anniversary of the indian ocean earthquake and tsunami. five journalists have been killed after an israeli strike outside a hospital in central gaza, according to local health authorities. as temperatures soar in the australian state of victoria — a fire ban is issued with officials warning of an extreme risk of bush fires. boxing day sales begin today but the doors to some of the uk's largest retailers will remain closed. however — online sales are expected to rise. commemorations have been taking place in countries across the indian ocean to mark the 20th anniversary of the catastrophic

tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people. a vigil was held in banda aceh on the island of sumatra, close to the epicentre of the huge underwater earthquake that triggered the tsunami. 0ur south—east asia correspondent jonathan head, who witnessed the devastation in 2004, sent this report. siren. the chilling wail of the warning sirens this morning in banda aceh, in northern indonesia, marking the moment when the city was almost completely wiped out by the biggest tsunami of modern times. a frightening reminder for survivors is also a reassurance that today they are better prepared. in thailand, they hung photographs of those who died on the tiled memorial, which reaches the height of the wave which smashed into the beaches on that boxing day morning. most of the 151 british victims died here.

translation: i feel dismay. it's been 20 years. i came here every day. time flies, but it passes slowly in our minds. screaming. few understood what was happening back then, as they watched the lethal torrent of water roar in. there had been no warnings. thailand, like sri lanka, was a long way from the massive earthquake which sent the wave racing across the indian ocean. over here in this building, well, at the moment... for those of us reporting the tsunami, it was like nothing we had experienced before. arriving on phi phi island in thailand, i watched them pull body after body — most of them tourists still in their colourful beachwear — from under the rubble. 1,300 had died on this small island in a matter of minutes.

the destruction i witnessed in indonesia was on an almost unimaginable scale. scenes of death and grief which remain burnt into my memory. yet the survivors rebuilt and recovered, sometimes from communities of which only fragments remained, leaving, here and there, monuments to that dreadful day. and carrying the hard lessons learned on what to do, should they hear the sirens, part of a now greatly improved warning system, go off. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. the first area to be struck was the indonesian province of aceh, where at least 160,000 people died. our correspondent andrew harding reported from the scene and met a girl who had lost both parents. now — 20 years on — he's caught up with her. this was aceh 20 years ago, just after the great wave had come ashore. i remember walking through the ruins —

a haunting landscape. but above all, i remember mawardah. she was 11 then, bruised and alone, orphaned by the tsunami. but a few days later, she discovered one relative had survived — her big sister, mutiyah. we followed the girls as mawardah returned to school and the sisters moved to a new home, hauntingly close to a mass grave. a "i'm scared of ghosts," she told me. "even if they are all my relatives and neighbours. i don't want to sleep here." the years passed, and then came the 10th anniversary of the tsunami. she screams. hello! it's so good to see you. look at you. you're huge. i'm so big. you are big. mawardah was now a 21—year—old student full of life,

bouncing back like indonesia itself, but still wrestling with the loss of her parents. no, um... my life without my parents, of course, very sad, because there is nobody care about me. and now 20 years have gone by. a stranded boat kept as a memorial here. but aceh�*s physical wounds have healed in a country now preoccupied with new challenges. hi, guys. as for mawardah, she's traded in a career in teaching to become a travel vlogger, offering advice for tourists on low budgets. a life no longer defined by the tsunami. and i have passion, so i can be usefulfor people, so i feel happy and i feel

proud of me. and look now at the beach where the tsunami hit, wiping out herfamily and her village all those years ago. today, that's mawardah on a jet ski, 20 years on. andrew harding, bbc news. five journalists have been killed when their vehicle was hit by an israeli strike outside a hospital in central gaza, according to the local health authorities. it's understood one of the men had been expecting the birth of his child. the israeli military called those killed members of what said was a "terrorist cell". let's head tojerusalem and speak to our correspondent, emir nader. what do we know about those killed? ., what do we know about those killed? . , ., killed? that is the local tv channel today _

killed? that is the local tv channel today announced i killed? that is the local tv i channel today announced this morning that five journalists have been killed in an israeli air strike on the tv broadcast van whilst it parked outside a hospital in the nuseirat area of central gaza. we understand that among the five journalists was a young man who was understood to be waiting for his wife to give birth to their child inside the hospital, when he and his colleagues were struck by the air strike. we saw a video taken in the hours before in his press jacket telling the camera that in a few hours he would be a father. we had a statement in the early hours of the morning from the israeli military who said they were targeting what they said was a islamicjihad terrorist cell. islamicjihad are one of the other militant groups in

