:24. > :10:32.It is pretty basic, but we have found some food supplies
:10:33. > :10:36.that they left behind in their hurry to escape.
:10:37. > :10:38.And they did have some creature comforts.
:10:39. > :10:43.There was a electricity connected here.
:10:44. > :10:46.Now, they were driven out of this twon in just two days,
:10:47. > :10:50.but the decisive battle is yet to come, the offensive for Mosul.
:10:51. > :10:53.Many have fled even before it begins.
:10:54. > :10:58.Makeshift camps in Kurdish territory are already overflowing.
:10:59. > :11:01.Here they are free of IS, but still prisoners of memory.
:11:02. > :11:14.These young boys saw men hanged and beheaded.
:11:15. > :11:16.TRANSLATION: He was escaping so they cut his head off,
:11:17. > :11:21.They brought another five people, also dead.
:11:22. > :11:26.Locals took the bodies and buried them.
:11:27. > :11:28.In the coming weeks and months, the desperation here may grow,
:11:29. > :11:39.The United Nations is warning that up to 1 million
:11:40. > :11:43.A fresh catastrophe in this broken country.
:11:44. > :11:47.Remember Hong Kong's so-called Umbrella Revolution two years ago,
:11:48. > :11:50.the mass protests calling for full democracy?
:11:51. > :11:54.Well, although they didn't change much, and China still has a big say
:11:55. > :11:56.over who governs the territory and how, last week a new generation
:11:57. > :12:03.of pro-democracy activists were elected to parliament.
:12:04. > :12:10.Some of the newly-elected officials who have called for independence say
:12:11. > :12:18.Carrie Gracie has been talking to some of them.
:12:19. > :12:26.Umbrellas are out again in Hong Kong. This week, it is the rain, but
:12:27. > :12:28.two years ago they were a symbol of defiance against Beijing and neither
:12:29. > :12:34.the umbrella generation have. defiance against Beijing and neither
:12:35. > :12:38.the umbrella generation Off a shock election victory to move off the
:12:39. > :12:45.street and into Parliament. Thanking supporters, this 23-year-old, Nathan
:12:46. > :12:49.Law, has not even finished college yet. But voters backed his message
:12:50. > :12:57.that Hong Kong should choose its own destiny. If we don't have autonomy,
:12:58. > :13:02.then our core values and system will be destroyed, so that is a very
:13:03. > :13:06.serious issue and we will defend the with what we can. Two years ago no
:13:07. > :13:10.one here was the one he was demanding independence. When they
:13:11. > :13:16.broke the city to a standstill, they were only asking to choose Hong
:13:17. > :13:20.Kong's leaders, but Beijing refused to give ground and now they are
:13:21. > :13:28.demanding more. The right to decide whether Hong Kong should be part of
:13:29. > :13:32.China at all. The stage is set for another serious confrontation here,
:13:33. > :13:38.not on the street where to place two years ago, but inside the
:13:39. > :13:42.Parliaments. China sees separatists as traitors, as enemies, and
:13:43. > :13:48.although Hong Kong's special status gives some protection for freedom of
:13:49. > :13:53.speech, Beijing wants punishment for anyone who uses public office the
:13:54. > :13:59.call for independence. Beijing also wants to promote young politicians
:14:00. > :14:03.who will back its message, like this newly elected lawyer, who has a
:14:04. > :14:11.warning for those who upset China. If they carry on or insist on doing
:14:12. > :14:16.this independence movement or advocating independence, it may stir
:14:17. > :14:20.up the conflict between the mainland and Hong Kong. Some call these the
:14:21. > :14:25.locusts, the millions of mainland Chinese who poured across the border
:14:26. > :14:30.to stock up on foreign goods. China buys more than what will fit in a
:14:31. > :14:36.suitcase, from real estate media, its influence is growing in every
:14:37. > :14:40.walk of Hong Kong life. Eddie believes that that influences
:14:41. > :14:45.damaging. He won his seat by a landslide this week, but says he now
:14:46. > :14:50.faces death threats because he dared to highlight links between Beijing,
:14:51. > :14:56.big business and Hong Kong's criminal gangs. I take this thread
:14:57. > :15:06.seriously and I am seeking help from the police. Hong Kong is now a place
:15:07. > :15:11.of political violence and threats. The freest city in China but under
:15:12. > :15:13.an authoritarian giant, Hong Kong may be the most fragile city, too.
