over a fatal movie set shooting. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to the show. 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. —— axios reported that bipartisan members 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 auchincloss from massachusetts. he is part of that house select committee on china. congressman, good evening to you. thank you forjoining us. let's start with what we heard from the treasury secretary janet yellen there, saying the us and china need a constructive and fair relationship. is she right? yes. there's1.4 billion people in china. they 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, the chinese communist party treat individuals as pawns of the state, and we are going to contest those values the world over. ok, so what does a constructive and fair relationship look like, from your perspective? well, first and foremost, it is abiding by the rules of the international order, the world trade organization, demilitarising the south china sea, protecting the right of the taiwanese people to determine their own future, 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 have 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 norms and conventions that allow for people to trade and to exchange with confidence. 0k. we mentioned that the house committee on china, however, has held this 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? well, the tabletop exercise that was conducted by the bipartisan committee really demonstrated that by the time it comes to war in the taiwan strait, everybody has 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 xi jinping

is calculating 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 not just the will 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 as one senior taiwanese official has said, a porcupine can't be eaten, meaning that their defence and depth strategy could work, but a porcupine can be starved, meaning a blockade of their energy supplies may asphyxiate their economy, so we have to look at both sides — deterring an amphibious invasion through 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... right. ..and more.

so, do you have intelligence, then, because you had this tabletop exercise, as you said. 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 the necessity of preventing this situation from ever becoming an actuality. that means we need to use every lever of our economic strength, diplomacy and military preparation to prevent this from happening. what worried you most that you learned from this exercise? i mean, the entire scenario is a ghastly one to consider because it's going to have a huge humanitarian fallout and incredibly disruptive to the economies

of taiwan, china, the united states — really, the world over — and i think what's critical is that there be clear and open communications at the highest levels between ccp and american security officials. we can't be in a situation where both sides are misinterpreting each other�*s intentions when the temperature is very high and when decisions are being made in a matter of minutes, not days. what do you think congress needs to do to make sure that the us is ready for this scenario? you know, the most important question is about the sino—american rivalry — to do with the united states, not with china. to the extent that the united states has a strong, vibrant democracy, enforces the rule of law, has deep and liquid capital markets and presents a powerful example to the people the world over about what a free and open society can do. i have great confidence

that we can outcompete the ccp on the world stage to the extent that we build strong alliances with the rising nations of the global south. we're going to be well—positioned. i think a singular and narrowly scope focused just on what what china is doing or will do is actually not the most strategically impactful set of considerations for us. congressman auchincloss, thank you very much. good to be with you. 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 the 42—year—old ukrainian—born cinematographer, who you see here. baldwin and the film's armourer faced involuntary manslaughter charges. both denied wrongdoing. but baldwin is not entirely out of the woods yet. he's still facing a separate lawsuit filed by hutchins�*

family members. it comes as baldwin and fellow actors resumed filming the movie in montana. i spoke to our la correspondent sophie long for more. our correspondence oui’ correspondence over our correspondence over long was following the story for us. however, sophie. do we know why these charges were dropped? —— hello, sophie. we have had a statement, very short, it simply says new facts were revealed and they require further investigation and as a result, they've 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 it does seem like a temporary measure at this time. you mentioned hannah gutierrez—reed, she was the amuro, the person in charge of the weapons onset that day that 42—year—old alina hutchins tragically lost her life and in

the statement prosecutors say the statement prosecutors say the charges against her, which were the same, of involuntary manslaughter, they still stand —— halyna. 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 encouraged what they call now a proper investigation into the facts and the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident.— surrounding this tragic accident. . , accident. that came as the news came out as _ accident. that came as the news came out as well _ accident. that came as the news came out as well that _ accident. that came as the news came out as well that they - came out as well that they started filming again today. what did you make of the timing of all of this?— of all of this? yeah, it's interesting, _ of all of this? yeah, it's interesting, isn't - of all of this? yeah, it's interesting, isn't it, - of all of this? yeah, it's - interesting, isn't it, because i don't think people were expecting to hear that the charges against alec baldwin would have been dropped today but what we did know is that after an 18—month hiatus, when halyna tragically lost her life, filming was immediately seized on the set in new mexico near santa fe and it has been halted ever since. in the months that have passed since, they have been numerous

lawsuits filed and in addition to the criminal charges against alec baldwin which were dropped today and hannah gutierrez—reed there has also been several civil suits, one from halyna's husband matthew was settled in october of 2022. he is actually one of the executive producers one of the executive producers on the film of rust, a period western that has now resumed, we are told, by the company on a set in montana so the film production has left new mexico and filming will resume this week on a set in montana. the directorjoel souza, who was also injured in the accident, when the gun discharged with a bullet went through goal�*s injuring him seriously and sadly killing halyna hutchins so we do now know that the filming of that has resumed. there are some people who have different thoughts about that and feel that it should have been halted completely but many of the cast and crew wanted really to honour one and her legacy so it has now resumed.

