syrian rebels declare damascus is free — as people take to the streets to celebrate the end of the assad regime. you can hear the sound of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars. they are giving me peace signs. they are saying life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. syria's former president, basharal—assad, is reportedly in moscow — claiming asylum from key ally russia. western leaders welcome the end of assad's rule, but warn of uncertainty to come. i'm helena humphrey. we begin the programme with our continuing coverage of developments in syria. russian state media announced sunday that the country's former president bashar al—assad and his family are in moscow. they are also said to have been granted political asylum. a kremlin source said

it is based on �*humanitarian considerations. it comes hours after rebel groups took control of syria's capital — forcing assad to flee. the man who led the islamist rebels, toppling assad — addressed cheering supporters in a damascus mosque shortly after. mohammad al—joulani — whose real name is ahmed al—sharaa — told supporters that all syrians could now breathe freely. he said assad's leadership had spread sectarianism and corruption. our middle east correspondent barbara plett usher was the first western journalist to enter damascus as the city fell. she sent us this report. this is an extraordinary moment, a seismic change in syria's balance of power. the strongman of damascus, bashar al—assad, is gone. rebels have declared victory. we were the first western journalists to reach the capital, just hours after it fell. this is where people are celebrating in the central umayyad square, civilians and rebels. you can hear the sound

of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars, they are giving me peace signs. they are saying that life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. but there is a mix ofjoy and fear in the city. there are those who supported bashar al—assad, who felt they were protected by him, and now they're wondering what is going to happen. here, i spoke to people who have long been waiting for his downfall. "thank you, thank you", she says. "the tyrant has fallen, the tyrant has fallen." many of her family died under president assad's rule, some in prison. my cousin, my son, my family. all... all of them. how are you feeling? translation: it is an indescribable feeling, | we are so happy. after all the years of dictatorship we have lived through, we were imprisoned

in 2014, and now we're out, thank god. we won because of our men and ourfighters, and now we're at the moment that we are going to build the greatest syria. the old syria has gone with breathtaking speed, the army melting away in the face of the rebel advance. last week, it was aleppo, yesterday the city of homs, last night the outskirts of damascus. when they arrived, the rebels went straight to a notorious prison to set the inmates free. today, their leader took a victory tour of damascus, visiting the historic umayyad mosque. abu mohammed al—jawlani, head of the islamic group hayat tahrir al—sham. my colleague was there for bbc arabic. translation: a historic moment, in every sense of the word - - abu mohammed al—jawlani here for the first time, in the great umayyad mosque.

the rebel commander has been playing down past links to al-qaeda, saying he wants to build a syria for all its people. from the syrian prime minister, also a message of calm. translation: we are all. concerned about this country and its institutions and facilities. i am here in my home, and i do not intend to leave it, except in a peaceful manner, in order to ensure the continuation of the work of public institutions. the president fled as the rebels closed in. reports in russia now say he's turned up in moscow. a statue of his father pulled down shortly before he flew out of the country. his damascus residence now a tourist attraction, stripped bare of anything valuable, of anything at all. we saw people carrying out furniture, with no one trying to stop them. the rebels may have brought freedom but not security.

looters have been breaking into buildings here, too, deepening anxiety about this in—between time without a government in charge. the transition has to happen super—quick. our president shouldn't have just left. he should have taken the proper measures that are needed for him to actually give the keys to the army or the police, you know, control over those areas until a new president comes in, but he was purely selfish and he left. the country is hoping for peace and fearing chaos. different groups control different areas, no one knows how this will play out, but whatever happens here will be felt across the middle east. the assad family controlled syria for 53 years. president bashar al—assad took power in 2000, after his father had been in control since the 19705. our international editor, jeremy bowen, has more on the family dynasty.

