Global Daily Info

There are signs that leaders from self-styled Islamic State (IS) have fled Mosul as Iraqi forces close in on the city, the US military says. "Make no doubt the Iraqi security forces have the momentum," Gen Gary Volesky said. The Iraqi army has been moving towards Mosul from the south, while their Kurdish allies have been approaching from the east. There are thought to be up to 5,000 IS fighters still in the city. Mosul citizens face "frenzy" of IS Intense battles on the road to Mosul Voices from Mosul as battle nears The story so far "We've seen movement out of Mosul; we've got indications that leaders have left," said Gen Volesky, giving his assessment of the situation. But he did not specify who had fled, nor did he say where they had gone to. The whereabouts of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are unknown. Some reports say he is in Mosul; others say he has fled the northern Iraqi city. It is possible that any fighters lea...

By Jonathan Amos BBC Science Correspondent, Darmstadt 6 hours ago   From the section Science & Environment   ESA Image caption Artwork: Landing on Mars is not easy and requires rapid deceleration There are growing fears a European probe that attempted to land on Mars on Wednesday has been lost. Tracking of the Schiaparelli robot's radio signals was dropped less than a minute before it was expected to touch down on the Red Planet's surface. Satellites at Mars have attempted to shed light on the probe's status, so far without success. One American satellite even called out to Schiaparelli to try to get it to respond. The fear will be that the robot has crashed and been destroyed. The European Space Agency, however, is a long way from formally calling that outcome. Its engineers will be running through "fault trees" seeking to figure out why communication was lost and what they can do next to retrieve the situation. This approach ...