:00:00. > :00:18.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories.
:00:19. > :00:23.Fresh air strikes on Islamic State militants in Syria. Washington warns
:00:24. > :00:27.of a sustained campaign. The extremist preacher Abu Qatada is
:00:28. > :00:29.released after a Jordanian court Uproar in France -
:00:30. > :00:34.three suspected militants returned by Turkey walk free after arriving
:00:35. > :00:38.at the wrong airport. And India makes cut price space
:00:39. > :00:41.history, putting a spacecraft into orbit
:00:42. > :01:03.around Mars, on its maiden voyage. Residents living on the Turkish
:01:04. > :01:07.border with Syria have told the BBC that Islamic State militants have
:01:08. > :01:10.been targeted Eyewitnesses say they've seen planes
:01:11. > :01:16.attack just west of the city Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds
:01:17. > :01:23.have fled the area in recent days The Turkish government has said
:01:24. > :01:29.neither its air space nor a US airbase in southern Turkey were used
:01:30. > :01:33.in the strikes. It comes a day after the first US
:01:34. > :01:38.airstrikes hit several key towns and cities across Syria,
:01:39. > :01:42.including Raqqa - Islamic State's Washington says more than 50
:01:43. > :01:47.countries have agreed to form part of the coalition fighting
:01:48. > :01:51.Islamic State, and that the air strikes are just the beginning
:01:52. > :01:54.of a long and sustained campaign. Mark Lowen is on the Turkey-Syria
:01:55. > :02:09.border and told me what he knows I have just spoken to a refugee
:02:10. > :02:14.whose brother is still in the town on the Syrian side of the border and
:02:15. > :02:19.he says that he saw two military aircraft coming in from Turkish
:02:20. > :02:26.airspace at about 1am local time this morning. He says they dropped
:02:27. > :02:31.bombs on villages to the west of the town. He says that since that
:02:32. > :02:35.bombing, the Islamic State fighters have significantly increased their
:02:36. > :02:39.shelling of the town from three different sides. There is no
:02:40. > :02:48.confirmation yet about the air force to which the plane belonged. This is
:02:49. > :02:52.a US-Arab coalition at the moment, with other states supporting what is
:02:53. > :02:59.happening there. What is happening where you are in terms of the number
:03:00. > :03:04.of refugees? If the shelling is intensifying, are more people trying
:03:05. > :03:10.to get across? There is the fear that it could increase the numbers
:03:11. > :03:14.that have already swelled to almost 140,000 people who have pored over
:03:15. > :03:18.this border since last Friday. Yesterday, we saw the first tiny
:03:19. > :03:22.numbers going back towards Syria, hoping that the air strikes might
:03:23. > :03:28.provide them safe passage to go back to their home towns. These are Kurds
:03:29. > :03:33.who are largely hostile to Turkey. They fought a civil war for 30 years
:03:34. > :03:40.until recently in which over 40,000 people were killed and it is a very
:03:41. > :03:44.fragile peace. That has risen to the surface. You speak to refugees and
:03:45. > :03:49.they say they want to be able to go back. They have come out of
:03:50. > :03:54.necessity rather than desire. It is still very small numbers, the
:03:55. > :03:57.traffic is mainly from Syria into Turkey, and this country is
:03:58. > :04:03.struggling to cope. They have already got over a million Syrian
:04:04. > :04:09.refugees. Turkey initially had refused to take part in the military
:04:10. > :04:14.led coalition. It said it would not allow its bases to be used for air
:04:15. > :04:19.strikes, it would not take part in combat operations. That was because
:04:20. > :04:25.49 Turks were being held by Islamic State in Iraq. They were released on
:04:26. > :04:29.Saturday which could reduce that obstacle to Turkish involvement. It
:04:30. > :04:33.is not yet clear whether the planes were Turkish but the fact they came
:04:34. > :04:36.from Turkish airspace may suggest the country is now taking a more
:04:37. > :04:46.active part in the military led coalition. What about the debate
:04:47. > :04:51.about and air corridor along the border where you are at the moment?
