Hello. A swiss plane has taken off from abu dhabi on the firstever attempt to fly around the world using only the energy of the sun. The Solar Impulse ii could take five months to complete the 12 stages of the flight crisscrossing continents while spreading the word about clean technology. Its a pretty impressive project with some even more impressive figures. Lets show you a two. Two pilots will take it in turns to fly the singleseater plane on the 35,000 kilometer journey. The Solar Impulse ii has a wingspan of 72 meters larger than that of a boeing 747. Built into the wings, more than 17,000 ultraefficient solar cells, which transfer energy to four electrical motors powering the planes propellers. The pilots will have to stay awake for most of their time in the air. They are being allowed naps of just 20 minutes, confined in a cockpit thats not much bigger than a phone box. Mark lobel watched the launch in abu dhabi. Reporter preparing for the ride of their lives. The moment the swiss explorers have been waiting years for has come. Reporter in an adventure like this one, we have a lot of unknown, a lot of unexpected unpredictable. Reporter despite being surrounded by state of the art equipment, the pilots fly five days and five nights in cramped conditions in an aircraft thats difficult to maneuver. Rather dauntingly the batterypowered propellers pass over seawater theres little room for error. The fragile plane needs extremely good weather conditions to take off and got them. After a small technical hitch, the solar plane took to the skies. Flying solo each pilot can only take short bursts closely controlled sleep. So when the pilots want to go to sleep, theyll put these glasses on and have these yellow lights flash into both their eyes at different speeds. So what will that do . As the lights slow down the brain slows down and theyll go into a sleep cycle. For about how long . The pilots 20 minutes, because theyve got to wake up every 20 minutes to actually check the equipment. Reporter permission for the experiment of airlines to enter air space in china, india, america, and europe over the next five months was secured by the swiss government. Not only about chocolate, cheese its also innovation science, innovation, ideas. Reporter the success of the mission will depend not just on the spread of its wings, but equally the spread of its message. Mark lobel, bbc news abu dhabi. Ive been talking to Connor Lennon communications chief with Solar Impulse at Mission Control in monaco. A short while ago, i asked him about the progress of the plane. Reporter the plane did take off with a bit of a delay from abu dhabi, due to a slight technical snag but that seems to have been resolved. Well have a check on the plane when it does land in amann. Its a short flight which is about 12 hours. Long flights will be crossing the pacific and atlantic, up to five days and nights. Thats nonstop with no copilot in a cabin which is around the size of a telephone box, a little bit more than that. Around 3. 8 meters cubed. That is an incredible endurance test isnt it . Tell us more about how the pilot will keep himself going . Were more worried about the pilot than the plane, because were very confident the plane can fly almost indefinitely. We know it can fly throughout the whole night use solar energy thats been soared throughout the the day. The pilots have been highly trained for this. There have been 72hour tests in which the pilot has had lots of stimulus to make sure eck concentrate. His vigilance levels are high. We are very careful about the kind of food he eats. And each pilot has his own method of staying awake and staying vigilant. So one of the pilots prefers yoga and meditation to make sure he can relax very quickly and have these short naps. And the other pilot, he prefers selfhypnosis. And again, this is a method to get you into a trance state, so you can really relax and switch off, before you can retake the controls. Its not a real auto pilot. The device we have allows you to relax for around a maximum of 20 minutes. Then hell get a vibration on his arm and having to go back and take the controls again. My eyebrows are raised so high at doing yoga in the space of a telephone box, but hats off to them. One more about the message youre sending by using a solarpowered aircraft. You cant do very much can you, to change the worlds frequent flyer culture. Well, the message of one of our founders, Bertrand Picard who you might know from a successful around the world in a hot air balloon is using transportation to send the message. Only one person who can get in this plane. Not built to carry passengers but a message. The message being, this is what weve managed to achieve. Everyone said this was impossible, to have a plane that could fly day and night using only solar energy. Weve managed to do that. And if we can do that with the technology thats here now, think what we can do on the ground. Theres a lot of cynicism and skepticism when we see the annual conferences that take place with the u. N. , where nothing is really resolved and there are lots of caveats to the agreements well if we could show the leaders that look we can do this we can live in a World Without