and it's anything but a ruff welcome for these pets as an auction for recycled royal curtains helps rescue dogs find a home. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lauren taylor. islamist rebels in syria are reported to have taken control of more than half of aleppo, the country's second city, as they continue their lightning offensive. the syrian observatory for human rights, which monitors the conflict, says forces loyal to president assad withdrew without offering significant resistance. opposition fighters have been advancing in the surrounding region. russia, president assad's main ally, has been bombing rebel—held areas in response. it's the first time in eight years that the rebels have reached aleppo, which was the scene of one of bloodiest sieges

of syria's civil war. with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. it is one of the most serious challenges and years. tell us about the situation on the ground. about the situation on the round. , ., , ground. hundreds of fighters o- osina ground. hundreds of fighters opposing the _ ground. hundreds of fighters opposing the government - ground. hundreds of fighters opposing the government in | opposing the government in syria are now controlling parts of aleppo. aleppo is 70 kilometres away northeast of the stronghold city of the opposition and part of the deal between the syrian government brokered by turkey and other forces. the opposition were not allowed to stay there as a stronghold for them, not to anywhere else. —— were. now

turkey is saying that agreement in 2020 was a little bit not respected by the syrian government by not attacking aleppo, the stronghold, so that is why the fighters started to attack back and get into aleppo. we understand these opposition forces are controlling some parts. how significant — controlling some parts. how significant is _ controlling some parts. how significant is the _ controlling some parts. how significant is the timing? - controlling some parts. how significant is the timing? we have seen hezbollah, an iranian proxy, hit hard by israel in the context of the lebanon war. is this partly because there is a perceived weakening of the iranian influence? {iii a perceived weakening of the iranian influence?— iranian influence? of course this is an — iranian influence? of course this is an element. - iranian influence? of course | this is an element. hezbollah was fighting along with the syrian government all of this year since the war started in syria before, ia years ago. hezbollah was hand—to—hand with

the syrian government in this fight. now hezbollah is firstly focusing on the fight with israel or the war is focusing on the fight with israel. hezbollah was definitely weakened a lot by the hit of israel in the last 65 days of this war and the war with israel that started... the start of the war in gaza more than a yearago, start of the war in gaza more than a year ago, definitely the weekend hezbollah allow these fighters to be able to fight back. also there is an iranian official who gave an interview in the last hours and blamed what he called the failure of israel and the failure of achieving success in gaza and lebanon, as he said, by trying to encourage these forces with the proxy of the united states.

he accused the united states are providing these fighters with arms and ammunition to start to do this attack on aleppo. in start to do this attack on ale 0. , start to do this attack on mensa-— start to do this attack on aleuo. , ., , aleppo. in terms of the broader significance. — aleppo. in terms of the broader significance, you _ aleppo. in terms of the broader significance, you mention - aleppo. in terms of the broader significance, you mention the l significance, you mention the syrian war started in 2011 and they have been ups and downs and a frozen conflict. is this and a frozen conflict. is this a significant moment, tipping point or a blip in a longer path? it point or a blip in a longer ath? , ., point or a blip in a longer ath? , . , path? it is a significant oint. path? it is a significant point. after _ path? it is a significant point. after four- path? it is a significant point. after four years| path? it is a significant l point. after four years of control, of the syrian government, of all the syrian soil, syria started to come back to the arab league, all the boycotts with the arab countries started to ease and everybody was accepting bashar al—assad as ruler, according to the arab community. now if this attack would happen back and

syria, as we saw, the syrian fighters started to hit and russia also is getting involved again in the fight and if the fight would flare up again in syria and the reaction of the syrian government would be not easy as they want sovereignty of all syrian soil. but we let this also back to the wider regional conflict that started actually in gaza. as you know, all of these forces including turkey are trying to find a way and practice pressure on all forces to try to end the war in gaza, brokering deals to stop the fighting in syria. now, after stopping the fighting in lebanon, would result in fire in gaza over the coming weeks. thank you very much for your analysis.

