Tsunami which killed more than 200000 people 15 years on we meet one woman who lost almost her entire family. And a ring of fire blazes across the middle east and asia guys will have everything you need to know about the last Solar Eclipse of the decade and whether you can see it where you are. Im mary in evanston its good to have you with us. We begin in syria where according to a relieved group more than 200000 people have fled a government assault on italy province most of them have been heading towards the Turkish BorderSyrian Regime forces backed by tanks are continuing their ground advance. Rebel held areas in southern and eastern adlib about 250. 00 people have been killed in the latest flare up of violence. Syrian tanks fire on targets as the ground assault to date province advances. Government forces captured village after village their immediate opening a major highway thats been closed for 7 years the army ultimately wants to recapture the province from the al qaida the militias which control it. As the troops push forward civilians try to flee the line of fire tens of thousands are on the run. We are leaving because of the shelling were worried about our children and that the situation worse why else would we leave why would anyone leave his house. A regiment table. With the Turkish Border closed the only option for shelter is makeshift camps like these its cold and damp the conditions are desperate. Because of the shelling. I mean i can hardly survive here in the sort of mud. People are suffering because of the work record. The situation in the camps is likely to deteriorate tens of thousands of syrians are already stuck in places like these. And every day thousands more take to the roads to get out of the war zone. Earlier we spoke to human rights activist riad al najem of what us which is a leading n. G. O. S syria focused on Child Protection and he described the situation facing people on the ground and the situation is that it was catastrophic brutal continue to deliberate targeting civilian infrastructure and homes over 2. 100000. 00 civilians have been forcibly displaced since the start of the assault and according to unicef 60000. 00 children have been displaced since december the end marital norm and now is goes down 103135 schools in the city have been closed completely. 48500 children have been denied their right to education as 348 schools in the region have been suspended. The Host Communities for the displaced people are struggling to keep up with the hard lights as many of them are already have been displaced for. Nowhere is safe in at the moment as even camps are being targeted. Even though there are no armed groups or military installations in the area. That was a reality of the ngo who does speaking to us earlier. Communities across asia are marking the 15th anniversary of the indian ocean tsunami on the morning of december 26th 2004 a 9 point one magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit coastal regions across coastlines across the region the disaster killed more than 200000 people in thailand people played flowers at a memorial to the tsunami in the village of baan. The village of was the worst hit place in thailand and at least 1400 people died there. Sri lankas eastern coast was hit especially hard more than 10000 people died in the southern part our region. Can die its over there yet you looked out over the indian ocean nearly every day get up and deterred by 15 years ago when she lost almost her entire family to the massive tsunami. It is not good all 9 of us lived near the beach on done so many tonight when i think about the children i get very sad i only managed to save one little go that i never saw the others again when i got back at my house was destroyed. I can diagnose share certain home with the one granddaughter she rescued and her small child. The waters forced their way some one and a half kilometers inland from the town of power in sri lanka south was worst affected thousands of children were among the victims. On his help many survivors back then he was the only psychiatrist in the worst affected area of southern sri lanka he treated adults and children alike. Children as you know will have a huge amount often seen the atoms and that they have got the thing thats trying to come out of these things and that. On the adults at them. Sure couldnt draw. And. The problems with students anxiety and stress much much less. After the tsunami sri lankan psychiatrists formed a network with the help of the World Health Organization today Elementary School teachers are being taught how to recognize signs of trauma in children but talking about the effects of trauma is still to. The country has installed an Early Warning system for tsunamis the fear of another giant wave has never gone away nor has the memory of the victims of 2004. Lets get a check now of some of the other stories making news around the world. In the central philippines a powerful typhoon has killed at least 16 people typhoon found phone the country late on tuesday with winds of up to 120 Kilometers Per Hour as well as heavy rain and flooding more than 50000 people were evacuated from their homes before the storm. Israel says its fighter jets have struck at a number of hamas terror targets in gaza the announcement comes hours after rockets were fired from Palestinian Militants towards israel an election rally by Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu was allegedly interrupted by an incoming rocket. At least 11 soldiers have been killed in another terrorist attack in kenya faso earlier the countrys president called for 2 days of mourning after 35 civilians almost all of them women were killed by jihad is near the town of harbin and. More than 200. 