”f: uw—r g it. as we finished thursday and go into friday there is some very wet and windy weather on the way. that is how it is looking. you're watching bbc news. thank you forjoining us. the headlines: nine people are dead as a truck is driven into a christmas market in berlin. german police say the apparent driver of the truck is under arrest, while a passenger was killed. in london, the ambassadorfor russia to turkey was shot by an off—duty policeman. russia caused the attack an act of terrorism. the un votes to allow monitors into aleppo is more civilians and fighters are able to leave the besieged part of the city. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme, where the

news today has been dominated by two separate major incidents. in a few minutes, we will be giving you details on the shooting dead of the russian ambassador to turkey, but first, to germany, where a truck has been driven into a christmas market, killing at least nine people and injuring many more. ourfirst report comes from our correspondent, jenny hill. sirens, panic in the heart of berlin. this, the immediate aftermath of what police suspect was a deliberate attack. the truck ploughed into one of the city's biggest christmas markets. moments before these pictures were taken, people were eating, drinking and shopping. as we were leaving, a large truck came through, it wentjust past 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 experience something like this here in berlin. police on the ground are doing everything they 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 may yet also emerge is this, that terrorists have succeeded in striking again in one of europe's capital cities. earlier, jenny gave us the latest from the scene of the crash. earlier this evening, thousands of people came to this, one of berlin's biggest christmas markets, to enjoy the festivities. the truck came ploughing through this tour is sending people flying. bodies lay scattered onto the christmas lights were moments before people had been eating, drinking and

enjoying the atmosphere. there are still a great deal of questions to be answered. in the meantime, a lot of people are in hospital tonight. at least 50 injured. we saw some taken away by ambulance. some in a very bad state. we know at the moment nine people were killed tonight. it may yet be that the death toll will rise further. the interior minister told german television that this investigation is ongoing. translation: on behalf of the german government, i want to say we are all devastated about the news. we pray with the relatives of those who died and hope that the injured will get better. i want to thank all the rescue teams and the police, who we re rescue teams and the police, who were on the spot right away. we have activated our reaction team. police will be staying there. we are currently interrogating a suspect. we don't know anything final yet

about the background of this, but we will not rest before this has been totally clarified. i do not want to talk about an attack, although a lot speaks for it. let's get more reaction to the events in berlin. although berlin police have not yet said he was behind the incident, in the us, president—elect donald trump has released a statement saying: germany's foreign minister said,: in france, security has been beefed up in france, security has been beefed up at christmas market across the

country. the president described the incident is a tragedy that has hit all of europe. let's cross live to berlin to speak to the editor in chief of a newspaper. hejoins to the editor in chief of a newspaper. he joins us live now. to the editor in chief of a newspaper. hejoins us live now. you have been speaking to a vote of your reporters on the ground trying to gather information about what happened. what insight do you have? for now, the most interesting story be reporters are following is the background that one man who was a p pa re ntly background that one man who was apparently arrested shortly after the attack, right now, what we do know is that he was not of polish origin. he was not of polish nationality. the truck was from poland. there was one man killed in the truck. that man was of polish background. the person arrested was not. the question is, who is that person? did he kill the original driver of the truck? where is he

from? there driver of the truck? where is he from ? there is driver of the truck? where is he from? there is one newspaper, a sister newspaper within our company, reporting that man was from pakistan. according to their police sources. we have police sources that say that, but we are not really able to confirm that yet. there is a strong possibility that this is the background of that person, which, combined with the layout of the attack, which reminds all the fuss of what happened in these earlier this year, would even more indicate this year, would even more indicate this is a terrorist attack —— all of us. this is a terrorist attack —— all of us. but it remains to see what the real background of the driver of the track is to be absolutely certain. obviously that is something our reporters are following —— trap. it isa reporters are following —— trap. it is a picture that is getting clearer and more conclusive. we have been hearing police in berlin say they are investigating reports that this

