this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm joanna gosling. our top stories: a historic win. sinn fein becomes the largest party in the northern ireland assembly for the first time. we will work with those who serve and all other political perspectives. we will work together. we will show respect and we expect to be shown respect. president zelensky says diplomatic efforts are continuing to try and rescue wounded soldiers from the besieged azovstal steelworks in mariupol. more questions for the uk opposition leader sir keir starmer over whether he broke lockdown rules. a leaked memo suggests a meal he attended was planned despite covid restrictions. and a former security chief known for his loyalty to beijing is confirmed as hong kong's

new chief executive. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. sinn fein has says it's a new era in northern ireland after the nationalist party secured an historic victory in the elections for the stormont assembly. for the first time, sinn fein claimed the most seats and pushed the democratic unionist party into second place. the us and uk governments say both parties now need to co—operate under power—sharing rules. our ireland correspondent, chris page, has this report — which contains flashing images.

smiles, flashes and cheers were the sure—fire signs of sinn fein success. the party retained its 27 seats. that was enough to top the table. the sinn fein vice president, michelle o'neill, is in line to become the first irish nationalist to be northern ireland's first minister. my commitment is to work through partnership, not division. st we will work with those who serve all other political perspectives. we will work together. we will show respect, and we expect to be shown respect. another major indication of change was the advance of the party which is neither unionist nor nationalist. alliance has more than doubled its number of seats, moving from fifth place to third in the assembly. but the democratic unionists have lost their position as the leading party, which they've had for almost 20 years. the dup lost significant votes to a more hardline unionist group. a stronger unionism is a stronger partner for others in government. and we cannot continue with the divisions that are there.

and the unionist voters do not want those divisions. and therefore, i want to see a more united, stronger unionist voice. now that the counting has finished up, the question is whether the politicians who have been elected will get to actually govern northern ireland. very few, if any, people are expecting a power sharing coalition to be formed any time soon. under the unique rules at stormont, unionists and nationalists have to agree to run northern ireland jointly before ministers can take up their positions. the dup says it won't go back into government unless the brexit trade border with the rest of the uk is scrapped. there's likely to be weeks, even months of negotiations between the local parties. after the disappointment and delight of the election results, the future is an unclear picture. chris page, bbc news.

our correspondent danjohnson is at stormont for us now. what happens next? the parties have to get and discuss whether they will share power and there will be a devolved executive at stormont. the block each year even before the election was the northern ireland protocol, the trade rules that no mean checks on goods coming into northern ireland from great britain. that is what the dup objected to and why it pulled out from power—sharing in february and why it is refusing to commit to going back into power sharing now. reform of the northern ireland protocol needs to be negotiated with the uk westminster government and the european union so it may be party are now looking to that government and for those negotiations to progress before we can move to power—sharing here but it means we are looking at political

paralysis, blockage at least for the next few days, weeks or maybe even months. implementation of the northern ireland protocol has been tricky and we have not seen much progress but we or maybe see a renewed effort. although it is talked about with sinn fein being the biggest party and eligible to have first minister it will be hard to get anything done until that is progress. what will it mean if power—sharing doesn't resume for some considerable time? at one essentially mean decision—making here are some possible and day—to—day things will carry on on a caretaker basis as they have done since february but appointing new ministers making major decisions can't happen until the two biggest parties agreed to work together. you can't have power here with just one party in office, it has to be shared. the first minister and

deputy first minister are in effect joint rules and although the switch around with sinn fein being the bigger party as opposed to the dup, 8] bigger party as opposed to the dup, aj of coming together and agreeing to do anything will be impossible unless the dup relent on the northern ireland protocol get the sort of changes they want so even although this is being talked of as although this is being talked of as a landmark moment and perhaps the constitution of northern ireland with sinn fein favouring a united ireland and talk of a potential border pull referendum on that coming down the line, even getting the day—to—day nitty—gritty business of politics done here will be impossible until power—sharing resumes so we're looking at a period of political paralysis which could go on as long as six months and then if there is still no agreement and no executive by then it will be potentially put to the westminster government may be order a new election. i don't think there is any ambition for that so maybe that will help the parties come together and may put pressure on the uk

government to try to deliver those changes on the northern line the so things can come back here and there is some progress and power can resume. on the talk around a referendum for a united ireland, does that move know very much the mainstream of discussion and how realistic is that? it is certainly not an imminent prospect because of the blockages that are going to hold things in the immediate future. sinn fein has been playing down its ambitions on that prospect and it did not make a united ireland of much of this campaign at all. it said its priority has been the priority and cost of living and pupils every day is life and the health service. —— the everyday lives of people. no doubt it is significant sinn fein are no for the first time the biggest party here but it is still not clear that as a

