welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories. last stand in syria. 500 islamic state fighters are facing disaster at the hands of us—backed forces. no regrets aboutjoining is, but hoping to return home. a london schoolgirl lifts the lid on her brutal life in the so—called caliphate. the dogs trained to fight to death. a bbc investigation exposes a global trade in animal cruelty. is it right that the dogs that you put into fight get injured and get killed? and, after 15 years on the red planet, nasa calls time on one of the most successful mars missions ever. it once held vast swathes

of territory in syria and iraq, but now the islamic state group's last few hundred fighters are confined to a handful of tiny enclaves. around the town of baghuz in syria, they're surrounded by the us—backed coalition, who've launched what they've called the final battle against the militants. in a moment, we will hear from the frontline, where a cbs newsteam have witnessed the unfolding humanitarian crisis. but first, richard galpin reports on what's expected to be the imminent fall of islamic state's last significant piece of land. these us — backed fighters are now

poised to victory over so—called islamic state. here in eastern syria. since the weekend, civilians have been pouring out of the last tiny sliver of territory still held by the militants in the country. and with most civilians now having left, the offensive which began on saturday can now be ramped up. on the ground, syrian democratic forces are battling about 500 or 600 experienced islamic state fighters who are making a last stand. translation: i say there are two factors that have a direct impact on this battle. one, terrorists there are the finest fighters from different nationalities including europeans, afghans, pakistani ‘s and iraqis. they are all professionals with past experience in other terrorist groups including al qaeda and they are also defending their

last position. but the united states air force is also playing a key role, bombing what's left of the militants territory and that's reportedly just two streets in militants territory and that's reportedlyjust two streets in one small hamlet called baghuz. at its peak about four years ago, islamic state held swathes of territory in syria and iraqi but this has diminished as us coalition and russian backed forces have hit back at the militants in a sustained campaign. the caliphate has now shrunk tojust campaign. the caliphate has now shrunk to just a tiny enclave of baghuz. the isis leader abu bakr al—baghdadi, you're announcing the caliphate in 2014, was reported to have been seen in the baghuz area a few months ago before moving into the desert. for the civilians who managed to get away from the fighting in baghuz, there will be

relieved they are safe but this is not the lastgasp of islamic state. it remains a threat, with cells in many countries still capable of carrying out attacks. richard galpin, bbc news. now the latest surge in no morning flood of civilians, human shields trapped within the last remaining isis area slowing down us offensive. 500 more today alone who say they escaped in the early hours of this morning, defying isis death threats. so isis try to make you stay. yes, they wouldn't make us go, this mother of five told us. we had to risk our lives to get here. every day, they've been streaming out of the village, many more than troops you had anticipated and what is striking is the number of children we are finding, children who have only ever known life under isis. if there is a positive note about the mass exodus,

it's that the people here say there are now very few civilians left inside, just 500— 600 isis fighters they —— facing inevitable defeat. for this woman whose husband has already been killed in a strike, there is no love lost. what is it mean to you to see the end of isis? they mean nothing to me, she said. they mean nothing to me, she said. they are trash. with fewer civilians left, the us—led defeat of the last isis holdouts in syria may be imminentand each isis holdouts in syria may be imminent and each person, every child who escapes that village, is one less civilian to worry about inside. one of the three schoolgirls from east london, who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group, has been speaking of her experiences. shamima begum told the times newspaper that she didn't regret joining is but that she was 9 months pregnant and now wanted to return to the uk so that her baby

could receive better care. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford reports. pictured for the first time in almost four years in a camp in northern syria, shamima begum, one of the three schoolgirls from bethnal green who left to join the islamic state group, which by then already had a murderous reputation. just 15 when they went, she told the times about their arrival in is territory. she told the times reporter, anthony loyd, her friend kadiza sultana was killed in an airstrike, but she said the third bethnal green girl, amira abase, was still alive two weeks ago. shamima begum doesn't accept they made a mistake injoining the islamic state group.

