over his failed attempt to impose martial law. prince andrew says he "ceased all contact" with a businessman accused of being a chinese spy — after the uk government raised concerns. a former manchester city footballer has been elected in a vote in georgia's parliament, despite condemnation from the incumbent president and the pro— eu opposition that the process is illegitimate. mikheil kavelashvili is a former mp from the increasingly authoritarian ruling georgian dream party and was the only candidate for the job. it comes after 17 days of pro—eu protests across the country's towns and cities. this was the scene outside parliament earlier.

the four main opposition groups have rejected kavelashvili and have boycotted parliament, insisting that the elections held in october were rigged. our south caucasus and central asia correspondent rayhan demytrie has been outside parliament in the georgian capital, tblisi, where protestors have gathered. she told us what they are saying... these protesters, kasia, they do not recognise mikheil kavelashvili as their country's next president. the voting took place earlier today. it was the electoral college, which consists of members largely loyal to the ruling georgian dream party, and when the ballots were counted, we were there. pretty much everyone voted in favour of mikheil kavelashvili. he's the candidate who was proposed by the ruling party and currently in georgia's parliament, there's only one party. it's the georgian dream, the ruling party, because the opposition is boycotting the parliament, citing vote rigging in october

parliamentary elections. it's really cold in tbilisi, the georgian capital. but despite that, we're seeing more and more peoplejoining the protests and there have been nightly protests here for more than two weeks. earlier, some people were kicking the football as a kind ofjoke and saying that mikheil kavelashvili, perhaps he was a good footballer in his previous career, but they do not believe that he is fit to be the country's next president. they were holding red cards and also people here are saying that he is not qualified to be the next head of state. all of this is happening with the incumbent president, salome zurabishvili, who earlier today walked past the protest area and she was cheered by the crowd. she has said that she won't be stepping down, and she won't be leaving her office because she considers the current parliament illegitimate

and anti—constitutional. and the main demand from the protesters here in the streets, from the opposition and president salome zurabishvili, is to hold new elections to, they are saying this is the only way out of the current political crisis. rayhan, just in terms of this vote by the georgian parliament, this has been a change to the way that georgian presidents are elected. can you just help us to understand how that has been changed because, of course, previously this would have been a popular vote, whereas now it's an electoral college? that's right. mikheil kavelashvili is the first president to be elected via the electoral college, but he's the third presidential candidate who has been nominated by the ruling georgian dream party. this party has been in power since 2012, and two previous presidential candidates that were nominated by the party

and became presidents through popular vote, they, over time became critics of the governing party and particularly of the founder of the ruling party, billionaire founder bidzina ivanishvili. so mikheil kavelashvili is seen by the ruling party as a loyalist. and a short while ago, the country's prime minister said that for many years, this country did not have a president who is mentally and psychologically, as he said, was fit to be the head of state. and he said that mikheil kavelashvili will be such president. earlier on i spoke to an investigative journalist in tbilisi and she told me a little bit more about what happened when she tried to interview mikheil kavelashvili. this man has not got a political background from the previous georgian presidents because the first

president of independent georgia had anti—soviet background and salome zourabichvili, the incumbent president, she is highly qualified diplomat. as a journalist has already mentioned, mikheil kavelashvili is not considered as legitimate president of georgia by the thousands of georgian citizens. mikheil kavelashvili is a man who is quite unfriendly to media. me and my colleagues, i will say about my story with him, i tried to take an interview with him when he was an mp at georgian parliament. it was in april, i guess and he did not answer. he didn't answer and he never answers. he is quite unfriendly to the human rights organisations in media and to his colleagues from the oppositional party.

he is a footballer and he has no diploma. it is proved that he has no higher education, which is something very special and respected for the thousands of people in georgia. and i would like to emphasise that when government, the georgian dream, when they called him as any nominee for the presidency, they said that the major criteria as his loyalty to georgian dream, to the real governor of georgian dream. so the major criteria wasn't his diploma, his political background, just loyalty. we're continuing to monitor the situation in georgia.

us secretary of state antony blinken has met with the turkish foreign minister hakan fidan, as they and other top diplomats held talks injordan to discuss the fallout from the overthrow of bashar al—assad's regime in syria. in the last hour antony blinken has given a statement in thejordanian city of aqaba, in which he said the talks have agreed the need for �*inclusive and representative�* syrian government. let's listen back. we agreed that the transition process should be syrian led and syrian owned, and produce an inclusive and representative government. the rights of all syrians, including minorities and women, should be respected. humanitarian aid should be able to reach people who need it. state institutions should deliver essential services to the syrian people.

