a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: shock as donald trump tweets that the united states needs to greatly expand its nuclear capability. new images of the main suspect in the berlin attack. his fingerprints have been found inside the lorry driven into the christmas market. australian police foil a christmas day terror plot to target melbourne. five people are arrested. we meet the seven—year—old syrian girl whose plight moved people around the world, with her descriptions on social media of life under siege in aleppo. donald trump, just a month from being sworn in as american

president, has said the us must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. he made the call, which would be a break with decades of american strategy, in a post on social media. hours before, vladimir putin said russia should fortify its military nuclear potential. mr trump's advisers insist he is warning of the dangers of terrorist groups and unstable regimes getting nuclear weapons. here is our defence correspondent jonathan beale. america and russia still hold more than 90% of the world's nuclear stockpiles, both able to deliver destruction on a massive scale, by ground, sea or air. for a quarter of a century, they have been reducing their nuclear arsenal. but the question now, is the arms race about to resume? tonight, president—elect donald trump tweeted. .. it caught many

by surprise, including the obama administration. i can't speak for what the president—elect‘s nuclear views, or his policy going forward. that's for him and his team to speak to. what i can speak to is the approach that this administration has taken, to try to get us on a path to a world without nuclear weapons. president putin, too, has been ramping up the nuclear rhetoric. today, addressing his military commanders, he talked of the need to strengthen russia's strategic nuclear forces. translation: we can say with certainty that we are stronger now than any potential aggressor. anyone. both the united states and russia have made large cuts to their nuclear arsenals since the height of the cold war. but they still have many weapons.

the us have stock piles of 7,000 warheads, of which 1,900 are deployed, or ready to use. russia has just over 7,000, with just under 1,800 deployable. while the uk has 250 warheads, of which 120 are available to use, and could be fired from its vanguard submarines. both america and russia are already modernising their nuclear weapons systems at significant cost. what is not clear now is whether donald trump now wants to go much further. tensions have been rising with russia, these us troops on exercise in the baltics a response to its intervention in ukraine. russia's military campaign in syria has deepened the rift. but donald trump has signalled he wants to improve relations with moscow, so his comments might be more directed at north korea, whose unpredictable leader boasts of now being a nuclear power,

or even iran. donald trump threatened to rip up a deal over its nuclear programme, still suspicious of iran's intentions. what donald trump did with that tweet was restart the nuclear arms race. it's notjust strengthen our nuclear arsenal, it's expand our nuclear arsenal. we have arms control agreements that limit, that reduce, that cap the weapons we deploy. he pays no heed to that, seems to want to bust through the caps. with nuclear weapons, words matter. once again, a donald trump tweet has surprised, and raised plenty of questions. jonathan beale, bbc news. daryl kimball is a specialist on nuclear arms control and non—proliferation. he joins me from washington. good to talk to you. this tweet from

mrtrump, a very good to talk to you. this tweet from mr trump, a very similar tweet, in the same 24—hour period, from the russian president. if the arms race about to resume? well, there has been a slow—moving technological arms race involving all the world's nuclear countries for the last several years. the us and russia are replacing their cold war systems. they have not been talking about further reductions for some time, mainly due to the tensions over ukraine. the us and russia still have, as your report said, many more strategic deployed nuclear weapons that are necessary to deter nuclear attack —— than are necessary. so these kind of comments, these offhand comments, from mr trump, about expanding and strengthening the us nuclear capacity i think sends the wrong signal to vladimir putin about us intentions and directions. the united states and russia cannot afford to get back on

the nuclear treadmill, trying to outpace one another. they can and should get back to the table, address the many difficult issues in the relationship, and seek ways to reduce the nuclear access, and along the way save money. —— excess. reduce the nuclear access, and along the way save money. -- excess. is it more about the us and russia being willing to use nuclear weapons against a third party, they might use small tactical nukes against is targets, but vladimir putin might feel justified in targets, but vladimir putin might feeljustified in threatening the baltic states or using them against the baltic states. well, i think if thatis the baltic states. well, i think if that is the intention of the tweet, andi that is the intention of the tweet, and i think that would be reading too much into it at this point, you know, that is a radically different concept than either the united states or russia have had regarding the role of nuclear weapons. i mean,

these weapons are only there to deter nuclear use. these are not usable weapons. they are vitally different from conventional arms. if donald trump intends to hold back proliferation, the spread of nuclear weapons, building up the us nuclear capacity is not going to do any good. it will make the situation worse. in order to deal with north korea, he has got to engage kim jong—unin korea, he has got to engage kim jong—un ina korea, he has got to engage kim jong—un in a dialogue to freeze north korea's nuclear and missile testing, which is helping north korea to improve its nuclear capacity, which is still relatively small compared with its neighbours. he needs to avoid ripping up the nuclear deal with iran which is successfully blocking their path to a nuclear weapon. so that is the way to hold back proliferation, not to brandish nuclear weapons and talk about expanding capacity at a time when we have far too many then we

