live from london, this is bbc news. the un secretary general calls for a ceasefire in sudan after at least 56 people were killed in clashes between rival military factions. in england, the leader of the nurses�* union says they're prepared to hold strikes until christmas unless more money is offered. appeals for calm after an indian former politician convicted of kidnapping is shot dead on tv along with his brother. the building of new so—called smart motorways in england is being cancelled over safety concerns and costs. and an ancient symbol of scotland's monarchy known as the stone of destiny will journey to westminster abbey for the king's coronation.

hello. i'm lucy grey. welcome to the programme. the power struggle to taking place in sudan has now claimed the lives of at least 56 people, with almost 600 injured. among the dead, three un workers who were caught in gunfire at a military base. the united nations secretary general has condemned the fighting between the army and another military group, the rapid support forces. there are fears the violence will delay the planned transition to civilian rule in sudan. latest reports say the situation is getting worse. there are now reports of fighting around the country, with eyewitness accounts of sudanese army air strikes in the city of omdurman. the target is an rsf base north east

of the capital khartoum. mohammed 0thman from the bbc�*s arabic service is in sudan and sent us the latest by phone. yes, the fighting is still continuing between the two parties, so the army and the rapid support forces in many parts of khartoum. but in the centre of khartoum, in this area according to eyewitnesses there are huge guns between the two, and also there are reports that the sudan army has also attacked a base belonging to rapid support forces outside khartoum, and also the fighting that has occurred today is continuing

like what happened last night. but the two sides claim control of the main — but the two sides claim control of the main places, and the fighting will continue. it is quite hard to hear you, actually, because the line isn't that great, but we will persevere. i think you were just saying there that each side has been making counterclaims about who controls important buildings, like we were hearing yesterday about who was controlling the airport and government buildings. can you say anything more on that? yes, the two sides are still claiming control of important buildings and important sites, but as i mentioned, the fighting is continuing

around the army headquarters and the military base, still the fighting is continuing between the two parties in omdurman. and what has it been like for you over the last two days in khartoum, trying to go about your work? yes, the situation on the ground, the fighting continues, because so far no one knows when it will stop, the fighting are still continuing and i think it will carry on for days. mohamed 0thman in khartoum. beverly ochieng is from the bbc�*s monitoring service based in nairobi.

we have been seeing images of fighterjets we have been seeing images of fighter jets flying we have been seeing images of fighterjets flying overhead and getting reports of bombings. what more can you tell us about the fighting that is going on right now? some of the latest tallies we are hearing from the doctor's union is that nearly 70 people have been killed in two days of violence. there have been clashes largely near military installations where there have been heavy deployment by our sf and the sudanese army, and they are making competing claims about areas that they have seized or areas they are disputing each other having taken. this morning the sudanese army said the general command was not taken by the rsf, contrary to some reports. it is frustrating trying to get information on the ground, because the state tv is only playing piece music, calming music, and it is very difficult to get news

out of sudan.— and it is very difficult to get news out of sudan. �* ., ~ ., ., ,., out of sudan. and we do know that so many peeple — out of sudan. and we do know that so many peeple have _ out of sudan. and we do know that so many people have been _ out of sudan. and we do know that so many people have been killed - out of sudan. and we do know that so many people have been killed and - many people have been killed and hundreds injured. we have been hearing from doctors on the ground calling for safe passage for ambulances and also calling for international aid for the hospitals international aid for the hospitals in khartoum and the areas which are being affected. in khartoum and the areas which are being affected-— being affected. yes, there have been. being affected. yes, there have been- there — being affected. yes, there have been. there was _ being affected. yes, there have been. there was an _ being affected. yes, there have been. there was an appeal - being affected. yes, there have been. there was an appeal for. been. there was an appeal for medical aid, been. there was an appeal for medicalaid, but been. there was an appeal for medical aid, but there are also calls for a ceasefire, because the fighting would curtail any possibility of medical aid being able to reach victims or hospitals. we do know that the airport has been closed, there are no flights going in and out of khartoum, so it would be very difficult to bring aid into sudan. it has been in a state of conflict, the economy is ailing and they do need international support. they have been calls from regional powers and the international community for there to be a ceasefire, but it seems like the escalating violence, even the rhetoric coming out of the two military leaders in the interim president, it doesn't look like this is about to go down. indie president, it doesn't look like this is about to go down.— president, it doesn't look like this is about to go down. we have had the un callin: is about to go down. we have had the un calling today _

