14/11/2017 BBC News at Ten

Tonight at Ten: A special report

from Yemen, where millions

of lives are now threatened

by famine and fighting.

In the capital, school children

suffer - in endless airstrikes

by the Saudi-led coaliton.

And in the vast camps

for the displaced, we see

the consequences of aid

supplies being blocked.

The war here has created so much

misery, with lives disrupted.

And the recent escalation

of the conflict mean that many more

people will be relying

on the kindness of strangers,

just to survive.

We'll have the latest

on the UN warnings of

a humanitarian catastrophe.

Also tonight:

A firearms dealer has been found

guilty of supplying guns and bullets

linked to more than a hundred

crimes, including three murders.

The scene in the House of Commons,

as Parliament starts to look

in detail at the legislation that

will lead to Brexit.

Six months after his election win,

we ask France's President Macron

for his views on Trump and Putin.

£17 billion - the annual

cost of wasted food,

as campaigners say that it's time

for much tougher measures.

And Denmark have ended the Republic

of Ireland's hopes of reaching

the World Cup finals.

And in the Sport on BBC News:

England continue their World Cup

preparations with a glamour tie

against Brazil's Samba Boys at

Wembley.

Good evening.

The United Nations is warning

that the desperate humanitarian

crisis in Yemen is worsening,

and that unless aid is allowed in,

millions more lives will be at risk.

The crisis began in 2015,

when Houthi rebels -

backed by Iran - ousted

the President and took control

of parts of the country.

A coalition, led by Saudi Arabia,

then began a campaign of airstrikes,

to try to restore the government.

Two years on, extreme hunger

and disease are killing an estimated

130 children every day.

The conflict has left 80%

of the country in need

of humanitarian aid.

Seven million people are fully

reliant on food aid,

much of which is now not able to get

through because of a blockade.

From Yemen, my colleague, Clive

Myrie, sent this extended report.

This is a story about war

and its humiliations.

The stripping of dignity.

But it's also about

the desert trek to safety.

It's a story of survival.

There's panic at a school

in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a.

A city under Houthi rebel control.

FRENZIED SHOUTING

A Saudi-coalition air strike

targeting a nearby building has

blown out the school's windows.

In this conflict, death can come

from the air at any time -

for kids, as well as soldiers.

What began as a civil war has

become a proxy struggle

between Saudi Arabia,

backing Yemen's government,

and Iran, alleged to be

backing the rebels.

The Houthis claim this is a bomb

from the attack that didn't explode.

Several countries, including the UK

and America, have sold billions

of pounds' worth of weapons

to Saudi Arabia during this war.

Apart from arms dealers,

this conflict has no

winners, and civilians

are the biggest losers.

Imagine what those displaced

by the war are running from,

if this is what they're running to.

Dusty, makeshift desert

settlements across Yemen,

home to three million

people and counting.

But it's a pitiful existence

in a place like this,

in the middle of a pitiless war.

Only the most basic shelter protects

from the unrelenting sun

and the sand of the desert.

Yemen, already the Arab

world's poorest nation,

is now on its knees.

An estimated seven million people

are facing starvation.

This is a man-made calamity

that shames the world.

The war here has created

so much misery, with lives

disrupted and destroyed.

And the recent escalation

of the conflict means that many more

people will be relying

on the kindness of

strangers, just to survive.

This woman and little Ayeeshia,

who is seven months old,

fled their home the night

the bombs fell.

TRANSLATION:

It was like thunder

and lightning in the sky.

We were scared and took

our children, but left

everything else behind.

We don't have food.

Our men don't have jobs.

They go to market looking for work,

but when they come back

with nothing, the children cry.

Aden is one of the ports

at the end of an aid pipeline

that helps sustain more

than 21 million people here.

That's three quarters

of the population.

But it's a precarious

humanitarian operation.

Saudi Arabia controls

Yemen's borders.

A blockade has already seriously

affected aid flowing into ports

in rebel-held areas in the North.

