by the opposition. mps in south korea vote to impeach president yoon over his failed attempt to impose martial law. speaking after the vote, he vowed to "never give up". us secretary of state antony blinken says the us has made direct contact with hts, the group leading the rebel alliance in syria. dipolmatic moves are gathering pace to stabilise the country, after the end of the assad regime. and the mystery is continuing to grow in the us after repeated sightings of unknown drones in several states on the east coast. the governor of newjersey has urged president biden to investigate. now on bbc news, it's sportsday. hello, good evening, welcome to sportsday this saturday night with me, chetan pathak.

coming up on the programme: ten—man liverpool leave it late to rescue a draw against fulham as arsenal drop points, too, on a day of missed opportunities at the top of the premier league. england's bowlers recover from a bad start to take nine wickets on the opening day of the final test in new zealand. northampton saints show their spirit in the champions cup — battling the altitude and heat to get a bonus—point win over bulls in south africa. also coming up on sportsday before 7pm: british tennis number one jack draper tells us about his grandmother's alzheimer's and the memory walk he hopes will raise awareness. and we hear from the black triathlete hoping to break stereotypes and encouraging everyone to take to the pool.

welcome along, thank you forjoining us. chelsea may well be the happiest team in the premier league title race tonight — and they don't play brentford until tomorrow. that's because the team above them and the one below them have both dropped points. the leaders liverpool held to a 2—2 draw at home to fulham — with andy robertson sent off early on after the visitors had taken the lead. but arne slot�*s side dug in and twice came from behind to rescue a point. cody gakpo with the equaliser early in the second half, but rodrigo muniz scored a quarter of an hour from the end to put fulham back in front, before the much—missed diogojota came off the bench to score four minutes from time to ensure the points were shared. liverpool are five points clear at the top, but that gap could be down to two if chelsea win tomorrow. i saw the players just put in an outstanding performance — in pressing, but also with the ball, how

well they played. so we were on their half, ithink... maybe even when it was 11 versus 11, we had more problems than when we were down to ten, but in the end, if you can do this with ten players, what would've happened if we were with 11? but, yeah, we never know, it happens in the season that you get a red card, and it is good that we are a team that is very difficult to beat. it doesn't matter against who, you have always something to prove, and we came here to prove something for ourselves, not for no—one but for ourselves. the trust in ourselves, the belief, that you have an identity and we have to respect it, and we did it again. of course, the momentum is here. but the way we played against arsenal, against tottenham, against brighton and liverpool, we have to go in the same way against southampton next week. silva's former side everton stopped arsenal taking advantage of liverpool's slip up, jordan pickford instrumental as mikel arteta's side were held to a 0—0 draw at the emirates. they've now dropped points in eight of the 16 games

they've played this season. arsenal stay third, a point behind chelsea and six behind liverpool. everton are three points clear of the relegation zone. very disappointing not to win the game, obviously. you don't concede any shots off target, on target. you dominate the direct play, you dominate the second ball, they don't run at all. you don't concede any set pieces. you do the process with the ball really good. you arrive, you have chances. it's about scoring goals. we lacked that today. they are a fine side, we know that, they often dominate the ball and dominate chances. during mixa during mix a huge safety to his left _ during mix a huge safety to his left -- — during mix a huge safety to his left. —— jordan makes a huge save~ — we had a couple of breakaway moments we did not make the most of. we know that has been a challenge since i got

to the club, that killer touch, that killer pass or killer finish, but i have to say, the players have put a big shift in there in their commitment to doing the basics, pressing, recovering, pressing, recovering and staying true to it for 90 and whatever minutes they played. so i was really proud of the players again. before the match, both teams paid tribute to their former player kevin campbell, who died earlier this year. a banner with the words "one of our own" and campbell in an arsenal and everton kit was unfurled, with a tribute on the big screen at the emirates. arsenal and liverpool may have been unable to find a late winner, but towards the bottom of the premier league, ipswich town did, after late drama at molineux condemned wolves to their fourth straight defeat. what a moment forjack taylor — a 93rd—minute header which gave his side a 2—1 win. the wolves frustration on show at the end as rayan ait—nouri had to be dragged off by members of the coaching staff. it's a defeat that heaps even more pressure on manager gary o'neil. wolves are second from bottom, three points behind ipswich and four points from safety. it's a big blow. the lads, as you see,

are at maximum. we got every last drop out of them to get ourselves in that position where we looked like and felt like we'd go on to win the game. to suffer a goal that late, the nature of the two goals are crazy for the level, really, which we have said too many times this year. for two players not to be in the right place for a corner, at home against ipswich with 30 seconds on the clock, to not stand in the right place shows that the emotion, they're not able to think clearly enough and make good decisions in those moments when they are under stress. but myjob is to help them get better at it and we'll get back to work and try and get ourselves ready for leicester. big three points for us. we have missed out on some points lately that we think we could have had and should have had. so to pick up the three points today feels really, really good.

