this is bbc news. the headlines. another group of migrants crosses the channel and arrive in kent — the uk and france agree to step up action to deal with the problem. the government defends its decision to award a £14 million contract to a shipping company with no trading record as part of its preparations for a possible no—deal brexit. a british couple whose son was murdered by his chinese wife have won custody of one of their grandchildren after a long legal battle. votes are being counted in the general election in bangladesh, which has been marred by violence and allegations of ballot—rigging. and the favourite looks to be odds—on to scoop several awards at this year's oscars. the uk and france have agreed to launch an ‘enhanced action plan'

to deal with migrants crossing the english channel in small boats. it comes after six more migrants were detained this morning by border force officials after arriving on a beach in kent. the men, who are originally from iran, arrived by boat at kingsdown on the south coast. more than 200 migrants have arrived there in the past two months, and the home secretary sajid javid has cut short his holiday to address the problem. our political correspondent jessica parker has this report. a group of iranian nationals sit disorientated on a beach in kent. they arrived on an inflatable boat, this morning. they attract a crowd as border force officials try to arrange medical assessments and a transfer to immigration officials. the images come as the home

secretary has cut short his christmas break abroad, amid accusations that he's failed to get a grip on this crisis. sajid javid is facing questions from fellow tory mps over why only one of the border force's fleet of five cutters is currently operational in the dover strait. more boats to catch traffickers and apprehend them and bring them to justice. more boats to work hand in glove with the french authorities to ensure that these people are returned back to the northern french coast. the best deterrent is that people can't get across the channel and the best deterrent is to help people back to the french northern coast and they tell everyone else there's no point coming, because they won't get across. sajid javid has spoken to france's interior minister today and earlier, in a statement the home secretary said: an intensified effort to clear migrant camps in the autumn has,

it's thought, led more people to try and leave france, with organised crime gangs facilitating many of these journeys. so, a cross—border solution is clearly needed, with france and the uk today agreeing to step up their shared efforts. government ministers want to show they're in control. the home secretary's arrival back in the uk a signal that this issue will be tackled from the top. but with today's latest landing on the uk's shores, critics will be far from convinced. jessica parker, bbc news. our correspondent alexandra mackenzie was in kingsdown and sent us this update. we know this is the beach where they came ashore, this morning, we understand about 7:30am they were discovered. we are about a 20 minute along the shore from dover here.

i spoke to a man who was walking his dog this morning, as he does every morning. he said he knew straightaway there was something going on quite different this morning. he looked out to sea and saw a border force cutter and he said it was unusually very close to the shore. he then saw the six men, who we understand are iranian. he said they looked exhausted from their journey. they were obviously soaking wet from their journey. he said they were being looked after. they had obviously had a very difficult night, even though it is a mild december, it would have been very cold out in the channel in the early hours of this morning. we have had a statement from the home office, who have confirmed the men are iranian. they said they were initially taken away for that medical examination that was mentioned in the report. just to see if they had hypothermia.

it was obviously very cold... or any ill effects from the journey overnight. and then they were taken to talk to immigration. we don't know exactly where they are or what has happened to them now. i spoke to one local man and he said he was extremely angry about what has happened and the increased number of migrants who have been coming over during november and december. he is calling on the home secretary to do something and quickly. on that note, if we assume there will be more attempts, what is being done to try to intercept these boats that are being used to cross the channel? that is what is being discussed over the last couple of days. people have very different views on what should be done. we talked about the border force cutter ship. there is only one here, at the moment.

border force are calling that others may be brought here, that that would help patrol the channel and hopefully deter more people leaving france and heading for the uk. the home secretary has said that any decision on that will not be made at this stage. because he thinks that might have the opposite effect and may actually encourage more people to come, as they may think that the crossing would be safer, because there would be more patrols in the channel to aid their journey across. the department for transport has been defending a decision to award a contract for nearly £14 million to a shipping company with no trading record, as part of its preparations for a possible no—deal brexit. seaborne freight has been contracted to provide ferries to carry goods vehicles across the channel. earlier i spoke tojoe

miller in ramsgate — where the company plans to operate its services — and asked him what more we know about the company. this is part of a government process — over the last couple of months, it has been quietly awarding contracts to three shipping companies to provide additionalfreight capacity across the channel, in the event of a no—deal brexit causing congestion at dover and on roads down to the coast. two of those companies are big international firms. one of them was seabourne freight, as you mentioned. it was awarded £14 million to provide emergency ferry freight services from here in ramsgate to belgium. as of a few weeks ago, it was, essentially, only existing on paper, as a company, valued at around £70. and it had certainly never sailed a vessel. the company says it can get up and running in ramsgate in time for brexit day on 29th of march. the department for transport says it has done all the checks that are needed in order to make sure that this company can get up

