this is bbc news, i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 11: happy new year, happy new year all of you. the home secretary prepares to chair a meeting this morning with the border force and other agencies, as he attempts to deal with the rising number of migrants trying to cross the channel. 39 people are arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in west london. the uk's political leaders deliver their new year messages, with a focus on britain's departure from the eu. big ben chimes big ben's famous "bongs" are set to ring out at midnight tonight heralding the start of 2019, even though building works are still taking place in the elizabeth tower. this is scene live in auckland, as new zealand welcomes in the new year with a fireworks show. and in half an hour, we take a front row seat,

staying with these images from auckland. not the first place to welcome in 2019 but the first major city to do so. the sky tower in auckland, as it has in previous yea rs, auckland, as it has in previous years, their feature or the focal point for these celebrations. a team of pyro technicians have spent six months preparing for this show. a five—minute firework display, installing some 500 kilograms of fireworks. 1.5 tonnes of equipment and 12 kilometres of cabling. that is what it takes, if you like statistics, to pull off a show like this. and this year, the auckland harbour

bridge part of the celebrations as well, featuring also in the firework display. but right now, this is the sky tower that you are seeing. these images being beamed around the world, as new zealand welcomes in 2019. auckland the first major world city to welcome in the new year. we will be seeing images of fireworks, spectacular fireworks displays from around the world as we go through the course of the day. heading, of course, towards our own celebrations tonight. many thousands of people, of course,

out to enjoy this display. in the fine weather in auckland! and today ucb bridge, the harbour bridge in the background. —— mike you can see the background. —— mike you can see the bridge in the background, it looks stunning. there has been a laser show in auckland running up to midnightand laser show in auckland running up to midnight and that continuing. what a fabulous shot that is. the laser animation show featuring, amongst other characters, and adventurous little kiwi. so, happy 2019 to new zealand! we will bring you more images from

around the world, of course, as various countries bring in the new year. and looking ahead to midnight here in the uk, of course, as well. the time is now 11:0aam. the home secretary, sajid javid, will chair a meeting of the border force and the national crime agency later, as he attempts to halt the flow of migrants trying to reach the uk across the channel. mrjavid returned to the uk this morning, cutting short a family holiday in south africa, to work out how to stem the problem which has seen more than 200 migrants make the crossing since november. the uk and france have agreed to step up joint patrols, but some backbench mps have criticised the home office for being too slow to act. simon clemison reports. the coastguard helicopter on patrol above the kent shoreline. but even though there is now closer monitoring of the english channel, will it be enough to tackle

the rising number of migrants risking everything to reach the uk? in yet another crossing, six iranian men were found on a beach near dover yesterday, not long after the home secretary promised action, having come under increased pressure. in an interview with the telegraph today, sajid javid told the newspaper the reasons behind the spike were complicated and often beyond the government's control. he said the problem was being fuelled by instability in the middle east, more people smugglers and tighter security at calais. yesterday, the home secretary agreed a joint action plan with france, to try to deter migrants and disrupt criminal gangs involved in trafficking. but some mps, including his own backbenchers, feel there's not enough detail and have called for more specialist border force patrol boats to be deployed. the home secretary says the problems are complex and there are many strands to this. while he may tackle trafficking, there is evidence migrants are making their own crossings in their own way. some believe they have to get a cross before brexit.

and then there is the weather, not that anyone should make these crossings in the way that they do, but warmer and calmer conditions are also a factor. but when the home secretary says there are no easy answers, his critics are looking for many more answers than he is giving. simon clemison, bbc news, dover. our correspondent simonjones is in doverfor us now. hello. any developments there today? yesterday we saw six iranian men being detained, who had arrived on a small boat. any developments this morning? yes, we arejust hearing that kent police this morning were called at about 8:15am to a group of migrants along the coast from here in that direction first up they haven't said how many migrants were picked up but it is believed they travelled over in a small boat. someone i have spoken to who saw the

