an american delegation has arrived in damascus for the first, formal diplomatic talks in syria in more than a decade. the diplomats will meet representives of the group which is effectively in charge of the country after overthrowing president assad. these pictures show what's thought to be their convoy, outside a hotel in damascus which is often used by diplomatic visitors to syria. washington still designates hts as a terrorist group. delegations from the un and countries including the uk, france and germany have already been in damascus to meet the new leaders. the united states has set conditions before it will consider delisting the group. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab says it's an important first step towards international recognition. it is very significant not only for the leadership that is in charge of syria now, but also for the country and the people

inside the country, because it's sending serious messages of willingness to engage with this new government. and also perhaps, you know, other hidden messages that it depends on how this de facto government led by ahmed al—sharaa, are going to perform in terms of granting a minorities rights, in having inclusive government and also protecting women's rights. this is the issue. the main issues that everyone is looking at now, especially after they've appointed an interim government, a transitional government that mainly representative of the muslim islamic group, the salvation front that is affiliated with hts. so this message, this visit today is sending a message both to the leadership of ahmed al—shara and giving assurances to people that the whole world is watching how this new government is going to perform. mina al—oraibi is editor in chief of the national

newspaper in the uae, she gave me her analysis of the perception of hts in the region. as many capitals around the world look at the developments in damascus, there are questions whether hts is trying to rule syria on their own. it's important to recognise that there are other opposition groupings that have been in opposition to bashar al—assad for many years and they need to be given space. in addition to that, there's questions about the islamist background of hts. we've definitely seen a lot of statements from ahmed al—sharaa, previously known as abu mohammad al—julani, the head of hts, saying that we want to rule in a way that is democratic, or at the very least open to others. however, there is concern about what that will actually be like in place, given that the cabinet is largely formed of members of hts. they've gone ahead and started to appoint governors of different provinces in syria that

are very much aligned to hts, so it's wait and see. it's been very interesting to see american diplomats, of course, in damascus today. previous to that, british diplomats and also the un envoy meeting with hts. the overall thinking in the region is to open arms and try to bring in the leaders that are sitting in damascus today and try to press upon them the importance of being not only inclusive, but also looking forward to how to rebuild the incredible years and decades of damage inside of syria. now we know that hts were in control of large parts of the idlib region of syria. what do we learn from the way that they ruled and governed over that area? there wasn't much tolerance for those who didn't adhere to what hts put out there, so there is some concern about that. but there was also a sense that they were able to govern idlib province despite being isolated, being in a constant state of war, even if not, you know, active combat, but in a constant state

of war with at least two other groupings, that being the bashar al—assad grouping and other opposition groupings. so they were able to govern, but idlib is much smaller than syria and they were under great strain there. the question is, if they are given opportunities, will they first of all moderate their previous islamist positions? and also, are they able to govern in a way that allows people to live the way they want? syrians have already taken to the streets in a number of places, demanding that it remains, not necessarily secular, but a civil type of governance, rather than one that is ruled by theocracy or religious decree. much more on our website. . russia has launched a massive air attack on ukraine,

with at least 25 civilians injured and three killed in kyiv, kherson and kryvyi rih, president zelensky�*s home town. russia has used artillery, including ballistic missiles, accordign to ukraine's defence. critical infrastructure has been damaged, leaving thousands without public transport and electricity, in cold temperatures. if we just take the live shot of keith. russia launched a total of 65 drones and missiles overnight. they were either shot down orfail to overnight. they were either shot down or fail to reach their target but this one obviously has reached its target. we are just monitoring the situation in ukraine but

infrastructure heavily damaged across the capital. the us house of representatives has voted against a bill backed by donald trump that aimed to avoid a looming government shutdown. 38 republicans defied the president—elect in the vote. the first attempt to pass a federal spending bill was heavily defeated in congress after elon musk, and later mr trump, took to social media to argue against the bill, and call for the debt ceiling to be lifted, or extended. democrats argued that mr trump would use the extra borrowed money to fund tax cuts for the rich. the speaker of the house mike johnson blamed the democrats for the defeat. it is, i think, really irresponsible for us to risk a shutdown over these issues on things that they have already agreed upon. i think you need to be asking them the questions about that. what's the next step? we will regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned. as for the democrats — they're blaming what they call the maga republicans — who they say went back on an agreement

