figs are planning to do in controlling aleppo? as was mentioned _ controlling aleppo?aleppo? as was mentioned earlier in - controlling aleppo? as was mentioned earlier in your. mentioned earlier in your report, they did not expect to be able to reach aleppo, let alone control it and i think what we are seeing right now has changed their plan because they were not expecting to see they were not expecting to see the regime withdraw without resistance. they are changing their plan because of rapid advancements that they've been able to make. what comes next, and when they will be able to stop, i think that is still being determined by how quickly they are able to capture areas. but most likely they will have to do at some point... but this will again be determined by factors on the ground or political talks... factors on the ground or political talks. . .- factors on the ground or political talks. .. what does it mean that — political talks. .. what does it mean that we _ political talks. .. what does it mean that we now _ political talks. .. what does it mean that we now

and that is teams such as ours aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with — aleppo. yours with violet coming - aleppo. and that is teams such as yours with violet coming in l as yours with violet coming in and helping people within aleppo. when it comes to this rebel group, help us to understand what kind of parts are they made out with because of course it is never clear—cut, is it? of course it is never clear-cut, is it? there are many grouns _ clear-cut, is it? there are many groups who - clear-cut, is it? there are many groups who have . clear-cut, is it? there are . many groups who have joined this today and i think they are now getting control of most of the city. we have got a photo from aleppo castle, front many areas today from our team where they are helping the people, and how the things are going on the ground, the attacks have —— happening today are putting us at risk of having a million people displaced from the city. we have a deadline to stop the aircraft of russian and syria bombing the city and this is the only way to have those million in their cit

.— the city of aleppo. — the city of aleppo. thank you very much for— the city of aleppo. thank you very much for bringing - the city of aleppo. thank you very much for bringing us - the city of aleppo. thank you very much for bringing us up| the city of aleppo. thank you l very much for bringing us up to date there. reporting there from neighbouring lebanon. more on what is happening in aleppo in syria on our website. here in the uk senior doctors providing end of life care are urging ministers to fix palliative services, after mps voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people in england and wales. the association for palliative medicine wants the government to set up a commission to examine how to improve the care its members provide to patients. it is warning about the impact of a lack of funding and poor co—ordination of services. the department of health has been asked for comment. here's our health correspondent, catherine burns. after 11.5 hours of debate, it came down to thi

has done some strikes in aleppo. the whole offensive, the whole case will have not been possible if russia intervened at the beginning quickly. it seems that russia, because the russian army has moved and faced the most advanced warplanes to ukraine, now they are not able to intervene straightaway, the last three or four days, just starting to intervene now after four days after the armed groups were able to control the second—largest city in syria. i don't know if they can really push them out without making huge damage for this big city which there is about 5 million civilians in the city. here in the uk, senior doctors providing end—of—life care are urging ministers to "fix" palliative services, after mps voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people in england and wales. the association for palliative medicine wants the government to set up a commission to examine how to improve the care its members provide to patients. it is warning about the impact of a lack of funding and poor co—ordin

now again, russian warplanes are bombing aleppo.ctical retreat to prepare a counteroffensive. the kremlin is assad's most important ally, but it is now also fighting a war in ukraine. iran and the lebanese hezbollah are also sending fighters to syria, but they have been weakened by israeli attacks in the region. that is one reason the rebels were able to advance so quickly. reviving a simmering conflict at a time when the middle east is in turmoil. as we heard from barbara there, the events in syria can be directly linked with israel's attacks on hezbollah in lebanon. the iran—backed militia group has had a strong presence in syria — notably aleppo — since the civil war there, backing president bashar al—assad's regime. but with its focus on the war with israel, hezbollah has weakened inside syria and the rebels have taken advantage of this. here's bbc arabic�*s mahmoud ali hamad. you can hardly look at what is happening in aleppo without linking it with what has happened in lebanon. you can argue that the priority for hezbollah was

a battle is raging for control of syria's main northern city, aleppo. islamist rebels are on their third day of a lightning offensive, reportedly taking dozens of villages in the area. monitoring group the syrian observatory for human rights says half of aleppo is now under rebel control. a civil war has been grinding on since government forces put down pro—democracy protests in 2011. in the city of idlib, which is an opposition stronghold, people set off fireworks to celebrate the advance of rebel groups. syria and russia launched intense air strikes on the city and other areas controlled by the islamist group, hts, hayat tahriral—sham, and other opposition groups. sources in the syrian military have told reuters that moscow has promised bashar al—assad's forces extra military aid to thwart the attempted takeover, which they say will arrive in the next few days. merlyn thomas and our bbc verify team have been tracking the situation. at bbc verify, we've been tracking the advance of rebel forces towards the city of aleppo in northern syria by looking at

