this is bbc news. the headlines at 9:00: an international manhunt for the main suspect in the berlin christmas market attack main suspect. attack. it's emerged he used multiple identities and was being watched untiljust a few months ago. a 100,00 euro reward is being offered — with a warning that anis amri could be armed and dangerous. good morning from berlin, where security precautions are being tightened as europe's largest manhunt continues. tightened as europe's largest manhunt continues. a memorial service in russia for the funeral of andrey karlov, the ambassador who was shot dead in turkey on monday. a pledge to improve fast broadband services in rural areas with a £400 million investment from the government. the nhs is to pay for ten blind patients to have "bionic eyes"

to help treat an inherited form of blindness. also: a rise in violent crime committed by the over—65s. offences ranging from minor assault to murder have increased by nearly 80% since 2012. good morning and welcome to bbc news. german security services face growing questions about why they ended a surveillance operation on a suspect who's now the subject of a europe—wide manhunt for the berlin lorry attack. anis amri was known to have ties to a radical islamist group. a big police operation has been going on this morning near the dutch border, where agents from special units have been searching a refugee centre amri stayed in.

let's go to berlin now. and robert hall is following events for us. what is the latest about the search for anis amri? good morning. what you see behind me is that search continues is an indication of the level of concern gci’oss indication of the level of concern across germany now. the workers from the civil defence team putting concrete barriers around the christmas market in the centre of berlin, the target of monday's attack. an indication they do fear there could be at the very least some sort of copycat action here or elsewhere germany. as you have indicated, the operation across germany and across the schengen area continues in that hunt. the posters have been issued to every european police force, anis amri's picture is

on social media. and people warned he is extremely dangerous and he should not be approached. let's hear now the overnight events. still on the run, the most wanted man in europe. two images of anis amri are shown on this poster. two images of anis amri are shown on this poster. police are offering a reward of 100,000 euros, and warn he may be armed and dangerous. and he has used six different aliases, and three different nationalities. vital clues about the suspect were found inside a hijacked lorry. the residence permit of amri were found in its cab. more details are emerging rapidly about anis amri. who is 2a years old today. his family said he left tunisia for italy in 2011, where he was jailed for four years for arson. last year, he moved to germany, where his claim for asylum was rejected.

but german officials did not have the correct paperwork to deport him. he had links to an islamist network, and was known to the authorities. he had been under surveillance, but this was stopped he had been under surveillance... as it was believed he was planning to buy guns, perhaps in an attack. but this was stopped because of a lack of evidence. 12 people were killed and dozens injured in the attack on the christmas market on monday evening. the man who should have been driving the lorry, lu kasz the man who should have been driving the lorry, lukasz urban from poland, and dalia elyakim, are both known to have died. her husband is also seriously ill, rami. also missing is fabrizia di lorenzo of italy, who has not been seen since the attack. last night, the christmas market reopened, no longer a place filled the nab chief suspect was given time to get away. the big story today is

and probably will remain how the suspect was outlawed and managed to escape not only after the attack, but for the past months. he was supposed to be deported back last summer, sent home to his home country, tunisia. tunisia refused to ta ke country, tunisia. tunisia refused to take him in. so he wasn't even supposed to be here in the country. so he wasn't even supposed to be here in the country. last night, the christmas market reopened, no longer a place filled with noise and laughter. instead, berliners came to pay their quiet respects to the victims, as the investigation goes on. in the past few minutes, one news agency has reported the german federal prosecutor has said over night or early this morning, police have detained four men with connections to the tunisian suspect. i must stress we have had a lot of

reports on social media, from agencies, about elements of the police operation and investigation. so we need to treat that with more caution. we are looking now for confirmation and once we get that, we will bring that to you. so what do we know about this investigation? let's run over the salient points. four days on from the attack, the prime suspect remains on the run. shortly after the attack, police detained a pakistani asylum seeker, but released him after finding no evidence linking him to it. a europe—wide manhunt is now underway for anis amri, a 24—year—old tunisian asylum seeker, whose identity documents were found in the lorry. we now know that he comes from a poorfamily in tunisia. we also know that he served four years for arson and theft in an italian jail. it's emerged that he had been under surveillance by german security services earlier this year.

