this is bbc news, i'm monika plaha. our top stories. the uk and the european union appear to be on the brink of finalising a new deal on post—brexit trading rules covering northern ireland and the republic. i think the talks on reforming the protocol are inching towards a conclusion. certainly the deal isn't done yet. anger and poor organisation mars nigeria's closest elections in recent memory as millions vote for a new president. turkish officials investigate more than 600 people over sub—standard buildings that collapsed during this month's earthquakes. international aid agancies continue to focus on helping survivors.

some of these guys have been flying over 1000 hours into the earthquake struck. they say they will continue to keep going as long as aid is needed. china fails to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine, causing tensions at a meeting of the 620 major economies. marchers in sydney's gay and lesbian mardi gras arejoined by their prime minister in a first of its kind. most importantly, though, for the people of australia and that everyone should be respected for who they are, and tonight's a celebration of that. hello and welcome to bbc news. britain and the european union appear to be

close to finalising a new deal on post—brexit trading rules for northern ireland. britain's prime minister rishi sunak says he will give everything he's got to get an agreement over the line. under the current protocol, northern ireland follows some eu laws and exports from the british mainland are subject to checks. but goods crossing the irish sea, are checked on arrival in northern ireland, effectively creating a border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. this is in order to keep its border with the republic open. the democratic unionist party says this cuts northern ireland off from the rest of the uk and for two years they've refused to share power at stormont until a different solution is reached. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has the story. the political stakes for rishi sunak are high. a deal with the eu appears to be moving closer. this would avoid a trade war between the uk and its largest market, but it could lead

to a growing gulf within his own party, with some mps wanting the entire brexit agreement in northern ireland upended, and unless the democratic unionist party approve the deal, they won't agree to rejoin a power—sharing government at stormont. so, the prime minister has taken to the pages of usually conservative supporting newspapers to reassure sceptics in his own ranks that any deal won't be a sell—out. in an interview with tomorrow's sunday times, he says... but in the sun on sunday, he seems to suggest that his oven—ready deal still requires a few more ingredients. as for that progress, it's understood that any deal would make it much easier and less bureaucratic to move goods from great britain to northern ireland and there would be a less rigid application of eu law

on vat rates and subsidies to industry. the irish prime ministerfelt that things were moving in the right direction. certainly, a deal isn't done yet but i do think that we are edging towards a conclusion and i really want to thank the uk government and the european commission and the northern ireland parties for the level of engagement that they have done in recent months to get us to this point. we would just encourage everyone to go the extra mile. this weekend the prime minister says he is giving it everything he's got to achieve a deal, but it might be easier to reach an agreement with the eu than northern ireland's dup, so the political risks for the prime minister remain high. votes are being counted in nigeria's most competitive presidential election in decades. the process has been largely peaceful, but there were some reports of violence in laygos earlier. were some reports of violence in lagos earlier. the contest is a tight race between three frontrunners, as mayenijones reports.

shouting. frustration and anger. many nigerians want to take part in this election but have been disappointed by the lack of organisation. gang violence and threats by militant islamists have made voting difficult in some regions. and in this polling station on the mainland of lagos, electoral officials never even showed up. they will tell us that the area is dead. there is nothing free and fair in this election. most people passing through this place were telling us that they were not able to vote. they are cancelling polling units all over this place. we have stayed here since past ten and this is past three. we've not heard anything, we've tried to call them. i have a twitter account, i've been trying to tag any officials. actually it's a sin _ for you to stay at home today. young urbanites who want better economic opportunities have been encouraging each other to vote on social media. and it seems to be working.

in lagos, despite the lack of organisation, voters told us more people showed up than in the last elections. turn—out here in lagos, nigeria's most populous city, tends to be quite low. in 2019, only 18% of the electorate showed up but here, in one of the city's neighbourhoods, people tell us that the turnout is unusually high. at 6pm, three and a half hours after polls officially closed, some polling units were onlyjust opening. having a third candidate for the first time is an encouraging sign, in a region where democracy feels under threat. but whoever wins will have to deal with a struggling economy, high youth unemployment and widespread insecurity. mayenijones, bbc news, lagos. joining us now from lagos is bbc�*s correspondant simi jolaoso. thank you forjoining me. we havejust seen pictures thank you forjoining me. we have just seen pictures of

