live from london, this is bbc news. northern ireland's devolved government is restored after a two—year hiatus. sinn fein�*s michelle o'neill makes history as stormont�*s first irish nationalist leader. this is an assembly for all — catholic, protestant, and the centre. despite our different outlooks and our different views on the future constitutional position, the public rightly demand that we work together and that we deliver together. iraq's prime minister says civilians were among 16 people killed in us attacks on what washington says were pro—iranian militias. and british scientists and engineers arrive in antarctica to test a new drone that will help forecast the impact of climate change.

hello, this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. we start in belfast on a historic day, as a devolved government has been restored in northern ireland, with its first irish nationalist leader. michelle o'neill has been elected first minister of the devolved government. her party, sinn fein, hopes to one day unite northern ireland with the republic of ireland. sinn fein became the biggest party during elections two years ago. it is also two years to the day that the assembly at stormont last met after the main unionist party, the democratic unionists, walked out of the power—sharing agreement over post brexit trading rules. our political editor, chris mason, reports from belfast. good morning, stormont! stormont sits back up and running today, we've been running the past two years. limbering up and under way — park runners here first thing pounding around the stormont estate.

and the politicians are back, too. whoo! and it's notjust you guys rattling around here now. no, there's going to be a few others rattling around. so there's going to be quite a number in the house, i believe, today. but they're welcome tojoin the park run. good to see them back? erm... we'll see. to be confirmed, still. so you thought you'd run at stormont today because the politicians are back? yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. hopefully a wee bit more conversation going forward. arriving here not long later, today's headline maker michelle o'neill, walking towards a place in northern ireland's history as the first nationalist first minister. the assembly is back and now with the first minister who speaks in english and irish. she speaks irish today opens the door to a future, a shared future. i am honoured to stand

here as first minister. michelle o'neill pledged that she would work for everyone in northern ireland. with all those colleagues of a british, of a unionist tradition who cherish the union. this is an assembly for all — catholic, protestant, and the centre. on northern ireland's violence murder known as the troubles, a notable apology for all deaths. we must never forget all those who have died or been injured or theirfamilies. i am sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict, without exception. history can at once be national, however defined, and deeply personal. and this is an historic day. and it does represent a new dawn. for the very first time, a nationalist takes up the position of first minister. that such a day would ever come was unimaginable to my parents' and grandparents' generation.

northern ireland's first and deputy first ministers have equal legal powers, but sinn fein won more seats than the second biggest party, the democratic unionists, at the last elections. so the dup take the deputy position. michelle is an irish republican and i am a very proud unionist. we will never agree on those issues, but what we can agree on is that cancer doesn't discriminate and our hospitals need fixed. there is widespread support here for the return of devolution, but it's not universal. some unionists think the dup should not have come back because some eu rules still apply in northern ireland. of all those attempts to spin defeat as victory, this is a climb—down of monumental proportions. the business of governing, deciding, scrutinising resumes again here. chris mason, bbc news in belfast.

we can go live now to our ireland correspondent chris page, who is at stormont. a very delicate balancing act, the start of a journey rather than the finish, isn't it?— finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians _ finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians want _ finish, isn't it? yes, for a group of politicians want northern - finish, isn't it? yes, for a group - of politicians want northern ireland to stay in the uk to share power with those want northern ireland to leave the uk become part of another country, that is never going to be an easy relationship and it's proven year at stormont over their head of the new sharing coalition, the first nationalist or the position, michelle o'neill and the deputy first minister, those positions are legally equal, but those ministers cannot operate in isolation from the other and with economic a decision

about the say—so of the other but in about the say—so of the other but in a place where the identity of northern ireland its place in the uk is disputed, titles and symbolism do matter and that and the fact that it's now who has the title first minister is of sinn fein. fragility has definitely _ minister is of sinn fein. fragility has definitely been _ minister is of sinn fein. fragility has definitely been quite - minister is of sinn fein. fragility i has definitely been quite effective. . the last collapse lasted for two ears and . the last collapse lasted for two years and there's _ . the last collapse lasted for two years and there's another - . the last collapse lasted for two - years and there's another three-year years and there's another three—year suspension not long before that it other northern ireland has more than a regional government for the last seven years, understandably, there will be people here are sceptical of the evidence is really the end or is this the start of stability, but the strategy amongst ministers in the next few days are briefed on the decision that they are left to make and try part put up a united front

