after 50 years of incarceration, of disappearances, of executions, 50 years of cruelty to the families, the prisoners, to the syrian people, these people want information, they want a body to bury, and they want a reckoning. also tonight, sir keir starmer says questions need to be answered over the death of 10—year—old sara sharif. after her father and stepmother are found guilty of her murder, the pm wants increased protections brought forward for children who are home—schooled. beeping nhs bosses say a tidal wave of flu is sweeping england's hospitals. a man who tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers during the summer riots is jailed for nine years. in there by tavernier — it's a good chance... it's a goal for rangers! and rangers take the lead in their europa league tie

against tottenham, but was it enough? 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. in syria's new dawn, parliament has been suspended — along with the constitution — for the next three months. rebel leaders who ousted the long—time dictator bashar al—assad say the moves are necessary to allow for a smooth transfer of power. but a spokesman says syria's religious and cultural diversity, religious and cultural diversity won't be threatened. it comes as syrians continue to search prisons and hospitals for news of missing loved ones who disappeared during assad's repressive rule. from damascus, jeremy bowen has our top story — and a warning there are some

details you may find distressing. they have to find the missing and identify the dead before they can build a new syria. 35 more bodies of men killed in prison have arrived at the mortuary, and the hospital mortuary is full. the only way to find her missing son, father or brother is to look for yourself. —— find a missing son. translation: it is painful. at the same time we have hope. if we find him between the bodies, anything, as long as he is not missing. we want to find something of him. we want to know what happened to him. we need an end to this. the what happened to him. we need an end to this. . ., ., , to this. the examination room is full of bodies _ to this. the examination room is full of bodies too. _ to this. the examination room is full of bodies too. if _ to this. the examination room is full of bodies too. if they - to this. the examination room is full of bodies too. if they can't . to this. the examination room is| full of bodies too. if they can't be identified easily the medics take tissue samples, building up evidence for dna tests and future

prosecutions. have you managed to find out how these men died? sometimes because of find out how these men died? sometimes because 0 sometimes because of factors, the bodies are not _ sometimes because of factors, the bodies are not good _ sometimes because of factors, the bodies are not good shape, - sometimes because of factors, the bodies are not good shape, hard i sometimes because of factors, the i bodies are not good shape, hard to say the exact reasons, but they have suffered from fractures. the? say the exact reasons, but they have suffered from fractures.— suffered from fractures. they have been beaten? _ suffered from fractures. they have been beaten? yes, _ suffered from fractures. they have been beaten? yes, we _ suffered from fractures. they have been beaten? yes, we think- suffered from fractures. they have been beaten? yes, we think so. i l been beaten? yes, we think so. i came here _ been beaten? yes, we think so. i came here yesterday. _ been beaten? yes, we think so. i came here yesterday. this - been beaten? yes, we think so. i came here yesterday. this was i been beaten? yes, we think so. i l came here yesterday. this was very difficult for me. what future... we hope it will be better, but this is really hard. hope it will be better, but this is really hard-— hope it will be better, but this is reall hard. , , ., really hard. the presidential palace built hiuh really hard. the presidential palace built high on _ really hard. the presidential palace built high on a _ really hard. the presidential palace built high on a crag _ really hard. the presidential palace built high on a crag above - really hard. the presidential palacel built high on a crag above damascus where it can be seen across the city embodies the arrogance of the assads who broke syria to try to save their regime. it might not be possible to put this fractured country back together. in 2015i met bashar

al—assad at guest palace in the presidential compound. his successes need to act fast to undo the legacy of the war he chose to fight. —— his successors. the same corridor is now a patch of quiet, in a country full of weapons, anger, poverty and calls for vengeance with dozens of armed groups who want their own slice of the syria assad left in pieces. he was extravagantly polite in quite an old—fashioned way. coming into the room, he would leap up off the sofa, then on the way out he would say "after you", then they would hold back the door and walk out first. he didn't seem to be a guy who would be at home in a torture centre, but he certainly seems to be a guy who would be very happy giving the orders to get people tortured and killed. on a wall outside the hospital in damascus, the photos of dead men. it is hard to see the

