tonight at ten — ten—year—old sara sharif, whose life was short and brutal. a court convicts her father and stepmother of her murder. the faces of urfan sharif and beinash batool — guilty of sara's killing. her uncle faisal malik was found to have caused or allowed the death of a child. an apparently happy child who loved to sing, but sara endured unimaginable cruelty, as the police made clear. the murder of a child is absolutely shocking but the horrific nature of the abuse sara suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing. also on tonight's programme, we report from the syrian capital damascus, on the desire for revenge against the former regime. there's a real strong

sense of excitement, expectation, anger as well. they want to see this man dead. the host of the fifa world cup 2034 will be... saudi arabia. elected unopposed, but saudi's victory is controversial because of its record on human rights and the environment. and what you're seeing now is light from 13 billion years ago. we'll explain. on bbc london... on newsnight at 10.30pm, we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters, and of course look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news.

good evening. ten—year—old sara sharif endured two years of horrific suffering at the hands of her father and stepmother. today, they were convicted of her murder. sara's body was found at her home in surrey last year, after she'd been subjected to a campaign of abuse, including being burnt and regularly beaten, causing dozens of injuries. the defendants fled to pakistan with five other children after the killing. sara's uncle, who was also on trial, was cleared of murder, but found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. in the first of our reports tonight, helena wilkinson has more on events in court at the old bailey, and a warning — her report is distressing. sara sharif loved to sing and play the guitar. she was a confident, caring little girl. but in august last year, she was murdered after months

of brutal violence. more than a day after sara had died, her father called the police. he had left sara's body alone at home in woking in surrey and fled with his family to pakistan. this was the moment police arrived at the house. police! upstairs, under covers in a bunk bed, they found sara's body. her father had left a note. it said, "it's me, urfan sharif, who killed my daughter by beating." the little girl had around 100 injuries, including broken bones, bruises, burns and bite marks. police discovered this cricket bat with sara's blood on it and a metal

pole that her father hit her with as she lay dying. hours after sara was murdered, her family were at heathrow, heading for pakistan. but after a month on the run, sara's father, stepmother and uncle returned to the uk, and were arrested. the body of sara sharif was discovered. you are therefore arrested for murder of sara sharif. during the trial, sara's father initially denied almost everything in the witness box before dramatically changing his evidence. today at the old bailey, urfan sharif and sara's stepmother, beinash batool, were found guilty of her murder. as sara's father was convicted of murdering his daughter, he stared straight ahead. sara's stepmother, beinash batool, sobbed as she was also convicted of murdering sara. the ten—year—old's uncle, faisal malik, cried as he was convicted of causing

or allowing sara's death. the murder of a child is absolutely shocking, but the horrific nature of the abuse sara suffered during her short life has made this case particularly disturbing. today, justice for sara has been served. after the verdicts, sara's mother, olga sharif, described her daughter as a princess and said she would always be in her heart. helena wilkinson, bbc news at the old bailey. even before sara's birth, her family was known to police and to children's services because of growing concerns of neglect and violence in the family, including against one of sara's siblings. the children's charity the nspcc says a review must identify ways in which sara could have been better protected, to prevent further such tragedies. daniel sandford takes a look now at sara's story and again,

his report contains details you may find upsetting. special messages for her. in sara sharif�*s old classroom, memories of a much—loved school friend, her head teacher recalling a joyful young pupil. sara was a very caring, very confident little girl who wasjust smiling all of the time. i remember saying to her, "sara, what do you want to do when you grow up?" and she said to me, "i want to sing." she said, "i want to be on x factor and i want to win it." but behind the smiles, sara had a very troubling life. serious domestic violence against other children in herfamily meant social services were involved, even before she was born. for a while, she lived with her mother, olga sharif, but allegations that her mother tried to drown her meant she moved back in with her father and his new family. once again, children's services were involved.

but herfather�*s parenting included punishment beatings. her stepmother, beinash batool, messaged her sister, "urfan beat the crap out of sara and my mind is all in bits. she's covered in bruises, literally beaten black." in march last year, sara sharif�*s school saw bruising on herface. a six—day investigation by children's services ended with them simply asking the school to monitor sara. a month later, in april, her father took her out of school, so no monitoring was possible. byjuly, here at her new home, out of sight of neighbours, the beatings accelerated. in around six weeks, she suffered 25 broken bones and a serious brain injury, but nobody took her to hospital. sara would help with the washing. judy lozeron lived next door and noticed sara was subdued. i never saw her smile or do anything that a child maybe should do.

