live from london. this is bbc news. the evacuation of foreign nationals from sudan gets under way, as fighting in the capital, khartoum, continues for a second week. this was an evacuation ship arriving injeddah. the australian entertainer barry humphries dies at the age of 89. he was best known for performances of his alter egos dame edna everage and sir les patterson. the australian prime minister anthony albanese pays tribute, describing barry humphries as "one—of—a—kind" and "gifted." kenyan police say they've exhumed 21 bodies following an investigation into a religious group, whose followers were allegedly urged to fast themselves to death. and eyes are on hollywood star—owned wrexham,

which hopes to return to the english football league for the first time in 15 years. hello, and welcome to the programme. we start in sudan, where the army says foreign nationals from the uk, as well as the united states, france and china, are to be evacuated "in the coming hours". these are saudi state tv pictures of a boat reported to be carrying saudi citizens and some other nationals arriving injeddah, across the red sea from sudan. other ships are said to be due to dock injeddah later. the head of sudan's military agreed to facilitate the evacuation, as fighting in the capital khartoum enters its second week. the saudi broadcaster says the evacuees were carried in a convoy of vehicles to port sudan from where they boarded ships tojeddah.

the most intense fighting in sudan has been taking place in the capital khartoum, where explosions and gunfire have been heard in the past few hours. the un estimates that at least 400 people have been killed across sudan since the fighting began a week ago. the conflict is the result of a power struggle between the national army, led by general abdel fattah al—burhan, and the rsf paramilitary group led by general mohamed hamdan dagalo. the two men had been sharing power since leading a coup in 2021, but recently disagreed on how sudan should be ruled going forward. we can speak to the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal, who's following developments from addis ababa in ethiopia. welcome to you. thank you for being with us. let's start with the fighting and the latest attempt at a ceasefire have failed, so what do we know about what is happening on the ground in khartoum? the know about what is happening on the ground in khartoum?— know about what is happening on the

ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued, ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued. and _ ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued, and we _ ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued, and we have _ ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued, and we have heard - ground in khartoum? the fighting has continued, and we have heard reports from residents that the city was inundated with signs of explosion and gunfire and air strikes. what we understand is that the the much—needed ceasefire is again being broken. this is the first time that a truce agreed by both parties has been broken. both parties, the army and the rapid support forces, the rsf, are blaming each other and accusing each other of using the ceasefire for reinforcing themselves. this means that many people are trapped, many civilians are trapped in the city of khartoum and are unlikely to get safe passage out of the conflict zones. yes. out of the conflict zones. yes, there were — out of the conflict zones. yes, there were governments - out of the conflict zones. yes, there were governments that| out of the conflict zones. yes, there were governments that were hoping to be able to evacuate their foreign nationals, weren't there?

indeed. evacuation plans were not going to be an easy task to begin with, but there were moments of hope earlier today when the army said that they were willing to facilitate and coordinate evacuation plans are foreign nationals, foreign diplomats. that doesn't materialise as hoped. the fighting has a nature of fluidity, which is to say that there are moments of silence, moments of pause, which can be misconstrued as a lull in the violence, but moments later the gunfire sounds return. this makes it very difficult for any citizens they are to move around the city or to leave these conflict zones. also for foreign countries to plan and execute their evacuation plans. what execute their evacuation plans. what about the humanitarian situation? there are many people who are struggling to get hold of food and water, aren't there?—

struggling to get hold of food and water, aren't there? indeed. we are enterin: water, aren't there? indeed. we are entering into — water, aren't there? indeed. we are entering into the _ water, aren't there? indeed. we are entering into the second _ water, aren't there? indeed. we are entering into the second week- water, aren't there? indeed. we are entering into the second week of. entering into the second week of this violence, and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating as each day goes. we understand that a large portion of eight facilities and hospitals are not functioning properly, and a lot of people are not getting enough access to food, water and electricity. with the fighting continuing for days, many people's food stocks are depleting, and they're not getting any chance to increase their stocks stopped also, people who need medical support, who need medical supplies, are in short of the supplies. the humanitarian situation is increasingly worsening, and many humanitarian agencies are either suspending their operations there, or they are operating in a very limited fashion. we

