a truck into a crowded christmas market in berlin. at least 12 people were killed and 48 injured, some seriously. germany's interior minister has said many signs suggest a deliberate attack. there are reports the truck was stolen from a building site in poland. russia's president putin has described monday's assassination of the russian ambassador to turkey as a provocation intended to derail peace efforts in syria. andrey karlov was killed by an off—duty police officer as he spoke at an art gallery in ankara. the electoral college in the us has cleared the way for donald trump to become the next american president. as expected, most delegates confirmed the election of mr trump, who secured more electoral college votes than hillary clinton. she won nearly three million more votes nationwide. a convicted paedophile has become the oldest person in britain to receive a prison sentence. ralph clarke is 101 years old and last week he was found guilty of carrying out a string of sexual offences against young children in the 1970s and ‘80s.

he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. from birmingham crown court, phil mackie reports. on the surface, he's a frail, old man, but ralph clarke was a serial sex offender who abused three very young children a0 years ago. after suffering in silence for decades, last year they found the courage to tell the police, and to come to court to face the man who'd attacked them. he has damaged so many lives. so many lives in such a massive way. and he has no remorse. even now he can't see he's done anything wrong. he's evil. and he deserves to be in prison. he deserves to die in prison. he deserves to rot in hell. they're happy. to be honest, they've got me a thank you card here.

all it says is, "we are so happy to be believed." that is all they wanted, to be believed. to know that he was the one that was lying. ralph clarke never showed any remorse. he shook his head in court when his crimes were detailed. his victims were in tears as they saw him one last time. ralph clarke and his fear and control over his victims took advantage of them and the young age and the situation in order to carry out his offences. judge richard bond said even though it was a deeply upsetting experience for the victims, this sent a message. he said that those who are sexually abused, even in the distant past, can rest assured that any complaint will be treated with sympathy and compassion. the victims, who i spoke to after court, said they were glad he went to jail. he should have been imprisoned a0 years ago. people like him should

never come out. never come out. we've been in our own prison for the last 40 years. and he's lived his life. ralph clarke cannot be released on licence until he's served half his sentence, when he will be 108. so it's likely the man who abused three little children four decades ago will die injail, the oldest man ever sent to prison. bbc news, birmingham crown court. next for you, it's reporters. hello, welcome to reporters, i'm christian fraser. from here in the world's newsroom, we send out correspondents to bring you the best stories from across the globe. in this week's programme: the syrian ceasefire that never was. lyse doucet reports on another failed truce for aleppo. the un speaks of war crimes by president assad accuses the west

of protecting terrorists. the western officials and the mainstream media — they're going to be worried about the civilians, they're not worried when the opposite happens when the terrorists are killing those civilians. inside saudi arabia, frank gardner reports on the border with yemen, the frontline of the war against the houthi rebels. saudi arabia is at war, and the war has come to saudi citizens, and that's a shock for them. corruption on an olympic scale, as 1,000 russian athletes are accused of doping. dan roan reveals how they treated comprehensively at london 2012. now we know that performance was a sham and the golden games were sabotaged. a world first for female fertility. fergus walsh gets exclusive access to a new treatment giving hope to thousands of girls who're told they'll never be mothers.

the force of nature. rebecca morrelle sees how iceland's volcanic energy could be harnessed to power tens of thousands of homes. this project's been planned for years. it's going to be the hottest borehole in the world. it's been a hell of a week for the people of aleppo. as hopes of peace and a ceasefire collapsed, the syrian city came under renewed shelling and air strikes. president assad's forces and rebel fighters blamed each other for the latest outbreak of violence. the un says the bombardment of civilians in aleppo is probably a war crime, but president assad has accused the west of helping to protect what he called terrorists. as the ceasefire collapsed, lyse doucet sent this report from beirut. a rare quiet... became another day of war,

shattering a ceasefire only hours after it started, and crushing a bit of hope that the agony of aleppo was over, especially for those still trapped in what's left of their homes in the east of the city. explosions oh, my god! all the people were excited and happy with the agreement about leaving and evacuating the city, finally. and they were just preparing themselves. they think that the regime is going to take a ground force... explosions imagine what it's like for children without parents. 47 orphans sent a message to the world. translation: please, let us evacuate aleppo. we can't go outside