And the harbour at Aden,

here in the south, can be shut down

at a moment's notice.

Saudi Arabia says sealing this

country's borders will cut the flow

of weapons to rebel forces,

but aid shipments can be

searched and verified,

so why prevent all goods

coming into Yemen?

Well, using aid as a weapon of war

is nothing new in this conflict.

The Houthi rebels have

themselves been accused

of blocking aid convoys,

so despite warehouses full of food,

millions are at risk of starvation.

Aid workers acknowledge

this is a dirty war,

where both sides have

questions to answer.

They have their own tactics -

to use the aid we are bringing

in to the people, either to prevent

it from people or give it

to the people that they favour.

For sure, that is how

they use the aid.

And if we cannot reach people

to give them this food,

then definitely, they will die.

Civilians in this war

are forgotten people,

pawns in a great game,

victims of a conflict

that they didn't create.

They've done nothing

wrong, their only crime

was being born here.

Clive Myrie, BBC News,

in southern Yemen.

Our chief international

correspondent, Lyse Doucet,

is in the Saudi capital,

Riyadh.

Can we talk about this blockade

imposed by the Saudis and how they

try to justify it?

Well, just to

Mako weeks ago, the senior Saudi

officials said they were going to

trying to find a way out of this

crisis that was costing too much and

there was supposed to be a meeting

in London today involving some of

the main actors, including the

United States, to accelerate steps

towards a political solution to this

crisis. That came to an end on

November four when the Houthis fired

a long-range missile from

neighbouring Yemen, intercepted over

the International Airport at Riyadh

and the Saudis said it was

tantamount to a declaration of war

and it had Iranian markings on it.

This is not about Yemen and its

suffering, it is an escalating boxy

war between Iran and Saudi Arabia

and proxy wars across this region,

as always, with them, politics comes

before people.

And do you detect any

signs that the Saudi approach may

change?

Well, there has been this

huge international outcry which has

put mounting pressure on Saudi

Arabia and its allies to lift this

punishing blockade devastating

people. And yesterday, Saudi

diplomats said they would start to

ease the blockade and open the

ports. But only in areas which are

not controlled by the Houthis,

including the main port on the red

Sea, Aden, a vital lifeline for

United Nations aid which is

desperately needed now. The Saudis

say there has to be a new inspection

system because they see it as the

main entry point for the Houthi arms

and ammunition smuggled from Iran.

The UN said the night there simply

is no time for a new system, the

system has to work, they say,

because every extra day is a day too

March, when millions of Yemenis are

desperately in need.

Thank you very

much, from the Saudi capital,

Riyadh.

We'll have another report tomorrow

night on the plight of those

without food in Yemen.

And tonight, Clive will be answering

questions you might have -

in an online

question-and-answer session.

That's getting under way now.

You can contact them via the details

at the bottom of the screen,

using the hashtag -

BBC News Ten.

A dealer in antique firearms has

been found guilty of supplying guns

and ammunition that have been linked

to more than a hundred crime scenes,

including three murders.

A jury at Birmingham Crown also

convicted Paul Edmunds -

who's 66 and from Gloucestershire -

of smuggling banned handguns

from the US and perverting

the course of justice,

as our correspondent,

Sima Kotecha, reports.

Paul Edmunds - a former antiques

dealer, an expert in guns,

enabling him to make bullets

from his house in Gloucestershire.

Inside, police discovered 100,000

rounds of ammunition

in three separate armouries,

along with almost 200 guns.

Bullets were found scattered

around his bedroom and attic.

Today, following a six-week trial,

Edmunds was found guilty

of supplying guns and home-made

ammunition to gangs

across the country.

The 66 year old made bullets

for firearms that were classified

as antiques and then sold them

for a hefty profit.

He supplied them to his accomplice,

56-year-old physiotherapist

Mohinder Surdhar, who admitted

selling them on to gangs.

Officers said the two men

were the gun world's equivalent

of the main characters from the TV

show Breaking Bad.