or they are operating in a very limited fashion.— or they are operating in a very limited fashion. ~ ., ., , ., , limited fashion. we are hoping to be live in khartoum _ limited fashion. we are hoping to be live in khartoum and _ limited fashion. we are hoping to be live in khartoum and speaking - limited fashion. we are hoping to be live in khartoum and speaking to - limited fashion. we are hoping to be live in khartoum and speaking to an | live in khartoum and speaking to an emergency gp and doctor to get the experiences of the past few weeks. the australian comedian barry humphries, best known for his character dame edna everage, has died at the age of 89. he'd been receiving treatment at a hospital in sydney following hip surgery. barry humphries was a leading figure on the british comedy scene with his many satirical characters. his family said he never lost his brilliant mind and unique wit. 0ur arts correspondent, david silitto, looks back at his life. dame edna everage! hello, possums! dame edna always said she was born with a priceless gift — the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others. i am weightless and you could do with losing a little. success has gone to your

jowls, russell harty! oh, you're being very, very cruel! for more than 50 years, she took pleasure in saying the unsayable. i've had a little work done, but... have you? ..not quite as much as some of us here! laughter and applause no... no, but the thing is, you are still recognisable, that's what i like. laughter she was so familiar it was easy to forget that behind the glasses and frocks was a man called barry humphries. he was, offstage, a cultured, art loving collector of rare books. that's me standing outside... oh, one of the big clocks they've got out there! edna was a character from his student days in australia. when he moved to britain, he began to develop the character on shows such as late night line—up, with joan bakewell. he came on to television

on late night line—up, and we didn't know what to make of him. we thought he was a very dear man, a very brilliant man, quite clearly. we knew that if you gave him a chance, he would make it. it was the beginning of a long friendship. edna became ever more brash and outrageous, but the man behind the wig was urbane, cultured and loyal. good heavens, it'sjoan bakewell. hello, darling! what the dickens are you doing here? the world in which i don't have the friendship of barry humphries is really painful. he was so resilient and energetic and loving. and direct, there was a huge personality. once you were exposed to it and enveloped by it, it was wonderful. so, that is a great absence in my life now. barry humphries was the absolute opposite of another of his characters, the profoundly uncouth sir les patterson.

but sir les and dame edna were both testament to an extraordinary comic brain... what is it, a little choker, darling? ..to the brash housewife superstar. gorgeous, darling. did it all come off the one chandelier? laughter and applause for many, edna was so real, so engaging, it was easy to forget that the wit, the charm, the sheer audacity was all down to the brilliant comic mind of a man called barry humphries. i've been draped! # my wonderful, wonderful niceness # # with you.# the comedian barry humphries who's died at the age of 89. among those paying tribute to barry humphries is australian—british author kathy lette. she tweeted this picture of them together,

and kathy spoke to me earlier. he's been my dearfriend for over a0 years. his house backs onto minejust over there, so whenever he gets home from some overseas trip he would e—mail me and say, "kathy, dear, iam poised at your rear entrance," or something suitably risque and wicked, because he was just such a rascal. we are going to miss his mischievous wit so very much. tell us about your friendship and how it influenced your own writings. first of all, i think one of the things that made barry such a brilliant comedian was his australian sensibilities. he didn't sufferfrom an irony deficiency, he was very caustic and sceptical, chronic scepticemia, but he wasn't a pessimist, he was actually an optimist. he didn't think optimism was an eye disease. it is that lovely mix, all mixed in with the australian sense of humour, which is drier than an aa clinic, that created this genius that is barry humphries. barry was many people.

there was his wonderful creation, dame edna, and he would say to me when dame edna was on stage, as her manager, barry humphries, he would be saying, i felt like i was standing in the wings looking at her on stage, thinking, "mm, that was a very clever line, aren't you brilliant?" of course, it was him. so, there was dame edna, who had that incredible ability to elevate and annihilate at the same time. for example, when she had michael bolton on the programme and she said to michael bolton, "wow, aren't you a success? "you had nine hits this year." and michael wasjust puffing himself up, and she added, "on your website!" she good kind of give and slap at the same time.

she could kind of give and slap at the same time. then her was her cultural cachet, sir les, and then there was her cultural attache, sir les, who was brilliant at naming all the elephants, the herds of elephants in the room. then there was sandy stone, very poignant character, and then there was the real barry, the man behind the mask, who was so erudite. les patterson thought erudite was some kind of glue, but barry was such an intellectual. he collected books, he has over 50,000 books. his shelves are just groaning. he was an art collector, incredibly intellectual. but also, as a friend, the most loving, loyal, kind person. his charm is more disarming than a un peacekeeping force. his charm was more disarming than a un peacekeeping force. and so witty, when he'd come round for dinner it was the wimbledon of wit, with one—liners just bouncing back and forth. guests reeling from quiplash, and he had what i call a black belt in tongue—fu, which is one of life's great gifts. let's return to the fighting in sudan. as we've been reporting, the city of khartoum is the epicentre of the conflict. you can see here all the locations of fighting verified byjournalists here at bbc news. in the centre of the map you can see the blue nile river which has the el mek nimr bridge

