there are explosions ofjoy and fireworks as syrians mark what they call victory day here and across the country. french president emmanuel macron has named his new prime minister — francois bayrou will take the place of michel barnier after days of political deadlock. a chinese businessman with links to prince andrew has lost his appeal against a decision to bar him from the uk. a bbc investigation finds that diary of a ceo host steven bartlett is amplifying harmful health misinformation on his number—one ranked podcast. and do you get annoyed by people twiddling their hair or clicking their pain, we look at a new diagnosis for those people with an absolute hatred of fidgeting.

you join us youjoin us in you join us in damascus, it is six o'clock in the evening and the sun has just set on what has been called victory day. but when darkness came, the light is still burning. you can see in the square behind me the huge crowds are not going away. there has been an explosion of fireworks and explosions of jov- fireworks and explosions of joy. as syrians mark this moment of history, a moment that so many syrians here and the millions are now living as refugees around the world, thought they would never see. the end to more than 50 years of oppressive rule by the al assad family. in the square behind me and in squares across the country, syrians have been gathering to mark this moment of celebration. despite an emerging from the group dominating the new order abu mohammed al—jolani, not to have

guns fired in celebrations, many are still doing it. it's a moment when these are heady days, there is so much emotion and anticipation. let's get a sense of what the day has been like with this report from our correspondent. the first friday prayers of a new era in the grand mosque in the heart of damascus. for centuries a foundation of faith, now thousands gathered here as they stepped into an uncertain future. savouring their freedom after decades of oppression by an authoritarian regime. from the islamist rebel leadership came a message of unity for all syrians. translation: i would like to congratulate the great syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution. i would like to invite them to public squares to express theirjoy but without gunfire and terrorising people and then let's move on to building this country back, as we have said since the beginning, we shall be victorious. god willing. from around the city, people gathered in the central square of damascus. across the country, they are

celebrating victory friday. stirring memories of other fridays earlier in the uprising, always the big day for protests against the bashar al—assad's rule. that is what galvanised people too afraid to speak to help them find their voice. years of civil war and oppression silenced that. now it is back. there isjubilation but also concern. i am so happy to be here today and that all syrians that have been waiting for four years. —— for years. now we have all our rights as syrians we have the hope to build our country again and make it one of the biggest countries in the world. we have to be a bit rational. we have some concerns because the syrian society is diverse, we have people from different places, from different religions we have to figure out a way to cope with each other, to love each other and respect for each other. this will be the major challenge for syrian people.

translation: i firmly believe that ourfuture is more brighter than the one we enjoyed under —— the one we endured under the previous regime. no more fear oppression, we stand together as one united nation. united. the syrian people are united. there are many syrians who are not here, supporters of the regime who fear revenge and minorities who fear an islamist state. there isjubilation here in the square today and the signs this week so far have been encouraging. the rebel leadership have spoken about an orderly transition, it has moved quickly to dispel fears about a hard—line religious rule. these are early days, the country has been fragmented by civil war, the economy is wrecked, there is so much to rebuild and so much could still go wrong. today is about celebrating what people here had lost hope they could ever achieve. what they are hailing as a free syria. as barbara says, syrians

are seeing this as a day of celebration, the day that they have long waited for and so many have paid such a high price for. but even in the midst of all this euphoria and ecstasy, there is a real sense of uncertainty, not knowing what lies ahead. i am joined here by our correspondent lina, you have been covering events here for so long and you're in the square today. tell me the mood you have felt here. it seems there has been 13 years of weight to have some joy. syrians have been through a lot of misery, of death, of killing, of disappearances, diaspora, this is their moment to celebrate a victory that they have a long wait for. they have called today the day of victory across the country and everyone i spoke to in the square, whether ordinary civilians, there were cheering

there. people were dancing, singing, everyone said that tomorrow is tomorrow, today is a celebration day. they were bringing in song from the days of the revolution where there were peaceful protests across the country. they named all the cities that they are celebrating. they remembered those who died, the symbols of the revolution and sang their songs. there was an incredible feeling of unity and it was a mixture, people are worried about islamists, they were down in the streets, close to the men, close to the women, close to the ones that you are with their drums, to the ones that you are with theirdrums, humming their tunes and dancing. some were doing a syrian dance on the street. as you just said, there is an explosion ofjoy that has brought all the country together. even people from different parts of syria so it's an incredible gathering. there is expressions of concern about the new caretaker

