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nuala:ns thick smoke darkehe skies as australia's bushfir push thousands of people to seek refuge on the coast. hegreece and lebanon are latest countries to welcome in the new decade with celebrations in athens and beirut. nuala:, helu are very welcom to "bbc world news." we have been seeing in thnew year following celebrations all around the world.

inlet's brin live pictures from athens. it just can see in the greek capital. rkfireover the acropolis. a concert is taking place in one athensmain squares of the old and theew side-by-side. side-by-si nuala: the acropolis is always a fantastic sight on that hill. really quite something to see it as it ushers in a new decade and a new year for the greek people in athens that are watching i at the moment. right, let's cross over from athens and move to beirut, lebanon. there is a big party that is

taking place, as you can ee here. some of the smoke and the flares, really more like a dance party. let's listen in as well. let's listen in as well. nuala: just two minutes past midnight 2020 in the lebanon and greece. going to be following other cies and countries during the coming hours. let's turn to hong kong at the moment, because they are new year's elevations have been overshadowed by more protest. riot police began 2020 byg firin tear gas and antigovernment protesters who blocked roads and started fires one district. the fireworks display was scaled down over security fears. there have been more than six months of sometimes violent protests in the territory.

a big gathering his plan for new year's day. relet's bring you someing news coming to us. the le jong-un, has is that there will never be a denuclearization of peninsula if the united states sticks to its hostile policy. e state news agency of north korea is quoting mr. kim as saying he will conti develop powerful nuclear deterrents to contain a threats. the scope of the front will depere on washington's fu attitude, he said at a ruling workers part of meeting, also accordingdi to state mr. kim said the world would witness a new strategic weapon the united states have said they will send additional forces to support staff at the american embassy in baghdad. this is after protesters angry over u.s. airstrikes on iraqi thmilitia gathered aroun compound. protesters earlier l fires on the perimeter of the embassy and

set fire to the guard tower. some demonstrators managed to breach the outer wall of the compound before teargas was fired to disperse them. reporter: furious crowds at an american embassy, the largest in the world under siege for the protesters and pro-iranian ammilitien inside baghdad's protected green zoneng ven their anger, attending to breach the embassy walls. one entrance is first opened, but the crowd is pushed back by tear gas fired inside. this is a heavily fortified compound. soldiers inse seem alert but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside to the air thick with smoke and anti-american slogans. but the crowd is not huge. sources side the compound say the situation appears to be under contl. no one has been evacuated. directing the protests are some

of the country's leading shiite militiamen. they are backed by iran and deeply hosti towards america. >> this embassy has been proved to be an embassy of plotting against iraq, embassy oq,spying ira and an embassy of running schemes and sabotage in iraq. reporter: tensions rose dramatically or the weekend as erican warplanes carried out airstrikes against militia targets in iraq in syria. at these 25 fighters were killed. the u.s. blad the pro-iranian group hezbollah for a rocket attack on friday that killed an american civilian in the nokuhern city of k donald trump the finger and neighboring an. iran killed an american contractor," he tweeted this morning. "we strongly responded and we alwaysill. they will be held fully responsible."he also warned iraq to do more to protect the embassy. but iraq's government is in

bind. the u.s. is still an ally in the fight against so-called islic state, but its relationship with iran is much closer. the embassy is not thoughtedo be in any ite danger, but american reinforcements have already arrived. u.s. marines, part of a special unit, making the short journey from a base in the nearby kuwait. nuala: a little earlier i spoke to the atlantic council's iraq initiative director. >> it is alarming. it is a really sad turn of events. a lot of it is unnecessary because of this sort of back d forth hostilities between tan united state iran, and iraq is caught in the crossfire. i tnk, as i said in my tweets earlier from yesterday t today, i believe that we are going to witness a new relation bad turn

between the united stas and iraq i 2020, different than what has been before and's 2003.-- since 2003. this is the first time we see demonstrations in front of the u.s. embassy in baghdad's003, and i believe that these demonstrators will not go away before they get what they want, which is m asive reduction of diplomatic presence. nuala: how do you think that will actually default? there are people within those buildings. a breached perhaps the outer wall but not the actual embassy itself. do youee some sort of mediation? i believe you think there will be a massive reduction of americans in that embassy, but tell me what you think is going to happen. >>et again, depends on who

involved. the original organizes, the popular mobilization forces that initially organized what used to be a sit-in -- now it is no longer a s-in, it is a more active movement -- then they were not interested in doing any damage to the embassy or harming u.s. personnel. but as you know, with gatherings itlike iraq is these days, anybody could come and ride the ve and you would see other actors that would probably not be violent to the original intent of thergizer we have to be very vigilant. the iraqi government has to do its part at the end of the day. it is responsible for protecting the u.s. embassy. and also, i think the united states needs to tone down its

rhetoric right now, because the more u.s. officials talk, the more angry the crowd will be. either way, i believe that this will end up by obtaining a law from parament to ask or mandate the government to ask for u.s. forces' withdrawal, and i believe at started to be a massive reduction in military personnel, used to be for a temporary basis, and now i think it will be permanent. there are talks about it as the largest embassy in the world. i don't think it will be anywhere near that. nuala: lebanon says it had no r warning that the forme head of nissan, carlos ghosn, intended to skip bail in japan. ss he went to lebhaon to escapehe called a rigged justice system. it is unclear how left japan.

