this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as us forces in iraq wrap up their mission of fighting the so—called islamic state, a new threat emerges. we have a special report. hundreds of organised criminals across the world are arrested after the fbi manages to monitor their communications. the former bosnian serb military leader — ratko mladic — loses his final appeal against a genocide conviction. kamala harris continues her mission to curb illegal migration to the united states, during a visit to mexico.

armed forces from the us and other western nations are facing a new threat in iraq. on two occasions american airbases have come under attack from iranian—made drones fitted with explosives. it follows earlier rocket attacks on western forces but commanders say the drones are a �*game changer�* in terms of threat. iran denies involvement(map but its proxies in iraq , iran denies involvement but its proxies in iraq , the shia militia, have been growing in strength. our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville has been to northeastern syria, and iraq, and he sent this report. american troops have grown used to being in iraq. still watchful, they move between here and syria almost as if the border didn't exist. they came to help fight the islamic state group.

thatjob is almost done, but another war is taking place here, mostly in the shadows. we are the only people operating in this part of the world. the louisiana national guard have been operating here in north—eastern syria for about as long asjoe biden has been president. the number of americans here and in iraq keeps shrinking. there about 2,500 of them now. the mission here, their enemy, is the islamic state group, but that is far from the greatest danger americans face here. us air bases have been targeted twice in recent months by iranian—made military grade drones. this is the aftermath of a drone strike which destroyed a cia warehouse. and in baghdad, iran's proxies

are running rampant. here they are cutting off the city's diplomatic green zone after one of their leaders was arrested. inside, the united states remains mostly silent. it's focused instead on its nuclear negotiations and is fearful of giving fuel to hardliners in iran's elections. from the us, there has been no military response yet to recent attacks. beyond this fortress, a terror campaign is under way. if you're western forces, you are fighting the islamic state group, you can be here in the centre of baghdad and you can be relatively safe, but the situation outside these walls is far more grim. and the people out there and all across iraq don't have the luxury of that protection. chanting. young iraqis took to the streets to protest,

among other things, foreign interference in their country. and they have been slaughtered. almost 700 have been cut down. they blame pro—iranian militia. and they chant, "who killed me?" please, have a seat. ali mohammed wants to know who it was that shot dead his brother.

across the middle east, iran and the united states continue to face off, but the victims in this shadow war are rarely americans, nor iranians. they are, once again, the people of iraq. quentin sommerville, bbc news, baghdad.

a worldwide sting organised by the fbi has led to the arrests of hundreds of suspected members of organised crime. gangs around the world were tricked into using a secure messaging app — what they didn't know is that the app was developed by agents who were able to monitor millions of messages about drug dealing, money laundering and planned murders. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has the story. a shipment of tuna cans coming from ecuador into europe with more than 600 kilos of cocaine hidden inside, all discovered by law enforcement. more cocaine wrapped up with a batman label, a picture of it sent on a phone that criminals thought was secure, but which was really a trap. that trap was sprung today... ..as law enforcement around the world made their move, with a wave of arrests against multiple organised crime groups. criminals believe that using a system called anom secured their communications. the problem was that the person

behind it was an undercover informant for the fbi. they started by giving 50 devices to criminals in australia, people like this man, hakan ayik, now on the run, who in turn recommended it to others, unwittingly helping the authorities. so, how did it all work? the system was run by the fbi and australian federal police, who were able to access communications between 10,000 devices. 20 million messages were intercepted from more than 90 countries. details about drug deals, money—laundering and planned murders were accessed. it was effectively a wiretap on the criminal underworld around the globe. the biggest users of the device were in germany, spain, the netherlands, serbia and australia. there are some investigations in the uk, although the device was not widely used here. the amount of intelligence that we received was staggering.

from seizing drugs, guns and millions of dollars in multiple currencies, to addressing more than 150 threats to life. in australia, there've been more than 200 arrests. police say the information even helped thwart a machine—gun attack in a cafe. and in europe today, there was more evidence of the operation�*s success. for nine months, we have been receiving intelligence to build criminal cases, and we have also had information that has helped us to prevent more than ten planned murders within sweden. this operation has dealt a serious blow to organised crime, not only because of those arrested, but because those still at large will not be sure who or what they can trust. gordon corera, bbc news. brianjackson is a senior physical scientist at the us global policy think—tank the? rand corporation.

