this is bbc news, welcome, if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm rebecca jones. our top stories... china's plans for peace in ukraine cause ripples around the world. president zelensky says he wants to hear more — and the leader of russia's key ally belarus announces plans to fly to beijing. china wants national sovereignty respected but is not calling for russia to withdraw its troops. we'll ask how the plan might work. also ahead... tight security as voting gets under way in nigeria to choose a new president and national assembly. i'm in lagos, nigeria's most populous city, where millions of people are casting their vote.

downing street says talks with the eu over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been "positive", raising hopes of a new agreement. also in northern ireland. a fifth person's been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of the off—duty police officerjohn caldwell in omagh. and, we report on the huge relief effort in turkey and syria, to try to help people who have lost everything in the catastrophic earthquakes. some of these guys have been flying around 2000 hours since the earthquake struck. they say they were medically evacuating casualties for hours, but they say they will keep going as long as they can. ukraine's president zelensky has

said he plans to meet china's leader, xijinping, to discuss beijing's proposals on ending the war in ukraine. he made the comments in a question and answer session in kyiv, to mark the first anniversary of the russian invasion. translation: first of all, i am planning to meet - with xijinping and i think it will be beneficial for our countries and for the world's security. together with china we have large trade, this is not only about war. we are countries interested in keeping our economic relationships. at a meeting of the united nations security council to discuss the situation in ukraine, china's spokesperson stressed that his country was ready to help find what he described as a "political settlement". translation: the road - to peace will not be smooth. but no matter how complicated the situation is, we must not give up our efforts for peace.

in terms of the ukraine crisis, china always stands firmly on the side of peace and dialogue. it's notjust ukraine which could be looking to beijing, one of vladimir putin's closest allies, president lukashenko of belarus, is to visit china on tuesday. but it's worth bearing in mind that the us has said it thinks china is considering sending military aid to russia, something washington strongly opposes. and the french president, emmanuel macron, says he plans to visit china in early april. i spoke to our asia pacific regional editor, michael bristow, and asked him what we could read into the visit of the belarusian leader to china. it's tempting always to see a series of events when they come together to suggest some motive behind it. and we certainly have seen, as you suggested there, over the last few days china has been pushing itself as a peacemaker in the war in ukraine. last week, it sent its chief foreign

affairs official to moscow who met with president putin just on friday. china came forward with this 12—point peace proposal, a series of principles which it believes should be followed in order to stop the conflict in ukraine. now we see alexander lukashenko, vladimir putin's closest ally, going to beijing. so it's tempting, as i said, to see this as some kind of continuing diplomatic offensive by china to get itself involved in the war in ukraine and perhaps to stop the fighting there. president lukashenko doesn't seem to be the only one going to china. the afp news agency is reporting that president macron of france will visit china in, and i'm quoting, early april. what's your response to that news just coming into us? well, early april is quite a long time away from now, and that news is just come in. so it's very difficult, once again, to assess the significance.

president macron has tried to put himself quite clearly at the heart of negotiations to end the war in ukraine. he's spoken on a number of occasions to president putin, so it seems inkeeping with that. having said all this, this could be, getting back to china and alexander lukashenko, it could be china as well trying to pass a message onto russia, who doesn't want belarus to be used once again as a staging point for any future offensive by russia against ukraine. so we already know that china has a number of concerns about the war. it certainly doesn't want it escalating. so it could be messages are going in the other direction, back to president putin as well as to to the ukrainian president. this is all placing china very much in the spotlight, isn't it? i mean, realistically, what could it achieve? not very much, really, because i think its credibility has been shot to a large extent because over the last year it's

failed consistently to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine and in many people's eyes, the eu, the united states, nato, it's simply lost its credibility as an honest broker, as a neutral party. it leans towards russia, it's supported russia in many respects, even though as of yet it hasn't provided any weapons to russia. so that really limits its maneuverability in presenting itself as a neutral party with the ability to come up with some solid conclusion or some solid way to end this conflict. tens of million of people in nigeria are heading to the polls to vote for a new president. there's tight security across the country. the election is being seen as one of the most unpredictable in recent years, with three leading candidates instead of two. the incumbent, muhammadu buhari,

