the un envoy for syria, geir pederson, has urged the country's new leaders not to pursue "revenge" after arriving in damascus for the first time since president assad was toppled last week. speaking in the capital, where he's attending meetings, mr pedersen said that reviving law and order, and security, are of paramount importance. he also said it was critical the country receives increased immediate humanitarian assistance inside syria, and that he supported the lifting of sanctions against the islamist rebels who now govern the country. the sanctions are not un sanctions. they are sanctions imposed by the united states

and the european union. do you support lifting them? yes, i think we need an orderly process and i am very much looking forward to continuing my discussions with the syrian caretaker government and the authorities here. it comes as the united states has made "direct contact" with the rebel group hts which now controls the country. the us currently still designates the rebel group as a terrorist organisation. america's top diplomat secretary of state antony blinken has been speaking injordan after a summit on syria's future with representatives from several arab countries, turkey and europe. he said it was important for the us to communicate with the islamist group. america and our partners have an important statement and helping the syrian people tracked this new path. we know that happens inside of syria can have terrible consequences

well beyond its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism. we know we cannot underestimate the challenges of this moment. our middle east correspondet, lina sinjab, is in damascus 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. much more on our website. here in the uk, the home secretary, yvette cooper, has refused to set out a timetable to reduce the number of small boats crossing the channel, despite admitting the figures are "far too high". it comes as the home office said it was on track to return the highest number of failed asylum seekers in five years, with more than 13,000 people sent to their home countries since the election injuly. damian grammaticas reports. immigration enforcement, raids seeking to root out those in the uk without the right permissions. this is one arm of the government's strategy. it says deportations have gone up. and in italy this weekend, the other arm of the strategy. the home secretary shared the stage with ministers

from the front—line mediterranean states, france, italy and malta. how are you? this is about building partnerships with countries either where migrant routes start or which they pass through. yvette cooper meeting her italian counterpart said it's about recognising migration is complex and can't be solved by empty slogans. there is a history of home secretaries and prime ministers making grand promises but never actually having a proper plan. the approach we are taking to this is really step—by—step. we are putting in place the things that we need, the agreements with other countries, the stronger returns arrangements, the much stronger law enforcement, the operations with germany to go after the smugglers, supply chains, the operations with italy to go after the illicit finance. earlier in the week in london, it was ministers from northern europe she was meeting. germany has agreed to change its laws so it can try to stop the supply of small boats used

to cross the channel. arrivals this way have totalled over 3a,000 this year. last year it was 29,000. two years ago, a record 45,000. while the number returned is 13,500 since the election. the conservatives say they would seek to reinstate their rwanda scheme, which labour scrapped. we would aim to resurrect a deterrence—style trial scheme. now, whether the rwanda scheme is still available in five years' time, we will have to see. but certainly a deterrent scheme like that, where if somebody crosses the channel, dangerously, illegally, and unnecessarily, unnecessarily because france is safe, they will rapidly be removed somewhere else. and if you do that, it's common sense that the people who are thinking of crossing simply won't do so. the government says with a reminder not a single enforced return happened despite hundreds of millions sent. ——with rwanda the idea was a gimmick that hat did nothing to deter.

as yvette cooper was in italy, another rescue and more lives lost in the mediterranean, all part of the chain the government is trying to break. damian grammaticas, bbc news. a devastating cyclone has hit the french indian ocean island of mayotte, causing widespread destruction. at least 14 people are reported to have died. the cyclone has now made landfall in mozambique. nickjohnson reports. winds of more than 140mph batter the french island territory. it's thought to be mayotte's worst cyclone in a century. islanders take shelter in any way they can. it takes three people to keep the door closed from the power of the storm. "there's nothing left here," this man says. most of the archipelago's 300,000 inhabitants live in shanty towns. tens of thousands have lost their homes. electricity and water supplies have been affected, and internet services are down.

a local firefighter said even buildings built to withstand earthquakes have collapsed. the french government has sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency workers. the french prime minister, francois bayrou, who's only been in the job since friday, has held an emergency meeting in paris. translation: what matters isn't only the short term - and the rescue and help we can provide, but also the medium term with the supply of water and food, in particular for sensitive facilities, including prisons and detention centres. a combination of severe damage, an impoverished population and isolated location mean mayotte's death toll is expected to rise. nickjohnson, bbc news. israel says it will close down its embassy in dublin in light of "the extreme anti—israel policies of the irish government." in a statement, foreign minister gideon saar

cited ireland's decision to recognise a palestinian state earlier this year and dublin's announcement of support for south africa's legal action accusing israel of genocide over its assault on gaza. ireland's taoiseach simon harris called the move �*deeply regretable'. here in london — a woman has died in a triple shooting that has left a man fighting for his life in hospital. police were called to harlesden, in north—west london, just after nine o'clock last night, where a woman, believed to be in her 405, died at the scene. two men, both in her 30s were also injured. police have described the incident as "truly shocking" and say a team of experienced detectives are working to identify who is responsible. no arrests have been made. 0ur reporter anisa kadri spoke to us about this. no arrest has been made but a murder investigation has been launched.

