28/12/2015 BBC World News

Iraqi soldiers raised the national flag over government buildings in

the city of Ramadi, but the battle against IS has brought devastation.

The entire city has been severely damaged or hit by coalition air

strikes in the fighting over the last few days. Floods, blizzards,

tornadoes, severe weather warnings in the United States has more than

40 people are killed in the past week. With much of northern England

underwater, Britain's why Minister needs emergency crews who have been

battling floods. And we'll hear from the kids growing up in Brazil

without an education because it is too dangerous to go to school.

The Iraqi Prime Minister has predicted that the coming year

will see the total defeat of the Islamic State group

He was speaking after the Iraqi military said it had recaptured

Iraqi soldiers raised the national flag over the city centre,

and celebrated their victory over IS militants who've had

The defeat of IS in Ramadi is the third time this year they've

been forced from one of their Iraqi strongholds.

But much of the city has been damaged - and many of the thousands

who fled the city will return to find nothing but rubble.

Our correspondent Thomas Fessy reports from Ramadi.

This is it. This is what Ramadi looks like one week into the

offensive against Islamic State. We cannot really wonder outside the

main streets cos there are still hidden extras of devices and booby

traps all around in the neighbourhood and we cannot go any

further because operations are still ongoing further in the city centre

around the provincial government complex where Iraqi forces are still

hunting down the remaining IS fighters. Houses, schools,

buildings, pretty much the entire city has been severely damaged or

hit by coalition air strikes and the fighting over the last few days. The

Iraqi forces have come a long way. In May they abandoned their post and

retreated from the city, effectively leaving it in the hands of IS

fighters. Since then they have been trained by coalition forces and have

been able to mount what has been their most significant ground

campaign so far against IS. Together with Sunni tribal fighters and

supported by the coalition. The test will be to see whether Iraqi forces

can hold their positions and repeat their success elsewhere in the

country to retake other population centres under the control of IS.

With me now from Washington is Kenneth Pollack -

a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings

He's also a former CIA intelligence analyst

and was Bill Clinton's Persian Gulf adviser.

What is your assessment of what has happened in Ramadi today? I think it

is an accomplishment, but I would describe it as a modest

accomplishment. We should remember as your correspondent pointed out

that the Muddy fell to Daesh, Isis, in May. It has taken seven months

for them to retake it. It is good they did so, they have developed

capabilities to do so, but we should remember that about 10,000 Iraqi

security force personnel have basically been besieging Ramadi in

those seven months and now is the right 1000 Isis fighters, Rob Lee

more like 500 fighters, so you had a huge disparity in the ratio. That is

a force that should have taken the city months and months ago. What it

speaks to is the problems in terms of political cohesion of the Iraqi

government and its ability to move forward with these kinds of

operations. It is good that they did so, and it does speak to a certain

amount of military capability, but also speaks to the problems

persisting on the Iraqi side. How confident are you they will be able

to hold onto this area or perhaps even go further to Mosul. ? Is there

a long way from Mosul, literally and figuratively. Ramadi is an oversize

tyrant. It was a significant accomplishment, I do not want to

take that away from them, but the capabilities have demonstrated in

retake in Ramadi, this was a 6-8 week process, it is nothing like

what would be encountered in Mosul, and the key questions are, can they

hold Ramadi against an Isis counterattack? Kami prevent Ramadi

from seeing an outbreak of Sunni-Shi conflict, and can be turned Ramadi

into a wider offensive going in other directions? Either of those

would be a competent for the Iraqis to develop a sense of momentum and

the sense that this is more than a one-off but a changing of the tide.

