we ll ask how the plan might work. also ahead. downing street says talks with the eu over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been positive , raising hopes of a new agreement. also in northern ireland. a fifth person s been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of the off duty police officerjohn caldwell in omagh. officially, there are just 30 minutes left to vote in nigeria s most competitive elections since the end of military rule. but there are still long queues, with reports that some polling stations didn t open on time. a record number of people, nearly 90 million,
this is bbc news welcome if you re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i m frankie mccamley. our top stories: millions of nigerians have been voting in their country s most competitive election since military rule ended there more than two decades ago. china s plans for peace in ukraine cause ripples around the world president zelensky says he wants to hear more and the leader of russia s key ally belarus announces plans to fly to beijing. governments in london and dublin say talks over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been positive raising hopes of an imminent new agreement on trade. i think the talks on reforming the
the uk and the eu appear to be inching closer to a new deal on the northern ireland protocol, one of the most controversial aspects of post brexit trading. under the protocol goods from scotland, england and wales are checked for compliance with eu rules before they enter northern ireland, effectively creating a border in the irish sea. those goods can then travel freely over an open border from northern ireland to the republic of ireland, which is part of the eu. the dup, northern ireland s main unionist party, and a number of tory mps are opposed to this level of eu oversight in part of the uk. the chancellor yesterday, on a visit to india, was confident a resolution can be found. well, what the government will do is strain every sinew to try and resolve the situation in northern ireland so that goods can be traded freely across the whole of the united kingdom internal market and we won t
it is having major implications for the normal functioning of it is having major implications for the normalfunctioning of democracy in this part of the world and that should be of concern to everybody. i think it sjust worth reminding our viewers abroad, the mla, just clarify exacting what you re talking about? pm clarify exacting what you re talking about? ~ clarify exacting what you re talking about? ~ ~ ., ., about? an mla, someone who was elected to the about? an mla, someone who was elected to the local about? an mla, someone who was elected to the local devolved - elected to the local devolved institutions at stormont, we haven t had a fully functioning local government in northern ireland since february of last year because the dup removed itself from the structures of locally devolved power so currently our departments are run by civil servants who don t have ministerial power and there has been some quasi direct rule from london, there are a lot of issues that remai
a rally in the main street. people attending will send a message they want northern ireland s peace process to be preserved. police are focusing their investigation on the dissident republican group known as the new ira. it s one of the paramilitary organizations which still targets the security forces almost 25 years after the conflict in this part of the uk largely ended. also this morning, john caldwell s football club, beragh swifts, is holding a walk of solidarity. the community is coming together to support the detective and condemn those who tried to murder him. chris page, bbc news. more than 50,000 people are known to have died in the earthquakes which struck turkey and syria earlier this month. as international aid flows into the area, the focus now is on helping survivors but getting help to those who need it can be challenging. 0ur correspondent, laura bicker, reports from turkey.