from human rights groups. the father and stepmother of ten—year—old sara sharif, who was found dead at her family home last year, have been found guilty of murder. we will bring you the exclusive interview with the man who helped hide them in pakistan. as the tomb of the ousted president's father's is set on fire, new syrian authorities send a stark warning to those who tortured or killed detainees under the assad regime. and they may look like christmas lights — but they are thought to be the very origins of how we came to be. scientists say it holds they key to the origins of our galaxy — and they're calling it firefly sparkle. hello, i'm kasia madera.

welcome to our breaking news. in the last hour saudi arabia has been confirmed as host of the 2034 men 5 world cup. the kingdom was the only bidder for the tournament, but there's been criticism about a lack of clarity over the process, and the choice has been fiercely criticised by human rights groups and environmental campaigners. fifa's president, gianni infantino, made the announcement in the last few minutes, so let's listen back to what he said.— minutes, so let's listen back to what he said. and last, but not least. _ to what he said. and last, but not least, it _ to what he said. and last, but not least, it is _ to what he said. and last, but not least, it is a _ to what he said. and last, but not least, it is a great - not least, it is a great pleasure that i can confirm that the host of the fifa world cup 2034 will be... saudi arabia! applause hello to ourfriends applause hello to our friends in applause

hello to ourfriends in riyadh. and hello to everyone. hello to our friends in riyadh. and hello to everyone.- and hello to everyone. gianni infantino _ and hello to everyone. gianni infantino there _ and hello to everyone. gianni infantino there making - and hello to everyone. gianni infantino there making that l infantino there making that announcement, watching all of this with us was bbc sports presenter 0lly foster, whojoins us foster, who joins us live. my my goodness, they made us wait, but we got there and not without criticism, not least because it is saudi arabia, but also the whole process of getting there?— also the whole process of getting there? yes, and the actual extraordinary - getting there? yes, and the l actual extraordinary congress itself was running about half an hour late and they did drag it out. that is because they were notjust voting, as fifa put it. it wasn't really a vote because there was no jeopardy at all because the bids for be 2030 world cup, that was on the table as well today, and the 2034 saudi arabia cop was also being affirmed, and acclamation. we had this extraordinary spectacle of gianni infantino standing in front of a wall. it was a virtual congress and it is actually still going on. they haven't got to the saudi

arabian is yet to the saudi arabians yet getting their official certificate that they will be hosting the world cup in ten years' time. but 2ii in ten years' time. but 211 member in ten years' time. but 2ii memberfederations or in ten years' time. but 211 member federations or giving an acclamation, it wasn't particularly scientific, but it was just a round particularly scientific, but it wasjust a round of particularly scientific, but it was just a round of applause for fifa's choice of 2030, going to portugal, spain and morocco, and just a week before it also the centenary games, three of them taking place in paraguay and argentina, marking the first world cup back in 1930. that is all part of the world cup. and thenjust the sole bid, the single nation, the kingdom of saudi arabia. they were unopposed, there were no rivals against them, so despite all the razzmatazz of getting the names out of the envelopes, we knew exactly what was inside them and saudi arabia will be the host. norway, one of those federations who abstain from the acclamation and in the minutes they had it on record,

they say, we disagree with what is a flawed process. we want more transparency going forward. and you hinted at the human rights issues as well that i know you are going to take on as well. but it was quite a spectacle and we are getting saudi arabia in 2034, just what we expected all along. just what we expected all alonu. , . ., ,~ along. yes, we certainly are. as always. — along. yes, we certainly are. as always, olly _ along. yes, we certainly are. as always, olly foster - along. yes, we certainly are. as always, olly foster many| as always, 0lly foster many thanks for being with us through all that. the bbc�*s analysis editor ros atkins looks at how we got here — and the controversies surrounding the decision. the 2034 men's world cup will be in saudi arabia. there will be five host cities with 15 stadiums. the overall cost is likely to be hundreds of billions of dollars and this decision was expected. there was only one bid. fifa had already called it a very strong all round proposition, but not everyone is convinced. amnesty called that assessment "an astonishing whitewash "of the country's atrocious human rights record."

