this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. an historic win. sinn fein becomes the largest party in the northern ireland assembly for the first time. but the issue of the post—brexit protocol could hinder the way forward. if the eu do not show flexibility we will take the action as the uk government that northern ireland's a place in part of the internal market and protecting the good friday agreement is absolutely there. i'm annita mcveigh, live here in northern ireland with the latest developments. the big question today after the vote is what happens next and what is it going to take to get parties back here to the power—sharing government? president zelensky says diplomatic efforts are continuing to try to rescue wounded soldiers from the besieged 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. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the northern ireland secretary is to meet the main party leaders in northern ireland in the coming days — after sinn fein secured an historic victory in elections for the stormont assembly. brandon lewis will urge them to restore the powersharing executive, which is currently suspended after a breakdown over the northern ireland protocol and the brexit deal. for the first time, sinn fein

claimed the most seats and pushed the democratic unionist party into second place. sinn fein president michelle o'neill says it's a new era in northern ireland and that there should be �*no timewasting or excuses�*, as she put it, in coperating to bring back the assembly. annita mcveigh is at stormont for us now. joanna, thank you very much. a beautiful day at stormont with lots of questions after the count and 90 mlas returned to the northern ireland assembly, which sits here and as to what happens next and to get them back to power—sharing government in this building behind me. of course, the government here collapsed effectively back in february when the dup removed itself from the position of first minister, over its opposition to the protocol. the protocol has not changed as far as they are concerned, their opposition to it remains and they

say, and they made this clear in the run—up to the elections, that they were not going to return to government unless those concerns were addressed. but, a majority of the mlas returned in these assembly elections say they want to return to a functioning executive immediately and an obvious and immediate attention their art to be sorted out. what does the government in westminster say about this? dominic raab has been speaking, he said that the government would be making sure that we fix the northern ireland protocol and that nothing is off back the table in the process. will we hear something after all in the queen's speech this week about that? the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis has also been speaking about what might happen next. now it is notjust about jeffrey donaldson and the dup, resolving the protocol is about everybody in northern ireland, but i can be very clear, if the eu do not show flexibility, we have always said, we will take the action we need to take, as the uk government, to ensure that northern ireland's

place as part of the uk internal market and protecting the good friday agreement is absolutely there. well, i have been speaking in the last while to the dup mla in upper bannjonathan buckley and i asked him what he would be doing tomorrow. after recovering from a very long count centre and a couple of days in the election trail i think probably first and foremost, the dup mlas will gather together, hopefully in the building behind us to discuss a positive way forward here in northern ireland. 0bviously positive way forward here in northern ireland. obviously this has been a difficult election in general, with the long shadow of the northern ireland protocol hanging over these institutions. sadly, at present, there is not a sound or credible basis here for government in northern ireland while the protocol remains intact and for brandon lewis or borisjohnson the question now is, it is the executive other ireland protocol and we want to see action so we can restore devolution here on a sound and

stable footing. we devolution here on a sound and stable footing.— stable footing. we have been explaining — stable footing. we have been explaining to _ stable footing. we have been explaining to viewers - stable footing. we have been explaining to viewers the - stable footing. we have been - explaining to viewers the position of the party on the protocol. the ni secretary brandon lewis said on the eve of the poll that there was not going to be anything in the queen speech about the protocol, a couple of weeks before that it was hinted that there would be something and in his latest interview, he said he would not comment about the queen's speech, what is going on and are you expecting something from the government? it expecting something from the government?— government? it is hugely disappointing _ government? it is hugely disappointing the - government? it is hugely. disappointing the narrative government? it is hugely - disappointing the narrative that brandon lewis has been pushing, it has been confusing to say the least, a trademark of this conservative and unionist government and i probably i still hold out firm faith that the government will get this issue sorted and dealt with, because what we all want to say, both in northern ireland and across the uk is a strong and stable devolution. we can only do so whereby there is consent principle reinforced and the protocol dealt with to ensure there is a stable footing for government. jeffrey donaldson has written in the sunday telegraph and say that checks must not be applied any longer

