live from london, this is bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: the uk prime minister confirms that british diplomats and their families have been evacuated from sudan in what he calls a "rapid" and "complex" operation. while the us military has sent three chinook helicopters to evacuate its embassy staff from khartoum, a french official says that around 100 people of multiple nationalities have been evacuated after a "complicated" rescue operation. alarm blares and this was the alarm that sounded on almost every uk smartphone earlier — part of the new emergency alert system being tested by the uk government. the dutch siffan hassan and the kenyan kelvin kiptum have won the race for female and male

categories in the london marathon. hello, welcome to the programme. we begin in north—east africa. british diplomats and their families have been airlifted to safety from the sudanese capital, khartoum, as fighting between rival factions of the army enters a second week. the ministry of defence has confirmed embassy staff were removed under the cover of darkness. the united states has carried out a similar operation. there's no word yet on how other british nationals are supposed to leave. with the latest here's our africa correspondent andrew harding. a series of dramatic rescue

missions. among those successfully lifted out of sudan after a week of terror, british embassy staff and theirfamilies. terror, british embassy staff and their families.— their families. 0ver1200 people contributed _ their families. 0ver1200 people contributed to _ their families. 0ver1200 people contributed to this _ their families. 0ver1200 people contributed to this operation. it | contributed to this operation. it was dangerous and precarious but none the less we managed to use two types of aircraft are going, collect residence and throw them out to safety. residence and throw them out to safe . . ~ u, ., , safety. earlier, american military aircraft had _ safety. earlier, american military aircraft had landed _ safety. earlier, american military aircraft had landed inside - safety. earlier, american military aircraft had landed inside the - safety. earlier, american military aircraft had landed inside the us| aircraft had landed inside the us embassy to rescue nearly 100 people. diplomats from france were also bought out, although their convoy reportedly came under fire. like them, british embassy staff had to run a deadly through the streets. photos here from another convoy going to the court on the red sea coast. there is a clear pecking order for these rescues.

coast. there is a clear pecking orderfor these rescues. with foreign diplomats at the front of the queue, while others are left behind. b5 the queue, while others are left behind. �* , ., ~ the queue, while others are left behind. a ., ,, ., , behind. as i talk to people, there seems to be _ behind. as i talk to people, there seems to be a — behind. as i talk to people, there seems to be a growing _ behind. as i talk to people, there seems to be a growing sense - behind. as i talk to people, there i seems to be a growing sense that sudanese and expats alike are desperate to get out and there is a concern that as the city starts to empty, the fighting will get more bloody if indeed that is possible, which of course is the nightmare scenario for those of us left behind. ~ , , �* , behind. why is it the british government _ behind. why is it the british government is _ behind. why is it the british government is prioritising i behind. why is it the british - government is prioritising diplomats over ordinary british citizens who may be trapped in sudan? the diplomats _ may be trapped in sudan? the diplomats that _ may be trapped in sudan? the diplomats that were working in the british_ diplomats that were working in the british embassy in khartoum have been _ british embassy in khartoum have been unable to discharge their functions— been unable to discharge their functions because of the violence in that city— functions because of the violence in that city is— functions because of the violence in that city is in order to continue to protect— that city is in order to continue to protect british nationals, we will of course — protect british nationals, we will of course be enhancing our teams in the region — of course be enhancing our teams in the reuion. �* ., ., , of course be enhancing our teams in the region-— the region. amid all of this, no hint of a ceasefire. _ the region. amid all of this, no hint of a ceasefire. quite - the region. amid all of this, no hint of a ceasefire. quite the l

hint of a ceasefire. quite the opposite. there are growing fears that sudan's deadly power struggle is set to intensify. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. the british defence secretary, ben wallace, says sudan was on the path to peace and hopes that can resume. 0ur involvement is obviously limited to trying to engage for the safety of our british nationals but, ultimately, what we want is for peace to return. there was originally a peace programme where two factions, the, obviously, the sudan armed forces and another military faction were working towards integration. that broke down and that's what's caused the conflict and we both urge those parties very much to get back to the talks and back to peace. and, you know, sudan, it was on the right path, and i think we need to continue to support that whatever way we can and i know that the un and the international community will be doing their best. let's get more analysis from our

diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley. 0n the evacuation, what we know from british government officials is that 1200 military personnel from the army, the navy and the raf were involved in evacuating diplomats and their families. we don't have an exact number. we think in the tens. as you heard in andrew's report there, the reason that is being given is that diplomats have had specific threats against them, but british government officials are still saying that the safety and protection of british nationals is a top priority. what's less clear is what's going to be done for them, because you heard in andrew's report he was speaking to one british national, the bbc is hearing from others, that they are getting increasingly frustrated and fearful about what's going to happen to them. but what james cleverly, the foreign secretary, has said is that diplomats in sudan were unable to fulfil their functions, their duties in khartoum so they have

now been withdrawn. the uk ambassador in khartoum was already in the uk and there is now, the government says, a crisis response centre that is operating 2a hours a day, but what we don't know is what are the options for the british nationals other than the advice they are being giving at the moment which is to stay put, to stay indoors and to register with the embassy. but when i spoke to the foreign office yesterday, they were not able to give me any numbers of how many people have already registered for them and i think there is little comfort for them in this evacuation of diplomats because they don't know what they're going to do now and there are no british consular staff now left in khartoum. well, some more information for those british nationals that caroline wasjust mentioning. the uk's foreign offices

has tweeted. .. it goes on to say... the bbc understands a second cobra meeting is planned for later today to discuss the government's response to the ongoing situation in sudan. cobra gathered this morning too. the prime minister, the foreign secretary and others are involved in international efforts to coordinate the evacuation of western nationals. the former uk ambassador to sudan sir nicolas kay explained the difficulties residents of khartoum are facing. it is thejoining of it is the joining of the blue it is thejoining of the blue nile and the white isle, so it is a complicated geography involving bridges linking different parts of the city together. bridges are easily controlled and will be controlled now by either the

sudanese armed forces or the rapid support forces, so there is difficult points and checkpoints to get across and of course the international airport in khartoum is right slap bang in the centre of town, residentialarea, buta right slap bang in the centre of town, residential area, but a couple of blocks away from the british embassy and the international airport is in a contested and battlefield and damaged, so that is difficult. i can quite understand why the advice at the moment is keep your head down, stay at home, but it is no comfort to those who are having to do it. the trauma and the horror of hearing the gunfire and the rockets and the explosions.

colonel richard kemp was the commander of british forces in afghanistan in 2003. he explained how the evacuation might have played out. we know the americans evacuated their embassy staff and family from a nearby to beauty and i think it is quite likely we did the same thing and probably took them from djibouti. whether there is a benefit of keeping them in the region or moving them back to london depending hopefully eventual restoration of the diplomatic facilities in the sudan itself. let's speak to our correspondent merchuma who is following developments from the kenyan capital nairobi. very good evening to you. what is the very latest on the ground you are hearing?— the very latest on the ground you are hearin: ? , ., ., ., are hearing? very good evening from nairobi. are hearing? very good evening from nairobi- like — are hearing? very good evening from nairobi. like you _ are hearing? very good evening from nairobi. like you say, _ are hearing? very good evening from nairobi. like you say, we _ are hearing? very good evening from nairobi. like you say, we have - are hearing? very good evening from

nairobi. like you say, we have been. nairobi. like you say, we have been following the happenings in sudan the whole day and as of now, what people are just talking about and concerned about is the evacuations. everyone has been rushing in to sudan to bring out their nationals from the us to saudi arabia to the eu, to the uk, tojapan, there are lots of aeroplanes and flights that are landing in a djibouti just waiting to go into khartoum to bring people from other nationalities out, but the big question remains what happens to the people of sudan who are remaining behind. and there has been a lot of concern that even as everybody talks about a ceasefire, it was mostly unfortunately to allow the diplomats to get out because nothing much has been talked of when it comes to humanitarian passage of reaching to the people who are vulnerable, who need medical aid, thousands are injured. we have hundreds who are dead, we have children who need medical