and try part put up a united front and focus on those issues if they can come together, not about whether or not northern ireland should be in the uk are not but public services and bringing down hospital weights for the uk and giving help working parents of the cost of childcare and it is those policies that will be the focus we can expect a flurry of news releases and news conferences over the physicists and the minister looks to establish yourself in the rules. looks to establish herself and the rules. russia has called for a united nations security council meeting after the united states hit more than 85 targets in iraq and syria which it says had links to iran. it's in retaliation for the killing of three american soldiers injordan by iran—backed militia last weekend. white house national security spokesmanjohn kirby said three facilities were hit in iraq and four were hit in syria. the us said iran's islamic revolutionary guards corp quds force and affiliated militia

groups were struck. an iraqi government spokesperson bassem al—awadi says us strikes hit locations in the iraqi towns of akashat and al-qaim. 16 people were killed and 25 injured in the strikes, according to iraqi officials, while a british—based war monitor says at least 20 were killed in syria. from the capital baghdad, here's hugo bachega. explosions. the american strikes came in the middle of the night and there was no surprise. for days, us officials had said they would act and that iranian personnel and interests would be targeted. this video, broadcast on syrian state tv, claims to show the aftermath of one of the attacks. in iraq, the morning revealed some of the damage. 85 targets were struck in iraq

and syria, locations america says have been used by iran's revolutionary guards and the militias it supports. it's a calibrated action with, crucially, no attacks inside iran. this was about degrading capability, taking away capabilities by the militant groups. these responses began tonight, they're not going to end tonight. the us is responding to a drone attack on a us base injordan last sunday, which killed three american soldiers. the us said iranian—backed militants were to blame. president biden had been under pressure to give a strong response. in announcing the attacks, he said, "the us does not seek conflict "in the middle east" but he warned, "if you harm an american, we will respond." it's too early to say how effective the american strikes will be. officials say this is just the beginning. iran, iraq, and syria have all condemned the attacks. now, the question is how or if iran

and its proxies will respond. the uk said it supported the us right to defend itself. from belgium, an appeal for restraint. it's a huge concern and so we ask for restraint and we ask for dialogues and diplomacy. it's the only way that we can calm down the situation. but in gaza, the war that has exacerbated tensions across the region continues. talks for a ceasefire between israel and hamas are under way, the main hope to help avert even more violence. hugo bachega, bbc news, baghdad. live now to our correspondent basheer al zaidi who is in baghdad. what is been the response of the iraqi government? fix,

what is been the response of the iraqi government?— what is been the response of the iraqi government? a strong statement issued early condemning _ iraqi government? a strong statement issued early condemning but _ iraqi government? a strong statement issued early condemning but it - iraqi government? a strong statement issued early condemning but it is - issued early condemning but it is described as an aggression against iran as a serious breach in violation of a rock sovereignty. —— iraq. and by the foreign ministry to be handled and the iraqi foreign ministry and the air strikes and the iraq governments is it belongs to the security forces and we know those locations were occupied by the mobilisation forces that are considered a part of the iraqi security forces. in their car for

the coalition, the state administration coalition which is an umbrella for all political powers to meet tomorrow in an urgent meeting to discuss what they call the emergency development and referring to the us air strikes in the parliament is stored in emergency session as they describe statements in order to discuss the us air strikes and renewing the call for the iraqi government to speed and fast track international coalition to end its presence in the country. there is dialogue there has been dialogue between dc quite clearly in baghdad not only that, iraq is very limited autonomy over these groups.

