i'm love —— live in dublin where counting is under in ireland's general election. early tights show a strong performance from sinn fein while the green party looks set to lose most of its seats. in georgia, police use tear gas and water canon on crowds as thousands protest a decision to suspend eu membership talks. in syria, islamist rebels are reported to be in control of much of the city of aleppo, for the first time since being forced out by government troops in 2016. rebel soldiers are patrolling the streets and there are reports of long lines of cars clogging the roads out of aleppo as civilians flee. they've also been celebrating outside the city's ancient citadel.

the islamist rebels are said to have met little resistance, though the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured. this was central aleppo in the early hours, after russian and syrian warplanes intervened in support of government forces, bombing rebel positions. russia is an ally of president bashar al—assad's regime. a monitor of the conflict — the syrian observatory for human rights — says 16 civilians were killed in a strike which hit a roundabout. the rebels�* offensive has made rapid progress since it began on wednesday, capturing numerous towns and villages. the syrian military says troops have been temporarily withdrawn from aleppo to prepare a counteroffensive. a reminder of the recent history of aleppo — the city was the scene of one of the bloodiest sieges of syria's civil war, which first broke out in 2011. this week's offensive is the largest against the syrian government in years.

our correspondent, barbara plett usher, is monitoring developments from neighbouring lebanon. a stunning victory for the rebels — even they overcome with its swiftness and success. just three days after launching a surprise offensive from their stronghold in north—west syria. this is the most serious challenge to president assad in years. they stormed back into the city after assad's army forced them out at the height of the war. translation: after hard worki and patience from the fighters, the city of aleppo has been completely liberated. thank god. and by god's will, we will reach horns and damascus too. the rebels are led by the islamist group hayat tahrir al—sham, or hts. it used to be linked to al-qaeda, but cut ties from the group years ago. hts is listed as a terrorist organisation by the us and others. it controls most of the north—western province

of idlib, the last remaining opposition stronghold after more than a decade of civil war. that war began in 2011, triggered by popular protests against assad's rule. russia intervened in 2015, turning the tide against the advancing rebels. the battle for aleppo in 2016 was a crucial point. syrian and russian forces gained control after a gruelling siege. the war has mostly gone quiet since, with occasional eruptions, the last major one in 2020 when syria and its russian allies attacked idlib. now again russian warplanes are bombing aleppo, backing government forces trying to drive the rebels out. the kremlin is assad's most important ally, but it's now also fighting a war in ukraine. iran and the lebanese hezbollah are also sending fighters to syria, but they have been weakened by israeli attacks in the region. that is one reason the rebels

were able to advance quickly. there are fears now they may be reigniting the embers of the long—running civil war. barbara plett usher, bbc news, beirut. reports from gaza say three staff members of the american—based food charity, world central kitchen, have been killed in a drone strike on the territory. images from the southern city of khan younis show the wreckage of a vehicle with its roof blown open. the israeli army has confirmed targeting a car, saying there was a person inside who was involved in the october 7th attacks. world central kitchen has not yet commented on the attack. seven members of its staff were killed in idf strikes on their convoy in gaza in april, in what the israeli military described as a grave mistake. 0ur correspondent nick beake is injerusalem and gave us more details about the attack.

there is this video and various photographs that emerged of the aftermath of this drone strike. it was in the city of khan younis, in the south of the gaza strip, and we see quite clearly a white car that's been very badly damaged. and there is a very distinctive hole in the roof. that is where the missile came through. now, eyewitnesses have been telling the reuters news agency that this happened while a big crowd of people were getting ready to receive flour. and the reports in the palestinian media are that at least, well, that three employees of this charity, world central kitchen, were among those who were killed. there's also a video that shows three bodies in white bags, and next to them there are various possessions which are burnt and damaged, and they show an id card, also a laptop and some clothing, all of which bear the name of the charity. now the israeli military is saying that yes, it did strike this particular vehicle.