government is completely dominated by islamists, have you seen any sign that they recognise they have to be more inclusive? ., , recognise they have to be more inclusive?— inclusive? there has been a lot of criticism _ inclusive? there has been a lot of criticism and _ inclusive? there has been a lot of criticism and worries - inclusive? there has been a lot of criticism and worries among | of criticism and worries among many syrians boot syrians because they are giving some time because... they have been some steps that they are responding immediately and listening to people. one was the first meeting for the prime minister had two flags, the revolution, the country flag, and the hayat tahrir al—sham flag. after a lot of criticism, they have removed it. i have seen rebels on the ground in different locations, with signs on their uniform that are similar tojihadist signs. and similar to jihadist signs. and the similar tojihadist signs. and the next day i saw that it was removed and they put only the syrian flag. i tried to talk to them and he told me that they had to order today and not to put any flags or any signs that will remind people of horrors

or makes people worry and connect us with anything that is in the past. the third thing thatis is in the past. the third thing that is really important, so the state television which is not far away from us was also playing some koranic songs, some koranic verses, and people started criticising saying that this was not acceptable and this was not acceptable and this is tv for syria, for all syrians, the next day that was gone completely. these are a few things, a small, symbolic ones but they resonate a lot in peoples minds and how they are reacting and responding swiftly to people's criticism. the big questions that lie ahead. they say that they are suspending parliament and the constitution for the transition period and thatis for the transition period and that is three months. many in the civil society, lawyers, journalists, engineers, everyone, is chipping in saying we want to be part of the planning, we want to be part of the decision making, we don't

want to be excluded but let's extend the hand and say we are here, we want to collaborate. thank you for ways forjoining us here. we overlook these extraordinary scenes in umayyad square, syrians are now watching every single step of this new order. also being watched by countries across the region and many capitals beyond. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has been touring across the region expressing the united states's concern about what lies ahead, expressing support for new leadership in syria and the fact that the old regime was brought down. but also, expressing expectations about what the new leadership will have to do, if they want to see the sanctions lifted. the terrorism sanctions that proscribe the organisation of hayat tahrir al—sham. today the us secretary of state made a surprise visit to one of

syria's neighbours iraq, and this is what he had to say afterwards... this is what he had to say afterwards. . ._ this is what he had to say afterwards... _, . ., ., afterwards... the conviction of so many countries _ afterwards... the conviction of so many countries in _ afterwards... the conviction of so many countries in the - afterwards... the conviction of| so many countries in the region and beyond that, as syria transitions from the al assad dictatorship to, hopefully, democracy, it does so in a way that of course protects all of the minorities in syria that it produces a nonsectarian government and does not become in any way a platform for terrorism. £31 in any way a platform for terrorism.— in any way a platform for terrorism. of course, tom bateman _ terrorism. of course, tom bateman is _ terrorism. of course, tom bateman is also _ terrorism. of course, tom bateman is also travelling | terrorism. of course, tom - bateman is also travelling with antony blinken and he sent us these comments... antony blinken and he sent us these comments. . ._ antony blinken and he sent us these comments... this leg of his these comments. .. this leg of his tri- these comments... this leg of his trip to _ these comments... this leg of his trip to the _ these comments... this leg of his trip to the middle - these comments... this leg of his trip to the middle east - these comments... this leg of his trip to the middle east wasj his trip to the middle east was surrounded by secrecy because of the security concerns there still are for american diplomatic trips here to baghdad so we landed in a dc 17 military transport plane here. mr blinking and senior

officials were taken into the airfield and put on a flak jacket and was taken by helicopter and flown into central baghdad to the us embassy and then on by motorcade to meet the prime minister. that a very critical set of talks here for the americans because remember how important iraq is to what goes on in syria. there is a shared interest between the us and the iraqis basically around trying to keep the islamic state group contained and degraded in the desert areas of syria. but the other big issue and the worry for the americans is of course, the pool by iran on iraq. there is a strong iranian influence in this country. very important discussions for antony blinken here as the americans try to rally arab neighbours around syria for their demands, that the future government is inclusive and moderate and transparent.— inclusive and moderate and transarent. ., ., ., transparent. tom bateman air.

