at least 50 people are killed in a crush in iran as huge numbers turn out for the burial of qasem soleimani. more than 200 were injured as they mourned the killing of iran's second most powerful man by the us. donald trump is unrepentant. he's been called a monster, and he was a monster. and he's no longer a monster, he's dead. and that's a good thing for a lot of countries. the president also insisted that the killing was lawful and that america won't hesitate to retaliate if attacked by iran. also tonight... the 19—year—old woman convicted of lying about being raped in cyprus flies home after her sentence is suspended. in south—east australia, they are

counting the cost of the deadly bushfires. a hit to the economy in excess bushfires. a hit to the economy in excess of £10 billion and the hot season excess of £10 billion and the hot seasonis excess of £10 billion and the hot season is far from excess of £10 billion and the hot season is farfrom over. 0h, gone! and triumph for england's cricketers in south africa in a thrilling finish. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, manchester city took a stunning lead in their league cup semifinal against manchester united. but could they hang on to win? good evening. at least 50 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in a crush in iran, as huge numbers of people turned out to attend the burial of qasem soleimani, the iranian commander killed in a american drone strike.

the funeral, in his hometown, was postponed for several hours. soleimani was considered the second most powerful man in iran. tonight, the us insisted that it acted legally in killing him in iraq last friday. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is live in baghdad this evening. jeremy. this has been a terrible culmination of days of mourning in iran and iraq. yes, fiona. millions of people have turned out since the coffin left here in iraq to go back to iran. it has been touring around the country. iran isa has been touring around the country. iran is a country where there has been dissent that has been crushed on the streets quite recently, hundreds of people killed. but there has been this massive turnout, not just, i suspect, has been this massive turnout, not just, isuspect, people has been this massive turnout, not just, i suspect, people overtly supporting the regime, but a nationalistic, patriotic reaction to the threats coming from president trump. but this, overall, is a

dangerous time for the region and for those people, of course, in his home town who turned out today. it has been a tragic day. another enormous crowd turned out in kerman, qasem soleimani's hometown, for his burial. the last stage of iran's long goodbye. millions have been on the streets to mourn, pray and shout their anger as his coffin has been taken round the country. but the passion of the people of kerman for a local hero was too much. they pressed forward, leading to the tragedy, and many more deaths. this was an accident, but iranians will add the blame to the american account. iran's government says the us is not interested in de—escalation, stopping the slide to war. i don't think the united states has chosen the path of the escalation.

talking about de—escalation is different from choosing the path. the united states killed a number of people, important personalities, both iraqi officials as well as iranian officials in a foreign territory. that's an act of war. even before the crisis, baghdad was not a peaceful city. its centre is full of memorials to hundreds of demonstrators, who, since october, have been shot dead demanding reform and an end to foreign interference. protesters are occupying tahrir, one of baghdad's main squares. this evening, their slogans were against both iran and the united states. so, iraq was in deep crisis before the assassination at baghdad airport imposed new layers of complexity and danger. these people here think they're in a revolution. now all of this isn't just a problem for iraqis, it should be worrying for the rest

of us as well. because foreign interference in iraq has a history of sending shock waves, notjust across the region, but further afield as well. it felt peaceful in tahrir square tonight. they all know that can change fast. iraqis understand what war does. they're still suffering the consequences of the american and british invasion of 2003. now tehran and washington could blight another iraqi generation. we want iraq, the iraqi people to manage their country. we don't want any interference of any country in the world, or from the neighbours. but now there's a crisis with america and iran. will that make life much harder for these people? yes, sure. he was weeping for his dead brother,

and because the iraqi parliament had backed iran. this mother was mourning her dead son, a demonstrator. too many lives in the middle east are wrecked by political turmoil and violence. in tahrir square, protesters lined up for food hand—outs in a country where people, once again, fear tomorrow. jeremy bowen, bbc news, baghdad. speaking tonight, president trump has described qasem soleimani as a monster and said many lives had been saved as a result of his death. he insisted the us is ready to act against iran if provoked but maintained any action would be within international law. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant reports. today donald trump was observing normal, diplomatic protocols, a genial welcome for the greek prime minister. but he is the most unpredictable president ever to occupy

