this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at four. three men have been 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 being put into administration placing more than 2000 jobs at risk. after a surge in the number of migrants crossing from france — calls to step up patrols in the english channel. potholes are getting worse — more than half a million were reported for repair last year, according to research. and coming up — one of the rarest birds in the world — the madagascar pochard — gets a new home. a british team of conservationists have released a small group of the birds at a lake in the north of madagascar. and the travel show team look back at their favourite places and adventures of 2018. three men have been found guilty

of murdering five people in an explosion which destroyed a shop and a flat in leicester. the three planned the blast in february, so they could make an insurance claim. 0ur correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn reports. a massive explosion shatters a quiet sunday evening. shortly after 7pm on the 25th of february, this building on one of leicester's main roads was completely destroyed, leaving five dead. mary ragoobar, two of her teenage sons — sean and shane, and his girlfriend, leah reek, had been spending an evening together in their flat. the light went out of our world on that terrible night,

and it is so difficult to put into words how much we miss leah. she was an amazing, inspirational young lady, who was just starting out on her life adventure. leah made a lasting impression on everybody lucky enough to know her. she was beautiful inside and out and she truly shone when she entered a room. she was never aware of the impact that she had on so many just by smiling at them. we will always miss that smile, her laughter and those beautiful curls. also killed — in the polish store below it — shop worker 22—year—old viktorija ijevleva. she'd been conspiring with three men — hawkar hassan, arkan ali and aram kurd. they deliberately caused the fire as part of a fraudulent insurance claim, hoping to make at least £300,000. this cctv footage shows them buying more than 20 litres of petrol the day before the explosion. they also bought other flammable materials to intensify the fire. i think there was clearly the element of planning, the greed,

financial gain took over from anything else, and they were callous really as to whether human life was affected by what they did. aram kurd ran the polish supermarket. prior to the explosion, he moved the cctv camera outside the shop, to obscure the view. here he is at the scene, just seconds afterwards. he'd been in the basement when it happened, then an hour later, talking to police. just go through, then, how it all come about. i don't want to talk about it. the bbc spoke to him the day afterwards, when it was unclear he was responsible. and how are you feeling at the moment? i don't know how to tell you. never, i feel how i am now. this was a cynically planned fraud with deadly consequences — the threat to people's lives callously disregarded. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news, leicester. the music and film retailer hmv

is going into administration. the store has been struggling with competition from online retailers and streaming services. it's the second time in five years that hmv has hit serious financial trouble — in 2013 it was rescued and restructured. our business correspondent theo leggett has the details. hmv is one of the oldest and best—known names on the british high street, but now the future of more than 120 stores and 2,200 employees is looking deeply uncertain. founded in the 1920s, it grew to become a retail giant, selling music, videos and computer games. but now, like other traditional store chains, it's struggling to cope with growing competition from online retailers. but that isn't the only problem hmv is facing. it still has a large number of physical stores like this one on the high street but, increasingly, consumers are moving online. and that's not the only issue.

streaming services are becoming more and more popular, which means many consumers don't even bother to buy dvds or cds any more. this has already been a dreadful year for traditional store chains. big names such as toys "r" us, maplin and poundworld have disappeared, while others have closed shops. and in this harsh environment, hmv is struggling to sell its products. with netflix or spotify, i don't ever buy anything. no, i don't buy any, i download everything. very rarely. i stream, of course. and, quite honestly, they clutter up the house. so, no. this isn't the first time hmv‘s been in trouble. it went into administration back in 2013, before being bought by its current owner, hilco. this time, however, a rescue might be more difficult. i don't think there is a future for this business as a going concern with the current amount of stores that it holds. another investor could come in, maybe keep that hmv brand with a much smaller store estate and manage to run that for a number of years but i think that's the most

optimistic outcome we can expect. whatever happens to hmv itself, the chill economic wind blowing down the high street means it's unlikely to be the last major retailer to feel the cold, in what may well be a bleak new year. theo leggett, bbc news. and theo leggett our correspondent gave us this update a short time ago. it has been seeing a steep fall in sales of dvds and cds and that is a big problem for hmv because it dominates the market for physical music, cds and dvds. that market, as a whole, has declined by a third during the christmas period, compared to a year ago and although hmv says it has itself done better than that, further falls in the market are expected extra year and that is simply unsustainable at a time when the retail sector, as a whole, is struggling. when it is struggling with the same pressures as other retailers and having to cope with things like high—level business rates. the point of administration is to find out if there is a business that can be sold as a going concern.