and sophie, what about alec baldwin? we mention he is facing another lawsuits are what is he still up against legally? what is he still up against leaall ? ., , legally? there have been several lawsuits - legally? there have been several lawsuits filed - legally? there have been - several lawsuits filed against alec baldwin and the producers of rust and alec baldwin is actually one of those, he is a producer of the film as well as the actor who was holding the gun which complicates things legally, perhaps. they have been several civil suits filed, some by people who were onset day but also, by a group one's parents and sister in ukraine. they have filed a civil lawsuit against alec baldwin and the producers, alleging the infliction of intentional infliction of intentional infliction of intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence —— halyna's. so that is ongoing but the criminal charges at this stage have been dropped and that's important and probably have come as a relief to him because of the criminal charges that could have potentially, if he were to be found guilty, led the present time. those at the moment are of the table. time. those at the moment are of the table-— of the table. sophie long reporting _ of the table. sophie long reporting in _ of the table. sophie long reporting in los - of the table. sophie long | reporting in los angeles, of the table. sophie long - reporting in los angeles, thank

you. turning to the recent gun violence here in america. two more suspects were arrested in the alabama shooting that left a community in mourning. four people were killed and 32 others wounded at a dance studio in dadeville. today's arrests brings the total to five suspects. all of them have been charged with reckless murder. three of the five are teenagers, the others are 20 years old. gun violence like this has become common place in the us with at least 165 mass shootings so far this year. as king charles prepares for his coronation, hundreds california, of all places. ourjane 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 crown 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 lay 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. let's turn to the uk, and the future of the uk's deputy prime minister, dominic raab, 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 on thursday morning, and he's still considering the findings.

mr raab has denied all the allegations around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. they're having fun making music at st paul's community hall but this choir also has serious message. it aims to help empower homeless and marginalised people to achieve change in their lives. one of the first members tells me his story. the mental health, it helps so much more. you don't need medication or a tablet, you just need this. the group meet once a week, and say that singing as an outlet that helps deal with the stress of homelessness and living in temporary accommodation. things like this, you can come and sing,

socialise with other people and not have to worry about those kind of things. and when the singing is all done, volunteers are at hand with a hot meal and essential nourishment. we come together, we sing, we feel good, hopefully people leave with a smile on their face. we're notjust a choir, we are a family. we are a unit. you're live with bbc news. we are getting reports about a possible ceasefire in sudan. this news is just possible ceasefire in sudan. this news isjust coming into us now. the rapid support forces say they have agreed to a three—day pause in the on humanitarian grounds that would start in less than an hour, so 6am local time. there has not yet been any comment from the sudanese army. we will go to the reporter following the story for us. what can you tell us about this possible ceasefire?

0k, ok, we will try to get our colleague back, but as we said, these are reports we have been hearing that there has been a possible three day pause inviting in sudan on unitarian grounds that would start in less than an hour. this news has just come in so we will try to get that confirmed for you, but the rapid support forces have said we are waiting for comment from sedan's military, but we will try to get more information on that story as it comes into us. we will try to bring in our colleague again. until we do, we will move on to other news and we will keep you updated on that story as we get more details. children have missed the vaccination due to the pandemic for says vaccine coverage has fallen in more than 100 countries. imogen foulkes, our correspondent in geneva, has more.

the unicef report pays a worrying picture about the state of childhood vaccinations. 67 million over the course of the pandemic didn't get their routine vaccinations and that is for things like polio and measles. unicef cites three reasons for that. one, maybe the deflection of health services away from routine vaccinations because people are trying to find the pandemic. two, conflict zones, increasing conflict around the world, which meant that some of the vaccine campaigns just couldn't be carried out because itjust couldn't be carried out because it just wasn't safe. maybe the most worrying of all, the most insidious, is what unicef describes as a lack of confidence, a lack of trust in the safety of vaccines. now, unicef attributes this to the whole controversy, fake news if you like, around the covid—19

