This is bbc news. The headlines at 11 00 at least 50 people are killed in a crush in iran, as huge numbers turn out for the burial of Qasem Soleimani, assassinated by the us. Donald trump is unrepentant. He has been told a monster and he was a monster and hes no longer a monster, he is dead. That is a good thing for a lot of countries. Boris johnson will tell brussels that a future relationship will be based on a free trade deal, not alignment with the eu the 19 year old woman convicted of lying about being raped in cyprus, flies home after her sentence is suspended. Hackers hold Foreign Exchange
company travelex to ransom after a cyber attack. The company says its stopped the ransomewear spreading and theres no evidence any datas been stolen. We hear from the australians trying to protect some of the countrys precious wildlife from the bushfires. By bringing them to their home. In football, tonights Manchester Derby saw city take a lead over united in the first leg of their efl cup semi final. And at 11 30 well be taking an in depth look at the papers, with our reviewers, John Kampfner and caroline wheeler. Stay with us for that. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. At least 50 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in a crush in iran,
as huge numbers of people turned out to attend the burial of Qasem Soleimani, the iranian commander killed in a american drone strike. The funeral, in his hometown, was postponed for several hours. Soleimani was considered the second most powerful man in iran. Tonight the us insisted that it acted legally in killing him in iraq last friday. Jeremy bowen has been following developments from baghdad, in iraq, and sent us this report earlier. Millions of people have turned out since the coffin left here in iraq to go back to iran. It has been toured around the country. There has been a crush on the street, hundreds of people killed. That has been this massive turn up, notjust i suspect
people of at least supporting the regime but a nationalistic, patriotic reaction to the threats coming from President Trump. This overall is a dangerous time for the region and for those people, of course, in his hometown who turned out today. It has been a tragic day. Another enormous crowd turned out in kerman, Qasem Soleimanis hometown, for his burial. The last stage of irans long goodbye. Millions have been on the streets to mourn, pray and shout their anger as his coffin has been taken around the country. But the passion of the people of kerman for a local hero was too much. They pressed forward, leading to the tragedy, and many more deaths. This was an accident, but iranians will add the blame to the american account. Irans government says the us is not interested in de escalation, stopping the slide to war. I dont think the United States has chosen the path of de escalation. Talking about de escalation is different from choosing the path. The United States killed a number of people, important personalities, both iraqi officials as well as iranian officials in a foreign territory. Thats an act of war. Even before the crisis, baghdad was not a peaceful city. Its centre is full of memorials to hundreds of demonstrators, who, since october, have been shot dead demanding reform and an end to foreign interference. Protesters are occupying tahrir, one of baghdads main squares. This evening, their slogans were against both iran and the United States. So, iraq was in deep crisis before the assassination at Baghdad Airport imposed new layers of complexity and danger. These people here think theyre in a revolution. Now all of this isnt just a problem for iraqis, it should be worrying for the rest of us as well. Because foreign interference in iraq has a history of sending shockwaves, notjust across the region, but further afield as well. It felt peaceful in Tahrir Square tonight. They all know that can change fast. Iraqis understand what war does. Theyre still suffering the consequences of the american and british invasion of 2003. Now tehran and washington could blight another iraqi generation. We want iraq, the iraqi people to manage their country. We dont want any interference of any country in the world, or from the neighbours. But now theres a crisis with america and iran. Will that make life much harderfor you people . Yes, sure. He was weeping for his dead brother and because the Iraqi Parliament had backed iran. This mother was mourning her dead son, a demonstrator. Too many lives in the middle east are wrecked by political turmoil and violence. In Tahrir Square, protesters lined up for food hand outs in a country where people, once again, fear tomorrow. Jeremy bowen, bbc news, baghdad. Speaking tonight, President Trump has described Qasem Soleimani as a monster and said many lives had been saved as a result of his death. He insisted the us is ready to act against iran if provoked but maintained any action would be within international law. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. Today donald trump was observing normal, diplomatic protocols, a genial welcome for the greek Prime Minister. But hes the most unpredictable president ever to occupy the white house, an impulsiveness that sowed so much uncertainty amongst his foes, his allies and even those amongst his own administration. He defended his order to kill general soleimani, perhaps the most consequential Foreign Policy decision taken by a us president since the invasion of iraq. Hes been called a monster and he was a monster. And hes no longer a monster, hes dead. And thats a good thing for a lot of countries, and he was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people, and we stopped him. The president stepped back today from his threat to deliberately target iranian cultural treasures, strikes that would have been a war crime. His reversal came after the pentagon and Us State Department had publicly contradicted their commander in chief by stressing theyd abide by international law. Every action we take will be consistent with the International Rule of law and the American People can rest assured that is the case. Let me tell you who has done damage to the persian culture it isnt the United States of america. Its the ayatollah. In parliament, it was the defence secretary rather than the Prime Minister who called for calm on all sides. A message, it seemed, for washington as well as tehran. The main focus of the uk government is to de escalate this issue. None of us wants conflict, none of us want our citizens, our friends and our allies to be put at risk. Today came a timely indication of the fast shifting Power Dynamics in the middle east and russias growing influence, as Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to meet the syrian president bashar al assad, a brutal dictator the iranians have helped to keep in power. It sometimes feels as if donald trump is pursuing a modern day version of what Richard Nixon called the madman theory. Creating a sense among americas adversaries that he would be prepared to take the most extreme military options, casting aside the notion of proportionality. But hes also repeatedly stated he doesnt want to embroil his country in another middle east war, an objective made much harder by his decision to assassinate general soleimani. America are sending more b 52 bombers to its base in the indian ocean, planes for decades that have symbolised its military might. Will the perception that donald trump lacks restraint check the response from iran . Nick bryant, bbc news, washington. The defence secretary ben willis came to the house to update ministers. What did you make of his tone . It seemed to me there was no huge criticism of america but there
was also no robust defence . huge criticism of america but there was also no robust defence . I think thatis was also no robust defence . I think that is right and a fair summary of where we were in terms of what an wallace was saying in the chamber this afternoon and pretty much what the government has been seen publicly since the event of last week. In practical terms we learned some things from him. He was talking about urgent measures to protect petition interest in the golf, uk forces are on standby if needed, non essential staff have been taken out of baghdad and as part of prudent planning, small team has sent to the region to provide additional situation awareness and Contingency Planning system. On the political rhetoric, there has clearly been a desire from the government here too, frankly, be very careful about what it is they cannot go particularly far as far as
endorsing or criticising how the jump endorsing or criticising how the jump administration has reacted. Here in the house of commons, what was interesting, Jeremy Corbyn, the labour leader, responded on behalf of the opposition and the central thrust of the cotric is where is borisjohnson . Thrust of the cotric is where is Boris Johnson . Critique. Thrust of the cotric is where is borisjohnson . Critique. It is striking we have not heard from borisjohnson. The striking we have not heard from Boris Johnson. The argument striking we have not heard from borisjohnson. The argument is they allow cabinet investors to speak on their reefs. We will hear from the Prime Minister tomorrow. Particularly strong remarks in response to Jeremy Corbyn particularly strong remarks in response toJeremy Corbyn saying the thrust of the attack amounted to anti american, anti imperialism gulfs. In response to the smp questions this afternoon, if there we re questions this afternoon, if there were any attacks on cultural sites
within iran by america or indeed by anyone else, the uk will call out anyone else, the uk will call out any of those attacks whether they came from friend or foe. Any of those attacks whether they came from friend orfoe. Snp borisjohnson is also meeting the new reprint commission president. The new european. Echelon the lion, the new european. Echelon the lion, the incoming president of the European Commission took up her post last month. Since then she has come into michel barnier, is also in town so into michel barnier, is also in town so that bit is due new. What we also come to expect on the outlooks which will happen at the end of this
month. The thrust of what mrjohnson will be arguing for is what he describes as having an ambitious Free Trade Agreement completed on time. Ursula von der leyen. We will enter a transition period. Legally we would have left but in practical terms nothing else would have changed. That expires at the end of december. The government wa nts to end of december. The government wants to sort out the arrangement by than by any precedent that timeframe is incredibly ambitious. Mrjohnson reiterated that he wants to stick to that timetable and think as well the negotiations are come will be based on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement not on alignment. That is a political code orjargon for not on alignment. That is a political code or jargon for saying the government is committed to moving the uk away from European Union rules. It is not going to sign up union rules. It is not going to sign up to those rules even as a
