in northern ireland — divisions affect the return of power sharing after historic election results. for the first time a nationalist leader is in line to be first minister — but the democratic unionists won't support a new government unless post brexit trading rules are scrapped. it means maybe stormont will get back together, maybe it won't. i mean, this is what we have been living with for years now. dysfunctional politicians and a dysfunctional system, so... we'll be looking ahead to tomorrow's talks at stormont between the main parties — and the northern ireland secretary. also tonight: here in ukraine, at least 60 people are dead, after a russian air strike on a village school. it comes as the kremlin tries to rally russians, during celebrations marking the end, of world war two. keir starmer is accused of hypocrisy over covid rules

as his durham beer and curry are investigated by police. and on the night the best of british television is celebrated at the baftas — ncuti gatwa is named the next doctor who. good evening. politicians in northern ireland are being urged by westminster — as well as by the irish and us governments — to agree once again to a power sharing administration — in the wake of election results. for the first time in more than 100 years of northern ireland's history, a nationalist party has emerged with the largest number of seats, which would mean sinn fein nominating a first minister. but they would need the democratic unionists to nominate a deputy —

and the dup has said its not prepared to do that while post brexit arrangements affecting trade with the rest of the uk remain in place. here's our ireland correspondent emma vardy. the balance of power between the two different visions for this island has shifted. symbolically, at least. what do you think it means for northern ireland? well, it means maybe stormont will get back together and maybe it won't. i mean, this is what we have been living with for years now, dysfunctional politicians and dysfunctional systems. the immediate challenge for northern ireland is to heal the divisions caused by the brexit arrangements. the anger over a new border down the irish sea, which split the unionist vote. this place is under the jackboot of the eu and we have been effectively held hostage in an economic united ireland. goods carried over the irish sea on ferries from britain, undergo new checks when they reach these shores. which is perceived by some unionists as severing northern ireland's place

in the uk and is disrupting the functions of many businesses. attempts to make the arrangement simpler has put the uk government at loggerheads with the eu. the eu has shown no flexibility| and it is very disappointing that what we are hearing is that the eu i is already saying that it will not i show any flexibility and that is why i it is absolutely right that we, i as the uk government, are very clear. - we want to get a resolution on this with the eu, - but we have never taken anything off ithe table in terms of resolving thisl issue for the people of northern ireland. while this persists, the dup has said it will not go back into the power—sharing executive, which sinn fein argues holds everyone to ransom. a fundamentalist approach that it is either the executive or the protocol, but you cannot have both, that is not helping somebody with the cost of living. i am a committed devolutionist, the dup are committed devolutionists, but it can only be on sound, stable footing, which means consent for both unionists and nationalists. hi, guys, . get you— the watermelon or the coconut today? sinn fein�*s victory also raises

new questions over what it says about the choices voters are making for northern ireland's future. the party strongly believes in holding a border poll, a vote on whether northern ireland should remain part of the uk. there is only one person that can call a border poll and that is the secretary of state for northern ireland. he is obliged to call a border poll if it appears to him that there is a majority in favour of a united ireland within northern ireland. at the moment, the opinion polls suggest that support for a united ireland is within the 30—a0% range, so we have still got a considerable distance to travel before we get to that point. sinn fein is pushing for the governments in belfast and dublin to plan for what a united ireland might look like, fleshing out the details of things like health care and the economics of it all. and although there does not appear to be a majority here for it right now, sinn fein�*s electoral success will give more prominence to their campaign. for now, the problem for sinn fein is how to translate their victory into real power, because unless there is agreement between the parties,

northern ireland remains in deadlock. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. and live at stormont now is our correspondent chris page. after a momentous election result, chris, is there a way through the post brexit issue that could get a devolved government back in place for northern ireland? well, the shape of the devolved assembly is now clear about the future of devolution certainly is not. the democratic unionist party if anything has toughened its position, it insists it will block the formation of a power—sharing coalition unless the trade border with the rest of the uk is removed. i cannot tell you how unbending they have been sounding on this today. whenever it comes to the trade border, they view it as an economic barrier in their own country, a red line, it is also worth bearing in mind that one of the reason for the

dup decline is that it shed votes to the tuv which has criticised the dup for being too weak on the issue. tomorrow brandon lewis will meet party leaders and you can expect newly elected politicians to arrive here and have photocalls in front of the building behind me and most of them will say they want to get straight back to work. i don't think the dup will be satisfied by anything other than the complete stop to those checks on goods arriving in northern ireland from england, and wales and even if that were to happen that it may be the case that many dup members would be uncomfortable about going into a government where sinn fein was the biggest party. government where sinn fein was the biggest party-— now to the latest on ukraine — from clive myrie who's back in kyiv tonight. clive... yes mishal back in a country in the midst of a conflict that still has the capacity to shock. more than sixty people

