live from singapore, this is bbc news. syria's new leader says 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, 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 ahmed al—sharaa all weapons in the country are to come under state control and that armed factions will be dissolved and incorporated into the army. his hayat tahrir al—sham or hts was the key rebel group that overthrew president bashar al—assad, but it is an islamist organisation once associated with al-qaeda, and that is causing concern for some minorities. yogita limaye has visited communities in syria's south, as well as the capital damascus, and sent this report. the dictator has fallen and fled, but what of the community he belonged to? shar al—assad is from the alawite sect.

—— bashar al—assad is from the alawite sect. it's one of syria's biggest minorities. it has controlled 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: they have been respectful to us - but there are groups pretending to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them. they'e 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 the 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 are in control and say 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. this is the christian quarter of damascus. we have seen christmas decorations up in some part 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 they feel reassured by hts�*s promises but there is still uncertainty and still worries about the form of government that this government 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 late on sunday killed at least five people at a shelter for displaced people. they said drones targeted tense in a humanitarian area of al—mawasi, in western khan younis.

israel said the strike was aimed at hamas operatives. the latest killings bring the total of deaths across gaza on sunday to more than 30. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will continue to act against the houthis in yemen, he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order. his statement on the day after a missile fired from yemen fell in the tel aviv area, causing a number of injuries. i asked michael feinstein about another front i asked michael feinstein about anotherfront opening up in i asked michael feinstein about another front opening up in the conflict does israel and the houthis exchange fire. {iii houthis exchange fire. of course. — houthis exchange fire. of course, the houthis in some ways are the last element, the last pillar of the axis of resistance that is 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 out israel itself. the issue has been the ability of the international community to deter further attacks that have had a huge impact on the global economy, chipping 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 don't want to see of course is this conflict will spread and make the situation in yemen even more complicated than it already is. more complicated than it already is-_ more complicated than it already ia— more complicated than it already is. more complicated than it alread is. ., , ., ., already is. the houthis are one ofthe already is. the houthis are one of the members _ already is. the houthis are one of the members of _ already is. the houthis are one of the members of the - already is. the houthis are one. of the members of the so-called 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?- position is right now? well, they have — position is right now? well, they have definitely - position is right now? well, l they have definitely increased their capabilities over the course of the last 13 or 1a 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 abilities to really be very effective in striking at international shipping and so, they are absolutely threat not only to yemenis but also the global economy. yemenis but also the global economy-— yemenis but also the global econom . ., ., ., , economy. you have held a number of positions _ economy. you have held a number of positions in _ economy. you have held a number of positions in the _ economy. you have held a number of positions in the middle - of positions in the middle east. turning to syria, what is your read on hts and how it has been operating so far?— been operating so far? well, i think so far, _ been operating so far? well, i think so far, people _ been operating so far? well, i think so far, people are - 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 met the senior leadership of hts. i think it's 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. and i hope that the international community will engage with this new leadership in syria and will help move them along the 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. fin new leadership moves and what

direction they take.— direction they take. on gaza, one palestinian _ direction they take. on gaza, one palestinian official - direction they take. on gaza, one palestinian official has i one palestinian official has told the bbc a ceasefire deal is 90% of the way there. do you expect it to take through —— passed through before trump takes office? what do you think other sticking points? unfortunately other sticking points? u nfortu nately we've other sticking points? unfortunately we've been 90% therefore the first —— 90% therefore the first —— 90% there before and this isn't the first time. it's up to the israelis and hamas, whether have come to the conclusion that it have come to the conclusion thatitis have come to the conclusion that it is whether for them to make a deal or not. donald trump has made certain threatening noises over his desire to see this finished. soon. each of the sides making their own calculations of what is their best interests. a nine—year—old boy who died in friday's attack on the german christmas market has been named. andre gleissner was killed along with four adults in the city of magdeburg. the man suspected of carrying out

the attack, talev al michael matheson who moved there has been remanded in custody including murder and attempted murder. police say he had posted islamophobic comments online and the government says it will investigate whether more could have been done to prevent the tragedy. —— taleb al—abdulmohsen. anna foster has more from magdeburg. this is andre, nine years old, looking forward to christmas and enjoying a night out at the festive market when he was killed. a fundraising account for his devastated family has raised thousands of euros. 0n 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's 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 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, 40 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. shouting. 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 — horrified. it's 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.