is about to go down. we have had the un calling today for— is about to go down. we have had the un calling today for a _ is about to go down. we have had the un calling today for a ceasefire - is about to go down. we have had the un calling today for a ceasefire as - un calling today for a ceasefire as well as you mention. we have also got the arab league holding an urgent meeting, and i can see one of the lines coming out of that is egypt has called on sudanese party to the conflict to ensure the safety of all egyptian interests in sudan. have either of the two sides today called for any mediation at all? figs called for any mediation at all? as of called for any mediation at all? is of last week, there had been some planned mediation, but overnight talks are ruled out with the rsf, and there was a change of tone, because now we see the army is increasingly referred to the rapid support forces as a militia. they are trying to malign them, because it is their narrative they are competing for, both in the media as well as in the public. but it looks like when the army starts, there is no possibility of talks at the moment, and perhaps some international and regional pressure, there might be some window where the arab league and other actors in the region. is arab league and other actors in the reuion. , ., , , , .,

arab league and other actors in the reuion. , ., i, , ., region. is there any sense that you know of of — region. is there any sense that you know of of what _ region. is there any sense that you know of of what actually _ region. is there any sense that you know of of what actually sparked . know of of what actually sparked this latest upsurge in violence? because we have been hearing that there had been this framework agreed in terms of this transition to civilian rule, and then this happened. civilian rule, and then this happened-— civilian rule, and then this ha ened. ., , , ,, , happened. one of the biggest issues with sudan's — happened. one of the biggest issues with sudan's political— happened. one of the biggest issues with sudan's political reform - with sudan's political reform process since the coup in 2019 has been the unification of the armed forces, so the integration of the rsf into the army. there have been concerns that having a powerful force outside the national army could lead to various centres of power, as we are seeing now, so with the framework agreement, it accelerates that integration over a five or ten year timeline, but then all the parties were pushing for a shorter period of integration, so that has led to this sort of bloodbath that we are seeing. it has been a worry for sudan over the years, the fact that the rsf is quite autonomous outside the army command despite the fact that it is within the intelligence and the army services. . ~ within the intelligence and the army services. ., ~ , ., within the intelligence and the army

services. . ~' , ., within the intelligence and the army services. ., ~ , ., . within the intelligence and the army services. ., ~ . ., services. thank you so much for talkin: services. thank you so much for talking us _ services. thank you so much for talking us through _ services. thank you so much for talking us through all _ services. thank you so much for talking us through all of - services. thank you so much for talking us through all of that. i services. thank you so much forl talking us through all of that. we appreciate your time. the leader of the nurses�* union in england says they're prepared to continue strikes right up to christmas unless the government puts more money on the table. members of the royal college of nursing rejected a 5% pay offer and a one—off bonus last week. the government says the offer is fair and reasonable. 0ur political correspondent tony bonsignore says the different health unions are divided on their position. so you have had one union that has accepted this offer. a couple of other unions are currently out balloting their members, but then the key one here is the royal couege the key one here is the royal college of nursing, pat cullen heads that. they actually recommended this offer to their members, but last week we got the result at the end of last week, and it was a narrow defeat for pat colin.

the members of the rcn rejected the offer, so we are back now into this prospect of more strikes, not only at the end of this month, but potentially in many months to come, perhaps even all the way up to christmas if, as they promise, and there is no settlement, they ballot for another six months potentially of industrial action, so pat cullen was asked on laura kuenssberg about that prospect of months and months of strikes. she said that the ball is now in the government's what. it is fundamentally the question, but they've got the answer to that. the answer to that is to put more money on the table for our nursing staff. treat them properly, make sure that we can fill every vacant post that we have got. that's what the people of england deserve. it's what every patient deserves. we hear that more and more patients now have had to resort to private health insurance because they can't get the treatment and care that they've paid into the nhs for year over year, and why not? because our nurses are leaving in droves. now the doctors are

leaving in droves. this is a government that has turned their back on the nhs, and now we need to all get round a table and make sure that the crisis within this nhs is sorted out. and, tony, talk us through the political reaction, then. greg hands, the conservative party chairman, has been out doing the media rounds this morning, and steve barclay, the health secretary, wrote to the royal college of nursing this morning, although pat cullen told us there was nothing really new in there. he was asked about the prospect of the government giving some ground on this. what greg hands said and the government have said, this is a full and final offer, they say. except there is perhaps just the tiniest hint of a little bit of wiggle room. greg hands told laura kuenssberg that steve ba rclay�*s door is always open. we want to see what the other unions have to say, what the other people i being balloted have to say|

