we start with the latest on syria 3 week after the fall of the assad regime. syria's de facto leader, ahmed al—sharaa, has condemned israel for its continued air strikes on his country. mr al—sharaa, who was previously known as abu mohammed al—jolani, said the strikes threatened an unwarranted escalation in the region. israel says it wants to prevent syrian weapons falling into the hands of its enemies. it comes as the united states has made direct contact with the rebel group hts which now controls the country after the toppling of the assad regime. the us currently still designates the rebel group as a terrorist organisation. america's top diplomat, secretary of state antony blinken, speaking injordan after a summit on syria's furture with representatives from several arab countries, turkey and europe, said it was important for the us to communicate

with the islamist group. here's what mr blinken had to say. america and our partners have an important stage in helping the syrian people charge this new path. we know that what happens inside the syrian people charge this new path. we know that what happens inside of the syrian people charge this new path. we know that what happens inside of syria the syrian people charge 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. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab is in damascus conaway and has more on those comments about israel by the country's de facto leader. this is the first time that ahmed al—shara, known as al—jolani, the leader of the hayat tahrir al—sham, comes out to comment on israeli air strikes. it's been a week since the toppling of the president, bashar al—assad, but also a week of israeli air strikes on syria, nearly 400 throughout the week and 60 this night. so mr al—shara is under pressure that he has to make

comments, that he has to address this issue. he has been under criticism from, you know, syrians here. so he made his statement saying that israel is using false pretexts in its attacks on syria, but at the same time made sure that he doesn't want to engage in any conflict — he's focused on rebuilding syria, on rebuilding the economy. and this is what we are seeing today. it is the first week, the first day of the week after the toppling of assad. universities are open. i'm actually now in damascus, university students are pouring in to the university, going to classes. the children went to school this morning as well. public institutions are open, so everything is going back into action. and it seems that, you know, this is the focus of this interim government. in a meeting yesterday, mr al—shara told people, told journalists that he wants to rebuild the country,

that he may also nominate himself as a president for syria in case the people wanted him. and it seems that this is the time where also there is international diplomatic efforts to support the transition to power, provided that this transition will be inclusive and that the government is going to be representative of all syrian society, protects minorities�* rights, and protects women's rights. so while this new leadership is getting a lot of support from around the world, but also is being watched of its actions and how they are going to move ahead and not turn this country into an islamist state government. syria is under sanctions that really crippled the economy, crippled the livelihood of people, so many activists are now calling for the us and for the world to lift these sanctions. and having hts in power, and it is a designated also on the terrorist list, may hinder support or, you know, financial support

coming into the country. so it seems that, you know, many countries are reconsidering how to deal with hayat tahrir al—sham and also watching how mr al—sharaa and his the interim government are going to work. it's three months of transitional government that after that should be an inclusive government that includes all denominations of the syrian society. we can show you some live pictures from the centre of damascus there, a couple of lines through the news wires saying that the un's syria envoy has arrived in damascus, saying, we will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions, that is a quote from the reuters news agency, and we are seeing quotes from turkey's interior

minister, through aop, saying that 6700 syrians have returned by the turkish border in the past five days. —— afp. scenes from damascus one week since the fall of bashar al—assad. nearly 13,500 migrants who did not have the right to stay in the uk have been returned to their home countries since the election according to the government. but new figures are expected to reveal more than 35,000 people have arrived in britain in small boats this year — a number the home secretary says is far too high. she's been speaking to laura kuenssberg this morning. let's get more on this with our political correspondent damian grammaticas. yvette cooper has been speaking to the bbc about this today. yes, and this is a priority issue, as in many countries, for the government. what she has been saying is that although these numbers, about 35,000 this year, yes, it is a bit of an increase on last

year, where it was around 30,000, yes, and 30,000 last year, higher in the previous year, higher in the previous year than any of these, 45,000. she says this is a priority, a complex issue, but the government, she said, is not going to resort to gimmicks, this is what she told laura kuenssberg. we have made clear that border security— we have made clear that border security is— we have made clear that border security is a foundational issue. _ security is a foundational issue, before we get to any of the missions. the approach are step—by—step, we are putting in place _ step—by—step, we are putting in place the — step—by—step, we are putting in place the things that we need, the agreements with other countries.— countries. you are asking eo - le countries. you are asking peeple to _ countries. you are asking peeple to be _ countries. you are asking people to be patient - countries. you are asking people to be patient with| countries. you are asking - people to be patient with the existing situation. we people to be patient with the existing situation.— existing situation. we are beinu existing situation. we are being clear _ existing situation. we are being clear and _ existing situation. we are being clear and straight i existing situation. we are i being clear and straight with people — being clear and straight with people about the complexity of this, _ people about the complexity of this, because the gimmicks did not work — this, because the gimmicks did not work. what we had previously was a whole load of gimmicks, a big promise to solve — gimmicks, a big promise to solve it_ gimmicks, a big promise to solve it immediately, and we are doing _ solve it immediately, and we are doing very serious action. we have _ are doing very serious action. we have already substantially increased... we have had a 25% increase — increased... we have had a 25% increase in— increased... we have had a 25% increase in terms of returns,

