you're watching beyond one hundred days. hundreds more american soldiers are on their way to the middle east after protestors stormed the us embassy in baghdad. the violence marks a new turn in the standoff between washington and iran. the us defence secretary says america will do what it takes to protect its interests in the region. enoughis enough is enough. this is part of around's malign behaviour that they have been spreading across the region and into afghanistan now, for 40 years. with one month to go until the first 2020 election contest in iowa — it's donald trump who is raising alot more money than his democratic opponents. also on the programme. a state of emergency is declared

in southeast australia amid warnings of more bushfires. locals are furious with the government's handling of the crisis. mr prime minister, what about the people who have nowhere to live? you're not welcome! dramatic scenes in paris as police and protestors clash. transport strikes there are now in their 29th day, the longest in modern history. hello and welcome — i'm katty kay in washington and david eades is in london. the us defence secretary is pushing to broaden america's standoff with iran after violent demonstrations against the us embassy in baghdad. iranian backed protestors have now retreated but mark esper has confirmed that extra us forces are being sent immediately to the region. i think it is important at this point in time to not make the xi

united states versus iran issue. it is really around versus the world. it is iranian bad behaviour that has been going on for nearly a0 years. the secretary may face in this agreement as it is america that has up agreement as it is america that has up to pressure to isolate tehran, which carried out air against protesters and the us embassy in baghdad was under assault this week. let's show you where the us embassy is located. this is the so—called green zone. normally demonstrators are simply kept out but not this time. on tuesday iraqi security forces. not this time — on tuesday iraqi security forces allowed protesters to enter the zone from this bridge. they then managed to gain access to the compound from this gate. joining me now is retired us brigadier general mark kimmitt. where does this leave relations between the us and iraq and between the us and iran. thank you for joining us. you havejust come back from iraq. does it look like it is

tenable to keep american forces there as it is trying to increase its presence in the country? that is a political decision that will be made by the iraqis. the pms leadership was able to pull the protesters away from the us embassy when they struck a deal with the prime minister that the prime minister will take up in parliament this week a vote on whether the us strips should stay are not so at this point we are there with the invitation of the iraqi government and ethically this invite as the forces will leave. that is the relationship with iraq at the moment, what about list around the? we had a defence racing a couple of hours ago that this is a turning point in that relationship. what does he mean? i think that might be a bit of hyperbole. we have had the stand—offs for the last a0 years. i don't think we are heading down a military path right now. the sanctions seem to be working and i hope that the hotheads will stand back and realise that we are in a better position if fleece showed restraint. there is no reason to

start the war with iran. it would be over quickly but would accomplish nothing. can ijust ask, do you think that the iraqi parliament will ta ke think that the iraqi parliament will take that step, will pursue a motion to call for the us to be withdrawn from the country entirely? that is a very good question because i think what people in the parliament are worried about now as they have seen what the iranian groups can do that are in parliament so it could well be that the sunnis and the secular sheer parties and the cards for that insta nce sheer parties and the cards for that instance would recognise that the only thing between them and a shi'ite —controlled iranian backed government would be the presence of the united states, but with iraqi politics one never knows. you wonder if there is a sense of a readiness to have a fight here or is there possibly a situation where the strength, as you mentioned, the power of these iranian—backed

militia groups within iran and the fa ct militia groups within iran and the fact that iraqis look to them as having helped them through dealing with isis is something that is just overlooked by washington?” with isis is something that is just overlooked by washington? i think so. overlooked by washington? i think so. let's be clear. these were heroic fighters on the battlefield. they took more casualties than anyone else but it is the post—isis fight we are concerned about. they we re fight we are concerned about. they were supposed to be brought into the iraqi security structure. they are certainly not answering to the government of iraq. it is also important to know that the iraqis realise that the americans have left once and if we are asked to leave a second time they may never see it again. do you think miscalculations we re again. do you think miscalculations were made on both sides, that these proxies felt they could hit military bases with impunity and not face retaliation? the american launching air perhaps didn't calculate appropriately the reaction that would cause against their interests in baghdad. to most sides need to

wise up to what the risks are and what the potential is for retaliation? i would agree that the reaction by the united states may have been heavy—handed, but we have gone out of our way to tell the iraqi government time after time you need to take action with the popular mobilisation forces that are shooting rockets over our military facilities and over our embassy. don't mistake restraint for weakness, but when it got to the point they killed the american contractor and wounded american soldiers we had no other choice than to respond vigorously. itjust may have been too vigorously. general, thicker coming tojoin have been too vigorously. general, thicker coming to join us. have been too vigorously. general, thicker coming tojoin us. the idea that this might have been a very vigorous response. there have been numerous provocations since the summer but this one triggered that reaction and then you saw the counter reaction inside iraq, and your question now is do the iraqis respond, america is going to up its

