welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: as mainly kurdish forces clash with islamic state fighters in syria — america's top military commander says us troops will probably start withdrawing within weeks. strong winds fan wildfires in new zealand forcing thousands to flee their homes. a video is released appearing to show abdurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician previously reported to have died in a chinese detention camp. and pop music's most prestigious awards ceremony — the grammy‘s — is under way in la. hello and welcome.

the top military commander overseeing american forces in the middle east says the withdrawal of us troops from syria will probably start within weeks — though the exact timing depended on the military situation. the us—backed fighters are meeting fierce resistance from the so—called islamic state group as they clash over the last remaining is enclave in eastern syria. sebastian usher reports. yet another ferocious battle between the kurdish—led stf and islamic state fighters playing out in syria. as the us—led coalition and its firepower, both in the skies and on the ground. but this time the sdf says it is their final decisive battle with the jihadists. and sdf fighter said there were no more isp hangs left to fight in their region. as of today he said it was over and the deaths of those killed by is had been avenged.

it has been a long campaign for the sdf, which has been the most effective force on the ground against is, driving it inexorably to the east after it lost its to factor capital rocker. one town and village were captured after another, with this being the last urban stronghold. now is fighters are reduced to a sliver of land hard against the iraqi border, and to those still there it may well be their last stand, as iraqi forces with help of coalition troops have sealed the border, the very line that is boasted of wiping off the map. for the anti—is forces though, there are still unfinished business, especially over the fate of is leader who once declared a caliphate. translation: until now we have now information on the presence of him in syria. we do not think he is in syria. whereever al—baghdadi is,

the threat posed by is has not vanished with the territory it has lost. even though isis is to graded, it is not defeated yet. it has moved into a second phase, insurgency. few people realise that isis carries out frequent attacks in iraq, almost on a daily basis. they still have have between 10000 and 15,000 active combat and in syria and iraq. thousands of civilians have once again been displaced by the fighting, as millions had during the war in syria, just as in iraq were shattered lives and the lack of any government to provide redress may be fertile ground for the anger and desperation that has provided jihadists groups with willing recruits for decades. sebastian usher, bbc news. a state of emergency has been declared in a new zealand town because of a large forest fire which is threatening the homes of over 3,000 people. the entire population of the south island town of wakefield has been evacuated as helicopters, planes and more than 150 firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze. katie silver reports. it's now been over a week —

firefighters battling a blaze which has forced thousands from their homes. it started near the city of nelson, then with winds of 20km/h, it has moved south and threatens the town of wakefield. along with efforts on the ground, 26 aircraft have been deployed, making it the largest aerial firefight in new zealand's history. firefighters are backburning as a last resort measure with small fires deliberately lit to stop the path of a wildfire. we are doing it in stages. that reduces the heat and the ferocity of the fire. tents have been set up to feed the hundreds of volunteer and professional firefighters. and a makeshift animal shelter, erected for livestock and family pets.

there's nothing worse, i think, than being displaced as a family, and for people, these animals are their family so it's huge and we feel for them as well. police have confirmed they're investigating two of the fires and are appealing to speak to three young men, spotted in the area on friday. many came together to pray, and with lower wind speeds predicted on monday, authorities are optimistic. but they stress the situation is far from over. a chinese state media outlet has released a video appearing to show abdurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician previously reported to have died in a detention camp. turkey had said that it had confirmation of his death and had called on china to close the camps where up to a million uighurs are reportedly being detained. farida deif is the canada director at human rights watch. shejoins me now from toronto.

thank you very much are time. having questions about the authenticity of this video. have you been able to confirm whether it is indeed abdurehim heyit? no. it raises a number of questions, certainly. we did here earlier that there were strong allegations that he was tortured to death in detention. we now see that the chinese authorities have released this video. it is difficult to confirm 100% the authenticity of the video. i think it raised a lot of larger questions about the abuses that the chinese government is involved in in xinjiang. certainly, the chinese government strike hard campaign was meant to be ostensibly a campaign against violent extremism. but what you have here is the detention of pulis and composers like abdurehim heyit, who really have no business being ina heyit, who really have no business being in a detention centre. heyit, who really have no business being in a detention centrem heyit, who really have no business

being in a detention centre. it is interesting that china felt the need to respond to the criticism from turkey and others about this musician. does it show that china is a sensitive to international pressure? i think china is sensitive to sort of co—ordinated international pressure. there has been, when countries to get together and do some joint action, there been, when countries to get together and do somejoint action, there has been some response by the chinese government that has been favourable. initially, xinjiang was really, there was no real access to it. and slowly the chinese government allowed highly controlled access to xinjiang by members, sort of beijing diplomats, those from the islam etc corporation, the eu, journalist, what we are calling for right now is an international independent fact—finding mission to go to xinjiang to get to the bottom of so many of these cases, whether it is the abdurehim heyit case or the