bashar al—assad inherited the regime when his father hafez died in 2000. who, in 30 bloody years since seizing power, had jailed and killed tens of thousands — anyone who threatened his rule. after he buried hafez al—assad, syrians hoped bashar, trained as a doctor in london, would reform and modernise the country. so did tony blair, and other western leaders. blair went to damascus in 2001. a year later bashar al—assad and his wife, asma, who grew up in london, paid a call on the queen. assad never delivered change and even when thousands and then millions of syrians demanded the fall of the regime after 2011, the year of the arab uprisings, he might still have saved the country from war by embracing reform. but, instead of that, bashar al—assad went

to his rubber stamp parliament in march 2011, declared foreigners were conspiring to destroy syria, and effectively declared war on any syrian who opposed him. in the first few years of the war, we were able to cross into the large rebel—held areas of the damascus suburbs from the regime side. the rebels were in range of central damascus but could never break through. the regime survived those years because some syrians supported it in damascus. these were alawites, from the same sect as the assads. despite their loyalty, assad also needed iran and the fighters of lebanese hezbollah. syrian christian militias fought for the regime against al-qaeda rebels in the ancient town of maaloula in 2013, augmenting the syrian arab army. for some syrians, especially minorities, it seemed like a choice between assad

and the jihadist killers of islamic state and other extremist groups. by august 2013, losing ground, assad used chemical weapons against rebel—held suburbs of damascus. it was a turning point in the war. the americans backed down from a threat to bomb the regime. the russians, sensing an opportunity, intervened to save it, and assad believed he had made the americans blink first. in february 2015, i had an exclusive interview with bashar al—assad. i asked him about bombing civilians. he was defiant, denied it, and even tried a joke. you don't deny that your forces use barrel bombs? i haven't heard of the army using barrel bombs. large barrels full of explosives and projectiles which dropped from helicopters and explode.

there is a lot of testimony about these things. there are called bombs and bullets. a year later the russian air force had flattened the side of aleppo held by rebels, a display of destructive power that sharpened president putin's appetite to absorb ukraine. many of the rebels who lived here and in other enclaves were permitted to leave for idlib province. in idlib, they created the fighting force that has finally destroyed the assad regime. in saudi arabia, in may last year, basharal—assad was embraced by crown prince mohammed bin salman, the most powerful arab leader, and readmitted to the arab league. assad repeated the regime's old boast — that syria was the beating heart of arabism. he must have hoped that rehabilitation was sealing his victory. instead, when the rebels pushed out of idlib, his regime collapsed in less than a fortnight.

leaders and officials around the world have been reacting to the fall of damascus and assad's flight to moscow. the un security council says it will hold closed consultations on syria on monday at russia's request. meanwhile, us presidentjoe biden called the fall of the assad regime �*a moment of historic opportunity�* , while saying there remains �*risk and uncertainty�*. at long last, the assad regime has fallen. this regime brutalised and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent syrians. a fall of the regime is a fundamental act ofjustice. it's a moment of historic opportunity for the long suffering people of syria to build a better future for their proud country. it's also a moment of risk and uncertainty as we all turn to the question of what comes next. amid uncertainty about syria�*s future. the pentagon says us

warplanes struck more than 75 islamic state targets in syria on sunday. for more on the view here in washington, i spoke to our state department correspondent, tom bateman. president biden spoke earlier today, calling this moment both an opportunity but a risk, what more can you tell us about his remarks? the white house has been stunned by the speed and magnitude of the rebel advance and the downfall of bashar al—assad in syria, but at the same time, president biden is trying to take part of the credit for it. what he said during that statement from the roosevelt room a bit earlier was that it was a consequence of his foreign policy decisions over the last four years. firstly, to bolster ukraine against russia�*s full—scale invasion in 2022, and then support weapons into israel after the hamas attacks of october seven and also to facilitate its attacks

on hezbollah in lebanon, that it was those factors, he said, that basically eroded the power of russia and iran, the outside powers that had been propping up assad in syria. that is the way he took the credit for it. as i said, on the other hand, he acknowledged the fact that this is a moment of great uncertainty. you now have, leading the charge to damascus, and essentially for all intents and purposes, the biggest power broker so far in damascus, hts, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the united states, so what comes next? who rules syria ? and that is something now crucial for the administration, for while it is sharing this moment of euphoria with many syrians at the downfall of assad, that won�*t last long,

