with their loved ones, because, when they are released, those relationships are going to be really important in keeping them on the straight and narrow. but the idea of making prison life more comfortable has been criticised by the conservative mp and former shadow home affairs minister andrew rossindell will, who tweeted he thought the idea of being sent to jail was to punish criminals and take away their freedom and creature comforts. his comments, though, have been challenged by the prison governors association. we would disagree with prison being a place of punishment. the fact that you are sent to prison is the punishment. we shouldn't further punish people whilst in prison. our role is to reduce reoffending, so that when they go back into the community, they are able to integrate and there is less chance of them reoffending. the authorities say that prisoners will only be able to call a few approved numbers and conversations can be monitored at any time. it's hoped that violence within prisons will also fall — a problem the government has been struggling with.

john mcmanus, bbc news. let's take a look at some of today's other news. and a man has been arrested at luton airport on suspicion of terrorism offences relating to syria. the 32—year—old was detained by counter—terror police officers last night. he arrived at the airport on an inbound flight. he was taken to a police station in the bedfordshire area, where he remains in custody. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has urged the prime minister to cut short mps‘ christmas break to allow for an earlier vote on her brexit deal. mps are due back in the commons on the 7th of january, and theresa may has said the vote on the eu withdrawal agreement will take place the following week. however, mr corbyn said it must happen "as soon as possible". royal mail has apologised over a stamp produced to commemorate the d—day landings which actually showed us troops on a beach in asia. it was said to depict the normandy landings but was actually taken in what is modern—day indonesia.

the stamp was due to be released next year in a "best of british" collection. more than half a million potholes were reported by members of the public to local authorities in the uk last year, according to new research. the rac says the figure proves road conditions are worsening. in october's budget, the government pledged more than £400 million to tackling the problem. our transport correspondent, tom burridge, reports. they're a hazard, sometimes huge, almost impossible to count. so, this is a typically damaged wheel. we see no less than six a day. sometimes as many as ten cars a day, which are only here because of pothole damage. just one garage, in one area. for the last two or three years it has been getting worse and worse. the scale of the problem nationwide, it must run into millions and millions in terms of the cost of damage to the road user at the moment, it is really, really scary. and today we have new figures confirming a big rise in potholes on our roads. the number of potholes reported by people in 150 local

authorities in england, scotland and wales rose by a whopping 44% in two years. this guy feels potholes are his calling. he argues that real investment in repairing road surfaces, instead of patching potholes up, would ultimately save money. if you did a proper investment plan, changed the culture, training, contracts, supervision, the right quality of materials, 95% of potholes could be eradicated from ever appearing on our road network. the rac says councils don't have the money and the government needs to act. what we require is a long—term funding mechanism whereby local authorities can plan ahead and actually deal with the specific issue of the structural defects, rather than simply filling in potholes. the government says it's giving councils an extra £400 million for local road repairs this year, and funding trials to identify potential potholes so roads can be repaired before they form. one of the world's rarest birds —

a species of duck called the madagascar pochard — has been given a new home. a british team of conservationists has released a small group of birds at a lake in the north of madagascar. as our science correspondent victoria gill reports, it's the first step in the recovery of a species that was once thought to be extinct. 0n the brink of extinction... the madagascar pochard was thought to have been wiped out completely. wetland habitats here have been so polluted and damaged that the birds were forced into a last untouched area. but as pristine as it looks, this final refuge is actually too deep and too cold for the pochards to thrive. they are clinging onto existence

in a place that isn't really suited to them. the threats that they face across the rest of madagascar — which is why they've been wiped out so extensively — are vast and range from sedimentation, invasive species, pollution, poor agricultural practices. a whole suite of different things combining to make a perfect storm and making it hard for a species like the madagascar pot charge to survive. after bringing a few birds into captivity to start a breeding programme, the researchers scoured madagascar for the best possible site to bring them back to the wild. lake sofia, in the north of madagascar, will be the pochards‘ new home. and for the world's rarest birds, the team has developed an extra level of protection. well, it might be bit of a different climate here in gloucestershire compared to madagascar, but the team at the wetlands here have been able to develop this floating aviary. the idea is, it'll keep the birds safe and get them accustomed to their new lake. swimming off, swimming off...

