narrator: funding for this presentation is made possible by... woman: babbel, a lang 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... ti the freeman foun. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglted needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from ou viewers likethank you. woman: and now, bbc world news.

laura: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from i washington,m laura trevelyan. spretaliation and se. president trump claims the u.s. has the upper hand in the conflict with iran after tehran fires missiles at american ses. pres. trump: iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned r the very good thing world. laura:ra the tc crash in tehran. 176 people are killed when a ukrainian airliner goes akwn just afterff. anian officials say they won't give the black boxes to outside investigators. plus, a roy bombshell. the duke and duchess of sussex an ounce they are stepping backr om regal life. whatext for harry and meghan?

laura: for those watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to "world news america." president trump claims iran appears to be backing away from colict with the u.s. can even as iran's supreme leader warns he strikes on u.s. bases in iraq were not enough. mr. trump says o no u.iraqi lives were lost in the attacks last night, but the head of the joint chiefs of staff says in his aessment the strikes were meant toill u.s. personnel. iran was retaliating for the was blowing of its top military commander, general soleimani. jeremy bowen reports from iraq. jeremy: the iranians kept their promise and may have bought some time. iran had to calibrate its missile launches. enough to satisfy angry iranians, not enough to provoke

a much more destructi american response. they seem to have- iraqi soldiers shouted warnings to eh other. they share the huge base in iraq with the americans. afterwards for the leaders came a chance to save face, claim victory, and step back for the moment.um pres. no americans were harmed in last night's tack by the iranian regime. we suffered no casualties. all of our soldiers are safe. iran appears to be standingown , which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the wor. jeremy: it looked different in iran. a few in tehran even got up early to celebrate revenge.

here is a university student. a "i haveat fling," she said. "i hope revenge continues and i hope to see trump fail." an later, the regime's faithful chanted "death to america," has supreme leader ayatollah, khamenei told him he hadn't finished left. ayatollah khamenei: what happened last niapt was just a n the face. jeremy: for him, the assassination promotes unity in a divided country. now iran has more time for its speciality, unconventionag warfare usin proxies and allies. here in baghdad the morning had nothing for iraqis, who want iranians and americans to leave them alone. aty political parased on a per

iranian militia gathered to mourn the assassinations and condemn th ru.s.usal to pull their troops out of iraq. >> they forced everybo in iraq, everybody in iraq, to go for military resistance against them. jeremy:u do ink the iranians have made this attack, it is the end? >> they do more, and they think it is a message. jeremy: a message to the americans saying? >> that we areerious. jeremy: this is a long-term conflict. there is danger at the moment in the most unstable part of the world. without a political dialogue and of deal, the slide towards war will continue. jeremy bowen, bbc news, baghdad. laa: president trump said

today the u.s. would impose more sanctions on iran. mr. trump is no fan of the 2015 deal aimed at stopping iran from building a nuclear bomb, and he told the u.s. out of the agreement in 2018. our north america correspondent nick washington.orts from nick: from the president of the united states, an almost celestial entrance. his a military chief standi his soldier. a core belief of the trump doctrine on his teleprompter. pres. trp: as long as i am president of the unitedil state, irannever be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. good morning. nick: though flanked by his generals from he decided not to respond militarilyan to's attacks. he has opted for more sanctions against iran, a de-escalation. and there were call for america's allies including britain to abandon the iran

nuclear deal negotiated by the obama administration. pres. trump: they must break away from the remnants of the iran deal, or jcpoa, and we must work together towards makingn deal with ihat makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. nick: christmas 2018. and a surprise visit from donald trump to the al-asad air base in western iraq, one of the targets for last night's iranian attack. the pentagon received what one ofcial called multiple hours warning from satellites and communication intercepts,, plenty of time forto troops take shelt in bunkers. they played down reports of gettm g a caps off froe iraqi government, and that iran 4 s deliberately trying to miss. in the oval officeurs ago, the president was threatening strong u.s. military retaliation for any iranian attack. pres. trump:if iran does anything they shouldn't be

