narrator: funding for this presentatn is made possible by... woman: babbel, a language app that teaches real life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian and more. babbel's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available as an app or online. more information on babbel.com. narrator: funding . was also provided by the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. woman: and now, bbc world news. >> this is "bbc world news."

our top stories -- israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he will seek lerliamentary immunity from prosecution for ged bribery and fraud. iashfires kill at least 8 people in southeast austrhis week and destroyed more than 200 homes. >> that was the bedroom, and that was my anantiques work from my family history. my baby memories from my kids can everything. >> supporters of anba iranian-cked militia in iraq have told from the u.s. embsy aftery a second a violent protest. and pope francis apologizes for slapping a woman's hand pulling him off balance as he was greeting crowds in rome.

hello. welcome to "world news." israeli prime minister benjam h netanyahu sawilleek parliamentary immunity from presentation in three tion cases. the allegations have dogged netanyahu as he faces his third election campaign in less than year after failed attempts to form a government. he was indicted in nreember, but thest now good delay the legal proceedings against him for several months. mr. netanyahu made his announcement in a live television address. prime min. netanyahu: i intend to ask this because of these knto let me implement my right, my duty, and my mission to continue serving you for the future of israel. intd to ask because i am sacrificing my life to y people of israel, but there are people who, unlike me, did commit rave crimes, and they have lifelong immunity.

they are just on the right side of the media and the left wing. >> the washington correspondent for thehaetz" newspaper joins me now. first of all, what was your reaction when you heard that the prime mini for immunity in this? >> so it was not a surprise. we were anticipating this for several months, the prime minister netanhu, once he is indicted, will try to seek immunity. it is unprecedorted in the hiof israel for a sitting prime minister to do this. we have only had two members of parliament, the kness, who have done this before him. they were low level members of the opposition. say, for israeli politics.uld but for netanyahu it was the ily option because if he did not seekunity, he would start his trial in a few w in a court in jerusalem, and that probably would have been the end of his career.

with the immunity request he is delaying the court proceedings by several months. we should point out that he denies any wrongdoing whatsoever. but how you think this move will go down insrael? >> so, as you said, in iael, any person is innocent until buproven guilty. i thk for many israelis, this is a me that seems to coayince them that netanyahu be as afraid of the court or is hiding something -- this has been the line of the opposition right now. they are saying basically that if you are innocent, why are you protecting yourself from going to court? tdon't you wago to court and prove your innocence? n have seen public opin polls in israel the last several weeks that seem to show this is the opion of the majority of israelis. most israelis are against ts immunity request by the prime itnister. there is a big maja month centerleft israelis and even a chunk of right-wing israelis s o

are moportive of netanyahu's politics and still don't like this test move, because it is not a move that an innocent person would choose to do. we have electio in exactly two nths. we will have to see hth this impactvoters. >> this is the question i'm going to ask you. i know it is impossiblto answer, but given that we have had elecon after electecn in israeltly that has not delivered a result, what do you ioink impact this will have on the next ele >> we know that netanyahu and hiedadvisers were very conce and had long deliberaons about this immunity request from because they did see in their internal polling what we are seeing in the public polling, this is an unpopular move. most of the public doesn't like it. this could hurt netanyahu's electorate. the ternative givin beginning his court trial as he is running for reelection could have been worse. most of the public opinion polls in israel show a result in the expecteection that's in march that is almost similar

to the electn we had in septembe three month ago. >> so we're not necessarily any further forward in that case. >> yeah, exactly. this means we e continuing to be in a deadlock. for netanyahu, however, results similar to the september econ is not good, because in the current makeup of the knesset, there is not a majority that supports his immunity request. if we have an election and the results are similar, his request will be denied. fascinating stuff and a fascinating time in israe thanks very much for your time. >> thank you. >> next come australia's bushfire crisis continues to escalate, fueledor by r breaking temperatures and months of severe drought. at the 17 people have died since october across new south wales, victoria, a southwesterly. een worst wales has hi fires there have burned more bus 4 million hectares of and destroyed 900 homes.

