welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines... thousands flee sudan as fighting between rival military factions shows no signs of abating. criminal charges are dropped against the actor alec baldwin over a fatal movie set shooting. in the uk the deputy prime minster�*s political future is in the balance — as the prime minister is handed a report on bullying allegations involving dominic raab. ignition is up two, one... and the most powerful space rocket ever built takes off, but explodes minutes later.

live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. we begin in sudan, where thousands continue to flee the worsening violence between rival military factions. the fighting started nearly a week ago and so far it's claimed at least 350 lives. civilians in the capital khartoum who are trapped between the factions are running low on food and water. efforts are under way to secure a three—day truce to mark the muslim holiday of eid al—fitr. our correspondent andrew harding has the latest. another sunrise over khartoum. but still no sign of the promised ceasefire in sudan's shell—shocked capital.

across this vast country, hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed. these are the victims of a power struggle between two rival armies, a war that has been waged in crowded cities with no regard for civilian life. doctors can't even reach many of the wounded. our volunteers live in fields and provide service apart from hospitals, very close to their home area so far, but we are waiting for a situation to allow us to go there to provide service to all needy people, including wounded people. many families are trying to escape from khartoum but the airport remains closed. and there are growing reports of marauding soldiers, of looting. it's hard forjournalists to get into sudan right now but my colleague, mohammed osman, lives in khartoum and for the first time in a week ventured out of his house today. i am here at a bus

station in khartoum. it's where people are trying to leave the city. the fighting hasn't stopped for six days. they are running for water and food. new footage here of two army helicopters flying low over the river nile. these images filmed by a british businessman who's still trapped in the city centre. the building is been- obliterated and pounded continuously. how far away? just metres away? yeah. is that ongoing? because we hear talk of a ceasefire or attempts to get a humanitarian ceasefire. there is no ceasefire. it's talk, it's all talk. on the edges of khartoum, the occasional hint of normal life. for years, people here have been hoping and pushing for democracy.

instead, two generals staged a coup then turned on each other and now they risk plunging a huge and unstable corner of africa into deeper turmoil. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the us military is preparing for a possible evacuation of american embassy staff from the sudanese capital. our correspondent barbara plett usher has more. the pentagon says that it's deploying these extra troops and equipment in the region near sudan. it doesn't say where, but according to reports, they're being sent to the us base in djibouti and that's where they will get into position to be able to secure and facilitate any evacuation of us, personnel if circumstances require, says the pentagon. now, the circumstances have become more and more alarming, especially since monday, when a us especially since monday, when a us. embassy convoy came under attack in khartoum. the state department has now confirmed also separately that

a us citizen has been killed in sudan, hasn't given any more information about that, but it has intensified efforts to try and figure out how to get its people out, saying that it's been too dangerous so far to do so. but checking into all of the options, the airport in khartoum is closed. so if the americans were to try to attempt an air evacuation, they would have to find a secure land base somewhere in in or near khartoum. the other option would be over land so they could possibly drive their people to port sudan on the red sea. but that's a 12 hour trip and not secure, to say the least. they could possibly try to drive to the nearest country, which is which is eritrea. but the leader of eritrea is not friendly to the us. , not friendly to the west in general, actually. so in the meantime, the americans have been gathering their personnel from their homes and bringing them to a secure, centralised spot so that they could be prepared to evacuate

should it become possible. they've also been pushing for a three day cease fire, along with the un and and others. this would be a cease fire for the muslim holiday of eid al—fitr, which begins on friday. and that would allow notjust foreigners but also sudanese to be able to leave conflict zones where they are trapped. lawyers for alec baldwin have confirmed to the bbc that all charges against the actor stemming from the fatal shooting of cinematographer halina hutchins on the set of his western movie "rust," have been dropped. a reminder of what happened. in october 2021, baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the set at a ranch in new mexico, when the "prop" gun he was holding fired. it resulted in the death of the 42—year—old ukrainian—born cinematographer. charges of involuntary manslaughter were brought against him and the film's

weapons handler hannah gutierrez—reed, who you see here. lawyers for both denied any wrongdoing. i spoke earlier to our west coast correspondent sophie long, who told us more. we've had a statement from his lawyers who said they were pleased with that and now they encourage a proper investigation to the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic accident. we've been trying to make contact with the special prosecutors, the district attorney in new mexico and also hannah gutierrez—reed lawyer, she was the armour are responsible for weapons on set that day. we haven't had a statement from any of those people. what we do know now is that hannah gutierrez—reed's lawyer gave a statement to deadline, an online publication that specialises in entertainment news and they have confirmed he did back the charges against her, she was facing similar charges of

