live from london. this is bbc news. gunfire sudanese army agrees to secure evacuation of foreign diplomats — while fighting continues despite the truce announcement. dominic raab has hit out at what he calls "activist civil servants" after resigning as the uk deputy prime minister over bullying claims. criminals have been using scam texts aimed at uk parents — conning victims out of £1.3 million last year.

hello and welcome to the programme. i'm lewis vaughan jones. we start in sudan, where gunfire has been sounding across the capital, khartoum. in the past hour, we're hearing from the sudan's army that they will facilitate evacuations of diplomats and nationals from the united states, the uk, france, china and saudi arabia, as another temporary truce between warring army factions fails. the latest development it seems that international pressure from those countries, could potentially, come to fruition and those nationals could now be leaving with the assistance of the army in sudan. you will remember that they were

supposed to be a truce between the two sides, but so far that truce hasn't existed at all. let's take a quick look now and show you where this is all happening. the fighting is mainly around the capital of khartoum, we have so far a death toll of around 400 people are the latest estimates. it is a struggle for many people. you can hear gunshots ringing out, these are not life pictures but these are some of the scenes that we have been seeing in the past 24 are was. people, trapped in their homes because they can't move around because of the fighting. there are men in uniform on the streets. if we take a look at the live pictures now, this is the scene right now in the city of

khartoum. there doesn't appear to be any live weapon fire right now, but you don't have to wait long, to hear some. it is pretty ferocious and intense when it gets started. a desperate situation in the capital khartoum. the two sides in this conflict is being headed up by these two men. 0n the left is the head of the army and on the right the head of the force. it is the man on the left, abdel fattah al—burhan that is the head of the army, it has come from the army that they will assist in the evacuation of foreign nationals. let's get a look on what

exactly has been announced. earlier, i spoke to sudan's former foreign minister mariam al—sadiq al—mahdi who is sheltering in the capital khartoum. we are getting information that the military is now agreeing to the passage of diplomats, that would like to leave sudan. the airport has been under serious shelling, since the fighting started on the 15th. the rsf previously agreed to a truce but the military hadn't agreed to that. all he is agreeing to is to secure the passage of these diplomats who want to leave. in the absence of a truce, it is difficult to see how he intends to implement that. if you want to secure the passage.

that. if you want to secure the assa . e. that. if you want to secure the assaue. ., ., ., passage. on the international effort, passage. on the international effort. there _ passage. on the international effort, there has _ passage. on the international effort, there has been - passage. on the international effort, there has been a - passage. on the internationali effort, there has been a great passage. on the international- effort, there has been a great deal of focus and attention by the international community to try and bring about some sort of resolution. there seems to be some progress in getting foreign nationals out, although that hasn't happened yet. in terms of a broader ceasefire, it seems a long way off? it in terms of a broader ceasefire, it seems a long way off?— in terms of a broader ceasefire, it seems a long way off? it is, the us secretary anthony _ seems a long way off? it is, the us secretary anthony lincoln, - seems a long way off? it is, the us secretary anthony lincoln, said - seems a long way off? it is, the us secretary anthony lincoln, said the lincoln, the usf your state said that it was important to allow a humanitarian corridor, to allow for medical personnel to come in and treat people. the sudanese people say they can't even get the dead from the streets. they are running out of food and water, they are no electricity. to be able to release

the foreigners from the country, it is important for these airports to be accessible. thank you for that. i want to take you to how it is like on the ground in khartoum. it is as you can imagine a difficult and distressing place to be. just in the last few hours i spoke on the phone to the former foreign minister of sudan. she is sheltering in the capital. i should warn you that we will play a few extracts from the interview. there are distressing details in what she says. i started by asking her to describe the conditions that she is living in right now. well, truly it is very dangerous now. to get to you i had to go out on the balcony because the lighting is better and i could get a better signal. there is bombardment all around us. i really don't know where it is coming from. also we have some of the young

men who are in uniform, they are outside in the streets. they are overtaking the streets around where we live. we are out of electricity for the last 24 hours, we are out of water for the last six days. yesterday the promise was from both generals that they will abide by this humanitarian truce. as you know, people are besieged in homes without any supplies, without water and the hospitals, most of the hospitals are out of business because of a lack of water and also no supplies of medicine, as well as the medical teams are already exhausted. they haven't been replaced by any others. many of the medical teams who tried to reach out for some of the health facilities were targeted as well. there are so many, not around us here, but in several parts