is stepping aside after serving the maximum two terms in office. joining me now from lagos is our west africa correspondent, mayenijones. good to have you with us. tell us a little bit more about the backdrop against which these elections are taking place. it’s against which these elections are taking place-— against which these elections are taking place. it's fair to say these elections are _ taking place. it's fair to say these elections are happening - taking place. it's fair to say these elections are happening at - taking place. it's fair to say these elections are happening at a - taking place. it's fair to say these elections are happening at a very| elections are happening at a very tumultuous time for nigeria, a very difficult time for the company. there's been an acute cash shortage here since the central bank decided to redesign the currency at the very last minute. they say it is to curb vote buying into date's elections and indeed, in a lot of places, polling places have been visited today, they have said it's been one of the few places where they haven't seen cash being handed in for votes which shows the initiative has been successful but it's made all

difficult for a lot of ordinary nigerians who are now struggling to buy essentials like food and medicine because cash is king, here. if you haven't got cash, it becomes very difficult to buy things. and then, there is also the ongoing issue of insecurity. kidnapping gang still roaming a lot of the country's roads. so this is what voters are casting their ballots fought today, to see the next president he will be able to tackle some of these huge challenges. able to tackle some of these huge challenues. ., , able to tackle some of these huge challenges-_ challenges. polls close in an hour or two, challenges. polls close in an hour or two. there _ challenges. polls close in an hour or two, there have _ challenges. polls close in an hour or two, there have been - challenges. polls close in an hour or two, there have been reports. challenges. polls close in an hour i or two, there have been reports that voting in some areas has been a rather chaotic, what more do you know about that?— rather chaotic, what more do you know about that? absolutely. where we are, know about that? absolutely. where we are. here. _ know about that? absolutely. where we are. here. in _ know about that? absolutely. where we are, here, in an _ know about that? absolutely. where we are, here, in an upscale - we are, here, in an upscale neighbourhood, things seem to be going pretty smoothly. people are able to cast their votes but it's a different picture in other parts of the country. we are hearing that on the country. we are hearing that on the mainland of lagos, some polling units haven't even opened and as you say, voting is due to close in a couple of hours. in other parts of the country, things started very late, there has been some teething

problems with the new electronic voting system that has been introduced by the electoral commission here in order to make things more transparent. the machines take peoples biometric identity, their thumbprints and their picture to make sure that they are who they say they are, and then send all the votes over to abuja when polls close. those machines work well in some areas but in other areas we are hearing problems with them. ., , areas we are hearing problems with them. . , ., ., them. finally, i thought about turn out. how them. finally, i thought about turn out- how big _ them. finally, i thought about turn out- how big is _ them. finally, i thought about turn out. how big is it _ them. finally, i thought about turn out. how big is it expected - them. finally, i thought about turn out. how big is it expected to - them. finally, i thought about turn out. how big is it expected to be i out. how big is it expected to be and when will we find out the result? ,, , , , , , result? surprisingly, yesterday, the electoral commission _ result? surprisingly, yesterday, the electoral commission said - result? surprisingly, yesterday, the electoral commission said they - result? surprisingly, yesterday, the electoral commission said they had | electoral commission said they had the highest number of people collecting devotees cards in order to vote. you have to have a voters card here with your biometric identification here, and they said they had the highest number of people collecting which suggest that turnout should be— stop it was low in 2019, lots of people disillusioned at the time and didn't turn out. this time round, second to young people, first—time voters who say that they feel their voices are going to be heard, particularly

because of some major youth led anti—police brutality protest that took place here in 2020 and moved into demands for better government. that movement, then south movement, seems to inspire young people to come out devoted a full stop will be interesting to see what turnout figures are once polls close. i will corresmnd _ figures are once polls close. i will corresmnd on — figures are once polls close. i will correspond on in _ figures are once polls close. i will correspond on in lagos, - figures are once polls close. i will correspond on in lagos, thank you very much. progress is being made in talks between the uk and the eu over a new brexit deal for northern ireland. the british prime minister has been trying to win support for changes to the so—called protocol. the current agreement creates trade barriers between the british mainland and northern ireland. 0ur political correspondent, david wallace lockhart, reports. the uk and the eu appear to be inching closer to a new deal on the northern ireland protocol, one of the most controversial aspects of post—brexit trading. under the protocol, goods from scotland, england and wales are checked for compliance with eu

rules before they enter northern ireland, effectively creating a border in the irish sea. those goods can then travel freely over an open border from northern ireland to the republic of ireland, which is part of the eu. the dup, northern ireland's main unionist party, and a number of tory mps, are opposed to this level of eu oversight in part of the uk. the chancellor yesterday, on a visit to india, was confident a resolution can be found. well, what the government will do is strain every sinew to try and resolve the situation in northern ireland so that goods can be traded freely across the whole of the united kingdom internal market and we won't stop until we get that. when we have a deal that delivers that, we will put it on the table for everyone to make theirjudgments, but we're not at that point yet. talks are going to continue this weekend, but rishi sunak does face a challenge. while the eu may be happy to make changes so that goods flow more

