tonight at ten — an attack on a busy christmas market in berlin. at least nine are dead and dozens injured. police say a lorry mounted the pavement at speed and crashed through one of berlin's best—known markets, packed with christmas shoppers. members of the public tended to the injured, as police urged berliners to stay indoors until the all—clear could be given. as emergency services responded swiftly, officials said they were dealing with a possible "terror attack". translation: it is terrible to witness this, i had hoped we would never experience something like this here in berlin. police on the ground are doing everything they can. we'll have the latest from berlin, where police say they've detained one person — believed to be the truck driver. there's another major story tonight: shouting. an off—duty turkish policeman, moments after he shot and killed the russian ambassador, urging the world to remember syria and aleppo. he'd been seen in the background,

as ambassador karlov addressed a meeting. moscow said the murder was an act of terrorism. also today — in syria, a group of orphans is among thousands of people brought out of the ruins of aleppo. postal workers on strike overjobs and branch closures. downing street says they're showing contempt for the public. and we ask if flat—pack homes could be part of the answer to brtain‘s housing crisis? and in sport on bbc news... could jurgen klopp‘s liverpool move up to second place in the premier league, with a win in the merseyside derby at local rivals everton? good evening. at least nine people have been killed and dozens injured in an attack on a christmas market

in the heart of berlin. police say a lorry mounted the pavement at speed, crashing into the crowded market in a central square. and they say the incident is consistent with a "possible terror attack". within the past hour officers said they'd arrested a suspect — believed to be the driver of the truck. our berlin correspondent jenny hill has the latest. there are some distressing images in the report. syahrin ‘s, panic in the heart of berlin. this, the immediate aftermath of what police suspect was aftermath of what police suspect was a deliberate attack. —— sirens. the truck ploughed into one of the city's biggest business markets. moments before these pictures were taken, people were eating, drinking and shopping. as we were leaving, a large truck came through, it went just passed me and my girlfriend, i think it missed me by about three

metres, missed her by five. it came in through the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers and carried on past us. the driver of the lorry, which has polish numberplates, fled on foot. police arrested a man nearby about an hour later. but there was a second man in the truck who died at the scene. so many questions, but for now, such shock. at least 50 people were injured. it's feared the death toll could yet rise. translation: it's terrible to witness this. i'd hoped we would never experienced something like this here in berlin. police on the ground are doing everything they can. they are working with fire ci’ews can. they are working with fire crews and hospitals and making sure the injured are being taken care of. the situation here is under control. now the experts have to do their work and hopefully on the basis of that we can determine what happened here tonight. horror enough that such events should unfold less than a week before christmas. but there

is fear too. because if, as police believe, this was a deliberate attack, it's possible that what yet i'd also emerge is this, that terrorists have succeeded in striking again in one of europe's capital cities. jenny is in berlin. what more can you tell us about the way the investigation is proceeding and the latest information from police? the police have actually told us they are trying to keep an open mind with their investigations. they say it's possible it was a traffic attack. they also say it's possible this was deliberately planned. they can't rule out at this stage an act of terrorism. it will come as no surprise to you that angela merkel is holding all sorts of meetings, in contact with the interior ministry and the mayor of

the city tonight. this might turn out to be what berlin and germany has long feared, that this is a terror attack... inaudible studio: we had a satellite issue there with the link tojenny hill in berlin. with me is our security correspondent, frank gardner. jenny was underlining the police wa nt to jenny was underlining the police want to keep their options open, it could possibly some kind of extreme form of traffic accident. but the signals are pointing in another direction, are they? yes. the police have said they think it was a deliberate attack, and if it was, it's likely to be terrorism. we don't know for certain but i would expect a statement from the berlin police in the next 2a hours that i think will clarify. particularly because they have somebody in custody, a live suspect to question. the obvious incident people are referring to on twitter is the

attack in nice onjuly 14 where a truck was run into a crowd of people gathering at an event. in 2000 there was a plot to attack a christmas market in strasbourg that was stopped by french and german intelligence. two years ago somebody rammed a truck into people in france and people were killed. only a few days ago a suspect was arrested in germany believed to be planning a nail bomb attack. none of this necessarily means this was so—called islamic state linked attack. they have called for attacks using trucks on people and civilians in crowded places at this time of year so the police are keeping an open mind. you can tell where their suspicions are. frank gardner, our security correspondent, with his thoughts on what happened today in berlin. tonight's other major story is that the russian ambassador to turkey has been shot and killed. andrei karlov was addressing a meeting in ankara, when a man shot him several times in the back, shouting, "don't forget aleppo" and "revenge".

