afrobeats live from london, this is bbc news. the veteran british tv presenter phillip schofield says he has agreed to step down from itv�*s this morning �*with immediate effect�* after more than 20 years ukraine dominates the g7 summit as president zelensky arrives in hiroshima to meet world leaders russia warns of massive risks for the west after the us agrees to train ukrainian pilots on american f—16fighterjets in northern ireland, the republican political party sinn fein is on track to become the largest party in local government — with calls for the return of local rule in stormont.

london—born afrobeat artist fuse odg has made a formal complaint against the met police after he was handcuffed by officers hello, i'm anjana gadgil. here in the uk, the veteran tv presenter phillip schofield will no longer present itv�*s this morning after agreeing to step down "with immediate effect" — his last programme was on thursday. the presenter has worked on the show for more than 20 years. recent reports claimed relations between him and co—host holly willoughby were strained. yesterday, his brother timothy schofield was sentenced to 12 years for sex offences against a child. today, philip schofield said the last few days had been �*very difficult' and that itv felt the current situation couldn't continue. our media correspondent david sillito reports. welcome back, i am holding the fort. holly has had to leave early today, because she is meeting his majesty the king.

philip schofield, for 20 years the host of this morning. no longer. in a resignation statement, he suggested that itv had decided the time had come to call it a day. he wrote: he has been on television since the 1980s, including some of itv�*s most high—profile output. he has been making headlines recently, including for his supposed queuejumping for the queen's lying in state, and when he came out as gay there were tears on the show, but there were reports that all was

not well behind the scenes. it is very difficult to convince otherwise, people are convinced that he and holly willoughby have fallen out. once that this happened it is very difficult to convince people to turn back. holly willoughby�*s was respectful in her statement, she said this: adding to the headlines this week, philip schofield's brother was jailed for sexual abuse. he may have been one of tv�*s most familiar faces, he may have been one of tv�*s most familiarfaces, most familiarfaces, but, faced with all of this, it appears the show is bigger than the star. earlier i spoke to entertainment journalist caroline frost about phillip schofield's departure.

we know that these duos on tv, their chemistry is their superpower. when it works, it is magnificent. we have seen it with and deck for many years, and we have seen it over a decade with phil and holly. when chemistry cracks, and it becomes increasingly awkward, as his statement says, this morning had become the story rather than what they were reporting on. it did seem as though over the last few years, we have seen the power shift. when hollyjoined in 2009, philip was very much a star, centre stage, and really keen to introduce this new ingenue to audiences. that is not the case any more, it holly willoughby very much has her own brand, her own management company, we have seen a spacing of the ways, and as a correspondent has talked about, in the last year, too many stories away from the screen centring on phillip schofield and clearly some awkwardness has crept in and made it untenable that people treat them as a dynamic duo on our screens in the morning and in our living room. something had to go, and i think that holly is unfortunately holding more cards these days.

certainly, viewers in the uk will know that holly willoughby�*s brand is very strong. she has a large social media presence and presents a lot of other shows. what does this mean for philip schofield? does he still had a career at itv? it is interesting, the head of itv has been quick to pay tribute to all of phillip schofield's efforts over the last few years. he has been quick to say that they look forward to working with him in the future, specifically the soap awards specifically the soap awards coming up in a few weeks, and also mentioned an as yet unannounced prime—time tv series. perhaps some sort of deal has been cut, other speculation talks about the possibility that phillip schofield might take some big bucks to go to the other channels that are out there and create a new domain once again. or, perhaps back to the west end stage where he previously triumphed as joseph.

he has options, he's no longer the young presenter in the broom cupboard with gordon the gopher. but he has something of a fan base, and the next few weeks and months will be crucial to whether he can turn that into an enduring enterprise in the private eyes and on our screens. gordon the gopher, that is an aged and uk—based reference. how does itv go about finding a replacement. you talk about duos, how do you replace philip schofield? you want that chemistry, when they were giggling, making each other laugh spontaneously, nothing better. great telly, great ratings. that is what has fallen off the cliff. itv will be keen to replicate that. clearly, they are keeping holly as their vanguard for all of this. it'll be interesting to see who they think is the right person to sit beside her. already, contenders include dermot 0'leary, who takes place on this morning once a week, also, alison hammond, who stood in for philip

