thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling... we are free! they meant it when they called for assad's execution before the prayer. their new rulers told them to celebrate the blessed revolution, so they did. syrians understand that it won't be easy to overcome 50 years of dictatorship and 1a years of war, but this was a day to seize and enjoy. thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus. it's as if an enormous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling... we are free! ..the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now. south, north — we are free! the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other peoples. but when the party is over, people need to eat in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they n

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.t has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now. south, north, we are free. revolution, so they did. syrians understand it won't be easy to understand it won't be easy to overcome 50 years of dictatorship and 1a years of war. but this was a day to seize and enjoy. thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus. it is as if an enormous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now. south, north, we are free. the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other people's, but when the party is over, people need to eat, in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they need. just

this is where people are celebrating in the central umayyad square, they're giving me peace signs ——ratory gunfire. people giving me peace signs and there is good good be so much better now that bit assad is gone. it is a mix ofjoy and fear in the city. there are those who supported bashar al—assad, protected by him and now they are wondering what is going to happen. here, i have spoken to people long waiting where his downfall. translation: thank you. thank you. the tyrant has fallen. many of her family died under president assad's rule, some in prison. my cousin, my son, my family, all gone! all of them! how are you feeling? translation: it is an - indescribable feeling, we're we're so happy. after all the years of dictatorship that we have lived through, we were imprisoned in 2014 and now we are out, thank god. we won because our men and fighters and now we are at the moment that we are going to build the greatest syria. the old syria has gone with breathtaking speed. the army melting away in the face of the rebel advance. now to be, it was aleppo, yesterday the city of homs, last

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.s weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free. we are feeling... we are free. we are feeling the feelings of the free. we're never free like this. i want all the world to see us. we are free now. the world. and where are the south? nonh? we are free. the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other peoples, but when the party is over, people need to eat in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked idi halonen and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom to do. no taxes, no stolen money taken from us. just, we want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. nobody can rule us, butjust the syrians themselves. it's too soon for firm answers to syria's problems, but the placards set an agenda. bring the assads to justice, civil rights for all, and syria is for every syrian, no matter who they are. jeremy bowen, bbc news

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.ous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling... we are free! we are the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now! south, north... wherever! we are free! the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other peoples. but when the party is over, people need to eat in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom to do. no taxes, no stolen money taken from us. just we want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. nobody can rule us — just the syrians themselves. it's too soon for firm answers to syria's problems but the placards set an agenda — bring the assads to justice, civil rights for all, and syria is for every syrian, no matter who they are. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. us secretary of st

this is where people are celebrating in the central umayyad square, civilians and rebels. hear the sound of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars, they are giving me peace signs. they are saying that life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. but there is a mix ofjoy and fear in the city. there are those who supported bashar al—assad, who felt they were protected by him, and now they're wondering what is going to happen. here, i spoke to people who have long been waiting for his downfall. "thank you, thank you", she says. "the tyrant has fallen, the tyrant has fallen." many of her family died under president assad's rule, some in prison. my cousin, my son, my family. all... all of them. how are you feeling? translation: it is an indescribable i feeling, we are so happy. after all the years of dictatorship we have lived through, we were imprisoned in 2014 and now we're out, thank god. we won because of our men and our fighters and now we're at the moment that we are going to build the greatest syria. the old syria has gone, w

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.s weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free. we are feeling... we are free. we are feeling the feelings of the free. we're never free like this. i want all the world to see us. we are free now. the world. and where are the south? nonh? we are free. the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids posing their kids, posing for photos with other peoples�*, but when the party's over, people need to eat in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked idi halonen and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom to do. no taxes, no stolen money taken from us. just we want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. nobody can rule us, butjust the syrians themselves. it's too soon for firm answers to syria's problems, but the placards set an agenda. bring the assads to justice, civil rights for all and syria is for every syrian, no matter who they are. jerem

