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 for the people driving around in cars, giving peace signs saying life is going to be so much better. syria's former president, bashar al—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.

welcome to newsday. the family dynasty that controlled syria for more than half a century is no longer in power, with president bashar al assad having fled the country and rebel forces now in control of damascus. russian state media has announced that bashar al—assad and his family are in moscow and have been granted political asylum. in damascus, thousands of people celebrated in the main square, chanting "freedom," after the rebels seized control, seemingly bringing to an end a civil war that's lasted 13 brutal years. but when the end came, it came quickly, the speed of the rebel victory, astonishing. it was only on tuesday, that the city of aleppo was captured in a shock offensive, then by the weekend they had full control of horns, and the province of deraa was in their grasp. then the rebels entered the capital, meeting almost no resistance. barbara plett—usher, who was the first western journalist to enter

damascus as the city fell, sent this report. car horns beep. 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... 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. chanting. 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. definitely a freedom, but 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 at least the army or the police, you know, control over those areas until a new president comes in, but he was just 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 with an iron fist, for 53 years. bashar al—assad took power in 2000, after his father, hafez, had been in control since the 19705. our international editorjeremy bowen, has more on the family dynasty, that was once all powerful, and ruthless against its enemies. 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. what about barrel bombs? you don't deny that your forces use them? i haven't heard of the army using barrel bombs. or maybe cooking pots! large barrels full of explosives and projectiles which dropped from helicopters and explode with devastating effect. there is a lot of testimony about these things. they are called bombs. we have bombs, missiles 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. jeremy bowen, bbc news. there has been reaction from leaders and officials around the world. the un security council says it will hold closed consultations on syria on monday at russia's request. the uk prime minister sir keir starmer welcomed the fall of bashar al—assad's "barbaric regime" in syria,

as he called for the restoration of "peace and stability". meanwhile israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu has claimed the collapse of the syrian government was a direct result of his country's forceful action against hezbollah and iran. the idf also struck government security buildings and weapons depots. israeli ground forces also advanced beyond the demilitarized zone around the golan heights on the israel—syria border for the first time in 50 years. us presidentjoe biden called the fall of the assad regime �*a moment of historic opportunity�*, but said there remains �*risk and uncertainty�*. the pentagon said the us carried out strikes against over 75 targets linked to the islamic state group in syria. our state department correspondent, tom bateman, has more on the us response.

the white house has been stunned by the speed and magnitude of the rebel advance, and the downfall of bashar al—assad, but at the same time president biden is trying to take part of the credit for it. we heard 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 to pour weapons into israel after the hamas attacks of october 7 and also to facilitate its attacks on hezbollah in lebanon, that was the conditions.

as well as taking the credit he has to own part of the outcome as well. they meant addressing crucially what comes next. i think the americans are temporarilyjoining the euphoria, jubilation of many syrians about the demise of president assad but more they are worried about what fills the gap. i spoke to qutaiba idlibi, a seniorfellow with the atlantic council, and asked him for his reaction to the fall of assad. everything really came as a surprise to us for the syrians or syria watchers and a nalysts. you know, yesterday we were talking about how probably of the battle around damascus is going to take a couple of weeks. there were conversations

about how the regime has really fortified the battle, how assad will hold until the last moment, but then everything came as a surprise, even to the extent to which some of your report has touched on, some of the rebels who really first touched damascus were just really exploring. as they advance from the countryside, they found no resistance, there is no evidence that the army was there so theyjust really continued into the centre of damascus. so i think the complete collapse came really as a complete surprise to all of us, but really for syrians specifically like myself ultimately, it brings a lot of hope. it is closing a chapter on at least 1a years of civil war and the uprising since 2011, but also it is closing a chapter on over 61 years of the ruling of the assad family, since 1963, and there couldn�*t have been a better closing for that chapter. as you�*ve seen in the last two weeks, there has

