i'm helen humphreys, good to have you with us. syria's former president, bashar al assad, has issued what appears to be his first statement since he was forced out of power a week ago. in what is believed to be a telegram post from moscow, the statement explains how he left after rebels took over, and that he never intended to seek refuge in russia. it's not certain that the post was written by him. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. where is bashar al—assad 7 he hasn't been seen since he fled syria. today, a statement purporting to be from him appeared on the social media accounts of the former syrian president, dateline moscow. it's unclear who controls the accounts and whether assad wrote this...

president putin, who met army chiefs today, has reportedly granted assad asylum. but the kremlin leader has said nothing publicly about it. most of this speech was about the war in ukraine — not a word about syria. despite having this naval base in syria, in tartus, and a major airbase, events there seem to have taken moscow by surprise. was russia too distracted by its war in ukraine? if you think that we focussed on ukraine and lost syria, no, we didn't lost syria. we still have bases in syria. but you don't know what the future of those bases will be? of course, and you don't know.

for moscow, the issue of the bases is urgent. a kremlin spokesman said moscow was in contact with what he referred to as "representatives of those forces who now control the situation in syria". it is a dialogue that will decide the fate of russia's military presence there. if russia loses its bases, it will lose its foothold in the eastern mediterranean. president putin had invested heavily in syria. what might the russian elite be thinking about the fall of assad? i think they understand that this is putin's failure. they can't be vocal, they can't say it openly. but this is a precedent, this is an example how the autocratic regime could fail, could fall. as president, bashar al—assad was a regular visitor to moscow. his exact whereabouts now remain a mystery. steve rosenberg,

bbc news, moscow. joining me is the senior fellow on the council of foreign relations, thank you for being with us. and what is purported to be his first statement since the fall of damascus some eight days ago, former syrian president assad said he never intended to fully from russia. we don't know if those words really were authored by him. what do you make of that statement?— what do you make of that statement? �* , . , . statement? it's a very pathetic statement _ statement? it's a very pathetic statement really, _ statement? it's a very pathetic statement really, so _ statement? it's a very pathetic statement really, so what - statement? it's a very pathetic statement really, so what did l statement really, so what did he think he was doing when he boarded a plane to moscow from the russian base? i do however think this is not a statement written by him, not that he would have necessarily have a better one, but it looks like a bureaucratic statement, someone

who made up words for him. so i would not put a great deal of emphasis on it. i think the russians may be felt that there would be some statement coming out of his mouth, so they inscribed it on telegram. so if he really wants to make a statement, he can do it himself, so don't really think this is. ~ ., �* ~' ., himself, so don't really think this is. ., �* ~ ., , this is. we don't know exactly where it came _ this is. we don't know exactly where it came from, - this is. we don't know exactly where it came from, as - this is. we don't know exactly where it came from, as you . where it came from, as you pointed out, but what you think intention then was behind it? the intention was to come up with something, because look, nobody has heard from bashar — so this in a way confirms he's in moscow. this is the important point here, finally we have confirmation he's in moscow, because supposedly he's

saying he didn't intend to go to moscow. he didn't say anything about the rest of his family, presumably his wife is with him, they might be in iraq. this only tells us about the mystery of where he is — and i think that was the only intention of the statement. we know the foreign policy chief of the eu is calling on syria's new leadership to get rid of russian influence in the country and best you think that's something they'll be able to do? do you think there could be the prospect of any more conflict here?- could be the prospect of any more conflict here? look, the russians _ more conflict here? look, the russians will _ more conflict here? look, the russians will eventually - more conflict here? look, the russians will eventually move out, i think. russians will eventually move out, ithink. it russians will eventually move out, i think. it takes a long time, these bases have been there for a long time, they were very large, lots of equipment, and if you think — it's a bomber aircraft, and that bomber aircraft has

hundreds of parts there probably in storage. so you can'tjust pack up a base overnight, so it will take up some time, and i think both the new syrian leadership and the russians will try to make it look like it's a very orderly process — it may take three months or six months, but i don't think those bases are operational. but if those russians want to use it elsewhere in the region, i don't think the new syrian leadership will allow them to use those bases, because it's not in their interests. put yourself in the shoes of russian officers and soldiers serving on those bases, when you have a new government in syria that is clearly hostile

to the person backed by bashar al—assad, and also because you supported and bombed the population for assad, you won't be very safe there. so it it's also for the russians to remove their personnel so no harm comes to them. thank you for being with us. thank you. as you heard earlier, bashar al—assad is reportedly in moscow. when he fled the country, it was from a russian military base in what was once his stronghold, latakia province — that's the home of mr assad's minority alawite sect. making up only 10% of the population, they provided much of assad's political and military leadership. now, latakia is in the hands of hts, the sunni islamist rebel group that instigated mr assad's fall. and the alawites who live there face an uncertain future.

