this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines: one person has died and five others wounded — after a knife attack in central paris — the attacker has been shot dead. votes are being counted in iraq after the first parliamentary elections since the government declared victory over the so—called islamic state group. one of britain's most notorious serial killers, dennis nilsen, who was serving a life sentence in full sutton prison, nearyork, has died. tens of thousands of people march through central london, demanding better pay and improved job security. a man has stormed the stage while the uk's entry, surie, was performing at the eurovision song contest. good evening and welcome to bbc news. one person's been killed

and at least five others have been injured in a knife attack this evening in the centre of paris. the attack happened near the city's opera house. according to the french authorities, the attacker was overpowered by police — and some reports have suggested that the attacker was shot dead. our correspondent andy moore's been following this story as it's developed this evening. it started a few hours a year ago —— a few hours ago, scenes of terror in central paris, people taking refuge from this knifeman. the police said the attacker is now dead although they haven't explain precisely how that happened, although there are reports he was initially tasered and then shot dead by police. police say five people were attacked and one of the victims is dead, two was seriously injured and two were slightly injured. we have had a response very quickly from the

french interior ministry. an indication of how serious did the french authorities are taking this. he praised the police for their response and ease of their first thoughts went to the victims. —— and he said theirfirst thoughts went to the victims. —— and he said their first thoughts. no word on the motive and the french police are reminding people not to spread false rumours. we have had a comment from marine le pen, the leader of the national front, comment from marine le pen, the leader of the nationalfront, she said it was an islam and assailant and she said the french people will no longer be content with comments —— islamist assailant. we do not know if she has any evidence for this claim. looking at these pictures, right in the heart of paris, and a huge police presence at the force tonight. unfortunately

reminiscent of scenes we have seen in paris several times in recent yea rs. in paris several times in recent years. that is why, the french police are on high alert for attacks like this —— that is right. we don't know if this was a terror attack. they got to the scene very rapidly and as the interior minister said, they seem to have acted very rapidly to neutralise the knifeman. it is not quite clear whether they shot him dead, but it appears police did shoot him dead. if they had not got to the scene very quickly and neutralised the assailant, the casualty list could have been much higher. at the moment five casualties. there were reports there we re casualties. there were reports there were 7—8 but we now have the official police line of five casualties and the knifeman himself,

making a total of six. we will keep a very close eye on that. thanks. we will come back to you later if there are further developments. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:15 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are the broadcaster, lynn fauld wood and economic adviser to the arbuthnot banking group, ruth lea. voting has ended in the first parliamentary elections in iraq since it declared victory over the islamic state group. security has been high and tonight three people are reported to have been killed after a militant attack near a polling station. it's iraq's fourth vote since 2003, when saddam hussein was removed from power. our correspondent martin patience reports, from baghdad. iraq is at a turning point. people here hope that this election will represent a fresh start.

but the fear is the country could slip back into violence. despite the islamic state group being pushed out of most of iraq, the threat of attacks remains. translation: we hope that new politicians will be elected who will change things for young people. we have got university degrees but we are sitting at home unemployed. translation: god willing, the situation will improve, the younger generation will getjobs, electricity will get better, and most importantly we'll have security. prime minister haider al—abadi needs all the votes he can get. he's facing unexpectedly tough competition from other shia politicians. the iraqi leader won praise for his fight against the islamist extremists, but whoever wins this election will need to rebuild the country's shattered cities and gain the trust

of sunni muslims, whose marginalisation in the first place led to the rise of is. this is a critical moment for iraq. security has vastly improved here, and there's an opportunity to rebuild the country. but iraq's unity is fragile. sectarian divisions could once again tear this country apart. and, with growing tensions between america and iran, many iraqis fear their country could be a casualty of any struggle. yalda hakim is also in baghdad and has been following developments in today's election. security has been tight across the country, airports and borders have been closed. and the movement of vehicles from one province to the other has been limited, and in baghdad there has been a curfew since last night. people have been trying to come

and cast their vote. however flawed the county might be, this is one of the few democracies in the region and its future and its stability is incredibly important for the rest of the region. especially as there are increased concerns that iran and the us could be on the path to war. both of these countries have been incredibly important for iraq, its stability and its politics, so whoever becomes the next leader of this country will have to play the very difficult balancing act of trying to maintain good relations with both the united states and iran. and for iraqis this is now a turning point, the first election since the fall of the so—called islamic state. they hope they will be able to look forward to theirfuture here in iraq. the ministry ofjustice has confirmed the serial killer dennis nilsen has died in prison at the age of 72. nilsen was serving a life sentence after being convicted of the six murders and two attempted murders of young men in the late

