good afternoon. the people of iraq are voting in the first parliamentary election since the country declared victory over the group that calls itself islamic state. security forces are on alert because militants have threatened attacks on politicians and voters. it's the country's fourth vote since the invasion of 2003, that removed saddam hussein from power. as our correspondent yalda hakim reports, safety and the economy have dominated the campaign. security the tight. islamic state have threatened these election, the candidates and polling stations. the authorities are taking no chances. just two years ago, large parts of this country were still part of the islamic state's caliphate. but across this nation iraqis are optimistic that these polls mark a turn point. translation: i voted because i wa nted translation: i voted because i wanted change this this country, nothing more, this country has suffered so much and we hope the

good people will. people with conscience and faith in good. there is still a lot of anger towards the authorities in baghdad. translation: we want the entire situation in iraq to be changed. we wa nt situation in iraq to be changed. we want new schools to be built, we wa nt want new schools to be built, we wantjobs. there want new schools to be built, we want jobs. there is want new schools to be built, we wantjobs. there is nothing right now. in 80 years i haven't seen anything change. 24 anything change. 2a hours before the election, airports and borders were closed. they have now re—opened. they have now re—opened. the prime minister has based his entire campaign on the defeat of the islamic state. he is now desperately trying to bring the sunni minority groups back into the political process. the divisions that have ravaged iraq for the past 15 years are showing signs of easing. iraqis are showing signs of easing. iraqis are tired of the fighting and now wa nt to are tired of the fighting and now want to bring change through the ballot box. the hope is this election will bring a new era of stability. yalda is in baghdad for us now.

what impact could the result on the wider political balance of the middle east? could it have an impact on the wider region and its political balance? however flawed it might be here region and its political balance? howeverflawed it might be here in iraq, it is now effectively one of the few democracies is across the middle east, so its security and stability will have a direct impact on the rest of the region because of ongoing concerns that the united states and iran could be on the path to warand of states and iran could be on the path to war and of course both countries have had a huge influence and impact on the politics and stability of this country for the past 15 year, now, iran and the united states had found a common enemy in the islamic state, and they had worked together to defeat them. shia militia were working alongside us forced in large parts of the north of this country. now though, that relationship is being tested, so whoever is the next

leader of this country will have the difficult balancing act of trying to, who out good relations between the us and iran. british workers have experienced the longest squeeze on real wages in 200 years, according to the tuc. it's staging a march through central london, calling for a higher minimum wage, a ban on zero—hours contracts, and more funding for public services. the government says inflation is falling and unemployment is at a ito—year low. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. they have come in their thousands — nurses, teachers, welders and firefighters, all calling for a new dealfor workers and the public service. the trade unions congres says we are living through the worst erosion in spending power since the i800s. what it shows is that if we carry on at this same rate of pay increases, it will take to 2025 to get back to the real wages people had before the crash. that is 17 years and just too long.

using official data, the tuc found that the real wages, which takes account of inflation, went up by 27% in the decade before the financial crisis in 2008. but in the last ten years, they have fallen by 4%. it says that the average worker will have lost round £18,500 in real earnings by 2025. but according to one key economist, productivity and not austerity is the main cause for stagnating real wages. the key issue is that the economy hasn't grown and the economy hasn't grown because productivity hasn't grown. that means the amount we produce with each hour we work is the same now as it was in 2008. if we are not producing more we are not in the end going to earn any more. in a statement the government said: real wages or spending

power after we have been paid are going up. just. unemployment is at a a0 year low, but for many people they may not feel that much better off. for the people on this match, they are calling for more secure, better paid jobs. the foreign office say they are supporting the families of two british nationals, who were kidnapped in a national park in the democratic republic of congo. the tourists were abducted yesterday in the virunga national park, which runs along the border with uganda and rwanda, while a ranger accompanying them was killed in the attack. 0ur reporter louise dewast is in the capital, kinshasa. what more do we know? we have just been told by an army spokesman in the province where the attack happened they that are conducting searches in the park, that the hostages are still being held cabtive. that the hostages are still being

held ca btive. the that the hostages are still being held cabtive. the attack happened just north of goma, a town in the north, in this world heritage site thatis north, in this world heritage site that is known for its mountain gorillas but there are many armed groups operating in and around the park, and there has been kidnappings there before and the number of kidnappings has been increasing in recent yea rs kidnappings has been increasing in recent years and some human rights group estimate about 50% of those kidnappings are for ransom. we have not heard yet any confirmation on any ransom demands, with these two missing tourists, but it is something we will be monitoring, and conflict in the region is rife and there are about 70 different groups operating in eastern congo alone. the former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi has won a court battle, and overturned a ban that prevented him from holding public office. the 81—year—old, who had been barred

from serving until next year after being found guilty of tax fraud, could now stand if fresh elections are called. leaders of the right wing "the league" party are locked in talks with the anti—establishment five star party, in an attempt to form a government. 43 countries take part, it costs around £18 million to stage, and globally 200 million are set to watch. it's the eurovision song contest, with the final taking place tonight in lisbon. increasingly it's about more than just the music, with spectacular, often hi—tech, performances. the bookies' favourites are cyprus and israel. with all the spot, here's mike bushell at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the most nerve—racking football matches of the season — the football league play offs are now well under way, and the focus this lunchtime is on league one. scunthorpe are playing rotherham in the first leg of their semifinal.