doing, they are going to be suffering the consequences, and very strongly. nick: but in the white house situation room lasteright, facingps his biggest test as commander-in-chief, he opted for circumspectio amidst public indicationfrom iranian officials they wanted to call it quits. for now, the trump white house been present this as a foreign-policy vtory, dramatically weakening the american regime -- iranian regime by assassinating its second most figure without embroiling u.s. us is in another protracted middle east conflict. washington.bbc ns, laura: for more on the unfolding tensions between the u.s. and iran, i spoke earlier with barbara slavin of the atla ic thanks for being with us, barbara. president trump is sayingrshat down, while iran's supreme ader seems to be saying something very different. is this a de-escalation? barbara: i think it is a cse. i was thinking-- pause.

ngi was thinf the period in world war ii before the hostilities began, when we were in a phony war. i think we are in a phony war it is not over. as long as the administration making the maximum-pressure campaign against iran, iran will find ways to retaliate laura: iran's supreme leader has eid clearly he wants americans out of the middlt for the do you think troops will be targeted via proxies? barbara: we have already seen the iraqi parliament vote to exanl the americans the nato presence in iraq has become untenable. as long as the united states and iran are in his confrontation, iraq is caught in the middle. it will not be safe not just for american servicemen, but for diplomats, tourists, others. one way or another this has to be result, or yes, the americans willave to leave. ura: how do you see it being resolved? presidt trump talked about new

sections on iran but seem to open up a window for a new path towards peace. barbara: i have been searching for a strategy behind his sure campaign ever since it began. i still don't see it. i don't know what the goal is of these policies that the u.s. has espoused with iran. is it regime change, is it capitulaon, is it a new nuclear deal, is it the end of interference in other countries? what is the goal? oauntil we know what the is, we cannot gauge whether there is a positive path towards gett g laura: president trump said he wants a new and better deal with iran. is that possible? barbara: he says he don't want iran to have nuclear weapons. iran says he doesn't want nuear weapons. they agreed to a deal in 2015 that give a verifiable assurances that they cannot build ugly weapons at least 03until the --build a nuclear weapons at ntast 2030. i just don't see that donald trump will get a better deal

after everything he has done come after everything yes but the people of iran through. laura:ouave written about the cult of martyrdom in iran. soleimani now a martyr who is fuhe barbara: very much so. there were iranians in the streets presting their own vernment. now we see millionin the streets embring cosan sooney as a national hero of--embracing onqassem soleimani as a na hero. you see pictures of him on social media being embraced by the great martyr in shia islam. he was killed by the evil caliph cyazid in the seventury. the united states has become yazid for religioushia, including those in iran and other parts of the middle east. laura: barbara slavin, thanks for being with us. barbara: you are quite welcome. laura: one murdered from iraq tonight -- supermarkets have landed in--one more note from

iraq tonight. several rockets have landed in iraq's green zone. sirens were heard in the heavily fortified part of the city home to amecans in iraq. they are not aware of any casualti a. prince har his wife, meghan, the dpihess, are st back as senior members of the royal family. nothe bombshell cement came on the couple's instagram account. the pair will split time between britain and north america and an to become financially independent. buckingham palace said these are complicated issues take time to work through. here's our world correspondent nicholas witchell with more. nicholas: canada house in london yesterday. harry and meghan had returned from their extended break in canada. it is now clear that although they had been discussing a new for themselves with oth members of the royal family, they did not tell senior members

of the family or their officials that they were about to issue a personal statement setting out their intentions. the bbc understands buckingham palace is disappointed. that is unusual. in their statement, the sussex is said, "after many months of he discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. we intend to step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become fincially independent while continuing to fully support her majesty the queen." quite what a progressive new role mea is uncleare . statement says they tried to their time between the united kingdom and north america. the signs that the couple were unhappy with their royal life have been apparent for some months, notably during ansince there tour of southern africa were both of them gave interviews.