gaza and took part in the october seven attacks which led to the start of the current war. the local tv channel is known to be affiliated with islamicjihad, thejournalists were known to the journalist community in gaza as regularly out and reporting on events there. living and working from that van they were in when it was hit. we have had a statement from the committee to protectjournalists statement from the committee to protect journalists this morning who said they were devastated by the report and said thatjournalists are civilians and must be protected. this comes as we have seen numerous reports over the past years of the war where journalists have been regularly killed. the committee said last week that 140 journalists had

been killed in gaza over the course of the war and we have seen repeated incidents where the israeli military has identified journalists as having what they say terrorist affiliations and have been struck and subsequently hit. weight thank you very much. live from jerusalem. here in the uk, millions of shoppers will be seeking bargains in the boxing day sales today, although some major chains — including next, john lewis and aldi — will remain closed. retail forecasters are also predicting a 7% increase in online spending. our correspondent colletta smith has the details. perhaps you're hitting the shops and spending big today. i've grown up going to boxing day shopping every single year. i used to have the struggle of who can take us because the trains never used to be on, the buses never used to be on, so we're finding a parent that will get up with us at 7am

so that we can be there when everything opens. and the first year that one of us could drive, we were straight there. but this year, eleanor�*s not leaving the sofa. she's staying at home, joining millions of others with their feet up, within reach of a box of chocs. but she will still be working and shopping as well. i have stuff prepared beforehand that i can just then pop in...the prices or, um, confirm everything, and then i canjust pop them out, so that then i can go and shop and enjoy it. as a full—time influencer, eleanor earns a living by working for big make—up brands, promoting the products she likes. i'm very much an advocate for a bargain or a discount, so when things are on sale, obviously i shout about them quite a lot. black friday is a biggie and boxing day is important too, then. 100%, yeah, especially because people have just had christmas money and they've seen what they've got for christmas, what they've not got. let's go and see if i can, like, get this now cheaper. adobe provide behind—the—scenes

data about online customers for most of the biggest online retailers. they're predicting almost £0.5 billion will be spent online this boxing day here in the uk. while some people are certainly planning to hit the shops this boxing day, lots of people will be using their phone instead. the boxing day factors are around people maybe returning items, buying different types of items. in fact, adobe thinks 60% of online sales today will be made through a mobile. there's still strength and interest around spending on boxing day, so it's really important for retailers to think about how they can capitalise on this sort of second wave of spending after christmas. i will definitely scroll - because i'm always scrolling. he said i've got on first name terms with the delivery guy. i well, since covid, isn't it, everyone just does it online now, so... i can't be bothered going outside. it's too busy! barely bought a single christmas present in the shops. i bought it all

online this year. have you? the only time i come shopping is when i need inspiration. yeah, that's why we're here today. but there are still plenty of shoppers keen to spend in person. i think because you've been in on christmas day and that, and it's been busy, i'd just like to go out there and have a little. . . little escape. the husbands and partners watch football. 0h! so it's a sports day, so it's girls to go out. ok, so that's your little escape. that's it. getting out to the shops. yeah. last year i was heavily pregnant, and i went at 6am, didn't i? because if you're ordering online, most of the stuff are out of stock before you've even clicked order. and it's that feeling of bagging a deal, whether in person or online, that will keep the tills ringing this boxing day. colletta smith, bbc news, in warrington. let's speak to our reporter david wadeel who's on london's main shopping area on oxford street. how is it looking? find me

outside selfridge's, - how is it looking? find me outside selfridge's, right l outside selfridge's, right here, this is one of london's most prominent department stores on one of the most famous streets notjust in london but the country. oxford street. london is a big hope for shopping notjust in the uk but there are many international visitors to the uk also who will congregate here and do their shopping. the challenge here for this city, there are several shops in addition to those that are open, there are several closed. further down the street we have marks & spencer, one of the biggest shopping chains, it is closed entirely, john lewis is closed entirely, john lewis is closed for the most part and next has closed all its stores up next has closed all its stores up and down the country. they say to give staff an extra day off. but there may be another reason, that is because more

and more shopping is moving online. we have some research that was mentioned in the report that around two thirds of boxing day sales are likely to take place online. we are talking in the uk alone, on this day alone, half £1 billion of online sales. on the high street it is closer to a quarter of £1 billion. just to dig into that figure. research from barclays bank suggests the average shopper will spend around £236 today if they are out shopping. men will spend about £50 more than women, but almost half of shoppers say they are concerned about the cost of living. inflation has fallen this year but the cost of living is still higher than last year. and that is something that will put shoppers off stop something that will put shoppers off stop thank you very much- _ shoppers off stop thank you very much. david _ shoppers off stop thank you very much. david in - shoppers off stop thank you very much. david in a - shoppers off stop thank you very much. david in a quiet| very much. david in a quiet oxford street for now.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

