asteroid on a school in in the province in syria. the united nations and france have accused them of the attack. the courage and dignity of 2 yes he women who survived of brutal ordeal at the hands of the islamic state group have been honored in strasbourg. awarded europe's top human rights price. and donald trump and hillary clinton campaign hard in swing

ohio and north carolina, with the u.s. election just 12 days away. voting pointing to a big win for hillary clinton. laura: first, there is international outrage over yesterday's bombing of a school in syria's idlib province. 22 children and six teachers killed in air strikes blamed on regime forces and russian allies . unicef says there have been at least 38 attacks on syrian schools this year either in government-held areas or rebel-held territory. reporter: this building used to be a school. now it is little more than

rubble. children attempting to gain an education in the middle of a war zone. reporter: the parts of the classroom still standing show signs of a lesson being underway as the bombs fell, killing dozens of children. syria'sll village in vrable-held idlib -- rebel-held idlib province. who is responsible? well, it is not the opposition, because the bomb needed planes.

it is either the syrians, bashar al-assad's regime, or the russians. reporter: but russia claims it has nothing to do with the airstrikes. the u.s. call for an immediate investigation into the attacks, the deadliest since the war began five years ago. several children were killed in a separate attack just outside aleppo. another school was severely damaged, dealing yet another blow to goodness and civilians -- to innocent civilians caught up in the assault in the government-held region. laura: russia has denied carrying out the air strike but it is also claiming the school was never hit at all, calling reports a sham. i'm joined by a representative of unicef. thank you for being with us on "france 24." if i could get reaction to what the russians are saying tonight, they are saying there

was never an attack at all and they have proof, having flown a drone over the area. >> the secretary-general has called for an investigation. what we do not is that there is unfortunately, schools have really and in the past two 35 children have been killed during the attacks. this, your organizations it, could be the deadliest began -- a school since the war in syria began five years ago. >> this is one of the deadliest attacks since the beginning of the conflict. not the first time and it is unfortunately not going to be the last time.

we have seen time and time again how they have been killed and tortured and deprived of education. .hey are terrified and you have said at least 38 schools have been targeted over the past five years. schools on both sides has been hit, both rebel-held areas and government-controlled areas. why do you think schools are being deliberately targeted? is this a new horrific element in modern warfare? the way -- [indiscernible] tose two attack children and get them at playgrounds and

schools. school, you are not just doing children but killing the future with education. laura: thank you for talking to us. now come up to 900 islamic state fighters have been killed in the battle for mosul in iraq, grinning to the u.s. army, which is taking part in airstrikes on the city -- according to the u.s. army, which is taking part in your flex on the city. iraqi and kurdish troops are a few kilometers away from the secret iraqi troops in the south have been delayed -- but iraqi troops in the south have been delayed. more now on the offensive. reporter: they are confident of the moment, the way they described it to us is they could move forward if they wanted to. it is just a question of gathering the different divisions so they could make a coordinated attack.

and we weren area able to speak to an officer from the iraqi cts, counterterrorism service, one of the elite units spearheading the attack into mosul they have taken the main roads in the urban centers in the approach to the city itself. now they are waiting for the regular army to fill in the gaps between the main arteries into the city, and they say that is something they should be able to do reasonably quickly, three-four days or so. on top of that they are waiting for movements from the north to the south to start to encircle the city more closely. it won't be a full circle because to the west of the city there isn't an iraqi army position there. the plan seems to be to close off the north and the south and then to move from the east to the west across the city of muscle itself -- city of mosul itself. flee, moreihadists cities are being liberated and more people are coming forward

to tell the stories of life jihadists. reporter: her face says it all. this 64-year-old lived under the grip of the islamic state. witness to numerous scenes of horror in mosul, she has been left traumatized. she has now started to speak. i left mosul because i had seen murders and executions. ere they cut off hands if they see anyone smoking. with me, too, they pushed me to my limit. they hit me. i couldn't take it anymore. i hit one of them back. reporter: it was a gesture that pushed her to realize she needed to leave. she took hold of the only opportunity to flee the jihadists, alone and on foot.

after 13 hours, she reached safety. today she lives in this shelter for women and children until she gets a tent of her own. >> we are dying. we are truly dying. we seriously cannot take it anymore. our life is not worth anything anymore. can you imagine? i left my son and my two daughters behind. reporter: she is one of thousands of iraqis living at this camp. once the fighting is over, she hopes to return to her home and find her three children alive. laura: few have suffered more at the hands of the islamists than iraq's ancient yazidi community. when they came, fathers and sons were executed and women and girls were taken as sex slaves. two survivors were recognized for their courage. 'sey were awarded europe

cap human rights prize. one spoke to "france 24" earlier. >> i knew this morning that me and my friend had been awarded the prize. we were both victims of the islamic state group. it is a huge honor for me and that such aims prize, the most important of the european union, has been awarded to us. it also sends an important message to the islamic state group. a message of support for women. not just the yazidi women, but all women, who are always the first victims of war. laura: to the u.s. election race, where both candidates have

