hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: american—backed kurdish forces claim they have captured islamic state's last remaining this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. stronghold in eastern syria. the headlines at midday... american—backed kurdish forces claim the countdown to brexit — they have captured islamic state's theresa may warns mps a third last remaining stronghold in eastern meaningful vote may not take place next week if it doesn't get ‘sufficient support‘. syria. the countdown to brexit — a 17—year—old has been stabbed theresa may warns mps a third meaningful vote may not take place to death following a fight outside next week if it doesn't a block of flats in west london. get sufficient support. us special counsel, a 17—year—old is stabbed to death robert mueller submits his report following a fight outside a block into alleged russian collusion of flats in west london. with president trump's campaign during the 2016 us special counsel robert mueller presidential election. submits his report into alleged the al noor mosque in russian collusion with christchurch reopens one week president trump's campaign during on from a mass shooting, the 2016 presidential election. which killed 42 people there. the al—noor mosque in christchurch reopens one week on from a mass shooting in which 42 people were murdered there. sport, and for a full round up, a sterling performance from the bbc sport centre, from raheem at wembley, here's mike bushell. he scores a hat—trick, as england thrash the czech republic good afternoon. 5—0 in their opening it's been quite a turnaround for england's raheem sterling... 3 years ago after a dismal euro

european championships qualifier. 2016, he was being booed by england and the click team takes a look at the latest drone technology. that's in half an hour here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. western—backed forces in syria have declared a final military victory over the so—called islamic state group. the syrian democratic forces said they'd taken full control of the village of baghouz and declared the "total elimination" of islamic state. reacting to the news, french president emmanuel macron said a huge step had been taken today and that a major danger for his country had now been eliminated. let's just take a look at how

their territory has diminished. back in january 2015 the areas marked in red were under the control of the group. but since then it has slowly declined as islamic state were pushed back and over the course of the last four years their control has dwindled. and by the start of this year they only held a few small areas of territory. recent fighting has focused on the area near baghuz and today us—backed forces in syria claim they have taken back that final strip of land. our correspondent aleem maqbool is in northern syria — a short time ago he gave us this update. we have been in baghouz over the last couple of weeks or so, last week we were told there were 5000 people potentially inside that area, that last enclave of the islamic state group. earlier this week we saw with our own eyes a terrible onslaught, a huge offensive against that final

enclave through the night and then during the day, hours of bombardment of the camp. it was felt by forces. those leaving the camp in those days, they were telling us the territory had pretty much been won back and clashes that remained in recent days would just be against individual militants who were hiding in a very complex tunnel network in and around baghouz, and that appears to be what has gone on in the last couple of days. as well as a operation to explode unexploded ordnance and booby—traps, and there is a feeling that there has been lots of cleaning up of the bodies of potentially many hundreds of those killed in this final offensive.

the syrian democratic forces have announced, and they have been very careful to announce this as a territorial victory, but they are also calling it the total elimination of the so—called caliphate. although they are cautious it does not mean an end to the fight against the islamic state group, it is nevertheless a huge moment considering the group once controlled a territory larger than the size of britain. the final loss of territory for islamic state follows a period in which they overran huge parts of iraq and syria brutally impsing their hardline islamist ideology. paul adams looks back on how it all happened. in 2014, the group controlled ten million people in large parts of iraq and syria. then the world took notice and took action. is has been on the retreat ever since, squeezed out of their last tiny pockets of territory. us backed forces in syria are celebrating the defeat of isis in raqqa. so, yes, the dream of a caliphate, an islamic state, that's over.

the group can still do damage. their leader is still out there, despite numerous reports of his death. they may... may have killed the isis leader. reports baghdadi was among those killed. could be a big victory in the war on terror. his last recorded message was in august. he called on his followers to persevere, despite their setbacks in iraq and syria. those followers, they are still listening and there are probably still thousands of them. so expect to see more of this in the region. bomb attacks, killing and maiming large numbers of civilians. and it's notjust in iraq and syria. is has active franchises in afghanistan, in libya, egypt and beyond. and, yes, there will be more attacks in the west, too. now, we can't always say that the attacks were planned or commissioned by the group, but that's not the point. the point is that the ideology alone is enough to inspire those attacks. and the ideology is very much alive. to understand why, just look at the places where it started. syria's civil war is not yet over.