it's believed he was trying to buy automatic weapons. but that was halted in september, after no new evidence was found. german authorities couldn't deport him because he had no valid identification papers, which meant that tunisia wouldn't take him back. so that is the key elements of what we know about anis amri at the moment. i think it is fair to say andi moment. i think it is fair to say and i will refer to what is happening behind me here that germany is now on a heightened state of alert. we had last night the german government has approved or brought forward plans to increase video surveillance in certain public places, something which unlike the uk, germany does not embrace particularly. but now that appears to have changed. so some might say it is too late. things are being

tightened, there is a real effort here, evidence of heavy police presence, the things we are seeing here with the concrete blocks around the market to increase public protection. so just to finish by saying that the german federal prosecutor quoted by one agency, still unconfirmed, that four people had been detained, believed to have some connection to europe's prime suspect. that is it from berlin for now, back to you. robert, thank you very much. a memorial service for the russian ambassador to turkey, andrey karlov, has begun in moscow, three days three days after he was assassinated in ankara. by by and of duty tokas policeman

a p pa re ntly by and of duty tokas policeman apparently in protest at russia's involvement in the battle in aleppo. tributes are at the foreign ministry before a funeral service at the cathedral of christ the saviour. these pictures from the service at the foreign ministry. and we are told that vladimir putin is attending the ceremony at the foreign ministry. we have not seen him yet. but we have been told he is attending this. and then the ambassador's funeral will take place. at moscow cathedral. 0ur correspondent, sarah rainsford, is in moscow. and the funeral will be a major state event. it is, this is already pa rt state event. it is, this is already part of it. the farewell ceremony if

you like to ambassador karlov, taking place now in the foreign ministry. we have seen a stream of very senior russian officials coming to the foreign ministry to pay their respects, to speak to the family and friends of andrey karlov and to stand beside his opencasting and reflect on what has happened. we heard from the foreign minister sergei lavrov, who spoke at the podium next to the coffin, to talk about the man he called his friend and a colleague, a man devoted to his work, you said, and he was killed in what he described as a vile and despicable terrorist act. the prime minister was also there and we expect president putin to appearany and we expect president putin to appear any moment now, shortly at the ceremony. and from here, the coffin will go to russia's main cathedral, the cathedral of christ

the saviour, and a russian funeral ceremony will be led by the patriarch of russia. you commented that people thought perhaps this killing would increase tensions between moscow and ankara but apparently is doing the opposite. that is right. the relationship between turkey and russia has been extremely complicated over the past year. ever since turkish fighter jets complicated over the past year. ever since turkish fighterjets shot down a russian plane on the syrian border. and turkey and russia have been backing the opposing sides in the conflict in syria. so a difficult relationship but recently, the two came together to look for an alliance to bring an end to the fighting in syria and the sponsors some kind of peace process. that is important because it is a process in which both sides appear to have chosen to leave the united states out of the process, as both russia and turkey have been politically moving further away from washington.

that process is continuing. russia and turkey have said they will continue with that and that this killing, the murder of andrey karlov in ankara, they'd described that as a provocation intended to poll the countries apart. they say that will not happen and this alliance will continue. that has been reflected in the coverage and commentary on influential state—run media. certainly trying to put across the message russia and turkey will remain friends and allies despite what has happened. which they describe as an act of terrorism. thank you very much, in moscow. the government is to reinvest more than £1140 million to improve high—speed broadband coverage across the uk. the funds have been recouped from the superfast broadband programme. 600,000 rural homes are expected to benefit. our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, reports. connecting rural homes across the uk to fast broadband has meant

an investment of £1.7 billion of public money. and nearly all of that has gone to bt. the compa ny‘s contracts with councils or local authorities mean it has to return some of that money if more than 20% of homeowners sign up when the fast broadband service arrives. now, the government says that this cash clawback, coupled with efficiency savings, means another £1140 million can be reinvested in the programme. there's a target of reaching 95% of homes with superfast broadband by the end of 2017. ministers believe that is within reach, and that up to 600,000 more homes and businesses could be hooked up with the new programme. but critics say bt has been using the wrong technology, connecting homeowners via a copper wire to a cabinet, rather than laying fibre—optic cables straight into homes. rivalfirms, including sky and talktalk, are now promising that they can deliver faster fibre connections than bt,

and without needing public money. joining me now is the culture secretary from westminster. good morning. are you frustrated at the rate of progress so far on delivering superfast broadband speeds to all of the uk? well, no, i am not frustrated. we should put this in context. as a result of the government's actions, we have connected 11.5 million homes and businesses to superfast broadband that would have not been connected without. 0f that would have not been connected without. of those, 1.5 million have taken up the option of accessing superfast broadband, resulting in a game share which means there is money being reinvested back to local authorities so they can connect those harder to reach areas. as a

constituency mp for a rural area, i know in the staffordshire moorlands how many people living in hard to reach towns and villages really do wa nt a ccess reach towns and villages really do want access to superfast broadband as quickly as possible. this money will help us to achieve that. what is your time frame for ensuring the areas that don't have the speed they want, what is the time frame to ensure they get what they want? we wa nt to ensure they get what they want? we want to do this as soon as possible, thatis want to do this as soon as possible, that is why the money is going to local authorities. we are very realistic, we know it will not solve the problem completely. we will bring ina the problem completely. we will bring in a service obligation which will mean nobody is left behind and by2020, will mean nobody is left behind and by 2020, people will be able to access at least 10 megabits of speed. 20 megabits is what most homes need. we are behind many parts