people in this area, in harlesden, north—west london, are very shocke.d that a woman is dead and died they said they haven't seen anything like this. one person said they heard the shots last night. and they thought they thought they were fireworks. the woman who died is believed to be in her 405. two other people were injured in this shooting, two men in their 30s. in this shooting, two men in their305. 0ne in this shooting, two men in their 30s. one of them is said to be any critical condition, the other one's injuries are said to not be life—threatening. a triple sheeting that has caused massive shock in this area and police activity has been going on all day to work out the circumstances of what happened.

detectives say they are working at pace to discover who is responsible and they have appealed for information once in the public�*s help to find out who is responsible for the shootings last night. 10 people have been injured, including one critically, after a double—decker bus crashed into a railway bridge in glasgow. it happened early yesterday evening causing significant disruption to rail services in the area. the bus has now been removed, the road reopened and rail services are returning to normal. now it's time for a look at today's sport. we'll get to sunday's premier league games in a moment, but we've had a sacking in the last few hours. less than 24 hours after their 2—1 defeat to fellow strugglers ipswich, it's all over for gary 0'neil at wolves, they lost the game in injury time at molyneux with o'neill accusing his players of bad decision—making. frustrations came to the fore

at full—time at molyneux, with wolves players rayan ait—nouri sent off for an altercation, and matheus cunha also had to be restrained after a set—to with one of the ipswich staff. o'neill was actually given a four year deal this summer after guiding them to safety last season, and they seemed to have turned things around last month with back to back wins, theirfirst in the league, but they have now lost four in a row and are down in 19th. four matches in the premier league today. about 15 minutes gone at the amex where brighton are taking on crystal palace. it's currently goalless. southampton host spurs and brentford travel to chelsea in the late kick offs. chelsea can close the gap to leaders liverpool to just two points. the game of the day is at the etihad, ruben amorim's first taste of the manchester derby as he takes his united side to struggling city. pep guardiola is enduring his worst spell in management, with one win in ten but he's

says he's fully committed to the cause. i will regret leaving now, i could not sleep, even worse than now, to leave the situation. impossible. they will sack me, that could happen, but leaving now? no chance. if my boss is not happy with me, they can do it. but leaving now in that position? no chance. leaving now in that position? no chance-— no chance. i'm not really focused _ no chance. i'm not really focused on _ no chance. i'm not really focused on the _ no chance. i'm not really focused on the details, l no chance. i'm not really focused on the details, i | no chance. i'm not really - focused on the details, ijust want — focused on the details, ijust want to— focused on the details, ijust want to improve the team. i cannot— want to improve the team. i cannot leave it like a normal derby — cannot leave it like a normal derby should be, two great teams _ derby should be, two great teams fighting for the title and it_ teams fighting for the title and it is_ teams fighting for the title and it is not that at this moment. it isjust one more game — moment. it isjust one more game with very good opponents.

some big matches around europe happening today too. in scotland, rangers take on celtic in the league cup final. in italy, fiorentina are looking for their ninth win in a row in serie a away at bologna. victory will put them three points behind atalanta with a game in hand. no goals yet in that one. atletico madrid are in action in la liga playing getafe — that's also goalless. a win will move them level on points with barcelona until hansi flick�*s side host leganes later. just two days into the final test in hamilton, england's hopes of a clean—sweep look to be gone. new zealand, might have lost the series but are in complete control. they were bowled out for 347 in their first innings, with mitch santner top scoring with 76, the spinner then took three for seven as england were dismissed forjust 143, matt henry took four wickets and will 0'rourke three, and by the close, with kane williamson unbeaten on 50, the kiwis were 340 runs ahead, with seven wickets still in hand.

