:00:07. > :00:08.This is BBC World News Today, with me Tom Donkin.
:00:09. > :00:12.Iraqi security forces launch an attack to liberate
:00:13. > :00:20.Mosul from so-called Islamic State militants.
:00:21. > :00:23.30,000 fighters are involved, attacking it from several positions.
:00:24. > :00:28.But reaching the city might cost many lives.
:00:29. > :00:30.The Kurdish forces have been moving forward steadily
:00:31. > :00:34.We're now at a distance of about 300 metres from the nearest
:00:35. > :00:37.IS positions, but this is really just the first stage
:00:38. > :00:43.of what is expected to be a long battle.
:00:44. > :00:49.Donald Trump claims the media and Hillary Clinton rigging the US
:00:50. > :00:53.election. More than two years
:00:54. > :00:56.after being kidnapped, 21 Chibok schoolgirls return home
:00:57. > :00:58.to their families. And China's reaching
:00:59. > :01:00.for the moon and possibly Mars, after successfully launching two
:01:01. > :01:17.astronauts into space Hello and welcome to World News
:01:18. > :01:19.Today. The offensive to drive Islamic State
:01:20. > :01:21.militants out of Mosul, their last major stronghold
:01:22. > :01:23.in Iraq, is continuing. 30,000 Iraqi troops and Kurdish
:01:24. > :01:26.fighters are taking part in the offensive
:01:27. > :01:28.on the northern city, Our correspondent, Orla Guerin,
:01:29. > :01:33.joined Kurdish fighters Here's her report
:01:34. > :01:39.from the frontline. At first light, the advance
:01:40. > :01:43.on so-called Islamic State. Zero hour had finally come,
:01:44. > :01:48.bringing an offensive that could decide the fate
:01:49. > :01:50.of the extremists We joined Peshmerga fighters
:01:51. > :02:01.from the autonomous Kurdish region. There name means
:02:02. > :02:02."those who face death" and they were ready
:02:03. > :02:11.to kill and die today. Well, the offensive
:02:12. > :02:16.is now well underway. The Kurdish forces have been
:02:17. > :02:19.moving forward steadily and We are now at a distance
:02:20. > :02:26.of about 300 metres from the nearest IS positions, but this is really
:02:27. > :02:28.just the first stage of what is expected
:02:29. > :02:31.to be a long battle. It could take months
:02:32. > :02:33.to drive the IS fighters First, they have to be flushed out
:02:34. > :02:42.of the villages up ahead. There were only a handful
:02:43. > :02:45.of IS remaining, but the Peshmerga Here's what happened
:02:46. > :02:53.when one attacker approached Before he could reach them,
:02:54. > :03:16.his vehicle exploded. Two more attackers were stopped
:03:17. > :03:19.by air strikes from The Peshmerga say they are
:03:20. > :03:27.fighting a global battle. TRANSLATION: We have
:03:28. > :03:30.a powerful enemy. They are not just fighting the Kurds
:03:31. > :03:34.or the Shia, says the colonel. We want to defeat them
:03:35. > :03:39.for everyone's sake. And this is the territory IS
:03:40. > :03:44.has been forced to abandon. Any civilians were
:03:45. > :03:48.already long gone. There was little enough
:03:49. > :03:52.resistance here. But it will be a very
:03:53. > :03:58.different story inside Mosul. The Kurds are supposed
:03:59. > :04:01.to clear a path to the city, But as they drive out IS,
:04:02. > :04:12.they've been adding to their territory and what they have
:04:13. > :04:14.captured they intend to keep. Just one of the ways
:04:15. > :04:17.in which the battle for Mosul Orla Guerin, BBC News,
:04:18. > :04:23.on the front line. Those living in Mosul are facing
:04:24. > :04:25.an impossible decision - The UN says it believes
:04:26. > :04:31.up to 100,000 people may escape to Syria or Turkey,
:04:32. > :04:33.but it's likely many will be head of UNICEF's field office
:04:34. > :04:50.in the Iraqi city of Irbil. Thank you very much for joining us.
