live from singapore, this is bbc news. syria's new leader says armed groups will be absorbed into the army as some communities express gear —— fearfor theirfuture. tributes have been paid to one of five victims of the christmas market attack in germany. 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.

a warm welcome to newsday. syria's new leader says all weapons in the country are to come under state control and that armed factions will be dissolved incorporated into the army. hayat tahrir al—sham or hts was the key rebel group that overthrew president bashar al—assad that it is an islamist organisation once associated with al-qaeda and that is causing concern for some minorities. our correspondent has visited communities in syria's south, as well as the capital, damascus, and sent this report. the dictator has fled but what of the community who belong to. a trial of the from one of syria's biggest minorities but it is control power over the

majority sunni muslim country for 50 years. in the working class neighbourhood of damascus, if you agree to speak to us. i asked if they feared revenge. translation: , ., , translation: they have been res - ectful translation: they have been respectful to — translation: they have been respectful to us _ translation: they have been respectful to us but _ translation: they have been respectful to us but there - translation: they have been respectful to us but there are l respectful to us but there are groups pretending to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them.— scared of them. they are careful when _ scared of them. they are careful when they - scared of them. they are careful when they speak| scared of them. they are i careful when they speak and scared of them. they are - careful when they speak and are keen to distance themselves from the regime. but many from the sector in this neighbourhood were a part of the brutal forces. neighbourhood were a part of the brutalforces. where are they, i asked? the brutalforces. where are they, iasked? trans—mac everyone who worked with the military and did bad things has fled. �* , ., , ., military and did bad things has fled. �* , , ., ., military and did bad things has fled. �* , ., ., ., fled. but people who do not have little — fled. but people who do not have little left _ fled. but people who do not have little left hands, - fled. but people who do not have little left hands, theyl have little left hands, they are not scared.— have little left hands, they are not scared. the rebels not in control— are not scared. the rebels not in control of _ are not scared. the rebels not in control of so _ are not scared. the rebels not in control of so they _ are not scared. the rebels not in control of so they are - are not scared. the rebels not in control of so they are not i in control of so they are not looking for revenge. a group with a jihadist past and an islamist president. they have

also promised that the freedoms of minorities will be protected. it isa it is a crucial issue for syria's 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. meanwhile, in gaza, the civil defence agency says an israeli strike killed at least five people at a shelter for depressed people. they said drones targeted tense in a

humanitarian area of al mawasi in western khan younis. israel is the strike was aimed at how muscle operatives. the latest killings bring the total of deaths across gaza on sunday to more than 30. pope francis has condemned the israeli strikes on gaza for a second day in a row, referring to what he called cruelty towards children and the palestinian territory. israel has rejected the pope's double standards. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will neta nyahu says israel will continue netanyahu says israel will continue to act against those in yemen who he accused of threatening world shipping and international order. his statement on the day after a missile fired from yemen fell in the tel aviv area, causing a number of injuries. gerald michael feierstein served as the middle east ambassador to yemen.

i asked him about another conflict rampant up as israel and the houthis continue to exchange fire. of course the houthis in some ways are the last element, the last pillar of the axis of resistance that's still standing. they have been engaged in this series of attacks on shipping in the red sea since over a year now, as well as continuing efforts to actually strike at israel itself. so the issue has been the ability of the international community to deter further attacks that have had a huge impact on the global economy, shipping through the red sea, the suez canal and also, of course, yemen in the midst of a civil war is also vulnerable

to this continuation of israeli attacks, as well as us and uk efforts to stop the houthis. so one thing that you do not want to see of course is this conflict is going to spread and make the situation in yemen even more complicated than it already is. yeah, the houthis are one of the members of the so—called axis of resistance that have not been hammered this year. how strong do you think their position is right now? well, they have definitely increased their capabilities over the course of the last 13 or 14 months and they have successfully of course waged a conflict internally in yemen since 2014. they have improved their capabilities, they have improved their military capacity over this period and have demonstrated an ability to really be very effective in striking at

international shipping. so they are absolutely a threat, not only to yemenis, but also the global economy. you have held a number of positions in the middle east. turning to syria, what is your read on hts and how it has been operating so far? well, i think so far people are watching carefully. i know that here in the us, we have had some senior us state department officials who have visited damascus and then met with the senior leadership of hts. i think that it is probably too early to make an assessment, but there is some hope at least that they will move syria in the right direction. whether they are really invested in building a more democratic, more open society or not remains to be seen.

i hope the international community will engage with this new leadership in syria and help move them along that track, but as your own journalist reported, i think within syria itself people are watching carefully, waiting to see which way this new leadership moves and what direction they take. on gaza, a palestinian official has told the bbc a ceasefire deal is 90% there. do you expect it come through before trump takes office, and if not, what are the sticking points? well, ithink, unfortunately, we have been 90% there for quite some time. this is not the first time that people have been optimistic. it really is a question of the will of the two parties of the israelis and hamas whether they have come to the conclusion it is betterfor them to make a deal or not. donald trump has made certain threatening noises

over his desire to see this finished soon, but each of the sides is making their own calculations, what is in their best interests. a nine—year—old boy who died in friday's attack on a german christmas market has been named. andre was 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. 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 has more 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 7:00

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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories making news in the uk.

