and south korea's constitutional court gives president yoon one week to answer questions, as his impeachment trial approaches. welcome to newsday. we start with the latest on syria. bashar al assad, who was forced out of power a week ago, has issued what appears to be his first statement since he left the country. 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 focused 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. when bashar al—assad was spirited out of syria last week, it was from the russian base in latakia province. that was the regime's power—base. it's the home of the muslim alawite sect, from which the assad family originates. they make up only 10% of the population, but they provided much of assad's political and military leadership. there had been fears of bloody reprisals as the fighters of hts took over. our correspondent quentin sommerville has

a special report on 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 it's the flag of a free syria that of a free syria that now flies here in now flies here in the very heartland the very heartland of the former regime. of the former regime. sunni, shieh, christian — sunni, shieh, christian — they came together to celebrate they came together to celebrate with a message of unity. with a message of unity. the assad regime warned the assad regime warned that there would be massacres that there would be massacres here in latakia that they will have here in latakia if they ever lost if they ever lost power — well instead, power — well instead, there are celebrations. there are celebrations. even among its core even among its core support, people suffered. support, people suffered. but, while there's a lot ofjoy but, while there's a lot ofjoy here today, for some, here today, for some, there's fear — there's there's fear — there's a worry that there may be a reckoning, and

a worry that there may be

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 a man and accuse him 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 easily spiral out of control. so, the man they're arresting is accused of being shabiha — a government informant, a regime informant. the neighbours are screaming from the rooftop that that's exactly what he was. so, him and a number of other men are being taken into custody. hts aren't the only guns in town. those with links to the former regime are easy prey. translation: you will go to the authorities and if you are innocent, you will get your rights, god willing. translation: you have stolen this house. today you are a thief.

this hasn't been coordinated with any faction, so we will act accordingly. this woman in this apartment, she is alawite. she says in the last few days, she has been evicted from her apartment by a rival rebel commander, so hts are here to sort it out. translation: the things that you took out of this house, return them all, and the house, 0k? i don't want anything missing. and if the house is alawite, does that mean that you need to raid it and destroy it? there are specialised entities that handle this work. you can'tjust act on your own. the owner, noor, gets back inside to retrieve 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: i 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? 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. i spoke with hagar chemali, former director for syria and lebanon in the national security council in the obama administration about whether the international sanctions on damascus will be lifted. i don't see it happening until his words are backed by actions. he is saying all the right things, he has promised minorities will be protected, promised to work with other partners to hold elections, he says he wants peaceful international relations, he is saying all the right things but as we know he has a chequered past

as a former al-qaeda leader and while he has disavowed al-qaeda he governed the north—west corner of syria just up until last week, and a conservative, radical and repressive way, to have some time to see if his actions will be backed up by those words before anybody will consider withdrawing sanctions, notjust sanctions on damascus but sanctions regarding al sham because it is designated not just by the us and uk but the united nations as well. there are some calls to delist hts as terrorists, do you see that happening? not any time soon, we need to figure out the true intentions of this group, as recently as september, they cracked down on protesters in its loop in north—west syria. they governed in a

repressive way and they detained numerous protesters and they have been known to detain activists and journalists and torture them in prisons. there was a british aid worker who was detained and tortured so he claimed, there was a human rights activist who was assassinated by islamists militants connected to them. these are facts and this is how they governed up until recently. they are promising a new chapter and the name he now goes by his real name is promising a new future and people can change but everyone is very weary and so they will wait and see how he proceeds if he lives up to his word before removing those sanctions. what do you make of the statements we heard from assad, we cannot verify that what you think was the goal there and what does it mean for the russia drawdown in syria?

assad is on one hand completely humiliated, he ran to moscow like a coward it seems as though it is a last—ditch effort to make it seem as though he was not trying to abandon anybody in syria because that has been the narrative that is coming to him a lot on the ground them military felt he was not there on them and he abandoned them. he is trying to rectify his image to make it seem like that wasn't actually the case and he had no plan and it all happened in the last minute and the russians bought it up. he is not going to say much unless the russians approve it. vladimir putin is not happy with assad because russia has a military base there as mentioned on the coast ta rtus very important military base for them, the only presence they have in the middle east the main presence and it's a decades

old relationship they have with syria, putin is not happy assad is the one who really did it notjust that he could be so weak that the rebels took control the military what is not behind assad and no dictator can stand without his military and they defected and abandon the posts because they knew there was no strength behind them. president putin is angry with him. i believe it is the russian government helping him with that image. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. a woman who threw a milkshake over the reform uk leader, nigel farage, has been given a13—week suspended prison sentence. victoria thomas bowen, who's 25, admitted assault by beating and criminal damage at an earlier hearing. nigel farage criticised the sentence, saying it shows "you can assault a member of parliament "and not go to prison". a 12—year—old girl has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of an 80—year—old man, who was injured while walking his dog in a park near leicester. bhim kohli died in hospital after the alleged attack in september. the girl cannot be named

because of her age. 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. you're live with bbc news. some breaking news we are following here out of the pacific. a 7.3—magnitude earthquake has struck vanuatu. the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres and authorities have issued a possible tsunami warning for vanuatu. it is unclear the extent of any damage at the moment, but we will keep across it for

