this is bbc world news. i'm martin stanford. our top stories: a volcanic eruption and a tsunami in indonesia — rescuers say at least 60 people have been killed in the sunda strait. closed for christmas — no end to the us government shutdown as senate democrats and the white house face off over the border wall. the us envoy to the fight against islamic state resigns in protest at donald trump's decision to withdraw american troops from syria. nearly two years after being rescued from captivity, a rare albino orangutan is released into the wild. hello and welcome to bbc news. officials in indonesia is at least

60 people have been killed and nearly 600 injured after a tsunami struck several beaches around the sunda strait. it is thought the tsunami would have been triggered by an underwater landslides following an underwater landslides following an eruption on the volcanic island of anak krakatoa. the bbc‘s indonesia editor rebecca henschke gave us more details. another disaster for this area that is no stranger to these kinds of events. authorities are now getting a fuller picture of the kind of devastation. we're seeing images of these beach towns along the coast of west java closest to the sunda strait, and this is an area that is popular with local tourists, so we're seeing images of water that rushed into hotels and restaurants on the beach last night. a lot of the towns there are made of wood and bamboo, tin roofs, so those houses have collapsed. we're seeing a lot of rubble there, as well as some cars that have been washed off. people have been

evacuated from the area. those that fled last night are now sleeping in mosques on higher ground. authorities are trying to reach the area, setting up community kitchens so that people can get some food, and medical teams are heading to the area. there are places, though, in lampung and the sumatran side of the strait that still haven't been able to contact. so, officials are warning that the death toll could definitely rise. there does appear to be a link, at least by some of the words coming out of the authorities, that the krakatoa system of volcanoes could be to blame for this incident. that's right. anak kra katoa is erupting at the moment. it sits in the sunda strait, so we are seeing images of lava and smoke coming out of it, quite dramatic images last night. the national disaster agency spokesperson sutopo nugroho said that he believed that some underwater landslide may have been

triggered by this volcanic eruption in the strait that then triggered the tsunami. it was also high tide last night with a full moon. he said that could've contributed to the huge waves that then hit the beaches. this anak kra katoa sits in the strait, and it's emerged from the ocean half a century after kra katoa, the famous volcano, erupted in 1883. now, that's one of the most deadliest and renowned volcanic eruptions in recent history. because of the nature of that phenomenon, was there a clear warning given, or as some reports seem to suggest, this, once again, caught indonesians by surprise. there wasn't a warning about this. there was some eruptions, but not major eruptions

from the volcano. there are many active volcanoes that are watched across this archipelago. there was another confusion last night about whether a tsunami had been triggered with the disaster agency withdrawing the tsunami warning and then saying that, in fact, it had hit the area. so, there are some questions, hard questions being asked of the authority at the moment about its monitoring systems. at the same time, indonesia, well ready to deal with a disaster like this, and they are deploying medical teams and disaster agency workers to the area. but many questions, once again, about how ready this country is for these inevitable natural disasters that seem to be hitting the country one after another. earlier i spoke with a man

who was at the beach when the waves struck well, i was photographing the erupting krakatoa volcano and suddenly ijust saw a huge white wave come towards me, bigger than normal. so i saw, within the few seconds that i had to get out there, so i ran — i ran quite far. that was the first wave. right. just tell us which beach you were on at this point, where were you located at this moment? i was located on west java, around 47 kilometres from the erupting volcano. were you able to witness how far inland to the water went? the first wave — there were two waves — the first wave maybe went 15, 25 metres in. then one or two minutes later, the second wave came and then that went maybe 50, 60 metres inland. is it possible to estimate the height of the wave,

the depth of the wave, the amount of water coming in? i don't know. maybe two metres. i don't know. it was difficult to tell. i was standing over it when the wave hit. there have been violent clashes in paris during a sixth successive weekend of yellow jacket demonstrations. officials estimate that around 2,000 peoplejoined the protests across the city — a smaller number than in previous weeks, after president macron had reversed some of his planned tax increases. yellow jacket protests have also been taking place elsewhere in france, notably near in the south western city of perpignan. one man was killed when his vehicle was in collision with a stationary lorry at a roablock, which had been put in place by the demonstrators. there have now been a total of ten deaths linked to the protests since they began in november. the us government will remain partially shut down over christmas after politicians in the senate failed to resolve their differences over the budget during a special session. democrats oppose donald trump's

plans to use federal funds to build a wall along the us—mexico border. there was further bad news for mr trump as his top official in the fight against so—called islamic state quit over the decision to pull us troops from syria. chris buckler reports. in the us, some government buildings are being closed and many federal employees have been told not to go to work. not because of christmas, but because of a government shutdown. senators, however, were working. they were called to a special session of congress to try to find a funding deal acceptable to all. but without any sign of compromise, democrats and republicans were left simply blaming each other. they brought this about because they're under a lot of pressure, we all know this. from theirfar left, they feel compelled to disagree with the president on almost anything, and certainly this. the row is about donald trump's long

promise for a physical barrier along the border between mexico and america. he's been unable to get mexico to pay for the controversial border wall, and in the us, democrats have refused to give the president the $5 billion he says he needs to build it. so, mr president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall, plain and simple. relationships between the white house and even some republicans in congress were damaged during the last week after president trump made a surprise and sudden decision to pull us troops out of syria. it led to the resigned of his defence secretary, jim mattis, and now another member of his administration is leaving as a result of the president's plans. brett mcgurk is the us special envoy to the global coalition fighting the so—called islamic state group. in his resignation letter,

he made clear his concerns that the president's claims that is had been defeated were premature. only a week ago, mr mcgurk raised fears of an early end to the campaign in a bbc interview. but the point is the military commitment doesn't end there. that's absolutely right. and there's no timeline on it. no timelines. washington is preparing for a short christmas break, but goodwill is in short supply. and with a government shutdown and questions about presidential policy, this seems like a less—than—happy holiday for donald trump. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. let's get some of the day's other news. the main opposition party in sudan says 22 people have been killed in four days of protests over a rise in the cost of bread. the leader of the opposition condemned what they had been the armed repression of the demonstrations. the protests had been muted on saturday after the authorities closed universities and shut down mobile internet services.

a car bomb has killed at least 12 people in the somali capital, mogadishu. the explosion happened less that 400 metres from the presidential palace. the militant islamist group al sha bab says it was behind the killings. hundreds of people in morocco have attended vigils to mark the murder of two young scandinavian women in a tourist spot in the atlas mountains earlier this week. louisa vesteragerjespersen from denmark and maren ueland from norway were found dead near the village of ismil with wounds to their necks. paddy ashdown, the former leader of britain's liberal democrats, has died. after leaving british politics, he served as the international high representative for bosnia and herzegovina. a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997. the head of a un observer team has arrived in yemen to monitor

a ceasefire in the port city of hudaydah. the retired dutch general, patrick cammaert, —— dutch general, patrick cammaert, arrived in the country just hours after the mission was unanimously approved by the united nations‘ security council. caroline rigby has more. for the first time in years, a glimmer of hope for peace in yemen. the un team deployed to oversee it arrived on saturday. headed by retired dutch general patrick cammaert, the group of observers are tasked with helping to implement and monitor hudaydah‘s ceasefire, a fragile truce which came into force on tuesday following talks in sweden between delegations from the yemeni government and houthi rebels, a precursor to more significant negotiations scheduled for the new year. translation: today we met general patrick, the head of the committee. we welcomed him and informed him of the president's instructions to cooperate for the

success of this mission. he will meet with the other parties shortly, and then he will start work on the ground. as a key entry point for aid supplies, the port of hudaydah acts as a lifeline to millions of people on the brink of famine, but in recent months, it has been a flashpoint for fighting. progress towards peace was never going to be simple, and there have already been reports of sporadic gunfire this week on the outskirts of the city. but the success of a truce here could mean the beginning of the end of this brutal conflict, and help save millions of lives. caroline rigby, bbc news. as we were hearing earlier, the top white house official in the fight against the islamic state group has quit over president trump's decision to pull us troops from syria. in brett mcgurk‘s resignation letter leaked to the media he said the militants were on the run, but not yet defeated. it comes just a day after the us defence secretaryjim mattis handed in his resignation with the syria withdrawal thought to be a bone

of contention there too. earlier, i spoke with kamran bokhari, director of strategy and programs at the centre for global policy based in washington dc. i began by asking why brett mcgurk made the gesture of resignation when he was quitting anyway? i think that he wanted to express his displeasure over the president's decision to pull out 2,000 troops. mind you, mr mcgurk has been working very closely on the ground with the united states allies, the kurdish militia that has been the front—line troops in the fight against the isis. so, it put mr mcgurk in a very awkward position, so it's understandable that he quit the way he did. what do you think will be the ramifications if, as seems to be the plan, these us forces leave? so, there are actually two sides to this argument. the first is, obviously,

there's a symbolic sort of impact, and there is the fear, the risk, that this will embolden isis, this would embolden other malign actors such as russia and iran, and, of course, the assad regime. but, at the same time, if you look at it in pure military terms, we have to ask the question — what were these 2,000 troops doing that will now no longer be served? what kind of functions were they serving, were they involved in combat, and is the united states completely pulling out? i serioiusly doubt that that is the case. i think there is — the us will continue to have a commitment against isis and syria. but the president, he needs to declare mission accomplished, and, as for his promise, bring the troops back home. what number would you put on it then? what number of troops coming back

home is sufficient to please president trump, while still leaving a sufficient number of troops in syria to do any decent work? i mean, it could be as — you know, as many as half of them. because we were also getting word that there are plans that are being considered for the removal of about half of the us contingent in afghanistan, which is about 5,000 troops or 6,000 troops that we're hearing. i mean, these are preliminary reports. so, if the president can show that, look, he's brought troops home, i mean, that would satisfy his base and, of course he gets to say, "look, i promised to defeat isis and, therefore, i have, and here's the evidence." stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the world's biggest lottery — el gordo, the fat one — delivers nearly $800 million to the lucky winners. the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael who's died

from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums over a career spanning over three decades. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said that it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. in its place, 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 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. business has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkoder where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: at least 62 people have been killed by a tsunami in indonesia. it came ashore in the sunda strait near the kra katoa volcano. donald trump has said he'll stay in the white house over christmas after senators failed to end the deadlock which has shut down parts of the federal government. uzbekistan is often in the spotlight for its reputation for human rights abuses rather than its potential as a top tourist destination. but now the central asian country is attempting to change that, leaning on its rich silk road history in a bid to boost its economy. the bbc has rarely been able to report from the country over the last decade, but the bbc‘s ben tavener and cameraman maxim lomakin have been invited to see how the country is attempting to lure in foreign visitors. and opposition injail, a muzzled

press, isolationism. some of the things that uzbekistan has long been associated with, but this central asian country with its rich silk road history is keen to change that. after decades of dictatorship, the country's new president is betting on tourism to reinvigorate the country's economy. uzbekistan has huge unrealised untapped potential. in 27 you had roughly three or 4% of the gdp attributed to tourism. i expect to see significant increase starting this year probably. for most, uzbekistan's ancient souk road cities are the main attraction. when we had a cross—country, every spare inch of land is covered in feels of cotton. we asked to stop and film, but our request falls on

deaf ears. human rights activists and save over 1 deaf ears. human rights activists and save over1 million people on the government payroll were forced to work the fields last year. translation: we still have teachers forced out of school to pick cotton. they use their colder days to do it and any weekend during the cotton harvest they, you'll see doctors and as far as as faras human as far as human rights, you can see such a huge push from the government, from the president himself, in order to stop the forced labour. judge not based on the 20 yea rs labour. judge not based on the 20 years but on the past 1.5 years. uzbekistan undoubtedly has a lot of the elements, the history, the culture, the hospitality that could make this country a successful international tourism destination. what's less clear is whether some of the larger issues, things like the state of the country's democracy and

alleged human rights violations, maybe they would make people think twice about coming here. anyplace in the world you can talk about politics and human rights. in my opinion, things like travel can really be a force for good. certainly as more tourists come here, i hope that uzbekistan will open up. uzbekistan is at a crossroads in many ways. the steps taking place to ready the country for mass tourism are ready to seek. but is the country as determined to follow through on pledges around human rights, or are these promisesjust for show? ben tavener, rights, or are these promisesjust forshow? ben tavener, bbc rights, or are these promisesjust for show? ben tavener, bbc news, uzbekistan. emperor akihito of japan has broadcast his last birthday message before he steps down next april. the emperor, who turned eighty five on sunday, appeared to be overcome with emotion when he thanked the people of japan and empress michiko for having supported him throughout his life on the throne. he said he was relieved that his reign was coming to an end withoutjapan having been drawn into fighting in a war again. it is one of the biggest lotteries in the world —

el gordo, or the fat one. millions of people in spain take part hoping to win prizes that will change lives. this year's draw has taken place and, as always, the winning's have been spread far and wide. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. in spain, christmas wouldn't really be christmas without el gordo. it goes back more than 200 years, a real festive tradition. local schoolchildren picking out and then singing the winning numbers. although the pressure was perhaps a little too much for this girl. the beauty of el gordo is that the prize money may be big, more than 2 billion euros,

but the number of winners is pretty substantial, too. all across the country, groups of families, friends and co—workers club together to take part. plenty of people were celebrating, as were those who sold the winning tickets. translation: it brings me great happiness, because we know we've givenjoy to someone. we spend all year trying to deliver happiness, and with this prize, we've done it. the winners came from cities including madrid, bilbao, cordoba and barcelona, the ‘fat one' paying off once more. a christmas to remember for so many. tim allman, bbc news. a rare albino orangutan has been released into the wild in indonesia, nearly two years

after being rescued from captivity. she was released into a park in the heart of borneo earlier this week. daniel mckerrell has more. this is alba, the world's only known albino orangutan a few weeks after she was rescued from a remote corner of borneo last year. local environmentalists say she was found and emaciated, her face still bloody from her capture, being kept by villagers as a pet. but after a year of the food and recuperation, she is now going on a journey back into the wild. she is being taken to a national park on the kapuas river in the heart of borneo. the forests orangutan live in have been devastated in recent years, much of it due to logging and palm oil plantations. as a result, according to wwf, orangutan habitats have been halved in the last 20 years and orangutans are now critically endangered. after a year at a rehabilitation centre, alba was more than ready

to return to the jungle. she was released along with herfriend kika, another female orangutan, who was even more keen. alba quickly climbed up into the tree canopy, as high as 35 metres, and began eating fruit from the forest. officials from the borneo orangutan survival foundation, who rescued alba and are now overseeing her return to the wild, say it's a clear sign she's adapting well. a very rare primate and a sign of hope for a threatened species. daniel mckerrell, bbc news. from that rather good news story to an update on the story we've been bringing to you through the last few hours. the latest disaster to affect

indonesia. it appears there's been a volcanic eruption which then led to a tsunami and many areas of beach and inland housing has been damaged by this latest tsunami. we have a death toll now of 62 according to local officials. nearly 200 people have been injured. indonesian officials have said initial reports show from the area that some 430 houses have been badly damaged. these pictures giving you an indication of the extent of the tsunami. these are all too familiar, these kinds of scenes, aren't they, when indonesia was affected by a major tsunami only a few months ago. the death toll and scale of the devastation may well increase again, they haven't been able to survey all they haven't been able to survey all the areas affected. for more news on that and the rest of the world news, stay tuned to the bbc. hello.

what a difference a day makes — certainly the better day of the weekend for the dry and bright, even sunny weather on saturday, whilst today brings with it more cloud for most of the country, and some rain. the exception being northern and central scotland, where actually, saturday brought most of the rain. from showers, it looks drier through the day ahead. but this is what's galloping in off the atlantic, this array of weather fronts which will alleviate the fall in temperature as we go through the remainder of the night, except of course in scotland and the north—east, where we'll also see some fog issues. but the rain already upon us will move its way across most parts by mid—morning, into northern ireland, perhaps brushing into southern scotland, and heavier bursts for a time, and then perhaps again later. but it does look as if, therefore, the lion's share of the sunshine will be across northern and central scotland. mind you, it's going to be a cold start, and there'll be patchy fog, which at this time of year struggles to clear. may dry up again for northern ireland and southern scotland later, but for much of england and wales, it's misty, low cloud. it'll be grey, it'll be foggy over the hills and around some of the coasts as well.

relatively mild with the atlantic air and moisture coming in, but a very different day, quite a grey, miserable day. whilst in the north, as we saw yesterday, temperature around six or seven. but that clearer air, drier weather, will eventually push across more parts of england and wales through the coming night, limiting the rain to the far south. but obviously we've had the moisture, so there could be some fog, and we'll see a more widespread frost as we go into the morning of christmas eve, with temperatures below freezing in some parts. a really chilly start to the day. and it means a much brighter day ahead, a much drier and brighter day. you saw those those temperatures hovering around freezing, even the towns and cities, so they'll take a while to recover. it's not going to be as mild as we'll see through this day ahead. but it'll be brighter, there'll be more sunshine around, except in southern and western areas. and yes, there will be some fairweather cloud elsewhere, but it does look fine and dry. the recent high pressure is squeezing all the rain out of that weather front, but unfortunately, as we get back into tuesday, christmas day, it pushes that weather front

and the cloud back in from the west. so not as sparkling, we don't think, on christmas eve, in terms of sunshine amounts. could be a bit misty and foggy, but it should be mostly dry, despite being rather cloudy. but again, i'm hopeful that there will be a little bit of wintry sunshine to enjoy for some of us during the day on tuesday. and it won't be particularly mild, but it will be a little less cold, if you like, than christmas eve, because of all that cloud, particularly in the west. as ever, there's plenty more information on the outlook on the website. but, just taking a quick glance at wednesday and thursday, it's more of the same — cloudy. this is bbc news. the headlines: at least 62 people are reported to have been killed by a tsunami in indonesia. it hit in the sunda strait, the stretch of water that separates the islands of java and sumatra. another 600 people have been injured. it followed the eruption of the krakatoa volcano. a partial us government shutdown is now set to last until at least thursday. earlier, the us senate ended talks

to resolve an impasse over the budget without agreement. democrats are refusing to give in to president trump's demands for $5 billion to build a border wall with mexico. paddy ashdown, the former leader of britain's liberal democrats, has died. after leaving british politics, he served as the international high representative for bosnia and herzegovina. a former royal marine, lord ashdown led the lib dems to their best election result in 70 years in 1997. now on bbc news, westminster in review.