over— increase in terms of returns, over 30% _ increase in terms of returns, over 30% increase in enforcement raids, so we are already— enforcement raids, so we are already increasing, step— by—step. but already increasing, step—by—step. but of course this— step—by—step. but of course this is— step—by—step. but of course this is complex, and of course it takes— this is complex, and of course it takes time. so accusing the previous conservative government of gimmicks, what have they had to say about this?— say about this? well, what they say about this? well, what they sa is say about this? well, what they say is that _ say about this? well, what they say is that they _ say about this? well, what they say is that they think _ say about this? well, what they say is that they think the - say is that they think the government is failing in its task, and what they want to do is return to a policy that they were pursuing before the election, scrapped by the labour government, which was a deal with rwanda to send those who do not have a right to stay in the uk there, to be dealt with in rwanda. that is a scheme that cost £700 million, no false returns were sent at all before the election, but chris philp, the shadow minister, this is what he says. we would resurrect a deterrent scheme, — we would resurrect a deterrent scheme, whether the rwanda scherne — scheme, whether the rwanda scheme is available in five years' _ scheme is available in five years' time we will see, but a deterrence team like that, where _ deterrence team like that, where if _ deterrence team like that, where if somebody crosses the channel. —

where if somebody crosses the channel, dangerously and illegally and unnecessarily because france is safe, they will rapidly be removed somewhere else. stop issuing visas — somewhere else. stop issuing visas when the cap was reached, there _ visas when the cap was reached, there is— visas when the cap was reached, there is no— visas when the cap was reached, there is no way that can be circumvented, we would set that out in _ circumvented, we would set that out in law — circumvented, we would set that out in law. we have not set out a number— out in law. we have not set out a number yet, out in law. we have not set out a numberyet, we are out in law. we have not set out a number yet, we are working on that, _ a number yet, we are working on that, but— a number yet, we are working on that, but broadly speaking it will be — that, but broadly speaking it will be far lower than the figures _ will be far lower than the figures published a couple of weeks — figures published a couple of weeks ago, and far lower than the 0bit— weeks ago, and far lower than the 0br forecast accompanying the 0br forecast accompanying the budget, which was 350,000 per year — the budget, which was 350,000 peryear. interestingly, keir starrner— peryear. interestingly, keir starmer and yvette cooper have refused — starmer and yvette cooper have refused to — starmer and yvette cooper have refused to set out a cap at all, — refused to set out a cap at alt. so _ refused to set out a cap at all, so there is a big difference between the parties. the capi is talkin: between the parties. the capi is talking about _ between the parties. the capi is talking about is _ between the parties. the capi is talking about is on - between the parties. the capi is talking about is on overall. is talking about is on overall immigration to the country, so visas that are issued, and has he says, the labour government does not want to set numerical targets, because they believe those are things that have got governments into big problems before. people in the french indian ocean territory of mayotte say conditions there are apocalyptic after cyclone chido tore through the islands, killing 14 people.

french officials say all makeshift homes there have been completely destroyed. mayotte sits in the indian ocean, about 500 kilometres east of mozambique and about 350 kilometres west of madagascar. the storm brought heavy rain and winds that peaked at more than 220km/h. the french interior minister said he feared a heavy death toll. the cyclone has also wrecked homes, brought down electricity poles and trees and smashed boats. france's transport minister called the situation extremely worrying, and that ships were being deployed to ensure supplies. paris is sending military and medical reinforcements. new french prime minister francois bayrou held an emergency meeting with ministers. it's been described as the worst storm in mayotte in 90 years. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield has more. well, as i understand it, it is very grave, because, as no doubt you've been reporting, this is an island in which many people live in great poverty.