it's currently i—i. two goals in as many minutes. elsehwere today, middlesbororugh play aston villa in the first leg of their championship semi final. and in league two it's lincoln vs exeter and coverntry vs notts county. final practice ahead of qualifying for this weekend's spanish grand prix came to a premature end after a crash involving brendon hartley. the new zealander lost control of his toro rosso car with just two minutes of practice remaining. the session was abandoned, with world champion lewis hamilton top of the time sheets. qualifying starts at two. the third round of the players championship is just teeing off in florida, but rory mcilroy won't be a part of it. he missed the cut after an erratic second round saw him finish one over par — a full 16 shots behind runaway lead webb simpson. the american matched the course record at sawgrass with nine birdies and an eagle on his second round. he's 15 under overall. ireland's cricketers

have made an encouraging start to life as a test nation in malahide. they made life uncomfortable for pakistan early on, and it was unlucky 13 for the tourists, as they lost wickets, when stuck on that score, tim murtagh and boyd rankin, taking ireland's first test wickets. however, pakistan have since recovered to 67 for 2 breaking the cycle of youth crime in britain's cities, has become one of our most pressing social issues. knife crime — in particular— has commanded attention, in recent weeks. one man who lived the gangster‘s life, is now trying to stop children following his path. as our sports correspondent joe wilson found out, he is using cricket. when you say "think reality", what. . . ? a classroom in birmingham, but no ordinary teacher. tanayah sam describes himself as an urban youth specialist. because i didn't do my gcses. i had to do the equivalent when i was in prison, and all you year eights are going to do your gcses, ain't you?

i put the gun into my hand, i just stuck it out the window and ijust fired it in the air. his lessons drawn from his experience. guns, drugs, gangs, prisons. all came before he decided to change. ijust wanted to be a bad man. well, you can talk to young people in a classroom all day long. the key is to engage them with something positive, something. 0r energetic. something, maybe, like cricket. tanayah sam is working with the chance to shine charity, lottery funding from sport england. but why this? cricket is a different form of integration for the boys and for the girls. get them to, you know, just let off some frustration. whack! it's also a great way for me to engage and carry on the information. unfortunately it is glamorised for young people to walk with a knife and we have got to be honest and frank about that. if you've got a knife and you're with your mates and there's some guy, you don't want to look like an idiot, so you're going to stab him. so you shouldn't

carry around knives. because you'll end up using it. and he knows all about it cos he was actually one of them, a gangster. when he was walking to the field i heard them all saying i will never, ever carry a knife. loads of them were saying it. in this playground are children who are waiting to be influenced. a plastic cricket bat and a tennis ball, not everything. but something. and tanayah sam believes the best opportunities are found in unlikely places. joe wilson, bbc news, birmingham. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at ten to seven, bye for now. you're watching the bbc news channel. countryside campaigners are calling for action

on what they say is an "appalling lack of progress" in improving mobile phone coverage in rural areas. they've been backed by more than 50 mps, who've accused mobile operators of failing to put up new masts, despite help from government. jon donnison reports. these days, life without your mobile, for many, seems almost unimaginable. but in some parts of rural britain, it remains a reality. the communications regulator 0fcom says only 57% of people living in premises in rural areas are able to make phone calls on all four mobile networks. that compares to 90% in urban areas. now 50 rural mps have written to the secretary of state for digital culture, media and sport, matt hancock, calling for urgent action to change that. they want legally binding targets to force mobile operators to improve coverage. but the operators say

they are investing millions of pounds in rural areas but that planning applications for new mobile phone masts are often rejected by local people. the government says mobile phone coverage is improving, and that it is already changed planning laws to make it easier to put up new masts. it says the mobile companies now need to respond to those changes and act fast to increase coverage in rural areas. jon donnison, bbc news. an exhibition of paper doves will open at salisbury cathedral this weekend to symbolise peace and hope returning to the city. the installation had been planned to mark the anniversary of the end of the second world war, but since the nerve agent attack in march the meaning has changed, as andy howard reports. sometimes the simple things are the most effective. thousands of white paper birds fly high in salisbury. doves are often a symbol of recovery and hope, and at the moment,

