live from washington, this is bbc news. more than 300 people killed in sudan as diplomatic pressure mounts to bring an end to the fighting. the us treasury secretary calls for a constructive economic relationship with china. criminal charges are dropped against the actor alec baldwin over a fatal movie set shooting. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we start with the ongoing fighting in sudan, and leaders in neighbouring countries arejoining the un's call for an end to the fighting between the two rival military factions. it comes amid fresh gunfire in the capital and another failed ceasefire. earlier, sudan's military chief

dismissed the possibility of negotiations with the paramilitary rsf. the violence is now thought to have killed at least 330 people with thousands more injured. many khartoum residents have been trapped inside their homes. dalia abdelmoniem ventured outside for the first time in almost a week ahead of the upcoming eid holiday. no—one is celebrating. what these men have done to us, i don't think — there's no words to describe if — you know, the ramifications of what they've done. i don't know how we as a people or as a country can recover. in light of the worsening situation, us officials say they are readying for a possible evacuation of staff from the american embassy in khartoum, moving more us troops to a base in nearby djibouti. bbc�*s barbara plett usher has more from washington. 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 be put 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 embassy convoy came under attack in khartoum and the state department has now confirmed also, separately, that a us citizen has been killed in sudan — hadn'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 attempt an air evacuation, they would have to find a secure land base somewhere in or near khartoum. the other options 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 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 ceasefire, along with the un and others. this would be a ceasefire 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. so, what do we know about the two military men at the centre of this crisis? here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. general al—burhan and mohammed

dagalo, a former warlord known as hemmati. both served under the previous president 0mar al—bashir until they turned on him in 2019 after months of pro—democracy protest. they have large numbers of troops at their disposal. general al—burhan has the regular military, about 120,000 strong, while dagalo has the rapid support forces, as many as 150,000 with a fearsome reputation for violence. why are they fighting now? well, they were both part of a transitional administration that was supposed to pave the way for a democratic government. but in 2021, general al—burhan staged a military coup, putting all of that on hold. last year, there was another agreement on transition but by now, the two men had become rivals, unable to agree on how their armed forces can be merged into a single military. there are economic interests, too, especially gold. it's the country's biggest export and

__'s country's biggest export and ——'s family has a big stake in it. and it has strategic and 0ttens two, a lot of it goes to the united arab emirates and russia's wagoner group which has fighters in ukraine has lucrative mining interests to a very useful for the very usefulfor the krummenacherfor very usefulfor the krummenacher for wagner. saddam is africa krummenacherforwagner. saddam is africa popping third with biggest country and what happens there matters and to the wider world —— sudan. russia, the united states, saudi arabia, lots of countries are vowing for influence and watching nervously to see if civil war is about to erupt. the us treasury secretary appears to be trying to tone down tensions between the us and china. in a speech thursday, janet yellen called for a healthy economic relationship between the two rivals. we remain the largest and most dynamic economy in the world. we also remain firm in our conviction to defend our values and national security. within that context, we seek a constructive and fair

economic relationship with china. both countries need to be able to frankly discuss difficult issues, and we should work together when possible for the benefit of our countries and the world. meanwhile, the us house select committee on china is preparing for a potential conflict between china and taiwan. axios reported that bipartisan members from conducted a war game scenario on wednesday in which china invaded taiwan. it came just over a week after china's military conducted live—fire drills around taiwan in response to taiwanese president tsai ing—wen�*s transit through the us this month. we can discuss that now with congressman jake 0rkin we can discuss that now with congressmanjake 0rkin clause, part of the health select committee china. thank you for joining us. —— house select. let's listen to whatjohnny