We heard from the Iraqi prime minister today saying that he

predicted 2016 would see the total defeat of Islamic State in the

country. Very confident words from him, but given what you have told

us, perhaps it will not be as easy as that. It will not be as easy as

saying that, but perhaps the premise will be proven right. But there is a

long way to go from what the Iraqis have a conflict in Ramadi. Again, it

is an important victory but a modest one. Going from that to retaking

Mosul and destroying Isis, the Iraqis are long way from that. Thank

you for joining us. At least 43 people have died over

the past few days as a result of severe storms across southern

and western parts of Flash floods, tornadoes and snow

have destroyed hundreds The governors of Missouri,

Oklahoma and New Mexico have It took just minutes for roads

to become rivers in parts This man is lucky, the tree stopped

his car from being swept away. In Missouri and Illinois at least 11

people have died in flash floods. Including four

international soldiers. Most were killed when their cars

were washed away in high waters. So close to home and in

such a small community. As rivers continue to rise people

have been warned not to travel. We get 40 inches a year and it

all came this weekend, A state of emergency

has also been declared. This is one of the earliest

we have seen a flood on the Mississippi River,

this is probably a record for this In Texas this is the devastation

caused by one of the most powerful Twisters with winds of over 200

miles an hour worked Thousands of homes have been

destroyed, 11 people have been killed and there are warnings

that the death toll could rise. Some are trying to

pick up the pieces. They're spending the Christmas

break trying to clear up. Temperaturess have dropped in Texas

and blizzard conditions have closed This may be more seasonable weather

but across southern and Midwestern states they're hoping this

is the last in a week Here in Britain, Prime Minister

David Cameron has been visiting areas affected by flooding

in the North of England to see the damage caused by

days of heavy rain. More bad weather is

forecast for this week. Our correspondent Judith Moritz

reports from the city of York, where river levels

have now stabilised. It's only from the sky that you can

appreciate the expense of ground covered by these floods and it's

from the air that help An RAF Chinook was flown in to bring

machinery and help repair The only way to bring this equipment

in is by air because all along this stretch of the River Foss,

the roads are extensively cut-off. The Foss flood barrier failed

here on Boxing Day after water got The Environment Agency said it chose

to leave the gate open, as keeping it closed

would have caused even more The airlift brought in new equipment

to get the defences working again, with the aim of pumping water away

from the river Foss, which hasn't flooded

here since the 1980s. With such widespread flooding has

come a massive emergency response involving soldiers and rescue

teams from across the UK. Meeting some of them,

the Prime Minister defended his government spending

on flood protection. Here in Yorkshire for instance

we have spent ?100 million on flood defences since I became

Prime Minister and we are planning But that is of no comfort

to the people who have been To be flooded is a terrible

experience and even more terrible when it happens at

Christmas, or New Year. As David Cameron spoke to one team

in the city centre he was heckled It wasn't clear if she was attacking

government policy in general, or a lack of investment in defending

York against flooding. Meanwhile, out in the city centre,

the rescue continues. Wheels are no use along

here and travelling by boat is the only way for teams like this

one from the West Midlands We've been deployed three times

in the last 12 hours, for medical emergencies,

assisting and ambulance crews to get people from the addresses

that are not reachable. All day, those stranded at home have

been ferried to safety, The job, to get absolutely

everybody to dry land. Judith Moritz reporting

there from York. The US Secretary of State John Kerry

says Iran has taken a significant step towards fulfilling its nuclear

commitment by sending a large quantity of uranium abroad. He was

speaking after Iran dispatched a shipment of more than 11 tonnes of

uranium to Russia. The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia has posted a

record budget deficit of $19 billion for the year. Revenues were sharply

down as a result of reduction in oil prices. -- $19 billion. The city

will attempt to raise revenues from sources other than oil. In Spain

services have been battling wildfires which have been burning

for more than a week in the north of the country due to an unusual dry

spell. At least one small town had to be evacuated. It is proving

difficult for the authorities to bring the fires under control

because of strong winds. Still to come, we will have all the sport.

There were eight fixtures in the endless Premier League, including a

goalless draw between Manchester United and Chelsea, again that many

have speculated could decide the future of manager Louis Van Gaal.

We'll hear from him shortly. De La Mer House is a care home

in Walton-on-the-Naze just a short This morning police were called

after reports that a woman had Officers and ambulance

crews arrived. The woman, thought to be

in her mid-80s, had died. She had apparently been shot,

allegedly by a man who is also It is an unusual investigation,

both parties involved are resident The next of kin have been informed.

We have told those who need to know. Police say a weapon has been

recovered and a man in his mid-80s has been arrested on

suspicion of murder. Japan and South Korea have reached

an historic deal to settle the issue of comfort women, women who were

forced to work in Japanese military brothels during the Second World

War. Estimates suggest some 200,000 women were involved. The issue has

strained relations between the two countries for many years South Korea

not satisfied by previous attempts to heal the breach. But under this

agreement, Japan will give it .3 million dollars to funds to care for

the 46 abused women who were still alive. Japan's Prime Minister is

also issuing an apology, and accepts Japan's deep responsibility.

