us—backed forces in syria have announced a final territorial win over so called islamic state, raising their yellow flag over baghouz. the kurdish—led syrian democratic forces called for their administration in the region to be recognised. more than a thousand passengers are being airlifted from a cruise ship off the coast of norway. the mv viking suffered engine problems. five helicopters are involved in the rescue, which is being hampered by bad weather and waves of more than ten metres high. hundreds of thousands of people have marched through central london, demanding that the uk holds another vote on its membership of the european union. it comes days after the brexit date was pushed back as the british government struggles to agree on the way forward. now on bbc news — the highlights

of a special week of coverage from bradford in west yorkshire, featuring stories that matter most to the people of the city. this is we are bradford. we are bradford. doesn't it look fantastic? over the next half an hour we are going to be exploring the issues that really matter to the good folk who live here. the people of bradford are driving the news agenda and they're helping us make the decision about what we cover. and the stories reflecting all of the city's life are being broadcast across the bbc, on tv, on radio,

online and on social media. already we have received hundreds of stories and i promise you this — every single one of them will be looked at. but how did we get here in the first place? david sillito can explain. can i ask you a quick question? is that 0k? can you say hello to the camera? hello. hello, i am will from the bbc. will has been making a little film in bradford. that is brilliant, thank you very much. and he's had all sorts of responses. hello. ciao. sannu. as—salamu alaykum. czesc. hello — it's the same! brilliant, thank you very much. one more time for me please? oh, come on! one thing he had to do was reassure people that this wasn't once again the media knocking bradford. so many unique stories

and unique people, and that is what we are going to be pushing for a week in bradford in march. when i see bradford on the news i often see poverty. crime. the grooming gangs, the rape. it is never anything to do with our achievements. my name is rosemond. josh. my name is farah. jack. this is we are bradford and it began with a meeting at city hall, the bbc‘s editorial director and a group of young people talking about the news and bradford. there's hundreds of people in this city that have incredibly positive stories to tell. there are so many things that have changed my life in bradford which i would not have been able to do in london. i am not moving out for uni. i am staying in bradford. i am going to show these people what i'm made of. and this is just the start of the conversations. coinciding with an exhibition on the topic of the city's science and media museum, bbc news is setting up shop in bradford to try

a new approach to news. so what is happening is that the bbc is bringing its resources here to help local people tell their own stories. this is not about sugar—coating the truth or being a pr exercise for the city. it's simply an attempt to paint a broader and perhaps a fairer picture of bradford. are you from bradford? where are you from? this is sabiya. she is from bradford and she and others want to help people paint the bigger picture. when you think of bradford in the news, what do you think? we are doing a project called bbc we are bradford. we are shifting the news narrative, we want to make sure that people from bradford get to tell their own stories. i love the diversity, and the different cultures in bradford. the buildings, the music, some overlooked part of bradford life, whatever people come up with, what we are bradford will be. we're in little horton and this is where i grew up. i remember these streets really fondly, my aunt lived down the road and i lived two streets across.

my dad used to have a corner shop two streets down. and that shop was the hub of the community and for me that was really important growing up. because without knowing it i was being exposed to so many different people and so many different cultures and that is what bradford is about, it is a melting pot of so many amazing people who have so much to offer. bradford has its challenges, like every other city, but unfortunately it has become infamous for those challenges. but really this city is made up of so many amazing people doing so much to tackle those issues. reading and writing levels

in bradford are consistently below the national average. i went to see one project that is trying really hard to boost literacy and aspirations. the gift of a book. what have we here? arriving through the post every month from a charity aiming to improve literacy here in bradford. a little boy is testing out... each story they read is a building block for their imagination and vocabulary. there's a shark in the park! their mum sadaf grew up in pakistan and her parents didn't read to her, but story time is now a staple part of her life. when i started getting the books from imagination library, then, to see how good the books are and somebodyjust giving me these really good gifts, so then i started reading regularly. in bradford, only half of five and six—year—olds reached the expected reading standards, which is well below the national average.

the number of issues linked to poverty, which present themselves inter—generationally. so why would you blame a child in those circumstances to believe that reading, writing, doing well at school and all these sorts of things will make a difference to them, because they didn't make a difference to their parents and grandparents. hi, this is ana maria. at this school, in a bid to boost literacy and aspirations... b—e—s—t, best. pupils are partnered up with mentors who read to them via the internet. it is rewarding for me because i am helping a child learn how to read and it is seeing her improvement. at school i enjoyed reading and helping a child read and develop their reading skills is very rewarding. for the past five months, ana maria and nazim have been learning together but this is the first time they are reading side by side. there are still huge challenges with literacy in bradford but the future of the students here is yet to be written and with help it can only improve.