are now feared dead, after the bombing of a school, where civilians had been sheltering, in eastern ukraine. the russian attack was on the village of bilo—horivka in the donbas region. our correspondent laura bicker, has the story. this was a school in the village of bilohorivka. it was being used as a shelter, when it was hit by an air strike. around 60 people are feared dead under this rubble. russia is stepping up its assault on the eastern and southern ukraine. in mariupol they seek out the last ukrainian fighters, holed up in the vast azovstal steel plant. keep watching and see how they move, is the command made of this russian drone operator. there are thought to be around 2000 ukrainian soldiers still determined to make one last stand. we don't have high chances of survival if we would

be captured, yeah? the surrender for us is unacceptable, because it would be such a big gift to the enemy. everyone who would be captured would be an exchange fund. all the women and children who had used this plant as a refuge for more than two months have been rescued, according to ukrainian officials, but daily shelling has decimated their once thriving city. the mayor claims those still there are being forced to carry permits to move around and some men are even being held in camps. translation: this means - that the russian occupying forces are holding captive more than 100,000 people. they are using them to clear rubble and dead bodies. our local population is now forced to work for food in the city, that has been turned into a ghetto, in my opinion, established by the russian army. centres have been set up to help

the tens of thousands of mariupol families, trying to rebuild their shattered lives. eight—year—old vicky loves it here, but her mum is struggling to forget those harrowing last moments in her home town. translation: planes, missiles, then ships, i everything was on fire around you. people in the streets, torn off limbs, it was tough. it was frightening. i don't want to recall any of that. those left behind in mariupol must make what they can of their war—torn lives. and even amid the scattered ruins of their school, some have found a place to play. laura bicker, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. well, final preparations have been taking place in russia ahead of victory day tomorrow, when the country will celebrate the defeat of nazi germany.

there'll be the usual military parade in moscow's red square and other cities, but this year the backdrop is of course, what's going on here in ukraine. it'll be a chance to rally people around the flag, but vladimir putin, is being accused of using the memory of world war ii, to justify his war. from moscow, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. this time of year, the traffic in moscow gets rather heavy. it's the final practice for the annual military parade. victory day marks the defeat of hitler's germany. but this year, putin's russia on the offensive. rehearsing on red square what moscow says are paratroopers back from ukraine. russia's invasion there is been presented here is another glorious chapter in russia's history.

and so you get this. in the run—up to victory day, across russia, organised displays of the letter z, the symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine, from schools... ..to stallions. at this sports festival outside moscow, we found lots of zs. patriotic pe to support the army. many here believe the kremlin�*s parallel reality, which portrays russia as a victim, not the aggressor. "nato's pressuring us," says natalia. "we'll fight to the end." "they have risen from hell to destroy us," natasha says, "the fascists, the americans, everyone who is against russians." but it was president putin who started this by attacking ukraine. more than two months later,

he appears far from victory. he will be hoping that memories of world war ii will at least rally russians behind the kremlin. the defeat of nazi germany was a glorious moment in russian history, but today the kremlin is using that victory, using the past, to try to justify the present. it's mobilising the patriotic fervour of victory day to secure public support for russia's offensive in ukraine. and that continues. kremlin critics warn that what russia is doing now in ukraine, what much of the world calls a war of conquest, casts a shadow over russia's great victory in world war ii. this victory, it was for our future. and now, we lost our future because of one man and his name is vladimir putin.

he stole our future. he stole this victory. he stole our history. russians can celebrate the past. it's the future that's uncertain. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. as russians prepared for victory day, the us first lady, jill biden, made an unannounced visit to western ukraine. outside a school that's become a temporary shelter, not far from the border with slovakia, she met president volodymr zelensky�*s wife 0lena, in herfirst public outing, since russia's invasion back in february. there is mounting speculation that vladimir putin may use tomorrow's victory day celebrations, to announce an escalation of the war here, allowing for a general mobilisation of more russian troops to try to win. the kremlin denies this,

but what isn't in doubt, is that mr putin had hoped to be able to declare victory in ukraine by may 9th, and that is a task far from accomplished. if anything, russia is going backwards in this war, early territorial gains are evaporating, his army is bogged down in the east, and ukrainian resistance has won admiration around the world. a russian victory is now not even assured, for next year's victory day. that's it from me and the team here in kyiv, now back to you mishal in the studio in london. the labour leader was accused today of "hypocrisy" over covid rules as an internal note leaked to a sunday newspaper suggested that a beer and meal sir keir starmer had with colleagues in april last year was pre—planned. labour says no rules were broken, bur durham police are investigating the claims. here's our political correspondent iain watson.