syria should not be used as a base for terrorist groups or others who threaten syria's people, its neighbours or the world. chemical weapons stockpiles should be secured and safely destroyed. syria should have peaceful relations with its neighbours. these talks injordan come as diplomatic moves are gathering pace to stabilise the country, where mass rallies have been taking place to celebrate the end of five decades of authoritarian rule by the assad regime. thousands of people packed into the main square in damascus on friday setting off fireworks, sounding their car horns, and waving a new nationalflag — that of the rebel forces. in aleppo, residents danced in the streets and set fire to a huge billboard depicting the assads. now although, mr blinken says he has made contact with hts, they are still designated as a terrorist group. i spoke to aaron david miller about the challenges the western could face when establishing a relationship with this new syrian regime.

you know, the aspirational agenda that the secretary laid out in aqaba is truly aspirational. and i think we have to be very sober and realistic here. hds is a deeply conservative, authoritarian islamist movement, whether it has the capacity to to govern a multi—confessional, ethnically diverse syria, a country of, what, 22, 22 to 23 million people who that has been literally broken in so many ways economically, psychologically, militarily, uh, and liberated from the legacy of the assads remain remains to be seen. you know, by american statute, it's hayat tahrir al—sham was designated a foreign terrorist organisation which imposes certain legal strictures. there's no law, however, that says the united states, if it perceived to be in the us national interest, cannot engage directly with hts. and i think i'm glad those contacts have been under way, because to get our information

from the turks or some other, party that does have the capacity to engage directly with hts is probably not a wise, directly with hts is probably not a wise, not a not a wise approach. not a not a wise approach. the problem, of course, the problem, of course, is the us cannot accept, is the us cannot accept, with certain waivers begin with certain waivers begin to funnel humanitarian to funnel humanitarian and reconstruction and reconstruction assistance to syria with without a de—listing. assistance to syria with without a de—listing. and that's going to end up, and that's going to end up, i think, being a decision that the incoming administration i think, being a decision that is going to be faced with, whether or not they'll agree whether or not they'll agree to delist is another matter. to delist is another matter. administration, i think so a challenge there. so a challenge there. of course, you were the former of course, you were the former us state department official us state department official adviser on arab—israeli negotiations. adviser on arab—israeli negotiations. we heard antony blinken we heard antony blinken there say that he wants syria there say that he wants syria to have good relations to have good relations with its neighbours. with its neighbours. we also know that israel has we also know that israel has been targeting various former military sites of the assad regime. antony blinken, is he calling for israel to stop? not directly and probably not even indirectly, in the waning been targeting various former

days of of the biden

with a very uncertain situation in syria. the assad government was many things, and clearly no one can not be happy that, in fact, it's gone. the israelis, however, will now be dealing with perhaps a more fractious syria and islamist elements, notjust isis, but hts. now, whether hts is going to make israel an issue or not is is unclear, but they will clearly work to preserve syrian sovereignty and israeli policies over the course of the last several days and weeks have undermined that concept. so again, among the many other obstacles and challenges that the new syrian polity faces will be the issue of how to reconcile or deal with a very proactive, risk ready israeli government. our thanks to aaron david miller. much more on syria on our website.

thousands of people have been celebrating on the streets of seoul after south korea's parliament voted to impeach the president. yoon suk yeol�*s future was thrown into crisis earlier this month when he tried to impose martial law on the country. the move was seen as the biggest test south korea's democracy has faced. our correspondentjean mckenzie is in the capital seoul. cheering. in a moment, a protest erupted into a street party as the people of south korea rejoiced in the downfall of a president many have long despised. they'd accused him of being authoritarian, of eroding their democracy. yet no one could have guessed what he had planned. when mr yoon suddenly stole from the playbook of past military dictators, dispatching troops to storm the parliament, placing this country under martial law, he committed his final unforgivable act.

as the folk on the way warning from parliament speaker. the wei . ht of from parliament speaker. the weight of your _ from parliament speaker. tue: weight of your ballot from parliament speaker. tte: weight of your ballot is heavy today. it carries the weight of history, the weight of democracy, he says. history, the weight of democra , he sa s. ., ~ , democracy, he says. enough mps he did his words, _ democracy, he says. enough mps he did his words, the _ democracy, he says. enough mps he did his words, the motion - he did his words, the motion passed byjust four he did his words, the motion passed by just four votes. he did his words, the motion passed byjust four votes. the irony is he that he didn't —— he wanted to do things his own way and he didn't mind he would be up third. south korea people have shown tonight that in a democracy, and they are democracy, and they are democracy you cannot act alone. however much you might try. president yoon has disappeared. so happy to. for now he is suspended. the

courts will have the final say. tonight mr yoon has said he is determined to fight on. this is the biggest test korea's young democracy have ever faced. people's persistence have paid off about the politicians have listened. tonight this is their victory. to discuss the impeachment vote in more detail, i spoke to katherine moon — a professor of political studies, wellesley college in massachusetts. she discussed what spurred it — and explained what will happen next. i think they heeded the call of the people who are unnerved and very distressed by the martial law declaration. and have been putting a lot of pressure publicly and privately for legislators to take action to impeach this man.-