involuntary manslaughter have been dropped as well. i should stress we only have alec baldwin lawyers confirmed directly to the bbc, we spoke to the office of special prosecutors and they have declined comment at this stage for that they simply said is soon as the statement is available they will make us aware. at this stage we have no reason for these charges being dropped. these other criminal charges being faced by alec baldwin and hannah gutierrez—reed, alec baldwin and the producers of the film ross faces several civil cases including one from helena hutchins family in ukraine, her mother and sister are suing alec baldwin and the producers of fuel. there's been an 18 month hiatus during which several civil lawsuits have been filed with the one came from the husband and young son. that was settled in october of 2022 for that matthew hutchins, her husband is now actually an

executive producer on the film of rust, set to resume in montana today. a number of those civil cases, what was filed by the script supervisor who i think was the person who made the initial call to the emergency services. another comes from helena hutchins family from ukraine. there is a civil case, what's important about the criminal charges that he was facing until today was they could have resulted in a prison term, there were two charges, one was under an enhanced firearms statute for the alec baldwin lawyers have fought these charges right from the outset. they said they were wrong, they represented a gross miscarriage ofjustice, they said at the time they were filed in january this said at the time they were filed injanuary this year, they would fight them and they would win. fans around the world are mourning the death of a south korean k—pop star — moonbin — who has died at the age of 25. moonbin was an entertainer for his entire, short, life —

as a child he was first an actor, before joining the k—pop band astro when he was 18. the star was discovered unresponsive at his home in seoul by his manager last night. police are investigating the cause of his death, but say it appears he has taken his life. moonbin is the latest of a series of south korean celebrities, who have died young in recent years. i'm joined now by so—yeon yoon, reporter at the korea joongang daily. thank you forjoining us on the programme. i want to ask you about the k pop industry, despite the glamour it has long been discussed and it has a bit of a dark side. can you explain what kind of pressure those celebrities are under? firstly, thank you _ celebrities are under? firstly, thank you for _ celebrities are under? firstly, thank you for having - celebrities are under? firstly, thank you for having me. - celebrities are under? firstly, thank you for having me. i - thank you for having me. i think what you are trying to talk about is that k pop is

really famous for its very disciplined dance moves, fancy choreography, that's very high quality dance moves while people are singing live. they always appear fairly on camera, they never do anything wrong. and the reason that they are so disciplined is because once they make a mistake on camera it goes viral everywhere. the fans get disappointed and they actually lead to decrease in album sales and ticket sales of their concerts. it's safe to say that these k pop stars are always put under pressure to look perfect. they are actually not called stars or celebrities in korea, they are referred to as idols. and they are treated as idols. and they are treated as idols. and they are treated as idols so they are always expected to look their best and

behave on their best.— behave on their best. that's an enormous _ behave on their best. that's an enormous pressure _ behave on their best. that's an enormous pressure on - behave on their best. that's an enormous pressure on those i enormous pressure on those young people. of course moonbin isn't the first to possibly have taken his own life. there has been a lot of a discussion on the industry and how it should change. there have been some changes in the last few years, do you think?- some changes in the last few years, do you think? there have been definite _ years, do you think? there have been definite changes, - years, do you think? there have been definite changes, yes - years, do you think? there have been definite changes, yes put i been definite changes, yes put up been definite changes, yes put up ten years ago it wasn't allowed for a k pop star or in idle to talk about how they are feeling. they could talk about the pressure at the fact that they do feel a little bit burdened but it could it lead to their actual mental health status. they can say yes, i feel bad but i will take this burden and always try and make it something to be a cause of my doing better. but these recent, agents have been publicly announcing that a member of a group is suffering from anxiety disorders or he or

she has been having nervous breakdowns or that they've been having issues, continuing activities for the quite a number of idols have been trying to take some time off, whether that be a few months or a few years if necessary. until they recover and they can fully come back. agencies are also... one of the things they're doing is, it wasn't so much the case about a decade ago is that agencies are actively proactively reporting on the malicious comments that stars receive online spaces or through social media. those ounu through social media. those young performers _ through social media. those young performers are - through social media. those young performers are often | young performers are often brought into the industry at a quite young age, aren't they? with all the negative news about the industry, are still young children wanting to join the k pop industry?

young children wanting to 'oin the k pop industry?i the k pop industry? yes. it's because k — the k pop industry? yes. it's because k pop _ the k pop industry? yes. it's because k pop has _ the k pop industry? yes. it's because k pop has its - the k pop industry? yes. it's because k pop has its pros i the k pop industry? yes. it's l because k pop has its pros and cons. it's one of the most fastly growing industries in the world. just ten years ago mentioning k pop, the idea wasn't so big or glamourous or as modern as it is right now. but as it is growing more people are getting exposed to the glamour side of it. one of the glamour side of it. one of the fortunate things is not the government is also taking part so there weren't any specific caps on how much teenage trainees could work out or how much they could miss school. but these guidelines are becoming very specific and very orderly. it's true that many teenagers still do want to get into the industry. i wouldn't say that this is a bad thing.

