this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 11:00: the most prolific rapist in british criminal history is jailed for life — reynhard sinaga drugged his unsuspecting male victims and then filmed his assaults. we believe there is over 190 victims that have been involved with sinaga, reynhard sinaga, and 70 have yet to be identified correctly. huge crowds gather in iran to mourn at the funeral of the iranian military commander killed by a us air strike. the former hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, faces new charges of rape and sexual assault , as his trial begins in new york. the labour mp rebecca long bailey becomes the sixth candidate to join

the race to become the next labour leader. the volunteer firemen leading the fight against the devastating fires in australia. it's like they said, people, they call is crazy. it's true. everyone i’u ns call is crazy. it's true. everyone runs away from it, we run into it. we don't do it for the love of it, we do it because no—one else will. and at 11.30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers michael booker and miatta fahnbulleh — stay with us for that. good evening. our main story is that the worst serial rapist in british criminal history has been jailed for life by a court in manchester with a minimum term of 30 years.

reynhard sinaga, who's from indonesia, was a phd student in the city who drugged his victims before attacking them. he was convicted today at manchester crown court of 159 offences against 48 victims, many of them young men, and thejudge said sinaga would never be safe to be released. police say they think the true number of his victims approached 200, and they've appealed for anyone who thinks they were attacked to come forward. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz reports on the case and its outcome. this is reynhard sinaga, as he wanted the world to see him. his social media account's full of grinning photos of a student having fun. but sinaga has many faces, and behind the mask lies the truth — a depraved monster, said by prosecutors to be one of the most prolific rapists in the world.

the total number of offences that we've prosecuted is almost 160, over 48 victims. as far as thejudicial process, probably anywhere in the world is concerned, he's probably the most prolific rapist that's come through the courts. in the world? i would say in the world. certainly in the british courts. night after night, sinaga would leave his manchester flat to go and find victims. he took advantage of living in the city centre, amongst the nightclubs and bars, and he made the streets outside them his hunting ground. sinaga would often wait for drunk men to come stumbling out of this nightclub, and then entice them around the corner to his flat which is just next door. he'd offer them somewhere to have a drink or phone a taxi. on one occasion, it took him just 60 seconds to pick up a victim. nearly 200 mostly heterosexual men made thisjourney, disappearing inside sinaga's apartment block.

then they'd be offered drinks spiked with a drug like ghb, and that was the last they'd remember. unconscious, the men were raped on this grubby mattress on the floor. when they woke up, they had no memory of what had happened. sinaga would text his friends boasting of sexual conquests. they thought he was joking when he quoted song lyrics about using a secret potion, of which "one drop should be enough". but in fact the drug wore off early on one man who woke up whilst being raped. he fought back. and when the police were called they seized sinaga's phone. they couldn't believe what they saw on it. the rapist had filmed each of his attacks. they found hundreds of hours of video. this is an absolutely unprecedented case. looking at that amount of evidence is challenging in itself. that's equivalent to 1,500 dvd films. we believe there's over 190 victims that have been involved with sinaga, with reynhard sinaga, and 70 of them have still to be identified, approximately.

the men who were traced were given support at this centre in manchester, help to cope with the trauma of being told they were the victims of rapes they can't remember. some men found it very difficult to process, some men have suffered in their mental health, to the point where some men have been suicidal. how is it possible that someone could be assaulted like this and not know? you may have had alcohol, you may have had a drug, and you may have been sexually assaulted but there may not have been any physical injuries to see, and if you haven't got any physical injuries then you may not even suspect that you'd been sexually assaulted. reynhard sinaga has shown no remorse. the judge remarked that he seemed to be enjoying being sentenced in court. he came to the uk from indonesia on a student visa, and is said to have applied for permanent residency. but his victims have said they hope he never leaves prison and rots in hell.