running over it. it links the downtown area of khartoum with khartoum north. just over to the west of that we can see an area of fighting — and that's very close to 0mdurman teaching hospital. mohamad abdalla is a practising gp and also works in the emergency department there. welcome to you. he joins me welcome to you. hejoins me now welcome to you. he joins me now from khartoum. there is a power outage at the moment, so you're talking to us by torchlight. thank you very much for being with us. he went to work last month day and have not returned since because of fears over your own personal safety. just take us through what happened on that monday? i through what happened on that monda ? ., ., monday? i will never forget what ha--ened monday? i will never forget what happened on _ monday? i will never forget what happened on that _ monday? i will never forget what happened on that monday. - monday? i will never forget what happened on that monday. i - monday? i will never forget what| happened on that monday. i went monday? i will never forget what. happened on that monday. i went to the hospital because i was scared to

come out. it was crowded, there was people everywhere, and on that day, there was no one on the street. it was very difficult. i went there, but two hours outside was never inside. there is enormous suffering. gunshot, being hit by fast moving object, in the light of that event, ob'ect, in the light of that event, i'm not sure if you can still hear me. _ i'm not sure if you can still hear me, we've _ i'm not sure if you can still hear me, we've just _ i'm not sure if you can still hear me, we've just had - i'm not sure if you can still hear me, we've just had an i i'm not sure if you can still. hear me, we've just had an issue with your camera. i'm going to keep trying in the hope that you can. we know that there has been fighting

around where you live. i want to play our viewer some sound that you have sent us of what is happening around you, so that we can hear and experience it remotely for ourselves. distant explosions distant explosions those are images that were sent from where he lives, just to illustrate the closeness of the sound of gunfire that is happening around him. we have lost the line to him. electricity is down at the moment where he is living, but he wanted to share his experiences. he was telling us that when he went on to work in the hospital last monday, the scenes were appalling. many people had

gunshot wounds, and many other signs of injuries. he was too terrified to stay, he had to leave. we know that lots of hospitals in khartoum have close completely because they can't be staffed, and it is to dangerous for people to get there. we have lost the line to the gp there, and we will try and get it back, because you want to talk to him some more about the situation on the ground. in the meantime, let's tell you about a story in madrid. two people have died and 12 people have been injured in a fire at a restaurant in the spanish capital, madrid. guy hedgecoe is in city and told us more about what happened: well, i'm standing in front of the restaurant, an italian restaurant, where last night at around 11:00

local time, around 30 people dining, according to eyewitness reports, a waiter was carrying a dish which had been set on fire on purpose for a flambe effect to one of the tables of the customers. and while he was delivering this dish. the flames from the dish he was taking set fire to some of the decor on the wall of the restaurant. and from there, the fire spread extremely quickly across the walls of the restaurant onto the ceiling. and as a result of that, the restaurant was evacuated, but two people died of their injuries. two men, one an employee of the restaurant, another a customer. another 12, as you say, were injured. and the fire services did arrive on the spot very quickly because there's a fire station just around the corner from here. and eyewitnesses have praised the way that they reacted to this tragedy. translation: they pulled out of burnin: translation: they pulled out of burning chair. _ translation: they pulled out of burning chair. there _ translation: they pulled out of burning chair. there was - translation: they pulled out of burning chair. there was a - translation: they pulled out of burning chair. there was a lot - translation: they pulled out of burning chair. there was a lot of. burning chair. there was a lot of smoke coming out. the truth is the

work of the fireman was incredible. they didn't hesitate to go in and start pulling people out. they pulled them out one by one. it took them a long time to get the last one out. at them a long time to get the last one out. �* . , them a long time to get the last one out. �* ., , ., . them a long time to get the last one out. ., .. out. a really horrific incident, what more — out. a really horrific incident, what more do _ out. a really horrific incident, what more do we _ out. a really horrific incident, what more do we know- out. a really horrific incident, what more do we know of- out. a really horrific incident, what more do we know of the out. a really horrific incident, - what more do we know of the victims of this fire?— of this fire? there are those 12 eo - le of this fire? there are those 12 peeple who — of this fire? there are those 12 people who were _ of this fire? there are those 12 people who were injured. - we know that one of those who was injured is in a critical condition in hospital. five others are also in hospital, in a serious condition. and then there are six more who are in a serious condition. that's what we know at the moment. that's what we've been told by the city hall authorities. but i think this has shocked people to see a fire like this in central madrid. people just aren't used to that, and certainly not used to seeing a fire in a restaurant like this. yeah, and i guess obviously

