we'll bring you the latest. as venezuela's president ignores eu calls for a snap election the uk moves to recognise his rival as head of state. the delivery firm hermes gives its workers paid holiday and guaranteed wage rates 7 the union calls it ground—breaking. one for a, one for d. and the gangs which help people cheat in uk citizenship tests and charge them thousands of pounds. people in the australian city of townsville are warned of crocodiles and snakes in flooded streets — after what's being called once—in—a—century rain. and coming up on the bbc news channel, tom brady and the new england patriots win a record—equalling sixth super bowl title, beating the los angeles rams in atlanta. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

air accident investigators working in the english channel to inspect the wreckage of the aircraft carrying the footballer emiliano sala and pilot david ibbotson say that "tragically, one occupant is visible." officials say an underwater search using a remote—controlled vehicle revealed the wreckage on the sea bed, and that they are now consulting the families of the men to decide on the next steps. the plane, which was travelling from nantes to cardiff, disappeared two weeks ago. wreckage has been found over several days by a private investigation, and seen initially on a stretch of beach in surtainville on the french coast. here's our correspondent richard galpin. this is the first sight of the wreckage of the small plane that disappeared two weeks ago, with emiliano sala and the pilot, david

ibbotson, on board. it is now resting on the sea bed, more than 60 metres below the surface. the discovery followed an intensive search yesterday morning, in an area of four square nautical miles, north of four square nautical miles, north of guernsey. this boat, commissioned by emiliano sala's family, after a fundraising campaign, made the breakthrough. using high—tech sonar equipment. we wanted to go out there and find the plane. we are pleased that happened. people use the word closure, this is just that happened. people use the word closure, this isjust the that happened. people use the word closure, this is just the first step, it is a long, long way. but at least this is the route for people. for them to have answers. emiliano sala was being flown back from france to wales by david ibbotson. no, he was about to start playing for cardiff city, had sent messages

during the flight expressing concern about the plane. now, not only has the wreckage of the aircraft been found on the sea bed, but also a body. before this was known, his family made clear they wanted the plane to be recovered from the water. i have spoken with the family last night, i text, and also through his agent. the family desperately wa nt his agent. the family desperately want the plane to be recovered. they feel that is the only way, the pathway to answer the question is, what happened to the plane, why it crashed, why was emiliano ‘s life taken? why crashed, why was emiliano ‘s life ta ken? why these crashed, why was emiliano ‘s life taken? why these development will add to the outpouring of grief among cardiff city fans. he was to be a star striker for the team. at the match played at the weekend, there we re match played at the weekend, there were many tributes to him. the manager, in tears. following the discovery of the wreckage, air

accident investigators say they will consult with the families of emiliano sala and david ibbotson about the next steps. richard galpin, bbc news. our reporter mike wilkins is in guernsey for us. bring us up to date with the latest. that latest update from the air accident investigation branch brings accident investigation branch brings a bit ofa accident investigation branch brings a bit of a chilling feeling when you look at the image of a crumpled registration number on the fuselage, and the knowledge that at least one body has been found among the wreckage. for the family, that has brought to an end the hope of finding their loved ones alive. i know that up until last night, when the aircraft was located, the family of emiliano sala still believed there was a chance he might possibly still be alive, fighting for survival. the subsequent finding now of the detail of the actual plane on the sea bed, it becomes a devastating blow for them. i think

all attention now is turning to the air accident investigations branch, and they are currently considering whether to even attempt to recover that plane. it is by no means a straightforward operation. you have to factor in the cost, the risk, not to factor in the cost, the risk, not to forget the weather as well. they have got a vessel over there at the moment, which is out at the search site at the moment. but it is by no means a straightforward operation, even though it is something that the family wanted to see happen. thank you. a group of conservative mps are meeting for the first time to hold three days of talks aimed at finding a solution to the stalemate over brexit. longstanding leave supporters and former remainers are discussing potential changes to the prime minister's withdrawal agreement, which doesn't have the support of parliament in its current form. they hope theresa may can use their ideas to secure changes from brussels, as our political correspondent iain watson reports. many of theresa may's own mps

