this is bbc news. the headlines at 11am: police raids across germany in the hunt for the main suspect in the berlin christmas market attack. it's emerged anis amri used multiple identities and was on an american no—fly. a 100,000 euro reward is being offered — with a warning that amri could be armed and dangerous. in burlington the market, which was the target of monday night's attack has been reopened as the police operation widens —— berlin. in russia the funeral is taking place of andrei karlov, the assassinated ambassador to turkey. the prince of wales warns about the growing danger of religious persecution in a bbc radio 4 ‘thought for the day‘ broadcast. £400 million is to be pumped into boosting broadband services for rural areas. good morning and

welcome to bbc news. german police have carried out raids across the country in the search for anis amri, the tunisian man suspected of carrying out the deadly lorry attack in berlin. attention has focused so far on addresses in dortmund, berlin and a refugee centre near the dutch border. we can cross to robert, who is in berlin. good morning from the market around kaiser wilhelm church, the target of monday night's attack, crowded with passers—by. stalls still closed, at

least many of them, i think stallholders conscious of the fact they still want to maintain a level of respect for those who died and who remain injured. away from here, as you have been indicating, that police operation is spreading, aided by pictures of the man they are now referring to as the prime suspect, which are on social media and have been circulated to police forces and security forces around europe. so, what do we know about annis amri? wet spring ourselves up to speed as to what we do now. he is a 23—year—old man, he was born in tunisia, he comes from a poorfamily in eastern tunisia. as a young adult, he had a reputation for being socially conservative. in an interview with the times newspaper, his father described him as a violent teenager. he was jailed for

four years in italy for arson and theft, and he had been sentenced to five years in prison in tunisia, reportedly for aggravated theft with violence. his documentation shows he used six different names under three different nationalities. he moved to germany last year, but his asylum claim was denied. german officials did not have the correct paperwork to deport him to tunisia. local media claiming he had ties to the islamist preacher ahmad abdelazziz a, known as abu walaa, who was arrested in november. well, anis amri's family have been talking a little bit about him, and let here a short clip from his brother. iam short clip from his brother. i am shocked like every tunisian citizen who heard about it. when the police came to the house to take my mum, then we knew it was my brother.

me and my other brother, who lived in the capital, we havejust me and my other brother, who lived in the capital, we have just arrived back. we are all shocked. i want to show you where we are, we are at the entrance to the market, where the lorry actually entered this market space on monday night. you can see the concrete blocks in the foreground. they have been placed here by civil defence teams in the last couple of hours, a reassuring effort, along with a high police presence, to make sure that people feel safe. there has been a lot said about perhaps a lack of preparation here, there is now a real effort to make sure that the people who are now crowding the market can do so in safety. the gap behind me is where market stalls we re behind me is where market stalls were demolished as the lorry made its way through this pedestrian precinct. we have been speaking to people visiting the area today. still services of remembrance being

held, one has been held in the last hour or held, one has been held in the last hourorso, held, one has been held in the last hour or so, people coming to stand quietly at the shrines on —— with candles and flowers. but still a sense of positivity, a sense that people should come here, and that some degree of normality should return. let's hear from some degree of normality should return. let's hearfrom some some degree of normality should return. let's hear from some of the people we've been talking to. we are still kind of very scared, because the other markets in berlin, we never know what happens next, or what could happen here again. i feel safe, because we have all those policemen, and i think it's safe. i think it's good that we start again, ithink i think it's good that we start again, i think so. and also for the world to see, we go on, we are not afraid, we go on. it is important that people can go back outside, that nobody is afraid to go back outside, and that we stay strong.

just to reiterate, the police operation outside berlin, and within the city, is continuing. as you might imagine under these circumstances, with such a high—profile hunt going on, a lot of material and reports appearing on social media, some of them being denied, some of them receiving no comment at all from the police or the authorities. that is as you would expect. there is clearly a really intensive effort underway to find anis amri, and we will keep in touch, we will keep across that, if there are any further press conferences or developments, we will bring them to you as soon as it happens will stop acting you. ——. back to you. a memorial service for the russian ambassador to turkey, andrei karlov, has been held in moscow. he was shot three days ago in ankara