of europe with fibre technology, is copper wire going to deliver the speeds people one? that is why we announced £1 billion in the autumn statement of additional money to help businesses and public amenities to get fibre. there is no one side solution, and we have to make sure premises have access and the connectivity they need, be they homes or businesses. that is why we are doing this as a combination of different measures. the important point is, this programme has meant we have been able to give access to superfast broadband to more homes, more quickly than we would have been able to do otherwise. the fact we have the diverse range of offer for premises means that homeowners and others can choose to get the right broadband for them. others can choose to get the right broadband for themlj others can choose to get the right broadband for them. i heard one home owner in herefordshire on the today programme saying if i went into a

restau ra nt programme saying if i went into a restaurant and had a cheese sandwich, i wouldn't expect to pay the same as somebody who was ordering lobster. in the meantime, while people are waiting for the service they want, do you think they should be paying the same as others who are already getting superfast speeds? you need to look at each individual case, it is difficult for me to comment on individual circumstances. i know bt have said they will look into any of those cases that have been raised on the programmes today, to make sure people who have contacted the programmes do get the information they need. should there be some sort of rebate? many people will have access to superfast broadband but have chosen not to take up the option. the one size fits all solution some have suggested, which would be slow and take a long time to roll out, would mean there wasn't that choice. we have the choice of people can choose whether or not to

access superfast, or upgrade further to fibre to the premise, being offered by different providers. there is a lot of different options for homeowners and businesses. i wa nt to for homeowners and businesses. i want to make sure we deliver as much as we can so people can take what is right for them. coming back to the particular point i was asking you about, do you think the people who don't have superfast broadband, who are paying the rates, same rates as some people who already have it, should there be some financial compensation? people are paying for the service that is available to them. where they are choosing not to ta ke them. where they are choosing not to take up superfast broadband, they are paying less. need individual case you have to look at that individual and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on individual circumstances. there are other companies who say they can deliver this two areas that currently don't have superfast broadband and can do it without using public money, what is your response to that? i encourage all of

this. i met some small providers a few weeks ago, some not—for—profit enterprise is delivering to rural communities. this is why we have got a very diverse consumer focused marketing broadband. we need to go as quickly as we can to get access to superfast broadband to those that haven't got it at the moment. that is what we are announcing today. there is no one size fits all solution and we need to do all we can to help everybody. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: an international manhunt is under way for the main suspect in the berlin christmas market attack. it is urged that he used multiple identities and was being watched by german security services untiljust a few months ago. a memorial service in russia at the funeral of andrei karloff, the ambassador shot dead in turkey on

monday. £400 million is to be pumped into improving fast broadband services for rural areas. sport, rugby players' brains are at risk, according to an expert, after a review into an incident involving the welsh international, george north. doctors say suspected concussion must be taken more seriously. it will be six months before petra kvitova will be able to practice again following the knife attack at her home. but surgeons are confident she will be able to resume her career. and the half £1 million goal. graham ca rey‘s and the half £1 million goal. graham carey's goal gives plymouth argyle victory over newport county in the fa cup and the third round tie against liverpool at anfield. well done to them. i will be back with more stories at around 9:30 a.m.. the queen and duke of edinburgh are continuing to recover from heavy colds

which has prevented them from travelling to a christmas break in norfolk. the queen and philip were expected to travel yesterday from london to king's lynn by train. and then on to their private sandringham estate. the palace has tweeted that the queen is ‘most grateful for the many digital messages of goodwill‘ she had received, and she thanked the public for their kindness. 0ur correspondent leanne brown has the latest from buckingham palace for us. any update on how the queen and duke of edinburgh are doing today? good morning. we do know they are still here at buckingham palace. the royal standard flag is flying above the palace this morning, so they haven't left for sandringham yet. the question of course, will it happen and will it be today, or will it be tomorrow? they were set to travel yesterday from king's cross station in london up to king ‘s lynn at around 11 o'clock. that is when they usually do depart. security was in place, photographers were there, but

they didn't turn up. as you have said, the palace released a statement saying they both had heavy colds. however, we have not had any update overnight about their conditions, so we are unsure as to whether they will be able to make the journey. it may be they travel by car instead up to sandringham. what is clear is that they have of course, have had a remarkable health over the years. however, the queen is now 90 and prince philip is 95. any ailment is going to be looked after and monitored very closely. they both however, will want to travel as soon as they can. sandringham is one of their favourite places and at christmas time, there is lots of tradition that takes place there. they go to the local church, they decorated christmas tree from the sandringham estate and they do what everybody else does and partake in a

