after three years of deadlock, power sharing will return to northern ireland. a short time ago, sinn fein agreed to return to devolved government, meaning the stormont assembly can finally sit again. i believe that powersharing can work. that requires everyone to step up. sinn fein‘s commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. we believe this is a fair and balanced deal and a deal that can form the basis for allowing us to go back into government to deal with all of the difficult issues that we need to deal with. we'll be asking how difficult the road ahead could be. also tonight... an attack on a guard at a prison in cambridgeshire is now being treated as a terrorist incident. a candlelit vigil in canada for the victims of the ukrainian

plane crash, as iran continues to reject claims that it shot it down. bushfires merge — the mega blaze whipped up by gale force winds in australia. we report from one town where thousands of people are about to be evacuated. and why talking to strangers online may have saved this teenager's life. coming up on bbc news — as the australian bushfires continue to rage, we'll look at how it is affecting sport, and how sport is trying to give back. good evening and welcome to the news at six. a deal aimed at restoring power sharing in northern ireland has been agreed by the main political parties, sinn fein and the democratic unionists.

it brings to an end three years of deadlock since the northern ireland assembly was suspended when the parties clashed over a green energy scandal. the british and irish governments, who brokered the deal, said their proposals were a fair compromise that contained something for everyone. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has the story. there's flash photography in her report. after three years of resistance, the final steps to an agreement. in places from northern ireland's past, here to witness a new future. places from northern ireland's past, here to witness a new futurei believe that powersharing can work. that requires everyone to step up. sinn fein‘s commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. sinn fein‘s commitment is to do all in our power to make this happenm marks the end of a bitter stand—off between sinn fein and the democratic, who had already given their endorsement to the deal. late

last night, the ultimatum was given in dramatic fashion. secretary of state for northern ireland and the irish government's deputy prime minister chose to go public before all parties were on board, saying, it is on the table, take it or leave it. not all the documents are agreed by all the parties, some are commitments by each government. but i believe we have a deal that all parties in northern ireland can support. the deal contains wide—ranging revisions for the health service, education, policing and other areas. but the biggest ask was getting agreement for the much fought over legal protection for the irish language. well, it is my community language, it is the language that is spoken at home, it's the language i speak with my friends. the decades of conflict in

northern ireland mean even today, issues over british and irish identity often lead to tension. issues over british and irish identity often lead to tensionli don't see how one identity can erode another. i think if you're secure enoughin another. i think if you're secure enough in your own identity, it shouldn't be an issue. we kind of moved into a new era, which does respect identity and culture here. giving the irish language legal status has faced opposition within unionist communities. it was once said, every word spoken in irish was a shot fired for irish freedom. people would say that would be a blunt instrument for irish unity and the irish identity, against other identities. the secretary of state tried to reassure voters in loyalist heartlands today that the deal is fair. it brings relief for many after three years, but in this city, compromise never comes easily. what is the problem with having laws to protect the irish language? we don't

wa nt protect the irish language? we don't want the irish language. isn't it time to have it back? we need it back, so we do. it had to be done, it has been going on for three years fiow. it has been going on for three years now. northern ireland's nurses are striking for the first time in their history, and for them, the deal today will bring an end to these picket lines. there is extra cash from the british government for wages and measures to reduce the crippling waiting lists at hospitals. the parties know the devil is in the detail, and no doubt, the new provisions for northern ireland will provoke plenty of rows to come. but now, that will happen within a devolved government, not outside it. emma, what are the challenges ahead and what happens now? well, sophie, mlas could be backin now? well, sophie, mlas could be back in the assembly macro as soon as tonight or over the weekend. then they will need to select ministers and storm can really get back to

work. the smaller parties are yet to officially sign up but the moves between the big parties, the dup and sinn fein, have now been made. and it really went down to the wire, we didn't know until the last minute in the past hour which way this was going to go. so, this moment will bring celebration for many people across northern ireland after such a long period of frustration, but at the same time, dissatisfaction among voters is high with the main parties at the moment over why this had to ta ke at the moment over why this had to take so long. we saw that in the last general election with the dup and sinn fein taking a real hit to their vote share. so, they will be trying to restore confidence now. and theirfirstjob in this building will be to repair some of the problems that mounted up in public services during this period without a government. and the dup and sinn fein will also have to convince people that these two parties who are in many ways sworn enemies, sophie, can really work together again. emma vardy, thank you.

