the suspect accused of killing a us health ceo is denied bail in court. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu takes the stand in his corruption trial, slamming the charges against him as "ridiculous". hello, i'm carl nasman, welcome to the programme. israel says it carried out some 480 air strikes over two days in syria, after rebel groups took over the country and toppled the assad regime. the israeli government says it is trying to prevent weapons from reaching what it calls "extremists" and to secure its borders. it claims to have destroyed a syrian naval fleet monday night, and in the capital damascus, aerial pictures show the destruction of the syrian military research center. the idf also acknowledged operations in syria beyond the demilitarised zone

near the israeli—occupied golan heights. syria's neighbours and the united nations have called for the attacks to stop. the country's new interim prime minister, mohammed al bashir, is calling for "stability and calm". he was appointed tuesday by the main rebel group that took damascus over the weekend. he previously governed a small pocket of rebel—held territory. meanwhile in damascus, some shops have reopened, traffic has resumed and about 40% of government staff are reportedly back to work. from damascus, here's our international editor, jeremy bowen. at the border, the biggest and potentially deadliest divide in syria. coming in from lebanon, syrians who fled the war and the assads — desperate to get home. in the opposite direction, syrians desperate to get out — families who fear they'll be singled out for revenge. some because their religious sect supported the former regime, or because the men fought for bashar al—assad. ali read out a facebook post

from a small militia swearing vengeance. so is this such a threat that you want to take your family out to lebanon? you're worried about your lives? translation: yes, sure. the kids, my wife, i'm afraid for them. that's why i'm taking them out to lebanon. violence consumed iraq and libya after their dictators. their fear is the same for syria. it's notjust about the legacy of the war. it's about the legacy of more than half a century of dictatorship. these are people, and there are thousands more coming down the road, who don't feel safe in the new syria. and going in the opposite direction are all those who just want to get home. the duty free shop, once a favourite of those the regime had made rich, has been looted and destroyed. islamist anger at a decadent regime. we drove on to damascus. the rebels took syria as assad's army faded away but the country's

still under fire. to stop islamist rebels taking over syria's abandoned military infrastructure, across the country israel's bombing it to pieces, and not farfrom this road, taking more syrian land for what it calls a buffer zone. so far, damascus is mostly calm, but here, someone tried to burn down a mobile phone shop, already looted, from a chain named after bashar al—assad's british—born wife. the family earned billions from its control of telecoms as millions of syrians starved. the firemen have been talking to syria's new rulers. he said, "they're going to cooperate. "we don't know our destiny, but god willing, it will be good." next stop was mezzeh 86, a poor district named after a notorious regime military unit. it was a stronghold of assad supporters until they bolted the same night bashar did, as a relieved and happy

safar al—safadi told me. translation: when we woke up with the sound of _ gunfire and the smoke, we saw their weapons and their uniforms thrown away in the streets. safar said the rebel fighters took the weapons and showed me the uniforms thrown onto the street�*s rubbish dump and into the dustbin of history — like the dictatorship. bashar al—assad. this area used to be full of posters of bashar and his father, because it was a centre of loyalists from his own alawi alawite community. a lot of the guys who lived around here supported theirfamilies by carrying guns for the regime. they were in the security and the mukhabarat, the intelligence, or they were in the military. and now, like him, they've gone. jeremy bowen,

bbc news, damascus. the us has promised to fully recognise syria under a number of conditions, including respect for minority rights. some syrians have fled the country, though, saying they fear for their lives with the islamist group hts now in control. but many are celebrating the end of the brutal 50—year rule of the assad regime. the original uprising against assad began in 2011 in the southern city of daraa after a group of teenage boys were arrested and tortured for putting up antigovernment graffiti. widespread protests drew harsh crackdowns from government forces. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been to daraa and sent us this report. the road to president assad's fall began in daraa, an opposition stronghold south of damascus where years of fighting have left holes in homes and families. days after assad fled

syria, the mood here is still jubilant. if anyone should be celebrating, it's the al—khateeb family. the torture and death of 13—year—old hamza, arrested at an anti—government rally in 2011, helped spark the long syrian uprising against president assad. but no—one here was smiling today. the family had just learned that hamza's brother omar had also died in custody, five years after he was arrested. his death confirmed in documents found at the notorious saydnaya prison. his mother told me, since the regime fell, she'd been waiting for omar to come home. today, shaking with grief, she called on god for revenge. translation: | asked god | to afflict him and his children

with what afflicted my children. i hope he will pay the price. when news of president assad's fall came, the people of daraa came here. across syria, people who suffered together are now celebrating together. but the opposition here is diverse. they've lost their common enemy. now, they need a common vision. daraa's new military leader is an english literature graduate who defected from syria's army during the protests that followed hamza's death — his group separate from the islamists who swept into damascus on sunday, but both converged on the capital. i said in damascus, when we entered, "we thank god that we still live to see this moment, this great moment." my friend, i trust in syrian people. i trust they will choose

their best choice. nobody will accept any person who will be a dictator. choose? you mean elections? of course. that is what we are looking for. in daraa's cemetery today, they laid the past to rest. the flag of the syrian opposition tied around hamza's headstone. 13 years after his death, the war with assad has ended. but peace in syria has not yet been won. lucy williamson, bbc news, daraa. earlier, i spoke to wa'el alzayat, the ceo for emgage and former state department official, who immigrated to the us from syria when he was younger.