the gunman was an off—duty turkish police officer. the attack follows days of protests in turkey against russia's role in syria. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has the latest. his report contains flashing images. russia's ambassador to turkey opening it an exhibition in ankara. waiting behind him, his assassin. as andrei karlov speaks, the gunman opens fire, killing the ambassador. gunfire he screams, allahu akbar, god is greatest. before in turkish, don't forget about aleppo, don't forget about syria. if they are not safe, you will not taste safety either. as the attacker was shot dead by police, the ambassador was rushed to hospital. his wife was led out, clearly shaken. soon after, andrei

ka rlov clearly shaken. soon after, andrei karlov succumbed to his injuries. the gunmen was named by the authorities as a turkish police officer, born in 1994. he had been working for the riot police for two and a half years. his sister and mother have been detained. 62—year—old andrei karlov had 40 yea rs of 62—year—old andrei karlov had 40 years of diplomatic experience, ambassador in ankara since 2015. russia and turkey have been on opposite sides of the syrian war, but a recent rapprochement between the two halted the fighting in aleppo. translation: the two halted the fighting in aleppo. translationzlj the two halted the fighting in aleppo. translation: i describe this attack on russia's ambassador as an attack on russia's ambassador as an attack on russia's ambassador as an attack on turkey, an attack on tu rkey‘s attack on turkey, an attack on turkey's state and nation. after the incident i talked to mr putin and we agreed it was a provocation and there isn't any dispute. president putin called the attack a ploy to wreck the syrian peace process.

syria's war has killed hundreds of thousands. it's just had another deadly impact. tonight, more reports are coming out about the gunmen including some reports he worked as a bodyguard at some of president erdogan‘s rallies. there has been international condemnation from the white house. turkish and russian presidents say they will open a joint investigation to look at this killing. they both used similar language tonight, saying provocation, vowing that the merger would not derail turkey— russian relationships, and nor would it derail attempts to reach truce in syria. there is a lot of public anger in turkey about russia's actions in aleppo and turkey's failure to condemn them with protests outside diplomatic missions in recent days. that anger has spilled over into an act of hatred. studio: mark lowen with the latest from istanbul. as mark was

underlining,... the diplomatic channel between russia and turkey is one of the most important in the syrian conflct. diplomats agreed a deal last week to evacuate parts of eastern aleppo, where thousands of civilians and rebel fighters have been trapped. the evacuation resumed today with thousands more brought out. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. noisy demonstrations in turkey at the weekend condemn russia's support of the assad regime. throughout the war, turkey has been on the other side, backing the rebels. the protests were organised, but it could be that the man who killed the russian ambassador acted alone. he seems, though, to have been part of a sense of national and religious humiliation among some turks after russia's decisive action. turkey shot down a russian warplanes it said had violated its airspace, not long after russia's intervention just over a year ago. since then turkey and russia have tried to

avoid clashes. too much is at stake. both say the assassination will not change their warmer relationship. these are russian special forces troops in syria. the turkish equivalents are also in the country, mainly preoccupied with the kurds. but there is an obvious rivalry between two major powers who have intervened on opposite sides in the syrian war. andrei karlov, the late russian ambassador, accompanied his president on trips in the region. he died in the fallout from mr putin's decision to make russia a power in the middle east again. also paying a heavy price are syrians, being bussed out of eastern aleppo into an uncertain future. nearly half of syria's prewar percolation has been displaced by the war. the evacuation from eastern aleppo has been so difficult to arrange because of all the factors that make the war in