the doors to their floating aviary have now been opened and the pochards are venturing out to explore. it's a small — but significant — step, conservationists say, in saving one species from extinction and in protecting madagascar‘s threatened wetlands. victoria gill, bbc news. before we go, some rather unusual pictures from new york overnight. the city skyline was turned blue, the result of an explosion at a power plant in the east of the city. police brought the fire under control and nobody was injured. there were also power cuts across the city, which caused some flight cancellations and delays. power and services have now been restored. there's more throughout the afternoon on the bbc news channel. we're back with the teatime news at 6:30pm. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye.

hello. this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the number of illegal knives seized at the uk's borders has more than doubled in a year. official figures show officers took possession of more than 7,600 blades during the 12 months to september. it comes as knife crime in england and wales reaches an eight year high. adam woods reports. seized at britain's borders, thousands of deadly and illegal weapons. knives and swords destined for the streets. in the 12 months to september this year, border force staff confiscated more than 7,600 blades, that's double the number seized the previous year. the figures also show a big rise

in the number of other weapons found by officers, including batons and knuckle—dusters. two teenagers have been stabbed in south london... a man has been stabbed to death in london... and this is why police are so concerned. knife crime in england and wales is at its highest for eight years. this month, 18—year—old jay sewell became the latest victim in london. 73 people stabbed to death in the capital this year alone, many of them teenagers. in the west midlands, where police are dealing with a huge rise in violent crime, amnesties have been set up to take weapons off the streets. as the tally of those killed and injured increases, how best to deal with knife crime remains a challenge. the home office says tackling illegal smuggling of weapons into the country is a key priority. adam woods, bbc news. a lifeboat crew in cornwall say a fisherman who fell

overboard near newlyn whilst adjusting his nets has been "amazingly" lucky to survive. nathan rogers managed to cling onto his nets forfive miles, while the boat took him back to shore on autopilot. he was treated for severe hypothermia and is now recovering at home. i spoke by telephone to the coxswain of the penlee lifeboat patch harvey — who played a crucial role in his rescue and who had been called out to deal with a separate incident before asked to help. we were called out about half an hour before that incident to a fishing vessel that was unable to get in. it was on the way back that we were alerted to the fishermen in the water. when you got to his vessel, what sort of state was he in? luckily, there was another fishing vessel that saw him. he alerted us. he got there and held on to the fisherman until we arrived. when we arrived and got him out

the water we realised he was hypothermic and we didn't understand why because we didn't realise he had been holding on to the boat for half an hour. we just thought he had fallen over a few minutes before. we were quite shocked when we heard the full story. he was in the water for over an hour? over an hour, yes. how he held on for that long in those conditions i don't know. he was able to cling on to the nets and the boat was on autopilot and thankfully for him the boat was heading in the right direction. if the boat had been going in a different direction he would not be here now. so it is very fortunate. so he is now back at home butjust explain if you have been in water for that length of time at that temperature, you say he was hypothermic, what does that look like? he just looked grey and really cold. his speech was slurring and we knew straight away that he was really cold. the crew took his clothes off

and wrapped him in warm blankets and put him on oxygen and rang 999 for an ambulance. they were quick to arrive and he was in the ambulance for about an hour before they took him to hospital so he must have been severely hypothermic. this man, nathan rogers, is telling the story now but at the time he couldn't tell you what had happened. no, we did not know for a good while what the full story was. we were just amazed and in shock at what had happened. we didn't know that he was in trouble but we actually passed him two miles further south on the way to tow the other vessel in, so it isjust a shame we did not see him then as we could have gotten out a bit earlier. that word "lucky" you hear a lot but in this particular case... very, very, very lucky i would say! we are glad because he is a popular guy and very experienced and we're

just glad he's all right. that was the captain of the lifeboat speaking a little earlier. five monks have been attacked during a church robbery in the austrian capital vienna. the assailants reportedly entered the catholic church with a gun, forcing the monks to the ground and assaulting them before fleeing the scene. bethany bell has more. police have sealed off the catholic church of maria immaculata in vienna, where five monks were violently attacked. on thursday afternoon, assailants entered the church, brandishing a gun. they forced a monk to the ground, tied him up and kicked and repeatedly beat him with metal tools. he suffered serious head injuries. four other monks who entered the church a little later will also set upon, beaten and tied up with cables and rope. they were discovered more than three hours later. police say they don't believe it was a terrorist attack.

