we are seeing a lot of shots of the exterior of notre—dame at this moment as the service continues. your life with bbc news at the opening ceremony of the newly restored notre—dame cathedral —— you are live with bbc news. as we wonder at the majesty of the beautifully

off—white colour of the limestone stones in the interior in the roof, i'm talking to candida moss, professor of theology. candida, as at the organ builds to this crescendo, and the bells toll, let me ask you this... a ceremony like this one and hundreds of years will be talked about, will it not? this is history in the making. it absolutely is. a ceremony like this is witnessed very rarely, the dedication of a cathedral any 21st century where churches are actually closing is very rare. the red dedication a cathedral like this of such historic importance. and he dedication ceremony attended by 50 world leaders, by over 100

bishops. this is a remarkable historic moment and i can't imagine anything that arrival�*s it. the celebration and joyfulness of this event have also created the occasion for the political summit. we are seeing archbishops exchanging greetings with us presidents andjill biden. this is a really remarkable event that shows us how so much of human history, politics and religion have been intertwined. a very powerful and it is also a moment of great cultural and political significance.

and now, as we hear the many beautiful bells of notre—dame cathedral concluding, we see the archbishop and those behind him making their way through the congregation.

a beautiful view of the eiffel tower there, once again sparkling in this cold, wet, but anything but miserable paris night. the congregation now waits for the president and president—elect and the other world leaders to slowly themselves make their way to themselves make their way to the exit. candida moss, if i canjust bring you in one more time for a final thought. yani professor of theology, you have studied religion for many years. how does a moment like

this make you feel? i years. how does a moment like this make you feel?— this make you feel? i think i feel the same _ this make you feel? i think i feel the same way _ this make you feel? i think i feel the same way that - this make you feel? i think i - feel the same way that everyone else does. i have chills. it is history in the making. it is a reminder that of the power of religion notjust to bring people together, but to predate historic political meetings and dialogue and i think this moment has shown us that religion is still as vitally relevant as it ever has been. and yet unjustly basic human level, this was a remarkable spectacle that was profoundly moving and filled with emotion. i think for everyone who was watching. candida moss, thank you once again for

candida moss, thank you once againfor guiding us candida moss, thank you once again for guiding us through that awe—inspiring ceremony. and as the beautiful bells of notre—dame toll once more, i will leave viewers on bbc news. as candida said there, this is a moment in history. for the catholic church, for paris, for france and, indeed, the world. from me, maryam moshiri, outside the cathedral of notre—dame, it is back to you in the studio, martin. studio: thank you for taking us

through that very symbolic moment for paris, the reopening of notre—dame afterfive moment for paris, the reopening of notre—dame after five years of notre—dame after five years of a very detailed, complex and expensive renovations. emmanuel macron, the president, somewhat embattled politically, talking about what can be achieved when many people get together with the same mindset and a sense of unity. we will leave paris for the moment and bring you back to some other news here from london. i'm tanya beckett, could have you with us. let's bring you some breaking news from syria. the focus of fighting is now on the capital damascus. with one group of rebels claiming to have reached its suburbs in what they describe as the "final stage" of their offensive, the syrian state news agency is denying reports president bashar al—assad has left the city, insisting he is carrying out his work from damascus. syria's embattled government says its setting up a ring of steel around damascus,

and has also denied claims the army has withdrawn from surrounding areas. but a rebel commander said its forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital. in social media pictures, which the bbc has verified, protestors can be seen toppling a bust of the president's father hafez al—assad in president's square in the damascus neighbourhood ofjaramana, about ten kilometres from the centre. the rebel group advanced rapidly on the capital after snatching the southern province of daraa from government control. these latest pictures show rebels driving in a seized military vehicle in the region of daraa. news agency reuters says other rebels from hts have advanced from the north and are inside the third city of homs with the syrian army, loyal to president assad, simply falling away. there are also reports that

some 2000 syrian soldiers have fled the front lines and crossed into iraq. these pictures were filmed on the syrian side of the border with iraq. iraqi officials say some of the soldiers who were allowed to enter the country were wounded, and have been hospitalised. with more on this, our correspondent hugo bachega is in antakia, on the turkish—syria border. it seems that the capital of damascus is increasingly under threat as these rebels continue to advance from the south. they made significant gains in the past 2a hours. they had a symbolic victory when they captured daraa, which is the birthplace of the government protests in 2011 that were brutally repressed by the regime and that led to the war in syria. fighters are also making progress from the east of the country, and obviously we are paying attention to what's happening in homs, which is the third largest city.