what it means at the end of the season, who knows? we just go game by game. we have got a week now before newcastle and we will prepare as well as we can, train well this week and we will take each one as it comes, we will enjoy each one and we go 100% to win each one. after four premier league games without a win for newcastle, eddie howe had something to smile about — a 4—0 win over leicester at st james' park. jacob murphy with two goals, one in each half. bruno guimaraes also on the scoresheet along with aleksander isak. for leicester, it's a first defeat for new manager ruud van nistlerooy, with his side just two points clear of the bottom three. we are disappointed that we have not been able to show that more this season. today's 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. it is a great game to look back together, because we only started working two weeks

together, and of course it was the west ham and the brighton at home, four points against very good sides, it was very positive. this one went the other way. so, we are still reflecting and learning and building something together, and we use this game for the good, for the development of the team. that leaves, then, one premier league game to tell you about. it is just finished. nottingham forest have moved in the top four — for the next 2a hours, at least — after a dramatic 3—2 victory over aston villa. the game came alive in the second half. an incredible save from emiliano martinez, at that stage keeping aston villa in it. then they took advantage minutes later. john durand put them in front. but forest fought their way back.

nikola milenkovic�*s equaliser. before anthony elanga came off the bench to score the winner. forest now move above manchester city whilst villa stay sixth. as things stand, the champions manchester city are 9 points behind the leaders liverpool, 4 points behind chelsea and 3 behind arsenal. they have one win in their last ten games, having lost seven of them, and tomorrow it's the manchester derby, with united coming to the etihad off the back of theirwin in europe in the week. on the football news show, former city midfielder michael brown was asked what defeat would mean for city tomorrow. i think it is a disaster if city lose it... why? ..i really do, because of the run, because of the negativity already travelling around it. the manchester derby is one... i went on bbc 5 live yesterday after the reaction to the result againstjuventus. this is the biggest one for them, because i think there's still time to recover

in the champions league, although getting tight, but in the premier league, that's almost like if you lose this game at home to your rivals, the title is done. not only that, it is against manchester united, and that means it is a real, real problem. the run continues. it is big for pep. if they win, they've got four points in the last two games. if they beat manchester united, they are back on track, and maybe it is an outside bet for them to win the title, but the champions league is ok, but there are other teams around them. so if manchester united beat them on sunday, well, those are the sides, and we are talking about forest and we are talking about brighton, probably the teams you would not expect to get there, villa, absolutely chipping away at them to get into that top four, top five that it is likely to be in the end. so suddenly, you're looking over your shoulder thinking, "we really need to win," and that brings its own pressure.

you played. they are lacking in confidence, and other teams, other players are saying, "this is what it feels like," you know? but they've earned the right, haven't they? they have earned the right. they have been incredible for a long time. now they are under pressure. we seen a blip with liverpool, go to the transfer market and change the way you play. so it seems they are in that transition. and you can watch the latest episode of the football news show, the manchester derby: a chance to bounce back?, on the iplayer now. celtic play rangers in the league cup final tomorrow at hampden. today, there were three games in the scottish premiership. motherwell are up to fourth, after beating dundee united 4—3 in a thriller. st mirren needed a 99th—minute penalty, which they missed but it was retaken because the goalkeeper was off his line. roland idowu scored to seal a 3—2 victory. hibernian are off the bottom of the table after beating ross county 3—1.

after nine wins in a row, chelsea's100% start to the women's super league season is over after they were held to a 1—1 draw at leicester. chelsea are six points clear at the top, but it could be cut to three points if city win tomorrow. meanwhile, any other game of the day, brightened and —— brighton and tottenham also finishing i—i. next to the championship. late drama at deepdale, where deep in stoppage time, leeds salvaged a point to frustrate preston north end. the home side took the lead mid—way through the first half thanks to brad potts, a counter attack he started and finished, but they eventually succumbed to relentless pressure in the 93rd minute — danjames providing the cross for mateojoseph to tap home from close range via the unfortunate jack whatmough. sheffield united remain top after beating wayne rooney's plymouth i—o.

sunderland are third, after coming from 2—0 down to beat swansea city 3—2. blackburn recorded a fifth straight win, beating luton town 2—0. more reaction to all of those results over on the bbc sport website. next tonight 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 chipping away, leaving the hosts hanging on in theirfirst innings, asjoe lynskey reports. at 2—0 up in a three—match series, england now can take things at their own pace. they put new zealand into bat, but it brought a quiet morning. on a flat pitch, the home side went past 100. without a wicket by the lunch break, england tried to find the answers. commentator: it's gone! gus atkinson got the first, and then new zealand couldn't stop them.

