there. i am donna, loads of stuff in there. i am not hurrying you, but i have to look at the clock. live from london. this is bbc news. sudan's paramilitary force, the rsf, has reaffirmed its approval for a 24—hour armistice to ensure the safe passage of civilians. president putin has visited russian troops in occupied ukraine, only his second trip since last year's invasion. an 85—year—old white man is charged with shooting and injuring a black teenager who mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell in the us state of missouri. two men are arrested in new york for allegedly operating a chinese �*secret police' station.

the wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich is appearing in court in moscow for his appeal hearing against his detention. mr gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in yekaterinburg last month. more than a0 countries led by the united states have called for the release of the journalist. the statement condemned moscow's efforts to limit and intimidate the media. us ambassador to russia visited mr gershkovich at lefortovo prison. these are the latest pictures of him, behind the glass, inside court. we have had a live feed up until the last few minutes from inside and outside, if you look at the outside of the court as well. this is an

appeal hearing against the charges on which he is being held. of course, we cannot predict or know what the outcome proceedings will be, but many observers and washes of court proceedings in russia points to the fact that most of the time, once people are in the judicial system, very little changes, so most verdicts, when it comes to court cases for example, and in guilty, rather than a not guilty. —— end in guilty. there are concerns from many in the us and many countries around the world about the safety of this man, as we're showing you now not live pictures but latest pictures we have of him, inside the courtroom, behind the glass. we know that he has been visited in prison, it did take a while, but the us ambassador to russia did recently visit him after lots of attempts to get inside and did describe him as in good

health and remains strong. so that is a little bit of good news, as to the condition and you can see that he looks fairly healthy and well. these are the latest pictures we have from outside that court, in moscow, and as soon as we get any kind of news, or developments about what happened inside the court and in those legal proceedings, of course we will be chasing that and bringing that to you. in sudan, the general of the rapid support forces in sudan has approved a 24—hour ceasefire. general mohamed hamdan daglo tweeted that he had spoken to the us secretary of state antony blinken and agreed the pause to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of

people who are injured. that is what many international groups have been calling for, international diplomatic efforts, trying to achieve just that. but the sudanese army has released a statement denying any knowledge of the ceasefire. days of fighting between rival forces has killed almost 200 people and wounded 1,800. khartoum has seen air strikes, shelling and heavy small—arms fire. this is just the sum of the latest pictures, these released by the r s f paramilitary forces, this is around khartoum international airport, you can see the black smoke rising from a burning plane, there. let's take a look at the area more closely. sudan is part of this

eastern area of africa, known as the horn of africa and has a history of instability. the area's intergovernmental authority on development, or igad, will send the presidents of south sudan, djibouti and kenya to the country to try to broker peace. the fighting is between army units loyal to two generals who have been in charge of the country since 2019 when long—time leader omar al—bashir was toppled. here on the left, mohamed hamdan dagalo, better known as hemedti, is sudan's deputy leader. he commands a paramilitary force called the rsf, the rapid support forces. that is the group we have heard from in that tweet saying that they are in that tweet saying that they are in favour of a 24—hour armistice stop and on the right, the de facto leader, general abdel fattah al—burhan. both of them want to control sudan's

military but disagree on how to restore civilian rule to sudan. let's go live to nairobi now and our correspondent merchuma. what is the latest? the way you put it about the — what is the latest? the way you put it about the information _ what is the latest? the way you put it about the information going - it about the information going around a 2k hour armistice that is being looked into, on one hand we have the leader of the rss saying that they will go on with the plans to necessitate a 24—hour putting down the arms, for people to be able to move around, and for the wounded to move around, and for the wounded to be able to be access and medical equipment. there is also conflicting information, because the armed forces, through the facebook page, the spokesperson says there is no such thing as an agreement to down their tools for 2h hours yet in an international media house, they also said that there is something like that and that they are willing to do more to put down the answer to a

four hours. so a lot of uncertainty, we don't know if this 2a hour truce will actually happen, whether they will actually happen, whether they will be able to access the people who are injured and the people of sudan will be access to vegetarian assistance. already we have reports of more than 180 people being injured, as of monday evening. the numbers are definitely up, because the fighting has been going on. other than that we are seeing humanitarian agencies coming in and leaving major parts of sudan where people need assistance. save the children, and others, who's facilities have been attacked, workers attacked, so a really volatile situation at the moment a stopwatch just remind us, volatile situation at the moment a stopwatchjust remind us, why volatile situation at the moment a stopwatch just remind us, why are these do a mag military groups fighting? these military groups are fighting? these military groups are fighting because of power. it's basically a struggle for power.

