this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines. german police say they now regard the killing of 12 people at a christmas market in berlin as a probable terror attack. investigators say the truck was deliberately steered into the market, where it crashed through wooden huts filled with christmas shoppers. we saw the truck just going from our left—hand side right across us, in front of us, maybe eight to ten feet in front of us, ploughing into the store we'd just bought wine from, ploughing into people. it was relentless, it didn't seem to stop. this is the scene of the aftermath of the attack this morning as officers interrogate a man and continue their investigation. in other news. russia sends investigators to turkey after the assassination of the russian ambassador by an off—duty turkish policeman. he had been seen in the background

as the ambassador addressed a meeting. the murder has been called an act of terrorism. moscow says the murder was aimed at derailing peace efforts in syria. good morning, and welcome to bbc news. welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. german police say a lorry that ploughed into a christmas market in berlin, killing 12 people, was deliberately steered into the crowds. another 48 people were injured, many seriously, when the truck smashed into tents and huts in the heart of the west of the city. the german interior minister says the government is "devastated". a man, reported to be an afghan or pakistani asylum seeker, who is thought to be the driver, has been arrested. it has just been said that the

suspect is 23 days old, who arrived from pakistan a year ago. the attack happened at around 8:15pm local time last night, when the christmas market was packed with people. eyewitnesses say the vehicle ploughed into the busy market square without slowing down. the market is close to the popular tourist site of the kaiser wilhelm memorial church, berlin zoo and one of the city's main shopping streets. german police say they're investigating reports that the vehicle was stolen from a building site in poland. under the lights of one of berlin's biggest christmas markets, investigators examine the lorry that has caused so much death and destruction. it was loaded with steel beams when it turned off the road and smashed into the crowds. rhys meredith was visiting with his girlfriend. we heard it knocking down the stalls at an amazing rate of knots. there was no skidding wheels, no attempt to try and slow

down, despite him fearing out of the market. translation: i was standing at the entrance and i heard a loud noise and was knocked down by a collapsed market stand. it knocked me flat to the ground. only later didl me flat to the ground. only later did i realised there were many people on the ground who did not move anymore. the driver of the lorry then fled on foot, but was captured shortly afterwards. reports claim he is an asylum seeker from either afghanistan or pakistan who had arrived in germany in february. the vehicle had come from poland, and police say a polish citizen was found dead in the passenger seat. the lorry‘s owner says his driver could not have been responsible. translation: the person who was driving and jumped out of the truck was not my driver.

i would do anything for my cry over. they did something to him, and hijacked his truck. the one who drove is not my driver. 48 people were injured. some are in a critical condition. i hope we would not experience something like this 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 is under control, now the experts have to do their work, and hopefully we can determine what has happened here tonight. the scenes are a reminder of the lorry attack on bastille day crowds in the french city of nice injuly, when 86 people were killed. authorities say there is no indication of any further threats in berlin. but the german government has said the evidence so far points to this being a deliberate attack.

our correspondentjenny hill gave this update from berlin. we are able to see part of the lorry that came ploughing through the market here last night, or rather what is left of it. one can only imagine the horror and fear that people must have felt as it ploughed through the market as people stood around eating, drinking and shopping in this festive place. for the first time this morning, police in berlin have described this not only as a planned act, a deliberate act, but asa planned act, a deliberate act, but as a suspected terror attack, right in the heart of berlin. two men are believed to have been in the cab when it crashed into the market, one of them, police say, was a polish man in the passenger seat, he died of his injuries at the scene. the

police are concentrating their enquiries on their main suspect, the man they believe was at the wheel when the truck came crashing through the market. they have not yet confirmed reports which are circulating pretty widely in the press that that man was either an afg ha n press that that man was either an afghan pakistani who arrived in germany as an asylum seeker in february and was living in asylum seeker accommodation in berlin. their enquiries are good you doing this morning, we are expecting an update at lunchtime from the mayor of berlin. for now, not only is their shock and horror at what has unfolded less than a week before christmas, the horror is now compounded by the growing suggestion that this was potentially an act of terror, that terrorists have potentially once again struck in the very heart of a european capital city. let's show you the pictures we're

