live from london, this is bbc news. the us supreme court rules in favour of access to a widely—used abortion pill. a legal appeal against its use is considered. fighting in sudan continues despite agreement for a ceasefire. and the uk's deputy prime minister resigns following an inquiry into bullying allegations. and secrets beneath the sea: a previously unknown coral reef is discovered after thousands of years. hello and welcome to the programme.

i'm vishala sri—pathma. in the last few hours, the us supreme court has ruled in favour of maintaining access to an abortion pill, while a legal appeal against its use is considered. the drug, mifepristone, is used for terminations in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. the decision is a victory for supporters of abortion rights — as it defends broad access to this pill — and for the biden administration. president biden said: "i continue to stand by fda's evidence—based approval "of mifepristone, and my administration will continue "to defend the fda's independent, expert authority "to review, approve, and regulate a wide range "of prescription drugs. "i will continue to fight politically—driven attacks "on women's health." let's get the very latest from washington and our correspondent, jessica parker. jessica, what does this ruling actually mean? 50 jessica, what does this ruling actually mean?— jessica, what does this ruling actually mean? 50 it means that access to mifepristone _ actually mean? 50 it means that access to mifepristone - - actually mean? 50 it means that access to mifepristone - which l access to mifepristone — which

is used very commonly in abortions in the us, as part of abortions in the us, as part of a two—drug reg then in over 50% of cases — will continue as it continued before. sojust to give a little bit of context there, in terms of whether people might feel, "well, what's all this debate been about?" there was a judge in texas, a federaljudge, who ruled that actually approval should be halted. but that never came into effect as it went up to an appeals court. the appeals court didn't agree with the halt, but did say that mifepristone should only be available to women up to seven weeks of pregnancy, rather than ten, and that women shouldn't be able to order it by mail. they'll have to go in person, rather than have tele—medicine appointments. that consideration then went up to the supreme court. the supreme court, for now, has said no to all of that. things remain as they are, so access remains as they are, so access remains as they have been in, of course, states in the us were abortion remains legal. but they've

kicked it back down to the appeals court. the legal wrangling is going to continue and it could well end up in front of the supreme court justices in future when they look at the substance of the issue, ratherthan look at the substance of the issue, rather than what was effectively a decision on an emergency block.— effectively a decision on an emergency block. how have ordinary people _ emergency block. how have ordinary people across - emergency block. how have ordinary people across the l ordinary people across the united states reacted to this news? ongoing legal battle, as you just detailed out. how are people feeling about it? yeah, i mean i think— people feeling about it? yeah, i mean i think the _ people feeling about it? yeah, i mean i think the clinics - people feeling about it? yeah, i mean i think the clinics that i i mean i think the clinics that i've been speaking to — so clinics that deliver abortions or help women—have abortions — they have been saying that certainly women who had scheduled appointments had been calling in saying that they were quite confused, wondering whether they should still make the journey, whether they should still make thejourney, especially if whether they should still make the journey, especially if they were travelling from quite far away, especially from a state where abortion is banned in the us. and actually, those clinics themselves were a little bit confused about what situation they were going to be left in. because not only was there this original ruling from a federal judge in texas, there was a

rival ruling affecting quite large swathes of the us from washington state, so it has been a period of legal confusion over this issue. the supreme court now have delivered some certainty but, as i say, the certainty is temporary. as i say, the certainty is temporary-— as i say, the certainty is temporary. as i say, the certainty is temora .�* , , , ., temporary. and 'ust briefly for eo - le temporary. and 'ust briefly for people that — temporary. and just briefly for people that aren't _ temporary. and just briefly for people that aren't in _ temporary. and just briefly for people that aren't in the - people that aren't in the united states, why are people feeling so passionately about not wanting this drug? having this drug removed? 50 not wanting this drug? having this drug removed?— this drug removed? so the anti-abortion _ this drug removed? so the anti-abortion groups - this drug removed? so the anti-abortion groups that l anti—abortion groups that brought this case have taken issue with the way that the drug was approved over 20 years ago, and raised concerns about its safety. now, mainstream medical organisations maintain mifepristone is safe, but, of course, we know that this is a divisive issue, but an issue that people feel very passionately about in the us. and last year, you had the supreme court overturn roe v. wade, which allowed individual states to potentially ban, or curtail, abortion, some of which have gone down that path, so there is a bit of a split,