and the key question becomes does it get replaced with something even less amenable to the americans than what was there before? we also assume when president biden was delivering the remarks, that he was offering, he was talking about the us support that would come, but i wonder he is speaking as someone will be an outgoing president, so how much do those promises carrying given the fact that an incoming administration which would likely see a shift in foreign policy? we are in crisis management moments, so what the white house are critical of the moments, including things like to degree which they try to bolster the trade presence east of the euphrates and the border with iraq and georgia, all of that, officially, to counter the islamic state group there, and we�*ve seen a lot of big american air strikes in central syria against is positions today, the pentagon seen

it is the warning against is. it gives a sense of the battlefield is erupting, telling is not to take advantage of the current situation. everyone is trying to take control and shore up the lines as they have them at the moments, and that includes the americans in syria, so that matters. as you allude to, in the longer term, president trump coming in, he has been talking about it on social media over the last 2a hours, basically saying it is all obama�*s faults, the situation in syria, russia is right to get out, the country is a mess, and it is not their problem, and i expect we would see him continue that position on this. the reality on the ground is a lot more complicated, his own officials had to undo his announcement for the withdrawal of american troops during his first term. would he try and do the same again? we still have a way to go until then but incidentally, the other thing he is trying to do is use this as a moment to exploit some weakness

on the part of vladimir putin, saying that he should take a deal at the same time in ukraine as well. tom bateman there. israel�*s prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the collapse of the syrian government, is a direct result of his country�*s forceful action against hezbollah and iran. he says he has ordered israeli troops to temporarily seize areas in the buffer zone, between the israeli—occupied golan heights and syria, to prevent hostile forces embedding themselves there. meanwhile, british prime minister sir keir starmer is currently in abu dhabi, where he gave his reaction to the syrian rebels�* victory. i welcome the fact that assad has gone. the syrian people had to put up with his brutal regime forfar, far too long. we are talking to regional allies. it�*s very important now that there is a political settlement, a political way forward, and it�*s very important that we emphasise that civilians and minorities must be protected in the process. but very pleased that assad has fallen.

joining me live is ibrahim al—assil, senior fellow at the middle east institute. good to with us. thank you for havin: good to with us. thank you for having me- — good to with us. thank you for having me. before _ good to with us. thank you for having me. before he - good to with us. thank you for having me. before he gets - good to with us. thank you for having me. before he gets all| having me. before he gets all of this, i _ having me. before he gets all of this, i want _ having me. before he gets all of this, i want to _ having me. before he gets all of this, i want to touch - having me. before he gets all of this, i want to touch on - of this, i want to touch on what we have seen in the past 24 what we have seen in the past 2a hours, including extraordinary scenes of prisons being opened, people running out not even knowing that the regime had fallen, what do we know about what some of these political prisoners had endured?— political prisoners had endured? , ., endured? the second encouraging ruled s ria endured? the second encouraging ruled syria until— endured? the second encouraging ruled syria until they _ ruled syria until they yesterday or this morning, they ruled syria through their security apparatus, and a —— network of graphic prisons across europe where people are kept there and syrian say that you are, you get lost if you get inside and you are born again if you leave any of those prisons. of course, those

prisons. of course, those prisons are full of political activists, with thinkers, writers, also with many of those who picked up arms and fought the regime. in addition to many people who did not do anything, because usually when the regime goes into any of those towns that revolted against the rule of bashar al—assad, they sometimes just detain people from the streets, the detained relatives of people that they are seeking, and then they�*d sent —— and them into those prisons, and they are left for months and sometimes years without knowing news about them for anyone outside those prisons. i news about them for anyone outside those prisons. i made that jubilation _ outside those prisons. i made that jubilation that _ outside those prisons. i made that jubilation that we - outside those prisons. i made thatjubilation that we have i thatjubilation that we have been seen, also that sense of uncertainty. just talking about, for example, the opposition groups here, of course hts leading this, but other groups also under that umbrella, what do we know about the potential here for a political transition? about whether those groups can work