fossil fuels, and this is the message we want to say, look, we can have optimisticon theptimism about this, leading up to december 2015, which is the United Nations conference on Climate Change in paris, the aim there is to have a binding, a legally binding commitment amongst all nations to stop using fossil fuels by 2050. And we want people to believe, yes, it can be possible and prove in the air that its possible. Well those are details of the this epic journey on bbc. Com news. Some breaking news coming into us. Malaysian airlines has admitted it didnt replace an expired battery on a locator beacon onboard the missing mh370 plane. That lapse was revealed in an interim report on the disappearance of the flight. The airline has said in a statement, on monday that this was a maintenance scheduling oversight, not replacing the beacon battery, but the airline insists this did not hinder the search effort because there was another beacon locator on the aircraft that was working. Now, a landmark report reveals a culture of doping continues to exist in the sport of cycling. Following a yearlong investigation, an independent commission accused former leaders of cycling the world body of turning a blind eye to the extent of doping in the 1990s and the 2000s. The Cycling Independent Review Commission did clear the uci of corruption but says it gave preferential treatment to drug cheat, Lance Armstrong. A total of 174 antidoping experts, officials, riders and other interested parties were interviewed and these are the main points. Respected professional cyclists believe a significant number of riders are still doping. Riders are microdosing. This is a new trend of taking small but regular amounts of a banned substance to try to fool the latest detection methods. The use of weightloss drugs, experimental medicines and powerful painkillers is wide spread leading to eating disorders, depression, even crashes. And were told doping has also spread into amateur cycling, which it is now endemic. Ive been talking to former racing cyclist and began by asking him what he found about the findings in this report. Its very valuable i think, to have a report. Im certainly going to make for quilt of the sports top brass. How widespread do you think doping is . I must admit, the 90 figure based on the testimony of one rider who isnt named, isnt quite [ inaudible ] of the people riding now. That figure seems very big clearly, theres certainly doping in the sport. And its a sport where doping can offer considerable advantages. I think there always will be a chance to cheat. 90 seems a very big figure to me. But would you say that theres possibly still widespread use of the practice of microdosing for example . Yeah thats been that has been going on for at least ten years. Thats not a particularly new approach to the problem. The issue the reason microdosing works is because the technology that detect ttss the substances in a sample isnt all that sophisticated. You need quilt of the substance in somebodys blood sample or urine sample before it can be detected. If you keep that level low, they cant find it. Its a technique thats been used for a quite a long time. Tell us more about whats being called therapeutic exemptions. It sounds like getting doctors sick notes so you dont have to go to work. Thats almost exactly what it is. A therapeutic exemption is a doctor signing off a rider to use a product that would be a banned product, but to use it for a genuine medical need. Not all products fall into this category. You couldnt use epo under a therapeutic use exemption, but you can use corticosteroids under a therapeutic use exemption. And the report has riders showing up to races with therapeutic use exemptions. Theyre talking dozens and dozens of products under tue, each one which might offer an marginal advantage, and the hope of doing so they can build up quite a substantial advantage. Its not against the rules, really its more like tax avoidance versus tax evasion. And riders and things are looking for advantages in smaller and smaller places. Just very briefly michael. You know this world so well. Do you think this report will make a difference . I think im not sure how much difference it will make i think the sport was moving in a positive direction. I think it reinforces what the sport is trying to do it. I think it makes that more urgent. It clarifies, there are still a lot of issues out there. But im not sure its going to be a complete game changer. Michael hutchinson speaking to me there. Indias ndtv network stopped programming in protest of the banning of the bbc documentary, indias daughter. They ran a slate referring to the films tire during the hourlong slot when it should have aired on sunday night. Indian Authorities Say the film was banned because of objectionable content. Lets get you the Business News now. Alice is here a momentous day for european economies . Its almost like dday, isnt it philippa . Finally here after months of speculation and weeks of debate on whether it will work. Today, the European Central bank finally starts its quantitative easing program. The plan which will essentially pump new money into the Financial System aims to trigger growth in a stagnating