this is bbc news, welcome, if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm frankie mccamley. our top stories... the polls are due to officially close in the next half hour in nigeria as millions of voters choose a new president and national assembly. i'm in nigeria's most popular city, lagos, where some polling units haven't even opened yet and there is now half an hour to go. 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... 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. officially, there are just 30 minutes left to vote in nigeria's most competitive elections since the end of military rule. but there are still long queues, with reports that some polling stations didn't open on time. a record number of people, nearly 90 million,

have been eligible to vote. there's tight security across the country. 18 candidates are running to replace president buhari. the election is being seen as one of the most unpredictable in recent years. joining me now from lagos is our west africa correspondent, mayenijones. thank you forjoining us. just give us a little bit of context surrounding these elections, they are taking place in what is a very difficult and challenging time for nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday. _ nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday. i — nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday, i went _ nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday, i went to _ nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday, i went to a - nigerians, aren't they? absolutely. just yesterday, i went to a local - just yesterday, i went to a local supermarket and hundreds of people were trying to make some last minute purchases because there is a curfew today. you are not allowed out of your house unless you are coming to vote. people trying to buy basics like food and medicine had to queue for hours because you couldn't pay, the banking system here is very glitch filled, people have been unable to access cash because the

government decided to redesign the currency late last year to curb vote buying in these elections which has caused lots of problems with people who are all ready struggling with high inflation, and a permit. lots of voters are coming out today because they want a president he was going to help tackle some of these challenges. going to help tackle some of these challenues. ., ., , ., _, ., challenges. following your coverage, some of our— challenges. following your coverage, some of our teams _ challenges. following your coverage, some of our teams across _ challenges. following your coverage, some of our teams across nigeria, i some of our teams across nigeria, there does seem to be that voting hasn't really gone smoothly so far today, has it? hasn't really gone smoothly so far today. has it?— today, has it? no, ithink that is definitely fair _ today, has it? no, ithink that is definitely fair to _ today, has it? no, ithink that is definitely fair to say. _ today, has it? no, ithink that is definitely fair to say. the - today, has it? no, ithink that is definitely fair to say. the polling stations we visited, people told us that they had opened on time, that turnout was high, but it's a different picture in many parts of the country, including in the capital abuja, where some polling units apparently open very late, there is also reportedly problems with the electoral commission's new electronic voting system, they have this new voting system that helps identify voters but also helps send results more quickly to the capital abuja, that has also been reported

to be faulty. with 30 minutes ago, the electoral commission says that everybody will get to vote as long as they are in line by 230. it's not clear what will happen in those polling stations where polling hasn't even started yet. you been talkin: hasn't even started yet. you been talking about _ hasn't even started yet. you been talking about the _ hasn't even started yet. you been talking about the economy, - hasn't even started yet. you been talking about the economy, jobs, | talking about the economy, jobs, lots of people want a president that is going to make sure they can get into work. but, also, the politics around this, this is such an interesting and unpredictable election, usually there are two main parties involved, this time there is three. ~ , ~' parties involved, this time there is three. ~ , ~ ., �*, three. absolutely. i think that's what makes _ three. absolutely. i think that's what makes this _ three. absolutely. i think that's what makes this election - three. absolutely. i think that's i what makes this election different to the others so far. for the first time, there is a third—party candidate, over the last 2a years, there has only been to. this is because a lot of young were inspired by the summer's anti—police brutality protest of 2024 full stop that movement turned into a movement where young people would demanding better governance, more inclusion, more employment opportunities, and they've learnt some of the lessons

from that time, they've organised themselves, a lot of them coming out of social media, trying to encourage other young people to come out and vote for the doctor will be very interesting to see what the turnout figures will be like once the polls close later today.— 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. one of vladimir putin's closest allies, president lukashenko of belarus, is to visit china on tuesday as beijing tries to present itself as a peacemaker in ukraine. joining me now is asia pacific editor for the bbc world service, michael bristow. just talk to me about the significance of this meeting, have we got any idea what they are going to discuss? we we got any idea what they are going to discuss? ~ ., ., ,., ., to discuss? we have got some idea because, to discuss? we have got some idea because. of— to discuss? we have got some idea because, of course, _ to discuss? we have got some idea because, of course, the _ to discuss? we have got some idea because, of course, the number. to discuss? we have got some ideal because, of course, the number one topic across the world at the moment is the war in ukraine. it hasjust been the first anniversary of russia's invasion and indeed on friday evening, the chinese foreign