this city needs both. we feel that what happened to us, this is an opportunity to say we are not alone, we are together, we are doing something together. we may not change the world, but as a community we have shown we are standing together, and it is a new beginning. please god, it's a new beginning for us. some of the doves have come from around the world, where this travelling exhibition has been before. others have been made here, with local people's messages written inside. but it is notjust in the cathedral where the salisbury doves are in flight. shops have come together too, and the flock is growing all the time. out of adversity positive things happen. i think it is heart—warming. doves have a nice message, don't they? so everyone knows what the meaning is, and they are really taking part. paper birds can't

help this city alone. businesses said today trade is down by 40% or more since the nerve agent attack. but what these little doves have already done is help bring people together. safety in numbers at troubled times. andy howard, bbc news. there was once a time when saturday afternoons were spent taking a trip to the shops, but online buying and out—of—town superstores have changed that tradition. in the town of dumfries in south—west scotland, the community appears to have hit upon a novel way to regenerate its high street, as our correspondent lorna gordon has been finding out. it's a familiar image — a high—street lacking shops and homes and getting emptier by the year. look at it. we've got more shops that are empty in dumfries than we have got that are occupied at the moment. this high street, though, is fighting back and evie copland is part of a group of locals leading the charge. it's a real sad state of affairs but we have got a dream to change the face of our high street and bring a bit of love back

to dumfries town centre. and you are from dumfries, aren't you ? so this must be something you really care about. absolutely, lifelong doonhamer. i'm so proud to come from here. all i want to do is make it somewhere for everyone to be proud of. the challenges here are not unique but the people driving this project think they've hit upon a really novel way of regenerating the centre of this town. scottish land reform leglation could be used here in a way not seen before and the community will be able to buy shares in the scheme too. it's an incredibly exciting project in scotland, we have a recognised culture of community land ownership, particularly across the western isles and in the highlands. this is taking the thing to a whole new level which is being watched by communities across scotland to see how successful it will be. and for people likejohn downson, one of a handful of residents left on the street, change can't come soon enough. i would really like to have some neighbours, you know?

when i look out this window, i'm looking out sometimes in a desert and i would like to look at this window and see a lot of people living close to me because that's where you get a feeling of community and you're not quite as alone and isolated as we are at the moment. so this campaign, which started as an idea by local artists, now involves many more. they do accept there are challenges ahead — finding absentee landlords, raising funds — but are determined not to pass the buck. people say, oh, but that is someone else's fault, the council should fix it or the government should fix it or somebody higher up ought to be fixing this problem for us and because they're not, we are in this terrible state but actually, what we found is it's really empowering for people to stop and say, maybe we can just go out and clean that problem ourselves. if people power works here in dumfries, others could follow,

using land reform legislation to save their high streets and bring life back into the centre of their towns. countries around the world are trying to find ways to combat the environmental harm caused by plastics. in kenya they introduced strict laws eight months ago, penalising the production, use or sale of plastic bags. violators can face fines of almost $40,000 or be jailed for up to four years, and inspectors patrol the streets daily. virginia langeberg reports. 0n the streets of nairobi, this is now a daily sight. inspectors on the hunt against plastic. they came here on time and chased us away with knives. today they are good friends of ours. now we are friends. we can see now, other than this, compliance is good. any grace period is now well and truly over. in recent months, ten butchers from one meat market were arrested after piles of plastic were found, and the hardline approach is seeing results.

we need to be out there to check what is happening. even though we can say compliance is almost at 80%, there is a lot to be done. yes, we are giving ourselves maybe another two years to really be plastic free. here, the inspectors enter a factory, the company allegedly found in clear breach. this is banned in kenyan totally. plain banned. we are beyond the grace period. that is there in law. the people we are taking to court today the ones we are finding with black bags that are not labelled. we will take you to court. the manager was arrested. eight months on from the harsh laws being introduced, the problem is still highly visible across the east african nation. but the fix was never going to happen overnight. it was estimated at one point that kenyans used around 2a million plastic bags per month.

translation: the situation has improved. there are fewer plastic bags. this field used to be covered by plastic bags and now it is a lot cleaner. and the message seems to be ringing through at the supermarket, where linen bags have become part of the daily norm. this in kenya today is like drugs. like if you are found with cocaine, it is illegal to have this in kenya. it's the eurovision song contest tonight and increasingly it's about more than just the music. the performances these days are increasingly spectacular, and for many artists it's a life changing experience, as david sillito has been finding out. good evening, europe! and good morning, australia! hello to the rest of the world! and if there are any submarines passing by. all: hellooo! eurovision. it's a world all of its own and whatever you think of the songs, it certainly knows how to do spectacle these days. # cos i'm way up and

i ain't coming down. # keep taking me higher #. and this is where it's all going to be happening tonight and what gets you about this is how big it has become. it has grown like topsy over the years. but at the heart of all of this are very personal stories of many artists who never, ever thought they'd get a chance to be on such a stage. # i'm not your toy. # not your toy. # you stupid boy. # stupid boy #. this is netta from israel, and she's one of the frontrunners. the song, a rallying cry of female empowerment. butjust getting here has been life—changing for her. i didn't expect to win. i expected to get recognition, to get some gigs to afford my rent. you know, i had a — i had a hard time being me as a child. i was fat. i am fat.

