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. lama i am a republican. i will serve everyone equally and be a first minister for all. for all of you who are british and unionist, your cultures, your traditions are important to me. us air strikes on sites linked to iranian—backed militias draw condemnation from iraq, syria and iran. a third successive week of protests against the far—right in germany. more than 100,000 people demonstrate in berlin.

and — out of step and pornographic, or a perfectly—timed feminist masterclass? we speak to the makers of oscar—nominated poor things. hello. it's been a historic day in belfast. the devolved government has been restored in northern ireland, and it has chosen its first irish nationalist leader. michelle o'neill was 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. 0ur political editor, chris mason, reports from belfast. good morning, stormont! stormont�*s 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 0'neill, walking towards a place in northern ireland's history as the first nationalist first minister. the assembly is back, and now with a 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 0'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. 0n 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.

0ur ireland correspondent chris page told us more about the power—sharing agreement. for a fora group of for a group of for a -roup of politicians who for a group of for a nroup of politicians who want for a group of politicians who want northern ireland to stay in the uk, to share power with those who want northern ireland to leave the uk and become part of another country, well, that is never going to be an easy relationship. and so it has proved here at stormont outside belfast over the years. so now we have at the head of the new power—sharing coalition michelle 0'neill, the first minister, the first nationalist to hold that position and emma little—pengelly of the democratic route unionist party as the deputy first leader. —— democratic unionist party. 0ne democratic unionist party. one cannot make a decision without the say—so of the other. but in a place where the identity of the northern ireland commits place in the uk is

disputed, titles and symbolism do matter. and that's why it is a sinn fein politician who has the title first minister is significant. find first minister is significant. and the fragility _ first minister is significant. and the fragility has _ first minister is significant. and the fragility has been made very apparent, hasn't it?— the fragility has been made very apparent, hasn't it? certainly has. but there is— apparent, hasn't it? certainly has. but there is another _ apparent, hasn't it? certainly has. but there is another three-year i but there is another three—year suspension so although —— so all of northern ireland has been without a regional government for five out of the last seven years. so understandably, there will be people here who are sceptical, they say, is this the end of stalemate at stormont or the start of stability? but i think the strategy certainly amongst the ministers over the next few days is they are briefed on the decisions they will have to make, to try to put up a united front, focus on those issues that they can come together on. not

about whether northern ireland should be in the uk or not. 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 claims 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 corps, quds force and affiliated militia groups were struck. an iraqi government spokesperson, bassem al—awadi, says the us 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 iraqi 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. in brussels, eu foreign ministers called 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. 0ur correspondent basheer al—zaidi — who is in baghdad ? explains the response from the iraqi government. so the iraqi government has called for the coalition, the state administration coalition, which is an umbrella for all the iraqi political powers. to meet tomorrow in an urgent meeting, in order to discuss what they call the emergency development. and they are referring to the us air strikes. also, the iraqi parliament is to hold an emergency session, as they described in their statement, in order to discuss these us air strikes. and also, renewing the call for the

iraqi government to speed or to fast—track talks with the international coalition, to end its presence in the country. but the situation is slightly opaque because there is dialogue, there has been dialogue between dc and baghdad. not only that, iraq has very limited autonomy over these groups. very limited autonomy over these nrou s. ~ . , very limited autonomy over these i rou ns_ ~ ., , , groups. indeed. well, it has been back and fourth, _ groups. indeed. well, it has been back and fourth, in _ groups. indeed. well, it has been back and fourth, in that _ groups. indeed. well, it has been back and fourth, in that work - groups. indeed. well, it has been i back and fourth, in that work frame, if you like. and we are talking about the international coalition here in iraq. and it is always a debate by some iraqi political powers, looking at the us forces here and they are like occupation

forces, they describe it. this is against the sovereignty of iraq, they say. and they have the upper hand. in decision making, when it comes to use of power on the iraqi territories. i mean, the iraqi government seems keen to get involved in a serious dialogue or negotiations with the international coalition. they started that. they called the dialogue. these sessions held a couple of weeks ago. but we saw today that these air strikes, they kind of added a momentum to these talks, and we saw that coming from the iraqi government in its statements. and also, from other politicians who are kind of renewing and stressing on that point to be taken seriously and as soon as possible by the recce government. so it is a matter of waiting, i

