martin patience, bbc news, beirut.cuss some of this further now with sama'a al—hamdani, a yemeni analyst and president of the non—profit yemen cultural institute. she joins me from washington. first of all, firing a missile at the main airport is quite a message from the rebels. absolutely. the war between yemen and saudi arabia has an going on for a long time, and this is the most they have achieved since the start of the war. in 2.5 yea rs, since the start of the war. in 2.5 years, this is the strongest attack the houthis have launched on saudi arabia that it is showing us in some level their capacity is developing. they are sending a message. it could also be a call to the world. together with what else you mentioned, the resignation and the anticorruption campaign going on in saudi arabia, this will also link to an increase in tension between saudi arabia and iran because the houthis have done this. how do you think saudi arabia's crown prince will respond to such provocation?” saudi arabia's crown prince will resp

martin patience, bbc news, beirut. earlier we spoke to barak barfi. the new america foundation and he also lived in yemen for a year. i asked him about the houthis targeting the airport. this is a big step forward, they've been able to use ballistic missiles, these are long—range missiles that likely came from iran to put pressure on the saudi arabian government, which has been bombarding yemen for several yea rs now. what makes you think the missiles came from iran? the houthis do not have the technology to create these missiles, to put these missiles together. it's possible the defence ministry had these missiles in its warehouses, in its capacity before. it's more than likely the iranians had some participation and involvement in the firing of this missile. if that is the case, how do you think saudi arabia's crown prince will react and respond? well, we've seen the saudis have escalated the war for several years now and we know in 2015 there was cross—border shelling, the saudis invited a pan—arab satellite station, which some of the princes owned

martin patience, bbc news, beirut.the longest and bloodiest campaigns of the first world war. it took three months to reach the village, which is on a ridge above the belgian city of ypres. the battle to take it and the rain soaked mud resulted in almost seven hundred thousand deaths and injuries on both sides. today the largest number of first world war field guns ever assembled fired a salute to the fallen, exactly a hundred years since passchendaele was captured. robert hall was there. fire! in a muddy field near the franco—belgian border, the thunder of the guns. every one of these weapons had fired during the battles of the first world war. today, they sounded their tribute a century on from the day canadian troops finally took the hilltop village of passchendaele. the fighting was part of a plan to capture high ground and reverse the course of the war north of ypres, but wet weather slowed and what of the attacks. allied forces advanced just five miles. allied and german armies lost well over half a million men,

from beirut, our middle east correspondent martin patience reports.erved as a sanctuary from the violence. but now it finds itself at the centre of the growing struggle between saudi arabia and iran. in a move that has stunned lebanon, the prime minister resigned suddenly last weekend. not at home, but in saudi arabia. he lashed out at iran, accusing it of destabilising the entire region. today, iran‘s proxy in lebanon shot back. the leader of hezbollah claimed riyadh was holding the prime minister hostage. in a bid to diffuse the crisis, the french president emmanuel macron stopped briefly in the kingdom. he met the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman, who is pursuing a tough line against iran. many in lebanon on share his view that tehran is too influential. some people are seeking dividends in lebanon on for the role that they played in syria. those people are iran and hezbollah? yes. they‘ve openly expressed that. that we fought isis in syria, we drew isis away from lebanese borders and therefore we need to be recognised. during the civil war h

martin patience reports from beirut. it is an honour to be here with you, mr president.me minister of a small nation, saad al—hariri has had some very powerful friends. that is because lebanon matters in the middle east. it is a country outsiders fight to control. and today, an extraordinary sign of that — the prime minister resigned, saying he feared assassination. speaking from saudi arabia, which backs him, saad al—hariri fired this warning to iran. translation: i want to say to iran and its followers that they are losing in their interference in the affairs of the arab world. our nation will rise up, as it has done in the past, and cut off the hands that wickedly extend into it. iran and saudi arabia are fighting a proxy war across the middle east. in lebanon, tehran backs hezbollah, which commands strong support. but its opponents say it operates as a state within a state. and its armed wing was accused of killing saad al—hariri's father, rafik, more than a decade ago by a massive truck bomb. it traumatised the nation, but ultimately reshaped the middle east. now so

and the hezbollah militant group which wields considerable power in lebanon. 0ur correspondent, martin patienceunned, stunned by the resignation, stunned by the fact that the lebanese prime minister resigned not in lebanon, but in saudi arabia. this has injected a great deal of uncertainty into a fragile political scene in lebanon. you have to take the broad picture. this is notjust about lebanon but the whole region. there are two regional powers that are fighting a proxy war in several countries in the middle east. one is saudi arabia, which backs al—hariri, and the other is iran, which backs hezbollah, a major player in lebanon. this is a country which has largely not been hit by the violence that has convulsed this region in recent years. many people are fearful that the kind of violence we have seen elsewhere could spill onto the streets here. that is the fear. it is not certain that that will happen, but it has heightened tensions between the two communities in this country. any idea as to who is going to replace him? we have got no idea who is going to replace him. he has submitted his r

martin patience reports from beirut.eting up tensions are once again bracketing up across tensions are once again bracketing up across the middle east. —— ratcheting. for now lebanon is taking centre stage. a country where proxy wars have been fought before. lebanon was stunned by the resignation of its prime minister. many see it as a saudi move designed to wea ke n many see it as a saudi move designed to weaken iran's influence here. till now i guess more than 60%... hezbollah is its target. this man is a supporter of the movement. translation: the americans, the saudis and israelis are all trying to prevent hezbollah from maximising its gains from the wars in syria and iraq. hezbollah and its allies have achieved enormous success, but are now facing huge pressure because of this. during the civil war here in the 1980s the city was divided by warring parties. this building was on the front line. but today lebanon is divided by the regional stronghold and this country is seen asa stronghold and this country is seen as a

our correspondent in beirut, martin patience, reports.