you and bring you any updates. south korea's constitutional court has asked president yoon suk yeol to provide written answers to a set of questions by december 23 as the court brings preparations for his impeachment trial. mps voted to impeach yoon on saturday over his failed attempt to impose martial law, which sparked protest across the country. the court now has up to 180 days to decide whether to uphold the impeachment, which would trigger an election, or allow mr yoon to remain as president. in a separate investigation by police, south korean investigators have made an attempt to raid president yoon suk yeol�*s security service in the last hour. president yoon and his team have resisted requests from the investigators to appear for questioning. they have requested to speak with him again on wednesday. gil—soo han is a korea expert and professor

at monash university in melbourne, australia. i asked him about how president yoon may respond to questions he's being asked. i understand the constitutional court, the notice they have sent to yoon is not necessarily asking a series of questions but i understand it is a formal writ, asking for a formal reply or letting him know the court procedure is actually going to go ahead and he actually does not have to answer anything to them. ok, do you think there were signs president yoon was capable of something like this? capable of what? capable of trying to impose martial law and then rescinding it? of course, this is the man who appealed himself to the public with his hand, with writing on his palm, "the king".

and also the kinds of things he did for example, 159 people died in etwon. and a lot of people argued the accident occurred because of a lack of attention on the area by focusing on something marginally important. also, his movement, is moving the blue house from where it was to yong san and intervening a lot of investigations against his family and his wife, who was involved in manipulating stock

prices. so there have been numerous incidents and now in retrospect, that we understand, and we actually quite a lot of people suspect he actually planned this a long time ago. so the reason he did, i suppose he wants to be in power for as long as he could so that is not something that can happen in the era of democracy but that is something he could do as king as he did show himself, he appeared himself as the potential king of south korea at the time of the presidential campaign. and very briefly if you can because we're running out of time, what you think the state of ruling party is now and its grip on power? well the ruling party is unfortunately standing against,

standing by the president, president yoon, rather than with the people, and i think that is a way to ruin their name. and they will actually see the end of the people power party, probably not long after and i should mention, as people power party is not a conservative party in a general sense as we understand but a conservative party dividing people, and trying to cling to power for their own interest, their personal interest, the party's interest rather than the sake of the nation. 0k. a relief operation is underway to help survivors after cyclone chido hit the french island territory of mayotte in the indian ocean.

around 300,000 people live in mayotte — many of them in shanty towns made up of flimsy structures. half the population is aged under 14. the cyclone moved west across the island with winds of more than 225km/h — that's1a0 miles per hour — before making landfall in mozambique. president macron has said he will visit the island, which is also part of the european union, as rescue and recovery work continues. tommaso della longa is a spokesperson for the international federation of red cross and red crescent. he explained the work they're doing and relief efforts in the region. well, the situation has been described with very difficult words to hear, something like apocalyptic situation, dramatic situation, reminding of a war zone. what my colleagues at the french red cross, who are 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. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. ajudge has ruled that president elect donald trump's hush money case should not be dismissed.president elect trump's lawyers argued that having the case hanging over him during his presidency would hinder his ability to govern and that as president he should be immune. however, thejudge ruled that presidential immunity didn't apply, because the evidence related to unofficial conduct. two people are dead and six others injured after a school shooting in the us state of wisconsin. the victims were a teacher and a teenage student. police say the shooter, who was a teenage girl, is also dead after a self inflicted gun wound.

a chinese businessman accused of spying for beijing, and with close links to prince andrew, has agreed to his identity being made public. yang tengbo, until today known only as h6, was 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 notjoin the king and the rest of the royal family for their traditional christmas celebration at sandringham. german chancellor olaf scholz has lost a vote of confidence in parliament, paving the way for early elections in febuary. scholz called monday's vote and expected to lose it but he has hopes that an early election will revive his political party. this comes after his coalition government collapsed last month about spending updating you on the breaking

news, there has been a 7.3 magnitude earthquake striking vanuatu. authorities have removed a tsunami warning. it is unclear the extent of any damage at the moment, but we will keep across it for you and bring you any updates. do stay with us for plenty more news. business today is up next. 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 thejet 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.

donald trump signals he's open to halting the ban on tiktok a month before it's set to take effect. plus, japan's softbank is betting big on the us, with a $100 billion investment. hello and welcome to business today. i'm suranjana tewari.

tiktok has launched an appeal to the us supreme court to temporarily block a law that would force its parent company bytedance to sell the app by january. according to the law, if it fails to do so, the platform will be banned in the us. but even as tiktok is facing hurdles, it's also finding new allies like incoming president donald trump, who says he will look into revoking the ban. we will take a look at tiktok. i have a warm spot in my heart for tiktok because i won we will take a look at tiktok. i have a warm spot in my heart for tiktok because i won the youth by 3a points and there are those that say tiktok has something to do with it. trump's comments came on the same day he met with the social media platform's chief executive at mar—a—lago. the ban, which had bipartisan support when signed into law, is expected to go into effect on 19january — one day before trump's inauguration. during his first term in office

trump led the call to ban