people died, and more than 7,000 were injured in the explosion. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville has the latest from beirut. the warehouse full of explosive chemicals is alight. sahar fares, a firefighter medic took the video.

quentin sommerville, bbc news. a chemical that is made all over the world and is relatively cheap to buy. but storing it can be a problem, and it has been associated with serious industrial accidents in the past. 0ur science editor david shukman explains what it is — and how it can cause so much damage. it began as a very large blaze, a towering grey column, and flashes from what looked like fireworks. but worse was to follow. a massive explosion, and as it erupted, an important clue emerged in the colour of the smoke, a reddish—brown, which meant that ammonium nitrate was involved in vast quantities. so what is this substance, ammonium nitrate? well, it is a chemical mainly used as a fertiliser. farmers in the uk and all over the world apply it to their fields. and on its own, there is no danger. but this powder can also be used as an ingredient for explosives. it was favoured by the ira. this was the london docklands bombing in 1996. and scotland yard persuaded farmers to guard their supplies carefully. we did a

quentin sommerville reporting from beirut.any countries pay tribute and send their support. this is christ the redeemer in rio dejaneiro where as you can see the statue isn't lit up in the colours of lebanon's flack about the huge statue with swatches over rio dejaneiro statue with swatches over rio de janeiro now showing statue with swatches over rio dejaneiro now showing support having the colours, the red and the white and the spanish cedar tree there let's out to show support for all of those injured and for those many who have lost their homes in beirut. —— lebanon's flag. much more of course on oui’ beirut. —— lebanon's flag. much more of course on our website booklets now turn to the united states. in the us, new york's attorney general has filed a major lawsuit against the national rifle association, trying to dissolve the group. top officials are accused of funding their lavish lifestyles by corruption and misspending. the nra's defence of the right to bear arms gives it huge cultural and political influence in the us

quentin sommerville has been speaking to some of those who havery lost eveing. y find some of the images distressing. quentin: inch by inch, lebanon is falling apart. they knew their government was finished, but stil.they want mo mien athe tear, these protesters can almost smell the .vernment's downfall it was brought down moments before, and there has little change. a reshuffle of the same faces at the top is not one t' solve lebanos crisis. when the end came, there were cheers and riot police. the prime minister gave his but his government remains until a new one can be found. the state is out in force in a shutter capital, carrying guns not brooms. the lebanese are famous for their determination. people here are sick of being left to fend for themselves. >> nobody else put the youth is going to help here. as you see, you can see so people from the government here, and they just sit and do nothing. e >> a revolution, it does not help. becom' more aggressive won't help either. so what can we do other than cleanup the moment? quentin: some bonds in beirut remain

quentin sommerville, bbc news.trate is a chemical that is made all over the world and is relatively cheap to buy. but storing it can be a problem, and it has been associated with serious industrial accidents in the past. 0ur science editor david shukman explains what it is. it began as a very large blaze, a towering grey column and flashes from what looked like fireworks. but worse was to follow. a massive explosion, and as it erupted, an important clue emerged in the colour of the smoke. a reddish—brown, which meant that ammonium nitrate was involved in vast quantities. so what is this substance, ammonium nitrate? well, it's a chemical mainly used as a fertiliser. farmers in the uk and all over the world apply it to their fields. and on its own there's no danger, but this powder can also be used as an ingredient for explosives. why is ammonium nitrate so potentially dangerous? well, in certain conditions it can become unstable. this vast explosion in china five years ago involved a quarter of the quantity that eru

quentin sommerville has the latest.country long battered by shock, a fresh, unnatural disaster has seized lebanon. the fires burned long here at the port. the cause, a powder keg of unstable chemicals, left to rot in the very heart of beirut. the shock could be felt in cyprus, syria and israel. the 2500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser was the equivalent of a one kilotonne blast. this was lebanon's 9/11, they say. a catastrophe that shook the entire country. a small fire at the port had drawn people to their windows to watch. when the chemicals exploded, they received the brunt. more than 4000 have been hurt and lebanon is traumatised. it is a day they will never forget, especially for bride, israa seblani. allahu akbar. in the small town of ras el harf, the buildings still stand, but the people are shuttered. jessy dawood was a nurse at beirut‘s saint george hospital. she died along with three other colleagues. she was 31 years old, and leaves behind her two—year—old ella, and her husband. the work of a nurse is t

