live from london. this is bbc news. protests break—out in syria calling for protection of minorities, after the burning of a christmas tree near hama. president—elect trump vows to pursue the death penalty for violent criminals after president biden commutes 37 federal death sentences. american airlines has resumed us flights, after grounding all its aircraft briefly due to a vendor technology issue. and pope francis marks christmas eve with a special ceremony to launch a jubilee holy year for catholics around the world. hello, i'm geeta guru—murthy. protests have erupted in syria over the burning of a christmas tree in a christian—majority town near hama. demonstrators took to the streets of the capital damascus, calling for the new ruling faction,

hts, to punish those who are responsible. the islamist hts movement has promised to protect minorities since toppling president bashar al assad earlier this month. lina sinjab reports from damascus. chanting. "we will sacrifice our souls for our cross," these men chant as they demonstrate through the streets of damascus. they are christians. many fear life in the new syria. despite promises made by the country's latest leaders, these protesters and other minorities are not so sure. and this was the catalyst of the christmas eve protests — masked gunmen setting fire to a christmas tree in the main square of suqaylabiyah, a christian majority town in central syria, the incident captured and shared on social media. a spokesperson from the country's new leaders

said foreign fighters were responsible and had been arrested. this transitional phase comes with uncertainties for many people, including minorities, and such incidents will increase the worries and fears among them. there are people who have vested interests in spreading those fears, and it will take time for the new government to maintain stability and for people here in syria to adjust to the new reality. hayat tahrir al—sham is the group that brought down bashar al—assad. they began as a jihadist organisation, wanting to establish a state governed by islamic law. since taking over, its leaders have vowed to protect the rights of the country's diverse religious and ethnic groups. translation: to be honest, we're not protected. - we're scared. they need to publicly catch those who are creating problems and, if they're foreigners, they should leave. across the country, people have

been celebrating the collapse of the 50—year assad regime, but it could be some time before everyone in syria is convinced. lina sinjab, bbc news, damascus. the group hts, which is effectively in control of much of syria, says it has now "absorbed all armed factions into the country's armed forces." syria's de facto leader ahmed al—sharaa has reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs, after meetings over the last few days. but it's not clear which groups were included, nor whether forces in areas which were not previously controlled by the government or groups linked to hts are covered by the agreement. with me is said shehata with me is said shehata from bbc arabic. from bbc arabic. thank from bbc arabic. you forjoining us. on thank from bbc arabic. you forjoining us. on this thank you forjoining us. on this incident near hama, tell this thank you forjoining us. on this incident near hama, tell us more on whether it is us more on whether it is significant. it significant. it us more on whether it is us more on whether it is significant.— us more on whether it is significant. it is significant because the _ significant. it is significant significant.— us more on whether it is significant. it is significant because the _ significant. it is significant because the christians - because the christians -

significant. it is significant i because the christians think significant. it is significant i because the christians think what al—sharaa, what al—sharaa, the leader of hts was in control of the political scene in syria now has not done enough action to implement what he said. so his assurances are not translated into actions. so it's not only what happened to the christmas tree, but what happen also in the christian majority area where some land was confiscated some muslims, syrians from christian families so the sectarian fears among the christian minorities. in the incident of the burning tree the people who have done it were of his back origin so they were of his back origin so they were foreign fighters who were part of hts and other

were foreign fighters who were part of hts and talks about fighters there is talks about giving them nationality to be syrian, but they are radical. they are radical is in lists coming from middle central azo like it was becca stand and other places and they are part of the uprising of assad since 2011 so they have been fight with al—sharaa to fight against the regime so how can you sacrifice them now so it is a challenge for him. and in his group hts he has hardliners because they have links to al-qaeda and links with the islamic state so the islamic majority is hard to disconnect with them so even he has a modern discourse and assurances, but he has the hardliners and when he was in the city living —— leading the government there in 2004 until

2017 they established relations with minorities especially christians in some families told me that they were forced told me that they were forced to leave the city because of hts because of the interpretation of the islamists, there is no place for them, christmas is not celebrated, it is considered heresy for them so there has been a problem so how can he contain all of that according to the 2254 security council resolution because that security council resolution as a road map for the security of syria and a traditional government of six months and instituting a committee and who will be a part of it, minorities, christians, alawite, druze, kurds should be a part of that and how can we dissolve the militant groups and after fair dissolve the militant groups and afterfair and dissolve the militant groups and after fair and transparent elections within 18 months but al—sharaa himself in one of his speeches and said this resolution when he talked with

the un envoy to syria should be reviewed in the light of new realities. so there is problems for this group to be dissolved at the start and that how can he be a part of it and the foreign fighters to stay or to leave and the future and the minorities are at the component of syrian community to contribute to the constitution of the elections.— of the elections. thank you very much- _ joe biden may have promised a smooth transition to donald trump's second term in the white house — but that hasn't stopped the president—elect from voicing some harsh criticisms of the current commander in chief — about his decision to commute the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners to life in prison. donald trump took to his own social media platform, truth social, to criticise the sparing of what he described as 37 of the worst killers in the us. he added — when you hear the acts of each, you won't believe that he did this. makes no sense. relatives and friends are further devastated. it's no secret that the two