nonmember. That involves an element of unravelling, if you like, further than some people may have argued for and potentially more implicated stop moving away from the status quo. Making the timeframe perhaps even more tight. Thank you for talking to us. More tight. Thank you for talking to us. We will find out how that iran sorry will be covered. 11 30 this evening in the papers our guests joining me tonight are the author and broadcaster, John Kampfner and the deputy Political Editor of the sunday times, caroline wheeler. A woman who was convicted of lying about being gang raped in cyprus is about to land back in england after the judge in the case gave her a suspended prison sentence. In july last year the 19 year old reported to police that she had been raped by up to 12 israeli men in ayia napa. She then retracted the allegation under what she now says was pressure
from the cypriot authorities and maintains that she was raped. 0ur correspondent, anna holligan, reports from ayia napa, and a warning her report contains some Flash Photography chanting we believe you, yes, we do the end of a six month nightmare. I just want to thank each and every one of you for turning up today. Her mother says it should never have come to this. Shes coming home but with a criminal record and four month suspended sentence hanging over her. Her lawyers described it as a miscarriage ofjustice. She was left with nobody in the world, left stranded on the island of cyprus with no support. In the summer of 2019 the teenager accused a group of israeli tourists of raping her inside their hotel. The next day they were brought to court. Then she changed her statement. The israeli men were released and allowed to fly home the following day. She was then charged with public mischief. A few weeks later, she said Cypriot Police officers pressurised her to change the statement, while she was alone in the Police Station with no lawyer, translator or family to support her. Chanting no means no this case has united women, cypriot and israeli, who believe the british teenager was violated by the israeli men and the entire system. We all felt very sorry and very angry with the result of a system that blames women who are the complainant for rape or violence, and they seek the protection of the state. Sitting here in court, the judge referred to the mitigating circumstances. Her young age, the fact she had no previous run ins with the law,
and her mental health. He also acknowledged the fact she had been forced to hand over her passport and stay on the island, which meant she had missed out on the start of a university course. The israeli mens lawyer said they welcomed the decision. Translation they are relieved theirfactual version has been accepted and they are happy that the teenager has received a long and tough lesson on her criminal acts. The British Government has expressed serious concern about this conviction. There is a broader issue for brits travelling notjust in cyprus, or indeed in europe, travelling abroad, whether it is a holiday or backpacking, to make sure they can do so safely and securely as possible. The 19 year old flew to ayia napa for a summerjob. Theres been global condemnation over the way this case was handled by the cypriot authorities. And it raises questions about the safety of a holiday destination visited by over one million british tourists every year. Anna holligan, bbc news, ayia napa. The headlines on bbc news at least 50 people are killed in a crush in iran as huge numbers turn out for the burial of Qasem Soleimani, assassinated by the us. The 19 year old woman convicted of lying about being raped in cyprus flies home after her sentence is suspended. Hackers hold Foreign Exchange company travelex to ransom after a cyber attack. The company says its stopped the ransomware spreading and theres no evidence any datas been stolen. A teenager has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a Police Officer who was dragged along a road by a van in berkshire. Pc Andrew Harper was killed last
august as he investigated a burglary. But prosecutors want the 18 year old to be put on trial for murder, as Daniela Relph reports from the old bailey. The death of pc Andrew Harper last august prompted an outpouring of sympathy and grief for both his family, his Police Colleagues and the wider public. Just a month earlier, hed married his partner lissie, and the newlyweds were about to head off on honeymoon. But on the evening of the 15th of august, pc harper and a colleague were called to reports of a break in near sulhamstead in berkshire. As they investigated, pc harper got caught under the wheels of a vehicle, was dragged along the road, suffered multiple injuries and died. Today, henry long, seen here at a previous hearing, appeared before a judge at the old bailey. When the manslaughter charge was put to him, he replied, i plead guilty, guilty. Although henry long has said