1970's and early 1980's. he became known as the ‘muswell hill murderer‘ after the muswell hill area of north london where his later murders took place. with me is our correspondent, richard lister. remind us about dennis nilsen, a notorious killer. he was the worst sirotkin that britain had ever known —— the worst serial killer. only how chipman has murdered more people in the uk. -- chipman has murdered more people in the uk. —— only harold shipman. we don't really know how many people dennis nilsen killed, and he confessed to killing 15 people and attempting to murder another seven. we really don't know exactly how many people's lives he was responsible for taking and all of the murders were carried out at two dresses in london. he was originally from aberdeen but he carried out the killings in london —— addresses. he

was only discovered when they found human remains at one of the drains of his properties. he was given a minimum tariff of 25 years which was later turned into a full life tariff, meaning he would never leave prison, he died in prison today. the statement is they will be an investigation by the prison's ombudsman but it is thought he died of natural causes —— there will be. thanks forjoining us. tens of thousands of people have marched through central london, demanding better pay and improved job security. the trades union congress, which organised the demonstration, says british workers are experiencing the longest income squeeze in 200 years. the government says inflation is falling and unemployment is at a ito—year low. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. thousands came, marching for an end

to shrinking pay packets. nurses, teachers, welders and firefighters, all calling for a new dealfor workers and the public service. the trades union congress says we are living through the worst erosion in our spending power since the 1800s. if we carry on at the same rate of pay increases, it will take until 2025 to get back to the real wages people had before the crash. that's 17 years, and just too long. using official data, the tuc found that real wages, taking account of inflation, went up by 27% in the decade before the financial crisis in 2008. but, in the last ten years, they've fallen by 4%. it says that the average worker will have lost around £18,500 in real earnings by 2025. 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 basically the same now as it was in 2008. if we're not producing any more, we are not going to be able to earn any more. in a statement, the government said... real wages — or spending power after we've been paid — are going up, just. unemployment is at a ito—year low. but many people may not feel that much better off. and the people on this march are calling for more secure, better—paid jobs. joe lynam, bbc news at the tuc march, central london. the foreign office says it is 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. a ranger travelling with them, was killed in the attack. our reporter louise dewast — who's in the capital, kinshasa — has the latest. we have just been told by an army spokesman in the province of north kivu, where the attack happened, that they are conducting searches in the park, that the hostages are still being held captive. the attack happened just north of goma, a town in north kivu, in this world heritage site known for its mountain gorillas. but there are many armed groups operating in and around the park. and there have been kidnappings there before. and actually, the number of kidnappings has been increasing in recent years. some human rights groups estimate that around 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's something we will be monitoring. conflict in the region is rife.

there are about 70 different groups operating in eastern congo alone. louise dewast there. back to the life attack in paris. one person has died and four others we re one person has died and four others were injured —— knife attack. the suspect was shot dead by police, the statement has been issued by the mayor of paris. it says tonight our city has been bruised and my first thoughts go to the family of the victim who lost his life and i also think of the wounded and be loved ones and i want to tell them that all parisians are by their side —— the loved ones. we are yet to find out the motive for the attack. north korea has announced it will dismantle its nuclear test site later this month — in plain view of the world's media. the three—day event is scheduled to take place three weeks before president trump and the north korean

leader kimjong—un hold an historic summit in singapore. another key public announcement from the usually secretive state. she is describing a ceremony to dismantle north korea's main nuclear test site. kimjong—un has carried out all six nuclear blasts within these secluded mountain valleys, but now he says he will blow up all the tunnels and block all entrances and allow foreign media to watch. it's the kind of serious step that the us has been hoping for. earlier this week, the secretary of state travelled to pyongyang. he had an offer to help build the state's economy if they give up their weapons. back in washington, in a meeting with the south korean foreign minister, mr pompeo made it clear — sanctions will remain until any deal is done. it will require a robust verification programme, and one that we will undertake

