like your fancy watches and your big cars, one day you realize that what matters is not the size of your car. it's the size of your yacht. ♪ hello, you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. our top stories, gunfire again outside karachi airport after monday's deadly assault. pakistani taliban says they launched the attack on a security force training base. never mind the football, corruption allegations dominate as fifa leaders gather in sao paulo. also, we profile the presidential playoff in afghanistan on the day five american soldiers are killed in

a military incident. also, alex is here having a look at what is a day for the gamers out there. >> absolutely right. and it's face-off time between two of the biggest players in the industry, david. sony and microsoft are going head to head as the e-3 expo in los angeles. it's the cannes festival of the gaming world. the bets are on as to who will walk away with the top prize. it's midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 4:00 p.m. in karachi, where for the second time in two days pakistan's busiest airport has shut down flights as gunmen on motor bikes launch an attack. once again, the pakistani taliban is being quick off the mark in saying it carried out the assault. the military says it now has the airport back under its control,

and the flights have resumed. the army remains on high alert at the airport, and the hunt is on for at least three gunmen. we have this report from islamabad. >> reporter: a new gunfight today on the edge of pakistan's busiest airport. the target was a building close to the airport perimeter used by the specialist airport security forces for training and weapons storage. the same force lost at least 11 members in sunday's all-night gun battle at the airport. the clash erupted, according to officials, when two gunmen tried to enter the security building, firing shots. they then fled. the army and police bringing in re-enforcements and fighting back as they pursued them over the course of an hour or so. as they did so, pakistan's prime minister called for the attackers to be eliminated. flights were again suspended temporarily into and out of this key economic hub as the gunfight took place. once again, pakistan's

vulnerability to militancy was exposed to the world. the pakistani taliban admitted responsibility for sunday's deadly battle, and a branch of the taliban said it carried out the latest attack. the government is under pressure to respond. earlier today, fighter aircraft bombed militant positions in one of the semiautonomous tribal areas near the afghanistan border. 25 militants were killed. air raids of this kind were one of the reasons the taliban said it staged the airport attack. today, the bodies of seven more victims of sunday's attack were recovered. they had taken refuge in a cold-storage building and died there before they could be rescued. in all of this, there are tragic echoes of the cycle of violence that accompany taliban militancy at its peak here. bbc news, islamabad. well, from karachi i'm

joined by the bbc's mohammed hanif. i wonder after the praise that was handed out for the security force's efforts yesterday to deal with the taliban, is there not a certain amount of embarrassme embarrassment, do you think, today that the taliban have been able to do something again. >> well, there definitely semibasemis embarrassment, but more than that, there was panic for a couple of hours that it seemed we had that moment of here we go again. the karachi airport had just been opened just yesterday, and people had begun to travel. the security forces, especially the airport security, did try and play down this attack. they were trying to say we shouldn't call it an attack. it was a shooting incident, more like a drive-byshooting.

but obviously there was panic all over the place. flights were suspended. now they have resumed. i guess what's happened is as mike pointed out, there was bombing in the tribal areas along the border as a retaliation to the attack on karachi airport. but apparently as far as we negotiation after the airport was cleared, nothing was done in karachi. everybody can guess that attackers might have come from the tribal areas. obviously, they found all the logistical spots here. >> yeah, and one can only presume this is going to ratchet up pressure on the government, isn't it, in terms of how they respond to incidents like this when the taliban is so quick to fight back. >> well, whenever there's a high-profile attack in one of pakistan's major cities or against one of the military

installations, pakistan security forces retaliate by launching attacks in tribal areas. they bomb the taliban's hideouts. but there's never really been any concerted effort to look into the big cities. when these attackers come and launch their attacks in these cities, who provides them shelter? who provides them logistics? who gives them hideouts? who does everything for them this is who stores their ammunition for them? that's a very complicated scenario. and this government and the past government, they've both failed to address that. >> okay, mohammed. thank very much indeed. fifa's president has been hitting out at critics of the 2022 world cup in qatar, accusing them, among other things, of racism.