believe the irish border is blocking a brexit deal. they want to rule out oi’ a brexit deal. they want to rule out or radically redraft the backstop, the insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border in ireland after brexit. they believe it keeps us too close to eu rules. a group of former remainers and brexiteers have been discussing alternatives with the prime minister. what we try to do is put people together in a room to try to see if they can come to some kind of arrangement that might present the prime minister with an option she can take forward. to keep goods flowing, amongst the ideas being discussed is a longer transition period after the uk leaves the eu, following their rules were nearly three years and using the time to thrash out a free trade deal. the group say the use of technology and greater cooperation could avoid customs checks at the borders. one of the things we are looking at, rejected by the prime minister and

the european commission? we need to look at all of the possibilities for alternative arrangements. technology is also evolving the whole time and it is right that we keep up—to—date with that. this former government minister, who wants another referendum, is far more sceptical. there is no technology in play on any border in the world that solves this problem. which is why we are where we are. but the deal isn't just about the backstop, there are many other problems with the deal. not only do we lead to a blind brexit, increasingly i think it is an insane one. the attorney general is re—examining whether the northern ireland backstop should be time—limited or ended without the say—so from brussels. but many of theresa may's own mps are warning her that any changes must be legally watertight, or she cannot necessarily rely on their support. the cross brexit committee was in brussels today, but they detected only limited movement. they will not

reopen the backstop and withdrawal agreement, but i got the impression that they might be prepared to consider some additional statement oi’ consider some additional statement or legal protocol. at the big issue in their minds is, well anything get the deal through the house of commons? the prime minister might find that without further movement from brussels, some of her own mps are once again ready to make waves. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster — what are their chances of success? not hugely encouraging, probably. they're in mind we have had the best brains in whitehall and brussels trying to find an answer to the northern ireland border conundrum for the better part of two years without success. the idea at the last moment that somebody is going to have a eureka moment and find a new idea down the back of the sofa sounds a little bit remote, albeit that tory brexiteers suggest their

thinking on using technology and existing procedures such as the trusted trader scheme could get around border checks. that idea has been repeatedly discounted by the eu, again and again. they have said, we have listened to you on this and it is simply not going to work anytime soon. that leaves you, really, with the attorney general his attempts to find legal language that might provide the guarantees to provide the uk either an end date or an exit mechanism. the difficulty there is that tory brexiteers don't believe he is going to get anything thatis believe he is going to get anything that is at all going to give them the sort of confidence that it will stick in law. in other words, it will just be stick in law. in other words, it willjust be woolly words. that means when theresa may comes back next week to tell mps about what she has managed to achieve, i suspect we are not going to have a new deal on the table. much more likely, she will just say, well, the table. much more likely, she willjust say, well, it is a work in progress, i could do with a bit more time. and before you know it, we are into march and really on the

homeward stretch into march and really on the homewa rd stretch towards into march and really on the homeward stretch towards brexit day, and then the pressure on mps to accept mrs may's deal, backstop and all, will be enormous. norman, thank you. a deal between a leading courier firm and a trades union which is said to offer new rights for workers is being described as "ground—breaking". the gmb union said the collective bargaining agreement with hermes was the first of its kind, giving self—employed couriers the option of holiday pay and guaranteed earnings. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. driving the gig economy are flexibility and lower costs. and they achieve that by keeping their carriers are self—employed. now, in reaction to demand for more rights, a new deal offering some of the advantages of being employed. we have to make sure that they are maintaining reflected a little but also giving them the security of

minimum earnings, holiday pay, and a strong voice represented by the gmb union. time off from relentless working are seen as key. hermes will promise 28 days of paid holiday, including bank holidays, and most —— more financial security, minimum wage of £8.55. it comes after nearly 200 careers delivered a blow to hermes by winning the right to be recognised by workers with some workplace rights at a tribunal backed by their union. in the tribunal went forward, it was only for 194 of them. it was only those who would have workers' rights. the gmb sat down with hermes and have got holiday pay, guaranteed national minimum wage for all of the couriers, should they accept it. but

