live from washington, this is bbc news. syria's new leader pledges armed groups will be absorbed into the army as some communities express fear for their future. tributes are being paid to nine—year—old andre gleissner, who german police identified as one of the five victims in a christmas market attack. and in his first rally since winning the presidential election, donald trump says he may demand the return of the panama canal to the us. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. syria's de facto leader, ahmed al—sharaa, has said

all weapons in the country are to come under state control and that armed factions would soon begin to be dissolved and incorporated into the army. his hayat tahrir al—sham group, or hts, was the key rebel group that overthrew president bashar al—assad. but it's an islamist organisation that was once associated with al-qaeda and that's causing concern for some minorities. our correspondent yogita limaye has visited communities in the town of suweida in syria's south, and in the capital damascus — and sent this report. the dictator has fallen and fled. but what of the community he belonged to? bashar al—assad is from the islamic alawite sect. it's one of syria's biggest minorities, but it's controlled power over a majority sunni muslim country for 50 years. in a working—class alawite neighbourhood of damascus, a few agree to speak to us. dozens of others refused. i asked if they feared revenge. translation: hayat tahrir al—sham has been respectful to us, but there are groups pretending

to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them. they are careful when they speak, and are keen to distance themselves from the regime. but many from the alawite sect — and indeed this neighbourhood — were a part of assad's brutal forces. "where are they?" i asked. translation: everyone who worked with the military and did bad things has fled. but people who do not have blood on their hands, they are not scared. the rebels, now in control, have said they are not looking for revenge. a group with a jihadist past and an islamist present. hayat tahrir al—sham has also promised that the freedoms of minorities will be protected. it's a crucial issue for syria's plural society. this is the christian quarter of damascus. now, we have seen christmas decorations up in some parts of the city, but people who live here tell us the decorations here are more muted than they have been before. christians have told us that they do feel reassured by hts's promises, but that there is still uncertainty,

and there are still worries about the form of government that this country will have in the future. we met youssef sabbagh, a lawyer from the christian community. i'm so happy because the assad fall. this is like a dream come true. but there is concern, i have to be realistic. a lot of syrians, muslims and all other minorities don't wish that syria will be a new afghanistan. we don't want to live under something like taliban. 70 miles from damascus, we drove to the city of suwayda, dominated by the druze — another religious minority. at the city's central square, the druze have gathered to watch their children perform, celebrating the fall of the regime. translation: we are celebrating now, - but in the event that there is an extreme regime with extreme laws, we are prepared to stay in the square and demand our rights. it's a moment of hope for syria, but also one of uncertainty. yogita limaye, bbc news, suwayda.

the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says israel will continue to act against the houthis in yemen, whom he accuses of threatening world shipping and the international order. his statement comes a day after a missile fired from yemen fell in the tel aviv area, causing a number of injuries. and in gaza, the civil defence agency says at least 28 people have been killed in a wave of attacks by the israeli military. targets that were hit include a school sheltering displaced

families and a hospital. israel said hamas had been using the school as a command centre. many of the victims were inside a family house. amid the efforts they are pushing on with the ceasefire. the times of israel has cited israeli officials�* confirmation that hamas has provided signs of life for several hostages still held in gaza. earlier i spoke to aaron david miller, senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace. he also formerly served in the us state department with a focus on middle east policy. i asked him how he rates the chances of a deal being struck soon. my experience in israeli—palestinian negotiations is they only have two speeds, slower and slower but the closer you get to an actual agreement and remember we are talking about a limited exchange in phase one, the closer you get to

an agreement the tougher the negotiating postures of both sides. i think there is a reasonable chance that that by the end of the year the first week injanuary he could have a limited agreement which could exchange 3a and his relays are demanding an additional ten available soldiers in the exchange for 200 plus palestinian prisoners many who convicted, tried were accused of killing his release for a 45—60 day ceasefire. after that it will be extremely difficult. if you don't have an agreement by the first week in january then i'm beginning to think that mr netanyahu may well want to delay this until the arrival of a new administration either using donald trump as a pretext orjustification to make concessions or paving the way to give him a diplomatic success and, believe me,

