i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 3am in the morning in mosul in iraq, following a day where thousands of iraqi government forces have advanced on the city, the opening day of an offensive to recapture the western part from so—called islamic state. the first target appears to be mosul‘s airport. is militants are fighting back. our correspondent quentin sommerville is with the iraqi forces. this is his report. just after sunrise, iraq began what it hopes is its last major battle against the so—called islamic state. thousands of men and hundreds of armoured vehicles in a line

of attack that spread for miles. the iraqi army are starting their assault on western mosul, they've breached their own defences, armoured vehicles are lining up ready for the islamic state. they're only a couple of kilometres over that way and they know that these men are coming, they're dug in and the assault on western mosul has started. leading the attack, iraq's emergency response division, police special forces. some of these men were surrounded by is two years ago, theyjust escaped with their lives. today they threw everything they had at is. we're now above the village, which is their main target, they're laying down fire

and they're about to call in some artillery strikes. but first came the mortars. the captain tells me there are three is fighters in a yellow building down there and car bombs, "we're targeting them now." car bomb explosion just gone off, the men were trying to take it out, it seems like they managed to hit it. they set up a whole bunch of... we'll call these rifles but as you can see here they're getting ready with another rpg just in case. it seems like they got it. there were four car bombs in total but soon government forces were inside. they killed 13 is fighters and sustained only one casualty. translation: we are very glad to have liberated this area.

we have killed lots of is and we will soon get civilians back to their homes. we will continue to push forward and will follow is to the border. here there were no white flags nor is black flags. for the first time in years, iraq's flag flew above the village. the village is small but important. it's the gateway to mosul proper and the city's airport. and, as we discovered, homes had become fortresses. here is weapons. and hidden inside a house away from surveillance aircraft, another car bomb disguised as an ambulance. the bomb inside was still live.

in these streets, though, a critical advantage. there were no civilians. in west mosul there are 750,000 people and thousands of is fighters. it took these men just six hours to take this village, their target. they made good progress but with overwhelming force. beyond here is another town and another village. that town overlooks mosul airport and the city itself. from here on in, though, the going won't be nearly so fast. this was a victory two years in the making. but it's more than that. these troops once humiliated by is today celebrated a moment of redemption for them and for iraq. quentin somerville, bbc news, on mosul‘s southern front. more from quentin later in the

programme. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump has held a campaign—style rally in florida over the weekend, using the event to make a strong defence of his first four weeks in office. but it was his comments about sweden that caused some confusion. have a listen. look at what's happening last night in sweden. sweden! who would believe this? sweden! they took in large numbers, they‘ re this? sweden! they took in large numbers, they're having problems like they never thought possible. well, all day people have been trying to fathom what the president was referencing. the former swedish prime minister carl bildt tweeted: 0ur correspondent david willis is in washington, where the white house has now given more of an explanation. it's bamboozled the swedish embassy

here in washington, amongst others. they actually sought a clarification from the state department and it led to widespread ridicule on twitter of course with imaginary terrorist scenarios involving the pop group abba, the ikea furniture company and even the swedish chef from the muppets. the white house has now sought to clarify this. as you say. saying the president's comments were about rising crime in sweden and recent incidents in the country in general. also making news this hour: the american food giant kraft heinz has pulled out of its plans to take over the anglo—dutch company unilver. kraft had made an offer, which would have been the third largest in corporate history, but unilever rejected it on friday. the american company says it has now amicably agreed to scrap the plan. american ships, including the aircraft carrier uss carl vinson, have been deployed to the south china sea on what the us navy describes as routine operations.

last week china's foreign ministry issued a stern warning to washington over beijing's territorial claims in the region. police in thailand have ordered more than 10,000 worshippers to vacate the country's largest buddhist temple while they attempt to arrest a prominent monk. for months, the authorities have conducted high—profile attempts to locate pra dhammachayo, who's accused of money laundering. now, have a look at this glacial beauty. this is the deepest and possibly one of the oldest freshwater lakes in the world. lake baikal in southern siberia was host to the annual baikal ice marathon on sunday. more than a0 russians and 30 dutch nationals took part in one of the hardest events of its type in the world. the racing lasted three days and its participants had to overcome a total of 250 kilometres. the winners from the two categories

