this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm ben brown. our top stories... at least 43 people have died, after a boat carrying migrants sinks near the coast of southern italy. 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 details still need to be resolved. don't want to get ourselves 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 are not there yet. counting is under way in nigeria's most competitive elections in decades, with three candidates still hopeful of becoming president. 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. these pictures from the italian coastguard were filmed in darkness, early on sunday morning — and you can see the wreckage of the boat. one local official has suggested as many as 150 people had been onboard. rescuers are still searching for survivors, after the vessel — reportedly broke apart near the coastal town of crotone. the coastguard says 80 people

are known to have survived but a large search and rescue effort continues on land and at sea. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyenm urges eu asylum reform after italy migrant deaths. richard galpin reports. this is all that remains of the wooden boat in which so many people died last night as they tried to reach the southern coast of italy. most of the survivors were from afghanistan. emergency services have continued the search for more survivors at sea in the daylight, using boats and jet skis. but conditions have been bad, making the

search difficult. but some bodies have been recovered. italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter europe by sea. the so—called central mediterranean route is known as one of the world's most dangerous. the pope has expressed his sorrow at the loss of life, which he said included many children. and he added he would pray for them. 12,000 migrants have arrived by sea into italy since the start of the year. there were more than hundred thousand arrivals last year. the uk's deputy prime minister dominic raab says a new deal on the northern ireland protocol could be done within days, and begun to outline what it might look like. mr raab indicated that politicians in northern ireland would have a say over any new eu rules which affect them. he also suggested checks on goods passing between britain and northern ireland could be intelligence led, rather than the need to check everything.

here's our political correspondent ione wells. it is full steam ahead to get a new deal between the uk and the eu about how trade in northern ireland will work. ministers suggest it will remove checks on goods that will stay here in northern ireland and not go on to the republic of ireland. and that northern irish politicians will get more of a say on future eu laws that apply to the nation. the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, said these things will resolve issues with the existing deal, but dodged whether mps will definitely get a vote on a new one. if there is a deal, can you confirm to your colleagues and also our viewers that mps will have a say, there will be a proper vote on a deal? mps will get the opportunity to express themselves on the deal. doing the right thing in the right way, for all the communities of northern ireland, protecting the good friday agreement that has come under pressure from the northern ireland protocol.

frankly, if you ask about the politics, fulfilling our manifesto commitment on brexit. under the current protocol, goods from scotland, england and wales are checked before they enter northern ireland to make sure they follow eu rules — that basically creates a border down the irish sea. that is to make sure there is still an open border from northern ireland into the republic of ireland which is part of the eu. the largest unionist party in northern ireland, the dup, hate it. they won't go back into the power—sharing government here in belfast until it's changed. they and some tory mps are still concerned the eu could ultimately have control over future eu laws that will apply in northern ireland. what we want is a situation where eu law is expunged from northern ireland, so it is treated on the same basis as england, scotland and wales. 0ther tory mps are urging pragmatism. we have to stop thinking that if there is a deal

that is about to be done, it means we have been done over in some way. labour has said that if rishi sunak holds a vote on a deal, they will back it, meaning it could pass even if some tories and the dup are not on board. if he is able to pull off a deal, - we will support it, because we think it would be an improvement- on what we have got at the moment. let's look at the detail— in the coming days, but all credit to rishi sunak if he does that. the road to a deal is in sight, it could come as soon as tomorrow, but political battles may lie ahead for rishi sunak, if it is not enough to convince the dup back into government in belfast. ione wells, bbc news. 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 my colleague peter 0kwoche, who's in abuja. and peter told us more about the election. traditionally, in nigeria, they have had two parties that have dominated the political scene but this year there was a game changer in the third contestant peter 0bi, who out of nowhere used social media to galvanise the use of this country. the youth make up 70% of the electorate and they want to change, so yes, it is now a three horse race for those elections. as you mentioned, they did go rather peacefully in most of the country but there were pockets of violence in lagos, in bayelsa state, which is in lagos, in bayelsa state, which is in the oil reducing niger delta, but we heard from the head of the electoral commission here in nigeria. he heard there was some

