hello, i'm ros atkins. this is outside source, and these are the main stories here in the bbc newsroom. the pressure is ratcheting up in spain as the constitutional court suspends a planned session of catalonia's parliament. it isa it is a new attempt to take control. we are not confronted with legality. police investigating the las vegas attack now believe the gunman received assistance but his motives remain a mystery. afghanistan's president has told the bbc wants a peace deal with the taliban. and africa's first female head of state is stepping down. -- is —— is close to stepping down. we'll see who couple replace her as president of liberia. mike pence has been speaking about

space today. this is some of what he said. we will return american astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags but to put down the foundation we need to send americans to mars and beyond. applause the moon will be a stepping stone, a training ground, a bit to strengthen oui’ training ground, a bit to strengthen our commercial and international partnerships as we refocus america's space programme towards human space programme. our adversaries are aggressively developing jamming technology to hamper navigation and communication systems and america must be as dominant in space as we are here on earth. some arresting ambition there. that

was happening at the national space council which hasn't met in a while but the trump administration brought it back. i imagine everyone watching will have read the wall street journal because there is an article by the vice president in which he says the us is falling behind in the final frontier. says the us is falling behind in the finalfrontier. some people had been listening to his tone. this is one science writer. i haven't heard him say that bart dele row —— say that. but not everyone agrees with mr pence‘s assessment. "pence‘s rhetoric about the us space programme is pretty harsh and not really backed up by the facts on us space leadership." professor monica grady is from the open university in britain. she shot to fame after being involved in the successful mission by the european space agency to land the probe rosetta onto a moving comet. all of you will remember that. thank you forjoining us. what do you make

of mike pence‘s assessment of how americans have gone about space in recent years? not as inspirational asjohn f. recent years? not as inspirational as john f. kennedy recent years? not as inspirational asjohn f. kennedy when he said that we'll do it because it is hard, by the end of the decade, etc. his assessment i think of america's leadership in space isn't quite true. america has fallen behind in human space flight, the fact that it has two rely on russian rockets to change its astronauts on the international space station really shows that but in terms of exploration of space, they are doing fantastic work. you know, their recent missions, for example, new horizons, to pluto, the recently ended cassini mission to saturn. america is doing marvellous things

in space and it's doing them in collaboration with the european space agency, with russia and japan and also, if it's good it would join with china because scientists, we will collaborate with anybody who wa nts to will collaborate with anybody who wants to collaborate with us. what did you make of his phrase about the moon being a stepping stone? can you explain it. he has it right, the most difficult part of space exploration is getting away from the earth. if you want to explore beyond the moon, then you need a huge amount of energy to do that. if you can establish a base on the moon where you can use the lunar surface asa where you can use the lunar surface as a resource, forfuel, for water, then you can station astronauts there and you can build rockets and

do all sorts of things, science, engineering and technology and use it as engineering and technology and use itasa engineering and technology and use it asajumping engineering and technology and use it as a jumping off point for further exploration of the solar system. people do regard it, if you can get to the moon and live there, then you can possibly go from the moon to mars. i'm interested to hear you talking about the moon with such enthusiasm because some have suggested over the years that apart from the technical feat of getting men onto the moon, really theirs wasn't —— really there wasn't much to be gained in scientific terms. wasn't —— really there wasn't much to be gained in scientific termslj ta ke to be gained in scientific termslj take issue with the phrase, firstly, of men on the moon. men have been the only ones to be there so far. that's the only reason i used that phrase. i'm sure there are plenty of female athletes queueing to go. there is a lot of science being done about the moon. we don't understand everything about the moon, we know it is incredibly important for the other —— plenty of female astronauts

queueing to go. we must understand how it formed, why it formed where it did. there is an interesting aspect to the moon that is often overlooked, there will be pieces of the earth on the moon. there is a large part of earth's history that we can't explore because we have plates to flex —— plate tectonics but we have parts of earth's history on the mood and —— on the moon and we need people to find it because robots wouldn't be able to start might you be intrigued me. thank you for keeping me on my toes. thank you for keeping me on my toes. thank you for joining for keeping me on my toes. thank you forjoining us. the british author, kazuo ishiguro, has won this year's nobel prize for literature. but he only found out when the bbc rang to speak to him about it. here's our arts editor will gompertz. the nobel prize in literature 2017 is awarded to the english