together was to mark hts led most of the offensive coming from the north but when you talk about damascus, there were also other groups on the southern part of damascus, and the southern part from syria, that entered this group, they are not unified, and they are not as displayed as much as hts was in damascus.— was in damascus. that is why security is — was in damascus. that is why security is not _ was in damascus. that is why security is not our— was in damascus. that is why security is not our concern . security is not our concern inside damascus, and back to the point of the prisons, of course many of those visitors were political prisoners, but also the prisoners are fully open now, with that many also criminals being on the streets, and they have access to many weapons that were left by the syrian army when assad fell, so thatis syrian army when assad fell, so that is why this moment is very sensitive for damascus and also for the political transition, for the political transition, for the political transition itself, we have seen talks

between hts and assad government, those left behind, working for such a transition to start and so they can probably regroup some of the police forces and of the army to try to organise security inside the city.— to try to organise security inside the city. we've also heard today _ inside the city. we've also heard today about - inside the city. we've also heard today about the - inside the city. we've also heard today about the us | heard today about the us carried out air strikes to eliminate an isis camp in central syria, it doesn�*t tell us anything about the risk of a resurgence of that group was to mark? ~ , , ., , resurgence of that group was to mark? ~ ,,., , ., resurgence of that group was to mark? ~ , ., , resurgence of that group was to mark? ~ , ., mark? absolutely, that is a serious threat _ mark? absolutely, that is a serious threat in _ mark? absolutely, that is a serious threat in that - mark? absolutely, that is a serious threat in that part l mark? absolutely, that is a | serious threat in that part of syria, especially also in the northwest, and if president trump insists on withdrawing the american forces from the northeast, the american packed with the syrian forces that brought isis will be exposed to that threat.— that threat. ibrahim al-assil, alwa s that threat. ibrahim al-assil, always good _ that threat. ibrahim al-assil, always good to _ that threat. ibrahim al-assil, always good to have - that threat. ibrahim al-assil, always good to have your - always good to have your expertise, thank you for being with us.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news clean—up efforts are still ongoing after parts of the uk were battered by storm darragh over the weekend. tens of thousands of people face another night without power after another day of strong winds. a final yellow weather warning for wind in england and wales expired on sunday evening, as the storm moves further into europe. west ham say michail antonio, who was seriously injured in a car crash on saturday, has undergone surgery on a lower limb fracture. the striker, who�*s the club�*s all—time premier league goal scorer, had to be rescued from his car after the incident in essex. west ham have said he is due to remain in hospital over the coming days. and prince william has helped served christmas lunch at a homeless shelter run by a charity he was introduced to by his mother, diana, more than 30 years ago. footage posted to the prince and princess of wales�*s x account showed william joining a long line of volunteers — dishing out parsnips

and carrots to clients. you�*re live with bbc news ukraine�*s president, volodymyr zelensky, has given a rare update on ukrainian military casualities. he says 43,000 ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of russia�*s full scale invasion in february 2022. the last time zelensky updated the death toll was in february, when it stood at 31,000. the admission comes after us president—elect donald trump wrote on social media that ukraine had quote "ridiculously lost" 400,000 troops. he also said 600,000 russians had been killed or wounded since the start of the war. trump did not state where these figures came from. the incoming president said too many lives had been needlessly wasted. moscow also disputes these figures. in a statement, the kremlin claims that ukrainian losses were many times higher than russian ones.

us president elect, donald trump, says ukraine should expect to receive less aid from the united states when he takes office. in his first sit—down interview since the election, mr trump also told the us broadcaster nbc he is already actively working to end the war in ukraine, though said he hasn�*t recently spoken to vladimir putin. he also claimed he�*d �*absolutely�* consider leaving the nato military alliance if other members don�*t �*pay their bills�*. in the wide—ranging interview, mr trump also said he wants to stop giving us citizenship to anyone born on american soil. he called that mechanism, known as birthright citizenship, �*ridiculous�*. birthright citizenship has been enshrined in the us constitution for more than 150 years, any changes would normally need the approval of two thirds of congress and two thirds of us states. taylor swift�*s record breaking eras tour is coming to an end tonight, with a final show in vancouver

we are about to on a little adventure together that will span 17 years of music. how does that sound? swift announced the tour back in november 2022, and by the end of tonight — more than two years later — she will have played 149 shows in front of 10.1 million fans across 53 countries. the eras tour has set a record as the highest grossing concert series of all time, bringing in around two billion dollars in ticket sales. bryan west the taylor swift reporter at the usa today network explained the impact swift has made. titter swift has always been a superstar but this eras tour has propelled her into a new universe. we last saw her last year

