about the women alledging sexually harrassing behaviour. we report from the teeming refugee camps of chad, as millions escape conflict and famine in neighbouring sudan. everyone we meet here says they come from just across the border and everyone has a story of the horrors of this war. and imagine waking up to this outside your home — a giant sinkhole in merthyr tydfil some 50 feet deep. on bbc london... and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.

good evening. it was a surprise attack that's sent shock waves across the middle east and beyond. the syrian civil war, frozen for years, has now been spectacularly reignited after islamist rebels attacked and seized the country's second biggest city of aleppo. president assad is accusing america and its allies of being involved and trying to redraw the map of the region. in the last few minutes sir keir starmer called for all involved to find a political solution to end the fighting, while france, germany and the us have called for de—escalation. assad's ally, russia, has been bombing rebel positions from the air, while pro—iranian militias are also thought to be helping syria's beleaguered army. one human rights group says more than 500 people have been killed, including civilians, since the rebel assault began last week. jeremy bowen is here with our top story. the war in syria has reignited.

rebels captured aleppo — here they are taking selfies at the citadel — a stunningly successful surprise offensive launched last wednesday. they're a coalition based in idlib led by a group known as hts, short for hayat tahrir al sham — which means the organisation for the liberation of the levant. aleppo was their target, but they captured it so quickly that there was even overexcited talk of a push towards damascus. the hts fighters took their chance when the allies who saved the assad regime almost a decade ago were looking elsewhere. its middle eastern allies iran and lebanese hezbollah have been badly damaged in their wider war with israel — and russia is busy in ukraine. the syrian regime is striking back.

in the last two days, the humanitarian office says more than 50 air strikes hit idlib, a province that is the powerhouse of the rebels. the hospital in idlib city was among several health care facilities targeted. the un says at least 44 civilians have been killed in air strikes. air raids, body bags, civilians in another middle eastern country grieving. a renewed syrian war will pour a lot more fuel on the fire that is consuming the middle east. it is the regime's response to the lightning offensive that swept up aleppo, including its ancient citadel. during years of war, the citadel was an impregnable regime fortress, but these men from hts took it almost without a fight. back in january 2017, i was in aleppo in the days after the assad regime recaptured it from rebels who had held it since the war in aleppo started in 2012.

there was massive destruction from russian and regime air strikes. this was all a huge victory for the regime but in the years that followed, the war gradually froze but it never ended. once again, president bashar al—assad's beleaguered. he had an emergency meeting in damascus with the iranian foreign minister. assad's survival will depend again on his allies who are worrying about their own futures. in aleppo, hts fighters are pulling down portraits of assad, the enemy. they are considered terrorists by his regime and by the un, the us, the uk and the eu because their roots are in al-anda. mina followsjihadist media for bbc monitoring. she has seen hts changing its image, as the syrians are mostly repelled

by extremist religious rhetoric. in their messaging, they have been trying to portray themselves as more of nationalist rebel group and basically trying to shake off theirjihadist past and prove that they don't have any lasting links with al-qaeda orjihadist groups, and that they are simply after a toppling of the government of bashar al—assad. some food is getting through to civilians in aleppo but this is another humanitarian crisis in the making. the people of this city live at one of the historic crossroads of the middle east, connected to all the regions, political and sectarian fault lines. if the offensive leads to protracted fighting, it will be a major escalation in the middle east crisis. that is bad news for the whole region notjust the hungry and frightened people on aleppo�*s streets.

in a moment we'll here from chris, but firstjeremy. the movement moves on, ukraine and lebanon in recent times. a readmission of the syrian conflict, was that on anyone's radar? i don't think it was, _ was that on anyone's radar? i don't think it was, certainly _ was that on anyone's radar? i don't think it was, certainly not - was that on anyone's radar? i don't think it was, certainly not this - think it was, certainly not this particular point. what has happened is quote, astonishing. i was at a middle east conference last week in italy where they talked about all sorts of things about the middle east and it ended on wednesday when this offensive started. no one had discussed it there. i think there were people already thinking that hang on, it will affect syria sooner or later because what happened was the whole bloody kaleidoscope of the middle east was shaken up when hamas attacked on the 7th of october last year, attacked isreal and the war in