eurozone. Deflation and high unemployment means that the regions economy continues to struggle seven years after financial crisis first kicked off. And later today, apple is expected to reveal more details on its offering for your wrist. As the neck giant strives to innovate will fans be impressed by a watch . There are plenty of questions that people want answering. How much will an apple watch cost what will be its target market, and what if margins mean that apple can continue to report record results and innovate . Well, since the launch of the iphone 6 in september last year apple share prices have risen nearly 30 , with the number of handsets being sold continuing to break records. For the First Quarter alone, the Company Reported staggering profits of over 18 billion u. S. The biggest by any company in history. But can a watch that needs recharging every day really offer the profitability margins that apple investors have gotten used to . In World Business report well be looking closer at the already pretty overcrowded smart watch market and be asking will apple be able to repeat the success of the ipod, the iphone the ipad, et cetera et cetera et cetera. More, of course, coming your way on that in World Business throughout the day. Alice, thank you so much. Stay with us here on bbc world news. Still to come life as a female taxi driver in afghanistan. Well tell you the story of a woman breaking down barriers from the front seat of her cab. clucking noises Everyone Wants to be the Cadbury Bunny because only he brings delicious cadbury creme eggs. While others may keep trying nobunny knows easter better than cadbury. This is bbc world news. Im philippa thomas. Our latest headlines. A recordbreaking attempt to fly a solar plane around the world is underway after taking off from abu dhabi. The governing body of world cycling is accused of giving Lance Armstrong preferential treatment in his handling of doping cases. The german chancellor Angela Merkel on her visit to japan has been talking about the fraught issues of wartime forgiveness. As the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches. With relations between japan and china and korea at a low, she suggested germany had faced its history squarely making generous gestures to former enemy s. Ies. Translator there was a readiness in germany to face our own history openly and squarely but its difficult for me as a german chancellor to give you advice on how to deal with partners in your neighborhood. This has to come out of a process in the society. Our correspondent in tokyo, rupert wingfieldhayes, gave me more details. As you can see, it was in response to a question just as she arrived here. And of course this being an anniversary year, the second anniversary of the end of the Second World War, theres a lot of sensitivity here in japan about the issue of history. In particular because japan has at the moment a rather rightwing government under president shinzo abe. Mr. Abe has said hes going to reconsider the apologies that japan has made in the past. So japanese journalists asked mrs. Merkel what she thought. And she was careful not to give direct criticism of japan, but i think she also made a fairly pointed comment there, pointing out that germany has gone a very long way to face its own history and to rebuild relations with its former enemies, suggesting that perhaps japan needs to do more in terms of building relations with china and south korea. And yet nationalists in japan have been saying that tokyos apologized enough. Thats right. So japan is very divided over this. Those on the right, such as Prime Minister abe and many of his supporters believe that japan has apologized enough. And that, essentially, the Second World War in japans history in the Second World War is used by countries like china to attack japan, and that its time for japan to stop apologizing anymore. Those on the left think that japan should stick to its apologies and should face history more squarely. And that interestingly, appears to include japans crowned prince who himself last month made a very rare statement, saying that japan needs to remember its war history correctly. And that was seen as a guarded criticism of Prime Minister abe and his followers. A resident in the village of niger says 200 vehicles with soldiers from chad and niger have crossed the border into nigeria. The resident says the forces have been going into northeastern nigeria since saturday to fight boko haram militants. Its the first incursion deep into nigeria by troops from niger who have so far only fought in the border area. Nigeria nigerias government appeals for greater help to combat the insurgency as boko haram declared allegiance to Islamic State. To the United States and a baby girl has been rescued from a car after 14 hours after it crashed, overturning into a river in utah. Her mother died at the scene. But the 18monthold was found hanging upside down above the icy water, still strapped into her car seat. Our north american correspondent has more. Reporter saved by a car seat which left the infant trapped, but safely suspended, just above the icy water. So cold even the 18monthold babys rescuers had to be treated for hypothermia. The