20/12/2016 BBC News at One

The Berlin lorry attack, which killed 12 people,

was terrorism, says the German government.

A lorry ploughed into a Christmas market in the heart

of Berlin last night - 50 others were injured,

Eyewitensses say it ploughed through the crowds at a speed

I saw people lying on the ground, you know, all bodies

being twisted, arms, legs - people were

As tributes are laid to the victims, Angela Merkel spoke of the shock

TRANSLATION: How can we live with the fact that during a carefree

walk through a Christmas market, in a place where we celebrate

life, a murderer can bring death to so many.

An asylum seeker from Pakistan has been arrested -

the authorities say he denies being involved.

Russian investigators arrive in Turkey to find out what led

to the assassination of Russia's ambassador by an off-duty

Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon sets out her plans

for protecting Scotland's place in Europe after Brexit.

And the new treatment for early stage prostate cancer that

surgeons are describing as "a huge leap forward".

Alastair Cook says he will not make an immediate decision

on his future as England captain, after defeat in the final Test

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, says she's "appalled,

shocked and deeply saddened" by last night's attack on a Christmas

Twelve people died, and 48 were injured,

when a lorry drove into a crowd in the centre of Germany's capital.

Germany's Interior Ministry says there is no doubt

But in the last few minutes, Berlin police have said they can't

be sure that the man they arrested last night was the attacker.

Our correspondent Paul Adams reports.

Berlin early this morning, amid the scattered debris of the festive

season, a weapon of mass murder is slowly removed. For the second time

this year, a lorry has been used to target traditional celebrations, in

Europe. Chaotic scenes last night after the truck ploughed at speed

through the market. Wooden stalls splinter and dozens of

people caught up in the mayhem. I hear loud noise from the houses

that are destroyed by the truck, and heard some screams, and yeah, that

was the first impression. I can show you from my balcony as

well. It is just like from my houses two minute's drive. What was in my

mind, you can't think of anything, you are just shocked and you want to

help those people. I went down, people were, you know, asking for

help, but we just, I just took two, but I couldn't do much, I couldn't

help them. I saw people lying on the ground, in, you know, all bodies

being twisted, like arm, legs were, people were on top of each other.

The truck had Polish number plates, a body found in the cab is thought

to be that of its Polish driver. But a masked man behind the wheel

escaped on foot. Soon afterwards a suspect was picked up over a mile

away. He is said to be a Pakistani citizen who arrived in Germany a

year ago. If this was the work of an asylum-seeker it poses a real

challenge for the woman who threw open the country's doors over a year

ago. TRANSLATION: I know it will be

particularly difficult for us to bear if it is confirmed the

perpetrator asked for protection and asylum in Germany. That would be

repulsive for the many Germans who are engaged day in, day out, in

helping refugees and for those who do need our protection and who are

striving to integrate themselves into our country.

Germany's Interior Minister said security would be stepped up across

the country but the Germans should not succumb to fear.

TRANSLATION: We must not compromise our lifestyle, the way we want to

live. We us many not let people who want to destroy that way of life.

The attack took place next to the ruined church that stands as a

monument to the savagery of the Second World War.

TRANSLATION: This priest says it important for Germans to tell each

other what the people of trans have told each other that life must not

be stopped. At the scene, the Christmas stalls

are shuttered and silent. But this fresh anxiety, the police now saying

they are not sure if they have the right man. The perpetrator of this,

they fear, may still be at large. The perpetrator of this, they fear,

may still be at large. Let's get the latest now

from our correspondent And let us pick up on that point

that Paul made. The authorities now saying there is some uncertainty

about the suspect they have. Well, what they are saying is they have a

suspect and that is the Pakistani 23-year-old who came as an

asylum-seeker last year, as we heard in that report, what they are saying

though, is he denies any involvement in this incident, and until they

finish the investigations, and until they know what happened, they can't

the definitively certain he is guilty. But that is different from

also saying that necessarily the attacker is still on the run, so we

have to be very careful about jumping to conclusions, that is what

the officials are saying here, is that we still know too little to be

sure about what is happening. What is clear, is that if this attacker

does turn out to be in fact an asylum seeker, that will not only be

a slap in the face of those Germans who helped migrants over the past

year-and-a-half, it will backbench a massive political problem for Angela

Merkel h because she, like no other politician here in Germany is

closely associated with that, what many people see as humanitarian

gesture, to help legitimate refugees, and the problem is, of

course, as you know, we have elections here in Germany next

September, if it turns out this attacker was an asylum-seeker that

could be a blow for her politically in the elections.

