live from london, this is bbc news. heavy fighting is taking place in sudan — as the army clashes with paramilitary forces, in the capital khartoum. a man is arrested, and the japanese prime minister rushed to safety, after an explosion. france's president, emmanuel macron, signs into law his government's controversial pension reforms — despite street protests. the world's most famous horse race — the grand national — sets off shortly, amid animal rights protests.

hello, i'm lukwesa burak. there have been gunfire and explosions in sudan's capital khartoum, as the sudanese army clashes with paramilitary forces. witnesses report the fighting is close to the army headquarters in the centre of the city. smoke has been seen rising from khartoum airport and there are reports of clashes near the presidential palace. the two sides are in dispute over who governs the country. sudan has been run by the military since a coup in october 2021. international leaders have urged the two sides to return to talks aimed at returning the country to civilian rule. the us secretary of state antony blinken described the latest fighting as a "tragic situation", and suggested forces opposed to a return to civilian rule may be responsible.

we want to just play you what happened on sudanese state tv. the newsreader briefly appeared talking about clashes, but listen carefully and you can hear gunshots in the background. repeated gunshots as you can see, the picture of them froze, and a short while later the broadcast cut—off. so what's causing the tensions in sudan? at the centre of the dispute are the rapid support forces — a paramilitary group headed

by general mohamed hamdan dagalo, effectively the country's deputy leader. as part of sudan's transition to civilian rule, the rapid support forces were meant to be integrated into the army. but there's a stand—off between the rsf and the head of the army, general abdel fattah al burhan over the timetable for the change and who will be in charge. let's speak to our africa correspondent, emmanuel igunza. hello dear to you. there's been quite a build—up to the stage, as they effectively missed a number of key deadlines for this transition?— transition? yes, indeed. this is . uite transition? yes, indeed. this is uuite an transition? yes, indeed. this is quite an escalation _ transition? yes, indeed. this is quite an escalation of _ transition? yes, indeed. this is quite an escalation of what - transition? yes, indeed. this is quite an escalation of what we | transition? yes, indeed. this is - quite an escalation of what we have seen over the last few weeks. the military, both factions, the national army and the rapid support forces were part of the negotiations that were ongoing to form a civilian

government. they thrice missed that deadline, and last week, towards the end of the week, we saw quite a bit of movement of rapid support forces taking military and armoured vehicles into the capital, and into a town in the north. this seems to be what had triggered this latest fighting, and the situation remains very fluid, with both sides claiming control of key installations including the presidential palace and the airport. the fighting has continued. we are talking to people who say they are taking shelter inside the houses because the fighting isjust happening in residential areas. fighting isjust happening in residentialareas. i fighting isjust happening in residential areas.— fighting isjust happening in residential areas. i wonder if you could give _ residential areas. i wonder if you could give us _ residential areas. i wonder if you could give us some _ residential areas. i wonder if you could give us some context - residential areas. i wonder if you could give us some context to i residential areas. i wonder if you | could give us some context to the situation that we have at the moment. how is it that this paramilitary force was set up, and

why now i they are at loggerheads with the government, their allies? the rapid support forces was formed around 2013, and particularly it was operating in one region. during that time, they were accused of committing many atrocities. when the former president was ousted, they played a big part in terms of coming together with the national army and the current leader of sudan, abdel fattah al burhan, and they have been in power until october of 2021, when the military took over, a military coup happened, and the civilian government was toppled and, in effect, the leader of the rapid support forces has been the second in command in sudan. it is quite a