crash happened at night, and wasnt discovered for 14 hours. Where the car was at you couldnt see it from the roadway. There was a fisherman that came to fish along the river and noticed the vehicle in the river, called 911. Reporter the childs 25yearold mother died when the car crashed off the road on the short drive home from her parents house. I have been able to confirm that she has visited some family in salem last night around 10 00. She left salem between 10 00 and 10 30 last night, was headed home to springville. The family didnt know that she did not arrive. Reporter the baby is still critically ill, but stable at a childrens hospital. A remarkable survival after a terrible accident. Australian Prime Minister tony abbott says he is sick of being lecture kd by the u. N. Over the way australia seeks Asylum Seekers. It comes as a United Nations report is being published, accusing the Australian Government of violating the rights of Asylum Seekers to be free from torture. Asylum seekers who arrive in australia by boat are transferred to Papua New Guinea for assessment and resettlement. Afghanistan is one of the most challenging places in the world to be a woman. And despite some improvements in recent years, many still struggle to find work. But in the Northern City one woman is helping to break down barriers. She is working in the very male world of taxi driving. As Jonathan Biel reports. Reporter like most woman in afghanistan, sarah does the housework. Like many, she also looks after her ailing mother as well as the kids. Though saras single shes the breadwinner for 15 relatives. And thats where the similarities end. A quick check of the oil, a wash of the windscreen and shes ready to go. Saras a woman in a mans world. Translator people need to understand that a woman can go to work. I am a woman and proud of it. Woman should be braver and do what im doing. They can do anything they want. They could even be president. Reporter though in afghanistan, women are allowed to drive, unlike saudi arabia you still see very few behind the wheel. As for taxi drivers, well thats almost exclusively the preserve of men. Except in this car. Unlike most afghan women, saras not afraid to show her face or share her forthright views. Mostly passengers are normally veiled in public. But shes just like taxi drivers all over the world. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] reporter zarah can talk. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] reporter and talk. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] and in doing so shes breaking down barriers. Finding the next fare isnt always easy. Few men are brave enough to get in. This is a more normal reaction. An incredulous look or even worse. Translator sometimes, i get threats from the other drivers. They resent it and they tell my female passengers that i dont know how to drive and that i have epilepsy and that ill crash the car, but the women dont listen to them. Reporter life for afghan women has improved in recent years. Under the taliban, they werent even allowed out on their own. But theres still a long way to go. Few are as outspoken or as brave as zarah, who at nightfall stands guard over her taxi with a loaded shotgun. Despite the threats, shes a proud defender of womens rights. Jonathan biel, bbc news. What a woman. Just time to remind you of our top story. A swiss plane has taken off from abu dhabi, in the first attempt to fly around the world using only the energy of the sun. Solar impulse ii has solar panelcovered wings, the size of those of a jumbo jet, but it weighs no more than a large family car. In fact, about a quarter of that weight is taken up by rechargeable batteries, so it can continue to fly at night. Two pilots will take turns in the single seat and across the big oceans were told the pilots may have to fly for as long as five days and five nights nonstop, being allowed naps of only up to 20 minutes. Mission control told me a little earlier, the pilots will be resting with the help of yoga and selfhypnosis. So good luck to them. Im philippa thomas. Thank you for joining us here on bbc world news. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement, well replace the full value of your car. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. This little piece of hersheys chocolate. Is called a pip its the way we all start and end a hersheys bar. Pip by delicious pip. Hersheys is mine, yours, our chocolate. How do i get hotel deals nobody else gets . I know a guy. Priceline negotiator i know this guy. Konohito. And this guy. Who knows a guy. Hey guy. I know a guy in new york, vegas, dallas. Ive known some guys for decades and some, nice to meet ya, lets deal. My competitors may know a guy, but i know over 60,000 guys. And gals. Exclusive hotel deals up to 60 off. Priceline. Com our top stories. Skipping across the con innocent powered only by the sun. The first such attempt to fly a plane around the world begins in abu dhabi. The governing body of world cycling is accused of giving Lance Armstrong preferential treatment in his handling of doping cases. And indias tv network shuts down for an hour as protests against the government banning a documentary on the