this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines at 9am: the hunt for a killer — german police say the man who drove a lorry into christmas shoppers in berlin is still at large. vigils are held to remember those who died when the truck smashed through a christmas market on monday night. i'm robert hall in berlin. as police release their only suspect they're urging the public to be on heightened alert. in mexico, at least 29 people are killed and many more injured after a huge explosion at a fireworks market. the last rebel enclave in aleppo is evacuated as syrian government forces plan to take full control of the city. also, an increase in the number of people reporting historical child abuse. figures seen by the bbc show the numbers reporting allegations in england and wales has more than doubled in the past year. and new safety checks on people who buy drones are being considered by the government.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. a manhunt is underway in germany after police revealed the suspect they arrested following monday's truck attack in berlin has been released without charge. 12 people were killed and nearly 50 were injured after a lorry was driven into crowds at a christmas market. security has been stepped up in the german capital. the authorities say they are following up 500 pieces of information. our correspondent robert hall is in berlin with the latest. well, there is still a sombre mood

around this area. an area which is circled now by shrines and we will come back to the moments of remembrance later on. but here and gci’oss remembrance later on. but here and across the city, indeed across germany, that police investigation is widening and intensifying. they say 80 of those 500 leads that they mentioned earlier are now regarded as positive leads which they need to work on and follow up. a report bringing things up—to—date, here is catriona renton. this had been a place filled with festive joy. now, silence and sadness, as people come together to support each other. members of berlin's muslim community sit outside the nearby church, asking for peace. translation: we want to clearly distance ourselves from every person that attacks our society. germany is our home. we love germany, we want to live here. berlin is our city, and we won't allow our life to be threatened.

it is still not known who crashed this lorry, or where they are. this was the immediate aftermath. 12 people were killed, dozens more injured, when the christmas market was attacked on monday evening. fabrizia di lorenzo's family in italy fear she may be one of those who died. the lorry itself is key to the investigation. it appears it was hijacked. it's owned by a polish man. he said his cousin, lukasz urban, should have been at the wheel. he was found shot dead in the passenger seat. police had arrested a man from pakistan who came to germany to seek asylum earlier this year. he was released without charge. the so—called islamic state group claimed the attack, but the person or people behind it are still at large. the director of the bnd, the german security service, warned only two or three weeks‘ ago

that the christmas markets would be a likely target, and it was necessary to be vigilant, so it wasn't as if they hadn't thought this through. the area where this attack took place, is not difficult to block off to traffic during a market. it is surprising to me that anyone could get a lorry that close, a big 25 tonne lorry. it looks as if the german police and security services were somewhat slow. last night, berlin's brandenburg gate was lit up in the colours of the german flag. the city's mayor has urged residents to be vigilant, but not lock themselves in their homes while the search for whoever did this continues. 0ne one of the crucial things is piecing together the journey of the truck, the sequence of events of that led up the sequence of events of that led up to the vehicle driving into the market just after eight o'clock up to the vehicle driving into the marketjust after eight o'clock on monday evening. so, just bear with

me one second while i look that up, sorry i have lost my script for a moment. i will be with you in one second. yes, sorry, the lorry drove into the christmas market packed with tourists and locals and that killed 12 people and injured 49. the suspected driver fled killed 12 people and injured 49. the suspected driverfled into the darkness of the tiergarten park and he was pursued by a witness who called the police. shortly after that, a 23—year—old pakistani man was arrested, but police do not think he was involved. and the last fa ct, think he was involved. and the last fact, of course a polish man who was found dead in the lorry‘s passenger seat, he was the registered driver, but police believe he may have been the victim of a hijack and obviously, information has been coming from the company that employed that driver. he has been identified. his cousin has identified. his cousin has identified him. he rang his wife at three o'clock that afternoon

according to some newspaper reports, but wasn't heard of after that. there is records from the lorry‘s instrument tation that suggests that at some point it was started up repeatedly, but not actually driven off and then it did travel the five kilometres across berlin to the location where the attack was carried out. it is at this location that the vigils that i referred to we re that the vigils that i referred to were held yesterday. there have been candles lit on many of the closed down stalls. many have been lit at bmp down stalls. many have been lit at lamp posts and the security fencing that's been erected. it is a similar billion of the city coming together, not only to show its sympathy for those who lost their lives and those who were injured, but also to show it's intention not to be cowed, not to be defeated by an act of terrorism. amongst the crowds were muslims from berlin who were there to show their solidarity with the

people of the city and their resilience in the face of such violence. the papers this morning just a couple of them that i've grabbed. 0ne couple of them that i've grabbed. one of them catriona referred to this in her report, the brandenburg gate lit up in national colours. this paper, just one word, "fear" across the front page and all the papers trying to piece together tar own versions of events. let's speak toa own versions of events. let's speak to a journalist from berlin. alan, come and join me, first of all, we talk about mood and i'm not going to ask about what the mood is, however, you do get the sense that there is from really very early oranges there was a sense that people were not going to be cowed by this and people are not going to be moved by it. yes. you know, there is a sense of first a sense of disbelief and then there is a sense that this is not