one or two puppet masters weigh in and the extreme maga republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well—off, the well—connected millionaires and billionaires, not working class people all across america. the bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government unless we, as representatives of the american people, bend to the will ofjust a handful of millionaires and billionaires. the revised spending plan failed to reach the two—thirds majority needed in the house of representatives. the bill was rejected on thursday night by 174 votes to 235 with all but two democrats and 38 republicans voting against it. several republican objected because they oppose increases in government spending. while democrats voted

against it because they said the extra borrowing would be used to give tax cuts to the wealthy. if the house fails to approve a spending bill or extend the deadline a government shutdown could impact some federal employees and public services. travellers could also face long lines at airports. the last us government shut down, the longest in history, took place in december 2018 and january 2019 during donald trump's first term in office. now we are waiting to see if a second vote on friday, which would requirejust a simple majority, will happen, and if it does — if it can pass with such a slim republican majority. our north america correspondent peter bowes sent this update. it is now a race against time with the hours ticking away. if there isn't an agreement by the end of friday, well, the government shutdown would start at the beginning of the weekend. that's the last thing many americans wanted to hear the weekend before

christmas, and especially those federal workers who may well still have to go to work, but face the prospect of not being paid. and who knows how long this would go on for. but there is still some hope. there is still the possibility that there could be an agreement. it would likely involve some compromise, perhaps on both sides, republicans and democrats. this was the second version of a bill that there was initially some agreement on. it was a bipartisan bill, so, yes, there was agreement on both sides, but donald trump and especially elon musk spoke out very strongly against it. then came along the second version. donald trump insisted on this extra clause that would involve the suspension of the debt ceiling. that's the amount of money that the federal government can borrow to fund services. democrats say, well, they believe that donald trump wants this to give him really a free rain over the

first couple of years of his administration to cut taxes, which democrats say would benefit the better off in this country and would lead to an increase in the federal deficit. so there's still some hope, but it will involve potentially compromise that won't look good for donald trump if that clause is dropped. it also doesn't bode well, this has been a bit of a sticky start in terms of donald trump's next administration and his relationship with congress. any more developments we will bring you up—to—date. france's president macron has praised the dignity and courage of gisele pelicot following a mass rate trial in which her ex—husband and 50 other defendants were found guilty. in a social media post this morning, mr macron said she had moved and inspired france and the world. dominique pelicot was jailed for 20 years for organising the repeated drugging and rate of his then

wife by dozens of strangers over a decade. under french law the men have 10 days to decide if they will appeal against the convictions. chris bockman is in avignon. i asked him how many men are expected to appeal their sentences... 0vernight two have already announced that they are appealing, which means that they would have a retrial within two years. they had ten days and, of course, with christmas and new year's coming up, i'm sure their lawyers for all 50 are talking to them and i suspect there will be more who will be making appeals, as well. they have ten days to do it. the risk for them in france is that if they do appeal and if they lose, then the sentence can be raised. but, so far, since the the verdicts and sentencing yesterday, two have said they're not rapists and that the judges, basically were under pressure from the media and from women's groups and they gave them sentences that they said was unfair.

they said they're npot rapists and they were lured to dominique pelicot�*s and that they were told that his unconscious wife agreed to have sex. of course, that is something which the court did not agree to and all 50 were charged. not only charged, they were found guilty. but nevertheless, at least two so far have decided to appeal and there will be a retrial. lord mandelson is expected to be formally confirmed as the uk's next ambassador to the united states today. peter mandelson was a cabinet minister in the governments of tony blair and gordon brown, and is seen as the architect of labour's landslide victory in 1997. he'll take up his new role as donald trump enters the white house. here's our political correspondent helen catt. peter mandelson has been a familiar face in the labour party for decades. he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of new labour in the 1990s, a trusted adviser to tony blair with a reputation as a master of spin. he'd been rumoured as a potential candidate for a while, but had been cagey when asked about

being the ambassador. would you be interested if you were asked? - i would be very interested, indeed, in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed. elected as the mp for hartlepool in 1992, peter mandelson went on to serve in tony blair's cabinet, but was forced to resign twice. in the noughties, he went to brussels as the european trade commissioner before returning as business secretary under gordon brown. it's his experience of trade that is one of the reasons behind his appointment as ambassador. donald trump has talked of imposing big tariffs on imports into the us, which the prime minister yesterday told mps the uk needed to avoid. it won't come as any surprise to you that i'm not a fan of tariffs. and, therefore, we have to make sure that we avoid tariffs. we've got very good trade with the us as we've got very good trade with other countries around the world.