because of the air strikes and the shelling. we are afraid. we would really like you to help us leave aleppo. we want to live, like everyone else. this morning, before first light, the buses, the ambulances, did move in, ready to bring out the ill and the injured, the children, the fighters. but the first ambulance was turned back by a pro—government militia. and the buses waited for hours. more than 100,000 people escaped this hellish corner in recent weeks, fleeing underfire. a brutish existence, a victoryjust to survive. many did not. the un is now raising concern about alleged massacres of civilians, a grave accusation dismissed today by president assad. if we liberate aleppo

from the terrorists, there would be — i mean, the western officials and the mainstream media, they're going to be worried about the civilians. they're not worried when the opposite happens, when the terrorists are killing those civilians. state tv shows what they say is the evidence, a weapons factory captured during the army's offensive. the rockets rebels had been firing in the west aleppo. it's why it's been so hard to reach a deal to let the fighters go. all these crimes that they have been committed, after bombing the old city of aleppo, through explosive tunnels, robbing, looting factories, no—one likes to see those. after killing 11,000 civilians in the western parts of aleppo, no—one likes to see them just go! so, the fight goes on. but there are reports a new deal is done, that rebels will leave, that an evacuation of civilians

will at last happen, and that this brutal battle for aleppo may, just may, be over. lyse doucet, bbc news, beruit. to the human tragedy of the war in yemen now. saudi—led forces have accused the united nations of exaggerating the number of civilian casualties in the conflict. they insist they only strike military targets. saudi arabia started bombing yemen in march last year and the rebels, backed by iran, forced the country's president into exile. we have been to the border between yemen and saudi arabia where the saudis are increasingly concerned about the security. day in, day out, warplanes from a saudi—led coalition taking off for yemen. they're supporting a un security council resolution to restore yemen's legitimate government, ousted by iran—backed rebels, the houthis. but as well as hitting military targets, they've been accused

of hitting hundreds, possibly thousands, of yemeni civilians. i went to the headquarters to ask the saudis how they choose their targets. they showed me a strike map, sites supposedly off—limits to air strikes. but their chief spokesman also accused the rebel houthis of hiding among civilians. when you are fighting a war in such circumstances where the militias live with the civilians it is difficult. mistakes happen and we do what is reasonable to protect civilians. we are here to protect the civilians. we're not here to harm civilians. how is it, though, that in practice the un estimates 60% of the casualties are caused by a strike? something is going on between the theory and the practice. writing a reports from a distance, it is unhelpful.

i think it is an exaggerated number when they say 60% of the casualties in yemen are due to the air strikes. we target troops in the fight in the line of conflict. it doesn't reflect the united nations numbers. i flew south, hundreds of miles away down to the tense yemeni border. the saudis took me under armed escort to the front line. there, a general told me they're facing bands of gunmen who sneak across the border. translation: there are militias and there are gangs targeting of civilians which is against the rules. further back from the border i was shown a house hit by a rocket from yemen just the day before. everything inside at home, in the home, is broken. he has his country.

i am in my country. we are brothers in islam. the shell that landed here was one of four that landed yesterday just in this village close to the yemeni border. the damage is miniscule compared to what's going on in yemen. there is no comparison. but it is a reminder that saudi arabia is at war and the war has come to saudi citizens. and that's a shock for them. ballistic missiles have been coming across the border. scud missiles and this russian—made one launched by the houthi rebels. the saudis deployed anti—missile batteries to shoot them down. this war is over 20 months old and the missiles and the strikes continue and neither side prepared to back down. when it hit, it is like fireworks.

when we have scud missiles it is like fireworks. do you believe there are many more scuds they could still fire? many, many times. on another part of the border i met saudi villagers badly injured by shrapnel from a houthi missile that had hit their mosque. given what's happened to this man and his friend, i mean, he is permanent disabled, in a wheelchair, like me, why would you stay on in this village so close to the border? he is saying that he was born here and his friends say the same thing. this is where they live. further away from the border we found this market. people here are nearly all yemenis who fled the broken economy of the country. i asked this man if the fighting on the border was affecting his business. "not really," he said. "everything is fine." but people here are reluctant to speak out publicly. afraid of repercussions both

from the saudi authorities and from the houthi across the border where they have relatives. we asked if any schools in the area had been hit. saudi defence forces took us here to a girls‘ elementary school hit by a houthi missile. i pointed out that coalition airstrikes have also hit schools in yemen. translation: the difference between us and the houthis is we do not deliberately target schools. you see any military presence here? when our side targets a school, it is because it has been turned into something else. the schoolhouse was a hit in the middle of the night when the classrooms were empty. but both sides in this war had targeted the other of accusing civilians. yemenis have suffered disproportionately, but the saudis