These weapons and ammunition have

appeared at over a hundred

crime scenes in the UK

between 2009 and 2015.

This involved murders

and other serious crime.

He abused his position

and he abused his knowledge

of ammunition and firearms.

Undoubtedly, this operation -

which began in 2014 -

has saved many lives,

as we have been able to stop

what was a major supply route

of these firearms and ammunitions

onto the streets.

The pensioner's bullets were found

at the scenes of fatal shootings,

including the murder

of Kenichi Phillips,

in Birmingham last year.

His ammunition was also used

to shoot at a police

helicopter in the 2011 riots.

Ballistic experts were lead

to Edmunds after discovering

ammunition with similar markings.

When the ammunition is constructed,

certain tools are used and these

tools impart markings

onto the modified rounds,

and we start to notice there's

a pattern of tool marks here.

So when we look at lots of different

criminal incidents, we see the same

pattern of tool marks again

and again, and you can start to link

those together forensically,

using the microscope.

This building contains thousands

of firearms that have been seized

by police from across the country.

This gun was imported

by Edmunds from America.

Now that he's been convicted,

it too will be stored here.

At the National Ballistics

Intelligence Service,

they're firing one of the antique

revolvers, with the bullets

made by Edmunds.

The gun dealer will be

sentenced next month.

Sima Kotecha.

BBC News, Birmingham.

The House of Commons has started

to take a detailed look

at the controversial legislation

designed to take Britain out

of the European Union.

The EU Withdrawal Bill will end

the primacy of European law,

but MPs have tabled some 500

amendments, including one

which opposes setting a date in law

for Britain's departure.

As the debate got under way,

deep divisions within Conservative

ranks were once again on show.

Our deputy political editor,

John Pienaar, reports on what's

likely to be a very challenging

process for Theresa

May's government.

His report contains

flash photography.

Brexit's still a work in progress.

It's about Westminster

taking back control,

but the planning and scheming is now

intense and, tonight,

it's clear big questions of how -

even when - Britain finally

leaves are up for grabs.

REPORTER:

Do you think this

is a meaningless vote?

Brexiteers like Liam Fox

and Boris Johnson are now told

the Brexit deadline of March 2019

will be met by law,

but the Brexit Secretary would love

to know if the way is clear to leave

on schedule.

And tonight, there's

still no knowing.

European Withdrawal Bill.

In the Commons, they've started

weeks of line-by-line debate

on the law to leave.

Tory and Labour MPs saying

a hard Brexit deadline

could cut negotiations short,

even force Britain to

leave without a deal.

Everybody's got more

and more brittle.

More and more unwilling to listen.

More and more persuaded that every

suggestion that's being made

is in some way a form of treason.

Does he understand how impossible

it is for me to explain

to my constituents that they can

have certainty about nothing

about Brexit as the Government plans

it - except, according to him,

the date when it will happen?

The Labour leadership doesn't

want to appear to obstruct Brexit,

we all know we're leaving,

they say, so why the deadline?

If negotiations go to the wire,

both we and the EU-27 might

recognise the need for an extra

week, an extra day, an extra hour,

even an extra minute.

So the battle lines are drawn,

Brexiteers keen for victory.

Millions of people who died in both

World Wars died for a reason,

it was to do with sustaining

the freedom and democracy

of this House.

And Brexiteer ministers pledging

Brexit with a good deal if possible,

but no deal if they must.

We are going to go through

the process of making sure,

as a responsible government,

that our country is ready to leave

the European Union without a deal,

if that proves necessary.

The Tory's veteran

pro-European let rip.

I am the rebel.

Yes.

I aspouse the policies

that the Conservative Party has

followed for the 50 years

of my membership of it.

And Brexit sceptics loved it.

CHEERING

The ayes to the right, 318.

The noes to the left, 68.

They've been voting tonight

and they'll go on voting,

night after night between

now and Christmas.

