Newshour

Finnish police have boarded a ship which they believe was operating as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The Lithuanian defence minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, tells Newshour she wants to see additional US sanctions on Russia. Also on the programme: the new authorities in Syria have carried out an offensive against militias loyal to the deposed president Bashar al-Assad; and the Bald Eagle has been officially named as America's national bird - we speak to a man who campaigned for the recognition. (Photo: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels. Credit: REUTERS/Yves Herman)

Memorial events have been held across the Indian Ocean to mark 20 years since the tsunami that killed more than 220,000. Also on the programme, China has approved controversial plans to build what will be the world's largest hydropower dam on the Tibetan plateau; and the promise of non-alcoholic wine. (Photo: People light candles during a memorial for the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami at a tsunami wave-shaped monument erected for the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, December 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer)

The new HTS administration said the footage is from earlier this month. Large rallies have been seen in the cities of Tartus and Latakia, strongholds of the deposed president Assad's Alawite minority. Also on the programme: We hear from locals in Bethlehem, in the Occupied West Bank, who are doubling their efforts to find hope during the Christmas holidays amidst an economic downturn and tensions with Israel; and the Newshour presenters compete in the Christmas quiz. (Photo: A Syrian opposition flag is seen beside a defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a wall in Damascus on 14 December 2024. Credit: ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says Russia made a "conscious choice" by launching a major attack on his country's energy infrastructure on Christmas Day. Ukraine's air force said it had detected 184 missiles and drones, but many were shot down or missed their targets. We speak to an MP in the city of Kharkiv, which was hit by the strikes. Moscow confirmed the attack and said its goal had been achieved. Also in the programme: we'll hear about a deadly gang attack on a hospital in Haiti; what an Israeli former hostage negotiator makes of the stalled talks between Israel and Hamas; and the Newshour Christmas quiz. (Photo shows people taking shelter at a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine during an air raid alert on 25 December 2024. Credit: Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader has reached an agreement to dissolve and consolidate rebel groups under the defence ministry. Also on the programme, is Israel nearing a hostage deal with Hamas? And, a Nasa spacecraft has made history with the closest-ever approach to the Sun. (Photo: A child looks on next to a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, during a protest against the burning of the Christmas tree in Hama, in Damascus, Syria December 24, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)