and running and it's run by people with quite a good track record in the industry. local councillors say ramsgate port hasn't been operational as a freight terminal for at least five years. they don't think it can be up and running in time and they are baffled as to why this company has been awarded this contract. you have a direct contradiction. at this point, does seabourne freight actually have a physical presence, does it have any boats, now? not as far as we can tell. the company says that it does have contracts in place, so it will be operational at the end of march. it won't give us any details of those contracts. some local councillors have been trying to get details of those contracts, of seabourne‘s operations for some time. nonetheless, the department for transport says it admits this company hasn't provided facilities

in the past, but it is a company that can provide these services in the event of a no—deal brexit. of course, the government's policy and the department for transport policy is to still pursue a deal with the eu and it thinks it will not actually need these contingency plans. they are just there, in case. the health secretary, matt hancock, has set out plans to provide better support for mothers and babies in england — to try to halve the number of stillbirths, and maternal and infant deaths by 2025. he said the measures would make the nhs the best place in the world to give birth. 0ur health correspondent smitha mundasad reports. more than 646,000 babies were born in england, last year. and the vast majority of new arrivals were delivered safe and well. but, tragically, this is not always the case. in 2017, there were 2,679 stillbirths. and last year, 1,857 babies died

in their first month of life. there have been steady improvements in the last few years. but there are concerns that england's maternity services lag behind some other european countries. the health secretary's ambition is to make england the best place to give birth in the world. there's a whole package of safety measures around maternity care to make sure that we have the right number of midwives. we will have 3,000 more midwives. we've got record midwives in training at the moment. and we want to make sure that the very best care that we see in the best hospitals is replicated right across the country. the new measures include more specialist neonatal staff to care for newborns. and more cots in intensive care. more mothers will get physiotherapy after childbirth. and child health records, known by many as the red book, will soon be available

on smartphones, making it easier to share information between parents, carers and the nhs. the hope is these measures will go some way to helping the nhs save an additional 4,000 lives by 2025. but some will argue that much more needs to be done to keep both mothers and babies safe. smitha mundasad, bbc news. a 21—year—old man has died following an incident outside a house in wigan. officers were called by the ambulance service shortly after 9.30 on friday evening, following reports a man had been assaulted on bickershaw lane in abram. william livesley was taken to hospital but died from his injuries yesterday. police are questioning a 57—year—old man. a british couple whose son was murdered by his chinese wife have won custody of one of their grandchildren after a long legal battle. ian and linda simpson are due

to return to the uk later this week, after reaching a deal during a court hearing over christmas in rural china. but they've been forced to leave their other grandchild behind. robin brant in shanghai has the latest on the family's struggle. they have been campaigning for almost two years now, since their son, michael, was murdered by weiwei fu, she was his wife at the time and the mother of the children. she stabbed him to death in an attack in an apartment here in shanghai. the simpsons have been trying to get custody of the grandchildren, they've been fighting a long legal battle, that has invovled mps, the government here, lawyers and chinese officials, as well. that all came to a head about ten days ago, when a court hearing took place. they face the unimaginable decision of having to either take just one of the grandchildren, alice, which is what the chinese grandparents were offering, and the chinese courts supported

that, or neither of them. they have struck a deal to take alice back to the uk with them but their grandson, jack, who is a little older, will stay here in china. they say their campaign goes on to have both children in the uk. for now, this is progress of sorts, for this family who have been through the awful trauma of first, losing their son, who was murdered, and then fighting for custody of their grandchildren. they have alice and they're waiting for some paperwork here in shanghai. you can only begin to imagine how dreadful that decision must have been, when it came to what was on the table. polls have closed in a general election in bangladesh that has been marred by violence and accusations of vote rigging. 18 people have died in clashes between supporters of rival political parties. the prime minister, sheikh hasina,

