this is bbc news, with the headlines... the prime minister, rishi sunak, will meet the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen on monday as he tries to secure a new brexit deal for northern ireland. a joint statement said they would work towards finding a solution. at least 59 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sinks near the coast of southern italy. i pray for every one of them, for the missing and the other surviving migrants. counting is under way in nigeria's most competitive elections in decades, with three candidates still hopeful of becoming president.

hello and welcome to bbc world news. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, will arrive in the uk tomorrow for face—to—face talks with prime minister rishi sunak, to discuss an imminent deal for trade in northern ireland. it all revolves around the post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. the irish taoisoech leo varadkarsaid... earlier, the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, began to outline what might be in the deal including the right for politicians in northern ireland to have a say over any new eu

rules that affect them. with more here's our political correspondent, iain watson. what better way to flag that an agreement with the eu is coming closer? the eu commission president, ursula von der leyen, will meet the prime minister tomorrow in london for the talks that could seal a deal. there is no deal done until the whole deal is done. but i think we've made progress. and what's emerging is exactly what the deal could involve. post—brexit, to keep an open border on the island of ireland, some eu rules continue to apply in northern ireland, and goods coming from great britain are subject to checks. this is what unionists call a border in the irish sea. under the proposed deal it's likely goods travelling from great britain to northern ireland and remaining there would no longer be subject to checks. these would only apply to goods going via northern ireland to the irish republic and therefore to the eu. and people in northern ireland would get a say over any future eu rules that might affect them. if there are any new rules that would apply in relation to northern ireland, it must be right that there is a northern irish democratic check on that.

and again, that would mark a significant shift. i know this may seem hard to believe, but getting a deal with the eu could be the easier of the prime minister's tasks. more importantly he has to win over northern ireland's biggest unionist party, the dup. they are warning a bad deal will deepen divisions and if they don't like the detail of what rishi sunak has negotiated then they won't rejoin a power—sharing government in northern ireland. and some of the prime minister's colleagues here at westminster are telling me that could make all his talks with the eu futile. this government minister and prominent brexiteer seemed on board for a deal. reporter: do others in your party support him as well? _ but the prime minister can't count on the support of some other long—standing eurosceptics. we're not stupid. 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. the government is keeping us

in the dark as to whether mps will get a vote on the deal, but if they do, labour is signalling potential support for the prime minister. 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. a deal with the eu might ease some of the economic pressures on businesses and communities in northern ireland but it political problems. iain watson, bbc news. at least 59 people have drowned after their boat broke up in rough seas and sank off the southern coast of italy — including a number of children. the boat was said to be overloaded with close to 150 people. it's thought the vessel left izmir in eastern turkey three days ago. those who did survive came ashore near the town of crotone on the calabrian coast and are being helped by the red cross. john donnison has the latest. overnight, another tragedy in the mediterranean.

by daylight, this was all that was left of the migrant boat that broke up in rough seas just off the calabrian coast. rescue workers struggled in the conditions to recover bodies from the water. it's thought around 150 people were on board. dozens, including a baby, are known to have drowned. we cannot have, unfortunately, a definite number at the moment, so we are still waiting for developments in this sense. what we are doing right now is to take care of the survivors. and around 80 people were brought ashore alive, among them migrants from iran, pakistan and afghanistan. despite the dangers, italy is one of the main landing points for people trying to reach europe in small boats. almost 12,000 migrants have already arrived by sea in italy this year. in 2022, more than 105,000 successfully made the crossing, with over 1300 dead or missing.

although high, those numbers are way down on the 2016 peak when there were over 180,000 arrivals by sea. the government blames people traffickers and has pledged to stop the boats. at the vatican, pope francis expressed his sorrow for the latest loss of lives, which he said included many children. he said he was praying for the dead, the missing and those who survived. and those survivors, like hundreds of thousands before them, face an uncertain future. under the white sheets behind them, those who didn't make it. jon donnison, bbc news. early results have started to come in from nigeria's tightest election since the end of military rule in 1999. delays and attacks on some polling stations on saturday meant voting was postponed until sunday in parts of the country.