bbc verify is monitoring this story. here's merlyn thomas with more. at bbc verify, we've been tracking the advance of rebel forces towards the city of aleppo in northern syria by looking at footage posted on social media. this is a video we verified which shows military vehicles moving along a road. it was shared by a media outlet affiliated with a rebel group which appears to be leading the advance. it was posted on telegram with a caption, "starting to enter the city of aleppo." and we have confirmed the location to be on the western edge of the city. you can see some of the vehicles here. another video we verified appears to show men in military fatigues running through the streets. and we have geo—located these videos to a western suburb of the city of aleppo, but can't confirm the identity of the individuals seen. about 2km away from here, we've also verified another video which appears to show large crowds of people walking away from an area outside aleppo university. it's not clear who they are or where they are going, but you can see that they

are carrying luggage. 12 years ago, a peaceful uprising against the president of syria turned into a full—scale civil war which continues to rage on. the conflict has drawn in countries from all around the world, devastated cities and killed civilians. the ancient city of aleppo has been a focal point of the syrian civil war captured by government forces in 2016 after four years of intense fighting. at bbc verify, we will continue to monitor the footage emerging as the situation develops. georgian police have used water cannon and tear gas on demonstrators who have turned out in their thousands near the parliament building in tbilisi for a second night running. georgia's pro—western president, salome, at loggerheads with the ruling party, said in a televised address that the "resistance movement" had begun, and she stood by it. the protests were sparked by the government's decision to put off accession talks with the european union until 2028. earlier, more than 100 diplomats and civil servants in georgia signed an open

letter saying the government's decision does not align with georgia's strategic interests. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, has more from tblisi. i'm outside the georgian parliament building in the centre of tbilisi. there are thousands of anti—government protesters here setting off fireworks. protesters a re here. the other side, down the road, are the police. lots of police. long lines of police and water cannon, too. a few minutes ago, we saw the water cannon being used to try to disperse the crowds. people here are furious that this week their government suspended, they say until the end of 2028, georgia's bid tojoin the european union. and people here are angry because the aspiration tojoin the eu is enshrined in this country's constitution. so the protesters have been accusing the government of kowtowing to moscow, being in the pay of the kremlin.

it is very important for all the georgians to be here, for everyone to see, the whole international world, to see that georgians are europeans and we want europe. we want a better future, and we don't want to be part of russia anymore. you see what is happening. you can totally see how they are treating us, i how they are treating the pennie _ who has a free will to be in europe. i unfortunately, this - is really disappointing. and the government who are making the decisions for us, | especially when - they are not representing a georgian people's will, it is really disappointing. this feels like a crucial moment for georgia because for more than 20 years, this country has been on a path to western integration towards joining nato and the eu, but that now seems to be on hold. let's speak to natia seskuria, founder of the regional institute for security studies, a tbilisi—based think tank. she previously worked for georgia's national security council.

thanks for being with us. can you give us an indication of the scale of the protest and if you think they are spreading. bake you for having me. 0vernight i think we saw a massive protest, tens of thousands of people went into the streets to demonstrate their anger and actually, despite the violence and the use of teargas and heavy use of water cannon yesterday, we still saw more people gathered on the second day of the protests, so this is a very serious crisis and i expect more people will probablyjoin in the coming days. irate more people will probably 'oin in the coming daysi more people will probably 'oin in the coming days. we had an address from _ in the coming days. we had an address from the _ in the coming days. we had an address from the pro-westerni address from the pro—western president are addressing the nation and she is at odds with the government. what can she do in this situation? the president _ in this situation? the president has - in this situation? the president has been i in this situation? tue: president has been outspoken, joining the protest on the

first day, trying to speak to the police to address them, not to use violence against the peaceful protesters and citizens of georgia, who were there to demonstrate their anger due to this shift in georgia's foreign policy. the president, unfortunately, does not have much power when it comes to reversing the current direction but she is a significant figure, significant politicalfigure and the significant figure, significant political figure and the one who is very much in touch and having all these high—level discussions with the western partners, so i think she is nominally playing an important symbolic role. irate nominally playing an important symbolic role.— symbolic role. we heard the prime minister _ symbolic role. we heard the prime minister said - symbolic role. we heard the prime minister said the - symbolic role. we heard the prime minister said the eu, | prime minister said the eu, accused the eu of distorting his words and insisting membership of the block by 2030 remains his priority. how much of a difference will that make to the way people perceive this issue? t to the way people perceive this issue? ~ , . .,

