said the perpetrators would be punished as severely as the lord allowed —— law allowed. translation: if it is confirmed that the perpetrator had asked for protection and asylum in germany, that would be particularly repulsive for the many germans who are engaged day in, day out in helping refugees. in other news... president putin has promised to "step up the fight against terror", after the assassination of the russian ambassador to ankara by an off—duty turkish policeman. russia has sent a team of investigators to turkey. surgeons claim that a new treatment for early stage prostate cancer, using lasers and a drug made from deep sea bacteria, is "truly transformative". let's get more on that man released by police yesterday after that lorry killed 12 people at a christmas market. let's go live to damian mcginest. fill us up to date with the latest. police say they have released the 23—year—old man, because there was not enough evidence to arrest him. he had only

been detained, to keep him after midnight,. according to some, the dead driver of the lorry suffered pretty heavy winds. it is unlikely they would be no evidence such as dna left on the perpetrator. that seems as if the man released, this 23—year—old pakistani cannot be linked to this dead body or the truck. that is why he has been released. this means the actual perpetrator is still out there. police said they did not know whether it was one person or group

people. they also don't know the motivation. a lot of people assuming the potentially looks like an attack carried out by so—called islamic state, because it looks quite similarto state, because it looks quite similar to the nice attacks in the summer similar to the nice attacks in the summer using a larger van paul lawrie. police say it could be something completely different. so—called islamic state has not claimed responsibility for the attack. there is no evidence as of yet it is definitely not an islamist attack. until we have that, we cannot make conjectures about the motive and he carried out the attack. experts are saying, it looks like it is probably a terror attack of some sort. hubei, we still do not know. meanwhile, all christmas markets have been shut down across germany. to try to minimise the possibility of this soft target being it again. -- being hit begin. authorities have said they do not

wa nt to authorities have said they do not want to keep the christmas markets shut. the interior minister said it was important that people carry on living as they would want to live. so they do not feel impeded by the threat of an attack. the last people saying they are not going to let the potential fear of attack stop them. the mayor of berlin said this was an attack on the freedom of the city. that is why politicians are saying it is important for people not to feel intimidated. even though there isa feel intimidated. even though there is a certain amount of nervousness in this in germany. if this is a terror attack, they do not want the terrorists to win. christmas markets are an important part of the festive season are an important part of the festive season in germany. important part of the german culture. that is why it was particularly chilling such an attack was carried out on innocent people, just having a good time at a christmas market for an evening with friends and family. that has shocked

people here so deeply in germany. meanwhile the pressure on chancellor angela merkel grows, and the policy of open door, some would suggest, as far as refugees in the middle east are concerned. it depends, who is the perpetrator. we have had that debate during the day, in germany, particularly the international press. that has been sparked off because of this particular suspect, he was an asylum seeker. if it turns out he was not the perpetrator, and the perpetrator was not an asylum seeker, that whole debate was a red herring. there is a feeling in germany, a lot of those who do not like the chancellor's stance on accepting refugees into the country, they feel that has destabilised and made germany less secure. we also

have to use a plenty of people in germany support her stance, and are proud of what they see as germany's humanitarian position on accepting people fleeing war, coming into germany. the country really is divided about that. whether this has a political effect, particularly coming up next year's elections. if it turns out the perpetrator is not an asylum seeker, it really would have nothing to do with mrs merkel‘s policy on refugees. much more on that story in a few minutes, now time for the sport. ahead, twice went —— wimbledon champion petra kliba the twice wimbledon champion petra kvitova is undergoing potentially

career—saving surgery, after a knife attack this morning. will alastair cook resign after england's humbling in india. jamie vardy‘s appeal against the red card and suspension is dismissed. the twice wimbledon champion petra kvitova is undergoing potentially career—saving surgery, after a knife attack this morning. the world number 11 says she's ‘fortunate to be alive' after the attack during a burglary at her home in the czech republic. the full extent of the damage will not be clear until kvitova emerges from surgery. what do we know about this? this happened this morning, the property

she owns in eastern town in the czech republic. she opened the door for a czech republic. she opened the door fora man claiming czech republic. she opened the door for a man claiming to be there to ta ke for a man claiming to be there to take a gas meter reading. he did not know who she was, until she opened the door. there was a struggle in the door. there was a struggle in the bathroom, the intruder held a knife to her throat. in defending herself, she suffered severe cuts to all four fingers herself, she suffered severe cuts to all fourfingers on her herself, she suffered severe cuts to all four fingers on her left herself, she suffered severe cuts to all fourfingers on her left hand, which as you say is her playing hand. the intruder ran away, the police was called, she was taken to see a surgeon police was called, she was taken to see a surgeon in the north of the country, where an emergency operation began. that is still ongoing. we do not know how severe this is. we're told there is tendon ligament damage. she won wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, lifting two titles towards the end of the year. winning the bronze medal at the rio olympics. currently ranked 11th in the world. she was a doubt for the

season—opening australian open on the 16th of january, with an ankle injury. this makes that almost impossible now. she took to social media, hopefully in reasonable spirits. alastair cook says now isn't the time for him to make a decision about his future as england captain after his side lost the final test against india. defeat to india by an innings and 75 runs means they've lost the series 4—0. england's task was in theory a straightforward one, flat—out recessions, survive for a draw and head home with some credibility. things started well, but the date deteriorated dramatically. here's how india might look from the plane home.