legislators to take action to impeach this man. what happens next following _ impeach this man. what happens next following this _ impeach this man. what happens next following this vote? - impeach this man. what happens next following this vote? he - next following this vote? he doesn't automatically go. he is suspended- — doesn't automatically go. he is suspended. all _ doesn't automatically go. he is suspended. all his _ doesn't automatically go. he is suspended. all his presidentialj suspended. all his presidential powers and authority are suspended. the current prime minister is now the acting president, which helps secure some sense of stability and chain of command in korean politics and governance. as far as the impeachment process goes, now the constitutional court will preside over the case and they will be the final arbiters of this process. they have about six months to decide whether yoon should be impeached, whether there are legitimate grounds. we're sure that as far as yoon goes, the way he is acting now the president will be trying to fight for his political life. he is well—versed in the legal processes sense he once had served as prosecutor general of

the country. if i could just add that the constitutional court right now is missing three seats, three justices. there's a vacancy that need to be filled. the question is whether six out of nine who are available will vote unanimously to impeach or endorse the impeachment by the national assembly or whether the national assembly will have to appoint three more justices very quickly. it's still a precarious situation. when it comes to _ precarious situation. when it comes to south _ precarious situation. when it comes to south korea, - precarious situation. when it comes to south korea, howl precarious situation. when it - comes to south korea, how does the constitutional court work? is a politicized as we're seeing increasingly more countries leaders pack their ownjudges into countries leaders pack their own judges into those constitutional courts? is south korea similar to that or is it completely apolitical? tt’s completely apolitical? it's hard to say _ completely apolitical? it's hard to say that _ completely apolitical? tt�*s hard to say that any political body anywhere is completely apolitical. i would say the south korean constitutional court has been, the court

system in general relative to the legislature and the executive branch, thejustice executive branch, the justice system, executive branch, thejustice system, the courts, the constitutional court in particular has been according to polls in recent years more respected than the other two branches of government. so we can hope that there will be a legitimate process. this is a huge case. this is an historic moment. i think it would be unlikely that the justices would take this solely in a political light.— would take this solely in a political light. our thanks to professor — political light. our thanks to professor moon _ political light. our thanks to professor moon from - political light. our thanks to i professor moon from wellesley couegein professor moon from wellesley college in massachusetts. prince andrew says he "ceased all contact" with a businessman accused of being a chinese spy after concerns were raised by the uk government. in a statement, the duke of york said the pair met through "official channels" and had never discussed anything of a "sensitive nature". the man in question lost

an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the uk on national security grounds. graham satchell reports(tx) once again, prince andrew is underfire. hisjudgment called into question after he was targeted by a suspected spy working for the chinese communist party. a statement issued by the duke of york's office said the duke of york followed advice from his majesty's government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. the duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. he is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security. prince andrew has a long history of promoting trade links with china. the revelations that he was in a close working relationship with a man who worked for chinese intelligence have been made public after the man, known only as h6, was barred from the uk on national security grounds. when mi5 became suspicious of h6, they searched his phone.

they found a letter from prince andrew's senior adviser, dominic hampshire. it said... and in a note he'd written to himself, the alleged spy said, "manage expectations. in what may be a significant escalation in this story, the times is reporting that the suspected chinese spy attended events here at buckingham palace, at saintjames's palace, and at windsor castle. it raises the question — how much influence did he have at the very highest levels of the british establishment? mi5 has become more worried in recent times about china's influence and intelligence gathering in the uk. we see the chinese authorities playing the long game in cultivating contacts

to manipulate opinion in china's favour, seeking to co—opt and influence not just prominent parliamentarians from across the political landscape, but people much earlier in their careers and public life, gradually building a debt of obligation. the chinese embassy has called the allegations of spying a baseless smear, but there are now growing calls from some politicians for h6 to be named in the interests of national security. prince andrew stopped being a working member of the royal family after details were revealed of his friendship with convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. ever since, questions have been asked about how the prince has been funding his 30—room mansion in windsor. and while there is uncertainty about the prince's finances, it is his judgment that has once again come under the closest scrutiny. graham satchell, bbc news. a little earlier, i spoke to rana mitter, professor of us — asia relations at the harvard kennedy school.

he started by telling us how prolific china is when it comes to spying on western nations. one very important distinction has to be made because when we talk about these sorts of activities, there's a distinction between what you might call classic espionage, which is stealing secrets that are locked up somewhere, and what's called being an agent of influence, in other words, not necessarily doing anything that's explicitly illegal, but trying to get to know people, particularly elites, and then trying to put thoughts in their minds that would put them more in favour of your country. and china is a country that has done this on many occasions. there's a particular organisation called the united front work department, which has worked for pretty much a century now. actually, it was set up in the 1930s, 1940s to influence elites in western and foreign countries in general. and it looks like that's what's been going on here, probably in a broad sense. so when you hear the head of mi5 talk about this debt of obligation that potentially could be raised when that kind of influence happens, what do we mean by that? well, it could mean different things in different places.