writer, kazuo ishiguro. i thought in this age of false news, i thought it was perhaps a mistake. kazuo ishiguro has written seven novels in a 35—year literary career which has won other numerous awards to go with his nobel prize. his first novel, a pale view of hills, made an immediate impact when it was published in 1982. it, like his second book, an artist on the floating wolrd, features a japanese protagonist. i do feel that the japanese part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as a person and as a writer. i'm a british citizen, i've lived in this country since age five, entirely educated in this country, but i grew up in a japanese home. i'm a british citizen, i've lived in this country since age five, entirely educated in this country,

but i grew up in a japanese home. there was always this other dimension. i saw things through the eyes ofjapanese people, i saw british society through japanese eyes. he is perhaps best known for his novel the remains of the day, which was turned into a film starring anthony hopkins and emma thompson. mr stevens? yes? you mustn't take anything i said to heart. it's hideously easy to miss great opportunities in life. and i think that is something we all face. and i think my books have often addressed that. people who didn't quite see love when it came. yes, mr stevens? it's one of the things i resort to, is to create a situation in which the character perhaps understates things,

almost frustratingly from the readers‘ point of view. i want the reader to say, "why don't you react more? why aren't you screaming?" why keep these things to yourself? kazuo ishiguro creates characters and worlds we can inhabit and believe in. there were lots of stories. of course that is the job of a novelist. many of them turn out to be true. it is just that he does it better than most. don't forget you can get much more detail on our top stories on our web site. the afghan president ashraf ghani has been talking to the bbc.

he's been very frank — and as you see from this headline — he says he has the worst job on earth. some may quibble with that, but there's doubting the challenges. there are still 14,000 nato troops in afghanistan. and last year afghan security forces lost 10% of their entire fighting force — through death, injury or desertion. it begs a question. justin rowlatt sought answers from the president. when do you think nato troops can be withdrawn? we have a four year plan and we are racing to it. look at the ministry of defence and look at it three years ago. this year the work has been superbly managed. we were like i2—year—olds taking over the responsibility of a 30—year—old but we grew in the process and now in terms of management and leadership

things are falling into place. within four years we think our security forces will be able to do the constitutional thing, the monopoly of power. look at the statistics last year, 7000 afghan soldiers lost their lives, 12,000 injured, you had desertions and you lost 10% of your fighting force. no army can sustain losses like that indefinitely and continue to wage a successful war. are you telling me that a corner has been turned? yes. it breaks my heart but please understand, over 100,000, 10,000 nato isf troops withdrew. they suffered casualties in the thousands. we did it without their support, without the armour, etc. we

area support, without the armour, etc. we are a developing country army but i'm extraordinarily proud of the sacrifice. the reason is changing is because recruitment is up. every single person in the army, police and secret service is a volunteer. there's no obligatory recruitment and because of that, is it difficult, but it is no longer impossible. in 2014 when i became president it looked impossible but now it looks like a death cult task and difficult is within our grasp. -- it and difficult is within our grasp. —— it looked like a difficult task. the islamic state group is now a force in afghanistan — but the taliban remains the primary challenge to the government's authority. latest figures show that the afghan government controls less than two—thirds of the country. here's the president on what can be done about that. when you say it, it's controlling,

it is not being able to take a single province. its aim was to overthrow the government and to create two political geography and it has failed in these. if you look at places like ahmad, it virtually ruled the province —— helm and —— helmand. the taliban are the largest exporters of heroin in the world, why is the world not focusing on this? who is benefiting from this? can the conflict in helmand be sustained without this? the product goes to europe. we try to bring you the best of the bbcjournalism through the day. let's turn to coverage of liberia's

election. a giant of african politics is departing the stage. ellen johnson sirleaf was africa's first female head of state — but next week there are elections in liberia — and they will end presidentjohnson sirleaf‘s time in power. a lot of people covering the story because of the importance but also... we'll talk about george weah ina also... we'll talk about george weah in a moment. it is as the washington post calls it ‘a true test of democracy‘. if all goes well, this will be the first time a liberian elected head of state will hand over to another. there are some colourful candidates. we spotted this one, highlighting someone we spotted this one, highlighting someone called tamba mayonnaise. i'm not sure if he is a contender. a serious contender, george weah was at 1.1 serious contender, george weah was at1.1 of the