of khartoum, in the capital, there are rotting bodies of our youths in the streets, some of them being eaten by the dogs. i should have said perhaps beforehand there are distressing as we were talking you could hear that gunfire, she didn't know where it was from. it got us concerned and i asked if it was safe for her to continue. i just want to focus for a second on you and just make sure that you're in a safe location. you mentioned you came out to the balcony. i really... i can't stress enough, i don't want you going anywhere or taking any risks for the sake of a connection. if you're safer elsewhere, then please do move or let us know. no, no. thank you very much. i want. thank you very much. you're 0k? there is no safety now in khartoum

and no—one is safe in khartoum. right. and i am amongst the hundreds of thousands of the inhabitants of khartoum of its. different locations are being terrified. they are being horrified in their. inside their homes. so, it is nothing. it is nothing. it is the least i could do, is to try to...to. to let the world know what is the suffering of the sudanese people. you could hear in her voice, some of the concern. as for the timing of this. it is a religious holiday being celebrated, or not celebrated. let's see what she had to say about the timing. they decided to make the battlefield the capital, which is inhabited by third of the population. more than ten million people. they drew all their...

all their heavy artillery to inside the capital. to the heaviest. ..place where people are living. and... and they are not. for the eighth day, the eighth day, in the last days of ramadan, you know the last ten days of ramadan are the most holy days of the year for us, the muslims. yeah. and then for the eid, for the festival, they didn't even stop for the prayers of the eid. you can hear some of the anger and frustration. there were supposed to be a truce, apparently agreed by both sides. but you can hear gunfire all around. and it hasn't materialised. i want to say thank you again to herfor materialised. i want to say thank you again to her for talking to us. we will keep abreast of developments in sudan. let's come back to the uk. now here in the uk, there's ongoing political debate about the resignation of this man the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, after his behaviour was criticised

by a bullying investigation. the independent report found mr raab had been aggressive towards some staff. he claims some were trying to block reforms they didn't like. well today the bbc has heard from a former senior uk government official — lord mcdonald. he's a former permanent secretary at the foreign office. he says mr raab is wrong. 0ur political correspondent — helen catt — has the latest from downing street. well, those particular comments that dominic raab made about the suggestion that there are "activist civil servants" have certainly caused quite a reaction here. and that is because one of the main principles of the way the uk system works is that you have ministers who are elected, who are political, and they set the political direction and decide policies. but then you have the civil service, who are the staff who are there to develop the policies, to implement them, to make them work. and a key principle behind that is that they are neutral, that they impartially serve the government of the day, whatever or whoever that government is.

so, to have somebody who was a senior minister making an accusation like that, that really does strike at the heart of how the system works here in the uk and that's why it is proving so controversial. the civil servants�* union, the fda here, has said that it is damaging. they've warned that it will be damaging. and we have seen tensions between the civil service and ministers spill over into the public domain in the last few years. and i think another... this is unlikely to help that. and helen, what happens now, then? because we did hear from the prime minister, rishi sunak, in his letter, acknowledging that part of the process needs to be looked at and could be improved. what did he mean by that and what kind of changes, if any, are going to come from this? well, i think that's quite a good question. i'm not sure there is much clarity on exactly what he meant by that. you're right, he mentioned about parts of the historic process, i think was the phrase that he used. but, of course, we haven't heard from rishi sunak directly

since all this has happened. and through his spokesman, he told journalists yesterday that he didn't regret appointing dominic raab. but in terms of what will happen, looking at perhaps systems or reforms, that is all still to be answered. and i think that's going to be one of the many questions that is put to rishi sunak when he does start to talk about this publicly to journalists. they will be asking, well, are there going to be reforms to how the process works? there've also been questions raised on the opposite side about the length of time this has taken. it's been about five months for this report to come to a final stage. so i think there are also being questions asked this morning, too, about the impact that has on the civil servants, on the staff that are making these complaints when it takes so long for these things to be resolved. so there's quite a lot to be looked at around particularly how they interact, how you have this interaction between ministers and staff who are accountable to them but who they don't employ. there's a whole lot of things to be looked at, and i think that would be one of the things that comes out of this.