i want to improve on that. a government source said that lord mandelson was close to the prime minister, with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. it's also thought his political nous will help him handle what could be a tricky relationship with an unpredictable president. one thing that is a certainty with the trump government is in that sam tweet storm that comes most mornings of the week. at some point, trump will say something, will tweet something that will be quite a story in the uk — he did so several times in his first term. so peter mandelson, i am sure, will be prepared for that and be prepared for a bumpy and difficult ride. but he clearly wanted thejob very much, so i'd say good luck to him. not everyone is going to welcome this appointment. peter mandelson remains divisive within labour, particularly for those on the left of the party. but it is how he gets on with donald trump

and his administration that will really matter. he and the white house had already been told about the appointment. helen catt, bbc news. just some breaking news coming from croatia and i'm just going to warn you that it is distressing news. we are getting reports that a child has been... has died following a stabbing in a school in croatia. these are reports from the afp news agency. a stabbing has taken place in a school in croatia. we believe that a number of people have been injured in this stabbing attack at a school and afp are saying that our understanding is that afp are reporting that a child has, sadly, been killed in this stabbing. this is a developing story and we are just going to

keep an eye on this. literally just a few lines coming from croatia there that a child has been killed in a stabbing in croatia. we will keep you up—to—date. we are just going to take a quick pause, around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

welcome back to bbc news. still in the uk, as tomorrow's deadline to qualify for winter fuel payments looms, there are calls for the cut—off to be extended, over fears that many will be made to wait for their money. age uk has warned tens of thousands of pensioners are unlikely to receive the payment before the end of the year, because of a growing backlog of claims. 0ur correspondent aruna iyengar has more. since 1997, the winter fuel allowance has been a lifeline

for many pensioners. but after the government announced in july that the payment would go only to those receiving pension credit, there's been a surge in first time applications. now there are calls for the government to extend tomorrow's deadline. the government have made this awful decision to slash winter fuel payments. what we're saying is that the least they can do is to make sure that everybody possible who could qualify for pension credit and qualify for winter fuel payments has the opportunity to do so. and we're saying it's a very straightforward thing. let's just extend the deadline just to make sure that nobody is missing out due to lack of time. the charity age uk states it's already too late. they say there's a three—month wait for pension credit claims to be processed, and has been inundated with requests for help. we know that many of those claims will be successful, but, unfortunately, some won't be. and for some older people, they still haven't heard about pension credit or the form is too overwhelming.

and there is help available, but, of course, the system is overwhelmed at the moment. there were 91,000 unprocessed claims for pension credit in mid—november. the government brought in around 500 extra staff to process applications to help deal with demand. around 9,000 claims are being processed each week and that's double the amount being processed in august. the prime minister said most pensioners will soon be in a better financial position. a pensioner, as it were, a year ago, facing the winter, even with the winter fuel allowance, will not be as well off as a pensioner after the £460, £470 next april. but that is only because we can maintain the triple lock. will this policy be a hit or miss? politicians talk of tough choices, but it's the elderly who are deciding whether to turn the thermostat up or down. aruna iyengar, bbc news.

the crown prosecution service say that two men have been charged following an altercation which took place at manchester airport injuly of this year. the two men have been charged with actual bodily harm. the cps says that no charges will be brought against any of the police involved. it was back injuly any of the police involved. it was back in july that video was was back injuly that video was circulated showing a police officer apparently assaulting a man who was lying on the ground at manchester airport. it wasn't until a few days later that cctv footage emerged showing the build—up to that moment. that footage showed three officers appearing to restrain a man before a second man intervened and a fight broke out. two officers ended up broke out. two officers ended up being punched to the ground. the crown prosecution service has said that two men have been

charged with assaults on police officers. 0ne charged with assaults on police officers. one man has been charged with two offences of causing actual bodily harm, and one charge of common assault. the other man is charged with causing actual bodily harm. they are both due to report peer at the magistrates�* court in january. this peer at the magistrates�* court injanuary. this is the cctv footage also showed a taser being used and then the man being used and then the man being kicked in the head by a police officer. the cps has said that no police officers will be charged in relation to what had happened. the stampede happened in the south—west city. thousands of

children gathered at the venue. several and those were injured. the president has expressed his condolences to the parents who have lost their children. this is the high school where about 35 children were killed in wednesday�*s stampede. 35 children were killed in wednesday's stampede. what we are seeinu wednesday's stampede. what we are seeing here _ wednesday's stampede. what we are seeing here is _ wednesday's stampede. what we are seeing here is the _ wednesday's stampede. what we are seeing here is the venue - wednesday's stampede. what we are seeing here is the venue of. are seeing here is the venue of the event, a football field that had been deserted. what is left here is broken chairs, children�*s sandals, and exercise books as well. what we do know is that authorities are saying that an investigation is ongoing. the organisers of the event have also been arrested and are currently in police custody providing details of the event. what we do know, as

