i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: so—called islamic state says one of its militants carried out the lorry attack in berlin — which left 12 people dead. police have released the sole suspect. explosions tear through a fireworks market in mexico — at least nine people are killed and dozens more injured. i'm babita sharma in london. living under a cloud — the millions in north east china facing extreme air pollution. the world health organisation has an annual recommended target of 10, and here, according to our little egg, right now it's over 400. out of the stratosphere — and into history: we talk to the man who made a 15—minute freefall to earth. live from your studios in singapore

and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and 2am in berlin where investigators say they won't rest until those behind the truck attack on a christmas market are caught. earlier, police released a pakistani asylum seeker who was arrested shortly after the attack, saying there was insufficient evidence against him. 12 people were killed and nearly 50 others injured. the islamic state group said one of its militants had carried out the attack. here's our berlin correspondent jenny hill with the latest. first light this morning and the sheer violence of this attack dawns. the lorry crashed through the christmas crowds here, shattering everything, everyone in its path.

this footage was taken in the immediate aftermath of the attack. bodies lie scattered under the twinkling lights. moments earlier, these people were eating, drinking, shopping, at one of berlin's most popular christmas markets. it's just amazing how a peaceful festive happy atmosphere just changed instantly and you have this scene of utter devastation. sara and rees may never forget what they saw. obviously there was people lying on the floor. we weren't sure if it was red wine or if it was blood but we did see — i remember there were people trying to pick up the stalls, we decided to try to lift the stall up with them and we realised, you know, other people unfortunately underneath were already passed. the lorry itself is key to the investigation.

it appears to have been hijacked, it belongs to a polish firm. today, the owner identified the man who should have been at the wheel. he was found shot dead in the passenger seat. even the police admit they still don't know who was driving. last night, they arrested a pakistani man who came to germany to seek asylum earlier this year. this evening, they released him without charge. the so—called islamic state group have claimed the attack. but tonight investigators say the individuals who did these are still at large. translation: we don't know with any certainty whether we are dealing with one perpetrator or with several. we don't know with any certainty whether he or they had any support. and now, just like nice, paris, brussels, berlin mourns. and the german chancellor must reassure her citizens.

angela merkel is under pressure. just the suggestion that an asylum seeker may have been responsible has reignited a national debate over whether her refugee policy has put the country at risk. it would be particularly hard to bear, she says, if it turned out that the person who did this was someone who sought protection and asylum in germany. it would be particularly offensive to the many germans engaged daily in the task of helping refugees. tonight, a stillness in the heart of berlin. what, after all, is there to say? another terror attack in another european capital and 2a hours later it seems no—one here knows who did this or where they are now. at least 2a cities across the north

east of china have declared extreme air pollution alerts. millions of people are confined indoors to avoid the toxic smog. many are asking why the government hasn't done more to tackle the problem. environmental officials admit some factories are flouted the pollution restrictions. many are asking why the government hasn't done more to tackle this problem. he's coughing and short of breath and always feeling phlegm in his throat. he's coughing hard particularly at night. translation: wejust coughing hard particularly at night. translation: we just hope the government can make a greater effort in controlling the pollution so that oui’ in controlling the pollution so that ourair in controlling the pollution so that our air quality can be a bit better and our children can grow up healthily. and joining us now from shanghai is peggy liu, the chairperson of the joint shanghai is peggy liu, the chairperson of thejoint us—china collaboration on clean energy.

thanks forjoining us once again on newsday. we heard from those very concerned citizens about the dangerous levels of pollution in the north—east. how bad is it really for their health. i think on an individual basis where you have people going to beijing and getting internal bleeding, you know there's a problem. when you have people locked up for days trying to escape the smog, you know that this is something that is throwing everybody‘s lives into chaos. i think the good news is that china is trying to do something about it. the bad news is that it's going to take some time. china is trying to do something about it because in 2014, beijing declared an all—out war on pollution, but it's already been two yea rs, yes, pollution, but it's already been two years, yes, factories have been shut down, but are they losing the war?|j think that the thing to keep in perspective is that smog is something that london has dealt with, still dealing with. la is