Dozens of surviving women have asked for an apology specifically directed

to themselves. With only days left until the end of the year, the

timing of the talks was highly symbolic. Expectations of results

were high. Japan's Foreign Minister apologised for shaming the honour

and dignity of the woman, and offered over 8 million US

dollars to help the women. But it is unclear if Japan's admission of

responsibility was legal or just humanitarian. TRANSLATION: As prime

minister of Japan, Prime Minister Abe versus apologies for those who

underwent physical and psychological wounds as comfort women. Dozens of

former comfort women were glued to the television as it unfolded. This

former comfort women remembers what was an ordeal. I was forced on a

train. Later we crossed the border into China. I was sent to a place

where a rather comfort women. I wondered why they called

us comfort women. I was forced to have sex

with many men each day. It was so horrible that some

women killed themselves. Earlier in the year the South Korean

president called for a resolution to the comfort women

dispute by the year's end, marking the 50th anniversary

of diplomatic relations. Few have believed that a quick

breakthrough could be reached and some criticised

that the discussions were rushed Officials described today's

resolution as final and irreversible, but it is unclear

if the deal would satisfy the expectations of all surviving

victims. Let's go live to New York and

doctorate professor of Chinese and Japanese. Does this resolution draw

a line for you today? Yes, I would say I still remember in 2007 when

Prime Minister Abe said that there was no evidence for Japanese army

being directly involved in forcibly recruiting woman and bringing them

to front line brothels. So today's agreement from Prime Minister Abe

apparently made progress in his attitude over the issue. However

there are still some ambiguities and issues that remain. Talk me through

those ambiguities. You sound somewhat surprised that this apology

has come now and not before. Right. First of all, the news report is

talking about the governments of Japan and Korea talking about

getting the agreement down by the end of the year. But we don't know

whether both parties consulted with the victims. To the scholars and

researchers on this issue, the comfort women issue is not an issue

about state politics or diplomats and relations, it is an issue of

human rights about sufferings of hundreds of thousands of women, and

human beings, their lives was damaged, ruined by the war. It is

more important for us to know how the victims, the women themselves,

thought about the agreement, whether they think the apology is

acceptable. I know you have done extensive research on this issue.

Have you spoken to any of the women you know and asked what their

reaction is? I have not had a chance to speak to the woman lately because

the news came very suddenly, but during my research we interviewed

women and heard their voices. Years ago some Chinese victims were

contacted by re-searchers to see if they think is the kind of

arrangement they had was acceptable. Chinese comfort women feel that is

not appropriate. What they want is not simply a money solution. They

want ace and see apology, official apology, from the Japanese

government, and recognition of the war crimes done to the woman who

suffered so much during the war. Manchester United are still looking

for their first win in eight, after being held to a goalless

draw against Chelsea There was a grittier

performance from the hosts, as Louis van Gaal's

side ended their run Wayne Rooney returned

to the starting line-up and he, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial all

had chances to break the deadlock. United remain in 6th,

while champions Chelsea go up The game was overshadowed by talk

over the future of the Dutchman van When you are so attacking, when you

are so pressing, when you stand on the midline and giveaway three

chances, yes, I have thanked my players for the performance because

I think it was a good performance. But of course we need a victory. It

gives a lot of hope also for the fans, I think.

Arsenal are top of the Premier League this evening after beating

Defender Gabriel Paulista headed the ball in for the opener

and his first goal in English football, while Mesut Ozil

continued his fine form by making it 2-0 after the break.

It means the Gunners move a point ahead of Leicester City,

who host Manchester City, who are now in fourth, on Tuesday.

Elsewhere there was a 7 goal thriller at Goodison as Stoke beat

Bottom side Aston Villa lost again - this time at Norwich.

West Brom beat Newcastle 1-0, West Ham came from behind to beat

Southampton 2-1 and it was 0-0 between Palace and Swansea.

England's cricketers are in a commanding position

at the close of play on day three of the first Test with South Africa

in Durban - they have a lead of 261 runs.

Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali with four wickets each.

Steven Finn took the final two, South Africa losing their last six

England were 48 for 2 having lost captain

Alastair Cook for just 7 and Alex Hales for 26.

Nick Compton then went for 49, just shy of his half century,

while Joe Root was the hero of the day with an unbeaten 60.

England will resume their second innings on Tuesday on 172-3.

Three of the junior of has a number of shanty towns often associated

with criminality. Over the past years hundreds of thousands of

students have had classes cancelled because of shoot out near their

schools. We spoke to in 11-year-olds to learn how violence affects their

lives. To 11-year-olds talking about daily

life in Rio de Janiero. The BBC has been showing the extent of the

destruction in the battle for control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

As the army was declaring victory over IS, one of our correspondence

to districts. He said nobody dares to step into the streets for fear of

booby traps. Don't forget you can get

in touch with me on Twitter.