0n the first two tests we probably didn't have the run of the green, but they played really well in the first two and put pressure back on us. the way the plate leads to it when, when the momentum is good they are really good. i thought they are really good. i thought they pulled really well last innings, and then we were none down at lunch, and we were able to take it on. oklahoma city thunder will contest the nba cup final as they overcame the houston rockets thanks to a 70—point second half in las vegas. they will face 2021 nba champions the milwaukee bucks in the championship game. damien lillard scored 25 points as milwaukee saw off the atlanta hawks but the star of the show once again was giannis antetokounmpo. the two—time mvp scored 35 points and was a threat at both ends of the court with 14 rebounds and this huge block on clint capela as they ran out winners 110 to 102.

click update on one of another�*s premier league games, still goalless at the amex stadium between brighton and crystal palace. i will have another update in the next hour. seven tourists have been taken to hospital in fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning. it's believed all those affected were all guests at a resort on fiji's coral coast, where they drank cocktails in the bar on saturday night and fell ill shortly afterwards. it comes just a few weeks after the death of six tourists in laos because of suspected methanol poisoning. with me is our reporter who's from fiji vandhna bhan. when it comes to this location, tell us a little more about where this happened. it is where this happened. it is uuite where this happened. it is quite interesting - where this happened. it 3 quite interesting where this happened, it was at a 5—star

luxury resort in fiji the south—west coast near a town. that is unlike the incident you mentioned in laos where that happened at a backpackers hostel. vg, unlike parts of southeast asia, is not known to be a backpackers haven because it is expensive, it is predominately tailored towards your honeymooners and family holidays. a different demographic. the minister of health of fiji have said those hospitalised are aged between 18 and 56, four of them are australian, one american and two foreigners who live in fiji, so expatriates. a different demographic because in laos, we saw it was fidelity teenagers and young adults affected, some who sadly died because of bootleg alcohol. it is key to note any fiji bootleg alcohol or fake alcohol is not

necessarily a large issue like it is in parts of southeast asia. the g, a very careful and protective about their tourism image because it is their largest industry, it makes up for a 40% of their gdp, so i can imagine there are lots of questions in regards to how this happened at a luxury resort. , ., ,., ., resort. given how important tourism is. _ resort. given how important tourism is, what _ resort. given how important tourism is, what are - resort. given how important tourism is, what are the - tourism is, what are the authorities saying?- tourism is, what are the authorities saying? the police are taking _ authorities saying? the police are taking this _ authorities saying? the police are taking this very _ authorities saying? the police are taking this very seriously. | are taking this very seriously. it is in the early stages of this investigation, they have been at the resort interviewing people and seeing if others may also have suffered similar symptoms by gently this drink, which we don't know exactly what that drink was. the ministry of health is advising the public to be cautious over the public to be cautious over the festive period about what they are consuming, and australia has also released a warning to travellers to fiji, just to be wary of spiked

drinks. this is a busy period for travellers in the southern hemisphere as it is summer, and we are aware that two asturian families are receiving consular support. this is an unusual and out of the ordinary situation for fiji, so i can imagine authorities will want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. the bottom of this as soon as ossible. �* , the bottom of this as soon as possible-— possible. any updates, i am sure he will— possible. any updates, i am sure he will bring _ possible. any updates, i am sure he will bring them - possible. any updates, i am sure he will bring them to l possible. any updates, i am | sure he will bring them to us. thank you. pope francis is making the first papal visit to the staunchly catholic french mediterranean island of corsica. the capital, ajaccio, is decorated in papal colours for the one—day visit, during which france has bolstered security with an additional 2000 police. it comes a week after the pope declined an invitation to attend the reopening of notre dame cathedral in paris, following its post—fire restoration. christopher white is from the national catholic reporter 0nline.

welcome, the pulp is there to talk about popular piety, but it is fascinating to note that corsica, like france, has a long history of catholicism, but for any pulp this is the first visit to this french island. , , ., , ., ., island. this is an island that island. this is an island that is art island. this is an island that is part of — island. this is an island that is part of france, _ island. this is an island that is part of france, but - island. this is an island that is part of france, but in - island. this is an island that l is part of france, but in many ways a real contrast. throughout the nation, about 25% of people identify as practising catholics, inquests get 90% do. top francis is trying to shore up the fifth year, he sees something worth applauding so he decided to make this nine hour rolling visit today.— make this nine hour rolling visit today. we are watching those live — visit today. we are watching those live images _ visit today. we are watching those live images of - visit today. we are watching those live images of the - those live images of the pontiff in the iconic bookmobile, and there are many people, thousands of people out in the streets for this. what

is he trying to do with this popular piety mission that he has? what is also fascinating as he is targeting smaller areas rather than big capital cities. . , . cities. that is right, we have seen him — cities. that is right, we have seen him just _ cities. that is right, we have seen him just as _ cities. that is right, we have seen him just as recently - cities. that is right, we have seen him just as recently as| seen him just as recently as last week by tass capitals like paris, declining the invitation to go to notre dame for the reopening. instead he is focusing on small acts of faith, religious processions, the devotions, the prayer lives that have maintained the faith here for centuries and a small pocket of france, this tiny island. 0nly pocket of france, this tiny island. only about 340,000 residents. the pulp has decided to put the spotlight on them and say this is something that works, and for people who do not practice the faith that is something here you can tap into that benefits the common good. this morning we heard the way in which the folks have been motivated by their faith to build hospitals and schools and

