Design images of a sleek Volkswagen coupé have been published on the Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website, offering the first glimpse of a potential future production model to come from the German marque's electric brand. The low-slung model looks like a two-door coupé with active aerodynamic features, including an extendable rear fin. The above view also shows that it features gull-wing hinges for its doors, and the design’s lengthy shape suggests it has been crafted with minimal air resistance in mind. Autocar revealed that Volkswagen's growing EV range will launch all-electric models include an SUV, MPV, luxury saloon and sportscar in the near future. The ID concept previewed the MPV, and these patent images look to preview the sports car. All of the models will be built on Volkswagen's scalable EV platform with shared components such as motors, axles and suspension included. No technical details have been revealed along with the latest images, but we know the ID concept uses a 168bhp electric motor. In the sports car model, more power could be produced with a dual motor setup, which is used in electric models like the most potent Tesla Model Ss. The lack of glass windscreen on the pictured design also hints that this could be an autonomous model developed to demonstrate driverless technology, however, it seems highly unlikely that this windscreen-free design would make it to production. No arrival date has been set for the second EV Volkswagen model, but 2025 has been mooted - five years after the ID production car lands.

Iraqi pro-government forces have made gains at the start of a large-scale operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country. Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters launched their push towards the city in the early hours of Monday. IS seized Mosul, then Iraq's second-largest city, in June 2014. The UN has expressed concern for civilians caught up in the offensive, which could last for months. The BBC's Orla Guerin, who is with Kurdish tank units advancing from the east, says they are now within 300m (about 1,000ft) of IS positions. The Kurds seized several villages in the first few hours of the operation. As the assault began, one Kurdish general told our correspondent: "If I am killed today I will die happy because I have done something for my people." An Iraqi military source told the BBC that combat units had inflicted heavy losses on IS forces as they moved in on the Hamdaniya district, east of Mosul. Pro-government forces have also made gains as they move on Mosul from the south, security sources say. Meanwhile IS claimed that a number of suicide attacks targeting pro-government forces on the outskirts of the city had suppressed the advance. The IS-linked news agency, Amaq, reported that eight suicide attacks had targeted Kurdish forces. But the group has not made an official comment on the launch of the offensive. Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters are operating from Qayyarah airbase, which was recaptured in August. The US-led coalition fighting IS is backing the assault on the city, which has a po[CENSORED]tion of approximately 650,000, with air strikes. The BBC understands that British aircraft have also been involved in Monday's coalition air strikes on Mosul. The RAF has been providing support to Iraqi troops in the build-up to the operation and will continue to play a "leading role" in the fight against IS, UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. Who is fighting? About 30,000 pro-government troops are involved in the operation. The main assault is being led by Iraqi army troops. About 4,000 Kurdish fighters are trying to clear villages to the east of Mosul, to allow the army to move in. US Special Operations personnel are advising forces on the ground. Elite Iraqi counterterrorism forces are expected to join in the coming days. An estimated 4,000-8,000 Islamic State fighters are defending the city. Why Mosul matters Mosul, the oil-rich capital of Nineveh province, is Iraq's second-largest city. IS militants overran it in June 2014. Its capture became a symbol of the group's rise as a major force and its ability to control territory. It was there that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" in parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said the election is "absolutely rigged" by the "dishonest media" and "at many polling places". His comments directly contradict his running mate Mike Pence, who told NBC earlier Mr Trump would "absolutely" accept the election result, despite media "bias". Mr Trump's adviser Rudy Giuliani has also accused Democrats of "cheating". Polls suggest Mr Trump is losing ground in some of the key battleground states. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine has blasted Mr Trump's election-rigging claims as "scare tactics". Mr Trump has questioned the legitimacy of the election process in a series of tweets, the latest of which said: "The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary - but also at many polling places - SAD". Earlier, Mr Trump accused the press of inaccurate reporting: "Election is being rigged by the media, in a coordinated effort with the Clinton campaign, by putting stories that never happened into news!" However, speaking on NBC's Meet The Press, Mr Pence said the American people were "tired of the obvious bias in the national media" which was "where the sense of a rigged election goes", but said: "We will absolutely accept the results of the election." "Elections always get pretty rough," he added, but said the US has a tradition of "the peaceful transfer of power". 'Swinging at every phantom' Meanwhile former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is Mr Trump's campaign adviser, told CNN's State of the Union that he'd have to be a "moron" to think that some elections, such as those in Philadelphia and Chicago, were going to be fair. "I've found very few situations where Republicans cheat... they don't control the inner cities the way Democrats do. Maybe if Republicans controlled the inner cities, they'd do as much cheating as Democrats," he said. "I'm sorry. Dead people generally vote for Democrats rather than Republicans," he added.