easily between northern ireland and the rest of the uk, he may not be able to secure the sort of wholesale changes that some opponents of the protocol are looking for. the prime minister spoke with business representatives yesterday. one major retailer told the bbc they believe a deal has been done. number ten deny progress is that advanced. it's really important for us that the detail is right. we don't want something that's rushed, that puts us in a similar situation to what we were first time around. we've taken months and months to overcome some problems, negotiate some compromises, so it's really important that they take their time to get this right. another few days is better than rolling out something that isn't going to be right for the business community here. another few days — it may well take that.

for now, at least, we're told that intensive talks are ongoing. amanda ferguson is a journalist based in belfast. good to have you with us. thanks for joining us. how close do you think a deal is? i joining us. how close do you think a deal is? ~ ., ., joining us. how close do you think a deal is? ~ . ., , deal is? i think we are a little bit like children _ deal is? i think we are a little bit like children in _ deal is? i think we are a little bit like children in a _ deal is? i think we are a little bit like children in a car— deal is? i think we are a little bit like children in a car at _ deal is? i think we are a little bit like children in a car at the - like children in a car at the moment, asking our parents, are we there yet? i think we are incrementally moving towards a deal, we know that there have been reports about conservative mps being told to be around westminster on monday, we know that there has been a positive call between rishi sunak and ursula von der leyen, but i think there is still nothing signed on the dotted line quite yet and whatever is agreed restores power—sharing in northern ireland, remains to be seen. . �* , ~' , northern ireland, remains to be seen. . 3 ~' , . , northern ireland, remains to be seen. . 2 ~ , ., , seen. that's the key, in many ways. behind the — seen. that's the key, in many ways. behind the scenes, _ seen. that's the key, in many ways. behind the scenes, the _ seen. that's the key, in many ways. behind the scenes, the restoration i behind the scenes, the restoration of power—sharing in northern ireland

is dependent on northern ireland's democratic unionist party, so behind the scenes, have they got the democratic unionist party on side? 0r, democratic unionist party on side? or, do you think sticking points remain? ii or, do you think sticking points remain? ., , �* , ., remain? if it doesn't restore stormont — remain? if it doesn't restore stormont and _ remain? if it doesn't restore stormont and it _ remain? if it doesn't restore stormont and it isn't - remain? if it doesn't restore stormont and it isn't to - remain? if it doesn't restore stormont and it isn't to the l stormont and it isn't to the satisfaction of unionists in northern ireland, the other parties in northern ireland and the business community in northern ireland, then at the that what has been the point of it? i think the dup overnight has said that london and brussels should focus on getting the right deal and i think really it's going to be the final detail, once we see the final text of the deal, it will become clear, very quickly, whether or not that works everybody. i think it's interesting to point out that the recent queens university polling just released on friday indicates what we have known throughout this process, in that, most mlas who were elected at our may election support retaining the protocol and finessing the outstanding issues, that there are with it, sometimes, the complaint about the protocol can be a little bit over egg but certainly,

it is having major implications for the normal functioning of it is having major implications for the normalfunctioning of democracy in this part of the world and that should be of concern to everybody. i think it'sjust worth reminding our viewers abroad, the mla, just clarify exacting what you're talking about? pm clarify exacting what you're talking about? �* ~ �* clarify exacting what you're talking about? �* ~ ~ ., ., about? an mla, someone who was elected to the _ about? an mla, someone who was elected to the local _ about? an mla, someone who was elected to the local devolved - elected to the local devolved institutions at stormont, we haven't had a fully functioning local government in northern ireland since february of last year because the dup removed itself from the structures of locally devolved power so currently our departments are run by civil servants who don't have ministerial power and there has been some quasi—direct rule from london, there are a lot of issues that remain understanding, a policy that can move forward, because those 90 elected lawmakers who were elected in may haven't been able to do their job yet because of the block that there is on stormont and devolution because of the db's objections to the protocol. because of the db's ob'ections to the preheat because of the db's ob'ections to the rotocol. �* , ., the protocol. always worth reminding us of the context. _ the protocol. always worth reminding us of the context. thanks _ the protocol. always worth reminding us of the context. thanks for - the protocol. always worth reminding us of the context. thanks for that. i us of the context. thanks for that. is it your sense that rishi sunak