let's get some of the day's other news here in the uk. 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 walk—out — but the rcn says it's confident the action is lawful. the family of stephen lawrence are holding a memorial service in trafalgar square this morning to mark the 30th anniversary of his death. stephen was just 18 when he killed by a gang in a racist attack at a bus stop in eltham, in south—east london. the metropolitan police commissioner sir mark rowley admitted on friday that the force "did not dig deep enough" to root out racism since mr lawrence's murder in 1993. some mobile phone customers are facing "shocking" mid—contract price rises by some of the uk's biggest networks — that's according to research carried out by the consumer group which? the "big four" network companies — 02, ee, vodafone and three — were outperformed in the annual

survey of mobile phone providers. it says smaller phone companies could provide better value for money and customer service. a text—message scam targeting parents conned people out of more than a million pounds last year. that's more than 1.2 million dollars. new figures from the bbc reveal more than 1,100 people fell for scammers pretending to be the victim's son or daughter in financial trouble — before asking for money. dan whitworth reports. it might seem like a legitimate plea for help, but it's nothing of the sort. they're texts from scammers that start with, "hi, mum" or "hi, dad" before making a request for money or help, normally accompanied by a distressing story about why the cash is needed quickly. in the last year, more than 1,100 people across england, wales, and northern ireland reported being targeted by these scams. more than £1.1 million was lost to texts targeting mums and more than £170,000 was lost to texts

targeting dads — a total of more than 1.3 million. jan was one of the victims. after receiving a message she thought was from her son, asking for her to transfer money, she sent more than £3,000 to the person who contacted her. by the time she realised it wasn't him, it was too late. i was just so gutted. i was so, so, so upset that someone could do this to me because i save. i save so hard. i try so hard to save money and i watch my pennies but ijust felt so gutted that someone could do this to me. 0nly texts reported to action fraud have been counted in the new figures, meaning the number of people affected could well be higher. a police officer who works on fraud cases just like these is warning people to be aware of the dangers. the sorts of people that will be targeted will be parents, mums and dads with children.

so, ultimately, this is about loved ones telling their parents or neighbours being informed about this sort of scam so the more people that know about it, the less chance they are likely to become victim of it. research suggests that nine in every ten people have received scam messages or calls similar to this. the advice, if you do get one, is to delete or report it straightaway. and if you're tempted to transfer any money to a loved one after receiving a text, make sure you speak to them first. 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 acces to this pill — and for the biden administration. let's get a round—up

of the day's sports news now. over to mike bushell. hello from the bbc sport centre. good morning. arsenal are dusting themselves down and trying to focus on next wednesday, after they dropped more points in their pursuit of a first premier league title in 18 years. they came from 3—1 down at home to bottom club southampton to rescue one point. they needed goals in the 88th and 90th minute, but it's their third draw in a row and means their lead is just five points over manchester city, who have two games in hand, and they host the gunners on wednesday. these other games that you want to play. when everythin- is these other games that you want to play. when everything is at these other games that you want to play. when everything is at stake, you have to go there and you have to get a win. the game is going be prepared. get a win. the game is going be --reared. .,, ., get a win. the game is going be --reared. ., , get a win. the game is going be --reared. .,, ., , ., prepared. has gone even bigger after toniaht? prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that — prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that it— prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that it is — prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that it is the _ prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that it is the beauty - prepared. has gone even bigger after tonight? that it is the beauty of- tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport- _ tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport. you _ tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport. you want _ tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport. you want to - tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport. you want to be - tonight? that it is the beauty of this sport. you want to be in . tonight? that it is the beauty of. this sport. you want to be in these positions and you want to be in this position. we positions and you want to be in this osition. ~ ., positions and you want to be in this osition. ~ . , _, , position. we have been competing well, we position. we have been competing well. we have _ position. we have been competing well, we have been _ position. we have been competing well, we have been having - position. we have been competing well, we have been having good i well, we have been having good