the electoral commission in nigeria has admitted vote counting has been "slow and unsteady" due to a new polling system upgrade which led to technical glitches. earlier our correspondent, peter 0kwoche, sent us this update from the capital, abuja. traditionally in nigeria, they've 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 youth of this country. the youth make up 70% of the electorate and they want change. so, yes, it's 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 the oil—producing niger delta. sometimes you wonder why anyone would want to be the president of this country simply because of the problems,

the plethora of problems here in nigeria — insecurity is rife, kidnappings for ransoms, there is a secessionist movement in the southeast of the country, in the northwest, there's banditry, then there's a huge cash crunch simply because a few weeks ago the government decided to replace the old naira notes, that's the local currency, but when people took their notes to the banks to change them to the new ones, there was a shortage. so there's a huge cash shortage here in nigeria. there's the cost of living crisis brought upon by the war in ukraine as well as the covid—19 pandemic. so, yes, a lot of problems on the entry of whoever wins these elections. more now on our top story. rishi sunak is to hold face—to—face talks with the european commision president in a bid to finalise

a brexit dealfor northern ireland. 0ur political correspondent, iain watson, spoke to me and gave me more details. the largest unionist party in northern ireland and the most sceptical about the deal reached with the eu initially which puts, as they would see it, a border in the irish sea, these goods being checked. it looks like that'll be eased but that's not necessarily going to be enough to win them over. because of this scepticism, they will go through any deal with a fine—toothed comb and will not give to this deal in advance and stop it's a high wire act for rishi sunak because even if he reaches an agreement with ursula von der leyen and the eu commission, that might help training arrangements with northern ireland. doesn't solve the political problem because that's a lack of power—sharing in northern ireland. the institute that goes back to the good friday agreement 25 years ago. having both communities, unionists and nationalists parties, sharing power. the unionists might not severally

give the thumbs up to the detail of the new deal coming tomorrow. i think they may make rishi sunak sweat for a period of time while they get lawyers involved and see that, if the big things which he is promising to keep a trade flowing, to give them a greater say over any future eu laws, to see if that is really delivered right in the depths of the text. if they don't like it then in effect he will only have done half the job. he will have got the eu on board, power—sharing will not be restored to northern ireland, which is potentially embarrassing because obviously the american president, joe biden, would like to visit on the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement later this year. that's coming up very soon, isn't it? in terms of the objections of the dup, where are they likely to hinge and what price might they extract in order to back it? i think the problem the dup had, amongst many others, was notjust the trading arrangements, but they were effectively saying that the act of union which brought ireland as a whole, once upon a time, in the 1800s,

into the united kingdom, said that everyone in the united kingdom should be treated on an equal footing. they are saying that people in northern ireland are subjected to eu laws despite brexit, which the dup supported, and, in effect, they want far less of a say by the eu over anything happening in northern ireland. now the question then is, will they accept some say for the eu, or will it have to be, in the words of one of them, the expunging of the eu from northern ireland? so there may be an internal debate among democratic unionists. but the dup of course got on board to help rishi sunak�*s predecessor theresa may over brexit, where she couldn't get a majority in the house of commons, and in return they got around £2 billion to help with northern ireland. we know currently in northern ireland there is a big funding gap. perhaps, perhaps the uk government might be able to, perhaps, ease some of their concerns if they also say that if they go back into power—sharing then quite a lot of resources will follow suit. earlier we were joined by our europe

correspondent, jessica parker, from brussels to discuss the possibility of a deal announcement soon. . i think there's a lot of clues. clue number one is that we have known through sources for a little while now that the plan was for ursula von der leyen to head to the uk to do the final sign—off moment. so, obviously, she is now heading to the uk. she'll be in berkshire tomorrow to meet with the prime minister, rishi sunak. and of course we've been building towards this now we've been hearing from multiple people who have knowledge of the talks that they were slowly getting there. downing street, all the while, have been saying no final deal is yet done. the statement we've had tonight doesn't say a final deal is yet done, but i think it'd be pretty strange if ursula von der leyen, the european commission president, so a real eu chief here, was to go all the way to the united kingdom to meet with rishi sunak, to talk about the northern ireland protocol at this stage and not announce a deal. so that's where my money would be at the moment. of course, until it