Turkish-backed rebels in Syria are advancing on Dabiq, a symbolically important stronghold of so-called Islamic State. The small town holds great value to IS because of a prophecy of an apocalyptic battle, and features heavily in its propaganda. The operation comes as US and Russian envoys meet in Switzerland to discuss possible routes to a new ceasefire. But diplomats have played down hopes of any breakthrough at the talks. Since a brief truce collapsed last month, Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes have intensified their bombardment of rebel-held areas in Aleppo. Apocalyptic prophecy Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed fighters were moving on Dabiq, which lies about 10km (6 miles) from the Turkish border. Rebel fighters backed by Turkish airstrikes have been edging closer to the town for days, seizing villages around it and all but isolating it. A bombardment was taking place as part of the offensive on Saturday, a monitoring group and a rebel commander said. Dabiq is important to IS because it is named in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their enemies. The militant group named its magazine after the town. The advance on Dabiq is part of a wider offensive launched by an alliance of Syrian rebel groups, supported by Turkish forces, in late August. They are trying to drive IS militants and Syrian Kurdish fighters from an area along Turkey's border with Syria. Since it began, they have captured the key towns of Jarablus and al-Rai. 'Difficult process' Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are meeting delegates from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar in Lausanne to discuss ways to broker a new ceasefire. But prospects for success looked bleak. On Friday, Mr Lavrov said he had no "special expectations" for the talks, while a US State Department official told Reuters he did not anticipate a major announcement. "This is going to be, as it has been now for several years, a very difficult process," the agency quoted the US official as saying. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to "keep cleaning" Aleppo of rebels and told a Russian newspaper that winning in the city would be a "springboard" to winning in the rest of the country. Ahead of the talks, organisations including Save the Children, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee issued a plea "to establish a ceasefire of at least 72 hours in east Aleppo" to allow evacuations and delivery of aid. There are now no safe areas left in rebel-held parts of the city, according to REACH, an organisation that contacts people there regularly in order to gather humanitarian reports. About 275,000 people live in the besieged areas, and aid organisations have not been able to get to them since the siege resumed on 4 September. More than 370 people, including nearly 70 children, have been killed in the bombardment of eastern Aleppo, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitor said dozens of civilians including children have also died in rebel bombardment of western Aleppo, which is controlled by the Syrian government. A war that started with an uprising against President al-Assad has now split Syria into many parts. It has been going on for over five years and it has claimed 300,000 lives.