men have completely opposed views of the death penalty. there have been no federal executions during mr biden�*s time as president — and there will now be just three people remaining on federal death row. during his first term in office, mr trump brought back federal executions — which hadn't been carried out for almost two decades. i3 murderers were executed by lethal injection. let's speak to our washington correspondent rowan bridge. just to be clear, of those that joe biden has issued this commuting sentence, those cannot be undone by the incoming president, can they? that's right. they will all face like without the possibility of parole. there are three people who will remain on death row. they are all cases of mass killings, basically in the united states. basil could face the death penalty, but donald trump does

not have the power to undo the commutations thatjoe biden has given so those people will be removed from death row and will face life in prison without parole. other people coming onto death row subsequently could clearly face the death penalty under the trump administration. it penalty under the trump administration.— penalty under the trump administration. , , ., , administration. it is christmas eve today _ administration. it is christmas eve today but _ administration. it is christmas eve today but has _ administration. it is christmas eve today but has there - administration. it is christmas eve today but has there been| eve today but has there been any reaction to what donald trump has set on this? there have been — trump has set on this? there have been a _ trump has set on this? there have been a reaction - trump has set on this? there have been a reaction to - trump has set on this? there have been a reaction to the i have been a reaction to the decision byjoe biden in the first place to do this. it clearly split american opinion and it split the opinion of some of the family involved in these cases. i think the biden white house was well aware that this was going to be a controversial decision and in some ways to preempt that they issued statements alongside the decision ofjoe biden from campaign groups welcoming the move but also from some of the friends and family of some of those that were murdered by some of these people on death row saying that they also supported the decisions to commute some of the sentences.

however, that was not universally welcomed. the daughter of one of the people whose mother was murdered set as a result of this decision, joe biden and his supporters had blood on their hands to use their words. had blood on their hands to use theirwords. so had blood on their hands to use their words. so a very divisive issue. the latest gallup poll suggest around 53% of americans support the death penalty in murder cases so it is very divisive and clearly donald trump has firmly stated his case that he plans to bring back the use of the death penalty and if he can he is keen to expand it as well. making that clear on the campaign trail. pope francis is launching a specialjubilee year for roman catholics in a christmas eve ceremony at the vatican. jubilees take place only once every 25 years — and pope francis is marking the start by opening the normally bricked—up holy door of st peter's basilica. more than 30 million people are expected to make

a pilgrimage to rome to pass through the door to seek forgiveness for their sins. let's speak to candida moss who is a historian of christianity and professor of theology at the university of birmingham. thank you. tell us a bit more about what thisjubilee thank you. tell us a bit more about what this jubilee means? jubilee year is really a year of grace and reconciliation. it is a period where people renew their faith is a period where people renew theirfaith inside and out is a period where people renew their faith inside and out and while it is for catholics and has been going on for 700 years, at the last great jubilee in 2000 popejohn paul ii invited all christians to join in this period of celebration and the theme of thisjubilee is hope. pope francis is talked about how there is a feeling the pessimism in the world and he wants to strengthen peoples faith and hope in the future as they look forward to the coming year. they look forward to the coming ear. ~ , ., , they look forward to the coming ear. , .,, year. why does it happen, where did this idea _ year. why does it happen, where did this idea come _ year. why does it happen, where did this idea come from - year. why does it happen, where did this idea come from in - year. why does it happen, where

did this idea come from in the i did this idea come from in the first place?— first place? the very first jubilee in _ first place? the very first jubilee in 1300 _ first place? the very first jubilee in 1300 or- first place? the very first jubilee in 1300 or 725 - first place? the very first i jubilee in 1300 or 725 years ago it actually followed on the heels of a period of war and disease not the similar from our experience of the pandemic and it was seen as this clean slate, this new beginning for christians who were feeling very pessimistic about their place in the world. and this was an opportunity for roman catholics to wipe the slate clean, to become almost newly baptized once again. we clean, to become almost newly baptized once again.— baptized once again. we are lookin: baptized once again. we are looking at — baptized once again. we are looking at some _ baptized once again. we are looking at some pictures - baptized once again. we are - looking at some pictures coming into us from the vatican, i'm not sure if you can see them, but can you explain what the ceremonial site is. the ceremonial— ceremonial site is. the ceremonial part - ceremonial site is. the ceremonial part is - ceremonial site is. the ceremonial part is the | ceremonial site is. tue: ceremonial part is the opening of the doors so you break a bread and that turned out to be quite dangerous and now the opening of the doors is symbolising thatjesus is the path to salvation and pilgrims over the coming year will pass