thank you for being with us. what do you make of this? an extra ordinary operation by the fbi. it you make of this? an extra ordinary operation by the fbi.— operation by the fbi. it really is. the control— operation by the fbi. it really is. the control of _ operation by the fbi. it really is. the control of communication i operation by the fbi. it really is. l the control of communication and secure communications is that a major challenge for criminal organisations of all kind. particularly transnational criminal organisations like this without and the fact that the fbi was in a position where they could essentially create and market and apt to those organisations and as a result have complete access to those communications is a major, major law—enforcement success. how communications is a major, ma'or law-enforcement success. how they do it, without being _ law-enforcement success. how they do it, without being sick— law-enforcement success. how they do it, without being sick selected - law-enforcement success. how they do it, without being sick selected by - it, without being sick selected by any of these hundreds of criminals? well, the easy answer is that a lot of patients but that —— without being found out by the criminals. it was developed over multiple years. it started with an opportunity where they got access to somebody who is

developing this app and as part of a deal, they took control over it. they didn't move fast, so the initial adoption of that app and back technology by these groups was relatively slow. but then when other options were taken down, some of them by law enforcement action, it became more popular and as a result got more market share if you will. so it was meeting a need and therefore it was attractive and their customers came. so therefore it was attractive and their customers came.- their customers came. so the customers — their customers came. so the customers came _ their customers came. so the customers came and - their customers came. so the customers came and there i their customers came. so the l customers came and there was their customers came. so the i customers came and there was a lot of arrest as a result, but what happened to the criminals now do you think, will they be a bit more reticent about using this kind of technology in the future? will they go back to burner phones are the old ways they used to communicate and maybe this will be the last possible sting operation of this kind in this way? sting operation of this kind in this wa ? ~ , sting operation of this kind in this wa ? . , . . , sting operation of this kind in this wa ? ~ , . ., , , way? well, they certainly will be makin: way? well, they certainly will be making some — way? well, they certainly will be making some changes. -

way? well, they certainly will be making some changes. the i way? well, they certainly will be - making some changes. the competition between criminal organisations or law enforcement is an ever going competition. but one of the issues and one of the quotes that was in one of the documents released about the operation was really that undermining of trust in the secure communications. this is been an area where devices that were on the market, platforms that were on the market, platforms that were on the market were viewed as providing a very good security, there's been a lot of discussion about the challenges in law enforcement decrypting individual devices and getting access to communications and commercial platforms. so now there has to be that question in every organisation user base about whether they can trust the devices that they are relying on now and that can make things a lot harder, particularly when you're trying to co—ordinate activities across international borders and worldwide. incredible sto .it borders and worldwide. incredible story- it can _ borders and worldwide. incredible story. it can almost _ borders and worldwide. incredible story. it can almost be _ borders and worldwide. incredible j story. it can almost be descriptive a movie. ., ,

story. it can almost be descriptive a movie. . , ., , a movie. handy. -- almost be descriptive. _ a movie. handy. -- almost be descriptive. it _ a movie. handy. -- almost be descriptive. it writes - a movie. handy. -- almost be descriptive. it writes itself. i descriptive. it writes itself. indeed. maybe you can write if brian, thank you very much indeed. the former bosnian serb miiltary leader ratko mladic is to spend the rest of his life behind bars after losing his appeal against a genocide conviction. the judges upheld the life sentence handed down four years ago for atrocities during the break up of yugoslavia, including the srebrenica massacre in 1995. the bbc�*s anna holligan was outside the court in the hague and sent this report. manira has been waiting more than two decades for this moment.