issue? i think it is clear since the _ issue? i think it is clear since the first - issue? i think it is clear since the first time - issue? i think it is clear - since the first time georgia declared its aspiration to join the european union, we see such a swift shift to the country's policy aspirations and despite the fact that prime minister and government mention there will be membership by 2030, it is unimaginable we will get there unless we will see a dramatic policy shift because what our current standing is georgia's relations with the eu have never been this bad. we already saw the eu announced unless there is an investigation over the allegations of election rigging and a shift in government policies, georgia should not expect any progress when it comes to the eu membership aspirations. comes to the eu membership aspirations-— aspirations. thank you very much for — aspirations. thank you very much for your _ aspirations. thank you very much for your thoughts. i an explosion in northern kosovo, which damaged a canal, could leave residents without water and power on saturday. an explosive device was said to have been thrown

into the canal, which supplies water to two coal—fired power plants that generate nearly all of the country's electricity. prime minister albin kurti blamed neighbouring serbia for the explosion. translation: the attack was carried out by professionals. this is a criminal and terrorist attacked which we believe comes from gangs directed and orchestrated by serbia which has both the interest, readiness and the ability to cause such attacks and damage. in this particular case by using a large amount of explosives in a critical location where repair is difficult. let's get some of the day's other news now. president volodymyr zelensky has said that offering ukraine nato membership while allowing russia to keep, for the moment, the territory it occupies could end the "hot stage" of the war. in a television interview, mr zelensky said only nato

membership could guarantee that russia would not attack again. the democratic leader in the us house of representatives says his party will not be intimidated by threats of violence after several congressional democrats revealed they had received bomb threats. earlier in the week, several of president—elect donald trump's cabinet picks reported similar intimidation. thousands of people in eastern spain have held vigils to mark a month since flash floods killed more than 220 people. church bells tolled in the town of paiporta, the epicentre of the disaster in the valencia region, while many lit candles at dusk in a ravine where a0 people lost their lives. five of canada's leading news organisations are suing openai, accusing the american owner of the chatgpt chatbot of copyright infringement. they allege that openai is using their articles without permission to help train chatgpt�*s language models. the case is part of a wave of lawsuits against openai and other tech companies.

counting will begin in a few hours in ireland's general election. exit polls suggest the three main parties all received between 19% and 21% of the first preference votes. a final result isn't expected until the end of the weekend. for more, here's our ireland correspondent chris page. the general election count starts at 9 in the morning and the exit polls suggest it will be tight, tense and very unpredictable. the poll indicates that sinn fein has a very narrow lead but it's very close indeed between the three main parties to be the prime minister or taoiseach. the are simon harris who's been in thejob forjust seven months, his main coalition partner, also taoiseach earlier

in the government term, and the sinn fein president and her party has been the main opposition group since the last general election. during that time, and it will push hard for a referendum on irish unity by 2030 if it did take power here in dublin. but even if sinn fein were to win the most seats in the irish parliament for the first time, it could well still have an uphill task in assembling a coalition of other left—wing parties which would command an overall majority. the results of that poll of rte, the irish times and trinity college dublin put sinn fein on 21.1% and fine gael on 19.5%. we should get the actual first preference, the total number

maybe by tomorrow evening but then the counting will move on into sunday transfers will come into play on the margins between victory and defeat for these 17a seats could be very small indeed. leading doctors in the uk, who specialise in end—of—life care, are urging ministers to improve palliative services after mps voted yesterday in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people. crowds of campaigners for and against the bill gathered outside parliament during the debate. our medical editor fergus walsh heard their reactions to the result. a truly historic moment and look what it means to campaigners for assisted dying. the lease is terminally ill with advanced breast cancer. t with advanced breast cancer. i am over the moon, with advanced breast cancer. i am overthe moon, in with advanced breast cancer. i am over the moon, in complete shock. ~ ., ., , , ., ., shock. what does this mean for ou shock. what does this mean for you personally? _ shock. what does this mean for you personally? probably- shock. what does this mean for you personally? probably for. shock. what does this mean for| you personally? probably for me personally _ you personally? probably for me personally it _ you personally? probably for me personally it will _ you personally? probably for me

