the mexican capital comes alive as hundreds of father christmases speed through the city! 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 damascus, 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 stake in helping the syrian people chart this new path. we know what 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. meanwhile, syria's de—facto leader, ahmed al—sharaa, has condemned israel for its continued airstrikes on his country. our middle east correspondent, lina sinjab, is in damascus and has more on those comments. 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 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 syria on our website. 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�* and said he �*utterly rejects the assertion that ireland is anti—israel�*. 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 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 rwanda not a single enforced return happened despite hundreds of millions sent. the idea was a gimmick that 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. 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 40s, 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. 0ur reporter anisa kadri spoke to us about this. well, no arrest has been made, but a murder investigation has been launched. and people in this area, it�*s called harlesden, it�*s in northwest london — well, they�*re in real shock. we�*ve seen residents coming out of their homes, on their doorsteps, just looking overjust behind me at the police activity going on here. they say that they haven�*t seen anything like this. one person said that they heard the shots last night, that they thought that it was the sound of fireworks. and people here, theyjust can�*t believe that a woman is dead, that she has died in this way.

now, the few details we know about the woman are that she�*s in her 40s. it�*s believed she died at the scene, and that two other people were injured in this shooting. they are two men. they�*re in their 30s. one of them is said to be in a critical condition. the other one�*s injuries are said to not be life threatening. but yes, a triple shooting that�*s caused massive, massive shock in this area and police activities going on here all day, to work out the circumstances of what happened. you know, detectives say they�*re working at pace to discover who�*s responsible, and they�*ve appealed for information, wanting the public�*s help to find out who�*s responsible for last night�*s shootings. 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. 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. 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 today, after a deal struck between the two governments. the case made news worldwide when the gang�*s two ringleaders were executed by firing squad in 2015. prime minister anthony albanese revealed the remaining men have returned as free citizens and will not have to serve out their life sentences in australian prisons. 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.

iam going i am going to take it live to corsica where pope francis is making a historic visit, the first visit of a pontiff to corsica, this is the french island. he is there putting a focus on the mediterranean, on traditional practices, catholic practices and what is described as a popular piety, and also he will be talking about migrant deaths in the mediterranean sea, also highlighting that as well. it is a bit of a whirlwind trip to corsica�*s capital ajaccio, which is the birthplace of napoleon. he will only be there for nine hours before he returns to the vatican in rome. this isjust a few days before the pontiff�*s 88th birthday. we will keep an eye on those images from the

corsican capital on this historic visit. 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. following their 2—1 home defeat to fellow strugglers ipswich, it�*s all overfor gary 0�*neil at wolves. they lost the game in injury time on saturday with 0�*neill accusing his players of bad decision—making. frustrations came to the fore at full—time 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. 0�*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. crystal palace made a brillaint start against brighton, trevor chalobah and ismailla saar putting them 2—0 up at halftime. southampton host spurs and brentford travel to chelsea in the late kick offs. 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. i'm really focused on the details, ijust want to improve the team. i cannot leave it like a normal derby should be, two great teams fighting for the title and it is not that at this 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 but it�*s goalless in the second half. atletico madrid have beaten getafe 1—0 to move leavel on points with leaders barcelona who play later against leganes. there are four matches in the women�*s super league today, aston villa two west ham one. we�*ve had one shock result, second placed manchester city losing to everton for the first time. they went down 2—1. honoka hayashi scored the crucial second goal after lucy hope had put the toffees in front. mary fowler scored late on for city. it�*s an opportunity missed for them after leaders chelsea dropped points and they are now six points off the top. to cricket where england�*s women have ended day one of their one—off test

against south africa in a strong position. centuries from maia bouchier and nat sciver—brunt helped england to 395 for nine declared. england�*s men, by contrast, are struggling with 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 3117 in their first innings, with mitch santner top scoring with 76, 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. oklahoma city thunder have reached 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

on tuesday. 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 32 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 points to 102. and that�*s all the sport for now. paris still beating brighton 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. 0ur reporter —

who�*s from fiji — vandhna bhan explains where exactly this incident took place. so it�*s quite interesting where this happened. it was at a five star luxury resort in fiji, on the southwest coast near a town, and it was a tourist resort. now, that�*s unlike the incident you mentioned in laos, where that happened at a backpackers hostel. fiji, unlike parts of southeast asia, isn�*t known to be a backpackers haven because it is expensive. it�*s predominantly tailored towards your honeymooners and your family holidays. so a different demographic there. now, the ministry of health of fiji have said that those hospitalised are aged between 18 and 56. four of them are australian, one american and two foreigners who live in fiji. so expatriates. so again, a different demographic because in laos we saw it was predominantly teenagers and young adults who were affected, some who sadly died because of bootleg alcohol. now it�*s key to note that in fiji, bootleg