been minimum civilian casualties, there has been minimal damage, and bombardment and war within civilian neighbourhoods and metropolitan centres. in a sense i think there�*s a lot of hope for the future and what it could bring. today we are seeing communities across syria sitting together, talking together about the future. we have seen alawite is an muslim sitting together as well, so it seems there is a lot of hope for what will come next, a lot of people are putting aside any ideas for revenge, putting aside the 13 years long bloody well and reallyjust looking for what will come next in the future. yes, it is extraordinary there has been very little civilian collateral damage. you were a former prisoner under the assad regime. we are seeing some videos of prisoners being

released. what�*s your reaction after all this time? it�*s absolutely heartbreaking, seeing people who have been jailed not only for 12 or 13 years, some actually have been there for a0 years, including lebanese, palestinians, jordanians, not only syrians. i think i was lucky enough, my imprisonment didn�*t last long, even though the treatment, the torture that i have been through was definitely, will definitely last for a lifetime. but just seeing that people are able to meet with their families, that many people who did not even know the regime had fallen, just seeing at that moment of freedom is just heartbreaking. but what is also heartbreaking as the tens of thousands of families who are just so desperate, waiting to know whether their relatives

are dead or alive. right now as we are speaking, virtually thousands of people are in prison trying to find any trace of their loved ones who have been jailed in that prison for over ten years. i�*m worried actually and heartbroken that many of those families will eventually find out that their relatives have been killed by the assad regime, but then the search for their bodies will start again. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. clean—up efforts are 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 days 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. and prince william has helped serve 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. you�*re live with bbc news. to south korea now, where the opposition has denounced a plan by the governing party to continue running the country, with president yoon remaining in a much reduced role. yoon suk yeol made a failed bid to impose martial law last week, but survived an impeachment vote on saturday

with the support of his ruling people power party. the party chair, han dong—hoon, said the president would resign early, and until then would not be involved in either national or international affairs. however the opposition says it would be unconstitutional for the ruling party to continue running the country and pledged to hold another impeachment vote later this week. to talk more about this political crisis in south korea i am joined now by professor yong—chool ha who is the director of korean studies at the university of washington. professor, what do you think is likely to happen next? you have written about his style of leadership and how it explains his decision to impose martial law, can you talk us through that? thank you for the invitation was basically, he is a very unique politician and a

sense that he had not had any political experience prior to being elected three years ago as president. he was a well—known prosecutor who resisted political pressure which made him very famous. then this time around we can see how strong his legal minded person he is and even after the failed martial law, he even said that his people that there is nothing wrong but ultimately he admitted his own mistakes or failures and decided to leave his future in the hands of his ruling party. 0ne his future in the hands of his

ruling party. one thing you have to remember... it ruling party. one thing you have to remember... if i ruling party. one thing you have to remember... ifi could 'ust have to remember... ifi could justjump _ have to remember... ifi could justjump in. _ have to remember... ifi could justjump in. i _ have to remember... ifi could justjump in. i do _ have to remember... ifi could justjump in, i do apologise i justjump in, i do apologise for interrupting. all the people we have seen on the streets in south korea clearly disagree with him. they think he has done something wrong. why is his own party flip—flopping between supporting him and wanting to impeach him? i supporting him and wanting to impeach him?— impeach him? i think basically for two reasons. _ impeach him? i think basically for two reasons. one - impeach him? i think basically for two reasons. one is - impeach him? i think basically for two reasons. one is the i for two reasons. one is the party still actually, this tragic impeachment case in the year 2016. the second thing which is probably more important, they now want to give all the opportunity for the dorling party leaders to be elected as president if indeed the process of impeachment proceedings quite quickly. {flare proceedings quite quickly. give us a sense _ proceedings quite quickly. give