personally it will take _ you personally? probably for me personally it will take a - personally it will take a couple of years. it is unlikely i will get to die at home, but it means the world for people i love and people here, thousands of people will get to choose how they die.— how they die. christie, who also has — how they die. christie, who also has advanced - how they die. christie, who also has advanced breast . also has advanced breast cancer, was here with a husband. i cancer, was here with a husband-— cancer, was here with a husband. ., ., , husband. iam so 'oyous. i believe * husband. iam so 'oyous. i believe we h husband. iam so 'oyous. i believe we are _ husband. iam so 'oyous. i believe we are on]- husband. iam so joyous. i believe we are on the - husband. iam so joyous. i believe we are on the part| husband. iam so joyous. i. believe we are on the part of something completely compassionate and caring and something that so many people will benefit from.— will benefit from. what about for ou will benefit from. what about for you personally? _ will benefit from. what about for you personally? for - will benefit from. what about for you personally? for me, i will benefit from. what about | for you personally? for me, i, for you personally? for me, i, for the for you personally? for me, i, forthe first— for you personally? for me, i, for the first time, _ for you personally? for me, i, for the first time, have - for you personally? for me, i, for the first time, have a - for the first time, have a little bit of hope i might make it in time to actually use this. i dare to dream that might be the case.- this. i dare to dream that might be the case. this is a hu:el might be the case. this is a hugely important _ might be the case. this is a hugely important momentl might be the case. this is a l hugely important moment for the terminally ill, theirfamilies terminally ill, their families and terminally ill, theirfamilies and full society. it sets england and wales on a pass to join countries like australia, new zealand and some us states which offer choice at the end

of life. forsupporters, which offer choice at the end of life. for supporters, it of life. forsupporters, it is about compassion, autonomy and dignity. for opponents, it is a dangerous step which will undermine the rights of the vulnerable.— vulnerable. the ayes to the ri . ht, vulnerable. the ayes to the right, 330. — vulnerable. the ayes to the right, 330. disability - vulnerable. the ayes to the right, 330. disability rights| right, 330. disability rights activist liz _ right, 330. disability rights activist liz carr _ right, 330. disability rights activist liz carr says - right, 330. disability rights activist liz carr says the . activist liz carr says the fight to stop the bill goes on. of course i am gutted. i am exhausted. i think everybody is, and wejust exhausted. i think everybody is, and we just know we have to fight ahead. the bills, yes, they have spoken today. it is not the end of the road, doesn't mean it is legalised, so we still have chances to go and listen. these are the very real concerns.— real concerns. daniel's mum died of breast _ real concerns. daniel's mum died of breast cancer- real concerns. daniel's mum died of breast cancer two - real concerns. daniel's mum i died of breast cancer two years ago. died of breast cancer two years aeo. ., ., , ago. from what i saw was my mother when _ ago. from what i saw was my mother when she _ ago. from what i saw was my mother when she was - ago. from what i saw was my mother when she was in - ago. from what i saw was my mother when she was in a - ago. from what i saw was my| mother when she was in a last six months to live, she was exceedingly vulnerable. every time she went to see her oncologist, she found out how

long she had left to live and in those most vulnerable moments for your doctor to say to you why don't you consider killing yourself is not something i think should be on the statute books of this country. the statute books of this country-— the statute books of this count . , ., . ., , ., the statute books of this count . , , ., , country. the placards have been acked country. the placards have been packed away _ country. the placards have been packed away for _ country. the placards have been packed away for now _ country. the placards have been packed away for now but - country. the placards have been packed away for now but the - packed away for now but the passionate debate will continue. if the bill becomes law, it could be another two to three years before the first assisted death in england and wales. fergus walsh, bbc news, westminster. london fashion week bans exotic animal skins, including from snakes and crocodiles, on the catwalk. this makes them the first of the big four fashion weeks to do so and comes after the ban on fur last year. the british fashion council said the next material under discussion was the use of feathers. all designers will have to agree to the new conditions to showcase their work. this follows in the footsteps of copenhagen fashion week, which banned exotic skins and feathers in march. the industry has widely shifted away from fur, and now exotic skins, with brands like chanel and machacobs leading the way.