keir starmer would have liked to have focused on his party's progress in last week's local elections. instead, there are questions about what he was doing ahead of last year's elections in durham. he said he was at a work event when he sipped this beer and ate a curry, and that was within the rules. his critics have suggested this was more akin to an indoor social gathering, which would have been banned. a labour party schedule for the visit, linked to the mail on sunday, shows the dinner was preplanned. that doesn't mean in itself that it broke regulations but one attendee has told the bbc he saw no evidence of any work being done at the venue following the meal and questioned the official account that there'd been a pause for food before work resumed. labour insists no rules were breached. awkwardly, though, keir starmer didn't wait for borisjohnson to be fined before calling for his resignation and urged him to step aside because of a police investigation. when we called for borisjohnson to resign, he was under investigation for 12 gatherings

that he said simply never happened, that he denied he was at, that we now know included karaoke, bring your own bottle, garden parties. that was clearly not allowed under the rules. they made those rules. they broke the rules. they lied about it, and they laughed about it. keir starmer has done not a single one of those things. but the conservatives say this is an opportunity to paint a less flattering picture of sir keir starmer. they aren't calling for his resignation because that may raise questions about why the prime minister, who has been fined, hasn't gone. but they are accusing the labour leader of hypocrisy. the prime minister refused to resign when he was fined for breaking lockdown rules, so keir starmer doesn't have to resign even if he's does he? keir starmer has clearly got a bunch of questions to ask in terms of how straight he's been with the public in his answers to beergate and also frankly they rank double standards. that's for him. as i understand it, the police haven't yet spoken to keir starmer and we can't anticipate the result of their investigation.

but already it seems to be having a political impact. labour have cancelled a question and answer event with sir keir and if durham police are still continuing their inquiries and the full report into the downing street gatherings is published, then that may blunt labour's attack. will you resign if you're fined by durham police? keir starmer wanted to pile pressure on borisjohnson following conservative losses in the local elections. but the events of a year ago making it difficult for him to get on the front foot. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. a new doctor who was unveiled today — ncuti gatwa, who will become the 14th doctor. the news came as the british television world gathered for bafta's tv awards, withjodie comer and sean bean picking up top acting prizes. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba was at the ceremony. a new doctor on the bafta red carpet. ncuti gatwa was announced in the role shortly before today's ceremony and he said he was keen

to do justice to the part. this role is an institution and it is so iconic and it means a lot to so many people, including myself, and so it makes everyone feel seen as well. it is something that everyone can enjoy, ifeel very grateful to have had the baton handed over and i am going to try and do my best. sex education, the netflix comedy drama that he is best known for, follows a group of young people exploring areas like sex and sexuality. ncuti gatwa plays the irrepressible eric. he was born in rwanda. his family came to the uk as refugees. he then grew up in scotland and went on to study drama before his big break came in 2019 with sex education. i don't want you to be hurt. i'll be hurt either way. isn't it better to be who i am? his character being seen as aspirational for many viewers,

who felt that his experiences on screen mirrored many of theirs. it wasn't the perfect day for him. he was nominated for, but didn't win, a bafta for best comedy performance. and it's a sin, a drama about the aids crisis, also failed to win a single prize. with falling ratings, awards ceremonies often struggle to remain relevant and many will fear that not rewarding a story like this one, which was also a hit with audiences, could accelerate that downward trend. there was no big overall winner at the ceremony. the prison drama time won best miniseries and best actorfor sean bean. yes, boss. help, an intense story about a care home during the covid crisis, won two awards, including best actress... jodie comer for help. this goes to all the carers and the dementia society, who helped us in our research. they were so incredibly gracious

and generous with their time. the must—see moment, voted for by the public, went to rose and giovanni's silent strictly come dancing performance, while bafta's highest accolade, the fellowship, was presented to sir billy connolly. lizo mzimba, bbc news. dennis waterman — the actor best known for minder, the sweeney and new tricks, has died at the age of 7a. he began acting professionally as a child and his last film role was in 2020. andrew plant looks back at his life. playing an ex professional boxer, fresh from a stretch inside, the itv series minder was perhaps dennis waterman�*s most iconic role. episodes regularly watched by more than 10 million people. he first found fame in the bbc series just william playing

the irrepressible schoolboy lead. with the total shock suspense, the sweeney. it was, though, the 70s showed the sweeney that first made him a household name. dennis waterman. have you gone bananas? waterman�*s character, a voice of reason tojohn thaw�*s no—nonsense policing style. but it was minder, starring alongside george cole's unscrupulous arthur daley, that cemented a place in television history. how did you get someone like grainger to give you the best part of a grand for two dodgy phones? # if you want to i'll change the situation. his recording of the theme tune, reaching number three in the uk charts. didn't have to do that. in 2004 he took another storing role as a former detective in the tv series new tricks. spare us the carefully placed build—up. they found the gun. dennis waterman worked across theatre, television, music and film in a career which spanned more than six decades.