with partners around the world. it's been a week of dizzying diplomatic efforts, with the release of three men who were held in north korea for over a year. skeptics say president trump is falling for the pyongyang playbook, but others believe there's a chance north korea's priorities are changing and thatjust perhaps this time might be different. the headlines on bbc news: one person has died and five others wounded — after a knife attack in central paris — the attacker has been shot dead. votes are being counted in iraq after the first parliamentary elections since the government declared victory over the so—called islamic state group. one of britain's most notorious serial killers, dennis nilsen, who was serving a life sentence in full sutton prison, near york, has died. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. it's been a busy day

of play—off football but we start with news of a relegation. ross county have dropped out of the scottish premiership after a six year spell in the top flight. they could only manage a draw at stjohnstone, although needed to better the result of patrick thistle. and thistle recorded a 1—0 win over dundee. kris doolan stabbed home the game's only goal in the 63rd minute. the result means they finished four points clear of ross county who will now play livingstone of the championship in a two—legged play off. the winner of which will play premiership football next season. meanwhile tranmere rovers are back in the english football league, after being relegated in 2015. they beat borehamwood 2—1 at wembley, despite playing with ten men from the first minute onwards. liam ridehal‘s early red card quickly forgotten about, with chris cook scoring in the seventh minute with that powerful header. but celebrations were interrupted when beer bottles were thrown at the players

from the stands — josh ginnelly lucky to escape serious injury. boreham wood managed to equalise before the break, but james norwood secured victory for tranmere with nine minutes remaining, ensuring his side will return to the football league next season. the race to join the football league finalised then, but one of football's richest prizes still very much up for grabs. play—off promotion to the premier league. and aston villa will take a 1—0 advantage over middlesbrough into the 2nd leg of their championship semi—final. villa took the lead in the 15th minute when mile jedinak headed in a jack grealish corner to open the scoring at the riverside. boro created chances but failed to score so will trail villa in the second—leg on tuesday at villa park. a reminder, derby have a 1—0 lead over fulham after their semi—final first leg last night. it was a tight one in the league one play—offs as scunthorpe scored a late equaliser against rotherham to draw the first leg of their semi—final, 2—2. it was the away side rotherham who had the better of the early exchanges and took the lead when a ball over the top found jon taylor in space.

but scunthorpe levelled immediately after the restart when duane holmes' chip was put into his own net by michael ehekway. the millers thought they'd won it when joe newell scored with his first touch after coming on as a subsitute. but there was late drama, as cameron mcgeehan had other ideas. his first scunthorpe goal in the 88th minute made it all square going into wednesday's second leg in rotherham. in the other semi—final, charlton will start the second leg tomorrow a goal down against shrewsbury. in league two, lincoln's hopes of securing back—to—back promotions are still alive after they drew nil—nil with exeter in the first—leg of their semi—final playoff. in the other semi final coventry city came back to draw 1—1 against notts county. it came in the form of a controversial penalty in the last minutes of the game. matt tootle adjusted to have brought down tom bayliss in the box. he and the county team clearly didn't think he had. marc mcnulty stepped up and slotted home the spot—kick

on friday night. last weekend it was the fa cup, this weekend chelsea ladies are on the brink of winning the women's super league one title, after victory over sunderland. chelsea took the lead just before half—time, when this shot from england's fran kirby deflected over the keeper. they added a second through eniola aluko. emma hayes' side eventually won 2—1. it means they need just a point from the remaining two matches to clinch the title, after manchester city lost at arsenal earlier. tennis, next. petra kvitova has won the madrid open for a third time. the world number ten defeated unseeded kiki bertens of the netherlands. kvitova, who was also the champion in madrid in 2011 and 2015, has now claimed four titles this year. she took this one in three sets, 7—6, 4—6, 6—3. meanwhile, in the men's tournament... dominic thiem has followed up his sensational victory over rafa nadal by booking a place in sunday's final. the austrian beat south africa's kevin anderson in straight sets. he'll face alexander zeer—rev

or denis shapovalov. they're playing right now. zverev has just won in fact. and just before we go. ireland cricketer‘s have finally got theirfirst ever test match underway on day two, as they took on pakistan in dublin. after rain washed—out the first day, their bowlers enjoyed a productive spell. at one point pakistan were 13 for 2 — they recovered to reach 268 for 6 at stumps. that's it. much more on the website. including details on lewis hamilton taking pole for tomorrow's spanish grand prix. a man has been arrested after a stage invasion during the uk's performance at eurovision tonight. nazis of the uk media, we demand

