and santas on the run. the mexican capital comes alive as hundreds of father christmases speed through the city! the un envoy for syria has said he hopes for a swift end to sanctions imposed on the group that led the offensive against the former president, bashar al—assad. on his first visit to damascus since assad left a week ago, geir 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, in damascus 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. 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. irish prime minister simon harris has reacted calling israel's decision "deeply regrettable" and saying that he "utterly rejected" the assertion that ireland is anti—israel. "ireland is pro—peace, pro—human rights and pro—international law", he has tweeted. 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. police are on the hunt for the driver of a stolen porsche after a toddler was killed in an apparent hit and run.

the two—year—old died from his injuries and four other adults were hurt in the incident in smethwick in the west midlands. police say the driver of the sports car, which had been stolen earlier in december, fled the scene. 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 gave us more details 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. there's a warning that disabled people are being failed by the planning system, because of a lack of suitable new housing. the district councils network, which represents 169 councils across england, wants housing authorities to be given new powers to ensure developers build more accessible homes. nikki fox reports. daniel has a physics degree, he is a photographer, writes code and has worked alongside nasa. he has done much of this from his bedroom, he has had to because the home he lived in

with his mumjulia because the home he lived in with his mum julia for more than 30 years isn't accessible or adaptable.— or adaptable. this is daniel's room, or adaptable. this is daniel's room. the — or adaptable. this is daniel's room, the ceiling _ or adaptable. this is daniel's room, the ceiling of- or adaptable. this is daniel's room, the ceiling of hoist - room, the ceiling of hoist isn't right for daniel. we have to move the bed every time we want to get daniel out. we have to hoist him up over to the chair, then he moves out the way so we can move other things out of the way. that is a tight squeeze for him to get around and not take the gate with him. it is like prison, you have to ask— it is like prison, you have to ask permission to go out. it is just— ask permission to go out. it is just restrictive.— just restrictive. daniel says he has been _ just restrictive. daniel says he has been on _ just restrictive. daniel says he has been on the - just restrictive. daniel says| he has been on the housing waiting list for seven years. next year he will finally move into his new home with his mum, but it is still not ideal.

better than where you are at the moment? two years ago the previous government promised that all new homes would be built to the new homes would be built to the new adaptable standard, meaning they do not have steps and a more spacious, but that hasn't happened and there are growing calls for labour to make this a priority. calls for labour to make this a riori . , . ., , priority. there is certainly not enough _ priority. there is certainly not enough quality - priority. there is certainly - not enough quality accessible accommodation available for them, and that is something that urgently needs to be reviewed and addressed. we will be looking for a commitment of around 8—10% of homes being built that are accessible. there is no way of really knowing how many new accessible homes are being built in england because the government

doesn't collect that data. the district councils network says one of the problems is that homes may start out as being accessible, then the features that help disabled people live independently i'd then removed. and i was on the housing register for eight and i was on the housing registerfor eight years and i was on the housing register for eight years before she moved here. her bungalow was not built to the adaptable homes are standard, but it works and it has changed her and her partner's life. i works and it has changed her and her partner's life.- and her partner's life. i have not so and her partner's life. i have got so much _ and her partner's life. i have got so much more _ and her partner's life. i have - got so much more independence. we are stronger as a couple. we have been able to foster a dog, i have been able to do a bit more voluntary work. it's not just the fact we live together, it is all aspects.— it is all aspects. emma and daniel paul— it is all aspects. emma and daniel paul say _ it is all aspects. emma and daniel paul say it - it is all aspects. emma and daniel paul say it took - it is all aspects. emma andl daniel paul say it took years to find new homes because of the lack of accessible options.

you have applied to a few of them? the others just aren't suitable? daniel's local authority said it took over the management of housing in order to build and deliver more affordable and social rented homes, including those better suited to disabled people. it says it is a national issue and strongly relies on increased and more urgent support from government. the government says it is providing a range of safe and suitable accessible housing as part of its ambitions to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, and it will set out its policies shortly. 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. an operation is under way

to rescue the crews and assess the extent of the oil spill. russia has been using a fleet of so—called �*ghost�* tankers to evade western sanctions. many of these are old and poorly maintained. bbc world service europe regional editor danny aeberhard, talked us though what has happened. first of all, we heard from russia's emergency ministry that there were two oil tankers in trouble but have been damaged. the ministry said one tanker had run aground and another was adrift, there is a big storm, it doesn't seem to be anything to do with the military strike in ukraine for example. and then on another federal agency, example. and then on another federalagency, it example. and then on another federal agency, it 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 spill. it said basically the russian authorities were taking measures to eliminate that spell, they haven't explained what that involved. and importantly there is also a rescue mission is ongoing, so on the two ships, there were 29 crew, and according to the ministry, there has been at least one death so a criminal investigation has been opened onto that. there will be a lot of concerns about the environment of damage, but at this stage it is hard to say what it will be. we know it is a spell, we don't know how much oil or oil related products the tankers had with them. we don't know what has gone into the sea, so we don't know the size of it. a devastating cyclone has hit the french indian ocean island of mayotte, causing widespread destruction. at least fourteen 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. seven tourists have been taken to hospital in fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning. it's believed they 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. 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 gangs 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. abc news in the united states has agreed to pay 15 million dollars 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 e jean 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." 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 2,000 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. earlier we caught up with christopher white from the national catholic reporter 0nline who explained what a historic moment this is for corsica... as an island that is part of france, but a real contrast. in france, but a real contrast. in france 25% of the nation are practising catholics, inquests got 90% do and pope francis is

