this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories: millions of nigerians have been voting in their country's most competitive election since military rule ended there more than two decades ago. 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. downing street says talks with the eu over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been �*positive�* — raising hopes of an imminent new agreement on trade.

millions of nigerians are voting in the country's most competitive election since military rule ended there more than two decades ago. the race is between two major established parties, and a third candidate, peter obi, who has galvanised the support of young people. this is africa's most populous country — and a record number of people — nearly 90 million — have been eligible to vote. voting has officially ended but the millions of people who are in queues at polling stations nationwide can still cast their ballot. and in some places, especially in the south of the country, voting has not even started due to severe delays and violent disruptions. joining me now from adamawa state in the north east of the country is the bbc�*s yemisi adegoke. how has voting been going where you are?

i going where you are? can see a big queue behind ) yes, i can see a big queue behind you? yes, yes there is. i am in the north—east, i am yes, yes there is. i am in the north—east, iam in yes, yes there is. i am in the north—east, i am in the home town of one of the main front runners. the people behind me are not actually voting, they are waiting for the votes to be counted. they are eagerly anticipating what the outcome will be. in eagerly anticipating what the outcome will be.— eagerly anticipating what the outcome will be. in other parts of the ci , outcome will be. in other parts of the city. things — outcome will be. in other parts of the city, things have _ outcome will be. in other parts of the city, things have been - outcome will be. in other parts of the city, things have been very i the city, things have been very peaceful, we have not seen any signs of the disruption that are happening in other parts of the country. everything he has been peaceful, it has been orderly. we have seen some queues because electoral officials were later in some places but that did not deter voters at all. in fact, they have been quite complimentary of how the electoral body has been running things here. very, very smooth in the north—east. how crucial is this election to

nigeria? how crucial is this election to niceria? ., , .,, ., nigeria? from the people we have soken to nigeria? from the people we have spoken to today. _ nigeria? from the people we have spoken to today, this _ nigeria? from the people we have spoken to today, this has - nigeria? from the people we have spoken to today, this has been - spoken to today, this has been presented as a make or break election for nigerians. there are a myriad of issues facing the country. the economy is failing, insecurity is a huge problem here. we went to a voting centre that was being attended to by many eternally displaced people and that is also a massive issue across the country. a lot of people feel there is a need to change. nigerians are keen to get out there and have their voices heard. it is a make or break situation for many, many people here. . ~ situation for many, many people here. ., ~ , ., situation for many, many people here. . ~' , ., , situation for many, many people here. ., ~ ,, , . 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 our 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: first of all, i am planning to meet - the row to peaceful not the smooth. but 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. the uk and the european union appear to be on the brink

of completing a new brexit deal for northern ireland with the government describing negotiations as positive. under the current protocol, goods from scotland, england and wales are checked before they enter northern ireland to make sure they follow eu rules, which effectively creates a border down the irish sea. that's to make sure there's still an open border from northern ireland into the republic of ireland, which is part of the eu. the democratic unionist party have been firmly opposed to the current system, and have refused to enter a power sharing agreement at stormont until a solution is reached. our political correspondent ione wells gave us an idea of what might be going on now behind the scenes. i think it is 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 agreed. it is now a case of these talks over the weekend about how is this presented? we have had various signs of the fact that it is very close. we know king charles, for example, was due to meet the president of the european commission in the uk today.

the palace and downing street say the meeting was called off due to operational reasons, but the fact she was meant to be here shows she was poised to publicly present a deal of some kind. i think what is definitely at the forefront of government ministers' minds is, when it is presented how do you make sure different parties are happy with how it is presented, particularly some of those tory backbench mps. but also the dup in northern ireland, who are refusing to go back into government in northern ireland until issues with the protocol are resolved. so their reaction to any deal to going to be key to this. i think the government, though, acknowledges they may not be able to give everybody everything what they want. 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 thirty miles away in cardiff. there are no reports of any

injuries or major damage. let's return to our top story in nigeria. let's return to our top story in niceria. ~ . ., , ., nigeria. we have millions of nigerians — nigeria. we have millions of nigerians voting _ nigeria. we have millions of nigerians voting in - nigeria. we have millions of nigerians voting in the - nigeria. we have millions of - nigerians voting in the country's most competitive election since military rule, that ended more than two decades ago. we are seeing live pictures of some people queueing. the race is between two major established party and a third candidate, peter obi, seems to have galvanised the support of many younger nigerians. but voting has officially ended in nigeria, but what we are being told to make sure people can get their vote in, those people can get their vote in, those people in queues at polling stations waiting to vote can still cast their ballot. other many places, voting

hasn't even started. you can follow more on that story on our website. 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 omagh. the village of beragh, a few miles from omagh. 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 it was the youths, beragh youths, and fear about that growing up, you know? people have also gathered in the centre of omagh — 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 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 omagh and coalisland.

and late last night, there was a fifth arrest — 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, omagh. more than 50,000 people are known to have died in the earthquakes which struck turkey and syria earlier this month, but as international aid flows into the area, the focus now is on helping survivors. our correspondent laura bicker reports. aid that was slow to arrive is now in full flow. helicopter after helicopter of tents, food, medicine all crammed on board. no more room, signals

this load master. there are more than 100 flights a day from here. international aid from the us and the uk has also ramped up. our 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 remote kapisuyu. villagers need to stay to feed their livestock. gonul�*s daughter was killed in the earthquake. she's 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. there have been major challenges to overcome to help people like gonul. airports are damaged and landing in remote areas has been difficult. 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 skies over hatay. 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 owens 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. that kicks off in around an hour and a half's time. meanwhile, ireland are looking for their third win out of three. they are in rome and it is half time. they lead italy 24—17, having scored the four tries that brings them a six nations bonus point. 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 arsenal can, temporarily at least, re—establish a five—point lead. they've started their game at leicester. it is, like all of the three o'clock