200 just this from sydney, so mercer reports. --phil mercer reports. phil: these are extraordinary times in australia. bushfires have brought terror ointo the lives oinary people. they are devastating and deadly. more lives have been lost, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. >> you walk around a date of your house and tou gt was the veteran, that was my antiques work for my family history. my baby memories from my kids can everything just gone. >> i don't know what i'm going home to. i just >>os it is upsetting toyour memories. that is very exciting. but we--very upsetting but we cannot dwell on it. you would just be upset all the time. you got to move on. >> help is yet to reach some redents who reportedly suffered burns.

authorities say it has been too dangerous ton endscue teams by roads or by air. >> we have a very real challenge at the isolated communities where we have had reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public. we have to get access via roads or by aircraft. it has been too dangerous and recently cannot access, nor can areas get in these ou phil:ti condions on new year's day have eased, but the danger remains. dozens of fires continue to burn across several states. s bushfires have alwen part of the australian story, but officials say this crisis is unprecedented. ddry-- dry and windy weaer is forecast for saturday. australia will once again brace itse for another onslaught. , bbc news, sydney. >> police in hong kong have arrested around 400 people who

took part in a new year's day antigovernment demonstration. officers say they detained the protesters for offenses including unlawful assembly and poession of offensive weapons. despite starting peacefully, there were violent clashes beeen a small number of protesters and police. riot police used pepper spray and teargas, while hard-core protesters threw petrol bombs. our correspondent jonathan had sent this report. jonathan: the first day of the year, and already a mass rallyg. hong k are's wasted -- hong kongers wasted no time in letting the government know that nothing has changed s in 2020. thll fear that their city's identity and freedoms a under threat. but they cannot let up the pressure on their leaders and on their in this huge crowd, they came from all walks of life.

what we have seen today is enough ttell us what is in store for hong kong this year, and it is ing to be more of the same battle of wills between protesters determined to defend the territory's autonomy and a government that is equally determined not to be seen to make concessns. all this started more than si month ago. few could have imagined it would last this long. today very few can imagine how this is all going to end. it had been a legal protest. but suddenly police announced it was no longer approved. the families disappeared, t the masked youngsters ready to confront security forces, took up positions. and in an all-too-familiar routine, the riot police took up eirs. >> unfortunately, again rioters hijacked the procession today, which resulted in the decision of the police to end the procession earlier this

afternoon. jonathan: but today even the hard-core protesters did not want to fight. as night fell, they withdrew. the police moving into clear and reclaim the streets. they and their young adversaries are surely tired of these incontus confrontations. yet it seems they are compelled to carry on, playing their part in what looks set to be another year of turmoil. jonathan head, bbc news, hong kong. >' let'see what else is hitting headlines around the world. northorea's leader kim jong-un has suggested the country could restart its nuclear and long-range missile tests. kohe said norta was no longer obliged to suspend the sts, as was formally agreed during talks with the u.s. mr. kim made the announcement at a government meeting two days ago. at least 8 people love died in devastating floods around the indonesian capital, sir carter. the flooding -- indonesian

capital, jakarta. the flooding caused by heavy rain has caused thousands of people to flee the hom. palau has become the first country to ban s cream that is harmful to coral and see life. the ban covers the sale and use of lotion containing 10 common ingredients. plseveral othees including hawaii have announced similar plans. protesters in baghdad have all now hold back from the u.s. embassy after earlier attacking the compound for the second day the crowd from supporters of an iranian-backed militia, lit fires on the perimeter wall, angry abo u.s. airstrikes that killed 25 members of the militia. reporter: t bitter struggle between the u.s. and iran has again bn playing out othe streets iraq. a sizable crowd of protesters and iranian-backed militias set

fire to the rimeter of the onbassy in baghdad for a s day. det u.s. troops have used tear gas and stun greto force them back. just some of the thousands of troops it has in the country. >> this is not the first time the u.s. have hit us. we will never move from here. i earn god and on my life, until they leave here. >> we are holding us i-- a sifon the souls of our martyrs until the departure of the american occupiers. reporter: iraq's military says the protesters have withdrawn and forces haveecured the ssembay's perimeter. that will be welcomed by president trump, who has urged the iraqi government to take a tougr line. nonetheless, around 750 additional soldiers have been deployed to the region, and despite reinforcements being sent in, the u.s. embassy has suspended all public consular