on whosever watch these hostages and palestinians are released for a cease—fire, however grim distribution over the course of the last 14 months, it will be a very important accomplishment. i want to ask you more about that because the times of israel has reported today that is really official site confirms that hamas has provided some signs of life for some hostages being held in gaza. ijust wonder, how difficult a challenge do you think that could still be when it comes to finding all of those hostages, to be frank? that is really a key point. if you asked me to identify the single greatest impediment, it is the numbers of hostages exchanged for prisoners. hamas wanted a week to put together a list of where these hostages are, some are controlled by palestinian jihad, there are reports

that criminal elements or families are harbouring others, so i think that is the key and proof of life is critically important and i and i think that is still wants to be a heavy lift on the hamas side but in respect to prisoner releases on the other side, the netanyahu government is going to have a tough decision to make. they are interested in making sure some of the palestinian prisoners that they release are not returned to the west bank and not to gaza, they are deported to either turkiye or persia. so i think this is still the key element frustrating and talking the agreement. is there any kind of progress year and i know you are cautious with your lengthy career in this and what we have seen over the past year but if there is that progress do you attribute that to what the biden and how it has ramped up the pressure knowing that

president biden will soon be leaving office or do you see, for example, the prospect of donald trump soon coming in, incentivising progress from the side of netanyahu? my experience _ side of netanyahu? my experience is _ side of netanyahu? ij�*i experience is parties side of netanyahu? m experience is parties make side of netanyahu? m; experience is parties make a deal when they are in a hurry, when the urgency of reaching an agreement outweighs the benefits of maintaining the status quo. in this case i think hamas is under great pressure inaudible hezbollah, iran is on their back heels and the israeli military campaign as your report suggested is still intensifying in northern gaza and then you have the issue of what is hamas... how issue of what is hamas... how is it going to explain the last 14 months? who have almost nothing to show so i think hamas wants a deal, needs a deal and benjamin netanyahu is more inclined to agree to a deal. that is what i think is driving this and if donald trump is a catalyst here, so much the better. the fact is

the only way to de—escalate this war and, frankly, it is no longer a wall. the israelis have ostensibly demolished hamas as a military force and now it is a question of depriving them, i think of any political victory but it is critically important for the hostages, theirfamilies critically important for the hostages, their families and for long—suffering over 2 million palestinians of gaza because if you get a two month ceasefire you could really see a surge of humanitarian assistance, something we have not seen, frankly, almost at any point over the course of the last year. a 9—year—old boy who died in friday's attack on a christmas market in germany has been named. he was andre gleissner, killed along with four adults in the city of magdeburg. the man suspected of carrying out the attack, taleb al—abdulmohsen, has been remanded in custody on charges including murder and attempted murder. he moved to germany from saudi arabia 18 years ago.

police say he had posted islamophobic comments online. the german government says it will investigate whether more could have been done to prevent the tragedy. anna foster sent this report from magdeburg. this is andre. nine years old, looking forward to christmas, enjoying a night out at the festive market when he was killed. a fundraising account for his devastated family has raised thousands of euros. on social media, his mum said: "let my little teddy bear fly around the world once again." taleb al—abdulmohsen has been charged with andre's murder and that of four other people at the christmas market. german investigators are building up a picture of the saudi doctor, including in his own words. my name is taleb. i'm from saudi arabia. i'm an activist. in 2019 he was interviewed by the bbc. he talked about how he used his free time to help people. i created a website to help people seeking asylum,

especially from saudi arabia and the gulf region. now he's been charged with killing five people at magdeburg's christmas market, speeding a powerful car through the packed alleys between the stalls, causing terror and panic. the attack unfolded in the city's central square at around seven o'clock on friday evening. the car turned off a nearby road and onto a pedestrian crossing, entering the market through a gap in the concrete security perimeter that had been left open for emergency vehicles. it drove into the celebrating crowds, injuring more than 200 people, a0 of them seriously. minutes later, the car left the market on the east side and joined the main road. but the suspect couldn't get through the traffic, and this video shows armed officers arresting him, telling him not to move from the ground. taleb al—abdulmohsen lives in this quiet town, bernburg,