group of migrants reckoned they were probably six adults and one child, although that number hasn't been confirmed. but it is showing once again that people are still making this perilous journey. again that people are still making this perilousjourney. conditions out at sea very calm again today. there is very little wind, so people are taking advantage of this weather to make those journeys. are taking advantage of this weather to make thosejourneys. but, with the caveat, of course, that they are using these small boats to get across the busy shipping lane in the world and it remains extremely dangerous. it is in that context the home secretary is chairing a meeting this morning with border force officials and other agencies, other releva nt officials and other agencies, other relevant agencies. so what do people wa nt relevant agencies. so what do people want him to do in the area, what do they expect him to do?” want him to do in the area, what do they expect him to do? i think they wa nt they expect him to do? i think they want action. there has been a feeling here that the home office have just been allowing this to go on and they haven't really got a grip of the situation. sajid javid ahead of this meeting, has said there will be no quick solution, because what he is pointing out is

this problem often starts in areas like the middle east, the conflict there that forces people to leave their countries and head to europe. then once they get over to northern france, they are then potentially becoming victims of people traffickers, who seldom decided that it is pretty easy to get across the channel in small boats, without pointing out the dangers of it. the home secretary has said he had spoken to his french counterpart. there will be increased patrols in the channel. this morning we spotted one of the boats here in the harbour here in dover. he has also talked about tackling those people trafficking gangs behind this trade, but obviously that is not a quick thing to do. the local mp says what he wants is far more of the border force cutters, though specialist vessels which can rescue numerous migrant boats in one go. he would

like to see more of them in the channel to prevent migrants setting up channel to prevent migrants setting up in the first place. there is concern in the home office that that could be seen as they would be rescue boats rather than patrol boats. that could send out the wrong message. the conservative mp charlie elphicke said he wants to see that himself. the french interior minister said the other day this is a bigger problem in france as in britain. the traffickers are roaming free in france, trying to exploit these vulnerable people. it's in all out these vulnerable people. it's in all our interests to make sure this is stopped as soon as possible, vertically before there is a tragedy in the middle of the english channel. we are hearing once again this morning of another boat that has arrived in grey stone down the coast from here. so it shows the problem is still very much here and at the forefront of the minds of people here in dover and also very much the focus of attention at this meeting in westminster today. 0k, simon, thank you for that. simon jones in dover. 39 people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

following a stabbing in west london. police were called to fulham palace road in hammersmith shortly before 1am this morning. a man in his 30s was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical but stable condition. the police say they were called here shortly before one o'clock this morning, where a man was found with stab wounds. you can see the scene here behind me, cordoned off by police tape. that man, as you say, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. we do understand he had been chased after some sort of altercation. he was chased by a number of men and women. then, those suspects disappeared into a house down this road here, where there was a house party going on. when the police arrived there, they say because of a lack of co—operation from anyone at the party and the essential need to

recover a ny party and the essential need to recover any evidence that they said it was absolutely appropriate to arrest all 39 people who were at that party. so all those people have been taken to various police stations around west london and police say their inquiries are continuing. this is a stark reminder, if one was needed, of the problem of knife crime. a huge story this year particularly in the capital and a reminder of the pressure that is on the mayor of london and others to tackle it? absolutely. the police did recover two knives and there is another police called further down the road, where the knives were found. as you say, it's been a huge problem. 0ver found. as you say, it's been a huge problem. over 40,000 knife —related incidents in london for the last available year of figures. the mayor sadik khan has pledged to crack down on this. 132 homicides and 57% of them were due to stabbings. it is a serious problem in london that the mayor is under pressure to tackle and he says he will. keith doyle

reporting. political leaders have focused on brexit in their traditional new year messages. jeremy corbyn accused the government of making a mess of britain's departure from the eu. he says labour is ready to deliver a radical but fairer alternative to mrs may's deal. i'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year. there is so much talent across britain but we are being held back by a system that for too long has only served a privileged few. now, the conservatives have plunged the country into crisis, over the complete mess they have made of brexit, trying to drive through a bad deal and letting people down all across the country, whether they voted leave or remain. eight years of damaging tory failure has left us with a divided country where millions are struggling to make ends meet. where so many can't afford a home to call their own. where older people are deprived of the dignity they deserve, and far too many are working low paid and insecure jobs. we cannot go on like this.