by an off—duty turkish policemen, a p pa re ntly by an off—duty turkish policemen, apparently in protest at russia's involvement in the battle for the syrian city of aleppo. tributes have been paid at a ceremony at the foreign ministry, before a funeral service at the cathedral of christ the saviour. 0ur moscow correspondent has been watching the ceremony, where many tributes have been paid, and she gave us this update. the civil part of the ceremony was held at the foreign ministry here in moscow, and we saw a long stream of very senior officials here in russia coming to the ministry to pay their respects. some of them, to speak a few words at a podium set up next to the" -- few words at a podium set up next to the" —— open casket of andrei ka rlov. a the" —— open casket of andrei karlov. a whole stream of officials, including the prime minister and president putin himself. they did

not speak, but the foreign ministry did. he caught about andrei karlov, describing him as a great friend, a great professional, a great man. he also described how he died, calling ita also described how he died, calling it a violent despicable terrorist act. very strong words beside the casket. that was before the casket was then taken across town to the cathedral, where the religious ceremony is taking place at the moment. that is being led by the patriarch of russia, another sign of the significance that russia is placing on this general. it is a major state event, and president putin postponed his annual press conference, a marathon event which ta kes conference, a marathon event which takes many hours, and he put that off till tomorrow so that he could attend the funeral service for the ambassador. this killing appears to be drawing moscow and ankara closer together. it does, almost counterintuitively,

because there was much concern after the murder on monday night. there was concern that this could drive a real wedge between moscow and ankara, and that could have dangerous consequences. instead, both countries have made a concerted effort to say and act together, to say that this was a terrorist act, they described it as a provocative act intended to drive them apart. instead, the foreign minister of turkey was here in moscow, and the two countries side—by—side announcing a new peace initiative for syria. they say that together they can help bring the warring sides together, to help to conclude a peace deal. the important thing about that is that the united states was not at that table. the suggestion, they are seeing, russia and turkey are saying that murder was committed to prevent that process taking place. but they are

insistent it will go ahead. prince charles has spoken out about the dangers of religious persecution, warning against a repeat of what he called the horrors of the past. delivering bbc four‘s thought for the day, he said the rise of populist groups aggressive had deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s. according to the united nations, 5.8 million more people abandoned their homes in 2015 than the year before. bringing the annual total to a staggering 65.3 million. that is almost equivalent to the entire population of the united kingdom. and the suffering does not end when they arrive seeking refuge in a foreign land. we are now seeing the rise of many populist groups across the world, increasingly aggressive towards those who adhere to a minority faith. all of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark

days of the 1930s. i was born in 1948, days of the 1930s. i was born in 19118, just after the end of world war ii. my parents‘ generation had fought and died in battle against intolerance, monstrous extremism, and an inhuman attempt to exterminate the jewish and an inhuman attempt to exterminate thejewish population in europe. nearly 70 years later, that we should still be seeing such evil persecution is, to me, yonder all belief. —— beyond all belief. the government is to reinvest more than 440 million pounds to improve high—speed broadband coverage across the uk. the funds have been recouped from the superfast broadband programme. six hundred thousand 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 £440 million can be reinvested in the programme. there is 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. earlier, i asked the culture

secretary whether she was frustrated at the rate of progress delivering the superfast broadband to all of the superfast broadband to all of the uk. now, i'm not frustrated, we should put this in context. as a result of government actions, we've connected 4.5 million homes and businesses to superfast broadband that would not have been connected without this activity. of those, 1.5 million have taken up the option of accessing superfast broadband, that has resulted in this game chair, which means money has been reinvested back to local authorities so that they can connect to those hard to reach areas. as a constituency mp for rural area, areas. as a constituency mp for ruralarea, i areas. as a constituency mp for rural area, i know how many people living in hard to 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 to ensure those people, whether in your constituency or other areas, that do not have the speeds they want, what is the time frame to make sure they get what they want? as soon as possible, which is why the money is going to local authorities. but this is not going to solve the problem completely, thatis to solve the problem completely, that is why we are legislating through the digital economy bill, to introduce the universal service obligation, so that nobody is left behind, and that by twenty20 everybody will be able to access 10 megabits per second. the superfast roll—out is for 24 megabits per second, which is more than enough that most homes would need with current technologies. are we not behind many parts of europe with fibre technology? is copper wire going to deliver the speeds people want? that's why we have also announced £1

