this is bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: big ben chimes london welcomes in the new decade to the chimes of big ben as thousands watch a spectacular fireworks display along the banks of the river thames. the us is sending reinforcements to help defend its embassy in baghdad, having repelled an attack by protesters angry about american airstrikes. lebanon says it had no warning that the fugitive ex—nissan boss, carlos ghosn, was fleeing japan, for beirut. australia calls in the army as bushfires push thousands of people to seek refuge on the coast — we'll be live with the latest from new south wales.

hello and welcome to bbc news. new year celebrations are taking place around the world, with many cities holding spectacular firework displays to welcome in the new decade. the first to welcome 2020 included the tiny pacific island of kiribati. the celebrations in sydney also went ahead, despite calls for it to be cancelled due to australia's bushfire crisis. within the last hour, tens of thousands of people gathered in london to watch the fireworks over the river thames. gareth barlow reports. all: five, four, three, two ,1

big ben chimes midnight in london, big ben will coming in the new decade, the iconic london eye sparkling on the south bank. in france, salutations, parisians partied along the champs—elysees, the arc de triumphe announcing 2020 had arrived. in dubai, the world ‘s tallest building, okra one, was transformed into a tower of lights and pirated eggs. —— pyrotechnic. it was a and pirated eggs. —— pyrotechnic. it wasa similar and pirated eggs. —— pyrotechnic. it was a similar site in taiwan as

taipei 101 spiked into a collider scope of lights against an inky sky. as pa rt of scope of lights against an inky sky. as part of australia are ablaze amid relentless bushfires, a political firestorm focused on sydney's display but the fireworks did go off over the city's harbour bridge. bright lights amid dark days. the new year began in new zealand where 2020 is well and truly under way. next stop, the americas and then the challenge of seeking to new year's resolutions. a happy new year to you. if you want to look at how the celebrations along the globe are going, you can look on our website. there are still celebrations to come in both brazil

and the united states. we will keep you across those here on bbc news. the us secretary of state mike pompeo has said the attack on his country's embassy in baghdad was organized by terrorists "abetted by iranian proxies". 750 troops are being sent the region, after a crowd of demonstrators tried to break into the compound. our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports. chanting furious crowds and an american embassy, the largest in the world, under siege. protesters and pro—iranian militiamen inside baghdad's protected green zone, venting their anger, attempting to breach the embassy walls. one entrance is pushed open, but the crowd is forced back by tear gas fired from inside. the sentry post is attacked. but this is a heavily fortified compound. the soldiers inside seem alert, but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside, the air thick with smoke and anti—american slogans.

but the crowd is not huge. sources inside the compound say the situation appears to be under control. no—one has been evacuated. directing the protests are some of the country's leading shi'ite militiamen. they are backed by iran and deeply hostile towards america. translation: this embassy has been proved to be an embassy of plotting against iraq, the embassy of spying on iraq and the embassy of running schemes of sabotage in iraq. tensions rose dramatically over the weekend as american warplanes carried out air strikes against militia targets in iraq and syria. at least 25 fighters were killed. the us blamed the pro—iranian group kata'ib hezbollah for a rocket attack on friday that killed an american civilian in the northern city of kirkuk. donald trump points the finger at neighbouring iran. "iran killed an american contractor," he tweeted this morning, "we strongly responded

and always will." "now iran is orchestrating an attack on the us embassy in iraq." "they will be held fully responsible." he also warned iraq to do more to protect the embassy. but iraq's government is in a bind. the us is still an ally in the fight against so—called islamic state, but its relationship with iran is much closer. the embassy is not thought to be in any immediate danger but american reinforcements have already arrived. us marines, part of a special crisis response unit, making the shortjourney from a base in nearby kuwait. paul adams, bbc news. more later in the programme. let's get some of the day's other news: kim jong—un has declared that north korea is abandoning its moratoriums on nuclear and long—range ballistic missile tests. he'd given the united states until the end of 2019 to find a way of salvaging their stalled talks on ridding the korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.