operations. amid his new year's celebrations, president trump warned he would't allow repeat of the 2012 storming of the u.s. consulate in the libyan city of benghazi, where four americans were kille pres. trump: the marines came in. we had great warriors come in and do a fantastic job, and they wereus there instantan come as soon as we heard. i use the word "immediately" -- and it is in great shape. as you know, ts will not be a benghazi. benghazi should never have happened. reporter:s president trump bla iran for the death of an american contractor at an iraqi military base last week. he responded with these airstrikes against the iranian-backed mitia hateib has the lot over the weekend-- hezbollah over the weekend. that is drawn strong condemnation from iran's supreme leader ayatollah, nay, who said dent trump's threat were hollow. >> if the islamic republic

decides t country, it will do so unequivocally. we are str country's interest in our peace. we are strongly committed to the country.f our reporter: these protests come id a u.s.-iran relationship that is deteriorated since washington pulled out of the nuclear weapons deal in 2018. all the while, iraq finds itself stuck in the middle, trying to help the u.s. c of the so-called islamic state group but at the same time trying to relationship with neighboring iran. anchor: tensions in iraq will be live in baghdad in a few minutes. first, we will go to cyprus, where h senior legal figuree called for a british woman to be treated leniently after she was convicted of lying about being raped by 12 men in a hotel room. the mother has calleisfor to to boycott cyprus

as she told the bbcha were her daughter had been on a working holiday is unsafe. reporter: instead of celebrating the new year with friends and family, the british teenag is detained in cyprus and faces up to a year in prison. her supporters claimed the case against her is deeply flawed, and her lawyers are planning to appeal. her mother says she suffered bothentally and physically over the last five months. >> should be suffering from ptsd. she spends a lot of time hypersomnia at the moment. she is sleeping an awful lot of the day. she sleeps probably 18, 20 hours a day. she is quite withdrawn, which is very sad for me toee. she also expenses hallucinations. anshe to get back to the u.k. to get that treated. that is my absolute primary focus. reporter: these are the young tourists who original

faced accusations that they raped the young woman. they were free and alwed to fly home after she retracted t allegation. but she said she only did that because she was put under huge pressure by police questioning wen she vulnerable. itthe foreign office sayas serious concerns about how this case has been handled and has raised the issue with th separate authorities -- cypriot authorities. eawe haveed a number of senior legal figures in cyprus have called for the british woman to begin a lenient sentence, saying the teenager has suffered enough. now e british woman's mother is supporting a call for tourists to boycott the country. >> this is not an isolated incident. the place isn't to say. meif you go and report ing that has happened to you, you are either laughed at, as far as i can tell, or in the worst case something like what happened to my daughter may happen. reporter: the cypri government

says it has full confidence in its courts. anchor: stay with us on "bbc world news." still to ce, in sport, a new year's victory for leicester against newcastle. >> the m and political change ever attempted has got underway with the introduction of the euro. >> tomorrow in holland we will use money we picked up in belgium today d then we will be in france and it will be the same money. it has got to be the way to go. >> george harrison, the former beatle, this recovering in hospital after being stabbedn his oxfordshire home. our 33-year-old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. >> i think it was good. >> jt good? >> no, fantastic.

