25/11/2017 BBC Weekend News

Tonight at Ten.

Investigators in Egypt say gunmen

behind the country's worst terror

attack in years were carrying

the flag of so-called Islamic State.

Egyptian warplanes have launched

raids on suspected militants

in the Sinai Peninsula

after yesterday's attack on a Mosque

left more than 300 people dead.

The Democratic Unionists'

Arlene Foster tells Sinn Fein to get

serious about restoring

power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

A hundred years after tanks changed

modern warfare, commemorations

remember the dead of one

First World War battle.

And, England survive a late scare

to reach their first

Rugby League World Cup final

for 22 years.

Good evening.

The authorities in Egypt say gunmen

who attacked a Mosque during Friday

prayers killing more than 300 people

were carrying the flag of

the so-called Islamic State group.

Up to 30 men surrounded

the building, opening fire

on worshippers including children

in the town of Bir Al Abed

in northern Sinai.

In response, Egyptian forces have

been carrying out air strikes

on some militant targets.

Our Middle East correspondent

Orla Guerin's report contains

some distressing images.

Warplanes take to the skies bound

for Sinai. The President has

promised Egypt will avenge its

martyrs. The Army says air strikes

destroyed weapons stockpiles and

vehicles used by the militants who

attacked the Mosque. It's still

stands but is now a monument to

sorrow. Inside, a trail of

destruction, most of it too graphic

to show. But this exclusive footage

obtained by the BBC is testament to

the horrors that unfolded here.

In the general hospital one of the

young survivors. He is 13, he was

shot twice in the hand and the leg.

And he is not the only casualty in

his family. In the bed nearby his

17-year-old cousin, also shot twice,

once in the back. His mother is

looking to God to punish those who

brought such torment.

TRANSLATION:

I hope their hearts

will be burned just like ours. The

women have all become widowed. There

are no men left. They are all gone.

They are all gone.

Then she leaned

in to whisper. His father, his

brother, his uncle, his cousin, all

four gone, she said. She didn't want

him to know.

Among the visitors today a local

leader of the coptic Church. Now

it's not just Egypt's Christians

being slaughtered as they pray.

Of

course it's very painful to see some

people killed like this by

terrorism, something very, very

painful. We are co-operating with

them, we are asking about their

health and we will stand together

until the end and Egypt will cross

this bridge and will be fine.

Here

doctors consoling Akmen who made it

out alive without children. There

was shooting, he said. People just

started running, some jumped out of

the window. It's like I fell into a

coma. God saved some of us, but

others lost their lives.

The death toll is continuing to

climb here. More than 40 survivors

from the attack were brought to this

hospital, five have already lost

their lives. Well-wishers and

relatives have been coming and

going, trying to offer support as

Egypt struggles to come to terms

with this attack. Loss on this scale

has brought shock, uncertainty and

fear. The village of Bir Al Abed,

scene of the attack, has been robbed

of a quarter of its men. For now, at

least, Egyptians seem united - in

grief.

It's been a troubled region for many

areas as what can the Government do

to prevent future attacks?

We saw a

quick response to the massacre at

the Mosque, we had air strikes, that

comes from the usual military

playbook. There is no claim of

responsibility yet but the defence

ministry said they were targeting

militants linked to the attack. Now

all speculation is still focussing

on IS, even if this was their work,

they May never claim it because

there is such a degree of revulsion

following this attack. There's been

a large-scale military operation

grinding on in the northern Sinai

peninsula for years. From time to

time, the military here tell us they

have killed scores of jihadis and

destroyed arms dumps and hide outs

but yet we see the militants can

still strike and not only strike,

but as they did yesterday, hit

harder than ever before. Many

critics would say if the Army wants

to tackle the militants in the north

it has to deal with the local

tribes, address their grievances

about lack of employment, lack of

investment, marginalisation, and I

have to say there is a real sense, a

fear here tonight, that Egypt could

start to experience the violence

that its neighbours have seen, in

the words of one Egyptian

commentator, I am afraid that Egypt

could become another Iraq.

Thank you.

The leader of the Democratic

Unionist Party, has warned Sinn Fein

that it needs to get serious,

if the devolution is to be restored

in Northern Ireland.

The power-sharing Executive

at Stormont collapsed in January,

and now the DUP's Arlene Foster has

told her party conference,

that unless a deal is agreed soon,

Westminster would have to take over

the running of the government.

Here's our Ireland

correspondent Chris Buckler.

The Democratic Unionists are making

the most of the influence

they have at Downing Street.

I think actually the

likeness is very good...

Without a Government at Stormont,

Arlene Foster is no longer

Northern Ireland's First Minister

but her ten MPs make a formidable

team because the Conservatives

need their support in crucial

votes at Westminster.

It is this party that stands

in the heart of Government,

not in Northern Ireland,

but across the United Kingdom.

APPLAUSE.

But the DUP desperately wants to be

in power at Stormont and that's not

possible because of the ongoing

divisions between unionists

and Irish republicans.

This was the party

conference a year ago.

Arlene Foster was riding high

but the last 12 months

have been difficult.

A scandal over a botched green

energy scheme and deep differences

with Sinn Fein over culture,

identity and Brexit have left

Northern Ireland in months

of limbo without Government.

They complain about Brexit,

all the while refusing to form

an Executive or take their seats

in parliament and they go

to conference and glory

in the murder of the IRA.

APPLAUSE.

Yet, when you listen to Sinn Fein,

they blame everyone else.

Now it's time Sinn Fein got serious.

Despite the flags, cheers

and shouts, this has felt a more

muted party conference and perhaps

that reflects a deal

with Sinn Fein is looking unlikely

and that the entire future

of devolution in Northern Ireland

is deeply uncertain.