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. home office has formally requested help from the royal navy, to deal with migrants attempting to cross the english channel from france. the ministry of defence says it's ‘working hard' to find a way to assist. a record number of unaccompanied children were among the 146 migrants who arrived in the uk yesterday, and crossings have continued today, as gavin lee reports from graveleen beach, just north of calais. at first light this morning, on a beach close to calais, we watch from a distance as migrants, men and women, children holding hands at the back, take to the water with a rubber boat and a motor. this is a glimpse of what's happening almost every day in the early hours, here in the town of gravelines. these men, who appear to be in charge of the crossing attempt, leave the migrants and start to exit the beach. but the boat's already in trouble. 0verloaded, they come back, leaving behind a woman and her child. they try again, finally getting out to sea. we've been on this beach f

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.espondents in beirut — carine torbey — it is 75 years since the us dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of hiroshima and nagasaki injapan, leading to the end of the second world war. the first bomb which landed in hiroshima is estimated to have killed nearly half of the city's population — and at least 70,000 more people died in nagasaki, on this day, august 9. radiation from the bombs caused the deaths of thousands in the months and years that followed. let's bring you some live pictures now from the memorial event that's under way in nagasaki. that is the mayor of negus saki addressing the gathering —— nagasaki. in the last moment also a bell has told at the memorial site where there are a couple of hundred people including survivors and the japanese prime minister. but bell told to mark the exact moment 75 years ago in which the us bomber dropped its bomb, codenamed fat man. nagasaki had not been the main target, the americans had attempted to bomb another site but visibility prob

that was quentin sommerville in beirut for us.est leading pro—democracy campaigner to be detained in hong kong under the new national security law. it follows the arrest earlier of the prominent activist and media tycoonjimmy lai, who was detained over allegations of collusion with foreign powers. in total, 11 people were arrested on monday. i've been speaking to the hong kong based writer and lawyer antony dapiran. i asked him what he made of these developments. well, this really is continuing, this ongoing crackdown, but most shocking of the events yesterday was this really direct attack on hong kong's free press with the arrest ofjimmy lai and a large police raid on the offices of apple daily, his newspaper. and do you expect the people to be held for some time or do you think this is in some way a warning to others? well, under the new national security law, suspects can be held without bail so it's highly likelyjimmy lai, agnes chow and the others arrested yesterday will be held without bail until their cases come to trial, w

quentin sommerville, bbc news.rs in the lebanese government have resigned following the explosion and protests. our news correspondent in beirut — rami ruhayem — has been following the protests on the streets of the city and says the government is in trouble. the minister of information who decided to resign from the government and following that, there were rumours that at least does make other ministers, including the minister of environments would follow suit. that did not happen and we have been getting lea ks happen and we have been getting leaks from happen and we have been getting lea ks from unconfirmed happen and we have been getting leaks from unconfirmed come of what exactly —— the place they met the prime minister. a panel of the promised recording to several lea ks of the promised recording to several leaks try to convince them to wait until tomorrow's cabinet session and to delay their decision to resign and, basically, a number, a third of the cabinet needs to resign for the cabinet needs to resign f

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.te situation in beirut, stories of heroism and survival are emerging. 0ur correspondent, carine torbey has been speaking to a nurse, who managed to rescue three newborn babies, after the explosion ripped through the city. this is normally a place ofjoy, but tuesday's explosion ripped through the neonatal intensive care unit. three premature babies were in their incubators. in the chaos, pamela, the only nurse on shift who was unhurt, picked them up. a picture that spread across the world. the only thing i could think of was the safety of the babies i had in the unit. the first thing i had to do was to rescue the babies and just carry them and get away with them. i thought that i can never leave them alone here and go away. pamela walked for over 30 minutes before finding safety, holding them close to keep them warm amidst the havoc. i felt like the babies are very important to me, they were part of me. i had to keep them safe until they reached their destination. people were giving me