those delays and disruption at the polling stations. describe the polling stations. describe the situation at the moment, are people still voting? what has it been like? figs are people still voting? what has it been like?— has it been like? as you mentioned, _ has it been like? as you mentioned, there - has it been like? as you mentioned, there have l has it been like? as you - mentioned, there have been several delays across the country, one polling unit i went to earlier in lagos, the electoral officers came an hour before voting was meant to end and people had been queueing for overfive hours at and people had been queueing for over five hours at that point, people were frustrated, angry and annoyed, but people remained determined to exercise their vote. fist remained determined to exercise their vote. �* , ,., ., their vote. at this point, do we have — their vote. at this point, do we have a _ their vote. at this point, do we have a sense _ their vote. at this point, do we have a sense at - their vote. at this point, do we have a sense at all - their vote. at this point, do we have a sense at all on . their vote. at this point, do i we have a sense at all on who is leading, and when do you think we can expect to see some sort of result? at think we can expect to see some sort of result?— sort of result? at the moment, there is no _ sort of result? at the moment, there is no clear _ sort of result? at the moment, there is no clear sense - sort of result? at the moment, there is no clear sense of- sort of result? at the moment, there is no clear sense of who l there is no clear sense of who is leading. it could take a few daysin is leading. it could take a few days in order to figure out who is leading the election. it's just too early to say, as

counting continues, especially because of all the disruptions that have happened that were mentioned in your report. it’s mentioned in your report. it's a hue mentioned in your report. it's a huge election, incredibly competitive. to give us some context, tell us about the main issues concerning nigerians at the moment, as they vote. why does this matter so much? this matter so _ does this matter so much? this matter so much _ does this matter so much? ti 3 matter so much because this election has come at a time of crisis in the country. several issues concerning nigerians. the one of insecurity, for example, kidnappings have been rampant across the country. islamist militant groups, especially in the north, and violent separatists in the south. the issue of economy, inflation over 20% at the moment. the cost of living crisis really hitting families hard. and the issue of unemployment as well. especially among young graduates who are finding it really hard to get a job. and

most recently, a cash crisis. people have literally been struggling to get a hold of their money from banks. the sense in the country is one of a need for change, a need for someone to be elected who will exact change in the country. thank you very much. turkish officials say they're now investigating more than 600 people in connection with buildings that collapsed during the major earthquakes earlier this month. as international aid flows into the area, the focus now is on helping survivors, but getting help to those who need it can be challenging. 0ur correspondent laura bicker reports from turkey. aid that was slow to arrive is now in full flow. helicopter after helicopter 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. 0ur aircraft is stacked, with tents around our feet. we head over the mountains, towards one of the ten zones in a state of emergency, to get an idea of the scale of this disaster. this is by far the biggest logistical operation turkey's forces have ever faced. they've got more than 100 kilometres along a fault line to cover, with tens of thousands in need, and most of them need these, which need room in a helicopter. we're flying to the first drop—off, near hatay, the worst—affected region in turkey. in the city of antakya, survivors say help took more than two days to arrive. at least 20,000 people lost their lives here.

further down the coast, it took more than two weeks to get basic shelter to the people of remote kapisuyu. villagers need to stay to feed their livestock. guner�*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. tents are temporary. guner says she needs a new home. there have been

major challenges. airports are damaged and landing in remote areas has been difficult. some of these guys have been flying over 1,000 hours since the earthquake struck. they say they will continue to keep going as long as aid is needed. many of them off camera have told us about the harrowing moment when they had to fly in the earthquake—affected zone. they say they were medically evacuating casualties for hours, but they say they'll keep going as long as they can. aid is now getting to most who need it. but the long—term plan to help the tens of thousands in crisis is still unclear. laura bicker, bbc news, in the skies over hatay. more than 350,000 residents remain without power in michigan three days after one

of the worst ice storms in decades knocked out utility poles and wires. tens of thousands across the western united states are also without power as a rare cold weather system continues to pummel parts of california. widespread snow and flooding have forced several road closures in los angeles and san francisco is expected to experience record cold temperatures over the next 2a hours. but officials say the worst is yet to come. i'm joined now by climate professor richard rood from the university of michigan. richard, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we havejust seen pictures of those awful weather conditions. tell us, how concerned are you by this dramatic change in the weather? what is the situation like at the moment?— what is the situation like at the moment? the situation for me is quite _ the moment? the situation for me is quite good _ the moment? the situation for me is quite good at _ the moment? the situation for me is quite good at the - the moment? the situation for. me is quite good at the moment. i'm in colorado. in michigan, there has been a huge ice storm

as you just said. more than 350,000 people still without power. much of the ice has melted. in california, record snow up in the mountains and high winds, potentialforflash high winds, potential for flash flooding. high winds, potentialforflash flooding. and then that storm will be tracking across the united states. it will probably not hit michigan in the same way, but it's going to affect the same region that was just recently hit by that other storm. ., , ., , , storm. how unusual is this storm. how unusual is this storm in — storm. how unusual is this storm in this _ storm. how unusual is this storm in this part - storm. how unusual is this storm in this part of - storm. how unusual is this . storm in this part of america? being a climate change expert, how can you relate what we are seeing back to climate change? well, what you've seen in the united states this year in the eastern part of the country, it's been exceptionally warm winter. 0ne it's been exceptionally warm winter. one of the things that has not generally been recorded or appreciated as much as many other aspects of climate change