powerful outfit, it is feared by many people in sudan. part of the negotiations that have been going on, and what we have seen in demonstrations is that people seem to want it to be disbanded and integrated into the army, and this is what we see now coming to a head, the difference in how long it will take to be integrated into the army, and also who will be heading the unified military unit. this and also who will be heading the unified military unit.— and also who will be heading the unified military unit. this is often the case when — unified military unit. this is often the case when the _ unified military unit. this is often the case when the country - unified military unit. this is often i the case when the country attempts to transition from military to civilian rule. how ingrained is the military and sudanese society? the military and sudanese society? the military has — military and sudanese society? tue: military has been military and sudanese society? tte: military has been in military and sudanese society? tt2 military has been in charge for decades. even through the years just before the former president came into power, he toppled a military ruler, and he himself was military. the military has been very entrenched in the politics and the running of affairs of sudan, and

this is particularly why we are seeing the almost weekly protests going on in sudan, because the people say they are really tired of the military being in power, the demonstrations that we have seen even just last week, they've demonstrations that we have seen evenjust last week, they've been calling on the military to immediately cede power to a civilian group. there are a lot of talks are ongoing about the restructuring of the military because they are entrenched notjust in the politics but also in the running of the economic affairs of the country, and therefore the reason why there is so much push for them to leave power. thank you very much for that. a man has been arrested injapan after he appeared to throw a smoke bomb at the country's prime minister. the man was held by security guards after a loud explosion at a local campaign event in the city of wakayama, where fumio kishida was giving a speech. 0ur tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil has the details —

and a warning her report does contain some flash photography. chaos among the crowd as a young man is wrestled by security and pinned to the ground. then this. explosion. smoke fills the air after a loud explosion, with screaming bystanders scrambling to flee the scene. this is how a speech by the prime minister fumio kishida was interrupted. he was taken to safety unharmed. no other injuries were reported. but those who came to see him fled in fear. translation: something flew over our head. - we ran as fast as we could. and about ten seconds later, we heard a loud noise. my child started crying. it was shocking. my heart is still pounding hard, it has not stopped. police say a man has been arrested and identified as 24—year—old ryuji kimura. his motivation is unclear.

shortly after, a defiant mr kishida addressed a crowd in another location and said this should not disrupt the electoral process. translation: we are in the middle of an important election _ in our country, and together with you all, we have to carry on. violent attacks are extremely rare injapan. this is one of the safest countries in the world, with very strict gun laws. but the smoke bomb incident comes less than a year after the assassination of the former prime minister shinzo abe. since then, there has been heightened security around politicians, but also a heightened sense of nervousness. injuly last year, a young man stood very closely behind shinzo abe as he was speaking at a political event before shooting him with a home—made gun. in today's attack, the assailant appeared to be in the middle

of the crowd as he threw the suspected smoke bomb. you can see him here holding an unidentified metal device. mr kishida is safe and has continued the campaign trail events. but questions will be asked about why he was in such a vulnerable spot only a few months after his predecessor was assassinated. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, tokyo. germany's last remaining nuclear power plants will be switched off later. berlin pledged to quit nuclear power definitively after the 2011 fukushima disaster in japan. anti—nuclear campaigners have welcomed the move, describing it as a �*triumph�*. but energy prices remain high in the country. earlier, i put it to our correspondent in berlin, jenny hill, that this has been a controversial topic in germany for a number of years. when those three remaining nuclear plants are disconnected — it'll all happen just before midnight tonight — that will end 60 years of nuclear

energy production in this country. and for the people around me here, that is a cause for celebration. some of them have campaigned for decades for this moment. they argue that nuclear energy production is unsafe, they worry about accidents, they worry about the storage of radioactive waste, and they say the money invested in this sector would be better spent on more sustainable forms of energy in the future. but this is also a very controversial moment for germany. just the other side of the brandenburg gate, another set of demonstrators is gathering. they believe germany is making a huge mistake. they're worried about energy security. bear in mind that today's shutdown was already postponed for several months as germany, which was heavily dependent on russian gas, scrambled to find alternative sources of power. so there's a huge amount of controversy here. it will take years, possibly decades, for those power plants to be fully decommissioned.

