this is bbc news, the headlines: this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. our top stories: sudan‘s coup takes an unexpected turn. a day after ousting the president, jubilation in sudan as the head the head of the military council of the military council steps down also steps down. in a broadcast on state television, just one day after leading a coup the defence minister revealed his successor would be another army officer. that ousted the president. at least 16 people have died in protests demanding a transition to democracy. translation: i announce as leader of the transitional military council that i am stepping down from this position to select someone whose expertise and competence a swedish investigation i can trust. into sexual assault allegations i am confident that he will take against wikileaks founder julian assange could be reopened. it follows the australian‘s arrest at the ecuadorian embassy in london the ship to the shores of safety. on friday, where he has lived for the past seven years. he denies the allegations but now also faces us federal conspiracy more legal trouble forjulian assange. charges after allegedly prosecutors in sweden consider reopening a rape inquiry against the wikileaks founder. leaking government secrets. president trump launches the indian private airline, a new attack on so—called sanctuary jet airways, has suspended cities, where undocumented migrants all its international flights until monday. the sudden cancellation has stranded passengers across indian cities and around the world. the debt—ridden carrier was operating less than 20 planes are made to feel welcome. out of a fleet of 123 on friday.

passengers left stranded all over the world as india'sjet airways suspends international flights. hello, and welcome to bbc world news. a day after sudan's president was forced from power in a military coup, there's yet more uncertainty about the country's future leadership. the general who led the takeover has stepped down, following protests that he was too close to omar al—bashir. general awad ibn auf announced his resignation on state television. he's being replaced as the head of the army council by another general. demonstrators have continued to protest on the streets, calling for elections and claiming the military isn't capable of change.

our senior africa correspondent anne soy reports. uncertain times in sudan, but protesters are undeterred. they say the revolution isn't over yet. the country's strongman may be gone, but in his place now are some of his closest allies. but the people are demanding an end to military rule. translation: we want a civilian transitional government as soon as possible. if it has to be the army who makes this happen, then we don't want anyone from their side who has been part of the regime in any way. translation: why isn't there a transitional government? all those people who died, have theyjust gone in vain? we cannot accept this. there are fears the army generals who toppled the president will do anything to hold onto power. they supported repression for decades, but the generals are now promising reform, political dialogue and a transition to civilian government. translation: all of us, we should work hand in hand. we are not against the demands of the people. we are for the demands

of the people. but this evening, in an extraordinary development, the man sworn in only yesterday as sudan's new military leader has announced his resignation. general awad ibn auf said he is handing over power to another military leader seen as less close to the old regime, perhaps more sympathetic to the protesters. women have been at the forefront of the protests. "reject the regime coup", they chanted in khartoum today. one woman has come to symbolise the rebellion. these images of 22—year—old engineering student alaa salah went viral earlier this week as she led demonstrations. translation: the role of sudanese women is very significant in the revolution. they've taken part equally with men and have faced violence and beatings. women have endured a lot of pain and have kept on going.

but the protesters want to see the system overhauled, notjust a change of face. anne soy, bbc news. prosecutors in sweden are considering whether to reopen an investigation into a rape allegation againstjulian assange. the wikilea ks founder was arrested on thursday, when ecuador revoked his asylum at its embassy in london, after nearly seven years. the us wants him extradited to face charges of conspiracy to hack a government computer. but, here in the uk the opposition labour party says he shouldn't be sent to america for having exposed evidence of us atrocities in iraq and afghanistan. here's tom symonds. swedish prosecutors have been pursuing julian assange for years about rape, coercion and molestation allegations. he took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy. eventually, the prosecutors stopped trying to question him. but when the metropolitan police dragged him into custody,

they got a second chance. they have until next august to restart the rape investigation. assange fought not to go to sweden because he was worried sweden would extradite him to the us. now britain's considering that. he's obviously going to fight extradition and fight it hard. this case raises significant issues about free speech. we've been warning about the prospect of an extradition request from the united states since 2010. after seven years inside the embassy, resolving the case will mean answering some fundamental questions. isjulian assange a global campaigner who worked up a conspiracy to hack secret computer systems? or is he a journalist publishing leaked information in the public interest — something the courts might be more lenient about. in these modern times, he may well be a bit of both, but this is how he described

himself to the bbc in 2010. we're a publisher. we accept information from whistle—blowers. we vet it, we analyse it and we publish it and that's what we do. but the american charge sheet against him suggests he did more than just accept and publish. it accuses him of requesting information from chelsea manning, the us intelligence analyst, and of trying to crack a password himself. he's not accused of spying or treason, and the maximum sentence in these charges is less than the time he spent in the embassy. but labour believes he's being pursued for political reasons. i think there may be human rights issues in relation to assange. he is, at the very least, a whistle—blower and much of the information that he brought into the public domain, it could be argued, was very much in the public interest. but wikilea ks leaked hillary clinton's emails and she wants him charged.