and quite a geographical split, in terms of the status of abortion, in the united states at the moment. and of course there is this divide between people who are anti—abortion, and feel very passionately about that, and those who are very passionately pro—choice. 0k, very passionately pro—choice. ok, jessica. well, thank you for bringing us up to date on that. thank you very much, jessica parker, in washington for us. reports from sudan say that fighting between the forces of two rival generals has continued in the capital, khartoum, despite their declarations of a temporary truce. the un estimates that at least 400 people have been killed across sudan since the fighting began a week ago. explosions and firing have been heard even after the sudanese army's announcement that it would observe a three—day halt to fighting — beginning yesterday — to allow residents to celebrate the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan. the main road leading south—east of khartoum has been the scene of fierce exchanges for the first time. live now to kalkidan yibetal, who is monitoring the situation

from addis ababa in ethiopia. why has this ceasefire not quite worked out?- why has this ceasefire not quite worked out? well, it's not the first _ quite worked out? well, it's not the first time, _ quite worked out? well, it's not the first time, because l not the first time, because since the violence began about a week ago, there had been other attempts to have a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds like this one. and even on those instances, they were quickly broken and each side, each fighting party, was blaming the other for breaching it. so it seems that that's exactly what happened now. initially, the rsf, the rapid support forces, said they would be observing a ceasefire to honour the eid celebration. and also to allow for humanitarian aid to be moved, and then for people to be evacuated from conflict areas. and later on,

hours later, the army agreed to that 72—hour ceasefire. but even after the two fighting parties agreed on this 72—hour truce, there were reports of fighting. there was intense gun shootings and explosions and even air strikes heard in the capital, khartoum. although we heard on friday evening there were a decrease in the instances of the fighting, but it meant that the truce was being respected or being upheld entirely. find being respected or being upheld entirel . �* , ., entirely. and in terms of everyday _ entirely. and in terms of everyday life _ entirely. and in terms of everyday life kalkidan, l entirely. and in terms of. everyday life kalkidan, how entirely. and in terms of- everyday life kalkidan, how is it in terms of fighting? fighting appears to be sporadic. and the messages of truces are not necessarily to be trusted. how are people going about their businesses? their livelihoods? it’s going about their businesses? their livelihoods?— their livelihoods? it's been a nightmare — their livelihoods? it's been a nightmare for _ their livelihoods? it's been a nightmare for residents - their livelihoods? it's been a nightmare for residents of i nightmare for residents of khartoum and that's exactly what they were saying, because the fighting is happening in crowded areas, in crowded urban centres, and sometimes in

residential areas as well. so they were bearing the brunt first—hand. so whenever there was a chance, a lull in the fighting for hours, they used that opportunity to try to flee those areas. they tried to evacuate to slightly safer places, particularly outside of khartoum. and the hope was if this three—day ceasefire, this three—day truce was to be upheld, these people might get a chance either to evacuate from the areas or to increase their depleting food stocks, and also for people who need medical support to reach the hospitals and get medical support. so it seemed that, you know, it's been a nightmare since the beginning of the fighting for the civilians, for the residents of cities like khartoum. the residents of cities like khartoum-— the residents of cities like khartoum. �* , ., ., khartoum. and you mentioned humanitarian _ khartoum. and you mentioned humanitarian aid _ khartoum. and you mentioned humanitarian aid a _ khartoum. and you mentioned humanitarian aid a bit - khartoum. and you mentioned humanitarian aid a bit earlier. humanitarian aid a bit earlier on. is that getting to the people that need it? hot people that need it? not sufficiently, _ people that need it? not sufficiently, because - people that need it? iirrt sufficiently, because aid agencies have said, you know,