upwards of i million the abdurehim heyit case or the upwards ofi million people who may be detained in these listicle re—education camps. be detained in these listicle re-education camps. do we have a sense of the actual scale of these camps? ——0f sense of the actual scale of these camps? ——of these so—called re—education camps. how many are there of these camps and what is happening inside? we have very little information in terms of the scope of the camps. we have interviewed individuals who were detained in those camps and we certainly know that there are very credible and strong allegations of mistreatment, of torture. these are, you know, completely legally baseless detention centres in which people are arbitrarily and indefinitely detain is, where uighur muslims and other turkic muslims are detained indefinitely for so—called political re—education. so com pletely political re—education. so completely baseless camps. we don't have a sense of the full numbers.

again, you would need an international fact—finding again, you would need an internationalfact—finding mission of investigators to have access to the camps in a way that was credible and transparent to really get to the bottom of the scale and the scope. but certainly what we have seen is a real increase in the level of oppression in the xinjiang as a whole. 0ver oppression in the xinjiang as a whole. over a number of years they have been very serious allegations of intimidation, surveillance, torture against the uighurs in china. but certainly since 2016 we have seen an increase in oppression. farida deif from human rights watch, thank you so much for your time. us senator amy klobuchar has officially launched her presidential bid — adding her name to the list of democrats hoping to oust donald trump in 2020. ms klobuchar is the fifth democratic senator to launch a white house bid — other hopefuls include senators cory booker and elizabeth warren. here she is speaking a little earlier. we are tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, of the gridlock

and the grandstanding. today, on this snowy day on this island, we say enough is enough. cheering. our nation — our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity, not by wallowing over what's wrong, but by marching inexorably toward what is right. tens of thousands of spanish nationalists have staged a rally in madrid, to demand new elections and a tougher stance against catalan separatism. the centre—right opposition parties who organised the protest, oppose the minority socialist government of prime minister pedro sanchez, and his attempts to negotiate with the pro—independence regional government in catalonia. guy hedgecoe sent this report. cheering. those who gathered in

madrid's columbus square were demanding a general election, claiming that the minority socialist government is not legitimate, because it didn't win an election. pedro sanchez took power lastjune, after ousting the previous government through a parliamentary confidence vote. translation: we ask for his resignation and we wanted to call for elections. now we want this president to leave. he is betraying spain and we think that spaniards don't deserve him as the president of the government. protesters were also angry at what they see as a soft approach by mr sanchez to the issue of catalan sovereignty. his recent attempt at seeking talks with the pro— independence regional government of catalonia have been particularly provocative for many unionists. trentin and we want the government to stop talking with the cattle and separatists and that the law and constitution gets fulfilled, nothing else, just the laws to be

applied. the spanish government insist that the independence movement was nicknamed demand, a binding agreement, is not on the table. mr sanchez criticised the demonstration, which was led by politicians from across the political right. translation: the spanish governor works for the unity of spain. and to works for the unity of spain. and to work for the unity of spain miss unite the spanish people and not to divide them like the right parties are doing that are governed. the prime minister has until 2020 to call elections. but with his government struggling for parliamentary support to approve his budget pressure is building on him to call them much earlier. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, madrid. hungary's nationalist prime minister viktor orban has announced a range of financial reforms aimed at boosting the country's birthrate — while trying to avoid the need for immigration to combat a falling population. these include a subsidised loan programme for families with at least two children, and women raising at least four children will have their personal

income taxes waived. here's mr orban. translation: we are living in such times where there are fewer and fewer children being born in you're a. for the west the answer is immigration. every missing java should be one coming in and any numbers will be fine. but we do not need numbers, need hungarian children. our central europe correspondent nick thorpe has more from budapest. prime minister victor auburn devoted the bulk of the state of the nation address to praising his own government policies on revising hungry‘s demographic decline. he also announced a 7—point plan to encourage young couples to get married and have more children. the cornerstone of that was an offer to women under the age of a0 who have not been married, when they do get married, to receive a $35,000 low

interest loa n. married, to receive a $35,000 low interest loan. if they have as many as three children, they would never have to repay that money. there were also offers, promises to create 21,000 new places in nursery schools, on top of those already created by the government in the past eight years. and to devote $2.5 billion to hungry‘s long—suffering health—care system. these demographic issues are part and parcel of mr orban's opposition to immigration in general, notjust in hungry but the whole of europe. he is hoping very much that european parties in the european elections this may will create a majority for that anti—immigration stance that he believes in it so strongly. as he was speaking, different demonstrations i different opposition parties gathered across what a pest, including occupying one