taking us back to 2019, both generals really worked together, put on the same side, to topple the then president and then the coup happened in 2021 and has been called for a transition in sudan from a military government to a civilian government and that is where we are right now. but how this transition is going to happen is what is causing this unrest. because for the two generals it is really important to each of them to know where or what position they will hold in these new government. everyone is looking into this. that sudan is going into. so it's basically this disagreement on who does what, on who takes what position when the transition happens, from military rule to a civilian rule. so that is why they are fighting. what i thank you very much that, i know you are giving that across the latest update and we will take to you directly delete on mosaab baba is a journalist and director of ayin network, a nonprofit independent media outlet which has been covering khartoum

for the past 12 years. he described the situation on the ground. well, since the morning of the 15th the situation has been very dire and it's switched into full—on war between them. at first it was just a few clashes at the army headquarters and in southern khartoum, but soon after that the air strikes started and turned into a full conflict. so right now residents are stuck in their houses for the most part. it depends on where you are. if you're in the khartoum locality you're going to be stuck indoors because the constant ammunition being fired in air strikes. this morning, we're getting reports of air strikes even in khartoum north. so the closer you are to the center, the more people are kind of locked in, but the more you go to the outskirts things are a little bit more quiet, but still the issue of the logistics and getting supplies and power

being out for days at a time, still from morning with no coverage. covering the conflict now, like when there were the protests and the marches and stuff, it was a lot easier to get information from the ground, but people are holed up right now, so we're depending on a lot of eyewitness accounts of where planes are going, where the air strikes are happening, where the shelling is happening, where the troops' movements are, so trying to just follow that minute by minute. i see. and what what's your thoughts on on how we get some kind of resolution to this? well, unfortunately, this was kind of an inevitable clash that was going to happen because of the long history of the central government using militias and militarising communities. so now it's almost like one of the historic moments in sudan. there's never been a battle like this in khartoum throughout its history,

since the days of the british colonialism. since those days, khartoum hasn't seen this kind of fighting. unfortunately, it seems like both are on a one—way path towards dominance and two objects can't occupy the same space at the same time. so the negotiation policy will need to frame it as what's going on right now, which are war crimes when we see the amount of shelling and stuff that's going on. so it's a survival tactic on both sides, political and as far as there are forces and the huge economic interests that go along with their forces. so they're trying to get the upper hand right now. when you follow their statements and their media and what their discourse looks like, they're trying to form themselves as the ones who are saving the country from these outlaws. both are saying the same thing.

basically, they're trying to get in in good terms with the pro—democracy camp, the bigger pro—democracy camp that includes the protesters, includes citizens who are kind at this point, there's no confusion as to why we need civilian government and why we need democratic change. every single citizen in sudan kind of sees that clearly right now. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you a couple more lines that we have, the very latest in situation, we have an update, from our correspondent, talking about the uk and us foreign secretaries meeting, at a big conference, the g7, meeting on the sidelines and have had discussions and two things they have expressed their concerns about, first of all, their concerns about, first of all, the assault on the european union ambassador to sudan and the attack

on a us embassy convoy in the capital, khartoum, so both the secretary of state and foreign secretary of state and foreign secretary you kay have been in conversation about the situation in khartoum, expressed concern specifically about those two attacks on european union ambassador and on the us convoy as well as talking, of course, broadly about the devastation of the fighting itself. they are engaged in efforts to broker some kind of ceasefire, it would seem, because we have heard from one side that they have been in talks with secretary of lincoln about that a 24—hour armistice. —— secretary blinking. trying to reach a resolution to the situation, plenty more new lines and developers coming through, minute by minute, we will keep you right across things. the kremlin has said that

president putin has visited occupied parts of ukraine's luhansk and kherson regions, in a rare trip to lands taken during russia's invasion of its neighbour. russian state media say he attended a military command meeting. it's not known when the trip was made. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse is following the story from kyiv. i think it's significant in the sense that the kremlin is looking to double down, is looking to legitimise the sizeable land grab it has made to date. now, there are a few unknowns. as you say, we don't know when vladimir putin made this visit. he can be heard certainly on his visit to the occupied part of the kherson region, he can be heard talking about the upcoming easter with troops. he says, "don't let me distract you. "i'm here in a business capacity." so we could say possibly that it was before last weekend, but it's about moscow trying to portray russia's leader as not being afraid to make his way closer to the front line

and where his troops are fighting such an attritional battle. now, what's interesting about his visit to the kherson region is that this is an area where russian forces have been really bolstering their defences. they've been digging new trenches, they've been amassing a huge number of troops ahead of a widely expected ukrainian counter—offensive, which has not happened yet and the sounds coming out of kyiv is that ukraine isn't ready to make such a large scale attack at this point in time. vladimir putin is also depicted as visiting troops in the eastern luhansk region of ukraine, which is mostly occupied. i think what the kremlin is trying to say is we're not going anywhere and regardless of any kind of western—backed ukrainian offensive which may follow and that everything is going to plan, and we've seen that time and time again in russia's invasion of ukraine —