trying to shore up the faith here. he sees something with a plodding so he decided to make this nine hour while went to visit. ~ . . . this nine hour while went to visit. ~ ., ., . visit. we are watching those live images _ visit. we are watching those live images of _ visit. we are watching those live images of the _ visit. we are watching those live images of the pontiff i visit. we are watching those live images of the pontiff in | live images of the pontiff in the iconic pope mobile, 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 fascinating as he is targeting the smaller areas rather than big capital cities. that is right, we saw him bypass capitals like paris declining the invitation to go to notre dame for the reopening, and instead he has come here to focus on small acts of faith, religious processions, the devotions, the parent lives that maintain the faith here for centuries in this very small pocket of france. —— prayer. the pope has

decided to put the spotlight on these residents and say this works. for people who do not practice the faith, there is something cute you can tap into that benefit the common good, so this morning we heard him applaud the way the folks have been motivated by theirfaith to build hospitals and schools and support other social development, and for a pope who comes from the global south, this is the faith he is familiar with, so he is happy to see it alive here in europe in a very secular country. it in a very secular country. it is a well tour of corsica, nine hours in total, as we see the children being brought up for the papal blessing. such a moment for these little kids. but of course, when he meets emmanuel macron, is that going to be an awkward moment, because he did turn down that invitation for the reopening of notre dame, arguably the

relationship between the pontiff, between the vatican and france, cordial given that macron back to that successful campaign to make abortion a constitutional right in france. how will this meeting go down in corsica? i how will this meeting go down in corsica?— in corsica? i think francis and macron have _ in corsica? i think francis and macron have had _ in corsica? i think francis and macron have had a _ in corsica? i think francis and macron have had a pretty - macron have had a pretty cordial relationship through out the entire time he has been in office, they have met numerous times including last year 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, and try to find common ground. this comes at a moment when macron�*s government is in great turmoil, so perhaps a visit to the pope might provide him his own morale boost. , ., , ~ .,

boost. christopher white from the national _ boost. christopher white from the national catholic - boost. christopher white from | the national catholic reporter. the pope still presiding over the meetings in corsica. before we go — there's just time to bring you these pictures we've had in from mexico city. it's an annual event — where hundreds of competitors — their children, even pets dress up as santa claus and run through the capital. they run along two routes — of which the longest is ten kilometers. that costume is compulsory. hello there. much of the country today had a fine and largely dry one, and it was milder than it was yesterday, despite the lack of sunshine. now this mild theme is here to stay, certainly for the first half of this upcoming week, but it will be dominated by low pressure, so it will be wet and windy

at times, and then all areas will be turning colder from thursday onwards, with an increasing chance of wintry showers on hills in the north. at the moment though, we're in this wedge of milder air, rather cloudy skies because of a lot of moisture there. and on this boundary between the mild and colder air across northern scotland, we've got a weather front which is going to bring persistent rain, which will drive into the western highlands, rainfall totals really mounting up even as we head into monday as well. elsewhere, apart from some drizzle across western hills, it will be mostly dry. variable cloud and a mild night to come, so it starts mild on monday for all areas. we've got that rain still piling into the north and west of scotland, particularly the northwest highlands. elsewhere, variable clouds, some sunshine, a bit of drizzle i think, across western hills, but mild again with temperatures into 10 to 13 celsius. but we've got some concerns of the amount of rain just falling across the northwest highlands by the end of monday into early tuesday. some of the worst affected areas could be up to 150mm, so that could cause some localised flooding and some travel disruption. but as we move into tuesday, that weather front eventually starts to shift northwards as we start to pick up a southerly wind thanks to a renewed area of low pressure. and again it will be

a mild start to tuesday. here it is, a new area of low pressure, more isobars on the charts. this one's a bit more powerful than we've had over the weekend, so it looks like it'll be windier with gales around irish sea coasts. outbreaks of rain for northern ireland and into western scotland again, areas that really don't need any more rain. but i think the midlands eastwards and large parts of eastern england should stay dry all day on tuesday, but rather cloudy with limited sunshine. mild double figure values for most — wet, windy weather with gales spreads across the country during tuesday night. another area of low pressure will arrive later on wednesday, but we're in between the weather systems for wednesday, so we should see quite a bit of dry weather across the northern half of the country with some sunshine. a few showers across western scotland and then we'll start to see wet and windy weather pushing up from the south across england, wales into northern ireland. given some sunshine we could be up to 15 degrees across eastern england. it does turn colder for the end of the week. wintry showers across northern hills. 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 internaitonal sanctions to be ended, 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 christmases speed through the city! now on bbc news, newscast. this is the moment when we meet in erson. , ., ., in person. it is. you are misleadingly _ in person. it is. you are misleadingly shy - in person. it is. you are misleadingly shy for - in person. it is. you are misleadingly shy for a l in person. it is. you are - misleadingly shy for a moment. i didn't know it was me first, but i am next to henry on the