tonight at six: the party is underway here in liverpool on the eve of the eurovision song contest — which it's hosting on behalf of ukraine. people have come from all over the world to enjoy the spectacle. we are born and bred here, so it makes us so proud of the city. i think it's just - done the city proud, so proud, eurovision- proud and ukraine proud! # instead i wrote a song about how you did me wrong, # i could have cried at home flying the flag for the uk — mae muller tells us... i feel like you can never be 100% prepared for eurovision, you know? ifeel like it's a one in a million

like lifetime experience, but it's exceeded my expectations. also on the programme: a man has been found guilty of the murder of seven—year—old nikki allan in sunderland, following a police inquiry lasting 30 years. yet more misery for rail passengers, as train drivers begin a fresh round of strikes over pay. and, why the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom is tipped to become one of the best—selling titles on the nintendo switch. and coming up on bbc news. we look ahead to the women's fa cup final when chelsea and manchester united meet for what could be one of two trophies decided between them this season.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six live from the liverpool waterfront on the eve of the eurovision song contest. the final acts are decided for the city's biggest ever party — in fact, a party has been going on for days, and there's been live music all day here in the fanzone behind me. the uk is of course hosting on behalf of last year's winners, ukraine. president zelensky had asked to address the worldwide broadcast tomorrow night, but his request has been denied by the organisers — a move downing street has described as disappointing. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson has the latest on liverpool's preparations. all: welcome to liverpool! one day to go to the grand final, and in the city centre, the length of the queue into the official merchandise shop had passed the hour mark. what are you waiting for?

socks! what kind of socks? ukrainian, liverpool. they need to match my turin 2022 socks. need socks. liverpool is seriously busy, already surpassing its target for visitor numbers. i think it's going to be a lot more than 100,000. 100,000 was the aim. that was the aim — smashed it. it's been full of the mostjoy and gladness and compassion that only liverpool could show the world, and i'm so proud of the city and so proud of everyone that has taken part in this incredible, incredible event. music: stefania by kalush 0rchestra. and this afternoon, this eurovision dance class was part of a programme to make sure that as many children as possible feel involved, with the ukrainian ambassador paying a visit. as it was promised, liverpool did it the ukrainian way. we were joking before that we were not sure whether we would be able to do it this ukrainian way in ukraine! so that is great, the best of both worlds, the very culturally and musically rich liverpool and the ukrainians,

who love their songs very much. this woman's eight—year—old son mikhail goes to the school. they fled ukraine last year. it's good that if you can't host it, your friend will host it. it's really good. very warm feeling, like a piece of your home is here now with you, and it's really a huge support. and over at the arena, rehearsals for the final have begun. ukraine's electronic duo tvorchi have been trying out their light show. president zelensky has been blocked from making a speech at eurovision due to the nonpolitical nature of the event. rishi sunak called the decision disappointing, while labour leader keir starmer said it should be reversed. while back outside the arena... oh, my word, i'm getting emotional. the volunteers simply do not want eurovision to be over. i thought i loved my city, but i've seen it through a tourist�*s

eyes and it's just beautiful, the most amazing city ever. i just love it. aren't we fabulous? yeah! i feel i need to give you a hug after that! colin paterson, bbc news, liverpool. the city is buzzing. but this is the on behalf of ukraine and tell us more, explain about the controversy with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision son: with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest — with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest is _ with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest is supposed _ with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest is supposed to - with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest is supposed to be - with volodymyr zelensky. eurovision song contest is supposed to be a - song contest is supposed to be a politics—free zone. the president of ukrai wanted to address the final and the organisers said it is an international entertainment show, one of the corner stones of content

is the nonpolitical nature of the event. that has not been given enough for politicians in the uk. rishi sunak said he is disappointed and thinks it would be fitting if volodymyr zelensky was able to give that address, given the — the argument it is political and they made it political by banning russia. also to give the opportunity to volodymyr zelensky to address the 160 million people we think who will be watching. i have to say i don't think the fans the here in liverpool have noticed this controversy, or care too much about it. this city is awash with sequins, glitter and with jov- awash with sequins, glitter and with joy. in a couple of hours' the jury final will start. that is the opportunity for the 26 remaining acts to perform in front of a live