and this time in the city of aleppo.e're still not sure quite where exactly and if there are any damages and what are the, you know, death toll after these airstrikes. but this is a sign that both the government and the russians have moved to push the rebels back. and we're still watching to see how this back—and—forth battle will unfold. and who's going to, you know, remain and control the power in aleppo. although we've seen also reports that, you know, the opposition who used suicide car bombs to advance towards the city of aleppo, faced little resistance from government forces. and there were some words for the army to pull out, to have tactical withdrawal from different parts of the city as well. so how significant is this latest offensive by rebel forces, considering, as we were saying, it's the largest against the syrian government in years? it is indeed. and it comes at a time where, you know, the regime is busy with reshuffling situation internally, especially after there was a big blow to its allies, both hezbo

in terms of the broader significance. — aleppo. in terms of the broader significance, you _ aleppo.ader significance, you mention - aleppo. in terms of the broader significance, you mention the l significance, you mention the syrian war started in 2011 and they have been ups and downs and a frozen conflict. is this and a frozen conflict. is this a significant moment, tipping point or a blip in a longer path? it point or a blip in a longer ath? , ., point or a blip in a longer ath? , . , path? it is a significant oint. path? it is a significant point. after _ path? it is a significant point. after four- path? it is a significant point. after four years| path? it is a significant l point. after four years of control, of the syrian government, of all the syrian soil, syria started to come back to the arab league, all the boycotts with the arab countries started to ease and everybody was accepting bashar al—assad as ruler, according to the arab community. now if this attack would happen back and syria, as we saw, the syrian fighters started to hit and russia also is getting involved aga

the battle for aleppo in 2016 was a crucial point.es gained control after a gruelling siege. the war has mostly gone quiet since, with occasional eruptions, the last major one in 2020 when syria and its russian allies attacked idlib. now again russian warplanes are bombing aleppo, backing government forces trying to drive the rebels out. the kremlin is assad's most important ally, but it's now also fighting a war in ukraine. iran and the lebanese hezbollah are also sending fighters to syria, but they have been weakened by israeli attacks in the region. that is one reason the rebels were able to advance quickly. there are fears now they may be reigniting the embers of the long—running civil war. barbara plett usher, bbc news, beirut. let's speak to dianna darke, who is a middle east author and researcher. welcome. tell us little bit more. what do we know about this group. we are talking about rebels, what do we need to know about the group? the? to know about the group? they are a grow) _ to know about the group? they are a group that

rebels celebrated in the streets of aleppo.s have been killed or injured. president assad — who hasn't been seen in public since the offensive began — has promised to defeat the opposition fighters, describing them as terrorists. he said he would do so with help from his allies, which include russia, iran, and hezbollah. russia has helped the government bomb the rebels. the london—based syrian observatory for human rights says more than 300 people, including at least 20 civilians, have been killed since wednesday. turkey — which backs the rebels — has been discussing the crisis with moscow. our correspondent, barbara plett usher, is monitoring developments from neighbouring lebanon. a stunning victory for the rebels. even they overcome with its swiftness and success. just three days after launching a surprise offensive from their stronghold in north—west syria. this is the most serious challenge to president assad in years. a carefully planned attack. they stormed back into aleppo for the first time since assad's army forced th

it was posted on telegram with a caption, "starting to enter the city of aleppo." we have confirmed the location to be on the western edge of the city. you can see some of the vehicles here. another video we verified appears to show men in military fatigues running through the streets. and we have geo—located these videos to a western suburb of the city of aleppo, but can't confirm the identity of the individuals seen. about 2km away from here, we've also verified another video which appears to show large crowds of people walking away from an area outside aleppo university. it's not clear who they are or where they are going, but you can see that they are carrying luggage. 12 years ago, a peaceful uprising against the president of syria turned into a full—scale civil war which continues to rage on. the conflict has drawn in countries from all around the world, devastated cities and killed civilians. the ancient city of aleppo has been a focal point of the syrian civil war captured by government forces on the western edge of the city. you can see some of the vehicle

