this is bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: the search goes on for survivors of the indonesian tsunami. 373 people are now confirmed dead, more than a hundred 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 seethes and threatens. the american market meltdown continues as president trump launches a fresh attack on the us central bank. kevin spacey is charged with sexually assaulting a teenager at a bar in massachussetts 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 m00 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 another 2.8% —

their worst christmas eve performance ever. and this 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 "the fed is like a powerful golfer who can't score because he has no touch." with me in the studio is our correspondent kim gittleson. i know you specialise in business and economics and have made a specialist study of the fed. what is worrying investors? let's go back in time to this weekend when reports from the merged that president trump was considering firing his hand—picked federal chair, jerome powell. it is a big step. he may not have the legal right to do so but it

suggested to investors that tensions between the white house and the federal reserve had escalated significantly. we saw that the treasury secretary ted halley, look, president trump knows he cannot find the cherub the federal reserve and, by the way, i called the banks and they are all doing fine. and our really worried investors. they were wondering why the treasury secretary was telling them that the banking sector is fine. what does he know that we don't? that is one of the things that led to the sharp sell—off that we saw on christmas eve. what do you think is likely to happen next? there are a few things driving this market slumps. one is between —— one is the tension between —— one is the tension between donald trump in the federal reserve but there are other factors at play as well. one thing is that the us government is currently shut down. the third one this year that suggest that political dysfunction in washington is not getting better. that leads to uncertainty and investors do not like uncertainty.

overall, globally, investors are worried about a slow dome —— slowdown in chinese economic growth, about brexit and what that means that the european economy and the american economy is doing well, partially as a result of tax cuts that have helped corporate profit. that will not help them in 2019. all these things together leading to a sort of big sell—off we have seen on wall street and has been followed in asian and european markets. and fork president trump, the performance of the economy is important. it is, but i want to mention we talk about this, the stock market is not the economy. donald trump often says that his performance is pegged to what happens on wall street that i would say that many investors and a nalysts would say that many investors and analysts will say that we want you to peg your performance to the american economy, we want to see that overall the economic performance is healthy and sustainable. that is one thing that is underlying these concerns because the federal reserve is raising rates

because it feels it can do so, because it feels it can do so, because the american economy is so strong. that is why they are worried by the fact that president trump seems to want to intervene here. they wonder what he knows that they may not and they are concerned that going forward that may influence central banking policy which is never a good thing for an economy in the us or a round the world. let's get some of the day's other news. a usjudge has ruled that north korea must pay half a billion dollars in damages for torturing and killing the american student, otto 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's 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's also under

pressure over a series of corruption investigations. 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 body of the seven—year—old migrant girl has been returned to guatemala. she and herfather were ina group guatemala. she and herfather were in a group of over 160 migrants who handed themselves in to border agents on december six. she died less tha n agents on december six. she died less than 48 hours later. 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 o'donoghue has more. these charges relate to an alleged

incident back in 2016, in a bar in nantucket. and kevin spacey is accused of plying 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 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 7 january. 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 the 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 unrest in recent years, linked to the israeli—palestinian conflict. pope francis has urged people in rich countries to seek a simpler, less materialistic life. leading a christmas eve service in saint peter's basilica, the pope said mankind had become greedy and voracious but the birth ofjesus should make everyone reflect on the real meaning of life. the pope also condemned the huge divide between the world's rich and poor. 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.

rthe 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. 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 a gun battle, the area has now been called cleared completely. and 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 gun battle. the interior ministry spokesperson said seven people were involved in these attacks. the first one detonated explosives at the entrance gate and then four others entered. the operation took seven hours, a room by room clearing operation. it was a fully packed government building, at the department for the disabled and the very first attack, as it happened, 200 employees were rescued from emergency exits. but 350 others, in fact, it took seven hours until they were safely taken out of the building. during the attack, in fact, the people who were trapped, they had taken refuge

in toilets and basements, in corners, and two of those people who were caught there contacted me and told me how terrified they were. in this building there were children, women, and some people who were customers of this department had said that 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. in fact, after quite some months, this is the first car bomb attack, because a few months ago, the 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 former prime minister of pakistan, nawaz sharif,

has been sent back to jail after a fresh corruption conviction. he was found guilty of having overseas property investments beyond his declared sources of income, and sentenced to seven years in prison. he was released on bail earlier this year, when a different corruption sentence was suspended. 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've been treated by the police and newspapers. richard lister reports. 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're feeling very — feeling completely violated. our home has been searched, and our privacy and identity completely exposed. our 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 they say were multiple confirmed sightings of drones. life has now returned to normal at gatwick, but not for the innocent family caught up in this inquiry. richard lister, bbc news. in hungary, the national populist government of viktor orban is attempting a drastic solution to the problem of homelessness — it has made it illegal. since the law came into force in mid october, a dozen people have been prosecuted. nick thorpe sent this from budapest. outside an overnight shelter in budapest, 20 men wait in the cold street, hoping for a bed. they're let in one by one. there are three dormitory rooms in this basement. it's cramped, it smells bad, but it's warm and they get a chance to wash and eat. since the new law came into force,

the numbers seeking shelter here have gone up. they had to come to one of the homeless shelters of budapest to show up and say that, "we would like to sleep inside because the police told us." and that was one of the results of this law. so, you think it's having a positive effect? yes, definitely. in the real world, this is the consequence. but there's not enough room at this particular inn, and these men were turned away. there's not enough cheap or social housing in budapest. even if you get into a shelter, your chances of ever finding a flat are close to zero. those still trying to sleep rough play a cat—and—mouse game with the police. until october, underpasses like this were always full of homeless people. the smell and the mess stunned the government into action. the new law passed, the police moved in.