schofield in recent weeks. fans were quick to remark on the compatibility of allison and holly willoughby. holly willoughby was very quick togo on social media and posting pictures of alison. paraphrase a recent quote, "who holly wants holly will get." you go through some of the possible replacements, normally daytime tv has a standard formula, one man, one woman. do you think now could be the time for a change? for years it has been, as you say, been that formula. when it has been great it has been those married couples off—screen, who can bring relatable daily lives onto the television. people seem to warm to married couples bringing their real lives onto that so far. we believe in that chemistry. now interestingly, maybe it is time for some girl power, some woman power, which would be

holly and alison, or someone else completely. this is a chance to break the mould, to think, what audiences need to think, what do audiences need at that time in the morning. to think, what do audiences need we know that the itv line—up is very strong, it goes through to loose women, it is seen as a cornerstone of that schedule, they do not want those ratings to fall. they have fallen this week, i am surprised, i would have thought people wanted to queue up to watch the dirty linen being washed. people do not like tension, they want comfort, ease, and camaraderie. whoever can create that will win those ratings and those itv contracts. ukraine's president zelensky has told world leaders at the g7 summit that "peace will become closer" after the us agreed to train ukrainian pilots on american fi6 fighterjets, paving the way for european countries to supply the warplanes to kyiv. the rules state that countries can only resell or re—export us military hardware if america approves it. but moscow has warned the decision could present "colossal risks" to the allied countries, and china has also expressed

its "strong dissatisfaction". 0ur political editor chris mason reports from hiroshima. the airport here has welcomed rather a few leaders in the last few days, and here came another one. after a tour of europe and a trip to the middle east, president zelensky arrived in japan today, long haul diplomacy amid a long drawn—out war. and an ongoing pleas for help. they met on monday in the uk, and they met again here, the president and the prime minister. ukraine's leader said enhanced cooperation would bring victory for him and claimed that peace is closer. are you closer to peace now, sir? four months, ukraine has been asking for warplanes, in particular, these fighterjets, f-i6s. america, which makes, has now said that allies who have

has now said its allies who have them can give them to ukraine. the uk does not have any of these planes, but is one of several countries including the us that will help the ukrainian air force. the united states will support a joint effort to train ukrainian pilots on fourth generation fighter aircraft including f—i6s. we have turned to discussions about improving the ukrainian air force as part of our long—term commitment to ukrainian self—defence. this is unquestionably a big win for ukraine, securing the first stage of what it has long hoped for. that is, the training of its pilots with the expectation of the planes themselves are following. themselves following. president zelensky is the centre of attention here, and that sends a pretty blunt message to moscow. but not everyone is a straightforward cheerleader for ukraine. the indian prime minister, narendra modi has never

condemned russia's invasion. the g7 leaders gathered for what is known as the family photo this afternoon, they will have more talks with volodymyr zelensky throughout the weekend. well, on that, our diplomatic correspondent in kyiv, james landale, has the latest. well, much of the g7, certainly the european side of it have been pushing for this for some time. it is the americans who have been elected, saying been reluctant saying that there is a risk of escalation. a risk of getting dragged deeper into the war. there are cost implications, too. it is complicated, it will not be easy. it is notjust a question of handing over a weapon, it is about talking about the support crew, engineers, training, securing those airports where they can be based. so, not surprisingly, it has gone down well here in ukraine. it is something that ukraine has been asking for some time.

but we are asking for something in the future, it will not be a quick fix or making a difference to the upcoming counter offence. this is a message saying that we are going to support ukraine militarily in the long term, hopefully that is heading the kremlin. heard in the kremlin. zelensky says that pieces coming closer. do you see signs of that in kyiv? if that how people there think? no. peace is not coming closer. we are preparing for a ukrainian counteroffensive. there will be more fighting, more people will die. neither side in this war shows any sign of wanting to give way in any point, any prospect of talks and negotiations or any kind of political settlement only becomes possible when one of either side no longer sees any purpose, any benefit in continuing the fight. at the moment, both sides seem to want to continue that fight. we feel this every day in kyiv, almost every night, we hear and see

explosions and drones coming in targeting air defences explosions and drones coming in, targeting the air defences around the city. president zelensky has been on a whistle—stop tour of europe in recent days. he is now injapan. he has the agreement the us fighterjets... is it the culmination of his efforts over the last few weeks? part of that, fighterjets, the family photos we saw in that report, it is about sending a signal to moscow that the western pro ukraine alliance remains strong. but the diplomacy from zelensky is trying to talk to those leaders who are not convinced by his argument, who are not part of that pro ukraine alliance. many arab leaders. he has also met the indian prime minister, the brazilian president in japan. these are not

