good afternoon. at least one person is dead and around another dozen people are missing after an explosion brought down a block of flats on jersey. the blast happened in the early hours of the morning in the capital, st helier. jersey police say residents had reported smelling gas in the area. a warning: that this report from our correspondent, robert hall, contains footage of the explosion. it sounded like a roll of thunder

according to eyewitness, the explosion happened on a hillside street overlooking st helier�*s harbour. this is the moment captured on a cctc camera on a cafe half a mile away. emergency services were on the scene within a few minutes, they found one three storey block of flats virtually demolished with adjoining buildings on fire or badly damaged. the explosion hurled debris and glass over an area several hundred yards across, every available emergency vehicle was sent to the scene as island authorities declared a major incident and the hospital's casualty department closed to non—urgent case, fire crews helped some people from the area, but police confirmed that one individual had died, and that more casualties were likely. had died, and that more casualties were likely-— had died, and that more casualties were likely. you know, it is hard to seculate were likely. you know, it is hard to speculate and _ were likely. you know, it is hard to speculate and i _ were likely. you know, it is hard to speculate and i wouldn't _ were likely. you know, it is hard to speculate and i wouldn't want - were likely. you know, it is hard to speculate and i wouldn't want to i speculate and i wouldn't want to speculate and i wouldn't want to speculate on those sorts of things, there is a reality to this, of course, and we should probably condition ourselves to that or

consider that, condition ourselves to that or considerthat, but condition ourselves to that or consider that, but you know, condition ourselves to that or considerthat, but you know, i condition ourselves to that or consider that, but you know, i i want us to be hopeful that we will start that search, but there has to be a recognition that we could have more fatalities of course. the priority is to given a search of the building but police say the site is still highly dangerous and they have sought help from hampshire fire service, meanwhile dozens of people have been evacuated to the town hall and provided with clothing, food and warmth while efforts are under way to rehouse them as temperatures continue to fall. this is the second tragedy to hitjersey in the past few day, the island is still grieving the loss of three fishermen following a collision between their vessel and a ferry, a recovery operation is due to begin tomorrow we all come together at the hard times, and support each other, that is what we do, and i think it is through those hard times that we really understand what it means to be a community. the really understand what it means to be a community.—

be a community. the cause of the exlosion be a community. the cause of the explosion is _ be a community. the cause of the explosion is unconfirm _ be a community. the cause of the explosion is unconfirm bud - be a community. the cause of the explosion is unconfirm bud police| explosion is unconfirm bud police are following up information that fire crews were called to the flats in the hours before the flats following concerns about a smell of gas. a search for further victim ises expected to last several days. manchester airport had to close two of its runways this morning due to heavy snowfall in the area. the airport said both had now re—opened. temperatures are set to drop as low as minus ten degrees celsius in some parts of the uk this weekend. the met office has issued a forecast for snow and ice for scotland, wales, the south—east of england and the east of northern ireland. the england team are preparing to play france, for a place in the last four of the men's football world cup. they take on the reigning champions this evening, in the quarter finals of the tournament in qatar. here's our sports correspondent, natalie pirks.

it's not quite the big one, but when the undercard played out in doha this morning... that's an england ball, isn't it? ..the goals were flying in. a 7—4 victory to england over their friends from across the channel. england's a—team haven't quite found it so easy. the last two major tournaments have ended in heartbreak. it's mandzukic, is that the goal that has finished off england's world cup? but, as gareth southgate bids to become the first manager to lead england into two world cup semi—finals, he says his team are ready. some defeats that have hurt, but we've learned a lot from. and they prepare you for nights where you have got to produce the very best version of yourselves. we are ready to fight france for that place in the semifinal. so far it's been plain sailing here in qatarfor england, they have only conceded two goals and have kept consecutive clean

sheets in their last three games. but the world champions bring choppier water ahead. mbappe. france have scored nine goals in qatar, with each of the last seven scored 0rde assisted by this guy. inevitable... france are unbeaten in kylian mbappe's 13 starts at major tournaments. no wonder they love him. as a guy, he is incredible, - nobody can stop, they want to stop, but they can't stop. of course i don't say we will win for sure, but i think we have the biggest chances and now we have to prove it. france's individual talent undoubtedly shines, but might england boast the better team? sometimes tactics go out the window, sometimes all the training you've done goes out the window, and it comes down to a togetherness, a team spirit and that counts for a lot. that is a big difference between this generation and my generation. it's thought around 9,000 england supporters could be in the stadium tonight,

