this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm martine croxall. our top stories: at least 43 people have died — after a boat carrying migrants sinks near the coast of southern italy. counting is under way in nigeria's most competitive elections in decades — with three candidates still hopeful of becoming president. it is very, very close and it will take a brave man or woman to call the results right now. the uk and the european union edge closer to a new deal on post—brexit trading rules for northern ireland, but the british government says details still need to be resolved. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves, i understand that there

is a sense of quiet confidence, but we are not there yet. and blizzard conditions in unexpected places in america — as a cold weather front hits california and other southern states. more than 43 people, including a baby, have died after a boat carrying migrants sank in rough seas off the southern italian mainland — according to the coastguard. dozens of bodies were found on a beach near a seaside resort in the calabria region, with others found in the waters nearby. rescuers are still searching for survivors, after the vessel — which was thought to be carrying at least 120 people — reportedly broke apart near the coastal town of crotone. the coastguard says 80 people are known to have survived but a a large search and rescue effort continues

on on land and at sea. the italian prime minister, giorgia meloni, has released a statement through her spokesperson it says she expresses her "deep "sorrow for the many human lives cut short by human traffickers," and adds "it is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, "women and children for the price of the �*ticket�* they paid "in the false perspective of a safe journey". and finally she says her "government is committed to preventing migrant "departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies." we'll bring you more on this with our europe regional editor in the next half hour. britain and the european union appear to be close to finalising a new deal on post—brexit trading rules for northern ireland. under the current protocol northern ireland follows some eu laws, and goods arriving from the british mainland are subject to checks. our political correspondent, ian watson, reports. 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 of a 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 the sunday times, he says. "i'm a conservative, i'm a brexiteer and i'm a unionist. anything we do, we'll tick all those boxes. " but, in the sun on sunday, he seems to suggest his oven ready deal still requires a few more ingredients. "none of these issues are easy," he says. "there's still more work to do, but we've made promising progress. " 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 it'd 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 the deal isn't done yet, but i do think we are inching towards a conclusion. and i really want to thank the uk government, the european commission and the northern ireland parties for the level of engagement that they've done in recent months to get us to this point. we just encourage everyone to go the extra mile. this weekend, the prime minister says he's 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. iain watson, bbc news. our political correspondent ione wells has more on whether there will be a vote in the british parliament on this deal. certainly that is a question that lots of mps are wondering, both conservative mps, but also opposition parties as well, wondering if they will get a say on any final deal that is agreed.

one thing we know is that conservative mps have been told they have a three—line whip, essentially an order to be in parliament on monday, which suggests that if a deal is sort of pushed over the line this weekend, that they could be in a position to have some kind of say on it as soon as tomorrow. now, earlier we heard from the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, who was pushed on this point of whether they would actually get a vote. he didn't quite commit to it in that language, though. if you have a listen to what he said here, he said mps would be able to express themselves. yes, mps will have the opportunity to express themselves on the deal. so there will be a vote, to be completely clear? that won't bejust a debate or a nod through, there will be an actual vote? well, i don't think anything ever gets nodded through parliament. and the reality is the details will be brought forward in the usual way. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves here. i understand what you say, and there is a degree of quiet confidence about the progress being made, but we're not there yet. but there will be a vote?

parliament will have its ability to express itself. that was the deputy prime minister speaking there to laura kuenssberg. if there is a vote, then, ione, how likely is it that it will get through parliament? well, certainly, depending what is in that final deal, there could well be some rebellions, there could be some conservative mps, as well as dup mps who are still unhappy with certain elements of the deal. but one thing that is potentially in the government's favour here, although would be a bit of a political embarrassment perhaps for them, is that the main opposition party, labour, have said that they would back any deal because they argue that it is better than the alternative and some of the issues that are arising at the moment when it comes to trade between great britain and northern ireland. so earlier labour's shadow foreign secretary, david lammy, outlined that regardless of whether or not any deal had the backing of that major unionist party in northern ireland, the dup, labour would be prepared to back it in the national interest. i'm pleased, of course,