i mean, there may be something we don't know much about this particular case, and i think it would be unwise to comment until we have full details. but in general, if someone says financially vulnerable, it might be the case that they think they're going to be able to benefit from a business contact, perhaps that might help them in that particular area. or it may be that perhaps some kind of, uh, sense that getting to know a place by visiting it and getting to know people there could be seen as building up a relationship that might be useful in political or business terms in future. after all, remember that china has a lot of interests around the world in different areas technology, trade, international diplomacy. at one level, this kind of influence gathering is something that all countries do. it's sometimes called soft power in the wider sense, but it's worth remembering that china also is keen to make sure that the interests of its ruling party, the chinese communist party, which is an authoritarian one party system is propagated both at home and abroad. now, there's nothing secret about that. it's very well known. but for many people who come into contact,

they're not fully aware of how china's political system works. and so this sort of thing can come as a surprise to them. when it's described that china is playing the long game, we're talking about years, potentially generations of this kind of influence building? potentially, yes. i mean, the idea is that perhaps when it comes to business relationships or perhaps political relationships, you build up a set of connections, i think myself. but many of the people who know china. better start off those relationships with a frank but robust sort of conversation in which they're certainly willing to talk about things that are of mutual interest. climate change might be an example of that. international banking might be another. these are areas where china has a perfectly legitimate interest in business in the uk. but by starting to try and get people on a pathway where they sort of damp down their criticism of china or basically sort of skate over over difficulties such as human rights, that's where it can lead if you don't do it the right sort of way. and i think that's what a lot of people concerned with the british

public sphere are concerned about, that the press or media might sort of become muted on these questions because they feel that they are a favour to china. i have to say, there's no immediate sign that that's happening. i think china doesn't, frankly, have a very good reputation in british media at the moment. but as some of these people have said, the long game rather than the short game may be what counts. a quick news update regarding nancy pelosi, the former speaker of the us house of representatives. she underwent a successful hip replacement in luxembourg after suffering an injury during an official engagement. hello there. the sunshine made an appearance across much of the country, certainly england and wales, for the start of the weekend, but it's all change for part two of the weekend. skies do turn cloudier again with a stronger breeze and a little bit of drizzle here and there, but what you will notice, it will be milder for all. so there's that window

of sunnier weather which we had through today pushing off into the near continent, and we see this warm front start to edge into western areas. that will introduce the cloud, outbreaks of rain, but also stronger breeze and as the name suggests, it will introduce some milder air as well. so temperatures by the end of the night up to double figures across western scotland, northern ireland, perhaps around irish sea coasts. seven to nine further east, but even that's milder than what we've had of late. sunday, then, a rather grey picture for many. limited sunny spells here and there. probably the best of it across east of england, certainly east of the pennines, north east scotland, but it will be windy across the north of the uk, gales for northern scotland and heavier rain, persistent rain beginning to pile into the north and the west highlands there. further south, a bit of drizzle over western hills, but mostly dry. and look at these temperatures. a lot milder than it's been of late — around 11 to 14 degrees. sunday night, the rain continues to pile into northern and western scotland. it stays windy here. furthersouth, drier, variable cloud, a few clear spells and all areas will be

mild with, i think, double figure values for most places. so monday, then, similar story. we've got high pressure to the south, lower pressure to the north with weather fronts here bringing more rain for northern scotland. more isobars for the northern half of the uk, so here it'll stay windy with gales again across the far north of scotland. rainfall totals really mounting up for the northwest highlands. further south, not a bad day. closer to the area of high pressure. for england and wales, we should see some sunny spells around, a few showers across western areas. there'll be some sunshine, i think, for northern ireland too. and again in that milder air, 11 to 13 or 14 degrees, so well above where we should be for the time of year. and then as we push deeper into the week, we can see that low pressure dominates the scene. in fact, deeper areas of low pressure could start to bring gales and heavier rain to more of the country through tuesday and wednesday. but we'll still be in that mild airmass as you can see here. from thursday onwards, things turn a little bit fresher with north westerly winds, sunshine and showers. in fact, temperatures returning a bit closer to the seasonal norm.

take care.

