BBC news with Neil Nunes.
U.S has acknowledged that IS militant’s recent capture of the city of Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria represent a setback, but President Obama said US and its allies were not losing the war. The BBC North America editor John Thorpe says the administration is facing criticism over its strategy, but no one is proposing viable alternatives.
"There is no way that President Obama is gonna send 150,000 troops to reinvade Iraq and invade Syria, so you left with the existing strategy with may be a bit of amplification. The president say the outside of this twin-strategy was to degrade and destroy IS, while the spokesmen admitted this afternoon that destroy of IS was not gonna happen while this president in the White House. And say left with more modest degrading and that is still a long way off."
A monitoring group says Syrian government’s lost control of its border with Iraq, after IS militants seized the crossing in Homs province. The Syria Observatory for Human Rights said it wasn’t clear when the town border crossing was seized, it said all the crossing with Iraq were now controlled by IS or Kurdish fighters.
And an appeals court in South Korea has ordered a released of former executive of the national airlines-Korean Air. Heather Cho who is the daughter of the airline’s chairman, was sentenced to a year in jail in February for diverting the plane. From Seoul, Stephen Evans.
“Mrs.Cho appeared in court in plain green prisoner overalls to hear that she was not have to serve the rest of one-year sentence. In December last year, she was found guilty at a illegally diverting a aircraft when she ordered it back to gate in a rage because of nuts in first class was served in a bag, not a bowl. She also went to a tirade against cabin staff, proding people with a folder and making one meal for forgiveness. The conviction was for an assault stance, but not for diverting the plane.
The BBC has learned that at least 260 women and children rescued from the militant IS group— Boko haram ,has been transferred to a Nigerian militant facility. It is part of the program to rehabilitate the victims of extremism. As Will Ross reports from Abuja.
“Nigerian government says the women and children are now living in a comfortable environment within the military facility where they were being given medical help before being screened and given psycho social support to help them reintegrate back into the society. Some people questioned why after suffering in Boko haram captivity, the women and children need to be held any longer. But the government is worried some of them may have become radical while stay in jihadist captivity and the last thing it wants is for such people to return to their villages or towns while they may influence others.
World news from the BBC in London.
At least 80 members of the Farc rebel group have been killed in a airstrike in Colombia. The attack in southwestern Cauca region is the deadliest since the resumption of raids against the rebel last month. President Juan Manuel Santos restarted the raids after 11 soldiers were killed in an ambush.
In the US, a grand of jury in the city of Baltimore have indicted all six of police officers charged in connection with the death of the black man in custody. Freddie Gray, died from a severe spinal injury sustained during his arrest in April. His death sparked protests in several American cities over police violence towards black man. The charges include assault, manslaughter and murder.
Researchers who have carried out the largest ever study of the tiniest organism in the ocean-plankton, say they have identified thousands of different species, they say plankton has been little studied despite making up 90% of marine life and being at least as important to the world’s ecosystem as the rainforests. Here is Rebecca Morelle.
“The Tara expedition funded by the French fashion designer Agnes B has set out to across the global. It is discovered 190,000 different species of various bacteria and single-celled plants and creatures. The first scientific analysis suggest about 80% are new to science. With genetic sequencing also revealing millions of genes that have never been seen before, the researches also found that many of the organisms are sensed to temperature, suggesting climate change could have an impact on these hidden microscopic world.” Rebecca Morelle
Irish voters go to the polls later today to take part in the referendum on whether to allow same sex marriage. If the change is approved, Ireland will become the first country to legalized same sex marriage as result of popular vote. Result is expected from midday on Saturday.