a sympathetic audience. many of these leaders want this war to end sooner rather than later. they think that it is damaging the world economy, it is damaging their economies, many of the countries in the gulf are finding it hard to get access to ukrainian grain. so they do not support continuing this war to the point by russian this war to the point where russian forces are kicked out. those other people who president zelensky is trying to commence, saying, look, you guys need to realise that you cannot have countries going around invading other countries as happened in this and that matters to you, case and that matters to you, in africa, in the middle east, in asia, in south america, as much as it does here in europe. china expressed a strong dissatisfaction with the decision, the us decision. what impact could those strong statements like that coming out of beijing make? well, remember, beijing is not part of the g7, and it is a fairly routine moment for china to issue a statement criticising various statements

and decisions made by the g7, whether they are comments about defending taiwan, which china sees as part of it's own territory, and anyone who says anything about it is in china's view, interfering in internal affairs, but also, china is one of those countries which wants to try and play a role in mediating some sort of political settlement in this war. now, at the moment, there is some engagement between kyiv and the chinese. a diplomat, a very senior chinese diplomat, was here just a few days ago. but kyiv made very clear to him that if china is really clear about defending sovereignty and territorial integrity, which it says it is, then it should be supporting territorial integrity here in ukraine, and therefore demanding that russian forces leave. china is not doing that, it is not demanding that russian forces leave. but, i think that ukraine

will continue to engage with china because it means that in the long run, whatever political settlement there is in the future, china may play a role as a guarantor of some kind of settlement because it is one of the few governments that moscow listens to. fifteen dogs have been seized by greater manchester police investigating an attack which led to the death of a 37—year—old man near wigan. jonathan hogg, who was described by his family as a "well—loved, sensitive, and kind person", died after suffering serious injuries in the attack. for the first time, sinn fein are on course to become the largest party in local government in northern ireland. the results in the local council elections come at a time of political crisis in the devolved government at stormont where the dup have been blocking a return to power—sharing. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. a warning — her report contains flashing images.

it's becoming a familiar story on this island. a surge for sinn fein on an elections results day. this time last year, the party became the largest party in the devolved government at stormont. today, they repeated that in the local council elections, overtaking the dup. it was about a message of telling people what we were for. it was about electing hard working councillors. but for me it definitely was about positive leadership. it was about a restoration of the executive. it was about making politics work. and i'm very glad that that has resonated with the electorate and that they have come out in such strong numbers. northern ireland's democratic unionists have been refusing to return to power—sharing at stormont because of their objections to the post—brexit trading arrangements. and while this election was for local councils, it was seen as people's first chance to send a message about the big political crisis. while the dup�*s vote largely held

up, the unionist vote overall has splintered in recent years and they've paid a price. there's no getting away from the fact that unionism needs to take a long, hard look at how we manage elections. the splintering of the unionist vote, the turnout, the differential, in turnout between areas. these are issues that we do need to address, and i'm happy to sit down with my fellow unionists and examine these issues. the dup�*s refusal to re—enter power—sharing at stormont was used by sinn fein as a campaigning tool and appears to have worked. the sense that sinn fein�*s leader here, michelle 0'neill, was prevented from becoming first minister by the dup�*s boycott, has seen sinn fein picking up key votes. the centre ground alliance party, who are neither unionist nor nationalist, also made some gains and have remained the third largest party in local councils. sinn fein ultimately wants to leave the uk and create a united ireland, but they don't put this front and centre.

the party has been trying to broaden its appeal and pick up younger voters and their strategy has been proving successful. some breaking news. a masked man has climbed up a statue on the front of the bbc�*s broadcasting house in central london with a hammer and chisel has been arrested. there has been a campaign to remove the statue of prospero and ariel, because the sculptor, eric gill, wrote about sexually abusing two of his daughters in his diary. it's the second time the 1930s work at broadcasting house has been targeted. the man was brought through the building and escorted across the front plaza where he was thrown into a police van according to a bbc cameraman on the scene. british musician fuse 0dg has made a formal complaint against london's met police, claiming he was "racially profiled" by officers. the afrobeats artist was handcuffed by officers in february after they said they smelt cannabis. 0ur newsroom reporter naomi choy smith has the details.

this all stems back to an incident in the south london neighbourhood of brixton in february when afrobeats star fuse 0dg says he was sitting in a car with his manager when they were approached by members of the metropolitan police. according to fuse 0dg, as he posted on his instagram, he was dragged out of his car and handcuffed with no warning or explanation. he goes on to mention that he suffered injuries and neck and back pain for several weeks after the incident. this video has just been posted weeks after the incident. this video hasjust been posted in weeks after the incident. this video has just been posted in the last couple of days to fuse 0dg's instagram, and decency says he took a couple of months to process what happened to him before posting the video. let's take a look at that now. are you mad? set out of the car.