truck was stolen from a building site in poland. have you heard anything along those lines? there are several stories about how that truck came from poland. where definitely it is wrong. you can see that on the license plate. how it found its way to berlin and into this fateful night tonight —— it is from. there is a theory it was stolen. there is another lead it may have been hijacked. right now, we are looking at something that seems very interesting, which is gps data from the truck, which says it was driven in an awkward way. the engine started over and over again as if the person did not know how to drive it. but that is all inconclusive, and it all indicates in the direction of someone driving this truck who has not doing it before into the christmas market. but it is

still a picture too early to confirm this is what really happened. but everything we have learned since eight o'clock german time tonight definitely points in the direction of somebody deliberately steering that truck into the christmas market. as an act of terror. although we cannot confirm the motives of this act of terror it yet. we do not want to speculate. in terms of the non— polish driver of the truck, can you bring us up to date in what condition he is in any way he is now? he is in police custody and is being questioned by german authorities. he was arrested a few hundred metres, maybe a kilometre, away from the scene. after there was a description of him by eyewitnesses. police picked him up by eyewitnesses. police picked him up around a kilometre away from the

actual scene. again, he is being interrogated right now, and there is one newspaper, several news outlets in germany reporting, he is of pakistani origin. there is one newspaper that says he is of pakistani origin and came to germany. this is something everybody will be looking at in the next hours and days, that he came to germany as and days, that he came to germany as a refugee. yes, of course. the investigation in its early stages. from berlin, thank you very much. since this story broke around four hours ago, the bbc has been hearing from some of those caught in event at the market. we had been at the christmas market a good 20 minutes, soaking up the scene, and we had

bought food. had we carried on, we would have walked down the pathway that the truck would have been down, and we more than likely would not be having this conversation right now if we had not maybe simple decision to sort of sit down and eat a meal. but complete devastation, what we saw when we realised what had happened. we were very, very lucky, to be honest. we arrived lunchtime and went to the christmas market earlier today. we were looking around at the lights and waiting to go back to the hotel when we hired an almighty bang. we saw lights being torn down from above us —— heard. the hut in front

of us that we bought one from com pletely of us that we bought one from completely crushed by the lorry. it was about eight feet in front of us. we were incredibly, incredibly lucky. we headed knocking down the stalls ata we headed knocking down the stalls at a rate of knots. there was no skidding wheels, clearly no attempt to try to slow down, despite him veering out of the market. but, you know, as we came around the corner, we sought stalls —— we saw stalls that were clearly present before it happened at that rate it into nothing. there were bodies lying on the floor. —— obliterated. itried to push in a collapsed stall of people who had sat the already passed. my girlfriend was attending to an older gentleman with a pretty

severe head injury. it wasjust absolutely horrific, and it is amazing how an incident like this can make an impact on you when it happens, when you are right there at the same, and clearly we are both sat here now safe and sound in our hotel room, but still in a huge state of shock. has something like this can happen. those were eyewitnesses at the christmas market in berlin, which killed at least nine people and injured many more. you are watching newsday on the bbc live from singapore and london. still to come: we will have the latest on the assassination of the russian ambassador to turkey, killed by an off—duty policeman. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they have brought

a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton in his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: a truck has killed nine people after it was driven

into crowds at a christmas market in berlin. russia's ambassador to turkey has been killed in ankara. the gunman shouted comments about syria an aleppo after the shooting. today'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. our correspondent mark lowen has the latest. his report contains flashing images. russia's ambassador to turkey opening 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. so long as 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 karlov succumbed to his injuries. the gunman was named by the authorities as a turkish police officer, mert altintas, 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 a0 years of diplomatic experience, ambassador in ankara since 2015. he handled difficult relations.