happening, but berlin is, you know, we like to think of it as germany's new york, germany's london, we're that kind of city. we have been through a lot. look at that church, it isa through a lot. look at that church, it is a symbol of the war. it was destroyed during the war and kept as a symbol of what happened and never again sort of feeling. we have had the wall here. you know, we've been, the wall here. you know, we've been, the cold war, the blockade, so you know, although that paper had its banner headline "fear" i don't think that's the main thing. i think the main thing is a gritty determination to the to be, but bloody, but unbowed like winston churchill said at the time of the blitz. journalists in berlin are following the police investigation closely and coming up with their own theories. a lot of papers talking about the polish driver and what may or may not have happened to him. what sort of picture is being built up of events that led up to that attack on monday? yes, i mean, it seems that this polish driver, he fought the

attacker in his cab, in the cab of his truck. so, i mean, we have had, oui’ his truck. so, i mean, we have had, ourups and his truck. so, i mean, we have had, our ups and downs in relations with poland, i mean very bad downs, but recently there has been an anti—german mood in poland and to have a polish hero possibly here is one of the good points of this and the idea that this guy, this polish truck driver, this normal guy, was trying to stop some kind of incredibly evil person from doing harm here at this place. so you know, that's one of the things that makes you think, sort of believe in human nature. the polish truck driver could have said, "well, it is out of my hands." and then he was shot. he apparently tried to save people. german lives. obviously that's still being pieced to go, i wa nt to that's still being pieced to go, i want to touch on angela merkel, the german chancellor, here yesterday, some time after the event, but

showing her solidarity with the people of berlin and the many visitors, however questions being asked about the possible origin of attack, we have the so—called islamic state claiming responsibility for it. was this an aasylum seeker or refugee, we don't know, do we? no, we don't know. is claimed responsibility as you said and the original suspect had entered asa and the original suspect had entered as a refugee. so it is a possibility. and there is going to bea possibility. and there is going to be a demonstration of right—wingers in front of the chancellory and two members of the right—wing populist party will speak there. one of them isa party will speak there. one of them is a friend of mine, an ex—colleague. and the question is, will germans follow people who are angry at migrants or will they rally round sort of, the chancellor and the mainstream parties who are saying, "we're not being attacked by migrants. we're being attacked by islamic state. we're not being

attacked because we took in migrants, we are being attacked because we armed the kurds against is and because we are in afghanistan fighting al-qaeda." which is the real reason, you know, so it could go both ways. is she being weakened further? it is pure speculation who is involved with this and who isn't involved with this at this stage, but rumours of this sort, does that wea ken but rumours of this sort, does that weaken the chancellor's position still further? well, in the short—term, yes. 0bviously. 0bviously people have been saying like bavarian president who have been saying that too many refugees, there hasn't been enough security checks and so on. they are on a roll now, but you know, on closer reflection, will people rally around the government? will they say what we now don't need is disunity? that's a possibility. it is early days yet. berlin is resilient, angela merkel is resilient, we will

see. thank you very much indeed for talking to me today. that's it from berlin for now, but obviously we will be here throughout the day following events, notjust on the scene, but to do with that wider police investigation and as and when we get further developments, of course, we will bring that to you as quickly as we can. for now, back to you. studio: thank you very much, robert, thank you. 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 on the bbc news. in london, scotland yard is bringing forward extra security measures for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace, because of the berlin attack. roads around the palace will be closed during the ceremony. the restrictions are being introduced sooner than planned, but police say the change is "a precautionary measure" for the next three months, and is not based on any specific intelligence. 0ur correspondent, richard lister, is outside buckingham palace. so richard, tell us what will be happening there then. well, joanna,

the changing of the guard at buckingham palace is one of the most ceremonial events in london. it ta kes pla ce ceremonial events in london. it takes place every other day at this time of yearand takes place every other day at this time of year and it always attracts thousands of tourists from over the world. now, there is always an element of disruption here, but what they're going to do is close all of they're going to do is close all of the roads around the frontage of buckingham palace from constitutional hill, going around to the roads which head off in that direction and then the mall which is where the new guard processes down to ta ke where the new guard processes down to take part in the changing of the guard ceremony. all those roads will be closed from 10.45am until 12.30, the changing of the guard ceremony begins at 11.30am and it lasts 90 minutes. that's a substantial disruption to this part of london. it will happen for the next three months of the it is a trial process for these new security arrangements. the metropolitan police and the royal parks said they had been planning to put this into operation