:04:51. > :04:55.There are obvious dangers for the Army in Read taking Mosul but what
:04:56. > :04:58.are these humanitarian challenges, helping people physically and
:04:59. > :05:07.mentally affected by living under these Islamic State militants for so
:05:08. > :05:12.long? Thank you for this opportunity. The main concern is the
:05:13. > :05:18.safety and well-being of the children. And the families that are
:05:19. > :05:25.fleeing from Mosul. Making sure those children who spent many years
:05:26. > :05:29.with the Isil under extremely physical conditions, making sure
:05:30. > :05:33.that when they come out they find a solidity is and services that are
:05:34. > :05:37.friendly to them, that is the critical priority for now. I guess
:05:38. > :05:41.that is the main challenge, trying to delve into the mind of these
:05:42. > :05:48.people, even young people, who have lived for so long under this regime
:05:49. > :05:53.in Mosul? You have had experience in other conflicts, but anything quite
:05:54. > :06:00.like this? This is extremely difficult and very, very hard to
:06:01. > :06:09.equate with other emergencies. It is exceptionally challenging. Children
:06:10. > :06:12.and communities live under very difficult conditions. We know
:06:13. > :06:19.children have missed their schools under Isis, many of them were not
:06:20. > :06:25.immunised, they are traumatised, have seen a lot of distractions, and
:06:26. > :06:31.it is a condition that none of us wish to be. -- a lot of destruction.
:06:32. > :06:34.If there is still meet, we understand this could go on for
:06:35. > :06:40.quite awhile, and some innocent could be used as human shields. Is
:06:41. > :06:45.that a real concern for you? Definitely anything that harms the
:06:46. > :06:47.children and the people is a real concern to ours and to all aid
:06:48. > :06:54.agencies working under these conditions. I just want to ask you
:06:55. > :06:58.briefly, how hard is it to get the message into Mosul in terms of
:06:59. > :07:05.letting these people know after what happens when the city is liberated,
:07:06. > :07:10.if it is? Those specific security details are not within the reach of
:07:11. > :07:18.the aid agencies, but the message that comes out of aid agencies and
:07:19. > :07:25.the humanitarian structure is making sure agencies are prepared, put
:07:26. > :07:30.resources in place, teams in place, and focus more on preparedness and
:07:31. > :07:39.response of planning when people are out of the danger and brought into
:07:40. > :07:44.camps and the government is working on that, that is our priority, line
:07:45. > :07:49.of possibility on weight we should be looking. Thank you very much.
:07:50. > :07:52.When so-called Islamic State took Mosul, in June 2014,
:07:53. > :07:55.it became a symbol of its growing power in the region.
:07:56. > :07:58.Its leader chose the city to announce a caliphate.
:07:59. > :08:02.As our World Affairs Editor John Simpson reports, re-capturing
:08:03. > :08:04.Mosul would have huge implications for the region,
:08:05. > :08:06.Mosul would have huge implications for the region.
:08:07. > :08:11.Back in June 2014, they seemed unstoppable, driving a far bigger
:08:12. > :08:14.force of Iraqi soldiers out of Mosul.
:08:15. > :08:18.Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, their leader, announced he was setting
:08:19. > :08:19.up a Muslim caliphate, covering large parts
:08:20. > :08:31.But their extremism quickly alienated people,
:08:32. > :08:33.especially given the public brutality of the constant
:08:34. > :08:35.executions they carried out, often for trivial offences.
:08:36. > :08:42.How serious is this for so-called Islamic State?
:08:43. > :08:44.Well, this was the area IS controlled
:08:45. > :08:54.Now, 21 months later, it's in retreat almost everywhere.
:08:55. > :08:56.But because Mosul is Sunni dominated, the operation
:08:57. > :09:06.Kurdish troops make up a sizeable proportion of the attacking force.