presence, will they respond by saying you can't be here at all? some sense of antagonism created by the us response to one american contractor losing his life when there have been countless lives lost over the course of the last weeks and months. a clearly very tense situation. and they will try and resolve that in arak and hereto. in two hours' time a state of emergency will come into effect in the australian state of new south wales, the area worst affected by raging bushfires. authorities hope the order will allow them to carry out evacuations to help the tens of thousands of people stranded in the state. and it's notjust people who have been affected — since september researchers believe a80 million mammals, reptiles, and birds have died because of the blazes. the fires have burnt their way through a far wider area than comparable ones across the globe. in the amazon 900,000 hectares were burned last year. the recent california wildfires destroyed 800,000 hectares of land. but sincejuly four million hectares

have been burned in the state of new south wales alone — and the blazes remain out of control. the bbc‘s shaima khalil is in milton town, one of the areas under the evacuation order, and sent us this report. a mass exodus from the devastation on the southern coast and a race to escape the dangerous fire conditions ahead. thousands of holiday—makers inching their way to safety with a a8 hour deadline. inching their way to safety with a 48 hour deadline. families have heeded the call is to evacuate but because the conditions on the roads are very dangerous there have been closures in different directions and now they say they feel stranded having evacuated but now unable to get home. you have a feeling that you can't go forward and you can't go backwards and really stuck between a burning rock and a burning rock. hopefully not get caught in the middle of the fire. some

families were able to get away early in the morning before the road closures. this couple lost their house and had to take refuge in the la ke a cross house and had to take refuge in the lake across the road. the fireball came over the hill just lake across the road. the fireball came over the hilljust opposite the lake. we thought we had a few minutes at least, closing down the house and everything, doing what they say to do and within two or three minutes the fireball came through at 80 kilometres per hour hit the house and we ran into the la ke hit the house and we ran into the lake and the embers and everything we re lake and the embers and everything were hitting us. we were in for about an hour before we got rescued. this is what they were escaping. burning since september these bushfires have destroyed more than 1200 homes. the prime minister who has been a staunch supporter of fossil fuels insisted that government policy struck the right balance between supporting the economy and protecting the

environment. how come we only had four trucks to defend our town? because our town doesn't have a lot of money but we have hearts of gold, mr prime minister. but he had an angry reception when he visited their town. it is a popular holiday destination. now it looks like a conflict zone. when kim harper came back to her house she couldn't recognise the neighbourhood. feels like i'm in the middle of apocalypse. i think someone has dropped a bomb on us, basically. that's what it feels like. in the neighbouring state of victoria the navy has been helping to evacuate people. so far, 18 people have lost their lives in the fires. volunteer firefighterjoffrey keaton was one of them. today was his funeral where his i9—month—old son was presented with his father's medalfor his i9—month—old son was presented

with his father's medal for bravery. gusty winds and temperatures soaring are set to create hazardous fire conditions in the coming days. those pictures just extraordinary and now those plumes of smoke heading thousands of miles into the pacific and affecting people in new zealand. not going to stop any time soon. the us presidential election kicks off for real in one month's time. we will be in freezing iowa for the first nominating vote of the 2020 campaign — it's the democratic candidates first chance to show they can win a state. from then it's a flat out race for the party to pick the candidate who will take on donald trump in november. and because american elections are notoriously expensive — they all need money to run tv ads, hire staff and fly around the country. which is why people watch the candidates' fund raising numbers as one of the best indicators of support for the different campaigns. the latest numbers show a big

boost to bernie sanders who raised $35 million in donations last quarter. that's $10 million up on the previous quarter. the buttigieg campaign brought in $25 million. and andrew yang — the political outsider — topped his own campaign's record — raising $17 million over three months. we have just got the figures also forjoe biden and it shows that his campaign raised just under $23 million, we are still waiting for elizabeth warren's figures to come but those figures pale in comparison to the $a6m that was donated to president trump's re—election war chest over the same three months. i'm joined now by susan page, dc bureau chief at usa today. i suspect a lot of people are looking at those numbers and thinking that is $200 million in three months, this is insanely expensive. why are we so focused on these fundraising numbers? the

numbers are necessary to do the things you need to run and run a campaign. there also a sign of support. not only does bernie sanders have a big number and money raised, has contributions from 5 million separate americans. these are people he can go back to over and over and they are not maxed out millionaires. he can use them as a continuing source of funds and it indicates the sort of support he has, and that he has a formidable and devoted to base. joe biden's numbers, this is the best quarter he has had, $22 million, but you look in comparison to bernie sanders and you think that doesn't look so good. but if you are the president's the election campaign committee you are thinking we have got a6 million, double what they are getting. if this is all an indication of support presumably that is also an indication of support for the president? pretty muscular numbers

for president trump, $a6 million at a time he is being impeached. you might think that would shake the support. it is more than an individual democrat but less than the democrats altogether got so you couldn't make the case that they couldn't make the case that they could fundraising competition with him. -- could fundraising competition with him. —— could make the case. the candidate who raises the most doesn't necessarily win, you just have to raise enough to be competitive, but it gets so much attention that candidates do not rely solely on tv ads. you just made the point i was going to ask. this issue of whether there is a sort of track record to show that those bringing in the most money end up winning the race at the end of the day, it might not be that clear, but it shouldn't be a surprise either that the scale of the donations at this stage are only going to go one way really for the main players and thatis way really for the main players and that is up. that's right and these