majority in northern ireland supporting the island of ireland being united and even ordering that sort of referendum, getting a gauge of opinion, that is something that would have to be approved by the uk government so that is another political blockage they are, it does not look like anything the current government would be minded to allow and the is all lots of practical problems to encounter to overcome in terms of actually bringing the two states together again so it is not something that will happen in the immediate future and sinn fein isn't even talking about it, it wants to get on with the everydayjob of governing here that will be impossible until they can get the dup to work with them. ukraine and russia say a humanitarian operation to evacuate civilians from the besieged azovstal steelworks in the southern port city

of mariupol has been completed. ukraine said that all elderly people, women and children had been taken to safety — a total of more than 300 people. their departure comes after heavy russian bombardment of the plant in recent weeks. azaday moshiri has this report. it's the longest seige of the war. bombed for weeks azovstal steel plant has been the target for russia as it takes aim at the azov battalion holding out there. but according to both ukraine and russia there is finally a glimmer of hope. all women, children and elderly taking shelter in its dark bunkers and tunnels have finally been evacuated. this adds to the thousands of other residents who have already fled. translation: we were | surviving all of this time. for two weeks we have been living in a basement. then russians came and helped us leave. then we heard about an evacuation to zaporizhzhia and we came to the mall in the mariupol

and got on this bus. eight children were sitting in a basement for two weeks without water, bread, nothing. it's a milestone for the united nations and the red cross, given how many evacuations have failed in recent weeks. mariupol will still be a prime battleground of the war as capturing it is one of russia's main goals. more than 90% of the port city has been pummelled by rockets, missiles and other artillery. translation: without doubt we work on getting out our military. all heroes who defend mariupol. it is very difficult but important. i'm sure everybody understands

the reason for the difficulty and we this reason resides but we don't give up hope, we don't stop. every day we keep looking for such a diplomatic solution which could work. with about 2000 ukrainian fighters thought to still be in the plant, vowing to defend the city, the challenge for the ukraine's government is how to help them. the government might the governor of the —— luhansk the government of the region says 60 people were killed when a bomb hit a school and there

is reports of ukrainian forces mounting counter attacks in kharkiv. in the steel plant, a soviet in construction, the outlook bleak for the soldiers as the russians try to move in. elsewhere in the country still vulnerable to missile strikes where the russians have pulled back after the field full—scale invasion people are still trying to learn what is happening. —— what has happened. we went to one town trying to rebuild. this is more than a journey. it's a capital city trying to reconnect with communities the russians tried to take. we are now crossing on the bridge. this crossing was damaged in the invasion, leaving people trapped by the irpin river and exposed to invading troops and their mortars. so this is the new route connecting kyiv with the town of irpin and if we look over here,

you can see the old damaged bridge. it's significant for the communities that live here that this connection is once again restored and people can try and get on with their lives. it's only been a month since the russians pulled back, but the authorities here have almost been fixated on restoring structure, normality, even with the country still very much under attack. it's very important because it's a very strong signal that the normal life back to our city, our region which was destroyed by this terrible war. and there's no better reminder of that threat than borodyanka. not many humans live here now. there are reminders of day—to—day life and happier times.

previous lives suspended. it's hoped this restored train line will inject some of the colour borodyanka has lost. translation: it is really important to repair the connection and give . people the opportunity to use our transport and to restore what we lost in the past two months. with railways increasingly being targeted by the russians. this isn'tjust a move to recovery, but an act of defiance. tomorrow, may the 9th the russian victory day celebration and there has been a lot of discussion around

how russia might frame the situation in ukraine, whether it might mean a change of strategy going forward. what is the perspective in ukraine and that? i think the authorities are nervous. we have had a number of announcements from the mayor of kyiv and president zelensky yesterday saying if you hear air raid sirens do not ignore them, get underground, because their concern as well vladimir putin lays on this display of military might, he might try to form a justification for what he is doing in ukraine that could mean an increase in missile strikes. every ukrainian city is within the range of russia and we have seen missiles from the black sea but there are other potential scenarios. will he already claim victory and consolidate what he has already taken like we saw with the annexation of crimea in 2014 and