is seeking a third successive term local tv is reporting that her party has claimed victory in the election. 0ur report from yogita limaye contains some flash photography. an indoor basketball court was, for the day, turned into the women's section of a polling booth. people filed in, searched for their name on a list, and after they cast their vote, their fingers were marked with ink. bangladesh's prime minister, sheikh hasina, has already been in powerfor ten years. but she's confident she'll be back. "i firmly believe that we'll win the election," she said. she is accused of cracking down on the opposition, which says it hasn't had a fair chance to contest. people have been killed. people are being arrested. candidates are being arrested. it is unprecedented. unprecedented, unheard—of, could not be dreamt of. these are workers from prime minister hasina's awami league, standing outside a polling booth, and this is something we've seen across the city of dhaka today. behind me all of the political posters you can see

are from the same party. in contrast, the presence of the opposition on the streets is really hard to find, leading to serious questions about whether this election has been fair. that left people split on whether they wanted to participate. translation: the process was ok. i was a bit worried that my vote might have been stolen but i did get to vote. translation: i thought that this election won't be a fair election. all the parties did not get equal opportunities to campaign. that is why i did not cast my vote. in one part of bangladesh, the bbc saw ballot boxes which had been filled even before polling began. despite heavy security presence, there was violence in some parts of the country. the prime minister's party is credited with bringing development to bangladesh and clamping down on islamist militancy, but her critics say none of that can be at the cost of democracy. yogita limaye, bbc news, dhaka. the headlines on bbc news.

another group of migrants cross the channel and arrive in kent, as the uk and france agree to step up action to deal with the problem. the government has defended its decision to award a 14 million contract to a shipping company, with no trading record — as part of its preparations for a possible no—deal brexit. a british couple, whose son was murdered by his chinese wife, have won custody of one of their grandchildren after a long legal battle. tributes have been paid to the much—loved actress dame june whitfield, who's died at the age of 93. the actresses jennifer saunders and joanna lumley — who starred alongside damejune in the hit comedy drama absolutely fabulous — say she became ‘a dearfriend'. our arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her career that spanned eight decades. # wheels on fire

# rolling down the road...# june whitfield had been part of british comedy for more than 40 years, when she was cast in absolutely fabulous. inside of me, inside of me, there is a thin personjust screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter paying tribute, jennifer saunders said: . they were skills learned at rada and on the set of one of the biggest radio shows of the 50s, take it from here. ooh, wrong! her life after that reads like a who's who of the greatest names of comedy. oh, i see you wish to become a blood donor? i certainly do. tony hancock. benny hill.

frankie howerd. and a 20—year partnership with terry scott. i'm talking about food. what about eating out? what about the garage? oh, i'd much prefer a restaurant. when she became damejune whitfield, it was in honour of more than 1,300 appearances on tv, radio and film. as the writer denis norden once said, it was a mystery how anyone could do a comedy show without june whitfield. dame june whitfield, who has died at the age of 93. earlier, my colleague ben brown spoke to actor john challis, who played boycey in only fools and horses, and worked alongside june in the spin off, the green green grass. ben asked john challis what the secret was to her 70 year career. she was just a lovely person. i, like a lot of people, first heard her on take it from here. ijust loved the characters,

i was always fascinated by characters and so on. i was always a character actor like her. so i loved her. i grew up with her. luckily, i found myself in the rivals, with her. she was brilliant in that. using all the wrong words all the time. it was a great thrill to meet her. her daughter susie was in the chair as well. that was a great pleasure, that whole show. later on, as you say, when we did the spin off, the green green grass, she played marlene's mum. we had a shall we say not a very comfortable relationship, boycey and dora. it was a treat to play with her.

her timing was superb. she was iconic, really. she said she never wanted to play leading roles. she was one of those people we all grew up with. someone said you can't do a sitcom without june whitfield. she was so modest and she had a dry sense of humour. she told it like it is. i loved the quotes about... "i like being in a nursing home, i don't have to worry "about the plumbing anymore." all that sort of thing. absolutely typical of her. as you say, a long career. i remember her in terry and june, but younger people remember her in absolutely fabulous. she was brilliant at reinventing herself. absolutely. it is a testament to the quality she had. 60, 70 years, she never stopped, she always seemed to have

been doing something. ab fab was a brilliant late career invention. quite rightly there she was being revealed to a new audience. itjust went on and on. it was so sad it has to come to an end. at least i had a chance to work with her on a couple of occasions. and what a treat it was. she has been described by a lot of the papers as a national treasure, sometimes a term overused but in her case, really applicable. i think so, yes. all her characters... she is one of those people, so valuable in this profession, when you think of her, you smile. and all her creations. she just added so much to our lives from that point of view. because of those characters.