>> that's better. anchor: this is "bbc world news ." the latest headlines. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has said he will seek parliamentary immunity from prosecution for alleged bribery and fraud. bushfires have killed at least 8 people in soutastern australia and destroyed more than 200 homes. all the sport for us. reporter: it has been a busy day in the premier league. we have had 8 results and

3icester won james madison scorein the first half. this keeps the foxes in second place behind liverpool, who play on thursday against shepard united. the gap is 10 points. are leicester really in the title race? >> we are not thinking about it. we just concentrate on developing our game and increasing our performance level and increasing how we pla the ability play, and improve our game, and for that, that is my only focus. reporter: champions manchesterty are behind leicester after they won at home. that is: july the's-- tt hais the manager's first you'd as manager for the west hastarted with a thumping 4-0 win at home.

sebastiany halep for eba anderson -- ip and felanderson also on the score sheets. they kept moreham up in the premier league for being replaced by el greaney, who was sacked on saturday. >> i'm not at any time to work with the players. not even been able to do set pieces, really, because of the thme, a little bit to organize the team and giv an idea of what we wanted. the credit goes to the players for their attitude, determation, and nobody of the demise that more than one noble. --epitomized that more than martin noble. reporter: taught m slipped up in their pursuit of a top four finish. saints have picked up 10ou poins in fmatches over the christmas and new year period.

booked after a confrontation with the snts' goalkeeping coach in the dugout. >> i was rude, but i was rude to an idiot, and for some reason i s rude. because i was rude, i deserve that. reporter: 15 minutes into the second half at the emirates arsenal league, manchester united. 1-1 to chelsea. draw against dallas. -- palace. 2-1 at fernley. english cricket is having a tough old time of it. archer is a doubt for the second test against south africa. that starts in cape town on friday. he has a sort right elbow. he was one of the 11 players affected by sickness bug.

archer was there but didn't bowl. took six wickets in the firsng test which end lost. you would be a big miss. >> i don't think c itnges anything, for me at least. i think it will probly -- he balls 145. doesn't change much. you never know. i thk it is all different. no will have to see what happens. it doesn't change much for me personally at least. reporter: the last couple of sinus, peter wright has become the world the da champion for the first time. he beat the reigning champion 7-3. lewis: let's get moreu. on the embassy attack in baghdad and news of supporters of an iraqi militia iran have withdrawn after a

tense standoff at the compound. a freelance journalist currently based in j baghdns me now. let's start with the latest. he has gone past midnight where you are. what is the situation on the ground there n? >> things are fairly quiet now. ofmost supporterhe militia group withdrew after they received orders from the militia commanders telling them to leave and stop attacking the embassy. they left saying that they had said this was a retre a victory. and so become quite in today's. lewis: interesting. tomorrow?e back again >> i think that depends on what the militia cmanders say. at this point in time it seems like they don't nethssarily want to return. it is also important to know at this is coinciding with the u.s. sending more forces to iraq.

if they did return, it might cause greater tension. lewis: and is that greater attention something that actually they wan or they don't want the moment? what is in the interest? >> i think that this point in time, obviously this is an iran-supported group. they don't want things to spiral out of control. the kind of tit-for-tat, small spats between the u.s. and iran have been occurring on iraqi soil. that is something they can deal with. something much larger than that would not be beneficial for any of the parties involved. lewis: what doou think of the le of the iraqi authorities in all this? >> i mean, they depends on who we are talking about. but definitely some of the major politicians, circulating some of the militia supporters who attacked the dmz, and the fact

gthat they were able into the green zone, which is normally a quite fortifi area. protesters who have been protesting against t iraqi government have been trying to foter the green zonmonths now and have not been able to, and his group was able to get through fairly easily, it seemed. it has on who you are speaking about. but definitely some of the major cians do not seem to be completely opposed to this. lewis: intweesting stuff. ill keep an eye on the situation in iraq. thank you very much for youris anal we appreciate your time. live for us in baghdad. thank you. that is just about it from me. i will be back with the headlines in a couple of minutes time. get me on twitter anytime. i am lewis vaughan jones, and this is "bbc world news." bye-bye. narrthor: funding is presentation is made possible by... man: babbel, an online program developby anguage specialists teaching spanish, french and more.

narratorfunding the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. ng solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. be more, pbs. ♪

narrator: funding for this presentation is made possible by... woman: babbel, a language app that teaches real life conversations in a new langue, like spanish, french, german, italian and more. babbel's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available as an app or online. more information on babbel.com. narrator: funding was al provided by... the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. woman: and now, bbc world news. >> this