a big attraction of keeping couriers self—employed is that the company doesn't have to pay employers national insurance, at 13.8% of wages. matthew taylor, who led a major review of employment practices for the government, suggested this morning that hermes might now be liable. if somebody has most of the benefits of being an employee, and if the employer has most of the benefits of employing somebody, the tax authorities will want the employees to be paying national insurance, and they will want the company in particular to be paying national insurance on those people. other gig economy companies like uberand other gig economy companies like uber and deliveroo are watching closely, because hermes is confident its new dealfor couriers closely, because hermes is confident its new deal for couriers will be given the green light by tax officials, in which case it might become standard practice. the uk — along with several other european countries — has officially recognised venezuela's opposition leader, juan guaido, as interim head of state. the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt said the move followed the failure by president nicolas maduro

to respond to the eu's calls for snap elections. venezuela has suffered catastrophic economic collapse under mr maduro — but he has warned of civil war if the challenges to his presidency continue. karen allen reports. hands up for change. they are pushing for a revolution of a different kind here. there has been no letup in the demonstrations on the streets of caracas, as diplomatic pressure on venezuela's socialist leader intensifies. sunday's deadline to announce fresh elections came and went, prompting a raft of european leaders to throw their weight behind this man, the opposition'sjuan their weight behind this man, the opposition's juan guaido. the their weight behind this man, the opposition'sjuan guaido. the uk foreign secretary jeremy opposition'sjuan guaido. the uk foreign secretaryjeremy hunt, leading the charge. in a tweet, he said the uk and european allies now recognise juan guaido as said the uk and european allies now recognisejuan guaido as interim constitutional president, until credible elections can be held,

adding that he hoped it would bring adding that he hoped it would bring a humanitarian crisis to an end. meanwhile, spain's prime minister said time was moving on. translation: it is eight days in spain, along with the other european partners, urged nicolas maduro's regime to call free, democratic and transparent elections. this day has come and no steps have been taken in such direction by the regime. grassroots support for president nicolas maduro, especially among the poon nicolas maduro, especially among the poor, continues to embolden him, despite criticism that venezuela has seen hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine on his watch. with echoes of cold war rivalries, nicolas maduro, still largely backed by the military, continues to rely on moscow. russia, painting western pressure for fresh elections as imperialistic and illegal. translation: as for venezuela, the us has made it clear

it would like to have regime change at any price. yesterday, mr trump said he hadn't ruled out a military invasion of some kind. it is clear these undermine the foundations of international law. pressure is on to prevent a military escalation in what remains an important oil producing nation, and the humanitarian fallout that could inevitably follow. the time is 1:15. our top story this lunchtime: officials investigating the wreckage of the plane carrying the footballer emiliano sala and pilot david ibbotson say they have seen a body visible inside. and coming up — all the action from a record breaking night at american football's super bowl where the new england patriots underlined their dominance of the sport. on the bbc news channel, liverpool could go five points clear at the top of the premier league if they beat west ham later. ahead of that, they have announced thatjoe gomez is to have an operation on a leg fracture. australia hasjust endured its

hottest month on record injanuary, and the scorching temperatures are set to continue. but in a season of extreme weather, 1,000 people have had to be evacuated after a year's worth of rain injust a week in the city of townsville, in the northern state of queensland. officials say that 20,000 homes are still at risk. our correspondent hywel griffith reports from sydney. monday morning update. yeah, not so good. this is how people across townsville are starting the week, working outjust how much of their homes lie underwater. almost a year's worth of rain has fallen here in the last seven days, and more is coming, as a monsoon low sits over the city. it means it could be days before people can work out the full extent of the damage. we were warned to get out the night before last. yesterday it was still pretty safe.