:04:52. > :04:57.Is that being discussed at the moment, to give safe passage for
:04:58. > :05:01.people fleeing the fighting? It was raised by the Turkish government
:05:02. > :05:06.last week. They talked about a buffer zone in Syrian territory to
:05:07. > :05:10.help people come out and crossed the into Turkey but given the sheer
:05:11. > :05:14.numbers who have already come, I think that Turkey does not want to
:05:15. > :05:20.encourage any more huge influx of arrivals. I spent the last few days
:05:21. > :05:25.in various parts of the border seeing how the refugees are simple
:05:26. > :05:30.eating centre where they can in mosques, parks, school buildings.
:05:31. > :05:34.The conditions are pretty basic. There are medical facilities that
:05:35. > :05:38.have sprung up to try and vaccinate refugees in fear of the spread of
:05:39. > :05:50.disease. Only two border prices are now open. -- border crosses. It is
:05:51. > :05:52.the largest single influx since the Syrian war began three and a half
:05:53. > :05:54.years ago. With me now is security
:05:55. > :06:05.correspondent Gordon Corera. Turkey is put in a very difficult
:06:06. > :06:10.position here but perhaps less so now that those hostages held by
:06:11. > :06:14.Islamic State have been released. It has always been an interesting
:06:15. > :06:20.question. What is its involvement going to be in the coalition? Is it
:06:21. > :06:24.going to allow bases to be used? Clearly those hostages were a
:06:25. > :06:29.problem for it. We don't know the exact deal that was done. Clearly
:06:30. > :06:34.some kind of deal was done. We don't know what happened or whether there
:06:35. > :06:38.was any indications of what it would mean for Turkish policy so we are
:06:39. > :06:43.still waiting to see whether Turkey shifts its position somewhat. We
:06:44. > :06:47.have had these reports of planes going over near the Turkish border
:06:48. > :06:51.but we have not had confirmation of that yet and we have not had that
:06:52. > :06:56.much detail yet from the US about the air strikes that seem to have
:06:57. > :07:03.happened in the last night, much less than what we had the night
:07:04. > :07:06.before. But America talking about a long and sustained campaign. Many
:07:07. > :07:11.commentators suggesting this will not be achieved without some troops
:07:12. > :07:16.on the ground. There is no doubt it will require troops on the ground.
:07:17. > :07:20.The issue is, whose troops? Are they going to be the moderate rebels that
:07:21. > :07:29.America want to train in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere? Who America
:07:30. > :07:35.refused to help. Whether it is the Iraqi security forces. The plan is
:07:36. > :07:44.to use those ground troops rather than American ground troops, which
:07:45. > :07:47.President Obama has ruled out. Perhaps as been suggested, provide
:07:48. > :07:54.training in Iraq to some of the Iraqi troops out there. How long it
:07:55. > :07:58.is before we get more sense of how effective that policy is, that is
:07:59. > :08:02.going to take a long time to get that option going. The air strikes
:08:03. > :08:09.is really just the start of this process. Is there a suggestion that
:08:10. > :08:13.behind-the-scenes, as unpalatable as it might be publicly, America would
:08:14. > :08:20.want to get the support of President Assad to fight alongside against the
:08:21. > :08:24.Islamic State? This is where it gets very complicated. American officials
:08:25. > :08:31.are very careful to say they are not trying to work with President Assad.