minister spoke with his counterpart in belarus and they spoke about china's presentation of itself as a peacemaker in this conflict. so, of course, ukraine is going to be the main topic on the agenda. it's easy to come to some idea that there is a big push from beijing, a diplomatic offensive, if you will, to try and push itself as this peacemaker, just a few days ago, its chief foreign affairs official visited moscow, they have had a peace proposal, a ten point plan, now, this visit to beijing by alexander lukashenko, it suggests that they are trying to push themselves to the forefront of a diplomatic effort to stop the conflict. d0 a diplomatic effort to stop the conflict. , ., ~ ., ., conflict. do you think that china can really make _ conflict. do you think that china can really make a _ conflict. do you think that china can really make a difference - conflict. do you think that china i can really make a difference here? it would be hard to make a difference. because in many peoples eyes, china isn't an honest broker. it's got no neutrality, since the war began, it hasn't, so far, condemned the invasion. and really,

it's aborted, in many ways, for example, buying lots of russian oil, it has supported the russian position. so in many peoples eyes, in ukraine's eyes, the eu, the united states, nato, really, what china has done has undermined its own credibility. it would be hard, therefore, to suggest that it is neutral and push forward a proper peace plan which it says it wants to do but that's going to be very difficult. ., ~ , ., , do but that's going to be very difficult. ., ~' , ., , . anti—war protests are taking place in cities across europe. i'm joined now by our berlin correspondent, jenny hill. just talk us through what is happening where you are now. in the heart of berlin _ happening where you are now. in the heart of berlin thousands _ happening where you are now. in the heart of berlin thousands of- happening where you are now. ii�*u tie: heart of berlin thousands of people are just converging on the brandenburg gate, to demonstrate against the delivery of weapons by

germany to ukraine, and call on the germany to ukraine, and call on the german government to push for peace negotiations. lots of different people coming now, i think you can still see the thousands marching up through the heart of the city centre, here. the demonstration has been organised by the people who are behind an online petition. they are calling, as i say, to the stop to weapon deliveries and the push for peace negotiations. that online petition has gathered some 600,000 signatures already. that being said, this does not represent majority thinking in germany. if you look at opinion polls, you will find that a majority of the public is still behind the current government strategy, believing it to be proportionate. what we are seeing here is a bit of a rift, i think, in german society. this war, this year, has brought profound change to this country. a year ago, it would have been unthinkable for germany to be sending weapons into an active war

zone. this has been a country which recognising a historic responsibility to promote peace on the continent has always pushed for a very pacifist foreign policy, preferring negotiations, trade links, overany preferring negotiations, trade links, over any kind of active involvement in conflict. all of that has been overturned in recent months. germany, now, aftera great deal of deliberation and soul—searching, sending weapons to ukraine. the german chancellor, 0laf schultz, will no doubt be keeping a really close eye on this though because this is something that really worries leaves of the countries which are supporting ukraine. how much longer they are public will land behind them and their decision to keep supporting ukraine economically and militarily is why, i think, we saw that rousing speech from the us president, joe biden, in poland earlier this week. he, conscious himself, that voters back home have to continue supporting this war if his

government is to continue providing weapons and money is ukraine. thank ou. 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's 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. 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.

events are being held in northern ireland in solidarity with an off—duty detective who is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot multiple times. john caldwell was attacked in front of his young son after coaching under—15s at football. police have arrested a fifth man in connection with the shooting, which they are treating as a terrorist incident. julian fowler reports from 0magh. the village of beragh, a few miles from 0magh. around a thousand people marched to show support forjohn caldwell. the demonstration was organised by the football club where the off—duty detective was a volunteer coach. the dissident republican group the new ira, who police believe carried out the shooting, has little public support. it's great. itjust shows no part of the community wants to see this. we are united together, and people like that just need to go away. and what were your thoughts

when you heard what had happened to john caldwell? well, there was a lot of fright at the same time, you know? because obviously, that sort of stuff doesn't happen as much. so it wasjust bringing back stuff, you know? but fear first off, and fear about, it was the youths, beragh youths, and fear about that going up, you know? people have also gathered in the centre of 0magh — a town all too familiar with the violence of the troubles 25 years after a dissident republican car bomb killed 29 people and unborn twins a few hundred metres from here, violence which the people gathered here today and hoped had been consigned to the past. john caldwell, who was with his son, had just finished a training session with an under—15 football team when he was shot several times. he remains critically ill and heavily sedated, with what had been described as "life—changing injuries". four men were arrested in 0magh and coalisland.