allen missing they needed a constructive and fair relationship before janet yellen. , , relationship before janet yellen. ,, , ' yellen. issue right? is1.4 billion in— yellen. issue right? is1.4 billion in china _ yellen. issue right? is1.4 billion in china who - yellen. issue right? is1.4 billion in china who are i yellen. issue right? is1.4 billion in china who are a | yellen. issue right? is1.4 - billion in china who are a huge trading partner notjust to the united states but to our allies and partners the world over and constructive relations between the united states and china can be to the benefit of both the chinese people and the american people. at the same time, the chinese communist party does not share core values with the united states. we think that the individual has inherent value and dignity and the chinese communist party treat people as pawns of the state and we're going to contest those values the world over. 0k, those values the world over. ok, so what does a constructive and fair relationship look like, from your perspective? first and foremost, it is abiding by the rules of the international order, the world trade organisation, the militarising the south china sea, protecting the right of

the taiwanese people to determine their own future, abiding by environmental and labour standards, abiding by environmental and labourstandards, being abiding by environmental and labour standards, being a good actor in the imf and the world bank, as we give aid and loans to developing nations. these are things that the united states and its allies in the post—world war ii order has painfully architected to help spread peace and prosperity the world over and china was welcomed in to this rules based international order but has not abided by many of the and conventions that allow for people to trade and to exchange with confidence. we people to trade and to exchange with confidence.— with confidence. we mentioned that the house _ with confidence. we mentioned that the house committee - that the house committee on china has held is essentially war game simulating a chinese attack on taiwan at the same time we saw that message from janet yellen. how does that fit together? janet yellen. how does that fit to . ether? ., , ., , janet yellen. how does that fit touether? ., , ., , . , together? the tabletop exercise that was conducted _ together? the tabletop exercise that was conducted by _ together? the tabletop exercise that was conducted by the - that was conducted by the bipartisan committee really demonstrated that by the time

it comes to war in the taiwan strait, everybody is lost. the chinese have lost, the taiwanese people have lost, the american people have lost. it would be devastating militarily, economically, and it needs to be avoided. it needs to be avoided by ensuring that the cost benefit analysis that the cost benefit analysis that xi jinping has calculated is one that convinces him that an amphibious invasion would not be successful, that means arming the taiwanese people, training them, ensuring that they have notjust the wheel but also the means to defend their homeland. and it also means trying to prevent a blockade by helping the taiwanese people achieve energy independence. right now, they have only a few weeks of energy reserves on the island and is one senior taiwanese official has said, porcupine cannot be meaning that their defence strategy could work but the porcupine can be staffed, meaning a blockade of the energy supplies may asphyxiate their economy, we have to look at both sides, deterring an amphibious invasion to arms

sales and training but also helping them prevent the blockade. and in both situations, probably the single most important asset the united states has is the depth and the strength of our alliances in the indo pacific. japan, south korea, australia, the philippines.— korea, australia, the l philippines.- and korea, australia, the - philippines.- and more. philippines. right. and more. so, do philippines. right. and more. so. do you — philippines. right. and more. so, do you have _ philippines. right. and more. so, do you have intelligence i so, do you have intelligence and because you have this tabletop size, do you have intelligence that an invasion is imminent? no, and to be clear, this tabletop exercise is a fiction that is meant to help members of congress understand the incredibly hard decisions that are presented in this scenario and really, to impart the gravity of the situation and necessity of preventing this situation from ever becoming in actuality. that means when you need to use every level of our economic

strength, diplomacy and military preparation to prevent this from happening. what this from happening. what worried you _ this from happening. what worried you most - this from happening. what worried you most that - this from happening. what worried you most that you | this from happening. what - worried you most that you learn from this exercise? i worried you most that you learn from this exercise?— from this exercise? i mean, the entire scenario _ from this exercise? i mean, the entire scenario is _ from this exercise? i mean, the entire scenario is a _ from this exercise? i mean, the entire scenario is a ghastly - entire scenario is a ghastly one to consider because it's going to have a huge humanitarian fallout and an incredibly disruptive to the economies of taiwan, china, the united states really, the world over— and i think what is critical is to be clear and open communications at the highest levels between ccp and american security officials. we cannot be a situation where both sides are misinterpreting each other intentions when the temperature is very high and when decisions are being made in a matter of minutes, not days. in a matter of minutes, not da s. ~ ., ., in a matter of minutes, not da s. ~ ., ., ~' days. what do you think congress _ days. what do you think congress needs - days. what do you think congress needs to do i days. what do you think congress needs to do to days. what do you think - congress needs to do to make sure that the us is ready for this scenario?— sure that the us is ready for this scenario? you know, the most important _ this scenario? you know, the most important question - this scenario? you know, the most important question is i most important question is about the sino—american rivalry, how to do with the united states, not with china. to the extent that the united