Here, the Metropolitan Police says it's carrying out a routine review

of its plans for Christmas and the New Year, in the light

Here's our security correspondent, Frank Gardner.

After the carnage, the search for clues. German forensic teams have

been going through the wreckage left by last night's attack. There was

never much doubt it was deliberate, now attention is turning to the

likely motive. Analysts suspect it may have been a response to a call

by jihadists. This is something that inspire the magazine of Al-Qaeda,

has been promoting among their followers, these kind of home land

attack, easy to organise, very little co-ordination needed. This is

what they have been proposing. The attack in Berlin bears a

striking similarity to what happens in Nice on Bastille day five months

ago. They rammed a 19 tonne truck into pedestrians killing 86 people,

so can this sort of low tech high speed attack be prevented? Answer,

yes, if you are prepared to put in this level of protective security.

This demonstration in Berkshire shows a seven tonne truck being

stopped in its tracks. But you can't protect everywhere. One of Britain's

most experienced counter terrorism officers says the key is

intelligence. More bollards and troops on the street is not the

answer to this threat. You have to build your intelligence capabilities

more, you have to encourage people to come forward, and particularly

you have to encourage the Muslim community to come forward and trust

the agency, and report information and concerns they have got.

And that has been happening. Information from the British public

has already led to plots being stopped.

But as barriers like this one in Birmingham go up to protect

Christmas shopper, it is a reminder that the terror threat in Britain is

at severe, meaning an attack is thought highly likely. The

Metropolitan Police say they are now reviewing security measures. In

Berlin, the clues are still being analysed. And the question remains,

what more needs to happen to stop further attacks like this.

We'll have continuing coverage of the attack

at the Christmas Market in Berlin here on BBC News and you can also

keep up to date with the latest developments online on the BBC News

President Putin has promised to "step up the fight

against terror", after Russia's ambassador in Turkey

Andrey Karlov was shot dead by an off-duty police officer,

The leaders of both Russia and Turkey have described

the killing as an attempt to damage relations between the two countries,

which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.

But both countries have recently been working

closely over the evacuation of civilians in Aleppo.

From Moscow, Steve Rosenberg reports.

In Moscow today, there were flowers outside the foreign ministry,

a makeshift shrine in memory of Andrei Karlov, the Russian

To many Russians, the war on terror has felt far away.

This murder has made people remember.

Inside, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Turkey

Ambassador Karlov was killed hours before the start of talks

here on Syria between Russia, Turkey and Iran.

"If we work together", said the Turkish Foreign Minister,

"we will find out who was behind this wretched, despicable crime."

In Ankara, the Russian ambassador had been making a speech

Standing behind him, the assassin, a 22-year-old riot

"Don't forget about Aleppo, about Syria."

"So long as they aren't safe, you won't taste safety either."

The assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey has

shocked this country, and its President,

Vladimir Putin, says there can only be one response -

a strengthening of the fight against terror.

But the problem for Russia and for other countries waging such

a war on terror is there is no end in sight.

Still, this is a war Moscow is determined to win.

We should send a clear message to those who support terrorists,

that terrorists, with our Air Forces and our military, any attack

towards Russians would be, would have a very dangerous

and terrible result for those who can't possibly stand behind them.

The politicians are talking tough, but the public is nervous.

of the country which is being affected and humiliated in a way,

but also really, really hope it won't lead to escalation

Today, a team of Russian detectives arrived in Turkey.

Moscow and Ankara displaying a united front in the face of terror.

We'll get the latest from Moscow in a moment,

but first to Ankara, and our correspondent, Mark Lowen.

What is the latest on the investigation? As you heard there in

that report, a joint commission Turkish Russian commission has been

set up to investigate the murder that happened here in the Art

Gallery in Ankara. 18 Russian officials arrived here this morning

including forensic experts and prosecutor, they will work with

their Turkish counterparts to investigate the murder. At the same

time six people have been detained, including relatives and the former

flatmate of the gunman, the 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Aydintas.