gaza, isreal�*s response, the way it spread, all that is causing responses in all kinds of unexpected ways and getting an opportunity to this group, hts, was one thing nobody actually predicted. that is something that has happened and, you know, hearing holes now, actually as someone said once, it is deja vu all over again where in terms of the western response to the war in syria, because talk of dialogue and talk of de—escalation was not something they managed to achieve during all those years when it was top of the news. right now, i think it is probably even harder. big foreian it is probably even harder. big foreign policy speech this evening from sir keir starmer, where he talks about the situation. this was the annual speech _ talks about the situation. this was the annual speech the _ talks about the situation. this was the annual speech the prime - talks about the situation. this was i the annual speech the prime minister -ives the annual speech the prime minister gives every— the annual speech the prime minister gives every year at the lord mayor's banquet _ gives every year at the lord mayor's banquet. just the one line in

reference _ banquet. just the one line in reference to syria, we call all actors — reference to syria, we call all actors to _ reference to syria, we call all actors to stop the fighting. it was discussed — actors to stop the fighting. it was discussed in the commons, foreign on office _ discussed in the commons, foreign on office mr— discussed in the commons, foreign on office mr calling on you won and russia _ office mr calling on you won and russia to — office mr calling on you won and russia to act within humanitarian law _ russia to act within humanitarian law this— russia to act within humanitarian law. this was a speech just russia to act within humanitarian law. this was a speechjust more broad~ _ law. this was a speechjust more broad~ it — law. this was a speechjust more broad. it was the prime minister setting _ broad. it was the prime minister setting out his vision as far as foreign — setting out his vision as far as foreign affairs is concerned, the theme _ foreign affairs is concerned, the iheme of— foreign affairs is concerned, the theme of which was an unstable and dangerous— theme of which was an unstable and dangerous world. he talked about the -reat dangerous world. he talked about the great moderation, decided there was a period _ great moderation, decided there was a period irr— great moderation, decided there was a period in the tail end of the last century— a period in the tail end of the last century and — a period in the tail end of the last century and the beginning of this, the assumption of the near inevitability of the march of democracy and economic growth. and he said _ democracy and economic growth. and he said from — democracy and economic growth. and he said from that twilight of naivety. _ he said from that twilight of naivety, we have a much now into the harsh _ naivety, we have a much now into the harsh tight _ naivety, we have a much now into the harsh light of — naivety, we have a much now into the harsh light of today. into that unpredictable world in a model two, steps _ unpredictable world in a model two, steps of— unpredictable world in a model two, steps of donald trump. how will he deal steps of donald trump. how will he deat with— steps of donald trump. how will he deal with that? i steps of donald trump. how will he deal with that?— deal with that? i want to be clear at the outset, _ deal with that? i want to be clear at the outset, against _ deal with that? i want to be clear at the outset, against the - deal with that? i want to be clear l at the outset, against the backdrop of these _ at the outset, against the backdrop

of these dangerous _ at the outset, against the backdrop of these dangerous times. - against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we are with either america| or europe, is plain wrong. i reject it utterly. attlee did not choose between allies. - churchill did not choose. the national interest demands that we work with both. - the reality is that was always iikety — the reality is that was always likely but what will be keen next year is _ likely but what will be keen next year is the extent to which there is a tilt— year is the extent to which there is a tilt in— year is the extent to which there is a tilt in one — year is the extent to which there is a tilt in one direction or the other _ a tilt in one direction or the other the _ a tilt in one direction or the other. the key thing talked about was ukraine, inevitably with the expectation that donald trump wants to push— expectation that donald trump wants to push for— expectation that donald trump wants to push for the war to end as quickly— to push for the war to end as quickly as— to push for the war to end as quickly as possible, with the prospect that could leave ukraine feeling _ prospect that could leave ukraine feeling defeated. the prime minister describing russia as an erratic, increasingly desperate aggressor.

many— increasingly desperate aggressor. many thanks. france is facing fresh political turmoil as mps prepare for a vote of no confidence in the government. the move is a reaction to prime minister michel barnier�*s decision to force through a new budget without pa rliament�*s approval. parties on the hard right and hard left now say they'll vote to bring down the government later this week. from paris, here's andrew harding. this was the moment michel barnier declared that he would haggle no more. france's ice—cool prime minister telling mps that he was forcing through a strict new national budget and they could either back him or vote him out of office. in which case, he warned — to the sound of heckles — france could plunge into financial turmoil. "we'll be entering unknown territory," said barnier. but the immediate answer from marine le pen was, "bring it on." the leader of the hard right