if there is not it will have to be taken apart and sold off. the idea is that the administrators will now look around, see if the whole business can be made viable in some way or if part of it can be made viable. if so that can be sold off so it could well happen that some stores continue to trade. all of them will trade in the short term but it could be that this will be a reduced business but still selling under the same brand. they will not be the only ones to come out, either now or in the new year, as they unfortunately things haven't worked out. the christmas period is incredibly important for a lot of retailers, particularly hmv because of the nature of what they sell. people buy dvds or cds as christmas presents, or at least they used to. more prisoners will be allowed to make phone calls from their cells under government plans to tackle violence and re—offending. currently 20 prisons in england and wales have phones inside cells , and wales have phones inside cells, they're closely monitored and can only call pre—approved numbers. £10 million will be spent extending the scheme to 50

prisons by early 2020. john mcmanus reports. for years, the authorities have struggled to stop illicit mobile phones making their way into prisons. along with drugs, they are big business behind bars because they allow some offenders to maintain contact with criminal associates. some gangs have resorted to using drones to deliver them over prison walls. stamping out their use has been a priority. hello. but now, the government says that thousands of prisoners will in future be able to make calls on landlines from their own cells. the scheme has already been tried at 20 prisons in england and wales, like here at 0akwood prison. that number will rise to 50 by march 2020. the government says it is vital that prisoners maintain contact with those most able to support their rehabilitation — theirfamilies. one of the things that helps reduce reoffending is maintaining family ties.

i think it is really important that we allow prisoners the opportunity to maintain those family ties, maintain links 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. 0ur 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. the number of illegal knives seized at the uk's borders has more than doubled in a year. official figures show officers took possesion 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. a man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, after arriving on an inbound flight at luton airport. the 32—year—old is in custody at a bedfordshire police station, on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. police say his arrest is syria—related, and not to do with any offences at luton airport. the investigation is being led by the metropolitan police's counter terror command. it's been confirmed that two british women and a baby were killed

when the 4x4 they were travelling in crashed off a bridge in iceland. the vehicle was carrying two brothers who were touring the country with their families, including two children aged seven and nine. four other british people in the vehicle were critically injured, as ben ando reports. the two families were in a toyota land cruiser, which crashed through railings and fell around 20 feet onto a dry riverbed below. first on the scene were the police and a local tour guide, who did all he could to help. i tried to talk a bit to the driver to calm him down. he was trapped inside the car. i was trying to tell him to save his energy and try to be patient, we will try to get him out of there. it was a very difficult situation. two adults and a child died at the scene. four others, including two children aged seven and nine, were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

translation: it was immediately clear that this was a very serious accident. a car had careered off the bridge, so immediately all available responders and resources were mobilised. it's understood that those involved come from two families and are british nationals of what's being described as indian origin. foreign office officials are assisting icelandic authorities, but the indian ambassador to iceland visited the hospital, where four survivors, two men and two children, are being treated, and spoke to doctors and nurses there. the bridge is a single track and is on the south—east section iceland's national ring road, in an area known for its spectacular waterfalls, volcanoes and glaciers. this morning, investigations into the cause will continue. though icelandic media is reporting that this bridge is a known accident danger spot and does not meet the latest safety standards. the government is facing calls to step up patrols

in the english channel, after a rise in the number of migrants trying to make the journey from france over the christmas period. 66 people have reached the uk in the past 3 days. butjust one of the five boats operated by the border force is currently patrolling the channel, as anisa kadri reports. on a mission for a better life, they risk their lives crossing the busiest shipping lane in the world. more than 60 migrants have arrived over the last few days, in small boats. now the government's facing calls to step up patrols in the channel. one of five cutters run by the border force is patrolling the area, but some, includign the former head of the force, want more resources in place to help migrants and prevent any deaths. we do need more patrols and we need more work needed activities between the water force and other agencies.