she just had that timing and her characterisation just made life a bit better and a bit more charming, i think. councils in england should be forced to consult local communities before cutting down trees, according to proposals from the environment secretary michael gove. it follows three years of protests in sheffield, where more than 5,000 trees were chopped down and replaced. mr gove says it's right that residents have a say. the labour mp lucy powell has accused private schools of cheating the exam system to improve their results by entering pupils for international gcses. the exams have been criticised as less rigorous than the standard exams taken by most state school pupils. in a statement, the department for education said "the international gcses had not been through the same approval and quality control process

as the new gold standard gcses, which is why they are no longer recognised in school performance tables. " polls have closed in some areas of the democratic republic of congo in the country's long—delayed presidential election. it could result in the first peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1960. the electoral commission says people who are still queuing at polling stations will be allowed to vote. the bbc‘s salim kikeke is in the capital kinshasa and explained why the election had been delayed. in 2016, presidentjoseph kabila said the country is not ready. that was when he was due to stand down and for the country to elect a new president. so they were delayed for two years while president kabila said they were finding their feet to make sure they can afford these elections, and so the elections were scheduled for this year. so they were delayed for two years.

when i spoke to president joseph kabila recently, even in a statement yesterday before the polls, he said he feels very pleased that they've managed to organised the elections without any foreign assistance. so the delay did make many people frustrated but people have been waiting for this big day for quite a long time and people stayed patient and we've seen today that so many people came out to vote. anti—government demonstrations have continued across france for a seventh weekend with the so—called yellow vest protesters taking to the streets. police fired tear gas in paris and barricades were set alight in bordeaux. georgina smythe has the story. the seventh saturday of yellow vest protests. this scene, filmed by onlookers on the streets of paris, the latest in a movement that ignited with fuel tax increases and exploded into so much more.

an olive branch of tax and salary concessions was offered by president macron early this month, but anger is still high across france. in bordeaux, police barricades were hijacked by demonstrators, stacked high and set alight. further north, in nantes, canisters of tear gas were deployed, as peaceful demonstrations turned violent. translation: we will continue until we win, until macron backs down and gives us what we deserve — more purchasing power, less taxes, a healthy life, without having to tighten and tighten the belt at the end of every single month. in the capital, yellow vests converged on the steps of media outlets, ensuring the movement stays firmly on the news agenda. translation: i don't think we are slowing down. i think there is a desire

to discredit the movement, a willingness to say the yellow vests are slowing down. but that is not the case. organisers of the capital's new year's eve fireworks and light show say preparations will continue for the event, despite plans for more protests on the night. a message to the government that the movement will not fade for 2019. georgina smyth, bbc news. a man credited with saving the lives of about 350 jewish children during the second world war has died, aged 108. george luanjay would take the children to play football on a pitch near the border with neutral switzerland — where they'd slip through an unguarded fence to safety. the resistance hero was later awarded the french military cross, and the holocaust memorial foundation described him as an "exceptional man". a palestinian instagrammer in the gaza strip wants to show us a different side of life there. gaza has seen three major wars

between israel and hamas, the militant group that controls the strip. its economy has also been badly hit by a blockade by israel and egypt. but kholoud nassar is using social media to show the positive side of everyday life. let's take a look. two american college football fans were given a shock at a game in texas when a bald eagle landed in the crowd. the bird, called clark, was apparently meant to fly around the stadium during the national anthem, but instead, he decided to land on a fan's shoulder. another spectator was then more inviting, holding out his arm for him to perch on. 90,000 people were at the play—off semifinal between notre dame fighting irish and the clemson tigers. notre dame fans had hoped it was a good omen, but sadly for them, clemson still beat them 30—3. in a moment viewers on bbc one willjoin us of a round up of the news with tina daheley.

now it's time for a look at the weather with mel coles. hello there high pressure will continue to rule the roost in the coming week. the positioning of that high pressure will have a big influence on the feel of our weather. at the moment, it smiled, but there is quite a lot of clout around. that's because this area of high pressure is sitting down towards the south. around it we are dragging suddenly or south—westerly winds. mild direction to be coming from. a lot of moisture in there. we are seeing a lot of clouds. through the day today, the best of the brea ks the day today, the best of the breaks will always tend to favour eastern areas. seeing the lion's share of the sunshine, and temperatures doing well across the board widely in double figures. as we head into this evening, where we have a few breaks in the cloud, we could see the return of some mist and some fog. most places we will see that cloud fill in. temperatures not doing too badly. it will not be particularly cold. through scotland