assistance, people are running out of supplies, but very little talk about getting food to these people. so a lot of concern at there and also for other nationals. we have students in sudan from nigeria, so many countries who have not heard from their countries. all the while, fighting is being reported but only in khartoum but also in other regions, including darfur. —— reported not only in khartoum. children have been killed and it is a very volatile situation. things are happening so fast that we are keeping an eye on it.— keeping an eye on it. let's talk more about — keeping an eye on it. let's talk more about how _ keeping an eye on it. let's talk more about how this _ keeping an eye on it. let's talk more about how this is - keeping an eye on it. let's talk| more about how this is affecting sudanese people on the ground. when this fighting started just over a week ago, some people were in schools in the time, in their offices, they locked the doors and sheltered where they could and many people that we spoke to on the bbc

said they had enough food and water to last them a few days. those few days have now passed. how are people able to get food, water, resources and medical care that they need? there is no way that people are getting these things. people are now rationing and really squeezing what they have into really small portions for them to stretch them the day is longer. we have had reports of people out of sudan trying to reach out so my father, my grandfather is here and the last time we had contact was four days ago. he does not have water, can someone get out to him? we are seeing so many of these calls and that aside, humanitarian agencies, they like on world food programme, save the children, that provide both food and medical aid, children, that provide both food and medicalaid, have children, that provide both food and medical aid, have been folding or closing shop in sudan because of the volatility of the situation, so again making the health care system and the humanitarian issue even worse because the agencies are not

providing food any more, the hospitals have been looted so people not getting medical aid and it is a sorry situation for a country that had so much hope that something was at least going to happen and now all thatis at least going to happen and now all that is just at least going to happen and now all that isjust going at least going to happen and now all that is just going down the drain. all the efforts they have made in the past few months. qm. all the efforts they have made in the past few months.— the past few months. 0k, mercy followin: the past few months. 0k, mercy following developments - the past few months. 0k, mercy following developments for - the past few months. 0k, mercy following developments for us, | the past few months. 0k, mercy - following developments for us, thank you very much. just over three hours ago, almost every smartphone in the uk sounded an alarm. alarm blares the british government was testing a new emergency alert system, which it says will be used to warn people about serious risks that could threaten lives, such as flooding, wildfires, or even a terror attack. 0ur our new troubles has been speaking to people in central london to hear their reviews of this testament. —— our news reporter. when that alert sounded out 0xford when that alert sounded out oxford circus which is already a busy place

to be in central london, everyone paused, there was a loud sound, people looked at their phones, they were curious, swiping to see exactly what was going on. there was not mass panic, more curiosity. a little bit of confusion especially amongst some tourists who are getting the alerts on their phones even though they are not uk residents, so we had a range of reactions her. many people say this is a good idea, they would prefer to be alerted to severe events, others that say it was a little anxiety inducing and i will bring in a couple of ladies here who have that view. they were having lunch when this alert came through. tell us a bit about what your reaction was to the alert and the people around you.— reaction was to the alert and the people around you. yes, i personally suffer from — people around you. yes, i personally suffer from anxiety _ people around you. yes, i personally suffer from anxiety so _ people around you. yes, i personally suffer from anxiety so suddenly - people around you. yes, i personally suffer from anxiety so suddenly notl suffer from anxiety so suddenly not remembering the alarm was going to go off, having it go off at so loudly and abruptly really put me on edge and yes, it in at the middle of the restaurant it was chaos, everyone's line was going off at different times, it was not a fun moment. ~ ., , ., , different times, it was not a fun moment. ~ ., i. , , moment. would you find this useful? would it help — moment. would you find this useful? would it help you _ moment. would you find this useful? would it help you in _ moment. would you find this useful? would it help you in the _ moment. would you find this useful? would it help you in the case - moment. would you find this useful?