and that worried me, really, but not... it didn't make me feel suspicious. on the 8th of august, sara's young body could take no more and she died without even being taken to hospital. she was such a special little girl. hard to put into words, actually. i don't think i've ever felt such sadness. urfan sharif and beinash batool now face life sentences for murder, while an independent review looks at the involvement of surrey children's services in sara sharif�*s short, tragic life. daniel sandford, bbc news. after sara's body was discovered, urfan sharif, sara's father, beinash batool, her stepmother, faisal malik, her uncle, and five of sara's siblings, were the subject of a police hunt across pakistan for several weeks.

caroline davies and her team spent months tracking down the man who says he gave them shelter there, hiding them from the authorities. punjab�*s rural heartland, more than 6,000km away from woking, the route, the roads the sharif family took. but where and how did they stay undiscovered? we're off to meet a man who's related to urfan sharif by marriage and, through the conversations we've been having, we think he might know more about how the three adults stayed hidden for so long in pakistan. months of searching, tip—offs and leads led us to this door in a one—track village. during the hunt, police suspected rasikh munir of hiding the family. speaking exclusively to the bbc before the trial began, he told us how he did it.

if the police raided, how did they never find you or the children? translation: from this roof, you could see the police - from all four sides. then i used to take them here. we used to go inside the fields. you hid in here? yes, with children. they were scared. they couldn't understand what was going on. you still hid them from the police, knowing that the police wanted to talk to them about sara's death? i helped urfan and the young kids. if i hadn't helped them, they would have been completely helpless. rasikh told us that, despite the police hunt, he still took the family out for haircuts, pizza and ice cream, and moved them between here and sara's grandfather's house, two hours away. it was at the grandfather's house in september 2023 that police raided and found the five children. now, incredibly, rasikh says the three adults were there too

but hid in a neighbour's garden. if true, it means that, as we filmed, the adults were metres away from us. how were they not found? translation: the family knew they were coming i because there is a big lcd to which cameras are attached. they were watching everything. rasikh says the police pressure meant the adults decided to fly back to the uk. sara's siblings were left behind. the trial may be over, but the damage reverberates — five children who lost their sister, still in limbo in pakistan, and a little girl who lost her life. caroline davies, bbc news, sialkot. daniel sandford is with me. people will have been watching our coverage with grief and horror, and asking how sara could have slipped through the net, when herfamily was known to the police and social services even before she was born.

this horrific case raises to make a huge question is. firstly, how was it that, given that the children's services department and the family court were discussing sara's case even before she was born because of concerns about violence to other children, how was it that there were decisions being discussed about taking her into care in those first few weeks of her life, which did not ultimately happen, how was it the samejudge and ultimately happen, how was it the same judge and children's services department were discussing her case again when she was six years old? how was it that when she was ten and her school report bruises to her face that the main decisive action taken by the children services department was to tell the school to monitor her? and that's it. secondly, when the school was supposed to be monitoring her and her father takes her out of school to be home—schooled, how was it that no one was able to go and check if she was ok? how was it she was then essentially beaten to death out of

sight? it raises the question, now that schools are so important in child protection, who is protecting the kids who are being home—schooled? i think a lot of people involved in child protection, including the children's commissioner today, will be using this case to push for better protection for children, and particularly for children being home—schooled. particularly for children being home-schooled.— particularly for children being home-schooled. and adam fleming will have more on this story on newsnight very much. on bbc two shortly. on the day so charice's father and stepmother are found guilty of killing the ten—year—old, we will ask the children's commissioner why opportunities to help her were missed as daniel mentioned. —— sara charice's mother and we will also hear from the grandfather of murdered teenager at star hobson who want a social services about what could happen to his granddaughter and says opportunities were missed, and says opportunities were missed, and we will discuss all of that tonight on newsnight on bbc two, bbc news and iplayer. tonight on newsnight on bbc two, bbc news and iplayer-—

now, in other news, shops are reopening and people returning to work in the syrian capital damascus, three days after the fall of the assad regime. but many people across the country want to see revenge for the atrocities that happened under bashar al—assad's rule. today, rebel fighters broken into the tomb of the former president, hafez al—assad, bashar�*s father, in the family's hometown in north—western syria. images show a coffin and parts of the mausoleum on fire. and large crowds formed in a suburb of the capital damascus, for what they believed would be a public execution of one of the former president's henchmen. there are some disturbing images injeremy bowen's report. if only moving from dictatorship to freedom was as simple as climbing onto an abandoned tank and posing for pictures. but the assad family was in power in syria long before these children's parents were even born. over half a century, a lot of anger built up,

and it is being released. sometimes politely by quiet families at the former president's home. it was looted after the assads fled — the end of what must have been an elegant lifestyle. now the house is secured by victorious fighters from hayat tahrir al—sham, hts. they borrowed the fighters�* guns for photos. until a few days ago, they would not have dared to look through the gate. the visitors were still getting used to living without fear of the regime. translation: people were living in hell and he was in his palace. l he didn't care about what they were going through. he made them live in fear, hunger and humiliation. even after we entered damascus, people would only whisper to us because they were still afraid. anger at the assads is a family affair.

much stronger revenge was on the minds of the crowd in tadamon, a quarter of damascus that suffered grievously. their fury against bashar al—assad deepened in 2013 when military intelligence operatives forced at least 41 local men into a mass grave and shot them dead. there's a video. that's one of the killers. another, abu muntajab, is being held near here, and the people had come here to watch him being hanged. imagine if someone knocked on your door and brought you by force and did not tell you anything, the reason of why you are getting killed. throughout the afternoon, more and more people arrived until thousands blocked the streets. when rumours flew around that the execution was starting, the crowd surged back and forth, jostling for the best position, not wanting to miss a thing. the man they wanted hanged had been the local boss,

a thief as well as a killer. "he stole my house and money," said muna. translation: of course i want him l dead, i would have done it myselfl with my own hands but i could not find a wax — i wanted to kill him! somehow they decided the execution was happening down the street and stampeded. if syria's new rulers do not want change to be measured in blood, they will need to control the desire for revenge. there is a real strong sense of excitement, expectation, anger as well. they want to see this man dead. they don't just want justice to be done — they want to see it being done, notjust because of his crimes, but because of the boundless cruelty of the assad regime. the revolution won! after 11! years, we just want justice!

in the end, there was no execution, at least not yet. it was probably a rumour but thousands wanted it to be true. when the weight of dictatorship is lifted, powerful forces are unleashed. how they are dealt with shapes what comes next. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. aleppo was the first major city to be captured by the rebels in their lightning offensive. thousands of people had fled their homes over a decade ago, as the assad regime crushed opposition forces there during the civil war. now some have already come back. our middle east correspondent hugo bachega reports from aleppo. they are too young to understand what is happening to the country. but they know things have changed. for the first time in their lives, they're home. their family escaped in 2012, when east aleppo was under rebel control.

forces loyal to the assad regime crushed the opposition and, four years later, reclaimed it. it meant they could not come back. they were forced to stay in rebel areas in syria, until now. translation: i'm very happy. no one can take away my happiness. we are here, sleeping, eating and drinking. we can't believe that we came back. may god protect those who took the country back. aleppo was the first major city to be captured by the astonishing rebel offensive led by the islamist group hayat tahrir al—sham. what happens here could be an indication of what is to come for the rest of the country. i came to aleppo for the first time as a student 16 years ago. there were posters, placards, with the face of bashar al—assad in public squares, streets, government buildings.

now, look at this billboard. people want to forget any memory they have of a man, of a family behind so much suffering in this country. no one knows what lies ahead for syria and its people, here and abroad. 6 million syrians left and became refugees. some are already coming back. and in aleppo, there are signs of change. this message is from the rebel alliance, saying, "freeing detainees is a debt upon our necks." it is a new era for syrians, but they are still in the shadow of the old one. hugo bachega, bbc news, aleppo. the rebel group that ousted basharal—assad, hts, took control of another city overnight — deir al—zour in the east of the country. there are others who may want to capitalise

on the instability in syria, including the islamic state group, which used to control vast swathes of the country. our security correspondent frank gardner has been looking at the threat they may now pose. thanks, reeta. when a brutal, authoritarian regime collapses, there s always a risk that bad actors will try to fill the space it once occupied. the extremejihadist groups isis ? that s so—called islamic state ? and al-qaida are no exceptions. they d both like to exploit the current situation if they could. its easy to forget this now, butjust nine years ago, the isis self—proclaimed caliphate, at the height of its power, controlled around a third of syria, governing and repressing millions of people. it was defeated by a us—led multinational coalition and today, the map of syria looks like this — its a patchwork of different spheres of control, hts in red, the kurds in purple,

and so on. now, the white area in the centre is what s known in arabic as the baadia, the empty desert. it's where the surviving remnants of isis are hiding out, getting periodically bombed by us forces, who still keep an outpost down on the border. up in the north—east corner in hasaka governate, in the kurdish area, is where isis prisoners are being held. and the fear here is what would happen if they broke out. their number includes britons who went off to join isis, like shamima begum and muslim convertjack letts. these prison camps are a tinderbox. they're angry, they're overcrowded and isis has long made it a top priority to try to break its captives out of there. that is a possibility, if the syrian kurds guarding them have to abandon those camps to flee from attacks from their enemy, turkey. there is another potential threat from isis and that's if it manages

to infiltrate the new government. don't forget that the victorious rebels, hts, are islamists previously linked to al-anda. but experts doubt they would make this mistake. hts has evolved from a group that was very much on the same side as isis to a group that has been fighting isis over the years, and the pragmatism of hts and its political ambitions mean that it is not in its interests to see syria turn into another iteration of the islamic state. finally, there is always the underlying risk, as we said at the start, that isis or al-qaida could try to exploit the general confusion in syria by recruiting or carrying out attacks. the new government is going to have to be extra vigilant. reeta. the 2030 men's football world cup will be staged across three countries — spain, portugal and morocco, it's been announced.