the fifa congress is facing allegations after secret e-mails and letters were received showing corrupt payments being made to football officials. the sporting body is now meeting to discuss the allegations in sao paulo. all this just two days before the start of the world cup in brazil. david bond has this. >> reporter: this is the prize every team here in brazil is aiming for. but for the last couple of weeks, it's been hard to focus on the football. later today, the leaders of the world game will gather here for the fifa congress. once again, the subject of the qatar world cup is likely to overshadow proceedings. for the fifa president, all this is an unwanted distraction. yesterday he said the british media's latest wave of allegations about qatar was motivated by racism. the claims center on this man. he's accused of making payments

to football officials in return for their support during the race for the 2022 world cup. while qatar denied the allegations and fooe that says it's investigation, changes to the bidding process have already been made. >> the future hosting position will not be done by the executive committee of fifa anymore but by the fifa congress. so i think it is very clear that fifa has changed the way this is directed, controlled. we have introduced a series of checks and balances. >> reporter: despite all the criticism fifa has been facing over the last couple weeks, the president is expected to announce he wants to continue to run world football until 2019. what most people care about right now, though, is the start of the world cup, which finally gets going on thursday. david bond, bbc news, in sao paulo. >> difficult to concentrate with all this business floating around. i'm joined from central london

by roger blitz. thank you very much indeed for joining us. i can just start on this racism allegation. racism and discrimination, i think, is what he talked about. first of all, let's look at the question. do you think there's anything in that? >> well, he's speaking to a specific audience. he was speaking to the confederation of african football, who he met yesterday. he was going there in order to win support for his campaign for a fifth four-year term. he's got a very specific purpose in mind to get african football and to get other confederations like asia, like south america, and north and central america to support his campaign. so what he's really doing there, he's not worried about how that message plays in the outside world. he's interested in these football officials' support for his campaign. if that means that he's giving

them some sympathy for coming under attack for, in some cases, accepting payments allegedly to win support for qatar's vote, then that serves his particular purpose. it's a narrow purpose. and that's all he's interested in. >> well, someone described this reference to racism and discrimination as an outside position but still going for gold. maybe that's the point you're making. you look at the target, and it's a narrow constituency to aim for. you would presume, i guess, roger, that there's no doubt he will say i'm standing again. >> absolutely. it's quite a choreographed, orchestrated process, this congress, in which he will, i think, in the next couple of days make a speech to congress saying, would you like me to stand for another term? he's hoping to get the acclaim of the people in that audience

in order to justify standing again. so he was going around yesterday to encourage this level of support, and it's part of his single-minded strategy to stand again. and it looks like it's hard to see how he will not just stand again but actually win. he's looking very comfortable at this stage. although, having said that, it's 12 months out, and there's a lot of events still to happen, especially this tournament to brazil, which is clearly got some difficult, logistical, and operational issues to get over. >> is it fair to say, roger, briefly, that essentially there are very clear camps in any case within fifa? uefa traditionally rubbed up rather uncomfortably against each other. but he knows where his votes are and how to keep them. >> absolutely. this has been a bad relationship with the european governing body for a long time.

what we're expecting is that uefa will today be meeting and will be saying some pretty harsh things about the governance of fifa, about its failure to reform. they won't necessarily name him directly. but uefa will take something of a stand, which is pretty rare, especially to do it in public. when they come to -- when he comes to seek this acclimation, we can expect uefa to be pointedly silent about it. however, uefa is pretty much on its own in this. there may be some sympathy with their view in some parts of asian football, but pretty much the rest of the world as far as football delegates are concerned, he has them in his possible. therefore, we have to ask whether it matters what uefa says in terms of its criticism. >> important. roger, good to speak to you. well, fifa's worries aren't just about qatar, of course. just two days before the opening match of the world cup in

brazil, we've had striking metro workers in sao paulo, who have now at least agreed to suspend their industrial action, but they're threatening to walk out again on the day of the opening match. that could cause traffic chaos, frankly, in the city. to make matters worse, a section of a monorail being built in sao paulo has collapsed, killing a worker. julia, let's just start with the strike. there must nonetheless be huge relief that all attention is not, for the moment, on those people who are threatening to cause chaos to the start of the campaign. >> reporter: well, i wouldn't say there's less stress because actually the strike movement has decided to hold an assembly on wednesday in the evening to decide whether or not they will strike on thursday, the day of the opening match. so they're actually waiting for the very last minute. this puts lots of pressure on the government to guarantee