Chris Buckler, BBC news, Belfast.

They were called the Dreadnoughts

of the Trenches, and changed

the face of modern warfare.

Now, 100 years after the first tanks

were deployed in the battle

of Cambrai in the First World War,

members of the Royal Tank Regiment

have returned to the French town,

to commemorate those who died.

Robert Hall joined the crowds

paying their respects.

On the terraced lawn

of the Cambrai Memorial,

today's tank crews look back

to a week which cemented the bonds

of a new military family.

In November 1917, the early tank

men clambered into over

400 lumbering machines,

for the largest tank

attack ever mounted.

Inside the metal hulls,

crews were overcome

by heat and exhaust fumes.

Many tanks broke down.

One battle-scarred veteran has been

adopted by the French

village where it fought.

Tank D51 - Deborah to her crew -

was abandoned and lost.

Until a local historian

found her back in 1998 and began

the task of preserving her.

Today, Deborah is the centrepiece

of a new museum, commemorating her

part in the battle and the five

crewmen she lost.

It is simply a love story.

It's a love story which has started

when first I met a lady who let me

know that she knows a place

where a tank was buried.

Deborah's crew are buried nearby,

lost on a day when tanks

advanced further and faster

than anyone imagined.

But the bravery of the crews

and the sheer power

of the tanks came to naught.

The Allies were once

again driven back.

Cambrai, however, did mark

the start of a change

in the way wars were fought.

The tank had proved its worth.

A machine that is still evolving,

still a terrifying presence.

Its birth came at a high cost.

These ceremonies mark the passing

of the tank men who still lie under

the rolling farmland they crossed.

Robert Hall, BBC News,

on the battlefield of Cambrai.

With all the sport,

here's Reshmin Choutary

at the BBC Sport Centre.

England have reached their first

Rugby League World Cup final

since 1995 after surviving

a dramatic comeback from Tonga.

They came to within seconds

of letting slip their 20-point lead

but held on and will now face

Australia for the title.

Joe Lynskey reports.

For England, some wins

are worth waiting for.

After three straight defeats

in World Cup semifinals,

victory finally came,

but with a scare.

To get to Brisbane, England had

to cross the Red Sea.

but.

England found an early break

through the Pacific wave.

Wing play in this sport

is about timing and Jermaine

McGillivray is rarely late.

A try for him for the tenth

straight England match.

By the second half they looked safe

and sound.

But the drama was just beginning.

Tonga's fans sing hymns

from the stands and now the team had

The chorus inspired

them to three tries.

And in the final seconds,

they were on charge for the line.

Fifita has lost it!

He has lost it and

England have won it!

England now await a final 22 years

in the making.

The latest round of Rugby Union's

autumn internationals have seen

victories for England and Ireland.

Scotland won too, convincingly,

over Australia, while Wales played

host to world champions New Zealand.

Patrick Gearey reports.

No wonder they are buying souvenirs.

Something's stirring in Scottish

rugby, and who better

to test their new confidence

against than Australia.

There is heartbreaking history here.

The Wallabies have a habit

of snatching victory from the Scots

and there were ominous signs.

12-10, the Aussies lead.

It all changed with a charge.

This was the last act

of Sekope Kepu's match.

It's a red card, for me.

Red meant, go, for Scotland,

from the moment that

Sean Maitland charged over,

they took total control.

Byron McGuigan was not even

due to be playing this

match, but scored twice.

With the extra man, Scotland found

several extra gears.

Eight tries in all.

They had never previously beaten

Australia by more than nine points.

This time, they won by 29.

They had hopes of defying

history in Cardiff, too.

Their only fading, flickering

memories of the last time

Wales beat New Zealand,

back in 1953.

On a different ground,

and in what seems to be a different

game to the one the current

All Blacks play.

A modern combination

of the bombastic and the gymnastic.

Waisake Naholo scored

twice from two attacks.

Wales hadn't deserved that, still,

instead of getting mad,

they very nearly got even.

Scott Williams brought

them to within a point

of New Zealand at half-time.

They trailed by more in '53.

But, the men in black

are dangerously elusive.

They score when you

think you are safe.

Rieko Ioane scored twice.

That is why the All Blacks

are the world's best,

and why Wales must keep waiting.

Patrick Gearey, BBC News.

England's women put ten tries past

Canada to pull off an autumn series

whitewash at Twickenham.

They went into the game

2-0 up in the series

and finished the match 69-15.

England have a slim lead over

Australia after day three

of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.

But after a superb century

from captain Steve Smith and two

quick wickets in the final hour,

the hosts have the upper hand.

Our sports correspondent

Andy Swiss reports.

After a balanced start to the Ashes,

was this the day that

the pendulum finally swung?

It edged tantalisingly

towards England, Shaun Marsh one

of a cluster of early wickets,

but they couldn't shift

Australia's rock.

Steve Smith had not just a century

but a batting masterclass.

He guided Australia into the lead.

When the innings finally ended

Australia were 26 ahead and Smith

141 not out, cheered to the rafters.

Now for England's openers

to steady the ship - or not.

A hook from Alastair Cook.

James Vince next. 17 for two as

Australia's Paceman piled on the

pressure. A

A horrible moment for Joe Root,

thankfully unhurt.

He clung on to the close

but England are up against it.

Tomorrow will be slightly different.

A day which began so promisingly

for England has ended with them

under huge pressure.

After two days of level

pegging, it's now Australia

with the upper hand.

Match of the Day follows on BBC One.

You can get full analysis and news

from the Premier League and the

Scottish Premiership on the BBC

Sport website.

That's it.

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News channel.