there are various theories. he was on trial forinancial misconduct charges and surrendered a passports as part of his bail conditions. rupert wingfield-hayes has more. rupert: last march, carlos ghosn disguised himself as a construction worker as he attempted to slip past the g media on his release from jail. now he has succeeded in slipping out of japan, perhaps in another disguise. wneven hisefense team have been left dumbfounded, unable to explain how mr. ghosn did it. >> we didn't know anything about it. complete >> we still have all his passports. rupert: somehow come mr. ghosn managed to board a private jet, itd last night he landed here in the lebanese c, beirut. he said he had not fled japanese justice, but escaped from injustice. "i am now in lebanon," he said, "and will no longer be held

hostage by a rigged japanese justice is to where guilt is dipresumedrimination is rampant, basic human rights are denied." this is a truly expert very development and what was already an expert mary --extraordinary story. japanese prosecutors say that by fleeing, carlos ghosn admitting his guilt. many agreed with mr. ghosn and his defense team that the charges against him were essentially politically 'otivated, and mr. ghosn real-time was trying to force a merger between japanese convenience on an french parents renault. in the 1990's, carlos ghosn help save the french carmar renault. the 200 bigger job, turning around japan's morssund carmaker . he rose to become one of the most global figures in the car industry. but in 2018, he wasted at tokyo airport on suiaicion of finamisconduct.

he was held in this tokyo detention center for more than 100 days, facing daily interrogations. >> thiis a conspiracru -- rt: since his release on bail, carlos ghosn has angrily programmed his innocence, accusing his former cleagues ofm sent -- nissan conspiring with japanese ufprosecutors to manacture a case against him. th preparing for what was expted to be the trial of the decade. instead, carlos ghosn is now far country thaton, a has no extradition agreement with japan. rupert wingfield-hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. nuala: we can speak to an expert on the japanese legal system. he is a professor of law at stanford law school, joining me from new york today. thank you very much for joining us. i'm wondering, professor, how you would see the japanese system. weearing in my colleague's report that mr. ghosnst felt the

was rigged against him. how would you describe it? >> yes, well -- received paavy criticisly as a result of this case in the spotlight has has on it. the famous fact ishe prosecution rate in japan is over 99%. butor what is int about this is what it means is the prosecutors virtually never proceed with a prosecution unless theare certain that they will obtain a conviction. what i interesting here is they proceeded aggressively with this caseof in the absenc confession, presumably from carlos ghosn who has protested his innocence all along. it is interesting they proceeded, where in a very complex case without a confession, often times -- can obtain a confessio but they do so under circumstances open to

criticism, as was the case he. carlos gho was detained for a long time, as reports indicated ov 100 days, so the prosecutors in japan can detain a suspect for up to 23 days, during which the suspect is subject to host: i am sorry about tha thatli line is glitching. it is interesting, however, to hear about the japanese system and of some of the criticism it has come under. nual u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has exposed alarm a the decision of the chinese court to send the prominent church leader to nine years in jail. he is an outspoken critic of the chinese communist party, giving escribing president xi jinping as a sinner that offended god.

in a tweet, pompeo said that he tried in secret on trumped up charges and he called on beijing to release the pasr and end i ts repression of religious groups. still to come, the duke and duchess of cambridge tackle imate issues over the next decade. >> the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the iroduction of the euro. >> tomorrow we will use money ue pick be in france and it will be the same money. >> george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oordshire home.

a 33-year-old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. >> i think it was good. >> just good? >> no, fantastic. >> that's better. nuala: this is "bbc world news." the latest headlines -- the u.s. is sending reinforcements to defend its embassy in baghdad, having repelledn attack by protesters angry about american fx. lebanon says there was no warning that fugitive carlos ghosn was fleeing japan for beirut. let's turn to australia. armed forces are committing more

helicopters and aircraft and ships to do with brush fires in the southeast of the country. than a dozen emergency level fires are burning across a 500-kilometer stretch,spanning two australian states. the flames are being fanned by externally hot and windy conditions. this footage is from saint georges sin in new south wales. this is typical of many images that are being shared across social media of blood red, smoke-filled skies. correspondent has mor reporter: this is what uncontrollable blazes pushed by strong winds have donesso towns acroastern australia, ands this iwhat firefighters have beenee up against forks now. is crew trappedenn their fire ne, as they fight and impossible battle. in a coastal town s, new south wa residents have fled, taking shelter on the beach,

desperately trying to escape the helli fireondition. e0 kilometers south in th state of victoria, thousands also escaped to thshores. at one point, people will told to jump in the water if the we came the. more than a dozen emergency-lel blazes spending 500 kilometers have stretched across the two states of victoria and new south wales. several holiday spots along the coast has been cut off, and the ion isoad in the r closed p litary aircraft and vessels could be sent to hscue efforts and to bring aid to those trapped in ts. worst hit ar time and time again, people have told us that the scale of these res is unlike anything they've ever seen before, and so, too, is the extent of the damage. as these blazes continue to rage across eastern and southern

