after the parliament chooses a former footballer with anti—western views as the country's new president. hello, i'm carl nasman. welcome to the programme. the extent of the human rights abuses committed by the regime of syria's ex—president, basharal—assad — is becoming clearer, nearly a week after he was overthrown. the bbc has visited a military base, bombed earlier this week by israeli, which has 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 a cemetery outside damascus, we found khaled 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. khaled was looking for his brothers, taken by airforce 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. well, the us secretary of state antony blinken says the united states has made direct contact with the rebel group hayat tahrir al—sham — or hts — one of the rebel groups which ousted president assad. the us considers hts a terrorist organisation.

mr blinken met arab, western and turkish diplomats injordan about the transition to a new government in syria. america and our partners have an important stake in helping the syrian people chart this new path. we know that what happens inside of syria can have powerful consequences well beyond its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism, and we know that we can't underestimate the challenges of this moment. france's interior minister has warned of a potentially heavy number of casualties after cyclone chido hit its overseas territory mayotte on saturday. mayotte sits in the indian ocean, about 500km east of mozambique and about 350km west of madagascar. heavy rain and winds of up to 220 kilometres an hour hit the tiny indian ocean island on saturday. the cyclone has also wrecked homes, brought down electricity poles and trees and smashed boats. france's transport minister says mayotte's airport has suffered major damage, and that ships are being deployed to ensure supplies reach the island. it's been described as the worst storm there in 90 years. the us broadcaster bbc news

will pay donald trump sis—million dollars to settle a defamation case after a tv host incorrectly said the president—elect had been found liable for rape. abc news will also pay one million dollars towards trump's legalfees, and publish a statement expressing its regret for the statements by george stephanopoulos during a televised interview. in a statement, abc said: our north america correspondent rowan bridge has the details of the settlement. this settlement relates to a particularly heated interview that george stephanopoulos did on his sunday morning show this week back in march with a republican congressman and during that interview george stephanopoulos repeatedly said that donald trump had been found liable for rape of ejean caroll back in the 19905 — she's a journalist. in fact, what the new yorkjury had found donald trump liable

for was sexual abuse and that has a particular legal definition under new york law, and donald trump sued abc over that interview. what's now emerged is that the two sides have settled that suit and abc have agreed to pay donald trump $15 million which will go towards a presidential library. they're also going to cover his $1 million in legalfees and they're also going to publish a statement on their website expressing regret over the comments that george stephanopoulos made. now, that brings this civil suit to an end but donald trump is also involved in a number of other ones. he is suing the legendary washington journalist bob woodward over the publication of one of his books involving donald trump, and donald trump himself is being sued by five gentlemen over comments he made about them in a presidential debate. politicians from new york and newjersey are asking for a briefing over a number of drone sightings. the new york police department says it is investigating along

with the fbi'sjoint terrorism task force. us senators are requesting a briefing from federal agencies — calling the drones a potential safety risk. the white house says there is no evidence of any threat to the public. joining me live barbara starr a senior fellow at usc�*s annenberg centre and a longtime pentagon correspondent. barbara, put on your detective hat for a moment. given your experience and contact at the pentagon, do you have any sense about what these are suspected drones are and who might be operating them?— drones are and who might be operating them? well, you know, the military _ operating them? well, you know, the military is— operating them? well, you know, the military is also _ operating them? well, you know, the military is also taking - operating them? well, you know, the military is also taking a - the military is also taking a very close look at this because along the east coast in that sort of newjersey region there is a good deal of restricted airspace because military activity and secure us government activity so there is a lot of interest on all parts of the government trying to figure out what exactly all of this is so where are we? officially, the white house is saying that they absolutely

don't know what is going on. they don't believe there is a threat, they don't believe there is any foreign adversaries sending drones over the united states but they don't know what it is. they do have a number of technical assets they say analysing all of this. people are however getting very distressed about it because they say, and they are filing the reports, that there are multiple drones every night in some locations and that it has been going on for week. the newjersey senator andy kim, he posted on social media today and he thinks it could be manned aircraft or small aircraft to an extent, but in new york and in the airfield, a small airport north of new york, the city had a chat shutdown last night because of drone to be so the idea is to figure out what it is but i think there is also now, carl, a deeper issue at play here. many politicians,

many elected officials, state, federal, want to see the government have more authorities to deal with this, bring the drones down if they are a threat if that becomes necessary and to have more authority to try and figure out what is going on. that seems to be one thing that they all agree on but they don't agree on exactly what is happening right now. on exactly what is happening right "ow-— right now. they don't really seem to — right now. they don't really seem to agree. _ right now. they don't really seem to agree. we - right now. they don't really seem to agree. we are - right now. they don't really i seem to agree. we are seeing more and more frustration and angerfrom more and more frustration and anger from these local politicians and senators whereas we are kind of getting at don't worry message from the federal government. is it strange to you to see these two sides really not on the same page when it comes to how to deal with a potential threat or something that really isn't scaring a lot of people? i think one of the biggest sensitivities here and how to say this in a sensitive manner is the concern that people are

genuinely, honestly, seeing something that they are filing reports on it but what they are seeing, again, could be small piloted aircraft, could be helicopters, could be flares. we have multiple reports coming at the same time from various spots on the ground where many people are looking up in the sky and reporting that they see something. nobody is saying, nobody is indicating this is mass hysteria. that has not come up but they are saying that they need to figure out what's happening. the question is at what point does this really move off... this is where we have been for several weeks now, the federal government are saying, look, there is really no problem, we are analysing the data we are getting, we're looking at it all. state and local

governments being very concerned. the new york governor today saying this has all gone far enough stock they want more information, they want more information, they want to know what does the federal government no, could this be some kind of classified government programme? what do they know and what is the federal government think is really going on? i’m federal government think is really going on?— federal government think is really going on? i'm sure you will remember, _ really going on? i'm sure you will remember, barbara, - really going on? i'm sure you j will remember, barbara, that balloon which ended up being a chinese spy balloon which traversed the country a couple of years ago. do you think there is hangoverfrom that, some frustration that they didn't think the biden administration was sharing enough information and acting quickly enough and it did go over some sites potentially and then was shot down at the very end of its journey over the entire country? was anything learned from that experience? i think what was learned was that the military, the intelligence community, the fbi which is involved in looking at all of this, state, federal and local government, all probably need

to have a better technology, more rapid response, try and understand what is going on when these phenomena occur up in disguise and be able to deal with it and i think at the end of the day that is the real risk here. next time, let's just say it is a drone but it flies over restricted airspace, is their authority to bring it down? let's see it flies over new york city and it is headed for a populated area and it may crash. is there authority to deal with all of these situations? because i think the one thing we know is there is an awful lot flying up there in the sky and it is not all aircraft, it is not all things that can be tracked on flight data software, websites. crosstalk. we are seeing so much stuff up there.— much stuff up there. people want answers _ much stuff up there. people want answers and _ much stuff up there. people want answers and right - much stuff up there. people want answers and right now| much stuff up there. people - want answers and right now they feel like they are not getting them. , , ., , feel like they are not getting them. , , ., feel like they are not getting them. ., , them. is, people want answers and still no _ them. is, people want answers and still no answers. _ them. is, people want answers and still no answers. thank - and still no answers. thank you, barbara stark before

coming on and trying to find answers, we appreciated. georgia's disputed parliament has named mikheil kavelashvili to be the country's next president, sparking a public outcry and condemnation from pro—western officials. opposition parties that are boycotting parliament say the election of the georgian dream mp — a formerfootballer — is illegitimate. i'm outgoing pro—western president, salome zourabichvili called the election �*a tragedy�* and has vowed to remain in office. this was the scene outside the parliament on saturday. there have been demonstrations against the georgian dream—led government for the last 17 days. the protests erupted in november, when georgia's government announced it was putting accession negotiations with the european union on hold until 2028. a majority of georgians support the country eventually joining the eu. opposition parties say the election of kavelashvili