rebels led by hts, this islamist group, say they've reached the city. government forces have reinforced their positions in homs. there have been reports of fighting in some parts of homs. but again, this is a key target because if this city is captured by the rebels, the capital is isolated and the president is in deep trouble. so obviously the government, the military are trying to reinforce their positions to stop this rebel advance. but again, the rebels are saying that the goal here is to get to damascus and to topple the regime of president assad. hugo bachega they are joining us from the syrian border. of president assad. fawaz gerges is professor of international relations at london school of economics and has been monitoring the situation in syria. the rebels, or the opposition, are trying to lay siege to damascus. they're coming from multiple

angles, from the golan heights, from central syria. there are reports that the rebels, or the opposition, are fighting fierce battles in homs. syria seems to be descending into chaos and violence. many communities — religious and ethnic communities — are taking arms into their own hands. many syrian army units are folding. we have very credible reports that 2000 syrian army units basically have crossed into iraq and asked for asylum or protection. the reality is, i mean, most of our news is coming from the opposition. the question for me is really, where is assad? missing in action? where is the leadership? you hardly hear anything from the top leadership of syria. i speak to many syrians and they are basically lost.

they say, look, we don't know what's happening. they're terrified. they're anxious. the reality is, on the opposition side, you have abu mohammad al—julani. he's the chief of the hayat tahrir al—sham, the salafi sunni movement, who is basically having a victory tour in aleppo and hama and going on television, including, you know, cnn. yet assad has been really absent. and this tells you a great deal about psychological warfare. it seems to me that the opposition has already won, because they have really won the psychological warfare against the regime itself. and the syrian army does not really seem to be standing up and defending many of its territories, whether in hama or in deir ez—zor or suweida,

or on the iraqi—syria border, or even the jordanian syrian borders. most of syria's borders now have been captured by either the opposition or even some local communities who are opposed to assad. with me is our middle east regional editor sebastian usher. what is the situation now in syria? it what is the situation now in s ria? , . ., ~ what is the situation now in sria? , . ., , syria? it is uncertain. a lot ofthe syria? it is uncertain. a lot of the attention _ syria? it is uncertain. a lot of the attention is - syria? it is uncertain. a lot of the attention is on - syria? it is uncertain. a lot - of the attention is on damascus and on president assad's whereabouts. there were rumours being posted widely on social media he was going to give a speech, which did not materialise. i think it was unlikely to happen. and there are some reports from unnamed officials suggesting he is nowhere to be found in all the places you would expect him on damascus. in the report saying, no, he is in damascus. we have had from the presidential office saying the boomers he have left are wrong. and yet he is there, he is at his desk, continuing his work. we have had the syrian army saying they are creating a ring of steel

around damascus as you have the rebels looking like they will come from the north if they get through homes. you have had a different rebel factions coming up different rebel factions coming up from the south —— if they get through homs. we have seen some of the suburbs of damascus, people have toppled statues of hafez al—assad, bashar al—assad's father, the man who began the dynasty. a sense of entities, really, for the assad regime. but we do not know how soon that will be. we don't know 100% that will happen. there is still an unknowable about the real praetorian guard that is around president assad, whether they want to hold the line or they feel they can. either that they can win out somehow and the rebels will fight amongst one another, evaporate, ortime for some political deal. we have been hearing meetings going on in qatar with been hearing meetings going on in qatarwith iran, been hearing meetings going on in qatar with iran, russia and turkey playing a key part in

the way things have developed in syria in the past few years. but also arab countries. there is a talk of a deal where president assad would essentially renounce power, there would be a transition period and any prime minister would come in who would have the power and there would be a kind of soft landing, both for mr assad himself, and politically, and when we think thatis politically, and when we think that is probably too late as things are, but honestly we do not know. mohammed abdo ja al—julani, the man leading hts, the man group who had it's the man group who had its foundation in ideology, they say they are not wanting to impose ideology, there are not coming for revenge, but there is a lot of pent—up anger and frustration and hatred, as you can imagine. people coming out of those prisons, and the