sorry, i'm still the same girl. and i was thinking "how can i be this skinny star? i have to be skinny if i want to be a star. it needs to happen. i will be beautiful when i grow up, i will be skinny and i will perform everywhere." and looking back then — me looking back — and i'm realising i'm the same girl. i look exactly the same. and this is big. this is absolutely — this is big. i feel sexy, i feel pretty, ifeel me. i feel myself. # storms don't last forever. # forever. # give all you've got #. of course, it's been 20 years since israel last won. and for the uk, it's 21. # give all you got. # hold your head up. # through the storm #. this year, the bookies

have the uk's surie at 200—i. but this is a place for outsiders and for netta, whatever happens on the night, just being here is already a victory. david sillito, bbc news. earlier i spoke to alasdair rendall, president of the main uk fans' organization. he's in lisbon ahead of tonight's final. he told me that the organisers of this year's contest have stripped down some of the flashier elements of the show. no led screens, that's the thing this year they're making a big thing about. it is a straightforward stage with straightforward lighting and it is letting the music do the talking. i think after the win for salvador sobral for portugal last year with a very simple, traditional song without any gimmicks or flashy things going on stage, i think they are trying to focus back on the songs rather than necessarily on the gimmicks.

i think that is working well for them. yeah, music is feeling, i think he said at the time, didn't he? maybe that message has got across. nonetheless, it is a big party, isn't it, as well as music? it is a tremendous event and it has become more so in recent years. absolutely. the atmosphere in lisbon at the moment is incredible. i have been here all week and day by day it has got a little bit more exciting as more and more fans have arrived. this year it is such an open contest. normally by this stage on the saturday there are two or three names in the frame, two or three countries you think are going to do it. this year there are eight or nine who i think are in with a realistic chance. do you think introducing the semifinal stage has made a difference to the contest? i think so. we have 26 songs taking part in the grand final tonight and they are the 26 best songs of the ones that were submitted. i think the semifinals have been good at weeding out some

of the weaker songs that have been taking part, to make the final even more exciting. obviously it is disappointing for those countries that didn't make it but at the end of the day it is a tv show and we have some great songs tonight. we get an automatic qualification, don't we, as one of the big funders of eurovision? i am sure some of the smaller countries might resent that now there is a semifinal stage. what do you make of surie's entry? in surie we have one of the best singers who has represented the uk for many years. the song is a good middle—of—the—road pop song but she lifts it to another level. every time she performs, the crowd go wild. last night was the jury final where the juries vote on the songs taking part and they were singing along with her i think more than any other song taking part tonight. let me ask you to chance your neck on this one. predictions?

we haven't won for 20—odd years, we struggle to get into the top ten. do you think there is much chance for surie this time? i think it is going to be difficult. to be honest, it is difficult. there is a lot of competition this year. there are some great songs taking part, and i think victory for the uk is unlikely to happen tonight but you never know. but i don't think we are going to come away embarrassed. she is a great performer with a good song and i think it will do the uk proud. eurovision is on and bbc radio 2 tonight. over 500 knights are fighting this weekend in the world's biggest medieval combat championship. it was started 20 years ago by historical re—enactors bored with simply playing out scenes from the past. it's the first time the sport's come to the uk. the bbc‘s mike bushell was drafted in to help team scotland.

from across the known world, they came hither. ye old, and not quite so old. ye brave, and not quite as brave. the bold, and not quite as bold! a force like never before. the chance to keep alive the conflict and culture of a time gone by. but this is no re—enactment, it's a recognised sport with 3! countries here. hello! we are from canada! —— we are from china! we are obviously re—enacting a period of time in history but we are doing it as a sport. this is full contact sport. this is mma in armour. most things are allowed. there are certain things you shouldn't hit. you shouldn't hit the groin for obvious reasons,

you shouldn't hit the back of the knees and you shouldn't twist limbs in an unnatural action, we don't want bone breaks. we get a few injuries but it's not that bad. 0ther full contact sports, like hockey, rugby, that's same level of injuries. we do have them but they're not that common. watching scotland against the not so ye old usa, it is amazing there aren't more injuries. but it's that thick armour and helmets that protect you. it was beautiful. beautiful. it was brutal. i can't even watch ufc boxing, i find it too violent. but you do this. but this is ok. you have protection everywhere. yes. and you can kick. ok. argh. psychologically it can be hard to take the hit. the main thing is to stay on your feet because people who win, the team that wins will be the one that has the last person standing.

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