undermines that goal and is a victory for russia. south korea's president yoon suk yeol has vowed to fight for his politicalfuture — after parliament impeached him over his short—lived attempt to impose martial law 11 days ago. president yoon says he will never give up — describing the impeachment vote — as a temporary pause in his presidency. early on saturday, crowds celebrated outside the national assembly as the impeachment motion passed. our correspondent, jean mckenzie, is in seoul and has this report. cheering. in a moment, a protest erupts into a street party, rejoicing the downfall of a president many have long despised. they'd accused him of being authoritarian, of eroding their democracy. but no one could have guessed what he had planned. when mr yoon stole from the playbook of south korea's past military dictators, dispatching troops to storm the parliament, he committed his final unforgivable act. the biting temperatures would have been enough to force many indoors.

but armed with glow sticks and hot packs, they descended here, for the 11th day in a row, young women leading the charge. "he said martial law was for the people, but not one of his policies has helped us". as the vote to impeach mr yoon got under way, a solemn warning from parliament's speaker. translation: the weight l of your ballot is heavy today. it carries the weight of history, the weight of democracy. enough mps heeded his words. the motion passed by just four votes. cheering. the irony here tonight is that president yoon always said that he didn't care about being popular with people or with his party. he wanted to do things his own way, and he didn't mind who he upset. but people in south korea have

shown him tonight that in a democracy, in their democracy, you cannot act alone, however much you might try. the dictator president yoon has now disappeared. so happy! today's verdict doesn't mean the president is gone for good — for now, he's suspended. the courts will have the final say. and tonight, mr yoon has said and tonight, mr yoon has said he's determined to fight on. he's determined to fight on. this is the biggest test this is the biggest test korea's young democracy has korea's young democracy has everfaced — and it's passed. everfaced — and it's passed. people's persistence has paid off — the politicians have people's persistence has paid off — the politicians have listened and tonight, listened and tonight, this is their victory. this is their victory. jean mckenzie, bbc news, seoul. jean mckenzie, bbc news, seoul. earlier i spoke to earlier i spoke to gi—wook shin, director gi—wook shin, director of the korea programme of the korea programme at stanford university. at stanford university.

rat president yoon now has been rat president yoon now has been impeached. what happens next and how difficult do you think this road is going to be to south korea getting a new president?— south korea getting a new resident? , ., ., president? first of all, i said the first time _ president? first of all, i said the first time korean - president? first of all, i said i the first time korean president impeached by the assembly. the second time the constitutional courts reversed the decision and the second time, 2017, president park was impeached. and this assembly is going to constitutional court to make a final verdict so they have 90 days to make a decision so if they uphold the decision to impeach him then they have to be a snap election within two

months. ~ ., ., be a snap election within two months. . . . ., . , be a snap election within two months. . . . ., . months. what are the chances of a repeat? — months. what are the chances of a repeat? i _ months. what are the chances of a repeat? i think— months. what are the chances of a repeat? i think the _ months. what are the chances of a repeat? i think the chances - a repeat? i think the chances very low _ a repeat? i think the chances very low i— a repeat? i think the chances very low. ithink_ a repeat? i think the chances very low. i think evidence - a repeat? i think the chances very low. i think evidence is l very low. i think evidence is quite clear that he

martial law in 2024 and then there was very widespread national resistance, even in the military, so certainly he national resistance, even in the military, so certainly he will go down in korean history will go down in korean history is a very poor political is a very poor political leader, there is no question leader, there is no question about that. $5 about that. $5 leader, there is no question leader, there is no question about that.— leader, there is no question about that. ~ , ., about that. as you mentioned, this is not _ about that.— leader, there is no question about that. ~ , ., about that. as you mentioned, this is not _ about that. as you mentioned, this is not uncharted _ about that. as you mentioned, this is not uncharted territory i this is not uncharted territory for south korea. what do you about that. as you mentioned, this is not uncharted _ about that. as you mentioned, this is not uncharted territory i this is not uncharted territory for south korea. what do you think the way the saga played think the way the saga played out with those protests and in out with those protests and in the end of an impeachment vote the end of an impeachment vote being successful, what does being successful, what does that say about the strength of that say about the strength of south korea's democracy? do you south korea's democracy? do you think it passed kind of a think it passed kind of a stress test here? . , , stress test here? . , , stress test here? career passed the test in _ stress test here? career passed the test in _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and | _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and 1 think- the test in 2017 and i think they will pass again this year stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and | _ stress test here? career passed the test in 2017 and 1 think- the test in 2017 and i think they will pass again this year so that make this time. when i so that make this time. when i talk to my friends in south talk to my friends in south korea they are saying inaudible korea they are saying inaudible embarrassed. i have been saying embarrassed. i have been saying