numbers are high compared to previous election cycles. americans are getting a lot of money, as a sign of how much energy, concern, alarm in some cases that a lot of americans feel that they are willing to open their wallets and give money to open their wallets and give money to the candidates they want to support on both sites. bernie sanders you mentioned earlier, he has got health issues as well, doesn't seem to have had any effect. does it make a difference that there are millions who are prepared to put their hands in their pockets for a few dollars or so and in terms of sheer numbers, that is where the overwhelming impact might like? and compare bernie sanders with elizabeth warren. we don't have her numbers yet and that is a sign they will not be very impressive. we know she had raised about 17 million a week or so ago, maybe a little higher, 20 million, but those are the two candidates in the most liberal wing of the democratic party so this is a sign that elizabeth

warren, the massachusetts senator, looked surprisingly strong for a while. bernie sanders has been an incredibly consistent candidate. a year ago he was number two tojoe biden and today he is number two to joe biden. i want to ask you briefly, one month to go till iowa. what are you looking for? things happen. what we see now may not be what we see in a month. we are often surprised, but i want a chance for a candidate to show that he or she can win, and that was important for barack 0bama when he won the first time around, to show that even though he was an african—american candidate running on a white state, that he was able to defeat hillary clinton in iowa. that sent a big message to all the contests that followed. i am sure we will talk to you again, thanks. quick look at other news from around the world. austria's conservatives have ended months of negotiations by agreeing

to form a coalition government with the greens. it sees the return of sebastian kurz as chancellor for the second time at the age ofjust 33. the deal marks a swing back to the centre. mr kurz‘s previous term saw him share power with the far—right, freedom party. a mother and her two grown—up daughters have handed themselves in to police in germany, over a fire that killed more than 30 animals. rare apes and monkeys were among the creatures to die in the blaze at the zoo in the western city of krefeld on new year's eve. the fire is thought to have been caused by sky lanterns which the suspects allegedly bought online without knowing they were illegal. a study suggests artificial intelligence is as accurate as humans in diagnosing breast cancer from mammograms. a machine learning computer system was trained to read x—rays and proved better than one doctor working on their own and as good as two experts. researchers say the system has the potential to improve even more. the metro system in the french

capital paris has been semi—paralysed for 29 days in a row as unions have led a strike in protest at the government's plans to reform the country's pensions system. and today it seems tempers flared with police firing tear gas as they clashed with demonstrators near the place de la concorde right in the heart of paris. and there is very little sign of an end to the deadlock. the effects are being felt across the country but it's the capital that's been most affected. out of 16 paris metro lines, two are completely shut down. 1a are running a partial service and only two lines are operating as normal — and you can imagine how crammed those trains are. president macron says he won't back down and insists his reforms are desperately needed to sustain future generations. let's have a closer look at them. the government plans to remove a2 different pension schemes and switch to a universal system for all workers. in essence ? unions believe these reforms will mean people having to work for longer, with less generous pensions when they retire.

pensions would no longer be based on a final salary figure but on career average earnings and workers would have to accumulate a number of points in order to start taking their pension. but one big outstanding issue ? which even moderate unions refuse to accept — is any further raising of the retirement age of 62 ? which is already lower than almost all other eu countries. joining us from our paris studio — freelance journalist stefan de vries. i should ask first of all how you got there! i am sure you didn't take the metro. i am getting around by b i cycle, the metro. i am getting around by bicycle, i have always been doing that. so it is not affecting me directly but i am not the only one, because cyclists have grown in huge numbers over the last couple of weeks and actually it is getting a bit complicated because there are so many people in the streets.

bit complicated because there are so many people in the streetslj bit complicated because there are so many people in the streets. i get around. you can imagine why people are exasperated by what is happening but i just are exasperated by what is happening but ijust wonder which are exasperated by what is happening but i just wonder which way the sort of sense of sympathy falls among the general public. is it among those who are fighting hard to keep hold of that amazing social model that france has had for so long are those who think it is time to get over it and see what the president is trying to do, which is to reform a broken system ? to do, which is to reform a broken system? strangely enough it is a bit ofa system? strangely enough it is a bit of a paradox because according to opinion polls two thirds of the french support the people on strike but also two thirds of the french support the reforms of the government, so it is really unclear what the general audiences thinking. of course many people have been affected by the strikes over the last couple of days, especially with christmas. hundreds of thousands we re christmas. hundreds of thousands were not able to go to their family around the country to celebrate christmas, so the mood is changing but strangely enough there is still a lot of support for the union's

actions. the big push on the union side was to try to disrupt that pre—christmas travel. they hoped that would force president macron to back down on the reforms and it didn't. the president got through the christmas period. what would it ta ke the christmas period. what would it take do you think for him to back down or is he going to stick this one out? it is very hard to say what is going to happen. the unions have said the reforms have to disappear com pletely said the reforms have to disappear completely while emmanuel macron has saidi completely while emmanuel macron has said i am asking the government to come up with a compromise. next tuesday on seventh january, the unions and prime minister will sit together again to find a compromise but it will be very difficult because emmanuel macron has also said in his new year's speech, i am going to stick with the reforms, so it is really a matter of who will move first and it is not very likely unions. their actions as long as the government doesn't come up with any real compromises but that is very

