hello, you're watching bbc news. i'm lucy hockings. a major offensive is underway to retake the iraqi city of tikrit from islamic state. 30,000 troops are advancing on the province of salahuddin, backed by troops and helicopters. the prime minister outlined his goals for the campaign. >> our priority is to liberate our people from injustice and terrorism of the islamic state. heavy weapons are being moved away from the conflict in eastern ukraine, but the country has reached a devastating

milestone. the u.n. report says at least 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict. the children still at risk of ebola in liberia. we take you live to west africa to look at how much progress has been made in tackling the virus in the countries worst affected. welcome to the program. aaron is here looking at cutting edge innovations at the world's biggest mobile phone expo. >> it's all about the new mobile congress. we've got the latest between the big battle between samsung and apple. samsung launches its new galaxy 1 s6 edge device. but is its three-sided device enough to wow the competition. and competition from chinese and american rivals. welcome to "gmt." it is midday here in london 7:00 a.m. in washington and 3:00 in the iraqi prime minister salahuddin where a

massive military operation is underway right now to retake the area from islamic state. iraqi forces are trying to recapture tikrit saddam hussein's home city north of baghdad. this represents a big challenge, though for iraqi troops. we're getting reports now that islamic state are using human shields to slow their advance. the iraqi government says around 30,000 troops are involved in the operation. that includes around 2,000 sunni volunteers, as well as shia and kurdish militias. salahuddin was captured by islamic state last summer during a push that also saw the jihadiists take mosul, the country's second largest city. >> reporter: this is the biggest fight back yet against i.s. thousands of government forces have been pounding i.s. positions around the city of tikrit. they've been strengthened by sheer militia and local sunni tribes opposed to the

extremists. iraq's prime minister tried to address fears of reprisals against tikrit's sunni population. >> i call upon you and all other commanders to deal with citizens well. our goal is to liberate people from the oppression and heroism. we should protect the citizens and their properties. >> reporter: there's very real concern that this offensive will reignite sectarian conflict. shia militias have promised to avenge the execution of hundreds of shia operating room recruits in the early days of the i.s. advance. if the government takes back tikrit, next in its sights is mosul. these are i.s. militants last year triumphantly showing off captured american equipment there. in anticipation of an assault on the city aid agencies are already preparing for a mass strike of refugees. there have been several failed attempts to reclaim tikrit.

if these forces succeed, it will be a big boost to government morale, but the government is a highly symbolic and strategic prize that i.s. will fight hard to keep. emily buchanan, bbc news. let's take you to baghdad now. we can talk to former iraqi politician hamid alkafiy who is there for us. thank you for joining us sir. a massive operation underway right now, as we're talking. why has the iraqi government made the decision to begin this operation at this moment? >> iraq feels they have the strength now, the international support, the local support. it has training. so it needs to move. in fact, it's overdo because isis has been in charge in control of this city, as well as other cities since last year. so it's really overdue. but iraq feels that it has the strength to go forward and

liberate the city. >> so you believe the iraqi troops are ready for this? because it's very ambitious and many people say there hasn't been enough time for them to develop the skills they need. >> well i don't think it's very ambitious, because tikrit and salahuddin, the whole province is not totally in the hands of isis. some parts of it are in the hands of the iraqi army and local volunteers. so it's going -- the iraqi army will complete the takeover of tikrit and hopefully defeat the terrorists. >> is iran involved in this operation? >> the ambitious -- sorry? >> is iran involved in this operation? >> iraq, iraq's friends are all involved. i am sure. obviously, i cannot say if iran is involved or not. this is a question to be asked for government officials.