it's not about punishing journalism. it's about assisting the hacking of the military computer to steal information from the united states government, but the bottom line is, he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it's been charged. he has nine weeks to prepare his case against extradition. tom symonds, bbc news. judges at the international criminal court have rejected a request by a prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes in afghanistan. the judges said crimes might well have been committed by us military personnel, the afghan army and the taliban, but they felt there was little chance of prosecutions. the human rights group amnesty international has criticised the ruling. the world health organisation says it fears outbreaks of infectious

north korean leader kim jong north korean leader kimjong has said he is only interested in meeting president trump again if he comes with the "right attitude". mr kim said the collapse of his second summit with mrtrump kim said the collapse of his second summit with mr trump in february raised a risk of return to past tensions, and that the us needed to come up with a new approach before the end of the year. washington insists it will not lift sanctions until pyongyang has got rid of its nuclear capability. mr trump said he was considering a potential third summit. president trump has said he's considering releasing illegal immigrants into democrat—controlled urban strongholds, in retaliation for the party's opposition to his immigration policies. he said he planned to bring them to so—called sanctuary cities, including new york and chicago, which have refused to hand over undocumented immigrants for deportation. in response, democrat mayors across the country said they would welcome the new arrivals and condemned what they called president trump's "racist rhetoric."

i have been speaking to our washington correspondent chris buckler. i asked washington correspondent chris buckler. iasked him washington correspondent chris buckler. i asked him whether president trump is ‘s statements undermined those of his own white house staff. it was first reported by the washington post yesterday, but actually, at that stage, the department of homeland security and the white house was saying it's not being considered at the moment. it seems to have first been suggested back in november, one president trump became concerned about these groups of migrants coming close to the mexican border with the united states. he became concerned about what are known as the caravans. then again, in february, when democrats and mr trump were fighting about budgets and just how many detention beds there would be for the immigration authorities. but it has raised its head again, and despite the fact that some inside his administration

are concerned about this idea, it seems president trump does want to push it, and there is a feeling he wa nts to push it, and there is a feeling he wants to push it partly because sanctuary cities tend to be in these democratic strongholds, politically. therefore he really wants to take this issue of immigration to the democrats‘ own doorstep. this issue of immigration to the democrats' own doorstep. so it sounds like a political issue, then, it sounds like it is a political move rather than something to deal with the issue itself? yeah, and there are big issues with this, not least for example how you do it. there are some within the department of homeland security that are already having this conversation about if you were to do it, do you ask them, do you plane them, what are the costs for this? how do we work this out? there are even questions about the legality, because you need a reason for doing this. there has been some pushback from the democrats, as you can imagine. president trump of course

talked about the idea of this perhaps being california, for example. san francisco in california is where the speaker of the house, the democrats‘ leader there, nancy pelosi, has her own constituency. if you look at it, she is saying that this is definitely an attempt to use people as a political pawn in what isa people as a political pawn in what is a much wider game. riot police in the algerian capital have fired teargas at huge numbers of protestors, who responded by hurling back the tear gas canisters. hundreds of thousands have been demonstrating to demand a new government that doesn‘t include the ruling elite. our correspondent orla guerin reports from the capital algiers. "the country is ours," they chant. "and we will do what we want." algerians are seizing their moment. even the youngest are brought along. mass protest, now the friday routine. just a few months ago, this seemed impossible. you could go to jail for posting on facebook. after decades of repression

by a hated regime, it‘sjust too much for some. "what do they want from us?" he says. "we ask god for revenge." well, more police are moving into position, the crowd is building here, and so is the anger. this is the eighth friday in a row that the demonstrators have gathered. and they say they will keep coming until all of their demands are met. they want a complete break with the past, a clean sweep. that means the new interim president, abdelkader bensalah, must go. protesters don‘t trust him to organise free elections. and some worry the powerful military is playing a double game,

expressing support for the protests but trying to limit any change. in the main square today, police could not hold back the crowds. the protesters believe the march of history is on their side. so, i came from abroad and i‘m very happy to be here with my family in order to march for democracy and in order to stop this corrupt government and to try to give the youth a chance for tomorrow. do you believe you‘ll succeed? i think we will succeed, definitely, we‘re far too many not to succeed. but some are standing up to the regime all on their own, like nisa imad. "i told them this is my country," she said. "we want the whole system to go. there‘s nothing for the young generation. i have five kids with nojobs and no homes of their own."