unlikely. also because the situation, the financial situation is pretty difficult, the financial state is not glorious, so emmanuel macron does not have many options and like you mentioned in the introduction, of almost all the european countries they have already reform their pension system or are in the midst of reforms and with 62 yea rs, in the midst of reforms and with 62 years, the french retire quite early. but it sounds like you are saying president macron will eventually go the way of other french residents and give into the strikers? i am afraid he will, absolutely. he is not the first to try to reform the pension system and it was tried by jacques try to reform the pension system and it was tried byjacques chirac in the 1990s with little success. if he wa nts to the 1990s with little success. if he wants to get public transportation running again then he will have to give in, but then again we will have the same problems in five years or ten years. from paris, thank you. stay safe on your bicycle! good new

year's resolution, stay safe on your bicycle! good new yea r‘s resolution, thank stay safe on your bicycle! good new year's resolution, thank you for joining us. a vegan employee who was fired from hisjob has today brought a landmark legal case before a uk employment tribunal — calling for veganism to be protected by law. jordi casamitgana wants his vegan lifestyle to be classified as a ‘philosophical belief‘ — comparable to a religion. the former employee describes himself as an ‘ethical vegan' and claims he was sacked for disclosing that the company he worked for invested pension funds in firms involved in animal testing. his former employer claims he was dismissed for gross misconduct. imean, i mean, whatever the cause, it does feel like a guinness, it is a way of life. i don't know if you ever contemplated for even a second? life. i don't know if you ever contemplated for even a second ?|j have not, my daughter is vegetarian and it is definitely a way of life

for her. the legal issue is whether it isa for her. the legal issue is whether it is a philosophy or amounts to a philosophical belief in the way that a religion does. at that point could you say i am a liberal bite philosophical belief on a conservative by philosophical belief or leave or remain a democrat or republican. i would love to get a lawyer on to say what determines what is a philosophical belief under law, not just how what is a philosophical belief under law, notjust how strongly what is a philosophical belief under law, not just how strongly you particularly feel it, and that is the case they're trying to address the case they're trying to address the moment. here is one for you. i think it is time for our random animal story. second january and we start as we mean to go on! my cats, like many others, certainly like to sneak into warm spots to get cosy especially on these cold winter nights. but spare a thought for the feline who climbed into a car engine to take a nap, before the car's driver got in and set off on a 130 mile trip from birmingham to london. he didn't even own the cat and only

realised he had a stowaway on board when he pulled up outside a block of flats and people told him they could hear miaowing. you'll be pleased to hear she survived and is fine. she's since been rescued by the celia hammond animal trust they're appealing for the owner to come forward. i have a million questions! how did the cat not get burned up, how did it not fall down onto the road? how terrified was the cat and what did the driver think when he popped the hood and there was this cat!|j the driver think when he popped the hood and there was this cat! i have a cat who would go nowhere near a motor. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — president trump is facing a series of foreign policy crises that could weight heavily own political prospects. we'll look at where he's most exposed on the year he hopes to be re—elected. that's still to come.

also how a simple experiment at the university of england is hoping to make the way we heat their homes much greener. good evening. quite mild for the time of year today with the temperature widely in the double figures but a fair amount of cloud to be had, this photo sent in by a weather watcher in staffordshire. all change as we move into tomorrow with more in the way of sunshine but with more in the way of sunshine but with that a noticeable dip in temperature. we see the drop in temperature. we see the drop in temperature starting to feed and as we go through tonight. these weather fronts sink gradually south and east bringing a spell of rain and some cloud but opening the doors to this fresher air from cloud but opening the doors to this fresher airfrom the cloud but opening the doors to this fresher air from the north and west. as we go through tonight, cloud and outbreaks of rain gradually spreading south across england and wales, some clearer spells feeding

on towards the north, one or two showers and the wind tending to fall lighter than we have seen through the day although the potential for gales across the northern isles and we see a marked difference in temperature where we see the clear spells developing in the temperature dipping away although holding up where we have cloud across the south. a mild start on friday across southern parts of england, some cloud and patchy outbreaks of rain. that will clear towards the south and east and plenty of sunshine across the board. a scattering of showers feeding in from the north—west, could be wintry across high ground and even to lower levels and when the across the northern isles. the temperature noticeably cooler than today, highs of around nine celsius. the temperature dipping away across the south after a cloudy start. into the weekend, high pressure takes charge, plenty of dry weather the further south you are, the best of the brightness to be found in the south and east, more cloud as you head further north and the potential for outbreaks of rain

in northern parts of scotland. the tempter on saturday not doing too badly, maximum around 9—10. not a great deal of change on the way as we move into sunday, high pressure remains in charge across the south, this weather front towards the north will bring some outbreaks of rain parts of scotland, perhaps into northern ireland and perhaps more in the way of cloud further north, but also some brighter spells in the best in southern and eastern areas. the temperature fairly similar to what we are looking at, the maximum around ten, 11, goodbye.