billion in additional money to help businesses and public amenities to get fibre. there is no one size fits all solution. we have to make sure that promises has the access and connectivity they need, really homes or businesses. that is why we're doing this as a combination of different measures. the important point is that this programme has meant that we have been able to give access to superfast broadband to more homes more quickly than we would have done otherwise. i think the fact that we have got that diverse range of offer for premises, means that homeowners and others can choose to get the right broadband for them. 0ne homeowner in rural herefordshire said today, if i went into a restau ra nt said today, if i went into a restaurant and had a cheese sandwich, i would restaurant and had a cheese sandwich, iwould not restaurant and had a cheese sandwich, i would not expect to pay the same assembly who was ordering lobster. in the meantime, people who are waiting for the service they want, should they 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, but bt have said that they will look into any of those cases that have been raised on the programmes today to make sure that 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 that option. the one size fits all solution, it would be slow and would take a long time to roll—out, and it means there would not be that choice. the fact that we have that choice which means people can choose whether or not to have superfast 02 upgrade further —— or to upgrade further. there are a lot of different options that homeowners and businesses, and i want to make sure that we can deliver as much as

we can so that people can take what is right for them. karen bradley, the culture secretary, talking to me earlier. and up —— an update to the situation in berlin. we are seeing on the reuters news agency, reports that fingerprints of anis amri, the tunisian suspect in the attack, have been found on the door of the lorry that ploughed through the crowds at the christmas market. this is the reuters news agency putting several german media sources, but those sources not naming their sources. confirmation, according to this report, that it was indeed the tunisian suspect, anis amri, who was in that lorry that ploughed into the crowd in the christmas market in berlin. the headlines: police mount raids across germany in their hunt for the main suspect in the berlin

christmas market attack. it has emerged anis amri used multiple identities, had islamist links and was on a us no—fly list. tributes are paid at a memorial service in e andrei karlov, service in russia for andrei karlov, the ambassador for turkey who was shot dead on monday. the prince of wales warns about the growing risk of religious persecution in a bbc for broadcast. and in sport, world cup leader lewis moody has criticised the review into george north's head injury. he believes the failure to punish northampton saints sends out a worrying message to the rest of club by. worrying message to the rest of club rugby. wales and the year as the 12th ranked side in the world, their impressive performance in the euro is keeping them one place above england. argentina are still top. alastair cook is considering his future as england skipper, but he has been named captain of the international cricket council's team

of the year. he has led england to one victory in their last eight matches. i will have those stories and more. winds of up to 90mph are forecast to batter parts of the country, when storm barbara hits on friday. scotland is expected to be worst affected, with swathes of the north and west of the country also braced for some wild weather in the run up to christmas. with me is our weather presenter, ben rich. ben, this is the calm before the storm. take us through what we can expect and when we can expect it, and where. it is not that come out there, problems with fog across the south—east, austria and wintry showers across the north western areas. that is nothing compared with what some of us are going to see as we go through tomorrow and into the early pa rt we go through tomorrow and into the early part of christmas eve. storm barbara is approaching. it sticks

out like a sore thumb, it is deep and a deepening area of low pressure. you can see all the white lines on the chart, that shows us that we have a storm that really means business, and very strong winds. you can see the way the stormers passing well to the north of the british isles. but it is close enough to bring those very strong winds. 80 mph gusts for the northern and western isles of scotland. a bit further south, exposed coasts of the irish sea might get 70 mph gusts. 60 mph for much of northern england. and there is some rain, but it will be moving through fairly quickly, so the winds will be the biggest effect. further south, it will be blustery, but we are not expecting much in the way of particularly severe weather. but barbara will have passed through before christmas day? yes, christmas eve is an opportunity

for us to draw breath. much quieter, it'll still be quite blustery, but a very different feel to the weather. but not a bad day. christmas day. the potential for a record but not a bad day. christmas day. the potentialfor a record to be broken. yes, let me show you the set up to the weather. it looks like another storm barbara on the way. this is not barbara. this is another area of low pressure which will pass close to the north of the british isles. it will bring windy weather, but look at these temperatures. 13—14d. the record warmest christmas is 15.6 degrees, in devon and in midlothian in scotland. those records set quite a long time ago, and there is a chance we could break that record this christmas day. but here is the sting in the tail. 0nce this christmas day. but here is the sting in the tail. once all of that has been said and done, we could get

cold air into northern scotland by the end of the day, and some snow by the end of the day, and some snow by the end of the day, and some snow by the end of the day. somewhere like aberdeen could get up to 15—16 by day, and could get snow in the evening and have a white christmas. that would be pretty extraordinary. must be unusual to get those extremes in one day. huge swings, and the thing about this winter so far is it has been pretty quiet. a lot of dry weather, light winds, fog, widespread fog over the last couple of weeks. this isa over the last couple of weeks. this is a change in the weather, something much more dramatic, these ex—wings keeping us very busy —— big swings. and to have that big swing in the space of 24 hours, that is great because it extraordinary. very interesting, lots for you to talk about on the weather front. thank you very much, ben. talks aimed at averting strikes by british airways cabin crew on