with the time magazine person of the year, she was at the top of spotify by apple, she created this atmosphere where it lots of fans, original fans were bringing the non—swifties to a concert, people would heard of terrorists with, heard her songs, but as soon as they go to the three hour show, they realise she�*s a force to be reckoned with, she is incredible to watch and perform for three hours, i know when i am just watching my lower back hurts. i do empathise, this tour has been packed with memorable moments, any that stick out for you are any you are any surprises you are expecting tonight? we start with the past two years of watching this, we have seen rain shows, fun to watch the open roof stadiums, torrential downpours, taylor is there ocean water

off her instruments, going over to australia, and i was in the stadium, one of the largest stadiums on the tour, and just here 96,000 fans that are screaming the lyrics to all of her songs. even being there in london, travis kelce coming out on stage and joining her after a song myjust so many memorable moments. one that started to go viralagain, in brazil, broke and she ripped it off and threw it into the crowd. that is attitude we need in life, and before you go, briefly, what you is next for taylor? she has her newly recorded i album that she has yet to release, and a movie and allegedly has a documentary coming out, we saw a tonne of production in vancouver, she could have another concert film coming out, but when it comes to taylor, is not the end of her era, she is on to her next. stay with us here on bbc news

hello there. thousands of homes are still without power, particularly across northern ireland, thanks to storm darragh over the weekend, and with all the rain that fell over the weekend and for the past few weeks, the ground does remain saturated, river levels running very high, so we have dozens of flood warnings still in force up and down the country. hopefully, though, those numbers will go down as we head into the new week, thanks to high pressure which will build, and that will bring lots of dry weather, very much needed dry weather to our shores, but it will turn colder with overnight frost and fog making a return. high pressure already toppling into the north of the uk to start the new week, so monday cold, frosty but bright and sunny with light winds across scotland and northern ireland — a bit of early mist and fog around — but as we move across england and wales, we�*ve still got the influence of the remnants of what was storm darragh, so still quite breezy. a fresh east north easterly breeze could feed in a few showers, south east england down towards the channel islands. could see a bit of sunshine breaking through here and there, but it will stay breezy, much lighter winds across the north where we�*ve started off, very cold and frosty.

temperatures struggling to get much above three or four degrees in a few spots in scotland, otherwise it�*s 7—9 celsius for england and wales, but factor in the north easterly breeze, it will feel quite raw. as we head through monday night, we�*ll see that cloud continuing across england and wales streaming in off the north sea with maybe a few showers running through the channel — that will stop temperatures from falling much below 2—7 celsius for england wales, but it�*s a very cold night to come for scotland and northern ireland, with quite a hard frost down to —6, —7 celsius and some freezing fog. into tuesday, that area of high pressure begins to exert its force across the country. it�*s a cold, frosty start in the north, plenty of sunshine, early mist and freezing fog. more cloud again for england and wales, the breeze beginning to ease, but still a feature through the channel. maybe the odd shower but mostly dry at this point, but it could be quite grey and gloomy in the south throughout the day on tuesday. another chilly day to come here but cold in the north, struggling to get much above freezing across parts of scotland. our area of high pressure

dominates the scene through the week, just a few weather fronts spinning around could affect the northern isles at times, and by the time we reach friday into next weekend, looks like low pressure will start to push into northern and western areas off the atlantic. but the run up to them, much of the week will stay dry, cloudy in the south, sunny in the north, and it will remain cold for all of us. take care.

this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i�*m stephen sackur. president—elect donald trump doesn�*t yet have his feet under the desk in the oval office, but his intent to blow up the washington establishment is already plain to see. his picks for keyjobs prioritise loyalty to him and the maga movement over experience. his recent pronouncements on economic and migration policy signal a seismic break with the status quo. my guest is a trump loyalist in the us congress, mark alford. will the legislative branch put any limits on the scope of the trump 2.0 revolution? congressman mark alford in washington, dc,