happens we can't be sure. and it's brexit. things can fall apart at the last moment, but as you say, the choreography is all being laid out and pointing towards that. and just on the choreography, you have mentioned the fact that windsor was mentioned as a location. there's been a bit of disquiet about that, hasn't there? for obvious reasons. yes, so this is a bit of a strange one. sky news broke a story on friday that there had been a plan for ursula von der leyen to actually meet with the king on saturday. and there were suggestions, therefore, that this could risk, if she also came to the uk to potentially sign off a deal on the northern ireland protocol, this could risk dragging the king into politics and some quite contentious politics at that. the government were very much insisting that it was a separate thing, that he wasn't remotely involved in negotiations. the visit didn't go ahead. now, what we're told is, we know ursula von der leyen is going to berkshire and in berkshire is windsor,

and briefly, on her publicly available calendar, although the entry has now been altered, it said that the meeting with rishi sunak tomorrow will be in windsor. so i think that will again raise questions as to whether she might meet the king. we've had absolutely no confirmation of that being the case. and there was also these suggestions that we heard that the deal itself could be called the windsor agreement. again, we don't know if that's going to happen but some signs seem to be pointing towards that as a possibility. as i say, the entry has now been altered, but we've no reason to believe that our actual final destination in that sense has been altered. let's speak to paul mcgrade a former eu trade negotiator who joins us from dublin. thank you for your time. in terms of what any deal might mean, it's very complex, can you try and simplify why this matters?— why this matters? yeah, this is a cuestion, why this matters? yeah, this is a question. i _ why this matters? yeah, this is a question, i think, _ why this matters? yeah, this is a question, i think, that _ why this matters? yeah, this is a question, i think, that some - why this matters? yeah, this is a question, i think, that some of i question, i think, that some of prime minister, rishi sunak�*s, colleagues have been asking within the conservative party full so why do this, why take this risk? i think

there are three reasons for it. one is it allows a reset of the uk's relationship with the eu, so at the extreme end, he avoids the risk of a trade war, but even if things don't go that far, he gets a lot of benefits from resetting relations and unfreezing a lot of cooperation, for example, on universities, on financial services, on lots of aspects of trade that will help the uk economy. secondly, it offers a reset on relations with the us and washington, which have been it may be a bit less deep frozen but still chilly since the two this spat with the eu on the northern ireland protocol, when it really began. thirdly, it offers a path back to devolved power—sharing government in northern ireland because the prime minister can show, you know, we've reached a deal with the eu, we have tried to address the unionist concerns, even if not as fully as

you wish, and between the lines he is also giving a message that we are not going tojeopardise is also giving a message that we are not going to jeopardise our relationship with the eu any further in order to accommodate any more of your concerns, if you like. so it provides a kind of accomplished fact under which the dup might eventually go back into devolved government in northern ireland, although, not quickly, i think. northern ireland, although, not quickly, ithink. find northern ireland, although, not quickly, ithink.— northern ireland, although, not quickly, ithink. quickly, i think. and 'ust in terms ofthe quickly, i think. and 'ust in terms of the trade. h quickly, i think. and 'ust in terms of the trade, the — quickly, i think. and just in terms of the trade, the practical - quickly, i think. and just in terms of the trade, the practical effect i of the trade, the practical effect of the trade, the practical effect of this, what will people potentially a notice? i of this, what will people potentially a notice? i think the university sector _ potentially a notice? i think the university sector will _ potentially a notice? i think the university sector will notice - potentially a notice? i think the university sector will notice it i potentially a notice? i think the| university sector will notice it in a very big way. a huge part of their funding comes from the eu's horizon programme, they get a very big chunk of that, the world's biggest research funding programme, that has completely stopped. the uk's application to join horizon completely stopped. the uk's application tojoin horizon has been frozen, so that will be unfrozen, i would think, when any deal is done.

