hello. i'm helena humphries. several hundred people and possibly even thousands are now feared to have died in a powerful cyclone that hit the the island of mayotte, a french indian ocean territory. winds of more than 140 miles per hour and heavy rain battered the island, causing widespread devastation. authorities there say the final number of victims may never be known. mayotte is a french territory, and a member of the eu. many people there lived in makeshift homes, and the french government says they have all been destroyed. cyclone chido has now moved to southeast africa. greg mckenzie reports. the french indian ocean territory of mayotte. cyclone chido made landfall here on saturday. the devastation and

aftermath clear to see. entire communities flattened by gusts of more than 140mph. islanders sheltering any way they can. officials fear the death toll will be in the hundreds, or even higher. located northwest of madagascar, mayotte is an archipelago comprised of one main island and several smaller ones. most of the island's 300,000 or so inhabitants live in shacks with sheet metal roofs. tens of thousands of people have lost their homes. electricity, water and internet connections are all down. no matter how the houses were built, everything has been destroyed. i think that you can see a little bit of that all around me. people are doing their best to try and rebuild their houses, but the work is going but the work is going

to be extremely long. to be extremely long. the government in paris has the government in paris has sent a military transport plane sent a military transport plane with supplies and emergency with supplies and emergency workers as mayotte hasn't seen workers as mayotte hasn't seen a storm this intense a storm this intense in more than a decade. in more than a decade. strict lockdowns in place strict lockdowns in place for the whole population, for the whole population, including emergency services, including emergency services, have now been lifted as some have now been lifted as some try to buy what little try to buy what little provisions are available. provisions are available. translation: we've come to get translation: we've come to get something to eat for the kids, something to eat for the kids, for us adults, for everyone. for us adults, for everyone. we've got nothing left. we've got nothing left. we had stocked up, but the wind we had stocked up, but the wind has taken it all away. has taken it all away. we've had no water for three we've had no water for three days now, so it's starting days now, so it's starting to be a problem. to be a problem. we're trying to get the bare minimum to live on because we don't know on because we don't know when the water will come back. when the water will come back. now, those in its path now, those in its path in the mozambique channel brace in the mozambique channel brace themselves with more heavy rain and flooding predicted. themselves with more heavy rain and flooding predicted. greg mckenzie, bbc news. greg mckenzie, bbc news. the cyclone has now reached northern mozambique. the cyclone has now reached northern mozambique. i've been speaking with save i've been speaking with save the children's country director the children's country director there, ilaria manunza, there, ilaria manunza, who's in the capital, who's in the capital, maputo. maputo.

we understand the cyclone is now bringing torrential rain to mozambique, paint a now bringing torrential rain to mozambique, painta picture now bringing torrential rain to mozambique, paint a picture of the situation on the ground, what people there are facing? thank you, the cyclone, cyclone chido has been quite strong and was quite substantial for mozambique due to the strong wind. we had wind gust of more than 200 kilometres an hour. bringing a lot of destruction among houses, schools, health centres and all other infrastructure. especially in the capital of gamba problem and another province. our staff has also been directly impacted. our offices and sub— officers have been damaged. some areas that had been hit by the cyclone are more densely populated than others like

internet in some restored yet. internet in some cases is working, especially styling. other services have been disrupted entirely. especially starlink. we still have that. water is still ok but we don't know the damage yet. the cyclone struck in the early hours of the morning around four o'clock and we lost contact with our staff from 545 until very late in the early afternoon. the area that has been struck and hit by the cyclone is very large. and very difficult in terms of access, both for logistics but also for insecurity reasons. therefore we have to be determined. you

“ust we have to be determined. you just mentioned _ we have to be determined. you just mentioned the _ we have to be determined. you just mentioned the security of the impacted region, tell us more about that some of the challenges it could pose for humanitarian responders, trying to access that area for people who need that help. the cyclone has hit a quite _ who need that help. the cyclone has hit a quite based _ who need that help. the cyclone has hit a quite based area - has hit a quite based area inland. inaudible. the inland district are also those that are currently experiencing insecurity due to activity of insurgent groups. some organisations like save the children had a presence there. nevertheless, depending on the extent of the disruption, and destruction of the infrastructure, housing, etc,

we will have to assess whether those areas would be fully accessible or not to provide humanitarian aid. therefore in addition to the logistic insecurity poses a major hindrance to humanitarian aid in certain areas. the un envoy for syria says he supports lifting sanctions on the country, a week after bashar al—assad was ousted by islamist rebels. geir pedersen is on his first visit to damascus since mr assad fled, amid international efforts to support a smooth transition of power. he urged justice, not revenge — and called for increased and immediate aid. a delegation from qatar has also been in the syrian capital, meeting the transitional government. russia, which was a backer of assad, has evacuated some of its diplomatic staff. the main rebel group, hts, remains a proscribed terrorist organisation in the uk, but the country's foreign secretary, david lammy, says british diplomats have nevertheless established contact, saying officials