our senior correspondent quentin sommerville has reached the region, to see how this divided community is dealing with the new reality. latakia has been reclaimed. this notorious jailhouse, their entire city — all of syria belongs to the people now. it's the flag of a free syria that now flies here in the very heartland of the former regime. sunni, shieh, christian — they all came together to celebrate with a message of unity. the assad regime warned that there would be massacres here in latakia if they ever lost power — instead, there are celebrations. even among its core support, people suffered. but, while there's a lot

ofjoy here today, for some, there's fear — there's a worry that there may be a reckoning, and that they will have to pay for their support of the old regime. some from latakia's alawite minority are too scared to leave their homes. alawites were syria's ruling class — but now, no more. ola, an alawite, hated the assads — but now she feels for her community. will you still go out tonight? translation: if a conservative islamic ideology takes hold - here, i don't think so. not me, my friends, or people i know. no, we'll all leave the country. we are muslims who pray and fast during ramadan — but we don't like being pressured. my mother was veiled, but she never pressured me to take the veil. we practise our faith freely. this is who rules latakia,

and much of syria, now. the sunni ranks of hayat tahrir al—sham. a little over a week ago, they were enemies of the state. now they are the law of the land. in a city of regime loyalists, every call—out is a show of force. still, they are greeted as liberators, and these young fighters are now the city's police force. they are heading to deal with an assault in this neighbourhood. weapons have been drawn. they move fast to find the suspects, who they believe are still armed. as they set up a cordon, neighbours identify men and accuse them of links to the former regime. shouting

across syria, scores are being settled. after years of oppression here on the streets, there is a thirst for vengeance. it's a situation that could it's a situation that could easily spiral out of control. easily spiral out of control. so, the man they're arresting so, the man they're arresting is accused of being shabiha — is accused of being shabiha — a government informant, a government informant, a regime informant. a regime informant. the neighbours are screaming the neighbours are screaming from the rooftop that that's from the rooftop that that's exactly what he was. exactly what he was. so, him and a number so, him and a number of other men are being of other men are being ta ken into custody. ta ken into custody. with any faction, hts aren't the only guns in hts aren't the only guns in town. other rebel groups are —— town. other rebel groups are —— are here too — and for them, are here too — and for them, those with links to the former those with links to the former regime are easy prey. regime are easy prey. translation: you have stolen this house. - today you are a thief.

this hasn't been coordinated

some belongings. translation: they came and broke down the door. and took my house. this cctv footage shows the moment of the break—in. armed rebels arrived and smashed their way into the property. the group's commander moved his family inside. they have now been evicted. but noor says she feared for her life. do alawites feel safe in latakia now? no — never, ever. no, no. translation: | will leave . the moment i get the chance. i need my daughters to survive. this house was built brick by brick with help from my family. and it seems that some people in the neighbourhood noticed how nice it was and became envious. added to this, we are alawites, and my husband was a high—ranking officer in the regime, which made things even worse. i don't feel secure. i will leave with my daughters when i get the chance. on latakia's outskirts, some other residents are also adjusting to the new reality on the ground here. russia is drawing down its forces. their ally ousted, at this air base, at least some of those who waged a brutal military campaign against syrians are leaving.