that finally it looks like that we might get that deal in the coming days. worried a bit that the unionists have not been kept in the mix, but if he's able to pull off a deal, we will support it because we think it will be an improvement on what we've got at the moment. let's look at the detail in the coming days, but all credit to rishi sunak if he does that. david lammy from the labour party. well, the deputy prime minister dominic raab, who we heard from a moment ago, is facing bullying allegations, which he denies. what's he been saying about that today? as you say, there is an ongoing inquiry into whether dominic raab bullied various civil servants when he was a secretary of state in three different government departments. now that inquiry is still ongoing, but the key thing that it is trying to determine is, was dominic raab a difficult boss, an abrasive character to work with, or was he a bully? and did the impact of any of his behaviour have sort of damage on people that he worked with? so that is what it is trying to outline.

today he was pretty clear that while he did say earlier to sky news that he would resign if the inquiry did find him guilty of bullying, he was pretty adamant that he himself does not see himself as a bully. in terms of working style, falling short of any of the impropriety you refer to — look, of course, we learn lessons as we go, and that's part of the relationship with civil servants, but i'm confident that i've behaved professionally throughout. and as i say, i think actually the vast lion's share of the time, the vast majority of cases and the time we spend together, civil servants and ministers work very effectively together. so there we hear the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, essentially argue that he feels that there isn't a tolerance for bullying in government and that usually the relationship between top ministers and civil servants works very well. that isn't a view that was shared by the trade union that represents civil servants. speaking after that comment from dominic raab earlier, they argue that one in six people they've surveyed say

there is an issue with ministers' behaviour in the civil service and in the uk government. so that inquiry is still potentially weeks away, but that will be the thing that determines whether or not dominic raab�*s behaviour is considered by an independent investigator inappropriate. votes are being counted in nigeria's most competitive presidential election in decades. the process has been largely peaceful, but there've been some reports of violence in lagos. much of the counting is taking place by hand — but in some areas, electronic voting machines were used. the outcome is not expected until monday at the earliest — with pre—election opinion polls suggesting three candidates were in a close race. i spoke to the bbc�*s peter okwoche who's in abuja on how its notjust two parties in the running this time, but three. additionally, there have been two parties that have dominated the political landscape in this country for the past 2a years or so. but, this time around, there's

a third factor in these elections, a man who has used social media to reach out to the massive number of young voters in this country, peter obi. he's garnered their support. so it's now a three way race in those elections. but it is very, very close and it will take a brave man or woman to call the results right now. tell us about some of the tensions, the problems that have occurred as voting took place. yes, i mean, across the country, there are 36 states in nigeria, across the country it was relatively calm, but there were pockets of violence in places like lagos, which is the commercial capital of the country, and then in bayelsa, which is in the oil producing niger delta. so some elections were postponed there, they couldn't hold in those areas and they will be held today. so voting is continuing in a lot of... in many parts of the country

it was quite a chaotic start to the voting. i mean, i went around abuja from 6:00 in the morning yesterday and even 15 minutes before polling was due to start, some polling units had not even received their voting material and there were no voting officers, election officers, in those areas. eventually, things smoothened out, people got to vote, albeit way into the evening, and some are continuing today. what will the priorities be for whoever wins? whoa, martine, i mean, that's a question that'll keep us here for hours. i mean, i always wonder why anyone would actually want to be president of nigeria, because there's so many problems, a plethora of them. insecurity is rife across the country, there's a huge cash flow crisis here in nigeria at the moment. a few weeks ago, the government decided to redesign the local currency, the naira. but when people went to give in their old notes

and get the new ones, there were insufficient funds. so there's a chronic cash crunch here in nigeria. there's a cost of living crisis caused by the war in ukraine and the covid—i9 pandemic. so there are so many problems in the in tray of whoever replaces president muhammadu buhari. more than 350,000 residents are still without power in the us state of michigan — three days after one of the worst ice storms in decades knocked out utility poles and wires. tens of thousands of people across the western united states are also without power — as a rare cold weather system continues to pummel parts of california. and — as vandhna bhan reports — a blizzard is set to hit the southern states on sunday. exchanging the dry hilltops and blue skies of california, for snow and freezing rain, has been welcomed by many with excitement. well, i live where there's like, no snow ever.

