The World Tonight

There have been protests in Syria over the burning of a Christmas tree - amid fears that religious minorities might be vulnerable. We speak to a Syrian Christian. Also on the programme: The government has launched a consultation into the phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Does the plan need a re-think? A top food psychologist with a guide on how to make your Christmas dinner a multisensory success. And a journalist freed in the summer's massive prisoner swap between Russia and the West on spending her first Christmas back with her family.

President Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly all the federal inmates on death row in the United States. We'll hear from a woman who's been told that her mother's murderer will no longer be executed and we'll also speak to a death row prisoner who's sentence was commuted today We speak to the AfD in Germany after the Christmas market killings in Magdeburg and the classic black and white Dr Who story that you can now see in glorious technicolour

Two people have been killed, including a child, after a car drove into crowds at a Christmas market in the Germany city of Magdeburg. Sixty-eight people were injured. The leader of Saxony says the suspect is believed to be a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor. US Members of Congress are debating into the night to avert a government shutdown after a funding bill was voted down by Democrats and a number of Republicans. And as the US says it killed the leader of ISIS in Syria in an airstrike, we look at the risk of the group re-emerging.

The Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson looks likely be the next UK ambassador to the United States. We ask how he'll fare negotiating with President Trump's White House. Also tonight: As Gisele Pelicot's ex-husband is jailed for 20 years after the rape trial that shocked the world, survivors of sexual assault tell us her courage and openness is helping other women. And the group of singers, with an average age of 92, which has broken the Guiness World Record - for the world's oldest choir.

Campaigners feel stung by the government's decision not to pay compensation to the "Waspi" women affected by state pension age changes. One Labour MP tells us it's a mistake. Also tonight: The former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has resigned as a priest, over his handling of a child abuse investigation in the Church of England. We have the latest. It was an apparent scoop in Syria - but after CNN admits a man it claimed was a freed rebel prisoner was in fact with the Assad regime - we talk about the perils of reporting in post-revolutionary fog. And after Adele is ordered to pull this song over claims it plagiarised a Brazilian composer - we get the verdict of a forensic musicologist.

The Duke of York will not join the rest of the Royal Family for the traditional Christmas gathering in Sandringham, royal sources have told the BBC. It comes after an alleged Chinese spy, linked to the prince, was named as Yang Tengbo. We examined the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party, to which Yang is accused of being linked. Germany's government has lost a vote of no confidence, meaning the country will go to elections early next year. And we explore Ukrainian roots of a beloved Christmas carol, linked to a town currently under attack by Russian forces.

Fireworks have been exploding late into the night as tens of thousands of Syrians celebrate the downfall of Assad's brutal regime in Damascus. We ask Syrians how they see an uncertain future - and ask whether the UK's decision not to intervene over a decade ago helped keep Assad in power. Also on the programme: France's new prime minister - the fourth this year - says he has a mountain to climb. We ask a French MP whether he'll face the same fate a his short-lived predecessor. And does fidgeting get you in a twitch? The medical condition that explains why some people feel visceral anger towards fidgeters - and whether it can be treated.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the capital Damascus, for the funeral of a well-known activist, tortured and then killed in one of Assad's prisons. We speak to live to one of his friends. Also tonight: A huge increase in the number of children being home schooled in England. As the government draws up new rules, we debate whether more regulation of home education is needed.

The father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have been convicted of her murder. She died after years of physical abuse. We examine the lessons the authorites should learn from the case - and ask a clinical psychologist what drives parents to harm their children. The UN secretary general has described the overthrow of the Assad regime as a moment of hope - while his envoy to Syria has called for an inclusive transition to avoid a new civil war. We hear how ordinary Syrians are feeling about the future - and ask whether a new government in Damascus can hold together the country's different factions. And the Government's plan to abolish hereditary peers is debated - in the House of Lords.

In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.

The leader of the main Islamist rebel group in Syria has met the former prime minister to coordinate the transfer of power, a day after President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. At the same time, desperate families of political prisoners detained in one of Syria's most notorious prisons flooded the facility to find their loved ones. The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher was among them. The British government says it'll follow the lead of European countries and pause asylum applications for Syrians. And police in the United States have arrested a man in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Syria's rebels claim to have reached the city limits of Homs in their lightning offensive south from Idlib which has already seen them capture the country's second city Aleppo as well as Hama. Capturing Homs would isolate the regime stronghold of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. Meanwhile the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says an uprising of militias in the south of the country has forced President Assad's forces to withdraw from Daraa. In Romania, the constitutional court has annulled the first round of the Presidential elections, which saw an outsider claim the most votes amid allegations of a foreign-backed influence campaign. And as France prepares to reopen a restored Notre Dame cathedral, we hear some of the music that has resonated within its walls throughout its more than 800-year history.