christmas day and resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs|y and resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs it and resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs it will resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs it will run - resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs it will run a - resume british airways cabin crew on christr bacs it will run a full i resume today. bacs it will run a full service on both days, even if the strikes by unite union members go ahead. the queen and duke of edinburgh are continuing to recover from heavy colds which have prevented them travelling to a christmas break in norfolk. the queen and prince philip were expected to travel yesterday from london to king's lynn by train, and on to their private sandringham estate. 0ur correspondent sangita myska has the latest from buckingham palace for us. as you pointed out, the flag flying behind you, telling you that the queen is in residence. how is she doing, or the duke of edinburgh? the nearest we have got to another public statement is that the royal standard is flying above buckingham palace. 0nce standard is flying above buckingham palace. once they resumed their travel plans, the christmas which still appears to be on course will have the union jack flying.

still appears to be on course will have the unionjack flying. you might see police vehicles behind the and a large crowd gathering outside buckingham palace. that is nothing to worry about, that is simple changing of the guard, that kicks off every day at 11am, and will continue for at least half an hour. but the royal standard is still flying, her majesty is in residence, and the duke of edinburgh is with her. very little other information other than that was published by buckingham palace yesterday, that very simple statement saying that the royal couple are suffering from heavy colds. and as a result were postponing their travel plans to go up postponing their travel plans to go up to sandringham. sandringham is their private estate, and it is there that every year the host christmas, a very traditional christmas, a very traditional christmas, a very traditional christmas, a tree is cut down, 20 feetin christmas, a tree is cut down, 20 feet in height, from the estate, brought into the drawing—room and decorated by the royal family. presents are opened on christmas

eve, which is a german tradition. then on christmas morning, they go off for a service, at st mary magdalen, the church on the estate. no fresh statement from buckingham palace today, but we probably really would not expect one. very unusual for the palace together a running commentary on anything that is going on. suffice to say, the queen is 90 yea rs on. suffice to say, the queen is 90 years old, the duke of edinburgh is 95, and anyone that age suffering from a heavy cold will be closely monitored by a doctor. so far, there appears to be no cause for concern. thank you very much. 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. firefighters are warning about the risks of carrying

e—cigarette batteries, after one caught fire in somebody‘s pocket. the man suffered 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. 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." the chinese ministry of foreign affairs held a briefing this morning. i asked our correspondent in beijing, steve mcdonnell, peter what had been their reaction to peter navarro's appointment. it was actually pretty interesting. we asked about peter navarro's choice as trade adviser, and the chinese foreign ministry, they could have just said we will work with anyone, or donald trump can choose what he likes, but instead the

a nswer what he likes, but instead the answer was along the lines of, we are watching very closely who donald trump appoints 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 that there is some concern in beijing about this appointment. and i suppose some of the other appointments as well, on donald trump's team. let's catch up with the very latest weather. he is back upstairs, it is ben. we talk a few minutes ago about the prospects for christmas day. let's focus on the next 48 hours, there is a huge amount going on. some sunny spells, also some squally showers. some fog across parts of the southeast this morning, much of that has cleared and we will see the best of the sunshine. showers for wales and northern ireland, lots of showers for northern ireland and

scotland. some of these showers wintry over high ground. temperatures at 4—11d. things quieten down this evening, showers can find to the far north of scotland. the winds strengthen again out west ‘s, rain approaching scotla nd out west ‘s, rain approaching scotland and northern ireland, and thatis scotland and northern ireland, and that is the first sign of what will come tomorrow. i met office amber warning the strength of the wind. this is storm barbara, very windy weather, completely to the north—west of the uk, a bit of rain working its way south as well, and a very mild day with highs of 12 degrees. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: reports in the last few minutes said the fingerprints of anis amri, the tunisian suspected of carrying out the deadly attack in berlin, were found on the lorry used to hit the

christmas market. tributes are being paid at the funeral of the russian ambassador to turkey, which 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. the prince of wales warns about the growing danger of religious persecution in a bbc radio 4 thought for the day broadcast. a rise in violent crime ommitted by the over—65s — new figures suggest offences ranging from minor assault to murder have increased by nearly 80% since 2012. let's get some more now on the sport. wales have ended the year 12th in the fifa world rankings — one place ahead of england. wales, you'll remember, reached the semi—finals of the european championship in france this summer. northern ireland are 32nd and scotland 67th. argentina are still top, ahead of brazil.