they have been on the receiving end of attacks. their properties, their warehouses, have been attacked and also they cannot move around carrying aid into areas. a large portion of the sudanese population need aid and these aid agencies had to suspend their operations in areas where there is active fighting. and, you know, due to the closure of airports and flights, the suspension of flights because of the ongoing fighting in khartoum, it's been difficult for aid agencies to deliver aid into the region. but a ceasefire could allow them to, you know, increase their operations.— you know, increase their operations. 0k. kalkidan yibetal in _ operations. 0k. kalkidan yibetal in addis - operations. 0k. kalkidan yibetal in addis ababa i operations. 0k. kalkidan yibetal in addis ababa in j yibetal in addis ababa in ethiopia, thank you very much forjoining us. staying with this story, let's speak tojonas horner, a sudan analyst and former deputy director for the horn of africa

at the international crisis group. thanks very much forjoining us. where does this fighting end? do you see this as a long drawn—out battle? or something that will be resolved fairly quickly, even if there are clearly a lot of casualties involved?— clearly a lot of casualties involved? ~ involved? well, if the fighting continues as _ involved? well, if the fighting continues as it _ involved? well, if the fighting continues as it has _ involved? well, if the fighting continues as it has gone - involved? well, if the fighting continues as it has gone in - involved? well, if the fighting | continues as it has gone in the sort of existential street—to—street way, then we may be in for a long fight. but what has transpired perhaps over the last 2a to 48 what has transpired perhaps over the last 24 to 48 hours is a small degree of momentum of the sudan armed forces starting to squeeze the rapid support forces out of some of the neighbourhoods into which they'd entrenched themselves, particularly in khartoum. and as your correspondent shared there, they are starting to fight in other parts of the city. he mentioned further south of khartoum. you know, there's also issues around a large city south of khartoum. and that may see the rsf

decamping to some of those secondary cities around the country. but, you know, the shortest route to ending this conflict, it seems, is perhaps the capture or death of the head of the rapid support forces, general hemeti. because, on the one hand, the sudanese armed forces are quite an institutionalised military within the country, and so they don't rely on an individual head. but the rapid support forces are very reliant on general hemeti, who is really the unchallenged head of that particular army.— the unchallenged head of that particular army. jonas, can you 'ust particular army. jonas, can you just explain _ particular army. jonas, can you just explain to _ particular army. jonas, can you just explain to us _ particular army. jonas, can you just explain to us about - particular army. jonas, can you just explain to us about this . just explain to us about this battle, the factions involved, and why they are going to battle and to fight with each other? because perhaps people joining us now might not know the background here. certainly. well, the history _ the background here. certainly. well, the history is _ the background here. certainly. well, the history is quite - well, the history is quite long, but, you know, in the recent past, as things have unravelled, what we are dealing with are two militaries. one is

the sudanese armed forces, who are the legitimate army of sudan, and the rapid support forces are, you know, made up of many fighters, particularly from the peripheries, the long—suffering peripheries of sudan. and, you know, there's been a battle between the two, because the sudanese armed forces have a strong islamist element, from the former regime of omar al—bashir, who was turfed out in a revolution in 2019, and the islamists within the sudanese armed forces are very unwilling to share power with general hemeti, who has significant business interests, not just significant business interests, notjust in sudan, but across the region. and so this really is an existential battle between, you know, islamists in large part, within the sudanese armed forces, who don't represent the entirety of the army by any stretch, and you know, a newcomer on the political and military scene, who wants to, indeed, assume power and at the highest level

this is really an existential battle between the centre and the peripheries in many ways, where the peripheries have been marginalised for so long in sudan — politically, economically — and hemeti is the theatrical route for the peripheries to address that historical imbalance injapan. historical imbalance in japan. 0k. historical imbalance in japan. ok. jonas, historical imbalance injapan. ok. jonas, briefly, is there a role for diplomacy here? this has been going on for a week now. can we see diplomacy impacting in any way? so far, the impact — impacting in any way? so far, the impact has _ impacting in any way? so far, the impact has been - the impact has been nonexistent, it appears. the best locus for attempting, you know, impact on the dip batic side really is through the united arab emirates, through the saud... through saudi arabia and also probably through egypt. now, this is dramatically complicated by the fact that the egyptians are strongly behind the sudanese armed forces and have been traditionally. they have ongoing historical ties to the sudanese armed forces and have, indeed, weighed in very lightly to date on the side of the