but she says that while she was with is she lost two children through malnutrition and sickness. she's nine months pregnant with a third child and is now desperate to get back to the uk. though it is far from clear whether the british government will allow anyone who spent so long with the brutal islamic state group to return. daniel sandford, bbc news. a united states led,

two—day summit on peace and security in the middle east is under way in poland. us secretary of state mike pompeo and vice president mike pence have joined foreign ministers and officials from more than 60 countries in warsaw. but some nations including france and germany have stayed away. and iran, who weren't invited, have denounced the gathering as dead on arrival. the summit‘s agenda includes, iran, the israeli—palestinian peace process and the on—going conflicts in syria and yemen. mr pomepo told cbs's roxana saberi, he believes the us decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with iran last year, and the reimposition of sanctions is putting pressure on iran to return to the negotiating table. while the scene is in lyon behaving

like a normal country, not supporting so many players in the region, plus coming here today for a discussion about this. their behaviour has changed materially. they are weaker. their economy is a wreck, the iranian people are very frustrated, 40 years on, 40 years after the revolution, things are much worse for the iranian people and we are convinced the rainy and people will rise up and change the behaviour of the regime. so that's what you're hoping, that the sanctions will help push the iranian people to rise up against the regime and overthrow it? the sanctions are designed to deny the quds force, suleimani, his mischief makers, who are killing people in europe, conducting assassination campaigns in europe. it's to deny them the wealth

and resources they need to create havoc throughout the middle east and frankly throughout the world. hezbollah still receives funding from iran and is operating in venezuala today. this is a global problem, it's why we've convened a global ministry, we have countries from every country save for antarctica, are coming here together to figure out how to get middle east stability and the push against iran is one component of creating that stability in the middle east that the world so desperately needs. a bbc undercover investigation has found that dogs trained for illegal fighting are being traded around the world, including britain, for thousands of pounds. a year—long investigation was originally based on evidence from the charity the league against cruel sports. now it has called for tougher policing of illegal dogfighting and tougher penalties. a warning this report by our correspondent tom symonds includes some distressing images of animal cruelty. for more than an hour, this dog has fought

for his survival... ..until this. he died the next day. they call this a sport, but it's illegal in most countries. the injuries are horrific. it's a very horrible crime. this is an italian investigator, who's been working undercover for us for months. i can't understand how it's possible that people who work with the dogs can do that. she was sent this video by one of the men who attended the fight. bulgarian ivaylo nikolov wants you to think he's delivering pets around the world, but one of his dogs chewed through the bars of its cage. we've been told he was involved in the trafficking of fighting dogs. the uk charity, the league against cruel sports, had been watching him. we found 29 countries across four continents where he is selling dogs. 29 countries? 29 countries, in four continents. that's big business.

yeah, big business. bulgaria — this is where he lives, and where many fighting dogs are now coming from. our undercover investigator made contact, interested in buying one. he took the bait. he said he could get us "tested dogs, match winners." we used specialist pedigree websites to examine which dogs had been bred from his. it turned out, ivaylo nikolov shipped one of his champions to britain, where it bred this dog. clues in the picture helped us identify its owner. he is kerry evans, who was convicted of dog fighting offences in 2014. this video was filmed in his back garden. nikolov‘s bulgarian bloodline extends to britain. and now, he's keen to do a deal with our investigator. he's offered us a fully grown fighting dog. the price is 3000 euros, and we're on our way to meet up with him.

the dog is tested, ready to go. previously, he said, "keep it private". but he seems to trust us. he's now sending voice messages. a very greatjoy for me, when i meet people with such a great desire. and i'm not talking about sales, money or anything else, i'm only talking about the true, pure love for the game. but this is the game. he sent us this video. the lighter dog is the one we're buying. by the end, both are covered in blood and the men have blood on their hands. it's time to meet, on the way to picking up the dog. we have friends who do dogs for many years. they breed, they select and they use. he's made preparations. in his car, there's a box forthe dog, and... so, i have made bulgarian documents, also blood tests and export certificates.

hello, ivaylo, we're from bbc news. but we're not about to give him money. so... we'd like to talk to you about your dogs business. the dogs you're trading around the world, how much money do you make from that? how much money are you making from it? nothing. nothing? no. you're not making anything? you're not trading fighting dogs around the world? no. yes, you are. we've been watching you for some time, ivaylo. no. we know what you've been doing. is it right the dogs you put into fight get injured and killed ? no. why do you do it? are you going to answer our questions? i don't know you, i don't want to talk to you. back in the uk, the scottish society for the prevention of cruelty to animals recently seized these dogs. with police under pressure when it comes to animal cruelty, charities lead the way.