one of the pivotal members of that wales squad was stoke midfielderjoe allen. he makes his first return to anfield next tuesday, in their premier league match. manager mark hughes expects allen to receive a warm welcome, and says he's pleased he was able to snap him up when liverpool let him go injuly. his time at liverpool was a frustration for him, it's clear to fig. the fact he wasn't playing week in week out, we had an opportunity of bringing in here. it was on the back of an outstanding european championships as well, so i have to say we were quite surprised after the european championships that liverpool were still prepared to allow him to leave, because i thought there was a worry that maybe his performance in the europeans may well have made possibly liverpool think again. tottenham captain hugo lloris is still to commit his long term future to the club. spurs have moved quickly to tie down

first team regulars such as harry kane and delle alli to new deals. but the french goalkeeper, who's current contract runs until 2019, is yet to do so. let's see what will happen. i used to repeat that i feel very proud to be part of this project and kramaric pochettino, to be proud to be captain of this team. i'm really enjoying my time this club and i have a big relation with the fans. i try to do my best, try to achieve some good things, and that's my motivation every day. 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. champions manchester city women have

made theirfirst champions manchester city women have made their first signing of the tra nsfer made their first signing of the transfer window, completing a deal with birmingham for england under 23 midfielder melissa lawley for an undisclosed fee. 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. the former world cup winner lewis moody has joined the rugby players association in criticising a review into george north's head injury, saying it's failure to punish his club side northampton saints sends a worrying message to the rest of club rugby.

the investigation found north should not have been allowed to play on, but opted against punishing the premiership side. moody's called for a change in the return to play protocols, a view shared by a former medical advisor in world rugby, who believes care after an incident counts for nothing if a player is allowed to return to the field. the protocols that these players go through when they go off the field is not worth the paper it is written on. it's experimenting on players‘ brains. first of all it was five minutes, then ten minutes, then 13 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're experimenting in that part of the game which is the most brutal. so when the player goes back, the impacts are going to be huge, and this is what is wrong. that's all sport for now. plenty more later on. this from warwickshire police to

tell you about, there has been a multi—vehicle collision involving lorries and cars on the m6 southbound between junctions two and one. you can see that southbound carriageway really not moving, one man suffered serious injuries, we are told. the northbound carriageway moving 0k, as you can see from these images. we are told the southbound carriageway between junctions two and one is going to be closed for some time, so certainly if you are thinking of using that route, please do think again, that from warwickshire police. more on a story we were telling you about a little while ago. doctors involved in trials of a new drug for multiple sclerosis say it's a landmark development. the disease affects the brain and leads to symptoms including difficulty walking, fatigue and blurred vision. it's hoped that the drug, ocrelizumab, will slow damage to the brain by killing a part of the immune system. with me is our health

correspondent james gallagher. we heard from the ms society earlier and they were very excited by this, saying it is no exaggeration to call ita saying it is no exaggeration to call it a landmark development? this is the interesting thing. multiple sclerosis comes in two forms, the primary progressive wear decline is contiguous, and a relapsing form where you have a decline phase followed by recovery, followed by further recline —— decline. there are lots of drugs that have benefit in relapse and remitting ms but nothing for patients with primary progressive and the fact that ocrelizumab works in patients with primary progressive ms is therefore a really big deal. that is the big breakthrough, then? and presumably why a lot of people have been trying to get this breakthrough for some time. why has it not happened before now? i think it has been able difficult and challenging form of the disease

to tackle because you have a natural cyclical nature of remitting which suggest you can ride the pattern back up with the permanent decline it has been harder to do. this drug works by targeting a very specific pa rt works by targeting a very specific part of the immune system, b cells, launching an assault on part of the brain, confusing it for a hostile invasion from an infection, and when they attack that part of the brain because nerves to misfire, and so when you attack the immune cells thenit when you attack the immune cells then it stops and starts to heal some of the damage. so this is not a cu re some of the damage. so this is not a cure but it seems to slow the rate of progression of the disease. around 15,000 of the people in the uk with ms have this form, it is understood the drug is about to be reviewed for use in the united states and then europe later in the year, so potentially how quickly put people with this primary progressive form of ms be able to get their hands on this and hopefully make a big difference to their lives?