he prowled the streets for years before he was caught. he's never explained his crimes. the rapist considered a mystery, as well as a monster. alex feis—bryce is the chief executive of survivors uk, a charity which provides support for sexually abused men. earlier, he told me that it can be incredibly difficult to move forward if you can't remember exactly what happened. many of them are drugged and trauma itself can affect the memory as well so itself can affect the memory as well soi itself can affect the memory as well so i mean, i guess seeking support is the first step that it's kind of a long journey for many people. is the first step that it's kind of a long journey for many peoplelj hesitate to say this but i'd be interested in your view. there may be people who think, well, if you can't remember, what's the damage?” think we need to be careful about saying that, but trauma affects people in lots of different ways and

we are not always aware of the impact it's had and i don't think necessarily, or research bears this out, it's not just necessarily, or research bears this out, it's notjust things we are aware of that affect our mental health. i know you became involved because of your own experience. can you tell us about that? this case is almost triggering for me because it's quite similar. i was 18, a student in manchester and i was drugged and raped as well and at the time, i don't think survivors uk in manchester was in existence then and support for mail survivors was not as available and i think people were less aware that this happened to men so less aware that this happened to men soi less aware that this happened to men so i thought, i didn't know it did happen to men so even though all my kind of logical sensible cookies told me that what happened to me was rape, i almost didn't deal with it in that sense and didn't see it as a rape so the idea of reporting to the police or seeking help never even entered my consciousness at the time. so what did you do? i

eventually told a few friends and i almost made a joke about it is my way of coping. 0ver almost made a joke about it is my way of coping. over the years, i'd worked in this kind of area for much of my career, i used to be a trustee and worked on this case and now obviously in my current role, part of me feels bad for not reporting it to the police at the time so in some ways i'm trying to give it back by helping others do that.” ways i'm trying to give it back by helping others do that. i wanted to ask you one final question. i suppose rape that can perhaps be seen as an suppose rape that can perhaps be seen as an issue that predominantly affects women. how big an issue as it for men? research suggests that one in five women experience sexual assault and violence and one in six men never want to pit men against women. absolutely not. i think the awareness that's been raised about rape in general over the last few yea rs, rape in general over the last few years, it's been a massively good thing but we just need to think

about including men in the language and including transgender men, transgender women, and including transgender men, transgenderwomen, people and including transgender men, transgender women, people who don't may fit the narrative people think of when they hear about rape. greater manchester police has set up a dedicated number to provide support for anyone affected by this story. it's on your screen now: 0800 056 0154. or if you wish to speak to the police and make a report relating to raynhard sinaga, the number to call is 0800 092 01110. large crowds have gathered in the iranian capital, tehran, for the funeral of the military commander killed in a us attack on friday. one of the most powerful figures in iran, qasem soleimani

was assassinated in neighbouring iraq the orders of president trump. his killing marks a major escalation in tensions between washington and tehran with wider implications for the entire region. iran's allies in the middle east include iraq, and general soleimani had influence over a number of militias operating there. but concerns about iran's growing influence was also one of the main drivers of mass protests in iraq last year. 0ur middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. chanting tehran's broad avenues were jammed with mourners, estimated in millions. not all iranians are as distressed as this. general qasem soleimani was a dominant force in a regime that shot dead hundreds of protesters on iran's streets at the end of 2019.

vast amounts of the islamic republic's money building up alliances and militias in lebanon, yemen, iran and syria. 0ther iranians thought it a high price to pay, as us sanctions bit into their lives. but iran's hardline elite is badly rattled by the assassination. ayatollah khamenei, iran's supreme leader, wept as he prayed for his right—hand man. soleimani was the keystone of his regime's security. the dead general‘s daughter, zeinab, delivered a fiery oration, demanding revenge for the father she called a martyr. translation: the families of american soldiers in the middle east who have witnessed america's cruel wars in syria, iraq, lebanon, afghanistan,

yemen and palestine will spend their days waiting for the death of their children. here in baghdad, soleimani, in death, stood like a brother with the iraqi militia leader abu mahdi al—muhandis, killed with him by the americans. behind them, iranian missiles speed to unknown targets. by the so—called popular mobilisation forces, militias mostly trained and armed by soleimani's operation, now integrated into the iraqi army. president trump was there in image — they've tried going toe to toe with his threats.