it has been back and forth that and we are talking about the coalition yearin we are talking about the coalition year in iraq and it's about the debate by some political powers looking at the us forces and occupation forces in the said this is against the sovereignty of iraq and they have the upper hand and when it comes to use of power in the iraqi territory. the iraqi government seems keen on getting involved with a serious dialogue and negotiations with the international coalition and they started that and

the dialogue committee sessions are held a couple weeks ago. today that these air strikes added momentum to this and we saw that coming from the iraqi government and its statement from other politicians who are kind of renewing on that point to be taken seriously and as soon as possible by the iraqi government. so, it is a matter of waiting to see what is going to come up from the iraqi political powers after their meeting tomorrow.— iraqi political powers after their meeting tomorrow. thank you very much forjoining — meeting tomorrow. thank you very much forjoining us _ meeting tomorrow. thank you very much forjoining us from _ meeting tomorrow. thank you very much forjoining us from baghdad. | live now to our north america correspondent will vernon what do you think washington is making of this receiving its attacks in the region? i

making of this receiving its attacks in the region?— making of this receiving its attacks in the region? i think these are the re5ponses that _ in the region? i think these are the responses that washington - in the region? i think these are the. responses that washington would've expected. this retaliation was in response to something that happened nearly one week ago last sunday was when the drone was smashed into the us base injordan and killing three service and wounding dozens of others. the us released several warnings and has been talking openly about how it will respond and even win, signal butte to the next few days be spread over several days there was really no surprise when this happened and even mutterings here that perhaps, president biden waited too long and there is too much warnings and telegraphing when the broadcasted its plans ahead of carrying them out. there's been especially from republicans that this took too long republicans often

criticised president biden for being too soft on iran, former president donald trump works are expected to be the republican presidential nominee, he often criticisesjoe biden over iran and said he would never have during watch there has been criticism but we will have to see what further action is taken by the us the next few days in the official steps that we should expect more of the strikes.— more of the strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken _ more of the strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken is _ more of the strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken is on _ more of the strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken is on a _ more of the strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken is on a mission l more of the strikes. meanwhile, | antony blinken is on a mission to the region for the next few days what you think yields to achieve? in the us secretary of state is on another middle eastern diplomatic tour and you will be meeting with regional leaders and the main thrust of that visit is the pause in

fighting and perhaps the release of dozens of hostages. these are very delicate operations and with these strikes, i think that is another reason why the us is so desperate to avoid a direct military confrontation or in general, escalation in the region as a result because these are delicate intends and there's a greater prize for the white house and not something they would wantjeopardised. thank white house and not something they would want jeopardised._ would want 'eopardised. thank you ve much would want jeopardised. thank you very much indeed _ let's get some of the other headlines here in the uk. police have searched five properties in london and newcastle as they hunt for the man suspected of throwing a corrosive substance at a woman and her children in south london. the metropolitan police are urging abdul shokoor ezidi to turn himself in. they released body camera vision of the hunt for him today.

he was last seen boarding an underground train at king's cross station on wednesday. a man in kent has been charged with attempted murder — after he struck a policeman with a car while failing to stop. police say the officer was seriously injured. he was taken to a local hospital but has since been discharged. four other people were also arrested in connection to the incident. rail passengers are facing another day of disrupted train services in the latest 24—hour strike called by the train drivers union aslef. there are no services on avanti west coast, east midlands, west midlands railway and london northwestern. passengers are advised to check updated timetables before they travel. the former prime minister of pakistan imran khan and his wife bushra bibi have beenjailed for seven years after a court ruled that their marriage was illegal and un—islamic. the case was brought by ms bibi's former husband,

who accused her of not completing the mandatory waiting period required under sharia law before she married mr khan. this is the third custodial sentence mr khan has been handed this week. he had been sentenced to ia and ten years in prison for leaking national secrets and selling state gifts. mr khan's lawyers say he will appeal against all three rulings. our pakistan correspondent caroline davies is in islamabad with more details. this is the third jail sentence that imran khan has got in the course of a week. the backdrop to all of this is, of course, there are general election scheduled to be held this coming thursday. as you mention, he has had these previous two cases, the first he was given a ten—year jail sentence, the second ia, this one 7. we think these are all running concurrently, at the same time, rather than adding on top of each other but this is still a very lengthy period of time that imran khan would have to spend injail. this particular sentence has been

