Tsunami-hit nations mark anniversary

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A woman cries at a mass grave in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photo: 26 December 2014 
Thailand's prime minister joined relatives at an official ceremony in Khao Lak
Memorial services have been held in Indonesia and other nations for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
In Indonesia's province of Aceh - the worst-hit area - Vice-President Jusuf Kalla led tributes to the dead at the Siron mass grave.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also laid a wreath of remembrance.

More than 200,000 people died when an underwater earthquake set off massive waves on 26 December 2004.
Laura Westbrook reports on a region remembering those lost a decade ago
In Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, Mr Kalla thanked local volunteers and the outside world for helping Aceh recover from the tragedy. He also presented awards to ambassadors from the donor nations.
"Thousands of corpses were sprawled in this field" he said. "Tears that fell at that time... there were feelings of confusion, shock, sorrow, fear and suffering. We prayed."

A Thai relative of a tsunami victim places roses on the Ban Nam Khem tsunami memorial park wall on the tenth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami in Phang-nga province on December 26, 2014
Thousands of Thais died in the disaster, along with hundreds of sun-seeking European visitors

Sri Lankan railway employees place flags on a train compartment that was swept away during the 2004 tsunami and later retrieved and restored, as the Ocean Queen Express prepares to set off from the Colombo Fort railway station in Colombo on December 26, 2014
In Sri Lanka, the Ocean Queen Express - or the "tsunami train" - in which more than 1,700 people were killed has become a symbol of the tragedy

Earlier, thousands of people earlier gathered at Banda Aceh's Great Mosque - a 19th Century building that was one of the few structures in the town to survive the tsunami.
Imam Asman Ismail said the tsunami had taught a "valuable lesson" to Aceh, which had been the scene of an armed conflict for nearly 30 years.
"After the tsunami, no-one fights against each other; people live in harmony and peace till this day," he said.
Efforts to end the conflict resumed after the tsunami, culminating in a peace deal between the government and the rebels in August 2005.
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