need, and we cannot afford to spend more. your report mentioned how much these cost. $1 trillion over the next 30 years to sustain and modernise the us force. that is putting great pressure on the us defence budget. thank you very much. we will see how seriously to take all this, as jonathan said, we will see how seriously to take all this, asjonathan said, words in this matter. donald trump has asked a leading plane manufacturer to provide an estimate for a new fighter jet, after complaining about spiralling costs. the president—elect said, in another social—media post, "based on the tremendous cost, and cost overruns, of the lockheed martin f—35, i have asked boeing to price out a comparable f—18 super hornet." he met chief executives of lockheed martin and boeing this week. some defence industry analysts have been critical, insisting the two planes are not comparable. german police say there is clear evidence to link their main suspect, a tunisian man, anis amri, to the attack on a christmas market in berlin. his fingerprints have been found in the lorry that was driven

into shoppers on monday, killing 12 people. speaking at the family home in tunisia, amri's brother called on him to give himself up. meanwhile, chancellor merkel has praised the calm way in which germans responded to the attack, as our europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. it is new footage that hasjust emerged. the scene immediately after monday's attack, filmed from a dashboard—mounted camera. a few seconds earlier, this is what happened. we have slowed the footage. from the left comes the lorry at speed, heading straight for the christmas market. and this is anis amri, the man police say was driving it, filming himself humming nonchala ntly in berlin, the video posted to his facebook page in september. now, the 24—year—old tunisian is europe's most—wanted man. police first found his id documents in the cab of the lorry. now, tests have shown his fingerprints on the door and the bodywork. the conclusion —

he was at the wheel. angela merkel this afternoon thanked germans for their measured reaction to the attack. translation: our thoughts are constantly with the victims' relatives, and with the injured. we owe it to them to give this our very best. i can say we've done a lot in recent years to meet the challenge of terrorism. the police raids in germany earlier today targeted anis amri's known contacts, turning up nothing. his family, back in tunisia, last saw him five years ago. they say he wasn't religious, drank alcohol, and dreamed of owning a car, starting a business. translation: if my brother is listening to me, i want to tell him to surrender, for the sake of our family. we'll be relieved. if he did what he's suspected of having done, he'll be sanctioned, and it will be a dishonour for us. but i'm sure that my brother is innocent. anis amri left his family, travelling illegally to italy in 2011. he spent four years in jail

for violence and theft, but without a passport he couldn't be deported to tunisia. so, last year, he moved to kleve in germany. denied asylum, once again he wasn't deported. security services feared he was trying to get automatic weapons for an attack. but, with no new evidence, surveillance of him was halted in september. so there are serious questions. should the authorities have taken the threat posed by anis amri more seriously? but, for most germans, as the markets reopen here, with new security barriers, criticisms of the police are less important than how they respond. so getting breitscheidplatz up and running today was symbolic for berlin. we have to respond to the terrorism, that we don't care, we're going to open, we are not scared. because it's exactly what they want. the crowds were thinner than usual, but wanted to show they wouldn't be cowed. "i've come to show we must not hide", says rosemary. "i'm very sad.

i was here on monday. luckily i left before it happened." "i feel anger and sadness, more anger", says annika. "i didn't know any of the victims, but it makes me really angry." not so much fear as defiance, then, berliners determined to show they won't give up the things they value and enjoy. police in australia say they have foiled a terror attack in melbourne, which they believe may have been planned for christmas day. several people have been arrested after explosives were discovered during a series of overnight raids in the city's northern suburbs. it had the makings of an improvised explosive device. we believe that there was an intention to conduct what we call a multi— mode attack, possibly on christmas day, the possible locations that we've been working on have been federation square, flinders street station and

st paul's cathedral. let's speak to the bbc‘s hywel griffith, in sydney. what more information is there is? well, we are learning more about those people who have been detained. five men, four of them australian—born, the fifth and egyptian australian citizen, all in their 20s, all living in different suburbs around melbourne. now, we understand during the raid that the police officers recovered some form of elements of an improvised explosive device and weapons, knives, possibly a firearm as well. so when they appear in court later they will be charged with serious terrorism offences, planning what the police allege was a multi— mode attack of a major attack on the right in the heart of melbourne. we understand that they were intercepted after a surveillance operation lasting two or three weeks. some of the men, we are told, we re weeks. some of the men, we are told, were known to the police, some not. but they say that they are confident