:09:07. > :09:09.The Iraqi army has a Shia majority and there's been a history
:09:10. > :09:15.of bitter hostility between them and the Sunnis in the region.
:09:16. > :09:19.The force is being backed by Western air strikes against IS positions.
:09:20. > :09:21.There are around 30,000 Iraqi and Kurdish trips altogether
:09:22. > :09:29.against between 3,500 and 5,000 IS fighters.
:09:30. > :09:34.But the defenders have had time to prepare.
:09:35. > :09:37.They'll have planted of booby-trap bombs.
:09:38. > :09:43.Britain's involved in the Mosul campaign.
:09:44. > :09:47.As recently as yesterday, our Typhoons and unmanned aircraft
:09:48. > :09:52.were striking terrorist positions on the outskirts of Mosul.
:09:53. > :10:00.And our army has been helping to train the Iraqi and Peshmerga
:10:01. > :10:02.And our army has been helping to train the Iraqi
:10:03. > :10:04.and Peshmerga forces who will be doing the fighting.
:10:05. > :10:07.We're not putting combat troops on the ground into this operation.
:10:08. > :10:10.The real danger is that the attack on Mosul could result
:10:11. > :10:13.A million inhabitants may need food and shelter and be
:10:14. > :10:21.If things go wrong, Mosul could turn into an Iraqi version of Aleppo
:10:22. > :10:23.and Russia would then claim that its ferocious tactics
:10:24. > :10:44.EU foreign ministers have strongly criticised Russia
:10:45. > :10:48.A statement issued after talks in Luxembourg condemned Russia
:10:49. > :10:49.for causing untold suffering in eastern Aleppo.
:10:50. > :10:51.Russia and the Syrian government were accused of deliberately
:10:52. > :10:55.Moscow has just announced it will observe an eight-hour pause
:10:56. > :10:57.in air strikes on Thursday to allow civilians
:10:58. > :11:03.Speaking after that meeting, the EU High Representative
:11:04. > :11:07.for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
:11:08. > :11:10.Federica Mogherini, said the top priority was for the Syrian
:11:11. > :11:12.regime and Russia to stop the bombing of Aleppo.
:11:13. > :11:15.We say that the European Union firmly believes that there is no
:11:16. > :11:21.This means that the European Union supports and encourages all efforts
:11:22. > :11:25.in all formats to stop, not only the bombing on Aleppo,
:11:26. > :11:31.but also supports all efforts to avoid any further military
:11:32. > :11:35.escalation and any further direct confrontation on a military level
:11:36. > :11:37.and also supports all efforts in all formats to agree,
:11:38. > :11:44.implement and monitor an effective ceasefire.
:11:45. > :11:50.Now, let's take a look at some of the day's other news.
:11:51. > :11:52.The first 14 of around 100 child refugees earmarked
:11:53. > :11:55.for resettlement are on their way to Britain from the makeshift camp
:11:56. > :11:59.Most of them are thought to be aged around 16.
:12:00. > :12:03.They've been living at the Jungle without their families.
:12:04. > :12:06.One person has died and six others have been injured after an explosion
:12:07. > :12:10.at a factory of the chemical giant BASF in Germany.
:12:11. > :12:12.The explosion happened at a river harbour during work on a pipeline
:12:13. > :12:14.route for transporting raw chemicals for shipping.
:12:15. > :12:27.Six more people are still unaccounted for.
:12:28. > :12:29.A committee of experts in Austria has decided that the house
:12:30. > :12:32.in which Adolf Hitler was born - should be torn down -
:12:33. > :12:34.and a new structure built in its place.
:12:35. > :12:36.They've recommended that the new building is used
:12:37. > :12:39.With just 21 days to go until the US election,
:12:40. > :12:42.Donald Trump has claimed it's all rigged against him.
:12:43. > :12:44.Writing on Twitter, he's repeated his unsubstantiated claim
:12:45. > :12:46.that the media is publishing negative stories to help
:12:47. > :12:49.It's the latest in a series of comments where
:12:50. > :12:51.he's called into question the fairness of this election.
