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 more than two decades ago. voting in the south of the country, is marked by long delays and violent disruptions. the nigerian electoral commission says "no one will be "disenfranchised" from voting. governments in london and dublin say talks over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been �*positive�* — raising hopes of an imminent new agreement on trade. i think the talks on reforming the protocol are inching towards a conclusion. certainly the deal isn't done yet, but i do think we are inching towards a conclusion. sharp divisions emerge at a meeting of the 620 major economies

over the war in ukraine. a winter storm brings snow and rain to southern california, the likes of which hasn't been seen there in decades. election officials in nigeria have insisted that �*nobody will be disenfranchised' despite delays and technical problems as millions of people vote — 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. nigeria is africa's most populous country — and a record number of people — nearly 90 million — have been eligible to vote.

polls were due to close earlier in the day but 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. here's the chair of the nigerian election commission. we are determined that no nigerian should and would be disenfranchised. joining me now is yemisi adegoke in yola in the north—east of the country. ican i can see it is dark when you are now, polling stations should have closed in on time ago, they are still open? closed in on time ago, they are still open?— closed in on time ago, they are still oen? , ., , ., ., still open? yes, it has been a tale of two or three _ still open? yes, it has been a tale of two or three elections - still open? yes, it has been a tale of two or three elections across i still open? yes, it has been a tale l of two or three elections across the country today. where i am at the polls closed on time. there were a couple of people still voting after, but it has been peaceful, calm, but

there have been loads of chaos in other parts of the country where people are still voting, staying in line, very, very pressed, making sure that their votes count today. but it has been a different scenes in different parts of the country today. rice we are expecting nearly 900 million voters to head to the polls, how are these votes going to be processed and how... polls, how are these votes going to be processed and how. . ._ polls, how are these votes going to be processed and how... when are we exectin: be processed and how... when are we expecting to — be processed and how... when are we expecting to have _ be processed and how... when are we expecting to have any _ be processed and how... when are we expecting to have any kind _ be processed and how. .. when are we expecting to have any kind of- expecting to have any kind of results all to see some kind of indication as to who is ahead? it is far too early _ indication as to who is ahead? it is far too early to _ indication as to who is ahead? it 3 far too early to tell at the moment, counting has started here, but due to the delays and issues in other places across the country, we are still not sure who is leading. we were at the polling unit here earlier today where peter 0bi one.

he is the frontrunner. his competitor won his polling unit. it's too early to tell who is going to win this election. we still have quite a way to go. counting will likely go one, certainly overnight, and probably into tomorrow. it seemed to be shot there is a huge amount of interest in these elections. as they have been heading to the polls, what is at the forefront of their minds when they are deciding who they want to vote for? $5 are deciding who they want to vote for? �* , , ., are deciding who they want to vote for? m are deciding who they want to vote for? as you say, this is one of the most hotly _ for? as you say, this is one of the most hotly contested _ for? as you say, this is one of the most hotly contested elections i for? as you say, this is one of the| most hotly contested elections we have seen. this is normally a two party race, it is now a three party race. nigerians are eager for change, that is what we have been hearing up and down today. the economy is tanking, to security is a such a massive issue for people. voters we have spoken to really want something different, they want

nigeria to be the powerhouse that they believe it should be and they are just desperate for something different and that is what we have seen here today, a lot of people are ready to stay in line, they are very warm in the north—east, we sought damages after a0 degrees, but people were willing to sit in the heat, long queues because they want to exercise their vote for change. what thank you very much. we exercise their vote for change. what thank you very much.— thank you very much. we will be followin: thank you very much. we will be following that _ thank you very much. we will be following that as _ thank you very much. we will be following that as we _ thank you very much. we will be following that as we head - thank you very much. we will be following that as we head into i thank you very much. we will be l following that as we head into the evening. 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. the irish prime minister leo varadkar says we're getting closer to a deal. i think the talks on reforming the protocol are inching towards a conclusion. certainly the deal isn't done yet but i do think we are inching towards conclusion and i really want to thank the uk government, the european commission and the northern ireland parties for the level of engagements that they've done in recent months to get us to this point. we just encourage everyone to go the extra mile to come to an agreement, because the benefits are huge. it allows us to have the northern ireland assembly and executive back up and running in the north, to have the good friday agreement working properly again and also to put relations between the united kingdom and ireland and the european union on a much more positive footing. and that's really important, given all the other challenges we face, particularly with inflation and the war in ukraine. 0ur political correspondent