would it help you in the case of- would it help you in the case of emergency, severe weather alert? i emergency, severe weatheralert? i think it word about they came at different— think it word about they came at different times and i think that is what _ different times and i think that is what caused the disruptions i think it would _ what caused the disruptions i think it would be — what caused the disruptions i think it would be better to have clarity about _ it would be better to have clarity about the — it would be better to have clarity about the timings and with the tourists. — about the timings and with the tourists, lots of people eating had no idea _ tourists, lots of people eating had no idea what it was for.— tourists, lots of people eating had no idea what it was for. generally a aood idea no idea what it was for. generally a good idea at _ no idea what it was for. generally a good idea at so _ no idea what it was for. generally a good idea at so more _ no idea what it was for. generally a good idea at so more education - good idea at so more education around that? and you said you heard about this information, tell us more. . about this information, tell us more. , ., ., ., , more. on instagram there were lots of mixed messages _ more. on instagram there were lots of mixed messages going _ more. on instagram there were lots of mixed messages going round, . more. on instagram there were lots i of mixed messages going round, being told it— of mixed messages going round, being told it was— of mixed messages going round, being told it was the one thing and then saying _ told it was the one thing and then saying there was an underlying possibility it could be for something else and people were being advised _ something else and people were being advised to— something else and people were being advised to turn their phones off, so ifeel— advised to turn their phones off, so ifeel like _ advised to turn their phones off, so i feel like that created some confusion, so be clarity about that moving _ confusion, so be clarity about that moving forward would be useful. that ou have moving forward would be useful. that you have it. — moving forward would be useful. that you have it. the _ moving forward would be useful. trisgt you have it, the review from oxford street. we have a lot of people who say it was good, people confused, people asking for a bit more clarity but generally a good test all round.

twitter has reinstated its verification ticks for many well—known users, without them having to pay a fee. it comes after owner, elon musk, revoked what had been a free service earlier this week. beyonce is among the stars to have now had blue ticks restored. mr musk has admitted that he has personally paid for some people to retain their verifications. in the uk, the labour party has suspended the mp diane abbott after she suggested jewish people and travellers suffer from "prejudice" rather than "racism". ms abbott apologised for her letter to the observer newspaper, stating it was an initial draft sent by mistake, and acknowledged that jewish people have suffered what she called the "monstrous effects" of racism. 0ur political correspondent helen catt has more on the content of the letter. so, this was a letter that appeared in the observer newspaper this morning and it was in reply to another article that had been in the paper before which related to race. now, diane abbott, she was the first black woman to be elected

to the house of commons. she is a decades—long campaigner for racialjustice and she was responding to this article and in it, in her letter, she said that, that she drew a distinction, or appeared to draw a distinction, between racism and prejudice. i'm just trying to find the words here for you, the exact words. she said thatjewish, irish and traveller people undoubtedly experience prejudice. she said this is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. she then went on to say it was true that many types of white people with points of difference such as redheads can experience this prejudice, but they are not all their lives subject to racism. now, she has since withdrawn that. she says she wholly withdraws that and has apologised for any anguish caused. she said, as you explained, an error had risen in an initial draft being sent but said that that was no excuse. she said that racism takes many forms and that it was completely undeniable thatjewish people have suffered its monstrous effects,

as had irish people, travellers and many others. the labour party has, though, suspended her from the parliamentary labour party pending an investigation. they described the comments as deeply offensive and wrong. there was a period of time when the labour party was deeply divided over the issue of anti—semitism, about prejudice againstjewish people, and when sir keir starmer became the leader he made a promise that he was going to root it out and, in effect, stamp out anti—semitism within the labour party, and he spent a large part, actually, of the last couple of years trying to do that, so in that sense it's not...surprising the labour party has gone down that route and moved quite swiftly to suspend ms abbott while they investigate what is happening and what was behind this letter. 0fsted, britain's office for standards in education, has defended the use of one word descriptions of school performance

