This is bbc news. The headlines at 4pm. Bushfires have killed at least eight people in south eastern australia since monday and destroyed more than 200 homes. We have a very real challenge at the moment with a couple of isolated communities, where weve got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public. We havent been able to get access via roads or via aircraft. Two men and a woman are killed after a lorry collides with a car in stanwell in surrey on new years eve. The mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus backs calls for tourists to boycott the country. In their new year messages, the Prime Minister says brexit will mark a new chapter for the uk, while the archbishop of canterbury urges people to heal the divisions of recent years. I was getting kind of used to being someone you loved. For the first time, more than 100 billion music tracks are streamed online in the uk in a single year. Join us, the brexitcast gang, in halfan hour to look back at the year that was in the world of brexit. Eight people are known to have died in australias bushfires in the past 2a hours with more missing in the worst loss of life since the crisis began. More military personnel are on the way to try to protect isolated communities in the south east of the country. Many are cut off, without power, and some are running out of water. Phil mercer has 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 my kids and just everything, just gone. I dont know what im going home to, so. Ijust hope for the best. Its upsetting to lose your memories, thats very upsetting. But you cant dwell on it, you know . If you dwell on it, youd just be upset all the time and that doesnt get you anywhere, youve got to move on. Help is yet to reach some residents whove reportedly suffered burns. The Authorities Say its 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 weve got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public. We havent been able to get access via roads or via aircraft, its been socked in or too dangerous and we simply cant access, nor can the people in these areas get out. Conditions on New Years 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. Our correspondent Shaimaa Khalil is in new south wales. She says thousands of people whose homes have been ravaged by the fires
are trapped and unable to move from the area. This part of the princes highway is the only access in and out of the devastated areas on the Southern Coast of new south wales. Its been completely cut off, this is as close as we can get. We are told there is a bushfire further down the road and firefighters are trying to control it, prevent it from coming closer and covering more bushland. What that means, though, is that thousands of people in the areas that have been ravaged by the blazes are still trapped there, unable to move. For example, in the coastal town of batemans bay, people there have been encircled by a ring of fire and they are unable to move anywhere. There are water shortages, food shortages, telecoms are down, power is down. They are unable to communicate with relatives and we saw family members on our way here that were really worried and trying to get in but are unable to do so. Now, the real challenge now is not just to control this huge fire front but also to get people out safely. Three people were killed and a fourth seriously injured in a crash involving a car and a lorry on new years eve. The accident happened in stanwell in surrey. Our news correspondent tolu adeoye is there for us now. Tell us what is known about what happened here. Horrendous news for the start of 2020, it was around 11 40pm last night, new years eve, when this accident happened involving a lorry and a car carrying four young people. In the early hours of this morning, Surrey Police confirmed three people were killed, two men aged 23 and 25 and a woman who was 20 years old. We also know a second woman was taken to a London Hospital where she is being treated for serious injuries. If we look behind me, the scene has been cleared but you can see where the trees have been flattened, we
understand the lorry ended up on the other side of the road in the longford road river which isjust over that bank. And what is known about the lorry driver . We understand the lorry driver wasnt injured in the accident, but was taken to hospital as a precaution. This afternoon, we have had it confirmed that the lorry belongs to the air Services Provider 0nata. It is an Industrial Area close to Heathrow Airport and the company has a base just a Heathrow Airport and the company has a basejust a couple Heathrow Airport and the company has a base just a couple of hundred metres further down the road. No arrests have been made in relation to the collision, police are very much still investigating. We know the next of kin of the victims have been informed about what happened but their identities have not yet been revealed. 0k, thank you very much for that. A formerjustice minister in cyprus has called for a british teenager convicted on monday of lying about being gang raped in the resort of ayia napa to be given a very lenient sentence. The teenagers mother has
backed calls for tourists to boycott the country. The woman told the bbc that ayia napa where her daughter had a formerjustice minister in cyprus has called the woman told the bbc that ayia napa where her daughter had been on a working holiday was unsafe. The Foreign Office has expressed what they call serious concerns about the case. John donnison reports. Its two days since the young british woman walked out of a Cypriot Court having been found guilty of falsely claiming she was raped by 12 men. Her supporters say both the Police Investigation and the Court Process were flawed and her lawyers are planning to appeal. Now, the i9 year olds mother has told the bbc of the impact the case has had on her daughters mental health. Her words are read by an actor to protect both of their identities. Shes suffering from ptsd. She spends a lot of time with hypersomnia at the moment. That means shes sleeping an awful lot of the day. She sleeps probably 18, 20 hours a day. Shes 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. Thats my absolute primary focus. These are the young israeli tourists who originally faced accusations that theyad 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. Now, her mother is supporting a call for tourists to boycott cyprus. This is not an isolated incident. The place isnt safe. Its absolutely not safe. And if you go and report something thats happened to you, youre either laughed at, as far as i can tell, or, in the worst case, Something Like whats happened to my daughter may happen. The Foreign Office has called the teenagers case deeply disturbing and says it will be speaking to the authorities in cyprus. The cypriot government says it has full confidence in its Justice System and courts. Jon donnison, bbc news. Hope and reconciliation are the main themes in a number of todays new year messages. Borisjohnson has said that 2020 can allow the country to turn the page on the division and uncertainty of recent years. Hes pledged to represent all voters, and said that the new year means the start of a new chapter. And the archbishop of canterbury has called for the uk to start healing divisions as our religion editor Martin Bashir reports. It is a challenging day, weather wise. Although this is not his usual habit, the lifeboat rescue station in dover is within the diocese of canterbury, and archbishop justin welby chose to come here to deliver his new years message. 0k. So, what we need to do, run ahead of that red one and then turn to starboard. 0k. Thats it. That the right speed . Yeah, youre fine. The station is staffed year