person they knew in a gallery of smashed and decomposing faces. the families of the missing get as close as they can, and often all they have are the names and places where they were last seen. mahmoud... sabar, ahmed, raqqa, 2013. ali, damascus, 2015. 50 years of the assads, 50 years of ed kassig creations, disappearances, executions. 50 years of cruelty to the families, the prisoners, to the syrian people. these people want information. they want a body to bury, and they want a reckoning. "my

husband ibrahim", she is saying, taken in 2012. everyone had a photo, name and a date. the regime drilled so much pain into syrians that some here are terrified assad could even return. a new syria needs to deliver lives without fear. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. that was jeremy with some of his reflections there. an american who'd been missing sincejune has been found in syria after being released from prison by rebels as president assad's regime fell. travis timmerman from missouri was found by residents near the capital damascus, and said he'd been arrested when he entered the country on foot seven months ago. lucy williamson has that story. prisoner of the old syria, proof of the new one. travis timmerman, an american from missouri, released by rebel forces on monday as they swept president assad from power.

in the middle of the night or early morning they came with a hammer and knocked my door in, and there was two men with guns and then there was another man named eli. and they helped me get out of prison and helped me get into damascus. the men who found him put this video on social media, saying he was in safe hands and had been checked by a doctor after seven months in the custody of assad's military intelligence. it wasn't too bad. it wasn't bad. i was never beaten. the only really bad part was that i couldn't go to the bathroom when i wanted to. timmerman was found wandering through this damascus suburb today by syrians celebrating freedom themselves. locals here in this neighbourhood are telling us that they found a foreigner wandering in the streets outside.

they said he was in fairly good condition, but they brought him here and gave him some food and some water. they said he was very hungry and talking in english, but they couldn't understand what he was saying, and they didn't know exactly who he was. they showed us the selfies they'd taken with him as the militia now in charge here looked on. translation: they found him barefoot on the road. - he kept repeating that he was held by military intelligence in damascus. we helped him, offered him food, treated him well as a human being without any consideration of his american citizenship. travis timmerman�*s story is one among tens of thousands from assad's notorious prison system. many more brutal will never be told, silenced by the man many syrians see

as the biggest criminal of them all. lucy williamson, bbc news, damascus. let's rejoinjeremy, who's in the syrian capital. jeremy, parliament and the constitution suspended for the next three months. what might that tell us about the new leadership? well, clive, the parliament was a rubber stamp for the assad regime, whose members use to compete to praise him on the occasions when he deigned to appear in their chamber. the constitution, clearly, was no good at all in terms of protecting any syrians, so potentially that could be a good move, to rebuild something new. the question is what they put in its place. now, hts, the militia that overthrew the regime, is an islamist group that broke from

al-qaeda in 2016, so clearly people are wondering whether that change, that conversion, was genuine. here in damascus, people have been going around to the minority religious groups, christians and so on, and saying to them, reassuring them that there will be religious freedom, that people will be able to dress the way that they want, but there have been reports on social media that in homs, a couple of hours drive from here, femalejudges have been told to wear head scarves in court, and if they are resisting i am told that the moment. so the thing is as well that there are troublesome neighbours from the syrian point of view who like to interfere in this country, israel and turkey in particular. there are questions about how they will affect the equilibria here. but i think in terms of the way this is going we have to remember it is less than a week since assad was forced out and

forced into exile, so it's really very early days. too early to try and make a judgment.- very early days. too early to try and make a judgment. and make a 'udgment. indeed. jeremy, man and make ajudgment. indeed. jeremy, many thanks — and make ajudgment. indeed. jeremy, many thanks for— and make ajudgment. indeed. jeremy, many thanks for that. _ and make ajudgment. indeed. jeremy, many thanks for that. jeremy _ and make ajudgment. indeed. jeremy, many thanks for that. jeremy bowen, l many thanks for that. jeremy bowen, our international editor live in damascus. here, the prime minister says here, the prime minister says questions need to be answered questions need to be answered over the death of 10—year—old over the death of 10—year—old sara sharif after her father sara sharif after her father and stepmother were found and stepmother were found guilty of her murder. guilty of her murder. sara had been home—schooled shortly sara had been home—schooled shortly before her death and now before her death and now sir keir starmer says increased sir keir starmer says increased protections are being brought protections are being brought forward for children being educated at home. forward for children being educated at home. there's been a 20% increase there's been a 20% increase in parents taking their children out in parents taking their children out of school in the past year. of school in the past year. here's alison holt. here's alison holt. sara sings sara sings sara sharif, the little girl sara sharif, the little girl with big dreams of being a singer. with big dreams of being a singer. the ten—year—old failed the ten—year—old failed in the most shocking, in the most shocking, brutal way by the father brutal way by the father and stepmother who should and stepmother who should have kept her safe. have kept her safe. the family's drawn—out history the family's drawn—out history of domestic violence of domestic violence was known to the courts, was known to the courts,

