29/12/2015 BBC World News

Welcome to BBC News. My name's Mike Embley.

The Iraqi army says it's liberated Ramadi from Islamic State

We report from inside the shattered city.

Pretty much the entire city has been severely damaged or hit by coalition

air strikes in the fighting over the last few days.

America's wild winter weather continues, but now it's snowstorms

causing major disruption, with thousands of flights cancelled.

Much of Northern England remains badly affected

A series of severe weather warnings remain in force.

US basketball legend Meadowlark Lemon dies at the ages of 83.

His Harlem Globetrotters career spanned three decades

It's being hailed as a significant step forward

in the campaign to defeat so-called Islamic State.

Iraqi forces, backed by US airstrikes, say

they've liberated the city of Ramadi.

The US Defense Secretary, Ash Carter, says it's important to

maintain peace in the city and prevent the return of the militants.

Much of Ramadi has been damaged. Many of the thousands who fled will

return to find nothing but rubble. Our correspondent Thomas Fessy

reports now from Ramadi. The remains of Ramadi,

a city ravaged by war. This is a place that has suffered

over a decade of sporadic conflict, but a week-long battle

against so-called Islamic State has We set off with Iraqi forces as

they continue to secure the city. They have cleared the main streets,

but tension is still high so we were only allowed out

of the convoy for a few moments. This is what Ramadi looks

like one week into the offensive We cannot really wander out

of the main streets because there are still hidden

expose of devices and booby traps This is them abandoning the city

to Islamic State fighters in May. They were trained by coalition

forces over the last few months and mounted an offensive with Sunni

tribal fighters to retake the city. The US, Britain

and the coalition partners conducted The Iraqi flag is back on top

of the former government building here, only a few pockets

of resistance remain. This success will boost the morale

of Iraqi forces, so far conceded not TRANSLATION: There is no big

challenge with Daesh, and if we take the whole of the

province we can move on to Mosul. We are providing

our forces with weapons. This is what it took

to reclaim Ramadi. Iraqi troops are close to

victory here, but the city has This has been the most significant

ground campaign against Islamic State so far, but it has taken

months to see it start, and the For more on the liberation of Ramadi

and all of our stories go to our website - for live

updates, analysis More than 100 fighters and civilians

from a rebel-held area in Syria have crossed safely into nearby

Lebanese territory, and leave

the western town of Zabadani, where they'd been under

siege by Syrian government forces. The siege has gone on

for months with Hezbollah fighters

advancing from one side Fighters, with their families,

waiting to be bussed out A deal that took months to

finalise has finally materialised. Brokered by Iran and Turkey, with

the UN's blessing, the Red Cross is now able to escort them out of

Zabadani, to reach rebel-controlled But they must travel many miles

before they reach their destination. This is

the border crossing with Lebanon. The passengers will go into Turkey,

and then back into Syria The deal would not have been reached

if there wasn't first an exchange of Shia fighters in northern Syria,

so that they could leave town with The government besieged Zabadani,

and the rebels responded by besieging Fuaa and Kefraya

in the north, the two Shia towns loyal to President Assad,

who are also fighting the rebels. The Zabadani deal happened

after a similar deal was meant to If implemented, some areas

around government-controlled Damascus will be cleared

of opposition fighters, ahead This will leave the north

of the country under opposition control, but also under government

bombardment. Let's round up some of the other

main stories: A grand jury in Ohio has cleared two

white police officers in the fatal shooting of

a 12 year-old black boy last year. Tamir Rice was shot while playing

with a pellet gun in a park. The prosecutor claimed the

shooting was human error and said there was no evidence to indicate

criminal action by the officers. The jury's decision has been

criticised by the teenager's family. The US Secretary of State,

John Kerry, says Iran has taken a significant step towards

fulfilling its nuclear commitments, by sending

a large quantity of uranium abroad. Mr Kerry was speaking after Iran

dispatched a shipment of more than 11 tonnes

of low-enriched uranium to Russia. The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia

has posted a record budget deficit In Spain,

the emergency services have been They've been burning for more than

a week in the north of the country At least one small town

had to be evacuated. It's proving difficult to bring

the fires under control because At least 43 people have died over

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

western parts of the United States. Flash floods,

tornadoes and snow have destroyed The governors of Missouri, Oklahoma,

and New Mexico have declared states It took just minutes for roads to

become rivers in parts of the south and Midwest. This man is lucky. The

trees stopped his car from being swept away. Help was also nearby. In

Missouri and Illinois, at least 11 people have died in flash floods,

including four international soldiers. Most were killed when

their cars were cars were washed away in high waters. It certainly is

sad that we lost some people so close to home in such a small

community. It makes us all pretty sick to our stomachs. As rivers

continue to rise, people have been warned not to travel. We're known

for getting, like, 40 inches a year. We got a fourth of that this

weekend. So it's a crazy year. A state of emergency has also been

declared. This is probably one of the earliest that we've seen a flood

on the Mississippi River for this high, probably, for the record,

probably for this time of year. In Texas, this is the devastation

caused by one of the most powerful tornadoes to hit this state.