he is guilty of manslaughter in relation to events here last summer, crucially, he has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the Police Officer. It means he now faces a murder trial in march. Two other teenagers, both 17, are due to stand trial with him charged with killing the 28 year old Police Officer. Daniela relph, bbc news, west berkshire. Greater Manchester Police has said more potential victims of the serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga have come forward following his sentencing. Yesterday, sinaga was jailed for life with a 30 year minimum for 159 sex offences, most of them rapes. He lured men from manchester clubs to his flat where he drugged and assaulted them. Sinagas father, in a phone call to the bbc, said the family accepts the verdict and his punishment fits his crimes. Australian firefighters are continuing to battle around 200 wildfires in the states of New South Wales and victoria, in the south east of the country. Cooler temperatures in the past few days have allowed crews time to contain some of the spread, but new pockets of fire are emerging all the time. But theres one evacuation which required more coordination than most. Nikki and steve hunter from New South Wales had 45 animals, a mix of pets and wildlife rescues, until they were forced to flee. Those animals have been given another chance at life. Heres my colleague, Lucy Hockings in nowra. There is little sign of life in this charred bushland. Normally it would be teeming with animals, from lizards, birds, koalas and kangaroos. But there are now estimates that half a billion animals here in New South Wales alone have died in this bushfire disaster. Some are surviving, though, we met nikki and steve, one
couple doing their best to make a small difference. Nikki, tell me about these lovely bats. These bats have really been struggling with Climate Change and the extreme heat temperatures we have been having. Their mothers havent been able to feed them enough so they have been abandoned stop in the shoalhaven alone, we have had thousands of thousands of bats die. These guys are the lucky ones and was saved when they were just 30 days old and we have been raising them ever since and they will go back out into the wild to hopefully reproduce and make more babies. And the worry for the bats is . With Climate Change, the bats is . With Climate Change, the bats are not doing very well. Alone in the last month, we have had thousands die. In the last year, they have just been getting decimated. 0ver they have just been getting decimated. Over the next few years, we will probably see the decline of the bats and possibly the extinction of at least two species. These guys are threatened species as it is so any are threatened species as it is so a ny loss are threatened species as it is so any loss is a huge loss to the populations. They are very important for the australian bush stop they
are the most important long range pollinators of the eucalypt forests and now we dont have many left from the fires. Nikki, show me what you have in here. 0k, the fires. Nikki, show me what you have in here. Ok, so in here, we have in here. Ok, so in here, we have a Baby Mountain brush tail possum. He has had to be evacuated as well with us. I will be released as well with us. He will be released into the wild. These guys were in ca re into the wild. These guys were in care for a very long time and we will have him for close to a year. Baby will have him for close to a year. Ba by kangaroos and will have him for close to a year. Baby kangaroos and wombats are in ca re baby kangaroos and wombats are in care for about two years so it is a long time commitment. It is going to ta ke long time commitment. It is going to take decades and decades for the bush to regenerate properly. The impacts on the fire beyond what we see with the green tree leaves, there are impacts to soil, impact to there are impacts to soil, impact to the insect and all that sort of stuff. Year after year you see less less frogs. Less and less of those little species that cant handle big
changes. So yeah, it is really scary. And it is notjust native animals that have been affected. Farmlands across the state have been decimated by these bushfires. Farmers have been forced to bury their livestock in mass graves and thatis their livestock in mass graves and that is devastating people, communities and local economies here in New South Wales. Hackers are holding Foreign Exchange company travelex to ransom after a cyber attack thats forced the firm to turn off all Computer Systems. It was revealed that on new years eve, hackers infiltrated parts of their network, forcing the company to take down its websites. The hackers are now demanding payment in exchange for either restoring the Computer Systems or preserving customer data. Earlier i spoke to emily taylor, editor of the journal of cyber policy, who explained to me how its possible to hold a company like travelex to ransom. Well, unfortunately, it is all too easy because we are all reliant on these technologies and an organisation as large and complex as travelex will have very distributed networks and be running lots of Different Software and so there are very many points of vulnerability. But what, the three things an organisation should be planning for is to make sure it is patching its softwa re is to make sure it is patching its software to remove vulnerabilities as they become fixable and also to have backups in remote places so they are not all available on the same network and also as we see very, very sadly unfolding for travelex, plan for a crisis. At this stage, nobody can ever be 100 secure but when the worst happens,
