some rain further north and west, and it will turn a little cooler for most of us by tuesday. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. an historic moment for nationalists in northern ireland, as sinn fein is on course to become the largest party at stormont. across the rest of the uk the conservatives have lost almost 500 seats in the local elections, with labour and the liberal democrats taking control of a number of councils. the snp remain the largest party in scottish councils — with labour overtaking the conservatives to finish second. labour was the biggest winner in wales, where the conservatives lost more than 80 seats. in other news — more attempts are being made to rescue civilians trapped at a steelworks in the beseiged ukrainian city of mariupol. 50 people were taken out of the city yesterday.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. we start with chelsea, who have confirmed an agreement is now in place for the club to be sold, in a deal worthjust overfour billion pounds to an american consortium. the investor and businessman todd boehly, who is already part—owner of baseball side the la dodgers, is the man leading the group. the club was put up for sale, before owner roman abramovich was sanctioned for his alleged links to russian president vladimir putin. the deal is worth, £2.5 billion, with a further 1.75 billion to be invested across the club. if it gets premier league and government approval, it's expected to be completed later this month. we are going to see a change of culture as far as chelsea football club is concerned. under roman abramovich, the club spent more money on wages and transfers and lost more money than any other club in the premier league. it is unlikely that an american

owner, with an experience of sports franchises in the us, especially one backed by private equities is likely to repeat such a policy. four days after they reached the champions league final, liverpool can go top of the premier league tonight if they beat tottenham at anfield. and with the fa cup final next saturday, it's a defining few weeks for the club. in 22 days, 23 days, we know everything. between now and then, a lot of games and we can't play them altogether but we can play them one after the other. the feeling is good but we still are able to play football, like the first half. we felt brilliant before the game and played really bad so let's make sure that we play good. liverpool spurs kicks off at 7.45. chelsea can strengthen their hold on third if they beat wolves,

their potential new owner todd boehly is expected to watch them there. watford will be relegated if they lose at palace. burnley have the chance to open up a five point gap to the bottom three with a win over aston villa. it's the final day of the championship season — automatic promotion and relegation has already been decided — but there are four teams fighting for the final two play—off places. all the games kicked off at 12.30 so it's half time. luton are at kenilworth road where they are a goal up against reading — that would be enough to seal a place in the playoffs. middlesbrough and millwall, for now, will be missing out. keep middlesbrough and millwall, for now, will be missing out.— will be missing out. keep up-to-date with those scores _ will be missing out. keep up-to-date with those scores over _ will be missing out. keep up-to-date with those scores over on _ will be missing out. keep up-to-date with those scores over on the - will be missing out. keep up-to-date with those scores over on the bbc . with those scores over on the bbc sport website. celtic are within touching distance of the scottish premiership

having gone behind in the early kick off against hearts. they have hit back to lead 3—i. a win will take ange postecoglou's side nine points clear of rangers, who have three games to play and a far inferior goal difference to celtic. there's a rugby league challenge cup triple header taking place at elland road this afternoon. two semifinals later with wigan taking on cup—holders st helens, whilst huddersfield play hull kingston rovers for a place in the final. the women's final is already underway and its quite a match. st helens, the reigning champions are just ahead. this try from jodie cunningham putting them 14—8 up with around five minutes to go. that match is live over on bbc2 right now with the men's matches on bbc one a little later on. there's more on the bbc sport website.

i got igotan i got an overview of the results. let's start with boris johnson i got an overview of the results. let's start with borisjohnson and the headache or otherwise that these election results deliver for him. the problem being in the sense that the conservatives have with these actions is that the daily telegraph, supporting the conservatives, earlier this week they said that the conservative party are heading for disaster, losing over 500 seats. and it was widely thought that this was a classic exercise in expectation management and that actually the party would not do as badly as that and will be able to claim it's not so bad after all. the problem is that if that comes true, it puts you an awkward place. what was going to be in his —— going