:12:52. > :12:58.Katty Kay joins us now from Washington.
:12:59. > :13:05.Thanks for joining us. Mr Trump says there has been voter fraud, one big
:13:06. > :13:11.supporter has said the Democrats are cheating, do these claims have any
:13:12. > :13:16.basis? Very little. The evidence for voter fraud in the United States
:13:17. > :13:20.over the past few decades is slim, the Washington Post has done an
:13:21. > :13:26.extensive survey looking at voter fraud between 2000 and 2014 and find
:13:27. > :13:30.a total of 31 cases, of people impersonating somebody else to take
:13:31. > :13:35.their vote away from them, effectively, so not much basis for
:13:36. > :13:40.this. Today we are seeing pushback from constitutional lawyers, as well
:13:41. > :13:46.as from some Republican party state operatives, the Secretary of State
:13:47. > :13:52.for a Republican from self, the chief Republican in state, has said
:13:53. > :13:59.he can assure Mr Trump the voting is not right but will be free and fair.
:14:00. > :14:02.And it is even some dispute amongst the Donald Trump campaign about what
:14:03. > :14:07.he means when he says things like fraud is going on on a large scale
:14:08. > :14:11.already, that the election is absolutely wrecked, including at
:14:12. > :14:16.polling places, so not clear what he means by that, what kind of Rocky is
:14:17. > :14:22.talking about. Not even total clarity in his campaign about what
:14:23. > :14:27.he means. But this message of the rigged election, is that resonating
:14:28. > :14:35.with his core base? It does very much salt. When you speak to trump
:14:36. > :14:38.supporters, the field, -- when you speak to Tump supporters, and there
:14:39. > :14:43.have been sections of United States who have felt the establishment is
:14:44. > :14:46.stacked against them, somehow it is corrupt and they cannot win
:14:47. > :14:51.elections fairly, the conservative movement because they see the media
:14:52. > :14:56.is biased against them, but knew to be seeing the election itself is
:14:57. > :15:01.rigged, but this establishment anger that some high PR not getting a fair
:15:02. > :15:06.shake, I remember hearing that in 2000 and eight at seven appeal and
:15:07. > :15:17.rallies. But to have the candidates themselves -- during that in 2008 at
:15:18. > :15:19.rallies for Sarah Palin, but surprising to hear that voter fraud
:15:20. > :15:23.is taking place. Thank you. There have been emotional scenes
:15:24. > :15:25.in the Nigerian capital, where 21 of the 276 kidnapped Chibok
:15:26. > :15:27.schoolgirls were reunited The girls were taken by the Islamist
:15:28. > :15:31.group Boko Haram in April 2014. It is unclear how the release
:15:32. > :15:34.was negotiated, but an official says talks are underway
:15:35. > :15:36.to free more girls. After 2.5 years,
:15:37. > :15:44.they're free at last! Daughters reunited
:15:45. > :15:49.with their parents. It was a time for celebration,
:15:50. > :16:17.but also reflection. We are so excited, we never thought
:16:18. > :16:24.this day would come. These girls were amongst those abducted by
:16:25. > :16:28.extremist from Boko Haram. One described what she had experienced.
:16:29. > :16:30.TRANSLATION: I never thought I would see you again.
:16:31. > :16:34.There was a day when a bomb dropped by jet very close to where I was.
:16:35. > :16:36.It is only by God's grace we survived.
:16:37. > :16:40.For 30 days, we were without food, but yet, we are here.
:16:41. > :16:49.The parents wanted their daughters to get an education but it was a joy
:16:50. > :16:52.speed. Had cost them their children. -- but it was a choice that they
:16:53. > :16:53.thought had cost them their children.
:16:54. > :16:55.TRANSLATION: I said to her, "Are you really alive?"
:16:56. > :16:58.And she replied, "Yes, I am." We both burst into tears.
:16:59. > :17:00.What did she tell you about her time in captivity?