in other developments - transparent. tom bateman air. in other developments around | in other developments around the region, the israeli defence minister has told israeli soldiers to get ready for the winter because they will be expected to stay in the heights of mount of nana, which is on the northern tip of the occupied golan heights in damascus. this is part of a number of moves that israel has made since the basher al—assad regime was toppled. there have been hundreds of air strikes. israel keeps on saying that it is striking strategic locations but it has been criticised by the international community including the united nations, who say that this is the attack on its sovereignty. israeli troops have also moved into what was a demilitarised zone. the united nations, among others, regional powers, have asked israel to pull back. let's just get a sense of how the region is looking at these dramatic new developments. we

arejoined here. thank you dramatic new developments. we are joined here. thank you for joining us. it's interesting there has been such a broad welcome from the region about these developments in damascus but what kind of mood you sense in the region? it is but what kind of mood you sense in the region?— in the region? it is really natural _ in the region? it is really natural for _ in the region? it is really natural for anyone - in the region? it is really natural for anyone and l in the region? it is really - natural for anyone and everyone to express joy that 50 years of such a brutal tyranny is over but i also think that sooner or later the euphoria will wear off and what we will be left with is the anxiety that of the day after. i think that whilst everyone is happy, at the same time everyone is apprehensive and trying to get this one right given all of the uncertainty we have had since the toppling of the regime in 2003 in iraq. everyone is

tiptoeing around this train, everyone is trying to figure out how to get this one right. unlike the previous ones. i think the united states and arab neighbours are trying to coordinate their messaging. we know there is going to be a meeting injordan. but the first visit to damascus was the turkish intelligence chief, turkey, as you know has close ties with the group. hayat tahrir al—sham. are you hoping there will be able to coordinate their messages, be more inclusive, bringing other members of civil society and to governance here? if members of civil society and to governance here?— governance here? if there is ever regional _ governance here? if there is ever regional and _ governance here? if there is i ever regional and international consensus over what happens in syria that would benefit syria and the syrians a lot. it is unfortunate that the regional parties do not see eye to eye. if each one of them start pushing their own direction,

for example, if the turks decide to go after the kurds of syria in the north—east, that will be problematic and that will be problematic and that will cause the kurds to step back, not tojoin damascus, the new government in damascus, and probably keep their arms to defend themselves. so this is only one wrinkle, i can think of many others. if these wrinkles are not taken care of at the level of foreign ministers of the region, i think the road will be a bit bumpy for the syrians trying to figure out this outside of the damascus. figs figure out this outside of the damascus-— figure out this outside of the damascus. a ~ ., ., ., damascus. as you know, one of the obstacles _ damascus. as you know, one of the obstacles is _ damascus. as you know, one of the obstacles is that _ damascus. as you know, one of the obstacles is that this - damascus. as you know, one of the obstacles is that this is - the obstacles is that this is one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. hayat tahrir al—sham is on the terrorism blacklist, there is a bounty on abu mohammed al—jolani's head. here in the united states,... it's also really hard to lift the sanctions. what is your sense, can ways be found to open up

these new pathways? the statements _ these new pathways? the statements that - these new pathways? the statements that we - these new pathways? tie: statements that we heard these new pathways? tue: statements that we heard from president biden were encouraging and from the administration at large. what they have been saying is that we will notjudge abu mohammed al—jolani on his past deeds, we are looking forward to judge him on what he does next. so, this, to me, this sounds like the turning of a new page. if abu mohammed al—jolani behaves like a statesman and builds an inclusive government for everyone not only his own faction, his own islamist faction, his own islamist faction, i think then washington will be ready to play ball. until that happens, i would not say that the united states will be rushing to remove the sanctions. these crippling sanctions that used to exist on the al assad regime. to exist on the al assad regime-— to exist on the al assad reaime. ., ,, i. , . to exist on the al assad reaime. ., ,, , . .,

regime. thank you very much for “oininr us regime. thank you very much for joining us with — regime. thank you very much for joining us with your— joining us with your reflections about this momentous moment here in syria. watched so closely by so many around the world. i am sure that our viewers have heard that our viewers have heard that whilst we have been on air they have been sounds of fireworks exploding in the skies over damascus. what a moment it is for syrians wear for so many years, and ahead of this myself when i came back and forth to syria during the war, the only sounds of the skies with the sounds of syrian warplanes bombing in the suburbs, the sound of artillery, of rebels spouting on the outskirts of damascus, the sounds that led to the suffering of so many syrians and the destruction of so much in damascus and far beyond. the explosions you here tonight are the explosions ofjoy and what is called victory day in syria. it is being marked here in the capital in damascus and right across the country. whatever fears that syrians have, whatever their uncertainties,