this isn't something we should bejudging. but if this is happening the government, the companies and everyone involved should be talking about ways to make this healthier and more sustainable.— sustainable. so-yeon yoon, thank you — sustainable. so-yeon yoon, thank you so _ sustainable. so-yeon yoon, thank you so much - sustainable. so-yeon yoon, thank you so much for- sustainable. so-yeon yoon, l thank you so much forjoining us on newsday this morning. thank you for having me. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. a week long expedition in northern sweden saw this team trekked 68 miles through the arctic in temperatures as low as —27. we did 20 minutes walking, which chipped away at the distance and then we had a five minute rest to eat, have a chat, you know, because in them 20 minutes it's just you and your mind. but because of an injury to her hip, jelle almost to her hip, jill almost didn't finish the expedition. i'm not going to lie.

there were a few tears. they sat me down at the end of the day and said, look, you've got a decision to make and you're clearly in quite a lot of pain. we got up at 4:00 the next morning, 5:00. we set off all in aid of this mental health charity on the isle of man. but how is the money going to help? we offer many, many services across the island into every secondary school, one to 1, counselling for young people, and the cost of that service is met from within the charity. so by pushing themselves to the limit in the arctic. this team of manx trackers have made sure support continues for those struggling with their mental health. closer to home. you're live with bbc news. turning to the uk where dominic raab's future as deputy prime minister hangs in the balance as the prime minister considers a report on his conduct. complaints from within government about mr raab's alleged bullying, have been investigated independently by a senior barrister. the prime minister rishi sunak received the report earlier on thursday and he's still considering the findings. mr raab has denied all the allegations.

our political editor chris mason reports. dominic raab, the deputy prime minister — for now at least. while we wait for the prime minister's verdict on his conduct, here is what some of those who have worked for mr raab have told us about him, spoken here by actors... he would frequently humiliate members of his private office. i observed him make a member of staff cry because he was not happy with their work. if a member of his staff delivered some work i which he didn't think was of the standard i it should have been, l he would tear it apart. have you always behave professionally, mr raab? few dispute that dominic raab, arriving here in downing street yesterday, was a taskmaster, demanding, but he has denied bullying. today limbo as downing

street weights. dominic raab is a friend and i have the highest regard for him and his professionalism. i know this has been handed over to the prime minister, that the prime minister will be reading it and reflecting on it and we will have a decision later. inside number 10 i'm told the prime minister is carefully considering the findings of what those who have seen it described as a detailed report before coming to judgment. plenty at westminster are astonished, having been told this morning we would know the outcome by now. what you make of this? it's a farce and it is just extraordinary. can you imagine being one of the civil servants sitting in the ministry ofjustice today? just waiting to find out the outcome of the complaints they have made against the deputy prime minister of the country, to then be told you're going to have to wait another day. it is just a complete farce of a system. dominic raab has been a cabinet ministerfor much of the last five years. he faced eight formal complaint about his behaviour involving at least 2a people.

dozens more gave evidence to the inquiry as witnesses. there were complaints from his time asjustice secretary, brexit secretary and foreign secretary. one of our viewers has e—mailed to ask, is dominic raab a bully? are you? no. are you confident in that? yes. can you imagine any situation where any of the officials that you worked with might have gone home at the end of the day and thought your behaviour was unacceptable? i hope not. last month on bbc breakfast he was asked how he would handle this moment. again, people can - judge me by my actions. in the past, when there hasl been issues like this, i made sure they were investigated pronerly. _ opposition parties claimed the prime minister deciding not to decide yet proves he is weak. if he is a bully, he should go,

and the prime minister really should be able to read the report, make up his mind and get on with it. stop dithering and delaying, summon up your courage and sack your deputy if he is a bully, because this is not what the people elected him for. tonight this man, a former independent adviser to government on ministers' interests, told us why he thought there was a delay. in some ways you can understand if it is a huge report, that the prime minister may want time to consider it. as far as i can see, it probably can't be completely clear cut, otherwise he would have come out with a decision one way or another this afternoon. the deputy prime minister's future hangs in the balance tonight, as the prime minister works out what to do. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... in yemen at least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in the rebel—held

capital, sanaa during a charity event for ramadan. reports say the guards fired shots causing people to panic and rush for the exit. buzzfeed has announced its closing down its news site and cutting 15% of its workforce. the company's chief executive, jonah peretti, blamed the decision on financial challenges, a slowdown in digital advertising and the coronavirus pandemic. he said the firm would concentrate its news output on the huffpost website, which it took over in 2021. the most powerful space rocket ever built — the spacex starship has blown up shortly after launch in texas. it was the second attempted launch this week after the first was called off on monday because of techincal problems. rebecca morelle reports. a tense wait in the final seconds... ignition. two, one...