and late last night, there was a fifth — a 43—year—old man in stewartstown. all are being held under the terrorism act. the many hundreds of people who took to the streets today want to send a message that those who use violence to oppose the peace process in northern ireland have little public support, but the events of recent days show they still pose a threat. julian fowler, bbc news, 0magh. 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. for some in business, a good deal is better than a fast deal. well, first of all, this has taken a long time even to get to this point. 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. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. let's talk to our political correspondent, ione wells. it really does feel like there is some kind of deal on the table there, what is going on behind the scenes? ., �* , ~ there, what is going on behind the scenes? . �* , ~ �* , scenes? that's right. i think it's certainly fair— scenes? that's right. i think it's certainly fair to _ scenes? that's right. i think it's certainly fair to say _ scenes? that's right. i think it's certainly fair to say that - scenes? that's right. i think it's certainly fair to say that in - certainly fair to say that in essence, this deal is all but done. maybe not signed on the dotted line, yet, but basically, pretty much agree. it's now a case of these talks over this weekend about how is this presented? we had various signs of the fact that it is very close, we know that king charles, for example, was due to meet the president of the european commission in the uk today. now, the palace and downing street say that that meeting was called off due to operational reasons, but the fact that she was meant to be here, shows that she was poised to publish a presented deal of some kind i think what is

definitely at the forefront of government minister's mines is when it is presented, how do you make sure that different parties are happy with how it's presented? particularly some of those tory backbench mps, but also the dup in northern ireland who are currently refusing to go back into government in northern ireland until issues with the protocol a result. so their reaction to any deal is going to be key to this. i think the government, though, acknowledges that they may not be able to give everybody everything that they want. very much. now, with a look at all the sport, here's hugh ferris. good afternoon. rarely has a week off in the six nations been quite so dramatic. the tournament returns today with wales having averted a strike after resolving a dispute between the players and the union. while ireland have the chance to continue their path to a grand slam in the early game against italy in rome. wales' game against england is on after the decision on wednesday was reached following extensive negotiations, and coach warren gatland was forced to delay naming his team. cancelling the match would have been very costly for the union and those in cardiff who benefit

from the occasion, but captain ken 0wens is glad to be moving on. we need a win to get pride back in the shirt after two defeats. like i said, it has been a horrendous two weeks. but we can only focus on the rugby now and moving forward, that's what we need to concentrate on. another dominant day for england in their second test against new zealand in wellington. another intervention from the weather that curtailed that advantage after declaring on 435 for 8, oncejoe root had gone past 150, three wickets each for james anderson and jack leach left the home side 297 runs behind on 138 for 7. day three will get under way earlier in order to make up some of the overs lost on the opening two days. afterwardsjoe root praised england captain ben stokes for his declaration. where we are playing at the minute,

with the amount of confidence that we've got, on a wicket that we have seen the bold move around, with the number one test bowler, and two leading wicket takers we've ever had, itjust seems like a very brave and attacking option. full credit to ben for taking it on. the sacramento kings beat the los angeles clippers 176—175 in a dramatic encounter which became the second—highest scoring match in nba history. malik monk top scored with 45 points for the kings, while teammate de'aaron fox contributed 42 points in the double overtime win. the points tallies for both teams were franchise records while the nba's highest—scoring game was in 1983 when the detroit pistons beat the denver nuggets 186—184. the focus is on the extremes of the premier league table with the six games today, with leaders arsenal and second—placed manchester city both playing. arsenal can, temporarily at least, re—establish a five—point lead at leicester.

while city are at bournemouth in the tea time kick off. elsewhere, though, there's a meeting of the bottom two at elland road. where leeds and southampton have both just appointed new managers. everton and west ham fifth and third bottom respectively. also have crucial home games in their fight against relegation. that's all the sport for now. it has been described as the most significant shipwreck discovery since the mary rose. the gloucester sank more than 400 years ago and has now been found off the coast of norfolk. it was discovered by a pair of brothers after four years of searching, and now some of its treasures are due to go on display. jo black reports. 0n the seabed, a team of divers explore the site of a royal shipwreck. the gloucester ran aground off the coast of norfolk on the 6th of may 1682.