given because he has been found guilty, as you say, it's relating to his marriage to his wife bushra bibi. this is his third wife. this case is brought by her ex—husband that she was married to for around 30 years. and he says that bushra bibi and imran khan did not wait the designated period of timein between his divorce from bushra bibi and imran khan's marriage that is mandated by islam. that is why, in the course of this judgment, the judge has also talked about it being un—islamic as well as being illegal. now, this isn'tjust about adding on an extra jail sentence to many of imran khan's supporters. what they think is happening here is that there is a repression of imran khan and of his political party in the build—up to those general elections. that what is often referred to as the establishment here in pakistan, that is the military and intelligence services, they think they are trying to repress imran khan, they are trying to put voters off voting for him in the run—up to those general elections.

of course, the authorities here deny that and say that these are absurd allegations against them. what is particularly interesting about this case is that some people have said that this is also about trying to show or trying to undermine imran khan's religious credentials. that's since imran khan had a religious reawakening. that has been a crucial part of his political campaigning and suggesting that his marriage is un—islamic, they suggest, will try potentially to undermine his credibility with voters to whom that is really important. the big question now is what will happen? how will this affect voters, the way that voters decide to cast their vote? will they feel that all of those blows that have happened to imran khan and his party, the pti, in the course of the last week and the last few months, will that put them off voting or alternatively will it mean that more people will come out in a show of support? a team of scientists and engineers has landed in antarctica, to test a new drone

that will help experts forecast the impact of climate change. the device will enable researchers to access parts of the continent that were previously out of bounds because of the harsh weather conditions. live now to antarctica where we can speak with tom reed, one of the engineers and autopilot lead who designed this drone for the british antarctic survey. what are the drums capabilities? fundamentally, we take it for long distances that lends itself to scientific sensors and payloads in carrying out this mission on the antarctic survey. i5 carrying out this mission on the antarctic survey.— carrying out this mission on the antarctic survey. is doing 'ust fly around randomly, i antarctic survey. is doing 'ust fly around randomly, what h antarctic survey. is doing just fly around randomly, what are - antarctic survey. is doing just fly around randomly, what are you i around randomly, what are you looking for does very different get instructions at the beginning of the day of where to go? the

instructions at the beginning of the day of where to go?— day of where to go? the various -a loads day of where to go? the various payloads of a — day of where to go? the various payloads of a particular - day of where to go? the various payloads of a particular area - payloads of a particular area of interest i would like to catch data on and ultimately, the scientists defined the goal as the operators, we created around in a plan the aircraft execute and that is uploaded onto the aircraft for take—off in the execution is fully autonomous, students searching on the data in the health of the systems but there is no continuous intervention required from us. in the carbon footprint is different from having to physically having to go there ourselves, it's important work to monitoring climate change. in terms of carbon footprint, record three times less fuel than accrued

aircraft and with the drones were in significantly more challenging whether and we are not only distilled to the same but a modern of new missions that were previously out of bounds just. out of bounds it of new missions that were previously out of bounds it is bright and sunny there but i assume it is not always like that. we there but i assume it is not always like that. ~ . like that. we are here in the antarctic— like that. we are here in the antarctic summer _ like that. we are here in the antarctic summer autumn i like that. we are here in the i antarctic summer autumn time like that. we are here in the - antarctic summer autumn time and at the moment, it's a few degrees above zero in light it's a beautiful sunny day but even in the times we been on the station so far during set work, we have already seen some pretty adverse conditions, some very strong winds and in the antarctic winter is interior it. ~ ., �* , ~ interior it. what's it like living interior it. what's it like living

