live from singapore this is bbc news. rights groups ask syria's new rulers to urgently preserve evidence of atrocities committed under the assad regime. joe biden commutes the death sentences of all but three federal prisoners on death row. they will now spend the rest of their lives in prison. and less than one month before donald trump returns to the white house, we speak to francis fukiyama. israel's to francis fukiyama. exploding page attack on israel's exploding page attack on hezbollah. the lid is lifted on hezbollah. the lid is lifted on an operation ten years in the making. a warm welcome to newsday. i'm suranjana tewari.

rights groups in syria are appealing to the country's new leaders to preserve evidence of atrocities committed under former president assad's regime. investigators from organisations like amnesty international and human rights watch have been visiting detention facilities and mass graves after rebels took over the capital. they say that evidence in the prisons is essential for prosecuting those who helped in the detainment and disappearance of tens of thousands of people under the rule of assad. this comes as several eu countries pause applications from syrians seeking asylum following the overthrow of the assad regime. international human rights groups havce criticised the move as premature. our special correspondent fergal keane has gone back to some of those he met fleeing the war in syria in its early days to file this report. a warning his report contains some distressing testimony. i never imagined that i will witness something like that in my life.

and i'm so happy. very happy. they hit you and they said, "confess. confess. " we first met 12 years ago. he'd just escaped syria. gay, pro—democracy, raped by assad's police. they raping me, one by one. i start to say, "please don't do this. please don't do that." then he'd asked to remain nameless, faceless, a voice. but no longer. today, living in holland, rene shevan celebrates assad's fall by showing his face. you've decided to appear on camera today. why is that? because the fear is gone.

because i'm... i'm not scared of them anymore. because assad is a refugee in moscow. watching the release of prisoners triggered traumatic memories. i witnessed this, and i saw people are free. i was so happy for them, but i saw myself there. i saw when they raped me. when they tortured me. i saw everything. it's a flashback. several hours away, i met another refugee i'd known in the days of the war. one who'd never lost hope.

i was certain nothing lasts forever. darkness is followed by dawn. it's nearly ten years since nujeen fled the kurdish region of syria, and ifirst met her among hundreds of thousands of refugees heading into europe. 15 years old with big dreams. i'd love to be an astronaut, to go out and see and find an alien. nujeen is safe in germany, but berlin has paused syrian asylum claims. assad's fall is welcome, but not the end of the struggle, she says. i knew that we would not... i would never come back to syria that has assad as the president and that we would never have the chance to be better. and now with that, with that chapter over, i think the real challenge begins. what is the big challenge? we can and will be

a better nation. we are a nation of love, acceptance and peace. not one of chaos, fear and destruction. there are many good hearts in syria and beyond hoping she's right. fergal keane, bbc news, cologne. in other news israel's prime minister says some progress has been made in negotiations to secure the release of hostages held in gaza. comes two days after a palestinian armed group talked of progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal. it is not clear when an agreement may be finalised but he said a deal had been made more likely because the israeli military actions have made

hamas soften their demands. it comes as palestinian official said on monday australian tax across gaza had killed more than 50 people in the previous 24 than 50 people in the previous 2a hours including in the southern safe zone. the idf said three of its soldiers were killed on monday in this area of northern gaza. to the us now. the man accused of killing the us healthcare insurance chief executive brian thompson has pleaded not guilty to state—level murder and terrorism charges. luigi mangione appeared in court in new york to face 11 state criminal counts. he also faces federal stalking and murder charges that could lead to a death penalty sentence. mr mangione�*s lawyer told the judge that she was very concerned about her client's right to a fair trial. he is being prejudiced by statements being made by government officials. like every other defendant he is entitled to a presumption of

innocence but unfortunately the way this has been handled so far his rights are being violated.— far his rights are being violated. a, ., ., ., violated. more from our north america correspondent. - luigi mangione was flankedby police officers as he was brought into the courthouse and wore a burgundy sweatshirt and beige pants. inside court he was asked how he pleaded to the 11 count indictment brought by the new york state prosecutors which includes first—degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism for the killing of brian thomson, the boss of the american insurance company united healthcare. the 26—year—old leaned into the microphone and said not guilty. these are charges separate to the federal charges that he was in court for when he first arrived in new york on thursday. if convicted in the state case, he could technically face the death penalty

in the federal case if prosecutors seek it. the lead prosecutor in the state case said in court that he had never seen a case with such a high volume of evidence. remember, investigators collected fingerprints, images and other evidence during their five—day manhunt and say that they recovered in the possession of mangione, a ghost gun, a notebook that detailed plans and a letter. mangione's lawyer said that simultaneous cases were highly unusual and today she raised concerns that he could not receive a fair trial, questioning, for example, why the new york mayor had been present when he was brought off a police helicopter at the manhattan helipad last week. she complained that officials are treating him like he is some sort of political fodder.