hello, welcome, you are watching bbc news. our main headlines... nearly a week after bashar al—assad's fall, the bbc visits a military base in syria, uncovering evidence of torture being carried out there. the former manchester city footballer mikheil kavelashvili is elected as georgia's new president, amid mass

protests by the opposition. and mystery grows after unknown drones were spotted in several states in the north—east of america. right, let's bring you up—to—date with all of the weekend's sports news. we can cross over to the bbc sport centre and join my colleague karthi. karthi, overto you. kasia, thank you. what is already a fascinating premier league season has been made even more interesting with league leaders liverpool playing out a 2—2 draw with fulham. arne slot�*s side were down to ten men in the first half when andy robertson was sent off, and fulham were already ahead at that point thanks to andreas pereira. cody gakpo managed to equalise for liverpool just after half—time, but fulham regained the lead with 15 minutes left thanks to rodrigo muniz. diogojota, playing his first game since october, equalised for liverpool, with neither side then able to find a winner.

newcastle united stopped their recent run of four games without a win by beating leicester city 4—0. that's a first defeat for the new leicester manager, ruud van nistelrooy. jacob murphy scored two of newcastle's four, which moves them up to 11th place and eases the pressure on their manager, eddie howe. we are disappointed that we have not been able to show that more this season. today is up there again with one of our best performances, but i do feel we are getting there despite some inconsistencies around today's performance. we have just got to focus on the future and try and replicate these levels on a regular basis. third—placed arsenal could only manage a goalless draw against everton. wolves's woes continue. thry were beaten 2—1 by ipswich, jack taylor with the late winner in the 94th minute. but both sides remain in the relegation zone. nottingham forest are currently in action against aston villa. they've just kicked off at the city ground. it is still 0—0.

there were plenty of goals in the scottish premiership, with motherwell moving up to fourth place after an eventful 4—3 win over dundee united. hibs defeated ross county 2—1. and st mirren are in the top six — they had a 3—2 win over stjohnstone. elsewhere in europe, serie a leaders atalanta beat cagliari i—o. second—placed napoli are in action against udinese — that game kicked off around half an hour ago. the score there is 1—0 to udinese. in germany, the bundesliga leaders bayern munich were beaten 2—1 by mainz — jae—sung lee with both goals for the home side. defending champions bayer leverkusen won 2—0 at augsburg. in spain, real madrid can move to the top of la liga, above barcelona, if they win away at rayo vallecano later. barcelona are in la liga action on sunday when they take on legares, looking to arrest an indifferent run of form. the catalans beat borussia

dortmund in the champions league in midweek but have only one win in their past five domestic games. i said to the team that it's up to us. so, we have to play ioo% focused and i think every team try to find a weakness in our team, so it's normal. so they will fight till the end to get some points or to get a point here, but it's up to us, so i want that the team is 100% focused on that, that they respect the opponent. but we have to play our match, our game, how we want to do it, and it's up to us. to cricket, where england have already won their test series in new zealand, but they are hoping to make it a 3—0 clean sweep. on the opening day of the final test in hamilton, their bowlers have been working away, taking nine wickets. gus atkinson finishing with figures of 3—55 — the same number of wickets that fell to matthew potts, 3—75. one of the highlights of the day was seeing one of the world's best batters,

harry brook, showing off hisjuggling abilities, taking a superb catch on the boundary. new zealand's tail dug in, with mitchell santner unbeaten on 50 — there was a half—century earlier from tom latham too. the hosts 315—9 at the close of play on day one. that's all from the bbc sport centre for now. thank you. nearly a week after the overthrow of the syrian president bashar al—assad, more details are emerging about the extent of human rights abuses committed under his rule. the bbc has visited a military base, bombed earlier this week by the israelis, which revealed evidence of torture being carried out there. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson went to the base in damascus, and just to warn you, her report contains details you may find distressing. the men who protected

president assad have gone, the control room at mezzeh military air base scarred by the moment control slipped away, its abandoned assets now targets for israeli air strikes. israel has been systematically destroying the military equipment left by the assad regime, worried about who might end up using it. russian—made aircraft, israeli bombs, militia backed by turkey, iran, the us — this was neverjust syria's war, and outside powers still have a stake here. assad's fall has meant unanswered questions about syria's future, but it's also left unanswered questions from the past. this airbase held a prison where detainees were reportedly tortured and raped by military intelligence. in one room, we were shown electric shock equipment

for interrogations. the only thing more painful than finding your parent or child among the records here is not finding them at all. in the building next door, we found the mother of kurdish prisoner mahmoud hussein searching for his face among the photos on the floor. "he was registered here, but we can't find him," she said. "may god burn assad's heart, the way he burned ours." "what are these documents?", this woman raged. "no—one is helping us. how can i find him among these prison files?" assad's regime was meticulous in documenting its brutality, but critical evidence here is being lost each day and the desperation of families is growing.