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the treble, the premier league in the treble, the premier league in the champions league, look how far away it is to talk about. i said many times, how many times in this amazing country, troubles have been done. how many years? how many times? it is one. the women's champions league semi—finals get under way later. chelsea host barcelona in the first leg of their tie at stamford bridge. the winners will play arsenal or volfsburg. keira walsh plays for barcelona and says she'll be doing her best to prevent an all—english final. although it's good for english women's football, i think we will be trying our best to prevent that from happening. 0bviously, play for barcelona and the objective that we have, we want to be in that game. playing in those sorts of games is what you want and it is the reason why i signed for barcelona. it's the penultimate weekend in the women's six nations as england travel to dublin to take on ireland, while scotland face italy. the red roses have won their three

matches so far, top of the table with francejust a point behind. they meet next week in a potential tournament decider. the french take on wales tomorrow. england seem unstoppable at the moment. mark allen tookjust one frame, to make the quarterfinals at the world snooker championship in sheffield this morning. the northern irishman had led stuart bingham 12—4, going into the session and took the opening frame, to clinch a place in the last eight. and these are live pictures from the other table where, jack lisowski, and anthony macgill, have got heir second round match under way. the latest score is 2—1 to mcgill and he's going well in the fourth frame. and that's all the sport for now. the welsh club wrexham, could be promoted back into the english football league for the first time in 15 years

this evening, and get the hollywood storyline, theirfilm star owners, have been aiming for, since they took over, a couple of years ago. the club could escape non league football tonight, with a victory over boreham wood, at the racecourse ground. hollywood stars, rob mackle—henney and ryan reynolds have pumped in millions of pounds into the club and theirjourney has been turned into a global tv series, meaning this game will be followed by new fans all over the world. 0ur reporter dave guest is in the city for us with fans getting ready for the match. here in wrexham excitement is starting to build. wrexham is a city in the mood to celebrate. their football club went from near oblivion to maybe facing promotion back to the premier league. it is all thanks to two hollywood stars,

they bought the club and spend millions on it and now the club is one match away from that possible promotion. alice is the landlady here, she isjoined by herfamily. the mascot. here, she is 'oined by her family. the mascot.— here, she is “oined by her family. the mascot. yes ducky is going to brina us the mascot. yes ducky is going to bring us lots _ the mascot. yes ducky is going to bring us lots of _ the mascot. yes ducky is going to bring us lots of luck. _ the mascot. yes ducky is going to bring us lots of luck. what - the mascot. yes ducky is going to bring us lots of luck. what did - the mascot. yes ducky is going to j bring us lots of luck. what did you think when — bring us lots of luck. what did you think when to _ bring us lots of luck. what did you think when to hollywood - bring us lots of luck. what did you think when to hollywood stars - bring us lots of luck. what did you | think when to hollywood stars were going to take over? i think when to hollywood stars were going to take over?— going to take over? i didn't believe it, it was going to take over? i didn't believe it. it was so _ going to take over? i didn't believe it, it was so surreal— going to take over? i didn't believe it, it was so surreal and _ going to take over? i didn't believe it, it was so surreal and what - going to take over? i didn't believe it, it was so surreal and what they | it, it was so surreal and what they have done in two years is fantastic. they have notjust kept a connection, they have been doing things in the town? timer;r connection, they have been doing things in the town?— connection, they have been doing things in the town? they have done thins in things in the town? they have done things in the _ things in the town? they have done things in the town. _ things in the town? they have done things in the town. it's _ things in the town? they have done things in the town. it's not - things in the town? they have done things in the town. it's notjust - things in the town. it's notjust about the club. we have always been about the club. we have always been a close knit community, but it has given that extra excitement and community spirit. you given that extra excitement and community spirit.— given that extra excitement and community spirit. you are a player and a manager. — community spirit. you are a player and a manager, what _ community spirit. you are a player and a manager, what you - community spirit. you are a player and a manager, what you think- community spirit. you are a player i and a manager, what you think about what has happened? the and a manager, what you think about what has happened?— what has happened? the last couple of ears, if

