welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm gavin grey. our top stories: the desperate plight of tens of thousands of iraqi civilians trapped in mosul — as they flee from so—called islamic state. we hear from some of those who've escaped. translation: we got our freedom but it cost us a lot. i lost my house and my children were injured. the pentagon promises a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. volkswagen pleads guilty to us emissions charges — and agrees to pay fines of $4.3 billion. and if you need to escape reality, step into infinity. we go on a journey of the senses. fears are growing for the tens

of thousands of civilians trapped in iraq's second city of mosul as government forces try to recapture it from so—called islamic state. 50,000 people have fled the west of the city over the last fortnight alone. the iraqi army is now pushing deeper into the extremists‘ stronghold in the city. 0ur correspondent 0rla guerin and cameraman nico hameon havejust sent this report from the latest areas to be taken back from is control. escaping the battleground and the terrors of the caliphate. fleeing western mosul on foot during a lull in the battle. countless numbers are likely to follow, their life reduced to a few bundles. streets, now liberated,

but deserted, many didn't leave until the fight came right to their door, like abdul razsack. at 76, forced to leave home for the first time in his life. he told us a mortar landed nearby, just moments before. his ten—year—old grandson, and namesake, clutching his school bag though his only lessons here were in war. "i'd like to go back to school right this minute", he said. so—called islamic state stopped him going years ago. now back in iraqi hands, for what it's worth, several more neighbourhoods. troops remain watchful.

the militants are about a mile away. explosion. they were driven from here just four days ago. this is the engineering department of mosul university. 0n the is curriculum here, only fanaticism and death. well, this was a place of learning, it was a source of pride for the people of mosul, and you can see what's become of it. it was also a key strategic location for the so—called islamic state, it gave them high ground to dominate the area. it was heavily defended by uzbek fighters and this is just one of the areas that's going to have to be rebuilt when the battle for mosul is finally over. some uzbek militants are still lying where they fell, no decent burial for those who terrorised a city. nearby, a suicide belt they didn't manage to use. at dusk, iraqi forces gather

for the next advance. armoured vehicles give some protection against car bombs, but they won't fit in the narrow streets of the old city. troops move under cover of darkness and this time on foot. hunting the extremists, who once controlled almost a third of iraq. some of the hardest fighting may be ahead, going house to house and street to street beneath a sky lit only by embers of battle. in the pitch darkness few signs of life, but hundreds of thousands of civilians remain here, running low on food and water. shagri abdullah and herfamily are sheltering in an abandoned house because theirs was destroyed. three of her loved ones

are in hospital, victims of a mortar attack. she shows us how they hid when is fighters stormed in to use them as human shields. "0ne went to the roof", she says, "and he started to shoot. he attacked the army and we escaped from this door. later we found another is still hiding here and they came and shot him in the head." shagri's neighbourhood has been reclaimed from the militants, but her life is changed utterly. "we got our freedom", she says, "but it cost us a lot. i lost my house and my children were injured." her beloved mosul will never recover, she believes,

not even in 30 years. what future for a broken city in a fractured nation even after the extremists are pushed out? there are fears that when iraqis finish fighting is, they may begin fighting each other. 0rla guerin, bbc news, mosul. the us defence secretary has promised a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. in a statement, james mattis said the practice was unacceptable, showed a lack of respect and undermined cohesion. andy beatt reports. the pentagon has been shocked and embarrassed by revelations of servicemen posting naked images of service women online. reports last week uncovered widespread photo sharing and cyber bullying

by current and former marines on facebook. female marine: fire in the hole! now, the bbc has seen evidence that the problem is far more extensive, involving personnel from other branches of the us military. in some cases, names, ranks and contact information were also posted, together with a welter of offensive and demeaning comments. you know, we claim that being a marine is a special title and something that you earn. there is honour here. but there is no honour in denigrating a fellow marine in any way, shape or form. we are going to be self—critical, self—analytical but we also gotta recognise that there is a problem and we gotta figure out how to solve it. victims say that the posting of photos is notjust a violation of trust but a threat to their safety. multiple victims recently began speaking out about