anyway, but not as soon as this, and they brought the schedule forward in response to the attacks in berlin. thank you very much, richard. with me is lord ricketts, who was national security advisor to david cameron between 2010 and 2012. welcome. good morning. just reflecting on your time in paris, first of all, you were ambassador there through some terrible attacks as well, inevitably, of course, people feel a terrible fear after something has happened and shock, but there is as we have seen and heard a determination to come through that and not give into the fear, what's your prospective on that, having lived through that? the terrible attacks in paris this time last year, the initial reaction, of course, is shock and revulsion and then mourning, but people quickly say they won't accept that this is going to change their life. quite quickly a big city like paris or berlin or london after the 2005 attacks gets back to something like normal. of course, people are more

concerned about security, but i don't think this has a long—term impact on the way people go about their lives. pa rt part of it is the reassurance that the security services are doing everything they can. when there is a threat, how difficult is it from the perspective of the security services to get it right? inevitably it just of the security services to get it right? inevitably itjust takes one thing to go wrong for it to have a catastrophe. this does not change the threat, it dramatises it. the police should step up their security around their iconic locations like buckingham palace, it is reassuring. it might be a deterrent against some person who decides off the cuff to have a go. but i don't think it is a long—term solution. that is to get u pstrea m of long—term solution. that is to get upstream of the problem, good intelligence, and disrupt plots. how

ha rd intelligence, and disrupt plots. how hard is it, with the plot we have seenin hard is it, with the plot we have seen in berlin and others, where it does not require much planning and it does not require a lot of communication with others? it does not require a lot of communication with otherwm it does not require a lot of communication with others? it is the nightmare of the authorities, because if it is a complex operation there is lots of communication, but if it is a lone wolf or a small group, it is extremely hard to get u pstrea m group, it is extremely hard to get upstream intelligence of what they are trying to do. but once somebody has commandeered a truck, it is too late. no security. p. you have to find a way of having the contacts, the people, informers, who can get inside these networks and let the authorities know before an attack is mounted. lorries will be an immediate focus, because this is the second big attack in which a lorry has been used. it is always the thing of trying to spot something

before it repeatedly happened. protecting a venue might be useful, but it will not stop a determined attacker. the only way is to get ahead of it and to learn of things before they become action on the ground. that is the most difficult thing. these people are not com pletely low thing. these people are not completely low walls, they are part ofa completely low walls, they are part of a community, a group, some friends will note that they have started acting strangely, they have had plans and say weird things, and it is that early indication that people have to alert the police to. having been on the inside, when the intelligence is coming through, how difficult is it to try to pick through it and make sure you do the right thing? the most difficult. that the excellent people have to do is prioritise, because on any day of the week they will get hundreds of

rumours, so you have to have a rigorous process of prioritising top 20 or 30 rigorous process of prioritising top 20 or30 and rigorous process of prioritising top 20 or 30 and putting all of your resources on to those, because you cannot follow everybody. it is difficult. occasionally it will go wrong. it is amazing that we have been since 2005 without a major attack in this country, it is a tribute to the professionalism of our authorities, and one of the reactions to germany will be to increase the investment in their security authorities as well, he tried to get them up to our level. but we can never be complacent, because an attack could happen here at any time. german police are hunting the man who drove a lorry into christmas shoppers in berlin. their only suspect has been released without charge. in mexico at least 29 are killed and many more injured after a huge explosion at a fireworks market. the last rebel enclave in aleppo is evacuated, as syrian government

forces plan to take full control of the city. and in sport. michael vaughan says he expects alastair cook to step down as england captain afterfour years in the role. the two—time wimbledon champion petra kvitova says she's lucky to be alive after a knife attack at her home in the czech republic. she will not hold a racket for at least three months. and league one side peterborough united will face chelsea in the fa cup third round, after beating notts county 2—0. i'll be back with more on those stories. at least 29 people have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks market in mexico. emergency services said dozens of others were injured, and they expect the death toll to rise. it's the third major explosion at the site since 2005. the moment the san pablito fireworks

market was engulfed in flames. within minutes, the entire site destroyed in a blaze of smoke, noise and deadly explosions. once the smoke cleared, the scale of the damage became clear. a fire at this market was always likely to have devastating consequences. most big celebrations in mexico involve fireworks so in the run—up to christmas, it was full of shoppers. the local authorities have confirmed 30 deaths and many others injured. once nearby, residents got over the initial shock of the blast, they did what they could to assist the emergency services. translation: a series of blasts came

one after the other, people started to fall down a lot. they started running and pieces of concrete and bricks started falling all over the street. translation: there were several explosions and we saw the smoke. we thought it was the gas station, and then we saw it was the fireworks. we heard several strong explosions and then the smoke came up. for the time being, the authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the tragedy, but whatever is behind it, this isn't the first explosion at san pablito. in 2005, just before mexican independence day, the market caught light, injuring more than 120 people. at the time, the mexican government vowed to impose strict regulations on the fireworks industry, but many mexicans are angry that the rules are often never applied or never enforced, and that mexico state's market traders and shoppers