states has a strong, vibrant democracy and enforces the rule of law, has deepened markets and presents a powerful example the people the world over about what a free and open society can do. i have great confidence that we can defeat the ccp on the world stage to the extent we build strong alliances with the rising nations of the global self. we are going to be well—positioned. i think the singular and narrow in scope focused is that what china is doing all will do is actually not the most strategically impactful set of considerations for us. ., , , ., for us. congressman auchincloss, - for us. congressman auchincloss, thank l for us. congressman . auchincloss, thank you for us. congressman - auchincloss, thank you very much. ., , as king charles prepares his coronations, hundreds of rare photos of him has been found in los angeles. jane hill's been taking a look. many of these remarkable photos have never been seen before. they tell the story of a young royal who became prince of

wales and is now king. but they also give an insight into the man behind the ground. with a keen love of sport. carrying out his duties as a royal. and perhaps the most intriguing shots, the candid ones of him just having fun with proof that we can all have a bad hair day. these photos laid discarded in a warehouse for ten years after they were sent to the us to be digitised. when the company went bust, they were destined to be lost to history. they were discovered almost by accident by an la —based art dealer. with interest now at an all—time high in the run—up to the coronation, these snapshots give a remarkable insight into the man who will shortly be crowned king. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. well, a lot of people say to me

i did not know you painted! many years it's been going on like this. but it's great. it's another string to my bow but i've always done, ever since i was little. i've always done, ever since i was little-— was little. i've heard that you have printed _ was little. i've heard that you have printed or— was little. i've heard that you have printed or drawn - was little. i've heard that you have printed or drawn some i was little. i've heard that you l have printed or drawn some of the members of the royal family. is that true? well, i did the duke... _ family. is that true? well, i did the duke... prince - family. is that true? well, i. did the duke... prince philip? yes. he did the duke... prince philip? yes- he was _ did the duke... prince philip? yes. he was a _ did the duke... prince philip? yes. he was a favourite - yes. he was a favourite character of mine. and ijust caught him on canvas. and prince william loved what he saw. if prince william loved what he saw. , ., . prince william loved what he saw. ., ., prince william loved what he saw. ., saw. if you had to choose, you are on a _ saw. if you had to choose, you are on a desert _ saw. if you had to choose, you are on a desert island - saw. if you had to choose, you are on a desert island and - saw. if you had to choose, you are on a desert island and you | are on a desert island and you can only take a guitar or a paintand paints, a canvas, what would you choose? if i only had — what would you choose? if i only had a _ what would you choose? if i only had a guitar or a paintbrush? 0h, only had a guitar or a paintbrush? oh, dear. it's very difficult. ijust smuggled a paintbrush inside the guitar and then i will have both. lateral thinking!

you're live with bbc news. lawyers for alec baldwin have confirmed to the bbc that all charges against the actor stemming from the fatal shooting of cinematographer halyna 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, killing 42—year—old ukrainian—born cinematographer who you see here. baldwin and film's armourer faced involuntary manslaughter charges. both denied wrongdoing. it is not clear if the charges against the armourer were dropped. but baldwin is not entirely out of the woods yet hes still facing a separate lawsuit filed by hutchin's family members. it comes as baldwin and fellow actors resumed filming the movie in montana. live now to los angeles and our correspondent sophie long. it's the same day as they start filming again, what do you make of the timing? do we know why these charges were dropped? we have actually in the last few hours made a