ratko mladic presided over a state—sponsored killing machine. through the crimes of persecution, extermination... his crimes, persecution, extermination, deportation, and genocide among them, were committed as part of a politically engineered plot to systematically remove muslims from the land, to seize and ethically cleanse territory, to become part of a greater serbian republic following the bloody break—up of the former yugoslavia. in srebrenica, it tookjust four days for ratko mladic's forces to execute approximately 8000 muslim men and boys. un forces were present but failed to prevent the massacre. some of the survivors had hoped ratko mladic would use his last public appearance to offer an apology that could help reconciliation

in the still divided region. i'm sorry to say but i can really see evil in his eyes. the man has no sorrow for anything that happened. nothing. he doesn't care. he couldn't take the floor and say "i'm sorry it went so far." and it is a shame because this way, his ideology of division, nationalism, hatred is still living in many people after him. and one dissenting opinion from the presiding judge could inflame tensions and be used used as ammunition by those who seek to deny the genocide. these women have spent their lives in pursuit ofjustice on behalf of their husbands, fathers, and sons killed in srebrenica, and many of them fear this day would never come, but the judgment delivered inside this tribunal means the man they consider to be most responsible

for the suffering will spend the rest of his life behind bars. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. let's get some of the day's other news. the israeli government says it will now allow a march by right—wing jewish religious nationalists throutherusalem's muslim quarter. on monday, organisers cancelled the event after police rejected their route, amid concerns that if the rally took place as planned on thursday, it could trigger a new round of conflict. people in a district of ethiopia's tigray region have told the bbc they have run out of food and are on the verge of starvation. residents of qafta humera say bandits have plundered their property and animals, leaving them with nothing to eat. the un's humanitarian chief has warned of the imminent risk of famine in tigray, where ethiopian government forces have been battling the regional authorities since november. south america's most successful golfer, ngel cabrera,

has been extradited to his native argentina to face charges of assault against his ex—wife. he was arrested in brazil injanuary after several months on the run. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a ceremony in australia to mark the return of blood samples taken from indigenous people without consent. the day the british liberated the falklands and by tonight british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy.

in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbimania at its height. the crowd seeing the man who has raised great hopes for an anti—division of europe. it happened as the queen moved towards horse cart parade for the start of trooping the colour. the queen looks worried, but recovers quickly. as long as the pay to go see me, i will get out there _ and kick them down the hills. what does it feel like to be the first man to cross the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. it feels marvellous, really. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. as us forces in iraq wrap up their mission fighting so—called islamic state — a new threat emerges from iranian—made drones. one of the largest international police operations has resulted in hundreds of arrests and the seizure of tens of millions of dollars.

us vice—president kamala harris has been meeting the mexican president andres manuel lopez 0brador to discuss ways of curbing illegal migration. ms harris arrived in mexico after a two—day visit to guatemala, where she urged people in the region not to attempt entering the us illegally as they would be turned back. 0ur latin america correspondent will grant is in mexico city and has this report. it is no coincidence that kamala harris chose to visit to central america and mexico in herfirst trip as vice president. it is a crucial relationship. greeted on the tarmac by the mexican foreign minister, the smiles were perhaps signs of more stable times ahead after some rocky moments during the trump administration. that is not to say things will always be smooth. she met the mexican president — her masked, him without, her masked, him without — and paused to admire

the diego rivera murals in the national palace. their talks would touch on all the tough bilateral topics from immigration to corruption and drug violence. perpetrated in mexico, but primarily using guns from the us. with mexico probably the most important single partner for the united states, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral trade and development. earlier in her trip in guatemala, the question of immigration had dominated. vice president harris arrived with a stark message. do not come. the united states will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border. if you come to our border, you will be turned back. but she also came bearing gifts. washington plans to pump $300 million into guatemala in the short term, part of more than 4 billion into central america over the next two years. critics say the money is partly so security forces can better

clampdown on would—be immigrants, but the vice president said the aim was to give people reasons to stay at home. our world is interconnected and interdependent. and therefore what happens abroad is of priority to the united states of america. many hear heard the vice president say do not come to the us and deeply resent the message. they say it fails to account for the urgent needs of latin america's poorest or the fact that seeking asylum is a legal right. washington believes that its multibillion—dollar aid package will help improve conditions on the ground, but mrs harris�* stated aim of tackling the root causes of immigration will be much harder to achieve. will grant, bbc news, mexico city. for more than 50 years, the blood samples from thousands of indigenous australians have been held without their consent at a university in the city of canberra. they were taken as part of an international genetics project. but now researchers from australian national university are working to return the samples to their descendants