between those going between gb and northern ireland. he said it is the protocol not brexit that created a border in the rac but the protocol did not drop from anywhere, it is because of brexit that it exist. does that dup have some responsibility to try to give on this issue as well? if responsibility to try to give on this issue as well?— responsibility to try to give on this issue as well? if we look all over in relation _ this issue as well? if we look all over in relation to _ this issue as well? if we look all over in relation to the _ over in relation to the context, brexit was a uk wide referendum and the people uk wide spoke and voted for brexit, ni is a constituent part of the uk and we must brexit in the same terms. is there are solutions? absolutely. whilst her majesty's government and also the irish government continue to bury their heads in the sand on this issue, we are simply not going to get anywhere and what i would say to all of those parts and players is to get around the table, address the issues that are there and ensure that we can have a sound basis for devolution in northern ireland. it is have a sound basis for devolution in northern ireland.— northern ireland. it is essential. the speculation _ northern ireland. it is essential. the speculation that _ northern ireland. it is essential. the speculation that jeffrey - the speculation thatjeffrey donaldson is going to resign from

his newly won mla seat to continue as an mp at westminster and fight the protocol from westminster, having just won that vote to the assembly, would not be a mistake? those issues will be sorted out in the coming days, what is clear for sir geoffrey right now is he wants to see the protocol dealt with and he will use the best means to do so and i think in the broader scheme of things... and i think in the broader scheme of thins. .. ., and i think in the broader scheme of thins... ., and i think in the broader scheme of thins... . ., ,, and i think in the broader scheme of thin95---— his- and i think in the broader scheme of. things. . ._ his broad things... that may happen? his broad focus is to deal _ things... that may happen? his broad focus is to deal with _ things... that may happen? his broad focus is to deal with the _ things... that may happen? his broad focus is to deal with the northern - focus is to deal with the northern ireland protocol, that is what dup voters voted for and a large section of unionism, there was a large section of unionism, not one single unionist mla elected supports the protocol, it is not brexit, the protocol, it is not brexit, the protocol is the problem and we can deal with it and move on but only if there is the will to do so. politicians here have approximately six months to try and get this sorted out. would you be disappointed if it took that long and would you be letting down your voters on those bread and butter issues if so? {iii

voters on those bread and butter issues if so?— issues if so? of the issue can be sorted within — issues if so? of the issue can be sorted within days _ issues if so? of the issue can be sorted within days and _ issues if so? of the issue can be sorted within days and i - issues if so? of the issue can be sorted within days and i would i issues if so? of the issue can be i sorted within days and i would say firmly that the ball is now in the court of the secretary of state and borisjohnson to ensure that we can deal with this issue and move on in a very positive manner and i would hope that will be the outcome. jonathan buckley of the dup talking to me a short while ago saying that the ball is firmly in the court of the ball is firmly in the court of the ni secretary. i'm joined by mark devenport, former political editor for bbc northern ireland. good to have you with us, let us talk about the comments from dominic raab where he said nothing is off the table to make sure we fix the northern ireland protocol. what the table to make sure we fix the northern ireland protocol. what you think means? _ northern ireland protocol. what you think means? we _ northern ireland protocol. what you think means? we do _ northern ireland protocol. what you think means? we do not _ northern ireland protocol. what you think means? we do not quite - northern ireland protocol. what you think means? we do not quite knowj think means? we do not quite know what it means _ think means? we do not quite know what it means and _ think means? we do not quite know what it means and it _ think means? we do not quite know what it means and it is _ think means? we do not quite know what it means and it is one - think means? we do not quite know what it means and it is one thing . what it means and it is one thing for everyone to agree that this northern— for everyone to agree that this northern ireland protocol has got problems and needs to be fixed, but the question is what to do about it. those _ the question is what to do about it. those who— the question is what to do about it. those who were in favour of it say that in _ those who were in favour of it say that in its — those who were in favour of it say that in its operation we can be more flexible _ that in its operation we can be more flexible and — that in its operation we can be more flexible and pragmatic, but those like the _ flexible and pragmatic, but those like the dup, who see this as also a political— like the dup, who see this as also a political threat say that there has