it's heavily specialised work, of course. and even as that work gets under way, germany's politicians are still arguing amongst themselves over whether they've made the right decision. that was jenny hill, that wasjenny hill, they are. president emmanuel macron has signed his controversial pension reform into law. the reforms, which raise the minimum retirement age to 64, cleared their final legal hurdle when the constitutional council — france's highest legal authority — ruled in favour of the changes. joe inwood reports from paris. there is still a police presence outside the constitutional council here in france, in paris and that is because that building is where one of the most significant decisions in modern french political history was made. there, a body of french grandees decided that the controversial pension reforms of president emmanuel macron, meaning that french people would work until 64 not 62, were in line with the constitution. i was in the crowds just down

the road when that news of the announcement came through and it was a chorus of boos and hisses, there was a real anger there and that is when the trouble started earlier this evening. i can still smell on my clothes the burning of the bins and the flares that were going off. the protestors, their plan was to try to get here but they haven't been able to because of a very, very heavy police presence. there were baton charges, hundreds, thousands of french police trying to keep them away from this area but that doesn't mean it has been a peaceful night here in paris. i have just been watching videos of live fire is being set off around the city as the protesters express their anger about these reforms. but i think at the moment that's all they are able to do, is to express anger rather than change them because tonight's decision means that the reforms probably will go through and french people in the future will have to work to an older age.

nurses in england will escalate their strike action in the coming weeks, after they turned down the latest government offer aimed at resolving their long—running pay dispute. more than half of members voting in a royal college of nursing ballot rejected the proposal of a five per cent pay rise, and one—off bonus. now with news of saturday's football matches, and the world's most famous horse race, here's olly foster. hello from the bbc sport centre. we'll start with football because the first premier league game of the day is just coming to a close. newcastle are looking to stay in third but they are trailing. jacob ramsay with aston villa's first. ollie watkins has scored twice. aston villa have been in total control, newcastle very poor. injust under 45 minutes,

frank lampard is still looking for his first win on his return to the chelsea dugout on an interim basis. they are at home to brighton. everton are only out of the bottom three on goal difference and are at home to fulham. spurs would move back into the top four with a win over bournemouth. and later on dean smith takes charge of relegation—threatened leicester city, but they're up against champions manchester city. an awful lot of very good teams are trying to impose their game on to manchester city and come unstuck. what we have to do is go with the game plan and stick to that game plan, stay in the game for as long as we can, and we have also seen teams like brentford go there and get results. so, yes, they are one of the strongest teams in the premier league, if not the world, but we have to have that belief in ourselves that we can go there and get a result. it's the 175th running of the grand national later. there's increased security at the course after the threat of protests by animal rights groups. three people have been arrested on saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. hugh ferris is at aintree and sent

us this, looking ahead to the race. the grand national is on a historic run. last year, sam waley cohen, the first amateur jockey won, the first to do so since 1990. in 2021 rachel blackmore became the first female jockey to win the race in its long history. blackmore is likely to be one of the favourites this afternoon. it would be a poignant victory for the horse's trainer, whose son jack died within the last year. the top three from 2022 are all back, including last year's winner. it is a race that is notoriously hard to predict, but does bring in £150 million worth of bets on racing day, of £500 million overall for the industry, and the local area here at aintree.

great britain are out of the billiejean king cup. already 2—0 down, harriet dart had to beat caroline garcia to keep their tie alive against france in coventry, after losing the first set 6—1 she saved two match points on her way to taking the second set 7—6, but garcia too strong in the decider, taking it 6—1 to win the tie. snooker�*s world championship is under way in sheffield. ronnie o'sullivan has started his title defence. he's playing chinese debutant pang junxu in the first round at the crucible and and he's raced into a 6—3 lead. he had been 6—1 up. o'sullivan is seeking an eighth world title — which would be a record in the modern era. it's his 31st consecutive appearance at the world championship, which is a record itself. the nba playoffs officially

gets underway later, we now have a complete lineup. in the eastern conference, the miami heat clinched the eighth seed with a 102 to 91 win over the chicago bulls in their play—in game, jimmy butler top scoring with 31 points, and they'll face the top seeded milwaukee bucks, that series begins on sunday. and the minnesota timberwolves clinched the final playoff place in the western conference with a comfortable 120 to 95 win over the oklahoma city thunder, setting up a first round series with the top—seeded denver nuggets. and that's all the sport for now. let's look at the upcoming grand national, taking place injust under an hour's time, because police say a woman has been arrested at the aintree racecourse in liverpool. they said she was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance in connection with potential co—ordinated disruption activities at the event.