haharry conceded the and his brother, william, were not as close as before. princearry: inevitably stuff happens, but we are broths, we will always be brothers. we are certainly a different paths for the moment, but i will always be there for him and he will always be there for me. nicholas: underpinning so much of it is for the unfair treatment of them media.e tablet meghan: my british friend said to me i'm sure he is great, but you shouldn't do that because british tabloids will destroy your life. i very naïly -- i'm an american we don't have that " what are you talking about?" nicholas: at their weddinllin windsor iteemed to offer so much promise. a young prince and his american bride. harry and meghan were a couple who, it was said a as they demonstrated, could bring something fresh to thefaritish royal mily and reach sections of the population which were otherwise indifferent to the royals.

now, some at least of those hopes have been dashed. >> it is extraordinary, but it is also very sad. harry and meghan a vy much loved, and if we are not going to see so much of them, that is a real tragedy. nicholas: so the sussexes have taken the initiave without waiting for e approval of the queen or the prince of wales. they have made their own announcement about their new life. the is not just his appointment at the palace, there is ht at the most senior levels of the family. laura: nicholainwitchell repo there on harry and meghan's dramatic move. in other news, in canada, one person has been shot dead and three are seriously injured afte ottawa.ing in downtown please say it happened on a -- police say it happen on a street about a kilometer from the parliament. one of those i is a 15-year-old boy. officers are still looking for a suspect. they say the area is now secure. many puerto ricans have been

sleeping outdoors after the island was hit by the most powerful earthquake in more than a century. one person was killed, and homes have been flashing across the sohern coast. r is slowly returning after it was shut down as a safety measure. venezuela's opposition leader juan guaido has called for three days of protests a president nicolas maduro hours after he was sworn in for another term as nationalism we speaker. it follows a standoff with the armed forces who initially stopped hifrom entering the assembly. mr. wide-out --mr. guaido"s has called majerus mandate illegitimate--maro's mandate legitimate. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's prog rmer nissan boss carlos ghosn justifies that escape from japan where he was on trialnd for mist. australia's prime mcoister says hitry still open to tourists despite the deadly

bushfires that have been parts of the country. scott morrison was speaking while on a visit to kangaroo island, a popular tourist attraction off of australia's southern coast. firefighters are getting ready for a new round of tin with temperatures expected to spike in the coming days. here is the bbc's katy watson with more. katy: the recovery effort continues on kangaroo island. already one third of the island, home to some of australia's ldst important life, has been ravaged by bushfires. the fear is the next few days to bring even more devastation. australia's prime minister livisited the community e today and called on tourist not to be put off by the bushfire devastation. prime min. morrison: australia is open. australia is still a wonderful place to come and bring your family and enjoy the holidays. katy: these fires have captured worldwide attention. prince charles took to social media t those affected.ge to

in the hills of victoria, a farmer is holding his breath. fires have already scorched much of his land. there is real danger tha existing bushfires for the north could emerge and create one big mega blaze. >> probably 70 or 80 k's. in two hours they could be upon us. katy: chris says the simple solution, what bushland needs to be burned in a controlled manner to stop fires getting out of hand. it is causing these intense fires. take away the fuel, the issue of these mega fires is gone away. katy: authorities, though, say it is not a silver bullet. but this is not the time of politics already an area the size of england has burned, and bushfire season far from over. katy watson, bbc news, vicria.

ur a ukraine international airlines plane has crashed after taking off from tehran,illing all 176 people on board. romost of the victims were iran and canada. iranian authorities say they have recovered the black boxes but will not be releasing them to the u.s. or the plane's manufacturer, boeing. several airlines are opening iranian airspace becthe military clasheswe beten iran and the u.s. here is tom burridge. tom: devastation minutes after takeoff. later, bodies of those on board e ukrainian airline flight were taken away. there were no survivors. most of those killed were iranian or canadian. british national and another on

board, so were a man and his wife who got married in tehran. when report quoted a canadian intelligence official suggesting that initial evidence suggested that the plane was nrought down by missile and may have suffered a technical malfunction. ukrainian airline sa serviced two days ago. added an emotional press conference, the airline's technical director said the plane was one of the best. the plane left of the iranian capital,n, teharlier this morning. n it was dowfor the ukrainian capital, kiev. data published online shows the plane crashed minutes after takeoff. the boeing 737 steadi climbed some 4,500 feet. takeoff initially appeared normal. then the plane suddenly disappeared from radar. that sugsts there was some type of catastrophic incident.