in the cemetery outside damascus, we found khalid pulling out bags of bones from a shallow, unmarked grave, each one marked with a name and a prison number — two women and a man. khalid was looking for his brothers, taken by air force intelligence 11 years ago. translation: anyone - who wasn't killed immediately was taken to an area known as the driving school to be slaughtered. i expect this happened to my brothers. when i saw these bags, i thought my brothers might be inside them. syria is beginning a new chapter amid unfinished stories from its past. lucy williamson, bbc news, damascus. much more, of course, on syria

more now on developments in georgia, and the parliament has elected a new president. mikheil kavelashvili, a former professional footballer, who was put forward by the governing georgian dream party. pro—eu protesters continue to gather in the capital tblisi and accuse the georgian dream party of dragging the country back into russia's sphere of influence when research suggests most georgians supportjoining the eu. the incumbent president and the pro—eu opposition say the process is illegitimate. mari kapanadze is a lawyer and activist in georgia. i asked her what has led to concerns of vote rigging — despite international observers, including the osce, finding that while the elections were marred by an uneven playing field, pressure and tension, voters were still offered a wide choice. so i was also personally involved in the observation mission as an organiser, so i have observed the whole process pre—election period as well as the election period. and i can say for sure that that georgian dream has used the full package of falsification and different kinds of methods to falsify

the results of the election. so there was a... it's hard to explain in a couple of minutes, but we have actually gathered different kinds of evidence that proves that the election has been falsified through various means, including... and the most important part of our claim was that the election was not... it was open. like, everyone know who people have voted for, which is one of the gravest breach of the constitutional right to vote. and therefore, that's why we demanded from the national courts to declare the results of the election null and void, which, sadly, that didn't happen because all the state institutions, including the justice system, is captured and not independent. but we have provided all those information to the international observation missions as well as

to the international audience. so that proves that the georgian dream actually falsified the elections. mari, did you see any evidence of russian interference? the russian interference, we are seeing every day. and it became especially obvious since the ukraine war has started, and we see how slowly — and now already very quickly — we are moving towards russian influence. and the very last decision that the government of georgia, the self—declared government of georgia, has made around two weeks ago was one of the biggest demonstration of this choice. and that's why lots of people who are in a majority in this country are protesting this decision that goes against the will of georgian people and against the obligation that we have under the constitution of georgia.

and because europe has always been a historical choice of georgian people and we are not going to adapt to this reality, where we will have a dictatorship in georgia which will be ruled under russian influence, and we will be deprived all the democratic intervals and human rights, and i strongly believe that this kind of influence has been also in election day as well, but it has not started in that day. we see it every day and i can list more than 50, i don't know, different kind of a sample when we see this kind of interference and this kind of collaboration between russia and the georgian dream. one of the first of these biggest examples has happened back in 119, when a russian number of the parliament has visited georgia and this led to one of the biggest protests in the

streets of tbilisi, because people saw that the government of georgia at that time was very low —— loyal to those who have breached the occupation and allow the russian member of the parliament to enter the georgian border. it was against the georgian legislation. lawyer an election observer mari kapanadze, talking to me about the ongoing situation, protests in georgia. there's confusion over persistent reports of drone sightings in the skies over the eastern united states. the governors of new york and newjersey say they're in touch with federal officials over eyewitness concerns. the president—elect donald trump has taken to social media to demand either an official explanation or for the objects to be shot down. white house officials have played down the reports. barry caffrey reports. another drone. these are the drones that have been reported by people living in new jersey.

loud, low—flying objects with unusual lighting. it all started a few weeks ago with reports of a drone flying over an army base, and in the days that followed, officials were inundated with reports of mysterious objects in the skies. it didn't concern me at first. i just didn't think anything of it until it started becoming like every night, the same time, same places. so i figured, ok, they must be doing some kind of military drill. i've seen clusters last night. i've seen clusters. last night, i saw clusters of about eight up over here and. but normally i see them a little spread out and they're sporadic. the low—flying objects are often reported to be flying very close to each other. on thursday, the white house said these sightings were probably unmanned aircraft or helicopters and said they're confident there's no risk to the public. we have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or

have a foreign nexus. officials in newjersey are pushing for more information to be disclosed to the public about the mysterious sightings. the question i believe the fbi and dhs needs to brief the public on right now is, what do they know where these drones are from? are they authorised or unauthorised? right? are they licensed or unlicensed? where are they from? speculation on social media has increased in recent days, with people wanting to know where these objects have come from and who they belong to. barry caffrey, bbc news. so many unanswered questions! the united nations agency for children is warning that more children are dying in gaza, because they can't leave to get urgent medical care. unicef says 2,500 children in gaza need medical evacuation, but since may, when the rafah crossing was closed, few have been able to leave. and those that do often have to make the journey alone, without their parents.

our reporter ru abbass examines the cases of two children scarred by the war. a warning that this report contains distressing scenes right from the start. it was meant to be a time of tranquil prayer at dawn. but on the 10th of august, 6,000 displaced palestinians in eastern gaza city woke to horror and carnage. among them was 14—year—old anas, who witnessed the devastation as dozens were killed in the israeli airstrike on the al—tabi'in school. when the missile struck, anas was hurled into cement columns. he sustained third degree burns covering more than 50% of his body. israel said the school was a legitimate target, claiming hamas fighters were based in the compound.