dealing with, and these take 40 yea rs if dealing with, and these take 40 years if you look at history. china's trying to do the same thing within a matter of a decade. so this isa within a matter of a decade. so this is a tremendous scale of infrastructure that we're talking about. 0n the other hand, china has 110w about. 0n the other hand, china has now released the strictest environmental law that they have had everin environmental law that they have had ever in the beginning of 2015 where people are fined on a daily basis without limit and whistle—blowers actually paid to talk about what are the sources of pollution. so there is hope, i think, the sources of pollution. so there is hope, ithink, in the sources of pollution. so there is hope, i think, in the future. but what more needs to be done? i mean, we need solutions in the near term? sorry, we need to be shutting down coal plants, and the good news is that in the last few months, china has announced over 20 coalfire power pla nts to has announced over 20 coalfire power plants to be shut down, ones they have spent billions of dollars trying to construct, they're now shutting down. the equivalent of all of the uk, and spain's coalfired

power plants combined. so there's tremendous commitment, i think, on china's part. there were environmental activists who are saying over the past year that chinese shorts have slackened off because the economy has also slowed down? yes, i think that we should view the journey towards blue skies as sort of a step ladder. this is certainly not a smooth progression towards doing everything that we possibly can, but on — you know, we do have economic pressures. so in recent months, they have allowed steelfired plants — steel plants and aluminium plants, concrete plants to fire up once again nearby beijing. this is what's really causing the problem when you have fog in conjunction with new emission. so briefly — where can — when can we see then real impact with these measures? well, we have already luckily capped coal con summon in

2014 -- luckily capped coal con summon in 2014 —— con sums in 2014. we reached peak oil demand last year in 2015, so peak oil demand last year in 2015, soi peak oil demand last year in 2015, so i believe that we'll see better and better days starting from 2017 and better days starting from 2017 and we'll see continual improvement. as long as the chinese government continues to, you know, thing — realise that the environment is tied directly to the economy and social harmony, then they will continue to do their best. all right. we'll leave it there, thank you so much for joining leave it there, thank you so much forjoining us, peggy liu joining us from shanghai. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. a series of explosions have torn through a fireworks market on the outskirts of mexico city. the authorities say at least 26 people were killed and dozens of others injured. this dramatic footage broadcast on local television shows the moment the first stall caught fire, detonating a chain of explosions at the open—air san pablito market in tultepec. people ran away in panic engulfed by

a huge cloud of smoke. similar incidents destroyed part of the markets back in 2005 and 2016. also making news this hour — japan has sent a new satellite into space, aboard the epsilon—2 rocket. it will study how electrons move in outer space and monitor space storms and solar winds. it's also part of a new generation of rockets which are cheaper to launch than conventional spacecraft. two—time wimbledon champion petra kvitova has undergone surgery on her playing hand after a random knife attack inside her own home in the czech republic. kvitova is likely to be out of action for at least three months as she recovers. translation: police are searching for the suspicious man. now, we have the description, it is a man about

35—year—old of 187cm, slim physique. he was carrying a bag on his arm during the there's been an increase in the death toll in those poisoned by bath lotion in siberia. authorities say at least 52 people have now died with 29 remain ill — some seriously. the poisoning took place in irkutsk. it's one of the worst such cases in recent years. attack. the official death toll grew by 20 people over the course of a few hours on monday. heavy rain has battered fiji as thousands of people were forced to evacuate from their homes. flooding has cut off some roads and caused landslides across the country. meteorologists say the tropical depression is weakening and conditions are expected to improve. take at look at this, it's can sis city where the driver of a stolen

pick—up truck is doing his best to evade the police after taking a rather unconventional route in this process. the dramatic chase was actually captured from a helicopter. the man reportedly reached speeds of up the man reportedly reached speeds of up to 160kph, but as you can see here, he eventually was caught cornered and arrested. no injuries we re cornered and arrested. no injuries were reported. turkish police have detained six people following the killing of the russian ambassador in ankara on monday. it's believed those being questioned are related to the off—duty police officer who killed andrei karlov. 0ur correspondent in moscow steve rosenberg told me this could potentially be a dangerous moment for russian turkish relations but so far the leaders of the two countries seem to be sticking together. so far, yes, that is significant because it's no secret that russia and turkey had a pretty difficult and turkey had a pretty difficult and sometimes explosive relationship over syria. think backjust over a

year to when the turkish air force shot down a russian bomber, but more recently, the two countries have tried to put all of that behind them and forge a new relationship, a new partnership, basically because their two presidents, putin and erdogan, have calculated it's in both their interests to do that. so ever since last night, moscow and ankara have been going out of their way to display a united front to make it clear that they do not want to fallout again. and, you know, the russians have a lot riding on this display of unity because they are convinced here that the new moscow—led diplomacy on syria, the so—called troika of russia, iran and turkey which met in mek today, this is on turkey which met in mek today, this isona turkey which met in mek today, this is on a verge of a diplomatic breakthrough, if it can be achieved, it's a big if, could elevate russia to the position of key bower broker and player in the middle east. i think vladimir putin would like nothing better than to end the syrian conflict on his terms. but i