this pro—iranian mp said it would be good if trump sent more troops, so they could send more coffins back to america. iraqi's top politicians paid their respects. the older men sat and dreamt of revenge. there's a lot of quiet anger here and a strong desire to get even, to get revenge. the question is what these iraqis and also, of course, the leaders of iran, do next. two countries' names are mentioned most here and there flags are down there on the street — the united states and israel. at the mosque, the desire for revenge was everywhere, in faces chants and conversation. this evening, back in run, in the

holy city of qom, the general‘s, and was paraded again. amongst the guardians of his memory of the most powerful men in iran and iraq. their anger and that of their supporters will not dissipate easily. jeremy bowen, bbc news, baghdad. and tonight, the us defence secretary was forced to deny that america was planning to withdraw troops from iraq after a letter from one of his generals there suggested otherwise. jeremy bowen explained. in terms of this suppose a possible troop withdrawal, the iraqi parliament has said they've got to get out. resident trump has said, they are not going to go because they've invested so much money here u nless they've invested so much money here unless they are reimbursed and then there is this mysterious letter, d raft there is this mysterious letter, draft that was leaked to a newsagency and the americans are saying that it didn't mean that they we re saying that it didn't mean that they were about to go. it does though, i think, suggest there is some kind of talking going on perhaps. they

certainly have said they admitted they are moving, redeploying trips for force protection reasons, they are moving, redeploying trips forforce protection reasons, maybe even taking a few out of the country. in the wider sense of where they are, i think the question now really is a much bigger one about just where the anger expressed on the streets goes on the government of orion and how, if that's expressed in terms of the americans respond. the americans have said, mr trump has said very forcibly with that it would be a crushing response and he is gambling that that will be enough to intimidate them into not doing a great deal. well, we can't read the future but we will see. in the last half an hour, labour mp rebecca long bailey has announced that she is standing in the party's leadership contest. the mp for salford and eccles willjoin five other mps currently in the running — emily thornberry, clive lewis, lisa nandy, jess phillips and sir keir starmer. 0ur political correspondent,

jonathan blake, is at westminster. hejoins us now. give us your thoughts on what you think rebecca long baileynot entering into the race means for the race. she has pitched herself unreservedly on firmly on the left of the labour is a socialist would—be leader who will continue the work ofjeremy corbyn. she has for a long time been kept as his natural successor, his preferred successor, she has held back from entering the race until now, but she has made a pitch to continue the work ofjeremy corbyn, describing that as a radical, ambitious vision for the future and saying that labour needs a leader who comes from and will stay true to that movement. she has addressed labour's defeat at the election, describing that is devastating, really blaming it on a failure of the election strategy rather than the policies or the

leadership that were put forward. she has made a far—reaching pitch to go to war with the political establishment, talking about a constitutional revolution that sweeps away the house of lords, ta kes sweeps away the house of lords, takes big only out of politics and shifts power away from westminster and she is also making something of her background, anything this online editorial which she has published tonight, saying that she is not your typical politician, not a millionaire or a landlord but a lifelong socialist. as i say, firmly positioning herself on the left is the continuity candidate if you like to continue the work ofjeremy corbyn, it also acknowledging the need to reunite labour's support base in english cities along with its former heartlands in the north—west of england, the north of england and the midlands and those in scotland as well. so it is a tough ask. but her confirmation as

expected that she will stand takes the total number of candidates in the total number of candidates in the race to six, and as we heard earlier on when labour's executive committee met, the timetable is now finalised in the first task is for those in the running to win the support of 10% of labour's members of parliament before getting the backing from trade unions and then the party membership. jonathan, thank you for that. jonathan blake, our correspondent in westminster. australia's prime minister, scott morrison, has promised over a billion pounds in aid to help his country recover from the continuing bushfire crisis. the fires have so far destroyed an area roughly the size of ireland with several smaller fires in the states of new south wales and neighbouring victoria threatening to merge. mr morrison has been heavily criticised for his response to the disaster. last week he had to cut short a visit to the town of cobargo after angry locals heckled him. my colleague clive myrie is there.

since a huge fireball ripped through this town back on new year's eve, there has been very little outside help that has come to the people here. there are local food shortages, people have to get stuff m, shortages, people have to get stuff in, water problems is one and there is no power. look at the south behind me. completely destroyed by that fireball. an irony of ironies. right over there it is extra to the local fire station. but it is the random nature of the damage that is frankly bizarre. look at this house here, completely untouched. you wouldn't think anything had happened, and yet right next door the neighbour parliament house, two houses in fact completely destroyed. well, while the government has received a lot of witticisms for its handling of the crisis, the firefighters, the men and women who have been tackling these blazes, they have received universal praise. we have been to talk to one of them, a volunteer firefighter who put his life on the line.