may the 11th, 1985, is a day no bradfordian will ever forget. valley parade, the home of bradford city was the setting for one of the worst disasters in football history. 56 people died when a wooden stand caught fire during a match. stephen place was a police officer on duty at a time. it was like a wall of heat that we just kept running back in to, to grab people because they were losing their breath in here and they were obviously smouldering and some of them were on fire and we were just pulling them out. those that were on fire, putting them out, going back in for more. it wasn't a normal day because bradford had won the league and were being presented

with the cup. so it was a bigger crowd, i suspect, than normal but a good atmosphere. we literally ran across the pitch and pulled people over the wall. above our heads it was like raining black bitumen that was burning, and the smoke was shocking, really thick, black smoke. and it shot across the roof. and at that time we were told by the radio operator to get out. i didn't sleep quite well for a long time afterwards. but some of them were affected quite badly. some of them just brushed it off and got on with it. i can still remember now, walking around that corner into that turnstile. and that was grim, pretty grim. there was a charity thing set up and i remember being told money was pouring in, pouring in. and there were vigils outside of the ground and we went to a few of those and stood and talked to people.

they would come and put their arms around you. give you a cuddle and things, which was lovely. it was nice. i think we look after each other and there is a good community spirit, isn't there? you're watching we are bradford. the bbc have been looking at a more fuller and fairer way of portraying this incredible city, with the stories coming from those who live here. you have all heard, i'm sure, of a pop—up restaurant. this is a pop—up broadcasting centre. already many arms of the bbc have successfully broadcast from here. we have been inundated with hundreds and hundreds of story ideas and we made a pledge, we promise to look at every single one and hopefully we are going to get to cover quite a few in the weeks ahead.

but for me, the hallmark has really been the fact that we've met some proper bradford folk. come with me, because i am going to introduce you to james and chris, who are doing just a little thing, they will row across the atlantic. why are you doing that, james? it's a challenge. we want to inspire others to do a challenge, basically. it is a great thing to do because when you set off on your crossing, you're really going to be celebrating bradford as well, aren't you? that's the plan, a good news story for bradford. it doesn't get enough good news and that is exactly why we do it. you know what you are putting yourself up against, as you won't be home for christmas, you'll be up to 100 feet of waves etc, etc and it will be a tough challenge for you? absolutely, and we took all of that into consideration and started in 2015 with this, and we are well aware of everything that is involved and we are prepared for it. james, chris, all the very best. go for bradford!

they're described as the jewel in the social mobility crown, supporting some of the country's most disadvantaged children, but current funding for maintained nursery schools in england is due to end in 2020. i went to see canterbury nursery school and centre for families in bradford. his speech wasn't that good and he wasn't that confident but since being at nursery he has really come along. every day, three—year—old levi looks forward to going to nursery school with his mum. how useful is the nursery for you? it's really useful because it is not too far and has so many facilities. like, on wednesday, i take the baby for a baby clinic and get her weighed and stuff and he loves nursery. it's at the heart of the canterbury estate in bradford, one of the most

deprived areas in england. children here are offered free places from the age of two. we have a much higher percentage of children who come from areas of high deprivation and who have special educational needs, so often children will come to us because other settings were not able to fulfil their needs. it's notjust about getting children ready for school. the centre provides a one—stop shop to help those living in difficult circumstances. for a lot of families, this food is a lifeline, and often parents will go without food to feed the children, so we look after the whole family. in fact, parents say they have been offered a range of support. when he started nursery he wasn't talking and i was worried about his speech and everything. they have helped him develop his speech and sent a speech therapist home as well. she was coming for about six weeks and now, bless them,

you can't shut him up. does he like the nursery? at first i was upset because we are really alone here. we don't have any people. so now he is really happy. they have really helped me. the government has pledged more funding for maintained nursery schools but, despite that, their future is farfrom certain. if this closes, i think it is a huge loss to community and a huge loss to these children. who you can see are ripe with potential. if we if we give them the best, we can level the playing field, and they will succeed through their schooling and through their adult life. closing the social mobility gap for children like these could become much harder. in the rest of the programme, we will look at more of the stories you've given us. we have published many already on the bbc website or on social media. from a hijab—wearing boxer to nursery school children learning about the trees. here's a flavour.

you 99,100! ready or not, i'm coming. some of our children have not seen many trees. some of the children we bring haven't even played out of nursery. when we bring them here, it's a whole new world for them. it doesn't feel like we're ten minutes away from nursery. i think one thing you find about rap music, there is a certain connection you find, regardless of race or where they come from, and if someone is vibing to the music you will make friends with many people. it's about that time. spinning mc on grime.