this discovery has been described as the most important maritime find since the mary rose, and it was found by two brothers from norwich. oh, look at that bottle, got a cork on the top as well. julian and lincoln barnwell run a printing business, but they're also experienced divers and have searched for shipwrecks for years. they challenged themselves to look for the gloucester and after four years, they found her. this footage shows a rope, one of the ship's cannons, a wine bottle and the tip of one of the anchors. and this computer image of the site has been generated and shows how a lot of the ship is submerged in the sand. hundreds of items from the gloucester have been brought to the surface and now they're going on public display for the first time. well, it's quite surreal, actually, you know, to sort of go from seeing them on the seabed and to sort of bring them out to the public and display them in such a lovely

way, it's something to be proud of. 0nboard that fateful day was james, the duke of york and future king. he survived, but hundreds died. and because the gloucester sank so quickly, personal possessions were left behind. now we're able to view them up close. one of the main exhibits is the ship's bell, but there are also items such as wine bottles, spoons and thimbles. also brought up from the ship are combs, pipes and this leather pouch. remarkably, some textiles discovered in chests have also been recovered. this petticoat, a collar and a hood, are all made from silk. objects which are so rare to see that normally dress historians are looking in portraits and paintings to actually look at items that people are wearing. and now we have the opportunity to actually look at them closely, examine how they're constructed, and alsojust wonder at their beauty and craftsmanship.

it's a real privilege to share this story for the first - time with everybody. we're telling two stories, i the story of the gloucester in the 17th century, _ the story of a tragedy, almost losing the heir to the throne. but we're also telling _ the 21st—century story of the second life of the gloucester, with julian and lincolnj and james little finding it in 2007 and from there, i bringing it to - everybody's attention. what we see here is just a small sample of artifacts. the seabed holds many more. what i can't stop thinking about is ornate wood, so if we were to find some ornate wood, that the ship in the day was actually covered in gold leaf on the stern. and to find something like that, gold obviously doesn't deteriorate, so to find something beautiful like that, i mean, it'sjust, you know, it's all there to be found, hopefully.

so we know there's 20 cannons on the surface on the seabed. she would been having between 50 and 60 cannons. and to have the whole collection from one site is quite unusual. so we would really build a strong case for recovering the cannons. so that would be quite a moment, wouldn't it? there are many more years of diving, discovery and research to come, but for now we already know and understand so much more about the gloucester and her last voyage. jo black, bbc news. what an incredible find. let's return to our top storyjust before we go, and head to lagos, where we are seeing live pictures of voters queueing to take part in one of the country's most competitive elections since the end of military rule. still long queues, reports that

polling stations didn't open on time, reports that lots of people have been trying to vote and not managed to do so, but people in the country are being told, if theyjoin the queue, they are going to be eligible to vote. there is a tight security in the country as those unpredictable elections due take place. plenty more on our website, and you can follow our correspondence. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @frankie—mack goodbye for now. hello. well, it certainly feels chilly out there today. cloudy in places, too. but for many of us, it's a case of blue skies across western parts of the uk. but the wind is the story today, particularly on the north sea coast. and you know the sensation of how chilly or mild it feels is not just to do with the temperature

itself or even the wind, it's also to do with how dry the air is, and the air over us is indeed very dry at the moment, all the way from the north. it's what's called low dew point air. you might remember that from your geography. a lot of cloud you can see across many northern, central and eastern areas. these are the early evening temperatures, around five degrees, then you add on that breeze, that low dew point air, and look at that, in some areas it feels like it's barely above freezing. so a nippy saturday night on the way. the forecast then for saturday night, actually plenty of clear spells developing across the country. there will be that breeze again on the north sea coast. so it'll prevent the frost from forming. four degrees in newcastle and hull, but out towards northern western and some central areas, certainly a touch of frost on the way early on sunday morning. so here's sunday's weather forecast. i think more sunshine across more southern parts of the uk, but around the north east of england, perhaps the borders, one or two showers and cloudier

moments are possible. the average this time of the year is still eight degrees celsius. tomorrow, less of a breeze so i think it will feel closer to eight degrees. the high pressure is still very much in charge of the weather on monday. we still have the jet stream way to the north and west of us diverting all that traffic, all these weather systems, towards greenland and closer to iceland. so we're in the spell of settled weather. so the forecast then, if you're wondering about monday, actually shows one or two showers maybe drifting into parts of lincolnshire, maybe the midlands. i think it will be a cloudier day across many parts of england and wales on monday. and those temperatures not changing an awful lot — we are talking around eight degrees, pretty much north or south. so that's monday, let's have a look at the outlook then as we head into next weekend. and you can see that the weather isn't changing an awful lot still around single figures and the weather certainly about the same.

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 omagh. he remains critically ill in hospital.