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McLaren customers will be able to drive the 570S on closed routes in the Arctic Circle thanks to the supercar maker's experience specialists, Pure McLaren Pure McLaren is launching a new ice driving experience in Finland where customers can drive the 570S at speed on closed courses. The experience division of McLaren, which also hosts regular track days and lifestyle events for its customers, will open its Arctic Circle experience in January 2017. Using 570S Sports Series models configured for snow and ice, it will give customers the chance to receive professional driver training on how to make best use of the 562bhp turbocharged V8 sports car in slippery conditions. Locations will include an ice track and snow routes. Alongside the driving activities, Pure McLaren is also offering a husky safari and snowmobile expedition. Guests stay in the Jávri Lodge - the former home of the president of Finland - where sightings of the Northern Lights are common. Bookings for the three-night trip can be made now and the experience will run from 15 January to 3 February. McLaren owners and non-McLaren owners are welcome, as are those who hold no driving experience. Prices start at £12,500 per person, which includes transfers to and from the airport and winter clothing.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has responded to criticism from his wife by saying she belongs in his kitchen. On a visit to Germany, he said: "I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room." Mr Buhari was standing next to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who reportedly glared at him. Aisha Buhari had said she might not back her husband at the next election unless he got a grip on his government. Responding to questions by reporters, Mr Buhari said that having run for president three times and having succeeded at the fourth attempt, he could "claim superior knowledge over her". In an interview with the BBC's Hausa language service, Mrs Buhari, a businesswoman and activist, suggested her husband's government had been hijacked by only a "few people", who were behind presidential appointments. "The president does not know 45 out of 50 of the people he appointed and I don't know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years," she said. Her decision to go public with her concerns will shock many people, but it shows the level of discontent with the president's leadership, says the BBC's Naziru Mikailu in the capital, Abuja. The president's remarks on the kitchen and "the other room" have been met with outrage on social media. There was immediate criticism for the president's thoughts on the role of women. Some are wondering what Mr Buhari meant by "the other room", others have been posting pictures of a variety of bedrooms, and the hashtag #TheOtherRoom is trending in Nigeria. Satirical writer Elnathan John complained that the president had ruined his column: The comments by the president sparked a flurry of explanatory tweets by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, who said the president respected the place of women in society and believed in their ability. He dismissed the incident as a bit of "banter":

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Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, has said the FBI is investigating whether Russia was behind a hack on his private email. Mr Podesta also suggested Republican nominee Donald Trump's campaign was given advance notice of the breach. His remarks come after WikiLeaks published a trove of his hacked emails. The top adviser to Mrs Clinton said the enquiry was part of a wider probe into hacks on the Democratic Party by groups with Russian ties. "I've been involved in politics for nearly five decades," Mr Podesta told reporters aboard the Clinton campaign plane."I've been involved in politics for nearly five decades," Mr Podesta told reporters aboard the Clinton campaign plane. "This definitely is the first campaign that I've been involved with in which I've had to tangle with Russian intelligence agencies, who seem to be doing everything they can on behalf of our opponent." The longtime aide to Mrs Clinton pointed to a tweet by Mr Trump's adviser Roger Stone in August that said Mr Podesta's "time in the barrel" was coming. However, the tweet was posted shortly after WikiLeaks released thousands of hacked emails from other Democratic officials. Mr Podesta also claimed Mr Stone has been in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but acknowledged evidence was "circumstantial". Mr Stone told the AP news agency that Mr Podesta's claims were "categorically false" while WikiLeaks tweeted that it "has had no contact with Roger Stone". Mr Podesta also speculated that the timing of the first WikiLeaks release on Friday was intended to distract from the explosive 2005 footage showing Mr Trump making obscene comments about groping women. The Clinton campaign has not verified the authenticity of the leaked emails, adding that they could have been altered. The pattern is they hack, they leak truthful things, and then they build up to leaking documents that are either doctored or wholly fabricated,'' said Mrs Clinton's spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri.

Republican nominee Donald Trump has ripped into House Speaker Paul Ryan as a "weak and ineffective" leader. Mr Trump unleashed an attack on Mr Ryan after the highest-ranking Republican said he would not defend the candidate. Mr Ryan is the latest Republican not to back Mr Trump after a 2005 video emerged showing him making obscene comments about groping women. Renewed party divisions over Mr Trump come as a new poll shows him 11 points behind his rival Hillary Clinton. The PRRI/Atlantic poll released two days after the second US presidential debate suggested Mrs Clinton holds a 49-38 lead over her opponent. A video released on Friday revealed Mr Trump describing how he had sought to have sex with a married woman and making other sexually aggressive comments about women. The controversy prompted dozens of Republican lawmakers to rescind their support for Mr Trump less than a month before election day.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he will not withdraw from the race in phone interviews with US media. Mr Trump has been under pressure after a tape of him making lewd sexual comments and bragging about groping and kissing women emerged on Friday. He told the Wall Street Journal there was "zero chance I'll quit" and he was getting "unbelievable" support. Top Republicans condemned his remarks in the video. Mr Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton called them "horrific". His running mate Mike Pence said he was "offended" by Mr Trump's video but grateful he had expressed remorse and apologised to the American people.