lost their lives through a potentially avoidable accident. police in turkey have detained six people following the assassination the russian ambassador in ankara. it's believed they are related to the off—duty police officer who opened fire. as the body of andrei karlov was flown back home, both kremlin and turkish officials said the killing would not derail their negotiations about the war in syria. the abortion provider marie stopes international has been strongly criticised in inspection reports published by the regulator, the care quality commission. it voluntarily suspended the termination of pregnancies for under—18s and vulnerable women for seven weeks earlier this year, following unannounced inspections at 12 sites in england. the company says it has made considerable changes since the inspections. judgements are due to be handed down in one of the largest compensation claims against the roman catholic church. a total of 249 men have

lodged abuse claims against the diocese of middlesbrough and the de la salle institute, which ran the st william's children's home in market weighton, east yorkshire. bring us up to date. we have a small gathering here this morning of victims and their supporters ahead of thisjudgment victims and their supporters ahead of this judgment at the high court in leeds. it is a long—running civil case for compensation. this was launched in 200a. they have waited 12 years for a judgment, due to legal wrangling is over who should be responsible for paying the compensation. a reminder of the case, it relates to the approved school in market wheaton in which boys from across the north of england were sent. this is historic sexual abuse cases that relate back to the 1970s, 80s and 90s. in total,

we have 249 men who are suing the diocese of middlesbrough and the catholic order. but here we have heard just five test cases to start with. today the judgment in those five test cases will be heard. there have been three successful criminal prosecutions relating to abuse at the home. the former principal, james character, and the former chaplain at the home of both serving prison sentences now. for these men here today, this is notjust about compensation. for them, it here today, this is notjust about compensation. forthem, it is here today, this is notjust about compensation. for them, it is also proof, i suppose, compensation. for them, it is also proof, isuppose, that compensation. for them, it is also proof, i suppose, that they have finally been believed. many of these boys were sent there from troubled backgrounds, delinquents, petty criminals. for that reason, they feel as though they have never been

believed. today will be for them proof that perhaps they can move forward. we are expecting a judgment at around forward. we are expecting a judgment ataround 10am. forward. we are expecting a judgment at around 10am. hopefully these men will finally find outjust at around 10am. hopefully these men will finally find out just what this means in terms of moving ahead with the other 200 or more civil cases the other 200 or more civil cases the compensation here at the high court in leeds. people who buy drones could have to register them and take a test to prove they can fly them safely, under new rules proposed by the government. 59 near misses involving drones and airliners have been reported in the uk over the past 12 months. earlier this month, amazon made its first delivery by drone. just one potential use of an exciting new technology. but after a number of reports from pilots of near misses with drones, there is mounting concern about safety. if people don't use drones responsibly and follow the rules and regulations that are in place,

obviously, that is a safety issue first of all, but could also affect the long—term future of drones as well. there are already plenty of regulations. for example, i cannot fly here because we are too close to buildings and people. while professional users of drones have to register with the civil aviation authority, anyone else can just buy one and start flying. the government is consulting on regulations which would mean new drones would have to be registered, users would have to pass a theory test, like that for drivers, and there would be tougher penalties for using drones in no—fly zones. peter, an experienced drone owner, believes it is already too complex. if you put in too—complicated rules, you will scare people off and deny the future industry this pool of talent that we need. there will be thousands of new drone owners this christmas. whenever new rules come in, they are being told they will be

safer if they follow the drone code. nearly christmas, it will not be a white one, i issue? more of a wet and windy one. the weather has stepped up a gear compare to the stagnant conditions we have become used to over recent days and weeks, more lively weather on the way between now and christmas. but today it is a story of squally showers and blustery wind. the showers are packing in now across north—western areas, especially northern ireland, north—west scotland, and some of the showers falling as snow. we have various bands of rain working south and east across england and is well, with some drier and brighter weather

and sunshine in between. lots of showers ganging together across western scotland, some hail and thunder and snow, especially across higher ground. we could see a few centimetres. a similar story for northern ireland. with those gusty winds, we could see gales. for much of england and wales, a lot of dry weather and sunshine, but down towards the south—west, we will see some outbreaks of heavy rain. it turns the release of the across the south—west corner through the rush—hour. the wet weather moves east across southern parts of england. it leads clearer skies behind. the showers keep on coming for northern ireland and much of scotland, and there is a risk of icy stretches. tomorrow, the further south and east you are, it is not about dave. thought the northwest, again the blustery, heavy downpours

with some snow over higher ground, and a range of temperatures. then here comes trouble. this area of low pressure deepens all the time. this has now been named barbara. it means business. the met office has issued a warning for the strength of the wind, especially across northern and western parts. across north—west scotland, we could see 90 miles an hour. with that, a band of heavy rain moving south and east. the main —— the rain moves through quickly to stop it is not great news for what will be the christmas getaway. there could be some travel disruption. your local radio station will keep you up—to—date. there could be some more stormy weather to come over the christmas weekend. stay tuned to the forecast. is hello.