this is a moment they have waited for so long. and they are enjoying it. before you go, we can see the fireworks behind you, it's so interesting hearing your last guests talking about his worry that the euphoria will wear off in the euphoria will wear off in the coming days but it has been an extraordinary end to an extraordinary week.- an extraordinary end to an extraordinary week. yes, not even one _ extraordinary week. yes, not even one week _ extraordinary week. yes, not even one week yet. - extraordinary week. yes, not even one week yet. this - extraordinary week. yes, not even one week yet. this past week has been an amazing moment, a moment that syrians have dreamt of for so long and it started to believe that would never happen. that they could breathe so freely. millions of syrians across the world are just glued to everything that is happening. just biding their time, just hoping that they too can come back to play a part in the country. fora back to play a part in the country. for a people that has been through so much, lost so much, knows that this is not going to be an easy way forward, not after 50 years of the repressive rule, when you live with such a repressive rule, that rule lives within

you so there is a mindset which has to be overcome, the institutions have to be built, the sanctions have to be lifted but all they need to know is that this country, at long last, is, at least, heading in the right direction. fabulous havin: the right direction. fabulous having you _ the right direction. fabulous having you there _ the right direction. fabulous having you there taking - the right direction. fabulous having you there taking us l having you there taking us through all of that. more from you throughout the course of our programme but thank you so much for now. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

you are watching bbc news. let's turn to another important couple of stories. a chinese businessman described as a "close confidante" of the duke of york has lost his appeal against a decision to bar him from entering the uk on national security grounds. the home office said they believed the man — known only as h6 — was engaged in covert activity for the chinese communist party, and that his relationship with prince andrew could be used for political interference.

our correspondent charlotte gallagher is at windsor — and joins us now. this is an extraordinary story, tell us more. tt this is an extraordinary story, tell us more.— tell us more. it is absolutely extraordinary, _ tell us more. it is absolutely extraordinary, as _ tell us more. it is absolutely extraordinary, as you - tell us more. it is absolutely extraordinary, as you say. i tell us more. it is absolutely i extraordinary, as you say. also very embarrassing for prince andrew. this man, this chinese businessmen, described as having a close working relationship with the prince, he went to his 60th birthday in 2020 and was also acting on behalf of the prince with potential investors in china. they have this incredibly close working relationship, in fact, one of the prince's advisors to him said he was the very top of the tree when it came to the prince's contacts. however, the security services were incredibly worried about this relationship as you heard there because they said he was not a businessman, in fact, he was a spy businessman, in fact, he was a spy for the chinese communist party and they worried about the kind of information he could attain. last year he was banned on the national security grounds from the uk for so he

appealed that but yesterday the judge agreed with the home office that he should be barred from the uk and he said there was an unusual amount of trust between a senior member of the royalfamily and this between a senior member of the royal family and this member of the public that he did not really know that well. there are thoughts, perhaps, that because of the prince's financial situation, the king does not fund any more, he has to upkeep his house and the royal lodge, the thought that the security of that is millions of pounds per year but he is vulnerable to this kind of financial exploitation. very embarrassing for prince andrew and the wider royal family. buckingham palace have not issued a comment, they say that as the prince is no longer working member of the royal family, it has essentially nothing to do with them. however, the chinese empty have responded and said that it is disappointing that they say that there's people in britain willing to spread baseless rumours about chinese spies. thank you very much. french president emmanuel macron has named a centrist ally, francois bayrou as the

country's next prime minister. the announcement follows the collapse of his government last week after only three months. mr macron was under pressure to select a leader who can satisfy the demands of a broad coalition and pass a budget for next year. france has been in political turmoil since the president called a snap parliamentary election injuly. with me is pierre antoine denis. tell me more about francois. he is a very well seasoned politician, he has woven for the presidential election three times in 2002, 2007, 2012 when president macron came into the picture in 2017 that is when he decided to rally behind him. one could say that, francois bayrou is one of the very first from followers of president macron because they share some of the same values, some of the same ideas when it comes to the political level. that is in itself, a problem when it comes