the reason for that is that they say they'd been tracking it, they'd been watching it and then decided to launch this drone attack on it because they say inside was someone who was involved in the october the 7th hamas attacks last year. now, we don't know what alleged role they were supposed to have played, but certainly the israelis say, yes, they carried this out and this is the justification they're putting forward. and, nick, we're yet to hear from world central kitchen. but this isn't the first time that this kind of strike has happened on their charity workers. you're right. it was back in april when there was a convoy of three cars that was targeted. seven people were killed in that particular drone strike. three of them were british security staff, former military, who were helping to look after other members of the charity as they distributed food around the gaza strip. after that, the israeli defense forces said that what had happened really was in breach of what they would expect. they say there were grave

errors and subsequently two pretty senior commanders were fired as a result of that. but certainly i think people will be looking again, exactly what has happened this morning in gaza. some mps who backed the bill on assisted dying say they would want to see changes before they could guarantee to give it final approval. yesterday, the house of commons voted in favour of a proposed law that would allow terminally ill adults in england and wales to take their lives with the help of a doctor. but the bill has many parliamentary hurdles to overcome before it could become law. with me is our political correspondent harry farley. harry, bring us up to date, what have mps been telling you? one area of concern is the bill's provisions to allow —— allow doctors to raise assisted dying as an option without a

terminally ill patient having asked for it first and they are worried this could be seen as suggesting to patients that assisted dying might be an option to them. i have spoken to several mps who backed the bill at that initial stage yesterday but want to see that change before they would agree to supporting it at the final stage, to quotejust to supporting it at the final stage, to quote just one to supporting it at the final stage, to quotejust one mp, assisted dying should only be discussed if it is raised by the patient, and that would help mitigate the risk of accident of coercion or the possession of a hint. those behind the bill say it should behind the bill say it should be up to the dr was my professionaljudgment and professional judgment and medics should professionaljudgment and medics should not be gagged as to what they can and cannot discuss with patients. and sources close to kim leadbetter said she is open to discussing future stages, it is a reminder, as you say, that there are many more parliamentary hurdle is that this bill needs to cross before it could possibly become law. so talk us through, because of course this isn't guaranteed to

become law, it possibly won't become law, it possibly won't become law, it possibly won't become law, where are we with the process?— the process? the next stage is a committee — the process? the next stage is a committee of _ the process? the next stage is a committee of mps _ the process? the next stage is a committee of mps will - the process? the next stage is a committee of mps will be - a committee of mps will be formed, they will be formed in the next couple of weeks and will meet injanuary. they will go through the bill line by line, to scrutinise it, to suggest changes, and then those amendments, as well as the bill as a whole, must be debated and voted on again before it goes off to the house of lords who then get to have their chance to suggest any amendments, so there are many more stages to 90, there are many more stages to go, it will take several months. if it has become law, it is likely to be at least two years before assisted dying will actually be an option for the terminally ill and dying in england and wales.— the terminally ill and dying in england and wales. more on that on our website. _ england and wales. more on that on our website. now, _ england and wales. more on that on our website. now, time - england and wales. more on that on our website. now, time to - on our website. now, time to bring you up to date with the sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. the premier league fixtures are underway with four on at present. incoming leicester manager ruud van nistelrooy is in the stands

as he watches his new side, away at brentford. crystal palace take on newcastle. nottingham forest are up against ipswich and gary 0'neil�*s wolves face his former club bournemouth. arsenal are away at west ham in a couple of hours. raheem sterling hasn't played much football since joining the gunners, but mikel arteta says you can expect that to change. i would like to see him more, to be fair, and this is down to me. he is trying his best. his application, his commitment around the team, has been exceptional. now it is time for me to give him more minutes. it's advantage mclaren in f1�*s constructor�*s championship battle, as they secured a 1—2 in the qatar sprint race. lando norris led from start almost to the finish, with his team mate 0scar piastri holding off mercedes' george russell, only for norris to give his

team mate the win on the line. ferrari's carlos sainz and charles leclerc finished fourth and fith. red bull had a difficult race, driver's champion max verstappen lost ground at the start and could only finish eighth, while sergio perez finished dead last. south africa have thumped sri lanka by 233 runs to win the first test in durban. having been set 516 to win player of the match, marco jansen who took seven wickets in the first innings for the proteas managed four more in sri lanka's second innings. the tourists were dismissed for 282 after a lowest ever 42 in test cricket in the first innings with the second test getting underway on thursday. england's cricketers are on the verge of inflicting a rare defeat on new zealand in christchurch, after the third day of the first test. the tourists had built a first—innings lead of 151 and then threatened to embarrass the new zealand batters, by reducing them to 64—3 before kane williamson launched a rescue act. but a crucial two wickets in three balls, for chris woakes, broke the resistance,

and it means the hosts are just four runs ahead, with only four wickets left. therefore england should be chasing a target within their reach when they take to the crease in their second innings. that partnership tomorrow morning... if they can get into their work early, i think especially now that the ball has gone a little bit softer, i think it showed that the new ball is really dangerous. and once it does flatten out you can put things under pressure. hopefully we can build on that lead and give us something to bowl for the last day. australia's lucas herbert surrendered his outright lead of the australian open and will go into the final round tied with american ryggsjohnston. johnston shot a li—under 68 on saturday to pull level with herbert, who could only manage an even—par 72, to share the lead at 1a—under at kingston heath, which is hosting the final two rounds after rotating with the victoria golf club for the opening two rounds. in the women's event,

south korean veteran shinji—yai is two shots clear of australian world number six hannah green. south african two—time defending champion ashleigh buhai is two strokes further back. in nfl news, the kansas city chiefs secured a play off spot in the afc thanks to a 19—17 victory over the las vegas raiders. patrick mahomes became the franchises career leader in touchdown passes as he helped the reigning superbowl champions to a slender win while the raiders continued their losing streak which now runs to eight. for mahomes, he knows his team can improve. we just hold ourselves to such a high standard, we don't feel like we're playing our best football altogether and it seems like everyday, defence is good, vice versa, we have to find a way to build up and play great as a full entire team, find ways to get wins, that is what we are going for. but our goal is to get to the super bowl so we will try to continue to get better and better so we are we will be

playing our best football by the end of the year. and finally australia are in ireland playing in the rugby test match, just three minutes into it and it currently scoreless in that one. that's all we've got now. thank you, we'll be back with you later on. we are going to go back to the situation in syria because we are reporting that people have been fleeing aleppo after parts of it fell to rebels and the anti—government forces launched anti—government forces launched a surprise offensive four days ago. they have met little resistance, apart from some air strikes by russian and syrian jets. we can speak to someone who has contact with people on the ground there. with me is fuad sayed issa, the founder of violet, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to providing critical relief to communities in northwest syria.

what are your team saying to you. the humanitarian team joined the city this morning. the rebels are controlling most of aleppo city and why the team joined because many attacks happened this morning, russian and syrian aircraft, there were emergencies and first responders teams and they were in aleppo to help people. also, they are trying to provide the most emergency needed. the food, the water, and the bread for the people who are stuck for the people who are stuck for three days without getting out of houses, without getting any kind of help. and now we are in a very sensitive time, to work together as humanitarian teams, to help those millions of people in the city of aleppo and also the people who are moving around the city.

people who are moving around the ci . , , ., the city. help us to understand, - the city. help us to understand, what l the city. help us to | understand, what is the city. help us to - understand, what is your understanding, when the residents of the aleppo, they are in an incredibly difficult position especially now, but with these rebels, are they happy to see them come to aleppo? happy to see them come to ale 0? , ., happy to see them come to aleuo? , ., , ., aleppo? there is two parts from the peeple- _ aleppo? there is two parts from the people. most— aleppo? there is two parts from the people. most developer's i the people. most developer's people are displaced into the north—west weather syrian turkish border and they are all happy because they are getting back to their houses, as they were like just firing from the assad regime.— assad regime. so, 'ust to clari , assad regime. so, 'ust to clarify, they fl assad regime. so, 'ust to clarify, they were _ assad regime. so, just to i clarify, they were displaced and were not able to get back into aleppo but they now can because the rebels are controlling it?- because the rebels are controllin: it? . , , controlling it? that is exactly what is happening. _ controlling it? that is exactly what is happening. and - controlling it? that is exactly what is happening. and on i controlling it? that is exactly | what is happening. and on the other side, there are millions in the city of aleppo, they are now also trying to get back to their normal life in these days and the humanitarian relief and teams are trying to help those people because there is no government any more in the

city, and then the services need to be done by the organisations and humanitarian teams are doing the work in the north—west, before getting to aleppo. north-west, before getting to ale 0. �* ., , north-west, before getting to aleuo. �* . , ., , north-west, before getting to aleuo. . , ., aleppo. and that is teams such as ours aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with — aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with violet _ aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with violet coming - aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with violet coming in l as yours with violet coming in and helping people within aleppo. when it comes to this rebel group, help us to understand what kind of parts are they made out with because of course it is never clear—cut, is it? of course it is never clear-cut, is it? there are many grouns _ clear-cut, is it? there are many groups who - clear-cut, is it? there are many groups who have . clear-cut, is it? there are . many groups who have joined this today and i think they are now getting control of most of the city. we have got a photo from aleppo castle, front many areas today from our team where they are helping the people, and how the things are going on the ground, the attacks have —— happening today are putting us at risk of having a million people displaced from the city. we have a deadline to stop the aircraft of russian and syria bombing the city and this is

the only way to have those million in their city and the people who are coming back to the city. 0therwise, people who are coming back to the city. otherwise, we will have a big earthquake of displacement again and millions will be getting to europe and also to turkey and to other parts of, like, the world. if the bombing and shelling is continue in the city of aleppo. fuad sayed issa, founder of violet, thank you for speaking about this and telling us what your team members in aleppo are reporting back, thank you so much for your time. vote counting in ireland's general election has begun after an exit poll put the three main parties virtually neck and neck. a final result isn't expected until the end of the weekend. let's speak to our chief presenter caitriona perry, who's in dublin for us.

it is incredibly tight, isn't it? it is, you are very welcome here to dublin where all of the counting is taking place. no seats filled yet, no declarations to bring just yet because that is the way the system is here in ireland, it is a multi—seat constituencies ranked in order of preference, it is not first past the post so it takes quite a while to count the votes and get some results. however, we did have an exit poll last night and from the early ties are what we have seen so far, we can say that fianna fail,, fine gael, and sinn fein are there in a three—way tie for who is going to have the most seats and who is going to potentially be in a position to make a government at the end of the weekend when the seats have been filled. 0ne story that is emerging so far, though, is what looks like a century of the collapse of the green party. the green party is in government at the moment with fianna fail and fine gael,

it smaller party, it is as —— it smaller party, it is as —— it has 12 seats but it looks like it will emerge from this weekend with just two seats, real collapse for that boat. and a little earlier, i caught up and a little earlier, i caught up with the current minister for climate in the green party. it is very difficult, we felt we ran— it is very difficult, we felt we ran a _ it is very difficult, we felt we ran a good campaign and we gave— we ran a good campaign and we gave it— we ran a good campaign and we gave it our— we ran a good campaign and we gave it our all, it is not a day, _ gave it our all, it is not a day, and _ gave it our all, it is not a day, and i_ gave it our all, it is not a day, and i hope we can get representation back into the dail. — representation back into the dail, that is not certain but i think— dail, that is not certain but i think we _ dail, that is not certain but i think we will. please god. and we have — think we will. please god. and we have been here before, we have _ we have been here before, we have had — we have been here before, we have had difficult days in the past, — have had difficult days in the past, particularly coming out of government, and we have learned _ of government, and we have learned that you stick to what you believe in. you listen to the — you believe in. you listen to the electorate first and try to learn — the electorate first and try to learn lessons but you build hack— learn lessons but you build hack and _ learn lessons but you build back and come back stronger, this green— back and come back stronger, this green political philosophy is resilient. it has been difficult _ is resilient. it has been difficult in countries right across_ difficult in countries right across europe in the last few years. — across europe in the last few years. the _ across europe in the last few years, the —— but it will come back— years, the —— but it will come back in. —

years, the —— but it will come back in, because the reality is that— back in, because the reality is that it — back in, because the reality is that it is — back in, because the reality is that it is the greatest challenge of our time and we will continue to represent our people — will continue to represent our people by the local government to the _ people by the local government to the best of our ability, even _ to the best of our ability, even when you have a hard day actually — even when you have a hard day actually as _ even when you have a hard day actually as we have, the election— actually as we have, the election will strengthen our resolve _ election will strengthen our resolve even more. we are not complacent but resilient. caitriona perry with her guest there and we will have special coverage later on tonight and also tomorrow, as those results will come in, but as caitriona perry was saying, it is going to take a little bit of time because of the way that ireland counts its votes, but i can tell you that right now following the exit poll, it is really tight, virtually those three main parties at the moment, according to the exit poll, are running neck and neck. much more from caitriona perry throughout the evening. more protests are talking place in georgia. these are the live pictures

coming out of tbilisi. last night, georgian police used water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators who turned out in their thousands near the parliament building in tbilisi for a second night running. the protests were sparked by the georgian dream party's decision to put off accession talks with the european union until 2028. liza zhvania, whose father zurab zhvania, was a georgian politician, who served as prime minister of georgia in early 2000s. he famously famously coined the phrase "i am georgian, "therefore i am european" that was delivered in front of the council of europe in 1999. that is a phrase that is no doubt echoed in georgia's constitution, and yet, once again, we are talking as protesters are out on the streets of georgia. we are monitoring that now. once again, that disappointment with

the direction that georgian dream is taking the country. it is truly unbelievable for generations living in georgia, that any government would deviate from this path. this part of the set in the 90s and even before. and it is closely connected and tied in with the sentiment and the call for sovereignty and security for georgia. it is a vulnerable place, as we are next to russia. so, this is causing more and more public protest and resistance from the public to defend what they believe is their own destiny, and the destiny of their country. and what brings out people more than anything is the attack on their dignity. injustice, which

we have seen in large—scale violence from the police and the special forces against peaceful protesters. yesterday and the day before that, we saw almost 20 journalists beaten up, with their bones fractured, and serious health issues following. and yesterday we saw unprecedented cases of violence of individual protest members who have been out peacefully, beaten up by several members from the special forces until they lost consciousness. and so many families are still looking for dozens of imprisoned who are not able to locate them in the prisons and the penitentiaries, as they have been spread out in different parts of georgia. and it is

important to note that the protests have gone beyond the capital. yesterday, we sought two huge protests in two other major cities in georgia, while today almost all cities showed organised gatherings, protests. and we are monitoring them, liza zhvania, we have to leave it there. daughter of the former prime minister in georgia, thank you so much, liza zhvania. you are watching bbc news, and we are continuing to monitor those live shots within tbilisi but now let's bring you up—to—date with all the weekend weather. hello there. we'll be seeing a big change happen weather—wise over the last 2a hours or so. the mild air is back, along with plenty of cloud. a lot of moisture around. bit of a damp, misty feel to things. this continues through the weekend. plenty of dry weather, but some outbreaks of rain at times.

mostly tomorrow. for today — well, saint andrew's day, some of the best of the sunshine is across northeastern areas of scotland, and generally to the north and the east of high ground. weather fronts waiting out in the wings. a brisk southerly wind picking up through the day, and it's that that's scooping up the milder air. so temperatures are above the seasonal average. for the rest of this afternoon, then, still some breaks in the cloud across parts of aberdeenshire, down through the east of the pennines, for northeastern areas of wales and to the east of the high ground in northern ireland, as well. the wind picking up through the day, but a mist on some of our western hills, a few spots of drizzle, but temperatures generally between 12 and 15 or 16 celsius, and we'll keep the strength of that southerly southwesterly wind as we head through tonight. there will be some outbreaks of rain moving from northern ireland into western scotland, down through wales and central southern england as we head into tomorrow morning. a few clearer spells following on behind, but it is a mild night across the board, and, for many of us, temperatures will stay in double figures. let's take a brief look at sunday, then. so still this weather front

pushing further eastwards, bringing outbreaks of rain, some heavier showers, but also some brighter conditions towards western areas across northern ireland, western scotland, down through wales, central southern england, the south west by the time we get to the afternoon — but watch out for a rash of showers here too. across east anglia it's rather cloudy for much of the day, with further showers as we go through the afternoon, perhaps, but it does stay mild — temperatures again at 12 to 1a or 15 degrees. but that is about to change, because on sunday night into monday we draw down a northerly wind with some cold arctic air, so there will be a drop in temperature. and then, as this front gradually pushes southwards on monday, just across parts of the pennines and certainly the scottish hills, there is the risk of some transient snow, perhaps. temperatures starting to dip, particularly towards northern areas, as we head through monday. we'll keep the double figures in the south, but generally turning cooler into the start of next week. it will be quite unsettled at times, then it turns milder by thursday and friday.

bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: russian and syrian jets have bombed islamist rebels, after they seized most of syria's second city aleppo. it comes after the insurgents continued their surprise four—day offensive, syria's military has acknowledged dozens of casualties among its forces. it's being reported that three workers from world central kitchen have been killed in an israeli drone strike in gaza. the israeli army confirmed they had targeted a car in khan younis and said they had killed an october 7th attacker.

palliative care campaigners in the uk have called on ministers to improve funding for end of life care, after a vote in the commons in favour of legalising assisted dying in england and wales. more protests last night in georgia — thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against the ruling party's decision to suspend eu membership talks. at least 10,000 people have been protesting in london calling for a ceasefire in gaza. this is the first major weekend demonstration in london since a truce in lebanon between hezbollah and israel came into force. 0ur reporter louisa pilbeam is at the rally. we have reached the end point of the march here in whitehall, and that is relevant because around 10,000 people have