Twisters with winds of over 200 miles per hour swept through the

town of Garland. Thousands of homes have been destroyed. 11 people have

been killed and there are warnings that that death toll could rise.

Some are trying to pick up the pieces. They're spending their

Christmas break trying to clear up. But it is a new threat, snow.

Temperatures have dropped in Texas. Blizzard conditions have closed

roads and cancelled flights. This may be more seasonable weather but

across southern and mid-western states, they're hoping this is the

last in a week of deadly storms. Laura Bicker, BBC News, Washington.

And severe weather has caused problems in other countries too.

Flooding forced thousands of people in southern Brazil to leave their

homes, while in Argentina areas north of the capital, Buenos Aires,

And Paraguay didn't escape the bad weather either.

Flooding has caused major problems there too.

The British Prime Minister has defended the Government's spending

on flood defences, during a visit to York to meet communities

of a north-south divide in investment,

saying more per head was spent on flood defences in the north.

There are 45 flood warnings in force across northern England,

nine of which are severe, and at least five are in the York area,

It's only from the sky that you can appreciate

the expanse of ground covered by these floods, and it's from the air

An RAF Chinook was flown in to bring machinery to help

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 River Foss flood barrier failed here on Boxing Day

The Environment Agency says it chose to leave the gate open as

keeping it closed would have caused even more properties to flood.

The airlift brought new equipment to get defences working again with

the aim of pumping water away from the River Foss, which has not

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's

Here in Yorkshire for instance we have spent ?100

million on flood defences since I became Prime Minister.

We are planning to spend another ?280 million,

That is obviously of no comfort to the people who have

All of our hearts go out to them, because to be flooded is

It is even more terrible when it happens at Christmas or New Year.

As David Cameron spoke to leaders in the city centre,

Meanwhile out in the city centre the rescuers continue.

Wheels are no use along here, and travelling by boat is the only

way for teams like this one from the West Midlands to reach people.

We have been deployed three times in the last 12 hours, ranging

from medical emergencies, assisting the ambulance crews to get people

from the addresses that are already inaccessible by land ambulance.

All day, those stranded in their homes have been ferried to safety.

Whether by boat or by piggyback, the job to get absolutely everybody

The Environment Agency has called for a complete rethink

of Britain's flood defences along with extra measures including better

waterproofing of homes but experts warn that extreme weather is likely

to become even more familiar in the years ahead.

Our Science Editor David Shukman reports.

The astonishing sight of a torrent running down

A glimpse of the huge volumes of water causing such serious

The emergency response is now well drilled.

The sight of rescue teams all-too-familiar,

but these seem to raise questions about why the defences were

overwhelmed in the first place and a major review is now underway.

We always, after instances like this, look at what happened, what

we can take from that, but we need to do differently in the future.

This will be no different to any other incident we

Many of the challenges are nothing new.

In 2007, serious flooding in the north

and west of England left 300,000 people without running water.

There was a detailed study back then into what went wrong.

That review into the flood defences in the country called for a long

list of improvements but have lessons been learned since then?

The study called for better coordination

between the emergency services and far better equipment like

It also wanted key infrastructure far better protected.

Roads, rail lines, power networks, many have been flooded

And it said sandbags should no longer be relied upon.

That new technology using plastic or metal should be used instead.

But even now sandbags are still proving vital.

This comes as many people claim the areas hit hardest in northern

There is a real discrepancy people are starting to get angry across

the North, in the levels of funding going into the North compared to

I think council leaders will come together and work to lobby

The Government denies this, pointing to this map of flood defence

Those marked in blue are being planned and it says a ?2.3 billion

But as the floodwaters linger and the calm conditions today make way

for another storm tomorrow night, the arguments will intensify.

Over how much is spent on flood defence and where.

Stay with us on BBC News. Still to come:

We hear from the kids growing up in Brazil without an education,

Japan settles its dispute with South Korea over its use of Korean women

as sex slaves during World War II. But is it all too little and too

late? The most ambitious financial

and political change ever attempted has got underway with

the introduction of the euro. Tomorrow in Holland we're gonna use

money we picked up in Belgium today, tomorrow it'll be in France,

and it's the same money. George Harrison, the former Beatle,

is recovering in hospital after being stabbed

in his Oxfordshire home. A 33-year-old man from Liverpool is

being interviewed by police The latest headlines: The US

defence secretary says the Iraqi army's capture of Ramadi from the

Islamic State group is a significant Rain and snow storms are causing

major disruption in the US. At least 40 people have been killed in the

past week. The Japanese Prime Minister,

Shinzo Abe, has hailed the start of a new era in relations with South

Korea, following a landmark deal on the issue of Korean women used as

sex slaves in the Second World War. Japan has apologised

for the treatment of women forced to It has also agreed to set up

a compensation fund Some historians estimate that over

200,000 Asian women, mostly Koreans, were forced

into sexual slavery during World War The dozens

of surviving women have asked for a formal apology specifically

addressed to themselves, and a direct compensation

from the Japanese government. With only days left until the end

of the year, the timing of the talks was highly symbolic, and the

expectations for results were high. Japan's foreign minister apologised

for shaming the honour and dignity of the comfort women, and offered

over $US8 million to help them. But it not clear whether Japan's

admission of responsibility was TRANSLATION: As Prime Minister of

Japan, Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies

and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful

experiences, and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds,

as comfort women. Dozens of former comfort women were

glued to the television as news Former comfort woman Lee Ok Seon

remembers what was TRANSLATION: I was forced

on a train. Later I realised we had crossed

the border into China. I was sent to a place where

there were other comfort women. I wonder 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 talks have been rushed to Officials described today's

