:00:00. > :00:10.The battle against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq -
:00:11. > :00:26.In northern Syria a Kurdish led alliance begins to drive IS
:00:27. > :00:27.militants from their stronghold in Rucker.
:00:28. > :00:30.And in Iraq, the government's fight to re-take the city of Falluja
:00:31. > :00:35.Behind the factory there, smoke coming up because of the battle
:00:36. > :00:38.going on there as these forces moved in on Falluja from different
:00:39. > :00:45.A judge in Pennsylvania rules that actor Bill Cosby should stand trial
:00:46. > :00:53.And running dry at the pumps - striking French workers blockade oil
:00:54. > :01:08.refineries with fuel supplies hit across the country.
:01:09. > :01:12.The war is intensifying to drive the Islamic State group
:01:13. > :01:15.from territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.
:01:16. > :01:19.In a moment we'll hear from our correspondent who's
:01:20. > :01:26.with the Iraqi army as it tries to recapture Falluja.
:01:27. > :01:29.At the same time, in northern Syria, a Kurdish-led alliance has begun
:01:30. > :01:32.an offensive to drive IS fighters from areas to the north of their
:01:33. > :01:47.Islamic State fighters parading triumphantly through the Syrian city
:01:48. > :01:52.of Raqqa two years ago. The city it made its headquarters and from where
:01:53. > :01:58.it declared a caliphate including much of Iraq. But now the tables are
:01:59. > :02:04.turning and the militant group are under intense pressure. On a social
:02:05. > :02:09.media site today, this unverified video apparently showing the
:02:10. > :02:14.build-up of Kurdish and Arab forces for a new offensive against Islamic
:02:15. > :02:19.State, just north of Raqqa. But the ultimate goal of retaking the city
:02:20. > :02:23.itself. These fighters are from a coalition called the Syrian
:02:24. > :02:27.Democratic forces, backed by the United States. Just two days ago is
:02:28. > :02:32.training continued they had a surprise visit. United States top
:02:33. > :02:38.military commander in the Middle East was upbeat about their
:02:39. > :02:41.capabilities. I think with the right approach and capabilities provided
:02:42. > :02:48.against anybody can result in military success. That is what we
:02:49. > :02:53.will attempt to do along with our partners. Russia, which still has
:02:54. > :02:58.considerable firepower, available at places inside Syria, has said it is
:02:59. > :03:02.also prepared to support this new offensive, offering to coordinate
:03:03. > :03:08.air strikes with the United States. In both Syria and Iraq, Islamic
:03:09. > :03:12.State is being pounded from the air and by ground forces. The militant
:03:13. > :03:17.group under threat now of losing several of its most important
:03:18. > :03:29.strongholds. And it's already started hitting back. This is the
:03:30. > :03:31.aftermath of a series of bombings yesterday in Syria which had
:03:32. > :03:35.remained largely unscathed by the Civil War. More than 100 people were
:03:36. > :03:39.killed. But if Raqqa, EIS headquarters, does eventually fall
:03:40. > :03:41.to coalition forces it would be a body blow, bringing an end to its
:03:42. > :03:44.caliphate. Meanwhile the Iraqi army,
:03:45. > :03:46.supported by Shia militia, is continuing its attack
:03:47. > :03:48.to retake the city of Falluja The UN says it is concerned
:03:49. > :03:53.about the fate of 50,000 Our correspondent Jim Muir has just
:03:54. > :04:11.returned from the front line. Pounding away at the self-styled
:04:12. > :04:19.Islamic State in Raqqa. -- in Falluja. Day two of this offensive
:04:20. > :04:22.so heavy bombardment is being meted out as ground forces pushed out
:04:23. > :04:29.towards the outskirts of the city. Still some distance away. The
:04:30. > :04:35.front-line effort was the result of a huge mobilisation. Thousands of
:04:36. > :04:39.army and police trips backed by Shia militias and Sunni tribal irregulars
:04:40. > :04:46.all massed against the militants. We come from other cities like that in
:04:47. > :04:54.the south, all over. We come to hear to kick them out. The Shia militias
:04:55. > :04:57.who are playing a prominent back-up role are in jubilant mood after the
:04:58. > :05:02.initial advances. One of their leaders was also upbeat.