about this very good offer, and i stress again, £5,100 for a band five nurse, - £2,000 into their- account by the summer. that is a very, very good offer. labour are in a quite difficult position on this, meanwhile. they haven't publicly supported the strikes, but haven't come out against them either, given their very close and historic links to the unions. the shadow health secretary, wes streeting, also out on the airwaves this morning. he repeated something that he's been talking about for a few weeks now. his concern about the impact on patients. i'm really worried about it, particularly the decision they appear to have taken to remove derogations, the exemptions they put in place previously around emergency care, cancer care, i think that is a real risk to patient safety. i hope they don't feel that escalating in that way is necessary. do you hope they don't? i really hope they don't.

i must say, i think the dereliction of leadership from the government this week has been appalling. we have barely seen or heard anything of the health secretary. the prime minister told parliament he didn't want to get in the middle of this. you are the prime minister in the middle of the biggest crisis in the history of the nhs. we have seen hundreds of thousands of cancelled operations, real risk to patient safety, not my words, the words of nhs the words of nhs leaders. as i say, lucy, i don't think this is where anybody thought we would be or wanted us to bejust a couple of weeks ago when there were so many intensive negotiations. a and as you heard wes streeting there, the political ramifications of this possibly go even further than these months of discontent. it is the effect it may potentially have on waiting lists and the recovery from covid. i'm sure it's something that mps will want to question the government about when they return to westminster tomorrow. the chief minister of the indian state of uttar pradesh has appealed for calm after a former politician

who's a convicted criminal was shot dead while under police escort. atiq ahmed, who had been convicted of kidnapping, was shot dead live on television along with his brother. they were answering questions from journalists when they were killed in allahabad. 0ur south asia regional editor anbarasan ethirajan gave me this update. it was a shocking incident, and it was live on tv when this gun attack happened. atiq ahmed is from uttar pradesh, the most populous state in northern india, and he was a former politician, member of the state assembly is a former mp, but there were dozens of cases against him of attempted murder, extortion and kidnapping,

and the police and others accused him of running an underworld operation in the uttar pradesh state. he was convicted in a kidnapping case last month, and he and his brother were brought to the city for a medical checkup, and journalists were asking questions. the whole thing was live on tv, and suddenly shots were fired and these two men were killed, and the police say that they have arrested three suspects, but this has sent shock waves across the country about how this was allowed to happen when someone, even though he was a convicted criminal, could be killed when policemen were surrounding him and it was live on tv, so this has triggered a lot of criticism from opposition parties, and one of the opposition leaders described this as a cold—blooded murder, and called for a supreme court investigation. i understand that his teenage son had been killed just days earlier, and some of the journalists who were talking to him were talking to him about that at the time of the shooting. his teenage son and another man, both were killed in a shoot—out, that is what the police have described it as. they were wanted in a murder case.

this also raises questions about their shoot—out in the state of uttar pradesh, which is ruled by the hindu nationalist bjp. the chief minister of the state has been taking a tough stance on what he calls law and order problems, he says anyone taking law and order into their own hands are criminals will have to face the wrath of the state. but rights groups say more than 180 people have been killed in police encounters or shoot—out, what the rights activists describe as extrajudicial killings in the state in the past six years, but the government has strongly refuted these allegations and say that some of these occasions happened when those accused of crimes were firing at police. so this is also coming under the spotlight now, and that is why opposition leaders say what is happening in uttar pradesh state needs to be examined, and now they are calling for a supreme court monitored investigation, because mr atiq ahmed

himself went to the supreme court himself last month, but the court refused to entertain the petition, saying it was already being heard in a lower court. anbarasan ethirajan reporting there. motoring groups in the uk have welcomed the government's decision to cancel the construction of new smart motorways, but insisted the announcement does not go far enough. existing stretches of smart motorway in england will remain, but more emergency stopping places will be put in place. 0ur reporter nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more details. smart motorways were first introduced in 2006 and currently make up about 10% of england's motorway network. however, there are three types of smart motorway. let's take a look. the first, controlled. the second, dynamic. and the third is known as all lane running.