to be a disaster has actually happened. what this shows has been the message of the polls, the party is in choppy waters. it is now behind labour in the polls. it is remarkable that it has taken so long, some might say. one way of looking at it is the projected national share, all the results and taking what might happen if we had the whole country voting on that day because not everyone was. that estimate of 30%, if you compare it with previous elections, it's better than what they achieved when theresa may was facing real difficulty in 2019, when she was struggling to get the brexit agreement she'd reached with the european union past her party and the house of parliament. apart from that, this is the worst conservative performance in local elections since before the eu

referendum. i think therefore perhaps one message to the party is that delivering brexit isn't necessarily a guarantee of long—term electoral success. when other things come along, such as partygate and the cost of living crisis, it's potentially as model as any other party. when it comes to brexit, that vote in northern ireland, that is part of the legacy of that. there are divisions in the community over whether or not the northern ireland protocol is something that can be amended satisfactorily or whether or not it needs to be scrapped. for many unionists that agreement, which borisjohnson may shortly before the 2019 election which in their view creates a border across the irish sea is not acceptable. the immediate consequence of that is that the prime minister does now face the prospect of a sinn fein first

minister or no executive being properly formed because the dp reviews. the dop will be looking for the uk government to take action if necessary, unilateral action, the uk government to take action if necessary, unilateralaction, in necessary, unilateral action, in order to necessary, unilateralaction, in order to try to reduce the impact of the protocol on the transfer of goods from great britain to northern ireland. the difficulty the prime ministerfaces is ireland. the difficulty the prime minister faces is that if he were to do that, then potentially they will be retaliation from the european union. retaliation which won't simply affect northern ireland but can affect the flow of trade between great britain and the european union and make life difficult for holiday—makers when they are visiting the european union. he won't necessarily want to risk that. equally, if he were to go down that path, the answer from equally, if he were to go down that path, the answerfrom champagne might be, we are not going to nominate a first minister either. the question is how is the united kingdom going to successfully negotiate the northern ireland

critical problem in such a way that in the end the dop can be persuaded to nominate into the executive and doesn't cause too much damage in our relationship with the european union. in that sense it is obviously a political headache but we still know partygate is still not over, and these recollections certainly haven't strengthened the position in his party in terms of what they do. it is always tempting to extrapolate political narratives from headlines, from something like this. but in terms of where you would anticipate the political landscape going, how changed do you think it is and how much pressure, increasing pressure, do you think there will be for nationalism in scotland and in northern ireland? northern ireland 7 i northern ireland? i think it's important to bear in mind... support for sinn fein has

only gone up marginally. the reason why we are now looking at the prospect of a sinn fein first minister is not because of the increased support for nationalist, it is because of the fragmentation of the unionist vote between different unionist parties. equally in scotland, the snp are up by two points on a relatively modest performance back in 2017. at around 34% of the vote. not in the mid—40s that they are in westminster and holyrood. in scotland at least, the country is divided absolutely down the middle on the constitutional question. the most recent poll was 49% versus 51%. there is undoubtedly a question about the long—term position. it is also true that support for reunification in northern ireland is higher than it was before the brexit referendum. support for independence is as high

as it is in northern ireland. both a legacy of our decision to leave the european union but in northern ireland it is pretty clear from european union but in northern ireland it is pretty clearfrom most of the polls that some may be up to 40% for reunification but no more than that. in truth, scotland has been teetering on the brink for some time. i don't think the results of these local elections really add to it. what it has done in scotland is that it it. what it has done in scotland is thatitis it. what it has done in scotland is that it is a mirror image of the fermentation of unionism in northern ireland. it has further fragmented the political representation of those who want to stay inside the union because now we are not entirely sure which is the larger of the two prounion parties in scotland, and i think getting coordination between those parties to come up with an agreed stance on how to defend the union is not going to get any easier because the labour party is views as to how the union should be managed are very different to those of the conservative party,