-ot political threat say that there has got to— political threat say that there has got to he — political threat say that there has got to be fundamental changes, the protocol— got to be fundamental changes, the protocol has got to be removed as jonathan _ protocol has got to be removed as jonathan buckley said, you can either— jonathan buckley said, you can either have the executive or protocol _ either have the executive or protocol but not both and what dominit— protocol but not both and what dominic raab and the government are --oin dominic raab and the government are going to _ dominic raab and the government are going to do _ dominic raab and the government are going to do is unclear, they have been _ going to do is unclear, they have been putting out different signals about— been putting out different signals about this. gf been putting out different signals about this. _, , ., been putting out different signals about this. , ., ., ., , ., about this. of course, a ma'ority of mlas that about this. of course, a ma'ority of ms that were i about this. of course, a ma'ority of mlas that were returned _ about this. of course, a ma'ority of mlas that were returned in]- about this. of course, a majority of mlas that were returned in this - mlas that were returned in this assembly election are in favour of getting back into the executive immediately, but the good friday agreement which underpins the peace process here has built into it the respect for both traditions, both of use, nationalist and unionist and we have a large cross community vote now for the alliance party, therein lies the conundrum, for the politicians in westminster. how do you keep everyone happy and solve theissue you keep everyone happy and solve the issue of the protocol without creating issues elsewhere? 0rdinarily, if we did not have all ordinarily, if we did not have all these _ ordinarily, if we did not have all these worries about the protocol and so on. _ these worries about the protocol and so on. we _ these worries about the protocol and so on, we would have our mla is now going _ so on, we would have our mla is now going up— so on, we would have our mla is now going up to _ so on, we would have our mla is now going up to the building behind us, being— going up to the building behind us, being shown around their new offices and being _ being shown around their new offices and being prepared to sign on site, take their— and being prepared to sign on site, take their seats on thursday this

week_ take their seats on thursday this week and — take their seats on thursday this week and i— take their seats on thursday this week and i can guarantee that is not going _ week and i can guarantee that is not going to _ week and i can guarantee that is not going to happen, because we could be --oin going to happen, because we could be going into _ going to happen, because we could be going into weeks or perhaps months of negotiations over issues of the protocol, — of negotiations over issues of the protocol, other issues of unresolved issues _ protocol, other issues of unresolved issues regarding the irish language, the legacy, the troubles all drawn into this _ the legacy, the troubles all drawn into this and it is complex, it is not something either the british or irish government on their own context. — irish government on their own context, the eu as a player and the protocol, _ context, the eu as a player and the protocol, like the whole withdrawal agreement on the trading relations between _ agreement on the trading relations between the uk and eu was a result of negotiations which the european parliament all had to sign off and that all— parliament all had to sign off and that all will not happen quickly although we could have quick unilateral action from london that might— unilateral action from london that might make some politicians are happy— might make some politicians are happy but — might make some politicians are happy but may leave others unhappy. a good _ happy but may leave others unhappy. a good deal of the solution has to come from within as well. just to clarify, from tomorrow, and over the next week, what is going to happen? what is the process or agenda quest macro some people may be coming here and those who come here and say they will work the executive from day one will work the executive from day one

will make a point of coming back here in order to be seen to be there and not to be the ones who are holding back. and not to be the ones who are holdin: back. �* ,. , holding back. behind-the-scenes, we will see the likes _ holding back. behind-the-scenes, we will see the likes of _ holding back. behind-the-scenes, we will see the likes of brandon - holding back. behind-the-scenes, we will see the likes of brandon lewis, . will see the likes of brandon lewis, possibly also simon coveney from the irish government having various counts of negotiations with the key players here, in order to see what wriggle room they have got. also, the british government putting pressure on the eu to try to adopt a more flexible approach to the protocol, all of that it is easy to see how they can start sending out those feeders, but quite often they will actually resolve matters, that is another question. you will actually resolve matters, that is another question.— will actually resolve matters, that is another question. you and i have watched a lot _ is another question. you and i have watched a lot of _ is another question. you and i have watched a lot of torx _ is another question. you and i have l watched a lot of torx processes over the years, what is your hunch, best guess about whether we are talking about a relatively speedy return or six months or longer before we get a power—sharing executive restored prime minister's questions i think we are probably talking about months, as part of the dealer got the place up and running after the last logjam that closed it down, we got some special legislation that will allow most of the ministers to