so how are fans' nerves holding out? my head may go france, my heart goes england. for every mbappe, we have got a saka, a foden, a grealish. i we are really strong, - it's a good squad and i'm confident for a 2—1 win. i don't think we need to go in with an inferiority complex, i think we've got a team good enough to win the world cup. a win for england tonight would set up their third consecutive major tournament semifinal. the french might call that deja vu, england will be opening it is not au revoir. and natalie is live in doha for us now — a big day for england. it isa it is a huge one, as england vie to win three consecutive world cup matches would you believe for the first time since 1990. gareth southgate says is all the talks has been done, there is nothing more he can say to the player, he will leave

it up to his captain harry kane, he is one goal shy of equalling wayne rooney as england's record goal scorer, he is one of eight players who have scored in qatar. contrast that will france, the world champion, three players have scored, one of those is mbappe and they have conceded in every game so far, they have yet to keep a clean sheet. southgate says the team will have to be brave and street wise against a france who might be missing key players but they are still possess incredible talent. last night we saw two penalty shoot—outs, and given that 17 months ago england were on the receiving end of another one, in the receiving end of another one, in the euros final against italy, their seventh out of nine in major men's tournaments these fans we have spoken to, they will be hoping we don't see a repeat oaf that again tonight. tonight.—

tonight. tonight. natalie any indication — tonight. tonight. natalie any indication of— tonight. tonight. natalie any indication of gareth - tonight. tonight. natalie any i indication of gareth southgate's plans, about the line up for tonight? plans, about the line up for toniaht? . , , plans, about the line up for toniht? .,, , . , ., , plans, about the line up for toniaht? , . , tonight? he has big decisions he can make, he tonight? he has big decisions he can make. he was _ tonight? he has big decisions he can make, he was keeping _ tonight? he has big decisions he can make, he was keeping his _ tonight? he has big decisions he can make, he was keeping his cards - tonight? he has big decisions he can | make, he was keeping his cards close to his chest, there are reports he will go unchanged from the side that beat senegal 3—0. that will be music to fan's ear, they are desperate to let the likes of foden, grealish, saka go at france because they are conceding goals whereas england have been keeping clean sheet, that decision rests really on whether he sticks with that back four and that has allowed people likejude bellingham to come to the fore at just 19, shining in bellingham to come to the fore at justi9, shining in this bellingham to come to the fore at just 19, shining in this tournament or whether he tries to nullify that french attack and mbappe in particular in moving to a defensive line up. fan also be desperate for him to go with the back four that enabled them to have eight different goal scores and not too long till we find out. . ~ goal scores and not too long till we find out. ., ,, thank you natalie. let's take a look at some

of today's other news. hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters have taken to the streets in the capital of bangladesh, dhaka. they are demanding the resignation of the government — which they blame for the country's economic problems. security in the city is tight — and many people are staying off the streets, fearing violence. the head of the rmt union, mick lynch, has called for an urgent meeting with the prime minister, to try and resolve the ongoing dispute between railway companies and staff over pay and working conditions. thousands of members are due to walk out next week. industrial action across several sectors is due to take place in the run—up to christmas. the death has been announced of the actress ruth madoc. come in. morning, geoffrey. the 79—year—old was best known for her portrayal of gladys pugh, in the 1980s, bbc comedy — hi—de—hi! she also appeared in the second series

of little britain, as daffyd thomas' mother. yesterday, it was reported she'd been forced to pull out of a christmas panto after being hospitalised due to an accident earlier this week. cricket now, and england's men took a firm grip of the second test against pakistan on day two in multan. they closed the day leading pakistan by 281 runs — with 5 wickets remaining. ben croucher has the details. when england play cricket the game moves... ..at pace. this was pakistan's best batsman babar azam setting the tone for their morning. for when clarity was needed, their heads were in a spin. saud shakeel tried

counter attacking. 100 test wickets forjack leach. make that 101. nearly 50 now for the part—time spin ofjoe root. they will seldom have come easier. replying to england's 281 pakistan lost eight wickets for 60 runs and had plenty of catching up to do. so how would england approach it. bread and butter for duckett. this is their new modern way after all, but with the reward comes risk. just ask willjacks. even when root tried something a little more orthodox, abdullah shafique pulled off something very much not. so the situation and the fact there are still three days left meant england's approach was what we used to describe as test match batting. it didn't come completely without entertainment, and even though ben duckett fell for 79, with harry brook unbeaten on 7a, and ben stokes still at the crease, expect england to move ever closer to a series victory tomorrow. ben croucher, bbc news. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel.

