�*that background, the arrest of that senior snp figure. before we get brian in �*s thoughts on that, just a quick reminder of where we are on that police investigation. this is a background into the pru of snp finances. —— into the probe of snp finances. —— into the probe of snp finances. questions arose when it emerged that the party had less than £100,000 in the bank. peter murrell, former chief executive of the party, learned more than £100,000 of his own money. he is married to the former first minister, nicola sturgeon. last month, peter morrell resigned from the snp after taking responsibility for misleading the public about its plummeting membership figures. and now the party's treasurer, colin bt, has

been arrested by police. let's go back to brian. your thoughts on this investigation? championing scotland on the world stage? _ i mention the idea of a disjuncture, we other disjuncture is that humza yousaf is the first minister, the rear of the scottish national party, he has to take any political head going from these —— political hit, but he was not the leader of the treasurer at the time that these things happen, he cannot intervene in the police investigation, he cannot nobody intervene in the elaboration, but he has to take the hit as it comes. 0ne insider described him as being very front facing on this, determined to carry on as first minister and challenge

the things that face as first minister. and do what he can with regards to the crisis that has frankly engulfed his party. but it is that dreadful disjunction as far as he is concerned that he has to take the first match but he cannot directly intervene, he is in play has to hope that a diver dies down or goes away, or it can be laid particularly at the door of his predecessor and the predecessor administration. i think you will do so nicola sturgeon to some extent at least in the short—term, it will help that she had to do the same thing with regard to her predecessor as leader, albeit in very different circumstances, and also that she is prepared to take a low profile herself. secondly, he has to say that the previous will party was run was in a sufficient, unacceptable, then he has to set out detailed proposals to change that. he is already doing that with an idea of greater transparency and communication within the party, but all of these things are scratching at the surface rather than dealing

with the problem. it is that gigantic problem looming around him, and he can do nothing about it whatsoever except wait. fascinating anal sis. whatsoever except wait. fascinating analysis- what _ whatsoever except wait. fascinating analysis. what about _ whatsoever except wait. fascinating analysis. what about the _ whatsoever except wait. fascinating analysis. what about the timing - whatsoever except wait. fascinating analysis. what about the timing of. analysis. what about the timing of this? years only a few weeks into this, but is that strangely helping him here? big election is still a way away, potentially time to put this behind him, what is your assessment of any potential electoral hit? fix, assessment of any potential electoral hit?— assessment of any potential electoral hit? �* , ., ., electoral hit? a bit. there are no local elections _ electoral hit? a bit. there are no local elections in _ electoral hit? a bit. there are no local elections in scotland - electoral hit? a bit. there are no local elections in scotland as - electoral hit? a bit. there are no i local elections in scotland as there are an england, the uk general election has to be byjanuary are an england, the uk general election has to be by january 25, are an england, the uk general election has to be byjanuary 25, we expected by spring or more likely autumn of next year, and the next scottish parliamentary elections are not until 2026. there's quite a serious possibility of there being a in rutherglen, margaret ferrier of the mp there was found by the house to have broken the regulations on covid travel, she is appealing against that, but she was suspended from the house for a substantial period, they could be a vehicle in

rutherglen and that could lead to a by—election. the snp optician for her to stand down as well. but you're right, the terms of a big scotland wide challenge, it is not there at the moment, but these are not good circumstances for the new first minister. he is not directly responsible, he can to some extent resile himself from the regime that previously ran the snp, but when you have the treasurer being arrested and questioned, when you have nicola sturgeon comedy house she shares with peter murrell, being searched by police, when you have peter murrell himself been questioned and arrested, the optics are to see the list not ideal.— list not ideal. ryan taylor, great to have your _ list not ideal. ryan taylor, great to have your thoughts _ list not ideal. ryan taylor, great to have your thoughts and - list not ideal. ryan taylor, great. to have your thoughts and analysis, thank you very much for coming on the programme. —— brian taylor. a significant day in scottish politics, yet another. the new leader and new first minister only a couple of weeks, humza yousaf, eight