things will run smoothly on thursday for the opening match and that the metro will be operating. today it's operating normally in sao paulo. but it's quite essential in a massive city like sao paulo with the huge traffic jams it has that it works during the opening match to reach the stadium, which is quite far from the city center. >> so the workers keep the authority's feet to the fire as it were on that. and we mentioned this monorail. the point being, of course, this is a monorail that was meant to be in place for this tournament. that's already way off pace. >> reporter: yes, it's another example of work that was rushed to be finished for the world cup and wasn't completed. this monorail was supposed to be ready. it connects the domestic airport to metro lines in the city. there was this tragic accident there, killing one worker and

injuring another two. so this is -- contributes to this grim scenario in sao paulo just ahead of the opening match. but authorities there also reached an agreement with homeless groups that were also at the center of other protests in the city. they had protested recently close to the stadium and there was concern that other demonstrations would happen during the world cup but now the government has met some of their demands, and these groups at least have promised not to demonstrate during the world cup. so at least in one area there was some relief to the authorities. >> one few there, but still plenty of cause for julia, thanks very much indeed. let's catch up on other news now. the leaders from sweden, germany, britain, and the netherlands have failed to reach an agreement on who should be the head of the european

commission. angela merkel wants the job to go to jean-claude juncker. the three others remain opposed to the idea. the actress angelina jolie and the british foreign secretary william hague have joined forces to host an international summit looking for ways to end sexual violence around the world. the concern is that rape is being used as a weapon of war in many conflict zones. more than 100 countries are attending the summit here in london. there's been widespread violence in iraq where the northern province of nineveh has fallen to militants. hundreds of gunmen launched an overnight assault on the city of mosul. this coming as twin bombings kill at least 20 people in the city. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come on "gmt," trapped in the darkest depths of the earth. we'll bring you the latest from southern germany and speak to a

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five american soldiers have been killed in southern afghanistan, reportedly in what they call a blue-on-blue friendly fire incident. afghan officials say the five soldiers along with two afghans were killed accidently in a u.s. air strike. it happened in zabul province. this is a region which has been hotly contested between the taliban and international forces for some years. just another reminder really of the channllenges facing afghanistan as international forces prepare to leave. on saturday, afghans will be voting in a presidential runoff. our correspondent david loyn reports on the campaign to be afghanistan's next president.

>> reporter: the two candidates have traveled to the ends of afghanistan searching for every vote. the first round was at the end of the winter. they're campaigning now in high summer. the former world bank economist and finance minister promised reform. he told me his challenge to debate his opponent has not been accepted. >> it has not been accepted. the television organizations have offered repeatedly. he's not shown up. that speaks volumes. >> reporter: abdullah abdullah, the candidate who led the first round by a wide margin said he would debate with ghani if the tv companies came together this week. he denied ghani's claims that he would be vulnerable in debate because people close to him are corrupt. >> he's claiming that people which are we me are vulnerable while he himself has had people

on his side he cannot take their portraits through the provinces of afghanistan let alone him personally. so i think that's a misplaced argument. >> reporter: dr. abdullah is referring to a former war lord and the controversial choice as vice presidential running mate. >> translator: i'm here to support ghani. i want him to make the nation prosperous and defend our country. >> translator: i came here because of dostam, and i'm going to vote for ghani. >> reporter: in the far southwest close to the iranian border, dr. abdullah addressed voters who had waited for hours

in the hot sun. he, too, promises a fresh start for afghanistan. security was intense and the police watchful and nervous. concern about taliban attacks has kept many people away from rallies. and a grim reminder of their presence, the taliban came close to killing dr. abdullah the day after that rally. afghanistan is close to making history with its first peaceful transition of democratic power. david loyn, bbc news, on the afghan campaign trail. >> now, i just want to refer back to a story we brought you a moment ago from iraq. the prime minister has said in the last few minutes he's asked parliament, in fact, to declare a state of emergency after the insurgents overran mosul. that's how it's being described to us at the moment. the call is for a state of emergency following events in mosul. we'll keep an eye on that and

bring anymore to you as it comes into us. now, rather different, they look cute. they're undeniably intelligent, but would you keep a monkey as a pet? it's thought around 9,000 monkeys and other primates are being kept as household pets. that's just here in the u.k. there's call for urgent action to monitor their welfare, including setting up a register of owners. >> reporter: for many people who keep monkeys, they're more than just pets. >> i love him more than people, to be honest. they will always love me. >> like they're your kids? >> oh, yes. something similar to kids. >> reporter: jenna has five squirrel monkeys. she's converted her house inside and out to make sure they're well looked after. monkeys are some of our nearest