there is cooperation in a range of issues. that includes things like financial services, data, issues. that includes things like financialservices, data, even quite detailed but still important things like electric car batteries and whether those made in the uk can count towards the eu's rules for avoiding tariffs. these things won't automatically be fixed by this but the mood music will improve, this processes will speed up and the chances of favourable decisions on those and therefore the beneficial knock—on effects on trade in those kind of sectors will greatly improve. i think there is a broader kind of message here to that rishi sunak is trying to show that, unlike his two predecessors, may be, he is a results oriented, delivery, kind of prime minister, who gets problem

solved and can manage the uk economy sensibly and in a way that promotes growth. this is exactly the kind of thing he needs to show in order to do so. that we are not fighting any more with the eu over things that are sometimes quite archaic questions of principle. we are getting on with pragmatic solutions that benefit the uk economy and, ultimately, i think that is why he probably quite wants to have that fight with some of his backbenchers over the next few weeks. obviously, the election. — over the next few weeks. obviously, the election, potentially _ over the next few weeks. obviously, the election, potentially in _ over the next few weeks. obviously, the election, potentially in a - over the next few weeks. obviously, the election, potentially in a year, . the election, potentially in a year, lots of talk about the red wool seats, lots of angst about that brexit vote and where it might go to as a result of any changes that happen now, but the dup is imminently, critically important, isn't it? in terms of getting power—sharing back before the good friday agreement, which is what lots of people would like to see. the

friday agreement, which is what lots of people would like to see.- of people would like to see. the dup is important — of people would like to see. the dup is important. but _ of people would like to see. the dup is important. but i _ of people would like to see. the dup is important. but i think _ of people would like to see. the dup is important. but i think it _ of people would like to see. the dup is important. but i think it is - is important. but i think it is really essential to understand what might be on offerfrom really essential to understand what might be on offer from the really essential to understand what might be on offerfrom the dup and what rishi sunak needs from the dup. use them not to say no immediately. in one sense, it is less important whether they say yes or not. they will not say yes or no definitively straightaway, tomorrow, tuesday, wednesday, they will probably say something more like there has been good progress here, we need to study the detail of the deal, we need to consult internally... as long as they don't rejected out of hand, because, everybody course expects to say no, the stereotype of the dup, as long as they don't say no immediately, that probably gets rishi sunak enough time to try and get this passed his party. i suspect the dup won't say anything definitively until the 18th of may, at least, which is northern ireland council elections, and maybe not for quite a bit after that. so even if they don't say yes, they can still give rishi sunak the space that he

needs. it give rishi sunak the space that he needs. , . , . . give rishi sunak the space that he needs. , . ,. ., , , give rishi sunak the space that he needs. , . ,. . , ' ~ needs. it is fascinating stuff. we are out of— needs. it is fascinating stuff. we are out of crime, _ needs. it is fascinating stuff. we are out of crime, more - needs. it is fascinating stuff. we are out of crime, more on - needs. it is fascinating stuff. we are out of crime, more on this . needs. it is fascinating stuff. we j are out of crime, more on this in the next few hours. thanks for being with us. the israeli government and the palestinian authority say they will take immediate steps to end a deadly upsurge in violence this year. it comes as two israelis were shot dead in the occupied west bank. the israeli army said a palestinian gunman opened fire at an israeli—owned car and then fled the scene. earlier i spoke to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, about what else came out of the talks injordan. well, this is said to be the first time in years that we've had israeli and palestinian security chiefs sit down together for a meeting of this kind. and what reallyjumped out at me from the statement that then came out was this line that they "affirmed their commitment "to previous agreements between them and their commitment to a just "and lasting peace. "