:05:03. > :05:10.TRANSLATION: It is going according to plan and we have made good
:05:11. > :05:15.progress. In a few days we expect to have Falluja completely surrounded.
:05:16. > :05:22.Then we will have a real problem, the presence of so many civilians in
:05:23. > :05:26.the town using -- being used as human shields. We hope they can
:05:27. > :05:30.escape. The front-line advance is seeing thousands of regular troops
:05:31. > :05:35.and militia is all pushing towards the town being defended by at most a
:05:36. > :05:40.few thousand militants. Also there are an estimated 30,000 civilians.
:05:41. > :05:43.There is great concern for the civilians who are believed to be
:05:44. > :05:47.tracked there but the next phase would be a major assault on the town
:05:48. > :05:52.itself and that is where it would be bullied civilians if they cannot get
:05:53. > :05:57.up with the most at risk. But the final assault on the actual city of
:05:58. > :06:00.Volusia is some way off. The noose is tightening. It is not yet clear
:06:01. > :06:04.how much of a fight the militants will put up. If they do fight to the
:06:05. > :06:09.death there are fears that much of the city will be left. -- will not
:06:10. > :06:11.be left. Offensives against IS in Iraq
:06:12. > :06:13.and Syria may trigger fresh waves of refugees,
:06:14. > :06:15.at a time when Europe The Greek authorities deployed
:06:16. > :06:19.around 700 police on Tuesday to start clearing
:06:20. > :06:21.a refugee camp at Idomeni. But the operation to move them
:06:22. > :06:23.to government-run facilities has And many of the 8000 migrants stuck
:06:24. > :06:29.at Idomeni in appalling conditions since Macedonia shut its border
:06:30. > :06:34.in February left Soon after dawn, the operation began
:06:35. > :06:43.to clear Greece's biggest This was the move that migrants had
:06:44. > :06:54.been refusing to make for months. Hundreds of riot police circled
:06:55. > :06:56.the site, but Greek officials say Most of those climbing on board
:06:57. > :07:03.the buses are families who fled wars and poverty in Syria,
:07:04. > :07:09.Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they are being taken
:07:10. > :07:11.to new organised camps, There is heavy security
:07:12. > :07:22.all around Idomeni. Journalists and the clowns
:07:23. > :07:24.who usually entertain refugee children have been
:07:25. > :07:26.stopped at this roadblock. Camp residents stayed here to be
:07:27. > :07:29.close to the border with Macedonia, which is in the direction
:07:30. > :07:34.of those mountains. But since March the crossing gate
:07:35. > :07:37.and the route to northern Europe More than 50,000 people got stuck
:07:38. > :07:46.in Greece earlier this Aid workers struggled
:07:47. > :07:51.to help those at Idomeni. Generally from a psychological point
:07:52. > :08:01.of view there is an increase there are people who've been staying
:08:02. > :08:04.there for over two or three months. So there is also high insecurity,
:08:05. > :08:07.because they are not fully aware of where they are going
:08:08. > :08:10.and what will come for them Last year, more than
:08:11. > :08:13.a million people entered But they didn't want to stay
:08:14. > :08:20.in this country, which has Now many migrants will have to -
:08:21. > :08:24.hoping that Brussels will make good on its promises to help
:08:25. > :08:29.resettle refugees elsewhere. Yolande Knell near Idomeni
:08:30. > :08:34.in northern Greece. To talk about this Dawn Chatty,
:08:35. > :08:36.a professor from Oxford University whose specialism is refugees
:08:37. > :08:48.and forced migration. Welcome. I want to talk about
:08:49. > :08:52.Idomeni specifically in a moment but first of all, we began this
:08:53. > :08:55.programme looking at two military operations going on in Iraq and
:08:56. > :08:58.Syria. Whatever the outcome of those is there one thing we can be certain
:08:59. > :09:03.about, that there will be more desperate people on the Move? Yes,
:09:04. > :09:09.absolutely. Most of those who will reach Greece through Turkey have
:09:10. > :09:13.been in the last year basically fleeing the armed conflicts, the
:09:14. > :09:20.Russian air raids, the clashes between various military groups. And
:09:21. > :09:25.so it is inevitably going to be a situation where we will see many,
:09:26. > :09:29.many more directly fleeing the armed conflict. Turning to Idomeni and the
:09:30. > :09:33.clearing of that camp, we hear many left voluntarily on foot to better