iraq is still divided, too. then there's everyone else with an interest in the region. america, russia, iran, turkey, all with their own different agendas. and you have splits along sectarian lines, along ethnic lines, along regional lines. and as long as those rivalries exist, the middle east is going to remain a deeply unstable place. fertile ground for those who don't mind mixing extreme violence with a narrow, medieval version of islam. and remember, groups like is, like its predecessors, were able to cause mayhem without actually occupying any territory at all. and there's no reason to suppose they can't do that again. the pentagon says isis remains an active insurgent group in both iraq and syria, and it warned that without continued pressure, it's likely to regain territory.

paul adams reporting. theresa may has admitted she may not garner enough support for her brexit deal in a third commons vote next week, and may seek a further extension to britain's eu membership. if her deal does not pass, the eu has set a deadline of 12th aprilfor the uk to propose a new plan. in a letter to all mps on friday evening, mrs may offered to talk to mps over the coming days as parliament prepares to take momentous decisions. it's increasingly likely mps will be asked to vote on a variety of possible brexit outcomes. meanwhile, supporters of another eu referendum will march through central london later and labour's tom watson will speak at the event — he's expected to pledge to back the prime minister's deal, but only if she agrees to hold a referendum on it. i've been speaking to our political correspondent peter saull about the likelihood of whether mps will actually have a third vote on the prime minister's deal. in the letter to mps, theresa may acknowledges the third vote on the deal might not happen this week, and if it doesn't it kind

of violates the terms of the extension to the 22nd of may, which was offered by the european union. she has two options, to try to forge a plan b potentially before the 12th of april, or to choose to take the country out of the european union without a deal. she wants to avoid those scenarios, she says in the letter does not want a long extension, for the uk to take part in the european parliament elections. how would she sell that to leave voters three years after we voted to leave the european union? ministers feel the same, including the children's minister nadhim zahawi. tensions really running high on this. this was him on the today programme this morning. i think it would be a meltdown in politics for not just the conservative party but all parties, we would all have to go back to our constituents and explain what happened.

no one is interested in your position on a particular vote, theyjust want to know are we leaving the eu on time, are we getting out and have we delivered on the promise that we made to the british people? it was their instruction. that was the pamphlet sent out by the then government. he said he would not feel comfortable staying in government it theresa may asked for a long extension. he was asked if theresa may felt the same and he said she was clear when she spoke to the house of commons last week that she did not believe she could keep the uk in the european union beyond the 30th ofjune. there is perhaps a feeling at westminster that if theresa may is not able to resolve this, we might be in the final straights of her premiership. and nadhim zahawi saying what he is against, but people have been saying what they are against and nobody is sure if there are enough people for anything, will that change?

this has been the prime minister's argument for some time, she said the only plan on the table is my deal, mps to this point have not been able to coalesce any alternative. we will have a series of votes in the house of commons next week, it is not confirmed but we expect them to take place on wednesday, they will be asked weather they support, for example, britain staying in the single market, in the customs union, a canada—style trade deal. there is talk of them being asked to rank their different options in order of preference, it could get complicated. some people are saying maybe we should do it like the x factor and it would be simpler for everyone to follow! it will be pretty chaotic at westminster next week, it looks like if there is something parliament can get behind it is a softer brexit than the one the prime minister proposes, something a lot of conservative mps, hardline brexiteers, could not countenance. could the prime minister take

the results of these indicative votes and make them government policy? that is another massive question. she could well look at the poilitical declaration, non—binding part of the withdrawal agreement, go back to the eu and make changes based on what happens in parliament and try to resell the withdrawal agreement. i suppose all bets are off. supporters of another referendum are marching through central london today. campaigners say they expect hundreds of thousands of people to attend the put it to the people demonstration, which will be addressed by labour's deputy leader, tom watson, scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, london mayor sadiq khan and others. 0ur correspondent caroline davies is on park lane in central london, where the crowds are gathering caroline, any indication of whether their ambition of getting thousands