us a sense of— proceedings quite quickly. give us a sense of what _ proceedings quite quickly. give us a sense of what this means for south korean politics going forward. figs for south korean politics going forward. �* , ,, for south korean politics going forward. ~ , i. ., , forward. as you mentioned, this is the question _ forward. as you mentioned, this is the question on _ forward. as you mentioned, this is the question on how - forward. as you mentioned, this is the question on how to - forward. as you mentioned, this is the question on how to deal. is the question on how to deal with the post martial law situation in a democratic country. they have only known martial law in a military rule so this is a shocking and because of that, they are in the process of soul—searching for the solution. there are basically two opposing positions, one is the early impeachment and the other is the orderly regulation. i am sure in the nearfuture the orderly regulation. i am sure in the near future and the orderly regulation. i am sure in the nearfuture and in fact in the weeks to follow, i am sure the ongoing tension will be further developing between the two party oppositions in south korea. irate oppositions in south korea. we will have to leave it there

are. many thanks for your insights. are. many thanks for your insights-_ let�*s take a quick look at some other news from around the world. the rapper and businessman jay z, whose real name is shawn carter, has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13—year—old girl in 2000. the lawsuit reportedly claims that carter assaulted the girl along with sean �*diddy�* combs. in a statement jay z strongly denied the accusations. the lawsuit comes weeks after federal prosecutors in new york criminally charged sean combs on other offences — including racketeering and sex trafficking. at least 110 people have been killed by gang members in haiti, who were targeting people suspected of witchcraft. the national human right defense network says it happened in the notorious cite soleil slum, in the north of the capital port—au—prince. the group reports the leader of the viv ansanm gang ordered

the killings over the weekend, after his child became sick. all of the victims were over 60. before we go, let�*s go back to syria. we heard earlierfrom our international editor, jeremy bowen. he�*s reported from the region for decades, so let�*s get more analysis from him now on what is next for syria, the wider region, and the world. syria has a range of future possibly ahead of it. let�*s talk about the extremes. 0ne possibly ahead of it. let�*s talk about the extremes. one of them is the kind of thing the un would like to see and what many people and miscible many syrians would like to see, vast majority, that is a peaceful life force of a political transition for progress towards law and order, fairness, institutions that work, maybe even elections that are credible one day. it will take a lot of work because the other set of examples are not good

and that is a ruck after saddam hussein was overthrown in 2003 and libya after gaddafi went in 2011. then the effect of a sudden departure of a long—term dictator meant that massive amount of tension and violence exploded out and could not be controlled. it is worrisome that there is looting now in damascus and people are not doing anything about it because thatis doing anything about it because that is what happened in iraq mac after saddam went and what seemed traditional it was not actually longer term. seemed traditional it was not actually longerterm. —— actually longer term. —— trivial. what actually longerterm. —— trivial. what has happening is a series of geopolitical explosions happening across the region since those hamas attacks in october last year on israel and there is no guarantee this will be the last of them. there might be more. that�*s all for now, stay with 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—northeasterly breeze could feed in a few showers, south—east england, down towards the channel islands. we 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 seven to nine celsius for england and wales, but factor in the northeasterly 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 two to seven celsius for england and wales, but it�*s a very cold night to come for scotland and northern ireland, with quite a hard frost, down to —5, —6 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. 0ur area of high pressure dominates the scene through the week, just a few weather fronts spinning around it could affect the northern isles at times, and by the time we reach friday, into next weekend, it 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, sunnier in the north, and it will remain cold for all of us. take care.

south korea �*s markets fall. plus, how american businesses are preparing for donald trump �*s proposed tariffs. hello and welcome to business today. i�*m suranjana tewari. we�*re keeping a close eye on developments in syria. rebel forces captured the damascus, effectively toppling the regime of bashar al—assad. his family has been in power for more than half a century. the deposed president has fled to moscow according to russian state media. uncertainty in the middle east and also here in asia where the focus is back on south korea. its president, yoon suk yeol, has narrowly survived an impeachment vote after a short lived attempt to declare martial law.