and there are a lot of shanty towns, i think about a third of the population live in these shanty towns. many of them are people who've migrants from from the comoros islands not very far away, live in very poor conditions. in any case, the cyclone has just wreaked devastation across these shanty towns, where the dwellings are made out of wood and tarpaulin and metal sheeting and so on. and if you look at the pictures, you can see that it's just been destroyed. theyjust all come down. so there are tens of thousands of people, maybe a third of the population or more, who are without dwellings now, and they're being urged to report to government run shelters across the island. and at the same time, you know, all the usual services, electricity, water, telecoms, are all down or very badly affected. and the true toll has yet to be drawn up. i mean, we'rejust getting initial reports from here in paris where

the government is mobilised and sending in help. we're hearing paris is sending military transport planes and emergency workers over. i mean, if there's no electricity, it's going to make this process of helping people who are injured and unwell very difficult, isn't it? well, of course, the airport is down, because the control tower has been very badly damaged by these very, very high winds of 140—150mph and the military transport planes will be able to land and will bring in a first consignment of necessary goods. but there'll be more to come, undoubtedly. the interior minister is due in the island tomorrow. and don't forget that, you know, as far as france is concerned, this is technically part of france.

this is a department of france in the same way that the var or paris is a department of france. so they are treating it as a domestic incident, tragedy and are, you know, responding accordingly, sending in the same kind of emergency supplies and emergency help that they would for a part of mainland france. the five remaining members of the so—called bali nine drug ring have been freed and flown back to australia, after almost 20 years in an indonesian prison. the five australians were jailed for their roles in a heroin smuggling plot in bali in 2005. after years of advocacy from the australian government, the group were flown back to australia earlier today. the case made news worldwide when the gangs two ringleaders were executed by firing squad in 2015. prime minister anthony albanese thanked president prabowo for his compassion. i'm pleased to confirm that australian citizens matthew norman, scott rush, martin stephens, si yi chen

and michael czugaj have returned to australia this afternoon. i want to express my gratitude to president prabowo for indonesia's cooperation and commitment to working with australia on this matter. i have conveyed my personal appreciation to president prabowo for his act of compassion. 0ur reporter bridget rollason has more on this story and who the bali nine are. if i take you back to 2005, the bali nine were caught attempting to smuggle heroin out of bali into australia back in 2005 after a tip—off from the australian federal police to the indonesian police. now these high—profile cases were really followed closely by australian media, but also international media. it made headlines around the world, and this was because a lot of these people were so young, they were just 18 years old. and this decision by indonesia to hand down the death penalty for its two ringleaders was really controversial and shocking for something like drug trafficking.

now, i remember, iwas a teenager at the time, you know, i remember it so clearly because these nine faces were saturated across our media, and there was a lot of sympathy for these young people who had made a pretty stupid decision to stash drugs in suitcases and strap heroin to their bodies. and, you know, a lot weren't given a second chance. so a really controversial part of this, though, was the fact that the australian federal police tipped off the indonesian police, knowing that there was the penalty of death in place for drug trafficking, and its ringleaders of the bali nine, andrew chan and myuran sukumaran, they spent ten years on death row before they were executed by the firing squad in 2014. and there was a huge reaction to this in australia. i remember there was candlelight vigils. there was protest after protest of people trying to stop this happening, but in the end they were powerless to do so. so now, today, after 20 years in an indonesian prison

and years of advocacy from the australian government, the remaining five of the bali nine have been released. so that is su yi chen, matthew norman, scott rush, martin stephens and michael czugaj. so they have returned to australia and they're now free, so they do not have to serve the remaining time in australia. they are free to go about and live their lives. so australia's prime minister, anthony albanese, has thanked president prabowo today on social media for his compassion. but the question is, i suppose, is why and why now? yes, well, indonesia has a new president. he was elected in october, and this is maybe a good way for him to start conducting these bilateral and developing these bilateral relationships with its closest neighbour, australia. indonesia also has a new criminal code, and it's a bit more progressive to capital punishment. and ever since this outcry in over what happened

with the bali nine in indonesia, there hasn't been any death penalties since 2016. so it looks like indonesia, with its new president, is also shifting away from that. but this is a really big relief for those five people and also for the australian government and a lot of australia who have been campaigning for this for a very long time. just got some breaking news to bring you about a murder investigation which has been launched in north—west london, a woman has died and two men have been injured in a shooting. this happened in gifford road in houston at 9:15pm last night, a woman believed to be in her 40s was pronounced dead at the scene and the two men who were injured both in their 30s, they suffered injuries, that is all we know for now, one remains in hospital in a critical condition, the other man's injuries are not life—threatening. that is what we are hearing about a shooting last night in north west london which has left one woman dead