On the role of EU judges,

on a period of transition

after Brexit begins,

on other issues too,

but it's the trial of strength over

Theresa May's Brexit deadline

that has MPs guessing

who'll come out on top.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister

met another Brexit critic,

Scotland's First Minister.

In coming weeks, she may yet see off

the challenges to her Brexit

deadline closer to home.

She'd better, her

authority is at stake.

John Pienaar, BBC News, Westminster.

The headline rate of

inflation, as measured

by the Consumer Prices Index,

has remained at 3%

despite widespread expectations

that it would rise.

The cost of food and soft

drinks rose sharply,

but they were offset by falls

in the price of petrol

and furniture.

Two people arrested on suspicion

of murdering a teenager,

who's been missing for a week,

have been released

under investigation.

Gaia Pope, who is 19,

was staying in Swanage

when she disappeared last Tuesday.

A 71-year-old woman

and a 19-year-old man

were arrested on Monday.

In Iran, thousands of people

are spending a third

night without shelter,

in freezing conditions,

as the authorities struggle

to help those left homeless

by Sunday's earthquake.

President Hassan Rouhani has visited

the province of Kermanshah,

where some 500 people were killed

and many more injured.

Thousands of buildings collapsed

as our correspondent,

James Robbins, tells us.

Iranian authorities say

they're not expecting

to find any more survivors.

Still, rescue dogs are helping

to hunt for signs of life,

but the work now is to clear ruined

homes, demolish and then rebuild.

Local people are in shock.

Thousands are homeless

and in desperate need

of shelter and supplies.

TRANSLATION:

After I got up

and the power was cut as well,

I saw the walls and ceiling had come

down and all my stuff

thrown out of the house.

We've got nothing left for us.

TRANSLATION:

Suddenly,

the house came down on our heads

in a matter of seconds.

I got out from the back

door of my house.

I saved my child,

but it was difficult.

Field hospitals have

been set up and the aid

effort is gathering pace,

although some locals have complained

the initial response was slow.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has

visited the area promising whatever

assistance is needed and criminal

action if any public housing

is found to have been sub-standard.

This was the moment

the earthquake struck on Sunday.

Just across Iran's border in Iraq,

a birthday party for these

twins ends in terror.

But this Kurdish family escaped

unharmed, and now the twins have

had their party again,

as the family sent

condolences to all those

who have suffered loss.

And in Iran, at least 70,000

people are now homeless.

They will need much warmer shelter

than this, night-time temperatures

fall close to freezing and yet

going in doors is still terrifying

because around 200 aftershocks have

already been recorded.

The painful process of grieving

and eventual recovery for entire

communities is only just beginning.

James Robbins, BBC News.

Police in California say five

people, including a gunman, are dead

after a series of shootings

at several locations

including a primary school.

At least one child was shot

while pupils were being dropped

off in the morning and

another child was hit,

along with a woman, while they were

travelling in a truck.

Much more should be done

to reduce the quantity

of food wasted every year.

Campaigners say it's a problem that

costs up to £17 billion a year

and many are pointing the finger

of blame at consumers.

But simple steps like better

planning of meals, storing

and freezing food can make a big

difference as our correspondent,

Jeremy Cooke, tells us.

If you want to stop food

waste, down on the farm

is a good place to start.

These fields are part of a trial

to find new ways to make sure these

potatoes end up on our plates

and not in the bin.

I hate waste because it's costing me

money and so I don't

want to see waste.

So that's why we're striving

all the time to cut out

waste in the field.

So Ian, I've got

some VA data here...

Jeff is comparing notes,

sharing hi-tech data with Ian

from the supermarket.

So we're looking good, low waste.

Even before the potatoes

come out of the ground,

detailed computer analysis means

they know, for instance,

the yield and so how much

shelf space in store,

how much marketing

to shift any excess.

We're working with technology

to allow that information flow

from what's happening in the field.

So our growers can tell us

what they think they're going to be

producing and then we can match that

to what we want to sell and,

hopefully, take that waste out

of the supply chain.