you need to calm your hype. that's not good for your mind. yo, bro, don't punch above your weight, i mean you can't fight a bantamweight. madman ting. i be comin' on a madman ting. these haters wanna chap man's ting. but he ain't us so wanna cap man's ting. got stories, something like a rap man's ting. culture—wise, look at how many cultures are in this room right now, do you get what i'm saying? you don't really see that elsewhere, bradford it is one of them places where where people can chill and have vibes. different races come together and hang out together, and chat normal. when people think of bradford, you think of food or the riots and it is different now because back then you could feel there was a divide and a lot of tension. we don't have that any more. there is no tension, just life. unless it's beef. cars is one of the biggest things here. you might see cars that you won't see anywhere else in the uk. car culture is massive here. personally, i like taking pictures of cars because it's been a hobby since i was a child. we had nice cars so we decided to meet up on a sunday and check

out each other‘s cars. just decided to put and event on and say car meet and see what happens. people started coming down and since then it's gone crazy. a lot of people looked at me and said, you're a hijabi girl, you can't box. sometimesjust i let my actions speak louder than my words. i'm like, "0k". i am really lucky that we have something like this because we didn't have this before and now that i do, i'm grateful for it. honestly, i could have the worst day in the world, but when i walk through the doors, ijust forget. it's changed my life. i want to break a lot of stereotypes, take risks. just do what makes me happy, i guess.

you can see those stories and many more if you visit us on bbc.co.uk/wearebradford. we are bradford. this is bradford city football club, nestled among the streets where the asian community made its home. but during the 80s and 90s, many asian families were so concerned about racial abuse that they wouldn't let their children come to watch a match here. i went to meet the ladies from the bangla bantams supporters group who are hoping to bring more inclusivity and diversity to these stands. when we first went with the ladies, they were praying a lot, saying we really want bradford to win.

and when bradford did win, the excitement on their faces, they were jumping up and down, the elderly ladies were jumping up and down. the thing is, they went to about three matches and bradford won all three matches. they said, it's cos we have been praying for them. that's why they won. we never came out of the house. our parents wouldn't let us come out at that time. they'd say there's a football game on the weekend, and all the football supporters are coming. our parents would say, stay inside, there's football today. i don't feel scared, i feel proud and stand up straight, and walk with all the people, and i feel like i am part of bradford and this area.

asian women, usually on saturday afternoon, would be at home cooking or looking after the family because the children would be at home. so it's important for them to get out and come and watch a match and have food with their friends and family or whoever they come with. loads of people have been in touch since we first broadcast these stories, including the next one. margaret firth has lived in one of the tower blocks on manchester road for 31 years, but for ten years she's has not been able to afford to turn on electric central heating and this is her story. almost every day there's a removal van coming and people moving out and you are thinking, you wonder where they're going. it's just quite sad to see.

when you walk past the blocks, there might only be ten windows that are lit up at night. i've been here half my life. i moved here 31 years ago. i like my own company and my flat and i have plenty to keep me occupied. being in an all—electric flat, it's too expensive to heat. you have not had your heating on in ten years? no. none of the heaters have been put on. in ten years? no. i would get up, get dressed orjust put a dressing gown on, whatever, sometimes the actual thought of getting dressed, you don't want to have

to go through that cold. to keep warm ijust put plenty of clothes on and fill a hot water bottle, get under the duvet and keep warm like that. and do that on and off all day. the flat tends to warm up at around 10pm at night and then ijust go to bed. you don't expect to have to do that when you've worked for a0 years. worked full time. where do you go for a night out in bradford if you don't drink? there has been a surge of young people visiting a new destination that doesn't require drinking alcohol or eating a curry. take a look at this.

there's loads of dessert places in bradford. dessert's become a big thing. we just head out in our pyjamas, go for a drive and just get a dessert. it's quite popular because it's a trend, an image that everyone likes to portray on social media. i put it on snapchat, yeah. obviously we don't drink so we will go out for dessert and mocktails, and this is our way of socialising as well. we create a vibrant atmosphere and you could say it's a pub without alcohol, that is what we want to create, create that happy environment, atmosphere and feeling. i love the mocktails. the strawberry woo—woo. it gives you an excuse to get