syria so hard to solve. it isn't just about doing a deal between those who support the regime and those who support the regime and those who support the regime and those who don't. foreign powers have intervened in syria and they have their own rivalries that go above and beyond the war. and they have the biggest say. in new york, the un security council passed a new resolution calling for monitors to watch over what's happening and proper access for humanitarian aid in aleppo. it might be too little, too late. and it's not clear how soon it can be implement it, if at all. right now, it's an important step that i think a couple of days ago people would not have thought the russian federation would have allowed to go through the council. but until it's implemented, it's just a piece of paper. the syrians, closely allied with russia, are deeply suspicious of western motives. we oppose the attempts of some member states to draft and submit, under humanitarian cover, a

crafty and vague terms and loose phrases that tolerate more than one interpretation. the fall of aleppo does not end this complex and unpredictable war. the fight for syria creates an export prices. the assassination in turkey is the latest and there is still no coherent international desire to bring peace any closer. studio: jeremy is with me. an important summit clandon moscow tomorrow involving turkey, russia and iran. —— planned in. how will today's events affect it? it will overshadow it. but there is growing tension between turkey and iran. that might between turkey and iran. that might be put on the back burner. interesting that mark lowen said that the turks and russians are using the same language to describe this, a provocation. but the fact remains that they are on different sides in a bloody war and they are

talking to each other because they have a wider interests, but there is a built in propensity for trouble because of that very fact. and that's what we have been seeing. there is also something to think about in the way the syrian war works. it's desperately unpredictable because of its complexity. we have seen another example of that in the assassination tonight, and this unpredictability factor is something you can see elsewhere in the world as well. the world is a dangerous and unstable place right now. syria is exporting a lot of that trouble, and what is really sad and worrying for everybody, whatever your political views about the whole thing, is that there is no end in sight to any of that trouble. whatever they say at the un, it's not been able to deal with it. jeremy bowen, middle east editor. three people were injured after a man opened fire

on people praying at a mosque in zurich this evening. witnesses say a man aged around 30 fled the building. swiss police said a body was found nearby but it is not yet clear whether there is any link to the shootings. thousands of workers are taking part in a series of strikes in the run—up to christmas, affecting rail and postal services. talks have also been taking place at the conciliation service, acas, to try to stop ba cabin crew walking out over christmas. downing street said unions were showing contempt for the public. our business correspondent, john moylan, has the latest. postal workers brought a special delivery for the government today. outside the department for business, mail bags containing 70,000 postcards backing a campaign to fight closures of flagship post offices. the dispute has been running for months but the five days of strikes this week represent a major escalation. we are defending postal

services across the uk. the very future of high street post offices are under threat. the government and the company are lining up to make further announcements to close more high street post offices. this dispute has been going on for months but the timing of the industrial action is designed to put maximum pressure on the post office. this is the busiest week for handling parcels and letters. but there doesn't appear to be much christmas cheer elsewhere, with a number of unions calling christmas strikes. the holiday getaway could be hit with baggage handler is set to strike on friday and saturday, which could affect some regional airports. thousands of cabin crew are also planning industrial action on christmas day and boxing day. this is in a dispute over pay.

british airways insists it will run a full service. and the months of misery for southern rail passengers continues as 400 conductors began a 48—hour walk—out. should trade union powers be curbed? there is certainly a growing appetite in parliament and public to do something. we fully respect the right to strike but it needs to be proportional and i believe they have been abusing the power as trade unions and some steps are needed. 2016 has seen a jump in the number of working days lost to strike. at 300,000, it is up 50% on the previous year. but compared to the 70s and 80s, strikes are at historically low levels. we are talking about a tiny number of disputes that we hope can be resolved. what do you say to members of the public who see these strikes and think, what are the unions playing at? i feel enormous sympathy for the public and i really regret the disruption, as do the unions, who feel

they have no alternative but to take this last resort. dozens of city centre post offices were closed today including this one in glasgow, but the vast majority remained open and the action is set to continue until christmas eve. john moylan, bbc news. cluster bombs made in the united kingdom were used by saudi forces in yemen earlier this year, according to the defence secretary, sir michael fallon. but he told mps that saudi officials had assured him they would not use the weapons again. cluster bombs are banned by an international treaty because of the risk they pose to civilians. and there are calls for britain to stop selling arms to saudi arabia, because of the scale of casualties in yemen, as fergal keane reports. explosion. it's been going on for nearly two years. with over 7000 civilian deaths. the bombing of infrastructure.

