in a single year. coming up — the thousands round the uk braving the bracing sea on new year's day. and in half an hour's time, we look back on the collapse of travel firm thomas cook and its far—reaching effects on customers and staff in review 2019: the thomas cook story. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the bushfire crisis in australia shows no sign of easing, hours, the worst loss of life since fires began in september. many more are people missing. the government says more military personnel are on the way to the south—east of the country to try to protect isolated communities. many are cut off without power and some are running out of water. 0ur correspondent phil mercer sent this report. these are extraordinary times in australia. the bushfires have brought terror into the lives of ordinary people. they are devastating and deadly. more lives have been lost, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. you walk around a bit of your house and you go, that was the bedroom, that was where my antiques were from my family history. all of my baby memories from the kids and just everything, just gone. i don't know what i'm going home to, so... ijust hope for the best. it's upsetting to lose your memories, that's very upsetting. but you can't dwell on it, you know? if you dwell on it, you'd just be upset all the time, and that doesn't get you anywhere. you've got to move on. help is yet to reach some residents who've reportedly suffered burns. the authorities say it's been too dangerous to send in rescue teams by road or by air. we have a very real challenge at the moment with a couple of isolated communities, where we've got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public. we haven't been able to get access via roads or via aircraft, it's been socked in or too dangerous, and we simply can't access, nor can the people in these areas get out. conditions on new year's day have eased, but the danger remains. dozens of fires continue to burn across several states. bushfires have always been part of the australian story, but officials say this crisis is unprecedented. dry and windy weather is forecast for saturday, and australia will once again brace itself for another onslaught. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the guardian columnist dawn foster and sunday times journalist katherine forster. senior legal figures in cyprus have 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 woman's mother has called for tourists to boycott cyprus. she told the bbc that ayia napa, where her daughter had been on a working holiday, was unsafe. 0ur correspondent katharine da costa reports. instead of celebrating the new year with friends and family, the british teenager is detained in cyprus and faces up to a year in prison. her supporters claim the case against her is deeply flawed, and her lawyers are planning to appeal. her mother says she has suffered both mentally and physically over the last five months. she is suffering from ptsd. she spends a lot of time with hypersomnia at the moment. that means she is sleeping an awful lot of the day. she sleeps probably 18, 20 hours a day. she's also quite withdrawn, which is very sad for me to see, and she also experiences hallucinations. and she needs to get back to the uk to get that treated. that is my absolute primary focus. these are the young israeli tourists who originally faced accusations that they raped the young woman. they were freed and allowed to fly home after she retracted the allegation, but she said she only did that because she was put under huge pressure by police questioning when she was vulnerable. the foreign office says it has serious concerns about how this case has been handled. it has now raised the issue with the cypriot authorities. today we have learned a number of senior legal figures in cyprus are calling for the british woman to be given a lenient sentence, saying the teenager has already suffered enough. now the british woman's mother is supporting a call for tourists to boycott the country. this is not an isolated incident. the place isn't safe. it's absolutely not safe. and if you go and report something that has happened to you, you are either laughed at, as far as i can tell, or in the worst case, something like what has happened to my daughter may happen. the cypriot government says it has full confidence in itsjustice system and courts. katharine da costa, bbc news. three british airways cabin crew members died in a crash involving a lorry and a car outside heathrow airport last night. the two men and a woman, all in their 20s, were killed, and another woman was seriously injured in the collision in stanwell. british airways says they're "deeply saddened" to hear of the deaths of their staff and their "thoughts are with their family and friends". a double murder investigation has been launched after two people were found dead at a house in derbyshire. officers were called to a property in duffield at about four o'clock this morning where they discovered the bodies of a man and woman. a man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in custody. detectives say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. a british man has been killed in an accident with a firework at a new year's eve party in thailand. local police say 50—year—old gary mclaren from northamptonshire, seen here with his fiancee, died in the seaside town of pattaya, when a firework he was trying to light exploded. a foreign office spokesperson says it's supporting the man's family. police in hong kong have clashed with pro—democracy protesters during a new year's day march. 