living relatives in the natural world. curious, intelligent, social creatures. even when they're kept in very good conditions like this, there are some who think that keeping monkeys as pets is cruel and should be banned. this is why. a monkey kept on his own in a small cage for years. when he was finally rescued, vets found he had rickets, caused by a lack of sunlight, his bones fused and curved. joey is now recovering in a primate sanctuary in cornwall. today's report by the environment select committee says the rules on how monkeys are kept need to be tightened to protect their welfare. >> we believe we need to look now very carefully at the conditions in which these pets are kept. we also need to look very closely at any potential trade in these animals. and we need to be absolutely sure whether these are imported from third countries or whether this is an indigenous trade. >> reporter: two years ago, we filmed troy, bought for 800 pounds on the internet, kept on his own indoors. troy was sold soon after we filmed this, again on the internet. it's an unregulated trade.

you don't need a license to buy, sell, or breed smaller species of primates, and they can sell for thousands of pounds each. to keep larger primates like these lemurs, you need a dangerous wild animals license. but 90% of owners don't have one. tweaking the current regulations, they say, isn't enough. >> not good. now, exactly what you don't want to see while sitting on the b f beach. dozens of sharks. some beaches in the u.s. state of alabama are being closed to swimmers. a large school of sharks spotted in the area. they're thought to have been drawn in by the large number of fish carcasses thrown into the water during the red snapper fishing season. so far no attacks have been reported. the beaches are closed. coming up in the next half hour, hillary clinton has a new

book out. it talks about her past as secretary of state, but there is just one thing people really want to know. does she see herself having a future as president? we'll go over to washington, see if her new book "hard choice" contains any clues art her plans for the future. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." (mother vo) when i was pregnant...

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welcome to "gmt." in this half hour, hard choices for hillary. as she launches a book about her time in the state department, does she in effect launch her bid for the white house? also, we speak to the father of a young boy who has finally escaped syria after being trapped in the country for three years. and coming up on the program, alex is having a look at what's going on in business. and air b&b moving into food? >> absolutely right. if you're tired of paying too

much for not so authentic pofoo this could be just the thing for you. the online hospitality site is now wanting to change the way we eat when abroad. it hasn't yet launched, but it has restaurants up in arms. feels like one of the great talking points many american political chat. will she or won't she? most people think she will. but perhaps the publication today of hillary clinton's account of her years as secretary of state will give us all a clearer idea of the answer. "hard choices" is the title. it recounts many of the key moments during her time in office. the book comes with a tour and an opportunity no doubt for countless big interviews which may go further in discerning her real intentions about having another crack at the democrats' nomination for the white house.

here's the report. >> reporter: she may have disappeared from the international stage, but in the u.s., hillary clinton is in the spotlight, giving speeches across the country and maybe looking presidential. >> the next president of the united states, hillary clinton! >> reporter: and in chicago, they are ready for hillary. the election it more than two years away, but they're already fundraising. >> she going to be the first woman president for the united states. i'm looking forward to it. >> i think the country is still looking for strong, vibrant leadership. i think we in the democratic party have that. >> reporter: this is a presidential campaign without a presidential candidate yet. and with no other serious democratic candidates for now, it could become a problem for mrs. clinton. what will the democratic party do if she doesn't run?

>> oh, i don't even know. i don't know that there's an alternative scenario that i've even thought about. we want her to know she's our first choice. we hope she says yes. we're ready to go. >> reporter: she is in no rush to make any announcements. >> when are you going to decide whether you're running for president? >> you know, i'm going to decide when it feels right for me to decide. >> reporter: mrs. clinton's friends say the grueling schedule of a campaign and the ugliness of political attacks will weigh on her as she decides. >> she hasn't even announced she's running and we've already seen the attacks start on the other side. they're clearly going to be nasty. they're clearly going to get worse, and she has an extremely thick skin, but how much of that do you want to subject yourself to? >> reporter: mrs. clinton's never been this popular, but the