this is beyond one hundred days with me katty kay in washington, david eades is in london. our top stories. hundreds more american soldiers are sent to the middle east after protestors stormed the us embassy in baghdad, marking a new turn in the standoff between washington and iran. president trump's re—election campaign credits the impeachment saga for its massive fundraising haul of a6 million dollars. coming up in the next half hour. vaping comes under fire. the us food and drug administration announces a ban certain e—cig flavors hoping to reduce the number teens using the device. plus, we have a special report on the thousands of missing native women and girls across the united states.

it's day two of election year for donald trump but november the 3rd must feel a long way off considering what else the president has on his plate right now. he's currently facing two foreign policy crises with iran and north korea that could escalate quickly, running the risk of affecting his own political prospects. in north korea, mr trump's diplomacy efforts have been largely unfruitful — with pyongyang threatening to resume nuclear tests. and iran shows little sign of being cowed by tough us sanctions. we know the president's foreign policy style is unconventional — what we don't know is if it will pay off. let's bring in richard haas, president of the council on foreign relations whojoins us now from new york. richard, thanks forjoining us. i suppose there is a commonality here. they are both nuclear issues but he has tackled them in very different

ways, nonetheless, hasn't he? there are some similarities and some differences and as you say, they are both nuclear. north korea has nuclear weapons. the similarity is that the tool of choice is economic sanctions to coerce them into complying with us goals. north korea, the girl, however, is unreachable. denuclearisation. i think there is no evidence it will give up its capabilities. with iran, the goal is unstated. it seems to be fundamental regime change across the board but we've never really articulated what iran must do in order to get a degree of relief from us economic sanctions. richard, ijust us economic sanctions. richard, i just want to show a twitter message the president wrote just after the meeting in singapore. he says, just ended a long trip but

eve ryo ne he says, just ended a long trip but everyone can be much more relaxed. there is no longer a nuclear threat from north korea. meeting with king john own has been a very positive and interesting experience. what he offered him was a bright economic future but what he didn't understand, it seems to me, was it wasn't just about the money, understand, it seems to me, was it wasn'tjust about the money, it understand, it seems to me, was it wasn't just about the money, it was about something different. absolutely. first of all, north korea under this leadership has no desire for hotels and tourism and the like because that would probably pose a threat to state control. so the entire dream the president is selling they are not buying. more broadly with north korea the president has said, they are no longer doing nuclear weapons, that's not a threat. he was obviously premature. north korea has decided that united states is not serious about posing a military threat and i

think that in some ways is the more significant reading of the last couple of years, is north korea and iran taking a measure and paying an economic price if they don't give the us what it wants but there is no real serious military threat. i guess the issue for president tram coming in was, look, previous presidents had tried with north korea and they didn't get anywhere so mrtrump was korea and they didn't get anywhere so mr trump was going to try something that was quantifiable a different and perhaps it would produce results. is it fair now, in the final year of the first term, to say on the question of north korea eight has not produced results and make have even damaged the relationship further. i think it's not even fair but accurate. north korea is stronger in terms of nuclear and missile capabilities today than it was when donald trump took office. the us and south korean relationship is weaker thanit south korean relationship is weaker than it was. 0ur deterrent to north korea is less than it was because

one of the things we stop doing where large—scale military exercises. in my own view, we are worse off. that said, i still think there is potentially a deal there if there is potentially a deal there if the president where it say to north korea tomorrow that we would be prepared to reduce some of our sanctions in exchange for this set of nuclear and missile —related actions that were properly verified. it wouldn't solve the problem but it would put a ceiling on it and to stabilise it. i want to throw another twitter message at you from june of last year. he said, i terminated the deal— this was dealing with the iran deal— this was dealing with the iran deal— and they are matched we we go nation today than at the beginning of my presidency. now they are best.

that is a miscalculation but what i wa nt to that is a miscalculation but what i want to know is how much is it an electoral issue in terms of the bigger picture as we had to november? they are not electoral issues unless either there is a tremendous upside in terms of a peace deal to make the president look good or a tremendous downside in terms of a war which would be awful for him. downside in terms of a war which would be awfulfor him. i think it's fairto would be awfulfor him. i think it's fair to say would be awfulfor him. i think it's fairto say on would be awfulfor him. i think it's fair to say on these things with iran that the sanctions have had an effect. iran is demonstrably weaker and economically poorer than it was. also there is a much greater chance of the two countries stumbling into conflict. if we are going to apply economic warfare to iran, they are beginning to apply other forms of wa rfa re beginning to apply other forms of warfare in response, using militia against us personnel. this president who doesn't want a war has to understand the contradiction in his policy, pressuring iran in ways that could lead to the war that he wants to avoid.