around 25 miles away from the site of the attack, and more detail is coming to light about his background and his views. he came to germany from saudi arabia nearly 20 years ago, and works at this clinic as a psychiatrist. ulrika's relative is being treated here. she was shocked when she heard the link. yes, i was very shaken. it's horrifying, terrible. it's made me sad, it's made my whole family very sad, and everything i know is sad. from his home on this peaceful street, taleb al—abdulmohsen built an online presence which will be key to the police's investigation. in 2019 he spoke to a german newspaper about what he called his activism, telling them, "i'm history's most "aggressive critic of islam. "just ask any arab if you don't believe me." attention is now turning to safety and security, whether this market

was protected enough and whether authorities had any warnings that taleb al—abdulmohsen may have posed a threat. germany is waiting for the answers. anna foster, bbc news. the president of panama has rejected threats from donald trump about the sovereignty of the panama canal. the president of panama has rejected threats from us president—elect donald trump about the sovereignty of the panama canal. mr trump says he will demand the return of the waterway to us hands if panama doesn't cut transit fees. mr trump made the threat in a speech at the turning point usa conference in arizona — his first political rally

since he won the presidential election in november. you have got to treat us fairly, they haven't treated us fairly, if the principles of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the panama canal be returned to the united states of america in full, quickly and without question. i am not going to stand for it. so to the officials of panama, please be guided accordingly. the panama canal has been the main link between the atlantic and pacific oceans for more than a century. it was built with american funds and was a special us territory until 1979, when the us handed it over to the panamanian government. over the past year, plum,eting water levels brought on by drought have forced authorities to cut the number of ships transiting the canal. transit fees have skyrocketed as shipping companies vie for the few remaining slots. the president of panama, jose raul mulino, has since responded to president elect trumps comments. take a listen. translation: the canal is not under the direct i or indirect control of china, the european community, the united states, or any other power.

as a panamanian, i strongly represent any statement that misrepresents this reality. every single square meter of the panama canal belongs to panama and will continue to belong to panama. it will continue to belong to panama. the sovereignty and independence of our country are non—negotiable. (tx sot) around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. more flights to and from heathrow airport were cancelled sunday, as strong winds in the uk continue to disrupt travel during the busy holiday season. around 100 flights were canceled affecting about 15,000 passengers. air travel has also been disrupted in northern ireland. all flights in and out of belfast city airport were cancelled sunday evening. the cancellations came after an air lingus plane suffered an emergency incident while landing during strong winds. it appears the nose wheel of the plane collapsed as the aircraft landed. the plane had flown from edinburgh to belfast with four crew members but no passengers on board. no one was seriously hurt. a london—based ugandan runner has completed a journey

of more than eight thousand miles on foot. deo kato ran and walked from south africa's cape town to london, barring a few sections where he had to cross seas or avoid the war in sudan. along the way, he faced racism in europe, and a spell in a south sudanese jail. deo hoped to use the journey to bring awareness to racism. you're live with bbc news. a new path forward is being sacked after spending deals. the takedown act would require websites to report content including ai generated deepfakes within 48 hours or face federal penalties. the bill was passed unanimously in the senate and was set to pass into law as part of that deal handed out on friday to avoid the government shutdown but it was cut from the spending

package and last—minute talks. the ceo of the sexual violence prevention association, one of the organisation supporting that. we spoke earlier. we were outlining that none of the bills addressing that sexual violence were passed. figs bills addressing that sexual violence were passed. as both a victim of no _ violence were passed. as both a victim of no explicit _ violence were passed. as both a victim of no explicit material- victim of no explicit material and as well as an advocate for the association, it was very upsetting. there were the two different bills which have been cut. a number of things work out but this is one of the most upsetting for quite a lot of victims around the country. it is clear congress is sending a message that this is something

they are not prioritising and feel it is not as serious as it is which is very alarming and concerning considering at this point digitalforms of concerning considering at this point digital forms of sexual violence including pornography, are skyrocketing. we need action now. we still have no recourse and not much that victims across the country can do. i, , , i, i, do. one of the bills would have reuuired do. one of the bills would have required social— do. one of the bills would have required social media - do. one of the bills would have| required social media platforms and websites to essentially have procedures and measures in place to remove an image within 48 hours of a valid request from the victim. senator ted cruz said the fact elon musk and donald trump eyed multimedia social media companies, was not a factor. what is your take on that? i cannot speak to mr exactly what that connection might be but what i will say is that was necessarily part of the