now, to put that in perspective, there have not been direct peace talks between the two sides for nearly a decade now, and there are no sign of those resuming. on top of that, we have all these anxieties at the moment about an escalation, particularly in the run up to the islamic holy month of ramadan, which begins in late march. israel made a commitment here to stop settlement—building announcements for four months and saying that it would not announce any new settlements being authorised for another six months. that's very important given some of the recent, very contentious, announcements that there have been from this israeli government. settlements are widely seen as illegal under international law, although israel disagrees. the palestinians, we understand that they are committed not to take action against israel at international bodies, particularly at the united nations. but what was really not made clear, and it's a key point, is what both sides will do to stop further violence and what

the challenge, really, became very clear during this summit as we had those two israeli settlers who were fatally shot close to nablus. and what we've seen since then is that actually in response, as the israeli military is looking for the gunmen, there have been attacks byjewish settlers on palestinian properties, setting them alight in that area. and in terms of the background to all this, we have seen this increased violence, we've seen obviously a political change in israel, too. is it possible to work out why things have spiked like this? i mean, we know that when this government came into being, it said there are the far—right ministers in particular, they're very committed to coming down with an iron fist in response to what they describe as palestinian terrorism. but over the past year, there has been this increase in israeli military activity

in the occupied west bank, and in particular since there was a series of deadly attacks by palestinians on israelis nearly a year ago. there have been these search and arrest raids have gone on a near nightly basis. but then we had, since the start of this year, two very deadly raids by the israeli military when it said it was going after wanted palestinians, men who had carried out previous attacks and planning new ones. that was in bothjenin refugee camp last month, killing ten people, 11 people killed in one just the last week in the old city of nablus. and that has really pushed up tensions. and what we saw after thatjenin raid was one of the most deadly attacks by palestinian on israelis in years, with seven people killed outside a synagogue in an eastjerusalem settlement. so all of this is washing around in the background. injust over an hour, tommy fury will step into the ring

to face youtuberjake paul in a hotly—anticipated fight in saudi arabia. the bitter rivals are finally set to go head—to—head after much hype and after two previously scheduled bouts fell through. fury is a star of love island and the younger brother of world heavyweight champion tyson fury. paul is a former disney channel star turned social media personality. the fight has been criticised by boxing traditionalists, who say it makes a mockery of the sport. for more on this we're joined by bbc boxing reporter, kal sajad. tell us more about who these two fighters are? as you mention, the hype around this fight is just massive. you have tommy fury, the younger brother of tyson fury, he rose to fame on love island, the reality tv show, he's got a boxing record of eight wins, and then you've got jake got a boxing record of eight wins, and then you've gotjake paul, he is his brother logan paul is also a youtube and social media star. he has star. he has boxed six times so they are still novices in the sport

but they are getting paid millions, they are getting paid handsomely, and they are headlining a main event. as you said, boxing aficionados, they feel it is making aficionados, they feel it is making a mockery of the sport, these two novices who don't have much experience are getting paid so much, whereas others feel that it is bringing new fans of the sport, youngerfans, which boxing could do with. younger fans, which boxing could do with. ~ , , . younger fans, which boxing could do with. i, . i, ., with. why is there so much hype and wh are with. why is there so much hype and why are they — with. why is there so much hype and why are they getting _ with. why is there so much hype and why are they getting paid _ with. why is there so much hype and why are they getting paid so - with. why is there so much hype and why are they getting paid so much? l why are they getting paid so much? you make they are big stars. their social media following, i think, jake paul has over 22 million followers. they are really big stars. it's notjust to youtube is, can box, they both shown they have the fundamentals, jake paul has got a good job, he's got good knockout power, tommy fury comes from a fighting family. his older tyson drew tyson fury being the wbc heavyweight champion of the world. there is a bit of crossover, yes they are entertainment stars, but they are entertainment stars, but they can box a little. there's a lot of intrigue. they can box a little. there's a lot of intrigue-— of intrigue. they can box a little. ex - lain of intrigue. they can box a little. explain why _ of intrigue. they can box a little. explain why the _ of intrigue. they can box a little. explain why the boxing _ explain why the boxing