that is a huge question, there is a lot to unravel in it. it sounds so simple, but the first phase is whether it gets licensed to be used at all, so it has to go to the medicines agency in the us fda for their respective continents to decide whether it can be used at all. the next phase is, once it is allowed to be used, whether anyone will pay for it. in the united states, which is an insurance —based health care system, if the insurance provider will pay for it then it could happen sometime next year. it becomes more complicated to think about how the nhs could pay for what could be an incredibly expensive drug. i spoke to a doctor involved in the trials yesterday and he was anticipating that because it is the first drug there will be such huge demand and it is unlikely the nhs will be able to pay for it for every

patient so there would have to be a selective process of picking out which patients could benefit the most, said the youngest ones in the earliest stages of the disease, so it isa earliest stages of the disease, so it is a big, complicated questions still to come. james, thank you for that. just an update for do, we are feeling that the m6 southbound between junctions two and one has reopened following the accident we we re reopened following the accident we were telling you about a couple of minutes ago, they have obviously been working very hard to get that clear, the pictures we saw suggested long tailbacks of traffic but the m6 southbound now reopen between junctions two and one in warwickshire. violent crime committed by people aged over 65 in england and wales has risen by almost 80% since 2012. the figures obtained by a freedom of information request by the bbc relates to offences ranging from minor assault to murder. the rise in the number of crimes recorded is in pa rt the number of crimes recorded is in part down to how police log crimes and changes to that method for logging crimes. this report from graham satchell. i'm not asking what he was in for, but you say a long sentence. he was a lifer. he killed his wife. he was a lifer? he killed his wife?

a cafe in bournemouth. stuart, in his 70s, is talking to nick, 60. both are 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're going to carry on doing stuff, and stuff leads to problems. problems like crime. the over—60s is now the fastest—growing age group in the prison population. figures obtained by this programme show a dramatic rise in 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 4,000 in 2012 to 7,000 incidents recorded last year. but almost half of all crime police recorded in this age group was violent. i think we've romanticised older people. we thinkjust because they're getting older, they'll be the sweet old lady, but they're not. they're frustrated, they're lonely, they're angry. criminologist roger graves says 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's sort of a failure of the social contract with the elderly that leads to anger and resentment. so are britain's pensioners really becoming saga louts? there are some other things going on here. for years and years, police—recorded crime figures were massaged to meet certain targets. today, the way police record crime has completely changed. police forces are now looking to make sure we record things accurately, ethically, and that's shown by the number of crimes that have gone up over the last two or three years. 0fficers might have gone to an incident five years ago and used their professional judgment. two people in their 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. ava, the charity that runs it, has seen women in their 60s, 70s and even 80s come here for help. many, many times, he went for me, blacked eyes. just a variation of beatings over the years. this woman, who we're calling sarah, was abused by her husband for almost 20 years. i'm now 63. how old is he? he's 65, coming up, i think. he'sjust got older and nastier. when you were younger, did you feel as though if you'd reported what was happening, that the police would have no. but now, it's 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 today's figures. whether it's growing anger and resentment or thatjustice is finally catching up with offenders, more and more older people are ending up on the wrong side of the law. graham satchell, bbc news, bournemouth. the nhs is to pay for 10 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's amazing what difference that little bit of light can make to your life. instead of walking about in total darkness everywhere, and sitting in total darkness, you've got all the shapes to work out what they are. you know, windows and lights and people. cars, everything. with the contrast in colour, you can scan and try and make out what the shape is, so you've always got something to look at. it's only light flashes but it enables you to work out where you are, your environment. so instead of being ina are, your environment. so instead of being in a pub sat next to somebody who walks away and forgets to tell you they are going, and i've sat talking to empty chairs before, now this doesn't happen because you can see where people are. the thing that hurts most is not

being able to see your immediate family, because i've seen them before and i've got a mental picture what they look like, so my wife's still 70 now, still 18 in my mind, even though she is older now, but i've missed seeing my kids grow up, i've missed seeing my kids grow up, i've missed seeing my kids grow up, i've missed the ink by grandchildren grow up. that's the biggest heartache, really. istill can't grow up. that's the biggest heartache, really. 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. in a moment a summary of the business news but first the headlines on bbc news: police mount raids across germany in the hunt for the main suspect in the berlin christmas market attack. it's emerged anis amri used multiple identities, had islamist links and was on a us no—fly list.