A defiant President Emmanuel Macron has told the French people that he won't stand down - and has blamed an "anti-republican front" for toppling the government. We're live in Paris with reaction to the his prime-time TV address. Also tonight: Rebels in Syria have been celebrating the capture of the key city of Hama, in a fresh blow to President Assad. We ask whether the rebels are one step closer to bringing down his regime. After Sir Keir Starmer accuses Whitehall of becoming comfortable with failure - we hear how his comments are going down with civil servants. And we talk to the amateur fossil hunter who's made a remarkable discovery - which has shown that a cousin of the T-rex roamed southern England more than 100 million years ago.

French MPs have voted to oust the government of Michel Barnier. The left-wing coalition of parties labelled the New Popular Front joined forces with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally to vote through a motion of no-confidence. It follows Prime Minister Barnier forcing through a social security budget without a vote earlier in the week. Here in the UK, the Scottish government pledged to end the two-child benefit cap north of the border in a move that would require coordination with the Labour government in London. And we explore the rise of “trad wives” in the egalitarian culture of Sweden.

There's been a night of chaos - and confusion - in South Korea. Over the space of a few hours, the country's president declared - then lifted - martial law. We're live in Seoul with the latest. Also tonight: The French prime minister has insisted he can survive tomorrow's no-confidence vote. We ask a former European Central Bank chief how serious the crisis is for the French economy - and what it means for Europe. We hear some rare voices of Israeli soldiers who are refusing to serve in Gaza. And a teacher-turned-TikTok star on the platform's pedagogical strengths.

French opposition parties say they'll back a no-confidence motion in the government of Michel Barnier, after the Prime Minister forced through a social-security budget without a parliamentary vote. Barnier was appointed less than three months ago by President Macron, but his government relies on votes from both the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen as well as a coalition of left-wing parties. In Syria, there are signs the government of Bashar al-Assad is gathering forces to push back a rebel offensive that captured the city of Aleppo. Russian and Syrian jets have launched air strikes against rebel-held areas and there are reports of Iranian-backed militias from Iraq crossing the border into Syria. And a new absurdist comedy set at the G7 summit stars Cate Blanchett as a Merkel-like German Chancellor, we spoke to the Oscar-winning actress about her new film alongside director Guy Maddin.

MPs have voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at second reading, meaning it will advance to being scrutinised in Parliamentary committees. In this special edition of The World Tonight we explore what it means for the House of Commons to back the principle of assisted dying, what happens to the Bill next, and what changes it could lead to in society.

After weeks of public debate, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will be voted upon in its second reading in the House of Commons tomorrow. The Bill was introduced to Parliament last month by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. We brought together three MPs: one who backs a change in the law, one who opposes it, and one who remains undecided. The dormant Syrian Civil War sprang back into life today as rebel forces in the country's northwest launched an offensive against the government-held city of Aleppo. And as Asako Yuzuki's novel 'Butter' is named Waterstones' Book of the Year, we ask what lies behind the surging popularity of Japanese literature in Britain.

The US envoy who brokered the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah tells us it opens the door for a broader peace in the Middle East. Also on the programme: Lord Cameron has become the first former prime minister to publicly back the bill that legalises assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live. We ask how sure doctors can be about when someone is likely to die. A bendy banana in the Oval Office? The crypto entrepreneur who paid almost £5 million for an artwork of a banana duct-taped to a wall tells us why Donald Trump would like it.

US President Joe Biden has announced a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. The truce will kick in overnight and is scheduled to last for sixty days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would “respond forcefully to any violation” of the deal. In the UK, the owner of Vauxhall has announced the closure of its van-making factory in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. Stellantis cited UK laws to impose a transition to electric vehicles as part of the reason. The government says it will consult on “flexibilities” to those rules. And the Macquarie Dictionary has a new word of the year. The dictionary’s committee describes the word as: “A very basic Anglo-Saxon term wrapped in affixes which elevate it to being almost formal; almost respectable”.