They will be trying to find out who this man was and what his motives

were, was he a lone wolf? Did he have links to any opposition groups

in Syria or Jihadist groups? Was he trying to take revenge? Or was he as

some sources in the Turkish Government suggested, did he have

links to the Islamist movement that Turkey's Government blames for

orchestrating the failed coup here led by Fethullah Gulen, he says

there is no link between his movement and the gunman. This

afternoon, the coffin of the ambassador had been flown back to

Moscow for burial, in a ceremony from the airport here in Ankara and

the authorities here, have said the road the Russian embassy is located

on will be renamed in the ambassador's honour. Steve in

Moscow, what impact could this have on the relationship between Russia

and Turkey? Well, Moscow and Ankara are putting forward a united front

at the moment. In recent times these two countries have had a difficult,

explosive relationship, think back over a year to when the Turkish Air

Force shot down a Russian bomb e it said it strayed into Turkish

airspace, in recrest months both countries have tried to put their

dipresences behind them and forge a new relationship because both

Presidents believe it in their interest to do so. In terms of what

happens in Syria and economic ties. So, over the last few hours Moscow

and Ankara have been going out of their way to project this united

front, to make it clear they are determined not to let this crime

come between them, and to maintain this unity.

The Syrian Army has been broadcasting messages to the last

remaining rebel held enclaves of eastern Aleppo, saying it plans

It's urging anyone still there to leave.

Yesterday, 15,000 people fled the east of the city,

but no-one really knows how many people are left.

Let's speak to our correspondent, James Longman, who's

Are the evacuations continuing? Can people still leave? Yes, they are.

They are continuing at quite a pace, we understand that at least 25,000

people have been able to leave since these began on Thursday, they were

of course stalled over the weekend, and now have begun again in earnest.

There are thousands left, inside, that is according to the

international committee for the Red Cross who are managing the

evacuation, but they are moving very quickly indeed. At the same time

they are in other parts of the country. The villages where it was

agreed that people would be evacuated from, they too have been

able to leave, so this whole process has moved very quickly indeed, and

it is clear that the Government in Damascus wants this to happen as

soon as possible. They see this as their chance to claim back

territory, those announcements that you mentioned there, that were made

overloud speaker to east Aleppo, telling the last militants to leave

or they will be killed by the army that will soon take over those last

remaining rebel enclaves, that is about claiming back territory,

because this really is a defining moment for the Syrian regime in this

war, just in the last few hours we know in a sports complex in the west

of Aleppo, the ruling party held a celebrate trivictory for this

victory as they call it. So, this is in the next 24-48-hours we know that

Aleppo, the whole of the city of Aleppo will be back in regime

control. The German government

says last night's attack on a Berlin Christmas market,

in which 12 people were killed, And still to come, England

collapse against India. The latest defeat is

their eighth in a row. In sport, the former Wimbledon

champion Petra Kvitova has been injured in a knife attack

at her home in the Czech Republic, she has been treated

for a left hand injury Scotland's First Minister,

Nicola Sturgeon has been setting out how Scotland could stay

in the European Single Market, The first minister says leaving

the free trade block would be "potentially devastating"

to Scotland's long-term prosperity. In the EU referendum,

Scotland voted by a large majority Nicola Sturgeon wants Scotland to be

given more independence from Westminster so that a special

status with the EU Our Scotland Correspondent,

Lorna Gordon, is in Edinburgh. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First

Minister, described Brexit as an unprecedented situation, not of

Scotland's making. She insists that the option for a second independence

on Scottish independence must remain on the table. She said this document

was about exploring all documents going forward.

It's almost six months since the UK voted to leave the EU and the

Since then there's been plenty of political positioning on what any

Brexit negotiations should involve, but not much detail.

Now, today, Scotland's First Minister set out

how she hopes Scotland's interests can be protected.

We propose that the UK as a whole should stay in the

single market by remaining a party to the European Economic Area

I accept that there is a mandate in England and Wales to take

However I do not accept that there is a mandate

to take any part of the UK out of the single market.

Calls too from Miss Sturgeon for further powers to be

Fishing and farming policy she said should be transferred from Brussels

She argued that MSPs should be able to

legislate in key areas such as employment and should have the power

This Scottish company which employs seven

people sees Europe as a growing market for its products and a source

Its Finnish owner says clarity is needed about

what Brexit will mean for his business.

I'm born in Finland, I've lived in the

We are a growing business, we need to know where we

can find future employees that we want to hire.

And I want to know, can I stay in the UK myself.

The Conservatives insist there will be

no separate deals for different parts of the UK.