i am not. but certainly, iraq feels it has the strength and the weapons and the support, local and international support, to move forward and defeat the terrorists. >> what about what will happen on the ground given the warning today, the militias who are involved to not, for instance burn people's property to not loot the sort of behavior that he's obviously concerned about? >> yes, of course there is some concern, but, you know, i don't think this will happen, if an incident or two happens, then that's -- that can't be dealt with. >> but doesn't the air strikes that you've got the military you've got paramilitary forces on the ground who are not able to be controlled. >> true. these are volunteers who want to liberate iraq from the

terrorists. obviously, there are, among them, those who are looking for personal gains, but, you know, they are, they are watched and the prime minister has warned them that nobody can -- if anybody tries to you know, break the law, then he will be dealt with severely. so i don't think it's a major concern, but the prime minister had to make things clear, to everyone that this is a war against terrorism and the army and the volunteers must be careful not to arm civilians or civilian property. >> briefly sir, before we finish, what do you know of america's involvement in this? >> the americans have got their advisers, who have arrived in iraq you know, some time last year. and i am sure their advice has

been taken and iraq wouldn't have moved without international support and americans are first. and i'm sure their advice -- >> okay thank you very much for joining us. thank you for joining us from baghdad. let's get up to date some other news. we are getting reports that say at least 19 christians taken captive by islamic state fighters in northeastern syria have now been released. all are said to be older than 50 indicating that age may have been a factor. the militants are still holding about 200 others who were kidnapped during raids in villages last week. los angeles police have launched two separate investigations into the shooting of a homeless black man by officers. police said they would not comment on the killing while the investigations were continuing, but dramatic footage shows the officers grappling with the victim. a voice is heard shouting "drop the gun," before five shots ring

out. estonia's prime minister has won a general election. it was dominated by economic issues, but also security concerns as russia's actions in ukraine. his reform party secured 28% of the vote narrowly ahead of the central party, which is supported by most russian-speaking estonians and favors closer ties with moscow but his coalition has lost its overall majority. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, is in washington ahead of a much-anticipated speech to congress on tuesday. mr. netanyahu was invited to speak by the republican house speaker, john boehner. his visit, though has further worsened already strained ties with the obama administration. the israeli leader says he's hoping to boost support at home ahead of key elections in two weeks' time. let's take you straight to jerusalem. we can join our correspondent there, kevin conley. elections just around the corner. what's being made of this visit?

>> this is a moment where all different strands of a story feel like they're being knotted together all at once. so you certainly have the israeli elections and mr. netanyahu's desire to show his security credentials on the global stage. but he also believes that this is a crucial moment in the negotiations between the international community and iran over tehran's nuclear ambitions. he feels he has a lot to say on that subject and congress is his chosen platform. it's also because of the way the whole story has evolved, become a pretty important moment in relations between israel and the united states as well. so all of those things are taken together to make this moment matter. and of course that also means, philippafill it's a very very important moment for benjamin netanyahu, as a politician himself. after all the fuss leading top this speech he better make sure it's a pretty good one when he

stands up to speak to congress tomorrow. >> given some of the comments that have been made, that has susan rice saying that this vis is actually destructive to u.s./israeli relations, what are we expecting him to say to congress particularly about iran? >> mr. met yannetanyahu would say, of course he's not going because of israeli elections, he's not going to seek political advantage, he is going because he believes there's an emerging possibility that the world powers the p5 plus 1, led by the united states, who were talking to tehran are preparing to do what he regards as a bad deal. a deal that would leave iran much too close to getting nuclear weapon. this is one of the signature things that benjamin netanyahu like, so he would see himself as having an important contribution to make. the white house, of course the obama administration, is hopping mad, frankly, because they see this as mr. netanyahu, effectively, trying to rally

conservative opposition in the united states, to a negotiation being led by the white house, by the obama administration. so they're angry for that reason. and they also sense, i think, that conservatives in congress led by the republican speaker john boehner, are deliberately giving mr. netanyahu a platform to give him a leg up in advance of both israeli elections. of course, we'll be watching that speech all the way over in washington, back here in jerusalem, too. >> kevin thanks for joining us from jerusalem. do stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come, prince william is on a charm offensive in china, but he did raise some real issues with xi jinping. we'll have more, with coming up. zing, despicable wizarding second of your vacation count by staying where the adventure never ends. ♪ come with me now ♪ two theme parks. spectacular resort hotels. more epic than ever. don't just vacation... ♪ whoa, go with me now ♪