audience. there is so muchjoy here. liverpool is buzzing. it is great for the city. but it feels like it is great for all of us, particularly in this cost—of—living crisis. is great for all of us, particularly in this cost-of-living crisis. thank ou. tomorrow mae muller is representing the uk with her track i wrote a song. tomorrow mae muller is representing the uk with her track i wrote a song. tomorrow mae muller is representing the uk you'll have to watch all night to see her as she'll be the last of the 26 competitors to perform. 0ur media correspondent david sillito has been chatting to her here in liverpool. oh, my god. yeah. i got to go. welcome to liverpool and what we thought would be a quiet chat with the uk's may muller. really sorry we were waiting and a crowd is built up. i don't know what's got out here. no, i wasn't expecting this. however, nothing here stays quiet. welcome to eurovision. i know. i feel so welcome.

look, all these lovely people. yeah. this is this is what eurovision does. i love it. i love the whirlwind. i love that it's quite chaotic. i feel like i thrive in chaos. and each and every person that i've come across is so, like, lovely and warm. so it's all it's very, very i'm having a great time. and it was at that moment we werejoined by liverpool's eurovision choir. singing may's eurovision song. #to # to work on your mental health. i'm so pleased. i was told, oh, i was like welling up. i was like, oh, my god. like, moments like that, it kind of remind you why eurovision is so. it's something different, isn't it? i would have never got that like that. would have never. i don't know. that's something i've

never experienced. so that was yeah, that was nice. there's a lot of love here. yeah, i know. i really feel it. i'm overwhelmed. i really didn't expect it. like, oh, that was so special. you're like, i need to pump up the energy. you guys are. i need you with me on saturday night. and then it was time for another little surprise. good evening, everybody. yes, that's ringo starr. liverpool. because they are hosting the eurovision song contest. and to give mae muller a big piece of love _ and to give mae muller a big piece of love and we hope you win. gh and to give mae muller a big piece of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is of love and we hope you win. oh my god- is that — of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is that the — of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is that the real— of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is that the real ringo? - of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is that the real ringo? do - of love and we hope you win. oh my god. is that the real ringo? do you | god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch _ god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch it _ god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch it again? _ god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch it again? yes, - god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch it again? yes, i - god. is that the real ringo? do you want to watch it again? yes, i need to hear him- _ want to watch it again? yes, i need to hear him. ringo _ want to watch it again? yes, i need to hear him. ringo here, _ want to watch it again? yes, i need to hear him. ringo here, peace - want to watch it again? yes, i needj to hear him. ringo here, peace and love! ringo — to hear him. ringo here, peace and love! ringo said _ to hear him. ringo here, peace and love! ringo said peace _ to hear him. ringo here, peace and love! ringo said peace and - to hear him. ringo here, peace and love! ringo said peace and love! i to hear him. ringo here, peace and| love! ringo said peace and love! 0h m cosh, love! ringo said peace and love! oh my gosh. thank— love! ringo said peace and love! oh my gosh, thank you! _ and you can see how mae muller and all the other hopefuls get on in the eurovision song contest grand final tomorrow night at 8pm

on bbc one and on bbc iplayer. that's all from liverpool for the moment. i'll be back later in the programme but for now i'll hand you back to clive. a convicted sex offender has been found guilty of the murder of a seven—year—old girl, following a manhunt, that lasted 30 years. nikki allan was lured to her death, in a derelict warehouse in sunderland in 1992, butjustice has only come now forfamily, after nikki's mother, sharon, fought for years for northumbria police not to give up their search for her daughter's killer. david boyd, who's now 55, will be sentenced on may 23rd. here's danny savage. the strongest woman i've ever met. nikki allan's mother leaving court today, overwhelmed with grief, having just seen a man convicted of murdering her daughter more than 30 years ago. yes! this has been a long, emotionaljourney for her family. this is like winning the lottery.

it's so sad, but like everything's good from now. nikki was a shy seven—year—old girl. she was last seen in 0ctober1992, skipping after a man. she was being lured to her death. david? that man was david boyd, 25 years old at the time, now 55. we are investigating - the murder of nikki allan. advances in dna evidence found traces of him on nikki allan's clothes. david boyd hid his crime, lying about his involvement and prolonging the family's suffering, knowing all along that he had taken the life of their little girl. nikki lived in a ground floor flat on this estate in sunderland. her killer lived on the third floor of the block. the whole estate has since been demolished.