:15:14. > :15:18.And with a dangerous passage ahead. and a key issue in next year's poll
:15:19. > :15:23.is the rise of the far right. The socialist President,
:15:24. > :15:25.Francois Hollande, whose popularity ratings are languishing around 10%
:15:26. > :15:27.per cent, hasn't said And the former President Nicolas
:15:28. > :15:35.Sarkozy has thrown his But there is one thing you can say
:15:36. > :15:43.for certain about this election, Marine Le Pen and her
:15:44. > :15:45.Front Nationale will do well. Gabriel Gatehouse in Paris has been
:15:46. > :15:49.finding out what the rise of the far Gabriel Gatehouse in Paris on the
:15:50. > :16:10.rise of the far right in France. The real political fortunes is
:16:11. > :16:13.turning. A centre-left president with the lowest approval ratings in
:16:14. > :16:18.French history is fighting for survival. His predecessor from the
:16:19. > :16:23.central right who once claimed that dubious honour for himself is trying
:16:24. > :16:28.to stage a comeback. But the real winner might be someone quite
:16:29. > :16:39.unexpected, someone who does not really feel much like a winner any
:16:40. > :16:43.more at all. John Marine Le Pen's days of standing for President are
:16:44. > :16:47.long gone will start the year -year-old veteran of France's
:16:48. > :16:52.colonial wars is, in many ways, a has-been, sidelined then expelled by
:16:53. > :17:00.his daughter from the party he founded 45 years ago. But the Front
:17:01. > :17:02.Nationale is writing hide high in the polls in his rhetoric is
:17:03. > :17:39.striking accord. His daughter, temp two will almost
:17:40. > :17:42.certainly reached the second round run-offs in the presidential
:17:43. > :17:50.election. She has modernise the party, try to detoxify the brand,
:17:51. > :17:51.but that heart says that the Front Nationale message remains true to
:17:52. > :18:36.its founding principles. Such sentiments may be bluntly
:18:37. > :18:42.expressed, but they are no longer the preserve of a far right fringe.
:18:43. > :18:46.In the aftermath of the attacks in Paris and Nice, the most devastating
:18:47. > :18:50.attacks on French soil, this election will be fought largely on
:18:51. > :18:56.the issues of who should be allowed in this country and what it means to
:18:57. > :19:03.be French. In this sleepy little time, the man who is nicknamed the
:19:04. > :19:07.hyper president, the diminutive but energetic Nicolas Sarkozy is
:19:08. > :19:11.pitching for his second run at the presidency. Nicolas Sarkozy is
:19:12. > :19:17.running under the slogan, everything preference. It is a rallying cry
:19:18. > :19:23.calculated to appeal to nationalist sentiment. It is also a play on a
:19:24. > :19:28.previous slogan from a previous centre-right president, Jacques
:19:29. > :19:32.Chirac, in the mid-19 90s who ran under a slogan, France for
:19:33. > :19:36.everybody. This inversion tells you everything you need to know about
:19:37. > :19:48.how far mainstream political discourse has moved to right. His
:19:49. > :19:53.talk is all about borders, about identity. Never mind the Burke Amy,
:19:54. > :19:57.he says he wants to widen the ban on wearing the deal in public and he
:19:58. > :20:03.wants to rewrite the law that says that if you are born in France you
:20:04. > :20:09.can become a citizen. -- if you aren't born in France that you can
:20:10. > :20:15.become a citizen. To some, such rhetoric sounds straight out of the
:20:16. > :20:16.Front Nationale playbook, but his supporters say he is simply reclaim
:20:17. > :20:38.and the centre-right. Meanwhile, the Muslim community,
:20:39. > :20:42.nearly 5 million strong, might be excused for feeling a little bit
:20:43. > :20:45.under siege as the political temperature rises, parties of all
:20:46. > :20:49.persuasions seem to be focusing much of the national thanks to on the
:20:50. > :20:55.question of what they should or should not wear. That, some fear,
:20:56. > :21:01.has disturbing implications for the cherished values of the Republic.