what has happened? the last couple of years. if you _ what has happened? the last couple of years, if you look _ what has happened? the last couple of years, if you look back _ what has happened? the last couple of years, if you look back at - what has happened? the last couple of years, if you look back at the - of years, if you look back at the last 15 _ of years, if you look back at the last 15 years when we haven't been doing _ last 15 years when we haven't been doing non—league football, suddenly were going to get back on the football— were going to get back on the football league. everybody is so elated. — football league. everybody is so elated, but for all the fans that have _ elated, but for all the fans that have been going for years, i think it is brilliant that they will get success— it is brilliant that they will get success at last and go into the football— success at last and go into the football league. 22 success at last and go into the football league.— success at last and go into the football league. 22 games played this season. _ football league. 22 games played this season, 21 _ football league. 22 games played this season, 21 wins. _ football league. 22 games played this season, 21 wins. what - football league. 22 games played this season, 21 wins. what is - football league. 22 games played | this season, 21 wins. what is your scoreline for today?— scoreline for today? logically i think we will _ scoreline for today? logically i think we will win _ scoreline for today? logically i think we will win 2-0. - scoreline for today? logically i think we will win 2-0. if- scoreline for today? logically i think we will win 2-0. if you i scoreline for today? logically i i think we will win 2-0. if you look think we will win 2—0. if you look at their— think we will win 2—0. if you look at their goals, they are not big goal—scorers. we have two strikers that are _ goal—scorers. we have two strikers that are scoring lots of goals. 10,000 — that are scoring lots of goals. 10,000 fans behind you, you won't hold back — 10,000 fans behind you, you won't hold back. titre 10,000 fans behind you, you won't hold back. �* ., .., 10,000 fans behind you, you won't hold back. �* ., , , hold back. are we all confident guys of success? — of success? cheers just before we go breaking news out

of sudan. these are live pictures from the capital khartoum, the fighting continues there and we have more detail from the head fighting continues there and we have more detailfrom the head of fighting continues there and we have more detail from the head of the army abdel fattah al—burhan. he says that he has received calls from a number of countries asking to help with the evacuation of diplomats and nationals. the statement says he has a degree to provide assistance. the potential evacuation, it says of diplomats and people from these countries... of the united states, britain, france and china. they will evacuate their diplomats by air on military transport planes. we also know from the statement, the saudi mission was evacuated by port and then by air. we will keep you in all

then by air. we will keep you in all the details. this is bbc news. hello. after the abundance of blue skies many saw through the week, the weekend is already looking different. a lot more cloudy out there. there will be some rain at times, not for everyone. one or two spots will stay dry. but the general trend, especially later this weekend, is for colder air to arrive. now, at the moment, we've got two main rain bearing clumps of cloud, one to the south, mainly to the southwest. and this one here, which across southern scotland, northern ireland, far north of england, continues to produce rain through the afternoon, turning a bit lighter and patchier never quite reaching some of the central belt. and here northwards plenty of sunshine for most better cloud lingering around the murray firth and sutherland warmest again 16 degrees out towards the west of scotland. but the winds will be picking up some rain in wales, the south west later, but central eastern parts of england, a brighter and milder day than yesterday.

now this evening will overnight rain from wales. south west will spread its way erratically across other parts of england and wales before fading the rain in southern scotland. northern ireland starts to pizza out but some heavier showers into the northeast of scotland later. get any clear skies, could be a few mist and fog patches and it will be a chilly start to tomorrow. but by and large, for tomorrow, again, lots of cloud frost free. and for those heading to the marathon, expect rain. i'm slightly optimistic. whilst you're waiting, you might avoid the worst of that rain, but the rain will be setting in for the start of the race and that rain will spread across parts of the east midlands, lincolnshire, east anglia and parts of yorkshire. some heavier showers to the west of that, but some western coast will have a brighter day than today. certainly a brighter day in northern ireland, southern scotland, but northern scotland, a lot more cloud. and notice the temperatures, seven or eight degrees. it will be colder and a strong wind to go with it. widespread gales in the north of scotland through sunday and into monday. those northerly winds bringing the cold air southwards to all parts. so we'll all notice a chillier feel on monday. outbreaks of rain that overnight will be in northern ireland, spread towards wales,

south west and southern england during the day, a scattering of sunshine and showers further north and through northern england. scotland, the showers where they fall on the hills could be a little bit on the wintry side. and there's the temperatures for monday down and what you expect for the stage in late april, widely only around seven to ten or 11 degrees. as we go through monday night as well, we're going to see a widespread frost developing. not great news for the gardeners as we go into tuesday morning. that's how it's looking. i'll see you again soon. bye bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... sudan's army chief has agreed to secure evacuation of diplomats and nationals of a number of countries. fighting continues in the capital, khartoum, as another temporary truce between warring army factions fails. british politician dominic raab has hit out at what he calls "activist civil servants" after resigning as deputy prime minister over bullying claims. an inquiry concluded that he'd been aggressive towards staff, which he denies. the us supreme court has ruled in favour of maintaining access to a widely—used abortion pill, while a legal appeal against its use is considered. it's a decision that has been welcomed by president biden. brazil's president has begun a visit to portugal and spain, with the aim of rebuilding his country's ties with europe.