rape and murder of a young woman. And as nigerias neighbors attack boko haram militants, we have a special report on how the u. S. Is training the regional armies to combat the islamists. Hello. A swiss plane has taken off from abu dhabi on the firstever attempt to fly around the world, using only the energy of the sun. The Solar Impulse ii could take five months to complete the 12 stages of the flight crisscrossing continents while spreading the word about clean technology. Its a pretty impressive project, with some even more impressive figures. Just to share a few with you, two pilots will take turns to fly the singleseater plane on a 35,000 kilometer journey. The Solar Impulse ii has a wingspan of 72 meters. Thats larger than that of a boeing 747. Although an empty jumbo is almost 80 times heavier. Built into the wings, there are more than 17,000 ultraefficient solar cells. They transfer energy to four electrical motors powering the planes propellers. The pilots will have to stay awake for most of their time in the air. Theyre being allowed naps of just 20 minutes confined in a cockpit thats not a lot bigger than a phone box. Mark lobel watched the launch in abu dhabi. Reporter preparing for the ride of their lives. The moment the swiss explorers have been waiting years for has come. In an adventure like this one, you have a lot of unknown, a lot of unexpected, unpredictable. Reporter despite being surrounded by state of the art equipment, the pilot flies five days and five nights in cramped conditions in an aircraft thats difficult to maneuver. Rather dauntingly, the batterypowered propellers pass over sea water, theres no room for error. The fragile plane needs extremely good weather conditions to take off and got them. After a small technical hitch, the solar plane took to the skies. Flying solo, each pilot can only take short bursts of closely controlled sleep. So when one pilot wants to go to sleep, theyll put these glasses on and have these yellow lights flash into both their eyes at different speeds. So what will that do . Your brain will follow it, so you can possibly cycle. For about how long . The pilots 20 minutes, because theyve got to wake up every 20 minutes to check the equipment. Reporter permission for the experiments and airlines to enter air space in india, china, america, and europe over the next five months was secured by the swiss government. Not only about chocolate, cheese, its innovation, science, ideas. Reporter the success of the mission will depend not just on the spread of its wings, but equally the spread of its message. Mark lobel, bbc news, abu dhabi. Im joined now by paul barwell, thanks for coming in. Are you excited watching these pictures of the first leg . Yes, very exciting. Very, very youring to see an incredible innovation. The fact it can fly around the whole World Without any other form of generation, apart from solar power. And when you look at the technology, as a layperson, my thoughts are, how does it keep going overnight . Thats quite something to have crafted. It is. Its all about storage. Flying above the clouds so it can charge and not only use the electricity its generating to power the plane, it can also charge the batteries, so at nighttime, it can carry on flying all the way through the night. Its interesting, though when you think about solar power being used in many different fields, because it was originally about using energy in space, wasnt it . Well thats where it started 30 40 years ago. And some of those solar powers are still operating and working now. Theres been a huge change in technology advancement, in terms of cost reduction, and its now so much cheaper just to have solar power on your homes, rooftops, or even on the land. And one of the developments i know youre quite interested or youre pushing is the idea of a solarpowered car. That sounds very fuchlturistic. Theyre racing with a whole load of other solarpowered cars each year in australia. It is a concept car, but then look at Something Like the tesla, which is an electricpowered car. If they can charge up those batteries and then use purely electrical power, and theyre very fast cars. Its a good concept. It used to be we talked about solar power as an ideal that was something terribly expensive, especially if you talk about upfront investment. But you think its getting just much more commonplace . Thats a substantial change thats gone over the last several years. Prices have come down so much. You know even in the uk, you know, were expecting solar power to be the same price as generating electricity from gas, by 2018. So we should be hitting parody on a large scale somewhere between 2025 and 2027. So that really makes it a very strong economic argument to be supporting this clean, homegrown technology. And who globally is leading the way . I hear interesting things about china, for example. Well yes, several years ago, it was really europe that was driving us forward, to countries like germany. But now, china has very much taken over the mantel. Theyre one of the biggest producers of solar panels. But 2 billion of the 7 billion population of the world do not have access to electricity. So rather than building Huge National grids, its far