00 homes have been destroyed after forest fires through the port city of the east though in chile several districts have been evacuated and more than 3000. 00 people are without electricity authorities believe the fires were started intentionally. People in the middle east and asia are witnessing a rare Solar Eclipse thats visible today woods known as an annular eclipse or ring of fire has already darkened skies over the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula its path of visibility is now moving slowly eastwards across the indian ocean before its set to and over the pacific in about 2 hours from now. To tell us a bit more about this natural phenomenon were joined by anonymous from the Astronomical Society of singapore and i can hear its a bit noisy where you are right were hearing the eclipse in fact has already reached its maximum phase in singapore where you are. Did it generate a lot of interest it seems like quite a lot of people came out to see it. Absolutely so we have set up a few structure about 10 different stops. Freshened with in singapore and weve had a few 1000 people come to witness any large Solar Eclipse theres been a lot of interest as you can see the whole case started when. You had a lot more. Around me we had a few 100 people actually know how to fix reduced. So you can. All right so weve said that its called an annular eclipse now what exactly does that mean like how is that different from your ordinary Solar Eclipse 6. Ok so. You are seeing different types of Solar Eclipse is one of the partial ones that dont jump out of this one what do you think against todays annular so that and you learn so much thats very similar to that. Except for the fact that the size of the moons appears to be slightly smaller than the sun because the morning for the day from the earth. Covering the sun during the total Solar Eclipse the size of the moon and the sun are almost the same. As the sun surface totally. Because of this time electrics that we experience today. The moon being slightly smaller than the sun probably is about 8885 to 90 percent of the suns surface and the rest appears like the ring around the moon sun appears like a ring and thats why we call it the ring of fire ok said doesnt look like a ring in the sky now tell us i remember being told you should never look directly at a Solar Eclipse is this the case also by the annular eclipse even though most of the sun is covered is a dangerous time to gather economically if youre. Just not. When we look at the sun on any given day during eclipse as it swells we should not look at the sun directly even more so during an eclipse because we tend to think ok its going to be because of the will of the sun its covered by the moon and a 1000000 you end up looking at it longer thereby damaging damaging the ice and exposing ourselves more to some like. All right i caution and from the Astronomical Society of thing afore thank you very much indeed. All right lets turn our attention now to the u. K. Where Queen Elizabeth has delivered her traditional christmas address with a focus on peace and reconciliation she reflected on this past summers 75th anniversary commemorations as an example of peoples capacity to overcome deep seated divisions she also praised the young environmental campaigners but after a year of turbulent british politics and challenges facing the royal family the queen acknowledged that 2019 had been difficult. Its a christmas tradition for the royal family and afternoon trip to the church near the queens sandringham estate but this year the party was smaller than usual no Prince Philip hes just out of hospital prince harry and his wife megan are taking time out in canada rumors of a family rift abound. And then theres Prince Andrew hes keeping a low profile after giving a t. V. Interview to deny he was involved in a sex scandal involving the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein he was our church but in the morning well away from the cameras its been anything but clear sailing for the royals this year all for their country i mean the drama of briggs its so a brave face for the christmas message jesus christ would show the world how small steps taken in face anyone who can overcome long hill differences and deep seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding. Many of us already tried to follow in his footsteps the path of course isnt over always smooth and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy. Among the photos clearly visible on her desk during that speech the 3 men next in line to the throne they also feature in this royal video making christmas pudding for charity its worth remembering that it is often the small steps not the giant leaps that bring about the most lasting change and so i wish you all a very happy christmas. And especially happy christmas if only because this difficult year will soon be over. Youre watching news coming to you from berlin stay tuned for our documentary on the iconic noirish feinstein cast i marry in evanston ill be back again at the top of the hour for another news update for you and i do hope you join me then thanks for watching. And for. Language courses. Any time any. W