sudanese armed forces. on the other side, the rapid support forces of general hemeti have found a historical ally in the united arab emirates, who hired the rapid support forces to do a lot of their fighting for them in yemen and in libya in support of general haftar in libya, which was also an emirati cause, and so in many ways, you see, at a regional level, a careo—abu dhabi battle here. now —— cairo—abu dhabi battle here. now, they are in the best position to halt fighting, but they have shown to date no apparent will to sort of pull the leash am, financially especially, on either of these two sides, which would be probably the most effective way to reduce fighting. and my concern really is that there was some will to see one of these sides gain some military upper hand before, indeed, that level of diplomatic intervention occurs. 0k. diplomatic intervention occurs. ok. jonas, thank you very much for that analysis. let's get some of the day's other news now.

peru's former president, alejandro toledo, has turned himself in to us authorities for extradition to his home country where he faces corruption charges. mr toldeo is expected to be sent back to peru in the next few days. he denies the charges. —— mr toledo. lawyers acting for relatives of halyna hutchins, the cinematographer killed by a bullet fired from a prop gun held by alec baldwin, say they will proceed with a civil lawsuit. manslaughter charges against mr baldwin have been dropped by a court in new mexico. the uk government is taking legal action against the royal college of nursing over its planned 48—hour strike in england at the end of the month. nhs employers say the union's mandate to strike will run out halfway through that walkout, but the rcn says it's confident the action is lawful. a court in paris has convicted a lebanese—canadian university professor of carrying out a deadly bomb attack on a paris synagogue in 1980. hassan diab was given a life sentence in absentia.

four people were killed and 38 others wounded in the bombing. australian explorers say they have found the wreck of a wartime japanese transport ship, which was sunk by a us submarine in 1942. the montevideo maru was torpedoed off the philippines, killing more than 1,000 prisoners of war on board. dominic raab has accused activist civil servants of trying to block the work of the uk government following his resignation over bullying claims. the former deputy prime minister stood down after a report found he'd acted in an intimidating and aggressive manner towards some staff. here's our political correspondentjonathan blake. from deputy prime minister to backbench mp, dominic raabe resigned from government yesterday but defended his behaviour and argued against

the findings of an enquiry that upheld some of the bullying claims against him. is this a stitch up? i claims against him. is this a stitch up?— claims against him. is this a stitchu? ., �* ,. , stitch up? i wouldn't describe it that way- — stitch up? iwouldn't describe it that way- i— stitch up? i wouldn't describe it that way. i resigned - it that way. i resigned from cabinet today because i said i would if there was any adverse findings from this enquiry, and i am true to my word, politicians should be, but i think it's sets a very dangerous precedent. if you look at the report, dismissed almost all of the against me. he found i had never once lost my temper in 4.5 years. it also highlighted maybe to three instances where i had been what they described as unintentionally abrasive. the re ort unintentionally abrasive. the report by _ unintentionally abrasive. the report by the _ unintentionally abrasive. the report by the senior lawyer adam tolley kc found mr raab acted in a way in which was intimidating in the sense of unreasonably and am still —— and persistently aggressive conduct.

mr tolley also said mr raab was abrasive and described work done for him as utterly useless and woeful. a description reasonably understood as insulting personal criticism. you have the risk of a very small minority of very active civil servants with a passive—aggressive culture of the civil service who don't like some of the reforms, whether it is brexit or human rights reform, effectively trying to block government. it is not on, that is not democratic.- is not on, that is not democratic. ~ , democratic. the prime minister said he accepted _ democratic. the prime minister said he accepted the _ said he accepted the resignation with sadness but there was no sign of rishi sunak in public yesterday as labour accused him of weakness. the big question for the prime minister is why he was so weak to appoint him in the first place. the second question is why didn't he sack him? and now it is left to dominic raab to

resign. it is left to dominic raab to resin. , w it is left to dominic raab to resin. , . resign. replacing dominic raab is this man- _ resign. replacing dominic raab is this man. alex _ resign. replacing dominic raab is this man. alex chalk. - resign. replacing dominic raab is this man. alex chalk. and i is this man. alex chalk. and oliver dowden stepped into the role of deputy prime minister, as his predecessor's departure sparked a debate about how things get done in government. dominic raab was the third cabinet minister under rishi sunak to resign under the contract. the parameter who integrity, professionalism and integrity, professionalism and integrity in government won't want to lose any more. jonathan blake, bbc news. twitter has removed the prestigious blue tick from thousands of users. the symbol had previously verified the authenticity of an account. now, anyone wanting to retain their tick must pay for the $84—a—year twitter blue service. in the last 24 hours, notable names such as jk rowling, bill gates, oprah winfrey and even some bbc accounts have lost their blue ticks, opening up the possibility of impersonators and the spread of misinformation on the platform.