in saudi arabia, free speech is severely limited. its justice system is draconian. this year, it's estimated that it executed more than 300 people. more, it's thought than any country other than iran and china. and on its executions for drug offences. the un has previously said "this is incompatible "with international norms and standards." also, women don't have the same rights as men and homosexuality is illegal. the bbc�*s dan roan asked the saudi government about this. everyone is welcome in the kingdom. like any other nations around the world, we have rules and regulations that everyone should abide with and respect. when we come to the uk, we respect the rules and regulations, whether we believe in them or not. for its part, fifa argues the tournament could serve as a catalyst and contribute to positive human rights outcomes. 0ne focus is certain to be labour conditions. in recent years, saudi arabia has undertaken several vast construction projects. but according to human rights watch, a blatant failure to protect migrant workers creates a near certainty that the 2034 world cup will be stained with

pervasive rights violations. saudi arabia disputes this, saying the safety and wellbeing of workers are fundamental priorities. and on the world cup it says this. we already started and a lot of the venues, so we have a long time to do it in the right time and the right process. and also with the collaboration with fifa to put the right steps in. fifa's track record on ensuring the right steps are taken is mixed. in 2022, qatar hosted the world cup. there were concerns about workers' rights and qatar did make reforms. but on this issue, last month, fifa published an independent report that it had commissioned. the report found that a number of severe human rights impacts did ultimately occur. this included deaths, injuries and illnesses, wages not being paid for months on end. it says measures put in place by fifa and its partners did not prevent the severe impacts from occurring, and that,

in fact, a credible argument can be made that fifa contributed to some of the impacts. that wasn't what was promised. and in fifa's assessment of the saudi bid, it also notes a commitment to sustainability and climate change. but how far can that commitment go? saudi arabia is one of the world's biggest producers of fossil fuels, and eight stadiums have to be built for this world cup, one of them at the top of a 350 metre high structure in a city that doesn't yet exist. there will be an environmental cost, as there is with every world cup, but fifa says mitigations will help counter this, and its choice of saudi arabia is part of a broader ambition. fifa would certainly argue very strongly that as football is a global game and ultimately the ultimate global game, it has to be capable of accommodating different types of society, different types of politics, different types of culture to retain its global leadership in world sport. that ambition is being paired with saudi arabia's desire to use sport to change its economy and its reputation.

since 2021, it's invested $6.2 billion. that's £5 billion. — in high level sport. and that investment brings huge influence. the saudis are here to stay as long as they want to. it's the saudis that are calling the shots here. and as long as they're willing to write the cheques, sport is willing to give them whatever they want. saudi arabia has long wanted the world cup, and now it has it. one last thing. summers in saudi arabia reach 45 c. don't be surprised if it's a winter world cup this time. ros atkins there. let's go live to the saudia arabian city ofjeddah, where we can speak to sports marketing expert, talal al—maghrabi. well, congratulations. we heard the saudi sportsman is to say everyone will be welcome to

this world cup in 2034, but i wonder, how is that possible if women don't have the same rights in saudi arabia and homosexuality is illegal? how will everyone be welcome? i think everybody has been welcomed in the past, everybody will be working today and everybody will be welcome tomorrow. in saudi arabia. what you are saying may be is true if you say it to some people who don't know the... inaudible tah who have been living in the uk for 18 years and i tah who have been living in the uk for 18 years and— uk for 18 years and i know hundreds _ uk for 18 years and i know hundreds of— uk for 18 years and i know hundreds of thousands - uk for 18 years and i know hundreds of thousands of | hundreds of thousands of british citizens work and live in saudi arabia and they enjoyed saudi arabia. i have a daughter, a wife, a mother, there salary is much better than me and they are getting a lot of opportunities than me in the past, today and tomorrow, so what you are saying is not true, but let's see what saudi arabia can bring to the world. we are building sustainability, we are bringing sustainability

solutions and equality of opportunities to other countries. we are bringing money to the uk economy, we have the british prime minister was visiting in just a few days, saying he was hoping and looking forward to strengthening the relationship between the two countries, which has been full centuries... so we will continue to bring all the solution and sustainability. that is why our... because of the impact on the economy, the impact we're going to have the environment and also the impact on the communities. saudi arabia also is... in the islamic world. that is why most of the countries of fifa are hoping we can bring more hope to the islamic world and have greater impact to other countries, so i think what saudi arabia is doing, especially in the sport and in all different types of sports,