however, they are still at the heart of luxury brands like hermes, where their highly sought—after birkin bags, made from crocodile skin, sell for upwards of $60,000. london fashion week's ban also comes amid growing pressure from animal rights activists such as peta, who have been crashing the runway shows of brands that use leather, exotic skin and fur. the gleaming, restored interior of paris's notre—dame cathedral has been revealed five years after it was devastated by fire. president macron took a tour of the cathedral, praising the craft of those who'd worked on the 700 million euro project. from the spire to the stained glass, it has been completely transformed. it is notjust a renovation after the fire, but a complete overhaul, including the removal of decades of dirt and soot built up since the last restoration. the cathedral will officially reopen its doors to the public next weekend. our correspondent andrew harding was there.

the scaffolding has come down, and like a burns patient shedding her bandages, notre—dame is revealed today — whole again after years of delicate surgery. inside, the cathedral is a dazzle of light. the ash, debris and centuries of accumulated grime, all gone. france's president emmanuel macron ushering in the cameras this morning for the first time since the fire, and revelling in a risky promise kept — to rebuild this broken miracle of stone, glass and timber in just five years. macron thanked the team responsible for saving the soul of france. translation: we were told it wasn't possible, _ that it was crazy, we'd do it wrong. but you came together with determination and you achieved what seemed impossible.

it was late on april 15, 2019 that notre—dame burst into flames. it's still not clear if a cigarette or an electricalfault was to blame. the spire's collapse prompting a global groan of anguish, and then a collective flood of generosity. the french state, which owns the cathedral, hired 2,000 craftsmen — using new and ancient technologies to patch up the gargoyles, restore the famous bells, clean acres of stained glass and carve 1,200 oak trees to replace notre—dame's mediaeval roof beams. this is a profound, rousing moment for all of france. at a time of deepening political polarisation, the rebirth of notre—dame is a reminder of what this society can achieve when it pulls together.

andrew harding, bbc news, paris. a chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur has eaten the banana from an artwork he bought last week for $6.2 million. justin sun outbid six others to acquire the now famous piece. he bought the right to display the installation along with a guide on how to replace the fruit which was simply a banana, duct taped to a wall. after eating the banana, mr sun said it tasted much better than other banana. if you ever wanted to put your feet up at buckingham palace, the opportunity might come in an unexpected way. curtains that were once hung on palace walls, and in grand rooms at windsor castle have been recycled into coverings for foot stools. eight of these stools are going to be auctioned online for the king's foundation charity. and also looking for a new home this christmas are these furry friends from battersea dogs and cats home, who have been involved in the promotion of the auction.

a quick reminder of our top story, events in syria where rebel forces have taken control of half of the second largest city according to the observatory for human rights, the largest against the syrian government in years and the first time the fighters have reached aleppo since being forced out by the army in 2016. to stay with us here on bbc news. goodbye for now. hello. this is the weekend when november turns into december, but it's not going to feel like it weather—wise. in fact, it is going to feel very mild, often cloudy. there will be some rain, equally a little bit of sunshine. now, we've got a frontal system that has been pushing its way eastwards. behind that, a south—westerly flow, a very mild but moist south—westerly flow, so, yes, there will be a lot of clouds,

some mist and murk in places, but this very mild air is working its way northwards across all parts of the uk. so a mild start to saturday morning, but with a lot of cloud, some mist and murk, particularly for coasts and hills in the west, a few spots of rain through the day, parts of northern england, northern ireland and scotland, equally a few brighter spells northeast wales, northeast england, north—east scotland, areas with some shelter from the breeze. but look at the temperatures — 13—15 degrees, very mild indeed for the last day of november. it will be quite windy out there, those winds actually strengthening across western parts as we head into the evening ahead of the arrival of this frontal system that will push its way eastwards overnight. bit of showery rain running ahead of that. so, some outbreaks of rain through the early hours of sunday morning. again, it's going to be really very mild, temperatures holding up