:08:32. > :08:36.They said they enforced him -- informed him so that they did not
:08:37. > :08:40.engage and shoot down their jets. They are trying to back rebels who
:08:41. > :08:44.are committed to overthrowing President Assad so the Quebec city
:08:45. > :08:51.of being seen to get too close would cause problems with their allies on
:08:52. > :08:54.the ground. You can see the real issues for America in trying to
:08:55. > :09:00.gauge its relationship with President Assad and the regime in
:09:01. > :09:07.Damascus. And another appearance or sound from one of the hostages
:09:08. > :09:11.threatened with being beheaded. This is Alan Henning, the British taxi
:09:12. > :09:17.driver who was captured. His wife said she has received an audiophile
:09:18. > :09:22.him pleading for his wife -- life. This has not been made public, I
:09:23. > :09:26.should say. She continues to plead for his release. Clearly, the
:09:27. > :09:31.situation is very serious and there is a lot of concern but a court held
:09:32. > :09:37.by the Islamic State found that he was not a spy and so she has caused
:09:38. > :09:41.for his release because he was on a humanitarian convoy into Syria. But
:09:42. > :09:42.there is no more news from Islamic State at this moment about those
:09:43. > :09:45.hostages. Thank you. In the last hour, the radical cleric
:09:46. > :09:49.Abu Qatada has left a Jordanian prison after being found not guilty
:09:50. > :09:52.of terrorism offences. He had been accused
:09:53. > :09:55.of being involved in a thwarted plot aimed at disrupting the millennium
:09:56. > :09:57.celebrations in Jordan. Abu Qatada was deported from the UK
:09:58. > :10:00.in July 2013. Our correspondent June Kelly
:10:01. > :10:15.has this report from Amman. Abu Qatada in the cage-like dock of
:10:16. > :10:19.the court. This was two weeks ago when a verdict was expected in this
:10:20. > :10:22.terrorism case. The panel of judges announced they will be delaying
:10:23. > :10:26.their decision and today they finally came to a conclusion. They
:10:27. > :10:33.have found the radical cleric not guilty. He has been cleared of being
:10:34. > :10:37.involved in a plot which was thwarted because the conspirators
:10:38. > :10:42.were under surveillance. This leading hotel, a man was a potential
:10:43. > :10:46.target. Just one of the attacks planned against Western and Israeli
:10:47. > :10:53.interests in Jordan to coincide with the millennium celebrations. At the
:10:54. > :10:58.time of the plot, Abu Qatada had left Jordan and was based in London.
:10:59. > :11:03.An extremist preacher of international influence. He was said
:11:04. > :11:08.to have advocated killing Jews and attacking Americans. Although he was
:11:09. > :11:13.branded a threat to UK national security, he was never put on trial
:11:14. > :11:16.in Britain. Last year, after a prolonged legal battle, the UK
:11:17. > :11:22.Government finally succeeded in deporting him back to Jordan to
:11:23. > :11:26.stand trial. While declared innocent of terrorism charges, Abu Qatada is
:11:27. > :11:30.a long-standing supporter of Al-Qaeda. At his last court
:11:31. > :11:36.appearance, he railed against the now prominent violent extremist
:11:37. > :11:40.group Islamic State, condemning them for murdering journalist. Could the
:11:41. > :11:46.authorities in Jordan now try to harness his opposition to IS? He
:11:47. > :11:49.could be used against IS by the Jordanian government but he is
:11:50. > :11:56.certainly no friend of the Jordanian government. He is committed to the
:11:57. > :12:05.overthrow of the Arab monarchy and the establishing of a caliphate. He
:12:06. > :12:10.openly supports Al-Qaeda. After years of detention in the UK and in
:12:11. > :12:15.his home state, Abu Qatada will now be free to air his views publicly
:12:16. > :12:18.again. Whatever his future, the British government has made it
:12:19. > :12:26.plain, there will be no return to the UK.
:12:27. > :12:30.France's defence minister has called it a muddle and a mess after three
:12:31. > :12:34.suspected jihadists sent back from Turkey walked free from Marseille
:12:35. > :12:42.airport. Police were waiting for them at an airport in Paris.