What we absolutely do not want to see is anything that

jeopardises Scotland's trading relationship with the rest of the

Scotland trades four times as much with the rest of the UK as it

does with the whole of the European Union,

and that's the single market that we've really got to preserve.

Some light shed today by Scotland's government

on what it wants from the

But with no formal role in those talks they are

reliant on the government at Westminster to agree.

Well ultimately it will be up to Theresa May, the Prime Minister, and

her Cabinet, to decide what of these proposals from the Scottish

Government to take forward. Theresa May has said she will look very

carefully at these proposals and there will be a meeting of the

devolved administrations in January. Lorna Gordon, thank you.

Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen is stepping down

as patron from a number of national organisations.

They're being passed on to other members of the royal family.

Our Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell is here.

And it's 25 in all? So quite a small number, it's actually about 5%. She

has roughly 600 page images. And she is redistributing 25 of them from

large charities like save the children UK and the NSPCC, two

smaller ones like the Royal College of needlework and Battersea dogs

home. So they are being redistributed to other members of

the Royal family. For example Prince Charles will take over the Holocaust

Day Memorial trust. Another's will be taken over by the Duchess of

Cornwall, she has a great fondness for dogs and has visited Battersea

dogs on several occasions. There are rugby page images. William will take

on the Welsh Rugby union and unsurprisingly Prince Harry will

take on the Rugby football union. What is not known are the tennis is

patronage is. The Queen has not attended Wimbledon very much. Both

Wimbledon and the lawn tennis Association, one would imagine that

they will probably go to the Duchess of Cambridge but that's not

confirmed yet. And this is all part of the gradual lightening of the

load for the Queen, to give her a workload which, as officials would

say, is more appropriate to someone who is 90 years old. Nicholas

Witchel, thank you. Every year, more than 45,000 men

in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer,

and 11-thousand die But scientists have developed

a new technique, which surgeons The treatment involves lasers

and a drug made from deep-sea bacteria to destroy tumours

without causing severe side effects. Here's our health correspondent,

James Gallagher. Gerald is now free from prostate

cancer and feeling good. But when he was diagnosed,

he faced a conundrum. Treat the tumour but almost

certainly develop long-term side-effects like impotence

or incontinence, or Many men choose to wait and see,

but then Gerald's surgeon offered He was telling me that this would be

the best treatment for me. And having taken into account

the other treatments, I was looking onward with my life and wanted

to have the same way of living that I had enjoyed in the

past, for the future. And I feel like the treatment I have

had has confirmed that. Here is the technology that

killed Gerald's cancer. This drug is made from bacteria

that grow in the dark It is only toxic when it

is exposed to light. Then up to ten of these lasers

are inserted into the tumour to activate the drug and kill just

the cancerous tissue. More than 400 men took part

in the trial and nearly half had no signs of cancer after treatment,

and no patients had serious The harms with traditional

treatments have always been the side effects,

urinary incontinence, in other words leaking

urine and requiring pads. Sexual difficulty, which occurrs

in the majority of men And to have a new treatment

now that we can administer to men who are eligible that is virtually

free of those side effects It could be a welcome advance

for the more than 40,000 men who are diagnosed with prostate

cancer in the UK each year. This treatment is a huge step

forward for prostate cancer. We've sort of seen in the past

where you have to either take out the whole prostate gland itself

or use radiotherapy, Whereas with this particular

treatment we should be able to identify the cancers that

will respond best to it. This is the technology that produces

the right amount of light to kill those cancerous cells

inside the prostate. However, while this

is incredibly promising, it's not yet ready for patients,

and needs to be assessed Doctors also want to see how

the procedure affects But for now Gerald says he's one

of the lucky ones, and that Domestic violence is a terrible

reality for many women. And the stresses and strains

of the Christmas season, coupled with too much alcohol,

mean that the holidays can be Many police forces are preparing

for an increase in reports of domestic violence over

the Christmas period. But in Sunderland, a project

is underway which works with men who are at risk of becoming abusers,

before it's too late, Welcome everybody. We'll make a

start. The new way of tackling domestic abuse. OK, somebody

mentioned money. These men are learning how the abusive behaviour

is affecting their partner. Reason to state or reason to go? Obviously

she's got no money but she would be better off if she left. The 26 week

course involves the charity Barnardos. It can get up to 20

referrals a month and that's just Sunderland. Little kicks, little

punches, stuff like that. Then it was vice versa, she was starting to

hit me and it was escalating. This man was referred by his GP. So how

has the course helps you? I take time to think about stuff.