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conflict has claimed at least 6,000 lives. to underscore the cease-fire of the ukrainian government and the pro-russian rebels the ukrainian government says another of its soldiers has been killed within the last 24 hours. maintaining that cease-fire has been a focus of talks between the u.s. and russia on opposing sides, of course. john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state has tweeted this picture today, of his meeting with the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. the usual broad smile is missing, as you can see, and look at what john kerry tweeted. he said the pair had helped discussions on ukraine, syria, and iran talks. well, that meeting was held in the swiss city of geneva. both men are there addressing the u.n. human rights council. now let's talk to imogen. just look at the frosty look on both of the two men's faces. do we know what they've talked about? >> well they talked about ukraine, where we know there are

great many differences between washington and moscow. and they talked about ukraine in the context of the latest devastating report from the united nations, in excess of 6,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands, the u.n. said cowering in basements without food or water being shelled mercilessly. the u.n. says. so, of course, when sergey lavrov and john kerry got up to talk to the u.n. human rights council, these were speeches in public. they then gave their public accounts of ukraine. and as you will hear and see now, what they chose to focus on was rather different. we'll start with what sergey lavrov had to say. >> translator: the grave humanitarian situation in the donbass should be given the highest priority. to ensure the fundamental rights of its people the ukrainian government must immediately lift the de facto blockade of this

region restore economic ties payment of social benefits banking services and the freedom of movement between the donbass and other parts of the country. >> do not allow yourselves to be misled. in crimea and in the separatist controlled areas of eastern ukraine, men, women, and children are being killed. they're being tortured. they're being raped and sexually assaulted. detained arbitrarily, abducted for ransom forced into labor, prosecuted and persecuted because of who they are and where they worship. and that is what is happening. and it's up to the hrc to shed light on it. and to help to hold accountable those who violate those human rights. >> well john kerry there, highlighting what he sees as the very dreadful situation in eastern ukraine. and no doubt that washington does hold russia partially, at least, responsible for the conditions there. and we do have the united

nations report saying there is credible evidence that heavy weaponry and foreign fighters have been crossing the border from russia into eastern ukraine. but, in fact just before i came on air to talk to you, i talked to the head of the u.n. human rights monitoring team for ukraine. and the thing that is concerning him most he says is that now, this shaky cease-fire should hold, give the hundreds of thousands of civilians some space to breathe and go back to their normal life and in the long-term, perhaps, heal very bitter divisions. >> imogen thanks for that. let's look now at what life is like for people in eastern ukraine. the u.n. saying as imogen just said, hundreds of thousands of people have been now for months without power, heating, water, and food. and even where life continues somewhat as normal there have also been significant changes. rupert wingfield-hayes has been one to mariupol's new high

schools to find out about newly created lessons in ukrainian patriotic education. ♪ >> reporter: this is the biggest high school in the city of mariupol. we've come here this morning to witness something very new, which is patriotic education. a little earlier, all the kids in the school lined up here in the hallway to sing the national anthem. then they go for an hour's lesson on ukrainian nationalism, ukrainian history, and learning about patriotism. someone who comes from britain, it's very strange, because we don't tend to wave the flag and talk about patriotism, but here it's a very very important subject, particularly because of what is happening with the rebellion, what's happening with russia. we've seen kids reading poetry making speeches singing nationalist songs. and what they say, when you ask them is before this conflict began, we really didn't have a strong sense of being ukrainian.