the bbc has found that a church of england priest with a history of child sexual abuse allegations against him was twice reappointed to a senior position in his diocese while the current archbishop of york was the bishop of chelmsford. a woman who say she was groomed by the priest, david tudor, has described the renewal of his contract as an insult to all his victims. more flights to and from heathrow airport have been cancelled and strong winds in the uk continue to disrupt travel during the busy holiday season. more than 100 flights were cancelled across the weekend, affecting about passengers. —— 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 on 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. you are live with bbc news. us president—elect donald trump made a threat at a conference in arizona regarding the panama canal. 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 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. —— reject. every single square meter of the panama canal belongs to panama and will continue to belong to panama. the sovereignty and independence of our country are non—negotiable. there is now only 28 days until inauguration day when donald trump makes his return to the white house as the 47th president of the united states of america. countries around the world of watching and waiting to see particularly in the pacific and trump view on climate change. he pulled the us out of the paris agreement

in his previous term. he ramped up in his previous term. he ramped up oil and gas aspirations in the us and his pick for energy secretary is head of an oil and gas fracking company and a climate change sceptic. he is return comes as a global temperatures continue to rise. 2024 set to become the hottest year on record. and the first year on record. and the first year the earth has warmed 1.5 celsius above preindustrial levels which world leaders and site as hoped to avoid. i asked a former prime minister of tuvalu about his reaction to

the donald trump administration. it is certainly a worry for the small island countries in the pacific and caribbean, all over the world, certainly in tuvalu that collective efforts and urgent actions to deal with climate change are being stalled and certainly the view coming from the newly elected president of the united states is of great concern to the people, the people of the pacific island countries, certainly to my country tuvalu. we are deeply concerned about this and i certainly hope that the new administration in washington would seriously reconsider their position. we're very grateful with the positive progressive position taken by thejoe biden

government, which shows that these things can be done if we work collectively as a global community to address this very, very serious global concern to everybody on planet earth, so it is certainly my call... crosstalk. i apologise for interrupting. i do apologise for interrupting. i wanted to ask you if you could paint a picture for our audience of the kinds of things that tuvalu in particular is facing when it comes to climate change, especially with this year and last year being terrible for climate change events? yes, the heat is, likewise in other parts of the world, almost unbearable but the most serious things are the sealevel rise and the erosion on very, very vital lands of the island country tuvalu and certainly

more frequent cyclones and king ties, inundation of land, are really effecting and creating a lot of uncertainty amongst the people of tuvalu. how should policymakers like yourself deal with trump and his attitudes towards climate change? people are now urging for — the calls that were made by the secretary general of the united nations that we are really falling backwards on our words, on our commitments under the paris agreement, that we would collectively work together in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation

to address this, because it may be tuvalu the first to suffer and feel the impact of this phenomenon, but everybody, the whole globe, everybody on the planet are going to suffer and feel the negative impact and effects of climate change. everyone. and we are already seeing this happening in parts of the world. certainly in tuvalu there is growing concern. we feel very concerned about the possible loss of our culture, the violation of human rights. it is certainly a great concern

and the impacts on the security and long—term survival of the communities in tuvalu. so we hope that urgent action is being taken by particularly those who can make a difference, including of course the us which is highest polluter of greenhouse gas emmission, to take action, is what we have seen under joe biden's very progressive climate change policies. if you are tired of dating apps, we have news for you. marriage making agencies in south korea have been growing. we have been speaking to young people in the soul. fairytale

weddings are expected in south korea but they do not all begin with dating apps. some are embracing new ways to meet. these newlyweds are unpacking their new life and business together. their story started when they met through a marriage making agency. translation: i marriage making agency. translation:— marriage making agency. translation: i signed up because i _ translation: i signed up because i wanted - translation: i signed up because i wanted to - translation: i signed up because i wanted to meet| because i wanted to meet someone who also wanted to get married. lots of people do not want to these days. translation: ., translation: there were not many chances _ translation: there were not many chances to _ translation: there were not many chances to meet - translation: there were not many chances to meet new - many chances to meet new people. many chances to meet new --eole. , , people. they help find new partners- _ people. they help find new partners. the _ people. they help find new partners. the pandemic . people. they help find new i partners. the pandemic made people. they help find new - partners. the pandemic made it difficult to meet people in person and cause a resurgence in marriage. possession or the industry has grown 30% 40%.

young people thought these agencies were for who failed to find someone doubt they see it as a way to find someone with specific needs. not everyone agrees with this method of finding a partner. translation: using an agency is not always viewed very positively. people are being judged by their profiles and are getting married without love is a perception. it felt embarrassing to tell friends and family that i signed up with an agency.— and family that i signed up with an agency. despite the increased — with an agency. despite the increased popularity, - with an agency. despite the increased popularity, southj increased popularity, south korea has extremely low marriage and fertility rates. they have been falling steadily for the last decade. the fertility here is the lowest in the world and the government is committed to tackling the issue. they are also playing matchmaking, organising speed dating events for example. if they say they are providing

young singles with an opportunity to meet and mingle. translation:— opportunity to meet and mingle. translation: young people today lack of opportunities _ translation: young people today lack of opportunities to _ translation: young people today lack of opportunities to meet - lack of opportunities to meet new people so i really appreciate the city is providing a venue for this. but critics say _ providing a venue for this. but critics say they _ providing a venue for this. but critics say they should be tackling high living costs and supporting women returning to work. meanwhile the government says of these events work, with two marriages and many more on the horizon. as you people search for love, they are also seeking stability and security, something the country needs as well, as it battles this demographic crisis. how interesting that old traditions are coming back. that is all for now. i will be back at the top of the hour. stay with bbc news for now. thank you for watching.

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 northeast 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 — 2 to 4 degrees for northern and eastern areas, 5 or 6 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 northeast. 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 4 or 5 degrees around that east coast, but in the west, 9 or 10 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 western areas, a little bit of drizzle here and there. 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 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.

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