a spokesperson said that authorities were aware of plans for a protest. she is currently in custody. an estimated 600 million people will watch the grand national race on tv around the world. our reporter nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more. the grand national is one of the world's most famous horse races. it is the 175th race today, although it actually dates back to the 1800s. the first winner was called lottery, and indeed, it is a bit of a lottery to pick a winner. however an estimated 30 million adults in the uk will place bets however an estimated 13 million adults in the uk will place bets worth £250 million on today's race. it takes place here, at aintree racecourse, which, if i zoom out, is near liverpool in the united kingdom. what makes this race so special? it is two things. first of all, the number of horses and riders that take part. up to 40 will start the race today. the riders wear a range of colours so you can see them on the course. the second thing is the fences. there are 30 jumps in the race.

some of the fences are famous, including the chair. this is the highest. it is five foot two, or around a metre and a half. the other is bechers brook. it is also these that make it controversial, along with the length of the race. over the years, dozens of horses have died, two last year, and animal rights activists are planning protests. it's four years since the devastating fire at notre dame cathedral in paris, when the roof and spire were consumed in flame. for a time, it looked like the entire building might have been destroyed. when president macron promised to have the cathedral rebuilt and re—opened by next year, many thought he was being wildly optimistic — but as hugh schofield reports, the operation is advancing pretty much on schedule. four years ago, the world watched aghast as fire devoured notre dame.

and the terrible climax — the spire of the cathedral crashing to its destruction. the spire has become a symbol, which at a site in eastern france, they've been rebuilding exactly as the original. thousands of oaks from ancient forests have been felled and shaped, and now the first part, the massive base is ready for assembly — bang on time. we have said we will do this in five years, so our reputation is at stake. we must unite all our efforts, all our knowledge, all our savoir faire to reach this goal. inside the cathedral, it's still a sci—fi film decor of metal. scaffolding reaches up to the vast hole which was once the roof. but everywhere, craftsmen and women are at their work of architectural healing. one of the big tasks has been

treating the stained glass. like the spire, these windows are not in fact mediaeval but 19th century. unlike the spire, they were saved. firefighters knew not to spray them with water or they'd have shattered. the disaster, for them, ironically, is an opportunity to remove 200 years of dirt. translation: it's a human grease from the breath - of millions of worshippers, plus the soot from the candles and the stains left by condensation. it has all left its mark. it may still look like an unimaginably complicated task, but in fact the reconstruction of notre dame has been advancing much quicker than the doubters ever thought was possible. just in the last few days, the base of the spire which we saw being assembled earlier, has been transported here to paris and hoisted into place. soon they'll be building upwards, and by the end of the year, it's confidently expected that

there'll be a new feature on the paris skyline — or rather a very old one, the spire of notre dame. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. lionel richie, katy perry, and take that will perform at a concert in the grounds of windsor castle to mark the king charles�*s coronation. the show, on the 7th of may, will have the themes of love, respect, and optimism. 20,000 people will be there, and the concert will also be broadcast on bbc television and radio. here's our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, with more details. gary barlow is, of course, no stranger to big royal events. he helped organise the queen's diamond jubilee concert in 2012. this time he'll be performing with take that. # yeah, you and me, we can light up the sky...# other performers range from pop figures like lionel richie. # oh, what a feeling