serious contender, george weah was at 1.1 of the most famous footballers in the world and now he's a politician and would like to be president —— was at one point one of the most famous. umaru fofana is covering the election for the bbc. here's his report in this monrovia suburb many people live from hand to mouth and people struggled to make ends meet. the candidates in next week's election have promised a better life, preaching change, real change and change for hope. but how is not clear. for the people, though, they know exactly what the problem is. this is one of the poorest countries in the world and the needs of people are very basic. but what the politicians have two address these needs? of the 20 candidates there are some including the former world footballer of the year. the folks to be third time lucky on the ballot. ina

be third time lucky on the ballot. in a country that has had years of war, develop and is a priority —— he hopes to be. we have to make sure that our country is ready for development, our country is stable and we can keep the peace in our country. the other front runner is the 73—year—old who has been vice president for 12 years. the friends of criticism of his age by talking about experience. —— he fends off. the liberian people know what i'm capable of doing, they want to see development, someone who can unify them. they are not looking for age, they are looking for someone who has they are looking for someone who has the passion for this country. africa's first elected female president is standing down and liberia for the first time in 40

yea rs liberia for the first time in 40 years will witness the transfer of power from one democratically elected president to another. for the country's youthful population the country's youthful population the biggest dividend for the last decade has been peace and stability. soon they will find out who will lead them into the new era. now to iraq and syria. another blow for the islamic state in iraq. a town called hawija has been recaptured. it's around 200 kilometres north of baghdad. here's jonathan marcus on why this matters. this is the last urban bastian, hawija, that has fallen to iraqi forces and various allied militia groups. the only other significant area that is occupied by so—called islamic state is a series of small towns along part of the euphrates river valley. so it marks a very significant moment in the iraqi

government's campaign. the struggle for hawija was much shorter than for the other major strongholds that is has held. there have been reports of significant numbers of is forces surrendering, either in the city or trying to escape nearby, suggesting that much of the fight has been knocked out of them. but there are many is fight is still in the euphrates valley, on the iraqi side of the border certainly but also key groups on the syrian side as well and that's going to be one of the focuses for the iraqi government and indeed of course the syrian government forces, their allies and separately, the united states backed groups and us and western airpower which will be another focus for the continuing battle. here's that border area jonathan was talking about. and crucial to is‘ retreat has been air strikes by the us and russia. the americans update us pretty much

daily on what they are doing. this is an ——a daily on what they are doing. this is an —— a tweet regarding yesterday. and since august 2014, the us—led coalition says it's carried out nearly 26,000 air strikes against is in iraq and syria. and this is interesting. while the number of strikes in iraq has peaked, the number in syria has been increasing into september. russia has also increased its air strikes in syria through september. here'sjonathan on the russians.

i think what you are seeing is battle being joined for the future ofa battle being joined for the future of a large part of syria in the aftermath of is. there is little doubt that is is on the back foot, its days as an organised force holding eight pseudo— caliphate are numbered. what is at issue is who is going to hold and control the territory that is taken back from islamic state. that is crucially important for the syrian government and its russian and the rainy and allies and it is important too for america and the groups it backs —— geranium allies —— iranian allies. there are economic considerations, oilfields, infrastructure and so on and that is why you are seeing

battle being joined in this way. the danger is that you have two campaigns being waged kind of against is, but for different motives. 0n the one hand, the syrian government and its backers and on the other hand, the syrian democratic forces, the ally of the us, and these two groups are in close contention along the euphrates river. you might have seen these pictures today. we're told these are russian submarines firing cruise missiles at is positions in syria. here's whatjonathan on this. the russians say that they fired up to ten long—range missiles from submarines in the mediterranean against targets, we don't know precisely where. there has been a huge element of showmanship in russia's military intervention from the beginning. let's be clear, that