better to be using sort of more localized grids for allowing people to electricity. But its the economics which have a very very strong argument here. Paul thanks so much for coming in. Fascinating, thank you. A landmark report reveals a culture of doping continues to exist in the sport of cycling. Now, following a yearlong investigation, an independent commission has accused former leaders of cyclings world body to turning a blind eye to the extent of doping in the 1990s and 2000s. The Cycling Independent Review Commission cleared the uci of corruption but said it gave preferential treatment to Lance Armstrong. A total of 174 antidoping experts, officials, riders and other interested parties were interviewed. These are some of the main points. One respected riding professional believes 90 of the peloton is still doping. Another put it at 20 . The riders are microdosing. That is taking small but regular amounts of a banned substances thats to try to fool the latest detection methods. The use of weight loss drugs, experimental medicine and powerful painkillers is widespread, were told, leading the to eating disorders, depression, even crashes. And doping in amateur cycling is endemic. Well, earlier, i spoke to the bbc sports correspondent, Richard Conway who explains what the report might mean for cycling and more about what was found about the relationship between the former leadership at uci and disgraced cyclist, Lance Armstrong. Theres a lot thats been alluded to in the past lots of suspicions and rumors but for the first time this report has laid bare that whole culture of doping that was throughout cycling in the 1990s and 2000s. But what is worrying for the sport is the fact that some of these cultures and problems are still an issue within professional cycling today and even extending now into the amateur ranks. That will be a concern for the uci under its new leadership with brian cookson. That will be a concern for fans of the sport, who has seen its image battered over the past few years, as these problems with doping, as these allegations and rumors continue to go on. Now, what the uci are hoping is that this report will mark a line in the sand, that theyll be able to move on from this point, having exposed and explained and looked into its toxic past. It will hope now that having analyzed those issues, put into effect some robust procedures to deal with doping, in its present and in its future, the sport will be able to regain some credibility. But if we look at the loss of credibility for the sport, we have to talk about Lance Armstrong, dont we . And the way he was named and shamed. What does the report say about this . Well, what the report outlines is the cozy relationship that existed between two former president s of the uci and Lance Armstrong. As you say there were allegations of outright corruption have not been proven. Theyve been cleared of that. But that very, very close relationship between Lance Armstrong and the uci leadership is revealed. And it comes down to the fact that the uci placed their trust in the sport, their trust in Lance Armstrong to project his image, to propel it to new heights. And when they did that, they invested solely in him. They turned a blind eye to many of the allegations and many of the problems that came up in certain tests that Lance Armstrong undertook in winning those Tour De France titles. Richard conway. In india, a tv network that was due to show a documentary about the rape and murder of a young woman in delhi stopped its programming for an hour in protest at the film being banned. Instead, ndtv simply showed an image of the films title, indias daughter. The documentary, also shown by the bbc in the uk includes an interview with one of the offenders, blaming his victim for what happened. The Indian Government banned the broadcast, citing what it termed objectionable content. Our correspondent is in delhi. Justin, tell us more about reaction to this decision by the broadcaster, just to go off air for an hour. I mean no one expected ndtv the company with the license for the film here in india, no one expected it to broadcast the film because, of course i think as most people around the world now know the Indian Government has banned the film. But the fact they decided to broadcast nothing in its place is considered to be quite a brave one. As you say, they had what you call in television a slate. They had a picture of the title page of the film indias daughter, and thats all they broadcast, but didnt attempt to find a program to film the hourlong space that the documentary had left. And of course this is part of a huge debate there is here in india about censorship and the media, and whether or not this film should be shown, whether the ban is legitimate or not. The bbc has defended its decision to show indias daughter here in the uk. What reaction in india to the fact that this can now be seen abroad . Reporter well, as a i said theres been a huge debate about this. Theres been a massive discussion on social media, a huge discussion in the media. India is a very vibrant, vigorous democracy, so there has been a lot of debate and a lot of people are angry that the government has decided to ban this. Of