and the argument between those two parties as to how the union should be run isn't going to be continue to be run isn't going to be continue to be intense, which doesn't help to come up with an agreed stance on how you run the union versus the argument for independence. i think that's where the scottish result matters, not as much as the success of the snp but because they have narrowly overtaken the conservatives in second place. let's go back to northern ireland and the assembly election. sinn fein look likely to become the biggest party, putting it's vice president michelle o'neill in line to be the next first minister. let's cross live to belfast and get all the latest from annita mcveigh. thank you very much. you join me in a noisy belfast. one of three count centres across northern ireland. 3a seats left to be declared out of the 90 that will represent northern ireland in the power—sharing

assembly, if and when that returns. certainly the hope of pretty much everybody is that it can return. interesting to pick up on what the professor was saying about what the government could do to talk to unionism, those unionist who are opposed to the protocols and try to persuade them to re—enter the power—sharing assembly. i spoke to gillian smith area and he was talking about looking towards the eu, looking if there is any compromise from there on the protocol. jeffrey donaldson has been speaking to the bbc. he said that the dop will decide next week whether to consider re—entering the power—sharing executive. he said it would depend on what borisjohnson said or what was said by the government in the queen's speech. a couple of weeks ago you may remember it seemed that the government was preparing to announce some powers within the queen's speech to change

the protocol, to change the northern ireland protocol. that is a set of rules that govern is post—brexit trade in northern ireland. but then on the eve of the vote here, they northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said that wasn't the case and unionists have been telling me here this week that that has really damaged trust between them and the government at westminster. you know, as for what's said jeffrey donaldson has said, is that a sign of a slight shift of position? it is impossible to say at this stage. some of the chair is in the last few minutes in belfast... actually, before i go to a bit of that detail let me tell you about the relative positions of the parties. sinn fein are on 18 seats. the dop are on 17. the cross community alliance party are on 11. the ulster unionist party, the

liberal unionist party, is on fire. the sdlp have three and we have one candidate elected from the traditional unionist voice, also anti—protocol. one independent. and now i think that has changed just as i'm speaking to you. sinn fein and the dop on 19,1 i'm speaking to you. sinn fein and the dop on 19, i believe. sometimes hard to keep up with the very latest developments as i am talking to you. those numbers changing all the time. some of thejeers those numbers changing all the time. some of the jeers recently have been for the alliance party. reynolds was elected in east belfast and patrick brown in southdown. he didn't get in last time, he has this time. as me is —— with me is peter mcreynolds. you must be happy so far, as alliance. ~ you must be happy so far, as alliance-— you must be happy so far, as alliance. ~ , ., ., alliance. where can you go next? i don't know _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where we _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where we can - alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where we can stop. l alliance. where can you go next? | i don't know where we can stop. it has been a roller—coaster day with some of the best results we've ever

had at all. i'm delighted to be elected alongside naomi long. the only way is up for us. a commentator i spoke to in the last hour said that your results are proof that northern ireland is no longer about two tribes, it is no longer about two tribes, it is no longer about two tribes, it is no longer about green and orange. nationalist and unionist. the alliance party is for everyone. you can do anything in it. northern ireland wants politicians to get to work and deliver for ireland wants politicians to get to work and deliverfor them. that ireland wants politicians to get to work and deliver for them. that is what we will continue to do. what do you make of those comments from the leader of the democratic unionists? hard to read, i appreciate. do you think the ddp might be rethinking their position and looking out a way of re—entering the assembly? i think it's finally necessary that they look at their position. the protocol is something that was delivered from the du p seeking a hard brexit. it is an imperfect solution from the eu and we need to

make it work to make northern ireland work. two years after covid, post—brexit, we want to make northern ireland work and we will do that. a majority of politicians potentially going back into this assembly, if they can get back together again, who actually support the protocol or if they had issues with it can work with it within the context of a functioning assembly. what in the alliance party would you say to the dup who are worried about their constitutional position and feel squeezed by the success of sinn fein? i think it's important that we realise it is a union between the uk and eu. northern ireland is a small part of that and we must recognise it is here to stay. let's make it benefit the people of northern ireland. as you know, sinn fein talking about the potential of a referendum on a border poll in ten years or perhaps five years. the government in