our middle east correspondent martin patience reports.ked marketplace when three air strikes hit, say eyewitnesses. they brought instant death and carnage to the town of atareb. after yea rs of carnage to the town of atareb. after years of conflict, instincts kicked in. the frantic search for survivors is on. rescuers going through the rubble with their bare hands. one man, still live, is carried to safety. but dozens of others were killed. this in an area of the country that's supposed to be part ofa country that's supposed to be part of a de—escalation zone. tell that to this man. it's a rough and ready rescue effort. they are desperate to get him out. no one knows if another air strike is get him out. no one knows if another airstrike is coming. get him out. no one knows if another air strike is coming. finally, with help from his friends, he is freed from the rubble. into a town he no longer recognises. four sperm wales have died after being washed up on a beach in sumatra. volunteers helped six animals get back to see. adult sperm wa

well, the bbc‘s martin patience was among the crowd as the prime minister came home.l sense of promise that their man, their prime minister, has finally returned and has delayed his decision to resign. that will be seen as a blow to saudi arabia. there is a sense that today, lebanon cannot be pushed around. the reality is this is a crisis beyond the country's control, and a solution will be found among saudi arabia, iran and the international community. expect backroom dealings over the coming days. people here arejust happy over the coming days. people here are just happy to see their man back. lebanese politics can be gripping, passionate, unpredictable, and also complicated. let's turn to some help on this to sebastian usher. the bigger context is that saad hariri was in saudi arabia when he made his resignation speech, and the sense in lebanon was that he was doing the saudis‘ reading. he looks much happier and relaxed now he is backin much happier and relaxed now he is back in lebanon. he is trying to create a lebanese political scene which, whether it is directl

from the lebanese capital, beirut, martin patience reports., a country where proxy wars have been fought before. lebanon was stunned by the resignation of its prime minister. many see it as a saudi move, designed to weaken iran's influence here. till now i guess more than 60%... hezbollah is its target. this man is a supporter of the movement. translation: the americans, the saudis and israelis are all trying to prevent hezbollah from maximising its gains from the wars in syria and iraq. hezbollah and its allies have achieved enormous success, but are now facing huge pressure because of this. during the civil war here in the 1980s, the city was divided by warring parties. this building was on the front line. but today lebanon is divided by the regional stronghold and this country is seen as a pawn by the bigger players. this man belongs to a political party backed by the saudis. it seems like after the situation in syria is coming to an end, with the regime having the upper hand, some people are seeking dividends in lebanon for the role they p

let's get more from our middle east correspondent, martin patience.slamic state's caliphate. its last major stronghold. what we have seen in the past few months is a push and the rolling back of islamic state gains in both iraq and syria over the summer. most will fail and then we saw the capital of the self styled caliphate raqqa fall, and deir al—zour was the last prize, and now according to syrian tv it has fallen. in terms of holding territory, the militant group no longer has any more strongholds. that is not to say it is defeated. it still has fighters, many of them are believed to be in the iraq and syria border area. of course, it's ideology still has appealed, but there is no question this is a major setback for islamic state. the kind of setback we have seen in the past few months. so, martin, as you say, there are still some bobbins of resista nce there are still some bobbins of resistance from islamic state fighters. there is the question of defeating ideology, a complex one. what does this mean on the ground in syria? what does this mean

let's talk to our correspondent martin patience, who is in beirut for us.control of deir al-zour? that's what state syrian tv is reported, although we have had some rogue reports that there are still pockets of resistance in the city. to all intents and purposes, deir al—zour is under the control of syrian forces. this is a significant moment. if we go back three years ago, the so—called islamic state controlled large part of syria and iraq in what was seen, and what has been seen in the last two years is then seeing a rollback in iraq, and are now in deir al—zour. it's close to oilfields, deir al—zour, so it's significant, and close to the iraqi border. the big question is now what will be what happens to so—called islamic state. then they no longer have a caliphate and they no longer controlled towns and cities but there are still estimated to be thousands of fighters believed to be in border areas in iraq and syria. let's not forget, the group still has an appeal and that inspired attacks in europe and america. so the so—called islamic state, the self—st

nuclear threat saying the era of strategic patience is over trump is in japan on the second day of his marathon asian tour. hello and welcome i'm terry martin thanks for joining us. the latest u.n. climate summit has kicked off in ball on with representatives from one hundred seventy eight hundred ninety seven countries joining talks on how to tackle climate change the conference opened with a traditional fijian welcome ceremony the tiny pacific island chairing the conference already it's. he's suffering the effects of global warming and lacks the resources to host the event on the island itself go shares are working to cap an expected global temperature rise at two degrees or less in his opening remarks fiji's prime minister pleaded for urgent action to stop the pace of global warming we must not fail our people. that means using the next two weeks in the head to do everything we can to make the planet's agreement work and to advance emission and support for climate action before twenty twenty. two meet our commitments in full not back away from them. and to commit ourselves to the most ambitious target of the plan is a given. to kept the