translation: the exact motive is unclear. but i think we can rule out terrorism. there is a large spectrum of possible motives. it might be a robbery, an act of violence, or perhaps an act of revenge. a large manhunt is under way. the injured monks are being treated in hospital. the head of the austrian catholic church, cardinal christoph schonborn, said he was deeply shocked by the attack. churches, he said, should be places of peace. bethany bell, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... three men are found guilty of the murder of five people who died after an explosion in a shop in leicester in february. the music retailer hmv is about to go into administration putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk. after a surge in the number of migrants crossing from france —

calls to step up patrols in the english channel. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. and there is an amazing goal at the end of it. will say that to the end. —— save. 0le gunnar solksjaer is urging romelu lukaku and alexis sanchez to follow the example of paul pogba and step up their performances for manchester united. both players have struggled for form this season and their new caretaker manager couldn't say if either will go straight back into the side once they're fit. united host bournemouth on sunday. i cannot do anything for their performances on the pitch. paul has done it himself, the players have done the performances. my chats with anthony, romelu, alexis, they'd not felt they could produce the best football. i am here to guide them, help them on the path and it's up to them to do it on the pitch.

and former arsenal chairman peter hill—wood, who presided over the appointments of george graham and arsene wenger, has died at the age of 82. he became chairman in 1982 and was instrumental in the move from highbury to the emirates stadium. he stepped down from the role five years ago because of ill health. russia's anti—doping agency has appealed to president vladimir putin to help them avoid being suspended again by the world anti—doping agency. a wada inspection team was denied full access to a moscow anti—doping laboratory last week. russia must transfer athletes‘ sample data by monday or risk being banned again from international events. slovenian skier klemen kosi has been airlifted by helicopter to hospital after a spectacular crash in a world cup downhill in italy. that happened in the last hour. kosi lost control toward

the end of the course and tumbled through two layers of safety netting before coming to a stop. his skis flew into the air as he hit the nets. he was reported to be sitting up and conscious before being taken to hospital for treatment. a spectacular crash in italy in the last hour or so. india are edging towards victory in the third test down under, despite a late fight back by australia. they're leading by 346 runs with two days to go. pat cummins has given the hosts a faint hope of a comeback after they were bowled out for 151. he took four quick wickets, including india's captain virat kohli for a duck, as the tourists ended the day on 54—5. the series is currently tied at 1—1 with just the sydney test to go next week. if i don't believe myself, who else will? i always try to back myself in any situation that i go. yes, the start has been good, played in england, south africa, here, three different kinds of conditions. i have not yet played a test match in india.

but whenever you go to different countries, it's a different experience, new learning that you take away from every country. i'm really happy with the start. let's see how it goes. a top score by england wicket keeper jos buttler wasn't enough to save sydney thunder from their first defeat in this season's big bash in australia. buttler cleared the boundary four times on his way to 89 in the match against hobart hurricanes. his team mate and england captain joe root didn't fare so well, only managing 17 runs before he was out. matthew wade and d'arcy short‘s partnership of 119 was key to hurricanes‘ seven wicket victory. and we have saved the best for last. how's this for a late contender for own goal of 2018. it happened during a serie b clash after a back pass to the goalkeeper. ascoli's filippo perucchini then dribbled the ball into his own net.