now, again, russian warplanes are bombing aleppo.ays it's made a tactical retreat to prepare a counteroffensive. the kremlin is assad's most important ally, but it's now also fighting a war in ukraine. iran and the lebanese hezbollah are also sending fighters to syria, but they've been weakened by israeli attacks in the region. that's one reason the rebels were able to advance so quickly, reviving a simmering conflict at a time when the middle east is in turmoil. barbara plett usher, bbc news, beirut. demonstrators are back on the streets for a third day in georgia, in protest against the ruling party's decision to put the european union accession process on hold. they're rallying in front of the country's parliament building in tbilisi, some waving eu and georgian flags. more than 100 demonstrators were arrested on friday night in georgia as protesters clashed with police, who used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse disperse the crowds. the country's pro—western president has promised to stay in her post, amid an escalatin

syrian rebels celebrate after seizing control of aleppo. there're reports, they now more south towards another anti— government protests are taking place across georgia for a third night. lam i am caitriona perry where counting continues in ireland's general election. there are reports of queues of cars clogging the roads out of aleppo as civilians flee. this video apparently filmed from a vehicle and posted on social media, shows armed men at the airport, but it has not been independently verified by the bbc. the rebels have also been celebrating outside the city's ancient citadel. they're said to have met little resistance, though the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured. the syrian military says troops have been temporarily withdrawn from aleppo "to prepare a counteroffensive". a reminder of the recent history of aleppo: the city was the scene of one of the bloodiest sieges of syria's civil war — which first broke out in 2011. this week's offensive is the largest against the syrian government in years. our corresp

and this time in the city of aleppo. not sure quite where exactly and if there are any damages. and what are the, you know, death toll after these airstrikes. but this is a sign that both the government and the russians have moved to push the rebels back. and we're still watching to see how this back and forth battle will unfold. and who's going to, you know, remain and control the power in aleppo, although we've seen also reports that, you know, the opposition who used suicide car bombs to advance towards the city of aleppo faced little resistance from government forces. and there were some words for the army to pull out to have tactical withdrawal from different parts of the city as well. it's being reported that three workers from the american—based food charity world central kitchen have been killed in a drone strike in gaza. images from khan younis show the wreckage of a white vehicle with its roof blown open. the israeli army confirmed they had targeted a car in the southern city of khan younis and said they had ki

violence in syria near the city of aleppo.estored notre dame preparest to open its doors five years after a fire ravaged to gothic cathedral. weome to world news america, people are back on the streets of georgia's capital demonstrating against government plans to delay talks to join the european union. thousands of protesters gathered -- waving e.u. flags and have refused a police order to disperse. critics say that the ruling georgia dream party is trying to move away from the e.u. and closer to russia. more than 100 diplomats and civil servants signed a letter arguing that the government's decision does not meet strategic interests. the prime minister stands by it accusing me e.u. of blackmail after they saw light -- cited irregularities. this comes after police used pepper spray and water can into disperse demonstrators on thursday. 43 protesters have been arrested. let us go straight to georgia and joining me now is steve rosenberg. you are there on the ground and what have protesters been saying and what is their message

a different part of the country from aleppo. the u.s. also works with the kurds, for example, to run some of the prisons that hold isis detainees. so that's another role the u.s. plays there. and yet the military is well aware of the instability in the war torn country. and that's why the u.s. will watch this very closely, to see how it develops. certainly caught the syrian regime by surprise. and the u.s. just trying to monitor the situation with its presence in the country. oren liebermann, cnn in the pentagon. >> let's get the very latest from our ben wedeman, who's followed the latest developments and joins me now from rome. and ben i'm seeing now that syrian rebels have taken control of most of aleppo city. and i think we've got a video to show they're just coming in to cnn. it's of rebels basically taking control of center square in aleppo. just speak to the the significance ben, of this moment and how quickly this has unfolded yeah, it's hugely significant. >> lisa considering that this rebel offensive began just on wednesday and

but the rapid collapse of the regime forces around aleppo and now in the city of aleppo and now in theo was not only a surprise, it was a shock for many, probably including (unknown term) because it is easy to take control of cities and to govern and now it might find itself with a huge challenge they have not prepared for. if there was that built up, why wasn't there more significant pushback from government forces? ~ , , forces? multiple reasons. the ma'or forces? multiple reasons. the major one _ forces? multiple reasons. the major one is _ forces? multiple reasons. the major one is the _ forces? multiple reasons. the major one is the weakness - forces? multiple reasons. the major one is the weakness of| major one is the weakness of the regime's allies. when we are talking about the malicious and hezbollah in particular who intervene to prop up the syrian regime, different sides inside syria controlled by hezbollah have been targeted by israel and then also they have been all the damage many of the roads to transfer fighters and weapons and i would add to that also russia, which int