the metropolitan police are treating an attack on a guard at whitemoor prison in cambridgeshire as a terrorist incident. the officer was stabbed in the assault by two inmates said to have been wearing fake suicide vests. a convicted terrorist, brusthom ziamani, is suspected of involvement. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is at the ministry ofjustice for us tonight. yes, sophie, here at the prison service headquarters, ministers and officials are wrestling with the aftermath of what police have called aftermath of what police have called a terrorist attack, the first ever to happen inside an englishjail. it follows years of warnings of the risk that prison staff could be attacked by either a convicted terrorist or by somebody radicalised in prison. and yesterday morning, just after nine o'clock, as inmates we re just after nine o'clock, as inmates were being unlocked at whitemoor prison, that is exact what happened. brusthom ziamani was jailed four years ago, for plotting to behead a soldier. he had been arrested while carrying this large knife and hammer. ziamani is now one of two men

suspected of a vicious attack on prison officers yesterday morning. the assault took place on a wing of whitemoor prison, a high securityjail with a long and sometimes controversial history of holding terrorist prisoners. two inmates wearing fake suicide belts and shouting allahu akbar attacked an officer from behind as he opened a store cupboard. they were carrying home—made knives. five prison staff ended up in hospital, including a female officer and a female nurse. it was only but for the professionalism of all the other staff at hmp whitemoor that i am not standing here talking about the murder of a prison. that is how serious this cowardly and vicious attack was. in a statement, the prime minister said...

the government has been repeatedly warned by a former senior governor about the risk that convicted terrorists pose to prison staff, who are obvious targets for an inmate wanting to commit violent political acts. there has been a colossal failure of intelligence here, in terms of protecting prison staff from somebody who was clearly very radicalised. and that is really important because if we can't recruit and retain and train and protect front line prison staff, who are dealing with some of the most dangerous and sophisticated terrorists in the country, we are going to have a very serious problem. whitemoor prison is where usman khan was held, he was the released terrorist prisoner who carried out the attack on fishmongers hall in november. killing jack merritt and saskia jones, people who had been trying to rehabilitate him. violence against

prison staff in england and wales has been rising sharply for five yea rs, has been rising sharply for five years, causing some officers to quit what they see as a more dangerous job. this attack will only increase the concerns about the risks run by those people who are keeping the rest of us safe. sophie. vigils have been held in canada for some of the victims of the ukrainian plane crash on wednesday. iran has again rejected suggestions that one of its missiles brought down the aircraft, killing 176 people. the picture still remains unclear but what we do know is the flight took off from tehran just after 6 in the morning, butjust two minutes later, the data on the flight stopped. the plane came down to the southwest of the capital tehran. 63 of the victims were canadian. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool reports from toronto. the sense of complete disbelief now is palpable. at the shocking

revelations about how this disaster may have happened. compounded, of course, by the huge sense of loss here. i have been praying since yesterday, we lost one of the stu d e nts yesterday, we lost one of the students from the school. it is so sad, so sad. some people say it was just engine failure, some people say it was done by missile. really, it's very confusing. iran says it may ta ke very confusing. iran says it may take one or two years to resolve the confusion, and for its crash investigation to reach any conclusions. but these pictures show it has already chosen to clear much of the crash site, potentially burying important leads. and even before the data has been analysed from the flight recorders, its officials already say they are sure officials already say they are sure of one thing. translation: the aviation authority cannot speculate, we aren't sure of the causes yet.