of people has been met? there already seem to be thousands of people keeping on park lane. from the start, further appear and then sweeping all the way along park lane there seems to be thousands of people with banners, placards, whistles and horns, chanting, saying they want a people's vote. i am joined by the director of the people's vote, james mccrory. how many people do you anticipate here? probably too early to say, people are flooding in, we expect hundreds of thousands, it is a lovely day for a march. why did you organise today? the brexit process is a complete mess, the government says they are ina mess, the government says they are in a national crisis, people are gathering to say how unhappy they

are. whether it is the government's brexit deal or any other, put it in the hands of the people rather than westminster politicians. some people would say the 23rd ofjune 2016 was a people's vote, why are you calling for another? what was promised in 2016 there's no resemblance to the brexit being delivered. when so many new facts and figures have come to light since the referendum, it seems only fairand light since the referendum, it seems only fair and democratic that that decision rests with the people on whom it will have most effect. prime minister theresa may is adamant there will not be another referendum, the house of commons voted 334 to 85 to not have another referendum, why will this change anything? this prime minister said there would not be a general election and then called one, over 100 times in the dispatch box she promised we would leave on the 29th of march and then said that would not be the case. you can'tjudge anything on one single snapshot. the vote last week hugely underplayed to support the people's vote campaign has in parliament, lots of mps who

publicly supported did not vote for it because they do not think it was the right time. it is not an option on the brexodus crisis, it is a solution to it, whether it is the government's brexit deal or any other, let the people have the final say. the match will get under way at just after 1pm, heading from here to westminster. caroline davies, thank you very much. jeremy brier is a barrister and legal commentator who spent a lot of time talking to bbc news while article 50 was being heard at the supreme court two years 01’ so ago, and its implications. thank you for coming in, at least you are not standing outside for hours at a time as you were when that case ground through. in some ways article 50 is the focus again, because when theresa may triggered it hit gave us the date of the 29th of march for leaving. the government is effectively set the timetable and

started the stopwatch. can it be reversed, there is a petition on the parliament website signed byjust over 4 million people asking for it to be revoked ? over 4 million people asking for it to be revoked? it can. that case was about whether article 50 was a matter for parliament or something the royal prerogative could deploy, whether it could just be started or stopped by the prime minister herself. the answer is no, parliament have to decide. parliament have to decide. parliament has a lot of control over the article 50 triggering, that is just the time period for negotiating the withdrawal agreement. march the 29th was the key day, that would be the day when article 50 expired in its current form, extensions had to have been sought, it has been sought, but it is only sort of a flexte ntion

sought, but it is only sort of a flextention as people have put it, we will give you until the end of may if you agree the deal, but it does not look like it will be agreed so we does not look like it will be agreed so we only have until april 11, then we're back to where we were much the 29th, a new plan no deal. provides one commentator in the financial times said what they did on thursday was avoided a crisis point at the end of this week, where they might have had to drop back to brussels, theresa may would say i tried again and it did not go through, what will you do for us? then it looks like they are to blame for britain crashing out without a deal. this way they had put the onus back on the uk, but presumably none of it has legal thought? what matters is what it says in the withdrawal act. exit date is the 29th of march at 11pm, i think. we have until 10:59pm that day for a statutory instrument to very quickly

and efficiently change the date of the exit. there is no agreement in parliament over what should be done. there are so many options floating around. as we know from sitting in central london, there is a huge match, a huge demand for putting it back to the people, at the same time there are seven 01’ back to the people, at the same time there are seven or eight options that might be put to parliamentarians in parliament to have their say in ageing —— in a single transferable vote system. some of that is about what happens after we have left the eu. what sort of trade deal would you like, as well as which you like to leave, per se, would you like to revoke article 50, would you like no deal? we talk about what the supreme court decided with article 50, if we were to