you are alive with bbc news. trump says he will take the panama canal out of panama's hans ifvs for its use will not be reduced. he made the comment at a conference in arizona. it was his first conference since winning the election. i

was his first conference since winning the election.- was his first conference since winning the election. i have to treat us fairly _ winning the election. i have to treat us fairly and _ winning the election. i have to treat us fairly and they - treat us fairly and they haven't treated us fairly and if 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. not going to stand for it. sorry to the officials of panama, please be guided accordingly. panama, please be guided accordingly-— panama, please be guided accordinul . , ., accordingly. the president of panama has _ accordingly. the president of panama has since _ accordingly. the president of panama has since respondedj accordingly. the president of. panama has since responded to president—elect trump's comments. president-elect trump's comments. �* comments. translation: the canal is not _ comments. translation: the canal is not under— comments. translation: the canal is not under the - comments. translation: the canal is not under the direct . canal is not under the direct or indirect control of china of the european community, the united states or any other power. as a panamanian, i strongly reject any statement that misrepresents this reality. every single square metre of the panama canal and its adjacent areas belongs to panama and we continue to belong to panama. sovereignty and independence of our country are nonnegotiable.—

are nonnegotiable. there is now onl 28 are nonnegotiable. there is now only 28 days _ are nonnegotiable. there is now only 28 days until— are nonnegotiable. there is now only 28 days until inauguration i only 28 days until inauguration day onjanuary 20 when donald trump officially makes his return to the white house is the 47th president of the united states of america. countries around the world are watching and waiting to see what his second term brings. including those in the pacific, where there is particular concern about the president—elect�*s view on climate change. during his last term in office, he pulled the us out of the 2015 paris agreement. but during his campaign, he promised to, quote "drill, baby, drill" ramping up oiland "drill, baby, drill" ramping up oil and gas exploration in the us. his pick for energy secretary chris wright who is head of an oil and gas trucking company, is a vocal climate change sceptic. donald trump's return to the white house comes as global temperatures continue to rise at an alarming rate, 2024 is set to become the hottest on record. and the first year that earth has

warmed 1.5 celsius above preindustrial levels which world leaders and scientists hope to avoid surpassing under the paris agreement. former prime minister of the pacific island of tuvalu was a former critic of donald trump's climate policy when he was last in office. i asked policy when he was last in office. iasked him how policy when he was last in office. i asked him how he feels about the policy now. it is certainly a worry for the small island countries in the pacific and caribbean and all over the world, certainly, pacific and caribbean and all overthe world, certainly, into the loop. ——in tuvalu with collective efforts and urgent action is to deal with climate change are being distorted and certainly, the view coming from the newly elected president of the newly elected president of the united states is of great

concern to the people of the pacific island countries and certainly to my country, tuvalu. we are deeply concerned about this and i certainly hope that under the new administration, in washington, that they seriously reconsider their position. we are very grateful with the positive progressive position taken by joe biden's 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. the new government of... crosstalk. i apologise for interrupting. i just — i apologise, i wanted to

ask 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 so terrible for climate change events? the heat is rising in other parts of the world and is almost unbearable by the more serious things is a sea level rise and erosion of very, very vital lands of the island country tuvalu and certainly, more frequent cyclones and king tide is, inundation of land is really affecting and creating a lot of uncertainty amongst the people of tuvalu. ., , ., of tuvalu. ok. how should policymakers _ of tuvalu. ok. how should

policymakers like - 15