russia's president vladimir putin is taking part in the supreme eurasian economic council summit today in the northwestern leningrad region. the regional summit will focus on the current activities of the eurasian economic union and developing its single market. among a number of decisions on the agenda, is whether to grant iran observer status in the union. let's speak to sergey radchenko, a professor at thejohns hopkins school of advanced international studies. i wondered if i could start with asking you a general question about the position of russia, economically, militarily nearly three years after the full—scale invasion of ukraine. after the full-scale invasion of ukraine.— of ukraine. we have half an hour, of ukraine. we have half an hour. right? _

of ukraine. we have half an hour, right? more - of ukraine. we have half an hour, right? more like - of ukraine. we have half an | hour, right? more like three minutes- — hour, right? more like three minutes. it _ hour, right? more like three minutes. it is _ hour, right? more like three minutes. it is a _ hour, right? more like three minutes. it is a mixed - hour, right? more like three minutes. it is a mixed bag, | hour, right? more like three i minutes. it is a mixed bag, the russian economy _ minutes. it is a mixed bag, the russian economy is _ minutes. it is a mixed bag, the russian economy is suffering i russian economy is suffering from high inflation. it is one of the issues that president putin has been trying to tackle. the central bank has raised interest rates to 21% which is certainly not healthy and shows the economy has been overheating, obviously also affected by sanctions and are struggling. there is also good news for the economy, the unemployment rate is very low, there is a great shortage of personnel in russia given how many people have fled the country. russia continues to sell oil and gas on the international market which allows it to finance the war against ukraine and with oil prices being as high as they are there is no end in sight for that stream of income. that is the economic bit. the military bit is that russia has

been making gains, recently more slowly in eastern donbas at ukraine's expense. the russian forces are continuing to advance. it is clear that the russians are thinking the wind is blowing into their sales, politically as well as militarily. they are hoping for greater gains in the coming year. greater gains in the coming ear. . , , greater gains in the coming ear. ., , , ., year. that is interesting what ou sa year. that is interesting what you say militarily _ year. that is interesting what you say militarily about - year. that is interesting what| you say militarily about russia feeling the wind behind them. thousands of north korean personnel bought into the war, thatis personnel bought into the war, that is widely regarded as a sign of weakness, russia not having enough soldiers. it is a sin of having enough soldiers. it is a sign of weakness _ having enough soldiers. it is a sign of weakness to _ having enough soldiers. it is a sign of weakness to certain i sign of weakness to certain extent. you have to remember that the mere putin has not declared mobilisation since 2022. there is a good reason for that because he feels there would be a popular backlash. we saw in the back of fall of 2022

as people protested and burnt recruitment stations and so on. putin is trying to avoid that. the way he is avoiding that is drawing on others, the north koreans sent around 30,000 troops to russia in return for generous payments in oil, grain and missile technology and various things that north korea's needs. those north koreans are fighting in the kursk region with already more than a thousand been killed in the campaign and there are prospects for more north korean soldiers coming through. as far as manpower goes, russia has certain problems but those problems are perhaps dwarfed by ukraine's manpower problem given that it is a smaller country. weight in terms of its power on the global stage, what effect has the recent overthrow

of the leader of syria had? russia suffered a serious defeat politically because for many years, never mind the presence in syria with two russian bases, there was also a sense that vladimir putin was able to support and defend assad and putin a strong man unlike obama. lost america credibility. now being defeated like this it does not look good for russia politically but i would limit expectations because the russians remain in syria for now, it has to be seen what relationship they develop with the new government. they are clearly trying to stay in a reduced form but for now they still

have bases there and that should temper optimism where russia is in syria.— russia is in syria. thank you for being — russia is in syria. thank you for being concise. _ russia is in syria. thank you for being concise. thank- russia is in syria. thank you j for being concise. thank you for being concise. thank you forjoining us from cardiff. a fire ban has been issued in the australian state of victoria as officials warn of extreme bush fire risk across the south east of the country. temperatures were forecast to reach up to 40 degrees celsius. emergency services are currently battling a growing blaze at the grampians national park which has been burning for around a week, consuming about 500 square kilometres of forested land. some residents have been evacuated and others are being urged to take cover. phil mercer has more from sydney. this is a beautiful area of the state of victoria, about a three—hour drive to the northwest of the state capital, melbourne. and communities around the grampians national park have in the last few hours been issued with emergency warnings either to leave immediately or to immediately seek shelter. and that gives you an indication as to the peril that