0rganisers of the demonstration say that more than a million people took part. though the gathering was largely peaceful, violence broke out in some areas, and police fired tear gas. some protestors responded by throwing petrol bombs. today's demonstations follow clashes with riot police as the new decade began. police say around 400 people were arrested over protests at the turn of the new year. pro—democracy demonstrations have gripped hong kong for much of last year. the arrival of the new year has brought appeals for divisions to be healed after the political turbulence of the past few years. as millions celebrated the dawn of 2020 in towns and cities across the united kingdom, the prime minister, borisjohnson, who's on holiday in the caribbean, said the uk was beginning a "new chapter". for the archbishop of canterbury, the start of the new year should be the time for individuals and communities to come together, as our correspondent helena wilkinson reports. three! two! 0ne! big ben chimes fireworks in london to welcome in the new year and the new decade. tens of thousands watched from the banks of the river, as the capital's skyline burst into colour. in his new year's message, the prime minister, who is on holiday in the caribbean, said, "we can start a new chapter in the history of our country, in which we come together and move forward, united, unleashing the enormous potential of the british people." and he also called for unity, saying, "i will be a prime minister for everyone, not just those who voted for me." "i know that you love this country no less simply because you voted for another party or wanted to remain." we want out! and it's brexit which has caused much division and uncertainty. today there have been calls for reconciliation. this open letter has been signed by leaders of prominent british organisations, including both those on the remain and leave sides of the brexit debate. the organisation set up in memory of the mpjo cox, who was murdered in the run—up to the 2016 referendum, is one of the signatories. there are amazing people out there and communities who are bringing people together, tackling issues around loneliness and knife crime, mental health and all of those problems that we do face. and we have to be realistic about those problems, but i think we have to be optimistic that we can all do our bit to help tackle them as well. so what we need to do... this lifeboat rescue crew, based in dover, is made up of volunteers from all walks of life, helping others. the archbishop of canterbury joined them to deliver his new year's message, of our shared commitment to serve others, and justin welby urged us all to try to heal divisions. let's go for a heroic new year's resolution. let's resolve to reconnect, to reach out to just one person we don't know, or from whom we have drifted apart. make that connection. let's begin cementing our unity, one brick at a time. in scotland, they celebrated the new year in the most traditional way. a new decade, a time to reflect on the past, but also a time to work out how the united kingdom will move forward. helena wilkinson, bbc news. paramilitary groups who have been protesting against us air strikes in iraq have withdrawn from the perimeter of the american embassy in baghdad. the demonstration took place amid anger over us air strikes that killed 25 members of the militia — they were carried out in response to attacks on american military targets. jonathan josephs reports. the bitter struggle between the us and iran has again been playing out on the streets of iraq. a sizeable crowd of protesters and iranian—backed militias set fire to the perimeter of the american embassy in baghdad for a second day. but us troops have used tear gas and stun grenades to force them back. just some of the thousands of troops it has in the country. translation: this is not the first time the us have hit us. we will never move from here, i swear on god and on my life, until they leave here. translation: we are holding a sit-in for the souls of our martyrs until the departure of the american occupiers. iraq's military says the protesters have now withdrawn and its forces have completely secured the perimeter. that will be welcomed by president trump, who has urged the iraqi government to take a tough line. nonetheless, around 750 additional soldiers have been deployed to the region, and despite reinforcements being sent in, the us embassy has suspended all public consular operations. amid his new year celebrations, president trump warned he wouldn't allow a repeat of the 2012 storming of the us consulate in the libyan city of benghazi, where four americans were killed. the marines came in, we had some great warriors come in and do a fantasticjob. and they were there instantaneously, as soon as we heard. i use the word immediately, they came immediately, and it is in great shape, as you know. this will not be a benghazi. benghazi should never have happened. president trump blames iran for the death of an american contractor at an iraqi military base last week. he responded with these air strikes against the iranian—backed militia, kataib hezbollah, at the weekend. 