prospect of people there wanting revenge is very strong. i would say. we could see the collapse of the assad regime within hours, it could be days. it might not happen. and all of this has happened any little over a week. what do we know about al—julani and his intentions? we have heard he has made an announcement that his group has no intention of using chemical weapons. under the control of syrian authorities. it the control of syrian authorities.- the control of syrian authorities. it is cold comfort. _ authorities. it is cold comfort, really, - authorities. it is cold comfort, really, isn't authorities. it is cold - comfort, really, isn't it? that would be. his message has really been one of reassurance. to the people in the cities they have taken over, but also in damascus, for example, in the communities who have most to fear from his group and those forces. that is the minority closest to president assad, a shi'a minority. there are those who have stuck with

present assad who thought that was a better option other than a force who was a force who was jihadist in its foundation. is itjihadist in its foundation? guess, it was an offshoot of al-qaeda and i sex was in the mix to some extent as well. abu bakr al—baghdadi. mix to some extent as well. abu bakral—baghdadi. —— isis—k was in the mix as well. he is not seen is cut from the same cloth as those sorts of leaders, he is a man who came from middle—class relatively educated urban background who has a much greater sense of the rest of the world. and that he is surrounded by people who are similar, and he does not have a closed off mentality. there is a hope the syrian people have in that he will understand the different communities, the mosaic that syria represents, which is not1 million miles from hezbollah, if we look across at lebanon, when it took over the south after the

israelis withdrew. they also, although they dominated when they took it over, did not impose their ideology on the other communities there. they may have imposed control, but were not stopping christians from being christians, stopping alcohol and shops and things like that, so they remained relatively pragmatic force but with that ideology. that is what i think he represents that of a so many people in syria, many people outside fear it may not be in practice what happens. and there are other factions, other rebel factions. will they be able to unite and find some way forward that leads syria out of this desperately economically hopeless paralysis there has been. �* hopeless paralysis there has been. ., ., , been. and find commonality. thank you — been. and find commonality. thank you very _ been. and find commonality. thank you very much, - been. and find commonality. thank you very much, no - been. and find commonality. i thank you very much, no doubt we will see later on. with me now is least doucet, who i believe we have on the phone.

how do you make out how the situation stands at the moment in a slightly offensive which is now only over a three—week—old? —— over a —week—old. i think we are not hearing this right now. we will check the line and come back to her. several arab foreign ministers have flown into the qatari capital doha tojoin the foreign ministers of iran, turkey, and russia for emergency talks on the fast—moving situation in syria. asi as i said, we are hoping to come back to leeds to set in do very shortly. lyse doucet. now turning to weather conditions, particularly in the uk.

a man in his 40s has died in lancashire after a tree fell on his van during storm darragh. more than a 100,000 homes are without power, mainly in wales and northern ireland. a wind gust of 93mph was recorded this morning in wales and there's been travel disruption across rail networks and at airports. here's charlotte gallagher. the aftermath of storm darragh. workers removed the tree that came down in high winds and hit a van near stoke—on—trent. the driver, a man in his 405, died at the scene. the storm has also brought flooding to parts of wales, including here in builth wells, where cars have been almost totally submerged. in coastal south—west wales, which saw winds of up to 90mph, a roof was ripped off at home. a fallen tree crushed this parked car in central cardiff, while another blocked a road. volunteers took out chainsaws to clear this tree in carmarthenshire. it's been a difficult day for those wanting

to travel, like these people at bristol temple meads station. trying to get to cardiff for my mate's stag do. three have been cancelled so far, and the only one that is running, i think, is only a couple of carriages, so there's going to be a lot of people fighting for one train. hopefully i'll meet the boys here and we'll be on our way, but it's not looking too likely at the moment. well, i haven't seen my daughter for a while, and this is the first weekend i was going to get to see her, so i was planning to go to swindon to go to see her and spend the day with her, but obviously, with the trains the way they are, i don't know. i don't know what to do. flights have also been affected. there are delays, cancellations, and some very bumpy journeys. that's how you do it! in northern ireland, a chimney has been damaged at a major power station, while this ferry is currently stranded off the coast, unable to dock in belfast because of the weather. a bus has crashed into a building in rural county antrim. the driver was taken

to hospital but has now been discharged. and the winds brought down this paramilitary mural in belfast. it had read "prepared for peace, ready for war". met office warnings are still in place for some areas, with wet and very windy weather forecast until tomorrow evening. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. an attempt to impeach the south korean president has failed, after he caused outrage by declaring martial law earlier this week. hundreds of thousands of people took part in a demonstration outside the parliament calling on yoon suk yeol to resign. 0ur seoul correspondent jean mackenzie reports. pressed up against the gates of the parliament, watching, hoping for their president to be impeached.