say that over 500 of their people have also been killed. talks to end the conflict have failed and after two years, peace remains an elusive goal. the russian olympic team corrupted the london games on an unprecedented scale. the extent of which will probably never be fully established. the london olympics were corrupted on an unprecedented scale by athletes helped by state—sponsore doping and officals. that was the finding at the investigation of the world doping agency. it says the authorities colluded to ensure that the country's athletes could take banned drugs and evade testing in over 30 sports including football. in russia the report has been widely dismissed as lies and rumours. we knew it was bad. today we found out just how bad, laid bare, how russia cheated at sport. from london 2012 through to sochi 2014 and beyond, both summer and winter sports corrupted across a four—year period. canadian law professor

richard mclaren today revealing the full damning findings of his investigation into an audacious state—sponsored doping programme of breathtaking proportions. the conspiracy was perpetrated from at least 2011 to 2015. over 1,000 russian athletes competing in summer, winter and paralympic sport can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulation to conceal positive doping tests. the scandal began in may, with the shock revelations of this man, grigory rodchenkov, the former head of moscow's anti—doping lab turned whistle—blower. in a barely believable conspiracy, that went right to the top of the russian state, he helped dozens of athletes take a cocktail of performance—enhancing drugs and evade detection. working in a secret part of his lab, supposedly secure bottles were tampered with and positive samples passed through holes in the wall drilled by spies and then swapped. today came more grim

details of the plot, backed up by a vast database of evidence. scratches on the caps of sample bottles from a thin strip of metal used to open them and further proof of tampering, instant coffee granules added to clean urine samples. salt levels described as physiologically impossible and two female ice hockey players with male dna in their samples. the russian olympic team corrupted the london games on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be fully established. this corruption involved the ongoing use of prohibited substance, washout testing and false reporting. london 2012 was meant to inspire a generation. it was hailed as one of the cleanest and most successful olympics in history. the russian team came fourth in the medals table, and none of their competitors

failed doping tests. but now we know that performance was a sham and the golden games was sabotaged. the international olympic committee said today the revelations were an attack on the integrity of the games and that they would retest every russian sample from london 2012. others want more. it's time for the ioc to act. they can take immediate steps to suspend the national olympic committee from russia, who ultimately is responsible for the sport system and the olympic movement in russia. they can ensure that no international events happen in russia until they are declared code—compliant. some critics will now want russia banned from the next winter games or for them to be stripped of hosting football's next world cup. here at this ice hockey match in moscow today, however, the mood was defiant. translation: some people take banned substances legally and they're not punished. others are stripped of their medals even if what they are accused of happened a long time ago

and has never been proved. it's all political. the russian olympic committee's annual ball in moscow this week, a display of strength and of pride. tonight, however, the country risks sporting isolation like never before. now to a rare scientific advance and a breakthrough in women's fertility. for the first time, doctors have frozen ovarian tissue from a girl who had not yet reached puberty, and then, more than 15 years later, used it to make herfertile again. moaza alnatrooshi who is now aged 2a is believed to be the first in the world to have a baby after having an ovary frozen so early in her life. she has been telling fergus walsh about her remarkable story. every baby is special, but this little boy really is astonishing. he is the result of frozen ovarian tissue taken from his mum when she was just nine. against the odds, moaza has become a mother. it's a miracle that i have my baby now because it was so long,

january, that we are waiting for this nice result. as a child, moaza, who's from dubai, had a serious blood disorder and needed a bone marrow transplant which would make her infertile, so, prior to chemotherapy, she had her right ovary removed. slices of tissue were taken. each contained follicles with immature eggs which were frozen. two years ago, four were stitched onto her failed left ovary in transplant surgery in denmark. within months, she began ovulating, and her premature menopause was reversed. eggs were retrieved and used in ivf treatment. her doctor at the private portland hospital in london says this is a major advance in safeguarding women's fertility. i'm absolutely overjoyed

for this patient. if offers fantastic help for a lot of children around the world who need life—threatening treatments for cancer or other major illnesses. these are cow ovaries but it is the same process involved in preparing human tissue for freezing. we believe there are thousands of cases in storage across the world for tissue that has been preserved for young girls and young women who are likely to have lost their fertility as a result of chemotherapy treatment or radiation treatment. when moaza had her ovarian tissue frozen in a tank of liquid nitrogen like this 15 years ago when she was just nine years old, it was a rare and pioneering procedure. back then, some scientists thought the tissue would perish long before she wanted to start a family. now, she has shown what's possible and given hope to thousands. what message does your baby son send to young girls who may be going through a cancer

