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 israel, 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. aaron zelin is senior fellow at the washington institute for near east policy. i asked him what he makes of the us being in direct contact with hts. it's not super surprising because the us was to have a key role in this legislation. we should remember hts yesterday handed over an american handed over in one of these regimes to american soldiers based in eastern syria so it's possible that also could have opened up some communication as well. but is it normalfor the us to have a direct line with a group that it still does considered to be a terror organisation? not traditionally, however, the syrian democratic forces

that the us is working to fight against islamic state, members of that group have been affiliated with the pkk which is also a foreign terrorist organisation so it is awkward but because of the situation it is the reality. do you anticipate the us may be making some moves to try to take this group off that list? i don't think we'll see anything in their real term but we will see any moves that hts might make. fighting isis, the chemical weapons that remain in syria, the foreign fighters in the mix, that might be is working out that after this transition there is an inclusive government that women as well and not sectarian in nature. it is a wait—and—see approach but the united states lay down the gauntlet on what they can happen if hts break these guidelines. 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 — a warning that it contains flashing images. 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 he's determined to fight on. this is the biggest test korea's young democracy has everfaced — and it's passed. people's persistence has paid off — the politicians have listened and tonight, this is their victory. jean mckenzie, bbc news, seoul. let us speak to henry haggard, senior advisor at westexec advisors and a non—resident fellow at the baker institute

at rice university. you heard there the south korean president, despite that impeachment, president unit by —— vowing to fight on. what do you think that fight is going to look like? does he have a chance when this goes to the courts? , . . ., courts? listen, carl, he can never predetermine - courts? listen, carl, he can never predetermine what i courts? listen, carl, he can - never predetermine what happens in korea's vibrant democracy. as we've seen from just the past ten days, something that none of us would have expected. but he has vowed to fight on rings quite hollow. pretty sure that the constitutional court will act according to law but this is from an outside observer's perspective, this is a pretty open and shut case. he himself has taken this action is that seem contrary to all the purposes of reason let alone a liberal democratic order so up to the

constitutional court to determine that i don't know any experts or folks in seoul who think that yoon will not be— that the impeachment won't be finalised in the near term. the rocess finalised in the near term. the process could _ finalised in the near term. the process could take _ finalised in the near term. the process could take some time. in the meantime we know the prime minister is filling in and had a call with president joe biden yesterday. how much limbo as the country in at the moment?— limbo as the country in at the moment? ., , ., ,., ., moment? there was a limbo for the ast moment? there was a limbo for the past 11 _ moment? there was a limbo for the past 11 days _ moment? there was a limbo for the past 11 days but _ moment? there was a limbo for the past 11 days but right - moment? there was a limbo for the past 11 days but right now. the past 11 days but right now where i think on very steady ground thanks to the economic, the business, the people, the cultural ties that really keep our countries headed together in the same direction. the only limbo that i think was a little bit concerning was when yoon had declared martial law, impeachment was a foregone conclusion but hadn't been put through the process. now we've turned the page, we have an ultra competent prime minister,

acting president, han duck—soo are known to the united states. he was ambassador in washington 2009- 2012. there he was ambassador in washington 2009— 2012. there is an ultra competent civil service and the executive branch, legislative branch in korea. i think we're actually going to be on steady ground after a time with an ultra unpopular president, that was even before the marchal —— martial law and impeachment crisis, that was impeding a lot of work that i think international partners were trying to do with korea stop so i think that right now, technically, he is an acting president and so there are a fair question, whether he can act in the same way as the president. of course not entirely. i think we're on, actually, we could be going to actually, we could be going to a better phase where korea can show its global leadership and take its rightful role in the conversations that are going on with the new trump administration, with the current ride in at

illustration, all its allies and partners.— illustration, all its allies and partners. illustration, all its allies and artners. ~ �* ., and partners. we're looking at imaaes and partners. we're looking at images of _ and partners. we're looking at images of these _ and partners. we're looking at images of these massive - images of these massive protests over the past few days orso protests over the past few days or so and if you look in the crowds you see a lot of women, a of young people. these k—pop light sticks being used. what did you make of the protest movement itself in south korea that it ended up being successful? i that it ended up being successful?— that it ended up being successful? i was very encouraged _ successful? i was very encouraged from - successful? i was very encouraged from the i successful? i was very i encouraged from the first night, the fact that people in fact disregarded parts of the order that came down on december three. the journalist stood up to the rules and they filmed what was going on. the people stood up to the orders to stay away from the assembly and they went to the assembly. the lawmakers stood up to what they believe was wrong headed and turned —— a turn to the past that no—one wanted and they stood up to that. from that moment, i was, of course, moment of great uncertainty and frankly an unfortunate moment but the response, the overwhelming response to that