this is a drug _ are you mad? set out of the car. this is a drug search. _ are you mad? set out of the car. this is a drug search. now- are you mad? set out of the car. this is a drug search. now fuse l this is a drug search. now fuse odg has made a — this is a drug search. now fuse odg has made a formal _ this is a drug search. now fuse odg has made a formal complaint - this is a drug search. now fuse odg has made a formal complaint to - this is a drug search. now fuse odg has made a formal complaint to the | has made a formal complaint to the met police about this incident and the met has responded, saying they have made a voluntary referral to the independent 0ffice have made a voluntary referral to the independent office for police conduct. they say it will also be assessed by officers from the directorate on professional standards. now, fuse 0dg is a major international artic, a british ghanaian singer with a huge following, especially online. you may know his hits like antenna. fuse odg may know his hits like antenna. fuse 0dg has also been heavily invested in his community, both in ghana and here in the uk, supporting up—and—coming musicians, investing in local schools. since the death of george floyd in the us, he has also been very vocal about issues of race, calling this recent issue racial profiling. as we mentioned,

the met is investigating, and we will bring you the latest as we get it. fourteen people have died and thousands have been left homeless, after heavy rains and flooding in parts of northern italy. the mayor of the city of ravenna, has told the bbc, that it's the worst disaster in a century. in some places people are running out of food and drinking water, with aid unable to reach them. earlier, we spoke to italian journalist and author stella levantesi — she started by giving an assessment of the stiuation there. the latest reports talk about 23 overflowing rivers, 300 landslides, and 500 disrupted or destroyed roads. over 18,000 people still without electricity. of course, agriculture has also been heavily impacted and affected. rescue efforts are still ongoing in emilia—romagna. political leaders in government have expressed there, and i quote, expressed their, and i quote, total closeness to the affected population, especially on twitter, and the government says it is working on approving an aid

package for the region as soon as possible. however, some right—wing politicians have also been making public statements attacking climate activists and denying the link between extreme weather events and the climate crisis, and this messaging has also been echoed by some media outlets. in football, manchester city could win the premier league this evening without kicking a ball. they will claim the title if arsenal lose to nottingham forest. they are playing right now at the city ground and as it sounds, arsenal are i— right now at the city ground and as it sounds, arsenal are 1— zero down. that means nottingham forest secure their emyr dani premier league status as it stands and manchester city would win the league. for more on this we're joined by myles danks — host of �*the football diary�* podcast. iam i am trying to focus on you and not the football. what are we seeing here? is this manchester city storming the last second half of the season, unstoppable, or is it arsenal bottling it? it is a

combination of both. it arsenal bottling it? it is a combination of both.- arsenal bottling it? it is a combination of both. it is a shame to use the — combination of both. it is a shame to use the phrase _ combination of both. it is a shame to use the phrase bottling - combination of both. it is a shame to use the phrase bottling it - combination of both. it is a shame to use the phrase bottling it for i to use the phrase bottling it for arsenal, they have had a good season overall, and when i look back they will be proud of the effort, what this could have done, it�*s been great, and the manager will be pleased. when you come up against a team like man city with endless riches and new resources like haaland it is difficult to compete on that level. it haaland it is difficult to compete on that level.— on that level. it is difficult, their champions _ on that level. it is difficult, their champions league i on that level. it is difficult, their champions league in | on that level. it is difficult, i their champions league in the on that level. it is difficult, - their champions league in the mid week, they are almost impossible to beat. was it going to be an impossible task for arsenal to try and stay level with them? i impossible task for arsenal to try and stay level with them?- impossible task for arsenal to try and stay level with them? i think so when ou and stay level with them? i think so when you consider— and stay level with them? i think so when you consider the _ and stay level with them? i think so when you consider the squad - and stay level with them? i think so when you consider the squad that l when you consider the squad that arsenal have. although they started the season strongly felt like they have been carried through a lot. when injury started happening, particularly in defence, that has really rocked them and their efforts. you cannot compete with a squad like man city, particularly with guardian not leading it. ——