:09:34. > :09:38.conditions, how do you view what we see being done by the Greek
:09:39. > :09:43.authorities? Obviously the Greek authorities have several reasons for
:09:44. > :09:48.trying to clear the camp as you know. It sits directly on a rail
:09:49. > :09:52.line that is the main freight line between Greece and Macedonia, so the
:09:53. > :09:56.country has lost about ?3 million every month. They have been unable
:09:57. > :10:02.to use it because of the makeshift camp that was set up there. I am a
:10:03. > :10:05.bit concerned. The reports are that at this point, people are leaving
:10:06. > :10:09.voluntarily but it seems to me that there is a great deal of
:10:10. > :10:12.intimidation. Many of the Syrians who have been interviewed and others
:10:13. > :10:17.have said that they really don't want to be going backwards. Many are
:10:18. > :10:22.waiting to find opportunities to be reunited with their families, many
:10:23. > :10:27.of the women with children have husbands and sons already in Germany
:10:28. > :10:31.and Sweden. They are fearful of being pushed back and also being put
:10:32. > :10:35.in a situation where they are forced to claim asylum in Greece which of
:10:36. > :10:40.course is what they are trying to avoid doing. Right, but if as asylum
:10:41. > :10:45.to offer people a refuge from war, surely as a first point on this
:10:46. > :10:50.journey at least, Greece offers them a safe place? I do agree with you
:10:51. > :10:54.but I think actually that family reunification is almost more
:10:55. > :11:00.important. They want to reach their husbands and their sons and they
:11:01. > :11:04.want to be together. The idea that they must register in Greece is
:11:05. > :11:07.something that's something certainly as far as the Syrians are concerned
:11:08. > :11:11.does not make sense to them. How do you see the blow of migrants
:11:12. > :11:18.developing over the summer months? Did we expect to see new wraps? What
:11:19. > :11:23.will Europe do about it? Certainly the flow is playing slowed down
:11:24. > :11:28.through the land corridor of the Balkans, but I think we will find
:11:29. > :11:32.other routes are going to be opened up certainly by smugglers. Any
:11:33. > :11:35.Syrians have said that their aim is to get their families in Germany and
:11:36. > :11:40.other parts of Europe. They will find smugglers to move down there. I
:11:41. > :11:45.think we will find new groups will be open. In the end we have to find
:11:46. > :11:48.some kind of comments of plan of action which allows for some sort of
:11:49. > :11:53.temporary protection within Europe and other parts of the world which
:11:54. > :11:57.at the same time tries to find ways of finding a political settlement in
:11:58. > :12:00.Syria. We have to look at this holistic way. It is just not a
:12:01. > :12:04.matter of trying to block people from reaching their families or
:12:05. > :12:06.safety. Thank you very much. Thank you.
:12:07. > :12:09.Within the past hour, a judge in Pennsylvania has ordered
:12:10. > :12:12.US entertainer Bill Cosby to stand trial on sexual assault charges.
:12:13. > :12:15.The ruling came at a preliminary hearing to decide whether there
:12:16. > :12:28.Our correspondent was in court. The judge has ordered that criminal
:12:29. > :12:32.proceedings can progress. There will be a further hearing on July the
:12:33. > :12:36.20th and that is when Bill Cosby will start these criminal
:12:37. > :12:40.proceedings and face these criminal proceeding against three camps of
:12:41. > :12:44.sexual misconduct. -- camps. As you mentioned this dates back
:12:45. > :12:47.to 2004 and involves a woman called
:12:48. > :12:48.Andrea Constand. She was a former employee
:12:49. > :12:57.at Temple University. She alleges she went to Bill Cosby's
:12:58. > :13:02.house for career advice where he gave her three unidentified blue
:13:03. > :13:05.pills. She said those pills made her blurry at it. She said certainly
:13:06. > :13:10.this was read out in the police statements here this morning. --
:13:11. > :13:17.eyes. She felt frozen. She was unable to talk and she had to lie
:13:18. > :13:21.down, she was in and out of it. She said that during that time she was
:13:22. > :13:24.on the couch she was sexually assaulted. Bill Cosby in his
:13:25. > :13:30.statement to the police which was also read out in court this morning
:13:31. > :13:33.that any sexual conduct was consensual, but she agreed to it.