getting live now from berlin. the truck surrounded by investigators as they continue their forensic search at the scene. the christmas market to the right of the picture. the vehicle running into the market when the driver went at speed through the crowd. security sources now indicate that the driver was a 23—year—old from pakistan. a german newspaper reporting his name. they quote sources saying that he arrived in germany around eight year ago. a23 rob munn from pakistan. it is thought the driver had been hijacked in poland, and the body of

a polish man was found in the truck. we can talk to an mep for angela merkel‘s party. what is your reaction to this attack? our thoughts are with the victims and families. it had to have been a terrible attack on a highly symbolic place. they are places where people go to celebrate christmas and to have fun, so it is a terrible attack on our civil society. germany had been on high alert, with concerns raised about the possibility of an attack. specifically christmas markets had been mentioned. had enough being done in terms of security? security is very tight.

but it is an open place, where people go. there are limits to security. describe what your concerns would be. you are on the security and defence committee, but when you are talking about an attack like this, how difficult would it be for the authorities to pre—empt something like this? we have been quite successful. in recent days authorities prevented a track —— an attack in strasbourg. we have been relatively successful, but in an open, free society this is not a society which is completely controlled, they are open places,

public laces, which are hard to protect, and so there are certain limits. if a society is under threat by terrorist organisations, there is a certain limit to the security and the measures that do can develop in terms of security. it is believed that the driver of the truck was a 23—year—old from pakistan who arrived in germany around a year ago. what are your initial thoughts? we have learned that isis and terror organisations want to attack european societies. there will be a reaction from the right—wing and of society, who go after refugees, but

it is relatively easy to infiltrate european member states. to question aside politics is not the right way to react. the terrorists want to shake our society, question our human rights and values, and that should not be a proper reaction. nevertheless, the damaging of refugees has a certain security damaging, and measures have to be tighter. let's speak to ibrahim colak now, who witnessed the attack in the city yesterday evening. tell us what you saw. after work,

6:30pm, we decided to go to the christmas market. we were having a chat, it was quite an international group, americans, german, turkish, italian. at around 8pm, wejust heard a noise, like one of the christmas market had fallen down. when i turned my back, i was on the steps, metres from where the truck passed. it was going with full speed into the market, because the market was divided with christmas huts on one side and on the other side as well. it was going on the walking area, at the innocent people. what

went through your mind as you saw that? were you in any doubt as to what was happening?” that? were you in any doubt as to what was happening? i was quite shocked. i can show you from my balcony, from my house it is a two minute drive. this is one of the busiest streets. it came from that side. what was in my mind, you cannot think of anything, you were just shocked and you wanted to help those people, people were asking for help. i took the wooden huts of them, but i could not help them. wendy went down, describe what you saw at close quarters. i saw people

lying on the ground, bodies twisted, arms, legs. people were on top of each other. the wooden huts were in the middle of. we tried to move the wooden huts, but by the time we wa nted wooden huts, but by the time we wanted to move it, they were coming towards us. the police were there in six minutes, the ambulances, they we re six minutes, the ambulances, they were really quick. they cleared the whole area. you were there immediately as this happen. whole area. you were there immediately as this happenlj whole area. you were there immediately as this happen. i was right in the middle. how well people reacting? they were screaming, people were shocked. some of us wa nted people were shocked. some of us wanted to help, because in that moment you cannot think that maybe they are going to explode here as

well, or they will use their guns or anything. you just want to help those people. everybody was shocked. one girl wanted to find her mum, they were cuddling. it was chaotic scenes. i hope nobody can experience such a thing like this. did you see the driver of the truck?|j such a thing like this. did you see the driver of the truck? i did not see the driver, but from here and the other street you cannot go really fast, because it is a turning point. the kaiser william memorial church is there. you cannot go straight, you need to make almost a u—turn. the truck was making full speed, it was right in the open

area. luckily it just speed, it was right in the open area. luckily itjust made a left and then stopped and it hit an electrical post or something. so that's what brought the truck to a stop then, it smashed into something? yes, it smashed into something? yes, it smashed into something and the people were under that lorry, but yeah, we couldn't help. there was not much to do. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. an eyewitness living right by the scene. as we were hearing there went straight down as soon as he saw it unfolding. leaders from around the world have been reacting to events in berlin on social media. this is angela merkel‘s spokesman steffen seibert. "we are in mourning for the dead and hope that the many injured can get help." the british foreign secretary boris johnson said, "my thoughts and condolences are with the people of germany following tonight's terrible tragedy in berlin."