0h! kane williamson was out despite a lunge towards the stumps. the mood of a test match had turned on the breakthrough. now, england looked to set up the clean sweep. just two away teams have won 3—0 in new zealand, and right now, it's the tourists who look most at home. this was harry brook navigating the boundary, a catch he set up to take inside the ropes. harry brook, you're outrageous! they may have won the series, but england aren't slowing down. joe lynskey, bbc news. day two gets under way in the next few hours. let's get some reaction now from both sides after that first day, starting with one of england's wicket—ta kers, matthew potts. there's periods where we do go through a phase of not taking any wickets, but if you look at the fielding input and the energy that they give to all the seamers that are toiling away, perhaps not doing the nicejob, kind of grafting away, as you would say, and not being rewarded for it, it's backed up by the fielders. and we know that if we do stick to our guns

and we are meticulous with it, that it will come our way eventually and, you know, kind of wrestle the day back a little bit for ourselves. having won the t20 and one—day series, england women are preparing for a one—off test match against south africa which begins tomorrow morning in bloemfontein. it's the first women's test in south africa in 22 years. england captain heather knight hopes they can carry the momentum into tomorrow's match. mentally, just trying get clarity around how you're going to play. i don't think that should differ hugely from your one—day mindset. it'sjust doing things for a little bit longer and managing situations that change in a game a little bit better. but we've tried to incorporate the odd red ball session — to practise the skills but also just to practise flipping into it, that mindset of red ball cricket, and then flipping back into white ball, because that's the biggest challenge, i think. you will be able to keep across that on the bbc sport website.

next on the programme tonight, rugby union paid its respects to former england rugby star tom voyce today, after his body was found in an area in northumberland flooded during storm darragh. voyce won the european champions cup twice during his career — and teams in the competition held a minute's silence in his memory ahead of their games. we start in south africa, where premiership champions northampton saints kept up their perfect start in continental rugby with a win over bulls. ben croucher was watching. while the temperatures back home resemble single figures, it was over 30 degrees in pretoria. still took a while for bulls and northampton to warm into this one. 32 minutes, pointless, enter george hendy. what an impact by the replacement! the starters were useful too. juarno augustus added to his two tries against castra to march the saints ahead at the break. the south african side had plenty of chances but many hands.

it ain't great work. northampton had a safe pair, though, in the form of... tommy freeman! their lead up to 15, but soon down to just one, as cameron hanekom, not once but twice in the space of nine minutes, sliced the saints open. but the bulls would face one final sting from the wing. freeman flew through to seal a 30—21 win. two in two now for the premiership champions in europe, marking december in red—hot form. ben croucher, bbc news. leicester tigers bounced back from their defeat to bordeaux with a bonus point 56—17 victory over sharks at welford road. julian montoya scored two of his side's eight tries. ulster had a dreadful start to their campaign last week — hammered 61—21 by champions

toulouse — and today they lost again, this time going down 40—19 at home to bordeaux, who've now won both their first two games. here's all of today's results. still to come, harlequins host stormers while bristol are away to la rochelle and cardiff welcome cheetahs. in a season where he's reached the semifinals of the us open and made the world's top 20, this has been a breakthough yearforjack draper. but away from tennis, the british number one is doing what he can to raise awareness about dementia. he organised a memory walk along the river thames to honour his grandmother brenda, who suffers from alzheimer's disease. 0ur sports news correspondent laura scott went along with him. having enjoyed a breakthrough year, jack draper is eyeing yet more success. there is one woman, though, who he credits most of all with getting him into tennis — his grandmother brenda. but 11 years ago, she was diagnosed with alzheimer's, and it's been a devastating deterioration since.

so many people that have come to support and it's obviously so, so nice and i'm very, very gratefulfor that. so, in a rare breakfrom his relentless schedule, this walk was for her and all those affected by dementia. she was a huge part of my development growing up in terms of my tennis, but alsojust being an amazing grandma. ifeel a bit guilty when i go away because i feel like something could happen or i'm not getting to spend those days and those times with her. but it's also really hard to see her in that way. so my schedule is crazy these days, but whenever i get the chance, i'll obviously go and go and see her and check in. forjack�*s mum, nicky, the different phases of this cruel disease have been agonising to see first—hand. she hasn't known who any of us are for at least six years. if there's anything that could have been done to stop it escalating or, you know, keep her as she was, that's what every family would want. the toll this has taken on his family prompted jack to become an ambassador for the alzheimer's society last year.