believe, to see what is going to, by the iraqi political powers after their meeting tomorrow. the perspeetive _ their meeting tomorrow. the perspective from _ their meeting tomorrow. the perspective from baghdad. 0ur north america correspondent will vernon is following the story from washington. i asked him what the us government makes of the response it received to its attacks. there has been criticism, especially from republicans, that this took too long. republicans often criticise president biden for being too soft on iran. former president donald trump, who's expected to be the republican presidential nominee, he often criticises biden over iran, says this would never have happened on his watch. so, you know, there has been criticism, but we'll have to see what further action is taken by the us in the next few days. john kirby and other officials have said that we should expect more of these strikes. meanwhile, antony blinken is on a diplomatic mission to the region for the next few days. what do you think

he hopes to achieve? that's right. tomorrow, the us secretary of state is on another middle eastern diplomatic tour. he'll be meeting key regional leaders. and the main kind of thrust of that visit is he will be discussing a potential pause in fighting in gaza, and perhaps the release of dozens of hostages. now, these are very delicate negotiations that have been going on for a while now. and i think that with these strikes that were launched last night, that is another reason why the us is so desperate to avoid a direct military confrontation with iran or, in general, a kind of cycle of escalation in the region as a result. because these negotiations are delicate, they are tense. they are crucial. and i think they are a greater prize, potentially, for the white house, and not something they will want be jeopardised. want to be jeopardised.

as diplomatic efforts continue to try and secure a deal, thousands have gathered in israel — protesting against the government, and calling for it to do more to facilitate a deal to release the more than one hundred hostages still being held in gaza. relatives of the hostages and their supporters have been gathering almost daily in tel aviv. here in london, thousands of people joined the latest pro—palestinian protest. it was the first major demonstration in the uk capital since the un's international court ofjustice directed israel to take every measure possible to avoid genocide, while also ensuring humanitarian aid in gaza. a statement from more than 800 serving officials in the us and europe warns that their own governments' policies on the israel—gaza war could amount to "grave violations of international law". the transatlantic statement — which you can see here — says their administrations risk being complicit in "one of the worst human catastrophes of this century", but that their expert advice has been sidelined.

the hamas—run health ministry says at least 27,238 palestinians have been killed since october the 7th, and 66,452 injured by israeli strikes and military actions in the strip. the death toll has increased by 107 in the past day, with 165 injured. now it's time for a look at today's sport with karthi. we start with an extraordinary day in the premier league in which 26 goals were scored — in just five matches. eight of them came at stjames' park as newcastle drew 4—1; with luton town. newcastle led twice, only for luton to be level at 2—2 at half time. the away side then led 4—2 with less than half an hour to play, but goals from kieran trippier and harvey barnes meant the points were shared in a thoroughly entertaining game. we came here to be brave and we did

that. you know, after going 4—2 up, tinged with a little bit of disappointment. but because they got those, they came back quickly 4—3, 4-4 those, they came back quickly 4—3, 4—1; and the way we stayed composed and didn't go under, because that would have happened in this cauldron of an atmosphere. we then regained composure and we had a big chance towards the end and could have won it ourselves in the end. aston villa thrashed the club that sits at the bottom of the table, sheffield united 5—0. while brighton put four past crystal palace to heap the pressure on roy hodgson. late goals at everton and burnley meant both sides rescued a 2—2 draw in their matches against tottenham and fulham respectively. at the africa cup of nations, the hosts, ivory coast, are still on track to win the tournament in front of their own fans, but only just. trailing 1—0 against mali, they scored a 90th—minute equaliser and then won the match in the stoppage time of extra

time to book their place in the final four — a very dramatic match. ivory coast will now face the democratic republic of congo. the final quarter—final between cape verde and south africa is under way. that game has just started. 0—0 is the current score. and in the asian cup, three—time champions iran came from behind to beat the tournament favourites japan 2—1 to book their place in the semi—finals. iran will play qatar, who beat uzbekistan 3—2 on penalties, after the match finished i—all after extra time. to the six nations, and a remarkable finish to the opening—round of fixtures as scotland beat wales for the first time in cardiff in 22 years. but not without a scare. scotland led 27—0, before wales fought back to within a point, but they couldn't find the final score to win the match, scotland hanging on to start the tournament with a 27—26 victory.

yes, it is a funny one. i think a lot of our players are disappointed and we are trying to say to them, this is a really important win. an important win for the next few weeks of the championship, but also in terms of not winning here for so long. but we were disappointed with the game getting so close at the end and it could have gone either way, the momentum wales had in that second half. a dramatic day matches everywhere. a scare too for england as they only just got past italy in rome. italy led 17 points to ia at the break before an alex mitchell try combined with the boot of george ford edged england to a 27—24 victory. a stunning spell of bowling from jasprit bumrah has put india in complete control of the second test between india and england. having bowled india out for 396 in the morning, england's response looked composed, with the tourists 114—1. but bumrah changed all of that, in spells either side of tea, picking up six wickets for 45 runs. england were all out for 253.