Time-outs. Now I'm aware. So even if I'm texting, I can tell that the

texts are getting out of hand. I might just stop for half an hour and

chill out with. Blue this project means that we can get to men and

help them change this behaviour before they get involved with the

criminal justice system. We want to stop things escalating to that point

because we know when the police get called it's usually quite serious

injuries and incidents. But there is another element to this early

intervention programme. The local housing association is also

involved. Hello, how are you? They checked the perpetrators are

attending the course and they check up on the victims themselves. You

might have something like a broken window, broken bathroom door locks

for example, things like that. Could be that we are looking at an

anti-social behaviour complete, we could get a call about noise

nuisance but is it actually domestic abuse? He was kicking my door in at

the middle of the night, my windows were going out. This woman was so

afraid of her ex-partner she carried a knife. Her words are spoken by

somebody else. It finally come to the day where he assaulted us and

put us in the hospital. He got 16 months in jail. I was so pleased. I

know it sounds crazy. You know I was lying in a hospital bed covered in

blood but I was so happy he'd done it because to me I was free. In

every community there is a woman like her. Here in Sunderland

charities hope that by working with the local housing association,

abusive relationships can stop before women are put in more serious

danger. Fiona Trott, BBC News, Wearside.

England have lost the final test match against India

by an innings and 75 runs - meaning they've lost

They've have also lost their last eight test matches in 2016.

Here's our sports correspondent, Joe Wilson.

Here's how India might look from the plane home.

Perhaps with a foretaste of Christmas, the collapse

They'd had to wait but India were off and running.

Keaton Jennings, a gentle return catch to Jadeja.

After India scored 759 on Monday, England's only incentive was to deny

With the help of an LBW review, Root fell for six.

Jonny Bairstow on one, up, up and out.

Still Moeen Ali fought to 44, then this.

Dawson soon followed for 0, and the England

With over an hour left in the day England lost their eighth wicket.

Still over half an hour for India to wrap it up.

Jake Ball batted, Jadeja bowled, his seventh wicket,

They'd lost ten wickets for just 104 runs.

To lose a series 4-0, to lose like this displays

a weak streak far wider than England imagined.

And Alastair Cook will now consider his future starting

All change on the weather front and not much Christmas spirit in this

forecast for the remainder of this week it turns increasingly stormy at

times. The first signs are arriving in the far north and west where

we've got widespread gales to Northern Ireland and Scotland,

severe gales unexposed North facing coasts. On top of that some very

heavy rain. At least the heavy rain clears through quickly due to the

strength of the winds. Not bad for the rest of the afternoon across

eastern Scotland, spots of rain and into the Lake District and West

Wales. Central and eastern areas, a better day in comparison to recent

in terms of sunshine coming through an isolated showers on Channel

coasts. A little fresher than recent days, temperatures fairly uniform

across the country at around six and 8 degrees. Running through the

evening and overnight wet and windy weather pushing southwards. The rain

will weaken as it moves across England and Wales. Behind it some

squally showers pushing into Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some

even falling with snow to lower levels as it turns cold in rural

spots, temperatures down to freezing. We start with the squally

showers driven in by strong winds with rain, hail, even some thunder

and snow, chiefly to high ground across Scotland. To England and

Wales this relentless feed of rain through the day, really grinding to

a halt across the Midlands and the south-east corner but milder here,

nine to 12 degrees, feeling quite raw up into the far north when you

factor in the wind. It will start cold, possibly frosty across England

and Wales on Thursday but perhaps the best day in the next few to

come. Scattering of squally showers into the North but quieter weather.

The next storm moves in, another deep area of low pressure, this one

has been named by the Met office, second storm of the winter season,

storm Barbra is going to bring heavy rain. We are more concerned about

the strength of the winds. And the weather warning has been issued, be

prepared for some disruption due to the strengths of the winds. The

strongest of which likely to be as below pushes away. As we go through

Friday evening storm force gusts for a time. Clearing away, brief respite

for the start of Christmas Eve but not for long. The next area of low

pressure set to arrive Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. Potential for

some disruption due to the weather. Keep watching the forecasts, please,

and tune into your local BBC Radio 2 for further updates. Thank you.

A reminder of our main story this lunchtime.

The German government says last night attack on a Berlin Christmas

market in which 12 people were killed was an act of terror.

That's all from the BBC News at One so it's goodbye from me -