i don't know what was going through his mind. it didn't end well — his side lost to palermo. bad news for that poor goalkeeper, i'm afraid. we have to show that again. this has gone completely viral on the internet. someone has just tweeted that they should call him upforthe just tweeted that they should call him up for the italian national squad because at least he can score a goal. let's see it one more time. poor guy. a backpass to him and he is in acres of space. there is the attacker and what is he doing... laughter he tries to turn around and itjust goes into the back of the net. just one of those mental blocks. goalkeepers don't have any room for error. anyone else would have got away with a fairly dodgy backpass. that is the stuff of nightmares. we will be back to you later on. christmas day is over and many

households are now thinking about getting rid of mountains of waste generated by the festive season. so what happens to all that extra rubbish? our business correspondent sean farrington has been to a recycling plant in sheffield to find out. it is a big week for recycling factories like this one in sheffield, because we produce about 30% more waste than ordinary, about 123,000 tonnes more in england. stephen is here with us was head of recycling. this business, you turn waste into glass for reuse, how do you make money out of it? there is a big demand for the colour we produce in the furnaces in the uk to make new bottles. we get the right quantity and we can make the right quality to make it into a bottle. how is the market at the minute? the uk has a strong demand and it is really good. there is a lot to talk about, not just over what businesses like this can do but retailers and consumers.

we have claire and margaret with us. in terms of sustainability, you are an expert, customers and consumers doing enough? we hear this morning — use the right stuff and put it in the right recycling bin. there is more consumers could do. they need to factor the environmental consequences of what they do into purchasing decisions and their disposal. there is a waste strategy out from the government that will change the way people will do things. is it the right one? it isa it is a resource and waste strategy which is the key thing. we need to look at valuing the materials. this is not rubbish glass, it is virgin material, or secondary material that will go into new bottles and we need to do that as consumers, thinking about the value of the stuff we have got and treating it with respect so we have the quality and quantity needed for more manufacturer. you see from the different colours

of bottles the way retailers have to change to get consumers to buy. do they take recycling into account? some do, but some perhaps do not appreciate the complexity. the thing is retailers, manufacturers and waste management companies could work together to better understand the impact of choices they make for packaging. it is great to see products injazzy packaging but if it means the product cannot be recycled, it is a harmful environmental decision and if people were more aware of the choices made when they bought products, they could perhaps vote with their wallets to force manufacturers to produce products in more sustainable packaging to increase the likelihood of recycling. claire and margaret, thank you very much. all of this glass we see, it might turn up in some bottles next christmas, as well. the bbc has confirmed it will be

axing its long—running film programme next year. there will be no film 2019 — instead the broadcaster says it's exploring ideas for a new show featuring film reviews and news, for television and online platforms. the programme first aired in 1971 and has been fronted by barry norman, jonathan ross and most recently claudia winkleman. it's been a year of extreme weather in the uk, from ‘the beast from the east‘ at the start of the year, to sizzling heat waves in the summer. but how has this affected our wildlife? earlier our correspondent jayne mccubbin was at a wetland centre in 0rmskirk, west lancashire. it‘s doing really well here, actually. you‘ve spoken about this erratic weather, which the national trust has likened to a roller—coaster ride, this year. these peaks of 35 degrees in the summer, the likes of which we haven‘t seen since the 1970s, to the troughs of that really arctic, icy winter at the start of the year that we had, with lows of —14, the likes of which we haven‘t really

seen since, perhaps on a handful of occasions, since the 1960s. there‘s been winners and losers. let‘s chat to louise from martin mere to hear about the winners. the cold weather has brought huge numbers here? it's been absolutely fantastic. a lot of the birds we get here in the winter at martin mere are from places like the continent, iceland, russia. they are escaping the cold, so when we get a lovely cold snap, they all congregate here at martin mere, where we have got loads of food and they absolutely love it. it is an amazing spectacle. so perhaps pink—footed geese you would normally get. how many and how many did you have this year? normally, we get around 10—20,000. this year, 30—40,000. so just lots and lots of birds all at once. it is absolutely amazing. brilliant for you guys, but there have been losers, too. come and chat to peter. you are an animal ecologist with the national trust. what have you been most concerned