president trump says the first phase of a trade deal with china will be signed at the white house on the 15th of january. in a tweet, mr trump also announced that at a later date he will be going to beijing where talks will begin on phase two. riot police in hong kong have begun the new year by firing tear gas at anti—government protesters, who blocked roads and started fires. earlier, demonstrators formed human chains at major sites across the territory. a big gathering is planned for later on new year's day. a court in angola has ordered the seizure of assets belonging to isabel dos santos, the daughter of the former president. she's been accused of involvement in the theft of $1 billion worth of state assets from angola. she denies any wrongdoing. the authorities in lebanon say the former nissan boss, carlos ghosn, entered the country legally. mr ghosn was on bail injapan, awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges,

and his passports had been confiscated. reports in lebanon suggest a group of musicians, who played at his house in tokyo, smuggled him out in an instrument case. rupert wingfield—hayes has more. last march, carlos ghosn disguised himself as a construction worker as he attempted to slip past the waiting media on his release from jail. now he has succeeded in slipping out ofjapan, perhaps in another disguise. even his own defence team have been left dumbfounded, unable to explain how mr ghosn did it. translation: we didn't know anything about it. it's a complete surprise. we still have all his passports. somehow mr ghosn managed to board a privatejet and last night he landed here, in the lebanese capital 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 system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied." this is a truly extraordinary development in what was already an extraordinary story. japanese prosecutors will say by fleeing, carlos ghosn is admitting his guilt. but many others agree with mr ghosn and his defence team that the charges against him were essentially politically motivated. and that carlos ghosn‘s real crime was trying to force a merger between a japanese company, nissan, and its french parent,renault. in the 1990s carlos ghosn helped save french car—maker renault. in the 2000s, he took on an even biggerjob, turning around japan's moribund car—maker, nissan. he rose to become one of the most powerful figures in the global car industry. but in 2018 he was arrested at tokyo airport on suspicion

of financial misconduct. he was held in this tokyo detention centre for more than 100 days, facing daily interrogations. this is a conspiracy. since his release on bail, carlos ghosn has angrily proclaimed his innocence. accusing his former colleagues at nissan of conspiring with japanese prosecutors to manufacture a case against him. the media injapan have been preparing for what was expected to be the trial of the decade. instead carlos ghosn is now far away in lebanon, a country that has no extradition agreement with japan. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. the australian armed forces are committing more helicopters, aircraft and ships to help deal with the bushfires in the southeast of the country. more than a dozen emergency—level fires are burning across a 500—kilometre stretch, spanning two australian states —

from batemans bay in new south wales to bairnsdale in victoria. the flames are being fanned by extremely hot and windy conditions. shaimaa khalil reports. this is what uncontrollable blazes pushed by strong winds have done to towns across eastern australia. and this is what firefighters have been up against for weeks now. this crew trapped in their fire engine as they fight an impossible battle. in the coastal town of batemans bay in new south wales, residents have fled, taking shelter on the beach, desperately trying to escape the hellish fire conditions. 300 kilometres south in the state of victoria, thousands in mallacoota also escaped to the shores. at one point, people were told to jump in the water

if the fire came their way. more than a dozen emergency level blazes, spanning 500 kilometres, have stretched across the two states of victoria and new south wales. several holiday spots along the coast have now been cut off and the main road in the region is closed. military aircraft and vessels could be sent to help rescue efforts and to bring aid to those trapped in the worst—hit areas. time and time again, people have told us that the scale of these fires is unlike anything they'd ever seen before and so too is the extent of the damage. and as these blazes continue to rage across eastern and southern australia, many are dealing with the reality of going back home when they've lost everything. the village of balmoral in new south wales has seen some of the worst devastation in recent weeks. everywhere you look is a sign of how the blazes ravaged through the area. rosemary 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 burn, room by room, which was really, really difficult. the last room to burn was where i'd left my husband's ashes. soaring temperatures, strong winds and relentless drought have made it impossible to stop the trail of these huge fires and with no rain predicted, australians will now head into the new year with the threat of more blazes looming over them. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: celebrations continue around the globe as millions welcomed the new

decade with fireworks. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today. and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. reporter: it was just good? no, fantastic! that's better! big ben strikes the hour

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: london welcomes in the new decade to the chimes of big ben as thousands watch a spectacular fireworks display along the banks of the river thames. the us is sending reinforcements to help defend its embassy in baghdad, having repelled an attack by protesters angry about american air strikes. let's stay with that story. the pentagon is sending 750 additional soldiers to the middle east after its embassy was attacked in baghdad. professor abbas milani is director of the iranian studies programme at stanford university. hejoins me from california now.