is winter is warming faster than summer. when winter has very warm air, it's full of moisture and when it comes into contrast with colder air, then you have the potential not only for strong storms in terms of wind, but a very large amount of precipitation in them. so you get the rainstorms. when the temperature is near freezing, you have the chance of ice storms like you saw in michigan. 0ne of ice storms like you saw in michigan. one of the things you are seeing is, when it used to be a snowstorm, now in regions that are not used to it, they are having ice storms. 0fficials expect the weather to worsen. what direction do you see this storm going in now? the storm that in california now is going to crack across the central part of the united states first, and then move to

the south and west and towards the south and west and towards the north and east. it looks like it will track further south than the previous storm, but it's still going to bring rain and snow and ice to throughout the country. they are looking at more snow in new england than the previous storm. and with ice in michigan, it should be less and a bit further north than it was previously. a bit further north than it was previously-— a bit further north than it was previously. richard, thank you very much _ previously. richard, thank you very much for— previously. richard, thank you very much for your _ previously. richard, thank you very much for your analysis . previously. richard, thank you very much for your analysis on j very much for your analysis on bbc news. much appreciated. this is bbc news, the headlines. 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. anger and poor organisation mars nigeria's closest elections in recent memory as millions vote for a new president. sharp divisions have

emerged at the g20 finance ministers meeting in india over the war in ukraine. moscow is accusing the united states and other western nations of destabilising the meeting. no closing statement was agreed as russia and china refused to accept a passage condemning russian agression condemning russian aggression in ukraine. g20 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". 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is in bangalore for the g20 meeting and sent us this insight into india's role. it's here in the hills near bangalore that the first major meeting of the g20 under india's presidency has taken place, a forum to discuss issues affecting the world economy. the fallout from the ukraine war is having a huge impact.

but prime minister modi's address was notable for the absence of any mention of russia's invasion. instead only referencing rising geopolitical tensions. india maintains a neutral stance on the war, a position starkly at odds with g7 countries condemning russia, reaffirming their support for ukraine and calling for further sanctions. india wants a very different conversation, it wants to use its presidency of the g20 to represent developing nations who don't have a seat at the table 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. the european union is bringing in more sanctions against the russian mercenary group wagner, for human rights abuses in three african countries. eight individuals and seven entities are listed. i am nowjoined by miliary analyst drjonathan schroden,

a military operations analyst and director of cna's countering threats and challenges program. thank you forjoining us. what can you tell us about the russian wagner group and its operations globally?— operations globally? sure, wagner's _ operations globally? sure, wagner's what _ operations globally? sure, wagner's what is - operations globally? sure, wagner's what is known i operations globally? sure, wagner's what is known as operations globally? sure, i wagner's what is known as a private military corporation. it operates outside of the law inside of russia, in so much as pmcs are technically outlawed there, so it is unacknowledged by the russian government and various individuals believed to be in control of the wagner group. globally it operates on a lot of locations, it has been active in syria, very active in ukraine as part of the russian invasion, and increasingly active across africa. so it's mostly active in the central african republic and sudan, but also present in mali, libya and

half a dozen other countries in africa as well. {lin half a dozen other countries in africa as well.— africa as well. on that note, why does — africa as well. on that note, why does the _ africa as well. on that note, why does the wagner - africa as well. on that note, why does the wagner group| why does the wagner group operate in africa? for why does the wagner group operate in africa?— why does the wagner group operate in africa? for a couple of reasons- — operate in africa? for a couple of reasons. it _ operate in africa? for a couple of reasons. it offers _ operate in africa? for a couple of reasons. it offers russia - of reasons. it offers russia some plausible deniability, in terms of the activities it engages in, in africa. which is to say, russia's interested in a lot of resource extraction from africa, and using the wagner group to advance most types of economic interests allows it to do so in ways that it doesn't have to formally acknowledge. it can get those resources in ways that are unavailable to it otherwise. a second reason is it allows russia to displace other countries that have had traditional influence in africa. the most notable is france, which used to be quite active in the central african republic as well as in mali, but has been effectively kicked out of those countries and