has got concessions from the eu, or is it more your sense that he is just going to press ahead and then try to persuade the people who are more sceptical or even disagree with any agreement afterwards? i more sceptical or even disagree with any agreement afterwards?- any agreement afterwards? i think that it's very _ any agreement afterwards? i think that it's very clear _ any agreement afterwards? i think that it's very clear whenever - any agreement afterwards? i think that it's very clear whenever it - that it's very clear whenever it comes to negotiations like this that the eu has to win and that the uk government has to win. in a negotiation, you can't get everything that you want. i think for unionists in particular in northern ireland, the focus will be on not being governed by law that can't be addressed by local lawmakers, that will be done over the heads of business and politicians in this part of the world. it's a difficult balancing act for the eu and the uk because they both have priorities in protecting the uk's sovereignty as the uk sees it, but also the eu protecting its single market and the jurisdiction of the european court as well. i wouldn't fancy being in the position of the prime minister trying to balance all the competing

interest, but certainly, sometimes, it can be presented that it's only unionist concerns or only unionists influence on this particular deal whenever really it has to be something that accommodates irish nationalist, british unionists, those people who are designating as other or some combination. and also, crucially, the business community, because of it as a work of the business community then what's the point of it? it last business community then what's the point of it? i— point of it? it last week, we saw the shooting _ point of it? it last week, we saw the shooting of— point of it? it last week, we saw the shooting of an _ point of it? it last week, we saw the shooting of an off— point of it? it last week, we saw the shooting of an off duty - point of it? it last week, we saw| the shooting of an off duty police officer and i did wonder, could that perhaps focus minds at what's at stake? you make of the sea, that is a horrific incident and the police officer that has been shot and is officer that has been shot and 3 around this meant republicans being behind that particular incident which has unified the politicians in taking a stand against violence. the threat of anti—police process elements within northern ireland is always there, whether they come from one side of the community or the other, so having stormont won't make a difference in terms of the overtures are big going on throughout the peace process since

1998. whenever it comes to northern ireland, we have various stop start forms of government over the last 25 years and it's always best for the people of northern ireland and for society functioning for the people who are in political leadership to be able to do theirjobs. there's been a lot of talk about vacuums and so on, i don't think that would have made a difference to the outcome and to the attack on the police officer, dci john coldwell, however, to the attack on the police officer, dcijohn coldwell, however, it is preferable that we have our lawmakers back behind our desks that are delivering to people for northern ireland on a range of issues. . ~' , ., a fifth man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of an off—duty police officer in county tyrone. two gunmen fired several shots at detective chief inspectorjohn caldwell at a sports complex in 0magh on wednesday. he remains in a critical but stable condition. a rally will be held in the town today condemning the shooting. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, reports.

john caldwell�*s friends, neighbours and colleagues have paid tribute to his bravery and selflessness. eyewitnesses say that he shouted to children to run to safety even as he was being attacked himself. this sports complex in the town of 0magh was packed on wednesday night. the police officer was off duty, loading footballs into his car with his son when two gunmen opened fire. members of a running club gave him first aid. asjohn was stumbling up, they ran to him and they administered first aid to him very lovingly and very graciously. they got ambulances and then, as more people came, some more help was brought tojohn. thank god that he's still with us and that, you know, has family have a father, that his wife has a husband. today in 0magh there will be a demonstration of goodwill for mr caldwell. trade unions have organized a rally in the main street.

people attending will send a message they want northern ireland's peace process to be preserved. police are focusing their investigation on the dissident republican group known as the new ira. it's one of the paramilitary organizations which still targets the security forces almost 25 years after the conflict in this part of the uk largely ended. also this morning, john caldwell�*s football club, beragh swifts, is holding a walk of solidarity. the community is coming together to support the detective and condemn those who tried to murder him. chris page, bbc news. finance ministers from the g20 leading economies have been discussing relief for indebted countries at their meeting in india. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, has welcomed germany's chancellor, 0laf scholz, to delhi for a two—day visit. he arrived with a german business delegation seeking to increase trade, especially in the areas of military hardware and green technology.