hillary haters, as they're known here, are still out there, even more determined and virulent than in 2008. and the republican party is already almost all focused on tearing her record apart. >> we need to do everything we can to make people understand that there is another side. this book isn't just about hard choices. it's about bad choices. we want to make sure there's another side to that story. >> reporter: taking her time before she declares, mrs. clinton mostly ignores the attacks for now and revels in the attention. this is a way for hillary clinton to reconnect with voters, show them how she's evolved since 2008 and get a feel for what it would be like to be back on the campaign trail. the question now is, can she pace herself and maintain the momentum? bbc news, denver. >> well, of course you'll recall

kim followed hillary clinton around the world as our state department correspondent. she's also written her own book about hillary clinton and joins us from washington. kim, we heard a republican saying that hillary clinton is test driving her campaign here. in your report, she's got some audiences eating out of the palm of her hands. does the book, though, give any indication, do you think, as to her plan? >> well, i started reading it this morning. it just dropped in my laptop this morning. i ordered it online to get a sense of how she is writing about the issues that she had to deal with as secretary of state and how careful her language is. and in many ways, the language is very careful. he is candid on some issues. she is colorful in some of her descriptions. but it's very clear that this is still someone who has somewhere in the back of her mind the idea that perhaps she might run and

that there are some people she doesn't want to upset, for example. this is not the kind of memoir where she lets it all out like we had with robert gates, for example, the former secretary of defense, who really, as they say in america, let it rip. this is not what hillary clinton is doing in her memoir. she's really careful. she does address a lot of the issues that will come up on the campaign trail if she does decide to run. and if she does win, for example, and becomes the next president of the united states, the issues that are related to america's global leadership. that is an issue that really matters to her, that she speaks about very forcefully. and i do feel when i talk to people around her that it is one of the issues that would compel her to make the decision to run. >> i'm sure she would only let it rip if she wasn't going to stand. but let me look at it from the perspective of the party as

well. i mean, she blew the nomination, many would say, when barack obama beat her to it. so does she, would she have the backing of the party to go the whole way, do you think? >> she would this time have the backing of the party. because it would be historic if the democratic party could hold on to the white house for a third term. we've had two terms of president barack obama. this would be a third term for a democrat if she runs and if she wins. certainly they would do everything they can to throw their backing behind any other democratic nominee. but as you heard there in my report speaking to senator durbin, there's a sense within the party that she's their best chance, their best candidate to try to achieve that historic milestone. it doesn't happen very often, a third term for a party in the white house. certainly not for the democrats. >> no. you followed her very closely.

you've got lots of insight into the way she works. yes, there will be big risks about going for it, but my goodness, what a reward if she gets it. which way do you think she's going? >> i wish i could tell you that she'd whispered the answer in my ear before leaving the state department, but she didn't. what i can tell you about the way she works is it is someone who's very flexible and pragmat pragmatic. i do believe her when she says she hasn't quite decided yet. i think she's probably leaning towards going for it. but she does want to get a feel for what it would be like to get back on the campaign trail, what she has to offer, what her vision is, try to reconnect with voters. because remember, she's been mostly on the international stage for the last few years and out of domestic politics. and the book tour, it's true what the republicans are saying. it's a dry run for a presidential campaign to try to get back, crisscross the country, reconnect with voters,

and see how she functions again on the domestic stage, under the very harsh spotlight of the national media, which is quite different from being covered by foreign policy reporters obsessed by the details of the policy decisions an administration is making. she developed a sense of ease on the road with the state department press corps, the kind of ease she never had when she was in the u.s. on the campaign trail being covered by the national media. we'll have to see whether she can maintain that ease and maintain, you know, what has become her likability, if you will, the term they use here to describe what was one of her main problems on the campaign trail in 2008. >> well, it sounds more and more like that republican talking about test driving the campaign has hit the nail on the head. kim, thank you very much indeed. now, i just want to remind you of the news that's coming into us from iraq. important breaking news because in the last few minutes, iraq's

prime minister has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency. this after islamic extremists seized key government buildings in mosul city. they're effectuallily taking control of what is the second largest city in the country. our correspondent is following the events for us from beirut. jim, what more can you tell us about the extent to which mosul has been overrun here? >> they think it has collapsed into the hands of militants, with government troops pulling out. police and army vehicles in a traffic jam, slowly fleeing their way out of the city. kids are chucking stones at them. seems to have been a complete rout. this follows days of clashes between fighters and government

