this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. millions of nigerians have been voting in their country's most competitive election since military rule ended more than two decades ago. the nigerian electoral commission says "no one will be disenfranchised" — despite voting in the south being marked by long delays and violent disruptions. 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 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. vote counting is under way in nigeria's tightest presidential election since military rule ended there more than two decades ago. but the voting has been marred by delays, technical problems and violent disruption. 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 were still in queues at polling stations nationwide were able to cast their ballot. here's the chair of the nigerian

election commission. we are determined that no nigerian should and would be disenfranchised. we will continue to protect the process and will continue to proceed, courageously, to ensure that we conclude these in a very free, fair and credible manner. our reporter nkechi ogbonna in lagos and has more on the disruption caused during voting. but voting is still happening in some units, especially because of the delays that were experienced at some polling units for the election materials arrived quite late and officials say there were some issues with logistics voters are determined to cast their votes tonight and the electoral commission promised that everyone would vote tonight. talk us through what happened.

there was some violent scenes? some polling units i visited saw some armed people, some mass, storming places, smashing ballot boxes, taking away election boxes and harassing officials and voters. i met a young doctor who had a sprained ankle because she was attacked, and her husband was bruised as well. there have been videos on social media showing voters bleeding but determined to still vote regardless of the threats they experience at the polling centres was up talk us through the issues facing nigerians at the moment. there have been issues of the cost of living prices across africa. issues in recent times about the cash flow. there was a change of currency but then not enough cash for people. there is not enough cash in circulation.

this is largely because of the new central bank policy, which first was redesigned bank notes, removed old bank notes from circulation and introduced new ones. commercial banks say they haven't received enough of these notes in circulation. a lot of people are cash squeeze. a lot of people are cash squeezed. nigeria relies heavily on a cash economy. a lot of people rely on cash and over 40% of population have access to financial institutions. people two weeks ago, on the streets protesting their unavailability of cash. which also led to fears of violence escalating in the country as a result of the protests that happened. these elections are very significant, especially for young people who want to change. the rising unemployment about 33%, projected to be 37% in the middle of the year. a lot of people are hoping that the change that they want would happen at this election.

the most competitive election since 20 odd years. have people been galvanised? do you expect turn out to be high, are people engaged? moving around lagos and other parts of the country where other pvc reporters absent reports of what they've seen at different centres, voters turn out has been impressive. we do not have official figures yet as counting is still taking place. but videos and reports around the country say voter turnout this year it may be the most we have witnessed in recent times. 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 uk prime minister rishi sunak has told the sunday times paper that his government was "giving it everything" to strike a deal. 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. sharp divisions have emerged at the 620 finance ministers meeting in india over the war in ukraine. they failed to agree a closing statement because of differences over russia's invaision. over russia's invasion. 620 host india said that "most members strongly condemned the war in ukraine", 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 620 meeting. it's here in the hills near the indian city of bangalore that the first major meeting of the 620 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 67 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 620 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. earlier i spoke to china expert andrew small, a senior fellow at the german marshall fund think tank, about china's diplomatic interventions over the war in ukraine, and began by asking him about the deadlock at the 620.

the disappointing thing about this is the language they were trying to grey here was language i had already been agreed at the leaders meeting in bali. backsliding from being willing to the same language, sounds like by all reports, the chinese delegates objected to the use of the word "war." it's been part of a pattern recently of growing concern china's position is hesitant. their various areas seeing here diplomatically and other areas when it comes to some of the willingness to provide military supplies, potentially to russia in which is heading in a direction across lines we haven't seen before. we did hear from the us this week

warning about whether they may supply lethal weapons to russia. in fact they may be already supplying certain elements which may be able to be used in drones and the like. 0n the other hand, we had this noise from china but peace talks and wanting to be seen as a peacemaker. what is china trying to achieve here? the question is really whether the peace proposal or position paper we had from them was a bit of diplomatic smoke screen around the fact that they are leaning in a harder away toward certain forms of support to russia. certainly the outlying paper we had didn't really seem to advance things. and although zelensky tried to make the best of it, highlighting a few areas of commonality with the ukraine it be inside, he proposed a meeting with xijinping, he has refused to talk to him over the entirely of the last year. i think hopes that china will pay a mediating role a quite limited. the concern is not only is there the possibility

of providing legal aid on china's part but indeed the supplies that china have providing have been stepping out. ——up that's drones, jamming equipment, thus, this whole series of other things was that the question is whether they will provide ammunition and drones which is been under discussion. i suppose the question is whether they would fear the repercussions of that, presumably it would involve sanctions. exactly so. they haven't made a decision yet even though negotiations have proceeded on this. i think the reason some of the intelligence has been released publicly is to put pressure on them.

certainly sections from the us side, questions from the european side. us china relations are in a dark place at the moment. but the diplomatic cost for china and europe will be exceptionally high. we from european foreign ministers warning not to cross this line. back to ni now where events are being held 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 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. turkish officials say they're now investigating more than six—hundred people in connection with buildings that collapsed during major earthquakes earlier this month. more than fifty thousand people are known to have died in the earthquakes which struck turkey and syria earlier this month. turkey'sjustice minister says more than one hundred and eighty suspects are injail pending trial, including construction contractors and building owners. experts say many of the buildings that collapsed were made with poor materials and did not comply with safety standards.