:12:43. > :12:47.It has got all the hallmarks of a real mess. We have just heard from
:12:48. > :12:52.one of the lawyers that the three men have now walked into a police
:12:53. > :12:57.station near Toulouse where they live. They knocked on the door of
:12:58. > :13:00.their own free will, apparently. The police station was closed but an
:13:01. > :13:04.officer did come out to see them and they are now being questioned by the
:13:05. > :13:10.officers there. Just explain the background to this. They had been in
:13:11. > :13:16.Syria or were attempting to get into Syria? According to the family
:13:17. > :13:20.lawyer, these three men had been in Syria. They had gone allegedly to
:13:21. > :13:25.fight with Islamic State militants there. They discovered it was not
:13:26. > :13:29.quite what they imagined, they had fallen foul of the Islamic State
:13:30. > :13:33.fighters and were now trying to flee back to France. That was the story
:13:34. > :13:38.one of the lawyers associated with them said. As they were coming
:13:39. > :13:43.through Turkey, the authorities pick them up and inform the French
:13:44. > :13:46.authorities and put them on a plane to Paris. The authorities were
:13:47. > :13:51.waiting for them at the airport for a very long time. It turns out the
:13:52. > :13:56.Turkish authorities had changed the plane and they were dropped off in
:13:57. > :14:00.Marseille instead. They walked free from the airport. There was quite a
:14:01. > :14:03.lot of criticism this morning from Cabinet ministers and the opposition
:14:04. > :14:09.party, calling for an enquiry, asking how this could have happened.
:14:10. > :14:14.Those French law allowed the French authorities to prosecute people who
:14:15. > :14:18.have gone to fight in Syria? The French authorities have been
:14:19. > :14:21.tightening up recently on this kind of situation. The parliament has
:14:22. > :14:27.passed a raft of new laws tightening up what actions the police can take
:14:28. > :14:31.to stop people who are suspected of wanting to fight with Islamic State
:14:32. > :14:35.and to deal with them when they get home. Because these three men were
:14:36. > :14:38.suspected by the Turkish authorities of taking part in fighting with
:14:39. > :14:42.Islamic State, that would be the reason why police wanted to talk to
:14:43. > :14:46.them. But the men have now reportedly, according to their
:14:47. > :14:48.lawyer, gone to a police station and they are being questioned.
:14:49. > :14:52.Stay with us on BBC World News. Still to come.
:14:53. > :14:55.For Melinda Gates and Graca Machel, empowering women around
:14:56. > :14:57.the world starts with alleviating poverty, promoting education
:14:58. > :15:11.Police in Thailand say they're close to making an arrest in connection
:15:12. > :15:14.with the murders of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao.
:15:15. > :15:16.Hannah Witheridge, who was 23, and 24-year-old David Miller were
:15:17. > :15:19.found dead with severe head wounds near where they were staying
:15:20. > :15:23.Police are trying to track down a Thai man who left the island
:15:24. > :15:38.He's believed to be hiding in the capital, Bangkok.
:15:39. > :15:46.He is allegedly related to the family owning the bar on the island.
:15:47. > :15:51.Our correspondent Jonathan Head is in Bangkok with the latest.
:15:52. > :15:59.There is a very powerful family that owns the bar at which the two young
:16:00. > :16:02.people were in the hours before it they were killed and are reported to
:16:03. > :16:08.have got involved in an argument. A lot of people talk about bad bar and
:16:09. > :16:13.the family very quietly because they are powerful. Members of the family
:16:14. > :16:20.were questioned for the first time yesterday. The owner and his brother
:16:21. > :16:31.who police say were identified in CCTV images. The man they are
:16:32. > :16:36.hunting in Bangkok is believed to be related to the bar owner, some
:16:37. > :16:40.people said they might be an assistant and he vanished within
:16:41. > :16:44.hours of the bodies being discovered and police say a manhunt is now on.
:16:45. > :16:50.When they find him, they will need to question him and take DNA samples
:16:51. > :16:58.from him. They clearly believe this is a lead. Until they happen and had
:16:59. > :17:01.taken DNA and they must analyse the samples taken from other members of
:17:02. > :17:05.the family, they cannot positively identify him as being did with the
:17:06. > :17:19.murders. But there are optimistic signs. -- being connected. Some
:17:20. > :17:25.breaking news. The Turkish President has, for the first time, said his
:17:26. > :17:29.country could provide military support to the US led international
:17:30. > :17:34.coalition. He spoke to reporters in New York. It follows reports from
:17:35. > :17:37.correspondence on the ground and on the border between Syria and Turkey
:17:38. > :17:43.that there had been reports of air strikes in the last few hours. Some
:17:44. > :17:47.people on the ground said the flights were coming from Turkish
:17:48. > :17:53.airspace. Turkey has denied that. But the first time the Turkish
:17:54. > :18:03.President says the country could provide military support to the US
:18:04. > :18:09.led international coalition. TRANSLATION: We are liaising in
:18:10. > :18:14.detail. Talks will continue and we will do whatever we have to to fight
:18:15. > :18:23.against terrorism and take the necessary steps. I will hold talks
:18:24. > :18:32.with the government after I return. We will consider providing support.
