anchor: this is d.w. news live from berlin. germany's chancellor leaves the country grieving for the victims of a suspected terror attack and urges the public not to give in for fear. angela merkel visits the scene. details of the investigation become clear, authorities warn that the suspect they arrested near the scene last night may not be the man they're looking for. a mass killer could still be on

the loose. welcome to the program. germany's chancellor has visited the market where 12 people were killed. earlier angela merkel urged germans not to give into fear and led by example as police admitted that the driver of the truck that rammed fesenkoive shoppers may still be on the loose. the suspect arrested last night looks increasingly unlikely to be the man they're looking for as germany begins to come to terms with last night's events, let's take a look at how the last 24 hours have unfolded. >> flanked by top members of her cabinet, german chancellor angela merkel visits the scene of the attack. together they observe a minute of silence for the victims mowed down by the truck. as the country mourns, investigations are ongoing.

earlier at a press coconference word that ththe man in custody y not be the suspected driver. >> there are a range of possibilities who check evidence to determine whether the suspect was the driver of the truck such as crosschecking d.n.a., discharge residues on the hands and things like that. that is ongoing. as far as i know at this stage, it's uncertain whether the suspect really was the driver. the attack is being called an act of terror by the german government. this is the truck that plowed into crowds of people who just moments before been enjoying mulled wine and shopping for christmas presents. the truck smashed its way through the wooden stalls mowing down people in its path at this popular tourist destination, close to hotels and berlin's busiest shopping districts. witnesses described a scene of chaos. >> we heard glass breaking and we saw people shouting,

screaming. some people crying. there were like people with blood on theirir face. they were obviously injured and some people were sitting on the ground. they were like fainting and, yeah. >> the truck was registered in poland and appears to have been hijacked. the body of a polish national was found in the passenger's seat with a gunshot wound. christmas markets in the german capitol will remain shut on tuesday as a mark of respect for the victims and their relatives. >> one of the first reporters on the scene was our reporter. he described the scene today. reporter: well, yeah, the site here of the christmas market is still locked down, so you can actually see that behind me between the wide barrier wall there. this is where it happened yesterday. it's still locked down. it's turning into a site of

commemoration. many people are coming here. there are several sites where people put down flowers and candles. there is a carpet of candles getting bigger and bigger right now. on the other side of the street, this is a very busy shopping area. you would be surprised to see that actually life is going back to normal there. many people are continuing their christmas shopping. i just took a walk on that street, a very, very famous and busy shopping mile here in berlin. people are, the streets are pretty crowded. there is just one thing that is different and it's very silent there as people go down the road and commemorate, of course, what happened yesterday. anchor: what is being said aboutt the investigigation? reporter: so the investigation is one of the crucial points here everybody speaks about right now, of course. this morning the truck was removed. it was examined by a team of

forensic experts. what is more crucial right now is that police investigated the body of the person that they arrested yesterday, the suspect they caught in the first place and they could not find any traces of gunshots. now, since we know that the person in the passenger's seat, the polish, maybe the truck driver before the truck was taken by the perpetratotor, tha he was shot, that leads the police to the conclusion that they might not have arrested the right person. they do think that it's becoming more and more unlikely actually that they caught the right person and that means that there is still somebody else at large, somebody that might be armed and might pose a potential threat for people here in berlin on the streets. anchor: how are people reacting to both last night's events and also the idea that this person might still be at large?