labour is ready to deliver a radical alternative, to rebuild and transform our country. we will stand up to the powerful few so that the wealth you create is shared fairly, not hoarded by a privileged elite. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, used her message to say her government would seek to keep scotland at the heart of europe. she said european union workers would always be welcome, regardless of what happens in the next few months. in the yearahead, the scottish government will continue to do everything we can to protect scotland's place at the heart of europe. however, whatever the outcome of brexit, scotland will always offer a warm welcome to the world. in fact, our reputation for being an open, warm—hearted, hospitable country has never been more important. i want to make that especially clear to the hundreds of thousands of nationals from other european union countries who have done us the honour of choosing

scotland as their home. i know that this is a deeply uncertain time for you, but i also want you to know that your contribution to our national life, to our economy, communities and society, is hugely valued. you will always be welcome here. of course, 2019 will not simply be about brexit. we will also keep on with the day to day business of government. we will redouble our efforts to support and invest in our key public services such as the nhs and our education system. we will continue our expansion of childcare and press ahead with our new scottish system of social security, making life fairer and helping those most in need. the liberal democrat leader, sir vince cable, said the next three months were critical, warning there is only 90 days left for the country to change course. as we enter 2019, time is ticking down on brexit. the history books will look back on the coming three months as critical to our future. are we going to make

a terrible mistake, leaving behind our influence in europe's most successful peace project, and the world's biggest marketplace? or are the british people, in the final hours, going to be given a chance to reconsider in the light of the facts that have come to the surface in the last two years? after two long years of negotiation, the prime minister has brought back a deal that satisfies nobody. her reaction is to try to frighten people with the prospect of a no—deal brexit, with the potential for serious disruption in travel and business. in reality, that can't happen unless she decides it should. the only way forward is to have a people's vote with the option to remain. it's a campaign we the liberal democrats started, and now millions of people havejoined us in demanding a better future than brexit britain has to offer.

and the prime minister because matt new year message is expected tonight. the us ambassador to the uk has cast doubt on britain being able to negotiate a wide—ranging free trade deal with america if the brexit agreement put forward by theresa may is approved. president trump has previously said that mrs may's proposals "sounded like a good deal for the eu". mrjohnson told the bbc that america was watching events closely. the headlines on bbc news: the home secretary prepares to chair a meeting this morning with the border force and other agencies, as he attempts to deal with the rising number of migrants trying to cross the channel. 39 people are arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in west london. the uk's political leaders deliver their new year messages, with a focus on britain's departure from the eu. sport and for a full

round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. good morning. we have had the last premier league football over 2018. manchester city had a shaky christmas, with back—to—back defeats, but they signed off for the year with a win at southampton. adam wilde rounds up the action. having grown used to setting the premier league pace we now see manchester city learning to chase. that furrowed brow is not without good reason. back—to—back defeats meaning they could ill afford another slip—up, not that it looked likely when they went ahead against southampton but a thunderous equaliser from hojbjerg saw the crowds of concern descend once more. they didn't descend for long. two goals before half—time settled this one, with city seven points behind leaders liverpool.

at least some are learning to enjoy the thrill of the chase. they are doing well but the problem is the team is the best team in europe, the best team in the world right now in the top four but we have to accept it. victory put city four points clear of chelsea who needed just a single strike from n'golo kante to see off crystal palace. smiles there. something that had been in short supply at old trafford. that was before 0le gunnar solskjaer took over manchester united. players it seems are now free to express themselves. paul pogba, criticised, even vilified under the previous regime, now, like his team, seemingly enjoying himself once more, having re—found his rhythm. he scored twice against bournemouth. marcus rashford and lukaku doing the rest. united looking more like their old self. i probably would have watched this game on telly, having some crisps and cake. so it's better to be