forces. a lot of police stations set on fire and so on. it seems to be pretty much comprehensive. the main politician of the area, speaker of parliament, has said he will work with everybody, including the prime minister who is trying to get a state of emergency declared by parliament, is setting up a crisis bell to deal with this. very much a state of crisis prevailing in iraq as the second city falls out of the government's control. >> yeah, i suppose it comes down to the strength and determination of isis as to whether mr. maliki can do much about it. >> well, he's made several warnings. he's just been on tv now saying they will not permit mosul to

slip out of their control. he's restructuring their security forces. that sounds like a long-term project. the fact is, philadelphfallujah sunni town, slipped out of his grasp earlier this year. he made similar warning noises then. but he hasn't been able to get that back either. in fact, the chances of him getting mosul back in the near future, i think, would be very small indeed. it's going to take a big effort. isis and whoever else is working with them are obviously very organized, getting well dug in already and prepared to repel any counterattack. >> jim, thank you very much indeed. okay. alex is with us. a bit of gaming news in business. >> absolutely right. if you're into games, this is pretty much the highlight of your calendar. the world's largest video gaming expo, the e-3, is under way in los angeles. at last year's show, we saw sony

emerging as the undisputed victor with its playstation 4, beating the x-box one on price and power. this year, it seems there's yet to be a clear winner. over the last few hours, the two companies outlined their plans for the year ahead. opinion on who came out on top seems to be split. for sony, the focus was on the return of two of its biggest exclusive franchises, "uncharted" and "little big planet." it also announced the launch of a budget console for just $99 this year. in sohort, sony's event covered more ground, but the u.s. company seems likely to deliver on its promises sooner. so what did it have to offer? richard taylor was at microsoft's press briefing and has the details from l.a. >> reporter: we all know what happened on day one. sony comprehensively outplayed microsoft. it was almost game over before

the conference had begun. that set the tone, really, for this year. sony really taking a commanding lead in console sales. so who won the opening dual of this year? well, x-box master phil spencer set the tone in the very first minute of the very first press conference. we've been humbled, he said, we've been listening. and what did that mean? well, in short, the laser focus on the core gaming experience as title after title after title was unleashed in a tidal wave of exclusives. barely a mention of the connect 3d camera that was supposed to deliver new experiences. so in its place, lots of very, very pretty franchises very, very familiar to us. there was "assassin's creed," then there was "halo," then there was "laura croft." some admittedly come with a sprinkling of fresh ideas, a dash of noin vags, and garnished with 60 frames a second beauty.

aside from a few notable exceptions, there were no rabbits out of the sack. this is still largely the hack-and-slash gaming culture we're used to. then came sony's term to trumpet their arch rival yet again. we were promised surprises. and to be fair, there were plenty of minor enhancements and tweaks to the playstation experience. streaming games to the handheld, streaming content to a playstation tv, its new cheap set top bock. plenty of those out there already. but let's be clear. this, too, was about gamers, first and foremost. a slew of exclusives. here, too, remakes of popular franchises. some we were expecting, like "uncharted 4," and others we weren't. most notably, "little big planet 3." what was perhaps most zc disappointing is sony added very little flish to morpheus. that offers an opportunity for true next generation

experiences. so who won day one of e-3 2014? for the companies themselves, pretty much a tie as both seem to be taking few risks and turning inward. as for the rest of the world, well, convincing them to shell out $400 on yesterday's fair dressed up in a shiny new outfit, that's still going to be quite a challenge. >> well, for more on the e-3 conference, check out all the latest news on our website at bbc.com/e3. now, they've persuaded many globe-trotting travelers to stay in people's homes. now the online hospitality site airbnb is looking to see if they'll ditch restaurants too. the idea is to help travelers avoid those overpriced tourist trap restaurants for authentic home-cooked meals. they're not the first to try it. similar services have cropped up around the world, including eat with, feastly, and cooking.

let's have a listen to one travel expert who explains why the concept of home sharing has taken off. >> it's just access to content and access to different opportunities of that content. hotels have been hotels. villas have been the traditional places people go and stay. what's interesting with airbnb is you can access rooms, apartments, you can access people's homes and experience a place in a way you wouldn't experience through a villa. technology allows it to become mainstream. that's what we're seeing in travel. airbnb has tapped into a market of a younger generation to trust. other news now. a sharp rise in food prices is pushing up the cost of living in china. inflation there jumped from 1.8% to 2.5% in may.

in particular, pork prices shot up, reflecting higher cost of animal feed and greater demand for meat. despite that, prices are still rising more slowly than the government's target. after seven hours of talks, no agreement has been reached between russia and ukraine over the price of gas purchased by kiev. but talks will continue tonight and into wednesday morning in brussels. the european commissioner for energy says all issues were discussed and solutions have been proposed. facebook's photo sharing application instagram will add advertising in canada, the u.k., and australia later this year as the company aims to generate more sales from mobile users. the application, which facebook acquired for about $700 million in 2012, will start to sew adverts to its more than 200 million global members. sales will be a key part of facebook's mobile strategy. that's all for me and the team for this hour. back to you, david.