there are about 16 different agencies that have an interest in our coastal defences and i would like to see coordination between those agencies to ensure that we are making the best use of the resources we have, right across the piece to intercept these vessels as early as possible in the process and preferably before they leave france in the first place. the government says deployments are under constant review, but it's concerned that increasing patrols could encourage more migrants to try to reach the uk from france. 23 migrants reached kent on thursday. that's in addition to a0 on christmas day. in total, at least 209 have arrived in small boats since november. the mild weather is one of the potential reasons for the surge in arrivals. another possible reason is brexit, with people smugglers understood to be telling migrants that borders will become more difficult to cross when britain leaves the eu. well, really, what we need to do is to stop people making these journeys in the first place. so, more patrol boats is part of the answer, but it's also having the resources on the ground we need,

working in partnership with the french to identify the gangs, to stop them making the crossings in the first place. many of these migrants have escaped difficult circumstances, but the worry is that if these journeys continue, it's only a matter of time before there are fatalities. anisa kadri, bbc news. joining me is the conservative mp for dover & deal, charlie elphicke. there seems to be a large number of these people there seems to be a large number of these people coming there seems to be a large number of these people coming over there seems to be a large number of these people coming over in there seems to be a large number of these people coming over in recent days, i think 66 in the last three days, i think 66 in the last three days alone, what mortgage rightly thought is to do? this has been going on for over a the last few months. subjoined people have come to our shores and obviously it has intensified recently. it is really important that we have more cooperation with the french, make sure we work closely to find the

traffickers behind this problem and put a stop to it. where our most of these migrants coming from? do we know that? reports indicate that they are from iran and they are paying the trafficking organisations a lot of money, up to £30,000 so this is not an ordinary trafficking network. this is a highly funded network. this is a highly funded network and that is why it is important that we find these traffickers, bring them to justice before that is a tragedy in the middle of the channel. you docked about the french. do you feel they are not doing enough to stop these people getting into boats and coming across the channel? there are important questions. the french must have an idea or a leeds of who these traffickers are, they must have intelligence of words they are getting these boats and along the coast. they must have intelligence on how they are obtaining these books to get across the industrial and is important they are taking action and not turning in blind eye

to there. there is a risk of tragedy in the channel but there is also a risk of the calais migrant tragedy which showed people living in destitute conditions. we cannot risk that again. in terms of the draw boats on the dish side, would like to see more? —— patrol boat. boats on the dish side, would like to see more? -- patrol boat. we only have one or two to control the entire british coastline in contrast to the italians and the spanish you have hundreds and hundreds. two of oui’ have hundreds and hundreds. two of our control craft seem to be in the mediterranean. the home secretary said he would bring at least one of them back to patrol our what is. i think we need to know more about what the home office are planning on that. the control craft is not the whole answer. the most important thing is cooperation between the uk and the french to put a stop to the trafficking network behind this and

to stop these crossings taking place at. there is a debate about patrol craft and if you put on more or have more in the channel, that might encourage more migrants because they think there is a higher chance of them being rescued and coming ashore evenif them being rescued and coming ashore even if it is into an asylum centre. ido even if it is into an asylum centre. i do not accept that. it is really important week interdict the traffickers. there is a lot of intelligence that indicates people are not just taking intelligence that indicates people are notjust taking a small inflata ble are notjust taking a small inflatable across the entire 30 mile straight of the incas channel, predict we not in winter. there's a level of leaf beer being dropped off, just a mile of two of the coast and the dead of night so for patrol craft to pick up that particular issue, i think is worthwhile because you can then capture people who are behind this trafficking. how many would like to see in operation on the channel? have you got a number mind? i think it is clear that one is simply not enough. we need to ask