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.k's attorney general has filed a major lawsuit against the us national rifle association, in an attempt to dissolve the group. top officials are accused of funding their lavish lifestyles by corruption and misspending. the nra's defence of the right to bear arms gives it huge cultural and political influence in the us. our north america editor jon sopel has more. that protesters can freely walk the streets of america armed to the teeth is largely down to the formidable power of the national rifle association, arguably the most influential lobbying organisation in the us. the right to bear arms is their cause but how the nra has been spending its money has led to them coming under distinctly unfriendly fire from the new york attorney general. just a few minutes ago, my office filed a lawsuit against the national rifle association, to dissolve the organisation in its entirety. she paints a picture of wild indulgence. they use millions upon millions of dollars from the nra for personal us

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.mp has confirmed us humanitarian support to lebanon in the aftermath of the beirut explosion. three us aircraft are on their way bringing supplies and medics. mrtrump also said he would take part in a video conference on sunday with france's president emmanuel macron and other international leaders and european institutions. he said he discussed the devastation with mr macron in the lebanese capital. president trump says he will take executive action to protect americans from the economic ravages of coronavirus. talks on new relief measures between his administration and the democrats collapsed on friday, and mr trump said he would extend tax relief and unemployment benefit, though he would not commit to keeping this at the same level as the previous package. 0ur north america correspondent david willisjoins me now. david, talk us through it. well, president trump stopped short of declaring that negotiations with congressional democrats over what will be a fifth economic stimulus plan

quentin sommerville, bbc news.h a difficult time for the country, trying not only to curb the spread of coronavirus, but also struggling with economic and political crises. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, now, on the troubles besetting lebanon. officials who may have ignored warnings about the danger facing beirut are under house arrest. that is just the start of national recriminations. the force of the blast was devastating. if lebanon was rich, well—governed and secure, it would find it hard to deal with this crisis. but it has none of those strengths. the mayor inspected the damage. he said reconstruction would take billions of dollars. that's money lebanon just doesn't have. the president, michel aoun, has declared three days of mourning. many lebanese don't trust their leaders and are sick of an elite, including former warlords, like the president himself, who have been at the top for decades. lebanon's youth want change. before and sometimes during the pandemic, there were big protests. many called the

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.ellow for middle east studies at the council on foreign relations, and he joins us from maryland. steven, some people are saying this could be lebanon's chernobyl moment, a catastrophe which exposes a failing system. how do you see it? it certainly seems that it is accelerating the disk government and perhaps the disk government and perhaps the regime in lebanon. the country has been rocked by protests since last fall. the cova crisis has only intensified an economic crisis and many lebanese have grown extraordinarily frustrated with the government and system itself. thus far, the government is holding, there have been no resignations but certainly people are begging the international community when they do provide aid to lebanon to go around the government because this is a government because this is a government of corrupt warlords and officials that date back many, and officials that date back any, and officials that date back many, many, many years who have siphoned the country's w

quentin sommerville in beirut for us.non's political system as the root of its problems. it's sometimes referred to as a ‘confessional‘ arrangement. seats in parliament, and senior roles, are assigned to different religious groups. the president, currently michel aoun, must always be a maronite christian. he was elected in 2016. the role of parliamentary speaker is reserved for a shia muslim. nabih berri has been in that role since 1992. the prime minister, a post hassan diab hasjust resigned, must be drawn from lebanon's sunni muslims. it is a system that encourages diversity, but also promotes sectarian interests and patronage. well, for her analysis of the situation i spoke with randa slim, a lebanese political expert and senior fellow at the middle east institute. i asked her how the country will be governed for the time being at such a difficult time. imean, i mean, it's going to be a ca reta ker i mean, it's going to be a caretaker government, but it's not a government that can take decisions, especially, for exampl