here, to be fair. a troubled year, ending on a high for burnley. a victory over west ham gives them hope of better times ahead. adam wild, bbc news. the premier league are searching for a new chief executive again, they thought they'd found one a few weeks ago — susanna dinnage had agreed to take over from richard scudamore in the role and was due to start in the new year, but she's now changed her mind. she's going to stay with the discovery channel after deciding that she didn't want to leave broadcasting. two time world champion michael van gerwen is through to the final of the pdc world darts championship. the dutchman was in superb form at ally pally and swept to a 6—1win over scotland's two time champion gary anderson in their semifinal. van gerwen will play michael smith in the final. the surgeon who operated on andy murray's hip earlier this year says the former world number one may never be free of pain. drjim 0'donnell says it's murray's "intense desire to do really well"

that's kept his tennis career going. he's playing in the brisbane 0pen which starts today. serena williams won her first competitive match on her return to action after losing the us open final in september. she beat maria sakkari in straight sets at the hopman cup in perth. but her victory couldn't stop greece beating the us 2—1. and great britain's harriet dart is through to the second round in brisbane. she came through three rounds of qualifying, notching up the biggest win of her career against andrea petkovic — today the british number four, ranked just inside the top 150, beat priscilla hon from australia in three sets. england's joe root and jos buttler are in big bash action in australia, but they're not having a good time for sydney thunder against adelaide strikers. buttler was out for just 23 runs and root was called to the crease, after this incredible team work catch saw thunder captain shane watson dismissed.

jake weatherald's perfectly timed flick reaching team mate michael neser. the england test captain wasn't on the pitch for long though, he managed just 18 runs before he was caught. that's all the sport for now. be back in the next hour with more. thank you very much. the majority of councils in england didn't prosecute a single motorist for misusing a disabled parking permit in the last 12 months, according to data from the department for transport. in that time, the number of blue badges reported as stolen rose by 45% on the previous year. the local government association says authorities have limited resources to carry out enforcement, as john mcmanus reports. they're a lifeline for around 2.4 million motorists who have some form of disability. blue badges allow holders to park free of charge in pay—and—display bays, and for up to three

hours on yellow lines. that makes the permits very valuable, and the number of badges reported as stolen rose to more than 4,000 last year. yet data from the department for transport and analysed by the press association shows that most councils in england, including middlesbrough, nottingham and shropshire, failed to take action against a single motorist for misusing the permits over the last 12 months. of those that did, the largest number of prosecutions were in three boroughs, hammersmith & fulham, newham in london, and leeds. i think the figures show that councils will enforce where they've got the evidence. you know, this is a hard crime to prove. clearly, we have to stick around and find out when we see somebody using a blue badge, we have to gain a large amount of evidence before we prosecute. the disability charity scope has called the level of prosecutions disgraceful, and pointed out that this is not a victimless crime. john mcmanus, bbc news. i'm joined by minesh patel, the policy and campaigns manger at the charity scope.

welcome to you. we have two big issues there, thefts first of all. up issues there, thefts first of all. up 45% in the last 12 months on the previous year, a huge rise, and then the misuse of blue badges and lack of prosecution. how do you propose dealing with these issues? it's shocking to see the high rise in theft of blue badges and people not dealing with it properly. we want to see great action by councils in dealing with this. it starts by increasing awareness of the importance of blue badges for disabled people. it is about starting to take it seriously and acting on this important issue for many disabled people. do you think it's about councils not taking the issue seriously or is it about them

being cash strapped and this falling down the list of priorities?m being cash strapped and this falling down the list of priorities? it can vary. i think what the figures show todayis vary. i think what the figures show today is council simply aren't doing enough to deal with issues of blue badge misuse, blue badge theft and it needs to be taken much more seriously. we want to create a society which is equal for everybody, and that includes disabled people, and that needs to start with making sure disabled people can access blue badges, get out and about and live independently. it's worth telling our viewers about how much these blue badges are a lifeline to people who have them. absolutely. at scope, people tell us they are hugely important for them to get out and about and see friends and family. the government made a welcome step earlier in the year to increase availability but that will be compounded with not dealing with blue badge misuse or theft. blue badges are hugely important for