think we're still a long way, away from that scenario. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: waiting for wild pandas. we speak to the wildlife photographer who goes to extreme lengths to get the very best shots. we saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach, and people started to run, and suddenly it was complete chaos. united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noreiga. the pentagon said the operation had been 90% successful, but it's failed in its principal objective, to capture general noreiga and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of the pan—am's maid of the seas,

nose—down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm babita sharma, in london. our top stories: so—called islamic state says one of its militants carried out the lorry attack in berlin, which left 12 people dead. police have released the sole suspect. at least 26 people have been killed and dozens more injured, after explosions tore through a fireworks market

in mexico. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the china daily focuses on a bidding warfor a contract to build a high—speed railway between singapore and malaysia. the consortium from china railway company will challenge japanese, german and canadian competitors all vying for the contract. the south china morning post has a story on the united states being overtaken in outbound mergers and acquisition volumes for the first time. the paper says data puts china ahead of the us in 2016. china has announced more than $219 billion in m&a deals compared to $217.6 billion for the united states. and the philippine daily inquirer leads with the deadly terror attacks in berlin and ankara, quoting the final words of gunman who fatally shot russian ambassador andrei karlov at an art gallery in the turkish capital on monday.

us president barack 0bama has permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in us atlantic and arctic waters, in one of his last major environmental protection actions before leaving office next month. mr 0bama invoked a provision of a 1953 law which will be difficult for president—elect donald trump to reverse. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has been following this story it isa it is a widely used provision in the law which he is invoking to take this action, a provision which gives the president the power to withdraw federal waters for a new oil and gas drilling. this is a joint action with canada, the prime minister justin trudeau has made a long—term commitment to protect the up thick from drilling. president 0bama said

it is the arctic unique ecosystem thatis it is the arctic unique ecosystem that is behind this decision. the risk of damage of working in this remote region and concerns are about climate change. he also said it would take decades to fully develop the infrastructure necessary, on a large scale, drill for oil and gas in these areas. he said this is coming ata in these areas. he said this is coming at a time when we to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels. this has been seen, in part, as president 0bama attempted to secure his legacy in terms of environmental policies. it is also stifling the future of president—elect donald trump want to continue using fossil fuel. an official at the white house has said

they are quite confident that future president trump would not be able to undo this provision announced by the current president 0bama. if you did wa nt to current president 0bama. if you did want to go down that road, it could potentially involve years of legal action and possibly the passage of a new bill like congress. —— by congress. british—chinese cameraman jacky poon is among very few professionals documenting endangered animals hidden deep in china's mountains and valleys. the majority of chinese were only introduced to wildlife films this year, after the first nature blockbuster, born in china, had an impressive debut in cinemas and a wildlife documentary called the mystery monkeys of shangri—la won an emmy nomination. jacky told us about what it's like to be part of the budding wildlife movie industry in china. there are only a few thousand yunnan snubnosed monkeys. they are gentle with odd looking noses and prominent forelocks.

we have been told by rangers this morning that a monkey is going to come across this way. to become a wildlife cameraman, the most important thing is consistency. now we're up at the top of the mountain. to be patient you have to be consistent with it, you have to keep trying and when you get the shot you want, you still have to keep trying and make it even better. there are moments of happiness and moments of sort of depression, almost. i think one of the best moments is just that shot when we were able to get of the young monkey trying to climb the tree and then a hand comes down and reaches him and helped him up the tree. that is something that is truly amazing, it's really blown my mind. come on, pandas, where are you? the most depressing part is definitely filming wild pandas, where i was in hiding for 28 days.

a lot of waiting time, a lot ofjust looking around, trying to wait to see pandas and be able to film them was so difficult. but when we get it it is most rewarding, for sure. we are finally able to film a panda in a wild environment. no one really has experienced a wildlife documentary movie in china. born in china — you know, the box office and everything that has come out of the film really is astounding. i thought that this would be a great opportunity for people outside china to know what is like to be inside china but then it would be more amazing for people in china to discover what they have in their own country because people in china have no idea. they did not even know some of the species existed

or where they can find them. all they see is brick walls and cities. everyone, in the back of the head knew that this was something that could be done, could be an industry and people are interested in making film and that is the start of something brilliant. incredible talent. if you're scared of heights close your eyes now. one man who isn't is alan eustace, a senior google executive who in 2014 broke the world record for the highest parachute jump. he took a balloon more than 135,000 feet into the stratosphere and skydived back to earth. the space suit he wore is now on display at the smithsonian's national air and space museum in virginia. jane o'brien kept her feet firmly on the ground and went to take a look. what goes up must come down but simply reaching the earth's stratosphere was the first challenge for alan eustace. it took more than 2 hours to ascend 25 miles and around 15 minutes to parachute back to earth, at times travelling faster