carry on in a caretaker capacity for the next six months.— the next six months. they may be some problems, _ the next six months. they may be some problems, particularly - the next six months. they may be some problems, particularly as i the next six months. they may be. some problems, particularly as one of the _ some problems, particularly as one of the ministers did not get re—elected. i imagine, that will happen— re—elected. i imagine, that will happen and that the parties will see that as _ happen and that the parties will see that as time that they can use up maybe _ that as time that they can use up maybe to — that as time that they can use up maybe to get past the marching season — maybe to get past the marching season in— maybe to get past the marching season in the summer, possibly to have _ season in the summer, possibly to have some — season in the summer, possibly to have some count of resolution in the autumn, _ have some count of resolution in the autumn, hut— have some count of resolution in the autumn, but it is dependent on many things. _ autumn, but it is dependent on many things. not— autumn, but it is dependent on many things, notjust what autumn, but it is dependent on many things, not just what the parties do here but— things, not just what the parties do here but also what happens between brussels _ here but also what happens between brussels and london. as here but also what happens between brussels and london.— brussels and london. as for the voters, brussels and london. as for the voters. a _ brussels and london. as for the voters, a caretaker _ brussels and london. as for the | voters, a caretaker government, brussels and london. as for the - voters, a caretaker government, that is not really what they want. it is a second-rate _ is not really what they want. it is a second-rate form _ is not really what they want. it is a second-rate form of— is not really what they want. it is a second—rate form of government, the government even when it is all ”p the government even when it is all up and _ the government even when it is all up and running is pretty clumsy and slow to _ up and running is pretty clumsy and slow to make decisions, but if we had this— slow to make decisions, but if we had this caretaker situation, we cannot— had this caretaker situation, we cannot have any count of new policies — cannot have any count of new policies and the majority of the parties — policies and the majority of the parties say we cannot even spend money— parties say we cannot even spend money that has been given to stormont by the treasury in order to address— stormont by the treasury in order to address the — stormont by the treasury in order to address the cost of living crisis. that— address the cost of living crisis. that money has actually been handed out to— that money has actually been handed out to people elsewhere, but it has not been _ out to people elsewhere, but it has not been handed out to people in northern— not been handed out to people in

northern ireland.— northern ireland. thank you very much for that. _ northern ireland. thank you very much for that. i _ northern ireland. thank you very much for that. i think _ northern ireland. thank you very much for that. i think you - northern ireland. thank you very much for that. i think you can - northern ireland. thank you very | much for that. i think you can see from the conversation quite how complex the discussions and negotiations and talks are going to be here in northern ireland and if any solutions are to be found that could lead to politicians going back there, working not in a shadow form but effectively as a functioning power—sharing government, more on this coming through the day, right now back to you in the studio. more than sixty people are feared dead after a russian bomb hit a school in the donbas area of eastern ukraine on saturday. the governor of the luhansk region said about ninety local residents had been sheltering in the school's basement. images of the site show scenes of devastation, with emergency workers putting out fires on a pile of smoking rubble. thirty people are reported rescued. meanwhile 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.

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 for 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 the heroes who defend mariupol. it is very difficult but important. i'm sure everybody understands the reason for the difficulty and where 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 mayor of mariupol has given an interview to the bbc and i want to

bring you some of the lines from the interview. he said vladimir putin is deciding who lives, who leads and who dies in the city. he said that 100,000 people are still living and they need a permit to move around in a separate permit to leave. he said around 2000 men are being held in so—called filtration centres into areas and he says they are being used as labour to clear the rubble, collect the dead bodies of those killed by the russians and cover up evidence of war crimes. the bbc has not independently verified those claims. in the last few hours ukraine's president zelenskiy has made an address for victory day, when europe commemorates the formal surrender of germany to the allies in world war two. he said evil had returned to the continent. translation: we have not withstood even a century. _ translation: we have not withstood even a century, are _ translation: we have not withstood even a century, are never— translation: we have not withstood even a century, are never again - even a century, are never again lasted for only 77 years. we missed the evil, it was reborn again