in theory, they can arrest them. in practice, they mostly just move them on. but some of these people were forced to seek out more hidden places where they wouldn't be found by the police, and that can be dangerous because then not only the police, but also pedestrians of goodwill and outreach workers or street social workers are less likely to find them. while the new law has driven some of the homeless into shelters, others have taken to the backstreets. translation: i thought of moving on, then decided not to. the police don't disturb us here. i stayed. if they come for me, maybe i'lljust go someplace else. outside the system, there is no chance to help them. then they drift away. that's why the first step is to integrate them. so, polie — it's not a police issue.

the police are only there to maintain order. that means if there is a law passed by parliament, this law must be implemented. secondary school pupils take part in a homeless tour of the ninth district. the tour guide is homeless too. whatever else, the new law has provoked greater interest and sympathy in the plight of those with no fixed abode. nick thorpe, bbc news, budapest. 2019 promises to be another rollercoaster 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 — cannot agree on the way forward. so what do people outside of the uk think of it? we talked to the foreign correspondents reporting on brexit. 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, as a very sophisticated smart country, would navigate through this. some people think, has it happened yet? good riddance, goodbye. another stream is scepticism. they're never gonna do it. real sadness. i think of course, yeah, impatience and bemusement, and why is that all going on? everybody loves britain, they love scotland, they love london, they love cornwall, they see all these films about cornwall and harry potter, and cambridge and oxford. there's some who welcome brexit and think that actually the uk should join the eea. and that is great news,

now we get a new member to our club and that will make us stronger together. some norwegians will be scared that norway will lose their voice within the eea, because the uk is a bigger country. there was a trio of big nations in europe — britain, france, and germany — now it's left to france and germany. france and britain are the closest military and security partners. it will continue after brexit. i mean so many germans watch actually prime minister's questions, and they find it fantastic how they are shouting at each other, but in this — such an educated, sophisticated way. that's why i think there is bemusement or even 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, did establish some profile. people are really aghast at what is happening here in the political circle and fighting like schoolchildren.

italian politics is so chaotic. when you look at brexit debates in parliament, they don't consider it particularly, you know, scary or crazy. there's been a lot of talk about ireland getting above its station. there's a sense, sometimes, amongst irish people, that maybe british politicians who say those kinds of things simply don't understand ireland. i'm ready to bet nobody in italy knows what the backstop is. they would probably say maybe it is a baseball position, or a new tactic that you play in football. people don't know how likely that hard border is. you have to remember, 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 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 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. will see how it all pans out pretty soon. will see how it all pans out pretty soon. “— will see how it all pans out pretty soon. —— we'll see. spare a thought forjoe doherty, a scout leaderfrom england. he is enjoying his christmas season on one of the most remote places on earth, the antarctic plateau. on christmas day, john the rest of his team will be 27 days into their journey. john the rest of his team will be 27 days into theirjourney. that is it for watching. —— that is it canal,

thank you so much for watching. —— for now. they hello there. over the last few hours, we have been watching temperatures drop like a stone. it is turning into a cold night with quite a widespread frost. out to the west, we have a lot of cloud coming up on the satellite picture as well. with that, southerly winds dragging up quite a lot of moist air, bumping into that cold air over the uk. it's a good combination for some fog. the met office have already issued a yellow weather warning for patches of fog within this yellow weather warning area, that covers a good part of england. and with visibility dropping below 100 metres in places, the fog will bring some dangerous or hazardous driving conditions out and about on christmas day. so if you're planning a journey to visit friends or family on christmas day, please leave a little bit of extra time and let's make sure everyone arrives safely. aside from the fog, it will be a cold start. a widespread frost. lowest temperatures

across eastern scotland. in the north and west of scotland, a weak weather front bringing a little bit pf rain for a time on christmas day, but that should clear away. we will be left with mainly cloudy skies across the west, could be thick enough for the odd bit of rain or drizzle — just about anywhere. but it is a mainly dry day. the coldest across eastern areas after that colder start to the day. a lot of cloud around, temperatures will be slow to rise, and indeed there could be fog patches that linger all day. into boxing day, a weatherfront pushes into the north—west of the uk bringing rain to northern and western areas of scotland. but away from that, with more cloud around, it shouldn't be quite as cold a start to the day 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. rain across the north and west of scotland with the breeze picking up here as we go through the afternoon. further south, we may well see a few breaks in the cloud coming up into southern parts of england. the skies will brighten up here. it will be a mild day for most of us.

temperatures typically around ten or 11 celsius. taking a look ahead into thursday, which is the day after boxing day, if you're 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 on a locally cold and frosty note. most temperatures not quite as high, seven or eight celsius in england and wales. still pretty mild there for northern ireland and scotland. i have to say, give you the forecast for the rest of the year, and for most of us it will stay pretty quiet. that includes in the run—up to new year's day. that's your latest weather. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: the death toll in the indonesian tsunami has risen to 373 — with more than a hundred 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 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. chris evans has bid an emotional farewell to listeners of his final radio 2 breakfast show on monday morning. he said it was a "sad day" as he left after nine years