some of these communities could well find themselves in. parts of southeastern australia are among some of the most fire—prone regions anywhere in the world, and the authorities had been warning that today could be some of the worst fire conditions that that part of the country has faced since those terrible black summer fires of 2019—20. so today we have this awful conspiracy of very hot winds, very dry conditions underfoot and a lack of rainfall. and all of this means that firefighters in that part of australia are trying their best to protect lives and communities. but the authorities have issued a statewide fire ban. this means that it is against the law to have any open fires at campsites or barbecues, and fires in australia are caused by a multitude

of factors, many caused by lightning strikes, accidentally by farming equipment and also by arson as well. so the authorities are extremely concerned that very strong winds are now pushing some of these fires from victoria into neighbouring new south wales, raising the fire risk there for many people on friday. all around the world — millions have been — or still are — celebrating christmas. there's been a whole lot of presents — and no small amount of revelry. the bbc�*s tim allman looks at how some people enjoyed the festivities. while many were stuffing their faces with as much food as they could manage, on the south coast of england, others were doing this. it turned out to be a fairly mild christmas round these parts, so this dip in the sea in brighton could have been a lot worse.

there's a similar tradition that takes place every year in berlin, where it wasjust a little bit cooler. it didn't seem to deter anyone, though. "you come out, you're totally euphoric," said this swimmer. "you've done it. "you were so crazy and you did it. "and the rest of the day afterwards. "you're so happy. "you're so cheerful. you have so much vigour." not every christmas goes according to plan, of course. a group of skiers found themselves stuck on a chairlift in the french alps during the festive period. emergency workers eventually managing to get everyone down safely. ah, voila! for some, this can be a lonely time of year. that's why every christmas, this charity in paris organises a special festive lunch for those who are by themselves. translation: the solidarityj meal is open to all in france.

one person in ten is isolated, so we've put out a call for volunteers so that people who are isolated can celebrate christmas and have a good meal. 'twas the night before christmas when all through thames house. not a creature was stirring. just the click of a mouse. almost everyone seemed to be celebrating, including spooks and spies. britain's m15 posted this video on its official instagram account. it's a specially adapted version of the poem a visit from saint nicholas, read by the actor gary oldman, who plays a spy himself in the hit tv show slow horses. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello again. it's been an exceptionally mild christmas period thus far. yesterday, christmas day, it reached 14.2 celsius in aberdeen. the average december temperature here would be around about seven celsius. but how long is this going to last? well, you can see the days of the week here. the yellows and ambers representing the milder conditions. and it stays with us right the way through to the weekend, except for across northern scotland, where we see something that bit colder coming our way with some wintry showers here by the end of the weekend. beyond that, low pressure pulls away. you can see an array of isobars, it will be windy at times. and then as we head up towards the new year, look at the array of isobars and wet weather, potentially some snow as well, so it's something worth keeping an eye on if you are travelling around new year. today, though, remaining mild and still cloudy, cloudy and murky. there's some drizzle, there's some hill fog, there's some dank conditions. we've also got rain moving across central scotland

and northern ireland. best chance of any brightness today will be across parts of eastern england and also northeast wales. temperatures eight to about 12 degrees. now, heading on through the evening and overnight, our band of rain across central scotland and northern ireland pushes steadily northwards, leaving us again with a lot of cloud, dank conditions, where we see holes break in that cloud, so under clear skies we could also see some fog patches form. but for the time of year it's not going to be cold. our overnight lows — five to nine degrees. into tomorrow, then, our weather front pushes northwards. but it is a waving front so it is going to come back southwards again. so friday — a lot of cloud around. a weather front in the northwest producing some patchy rain. best breaks tomorrow for brightness, north—east scotland, parts of eastern england and also once again north—east wales. temperatures eight to 12 degrees. now beyond that, as we head on into the weekend, our weather front does continue to sink southwards across

scotland and northern ireland. we've got another part of it coming in from the west. a lot of cloud around. but through central parts of england and wales we should see some more in the way of brightness with highs up to about 11. it continues mild as we head towards the new year, but don't forget to keep in touch with the forecast because it's looking unsettled then.

now on bbc news — i was there: the boxing day tsunami. it was a bright, sunny day and there was no danger music. and i'd never heard the word "tsunami" before. i told them that's the sound of wave. but nobody trust me. man: get in, get in, get in! we knew it was likely

to be bad. we just had no idea quite how cataclysmically bad it was going to be. hey, hey, hey, hey! there were bodies and their hands were reaching out. i dream about that sometimes. lou and i had just got engaged. it wa