has been silent about the situation in aleppo. it has been sort of showcasing aleppo as a major victory over the rebels, and they haven't the regime has invested a certain amount of money in trying to reconstruct the parts of aleppo that were severely damaged during the civil war now, why this is happening now, it's widely believed it's partly because hezbollah, which entered the syrian civil war to bolster the regime and provided the regime with some fairly well seasoned, trained and disciplined forces to fight the opponents of the regime. they've largely pulled out of syria, gone back to lebanon. so what is defending the regime? are russian air air assets. but they have been used over the last three days to bomb idlib province, where the rebels are headquartered. but by and large, they've done very little to stop this rebel offensive that does appear to be making steady progress in aleppo itself, alex. >> incredibly dramatic moves. ben wedeman tracking this story in syria for us. thank you so much. for more on what's unfolding i

syrian rebels celebrate after seizing control of much of the city of aleppo. syrian government forces say they've temporarily withdrawn to prepare a counter offensive. it comes after the insurgents continued their surprise four—day offensive, meeting very little resistance. world central kitchen says it is pausing operations in gaza after a vehicle carrying its colleagues was hit by an israeli airstrike. the charity says it has no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the october seventh attacks. counting is under way in ireland's general election, with an exit poll suggesting a tight race between the three main parties. and cate blancett has told the bbc about her �*deep concerns�* on the use of ai and its role in the film industry. now on bbc news, it's newscast. i'm here with victoria derbyshire at last. what do you mean, at last? well, it seems like it's been a year since you've graced our cushions. i think it may well be... yes, it is, but obviously i use the studio. we record ukrainecast here. i know, i'm not saying you're not

a battle is raging for control of syria's main northern city, aleppo.slamist rebels are on their third day of a lightning offensive, reportedly taking dozens of villages in the area. it's the first time in eight years the city hasn't been under the control of the syrian government, which is backed by russia. a civil war has been gringing on since government forces put down pro—democracy protests in 2011. in the city of idlib, which is an opposition stronghold, people set off fireworks to celebrate the advance of rebel groups. syria and russia launched intense air strikes on the city and other areas controlled by opposition fighters. merlyn thomas and our bbc verify team have been tracking the situation. at bbc verify, we've been tracking the advance of rebel forces towards the city of aleppo in northern syria by looking at footage posted on social media. this is a video we verified which shows military vehicles moving along a road. it was shared by a media outlet affiliated with hts, a rebel group which appears to be leading the advance. it was posted o

rebel fighters have not been inside aleppo since 2016. cnn's ben wedeman is following the developments. ben, did this attack catch the government off guard yes, it clearly did, fredricka. >> the government, which is accustomed to the support of russia, hezbollah and iran, doesn't seem to have that support at the moment, at least not in the way it used to. and what we're seeing is that the government is confused, dazed and confused in a sense not quite knowing how to react to this sudden lightning offensive by the syrian opposition the facade of government power in aleppo was poster thin friday evening. rebels stomp on pictures of syrian president bashar al assad. just a few days ago, they were far away from syria's second city. now they control some of aleppo's most iconic landmarks like the vast central saadallah al-jabiri square and the city's ancient citadel. eight years ago, opponents of the damascus regime left aleppo in defeat. bust out to nearby rebel held idlib province. now they're back after a lightning offensive ali juma fled h

i see that you tweeted that the city of aleppo has fallen to this opposition force. what do you think the effect of this rebel advance is going to be? and what do you think comes next yeah so i mean, extraordinary days, days that i think, frankly, those of us who follow all of this on a on a day to day basis never really foresaw. >> i mean, there have been plans afoot for this offensive since early october. uh, in the middle of that month, the turkish intelligence service basically intervened to make sure it didn't happen. obviously, it has now a bunch of weeks later, um, reports on the ground appear to suggest now, as you just said, that the city itself appears to have fallen. the last remaining regime forces fled the city earlier today and essentially left it. the rest of it undefended. um a sort of ironic, you know opposition forces and the rebels spent years from 2012 until 2016 fighting to keep control of half of the city and in the space of 24 hours, we've seen the entire city fall. but it is i mean, this is an earthquake amidst the syrian crisis, by the way. i

they're also said to have seized control of aleppo airport.icle and posted on social media, shows armed men at the airport, but it has not been independently verified by the bbc.