in among the crowds, a veteran lawyer, who may help lead algeria through the turmoil. he‘s waited decades for this. i have tears in my eyes when i see what‘s happening after 30 years of fighting against dictatorship in this country. we tried to do things and we didn‘t succeed. it‘s these young people who gave us this feeling of pride to be algerians. but how far will the young be allowed to go? as the day wore on, the police pushed back. first with a water cannon and then later with tear gas. the hope on the streets is that change can come without bloodshed. no one is sure where all this is headed. orla guerin, bbc news, algiers. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, anger

from campaigners as the ban on transgender people in the us military comes into effect. pol pot, one of the century‘s greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine‘s offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors

will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: american prosecutors announce charges against wikileaks founder julian assange following his arrest in london. his lawyer says he now faces extradition to the us. huge crowds take to the streets of sudan‘s capital after the military seizes power. thousands of passengers across the world are stranded after the indian carrierjet airways suspended all of its international flights until next monday. jet is india‘s largest private airline and currently has more than $1 billion worth of debt. monica miller has more from delhi.

it is saddled in debt, as hejust said, over $1 billion. and itjust can‘t seem to get hold of things. last night into friday they counselled almost all international flights, and they get their customers very little warning. if you go on social media you will find desperate customers looking for a nswe i’s desperate customers looking for answers as to what to expect next. and many people have had to pay through the nose to get from point a to point b at the last minute. right 110w to point b at the last minute. right now it is looking like maybe not even existing throughout the month of april, and it is facing a very difficult time. they have been trying to sell this airline for so long and they haven‘t been able to give it away. jet airways broke the monopoly on the aviation industry in

the early 1990s, so it was the only private airline that was around for quite some time, and then stiff competition came in you have spicejet and indigo, just to name a few. on top of that, a devaluing rupee. so airlines have had a very ha rd rupee. so airlines have had a very hard time getting by, and it doesn‘t seem that unless these other issues are resolved it isjust seem that unless these other issues are resolved it is just going to face stiff competition and a rough road ahead. in the uk, the chancellor, philip hammond, says taking part in the upcoming european parliament elections feels like a "pointless exercise". he‘s urged mps to pass a brexit agreement that would avoid britain having to go to the polls. as campaigning got underway, the former uk independence party leader nigel farage officially launched a new brexit party, saying he wants to "put the fear of god" into mps. our political correspondent, ben wright, reports.

look who‘s back — with a new political party. nigel farage loves a stage. good morning. and at a metalworks factory in coventry, the former ukip leader promised to forge a democratic revolution, kicking off his latest campaign. i do believe that we can win these european elections and that we can again start to put the fear of god into our members of parliament in westminster. they deserve nothing less than that after the way they‘ve treated us over this betrayal. this is preparation for elections to the european parliament, which might happen in may. the brexit party wants a full list of candidates, and some of the names have a familiar ring about them.

it also lacks a manifesto, or policies beyond brexit, but it‘s targeting voters angry the uk still hasn‘t left the eu. that of course is because parliament has not yet approved the prime minister‘s deal, and if brexit isn‘t signed off here next month, then the uk is legally obliged to vote for a new crop of meps and that is something the government did not want to happen. clearly nobody wants to fight the european parliament elections. it feels like a pointless exercise, and the only way we can avoid that is by getting a deal agreed and done quickly, and if we can do that by may 22nd, then of course we can avoid fighting european parliamentary elections. to that end, in westminster, talks between the labour party and the government continued today, as they see whether there‘s any chance of agreeing a brexit deal both sides can back. we‘re trying to be as constructive as we possibly can on all sides, and trying to be as positive as we possibly can, but we‘ll see by the end of next week how far we‘ve got. if the european elections happen, there will be around 39,000 polling stations popping up across the uk at the end of may. the cost to the government last time was around £109 million. but the eu election turnout is traditionally low. just 35% voted in 2014.

parliament and the prime minister did not want the uk to leave the eu without a deal. that meant a delay to brexit and the likelihood of european elections. consequences of the political deadlock here. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. a dutch fertility doctor who used his own sperm to inseminate women, has been revealed as the father of 1:9 has been revealed as the father of 49 children. he was first taken to court in 2017 by a group of donor children and their parents who suspected they were related. the dna results were confirmed on friday afterjudges allow them to be released. president donald trump‘s ban on transgender people serving in the us military has come into effect. after three years of being able to openly serve their country as their chosen gender, now they can only serve in their gender assigned at birth. the president says it‘s down to the cost of medical bills.