well, is that some of the children are in hospital. about five hospitals... receiving treatment. some of the children came from the outskirts of the town to come and have fun. they were promised games and lots of food and all the activities in the spirit of christmas. so, it�*s really a deserted school environment, which was not in session before wednesday�*s carnival. malaysia has accepted a proposal to resume the search for the wreckage of missing flight mh370. the malaysia airlines jet carrying 239 people vanished in 2014. despite an extensive search of coastlines and the ocean floor, neither the aircraft, nor the people on board, were found. protesters in mexico have attempted to break into a prison where at least two

people were killed in a riot on thursday. those taking part in the riot included tearful family members who have said they had no word on family members detained at the jail. the crowd broke down a perimeter fair fence the crowd broke down a perimeterfairfence but the crowd broke down a perimeter fair fence but was blocked by riot police. a senior spokesman said that trouble began when staff were trying to transfer inmates and were met with gunfire. as you can hear the pair here played sergeant peppers lonely hearts club band. the beatles drummer said that he had a great night as he said goodbye to his fans. what a moment in

history. fantastic stuff. lots more as always on our website. do stay here with me on bbc news. i will be back injust a few minutes. hello. a band of rain is pushing its way eastwards across the uk today. the rain associated with an area of low pressure and this cloud on the satellite picture. it�*s not the only low, though, in the north atlantic. further west, we�*ve got a more powerful system developing just here, and that�*s going to be bringing some very strong winds to parts of the uk this weekend, potentially disrupting some of your christmas travel plans. now, we started off with rain today across scotland and northern ireland, but the afternoon here looking a lot brighter, sunshine and blustery showers as our rain band works its way eastwards across england and wales. temperatures around eight to ten degrees and it will be quite windy. gusts reaching around 40mph—odd for the western side of scotland. that rain clears through overnight but then clear spells for a time.

the next area of rain works in later in the night, accompanied by some really quite strong winds. and it�*s on saturday that we�*ll see this next area of low pressure really flex its muscles, bringing some particularly windy weather to north—western areas of the uk, and especially parts of north—west scotland, where for parts of the hebrides, the orkney islands, parts of highland, we�*ll likely see gusts of wind reaching around 70mph to 80mph, maybe even a bit stronger than this. winds this strong will cause some transport disruption and could bring down some trees as well. and elsewhere across the north west of the uk, the winds strong enough to cause one or two issues as well. weather—wise, elsewhere we see a band of rain clearing south—eastwards on saturday, followed by sunshine and blustery showers. the showers most frequent across the northwest of the uk, and it will be cold enough for some hail and a bit of wintriness over some of the highest mountains as well. heading into sunday, the same area of low pressure is still on our weather charts. it�*s going to be

another windy day. if anything, the winds a little bit more widespread. gusts of around 50mph to 60mph, but still 70 for parts of western scotland. again strong enough to bring some localised disruption in terms of the fact that we could see some tree branches being brought down. still a blustery day with plenty of showers around, with hail and some sleet mixed in with those showers and temperatures six or seven celsius. it will be a colder feeling day, especially when you factor in those winds. once that windy zone of weather is out of the way, though, next week it turns very mild in the run—up to christmas, with temperatures often well into double figures.

counting the cost of a war economy — russia keeps its record high interest rates on hold, defying expectations. from westminster to washington, the so—called �*prince of darkness�*, lord mandelson, is expected to light up the us—uk special relationship in a new role. searching for answers — will google be forced to sell its popular chrome browser to keep a lid on its search monopoly? welcome to business today. i�*m mark lobel. we start in russia, where the central bank has just made its latest interest

rate decision, keeping the cost of borrowing on hold at a record high. the move, or lack of a move, goes against many analysts expectations as russia struggles to tame rising inflation fueled by its war economy and western sanctions. let�*s have a quick look at the numbers. the main interest rate has been held at 21% — the highest on record, which the central bank put in place in october, in an effort to tame persistently high inflation, which rose again last month, coming in atjust under 9% in the year to november. all of which is putting huge pressure on the economy as prices hit consumers and high interest rates strangle growth. during president putin�*s end of year press conference on thursday, he described the growth in prices as an "unpleastant and bad thing", but that the economy will cope. but for how long? joining me now is chris weafer.