firstly, controlled is where there is a permanent hard shoulder, however if there is congestion, say from an accident, then technology like electronic signs can be used to slow the traffic down. the second is dynamic, that is where the hard shoulder is opened up to traffic at times of congestion, but then you will always see that the speed limit is reduced. the third is the most controversial, that is known as all lane running. here on the m1, you can see there is no hard shoulder, just four lanes of traffic. however, built along the route are these emergency bays where cars that get into trouble can go in. they are monitored by cctv, however this is the most controversial of the smart motorways. what is supposed to happen is road signs will say if there is an obstruction, however take a look at what could happen. the building of the smart motorways has now been cancelled. campaigners have welcomed that, but they wanted to go further. it is good news, and it is good that it has gone as far as it has

to cover routes that are already being built, i didn't expect it to go that far. but obviously it doesn't cover existing roads, and it's the existing roads that are killing us. so it's half the battle, but there is still half the battle to go. a bbc panorama investigation in 2020 found that 38 people had died on smart motorways between 2015 at 2020. indeed, on one stretch of the m25, near misses went up 20 fold from 72 to 1485. across europe there are similar smart motorway schemes, including in austria, belgium and germany. one of the biggest is in the netherlands. it's known there as the rush—hour lane. during busy times, lanes are opened up for traffic. over in the united states, there are fewer schemes. department for transportation officials say there are two dynamic schemes. 0ne are two dynamic schemes. one is in virginia, the other in minneapolis.

a sacred ancient symbol of scotland's monarchy known as the stone of destiny is to make the journey from edinburgh castle to westminster abbey for the coronation of king charles. the exact details of when and how are a closely guarded secret — but new techniques are being used to find out more about the stone's history. 0ur scotland correspondent, alexandra mackenzie reports. the stone of destiny, or stone of scone, was legally transported from westminster abbey to edinburgh castle on st andrew's day in 1996. intricate preparations, including digital scans and a 3d printout, are now in the final stages for its return to london for the coronation of king charles iii. it's going to be a really momentous occasion. it's a once—in—a—generation event, really. and it's really significant that the stone of destiny is going to continue its historic role in the coronation of monarchs of britain. until it was seized

by king edward i of england in 1296 and enclosed within the coronation chair, the stone was used in the inauguration of scottish monarchs. at westminster abbey, the chair is being prepared for the new king and the stone of destiny will again be placed within it... ..as it was for many coronations, including that of the late queen elizabeth ii. here you can see three different tool marks... a digital 3d model of the stone has been created for the first time. it can now be viewed in greater detail than ever before. the 3d—printed replica of the stone will also help in preparations for the coronation. in terms of planning on how to insert the stone into the chair, the 3d prints have beenjust to get the choreography done right. it's a very precious object and very heavy, so to be able to utilise the print physically in the first hand,

just means the actual stone is in the best of hands on its way temporarily down south. four scottish students stole the stone from westminster abbey on christmas day in 1950. months later, it was found in arbroath. some say that the stone of destiny should not be taken to london for the crowning of king charles iii. but there is an agreement that the stone should only leave scotland for a coronation and then be returned here to edinburgh castle. for now, the stone sits alongside the crownjewels of scotland but will soon be returned to its original home in perth. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, edinburgh. campaigners in the uk have welcomed reports that an investigation is being carried out into the deaths of 650 patients who were treated by a surgeon who carried out unnecessary breast operations.

ian paterson is serving a 20—year jail term for wounding people with intent. the sunday times is reporting that medical experts are working through the records of women he treated on the nhs and at two private hospitals across more than two decades. we have just got some breaking we havejust got some breaking news to bring it about sudan and the ongoing fighting there. egypt and south sudan are offering to mediate between the sudanese army and the paramilitary group the rapid support forces. there has been fighting going on for two days now and sudan, particularly around khartoum, you can see the fighterjets particularly around khartoum, you can see the fighter jets flying overhead and gun battles on the streets. so that is one of the lines, i think that must be coming out of the arab league emergency meeting which is taking place to discuss the situation there. so egypt and south sudan offering to mediate between the sudanese army and the paramilitary group the rapid support forces in sudan. you're watching bbc news.

