a very warm welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is 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 massachusetts two years ago. 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 krakatoa 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. earlier i spoke to dino argianto, oxfam's humanitarian operations lead, who is based in yogyakarta, about the relief efforts

on the ground. yesterday we deployed our assessment team to assess the situation and we found it to be a disaster category and we defined the assistance that we would like to provide to survivors. on the ground, only a few local organisations are responding but the government is already there. they are setting up camps, five camps in banten and some more camps in lampung. so we are trying to complement what they have now. and local organisations have local knowledge because some areas must be difficult to access? that is true.

that is why we at oxfam are working with partners so we can help our existing partners in lampung and banten. you may be aware that access to some areas is still not clear and that is why having partners is helpful for this assessment, for interviewing people about what they need etcetera. what is your assessment? what are the main concerns now? the main concern now is finding survivors under the rubble. we hope that by today all of the access, especially in lampung, will be accessible. the government is making sure that the access is clear. and also health issues because we are learning from previous tsunamis in aceh and palu. it has also become

a government focus. another focus is that since some areas have limited drinking water and poor sanitation, we are trying to provide assistance there to survivors, providing clean water and sanitation. dino argianto there from oxfam. 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." and japan's nikkei index has fallen sharply too —

down more than 4% in early trading. it's fallen below 20,000 for the first time since september 2017. i spoke just now to bbc reporter kim gittleson, who specialises in business and economics. she says the turmoil began at the weekend, on reports that president trump want to fire his handpicked fed chair, jay 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 mnunchin say look, president trump knows he cannot fire the chair of the federal reserve and, by the way, i called the banks and they are all doing fine. and that 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 slump. one is the tension between donald trump and the federal reserve but there are other factors at play as well. one thing is that the us government is currently shut down. it's 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. 0verall, globally, investors are worried about a slowdown in chinese economic growth, about brexit and what that means for the european economy and the american economy is doing quite well, partially as a result of tax cuts that have helped corporate profit. that will not help them in 2019. all these things together are leading to a sort of big sell—off we have seen on wall street and has been followed in asian and european markets.

and for 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 but i 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 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 around 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, 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's disagreement within prime minister benjamin netanyahu's coalition over a bill relating to ultra—0rthodoxjewish 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 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 december 6. 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. andy moore reports. here is an interesting titbit that none of you may know... kevin spacey has been accused of unwanted sexual advances by more than 30 men, but these are the first allegations to get as far as court. i don't make this up... injuly 2016... he is accused of groping the teenage son of a television news reader ina bar. allegations that were first made public in a press conference last year. to kevin spacey i want to say this — shame on you for what you did to my son. shortly after the charge was announced, kevin spacey released

a video in which he adopted the role of his character frank underwood from house of cards. he made no direct reference to the accusations but he said, enigmatically, "you wouldn't rush tojudgement without the facts, would you?" kevin spacey is the winner of numerous acting awards, but his career has come to a standstill since the first allegation was made. in the uk, police are investigating six accusations of sexual assault dating from spacey‘s time as artistic director at london's old vic. andy moore, bbc news. christians from across the world have attended midnight mass in bethlehem, widely regarded as the birthplace ofjesus christ. crowds gathered for christmas eve activities at the church of the nativity, in the west bank town. 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. he also condemned the huge divide between the world's rich and poor. the pope will deliver his sixth "urbi et 0rbi" address in rome on tuesday. much more to come on bbc news. including this: from the arctic to america and the skies of asia — multiple sightings of father christmas on the move on christmas eve. 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 world 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. on monday they made a public statement critcising 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 spoilt 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. 0ur names, photos, and other personal information has 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. the former prime minister of pakistan nawaz sharif has been sent back to jail under 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 after a different corruption sentence was suspended. 43 people have been killed in a militant attack on an afghan government ministry in the capital, kabul. gunmen stormed the complex after detonating a suicide car bomb at its entrance. it took the afghan security forces seven hours to regain control of the building. they made their way up floor by floor, shooting the militants and rescuing more than 350 hostages.

all five militants were killed. 0ne police officer was among the dead. the rest were civilians, including some women and children. a mexican state governor only recently sworn into office has died in a helicopter crash, along with her husband, a senator. martha erika alonso, a senior opposition figure and new governor of the central state of puebla, died with senator rafael moreno, a former governor of the same state. their helicopter came down on monday, not far from the state capital. earlier this month, mexico agreed to a trump administration plan obliging people seeking asylum in the us to stay in mexico while their applications are processed. that is a big change for thousands of central american migrants from the caravan that crossed mexico in recent weeks. they are now spending christmas stuck in the violent border city of tijuana, and conditions there are getting worse. from tijuana, the bbc‘s will grant. samuel's family imagined they would be building their lives the us, rather than a tent in mexico

by now, but not anymore. under new rules they must remain in mexico, in such flimsy accommodation, as they wait on their asylum applications. the change was a temporary measure for humanitarian reasons, the foreign ministry said, as mexico is considered a safe third country. how safe, though? in recent days, two honduran teenagers from the caravan were killed on tijuana's streets. we saw these people often on theirjourney. they are typical of the migrant families — poor, exhausted, and fleeing the threat of violence. having risked everything to reach this point, they are reluctant to turn back now, but know they could spend months, if not years, waiting in one of mexico's most dangerous cities. translation: we can't go back, because they've had death threats from the gangs in honduras.