hundreds of russian vehicles have been congregating here, and heading into that air base right there. russian troops are still on patrol there and moving around, we can see them with their weapons, they're watching us. cautiously, we ask if this is a permanent withdrawal. are you leaving? are you leaving syria? no. no? you are here to stay? no, no, no. that was pretty definitive. he says he isn't leaving. no comment. "no comment." so that was fairly definitive. but as you can see, this is a closed off area, it's all

sealed. the public aren't allowed in here. there are no people — it's probably wise if we moved out now. here in the former regime's heartland, a new order is taking hold. but this has been a long journey, and it won't be born overnight. quentin sommerville, bbc news, latakia. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some of the stories making news. a woman who threw a milkshake at the reform uk leader nigel farage has been given a 13 week suspended prison sentence. victoria thomas bowen, who is 25, admitted assault by beating and criminal damage in an earlier hearing. nigel farage criticised the sentence, saying it shows you can assault a member of parliament and not go to prison. a man has been arrested after two—year—old

died in the west midlands that involved a stolen porsche. please say a 30—year—old has been held for crash causing death. a woman aged 29 and a 30—year—old man remain in a serious condition in hospital. deputy prime minister, angela rayner, has set out plans for a redesign of local government in england. district councils will be incorporated into wider authorities and new elected regional mayoralties created. ministers say the changes would empower local leaders and could save up to 2 billion pounds. but opponents say that so—called "mega—councils" will take power away from local communities. you're live with bbc news. a chinese businessman accused of spying for beijing, and with close links to prince andrew, has agreed to his identity being made public. until today, yang teng—bo, was known only as h6. he had been banned from the uk last year

on national security grounds. the release of his name and photo comes as it's revealed that prince andrew will not nowjoin the royal family for their traditional christmas celebration at sandringham. damian grammaticus has the latest. the royal and the alleged spy — this is glossy video from the prince himself, designed to drum up business. throughout, we see yang tengbo — we can now name him — banned from the uk as a risk to national security. mr yang is accused of working for china's communist party, using his ties to build contacts. on his desk, photos — he met theresa may and david cameron. dealing with foreign threats was already on the prime minister's agenda today. here in norway, the immediate issue — russia's war against ukraine. but he's been seeking closer ties with china. so, he was asked, what about its activities? of course, we are concerned about the challenge that china poses. our approach, as you know, i had a meeting with

the presidentjust a few weeks ago now, our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly, for example, on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should. mr yang is appealing his ban from the uk. he asked today for his own anonymity to be lifted, insisting he's an entrepreneur trying to build bridges between east and west. in a statement, he said... ..adding... what the case of yang tengbo and prince andrew has now done is add charge to a political debate here. the government wants to reach out and engage with china. conservatives say that comes with risks. how was it that somebody who was known to the security forces was allowed to get so close to a member of the royal family without proper scrutiny exposing them? the rather sycophantic tone

the prime minister took with president xi at the 620 a few weeks ago may not be very wise. china offers economic opportunities. keir starmer wants to seize those. but should he be wary of the true cost that might bring? damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. two people are dead and six others injured after a school shooting in the us state of wisconsin. the victims are a teacher and a teenage student.police say the shooter is also dead. the shooting happened at a private christian academy in the state capital, madison. police said the suspect was a juvenile who they believe was a student at the school. a nearby resident had this to say. you always see it on the tv that happened somewhere else. you know, you feel bad but you don't realise the situation — when it's here in your back yard, it's basically a block away from it, it's in my back yard, and it's very scary.

president biden said the shooting was �*shocking' and called for congress to enact stricter gun laws. he said... us school shootings have increased dramatically over the past six years. this year, there have been 322 school shootings in the us, according to the k—12 school shooting database website. that's the second—highest year on record, — topped only by last yea r�*s total of 349 school shootings. hundreds are feared dead after the worst cyclone to hit the indian ocean islands in nearly a century. cyclone chido battered the french island territory of mayotte, where around 300,000 people live — many of them in shanty towns made up of flimsy structures. the cyclone brought heavy winds and damage as it crossed the island — before making landfall in mozambique. president macron says he intends to visit the island, which is also part of the european union, as rescue and recovery work continues. for more, i spoke with tommasso della longa, spokesperson for the international federation of red cross and red crescent about the work they're doing and relief efforts in the region.

now, this is the worst cyclone to hit mayotte in 90 years. what are you and your teams hearing about the situation on the ground? thanks so much, helena, for letting me in today. well, the situation has been described with a very difficult words to hear — something like apocalyptic situation, dramatic situation, reminding of a war zone. what my colleagues leading the response are telling us is it's a situation where basically, the entire island is lacking the basics, internet and phone connections.