:13:34. > :13:39.However he does admit that she doesn't say yes but he says, she
:13:40. > :13:45.didn't say no. Certainly her story is that there was no consent. This
:13:46. > :13:51.will be the basis of this criminal trial. And certainly it is the only
:13:52. > :13:56.criminal proceedings against Bill Cosby. There are a further 66 women
:13:57. > :14:02.have come forward since these allegations arose. All with similar
:14:03. > :14:04.stories and we are expecting several press conferences to follow the
:14:05. > :14:06.judge's announcement today. Gloria Allred is a lawyer
:14:07. > :14:09.for a number of other women who've made similar allegations
:14:10. > :14:23.against the television star. Under Pennsylvania's prior bad acts,
:14:24. > :14:30.legal doctrine, potentially other accusers could be called to testify
:14:31. > :14:36.at trial. Whether they will be called, that is subpoenaed to
:14:37. > :14:39.testify at trial, is a decision that will be made by law enforcement, the
:14:40. > :14:42.district attorney and the court. Around a fifth of France's petrol
:14:43. > :14:45.stations have run dry, or are close to doing so,
:14:46. > :14:47.after oil workers went on strike Protesters blocked depots
:14:48. > :15:04.on the Mediterranean coast In France protesters as much as part
:15:05. > :15:10.as workplace culture is the 35 hour week. And today workers at the all
:15:11. > :15:17.refineries that the French industry stood firm in support of both those
:15:18. > :15:20.tradition is. -- oil refineries. Seven of the country's eight
:15:21. > :15:27.refineries have so far been affected by protests. And already at petrol
:15:28. > :15:31.stations across the country, there were queues for whatever fuel
:15:32. > :15:36.remained in the pumps. TRANSLATION: The protesters are being pathetic.
:15:37. > :15:40.It is not normal. They are holding as hostage. TRANSLATION: I support
:15:41. > :15:43.the protest because the labour reform will change the way we work.
:15:44. > :15:48.It is something of a French tradition to go on strike. Even the
:15:49. > :15:53.police told us that the search for petrol was tying up their patrol
:15:54. > :15:56.time. Petrol stations that are still open are quickly running through
:15:57. > :16:01.supplies. Staff here told us they were completely out of diesel and
:16:02. > :16:05.they had about an hours worth of petrol left. Beyond that they are
:16:06. > :16:12.relying on fresh supplies from the refineries, of which are now facing
:16:13. > :16:15.strike action. Despite the lag in refuelling the Government says there
:16:16. > :16:21.are enough reserves to avoid a crisis and that it is not backing
:16:22. > :16:27.down. TRANSLATION: We will not accept and we cannot accept that
:16:28. > :16:31.organisations, clearly a minority, blockade sees refineries and
:16:32. > :16:38.obstruct a number of field deep rose, so, of course, we will
:16:39. > :16:41.continue our actions. This is not the first protest over the
:16:42. > :16:45.Government's controversial economic reforms but it is the toughest so
:16:46. > :16:49.far. And with union leaders threatening to expand the strikes,
:16:50. > :16:56.what started as a real election gamble for the president has just
:16:57. > :16:57.become a nationwide game of chicken. Joining me from Paris
:16:58. > :17:02.now is Sophie Pedder. She is the France bureau chief
:17:03. > :17:10.for The Economist. Could we start with some background?
:17:11. > :17:15.Explain brands's famously complex labour laws? What is the president
:17:16. > :17:18.trying to change? Francois Hollande has said he is not seeking to
:17:19. > :17:21.re-election next year unless he brings down unemployment and one of
:17:22. > :17:24.the things that deters employers from creating permanent jobs is the
:17:25. > :17:29.fact it is so difficult when you have got people on the workforce on
:17:30. > :17:33.the payroll to fire them if you are faced of economic difficulty. The
:17:34. > :17:38.purpose of this legislation is to try and make it easier for firms to
:17:39. > :17:42.shed workers and therefore to encourage them to recruit more. But
:17:43. > :17:47.it has not seen like that. This is the difficulty. Although it is in
:17:48. > :17:50.fact a piece of legislation designed to help young people get into the
:17:51. > :17:55.workforce, it is pretty much seen as an attempt to sort of, you know,
:17:56. > :18:00.make it easier to get rid of workers was they are in jobs and that is the
:18:01. > :18:03.huge communication difficulty that the Government has had with this.