the french president francois hollande said, "i express my solidarity and compassion to chancellor merkel, to the german people and to the families of the victims of berlin." and the us president—elect donald trump listed a number of incidents which took place in europe and beyond, saying the "civilized world must change thinking." tim stuchtey is from the brandenburg institute for society and is an expert in homeland security in berlin. what are your initial thoughts? you just read the statements from politicians all around the world. these are my thoughts too. we are all in mourning here in berlin for those victims and their loved ones. so it's pretty sad day in berlin this morning. there had been an increased terror threat. there had

been warnings and concerns about the potential for something like this. is there anymore that could have been done in terms of improving security around markets? well, afterwards, it is always easy to say this or that could have stopped the truck from entering the market, but the bottom line here is if you have this many christmas markets, that are all spred around the city, in various spots and places, there will a lwa ys various spots and places, there will always be a league where a truck such as this one can break through and drive into a crowd. so honestly, there is not much that this can, how this can be avoided. of course, there are some that have blockades but then again you have just ordinary squares where people put out huts and a few christmas trees and open up a small christmas market. so very little that can be donein

market. so very little that can be done in order to avoid something like this. as you trace back the sort of path of what seems to have happened a truck being hijacked, it seems, in poland, the driver being killed, the truck then being driven to this market. how difficult would it be to try to intercept the planning for something like that? you have cars and trucks being stolen in the area of brandenburg or near the german polish border all the time. so obviously, it cannot be stopped and it is happening for other reasons, of course, people who steal ca rs other reasons, of course, people who steal cars to sell them some place else. so this can happen. this is something that inspires the magazine of al-qaeda which it has been promoting among their followers that

these kind of homeland attacks, easy to organise, very little co—ordination needed. this is what they have been proposing and obviously, someone has listened. we don't know yet what was the, how the person who drove the truck was inspired and what his causes were, but we have seen a similar attack in nice. so it seems that this is the style where our modern societies are very vulnerable and again, if you have a crowd like this on a christmas market, there is very little that you can do. thank you very much forjoining us. let's just show you the scene. you will see there that the truck has been moved away now. so they have moved quite quickly to remove the truck from the scene. you can see

the debris left behind. that truck that was going at 40mph through the market, driving into the crowd. eyewitnesses saying it showed no signs of slowing down. and one eyewitness talking about the market falling silent after the attack with people just looking on falling silent after the attack with peoplejust looking on in shock falling silent after the attack with people just looking on in shock at what had unfolded. there are reports that special forces, police, what had unfolded. there are reports that specialforces, police, have stormed a refugee accommodation centre in a hangar in an old airport in better leuvenlt that's the latest report on the police investigation. the police are saying that a person was arrested and the reports are that it was arrested and the reports are thatitis was arrested and the reports are that it is a 23—year—old from pakistan who has been named in media reports as being a man who arrived in germany a year ago. these closer

pictures, aerial pictures, of the scene showing the damage to those buildings and the debris left behind after that lorry ploughed into the crowded christmas market in berlin. 1:8 crowded christmas market in berlin. 48 people injured. some seriously and i2 48 people injured. some seriously and 12 people killed in that attack. we will 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 at bbc.co.uk/news russia is sending a team of investigators to turkey to establish how exactly its ambassador there came to be assassinated. andrei karlov was addressing a gathering in ankara, when an off—duty turkish police officer shot him several times in the back and head, shouting "don't forget aleppo" and "revenge".

