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Local and regional elections were being held across the UK on Thursday that could prove historic in Northern Ireland and heap further pressure on embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The contest for the devolved assembly in Belfast could see a pro-Irish nationalist party win for the first time in the troubled history of the British province.

The results, expected from Friday, could have huge constitutional implications for the four-nation UK’s future, with predicted victors Sinn Fein committed to a vote on reunification with Ireland.

Voters are electing councils in Scotland, Wales and much of England, with Johnson facing a potentially pivotal mid-term popularity test.

Poor results could reignite simmering discontent within his ruling Conservatives about his leadership, after a string of recent scandals.

– Jeopardy –

The prime minister voted in central London with his dog Dilyn, while the main UK opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer cast his ballot in the north of the capital with his wife, Victoria.

Johnson, 57, won a landslide 2019 general election victory by vowing to take the UK out of the European Union, and reverse rampant regional inequality.

Despite making good on his Brexit pledge, the pandemic largely stalled his domestic plans. 

But his position has been put in jeopardy because of anger at lockdown-breaking parties at his Downing Street office and the steeply rising cost of living.

Heavy losses could revive calls among Tory MPs to trigger an internal contest to oust Johnson as party leader and from power.

The polls, which opened at 0600 GMT and close at 2100 GMT, should also point to whether Labour poses a serious threat, as it tries to make inroads across England despite defending the many gains it made at the last local elections in 2018.

Labour is bidding to leapfrog the Conservatives into second place in Scotland, behind the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), and remain the largest party in Wales, where 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to vote for the first time. 

– ‘Sea change’ –

The contest for Northern Ireland’s power-sharing assembly is set to capture attention, after numerous polls put Sinn Fein ahead.

A University of Liverpool poll reported Tuesday it remained on target to win comfortably with over a quarter of the vote. 

The pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and cross-community Alliance Party were tied for second.

Deirdre Heenan, professor of social policy at Ulster University, said there was a feeling the election “really is momentous”. 

“It will be a sea change if a nationalist becomes first minister,” she told AFP.

Sinn Fein — the IRA’s former political wing — has dialled down its calls for Irish unity during campaigning, saying it is “not fixated” on a date for a sovereignty poll, instead focusing on the rising cost of living and other local issues.

Party vice president Michelle O’Neill has insisted voters are “looking towards the future” with pragmatism rather than the dogmatism that has long been the hallmark of Northern Irish politics.

“They’re very much looking towards those of us that can work together versus those that don’t want to work together,” she said.

– Power-sharing? –

But her DUP rivals have sought to keep the spotlight on possible Irish reunification in the hope of bolstering their flagging fortunes.

In February, its first minister withdrew from the power-sharing government in protest at post-Brexit trade arrangements, prompting its collapse. 

At a final election debate between the five biggest parties, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson reiterated the party would not form a new executive unless London rips up the trading terms, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Although many unionist voters share DUP dislike for it, the party is also getting blamed.

On Belfast’s staunchly unionist Shankill Road, gift shop owner Alaine Allen, 58, complained the protocol is “killing small businesses”.

“Hopefully they’ll get in again, but no one’s actually working for the people,” Allen said.

– Deliver –

In England, the Conservatives are predicted to lose hundreds of councillors and even control of long-time strongholds in London to Labour.

Johnson has tried to sideline the so-called “partygate” scandal that last month saw him become the first British prime minister to be fined for breaking the law while in office.

In Scotland, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is hoping a strong performance in contests for all 32 local authorities can lay the groundwork for another independence referendum.

Johnson has repeatedly rejected the push for a second poll, after Scots in 2014 voted by 55 percent to 45 percent not to break away.

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– Ceasefire at Azovstal –

A three-day Russian-announced daytime ceasefire was due to start at the besieged Azovstal steel works in the devastated port city of Mariupol, to allow the evacuation of civilians.

Ukraine’s army says Russia is “trying to destroy” its remaining soldiers holed up in the steel plant, with Kyiv’s last defenders in the city saying Moscow forces have broken into the giant factory.

“The situation is extremely difficult but despite this we continue to execute the order to hold the defence,” Denys Prokopenko, a commander of the Azov battalion, leading the defence of Mariupol says in a video on Telegram.

– Zelensky appeal –

After more than 300 civilians are evacuated from Mariupol on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asks United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to help save the lives of the remaining wounded Ukrainians trapped in Azovstal.

“The lives of the people who remain there are in danger. Everyone is important to us,” he says. 

– EU states opposing embargo ‘complicit’: Kyiv –

Ukraine says EU countries blocking an embargo on imports of Russian oil would be complicit in crimes committed by Russian troops on Ukrainian territory by funding Moscow’s military.