were unsurprisingly russian. malaysian police are trying to piece together exactly what happened in the death of kimjong—nam, the half brother of north korea's leader. he died on monday after apparently being poisoned at kuala lumpur airport and four people have already been arrested. police say they are hunting for at least four more suspects. celia hatton reports. the assassination of this man appears to have involved a widening cast of characters. four have already been detained for the poisoning of kim jong—nam, already been detained for the poisoning of kimjong—nam, including a woman holding a vietnamese passport, who could be this person from the crime scene. and this indonesian woman, who said she was tricked into but is abating. she said she thought she was on a television prank show. 0ne said she thought she was on a television prank show. one north korean citizen is also in custody, thought to be the man escorted here

by malaysian police. now the authorities have asked for interpol help to find at least four more north koreans who all entered and exited malaysia using regular passports. and i can confirm today that they have left our country the very same day the incident happened. and more suspects are also wanted. people of interest who might know how kim jong—nam's killing was carried out. for suspects have been identified, which could assist us very much in the investigation. but still the question of what will be done with kim jong—nam's body. malaysians or requires his family to come in person to claim his corpse. the next of kin has to come for him. i have given a timeframe. and still if they don't come forward then we have to look for the next option. i

don't disclose that at the moment. you wait and see. it's unclear whether mr kim's children can travel to the morgue where the autopsy was conducted. 0r to the morgue where the autopsy was conducted. or perhaps the law requires the presence of this man, the victim's half sibling, north korean leader kim jong—un. south korea's unification ministry confirmed that they believe pyongyang orchestrated the poisoning of kimjong—nam, the man once poised to rule north korea before falling out of favour with his dictator father. while kim jong—nam out of favour with his dictator father. while kimjong—nam was alive, the thinking goes, he remained a threat to his half brother and two kim jong—un‘s fragile grip on power inside north korea. celia hatton, bbc news. we just heard in celia hatton‘s report that one of the people arrested in malaysia is and indonesian woman called siti aishah who claimed she was carrying out a prank for a tv show. the 25—year—old's parents insist she is innocent and is being set up. rebecca henshke has been speaking to her family. siti aishah‘s mother says her

daughter told her she'd been offered work in malaysia as a model. siti, who had separated from her husband, needed money to support her son, she says. translation: she said she wa nted says. translation: she said she wanted to go to malaysia for a filming on a show to make people surprised by spraying perfume on somebody else. she was offered a job by someone to become and advertise mid model for perfume, and she's an innocent girl that did it because it was good money. she said she was deeply shocked when she heard her daughter had been arrested by malaysia and police in relation to the murder of kim jong—nam. malaysia media reports allege siti stood in front of him to distract him while someone else approached from behind. herfamily insist she was set up. translation:

i'm asking and begging for help so my daughter isn't punished, as i believe she's innocent. before siti left for malaysia she left here with her ex—husband's family. in this community she was just one of millions of indonesians who go abroad each year looking for work, and now they're struggling to understand how she's ended up involved in such a high profile murder investigation. translation: she was a very good girl. she really looked after her in—laws. she was very aware she looked after her in—laws. she was very aware she came looked after her in—laws. she was very aware she came from a village and a poor background and she worked hard. i'm completely in shock. it just doesn't hard. i'm completely in shock. itjust doesn't make sense and is not the aishah i know. the indonesian government said they'd repeatedly requested access to siti aishah, saying they want to make sure her legal rights are being protected but malaysian officials said at this stage in the investigation that's not possible. rebecca henschke, bbc news, jakarta.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: our exclusive interview with angelina jolie. she talks to us about the film she's made about the horrors of the khmer rouge in cambodia. also on the programme: are vitamin supplements as beneficial as claimed ? the head of australia's medical association says multi—vitamins are a waste of money. we'll hearfrom him. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: a big military offensive is under way in iraq to remove islamic state militants from western mosul. the white house has attempted to clarify remarks by president trump in which he appeared to suggest sweden had suffered a recent security incident related to immigration. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. we begin with the international edition of the financial times, which leads on the american food giant kraft—heinz pulling out

of its attempt to buy unilever. the newspaper suggests that two of kraft‘s biggest shareholders, billionaire warren buffet and brazilian tycoon georgey layman were ‘spooked' by uk politicians raising concerns about another large british company being taken into foreign ownership. the japan times covers the hunt for people suspected of killing kim jong—nam. it says interpol has been called in to help track down four north korean men who are wanted by malaysian police. and the south china morning post also leads with that story. it uses this picture of the two senior malaysian police officers briefing journalists, to show how much international interest the investigation continues to attract. the hollywood actress turned director angelina jolie says she hopes her new film about cambodia under the khmer rouge will help educate the world