we've got a bit more of a breeze here and thicker clouds. we are up and running into new year's eve, really, it's a case of spot the difference. the best of the brakes once again to the east, but some seven areas will see sunshine on new year's eve. this weatherfront introducing rain to north and western parts of scotland, strengthening winds as well for the northern isles, particularly shetland where we could have gills. away from that, it looks as though it will be a mostly dry story to welcome in the new year. if not a bit cloudy, misty and murky in places. that weather front that's going to be introducing the rain is a game changer. it will sink southwards as we had through new year's day. introducing much cooler air behind it, high—pressure sets out to the west. so we start to bring in airfrom a out to the west. so we start to bring in air from a northwesterly direction, a colder direction to be coming from certainly. but a dryer direction. so through new year's day, it looks like a largely fine dry story, and a brighter story. we lose some of that cloud, it will ta ke lose some of that cloud, it will take a while for some of the colder airto make its

take a while for some of the colder air to make its inroads down towards the south. here temperatures will remain in double figures, feeling much colder the further north you go. despite all that sunshine. not only by day, but also the return of some frosty starts, particularly out towards the west, as we into wednesday. so as we head towards the new year, it does look as though it will be turning out a little bit colder, we will see the return of frosty starts, but there should be more sunshine on offer. contract to move goods if there's a no—deal brexit, has no trading record, and no significant assets — the bbc has learned. seaborne freight says it will run ferries carrying lorries from ramsgate — a port which has been largely dormant for several years. why use a company that's never moved a single truck in their entire history and give them £14 million? the department for transport insists the company was carefully vetted — as part of its no—deal planning. also tonight —

more migrants arrive in kent as the home secretary cuts short his holiday to deal with the rising number of channel crossings. violence, and claims of vote rigging, as the polls close in bangladesh's general election. commentator: clips it into aguero and they've done it again! and manchester city return to winning ways, in a boost to their title hopes. good evening. the department for transport has defended its decision to award a contract for nearly £14 million to a shipping company for a possible no—deal brexit. seaborne freight has been contracted to provide ferry services carrying goods vehicles, from ramsgate to ostend. a bbc investigation has established that the company has never

run a ferry service, and has no significant assets. our business correspondent joe miller reports. these are the large ferries that will carry thousands of lorries across the channel to ease congestion at dover in the event of a no—deal brexit as soon as march. but while two large international shipping firms have been awarded contracts to provide extra crossings at locations like portsmouth and plymouth, one british business has been handed millions of pounds by the department for transport on the promise of reviving this terminal with a regular route to belgium. ramsgate's commercial port has been dormant for the best part of five years. currently, no large ferries depart from here but the government has given almost £14 million to a firm called seaborne freight, which has

never sail the vessel and has no significant assets to get a regular service up and running injust significant assets to get a regular service up and running in just three months. as of a couple of months ago, the company's total share capital was no more than £66. and this is seaborne freight‘s website, which says it serves the needs of cross—channel freight traffic and claims that freight ferry services operate between ramsgate and ostend even though there is, as yet, no such service in operation. one local councillor told me he believes seaborne is in no position to provide any service. as a conservative i feel a shell company which is a company that exists just on paper, it is a complete waste of money of £40 million of taxpayers' money of £40 million of taxpayers' money to provide what will be an unsustainable service across the channel here at ramsgate —— £14 million. the department for transport acknowledges seaborne freight, which was set up by seasoned shipping industry figures, is just seasoned shipping industry figures, isjust a seasoned shipping industry figures, is just a start up but insists it was carefully vetted and the

company's was carefully vetted and the compa ny‘s chief executive was carefully vetted and the company's chief executive is adamant that it will have ships to provide a service in time for brexit day on 29th of march. but when we asked them to name the vessels it would use on the route the company declined to do so. a campaigner who opposes the use of ramsgate as a commercial port had a simple question in response. if you have ships you can name them but everybody in the industry does not believe seaborne freight has any access to ships at the moment. the government hopes it won't have to resort to contingency plans. it prefers a negotiated exit from the eu. but regardless of whether seaborne freight‘s services are ever needed it could keep some taxpayer‘ s money, another example, critics say, the failure to plan properly for a no—deal brexit. joe is in ramsgate now. what more do we know about how and why a company with no trading record was given a contract worth millions by the government. ? we know that for some time the