been rallying in crucial swing states. is inican donald trump ohio, while democrat hillary clinton is in north carolina campaigning alongside first lady michelle obama for the first time. there are 12 days to go until voting day, but millions of americans have already cast their ballots and those numbers look good for clinton, not only in battleground states like florida and north carolina, but also in the traditional republican strongholds like utah and even texas. philip crowther has more from washington. over half the states hear people can already go and early-vote ahead of the election official date on november a great the reason why the hillary clinton camp is confident right now is not necessarily because of national polls that have come out today or battleground state polls. it is ugly that they know who has been going at it is simply that they know--it is something that they know who has been going, enthusiastically, to the

voting booths early. women, these are the demographics they need, and they pretty going to the polling booths early for hillary clinton. there are more reasons for optimism. the latest national poll from the associated press gives hillary clinton and enormous lead a 14% nationwide. there is only one problem with that, it is not that for double count. what will count is individual states and in a lot of them it is a little bit tighter for her, at least to be able to win almost all of them ahead of still,trump pedestal -- the math is looking rather good for hillary clinton with less than two weeks to go. laura: philip crowther speaking to me earlier. a tiny region of belgium responsible for holding up a huge trade deal between the eu and canada has relented. the deal was supposed to be signed today but officials in staunchly socialist wallonia said the deal was undemocratic and would hurt either culture

now the belgian prime minister says new guarantees have been added and wallonia will agree to the deal. the canadians are cautiously optimistic. >> it seems to be good news. we canadians are ready to sign right away without european friends. we think it would be great for our workers, investors, for the european union, for canada, and for the world. how can we reconcile economic progressivee, and policies? laura: charities are claiming that dozens of unaccompanied minors are still on a migrant camp in calais. bulldozers moved in to clear away the 10 and shacks that have sprung up in recent months. thousands of people were moved to relocation centers to fully apply for asylum this week but many chose to either hide in the camp or head for paris instead.

toorter: bulldozers moved in raze what remains of the jungle, the infamous migrant camp in ca lais. tents and other structures were torn down as the migrants still mill about. despite assurances by french officials that they can't was cleared on wednesday, several hundred migrants still remain, including about 100 and a company minors --100 unaccompanied minors. they waited to enter the registration center but police barred the path, saying the center was closed. for calais says those still waiting are not from the camp by transients hoping to take advantage of the situation. >> is a not people who have come from the migrant camp. they have come from elsewhere. the registration center was not intended to be an entry point for all migrants in france. so it is now closed.

reporter: since monday, nearly 5600 migrants have been moved out from the camp mostly to other centers across france. unaccompanied minors are being held nearby as they await plans to be sent to the u.k. with many of the migrants still determined to cross the channel, local residents say they worry that new makeshift settlements will just spring up in the area once this operation is finished. laura: italy has been hit by a series of earthquakes. there have been no caps off this, but several historic buildings have been damaged. 300 people died in the same region in august when a devastating earthquake flattened town. reporter: scenes of destruction afternoon will to deadly -- after remote to deadly earthquakes hit italy. the first some people out of wednesday evening.

a day later, residents are still shaken. >> it was horrible. i was frozen where i stood. when the second one hit, i was in a car park. i'm from the area and it was really bad because i was in thte car and the car wewere shaking d 10 centimeters off the ground. reporter: the epicenter of the two earthquakes were in the central italian region, and aftershocks were felt as far away as rome, venice, and enables pet while the damage is visible, 30's are relieved to have been no casualties -- authorities are relieved that the note casualties. renzirime minister matteo says the country needs stricter relation over construction laws. >> as i entered, a lady give me a hug and she told me they had just finished the frustration of the 1997 earthquake. then she started to cry. we need to make structural restorations. reporter: wednesday's earthquake

comes 2 months after a devastating earthquake killed many people in the same region. historic landmarks like a 15th century church crumbled in a matter of seconds. 3000 people have been left homeless after the latest earthquake in over 200 aftershocks have been reported. the time government, meanwhile, has set aside 40 million euros -- the italian government, meanwhile, has set aside 40 million euros to rebuild. laura: an alarming report saying that human activity is decimating the planets wildlife. including mammals, fish, and birds have disappeared since 1970. the trend will continue if humans don't change their behavior. fish are freshwater among those paying the heaviest toll. 80 1% have disappeared in the past four decades according to the world wildlife fund report.