>> now when there is a war in our part of the country, we are worried so much. >> so much emotion. and horrified for us. and i'm afraid that it can be returned to our country. >> reporter: since the conflict began last year there is this growing sense of nationalism and national pride. and this conflict is, in fact driving nationalism, both on the russian, pro-russian side and as we've seen this morning, here now on the ukrainian side. ♪ >> rupert with the teenagers there in mariupol. now, relations between the uk and china have seem to have taken a significant leap forward after britain's future king prince william, met the chinese president, xi jinping, on the

first visit to china by a member of the british royal family in three decades. after meeting the president in beijing, the president has now arrived in shanghai to open the great festival marking the start of the year of cultural and business exchange between the uk and china. john is in shanghai for us. john, plenty of photo opportunities there, of course but is anything thorny being discussed while prince william is there? has he raised anything difficult with xi jinping? >> reporter: not certainly in front of the ears of the watching media, lucy. you wouldn't expect him to of course. and i think we can be pretty certain that those thorny issues will have been swept to one side. that meeting with xi jinping this morning from the british government's point of view that was all about delivering a warm message, trying to cement ties

william delivering this formal invitation from the queen to president xi for a state visit later this year. and it's being reported widely as an attempt, if you'd like to build ties after a period of pretty frosty relations between beijing and london. the prime minister david cameron's, meeting with the dalai lama a couple of years ago, hasn't gone down well in china. questions about britain's support for calls for greater democracy in hong kong haven't gone down well in china either. but, of course the other focus of this visit is this trip to shanghai. the prince has arrived here now, opening this great festival of innovation, as they're calling it, so it's not just a dploeltic push, but it's a big trade push as well selling brand britain to china. >> john thanks so much for that from shanghai. prince william managing to slip in one comment, we understand on the illegal wildlife trade, which is something he cares very passionately about. now, australians are well used to dealing with heat.

last year the country recorded its third warmest calendar year since national records began over a century ago. but in one small town in the outback, they've found an unusual way of coping with extreme temperatures as john donnison reports. >> reporter: there are few places hotter than coober pedy. temperatures in this outback town regularly exceed 50 degrees. and the extreme heat has led to a unique way of life. >> so welcome. >> reporter: thank you. wow. people in coober pedy have gone underground. bernadette roberts, like half the town's population lives in a dugout below the surface. and what sort of temperatures are you getting here in the height of summer outside? >> 50s, you know? you hear in the southern states and eastern states in about the 40s, we get the 50s. so that's a nice day.

but once again, we've got our dugouts that we retreat into. >> reporter: and i guess for those living aboveground, it's just the cost of keeping them cooler? >> the air-conditioning. you would have to have your air-conditioning 24/7. and that would be extremely expensive. >> reporter: and coober pedy people are well used to digging. it's a mining town. each one of these piles, there are more than 2 million of them is where people have been mining for opals. all underneath coober pedy there is this incredible network of tunnels left by more than a century of opal mining. this town was built by miners. but what's unique here is that people chose not only to work underground, but to live here too. to escape the blistering heat of the outback. and it's really noticeable. it's a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler down here than it is up

above ground level. >> reporter: harry and annie's home is cut into the rock face. harry, a miner himself, says underground living was a natural way to go. >> i think it started because people were mining and when they mined, they thought, oh, it's a lot cooler in there. can we live in there? and a lot of them just lived in the mines, actually the shafts that they'd dug in sort of the hill. >> reporter: and for annie, there was no question of living aboveground. >> because you're living in a dugout, that it's nice and cool and everything -- and if you don't want to go outside, you don't. you hibernate. >> reporter: coober pedyans will emerge in a few months' time. australia has just experienced its hottest year on record. global warming could see temperatures rise still further. meaning dugout digs could be an idea that catches on. john donnison bbc news in

coober pedy in the australian outback. do stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come -- ♪ the hills are alive ♪ >> it's one of the world's most popular musical, celebrates its 50th anniversary. we look back at the making of "the sound of music." how do i get hotel deals nobody else gets?... i know a guy. price-line ne-go-ti-a-tor! i know this guy... konohito... and this guy... who knows a guy. hey guy. i know a guy in new york, vegas, dallas. i've known some guys for decades and some, nice to meet ya, let's deal. my competitors may know a guy, but i know over 60,000 guys. and gals. exclusive hotel deals - up to 60% off...priceline.com hey, how you doin'? it hurts.