evening by the korean people that has continued for these 11 days has given me great hope forjust days has given me great hope for just the days has given me great hope forjust the resilience of korea, the resilience of the korean people and their full commitment to a liberal democracy. i'm hoping that this will finally shut the door on any nostalgia for korea's authoritarian past and i'm hoping that leaves the political discourse. henry haggard. _ political discourse. henry haggard. a _ political discourse. henry haggard, a non-resident| political discourse. henry- haggard, a non-resident fellow haggard, a non—resident fellow at the baker institute, thank you. 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 $15 million to settle a defamation case after a tv host incorrectly said the president—elect had been found liable for rape. bbc 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: "we are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing." 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. the afp news agency is reporting that 39 people are dead in attacks near niger's border with burkina faso — citing an unnamed nigerian government ministry. these reports come after ten nigerian soldiers were killed in the same region wednesday in what the country's army described as a terrorist attack. —— nigerien. following the bbc�*s reporting of that incident, the ruling militaryjunta said it was banning bbc radio from broadcasting in niger for three months. it had already banned french broadcasters, under similar accusations. niger is one of three countries

in africa's sahel region now under military rule — alongside burkina faso and mali. the trio have formed an alliance, the association of sahel states, opposing france's influence in the region while welcoming warmer relations with russia. the countries are due to withdraw from the regional union ecowas injanuary, though this week senegal�*s president said he's making progress in negotiations to dissuade them from leaving the bloc. ambassador tibor nagy served as assistant secretary of state for african affairs under the last trump administration. we spoke a short time ago. thank you for your time. first of all, what do you make of the ruling junta's claims and the refuting of not only the bbc but several other french outlets? it but several other french outlets?— but several other french outlets? , ., , , , outlets? it is not surprising because the _ outlets? it is not surprising because the regime - outlets? it is not surprising because the regime is - outlets? it is not surprising l because the regime is feeling very much under siege with what is going on on the battlefield. also the number of civilian casualties they've had this year. i'm not surprised at all

because remember, we're dealing with soldiers, not professional politicians. d0 with soldiers, not professional politicians-_ politicians. do you think this sa s politicians. do you think this says about _ politicians. do you think this says about the _ politicians. do you think this says about the state - politicians. do you think this says about the state of - politicians. do you think this. says about the state of media free bit —— media freedom in niger and maybe more broadly about the state of democracy? nobody can attend that democracy is alive and well in niger but you also have to remember of the situations in this hell sahel. when the governments were overthrown he didn't have people coming out protesting the coups, that people were cheering them on. unfortunately i feel that in many respects we in the west mishandled dealing with these regimes in the beginning and now unfortunately it is continuing to go downhill very quickly. in continuing to go downhill very cuickl . . ._ continuing to go downhill very cuickl . . ., quickly. in what way do you think that _ quickly. in what way do you think that the _ quickly. in what way do you think that the west - quickly. in what way do you - think that the west mishandled? the these authorities came into power they were in many cases

overthrowing governments which you have to question where they truly democratic or where they protecting democracies? the people were really, really ready for the change in the west in interacting them was basically shutting them out. in the united states when we call something a coup we are required to discontinue certain programmes. in my view, i've spent a long time in africa. when those kinds of things happen, it is a need for more engagement as opposed to isolation and ifear engagement as opposed to isolation and i fear that we really did make a mistake. now, ou really did make a mistake. now, you mentioned _ really did make a mistake. now, you mentioned safety. _ really did make a mistake. now, you mentioned safety. niger- you mentioned safety. niger cosmic ruling government didn't cite specific reason for the suspension of the bbc but it did happen to take place after there were reports of attack potentially affiliated with the islamic state which killed some

90 soldiers, nearly 50 civilians. how safe are the country is niger right now the people living there? it’s country is niger right now the people living there?— people living there? it's not safe and a _ people living there? it's not safe and a lot _ people living there? it's not safe and a lot of _ people living there? it's not safe and a lot of the - people living there? it's not| safe and a lot of the country is not safe. and, you know, it's, for us, we're talking about freedom of press. we will very strongly support freedom of the press and ferocity is a philosophical discussion. for you guys it is obviously also a business discussion but for the nigerien government, they see this as an existential struggle and that is why i think that it was a very hot button issue because they are probably very concerned over the implications for morale of their troops with those kind of reports.- those kind of reports. yeah, and as you _ those kind of reports. yeah, and as you kind _ those kind of reports. yeah, and as you kind of— those kind of reports. yeah, and as you kind of alluded . those kind of reports. yeah, l and as you kind of alluded to, this was a coup that really came in promising the military attacks. if people living there were to give a report card for how that has been going after about a year or so, how well has it done? it about a year or so, how well