richard in new york, thank you for joining us and happy new year to you. the fugitive former nissan boss carlos ghosn has insisted that he alone is responsible for his escape from house arrest injapan. he arrived in beirut on new year's eve and the international police agency interpol has issued lebanon with a red notice demanding his arrest. mr ghosn was facing trial in japan for alleged financial misconduct. his escape by private jet may have taken him via istanbul — prompting an investigation by turkey that has reportedly led to the arrest of four pilots and two airport workers. let's speak now to our middle east correspondent lina sinjab. what is the situation for those who are deemed to have possibly helped him? basically as you have just said, the turkish authorities are launching a big investigation into this. they have arrested seven people including four pilots to check how he managed to get on a plane, on a private jet,

and arrive into lebanon. lebanese authorities said that he arrived on official documents and there was nothing illegal about his arrival in lebanon. yet we have heard well that interpol has sent an arrest warrant, a red notice, to the lebanese authorities which they said the legal authorities here, thejustice minister said they had received and they would launch an investigation and take actions as necessary. but they said they are not going to extradite him to japan at all. this reads a bit like one of the more improbable james bond plots, but does anyone believe mr ghosn when he says it was him and him alone that orchestrated this escape? it is really obvious he is trying to protect his family members. the press and many investigations have talked to his family members, his wife and daughter. so he is obviously trying to protect them and

remove any kind of connections to his escape to them. we have heard as well from news agency that he used a private security company to escape japan. we also heard from the also national broadcasters in japan japan. we also heard from the also national broadcasters injapan that he used a musical instrument box to be smuggled out ofjapan. the question is how he made it out of japan. the detail of his escape is ha rd to japan. the detail of his escape is hard to know at the moment and he said he will hold something on the 8th of january but probably we might hear from 8th of january but probably we might hearfrom her earlier 8th of january but probably we might hear from her earlier because there are hear from her earlier because there a re lots of hear from her earlier because there are lots of developments taking place on his story. i bet you somebody is looking at the film rights to that story already.

"it should have been done a long time ago." those were the words of president trump when he signed an executive order last week, establishing a task force to address violence against american indian and alaskan native women. it was official recognition that indigenous people suffer from disproportionately high levels of violence. but some native women are critical of the president's actions, saying he has tasked the same federal agencies responsbile for negligence to investigate the problem. sophie long has been speaking to women and families who have been acutely aware of the problem, forfar too long. the word spacing and the drums they beat on other women and girls lost from their communities. the merge it and lost indigenous women of alaska. —— the murdered and lost. this woman was 32 when she was last seen in 0ctober was 32 when she was last seen in october 2012. lauren wilson went

missing in 2016. tracy day was a3 when her daughter last saw her in february last year. they are a few of the thousands of native women who have gone missing across the united states and have never been found. ashleyjohnson bar was just ten yea rs old ashleyjohnson bar was just ten years old when she was last seen. she was found, dead, here in a vast meadowjust a few miles from the home she shared with her six siblings. herfather no home she shared with her six siblings. her father no worries for his other children. ijust want his other children. i just want to say sorry to her and stuff like that, you know. what do you want to say sorry for? not being there for her, not protecting her as a parent. not protecting her. he takes me to the place she had been playing with herfriends. the place she had been playing with her friends. ate excruciatingly long days later, his worst fears were confirmed. she had been sexually

assaulted and murdered. at a tribal gathering in the state capital, there are shocking stories revealing there are shocking stories revealing the prevalence of violence against women and girls. there is not one of my sisters i don't know that hasn't experienced some sort of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault and my station of children. it is highly prevalent in my family. they have compiled a database documenting the missing girls. law enforcement in this country has a very deep culture of racism, sexism and that kind of good old boys mentality is really strong. we see that in law enforcement at all different levels it is and incredibly serious allegation and i would say there is

no basis for that belief. its causes are complex but the voices of the women gathered here are now starting to be heard. there has been a somewhat dismissive attitude, if it is a native woman that has gone missing. maybe she has just gone out and about. maybe she brought it upon herself. that is absolutely unacceptable. anywhere, anytime. ashley's abduction and death did stir hearts across the united states. aa1—year—old man has been charged with her murder. herfather can hope that he might see some kind of justice. hundreds of can hope that he might see some kind ofjustice. hundreds of others continue to wonder where their daughters are and fear what could happen to them. crimes against women in native

communities that have for too long gone unreported and left. now hopefully something will be done about it. this is beyond one hundred days. still to come: how did you spend your new year's eve ? how did you spend your new year's eve? this is what the president of turkmenistan got up to. a british tourist who tried to resucitate one of the members of a family who drowned in a spanish holiday resort on christmas eve has told the bbc he believes more could have been done to prevent their deaths. helena wilkinson reports. i was at the reception and a lady comes screaming. she was screaming, a spanish lady, but the way she come she was traumatised. i could tell by the scream. this was the moment josias fletchman knew something terrible was happening. he was on holiday with his family in spain but ended up being one of the first to try and help a father and his two

