RT News - October 18, 2016 (17:00 MSK)

Russia and Syria have halted air strikes on the rebel-held parts Aleppo - ahead of a humanitarian break to allow civilians and militants to leave safely. That's amid regular deadly rebel shelling of the government-controlled part of the city. The US State Department appears to contradict itself - backing the Iraqi army's offensive to retake the ISIL stronghold of Mosul, despite slamming Russia's anti-terror operation in Syria's Aleppo. A court says that British spies have been secretly and unlawfully collecting personal data from UK citizens for almost two decades, but in a bizarre twist, the surveillance has been made legal and will continue.