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before taking myrbetriq, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems. common side effects include increased blood pressure, common cold symptoms, urinary tract infection, and headache. take charge by talking to your doctor about your oab symptoms and myrbetriq. find out if you can get your first prescription at no cost by visiting myrbetriq.com i'm lucy hockings. in this half hour it may have fallen off the front pages, but the battle against ebola in west africa goes on. we report from liberia on the specialist teams, trying to track down the last two cases there. we'll also take you live to sierra leone, which has seen 35 hurkz 3500 deaths from ebola. the local food innovation summit kicks off today. and the likes of low-calorie anti-aging chocolate and

calorie-controlled 3-d food printing is stealing the line. but the underlying message is serious. feeding the growing world's population is a monumental challenge which means traditional products will have to become high-tech. welcome back to "gmt." let's turn our attention now to the ebola epidemic which has claimed thousands of lives in west africa. it was nearly a year since the world health organization first declared the outbreak in guinea. the disease quickly spread. it reached into neighboring sierra leone and liberia. so far 9,500 people have died from the virus in the three countries. the overall numbers of those infected stand at over 19,000. but, they have been falling. by the end of january this year confirmed cases fell to 100 in a week, for the first time since june last year. infections have remained at this

level since then. aid agencies though, are warning that eliminating ebola for good is going to be a slow and difficult process. well, in a moment we're going to take you live to sierra leone. but first, let's take you now to liberia and the bbc's andrew hayden. >> reporter: this is the end game in liberia. a medical team hunting for the final traces of ebola. could they be the last to suffer? four caught the virus, three are dead. for the rest daily checkups. they're halfway through a 21-day quarantine. quarantine. >> it makes you to worry, it make you to you know, have

fear. >> you're counting the days now? >> we are, counting praying. >> reporter: dr. masala is leading the last push to confirm the virus, and it's working. no new cases confirmed for 11 days now. >> reporter: so this could be the last family? >> the last family but it's the last family yeah. >> the last stretch, okay. so a lot of pressure on you to get this right. >> a lot of pressure, always. >> reporter: but then bad news. we race off to a nearby clinic. a sick woman has been found by one of the doctor's team. >> complaining of back pain joint pain was vomiting. >> reporter: once more she's one of their neighbors. it seems she's been hiding her illness. >> we have a case. >> as she rests, dr. falllaah

raises the alarm. >> well it's worrying news for you. it's another -- >> it should be very worrying. if it comes out positive. if it comes out positive it's a new worry for us. it mean that yeah. >> reporter: more people to track down. >> yeah. >> the civil right against ebola here was being waged like a military campaign but it's changed now to into something more like detective work with people like dr. fallah chasing down every last final lead and fighting against complacency. but later, dr. fallah learns the woman tested negative for ebola. it's not the end of liberia's struggle but he's getting closer. andrew harding, bbc news monrovia. let's take you now to sierra leone and join clive myrie, who is there for us. clive, rather optimistic attitudes in liberia at the

moment. what's the situation on the ground where you are? >> reporter: you know they're optimistic here as well but certain amount of frustration has -- because of a spike in the number of infections and transmissions. the trend, certainly since the beginning of the year has been down, and that has led to a lot of optimism. but a little bit of concern now, that some of the infection rates are beginning to go up. i'm actually on board the british auxiliary ship "argas." it's been off the coast of west africa here for the last four to five months and the -- >> since we're having a few problems with sound there, as you can imagine, being on a boat off the coast of west africa a little bit difficult with communications there and clive. but clive has also been on land

in sierra leone. this is his report. >> reporter: we watch as a doctor tries to revive a young woman who suffered heavy blood loss after giving birth. but there's no pulse, as her head rests in her mother's lap. it seems nothing can be done to save her. seconds later, it's confirmed she's dead. her name was amanata and she was 23 and she'd given birth at home the night before. outside, speaking to a matron and holding her newborn granddaughter, amanta says when her daughter fell hill they took her to a nearby clinic but they were turned away. there were no beds. this another tragic story in a land where ebola has cruelly exposed the shortcomings of a health care system that can't cope with everyday problems let