than the speed of sound. previous explorers used complicated platforms and shall, mr eustace is the balloon and a very special suit. what was really unique about this was we tried to build the space that was equivalent to scuba diving wet tanks were included so they didn't i did have to disconnect from the shall, didn't have to have a heavy shall, all had to do was like scuba dive in an environment that was capable to sustain me during that time. that suit is now in display in smithsonian's national air and space museum in virginia, home to many artefacts of space exploration which in the 1950s inspired alan eustace. everyone i know wanted to be an astronaut, of being above the atmosphere and be able to look at the earth, the dark is of space, the beautiful atmosphere. that dream never went away. even at 57 years old, i'm stilldreaming. remarkably, the suit

was made relatively cheaply. they simply discovered new ways to apply. such as thermal underwear with the water system. the water circles around my chest and my legs and goes back to be reheated. why did need to be kept warm? it is cold up there. the higher you go through the stratosphere, the colder it gets and eventually we gather to minus 110— 120. alan eustace, a keen skydiver and piolot did not have to spend years and 110w someone to be an astronaut. could i do this? you could certainly do this. the way we design the system was, if i was unconscious, they had to be able to get me from 135000 feet down to the ground safely. so if you are capable of doing nothing, i think you could do it. with many sites set on moon

and mars, the earth stratosphere remain unexplored but this suit or something like it puts within reach of scientists and one day it might even be adapted to bring people back from the international space station. how are you doing? i am tired but healthy. jana o'brian, bbc news, virginia. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. thanks forjoining us — we will leave you with the pictures from berlin's brandenberg gate, lit up in the colours of the german flag in memory of those killed at the christmas market, where 12 people died when a truck drov into them — many others are still in hospital you have probably heard already, but as we go towards the christmas

weekend, it looks as if things will turn exceptionally stormy, especially in the northern half of the british isles. i will show you why injust a second. by the weekend, we will show you a pressure chart with more isobars on it than this. a breezier day on wednesday than many of us have seen for a while. two weather fronts to deal with. a lull in proceedings. this more northerly feature will drift away out of the western side of scotland where it will produce a bit of rain. it will weaken as it comes into the north england and england and wales and into the south—west. by the afternoon, maybe the cloud will thicken again in southern parts of england and wales to produce a really miserable end to the day. it is the shortest day, of course, and i think it will get darker awfully quickly in the afternoon given the amount of cloud we will see. temperatures are at least 10—11 degrees. something of that order.

brighter skies behind. as it comes to scotland and northern ireland, cold air dominating the scene. the added strength of the wind here. wintry showers will fall to low levels. showers will keep going in northern ireland and scotland. this area will gradually move off to the near continent allowing a bright and crisp start to the day across the greater part of england and wales. another blustery one for scotland and northern ireland, wintry showers falling to a low level. it will feel very fresh indeed. eventually showers will go up through northern and western parts of both england and wales as well. generally speaking, further south, a decent day in prospect. although not overly warm. and then it is on into friday where we bring in the second named storm of the season, this is storm barbara. and notice the number of isobars in northern and western parts especially of scotland. that is why the storm has been named and why we have the amber warning from the met office. the strength of the wind.

how strong? look at this. close to the centre of the storm could see around 90 miles an hour. to the south, england and wales, the gusts could reach 70 miles an hour. that is disruptive and possibly damaging at the same time. as we move towards christmas day itself, the exact track of this storm is in doubt at the moment. that is why we are just giving an indication. it could produce some severe gales and therefore some disruption. i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: so—called islamic state says one of its militants carried out the lorry attack on a berlin christmas market — which left 12 people dead. german prosecutors have released the sole suspect, a pakistani asylum seeker, saying they had insufficient evidence to link him to the crime. at least 26 people have been killed in a series of explosions at a fireworks market north of mexico city. dozens more have been injured. the market was busy ahead of new year celebrations.

the video is trending the at bbc.com. at least 24 cities across the north east of china have declared extreme air pollution alerts. millions of people are confined indoors to avoid the toxic smog. flights have been cancelled and highways closed because of low visibility. stay with bbc world news. and the top story here in the uk — scientists have made a remarkable breakthrough in the treatment of early stage prostate cancer.