welcome to newsday, i'm suranjana tewari. 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. he is the former president. 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 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 easily spiral out of control. so the man they are arresting is accused of being shabiha — a government informant, a regime informant. the neighbours are screaming from the rooftop that that is exactly what he was. that is exactly what he was. so him and a number so him and a number of other men of other men are being taken into custody. are being taken into custody. translation: you will go to the authorities translation: you will go to the authorities and if you are innocent, and if you are innocent, you will get your you will get your rights, god willing. rights, god willing. but the wrongdoer will but the wrongdoer will be held accountable. be held accountable. hts aren't the only hts aren't the only guns in town. guns in town. another rebel group is accused of taking another rebel group is accused of taking an alawite woman's apartment. an alawite woman's apartment. here, we're standing her husband her husband is a regime officer. is a regime officer. alawites, once syria's ruling alawites, once syria's ruling class, are now easy prey. class, are now easy prey. translation: you have translation: you have stolen this house. stolen this house. today you are a thief. today you are a thief. this hasn't been coordinated this hasn't been coordinated with any faction, so we with any faction, so we will act accordingly. will act accordingly.

this woman you see up this woman you see up here, we're standing outside her 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.

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". 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 global terrorism and ties with al-qaeda, he governed the north—west corner of syria just up until last week, in a conservative, radical and repressive islamist way, and so we have 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 hayat tahrir 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 the rebel leaders, hts, as terrorists, do you see that happening? not any time soon, they need to figure out the true intentions of this group, as recently as september, they cracked down on protesters in idlib in north—west syria, the area they governed in a repressive way and they have been known to detain 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 hayat tahrir al—sham. these are facts and this

is how they governed up until recently. they are promising a new chapter and abu mohammed al—julani, or the name he now goes by, his real name, ahmed al—sharaa, 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 first, 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's been the narrative that is coming to him a lot on the ground that 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, tartus, in syria, very important military base for them, the only main 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 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. that has now been cancelled.

footage posted on social media we have not been able to verify showed buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital including those from the us, uk, france and new zealand. we will bring you updates as and when we get it. you're live with bbc news.

you are live with bbc news. 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's 140 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.

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. 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? sorry, 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 itaewon. and a lot of people argued the accident occurred because of a lack of interest in 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. allegedly. 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 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. our reporter damian grammaticas has the story. he is accused of working for the communist party using his ties to build contact. the royal and the alleged spy, this is glossy video from the prince himself, designed to drum up business. throughout, we see yang — we can now name him — banned from the uk as a risk to national security. 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. tributes have been pouring in for one of india's best—loved musicians, the tabla maestro zakir hussain, who died in in a us hospital on sunday. he died of a chronic lung disease. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, said he would be remembered as a genius who brought the tabla to the global stage, captivating millions with his unparalleled rhythm.

iamjoined i am joined now by a tabla musician who at the age of eight appeared in a commercial with him. the advertisement was iconic and i have seen it on social media, any people reposting it, tell us about your experience with zakir hussain? and why the advertisement became so big? namaste, thank you for having me. to speak about my legendary guru, my teacher, my mental or, zakir hussain, who we i feel blessed and honoured that i had an association that goes beyond four decades, i was very blessed to have met him when i was barely four or five years old. ever since then it

has been such a wonderful journey, just being in his presence, absorbing all the musicality on stage, offstage, and i was also chosen for the tv commercial that was shot in india back in the late 80s. and it so happened that turned out to be one of the most phenomenal tv commissions in indian television history which also ran for the longest time. it ran for the longest times and as a student, he still remains my guru, and the relationship and the bond i have had with him he has always been a father figure to me. if i mayjump been a father figure to me. if imayjump in, been a father figure to me. if i mayjump in, what you think it was about his personality, that made him such a legend, notjust for india and to people like yourself but globally. he won four grammies

after all? ~ , ., ~ ., globally. he won four grammies after all? ~ ~ ., , after all? well, you know his charisma. — after all? well, you know his charisma, his _ after all? well, you know his charisma, his aura, - after all? well, you know his charisma, his aura, and - after all? well, you know his charisma, his aura, and i- after all? well, you know his i charisma, his aura, and i think his total dedication and surrender to music and the instrument. i think he was — he kind of would breathe tabla, the indian drum. he was an extension, tabla was an extension, tabla was an extension of his sense of being, they were inseparable. i think when you are so in tune and aligned with your passion, your life, your soul, and of the instrument is so uniquely connect did with it, you end up being one with it. and that's what, that is what he was and thatis what, that is what he was and that is what he did, and he lived for music, he left for the tabla, and that is what he preached across the world and as you said, what made him

different? it was also his humility. him being so grounded and his kindness and his sensitivity and care for all his loved ones, his audience, his loved ones, his audience, his family. his loved ones, his audience, his family-— his family. quite an accomplishment - his family. quite an accomplishment i i his family. quite an i accomplishment i am his family. quite an - accomplishment i am afraid his family. quite an _ accomplishment i am afraid we will have to leave it there, many thanks forjoining us on bbc news. do stay with bbc news for the latest and more news coming up at the top of the hour. 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. our technology correspondent has more. this law because on tiktok to be bound unless the chinese parent company sells it to a us chinese parent company sells it to a u . , chinese parent company sells it to a u , , . , ., to a us buyer. executives have been very _ to a us buyer. executives have been very clear _ to a us buyer. executives have been very clear that _ to a us buyer. executives have been very clear that they - to a us buyer. executives have been very clear that they have | been very clear that they have no intention of doing that. the law was upheld earlier this month by us appeals court, tiktok and by dance are appealing to the us supreme court and on monday they asked the supreme court to block the law on an emergency basis while they await an answer donald trump is giving the platforms 170 million american users some hope. 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