support other social development, and i think for a pope who comes from the global south, this is the faith he is familiar with. south, this is the faith he is familiarwith. so south, this is the faith he is familiar with. so he is happy to see it live here in europe in a very secular country. it in a very secular country. it is a whirlwind tour of corsica, nine hours in total, as we see the children bring brought up for the papal blessing, such a moment for these little kids. when he meets emmanuel macron, is likely to be a awkward moment because he did turn down that invitation for the reopening of notre dame, arguably the relationship between the pontiff, the vatican and france, cordial given that macron act that successful campaign to make abortion a constitutional right in france. —— backed. how will back me to go down in costco? i back me to go down in costco? i think took francis and macron have had a cordial relationship

throughout the entire time he has been in office. they have met numerous times, including when the pope visited marseille, and that came amid a moment of national debate over assisted dying. they are not unaccustomed to meeting at moments where there have been tensions between the church and french politics. but i think the pope will do what he does when he meets all sorts of world leaders, try and find common ground. this comes in a moment when the government is in great turmoil, so perhaps a visit with the top might provide him his own morale boost. —— pope. provide him his own morale boost. -- pope.— provide him his own morale boost. -- pope. thank you for “oininu boost. -- pope. thank you for joining us _ boost. -- pope. thank you for joining us as _ boost. -- pope. thank you for joining us as we _ boost. -- pope. thank you for joining us as we watch - boost. -- pope. thank you for joining us as we watch those l joining us as we watch those live images from ajaccio. 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 advocay 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. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, the upcoming week is looking pretty unsettled and will be dominated by low pressure which will bring styles of wet and windy weather. it will be mild to start this new week, wet and windy at times with low pressure always close by then it turns colder again later in the week, temperatures returning closer to the

seasonal norm. at the moment we are in this wedge of warmer air, a lot of cloud and mist and mightand main piling into the north and west of scotland, but you can see orange colours across the board. it is milder temperatures above the seasonal norm. the rest of the day will stay windy for northern areas, gales in northern scotland and rain piling up across the highlands with gusty winds. it could be gusty across the yorkshire side of the pennines during this afternoon. that could cause some travel disruption. despite the lack of sunshine it is going to be mild with temperatures in the low teens for all of us in night staying mild, double—figure values for most, the rain still pouring across the north and west of scotland. this almost stationary weather front might cause issues as official was the end of monday with rain heavy and persistent at times. elsewhere it looks like monday will be one of the few bright spells, some cloud here and there may be some drizzle across western hills, and it will be busy and mild. could

the same concerns with the rain across the north—west of scotland by the end of monday and the worst affected areas, it could be up to 150 millimetres of rain, so that could lead to localised flooding. the monday into tuesday, we change the wind direction as a deeper area of low pressure pushes that from the cell. we will see more rain across the north—west of scotland, it will be wet and windy across western areas later in the day on tuesday. many central and eastern areas tend to stay dry, variable cloud, turning windy and it will be mild for all. wet and windy to reduce the night, one area of low pressure clears through and another one hot on its heels, but for most of wednesday, it will be in between there's low pressure, so we will have sunshine and showers across scotland, some sunshine elsewhere, variable cloud but it starts to turn wet and windy across southern and western areas. 0nce and windy across southern and western areas. once again it will be mild, could be up to the mid—teens with some sunshine in the east. such a turn colder from the north during the end of the week and

stays mostly unsettled.

this is bbc news. the headlines. syria's new de—facto leader condemns israel over continued air strikes on the country. it comes as syria's un envoy arrives in damascus for the first time since the fall of assad. he's calling for internaitonal sanctions to be ended, he's calling for international sanctions to be ended, to help the country rebuild. the home secretary says the number of migrants crossing

the channel is "far too high" — as figures show over 20,000 have arrived illegally since labour took power. yvette cooper said international cooperation was key to securing the uk's borders. a woman has been killed in a triple shooting in north west london. two men were also injured, one of them critically. police have described the incident as shocking. no arrests have been made. the five remaining members of the so—called bali nine drug ring have been freed and flown back to australia. they've spent almost 20 years in an indonesian prison for their roles in a heroin smuggling plot. now on bbc news. bbc 100 women in conversation: nadia murad. speaking in arabic she screams nadia murad is a nobel peace prize winner, a campaigner, and a survivor

of the yazidi genocide.