the white house, an impulsiveness that sowed so much uncertainty amongst his foes, his allies and even those amongst his own administration. he defended his order to kill general soleimani, perhaps the most consequential foreign policy decision taken by a us president since the invasion of iraq. he's been called a monster and he was a monster. and he is no longer a monster, he is dead. and that's a good thing for a lot of countries, and he was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people, and we stopped him. the president stepped back today from his threat to deliberately target iranians cultural treasures, strikes that would have been a war crime. his reversal came after the pentagon and us state department had publicly contradicted their commander in chief by stressing they abide by international law. every action we take will be consistent with the international rule of law and the american people can rest assured that is the case. let me tell you who has done damage to the persian culture — it isn't the united states of america.

it is the ayatollah. in parliament, it was the defence secretary rather than the prime minister who called for calm on all sides. a message it seemed for washington as well as tehran. the main focus of the uk government is to de—escalate this issue. none of us wants conflict, none of us wa nt of us wants conflict, none of us want our citizens, friends and allies to be put at risk. why not today came a timely indication of the fast saving power dynamics in the fast saving power dynamics in the middle east and russia's influence, as vladimir putin made a surprise visit to the syrian president, a brutal dictator the iranians helped to keep in power. it sometimes feels like donald trump is pursuing a modern day version of what richard nixon called the madmen theory. creating a sense among american adversaries that he would be prepared to take the most extreme military options, casting aside the notion of proportionality. he has also repeatedly stated he doesn't wa nt to also repeatedly stated he doesn't want to embroil his country in another middle east war, an

objective made much harder by his decision to assassinate general soleimani. america are sending will be to its base in the indian ocean, plains for decades that have symbolised its military might. will the perception that donald trump lacks restraint to check the response from iran? 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar is in the houses of parliament for us this evening. we saw the defence secretary there saying the government's priority is to de—escalate the situation but there's a limit to what the government here can actually do. that's right, fiona. the uncomfortable truth is that coursing the case for restraint is about the extent of the british ministers power to influence events in the crisis, whether it is in a house, or whether like the foreign secretary had involve talking to counterparts, 01’ had involve talking to counterparts, or borisjohnson, had involve talking to counterparts, or boris johnson, who had involve talking to counterparts, or borisjohnson, who has been in

contact with president trump and the iraqi leadership, among others. but he has not been speaking publicly on behalf of the government. his absence in the house of commons earlier on today was conspicuous. i doubt he will mind too much being told about that by his defeated labour rival today. but it is worth pointing out that past prime ministers have chosen to lead the line at moments of crisis on this scale. when you remember that donald trump acted without informing, let alone consulting britain on what he was about to do, it is easier to make the case that borisjohnson‘s clout in the white house is a lot less tha n clout in the white house is a lot less than that of past prime ministers with past presidents. yes, some british diplomats, officials, military personnel, have very good relationships with counterparts in washington. but they are not, it seems, often the kind of people that donald trump wants to consult with. so ata donald trump wants to consult with. so at a time of crisis, a time of definition for britain's role in the world, britain looks to many eyes,

not just exposed, but world, britain looks to many eyes, notjust exposed, but also lacking the kind of clout that british ministers would like. that may or may not be a cause for political criticism. it is a fact. john, at westminster, thank you. a woman who was convicted of lying about being gang raped in cyprus is about to land back in england after the judge in the case gave her a suspended prison sentence. in july last year, the 19—year—old reported to police that she had been raped by up to 12 israeli men in ayia napa. she then retracted the allegation under what she now says was pressure from the cypriot authorities and maintains that she was raped. live now to our correspondent anna holligan in ayia napa. this young woman may soon be back home, but that is not going to be the end of the story, is it? that's right, fiona. she is heading home, but with this criminal conviction, and her lawyer say with traumatic stress disorder. this has caused her significant damage, but also highlighted just how vulnerable