the next news on bbc one is at 5.45. the news, wherever you are, follows next. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. injust under two hours' time, the third quarter final match at the world cup in qatar will get under way, when morocco face portugal. that's before england take on the reigning champions, france, in theirfirst meeting at a world cup since 1982. as the anticipation builds for todays games these are the latest pictures from the streets of doha where the fans from all teams are getting ready to watch today's action. let's get some thoughts ahead of the england—france match from cedric brule, a french fan who joins us now from brittany.

cedric, thank you forjoining us. how are you feeling? fix, cedric, thank you forjoining us. how are you feeling? fix. bit cedric, thank you for “oining us. how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest- _ how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest. it's— how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest. it's a _ how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest. it's a bit— how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest. it's a bit tense, - how are you feeling? a bit nervous, to be honest. it's a bit tense, i- to be honest. it's a bit tense, i know it's going to be a tight match. so far, i've been supporting both teams, england and france, obviously today i will be 100% french, so yeah, it's quite a special match. 50 yeah, it's quite a special match. so ou yeah, it's quite a special match. so you been hedging your bets up until now but you're going to go for france, why? now but you're going to go for france. why?— now but you're going to go for france, why? well, because i'm french. that's _ france, why? well, because i'm french. that's the _ france, why? well, because i'm french. that's the first - france, why? well, because i'm french. that's the first reason. l france, why? well, because i'm . french. that's the first reason. and that's a good reason, i think. but i also teach english so that's why i support both teams, except today. i support both teams, except today. i did ask that silly question, but i thought as he was supporting both... how much of a threat is england? according to me, it looks almost like a final than a quarter final

from what i've seen, of course that is only my opinion. i think that both teams can win, obviously, we know that we have kylian mbappe, 0livier giraud, big players. but you have kyle walker, harry kane, you also have big threats to france. so, i don't know who's going to win. 50 i don't know who's going to win. so what is it... i wonder if you can help some of us who perhaps haven't followed french football so closely, what is it about kylian mbappe's playing style that makes him such a threat? ~ , , , , threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that — threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that he — threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that he is _ threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that he is a _ threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that he is a game _ threat? well everything. his speed, the fact that he is a game changer, | the fact that he is a game changer, or he can be a game changer, he is so quick. he has those skills that no one else has, he is a smart, intelligent player. for all of those reasons, he is definitely our player

number one. do reasons, he is definitely our player number one-— number one. do you think that if the do number one. do you think that if they do beat _ number one. do you think that if they do beat england _ number one. do you think that if they do beat england later- number one. do you think that if they do beat england later today that they could go on to win the tournament?— that they could go on to win the tournament? ~ ., , ., , ., tournament? well, as i told you, i think that england _ tournament? well, as i told you, i think that england is _ tournament? well, as i told you, i think that england is the _ tournament? well, as i told you, i think that england is the biggest l think that england is the biggest threat now that brazil are out. we hope to beat england today and then to have a great france— morocco game which would be such a great game because of the common history between the two countries. and why not have another final, france versus croatia.— not have another final, france versus croatia. ., , ., ., versus croatia. there would be a lot of history with _ versus croatia. there would be a lot of history with france _ versus croatia. there would be a lot of history with france facing - of history with france facing morocco, absolutely. returning back to today, what score do you give the game? i to today, what score do you give the tame? ,., , to today, what score do you give the tame? , ., , ,': to today, what score do you give the tame? ,': ., ., . game? i will say, 3- to france, engiand- _ game? i will say, 3- to france, england. well. _ game? i will say, 3- to france, england. well, thank _ game? i will say, 3- to france, england. well, thank you - game? i will say, 3- to france, england. well, thank you for. game? i will say, 3- to france, - england. well, thank you for those two, iwill england. well, thank you for those two, i will let— england. well, thank you for those two, i will let you _ england. well, thank you for those two, i will let you go _ england. well, thank you for those two, i will let you go back- england. well, thank you for those two, i will let you go back to - two, i will let you go back to preparing for the match. thank you for your time.

