chelsea sit second in the premier league, just four points behind leaders liverpool, but still their manager, enzo maresca, is playing down all talk of a title challenge. they had to come from two goals down to beat tottenham on sunday, but did, eventyually winning 4—3 with cole palmer scoring two penalties. if you start to sink into games or three games it is completely wrong. the main focus has to be, enjoy their day off with the family and friends and when we come back go for it 100%. no more than that. the rest, we are happy that our fans are happy. they dream, because from outside it is quite clear. also, inside the reality is that we are not ready to be

there. well, chelsea fan teema nicholls, is refusing to get carried away by her teams current form. chelsea need to take it game by game. it is a young squad and a young manager and we are not very far into this new project. i understand the need not to get ahead of ourselves and focus on the target from the beginning of the season which was top four and we will see what happens after that. it will be a bonus no matter what. you sound like a manager yourself taking it game by game. are you surprised how quickly it has been turned around? because a few months ago chelsea was a laughing stock. , . , stock. yes, i am very surprised. _ stock. yes, i am very surprised. i- stock. yes, i am very surprised. i was - stock. yes, i am very - surprised. i was sceptical about his appointment and i thought it was a massive risk that the club was taking. i think he has had a lot of work with the squad preseason and

obviously on the training pitch. obviously, here's ideas are resonating and much quicker than we had initially anticipated. we didn't start the season well, we lost to man city and it wasn't the best performance but game on game we see how much the team is improving. the final game of the weekend takes place later, as west ham face wolves, with both sides in desperate need of three points. west ham will be without michail antonio, who was seriously injured in a car crash on saturday, and 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. the club have said he'll remain in hospital in the coming days. world number one scotty schelffler has won a record equalling 9th title of the season after a dominant victory at the hero world challenge. he hit a sensational nine under par, 63, in the final round to win by six shots. it means he's won 43% of the 21

events he's entered in 2024 including the master and olympic gold in paris. it's been a fantastic year. i'm very grateful for the season and grateful for the wins and it's been a ton of fun. but at the end of the day, you know, we go home. i'm looking forward to doing stuff that's not golf. you know, i like to go home and live my life and enjoy my time at home. and i've had a little bit of time to reflect, but i'm not really sure how to assess it. or, i mean, it'sjust... it's been pretty surreal. it's been a lot of fun and i'm just really grateful. south africa top the test cricket world rankings after a comprehensive win over sri lanka. sri lanka's lower order collapsed on final day of the second test — keshav maharaj ending with figures of 5—76. so south africa sealed a 2—0 whitewash in the series and move ahead of aurstralia in the world standings. staying with the cricket and mohammed siraj has received the backing of former ipl team—matejosh hazlewood, following his on—field spat with travis head.

the two clashed in australia's comprehensive second test win over india, and were found guilty of breaching cricket's code of conduct. but pace bowler hazlewood — who is hoping to be fit for the third test — believes the incident was good natured. no, he is great. i enjoyed my time with mohammed siraj. he is the leader of the attack there, to a degree. he is very passionate. he goes with the flow of the game and gets the crowd up. causes some serious bills in the ipl in the past four years. bills in the ipl in the past fouryears. he bills in the ipl in the past four years. he isjust a good character. baseball starjuan soto is set to sign what is reportedly the biggest contract in the history of sport, in a deal worth £600 million with the new york mets. the contract is expected to last more than 15 years, and will surpass the previous record held by shohay ohtani. multiple sources in the united states have disclosed details of the deal,

although the mets have yet to confirm it. the nba's reigning most valuable player, nikola jokic, has continued his good form. the serbian hit 48 points to help the denver nuggets beat the atlanta hawks 141—111 elsewhere, lebronjames missed his first game of the season through injury, but it didn't stop his la lakers team—mates as they beat the portland trail blazers 107-98. rui hachimura played a big part for the lakers, as he scored 23 points. the win ends a three match losing streak. you can get the latest on all of the sports stories on the bbc sport website and app. and that's all the sport for now.

rebels and officials in syria saying they are working towards a transitional government. here we have an expert from a brussels—based think tank and here is her reaction from what has happened over the last few days. it has happened over the last few da s. . , , has happened over the last few da 5. , . has happened over the last few das. days. it has been a crazy few da s on days. it has been a crazy few days on the _ days. it has been a crazy few days on the ground - days. it has been a crazy few days on the ground in - days. it has been a crazy few days on the ground in syria. | days on the ground in syria. everyone has been following closely but no one is able to catch up with the pace of events. here at the crisis group we have the warning that the fragile front lines might collapse at any moment. we have also warned that the status quo in syria is unsustainable and the rebels are preparing for something. we didn't anticipate it to be that big to be honest. i don't think they anticipated that either. now, the realities

on the ground have changed. the regime has completely collapsed. the axis of resistance including iran have completely been diminished in syria. it is a completely different geostrategic and local dynamic that is going to be an a reality for syria and the rest of the region. just exlain the rest of the region. just explain who _ the rest of the region. just explain who the _ the rest of the region. just explain who the rebels are and their leader? .the explain who the rebels are and their leader? ._ their leader? . the group emerged _ their leader? . the group emerged as _ their leader? . the group emerged as part - their leader? . the group emerged as part of- their leader? . the group emerged as part of the l their leader? . the group l emerged as part of the due hardest movement in the post—2003 iraq to fight the us invasion, but since then the group and its leader have been known by abu mohammed al—jawlani and he tried to distance himself and his group