questions. what are the two patrol craft doing in the mediterranean, would be be better placed in the interest channel? i have also agreed to meet the immigration minister to talk about whether we are getting the balance right and how the corporation is working between the united kingdom and the french authorities which is the most important thing to put a stop to this. the best thing to stop people making these interest journeys this. the best thing to stop people making these interestjourneys is to start them coming across europe and the first place. we have a tremendous investment in our international aid scheme to provide support to people near conflict zones. that is the right thing to do. the wrong thing to do is to encourage people to make dangerous journeys that often end up in tragedy. thank you for being with us. the headlines on bbc news... three men have been 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 being put into administration placing more than two thousand 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 is hugh. 0le gunnar solksjaer has asked two of his underperforming players romelu lukaku and alexis sanchez to follow the example of paul pogba at manchester united by stepping up their game. the new caretaker manager couldn't say if either will go straight back into the side once they're fit. united's next game in the premier league is on sunday against bournemouth. 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. arsenal's former long—standing 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. brendan rodgers says it might not help rangers to have restricted the amount of celtic fans at tomorrow's old firm derby at ibrox. the scottish premiership leaders will have just 750 fans after their allocation was cut from the normal 7,000. but rodgers claims that could backfire on their rivals. it can for and work against you as a home team in that situation. i think when you have predominantly the support of the crowd, like i say, it can add something to the players, either a positive or a negative but we just have to approach the game in how we always do which is to look at our own way of working, respect that rangers are a good team with some good results this year, and like i say, we will give them the respect

they deserve like we do every team and then look to focus on our own game and look to play well and get the win. andy murray says he still "has some pain" in his hip but he's in a "better place" in the build—up to january's australian open than he was at this time last year. murray had hip surgery in january 2018 but ended his return in september to recover fully for next year. the three time grand slam winner says he needs to play matches to see how it feels, starting with the brisbane international which begins on monday. 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. another big innings by england wicket keeperjos 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. england centre henry slade will return after two weeks out exeter‘s premiership match against northampton tonight when he'll be on the replacements bench. slade has had a shoulder injury that's kept him out of two games, both of which the chiefs won, including the victory over saracens last weekend that took them to the top of the table. england's first match of the six nations is five weeks tomorrow. that's one of two matches tonight in domestic rugby union. the other is in the pro 1a with connacht playing ulster. slovenian skier klemen kosi has been

airlifted by helicopter to hospital after a spectacular crash in a world cup downhill in italy. 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 taken to hospital for treatment via helicopter but retained consciousness throughout. that's all the sport for now. that looks very painful. thank you. 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 0ctober‘s budget the government pledged more than 400 million pounds to tackling the problem.

0ur 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. 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. royal mail has apologised over a stamp produced to commemorate one of the world's rarest birds has been given a new home. a british team of conservationists has released a small group of the rare ducks 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, but a tiny group of the birds was rediscovered just 12 years ago, at one remote lake. 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 that combine to make the perfect storm that really make it hard for a species like the madagascar pochard to survive. so conservationists embarked on a painstaking rescue mission. 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. there they go, 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. a p pa re ntly apparently some people in new york but it was the work of aliens. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. not kind of blue sky here that's

sure. we have some blue skies but the pinks and reds of the sunset so i feel it can call day for many parts of the country. it has been largely dry in settled high pressure well and truly in charge. eastbourne and east sussex, clear skies there. we have got some cloud toting around foods evening and overnight but for most foods evening and overnight but for m ost pla ces foods evening and overnight but for most places it should stay dry. for the second half of site we should see things changing in the north—west. the rain across northern ireland and scotland to woodwinds picking up your. south across england and wales, cloudy and mostly dry and a frost—free night ahead with temperatures tainted about three to 9 degrees. it is great to bea three to 9 degrees. it is great to be a windy morning across northern ireland and the west of scotland. it could take us of up to around 50 mph but as the rain eases away, the winter should ease and most