in russia the funeral is taking place of andrei karlov, the assassinated ambassador to turkey. the prince of wales warns about the growing danger of religious persecution in a bbc radio 4 thought i'm ben thompson — in the business news... there has been more volatile trading in shares in italy's third—largest bank, monte dei paschi di siena, which looks increasingly likely to be bailed out by the government. shares fell initially amid fading hopes for a private rescue bid. they rose again after media reports that a state bail out plan would ta ke two that a state bail out plan would take two or three months. clamping of cars for non—payment of vehicle tax has soared since the paper tax disc was scrapped two years ago. figures obtained by bbc news through a freedom of information request show an 80% rise to more than 9000 clampings a month. the dvla says it has stepped up enforcement to send a message to drivers that they have to pay.

but some people complain they forgot to renew because they didn't have a disc on the windscreen to remind them. home ownership among 25—year—olds has fallen by more 4:5; :— ,bfili [573977252 3 ff". : t a survey carried out for the local gevernmentasseeiation by estate agents savills showed that just 20% of those under 25 own their own property, compared with 46% two decades ago. the lga said social housing was vital to enable families to save for a home. as many of us prepare to head off for the holidays, the uk tourism industry is assessing a year that's seen a slump in the value of the pound, boosting spending power of visitors to the uk, but at the same time there's been a spate of security threats and incidents around the world that have deterred some travellers. 0verseas residents made 10.2 million visits to the uk in the three months to october. that's down 1% on the same time last year. but the number of visitors

from north america rose by 8% — largely because of the exchange rate. what a year it has been. joining me now from the bbc newsroom is ufi ibrahim, president of the british hospitality association. just talk us through these numbers, because, as we said, pretty volatile year, good news in the sense we have seen year, good news in the sense we have seen the fall in the value of sterling which makes money go further for visitors, but at the same time tourism has been hit by incidents around the world? the first thing to note is the industry is extremely competitive, intense rivalry across countries all around the world competing for that export pound which international tourism brings. in the uk i think it might bea brings. in the uk i think it might be a little bit tricky to try and compare 0ctober

versus 0ctober tricky to try and compare 0ctober versus october last year because we had the rugby world cup last year and that might skew comparisons. as fairer reflection is to look at year—to—date figures, where we are seeing 450,000 fewer international visitors to the uk compared to last year and visitors to the uk compared to last yearand in the visitors to the uk compared to last year and in the first half of last year, compared to the first half of this year and last year, £280 million spend down versus last year. a double whammy for our industry because while we have fewer visitors coming, spending less here, outbound travel by uk citizens and overseas spend by brits is actually up by about 10%, so a real double whammy for the industry and also there for the uk economy. so it begs the question is, they give the blunders, but it paints a picture of a place that no one wants to be, brits are leaving and no—one is coming from overseas! to set some context, we receive about 34 million visitors every year in the uk and domestic

tourism is probably three times that, as very important industry. the big unsung hero of the uk economy, 4.5 million people unemployed, but the fact of the matter is, year on year, we are down, and our competition is winning while we are losing out, which is down to anti—competitive factors in the uk putting our industry on the back foot versus those companies who are doing better in other countries, evenin are doing better in other countries, even in the eu and beyond. which leads me nicely to what i wanted to ask, which is what we can be doing here? you paint a picture of competition around the world, countries vying for the same tourist and the money they spend, what do we need to do here to get them to come here and spend more here? we are on the back foot in terms of price competitiveness to start with, so vat rates in the united kingdom are double the average rate of vat across other eu countries, so already here our own people in the uk trying to do staycations are paying more because it is a tax payment of about 10% more, and international visitors as well. press is a big factor for the

industry, so it affects competitiveness and drives people to either go out of the uk to have a holiday and deters other people from coming in. 0k, really good to talk to you. happy christmas to you. let's take a look at some of today's other business stories... ride—sharing firm uber has suspended its test of self—driving cars in san francisco after regulators revoked the registration of the vehicles. passengers had recently been given the option of a booking a self—driving vehicle. but authorities had threatened legal action if uber did not obtain a special permit to test the cars. us president—elect donald trump has appointed economist peter navarro, a fierce critic of china, as the head of a new national trade body. he will lead the white house national trade council, and serve as director of trade and industrial policy. his books include the coming china wars, and death by china. 0ne worth watching to see what

happens with china us trade. chinese e—commerce giant alibaba is back on the us's "notorious markets" list over counterfeit goods sales. alibaba was taken off the list four years ago, but us authorities say the firm's online platform taobao is used to sell "high levels" of fake goods. the company has rejected the allegations, insisting it polices its market place better than in the past. a quick look at the market numbers, this is what they are doing at this point in the day. the dow is just within touching distance of that 20,000 level, nearly got there yesterday but then dipped off again. it is psychologically important because the market kabaddi big boost because the market kabaddi big boost because of all of the spending expected from the new president donald trump in the new year is on all sorts of things, hospitals, roads, railways, said that is why the market is boosted. it is not necessarily a bad policy, the