decision. this was coming down to the last days and i think the government was trying to avoid a sudden and quite a lot of things were removed, not just of this but at the same time, it is an indication it is not taken as seriously as it should be but i will not speak to a relationship that may be taking place between social media companies and those who control them and the bill not getting free but it is something that should be considered.— something that should be considered. i, i, , considered. you mentioned this technology _ considered. you mentioned this technology continues _ considered. you mentioned this technology continues to - considered. you mentioned this| technology continues to develop a pace, i read and alarming statistics that these deep fake pornography videos increase 460% compared to the year previously, so what happens now? i, i, , now? unfortunately, we are seeinu now? unfortunately, we are seeing exponential- now? unfortunately, we are seeing exponential growth. | seeing exponential growth. unfortunate women continued to see that in the coming years until we have a low and right now we really need is a victim

sue have recourse and we will continue to see victims being deepfakes. we will continue to see victims across the country and the number of perpetrators emboldened by this lack of legislation. this is coming hot on the heels by a report by the american sunshine project that came out a week or two ago, stating that members of congress were also victims of deep fake pornography, 25 of the 26 being women. unfortunate we're going to continue to see that because we not have this legislation at the federal level. the state level is not enough. unfortunately we will see a big increase in the coming year.—

see a big increase in the coming year. see a big increase in the cominu ear. i, , coming year. thank you so very much for _ coming year. thank you so very much for being _ coming year. thank you so very much for being with _ coming year. thank you so very much for being with us - coming year. thank you so very much for being with us here - coming year. thank you so very much for being with us here on| much for being with us here on bbc news. and if the us, a suspect has been arrested in new york over the death of a woman who was set on fire in a subway train in brooklyn. the police commissioner described the incident on sunday as one of the most depraved crime one person could possibly commit a another human being. the susect another human being. the suspect calmly _ another human being. tue: suspect calmly walked up another human being. tue suspect calmly walked up to the victim, who was in a seated position at the end of a subway car. he is what we believe to be a lighter to light the closing of the victim. 0fficers closing of the victim. officers on patrol on the upper level of the station smelled an salt smoke and went to investigate. what they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames. with the help of an nta employee and

a fire expenditure, the flames were put out. unfortunately, it was too late and the victim was pronounced on the scene. let's turn to some other important news around the world: tens of thousands of protesters gathered in serbia's capital belgrade on sunday, calling for accountability over the recent deadly collapse of a roof at a railway station in the northern city of novi sad. the protest started with fifteen minutes of silence to pay tribute the fifteen victims of the collapse. the demonstrators accuse president aleksandar vucic�*s government of corruption and inadequate oversight. rome's trevi fountain has reopened after three months of restoration, with a queuing system now in place to prevent overcrowding. prior to the renovation more than 10,000 people visited the baroque landmark every day, tossing coins into the water. those coins alone provided a local charity 10,000 euros a week. while the structure was being restored, wish—makers aimed their coins into a temporary container of water in front of the emptied fountain.

the largest lotteryjohn in spain with over 70% of people buying a ticket. fix, spain with over 70% of people buying a ticket.— buying a ticket. a 'udge of £2.2 buying a ticket. a 'udge of £21 billion h buying a ticket. a 'udge of £2.2 billion in _ buying a ticket. ajudge of £2.2 billion in prize - buying a ticket. ajudge of. £2.2 billion in prize money. it is also the second longest running lottery in the world. for many in spain, this is one of the traditions of christmas. a lottery run for more than 200 years. many people who do not normally play lottery take part, buying tickets with friends, family or workmates and dreaming of sharing the winnings. the prize draw takes place in madrid's 0pera winnings. the prize draw takes place in madrid's opera house, where schoolchildren sing out the winning numbers. translation: i the winning numbers. tuna/mom-