preparing for the match. thank you foryourtime. it's preparing for the match. thank you for your time. it's going to be great this evening. more on the snow disruption now, and tens of thousands of airline passengers have had their travel plans disrupted by the closure of manchester airport this morning due to a heavy snowfall. both runways at the airport, which is the third busiest in the uk, were closed for several hours, and dozens of flights have been diverted or cancelled. the runways have now reopened but disruption is expected for the rest of the day. simon calder, travel correspondent of the independent, has been following events. very simply, the airport closed both its runways shortly before 9am and this was due to heavy snowfall. of course, the airport stresses that safety is absolutely paramount, they will not operate while there is any risk to people, and therefore,

all landings and take—offs ceased. the very first landing i saw came in at11:1t5am, that was the delayed easyjet flight from belfast, but the passengers from that flight are actually doing pretty well because thousands of others are currently a long way from where they intended to be. we saw diversions as far away as paris charles de gaulle airport, that was singapore airlines coming in from houston to manchester. that's going to be a challenge getting back from there. the singapore airlines flight from singapore itself landed at heathrow where it was alongside the virgin atlantic flight from orlando to manchester which went to heathrow, as did ethiopian airlines from geneva. quite a lot of congestion there, as well as at birmingham, which is where ryanair has been diverting some flights. some have also gone into east midlands and leeds bradford, stansted as well.

basically, just scattered right across the uk. now, some of those planes, on those planes, the captain will have decided, i'm going to wait and see when it reopens and will fly onwards, otherwise, i'm afraid it's just a matter of waiting for those buses to turn up. and guess what? on a saturday in midwinter, a couple of weeks before christmas, it's not very easy, i'm afraid, to magic up buses. meanwhile, at manchester airport, departures are just getting underway but there are thousands and thousands of people who have either seen their flights cancelled or are going to be waiting many hours. jet2 to tenerife, the good news is you're going, the bad news is you're going to be 12 hours late. when the leading crypto—currency exchange, ftx, collapsed, the role of its boss, sam bankman—fried, came under close scrutiny. he's now facing multiple

federal investigations and says that now, far from being a billionaire, he's close to being broke. he's currently in the bahamas, and our cyber reporter, joe tidy, has been to meet him. for weeks, this island paradise has been at the centre of one of the biggest financial scandals in history. at the centre of the centre, sam bankman—fried. but instead of hiding in his luxury apartment, he is on a mission to say sorry. look, ishould have been on top of this. it was a huge oversight. i made a lot of mistakes that are things i would give anything to be able to do over again. regardless of any apparent remorse, there is only really one question victims, investigators and reporters want an answer to. were you incompetent or were you fraudulent? i didn't knowingly commit fraud, i don't think i committed fraud. i didn't want any of this to happen. i was certainly not nearly as competent as i thought i was.

that is why we started ftx, to harness the possibility of this digital asset world. bankman—fried's ftx was a giant of the cryptocurrency industry. the exchange allowed people to trade their normal money for digital tokens like bitcoin. but last month, it was revealed ftx and bankman—fried's separate company, alameda research, were financially unstable. everything came crashing down, billions of dollars are now missing, more than a million people out of pocket. it's alleged that the alameda hedge fund was using ftx customer money that should have been secured. until very recently, this was the headquarters of the $32 billion ftx empire. we have spoken to a former senior employee of the company who worked here with sam bankman—fried. he is furious at how the ceo has handled the collapse, but also about what he is saying right now. he says you are lying, he says that you knew about it, and that it is impossible, he says, for you not to know

that ftx's customer funds were being used on these big, risky bets for alameda research, and this is all, in his words, "a bold—faced lie and a cover—up." is that true? no. no, it is not. that doesn't change the fact, though, that it was a really bad mistake and that it hurt a lot of people. and, like, that is on me, one way or another. the former billionaire claims he is now close to being broke, but the 30—year—old's dream, if he can get through multiple federal investigations, is to start a new business. i think at the very least i have a duty to ftx's users to do right by them as best as i can. you mean somehow make money and pay them back? i would give anything to be able to do that. so you want to get this clear and you want to start some sort of new venture that you can make lots of money to pay

back ftx customers? if i could do that, that would be great. closer to home, locals are left angry. the american's bold promise to build a silicon valley of crypto have vanished. a big disappointment because a lot of people who locally had sold land and stuff to them. everything just went. so, overnight everything hasjust gone? everything gone. first question, where - is the money coming from? nobody could ever. answer that question. where is the money coming from? in spite of the serious allegations, bankman—fried seems confident that investigators here and in the us won't find him guilty of fraud. even though jail time is possible, he says he tries not to think about it. joe tidy, bbc news, in the bahamas. since joe filed that report, we've learned that sam bankman—fried will be asked to give testimony at the us house committee on financial services, into the collapse of his ftx crypto exchange. that will happen on tuesday