# when we're dancing on the ceiling...# ..to classical singers sir bryn terfel and andrea bocelli. they'll be performing a duet together. two other artists duetting will be singer—songwriter freya ridings. # castles from the rubble of your love...# ..and composer and pianist alexis ffrench. it feels incredibly special, i think, to be part of a moment in history that is going to celebrate an incredibly momentous once—in—a—lifetime occasion, in the midst of so many luminaries, as well, is just such a thrill. while the event is designed to display a diverse range of different music, one of the biggest draws is likely to be global superstar katy perry... # cos baby you're a firework

# come on show �*em what you're worth...# ..with the thousands at windsor castle and the millions watching at home hoping for the kind of spectacle that the artists performing are famous for. lizo mzimba, bbc news. let's just recap you now with our top story. there has been gunfire and explosions in sudan's capital khartoum as the sudanese army clashes with paramilitary forces. witnesses report the fighting is close to the army headquaters in the centre of the city. smoke has been seen rising from khartoum airport and there are reports of clashes near the presidential palace. the two sides are in dispute over who governs the country. sudan has been run by the military since a coup in october 2021. that is our top story. you can find plenty more on that story and many

more online. just head to the bbc news website. from myself, you are watching bbc news. hello. whilst there's a bit of rain in this forecast, the emphasis is on something much drier through the weekend and into next week. and for many of us this afternoon, we'll see some good spells of sunshine. the overnight rain has cleared away from east anglia and southeast england, but in its wake we could see some showers developing here through the afternoon and out to the west, this bank of cloud will be extending its way gradually eastwards through this afternoon and overnight, eventually bringing some rain into northern ireland as we head towards the end of the day. but for many, dry, some good spells of sunshine. watch out for those showers across east anglia and south—east england. some of them could be heavy and thundery. it will be feeling warmer than it did yesterday. temperatures generally in the low to mid—teens across the uk and there'll be some good spells of sunshine to end the day across many central and eastern areas.

then overnight, this band of cloud and increasingly patchy rain starts to work its way gradually eastwards, bringing some mist and some hill fog across western areas. further east will hold on to some clearer skies for longer as the showers fade. this is where we'll see some of the lowest temperatures, particularly for east anglia and south—east england could get down to two or three celsius, generally between five and eight celsius, the overnight low. so, this is this area of high pressure which is going to be dominating the scene as we head through sunday and then into next week. but we'll also be starting to pull in some milder air from the west and the southwest. so it will start to feel a little bit less cold than it has done recently. but with easterly winds, some of those eastern coasts will still be on the cool side. a lot of cloud to start the day on sunday, some mist and some hill fog, some drizzle as well. that will tend to ease through the day and become confined mainly to western coasts. should see a few spells of sunshine developing and where we do see that sunshine coming through, we could get temperatures up to between 16 and 18 celsius potentially. but still, as i mentioned, on the cool side for some eastern coast with that breeze off the sea. as we head into monday, well, another fairly cloudy start.

we'll start to see that cloud thinning and breaking through the day as some drier air starts to push in from the east. so the best of the sunshine will be across more eastern areas on monday. but bear in mind again, we've still got that cool wind off the north sea. so some eastern coasts will be feeling a little bit cooler, but for many, feeling warmer than it has done recently. and this set up stays with us as we head through tuesday and wednesday. we're just on the edge of this high pressure. so a definite breeze that we will start to feel, particularly again for eastern coast. but the emphasis is on a lot of dry weather, with some spells of sunshine and temperatures a little bit higher than they have been recently.

this is bbc news. the headlines: heavy fighting is taking place in sudan as the army clashes with paramilitary forces in the capital khartoum. a man is pinned down and arrested by security staff in japan as the prime minister, fumio kishida, is rushed to safety after an explosion. his predecessor, shinzo abe, was assassinated last year while giving a campaign speech. france's president, emmanuel macron, signs into law his government's controversial pension reforms despite months of protests. the world's most famous horse race — the grand national — sets off shortly. animal rights activists have been protesting outside the aintree

course in liverpool.