wa'el, first of all, as a syrian american, i would love to get your reaction to what we have seen over the past few days and the rapid fall of the assad regime in syria. yeah, i mean, i grew up in syria, we immigrated to the united states when i was a teenager, i somehow ended up working for the us government as a diplomat and i got to work on the syrian conflict when it first erupted. it's a lot of emotions. it is surreal, it is excitement. many of us dreamed of this day. i dreamed of it both as an american and as a syrian, given the importance of syria to the region and to us interests, but also for my country of birth. people are exuberant, but also cautiously optimistic. we understand the challenges and the risks out there, both internally, getting this transition right, and externally. unfortunately, as you are seeing, whether it was russia or some of the regional countries, israel is bombing syria now, the history

of modern syria has not been nice when it comes to how its neighbours have dealt with it. you mentioned there a bit the reaction within the country. what have you been hearing from people, family orfriends or anyone within syria, about their reaction? they�* re really happy. we have relatives who went out in the streets and actually supported the efforts to take over some parts of the city when the government forces were melting away, just to protect their neighbourhoods. but now a lot of people are turning also to the horrors of assad's jails, like saydnaya. people have been digging out with their hands, trying to see if they are more prisoners somehow in its dungeons. the other horror is most likely

many of these detainees have been killed already and buried in mass graves, horrible stories are being shared, people looking for their loved ones. i just spoke with a friend who reported that her sister looks at images and videos, trying to find their mother, who was disappeared in 2012 and never heard from her. so, when somebody says, "i'm feeling a lot of things," i think that's an understatement for syrians. yet, there are seven emotions going on, as this process continues to play out, there will be somewhat of a political process, right? we know in interim prime minister has been appointed. what do we know about him and what does his appointment maybe say about the potential future direction of syria? potential future direction of s ria? ~ ., ~ ., ., syria? we do know he led what is referred _ syria? we do know he led what is referred to _ syria? we do know he led what is referred to as _ syria? we do know he led what is referred to as the _ syria? we do know he led what is referred to as the elevation l is referred to as the elevation government, which was hts, the main rebel group that initiated

this rebel operation, he led their civilian operation in the province. that is what i know about him, and we know there has been demands on the streets for some law and order, we saw some looting, some acts of vengeance, and i think they're trying to curb that as much as possible and to provide assurances to syrians that there will be peaceful transition for having said that, he was appointed by hds, and i think syrians are hoping and i think syrians are hoping and expecting that there will be a more inclusive process moving forward, that while we may need somebody literally to be running the show on the ground, and he met with the outgoing prime minister, and i think that is another good sign, and bureaucrats were told to report to theirjobs, including even the non—commissioned officers of the syrian military, to stay on duty, i think we are going to need to see, as i mentioned,

and inclusive process regarding how you select now the rest of the government and how you put in place the parameters for the full transition of power, free and fair elections, etc, etc. and as that dust settles now and as we see people begin to take positions of power within syria, obviously a change of administration coming up here in the us. how do you think donald trump will approach this? how do you think he will deal with syria?— dealwith syria? yeah, look, he announced _ dealwith syria? yeah, look, he announced on _ dealwith syria? yeah, look, he announced on twitter _ dealwith syria? yeah, look, he announced on twitter that - dealwith syria? yeah, look, he announced on twitter that the l announced on twitter that the united states should have nothing to do with syria. i know that that is his forte generally speaking, but he is bringing on serious people in his it ministration will be running his middle east file. senator rubio is a serious foreign—policy player, he will be leading the state to permit if confirmed, but he is going to also have some questionable figures like tulsi gabbard running, becoming the director of national intelligence. she

has expressed views that were supportive of a side and very dismissive of his atrocities, which is a problem, so i think it remains to be seen, but i expect that they will engage seriously with the new facts on the ground, or the partners, and i think they will initially maintain support for the syrian democratic forces, although i think trump is going to be looking for ways to withdraw the remaining 900 us troops that are colocated with them, but i don't expect anything very sudden in the early weeks, but we will be able to tell particularly regarding which a site of the trump administration is going to win this out. are they going to be looking at syria is a mess of a country controlled by extremists and they want nothing to do with it, or maybe even, god forbid, carry out some kinetic operations there? or are more pragmatic approach that engages with the actors on the ground and even works with partners to provide some support stop you mentioned those 900 or so us troops that are in syria, and most of that