we sandbagged, but to no avail. it looks like we've lost everything. i can't get in there to have a look. yeah, family heirlooms that go back over 100 years and all that that we've lost. so pretty much lost all of our stuff. we've never seen a year's worth of rain in less than seven days. that's not exactly what we have planned for and it really is new parameters we are moving into. when townsville's dam reached nearly 250% capacity yesterday, the authorities decided they had to open the floodgates. although it was planned, the results were unpredictable. there's persons in both of those units. it's where the gap is in the fence, apparently. the units are set back a little bit. emergency teams had to rescue some people from their homes. so far more than 1,000 residents have been relocated. at the other end of the country

in tasmania evacuations have also been triggered by bushfires. australia's 2019 has started with a series of extreme weather events which are stretching emergency services in every direction. back in townsville, drivers have been told to keep off the roads. the risk of flash flooding remains in what australia's insurance council has already declared a catastrophe. hywel griffith, bbc news. the parents of libby squire, who went missing during the early hours of friday, have made an appeal for her safe return. the 21—year—old hull university student was reported missing after getting into a taxi during a night out. her father asked for people to come forward with any information "no matter how small". please, come forward with any

information you may have, no matter how small or irrelevant it may be. we just want her to be how small or irrelevant it may be. wejust want her to be home. sun libby, wejust wejust want her to be home. sun libby, we just want to know that you are safe. please get in touch with us are safe. please get in touch with us any where you can. the whole family is missing you, especially me and yourdad, your family is missing you, especially me and your dad, your sisters and your brother. i miss you so much. it is breaking my heart not knowing where you are. i love you. a bbc undercover investigation has revealed that gangs are charging people thousands of pounds to help them cheat in uk citizenship tests. the ‘life in the uk' test — which asks questions about british history, laws and culture — is taken by foreign nationals who want indefinite leave to remain, or citizenship. if they pass, they get a british passport. but secret recording has captured criminals arranging for the use of tiny earpieces so that candidates can be told the answers. guy lynn reports. one, two, three, four, five... our undercover researcher hands over cash to a criminal. a man who arranges cheating

in citizenship tests, at the heart of the process to get a uk passport. do any of you know who this is by? migrants train at this respected college to sit the life in the uk test. they must pass the exam to qualify for citizenship and a uk passport. but one in five fail at official testing centres like this and criminal gangs are stepping in. so what does he mean? using his foreign passport, our undercover researcher books a test on the home office portal. the gang gave him a phone to hide and a bluetooth earpiece. candidates can use headphones to hear questions on an audio feed at the centres. and it's this aspect the gangs are exploiting. hearing the multiple choice

questions from the earpiece and feeding back the right answers. 0ur researcher goes into the testing centre. i was told to put the bluetooth device in my ear. he heard the questions and answered the questions for me. for example the third question he said c, fourth he said d. they really seemed professional. within minutes he passes and gets a certificate he can use to apply for a passport. the gang celebrates nearby. and we hear reports of others doing exactly the same thing. the home office need to get looking into this urgently. how many citizens dowe have in the uk that have fraudulently obtained a test certificate? it potentially runs into thousands. it's shocking. in a statement, the home office said they take instances of cheating

extremely seriously and say centres need to take measures to ensure it doesn't happen. they said that with evidence they will investigate and take appropriate action. time now for some answers from the gang. have you been arranging for students to pass the life in the uk test and charging them thousands of pounds? no. i am just doing the training at the centre. we have obviously recorded you secretly doing it. are you aware that what you are doing is compromising the uk citizenship system? i have my students here and i am just training. this gang have been caught but others are still in operation. is it time for the home office to crack down harder? and viewers in london can see more on that story on bbc london's

news bulletin tonight — that's on bbc one at 6.30. it will also be available to watch afterwards on the bbc iplayer. refuse collectors in birmingham, who took part in a three—month strike two years ago, are to stage fresh walk—outs later this month in an escalating row over pay, the unite union has announced. our reporter bob hockenhull is in birmingham. just tell us the background to this. well, unite members have already been on a six—week work to rule since december the 29th, because they are not happy about alleged secret payments made to a rival union, the gmb, following the end of that strike you referred to in 2017. they say their members should get the same payment. it has been in deadlock for the last six weeks and today unite has decided it will now go on strike two days a week from