the impact left shrapnel embedded in anas' body and multiple fractures, injuries he continues to endure to this day. translation: i have severe pain in my right leg and hand, - along with these large scars which cause significant disability. touching or tapping them triggers immense pain. these scars require injections for treatment. but the hospital can't help because i need plastic surgery on both hands. anas has endured hours of surgery without painkillers or anaesthesia, but doctors now say they are unable to help him with the limited medical resources available. his family, who've been displaced ten times now wander from pharmacy to pharmacy, desperately searching for ointments to soothe his scars, often leaving empty handed.

translation: anas underwent a two-hour surgery _ last week, but doctors - revealed they could do little due to gaps in the bones of his right leg. - they warned him not. to walk until he receives treatment abroad. gaza also lacks the medical capabilities to treat patients like seven—year—old ibrahim. in late april, he was helping his mother prepare breakfast when a severe airstrike hit the house next door. the force was so intense, it reached their home, engulfing ibrahim in flames. israel says it does all it can to minimise civilian casualties. translation: ibrahim screamed, "mama, save me, save me! - the fire, the fire!" i looked down and saw flames on my stomach and his head and face. i grabbed a prayer mat and wrapped it around him to extinguish the fire, then put out the flames on myself. he was deeply upset and terrified and kept repeating, "mum, i'm disfigured." he would open his eyes and say, "i feel my face is ruined. ifeel like i've melted."

ibrahim was taken to kamal adwan hospital in north gaza, which is now under siege. he has since endured many failed skin graft surgeries. translation: i can't move much, especially my neck. _ my feet hurt me so much every night and i can't sleep because of it. my sister is scared of me. she doesn't want to kiss me. i need to get medical treatment abroad so i can be handsome like my brother. with little access to medicine, ibrahim suffers with wounds that keep tearing open. translation: he feels | different from other kids. on our way to the hospital, children would pity him and point and say, "look at his face," making him cry. he would tell me, "mum, i used to be handsome." ibrahim is unable to cope alone. his mother says despite being ajordanian citizen, she has been denied permission to accompany her traumatised son for his critical medical treatment abroad. but for now, there is no escape from the cage of this war

as relentless dangers close in on the children of gaza. ru abbass, bbc news. the crown of thorns, a relic said to have been placed on the head ofjesus christ at his crucifixion, has returned to notre—dame cathedral in paris. the woven circle of rushes encased in a golden tube had been saved from the huge fire that gutted the historic building five years ago. the relic was first mentioned byjerusalem pilgrims in the fifth century and later found its way to constantinople, where the then french king acquired it in the year 1239. it's no secret that cycling is good for your physical health, but could it help with loneliness too? that's exactly what it did for one sudanese refugee living in glasgow. when nahla abdulla settled in the city, she felt

isolated and alone — until she learned to ride a bike. aileen clarke has this report. when nahla abdulla fled the war in her home country of sudan, she arrived here knowing no—one. at glasgow's kelvingrove, as the art project boxes of hope goes on show, she told me how it was learning to ride a bike that gave her hope of a brighter future. when i arrived, it was difficult. i was alone, i don't have family here. i left my family in sudan. the bike, it helped me to see the beauty of this city and to discover the life here. i was not a cycle person, or i start from the scratch, as our culture, it's forbidden for girls to cycle. but here, it helped me to feel

a sense of belonging, let me feel like there is many things to discover here in this city and it pushed me to go out. it was a glasgow cycling group who got nahla peddling, and it's touching for them to know the huge difference they've made. people don't realise just the impact of something so simple as teaching someone to ride a bike, but it's really great to know and just really kind of heartwarming to think that that's the impact that you've had on someone. and as a group, that's what we can do and can help other people do as well. out on the bike, nahla's confidence was built up and it gave her a community. meanwhile, she was granted refugee status. she's able to work and she's working with a charity helping ethnic minority women. and guess what? she's asking them to get on their bikes. it made me be happier. it helps physically and mentally, emotionally, giving my friends, of course. all from a bicycle?