the winning numbers. translation: , i, i, , i, translation: i 'ust got a phone call from translation: i 'ust got a phone can from a — translation: ijust got a phone call from a friend _ translation: ijust got a phone call from a friend and _ translation: ijust got a phone call from a friend and she - translation: ijust got a phone call from a friend and she told i call from a friend and she told me that we have the jackpot. translation: me that we have the 'ackpot. tuna/momh translation: many of the families who _ translation: many of the families who play _ translation: many of the families who play here - translation: many of the families who play here a . families who play here a working—class families and that is the most important thing of all. �* , �* is the most important thing of all. �* . �* i'm is the most important thing of all-_ i'm going i is the most important thing of. all._ i'm going to all. translation: i'm going to break this one. _ all. translation: i'm going to break this one. each _ all. translation: i'm going to break this one. each ticket - all. translation: i'm going to break this one. each ticket is i break this one. each ticket is worth 400,000 _ break this one. each ticket is worth 400,000 euros, - break this one. each ticket is - worth 400,000 euros, £330,000. but they were smaller prizes as well, some 20 people in towns in the valencia region which were devastated by flash flooding which killed more than 220 people two months ago. translation: i 220 people two months ago. translation:— 220 people two months ago. translation: i, i, translation: i have time to fix what was necessary _ translation: i have time to fix what was necessary to _ translation: i have time to fix what was necessary to see - translation: i have time to fix what was necessary to see the i what was necessary to see the customers but inside, you have seen the ceilings, walls and everything is still a mess. for them and _ everything is still a mess. for them and many _ everything is still a mess. for them and many others, this was a date when some hopes and dreams were realised.

you're watching bbc news. thank you for your company. hello. it's been a chilly, windy and showery sort of weekend, but thankfully the weather is looking a little bit quieter now in the run up to christmas. so for christmas week then a change to the weather. things are turning milder, less windy than they have been and things looking mostly dry for many of us towards christmas. but we're going to be starting off with that cold air still in the east. milder air is going to be working in through the day on monday. still a few wintry showers, a little bit of ice first thing monday, i think across parts of north east scotland in particular. but this system is a warm front so it's bringing the milder air. it's also bringing some patchy outbreaks of rain on monday to western areas. these are the sort of temperatures we'll start the day with, two to four degrees for northern and eastern areas, five or six towards the south and west, a little bit colder than that for the more rural spots, particularly where we had the wintry showers.

could be some icy stretches in the far north east. we'll keep the sunshine longest across parts of eastern england on monday. the cloud builds from the west, bringing some patchy rain and some hill fog around western coasts and hills. could be a little bit of snow on top of the highest ground for the highlands, scotland, for a time. only about four or five degrees around that east coast, but in the west nine or ten degrees. things are turning a little bit milder as that warmer air moves in from the atlantic. high pressure is going to be building in as we head through to christmas eve on tuesday as well. so that's keeping most places dry. we will see a little bit of patchy rain across the north and northwest of scotland, perhaps around other a fairly cloudy picture for many of us on christmas eve. best of any sunshine will be to the east of higher ground. so aberdeenshire, perhaps parts of the welsh marches, seeing a little bit of blue sky here and there. temperatures though, 13, 14, possibly 15 degrees for some of us. so one of the warmest christmas eves on record, i think. and then that mild air stays with us through into christmas day as well. we've got a front just trying to move in towards the northwest. it's going to be quite breezy here, and there'll be some outbreaks of rain across the northwest

of scotland i think for christmas day. for most of us it's not going to be a white christmas. more of a grey one, really. mostly dry though, quite a lot of cloud around. again, some breaks in that cloud generally to be found to the east of higher ground. so the likes of yorkshire for instance, around the the east coast of england could see a little bit of brightness developing. top temperatures between 11 to 13 for christmas day, perhaps a degree or so down on christmas eve. but most of us looking dry and settled into boxing day and towards the end of the week too. it's mild, it's cloudy, but it's not going to be a white christmas. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. russia's war on ukraine has transformed childhood. it's injured and killed almost 2,000 children. but the suffering isn't only physical.

there is fear, loss and uncertainty right