treatment now? there is another chance and another hope because my hope was to have a nice child like this baby. moaza hopes to have another child and is looking forward to going home to dubai as soon as her son is old enough to fly. fergus walsh, bbc news. scientists in iceland are close to drilling deeper into a volcano than ever before. they have reached depths of nearly five kilometres into the crater at temperatures of up to 500 celsius, making it the hottest borehole ever created. they plan to tap into a reservoir and harness the energy from the site to power up to 50,000 homes. rebecca morelle has this exclusive report from iceland. this is one of the most volcanically active places on earth. but now scientists plan to harness the power of volcanoes by drilling

into the heart of one. this site has been operating continuously for 2h hours a day. using this huge piece of kit, with section after section of high—strength steel, they're are almost 5000 metres down. we have never been this deep before, we have never been into these hot rock formations before, so we are optimistic that this will carry us a step into the future. so exactly what is that they are doing here? this project has been planned for years. it's going to be the hottest borehole in the world. drilling started back in august. it has already passed through thick layers of volcanic rock and at 2500 metres, it hit 300 celsius. this is the point that most

conventional boreholes stop but this one has gone deeper, heading towards 5000 metres down and that is three miles, where it is expected to hit 500 degrees. here, water mixes with molten rock, and becomes what is known as supercritical steam. it is neither a liquid nor a gas but it holds more energy than either, and it is this that will be brought back up to the surface. scientists think it will generate so much electricity it could transform the energy industry. but a project like this isn't risk—free. this is what happened in 2009 during an earlier attempt to tap into a volcano. the drill unexpectedly hit magma and was destroyed. the most recent eruption here was 700 years ago... geologists say we still have a lot to learn about these

forces of nature. there is always some risk and it has to be evaluated but it is also a risk if we don't understand the volcanoes. also there are cases like in italy, millions of people living on a volcano. we need to advance our understanding of when these volcanoes will erupt. we need to go and see what is down there. in iceland, towns are already using energy generated from volcanoes, but this new approach could create up to ten times more electricity. if it works, this technology and the energy it harnesses could be used around the world. rebecca morelle, bbc news, iceland. that's all from reporters for this week. from me, christian fraser, goodbye for now. hello there.

our weather is set to undergo a marked change in conditions over the next 36 hours to take us through the rest of the week, with wetter and windier spells set to work their way in. pushing this change is a jetstream that is now roaring into life out of north america, charging across the atlantic towards us. and with some pretty high speeds in amongst thatjetstream it will whip up some deep areas of low pressure very close to the uk later 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 a fairly quiet, benign picture. to the south and east of the front, it is largely frost free, lots of cloud with patchy rain and drizzle on the front. we start the day in scotland

and northern ireland with the chilly conditions, widespread frost, and some patches of mist and fog. much of scotland will be fog free but lots of frost around first thing. lots of sunshine too. first hints of a change is the breeze picking up in the hebrides to begin the morning. winds in northern ireland light to begin with. they will shift later as the breeze picks up. not too much problem with the wind across england and wales. fairly light winds here. but compared with recent days, not as misty, some mist around a few brea ks in the cloud for central and eastern england. to the west, around here, cloudy outbreaks of rain. that will be around that same areas all day long. rain turning light and patchier. away 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 wetter and windier for northern ireland and western scotland. gales or severe gales developing here to finish the day and into the night. wet and windy weather into england and wales into wednesday morning. that will open the door to colder air and clear skies with showers for wednesday in scotland. and along the little front

on wednesday the winds will pick up. that could cause a few travel issues. if you are heading out across scotland and northern ireland on wednesday, gales, if not severe gales at times as wind accompanies squally showers, dropping snow notjust 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 into thursday. better day on thursday in the south. dry, brighter and less breezy. a bit chillier, especially further north, with a noticeable breeze. and some further showers at times. then stormy weather into the end of the week. and as christmas approaches, a deep area of low pressure pushes north—west. if your travel plans are weather dependent, keep tuned to the forecast. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: death on the streets of berlin. 12 people are killed, 48 injured, as a truck is driven into a crowded christmas market.

german police say the man who was apparently driving the truck is under arrest. a passenger was found dead in the cab. russia's ambassador to turkey is shot dead by an off—duty policeman. moscow calls it an act of terrorism. and it's official, the electoral college confirms the vote. donald trump will be the next president of the united states. hello. german police are questioning a man thought to be the driver