national rally said her party would vote to get rid of the current government. "the french have had enough," she said. "things have gone from bad to worse." france is in a financial pickle with soaring debt. trouble here could spread throughout europe. but the crisis is, at heart, political, sparked by this summer's elections, which resulted in a spectacularly gridlocked parliament unable to agree on anything. marine le pen wants to be france's next president, and she holds some strong cards right now. she's gambling that any fresh chaos here will be blamed on this man, not her — president emmanuel macron. arriving in saudi arabia tonight, he's never looked so politically fragile. he may cling on to power, but his promise to strengthen the centre ground of french politics

is in trouble. this could be a very interesting week in french politics. if the government does fall, then in the short term, france will no doubt carry on muddling through probably with a transitional budget and a caretaker government, but longer term, this political deadlock needs to be broken. either perhaps next year with yet another parliamentary election and if that doesn't work, then president macron's own job could be on the line. andrew, thank you. and christian will have more on this, over on newsnight on bbc two shortly. we will bring you more reaction to the prime minister's big foreign policy speech tonight where many will be nervously looking on at the financial crisis unfolding in france. that is newsnight of boston, but the iplayer and news channel. ——

bbc two. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace has apologised for comments he posted online about his accusers, who've been claiming he made sexually inappropriate remarks. he says he "needs to take some time out". downing street says his remarks in the video, where the presenter says allegations about improper language and behaviour come from "middle class women of a certain age", were "completely inappropriate and misogynistic." he denies sexually harassing behaviour. here's noor nanji. we've given you a brief... back on our screens tonight, gregg wallace on masterchef after the bbc confirmed that it would go ahead despite calls to consider pausing the series. i want to apologise for any offence that i caused with my post yesterday and any upset i may have caused to a lot of people. earlier today, he said sorry after posting a video that got britain talking. he said he wasn't in a good headspace and has been under a huge amount of stress.

it is obvious to me i need to take some time out now while this investigation is under way. it is all a very different tone from his comments on social media yesterday. then gregg wallace claimed that the allegations against him had come from a... handful of middle—class women of a certain age. that video sparked an immediate backlash, with even a downing street spokesperson describing the comments as inappropriate and misogynistic. others were more positive. you can only take people how you find them. he was great with me, really supportive, and i found the whole masterchef experience a positive one. the shepherd centre seen here internet�*s episode, which has been confirmed it will ahead despite calls for it to be paused, has been under pressure ever since the bbc revealed since the bbc revealed

a string of allegations a string of allegations our investigation held from 13 our investigation held from 13 people across a range of ages across people across a range of ages across a 17 year period. a 17 year period. allegations we heard include allegations we heard include gregg wallace taking his top off gregg wallace taking his top off in front of a female worker, in front of a female worker, staring at a worker's chest staring at a worker's chest and asking her for massages, and asking her for massages, and asking a junior female colleague and asking a junior female colleague the logistics of how the logistics of how she has sex as a lesbian. she has sex as a lesbian. 20 minutes left. 20 minutes left. he stepped back from masterchef he stepped back from masterchef last week after we put last week after we put the allegations to him. the allegations to him. but for now the bbc has confirmed going _ but for now the bbc has confirmed that all filmed episodes that all filmed episodes of masterchef will be broadcast, of masterchef will be broadcast, including the christmas special. including the christmas special. noor nanji, bbc news. noor nanji, bbc news. katie razall�*s here. katie razall�*s here. the bbc, despite all this, went the bbc, despite all this, went ahead and broadcast the latest ahead and broadcast the latest edition? ., ~ edition? ., ~ ahead and broadcast the latest edition? . ,, ., edition? yeah, i think an ahead and broadcast the latest edition? . ,, ., edition? yeah, i think an interesting _ edition? yeah, i think an interesting decision, - edition? yeah, i think an interesting decision, to l edition? yeah, i think an - interesting decision, to broadcast interesting _ edition? yeah, i think an interesting decision, - edition? yeah, i think an interesting decision, to l edition? yeah, i think an - interesting decision, to broadcast the show. — interesting decision, to broadcast the show, and they have made clear the show. — interesting decision, to broadcast the show, and they have made clear their intent— their intent— the show, and they have made clear their intent to finish the show and the show, and they have made clear their intent to finish the show and run the _ their intent to finish the show and run the christmas special, a lot of run the _ their intent to finish the show and run the christmas special, a lot of gregg _ run the christmas special, a lot of gregg wallace on tv as allegations gregg _ run the christmas special, a lot of gregg wallace on tv as swiried _ gregg wallace on tv as allegations swirled with three allegations this