our lgbt correspondent ben hunte explains what the new rules mean. transgender people are being barred from joining the us military. but what has led to this, and what does it mean for transgender service people in the future? this is myjob, this is my life. i served six years. i buried our fallen warriors. it feels like a slap in the face. before we get into how the ban applies and why some of its reasoning is questionable, bear with me, a little bit of history. history was made today. transgender people will now be allowed to serve openly. and then one tweet changed everything. on twitter, the president promised to reverse president obama‘s 2016 decision. yes. this totally surprise decision, while popular with some republican supporters, immediately brought legal challenges from human rights campaigners. but a us supreme court vote decided injanuary that a version of it should be put in place. now in 15 seconds, here

is how the ban applies. you can‘tjoin if you‘ve transitioned or want to transition, which effectively bans trans people from joining. no—one serving will be allowed to come forward to transition unless they started the process before the ban. they will now only be allowed to serve in their gender assigned at birth. the department of defense says the new policy doesn‘t ban transgender people from serving, but some campaign groups say the new rules will systematically push transgender people out of the military. they‘ll have to choose between being themselves and serving their country. now president trump has said one of the main reasons for this ban is the "tremendous medical costs." but as you will see, the cost might not be the whole story. here come the numbers. according to the pentagon, over the past three years the us military has spent about $8 million on transgender care. the military‘s annual healthcare budget tops $50 billion. in 2017, the total cost of care related to transitioning was just over $2 million.

which was far less than 1% of the military‘s annual healthcare budget. and that‘s around one 20th of what the military spent on viagra in a single year. forgetting about the cost of healthca re, hundreds of transgender troops have deployed to combat zones, and top military bosses have unanimously stated and top military bosses have unanimously stated that having transgender people service people has had no impact on cohesion, and the american medical association has also said there is no valid medical reason for the ban. president trump‘s change on transgender rights is very different to policies in other countries. tra nsgender troops can serve in at least 18 other nations, including the uk. i transitioned about five years ago i was greeted with support and love from the british army and my colleagues. being open about myself made me better at myjob. there are still ongoing challenges for president trump‘s controversial policy, but these will be fought after his ban starts rolling out across the us military service. i think this ban will be

overturned in time. but it's not soon enough for those who are serving right now. for now though, it does seem that this ban is less about healthca re and more about politics. thousands of pakistanis have gathered to create an image recreating the al noor mosque in christchurch. that is where a white supremacist murdered 50 muslims last month. it shows 50 worshippers standing in formation as a second group formed the words "islam is peace" a quick reminder of our top story — more uncertainty after sudan‘s coup

leader has stepped down, with another general taking his place. i know all eyes are on the weekend weather, but you may recognise this forecast more in reference to next week. get to that in a moment, but first let‘s take a look at the big weather pattern for the weekend. low pressure battling with high pressure, for dominance of the uk‘s weather — it is high pressure that wins but keeps us in the blue with a stronger, colder east south—easterly wind over the weekend. it is high pressure, meaning most of us will stay dry, bar the odd shower. there will be some decent sunshine around but it is going to be cold for the time of year, particularly in that stronger wind. gardeners take note, frosty nights as well. many of us will start with frost again on saturday morning, away from the north sea coast and away from most westernmost areas where the wind is

continuing to pick up. some gusts in northern ireland of around a0 mph. a breezy picture for some, patchy cloud will develop over parts of eastern england, especially east anglia and south—east england, you may catch a stray shower. if you do there could be some small hail associated. we have referenced the wind, average speeds but gusts will be higher, particularly in the west and especially into northern ireland. around a0 mph. for many, temperatures stuck in single figures especially on the north sea coast. for scotland, avourable wind directions with temperatures up to 1a, as we have had over the past few days. clear weather overnight and into sunday but cloud increasing over the far south of england, northern ireland, and on the north sea coast with the breeze we should avoid a frost, but elsewhere we are in the blue so another frost as sunday begins. plenty of morning sunshine, some showers developing.

a stray shower here or there, most places will stay dry. cornwall and northern ireland, expect cloud, the further west you are, you could see some patchy rain out of this weather front but most places will stay dry, with some cloud building during the day. temperatures similar, as is the wind, so it is feeling chilly. however, into next week, still high pressure, low pressure battling, but the orientation changing. as does the wind direction, eventually drawing some warm air from the south. although it is still high pressure and still mainly settled, it is going to feel very different. all of that happens just in time for easter. 00:28:44,012 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 temperatures next week on the up.