there have recently been days of protests in turkey against russia's role in syria. let's cross to moscow and speak to our correspondent sarah rainsford. what's the reaction? well, this meeting is taking place in russia in a sombre mood. people are shocked at what happened. we have seen the initial encounter between the turkish and russian foreign ministers here in moscow where both of them laid red roses, flowers in front of a photograph of the diplomat, the ambassador who was shot yesterday in ankara. as you mentioned, the turkish foreign minister described what had happened asa minister described what had happened as a vile crime and he vowed that turkey would do everything possible to investigate what had happened and to investigate what had happened and to find and punish those responsible for this killing. russia sent investigators, they have already landed in ankara, they will be working alongside the turks and russia too saying they want to find out who is responsible. president putin said that this was an act of

provocation aimed at trying to tear russia and turkey apart in their effo rts russia and turkey apart in their efforts to work together in syria, to try to resolve the conflict in syria. he said that won't be allowed to happen and he has said they'll strengthen the fight against terror asa strengthen the fight against terror as a result of this and the bandits, as a result of this and the bandits, as he described it, will feel that themselves. so a typically strong response from vladimir putin and as i say, words of condolences and condemnation from the turkish foreign minister who is here in moscow today. our correspondent selin girit is live in istanbulfor us. what's the latest from there? the russian investigation team have arrived in ankara. they will be taking part in the comprehensive investigation that will be carried out about the attacks against the russian ambassador. we now have the information about who this gunman. he was a 22—year—old policeman, off duty policeman, in the riot force

and he made his way to the exhibition hall showing his police id. this, of course, will be considered as an embarrassing security failure across turkey. thank you very much. let's bring you up—to—date with the latest developments out of berlin where 12 people have died and 48 injured and some of them seriously after a truck ploughed through a crowd at a busy christmas market in the centre of the city. police are saying a 23—year—old man is in custody. he has been named in the media as a pakistani man who reportedly arrived in germany around a year ago. this is the scene live and the truck has now been removed as investigations continue. all the very latest on the bbc news website. right now, let's catch up

website. right now, let's catch up we will say goodbye to viewers around the world. now we'lljoin carol for a weather update. hello, we've had a lot of cloud across england and wales. in scotla nd across england and wales. in scotland and northern ireland, we have had clearer skies. through the day we've got more rain coming our way, strengthening winds across scotla nd way, strengthening winds across scotland and northern ireland. for england and wales, well, it will brighten up. we will see sunshine, but close to the west coast, we will hang on to patchy rain. now, through the evening and overnight period, the evening and overnight period, the winds will strengthen across the north—west and west of scotland, touching gale force and severe gales for some. the weather front with the rain continuing to trundle southwards. by the end of the night we will have showers coming in across northern ireland and scotland with snow embedded in scotland. and in the run—up to christmas, it is not dry either. we are looking at spells of wet and windy weather and on wednesday that continues. so the

rain peps up across england and wales for a time as it continues to drift down towards the south east. brighter skies come in behind, but still the squally showers pack in across northern ireland and scotland with a wintry nature in the highlands. but i'll have more in half an hour. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: german police are investigating a "probable terrorist attack" after a man ploughed a lorry into a christmas market in the heart of berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. i heard a loud noise and was knocked down by a collapsed market stand. it knocked me flat to the ground. it was only later that i realised there were many people on the ground who didn't move anymore. the authorities have detained the suspected driver. he's reported to be a pakistani man who arrived in the last year and was staying at an asylum centre.

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. russia is sending investigators to turkey after the assassination of the russian ambassador to ankara by an off—duty turkish policeman. the united nations adopts a resolution on syria, calling for un officials and other international observers to monitor the mass evacuations from rebel—held east aleppo and the safety of civilians still there. in moscow, foreign ministers from russia, iran and turkey meet to discuss the situation in syria. the us electoral college certifies donald trump as president. that's despite many members getting hundreds of e—mails, including death threats, urging them to switch votes to hillary clinton. industrial unrest continues across the uk. drivers at the argos national distribution centre have now begun a 72—hour strike, as rail and post—office strikes continue their stoppages.

surgeons claim that a new treatment for ea rly—stage prostate cancer, using lasers and a drug made from deep—sea bacteria, is "truly transformative". let's go back to the attack in berlin, a lorry driving through a police —— christmas market. a man thought to have been the driver is being interrogated, he is said to be 23 and to have arrived from pakistan a year ago. 12 people died at the scene, the lorry was driven deliberately into that crowded christmas market. one man saw the attack, and described what he saw. after work, it was 6:30pm, we went to the christmas market. we were

having a chat, it was quite an international group, americans, holland, german, turkish, italian. at around 8pm, we heard a noise, like one of the christmas markets had fallen down. when i turned my back, i was on the steps, two metres from where the lorry passed. it was going with full speed into the market. the market was divided with christmas huts on one side and on the other side, it was going literally on the walking area. into all of these innocent people. what went through your mind as you saw that? were you in any doubt as to what was happening?” what was happening? i was quite shocked. i can show you from my