social workers, police, and there social workers, police, and there were concerns from teachers. were concerns from teachers. as in similar distressing child deaths, it brings questions about whether more could have been done to protect her, including from the prime minister. it's about making sure there's protections and safeguards

calls surrey children's services received that month. 1,250 cases were investigated further, including sara's. with her, it was decided there weren't sufficient concerns to involve social workers further. across england, figures published today by the expert panel that examines all major child protection cases show a85 children died or were seriously harmed in safeguarding incidents in the last year. that number includes sara. the head of the expert panel says professionals need time with families. ability to check some of your previous assumptions and to be able to finesse that and to act accordingly. and that's difficult. the government is introducing a requirement for families who've been subject to a child protection inquiry, like sara's was,

to get council permission before taking a child out of school. there are also plans to increase early support for families. alison holt, bbc news. a man who tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in rotherham during the summer riots has beenjailed for nine years. it's the joint—highest sentence related to the disorder, following the stabbing of three girls in southport injuly. levi fishlock, who's 31, was seen breaking windows and setting fire to a wheelie bin. here's phil bodmer. levi fishlock, wearing a distinctive purple shirt, is seen throwing bricks at police officers and loading flammable wooden fence panels into a burning waste bin. the 31—year—old travelled from his home in barnsley to take part in disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in rotherham in august. today at sheffield crown court, he was jailed for nine years for arson with intent to endanger life and violent disorder.

in his sentencing remarks, the recorder of sheffield, his honourjudgejeremy richardson kc, told fishlock, "you were a leading participant in an ignorant racist attempt at mob rule". he said, "you were to the fore, indeed, you were right at the front in this truly appalling civil disorder of major proportions". he said, "an exemplary and deterrent sentence is necessary". the venom of racism and racially motivated violence suffused the events from first to last. more than 60 police officers were injured during the violence, some seriously. as rioters circled the hotel, security staff and people inside were told to hide in bedrooms and lock their doors. fishlock initially told police he had been arrested for a good cause. today's sentence is the joint longest term handed down in connection with widespread disorder last summer. phil bodmer, bbc news.

hospital leaders across england are warning they're being hit by a "tidal wave" of flu and other winter viruses. nhs england says there has been a 70% increase in hospital flu cases in the past seven days. and the total number of people in hospital with flu is 3.5 times higher than for the same period last year. hugh pym has been at one a&e to see how winter pressures are taking their toll. corridor care — lines of numbered beds. but hospitals say it has to be like this to get ambulances back on the road. it's an overdoses i in the side corridor. should i tannoy for him? he's here. 0h... he's on the phone. so he is seeing number six. perfect. nurses and doctors are allocated these patients. the care is safe, but not ideal, says consultant amir. we do what we can to try and deliver the best care we can do.

but if you were to ask me, would i be happy for my mother to be cared for in a corridor? i would say no. john has just been unloaded from an ambulance. it may be broken, his hip. they're not sure. until the x—ray, they're not sure. now the hunt for a hospital bed is on so he can be moved off the trolley. the only one that could potentially go to a ward is the one in number eight. but the whole system is backlogged. james takes us to the respiratory ward to see if any discharges are planned. i've only got one potential for today. terence came into a&e last week. i was in a&e for 26 hours before they... before we were moved even onto a bed. lunchtime — those waiting in the corridors are offered sandwiches and water, but for some, this is their third meal here. colin arrived in a&e nearly 2a hours ago. it's a long wait, isn't it? looking at the amount of people in here, i think i'm quite lucky.

i've never seen so many bodies all over the place. back tojohn, two hours later. he's finally leaving the doorway and is off for x—ray. possibly, we could always do with some more porters. i think there's a recognition that when you're moving patients from here to x—ray, what used to be a quick 30 second journey has now turned into a mario kart journey of trying to avoid patients. the elderly are also vulnerable to flu, and amir is worried. most of the patients that have come in here have come in with respiratory problems. i cannot stress how much and how important it is for patients to have their covid jabs and their flu jabs this year. it is confirmed broken, the hip on the left side, so unfortunately, he will need an operation on that. forjohn, it's back to the draughty corridor to wait. crowded and cramped in old buildings, doctors here say only a new hospital is the answer. hugh pym, bbc news, south—west london.