ione wells gave us an idea of what might be going on now behind the scenes. i think it's 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's 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 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 the meeting was called off due to operational reasons, but the fact she was meant to be here show 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 that 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 currently refusing to go back into government in northern ireland until issues with the protocol are resolved. so their reaction to any deal

is going to be key to this. i think the government, though, acknowledges they may not be able to give everybody everything that they want. earlier i wasjoined by doctor clare rice, who's a research associate at the university of liverpool specialising in northern irish politics. i began by asking about whether the signs could be pointing towards a deal. i think it's fair to say it's almost potentially too optimistic to even use the word positive. i think we need to be looking at the fact that there aren't any negatives really at this stage to be locking up. everyone seems to have an open mindedness about what the options are, what the deal on the table might be. of course, we don't have the detail ourselves of that yet. and certainly if that kind of mindset continues, there's no reason in theory at least, that a deal shouldn't be brought across the line, hopefully sooner rather than later. and of course, this is a really complex situation. you know, there's so much to play into this and the dup have their sticking points. what do you think a deal will look like when we finally see one? it's very difficult to say. as you rightly alluded to,

there are so many moving parts with this picture at the moment. i think for the dup, anything that can be sold as a win insofar as the checks that you mentioned with movement of goods from great britain to northern ireland, the what has become known as the irish sea border that the protocol to date has implemented, if that can be reduced, mitigated, refreshed somehow that the dup can sell it as a win, that that has been effectively eradicated or at least minimized. that will be really very much at the heart of anything that i think will get across the line for the party. but we have to remember as well, there's a whole bigger picture, the dup is operating within the wider political dynamics and climate of northern ireland. we have the conservative party who's operating within their own microcosm of issues, let's say, in terms of the erg support for the dup's backing of any said deal backbench concerns, let's say with regard to supporters of borisjohnson who have been quite vocal in being somewhat critical of the rumoured content of this deal so far. so there's a whole bigger picture

at play here and all of these different parts will have to sit together and be worked out if a deal is to be brought forward. g20 finance ministers meeting in india have failed to agree a closing statement because of differences over the war in ukraine. g20 president india said that "most members strongly condemned the war "in ukraine" at the two—day meeting in bengaluru, but china and russia objected to the final communique because of — quote — "different assessments "of the situation". the us treasury secretary janet yellen had earlier said it was "absolutely necessary" for all nations to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo gave us the background to the issues affecting the g20 meeting. it's here in the hills near the indian city of bangalore that the first major meeting of the g20 under india's presidency has been taking place. it's a forum to discuss major issues affecting the global economy. clearly the fall out from the war

in ukraine is having a huge impact on countries around the world, but prime minister modi's address to finance ministers gathered here was notable for the absence of any mention of russia's invasion, instead only referencing "rising "geopolitical tensions". india is maintaining a neutral stance on the war, a position starkly at odds with g7 countries, who are here condemning russia, reaffirming their support for ukraine and calling for further sanctions. india, though, wants to have a very different conversation. it wants to use its presidency of the g20 to represent those developing nations who don't have a seat at the table here of major economies, to champion their needs. so it wants to talk about food security, sustainable growth, countries' debt burdens. india is growing in international political and economic importance, and increasingly wants to set its own agenda. in scotland, divers have recovered two bodies from the firth of clyde, after a tug boat capsized on friday. it had been escorting a cruise ship when it overturned.

0ur reporter suzanne allan has the latest. well, as you can probably see a large police cordon is still in place here, at east india harbour. since 10 o'clock this morning, the police dive and marine unit have been in and out of the water to find the missing crew members from the tug boat that capsized here yesterday afternoon. just a short while ago, police scotland confirmed that two bodies were found and brought out of the water this afternoon. the boat went down just at greenock at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. eyewitnesses have told us that it had been escorting the hebridean princess cruise ship into harbour when it capsized. the emergency services rushed to the scene, including police scotland air and support unit, hm coastguard and the rnli. the search was called off last night, and began again this morning, around 10.00. police divers have now left, but the investigation into why this happened will continue for some time.