“If there is any country in Europe who will continue to oppose the embargo on Russian oil, there will be good reason to say, this country is complicit in the crimes committed by Russia in the territory of Ukraine,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says in a briefing on social media.

Hungary has warned that it could not support a proposed EU ban on Russian oil in its current form as it would “completely destroy” its energy supply security.

– Nuclear-capable missile practice –

Russia says its forces have practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes during war games in Kaliningrad, an exclave on the Baltic Sea located between EU members Poland and Lithuania. 

Moscow practised simulated “electronic launches” of nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems, the defence ministry says in a statement.

– Biden ‘open’ to more sanctions –

US President Joe Biden says he is “open” to imposing more sanctions on Russia and will discuss measures with allies from the G7 in the next few days.

“We’re always open to additional sanctions,” Biden says shortly after the European Union announced its plans for banning Russian oil imports and other new measures. 

– Mariupol military parade planned: Kyiv –

Ukraine accuses Russia of planning to hold a military parade in the destroyed city of Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II.

But Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu makes no mention of a celebratory march in the city in a briefing on the army’s plan for May 9.

– Targeting generals? –

Intelligence provided by the US has helped Ukrainian military target “many” of the approximately dozen Russian generals who have been killed in the war so far, the New York Times reports.

However the US National Security Council denies the report, saying US intelligence was aimed at helping “Ukrainians defend their country… we do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill Russian generals.” 

– Eastern assault continues –

Russian forces continue to pound sites in the east of the country, Ukraine’s general staff says, as Moscow seeks to establish “full control” of the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, and to maintain a land corridor to occupied Crimea.

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A Russian-announced ceasefire was due to begin Thursday at the besieged steel plant in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, to allow civilians to flee even as its defenders vowed to fight to the end.

The three-day halt in Russia’s attack on the Azovstal steelworks was announced as EU member states debated a proposed ban on Russian oil, the bloc’s toughest move yet over Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.

The EU also pledged to “significantly increase” support for Ukrainian neighbour Moldova, where a series of attacks in a Russia-backed separatist region has sparked fears a war that has killed thousands could spread more than two months after it began.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the bloc would “phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year”, a move that would still not touch its huge gas exports.

But within hours, Hungary — whose populist leader Viktor Orban is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s few EU partners — said it could not support the plan “in this form”, as it would “completely destroy” the security of its energy supply.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hit back that EU countries blocking an oil embargo would be “complicit” in Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies have sent money and, increasingly, heavy weapons to Kyiv to help it defend itself in a war US President Joe Biden has framed as a historic battle for democracy.

Biden said Wednesday he was “open” to imposing more sanctions on Russia and would be discussing measures with allies from the Group of Seven democracies in the coming days.

Intelligence provided by the US has helped Ukrainian military target “many” of the approximately dozen Russian generals who have been killed in the war so far, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The US National Security Council slammed the assertion that the United States was helping Ukraine kill Russian generals as “irresponsible,” with a spokesperson saying US intelligence was aimed at helping “Ukrainians defend their country… we do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill Russian generals.” 

Despite severe blows to its economy and the thwarting of its early war goals, Russia continues to steadily pound away at Ukraine’s embattled eastern defences.

– Azovstal fights on –

After failing to capture Kyiv, Russia’s military campaign is now focused on uniting separatist pro-Russian areas in the east with Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.

The strategic southern port of Mariupol has become an emblem of the suffering of the war, with an untold number of dead and basic supplies cut off as Moscow carried out a scorched-earth campaign to wrest control.

The last Ukrainian soldiers are holding out at the Azovstal steelworks, where Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said there was heavy fighting Wednesday.

Russia was attacking with heavy artillery, tanks, planes and ships off the coast, he told Ukrainian television.

“There are local residents there, civilians — hundreds of them there,” he added. “There are children waiting for rescue. There are more than 30 kids.”

Russia’s defence ministry announced a daytime ceasefire for three days beginning Thursday to evacuate civilians from the plant.

“The Russian armed forces will open a humanitarian corridor from 08:00 to 18:00 Moscow time (0500 to 1500 GMT) on May 5, 6 and 7 from the site of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians,” the ministry said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price voiced scepticism about the ceasefire, saying Moscow had repeatedly resumed shelling after announcing pauses.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the nationalist Azov regiment, meanwhile, vowed to never surrender the plant.

“The situation is extremely hard. However, we will continue carrying out the order to keep up our defences no matter what,” he said in a video.

– ‘It takes time’ –

The second stage of Mariupol evacuation operations had brought 344 newly freed people to Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

Zelensky said in a video address that an Azovstal ceasefire was desperately needed to free trapped civilians.

“It takes time to just lift people out of those basements, out of those underground shelters,” he said. 