traditional christmas lunch. so they certainly both won't want to miss that. thank you very much. firefighters are warning about the risks of carrying e—cigarette batteries, after one caught fire in somebody‘s pocket. the man was left with minor injuries when the device caught fire while he was out shopping in leeds. investigators say he was keeping batteries in his pocket unprotected, and that people should avoid storing them alongside other metal objects such as keys and coins. the "fragmented" nature of health and social care services can cause problems for patients, with providers sometimes arguing over who has responsibility for looking after people, watchdogs have found. in a new report, the ombudsman says poor communication is leading to complaints from family members about care services. it's calling for a more integrated complaints process. spending too long looking at sites like facebook could make people miserable and envious, according to danish researchers. the study from the university of copenhagen is the latest

to suggest social media could have a negative effect on your mood. the impact is worse for those who don't leave comments, but scan through the success stories of others, it found. doctors and charities have described a new treatment for multiple sclerosis as a landmark development. the disease, which affects the brain, most often causes people difficulty in walking. 100,000 people in the uk are affected by ms and it's hoped 0crelizumab will offer hope to patients, after a successful trial of 2,000 people. this is really big news for people with primary progressive forms of ms, for which there are no treatments available on the nhs. primary progressive ms means that people's disability will worsen. what this drug has shown is that it can slow the reduction of disability for those people, so this offers real hope for the future. aid groups in aleppo say the last

hospital patients have been taken out. our correspondence is monitoring events from beirut. the critically injured and very ill have been evacuated now, it was a question of the remaining civilians and rebels who are still in east aleppo. it has been difficult to have a true idea of the numbers in that part of the city. united nations estimated around 50,000 needed to come out. the international committee of the red cross who are managing these

evacuations tell us as long as people want to come out they will be sending buses back in for them, and they don't have an accurate number. we are watching the pictures to see how often these buses go in and out. i think we are coming towards the end of this evacuation process. these people will be joining thousands of others who have already been evacuated to the west of aleppo city, and given all the things they we re city, and given all the things they were missing out on. access to food, water and medical supplies. a lot of people were in a bad way. east aleppo was under siege for months. people cut off from the things they needed and those bombardments meant a lot of them were severely injured. if not physically, the mental scars are there as well. people were in a bad way. us president—elect donald trump has chosen the economist peter navarro to head the newly formed white house trade council. mr navarro has written a number of books describing china as a threat to the us economy, while mr trump has threatened to hit china and mexico with high tariffs

once he takes office. 0ur washington correspondent, laura bicker has more. donald trump's transition team praised peter navarro as a visionary economist. he has authored several books, including death by china: how america lost its manufacturing base, which was made into a documentary film. mr trump has threatened to hit china and mexico with high tariffs once he takes office, and this appointment is another sign he intends to shake up relations with beijing. mr navarro has argued china has more to lose in a trade conflict, because they depend so much on the us market. other leading economists have described his thinking as "flawed." let's talk to our correspondent in

beijing. i understand you havejust been to a foreign affairs briefing. many reaction to this appointment? it was pretty interesting. naturally we asked by peter navarra's choice as trade advisor. the chinese foreign ministry could have said they will work with anyone, donald trump can choose who likes, but the a nswer trump can choose who likes, but the answer came along the lines of we are watching very closely who donald trump points to his team. she went on to emphasise that cooperation is the only way forward for china and the only way forward for china and the us and for world peace. so i drew from that there is some concern in beijing about this appointment. i suppose some of the other appointments as well, to donald trump's team. steve, thank you very much. now it is time for the weather. i came to work in thick fog this

morning, i think there is quite a lot going on? yes, quite a lot of fog across southern england and it will slowly lift. squally showers continuing across northern ireland and scotland with a mixture of hail, rain, some thunder and lightning, snow on the hills and sleet at lower levels. it will be a cold day in the north and a cooler date than the south yesterday. a few showers across england and wales. through the evening, the temperature will drop rapidly under clear skies. there will be a touch of frost but that will be a touch of frost but that will be a touch of frost but that will be less of a problem as the wind picks up. and then storm babara shows her hand bringing rain and wind across the north—west. the met office has a number weather warning, which is be prepared. storm force winds or indeed severe gales. so something to be aware of, but it will be windy across northern ireland and northern england. windy

across the rest of england and wales, but not as. don't forget, we have rain also. hello. this is bbc news with anita mcveigh. the headlines at 9:31: german media is reporting four people had been arrested in the international manhunt for the main suspect in the berlin lorry attacked. they are reported to have had attacked. they are reported to have ha d co nta ct attacked. they are reported to have had contact with anis amri, the islamist sympathiser, believed to have been driving the truck. the funeral of the russian ambassador to turkey is being held in moscow,