professor, thank you so much for your time. first of all, the attack on the american embassy, the us blames iran for it, do we know whether iran is to blame?” blames iran for it, do we know whether iran is to blame? i think it's clear that groups of that were directly involved with these attacks, are very close to iran. they were not do anything like this without iran was my prior approval. but i think there is also a direct link, a spokesperson for khomenei, literally wrote an essay saying the way out of the crisis in iraqi, remember at that time there were demonstrations against the iraqi government, he said the way out was the occupation of the us embassy, and the same way we got rid of the

us by occupying their embassy a0 yea rs us by occupying their embassy a0 years ago, the young fighters in iran should do the same. it is a complicated picture that led up to this point. we have had a few incidents in the last week or so. but at its core, is this essentially a proxy war that is developing between iran and the us in iraq, or is it still at the diplomatic stage? i think it is a proxy war. iran needed this confrontation because the headlines, both in iraq and around the world in the last few weeks have been very detrimental to iran in iraq. there were massive demonstrations against iran, it was a boycott of iranians goods, the

most influential shi'ite cleric in iraq had issued statements aimed at iran. the other headline that was bothering was about the regime's brutality domestically. a0 days ago there were massive demonstrations in iran, the regime has killed several hundred demonstrators, arrested several thousand. those were headlines that needed to be front pages, and this has completely changed the discourse. it has changed the discourse. it has changed the discourse in iraq. a statement was recently issued, clearly a nd statement was recently issued, clearly and first and foremost against the united states. he then goes on to say everyone should stay out of iraq. but they want to change the discourse, the iranians regime, and by instigating these groups to attack. it sounds like iran has something to gain from this. the us

is now committing more troops, when arguably doesn't want to be in the region. but iraq is in the middle of all of this. what does this mean for the sovereignty of iraq and iraq's government? i think the sovereignty of iraq is imperilled. the prime minister tried to stop the attacks. by minister tried to stop the attacks. by initially attacking the base and killing one american, i think the iranians were trying to push the us into a losing situation. the response the us has had in my view, has allowed the iranians regime to benefit from it and the iraqi situation to deteriorate. but this era ina situation to deteriorate. but this era in a way that the iranians regime is benefiting from all of this. and i think mr trump doesn't wa nt this. and i think mr trump doesn't want war, hasn't wanted more, i hope, but he might tweet himself

into a wall. iran has become aggressive under the assumption that mrtrump aggressive under the assumption that mr trump doesn't want war. professor milani, it's a very complicated picture and no doubt we will continue to hear more about this. thank you so much for taking us through that. shipping companies will have to reduce their sulphur oxide emissions from the first of january. strict new international rules will limit the poisonous gases produced by ships to 0.5 %. the global body overseeing the maritime sector says this will reduce the harmful effects on human health. but the international maritime organization won't enforce the ban — that will be the responsibility of the countries where the ship is docked or registered. the french celebrity chef, marc veyrat, has lost his legal bid to force the michelin guide to fully explain why it had stripped him of its prestigious three star status. he claimed to have been

plunged into depression after an inspector accused him of putting english cheddar cheese in a souffle. but the court said the chef had failed to show any proof that he had suffered material damage. an orchestra in paris staged a free concert earlier, performing in protest against changes to pensions. have a listen. romeo andjuliet the orchestra of the bastille performing prokofiev‘s romeo and juliet on the steps of the opera house. there have been on strike for a while. the new year has just arrived here in london and the british prime minister boris johnson has issued his message looking ahead to 2020. here's a little of what he had to say. hello, folks. i hope you all had a fantastic christmas and i still enjoying his liberties as we say, goodbye to 2019, it's also a time to bid farewell to the division, the rancour, the uncertainty, which has

held this country back were too long. 2020 is upon us. and now we have a wonderful opportunity to unite as a country and move forward together. borisjohnson there. the pope has presided over the end of the year celebrations at st peter's basilica. pope francis celebrated the first vespers at the vatican, before walking through st peter's square to greet pilgrims. he tweeted: "let us give thanks to god for his grace, which has sustained us in this past year, and with joy let us raise a song of praise to him." a new picture of baby archie has been released by parents the duke and duchess of sussex to mark the new year. seven—month archie enjoys a cuddle with harry in the photograph, which was posted on instagram alongisde the caption: "wishing you all a very happy new year and thanking you for your continued support."