mammals and marine animals. 38 and 36% of them have been wiped off the earth respectively. the reason, human activity. while other species have been decimated, the world's human population has doubled. habitatsken animals' and hunted massively. animals suffer from pollution and invasive species and disease. some have struggled from climate change from which is likely to become a greater threat in years to come. >> wildlife is disappearing within our lifetimes at an unprecedented rate. fire diversity forms the foundation of -- biodiversity forms the foundation of healthy species. reporter: the report says the earth is in a mass extension phase where species vanish when dozen times faster -- 1000 times faster than usual. if societies don't change habits now, mankind could eventually

lose the clean air, water, and food it depends on. laura: time to bring you an update on the top business news. hi there, kate. a major shakeup at website twitter. quite a lot of changes a foot pit twitter confirming plans to cut 9% of the workforce, 350 jobs, and will close its video sharing service vine for years after it launched. vine let people share a short video clips played on a loop. it feel to compete with rival apps like snapchat and instagram many of the layoffs are expected to come from the vine apartment. with better-than-expected revenue for the third quarter, it marks yet another series of steady declines 2014. twitter has been struggling to offset slow user growth and ad revenue and had been seeking a takeover. potential partners like disney,

google, and salesforce failed to materialize. another batch of data shows that the u.k. economy is faring better than expected 4 months after the vote to leave the european union. in thew half a percent three months from july to september. by comparison, the growth of 7% in the previous quarter in the services that the come which counts for 80% of gdp, while manufacturing output fell by 1%. many economists predicted a recession after the brexit vote. standard & poor's says the effects of brexit will be spread over several years. another boost to the british economy, the japanese automaker nissan has confirmed it will continue to produce cars and applied in northeast england pick the announcement was welcomed by the government and the car industry, which had been warning about the impact of the exit from the single market. analysts say it is possible that nissan secured guarantees that conditions post-brexit britain,

although theresa may declined to give details. reporter: sigh of relief amidst post-brexit pessimism as nissan announced it would stay in the u.k. market. two weeks after a meeting between the ceo and prime minister theresa may, nissan confirmed it will build in the sutherland plant thanks to the u.k. government's " support and assurances." >> we have been telling nissan and others that we are committed to getting the best possible deal from the future relationships we will be negotiating with the european union and we wish to ensure and theort -- assure competitiveness of the british economy. reporter: sutherland bill one third of british coast last year. the new deal secures 7000 jobs of the plant and 28,000 in supply chains.

pilots of the good president for attacking foreign investment post-brexit, it still remains at what cost. may has been trying to assure investors that the u.k. will not be giving up trade advantages. but with some of the question marks hanging over brexit negotiations, it is unclear how she can deliver on the promises. ,ate: checking on the markets ftse with nearly half a percent boost from the strong economic data that was released. slightly mixed picture on wall street. has not been much movement of the stocks are going back-and-forth across the flat line. thisrices have rallied thursday, topping $50 a barrel amid renewed hopes of an opec output field. energy ministers from saudi arabia and golf allies stated they would be willing to reduce oil output by around 4%. spain has seen unemployment rate drop below 20% for the first time in six years.

the statistics agency said just under 19% of the population is seeking jobs, one of the highest rates in europe. the french economy is expected to grow around 3.2% this year. a robust pace despite months of political deadlock. the acting prime minister is hoping to be confirmed for a second term this weekend and i said that creating jobs will remain one of his top ironies -- and has said that creating jobs will remain one of his top priorities. profits from the full dragon flagship brand fell by more than 50% in the third quarter -- volkswagen flagship brand fell by more than 50% in the lucrativ third quarter. recovery, sees some increasing 6.7%. ford motors third-quarter earnings fell 50% compared with 2015.me period in it was hit by a hefty expenses

and the introduction of a new pickup truck. it stillaker said expects full-year earnings of $10 billion. at the top continues of group it -- tata group. he was unexpectedly sacked on monday over a critical letter he sent to the board that leak two days later. it alleged fundamental problems of the company. eight years after the global financial crisis, the economic access and top-down capitalism has spawned a grassroots reaction that has been gaining traction for some time. usually highly local, they are often ruled out across city districts and now a new one has joined the ranks in france. they take it at this

organic supermarket. it is a new, completely digital currency alternative to the euro. >> more than anything, it is about following the free forming project that was really building a new, putting forward a different from alternative model of development. reporter: the main thrust of that is keeping jobs local, but more than that, it gets big finance out of the equation. unlike other purely local alternatives, this is validation white. -- valid nationwide. >> game for us is to have 50,000 businesses using this currency, which would bring -- with those that the numbers, we should be able to the 15 million-euro turnover with the coopek. reporter: since the october

gained the coopek has subscribers. novelty,ething of a the reaction has been positive. >> other currencies have sprung up in france. reporter: others are used in this eastern paris suburb. 500 businesses have signed up with 92,000 in circulation. small's -- of the this small' -- this mall's revenue is based on it. >> it would be great if we could pay for cinema tickets, schools. i don't know if a lot of but they've asked for it. impossible. is not while they are seen as simple voucher schemes in the u.k., french lost recognized currency alternatives as legal tender for two years. kate: see how the new currency catches on. for now i think we will still be

paying in euros. laura: kate, thank you very much indeed. do stay with us. more news and headlines after this.

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10/27/16 10/27/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> what russia really once from the u.n. is credit. congratulations, russia, you stopped for a couple of days from using incendiary weapons. thank you for not using cluster bombs in civilian areas. amy: as u.s. accuses russia of bombarding civilians in syria, we will speak with bassam haddad , director of the middle east and islamic studies program at george mason universit