westminster saying the conditions are not there. they are talking about there needing to be a sustained majority in favour of that for a referendum on irish unity to come about. the alliance party has not commented on what its position would be. i get up until now, you haven't needed to. is that going to change as mac our position on the border is only an event whenever the northern ireland office says it is relevant. releva nt. it relevant. it is no secret that sinn fein want a united ireland but until that has been put before the people in the form of a referendum there is no point having that discussion. let's get on with the here and now and make northern ireland work for the people of northern ireland. briefly, if you had to put a time on how long it will take to get back to a functioning government, what is your back to? i'm not a betting man but i think it's important it is as soon as possible. we haven't had government for three years and the du p have

done it. let's get back to work on monday, which is what we will be doing alongside my colleagues, and make this work for the people of northern ireland. thank you very much. so we have got approximately 30 seats left to feel here in the assembly election so, you know, once we get to that full and final figure later, the question will be, what are all those parties going to do it with that result because like they will be assessing the changing picture here of politics in northern ireland because there are some similarities but some significant changes, including particularly the rise of the centre ground and, as seems to be the case, sinn fein in the position to nominate a first minister for the first time to the northern ireland assembly. i think the count is going to go on for a while yet. this form of proportional representation single transferable vote, where you have a series of rounds of counting and some constituencies where they

are on the ninth or tenth round at this stage. it may take some time to work through all of those stages of the count. for the moment, back to you. north korea appears to have launched a ballastic missile, according to the japanese military. the japanese coast guard said it has already fallen into the sea. the launch comes as the united states warns north korea may be preparing a nuclear test within the next few weeks — its first in five years. a state department spokeswoman said north korea had been readying its nuclear site for such a test. here's the bbc�*s david willis. this is actually the first on—the—record comment of its kind by us officials, making the point, as you just pointed out, that they believe that the north korean nuclear test site to the north of pyongyang is readying and preparing to carry out a test possibly within the next few weeks. now that is consistent, that sort of analysis,

with remarks by the north korean leader kim jong—un, who only last month said that he was looking to accelerate his country's nuclear weapons programme and also consistent with satellite imagery on the ground which shows increased activity around that nuclear test site. now, the timing of this is significant for two reasons — next week sees the inauguration of the new south korean president and the week after that, president biden is due to visit the south korean capital, seoul. all this of course a reminder to him and his administration that whilst their attention has been focused on russia's aggression towards ukraine, tensions have been heightened as ever perhaps on the korean peninsular. the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands grow for his government to resign.

this is the second state of emergency he's imposed in five weeks — with much of the country on strike — as frustration persists over food and fuel shortages. the bbc�*s, rajini vaidynathan, is in the capital, colombo for us. well, a state of emergency is now in place here in sri lanka, although things seem relatively normal so far, but a state of emergency does give the government sweeping powers. they can arrest people for long periods of time without a warrant, they can also break up protests, and it could mean that we see more military on the streets in sri lankan cities. i'm here at galle face green in colombo, and as you can see, protesters are gathering here. many have set up camp here. they say they are not going to leave here until president gotabaya rajapa ksa leaves office. he's showing no signs of quitting, but people here blame him for this economic crisis. today, people are asking why he has brought in this state of emergency.

they say, as you can see, that protests are peaceful and they believe that the government has brought this state of emergency in as a way of stifling free speech. as i say, the government says they've done this to restore public order. yesterday evening, at parliament, i was down at protests that were peaceful. after i left, police fired tear gas into the crowds and things got more tense. now, while the protests continue, millions of sri lankans continue also to suffer as this economic crisis bites. people spending hours every day in queues to get food and fuel and they're contending with daily power cuts and blackouts. four passengers have had a narrow escape after a plane crashed into a garden in texas. the aircraft had taken off from hobby airport in houston but within minutes the pilot reported engine problems. he was trying to return to the airport when the plane came down just behind a row houses. no one on the ground was injured and the pilot has been praised