problems but said, counting has begun and hopefully by tomorrow or early tuesday we should begin to get an idea of who the next president of nigeria is. an idea of who the next president of niceria is. ~ ., , an idea of who the next president of nieria is. ~ ., , , nigeria is. whoever wins, faces some really daunting _ nigeria is. whoever wins, faces some really daunting challenges. _ nigeria is. whoever wins, faces some really daunting challenges. huge - really daunting challenges. huge problems in nigeria. you really daunting challenges. huge problems in nigeria.— really daunting challenges. huge problems in nigeria. you are right. sometimes — problems in nigeria. you are right. sometimes you _ problems in nigeria. you are right. sometimes you wonder _ problems in nigeria. you are right. sometimes you wonder why - problems in nigeria. you are right. i sometimes you wonder why anybody would want to be the president of this country, simply because of the problem is, the plethora of problems here in nigeria. insecurity is rife, kidnappings for ransom, the of movement in the south—east of the country, in the north—west there is banditry. there is a huge cash crunch, simply because a few weeks ago the government decided to replace the old notes, the local currency. but when people take their notes to the bank to change them to the new ones, there was a shortage

so there is a huge cash shortage. there is a cost of living crisis brought by the war in ukraine as well as the covid pandemic. a lot of problems on the entry of whoever wins this election. fix, problems on the entry of whoever wins this election.— problems on the entry of whoever wins this election. a last thought, how significant _ wins this election. a last thought, how significant do _ wins this election. a last thought, how significant do you _ wins this election. a last thought, how significant do you think- wins this election. a last thought, how significant do you think these j how significant do you think these elections are in terms of democracy in africa as a whole, and as an example of a really competitive election, it is good for the continent?— election, it is good for the continent? ~ , , ., election, it is good for the continent? ~ , ., ., . ., continent? absolutely. i had a chat with the former _ continent? absolutely. i had a chat with the former kenyan _ continent? absolutely. i had a chat with the former kenyan president l continent? absolutely. i had a chat. with the former kenyan president who is here in nigeria as the head of the african union, and he said this is a huge democracy, the largest country on the continent by population, 87,000 million people —— 87 million people, i beg your pardon. if nigeria gets it right, that means the rest of africa gets

it right. elections of huge significance here in nigeria. 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. vandhna bhan reports. 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. these 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. you're watching bbc news. more on our top story this hour. at least 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. what more details do we have at the

moment? we what more details do we have at the moment? ~ ., ., ., ., ., ., moment? we do not have a lot more in terms of the — moment? we do not have a lot more in terms of the number _ moment? we do not have a lot more in terms of the number of _ moment? we do not have a lot more in terms of the number of people - moment? we do not have a lot more in terms of the number of people who - terms of the number of people who may have died no clarity on how many people may have been aboard the boat. some reports that 45 people have been confirmed to have died, among them sadly are women and children, a number of children being mentioned by officials. there are other smaller developments, one report that a suspected people smuggler, a turkish citizen, has been detained by the italian authorities, but we have yet to hear authorities, but we have yet to hear a lot of details on that. what we have had some strong reaction from the un's refugee agency. there are country representative has said it is unacceptable to witness such horrors with families and children entrusted to dilapidated and unseaworthy boats. this tragedy must

lead us to act immediately. that message has been reinforced by her boss. he said it is time to force states to stop arguing and agree on just effective shared measures to avoid more tragedies. what just effective shared measures to avoid more tragedies.— just effective shared measures to avoid more tragedies. what do we know about _ avoid more tragedies. what do we know about the _ avoid more tragedies. what do we know about the vessel _ avoid more tragedies. what do we know about the vessel involved i avoid more tragedies. what do we l know about the vessel involved here and the conditions in terms of the weather and the reasons this happened?— weather and the reasons this ha ened? , .,, ., happened? the seas were rough. it broke into pieces _ happened? the seas were rough. it broke into piecesjust _ happened? the seas were rough. it broke into piecesjust off— happened? the seas were rough. it broke into pieces just off the - happened? the seas were rough. it broke into piecesjust off the coast| broke into pieces just off the coast and you can see pictures of large waves. that said, it is not the massive storms we have seen other boats go down in. although it is inclement and the seas will be called at this time of the year, it seems to be an accident on landing. the vessel itself has been pulverised, the pictures we have seen of wood strewn along the beach, chunks of its hull. it seems to have

been some sort of fishing vessel but we don't know that yet. we believe it has come from turkey, a voyage that they had taken 3—4 days, so the conditions aboard are very overcrowded because the vessel was not large but it is hard to say without certainty of how many people were aboard. some estimates put it up were aboard. some estimates put it up to 250, others are lower in the mid—hundreds. up to 250, others are lower in the mid-hundreds.— let's look at the politics of scotland now, where the unexpected resignation of the first minister, nicola sturgeon, has created a gap to fill — notjust in leading the country, but also in leading the independence movement. ms sturgeon's personal popularity kept the campaign for scottish independence at the forefront of the political debate there. but with her going, it's not clear which direction her scottish national party will take.