balcony. from my house it is a two minute drive. this is what the busiest street. it came from that side. what was on my mind, you cannot think of anything, you are just shocked, you just want to help those people. people were asking for help. i took the wooden huts of them, but i could not help them all. wendy went down, describe what you saw at close quarters. i saw people lying on the ground, bodies being twisted, arms, legs. people were on top of each other. the wooden huts we re top of each other. the wooden huts were in the middle. we tried to move

them away from the people, but by them away from the people, but by the time we wanted to move it, they we re the time we wanted to move it, they were coming towards us. the police we re were coming towards us. the police were there in six minutes, the ambulances, they were really quick. we cleared the whole area. you were there immediately as this happened. i was right in the middle. how were people reacting around you? they we re people reacting around you? they were screaming, people were shocked. some of us wanted to help. in that moment, you cannot think that maybe they are going to explode here as well, or use their guns or anything. you don't think of these things, just want to help those people. i

saw one girl shouting for her mummy, she wanted to find her mum they were cuddling. chaotic scenes. i hope nobody can experience such things like this. did you see the driver? i did not. from here and the other street, you cannot go really fast, because it is a turning point. the kaiser william church is there. you can't go straight, you need to make almost a u—turn. i saw that the truck was making full speed. it went into the open area. luckily it stopped, it hit an electrical post or something. that is what brought

it to or something. that is what brought ittoa or something. that is what brought it to a stop, it smashed into something? yes, it smashed into something, and the people were under that lorry. we could not help. there was not much to do. we hear that the metropolitan police have detailed plans, they say, for protecting public events over the christmas and new year period. they already recognise the threat level is severe, meaning an attack is highly likely, and have considered a range of threats. it is as a matter of routine. as a precaution they say they review their plans after attacks overseas and are doing so at present following the incident in berlin and ankara. that from the metropolitan police, talking about how to protect the public at events over christmas and new year.

we can speak now to a security expert based in germany. what are your thoughts on what has happened? it looks like a terror attack, by an islamist organisation. this is the normal pattern. one of the normal patterns. we have seen it in the east. —— nice, with the purpose of killing as many people as possible, in crowded places, with lorries or cars, whatever means you have. you say this is the normal style, drawing parallels with nice. this is still rare, but the fact it is quite

simple to carry out, you say it will... simple to carry out, you say it will. .. what are simple to carry out, you say it will... what are you saying? this is promulgated in the networks of the islamic state is one of the means by which muslims living here can use force on infidels. this is the whole logic in it, it is relatively simple, you do not have to buy guns, you don't have to make explosives, you don't have to make explosives,

you simply hijack a lorry and you go into a people. this is known. there have also been warnings in recent weeks and months that something of that kind could happen in berlin. i wonder why the police have not done some preventive measures. what would you suggest should have been done? you could direct roadblocks, which could also help against trucks. but there have been no roadblocks around this place. although it was a crowded place, it should have been protected this way. if you go to the british embassy in berlin, it is very well secured by roadblocks. i wonder why this has not happened in berlin, in such a crowded place. a british visitor to the market, emma rushton, witnessed the attack. she described the scene to my colleague clive myrie. we heard an almighty bang to the

left of us. there were lights that came down. we saw the truck going from our left—hand side right across us, in front of us, eight to ten feetin us, in front of us, eight to ten feet in front of us, ploughing into the store that we had just bought wine from, ploughing into people. it was relentless, it did not seem to stop. this happened eight to ten feet from you? yes, it was so close. we had only two minutes before said we will go in a minute, it was so pretty, we will give it another minute, andi pretty, we will give it another minute, and i am so glad we did. two minutes before you were at the very stall where this vehicle ended up going through. we had bought the wind their and sat down behind it. it was to close the comfort. at that stage, did you have any inkling as

to exactly what was going on, how this could have happened? in the moment, you arejust this could have happened? in the moment, you are just full of shock and adrenaline. you have no idea what is going on. the place had gone dark. we have no idea, the people around us have no idea. it is only after it had passed as and had carried on going past us that i thought it is too reminiscent of what happened in nice. as the vehicle ploughed into the area, describe what was going on around you. we were drinking, and when we heard it, everybody looked over, because we thought fireworks were going off or something. then you heard people screaming. it was going