ignore the permit is to say there are enough to vote for article 50 to be revoked, and lots of them say, no, it would be delaying brexit because we will re—initiate article 50 when we have general the planning and are ready for it, is that possible? i think so, and are ready for it, is that possible? ithink so, probably. i think it is possible for parliament to revoke immediately, to take stock and then to trigger it again. lbs it would be a nightmare for the rest of the european union. yes, and of course we will find that successively what sort of deal will be be able to negotiate second time around? we know the eu position on this, at some points and he has to make a move. lbs one of the most interesting effects of this has been the debate that theresa may herself, we had seen her in brussels on thursday, and wednesday she made an

extraordinary statement when she effectively said it is parliament versus the people, i am on the side of the people. no matter what you think of that, the reality is it appears we have to views of what is sovereign in our system, we once had a view that the sovereign was sovereign, that is long gone, lbs, then we had 50 that the people vote for parliament in parliament has the power, now we seem for parliament in parliament has the power, now we seem confused about whether sovereignty lies. is this just political or potentially legal? there is a scented which parliament is trying to arrest control back from the executive with a concept of the indicative votes, three votes we re the indicative votes, three votes were mps can express their will. the reason we are in this situation is there is such a panorama of views in there is such a panorama of views in the house of commons that whatever

the house of commons that whatever the prime minister wants does not really matter, we have a unique conflation of a minority government and all sorts of different views and and all sorts of different views and a breakdown of party discipline, eve ryo ne a breakdown of party discipline, everyone is completely happy to say what they believe, and how can the prime minister then have real sovereign or executive control because she cannot get anyone to vote for what she needs? do you worry about the legacy of the last couple of years, in terms of respect for institutions? we saw the fairly shocking newspaperfront for institutions? we saw the fairly shocking newspaper front page, enemies of the people, after the court case. leaving that aside, there is the apparent contempt to which parliament government is held. does that trouble you? yes, there is real distrust for trusted and ancient institutions, parliament and the legal authorities. the judges must do what they are there to do, dispassionately applied the law. surgical than any of the people as

if they had a political agenda is, in my view, quite wrong. but as much asi in my view, quite wrong. but as much as i share the frustration of probably most of your viewers that this is a nightmare process, we have these democratic institutions and they are worthy of respect, even though we may not like the individuals, institutions ensure that fair and just outcomes should at any rate transpire. we will see how that plays out but i would say it is worrying if we really lose faith in democracy. that raises the question about today's march, many are people are asking is it really a democratic thing to happen or undermining a previous democratic vote ? undermining a previous democratic vote? that could have a real effect on how leave voters see the parliamentary process and whether it is worth taking part in it ever again. lbs fascinating stuff, i am sure we will speak to you again before it is all over.

meanwhile, one of the government's key plans to deal with the potential impact of a no—deal brexit is being put in place this weekend. the m20 motorway leading to the port of dover was closed overnight, contingency plans are being made in case long queues of lorries build up as they try to cross the channel. a new road layout will be in place from monday. police are appealing for witnesses and information following a fatal stabbing in west london. scotland yard say the victim, believed to be a 17—year—old boy, was found seriously injured after reports of a fight outside a block of flats in in union lane, isleworth. the victim, who still hasn't been formally identified, died at the scene a short time later. earlier, our news correspondent jane—frances kelly gave us this update from the scene. well, a crime scene tent is behind me, the area has been cordoned off. what we know is that at about 10:30pm yesterday police were called after reports of a fight.

