The new HTS administration said the footage is from earlier this month. Large rallies have been seen in the cities of Tartus and Latakia, strongholds of the deposed president Assad's Alawite minority.

Also on the programme: We hear from locals in Bethlehem, in the Occupied West Bank, who are doubling their efforts to find hope during the Christmas holidays amidst an economic downturn and tensions with Israel; and the Newshour presenters compete in the Christmas quiz.

(Photo: A Syrian opposition flag is seen beside a defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a wall in Damascus on 14 December 2024. Credit: ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)