to fragmented and divided parliament that we are seeing now. we are seeing now how we might be able to amend those differences and do what michel barnier did not manage to do during his several months in office. this is the question and we know that there has been and we know that there has been a lot of talk in... when we listen to francois bayrou this morning he believes that as long as there as well there is a way. have a listen. translation: in life, what helps a lot is when you go on a path, that you know when you are going, that there is not one minute lost, not one unpleasant minute, so everyone knows that the road will be long but i'm not the first to take on a long road. the evening when francois mitterrand was elected president in 1981 there was sadness in other camps. i am thinking about that. the evening his election his first word was at last the troubles begin. very interesting to hear

that because the obvious question is what is he likely to do differently, do you think so that his government does not also collapsed like the last? here, what we have got is a man who has almost a guarantee that the moderate side of the assembly will not vote any sort of confidence vote on him so they will follow him, they have said we are part of the opposition, we don't want any members of our party to join your government, so we will not try and kill this or nip this in the bud, if you will. they want to give him at least the benefit of the doubt which is not of the taste of the far left which you may remember in the snap elections had this momentum with them. they ended up momentum with them. they ended up with their left coalition becoming the first group in parliament and also very interesting is the response from marine le pen and the far right national rally, saying

that we will not also try and kill this government, we want to see what happens, as long as it listens to us, as long as he listens a little bit more than what michel barnier tried to do. . ~' , ., what michel barnier tried to do. ., ,, , ., , do. pierre, thank you very much, there _ do. pierre, thank you very much, there is _ do. pierre, thank you very much, there is so - do. pierre, thank you very much, there is so much i do. pierre, thank you very i much, there is so much and do. pierre, thank you very - much, there is so much and he's generally amongst the public and it will be absolutely fascinated watching what happens in the next few weeks. in about 30 minutes' time, we actually have the transfer of power from the previous actually have the transfer of powerfrom the previous prime minister to the next prime minister, we will show you those live pictures and comments just as soon as it happens in paris. we will have more of today's headlines here in just a more of today's headlines here injust a moment more of today's headlines here in just a moment or two, more of today's headlines here injust a moment or two, don't go away. hello. in many places, it has turned into another one of these grey, murky, damp and drizzly days. there is a change on the way for the start of the weekend. this weak frontal system pushes southwards and eastwards, and leaves us with a window of clearer skies and some sunshine for saturday,

but that won't last. this warm front then shifts its way eastwards and introduces a lot of cloud once again for sunday. in many ways, we're back to square one. some misty, murky conditions, some damp conditions, but it is going to feel mild for the second half of the weekend. back to the here and now. this view is representative of the sort of weather we've got across many parts of the uk. thick clouds and misty murky conditions, spots of rain and drizzle. a few brighter glimpses here and there. temperatures generally stuck in single digits. but here comes our weather front. quite a weak front. the rain fizzling as it goes. but behind it, you can see the skies clearing. yes, some showers blowing into the north—west of the uk. wintry showers over high ground in northern scotland. and as that weather front clears through and the skies clear, temperatures will drop away. so still the leftovers of the cloud, the mist, the murk, the spots of rain and drizzle across the south—east corner first thing, but that should clear. here is our window of sunshine

for saturday, albeit with some showers out towards the west. but then we see the cloud thickening once again through the afternoon. some rain into northern ireland and western scotland. that process continues during saturday evening, this warm front working its way eastwards. it's going to turn quite misty, murky, damp and drizzly. but it will turn increasingly mild through saturday night, into the first part of sunday morning. actually, as we wake up on sunday morning, temperatures will generally be around 7 to 11 degrees. mild start to sunday. that mild airjust keeps pumping in through the day. the winds picking up. could see gusts of around 60mph through the afternoon across the northern isles. it'll be very murky, damp and drizzly, and some heavy rain will start to develop in the north—west of scotland. temperatures — 11, 12, 13 degrees. but that rain in the north—west of scotland is set to continue into monday and tuesday. could be enough rain to give some flooding issues elsewhere. generally, a lot of cloud, some brighter spells,

but it will be mild.

welcome back to bbc news. let's turn to our main headlines. mass gatherings across syria as people celebrate the end of five decades of authoritarian rule by the assad regime. a

chinese businessman with links