that they have picked up a large pa rt that they have picked up a large part of this cell, which they believe were about to be active. the phrase being used about them is self radicalised. yes, suggesting really that this is a homegrown terror threat, not people who have come into the country. as i said, all five living here for the last few yea rs, five living here for the last few years, but inspired, we are told, by the so—called islamic state propaganda and events overseas, some of that radicalisation may be happening online. of course, we have yet to know exactly how that threat would have played out. the police saying here that this is the 12th operation they have managed to thwart in some two years or so. and this is a period when melbourne and other cities, like sydney, see thousands, hundreds of thousands, of people passing through. christmas day, then boxing day, and the major cricket test in melbourne, here on new year's eve, the fireworks drawing and lots of people. so they

see this as being key marquee events which would be targets for terrorist threats but they will be fully policed and they can carry on enjoying the australian way of life. thank you very much for that. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: donald trump took on sanctuary cities on the campaign trail. now, what will he do in office? we head to santa fe, in new mexico, to find out. we saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach, and people started to run, and suddenly it was complete chaos. united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noreiga. the pentagon said the operation had been 90% successful, but it's failed in its principal objective, to capture general noreiga and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states.

day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of the pan—am's maid of the seas, nose—down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has said in a tweet that the us must strengthen and greatly expand its nuclear capability. the fingerprints of the chief suspect, anis amri, have been found in the lorry driven into a christmas market in berlin. there's new pressure on the philippines' outspoken president rodrigo duterte. the country's independent human rights watchdog is to investigate, after he claimed to have killed several drug suspects personally. mr duterte has responded, calling the un "stupid idiots".

tom donkin reports. philippines president rodrigo duterte was swept to power injune on a promise to rid his country of illegal drugs and those who traffic them. his critics argue he has authorised police, vigila ntes, and so—called death squads to shoot suspected users and dealers on site. by his own admission, the president himself says he has personally killed. earlier this week, the un cited that confession, calling for an independent human rights group in the philippines to act and investigate mr duterte for murder. they've agreed and will reopen an earlier investigation into the actions of the president. we are hoping with these new revelations and admissions we can further the investigation and ultimately have charges. mr duterte has been unforgiving when discussing his methods. recently he admitted to the bbc that he himself had killed drug suspects while he was mayor of the southern city of davao.

i killed about three of them because there were three of them. i don't really know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies, but it happened. as i said, i cannot lie about it. in his typically defiant style, he has responded to the investigation against him: while the many, and in some cases mysterious, recent killings in the philippines have alarmed leaders around the world, rodrigo duterte has vowed to continue his campaign as long as he is in power, knowing full well that for the moment, while he is president, his country's constitution guards him from prosecution or punishment. tom donkin, bbc news. the syrian army says it's in complete control of aleppo, after the last rebel fighters were evacuated.

state television showed crowds waving flags and shouting slogans in support of president assad. it's his biggest victory in almost six years of civil war. amongst the thousands of civilians brought out of the ruined city in recent days was 7 year—old bana alabed, whose messages on social media have moved people around the world. 0ur correspondent, 0rla guerin, has been to meet bana and her mother. hello, i am bana. i am seven years old, i am from aleppo. from the rubble of aleppo to the red carpet in ankara, bana alabed and herfamily are now being hosted by the turkish government, which opposes the syrian regime. when we met, this child of war told me how her own home was flattened by a bomb. translation: we were playing happily and planning to go out, and suddenly it landed. so we got scared and ran to the basement. when our house was bombed,

we got out of the rubble safely. but we were about to die, because the house was collapsing. her updates from inside aleppo echoed around the world, with help from her mother, who manages her twitter account. but some have questioned whose views were being shared. when your mum was tweeting, was she tweeting your words or tweeting her words? me and mum. together? yes. her mother, fatima, insists the twitter account was bana's idea, but admits it is a way to combat the regime. i think there now was a big fight out there. and i think our twitter was a weapon. your twitter was a weapon? yes.

but the tweets attracted threats, and made it harderfor the family to join the mass evacuation of eastern aleppo. fatima got bana on to one of the buses disguised as a boy. today, the last opposition fighters retreated from their former stronghold, and by the evening the syrian army was in control of the entire city, for the first time in more than 11.5 years. just days after escaping all this, bana dreams of returning. translation: i was happy to leave, but sad at the same time. i wish i could go back to aleppo, go back home. i want to live in my house, because i love it, even if it had been bombed. i love my house. in english: we shall overcome some day. before saying goodbye, bana sang us a song about childhood