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

a warning to travellers to fiji just to be wary of spiked drinks. and this is a busy period for travellers in the southern hemisphere to fiji as it is summer, and we are aware that two australian families are receiving consular support. but again, 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. two russian oil tankers have sunk in bad weather in the kerch strait that separates russia from occupied crimea. footage shows one tanker split in half. let�*s speak to bbc world service europe regional editor, danny aeberhard. talk us through what is happening here.- talk us through what is happening here. talk us through what is ha enin: here. , ., ., happening here. first of all we heard from _ happening here. first of all we heard from russia's _ happening here. first of all we | heard from russia's emergency heard from russia�*s emergency ministry that there were two

oil tankers in trouble that had been damaged, and the ministry said one tanker had run aground and another was adrift. there is a big storm, it doesn�*t seem to be a military strike from ukraine for example. then on another federal agency ukraine for example. then on anotherfederal agency said another federal agency said both tankers anotherfederal agency said both tankers had sunk. 0n the russian state media, they have shown video footage of this ship completely broken apart, there is an oil spill in the stormy seas and the agency also spoke of an oil spillage, said that basically the russian authorities were taking measures to eliminate that spell, they haven�*t explained what that involves. and importantly, there is also rescue missions ongoing and on the two ships there are 29 crew. a criminal investigation has been opened into that. in has been opened into that. in terms of environmental

concerns, they must have been pretty intense given these are oil tankers. pretty intense given these are oiltankers. i pretty intense given these are oil tankers. i discussed oil tankers that we have been hearing so much about? first of all, on hearing so much about? first of all. on the _ hearing so much about? first of all, on the environmental - all, on the environmental point, yes, there will be a lot of concerns about by mental damage. but at this stage it is very hard to say what that damage will be. we know there is a spell, we don�*t know how much oil or oil related products the tankers had with them, and we don�*t know what has gone into the sea, so we don�*t know the size of it. there has been in the past an oil tanker that has gone, the kerch strait lies between russia and occupied crimea. it is a very busy street. the straight which the black sea runs into, it is quite shallow, so some of the tankers that use it or not take oceangoing liners so it is likely to because that level of spill,

but it is significant. and yes, the question of oil goes to tankers, these are tankers that russia uses to try and evade question sanctions —— western sanctions. that is a very serious question. some of the ghost tankers are very old ships and they are poorly maintained, but it has not been confined to these are ghost tankers. . ~ confined to these are ghost tankers. ., ~ , ., confined to these are ghost tankers. ., ~' , ., , confined to these are ghost tankers. ., ~ i. , . before we go — there�*s just time to bring you these pictures we�*ve had in from mexico city. much of the country had a large fine dry one and it was milder despite the lack of sunshine. this mild team is here to stay. it will be dominated by low pressure and wet and windy at times and then all areas will be turning colder from thursday onwards

with an increasing chance of wintry showers in the north, at the moment we are in this wedge of milder air, rather cloudy skies because a lot of moisture there and on this boundary between demand and colder air across northern scotland we have got a weather front that is going to bring persistent rain that will dry into the western highlands, rainfall totals mounting up as we head into monday as well. elsewhere, apart from some drizzle across western hills, it will be mostly dry with variable cloud and a mild night come. we have got that rain piling into the north and west of scotland, particularly the north—west highlands. elsewhere variable cloud, some sunshine and a bit of drizzle across western hills but miles again. temperatures into 10-13 c, but miles again. temperatures into 10—13 c, but we have some concerns of the amount of rain falling across the north west highlands. by the end of monday to early tuesday, and the worst affected areas 150 millimetres that could cause localised flooding and travel disruption. as a move into tuesday, that

shifts northwards spot we start pick up a southerly wind thanks to a renewed area of the pressure and it will be a mouth start to tuesday. here it is, in your area of low pressure, more ice about on the chart. this one is more powerful than over the weekend so it looks windy with gales of an irish sea coasts. 0utbreaks windy with gales of an irish sea coasts. outbreaks of rain for northern ireland and in the west of scotland, but the midlands eastwards, a large part of eastern english should stay dry all day on tuesday but rather cloudy with limited sunshine, mild double—figure values for most, wet windy weather with gales spread across the country during tuesday night, another area of low pressure will arrive later on wednesday but we are in weather systems for wednesday so we should see some dry weather across northern half of the country, some sunshine, some sunshine, some shows across western scotland and some wet and windy weather pushing up from the south across england and wales and northern ireland. it could be “p northern ireland. it could be up to 15 degrees across eastern england. it turns cold for the end of the week with wintry

showers across northern hills and a bit of sunshine in the south.

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 international sanctions to be ended, to help the country rebuild. a two—year—old boy has died and four adults have been injured in a hit—and—run crash involving a stolen car.

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. and santas on the run! the mexican capital comes alive as hundreds of father christmasses speed through the city! a two—year—old boy has died and four adults injured in a hit—and—run crash involving a stolen car in the west midlands. police say the driver of the porsche, which had been stolen earlier this month, fled the scene. with me is greg mckenzie. just bring this up to date with what happened. this just bring this up to date with

what happened.— just bring this up to date with what happened. this crash took lace last what happened. this crash took place last night. _ what happened. this crash took place last night, a _ what happened. this crash took place last night, a collision -