freedom! the protestor took to the stage and shouted "nazis of the uk media, we demand freedom" and appeared to take the microphone away from the uk entry surie. she later recovered the microphone and continued with her song. the european broadcasting union offered the singer the chance to perform again, but she decided not to. bbc journalist adrian bradley is at the contest in lisbon. surprising saenz, did the audience know what had happened? —— surprising scenes. not sure the audience knew what was happening, and we heard a male voice over the speaker, but the crowd were loving the song and getting into it. surie gave an incredible performance and carried on, the crowd carried on and loved it. what is the security like

there? have we lost adrian? you are not allowed to take water in. let me ask you again, what is security like at the venue? very tight. you get thoroughly searched on the way in, we could not take in battery packs for phones, so surprisingly it was able to happen. i was in kiev last year with the same thing happened, with a stage invasion, the second time in two years this has happened. they will be asking what more they need to do. what do you know about the person who got onto the stage? we know very little. i understand he has been arrested and he was making comments about the media and the nazis of the uk media but beyond

that, it was all very confusing and happened very quickly. but she carried on with her performance very well. she was given the chance to sing again. she was. if something happens to an act in this way, they are given the chance to perform again, but that is up to the artist. the uk said they were proud of her performance and they did not wish to ta ke performance and they did not wish to take it again. i can understand why she made that decision. the crowd really loved it here. it will be interesting to see how the people at home voted. you wonder whether an incident like this makes it better or worse for the competitor. very good question. possibly it makes it better, it was very clear that people saw what happened and she will get a sympathy vote, the fact she carried on so incredibly well will have endeared her to people at home but it is hard to tell. we will

find out in 20 minutes. anything else of note? it is a remarkable show. one of the most wide—open contests in a long time, there was a great act from moldova involving fa ke walls, great act from moldova involving fake walls, and the fact there was no rush and the irish entry which caused china from being banned from showing eurovision because they censored a particular artist. thanks for joining censored a particular artist. thanks forjoining us. prince harry and meghan markle have asked a senior american bishop to preach at their wedding next weekend. bishop michael curry — who leads the episcopal church in the united states — will deliver the sermon at st george's chapel next saturday. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, described bishop michael as a ‘brilliant pastor, stunning preacher and someone with a great gift for sharing the good news ofjesus christ.‘

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 ofcom 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. and now the weather forecast. shaping up to be a weekend of mixed fortunes out there. many of us had scenes like this one, quite a bit of cloud around and the satellite image shows the cloud has been around central and eastern parts of the country, whereas the north and west had clearer skies with sunshine around. this evening we will keep all the cloud in south—east england

and up towards easterm scotland. rain in east anglia shifting up to north—east england and into eastern scotland overnight. elsewhere, any evening showers ease away to leave largely dry and clear conditions and a chilly night in the west, particularly for northern ireland where we could see a touch of grass frost first thing on sunday. after that clear start the east—west split continues. sunday is cloudy to the east and the best sunshine found in the west. sunday is shaping up with rain across parts of north—east england and scotland. also a few showers for east anglia, probably a drier and brighter day for the south—east england and towards the midlands. plenty of sunshine in western scotland, northern ireland, wales and western england. temperatures between 15 and 17 in the sunniest areas. though cooler towards the east coast. looking ahead to the working week, high pressure building in from the south—west. still an area of low pressure not far away, sitting across parts of france,

so we could see a few showers and fairly cloudy conditions for the south—east of england and east anglia for a time on monday. elsewhere a largely dry day with pressure building and there will be sunshine with temperatures starting to lift a little. more cloud in parts of northern ireland and western scotland later in the day but it should be warmer than it has been at the weekend with temperatures around 20 or 21. not a bad day on tuesday with dry and fine weather. a weak front will bring cloud to northern ireland and western scotland. a few spots of rain, dry and sunny and improvement through the day across the east. temperatures doing pretty well, 21, 22 in the warmest spots and fresh to the far north—west. high—pressure building, so next week is looking pretty decent. lots of dry weather with sunny spells and temperatures on the up. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines.

one person has died and five others wounded — after a knife attack in central paris. the attacker has been shot dead. votes are being counted in iraq after the first parliamentary elections since the government declared victory over the so—called islamic state group. one of britain's most notorious serial killers, dennis nilsen, who was serving a life sentence in full sutton prison, nearyork, has died.