by, the numbers being affected by the weather extremes? this year, while the adult butterflies, things like a large blue, chalkhill blue, did really well, we are concerned because of the drought conditions, the food plants they feed on were scorched and dry. so the caterpillars might not have done quite so well as we would like. it is very much a case of keeping an eye on what happens with the adult butterflies next year. you are keeping an eye, you are trying to mitigate against some of the worst of these weather extremes by creating a nature corridor. tell me more. the national trust is creating 25,000 hectares of new habitat. that's about 96 square miles of new, really high—quality habitat, all across the country. also, with the way we farm, most of our land is going to be in high nature status. that means that the animals will be able to move around. one of the things with climate and weather, we need the animals

and plants to be able to move and to adapt to new conditions. adapt and survive. thank you very much. we have had quite a spectacle over my shoulder this morning. they have quietened down now, but the flamingos on the far bank have been doing their mating dance, which is hugely impressive. and the eider ducks, i do not know if you can make out — the black—and—white ducks here, which, as per live television, have managed to go away from us — they have been responding with something that sounds like a kenneth williams call. a kind of "oooh—oh". you can practise that one at home. i will leave that one with you. an eider duck. nice. peaks and troughs of weather conditions, a roller—coaster ride. the only thing that is certain for next year is more of the same, really. more erratic weather on the way. the music retailer hmv is at risk of becoming the first

post—christmas high street casualty as it teeters on the brink of administration. our business correspondent theo leggett is with me now. there has been a statement. yes, kpmg has been nominated as administrator of the business after an extremely weak christmas footfall and a further deterioration in the uk market for cds and dvds. not only is the high street very weak at the moment but other retailers are suffering as well. its core business it is also selling dvds. a sense of deja vu because they have had trouble before? they went into administration six years ago. a company stepped in and bought the most profitable stores and introduced a restructuring programme, changed the products they

sold and make them profitable for a while. but the market has been changing, sales of physical dvds and cds have been declining and have been very bad in the run—up to christmas and as a result the business model still does not work. thank you very much for the latest on the difficulties at hmv. time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. the weather is looking settled for most of us as we had through the final days of 2019. we do have a bit of rain on the cards. this is the scene out there taken by one of our weather watchers earlier on with beautiful low light. through the rest of the day it is looking dry and settled with decent spells of sunshine developing this afternoon. it was a cloudy sort of mourning. the best of the sunshine will be in eastern scotland, northern ireland,

south—east of england is also seeing more sunshine developing through this afternoon. variable amounts of cloud elsewhere and temperatures ranging between nine in norwich and 12 in belfast. clear whetherfor a time this evening but through tonight this area of rain comes in from the north—west the wind picking up from the north—west the wind picking up with the arrival of patchy rain. with rain in the north and cloud further south there will be no frost but it could be a little murky in the south and windy in the north. this weather front works its way from west to east with high—pressure holding an further south and it is still pretty mild. the yellow colours indicate mild air. a little bit cooler in northern and eastern parts of scotland. patchy rain to start the day tomorrow across northern scotland with a few spots pushing south across england and wales. for the most part it is looking dry with sunshine breaking through in the afternoon especially

in the east. it will be windy in the morning but they should ease in the afternoon. and the temperatures are mild. if wejust afternoon. and the temperatures are mild. if we just zoom in to the top half of the uk, we could see gusts of up to 50 miles an hour. if we fast forward to sunday, bit of rain in the far north of scotland but dry elsewhere with much lighter winds. high—pressure holding on but a cloudy picture with lingering fog around and again it is mild. ten to 13 degrees on sunday. it does look like the dry unsettled conditions will hold on to new year‘s eve. high—pressure still in charge with a weather fronts to the far north so perhaps some rain in northern scotla nd perhaps some rain in northern scotland but if you have plans for new year‘s eve we are expecting mostly dry conditions to continue but a mostly dry conditions to continue butafairamount mostly dry conditions to continue but a fair amount of cloud and fog in the forecast. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines.

three men have been found guilty of the murder of five people