in double digits for most as we head into the second half of the weekend. so here goes our frontal system, pushing its way eastwards during sunday. that is going to bring some outbreaks of rain. sunday, probably the wetter of the two weekend days for england and wales, as these outbreaks of rain push eastwards. scotland and northern ireland seeing sunny spells and showers, that brighter but showery regime spreading to most areas before sunday afternoon is done. still very mild, 12—1a degrees. but we will see a bit of a change as we move out of sunday and into monday. we do start to pick up these northerly winds, which for a time, will bring something colder southwards across the uk, but that is unlikely to last all that long. we see frontal systems returning from the atlantic. from midweek onwards, things will turn milder, but they will also turn quite a lot more unsettled, with some wet and potentially very windy weather to end the week. so next week looks like this, briefly turning a bit colder, milder again later, but more unsettled.

the headlines. rebels in syria have taken control of more than half of aleppo. forces loyal to president assad withdrew without offering significant resistance. a second night of protests in georgia as thousands demonstrate against a decision to suspend eu membership talks. police have used tear gas and water canon to try to disperse the crowds in tblisi. an exit poll following ireland's general election suggests a very tight race — indicating the three main parties received the same share of the votes. allocation of seats could take several days, given the country's proportional voting system. now on bbc news: logan

paul: bad influence? youtube? is that you? logan paul - youtuber, _ youtube? is that you? logan paul - youtuber, wrestler. youtube? is that you? logan | paul - youtuber, wrestler and paul — youtuber, wrestler and entrepreneur. one of the most famous people in.— famous people in. logan paul has the ability _ famous people in. logan paul has the ability to _ famous people in. logan paul has the ability to move - famous people in. logan paul. has the ability to move markets with just his own propaganda. he is no stranger to criticism. did wejust find he is no stranger to criticism. did we just find a he is no stranger to criticism. did wejust find a dead person in the suicide forest? but did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest?- in the suicide forest? but his latest could _ in the suicide forest? but his latest could be _ in the suicide forest? but his latest could be his _ in the suicide forest? but his latest could be his worst - in the suicide forest? but his| latest could be his worst yet. cryptocurrency — a scam. he latest could be his worst yet. cryptocurrency - a scam. he has been destroying _ cryptocurrency - a scam. he has been destroying everyone. - cryptocurrency - a scam. he has| been destroying everyone. there mi . ht been destroying everyone. there miaht be been destroying everyone. there might be influences _ been destroying everyone. there might be influences to _ been destroying everyone. there might be influences to touting i might be influences to touting crypto. be cautious. you might be influences to touting crypto. be cautious.— crypto. be cautious. you can make a quarter _ crypto. be cautious. you can make a quarter of _ crypto. be cautious. you can make a quarter of $1 - crypto. be cautious. you can make a quarter of $1 billion. | make a quarter of $1 billion. it make a quarter of $1 billion. it does — make a quarter of $1 billion. it does not work.— make a quarter of $1 billion. it does not work. the internet is divided- _ it does not work. the internet is divided. who _

it does not work. the internet is divided. who is right? - it does not work. the internet is divided. who is right? is . is divided. who is right? is logan an influencer who made mistakes?— mistakes? that is what i get for trusting _ mistakes? that is what i get for trusting the _ mistakes? that is what i get for trusting the team - mistakes? that is what i get for trusting the team i - mistakes? that is what i get| for trusting the team i relied on. , , ., for trusting the team i relied on. , ,., ., , on. or using the power of his influence _ on. or using the power of his influence to _ on. or using the power of his influence to intentionally - influence to intentionally mislead his own followers? we are here to _ mislead his own followers? - are here to find logan paul responsible for his actions. i am not a scammer. responsible for his actions. i i am not a scammer. allegations auainst am not a scammer. allegations against logan _ am not a scammer. allegations against logan paul— am not a scammer. allegations against logan paul relating - am not a scammer. allegations against logan paul relating to l against logan paul relating to cryptocurrency�*s have been building now for well over one year. i have been investigating these allegations for about seven months and the whole time trying to speak to logan paul but his team have refused for whatever reason, and now, after all that time, they finally agreed to do an interview so we are on the way to his boxing gym in puerto rico.