alone a killer virus. a child's vaccination is a rite of passage, but in sierra leone, what should be routine is the sum laced with menace. this clinic has seen a 23% drop in vaccinations, because mothers are worried staff could pass on ebola. but the fear cuts both ways. >> studios in freetown this afternoon. >> reporter: cecil is a pd are journalist who made his own news. his wife fell ill with traced of blood in her urine, but it wasn't ebola. >> she needed help. >> no one wanted to treat her, because they thought she may have ebola? >> yeah. yes. they couldn't actually touch her. they couldn't actually touch

her. >> reporter: she went into a diabetic coma and died. but more than 200 medical staff have lost their lives to ebola, infected by patients they were treating. >> it's a health care system short of money, crippled by fear and unsure of itself that ebola has attacked. years of chronic underinvestment means some health facilities don't have proper sanitation or even clean-running water. the hope is the current crisis will galvanize change. >> this dutch-run lab tests blood samples for ebola in pregnant women in just six hours, much faster than usual, giving confidence to medical staff. this is the kind of equipment health care advocates say the government must invest in. >> part of mitigating against any future level of impact that africa has had, means we must we must invest in health

systems, and the time for investment is now. >> reporter: as amanata's body taken we the big question is will the daughter she left behind grow up in a land with a health care system that is finally fit for purpose. >> clive myrie there in sierra leone. let's try to return to clive now, who is on board "hms argas" off the coast of serer leone. clive is there and will bring us reports throughout the day here on bbc news. i should tell you on tuesday, bbc africa is holding a special digital conference on ebola, and to kick things off, we'll be hosting a live facebook q&a with david david, and dr. bruise elwood the w.h.o. special representative for ebola response. he's been in so many press conferences, so his face i'm sure, is familiar to you. but what would you ask them if you could? head to our facebook page now

and post your questions for the live q&a on tuesday. that's at facebook.com/bbcworldnews. time to catch up on the business. aaron is with us now. almost an upgrade on my mobile phone. interested what you're going to bring me. >> are you going to say what you're a typical user of. >> what do you think? >> you're an apple. >> i'm an apple. >> there are other phone devices and companies out there. >> there's a new samsung? >> the jury's still out on that. i'll explain. hello, lucy. there you go. samsung say they have a new edge in their ongoing battle with apple. and this is it. it's actually called the galaxy s6 edge. now, the phone has a three-sided screen. yeah, it does. a three-sided screen and a whole host of new features including an upgraded camera also the ability to be charged wirelessly. the big question it's a big

one, is will it be enough for a company that's being kind of squeezed at the premium and budget ends of the market. our tech guru now reports from barcelona on samsung and all the other big announcements at this year's mobile world congress. >> reporter: it's already putting powerful little computers in the hands of billions of people around the world. and in barcelona this week the mobile phone industry is trying to show jaded consumers it's got something really different. the truth is that these days all mobile phones are pretty smart and most of them look pretty much the same. this is apple's iphone this one is made by china's huawei. and that makes it all the harder for the leading mobile phone makers to stand out from the crowd. samsung knew it had to make a big noise this year. it may be number one, but profits are down and it's under pressure from apple and cheaper chinese offerings. here was its answer.

>> these are the smartest phones in the world. >> reporter: but it's this version with the curved edges that samsung hopes will win over its customers who felt some of its previous phones were a bit plasticy. the phone has apple's irkiphone in its sights. >> we offer competition, because it offers consumers many different options. so for us looking a to the premium end of the durable glass, the color that you've never seen before in mobile phones before really i think, resonates with the consumers. >> across town a fast-growing rival was stepping up the competition. huawei, unknown outside china a couple of years ago, is now a major smartphone server. >> the huawei watch. >> reporter: and here it unveiled its first smart watch. chinese firms are now a real threat to the likes of samsung. >> if you rest on your laurels, other companies are willing to take the crown from you very quickly. and we're starting to see that

from the chinese with huawei here today, with xiaomi as well and they're not really coming out with phones but with wearables and some of them are very desirable. >> welcome to a new reality. >> reporter: htc, another firm struggling to make an impact with smartphones, was showing off a virtual reality headset, a video game. staying ahead in the mobile industry means always being ready to change tact. bbc news barcelona. >> of course, we'll have more from barcelona over the next day or two. okay here we go. i've got some problems here. the next big thing. that is what every innovative company wants to come up but i tell you what when it comes to food is new and original as important as organic and simple? that is one of the many questions that the global food and technology innovation summit will look at over the next few days. so what foods could we see on our supermarket shelves in the coming years? could it be what is it?