speech to set out his priorities over the next two years, but had to acknowledge himself that this is not the ideal backdrop to be trying to establish a clean slate, establish a vision for looking forward, when actually the police investigation into the snp continues at pace, just today, the snp�*s treasurer colin beattie arrested by police as part of that investigation which has already seen the rest of peter murrell, for chief objective of the snp, and of course the husband of former leader nicola sturgeon. plenty of questions remaining about what has happened with the party finances, and that investigation continues, but humza yousaf would not have wanted that a vest to happen this morning. just a few hours before his big speech setting out his own agenda, setting out his own priorities. he talked about as

priority for the economy, for businesses, community, equality, things like a priority to decrease the number of deaths from drugs in the number of deaths from drugs in the country, reducing child poverty, and he asked to be measured against those priorities as he and the snp government there try and deliver those in partnership with the green party over the coming years. but he is under no illusion that actually what will take up a fair bit of his time as party leader, is take up a fair bit of the media's time, is questions about exactly what has gone on with the finances of the scottish national party.

hello from the bbc sport centre. on day four of the world snooker championship, england'sjudd trump is in action in his opening round. he's leading at the crucible in snooker�*s biggest event. let's take you there now, where trump is leading scot antony mcgill by two frames to one on table one. trump has said he is quietly confident about this tournament, and i him to win, possibly because he was knocked out of the world snooker tour championship last month or early on by veteranjimmy white, but do not forget he was a finalist in this event last year, runner—up to the eventual winner ronnie 0'sullivan. but anthony mcgill has just taken the last frame, only once has this got beaten trump, but you never know, he hasjust has this got beaten trump, but you never know, he has just come has this got beaten trump, but you never know, he hasjust come back from a comfort break, possibly refreshed. you can keep up—to—date on this one. there is uninterrupted coverage on bbc iplayer, bbc sport website and bbc sport app every day,

so you can keep up—to—date. the day's play got under way without a hitch after it was interrupted by a protest last night. the match between robert milkins and joe perry will resume later, after a protestor covered the table in orange powder. the incident occured in the first frame of the match when a man wearing a just stop 0il t—shirt jumped over the barrier and climbed onto the table before breaking open the packet of powder. the match was subsequently postponed. a second protestor tried to glue herself to the crucible's other table, but was apprehended. police have arrested a 30—year—old man and a 52—year—old woman on suspicion of criminal damage. security was heightened ahead of day four. security has been increased. there are more security guards inside the arena, they are on the stairs and also on the floor near the tables, and spectators are now allowed to take very small bags into the arena.

these are all being searched, there are also doing random style frisk searches on some of the spectators. frank lampard said that labelling chelsea as "broken" was a bit much as they face real madrid with their season on the line. the interim coach leads chelsea in the champions league later as they look to overturn a 2—0 deficit from the first leg in the bernabeu last week. sitting 11th in the premier league despite spending £550 million, it's their only hope of silverware, and lampard says they have to improve on last week's showing. we had opportunities to score there and make _ we had opportunities to score there and make the scoreline better, but at the _ and make the scoreline better, but at the same time, there were a lot of things— at the same time, there were a lot of things we could have done better in that_ of things we could have done better in that game. i felt it in the game and i_ in that game. i felt it in the game and i feel— in that game. i felt it in the game and i feel even more having reviewed the game _ and i feel even more having reviewed the game. there were things we wanted — the game. there were things we wanted to— the game. there were things we wanted to do from the outset that we did not— wanted to do from the outset that we did not do— wanted to do from the outset that we did not do well enough throughout the game — did not do well enough throughout the game to have a better chance of

turning _ the game to have a better chance of turning the — the game to have a better chance of turning the scheme around. two significant nights of champions league quarterfinal action will take place to determine the four semi—finalists. elsewhere, napoli entertain fellow italians ac milan, 1—0 down from the first leg. in the second set of quarterfinals, manchester city travel to bavaria with a strong 3—0 lead over bayern munich, and inter host benfica at the san siro. the home side are 2—0 up from the first leg. carlos sainz has failed in his appeal to have his five—second penalty from the australian grand prix overturned. the penalty meant that sainz dropped from 4th to 12th. race stewards reconvened on april the, 18th but decided that "no significant and relevant new element" had been presented by ferrari, so dismissed the petition. sri lanka wrapped up victory against ireland by an innings and 280 runs on day three of the first test in galle. prabath jayasuriya took three wickets in ireland's second innings to finish with 10 for the match as sri lanka registered their biggest ever test victory. it was also ireland's heaviest test defeat. the second test gets