particularly with pep guardiola leading it. particularly with pep guardiola leadin: it. , ., , leading it. they are definitely auoin to leading it. they are definitely going to be — leading it. they are definitely going to be the _ leading it. they are definitely going to be the champions i leading it. they are definitely i going to be the champions league next season. should see it as a successful season overall? along with that, integrating _ successful season overall? along with that, integrating new - successful season overall? along with that, integrating new sidesl successful season overall? alongl with that, integrating new sides in has been really key for them, additions are made injanuary have bolstered that squad. it is a young squad,it bolstered that squad. it is a young squad, it isn�*t the only chance arsenal will get can at this level. if you think of previous people who have made lots of progress this season, they have to be happy with a second place finish. i don�*t think many arsenalfans would second place finish. i don�*t think many arsenal fans would have expected to find themselves in this position. expected to find themselves in this osition. ., expected to find themselves in this osition. . ., ., ., position. there are another four minutes of— position. there are another four minutes of injury _ position. there are another four minutes of injury time - position. there are another four minutes of injury time to - position. there are another four minutes of injury time to go i position. there are another four minutes of injury time to go in l position. there are another four i minutes of injury time to go in that match with forest leading i—0. let�*s go back nottingham forest. if things go back nottingham forest. if things go their way, they will be in the premier league for another season. how much of a successor is that? your mac a huge success. they trusted in their manager, it comes

down to that. he has done a great job at nottingham forest, and we have seen a lot of teams jump the gun early this season, or even too late, like brendan rodgers at leicester, and they lasted a while, but after they�*ve gone, you wonder if they would have been in a better position. nottingham forest, despite our upheaval in the summer, numerous transfers, this is a great result. looking at the relegation battle, it is between leicester, leeds, everton. depending on this result, which we will have in three minutes, what do you think is going to happen? what do you think is going to ha--en? . what do you think is going to ha en? ., , ,., what do you think is going to hauen? ., , , happen? everton... every point is really going _ happen? everton... every point is really going to — happen? everton... every point is really going to matter. _ happen? everton... every point is really going to matter. i'm - happen? everton... every point is really going to matter. i'm so i happen? everton... every point is. really going to matter. i'm so sorry to interruot — really going to matter. i'm so sorry to interruot you. — really going to matter. i'm so sorry to interrupt you, we _ really going to matter. i'm so sorry to interrupt you, we actually i really going to matter. i'm so sorry to interrupt you, we actually have i to interrupt you, we actually have to interrupt you, we actually have to end for now, thank you very much for talking to us.— for talking to us. thanks for having me. hello again. we will continue to see big

differences in the weather around the uk this weekend. it was a beautiful day today in wales, plenty of sunshine in england as well. some fair weather cloud, but didn�*t spoil things, temperatures reaching 20—20 celsius. much more cloud, though, across scotland and also in northern ireland, and that has been producing some rain and drizzle. it�*s been getting a little bit wetter as well. we�*ve had that stripe of cloud sitting in the northwest of the uk. next weather front is sort of bumping into the back of it, and that�*s why we�*re seeing some rain this evening and into the first part of the night, at least for scotland and northern ireland. the rain does peter out later on. england and wales, clear skies for the most part, some misty weather, low cloud and some fog patches for eastern areas. temperatures could be as low as 4—5 celsius. it will be milder in scotland and northern ireland. let�*s set the scene, then, for sunday, we�*ve still got high—pressure setting of the uk. that weather front just sort of fizzling out, if you like. and we�*ve got an easterly breeze coming in, and that is going to bring in some of this cloud

that�*s there in the north sea onto some eastern coasts, and maybe more cloud across the southeast during the afternoon. sunshine elsewhere for england and wales, and a warm day as well, but still that cloud for scotland and northern ireland. not much rain coming from it in the afternoon, and we may get a bit of sunshine in the north west of scotland. not going to do much for the temperatures, mind you, if anything, it may be a little bit cooler than today in scotland and northern ireland, but those temperatures again, 20—2i celsius in england and wales. high—pressure for the start of next week. this little weather front here coming into the northwest, not bringing much rain. that will move away, it�*ll be followed by odd shower it�*ll be followed by the odd shower for western scotland and perhaps northern ireland. england and wales looks dry, plenty of sunshine, perhaps more of a northerly breeze, but those temperatures holding pretty steady. i7 celsius in the central belt of scotland, 21 celsius in south wales. high—pressure will continue to shape our weather right the way into next week, and occasionally, we�*ll see some weather fronts bringing a little rain towards northern scotland, perhaps the north of northern ireland. and on wednesday, perhaps some cooler air moving down

from the northwest as well. certainly no hot weather on the way for next week. pleasant enough, and temperatures, on the whole, near average. and for much of next week week, it is going to be dry with sunshine at times.

this is bbc news. the headlines...