so fast, it must have been going 40 miles an hour, it made no attempt to stop whatsoever. it was terrifying. the journey in —— thejourney in —— german interior ministry says christmas market in berlin will remain closed today out of respect. let's show you the pictures we're getting live now from berlin. the truck was removed half an hour ago. investigators remained there with the area cordoned off, as they continue theirforensic with the area cordoned off, as they continue their forensic examination of the site, the debris there and the damage very clear to see. 12 people killed in that attack, 48 injured. vladimir putin has sent condolences to germany. he has written to the german chancellor and said, this crime against people civilians is shocking in its savage cynicism.

you can keep right up to date with our continuing coverage of the attack at the christmas market in berlin on bbc news and also plenty of coverage online. police in switzerland say they have ended their hunt for a gunman who shot and injured three people at a muslim prayer centre in the city of zurich. investigators confirmed that a body found close to the scene was that of the attacker but gave no further details. the gunman had entered the mosque on monday evening and opened fire on worshippers. police seal off the area surrounding the islamic centre not far from zurich‘s main train station. officers continue their investigation into this senseless attack on people at prayer. it was around 5:30pm local time when the gunmen entered the building, used as a mosque, and opened fire. eyewitnesses described him as being around 30 years old, wearing dark clothing and a dark cap. three people were injured, two of them seriously.

translation: the three men who have been shot are in hospital. we couldn't question them yet. we are looking for eyewitnesses. i can tell you there's no more danger for the public. not far away, a body was found, but police won't say if it was the suspect or if it's connected to the shooting at all. the victims are believed to be from somalia. locals say the mosque attracted muslims from all around the world. translation: this mosque has been here since 2012 and we've never had any problems. we never had to deal with the police, we never had arguments. this was a quiet, joyful place. no problems here but there have been tensions in switzerland. the country's islamic population rising to around 5%, part of that increase due to immigration from the former yugoslavia. police on patrol, the investigation goes on, officers say they will reveal more details on tuesday. now the crisis in syria and in the city of aleppo and last remaining rebel held zone. the un security council has called for the immediate deployment of international observers in eastern aleppo, in a rare show of unanimity. they'll monitor the mass evacuations and the plight of any civilians who remain trapped. thousands more people left the enclave overnight. the red cross says 25,000 in total but it's not clear how many are left.

meanwhile, rebels have continued to allow people to be moved out of the besieged shiite towns of kefraya and al—foua, which largely support the regime as part of the shaky deal to evacuate eastern aleppo. foreign ministers from russia, turkey and iran are meeting today to discuss the crisis in syria, despite yesterday's assassination of moscow's ambassador in ankara. turkey's foreign minister was on a plane to the russian capital when news of the attack broke yesterday, but the three countries say the summit will go ahead anyway. the russian foreign minister said the killing should, force us to fight more decisively against terrorism. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news: german police say the killing of twelve people when a truck ploughed into a christmas market in berlin is a probable terror attack.

officers are questioning a man — thought to be the lorry driver — who fled the scene on foot. the german chancellor angela merkel is due to make a statement in the next 15 minutes. and moscow sends investigators to turkey after an off—duty policeman, seen here in the background, assassinates the russian ambassador. surgeons have described a new treatment for early—stage prostate cancer as "truly tra nsformative". the approach, which uses lasers and a drug made from deep—sea bacteria, can eliminate tumours without causing severe side effects that commonly occur with surgery. more than 400 men took part in the trial. gerald is now free from cancer and feeling good. but when he was diagnosed, he had a choice. treat the tumour or let it grow to avoid side effects. gerald's surgeon offered him

something pioneering. gerald's surgeon offered him something pioneeringlj gerald's surgeon offered him something pioneering. i was looking onward with my life and wanted to have the same way of living as i had enjoyed in the past for the future. i feel that the treatment i have had has confirmed that. the drug is made from bacteria that grow in the depths of the ocean. it is only toxic when exposed to light and injected into the prostate and ten lasers are inserted into the tumour to activate the drug and kill the cancerous tissue. 400 men took part in the trial and nearly half had no signs of cancer after treatment and no patient had serious long—term side—effects. incontinence, leakingure rain and requiring pads, sexual difficulties, to have a new treatment now that we can administer to men who are