but what we can say for certain is that a missile did not strike the plane, but the fire and its causes, we still need to work out. but this mobile phone footage does appear to back up the theory that the plane was struck by a missile. a small outgoing speck of light suddenly exploding. with the impact following. the iranians insist, if it really was a missile strike, the debris would have been spread over a larger area. it's not what us secretary of state mike pompeo think‘s. secretary of state mike pompeo think's. we do believe that it is likely that that plane was shot down by an iranian missile. he announced new sanctions on iran. we want iran to simply behave like a normal nation. we believe the sanctions that we impose today further that strategic objective. but for families in iran, ukraine, britain

and more than 60 in canada, the focus is on grieving, though they do wa nt a nswers. focus is on grieving, though they do want answers. what are some of those here who have been affected by this unspeakable tragedy have told us is that even though they're in canada, even though they've suffered such loss, they are still reluctant to criticise the iranian regime openly, partly because of the possible repercussions that could have for relatives back in iran. there's no question, though, that the sense this tragedy could have been a consequence of those regional tensions has only added to the despair. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in toronto. a woman who posed as a teenage boy to sexually assault girls as young as 14 after grooming them online has been jailed for eight years. gemma watts, who's now 21, pretended to be a 16—year—old boy called jake waton on social media sites, in order to fool young girls in to meeting her. although watts admitted offences against four girls, police believe there could be up

to 50 victims. the bbc presenter samira ahmed has won her sex discrimination claim against the bbc. an employment tribunal agreed that she should receive the same pay for presenting newswatch, the viewer feedback programme, asjeremy vine got for presenting points of view, who earned six times her salary. the bbc had insisted the two jobs were not the same. 0ur media editor amol rajan reports. samira ahmed always argued this wasn'tjust about a single individual, but a systemic injustice. now, she has been vindicated. no woman wants to have to take action against her own employer. i love working for the bbc. i'm really glad it's been resolved. hello, and welcome to newswatch, with me, samira ahmed. her argument was that there was no material difference between what she did as a presenter of newswatch, a bbc news channel programme that was repeated on bbc one... first this week... and whatjeremy vine did as the presenter of points

of view, also on bbc one. for the bbc, it was the repeat of newswatch on bbc one that undermined their case. vine was paid £3,000 per programme, more than six times as much as ahmed for newswatch. we're doing the show. welcome to the first newswatch of 2020, and a happy new year. the burden of proof fell on the bbc to show that the difference between ahmed's pay and that of vine was not explained by sex discrimination, but otherfactors such as skill or charisma. it failed. we've always believed that samira and jeremy vine's pay was not based on their gender. presenters, female as well as male, have always been paid more on points of view than newswatch. we're sorry the tribunal did not think the bbc provided enough evidence about specific decisions in this case. this is another bad day for the bbc‘s management, who have long cast themselves as champions of gender equality and diversity.

but the central issue here goes beyond the bbc, where the recognisability, in other words fame or profile, has an economic value which justifies paying different presenters different amounts for equivalent work, regardless of their race or gender. the tribunal says it doesn't, which means countless contracts across the whole of the industry now need to be revisited. it's really important, because it demonstrates a failure within the bbc which is a common problem across the whole of uk industry. and that is a failure to undertake job evaluation at the very beginning, and to pay people according to a job evaluation scheme. reporter: could youjust tell us how you feel? the bbc has made substantial reforms and improved transparency. but it's now braced for a vast influx of fresh claims. amol rajan, bbc news. our top story this evening...

northern ireland's main political parties, sinn fein and the dup, have both said they will re—enter devolved government after three yea rs of devolved government after three years of deadlock. and we are sky watching live pictures of the first full moon of 2020, and it coincides with a lunar eclipse just after 7pm tonight. coming up on sportsday at 6:30 on bbc news, former premier league referee bobby madley tells us how he's trying to rebuild his life in norway after being sacked months ago. gale force winds in australia have merged two big bushfires creating one huge single blaze. the fire on the border of the states of new south wales and victoria border is said to be four times the area of greater london. almost 250,000 people nationwide are being urged to flee their homes as the blustery, changing winds create unpredictable