25 people were killed. that's drawn strong condemnation from iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, who said president trump's threats were hollow. translation: if the islamic republic decides to challenge and fight a country, it will do so unequivocally. we are strongly committed to our country's interest and our peace. we are strongly committed to the dignity of our country. these protests come amid a us—iran relationship that has deteriorated since washington pulled out of the nuclear weapons deal in 2018. and all the while, iraq finds itself stuck in the middle, trying to help the us see off the so—called islamic state group, but at the same time trying to protect its relationship with neighbouring iran. pope francis has confessed that he lost his patience with an admirer who grabbed his hand on saint peter's square yesterday evening. he'd been greeting pilgrims when he admonished a woman for grabbing his hand. he's since apologised for the ‘bad example' he gave when he slapped the woman's hand twice to break free from her grip. translation: the salvation of jesus is not magic, but it is patient. it entails the patience of love, because it is love that makes us patient. many times you lose patience, myself included, and i apologise for the bad example i gave yesterday. the pacific island nation of palau has become the first country to ban suncream that is harmful to coral and sea life. the ban covers the sale and use of lotion containing any of ten common ingredients. several other countries have also announced plans to ban the pollutants. the headlines on bbc news: bushfires have killed at least eight people in south—eastern australia since monday and destroyed more than 200 homes. the mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus backs calls for tourists to boycott the country. two men and a woman, who all worked for british airways, are killed after a lorry collides with a car in stanwell in surrey on new year's eve. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly. are you staying long this evening? yes, iam are you staying long this evening? yes, i am going the distance denied, you will be happy! happy new year to you. it's a very happy new year for david moyes, he's started his second spell in charge of west ham with a 4—0 win over bournemouth. captain mark noble scored twice, but the pick of their goals came from sebastien haller as they went into the break 3—0 up. felipe anderson also scored moyes kept west ham up in 2018 before being replaced by manuel pellegrini who was sacked on saturday. in truth, i've not had any time to work with the players, we have been ina day work with the players, we have been in a day and a bit, you know, we have not been able to do set pieces, really, just because of the time, just a little bit to organise the tea m just a little bit to organise the team and give them an idea what we wanted, so the credit goes to the players for their attitude, their determination, and nobody epitomised at more than mark noble, and declan rice as well, the two of them were really good today. the champions, manchester city, also won. gabrieljesus scored twice in their 2—1 victory over everton, richarlison pulled one back, but that was the first defeat for carlo ancellotti as everton boss. so city stay third, tottenham's push for the top four came unstuck at southampton, and wolves surprisingly lost at watford, but second—placed leicester have started the year well, a big win at newcastle that narrows the gap to leaders liverpool. nick parrott reports. if the premier league title is out of leicester's reach, then cementing their place in the top four must surely be their new year's resolution. missing top scorerjamie vardy wasn't a problem against newcastle. florian lejeune played with ayoze perez at st james' park as recently as april. perhaps he had forgotten the spaniard joined leicester last summer. lejeune should have learned from that schoolboy error. but less than three minutes later, he gave leicester the ball again, and this timejames maddison punished him in spectacular style. and leicester's perfect start to the year was rounded off when hamza choudhury claimed the first senior goal of his career. we concentrated on developing our game, increasing our performance level and how we play and the ability to play and improving our game idea. and for that, that's my only focus. after years of injury misery, southampton‘s danny ings is on course for the most prolific season of his career. his 13th premier league goal of the campaign was enough to beat tottenham 1—0. to start the new year like that was brilliant. i feel like the last few weeks has just clicked. we have set ourselves the demands. we are putting more pressure on ourselves to be better, and i feel like we've done that, looking up the points we have picked up, so we should be proud of ourselves. watford's resurgence continues. they beat wolves 2—1 at vicarage road thanks to goals from gerard deulofeu and abdoulaye