in there? _ interior it. what's it like living in there? the _ interior it. what's it like living in there? the research - interior it. what's it like living| in there? the research station interior it. what's it like living i in there? the research station is interior it. what's it like living - in there? the research station is a fantastic place _ in there? the research station is a fantastic place in _ in there? the research station is a fantastic place in terms _ in there? the research station is a fantastic place in terms of - in there? the research station is a fantastic place in terms of daily i fantastic place in terms of daily life here, it really is an excellent landing pad to conduct an terms of facilities available, the runway and the experience, towards laboratories we can access in order to conduct, its been fantastic. aha, we can access in order to conduct, it's been fantastic.— it's been fantastic. a fantastic opportunity- _ it's been fantastic. a fantastic opportunity. exactly - it's been fantastic. a fantastic opportunity. exactly stop - it's been fantastic. a fantasticl opportunity. exactly stop when it's been fantastic. a fantastic i opportunity. exactly stop when i want to be _ opportunity. exactly stop when i want to be there _ opportunity. exactly stop when i want to be there at _ opportunity. exactly stop when i want to be there at any - opportunity. exactly stop when i want to be there at any one - opportunity. exactly stop when i l want to be there at any one time? around six weeks and this is looking at really identifying the optimal missions and the usage of the signs we look to expand a going forward and leading to significant and meaningful amount of data and the

other thing that is of instance to assist. ~ . ., assist. were at the end of the programme — assist. were at the end of the programme name _ assist. were at the end of the programme name dying - assist. were at the end of the programme name dying to . assist. were at the end of the i programme name dying to hear assist. were at the end of the - programme name dying to hear the other thing is but thank you for joining us. stay with me. hello. despite the sunshine we've seen across scotland and northern ireland, it was a slightly cooler day than friday when we had temperatures up to 15. that's what we've seen further south today. and that milder air is nudging its way northwards. blustery still and some more rain to come. this is the weather front that's been straddling the uk. that chillier air to the north with showers milder to the south. but you may have noticed behind there's another weather front on the way. so still a continuation of those heavy showers with some hail, some thunder and lightning and gale force winds in the north. a lot of cloud further south as we go through the night. misty and murky over the coast and the hills and bits of drizzle. but the main rain's coming back in later in the night to western scotland and northern ireland. that's really the main player for the next couple of days, particularly for western, central, and southern scotland. we could see a good couple of inches of rain, even at lower levels

towards the central belt, but over the hills double that. so, it's likely we'll have some flooding impacts, ithink, with that amount of rain in such a short space of time. but also its a wetter day for parts of northern england, for northern ireland, cloudier, as well. and further south, i think we'll have a bit more cloud than today, but it's still mild. the winds are picking up a notch, though, overnight, so i think slightly windier again tomorrow. still that risk of gales in the north. now, they may ease a little as we head into monday, but only temporarily. and then by that stage we've got that rain bumping into the colder air further north and we could have a spell of snow over the hills and then into the northern isles potentially on monday. but to the south, we've still got that westerly breeze, still the high pressure influencing our weather here so keeping it largely dry, still quite a lot of cloud, though, because we're pulling in all that wind off the atlantic. so, moisture laden. but the wettest weather by far will still be in the north, hence the risk of some flooding.

to the north of that, we've still got that cold air. but for most parts of the uk, once again, the start of the week very mild. fog around the coasts and over the hills, which is very typical with this sort of wind direction. now, by tuesday, ourweatherfront does start to push a little bit further southwards. and behind it, there's some colder air. but that cold, warm air battle is going to take place across the uk, we think, during the week and eventually it looks like it'll get colder towards next weekend, but that's a long way off. and in the meantime, in between, we're going to see some wetter weather. the warnings, as ever, are on our website. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... northern ireland's devolved government is restored after a two—year hiatus. sinn fein's michelle o'neill makes history as stormont�*s first irish nationalist leader. this is an assembly for all, catholic, protestant, and dissenter. despite our different outlooks and different views on the future constitutional position, the public rightly demand that we work together and deliver together. us air strikes on sites linked to iranian—backed fighters have drawn condemnation from iraq, syria, and iran. and hundreds of serving us and european officials warn that western governments' policies on the israel—gaza war could amount to "grave violations of international law."