and hospitals. amnesty international claimed british—made cluster bombs sold to the saudis in the 1980s, were used last january. today, earlier denials were reversed. saudi investigations showed the weapons had been used. as a result of that investigation, and as a result of our pressure, we have now an undertaking that saudi arabia will not use cluster munitions of this kind in the future. the convention on cluster munitions, an international treaty which bans their use, was signed by the uk in 2008. 100 nations have now ratified, but so far saudi arabia is not among them. cluster bombs can be devastating for civilians. we met this 15—year—old, who was wounded six months ago. she lost her left leg at the hip. but cluster bombs have been just

a small part of the british arms trade to saudi arabia. exports are worth about £35 billion to companies like bae systems. an estimated 50% of saudi combat jets are uk supplied. we are extremely disappointed today that the uk government has on the one hand admitted that the saudis had indeed, despite denying it, used these illegal weapons. but hasn't decided to do anything about it. and what we say is that it's clear evidence that what the uk now needs to do is suspend all further sales of similar types of equipment to saudi. the us has already limited arms sales because of civilian casualties. ten people were killed here by a conventional bomb. four of them young children. friends of this girl. the saudi military contracts

are good for the balance sheets of british companies and for british jobs. and there's also the argument that saudi arabia is a valuable strategic ally in this region. but the war drags on, with more and more civilian casualties, the moral pressure on britain will grow. fergal keane, bbc news. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. northern ireland's first minister, arlene foster, has survived a vote of no confidence in the stormont assembly. she's under pressure because of her involvement in a controversial renewable energy scheme which overspent by hundreds of millions of pounds. sinn fein has called for mrs foster to step down while an investigation takes place. a man aged 101 has beenjailed for 13 years for historical sex offences against children.

ralph clark — from erdington in birmingham — is believed to be the oldest person in british legal history to be convicted of a crime. he'd admitted nine charges, and was found guilty of 21 others. the football association dub england, scotland, northern ireland and wales have all been fined for displaying poppies during world cup qualifying games last month. fifa regards the poppy as a political symbol, something which is banned. the fa has said it will appeal. the shortage of affordable housing is one of the biggest issues facing britain, and modular housing — where homes are pre—fabricated, then quickly installed on site —has been touted as one solution. today, plans were announced to build six factories in england that could produce 22,000 homes a year. behind the venture is an investment of £2.5 billion from china. this report from our home editor, mark easton, contains flashing images. it's a house on the back of a lorry, turning heads in derbyshire today. but in what is hailed as a game

changer for britain's housing sector, massive new investment in factory—built homes may mean this will soon be as unremarkable as a cement mixer on a building site. £2.5 billion of chinese investment in six british factories producing 25,000 modular houses like these every year. that is the deal announced today. in theirfactory—built offices in warrington, one of the uk partners in thejoint venture says the factory built homes will cost less than half of what it takes to build a traditional brick house. currently in this country to build property it is usually about £1000 a square metre. once our plans are up and running it will come down to about £400 per square metre, a massive quantum shift in our ability to provide affordable housing. not only will the pricing, grow down. —— come down. the running cost of these houses, because they are highly energy efficient, will be reduced by 75%.

cost and availability of land will still be a factor, but if the consortium can deliver on their promise, something like one new british house in every six or seven won't be built on a building site, but in a factory. in the jargon, today's announcement is said to be "sector disruptive", changing the uk housing market forever. the billions in new investment come from the china national building company based in beijing. their factory—made homes are a familiar feature in the far east. they may have seen an opportunity to expand the business to the uk. six factories are planned across britain, one in scotland, another in south wales and cornwall, dotted around england. 1000 morejobs and a boost forsuppliers, including britain's steel industry. if we are going get this country building the homes we need, we need to make maximum use of modern methods of construction, but also homes can be built much more quickly. in britain, we tend to associate factory—made homes with cheap and drafted post—war prefabs.