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. is monitoring the protests for us in beirut and says the protestors aren't just angry at the current government. it's very unlikely that what the prime minister suggested would really be seen as a acceptable proposal for the masses. i mean, what people are angry about is notjust, you know, the specific government, it is what they call the "regime". the regime has to do with the group of secretary and and long—time entrenched political leaders — who are considered as the main rulers of this country. and what people are asking is a complete change of mentality with the way this country is run, because they perceive that, basically, what happened on tuesday was the epitome of decades of corruption, mismanagement and total negligence. so, basically, what the prime minister tried to do is to calm the masses, to tell them that, "i will be "leaving them are probably in a couple of months, "if the other political leaders can agree on some "sort of transition, or of an alternative." he has cal

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.k's attorney general has filed a major lawsuit against the us national rifle association, in an attempt to dissolve the group. top officials are accused of funding their lavish lifestyles by corruption and misspending. the nra's defence of the right to bear arms gives it huge cultural and political influence in the us. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has more. that protesters can freely walk the streets of america armed to the teeth is largely down to the formidable power of the national rifle association, arguably the most influential lobbying organisation in the us. the right to bear arms is their cause but how the nra has been spending its money has led to them coming under distinctly unfriendly fire from the new york attorney general. just a few minutes ago, my office filed a lawsuit against the national rifle association, to dissolve the organisation in its entirety. she paints a picture of wild indulgence. they use millions upon millions of dollars from the nra for personal us

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. alleged racist attack. the corporation received more than 18,000 complaints and was heavily criticised, after initially defending the use of the racial slur, saying the victim's family had asked for the word to be used. 0ur media correspondent david sillito‘s report does contain some distressing images. it was on the 22nd ofjuly that k who has been working at a local hospital was hit by a car on his way home. it took four hours to extract the glass from his wounds. a bbc report at the time also include the racial was like racial slurs it was a note was like at him. the bbc said his family wa nted at him. the bbc said his family wanted the full nature of the incident to be broadcast. within a week, there were 18,500 complaints and dj sideman, a dj on bbc radio 1xtra resigned in protest at below with the bbc sanctioning the n word being said on tv by a white business of thing i can't go with. last week, the bbc issued a statement on the matter, acknowledging the word was highly offensiv

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.ing mass redundancies injune was five times higher than during the same period last year according to figures obtained by the bbc under a freedom of information request. airbus, royal mail and hsbc were among nearly 1,800 firms which announced job cuts injune. here's our business correspondent katy austin. among the businesses which announced redundancy plans in june among the businesses which announced redundancy plans injune were airbus, centrica and the restaurant group, the owner of frankie and benny ‘s. there are fears of further job losses when the furlough scheme ends in october and firms planning to make 20 or more staff redundant have to notify the government. data obtained by the bbc through a freedom of information request shows a steep rise in the number of positions being considered for redundancy between march and june this year. in june, redundancy between march and june this year. injune, the government was notified a plan to cut over 139,000 jobs in england, wales and

quentin sommerville was in beirut‘s martyrs‘ square for the announcement, here he is.s here in beirut‘s martyrs‘ square, but if you just look over here you can see the riot police have been deployed. they then fired tear gas to remove the protesters, who fell back and those protesters were very cynical that even getting rid of this government will make any difference to lebanon and bring accountability for that deadly explosion, which happened just a couple of blocks away from where i am in the port. quentin sommerville there — and earlier in the day, he was speaking to people who've lost everything in beirut. inch by inch, lebanon's government is coming apart. the explosion here has unleashed a new fury on the streets. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell the government's downfall, but they have brought down governments before and there's been little change here. a reshuffling of the same old faces at the top will not solve lebanon's crisis. the state is out in force, in a shattered capital, carrying guns, though — not brooms. the lebanese are fa