government believed in the event of a no—deal brexit it would need additional capacity at ports other than dover to relieve traffic down to the coast and to get vital supplies through. but only in the last few weeks has it started awarding contracts to shipping firms to get that capacity. two international firms with existing fleets got big contracts and one small british firm without any existing vessels. it is fair to say that chris grayling‘s department for transport probably didn‘t want us to know anything about these contracts, they were sneaked onto a government portal on christmas eve and we only found out about them because a data firm alerted us. it is also worth noting that if the government hadn‘t given a contract to the small british firm worth £14 million, that other contracts would have gone to french and danish firms and we would be in french and danish firms and we would beina french and danish firms and we would be in a position where it was two eu firms who were benefiting from a no—deal brexit. firms who were benefiting from a no-deal brexit. joe miller in ramsgate, thank you. the home secretary has said britain

and france will step up action to deal with the growing number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. sajid javid, who has returned early from his christmas break, said he‘d discussed the situation with his french counterpart. more than 200 migrants have made the journey in the past two months. today, six iranian men were found at kingsdown in kent. from there, alexandra mackenzie reports. cold, wet and exhausted, iranians nationals on a beach in kent. they arrived on an inflatable boat this morning. they receive medical assessments and were questioned by immigration officials. this afternoon the beach was busy with locals. it is fairly calm today, it is quite mild, but that‘s just not a crossing that people should be making. the home secretary has spoken to france‘s interior minister. in a statement he said... these are the shores that migrants

are desperate to reach. but what happens next depends partly on how the problem is tackled across the water in france. here in dunkirk volu nteers water in france. here in dunkirk volunteers help migrants. it is thought government attempts to clear camps has led to organised crime gangs encouraging many to leave france. in boulogne locals say boats have been stolen to aid these journeys. translation: here it is very easy to get a boat to go to england. to steal a boat is almost easier to steal than a car. if you use a professional fishing vote the maritime authorities think it is a fishing boat going fishing. back in

kent the coastguard helicopter surveys the shoreline, as many other migrants are expected to risk their lives on this perilous journey. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, kingsdown. our political correspondent alex forsyth is at the home office. sajid javid has come short his christmas break to deal with the situation. how much pressure is he under? there has been criticism, not least from within the conservative party, but how the home office handled this, claims it has not enough to deter people from making the crossing and that‘s why the home secretary is travelling back to the uk early. he‘s had that phone call with the french interior minister today, which i‘m told was significant and productive, talk about stepping up patrols and surveillance, and i understand tomorrow he will chair a meeting of officials at the home office to work out an action plan. he is trying to prove he has a grip. but some have pointed out that while the home secretary has declared this a major incident, in the context of the

refugee crisis those coming to the uk are relatively small so sajid javid is being warned. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn tweeted this evening saying we have a duty to reach out the hand of humanity, support and friendship to people in danger who are seeking safety. alex, thank you. alex forsyth at the home office. a man who died after a minibus overturned in the scottish borders yesterday has been named by police. rossjones barker was 59 and from east lothian. six other men are in hospital with serious injuries. opposition parties in bangladesh say they will reject the outcome of today‘s election, which has been marred by accusations of vote rigging, and violence which has left 18 people dead. early results suggest the prime minister, sheikh hasina, will win a third successive term. her supporters praise her for turning the country into one of asia‘s fastest growing economies but critics say her government is corrupt and repressive.

our correspondent yogita limaye is in the capital, dhaka. her report does contain some flashing images. clashes outside a polling centre in dhaka. they spot a report and try to stop him from filming. it was just one of the many violent incidents in bangladesh on election day. others were more deadly. but in large parts polling did go off peacefully. bangladesh‘s prime minister sheikh hasina has been in powerfor ten yea rs hasina has been in powerfor ten years but she is confident she will be back. she‘s been credited with bringing development to the country and tackling islamist militancy. but her government has also been accused of cracking down on the opposition. two days before the polls i asked her to respond. look, all the allegations they are making but they couldn‘t prove it. on the one hand

they are placing allegations and on they are placing allegations and on the other hand they are attacking oui’ the other hand they are attacking our party workers and leaders. the opposition is calling the election a farce. people have been killed, people are being arrested, candidates have been arrested. people are being arrested, candidates have been arrestedm people are being arrested, candidates have been arrested. it is unprecedented. unprecedented. these are workers from prime minister sheikh hasina‘s awami league standing outside a polling booth and this is something we have seen across the city of dakar today. behind me the political posters you can see are also from the same party —— micro dhaka. in contrast to the presence of the opposition on the streets is really hard to find. presence of the opposition on the streets is really hard to findlj was a bit worried that my vote might have been stolen but i did get to vote. all the parties did not get equal opportunities to campaign. that is why i did not cast my vote. in one part of bangladesh, the bbc‘s thought ballot boxes which had been filled even before polling began. now those and all the other boxes are being opened and counted —— the