vaccines, the doubt some people have around that. but this has spread among some people, and young women in particular, men who might have young children who might have young children who need their polio and measles vaccinations. the doubt about safety seems to have increased among this group. so, hard work to be done. unicef is calling for more investment, the catch up vaccination programmes. but what clearly needs to be done as well is work to restore confidence, to remind younger women may be of why their grandmothers was so delighted with the polio vaccine in the measles vaccine becoming available because they had seen all those many decades agojust how had seen all those many decades ago just how dangerous these diseases can be for children. we will return out of that breaking news that we were covering. the sedan's now —— paramilitary saver have agreed

to a three day pause inviting on humanitarian grounds. we will bring in our correspondence who we were trying to get. live now to kalkidan yibetal who is monitoring the situation from the ethiopian capital, addis ababa. kalikidan, what more can you tell us about this statement from the rsf? yes, there have been pushes throughout the day from various members of the international committee, from the un and from the us for a ceasefire three days on the grounds, and now we are hearing that the paramilitary group, the rapid support force, reading a statement that they have agreed to a 72 hours ceasefire starting at six o'clock in the morning local time. that is what we have so far. we haven't heard from the army so far, but if they agree to the ceasefire, that will be a relief. we must understand that people can

accept this news with a certain wariness because there have been incidents in the past where there were ceasefires which were broken quickly. we have to wait and see if this 72 hour ceasefire is going to be accepted by both parties first, and even if they accepted it, we have to wait and see if this will be respected. but if it is, it will be as i said good news for so many people who are suffering for the past week. can you tell us a bit more about the objective of this ceasefire? we understand it is also to honour and mark the holiday of eid.— holiday of eid. yes. the statement _ holiday of eid. yes. the statement released - holiday of eid. yes. the | statement released said holiday of eid. yes. the - statement released said they are agreeing to this ceasefire for the celebration of eid, but it is going to be on humanitarian grounds. they want

to allow people to be evacuated from conflict areas, but also people who are in desperate need of help, medical help, people in desperate need of food supplies can get this desperately needed help. as i said, if it will be respected for the next 72 hours, it will be good news because people are going to be escaping from these areas and they can finally get some help. areas and they can finally get some help-— areas and they can finally get some hel. , ., ., ., some help. yes, and again, we have too _ some help. yes, and again, we have too stressed _ some help. yes, and again, we have too stressed once - some help. yes, and again, we have too stressed once again . have too stressed once again that this is a ceasefire that we don't know if it has yet been agreed to by both sides. but can you tell us why it is so important for there to be a pause inviting? we understand the situation particularly facing the health system is dire. ., , dire. indeed. for the past week, dire. indeed. for the past week. many _ dire. indeed. for the past week, many areas - dire. indeed. for the past week, many areas of- dire. indeed. for the past- week, many areas of sedan and the capital have been experiencing this really dire situation —— sudan. because of this fighting and bombardment. civilian targets have been on

the receiving end, including hospitals and facilities, and many of those have not been functioning properly, and their medical supplies have been dwindling. it has been dire and it will be great if there is indeed a truce.— indeed a truce. 0k. our correspondent - indeed a truce. 0k. our correspondent there - indeed a truce. 0k. our correspondent there for indeed a truce. 0k. our. correspondent there for us following the latest on the breaking news story, the possibility of a ceasefire in sudan. we will get a round—up of other headlines now. in other news: sources have told us media outlet cbs news that presidentjoe biden may announce his campaign for re—election next tuesday, april 25, with the release of a video clip. those sources have also cautioned that the plan could change. april 25 is the same day president biden announced his run for presidency four years ago. 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 almost his entire life. as a child, he was first an actor beforejoining 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. 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 technical 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�*sjonathan amos has more. this — 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 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 was 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 that this vehicle 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. but actually, 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 they 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 they've already got another rocket — this is how fast they work — they've already got another working rocket virtually ready to go, and they've got others in various stages of assembly that they will bring on after that one. maybe by the end of this year, we will see one go completely all the way through its flight plan. we have more on the spacex launch on our website. that is our programme at this hour. thank you for watching bbc news. i am thank you for watching bbc news. iam in thank you for watching bbc news. i am in washington. news. iam in washington. stay with us. 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 little 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 to 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 southwest. 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 to 1a 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 to 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.

and all the main news stories voice-over: this is bbc news. voice-over: this is bbc news.

we'll have the headlines we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. west africa's sahel region has long faced enormous challenges, poor governance, extreme poverty and environmental degradation, to name but three. but it also has a proud tradition of giving cultural riches to the world and my guest today is baaba maal, a world—renowned musician whose roots lie in northern senegal.