president biden has decided to save 37 federal prisoners from execution, commuting their death sentences. they'll now spend the rest of their lives in prison, without parole. in a statement, mr biden said he condemned their acts, but he was being guided by his conscience. three executions are still due to go ahead, including that of the boston marathon bomber. tom bateman has more, this is a significant active clemency first of all, he says he was guided by his conscience but also by determination. he says to end the death penalty at a federal level. that said this is 37 of the a0 men currently on death row for federal offences. the other three will remain with those death sentences hanging over them. they include the 2013 boston marathon bomber, and also the gunman convicted of killing 11 jewish worshippers at the tree of life synagogue in 2018. mr biden is doing that because he wants to tie

the hands of trump administration as it comes in, being able to enact these death sentences at a federal level. mr trump during the election said frequently he would expand the use of the death penalty, to include drug traffickers and also migrants who kill americans. tonight he has responded to mr biden�*s move, describing it as a slap in the face for the victims and families. he says. a clear political row already over this. it's worth saying finally, sophie, the numbers convicted in federal courts to the death sentence of relatively small and despite the decrease in the use of executions, in the united states there remain on death row at state level more than 2000 prisoners across the us today. the prime minister of greenland

has insisted the ireland is not for sale after donald trump said he wanted to take control of the territory. greenland which is the site of a strategically important us airbase is a autonomous territory of denmark. it said a day after donald trump said he wanted to take back control of the panama canal. we are now less than a month when donald trump officially returns to the white house as the 47th president. his return will have an impact on life in the us but also the political make—up of the world. francis fukuyama is the author of the end of history it was an influential issue a announcing the triumph of liberal democracy. i asked announcing the triumph of liberal democracy. iasked him about his major concerns about about his major concerns about a donald trump presidency.

my concerns are about him weaponising the law he will use the justice system to punish those who have spoken out about him over the past few years. you also have these very strange appointments like the director of national intelligence, as far as i can see has not agreed with a single american foreign policy in the last decade. it seems like someone like that is the purpose is ready to deconstruct the agency rather than to have it achieve its real purposes. i mean, just to play devil's advocate, there are many people who say he has already been in office for four years, some of the darkest predictions from opponents never materialised. and that there are enough checks and balances in the us democratic system. what do you say to the people that say that people like you are just

repeating the mistake of taking him to literally? look, i don't know what is going to happen so i may be wrong about this but the major change between the second term and the first term is personnel. during the first term, he did not have people that were loyal to him or he thought were sufficiently loyal to actually carry out his wishes. so we had to rely on quite a number of normal republicans like rex tillerson or hr mcmaster. this time around they have been spending the last few years making sure everybody they appoint is really going to do his bidding. i think that is the only explanation for making someone like kash patel the head of the fbi. patel has no other qualifications for that position other than the fact he has written an entire book on how he wants to take revenge on donald trump's enemies. and that is what is worrying and that is happening on day one

of the second administration. he has also said he has a lot of respect for a dictator and an autocrat likejohn born and vladimir putin, many of them are here in asia where i am. do upi see a realignment in america's relationship with these kinds of powers? well, i don't think it's going to be a principalled realignment in the sense he actually prefers working with dictators than with democratic allies. he takes each one and sees whether he can do a deal, he almost did a deal with the north korean president in his first term and that might be the danger, if one of these people offers him something that will make him look good domestically and is not good for the united states or for the world, he may decide to go ahead and do that. so in that respect, it's going to be very unpredictable. because it really will depend

on this transactional calculus he will make. i don't expect you to have all the answers but given all the concern you have flagged about the next four more years do you think us democracy is strong enough to withstand what is to come? yes i do think in the end it will be strong enough you will see this solution, you have already seen an erosion of norms and in the way the damage has already been done because states used to be characterised as a relatively high trust society compared to many other developed democracies now the level of distrust among citizens, the distrust of citizens for their government has been just extraordinary. and i think that will be one of the more lasting legacies. but the structures i think of american democracy will remain. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news.