when russia is frustrated, where it is defeated in some areas, it's been launching numerous offensives over the past weeks and months, it never acknowledges defeat in that way. it tries to re—nose and refocus its campaign. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. gardeners have known for years that slugs love a refreshing drink. they smell the yeasty, hoppy beer, go to drink it, fall in and, well, that's it. but they can be devastating to gardens, eating up to a0 times their own body weight in a day. at stroud brewery, customers can now fill containers with waste beer to use in home traps. the project is being coordinated by chloe cox from the environmental group wild stroud. the group admits having to carry out pest control isn't ideal, but say this method is at least natural and doesn't mean using harsh chemicals. chloe's research found the slugs have some definite preferences

when it comes to drink. they really prefer the local beer. in tests against supermarket lager and supermarket bottled beer, they really preferred greg's beer, which is why this project's happening. chloe's taken a big container of waste beer home so her neighbours can collect it for use in their own gardens. you're live with bbc news. in the us state of missouri, prosecutors have charged an 85—year—old white man who is accused of shooting and injuring a black teenager who mistakenly rang the wrong door bell. an arrest warrant has been issued for the suspect, his name is andrew lester. this is ralph yarl — he's 16 years old — and had been sent by his mother to pick us his younger brothers,

but got the address wrong. ralph yarl�*s lawyer said he was standing on the doorstep when the suspect shot through the door, hitting yarl in the head and arm. it protesters have gathered here — outside andrew lester's home — for a second evening. this is what the county prosecutor had to say about the case. as the prosecutor in clay county, i can tell you there was a racial component to the case. my message to the community is that, in clay county, we enforce the laws and we follow the laws and it does not matter where you come from or what you look like or how much money you have, everyone is held to the same standard. after a 24—hour delay, the high—stakes defamation trial against fox news brought by the voting machine firm dominion is due to start later on tuesday. michelle fleury has more from the courthouse in wilmington, delaware. in court on monday, delaware judge eric davis said that the one—day delay wasn't unusual and that things happen. the extra time, though, has fuelled speculation of a last—minute settlement between the two parties here on the courthouse steps to avoid trial.

not only would that reduce the risk each side takes by putting this matter in the hands of a jury, it would also spare rupert murdoch from being compelled to testify. it could be by midweek that the billionaire chair of fox news is on the stand, answering questions from dominion�*s lawyers. mr murdoch, who is likely more used to asking questions than answering them, well, he will have to defend the network's decisions to allow its hosts and guests to make false claims about the election in 2020 which he knew to be untrue. tucker carlson and sean hannity, two of the network's stars, could also be on the stand in a matter of days answering questions, but if settlement talks are getting serious, one possible stumbling block — fox and dominion are hundreds of millions of dollars apart on estimating dominion�*s worth and the dollar amount on damages. plus, it's not the first time the two have considered settling. they met with a mediator back in december, but no deal was reached.

so, while there may be a renewed sense of urgency to reach an agreement, the clock is ticking down to the start of the trial here in delaware. prosecutors have arrested two men in new york for allegedly operating a chinese "secret police station" in manhattan's chinatown neighbourhood. 61—year—old lujianwang, pictured on the right and 59—year—old chenjinping, pictured on the left — are both new york city residents and face charges of conspiring to act as agents for china and the obstruction ofjustice. our new york correspondent nada tawfik has more details. could us prosecutors say that these two other men, both us citizens, that they opened and illegal chinese police station in 2022 and that they did that on behalf of china's ministry of public security to routinely monitor and intimidate dissidents. in those critical of the

chinese government, in order to silence them. now, they allegedly conducted these operations from a floor in an office building in manhattan's chinatown, as you mentioned there. and the key here is that they never notified the attorney general that they were acting as agents of a foreign government as they're required to do. so what they did is allegedly close the police station when they realise they were being investigated. the fbi eventually got an authorised search of the building. they were able to question the men. and prosecutors say that they admitted that they had deleted their communications with their chinese government official that they were in touch with in order to obstruct the fbi's probe. so the complaint goes into that specific police station, but also even earlier, they are kind of attempts to locate chinese persons of interest in the united states, including pro—democracy advocates living in california and trying to intimidate them. let's look at some of