don't say that in don't say that because you are protecting and defending korean democracy and in the end they will prevail. democracy and in the end they will prevail-— democracy and in the end they will prevail. what about yoon's own party? _ will prevail. what about yoon's own party? the _ will prevail. what about yoon's own party? the people - will prevail. what about yoon's own party? the people power. own party? the people power party. some members obviously did vote for impeachment but the majority didn't. what will this whole saga mean for his party? his popularity? can he come back from something like this? i come back from something like this? ~ ., , this? i think now, there is internal — this? i think now, there is internal turmoil _ this? i think now, there is internal turmoil within - this? i think now, there isj internal turmoil within the party. they are trying to bide time so that if and when a snap election takes place they can be better prepared but assuming that there will be a snap election in about five months from now, i don't think there is any chance that they can win so i think they will be slowly trying to regroup themselves in the coming months.—

the coming months. briefly before i let _ the coming months. briefly before i let you _ the coming months. briefly before i let you go, - the coming months. briefly before i let you go, south | before i let you go, south korea now obviously without a president. the prime minister has taken over temporarily. has ta ken over temporarily. where has taken over temporarily. where does this leave the country now?— where does this leave the country now? where does this leave the count now? . country now? we are -- they are facin: country now? we are -- they are facing challenges. _ country now? we are -- they are facing challenges. the _ country now? we are -- they are facing challenges. the first - facing challenges. the first time they are facing this kind

french police say they found more weapons in the boot of his car but they're not yet saying what the motivation for the attacks were. french media are saying that the man is local, a frenchman who lives locally, but beyond that we don't know his identification and the french investigation into this is continuing. the short list for the academy awards will be announced on tuesday, and one film vying to be included is india's official pick for the best international feature film category. lost ladies is a satire, with a young man bringing the wrong bride home. meanwhile, his wife ends up lost, having to fend for herself. sadia khan sat down with bollywood superstar aamir khan,

who co—produced the film, to discuss his hopes for an oscar. the film is about female empowerment but there is a strong male character as well. why is it important to make a film about fighting against the patriarchy? it film about fighting against the atriarch ? , film about fighting against the patriarchy?— patriarchy? it is also talking about such _ patriarchy? it is also talking about such an _ patriarchy? it is also talking about such an important - patriarchy? it is also talking i about such an important issue. women around the world have been subjected to a lot of challenges in their lives. all over the world, notjust in india. women have a raw deal in life. it doesn't feel nice so i felt that this was a story that really brings it out in a really brings it out in a really nice way which is why i wanted to produce it and i was very keen to direct this film. india has never won the best international feature film at the oscars. closest we would say with your own film lagaan. mother india 50 years ago. yes

and the most — mother india 50 years ago. yes and the most recent example i think would be lagaan.- think would be lagaan. yes, eah. i think would be lagaan. yes, yeah- i do — think would be lagaan. yes, yeah. i do think— think would be lagaan. yes, yeah. i do think indian - think would be lagaan. yes, yeah. i do think indian films| yeah. i do think indian films haven't been _ yeah. i do think indian films haven't been able _ yeah. i do think indian films haven't been able to - yeah. i do think indian films haven't been able to cut - haven't been able to cut through the global stage in terms of award recognition despite having audiences around the world? ., ., ., the world? you are looking at the world? you are looking at the foreign-language - the world? you are looking at i the foreign-language category, the foreign—language category, it is probably the toughest category at the oscars. it is tougher than film, it is tougher than film, it is tougher then, you know, because you are competing with the best film from each country. india has made really great films over the years. occasionally it is a matter of the right film not getting sent all the best film not getting sent but otherwise we have two understand that the films that you are competing against, you are competing against notjust five or six films but 80 or 90 films which are the best in the world. each country's west film has been sent. and ifeel that a film that is well—made

