islamic state fighters have continued one of their biggest attacks in syria since the group s self declared caliphate was defeated nearly three years ago. a british based monitoring group said more than 75 people, most of them jihadists, had been killed in three days of fighting with kurdish led forces in the northern city of hasa kah. the bodies of suspected militants could been seen on the streets many residents have fled. the fighting began on thursday, when is fighters attacked a prison in which thousands of militants are held. foreign aid is now being distributed in tonga, following last weekend s devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami. the un says more than 80% of the population has been affected, with almost all crops badly affected by volcanic ash. jatinder dhillon reports. relief at last. a new zealand naval ship, with a desalination plant on board, which can produce 70,000 litres a day, started cleaning the sea water from tonga s harbour, ready for distribution to desper
this is bbc news. our top stories. britain accuses russia of planning to install a pro kremlin leader in ukraine, as fears of an invasion grow. foreign aid is being distributed in tonga, with over 80% of the population affected by last weekend s volcanic eruption and tsunami. tonga s recovery from this disaster will be long term, and i think we need to ensure that we keep the momentum up. two years to the day since china forced the city of wuhan and its ten million citizens into lockdown, we have a special report on how beijing s containing the virus. there does appear to be widespread support for the government policy on covid because you get this, it looks quite normal, but nobody knows the answer to the big question, how long will it go on for?
tongan government s isolation requirements, so it does make the whole situation a bit challenging, but we have identified a way in which we can provide aid within 72 hours with contactless consideration. we are also mindful that tonga doesn t have any active covid cases right now, so they are being quite vigilant as they respond domestically, and as they deal with countries like australia, new zealand, the us, the uk and france, who are helping in their humanitarian aid effort. . helping in their humanitarian aid effort- helping in their humanitarian aideffort. . , , ., ., aid effort. that must be a real challenge. aid effort. that must be a real challenge. i aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can imagine, - aid effort. that must be a reall challenge, i can imagine, while you have the clock ticking, basically, because so many people have been affected. water, one of the big aspects, trying to get people clean water. i kn
quite heavily indebted to china, perhaps also offering a, and i am wondering whether some geopolitical concerns play into it as well. some of these decisions you need to make when it comes to helping tonga? offering aid. it comes to helping tonga? offering aid- offering aid. right now it is a clean-no offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort for offering aid. right now it is a clean-up effort for those - offering aid. right now it is a l clean-up effort for those most clean up effort for those most vulnerable. the rebuilt challenge will be a further consideration, those who need to help rebuild the resilience in the face of this catastrophic event, the significant challenges, for example food crops have been extensively impacted. it will impede the way in which crops can be restored. thankfully samoa and fiji have offered assistance on that front, but it will still be some time before the ground is fertile enough to reg