reporter: well, it's obviously a topic, but if you look around here, people act in some kind of an act of defiance actually. they want to continunue their lives. they don't want to be influenced by what happened here yesesterd and they continunue their christmas shoppingng. however, you can feel some kind of a fear for sure and it's going to be very interesting. i mean, i it's just one day aft this attack happened. it's going to be very interesting. it's just four days left until christmas. how is life going to come back to normal here, are the christmas stores going to be reopened and what are the investigations going to, what are they going to deliver in the next hours or days? there are many, many open questions here to be answered. anhor: christmas markets, of course, very popular here in germany, berlin no exception. today they are closed as a mark of respect. do you believe that normality

can return before christmas? reporter: it's a thing that people obviously want to know. it's an important point. this is not the main focus right now. people are still commemorating. there is a lot of it grief here. people are still trying to come to terms with what happened yesterday that took them by surprise. nobody expected an incident like this happening on a christmas market just five days before christmas. so this is like the crucial point here and we will see what happens as soon as time goes by and as soon as berlin is going to come back to normal in the next days hopefully. anchor: thank you so much. well, before visiting the scene of last night's attack, chancellor merkel told germans they need to remain united. >> millions of people, myself included, are asking themselves this morning, how can we accept that so many people strolling

through a christmas market, a place of celebration met their deaths at the hands of a murderer. i don't have the answer either. i only know that we cannot and will not give up visiting our christmas markets or spending time with family and friends in our city squares. neither will we allow a fear of evil to paralyze us, even if it's difficult right now. we will find the strength to live our lives the way we want to in germany, free, together, and open. anchor: so if this was a terror attack, what does it tell us about how far the jihadists have penetrated germany? let's speak to daniel, welcome. lots of people are now saying the fact that germany has been

spared such a large scale terror attack where it's happened in recent years in france and belgium and spain, people are saying it was really a question of when and not if. >> absolutely. germany has been spared so far, but there have been attempts to terror attacks in germany. very often people think that if a country applies a different policy, for example, the united states or france in the middle east region keeps a lower profile like germany, itt will e spared from these attacks because it will be spared from, let's say, this vindictive attitude of terrorist organizations like the islamami statate or al qaedaa or whateve. we see we don't know if this was such a terror attack yet, but the pattern looks very much like it. we know whatever policies these countries apply, it doesn't spare them from the terror and violence from these organizations. it's irrelevant what kind of policies the countries applies. anchor: everybody is fair game?

>> absolutely, absolutely. we should bear in mind that the jihadist ideology that has been commended, the spokesperson of the so-called islamic state has recommended months ago that people who cannot find weapons to fire at the evil west can use anything as a weapon, be it cars or be it tools or whatever. the west can be hit by any means. in this jihadist ideology, everything is allowed, there are no ulz. this is also, let's say, a different attitude than other let's say islamistt organizatios apply that in this jihadist fight, everybody is a target and everybody is a legitimate target as long as he or she represents western culture, western ideology, western values. anchor: no claim of responsibility? >> no, and that is also normal. practically organizations like this that are affiliated with these lone wolves but not

necessarily instructing them and guiding them, organizations like the islamic state wait for some time. they do an assessment, an evaluation if the attack was successful, if it's suited into their propaganda ideology. there are templates that you can download on the internet if you want to join the organization and somehow sanctify your own activity with religious ideology. you can follow the instructions of the islamic state and then pledge allegiance to o the islac state. yeah, i think we will see such a declaration in a couple of days. anchor: inevitably, politicians on the far right and the not so far right will draw a line between the influx of migrants into germany and an event like this. how -- is that fair? >> i'm not sure if that is fair.

i think it is natural that there is a debate about security policies. i find it very questionable if that should be connected to our debate about immigration, immigration policies, but somehow i think if that debate is held in a tempered manner and in a civilized manner, then, of course, we cannot avoid it. people have a right to know and talk about it. if somebody starts to question the immigration policy of germany that is totally legitimate, but i don't think that such attacks should be held as evidence or as a smoking gun to whatever failures, presumed failures in our immigration policy. anchor: when an attack like this happens, people will draw conclusions, this happened and this happened and therefore one led to the other, the question is going to be asked about and the question is often asked about security screening of cam country. one presumes it was an evolving