they came to the house looking for me several times, so we had to escape. as the weeks of hardship take their toll, food is scarce and conditions unsanitary. the city has opened a second migrant shelter, but it is not enough. there is now increasingly large number of people who will be stuck in these conditions, and this legal limbo, not just through christmas but well into next year. hundreds have already returned to central america, and the mexican authorities are encouraging others to do the same, to head home for christmas. this decision on asylum has caught many off guard. translation: how can you ask for asylum from one country and be in another? it doesn't make sense. president trump hated the old system, calling it catch—and—release. this change is what he wanted from mexico. for those trapped at the border, though, this arrangementjust made a bleak christmas even tougher. cricket, and the third test between australia and india gets

underway on wednesday. the series currently stands at one test apiece, and a big crowd is expected at melbourne cricket ground. kathryn armstrong has more. the boxing day test at the mcg — one of the most iconic and illustrious cricket matches in the world. around 100,000 people cheering on their idols, hoping for history to be made. and it is doubly a thrill for those who have gone from spectator to player. having that on your doorstep for so many years, and being i suppose a huge fan of cricket, and coming up and watching it as a kid, it's such a huge moment. really proud to be a part of it, to be honest. it's something that not a huge amount of people get to do, and it's something that you dream about as a kid. the hosts have an impressive record in melbourne against india. they have not lost to them there in nearly a0 years. and the tourists haven't enjoyed

much success on the road in the last 12 months, losing to england and south africa. third time lucky, that's all i'll say. you know — but very rarely have we been in a position where we are 1—1. you know, it's not often that you will find a team these days, when they travel overseas, where it's1—1 in a series, with two test matches to go. so the boys know what they can do, what they're capable of, and the potential that lies ahead. the series is finely balanced at one test apiece. if either side can muster a win at melbourne, momentum and a potential series win could be in their grasp. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. so, quick as a flash for most of you, it's christmas day all over again. around the world, millions will be spending time with loved ones and sharing in the festive spirit. and there is one rather important gentleman, of course, who will be playing a crucial role in the next few hours, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports.

# you better watch out. # you better not cry. # you better not pout, i'm telling you why. # santa claus is coming to town... where else would it begin but in the arctic circle? father christmas making a farewell appearance, before setting off in his sleigh. an awful lot of presents to deliver, an awful lot of miles to travel. and how do you track his progress? well, you could ask the north american aerospace defence, or norad, to help. the us government shutdown seems to have had little impact on their work. they keep tabs on santa, they say, by using infrared sensor to detect the heat from rudolph's nose. before he left, father christmas made his customary annual appearance

waterskiing in the us state of virginia. but it seems many of the children in attendance were more interested in someone else. we went to see the grinch, and that's who ryan really wanted to see, was the grinch. who is your favourite character? the grinch. probably the grinch. # it'll be lonely this christmas without you to hold... if the thought of spending a few days cooped up with your family fills you with dread, why not follow the example of this man? british scout leaderjoe doherty is skiing to the south pole. on christmas day, he expects to be pulling his sledge in temperatures as low as —28 degrees celsius. and finally, what typifies this time of year more than the radish? here in the mexican city of oaxaca, they have an annual festival devoted

to the root vegetable. this year saw a special tribute to physicist stephen hawking. christmas really does come in all shapes and sizes. tim allman, bbc news. and the latest from norad on presents delivered by father christmas is 5.2 billion and counting. presents billion and counting. delivered by the grinch, not presents delivered by the grinch, not so many. to give you an update onjoe doherty, joe not so many. to give you an update on joe doherty, joe and not so many. to give you an update onjoe doherty, joe and the rest of the team at 27 days into the journey, they have walked 500 kilometres and they have just 11100 kilometres and they have just 11100 kilometres to go. very briefly, that main story again. the death toll in the indonesian tsunami has risen to 373. more than 100 are still missing, there is concern about the big wave that might hit at any time. that's it for now. thank you so much for watching.

hello there. over the last few hours, we've been watching temperatures drop like a stone. yes, it's turning into a cold night, with quite a widespread frost. out to the west, we've got a lot of cloud showing 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, and 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 the 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, please leave a little bit of extra time, and let's make sure everyone arrives safely. now, aside from the fog, it's going to be a cold start. as i mentioned, a fairly widespread frost. lowest temperatures across eastern scotland. in the north and west of scotland, we've got a weak weather front bringing a little bit of rain for a time christmas day, but that should tend to clear away. we'll be left with mainly cloudy

skies across the west, could be thick enough for an odd spit of light rain or drizzle just about anywhere, but it is a mainly dry day. 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, we've got a weather front pushing into in the north—west of the uk, bringing some 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 degrees celsius for a number of us. but as we go through the day on wednesday, boxing day, it's going to be another cloudy day. there's that rain, then, 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 breaks in the cloud coming up into southern parts of england. so the skies might well brighten up here. it will be a mild day for most of us, temperatures typically around ten or 11 degrees celsius.

now, we'll take a look ahead into thursday, which is the day after boxing day, if you're struggling with your days. it's going to be another pretty cloudy day, and again there could be a bit of rain in scotland, not amounting to too much, it has to be said. a greater chance of seeing some sunshine coming up in the south. but here, we could start the day on a locally cold and frosty note, and those temperatures not as high. seven or eight celsius in england and wales, fairly typically. still pretty mild for northern ireland and scotland. now, i have to say — give you the forecast for the rest of the year, and for most of us, it's going to stay pretty quiet, and 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. now it's time for one of hardtalk‘s highlights of the year. in september, stephen sackur spoke to the cuban conceptual artist tania