eyewitnesses say they saw two attackers, this has not been confirmed by police. they found a teenage boy believed to be 17 with serious injuries, stab wounds. they tried to give him first aid before the ambulance arrived but he was pronounced dead at the scene. a postmortem examination will take place in due course and formal identification. residents say they are shocked by this, there had been some recent incidents of anti—social behaviour but nothing like this. they say on the whole it is a quiet place to live. the metropolitan police had told me that since the beginning of 2019 there have been seven teenage homicides in london, six of them due to a stabbing. we will find out in due course what are the cause of this teenager's death was. lbs jane—frances kelly in

isleworth in west london. the mother of libby squire, the hull student whose body was found in the humber estuary on wednesday, has paid an emotional tribute to her "beautiful girl," and said no family should have to endure what hers has gone through. the 21—year—old's body was found seven weeks after she went missing following a night out on the 1st of february. humberside police is treating her death as a potential homicide. writing on facebook, libby's mother lisa squire said she'd lost one of the most precious things in her life, and that her heart is broken. she said that it was an "honour, privilege and a joy" to have been libby's mother, that she kept her safe as long as she could, and that she was "so sorry" she could not keep her safe on the night that she vanished. (the investigation into claims that donald trump's 2016 election campaign colluded with russia has been completed. the special counsel, robert mueller, has handed his findings to the (tx attorney general, william barr, who will bnow summarise the report, and decide how much to publish. earlier this month, the house of representatives voted unanimously to demand the report is released in full to the public.

the special counsel has already charged six former trump aides and dozens of russians. an investigation has finished into whether or not president trump's campaign team colluded with russia during the 2016 election. the al—noor mosque in christchurch, new zealand, has reopened — eight days after the fatal shootings there. heavily—armed police continue to guard the building but small numbers of worshippers are being allowed in. thousands of people marched through christchurch last night in support of those affected. a new type of satellite tag for tracking birds of prey is being trialled at cairngorms national park in scotland. over the next 18 months some young golden eagles — like the ones seen here — will be fitted with the raptor tracker tag — it's hoped that the new technology will provide better information on the birds' movements and help to curb wildlife crime. i'm joined from grantown—on—spey by grant moir, the chief executive of the cairngorms national park authority — which is involved in the project.

thank you forjoining us. tell us about why there has been such concern to provide reliable tracking technology for these birds? we have about 400 breeding pairs in scotland, some vacant territories as well. one of the things that has been around has been rat persecution. with this tracker we are trying to find it more about the birds' behaviours and research, and at the same time get an instant fix and weara bird at the same time get an instant fix and wear a bird may have died and that way we can find out where it wasn't what the cause might have been. lbs what about the population, how small is h? there is a good population in the west side of scotla nd population in the west side of scotland and within the can comes national park, there are still va ca nt national park, there are still vacant territories in the national park and part of this is to ensure

that over time those territories fill and we get a full range of golden eagles within scotland. the challenge is achieving that, the tagging is one helpful tool but there had to be other interventions to try to ensure this happens? the target is just part of that in terms of giving us more information and responding to things quicker than previously, we are also working with different organisations and all the things we can do in the cairngorms. there is a lot going on. lbs what makes the golden eagle particularly special for you? it makes the golden eagle particularly special for you ? it is makes the golden eagle particularly special for you? it is an makes the golden eagle particularly specialfor you? it is an iconic species, people come from all around to view it, a lot of businesses in the cairngorms rely on the golden eagle in terms of people planning to enjoy the area, the main thing for me is seeing them when you are in the hills, in the forests and the glens, knowing the golden eagle is

thriving. lbs the chief executive of the cairngorms national park authority, thank you forjoining us and let's hope that scheme continues to bea and let's hope that scheme continues to be a success. louise lear has the weather. this was first thing this morning, the best of the sunshine further north. we have a weak weather front slipping steadily itself and the cloud so that the m4 corridor was for some drizzle. sunny spells elsewhere, static, blustery showers in the finalfor elsewhere, static, blustery showers in the final for scotland and feeling cooler than lately, highest values of nine to 13. 0vernight we continue to see the cloud producing a few showers, clearer skies temperature is too full a way to low single figures, more persistent showery rain pushing into the far

north—west of scotland. we will see some wetter weather pushing across scotland, turning increasingly wintry to higher ground, that will move through the borders to the north of england on sunday. elsewhere we keep some sunny spells, highest temperatures seven to 30 degrees. take care.