of the main bridges across the river danube —— budapest. they were not opposed, as such, to his family policies, although they say those policies, although they say those policies tend to favour the middle class, rather than the real poor of hungary. they are opposing what they see as is increasingly authoritarian and corrupt government in general. nick thorpe, bbc news, budapest. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the stars are out for the british film industry's biggest night, with olivia colman named best actress. there's mr mandela. mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks

for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as mainly kurdish forces clash with islamic state fighters in syria, america's top military commander says us troops will probably start withdrawing within weeks. a state of emergency has been declared in a new zealand town

because of a large forest fire which is threatening the homes of over 3,000 people. pressure is growing for tougher rules on new mines and dams in brazil, after the collapse of a dam last month left hundreds dead or missing. it wasn't the first disaster of its kind. in 2015, a mining dam collapsed in mariana, killing 19 people. the mayor of that town says the mining companies have learned nothing since then. our south america correspondent katy watson reports from mariana, where many of those affected are still living in temporary accomodation. the ghost town of bento rodrigues still haunts those who live in the shadows of brazil's dams. a once—vibrant community abandoned. the mud—stained walls left standing show how the village was devoured by the toxic sludge. in the ruins, i met edson. speaks portuguese.

he was born and raised here. "this is all that remains of my house" he tells me. "i feel sad, there are so many memories. our hearts are broken". this was the aftermath of the dam collapse in mariana three years ago. a wave of mud that travelled more than 600 km to the sea. brazil's worst ever environmental disaster, but it came at great human cost too. five—year—old manu was one of the 19 people who died. her mother, pamela, says the family's house was wiped out by the sludge. translation: my husband cried out, "daddy loves you". he put his hand out to rescue her, and then something came crashing down on them. he never saw her again. pamela now gets an allowance and rent from the mining companies, but does she think there will be justice? translation: no. i think that those who have money will getjustice,

but those who don't will be treated badly. it's all about money. the local mayor says there is so much reliance on the lucrative mining industry, the community is powerless. did anybody learn anything from mariana ? translation: they've learned nothing. what's happening now makes us really frightened. cities are being evacuated. there's a risk of other dams breaking. the mining companies said they'd help us, but they haven't. but the mining companies say they are repairing the damage that was done. this is one of three new villages being built for pamela, edson, and all those who lost their homes. it is run by a foundation created to help survivors. it's a long time, but we are taking care or trying to take care of these families, where they are now. we hope that 250 families, around 250 families, come to this resettlement.

you'd think after the disaster here, mining regulations would have become tougher, but nothing of the sort has happened. in fact, just three weeks after the dam broke, they passed a law making it even easier to build mines and dams, which just goes to show how powerful the mining industry is here. the world wants iron ore, but at what cost? katy watson, bbc news, in mariana. the historical drama the favourite lived up to its name at the uk's annualfilm awards, the baftas, collecting a string of awards, including best leading actress for olivia colman as queen anne and best supporting actress for her co—star rachel weisz. the spanish—language film roma was named best film. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba was there. his report does contain flash photography. guests of honour on the red carpet — the duke and duchess of cambridge. and joining them at the ceremony was acting royalty. royal—themed film the favourite may have won the most awards, but it was the black—and—white mexican movie roma which took

home best director for alfonso cuaron, and best film, the first time ever a netflix production has won the night's most prestigious prize. cuaron, born in mexico, gave perhaps the night's most political speech. retreating back to a world of separation and isolation is not a solution to anything. it's simply an excuse to hide our fear within our basest instincts. whether we like it or not, we're all connected, sharing a space and time. and when we finally choose to embrace that connection, to show compassion towards one another, we all rise together. go back to your rooms. british star rachel weisz won best supporting actress for the favourite, which took home seven awards in total, including outstanding british film, best costume design,

and best actress for olivia colman. did you just look at me? did you? look at me. look at me! how dare you! close your eyes! and she paid tribute to her two co—stars, rachel weisz and emma stone. emma and rachel — must keep it together. not just for your performances, but for what you did after the cameras stopped rolling. and we've never talked about this, and i find it very emotional, but you were the best and classiest and coolest honour guard any woman could ever have, and i love you. # so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye... the best actor prize went to rami malek for his portrayal of freddie mercury in the queen biopic bohemian rhapsody. thank you so very much to queen, to brian may, to roger taylor, to the entire queen family. wouldn't be here without you. and to the greatest outsider of them all, thank you freddie mercury again. dear dolores. d—e—a—r — this is an animal. while best supporting actor went