There are now big efforts throughout

the process to reduce food waste,

whether it be on the farm,

in processing, in storage

or in the supermarkets.

But perhaps the biggest difference

can be made by us consumers

because most of the food that gets

thrown away is from

our own kitchens.

Kate's a self-confessed foodie,

she took part in a scheme to reduce

waste and now puts 20% less food

in the bin.

But how?

Well, Kate measures ingredients

so there's no waste,

keeps the fridge at optimum

temperature, so things stay fresh,

uses DIY vacuum packs in the freezer

for long-term storage.

Ta-da!

And, keeps leftovers for week

day lunch and super.

You save food, you save

money and you save time.

So if you want to do any of those

three things, it's worth it.

And then also, we should feel

a little bit responsible

for the planet as well.

But what happens if you still have

food heading for the bin?

Well, how about a community fridge.

It's a simple idea, food that's

still good is donated instead

of discarded and then it's given

for free to anyone who wants it.

This one is in Swadlincote,

it's one of two already operating,

but the plan is to have 50 up

and running by the end of the year.

Good news for people like Lizzie.

If obviously it's going in the bin

it's wasted, especially for those

that haven't got enough money to go

and get a full food shop.

There are people who are desperately

in need and yet there are other

organisations that are just throwing

food down into skips.

There are people that have come

in here that have talked

about the days when they used

to have to go into the skips

and the amount of the food

they get out of the skip.

Producing food takes hard graft

and major investment,

but it's massively undervalued

and reducing waste will take

a huge shift of attitude

in our throwaway society.

Jeremy Cooke, BBC News.

The President of France,

Emmanuel Macron, has told the BBC

that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

are "threatening" Western values

of openness and tolerance.

It is now six months

since Mr Macron took office,

promising to transform French

society, the economy

and even its modern sense

of identity in the world.

Our Paris correspondent,

Lucy Williamson, who travelled

with the President to Abu Dhabi

recently, has sent this report.

Most presidents enjoy

a flash of military uniform

in their schedules, a tang

of old fashioned global power,

but Emmanuel Macron is fighting

his own slippery battle

for French influence abroad.

Jihadi groups in this region have

built a grand narrative

around their vision,

he says, the West needs one

too, based on openness,

tolerance and democracy.

At the opening of a new Louve Museum

in Abu Dhabi, he told me those

values were under threat

from leaders like Vladimir

Putin and Donald Trump.

If you don't defend these values,

it will become harder

and harder, I agree.

But is it harder now,

is it under threat?

I mean for sure it's

a threat, for sure.

But first of all, you have to speak

and discuss with those leaders

because sometimes there's a chance,

they were not like that at the very

beginning, and the explanation

of the divergence is very often due

to their paranoia of the threat

and their willingness to protect

something and to be much more

nervous about what they want

to protect, but forgetting the fact

that part of their own civilisation

is about openness.

If you decide just to push

them back from Europe

If you decide just to push them back

from Europe and all that you see,

you are betraying our values.

It's bad, you lose them.

But does it work?

When you sat down with Mr Trump

and Mr Putin, have you found

that you've been able

to affect real change?

I mean it's not overnight

effect, for sure.

I'm optimistic and I can...

I'm extremely (inaudible).

So I will insist and

insist and insist.

Macron ran his election campaign

by insisting on the power of liberal

values to solve France's problems,

including its most

pressing one - jobs.

This area used to be the centre

of a booming leather industry,

with more than 100 factories.

Serge Cathala's factory is one

of just a dozen left.

Unemployment here is 21%,

twice the national average,

but President Macron's sweeping

reforms means Serge has

begun hiring again.

TRANSLATION:

What's great

about Macron is that he's young,

he looks like he's got guts.

Nobody's going to walk all over him,

unlike his predecessors,

and he's got good ideas,

more flexibility for company owners

to hire people and more freedom.

A company needs leaders

who will let them work.