about the brutality of the regime. "first they killed my father" is based on the childhood experiences of cambodian human rights activist loung ung during the civil war. msjolie has also spoken for the first time about her highly publicised split from brad pit. she's been talking exclusively to our correspondent yalda hakim. hollywood royalty meets cambodian royalty. the backdrop, an ancient temple. it's the biggest movie premiere this country has ever seen. the director, angelina jolie, says the film speaks to this nation's people. their actors, their language, their story. this war that happened a0 years ago, and what happens to these people, was not properly understood, and notjust for the world, but for the people of the country, i felt that i wanted them to be able

to reflect on it in a way that they could absorb, so it's through the eyes of a child, and it a lot about love. the khmer rouge, a radical communist movement, vowed to take the country back to year zero. millions were forced out of the cities in an attempt to create a rural utopia. you could be killed for practising religion, showing emotions, or even wearing colour. infouryears, 2 million people died. speaking to people here, i get the sense that they don't want to remember the past, but they also can't forget it. there are 20,000 mass graves across this country, like these ones. a visual reminder of what this nation has been through. the haunting portraits of death — hundreds of images of those who were tortured at the notorious s21 prison.

more than 12,000 people were killed here. in the end, only a handful survived. 86—year—old chung mai is one of them. they beat me for 12 days and i2 nights, he tells me. i was so hungry, when i would see a cockroach, lizard or mouse, i would catch it and eat it. if they caught me, they'd beat me up again. angelina jolie is keen to tell this story and focus on this country and its past. but it's been difficult to keep the spotlight off her own personal life. we know that an incident occurred which led to your separation. we also know you haven't said anything about this. would you like to say something? er... 0nly that... i don't want to say very much about that. except to say that it was a very

difficult time, and... and we are a family, and we will always be a family, and we will get through this time, and hopefully be a stronger family for it. but this moment is about cambodia and remembering the time when this ancient culture was almost wiped out. now, do you take vitamins in the hope they'll keep you healthy? well, experts are now questioning their benefits. the head of australia's medical association says multi—vitamins are a waste of money. we'll speak to him shortly. first, what's the difference between taking a supplement and eating the right foods? an orange, for example, provides vitamin c plus some beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. it's likely these compounds work together to be beneficial. dietary supplements may be

appropriate in certain cases — women who are pregnant are recommended to take a prenatal vitamin that includes iron. adults aged sixty—five and older should take a daily dose of vitamin d to reduce the risk of falls. and for those who don't have two to three servings of fish a week, some experts recommend taking a fish oil supplement. i'm joined now by the president of australian medical association, dr michael gannon, who says there is no evidence to say multi—vitamins actually work. welcome to the programme. firstly, we know that this is a multibillion dollar industry. are you suggesting that it dollar industry. are you suggesting thatitis dollar industry. are you suggesting that it is all a bit of a con? you are quite right that it is a massive industry and for so many people they ta ke industry and for so many people they take it for granted that they need to ta ke take it for granted that they need to take these supplements. they are heavily advertised, often with

celebrities and it is asserted that they can do all sorts of remarkable things, reduce stress, make you healthier and it's only when they start to make very specific claims that the watchdogs are round the world can actually call them in. we suggested certain cases where vitamins could be helpful, pregnant women and the elderly for instance. today there are many people eating a lot of processed foods and perhaps their diet is not quite so good. are you suggesting that vitamins would not be helpful if your diet is not so not be helpful if your diet is not so good? you are exactly right when you talk about specific deficiencies gap can be proven such as vitamin b12 deficiency, vitamin d deficiency and pregnant women being advised to ta ke and pregnant women being advised to take folate. that is uncontroversial. the reason why the supplements are usually a waste of money is that when they do not exist