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Portugal's former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is poised to become the next UN secretary general, UN diplomats say. Mr Guterres, 66, was the "clear favourite", Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin announced on Wednesday. A formal vote will take place in the UN Security Council on Thursday to confirm the choice of nominee. Mr Guterres, who led the UN refugee agency for 10 years, will take over from Ban Ki-moon early next year. Who is he? An engineer by trade, Mr Guterres first entered into politics in 1976 in Portugal's first democratic election after the "Carnation revolution" that ended five decades of dictatorship. He quickly rose in the ranks, becoming leader of the Socialist party in 1992 and was elected prime minister in 1995. As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, Mr Guterres led the agency through some of the world's worst refugee crises, including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq. During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts. Former Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva said earlier this year that Mr Guterres had "left a legacy" at the refugee agency "that means today he is a respected voice and all the world listens to him", according to the AFP news agency.

Hungarians who voted in a referendum on Sunday have overwhelmingly rejected mandatory EU migrant quotas, the national election office has said. But exit polls suggest that turnout failed to reach the 50% needed for the result to be valid. With nearly all the votes counted, 98% rejected the quotas, officials said. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban described the result as "overwhelming" and said the EU "cannot force" Hungary to accept migrants. He urged EU decision makers to take note of the result and said he would change Hungary's constitution to make the decision binding. The EU plan to relocate 160,000 migrants across the bloc would mean Hungary receiving 1,294 asylum seekers. During last year's migrant crisis, Hungary became a transit state on the Western Balkan route to Germany and other EU destinations. In an effort to curb the influx, it sealed its border with Serbia and Croatia. The measure was po[CENSORED]r at home but criticised by human rights groups. The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest says that if the poll is declared invalid it would be a disappointing result for Mr Orban's Fidesz government following months of mobilisation and an expensive campaign. Voters were asked: "Do you want the European Union to be able to mandate the obligatory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary even without the approval of the National Assembly?" Shortly after voting, Mr Orban said: "Hungarians are aware of what is at the stake. And it's important because it's not about the will of the government, it's not the intention of the parliament. It's the voice and will of the people - that's most important." The EU proposal was meant to ease pressure on Greece and Italy, the main entry points for migrants and refugees into the bloc. In December Hungary filed a court challenge against the EU plan, which would see relocations over two years.

Pope Francis has said Mass in a largely empty stadium on a visit to Georgia after the majority Orthodox Christian Church asked followers to stay away. Orthodox believers were asked not to take part in Roman Catholic services and a Church delegation due to attend also stayed away. But Church officials said the decision had been taken by mutual agreement. It was one of the smallest crowds seen at an outdoor papal Mass during Francis's foreign trips. People who did attend in the capital Tbilisi said afterwards that the papal visit was good for Georgia. "This is a very significant event, both for the country and for faithful from the whole Catholic parish," Keti Khitarikhvili told Reuters news agency. "He is a true pope, he is not just a religious figure, but also a very political figure. Because I think that with this visit, the role of Georgia will be raised measurably on the world stage." With a Roman Catholic po[CENSORED]tion of under 1%, it was not an obvious destination but the Pope has made a point of reaching out to Orthodox churches to overcome doctrinal differences which split the two communities in the 11th Century. The late Pope John Paul II visited Georgia in 1999, and he was treated as the Vatican head of state, rather than a religious leader. Georgia, a small country (po[CENSORED]tion 4.3 million) in the Caucasus Mountains, shares an Orthodox culture with the regional superpower, Russia, but the two fought a brief war in 2008. Vatican attempts to mend ties with the Russian Church have so far not resulted in a papal visit there. On the other hand, Georgia aspires to join the EU and Nato.