and now. this is understood by all countries and nations who support ukraine today. no evil can escape responsibility. it cannot hide in a bunker. there will be no stone left to it. so, we will overcome everything and we know this for sure because our military and our people are descendants of those who overcame nazism. so they will win again and there will be peace again. the us first ladyjill biden has been meeting ukrainian refugees at a border crossing between ukraine and slovakia. she spoke to refugee families, volunteers and local workers at one of the main transit points for more than 400—thousand refugees who've crossed into slovakia since the russian invasion began in february. it's the final day ofjill biden's tour of slovakia and romania, where she's also been visiting us servicemen. 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. this morning the shadow communities secretary, lisa nandy was asked about keir starmer�*s position on the bbc�*s sunday morning programme. if keir starmer has been found to have broken the law, does he have to resign? i am not going to get into hypotheticals like that, sophie, because i do not believe, for one moment, that he has broken the rules and i do not believe that that is going to happen. it is absurd to equate the two things, between the prime minister's serial partying, lying and laughter about what was happening to people in this country and a work event, where people broke to eat, so i am not going to get into hypotheticals. it is ridiculous. angela rayner has already said that he should resign if he broke the law, so why cant you say that? because i don't believe he did break the law for a moment. he has already been investigated for this,

after the conservative party flung mud at him last time and was cleared by the same police force. i am absolutely confident that that will happen again. i don't think there are many people in this country who believe for one moment that keir starmer is the sort of man that goes around tearing up the rule book. he was the director of public prosecutions, he makes rules, he does not break them. thejustice secretary dominic raab refused to be drawn on whether keir starmer should resign keirstarmer keir starmer has clearly got a bunch of questions to answer in how straightforward he has been with the uuhiio _ straightforward he has been with the public. that is for him, that is the westminster bubble but he will have to answer— westminster bubble but he will have to answer those questions. i am going _ to answer those questions. i am going to — to answer those questions. i am going to focus relentlessly on those issues _ going to focus relentlessly on those issues about the economy, the welt-paid — issues about the economy, the well—paid jobs for algebra culture, well— paid jobs for algebra culture, data, _ well— paid jobs for algebra culture, data. tech— well—paid jobs for algebra culture, data, tech and financial services... ithink— data, tech and financial services... i think your— data, tech and financial services... i think your viewers can see where my focus— i think your viewers can see where my focus is, — i think your viewers can see where my focus is, economy, cost of

living, — my focus is, economy, cost of living, reai— my focus is, economy, cost of living, realworries my focus is, economy, cost of living, real worries in real world. the man who oversaw the crackdown on protesters in hong kong during demonstrations over a controversial extradition bill in 2019 has become the territory's new leader. john lee, a staunch beijing supporter, was the sole candidate in the closed voting process, and his appointment is widely being seen as a move by the chinese government to tighten its grip on the city. he replaces carrie lam after she announced she would not be seeking a second term in office. the bbc�*s danny vincent has been monitoring all the developments and has more now on the man who is set to lead hong kong for the next five years. john lee has a background in the police force. he quietly rose to a position of power in the police force and then eventually became the secretary for security. here, he became well known in hong kong for cracking down against the 2019 protest movement and overseeing the crackdown and implementation of the national security law, which is seen widely, at least by activists, as essentially a weapon against people that choose to speak out against beijing and against the authorities here. so, we see that a staunch supporter, a person who is backed by beijing

has been selected to lead the city for the next five years. many people, especially activists and demonstrators, they would say thatjohn lee's association with the police force and his background suggest that hong kong is becoming a police state. the authorities would criticise that, they call this an election, a closed circle election, they call it, but many critics and activists say this was simply a selection process. there are more than 50—thousand new breast cancer cases in the uk each year — with women from ethnic minority backgrounds less likely to attend screening. after nagina kaleem (nag—ee—nah kal—eem) was diagnosed, she said some people in the south asian community blamed her for getting the disease. sophia seth went to meet her. i was feeling like i'm untouchable person, and very worthless.