“In the current conditions, we cannot use special equipment to clear the debris. Everything is done manually.”

Ukraine’s military intelligence has said Russia was planning to hold a parade in Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II.

But Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made no mention of a celebratory march in the city in a briefing on the army’s plan for May 9.

– No man’s land –

As the focus of Russia’s invasion has moved to Ukraine’s east, there is a steady build-up of tension, with lower-intensity but explosive strikes in some areas and increased fighting in others.

In a no-man’s-land near the southeastern town of Pokrovska, the two sides are only a few kilometres apart — so close that Ukrainian troops with binoculars can see the Russians digging at their positions.

The deep thump of artillery exchanges comes on top of the odd rocket salvo, yet Ukrainian soldiers told AFP during a visit Wednesday that there was almost no face-to-face fighting.

“As for now, they never come on foot, only artillery,” said soldier Dmytro Sirenko, 40, as he peered in the Russians’ direction across a broad, green expanse of farms, fields and the occasional house.

– Attacks in the west –

Russian attacks are also periodically straying close to Ukraine’s western border with the EU.

Both sides on Wednesday reported Russian strikes on infrastructure around the western city of Lviv, near Poland, and Transcarpathia, a region bordering Hungary.

Russia’s defence ministry said that its air and sea-based weapons had destroyed six electrical substations near railways including around Lviv, near Odessa to the south and near Dnipropetrovsk to the southeast.

It said Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbas region had used the railway stations to transport weapons and ammunition from the West.

In Ukraine’s western neighbour Moldova, there are fears the conflict will spill over the border.

Visiting the tiny ex-Soviet republic Wednesday, European Council President Charles Michel offered the EU’s “full solidarity” and support, including logistics, cyber defence and military equipment.

Ukraine has accused Russia of wanting to destabilise Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria to create a pretext for a military intervention. 

– Nuclear drills –

Moscow on Wednesday said its forces had practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, located between EU and NATO member states Poland and Lithuania.

The announcement came on the 70th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has displaced more than 13 million people in the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Russian President Putin has made thinly veiled threats hinting at a willingness to deploy tactical nuclear weapons since the invasion of Ukraine and warned of a “lightning-fast” retaliation should the West intervene directly.

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The streets of Beijing’s business district were deserted on Thursday as the government called for people to return to work remotely, with scores of subway stations shut after a national holiday muted by coronavirus curbs.

Chinese authorities have stuck to their zero-Covid policy of lockdowns and mass testing as they battle the biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, with entire neighbourhoods in the capital sealed over handfuls of infections.

Beijing reported 50 local cases on Thursday, a day after it said people in Chaoyang, its most populous district, should work from home.

Those among the district’s 3.5 million residents who needed to visit their offices were encouraged to drive themselves and avoid gatherings.

At least one other Beijing district has also encouraged residents to work from home, while dozens of subway stations across the capital remained closed. Open restaurants offer only takeaway.

But Feng Yinhao, a massage parlour employee in Chaoyang district, said Beijing was “still normal” compared to the country’s largest city, Shanghai.

Authorities have been treading cautiously since an extended lockdown in the southern finance hub led to food shortages and public anger.

“Residents can accept the situation now,” Zhan Jun, a man living in Chaoyang, told AFP.

But “if things are like in Shanghai… if it’s too severe, things will sound different.”

Shanghai — epicentre of the latest outbreak — reported more than 4,600 mostly asymptomatic infections on Thursday and 13 more deaths.

– Quiet holiday –

The call to work from home followed an unusually quiet Labour Day holiday, with the capital stepping up Covid testing requirements for entering public spaces, discouraging travel and shutting down gyms.

Domestic tourism revenue from the five-day break was down by more than 40 percent from a year ago, according to official data.

Dozens of Chinese cities were implementing full or partial lockdowns, or measures restricting mobility as of May 3, analysts from Nomura said.

The economic impact of the stringent measures has started to weigh, with independent data on Thursday showing that activity in China’s services sector slumped in April to its second-lowest level on record.

Meanwhile, the case of a Beijing Covid patient who infected dozens of others via the city’s public toilets sparked amusement on social media — with Weibo users sharing photos of one public restroom that now appeared to be requiring proof of a recent Covid test to enter.

“Don’t go to the toilet unless necessary, apply for a one-day loo permit with your neighbourhood committee with your 24-hour PCR test,” one user on the Twitter-like service joked.

Some curbs were being loosened, however, with Beijing announcing Wednesday that international travellers can be released from quarantine after 10 days in a centralised facility and a week of home isolation, down from a total of 21 days.

Government spokesman Xu Hejian told reporters the move was due to the Omicron variant’s shorter incubation period and usually milder symptoms.

Close contacts of confirmed cases will also have a shorter centralised quarantine, officials said.