but there's controversy over the choice for 2034 — saudi arabia — because of concerns over human rights abuses and the environment. here's dan roan. saudi arabia has been tightening its grip on world sport, spending billions to become a destination for major events. but today, fifa delivered the prize it craved most. the host of the fifa world cup 2034 will be... saudi arabia! with the inevitable victory confirmed, these the scenes in riyadh. with fifa cosying up to the saudis in recent years and a fast—tracked process appearing to pave the way for them, this had been a formality since last year, when it emerged that their bid would be unopposed. earlier, in a highly controlled virtual meeting members of fifa's congress encouraged to vote with applause. saudi arabia's ambitious plans involve 11 new stadia, including one 350 metres above the ground in the futuristic

and still to be built desert city of neom. but with the world cup, like neighbouring qatar's two years ago, set to be staged in winter to avoid the extreme summer heat, there are concerns over its impact on a congested football calendar, on the environment and on human rights. workers will be exploited. many will die. activists may be put in prison for criticising what is happening. fans risk discrimination. the saudis deny they're sportswashing the country's human rights record, last year its sports minister telling me the world cup would help it diversify its economy and to modernise. every country around the world has room for improvement. no one is perfect and we acknowledge that and we are reforming, and these events help us reform. norway's football federation abstained from today's acclamation, but the fa were among many others to support the saudis, saying it had assurances that gay fans would be welcome at the world cup. despite the controversy, saudi's sporting revolution gathers pace. dan roan, bbc news.

now a look at some of today's other stories. an 18—year—old londoner has been sentenced to a year in prison in dubai for having a sexual relationship with a 17—year—old girl. marcus fakana, from tottenham, met the girl, who is also from london, while on holiday. the age of consent in dubai is 18. marcus fakana says he feels abandoned by the british government. the director of the fbi has said he will step down from his job before donald trump takes over the presidency injanuary. christopher wray will be leaving his post two and a half years early. wray has faced criticism during his tenure from republicans, due to the fbi's investigations into mr trump after he left office. users of facebook, instagram, and whatsapp are reporting difficulties accessing them because of a mass global outage. meta, which owns the apps, said on x that they were working to get things back to normal as quickly as posible.

it looks like something you might hang on your christmas tree. this is the first image of a galaxy — much like our own milky way — captured by nasa sjames webb space telescope. its called firefly sparkle because it resembles a swarm of multi—coloured fireflies. scientists say these star clumps are significant because they might help reveal how our own galaxy was formed. pallab ghosh has more. littered across the night sky are distant galaxies. zoom in, and we come to firefly sparkle, a very early star system. balls of different colours because the clusters are at different stages in theirformation. i just love this sparkle galaxy with its christmas lights shining, as it was when the universe was just 600 million years old. and i find that amazing that humans now have built a telescope that allow us to peer so far back in time

that we can see these very, very, this nascent phase of the galaxies forming in such a beautifully festive way. in space, the further you look, the further back in time you see. that's because of the time it takes for the light to reach us. it takes around a second for it to reach us from the moon. for the sun, it's eight minutes, and for the closest star, its four years. but the light from firefly sparkle is from not long after the very beginning of the universe, and it's taken 13 billion years to get to us. firefly is too small and too far away to be detected by the james webb telescope, but luckily, there are a cluster of galaxies in between, which acted like a gigantic magnifying glass, which enabled us to see in incredible detail the formation of a galaxy like our own milky way in the process of forming.

this artist's impression, published in the journal nature, shows what firefly sparkle really looks like. it'll help astronomers learn more about how our own galaxy was created. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the quiz is designed to encourage young people to consider a career in cybersecurity. there are seven in all but take a look at this one. our correspondent phil mackie went to birmingham to see who could crack the code. and if you don't want to know the answer, look away now! have a look. money, santa, ham... friend, card. king. is that a king? king... what's that one? ham. can you work this out? ok, so it's dollar, king, ham? buckingham palace. well done!

brilliant! and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.