:17:01. > :17:02.They were told their parents were no longer alive,
:17:03. > :17:15.They never imagined that they would see us again.
:17:16. > :17:21.But officials seek negotiations are continuing, but dozens of students
:17:22. > :17:30.reportedly don't want to come home after marrying fighters.
:17:31. > :17:33.For now, these girls are free to rejoice.
:17:34. > :17:37.But recovering will not be easy with so many of their schoolmates still
:17:38. > :17:38.being held. The British Government says it had
:17:39. > :17:45.nothing to do with a decision to withdraw UK banking services
:17:46. > :18:02.from Russian-state broadcaster RT. The broadcaster's editor in chief
:18:03. > :18:08.said that NatWest's decision was final. Micron said they are
:18:09. > :18:13.contacting the company to discuss further. -- NatWest said.
:18:14. > :18:16.Oksana Boyko is an RT presenter based in Moscow, and joins me now.
:18:17. > :18:24.Thank you for joining us, do you have any more detail about this? We
:18:25. > :18:28.were not expecting it at all. I think it would be exciting to see
:18:29. > :18:33.the bank perhaps reconsider or at least look into the matter, because
:18:34. > :18:37.the letter sent to ours states that the decision is final, they are not
:18:38. > :18:42.in the decision to even the go see it, and that was after more than ten
:18:43. > :18:48.years of having a pretty good relationship with the bank. We were
:18:49. > :18:52.satisfied with services and thought we were good clients. But if they
:18:53. > :18:58.are willing to look into the matter, all the better, but we are looking
:18:59. > :19:07.into alternative options, because as I said, that came pretty unexpected.
:19:08. > :19:10.You have been in the UK, but have run into difficulty, some claiming a
:19:11. > :19:15.lack of impartiality, do you think that is the reason for the closing
:19:16. > :19:19.of this banking system for you? The British government says it is not
:19:20. > :19:27.involved, do you also accept that? Well... I think it is yet to be
:19:28. > :19:30.seen. Again the drop nature of that statement -- abrupt nature of that
:19:31. > :19:36.statement raised suspicions, especially given the bank, Royal
:19:37. > :19:39.Bank of Scotland, is owned by the government, 73% of shares owned by
:19:40. > :19:43.the government, why we suspected some government length. You are
:19:44. > :19:48.right that we have been under pressure in the UK, we don't think
:19:49. > :19:51.that is because of the lack of impartiality, in fact, we don't
:19:52. > :19:57.think that any broadcaster present in the UK is impartial for that
:19:58. > :20:02.matter, but we do believe that we are bringing a valuable alternative
:20:03. > :20:08.position to the British audience and we hope to continue doing so,
:20:09. > :20:12.especially given for example the BBC has a very sprawling operation in
:20:13. > :20:17.Moscow, hiding a lot of people now to bring Russian language news to
:20:18. > :20:21.the Russian audience there, hiding a lot of producers and reporters,
:20:22. > :20:35.essentially what we have been doing in the UK -- hiring. We hope to
:20:36. > :20:39.continue. Without banking, is it possible to continue long-term? I
:20:40. > :20:47.think it is possible if you bring the international News, you can do
:20:48. > :20:51.that fire the internet, but as we said, we would like to stay in the
:20:52. > :21:00.UK and produced local content. I think that is, to be honest, that is
:21:01. > :21:03.the bone of contention here, because, as you noted, not everybody
:21:04. > :21:09.has been happy with the kind of news we bring to the British audience, it
:21:10. > :21:12.is often contradicting not only the line that the British government
:21:13. > :21:18.takes, but also the editorial lines of many British broadcaster. Thank
:21:19. > :21:23.you for joining us, we will have to leave it there. That is a presenter
:21:24. > :21:26.with RT. The country is celebrating
:21:27. > :21:29.after successfully sending two astronauts to its orbiting space lab