:18:33. > :18:34.Will you give military support? We will give the necessary support to
:18:35. > :18:39.the operation, military or logistics.
:18:40. > :18:41.Indian scientists are celebrating an historic moment
:18:42. > :18:44.for the country's space programme, after it successfully placed
:18:45. > :18:48.The probe arrived in orbit early on Wednesday following
:18:49. > :18:52.Prime Minster Narendra Modi congratulated the team
:18:53. > :18:54.and said India had achieved the "near impossible".
:18:55. > :18:56.India is the only country to have reached the
:18:57. > :19:00.The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder says India's space programme has a lot
:19:01. > :19:16.The space programme has tremendous support. There is the sense it has
:19:17. > :19:20.helped the country's development. It has a strong history of sending
:19:21. > :19:24.satellites into space. They have been used to track floods and other
:19:25. > :19:29.natural disasters and has been used for communication. It has been used
:19:30. > :19:34.by farmers, not just to communicate but get a better sense of how to
:19:35. > :19:39.place their businesses. There is the sense that the space programme has
:19:40. > :19:49.often build the country out and help did in moments of need. That is the
:19:50. > :19:51.sense here. -- helped it. It is all seen as part of a larger game plan
:19:52. > :19:58.in which India progresses. The Supreme Court
:19:59. > :20:00.of India has cancelled nearly all of the country's coal-mining
:20:01. > :20:02.licences allocated by the government In a ruling last month, India's
:20:03. > :20:06.top court declared the licences to be illegal, saying they had been
:20:07. > :20:18.awarded in an arbitrary manner. Companies have been given six months
:20:19. > :20:25.to wind down their operations. NATO says there's been a significant
:20:26. > :20:27.withdrawal of Russian conventional troops from inside Ukraine but
:20:28. > :20:30.a spokesman added that some still remained there, although the numbers
:20:31. > :20:33.were difficult to ascertain, as the border is was largely controlled
:20:34. > :20:35.by Moscow-backed rebels. He also said many thousands
:20:36. > :20:37.of Russian troops still remained One of Britain's largest haulage
:20:38. > :20:47.companies has told the BBC that the number of migrants trying to
:20:48. > :20:50.enter the UK illegally is the worst it's ever seen, and that it fears
:20:51. > :20:53.for the safety of its drivers. It follows several clashes
:20:54. > :20:54.between French police 30 miles from Calais and Craig
:20:55. > :21:04.Birkenshaw is checking his lorry They hang onto the underside
:21:05. > :21:11.of the trailer and the rear axle. Like many drivers, he will not
:21:12. > :21:23.be stopping beyond this point. Refuelling and parking around Calais
:21:24. > :21:26.is a total no-go They are desperate to get
:21:27. > :21:37.England they are taking unnecessary risks climbing aboard my vehicle
:21:38. > :21:40.and other people's vehicles. The past six months
:21:41. > :21:42.it is getting out of control. Earlier this year, a BBC team
:21:43. > :21:45.filmed the desperate risks people A driver and their employer can each
:21:46. > :21:50.be fined up to ?2000 per illegal passenger and can have
:21:51. > :21:52.their operating licence revoked. Last year,
:21:53. > :21:54.the Home Office issued penalty notices totalling ?1 million,
:21:55. > :21:56.not just to British companies. If not,
:21:57. > :21:59.your truck cannot go to England What do you say to the British
:22:00. > :22:04.government? My driver checked his truck
:22:05. > :22:08.and he did not see anybody on For me, it is an English problem not
:22:09. > :22:14.a French problem, the driver As we approach Calais we see more
:22:15. > :22:23.and more people by the side of the Some on railway tracks,
:22:24. > :22:27.some approaching lorries that have I respect the position they are