a woman has been taken to hospital in birmingham after a christmas funfair ride crashed. the 55 metre ride failed, dropping to ground level. her injuries are not thought to be serious. 11 others were treated at the scene in the city centre. west midlands police say the area remains sealed off. specialist teams searching for the missing former england rugby player, tom voyce, have found a body close to where the 43—year—old was swept away as he tried to drive across a flood—swollen river in northumberland. the water level was particularly high at the weekend when storm darragh lashed the uk. high at the weekend formal identification is yet to take place, but mr voyce's next of kin have been informed. the head of nato has warned that the alliance isn't ready for the threats it will face from russia and called for a shift to a wartime mindset. in a speech in brussels, mark rutte said future spending would need to be considerably higher

than the current target of 2% of national wealth. katya adler is in brussels. is this in any way a realistic ambition? well, clive, mark rutte is the new secretary general of nato, but before that and until recently, he was for a long time the prime minister of the netherlands. so he knows the score. he knows that for voters across europe, the netherlands and the uk, the priorities are not immediately defence and russia, for example. it's about health care, housing and the rising cost of living. that's why, for example, the uk government has said yes, we will increase our defence spending when the economic conditions are right. well, mark rutte said today that that is not good enough. he said his speech today was addressed not so much at governments, but the voters who put them there, to try to persuade them that spending more on defence is

about safeguarding the future. but obviously, clive, the timing of this speech has also got to do with donald trump being re—elected to the white house. he is known as not being a fan of nato, and that is putting it politely. he views some european countries as freeloaders, and he knows that this continent still relies heavily on the us for its security. my plea here is, if you have children and grandchildren, if you think our way of life should be preserved, democracy, ourvalues, then we have to prioritise defence. the united states, donald trump, he says europe has to pay its way. are you worried that if europe doesn't up its spending, that he could turn his back on this transatlantic alliance? but we will spend more. are you worried he might turn his back, though? no, i'm not, because it won't come to that and i don't want to spend more because of donald trump. he's right we have to spend more, absolutely. he was right, he is still right.

so it's not just so it's notjust about conventional warfare or ukraine for mark rutter, is about cyberattacks, it's about the stabilisation to disinformation. it's about attacks on critical infrastructure like energy grids or those under internet cables that are used for billions of pounds�* worth of financial transactions today. his basic message — cough up a bit more now, or risk paying dearly later if we don�*t protect ourselves. katee we don't protect ourselves. katya adler, we don't protect ourselves. katya adler. our— we don't protect ourselves. katya adler, our europe _ we don't protect ourselves. katya adler, our europe editor. - the government has dismissed accusations that it�*s "waging war" on rural england after setting out sweeping changes to the planning system. councils will be forced to allow many more housing developments as part of efforts to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. the conservatives say the targets put too much of a burden on areas in the countryside. here�*s alex forsyth. hello. how are you? hr. - i'm keir. this might look a bit familiar — politicians in high—vis promising house building. but this time, they say it�*s

going to be different. well, i've got 1.5 million homes for you to build! that�*s what they�*ve promised. and to get there, they say councils will have to get on board, meet much higher housing targets, and if they can�*t find land that�*s previously been built on, they�*ll have to look at what they call low—quality greenbelt land. for years, we�*ve had not enough houses being built. that means that individuals and families don�*t have the security that they want. we�*re determined to break through that, to do what�*s necessary. of course, we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment. the hard hats might come in handy because development can be divisive. in rural north kent, this land is earmarked for almost 8,500 new homes, along with schools, doctors and roads. but you don�*t have to head far to find someone who�*s unhappy. so all of this would be houses. it would no longer be a village, will it? so it will. . . it�*ll be just another part of a commuter belt

towards london, really, won�*t it? what do you say to the people that say "we need houses"? what is proposed is a monstrous amount of housing with a tiny proportion that's affordable. what is desperately needed is affordable rented accommodation. what are the government even. thinking, considering developing farmland, which we need for uk future food security? _ the local council was poised to reject the scheme, but the government stepped in, saying it would make the final decision — to the fury of some here. what�*s happening here is a prime example of the government�*s whole challenge when it comes to housebuilding. they say more homes have to be built, but there�*s often lots of local opposition. the question is whether ministers will be prepared to press on when they come up against real concern. for some, the fact ministers seem willing to intervene to get building if needed is welcome. sittingbourne football club would get a new ground if the local scheme goes ahead.