and two men injured. no arrests have yet been made. seven tourists have been taken to hospital in fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning. the tourists, four of whom are believed to be australian, were hospitalised with nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms. it's believed they were all guests at a resort on fiji's coral coast, where they drunk cocktails in a bar on saturday night and fell ill shortly afterwards. those hospitalised are between 18 and 56, it comes just a few weeks after the death of six tourists in laos because of suspected methanol poisoning. fiji's health ministry has warned tourists to be cautious about what they consume over the festive period. south korea prosecutors have summoned the impeached president, yoon suk yeol. however, he's not appeared. parliament voted to impeach yoon on saturday, just two weeks after he tried to impose martial law. south korea's new acting president, han duck—soo, has assured joe biden that seoul will carry out its security policies without disruption.

let's turn now to the political crisis in georgia. 0pposition supporters have continued their protests in the capital, tbilisi, and other cities — something they've been doing since the end of last month. a rally outside parliament was addressed by the pro—western president, salome zurabishvili, who told the crowd that new elections were needed to achieve peace and justice. earlier, a new president was elected by georgia's disputed parliament, the former manchester city footballer, mikheil kavelashvili, who's known for his nationalist, anti—western views. the protesters claim his election was illegal and some of them showed him the red card, saying this was the only language he understands. 0ur correspondent rayhan demytrie gave us this update from the georgian capital, tbilisi. we see that people continue to come out to the streets, not only in the capital, tbilisi, but in other parts of the country, because at the moment they feel

that this is the only power they have to express their discontent over so many issues that have been happening in this country over the past couple of months, and they believe that the only way to to express their discontent is to take to the streets. last night we saw again, once again, lots of people filling in the main avenue outside the country's parliament. they were holding up the pictures of many of the protesters and journalists who were severely beaten up over the past couple of weeks. and this is the concern that has been raised by human rights organisations. amnesty international published a report on friday, talking about shocking human rights abuses in georgia. over 500 people have been arrested so far, and more than 300 reported being ill treated in the hands of the police and being tortured. so this is quite a grim picture that is emerging now regarding

the human rights situation. but we don't see any kind of recognition from the authorities. yesterday i spent several hours inside the parliament while the election of the country's new president was taking place. it's the first time that the head of state was elected by parliament, by the electoral college, and this was an opportunity for us to talk to some of the pro—government mps. so when we put those questions about human rights abuses and those shocking pictures that the whole world has seen coming from georgia, they they start talking about issues in the united states or france and saying that, you know, things are much worse there when it comes to dispersing large crowds and kind of disregarding what's really happening. and one mp told me that there was no political crisis in the country. he said that it was artificially created and somehow influenced

by foreign powers. five people have died in shootings near the port of dunkirk in northern france. four of the victims were killed close to a migrant camp. a fifth person was fatally shot earlier in a nearby town. a 22—year old man has turned himself in to police. the motive for the killings is not known. abc news in the united states has agreed to pay $15 million to donald trump for libel. the legal action was brought after the tv host george stephanopoulos inaccurately said the incoming president had been found liable for rape in a civil suit. in fact, in the case brought by the columnist ejean carroll, mr trump was found liable for sexual abuse as well as defamation, but not rape. 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."

us lawmakers are expecting further classified briefings which may address the unexplained drone sightings across a number of american states. the fbi says it's had more than 3,000 reports since the flying objects first started to appear in the skies over the state of newjersey about a month ago. here's our north amnerica correspondent rowan bridge. another drone. it's the mystery that's gripping america. more drones in the sky. they are not scary per se, they are not looking through your window or crashing into your house, but it is still concerning because there are these mystery ufos — unidentified flying objects — flying around that nobody is giving any answers to and nobody seems to know what they are. who's behind the drones being spotted over the northeast of the united states? so i've seen them over my house just about every single night for the last two and a half weeks. at first, they were more sporadic and i would see one

or two or perhaps three of them and now, we seeing anywhere between six to eight in a single sighting. they first appeared in mid—november over newjersey. since then, the fbi says it has had more than 3,000 reports across six states. basically, what i've seen regarding the drones is also just when you are driving around at night and you see the blinking lights in the sky. and when i was driving home from a friend's house, i saw one that looked about the size of a car that was hovering over flanders valley golf course. in the face of a mounting frenzy, the white house addressed the matter directly. on thursday, it said there was no evidence the drones spotted over newjersey posted on thursday, it said there was no evidence the drones spotted over newjersey posted a national security threat or a risk to the public. if the aim was to reassure, it doesn't seem to have worked. how do they know that? what aren't they just revealing? or are theyjust saying it? how could anyone speculate or issue assurances to thousands, thousands who have