british teenagers can be when they travel abroad. the end of a six month nightmare. her mother says it should never have come to this. she's coming home. but with a criminal record and a four month suspended sentence hanging over her. her lawyers described it as a miscarriage ofjustice. she was left with nobody in the world, left stranded on the island of cyprus with no support. it was the summer of 2019, the teenager accused a group of israeli tourists of of raping her inside this hotel. the next day they were brought to court. then she changed her statement. the israeli men were released and allowed to fly home the following day. she was then charged with public mischief. a few weeks later,

she said cypriot police officers pressurised her to change the statement, while she was alone in a police station with no lawyer, translator or family to support her. this case has united women, cypriot and israeli, who believe that the british teenager was violated by the israeli men and the entire system. we all felt very sorry and very angry with the result of a system that blames women who are the complainant for rape or violence, and they seek the protection of the state. sitting here in court, the judge referred to the mitigating circumstances. her young age, the fact she had no previous run—ins with the law, and her mental health. he also acknowledge the fact she had been forced to hand over her passport and stay on the island which meant she had missed out on the start of a university course.

the israeli men's lawyer said they welcomed the decision. translation: they are relieved their factual version has been accepted and they are happy that the teenager has received a long and tough lesson on her criminal acts. the british government has expressed serious concern about this conviction. there isa concern about this conviction. there is a broader issue for brits travelling not just in is a broader issue for brits travelling notjust in cyprus, but in europe, travelling abroad, whether it is a holiday or backpacking, that they can do so safely and securely as possible. the 19—year—old flew to aya napa for a summerjob. 19—year—old flew to aya napa for a summer job. there has 19—year—old flew to aya napa for a summerjob. there has been global condemnation over the way this case was handled by the cypriot authorities. and it raises questions about the safety of a holiday destination visited by over 1 million british tourists every year. greater manchester police has said more potential victims of the serial

rapist reynhard sinaga have come forward following his sentencing. yesterday, sinaga was jailed for life with a 30 year minimum for 159 sex offences, most of them rapes. he lured men from manchester clubs to his flat where he drugged and assaulted them. sinaga's father, in a phone call to the bbc, said the family accepts the verdict and his punishment fits his crimes. a teenager has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a police officer who died after being dragged along a road by a van in berkshire. pc andrew harper was killed last august as he investigated a burglary. henry long will go on trial in march for murder — which he denies. rebecca long—bailey has become the latest labour mp to join the contest to be labour leader. a key member ofjeremy corbyn‘s team, she said that the party's failure at the polls had been due to a lack of strategy, rather than issues withjeremy corbyn, whose leadership she said was "ten out of ten". any leader who leads us into a general election defeat needs

to take ultimate responsibility. but he also set out a radical platform for policy development that involved the grassroots in our trade unions and develop some of the most exciting and innovative policies that we seen in a generation. australian firefighters are continuing to battle around 200 wildfires in the states of new south wales and victoria in the south east of the country. cooler temperatures in the past few days have allowed crews time to contain some of the spread, but new pockets of fire are emerging all the time. 25 people are known to have died, including three volunteer firefighters. around 1,900 homes have been completely destroyed and up to 500 million animals killed with fears some species may have been wiped out entirely. cobargo is a rural village in new south wales that has been very badly hit by the flames and clive myrie is there for us now. clive.

good evening, fiona. this community is hardy, it is resilient and resourceful. local people themselves have set up this disaster relief centre, and there is food, clothing, water, and even toiletries over there, truckloads of donations arriving every single day from all over australia and around 2000 people are being helped here. it is aid and support that is vitally needed as we found out the very first minute we arrived in the village. we reach cobargo late at night after a seven—hour drive. there's no electricity — the only illumination, solar powered christmas lights. crickets chirp a few hours later, dawn. birdsong on scorched farmland,

the sound of gunshots mingled with birdsong, as local farmers had to put down hundreds of injured animals. i grew up on this street, i planted that tree. see that tree? ronnie ayliffe leads me through the shattered village. it's pretty tough to live next to this and see all of the things that were my street. herfear is, while many stayed to defend their properties, others will now want to leave. do you want to live among the asbestos? would you? would you want to do that? no, our community is still fighting to survive. this is what her village endured. the video was filmed by ronnie's father, brian, a highly decorated former volunteer firefighter. the flames, just metres from his house. sad day. the heart and soul of a little rural village just ripped out.