following the suicide of a primary head whose school had been downgraded to "inadequate". chief inspector amanda spielman acknowledged there was a "culture of fear" within schools about 0fsted inspections but she said there was no reason to doubt the findings of a report on caversham primary school before the death of ruth perry. here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. ruth perry took her life while waiting for an 0fsted report. her school, caversham primary, wasjudged inadequate. inspectors had concerns over systems to keep children safe. today, the chief inspector stood by thatjudgment. i think the findings were secure and i think the inspection team worked with the professionalism and sensitivity that i would expect from our inspectors. have you any concerns at all about what happened during that inspection, when her school went from outstanding to inadequate? from what i have seen, i don't have any reason to doubt the inspection.

ruth's sisterjulia told me last week she wants change. today she said this response was profoundly disappointing. schools are inspected on many factors. at the end, there is one overalljudgment. many are now questioning the fairness of that approach. the chief inspector said that's a decision for ministers. everyjudgment in the system has a use at the moment. they are used, notjust for parents, but also for government, both in allocating support and in deciding where interventions are necessary. so it would have to be a bigger, wider reform of the education system. keeping children safe, record keeping, training is important. but ministers suggest the emphasis could be revisited and 0fsted has promised to revisit schools more quickly. teachers in england have been on strike over pay. another strike is due next thursday. there is little doubt

that they are disillusioned. on top of that, unions say the chief inspector has misjudged the mood. i thought it was very notable that amanda spielman accepted thatl 0fsted created a culture of fear in schools. - i thought that was the first time that that has been accepted. . how that then squares - with herjudgment that it's a positive and affirming experience, i am very puzzled about that. - a primary school like thousands of others, but the inspection here has provoked a national debate. an inquest will look at the events around ruth perry's death later this year. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. kenya's kelvin kiptum has won the elite men's race in the london marathon. he ran the world's second fastest marathon ever. in the elite women's race, the dutch 0lympic long—distance champion sifan hassan pulled off an impressive performance to win in her debut marathon. 0ur sports reporter matt graveling

is at the finish line. hundreds of people now filing past us here, just come past buckingham palace and down the mall having completed 26.2 miles. as you say, it's been a day of stories here. the wheelchair race, first and foremost, came through. marcel hug from switzerland, he won the third london marathon in a row. and then just after that the women's was a sprint finish, one second between first and second place. the men's race was won by kelvin kiptum from kenya in a course record time, the second fastest marathon ever run by a man. and how about the women's race? won by sifan hassan in the most amazing fashion. she's an olympic track star. she won the 5000m and the 10,000m in tokyo. but she kicked in in the final 100m here to take her very, very first london marathon — and first marathon ever.

i'm so happy that i finished second! i can't believe i won, like, the most big marathon on the earth. this is, like, london, you know? it's my first marathon and i win london. like, it feels like a dream. well, joining me now is ivo the comedian. you've just come across the finish line. hello. you were just surprised that we said this is live on bbc news. it's live! it's live. and, yeah, i've just talked about my nipples chafing on bbc one. well, thank goodness nobody�*s having their lunch right now. great! but how did you find it? an amazing experience. what a bland comment! "an amazing experience. " very tiring. i saved my playlist till the end. that was a good decision. er, i... my brother ran it as well. we bumped into each other halfway round the course. that was a huge moment. i gave my dad a big hug. i saw a friend from school — rupert! he cheered me on twice.