her body was found dumped in this derelict building, not far from her home. her mother still remembered that day. your life just changed and nobody... i'm sitting there and i'm saying, "where's me bairn, where's me bairn?" i felt like a zombie, i couldn't move. me sister came in, "what shoes did nikki have on her feet?" i said, "i can't remember, ican't remember." there was uproar at leeds crown court today when a jury - acquitted a 24—year—old man of murder... - in 1993, another man was tried and cleared of nikki's murder. for three decades after this photo was taken, david boyd thought he had got away with it. one of north—east england's most notorious crimes has finally been solved.

as that verdict was returned here in newcastle today, emotion spilled overin newcastle today, emotion spilled over in the courtroom and there were screams, shouting and insults hurled at the defendant as he was found guilty. eventually the police had to be called into the courtroom to remove some of the nikki's family and restore order. they have an answer after 30 year, but they're angry and frustrated at the police, because things have taken so long. clive. thank you. passengers have endured major disruption again today, after the first rail strike for two months. members of the aslef train drivers' union were involved at 16 rail companies, with some running no services at all. these include transpennine express, northern, avanti, east midlands railway, thameslink and southern. 0ur transport correspondent, katy austin, has the very latest.

there is a separate strike tomorrow. once again, empty platforms, closed stations and picket lines. i'm five hours into a journey that's going to be taking eight hours. michael had to take a coach to eurovision celebrations instead of the train. tthe journey should have taken three hours on the train this morning. it's obviously a massive inconvenience. i've lost half of my day at my destination in liverpool. so how did we get to this point? the train companies and the government say the railway is financially unsustainable and ways of working have to change to enable pay rises. unions point out the increases which have been offered are way below inflation and argue jobs and working conditions are being attacked. train drivers union aslefhas rejected pay rises of 1t% two

years in a row, dependent on changes like committing to sunday working drivers. walk—out started lastjuly. the unions leader says they're in it for the long haul. unfortunately, my members still think we go harder and faster after 1a, 15, 16 months of trying to negotiate in a reasonable way. after two deals that are seen as acts of bad faith, they think they'll be slapped in the face. the government doesn't directly negotiate, but controls how much money is on the table. it insists the offer put to train drivers was a good one. this would take their pay up to £65,000. there's no change to the hours. so i believe that not only is a generous pay rise and bear in mind that their pay has gone up almost 40% since 2011. national strikes by the rmt union began lastjune. its members at network rail, voted to accept the deal in march. but the dispute with 1a train companies goes on. workers at those operators, such as train guards, will be on strike again tomorrow. the rmt�*s committee has

rejected what the government has called a best and final offer 5%, one year and 1t% the next. its members have backed strike action for potentially another six months. they'll walk out tomorrow, meaning limited services in many places. and drivers have two more strikes in the diary. for rail passengers, there's more disruption ahead. michael's just glad he got to liverpool in the end. we made it! katie austin, bbc news. our top story this evening. the party is on in liverpool on the eve of the eurovision song contest, which the city is hosting on behalf of ukraine. coming up, this woman is confirmed as the new ceo of twitter. 0n bbc london: the call for more mental health support for young cancer patients going through treatment. and the head of the women's fa cup final, wejoined the

and the head of the women's fa cup final, we joined the chelsea football stars inspiring the new generation. the government has defended this year? results for sats tests, saying they are meant to stretch most able pupils. it comes after parents say the sats reading paper left some pupils to be stressed during the exam and in tears. 0ne mother told the bbc that her child, who loves reading, was unable to finish the paper. a head teachers' union says even some staff struggled to understand the questions. here's our education editor, branwyn jeffreys. practising for the end of primary school tests, reading and then answering about a0 questions in an hour. but this year, many children struggled to finish. at this halifax primary school, they encourage children to aim high. 11—year—old aniah is letting off steam with her sister.