the day's other news. the energy regulator has announced a new code of practice that prevents suppliers in england, scotland and wales from forcibly installing prepayment meters in the homes of customers over the age of 85. ofgem temporarily stopped the installation of any prepayment meters without householders' permission in february, after debt agencies working for british gas were revealed to be breaking into some properties to fit them. wages in the uk have risen by 6.6% in the three months to february compared with the previous year. the figure, which excludes bonuses, is higher than most economists were expecting, but rising prices mean earnings are still falling in real terms. the data also shows a slight rise in uk unemployment. encrypted messaging services, including whatsapp, have written a joint letter to the uk government, asking it to make changes to the online safety bill. ministers want the communications regulator to be able to ask the platforms to monitor users, to root out child abuse images. in the uk black women are almost

four—times more likely to die within six weeks of giving birth than white women — that's one of the stark figures in a report being released today by the women and equalities committee. it comes as the group of mps call on the government to set a definitive target to eliminate "appalling" disparities in maternal deaths. the bbc�*s global health correspondent, naomie grimley, has this report. it was actually one of the hardest experiences i've ever had to go through. sandra igwe is campaigning for better care for black mothers. she formed her own pressure group after suffering not one, but two, traumatic births. so with my first pregnancy, i was ignored. i was dismissed. i raised concerns several times and was told that i'm overexaggerating, that i'm not really feeling this pain. i was told that my pains didn't coincide with my labour contractions. i begged and pleaded for pain relief. that was denied as well. and ifelt like i was really treated differently. in a report out today, the women and equalities committee says...

mp suggests there needs to be better training for health care staff and more personalised care, although they point out ongoing staffing shortages make that goal much harder. we know that this has been a problem for more than 20 years. experts who appeared before the committee argue action is long overdue. so this is an unacceptable disparity. we clearly need action, but action needs to be at a local level. we need to evaluate the results of the action we're doing. and to do that, we need real—time, lifetime data on complications in pregnancy for women from all different ethnic groups. the department of health said it had invested £165 million in the maternity workforce in the last two years. nhs england acknowledges

there is more to be done, and said it would review the report. naomi grimley, bbc news. apple's chief executive tim cook has launched the company's first retail store in india. he was presented with a vintage mac at the store's opening in the financial capital mumbai, where people from across india came to participate in the opening event. until now, apple products have only been available in india either online or through a vast network of resellers. american actress mischa barton is set to join the rebooted australian soap neighbours, which is returning to screens later this year. producers of the soap say the former 0c star will appear as reece, an american "who's not quite who she appears to be". neighbours originally came to an end in 2022 after being on air for 37 years but the streaming giant amazon is relaunching the soap.

hello again. yesterday we reached temperatures of 21.2 celsius in kinlochewe in the north of scotland. today the north of scotland, or the north—west, certainly favoured for some higher temperatures. over the next few days the temperatures will slip. it's going to be mostly dry. there'll be some showers across parts of england and wales at times, but this keen easterly breeze coming in across a cold north sea really accentuating the cold feel along the north sea coastline. we've also got various fronts coming in across england and wales introducing thicker cloud at times and also some showers. this afternoon we've got cloud coming in from a weather front across southern counties. the odd light shower is possible, but move north of that there's a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. it's not particularly windy, these white circles represent the average wind speeds, but we will have a brisk wind along

the north sea coastline and that will accentuate the cool feel. temperatures here between ten and 13 degrees. push further west we're looking at higher temperatures. we could potentially see 19 in the north—west highlands today. now, as we head on through the evening and overnight, more cloud romps in from the north sea. we'll see some showers skirting across southern counties of england. further north, under clear skies, it will be cold and locally we will see a touch of frost, but that's, of course, where we'll see some blue skies to start the day tomorrow, under the clear skies. tomorrow a high pressure drifts a little bit further west. we still have this squeeze on the isobars, still brisk winds along the north sea coastline. this weather front continuing to pull away from the south—west taking its showers with it. a few of those showers may get into south wales, but they'll also move away and the low cloud tending to break up with the cloud generally pushing in the direction of the west, so brightening up in eastern areas. the north hanging onto the sunshine for most of the day.

temperatures sliding a little bit. we're looking at ten to about 15 degrees as our maximum temperatures in the afternoon. as we move through wednesday into thursday, high pressure still very much with us, more or less anchored across our shores, but you can see we've got various weather fronts coming in on thursday and also friday. so what's going to happen, first of all, on thursday is a frosty start, a fine start, but then we'll see some cloud and some showers coming our way. showers more widespread during the course of friday.

the dragon awakes — china's economy grows faster than expected as it rememerges from its strict lockdowns. the right to health — how rajasthan plans to give free health care for all, despite fierce opposition. welcome to world business report, i'mjagdip cheema. let's start in china, where it's good news from the world's second largest economy. latest figures show it's growing faster than many expected, with the economy growing by 4.5% in the first three months of this year.