some of these fires arejust too big now. all we can do is just keep protecting homes as best we can, keep protecting life as best we can without losing our own lives at the same time. i've been keeping my gear here with me... tristan lees has been a volunteer firefighter for more than two decades. so, yeah, these are it. . .jacket, pants. this has seen a lot of service this bushfire season? this has. self—sacrifice runs in the family. his late father, as well as mother and brother, also served. the current crisis, the sternest test. terrible. in 21 years i've been in, i've never seen it this bad. it'sjust phenomenal. yeah, i don't know what else to call it, to be quite honest. and there's a guilt. 0oh, there it goes. for not always being able to help when needed. he has a dayjob that pays the bills. what are you going to do? lose your own home, lose your family, because you can't pay for anything? you can't pay your bills? or go to work and then sit at work

feeling guilty because you're not out helping the rest of your firefighters? it tears you apart, because you want to be in two places, but you can't. ah, yes. you remember seeing that one? yes, i do remember seeing that one. yes, ‘cause that truck actually got destroyed. the video we watched captures the horror of trying to tame a wild fire. put your blanket up. the men are trapped in their cab. all survived. but this hot season, volunteer firemen have died and the fires still burn. it's gut—wrenching. it rips you apart knowing there's two good people gone, they've left family and friends behind. it's... and it makes you fear even more, because you know what you're going into. it's like they said — people, they call us crazy, it's true. everyone runs away from it, we're the ones who run into it. and we don't do it for

the love of it, we do it because no—one else will. that is a remarkable band of volunteer firefighters. talking to one of the residents here a few minutes ago. we are not getting any minutes ago. we are not getting outside help, they will rebuild for their children to live in. my colleague, lucy hockings, is is in nowra, which is about 70 miles south of sydney. shejoins us now, lie. what is the latest where you are? —— live. just driving to where i am right now, on the side of the princes highway, one of australia's busiest roads, we passed mile upon mile of burnt out bush. it gives you an idea of the scale of this crisis. the weather is cooler here at the moment and that has given quite a bit of respite to people because i think they are living these next few days without the fear of panic that

something drastic is going to happen, but there is a sense that people are in limbo because they know late in the week the higher temperatures are set to return, and with those higher temperatures comes the threat and the guarantee almost of the fires lighting up again. let's talk about what it is like to live here, for the businesses here. iamjoined by live here, for the businesses here. i am joined by the president of the local business chamber. have you had to evacuate? what is life like for the past few weeks? it has been challenging. we had hoped to evacuate on new year's eve when the conditions were bad and it was pitch black at two o'clock in the afternoon. unfortunately the roads closed before we had a chance to do that, so we made the effort, we knew the conditions were going to be worse on the saturdayjust gone and my family left on thursday night. we live near bush land not far from here, and it was really a piece of mind knowing burning embers were a risk and my kids were scared. that sick feeling every day at the moment of what could happen next.

sick feeling every day at the moment of what could happen nextm sick feeling every day at the moment of what could happen next. it has been like that for a couple of weeks. it is not the usual carefree summer weeks. it is not the usual carefree summer holiday. unfortunately everyone is in the same boat so it has been a sombre mood down here. i guess the really challenging parties for the in this area. driving down here from sydney, you mentioned in summer you expect to see the beaches full of people, everyone should be outside, playing sport and barbecuing. there is the smoke haze and pollution as well. this is the bread and butter. for a lot of our businesses make their money in the summer. businesses make their money in the summer. and they survive on that the re st of summer. and they survive on that the rest of the year. tourism is a major industry to us. we have over 6500 businesses in the shoalhaven and most of those are either directly relying on tourism or indirectly while there hasn't been too many businesses i know of that have burnt down, some have definitely lost property or homes, i think my worry

is also that some will lose homes in other ways. has there been any promise from the government of help and assistance? there is financial assistance available for some businesses. i am assistance available for some businesses. lam not assistance available for some businesses. i am not sure who will benefit and who will not. for example, there are towns, there are 49 towns and villages in the shoalhaven. some have not been affected. you can drive from sydney to shoalhaven heads without seeing a single burnt tree but they have had mass cancellations in that area resulting in $50,000 losses for the businesses. that is the image being projected to australia right now who think the entire country is on fire. and the insurance doesn't cover that. they were not directly impacted. that will be a challenge as the dust settles not to take away from the significant impact on so many people's lives and property, but as the dust settles out of the conversation we need to have and how do we get people back yard to stay