eight years ago, opponents of the damascus regime left aleppo in defeat. bust out to nearby rebel held idlib province. now they're back after a lightning offensive. ali jomaa fled his native aleppo eight years ago. it's an undescribable feeling, he says. to return to your land your city, the place where you were raised. syrian government ground forces haven't put up much of a fight. residents report seeing them leave several areas. the defense ministry in damascus issued a statement saying troops had conducted a, quote, strategic redeployment aimed at reinforcing defensive lines. in other words, they retreated. russian forces are hitting back, conducting airstrikes on both aleppo and nearby idlib province. a stronghold for the anti-regime coalition. a major component of that coalition hay'at tahrir al-sham, is an offshoot of al qaeda. but has distanced itself in recent years. russia came to the rescue of the syrian government in 2015, but diverted some of its resources to the war in ukraine hezbollah fighters from lebanon fought alongside the regime during

the syrian government was able to take back aleppo from the rebels. most of aleppo in 2016, and since then the city has been under the control of the syrian government but given that hezbollah had to pull out most of its forces from syria as it became ever more heavily engaged in fighting against israel, beginning back in october of last year, the iranians have been struck multiple times by israel over the last year in syria and of course, russia has drawn down its forces in syria as a result of the war in ukraine. so now we see a syrian government that is largely on its own trying to fight and not very successfully stop the rebels from retaking this aleppo. the second largest city in syria mj and wedeman, thank you so much. >> major general james spider marks joins us now. general, good to see you. let's continue. kind of where ben left off about the support for the syrian government, kind of pulling away to other fronts and other conflicts. talk about more why this is happening now and potentially where this goes in aleppo yeah. >> victor, thanks ve

eight years ago, opponents of the damascus regime left aleppo in defeat.rby rebel held idlib province. now they're back after a lightning offensive. ali juma fled his native aleppo eight years ago it's an undescribable feeling, he says. to return to your land your city, the place where you were raised. syrian government ground forces haven't put up much of a fight. residents report seeing them leave several areas. the defense ministry in damascus issued a statement saying troops had conducted a, quote, strategic redeployment aimed at reinforcing defensive lines. in other words, they retreated. russian forces are hitting back, conducting airstrikes on both aleppo and nearby idlib province. a stronghold for the anti-regime coalition. a major component of that coalition hay'at tahrir al-sham, is an offshoot of al qaeda but has distanced itself in recent years. russia came to the rescue of the syrian government in 2015, but diverted some of its resources to the war in ukraine hezbollah fighters from lebanon fought alongside the regime during the civil war's da

rebel fighters have not been inside aleppo since 2016. is following the developments. ben. did this attack, did it seem to catch the government off guard it definitely caught the government off guard. >> you know, the syrian government over the last few years has presented itself as being victorious over the rebels, being able to keep them sort of cooped up in idlib province which is to the west, and the southwest of aleppo but what we've seen is that they have charged out of idlib province within just a few days. it started just this wednesday. they took dozens and dozens of villages in the western part of aleppo province and within a matter of hours were able to go from the western outskirts. yesterday morning of aleppo to the very center and beyond. what we've seen in the later hours of today is that they appear to be in control of aleppo's international airport, which is no longer functioning. they've taken over key syrian government facilities. it appears they've overrun the iranian consulate in aleppo as well. and now we're getting

but the rapid collapse of the regime forces around aleppo and now in the city of aleppo was not only was a shock for many including hts them self because it is easier to take control of cities over governing those cities and now hts may find itself in front of a huge challenge. if hts may find itself in front of a huge challenge.— hts may find itself in front of a huge challenge. if there was a huge challenge. if there was a buildu a huge challenge. if there was a buildup why _ a huge challenge. if there was a buildup why do _ a huge challenge. if there was a buildup why do you - a huge challenge. if there was a buildup why do you think- a buildup why do you think there was a significant push back from government forces? multiple reasons and the major reason behind that is the weakness of the regime's lies. when we talk about the iranians militia and hezbollah in particular who propped up the syrian regime, they have been degraded in this war against israel and lebanon. degraded in this war against israeland lebanon. different israel and lebanon. different sides israeland lebanon. di