conditions. 0ur correspondent katy watson has been to wandiligong in victoria where troops are preparing to move residents out of the town. a sleepy town in the line of fire. and authorities not prepared to take any chances, preparing to tell an entire village to evacuate, before it's too late. going house to house, speaking to everyone. i'll certainly be watching the sides of the hills here, when the wind changes. not all residents were taking the advice to leave. should all be used up by 3:30 today. it's too late now. i suppose it is a resistance, but we probably do expect, at the same time, that a lot of people will stay. it's perhaps a bit of a typical australian thing, that people do want to stay and protect their properties. this is a rural part of australia, we're talking communities with just one or two houses, sometimes miles apart from each other. so, it's a massive job to tell everybody to evacuate. well, they're not

allowed to contact us... renata and tony have stopped taking calls from worried relatives. told them they will be in touch, if there is a problem. they are prepping their house in case the flames approach. they've filled the bath, got the masks and goggles at the ready, and they are feeling pretty positive. are you nervous, are you on edge? i think we'll know if it's time to go. as a hunch? a hunch, a gut instinct. the gut instinct of your neighbours is to get out now. well, they've got little children, so that's their priority. they've got other priorities. and there is still bird life around. when the birds desert, time to go. the critters know stuff, we don't. listen to the critters? oh, yeah. they are more in tune with it than we are. high temperatures and strong winds have fanned bushfires across south—eastern australia. bushfire season doesn't usually get started until february here in victoria, so this year, authorities are stretched. so much so, they urged people to reschedule massive climate change demonstrations to a less risky fire day. to no avail.

thousands of people turned out in cities across australia, calling on the government to do more. this has been a bushfire season like no other. but renata and tony aren't afraid. que sera sera, says the sign on the gate, a bit like their approach to these fires. what will be, will be. katy watson, bbc news, north—east victoria. one of the fastest marathon runners in history — kenya's wilson kipsang — has been provisionally suspended for anti—doping rule violations. kipsang — who has won the london marathon twice as well as new york, tokyo and berlin — was also a bronze medallist at the 2012 olympics. the athletics intergrity unit says he has been served the ban for whereabouts failures and tampering with samples. should you be allowed to buy pay—as—you go mobile phones without showing some form of identification? police forces in england and wales say anonymous phones are hampering their efforts to crack

down on drug dealing. pay—as—you—go phones are being used by so—called county line gangs who operate out of big cities including london, manchester and liverpool and sell drugs to people in smaller towns across britain. they use dedicated mobile phone lines, known as ‘deal lines', to take orders from drug users, and often get children to help move and store the drugs and money. here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. bedfordshire police move in on a brutal county lines gang involved in drugs, kidnappings, robberies, attacking rivals. police say anonymous "burner" phones were absolutely integral to what they were doing. we're hiding tracy's identity for safety reasons. her son has been caught up with a county lines gang for years. one of the signs, the phones.

there is a multitude of phones, multitude of sim cards that suddenly turn up in your house. it's the means by which they are able to communicate with your child, secretly. and also, of course, it's what they need to actually run the line. and these days, it's so easy to get connected anonymously to the phone network. so, there we go. fora pound and no id, i've got a sim card. i can plug this into a mobile phone, there is no contract, i can top it up, and i've got a county line, which the police will find hard to trace. they do have a new power to get phone lines disconnected, used 15 times so far by bedfordshire police. but a report by the police watchdog said we were told of one example where a county lines network received and shared a new number within an hour of a phone being disconnected. it said criminal use of unregistered mobile phones is a serious problem for all law enforcement bodies.

the watchdog and police want a government review. i think it needs to be looked at in a lot of detail. and we, and i as the county lines lead, will work with the home office to identify the best way forward. but i think we need to understand the full consequences of doing that. after all, criminals know phones can provide evidence. they will change tactics. and registering all phones would affect everyone. but the pressure is growing. drugs gangs are grooming children, bringing serious crime to the doorsteps of some families. tracy's son is in his late teens. tracy, do you know where he is right now? sadly, he is currently missing. this is a national epidemic now. it's not an epidemic that is affecting adults, this is affecting vulnerable children. you may say to me, "i want to be able to have the choice of buying a pay—as—you—go phone, for legitimate reasons." but would you still be saying that tomorrow if it was your child at the centre of this?