russia and turkey have been on opposite sides of the syrian war, but a recent rapprochement between the two halted the fighting in aleppo. president erdogan said it wouldn't be thrown off course. translation: i describe this attack on russia's ambassador as an attack on turkey, an attack on turkey's state and nation. after the incident i talked to mr putin. we agreed this is 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. there's been widespread reaction to the assassination in ankara. us president—elect donald trump said: he also called the shooter a:

russian president vladimir putin called the attack: and in britain, defence secretary michael fallon said this was: the diplomatic channel between russia and turkey is one of the most important in the syrian conflict. 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 people brought out. our middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. noisy demonstrations in turkey at the weekend condemned 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 warplane it said had violated its airspace not long after russia's intervention just over a year ago. but since then turkey and russia have tried to avoid clashes. too much is at stake. both say the assassination won't change their warmer relationship. these are russian special forces troops in syria. the turkish equivalents are in the country, too, 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. more than half 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'tjust about doing a deal between 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 implemented, 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 and exports crises. the assassination in turkey is the latest and there is still no coherent international desire to bring peace any closer. well, from syria, to brexit, to the us presidential election, 2016 has been a year like no other. just a short time ago, donald trump surpassed the 270 votes

needed in the electoral college to clinch the presidency. in the 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. what do we have here? 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. online, 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.

hello there. the weather is set to undergo marked change to conditions over the next 36 hours to take a through the rest of the week with wet and windy spells set to work in. pushing this change is a jetstream thatis pushing this change is a jetstream that is now roaring into life out of north america, charging across the atla ntic towards north america, charging across the atlantic towards us. and with some pretty high speeds are monster jetstrea m pretty high speeds are monster jetstream it will whip up some deep areas of low pressure very close to the uk late this week and to take us into the christmas weekend. one system after another. we will keep you updated of course on all those details as we get closer. out there today though it is still fairly quiet, benign picture. to the south and east of the front it is frost free with patchy rain and drizzle on the front. we start the day in scotla nd the front. we start the day in scotland and northern ireland with the chilly conditions, widespread frost and mist and fog. most of

scotla nd frost and mist and fog. most of scotland will be frost free but lots of frost around —— fault free. first hints of a change as the breeze picking up in the hebrides. winds in northern ireland to begin with. they will shift later as the breeze picks up. not too much problem with the wind across england and wales. featherlight winds here. compared to recent days not as misty, a few brea ks recent days not as misty, a few breaks in the cloud force until and eastern england. to the west, around here, cloudy eight breaks of rain. that will be around the some areas. where from that, central and eastern england, more sunshine than recent days but heavy showers on the south coast. still some brightness for eastern scotland through the day. turning wet and windy for northern ireland and western scotland. severe gales developing here to finish the day. wet and windy weather into england and wales into wednesday morning. that will open the door to cold airand morning. that will open the door to cold air and clear skies with showers for wednesday in scotland. and a longer fun showers for wednesday in scotland. and a longerfun on showers for wednesday in scotland. and a longer fun on wednesday the

wind will pick up. —— and a longer front. that could cause issues. severe gales at times as wind accompanies the showers dropping is no doubtjust on the hills but at lower levels at times in the far north. on wednesday, northern england, the midlands, wales, dry and bright. fairly cloudy in the south with occasional rain. that will clear on thursday. better weather on thursday, less breezy. chilly, especially further north, with a noticeable breeze. then stormy weather into the end of the week and as christmas approaches a deep area of low pressure pushes the north. if you are planning to travel, keep tuned to the weather forecast. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. a track has been driven into a christmas market in berlin. —— truck. nine people were killed and up

to 50 injured. police have arrested the apparent driver of the truck, who'd earlier fled the scene and whose nationality is not known. russia's ambassador to turkey, andrey karlov has been shot dead by an off duty police officer. russian officials have described it as an act of terror. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the us electoral college has cleared the way for donald trump to become the next american president. they ignored a 5 million—signature petition urging them to defy tradition and choose mrs clinton, who received over two million more votes than mr trump. that is all from me. stay with us on bbc news. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk.