this is bbc news. our top stories: the search goes on for survivors of the indonesian tsunami. 373 people are now confirmed dead, with more than 100 still missing. teams from the military and the search—and—rescue teams are here clearing away the rubble, to make way for what will be a slow rebuilding process here. there are fresh warnings another killer wave could hit coastal areas, as the anak krakatau volcano continues to seethe. us market meltdown continues, as president trump launches a fresh attack on the federal reserve bank. the american actor kevin spacey is charged with sexually assaulting a teenager two years ago. hello and welcome to bbc news.

indonesia's disaster agency now says 373 people were killed by the tsunami that swept through sunda strait on saturday. more than 1,400 people have been injured. 128 remain missing. thousands of people who live on the islands of java and sumatra have been forced to evacuate to higher ground. there are warnings that more eruptions at the anak krakatau volcano could trigger more deadly waves. rebecca henschke reports. rescue workers clear away the rubble, in a race to find any survivors. today, in this villa, none have been found. villas like this one, built right on the shore, didn't stand a chance when the huge waves hit, this the state of the swimming pool and the villa now. teams from the military

and the search—and—rescue teams are here clearing away the rubble, to make way for what will be a slow rebuilding process here. the tsunami hit this popular local tourist destination at night, without warning, the national disaster agency admitting their tsunami detection buoy system has been broken since 2012. when presidentjoko widodo visited to inspect the relief effort here, he faced some tough questions, and vowed to do better. translation: we don't know yet, for sure, where the source of the tsunami was. it's still being checked. in the future, the relevant agencies will provide detection equipment, systems that can give a warning to everyone. that comes too late for these families, here to find loved ones

amongst the dead, those identified taken away in ambulances. others, like this man, are still searching. translation: we are not at peace. we just want him returned to us in some way. we are preparing ourselves to accept the worst. the vocalist of the band seventeen, that was performing on stage when the tsunami hit, is here to put his wife to rest. posting this video on social media, he says, "we're travelling again together, my love." authorities are warning it may not be over yet, telling people to keep away from the beaches due to fears that ongoing activity from the anak krakatau volcano

could trigger a new tsunami. us financial markets have closed down a further 2.8%, their worst christmas eve performance ever. the drop follows the worst week for the dow jones industrial average in a decade. earlier on monday, president trump took to twitter to blame the us central bank, the federal reserve, saying it does not have a feel for the market. he tweeted: i have been speaking to our business reporter samira hussain about why the president would be attacking the federal reserve. this is a criticism that we have heard from the president many times before. we've been seeing that the stock market has been falling over the last several weeks, and the president really blames the federal

reserve and the policy of raising interest rates as a big reason for these false. now, remember, president trump has invested a lot of political capital into how the stock market does. so you will remember back in 2016, immediately after the presidential election, and in 2017, we saw a lot of record highs on us markets. well, in 2018 we have not been seeing the same thing, and a big part of what the president will use —— believes that the problem is in fact the fed, which has been reflected in that tweet. and if it is the fed, or even if it isn't, what are the other possible reasons that we have seen this dip in the last week? well, in the case of what happened today, we saw a pretty significant plummet on the dowjones saw a pretty significant plummet on the dow jones industrial average, down son 650 points, almost 3%. and that has to do with what happened over the weekend. we saw that the us treasury secretary, steve mnuchin,

ina bid treasury secretary, steve mnuchin, in a bid to really try and calm the already jittery in a bid to really try and calm the alreadyjittery markets, put out a statement saying that he spoke to six of the largest us banks, and don't worry, they are... they have plenty of cash on hand to shore up the us economy if need be. the only trouble is that us investors were worried about that at all, so all mr mnuchin really ended up doing is perhaps injecting even more fear, because they weren't worried about that before, and now us investors are that before, and now us investors a re left that before, and now us investors are left thinking, well, what is it that we don't know that mr mnuchin does? with me is bbc reporter kim gittleson. so let's try and pick through this. how unusual is it for a sitting president to be so direct and so critical of what the fed is doing? so there has been a consensus for over 30 years, basically since bill clinton was president in 1992, that actually central bankers, they do better if they don't have any political interference. the idea was that in the past under different

presidents they had put pressure on america's central bank to keep interest rates low. because if interest rates low. because if interest rates low. because if interest rates are low that usually helps boost economic activity and every president wants to take credit for a good economy. however, sometimes keep rates too low for too long, that can lead prices to rise asa long, that can lead prices to rise as a private spending their money, that means inflation can get out of control full stops that often leads to bad economic outcomes. so that is why over nearly three decades we have seen a presidents have stayed away from what the fed does. so in some ways it is not unprecedented. we saw that mick mulvany, the incoming chief of staff president donald trump, tried to say that this is all part of what presidents have done over history, but in recent history we have seen that actually most presidents don't do this sort of thing, and that is why investors are of thing, and that is why investors a re really of thing, and that is why investors are really worried. obviously this president doesn't do the sort of thing is lots of other presidents have done and considered normal in the past. let's look at some of the other things that could be affecting not only the markets, the economy generally. let's look at the shutdown. where are we on that? yes,

so shutdown. where are we on that? yes, soi shutdown. where are we on that? yes, so i think this is the thing. president trump is actually trying to distract most investors. it is look at the fed, they are raising interest rates, this is why these markets are tanking, but actually there is a lot that has been weighing on investors' mines, including this shutdown which doesn't look to be ending any time $0011. doesn't look to be ending any time soon. and i think it is really worrying to investors because this is the third one we had in 2018, which suggest that washington dysfunction isn't getting any better any time soon. and i think that, combined with fears about global growth, the impact of the us china trade war and of course what will happen when and if brexit does occur are all certainly weighing on investors. and that is partly what has led to this sell—off. investors. and that is partly what has led to this sell-off. and while i have got you here, i want to look ahead to where the us economy looks like it is going. just before you do, just to sayjapan‘s share average. low the 20,000 mark, this is coming in the last few minutes, for the first time since mid—september 2017, perhaps a matter of where we are looking at. where do

you think the us and the global economy goes in 2019?” you think the us and the global economy goes in 2019? i mean, that is what we have seen in 2019, that is what we have seen in 2019, that is partly what we have been talking about, is that 2019 seems to be the year that we are calling the reckoning. you know, us economic growth has been very strong for the past year, partially as a result of president trump's tax cuts. but many investors aren't convinced that they can last for much longer, combined with the fact that we have seen a slowdown in terms of chinese growth, and of course europe is a big concern, and tech regulation. you know, many of these stocks that have led to these record highs that we we re led to these record highs that we were talking about over the summer, for companies like google, company is like facebook, but are now under increasing scrutiny from regulators, many investors are worried that that could hurt their profitability going forward. as if we haven't had enough to go through 2018, 2019, now you are telling me it is called the year

of the reckoning. sorry, happy christmas! thank you, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news: a usjudge has ruled that north korea must pay $500 million in damages for torturing and killing the american student 0tto warmbier. he died last year, days after being being released from a north korean prison. he was arrested injanuary 2016 for stealing a propaganda sign. pyongyang has always dismissed claims of torture. israel is to hold a general election in april, seven months before it is due. there is disagreement within prime minister benjamin netanyahu's coalition over a bill relating to ultra—orthodoxjewish men serving in the military. the prime minister has only a one—seat majority in the israeli parliament, and he is also under pressure over a series of corruption investigations. the body of a seven—year—old migrant girl who died after being detained by us border agents has been returned to guatemala. jakelin caal and her father were in a group of more than 160 migrants who handed themselves in to us border agents in new mexico on 6 december. she died less than 48 hours later. mount etna in sicily has erupted, sending a huge column of ash

into the sky and causing the closure of catania airport on the island's eastern coast. the volcano is europe's largest and most active, and can burst into action several times a year. there are no reports of any injuries. the american actor kevin spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager in 2016. the alleged victim is the son of a us television news anchor. mr spacey has previously said he didn't remember the incident. gary 0'donoghue has more. these charges relate to an alleged incident back in 2016, in bahrain nantucket. and kevin spacey is accused of playing an 18—year—old man there with drinks, and then indecently assaulting him. there is also a battery charge. now, there was no complaint made to the police at the time, but when allegations

started to emerge against mr spacey last year, this teenager, with his mother, who is a local newsreader, came forward, made a complaint to police, and that has been proceeding ever since. if you remember, when the first allegations came out against mr spacey, he apologised for what he had done in a particular case and came out as gay and said pa rt case and came out as gay and said part of his problems had resulted from the kind of way he tried to keep his life private. but there have been, really, about two dozen separate allegations made against him. one case in los angeles was recently thrown out because of the statute of limitations. this really is the first case to come anywhere near court. now, of course, he has been dropped from the hit netflix drama house of cards. he hasn't made any comment about this court hearing. we have tried to contact his lawyers, without response. he has posted a rather bizarre video on youtube, where he assumes the character of frank underwood, the

president, the evil president from house of cards, talks to the camera in that sort of typical way that frank underwood does, and appears to address the viewer not specifically about this case, but urges them not to believe anything without the evidence and without the facts. of course, police in london, as well, are still investigating a number of allegations against him in connection with his time as artistic director at the old vic. now this arraignment hearing in new england will take place on sevenjanuary. here, the queen will use her christmas message on tuesday to call for goodwill to all, in comments being seen as an appeal for unity in the debate over brexit. in her televised address she is expected to say that treating other people with respect, even where opinions differ, is a good step towards understanding one another. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the couple arrested over the drone chaos at gatwick airport, then released without charge, say they feel completely violated. 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. christmas 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: the death toll in the indonesian tsunami has risen to 373, with warnings another wave could hit any time. president trump has blamed the federal reserve — after another day of turmoil on the us financial markets. the couple who were arrested on suspicion of causing the grounding of flights at gatwick airport last week have said they feel "completely violated". paul gait and elaine kirk were released without charge after being linked to the operation of drones near the airfield. today they made a public statement criticising the way they have been treated by the police and newspapers. richard lister has more. it was three days of chaos, 1,000 flights cancelled or diverted,

the christmas plans of 140,000 passengers spoiled by suspected illegal drone flights over gatwick. police made two arrests. elaine kirk and paul gait were eventually released without charge, cleared of any involvement. but they came home to find their names splashed across some of the sunday papers, along with their photos, details of their private lives, and some critical commentary. today, they responded. as you can probably imagine, we are feeling very — feeling completely violated. our home has been searched, and our privacy and identity completely exposed. 0ur names, photos, and other personal information have been broadcast throughout the world. we are deeply distressed, as are our family and friends, and we are currently receiving medical care. their experience has raised

concerns about the coverage. some parts of the press have dealt with this case appallingly. following a recent change in the law, you're no longer able to name people who've been merely arrested, before they've been charged, and even if you do, you're not allowed to vilify them in the way that these people have been vilified. sussex police confirm they didn't release the names of those arrested. they're still investigating what the airport says were multiple confirmed drone sightings. life has now returned to normal at gatwick, but not for the innocent family caught up in this inquiry. richard lister, bbc news. at least 28 people have reportedly been killed in kabul after reports of multiple explosions in the vicinity of two government ministries. the attack started with a suicide car bomb blast near the entrance — gunmen then stormed a building. afghan security forces have now reportedly rescued more than 300 people held hostage by the militants. the bbc‘s kabul editor

shoaib sharifi gave us this update. we know that after several, seven hours of gunbattle, the area has now been called cliett completely. and the attack that happened just before the attack that happened just before the home time for the civil servants in this government building, and as reported, two multiple explosions followed by a gunbattle. —— cleared completely. the interior ministry spokesperson said seven people were involved in these attacks. the first one detonated explosives at the entrance gate and four others entered. the operation took seven hours, room by room clearing

operation. it was a fully packed government building, department for the disabled and the very first attack, as it happened, 200 employees were rescued from emergency exits. but 350 others, in fa ct emergency exits. but 350 others, in fact it took seven hours until they we re fact it took seven hours until they were safely ta ken fact it took seven hours until they were safely taken out of the building. during the attack, in fa ct, building. during the attack, in fact, the people who were trapped, they had ta ken fact, the people who were trapped, they had taken refuge in toilets and basements, in corners, two of those people caught there contacted me and said how terrified they were. in this building there were children, women, and some people who were customers of this department. in fa ct, customers of this department. in fact, the attack shocked kabul residence. after some weeks of quiet this happened right in the heart of the city. not very far from the

presidential palace and ministry of defence. after quite some months this is the first car bomb attack, because a few months ago be interior ministry introduced several layers of checkpoints and canine sniffing dogs that sort of prevented big car bombs inside the inner circle of the city, but this one came as a big shock. the latest on the explosions in kabul. 2019 promises to be another roller—coaster year for brexit. the uk's departure from the european union, has divided opinion in britain. mps — within the governing tory party as well as opposition labour — can't agree on the way forward. but what do people outside of the uk think of it — we talked to the foreign correspondents reporting on brexit. if dante's if da nte's inferno if dante's inferno was written again for today's audience, dante would

put great britain in the hell in which the country has to repeat debating brexit forever. there was a lot of shock and surprise to leave the european union, but i think there was also an assumption that britain has a very sophisticated smart country, they would navigate through this. some people think, has it happened yet? good riddance, goodbye. another one is scepticism. they never going to do it. real sadness. of course in patients and amusement. why is it all going on? everybody loves britain, they love scotland, they love london, they love cornwall, they see all these films of cornwall and harry potter and cambridge and 0xford, there's some who welcomed brexit and think that the uk should

join the ea. now we get a new member to our club join the ea. now we get a new member to ourclub and join the ea. now we get a new member to our club and that will make a stronger together. some norwegians will be scared that norway will lose their voice with indie eea. because their voice with indie eea. because the uk is a bigger country. there was a trio of big nations in europe, britain, france, and germany, now it is left to france and germany. they are the closest military partners. it will continue after brexit. so many germans watch prime ministers questions, and they find it fantastic how they are shouting at each other, in such an educated, sophisticated way. that is why i think there is amusement or irritation about the fact that this very parliament is suddenly falling apart. nigel farage obviously has some recognition because of his role in the trump campaign because he does some broadcasting in the us,

borisjohnson, i think, does some broadcasting in the us, borisjohnson, ithink, did establish some profile. people are really a gassed out what is happening here in the political circle and fighting like schoolchildren — — circle and fighting like schoolchildren —— aghast. circle and fighting like schoolchildren -- aghast. italian politics is so chaotic. when you look at the brexit debates in parliament they don't consider it particularly, you know, scary or crazy. there has been a lot of talk about ireland getting above its station. there is a sense, sometimes, amongst irish people that maybe british politicians who say those kinds of things simply don't understand ireland. those kinds of things simply don't understand irelandlj those kinds of things simply don't understand ireland. i bet nobody in italy knows where the backstop is. they would say it is a new tactic that you play in football. people don't know how likely that hard border is. this is notjust a practical thing, this is a very emotive thing for people. there are generations on both sides of that border who have been scarred by the

events that have happened within the la st events that have happened within the last 20, 30, 40 years. americans instinctively like the uk and they would like to have a close relationship. italians have such a love story with britain. they want to be able to come to this country to be able to come to this country to visit as tourists, they want to study, the uk universities are full of italian students. this love story will not end, of course, with brexit, no matter what happens britain is part of europe. christians from across the world have attended midnight mass in bethlehem, in the west bank. crowds gathered for christmas eve activities at the church of nativity — which is widely regarded as the place where jesus christ was born. palestinian president mahmoud abbas was among those who attended. the biblical town has seen a boost in visitors this christmas, after several down years because of unrest linked to the israeli—palestinian conflict. now as you decided what to do around christmas day, i would guess it would involve being around family or friends.

well, spare a thought forjoe docherty — a scout leader from hampshire in england. he's enjoying his christmas in one of the most remote places on earth on the antartic plateau. his journey will take him to the geographic south pole, returning by kite ski to hercules inlet at the southern tip of the ronne ice shelf. he hopes to ski to the south pole and return under wind power. i think there will be lots of people around their christmas tables on christmas day being quitejealous around their christmas tables on christmas day being quite jealous of him at some point. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones this is bbc world news. hello there. 0ver

hello there. over the last few hours we have been watching temperatures drop likea we have been watching temperatures drop like a stone. it is turning into a cold night with quite a widespread frost. add to the west we have quite a lot of shout —— lau doing bonnie satellite picture. with that, southerly winds dragging up moist air, bumping that, southerly winds dragging up moistair, bumping into that, southerly winds dragging up moist air, bumping into that cold airover moist air, bumping into that cold air over the moist air, bumping into that cold airoverthe uk. a moist air, bumping into that cold air over the uk. a good accommodation for some fog. the met 0ffice have already issued a yellow weather warning for patches fog within this yellow weather warning area that covers a good part of england. with visibility dropping below 100 metres in places the fault will bring some dangerous or hazardous driving conditions out and about on christmas day. if you are planning a journey to visit friends orfamily, please planning a journey to visit friends or family, please leave a little bit of extra time and make sure everyone arrives safely. aside from the fog it will be a cold start. a widespread frost. lowest averages across eastern scotland. in the north and west of scotland a weak weather front brings rain for a time on christmas day, that will clear a way. we will be left with mainly

cloudy skies across the west, could be thick enough for the odd bit of rain or drizzle. it is a mainly dry day. the coldest across eastern areas after that cold start to the date. a lot of cloud around combet averages will be slow to rise, and there could be fog patches that linger all day. into boxing day, a weather front pushes into the north—west of the uk bringing rain to northern and western areas of scotland. away from that, with more cloud around, it should not be as cold a start to the date on boxing day. temperatures typically above freezing, six, seven, eight celsius for a number of us. as we go through wednesday, boxing day, another cloudy day. read across the north and west of scotland with the breeze picking up as we go through the afternoon. the south we may well seek breaks in the cloud coming up into southern parts of england. the skies might brighten up. temperatures typically around ten or 11 celsius. we will take a look ahead into thursday, the day after boxing day, if you are struggling

with your days. it will be another pretty cloudy day. there could be rain in scotland. not amounting to too much. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine coming up in the south. here we could start the day ona south. here we could start the day on a locally cold and frosty note. most averages not as high, seven or eight celsius in england and wales. richie maherfor eight celsius in england and wales. richie maher for northern ireland and scotland. i have to say, give you the forecast for the rest of the year, for most of us it will stay pretty quiet. that includes in the run—up to new year's day. that is your latest. bye—bye. —— they'll weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: the death toll in the indonesian tsunami has risen to 373, with more than 100 still missing. rescue workers are continuing to search for people trapped in the wreckage, amid fears that another big wave could hit. us financial markets have closed on the worst christmas eve

trading day ever. president trump has blamed the federal reserve for the state of the country's economy. senior democrats have launched a scathing attack on mr trump, accusing him of plunging the country into chaos. the american actor kevin spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager in 2016. the alleged victim is the son of a us television news anchor, heather unruh, who first made the allegations last year. she said the actor had bought her son drinks in a bar in boston, before groping him. mr spacey has previously said he didn't remember the incident. now on bbc news, it is the year the social media giants came under fire, the printed press got smaller, and blockbuster tv got even bigger.