and stolen freedoms. # i am a child with something to say...# 0ne voice, raised for countless others, who often go unheard. 0rla guerin, bbc news, ankara. an experimental vaccine has been found to be highly effective against the deadly ebola virus. the trial was conducted in guinea, one of the west african countries most affected by an outbreak of the disease that ended this year. the final results show that of the nearly 6,000 people to receive the vaccine, all were free of the virus ten days later. as a candidate, donald trump threatened to cut federal funding for so called "sanctuary cities" — these are cities that don't prosecute undocumented immigrants for violating immigration laws. santa fe is one, and it's defiant. the bbc‘s franz strasser reports. we will end the sanctuary cities,

cities that refused to co—operate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars. we are not going to be bullied by federal policy that has compromised values that are very defining for our community. what is a sanctuary city? a resident will not be asked about his legal status and localjail will not hold illegal immigrants unless they regard them as violent criminals. despite threats of funding cuts by donald trump, major us cities have come out in favour of remaining

centuries. they represent a quarter of migrants that i hear it legally. it will make it difficult for the president—elect. it will make it difficult for the president-elect. i wanted to know your city will stand by and protect your city will stand by and protect you every step of the way. with 1496 of our population being made up of immigrants, we cannot afford to lose them back into the shadows will to see them live our communities because we rely on them showing up day in and day out to provide critical services to our community. make children are american citizens andi make children are american citizens and i am not and that worries me a lot because we can be separated. she entered the country only be with her pa rents entered the country only be with her parents when she was a child. —— illegally. she received temporary legal status, a place in the school and a job. legal status, a place in the school and ajob. my legal status, a place in the school and a job. my kids have a better

quality of life. we have a better quality of life. we have a better quality of life and we are thinking about buying our house. because i feel safe, do not feel that are afraid. that order is now under threat. my fear is that i not going to feel free any more, feel confident to buy a house. critics say they shield criminals and put residents in danger. santa fe's there said that it will not use its local police to enforce sweeping deportation plans. we need law enforcement to focus on combating crimes in our city not be following a federal wallasey that seeks to destroy it families and hurt people. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — thank you for watching.

hi there. i'm sure you've already heard but barbara, the second named storm of the season, is heading to the uk for friday. now, yesterday was the quiet before the storm in many respects. barbara, out in the atlantic, continues to develop and deepen, and that's going to be swinging to the north—west of the uk over the next 24 hours. it has been a relatively storm—free start to winter, of course, but that is all set to change as barbara comes hurdling in off the atlantic. tightly packed isobars really squeezing together and focussing the strongest winds on scotland. as we start off the morning, the breeze will be picking up across all of the uk but it will become quite windy quickly in the day across northern ireland and scotland. quickly, gales will develop here but the strongest winds will be heading into the western isles as we head through friday afternoon. this band of rain then pushes its way eastwards across the irish sea, where we could get gusts of 60mph, perhaps 70mph around some of the exposed coasts and hills. this band of rain is going to be very squally indeed. eastern england starting on a dry and bright note but it will cloud over and eventually we'll see this band of rain arrive

during the evening time. but it is not the rain that's going to cause problems with barbara, no, the met office's amber weather warning is enforced for the strong winds. gusts of 80mph, perhaps 90mph focussing on the western isles through friday afternoon and then heading towrds the northern isles through friday afternoon and then heading towards the northern isles as we go through friday evening and overnight. so very the windy weather will continue as barbara slips into a northwards. blustery wintry showers will follow then as we go through friday night with snow returning to the mountains of scotland. things could get quite tricky, even blizzard conditions higher up. further south, the band ofrain clears through, and we will be left with dry conditions as we start off christmas eve. so some decent weather for travelling around actually across england and wales but further north, and west, we've got those blistering showers, still some further falls of snow to come across the mountains of scotland. those temperatures will be dropping away a little bit on christmas eve. highs ranging from around 4—11 degrees celsius, from north to south. heading into the big day itself, christmas day, you can see

on the charts, still tightly packed isoba rs. but notice they're tilting towards the south—west so southwesterly winds washing over the uk and those southwesterly winds are mild winds so we're going to have quite a mild day. you can see this yellow colour working its way across the country. some of us around london could get up to around 14—15degrees. so yes, very mild but it will also continue to be very windy, peculiarly across the north—west, even quite stormy for some across the exposed north—west. but then as that works through, we'll be back into the colder air and late on christmas day, we could have some snow showers returning to scotland. the headlines on bbc news: donald trump has said the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. his transition team later said he was referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation among terrorist organisations and rogue regimes. german police say they have firm evidence linking the main suspect to monday's attack in berlin.

the fingerprints of anis amri have been found in the cab of the lorry that ploughed through a crowded christmas market. the search for amri is continuing. police in australia have arrested five men suspected of planning a terrorist attack in melbourne on christmas day. they say the plot may have involved explosives and other weapons. high—profile locations, including a train station and a cathedral, are thought to have been the targets. now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to my review of hardtalk 2016.