this is bbc news. happy new year to you, here are the headlines at 9am. at least eight people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the bushfires that tore through australia on new year's eve. a through australia on new year's eve. couple of iso where a couple of isolated communities where we have reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public and we haven't got access via roads or aircraft. it's tough, it's scary, even if you've thought about it, it's hard to know what you will do or feel at that moment, for sure. the mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus says she believes the resort of ayia napa is unsafe. the prime minister calls for an end to division and rancour,

while the archbishop of canterbury urges people to reconnect with each other in their new year messages. celebrations around the uk marked the start of a new decade with firework displays in london, edinburgh and other major cities. 2019 saw the hottest month on record. in half an hour on bbc news, weather world looks back at some of the most significant meteorological events of the year. good morning to you. in australia, eight people have been confirmed dead as the bushfire crisis continues to escalate. authorities warn that number is likely to rise with many people still missing in new south wales and victoria. hundreds of homes have been destroyed and residents in several communities are trapped by bushfires in southeastern australia. from sydney, phil mercer reports.

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. help is yet to reach some residents who've reportedly suffered burns. it was genuinely terrifying. it was like the day never happened yesterday. there was no dawn, it was just red and dark and smokey the whole day and we didn't know what was going to happen. it was very moveable and very scary. the authorities say it's been too dangerous to send in rescue teams by roads 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 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 still burn out of control and the crisis shows no sign of ending. at the very least, weather conditions on saturday will be as bad as what they were yesterday and that's why all of our people on the ground, thousands of them are taking advantage of the milder conditions to make us as well prepared as possible for saturday when any of these fire fronts can again exacerbate and cause damage. bushfires have always been part of the australian story but officials say this crisis is unprecedented. they warn that some of the blazes are so intense, that efforts by firefighters to put them out will fail. what australia needs is fire—drenching rain, but no significant falls are expected for at least another month.

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. our correspondent phil mercer is in sydney. this has been an extraordinary few months for australia and has brought out a lot of great things and people but people must be worried about where this is going if they can't see an end in sight. trauma, courage, determination, fear and stoicism. all of these things have been brought to the fore in weeks of fires here in australia in the states of south australia, tasmania, victoria, new south wales, across the country in western australia, the country in western australia, the fires are burning, there have been dangerous days, too, in previous weeks in the state of queensland. what australia is grappling with is a crisis that no one here has ever seen before, a very long drought in eastern australia has added to the crisis.

on saturday we are expecting more hot and windy bop conditions and it is the heat and wind that could well conspire to elevate this fire danger. australia is well used to nature's extremes but this emergency i think it's frightening many people. they worry this will become the new norm, that next year and the year after we might be facing this sort of threat again. the military has been called in, the navy ship left syd ney has been called in, the navy ship left sydney in the last few hours heading south to the south coast of new south wales and also the coast of victoria, too, and we know that military helicopters are flying in as well so, in many ways, australia is on as well so, in many ways, australia isona as well so, in many ways, australia is on a war footing, there are people stranded, people trapped, the military is being deployed and this crisis shows no sign of ending. phil mercer, a sombre beginning to 2020, thanks very much for that update.

people living in the path of ferocious bushfires in australia, have described the scene as "like the end of the world". it's feared hundreds more homes have been lost, as the fire continues to spread. billy tusker howarth is visiting family in new south wales and described the conditions. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very much for talking to us. this isn't quite the trip you we re us. this isn't quite the trip you were expecting. no, definitely not. iam from were expecting. no, definitely not. i am from australia, grew up in this area, we know bush fires happen but i live in the uk now, and i'm back here visiting family. and, i mean, thatis here visiting family. and, i mean, that is very nice but it isn't the circumstances under which you'd like to be. as much a designerfire exists and i've seen it, i've never seen it like this both across the country, through reports, and also being here, feeling it and seeing is happening. i haven't seen like it before. mixed feelings. as you are saying, there is a lot of positives