isn't to belittle it. what the russians have done with a relatively small amount of military power in propping up the assad regime has in military effectiveness terms has been very impressive but all along they've been trying to show that they, like the americans, can mount expeditionary operations, and air campaign, that they can cycle in and out some of the most modern examples of russian military hardware and pa rt of russian military hardware and part of that is to show that just as the united states can strike from great range against targets a long way away, russia has the capability too. if you ask whether the ten warheads from the submarine are of critical importance, probably not in terms of firepower and actual weapons on target but they underscore, yet again, that russia has this growing capability and it isa has this growing capability and it is a capability it did trying out ——

it is trying out and showing off and so on. the advantages of being in the bbc newsroom is that we can have people like jonathan the bbc newsroom is that we can have people likejonathan explaining the issues of the day. if there is anything you'd like me to explain, let me know and i can find the releva nt let me know and i can find the relevant experts to talk about it. i noticed a few minutes ago saying on twitter that england fans at wembley we re twitter that england fans at wembley were throwing around paper aeroplanes to pass the time. it seems it wasn't a thriller against lavinia. but it is the result that matters in the end and england have won 1—0 against slovenia, a last—minute goal for the counting, harry kane. that means that they have gone through in group f and have gone through in group f and have qualified for the world cup next year. the world champions germany have also qualified for next yea r‘s world germany have also qualified for next year's world cup, beating northern ireland 3—1 in group c. the germans as usual will be there and you

wouldn't bet against them. that's it for this edition. thanks for watching. we'll be back next week. 0ur weather seems to be fluctuating between cloudy, milder, wetter and colder and sunnier and drier, almost from one day to the next and the pattern will continue in the 0utlook. 0n pattern will continue in the 0utlook. on thursday it was a day of sunnier skies but a cold north western wind but at the moment we are seeing high pressure building, all too briefly, pushing away the strong wind and with clear skies it means a cold start on friday, perhaps some frost along northern parts of the uk. a sunny start will be followed by increasing amounts of cloud in the north—west. in northern

ireland, maybe some rain in north—west dockland but otherwise the showers along the north sea coasts will be pulling away. more sunshine in england and wales, temperatures 13—15. then we see a change, the cloud thickening in the north—west, weather systems arriving pushing this thicker cloud and rain developing down across the whole of the uk. it means that on friday night and saturday morning, much milder, temperatures of nine or 10 degrees but probably a damp start to the weekend. a lot of cloud again. it is going to be light and patchy. sunday should be drier and brighter, especially across eastern areas of the uk. the main band of rain is moving south through the day, away from the hills not a lot of rain at all. although it clears away, it is all. although it clears away, it is a cloudy air stream behind the sunshine. reasonable temperatures for the time of year but cloudy for

the most part and rather breezy. the weather system and strong wind get pushed into the near continent and everything is ambling in from the atlantic. higher pressure to the south, westerly wind across the north where we will see most of any showers. public quite a cloudy day but brighter, especially early on and we may find these guys coming in as the day progresses —— the skies. the wind picking up on monday. this weather front, fairly weak, the wind picking up on monday. this weatherfront, fairly weak, showers, most of the rain moving east across scotla nd most of the rain moving east across scotland but we may see some heavy rain in western scotland and northern ireland later as the wind picks up. in the south—east, next to no rain. temperatures 17 degrees. 0ne weakening system moves across. you look in the atlantic, something more active beginning to arrive again. scotland and northern

ireland, north—west england with some wet weather on tuesday. heavy rain is likely over the hills, but to the south—east, not much rain at all. into next week the jet stream, looking like this, fairly strong, some undulations, lower pressure likely to be steered to the north of the uk, another one out of canada by the uk, another one out of canada by the end of next week. not much sign of high pressure, it is in southern europe. windy conditions across the north—west of the uk. not much rain and this is where will see the best of the sunshine. this is a typical weather pattern for the time of year. tonight at ten, police say they would have questioned the former prime minister sir edward heath, about allegations of sexual abuse, had he still been alive. sir edward, who died 12 years ago, would have been questioned about allegations of indecent assault and the rape of an 11—year—old boy. he would have been interviewed under

caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the allegations made against him. sir edward's friends and supporters say the police report is highly is highly unsatisfactory — a view shared by a former public prosecutor. ina in a sense of what the police are doing in making the assertion they would have interviewed sir edward we re would have interviewed sir edward were he was alive, is to cover their own backs. despite the allegations, the police concluded that no inference of guilt should be made. also tonight.