to mahershala ali for the film green book. and the rising star award for emerging talent, won previously by the likes of tom hardy and john boyega, was won by british black panther star letitia wright. pop music's most prestigious awards ceremony is underway, the 61st annual grammy awards in los angeles. the event has gone ahead despite the absence of three leading nominees, the rappers kendrick lamar, drake and childish gambino. let's cross live to la and speak to the bbc‘s peter bowes. what has been happening so far? well, you've just mentioned what has been happening so far? well, you'vejust mentioned childish gambino, donald glover, of course, his stage name, he is one of the night's big winners, even though he isn't at the show to accept his award, winning four this is america in the best song category, which is one of the most litigious categories of the lot. and of course, this is a hugely popular song, it has been

seen millions of times on youtube, in fact at one for best video, also best rap performance. so even though he is not at the show, he is having a very good night, as is lady gaga. she is at the show, she has one in three categories so far. of course, for the song shallow from a star is born, with bradley cooper, and also from her latest studio album. so lady gaga having a great time, she was one of the first stars up on the stage at the beginning of the show. and what should we be looking ahead to as the awards ceremony continues? well, kendrick lamar, another of those where there has been a question mark over whether he would attend the show, he is the leading contender. he has eight nominations altogether. drake, the canadian rapper, he has seven. they are battling it out for potentially the most wins of the night. but i think the highlight of the show so far has been a tribute to dolly parton. it's really just happen in

been a tribute to dolly parton. it's reallyjust happen in the last few minutes, dolly parton, well in to her 70s now, she is still going strong, she is still performing. and a beautiful moment when she was duetting with some of the biggest female stars of today, katy perry, miley cyrus. she was performing julian. and it wasjust miley cyrus. she was performing julian. and it was just a miley cyrus. she was performing julian. and it wasjust a magical moment. the entire audience up en masse feet, plodding, taking part in the singing —— jolene. masse feet, plodding, taking part in the singing ——jolene. and masse feet, plodding, taking part in the singing —— jolene. and just a beautiful moment for one of the vetera n beautiful moment for one of the veteran stars of the business. no doubt you will continue to watch events in los angeles at the grammys. a rather controversial award season this year. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. you can get more on the grammys on our website. hello. well, the end of last week was pretty stormy. gale—force winds across the uk.

this week, steady waters around the uk. high pressure is building. the winds will be light for most of us. we've got some sunshine and some frosty mornings on the way as well, and monday will be no different. very decent weather on the way. this is the big picture across the continent right now. this high pressure is starting to build across spain, portugal, and into france, and you can see it's nudging into the uk, and soon it will engulf the whole of europe. now, at the moment, it's still pretty chilly because the winds are blowing out of the north and north—west. however, the milder air you can see here will be reaching out shores by about wednesday. this is what it looks like early hours of monday morning — a couple of showers may be affecting north—eastern parts of england and scotland, but on the whole, it's looking clear across most of the uk and there will be a frost.

the coldest of the weather, as you would expect, will be across scotland. minus two in edinburgh, but outside of town, colder than that. a touch of frost further south expected as well but not an awful lot. so monday starts off sunny. many of us will have a sunny day all day long. however, western areas of the country will turn a little bit more hazy. weather fronts are trying to get in. maybe even a few light spots of rain but this is pretty much where they grind to a halt because of that high pressure building across many western parts of europe. and here is the high pressure across western parts of europe, as it builds a little bit further towards the east. but notice it's displaced further south away from us. that means the weather fronts just about nibbling into the north—west of the british isles, so maybe again a bit of cloud, a few spots of rain, increasing breeze here. but really, in the western isles, the vast majority of the country, 99% of us having dry weather through the course of tuesday and those temperatures are starting to rise, because we have those south—westerly winds. in fact, we're already expecting double figures there in aberdeen, edinburgh, newcastle,

and also in belfast. so that's tuesday. by the time we get to wednesday, the mild air has well and truly arrived on our shores. in fact, it's also seeping into parts of scandinavia and western as well as eastern parts of europe. and in fact, by thursday and friday, those winds turn to a southerly, so that means one thing. those temperatures will continue to rise. by thursday it could be around 13 or 1a degrees, notjust in the south of the country, but even in one or two spots across scotland. so the weather this week is looking absolutely fine. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: as mainly kurdish forces clash with islamic state fighters in syria, america's top military commander says the withdrawal of us troops will probably start within weeks. the us—backed fighters are meeting fierce resistance from is as they clash over the last remaining is enclave in eastern syria. a state of emergency has been declared in a new zealand town because of a large forest fire

which is threatening the homes of over 3000 people. the south island town of wakefield has been evacuated as helicopters, planes and more than 150 firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze. a chinese state media outlet has released a video appearing to show abdurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician previously reported to have died in a detention camp. turkey had said that it had confirmation of his death and had called on china to close the camps. it is 2:30 a.m..