federal reserve, interest rates, it is about spending. equity markets might spending and that is why we have seen a big rise. thin trade on the ftse 100, have seen a big rise. thin trade on the ftse100, investors happy before christmas but of course we have seen boost in the markets for a while. that is the current state of play, much more later on. let's cross now to geneva, where the united nations‘ special envoy for syria is giving an update on the humanitarian crisis in aleppo. you will get a briefing on aleppo so i will not go into much. certainly a recognition of the work with efficiency and dedication. the un

has a team there and we will elaborate more on that and many ngos including turkish ngos who have been doing big, hard work and are still doing big, hard work and are still doing it, on evacuation. we may be seeing today, that is what we have been hearing but we need to verify fa cts been hearing but we need to verify facts which are crucial in the ups and downs of goodness and news, weather today may be a crucial day for the evacuation of civilians and fighters. ijust for the evacuation of civilians and fighters. i just wanted for the evacuation of civilians and fighters. ijust wanted to make a point, because you are being all involved and you are part of it and you have been part of it. when i say you, all of you. on october six, you have been part of it. when i say you, all of you. on 0ctobersix, i did, here in geneva, on behalf of the un, make a special press conference and it was about aleppo, and it was through you, members of

the media, international media, that i made a special appeal to both russia and al—nusra to ensure that we will not reach the point where we would be having at christmas, which is next week, total destruction of one of the most ancient cities in the world, aleppo. and that we would have been able to avoid at least the final part of what was going to look a terrible massacre with the so—called end of the battle of aleppo. i wish the council would have been more united and earlier united in order to be able to address that aspect, and i wish that some of my proposals would have been picked up in a way to become operational earlier. but we still have to say that, in spite of all this, if we can look at something in

terms of less tragic events, what has been happening in the last few daysin has been happening in the last few days in terms of the turkish russian facilitated arrangement, which has been... studio: the un special adviser on syria are saying we may be seeing today that it is a crucial day for the evacuation of civilians and fighters from aleppo, but he said fa cts fighters from aleppo, but he said facts needed to be verified. also, a piece of news coming into us, another appointment for the new donald trump administration, he has named kelly anne conway as his presidential counsellor. she was the woman who led his campaign, kelly and conway appointed as president, us president—elect donald trump's presidential counsellor. thatjust coming into us. it is 11:58am, time

for the weather forecast with ben rich. good morning, lots going on with the weather over the next few days, stormy weather particularly in the north tomorrow, but the rest of todayis north tomorrow, but the rest of today is a mixture, sunny spells., heavy squally showers for others, particularly in the north—west, parts of scotland, northern ireland, heady, thunder, wintry showers particularly over higher ground. further south, showers through england and wales, largely dry to the south—east, we've lost most of the south—east, we've lost most of the morning fog. things calm down for a time overnight, the showers become confined to northern scotland, but then late in the night the wind starts to strengthen out west, rain working in here as well, and, as we go into friday, very stormy weather, a warning for that in northern parts of the country. that is all from me for now, back to anita. we have breaking newsjust coming in

from bristol crown court, haulage boss matthew gordon and mechanic peter ward both found guilty of four cou nts peter ward both found guilty of four counts of manslaughter following a tipper truck crash in bath last year in which four people were killed. the driver of the truck, philip potter, has been cleared of all counts, this from our corresponded jon kay, following the trial at bristol crown court. this awful crash happened in february last year, killing four—year—old knitsley steady and also killing robert parker, who was 59, philip allen, 52, and stephen vaughan, who was 34. four—year—old knitsley had been crossing a pedestrian crossing when she was hit by the truck and the three men who died, mr parker, mr

allen, and mr bourne, were all travelling in the same car. bristol crown court had heard that —— had heard the laurie's brakes had failed and it had clocked up almost 450,000 miles at the time of the crash. the owner of the haulage company, matthew gordon, who has been found guilty of four counts of manslaughter, was driving one lorry through a western village when he stopped, and then a second lorry driven by 20—year—old philip potter attempted to break to avoid a collision, but the brakes on that lobbied then failed. it hit several pedestrians, including four—year—old mitzi and her grandmother, margaret rogers, and