he said, "come on the robins!" i'm a swindon town fan. there were so many great moments for me. this is a phenomenal stream of consciousness, so thank you very much for that. well, i'm sorry for not having more polish at this delicate moment. can ijust ask, who are you raising money for, ivo? i'm sorry, i'm raising money for the ms society. that's far more important than my friend rupert from school. my mother has ms and my family, we're doing various runs for the ms society. fantastic cause. and i'm an ambassador, so i've simply got to keep doing these runs, but, i'll be honest, today, i've just done it in under three hours, which was basically my life's goal, so, you know, i'm very proud to do it for the ms society, but selfishly for my ego it's also a big day — ivo, congratulations. thank you so much. i'll let you go and enjoy a post—run pint. here we go. everyone coming past us now, all raising money like ivo for some fantastic charities. join us here on the mall in london throughout the rest of the day and we'll be hearing a few more fantastic stories about people raising money for charity. back to you. the editor of a german magazine which used artificial intelligence

to generate an apparent interview with the formula 1 legend michael schumacher has been sacked. die aktuelle ran a front cover with the headline "michael schumacher, the first interview". schumacher, a seven—time world champion, suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013 and has not been seen in public since. the magazine's publisher has apologised. prince louis turns five today, which can mean only one thing — a new royal picture has been released. it shows the young prince being pushed in a wheelbarrow by his mother, the princess of wales. it's one of two pictures the family have shared — the other is a close—up of a very happy, birthday boy. that is it from us for now. there is much more of calls on the bbc news website or of course the bbc news app. you can subscribe to the bbc twitter feeds as well and you can

find me on twitter, i am @richpreston. thank you very much for your company, goodbye. hello. quite a marked change to come in a weatherfor quite a marked change to come in a weather for the start of the new week. forthe weather for the start of the new week. for the weekend, most have seen a cloud and rain at times. actually looking drier, more settled to start the new week and it will be turning remarkably colder. this area of low pressure that brought the weekend unsettled weather heads off towards the continent from monday. as it pulls out of the way, we engage a northerly airstream and arctic airfront all the engage a northerly airstream and arctic air front all the way south across the uk through monday and it will stick around for tuesday and wednesday as well. winds gusting 4 or 5, 50 five miles per hour around the coast of northern and eastern scotland into the small hours of monday. the cold air pushing on,

turning showers increasingly does no. south, some rain for wales in the south—west of england overnight. a trust scotland and elsewhere we should see a single figures. —— a frost for scotland. monday daytime, that arctic air gradually running its way south. because the milder air just its way south. because the milder airjust about its way south. because the milder air just about clings its way south. because the milder airjust about clings on to the south which is tied in with this area of rain moving across into the south—east for the afternoon. that northerly wind, really adding to the cold feel as the arctic air posters then. we will still see double figures in the south of the uk but highs ofjust 6 degrees in aberdeen but we have to factor in that strong winds, particular monday afternoon, and for aberdeen it is going to fall closer to freezing. perhaps they went to becoming just a little light as we had to was tuesday and wednesday and that comes into play for monday night. as the wind becomes lighter, because skies adapt to care and a widespread frost

developing. gardeners, beware, any tender plants at the moment will be particularly vulnerable. winds that fall alight as we start to see this ridge of high pressure building for tuesday and wednesday. still a northerly breeze but not as strong as it will be to start the week. still if you wintry showers for northern and eastern scotland but for tuesday quite a lot of fine weather. sunshine turning hazy as the day plays out. temperatures are just about in double figures through central and southern areas of the uk but with the wind a little lighter, it should not go quite as cold as it does on monday. wednesday a very similar story will stop later in the week becoming more unsettled but milder again.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the uk prime minister confirms that british diplomats and theirfamilies have been evacuated from sudan in what he calls a �*rapid' and �*complex' evacuation. it's been confirmed that the evacuees will be heading back to the united kingdom, after first making a stop in cyprus. while the us military has sent three chinook helicopters to evacuate its embassy staff from khartoum. a french official says that around 100 people of multiple nationalities have been evacuated after a �*complicated' rescue operation. in the uk, labour opposition mp diane abbott has been suspended pending an investigation into a letter she wrote about racism for the british newspaper the observer.

the dutch sifan hassan and the kenyan kelvin kiptum have