0pposition parties have accused president erdogan�*s government of failing to enforce building regulations. floods and landslides in brazil are now known to have killed at least 5a people, with nearly a0 still missing. most of those killed were in and around sao sebastiao in sao paulo state. more than a month's worth of rain fell during one day last weekend — the heaviest ever recorded in brazil in a 24—hour period. the rains left a trail of destruction along the coast of northern sao paulo state. more than 3,000 have been forced to flee their homes. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. it's as you were at the top of the premier league. arsenal are still two points clear with a game in hand over manchester city. clear with a game in hand two clear with a game in hand points for the game in h 6abriel martinelli with the winner straight after the break.

they should've scored more they dominated the match. i'm really pleased with their performance, i think we dominated the game, i think we attacked a lot. they were high on the pitch and we have a lot of situation that we didn't managed to create enough big opportunities from it. it is something we have to improve but we didn't concede nothing. just one that didn't hit the target. we were super, what we done to the team today. manchester city did what they had to do to keep in touch with arsenal. they won 4—1 at bournemouth, with most of the damage being done in the first half, as dan 0gunshakin reports. average and moved out for the out of the relegation after 4—0 against nottingham forest. palace against liverpool. they are about into the last 15 minutes. it is goalless there. english cricketers leading by 279

runs. rain forest in early close to the second day but detours are still well on top. 0ncejoe root had brought up his 150 england declared on for hundred and 35 or eight. three wickets conceived, leached justified as the black struggle for 38-7 justified as the black struggle for 38—7 for that route to praise his skipper for making the declaration. 40 a0 minutes of sun, a heavy role at hand, a0 minutes of sun at logic by the change the wicked. who knows what the weather would've done? didn't work out like that. but it did feel like you gave a better opportunity to make the most of those conditions. where were playing at the minute with the confidence we've got in the wicket we're seeing the ball move around with a number one test bowler and the two leading wicket takers we've ever had. it

just seem like a very brave and attacking option. full credit to ben for as you'd expect, taking it on. ireland is still on for the six nations 6rand ireland is still on for the six nations grand slam that beat italy. the match was a lot tighter than the score line suggest what the irish with four tries before halftime. ryan, at others but stephen varney, bruno went over to deservedly to keep the talons attack. 0nly bruno went over to deservedly to keep the talons attack. only four points behind for much of the second half before a second try i saw ireland pulled claire to make it three wins out of three for them. well sister waiting for the first win. it was 20 point to ten against england. the welsh briefly held the lead early in the second half of the principality station for the england tries to secure their first win in cardiff since 2017. that is all your support for now.

a cruise ship in a slowly overturns with our reporter has the latest. as you can probably see a large police cord and is still in place here at this harbor. since ten o'clock this morning the police dive and marine units have been in and out of the water to find the missing crew from the tug boat that capsize here yesterday afternoon. just a short while ago police call and confirm the two bodies were found and brought out of the water this afternoon. the boat went down to just have yesterday afternoon. it capsize in the harbor. emergency services rushed to the scene including police scotland, air and support units, hm coastguard put up the search was called off last night but began again last night around

ten o'clock. police divers have now left, the investigation into why this happened will continue for some time. 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 hasnt 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 with 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 6abriel 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 6ras. 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 prime minister to take part in the mardi 6ras parade. he said his government was committed to ending inequality based on sexuality or identity. ending inequality based on sexuality oridenti .�* , ., ., , ending inequality based on sexuality oridenti .�* , . ., or identity. australia is an inclusive _ or identity. australia is an inclusive country. - or identity. australia is an inclusive country. and - or identity. australia is an l inclusive country. and there or identity. australia is an - inclusive country. and there are benefits for our economy, most importantly for the people of

australia. and everyone should be respected for who they are. and tonight is a celebration of bad. and it's a great example of what an amazing country visitors. critics accused the _ amazing country visitors. critics accused the prime _ amazing country visitors. critics accused the prime minister - amazing country visitors. critics accused the prime minister of l accused the prime minister of pandering a small minority that was hijacking australia's social agenda. but campaigners argue that the mardi 6ras is a time to acknowledge and celebrate those who have in the past suffered shame, rejection and discrimination because of who they are. , h, y , discrimination because of who they are. ,,_ are. everybody is welcome, heterosexual, _ are. everybody is welcome, heterosexual, bisexual, - are. everybody is welcome, - heterosexual, bisexual, everybody. i gotta _ heterosexual, bisexual, everybody. i gotta get— heterosexual, bisexual, everybody. i gotta get to my flow. i love you all so much _ gotta get to my flow. i love you all so much for — gotta get to my flow. i love you all so much for the let's come together, no more separation. for so much for the let's come together, no more separation.— so much for the let's come together, no more separation. for many people those no more separation. for many people these struggles _ no more separation. for many people those struggles continue _ no more separation. for many people those struggles continue for - no more separation. for many people those struggles continue for that - those struggles continue for that being gay is illegal in dozens of countries around the world. sydney's mardi 6ras began as a civil rights march in 1978. it's become one of the worlds biggest l6bt events. it's

the worlds biggest l6bt 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 and half thousand marchers. this years mardi 6ras coincides with sydney world pride 2023. a global rights festival. three—thousand tickets for the eurovision song contest in may are to be made available to ukrainians living in the uk. the event will take place in liverpool — which will host it on behalf of ukraine, who won last year. the uk government has announced $12 million in funding for the contest, to cover operational costs and to ensure it "truly showcases ukrainian culture". that is all for me for now. thank

you for watching. 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, farfrom 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 prolonged 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 sunnier 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, in fact 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— bye.

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 emerged at a meeting of the 620 major economies over the war in ukraine. they failed to agree a closing statement because of differences over russia's invasion. a winter storm has brought rain and snow to southern california, the likes of which hasn't been seen there for more than three decades.