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 it was the youths, beragh youths, and fear about that growing 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 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 arrest —

a a3—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. hundreds of protestors have gathered to demonstrate against the housing of asylum seekers in two english towns. people gathered in skegness at lunchtine, calling for an end to the use of local hotels for asylum seekers. a similar protest took place in newquay — but there was also a separate rally there in support of the migrants. there were no arrests in either location. california is a place usually associated with warm, sunny weather — but snow is settling in the hills overlooking los angeles. the cause — a cold weather system, which hasn't been seen there for more than three decades.

the snow is widespread — this was the scene near san francisco on friday. and, worse is expected to come flood warnings in some coastal areas. major roads have also been closed. 0ur north america correspondent david willis 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.

anthony albanese has become the first sitting australian prime minister to march in sydney's gay and lesbian mardi gras. hejoined the parade for the worldpride festival on saturday evening. he was also joined by penny wong, the first openly gay woman in parliament. phil mercer reports from sydney. anthony albanese has become the first sitting australian prime minister to take part in the mardi gras parade. he said his government was committed to ending inequality based on sexuality or identity. australia is an inclusive country. and there are benefits from our economy, there are benefits, most importantly though for the people of australia and that everyone should be respected for who they are and tonight is a celebration of that and it's a great example of what an amazing country this is.

critics though accuse the prime minister of pandering to a small minority that was hijacking australia's social agenda. but campaigners argue that the mardi gras is a time to acknowledge and celebrate those who have, in the past, suffer shame, rejection and discrimination because of who they are. everybody is welcome, heterosexual, cisgender is, queers, bisexual, everybody. i've got to get in my float. i love you all so much, let's come together, no more separation. for many people, those struggles continue. being gay is illegal in dozens of countries around the world. sydney's mardi gras began as a civil rights march in 1978. it's become one of the world's biggest lgbt events. it's the first time in three years the parade has made its way through australia's biggest city because of covid restrictions. up to 300,000 people were expected to attend. members of the military,

police officers and politicians were among 12,500 marchers. this year's mardi gras coincides with sydney worldpride 2023, a global rights festival. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. 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 two 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 215t—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. just before we go, let's take some live pictures over in nigeria. those votes being counted as millions vote in the most competitive election since military rule ended. you were watching bbc news.

hello. it was quite a chilly day, with variable amounts of sunshine and one or two fleeting showers here and there. how about tomorrow? well, sunday is going to feel a little less cold. we think the winds won't be quite as strong, and also a little more sunshine expected in some parts of the country, particularly in the south. so here's that high pressure saturday evening and into the early hours of sunday. it's right over us. and you can see that chilly dry air circling around that area of high pressure. and it's the dry air that has made it feel particularly chilly. but dry air doesn't necessarily mean all that sunny, far from it. you can see the clouds streaming in off the north sea and they'll continue to do so. these are the clouds that are bringing one or two light showers. nothing prolongs or heavy. and we are generally talking about clear skies overnight and also a touch of frost, obviously, where the sky is clear this time of the year. minus three in the lowlands of scotland.

many towns and cities around freezing. but the north sea coast, exposed to the breeze should be just about frost free, so starts off quite sunny across many western and northern areas. central areas too. it does look as though it will be sunny across the southern half of england and wales tomorrow. not completely clear blue skies, but in the north east of england, we think thicker cloud at times and also one or two showers, similar temperatures, seven to nine degrees celsius. but remember, the winds will be a little bit lighter. so i think it will feel closer to those values and that high pressure is very much there on monday, again centred over scotland, but this time again changes in wind direction mean that areas of cloud will drift into other parts of the country. so i think on monday it looks as though it's more england and wales and maybe eastern scotland that will be pretty overcast and also one or two drizzly showers here and there. and again, the temperatures aren't changing. they are hovering around the average for the time of the year, which is eight degrees celsius. so that was monday.

how about tuesday, wednesday, thursday into friday and even into the weekend? very little change. the jet stream split around the area of high pressure. but in the first week of march, we are at least anticipating the possibility of things turning a little bit colder. so perhaps winter's not over yet, but in the short term, or at least this week and into the weekend, it's a case of very little change. bye.

singh her this is bbc news, the headlines. millions of nigerians have been voting in their country's most competitive election since military rule ended there more than two decades ago. security fears and logistical problems are being blamed for delays to voting. the uk and the european union appear to be on the brink of finalising a new deal on post—brexit trading rules for northern ireland. downing street says talks have been "positive", while the irish prime minister said they were "inching towards a conclusion". sharp divisions have emerged at a meeting of the g20 major economies over the war in ukraine. they failed to agree on a closing statement, china and russia refused to allow any reference to condemnation of moscow's invasion of ukraine.