paying tribute to the firefighters who tried to save his village, brian invokes winston churchill. when our main street had finished and the buildings were smouldering and i saw the red and blue flashing lights downtown, and frustration, i wished i was with them. and i thought to myself, this was their finest hour. and one of those whose hour had come was his own son, mark, a volunteer firefighter captain. he's been praised for his work by the australian prime minister, but there's still a gnawing feeling inside. it is a horrible feeling. i can't describe it, the feeling of helplessness. the feeling of guilt. i know i did everything i could, but you still feel you wish you could protect everywhere. that was really the most difficult thing i had ever faced.

to see mark downtown and not be able to do anything for him. he was by himself. i am so proud of what he did. we've told the story of one family's journey through the nightmare of the bushfires. there are so many more. but what unites them all is a desire for communities to heal and move on. if we go, what remains is gone. and we can't do that. not yet, you know. we'll fight the second fight. we fought a fire front and now we have to fight to rebuild this place. remarkable people there, one family but there are so many stories of courage and bravery throughout this appalling crisis. we've just

courage and bravery throughout this appalling crisis. we'vejust heard of one local volunteer fire fighter who rescued three kids from a burning building, got them in the back of a pick—up, and drove 100 miles an hour through a fireball to get them to hospital. they are all 110w get them to hospital. they are all now being treated. amazing stories, remarkable. but you know what it's going to get hotter towards the end of the week and the fear is more lives will be put in danger. fiona, back to you. clive in cobargo, thank you. let's take a look at some of today's other news. hackers are holding the foreign exchange company travelex to ransom after a cyber attack on new year's eve forced the firm to turn off all computer systems. the gang responsible claims to have downloaded five gigabytes of sensitive customer data and are asking for £6 million for the information to be deleted. meanwhile, the information commissioner's office says it has not received a report from travelex, required by law within 72 hours of a data breach. a 17—year—old neo—nazi, the youngest person convicted of planning a terror attack on the uk, has beenjailed

for more than six years. the boy, who has autism, wrote about an "inevitable race war" in his diary and listed locations to attack in his home city of durham such as schools, pubs and local synagogues. in america, the swedish furniture giant, ikea, has agreed to pay around £35 million to the family of a toddler who was killed when a chest of drawers fell on him. it's believed to be the largest such settlement in us history. the agreement with the family of two—year—old jozef dudek‘s requires ikea do more to find customers who have bought the same furniture. large numbers of train journeys connecting the biggest cities in the north of england have been cancelled this month because of the late delivery of new train carriages. the provider, transpennine express, which runs services between liverpool, manchester, leeds and edinburgh, already has one of the worst track records for delays. our north of england correspondent danny savage reports. the train arriving at platform four at manchester victoria this lunch

time was running on time, but many of these services operated by transpennine express are not as punctual. this is a transpennine express service to scarborough. already today, more than a quarter of transpennine express services have been late, very late, or canceled. and this has been ongoing for months. so the company has agreed to compensate season—ticket holders. they will get a 3% rebate, but it's not what passengers really want. you're getting to work late, so your boss is angry with you. you're getting home late, so your partner's angry with you. it's not a great time to be traveling with transpennine, it's about putting this right and recognising that the compensation package is welcome, but, actually, what passengers really want is stable service. for a few months last year, transpennine express was the worst performing train company in britain, with only 40% of services arriving on time. it's been poor again in recent weeks, this is anything but first—class. it's every week.