there is an investigation ongoing and we don't know what happened, but i think people might be surprised that people died in a fire like this, that it could happen so quickly that it would take people's lives? well, i think the irony of this is, you know, spain is used to fires, but it's used to rural fires, wildfires. just at the moment, we've been seeing fires in some areas of the country, in rural areas. and that's been a huge problem for the country over recent years in particular. but again, we're not used to seeing them in the middle of the city. this is the beginning of the sort of fire season, if you like. and the temperatures have been pretty high recently, and are expected to rise further. but i think people are in shockjust at the sheer speed with which this particularfire spread through what was a very very small restaurant here in the middle of the capital. police in kenya have found 21 bodies during an investigation

into a cult which allegedly urged followers to starve themselves to death. police say their search in this forested area near the coastal town of malindi will continue. the leader of the religious group known as good news international church, paul mackenzie, has been refused bail since he was detained a week ago. he has denied wrongdoing, and says the church was shut down several years ago. —— last year. our africa editor grant ferrett told me what else we know about the case. more now from our africa editor grant ferrett. paul mackenzie was first detained last month, when two children were found to have starved to death. he then appeared in court two weeks ago after four bodies were found. he said at the time that he had done nothing wrong, done nothing wrong, and the church had been shut down several years ago. since then, about a dozen people have been taken to hospital, some of them severely emaciated, and what police are doing now is checking land owned by mr mackenzie, the leader of the church, where they have so far uncovered 21 bodies.

they have been exhumed. it is not clear in what circumstances they have died, and that is what police will continue to investigate. the police called off their search today because of bad weather. there was heavy rain. they do say they expect to continue, and they expect to find more bodies. as i say, mr mackenzie himself, he has not been asked to enter a plea directly. he has said he has done nothing wrong, and his church was closed down some time ago. now let me bring you the score in a key football match, which could see the welsh club wrexham promoted to the english league, for the first time in 15 years. it's currently 1—1 at half time. the team have attracted fans from all over the world after being taken over by the hollywood stars, ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney. the pair are in wales to watch the game and say they're poised for a party. live now to washington to speak to maxine hughes, who narrated the docuseries chronicling the purchase and stewardship of wrexham afc — welcome to wrexham. great to see you. thank you very

much for being with us. it is half time, so we are not interrupting your viewing of the game. i understand your dad is from wrexham, so this is a story very close to your heart. tell us how a win and a promotion for the team would transform notjust the club, but also the town itself.— transform notjust the club, but also the town itself. wrexham is a kind of story _ also the town itself. wrexham is a kind of story of — also the town itself. wrexham is a kind of story of the _ also the town itself. wrexham is a kind of story of the underdog, - kind of story of the underdog, really. as you mentioned, my dad's family is from wrexham, and i remember growing up in north wales and always seeing wrexham and some were quite poor. even now, there are areas of wrexham which have some of the worst child poverty rate in europe. the story that we have been watching and has been unfolding over the last three years is just cop the hearts of the world. two stars from hollywood by this team, not only does the world see this football team rise to fame, but also this community in this town. it is a community in this town. it is a community that has stuck with this

football team through thick and thin. three years ago, this club was in the hands of the trust, and they didn't even have chairman before rob and ryan came in and took control of the club. just to see what's happening in the last few years, and today, if we go up, is the day that we have been waiting for four years, generations. i think the story of wrexham is something that everybody has got on board with, and today is such a big day for everybody involved. even people here in the us are watching, waiting and willing for them to move up. this i are watching, waiting and willing for them to move up.— are watching, waiting and willing for them to move up. as i said, you narrated the — for them to move up. as i said, you narrated the stocky _ for them to move up. as i said, you narrated the stocky series. - for them to move up. as i said, you narrated the stocky series. what. narrated the stocky series. what persuaded are interested to hollywood stars, ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney to take an interest there? , ., , , ., there? the stories started with rob mcelhenney — there? the stories started with rob mcelhenney and _ there? the stories started with rob mcelhenney and the _ there? the stories started with rob mcelhenney and the producing - mcelhenney and the producing partners, who are looking for a