basel seed drink with honey. how about this? this is good. anti-aging chocolate. british scientists have created a 39-calorie chocolate bar that will make you look up to 30 years younger! we want some of that! apparently, certain cocoa and a potent algae extract are the ingredients that become up these claims. or what about meat without the guilt? the laboratory-grown beef burger is making strides towards tasting better and costing less to produce. it's not unrealistic to think that our meat could come from a lab and not a field too soon. i'm not too sure about that. and furn't growing it in a lab, you could be printing it at home. yes, in the future connections between your wearable health tech means that consumers could monitor exactly what calories they eat by deciding exactly what nutritional content go into their 3-d printed food.

okay mike fairs is managing director and director of food innovation services and joins us. mike, it all sounds very sci-fi but it's great to have you with us. hey, briefly, tell us what goes on at this gathering. it's only been going for about five years. what are they talking about? what goes on there? >> in short, the future of food. it's very important that as an industry, we look to where consumers are going to be thinking and what their needs are, as we go forward. so even some of the things you've mentioned there sound quite futuristic. but in five years, if you look forward to what consumers' needs are around health and taste, we'll see some of these things becoming more mainstream. >> okay. well, look i'm holding a chinese product, it's bubble tea, and it can travel around the world and you add your own water. things like that. is it about fun foods or the underlying message is pretty sure. surely, this innovation has to do with or has to be a focus on sustaining or sustainable foods to feed the growing pls of

mouths that we've got around the world. >> yes you're absolutely right. sustainability will be one of the key issues that's discussed. and you know if you look at where we are in the western world and what we consume and ask the question how sustainable is that, we will need to start looking at different sources of protein, so for example, insects is one example, is something that will be discussed. and although it's elmmbryonic at this stage, there are 2 million people that already eat insects. we'll see that come into nuggets and cheese but they'll be made from something else. >> i grew up in australia. i had plenty of flies fly in my mouth by accident. very tasty, indeed. let me ask you this. another big focus that we do a lot on this program is food wastage. in fact, last week we had another report out that highlighted something like a third of the world's food in both developed and developing world is wasted.

is innovation looking at ways you know labeling packaging, i don't know that we can sort of reduce that number? >> very much so. and it's a frigening number when you look at that in tons. but there are technologies that are coming now into the forefront, to name one, there's a technology called high pressure processing which actually extends the shelf life of foods, without cooking it. so you can get the same nutritional content, the same raw flavors and taste, but with an extended shelf life or created naturally through pressure. so the technology will play an important part in making some of the foods we currently consider to be short shelf life and give them an extended shelf life. there is also actually quite interestingly a number of pop-up restaurants opening up where they're taking the food that can no longer be sold from farmer's markets and they're making this into restaurant menus for people to come along and try it. so the need is already there from a consumer point of view.

ugly fruit, ugly vegetables, let's stop plowing them back into the fields let's eat them. they taste the same. >> and you mentioned a few times, the word "shelf," i want to ask you, give us an idea. for the viewers around the world watching this what do you think, rattle off some of the innovative food stuff that we may be seeing on our shelves in two, three, five years' time. >> sure. we've already talked about insects. so that will definitely happen. that will come. and already has started. but take something like seaweed, a plentiful source around the world, it's nutritionally very good for you, and because of where it comes from, it also has a great ability to season our food. we still want food that tastes great. but using seaweed and dried sea wood as a way of creating something natural and perhaps consuming less salt. because health is such an important factor for us we see a lot of high-protein foods coming in, so whey proteins proteins