alex heath is editor at the tech website, the verge. thank you very much forjoining us. we have known about this coming for a while, but i think it manages to take some people by shock. how much of an impact will this have in terms of journalism? twitter uses quite journalism ? twitter uses quite a journalism? twitter uses quite a useful tool for lots of journalists around the world and now the blue did not being there might be quite hard to undertake some of the individuals. it undertake some of the individuals.— undertake some of the individuals. it is a good question- _ individuals. it is a good question. the - individuals. it is a good question. the plan i individuals. it is a good question. the plan to l individuals. it is a good i question. the plan to verify users by having them pay for the checkmark seems to have only so far, and i admit we are early in this, it is just a couple of days, but it seems to have backfired so far because what we know is that there are at least over 400 thousand legacy blue checks on twitter, mostlyjournalists, mostly journalists, celebrities, government accounts, and the vast majority have not opted into the new payment scheme based on estimates. we don't know for sure because twitter is now a

private company. we know based on some estimates is less than 50,000 out of over 400,000 of the people, of the accounts who have checkmarks have been with us for the what he was attempting to do was say to verify who you are or make it on tilla garrett aryan system and anyone can prove who they say they are by adding a credit card to their account, it turns out most of the high—profile accounts already verified either don't want to i haven't yet done that so it is already people like hillary clinton, government accounts, etc. right now it seems to be backfiring. elon musk has been clear and open about turning twitter into a profitable business and he took about cash flow in a very kind of open and transparent wage. do you think this is at the heart of it that he wants to turn around a positive revenue maker into a company that actually churns out profits? that actually churns out rofits? that actually churns out profits?— that actually churns out rofits? , ., , ,.,

profits? he definitely has said that. profits? he definitely has said that- that _ profits? he definitely has said that. that remains _ profits? he definitely has said that. that remains to - profits? he definitely has said that. that remains to be i profits? he definitely has said that. that remains to be seen j that. that remains to be seen if this scheme of his will actually help twitter become profitable. he has said, and everyone knows is that advertising in general is weak right now with the economy around the world the way it is, and so he sees a subscription revenue as a way to improve twitter�*s finances, get it on good ground. but it has not become the revenue source so far he hoped it would be. it is actually innocence become something people are actively trying to avoid, people like lebron james trying to avoid, people like lebronjames and stephen king, the famous author, publicly saying they don't want the checkmark and he is comping it for them anyway to make it look like they are paying for verification even when they aren't stop it turns out you can have all the money in the world but you cannot buy status. �* , ., , ., ~' status. briefly, do you think --eole status. briefly, do you think peeple will _ status. briefly, do you think people will switch _ status. briefly, do you think people will switch away i status. briefly, do you think| people will switch away from twitter now can use other tools? ., , ., twitter now can use other tools? . , ., ., ., tools? that is what we have to watch how _ tools? that is what we have to watch now because _ tools? that is what we have to watch now because elon i tools? that is what we have to watch now because elon musk| tools? that is what we have to i watch now because elon musk is essentially calling everyone's. he says he will pay or

potentially be impersonated. we made to see a lot of the high—profile people that have contributed most of the content to twitter over the years desire they want to move to other platforms. they don't have that kind of verification programme. that is what we will see over the coming weeks is are these high—profile accounts who contribute most content to twitter, will they pay up or leave? they have a lot of options and so far most of them are not paying. options and so far most of them are not paying-— are not paying. they are all still shocked _ are not paying. they are all still shocked have - are not paying. they are all still shocked have lost i are not paying. they are allj still shocked have lost their blue tick! thank you very much. a team of scientists has discovered a previously unknown coral reef off the coast of the galapagos islands. the reef is around 2 kilometres long, and teeming with marine life. experts say the coral is thousands of years old. tim allman reports on the new discovery. the waters of the galapagos islands have always been full of wonder and mystery. and it