in damascus, in umayyad square where huge crowds of syrians are gathering here and across the countryrepressive rule. and a chinese businessman described as a "close confidante" of prince andrew has lost an appeal against a decision to bar him from the uk on national security grounds. hello, i m annita mcveigh, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we will be back in syria shortly. breaking news now from paris. the french president emmanuel macron has named francois bayrou as the country's next prime minister following the collapse of the

we are in umayyad square. we are in the middle of damascus stating freedom, saying we are still want the same demands of democracy, of participation, of justice. >> and everyone understands that there are a lot of question marks still about what comes next and what the new syria will look like. and yet you see people from every. assad and the very beginning, of the uprising 2011, people would risk their lives to take to the streets, engage in these kind of chants this is the flag of the syrian revolution most of these people, they never imagined that they would be able to chant these chants and wave that flag right here in omega square. >> our special thanks to clarissa ward in damascus for that report. coming up, the duke university lacrosse rape accuser now says she lied about being sexually assaulted at a party back in 2006. stay with us. you're in the situation room. >> welcome to times square. that's not in my mind that was so embarrassing. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage star

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.if an enormous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now. south, north, we are free. the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other people's, but when the party is over, people need to eat, in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom, no taxes, no stolen money taken from us. we just want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. nobody can rule us, just the syrians themselves. it is too soon for firm answers to syria's problems, but the placards set an agenda — bring the assads to justice, civil rights for all, and syria is for every syrian, no matter who they are. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. the us military has flown american travis tim

let's take you live to syria and this the scene in the capital damascus over umayyad square, where lifedvance reached the capital, ending the assad family's 50 years of iron—fist rule. but the takeover by hayat tahrir al—sham or hts has sparked concern for ethnic and religious minorities. hts is a sunni muslim group, and its leader ahmad al—sharra has a jihadist past. minorities say they are worried about islamic rule, and those from bashar al—assad's alawite community are worried there might be retribution against them. let's speak to allison mcmanus, managing director of national security and international policy at the centre for american progress. welcome, thank you forjoining us. welcome, thank you for “oining us. , ., ., us. tell us more about the concerns _ us. tell us more about the concerns that _ us. tell us more about the concerns that have - us. tell us more about the concerns that have been . concerns that have been sparked, particularly about the welfare of religious minority groups. welfare of religious minority urou s. . ~' welfare of religious minority u-rous. . ~ ,, we

but really we saw people coming out in full force in umayyad square, celebrating. and i should add, of all different ages. there were christians, there were muslims, there were women who were covered. there were women who were uncovered. and all of them really conveying this idea to us that, yes, we don't know what the future holds. yes, there may be some reservations about these rebel forces, but let us have this moment. let us celebrate this victory. >> jake and clarissa, the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, says he wants to change the face of the middle east after the fall of assad's regime. israel is being accused of making land grabs in syria and struck syria hundreds of times. israel says they're doing a a buffer zone to keep out terrorists from the region. what are other countries saying about this well, we've heard today, jake, from iran that weighed in, basically calling on the united nations security council to lobby some kind of action against israel. >> we've also heard from the arab league accusing israel of exploiting the instability here

we have seen it for ourselves here in the main square, umayyad square, we have spoken to people, andthe country, it's a really unprecedented moment for syrians, something they have been dreaming of for years, but it has taken 13 years to achieve. it's really something unbelievable for them, after 54 years of the assad dynasty there is no more assad in power. there is hope for a better future, despite concerns over how the islamist rebels are going to lead, if there will be immediate stability and safety. but people are still seizing the moment to enjoy this great victory as they see it. we have seen yesterday people being released from the prisons who had been held for a very long time under that assad regime. but there are reports today that there are still people in those underground cells. what do we know about that? imprisonment and torture of people inside prison, even to death, has been one of the assad tactics, assad the father and the son. there are plenty of prisons across the country and in damascus, many detention centres have layers underground. the most notorious is sayd