although brenda might not be aware of her grandson's meteoric rise, it's clear her advice from years ago is still playing its part. when i was younger, you know, she'd say, "get that ball toss up, jack," you know. and this is still something i'm trying to do now, and i'm 22 years old and isin the world. so, you know, maybe i need to start listening to what she used to say back in the day, but... no, i mean, ialways know she's there with me in spirit. a hip injury has scuppered preseason plans to train with wimbledon champion carlos alcaraz, but he's been using hot yoga to try to acclimatise to the conditions he can expect at the australian open and stave off the sickness that blighted him during his us open semifinal. britain's andy murray... and what about his idol andy murray coaching novak djokovic? andy's obviously got a huge tennis brain. i thought that he'd, you know, sail off into the sunset and play golf, but obviously that's so unlike andy. you know, he loves this sport

and it's no surprise to me that he wants to be back. and why not go out there and coach novak? and it'll be a very interesting dynamic to watch unfold. he will soon be the other side of the world. but as one of the brightest stars of british tennis tries to reach new heights — quite literally, with his ball toss — it's clear one woman will never be far from his thoughts. laura scott, bbc news. time now for some of the day's other sport stories. and great britain's women ice hockey team are just one win away from the final qualifying phase for the 2026 winter olympics after they beat spain 3—0 in sheffield. if they beat the netherlands tomorrow, they will reach next year's qualifiers. anthony edwards scored 23 points as the minnesota timberwolves beat the los angeles lakers 97—87 in the nba. the lakers were without lebron james, who missed a second straight game with injury. wu yize beat xiao guodong by six frames to four in an all chinese first semifinal of the scottish open. he'll play the winner

of tonight's other semi between mark allen of northern ireland and china's lei peifun. finally tonight — britain's eva 0karo has booked a place in tomorrow's final of the women's 50m freestyle at the world short course swimming championships in budapest. earlier in the year, she became the first black woman to represent great britain in the pool at an olympic games. that comes at a time when people — particularly from minority communities — are swimming less and less. dan 0gunshakin has been to meet a triathlon group trying to change that. great britain's fifth gold of this games goes to alex yee! since triathlon became an olympic sport in 2000, no country has won more gold medals than great britain. but despite olympic success, most notably for alex yee, swim bike run struggles for diversity. according to british triathlon, just 2.3% of its members

are from ethnically diverse backgrounds. founded in 2022, the black tri tribe is seeking to buck that trend. we are an entry—level participation triathlon club. we are a cic made for black and people of colour, to have a space to try a new thing — swimming, cycling, running, hiking. it is all about that gateway into triathlon, a multidisciplinary sport. a core element of its triathlon programme are swim sessions designed to encourage participation, challenge stereotypes and overcome aquatic anxiety. half the pool, we have for beginners. so that's for people that might have aquaphobia, people that might be terrified ofjust even coming into leisure centres sometimes, and that is dedicated to them. the other half of the pool are for sometimes age—old triathletes that have been doing it for years, really want to hone in their techniques and skill, are trying to get the next personal best or up, increase their stamina or maybe they've got a bit of

technical issues they want to sort line up. the benefits of swimming are undeniable, combining water safety with physical and mental wellbeing. it's amazing. i'm so proud of myself and so proud of the team and everyone who started with me as well, because we have come a long way. i have achieved more - than i ever thought i would. yeah, and in leaps and bounds as well, which shocks me, - and now i am addicted! i came along, and i thought, "i'll try it out." i love the ethos, trying to get more black people into swimming, because the statistics show that there are not enough of us getting in the water. according to active lives figures, in england, 71.1% of white british children don't participate in regular swimming activities, a number that rises to over 79% amongst asian children and 81.1% among black children. in adults, those numbers are starker still. 91.1% of white british adults don't participate in regular swimming activities, rising to almost 96% among asian adults and a staggering 96.5% among black adults.

there are a lot of issues which the industry is facing, as an aquatic industry, but then also specifically for black and asian communities. and there's a lot of work that has to be done. unfortunately, we cannot snap our fingers and have everyone learn to swim, no matter how much money might come our way, so it's a lot of time, it's a lot of patience. i think the future is bright, it's just a lot of hard work coming our way. driving change for minorities is at the forefront of the black tri tribe philosophy. they hope their impact is making waves. dan 0gunshakin, bbc news. that is all from me and the team tonight. the remainder of our top story. both liverpool and arsenal dropping points in the premier league, liverpool held by fulham at anfield,

arsenal 0—0 against everton at the emirates. at the bottom, if —— its which winners over wolves and in the late game, nottingham forest coming from behind to beat aston villa thanks to a stoppage time winner, and that moves them into the top four. much more on the bbc sport website, but from me and the team, that's all for now. good night. 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 11! 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 11! 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. very warm welcome to the programme. we 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 israel, which revealed evidence of torture being carried out there. 0ur middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, went

to the base in damascus — and just to warn you,