her mum and others at the school say the reading test was tough. she came home and she struggled. she was upset and teary about it. it was more the reading, to be honest. she didn't expect it to be that hard. she's a really good reader. she enjoys reading. she has practised sats papers that she has done and she has found them 0k. but this particular paper, she found really difficult. the tests are meant to measure the school's standards, not the pupils', but teachers say some children were left in tears and this birmingham head teacher fears that their confidence could be affected. it was incredibly tough. children who normally absolutely blitz these tests when they practise and get 90% and above were struggling. you could see the colour was draining out of the staff's faces, and some of the children. we had a couple of children

who were in tears. a couple of our real high attainers who love reading and just devour books, were distraught because they hadn't finished all of the questions. that had never happened to them before. we asked the regulator 0fqual about this year's reading sats. in a statement, it said "we routinely monitor the standard and the accessibility of the tests", but there is no further comment on this year's reading tests. schools get pupils to practise for months to reassure them. now parents are having to do that all over again. no concerns have been raised about this year's maths or grammar tests. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. elon musk has announced his replacement as chief executive of twitter. linda yaccarino, who was head of media advertising at the media giant universal, will start work in six weeks' time. michelle fleury is a new york forest. elon

musk was a colourful ceo, to say the least. what difference will carry no —— will linda yaccarino make? we -- will linda yaccarino make? we shouldn't be _ —— will linda yaccarino make? - shouldn't be surprised that the announcement of the end of his tenure as social media ceo came on the platform. he announced linda yaccarino. she is a senior executive and that is going to be important for twitter if it wants to rebuild its trust with advertisers. you may recall that after elon musk the social media platform for ma billion in october, twitter not only laid off roughly three quarters of its staff, but basically, the money its staff, but basically, the money it makes from advertising plunged, and i was partly because brands paused their spending. they were worried that the billionaire might alter content moderation. they were worried that their brand names might appear alongside content that they didn't feel was appropriate. so for the incoming ceo, one of her challenges will be to woo them back.

she is credited with helping to launch peacock, the streaming service owned by nbc universal, so she will have to bring all her experience to bear. but it is worth remembering that elon musk is still the sole owner of this company and ultimately, it will be him who calls the shots. ~ . , the shots. michelle fleury, reporting _ the shots. michelle fleury, reporting for— the shots. michelle fleury, reporting for us _ the shots. michelle fleury, reporting for us alive. - pakistan's former prime minister, imran khan, is to be freed from custody, a day after the supreme court ruled, that his dramatic arrest on corruption charges, was illegal. his detention sparked a wave of protests and violence in which several people died, and nearly 2,000 were arrested. live now to our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, who's in the capital islamabad, and caroline, you've managed to talk to imran khan, what's he been saying? clive, he has been fairly defiant, as he has been throughout the course of this week. he was speaking to me and conducting interviews inside the

courtroom in front of the judges' bench once thejudges courtroom in front of the judges' bench once the judges had courtroom in front of the judges' bench once thejudges had retired. i asked him whether he condoned the violence we have seen in the streets in pakistan since he was arrested on tuesday. he said he always wanted to have peaceful protests, that is what he has called for throughout his political career, but he could not be held responsible for what happened during that time period because he was in police custody. this is a fairly extraordinary day in an extraordinary week for imran khan. the last time he was in this court complex was on tuesday, and that was when he was arrested from there. today he will hope to be leaving that court, and he is going to be leaving that court with this blanket bail which will stand until monday as well. one thing that wasn't clear, he then left one courtroom and went into another courtroom. we then spent several hours with him inside that courtroom. he went from being fairly relaxed in conducting interviews and even giving selfies with people who wanted to have them, and then

gradually became more agitated that he hadn't been allowed to leave after several hours. he just released a statement saying people were blocking him from going and coming up with excuses. we have now heard in the last few minutes that we think he has been able to leave court. but there are still very big questions about what happens in pakistan in the next few weeks. caroline davies, live in islamabad. let's take a look at some of the day's other top stories. in the first three months of the year, britain's economy grew by 0.1%, according to the latest gdp figures from the office for national statistics. but the value of all goods and services produced in the uk remains smaller than levels seen before the covid pandemic. the british tech entrepreneur mike lynch has been extradited to america to face trial for alleged fraud. he's accused of overstating the value of his software company, autonomy, when it was bought by the us computer giant, hewlett packard, for nearly £9 billion. he denies any wrongdoing.