mission is a are in syria, and most of that mission i— mission is a counter mission auainst mission is a counter mission against isis. _ mission is a counter mission against isis, which _ mission is a counter mission against isis, which donald i against isis, which donald trump loves to say he defeated while he was in office. what do you think that would mean if donald trump in his next ministration were to take those trips out of syria?— trips out of syria? well, beyond _ trips out of syria? well, beyond the _ trips out of syria? well, beyond the isis - trips out of syria? well, beyond the isis or - trips out of syria? well, beyond the isis or the l trips out of syria? well, - beyond the isis or the counter isis operation, they are supporting the stf watch over these camps, essentially, where families and relatives of isis fighters and even children are, and they are in the tens of thousands. the other part is, they are providing determines thatis they are providing determines that is defending the syrian democrat in forces and their civil administration in orth east syria. should they withdraw not only will we have less of an ability to respond to any re—emergence of isis and it let alone figure out what to do with all these families that are in these camps, we are risking an outright

confrontation between turkey, the syrian opposition, the syrian arab opposition, as well, other groups, versus kurdish militias, and i hope that can be avoided. there obviously needs to be a resolution. this is not sustainable. i want to be very clear about this. you cannot have different groups running different parts of the country, controlling different resources, but there's either the political process which i do think the us has a role to play, orsomething do think the us has a role to play, or something else, and i hope they avoid that latter scenario. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. government departments have recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for millions of public sector workers, including teachers, nhs staff and senior civil servants. inflation is predicted to average around 2.6% next year. the union unison said the proposed pay increase was "barely above the cost of living". the recommendations will now be considered by independent pay review bodies.

the minority labour government in wales has published its spending plans for next year, with health care offered hundreds of millions of pounds more to tackle record high waiting times. all departments will see an increase in revenue of between 3.5 and 12%. the budget will need support from at least one opposition member in the senedd to pass. and the former england rugby player tom voyce is believed to have died, after apparently trying to cross a flood swollen river in his car. northumbria police said the 43—year—old is suspected to have gone into the river aln near alnwick, which was hit by heavy rain during storm darragh. officers have since recovered his vehicle, as searches continue down the river. you're live with bbc news. the man accused of killing a health care executive in manhattan last week has appeared in a pennsylvania court and is fighting extradition back to new york. we did not waive extradition, we are contesting extradition. we are going to fight this along the rules, and with the constitutional

protections my client has, and that's what we're going to do. the lawyer thereof luigi mangione speaking. new york authorities have charged him with the murder of brian thompson. when he was arrested, police say the 26—year—old was carrying an untraceable firearm known as a "ghost gun" and a handwritten document that expressed "ill will" towards corporate america. jessica parker has the latest now from pennsylvania. as luigi mangione was taken into court, he appeared agitated... ..an insult to the intelligence of the american people... ..shouting about an insult to the intelligence of the american people. the 26—year—old faces several charges, including one of murder, after being apprehended in pennsylvania on monday. along this roadside is a small branch of mcdonald's, and it's now become a key focus in this case, because it's in there that luigi mangione was spotted. an employee then

tipped off police. investigators are trying to piece together his movements over recent days, and they're talking to people who were inside that mcdonald's when the suspect walked in on monday morning. a guy came in the door, and i didn't really look at him. i thought everyone was kidding around. the one guy said, "that looks like the shooter from new york." well, then we laughed and... i guess he placed his order and wejust went on about our business, but we were kidding about that, "wouldn't that be something?" you know? these are images from inside mcdonald's released by police. a far cry from the luigi mangione of 2016, where he graduated top of his class at an all boys private school. the class of 2016 is truly defined by its inventive, pioneering mentality, that accompanies a strong commitment to tradition. he would go on to a prestigious university. the allegations he's now facing have shocked those who know his family.

you wouldn't think someone of privilege or of means - from a family that's known for doing so much for- the community would do something like this. - and honestly, as a criminal defence attorney, i can sayj he has the presumption of innocence. _ but that being said, i even to be charged for something like this, - it's just really surprising. more recently living in hawaii, he is said to have suffered from back problems. this spine x—ray appearing on what's believed to be his social media. officials say documents found on mr mangione showed ill will to corporate america. it was last wednesday that health insurance boss brian thompson was killed in new york city, a shooting that exposed deep anger with the country's health insurance industry. in america, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint.