our special correspondent, allan little, looks at what might happen next. 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? with the formidable sturgeon era? 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. plans have been unveiled by the uk government to improve standards in social housing, following the grenfell tower disaster and the death of two—year—old awaab ishak, who was exposed to mould at his family home in rochdale. it wants managers in social housing organisations to have a professional

qualification, with landlords given time limits to fix problems orface fines, as jon donnison reports. awaab ishak was just two years old when he died in december 2020. the cause, a respiratory condition brought on by mould and damp in his family's rented flat in rochdale. awaab's father had complained to their housing association for years, but nothing had been done. earlier this year, the housing secretary, michael gove, pledged to introduce what's being called awaab's law, saying people living in social housing were being inexcusably let down. under the new legislation, landlords will have to investigate and fix mould and damp within strict time limits. today, mr gove is announcing additional new rules that will mean social housing managers will have to get a professional qualification in housing. it's thought it will apply to around 25,000 people working in social housing

across the country. any landlords who don't comply could be fined by the regulator. i think this is going to increase professionalism in the sector. it's something that i've spoken personally to the secretary of state about when i first met with him, and i think it's going to positively, positively impact the sector in general. this should have happened a0 years ago. it should have happened when social housing was first introduced. i think the government could go even further with extending the requirement to be qualified when working in housing, right down to housing officers. the measures will be included in the new social housing bill, which is due to resume its passage through parliament later this week. jon donnison, bbc news. let's bring you the latest information we have on that boat that was carrying migrants that sank in rough seas off the coast of southern italy. the death toll, we

were telling you was more than 43 people, it has now risen to 58. they are quoting an italian official saying the death toll of that migrant ship wreck off that calabria region coast has risen to 58. a major disaster they are and dozens of bodies have been found on a beach neara of bodies have been found on a beach near a seaside resort in calabria. 0thers near a seaside resort in calabria. others found in waters nearby. search and rescue efforts are continuing by the italian coastguard. sheffield will become the latest city in the uk to introduce a clean air zone from monday. drivers of the most polluting lorries, vans, buses and taxis will now be charged to enter the designated area, though private cars and motorcycles are exempt. dan johnson has more. no to clean air zones. no to extortionate charges

for driving in our own city. | there's a new battle zone in the fight for clean air. sheffield's seen opposition. so has cambridge, and other cities, too, as clean air zones hit more streets across the country. charging the most polluting vehicles is supposed to get them off the road. but cities have got different prices covering different classes of vehicle, and if you get it wrong, you get fined. bristol's scheme started just before christmas. i think everyone in bristol agrees that we all have a bad cough that lingers, and i think the air quality is terrible. anything we could do to improve it, ifully support. i'm not really seeing a difference. are my lungs better? no, they're the same as they were last year as well, so... as a cyclist, it hasn't made the roads any quieter. - well, it's to stop people coming into the city, but it's also to make money, i think. it's good because we're trying to keep the planet a bit healthier. you know, we want healthier air, we just want clean air. it's good for everyone. bath started charging commercial vehicles two years ago,

but some feel that's moved traffic and emissions onto wiltshire's roads. we've seen significant increases in terms of heavy goods vehicles coming through the middle of westbury. we're here on a street where the trucks are going, what, a metre and a half from people's front doors. so, we've we've taken an air quality problem in bath and simply transposed it to the middle of an area where it's going to create a worse air quality problem. birmingham's zone generated £37 million in fines over the last 18 months. nationally, poor air quality causes something like 36,000 excess deaths each year. but evidence shows it is cutting emissions. during the first few months after the zone's introduction, we found that there was a significant reduction in the n02 levels in birmingham city centre, so that's a good thing. and we didn't see any change in the air quality on the perimeter of the birmingham clean air zone. there's controversy about plans to expand london's low emission zone to cover every borough. but the government is

insisting on cleaner air, so more zones are coming. but reducing pollution means tackling more than just vehicle emissions. dan johnson, bbc news. 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. 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.