the crime is horrific and it leads to such dreadful injuries to the dogs. i think we've to get much tougher with their sentencing than where we are at the moment, with six months and a fine. as for ivaylo nikolov, we've heard nothing, after we confronted him, his online social media profiles disappeared. stay with us on bbc news, can streaming services crash the oscars? we report on netflix's unlikely candidate for best picture. 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. 500 islamic state fighters are facing disaster in syria, at the hands of us—backed forces. let's stay with our top story now. benjamin friedman is policy director at

the defense priorities organisation, he joins us from washington now. islamic state is facing defeat in terms of territory, but is it going to be defeated as an organisation? no, the territorial defeat of the islamic state denies it, some important things, most importantly, the reputation and success of the organisation allowed to recruit people and become this global brand. but that doesn't mean it won't in its terrorist attacks. how do you expect the group to evolve now in the coming months and years if they don't have this territory?|j the coming months and years if they don't have this territory? i think they will survive in some form, there will probably have to leave

there will probably have to leave the territory, in eastern syria waive their most vulnerable to the us forces that will remain there for couple more months. it also to the kurds who will be doing the bulk of the fighting against them. they will shift into more urban areas where they can hide in syria. they may constitute them somewhere in the rock, but they going to be hunted, not just by the rock, but they going to be hunted, notjust by the united states but the kurds, syrian government, iranians and russians. at an think they have a very bright future. would you expect to see more lone wolf attacks? people popping up in different areas to carry out attacks on smaller cells perhaps question mark. there will be some of that as we have seen in recent years, but

they have been defeated in a territorial sense in the way that they have racked about the willingness of people around the world to identify themselves with isis and fly the flag. when people carry out attacks, as terrorists are more likely they are to say that something other than isis. when it is over, it will weigh in as a competitor. it is obvious that president trump wants to leave the region. how important do you think it's going to be that some forces remain to keep ias incher? at an think we need forces in syria. it's that the united states to be there, but my son ‘s us forces on multiple sites, it starts potential conflict,

that's bad. because number of other forces that can after them, starting with the kurds. at an think it has to be the united states. there are things we can do to provide intelligence and some limited capabilities to help those forces can capabilities to help those forces ca n after capabilities to help those forces can after them they think the ground forces them are not a good idea. we will leave it there, it's good to get your analysis. thank you for joining us. thank you for helping me. nasa has declared that the opportunity rover it sent to mars is officially dead, after nearly fifteen years on the red planet. the robotic vehicle transformed our understanding of mars by confirming that water once flowed there. kim gittleson has more. designed to lastjust 90 days, opportunity landed on mars in 2004 and instead decided it would stay awhile — spending the next decade and a half roving over the eerie martian landscape, reliably sending

postcards back home. including proof that water, that necessary building block of life, did indeed flow at one point in martian history. but then a summer dust storm covered the rover‘s solar panels and on the 10th ofjune it sent back this image — before falling silent. now, after sending thousands of unreturned messages over the past eight months, scientists have come to the inevitable conclusion — opportunity is no more. it is, therefore, that i am standing here with a sense of deep appreciation and gratitude that i declare the opportunity mission as complete. and with it, the mars exploration rover mission as complete. but mars exploration isn't over yet. a new rover will be launched in 2020 and curiosity, which landed in 2012, is still covering ground. like many on social media,

it offered its own eltonjohn tribute to its fallen fore—robot, saying... but the death of the rover some have nicknamed oppy marks the end of the longest serving space robot, which gave us the first glimpses of hope of the possibility of life elsewhere. kim gittleson, bbc news. not long to go now until the oscars, and hollywood's traditional film industry could be excused for feeling a little nervous at the challenge posed by the rise of the streaming services. netflix, for example, has for the first time been nominated for best picture — the black and white autobiographical movie, roma. tom brook reports. roma has been the subject of a massive campaign by netflix to win oscars. the chief aim to bring a best picture victory to director alfonso cuaron‘s largely autobiographical portrait of his family's housemaid

in his childhood home in mexico city in early 1970s. cuaron is taking the big marketing push in his stride. yeah, of course. netflix, like any other company behind any of the films, they do a lot of work doing the promotion and the marketing. i am very pleased about it. i'm very pleased because roma is a very unlikely film to have this amazing support that is happening in terms of a marketing campaign. it's been estimated that netflix has spent more than $25 million on its oscars campaign. it knows winning would definitely generate a return, it would bring top filmmakers to them. they need high—quality content providers and oscars help with that goal. if you can show that you might win an oscar, and will put a lot into helping you get that, i think that helps them retain and attract the very top talent in the film industry and that is important,