from isis and al-qaeda and tried to move away by shedding his national tires and connections. he has clearly stated that their objective and goal is to fight the syrian regime. in an interview a few years ago he once told me, why fight this route regime and the russians in syria. he said he would not go after anyone outside of the context of syria. if the russians back off out of syria we are willing to work with them. he has been taking fundamental shifts and u—turns in the trajectory of the group and has been trying to recast himself and his grope as islamist, syrian, freedom fighting group that is only focused on what they call liberating syria from decades

of tyranny and decades of injustice. of tyranny and decades of injustice-— injustice. you said you interviewed _ injustice. you said you interviewed him, - injustice. you said you interviewed him, whatj injustice. you said you i interviewed him, what do injustice. you said you - interviewed him, what do you make of him as a man? i interviewed him, what do you make of him as a man? i have interviewed — make of him as a man? i have interviewed him _ make of him as a man? i have interviewed him many- make of him as a man? i have interviewed him many times. | make of him as a man? i have i interviewed him many times. he is a very charismatic young syrian man. he has a lot of ambitions. i used to describe them as lofty ambitions, now, you know what, he has achieved a lot of them. he talked about liberating damascus and i would push back and say it was unrealistic, how are you going to do that? those lofty ambitions have manifested. he takes a lot of risk and he has challenged leaders of al-qaeda and isis and one over them. he has taken a lot of risks over his career and track record and has prevailed and survived this berry bloody war in syria and iraq. he strikes me as a politician. he is ready to

strike deals. he is ready to strike deals. he is ready to strike deals, he is a utilitarian political person who is ready to talk and to engage with them. i think that is a huge positive step from where we were a few weeks ago when the syrian regime was not willing to talk, compromise on anything. willing to talk, compromise on an hina. ., , anything. you can see your questions _ anything. you can see your questions answered - anything. you can see your questions answered is - anything. you can see your questions answered is on l anything. you can see your i questions answered is on your screen because in 35 minutes' time we want your questions on syria. we will be joined by our middle east correspondent and security correspondent and diplomatic correspondent. you can e—mailyour diplomatic correspondent. you can e—mail your questions to us. those three will be joining us. those three will be joining us later. that is after we have

a check on the weather. hello again. a bitterly cold start to the day across parts of scotland and northern ireland with a widespread frost. whereas for england and wales we have had more cloud around and that has helped keep the temperatures up a little bit higher. high pressure is going to build as we go through this week, settling things down. it will feel cold at times, especially scotland and northern ireland, and there will be overnight frosts and fog, some of which will be freezing fog. you can see how the high pressure is building in the north. the isobars are still quite close together as we come further south so still blustery winds coming in from the north sea. north—easterly direction, that's chilly for us. a lot of cloud and some showers and later some of the showers in the south—east and channel islands will be heavy, whereas we hang onto some sunshine for scotland, northern ireland and northern england, cloud in the east breaking, and lighter winds in the north but gusty winds in the south. these white circles represent sustained wind speeds so the gusts will be that bit higher. it will feel cold in glasgow, only 4 degrees.

7 in birmingham but 9 in plymouth and st helier. through this evening and overnight we hang onto a lot of cloud across parts of england and wales. a few showers, some still heavy. the wind is not as strong but still gusty through the english channel. and under clear skies for scotland, northern ireland and parts of northern england it's going to be cold once again. potentially as low as —10 in the highlands so a widespread frost and again some freezing fog forming. into tuesday, high pressure really establishes itself across the uk, but a weather front draped across the northern isles will at times bring in more cloud but also some spots of rain. come south through the rest of scotland, northern england and northern ireland, we are looking at some sunshine, a bit more cloud at times in southern england and also east wales, but there will be more breaks than today, not as many showers and it won't be as windy. temperatures, though, onlyi degree in glasgow up to 8 in plymouth. as we head on through the week, into wednesday, high pressure

once again across us, but by the time we get to the end of the week we do have a weather front making inroads in across the far north—west of scotland. that will introduce some cloud and some rain, but generally with brighter skies, with the coldest mornings will be in the north, a little bit milderfurther south.

live from london. this is bbc news. a new dawn for syria.

the nation celebrates its first full day in the post—assad regime era. this is the scene in the capital damascus right now. the syrian opposition flag is raised at the embassy in moscow. russia has given bashar al—assad and his family political asylum and they are believed to be in the city. relief and delight across the country following the downfall of a dynasty that ruled for more than half a century. a historic moment in every sense of the word. abu mohammed al—jawlani here for the first time in the great mosque. and rapperjay—z is accused of raping a 13 —year—old girl. he's named with sean �*diddy�* combs in a civil lawsuit. both deny the claim. hello, i m lucy grey welcome to bbc news now.

we start with the extraordinary events in syria over