disabled people to live independently and its vital council support that by dealing with the problem properly stop i am sure you have exa m ples problem properly stop i am sure you have examples of where people legitimately have a blue badge and go out to do shopping, and they can't get access to a space to use because perhaps people who are misusing these badges have already taken those spaces. we hear that all too often. blue badges enable disabled people to park closer to shopping centres, for instance, to have free parking, park on yellow lines and that's really important for people with mobility issues or people with autism, sensory issues, and for many not having the blue badges means they are unable to go out. it is limiting peoples independence, which is why these figures need to so there is a wake—up call for councils. figures need to so there is a wake-up call for councils. good to raise awareness of the issue. thank you very much. two people have died following a crash on the a13 in east london. police were called to reports of a car travelling in the wrong direction down the carriageway

in dagenham at 1.45 this morning. shortly afterwards, the car was involved in a collision with a taxi heading in the opposite direction. a woman in her 70s and a man in his 40s have died. the governing alliance in bangladesh has won a landslide victory in the country's election, giving the prime minister, sheikh hasina, a third consecutive term in power. 0pposition parties have complained of fraud and vote—rigging, and have demanded another election. at least 18 people have been killed in violent clashes. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye is following developments in the country's capital, dhaka. we were out speaking to a lot of people yesterday at the polling booths and i have to say that despite the allegations that this was not a fair election and the opposition parties didn't really have a chance to campaign, there were a lot of people on the ground who support prime minister sheikh hasina. she is a very popular leader here, credited with bringing development to the country and bringing

down poverty levels. and so we did find a lot of her supporters. the one pattern that was clear, was that they were the ones who were more vocal and willing to speak to us on record. anyone who might have possibly voted for the opposition or who had a different point of view was quite intimidated, quite scared to speak to us on record. but we did hear, one man for example told us that when he reached a polling booth with his entire family, many members actually found their votes had already been cast, even though they had just showed up there to vote. so, these are the examples we are hearing. also a bbc bengali service reporter who was covering the election in the chittagong area, saw ballot boxes that had already been filled even before polling began. the election commission has said it will look into these alleged irregularities, but this is a body that has been accused of bias by the opposition. big ben's famous "bongs" are set to ring out at midnight tonight, heralding the start of 2019. the elizabeth tower

is undergoing extensive work, and the clock mechanism has been removed for maintenance. 0ur corrspondent tim muffett has been finding out how the famous bongs will be able to ring out tonight. typically, it's 399 steps to the top of what's surely britain's most commonly misnamed building, but refurbishment of the elizabeth tower — which houses the bell, big ben — means that right now, the journey‘s much quicker. good to see you. wow, this is an amazing spot, isn't it? it's a huge privilege, obviously, to be able to do this. the fabric of the building suffered bomb damage during the second world war. there've been various repairs since then, and this is the first opportunity we've had really to take it apart from top to bottom and do a thoroughjob on it. work began early last year and is due to last until 2021. it's meant scaffolding and silence, instead of familiar sights and sounds. a lot of tourists have been very upset by it. they've only come to london to see the clock tower itself but,

you know, at the end of the day, the time has come for maintenance, unfortunately. big ben chimes. for almost 160 years, the hammer that strikes big ben has been activated by the great clock. with the original clock mechanism currently off—site being restored, here's the challenge — how do you allow the world's most famous bell to be struck on special occasions? we made the obligation that this bell would be made available for all national events, like remembrance sunday and new year's eve. so, in november, this device made its debut. it is a computer system that's linked to a gps. 0ur device onsite picks up that signal and tells the motor to start to run, allowing the hammer to strike. big ben chimes. that's exactly what happened on remembrance sunday and it worked extremely well.

so, come midnight on new year's eve, it's going to happen, is it? it will happen. yes, i'm nervous, but nerves are a good thing because it shows you actually care about something. three, two, one... the sound of one year ending and a new year beginning. too important for any refurbishment to silence. tim muffett, bbc news. now it's time for the weather with simon. much the same as we have had over the last week or so. lots of cloud around at the moment. it is mostly dry although there is some rain in the far north and west of scotland. strengthening wind across scotland as well, particularly the northern isles, where we are likely to