like, the only snow i've got was hail in, like, first grade. and it's pretty exciting. we've been building snowmen. san francisco hit record low temperatures, and parts of northern california reported several inches of snow by friday. it is nice because i don't have to drive somewhere to enjoy this weather. of course, i can't go snowboarding or anything here, but i still enjoy the fresh air the snow brings. driving proving difficult in these hazardous conditions, with snow—laden roads in some parts, and flooded streets in others, forcing road closures, with a number of cars reportedly trapped in the rising waters. this bank crumbling into the roaring santa clara river, taking with it a motorhome and a tree. consistent rainfall that we've had in the past couple of months, and then this, has been the ongoing storm for about a couple of days now. this rare winter conditions pummelling los angeles has forced

a blizzard warning for the first time in more than 30 years. the cause, a massive low pressure system driven from the arctic. and it's not the only storm the united states is battling. further north east, an ice storm in michigan has left more than 300,000 without power for a third day. but while this storm has passed, the one in california continues to move south, with large hail and damaging winds set to impact 0klahoma, texas and kansas on sunday. climate scientists say there's been an increase in the sheer number of storms across the united states, a sign of warming temperatures. and while this storm is extraordinary compared to the past, it'sjust the beginning for what we're about to see in the future. varn—darnah bhan, bbc news. more than 43 people, including a baby, have died

after a boat carrying migrants sank in rough seas of southern italy — according to the coastguard. dozens of bodies were found on a beach near a seaside resort in the calabria region, with others found in the waters nearby. danny aeberhard, bbc world service europe regional editor, joins me now. very sadly, the number of dead has risen? it very sadly, the number of dead has risen? . , ., ., �* very sadly, the number of dead has risen? ., ., ., �* ~ ., risen? it has and we don't know conclusively _ risen? it has and we don't know conclusively how _ risen? it has and we don't know conclusively how many - risen? it has and we don't know conclusively how many people | risen? it has and we don't know- conclusively how many people were on the boat, it may rise considerably more. they are talking about 80 people now who have survived and there is a lot of images of these people huddled on the foreshore, wrapped in blankets and gold foil blankets to stay warm. some people have been taken to hospital. probably with hypothermia, i would imagine. but lots of details are still coming out, the search and

rescue operation is ongoing, that involves a helicopter and boat from the coastguard and one other major government agency. the unhcr is also sending a team. . government agency. the unhcr is also sending a team- -_ sending a team. . where other miurants sending a team. . where other migrants thought _ sending a team. . where other migrants thought to _ sending a team. . where other migrants thought to have - sending a team. . where other| migrants thought to have come sending a team. . where other- migrants thought to have come from? iran, pakistan and afghanistan, we don't have a complete picture of this. we are not sure where they started theirjourney. as i say, some reports, unconfirmed as of yet, from survivors, suggest that perhaps the boat may have had more than 200 people on board. but this, for the time being, we do not know. so it is a major tragedy, one of a number that have hit italy in recent months, regarding migrants and will no doubt there will be political repercussions as well. because the minister back— repercussions as well. because the minister back of _ repercussions as well. because the minister back of italy _ repercussions as well. because the minister back of italy has _ repercussions as well. because the minister back of italy has issued i repercussions as well. because the minister back of italy has issued a l minister back of italy has issued a statement saying these crossings

cannot be allowed to continue, because of the loss of life. yes, she is the _ because of the loss of life. yes, she is the head _ because of the loss of life. yes, she is the head of _ because of the loss of life. yes, she is the head of a _ because of the loss of life. yes, she is the head of a far - because of the loss of life. yes, she is the head of a far right - because of the loss of life. yes she is the head of a far right led coalition, she has vowed to crack down on migrants crossing, about 11,500 according to the un have made the crossing across the mediterranean are so far this year already. that is up on previous years. but her government is already involved in a big row about how she climbs down on this. her position is that things like charity migrant rescue vessels act as a bull fracture, and also gives people traffickers away to bring people into the mediterranean and leave them in the expectation that perhaps charity rescue vessels or italian coastguard, for example, would rescue these boats. she is saying she wants to work harder with countries of origin and also the countries of origin and also the countries that they leave from. this