yeah. it's every week, would everyone agree? last month, a hospital consultant told us how bad it is. all the cancellations and delays really impact on my working week. to the point where i, sometimes, it's really quite embarrassing how late we arrive. i get there to a packed waiting room, staff are waiting for me. it's actually quite upsetting. transpennine has signs on board trains, saying it is truly sorry for its poor performance. but civic leaders say passengers have had enough. they say to you, in tears, that, you know, they've been at risk of losing theirjobs. they haven't been able to get home to pick their kids up from childcare. we are all at the point well beyond receiving explanation, something needs to change. the late delivery of some of its new trains means transpennine has also axed about 35% of services on its liverpool to edinburgh route. the transport secretary is demanding explanations. there's a feeling that politicians are running out of patience with train operators in northern

england. danny savage, bbc news. the nominations have been announced for this year's bafta awards, which celebrate the best in british and international tv and film. they have not been without controversy as the nominees list has been criticised for not being sufficiently diverse. all of the nominees in the acting categories are white and no female directors were nominated for the seventh year in a row. last year, bafta introduced new rules saying films would not be nominated for best british film or best british debut unless they met two out of four diversity standards. however, these criteria don't extend to the acting and directing awards. england's cricketers have won the second test against south africa with a dramatic 189 run victory. it was their first victory in cape town since the 1950s. joe wilson reports on how man of the match — ben stokes — claimed the final three wickets in the very last hour of the game.

england's followers in cape town weren't born when they last won a test match here — most of them. all their hearts lea pt all their hearts leapt when south africa's captain fell. taken! peter milan had resisted everything until this. good catch from stokes. but quinton de kock‘s slowest ever 50 was perfect for the occasion. after tea, england desperately needed inspiration — or a mistake. oh, he caught him. oh, quinton. james anderson looked far below par bowling, but he could still catch. van der dussen out. cut to the home dressing room. right. now, over to ben stokes. root‘s catch. two more wickets needed now. very next ball, crawley, the incredible catcher, one hand and then the other. gone! imagine ben stokes had seen everything in cricket? no. ben! only in the last glow of a test match's fifth day would you get this drama. catch that — yes! the winning wickets, stokes.

whether it is a battle with the ball, i'm going to try to influence it for the team i've played for. everyone has thrown everything at south africa today and that has gone a long way to making sure we won the game. he is part of the team, he is the heart of the team. joe wilson, bbc news. that's all from me. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello, you're watching sportsday on bbc news. i'm ben croucher, and these are your top stories. silva service for city as they storm ahead in their league cup semi final against rivals manchester united. if 2019 was ben stokes' year, he's started 2020 pretty well too,

bowling england to victory in the second test against south africa. and we'll tell you why some of the sports at the commonwealth games in birmingham might actually be taking place in delhi. let's start at old trafford, then, where we were treated to a manchester derby in the semi final of the league cup. we were treated to some sumptious football from the team in sky blue. city 3—0 up in the first leg by half time against united. it finished 3—1 with united facing an almighty task in the second leg in three weeks' time. here's our correspondent, katie gornall. on the lookout for noisy neighbours.

fans arrived to increased security for the star be following concerns that offence off the pitch good once more grab unwanted attention. manchester is were entitled to 7000 tickets here at old trafford. by the last time the two sides met, there we re last time the two sides met, there were a number of incidents, including the alleged racist abuse of united midfielder fred by city supporters. both clubs decided to get together and reduce the allocation. officiallyjust 3000 city supporters were inside old trafford, and before long, they were the ones making all the noise. according to united's manager, city have raised the bar under coach pep guardiola. how good is that? and here they were at their brilliant best. bernardo silva with a derby classic after only 16 minutes. city had no out and out striker in their starting xi. turns out they didn't need one, as silva achieved goal number two. united were anything

but, as once more in the first half, their defence was overwhelmed by a dizzying swirl of blue. for the majority at old trafford, this was difficult for watch. but this city defence will always give you a chance. and marcus rashford, captain for the first time, seized his. another goal could change everything, but city held out. they may be getting left behind in the title race, but in the semifinal, they've surged ahead — and it's only half—time. katie gornall, bbc news, manchester. next to cricket, where south africa went into the final day of the second test against england needing to bat out the day to rescue a draw. england needed eight wickets. it went down to the last hour of the final session and guess who england turned to? ben stokes, with three wickets, to help england win in cape town for the first time since 1957 and level the four test series at 1—1. south africa looked to be frustrating england for much of the day with pieter malan batting for almost six hours in the second innings before he fell for 8h.