under way on april 24th. and that's all the sport for now. the un has said there are signs of recovery in afghanistan's economy, but they are weak and under threat of being undone by the taliban's recent restrictions on women working at ngos which could lead to a significant drop in aid. the taliban have told the bbc that the rules imposed on women are internal matters for the country, and that their government is working to pull the country out of economic collapse. from kabul, the bbc�*s south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports. no time for a childhood. ii—year—old saeed ali akbar must work every day so that his family can eat. one of more than a million children out of school in afghanistan. he was in sixth grade

until last year. "i really liked school. i miss it. this is very hard work, but i've got used to it now," he says. next door, his older brother does the same work. nine hours of hammering and welding earns them 150 afghanis a day, less than $2. their father lost his job when afghanistan's economy collapsed and has now gone to iran to find work. their mother begs on the streets. translator: | feel awful that | my young children are working. this is their time to study and be something. but life is hard for us. i am struggling to find work and they have to provide for the family.

when the taliban took over, foreign money that was being given to this country's government was frozen, triggering an economic collapse. aid organisations have so far played a crucial role, saving people from going hungry. in recent months, though, the taliban has increased restrictions on women working for them, which threatens to put their operations and their funding at risk. i met a senior official in the taliban's finance ministry... my name isjogita from the bbc. ..who says they're working to improve the economic situation. basically in the previous government, there were a lot of corruptions and misuses of the power of the government. we have transparency in all our departments, and there is a very good 37% of increase in our revenues. two thirds of your population currently does not know where their next meal is coming from. that is not a self—reliant economy. so how crucial is the operation of aid organisations at this moment?

these are temporary things. thank you for the international community helping our people all over afghanistan. but this is not the solution we need. we need not only aid, we need trade. we need the aid effectiveness. we need developmental aid. we need the international communities to come and work with us. but it is the policies of your government, including the restrictions on women and girls, which are making it tougherfor aid organisations to operate in this country. is your government willing to take responsibility for your share of what you should be doing to further expand the aid that is coming to your country? so, the girls�* education and girls stopping them from the work, so this is, i think, the internal policy of islamic emirates. but i think all the things, all the humanitarian aid and the donations and the grants, those should not be related to this issue. this issue only.

the gap between afghanistan's rulers and the world is widening at an unexpectedly rapid pace. its people are at risk of being left to fight a crisis on their own. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. live now to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet in london. millions of people in afghanistan within grindingly hard lives. this new report _ within grindingly hard lives. ti 3 new report talks about how the vast majority of afghans have been pushed into crisis ever since the taliban swept into power in august 2021. the un says it has been a slide over the

past decade, so even before the tell a man came to power, a slide into poverty that means now in afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world —— before the taliban came to power. it pointed to corruption, the taliban had been able to collect tax revenues, but it is not enough to keep the economy afloat, it is not enough to create jobs, it is not even enough to feed the people of afghanistan. irate jobs, it is not even enough to feed the people of afghanistan. we were listenin: the people of afghanistan. we were listening there, _ the people of afghanistan. we were listening there, we _ the people of afghanistan. we were listening there, we had _ the people of afghanistan. we were listening there, we had the - the people of afghanistan. we were listening there, we had the point i listening there, we had the point that these restrictions on women, the restrictions on aid, that is making everything worse. there was no real clear answer from the taliban, how they see a route to making things better.— taliban, how they see a route to making things better. well, if you read or listen _ making things better. well, if you read or listen to _ making things better. well, if you read or listen to their— making things better. well, if you| read or listen to their statements, for then there is a clear route. they believe the rest of the world,

including the islamic world castor accept that the islamic element of afghanistan believes that girls do not have to go to school passed grade six, that women do not have to work, that men can go and do the work, that men can go and do the work for women, that women do not have to go to university. the taliban see all these are temporary measures, that there is no sign that they are going to reverse these measures —— but there is no sign. the latest one at this year was that women cannot work for the united nations either. this is going to have an impact on aid, even though the taliban say they do not want it to, if you just look at the numbers, the funding appealfor to, if you just look at the numbers, the funding appeal for afghanistan so far is an astounding 5.4%. 5% for a country regarded as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. , , , ., worst humanitarian crises in the world. , , ., ., , world. just remind us, what does that translate _ world. just remind us, what does that translate in _ world. just remind us, what does that translate in terms _ world. just remind us, what does that translate in terms of - world. just remind us, what does