dressed up and meet up with your friends and have a bit of a social evening. bradford's quite a small place and you catch everything in here. before, it was more like going to people's houses for a cup of tea and catching up. back then it was mainly guys that went out. now we're all out. so many things we can do. back then, there wasn't much. i know what you're thinking — we did all this hard work and we'll just clear off like nothing has happened, but this is not the end. it's not — we will continue to tell your stories across bbc news in the coming weeks and months. and we will leave you with an image that sums up our time in bradford. it comes from a group of young girls. they composed a poem. from all of us here, goodbye. i come from shadow and bone

and the hands of god that made me. i come from clay, and mud and leaves. i come from the streaks of light, sharp against the dark of clouds, i come from the distant memories of pakistan, partition. i come from the family's curry and the smell of spice. i come from the oiliness of kebabs and samosas. i come from a warrior's milk. i come from new range rovers and rickshaws. i come from the seven o'clock weather forecast and the unbearable heat and tranquil rain. i come from the tree i used to climb, now wrapped in flowers of grief and memory. i come from the road, now a showroom ofjob—seeking boards and empty coffee cups. i come from homemade swings and brothers pulling my hair. i come from porcelain mugs and brown sofas. i come from blue—stained staircases.

i come from a place where it snows in spring. i come from two potted plants full of small seeded berries, i come from the galaxies of my mind. i come from the spark and the flash of a storm. i come from the world i can only see in my dreams. i come from concrete and bricks, holding the love of my family together. i come from a solar system ready to change the future. i come from peace. a place where friendship is built every day. i come from the hatred of geography. i come from the periodic table and chromatography. i come from the smell of cheap tobacco. i come from the clueless plans of politicians. i come from my mother's womb and the pain of birth. i come from the teddy and blanket, toy dolls and horses. i come from green grass that is now grey concrete. i come from black asphalt. i come from hope. i come from bradford.

hello there. this weekend isn't looking too bad pretty much for all of us, but for scotland it will be quite showery and even windy, as we head through sunday. now, the wet and windy weather across the north is attributed to this deep low pressure which is skirting to the north of scotland. and on its southern flank, we are seeing those gales. so the winds continuing to pick up during the early hours of sunday. lots of showers, some of them merging together, to produce longer spells of rain. yes, there will be some wintriness over the high ground, too. but the further south that you are, closer to the area of high pressure, lighter winds and clearer skies. so it's going to be a chilly start to sunday. temperatures in low single figures for many. and out of town, across central northern areas, there will in fact be a touch of frost in places. so sunday will be a chilly start, but many places starting dry and bright and plenty of sunshine. but there will be showers

from the word go, windy conditions across scotland. some of these showers pushing their way southwards but i think through the afternoon, the showers becoming a bit more scattered so there should be some sunshine inbetween. but it will be very windy, with gales and quite chilly, 6 or 7degrees across the far north. 6 or 7 degrees across the far north. a few showers oushing into northern ireland and into northern england. but south of here, it's actually a glorious afternoon. more sunshine than what we had on saturday. same too for the channel islands, temperatures ranging between 12 and 1a celsius. as we head on into next week, this area of high pressure really exerts its force across the uk. slap bang on top of it, in fact, a few weather systems trying to skirt around it, may affect northern scotland at times, with a little bit of rain. but for most places throughout next week, it is going to be largely dry with variable cloud and some sunshine. we could see quite a bit of sunshine in places. but nights will be chilly. also with this area of high—pressure, as it moves a little bit further eastwards, it starts to swoop up some milder and brings it towards our shore and that will be

quite noticeable across southern and eastern parts of the country later in the week. for monday, this is the picture, again, it's another chilly start. we shouldhave plenty of sunshine around. a bit of cloud just toppling around the area of hig h pressure, into the north and the twest of scotland. perhaps a spot of rain or two on western hills. those temperatures reaching double figures across the north. a little bit milder for scotland, on monday, closer to 12—13 degrees across the southern parts of the country. into tuesday, it's a similar picture. plenty of sunshine around, after a fairly cool start. could see a little bit of cloud just bubbling up into the afternoon, but it should be fairweather cloud. and this weather front may bring a bit of rain, more of a breeze to the far north of scotland. those temperatures creeping up across the south— 13, maybe 1a celsius. and in fact, as we end the week, it looks like it could turn very mild again across southern and eastern areas. you could be looking atthe high teens celsius. but nights will continue to be cool with a bit of mist and fog.

gene todt hello and welcome to bbc news. after weeks of brutal fighting, curtis led forces declared victory over the hardline group. forces declared victory over the ha rdline group. they forces declared victory over the hardline group. they had been holed up hardline group. they had been holed up in the town of burroughs. syrian democratic forces had besieged the town for weeks while planes conducted extracts. thousands of people forced to flee. aleem maqbool sent this report from northeastern syria.