:22:28. > :22:41.in but first and foremost, my responsibility is the protection
:22:42. > :22:46.of myself and my load. They are employing methods
:22:47. > :22:49.to try and slow you down, standing in front of the truck
:22:50. > :22:52.on the main road, pushing prams in front of trucks, anything to slow
:22:53. > :22:55.you down to try and gain access. Earlier this week the government
:22:56. > :22:58.pledged ?12 million to help French But for many,
:22:59. > :23:03.action is long overdue. Just days before we filmed,
:23:04. > :23:05.clashes broke out in Calais And not for the first time,
:23:06. > :23:13.Craig's company had to divert Customers want stuff in as quick
:23:14. > :23:21.as we possibly can get them. If we have to start diverting
:23:22. > :23:24.vehicles through what is happening in Calais and driver security,
:23:25. > :23:26.just makes things more difficult. Those found hidden
:23:27. > :23:28.in vehicles or trailers trying to enter the UK are
:23:29. > :23:35.classed by the Home Office as clandestine passengers. Two years
:23:36. > :23:37.ago just over 11,500 Everyone is just washing
:23:38. > :23:44.their hands of the problem. The French are blaming the British,
:23:45. > :23:47.the British the French. It seems to be
:23:48. > :23:50.the driver is always to blame. Back in England,
:23:51. > :23:53.journey over and a final check to ensure
:23:54. > :24:03.the lorry was not tampered with. It is a clear, but for more
:24:04. > :24:07.and more lorry drivers journeys are As world leaders gather in New York
:24:08. > :24:12.this week, one of the topics up For Melinda Gates and Graca Machel,
:24:13. > :24:16.empowering women around the world starts with alleviating
:24:17. > :24:18.poverty, promoting education The two of them sat down exclusively
:24:19. > :24:36.with the BBC's Laura Trevelyan to World leaders are meeting in New
:24:37. > :24:40.York this week and the main topic is air strikes in Syria. As advocates
:24:41. > :24:49.for the rights of women and children do you worry about the impact on the
:24:50. > :24:52.most honourable? -- most vulnerable. I am always worried about war and
:24:53. > :25:00.the impact on women and children. The world community has learned they
:25:01. > :25:08.will pay the highest price. Women, girls and children. I do worry.
:25:09. > :25:12.Whether it is the Taliban or other groups it seems as if the right to
:25:13. > :25:19.girl's education is under threat as never before. How do you worry about
:25:20. > :25:28.these? Melinda and I were above these -- were among the first people
:25:29. > :25:34.to raise awareness of the crimes against women in Nigeria, for
:25:35. > :25:43.instance. We do not only worry, I think that his too short to call it.
:25:44. > :25:51.We are outraged. This is being done to girl simply because they must
:25:52. > :25:57.educate themselves. What can be done to combat this? I think the thing we
:25:58. > :26:01.must talk about its health and I think you must say have we made
:26:02. > :26:05.progress but people in health? If you do not grow up healthy you do
:26:06. > :26:11.not get a chance at education. The truth is we have had childhood
:26:12. > :26:14.deaths so now there are 6.3 million children dying under the age of five
:26:15. > :26:22.but others have to audit was in 1990. But is huge. We have had
:26:23. > :26:28.poverty. People are feeding their children and now they can finally
:26:29. > :26:32.talk about education. Your late husband Nelson Mandela said after
:26:33. > :26:37.ending apartheid the second biggest mountain to climb was ending child
:26:38. > :26:44.poverty. Is progress being made? Progress is slow. Progress is
:26:45. > :26:48.uneven. If you talk globally, yes there is progress. We have had so
:26:49. > :26:52.many countries in the last 20 years move from low to middle income and
:26:53. > :26:59.there will be a whole post more and that moves up the lives of everyone.
:27:00. > :27:01.That's all for now. Goodbye.