could be libya, tunisia, places also including turkey for longer voyages. so clamping down on that. but, organisations such as the un and the roman catholic church say that the way she is going about it is entirely wrong, they say she is bringing in measures that make it out of charity rescue vessels to rescue migrants, they are allowed out to pick up boats in distress, but then they have two head straight back into port and give a lot of information to the authorities, the charity rescue vessels and say, if there are other migrant vessels in distress nearby that they should be able to pick those people up as well. so the allegation is that the italian government is imperilling lives by bringing in laws tightening these regulations.— let's get some of the day's other news. tens of thousands of people have held demonstrations across israel against planned legal reforms. the prime minister benjamin netanyahu insists his government is carrying out the will of the people. the proposed changes would give ministers the power to appoint

supreme courtjudges and would end the court's ability to review or annul legislation on constitutional matters. the french president emmanuel macron says that a long delayed trade deal between the eu and a group of four south american countries can't go ahead unless they follow european environmental policies. french farmers fear competition from the mercosur countries if they are not subject to the same environmental standards. protests have been held in the tunisian capital, tunis, against a speech by the president calling sub—saharan migrants "illegal hords". the demonstrators accused president kais saied of racism and called on him to apologise. the african union has strongly condemned what it described as radicalised hate speech aimed at fellow africans. nicola sturgeon's decision to stand down as scotland's first minister poses a significant challenge to the future course of the party she led for so long — the snp. our special correspondent, allan little, looks at what could

happen to the fight for scottish independence after her departure. glasgow, once solidly labour, voted for independence in 2014. but was that the high water mark? does the independence ambition end with the formidable sturgeon here? i grew up in the rural south west of scotland. it's a good place to consider what has happened to the independence cause, and to the way scots have thought about the union over the generations. my grandparents lived in this street when i was a child, and my great great grandparents lived here in the 19th century. for them, the british empire was what tied scotland tightly into the union. my parents were born here in the 1930s, and they grew into adulthood at a time when britain enjoyed immense moral standing in that post—war world.

my great grandfather was in the building trade, and he built this war memorial. but it was after the second world war that my parents' generation inherited a new kind of britain. a britain of full employment, of cradle to grave welfare, of the new national health service. and something else that was new for families like ours. the chance that one day their children might go to university. that was why the union was notjust resilient in scotland, but positively valued. it was also an industrial britain. coal, steel and shipbuilding still dominated the traffic on this river. the great comedian billy connolly once worked as a welder in the shipyards here in glasgow. and when he was asked in the 1970s about scottish nationalism, he would say that he felt more in common with shipyard workers on merseyside and in southampton than he did with many of his fellow scots. back then, class solidarity nearly always trumped appeals to a distinct scottish national identity. those big industries, like the empire, were pan—british enterprises.

they were bedrocks of british identity in scotland. and in the 1980s and 90s, they were swept away. that's when england and scotland started to diverge politically, those shared values coming under strain. england embracing the radical new vision for the future offered by margaret thatcher. scotland repeatedly rejecting it. in that context, the independence movement reinvented itself, the snp talking the language of social democracy and greater equality. this appealed to old labour voters, and enthused the young. that realignment of loyalties happened under alex salmond's leadership. no one embodied it more fully the nicola sturgeon. but under her, there's been no further surge of support for independence. even the unpopularity of brexit here, and the toppling of four conservative prime ministers have moved the dial a few points at most. but drill down into the opinion polls that consistently show the country roughly divided

50—50 on independence. the young remain overwhelmingly in favour, and there's even strong support among the middle—aged. many nationalists believe time is on their side, that the fruit of independence is ripening on the tree of age demographics, and it will eventually fall into their laps. the union has been strongest over the ages when it's been built on shared values and a common sense of purpose. nicola sturgeon's departure is a defeat for independence, but reversing the slow generational decline of british identity in scotland is the enduring challenge for the union. allan little, bbc news, galloway. copenhagen's annual winter light festival draws to a close this weekend. for the last month, the dark february sky has been illuminated by 35 spectacular installations. this year's event also comes after the harbour city was designated the 2023 world capital of architecture.