there was an initial suggaition from a uan official ofn engine failure. if the engineails, the boeing 737 should be able to keep flying. pilots train regularly for that scenario. key will be the cockpit voice recorders. the iranian authorities have them. tavertical ds that they will lead the investigation. it is kind this video shows the plane--it is claimed thie video shows ane. if genuine, it seems to be on fire. there is ala before the impact. >> if there is an engine failure, it is still capable of climbingab and c of returning to the airfield and if necessary abandoning the approach and climbin away again and coming back around for a second approach. there should be no reas why the airplane fell out of the sky as it did. tom: airlines have rerouted flights away from iranian and iraqi airspace following iran's missile strikes on u.s. bases. because the plane was made by

boeing,n the ameriould have a role in the investigation. but the nimosity between washington and tehran will make that hard. tom garrett come a bbc news. ura: the former boss of nissan has appeared in publicmeor the first ince his medic escape from bail in japan. carlos ghosnlas he is innocent of financial misconduct and blamed japanese presbyters and nissan for his downfall. john simpson reports. john: there was utter chaos as photographerand cameramen from around the world fought to get the first images of the men who had escaped so spectacularly from japan. in fact, thoug carlos ghosn y refuse to go into b whatever about the way he escape from japan's con psy airport -- japan's con psy airport, although it seems clear that he was smuggled out in a packing case made for musical equipment. in beirut, producing document

after document that he mainined prove his innocence, he was his old hyperactive self. the man, 5'6" tall, who had been the tightening of the international carmaking industry also he is a her mtoy lebanese journalists, and they applauded him again and again. to the japanese journalists in the audience, he was light and pleasant, though he could be quite pointed. carlos: what happened in pearl harbor -- happened in pearl harbor? you know? so you are asking me how they did notice? john: mostly he wanted to attack the japaneseegal system, which kept him in solitaryr confinemt more than ad year, questione aggressively week afte i week order to get a confession from him. just about all criminal trials in japan depend o tgetting peop confess. carlos: it will get wor d for you if y't just confess,

the prosecutor told me repeatedly. john: carlos ghosn's basic case is he was the victim of what he calls the conspiracy, that top people in japan wanted to stop nissan being swallowed up by a foreign concern. hiho up in the japanese system does that conspiracy go? does it go up perhaps to the very t, would you believe? carlos: i don't personally think that the top level was involved, if this is your question. jo: in japa itself, the response was furious "carlos ghosn's one-sided j criticism of tanese justice systemas completely unacceptable," the authorities said. "by skipping bail, he flagrantly disregarded japanese law." but the basic reason he escape was sitting in the front row never taking her eyes him, his wife.

he couldn' from her, he said.d john simpson, bbc news, beiru laura: before we go, let's remind you of the two big stories of the day president trump says iran appears to be standing down after tehran launched a series of rockets at u.s.asesn iraq. there were no reported injuries, ntbut the head of the joihiefs says he believes the strikes were meant to kill u.s. personnel. and the duke and ducss of sussex say they plan to step back from their duties a senior members of the well household. harry and meghan will divide their time between the u.k. and north america, and they plan to earn their very own living. buckingham palace says that arrangement is complicated. i am laura trevelyan. thanks for watching "bbc world news america." narrator: fuseing for this prentation is made possie by... babbel, an online program designed by language specialists

teac spanish, french and more. narrator: funding was also provided by... the freeman fodation. 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. narrator: be more, pbs. ♪

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight... >> iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for rties concerned, and a very good thing for the world. >> woodruff: ...president trump nsvows to impose new sanctnd calls for european countries to aabandon the nuclear dealer iran's missile attacks on u.s. forces in iraq. then, australia burning. the devastating toll of the historic wildfires that have darkened the skies of a continent. >> all the side of the highway was on fire. 't we thatew then di we weren't going to go back to anything. >> woodruff: and, personalized care: as d.n.a. tests skyrocket in popularity, genetic researchers promise individualized medical