tom symons, bbc news. parents are always warning their children to be careful about who they speak to online — but for one teenager in cheshire, talking to a stranger may have saved his life. 17—year—old aidan jackson was chatting to a woman in texas — 5000 miles away — when he suddenly fell ill. his family were downstairs and had no idea. what the woman in america did next may have saved his life as judith mortiz reports. aidanjackson spends hours playing video games against opponents from around the world. 0nline gaming can be a test of fast reflexes. luckily for him, it was one of his gamer friends from texas who did the quick thinking and called for help when aidan started to feel unwell. police? hello, i'm calling from the us. i'm currently in a call with my friend. he had a seizure and he is not responding any more.

he lives in widnes, cheshire, cheshire, sorry, i'm shaking. that caller lives 5000 miles away from aidan‘s home in cheshire. today, we spoke to her online. i could hear and see him breathing really hard. it sounded like he was choking and crying. automatically, that was a red flag of he's in trouble, what's going on? aidan had passed out. used to him being a silent teenager, his parents thought nothing of him being quite upstairs until the police turned up. i'm sitting there watching tv, then seeing two police cars outside with flashing lights. when they came in, the police, what did they say to you? theyjust said they had had a call from america, that there was an unresponsive male, possible seizure, so then i ran upstairs to check on aidan. since this has all happened, have you had the chance to thank her? tell her what you think? i thank her every day. chuckles because life could have been over like that.

and seizures are dangerous things. sometimes, obviously, we don't know, had it gone on for longer, we don't know what would have happened. one day aidan would like to meet his online saviour and thank her for staging a real world rescue. judith moritz, bbc news, widnes. finally, to the moon. we have been sky watching tonight. the first full moon of 2020, high above london. it is also coinciding with a lunar eclipse. helen willetts is here. this will happen in about 30 minutes. it is when the earth, sun and moon align, the moon will come into the outer shadow cast by the earth. so it will become a bit darker and we will get that lunar eclipse. that will happen, if you can see it. just a picture of the wild weather on its way in the next couple of days, queueing up in the atlantic.

low pressure, weather fronts, low pressure, weatherfronts, that rain setting and across the western side of the uk, not such a great idea to go out and view the moon here. one consolation as it should be quite mild. the wind is coming in from the south—west. for most of us, we are frost free. this is how it is looking as we go through this evening and overnight. heavy rain, strong and gusty wind picking up. at least, as we say, we lift the temperature in the south—east. quite chilly, initially, if you are heading out to see the moon. this is where you get the best picture through the evening at the early pa rt through the evening at the early part of the night. mild, temperatures falling to two or three. far cloudier tomorrow, and windier. and for the northern half of the country, wetter, too. possibly 100 millimetres of rain for scotland, northern ireland and northern england, before it clears away. it should brighten a little in the north later. the wind as part of the north later. the wind as part of the story. strong and gusty, severe gales in northern areas, very gusty

for the trans—pennine gales in northern areas, very gusty for the tra ns—pennine route gales in northern areas, very gusty for the trans—pennine route through the night and through tomorrow as well. high sided vehicles, beware. it is mild and stays mostly dry in southern and eastern areas. still quite a mild night here. we will see a bit of frost in the glens tomorrow night, which means sunday is a brighter day for most of us, bright red dry and brighter. we have rain to clear, heading into england and wales overnight. it clears away, the showers ease, and it looks like a much brighter, slightly chillier afternoon. let me show you what is on the way for monday before i go, we have some more really nasty weather to come. this looks like it will bring even windier weather, and it could be followed up by an equally nasty system on tuesday. so, potentially some stormy weather.

this is bbc news. the headlines... after three years of deadlock, power—sharing well return to northern ireland as the main parties, sinn fein and the democratic unionists, give their support to a draft deal. democratic unionists, give their support to a draft deallj democratic unionists, give their support to a draft deal. i believe that parachuting support to a draft deal. i believe that pa rachuting can support to a draft deal. i believe that parachuting can work. that requires everyone to step up —— power—sharing. sinn fein‘s commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen. we believe that isa fairand to make this happen. we believe that is a fair and balanced to deal and the basis for allowing us to go back into government and dealing with all the difficult issues we need to deal with. iran has again rejected suggestions that msl was responsible