those unauthorised posts but they received threats and backlash in an attempt to quiet them. we will not be silenced. i can tell you that this exact behaviour leads to the normalisation of sexual harassment and even sexual violence. a facebook group called marines united with 30,000 members has been shut down and the naval criminal investigative service has launched an investigation. it has asked more whistleblowers to come forward with information. only then will the full scale of the problem be known. andy beatt, bbc news. the german carmaker volkswagen has pleaded guilty in an american court to three criminal charges linked to the diesel emissions scandal. vw has admitted that between 2009 and 2015 vehicles were fitted with illegal software allowing them to pass emissions tests while still producing high levels of pollution. sarah corker reports. the scandal sparked a global

backlash and the fallout continues. in detroit, the company admitted that for six years diesel vehicles were fitted with illegal software to cheat emissions tests. it is the first time they have actually pleaded guilty and as they did so, they said it was because they are guilty. i think it was also interesting that the judge said he wanted some time to review the fines which are something like $4.3 billion, they could have been far more without a settlement. prosecutors did not hold back, describing the emissions scheme as a planned offence that went to the top of the organisation. the scandal first broke back in september 2015 when us regulators confronted vw about the results of its testing and the emissions of its diesel vehicles.

the guilty plea was part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the us authorities to pay civil and criminalfines. vw admitted to installing illegal software in half a million vehicles. the devices enabled its diesel models to emit up to 40 times the legally allowable level of pollution. in total, the scandal will cost the company as much as $25 billion in the us alone including compensation to owners and dealers. but it is far from over. vw has admitted that worldwide ii million vehicles had the secret software installed. in germany, an enquiry is looking into what the german government and the chancellor knew about breaches of emissions standards. vw is now embroiled in investigations across the globe. in the us, however, it is looking to steer away from its troubles.

they will be sentenced in april. india is to announce the results of a series of state elections. the most important one is in the northern battleground state of uttar pradesh. with its population of 220 million, it's the biggest democratic election anywhere in the world this year. earlier i asked our delhi correspondent sanjoy majumder why these elections were important. there are a number of reasons why these elections are significant. we haveit these elections are significant. we have it touched upon the fact that one of the state going to the polls was the largest in the country, uttar pradesh, in terms of population but it is also a bellwether state, it almost always indicate which way india is heading politically. it is also an election

that comes midway through the prime minister's term. he hasjust that comes midway through the prime minister's term. he has just over two years left before the next national election in 2019. this is almost a referendum on how he has governed so far, particularly because last november he made a controversial decision to take out of circulation two of the highest value currency notes which made up 80% of the total currency in circulation, in a country that truly depends on cash. it was an unpopular seeming decision because it took cash out of the decision but if you look at the early results coming in, it does seem to love made no difference because his party is poised to do quite well, at least in uttar pradesh and maybe in some other states as well. sanjoy majumder there. pope francis is saying he is willing

to allow older married men in isolated communities to join the clergy. he refuses, however, to water down the catholic church's commitment to celibacy. water down the catholic church's commitment to celibacylj water down the catholic church's commitment to celibacy. i think it would be wonderful because i think people who need counselling and understanding from a priest, a priest should know what married people's problems are, opposed to a single person's problem with finesse. and i think it isjust single person's problem with finesse. and i think it is just to the benefit of the priest to be married. if that is how they believe, that is something that they should do, then maybe he should stick to, you know, what has been preached and taught and deal with what it is. i think many religious people nowadays, ithink

what it is. i think many religious people nowadays, i think they choose what is easy for people to follow what is easy for people to follow what they should be following, —— versus what they should be following a love doing, because it makes it easier for the world for people to understand, and for the congregation in the flock to come along and be a pa rt of in the flock to come along and be a part of something that they want to believe in. sometimes, ithink, when you follow what you are more comfortable with, you end up losing yourself along the way and losing the true value of your religion. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the fight to prevent ebola decimating not humans, but gorillas, in west africa. the number of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure

20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots. then they started firing at our huts and we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he is 90. he travelled from memphisjail to nashville prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. will it change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really, i've never been married before. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: tens of thousands of civilians are trying to flee mosul — as iraqi forces reclaim the city block by block from islamic state militants. the pentagon promises a full

investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. south korea is today a country in political upheaval. on friday, the country's president park geun—hye was removed from power and may very well face criminal extortion and other charges. and the head of the country's biggest company, samsung, sits injailfacing charges linked to the corruption scandal that felled park. the status quo has been upended. 0ur correspondent stephen evans is in the south korean capital, seoul. there were due to be some rallies in support of park, but so far she has kept her silence? yes, she has. there is no precedent for this, she

has said absolutely nothing since the verdict and didn't say much before it. that might have been her problem. the justice has before it. that might have been her problem. thejustice has said before it. that might have been her problem. the justice has said that she has not explained the allegations on her side. even seoul, about 1500 of her supporters have amassed. there is a big police presence on the street, police with why —— why riot gear are separating them. there is expected to be an even bigger demonstration this evening. there are these two groups, one of them jubilant and the other angry. meanwhile, a big delay until

another vote will be held. the election commissioner has said it will be held by the ninth of may. what happens between now and then? we have an election campaign. it becomes a normal election campaign, we presume. the opinion polls indicate a shift towards the left. there are candidates who are yet to declare themselves. the ex— president, and who will stand for her party, remains to be seen. and how there will distance themselves from the scandal. with regard to other senior figures, from the scandal. with regard to other seniorfigures, it is from the scandal. with regard to other senior figures, it is the investigation now scoping out other business people and politicians?m is. there are 30 people who have been charged. formal charges of wrongdoing have been laid. what the investigators are doing, the prosecutors are doing, they are

talking to people. asking what they knew, asking whether they witnessed this meeting. asking who else was involved in it. go into more and more people. the difficulty for the prosecutors in this case, the deal being done between ex—president park geun—hye and others for example, is that only two of them were present. but she may well have come out and instructed her subordinate is on what to do after that meeting. so the prosecutor is going through her subordinate and asking, what were you told? subordinate and asking, what were you told ? asking, subordinate and asking, what were you told? asking, did you ask why you told? asking, did you ask why you were told that? in a way, it is the subordinate who are in a difficult position. they would have beenin difficult position. they would have been in the position of being told to do something, maybe thinking, this does not quite add up. on the other hand, she was the boss. the

head of them some might have been the boss, or the head of here —— hyundai. it is a long process, and already 30 people have been accused. news about the recent outbreaks of ebola in west africa has centred on its devastating impact on humans. but gorilla populations are known to have suffered from the disease for some time. a third of the world's gorillas have been killed by ebola in the last 30 years. researchers from cambridge university now want to immunise gorillas in the wild. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. in the african forests, an animal at risk of vanishing forever. gorillas already face many threats, from poaching to habitat loss, but perhaps the most worrying is ebola. the deadly disease is thought to have wiped out many thousands

of these great apes. now a vaccine could be the answer. so we put it on the sides of the nose and they got under the tongue. this scientist has carried out a small trial on captive chimps, the last before bio medical research on these animals was banned in the us. he found a vaccine protected them against the virus and now he wants to use it on gorillas in the wild. ebola and other diseases are a huge threat. if these were our children, we vaccinate our children, right? we vaccinate our pets. we vaccinate domestic livestock. we vaccinate wildlife in the developed world. why aren't we vaccinating our closest relatives in africa? the deadly toll of ebola in humans is all too well—known. the 2013 outbreak in west africa killed more than 11,000 people. now, though, there's an effective human vaccine. ebola in humans and gorillas is closely linked, the virus can cross between species.

some argue that gorillas should now be immunised, too. gorillas are one of our relatives and saving them from extinction is now a number one priority for conservationists and an ebola vaccine does offer some much needed hope, but there could be significant risks. finding a method to get a dose of the vaccine into every gorilla would be difficult. there's also a risk that it could harm the animals, instead of helping them. we, as great ape conservationists, are concerned about any unintended impacts on the health of the target apes, such as introduction of a disease that might spread amongst the intended population that we're trying to protect. the future of these animals is hanging in the balance. the forests are currently free of ebola, but it's inevitable it will strike again. conservationists need to decide whether the risk of vaccinating or not vaccinating is one

they're willing to take. rebecca morelle, bbc news. have you ever wondered what infinity might look like? well the 87—year—old japanese artist yayoi kusama has pretty much captured the experience at an exhibition at the hirshhorn museum in washington. it's become one of the art events of the year with long lines to glimpse inside her so—called infinity rooms. jane 0'brien went to see what all the fuss is about. it is easy to get lost in one of it is easy to get lost in one of yayoi kusama's infinity rooms, even though they are physically quite tiny. the lights warp our perceptions of what is real and what is illusion. we are living in a time when almost everything we see is through digital technology, social media, e—mailing. so that is so much a part of our lives and our perception that she reminds us that there is this other aspect of experiencing space that sometimes is more tactile. to understand how kusama reached infinity, you need to step