eligible that is virtually free of those side—effects is truly transformative. gerald says he feels he is lucky to have been on the trial. doctors want to see more long—term data before it is offered widely. the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon will today set out plans for how scotland could stay in the european single market after brexit. she says leaving the single market would be potentially devastating to scotland's economy, and is expected to propose more powers are devolved to the holyrood parliament to stop it happening. earlier this month, the uk chancellor, philip hammond, said a separate brexit deal for scotland was "not realistic". a survey of hospital trusts in england shows that overseas patients not entitled to free healthcare left the nhs with unpaid bills totalling almost £30 million last year, a sharp rise on the previous 12 months. more than 120 trusts were asked to provide data on overseas patients, 104 replied. the government recently reminded hospitals of their legal duty to recover the money, and encouraged them to ask to see

passports before giving treatment. nine big london hospitals account for the bulk of the bad debts left by overseas patients. it is still owed almost £5 million from last year, although it says it's improving the way it identifies patients who should be paying, and uses hand—held card readers at the bedside to obtain money from them. this was more than one of 100 english hospital trusts that responded to freedom of information requests from the press association. excluding european patients, whose countries the uk can charge for the cost of treatment, overseas visitors left debts of almost £30 million last year. trusts did obtainjust over £20 million. the figures are small, set against the overall annual cost of more than £100 billion of providing healthcare in england. earlier this year, st george's hospital in tooting said

foreign patients not entitled to free healthcare represented a huge drain on its resources. many of st george's visitors arrive in the last stages of pregnancy, but overseas patients also commonly use general medical departments. it's not clear where most of the patients come from, although one london trust reported its biggest debts were from indians, pakistanis, nigerians and americans. the department of health said it was determined to stamp out abuse of the system and was considering charging migrants more for healthcare. passengers on the southern rail network are suffering more disruption on the second day of a two—day strike by conductors in the rmt union. some routes will have no services on what is the 27th day of industrial action. a study by the university of chichester has estimated the cost in terms of lost gdp at around £300 million. lloyds banking group has bought

the credit card firm mbna for £1.9 billion. it's the lender's first acquisition since being rescued by the tax payer seven years ago. mbna has around five million customers in the uk. police are preparing for a sharp rise in domestic violence as it's the time of year when abuse crimes spike. as part of the bbc‘s series on policing britain, fiona trott has been given access to a project in sunderland where they're working specifically with men who may become offenders. welcome, everybody. we'll make a start. the new way of tackling domestic abuse. 0k, somebody mentioned money. who mentioned money? these men are learning how their absuive behaviour is affecting their partner. is that a reason to stay or a reason to go? she has got no money. she would be better off if she left. the 26—week course involves

the charity barnardo's. it can get up to 20 referrals a month, and that's just sunderland. little kicks. little punches and stuff like that and then it was like vice versa, she was starting to hit me. it wasjust vice versa, she was starting to hit me. it was just escalating. vice versa, she was starting to hit me. it wasjust escalating. this man was referred by his gp. how has the course helped you ? was referred by his gp. how has the course helped you? i take time to think about stuff. the course learns you how to take time out. and now i am aware. so even if like i'm texting, i can tell that the texts are getting out of hand as you say. imight are getting out of hand as you say. i mightjust stop texting for an hour and chill out a little. this project means we can get to men and help them change their behaviour before they get involved with the criminaljustice system. we want to stop things escalate to go that point. we know when the police get called it is usually quite serious injuries and incidents. but there is

another element to this early intervention programme. the local housing association is also involved. hello there. how are you? they check the perpetrators are attending the course and they check up 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. it could be we are looking at an anti—social behaviour complaint. it could be we get a call about noise nuisance. is it noise nuisance or domestic abuse he was kicking my door in in 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 when he assaulted me and put me in hospital. he got 16 months injail. 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 housing association abusive relationships with stop before women are put in more serious danger. michelle obama has spoken to oprah winfrey. she discussed her time as first lady. she had some advice for the president—elect‘s wife, melania trump. we talked about the kids, but my offer to melania, you really don't know what you know until you're here. the door is open as i've told her and as laura bush told me and it is other first ladies told me. i'm not new in this going high thing. i'm modelling what was done for me by the bushes‘ and