seems there are always more secrets to be revealed. this is a coral reef that no—one knew even existed. 400 metres below the surface, almost pristine, sitting on top of an undersea mountain. translation: , ., mountain. translation: , translation: it is a pleasure to share that _ translation: it is a pleasure to share that we _ translation: it is a pleasure to share that we have - to share that we have discovered an old and vast coral reefs. we have never done such extensive and developed coral reefs at this depth, and they are in their original state. ~ . , ., ., they are in their original state. . , ., ., state. which is more than can be said for— state. which is more than can be said for other _ state. which is more than can be said for other some i state. which is more than can be said for other some call. be said for other some call reefs. climate change and pollution is having a terrible impact on sea life. this mission in the pacific ocean funded by a foundation named after charles darwin is about exploration and protection. translation: it exploration and protection. translation:— exploration and protection. translation: it is important because we — translation: it is important because we are _ translation: it is important because we are talking i translation: it is important because we are talking about| because we are talking about pristine ecosystems that have ever been studied before. our

commitment is to provide the ecosystems and the biodiversity we found here. last year, equinor expanded the marine reserve, a special protected area around the galapagos islands, by 60,000 square kilometres. the authorities have discovered a new coral reef. they are determined to keep it. tim allman, bbc news. if you didn't know... it's earth day. shamans from all over peru gathered on friday to make an offering to mother earth on preparations for earth day. during the ritual, the shamans carried out a cleansing to a papier—mache globe using tobacco. they also made made offerings with traditional drinks and plants. the ancestral rituals whose origins lie in the indigenous cultures of peru are made to thank the earth and to build an awareness of the planet.

that is it from us. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcvishalasp. thank you for watching.

ok. jonas, thank you very much for that analysis. hello. a beautiful day in northern ireland and scotland.

the coming days will be chilly in the north, a cold wind will set in, even wintry showers across the scottish hills, maybe from the pennines: start startrain will reach northern ireland by the early hours of saturday morning. clear spells overnight in scotland and the south—of—the country. that means a touch of frost, especially outside of town, but for most of us, around five or six degrees tonight. let's pick up on a that rain in the north. you can see showers in northern england, that weather front reaching the southern uplands by lunchtime orso southern uplands by lunchtime or so and certainly looking wet there in northern ireland. but also showers clustered in the south—west of the country, so these areas will be pretty chilly, 10 do 12 degrees, the south—west, northern ireland, the south of scotland, but where the sun does pop out briefly, i think on saturday, 10 to 15 degrees. talking about colder weather, still a chilly atmosphere spreading in from the north on an east—north—easterly, so that change starts to happen in the north on sunday. strong winds,

up north on sunday. strong winds, up to gale—force, increasingly falling as wintry across the hills. elsewhere, it's a real mixed bag, even a clap of thunder here and there. temperatures on sunday will struggle again in the north, seven or eight degrees. 12 degrees expected in liverpool. in the south, maybe a couple of degrees higher. but the winds will be strong everywhere, so we'll start to feel that chill. sunday into monday, we'll see even stronger winds and colder air spreading into parts of scotland. notice the wintry showers there across the hills, spreading further southwards, and really chilly along that north sea coast. and then elsewhere, i think a mixture of sunny spells and showers. so the temperatures really disappointing on monday, six in aberdeen, eight in birmingham, maybejust about double aberdeen, eight in birmingham, maybe just about double figures there for cardiff and for london, where showers are expected. and that chilly atmosphere spreads right across the uk and into the continent, into scandinavia as well on tuesday. warmer weather will reach us but not until later next week. so here's the outlook for this weekend —

chilly, mixed bags on the way, that chilly air relatively for the time of the year, with us until wednesday and from thursday, should warm up. bye bye. this is bbc news. the us supreme court rules in favour of access to a widely used abortion pill while a legal appeal against its use is considered. fighting in sudan continues despite agreement for a ceasefire. the uk's deputy prime minister resigns following an inquiry into bullying allegations. and secrets beneath the sea: a previously unknown coral reef is discovered after thousands of years.