stretching for miles, they'd come from all across the country to be here. these people are unable to forgive south korea's president for inflicting chaos on their usually peaceful democracy. these scenes on tuesday reminiscent of south korea's bloody era of military rule. this morning, the president appeared for the first time since to offer a fleeting apology. "i acted out of desperation, and i'm sorry for the distress and disruption i caused". but as the vote in parliament got under way, would his party inside the chamber stay loyal? 0pposition members waited nervously... ..before suddenly erupting. the members of the ruling party have just started leaving the voting chamber, which is here. they have been walking out one by one. now, they are saying that they are not going to vote at all. they are actually boycotting the entire election proceedings. just as it looked like the vote would fail, members started returning to the chamber after facing the furious crowds outside. but not enough for the vote to go ahead. for now, the president survives. but these calls for him to resign are only going to get louder. jean mackenzie,

bbc news, seoul. the social media platform tiktok is set to be banned in the us, after an appeals court upheld legislation ordering it to separate from its chinese owner bytedance. the law mandates the parent company sells or bans tiktok, over alleged links to the chinese state. bytedance and tiktok deny those ties. the ban is due to take effect the day before donald trump's inauguration next month. but the platform says it will take its fight to the us supreme court, arguing that the law violates free speech. do go to our website and we have plenty on the subject of notre—dame. we have been bringing you the reopening of the cathedral after five years of renovations that have cost rather a lot of money. there have been donations from all over the world and the pictures are really very splendid indeed of the interior. very splendid

celebration. hello. storm darragh brought wind gusts of more than 90mph in parts of wales. we don't see that very often here in the uk, we've seen power cuts, widespread travel disruption, a fair bit of damage as well. this met office amber warning through the evening covering parts of wales and the south—west of england. this is where we've seen some of the worst of the weather today. there could be more disruption on the way. but it is going to stay very windy elsewhere through the evening and into the night, all in association with this hook of cloud. this is storm darragh — it looks beautiful on the satellite image, but this really has been packing a punch. the centre of the low pushing away eastwards. but still you can see a lot of white lines, a lot of isobars squeezing together.

it does stay windy, that wind coming down from the north so it feels cold. some of the strongest of the winds as we go through the night may well be across south—east scotland and north—east england. more rain to come here as well. further north and west, some clear skies. a few wintry showers into northern scotland will stay fairly windy, so that will stop the temperatures dropping too far. that said, we may see a few icy stretches developing across some parts of scotland into tomorrow morning. now, for tomorrow, storm darragh clearing but still close enough to bring some cloud and some showers across the south—east corner. in fact, across many central and eastern parts of england, we will see a fair amount of cloud, some showery rain drifting through. further north and west, though a much better looking day. drier, brighter spells of sunshine. just the odd shower. still windy, but not as windy as it has been. although these eastern and southern coast of england and the channel islands will continue to see some rather gusty conditions right through into sunday afternoon. temperatures stuck in single digits — factor in the strength of the wind, it's going to feel really cold out ther.

now, into monday, it looks quite breezy. fairly cloudy with some showers towards the southeast corner, but further north and west. high pressure building will see more in the way of sunshine. some lingering fog patches which could make it feel very cold indeed. even if the sun comes out, it will be a rather chilly day, and this area of high pressure will tend to establish itself as we head towards the middle part of the coming week. under the high, there'll be a lot of cloud. there'll be some areas of mist and murk, a few bits and pieces of rain and drizzle here and there, but it should be largely dry and much calmer than it has been today.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the syrian army says it is boosting the deployment of forces around damascus as rebel fighters continue their advance on the capital from the north and south. state media deny reports president assad has fled the city, where protesters appear to have toppled a statue of the president's late father. the notre dame cathedral in paris reopens in the presence of leaders from around the world, five years after it was badly damaged by fire. two men have been killed by trees falling on their vehicles during storm darr as heavy winds and rains continue to rage across the uk. south korean opposition mps have vowed to continue pushing for the impeachment of the country's president after he survived a first attempt by a handful of votes.