this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines at 9.30am: germany is on high alert as police hunt for the driver of the lorry that killed twelve people in berlin. the only suspect, an asylum seeker from pakistan, was released last night. scotland yard is bringing forward extra security measures for the changing of the guard ceremony at buckingham palace, because of the berlin attack. at least 29 people were killed and dozens more injured as a series of explosions tear through a fireworks market on the outskirts of mexico city. and as the last rebel enclave in aleppo is evacuated — syrian government forces are hoping to take full control of the city. now the sport with with hugh woozencroft. hello. good morning. michael vaughan says he expects alastair cook to resign as england captain following their 4—0 series defeat by india. cook will take time to make a decision on his future after four years in the job but vaughan, a former captain himself,

believes cook is "very close" to quitting. he is a stubborn chap and is mentally very, very tough. he has probably been through similar spells a few times. but looking at his body language, it looks like he wants to call it a day. the two—time wimbledon champion petra kvitova won't even be able to lift a racquet for at least three months. she spent almost four hours yesterday having surgery on her left hand and believes says she's lucky to be alive after a knife attack at her home in the czech republic. it's thought it was a random burglary and kvitova wasn't specifically targeted. in a statement yesterday, kvitova said, "in my attempt to defend myself, i was badly injured on my left hand. i am shaken, but fortunate to be alive. the injury is severe and i will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me i am strong and i will fight this." we should hear this morning, details of the investigation

into the head injury suffered by george north when playing for northampton against leicester at the beginning of the month. a concussion panel was set—up after north was allowed to play on, despite landing on his head. television replays appeared to show the wales and lions winger lying motionless after a mid—air tackle. he's been out of action since but he could return on friday night against sale. celtic are 14 points clear at the top of the scottish premiership after beating bottom side partick thistle 1—0. scott sinclair scored the only goal of the game. the champions are now unbeaten in 21 domestic matches and they have a game in hand on second placed rangers. league one side peterborough united will travel to stamford bridge to face chelsea in the fa cup third round after beating notts county 2—0. peterborough struck with less than two minutes gone. gwion edwards was the scorer. just five minutes later, paul taylor made his first fa cup goal a memorable one, helping to earn his side a tie

against the premier league leaders. liverpool'sjoel matip is one of seven cameroon players refusing to go to the africa cup of nations which begins on 14th january. they told coach hugo broos they're not interested in being selected after he named them in his squad. an angry broos said they had "put personal interest above those of the national team". and suggested the cameroon fa might ask fifa to suspend them at club level for the duration of the tournament. the finnish driver valtteri bottas looks likely to become lewis hamilton's new team—mate at mercedes. his current team, williams, have persuaded felipe massa to stay on for another season if bottas leaves to replace the retired world champion nico rosberg. mercedes have had one offer for bottas turned down but a deal is expected to be done in the new year. the five—time champion raymond van barneveld is into the second round of the pdc world darts championship at alexandra palace. he beat england's robbie green, averaging nearly 100 in the process. that's all sport for now.

you can keep up—to—date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport and i'll have more in the next hour syrian government forces are hoping to take full control of aleppo, following evacuations from the last rebel enclave in the east of the city over the past few days. more than 25,000 people are already said to have left. our correspondentjames longman is in beirut. so what are they saying james about when they expect to take full control? well, joanna that's what they certainly hope to do, but there has been quite a big delay this morning in getting the last evacuees out of east aleppo or at least the last few convoys out. we understand that at least 60 buses are waiting in east aleppo to take evacuees out

of east aleppo across into the medical evacuation point. they have enough room more about 3,000 people, but there has been a 24 hour delay this that happening. we're not sure why. it might be because this whole process hinges on evacuations coming out of other parts of syria to government villages which have been under rebel siege. they also need to have evacuations. so this parallel evacuation process which has been running smoothly so far seems to have stalled and there are 21 buses waiting in the government villages for people to leave there. we are not sure when things will get moving again. what we do know though is that the syrian government is very keen on things to start going. yesterday, they were making announcements via yesterday, they were making announcements via loudspeaker for the last rebels to get out of east aleppo, saying that the army would make their way into the last rebel

enclaves very soon, the bath party has been having celebratory events marking the end of the rebel presence in aleppo. this isn't a done deal yet and there are rebels still waiting in east aleppo saying they won't leave until the civilians are safely out. this would mark a significant victory for the syrian government should these evacuations finish today. and what is the effective plan by the syrian government? russia said previously that once the government is back in full control of eastern aleppo, people who have left can then return. so they're' vak waiting people and they take control and when is it anticipated that people might return and would they want to? well, joanna, that's a good question. first of all, it should be made clear that people don't have to leave east aleppo if they don't want to. the government wants to make sure that all the fighters have