thing. i‘m modelling what was done for me by the bushes‘ and laura bush was nothing, but gracious and helpful and her team was right there for my team. all throughout this entire eight year process. and your team is doing the same? we will do whatever they need to help them succeed. so that‘s one of the things isaid to succeed. so that‘s one of the things i said to melania, when you get to a place when you can digest this and you have questions, because you know, you don‘t have questions the day after the election. it is just sort of like, you are looking around the house and it is like, "what do you want to snow?" i don‘t know what i want to know and i knew that. my door is open and that was really the nature of the meeting. angela merkel is due to give a news conference shortly. we will bring you the latest developments from that as we get them. she will be live in berlin talking to the media following on from that attack in berlin. a driver ram ago truck into

a crowded christmas market in the heart of the german capital. 12 people killed and 48 injured and some seriously. it was a popular christmas market. packed with tourists. right in the centre of berlin, near to better anyone‘s zoo. the truck has now been taken away from the scene. police are saying all measures necessary concerning the suspected terror attack are being taken with great speed and the necessary ca re. being taken with great speed and the necessary care. and police are also questioning a 22—year—old man reported to have arrived in germany about a year ago from pakistan. believed to have been the driver of the truck. it has been condemned by the russian president as a crime against peaceful civilians, shocking in its savage sane sism. peaceful civilians, shocking in its savage sane sism. we will be hearing from the german chancellor, angela

merkel and we will keep you updated. right now, let‘s catch up with the weather right now. as we run up to chris marks the weather is not playing ball. the met office have just issued an amber weather warning that‘s one down from the top which is red for late friday and into saturday for wind. we are looking at widely gusts of wind 80mph, but across the north—west of scotland, it could be 90mph. those are damaging winds and can do structural damage. but we also have some wind and some rain on the cards today. so what we have at the moment, cloud continuing to break across england and wales. there will be sunshine. this weather front out towards the west producing patchy rain, heavier rain arrives from the west. even into the afternoon we will hang on to the patchy rain across wales and south—west england. move away from that and you might run into the odd shower, but for most it will be dry with isn‘ty

spells, but feeling nippy. that continues as we drift into northern england and parts of eastern scotland. for northern ireland and western scotland, it is a different story. here we have got heavier rain coming in accompanied by strengthening winds. gusty winds. not quite what we are expecting late on friday and into saturday, but nonetheless, you certainly will know all about it. so we are looking at gusts across the north—west. up to about 50mph or 60mph. we could see up about 50mph or 60mph. we could see up to 70mph across orkney for example and also into the outer hebrides. the rain slips southwards and in doing so, it starts to weaken. it will be windy around this band of rain, but not as windy as it will be initially in the north. right behind it, a drier slot and then squally showers back in across northern ireland and scotland and we could see by the end of the night some snow mixed in that even at lower levels in scotland. we carry on with that scenario tomorrow, the squally showers. to the north of the central belt, we could see snow at

lower levels. our weather front peps up lower levels. our weather front peps up as it continues its journey moving across england and wales heading towards the south east. in between, we‘ve got something drier and brighter with sunshine. then moving on in through thursday, that rain clears away altogether, a quieter day with some breaks and some sunshine, but a weather front producing showery outbreaks. some of that will be wintry on the hills. this is going to be cold. called storm barbara as it makes its way in from the atlantic. this is bbc news. the headlines at 10am. german police say they now regard the killing of 12 people at a christmas market in berlin as a probable terror attack. investigators say the truck was deliberately steered into the market, where it crashed through wooden huts filled with christmas shoppers. we saw the truck just

going from our left—hand side right across us, in front of us, maybe eight to ten feet in front of us, ploughing into the store we‘d just bought wine from, ploughing into people. it was relentless, it didn‘t seem to stop. officers say the investigation into the attack is proceeding with speed and care. a man thought to be the lorry driver is being questioned. the german chancellor angela merkel is due to make a statement in the next few minutes. in the day‘s other main story, moscow sends investigators to turkey after this off—duty turkish policeman assassinated