would deal with the group, "where we have to". mr lammy also announced the uk would contribute a further £50 million, that's $63 million, in aid for syrians in the middle east. well, the celebrations in damascus after the fall of assad stand in stark contrast to the mood in the iranian capital, where leaders are grappling with the sudden loss of their most important arab ally. the fall of bashar al—assad's regime marks the end of a four—decade partnership that cost tehran tens of billion dollars and formed the cornerstone of its regional strategy. public criticism of that investment is now emerging across iranian society, even from those who long supported it. for more, i spoke to alex vatanka, director of the iran program at the middle east institute here in washington. the whole world has been watching the recent events in syria and they have been talking about what this says about the allies of bashar

al—assad, russia and iran and what are people and around making a what appears to be a failure for the regime? you know, there _ failure for the regime? you know, there are _ failure for the regime? 7m. know, there are basically two camps here. if you listen to officials including the highest leader the supreme leader, he is focused on what he thinks is a conspiracy. he is much more focused in how to the fall of the bashar al—assad regime come about pointing the finger at the united states and israel, he has not taken much time to talk about the horrible track record of the bashar al—assad regime and the fact millions of syrians arejoyful regime and the fact millions of syrians are joyful today that bashar al—assad is gone. on the other side and i think that is clearly the largest camp if you will, are the iranians public opinion including many observers who are saying why did we support bashar al—assad and spend the last ten years supporting a dictator and now it all came to nothing. that is

the debate right now it is not a done deal, whether there will be lessons that are more significant in terms of the islamic republic �*s future remains to be seen but that is roughly where we are in terms of iranian reaction to events in syria. of iranian reaction to events in s ria. of iranian reaction to events ins ria. ~ , in syria. do you think this makes iran _ in syria. do you think this makes iran more - in syria. do you think this i makes iran more vulnerable in syria. do you think this - makes iran more vulnerable the fact it all played out so publicly, iran appeared to be caught off guard here? absolutely if you go back to october of 2023 the last 14 months, the iran axis of resistance which means various proxy group in some countries have fallen from her mass, his bowler and now al—assad, the islam it republic spent 20 years and billions of dollars creating the axis of resistance. and now it is crumbling, iran has tough choices ahead it can stay and try to come back and re—

mobilise and rescue some what is left of axis of resistance could take the plunge and essentially go on a very different direction, and focus on the issue building at home which is what the iranians public opinion wants instead of these open—ended adventures and supporting various political projects in the region that are essentially falling apart at the moment.— essentially falling apart at the moment. ~ ., ., ~' the moment. what do you think will happen _ the moment. what do you think will happen it — the moment. what do you think will happen it remains - the moment. what do you think will happen it remains to - the moment. what do you think will happen it remains to be - will happen it remains to be seen that lessons will be learned here, you say, where'd you see iran going in terms of foreign policy strategy, ambitions? i foreign policy strategy, ambitions?— foreign policy strategy, ambitions? ., ambitions? i mean look, the supreme _ ambitions? i mean look, the supreme leader _ ambitions? i mean look, the supreme leader it _ ambitions? i mean look, the supreme leader it is - ambitions? i mean look, the supreme leader it is his - ambitions? i mean look, the supreme leader it is his call| supreme leader it is his call on the decision of the leadership in the revolutionary guard. the supreme leader has beenin guard. the supreme leader has been in power since 1989, 35 years. he has essentially stay the course, he has tried to pull the lever and pushing the us out of the middle east, and bring about the end of israel.

these have been consistently part of the agenda. will he make a u—turn? it's unlikely. could he make some adjustments for example making compromises with other regional powers, even western powers, will they rollback some of its influence in the region for the sake of keeping the islamic republic safe. because sure, the worst thing that could happen to the islamic republic which is what the israeli prime minister is promising, this war will continue all the way to today ran in the fall of islamic republic. if the regime believes that might happen then they will surely have good reasons to start to look for exit strategy, to essentially as i said earlier to take the plunge and go in a very different direction from here on. ~ ., different direction from here on, ~ ., ., . ., different direction from here on. ~ ., ., ., on. were it to reach out for example — on. were it to reach out for example to _ on. were it to reach out for example to the _ on. were it to reach out for example to the syrian -

example to the syrian transitional government, what reaction would you anticipate from damascus?— reaction would you anticipate from damascus? look, ithink it's really _ from damascus? look, ithink it's really early _ from damascus? look, ithink it's really early days. - from damascus? look, ithink it's really early days. one - it's really early days. one thing i have to point out is when you look at the history of islamic republic for the last 45 years, where they have been able to become an actor or player, are areas or countries that are in despair, where there is civil war, lebanon on in the 805, iraq and the 2000 and obviously a number of countries including syria after the arab spring. for the future of syria, the most important thing is to make sure you do not have that security vacuum. in the worst—case scenario syria doe5 in the worst—case scenario syria does not go towards the democratic system but end5 syria does not go towards the democratic system but ends up becoming another failed state with local actors fighting each other, i thank the gameplan of islamic republic would be to look for local actors that might once again look to iran