doucoure. they're still in the relegation zone, but they are unbeaten in their last four matches under new manager nigel pearson. the last of today's nine matches is just under way arsenal versus manchester united. there was a huge game in the championship, leeds are still top of the table on goal difference from west bromwich albion after a 1—1 draw at the hawthornes. and it was a bittersweet afternoon for west brom's semi ajayi. he scored both goals, he gave the baggies the lead in the second minute of the match after some head tennis in the leeds box, the ball just crossing the line. and it was ajayi's own goal after the break that saw leeds come away with a point. he unwittingly deflected patrick ba mford's header past his own keeper. leeds stay top, then, and both sides are nine points clear of brentford and nottingham forest, who are third and fourth. england's cricketers are having a tough time of it on tour in south africa, jofra archer is a doubt for the second test which starts in cape town on friday. the fast bowler has soreness in his right elbow. he took six wickets in the first test which england lost. he was also one of the 11 players affected by a sickness bug. the rest of the squad trained this morning. archer was there but didn't bowl. that's all the sport for now. the pdc world dad's final is under way, peter wright is 3-2 up against reigning champion michael van gerwen. you can keep up to date with the dad's final on the bbc sport website. —— with the darts final. for the first time, more than a 100 billion music tracks have been streamed online in the uk in a single year. it comes at the end of a decade that saw many more of us abandoning the cd and embracing the digital streaming and downloads. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has more details. # these are the moments that i'm going to remember most, yeah... oh, how a decade has changed how we consume music. 2010 started withjoe mcelderry‘s the climb at number one. at that stage, cd singles were being phased out, as paid—for downloads dominated. # there's always going to be another mountain # i'm always gonna wanna make it move... fast forward to the end of the decade, 2019, the first year in uk history when more than 100 billion tracks were streamed. # i was getting kind of used to being someone you loved... the most listened—to song, lewis capaldi's someone you loved, which was streamed more than 228 million times. that's the equivalent of every person in the uk playing it three and a half times. there has been a huge shift from analogue and physical product through to streaming and digital, although we've reached a point now where we're enjoying the best of all worlds, where we tend to go online, and we stream, and 75% of us now stream for our day—to—day needs and access to music and discovery. sales of vinyl lps increased for a 12th consecutive year, with liam gallagher's why me? why not topping the year—end charts, but to put that in context, it only shifted 29,000 copies on vinyl. # christmas time, christmas time, merry christmas # and a happy new year... and then there's the cassette revival. sales have increased by 600% in the last three years, with acts such as robbie williams choosing to release on their favourite ‘80s format. # so here it is, merry christmas... the rather large caveat — cassette sales account for 0.1% of overall recorded music. colin paterson, bbc news. joining me now to talk about this is entertainment hournalist caroline frost. hgppy happy new year! 100 billion is a massive number, is it going tojust keep rising? i think so, the genie is firmly out of the bottle, it is so is firmly out of the bottle, it is so convenient, so easy, when you think of the obstacles we went through as poptastic teenagers, saving up money, going to the shops, buying the 45 single, not any more, it isa buying the 45 single, not any more, it is a click, isn't it? alawite there was something exciting about that, wasn't there? i agree with you, my friends talk about this, music used to be about tribes, and i was on the bus once, i could hear this appears to gulls listening to britney spears, but we are able to cure to our own britney spears, but we are able to cure to oui’ own music britney spears, but we are able to cure to our own musicjukeboxes, we can have a mixture. is its particular types of music that have benefited from streaming more than others? i think so, benefited from streaming more than others? ithink so, ithink it is artists, rather than bans, that is a distinct trend, when you think of the pop bands of our youth, we are increasingly seeing the solitary artist, and i think it is about making the connection on social media. just as we used to have these tribal identities, now for young people it is about an artist that they feel that connection with, and they feel that connection with, and the music isjust they feel that connection with, and the music is just one aspect of that. if you are someone like ed sheeran, self—deprecating man of the people, knows how we feel, a humble travelling minstrel making 600 million on his tour, or billie eilish, you know, an assertive girl who knows his stuff, then people can feel they have something to invest m, feel they have something to invest in, and that is making the