nagina kaleem started getting breast—cancer symptoms in 2013. this very discomfort in this arm, and a lot of pain and myjoint. the pain worsened. unable to move her arm, she visited the gp, and a lump in her armpit was found. big shock. i don't have any cancer history in my family. nagina struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis, but what made it worse was that some people from parts of south asian communities blamed her for getting breast cancer. they don't take it as a disease. they think that this is the result of that person's sins, or that this is punishment from god. 0r sometimes they think that this person is cursed. some friends just said that, "you should go and repent." one of my friends, she just stopped talking with me, and for eight years she couldn't

talk with me on this topic. some people even refused to get close to her, because they thought they could catch cancer. one of my friends just avoided having tea or water or anything from our home. nagina is keen to stress it was not everyone in her community who treated her like this — but it was enough to make her believe she had done something wrong. i was feeling, why me? why i'm going through this? especially in our communities. people want to be perfect — they don't want to tell about their weaknesses. she had to undergo chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and radiotherapy. she had around nine months of treatment. what got her through it was the support from her immediate family — especially when one of her sons signed up for race for life in 2014. he ran for me because he thought that, with that step,

he could save his mum's life. so that was my strength. nagina is now cancer—free, and is on a mission to break down the stigma surrounding the disease. i really want to educate people. i want to tell them that this is a disease, not a curse — don't feel embarrassed. this is not punishment from their past life of their. . .their actions or their things. this poor lady, she had to deal with the diagnosis of cancer... a breast—cancer surgeon in southampton says he's also heard that some asian and middle eastern communities will refuse to take the gene test for breast cancer, because they believe it may lower their status if they have it. part of it might be the fear of being labelled as a person or a family with a cancer gene. this might have a social impact in terms of community interaction with them,

and it might have an effect on their marriage prospects in the future, as well. it's not very common, but it's been reported before. how important is it to have an early diagnosis? generally speaking, an early diagnosis of a smaller tumour that hasn't progressed into the lymph nodes is commonly treated by a lumpectomy. if the disease progressed to a certain extent and we don't have means to try and downsize it or down—stage it, patients might end up having a mastectomy and a full axillary clearance, for instance. nagina has now started a not—for—profit organisation... i will go through... ..and holds workshops every month to encourage people to talk about cancer. if we make it so common that people don't feel embarrassed, or don't feel any fear from cancer — and if they feel anything different in their body,

just go and see their gps. don't delay that, because early treatment can save many lives. 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 nineties. a nepali sherpa has set a new world record by scaling mount everest for the twenty—sixth 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett.

hello there. it continues to be a decent weekend. we will find some changes, with this thickening cloud that we have got in the atlantic tending to bring in some way. early in the new week we will find some changes with this thickening front we've got in the atlantic tending to bring in rain from the north—west but ahead of that lot of the cloud we saw earlier on has north—west but ahead of that a lot of the cloud we saw earlier on 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. it looks very different, though, for tomorrow. sunshine across much of the country, really, just some patchy fairweather cloud developing through the afternoon, could squeeze out a light shower across north wales, northern england and scotland and if you catch one of those you're very unlucky. a warm day in the sunshine with temperatures typically 18 or 19 degrees. a little bit cooler perhaps around some of those north sea coasts. the cloud that does develop this afternoon tending to melt away this evening, a lovely end to the day.

then we start to see the cloud coming in from the atlantic into scotland and northern ireland, some rain waiting in the wings. quite a range of temperatures tonight. very much milder in the north—west compared the clearer skies that we've got in england and wales. it could be quite chilly first thing tomorrow with temperatures in east anglia and the north—east three or four degrees, perhaps. high pressure has been keeping it generally quite and try this weekend. that's getting moved away out towards the east. 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 a while to push into england and wales. we will see cloud increasing from the north—west and we'll hang on to sunshine for longer in the south—east of england and here it will be a warm day, 23 degrees, and could be the highest temperature over the week ahead. much cooler, though, underneath the cloud and rain in scotland and northern ireland. and those weather fronts then tumble down into england and wales on monday night into tuesday, weakening all the while, so there will not be much rain for england and wales on tuesday. some places may stay dry. we do 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 could be frequent, heavy and possibly thundery in western scotland and northern ireland. still ia degrees in glasgow and back down to around 20 in the south—east of england. we'll keep those sort of temperatures through the rest of the week. there's the threat of rain across southern areas as we head into wednesday and then it becomes drier and it will feel again like today it will feel pleasantly warm in some sunshine.

hello this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, says he will meet political parties at stormont in the coming days to urge them to form a government. the nationalist party, sinn fein, won the most seats in the assembly election. 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. i will be back with the one o'clock

news, but now it's