President Macron has already

reformed France's rigid labour law

to curb the power of the unions,

but this area's favourites

for president were the protectionist

candidates on the far-right

and far-left.

And in cafes like this one,

Mr Macron's plans to extend

unemployment insurance have less

impact than say his tax break

for French millionaires.

TRANSLATION:

He's the

president of the rich.

He hasn't changed my

life or the lives of

the people in this town.

We are the little people

and I don't know if this man

is going to change things for us.

Here in Paris, six months

ago, Mr Macron vowed

to remake French politics.

Since then, he's been criticised

for being more king than president.

Even some of those who agree

with Mr Macron's analysis have

questioned his style as President.

Were some see clarity,

determination and poise,

others see arrogance,

pomposity and hubris.

Mr Macron has said modesty doesn't

interest him because he's France's

last chance to prove to itself that

openness, tolerance

and democracy work.

Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris.

Zimbabwe's ambassador

to South Africa has dismissed

talk of a military coup

against the 93-year-old

President Robert Mugabe.

He said the government

in Harare was "intact"

despite the presence of soldiers

and armoured vehicles

on the streets of the capital.

The ruling Zanu-PF Party has accused

the country's senior general

of treasonable conduct.

Tonight's football, and the Republic

of Ireland have missed out

on a place in next summer's

World Cup finals after a defeat

at home to Denmark.

Wales and England have also been

in action in friendlies.

David Ornstein is in Wembley,

we'll speak to him about those

matches in a moment,

but first to Dublin and our sports

correspondent, Joe Wilson.

The Republic of Ireland take their

footballers from the Epping leash

Premier League but from the second

tier Championship. Their resources

are limited. They build their

success on being defensive strong,

resolute. When the game against

Denmark opened up, the home team

fell apart there. Are tough words to

write and to hear.

Mistakes, wrote Dublin's James

Joyce, are portals to discovery.

Well fine, but he never had to play

Denmark on a Tuesday night

with the World Cup at stake.

An error on the pitch could cost

everything, both teams knew.

Five minutes gone, a free kick

for the Republic of Ireland and this

is what a perfect start looks like.

Shane Duffy, the big man

with the big moment.

But the chance came

from a misdirected Danish boot.

That goal seemed so precious,

its value crashed.

The Danes came with skill

to tease the Irish defence,

still Cyrus Christie was defending

the line on that post.

The ball evaded him.

In Christian Eriksen of Tottenham,

Denmark possessed the most

talented man on the pitch.

Far too good to be left in space.

Suddenly, 2-1.

Second half and Eriksen had

the chance to settle it.

Now that was a lovely finish.

Sadly there was still

time for error.

Stephen Ward's defending

set up Eriksen again.

And by the time Bendtner

put away a penalty,

the evening had gone past sad.

Republic of Ireland must join Italy

watching the World Cup.

Joe Wilson, BBC News, Dublin.

England have already qualified for

Russia and tonight, here at Wembley,

they held one of the greatest

football nations, Brazil, to a

goaless draw. Plenty of

encouragement for this young and

inexperienced squad. Over in

Cardiff, Wales were also in friendly

action. They took the lead through

Tom Lawrence against Panama. What a

strike that was. However, it is

wasn't to be for the Welsh. The

Panama, who are themselves going to

the World Cup, equalised with

virtually the last kick of the game.

Huw.

David thank you very much.

David Ornstein for us there in

Wembley.

The Olympic champion,

Mo Farah, is now Sir Mo

after receiving his knighthood

from the Queen at

Buckingham Palace today.

Sir Mohamed Farah,

for services to athletics.

Sir Mo came to the UK from Somalia

as a young boy and went on to become

Britain's most decorated athlete.

This summer, he retired

from his track career to concentrate

on running marathons.

He described the knighthood today

as a "dream come true."

Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two,

here's Evan Davies.

Something funny is going

on in Zimbabwe right now,

an apparent struggle to succeed

President Mugabe, who's the world's