quentin sommerville, bbc news.n the situation in lebanon in the business section of the programme, in about 20 minutes time. the senior american immunologist dr anthony fauci has said he doesn't expect any coronavirus vaccine to be approved before the end of the year. the fight against the virus, he said, is fully dependent on the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, and he stressed that political considerations would not be allowed to interfere in the regulatory process. we likely are going to have maybe tens of millions of doses at the early part of the year but as we get into 2021, the manufacturers tell us that they will have hundreds of millions and likely1 billion doses by the end of 2021. so i think the process is moving along at a pretty favourable pace. facebook and twitter have sanctioned president trump and his campaign for posts in which he claimed children are "almost immune" to coronavirus. facebook deleted the post, saying it contained "harmful covid misinformation". twitter temporarily froz

our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville is in beirut.d joke that they do not know when they they do not have a government. for protesters were celebrating tonight and they see this is only the beginning of a long process. they want to speak of the problem and to go in there when the president to leave too. my report contains images that some may find disturbing. inch by inch, lebanon is falling apart. they knew their government was finished but still, they want more. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell the government's downfall but they've brought down governments before and there's been little change here. a reshuffling of the same old faces at the top isn't going to solve lebanon's crisis. when the end came, there were cheers. and riot police. the prime minister gave his resignation to the president but his government remains until a new one can be found. the state is out in force in a shattered capital, carrying guns, though, not brooms. the lebanese are famous for their determination, but people here are sick o

people died, and more than 7,000 were injured in the explosion. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommervillehe latest from beirut. here's the momentjust before beirut‘s ruin. the warehouse full of explosive chemicals is alight. sahar fares, a firefighter medic took the video. moments later, she and nine of her colleagues were gone. sahar loved herjob. she'd even visit the station on her days off. she sent the video to her fiance, gilbert. he told her, "get out!" they found her body by the port's grain silo. all he has left is her engagement ring. translation: i video called her instantly. she was terrified and disoriented. so i told her to run and i was shouting, "run, run, run." and then the video cut. we were to marry. this is her ring, it was in her hands and now it's around my neck. i wanted to take her in a white dress, instead i took her in a white coffin. sahar fares was 27 years old, she's one of 220 now confirmed dead by the blast according to beirut‘s governor. so much was lost in this disaster and lebanon is in crisis. even before the blast here at the port, its government was bro

people died, and more than 7,000 were injured in the explosion. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville the latest from beirut. the warehouse full of explosive chemicals is alight. sahar fares, a firefighter medic took the video. moments later, she and nine of her colleagues are gone. sahar loved herjob. she'd even visited the station on days off. she sent the video to her fiance, gilbert. he told her, "get out!" they found her body by the port's grain silo. all he has left is her engagement ring. translation: i video called her instantly. she was terrified and disoriented. so i told her to run and i was shouting, "run, run, run." and then the video cut. we were to marry. this is her ring, it was in her hands and now it's around my neck. i wanted to take her in a white dress, instead i took her in a white coffin. sahar fares was 27 years old, she's one of 220 now confirmed dead by the blast according to beirut‘s governor. so much was lost in this disaster and lebanon is in crisis. even before the blast here at the port, its government was broke. this was a large part of the country's gr

our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville is in beirut. under intense pressure and has now stepped down? yes, they did just step down and there were celebrations here in beirut. if you look over here, you can see riot police have been deployed. they then fired tear gas to re m ove deployed. they then fired tear gas to remove the protesters who fell back. the protesters are very cynical either getting rid of this government will make any difference to lebanon and bring accountability for the deadly explosion that happened a couple of blocks away from i lebanon's government is coming the lebanon's government is coming - the explosion here is coming apart. the explosion here has unleashed a new fury on the street. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell these protesters can almost smell the government's downfall but they have brought down governments before and there has been little change here. the reshuffling of the same old faces at the top will not solve lebanon's crisis. they are out in force, carrying guns are not bro