yes, all from the bicycle. our thanks to aileen for that report. asian hornets are an invasive species that pose a major threat to wildlife in the uk — with the insects capable of killing 50 bees a day. rapid action to track them down and destroy their nests has been found to limit the spread across the country. to keep on top of the numbers, scientists are also using hornet dna to target hotspots where they might emerge next year. our reporter fiona irving has more. it's bigger than the ruler. would we say the biggest we've had this year? do you think? this asian hornet�*s nest is being dissected in laboratories just outside york. all stages of the hornet�*s life cycle are ta ken from the nest for analysis. we've got cells here where we've got eggs. so we know the queen's active. she was active in the last day or two. we have the eggs

developing into larvae. they're then capped over and pupate. the scientists here are hunting for clues, information that can help build a picture on the scale of the threat of the asian hornet invasion in the south—east. those clues are hidden in the hornet�*s dna. what we're looking for with the genetics, we're looking to see whether we've got males and females. and the thing we're really trying to get at from that is, has this nest bred? so, in the life cycle of the nest, it produces workers, and then as we get towards autumn, it starts to produce the next generation of males and then the next generation of queens. and we want to know if this nest here was destroyed before that happened or not. they're also looking at the hornet family tree. from dna testing, they know that a nest discovered in rye last year produced at least three queens that successfully survived the winter. emerging this spring, they were caught only a few miles from where they had hatched the year before. but what scientists don't know yet is if second—generation queens, like those ones,

have gone on to establish nests and breed themselves in the uk. what we would be interested in, for example, is knowing whether the queen who made this nest was the offspring of one of the nests from 2023, because if she successfully survived from 2023 in the uk, made the next nest, then we've got that direct link that says they are capable of breeding in the uk. the science done here on the yellow—legged hornet is unlike any happening across europe. the data they gather from the nest provides the inspectors on the ground with key information to help them in the fight against this invasive predator. the government believes this science—led approach is having an impact, with 23 nests discovered this year compared to 72 last year. but it says it still needs the public to be vigilant and keep a watch out for this yellow—legged invader. fiona irving, bbc news.

got to admire the scientists for doing that. long distance runners have been taking part in one of the most challenging marathons in the world — in antartica. held in the union glacier, the antarctic ice marathon is the southern—most athletics event on earth. with the ellsworth mountains as a stunning backdrop, the competitors do laps of the camp, which is situated just 600 miles from the south pole. lots more coming up here on bbc news. hello there. the sunshine made an appearance across much of the country, certainly england and wales, for the start of the weekend, but it's all change for part two of the weekend. skies do turn cloudier again with a stronger breeze and a little bit of drizzle here and there, but what you will notice, it will be milder for all. so there's that window of sunnier weather which we had through today pushing off into the near continent, and we see this warm

front start to edge into western areas. that will introduce the cloud, outbreaks of rain, but also stronger breeze and as the name suggests, it will introduce some milder air as well. so temperatures by the end of the night up to double figures across western scotland, northern ireland, perhaps around irish sea coasts. seven to nine further east, but even that's milder than what we've had of late. sunday, then, a rather grey picture for many. limited sunny spells here and there. probably the best of it across east of england, certainly east of the pennines, north east scotland, but it will be windy across the north of the uk, gales for northern scotland and heavier rain, persistent rain beginning to pile into the north and the west highlands there. further south, a bit of drizzle over western hills, but mostly dry. and look at these temperatures. a lot milder than it's been of late — around 11 to 1a degrees. sunday night, the rain continues to pile into northern and western scotland. it stays windy here. furthersouth, drier, variable cloud, a few clear

spells and all areas will be mild with, i think, double figure values for most places. so monday, then, similar story. we've got high pressure to the south, lower pressure to the north with weather fronts here bringing more rain for northern scotland. more isobars for the northern half of the uk, so here it'll stay windy with gales again across the far north of scotland. rainfall totals really mounting up for the northwest highlands. further south, not a bad day closer to the area of high pressure. for england and wales, we should see some sunny spells around, a few showers across western areas. there'll be some sunshine, i think, for northern ireland too. and again in that milder air, 11 to 13 or 1a degrees, so well above where we should be for the time of year. and then as we push deeper into the week, we can see that low pressure dominates the scene. in fact, deeper areas of low pressure could start to bring gales and heavier rain to more of the country through tuesday and wednesday. but we'll still be in that mild airmass as you can see here. from thursday onwards, things turn a little bit fresher with north westerly winds, sunshine and showers. in fact, temperatures returning a bit closer

to the seasonal norm. take care.

live from london, this is bbc news. nearly a week after bashar al assad's fall, the bbc visits a military base in syria, uncovering evidence of torture being carried out there. the former manchester city footballer mikheil kavelashvili is elected as georgia's new president — amid mass protests

by the opposition. mps in south korea vote to impeach president yoon — over his failed attempt to impose martial law. and — a "spectacular" meteor shower is expected to light up the night sky this weekend —— all around the world. hello, i'm rich preston. let's begin in the middle east. leaders from the arab world, along with the us secretary of state antony blinken, have been meeting injordan to discuss the future of syria. more on that in a moment. first — nearly a week after the overthrow of the syrian president bashar al assad, more details are emerging about the extent of human rights abuses committed under his rule. the bbc has visited a military base, bombed earlier this week by the israelis, which revealed evidence of torture being carried out there. our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, went