system as the german govovovith. what's your feeling? >> of course, security screening is needed, but we should also bear in mind that the stage, the different levels of radicalization are not necessarily happening outside germany. the idea that such, that people that have terrorist attacks in mind planned this ahead before they entered germany. i think this is very often a misconception. we so he that, first of all, organizations like the islamic state doesn't need foreign nationals or migrants because there are many people with german, french passports -- anchor: it could have been spontaneous? >> not necessarily spontaneous, but it can be recent. we have seen that there have e state, the so-called, to radicalize people to reach out for people. anchor: thank you so much. it's dutiful to point out that it has not yet proven to be a

terror attack. this is d.w. angela merkel wasn't the only person to visit today. the square has been turned into a makeshift memorial to the victims of yesterday's mass killing. >> a steady stream of mourners are paying their respects. there is a feeling of shock tha. >> i can't say, it people do something like this. >> s sad to be people here also seem

resolute t that berlilin needs come togetether and not sucuccuo fear or hatred. >> we are have to keep living and we have to show we won't give into the terrorists. >> we just have to pray for all of the people who have lost someone, that god gives them strength to keep living. >> berliners and non-berliners alike in solidarity with the victims and expressing continued hope for a more peaceful world. >> climate change, waste, pollution, isn't ittime for good news? projects are changing our environment for the better. it's up to us to make a difference.

>> germany state by state. the most colorful, the liveliest, the most traditional. find it all at any time. check inn with the web special. take a tour of germany state by state on dw.com. anchor: this is d.w. news live from berlin. our top story at this hour. german chancellor angela merkel and key members of her cabinet have visited the scene last night that killed 12 people. the incident as a terror attack and merkel said the germans would not give into fear and promise to punish the attacker to the full force of the law.

they are trying to determine if the suspect arrested last night is the driver of the crash. berlin has dozens of christmas markets. all are closed today in respect for the victims of last night's attack. this market is usually bustling at this time of year, but the mood there was somber as news of the incident spread. >> we were workiking here and t news came and suddenly the mood turned just terrible. then the police came and sent everyoyone away. >> i heard the news that a lot of people starteded calling me see ifif i was ok because we're there often. the chances w were prettyy high that something like this could happen. i didn't reallyy know, but was afraid that something like this would happen i in berlin. nevertheless, it was really saddening to hear the news. it's really quite frightening at the moment. anchor: so what of the response from germany's financial

community? >> authorities say it's very likely that this attack was an act of terrorism, they say it has all of the hallmarks of islamic extremism and there are so many unanswered questions and so no huge reaction from investors when you take a look at european equities. they're not jumping to any conclusions. as we reported, a truck rammed its way through a christmas market in berlin killing 12 people and injuring dozens more. germany has not suffered a large scalia attack like in belgium and france, so the d developmen haveve caught people's attentio. i can say that much. trading in positive territory. european investors haven't let the attack get them down. our frankfurt correspondent has been tracking developments. the dax holding on the gains we saw earlier in the day. why, exactly? >> well, it looks like a lot of

economic global factors simply outweighed the material but local terror event in berlin. lots of mergers and acquisitions activity going on here in germany, a 60 billion merger. the media firm from italy is currently being taken over from france and wants to increase its stake there. we did get various economic indicators today, much better than anticipated from philadelphia. the index, the retail sale index in britain looked better than anticipated. the bank of japan is more upbeat about next year. all of those factors were driving share prices today. also here in germany. >> it sounds like business as usual. thank you very much. to italy's banking crisis, the

government wants to set up a new fund to save the lenders. where would the money come from? we're talking about italy who is up to its neck in debt. the 20 billion euros it needs will be borrowed pushing up its national debt even further. >> the dust is starting to settle from the recent upheaval of italy's constitutional referendum, but the be leaguered banking sector struggling under the weight of bad loans still needs saving. one week after taking power, the new prime minister has had to come up with some plans fast. >> we have begun an operation that i would define as a savings. the cabinet meeting approved a document to go before parliament which authorizes the government

