a very warm welcome to bbc world news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the search goes on for survivors of the indonesian tsunami. 373 people are now confirmed dead. more than 100 are 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 krakatoa 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 is now saying 373 people were killed by the tsunami. it swept through sunda strait on saturday. more than m00 people have been injured, but there are still 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 has the story. 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. i spoke earlier to dino argianto, he's 0xfam's humanitarian

operations lead, who is based in yogyakarta, about the relief efforts on the ground. 0xfam, starting yesterday we deployed our assessment team to assess the situation and they found it to be a disaster category, and also we defined the assistance that we would like to provide to survivors. 0n the ground, only a few local organisations are responding, but the government agency is already there. the social services are setting up camps, five camps in banten and some more camps in lampung. we are trying to supplement

what they have now. and local organisations have local knowledge, because some areas must be difficult to access? that's true. that is why we at 0xfam are working with partners so we can help our existing partners in lampung and banten. you may be aware that access to some areas — the access route is still not clear, that's why having partners is helpful for this assessment, for interviewing people about what they need, et cetera. what are the main concerns now? so the main concern now is, of course, finding the survivors under the ruins, the rubble. we do hope that by today, all of the access, especially in lampung, can be accessible. the government has already mobilised to make sure that the road access is clear.

and also health issues because we are learning from previous tsunamis in aceh, as well as in palu. so 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, as well as sanitation for them. 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 doesn't "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 told me the turmoil began at the weekend, on reports that president trump wants to fire his handpicked fed chair, jay powell. now, that's a pretty 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. to calm investors, we saw 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 know? so i think that's 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 a lot of other factors at play as well. one thing is that the us government is currently shut down. it's the third one this year, which suggests that political dysfunction in washington isn't 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 of course, the american economy is doing quite well, but that's partially as a result of president trump's

business tax cuts that have helped corporate profit. that won't help them in 2019. all these things together are leading to a sort of big sell—off we have seen on wall street, and that 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 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's one thing that is underlying these investors‘s concerns because the federal reserve is raising rates because it feels it can do so, because the american economy is so strong. so that's why they're slightly worried by the fact that president trump seems to want to intervene here. they wonder what he knows that they may not know, 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 $0.5 billion in damages for torturing and killing the american student, 0tto warmbier. he died last year, days after being released from a north korean prison. he had been 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. it can burst into action several times a year. no reports so far of any injuries. the body of a 7—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. kevin spacey has previously said he doesn't remember the incident. andy moore reports. here is an interesting tidbit 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's 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. the palestinian president mahmoud abbas was among those who attended. the biblical town has seen a boost in visitors this christmas,

there's been 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, have but the birth ofjesus should make everyone reflect on the real —— 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 you on the bbc news, including this. sightings of sa nta news, including this. sightings of santa around the world, from the north pole to antarctica. 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 had 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 rise 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. but had now to some live pictures coming in from indonesia. but had now to some live pictures coming infrom indonesia. not but had now to some live pictures coming in from indonesia. not sure whether it is but as we were saying before, rescuers are still searching for people. one of the reasons that the people were caught so unaware is that this was not a tsunami generated by an earthquake where the sea pulls back and people have warning. they are quite used to that now in many places. in this case, because it was caused by a landslip from the volcano, the wave came with no warning at all. the satellite imagery returned after that event points strongly, we are told, to a colla pse points strongly, we are told, to a collapse in the west south—west

flank of the volcano and that would have sent millions of tons of debris into the sea and pushed out waves in all directions. indonesia is very prone to tsunamis. in lies on the ring of fire, a area of frequent volcanoes and earthquakes that lies along the pacific rim. 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 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 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. 28 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's 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 a piece — and a big crowd is expected at melbourne cricket ground. 0ur cricket expert 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 — 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 command, 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... and the latest from norad on presents delivered by father christmas is 5.9 billion and counting. 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, 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 at 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. with 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 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, yeah, 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 a few 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 quite as high. seven or eight celsius, england and wales, fairly typically. still pretty mild there 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 latest headlines: the death toll in the indonesian tsunami has risen to 373 — but more than 100 are still missing. rescue workers are continuing to search for people trapped in the wreckage, and there are fears that another big wave could hit any time. 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 us economy. senior democrats have blamed him. they accused 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, who first made the allegations last year. she said kevin spacey bought her son drinks in a bar in boston, before groping him. mr spacey has said he doesn't remember the incident. time now for one of our programme highlights