and play in the shoalhaven. so many people have said to me that this could be the new normal. if it is, should there be some radical changes, like thinking about holidaying in the middle of the year when it is cooler and the bushfire seasonis when it is cooler and the bushfire season is not on when it is cooler and the bushfire season is not on us. when it is cooler and the bushfire season is not on us. we would love to see people all year around and there is plenty to do, but i think it might be unrealistic to —— to expect we could change at what is synonymous with this region, christmas, carefree summer holidays by the beach, swimming and playing beach cricket. aussies will always wa nt beach cricket. aussies will always want to do that. asking people to have an extended holiday in the middle of the year and stare at the beach and there are boots might be unrealistic. thank you so much for joining us. good luck for the coming weeks. you might notice i am wearing a mask. it is incredibly hose —— smoky and hazy here. 100,000 of these are being handed out to people because pollution in canberra is one of the worst cities in the world

right now. thank you for that, great to hear from you. many thanks. around 60 firefighters are battling a blaze at one of london's most famous music venues. the london fire brigade were called out to the koko club just before 9pm this evening. a spokesperson said that 30% of the club's roof was ablaze and they're trying to save the rest of the building. the building is currently undergoing renovation works. in a moment, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers michael booker and miatta fahnbulleh. that's coming up after the headlines at 11:30. now, it's time for the weather with phil avery. i think we will see monday of something of a transition day between the white spell of weather many of us enjoyed through the

weekend and something a good deal wilderfor weekend and something a good deal wilder for tuesday. start of the week marked by some very disruptive weather northern parts of region. that goes right into wednesday. tuesday brings the prospects of temperatures well above the seasonal normal. but it comes at a price. by the end of the week the rainfall totals will have maxed out especially in the north—west of scotland. what is driving this weather? it's contrasting ten inches in the mid—atlantic in the north atla ntic in the mid—atlantic in the north atlantic powering up a really powerful jetstream, and as atlantic powering up a really powerfuljetstream, and as you may well remember, every little kink in this jetstream is just the opportunity for an area of low pressure to develop and we have a real humdingerfor pressure to develop and we have a real humdinger for tuesday. close pressure to develop and we have a real humdingerfor tuesday. close by to iceland, but the trailing front produce a lot of wet and very windy weather indeed. for the most part across scotland and northern ireland, the wet weather will tumble north of england through wales and maybe to the far south—west. look at the strength of the wind, 50, 60, 70

miles an hour across northern parts of britain. further south it will be a blustery day, but those wins could well be disruptive to your travel plans. please bear that in mind wherever you are spending the day. the temperatures are well above the seasonal norm. the weather front continues its journey further toward yourself during tuesday night into wednesday. just when you thought you had seen the last of it, the western portion of the front develops a wave and returning very moist air back into the south—west and into parts of wales, some rain here. at least you are hanging onto the relatively mild conditions across the south, further north it becomes a bright but very blustery day. not quite as windy as tuesday but the wind is still a factor across the northern pa rt still a factor across the northern part of scotland and look at the contrast there. 14 in the south, six or seven further north. into thursday, some uncertainty to say the least because we are juggling

one, two, three areas of low pressure. how they interact will just dictate where the rain really falls through the day. we suspect at the moment that it could well be in the moment that it could well be in the south—west later on, certainly the south—west later on, certainly the western side of scotland and perhaps even england. in the midst of all that could be a dry spell. thursday and friday we are more sure the little bit of high pressure will develop just as we say goodbye to those low pressures, at least for a time. that transition is fleeting. u nless time. that transition is fleeting. unless it offers the prospect of quite a bit of dry weather until late in the day and we bring more cloud and rain back towards northwestern quarter. temperatures after a chilly start, a frosty start perhaps, we end up with single figures for the most part. through the course of the weekend, we have been here before. mild south—westerly than plenty of them. the frontal system ) to the north and west of the british isles and here is the thing, we established that very same pattern on into the

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