that translate in terms ofjust - that translate in terms ofjust numbers living on the brink, on the brink of starvation?— brink of starvation? people go without food. _ brink of starvation? people go without food. people - brink of starvation? people go without food. people eat - brink of starvation? people go without food. people eat one | brink of starvation? people go - without food. people eat one meal a day. my last trip to afghanistan in january, we saw that people are living on the edge. afghanistan has been a country with deep, deep levels of poverty for a very long time. but it has been pushed into corners that have not seen it before, middle class afghans or those who held down jobs selling books or household appliances on the street, trying to flee whatever way they can to leave the country. this is a country which is notjust been knocked on its knees, but knocked flat out. in this report by the un warns that if there is not international aid and the conditions to encourage more international aid for afghanistan, to encourage more international aid forafghanistan, it to encourage more international aid for afghanistan, it is going to sink ever, ever deeper into crisis. aha, ever, ever deeper into crisis. a final thought, ever, ever deeper into crisis. a finalthought, because ever, ever deeper into crisis. a final thought, because you have been back to the country so many times in

recent years, and reported from different parts of afghanistan, can you see any sort of sign of a way to break the current logjam? break the current lou'am? whatever we break the current lo “am? whatever we travelled h break the current lo “am? whatever we travelled in h break the current logjam? whatever we travelled in afghanistan, - break the current logjam? whatever we travelled in afghanistan, we - we travelled in afghanistan, we travelled quite a bit, over the past year to different provinces of afghanistan. ifind it quite year to different provinces of afghanistan. i find it quite stark that in a lot of younger, more educated taliban, this happens even in kabul, people we meet on the ministries, that they do not agree with these hard—line edicts coming from the top of the taliban movement. they say there is no way they can change them, they swear an oath of allegiance to the reclusive octogenarian leader who hands down these edicts that another generation of more educated taliban do believe this is a country where women should be educated and allowed to work, so the big question is, how long can this go on? will the situation

continue as it is? it is absolutely depressing to think that a whole generation of girls and young women will grow up staying at home staring at the wall. this is a country which will not be able to develop itself over time if that is the case, women are not allowed to work.— are not allowed to work. loose to set, thank _ are not allowed to work. loose to set. thank you — are not allowed to work. loose to set, thank you so _ are not allowed to work. loose to set, thank you so much _ are not allowed to work. loose to set, thank you so much for- are not allowed to work. loose to | set, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. —— lyse doucet. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. the greenhouses produce 20% of all

british tomatoes, and with recent shortages of salad crops in supermarkets, the growers here say it is more important than ever to think local. irate it is more important than ever to think local-— think local. we have a war, the ener: think local. we have a war, the energy crisis. _ think local. we have a war, the energy crisis, and _ think local. we have a war, the energy crisis, and we _ think local. we have a war, the energy crisis, and we are - think local. we have a war, the| energy crisis, and we are seeing climate change.— climate change. because the temperature _ climate change. because the temperature is _ climate change. because the temperature is controlled, . climate change. because the - temperature is controlled, cucumbers can grow almost all ears round —— all year round. 25 million of them are produced every year. the department for environment, food and rural affairs says it is supporting farmers to produce food profitably and sustainably, including £600 million in grants, but producers here say it far more needs to be done to help them grow more of our food locally. news coming from the united states, from the federal aviation administration there, it is a significant news because they have just said that southwest airlines have requested that their airline departures across the country to be

paused, thousands of potential flights being affected, no particular reason being given. this news is just breaking particular reason being given. this news isjust breaking now, suggestions of a computer glitch, the faa saying that our departures across america are paused. that will have large ramifications in terms of flights on the ground and already in the air, so we will keep across that. 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 doorbell. 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. protesters gathered here outside andrew lester's home for a second evening. this is what the county prosecutor had to say about the case. ican i can tell you there was a racial element to the case. my message is that in this county, we enforce and follow the laws, and it does not matter where you come from, what you look like, or how much money you have. everyone is held to the same standard. ralph's mother cleo and their attorney, lee merrit, spoke to gayle king on cbs news and they started giving an update