three days after he was assassinated in ankara. a pledge to improve fast broadband services in rural areas with a £400 million investment from the government. a rise in violent crime committed by the over—65s. new figures suggest offences ranging from minor assault to murder have increased by nearly 80% since 2012. time now for the sport. good morning, john. good morning. good morning. the rugby players' association say northampton saints should have been punished for allowing the welsh wing george north to play on, after appearing to be knocked out. a concussion review group found north should not have been allowed to continue in the league match earlier this month, but said saints' medics had acted in the player's best interests and so wouldn't face any punishment. a former medical advisor in world rugby says the rules must be changed. the protocols that these players go

through when they go off the field is not worth the paper it is written on. it is experimenting on players brains, first of all it is five minutes, then ten minutes, then 30 minutes. if you have to take a player off because of... to have a concussion assessment, you must suspect concussion and he has to stay off, and their own regulations say that they must stay off. but they are experimenting in that part of the game which is the most brutal. so when the player goes back, the impact is going to be huge, and this is what is wrong. it'll be at least six months before former wimbledon champion petra kvitova is able to practise again, following the knife attack at her home. surgeons are confident that she will be able to return to the court, but all the fingers on her playing hand were injured and her re—habilitation will be a slow process. league two plymouth argyle will face liverpool in the third round of the fa cup, after beating newport county,

in a replay last night. it went to extra time. plymouth missed one penalty, but won a second, which graham carey scored, to set up that tie at anfield worth around half a million pounds. the irish fa will not appeal against the fine imposed by fifa following acts of remembrance on armistice day. players wore black armbands in the northern ireland versus azerbaijan game in belfast, and giant poppy motifs were displayed in the crowd. the ifa was fined nearly £12,000 and will be seeking an urgent meeting with fifa to clarify the issue. alastair cook has been named captain of the international cricket council's test team of the year, despite leading england to victory in just one of their last eight matches. cook is considering his future as skipper, after the 4—0 series defeat in india. england have four representatives in the team — more than any other nation — withjoe root, jonny bairstow and ben stokes also included. at the pdc world darts championship,

the three—time semi—finalist james wade made it through to the second round. the man nicknamed the machine had few faults against dutchman ronny huybrechts, beating him 3—0 sets. that's all the sport for now. you can keep up to date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. and i'll have more in the next hour. thank you very much. violent crime committed by those over 65 has increased. the figures relate to offences ranging from minor assaults the murder. the rise in the number of crimes recorded is in part put down the police changing how they log crimes. graham suttle has more.

iam not log crimes. graham suttle has more. i am not asking what he was in for, but you say a long sentence. he was a life. a cafe in bournemouth. stewart in his 70s is talking to nick, 60, both convicted fraudsters. nick, 60, both convicted fraudsters. nick is still on probation. i don't feel old at all. and because people are fitter and healthier and more active, they are going to carry on doing stuff, and stuff leads to problems. problems like rome. the over 60s now the fastest—growing age group in the prison population. figures obtained by this programme show a dramatic rise in police recorded crime for people over the age of 65. violent crime in the pension age group is up 79% since 2012. the numbers are relatively small, up from just under 4020 12 to 7,000 incidents recorded last year. but almost half of all crime police recorded in this age was violent. but almost half of all crime police

recorded in this age was violentlj think we've romanticised older people. we thinkjust because they are getting older, they will be the sweet old lady. but they are not, they are frustrated, they are lonely, they are angry. criminologist roger graves said some older people becoming more violent is easily explained. the frustration of being an old person with not enough to do, with social services being cut, there is sort of a failure of the social contract with the elderly that leads to anger and resentment. so britain's pensioner is really becoming saga louts? there are other things going on here. for yea rs are other things going on here. for years and years, police recorded crime figures were mass lodged to meet certain targets. today, the way police recorded crime has completely changed. police forces are now looking to make sure we record things accurately, ethical elite —— ethically, and that the show by the nub of crimes that have gone up over the last two or three years. officers might have gone to an incident five years ago and use

their professional judgment. two people in the late 60s or 70s having an argument, that might qualify now as violent crime which they would then record. i don't think they would have done that five years ago. so this is the property... we have four bedrooms here, one is an emergency room. this is the first refuge in the country specifically for older women, we filmed it when it opened last year. the charity that runs it has seen women in their 60s, 70s and even ‘80s coming here for help. many, many times, he went for help. many, many times, he went for me, black ties. just a variation of beatings over the years. this woman who we are calling sarah was abused by her husband for almost 20 yea rs. abused by her husband for almost 20 years. i am now 63. how old is he? he is 65, coming up, ithink. he's just got older and nastier. when you we re just got older and nastier. when you