the developers are sponsors and the chairman says the whole area would benefit. we need the roads and this gives us a newjunction on the motorway, which we do need. the business community definitely wants this to keep — to retain jobs in the area and hopefully expand jobs in the area. that�*s the government�*s hope too — more houses, more growth — but delivering on this will be complex and, in some places, contentious. alex forsyth, bbc news. coming up on newsnight on bbc two shortly, there�*s an exclusive interview with the father of harshita brella, the young woman whose body was found in the boot of a car in east london last month. he sobs. translation: i used to say to her, "when i die, - i want you to perform my final rites. i had no idea that i

would have to do hers." a powerful interview coming up shortly on newsnight. scientists say they�*ve discovered that inter—breeding between neanderthals and early humans while migrating from africa to europe around 118,000 years ago was critical to the success of our species. the study suggests the genes that modern humans inherited inherited from neanderthals may have helped our ancestors adapt to life away from africa. pallab ghosh has the details. our kind evolved into various different types of human, but why were we the only ones to survive? the answer lies in the dna scientists extracted from ancient fossil remains. they show that our species, modern humans, died out several times. often, we are seeing ourselves, modern humans, as a big story of success coming out of africa 50,000 years ago, moving all over the world, expanding into all kinds

of ecosystems and really being the kind of most successful mammal on the planet. but that actually shows that at that time, we were not. we go extinct multiple times in different ecosystems or areas, continents like europe that we moved into. ourspecies, homo sapiens, evolved in africa around 200,000 years ago. a large wave began to leave the continent around 60,000 years ago, running into the neanderthals on the way, and began to spread across the globe. the new research shows that around 118,000 years ago, those leaving africa interbred with the neanderthals, who lived in the middle east and europe, and their offspring also migrated. the scientists found that those who arrived before the interbreeding went extinct. you can see straight away, the shape of the skull is different. the results, which have been in the journals nature and science,

have surprised independent experts. perhaps getting neanderthal dna was even part of the success, because it gave us better adaptive capabilities outside of africa, because we had evolved in africa in an african environment. these other populations like neanderthals had evolved outside of africa, and they had, for example, immune defences to the local diseases and pathogens. by interbreeding with the neanderthals, we got a quick fix to our immune systems. the analysis of ancient dna has lifted a veil on the mysterious story about evolution. that story has today been rewritten. pallab ghosh, bbc news. it�*s been a night of european action for british clubs. in the conference league, chelsea beat astana 3—1, while in the europa league, manchester united came from behind to beat viktoria plzen 2—1. there�*s also been an all—british tie this evening, with rangers hosting spurs at ibrox. jane dougall reports.

it�*s been more than 60 years since these two sides met competitively. rangers fans have suffered a poor start, but their season has improved. but despite the riches of the premier league team, times are tough for tottenham. theirfans heading north to support them. and how rangers would love to exact revenge on ange postecoglou, the man who used to manage their bitter rivals celtic. the home side came close early on — a chilly ibrox bouncing, notjust to keep warm. it was goalless at half—time, spurs not connecting — much to their manager�*s disgust. rangers capitalised. captainjames tavernier�*s cross in, and hamza igamane set ibrox alight — giving them an early christmas present. just look at them in here! but tottenham weren�*t going home empty—handed either, slicing through the defence. kulusevski! and there�*s how you save face.

with just minutes to go, rangers had a chance to win it... ..but the spurs keeper was equal to the shot. a draw might not please the fans, or the managers, but it certainly eases the pressure on them both. ange postecoglou shook his head as he walked off the pitch at ibrox. not how the former celtic manager wanted his return to glasgow to go, and the pressure is heaped upon him because tottenham now go back to london with just one win in eight games. rangers, on the other hand, may feel they should have won that match, but their attention now turn to domestic matters because they are in the final of the scottish league cup on sunday and they play celtic. 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.