the 13th of december, although he may be allowed to participate remotely, via video link. conservation experts say the sea cow is being driven to the edge of extinction. according to an update of the international union for the conservation of nature's red list, the dugong is almost wiped out in some parts of the world. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill sent this report from the un biodiversity conference in montreal. the red list is something no creature wants to be on. it's a list of more than 40,000 species now threatened with extinction. and the international union for the conservation of nature revealed the latest update to this list here at the biodiversity talks in montreal. it laid out what conservationists have called, a barrage of threats to the marine world. marine species are facing unsustainable fishing and by—catch, poaching,

criminal networks, pollution, climate change, disease. the pillar coral, that's found throughout the caribbean, is now deemed critically endangered, threatened by pollution and warming seas. many other species feed and live on these corals. the dugong, a large grazing marine mammal is now on the brink of extinction, with trawling and pollution wrecking its habitat. what is happening here in montreal aims to turn this around by agreeing a global deal to protect nature. indigenous people, many of whom live in some all of those countries that their rights are a fundamental part of that. where we are able to protect our territories and practice our traditional livelihoods, that is where nature remains and biodiversity remains. so these are hot spots that are left. the most biodiverse areas are indigenous people - and local communities' areas. places where they live.

not places where guards - are wearing uniforms and guns to guard, no. it's where people live, i because then they know the value of this biodiversity, and that is why they live - in harmony with it. there are almost two weeks left of these negotiations, but there are already some concerns that there is a lot of division remaining between all the countries, particularly on how to pay for the protection of biodiversity. with a million species now facing extinction according to the un, this is being called a last chance for the natural world. let's return to the world cup in qatar, where a prominent football journalist from the united states has died while covering the world cup in qatar. grant wahl, 1t8, collapsed as extra time began in the argentina—netherlands game on friday night. last month, mr wahl was briefly detained by qatari authorities for trying to enter a stadium

wearing a rainbow shirt, in support of lgbt rights. a little earlier, henry winter, chief football writer at the times, paid tribute to mr wahl. anyone who met grant was immediately enthused by him. this is, i hate to speak about him in the past tense, but this was his eighth world cup. i've known him since france �*98. he was just so passionate about the game, our industry, he had a fantastic career at sports illustrated, had since been doing amazing work with substack and also with american television. he had his own podcast as well. he embraced all the new industries, he had this huge passion forfootball, soccer as he used to call it. i saw him about three or four times out here, we had long chats and i would always pull him up on the word soccer. he promoted soccer, football, in the united states. probably one of the reasons why they are going to be such good hosts in four years' time

because of his passion, his writing, his almost evangelical zeal to promote the sport in his homeland and also to get behind the men's national team and the women's national team. he's done so much for women's football around the world, i think a lot of the tributes have been paid that talked about his values, his conscience. he wrote, looking at his outpourings, his output, it's been about migrant workers, homophobia, and he's going to leave a huge hole in the press box. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. it's already been cold enough this week, it will get colder still in the coming few days, because the freezing fog we've seen this morning will become more widespread and linger all day. temperatures will struggle to get above freezing. still concerns with ice and with snow, we've seen those snow showers across scotland, north east england, north western england, down into the midlands, wales and the south—west already this morning.

mostly rain on the coast, but snow inland because it's cold. temperatures only one or two celsius where we see that fog lingering in the east and then becoming more widespread as we go through the evening and overnight. still with the risk of a sharp frost, widely frosty and cold with ice and further sleet and snow showers dampening the surfaces, but the difference tomorrow, then, is that we will have more extensive freezing fog which will linger in places all day. so where we don't see the sunshine, we keep that fog at freezing or around freezing for much of the time. the warnings are online.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. one person has died and a dozen still missing after a massive explosion in a block of flats in st helier injersey. i want us to be hopeful

in the first instance that we would start that search. but there has to be a recognition that we could have more fatalities of course. all eyes are on whether england will beat france in their quarter—final match later today. it's the first time the two sides have played at a world cup in a0 years. supporters of the main opposition party in bangladesh are massing for a rally to demand the resignation of the prime minister. parts of the uk have been warned to expect severe conditions this weekend. manchester airport have just reopened their runways after closing them today due to heavy snow. now on bbc news, unspun world withjohn simpson.