i think in aleppo, and i've been in touch with people who are there in aleppo, the big concern is goingll the regime respond with airstrikes? because once it does that, no one can mitigate risk. you can be in a building anywhere there are rebels nearby, and you could become a target. you could end up in a building that ends up being targeted airstrikes. so there are so many open questions, and i think anybody who is trying now to predict what will happen tomorrow in syria, let alone in six months, is taking huge risks. i certainly am not, because i did not see this lightning strike coming at the speed and the speed at which the rebels managed to take aleppo. so it is a wait-and-see situation. but syria, this is a high risk moment for that country, and it will affect the entire region, alex. >> i'm glad your eyes are on it for us, though. thank you so much for your reporting, much appreciated. >>> the president-elect targeting the media again. the plans for covering the second donald trump term next. . throughout the day when you can take 1 prilosec. for easier heartburn relief, one beat

russian and syrian jets bomb islamist rebels, after they seized most of syria's second city aleppo.ive in years. the syrian military says it's suffered dozens of casualties. senior doctors providing end—of—life care urge mps to "fix" palliative services after england and wales back a bill to allow assisted dying. counting is under way in ireland's general election. an exit poll suggests a tight race between the three main parties. hello, i'm kylie pentelow. we start in syria, where fighting has erupted in aleppo for the first time since rebel forces were forced out of the city by government troops in 2016. the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured in clashes and there are reports that rebels now control the majority of the city. this was the centre of aleppo in the early hours, after russian and syrian warplanes intervened in support of government forces overnight, bombing islamist rebel positions, who launched a surprise offensive four days ago. the syrian military says its troops have been withdrawn from aleppo temporarily "to prepare a counteroffensive".

some airstrikes in outside of aleppo and in the adjacent idlib province. but it appears that even there, they haven't really been able to blunt this rebel attack keeping in mind, of course, that the rebels were driven out of aleppo back in 2016. but it appears that at this point, even though they haven't taken full control of the city, that basically without much resistance from the regime, they've been able to take control of large parts of aleppo, which of course, is syria's second largest city mj. >> all right. ben wedeman thank you so much for that report meanwhile, elon musk is intervening in the legal dispute between alex jones and the sandy hook families. and coming up, why musk is objecting to the sale of jones's social media accounts cnn heroes, an all star tribute sunday, december 8th on cnn. >> how are folks 60 and older having fun these days? >> family cookouts playing games dancing in the park spend less time making cocktails and more time making memories. >> introducing bartesian premium cocktails at the touch of a button. >> get our best bla

russian and syrian jets bomb islamist rebels, after they seized most of syria's second city aleppo.eppo under their control. senior doctors providing end—of—life care urge mps to "fix" palliative services after england and wales back a bill to allow assisted dying. counting is underway in ireland's general election. an exit poll suggested a tight race between the three main parties. and it's anything but a "ruff" welcome for these pets as an auction for recycled royal curtains helps rescue dogs find a home. we start in syria, where the country's military has acknowledged that parts of the city of aleppo have fallen to rebels and it's sustained dozens of casualties in large—scale clashes. this was the centre of aleppo in the early hours, after russian and syrian warplanes bombed islamist rebel positions there for the first time in eight years, in support of the syrian government forces. the rebels, led by the islamist hayat tahrir al—sham, or hts group, are reported to have taken control of the majority of syria's

rebels in syria continue their surprise offensive, taking control of more than half of aleppo.housands protest a decision to suspend eu membership talks. an election too close to call — ireland's exit poll predicts an even split between the three main parties. london fashion week becomes the first of the four main fashion shows to ban exotic animal skins. and it's anything but a ruff welcome for these pets as an auction for recycled royal curtains helps rescue dogs find a home. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lauren taylor. islamist rebels in syria are reported to have taken control of more than half of aleppo, the country's second city, as they continue their lightning offensive. the syrian observatory for human rights, which monitors the conflict, says forces loyal to president assad withdrew without offering significant resistance. opposition fighters have been advancing in the surrounding region. russia, president assad's main ally, has been bombing rebel—held areas in response. it's the first time in eight years that the rebels have reached aleppo, which was the scene o

yeah, and rebel fighters say they have taken control of a majority of aleppo after reaching the heartthe city, the first time that's happened since 2016. overnight, thousands of rebel fighters in syria making startling advances, breaching the city of aleppo for the first time in years, part of a surprise offensive against the assad regime in northwestern syria launched just three days ago and moving swiftly to seize several towns and villages along the way. video showing explosions seen in the distance from aleppo and strikes near the city reducing various buildings to rubble. rebels riding captured tanks and equipment. an insurgent commander issuing this recorded message calling on aleppo's residents to cooperate with their forces. the rebels' gains appearing to reignite a civil war that never ended that started in 2011 after the assad regime brutally cracked down on opposition protests, but the front lines have been largely frozen by years led by a jihadist group, and this is aimed at deterring russia and iran from bombing their stronghold as two of assad's main allies, russia and h