you see in the community but it is very scary at times. the strain on people must be considerable because like a lot of countries we know them like a lot of countries we know them like tags, strain is the lucky country, and optimistic country, for anyone who visits, it is a generally positive place for lots of people, and there is a can—do attitude. but people must be beginning to feel we are throwing everything at this and it just carries are throwing everything at this and itjust carries on. yes, that's true. fire services have said it is the most challenging year they've ever had with record temperatures exacerbating droughts, climate change, all of this isjust building and building and it feels like there is nothing we can really do. and these parts of rural australia, with small communities that are reliant on things like tourism and small businesses, which a town 25 kilometres from where we are, just

totally devastated. and you know those people in those areas and you know that is their livelihood gone so know that is their livelihood gone so it is vulnerable people and vulnerable places that are going to be the hardest hit by that increasing challenge of longer, more intense fire seasons. i can only agree. i struggle to think what can happen, apart from more rain, but i don't know when that is coming. 50 it don't know when that is coming. so it is tough. what is day—to—day life like, in the sense of conversations? you know, you live in the uk, we a lwa ys you know, you live in the uk, we always moan about the weather, but it is slightly more serious where you are right now. is it a constant source of conversation? are people getting fed up with it? i think, partly, i think so, and the weather in the uk and being here now is making me think maybe i will participate in those british conversations a little less! just because there is significant weather events in the uk, too, but it really

is dire and stressful here. even without immediate virus, which we don't have today, there is still smoke everywhere, the land is barren and dry. it is depressing. of course, people are talking about it, people are talking about big conversations at the political level, people are talking about what the future will look like. is this the future will look like. is this the new normal? and what is adaptation of that look like, versus just what can we do tomorrow, really. it is a real mix of feelings. billy, the consolation is you are there with your family, not thousands of miles away worrying about your family, which a lot of people are doing watching this right now. thank you very much, keep safe and we look forward to having you backin and we look forward to having you back in the uk and hopefully by then things would have settled down a little bit. thanks very much. sounds a very strange thing to say but happy new year to you. thanks, you, too.

the mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus, has warned parents in the uk that the holiday resort of ayia napa is unsafe. in an interview with bbc radio 4's today programme, she also said she was supporting a call for tourists to boycott the island. jon donnison reports. it's 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—old's mother has told the bbc of the impact the case has had on her daughter's mental health. her words are read by an actor to protect both of their identities. she's suffering from ptsd. she spends a lot of time with hypersomnia at the moment. that means she's 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's my absolute primary focus. these are the young israeli tourists who originally faced accusations that they'ad 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 isn't safe. it's absolutely not safe. and if you go and report something that's happened to you, you're either laughed at as far as i can tell, or in the worst case, something like what's happened to my daughter may happen. the foreign office has called the teenager's 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.

the us has announced the immediate deployment of hundreds more troops to the middle east, in response to an attack on the american embassy in iraq. protesters set fire to a guard post and scaled one of the walls of the fortified compound in baghdad. the demonstrators were supporters of an iranian—backed militia group that lost 25 members on sunday during a us air strike. president trump has said he believes kim jong—un is a "man of his word", and has a signed a contract about denuclearization. it follows a speech by the north korean leader in which he declared his country would abandon its moratoriums on nuclear and long—range ballistic missile tests. and he's threatened north korea could develop a new strategic weapon. thousands are gathering on the streets of hong kong for a massive new year's day anti—government march, as protests in the territory continues into 2020. it comes hours after demonstrators and riot police clashed again as the new decade began. human chains were formed at major sites across the territory,

as people chanted "liberate hong kong, revolution now". pro—democracy demonstrations gripped hong kong for more than six months last year. hope and reconciliation are the main themes in a number of today's new year messages. borisjohnson has said that 2020 can allow the country to turn the page on the division and uncertainty of recent years. he's 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 year's message. 0k. so, what we need to do, run ahead of that red one and then turn to starboard.