:21:30. > :21:31.called Heavenly Palace 2. They'll be there for the next
:21:32. > :21:34.33 days carrying out research. Beijing invited a handful of foreign
:21:35. > :21:37.journalists to observe the launch. Amongst them was our China
:21:38. > :21:39.Correspondent Stephen McDonell. Seeing this Chinese rocket take-off
:21:40. > :21:51.was every bit as powerful This country has great ambitions,
:21:52. > :22:08.when it comes to the stars. And there is a feeling here
:22:09. > :22:16.that nothing can stop them. It's not something a journalist
:22:17. > :22:17.is normally allowed It's not often you get to go
:22:18. > :22:37.to a press conference with astronauts and I have to say
:22:38. > :22:40.it's rather exciting. But if I swing around here,
:22:41. > :22:44.you can see this is the bubble Now, the reason they're behind glass
:22:45. > :22:48.is they do not want to get sick. I suppose, if you are blasting off
:22:49. > :22:51.to spend a month living on the space station,
:22:52. > :22:53.you wouldn't want to be TRANSLATION: Being an astronaut
:22:54. > :22:57.is my dream and my duty. Although the job is full
:22:58. > :22:59.of challenges and risks, In two days' time, Jinh Haipeng
:23:00. > :23:08.and Chen Dong will be on board They said they couldn't wait
:23:09. > :23:18.to look back down on the planet in the Gobi Desert,
:23:19. > :23:28.north-western China. Now, Sir David Attenborough has
:23:29. > :23:32.a new accolade to add to the many he's notched up over a decades-long
:23:33. > :23:34.career in which he's brought the natural world
:23:35. > :23:36.into our living rooms. He was guest of honour today
:23:37. > :23:41.at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead in the North
:23:42. > :23:46.of England, where construction has begun on a research
:23:47. > :23:48.ship named after the But as Victoria Gill reports,
:23:49. > :23:52.the ship could have ended up Just reaching the
:23:53. > :23:55.Antarctic is tough. But at a time of rapid
:23:56. > :23:57.environmental change, So, in a Birkenhead shipyard,
:23:58. > :24:06.thousands of miles from the icy ocean, a polar research vessel
:24:07. > :24:10.is under construction. News of this ?200 million UK
:24:11. > :24:14.investment in polar science was almost eclipsed by the
:24:15. > :24:16.online vote to name the ship with the public overwhelmingly
:24:17. > :24:20.opting for the name Despite that, the vessel
:24:21. > :24:24.has been named Sir David Attenborough,
:24:25. > :24:26.in honour of Britain's most If you have any knowledge
:24:27. > :24:32.of Antarctic exploration, or Arctic exploration, or the Navy,
:24:33. > :24:35.you can think of some very, very distinguished names
:24:36. > :24:41.that have been carried by ships. That my name should be among them
:24:42. > :24:54.now is a very humbling realisation. Sir David took part in a ceremony
:24:55. > :25:04.today to begin the ship's construction winching a huge section
:25:05. > :25:06.of its keel into place. But Boaty McBoatface
:25:07. > :25:08.lives on - this is Boaty. It's a robotic submersible that
:25:09. > :25:11.will be deployed from the deck of the vessel, carrying out
:25:12. > :25:13.on the water investigations in places that would
:25:14. > :25:15.otherwise be inaccessible With the first polar
:25:16. > :25:22.mission scheduled for 2019, Sir David and Boaty will set
:25:23. > :25:37.out to explore Earth's A great honour for Sir David. The
:25:38. > :25:41.main headline, the offensive to drive Islamic State forces out of
:25:42. > :25:46.Mosul has begun. Kurdish fighters have spearheaded the operation
:25:47. > :25:56.clearing the way Iraqi troops. Don't forgot, you can get in touch
:25:57. > :26:02.with me on Twitter. That is all for now. Stick around
:26:03. > :26:09.The week has certainly started on a marked sunshine and showers
:26:10. > :26:12.theme, quite breezy in places as well, I'm sure
:26:13. > :26:16.No great surprise when you see the chart, because we have a number