week— swirled with three allegations this week alone. many people will think

convicted of a crime. joe biden said although he believed in thejustice system, politics had infected the process and he said it had led to a miscarriage ofjustice. but president—elect donald trump has called the pardon itself an "abuse and miscarriage of justice". our north america editor sarah smith reports. as the biden family gathered to celebrate thanksgiving this past weekend, hunter biden was there right alongside his dad. and it was here the president decided to give his son the gift of a full and unconditional pardon, despite his previous promises not to do so. i'm extremely proud of my son, hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he has... he's one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything. i said i'd abide by thejury�*s decision and i will do that, and i will not pardon him. president biden wants americans to forgive that naked hypocrisy, which could spare his son a prison sentence.

at a children's event at the white house today, the first lady tried to be heard over the christmas songs as she said, "of course i support a pardon for my son." the reaction as swift as it is predictable — righteous indignation from biden's opponents. first came the decision, now the outrage. president biden pardons his son. he lied to us repeatedly, sayingj that he wouldn't pardon hunter. i figured he would and it's. unfortunate that, you know, when you expect the worst, you oftentimes get it. - and he did pardon him _ because hunter biden was the bag man for the biden crime family. hunter biden's offences include failing to pay tax in los angeles from 2016 to 2019, and lying on a gun purchase form, claiming he wasn't taking drugs when he was an addict. injune this year he was convicted of illegally purchasing and owning a gun. in september he pleaded guilty to the tax offences in la. his pardon, though, covers any and everything he may have done from the start of 2014 until now. hunter biden has been

extensively investigated by republicans in congress, looking for corruption and hoping to tie it to his father. with a pardon that predates his controversial business dealings, he'll now be protected from further prosecutions. and they have taken the light of my dad's love... the light of my dad's love for me and presented it as darkness. joe biden says he believes hunter was the victim of politically motivated prosecutions that would never have come to court if he wasn't the president's son. sound familiar? yes. it's the same argument donald trump uses about all the cases against him. on social media, he called hunter's pardon an abuse a miscarriage ofjustice. joe biden says he hopes americans will understand why a father and a president would make this decision. well, it's easier to understand why a dad would do it than a politician who knows what the consequences could be. and one of those consequences,

people worry, will be the eroding of faith and trust of americans and their justice system, faith and trust of americans and theirjustice system, because remember we havejust theirjustice system, because remember we have just had four years ofjoe biden saying there was absolutely no politically motivated interference in the prosecutions against donald trump, but then when it comes to his own son he says he has been singled out and victimised for political reasons, and the optics of that are the reasons he has been criticised by so many of his own democratic allies as well as his own democratic allies as well as his republican opponents. one more bit of news for you out of here tonight, donald trump has announced who he wants to appoint as his ambassador to the united kingdom, and it is a billionaire, like so many of his choices for his administration, a man called warren stevens who built his own private financial services company called stevens ink who will be moving to london to represent america to what donald trump has called one of america's most cherished and beloved allies, the united kingdom. studio: thank you, sarah smith, our

editor live in washington. in georgia, riot police backed by water cannon, have moved in to clear thousands of protestors gathered outside the parliament. they're protesting against the pro—russian ruling party's decision to suspend a push to start talks onjoining the european union. the georgian dream party came to power in disputed elections back in october. steve rosenberg has the latest from the georgian capital, tbilisi. at night georgia's capital looks and sounds like this. a standoff between the security forces and anti—government protesters. this is happening night after night now in tbilisi, protesters firing fireworks and the riot police responding with tear gas. once again, georgian police dispersed thousands of protesters. earlier, we saw university staff and students gathering for a protest, angry that their government suspended georgia's bid tojoin the european union. georgians see that this way georgia is dragged into russia's orbit, basically, and also becomes a fully autocratic country. so that's a turning point. and now i think there is this feeling of "now or never".

they marched through the city... chanting ..calling for others tojoin them, and they declared that georgia was europe. no one in georgia knows where this confrontation is heading, how it's going to end, and who will tire first, the protesters or the authorities. georgia's prime minister suggested that what was happening on the streets was a foreign—funded revolution that had failed. not everyone has joined the protests. scarf—seller giorgi told me he has friends in europe, but also in russia.