new n ew fa cts new facts have come to light about israel's attack with a walkie—talkie and page attack on hezbollah. dozens of people were killed and thousands injured. now in an interview with our us broadcast partner cbs to former israeli intelligence agents who worked for mozart have explained how it happened revealing the operation was ten years in the making. john donaldson reports. it was one of the most audacious and deadly spy operations ever undertaken. thousands of pages and walkie—talkie is owned by hezbollah operatives exploded across lebanon on causing panic, killing dozens and injuring thousands. walkie—talkie was a weapon just like a bullet or a missile or a

mortar. ., ., ., , ., mortar. now former agents from mossad speaking _ mortar. now former agents from mossad speaking anonymously i mossad speaking anonymously have told our american partner cbs how it was done. we have told our american partner cbs how it was done.— have told our american partner cbs how it was done. we have an incredible array _ cbs how it was done. we have an incredible array of _ incredible array of possibilities of creating foreign companies that have no way being traced back israel, shall companies over shall companies who effect the supply chains in our favour. companies who effect the supply chains in ourfavour. we are a global production company we write the screenplay we are the direct is an producers and main actors the world is our estate. they explained how over the past decade massad had sold hezbollah thousands of pages and walkie—talkies booby—trapped with tiny amounts of explosive. they were only detonated years later, last september. iii detonated years later, last september-— detonated years later, last september. if you pushed a button the _ september. if you pushed a button the only _ september. if you pushed a button the only one - september. if you pushed a button the only one that. september. if you pushed a| button the only one that will get injured as the terrorist himself even if his wife or

daughter will bejust himself even if his wife or daughter will be just next to him he is the only one that will be home.— him he is the only one that will be home. the agent said the had will be home. the agent said they had tested _ will be home. the agent said they had tested the - will be home. the agent said they had tested the devices i will be home. the agent said i they had tested the devices on dummies to measure the force of the blast. but in fact dozens of people were killed in the attack, including civilians and children. thousands more were maimed and injured. united nations human �*s right chief called a war crime. what a student is such an attack is unlikely to happen again. the agent said massad was now working on the next thing and macro one would have to guess what that might be. —— hezbollah. some other stories in the headlines. bill clinton has been admitted to the georgetown medical centre on monday afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever. as deputy chief of staff says he remains in good spirits and appreciates the excellent care he is receiving. the french prime

minister has played down fears of a huge loss of life in the indian ocean territory of my art battered by its worst cyclone for nearly a century. he said deaths were number in the dozens not thousands dismissing the higher figure the dozens not thousands dismissing the higherfigure is alarmist. 35 people were known to have been killed. a chorus of support is growing behind actress blake lively after she filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign against it ends with us co—starjustin baldoni. she says us co—starjustin baldoni. she sastustin baldoni were also direct to the film had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the original script and had not been agreed to. he says the allegations are false and salacious. 2024 was a big yearfor artificial intelligence.

companies in almost every field has been looking for ways to incorporate ai into their business models. amid this excitement there is also caution among experts about what rapidly improving artificial intelligence systems could mean and whether governments can be quick enough to keep up with an expert told me about some of the concerns around artificial intelligence. there are ethical issues and things people should be worried about. they are not necessarily the same. 0n the ethical side one of the things that has really emerged over the past year is around consent. when we put out things online, is it ok for companies to use that to train models and sell that back to us if we are not being compensated? many talented artists and writers have spoken up about the consent issue and how they are not consenting to have their data used, the kind of things they share online, in orderfor that to be used by other companies and that becomes more and more of an issue and there is a lot

of lawsuits and such like going on to figure that out. and on what to be worried about, in terms of general public everyday kind of things, i think that has more to do with the fact that generative ai technology, that is technology that looks like real people and things that sound like real people is working very, very well right now and that means it is easier for people to be scammed, voice cloning has become something that really sounds quite real right now. so all the populations in particular who are not as aware of the massive changes that have happened over the past few years are much more likely to be taken in by misunderstanding that this is not their loved one talking to them or asking them for money and that sort of thing. as well as the generative ai problem that has been around for a while now around nonconsensual intimate imagery. we saw a rise in that as well. so people understanding what they can do and understanding how the technology works