were younger, did you feel as though if you had reported what was happening that the police would have taken you seriously? no. no. but now it isa taken you seriously? no. no. but now it is a different world now. they do ta ke it is a different world now. they do take it seriously. and that is a significant change. police are now investigating domestic violence and historic sex abuse cases much more assiduously, and that is one reason for the rise in the day's figures. whether it is growing anger and resentment or that justice whether it is growing anger and resentment or thatjustice is finally catching up with offenders, more and more older people are renting up on the wrong side of the law. —— ending up. graham suttle, bbc news, bournemouth. the run—up to christmas is the busiest time of the year for the uk's police forces. statistics have shown an increase in domestic abuse, alcohol fuelled public disorder, burglary and sexual assault. public disorder, burglary and sexual assault. steph mcgovern has been behind

the scenes at the new headquarters of durham police to find out more. good morning. you are seeing one of the call handlers, this is one of the call handlers, this is one of the team here who will deal with the 999 calls that comment and they will decide how to dispatch and to the dispatch two, the differentjobs they are dealing with. pleased to say it has been fairly quiet overnight and i had been told not to say the quiet word! somebodyjust said, she said quietly but a lot of crime is falling, but one area seeing a rise is violent crime and thatis seeing a rise is violent crime and that is what we will talk about. we have mike barton, chief constable of durham police. janet hills is president of the black police officers association. and we also have a youth violence consultant and campaigner. why do you think violent crime is on the rise? two things. the first is that violent crime encompasses a wide area. harassment,

stalking. 60% of all violent crime does not involve any injury. but when we look at the top end, which is knife crime, if you ask offenders what induces them to still commit a crime, it is the fear of getting caught. so if they don't fear getting caught, then they are more likely to commit that sort of serious crime. what do you think? you work with young people and you have been involved —— who had been involved in gangs and knife crime.|j would say it is the need for better partnerships with the community and with services that will prevent a young person from even carrying a knife. stop and search is a cure, not a prevention, it is getting into the minds of young people while they feel the need to carry a knife. you do not think stop and search is good? i think it is necessary but i don't think the police... the police have not got the proportionality as necessity right and it breaks down

relations between the community and the police. janet, for somebody on the police. janet, for somebody on the front line as a police officer for over 20 years, what do you think? i think young people carrying weapons, there is a number of reasons. some of them carry for protection. there is a gang culture at the moment. people feel they need to be safe leaving their homes and the rest of it. when it comes to stop and search, i agree that it is necessary. but it needs to be intelligence led and we need the intelligence led and we need the intelligence to stop the right people with regard to the crimes we are looking at. mike, there has been are looking at. mike, there has been a fall are looking at. mike, there has been afall in are looking at. mike, there has been a fall in stop and search falling by about a quarter, has that made a difference? the evidence is not that to a nswer difference? the evidence is not that to answer that question. what i am really pleased with is four out of ten now result in an arrest and further action. so it is very clear

that police officers are listening to the sort of advice they are talking about now which is to be fair. if the public sees procedural fairness is done, if the public see the police officers are acting in a fairway and proportionate way, they will help the police. and we do not wa nt will help the police. and we do not want young people to be carrying knives. we want the community to help to dissuade children from carrying knives in the first place. you are talking about the partnerships and relationships between the community and the police officers. do you see that being a reality that they could have a relationship? i would like to hope there could be a relationship, but i do not see one at present. what would change it, what would make the community happy to liaise with the police? i think it would be the sergeants, the borough commanders, having the conversations with the

youth workers working within their areas. understanding the young people. once that is done, i think we can say safely that we are building better relations. and for the police, when they stop and search, it is not what is being done, it is how it is done and the level of aggression or the condescending tone or sarcasm used against the young people, that makes young people and the police not have the relationship they could have, and that results in lower convictions. because if you are dealing with young people in a particular way and one of their peers gets murdered, the then get them to give evidence or to cooperate with the police is few and far between. there is a diversity issue, how do the police better reflect the communities they serve? you have got to have connective —— effective community engagement and there needs to be a long—term plan around diversity. it is a bit ad hoc

and you go from constabulary the constabulary with different measures put in place. positive action is not being used as effectively as it could be. they're just needs to be a plan long term which is consistent across all constabulary is because theissue across all constabulary is because the issue is black and asian office rs the issue is black and asian officers and community space within the uk, they are more or less similarup and down the uk, they are more or less similar up and down the country but there is nothing in place to address those issues. janet hills, president of the black police officers' association, speaking to steph mcgovern. a woman and child have died following a night time house fire. two women escaped from the house in south street, braintree, shortly before eleven o'clock last night, but died a short time later. firefighters said the house was "completely alight". a joint police and fire service investigation was under way. the nhs is to pay for ten blind patients to have "bionic eyes" to help treat an inherited form of blindness. surgeons at manchester and moorfields eye hospitals have already had success with the argus

ii which receives wireless signals from a pair of glasses and sends them through the optic nerve to the brain. the pioneering technology can help restore sight to some who have been blind for years. keith hayman lost his vision in the 1980s, but he says the implant has made an amazing difference. it is amazing what difference that little bit of life can make to your life. instead of walking about in total darkness everywhere and sitting in total darkness, you've got all these shapes to work out what they are. windows, people, cars, everything. with the contrasting colour you can scan and tried to make out what the shape is.