bbc saw. it is widely expected that prime minister sheikh hasina will win but it will be a controversial victory. tributes have been paid to the much—loved actress dame june whitfield, who‘s died at the age of 93. the actresses jennifer saunders and joanna lumley — who starred alongside damejune in the hit comedy drama absolutely fabulous — say she became a dear friend. here‘s our arts correspondent david sillito. # wheels on fire # rolling down the road...# june whitfield had been part of british comedy for more than 40 years when she was cast in absolutely fabulous. inside of me, inside of me there is a thin personjust screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter paying tribute, jennifer saunders said, "it‘s so tremendously sad to lose june. "she became a dearfriend. "she lived and worked with an extraordinary grace." joanna lumley said, "i am heartbroken to lose such a

"darling friend, and shall never forget her sensational talent, "humour and her generosity." julia sawalha thanked her for teaching her the craft of comedy. they were skills learned at rada and on the set of one of the biggest radio shows of the ‘50s, take it from here. ooh, ron! her life after that reads like a who‘s who of the greatest names of comedy. oh, i see you wish to become a blood donor? i certainly do. tony hancock. benny hill. frankie howerd. and a 20—year partnership with terry scott. i‘m talking about food. what about eating out? what about the garage? oh, i‘d much prefer a restaurant. when she became damejune whitfield, it was in honour of more than 1,300 appearances on tv, radio and film. as the writer denis norden once said, it was a mystery how anyone could do a comedy show without june whitfield. damejune whitfield who has

died at the age of 93. with all the sport now, here‘s reshmin chowdhury at the bbc sport centre. hello, thank you very much. good afternoon. thanks, tina. manchester city have moved back up to second in the premier league table, after a 3—1win over southampton at st mary‘s. the champions are now seven points behind leaders liverpool, who they face next. andy swiss reports. after three defeats in four matches the furrowed brow said it all. pep guardiola knew his manchester city side could hardly afford another slip—up, not that one seemed likely when david silva properly put them ahead. but as so often recently, their lead proved precarious. a spot of defensive dallying and southampton were level. here in america hojbjerg with a stunner was

another shock in store? southampton thought so, james ward prowse thought so, james ward prowse thought he should have had a penalty but this wasn‘t to be his or his team‘s day. moments later city took the lead in fortuitous fashion, ward—prowse deflecting raheem sterling‘s shot into his own net and in first—half stoppage time sergio aguero‘s head are all but ended the contest. southampton‘s only impact after the break courtesy of hojbjerg‘s studs brought him a red ca rd hojbjerg‘s studs brought him a red card but for city who next play leaders liverpool, a timely return to winning ways. andy swiss, bbc news. elsewhere, burnley won their first match in four, beating west ham. chelsea beat crystal palace to open up a five—point gap in the table over fifth—placed arsenal. and manchester united look on course for their third win in three under ole gunnar solskjaer — they‘re 3—1 up against bournemouth at old trafford. police scotland have charged a 65—year—old hibernian fan with alleged racial abuse during yesterday‘s edinburgh derby. television coverage of the 1—0 hearts win showed a home fan appearing to shout at hearts‘

congolese player clevid dikamona. in rugby union‘s premiership — bristol beat bottom side newcastle — and there was a hard—fought encounter between two former giants of the game, bath and leicester. jonny may‘s try had given the tigers an early lead at the recreation ground. but it was bath‘s former england sevens winger rory mcconnochie who helped clinch a 23—16 point win for the home side. and dragons have won a welsh derby match in the pro 14 for the first time in four years. they beat ospreys at rodney parade, but onlyjust. the final score 23—22. there‘s more on the bbc sport website, including an unspectacular return for the australian cricketer cameron bancroft after a nine—month ban for ball—tampering. back to you, tina. thanks. that‘s it from me. i‘ll be back with the late news at 10pm. now on bbc one it‘s time for the news where you are. bye bye.