the archbishop of canterbury has been ordered to pay £510 for speeding. justin welby admitted exceeding the 20—mile—an—hour limit not farfrom lambeth palace in central london last october. he's also now got three points on his licence. six years ago, the gaming landscape changed when nintendo released the legend of zelda: breath of the wild. sales worldwide were £1.3 billion. that's more than the highest grossing film of 2017, star wars: the lastjedi, which madejust over a billion. well, today, nintendo finally released the long—anticipated sequel, the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom, and critics are calling its release one of the most important pop culture events of the year. our technology correspondent, marc cieslak, has that story.

elf—like hero link leaps into his latest adventure on a nintendo switch console. around the world, fans have queued through the night to get their hands on the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom. i100% believe that this game is going to be like nothing anybody has seen. everyone is excited about it because it's like, how do you follow a masterpiece? a role—playing game set in a fantasy world, the player stars as link, charged with rescuing princess zelda. players are encouraged to build and craft useful items from objects they find lying around, and it's this invitation to creativity, coupled with a vast realm to explore, which has seen the game launch to universal critical acclaim. if mario is the mickey mouse of games, like, the most recognisable face, then zelda is the connoisseur�*s choice.

it's the nintendo game that is most admired and beloved notjust by fans, but by other game developers. the first zelda game appeared on a nintendo machine injapan way back in 1986. since then, the series has enjoyed regular releases, with varying levels of financial success. but much more than being a money—spinner for nintendo, the zelda series has become a pop culture phenomenon. the thing that i say to people all the time that i love about the legend of zelda, mario's sick, but mario ain't changed. mario is the exact samejump man from the old arcade. zelda has grown so much, link has grown so much. touches our heart, man. critically hailed as a work of art and with the previous zelda title grossing over £1 billion, financial and audience expectations for tears of the kingdom are very high indeed. marc cieslak, bbc news.

that's all from me. i'll hand you back now to jane in liverpool, where eurovisionmania is building. thanks, clive. you're not wrong! i don't think it is overstating it to say you really can feel the excitement in the city. it is everywhere you look, on every banner, every poster. everywhere you walk around, you hear people talking about it. everyone appears to be invested one way or another. and it may be called the eurovision song contest — but people come from all over the world to enjoy it. i've been out in liverpool today chatting to some of them. it's been my dream to come to eurovision. it is the most incredible, joyful, inclusive, creative event you could possibly imagine. it's ourfirst time, it's our first time coming to eurovision and it's hard

to believe that we're here. it's just been the happiest experience you could imagine. are you loving it, or do you have to love it because mum loves it? i love it by myself, but it's definitely been inspired by my mother's love of it. and that's definitely become a contagious thought throughout our family. liverpool feels reallyl great at the moment. everyone is really excited. everyone's coming together. it's nice to be doing it for ukraine and trying to make it— a really special event. we've been watching eurovision since we were tiny. 0ur dad used to make us scorecards as a family and we would watch. and we remember katrina and the waves winning in �*97 and we remember the uk hosting in �*98. if you had told us then, when we were 12 and ten, that the next time that the uk was hosting on behalf of ukraine, we would get to be here, we wouldn't have believed you. it makes us proud. we were born and bred here, so it makes us so proud of the city as well.

actually, we are from ukraine. we really appreciate that liverpool and the united kingdom support ukraine so much. we get united by music, so thank you, everyone, for that! thank you! what is it about eurovision that just draws the lgbt community? why is it so important to our community? you can come as you are, you can present how you want to be. it's a form of expression. it's as camp as it comes. from all over europe, - we see the most camp displays of music and dancing and you just feel home, you feel safe. - people have come from communities where they are not always out to be i out and proud and here, we're a very queer city, i so you are allowed. music brings people together, music is love and music is good for the soul.

0n on top of all that, the sun has shone. we are so lucky, it's glorious in liverpool tonight. let's look at the weather wherever you are in the country. it has been sunnier because most of the western side of the uk, with the temperatures reaching the high teens to low 20s. were you had the sunshine today, more of the same tomorrow, but it wasn't like that everywhere. we had a feed of cloud affecting east scotland and most of england as well, so it was grey and drab. it was a chilly day today in the east. into the weekend, it is set to get warmer, with temperatures peaking in the low teens to late 20s when the sunshine pops out. tonight, cloud is going to roll back in across england, reaching east wales. cloudy also for east scotland, a bit of mist around and a few spots of drizzle. some clear spells out west. 0ne drizzle. some clear spells out west. one or two mist and fog patches. as