left, but civilians are entitled to stay behind. they risk staying in an area that would be quite dangerous. this was a heavily fought over part of the world. you have on one side, syrian government troops backed by hardened shia fighters and on the other side, you have sunnijihadis. this was years of fighting that took place, years of siege and bombardment, so emotions are still running high. whether this remains a safe place for people to be even after this so—called clearing. the plan is for people to leave east aleppo and receive medical attention and then they are told you can go wherever you like now. many will go to idlib which is the last rebel stronghold in syria. it is a large north western province and that's where the majority of these evacuees will go, but again, there, where do they go? they can go and stay with

friends and relatives who they know have been evacuated to this part of syria or they can go and stay in tented camps which look rather similarto tented camps which look rather similar to the tented camps which look rather similarto the camps tented camps which look rather similar to the camps that exist in jordan and turkey, but at this tile of year, it is getting very, very cold in syria. in that part of the country, particularly, these are not places which are fit for long—term human habitation. i mean to be honest, these are places you would rather be evacuated from, not evacuated tosmt these people remain refugees in their countries. in effect you are moving an issue, you are not solving it in this way. at least 20 people have been killed in kinshasa, capital of the democratic republic of congo. gunfire has also been heard in luboombashi. there's anger over presidentjoseph kabila's refusal to stand down — his term officially ended on monday. tomas fessy is in kinshasa. they are blowing whistles to remind presidentjoseph kabila of the end of his term. these young congolese

want him step down. and so they are occupying the streets and mountain barricades to show their anger. translation: we will be out on the streets until he leaves. we are not afraid of him and his forces. he has got to go. there was no election as planned this year. it has sparked a political crisis. translation: we are not here in support of the opposition either. we are here for our own rights. we have seen similar scenes around the city. people are out in the streets shouting "kabila out, kabila out," and defying forces. there is no mass demonstration because of heavy security at the moment but we have seen running battles between protesters and military forces

in many parts of the city. the threat is ever present. the security forces are firing live rounds. and they are also sweeping the neighbourhood, making arrests. earlier on, one of the main opposition leaders, this 84—year—old, atiene, posted a video on social media. translation: i launch a solemn appeal to the congolese people, to not recognise the illegal and legitimate authority do not recognise the illegal and illegitimate authority ofjoseph kabila, and peacefully resist his coup d'etat. protests were also recorded in other cities across the country. there were demonstrations in lubumbashi, and boma, where four people were killed. mobs attacked the electoral building. they burnt a tribunal as well. fighting broke out near kananga when a local militia attacked the army.

back in kinshasa, the newly appointed prime minister read a short declaration to the press, but he did not take any questions. translation: for the youth, i reiterate my commitment to respond to their expectations and aspirations for the improvement of their own being and i urge them not to succumb this to despair and manipulation. coming from the opposition, he was expelled from his party five years ago. he recently signed a deal with the ruling coalition to accept that president kabila remain in power. the main roads of the capital were deserted for a second day. but in a city where millions struggle to scrape together daily necessities, how long can it remain a ghost town? the latest government borrowing

figures have come out. let's talk about them with andy veritiy, we are talking about what the government gets in and what it is spending and it is what? well, in november the government spent, had to borrow £12.6 billion to make up the difference between its income and what it spends. if your income is £1,000 and you spend £1100 you've got a deficit, you're outspending your income by £100 and that's your deficit. similar with the government. if they are out spending their income, the am they outspend, they have to find it from somewhere and they have to borrow. borrowing in november £12.6 billion, that's half a billion more than most economists were expecting and only a little bit down on what it was in the same month last year. in march, the same month last year. in march, the government projoected the deficit was going to come down sharply, by £20 billion, but in the autumn statement, the government accepted that wasn't going to happen now, if it went down, it would only

be bya now, if it went down, it would only be by a couple of billion. now there isa be by a couple of billion. now there is a risk over the year we may end up is a risk over the year we may end up borrowing more than we did last year. this is because they're projecting the economy will grow more slowly. if the economy grows more slowly. if the economy grows more slowly, fewer transactions and fewer people employed and less income tax and less vat and therefore the government income doesn't grow as fast and it has to borrow more. it feels like a long time since the plan was outlined by george osborne to cut the deficit and get into surplus. what are the predictions? well, at the autumn statement, the office for budget responsibility said that actually even by five years from now, so 2021/2022 we would still have a deficit, we would still be as a government outspending our income. so it is a lot more pessimistic than it was six months before the budget when george osborne was saying by 2020 his austerity measures would mean we're in surplus. the goal of getting the budget into surplus is a