on ralph's condition. physically, mornings are hard, but has spirits are in a good place. i borrow from his spirit, he is in very good hands. can borrow from his spirit, he is in very good hands.— borrow from his spirit, he is in very good hands. can you tell us the extent of his — very good hands. can you tell us the extent of his injuries, _ very good hands. can you tell us the extent of his injuries, where - very good hands. can you tell us the extent of his injuries, where he - very good hands. can you tell us the extent of his injuries, where he was| extent of his injuries, where he was shot, and what exactly happened to him that night, in terms of his injuries? him that night, in terms of his in'uries? ., , ., , , ., him that night, in terms of his in'uries? ., , , ., ., injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye. _ injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye. i— injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye, i would _ injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye, i would say - injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye, i would say in - injuries? ralph was shot on the top of his left eye, i would say in the i of his left eye, i would say in the left frontal lobe, and when he was shot again in the upper right arm. he had to be built up here for about let's say up to 12 hours before it was taken out, so that injury is extensive, and the residual effect of that energy is going to stay with

him for quite a while —— of that injury. he is home, but i want to remind everybody that ralph is home, because he is surrounded by a team of medical professionals. i am a nurse for almost 20 years, his aunt is a physical therapist, his uncle is a physical therapist, his uncle is a physical therapist, his uncle is a medical professional, that is why he is home.— why he is home. ralph's mother s-ueakin why he is home. ralph's mother speaking to _ why he is home. ralph's mother speaking to cbs. _ why he is home. ralph's mother speaking to cbs. a _ why he is home. ralph's mother speaking to cbs. a case - why he is home. ralph's mother speaking to cbs. a case that. why he is home. ralph's mother| speaking to cbs. a case that has made headlines and shocked around the world, so we will keep an eye on that story. if there is more, we will return to it. we will take a short break in a moment. plenty more coming up on our main story, sudan, as we edge towards a ceasefire, we are about an hour away from that ceasefire coming in on the ground, if it comes in on the ground. these are the scenes in the lower layer in the day. so a lot depends on whether there is a pause. we will have the latest from our team on the ground, our teams here, as we edge towards

that moment of truth, potentially. we will also have the latest on the southwest airlines story that has just broken. all of that here on bbc news, don't go anywhere. yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far, temperatures reaching 21.2 in the highlands. the temperatures were particularly high here because of the scottish mountains. for most of us, we had brisk winds, but those winds were blocked by the mountains, so with light winds here, the sun's energy was concentrated, allowing us temperatures to climb into the low 20s. elsewhere, brisk winds meant to be some's energy was spread through a greater depth of atmosphere, so temperatures were not quite so high. more of the same of the next few days thanks to this big area of high pressure, meaning we have more sunshine to look forward to it winds again. the highest temperatures are going to be across north—west scotland, we are reducing temperatures into the low 20s, and it could be that we bid yesterday's

highest temperature, so it could be the warmest day of the year so far in the highlands. but across eastern areas, with the wind is coming in from the north sea, temperatures will be suppressed, high is more likely to be around ten or ii celsius. in the sunshine and out of the breeze, but whenever you are, probably not feeling too bad. an outside chance of a light shower across south—east england, and the other thing to notice as we have very high levels of pollen, particularly across western areas, so for those who suffer from tree pollen, it could be quite a sleazy afternoon. 0vernight, the chance of an odd light shower, but the emphasis on a lot of high whether —— sneezy afternoon. temperatures dropping down to low single figures. tomorrow, a bit more cloud for england and wales, could see the odd light shower, but most of us having a dry day, with increasingly sunny skies moving into the afternoon. again, the highest stampeders across western areas, winds coming in

direction, highs of ii also sells us in on the eastern coast. the air gets a bit cooler on thursday, but mitigating that should be the fact that we see much more on the web sunshine of the uk, again probably be highlands will see the high stampeders of the high teens here, i think, through the afternoon. 0n into friday on the weekend, we see a change in the weather pattern, rain pushing northwards across the uk, so expect rain at times. next week, it gets really quite chilly for april. bye for now.

live from london, this is bbc news. after four days of intense fighting — and at least 180 dead — a ceasefire is expected in sudan in the next few hours. a court in moscow rejects an appeal by the american journalist — evan gershkovich — against his detention on spying charges. rupert murdoch will testify in a billion—dollar defamation trial — between the voting systems firm, dominion, and fox news. star hosts tucker carlson and sean hannity are also expected to take the stand.