kick—offs, goalless currently. the meeting of the bottom two at elland road between leeds and southampton after recently appointing two managers. the 5.30 game is manchester city at bournemouth. they will be watching leicester city and arsenal at the king power stadium. another impressive day for england in their second test aginast new zealand in wellington, another intervention from the weather that curtailed their dominance. but as patrick gearey reports, not before the tourists took control on day two. in roundabout circles, wellington's basin reserve is famous. the ground surrounded by the biggest in southern hemisphere. choices everywhere. having made 186, harry brook took the first exit. grabbed at the second attempt. england have picked their lane, no breaking as ben stokes sets an example and takes the consequences. others follow his charge. ben foakes, slumped,

stumped. joe root kept looking up. this took him clear of 150 and england felt they had enough runs to declare to keep the game moving. they remain powered by a vintage engine. jimmy anderson is both the oldest and best test bowler in the world. he is a0 but appears to be unstoppable. he took the first three new zealand wickets. the kiwis look for room to manoeuvre but that way jack reach had putjoe root. the other way, jack reach had putjoe root. the otherway, he jack reach had putjoe root. the other way, he had ollie pope. henry nicholls had nowhere to turn. england are in such form they make this sport seems simple, unless you are trying to face them. michael bracewell was new zealand's seventh wicket to fall and at that stage more than 300 runs behind. they decided the only escape was in the skies. in the end the cloud is offered a way out, rain stopped play. but england have new zealand trapped in a vicious circle. patrick geary, bbc news.

that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. you can also follow andy murray who is playing daniil medvedev in the qatar open. if he wins it will be his first atp tour win in four years. we will have more sport later on. california is a place usually associated with warm, sunny weather, but there has been snow settling on the ground in the hills overlooking los angeles. the cause, a cold weather system, the likes of which haven't been seen there for more than three decades. the snow is widespread — this was the scene in the famous berkely hills area near san francisco on friday. and worse is expected to come, with high winds leading to flood warnings in some coastal areas. some major roads have been closed and there is also weather—related disruption in other parts of the us. our north america correspondent

david willis is in los angeles — he sent this report. oh, my god, look, it is beautiful. look, it is all over the roof. almost unimaginable for some, but picturesque nonetheless, this was what some on america's west coast awoke to. but the heavy snowfall was to bring with it freezing rain which pushed into the state from the north, prompting the first blizzard warning in some parts of california since 1989. a massive low pressure system, driven from the arctic the culprit, according to forecasters. just a strong storm overall for the month of february, one of our wettest months of the year, but the biggest difference is just the feet of snow expected in the mountains. flood and evacuation warnings are in place in some coastal areas, where officials are expecting around

three inches of rain. local residents are being urged to limit all nonessential travel until the storm has blown over. as temperatures fall well below normal, snow has even been spotted above the iconic hollywood sign. normally by this time of year los angeles is done with winter and you can see the hollywood sign, which i can assure you is behind me, from miles around, but today it is blanketed by a wall of fog and dense and very heavy rain that is expected to continue over the weekend. all this follows a similar spell of cold weather which hit the midwest and the great lakes earlier in the week. from wisconsin to nebraska, to south dakota and colorado, all have been battling blizzard conditions which have left three quarters of a million homes without power

and are now bearing down on the west coast. a lot of heavy rain, a lot of intense downpours, even some lightning at times with small hail and then a lot of that is going to convert to snow as you get up an elevation above a,000 feet or so. in the saint gabriel mountains, to the north of los angeles county, they are expecting up to seven feet of snow in places, coupled with winds of around 60 miles an hour. experts say powerful winter storms such as these, interspersed with dry spells and periods of extreme heat, are classic symptoms of climate change and that they are growing more frequent and intense. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. it has been described as the most significant shipwreck discovery since the mary rose. the gloucester sank more than a00 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. on 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.

from nappies to sleepless nights, life with a newborn is full of challenges. but if your baby is one of the % who cry one of the 20% who cry for prolonged periods, it can be especially difficult. researchers at nottingham trent university are leading a new project offering specialist support — and it has been so successful it is being rolled out across the uk. chris waring reports. from about five weeks old, matilda cried nonstop, basically. if she was awake, she was screaming. it was draining. it was completely physically, mentally, emotionally draining for all of us. around 20% of infants cry for prolonged periods during the first four months. no one shares videos of their baby crying. when you're trying to find support, you don't see anyone going through it because no one shares it. after a visit by her health visitor, sophie was put forward to take part in a study.

the surviving crying package aims to reduce parental depression and improve their ability to cope independently. you might say, why is anybody bothered about crying? and in a way it's not the crying per se but what it leads to that's the issue. so we get a lot of increase in nhs service use. get a lot of anxiety and depression and distressed parents. the shift went very quickly away from why is she crying and how do we stop it? to how do i manage my reaction to her crying? it's a big confidence boost because you suddenly realize, well, i'm not a terrible mother. babies around the age of two months, they have a change in the way their brains work. and there is a theory at that sort of transition period that they lose the ability to stop crying. the study is now being rolled out nationally and it's hoped support will eventually be available on the nhs. without the support of this study, i would have been in a very dark place and it makes me

want to make a difference. it makes me want to help the change happen. at four months old, matilda started crying less. i don't think i thought we would get here. i think i was very worried that it was going to be a very darkjourney. and it wasn't and it was life—changing. and now she's a little superstar. now it's time for a look at the weather with thomasz. 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 notjust 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 is certainly about the same. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: downing street says talks with the eu over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been "positive" — raising hopes of an imminent new agreement on trade. a fifth person has been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of the off—duty police officerjohn caldwell in omagh

who remains in a critical condition in hospital.