also, extreme joy from the people that we spoke to in the umayyad square. one woman was was telling us that many of her relatives had died under the rule of bashar al—assad, and she was weeping with joy. will will and so you have very strong emotions here, very mixed emotions, and quite a lot of concern about whether this very unexpected upheaval, this very unexpected, um, change in syria, the old syria is gone. what will this bring? is this going to be an opportunity? could this lead to a solution? could this lead to peace or will it lead to chaos and more violence? very much an uncertain day after the rebels took over last night. and, barbara, just in terms of people's day to day existence, obviously, for any state to function and for people to live, they have to be able to get food, water, have access to power, and all that requires a government to keep functioning, doesn't it? in the coming hours and days, do we have any idea how that might play out? we do have some suggestion about it because the leader of the rebels, abu mohammad al—juwlani, issued an

let's take you live to syria, and this the scene in the capital damascus over umayyad square, where lifestunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the assad family's 50 years of iron—fist rule. but the takeover by hayat tahrir al—sham, or hts, has sparked concern for ethnic and religious minorities. hts is a sunni muslim group, and its leader ahmad al—sharra has a jihadist past. minorities say they are worried about islamic rule, and those from bashar al—assad's alawite community are worried there might be retribution against them. allison mcmanus, managing director of national security and international policy at the centre for american progress told me about some of the concerns of minority groups. many concerns relate, of course, to the rise of hts, the rebel group that sort of commandeered the push and the fall of assad. and that's now taken a primary seat in the transitional period in terms of politics and governance, as you mentioned. hts had previously been al—nusra front, was aligned with al qaeda and its leader, ahmad al—sharra, who also has gone by the name jolani, was

i must first ask you seeing umayyad square today, how does it feel? it is complicated. 0f it feel?ed. of course we are happy. this is a dream that we didn't think would come true at all. 52 years of dictatorship, 62 years of bad unitary governing without allowing anybody to move on to talk. this is a dream come of this is syria, this is umayyad mosque of this is damascus. it counts emperors, they don't count by days or weeks, but by empires and dictators, and they can eat and dictators, and they can eat and swallow and take out. how easyis and swallow and take out. how easy is it going to be to move to a new order, to end the old ways of dictatorship? it is very difficult. _ ways of dictatorship? it is very difficult. it _ ways of dictatorship? it is very difficult. it is - very difficult. it is complicated and very difficult. of course we are happy today, of course we are happy today, but we have to look for the future. we have to be ready for not repeating the evil again, as the people of the regime are put on the shrine of their victims, we will not allow the evil to become agai

this is where people are celebrating in the central umayyad square, civilians and rebels.r the sound of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars, they are giving me peace signs. they are saying that life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. but there is a mix ofjoy and fear in the city. there are those who supported bashar al—assad, who felt they were protected by him, and now they're wondering what is going to happen. here, i spoke to people who have long been waiting for his downfall. "thank you, thank you", she says. "the tyrant has fallen, the tyrant has fallen!" many of her family died under president assad's rule, some in prison. my cousin, my son, my family. all, all... all of them. how are you feeling? translation: it is an indescribable feeling. | we are so happy. after all the years of dictatorship we have lived through, we were imprisoned in 2014 and now we're out, thank god. we won because of our men, and ourfighters, and now we're at the moment that we are going to build the greatest syria. the old syria has gone,

we overlook these extraordinary scenes in umayyad square, syrians are now watching every single stepso being watched by countries across the region and many capitals beyond. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has been touring across the region expressing the united states's concern about what lies ahead, expressing support for new leadership in syria and the fact that the old regime was brought down. but also, expressing expectations about what the new leadership will have to do, if they want to see the sanctions lifted. the terrorism sanctions that proscribe the organisation of hayat tahrir al—sham. today the us secretary of state made a surprise visit to one of syria's neighbours iraq, and this is what he had to say afterwards... this is what he had to say afterwards. . ._ this is what he had to say afterwards... _, . ., ., afterwards... the conviction of so many countries _ afterwards... the conviction of so many countries in _ afterwards... the conviction of so many countries in the - afterwards... the conviction of| so many countries in the region and beyond that, as syr