has it done?— has it done? it would be a failure. — has it done? it would be a failure, unfortunately. - has it done? it would be a failure, unfortunately. i. has it done? it would be a i failure, unfortunately. ithink this year if i remember, there were 1500 civilians already killed due to terrorist activity and i think that is twice the number of all of last year so, twice the number of all of last yearso, no, it's not twice the number of all of last year so, no, it's not going well and they are again, their reactions have been, i think they feel like they are in a corner they have been striking out. they struck out at the french, they struck out at us, kicking us out of our two airbases and they are embracing people that we wish they were not embracing. again, i think that in those kinds of situations it is very important for us to be engaging more. i think the united states is extremely fortunate to have an extremely fortunate to have an extremely able and confident us ambassador in the ma. i fear that if she had not been there then relations would be even worse with the real —— with the united states. it worse with the real -- with the united states.— united states. it is key to be reachin: united states. it is key to be reaching out _ united states. it is key to be reaching out more _ united states. it is key to be reaching out more do - united states. it is key to be reaching out more do you i united states. it is key to be i reaching out more do you think on behalf of the us government,

how do you see the relationship involving potentially as donald trump takes office injanuary? i personally think it will be better. i think one of the things you will see with the trump administration is we will drop the megaphone that we seem to have been carrying everywhere when we have gone to africa, to tell our african people every —— to tell our african interlocutors everything now doing wrong. think that is why we were kicked out of our airbases in niger. we need to understand what the situation is on the ground and respond to it effectively.— ground and respond to it effectivel . . , , effectively. really interesting stuff, effectively. really interesting stuff. thank _ effectively. really interesting stuff, thank you. _ effectively. really interesting stuff, thank you. thank - effectively. really interesting stuff, thank you. thank you l stuff, thank you. thank you very much- _ after weeks of tangos, salsas and foxtrots, we now know the winner of strictly come dancing. and a spoiler alert here for the result. the comedian chris mccausland has become the first blind winner of the show. thejudges praised his dancing, describing him as an inspiration for the blind community and a role model for everyone. noor nanji was watching.

it's time to announce your strictly come dancing champions. the moment history was made... chris and dianne! and after weeks of tangos, salsas and foxtrots, chris mccausland and his dance partner dianne buswell finally got their hands on the coveted glitterball trophy. this is for her and it's for everyone out there that just thought. . .that got told they couldn't do something, that thought they couldn't do it. and itjust shows that with opportunity and support and just determination, just anything can happen. # a superstar...# chris was the bookies' favourite and is strictly�*s first—ever blind winner. he and dianne performed three dances on the night, including one recreating their blackout dance moment, which went viral earlier in the season. but they faced stiff competition from the other finalists. the first top scores of the night went tojls singer jb gill and his partner

lauren 0akley for their viennese waltz. also in the mix was love islander tasha ghouri and her dance partner aljaz skorjanec, who danced their couple's choice to what about us by pink. # i can feel my spirit rising...# last but not least, it was actress sarah hadland. she and partner vito coppola did an american smooth, scoring them 39 out of a0 despite a wardrobe malfunction. we have a wardrobe issue! this year's series came after a number of former contestants spoke up about their experiences on the show. the bbc apologised to amanda abbington and upheld some of her complaints against her dance partner giovanni pernice, but cleared him of the most serious claims. before the show began, the bbc introduced new duty—of—care measures, including putting chaperones in rehearsals. overall, this latest series has been largely scandal—free, and those behind it will be hoping that this draws a line under a difficult period in the show�*s 20—year history.

tonight, though, it was all about the finalists, and in the end it came down to the public vote — and it was chris and dianne who had stolen the most hearts. noor nanji, bbc news. quite the performance there. you can find more of the day's top stories including that one, of course, on our website bezzi .com/ news. follow us on social media as well. you can see what we are working on anytime. —— bbc.com/news. i'm carl nasman. stay with us here 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 1a 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, 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. in this programme, this year's nobel laureates in physics and chemistry tell us about the benefits and pitfalls of artificial intelligence. this is nobel minds 202a.

nobel laureates, this is the first time that some of you have been brought together in discussion on television, and we're also joined by some of your family and friends, as well as students from here in stockholm. before we start, let's just give them a really big round of applause. renewed congratulations to all of you. i guess you're all getting very used to the sound of applause now, aren't you? so tell me, how has winning the nobel prize changed your life?

er...who shall i start with? gary.