Ukraine says it was behind the killing of a senior Russian general, Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who died in scooter blast in Moscow..

The head of Russia's Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Unit was at the entrance to a residential block when a device hidden in an electric scooter went off. On Monday, Lt Gen Kirillov was charged in Kyiv for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine; he had already been sanctioned by the UK. We'll find out more about the killing and its likely impact.

Also in the programme: A French member of parliament tells us the island of Mayotte has, after Saturday's cyclone, been "deleted from the map"; and we'll get a sense of Syria's revolution from two big cities outside the capital.

Ukraine says it was behind the killing of a senior Russian general, Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who died in scooter blast in Moscow..

The head of Russia's Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Unit was at the entrance to a residential block when a device hidden in an electric scooter went off.

On Monday, Lt Gen Kirillov was charged in Kyiv for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine; he had already been sanctioned by the UK. We'll find out more about the killing and its impact.

Also in the programme: A French member of parliament tells us the island of Mayotte has, after Saturday's cyclone, been "deleted from the map"; and we'll get a sense of Syria's revolution from two big cities outside the capital.

(Photo shows Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov attending a press conference in Moscow, Russia in a still image from video released on 5 November 2024. Credit: Russian Defence Ministry handout via REUTERS)

Cyclone Chido brought wind speeds of more than 220km per hour, flattening areas where the poorest people lived in sheet-metal roof shacks. The French President Emmanuel Macron said he will be travelling to the French Overseas Territory in the Indian Ocean in "the coming days", as he pledged to support fellow citizens, civil servants and emergency services involved in rescue efforts. We hear from Senator Salama Ramia from Mayotte who sits in the French Senate in Paris.

Also on the programme: why members of the Alawite community of ousted Syrian President Assad are fearful of the future despite assurances from the country's new rulers; and we pay tribute to Indian tabla musician Zakir Hussain who has died aged 73.

(Photo: Aftermath of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte Credit: Reuters/Chafion Madi)

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, faces a confidence vote in parliament after his coalition collapsed. But his party thinks it can defy the odds and win another election soon.

Also on the programme: French ministers arrive in the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, two days after it was hit by a cyclone that is thought to have killed hundreds; and archaeologists say they have evidence that some Bronze Age Britons were cannibals who ate their enemies.

(Photo: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivers a speech at the meeting of the German Bundestag on the vote of confidence in the Chancellor. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Israel's government has approved a plan to encourage the expansion of settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was necessary because a "new front" had opened up on Israel's border with Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime. We hear from a former Israeli Prime Minister, who says the move is an unnecessary provocation.

Also on the programme: We get a sense of the devastation in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, where its feared hundreds of people have been killed by Cyclone Chido; and explore why America's ABC News agreed to settle its defamation case with Donald Trump.

(Picture: Israeli military vehicles ride through Syria close to the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria Credit: REUTERS/Jamal Awad)

The US's top diplomat is in Jordan for talks with representatives from several Arab countries, Turkey, and Europe to discuss the future of Syria following the ousting of the former president, Bashar al-Assad. Also on the programme, the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to fight for his political future, after parliament voted to impeach him over his failed attempt to impose martial law; and, the director of "Goodbye Lenin", Wolfgang Becker has died.

(Photo: Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Jordan's southern Red Sea coastal city of Aqaba on December 14, 2024. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Pool via REUTERS)

Lawmakers in South Korea have voted to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from power, following his failed attempt to impose martial law. Crowds of protesters are celebrating outside parliament though a vocal minority is angry that some members of the governing right-wing party backed the measure. Mr Yoon is now suspended from office and South Korea's Constitutional Court has one-hundred- and-eighty days to rule on his political future.

Also in the programme: We ask what happens now to Russia's military bases in Syria following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad; and we look at the Krampus Run - the end-of-year tradition where crowds gather to watch hundreds of people dressed in demon-like costumes run through towns scaring children.

(Picture: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at his official residence in the capital Seoul. Credit: The Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS)

We hear from a recent returnee celebrating in Damascus today.

France24 senior reporter Catherine Norris-Trent explains who the new French Prime Minister is and how long he'll last.

Also: can't stand fidgeting? It's called misokinesia.

(Photo by ANTÓNIO PEDRO SANTOS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Syrians took to the streets in mass demonstrations on the first Friday without al-Assad. We hear from the centre of Damascus.

(Photo: Syrians in Latakia celebrate and wave the new Syrian flag. Credit: Reuters)

After Assad has fallen, there are still many families searching for their loved ones in hospitals and morgues around the country. Tens of thousands of people were imprisoned under Assad's regime. Now that many have been freed, they must learn to survive after the trauma of torture and years of detainment. We speak to a specialist psychologist, working with the survivors of torture. Also on the programme: a breakthrough discovery finds that vaccines could be administered using a topical cream; and British military veterans who were sacked or imprisoned because of their sexuality can now claim compensation, we speak to a veteran who was outed by a British tabloid.

Image: Inside the Sednaya prison in Damascus, Syria Credit: Antonio Pedro Santos, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A funeral has been held in Damascus for the Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, whose tortured body was found in the notorious Sednaya prison after the fall of the Assad regime.

Also on the programme: we hear about the attempts to rid Syria of chemical weapons and narcotics for export; and a week after declaring martial law, the South Korean president says he is defending democracy.

(Photo: Mourners carry the coffin of prominent Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada in Damascus, Syria, 12 December 2024. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)