below the palace in the heart of damascus, crowds gathered in umayyad square under assad's rule, the syrian people were forced to worship him. now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise and erin, we definitely noticed a marked shift in the mood on the streets today. the first couple of days that we were here, a lot of people were staying at home. a lot of people were nervous about chaos, about looting, about further violence. but today you just saw those crowds out celebrating jubilant, enjoying this victory. and i think it's important to underscore that regardless of what the rebels might have told me inside the presidential palace, out in that square, there were muslims, there were christians, there were young, there were old. there were women who were covered. there were women who were uncovered, all of them coming together to start this new chapter. erin. >> clarissa, thank you very much. absolutely incredible to see that. and next, i'm going to speak to the parents of austin tice, the american journalist held in syria for the past 12 years. >> this is not a drill.

brutality, but its deep corruption below the palace in the heart of damascus, crowds gathered in umayyad square under assad's rule, the syrian people were forced to worship him. now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise our thanks to clarissa ward for that fascinating report inside damascus. >> back. we're going to take a quick break and we'll be back with our breaking news. fbi director christopher wray announcing that he intends to resign at the end of president biden's term. don't go anywhere cnn news central, brought to you by stanley steemer. >> from carpets, upholstery, air ducts and more. it's not clean until it's stanley steemer clean. >> take a breath of fresh air with a stanley steemer air duct cleaning. >> we clean over 10,000,000ft of air ducts each year with our specialized trucks built by us. removing the contaminants from your home. your air ducts aren't clean until they're stanley steemer cleans your home cleaner. >> best part of the party snooping in the bathroom. oh. party fell. not listening to your dentist? make the sonicare switch. for a champ. be gentle. be

without a tripod but cameraman scott mcwhinnie, if you can see we're in umayyad central damascus, umayyad square on the top of that monument, you can see one individual who has been waving a flag, and i think you can also see what's interesting kate, is the mixture of people we're seeing here. we are definitely seeing some rebel fighters who are clearly islamist. we are also seeing young women who are not wearing headscarves. and the question will be how long can this woman last? how long can this honeymoon period last? there are so many challenges ahead. >> so many concerns about things that could go wrong. but for this one, the syrian people we are talking to are saying just let us have this moment just let us enjoy this moment because we have never been able to come out and celebrate and speak our minds on the streets without fear of being shot or imprisoned or tortured. >> and there is something kind of magical about that. despite all the anxiety about what will come next and so many challenges ahead, that's that's without you know, that's an understatement, right? >> but to be able to have

below the palace in the heart of damascus, crowds gathered in umayyad square under assad's rule, theian people were forced to worship him. now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise. >> fascinating reporting from our clarissa ward. and joining us now to discuss further is cnn political national security analyst and new york times white house national security correspondent david sanger. david, always wonderful to have you. i'd actually just like to start with your reaction to clarissa's piece, just there. what you saw as as we watched that and what what it all means for syrians as they honestly wrestle with it's very unclear how the government is ultimately going to form here yeah. >> these are the joyous first days that we've seen before when dictators are toppled. as i was watching clarissa's report, i was thinking about the first images we got of marcos palace in the philippines, or what happened when saddam was ousted and you saw people take up residence inside his palaces as well. and, you know, these are the moments of greatest hope, right? and unfortunately, we

below the palace in the heart of damascus, crowds gathered in umayyad square under assad's rule, the syrian people were forced to worship him. now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise. >> thank you so much to clarissa for that excellent reporting. thank you for joining inside politics. cnn news central starts after the break. >> welcome to times square. that's none of my life. >> cheers. that was so embarrassing. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. streaming live on max. >> no more gross cough sirup. >> all want you to feel better. >> i want extra tv time or i'll walk. >> how about this? >> introducing the only kids soft shoe for medicated cough relief. new mucinex children's mighty chews are mighty clever. >> he looks down at his queen and says, arwa damon more. >> i'll be in tow. >> let's work on that, friend, shall we? >> i've learned many moves. >> i've been to a. >> wow. >> brian thompson harry enten of y nemo avianto. >> now search with ai assistant in the hotels.com app. >> 70,000 people are here and bobby is th