it's a view england longed for. one more day. perhaps with a foretaste of christmas, the collapse came after lunch. cook, the captain, first out. ravi jadeja once more the bowler. 103-1. they'd had to wait, but india were off and running. indeed. keating jennings, a gentle return catch to jadeja. now chennai awoke. after india scored 759 on monday, england's only incentive was to deny them victory by batting all day. with the help of an lbw review, root fell to six. jonny bairstow on one — up, up and out. jadeja's catch, who else? still moeen ali fought to 44, then this. oh, mo. the six wicket was stokes. dawson soon followed 40, and the england

dressing room, speechless. with over an hour left in the day england lost their eighth wicket. dressing room, right. back camejadeja to take the ninth. still over half an hour for india to wrap it up. jake ball batted, jadeja bowled his seventh wicket, england all out for 207. they'd lost ten wickets forjust 104 runs. to lose a series 4—0, to lose like this displays a weak streak far wider than england imagined. and alastair cook will now consider his future starting on the flight home. joe wilson, bbc news. typical day to finish a typical tour. questions asked about alastair cook's future, the england captain faced the press. it's the wrong time to make those decisions, because your energy is low, you know, morale is low. and you can make some foolish decisions at the time. so while there's not a test match for seven months, it will seem very foolish to stand here now and make a decision, which either you regret or you don't.

so, if there was a test match in three weeks' time, then you'd have to think. now there is a bit of space, why not use it? england lost the series 4—0, many predicted it would be difficult. many performance disappointing from an england side seeing batting colla pses, an england side seeing batting collapses, not bowling with a potency many people expected. they will not play in the test format untiljuly. alastair cook with a lot of thinking to do. several english players not featuring in the series in india played in the big bash in australia. eion morgan making 26, including this six for the sydney thunder. jason roy made a huge six for the opposing team, the sydney sixers. sam billings also playing for them. they beat the thunder with

six balls to spare. valtteri bottas' moved to mercedes as lewis hamilton's new team—mate, after the retirement of nico rosberg, is close to completion. mercedes made a pitch for him to replace rosberg. the deal will see felipe massa come out of retirement and replacing nick williams. —— replace him at williams. jamie vardy will serve a three match ban after his claim for wrongful dismissal was rejected by the fa. vardy was shown a straight red for a two—footed tackle during leicester city's match against stoke on saturday. he won the ball, but made contact with mame diouf‘s shins. he'll now miss the premier league champions' games with everton, west ham and middlesbrough. j°ey joey barton will re—sign at burnley ona joey barton will re—sign at burnley on a short—term deal. he was named championship player of the season last year, and left to join championship player of the season last year, and left tojoin rangers.

his contract there was terminated. newcastle united midfielder jonjo shelvey has been banned for five games and fined £100,000 after being found guilty of using racially abusive language towrds an opponent. shelvey was charged following an incident with wolves midfielder romain saiss in a 2—0 defeat in september. he's also been ordered to attend an fa education course. ona poor on a poor run of form, embroiled in a legal battle over their latest signing, these are tough times for sale sharks, sitting tenth and apprenticeship after losing the last five matches. another big—name signing could be in the offing. we have sat down with steve diamond. sale's players are struggling to see the wood from the trees. six defeats on the spin, albeit one of them to saracens, has turned the pressure on the sharks and their coach steve diamond. are you feeling the pressure? i am feeding the pressure, i don't like losing. i have been here for six years can always been a

toxic site. to be sat in tenth place is disappointing. one or two wins away from being sixth, we have to keep the faith. they will need to resolve the legal battle over dennis solomana. his former club castleford bringing legal proceedings. we made a substantial offer. he was fired by his previous club, once he was, we offered him a contract. the latest player to be linked with the club is george ford. is he someone you'd be interested in? we would be interested in? we would be interested in? we would be interested in anyone with george ford's ability. we need to go with world —class ford's ability. we need to go with world—class ability to take the club but we want to go. whenjanuary arrives, and the transfer window opens for we can start discussions, if he fancies a chat. fetching the

old —— oldham born george ford back would be a major coup. for now they have to concentrate on securing their place in the top flight. before we go, let's feature on a much more uplifting tennis story. £50 million has been pledged over the next decade to double the amount of courts in doors in scotland. still more money is needed, if that goal is to be achieved. in scottish tennis, whatever your level, this has been a year unlike any other. that is it, a winner. grand slam men's doubles. once again andy murray is the olympic champion. wimbledon champion. home—grown world leaders in the sport, now