by reaching out to indigenous communities across the country. azure hermes is a deputy director at the national centre for indigenous genomics and has been leading the work on repatriating these samples. shejoins us now from canberra. thank you very much for being with us. can't take us back then 50 years to explain why the samples were taken the first place? == to explain why the samples were taken the first place?— taken the first place? -- can you taken the first place? -- can you take us back. _ taken the first place? -- can you take us back. thank— taken the first place? -- can you take us back. thank you, - taken the first place? -- can you take us back. thank you, ben. . taken the first place? -- can you i take us back. thank you, ben. there are a number of different studies that are attached to the samples. but primarily it was really to look at the different genetic factors that might influence different diseases and populations. find that might influence different diseases and populations. and these were samples _ diseases and populations. and these were samples that _ diseases and populations. and these were samples that were _ diseases and populations. and these were samples that were taken i diseases and populations. and these i were samples that were taken without the consent of the people they were being taken from?— being taken from? yes, that is correct. being taken from? yes, that is correct- in _ being taken from? yes, that is correct. in the _ being taken from? yes, that is correct. in the 1960s, - being taken from? yes, that is correct. in the 1960s, the i being taken from? yes, that is i correct. in the 1960s, the political climate in australia when he came to indigenous populations were that indigenous populations were that indigenous people were managed by

missionaries or by native affairs, by the government is so research is at the time when they were looking to include samples in those sorts of things into their collections, were just right to these government agencies and ask them for permission, ratherthan agencies and ask them for permission, rather than the people themselves. bud permission, rather than the people themselves-— themselves. and this has caused a lot of hurt and _ themselves. and this has caused a lot of hurt and a _ themselves. and this has caused a lot of hurt and a lot _ themselves. and this has caused a lot of hurt and a lot of _ themselves. and this has caused a lot of hurt and a lot of resentment | lot of hurt and a lot of resentment and bitterness down the years. yes. and bitterness down the years. yes, absolutely- — and bitterness down the years. yes, absolutely. you _ and bitterness down the years. yes, absolutely. you can _ and bitterness down the years. is: absolutely. you can imagine going into communities and having conversations with people who are quite elderly now or with family members who have since passed away and having conversations about samples collected almost over 50 years ago now and so it has to raise some very difficult questions and a lot of emotion.— lot of emotion. how did you get involved in _ lot of emotion. how did you get involved in this? _ lot of emotion. how did you get involved in this? what - lot of emotion. how did you get involved in this? what is - lot of emotion. how did you get| involved in this? what is exactly happening now, giving back the samples? mi; happening now, giving back the samles? y . , , happening now, giving back the samles? g ., , ., , samples? my family is actually in this collection. _ samples? my family is actually in this collection. and _ samples? my family is actually in this collection. and so _ samples? my family is actually in this collection. and so when i i this collection. and so when i became aware of the samples, i sort

of got myself a job here at the national centre for indigenous genomics because i wanted to be the person who would actually go back to communities to have a conversation about the samples. so what we would like to do here at the national centre for indigenous genomics is to create a repository from a bielby, of these samples but of course without proper consent we need to have that conversation with families and to seek a new consent process with them. and to seek a new consent process with them-— with them. what is meant the reaction so — with them. what is meant the reaction so far— with them. what is meant the reaction so far from _ with them. what is meant the reaction so far from the i with them. what is meant the i reaction so far from the families? are they grateful for what you have been doing?— are they grateful for what you have beendoini? ~ , . been doing? absolutely. once you get ast the been doing? absolutely. once you get past the initial — been doing? absolutely. once you get past the initial shock _ been doing? absolutely. once you get past the initial shock of _ been doing? absolutely. once you get past the initial shock of the _ past the initial shock of the samples and knowing that the samples exist, a lot of our families samples and knowing that the samples exist, a lot of ourfamilies have provided consent to come into the repository and we have about 90% of people saying yes to being in our collection. and that is because most people are aware that we need to be able to do this type of research to have much better medical and health research for indigenous people.