rebel forces in syria launch their biggest offensive in years amid heavy fighting near the city of aleppotreets of georgia's capital for a second night over the government suspending moves to join the eu. the british parliament backs proposals to allow terminally ill adults in england and wales the right to end their own lives. and 5.5 years after being ravaged by fire, live from washington, this is bbc news. rebel forces in syria launch their biggest offensive in years amid heavy fighting near the city of aleppo. protesters take to the streets of georgia's capital for a second night over the government suspending moves to join the eu. the british parliament backs proposals to allow terminally ill adults in england and wales the right to end their own lives.

syrian rebels continue to make advances in aleppo, meeting little resistance. a counter offensive. world central kitchen is pausing operations in gaza after a vehicle carring its colleagues were hit by an israeli airstrike. i'm katrina perry lies in ireland. counting is under way in ireland's general election. an exit poll suggests a tight race between and these are live pictures from tbilisi. further protest planned tonight across georgia, after govermnent suspended eu membership talks. and cate blanchett talks to at the bbc about her concerns on al and its role in the film ai and its role in the film industry. in syria, thousands of people are fleeing aleppo after islamist rebels took control of much of syria's second city for the first time since being forced out by government forces in 2016. rebel soldiers are patrolling the streets and in the past hour, france has urged all warring parties to protect civilians in aleppo. there's also congestion on roads into the city,

it's the first time in eight years that rebels have entered aleppo. international organisation of vine and wine says the impact of climate change means global production is expected to fall this year to its lowest level since 1961. it said extreme or atypical meteorological events such as early frosts, heavy rainfall and prolonged drought had dramatically affected productivity. mps have a taken a historic step towards legalising assisted dying in england and wales. 330 mp5 voted in favour of the bill. 275 voted against it. that's a majority of 55. it represents the first step in giving terminally ill people the right to choose to end their own life. vicki young reports now on how the day unfolded. our voice, our choice. they came to westminster to have their say, to make their final pleas to mp5. assistance to live! not to die! powerful voices and personal experiences on both sides of this debate. don't do this. it is the wrong way to go. they are playing roulette with our lives in the future, and they should stop. but for others, it's about choosing

and it was pretty interesting to see the militants and resurgeants take aleppo.ppo has been shored up by russia and iran, with iran and russian assistance. so willing to take a lightning surge like this and go into aleppo, i think it shocked the syrian government, and i think now these insurgents are emboldened and they will continue. >> hmm. lieutenant general steph twitty. great to see you. thank you for coming to "the katie phang show." >> thanks. >>> and coming up after the break, above the law. after netting two dismissed federal cases and a blank check on immunity from the supreme court, will donald trump ever face legal accountability, and what does that mean for the rest of us when it comes to the rule of law? that's next. >>> justice key laid is justice denied and president-elect donald trump effectively run out the clock on the major legal cases he faced. as he prepares for another white house term, they are fading away. earlier this week special counsel jack smith moved to dismiss both federal criminal prosecutions against trump and trump's lawyering a

a battle is raging for control of syria's main northern city, aleppo.reportedly taking dozens of villages in the area. monitoring group the syrian observatory for human rights says half of aleppo is now under rebel control. a civil war has been grinding on since government forces put down pro—democracy protests in 2011. in the city of idlib, which is an opposition stronghold, people set off fireworks to celebrate the advance of rebel groups. syria and russia launched intense air strikes on the city and other areas controlled by the islamist group,

rebel forces within syria have moved on aleppo, the country's second largest city. governor of aleppo, police and security branches have withdrawn from the center of the city. syrian observatory of human rights says rebels have taken control of a majority of aleppo. the fighting is part of a 13-year-long civil war as bashar al assad fights to hold on to power. >>> back here in the u.s., we're getting the first numbers about the record amount that americans spend on black friday. brian chung has the details and how it could have an impact on prices for the rest of the holiday shopping season. >> reporter: the early read on black friday is in. and it's a record. almost $11 billion in sales online showing an american consumer willing to open their wallet, and mastercard says retail sales on black friday rose 3.4% from last year, a slight improvement from just 2.5% from last black friday. shoppers increasingly opting to do most of their spending online where sales were up almost 15%, compared to in-to store, up just .7%. >> it's fun to be here, but there are definitely