backing the separatists and east of the country the same year? or will he things further? this full—scale invasion has been frustrated and the worry is what he is willing to do nextin worry is what he is willing to do next in order to get things back on track for him. pressure is growing on the labour leader sir keir starmer, as police continue to investigate whether he broke covid rules a year ago — when he was filmed drinking a beer with colleagues in an mp s office in durham. a sunday newspaper has published an internal labour document showing time was set aside in advance for those there to have a takeaway curry, but sir keir maintains no rules were broken. our political correspondent chris mason reports. this is what this row is about — sir keir starmer having a beer. his deputy, angela rayner, was also there in an mp�*s office in durham a year ago and a takeaway

curry was ordered. the latest revelation in the mail on sunday is a memo circulated within the labour party which shows the curry was planned rather than spontaneous. it's for durham police to decide if this matters. what we do know is the force had already decided there was enough new evidence to look again at what happened, having cleared sir keir of wrongdoing in february. but the real reason all this matters is not what happened a year ago, but what sir keir starmer has said since. he has repeatedly expressed his outrage, shared by millions, about the covid lawbreaking within government, including from borisjohnson. and he's repeatedly called for the prime minister to resign. but his critics now say if you climb aboard a moral high horse, it will turn into a bucking bronco if it turns out that you have also broken the rules. after the prime minister was fined, sir keir said this...

this is the first time in the history of our country that after the prime minister was fined, sir keir said this... this is the first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been found to be in breach of the law. and then he lied repeatedly to the public about it. britain deserves better. they have to go. after the prime minister was fined, sir keir said this... this is the first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been found to be in breach of the law. and then he lied repeatedly to the public about it. britain deserves better. they have to go. since durham police announced they were re—examining what happened last year, it's questions about it that have followed sir keir starmer from cumbria to loch lomond. and he insists... as i've explained a number of times, i was working in the office, we stopped for something to eat. there was no party, there was no breach of the rules. i'm confident about that. police have obviously got to do theirjob. this is a perilous moment for keir starmer. he may not be fined, but if he is, his time as labour leader might be up. chris mason, bbc news. to hong kong now, and a pro—beijing committee has

overwhelmingly endorsed the only candidate vetted to be the territory s new chief executive. the former security secretary, john lee, received all but eight votes out of more than 1,400 cast. lee succeeds carrie lam who oversaw the implementation of a controversial national security law that led to massive protests against the territory's government in 2019. let's go live to hong kong where we can speak to the bbc�*s danny vincent. tell us more aboutjohn lee. john lee has a background in the police force. he quietly rose to a position of protest movement and overseeing the crackdown and implementation of the national security law which are seen widely at least by activists as essentially at least by activists as essentially a weapon against people that choose to speak out against beijing and against the authorities here and we see that a staunch supporter of a person backed by beijing has been

selected to the city for the next five years. many people, especially activists and demonstrators, will say thatjohn lee's association with the police and his background suggest hong kong is becoming a police state. the authorities would criticise that, they call this a closed circle election, but many critics and activists say this was simply a selection process. was there any sign of opposition to the selection? around one hour before the ports were cast in the exhibition centre are very small group, infact exhibition centre are very small group, in factjust three people, decided to protest outside and marched along streets of hong kong close to the exhibition centre and held a banner. there were much more journalists than protesters and more police than even the journalists so there was a small sign of opposition. it is very rare to see

anything like that today in hong kong but it is nothing compared to thousands of people you see come to the streets every week for almost a yearin the streets every week for almost a year in 2019 so it is an indication of how much the city has changed. in afghanistan, in another sign of a return to hardline policies, the taliban have ordered women to cover their faces when in public, and said those not following the direction would be punished. the islamists ordered women to wear fully covering burqas when they were in power in the �*90s. the president of zimbabwe, emmerson mnangagwa, has ordered banks to stop lending with immediate effect in an attempt to stop speculation against the zimbabwean dollar. the zimbabwean dollar has lost half of its value so far this year, making it africa's worst performing currency. it's been 60 years since the last royal navy

submarine built in chatham, in kent, was launched from its dockyard. hms ocelot carried out top—secret surveillance missions during the cold war, before being decommissioned in 1991. chrissie reidy has been talking to some of those who served onboard. launched in 1962, hms ocelot was one of 57 submarines built here at chatham dockyard. controller. chris reynolds spent a year onboard ocelot. back then, he was a 25—year—old torpedo officer. we're standing at the moment where all the torpedoes were stowed, all the weapons. i was responsible for the welfare of all the sailors that operated up here. if i was asked to go on a submarine again, i'd leap at the opportunity. during her first three years of commission, ocelot sailed more than 90,000 miles. she carried advanced technology,