through those doors as a means of gaining what is called a plenary indulgence, that is the slate clean. part of the preparation for thejubilee preparation for the jubilee have involved preparation for thejubilee have involved restoring many of the key objects that are at st peter's basilica including the canopy that sits atop the altar and on top of the relics of st. peter, the first pope, they have also put the psi behind bulletproof glass now. tn have also put the psi behind bulletproof glass now. in terms ofthe bulletproof glass now. in terms of the year _ bulletproof glass now. in terms of the year i — bulletproof glass now. in terms of the year i had, _ bulletproof glass now. in terms of the year i had, 2025, - bulletproof glass now. in terms of the year i had, 2025, what . of the year i had, 2025, what are the highlights, will people seek? , , are the highlights, will people seek? g , ., , ., ., seek? the jubilee does go on all ear seek? the jubilee does go on all year and _ seek? the jubilee does go on all year and there _ seek? the jubilee does go on all year and there are - seek? the jubilee does go on all year and there are special| all year and there are special days celebrating groups as you would expect people like priests and bishops but also other groups like judges, police officers, teachers and groups like teenagers and even a very modern and i promise i'm not making this up, people like

digital influencers and online catholic missionaries. one of the highlights will be the canonisation of a 15—year—old british—born boy who was a software developer in his spare time who died of hakimi, he will be canonized, that is made a saint, during thejubilee of teenagers. a saint, during the jubilee of teenagers-— a saint, during the jubilee of teenaaers. ., ,, ., ~ i. teenagers. good to speak you and i teenagers. good to speak you and i hope — teenagers. good to speak you and i hope you _ teenagers. good to speak you and i hope you have _ teenagers. good to speak you and i hope you have a - teenagers. good to speak you and i hope you have a lovely l and i hope you have a lovely christmas, thank you. american airlines says flights are resuming after it was forced to briefly ground all services at the start of christmas eve — one of the busiest travel days of the year. it led to scenes like this in charlotte in north carolina — as passengers on american had to wait for the situation to be resolved. the airline blames a "vendor technology issue" which affected the systems needed to release flights. it says that has now been "resolved". the computer outage led to some passengers being told to get back off their plane shortly

before they were due to take over intercom: thank - you so much for your patience. if you would so kindly grab your belongings... american airlines computers are down. we are deplaning. breaking news. i think this is a national computer failure. american airline computers are down. we are getting off of the plane. neither the federal aviation authority nor american airlines have said what triggered the problem. but american has posted this statement on x — around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

a nasa space mission is hoping to make history as it attempts the closest—ever approach to the sun. the parker solar probe has to survive radiation — and temperatures of 14 hundred degrees celsius as it descends into the star's outer atmosphere. it's hoped the data it sends back to earth —

if it's not damaged in the process — might help explain some of the sun's mysteries. our science editor, rebecca morelle, has the story. our sun in all its fiery splendour. we've been studying it for centuries, but there's still so much we don't know about it. now the closest ever encounter is set to finally shed light on our star. nasa's parker solar probe blasted off in 2018. it's been orbiting our star, getting ever nearer. but this latest flyby is taking us to a new frontier — to touch the sun. even though we've had missions that have gone very close to the sun, that wasn't close enough to get into this sort of magic region where all of this physics and all of this... ..all of these processes are happening, and the only way to be able to understand those processes is to fly through them, right where all the action is happening. this mission is breaking records. parker solar probe hurtles past the sun

at 430,000 miles an hour. no human—made object has ever gone so fast. it's the equivalent of flying from london to new york in less than 30 seconds. at its closest, it's 3.8 million miles — 6.2 million kilometres — from our star's surface. that's closer than any other spacecraft. it will have to endure scorching temperatures of 1,400 celsius as it passes through the sun's outer atmosphere, known as its corona, and this could solve a long—standing mystery. the corona is really, really hot, and we have no idea why. so the surface of the sun is about 6,000 degrees or so, but the corona, this tenuous outer atmosphere that you can see during solar eclipses, that reaches millions of degrees, and that is further away from the sun. so how is that atmosphere getting hotter? the mission is also studying the solar wind — the constant stream of charged particles bursting out from the sun's corona.

the probes even recorded the sounds of the sun — dispersive chirping waves, langmuir waves and doctor who—like whistler mode waves. during this close approach, the spacecraft is out of communication for several days, so the nasa team face a nervous wait over christmas before they can finally discover the secrets of our star. rebecca morelle, bbc news. in australia, residents in the state of victoria are bracing for extreme heat and dangerous fire conditions. communities around the grampians, in the state's west have been evacuated amid warnings from authorities that conditions there in the days ahead could be the worst since australia's most severe fire season on record five years ago which killed more than 30 people.

we can get more now from our reporter emer mccarthy. tell us more but what the conditions will be like. win conditions will be like. will be a nervous _ conditions will be like. will be a nervous few— conditions will be like. ll be a nervous few days for the residents of 1538 00:20:11,781 --> 0