replaced by wagner. find out of those countries and replaced by wagner. and why does the european _ replaced by wagner. and why does the european union - replaced by wagner. and why - does the european union want to impose sanctions on the activities outside of europe? again, a couple of reasons. one, a sort of moral aspect. wagner has been involved in gross human rights abuses pretty much everywhere it has operated, but specifically in africa it has been accused of rape, torture, extrajudicial killings and executions. so from a moral perspective, this is a company, wherever it goes, instability tends to follow. the second reason, and i should say human rights abuses as well... the second reason, the instability that wagner tends to bring with it is something european powers would like to avoid in africa. what happens in africa doesn't usually stay there, with respect to european countries' views, so they are concerned with the spread of wagner and the instability it tends to bring with it. thank

ou tends to bring with it. thank you very _ tends to bring with it. thank you very much _ tends to bring with it. thank you very much for _ tends to bring with it. thank you very much for your- tends to bring with it. thank you very much for your time | tends to bring with it. thank i you very much for your time on bbc news. you very much for your time on bbc news-— you very much for your time on bbc news. thank you for having me. huge crowds packed the streets of sydney for this year's gay and lesbian mardi gras parade, one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. among them was australia's prime minister anthony albanese, but not everyone was pleased to see him. 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. well, australia's an inclusive country. there are benefits for our economy, benefits most importantly, though, for the people of australia. and everyone should be respected for who they are, and tonight's 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 suffered shame, rejection and discrimination because of who they are. everybody�*s welcome — heterosexual, cisgenders, queers, bisexual, everybody. i love you all so much, let's come together. no more separation. for many, the 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 world pride 2023, a global rights festival. the french film 0n the adamant has been awarded the golden bear for best film at the berlin film festival. the award is considered the event's top prize. it was given to french director nicolas philibert�*s documentary about a floating day care centre for adults with mental disorders on the bank of the river seine in paris. and the director used his winner's speech to highlight the film's work to improve the image of those with mental illnesses. we do not always distinguish very clearly between patients and carers.

and that's fine. i try to reverse the image that we always have of mad people, so discriminating, so stigmatising. i wanted us to be able, if not to identify with them, at least recognise what unites us beyond our differences. something like a common humanity. the feeling of being part of the same world. 3,000 tickets for the eurovision song contest in may are being 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". hello. high pressure continues to dominate the weather picture this weekend. now, the rest of the sunshine on saturday was across western areas, but the high pressure not only brought these sunny skies to northern ireland, but also brought this squished cloud as the air descended down through the atmosphere. whereas further east, we had extensive cloud really for most of the day and a number of showers coming in off the north sea. now, yesterday's satellite picture, you can see the extent of the cloud. it was particularly cloudy across these northeastern areas. but if we take a look at the satellite picture in a bit more detail, this cloud sheet is going to continue to feed in this kind of direction, which will take cloudy weather into northern england, the north midlands and north wales, whereas we've got much clearer skies in this part of the north sea, drier air and that's set to move into east anglia, southern england and the south midlands. so there will be changes

in the distribution of cloud as we head into sunday. now the clearest of the skies over the next few hours across southern areas of england, southern wales, scotland, northern ireland and perhaps parts of western england, there'll be quite a widespread frost. the lowest temperatures, west scotland get down to about minus five degrees. so it will be a cold start, but extensive cloud will continue to feed in across northern england, the north midlands, north wales with some light showers coming in from the north sea, whereas across east anglia, the south midlands, probably southern wales and definitely most of southern england you should have more in the way of sunshine compared with yesterday. the other place that will do quite well for sunshine, west scotland and maybe northern ireland, because here we're close to the centre of high pressure and that high pressure continues to build in on monday. so again, it's probably west scotland and northern ireland will have the best of the day's sunshine, otherwise probably a little bit more in the way of cloud filtering down the north sea. so it could well be a cloudier picture across england, wales and eastern scotland through monday.

tuesday, well, the high pressure is still there. however, this is a troughjust coming in from europe. and what that will do is it will thicken the cloud a little bit across southern areas, enough to bring some scattered showers in. so you might find a few patches of rain here, not expecting anything to be particularly heavy, whereas the weather should be drier with the best of any sunshine again, for west scotland and northern ireland. temperatures continue to be quite close to average really for the time of year and with the high pressure staying close by the british isles really through the rest of the week, the weather stays quiet with cloud varying day by day.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the uk and the eu appear to be on the brink of finalising a new deal— on post—brexit trading rules covering northern ireland. the british prime minsister, says he is "giving everything" to secure an agreement — as his government is detemined "to get the job done." there's been widespread anger and frustration during nigeria's closest presidential election in recent memory — as poor organisation at polling stations. there were also reports of violence— including gunshots near a polling station in lagos. officials in turkey say they are investigating more than 600 people — over sub standard buildings that collapsed during this month's earth quakes.

meanwhile, internationalaid agencies say reaching survivors is proving to be very challenging.