which meant she could remain submerged for weeks at a time. they're powered by admiralty diesel engines that were built here at chatham, and they were used on the surface and also to charge the batteries. when ocelot submerged, they actually switched over to electric batteries, and then they could remain undetected, very quiet. after being decommissioned from active service, she returned to the historic dockyard in chatham, where she's been on display to the public since 1992. it's about the men and women that built these vessels here at the dockyard. this story of people and their involvement. this wasn't a naval dockyard — it wasn't the navy who built the ships, it was the people of chatham that built these vessels. and this weekend, she'll celebrate her 60th birthday here — another chance for the public to delve into the cold war history of this secretive warship. chrissie reidy, bbc news. meanwhile, the director

of the cia, william burns, says president vladimir putin appears determined to press ahead with his war against ukraine, despite setbacks on the battlefield. speaking at a financial times conference, mr burns said he thought the russian leader believed he couldn't afford to lose — and is "doubling down" on the war. his convictions about ukraine and the reality of russia's capability to continue to grind away at ukrainian resistance, i don't know if that has been shaken yet. i think he is in a frame of mind which she doesn't believe he can afford to lose so the stakes are quite high in this phase in the east of ukraine, as ukraine's military was support from the west continues to resist with a great deal of courage and tenacity and as president so lenski continues to demonstrate, really

remarkable leadership and resolve as well but i don't think this means that vladimir putin is deterred at this point because he staked so much in the choice that he made to launch this invasion that i think he is convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress. a nepali sherpa has set a new world record by scaling mount everest for the 26th time. kami rita sherpa broke his own record set last year. he was among 11 other sherpas on an expedition to fix ropes at the start of the new climbing season that will see about 600 people scale the world's highest peak. he had previously said that he doesn't chase records but thinks how to satisfy mountaineers and improve tourism to nepal. thousands of cannabis users have marked the global marijuana march in brazil and mexico. the march has been held in various cities worldwide on the first saturday of may, with protesters calling for the decriminalization

of the possession, cultivation, and consumption of medical and recreational cannabis. hello there. it continues to be a decent weekend across much of the country early in the new week. we will find some changes with this front bringing in rain from the north—west but a lot of the cloud we saw ella ron has been thin and high cloud with plenty sunshine coming through after a foggy start in some parts of northern ireland it looks like we have the sunshine today but it looks very different for tomorrow. sunshine across much of the country with patchy fair weather cloud developing through the afternoon could squeeze out a light show across north wales, northern england and scotland and if you catch one of those who are very unlucky. one day in the san with temperatures typically 18 or 19

degrees. the cloud developing this afternoon tends to melt away this evening with a lovely end to the day. then we see cloud coming into the atlantic and to scotland and northern ireland, rain waiting in the wings. quite a range of temperatures tonight. very much milder in the north—west compared the male disguise in the north—west. it could be quite chilly first thing tomorrow with temperatures in east anglia and the north—east three of 4 degrees. these weather fronts are coming in from the atlantic starting to bring in this change. more noticeable across scotland and northern ireland where we have a stronger southerly wind tomorrow and a lot more cloud and that rain developing more widely. it will take awhile to push into england and wales. we will cloud increasing from the north—west and we will hang on to sunshine for longer in the south—east of england and hid it will be a one day, 23 degrees that will be a one day, 23 degrees that will be a one day, 23 degrees that will be the highest amateur of the week ahead. —— the highest temperature of the week ahead. much

cooler over scotland and northern ireland. there will not be much rain for england and wales on tuesday. some places may stay dry. we have more cloud which will push down towards the south—east and following on from that we will get some sunshine. showers as well, which will be frequent and possibly thundery in western scotland and northern ireland. still 40 degrees in glasgow and around 20 in the south—east of england. we'll keep this temperatures through the rest of the week. the threat of rain across southern areas as we head into wednesday and then it becomes drier and like today it will feel pleasantly warm in the sunshine. —— still 14 degrees in glasgow.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a historic win. sinn fein becomes the largest party in the northern ireland assembly for the first time. the governments in london, dublin and washington have called

on political parties in northern ireland to re—establish the devolved administration. president zelensky says diplomatic efforts are continuing to try and rescue wounded soldiers from the besieged azovstal steelworks in mariupol. more questions for the uk opposition leader sir keir starmer over whether he broke lockdown rules. a leaked memo suggests a meal he attended was planned despite covid restrictions. the official who oversaw the crackdown on pro—democracy protests in hong kong in 2019 has become the territory's new leader. john lee was the only candidate to replace carrie lam. sunday paper review coming up, but first let's catch up with the sport from holly. hello, hello to you at home. let's start with football. liverpool are top of the english premier league but their hopes of winning the title

have suffered a big setback. that's after they drew 1—1 at home to tottenham.