ahead of the meeting the uk chancellor, jeremy hunt, has said he had been trying to "win the argument" that russian aggression towards ukraine must not be allowed to succeed. he's been speaking to our correspondent, leila nathoo, about possible divisions among g20 nations. what i'm sensing is actual unanimity from everyone except russia around the idea that one country invading another simply cannot be allowed to happen in the modern world. and, yes, people's language is different, they have different historical context, but the sense that this is something terrible in the world and it must not be allowed to succeed is very widespread. there's been a small earthquake in wales overnight. the tremor, measured at 3.4 by the us geological survey, was centred just to the east of crickhowell in powys. the quake, which happened atjust before midnight,

was felt up to 30 miles away in cardiff. there are no reports of any injuries or major damage. more than 50,000 people are known to have died in the earthquakes which struck turkey and syria earlier this month. as international aid flows into the area, the focus now is on helping survivors — but getting help to those who need it can be challenging. 0ur correspondent, laura bicker, reports from turkey. aid that was slow to arrive is now in full flow. helicopter after helicopter have tents, food, medicine all crammed on board. no more room, signals this loadmaster. there are more than 100 flights a day from here. international aid from the us and the uk has also ramped up. 0ur aircraft is stacked

with tents around our feet. we head over the mountains towards one of the ten zones in a state of emergency to get an idea of the scale of this disaster. this is by far the biggest logistical operation turkey's forces have ever faced. they've got more than 100 kilometres along a fault line to cover. with tens of thousands in need, and most of them need these, which need room in a helicopter. we're flying to the first drop—off, near hatay, the worst—affected region in turkey. in the city of antakya, survivors say help took more than two days to arrive. at least 20,000 people lost their lives here. further down the coast, it took more than two weeks to get basic shelter to the people

of this remote town. villagers need to stay to feed their livestock. gonul�*s daughter was killed in the earthquake. she is now too frightened to live under this roof, especially after the area was hit by another tremor on monday. translation: we live in fear. we can't sleep well at night. when the quake happened, we suddenly woke up. what can we do? we can't go outside either. it's cold. there is nothing that can be done. tents are temporary. gonul says she needs a new home. there have been major challenges to overcome to help people like gonul. airports are damaged and landing in remote areas has been difficult. some of these guys have been flying over 1,000 hours since the earthquake struck.

they say they will continue to keep going as long as aid is needed. many of them off camera have told us about the harrowing moment when they had to fly into the earthquake—affected zone. they say they were medically evacuating casualties for hours but they say they will keep going as long as they can. aid is now getting to most who need it. but the long—term plan to help the tens of thousands in crisis is still unclear. laura bicker, bbc news, in the air above hatay. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @rebeccajonesbbc

hello there. it's highly likely that we're going to close out the month of february as we began, with high pressure dominating and a good deal of quiet and largely dry weather around. but at this time of year, clear skies by night lead to frosty conditions. so it's been a cold start in devon, but that's where we've seen some sunshine. different story in highland scotland first thing this morning, quite a lot of cloud around. and the reason being, yes, we've got high pressure withers. but as the winds come round in a clockwise direction, a cold northeasterly wind is driving in some cloud coming in off the sea. so there's always a risk of some showers here, and some of those will push a little bit further inland, maybe turning wintry to the tops of the peaks and the pennines. the wind coming from the northeast, a cold source and gusts 30 to a0 miles an hour.

so it will feel pretty chilly along that east coast. the best of the sunshine further west, particularly the northwest of scotland. and temperatures are likely to peak between five and eight degrees. believe it or not, that's where they should be for this time of year. now, as we go through the evening and overnight, most of the showers will tend to fade back to the far northeast of england and under clearer skies, we are likely to see a touch of frost quite widely across the country. low single figures first thing on sunday morning, perhaps just below in more rural parts. so we are likely to start off on sunday chilly, but largely quiet once again, that high pressure really not moving very far, very fast. maybe the isobars opening up a little. that means the winds will be slightly lighter for sunday. and as a consequence, we should see a little more sunshine coming through. so not a bad second half of the weekend at all. if you have got outdoor plans, don't think you'll be disappointed with this story. still, the risk of a few showers across the northeast. top temperatures of around 7 to 9 degrees. little in the way of change as well as we move through the working week.

but it's just worth pointing out to you that as we go through towards tuesday, there is the risk potentially of some showers developing from the channel, which may well just move towards the southeast corner and we'll need to keep an eye on those. but generally, if we look through our week ahead, as you can see, dry, settled and sunny as we head into march, just the risk of that rain into the south east first thing on tuesday morning. whatever you're doing this weekend, have a good one.

this is bbc news, the headlines... talks are continuing between the uk and the eu over securing a new brexit deal for northern ireland. there are signs an agreement is close, with a no 10 source calling negotiations "positive". also in northern ireland... a fifth person's been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of the off—duty police officerjohn caldwell in 0magh. he remains critically ill in hospital. there's been a small earthquake in wales overnight. the tremor — measured at 3.4 by the us geological survey — was centred just to the east of crickhowell in powys. the quake, which happened atjust before midnight, was felt up to 30 miles away in cardiff.