difference and letting them be heard above the noise. how many of those 100 billion songs will have been paid for by the people who are listening to them? that is a concern, isn't it? that was the sea change when you think of the earlier pa rt change when you think of the earlier part of the century, we had all the illicit downloading, then stevejobs went along and said, let me make this easierfor you to went along and said, let me make this easier for you to the music industry, let me help you keep your coins, so yes, there is a whole bunch of stuff, but increasingly what is happening, they have got wise, and there is a deceptive... money does get exchanged, but it is singles, it is dropping 99p here or there, and of course it adds up, but it doesn't quite feel that we are checking over all our pocket money in the same way. i wonder, though, and people missing out in a way? if you are just downloading an individual song, rather than buying an album, on vinyl, for example, and you have got, you know, the gatefold cover and all that art work that went with it, but also you are listening to the entire album, there will probably be a feud of one is that you didn't want to pay for, but aren't you missing out because inevitably you listen to more songs from the same artist, if that album has been put together as a concept album or there is a story being told, you are missing out on it. may be the order matters and it is part of that experience. i know i sound like a dinosaur. i think we are seeing those emotional gaps being filled by other means, so recently i went to a new, at abbey road, dolby had remastered sergeant pepper's, this is one for the purists, but then they went to tate modern in liverpool and created... the hole was given over to sergeant pepper's fans, so! was given over to sergeant pepper's fans, so i think we are going to be fed to those shared collective experiences, and we are going to be given it very much in a complimentary industry to that convenience of generating our own music. we have heard the cassette increased, each one needed to come with a pencil, didn't it come to wind the tape back in? happy days! bad vinyl is increasing. yes, for the real music lover, nothing comes close to the sniffing, the inspecting the outward, no real purist feels the collection is com plete purist feels the collection is complete without the cassette is enjoying a renaissance because nostalgia, perhaps a more robust way... so we have got the likes ofjustin bieber and even in the last year or so all these other artist to have used them asa these other artist to have used them as a way of planting secrets around places for people to get involved with them, to go to private gigs and things. so it is perhaps a bit of you know, a gimmick, but if it is working, and the industry starts to come along to support, providing tape recorders. it may come to pass that you and i are wearing a sony walkman once again. please don't tell me that! there is some nostalgia that is best left behind. caroline, thank you. thousands of people across the uk have defied the chill of the sea to take part in annual new year's day dips around our coastline. some people took to the water in fancy dress while other brave souls opted for swimwear, with many using the opportunity to raise money for charities. hope bolger reports. taking the plunge. hundreds of people gathered to race into the water at abersoch this morning. this time of year, the water is just a few degrees above freezing, giving this lot a bracing start to 2020. it is just a really good way to start the new year, like, a refreshing challenge to get you going. it is really good fun, so yeah, that is the main reason i wanted to do it. this guy didn't fancy it, though. not at all. a bit too cold. maybe next year. at clevedon‘s marine lake in north somerset, the dip is proving more popular than ever, attracting regulars, new people and a few onlookers. very, very invigorating, but so good. it's a shock to the system, but so good. it didn't seem as good an idea as it did on christmas day, when i thought it was a good idea! glad i did it, though. the first time we came, it was shocking, wasn't it? but once you get into it and come out, you just feel great. bagpipes in east yorkshire, as close to 200 swimmers continue their tradition of diving into the north sea at hornsea with money raised going to the local in—shore rescue. absolutely fantastic, the weather has been brilliant and the crowds have been fantastic. it's been brilliant, the best turnout we've had for a new year's day swim. further along the east coast, crowds gathered at whitley bay, dressed up and ready to go and despite the dip no longer having an official organiser. the time—honoured tradition continued on the isle of man this morning. in penzance, it was the first new year's day dip at thejubilee pool. fabulous to see so many people down, getting cold, getting rid of the hangover and having a splash and some fun. it's really special, the start of the new year, everyone swimming and enjoying themselves, and let's hope it goes on like this in the pool because it's a fabulous iconic pool. a chance to reboot, shake off the cobwebs and get the endorphins pumping.

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