our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville is in beirut.h, lebanon is falling apart. they knew their government was finished but still, they want more. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell the government's downfall, but they've brought down governments before and there's been little change here. a reshuffling of the same old faces at the top isn't going to solve lebanon's crisis. when the end came, there were cheers. and riot police. the prime minister gave his resignation to the president but his government remains until a new one can be found. the state is out in force in a shattered capital, carrying guns, though, not brooms. the lebanese are famous for their determination, but people here are sick of being left to fend for themselves. nobody else but the youth is going to help here. as you see, you can see some people from the government here and theyjust sit and do nothing. it's not fixing. we do a revolution, it doesn't help. we become more aggressive, it won't help either, so what else can we do other than clean

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut.o a couple who have lost pretty much everything in their lives in beirut are a little bit later this morning. two beluga whales that had not been in the sea for almost ten years have been moved to an open water sanctuary in iceland. little grey and little white will need time to acclimatise to their new natural environment, before their final release into the wider sanctuary. they are getting on well. just being eased into the water. they'd spent most of their lives in a russian research facility, before being sold to a chinese water park to perform for audiences. a little bit later here on brea kfast, a little bit later here on breakfast, we would be going live to see how they are getting on. the tv and music tycoon simon cowell has broken his back after falling off an electric bike. the 60—year—old was riding in the courtyard of his los angeles home, when the accident happened on saturday. he was taken to hospital for surgery and, according to his spokeswoman, is now "doing fine". we

quentin sommerville, bbc news.nitrate is a chemical that is made all over the world and is relatively cheap to buy. but storing it can be a problem, and it has been associated with serious industrial accidents in the past. 0ur science editor david shukman explains what it is it began as a very large blaze, a towering grey column, and flashes from what looked like fireworks. but worse was to follow. a massive explosion, and as it erupted, an important clue emerged in the colour of the smoke, a reddish—brown, in vast quantities. so what is this substance, ammonium nitrate? well, it is a chemical mainly used as a fertiliser. farmers in the uk and all over the world apply it to their fields. and on its own, there is no danger. but this powder can also be used as an ingredient for explosives.

quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. protests have continued for a second day in the city.fired tear gas to try to disperse rock—throwing protesters blocking a road near parliament. fire broke out at an entrance to parliament square as demonstrators tried to break into a cordoned—off area. rami 0llaik is a a writer and political activist who used to be a member of hezbollah. earlier he told me the protests are showing no signs of slowing down. there is a spirit today. and people are not afraid any more. they want to get rid of this regime. they want to regain what is theirs. and things should go on. now, a different front, . .. just tell is a bit more about those demands the protesters are making. what is it they want to happen now? basically, we need the government to go, the president to go, the speaker of the house to go and mps to go.

our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville reports now from beirut.

our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, has the very latest. shouting.e against the elite. here is what they think of their politicians. and, as they passed through their city's destroyed streets, the protesters‘ anger grew. chanting. they called the names of the almost 160 people killed by this week's explosion, among them 43 syrians and the wife of the dutch ambassador to lebanon. the lebanese have long been angry with their government, but now there is a new fury here on the streets.

our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville is in beirut some adjudged that they cannot distinguishey have a government and when they do not. protesters were celebrating tonight and they see this is only the beginning of a long process. they wa nt to beginning of a long process. they want to speak of the problem and to go in there when the president to leave too. my report contains images that some may find disturbing. inch by inch, lebanon is falling apart. they knew their government was finished but still, they want more. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell gaging tit; e§l§§ l§§9fi§fi§ iii-el?!" "77777 7 77 t t

at least 158 people and leaving more than 300,000 homeless. 0ur middle east correspondent, quentin sommervillehas the very latest. shouting. this is lebanon's rage against the elite. here is what they think of their politicians. and, as they passed through their city's destroyed streets, the protesters‘ anger grew. chanting. they called the names of the almost 160 people killed of the dutch ambassador to lebanon. following the disaster at the nearby port.