australia, many are dealing with the reality of going back home, inere they have lost every a village in new south wales has seen some of the worst devastation in recent weeks. everywhere you look is a sign of how the blaze has ravaged through the area. rose marie doyle lived in this house for 13 years with her late husband. she tells me she felt relatively safe living just across the road from the local fire station. but nothing here has been spared. >> and then i stood across the road and just watched it burned, room by room, which was ally, really difficult. the last room to burn was where ashes my husband's reporter: soaring temperatures, rong winds, and relentless f ought have made it impossible to stop the trailese huge fires, and with no rain predicted, australians will head into the new year with the threat of more blazes m.oming over t

nuala: let's talk about climate. prince william hasimaunched a mulion dollar prize aimed at tackling global climate isy es. evar for the next decade, the prize will be awarded to cove individuals or organizations wh up with solutions to environmental problems. 2020 will also see two major environmental conferences, a conventionn biodiversity in china and a climate-change coowerence in glan the u.k. i'm joined from rhode island in the united states by the chief scientist at the environmental defense fd, or edf. thank you for joining i'm curious, do you have a person or organization who has had an idea that you would award the prize to you were in charge >> well, we are working on just such a thing at the

environmental defense fund. we are launching a satellite in ab2022 that will b to detect methane much more accurately and quantify it on a global basis. that is the kind oforhing we needof. nuala: let's talk about that for a moment. aha satellitecan detect methane, how useful would that ay, do youwhat think? >> well,av we alreadysome satellites, but this would give us much greater ability to quantify and see it small-scale so we can understand where theng methane is lea from the oil and gas industry around the globe, whether it is places we can personally get to or not. that data does not currently exist. and then we can really applaud governments and companies that are doing good things and point out where people need to make major improvements, because the oremissions aretively powerful. i think accounts for one quarter of the global warming we-- methane a transfer one quarter of the global warming.

nuala: there are tools already, and i wonder with this particular prize,oes it come down to these inventions, or is it about governments using them in the proper way? >> i think it is all o the we need to see change at a rapid pace, and we already have enormous capacity to make that change. it is about nvincing people to get behind those kinds of actions as well as bringing new tools. but there is no single bullet -- silver bullet. it is going to be many ideas, and they are going to involve our government that is goi to have civil society as well as the private sector. we have got to get everybody moving in this indirection. nuala: what does a prize do, do youhink? >> well, it focuses the mind. it brings people's attention. a clear objective always helps bring out people's new ideas. the one thing you have to be careful with prizes is we don't

have tools to -- don't think we don't have tools to make major provements now. we do. we can get going with what needs to h positive impact on climate change. but we can't do it all, and that is what we need prices for. nuala: some might say that if you look at recent dment -- president trump pulling out of the paris agreement, comep, 25 many people consider the end ofet a failure, that they w not able to come to consensus, and perhaps something like a prize is a dramic enough or radical enough to get governments and peoples of the places they need to be to combat crime anchange. >> we -- combat climate change. welcome we need many things. if those prizes and up causing change in a particular area we are stuck in, it could

be medically important. but it won't be the answer. even though the united states is pulling out of the paris accords, ware seeing reduced greenhouse-gas emissns in the united states -- state governments, private industry doing a lot. the actual essions in the u.s. have dropped quite a bit. notnoh, but quite a bit. we have the technology in place. t is cost-effective. we just ne political and social will to make that occur. nuala: thank you so mucsp for king to us from beautiful rhode island in the united states. an orchestra in paris staged a free concert earlier, performing in protest againstiohanges to pe. let's listen. ♪ nuala: the orchestra of the best deal performing prokofiev's "romeo and juliet" on the steps of the upper house.

they had been on strike over month over changes to pensions s which th would force them to work beyond the limits. in his new year'senddress, pres macron vowed to press ahead with the chaes which coul affect ulcerative industries from extending the age of retirement from two years to 64. around the world, the arrival of the new year has been marked by hu firework displays and also street celebrations. i want to go back to greece. these pictures fromwe athen in the past half-hour, 2020 was lcomed with a pyrotechnic display. the old decided thesi new, the acropolis. it was the site of celebrations and a concert taking place in athens central square. we will follow the cities and wcountries around tld as they usher in the new year. thanks for watching. for this presentation is ma possible by... man: babbel, an online program developed

by language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. narrator: funding was also provided by... e freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from vilike you, thank you. be more, pbs.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm nick oohifrin. judyruff is away. ghon the newshour tonit, backlash. the u.s. embassy compound in iraq is stormed as tensions in the region rise. then, behind taliban lines. mong the enemy i america's longest war. >> ( translated ): sometimes the boys join the taliban because of what they through in the situation here. it affects them inside when their relatives were killed. >> schifrin: plus, the highnd lows of the decade that was. expansive growth and rising inequality-- an economic revi of the last 10 years. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.