course theres a section that believes that the incredibly offensive things that the convicted rapist said should not be heard anywhere, a sense that it would shame india. That one government minister described it as a conspiracy to defame india in the world. There is a sense that indias reputation might be damaged by the film but at the same time there is a very strong feeling in india that indians should be allowed to see the film. That there should be an open debate about the subjects that the film raises. Justin in delhi, thank you very much. And i do stay with us here on bbc world news. Still to come baby baby baby we hear from the teenage sisters from pakistan who have become been an internet sensation, singing Justin Bieber hits. Introducing york minis. A bite size way to enjoy the full size sensation of peppermint and rich dark chocolate. York minis get the sensation. Im philippa thomas. Our latest headlines. A recordbreaking attempt to fly a solarpowered plane around the world is underway after taking off from abu dhabi. The governing body of world cycling is accused of giving Lance Armstrong preferential treatment in its handling of doping cases. Kurdish forces in iraq have launched a new offensive against Islamic State militants to try to drive them away from positions threatening the citys kirkuk. Kurdish Officials Say air strikes from the u. S. Led coalition are supporting this operation. Kurdish fighters took control of peshmerga last summer as the iraqi army collapsed and have managed to hold the oilrich city since. This comes after iraqi forces backed by shia militia last week launched another offensive to the south to retake tikrit from i. S. Well talk about both of these now. First, the kurdish offensive. What more do we know . What we know so far is this is an ongoing offensive and defensive, if you like. What we dont know now is if i. S. Is on offensive or defensive positions. Kirkuk is known to be one of the, in the iraqi context, a disputed area between the Central Government and iraqi kurd stan. And its very rich with oil and its resources. However, i. S. Always told that they are launching attacks there to take it from the peshmerga. Peshmerga considered a jewel in the crown. So thats why theres the feuds ongoing from time to time. The problem is strategically, we dont know now, is isis just doing this opening a front in tikrit and iraq and kirkuk and other places inside syria, or just come through and away. Because it seems to us if theres no sort of coordination between those who are fighting in tikrit and those who are fighting in peshmerga side. Now, somebody who wants to get an update on this is the u. S. Top military man, general martin dempsey. Hes flown into baghdad this morning . Indeed. And yesterday, he said that one or two pushes from the iranbacked militias could take control of tikrit. And this is an interesting development, if you like. Iranians put on the table as if they are the confronting forces for the i. S. This is amazing to hear from you know, the mouth of a senior washington man, that they need tehran on the ground. Indeed. And this is a scene, they are back to reality. They started to realize that. Iranian really are forced on the ground, and it could be a way to push forward, even the talks between iran and america. However, its very interesting to note that how the local sunnis in tikrit and in other areas will perceive that. This was the core of the problem, and many observers showing concern that will keep the conflict on the ground in iraq escalating. Thank you very much. Thank you. Some breaking news for you now. England are out of the cricket world cup. A short time ago, bangladesh pulled out the last england wick et to win by 15 runs. Bangladesh had earlier posted a total of 2757 in their 50 over. This win means bangladesh and sri lanka will join host new zealand and australia in the knockout phase of the world cup. 200 vehicles with soldiers from chad and niger have crossed the border into nigeria to battle boko haram militants. Its the first incursion deep into nigeria by troops from niger who have so far only fought in the border area. Its part of a growing involvement of nigerias neighbors who themselves have been attacked by crossborder raids by boko haram. The u. S. Is providing intelligence and training to regional armies. Our west africa correspondent has traveled to chad following American Special forces and their units training these forces. A little bit smaller around. The same one our gun shoots. Reporter trained on the machine gun by American Special forces today. These chadian troops may be going straight back into battle tomorrow. This is an annual exercise led by the u. S. And conducted with their nato allies. Particularly, these drills are taking place against the backdrop of the region preparing to take on boko haram, islamist militants in nigeria. Armies may be limited. We have to make due with our weaknesses, but if our western partners are supporting us accompanying us i am sure that we will put an end to boko haram. Behind them will be the nigerians that do the main assault. Reporter in a live exercise units from african nations engage as a coalition. Now they will have to do it for