remote prospect. when you look at the total level of debt, what is that? you have an overspend, a deficit, of £60 billion, added to the key military debt we have built up over the years. just over £1.6 trillion. that is about 84% of the value of the economy, so everything we produce, every car, every haircut, every coffey we buy, you add all of that up, we are borrowing 84% of that, which is serious. the hope had been it would start coming down. it has as a proportion of the economy, but as £8 and pence it keeps going up. the headlines on bbc news. german police are hunting the man who drove a lorry into christmas shoppers in berlin. their only

suspect has been released without charge. in mexico at least 29 people are killed and many more injured after a huge explosion at a fireworks market. the last rebel enclave in aleppo is evacuated as syrian government forces plan to take full control of the city. there are a number of ongoing investigations and inquiries into historical child—abuse allegations across the uk, and thousands of people have spoken to police about their experience. as part of our policing britain series, we've been given new figures that show in the past year the number of people coming forward as victims in england and wales has more than doubled. it was supposed to provide the famous short, sharp shock, but for many of the boys sentjust for minor offences to the meadomsley detention centre in county durham, their three—month sentence has, in effect, lasted for decades. it's not the sort of thing you talk about, it's not the thing i would discuss with anybody. i mean, i've got a daughter, i want to love her, i want to cuddle her,

i want to kiss her, i want to tell her how much i love her, and i couldn't. i just couldn't. that's what it did to me. that's how much it ruined my life. it's not so much of what actually happened to you, it's the aftereffects, how it affects your life, that is the biggest thing. neville husband was one of the staff who preyed on peter. he was convicted for his crimes and has since died. but durham police realised it was a much—bigger case, and have since been contacted by almost 1,400 people claiming to have been victimised. detectives have spoken to further suspects. the size and scale of this investigation is huge. the biggest of its kind. the volume is the big thing. straightaway, you know, we're dealing with 1,400 people. that in itself... it's pretty straightforward getting an account off somebody, it's trying to corroborate that account, then it's the difficulties of supporting them people. one of the challenges that we have is the length of time the investigation has taken. you know, we've been doing this for at least two and a half years. invariably, investigations now,

we are dealing with them the next day, the offenders are caught very shortly, but when you're looking at offences that happened 30 years ago, the expectations of those victims are, "i want somejustice, i want it soon," but in reality it's two and a half years later and we still haven't come to a conclusion. there has been a huge increase in historical—abuse cases. bbc breakfast can reveal the number of victims who have come forward has doubled in the past year, from around 1,500 to 3,500. also, the number of offenders or suspects has gone from almost 2,300 to near3,500. chief constable simon bailey of norfolk police takes the lead on these cases and believes they must be pursued. we're looking at about 60% of those alleged offenders still potentiallily pose a safeguarding risk. and age knows no barrier here, and age isn't a barrier here. so i can give you examples of cases

of abuse that have been perpetrated by men in their 70s, 80s and 90s, so we absolutely have to investigate these matters, not only to be able to demonstrate that we are responding to those victims now, but also ensuring, moving forward, that those alleged offenders are not in a position to carry on abusing and are not abusing as of today. across the uk, the historical—abuse inquiries are costing tens of millions of pounds, but for the police, and especially for the victims, the cases aren'tjust about the past, but also about the future. an update on the berlin attack, we hear that a further suspect linked to the market attack would not believed to be the perpetrator has been arrested by german police, according to german media. we are

also getting another report saying that german police have already released the latest arrested suspect. it seems simultaneously that the news was a person has been arrested but has now been released. the reports indicate it is the same person that they are talking about, but we will check out those reports and keep you updated. it follows one person who was arrested immediately afterwards has been released by police, saying there was no evidence to link him to the attack. we will check out these reports of the latest arrest and, it seems, release, and keep you updated. barack obama ba rack obama has barack obama has banned offshore drilling around the arctic. donald trump's administration favours more drilling and more use of fossil seals. but it will be difficult for

the incoming president to reverse handed a macro's law. it isa handed a macro's law. it is a widely used provision in the law that he is invoking to take this action. a provision that gives the president the power to withdraw federal waters from new oil and gas drilling. it is a joint action with canada, the prime minister there has made a long—term commitment to protect the arctic from drilling. barack obama protect the arctic from drilling. ba rack obama has protect the arctic from drilling. barack obama has said that it is the arctic‘s unique ecosystem that is behind the decision, he says the risk of damage from a spill, the high cost of working in this mode and frigid region, and concerns about climate change. he added it would take decades to fully develop the infrastructure necessary on a large scale to drill for oil and gas in these areas. he said it comes at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil

fuels. this is being seen in part as barack obama intending to secure his legacy in terms of environment policy, and as scuppering the future of donald trump's attempt to pursue more oil and gas trilling. he made no secret of the fact that he favours deriving energy from fossil fuels. an official at the white house has said they are confident that a future president donald trump would not be able to undo this provision announced today by the current president barack obama. and that if he did want to go down that road, it would potentially involve yea rs of road, it would potentially involve years of legal action and possibly the passage of a new bill by congress. there are an estimated 23 million sheep in the uk, and now there are two more, but they aren't ordinary sheep. they've been specially developed in north wales to see how sheep respond to the weather. what they tell us could lead to a change in the landscape of our countryside.