dennis waterman — who's died aged 7a. football now — and chelsea have won their third successive women s super league have won their third — after beating manchester united on the final day of the season. jo currie watched the action. excited and expectant, these fans know how it feels to win league titles. those turning up today were hoping to see chelsea claim their third in a row. a win would seal it. anything less would leave the door open to arsenal potentially pipping them. perhaps it was nerves, but from the first whistle chelsea looked, well, out of sorts. martha thomas finding the space and the net to give united the lead. a response was needed, and it came in the form of erin cuthbert — smashing it into the corner to ease nerves. however, united needed a win to keep any european hopes alive, and they kept up the fight. before the break, ella toone's deflected effort ensured chelsea went in 2—1 down. across london, arsenal's

hearts were fluttering. however, the change of ends brought about a change of mentality for chelsea. what a strike this is from sam kerr, simply unstoppable. and that seemed to ignite something in the defending champions. guro reiten putting them ahead for the first time in the game. chelsea fans finally able to relax. and if you thought sam kerr's earlier goal was good, then this one was simply spectacular. and with that, she sealed the win and the title in style. champions of england once again. these players will enjoy this moment for now — but not for too long. next weekend, they take on manchester city in the fa cup final, now knowing the prestigious double is on the cards. jo currie, bbc news, london. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are.

hello. this is bbc news with me, rebecca jones. the actor ncuti gatwa will become the next doctor in the long running bbc one programme doctor who. the 29—year—old is the first black actor to take the lead role in the popular science fiction show. he's best known for netflix's sitcom sex education. but he appeared in black and scottish, a film that brings together diverse voices to build a picture of the black community of scotland. stewart kyasimire is the bafta—nominated director of that documentary, and he gave me his reaction to the news. when i heard about the news i was shocked. i couldn't believe it. i interviewed ncuti gatwa about two years ago and just watching him excel as a black scot in the industry was fascinating.

now that he's playing doctor who, it's just opened up a whole new narrative, really. a black man, obviously a black scotsman as well, playing that role, just shows you that it doesn't really matter where you're from. it's the skills, your acting skills. very proud of him. it's interesting you mention that it doesn't matter where you're from because his story actually is incredible, isn't it? he's the son of a rwandan refugee. i think he was homeless until he landed his role in sex education. you got to know him well making this documentary and i was shocked when i was reading it that he said to you i think at one point, "i felt like i was the only black person in the world." he suffered terrible abuse in school, didn't he, from his classmates? yes, yes, he did, unfortunately. that was a conversation we had to have. the area he stayed in wasn't

the best, however he kept on. he was the kind of person, he was very resilient but the racism that he received was harrowing and some of the stories, you know, things like "get the n—word out of our school, let's drive him out," the racism at his door. and he worked in edinburgh and then when he went back to fife that's when he received his racism. in edinburgh, he had no issues. he was working. unfortunately he did tell us some harrowing stories that he's managed to overcome. being black in scotland, there aren't many black people up here, so people aren't used to us. but hopefully now that this has come out, a lot more people will know about us black scottish people. russell t davies, who's

cast him as doctor who, said that he dazzled in his audition. you've worked with him, you got to know him. tell us more about the kind of person he is. the person he is, well, i remember when we were working in scotland, he was shooting sex education in wales and our researcher contacted his agent asking if he wanted to come to scotland to feature in the documentary and he said to me that this is the second time working in scotland. he hadn't worked in scotland before. netflix fortunately allowed him to fly up to glasgow for the day, take a day off filming and, you know, a lot of people talk about ncuti's accent. however when he was speaking to me, that's when i could hear the broad scottish accent and he was really excited, really happy in the documentary and very sweet, very kind and open. he basically took over the show.

he was more than happy to take his time to come up and tell his story. from getting to know ncuti i was fortunate enough to be nominated for a bafta and he then went on to get a nomination and then also won a bafta as well. so he's the kindest man you'll ever meet, he really is. hello. this is bbc news with rebecca jones. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first, the headlines. more than 60 people are thought to have been killed after a russian bomb hit a school in eastern ukraine. heavy fighting continues in the east of the country. the american first lady, drjill biden, has made an unannounced visit to ukraine for talks with her ukrainian counterpart, 0lena zelenska.

mrs biden said the visit was intended to show support