—— draftee. but modular homes are very different, designed to be aspirational places to live. these factory—made homes being launched in south london are similar to the kind of product the new factories will produce. residents say they love them. i invited my friends to come and see, they said, "wow, is this your house? it's i did not expect it to be properly soundproofed. i live on the high street and you can hardly hear any noise. some might question why britain needs chinese investors to solve its housing crisis. but if actions match the words, today may go down as the day when british homes no longer meant bricks and mortar. mark easton, bbc news, warrington. last christmas, david cameron was seven months into a five—year term as prime minister of a conservative government. donald trump was six months into his campaign for the us presidency, and still seen as a maverick candidate with no chance of success.

syria was in turmoil. and then 2016 happened. syria is still in turmoil, but the other political realities have been turned upside down amid much talk of fake news and post—truth politics. in first of a series looking at how the world changed in 2016, here's our special correspondent, allan little. how does america get its news? how does it know who or what to trust? traditionally the news has come from places like this. the tribune democrat of western pennsylvania still rolls off the machinery of a predigital age. you find conflicting opinions in its pages, a diversity of views. it offers its readers a shared public reality, within which they can disagree, dispute and challenge each other. but does that guiding journalistic purpose also now belong to a fading, predigital age?

i think of the mission here as both to chronicle the life of a community, and also to help it move through its challenges. when i grew up and went to college there, we were always challenging ourselves to look at where the message came from. i don't know if people want to know that any more. i think theyjust want to be, "i'm here and this is what i think." and that's interesting to me, but it's also terrifying. traditional journalism is losing its power to the internet and the echo chamber of social media. there are two americas now. each listening to its own preferred news sources. two parallel public realities. this is something that appeared frequently on social media. and it's a quote attributed to donald trump and it says, "people magazine, 1998". and the quote is, "if i were to run, i would run as a republican. they're the dumbest group of voters in the country. they believe anything on fox news."

it sounds very authentic, doesn't it? it sounds like the real donald trump! but he never said this. it's a total made up quote. fake news has now infiltrated us politics. the internet is full of it. 0nline, made—up stories look like real ones. and they will confirm what you already believe. this is a fake news website. "pope francis shocks world, endorses donald trump for president. releases statement. " and this was shared like a million times on social media. the debunking of that fake piece was shared 30,000 times. are there also now two britains, each with their own parallel truths? remember this claim made by the campaign to leave the eu? this is what that bus looks like now. new livery, new colours, the "£350 million a week for the nhs" is gone.

just as it's gone from the national discourse. is this britain's version of post—truth politics? we knew exactly who made the claim made on the side of this bus. they were challenged every day on television. there is still a shared public reality in british politics, a common square where news is generated and consumed. but it's gone in america and it could go here, too. the dangers to democracy are obvious. i think if you want to have a vision of the future, look to russia, where one of the things under vladimir putin has been about creating a regime where no one can really know anything, and keeping people in this fog of uncertainty. someone trying to create an atmosphere in which there are no experts, nobody can know anything, so you probably better let a strongman kind of take charge and govern. and that's not great for democracy, is it? terrible. terrible for democracy. and actually, terrible for journalism. but democracies also value freedom of speech, the right to say things others find offensive. who in the new media

landscape is to police what's valid and what's fake, what's true and what's post—truth? 2016 has given the question new urgency. alan little, bbc news. alan will be back tomorrow night with the second of those special reports on the momentous changes in 2016. more on the main story, the attack on the busy christmas market in berlin. according to sources, at least nine people have died. dozens we re least nine people have died. dozens were injured. jenny hill is at the scene. it is near the kaiser wilhelm memorial church. bring us up—to—date on any further information you have had in the last half an hour?