everything is not quite what it appears in this field. the sheep seem to sense it. look closely, you might as well. it is a unique experiment at bangor university's research farm, designed to find out what sheep can tell us about the weather and how it affects them. you may have noticed this is not a real sheep. neither is this one. thankfully, pip jones is a real human. why have we got fake sheep? they might be fake but they tell us a lot about real sheep and about the environment they experience. we have two things, our sheep and a met station. the met station measures radiation and wind and temperature. those things together tell us how the sheep is feeling. on a windy day, that must be having an impact on how the sheep feel? but how can you tell? it is so much colder when the wind blows, and for animals like us, maintaining our core body temperature in those conditions

is increasingly hard as the wind blows. we are maintaining them at 39 degrees with this array of heaters. we also have a microcomputer, and it is recording how much energy the sheep is using to keep the temperature in the prevailing conditions. the energy the sheep are using to stay warm is being diverted away from them putting on weight. and the longer it takes for them to reach their required weight to go to market, the more expensive they are to produce. if you are talking money, as a farmer and a businessman, i am interested, so what can i do to stop sheep getting so cold in the first place? one idea is to plant trees. they did that up there 40 years ago and it makes a difference. they put this in front of groups of trees here, and it works. that is why this research is partly funded by the woodland trust,

to try and show that pasture and woodland in our countryside do not have to be mutually exclusive. what is the big picture here? one of the big questions is, how do we value the ecosystem services we get from the landscape? it is easy to look at the contribution of sheep farming to the economy or timber production to the economy, but what about the other factors, the flood mitigation, the climate regulation, the biodiversity? how do we put numbers on those? these provide the numbers that show it is in the farmer's interests often to give up a bit of their pasture production over to growing trees, because the sheep production is better. everybody is a winner. the eventual aim of this research is to produce a practical toolkit for farmers to show them the best places to plan for effective shelter. then the fake sheep can be put out to pasture, knowing they have helped to create a warmer world for the real ones. and you can find out what else nick

got up to in snowdonia this friday afternoon on weather world at 12:30pm here on the bbc news channel. and if you miss that, it will be repeated over the christmas period. time for a look at the weather. nick has been carrying fake sheep around, no such excitement here, although the weather is ratcheting up although the weather is ratcheting up as we head towards christmas. things are turning stormy for some of us, especially by the end of the week. the weather is fairly lively today, some squally showers, especially towards the north—west. you could see the showers, a rash of them rattling get across parts of northern ireland, scotland, down into northern england. as you can see from the white shading, some of

the showers falling as snow. the heavy showers continue through the rest of the day. further south, various bands of rain moving south and east, but between them, there will be some sunshine. quite a wintry scene across some hills of scotland, we could see snow over higher ground. some thunder and lightning and hail and very gusty wind, could be gale force at times. asimilar wind, could be gale force at times. a similar story for northern ireland. for england and wales, it is not quite as dramatic. sunshine and rain. the rain will turn quite heavy for a time. for the rush hour in plymouth, cardiff and bristol, it could be soggy, and the wet weather will move east as we go through tonight. behind it the sky will clear, fog patches will develop, a touch of frost. to the north—west, we keep the showers, which brings icy stretches on the road. more

showers for northern ireland and scotla nd showers for northern ireland and scotland tomorrow. further south and east, not as many, not a bad looking day. especially towards the south—east. what about friday? the big christmas getaway for many. this is not great news, it has been named barbara. across northern parts of the british isles, there is a risk of windy weather indeed. the met office has issued an amber warning, be prepared. the wind could cause some problems. we also have a band of rain which will move through fairly quickly. temperatures are mild. there could be more stormy weather to come through the christmas weekend, so if you have travel plans, stay tuned to your local bbc radio station, and to

our forecast here. we will keep you up—to—date, and there is the latest on our website. this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines at 10am: german police hunt the killer who drove a lorry into christmas shoppers in berlin. vigils to those who died as police release their only suspect without charge and step up their investigation. they are following up more than 500 dimp leads. the christmas market behind me is still sealed off and still patrolled by armed police. in mexico, at least 29 people are killed and many more injured after a huge explosion at a fireworks market. the last rebel enclave in aleppo is evacuated as syrian government forces plan to take full control of the city. also, new figures detail the extent of police investigations into allegations of historical child abuse in football.