in their naturalforms money is that when they do not exist in their natural forms they are often less bioavailable, their absorption does not work as well. we must get rid of this message that you can eat the wrong things and that won't impact on your health. the message must be that a diet full of fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, rain, lean meat, poultry, fish... if you eat that you will get trace elements, vitamins in a way that you can absorb them and they go to the function of your body. is there a suggestion that overdosing on vitamins could be dangerous as well? there is no question that you can overdose on certain vitamins. we have been aware for a long time that vitamina in have been aware for a long time that vitamin a in high doses is toxic. for that reason the dose of vitamins ais for that reason the dose of vitamins a is usually very low in these preparations. the real message here is not so much one of harm from the

supplements themselves but the harm that comes from not observing a decent diet and the idea that these preparations are going to do you any good. people spend a lot of money on these preparations and, sadly, there isa these preparations and, sadly, there is a lot of evidence that people will assume evidence —based treatments, for example, not fill prescriptions written by their doctor. so you have been giving us this advice there. what would your advice be for lots of people who are watching out there who do happen to have lots of vitamins on the shelves. do you suggest they should throw them away? i would encourage them to speak to their local family doctor but for the vast majority of them, taking expensive supplements of water—soluble vitamins are doing nothing more than developing very —— year—end. —— very expensive urine.

the regulation on supplements is very lax, unlike safety tests that prescription medication has to go through. thank you so much for joining us. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we will be looking at how having a unique sense of smell is offering some blind people in india the chance to work. and finally let's take you to japan where around 10,000 men wearing sumo—style loincloths gathered in a temple to take part in a 500—year—old tradition. it's called the naked man festival and it takes place every year good morning. 12 or 13 degrees quite widely on sunday. there has come in from the middle of

the atlantic and will continue to do so the atlantic and will continue to do so although we will see temperatures drop away from the north. in the latter pa rt drop away from the north. in the latter part of the week. a lot of cloud out there. 0vernight overnight it will spill its way in from the west. some of the cloud will be quite low across western areas and there will be at lease some rain to be had in the far north and west first thing in the morning. it will bea mild first thing in the morning. it will be a mild night. nine or10 first thing in the morning. it will be a mild night. nine or 10 degrees fairly typicalfor most be a mild night. nine or 10 degrees fairly typical for most major towns and cities. those temperatures we should see in the daytime at this time of year. a great start for many. the weather front is not particularly intense in terms of rainfall but there is wet weather to be had and windy conditions in the far north—west. in the far south—west there will be low cloud, hill fog quite extensive and coastal fog as well but it is a mild start to the day. the spot of drizzle under this low cloud our west. not so under this low cloud our west. not so much cloud for east anglia and lincolnshire but down towards the south—east around the coast it is a grey and mild start to the day. few

brea ks grey and mild start to the day. few breaks in the north—east of england at most places are starting off rather grey. mama training to get to the north—west of northern ireland and the north of scotland as well. cloudy and breezy as well. some parts of eastern scotland getting away with a dry start to the day but will be a blustery start on the eastern side of scotland lease retimed raw morning. winds gusting to around 50 miles an hour, bear that in mind if you are travelling up that in mind if you are travelling up and down the pennines, for example. into the afternoon we will see some reasonable temperatures in the south—east given a few outbreaks. 16 degrees, may be higher ina outbreaks. 16 degrees, may be higher in a couple of places, not quite as it was on sunday in scotland. into the evening showers in the north of scotla nd the evening showers in the north of scotland in the area brain affecting some parts of wales in southern england. in between it is largely dry and not overly chilly but we are into single figures. dawn on tuesday, there may even be a touch of frost in northern scotland. further south, another marmite, to 12 degrees. a great start to the day on tuesday and southern counties of england. luke lowden patchy rain.

through the morning. whether getting into western scotland and northern ireland through the afternoon. temperatures through the afternoon will be well into double figures for many of us. through wednesday and thursday to just dropping back into single figures across the northern parts of the uk. still hanging on to double figures further south with the fed cloud and rain at times. still less mild by the end of this week. some places doing quite well but still quite windy later this week. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: the second phase of the military operation to retake the iraqi city of mosul is under way. the western half of the city is the last stronghold of so—called islamic state in iraq. the first target appears to be mosul‘s airport. president trump says his comments appearing to link sweden to countries afflicted by terrorism were based on a fox news report. the swedish embassy had asked for an explanation into his comments on saturday. and this video is trending on bbc.com.

the annual naked man festival has been taking place at a temple in 0kayama city. men scramble for sacred sticks thrown into the crowd in darkness and the winners who find the sticks are considered lucky men. that's all from me now, stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for reporters.