how do you communicate with your customers . How do you communicate with the authorities . And how do you fix the problem at a technical level . In your view, was this a highly targeted attack or was it perhaps somewhat random . M highly targeted attack or was it perhaps somewhat random . It is difficult to say because software has vulnerabilities so anybody running that software will be a possible target but one thing that has emerged in the last couple of hours is that the hackers are a p pa re ntly hours is that the hackers are apparently saying that they were on travelexs systems for six months before the attack. If a bad actor is just sitting on your network not really doing very much, it can be difficult to detect them but at the same time that perhaps points to a more targeted attack. Ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you some of reports from iraqi before we head to the weather. They say an air base of us forces have been hit by a rocket
attack. At least six rockets have hit the al assad base which is just west of baghdad. It is unclear whether there are any casualties and details coming in. An air base whole housing us forces have been hit bya housing us forces have been hit by a rocket attack. More details on that if we get them. Now it is the weather. Tuesday was always going to be one of those days for northern and western parts of the British Isles. It didnt brighten up very quickly. It didnt brighten up very quickly. It wasnt all doom and gloom. Temperatures well above seasonal norm and some brightness to be had away to the south and east but
closer to the area of low pressure up closer to the area of low pressure up in the North Western coast of scotland, it really did blow gusts of 70 mph or so and quite a bit of rain. What was powering the weather towards us at the moment is this divergence in temperatures in the upper atmosphere across the atlantic. That is causing a very powerful jetstrea m atlantic. That is causing a very powerful jetstream to force areas of low pressure closer to the British Isles and their intended fronts draping their way across many areas. Starting wednesday, a wind feature across many parts of scotland. They will have been a change overnight with fresher conditions breaking out widely across the north of britain. Still a windy one even though it is bright and they will have been a snow across the high ground of scotla nd snow across the high ground of scotland overnight, maybe a couple of centimetres. Further south, we still have the vestige of tuesdays relatively mild heirs. The wind nowhere near as strong but they will still be a fair amount of cloud and eventually we think it will quit thickening to the south western quarter and they will be rain for the southwest and wales and then more widely as we go on through the evening. Now, as we move from wednesday into thursday, there is a deal of uncertainty. Yes, there will be low pressure. It will pilot way into the heart of the British Isles. If it is deeper, more isobars, it
will be a windy beast and that is why the wet met office already has a weather warning out for the winter. And then on thursday, acquired today. Thank you to that High Pressure, albeit temporary. Dont take the detail on thursday to literally but we suspect because there is low pressure dominating that many hours rush areas could be cloudy, it will be very windy, certainly wet for many others. Could be cloudy. It may be that the top end of scotland and the Northern Isles popout in something more brighter. And then thanks to the High Pressure coming in from the atlantic, it could be a brighter day a better chance of sunshine, perhaps a better chance of sunshine, perhaps a frosty start and the temperatures are struggling to get into double figures in many spots. Here we are often running from friday into the weekend and it is almost a repeat of where we have been. Low pressure to the north, High Pressure in the near continent and we have got weather fronts draped across the northern and western parts of the british
isles. The flow to the south of it south westerly so again, it is a return to mild, cloudy conditions with a little bit of brightness here and there but again, look at those temperatures, double figures for many when really it should be single figures for this time of year. As a frontal system moves through, perhaps a fresher feel on sunday but thatis perhaps a fresher feel on sunday but that is only brief because then we start bending the isobars around again and another set of lows move again and another set of lows move again towards the British Isles, fired at us by a jetstream into next week that looks awfully similar to the one we have at the moment so were not expecting the overall pattern to change until perhaps quite late into next week where things could change out of the pattern we have established thus far. Really quite windy, rain for the most part across northern and western parts of the British Isles, a lwa ys western parts of the British Isles, always that little bit drier to the south and east because of that flow of south and south westerly winds, it stay relatively mild. It will stay