hello. this is bbc news with me. authorities in the peruvian capital, lima, have destroyed a mausoleum housing the remains of eight left—wing shining path rebel fighters. the controversy over the grave site began two years ago when a video circulated on social media allegedly showed family members celebrating the achievements of the guerillas. candace piette reports. the eight shining path rebels had been killed during prison massacres more than three decades ago. their remains had been relocated to the grave, which was built in 2016 by their relatives. groups of supporters protested as the structure was destroyed, saying their rights were being ignored. but the mayor insisted the removal had treated the bodies respectfully. translation: we respect the families and the family members of those whose remains were inside this illegal structure. we have proceeded one by one.

it was verified by a prosecutor‘s office for crime prevention, one by one. the bodies have been exhumed, following every established health protocol and they have been respectfully buried. the grave site, known by critics of the maoist rebel group as the "terrorist mausoleum", was declared illegal because it lacked the necessary permits. there are thousands of clandestine cemeteries throughout peru, a legacy of decades of fighting between the government and the shining path, during which over 70,000 people were killed or disappeared. the remains were removed from the mausoleum before the demolition began and were relocated within the same cemetery in northern lima. candace piette, bbc news. "the favourite" is one of the leading contenders at the forthcoming awards season. the film is set in the early 18th century, when a frail queen anne, played by olivia colman, occupies the throne.

here‘s our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. dearest queen, how goes the kingdom? this oscar—tipped comedy—drama follows the behind—the—scenes manoeuvring as everyone tries to win favour with an eccentric queen. look at me! how dare you?! close your eyes! playing two of the scheming characters, a pair of britain‘s brightest young stars, joe alwyn and nicholas hoult. harley‘s a politician who‘s playing the chess game of the court, essentially, and trying to get to the queen‘s ear, because then he knows he can gain what he wants in that world. so, yeah, he‘s very manipulative. i'm not the brightest character. i think i'm a bit of an airhead, and i run around lustfully after abigail, who emma plays. there's this kind of cat—and—mouse power play between the two of them in the scenes that they're together, and she uses him. he has some status, and she uses him for that. although set in the 18th century,

the story explores power and relationships in a way that still has a relevance today. go back to your rooms. thank you. making these things isn't, i don't, when you're kind of inside the bubble of it, it isn't something you're necessarily aware of. but when it comes out, especially in the current climate, there are comparisons, both in terms of politics, or even gender politics. he‘s referring to the fact that, unusually for hollywood, the three most powerful characters are all women — a refreshing and significant change to the kind of films the cast are used to being offered. sometimes, you read scripts, and i‘ve noticed it before, where you read it and you go, that‘s not a well—developed female character, or it‘s trying to be put into an archetype that doesn‘t exist. so, yes, it‘s important for it to reflect what‘s happening in society, definitely. may i exhort the chamber to roar a mighty hurrah for her majesty in her brilliant decision not to raise the land tax? hurrah! the film is overflowing

with british talent, something often seen as a quality mark to us audiences. it's the accent! he laughs. i think we‘re hard—working, i think that‘s something about it, and also, we love what we do. i think sometimes, nearly all the brits that i know are in it for the right reasons. you know, so that‘s a big thing for it. but, yeah, also the accent. it has already been recognised at award ceremonies here and in the us, and if the favourite ends up living up to its name at next year‘s academy awards, few will be surprised. lizo mzimba, bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good evening. in 2018 draws close to an end, the weather is looking pretty mild and settled in the big area of high pressure in charge.

through the week and we‘ve had quite a bit of clout, this was the picture on sunday afternoon in norfolk. clear spells around though, through the course of this evening and tonight. so temperatures dipping down for a time, but we are also set to see some fog patches developing particularly across parts of southern wales southern england as well, some clear spells lasting through the night in east. but the most part, it‘s a frost free mild, fairly murky start to monday morning. monday of course, new year‘s eve, new year‘s eve weather shaping up to be mostly dry and settled, quite a bit of cloud, sunshine breaking through. a bit of rain to the northwest scotland, further south across scotland as we head into the evening hours. if you‘ve got plans to see in the new year, apart from a bit of rain across parts of scotland it‘s looking mostly dry with a fair amount of clout in the skies goodbye. this is bbc news. the headlines. a shipping company awarded

a multi—million pound contract to move goods if there‘s a no—deal brexit has no trading record and no significant assets. the uk and france step upjoint patrols and increase surveillance to tackle a rise in the number of migrants trying to reach britain in small boats. a british couple, whose son was murdered by his chinese wife, have won custody of one of their grandchildren after a long legal battle. violence, and claims of vote rigging, as the polls close in bangladesh‘s general election. and ahead of the awards season, the film the favourite looks to be odds—on to pick up a number of prizes at this year‘s oscars.