india closed on 28 without loss — a lead of 171. and to some breaking news in the last half hour — the highly anticipated world heavyweight unification bout between tyson fury and 0leksandr usyk has been re—arranged. fury withdrew on friday from the fight, which was scheduled for feburary 17th, after suffering an injury in training. it's taken less than 2a hours, though, for a new date to be confirmed, as the pair will now meet in the ring on may 18th in riyadh. and that's all the sport for now. more for you in the next hour. thank you. authorities in chile say at least 19 people have been killed and more than 200 residents have been reported missing as forest fires rage in the valparaiso region. a state of emergency has been declared. the fires have been fuelled

by higher—than—usual temperatures and strong winds. british 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 shakoor ezedi to turn himself in. he was last seen boarding an underground train at king's cross station on wednesday. senegal�*s president, macky sall, has postponed this month's elections, after complaints that dozens of candidates had been barred from standing. mr sall said "these troubled conditions could gravely hurt" the ballot. the two—term president, who is not seeking re—election, has not set a new date. mass demonstrations against the far—right afd party have taken place in towns and cities across germany for the third weekend in a row. in the biggest protest in berlin,

an estimated 150,000 people rallied outside the german parliament building — the reichstag. that's 50,000 more than organisers had expected. the rallies were in response to revelations afd leading figures participated in a meeting with extremists, where plans were discussed to deport people with non—german backgrounds. 0ur correspondent damien mcguinness is in berlin. this is the third weekend in a row that mass demonstrations have been held in towns and cities right across germany. they're being held by all sorts of groups, from environmentalists, trade unions, political parties, even a group called grannies against the far right. what they all have in common is they are protesting against right—wing extremism, after reports of a secret meeting in november attended by the far—right party the afd, at which, a plan was discussed to deport anyone with non—german heritage outside of germany. it would affect millions of people.

a very radical plan, which is not going to happen, but it shocked the whole nation. sparked these mass demonstrations. as a result, over the last few weeks, the afd seems to have slipped in the polls to just under 20%. it could be because of these protests putting off some people or it could be because other far—right parties and anti—migrant groups are being set up, undermining support for the afd. either way, afd leads have come out fighting. they say they are being victimised by mainstream german politics and media and they hope that, actually, these politics will boost their support by playing into this narrative they often use that they are being victimised by the rest of german society. now, it's a film with a clutch of oscar and bafta nominations. poor things is described as a "visually spectacular, larger—than—life satire" about a young woman on a journey of self—discovery. katie razzall sat down

with the film's director and star. this is bella. ba—ba! a sexually charged coming—of—age fairytale that riffs on frankenstein. poor things sees emma stone as bella baxter, a woman brought back from the dead using the brain of a baby. sounds fantastical? it is. i am bella baxter. when i heard about poor things, ijust fell in love. you said, what would a woman be if she were able to start from scratch? was that what was it that appealed to you? that she's evolving so rapidly and she's taking in all these experiences and it's completely on her own terms. for many, poor things is a feminist masterpiece, a satire on men, with emma's character setting off on a journey of self—discovery and sexual liberation. why do people not do this all the time? mm. but it's offended others. a lot of the talk around this film does seem to be about it being pornographic titillation. does that bother you? imean, no.

i think there's, like, a very honest depiction of the male aspect of it and how they are trying to control her and how they're trying to control the world around her. these two are fighting. emma, who also produced the movie, has a good chance of another best actress 0scar after her la la land win. and yorgos is up for best director in what is, again, a mainly male category. i believe four out of the ten best picture nominees were produced by women and/or directed by women. and obviously, the most successful film of this year, barbie, was written, directed and produced by women. and she doesn't make it into the best directing list. i know. and that's insane. hollywood's male—dominated film industry is changing, but not fast enough for many women in the movie business. katie razzall, bbc news.

i haven't seen it yet, but i certainly intend to. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. despite the sunshine we've seen across scotland and northern ireland, it was a slightly cooler day 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 has been restored and has chosen its first ever irish nationalist leader. michelle 0'neill has urged all politicians to put aside their differences and work together. her party, sin fein, hopes eventually to unite northern ireland with the republic of ireland. airstrikes by the us on sites linked to iran have been condemned by iraq, syria, and tehran. iraq said civilians were among at least 16 people killed in the attacks on friday. the pentagon says the strikes were in retaliation for the killing iraq said civilians were among at least 16 people killed in the attacks on friday. the pentagon says the strikes were in retaliation for the killing injordan of three american soldiers by iranian—backed militants. mass demonstrations against the far—right afd party takes place across germany for the third weekend in a row.

an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand people have gathered