witnessed the drones that there is no threat? for weeks, we've asked for the truth and action to mitigate any and all threats to people and property. now we are demanding it. those demands were echoed by the incoming president, donald trump. he was in washington for the annual army versus navy american football game. posting on social media, he asked... he then called for them to potentially be shot down. lawmakers are expecting further classified briefings from the authorities next week. for now, the speculation and unanswered questions remain. rowan bridge, bbc news, washington. live pictures now from corsica, where pope francis is visiting the french island, it is the first recorded visit of a pope to the island. he will be there for one day. 90% of the

population of 350,000 is catholic. you can see him going through the streets, he was welcomed at jackie dalzell airport earlier today and he has been meeting members of the public. so there we are, he will be giving two speeches, holding a mass, and you will also be meeting with the french president, emmanuel macron, a little later, so the first ever visit by a pope to corsica taking place today. stay with us on bbc news. hello. a different looking week of weather heading our way. certainly compared with last week, we will be much, much milder to begin with. chillier air will return though later in the week. but to get there, we're going to see some windy weather at times and certainly more rainfall around. now, some of the wettest conditions will be to the northwest of the country. and, as our chart shows for the next three days, rainfall amounts are greatest here.

and it's around the western highlands where up to 150mm of rain to take us through to tuesday, coupled with snow melt, could lead to flooding, because we've got a conveyor belt of moisture set to pile its way and focus in this part of the country throughout. that same conveyor belt, though, pushing lots of cloud across the country today. there will be some low cloud towards the west of england and wales, northern ireland, some light rain or drizzle here. but many places will be dry. some breaks, even a little bit of sunshine, best of which to the east of high ground in scotland. but that wet weather there in the northwest becomes heavy. persistent gales developing too. for all, temperatures well above the late december average, some around 7 or 8 degrees warmer than it should be. 14 or 15 possible in eastern scotland and northeast england. now, into tonight, the rain continues to fall across some parts of the western highlands. to the north of it, we'll see some clearer skies, something a little bit cooler, a few showers. to the south of it, another mild night with temperatures 9 or 10 degrees into the start of monday morning. as for monday, rain continues to pile in across the western highlands, also the western isles. 0rkney, shetland,

a little bit brighter with sunshine and showers. a bit more cloud to northeastern scotland though compared with today. but southern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, a few more cloud breaks around. greater chance of some sunshine at times. the odd shower can't be ruled out, more especially through the english channel. temperatures down on today, but still pretty mild. and the run of mild air continues into tuesday. but as this area of low pressure pushes in towards the west of us, we're going to see the wind strengthen to gale force across some western areas later in the day. outbreaks of rain becoming more widespread here into the afternoon and evening. a wet day to the north and west of scotland too, but the further east you are, you might stay that little bit drier. temperatures here around 10, 11 degrees. but 13 in the west. a very mild day to come on wednesday, as this next batch of low pressure pushes through, bringing rain more widely. but as it clears through into thursday, we're back to northerly winds. so still some wet and mild weather midweek. but, beyond that, turning cooler with a mixture of sunshine and, for

some, wintry showers.

this is bbc news, the headlines. syria's new de—facto leader condemns israel over continued air strikes on his country — saying they threaten an unwarranted escalation. israel has said its goal is to prevent syrian weapons falling into the hands of its enemies. at least 14 people are reported dead in mayotte after a cyclone swept across the french indian ocean territory.

france says it's sending troops to help the recovery effort. the five remaining members of the so—called bali nine drug ring have been freed and flown back to australia — after almost 20 years in an indonesian prison for their roles in a heroin smuggling plot. comedian chris mccausland, strictly come dancing's first blind contestant, has been crowned this year's winner. chris beatjls singerjb gill, actress sarah hadland and former love islander tasha ghouri to lift the glitterball trophy in saturday's live final. hello. nearly 13,500 migrants, who did not have the right to stay in the uk, have been returned to their home countries since the election, according to the government. but, new figures are expected to reveal more than 35,000 people have arrived in britain in small boats this year — a number the home secretary yvette cooper says is "far too high".

she's been speaking to laura kuenssberg this morning.