traditionalists are so against it, and you think things are turning, is it generational, the interest? this whole youtube _ it generational, the interest? ti 3 whole youtube boxing phenomenon started in 2016, 2017. there were two youtube stars, theo baker and joe weller, they decided to settle their beef, if you will, in a boxing ring in brighton, and then other youtube stars saw how much money it was making and how much interest it was making and how much interest it was generating. from then on, it's blown up. the two of them, boxing traditionalists feel that the winner of this fight will get a wbc ranking, ranking with the sanction body. boxing traditionalists feel thatisit body. boxing traditionalists feel that is it right? is it right that two novices in the sport can get that much procedure and potentially a world title shot one day when you've got somebody who is not as famous, who is probably box 15, 16 times, one is white, much more talented, but he doesn't get the same opportunities and he has certainly sold struggling to make ends meet? i think that's what the problem lies with boxing fans. i5 problem lies with boxing fans. is thisjust likely to

problem lies with boxing fans. is this just likely to take off, are we going to see more people coming in through this route? it’s going to see more people coming in through this route?— through this route? it's already taken. these _ through this route? it's already taken. these are _ through this route? it's already taken. these are just _ through this route? it's already taken. these are just two - through this route? it's already taken. these are just two of. through this route? it's already| taken. these are just two of the fighters, there are several dozens of youtube is, there are reality tv stars, even musicians who are taking up stars, even musicians who are taking up the sport. they have a certain following, certain people that go and watch those sports, will anyone watching tonight to go to york hall in london to watch a boxing show on a friday night? i'm not so sure. i guess it's about looking at is to separate sports, entertainment boxing, the likes of the youtube is, you can rob lee putjake paul and tommy fury in there, and then you've got the real boxes, real in inverted commas, it's a difficult one to say. fascinating culture. i'm sure you'll be watching the match, thank you very much. of course, there will be more online if you want to keep up to date. all the other news today, let's get the weather.

good evening. the weekend brought us a fair amount of dry settled weather and whilst some of us saw some showers around, particularly in the east with quite a cool easterly breeze for some in other areas there was plenty of sunshine. this was the picture as the sun was just about to set in dudley a little bit earlier on. now, as we head through the coming week, the weather really isn't changing in a hurry. looking mainly dry for most places. some sunshine, fair amounts of cloud around and nighttime frosts, too. but here's the reason for all this settled weather. big area of high pressure keeping the weather fronts at bay. it's very unsettled further south down towards the mediterranean. storm juliet bringing some disruptive weather there. but here, well, we've still got the breeze just rotating around that high pressure. so bringing a bit more cloud across parts of northern and eastern england. it'll drift its way south overnight and could just bring one or two rogue showers for some central areas. mostly frost—free, i think, by dawn, at least where you've got that cloud. but it could be quite a cold start to monday morning for the south west of england, for instance, parts of scotland minus four or minus five first thing monday here. quite a bit of cloud, as you can see, drifting its way

westwards across england and wales. could bring just one or two light showers. we've got lighter winds and probably more sunshine further north for scotland. certainly northern ireland also seeing some sunny spells, too. top temperatures between about 7 to 10 degrees on monday. and that really is quite typical for where we should be by the end of february. and then it is going to feel colder, though, during monday afternoon. again, we've got quite a brisk breeze blowing in, particularly for eastern england and through the english channel. so the channel islands, look at that, feeling only around about three degrees. then as we move through monday evening and overnight into tuesday, most of us dry, winds easing for a time. but just cast your eye towards the southeast and you can see these blue colours, a line of perhaps more persistent showery rain just starting to form early tuesday, affecting the far south east of england. elsewhere, another cold night, certainly a touch of frost for many of us. could be the odd misty patch in the north as well. during tuesday, there's that showery rain likely to affect parts of perhaps kent, essex, sussex and the london region down towards the channel isles, where there'll still be a little bit of a breeze blowing on tuesday.

further north, you could catch one or two showers, especially for parts of northeast england. the best of the brightness once again will be for scotland and northern ireland as well. further ahead, it does look mostly settled. quite a good deal of dry weather, perhaps a little bit of showery rain across northern areas. best of the sunshine likely towards the west.