children who drowned. on christmas eve, nine—year—old comfort and 16—year—old praise—emmanuel got into difficulty in this pool at club la costa world. their father gabriel diya then tried to save them but all three died. youth workerjosias was heading for a family swim when he realised something was going on. when i got there, the reception people had already, they must have got the bodies of the three people out, brought them out the pool. at first i was like in my head thinking, whoa, because i've done cpr on dummies but to do it on a real body for a minute i was like, woof, but then the spirit kicked in yet again and allowed me to do my bit. the hotel resort has a number of swimming pools butjosias says he doesn't think there was enough safety measures in place. there wasn't a lifeguard at that pool? no. were you surprised by that? yeah. tell me why you were surprised. because if a lifeguard was there that probably wouldn't have happened. that person could have lived if there was a lifeguard there. spanish police have now

finished their investigations and say this was a tragic accident. they've lost not one but three people — a young little girl, a 16—year—old lad and a husband. i'm praying for her every single day, i'm praying for her. i was praying for her on holiday and i am still praying consistently. the trump administration has unveiled a new plan to combat underage vaping by banning the sale of mint, fruit, and dessert flavours in e—cigarettes. the new rules only apply to the cartridge nicotine systems used by brands likejuul and others thought to be the most popular with teenagers. that means they won't affect tobacco or menthol flavours flavoured nicotine liquids purchased for open tank e—cigarettes — which are found in most vape shops. that's a significant concession to the industry. let's speak now to dr laura crotty alexander,

a pulmonologist at uc san diego's school of medicine. thanks forjoining us. how much difference is this going to make to the numbers of teenagers who are taking up vaping and samoa are getting sick because of it here? it is hard to say but we are hopeful that by decreasing access to some of the most popular flavoured that by decreasing access to some of the most popularflavoured pods that by decreasing access to some of the most popular flavoured pods that this might have and impact, especially knowing that 25% of high schoolers are using the pod —based devices already. the fact that it is only the pod —based devices and not the open canisters, does that mean you will be finding teenagers falling outside of the net? absolutely. 0ne main concern is that it is very easy to buy the tank devices and those flavoured liquids

like chocolate, creme brulee, all of these flavours that are super appealing to kids and even people in their 20s. so it might have a slight effect but i don't think it's going to completely stop this amazing epidemic of youth vaping. it is one step in the right direction, to try and start stemming the tide, so to speak. i was just and start stemming the tide, so to speak. i wasjust going to say they sound like the flavours that should be targeted first and foremost but i do wonder because lets be honest, we are still relatively in the infant stages of vaping and the argument will go on as to how certain any evidence is actually at the moment that they are doing quite so much damage? absolutely, and another problem with the flavour ban is they are only targeting those super sweet, sugary flavours but they are leaving ones like men far behind. menthol is also

very appealing compared to tobacco flavours. 0ne very appealing compared to tobacco flavours. one thing they mentioned is this ban may be temporary so it may be making a lot of talk but in the end the industry is going to wind out and be able to sell the flavours they want to. these are all big concerns. but you have no doubt, do you come up but you have no doubt, do you come amaging but you have no doubt, do you come up damaging effect of these systems? i don't, because i've been studying all the different chemicals that are in every single e liquid out there and studying them for six years, and they have a profound effect on the health system, your brain, lungs and heart. getting rid of the flavours is really just heart. getting rid of the flavours is reallyjust a way heart. getting rid of the flavours is really just a way to heart. getting rid of the flavours is reallyjust a way to try heart. getting rid of the flavours is really just a way to try and decrease the use, to try and decrease the use, to try and decrease the use, to try and decrease the health effects that are going to happen with the use of these devices. vaping isa these devices. vaping is a relatively new and i

suppose we might take some heart from the fact that people are waking up from the fact that people are waking up to the health problems quite quickly. i look at my 19—year—old son who was definitely vaping at college, and now he stopped. i wonder whether you are hopeful that much quicker than we did with tobacco and cigarettes, the community will realise we have to stop this addiction before it gets out of control and kills more people. 6a already died because of it. i think you nailed it right there. it's a terrible thing, 6a people died. it is a huge wake—up call and i think it has really increased awareness that people are inhaling chemicals that their lands were not meant to see and this could be devastating to health so i com pletely devastating to health so i completely agree that this terrible disease is probably helpful in the long run for peoples health. thank you, doctor. i am encouraging

my kids to make sure they do not vape. are we a step closer to finding greener ways to heat and cook in our homes? at a university campus near stoke on trent — the gas supply is being blended with 20% hydrogen as part of a new trial. it matters because doing so reduces the amount of c02 that s produced through heating and cooking. hydrogen itself is a more environmentally—friendly fuel. bear in mind that here in the uk — using natural gas for heating generates a third of all the uk emissions that are driving global warming so supporters of the technology have high hopes. ed syson is from the gas distribution firm cadent, which is leading the project, and joins us now from birmingham. thanks forjoining us. i didn't get far in chemistry, to be honest. is it really as simple as just adding hydrogen, through a boiler, and having the same heating effect at the end of it? yes, it is. it sounds simplistic but if you go back to the days before

north sea gas, we were manufacturing gas in the uk from coal, and that was typically up to about 50% hydrogen. what we are demonstrating with our partners at keele university as we can do that today at 20% hydrogen without changing anything in terms of the gas appliances. we are confident that will work but we've got to demonstrate it. why would you stop at 20%? as you go above 20 and ultimately up to 100%, you will need different burner tips of the frameworks. for those who can remember back to the 19705, those who can remember back to the 1970s, when we converted from that type of gas to natural gas, we had to change each of the boilers. you don't have to do that up to about 20%, which is why that is such an important technology for us to get moving and start demonstrating what can be done rather than in the future.