without a tripod, but cameraman scott mcwhinnie, if you can see we're in umayyad central damascus, umayyad square on the top of that monument, you can see one individual who has been waving a flag clarissa ward, thank you for that report. >> and we do have some live pictures now out of malibu, california, where a fire has shut down pepperdine university for the day. it's being fueled by strong winds and burning through about five football fields of land every minute. we're going to take you there, live best part of the party? >> snooping in the bathroom. ooh! party fell. not listening to your dentist. make the sonicare switch. her a champ. be gentle, be effective. be you. >> i love you. >> from creating memories to finding the perfect gift. let us make this holiday season a little easier. right now. save up to $60 on select as battery sets. happy holidays from steel! >> it's odd how in an instant things can transform. slipping out of balance in a freefall i'm glad i found stability amidst it all. gold standing the test of time. >> there he is. wherever i go, they always ask where's waldo? >> you

below the palace in the heart of damascus, crowds gathered in umayyad square under assad's rule, the syrian people were forced to worship him. now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise. >> new details this morning on the suspected killer. he's fighting extradition to new york. also, he had an apparent to do list and the notes he allegedly wrote about possibly using a bomb to target his victim. we are also expecting brand new figures on inflation this morning. it's a report the federal reserve will be watching before the decision on interest rates next week. and newly released video shows the moments a garbage truck exploded in a chicago suburb. what the heck happened there? i'm sara sidner with kate baldwin and john berman. this is cnn news central all right. >> this morning, police say they are building their case against the suspected killer. luigi mangione, as the accused murderer is behind bars in pennsylvania fighting extradition. overnight, mangione was denied bail after he had a dramatic outburst heading into court. police say they have a notebook that listed o

squares across the country and squares across the country and this is the scene now in the old city of damascus, just outside the main entrance to the grand mosque of damascus, umayyade. just past one o'clock in the afternoon, you can see how packedit afternoon, you can see how packed it is, people wanting to be present, many of them carrying flags of the syrian opposition, the black and green, three red stars. all of them carrying hopes and dreams that the country they have long longed for, so many have paid such a huge price for, can now be realised. shops, courtyards, restaurants, they will hope tourists and people will come back to syria now, that complex web of sanctions on this country, one of the most sanctioned in the world, can be lifted, so people will become free to invest here and engage with syrians to help in building a new syria. we will be live from damascus and beyond throughout the day for special coverage of what has been described as victory day in syria. stay with us. but for now, back to you in london. lyse doucet, thank you very much, incredible story coming out of syria. as she said, much more in hours ahead. around the world and across the u

in damascus, in umayyad square where huge crowds of syrians are gathering here and across the country for what is described as victory day, a celebration of the end 50 years of repressive rule. and a chinese businessman described as a "close confidante" of prince andrew has lost an appeal against a decision to bar him from the uk on national security grounds. hello, i m annita mcveigh, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we will be back in syria shortly. breaking news now from paris. the french president emmanuel macron has named francois bayrou as the country's next prime minister following the collapse of the government last week. mr emmanuel _ government last week. mr emmanuel macron was expected to elect a prime minister who could satisfy the demands of a broad coalition and pass a budget for next year. france has been political turmoil since the president called a snap parliamentary injuly. snap parliamentary in july. hugh snap parliamentary injuly. hugh schofield, can mr bayrou solve the problem is that michel barnier had? that is t

thousands converged on umayyad square in the centre of damascus.ight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! we are feeling... we are free! ..the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! we are free now. south, north — we are free! the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for photos with other people. but when the party is over, people need to eat in an economy smashed by war and corruption. i asked this woman and her daughters what they need. just needed freedom to do. bo taxes, no stolen money taken from us. just we want to be independent. we want to be an independent people. syria is an independent country. nobody controls us. thousands converged on umayyad square in it's as if an enormous weight has been lifted off a nation. i have never seen so many smiling people in syria. we are free! ..the feelings of freedom! we never feel like this. i want all the world to see us! the fighters are the heroes now, bringing their kids, posing for p