for support, arms, might once again look to iran for5upport, arms, money might once again look to iran for support, arms, money and so forth, that is the key issue as far as potential opportunities for islamic republic is concerned. officials into a run are saying that as of now they say let us see what happens in syria and have there are opportunities of islamic republic would like to come back and preserve all the lost influence not all of it but at least gain a foothold in lea5t gain a foothold in a country that has had close relations with iran police going back to the iranian revolution of 19 79.- going back to the iranian revolution of 19 79. that was the director _ revolution of 19 79. that was the director of _ revolution of 19 79. that was the director of the _ revolution of 19 79. that was the director of the iran - the director of the iran programme at the middle east institute. el5ewhere, the israeli government has approved a plan to expand settlements in the occupied golan heights, a move con5idered illegal under international law. prime minister benjamin netanyahu defended the decision because of what he called the "new front" that's opened up in syria. israel captured the golan heights from syria in 1967. an armistice was signed between them in 1974 and a buffer zone established. but after the fall of

president a55ad, israeli troops entered the buffer zone, again in violation of the agreement. our correspondent lucy williamson report5 now from the village of hadar where she encountered israeli troops on syrian territory. an hourfrom damascus on a syrian country road, we met israel's army. an impromptu checkpoint on the only route into hadar village. military vehicles and troops in full combat gear. earlier this week, israel said it was seizing control of syrian territory in a demilitarised zone setup in a cea5efire agreement 50 years ago. hadar overlook5 this buffer zone. parts of the village even jut into it. the village chief points out the territory israel occupied in 1967 from the mountains of the golan to the galilee. many residents in this druze

community have relatives still living there. now they see israeli forces moving around their own village. a week after president assad's regime fell, the sense of freedom here comes tinged with fatalism. maybe they leave. maybe they stay. maybe they go away. maybe they make the area safe and then go away to the border. we want to hope. but in the future, we will wait and see. israeli bulldozer5 are clearly visible above the village. many syrian5 fear israel 5imply wants to grab more land. israel says it's motivated by the threat from jihadi5t groups and that its incur5ion5 would be limited and temporary. the iran—backed groups that israel was fighting here have been weakened by the fall of assad. israel is taking

advantage of this moment to extend its reach here and deal with new potential threats. the village chief said dozens of men, including his own son, died defending the village from militia of all kinds during syria's war. translation: israelis a state. we can't stand up to it. we used to stand up to individuals, but israel is a 5uperpower. israel's prime minister has talked about a new front in syria. syria's new islamist leader has warned of unnecessary escalation. its long—awaited freedom overshadowed by talk of war. lucy williamson, bbc news, hadar. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a two—year—old boy has died and four adults have been injured in a hit—and—run incident involving a stolen car.

it happened in smethwick, in the west midlands, on saturday night. detectives said the driver of the porsche, which was stolen earlier this month, fled the scene of a crash with a toyota car and are appealing for them to come forward. a woman has died and a man's been critically injured after a shooting in north west london. the woman in her 405 was pronounced dead at the scene in brent, after police were called ju5t after 9pm on saturday. another man in his 305 was also injured. no arre5ts have been made and a murder investigation is now under way. a vigil has been held outside the family house of 10—year—old sara sharif in surrey. around 500 people laid flowers and cards to pay tribute to the little girl, whose body was found at the house in 2023. sara's father, urfan sharif, and step—mother, beina5h batool, were found guilty of her murder earlier this week following a ten—week trial. you're live with bbc news.

in the uk, the home secretary, yvette cooper, has refused to set out a timetable to reduce the number of boats crossing the channel despite describing the figures as "far too high". it comes as the government said it had returned 13,500 failed asylum seekers to their home countries since the election in july. 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 a 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, 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 34,000 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.

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. but the government says with rwanda not a single enforced return happened despite hundreds of millions spent. the idea was a gimmick that did nothing to deter. and 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. south korea's constitutional court has begun reviewing the impeachment of president yoon suk yeol, over his attempt to impose martial law earlier this month. the court has up to six months to decide whether to remove yoon from office or to reinstate him. it comes after prosecutors say the impeached president has failed to respond to a summons for questioning. mr yoon was removed from office on saturday. his impeachment has

intensified political turmoil in the country, with growing calls for accountability over his actions. officials have confirmed that they are now planing to re—issue the order again. the former president has not yet commented on these latest summons. earlier, i spoke to dr sung—yoon lee, global fellow at the woodrow wilson international center for scholars. prosecutors have summoned the impeached president for questioning, he has not turned up, where'd you think all of this could be leading? the impeachment _ this could be leading? the impeachment trial - this could be leading? tue: impeachment trial will this could be leading? tte: impeachment trial will be deliberated, trialed by the nation �*s constitutional court which has 180 days, six months to deliberate and issue a ruling. you know the old adage of tourism reality is stranger than fiction, it has been confirmed than fiction, it