but he admits he's shocked by video images of police beating protesters. translation: the way some of the police kicked _ our sons and brothers, how could that happen? but i do have friends in the police. and on the other side there are youngsters whose hearts beat for this country. georgia needs to sort this out on its own without anyone interfering. the authorities say they will sort this out — their way, but the use of force hasn't kept protesters off the streets or extinguished their hope. steve rosenberg, bbc news, tbilisi. the united nations says the sudanese region of darfurfaces famine amidst a brutal civil war. the conflict between the paramilitary rapid support forces — or rsf — and the sudanese army began in april 2023, and last year, two massacres in the city of el—geneina in west darfur, were so vicious human rights groups

say it was possible genocide. fewjournalists have been able to visit the region, which is mainly controlled by the rsf, but lyse doucet has managed to travel there. her exclusive report begins in a refugee camp in adre in chad, right on the border with darfur. a people dispossessed and displaced, the people of darfur. this is an informal refugee camp in chad, just across the border from sudan. the women wait, praying someone will help. translation: we used to get food | from our farms when the war began. we couldn't farm and the animals ate our crops, so we were left with nothing.

people who escaped the spectre of famine, the fear... when we were fleeing our young brothers were killed. some were too young to walk. our elders escaping with us were killed. yes, within ourfamily they killed my uncles, my aunties, all the men in ourfamily. they kill people, they rob people, they take their food, they take your belongings. they take everything. in all my years of reporting, i've never seen a crowd as big as this. everyone we meet here says they come from el—geneina, just across the border. and everyone has a story of the horrors of this war. a story of a massacre, of a frenzy, of killing, of days so dark it's regarded as the worst atrocity in sudan's brutal civil war. then there's a rush. word spreads.

un food is being delivered. there's also not enough of it crossing this border into sudan. we're travelling to el—geneina with the first high level un team to enter darfur across this land controlled by the paramilitary rsf, locked in battle with sudan's government. this is darfur, the place which has seen all the worst of the worst — ethnic cleansing, starvation, rape. it happened here two decades ago. it's happening again, and getting worse. this is what the women fled. blackened houses, blasted shops. you can still taste the smoke. the rsf accused of terrorising non—arab communities. they deny it was their deed.

we are here because we want to listen to you. more people pushed from place to place. they need everything but this war. translation: we've suffered so much when this war started. _ some people supported the army, some supported the rsf. but we, the displaced, are neutral. what can you do to protect people? we've got to do much better. ultimately, it's about getting a peace process going, putting the international pressure on the parties. now, that's not easy, but we've got to be here. it's also about food and delivering much more to prevent famine from spreading, to prevent people from dying. lyse doucet, bbc news, darfur. in the last few minutes, the final count in ireland's general election has been completed.

fianna fail, led by the former taoiseach micheal martin, has been confirmed as the largest party, with 48 seats. sinn fein has 39, and fine gael 38. martin's, fianna fail and fine gael are widely expected to return as the lead parties in government. coalition negotiations are expected to go on into the new year. queen camilla won't be attending all the events of the qatari state visit to london this week due to a lingering viral chest infection. she's 77, and won't be joining the king and the prince and princess of wales for the official arrival of the emir of qatar and his wife, or the procession to buckingham palace tomorrow morning. but she will attend the state banquet in the evening. homes have been evacuated in the welsh town of merthyr tydfil, after this, huge sinkhole, estimated to be around 50 feet deep, opened up on a housing estate. the ground collapsed following recent heavy rainfall. hywel griffith has that story. it's the pothole from hell —

big enough to swallow a car, scary enough to evacuate the street. the problems started on saturday, on what's normally a quiet cul de sac. brick by brick, you could see the driveway going under, slowly happening. and at one point we thought it was going to go up to the house, but it seems to have stopped at the moment. i'm not sure if it's going to get any worse. what started as just a foot—wide hole is now a huge crater in this cul de sac, and there's still water rushing through it, which leads to concern that the collapse could continue. engineers were sent in to search for the cause. they believe it all flows back to the torrential rain over a week ago, which damaged a tunnel underground. qc it's just the way that storm bert has come down and washed everything down with such ferocity. it caused the structural damage to the arch, and that's what brought the collapse. the plan is to try and fill the gap with stone cages or concrete, shoring up the sides. but as the water keeps flowing, there's no timeline for residents to return. for now, the street will have

to stay empty as the council digs deep for a solution. hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil. and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.

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