0k. that's it. that the right speed? yeah, you're fine. the station is staffed year round by 70 volunteers. it's notjust a group of people working together. it's 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 it's 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. 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. martin bashir, bbc news, dover. the headlines on bbc news. at least eight people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed in fires that ripped through australia yesterday. some communities have been cut off. the mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about claims she was

gang raped in cyprus says she believes the result of iron app is u nsafe. believes the result of iron app is unsafe. in his new year message the prime minister says brexit will mark a new chapter for the prime minister says brexit will mark a new chapterfor the uk. the archbishop of canterbury urges people to reconnect with one another. sport is always busy newsday, happy new year, have you got lots for us? yes, we do. bit of a bumper day in the premier league, a full schedule, liverpool played tomorrow as the relentless festive football schedule continues. nine matches in total comfort liverpool play sheffield united tomorrow, jurgen klopp 13 points clear at the top, the scrap for the european places will hold most interest. chelsea currently clear in fourth ahead of the early kick—off. and they play brighton.

played against his team twice last year and seeing what he has done with brighton, it isn't easy to change, it affects the style of play and it's clear he has done that and there's a lot of work is done now. i've watched back the game they've played against arsenal a years ago, they controlled big elements of the game so i'm under no illusions how ha rd game so i'm under no illusions how hard that game will be. and i think it'll be very tough for us. so, eight other games today, including manchester city up against everton at 5:30pm. david moyes takes charge of west ham for the first time since his appointment, they take on bournemouth in the late game. arsenal play manchester united at the emirates. the former referee bobby madley has revealed a video of her in mocking a disabled person was behind his sacking. the fa said he was leaving for personal

circumstances but he says it has destroyed his career, his reputation and caused immeasurable damage to his family. some much—needed good news for england's cricketers ahead of their second test. every member of their second test. every member of their second test. every member of the touring party is expected to train this morning. england, having lost the opening test in pretoria, as illness swept through the squad, 11 players and six backroom staff we re 11 players and six backroom staff were all affected. but signs that squad is still recovering. american tennis stars took time out from training for the forthcoming atb cup in australia to meet firefighters in perth following the devastating wildfires. the inaugural tournament ta kes pla ce wildfires. the inaugural tournament takes place in three cities. it gets under way in three days' time. we just omit the brave wa firefighters who have been fighting these

terrible fires here in this country. it has been a big story in australia and hopefully they can keep it all under control. as players here, and the citizens, we owe them a great debt of gratitude, they are saving the country. a nice touch from both of them, those wildfires causing devastation. that is all from the bbc sport centre. i'll be back with another update later. for the first time, more than 100 billion music tracks have been streamed online in the uk in just a single year. it comes at the end of a decade that saw more of us ditch the cd and embrace the digital download. our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson reports. # these are the moments that i'm going to remember most, # just got to keep going... 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... subscription streaming services for music were so in their infancy that no official figures were collated, and they wouldn't even count for the charts untiljuly 2014. # now the day bleeds into nightfall. fast forward to the end of the decade. 2019, the first year in uk history when more than 100 million 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. gennaro castaldo from the bpi says

this decade has seen a total transformation in our relationship with music. 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, but the beautiful thing is that when we come across an artist or album that we love, we will actually still go out and buy that album on cd still, box set, and increasingly on vinyl as well. # it's comin' round like a shockwave. .. the result is that we as a nation now stream 30 times more music than we did in 2012, when the figures were first compiled. however, a couple of old school oddities remain. sales of vinyl lps increased for a 12th consecutive year,

with liam gallagher's why me? why not topping the year—end, but to put that in context, it only shifted 29,000 copies on vinyl, far fewer than will see him injune at his hometown heaton park show in manchester. # 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, so things are not going to be spooling back that quickly any time soon. joining me to discuss this in more detail is the singer—songwriter

tom speight who released his debut album earlier this year. here's a snippet of his music. # don't you talk to me having holding out # i need you now till the early hours... that definitely wasn't done in the early part of the year. that's strangers now from tom's album collide. and joining me in salford is vanessa higgins, the chief executive of the independent record lable regent street records. you are in salford. the name of your record label is regent street records so you're normally based in london? i have been in liverpoolfor the new year celebrations. thank you for curtailing it to talk to us. tom, first of all, when you saw this figure, it is mind blowing, 114 billion music downloads. did you