hydrogen is relatively expensive. with this viable financially? yes, it is. it is significantly about scale so what we need to do is build this to a scale where the hydrogen energy is affordable. broadly speaking, if you look at scale projections, the cost of hydrogen is likely to be similar to the cost of biogas is today which will make from crops, etc. humans are notoriously bad at changing their habits and in the face of mounting evidence about climate change, people are not doing it enough. we are hoping there will bea it enough. we are hoping there will be a technological fix to global warming. is this part of that fix, potentially, do you think? is this a piece of good news in the fight against climate change? i think so. we can make choices about how we fly and what cars we drive but it's difficult to make choices about heating and particularly domestic heating so by covering this at a network level, we

can significantly reduce carbon emissions so if we roll this out across the uk, it will be the equivalent of about 2.5 million cars off the road and that is without consumers having to do anything at all. there will be a lot of difficult choices and this will be a relatively simple one for people. it'll be interesting to see how this works at the university as an experiment. you mentioned cars off the road and i remember 20 years ago people were saying hydrogen was the future for cars but for various reasons, and cost was one of them, it simply hasn't happened. without wanting to knock the idea, is it a better idea than it is in practice? hydrogen is good at heating so one of the significant challenges we haveis of the significant challenges we have is making sure we can beat the winter peaks. have is making sure we can beat the winter pea ks. hydrogen have is making sure we can beat the winter peaks. hydrogen is really good for that. it is good for a hgvs but as you say, battery electric is the dominant technology for cars at the dominant technology for cars at

the moment. thank you very much forjoining us. we need some good news on a day when australia has those huge forest fire is burning out there. we need something like that. there is another side to having a high—flying political career that we don't often talk about — stress. and world leaders each have their own way of dealing with it and all the responsibilities that come with. bill clinton played the sax, vladamir putin has his grueling workout regime, and borisjohnson says he paints miniature double decker buses. and the president of turkmenistan has his own unique way of dealing with stress — moonlighting as a techno dj. on new year's eve the central asian nation's president berdimuhamedow spent a full hour showing off his skills behind the decks in front of party guests. in between songs the leader of the central asian hermit kingdom apparently shared tips with partygoers on how to mix samples and add special effects.

the sort of thing that you and i know only too well, of course. it was known as the evening of unbridled creativity. a bit like an hour with this programme. we will see you next week. it was quite mild for the time of year today with temperatures in double figures, but a fair amount of cloud to be had. this photo was sent in from staffordshire. all change as we move into tomorrow, see a more in the way of sunshine but without a noticeable dip in temperatures. we are seeing this drop in temperature starting to feeling as we go through tonight. the weather front sinking gradually south and east, bringing rain and cloud but opening the doors to this fresh air from the north and west. as we go through tonight, we will see cloud and outbreaks of rain gradually spreading across england and wales. clearer spells feeding in

towards the north and one or two showers. the wind is tending to form lighter than we've seen through the day but the potential for gales across the northern isles. we will see a marked difference in temperatures where we see the clearer spells developing, temperatures dipping away although holding up where we have the cloud across the south. a mild start to the day on friday across southern parts of england with cloud and patchy outbreaks of rain, clearing towards the south and east. plenty of sunshine across the board. a scattering of showers from the north—west, wintry over high ground or at lower levels across shetland. temperatures lower than today, with highs around nine celsius. temperatures dipping away across the south after the cloudy start. as we move into the weekend, high pressure ta kes move into the weekend, high pressure takes charge with plenty of dry weather the further south you are. the best of the brightness in the south—east. while cloud as you had further north and the potential for

some outbreaks of rain in northern parts of scotland. temperatures on saturday not doing too badly. a maximum of around nine or 10 celsius. not a great deal of change on the way as we move sunday, i pressure remains in charge across the south. this weather front towards the north will bring outbreaks of rain for parts of scotla nd outbreaks of rain for parts of scotland and into northern ireland, more in the way of cloud further north but there will be some brighter spells with the best of them in southern and eastern areas. temperatures are fairly similar to what we are looking at on saturday with a maximum of ten or 11 celsius.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm: a state of emergency is declared in south—east australia amid warnings of more bushfires. it's the largest forced evacuation new south wales has seen as thousands flee the path of the flames. the fireball just came through at about 80 kph. hit the house and we ran into the lake and all the embers and everything were hitting us, burned our hair little bit. there's anger over the government's handling of the emergency, as the prime ministerfound out when he toured the area. how come we only had four trucks to defend our town? because our town doesn't have a lot of money, but we have hearts of gold, mr prime minister. delays and cancellations

on the railways, but fares still go