in a month from now we will know the winner of this year's eurovision song contest, which will be taking place in the uk. and ahead of this year's competition, contestants are taking part in live shows around europe, including one in london this evening. earlier i spoke to william lee adams — founder of eurovision blog wiwibloggs — who was one of the live shows in the netherlands last night. there were 30 acts from this year's competition, they were leaving it all on the stage, confetti was falling, the voices were big and the passion was high. everyone wants to win, and they really are going for it this year. this is like the us presidential election, it starts months before, years before. nothing is as long is that! we are in the home stretch now. so just explain what these are, they are like concerts, but a really great opportunity to be performing live to a lot of people, because let's face it a lot of these acts haven't had that much experience, have they?

it is a fair point. depending on where you are from, the size of your music market, you may not be used to performing live in front of a big audience, so these concerts are sort of the prep work, it's like the boot camp to learn how to perform in front of a big crowd. but also to test out variations of your song. for instance you may think certain tweaks work well, but then they fall flat with a live audience. so the record labels will often accompany their artist for intelligence to see what they should and shouldn't be changing. right. so it could have an influence, you could influence the actual routine, may be. they don't want to give it all away, though, do they, before the actual big event. presumably they will hold something back? yes, i think there is a built—in holding back, because a liverpool they will have fantastic graphics and led screens and props, whereas when you are at a club in madrid or barcelona, you don't have access to multi—million dollar technology. and also that creates

a bit of a problem. if you have a dramatic ballad, and you are performing it in a sweaty club, it is not necessarily the best setting for you. whereas at eurovision, through the technology they can create a setting that enhances the emotions of your song. so everything is still left to play for. this is all one long tease. william lee adams talking to me about eurovision. let's show you some impressive pictures now. more than 11,000 dancers have set a guinnes world record in the indian state of assam. they were performing a dance as part of the rongali bihu festivities, alongside 2,500 drummers. together they filled the stadium in the state capital of guwahati. they were watched by india's prime minister narendra modi. the festivities mark the end of the harvest season in the state of assam. thanks for watching. hello.

after the sunshine of yesterday, it is a good deal more cloudy out there today. rather grey skies in many parts of the uk. these are the weather fronts responsible. they've pushed their way into the atlantic, but they're drawing in southerly winds. so even with that cloud, it probably feels a little bit milder. when you get the cloud breaks, it will feel very pleasant. certainly across eastern england, some hazy sunshine around and more breaks this afternoon, northern scotland, northern ireland. there will be a few showers here and still quite damp around some western coasts and hills. but in the sunny moments, we could see highs of around 17, particularly in northern ireland and also the north of scotland. but eastern england, be prepared. some very high pollen levels to go with the hazy sunshine. an isolated shower can't be ruled out, but if they do, they'll fade away tonight. still lots of cloud around tonight and there will be some patchy light rain or drizzle, especially through southern scotland, england and wales, where it will be a reasonably mild night, chilliest through east anglia, where any clear skies could lead to some mist and fog patches. but for monday, a grey start, a bit damp in one or two areas.

overall though, western parts of england and wales, we should see a bit more brightness compared with today, some sunshine breaking through what will often be extensive cloud. best of the sunshine eastern england. although down those north sea coasts, be prepared, there could be some sea fog rolling in as we go into the afternoon. temperatures will drop quite rapidly. highest of the temperatures, though, northern scotland again up to around 18 celsius, 64 fahrenheit. and through this week, well, the week ahead, high pressure dominates, but it's there in scandinavia. we're on the edge of it. so, we could still see a few showers come. and with a strengthening breeze coming in off the north sea, which at the moment is quite chilly, only around 7 to 9 celsius, around its lowest for the time of this season. it's going to feel quite cool at times along some of those north sea coasts. a lot of mist, low cloud to begin with on tuesday morning. most of that will break up. but later on, we could see a bit more cloud with some showers drifting across southern parts of england and wales. with a strengthening breeze, it's going to feel chillier, in particular for england and wales. mildest weather to the west of scotland where it will again be on wednesday.

once again on wednesday, we start with some extensive cloud — england, wales, northern ireland. chance of a few showers, particularly in the west. most will have a dry day, increasing amounts of sunshine, but still chilly down some of those eastern coasts and temperatures across scotland will drop a little bit relative to the start of the week. but overall, as i said, high pressure is in charge. other than a few showers across the south, many will have a dry week with the sunniest conditions in scotland.