An air raid on the rebel-held eastern half of the Syrian city of Aleppo has hit the area's largest hospital for the second time in a matter of days, a medical charity says. The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports the hospital, said it had been struck by barrel bombs. The same facility was hit in a similar attack on Wednesday. There are also reports of Russian-backed Syrian government forces hitting Aleppo's historic Old City. And clashes between government troops and rebels on the ground are said to be occurring in several Aleppo neighbourhoods. Russian and Syrian air forces resumed attacks on the rebel-held east of the city after a partial truce lapsed on 19 September. Government forces have also launched a ground offensive against the rebels. The mounting civilian death toll has sparked international protests. The US says Russia is driving moderate rebels into the arms of jihadists. Once Syria's commercial and industrial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012. The UN says at least 400 civilians, including many children, have been killed in the city this week as a result of Russian and Syrian government attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, also reported government barrel bomb and jet attacks on the Ghouta area outside Damascus on Saturday. In another development, it said government forces were battling fighters from the Islamic State group in Homs region.

Nine-year-old Zianna Oliphant had not planned to speak on behalf of her whole city. When she did, she got the world's attention. It had been only a week since the fatal police shooting of a black man when Zianna began to speak before Charlotte City Council. Dozens of people spoke angrily before her at the Monday night meeting in the North Carolina city, calling for political resignations and denouncing police. "We are black people and we shouldn't have to feel like this," the young Charlotte native declared tearfully. Zianna's mother Precious Oliphant later said the speech was unplanned. "It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed, and we can't even see them any more," Zianna said through tears. "It's a shame we have to go to their graveyard." Protests raged in Charlotte for several days after the police killing of Keith Scott, a black man who witnesses say was unarmed when he was shot by police. Police say that he did have a weapon, and that they recovered a handgun at the scene. "All we want is just to have our equal rights and we want to be treated the same way as other people," Zianna said in an interview after school the next day. "I was a little nervous, so I decided to just go up there and tell them how I feel," she told NBC News. "I was kind of emotional, because, like, the things that I said is like powerful to me. So that's why I started crying." Wearing a T-shirt decorated with a rainbow-coloured skull-and-crossbones, the girl could barely be seen over the podium. Another schoolboy who spoke at the meeting lowered the microphone so that the chamber could hear her words. The video quickly went viral, with celebrities and international news outlets reposting it online. Colin Kaepernick, the American football star who has drawn attention for his protesting of the national anthem, posted the video on his Instagram feed. "I don't have enough words to describe how painful this is to watch," the quarterback wrote. "Dear #ZiannaOliphant i am sorry that this world has made you feel like you don't matter. You matter darling girl more than u will ever know," wrote British actress Cynthia Erivo. California attorney-general, and Senate candidate, Kamala Harris also posted the video, saying: "It's impossible to watch this speech without having your heart break. Zianna, you are so brave for speaking up."

Congress has voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabian officials. In the first veto override of his presidency, the Senate voted 97-1 and the House of Representatives 348-77, meaning the bill becomes law. Mr Obama told CNN the lawmakers had made "a mistake". The president argued the bill could expose US companies, troops and officials to potential lawsuits abroad. CIA Director John Brennan said the vote carried "grave implications" for national security, adding: "The downside is potentially huge." The House and Senate unanimously passed the legislation, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (JASTA), this year despite the Obama administration's lobbying efforts. The bill amends a 1976 law that shields other countries from American lawsuits, allowing victims' families the right to sue any member of the Saudi government suspected of playing a role in the 9/11 attacks. Mr Obama argued in his veto that the bill would undermine US-Saudi relations and warned of tit-for-tat lawsuits against US service members in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. He told CNN on Wednesday: "It's a dangerous precedent and it's an example of why sometimes you have to do what's hard. "And, frankly, I wish Congress here had done what's hard. "If you're perceived as voting against 9/11 families right before an election, not surprisingly, that's a hard vote for people to take. "But it would have been the right thing to do." White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the vote was "the single most embarrassing thing the United States Senate has done" in decades. But the measure's supporters contended the legislation only applies to acts of terrorism that have occurred on US soil. "The White House and the executive branch (are) far more interested in diplomatic considerations," said Democratic New York Senator Chuck Schumer. "We're more interested in the families and in justice."