statement from the prosecutors in new mexico, a very short statement. it simply says new facts have been revealed in the require further investigation. as a result, they have dismissed those involuntary manslaughter charges against alec baldwin but it goes on to say that this decision does not absolve him of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled so does seem like a temporary measure at this time. you mentioned the person in charge of the weapons onset that day, the day she tragically lost alive, halyna hutchins. prosecutors say the charges against her which were the same of involuntary manslaughter, they still stand so it does seem that she will be part of the preliminary hearing that is due to take place on the third of may. at the moment, alec baldwin, though, those charges against him, the criminal charges have been dropped. his lawyers issued a statement saying they were pleased about that and they encourage what they call

now proper investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic accident.— surrounding this tragic accident. ., accident. sophie, that came as accident. sophie, that came as a news came — accident. sophie, that came as a news came out _ accident. sophie, that came as a news came out as _ accident. sophie, that came as a news came out as well - accident. sophie, that came as a news came out as well that l a news came out as well that they started filming again today. what do you make of the timing of all of this? it’s timing of all of this? it's interesting, _ timing of all of this? it's interesting, isn't - timing of all of this? it's interesting, isn't it? - timing of all of this? it's interesting, isn't it? i. timing of all of this? it�*s interesting, isn't it? i don't think people are expecting to hear the charges against alec baldwin would have been dropped today. what we did note is that after a 18— month hiatus when halyna hutchins tragically lost her life, filming was immediately ceased on the set in new mexico near santa fe and it's been halted ever since. in the months passed since, there are numerous lawsuits filed including the criminal charges against alec baldwin and hannah gutierrez—reed, dropped today, there have been several civil suits. 0ne there have been several civil suits. one from the husband of halyna hutchins, matthew hutchins, was settled in october 2022 and he is actually one of the executive producers one of the executive producers on the film rust, a period western, which is now resumed we are told by the company, on

a set in montana. the film production has left new mexico and filming will resume this week on a set in montana stop the director, who was also injured in that accident when the gun discharged, the bullet went through him, injuring him seriously, and sadly killing halyna hutchins. we do know the forming of that has resumed. there are some people who have very different thoughts about that and feel that it should have been halted completely but many of the cast and crew wanted really to honour halyna hutchins and her legacy, so it has now resumed.— has now resumed. what about alec baldwin? _ has now resumed. what about alec baldwin? we _ has now resumed. what about alec baldwin? we mentioned l has now resumed. what about i alec baldwin? we mentioned his spacing on the lawsuit. what is he up against legally?- he up against legally? there have been — he up against legally? there have been several lawsuits l have been several lawsuits filed against alec baldwin and the producers of rust and alec baldwin is one of those, he's a producer of the film as well the actor was holding the gun which complicates things legally perhaps. there are been several civil suits filed, some

by people who are onset that david also halyna hutchins parents and her sister in ukraine, they have filed a civil lawsuit against alec baldwin in the producers, alleging the infliction, the intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence so that is ongoing but the criminal charges at this stage have been dropped and that's important and will probably come as a relief to him because of the criminal charges that could have potentially, if he were found guilty, led to present time. sophie long reporting in los angeles, thank you. it's been over 18 months since the taliban took control of afghanistan. now, the united nations says it will try to get countries to decide on a unified approach to handling the country's taliban—led government.(ff gfx)the un says its secretary general, antonio guterres, will convene a meeting of top diplomats on afghanstan in doha next month — the qatari capital is home to a delegation of taliban. earlier remarks by his deputy — amina mohammed — suggested the meeting could include what she called "ba by steps" towards an eventual conditional

recognition of the taliban government. 0ut out of that, we hope that we will find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition. is it possible? we don't know. recognition of the taliban? a principal recognition. in other words, there are conditions. what amina mohammed said in this event sparked a huge reaction among afghans, particulary women. zari kargar has been following all the reactions: this has had a huge reaction on social media and outside social media among afghans, particularly among afghan women. afghan women have gone onto social media to tweet about this. for example, a former mp is simply asking whether the un is really considering recognising the taliban. another prominent and