real. But intelligence and Better Communications are what countries from this region will need. The fight against terrorism has come to the sahara but not with the military campaigns that weve seen in iraq and afghanistan. The u. S. And their western allies have had a different approach relying on surveillance, very few boots on the ground and the training of regional armies. The question is what impact will these have on the stability of the region . Reporter islamist militancy spans from nigeria to mali. Libya to the north, from Islamic State fighters seen here are exporting their brand of fear. All of us are concerned about tb instability in libya and how that spreads across the region. Whether its the movement of foreign fighters or whether its the movement of Weapons Systems that put many different nations at risk. Reporter western countries are treading with a light step in the sahara and are hoping that their host will do the heavy lifting. All there is to celebrate for now is the end of an exercise in the desert. Australian Prime Minister tony abbott has said hes sick of being lectured by the u. N. Over the way australia seeks Asylum Seekers. It comes as a United Nations report is being published. Its using the Australian Government as violating the rights of the Asylum Seekers to be free from torture in human or degrading treatment. Asylum seekers who arrive in australia by boat are transferred to Papua New Guinea for assessment and resettlement. Now, a scandal at one of the worlds bestknown dog shows, after an owner called in police to investigate the suspicious death of her irish setter. The animal known as jagger took second place in his class, but collapsed and died just a day after getting home from the uk to belgium. Sarah corker reports. Reporter the apparent poisoning of this prizewinning irish setter shocked the dog breeding world. 3yearold jagger died after returning home to belgium on friday. Its believed he was fed chunks of meat laced with toxins while at the show. And allegations of a suspicious dog death have cast a shadow over the worldfamous event. The kennel club is deeply shocked and saddened to hear that jagger the irish setter died some 26 hours after leaving crufts. Weve spoken to his owners and our Heartfelt Sympathies go out to them. Reporter writing on facebook, jaggers coowner alek sandra lauers says to the person who has done it hope you can sleep well knowing you have killed our love Family Member and best friend to our son. It certainly wasnt a dog lover and certainly wasnt somebody who looked after him as much as we do therefore someone that campaigns like we do week in and week out, and were just rocked to the core really. Reporter jagger had just won second prize for his breed. His owners say they hope his death was a random act by someone who hates dogs rather than a crufts competitor. Sarah corker bbc news. Two teenage sisters from pakistan have become an internet sensation after their version of the pop star Justin Biebers song baby went viral. This in a conservative society where girls singing in public is usually frowned upon. Our pakistan correspondent went to lahore to meet them. Reporter a Justin Bieber song with a pakistani flare. Theyre practicing their favorite tunes. Reporter they barely speak any english, but they transcribe the words. More for fun than anything else. But then this happened. This amateur video shot on the streets of punjab didnt take long to go viral, and the sisters are now known as the justin bibi. Translator weve been singing since we were very young. We love Justin Bieber songs because they touch our hearts. When we heard baby, we started jumping and dancing around and we just lost ourselves to it. You know when i heard the song, i forgot to eat or drink. I was just listening. I kept practicing and practicing until i learned it by heart. Reporter since then, the girls have had a taste of the spotlight. With Live Performances and the allimportant makeover. The teenage sisters dont go to school. They normally help out with the housework. So this newfound fame is a big change from life in their poor neighborhood. We really didnt expect all of this to happen to us. Because of this video, we got on a plane for the first time and weve been on tv. Thats always been our dream. We had our hair and makeup done. All of it was like magic. So who knows what will happen next. Reporter this just shows you how popular they are. Its the roof of their house and this is where they like to come to practice. But people in this very poor you owned your car for four years. You named it brad. You loved brad. And then you totaled him. You two had been through everything together. Two boyfriends. Three jobs. Youre like nothing can replace brad then Liberty Mutual calls. And you break into your happy dance. 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It does not carry a specific message. But they wanted us to know they were there. Apparently so, number one. Starfleet believes that their presence is an attempt at communication. Commander. Federation vessels have encountered tamarian ships seven times over the past 100 years. Each meeting went without incident
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