into her white room. as a child kusama had a vision of polkadots. it led to a type of neurosis. visitors are encouraged to stick them everywhere in this room, completely obliterating the white and leading to oblivion, which brings us back to infinity. at first being in this room makes me feel incredibly happy. i am surrounded by glow—in—the—dark pumpkins, for goodness sake. but after a couple of seconds it becomes disturbing because this is probably the closest any of us will come to seeing what infinity must look like and once you grasp that you realise how utterly insignificant you really are. most people inside these rooms immediately reach for their cellphones. this is after all the ultimate selfie. but not so fast, says the museum. if you are in this infinity mirror

room and you don't stop and put down your phone, you're not truly experiencing it, because it is this moment in which you are alone in the cosmos and it's a very compelling and poignant experience. get past the showstopping infinity rooms and there's plenty more to tickle the senses. voluptuous sculptures, dots, appendages, dots and more dots. kusama is arguablyjapan's most important contemporary artist. this show reveals why her appeal is global. spellbinding. this is bbc news. it's a pretty quiet weather story

really into the weekend and the start of next week. 0ne things for certain, it's going to be pretty mild. many places will be dry. i think saturday looks like the driest day of the weekend for most places. that's because england and wales are close to the high pressure. whereas further north and west there'll be a weather front slowly makes inroads during saturday morning across northern ireland and scotland. i think most of the rain will be light and patchy, but there could be the odd heavy bursts in there, increasing breeze as well. elsewhere it will be dry, some mist and murk and hill fog. these are the temperatures to start saturday morning, 8—11 degrees. so across the north of the uk, then, outbreaks of rain and this will eventually clear through much of scotland, lingering in the northern isles and the north—east, leaving a legacy of cloud and a few spots of drizzle and a little bit of mist and murk. the same too for northern ireland. but for the bulk of england

and wales, it should be a dry start to saturday. a lot of cloud around, though, it could be quite grey. we could see a little bit of brightness to begin the morning across the south. temperatures here around 9—11 degrees. that's an improving picture i think across southern and south—eastern areas through the day. we import a little bit of dryer air off the near continent, so the cloud should break up and we should see some sunny spells. that will really boost temperatures up. further north as well, a bit of brightness across scotland and northern ireland. it's the central slice of the country will see the weakening weather front with outbreaks of rain. double—figure values for all, but we could see 17 degrees across the south—east. the weather looks fine as well for the six nations rugby back home and in italy, with some sunshine and temperatures of 15—16 degrees both in rome and back home. now, as we head through saturday night, this is where we start to see the change. the weather front moves in from the west, pep up that rain. it turns wetter in england and wales. a damp end to the night. sunday morning, it looks like it will be mild but there will be

outbreaks of rain, some low cloud and mist and murk. so, sunday is looking much wetter for many places, particularly england and wales. brightening skies, though, further west for northern ireland, maybe for western scotland, into wales and the south—west of england. one or two showers around. a couple of showers around. a little bit cooler and fresher. 10—11 degrees. maybe as high as 12—13 across the south—east. now, the wet weather eventually clears during sunday night. into monday and tuesday, a ridge of high pressure builds in, so it is going be fine and there should be a lot of dry weather around, but also a lot of cloud. we could see some rain getting to northern ireland and scotland on tuesday because of that weather front. so, quite a benign picture into next week. it will stay mild for many, alot of cloud around. but where the sunshine breaks through, then it'll feel very mild. the latest headlines from bbc news.

i'm gavin grey. tens of thousands of civilians are trying to flee mosul — as government forces get closer to recapturing it from so—called islamic state. 50,000 people have fled the west of the city over the last fortnight alone. the iraqi army is now pushing deeper into the city. the pentagon has promised a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. former and current servicewomen say they have had their photographs posted without their knowledge. volkswagen has pleaded guilty in an american court to three criminal charges linked to its diesel emissions scandal — the company will pay fines of more than $4.3 billion. prosecutors say the fraud went to the top of the organisation. a drug addict who crashed a car

into a family during a police chase in south london has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.