—— afghan woman who used to be a minister in the previous government calls it an historic mistake. she says you sold us country to a peace deal and the un is sacrificing the whole population of afghanistan, just to keep their operation going. another prominent rights activist says if the un recognises the taliban, they will be setting a disastrous precedent. not only prominent afghan women but filmmakers, writers, activists. they have gone on social media, simply treating the hashtag #donotrecognisethetaliban, with a photo of amina auditor taliban leader. this is not just on social media, i've been speaking to family and friends in afghanistan and they are all talking about it stop its creating such a dilemma among them because on the one hand, afghans don't want the un to leave the country. it's a country heavily dependent on

you aid agencies and on the other hand, they don't want to live under the restrictions that the taliban are imposing. sources have told us media outlets cbs news thatjoe biden may announce his campaign for re—election next tuesday, april 25 with the release of a video clip. those sources also cautioned the plan could change. april 25 is the same day president biden announced his run for presidency four years ago. in the future of the uk's deputy by minister dominic raab hangs in the balance of the prime minister considers a report on his conduct. complaints from within government about his alleged bullying have been investigated independently by a senior barrister. the prime minister received the report on thursday morning and is still considering the findings. he has denied all the allegations. the most powerful space rocket ever built — the unmanned spacex starship — blew 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. the spacex founder elon musk welcomed what he called an �*exciting test launch�* — and said there would be another in a few months. spacex hopes that the rocket will eventually lead to an era of interplanetary travel. the bbc�*s science correspondent was watching the launch — and had this analysis. this is what we saw is that big, big rocket was climbing into the sky and you will notice, these are all of the engines, 33 engines at the base of the vehicle. and we are missing some lights, we are missing some lights, we are missing six lights. it appears that the rocket probably took off with three of them not even working, and then lost three during the process of flight, as a rocket climbed into the sky. i could see some asymmetry, starting to turn on the video, and then eventually, it got to that stage where it's supposed to separate, the top part was then to go off into

space, and that never happened. and then we got this big explosion which, i should say, would have been commanded probably by the computers. they would have realised this computer was out of control and they would have ignited a series of charges down the side of the vehicle and completely destroyed it. we've seen that in the past with other vehicles as well. spacex would have been very pleased with how far they got today. the main thing they had to do was avoid blowing up the launchpad because that would have put them back months and months. they got flight data, lots of flight data and got very close to that point where the two parts of the rocket would normally separate. i think they'll be pretty pleased, actually, with what they've seen today and already got another rocket. this is how fast they work. already got another work rocket virtually ready to go and they got others in various stages of assembly that they will bring on after that they will bring on after that one. maybe by the end of this year, we will see one were completely all the way through its flight plan.

before we go we want to remind you of our top story at this hour, there is ongoing fighting in sudan and leaders in neighbouring countries are joining the un's offer and enter the fighting between the two rival military factions. it comes amid fresh gunfire in the capitaland gunfire in the capital and another failed ceasefire. earlier, sudan's military chief dismissed the possibility of negotiations with the paramilitary group ers effluent they are a —— they are fighting. the violence is thought to have killed 330 people with thousands more injured in the us has announced they might possibly be evacuating staff from the embassy in khartoum. they have moved some of their troops to a base in nearby djibouti and the us national security council spokespersonjohn kirby said spokesperson john kirby said president spokespersonjohn kirby said president biden is watching this very closely. that's our programme at this hour. thank you for watching. don't forget you for watching. don't forget you can download our app and

get all the latest headlines and news. 0ur 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.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. 0n the battlefields of ukraine, you won'tjust find local soldiers... slava ukraini! ..but volunteers from all over the world. guatemala, portugal, america. ukrainian officials say 20,000 international volunteers have travelled to help fight back against the russian invasion. many of them came from britain. they needed help, so that's why i got up and went.

i've got a purpose in life out there. you didn't have any military experience previously?