joining us, start with syria, two car bombings in aleppo, where do you see this all going?ce with handling syria, including the first two years of the crisis, the rebel factions are not organized and coordinated. i believe they were taking advantage because they believe probably that president assad of syria backed by iran and hezbollah, must believe he was weakened, russia is also distracted right now. but to shoot back at the northern part rebels, their stronghold. they've made this effort, i anticipate it escalating but not for the opposition to hold aleppo long. >> talk about the context of what we're seeing out of lebanon, the fragility of the negotiation. and the possibility of the stakes rising just as a new administration is coming into power. >> it's a really interesting time in the middle east. you have now for the first time in decades hezbollah significantly weakened. i don't say that lightly. it is not easy to weaken a terrorist group like hezbollah, but the majority of commanders have been killed off and most of their arsenal decimated. now the lebanese milita

russian and syrian jets bomb islamist rebels after they seized most of syria's second city aleppo.bels mount the largest offensive in years. the syrian military says it's suffered dozens of casualties. senior doctors say a vote backed by mps to allow assisted dying in england and wales is a chance to fix end of life care. counting is under way in ireland's general election. an exit poll suggests a tight race between the three main parties. and cate blanchett talks to the bbc about her deep concerns on the use of ai and its role in the film industry. in syria, fighting has erupted in aleppo for the first time since rebel forces were forced out of the city by government troops in 2016. the army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed or injured and islamist rebels are now reported to control the majority of the city. we've received these pictures of rebels patrolling the streets and celebrating outside the city's ancient citadel. this was the centre of aleppo in the early hours, after russian and syrian warplanes intervened in support of government forces, bombing rebel position

rebel forces in syria have been advancing further into aleppo, the country's second biggest city, on president assad's army to hold them off. around 20 towns and villages in the region are also reported to have captured. —— have been. monitoring group the syrian observatory for human rights says half of aleppo is now under rebel control. a civil war has been grinding on since government forces put down pro—democracy protests in 2011, but it's the first time in eight years the city hasn't been under the control of the syrian government, which is backed by russia.

it appears they've taken over aleppo's international airport as well. so this has been a shock for the syrian government definitely. but many observers of the situation in syria who simply did not see this coming, fredricka. >> all right ben wedeman, thank you. so much three employees of the aid group world central kitchen were killed in an israeli airstrike in southern gaza earlier today, according to palestinian health officials. the idf says the vehicle they struck was unmarked and carried a terrorist who took part in the october 7th massacre. this is not the first time the nonprofit aid group, led by chef jose andres, has been attacked by the israeli military. in april seven aid workers, including foreign nationals from the world central kitchen were killed in an israeli strike as they were delivering food to starving civilians in gaza and as hunger continues to mount during israel's ongoing intense military operation in the north of the enclave, aid agencies have warned that people there are on the brink of famine. three palestinians were crushed t

rebel forces in syria have been advancing further into aleppo, the country's second biggest city, ons, despite efforts by president assad's army to hold them off. around twenty towns and villages in the region are also reported to have captured. monitoring group the syrian observatory for human rights says half of aleppo is now under rebel control. a civil war has been grinding on since government forces put down pro—democracy protests in 2011 — but it's the first time in eight years the city hasn't been under the control of the syrian government, which is backed by russia. in the city of idlib, which is an opposition stronghold, people set off fireworks to celebrate the advance of rebel groups.

the rebels saw an opportunity, they took aleppo. they promised to go further south to damascus, but this is a very, very significant development in the middle east with a realignment of the power -- the power balance, if you will, in an important country because syria is kind of -- has been the playground for all of these factions, countries including the united states and israel, which have bombed positions inside of syria of militant -- of militant bases inside of syria. so a lot going on, and we're keeping a close eye on it for you guys. >> there's a lot to watch and i appreciate that because they're important stories both of them. thanks, hala. >>> coming up next we're going to take you to the one spot in the country that could see 6 feet of snow this weekend. we're back in 90 seconds. ekend. we're back in 90 seconds ♪♪ it's nice to know you're free to focus on what matters, with reliable medicare coverage from unitedhealthcare. why use 10 buckets of water when you can use 1 fire extinguisher. and to fight heartburn, why take 10