:21:02. > :21:07.When you see the policemen on the beach ordering women to undress, we
:21:08. > :21:13.are not any more in a state of law. It is really worrying and it is
:21:14. > :21:21.dangerous for freedom is, in fact. None of this is wearing Mr ( in the
:21:22. > :21:24.slightly surreal grandeur of his suburban semi retirement. It is not
:21:25. > :21:30.hard to see why he supports Donald Trump. He is also a supporter of
:21:31. > :21:37.Vladimir Putin, a man of authority he tells me. What is he say to those
:21:38. > :21:42.he has poisoned the well of France's political discourse? Do you have any
:21:43. > :22:07.regrets? # No, rien, de rien. # No, je ne regrette rien #.
:22:08. > :22:15.If history is anything to go by, Marine Le Pen will make it through
:22:16. > :22:18.the first round, then lose to an anyone but Lib Dem candidate, but
:22:19. > :22:23.these are not normal times and whether she wins or loses, some of
:22:24. > :22:25.the values she inherited from her father are making an ever deeper
:22:26. > :22:30.mark on French politics. An amazing exhibition
:22:31. > :22:37.at the Royal Academy of Arts here in London is converting members
:22:38. > :22:40.of the public into 3D sculptures. We sent Karin Giannone along to see
:22:41. > :22:57.what it's like to be turned Not a science lab at Royal Academy
:22:58. > :23:04.of Arts. Here are a team from Madrid he normally to rid the world
:23:05. > :23:13.scanning archaeological sites are immortalised in real life members of
:23:14. > :23:18.the public. Today, it is my turn. So, into the Veronica Smith named
:23:19. > :23:22.from the Greek and Latin words for true likeness. It takes 96 high
:23:23. > :23:28.resolution pictures of my head from every angle. Thank you. That was
:23:29. > :23:33.interesting. It was like being in a space capsule, but it was over
:23:34. > :23:36.really quickly, just four seconds of flashes. What place does advanced
:23:37. > :23:42.computer technology have in an esteemed venue for the arts? So,
:23:43. > :23:46.over the last 20 years there has been an explosion in the
:23:47. > :23:51.technologies of 3-D printing, so it seemed, could we actually play with
:23:52. > :23:55.the idea of going all the way through from recording someone to
:23:56. > :24:01.carving them inwards or is 3-D printing them live? Could we also
:24:02. > :24:06.show what was possible if you do think at the highest resolution that
:24:07. > :24:10.takes much longer. Of course, there is no artist involved. This is a
:24:11. > :24:18.completely objective portrayal of the subject, a bit like the busts we
:24:19. > :24:22.saw in classical times. The technology and appearance is radical
:24:23. > :24:25.and incredibly contemporary. The physical objects are relatively
:24:26. > :24:30.conservative and certainly in the classical tradition. That is what is
:24:31. > :24:33.interesting for art. This is only the beginning. I think artists would
:24:34. > :24:40.use this technology and very interesting ways in the future. And
:24:41. > :24:44.this is what emerges, the image from the screen turned into a bust using
:24:45. > :24:50.a variety of different materials, including wood, with 3-D printing
:24:51. > :24:56.techniques, then exhibited in the Royal Academy itself. I wonder how
:24:57. > :24:59.mine will turn out? Now, the finished article has arrived from
:25:00. > :25:04.the Royal Academy and I can honestly say I have not seen it. We have
:25:05. > :25:11.waited for this moment to unveil it and get my real reaction for the
:25:12. > :25:19.first time. Here we go. This is so strange. It is so bizarre to see
:25:20. > :25:24.yourself like this. I can honestly say I am very honoured to have been
:25:25. > :25:28.immortalised in such a way. This has all been done through the computer
:25:29. > :25:31.and through this incredible 3-D wooden carving machine.
:25:32. > :25:34.That's all from Reporters for this week.
:25:35. > :25:39.From me, Philippa Thomas, goodbye for now.