>> alice, thanks very much indeed. stay with us here on "bbc world news." coming up in a moment, we'll speak to the father of a little boy who's finally got out of syria after being trapped in the midst of the conflict for three years. it's a known fact that 100% of the swordfishes you don't try to catch... ...will get away. seize the summer with up to 40% off hotels from travelocity.

welcome back. the top stories this hour, iraq's prime minister has asked for a state of emergency to be imposed after militants take over the city of mosul. for the second time in two days, pakistan's karachi airport is shut down after an attack by taliban militants. now, to a tale of relief for the father of a 6-year-old british boy who's been trapped in syria for three years.

his son's managed to finally get out of the country, crossing the border into jordan. he was stuck in the war-torn country, his village devastated by missile and bomb attacks. his father launched a campaign to save his son and lobbied the british embassy in imam to help bring him out to safety. i'm very pleased to say that his father is with me now. first of all, you must be a mighty relieved guy. >> i'm definitely relieved. he's finally out of danger. they're in jordan currently. safe and well. >> and what about him? he wouldn't get a sense as to being mighty relieved or not, i suppose. how is he? >> he's actually really upset because he's left behind some friends, kids that he's made friends with. he's really upset that he's left them behind. but obviously he's a child. he doesn't understand the danger that he was in. but he's very traumatized. the next step is for me -- well,

for the mother to apply for a visa and come back to the u.k. i'm hoping there won't be any hiccups from the home office. i'm sure they'll understand the situation he was in. >> i bet you can't wait to see him. >> definitely. >> one might wonder how he came to be there at the start of the conflict. >> yeah, it was very unfortunate. he went back with his mother after we split up end of 2010. literally a few months before the war broke out. when the war broke out, they were literally stuck there. advice at the time was not to move because there were a lot of o check points and people were getting detained. to this day, the detainees have still not been seen. the advice at the time was to stay put. it's been relatively safe since that time until the end of last year where they've had daily bombardments from the air. they've been moving from one place to another. >> he's been caught in the middle of that.

i understand he's seen one or two awful things. >> yeah, horrific images he's seen. his uncle -- he was with his uncle. i think they were going back home. there was a barrel bomb in close proximity. a large shrapnel literally split his face in half, his uncle. he managed to escape. >> he saw that. >> exactly. he's seen much worse as well. he's seen decapitated bodies. so as you can imagine, he's very traumatized. i'm hoping the home office will take that into consideration and allow his mother back to the u.k. to get treatment. he's got an appointment to see an eye specialist the end of this month. >> an eye specialist? >> yeah, because he developed an eye condition while he was there. >> right. i mean, that's going to be a long process clearly. perhaps we can talk more about it in a moment. in terms of what he went through and what you've been going through, how difficult, how painful, i suppose, has this

whole process been? >> it was very, very difficult. liter literally, there was bombardment. >> how much contact have you had over that time? >> not much. sometimes the line cuts off and you can't get in contact with them. they're moving from one place to another. so it's really difficult. it's been really difficult. i'm so glad it's all over. >> it's going to be -- i mean, let's hope it all, you know, finds its way back over here and that you end up with a happy arrangement. it's going to be a long haul, isn't it? >> yes, it's been 3 1/2 years since i last saw him. i'm looking forward to that day. >> any idea when that might be? >> the visa appointment is this week. i'm hoping within two weeks after that they'll make a decision. there shouldn't be any reason why they wouldn't allow her back in. >> yeah. okay. wael, thank you very much for coming in to talk to us about it here on "gmt." and i've just got time to remind

you of the breaking news here that in the last half hour, the iraqi prime minister has declare a state of emergency afterists large part of the city of mosul. thanks for watching "gmt." ♪ ♪ ♪ woooooah. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow. still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables

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