doesn't— it travels. good films like lagaan travelled. doesn't- it travels. good films like lagaan travelled.- like lagaan travelled. what would it mean _ like lagaan travelled. what would it mean for- like lagaan travelled. what would it mean for you - like lagaan travelled. what would it mean for you to i like lagaan travelled. what l would it mean for you to win the oscar for would it mean for you to win the oscarfor india? i would it mean for you to win the oscar for india?- would it mean for you to win the oscar for india? i would be really happy. _ the oscar for india? i would be really happy. it _ the oscar for india? i would be really happy, it would - the oscar for india? i would be really happy, it would create . really happy, it would create enormous opportunity for the film to be seen by a lot more people because when a film wins an oscar or an academy award and people across the world want to see what it is like so it opens a huge window of opportunity for a larger audience for yourfilm opportunity for a larger audience for your film and then more importantly, indians are so film crazy and we've undying to win the academy award for an indian film which hasn't happened so the country will go ballistic, willjust go mad if we win sojust ballistic, willjust go mad if we win so just for the people of our country and just for our country i would be really happy if we win the award. they are looking to make history there. the shortlist for the academy awards announced on tuesday. i'm carl nasman in washington. stay with us, plenty more coming up on

bbc news. hello there. well, finally some blue sky and some sunshine for many parts of england and wales through the day on saturday. and it was a beautiful end to the day — lots of red skies around, including here in gosport in hampshire with our approaching weather front. but it's that weather front that's introducing a lot more cloud as we head through sunday so it's not such a nice day of weather. there'll be a brisk westerly wind, many places will stay dry and the air is going to turn a lot milder. and that's because it's a warm front marked here, with the red circles gradually slipping southwards and eastwards for the rest of saturday night, introducing that milder feeling air, marked here in yellow, squeezing the blue, colder air well out of the way. we're staying in that milder air for the next few days. and here it is on sunday morning. a lot of clouds, some coastal, some hill fog around, gales across the northern isles. and it's breezy with that brisk westerly wind further south too. heavy rain pushing into northwest scotland, but elsewhere largely dry away from these northern and western coasts.

the best of any breaks in the cloud will be to the east of high ground, so eastern scotland, northeast england, eastern wales should see at least some brighter spells. temperatures will be mild, 12 to 14 celsius and the best of any brightness. and it's just more of the same as we head through sunday night and into monday, the rain continues across northwest scotland. a few breaks in the cloud, perhaps further south with the strength of the breeze, but temperatures won't drop much below nine or ten celsius as we kick off the new working week. and if we just take a look at the pressure chart, then you can see that this rain is just set to continue across northwest scotland. there is a met office yellow weather warning in place for heavy rain here. there could be some localised flooding because the rainfall totals will really start to rack up, particularly as we head through monday and into tuesday. and because of the snow melt, with that milder air, there could be some localised flooding, the rain gradually pushing across caithness and sutherland later on. a few more breaks in the cloud, i think further south on monday. it does stay breezy,

but i think we'll stand the chance of seeing more sunshine across east anglia and parts of the east midlands in particular. as we head through monday and into tuesday we look out towards the southwest, it's turning really very wet and windy, with this deep area of low pressure starting to sweep through. the winds turn more southwesterly and it will be very blustery, unsettled as we head through the middle of the week, and then it all turns cooler with a northwesterly wind developing on thursday, so a drop in temperature again. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. i'm yuja wang. i played the piano throughout the whole world. and today, i'm in london, in the royal college of music. go riot. you're too musical, like. too much, yes? no, it's nice. if you can play this more italian. brava! bravo! i'm here to share my passion for music with the next generation of amazing musicians. yuja wang's been a role model to me. she's got this unique energy.