to release the funds. this i want to say is a precautionary measure. >> the government hopes the move could inject liquidity in the banking system and bolster capital, but it's a hard sell. the 20 billion euro package is more than 1% of italy's entire gdp and it's not clear if the move is in complete compliance with e.u. rules that investors have to bear losses. but something has to be done right away. in particular, europe's oldest bank could use a hand. it has just a little over a week to raise 5 billion euros in private funding or risk having to fold. >> the european take for us from brussels. tell us how italy can do this, save its banks and still at the same time do what the e.u. wants to comply with its rules. >> yeah, first glance it looks

contradictory because the whole banking union was invented because the european union wanted to prevent european taxpayers paying to save or to bailout big banks. that's why you have, for example, the european single resolution mechanism, but the situation in italy is a little different. normally you have the big investors, the i institutional investors having to pay for this. in this case, much of the bad debt that is held in italy is held by small investors, mom and pop who just went to the bank who said we need to credit and they got bad advice and got bad loans and that's why italy is trying to step in to help those people. >> where you are, what's been gained by propping up sick financial institutions? >> at the moment, there is not a huge r reaction because the e.u commission basically as we understand is onboard.

that is because that mechanism allows for exceptions. italy on paper seems to be violating the rules here, in spirit is not because of what i just mentioned. the whole thing, the whole concept was to save taxpayers. not institutional and big investors and that's what italy is trying to do here. >> max on saving the little guys, not the big banks, thank you very much. that's the business for now. phil has more world news for you. anchor: iran, russia and turkey held talks in moscow on tuesday. the cooperation comes despite the killing of moscow's ambassador in ankara yesterday. the body of the ambassador lefe ankara left for moscow this afternoon.

the countries have agreed to expand. the police officer delivered a speech at an exposition in ankara. let's go to moscow. welcome, nick, it does look as though russia and turkey are determined not to let yesterday's assassination harm this new day to work together in syriria? reporter: well, yes, that's right. today has been all about shoring up those ties. russian foreign minister made a point of thanking his turkish counterpart for the condolences and the speed of the turkish reaction to this killing and broaderrrrrrrrr you get let thi endanger what we have seen in recent months with turkey. it's been quite a reversal of fortunes. just a year ago, those relations

were inave seenn ann extraorord level of cooperation and coordination going on, the evacuation of r refugees from easter a aleppo in rececent fo in this forormat of russia, tury and iriran. it is said that this was the only grouping of getting things done in syria. he really took a knock at attempts to get things done in syria with the u.s. he said it hadn't worked. the obama administration had not been fully onboard. in terms of the details of what they want to do going force, it was pretty sparse. they would offer their services to intermediaries between the syrian government and what they deem to be the legitimate syria position and act as the guarantors of any argument, but

the real importance here is the i am -- symbolism without the e.u. or the u.s. and ramming home the message, there cannot no agreement on syria without russia. anchor: thank you. a quick round-up of stories making news. the u.n. is rushing in food ragses to people awaiting evacuation from eastern aleppo. the world food program, the humanitarian situation being eased. donald trump is now guaranteed to be the 45th president of the united states. they cast their votes. the republicans secured the 270 votes needed to achieve victory. the promise to work hard to unite the country.

china's capitol for the fourth day, inspectors to see if the factories have been illegally releasing coal emissions. our top story at this hour, germany's chancellor angela merkel and key members of the cabinet visited the scene of a truck ramming last night that killed 12 people. berlin police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. earlier chancellor merkel said that germans would not give into fear and they will be punished to the full force of the law. they are trying to determine if the person arrested last night is the driver in question. that's it, you're up to date. more for you at the top of the hour and there is always the website, updates around the clock at dw.com. have a good day. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- w1w1w1w1w1

quick you're watching live from paris on "france 24." the ice -- islamic state organization claims responsibility for the attack in berlin. 12 people died almost 50 wounded a vehicle plowed into shoppers. the driver is still at large. wasssador andrei karlov shot to death yesterday in ankara. who firedce say a man at a mosque was not a far right extremists. three peo