sofia bettiza reports. they braved the february cold weather and ran for eight kilometres across copenhagen. all the runners were given an led light chain to wear during the race, so they themselves became a feature of the copenhagen light festival. to be running in copenhagen with all these artworks and lights all over here in cold february, it's just fantastic. and i can't wait to see the art as i run through my hometown. the art consists of 55 light installations, scattered around the city. like this sculpture, made entirely of reused plastic. or this installation, called on the other side of the sun. i thought the copenhagen festival run was an art piece in itself, and to be part of this moving organism of light, going in and through all the streets

and corners of copenhagen, was quite an experience. dea did the race with her two daughters. it was very pretty and we were looking at it and everyone - was stopping and we could take . pictures and it was very beautiful. and it was very good planned, all over, so we could see - all the different places. despite the weather and everything, people still come here, meet with friends and walk around, and all the city streets and routes are being filled up with people really enjoying this moment. so we are really thankful for this and also waiting for next year. the 23 day festival is now in its sixth year. and, in a country where winters are bitterly cold, with snow and frosty winds, many danes have come to love this festival, which, they say, celebrates life and brings people together. sofia bettiza, bbc news.

a reminder of our top story this hour — at least 43 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank off southern italy. the boat is thought to have been carrying more than 100 people when it was damaged off the coast of calabria. pope francis has said he is praying for everyone caught up in the shipwreck. in his weekly address to crowds in st. peter's square he said, "i heard with sorrow "of the shipwreck off "the calabrian coast near crotone." already 40 dead have been recovered, many of them children. "i pray for every one of them, for the missing and for the other surviving migrants." you are watching bbc news. hello there. it's all about high pressure at the moment, dominating the weather story. the centre of the high across scotland. that's where we've had the clearest of the skies, and the lowest temperatures. it was minus five first thing this morning in highland, and yes, there was some frost, even some snow to the tops

of higher ground. it was a different story, though, across east anglia in comparison to saturday morning. the cloud was a little more well—broken. a beautiful sunrise here. but the high is going to stay with us on the whole across the country today, keeping things largely fine and quiet. but still that wind direction coming from a northeasterly. slightly lighter winds than yesterday, so therefore fewer showers hopefully around. still some cloud across northern england and north wales in particular, and still the risk of some showers here. we've also had a few showers across the kent coast this morning. but generally, central and southern england and wales, along with northwest scotland and northern ireland keeping the sunshine, and temperatures peaking between seven and nine degrees, pretty much where we should be for the final few days of february. now, as we go into the evening and overnight, the cloud reallyjust drawing in like a blanket over us. and so for many, that means it'll keep those temperatures above freezing. where we've got those clearer skies, particularly out to the west, once again temperatures below freezing and a frost is quite likely. but that quiet theme will stay with us not only for monday but right throughout much

of the week. so as we go into monday, we've got this large area of high pressure sitting across the north, and that will continue to give quite a lot of dry weather in the forecast. still the risk of some cloud around, but maybe breaking up across east anglia and the south east of england with more of a breeze here, and still some sunny spells across western areas of scotland, northern ireland and maybe parts of the lake district. ten degrees is quite possible in the sunnier moments. now, as we move out of monday into tuesday, there's a risk of a few showers during the early hours just drifting their way through the channel. not really amounting to too much. the high continues to stay with us on the whole, and the winds will stay light. so we could potentially be chasing cloud amounts around as we look further ahead. so, on the whole there will be a good deal of dry weather, some sunny spells from time to time, and as we head into the beginning of march, some areas will continue to see temperatures into double figures. that's it. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines: at least 43 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank near the coast of southern italy. officials say it crashed against rocks in rough weather and several people are still missing. talks between the eu and the uk are continuing to try to strike a new deal over post—brexit trade rules for northern ireland. both sides say an agreement is coming closer. under the current deal, goods coming from other parts of the uk are checked on arrival in northern ireland to allow them to be taken into the republic of ireland without any further checks. ukraine has issued postage stamps featuring a mural by the world—renowned uk graffiti artist banksy to mark the first anniversary of russia's invasion. it depicts a man resembling russian president vladimir putin being thrown during a judo match with a young boy.