round by 70 volunteers. Its notjust a group of people working together. Its a family. The seagoing crew includes a student, a train driver, a chef, an electrician. The youngest is 17, the oldest is 62. My wife made me a lovely Christmas Morning breakfast, and just as the knife was going into it, the pager went off again and we were back out to the channel, yeah. Justin welby said their commitment to service is the Practical Application of the most famous parable in the bible. When we hear someone described as a good samaritan, we think about that person taking the time to help another. But its a story told byjesus about someone taking the risk of reaching out to another who was very different to them. Dover also happens to be the closest place in britain to continental europe, and the archbishop concluded his message by inviting all of us
to take up the challenge of healing divisions between individuals and communities. Lets go for a heroic new years resolution. Lets resolve to reconnect, to reach out to just one person we dont know or from whom we have drifted apart. Make that connection. Lets begin cementing our unity one brick at a time. Martin bashir, bbc news, dover. The pope has used his first message of the year to defend the rights of women. Speaking at a packed mass at st peters basilica, the pope denounced the abuse of women in modern society and defended womens rights to migrate in search of a Better Future for theirfamily. Before celebrating mass, the pope confessed that he had lost patience with a woman who grabbed his hand on st Peters Square on tuesday. He apologised for what he said
was the bad example he gave when he slapped the womans hand twice to break free from her grip. He said, we lose patience many times it happens to me too. Derbyshire police have begun a double Murder Investigation after two people were found dead. Officers were called to a property in duffield at about 4am 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. Police in hong kong have clashed with pro democracy protesters during a New Years 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. Todays 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. 0ur correspondent Jonathan Head was there during the protests. He explains what he witnessed. This barricade that is blocking one of the main streets through wan chai in Central Hong Kong is whats left of the first day of protests in the new year, and we saw, well, a big rally filling the streets just a few hours ago, organised by leaders of the protest movement whove really been behind the Anti Government rallies for the last six or seven months and they wanted a big turnout here on the first day of the new year. Those people filled the streets ahead, we saw a rally including a Broad Spectrum of hong kongs population. There were old people, there were families and as that rally went on, after three or four hours, the police then withdrew their permission and declared it no longer legal. At that point, we saw the ha rd core protesters, the young men and women
with their black face masks, coming up and taking up positions and building barricades like this. Inevitably, at that point, we saw the Police Coming to clear them out. There were a few confrontations, we have had a little bit of tear gas today, probably a few arrests, all very much in keeping with what we have seen, really, for the last seven months and it is an indication that nothing really has changed in hong kong. The protest movement wanted to remind the government that they still have momentum behind them, they still have a large part of the population that backs their goals. From the government, weve heard very little this new year apart from yet another expression of regret from chief executive carrie lam and another promise that she will listen, but no sign of any concessions and, so, hong kong starts 2020 very much the same way that it ended 2019. This protest Movement Goes on and we are expecting to see probably a great deal more of this through the rest of the year. 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 that was in response to attacks on American Military targets. Jonathan josephs reports. The bitter struggle between the us and iran is once again playing out on the streets of iraq. Protesters and iranian backed militias setting fire to the American Embassy in baghdad as they attacked it for a second day. Again, theyve been pushed back with tear gas and stun grenades. Many spent the night camped outside, determined to stand up to the us, which still has thousands of troops in their country. Translation this is not the first time the us have hit us. We will never move from here, i swear on god and 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. But america shows no sign of backing down. Its released these images of marines preparing to leave their base in kuwait. Around 750 additional soldiers have been deployed to the region. And this group have already arrived at the embassy in baghdad to reinforce its defences. Amid his new year celebrations, President Trump warned he wouldnt 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 its in great shape, as you know, this will not be a benghazi. Benghazi should never have happened. This will never ever be a benghazi. 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. Thats drawn strong condemnation from irans Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei who said President Trumps threats were hollow and that his country would defend its interests. 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. The headlines on bbc news. Bushfires have killed at least eight people in south eastern australia since monday and destroyed more than 200 homes. Two men and a woman are killed after a lorry collides with a car in stanwell in surrey on new years eve. The mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus backs calls for tourists to sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, heres gavin. We start with the New Years Day feast of football. Brighton earned a draw against chelsea, thanks to a stunning late equaliser and Jack Grealish scored a goal to remember for aston villa, which proved the difference in their win over burnley. Lydia campbell reports. At the turn of the last decade, aston villa were on their way to a sixth placed finish in the premier league. Now they lie in the relegation zone in need of a new year boost. Jack grealish thought he had founded ten minutes in but var had its own say. Wesley offside in the build up. But the brazilian made amends soon after, driving home through nick pope to give villa a deserved lead. And thenJack Grealish did get his goal. No var intervention this time. Villa have been known to surrender leads this season and a chris wood header ten minutes before the end set up a nervy ending. But they did manage to hold on and have leapt out