..as the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built gets ready to fly. we have lift—off. starship slowly pushed up into the sky. so far, so good. a few minutes into the flight, it was time for the bottom part of the rocket to separate. but starship started tumbling, and then this happened... the rockets flight termination system was activated. applause. starship just experienced a rapid, unscheduled disassembly. now, this was a development test. this is the first test flight of starship. and the goal was to gather the data, and as we said, clear the pad and get ready to go again. despite the explosion, they were still celebrating at spacex ho. elon musk, the company's ceo, set expectations low. just getting the rocket off the ground was a major milestone.

he tweeted. .. the plan for starship is to land people on the moon in a joint mission with nasser and then go to mars. it is radically different from other rockets. this is the starship launch system. it stands 120 metres tall, that's nearly 400 feet. it has two main parts. at the bottom is the superheavy booster which has a huge number of engines, 33 of them. above this is a spacecraft. this can carry cargo or crew. spacex says up to 100 people. both components will be fully reusable. explosions at spacex are not unusual. they say it is all part of the learning process. there's been a lot of

development in florida, design and fly, that's been in terms of hardware failures for the space x has said it's been an extremely valuable in terms of what space x has learned. there have been concerns about the environmental impacts of starship lunches and damage to the local fragile ecosystem. the us authorities say it passes all of their checks. it's not yet clear exactly what went wrong, but what's certain is spacex will try again. they've got more rockets waiting that are ready to fly. rebecca morelle, bbc news. finally, imagine ringing your local restaurant to book a table and a member of the british royalty answers the phone. just that happened in birmingham in the uk when prince william and his wife catherine were visiting an indian street food restaurant. take a look at what happened when the phone rang. oh, good. the indian streatery. how can i help?

yes. sorry. what street are we on? we're on a bennetts hill street. yes, bennetts hill street. do they want to book a table? opposite? do we have a seat for two right now? right now? maybe half two. maybe half two? maybe in about an hour. yeah. does that work for you? not right now, no, probably not right now. apparently they get showed up but had no clue who took the reservation. would you have noticed his voice? i probably would not have. that's it for the programme. thank you for

watching newsday. hello there. our weather story for friday is a tale of two halves, the best of the weather once again through scotland and northern ireland, closest to this area of high pressure. these weather fronts will introduce some cloud and rain at times, be a bit of a nuisance, and that nagging easterly wind still making it feel rather raw on exposed east coasts. so first thing in the morning, the rain quite heavy across norfolk, lincolnshire, into the east midlands, gradually drifting towards wales. there'll also be some showery outbreaks of rain across essex and kent. but north of that, not a bad start. it will be a chilly start. a touch of frost not out of the question across the grampian, but at least in scotland and northern ireland, you will have some sunshine and it will continue like that for much of the day. that easterly breeze, though, always making it feel cooler on exposed east coasts.

sheltered western areas seeing the best of the sunshine and warmth. and as we go through the afternoon, we'll see a line of more persistent rain stretching across the south coast. sunny spells and scattered showers driven in by that strong easterly breeze coming in off the north sea. so 10—12 degrees once again on exposed east coasts. further west, we could see 16 or 17 degrees. favoured spots once again, northern ireland and western scotland. here, the pollen will be high — it's tree pollen at this time of year. medium, perhaps, across much of central and eastern england. now, as we move into the early hours of saturday, we are likely to see this weather front producing some showery outbreaks of rain through scotland and northern ireland, and at the same time, we've got some showery outbreaks of rain into the south—west. sandwiched in between the two, drier and brighter, and once again, much of scotland will see some sunshine. but the temperatures really subdued by then, 11—14 degrees. and as we move out of sunday into monday, we'll start to see

this colder northerly flow take over and you really will start to notice the difference right across the country. so on sunday, we'll see some showery outbreaks of rain just drifting away from the east. drier behind it, but that northerly wind will make it feel quite chilly at times. so temperatures really falling away in scotland, 7—11 degrees by then. 1a degrees the maximum on sunday. and that's going to be the trend as we move into the week ahead. it will turn wetter and then much colder.

the us treasury secretary calls for a healthy economic relationship with china with a hall of tension are big. we will have the latest. plus heat waves are ripping through india earlier than expected. a look at how climate change is holding back development of asia's third—biggest economy. hi and welcome to asia business report. with me mariko oi. us says it warns a more constructive economic relationship with china. the comments were made in a speech

by the country treasury secretary. it comes in a time