bringing people peacefully together from around the world, in the boxing, in the tennis and in the football. irate in the boxing, in the tennis and in the football.- and in the football. we can feel your — and in the football. we can feel your enthusiasm - and in the football. we can | feel your enthusiasm about and in the football. we can - feel your enthusiasm about this and we do get that, we do understand that saudi arabia has long wanted the world cup to come to you and it is now, indeed, coming to you. but i wonder, how do you encourage people who perhaps feel uncomfortable coming to a country which has won at the highest execution rates, only below china and iran? how do you encourage those people to come to saudi arabia? i am sa in: come to saudi arabia? i am saying these _ come to saudi arabia? i am saying these stories - come to saudi arabia? i am saying these stories that. saying these stories that sometimes is not told is also bringing people to read more about saudi arabia and to visit saudi arabia and see the stability and peace in saudi arabia. we have one at the highest i think... industry... inaudible bring that delight also on the tv. but to be honest i have been living all my life in saudi arabia, i have been ten years in the united states, ten

years in the united states, ten years in the uk, so i know exactly how politics works and what sometimes the journalists are saying is just to keep theirjobs, because they their jobs, because they promised theirjobs, because they promised to... the western... so sometimes i am sure that what you are saying is not convinced to you as well. we have a lot of british up here and we had a lot of stability and we had a lot of stability and peace, so let's see how this goes, how we are impacting the world and also i invite you to visit saudi arabia to see exactly how peaceful we are, how united we are, how welcoming to all the people. we have millions of muslims throughout the world visiting saudi arabia on an almost daily basis. now we have a lot of activities taking place in saudi arabia. a huge movement in development. we will bring stability to the world. everything we have is a multipurpose stadium, infrastructure, we will not face the problem is the uk

during their 0lympics face the problem is the uk during their olympics in london, where they have many years they couldn't even try to, couldn't even invest in the olympic stadiums.— olympic stadiums. there are still many — olympic stadiums. there are still many stadiums - olympic stadiums. there are still many stadiums that - olympic stadiums. there are still many stadiums that are | still many stadiums that are outstanding to be built there, but we do appreciate your enthusiasm and obviously i do have to ask the questions because we know that human rights groups are concerned that saudi arabia will be hosting the world cup. they say it puts many lives at risk. but thank you very much forjust giving your expertise in your analysis to us. talal al—maghrabi, a sports marketing expert, joining us live from jeddah. thank you for your time. no thank you. some breaking news to bring you. the post office capped his horizon it scandal. police have confirmed that no charging decisions will be made as a potential criminal offences

linked to the post office horizon scandal until after a public inquiry has published its final report. 100 police officers from across the uk are now working on the investigation, which is focusing on potential crimes of perjury and perverting the course ofjustice, linked to the wrongful prosecution is of sub—postmaster is and the wider presentation of the horizon it system is robust. police have described the inquiry is unprecedented in size, with potentially more than 3000 victims. evidence are currently including more than 1.5 million documents which have to be reviewed. commander stephen clayman, head of the central specialist crime team at the metropolitan police service, he outlined the scale of the operation. the investigation itself is, in terms of documentary evidence, is significant, if you consider what's happened in the public inquiry, in terms of the material at the moment, we've got over 1.5 million documents that we're reviewing.

now, consider that each document contains pages of, you know, of materials. so it's a huge undertaking. hence we need a larger team to continue. this is an investigation that's already been running for some time orfor a few years. but now this allows us to take a significant move forward in terms of pace. and we were always tied to the public inquiry, but the scale of it is the sheer number of victims involved. we've got, you know, we think over 3,000 people affected in some way by, by horizon in this manner. so its huge. so we've got to put in the commensurate numbers of officers to start moving it at pace. and is there a particular area or particular charges that you're focusing on bringing against people? yeah. so the investigation is predominantly focussed on offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice. and you know, they're serious, serious offences. we will go where the evidence takes us. that's the investigative strategy. we're trying to keep it contained because, you know, it's a strategy that as we look through and sift through the material, we'll build evidence.

and if the evidence points to additional offences, of course we'll take those into consideration. nothing is off the table, but we are focusing on those two offences. and this is a kind of national operation? this is not one that you're running out of the met? this is across the country? yeah. the difference here is the majority of those affected are not in london. they're all over the country. literally every area is affected. therefore, it was agreed that this would be a nationally, nationally led investigation. so the met are coordinating it, but it's supported by all the forces who are contributing in some way. but we have four teams, one in london and three other regional teams. and those teams will collectively conduct the next sort of stage of this investigation. with me is our reporter, ben king. you are across this breaking news, sojust you are across this breaking news, so just walk us through it. basically the police saying they are going to wait for that public inquiry?— public inquiry? that's right. it is public inquiry? that's right. it is worth _ public inquiry? that's right. it is worth casting - public inquiry? that's right. it is worth casting our- public inquiry? that's right. it is worth cast