think that make sense or was it surprising to you? people are consuming music in a different way so consuming music in a different way so it kind of made sense to me. i just broke into 100 million streams so, you know, that blows my mind. i think people are streaming, listening to music differently but they are still buying records, vinyl, cd etc, but maybe that is the more hardcore fan. dare i say it, va nessa, more hardcore fan. dare i say it, vanessa, that is a factor the quality of the internet people have. there are still parts of the country where music streaming is difficult to do. that is a factor, broadband doesn't reach all areas of the country really should do. i think thatis country really should do. i think that is why we are seeing streaming grow and grow. is it a factor that will increase when 56 becomes a reality form people because of the speed and convenience? absolutely, yes. we won't download things onto

out yes. we won't download things onto our phones and we will stream consta ntly our phones and we will stream constantly because you'll have connections. the streaming industry is maturing but there is a long way to go and these numbers will get much bigger. is there an issue at the moment about availability in terms of where you find stuff in order to be able to stream it and the convenience of it? a lot of the internet has been about the little man 01’ internet has been about the little man or woman, the site that gets you to the information, the stuff you wa nt to to the information, the stuff you want to have access to. is it the same with music? are you still dependent on different ways of downloading? we are in a period where it is more liberating to be a musician because i remember when i started my musical career about ten yea rs started my musical career about ten years ago, you had to rely on having a major label to release your music. now, with things like spotify, apple music, you can just now, with things like spotify, apple music, you canjust get now, with things like spotify, apple music, you can just get out there and it is amazing and you can reach and it is amazing and you can reach a worldwide audience. is that what you do? you have a physical album as

well. we have vinyl, cassette, we do it all. we have quite a big, worldwide audience. i went to brazil and america due to streaming. my cd isn't out in brazil, i can tell you that. and you've never had a record company with the budget to promote you in brazil or peru or wherever. so, for music fans there, it must be a big deal. they are crazy about music over there and they are thankful, mostly due to streaming, that british artists are playing over there because they have an audience now. i think it is a very liberating time for music. and encouraging time for lots of new artists to break through. vanessa, you are running a record label. do you are running a record label. do you worry about this? the point tom was making, the publisher's power is being diminished by the technology. i know you'd say that is a good thing when you stand back but you

running a business. the music industry is still in industry and i am an artist myself, and i think musicians want to make music and they will always need people around them to help them get that to as many people as possible whatever format they will use so the record label is still going strong. lots of artists are running their own which is nothing wrong with that. i think we are seeing a whole host of new labels coming through which is exciting itself. what kind of music do you perform? i like to call it dark pop. i am a piano player and singer. you'll have to check it out, you can stream it. the cassette sales thing, highest number in 15 yea rs, sales thing, highest number in 15 years, 80,000 sold in 2019. that is baffling. people still crave something they can show, demonstrate

their taste in music. or lack of it! i'm not sure what you've bought! and i'm not sure what you've bought! and i'm not sure what you've bought! and i'm not showing you. it isn'tjust the old classics on vinyl, it is like liam gallagher, billy eilish sold on vinyl as well. whether you think it is going? i think it'll carry on for a while, i don't think it has peaked yet. things are still growing, spotify is going into new countries and things like that so, i think the hardcore fans will carry on, they will want the cassettes, they will want the cds and everything else. and have you still got vinyl at home? i buy it every week. my favourite thing is going around a record store and buying a new record. somehow, vanessa, there the substitute for that, physically walking into a place, flicking through, discovering surprises, a little bit like going into a book

shop. exactly, and sharing things with people. people share their tastes online but i'd love to see the resurrection of record stores where you can stay and spend time, have a coffee, it'd be a hub of music and creativity, it'd be wonderful to see. there is a challenge! thank you both very much, happy new year to you and here is two more good streaming in 2020. new year celebrations are taking place around the world with many cities holding spectacular firework displays to welcome in the new decade. gareth barlow reports. new year in new york. crowds at times square for the big apple's annual party, a celebration that could have only one soundtrack. # sta rt could have only one soundtrack. # start spreading the news... # start spreading the news... # i'm leaving today... down in south

america, cheers on copacabana beach, a carnival of colour, new year brazilian style. big ben strikes the hour meanwhile, in london, big ben welcomed in the new decade, with the iconic london eye sparkling on the south bank. in france, saluts and salutations. parisians partied along the champs—elysees. the arc de triomphe triumphantly hailing 2020 had arrived. and in dubai, the world's tallest building, the burj khalifa,