meanwhile, the duke and duchess of cambridge have announced a global prize to tackle climate issues. every year between 2021 and 2030, five individuals or organisations who come up with solutions to environmental problems will win the new earthshot prize. let's return to the situation in australia, areas badly affected by those bushfires. we can speak to abc correspondent selby stewart who joins us from nowra which is just north of the worst—affected areas. thank you so much for your time. the first of all, can you give us a sense of the threat in new south wales at the moment? and what is the major issue that the state has to deal with in terms of those bushfires? it doesn't look like

selby can hear us. we will hope to getan selby can hear us. we will hope to get an update with him as sooner we can. but of course those bushfires are continuing. let'sjust can. but of course those bushfires are continuing. let's just try and go back to get the latest on those fires. we do believe we can talk to selby. thank you for your time. just give us an idea of what the major threat is for new south wales. yeah sure. sorry for that. the communications are down for a large pa rt communications are down for a large part of the southern coast of new south wales, so there are some connection issues for all the residents and everybody here. at the moment there is still more than 100 bushfires that are burning across new south wales and the majority of those are still uncontained. and this comes after one of the most devastating days we've had this bushfire season. at the moment residents here are waking up, it's the morning here and they are discovering just how devastating the last four hours have been. we now know that at least 200 homes have

been lost. just yesterday, which of course was new year's eve, it meant to bea course was new year's eve, it meant to be a time for celebration, 200 homes have been lost yesterday. three people have died on the south coast of new south wales and there are others still missing. right now we know there are many people who are trapped, believed to be injured, and because they are in isolated communities, it is just and because they are in isolated communities, it isjust impossible for emergency services to reach them. and of course, despite those terrible fires we saw yesterday, there are many that will continue to burn and one of the big risks for these communities now is falling trees, that meant much of this forest has been burnt. we've seen over a million hectares of land burnt now, which is larger than wales, the size of wales. it really is an incredible scene standing here in these communities that are really hurting. selby stewart, thank you for that update about the fires in

australia, reporting from nowra. we will keep you updated on that. and the new year's celebrations as well. stay with us on bbc news. hello. we've ended 2019 on a fairly quiet note. the best of the sunshine through new year's eve was across northern and eastern england, parts of scotland we saw some spectacular sunsets to end the year and the decade. and this quieter theme continues through new year's eve underneath this area of high pressure. but notice that the isobars are closer together across northern ireland and scotland, so, a windier day here. and also, a cloudier day across the uk to start 2020. that cloud could be thick enough for the odd patch of drizzle. for most it's mainly dry through daylight hours with some brightness or sunshine across eastern counties of scotland, north—east england, perhaps north wales for a time and maybe into east anglia, too. light or gentle winds for most away from the western and northern isles

of scotland, where the winds will be strengthening through the day, perhaps gusts of a0—50 miles an hour. still, quite a cool feel to the day across the uk, 5—9 celsius, the top temperature, perhaps 10—11 for northern scotland and south—west england. cloud cover stays with us through the evening and overnight. again we could see some patchy drizzle. for most it's dry, although rain will start to approach the far north—west of scotland and the west of northern ireland as we head towards thursday morning. but underneath the cloud cover, temperatures are going to stay above freezing. and actually, as we go through thursday, it is a milder day. these yellow, and in places orange, colours just indicating the milder air flooding across the uk. but with it comes a set of fronts, and that's going to bring some wetter, windier weather initially across scotland and northern ireland, and slowly it slides its way south and eastwards through the day, but weakening as it does. but potentially some very heavy rain across the highlands of scotland, maybe a0—50 millimetres here, gusty winds as well. this front then slides its way south and eastwards, getting into northern england, parts of wales, south—west england, driest the further south and east you are, but some gusty winds,

perhaps 50—60 miles an hour for northern and western scotland and 30—a0 miles an hour quite widely. so it's a wet, blustery day across northern and western parts of the uk, but mild for most, it will be in double figures. doesn't last long as those fronts push their way south and eastwards, behind it we start to see the blue colours returning. so, we're back in the colder air as we go into friday. but what that also means is clearer conditions, much more in the way of sunshine. cloud and rain clearing away from south—east england, some showers peppering the north of scotland, perhaps wintry in nature, but for much of the uk, on friday we'll end the week dry with much more sunshine. but it will be feeling a little bit colder again. as for the weekend, it's looking mainly dry. there'll be some spells of sunshine, little bit milder but potentially turning wetter and windier into next week.

this is bbc news, the headlines revellers across the uk have rung in the start of a new decade, with fireworks displays held in london, edinburgh and other major cities. in london, some 12,000 fireworks lit up the capital's skyline. european cities, including paris, berlin, madrid and athens, have also seen in the new year with firework displays. the united states is to send more troops to protect its embassy in baghdad, which has been attacked by thousands of protestors, angry at american air strikes. president trump has blamed the attack on iran. the authorities in lebanon say the former nissan boss, carlos ghosn, entered the country legally. mr ghosn was on bail in japan, awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges. reports in lebanon suggest a group of musicians who played at his house in tokyo smuggled him out in an instrument case.