is really critical in order to make sure that everyone is protected from the negative sides of these things. we are getting ideas of who may be in charge of ai policy under donald trump, figures like elon musk and david sachs they have had, they have said some of these concerns are censorship. what might that mean for people and is it a priority for the new administration? they have a point. there are always pros and cons. you may over regulate and stop really good technology from being developed in an attempt to protect people, that does happen. there is a tension there. i think that one thing we might see more of, given the change in the us administration is more towards open source, so sharing the code and making it a little bit easier for people to understand what is going

on under the hood, people may remember that when elon musk took over twitter he immediately he tried to make the twitter code open source. i don't know how exciting that was for people and for geeks like me was fun. providing a little more transparency into what is happening with the technology and letting people external to companies play around with it and understand what is happening and test that for themselves it is probably going to be more supported but it really is anyone's guess. ai regulation has not really been super partisan, at least in the united states, it has not corresponded to party lines of was agreeing with whom. so it really is unclear what is going to happen next. and briefly if you could because we're running out of time, what about concerns that al models have hit a wall when it comes to high—quality

data they can use to train? can you talk us through why that is such a problem and what the pitfalls are? yeah. people want more and more technology and more and more applications that they can do and as you run out of quality data that means that you were unable to put out as high—quality product and worst you start to train on the data that you already put out so you do the feedback loop, you do not get new information, you get old information that a previous system put out and that means the quality of the system starts to degrade and you start to get homogenised and boring output. russian scientists have revealed the remains of what they say are the world �*s best preserved mammoth carcass. the female is more than 50,000 years old and was found in the far east of russia. that is all for this edition of newsday stay with bbc news.

hello. the good news is, for those of you still to do some pre—christmas travel, the weather is looking fairly benign for christmas eve for the vast majority. a fair bit of cloud around, admittedly — we saw that roll in on monday — and much, much milder than it has been. temperatures on monday afternoon, 4—5 celsius for quite a few, a good 8—10 celsius warmer for tuesday afternoon on christmas eve. that milder air�*s been pushing in already, and will continue to do so into the morning, around this area of high pressure to the south of us and behind weather fronts. so, by the time we start christmas eve, temperatures for the vast majority are actually in double figures first thing in the morning. lots of cloud around, a rather grey start to the day, however and, certainly in the west, some outbreaks of rain or drizzle. a few spots further east, too, but some of the wettest conditions throughout christmas eve will be to the north and west of scotland, where it'll also be quite windy at times — winds touching gale force for some. we'll see some rain or drizzle

in northern ireland, and around some of these western fringes of england and wales on the hills, it may be a little bit of damp at times. but, to the east of high ground, east wales, the midlands, parts of eastern england, eastern scotland, we should see some sunshine break through — and it's here we could see temperatures of 14—15. now, to take us through the night and into the big day, we continue with a fairly cloudy story, fairly breezy to the north and west, with some outbreaks of rain getting heavier and more persistent just to the north of the northern and western isles. but christmas day starts on a warmish note — 8—11 celsius for the vast majority — and, with us stuck between these weather fronts and a run of southwesterly winds, not much will change through the day. compared with christmas eve, though, i'm optimistic of a few more cloud breaks. more of you will stay dry. so if you need to get a christmas day walk in, it is looking fairly decent. best of the sunshine, probably northeast of scotland, but quite windy here. windiest, though, to the north and west, the western isles, northern isles — again, ahe chance of some rain at times, but probably a little bit drier than christmas eve. and temperatures just down a notch,

but still well above where we should be, at around 11—13 celsius. for the big journey home, though, after christmas, if you're doing it on boxing day or friday, there could be some fog to contend with across parts of england and wales. most places will be dry. greater chance of some rain at times further north, but nothing disruptive by the looks of it. and, by the time we hit the weekend, we're back to something a bit cooler, but also a little bit brighter. take care.

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. and the golden globe goes to... and the actor goes to... everybody's talking about her. ..lily gladstone! ..lily gladstone. you're so good! first native american woman to be nominated for an oscar in a lead role. is there a part of you that's screaming on the inside, like, "i can't believe this is happening to me"... 0h, sure. cos you're winning everything so far. thank you all so much.

applause it's really great to see hollywood embrace