february the 19th, which will cause a real disruption to the bin service here and we are likely to return to the scenes we saw in the summer of 2017. the first strike day will be the tuesday, then strike again on the tuesday, then strike again on the friday, then they will rotate those days. talks have been going on to try to resolve this dispute but have so far failed. birmingham city council says it did make a reasonable offer last week but unite has failed to take that up. unite has failed to take that up. unite has also accused the council of blackmailing some of the unite workers, but the council totally denies this and says that the state m e nts denies this and says that the statements unite are making are totally not in the spirit of the talks. so we are going to see huge disruption, perhaps even worse than the sum of 2017, if this strike does go ahead. but it is two weeks away yet so there is a chance if they get round the table again that maybe this can be resolved. a footballer from bahrain

who was arrested in thailand last november has appealed in court against his extradition, saying he faces torture if forced back there. hakeem al—araibi is a recognised refugee living in australia. he was detained when he travelled to thailand on holiday. the footballer has previously been critical of the bahraini royalfamily. just a warning — this report by our correspondentjonathan head contains flash photography. a young man who thought he'd found safety in australia, now in shackles in thailand. hakeem al—araibi arrived at bangkok's main criminal court begging the thais not to send him back to bahrain, saying he would be tortured there. your wife sends her love, hakeem. he's got plenty of support. craig foster, a former australian team captain, is here, and other officials in the international football community. as we stand here and we see hakeem al—araibi in shackles, being led into a court, that says to us, that picture demonstrates clearly to every player

around the world that if you come to play a club or international game in thailand, you are not safe. hakeem al—araibi scores the goal for pascoe vale... mr hakeem now plays for the melbourne club pascoe vale, after fleeing from bahrain to australia four years ago. last november, he flew with his wife on holiday to thailand. the thais arrested him at bahrain's request. some of the world's most famous football and sports figures have nowjoined the campaign to get him released. for a football mad country like thailand, this is embarrassing. the legal grounds for holding and extraditing hakeem al—araibi are so flawed, and the outrage being heard in international footballing circles growing only louder, that you have to wonder why thailand is persisting with this case. it's true that relations between the monarchies of this country and bahrain are traditionally very close, but surely that is now outweighed

by all the damage this is doing to thailand's international image? his court case could take several more months, but at least while he's here, even behind bars, hakeem al—araibi is not back in the place he fears most, his own country, bahrain. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. last night was the biggest in the us sporting calendar, and one of the biggest in the world. the new england patriots continued their recent dominance in american football, beating the la rams 13—3 and winning a record—equalling sixth super bowl title. this was a moment for records being matched or broken, not least for the patriots' star quarterback tom brady, as our correspondent andy swiss reports. # and the home of the... it's american's unique blend of sport and showbiz.

a national anthem featuring singer gladys knight and a flyover. it could only be the super bowl. but behind the razzmatazz, there is a game, remember. and all eyes were on at this man. at 41, tom brady was chasing a place in the record books — the first player to win the super bowl six times. and his team, the new england patriots, duly edged a cagey first half. 42 yards, the kick. it's good. this, the only points as they led los angeles rams 3—0. and so to the traditional half—time show. this year, courtesy of the band maroon 5. other artists had reportedly turned it down because of the way the sport has handled recent player protests. for all the fireworks, it was perhaps one of the less memorable performances. but then so was the match itself. in fact, it was the lowest scoring super bowl ever. but, finally, the 100 million tv viewers saw this. for the touchdown!

that touchdown, enough to seal victory for the patriots and history for tom brady. a record sixth super bowl and a place in sporting folklore. i can't wait to spend some time with my family, my kids and my wife. i couldn't do it without their support, and it's just been a great year. i'm so happy for my team—mates. you know, this is a dream come true for all of us. this was the patriots' sixth title injust 18 years, confirming their super bowl supremacy. but this team triumph was as much a personal one. for tom brady, another moment for the family album. andy swiss, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. we are seeing a big change in the weather for this week. we we are seeing a big change in the weatherfor this week. we have had

an improvement in the temperatures today and on the whole this week will be milder. but the winds coming in from the west or south west, but it will be changeable. but we are talking about rain instead of snow. this area of cloud will bring some rain from the atlantic on tuesday into wednesday. that cloud has pushed the rain away from the south east. we have seen sunny skies following across