luigi mangione's lawyer has now contested his expedition to new york, meaning the suspect will remain behind these walls in pennsylvania for now. jessica parker, bbc news, in altoona. benjamin netanyahu has become the first serving israeli leader to take to the witness stand as a criminal defendant. prosecutors say mr netanyahu accepted lavish gifts and exchanged favours with media owners for positive press coverage. the prime minister told the court in tel aviv the corruption allegations against him were "ridiculous" and accused the country's media of being biased against him. protesters — both pro— and anti—netanyahu — gathered outside the court and had to be separated by security guards. jon donnison has more from outside the courthouse. a moment of truth to power, at least for benjamin neta nyahu's critics. he was chipper as he arrived in court today in tel aviv,

despite being the first ever sitting israeli prime minister to stand trial. he faces corruption charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery, including accepting $300,000 worth of gifts, including champagne and cigars, and of agreeing to ease press regulation in exchange for favourable media coverage in one of israel's biggest selling newspapers. mr netanyahu denies it all. speaking on the eve of his testimony, he said the investigation into him had been born of sin. and today in court, he said the trial was based on an ocean of absurdities. this case, which has been rumbling on for years, has divided israel. outside the courthouse today,

anti—bibi protesters faced off with his supporters. the accusation from the protesters here, some of whom have family members held hostage in gaza, is that prime minister netanyahu has prolonged and escalated the wars in the middle east for his own political survival and even to avoid going to jail. ofer calderon is still a hostage in gaza and his wife, hadas, told me she's angry at her prime minister. he don't care about these 100 hostages and he cares more to survive in the politic way. it's very sad. "bibi needs to go to jail" was the chant. but mr netanyahu is currently riding high in opinion polls.

his supporters say at a time of war, he shouldn't be having to face a trial. his testimony alone is expected to take a minimum of two weeks. jon donnison, bbc news, tel aviv. strong winds and dry conditions are fuelling a fast—moving fire in southern california. an evacuation order is in place near malibu, as the fire burns hundreds of acres of vegetation. the "franklin fire" just started yesterday and has already grown rapidly to 2,700 acres. several homes have already been destroyed, and students at nearby pepperdine university are on alert and sheltering in a library. the fire continues to burn. we will bring you updates as we continue to get them.

the price of coffee is going to come next year after the cost of irrevocably and swing up... it is up 80% from a year ago. a secret colony of grey seals has been found off the suffolk coast in england, and they were kept under wraps for three years in the hope that it would help them to thrive. now, for the first time during pupping season, cameras have been allowed in to film them. iam carl i am carl nasman here in washington. stay with us. plenty more coming up on bbc news. hello there. for many of us, tuesday was dominated by lots of grey skies, lots of cloud across the uk. for the central belt

of scotland, it was fog which persisted in glasgow all day, and as a result, the temperature for most of the day didn't get above —1 celsius. so, freezing fog, and we start off wednesday with some of that fog once again. temperatures overnight as low as —8 celsius, so a cold start to wednesday. for england, wales, more cloud here as temperatures are about 3—6 celsius. but throughout wednesday, we keep this area of high pressure. this is what we've seen throughout the day on monday and tuesday, really, so not a great deal of change to what you experience, outside the freezing fog likely to continue across some parts of central and southern scotland. sunshine elsewhere across scotland, except the northern isles, where there's a bit of rain here. maybe a few brighter skies in northern ireland, the far north of england. elsewhere, though, it remains pretty cloudy

on wednesday afternoon. for many of us, temperatures about 6—8 celsius. colder than that across scotland, especially where you keep that fog. so in glasgow, for example, again, the temperature may not get above freezing. now, through wednesday night, the temperatures fall away again pretty quickly across scotland with those clear skies, fog just turning getting more dense, again, in some central areas. more cloud elsewhere, and once again, that will keep temperatures above freezing, about 6 or 7 celsius. just the frost limited to the far north and the east of scotland. now, during thursday, there'll perhaps be a bit more cloud across scotland. the best of the brightness towards the north and the east, still some fog patches as well. quite cloudy for northern ireland, through most of england and wales. we mightjust see a few spots of rain affecting eastern areas of england through the day on thursday, but temperatures once again fairly typical for the time of year. but i suspect it won't feel all that nice — quite cold beneath that cloud. on into the end of the week, we'll see a weather front moving south and eastwards across the uk before high pressure then starts to build in for the weekend. and the air comes in from a different direction, actually, as we go through sunday. so you notice that the oranges come into our map, so the milder south—westerly winds for the end of the weekend.

and that means temperatures will rise quite significantly, actually. so you can see there on friday and saturday, still in single figures. by sunday, we'll be in double figures and there'll be a bit of sunshine around as well over the course of the weekend. bye— bye.

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. and today, i'm in oslo for the award of this year's nobel peace prize to the japanese organisation nihon hidankyo — which is the collective voice of the survivors of the two atomic bombs dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki in 1945. for decades, they've been using their terrible experience to campaign for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. my guest today is the 92—year—old survivor of the nagasaki bombing, terumi tanaka. will humanity ever rid itself of this spectre of nuclear armageddon?