for avoiding the homes as the plane came down. two historic cooling towers at the la robla coalfired power plant in leon in spain have been demolished. the power station was built in 1971 and will be replaced by a hydrogen power plant. it's formed part of the landscape of the mountains of the valle del alba region for decades but it took just seven seconds to be reduced to rubble. all over the world people are generating help for ukraine. now one beer brewery has come up with a novel idea, as wendy urquhart explains. this isn'tjust any old beer — this is ukrainian beer. cans are rolling off the conveyor belt at a speed of 90,000 per hour, and anheuser—busch inbev is hoping the money will roll in just as fast, because all of the profits will be used to help victims of the war. ab inbev dominates the global beer market and produces 500 brands of beer, including budweiser, bud light

and the ukrainian favourite, chernigivske. the company has three breweries in ukraine, and, since the russian invasion, it has been evacuating as many employees as possible. 160 of them have now started a new life in belgium, and the brewery is footing the bill for their accommodation. oleksandr used to be a project developer at one of the ukrainian factories. i'm very proud that we can produce this beer in europe and across the world to give some assistance for our families, for all people of ukraine. it would help in a symbolic meaning, in the sense that people drinking chernigivske beer will think about chernihiv, the city which was attacked by the russians and which resisted the russian invasion. they will think about ukraine, that is fighting for its freedom, for its european interests, but also for freedom and democracy in europe.

it can't have been easy to leave everything and everyone they knew in ukraine, but at least these ukrainians have each other and can now look forward to a bright future in brussels. wendy urquhart, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello there. in terms of saturday, sunshine — some places have been doing a lot better than others. this was the scene for a weather watcher earlier on in herefordshire. beautiful blue skies overhead. contrast that with the scene for this weather watcher in perth and kinross with a lot of cloud in the sky. in fact, some of this cloud across parts of scotland has been producing some showery rain. we've also had some low cloud lapping onto some of these north sea coasts. the best of the sunshine has been found out towards the west, and as we go towards the end of the day, we will see some further showers across parts of scotland.

maybe the odd one for parts of northern england into east anglia, the southeast. there will be some decent spells of sunshine. it will stay a bit murky for some eastern coasts and also for some coasts of south west england and west wales. temperatures around 7:00, between nine and 17 degrees for most of us. and then through this evening and tonight, we are likely to see more cloud filtering in from the east across parts of england and wales. could be some low cloud in places, some areas of cloud too. for northern ireland and western scotland, the odd splash of rain here. so into tomorrow, high pressure tries to hold firm. these frontal systems drifting to the northwest of the uk will bring more cloud and some bits and pieces of rain, but not an awful lot. we will see some of that cloud just grazing into the northwest corner of northern ireland, some rain skipping across the far north west of scotland. but elsewhere, some decent spells of sunshine. could well be a little bit murky again for some coasts. some patchy cloud bubbling up with the odd shower through parts of wales, northern england and southern

scotland into the afternoon. widely, though, it will be quite warm, highs of 18 to 20 degrees, a little cooler for some north sea coasts. now, as we move out of sunday and into monday, our area of high pressure starts to retreat and we see some slightly more active frontal systems pushing in from the northwest. so that means cloud and rain for parts of northern ireland and scotland, could be some quite heavy bursts of rain, actually. the breeze will be strengthening. it'll turn quite blustery in some northwestern parts. the best of the dry and sunny weather across england and wales, particularly towards the south east corner, where we could see highs of 22 degrees, but it will be a little cooler than that further north and west. and as we head deeper into the week, those cooler conditions will spread a little further southwards, with some outbreaks of rain. but i think many southern parts will stay predominantly dry.

this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones, with the latest headlines. at with the latest headlines. two an historic moment for nationalists in northern ireland, as sinn fein is on course to become the largest party at stormont. andjoin me in and join me in belfast where i bring you up—to—date on the position of the parties in the assembly northern ireland elections. across the rest of the uk, the conservatives have lost almost 500 seats in the local elections, with labour and the liberal democrats taking control of a number of councils. cheering. the snp remain the largest party in scottish councils — with labour overtaking the conservatives to finish second. labour was the biggest winner in wales, where the conservatives lost more than 80 seats.