:18:04. > :18:08.These protests have been growing for some time now but has this reached a
:18:09. > :18:12.new level with the effect on fuel supplies over France really pretty
:18:13. > :18:20.much everyone feeling the impact? Yes. Obviously the pictures are
:18:21. > :18:24.dramatic and once the petrol shortages come into place that has
:18:25. > :18:29.been affecting everybody, but the otter paradox of this whole
:18:30. > :18:33.situation I think is that a lot of young people who are shot out of the
:18:34. > :18:37.job market don't see this as a piece of legislation that will actually be
:18:38. > :18:43.beneficial to that, these are people stuck in short-term jobs often on
:18:44. > :18:47.contract that do not last more than a month, they are the people who
:18:48. > :18:51.could benefit from the sort of legislation that the Government is
:18:52. > :18:55.trying to pass. But public opinion, the dramatic pictures on the streets
:18:56. > :19:01.does make it look as though this is a piece of legislation that is
:19:02. > :19:06.against people in work rather than designed to help them. How do you
:19:07. > :19:11.see this panning out? We have the Euro 2016 turn it coming up in a few
:19:12. > :19:15.days. Could it get much worse? -- tournament. There are huge security
:19:16. > :19:19.concerns in France and it is not just about the strikes and protests,
:19:20. > :19:26.also terrorism. France was struck twice yearly -- twice last year and
:19:27. > :19:30.there is huge concern. A big effort on the part of the Government to try
:19:31. > :19:36.and put in place a really secure as possible protocol for the Euro 2016.
:19:37. > :19:42.Nothing is ever 100% sure and I think there will be a lot of concern
:19:43. > :19:43.in France and probably outside in the run-up to the genome. Sophie,
:19:44. > :19:46.thanks very much. Now a look at some of
:19:47. > :19:48.the day's other news. Tens of thousands of people have
:19:49. > :19:50.been attending an anti-austerity Riot police used water
:19:51. > :19:56.cannon at protesters The demonstration was called
:19:57. > :20:04.to protest against the centre-right government's social and economic
:20:05. > :20:07.policies, which trade unions say cut deep into the foundations
:20:08. > :20:09.of Belgium's welfare state. In Iran, an 89-year-old
:20:10. > :20:10.hardline conservative, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati,
:20:11. > :20:15.has been chosen as chairman The clerical body appoints Iran's
:20:16. > :20:19.supreme leader and it has the power to remove him
:20:20. > :20:23.and supervise his activities. The senior cleric is one of the few
:20:24. > :20:26.hardliners on the panel to have secured re-election
:20:27. > :20:28.in elections in February. It shows the power of the panel
:20:29. > :20:35.despite a recent nuclear deal. The International Olympic Committee
:20:36. > :20:38.says samples from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing which have been
:20:39. > :20:40.re-tested, show positive results It is warning that more than 30
:20:41. > :20:44.athletes could be barred from this French police and finance officials
:20:45. > :20:53.have raided the offices of the Internet giant
:20:54. > :20:55.Google in Paris. They're investigating claims
:20:56. > :20:57.that the American company has Hugh Schofield joins
:20:58. > :21:10.us now from Paris. Tell us about what happened. A big
:21:11. > :21:15.raid by all accounts. It started at 5am and we are told that at some
:21:16. > :21:20.point there were 100 police and tax officials and experts in computing
:21:21. > :21:25.and so on searching through the Google headquarters in central Paris
:21:26. > :21:30.led by five examining magistrates, they were seen ringing out various
:21:31. > :21:35.boxes which will have been carted off to the headquarters of the tax
:21:36. > :21:39.police, that bit of the justice system here. All part of an
:21:40. > :21:46.investigation which was launched a year ago now after a complete,
:21:47. > :21:53.finance ministry, alleging that Google has been engaged in tax fraud
:21:54. > :21:57.and basically in evading its taxes, to the point we are told, this is
:21:58. > :22:09.not official on the ministry, 1.6 billion euros. The context of this
:22:10. > :22:13.ongoing problem is that Google has a lot of countries who are beginning
:22:14. > :22:17.to come down and get it very angry about how they see Google has
:22:18. > :22:22.minimised tax liabilities by all sorts of complex shuffling around of
:22:23. > :22:27.responsibilities and headquarters but the long and short of it is that
:22:28. > :22:32.France believes that Google makes an awful lot of money in France as a
:22:33. > :22:36.result of French transactions, the bulk of which are processed through
:22:37. > :22:40.Ireland, the headquarters of Google in Europe and the French thinks that
:22:41. > :22:45.is wrong and that it a lot more should be taxed in France. Have we
:22:46. > :22:48.heard any response from Google? Know and we don't ever I don't think
:22:49. > :22:53.because they tend to have this blanket statement which comes out on
:22:54. > :22:58.the record which is that Google abides by the tax regimes of
:22:59. > :23:05.whatever country it is operating in. Which is no doubt true to a point.