even buildings like hospitals, even the airport has been heavily damaged. and about, if i'm not wrong, 75% of the population already below the poverty line there, so surely thatjust makes the impact of what's happened all the more devastating? yes, indeed, it was already a complicated situation that's been going on for several years — but then, as you correctly said, it's the worst cyclone in almost the last 100 years. just to put into context, winds saw 220kph — so talking about entire areas, if not the whole island completely destroyed and washed away. and what's really scary is the number of people that are still missing. even the volunteers of the french red cross — more than 200 volunteers

are affected and missing, so we have no contact with them. a very distressing situation, i hope you are able to regain contact with them soon. just tell us more about the needs on the ground — what kind of help do we know is on the way? will it get there in a timely fashion? of course geographically, as well, i wonder if that complicates the response? absolutely, helena, it's a logistics nightmare. french red cross colleagues have already deployed some teams before the cyclone, so they were there last week — but of course, being prepared for such a heavy impact is very complicated. and now, it's really a logistics nightmare because first and foremost, you need to assess the situation, to understand where people are, who are sheltering at the moment, so this will take time without mentioning the search and rescue operation,

people can still be under the rubble. so the hope here is that humanitarian aid can enter as soon as possible, but most importantly, hoping ot find the largest number of people still alive. and i just want to wander more broadly, how often, particularly this year, have you found yourself talking about climate related emergencies, and how much worse are they getting? thanks a lot for this question, which is very important to us and to our mandate. actually, it's more often, and then, what we are seeing — of course, we have to understand with scientists, understanding exactly what happened in mayotte — but in general, the bigger picture is these disasters are increasing and the violence is increasing. and notjust when it's coming to the cyclones, hurricanes are lasting more, they're more

violent, and are simply destroying entire communities. and then, it's worth also mentioning that the countries who are contributing the least to the climate crisis are the ones hit the most. talking about the situation there in it. you can find more on story on our website will stop thank you for your company, see you soon. hello there. it's been a mild start to the week. temperatures at swanage, in dorset on monday reached 13 celsius. it'll be mild on tuesday, as well — but again, there'll be a lot of cloud around. we're on the warmer side of the jet stream, and that's why we've got these higher temperatures — there's the position of the jet stream, it's to the north of the uk — so we're on the warmer side of that. but along a weather front, we've seen a lot of rain in the northern highlands — that's moving away, but this area of low pressure will bring

some wetter weather back in to the north and west of the uk. so on tuesday, it looks like scotland and northern ireland will be cloudy, and there'll be some rain from time to time. england and wales looking mostly dry — again, there'll be a lot of cloud around, limited sunshine. and we're more likely to see a little rain into these western areas of england and wales, especially later on in the day as the wind picks up. a southerly wind will be freshening through the day, but at least it is drawing in milderair. those temperatures will be 11—12 celsius. temperatures won't drop very much on tuesday night, because it'll be windy — this area of low pressure passing to the north of scotland will bring with it some rain, as well. most of that rain should have cleared by wednesday morning, and we'll see some sunshine following in scotland and northern ireland, and a few showers. now, it could brighten up across the midlands and some eastern parts of england, but then, the cloud increases and we see some heavier rain coming into wales and the southwest on wednesday afternoon. still mild for england and wales — temperatures 12—13 celsius — chillier, though, with that sunshine in scotland and northern ireland, 8—9 celsius here. for england and wales, though, on wednesday night,

there'll be a spell of heavier rain — that should tend to move away. with that rain having cleared away by thursday morning and the position of the jet stream changing, we'll then be in colder air on thursday. we'll have a northwesterly wind blowing in a mixture of sunshine, but also some showers — most of those in the north and west — and they could even be a bit wintry over the hills, especially in northern scotland. but at least there'll be more sunshine around on thursday, even if it'll feel chillier in that breeze — temperatures will be 6—9 celsius. and thursday night could be the coldest night of the week ahead. there's a risk of frost, a touch of frost in that colder air before the atlantic air returns later on in the week, and that brings the chance of some more cloud and some more rain from the west.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. democracy works when citizens are well informed, which is why independent, evidence—based journalism matters. it holds the powerful to account. it empowers the voter.

does that sound old—fashioned? maybe it does. the media landscape, as seen in the recent us election, is changing at warp speed. more and more citizens seem to be leaving the legacy media behind. my guest is marty baron, pulitzer prize—winning former editor of the washington post. has old—school reporting had its day? does the future belong to the influencers? marty baron in massachusetts, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thanks for having me. it's a great pleasure

to talk to you, marty. you were editing the washington post through the political