resolution as final and irreversible,

but it is unclear if the deal would satisfy the expectations

of all surviving victims. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance

has announced a series of measures intended to strengthen

government finances including a rise in the prices paid

by consumers for energy and water. State revenues have

been hit by the decline It posted a record budget deficit

of $98 billion for 2015. Saudi Arabia, if you look at their

revenue, it is about 70% for oil. In the last year the revenue was behind

20% and the kingdom has had to come to grips with this as the oil price

continues to plummet. Because of the global access in oil, it looks like

prices will continue to be low in the next deal, even as world demand

is expected to rise. So Saudi Arabia has had to deal with that. On the

one hand we have seen OPEC try to protect their market's share against

competitors, by not cutting the price of oil, but on the other hand

we have also seen Saudi Arabia try to go to other routes for income,

looking to invest. If you look to September, when in the US we met

with several executives across business sectors in health, mining,

education, trying to basically get them onboard to come to Saudi Arabia

and to invest their survey could diversify the economy.

One of the founding members of the British band motorhead has died. He

was known for fast and furious guitar and the voice of a man who

some with gravel. No one sounded quite like Mode

ahead. Fast, raucous and very loud. And nobody looked quite like the

scene. Those teeth, that head-up acquisition, those whiskers. But it

wasn't always like this. He played with the band that lit up the

ballrooms in the 1960s. I was a terrible guitarist. I was getting

away with murder. Just move your fingers around very fast. And then I

got onto a space I hadn't played before and it was great. I went

straight into it and I ended up in Auckland. -- hawkweed. They made

their biggest hit. Their usual vocalist couldn't get it right and

at the last resort they asked Lemmy to have a go. They didn't want me to

sing. They tried everybody else, except me, cause I was the new guy.

And then they have to ask me because else would do it. Thrown out, he

formed Motorhead and got back to basics. After a faltering start they

recorded their breakthrough album. The title track came their abdomen

and they never looked back. -- became. Lemmy in breast rock 'n'

roll excess, the girls, the booze, the drugs and the incessant touring.

I've been on the road for almost three years. I'm actually only 17!

On Sunday that it feel it as much as others. By any reasonable standards

he shouldn't have survived. But, unlike many of his contemporaries,

he just kept on rocking. If I was to die and be on my deathbed regretting

decisions I have made, I'm not interested in that. I want to die

completely satisfied that I did the best I could.

Lemmy, dead at the age of 70. The long-time busker more player with

the Harlem Globetrotters has died at the age of 73. He had a 24 year

career and was a star player for the Globetrotters as they toured the

world. It was the dazzling book shocks and

dads that earned him the title of clown prince of basketball, title

for one of the most well-known ambassadors for the sport. More than

100 countries, he travelled almost every night during his career with

the famous if fake basketball team. From humble origins in North

Carolina, Lemon had the skills to play professionally but chose the

life of an entertainer. Some people ask me, how many games have you

played? I say, I don't even care. That wasn't the main thing. Nobody

wants a loser. We definitely won't losers. I just wanted to be out

there and entertain. With a career that spanned 24 years between the

1950s and 1970s, Lemon front of the historically African-American team

as it toured the southern US, delighting fans with his athleticism

and showmanship. Over the decades the team has played around the globe

entertaining world leaders and endearingly out. In 1959 Lemon T in

the Moscow where their performance on over basketball fans and earn

them a leader with the then -- meeting with the then leader. Of the

court he pursued motivational speaking, becoming a minister. He

met children at basketball camps and youth prisons, hoping to inspire

them through the game. While he may be gone, in the minds of priests and

prime ministers, presidents and everyday players, maybe even if you

former prisoners, the legacy of the crown prince will live on for some

time yet. Courts in Sweden have ordered

a temporary ban on wolf hunting in parts of the country days before

the hunting season is due to begin. Environmentalists see

a victory for animal rights, but hunting groups say they will

appeal against the bans. Wolves are not endangered in Sweden

but their numbers are small. The country's Environmental

Protection Agency estimates A warning now for Australians, as

crocodiles could be lurking in floodwater submerging

the northern parts of the country. When the town

of Daly River was being evacuated, saltwater crocodiles were reportedly

spotted in the flooded streets. They've apparently

been seen attacking family pets. More heavy rain is forecast

for parts of the Northern Territory More on that and all the news on the

BBC website. And you can get in touch with me

and most of the team on Twitter. There is some rain around

at the moment, and there is going to be more heavy rain

during the course of Wednesday.