:23:06. > :23:11.The French though believe that it is illegally, or maybe illegally, using
:23:12. > :23:17.tax conventions between France and Ireland and so on to avoid the
:23:18. > :23:18.larger sums which it says it has an ethical and possibly legal duty to
:23:19. > :23:23.pay. Thank you very much. Five days after the loss
:23:24. > :23:25.of the EgyptAir plane over the Mediterranean,
:23:26. > :23:26.one Egyptian official says the investigation now points to some
:23:27. > :23:34.kind of explosion on board. That is being denied by other senior
:23:35. > :23:36.investigators. There are also conflicting reports
:23:37. > :23:39.about whether or not the Airbus A320 swerved before it plunged
:23:40. > :23:41.into the sea killing Aircraft and ships from a number
:23:42. > :23:46.of different countries are still scouring the Mediterranean
:23:47. > :23:48.looking for the wreckage of the EgyptAir plane,
:23:49. > :23:50.for any debris and anything athat could help investigators
:23:51. > :23:53.to understand what happened. And so far there seems little that
:23:54. > :23:56.has been established Some news agency reports have quoted
:23:57. > :24:02.an unnamed senior Egyptian forensic official who says that the small
:24:03. > :24:06.size of human remains that have been recovered suggests that the logical
:24:07. > :24:09.explanation is that the aircraft However, that has been denied
:24:10. > :24:16.by Egypt's head of forensics and the Ministry of Justice said
:24:17. > :24:19.it was too early to identify The aircraft, and Airbus A320 came
:24:20. > :24:24.down last Thursday on an overnight With 66 passengers and crew
:24:25. > :24:30.on board. One of the few pieces of hard
:24:31. > :24:33.evidence is a set of data sent automatically to base including
:24:34. > :24:37.messages that smoke had been detected in a toilet
:24:38. > :24:40.and in the avionics bay below the cockpit, which
:24:41. > :24:41.contains the aircraft's Greek authorities claimed the plane
:24:42. > :24:47.swerved sharply before crashing, turning first 90 degrees
:24:48. > :24:49.to the left, then 360 degrees to the right,
:24:50. > :24:53.before losing altitude. But the head of Egyptian air
:24:54. > :24:55.navigation services has said his officials did not record
:24:56. > :24:59.any form of swerving and that while they were able to watch
:25:00. > :25:03.the plane on radar for a minute before it disappeared, they were not
:25:04. > :25:07.able to communicate with it. The Greeks may have seen it turning,
:25:08. > :25:10.but the tracking systems are not clearly defined to track aircraft
:25:11. > :25:13.in some form of emergency descent, if it is broken up or if it is in
:25:14. > :25:17.a very tight spiral dive. So once again it is interesting
:25:18. > :25:20.information, but it does not really tell us anything at this stage
:25:21. > :25:26.until we get the wreckage back. And with so much still unclear,
:25:27. > :25:28.the key to establishing exactly what did bring the aircraft down
:25:29. > :25:31.will be the recovery of the voice and data recorders,
:25:32. > :25:44.if they can be found. Let's remind you of one of the
:25:45. > :25:48.developing stories. A judge in Pennsylvania that the actor Bill
:25:49. > :25:51.Cosby should stand trial on sexual assault charges. More on all our
:25:52. > :25:54.stories on the BBC website. If you want to get in touch with us on