you have always got something to look at. instead of being in a pub and sat next to somebody who walks away and forgets to tell you they are going and i have been sat talking to empty chairs any more. it doesn't happen because you can see where people are. the thing that hurts the most is not being able to see your family. i hurts the most is not being able to see yourfamily. i have hurts the most is not being able to see your family. i have seen them before so i have a mental picture of what they look like. in my mind, my wife is still 17. i have missed seeing my kids grow up, missing my grandchildren grow up. that is the biggest heartache. i still can't see them, but i can make out where they are if they are running about the room. i know where they are, the little devils. amazing technology. the headlines in bbc news: an international manhunt is underway for the main suspect in the berlin christmas market

attack main suspect. it's emerged that anis amri used multiple identities and was being watched by german security services until just a few months ago. we have just been hearing about that attack and we are also hearing that attack and we are also hearing that a spokesman for the german chief federal prosecutor is denying that people have been arrested. there was a suggestion a number of people who had been in contact with the suspect had been in contact with the suspect had been in contact with the suspect had been arrested. this has been denied by the german chief federal prosecutor. we are hearing about the government's plan to improve superfast broadband speeds for rural areas that currently don't have the same speeds as other parts of the uk. now its time for meet the author. petina gappah writes about a country, zimbabwe were total

economic collapse in recent years have consigned so many people to a life of hopelessness. yet, in her collection of short stories, rotten row, she finds humanity, adversity and the people in these pages have the same hopes and fears as if they would in a world of plenty. they are extraordinarily recognisable as the people next door. welcome. ina way, in a way, these stories are miraculous because they are a ta pestry of miraculous because they are a tapestry of survival really, in a country which has collapsed? that is so lovely of you to say. i see

myself writing about resilience. resilience is the quality that strikes me as being the most extraordinary about zimbabwean today. it is a difficult environment economically, politically, socially, yet people somehow managed to find ways to love, ways to be that would be miraculous. the fundamentals of human behaviour and human interaction come through because there is nothing else left? yes, thatis there is nothing else left? yes, that is right. it is about human relationships. i wanted to write a book that looks like human relationships through a particular prism and that is the criminal justice system. i thought this was an interesting commentary about the political situation in zimbabwe without necessarily making it about politics. you are talking about a society which violence and death are

ever present, even in slightly odd ways. we have the story of the zulu, who ends up killing his best friend at school. the people at school cannot believe 15 years later that it has happened. this is something thatis it has happened. this is something that is close to the surface? it has happened. this is something that is close to the surface ?|j it has happened. this is something that is close to the surface? i love that is close to the surface? i love that story in particular because it is inspired by one of my favourite authors, pd james, for whom is inspired by one of my favourite authors, pdjames, for whom the character of the person is partly what leads to what happens to them. it really is a character driven story. it is unusual in this book in that it doesn't have anything to do with the circumstances in the country. a lot of the crimes i discuss in the book are opportunistic crimes, crimes that come out of rage, stress and anger. but that is an interesting one because it is a crime that is rooted in the past. you talk about the politics without giving a running commentary. a wonderful story called

the president always dies in january, people waited. take us back to the moment when a difficult situation suddenly became one of utter desolation, economically people fleeing, people with no money. it was as if all the normal functions of the state just stopped? i always said that in many other countries, in normal countries, government is meant to be a facilitator. in zimbabwe, it is an inhibit tater. it stops you really like that you are realising your dream. in my defence, that is a statement from the presidential spokesman. there are always these rumours in january the spokesman. there are always these rumours injanuary the president has collapsed and died. the economic situation does play a very important role in that. a lot of people have left the country to make better lives for themselves and their

children. the people in the book tend to be the ones who have stayed. they have stayed in these circumstances. i admire people who have stayed. i don't like the phrase brain drain because it suggests people who have left the country are better and those who have remained. it isa better and those who have remained. it is a very offensive term, the brain drain. i think the people who have remained in zimbabwe are a very special kind of hero. we shouldn't give people the idea that this is a book that will be depressing from beginning to end. it is full of fun. clearly, there is a depressing political background, whatever your political background, whatever your political views are and you were a supporter of the opposition in zimbabwe. that is a depressing scene. there is violence and injustice. but there is this sort of... apologies, i am finding out what is happening with the later stories and we seem to have lost the programme