that are grown from substrates and labs and so on and that's a little farther off, but certainly insects and some of the peruvian star cuisine might be an attraction we'll see some very unusual and different fruit and vegetables coming through too, that i have very good nutritional properties that we can still enjoy, but will give us a bit of a benefit and a bit of a kick from a health point of view. >> and mark you know people may think we rehearsed that, and you can't sea me but i'm holding in my hand a bag of dried seaweed. thank you very much. appreciate your time. follow me on twitter, tweet me i'll tweet you back. you can get me @bbcaaron. you've got to try this. >> i quite like seaweed. do stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come -- ♪ the hills are alive with the sound of music." >> it's aaron's favorite movie.

on the 50th anniversary of one of the world's most popular musical musicals, is of course "the sound of music" and we're looking back on the making of the movie. >> of course you don't want to have worked on a film that is a flop. but we were very doubtful of the outcome. we were wrong. you can call me shallow... but, i have a wandering eye. i mean, come on. national gives me the control to choose any car in the aisle i want. i could choose you... or i could choose her if i like her more. and i do. oh, the silent treatment. real mature. so you wanna get out of here? go national. go like a pro.

i'm lucy hockings. the top stories this hour iraqi forces lost a military operation to recapture saddam hussein's hometown of tikrit from islamic state fighters. the latest we have one of the commanders of the ukrainian revolutionary guard forces involved in leading the operation and islamic state is using human shields. a u.n. report has

highlighted the devastation and continuing loss of life in eastern ukraine. the report says at least 6,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far. finally on "gmt" today, it is truly one of my favorite films. "the sound of music," which was released 50 years ago, it became one of the most successful films of all time. it is the story, of course of the novice nun, maria, who captures the hearts of the von trapp family with her songs. it was shot in the austrian town of salsberg. bethany bell has been to meet gael who worked as an assistant director on the film. ♪ the hills are alive with the sound of music ♪ >> reporter: 50 years on "the sound of music" still enchants its fans and it's immortalized salzberg in the austrian alps. gael worked on the movie as an strant director. i met him at the site of the von

trapp garden in the film. he told me that the rowing boat scene in which julie andrews and the children fall into the water almost ended in tragedy. >> one of the exciting scenes i worked on here is when the boat tipped over. we had arranged that julie andrews would step out of the boat that was tipping forward, grabbing the child, and saving little gretel. unfortunately, julie andrews went overboard backwards and the child in the other direction, went down under right away. in the film you have an immediate cut and in the next seconds, there were a lot of people in the water trying to save the little girl. poor gretel. it was a bad experience for the child. >> reporter: gael's job was to direct the local austrian extras. but there was a problem, because they didn't know the songs. not even "edelweiss." >> well, i was asked to instruct

the crowd to join in singing that song. and i had to tell them that we first have to teach them the song. he was very surprised and said it was an austrian tune it was the national anthem? no it was not, it was rodgers and hammerstein. >> he says the movie is still a bit kitsch and too austrian for american tastes. >> we thought it would not be a success. of course, you don't want to have worked on a film that was a flop. but we were very doubtful about the jut come. we were wrong. >> reporter: "the sound of music" is still not one of austria's favorite things but after 50 years, people are becoming reconciled to the film, which brings so many tourists here every year. who knows, maybe one day, they'll even learn the songs. bethany bell bbc news, salzberg. ♪

>> i'm such a fan, i've been on "the sound of music" tour in salzberg. that's all if "gmt" today. you a fan, yellda? >> i absolutely love "the sound of music," lucy. thanks very much. in just a few minutes on "impact," we'll be getting the latest on that major military operation in the iraqi city of tikrit. do stay with us for that and more coming up on "impact." mpany will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

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because... a little thing affects them. a slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. you may be a bit of undigested beef a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. why, there's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are. humbug, i tell you. humbug. aaaaah! freeze program. very well done, data. your performance skills really are improving.