thank you very much indeed, azure hermes. let's go to china now — for an update on a story that's been grabbing attention inside and outside the country. it's all about this wandering herd of chinese elephants — they've travelled a vast distance in the south of china over the last 15 months. it's all thought to have begun in a nature reserve near china's border with myanmar and laos — where the herd originated. they travelled north, passing through pu'er in china's yunnan province injuly last year. the herd then crossed almost 500km before, last week, reaching a place called jinning. it's on the outskirts of the city of kunming, home to almost 6.5 million people. authorities are desperately trying to prevent them from reacing the city. the herd is being tracked by people on the ground, and by drone. here's one local official.

translation: what impressed me most was the instant — translation: what impressed me most was the instant of _ translation: what impressed me most was the instant of the _ translation: what impressed me most was the instant of the boundary - translation: what impressed me most was the instant of the boundary of - was the instant of the boundary of the river in the city. it seemed that while elephants were checking the roads and surroundings of the river. howeverthey the roads and surroundings of the river. however they eventually felt across the river. 0ur river. however they eventually felt across the river. our staff use excavators to make slopes on the river so they could pass through. the elephants cross the river after walking back and forth for several hours. and, before we go, some people who are vaccinated decide to meet up with their friends for a cup of coffee or a walk in the park. well, for a few people in italy, those options just seemed far too mundane. they decided to visit a group of base jumping cliffs in the north of the country and go basejumping. it's a site that thousands ofjumpers from around the world come to visit in normal years — it's apparently the perfect place to go wingsuiting. it looks absolutely terrifying. but

there you go. you are watching bbc news. hello there. for many the temperatures will build as we move through this week. both day and it will feel warm and muggy here at night as well if we start to import some very warm and humid tropical air right across the uk. further north and west, it will be played by low pressure in a way different. they could cloud with patchy rain. for today, they could cloud with patchy rain. fortoday, high they could cloud with patchy rain. for today, high pressure to the south, low pressure to the atlantic and pushing the weather fronts into the north and west which will bring to your client at times for scotland, northern ireland and western parts of england and we can see the odd spot of rain and some of it could be quite heavy for a time across northern ireland and scotland. a little bit lighter into the afternoon. brightness for the northeast of scotland where it will be warm but by far essential and southern and eastern england will see the sunniest of these guys in

the highest the temperatures. when he five or 26. further what's with the cloud it will feel warm and muggy. heading to wednesday night, tropical moisture and humid air spreading across the uk. a pretty muqqy spreading across the uk. a pretty muggy night are all areas. lows not following below 14 to 16 degrees. heading in a thursday, low pressure to the northwest without more isobars on the chart. it will be a when your day for northern scotland and ireland. the rain in the northern aisles can be quite wet. further west, worklight around generally and in the england and wales with the best of the sunshine will be towards the east and inside of england and wales with the best of england and wales with the best of the sunshine will be towards the east and inside and those are the mean weeds from gusts. it will be another warm and humid day but because of the cloud around from highs of 22 or 2a degrees. enter friday, similar picture again come a quite a bit a client around here and a little bit it drizzle across western hills, best of the sunshine to the east of higher ground and

another warm and humid day to come for anglican wales, 25 or 26 degrees, a little bit fresherfor a time across scotland you will notice. 15 to 18 or 19 degrees. has this area of low pressure builds backin this area of low pressure builds back in for the weekend, it pushes the area of low pressure in the weather friend the area of low pressure in the weatherfriend back the area of low pressure in the weather friend back out into the electric. looks like things will turn more settled again for the weekend with increasing amounts of sunshine so temperatures will respond and will turn very warm or even hot and places as temperatures across central and southern england could be close to 30 celsius.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: armed forces from the us and other western nations are facing a new threat in iraq. on two occasions, american airbases have come under attack from iranian—made drones fitted with explosives. police in 16 countries have arrested hundreds of people after intercepting millions of messages by suspected members of organised crime groups. those detained had been tricked into using a messaging app run by the fbi. a un court has rejected ratko mladic's appeal against his conviction for crimes against humanity and genocide, for his role in the srebrenica massacre. a un war crimes tribunal jailed him for life in 2017. that's been upheld. the us vice—president, kamala harris, is in mexico.