we seem to have lost the programme we we re we seem to have lost the programme we were on. who are not able to have any kind of african or zimbabwean spring because we were able to laugh at our own misery. how would you describe the character of the country now, the place where you grew up which went through this terrible political convulsion?” grew up which went through this terrible political convulsion? i am influenced by something a friend of mine said. he said, the thing that makes me sad about zimbabwe, i no longer recognise the places of my childhood. physically recognise? physically recognise as well as emotionally recognise. i felt something in that, but i sometimes wonder if i am not caught up in nostalgia. countries do move on. having left zimbabwe when i was 23 and only going back for occasional visits, whether i am really the right person to say this is what zimbabwe has become. zimbabwe to me, isa zimbabwe has become. zimbabwe to me, is a very sad place at the moment. it is not the zimbabwe that i

remember. maybe that zimbabwe is what has to be in order to get us to the next age. i honestly don't know. how do you explain robert mugabe's grip on power? it is complicated, he obviously controls the state. that is beyond question. this is something western audiences don't like to hear, he is also quite popular. he is an incredibly funny man, extremely charismatic. there is a mix of popularity and power. there are people who vote for him, there is rigging and coercion, but there are also people who genuinely vote for him. you present these portraits of characters who are very resilient and full of fun and full of, i don't know, a philosophical wisdom about their plight. do you think it is a place where there is still hope?”

think so. maybe a desperate kind of hope, but i do believe there is enoughin hope, but i do believe there is enough in our past and present to give us a hopeful future. enough in our past and present to give us a hopefulfuture. you enough in our past and present to give us a hopeful future. you have written before about life in zimbabwe and these are vivid, vivid pictures of people living through this difficulty. it is almost as if you don't want to let this experience go because it is so rich it provides a writer with so much material and so much evidence of what human beings have to do. it is a rich seam? acute observation. this book is everything i am thinking about zimbabwe right now. because i wa nt to about zimbabwe right now. because i want to step away from it for the next two, three books. stepping away from zimbabwe, this is my goodbye to zimbabwe for the time being. but i

have said all i want to say about the richness of zimbabwe. there will bea the richness of zimbabwe. there will be a pause and you will say hello zimbabwe again. once again, yes. petina gappah, thank you very much. thank you very much. good morning, we have some wild weather on the cards, but what we haveis weather on the cards, but what we have is patchy fog across england and wales but squally showers. squally showers continuing across northern ireland and also scotland and some of those showers will have hail, thunder and lightly, hill smoke and sleet, as well as reining them. behind them, brighterskies and sunshine. dry weather and suddenly spells developing but some of the fog will be slow to clear. a cold day in the northern half of the country and cooler than yesterday in the southern half. as we had to the evening and overnight, under the clear skies, temperatures will drop quite quickly. an early touch of frost in rural parts of england. as

the breeze picks up, it will be a problem. then we have the first signs of storm barbara coming in across scotland and northern ireland in the shape of rain and strengthening winds. as we go through the cause of tomorrow, the met office has put out a number wind warning. one down from the top level. the top level is read and it is for northern and north—western scotla nd is for northern and north—western scotland looking at severe gales and storm force winds. coupled with rain moving in from the north—west, moving in from the north—west, moving south eastwards through the day, getting into the far south—east of england after dark. if we focus on the winds, the strength will be touching gusts of 90 miles an hour across the far north of mainland scotla nd across the far north of mainland scotland and the northern isles. 80 miles an hour across eastern scotland. 60 across northern england. these gusts could cause some structural damage. it'll be a windy day and you may find

disruption to travel. trains, planes and even your ferry crossings for example. do keep in touch with the weather forecast. as we head example. do keep in touch with the weatherforecast. as we head into christmas eve, a quieter day, more like today. for england and wales, a lot of dry weather around. gusty rain coming into northern ireland and scotland, sinking into northern england and north wales to the day. i mention temperatures because by the time we get to christmas day, a lot of isobars meaning it will be windy, particularly in the north, but it will be very mild. we could have record—breaking temperatures by the time we get to christmas day. possibly as much as 16. we have got to be 15.6 to be a record breaker. behind this we have colder air coming in. as well as record—breaking temperatures, some parts of the north could also see a white christmas. this is bbc news. the headlines at 10:00: police raids across germany in the

hunt for the main suspect in the berlin is mass—market attack. it has emerged anis amri used multiple identities and was being watched untiljust a identities and was being watched until just a few identities and was being watched untiljust a few months ago. a £100,000 euro is being reward —— a 100,00 euro reward is being offered — with a warning that anis amri could be armed and dangerous. is the christmas market that was the target of monday's attack reopens, the search for the prime suspect widens.