story like this. humphrey himself is a realfootballing story like this. humphrey himself is a real footballing fan. story like this. humphrey himself is a realfootballing fan. they story like this. humphrey himself is a real footballing fan. they were looking at different teams, and the story of wrexham caught their eye. to buy a football team, rob realised that you needed somebody else on board with some hollywood money, which is where ryan reynolds came in. they had to bid for the team, they have to persuade the trust and they have to persuade the trust and the local community to let them by the local community to let them by the team, which they were incredibly nervous about at the time. of course, the rest is history. i think for them it is a story that touch their hearts straightaway because of their hearts straightaway because of the community. before rob, rob grew up the community. before rob, rob grew up in philadelphia, and there are parts of philadelphia when you look out that kind of remind him of wrexham. the working—class town that needed a boost, and a community that have stuck by a sports team that have stuck by a sports team that have been the heart of the community that has kept them going. for both of them, it was a story about

people. then, of course, wales, too. they have fallen in love with wales, with the welsh language. it has just been something that, for both of them, has given them so much joy. been something that, for both of them, has given them so muchjoy. i don't think when they bought this team they realised that they would become quite so involved in wrexham and wales, but overnight they have become honorary welsh people. there are alwa s become honorary welsh people. there are always tweeting _ become honorary welsh people. there are always tweeting pictures of themselves there on the stands, but what about in america? they have reached across the pond, haven't they? there are now quite a few us supporters of wrexham.— supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes. it supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes- it is _ supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes. it is really _ supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes. it is really funny, - supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes. it is really funny, i- supporters of wrexham. there are tonnes. it is really funny, i have . tonnes. it is really funny, i have lived here for several years, they use to proceed to people, i come from wales, and nobody would know where that was. they would hear me speaking welsh to my children are not know what the language was. now, when i say wales, they say, oh, wrexham. there's been such an impact over here. the team themselves will be over here playing injune as

well. be over here playing in june as well. , ., ., , , ., , well. they have really put not 'ust wrexham well. they have really put not 'ust wrexham but fl well. they have really put not 'ust wrexham but wales i well. they have really put not 'ust wrexham but wales on i well. they have really put not 'ust wrexham but wales on the h well. they have really put notjust wrexham but wales on the map. | well. they have really put notjust - wrexham but wales on the map. great talk you, hope you get the results you want. that is it for me. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @samanthatvnews. hello. in the last week, many of us have had a taste of spring from the weather temperatures in the mid—teens, even the low 20s from the weather, temperatures in the mid—teens, even the low 20s across western scotland. in the next few days though, spring taking something of a back—seat as colder arctic air returns to the uk. through sunday, low pressure drifting eastwards across the uk. some outbreaks of rain, some cloud. but later on in the day, on the rear of that area of low pressure, we pick up gale force winds across northern scotland, northerly winds, arctic air being ushered in that sinks all the way south across the uk through the early part of the new week. as we move into the small hours of sunday, some cloud drifting across the uk, some further rain for scotland, for northern ireland and some heavier, more persistent, rain working its way in to the south

coast as the night comes to a close. but with a lot of cloud around and the breeze, it will be a mild enough night. through sunday daytime, some quite persistent rain setting in across the south east of england and east anglia. showers elsewhere across england and wales. a brighter day for northern ireland in comparison to saturday. cloudy with some outbreaks of rain across the north east of scotland. and you can already see the temperatures coming down here. but the most dramatic effects will be felt through the earliest part of the new week with those particularly strong winds on into monday. and then the winds ease a little bit perhaps for tuesday and wednesday, but the colder air sits right the way across the uk. on monday, showers pushing down into scotland, northern england falling snow to low levels i think across parts of scotland. a hill feature i think for northern england. further south it's rain but it will feel chillier for all. these are the temperatures that you'd read on a thermometer, so you can already see they're down on the figures from last week. but if we factor in the wind for somewhere like aberdeen, the daytime high, when you step outside, will feel closer to around

the two degree mark. the wind easing, i think, a little for tuesday and wednesday, but with easing winds monday night into tuesday, clear skies and cold air look out for a pretty widespread frost developing. gardeners with tender plants out definitely something to watch out for. and then looking further ahead into the week, tuesday and wednesday, quite a lot of fine weather around. but on the chillier side, more unsettled to end the week. but then it looks like we'll see some milder air returning once again.

this is bbc news, the headlines the evacuation of foreign nationals from sudan has begn, as fighting in the capital, khartoum, continues for a second week. this was a ship arriving injeddah carrying saudi citizens and some otherforeign nationals. the australian entertainer, barry humphries has died at the age of 89. he was best known for performances of his alter egos dame edna everage and sir les patterson. the australian prime minister anthony albanese has paid tribute, saying barry humphries was �*one—of—a—kind' and �*gifted'. fellow comedians have joined in the tributes describing him as �*subversive, mischievous and savagely funny�*. a deadly restaurant fire in madrid. two people have died and at least ten others are injured.