especially as you have more and more competition. and more competition is coming. disney will be launching a big streaming platform this year as will other media entities. with its oscar campaigning, netflix is taking on the role occupied by harvey weinstein several years ago, when he was a major force in winning oscars. netflix is certainly a big player and i think harvey weinstein is a fair comparison in part because netflix has bought the publicity firm that harvey weinstein often used to promote his films for a academy awards consideration. that firm now works exclusively for netflix. they're working on roma and some other movies for them so it's a fair comparison though they have not won the awards yet. harvey weinstein at the weinstein company and at miramax won a lot of oscars and people would say he had a special touch. so what will happen on the big night? well, there is a very good chance that roma could pick up the trophy for best foreign language film and,

if it wins the top coveted, best picture award, that would of course delight netflix executives but make the big hollywood studios shudder over the encroaching competition. tom brook, bbc news. a black leopard has been spotted in kenya, for what's thought to be the first time in a century. the footage was caught using hidden cameras at the ligh—kippya wilderness camp in kenya, by researchers from san diego zoo. the black panther, a loose term for a black leopard orjaguar, is male and based on its size, thought to be around two years old. plenty more at our website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ duncan golestani. hello, good morning.

the highest temperature ever recorded in february in the uk is 19.7 celsius, that was back in 1998. on wednesday it was 14. still very mild for this time of year. and the highest temperatures were in the north—east of scotland, around the moray firth. over the next two days or so, we could see temperatures approaching 16 celsius. very mild indeed. and it's so mild because our air coming from a long way south, all the way from the canaries. mild by day but there's still potential for some chilly nights, when we have the clearer skies, and that is what we've got at the moment across england and wales. could be down to —2 or —3 in the chiltons. much milderfor scotland and northern ireland, where there is more cloud. we should see that cloud thinning and breaking, sunshine developing more widely and another very mild day today. one or two mist and fog patches in morning, southern england and east wales. more cloud across north—west england, northern ireland and scotland. it's tending to thin and break. some sunshine developing.

a little bit hazy at times. the bluer skies for england and wales. the wind is probably not quite as strong, especially in the north—west of the uk. those temperatures 12—14, maybe even 15 degrees in the moray firth. still got the high pressure keeping it essentially fine and dry. around that high pressure, we're drawing in those very mild south to south—westerly winds. that weather front though will be approaching the north—west, but not until we get to later on on friday. a lot of sunshine ahead of that. some more mist and fog perhaps for england and wales, early in the morning. clouding over in the north—west. a bit of rain mainly for the north—west of scotland. elsewhere probably dry, with some sunshine. another lovely day for the most part. and temperature 13, 14. possibly 16 in north—east wales and north—east scotland. over the weekend, some slight changes, still going to be mild, still going to be dry for most places. probably a bit more cloud around on saturday. and that's going to be noticeable across more southern parts of england and wales. further north, the clouds going to be a bit thinner.

we should see some brightness and a bit of sunshine coming through. one or two spots of drizzle out towards the far west and north—west. essentially it's a dry day. and we're still in the mild air, still got south to south—westerly winds. so temperatures again hitting 13 or 14 celsius. the high—pressure though gets squeezed away into continental europe where temperatures are continuing to rise here, allowing that weather front to approach into the western side of the uk, increase the cloud and bring a bit of rain and drizzle. further east it's going to be another fine day on sunday, still very mild. less mild perhaps on monday but there's very little rain around at all and most places are going to be fine and dry, still with south—westerly winds. this is bbc news, the headlines: 500 islamic state fighters are facing disaster in syria — at the hands of us—backed forces. defeat would mark a milestone against the so—called caliphate which at its peak five years ago was the size of the uk and ruled over more than 7.7 million people. one of three schoolgirls who left

london in 2015 to join the islamic state group says she has no regrets, but wants to return to the uk — to care for her unborn child. shamima begum, who's now 19, said she'd seen beheaded heads in bins but claimed that it did not faze her. a bbc undercover investigation has found that dogs trained for illegal fighting are being traded around the world, including britain, for thousands of pounds. many animals are killed or left horrifically injured. the report is calling for tougher policing of illegal dogfighting and harsher penalties. now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament.