tonight at ten — a rescue operation for british nationals fleeing the violence and conflict in sudan is finally underway. the first of three special flights has landed in larnaca in cyprus, another two are expected overnight, bringing out a total of 260 britons. it has been incredibly challenging because of the changing nature. we have had to work up several complex plans involving numerous royal air force aircraft and a great number of military personnel. we'll be reporting on those fleeing by other routes, including overland to egypt, a journey that takes at least two days.

can you imagine it? we had to go, sneak the road to go someplace where there is dirty water, and we had to bring it to house and use it for cooking and drinking. we will have more of the eyewitness reports of those making the journey to egypt and live in larnaca for the latest on the rescue flights. also tonight... prince harry claims that the sun newspaper paid prince william "a very large sum" to settle claims of phone hacking. let's finish this job — i know we can. joe biden announces he'll run again for the white house next year. at 81, he will be the oldest president to seek re—election. # island in the sun... and the singer and human rights campaigner harry belafonte, who helped break racial barriers

in america, has died aged 96. and in the sport on bbc news, we'll have the results from todays premier league matches including leeds against leicester with both fighting to avoid relegation. good evening. the first of three special flights rescuing british nationals from the violence in sudan has landed in larnaca in cyprus. two more flights are expected overnight in an operation to bring 260 britons to safety. a ceasefire declared last night betwen rival military factions in sudan is still holding, but the situation remains tense and dangerous. the uk government has been under intense pressure to provide a means of escape for british nationals,

given the efforts made by the french and germans, whose missions have airlifted more than a thousand people already. the advice to british passport holders changed overnight, when they were told to make their own way to an airbase on the outskirts of the capital khartoum. so far, one british plane has flown from khartoum to larnaca, but it's thought there are more than 2,000 british nationals in sudan. 0bviously they will be looking for answers as well. another potential escape route is by sea, from port sudan, but it's a long and riskyjourney to get to the port. others have already fled by travelling overland, many of them to egypt. in a moment, we'll have the latest from cyprus and from egypt but first, the latest

on the situation in sudan from our africa correspondent andrew harding. safely out of sudan, the first plane carrying british nationals landed backin carrying british nationals landed back in cyprus this evening. the rescue mission began early in the morning, several raf planes setting off for sudan capital khartoum not know if a ceasefire in the city would last days or even hours. it has been incredibly challenging because of the changing nature. we have had to work up complex plans involving numerous royal air force aircraft and a great number of military personnel who have been flown in from the uk over the last few days. flown in from the uk over the last few da 5. ,, . v flown in from the uk over the last fewda s. ,, . fl. flown in from the uk over the last fewdas. ,, . few days. sudan's ceasefire came into force in _ few days. sudan's ceasefire came into force in khartoum _ few days. sudan's ceasefire came into force in khartoum overnight. | into force in khartoum overnight. look how dark it is. after ten days of war, there is no power. precious little food or water left. by dawn

many sudanese were already on the move, hoping to use the intermittent pause in fighting to catch buses heading out of the city. rikishi evacuees soon began making their own way to the airport —— british evacuees. including this woman, mightily relieved. fist evacuees. including this woman, mightily relieved.— evacuees. including this woman, mightily relieved. at some point i started to feel _ mightily relieved. at some point i started to feel like _ mightily relieved. at some point i started to feel like we _ mightily relieved. at some point i started to feel like we had - mightily relieved. at some point i started to feel like we had been l started to feel like we had been abandoned by the government, especially watching while other countries evacuated their people. until this morning, we receive the e—mail about getting to wadi saeedna as soon as possible for the evacuation. i am on the bus right now. and i pray we reach safety and get back and be able to see my kids again. get back and be able to see my kids aaain. a , , get back and be able to see my kids aaain. a , , again. across this vast country, many foreigners _ again. across this vast country, many foreigners and _ again. across this vast country, many foreigners and locals - again. across this vast country, | many foreigners and locals have again. across this vast country, - many foreigners and locals have been making their own riskyjourneys to safety. some driving to the red sea coast, a british navy frigate is already heading to a port here.

0thers already heading to a port here. others have headed in the opposite direction, here to neighbouring chad, one of many poor conflict ridden nations bordering sudan. this is our ridden nations bordering sudan. ti 3 is our second evacuation. ridden nations bordering sudan. this| is our second evacuation. meanwhile, amar osman — is our second evacuation. meanwhile, amar osman from _ is our second evacuation. meanwhile, amar osman from dunfermline - is our second evacuation. meanwhile, amar osman from dunfermline in - amar 0sman from dunfermline in scotland, has alreadyjoined the crowds heading north to egypt, before he left, telling the bbc he had no choice but to make his own way. had no choice but to make his own wa . �* , ., , , way. i'm 'ust going there myself, i'm not way. i'm just going there myself, i'm not waiting. _ way. i'm just going there myself, i'm not waiting. because - way. i'm just going there myself, i'm not waiting. because i - way. i'm just going there myself, i'm not waiting. because i don't i i'm not waiting. because i don't know, even if they got in touch, i don't know how they were going to go about it where they would meet and... so i'm going to do it myself. i think, and... so i'm going to do it myself. ithink, i hope and... so i'm going to do it myself. i think, i hope i've done the right decision. �* . decision. britain has faced some criticism for _ decision. britain has faced some criticism for the _ decision. britain has faced some criticism for the way _ decision. britain has faced some criticism for the way it _ decision. britain has faced some criticism for the way it has - decision. britain has faced some i criticism for the way it has handled these evacuations. too little information, to slow. put it this afternoon the prime minister gave an update. we

afternoon the prime minister gave an u date. ~ ., afternoon the prime minister gave an udate. ~ ., . ., ':: :: afternoon the prime minister gave an udate. ~ ., . ., ':::: , update. we now have over 100 people on the ground — update. we now have over 100 people on the ground into _ update. we now have over 100 people on the ground into gun, _ update. we now have over 100 people on the ground into gun, the _ update. we now have over 100 people on the ground into gun, the first - on the ground into gun, the first flight has already left for british nationals and we have more flight this evening we will have many more into tomorrow —— in sudan. that is down to the hard work of a lot of people we have already contacted over 1000 people in sudan and spoken to hundreds, that is what the people here have been doing, making their way to the airfield and we will safely evacuate them as quickly as we can. but look at what is left of khartoum today. destroyed by days of fighting, by looting to come by two rival armies that still threaten, ceasefire or not, to tear this african nation apart. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. for the latest on tonight's events, we'll talk to tom bateman on egypt's border with sudan, but first to cyprus and our correspondent caroline hawley in larnaca. caroline, bring us up to date on

efforts made to bring britons out. cyprus is now a major hub in a race around the clock to take advantage of this window of opportunity of a ceasefire to get people safely out. about two and a half hours ago, the first military cargo plane with the first military cargo plane with the first evacuees arrived here in larnaca carrying just a few dozen people, and they have been processed here behind me. at the red cross, who gave them food and toiletries, said there were 45 people in all, 17 under 12 and some babies. we understand they will be staying the night here in larnaca and they will go on to the uk by charter flights although it is not yet clear those have been arranged. we know there are two more flights planned tonight with, we are told, about 260 people in all, with more flights tomorrow but why other number so low? you might have expected more people on those flights but we have spoken to some british nationals who say they have family members who don't have uk visas so they are not sure they

are eligible to come. clearly it is are eligible to come. clearly it is a very chaotic situation on the ground, very challenging as well but one official i spoke too privately said it was as chaotic, the operation under way now, as the evacuation from kabul. thanks, caroline. another escape route we mentioned is the one northwards overland to egypt, a journey of at least two days by road from khartoum to the area of abu simbel in southern egypt. and our correspondent tom bateman is there. drink is up—to—date on the situation. —— bring us up—to—date. we arejust a situation. —— bring us up—to—date. we are just a few miles north of the main border crossing from sudan into this part of egypt and we spent the day heading down there, hearing the stories are people making that perilous journey. stories are people making that perilousjourney. there stories are people making that perilous journey. there are thousands that have made it across but there are real concerns tonight

about a build—up of numbers on the other side of the border here. the vast majority heading across our sudanese nationals but also among them have been some british citizens and we have been spending the day hearing the stories of a journey one man described as like being from hell. thousands have now fled through this crossing into the desert borderlands with egypt. the first gates to refuge they never believed they'd had to cross. like kamal, a heart surgeon from glasgow. his family are all uk nationals and escaped khartoum two days ago — he said the worstjourney of his life. the bombing, the bombing was so loud and so hard, people had to run from where they are, and my daughter was crying. there are now headed to cairo, and then on to scotland. he feels flooded with relief, he says, but so frightened for those still left behind. no water for nine days,

can you imagine that? we had to sneak the roads to go to some place where there is dirty water, we had to bring house and use it for cooking or drinking or whatever. these are the region's newest refugees. trapped by the ruthless fighting of rival generals and faced with an appalling choice — they decided to run with their lives. and they arrive with little else. whole futures left behind, families forced to part. these are their first steps to safety, and it has been a 600—milejourney through the desert to get to this point. but many thousands more are still behind them, backed up beyond this crossing. this is the front of the queue.

kamal�*s daughter is among the last of their group to cross. she arrives with the one document she needs to get home, but which she said counted for little in khartoum. we were stuck in our house, and we knew that bombs were coming to our area the very next morning, we needed to get out. we didn't know our bus had been cancelled because the un had taken them. i had hope at first that the british would come and save us, and i was trying to stay calm, but after a while you give up hope, you realise that the only person that can save you is yourself. and her brother, also trying to head back to glasgow for work in a few days, says it was unbelievable. my family have been coming here since i was wee, this is where my family are from, and it's always been... the sudanese people are beautiful people, theyjust want to help each other. and as a precarious ceasefire now prompts many more journeys,

people arrive into a storm of the unknown. tom bateman, bbc news, in southern egypt. let's turn to the day's other news. prince william was paid a "very large sum" by the sun newspaper — to settle claims of phone hacking, according to documents lodged at the high court in london. the payment was revealed in papers from lawyers acting for prince harry in his legal action against rupert murdoch's news group newspapers. prince harry is suing the publisher over the alleged unlawful gathering of information. his witness statement claims that the publisher struck a "secret agreement" with buckingham palace. 0ur media editor katie razzall has been following the case and is here to explain more. more than 1000 people have settled phone hacking cases with the publishers of the sun and what was the news

of the world in recent years. today we learnt a new very high profile name. according to prince harry's witness statement, his brother william made a private settlement with news group newspapers three years ago for a very large sum. of course, prince william isn't part of this case and he's made no comment. prince harry has chosen the public route and, with the actor hugh grant, is going to court instead. a trial is planned injanuary but today news group tried to have that thrown out, arguing allegations of unlawful information gathering are legally out of time. these are just some of the headlines from the news of the world and the sun that prince harry says were based on illegal activity — many relate to his relationship with chelsy davy, including allegations of listening in to voicemails, blagging to get private information and the use of private investigators, but harry says unlawful information gathering began when he was a child and it felt like being under 24—hour surveillance. in his witness statement he says...

also revealed in prince harry's witness statement, what he claims was a secret agreement between the royals and news group executives that the royals would not take any legal action over phone hacking until the other damages claims were nearing an end, so avoiding having to give evidence in court. he says that is one reason he did not bring the case sooner. that's denied by news group, which says, "there was no such secret agreement". it's admitted phone hacking at the news of the world which it shut down and has paid out many millions, but has always denied wrongdoing at the sun. in another swipe at his family, harry also says they appeared to block his legal action in order to keep the papers on side, he claims to smooth the way for camilla and charles to be accepted by the british public as queen consort and king. buckingham palace has been approached for a response. prince harry has made reforming the press his "life's work" and he's also suing associated newspapers and the mirror group. the risks and costs of going

to court are huge, and lawyers often encourage a settlement. that doesn't appear to be harry's intention. it's up to the judge to decide whether this case can proceed. huw. many thanks again. in washington, joe biden has confirmed that he'll be running for a second term as president next year. the election will be held in november 2024, weeks before he turns 82, making him the oldest us president to seek re—election. donald trump, who'll be 78 at the time of the next contest, has already announced his candidacy. 0ur north america editor sarah smith reports. that's why i'm running for re—election. a preview of the campaign to come. when i ran for president four years ago, i said we are in a battle for the soul of america, and we still are. defining the election as a contest between moderation and extremism. but, you know, around the country maga extremists

are lining up to take down those bedrock freedoms. cutting social security... joe biden even looks quite vigorous. but voters are very concerned about his age. he'd be 86 at the end of a second term. # 0h, say can you see by the dawn's early light? durham bulls athletic ground in north carolina is full of voters biden will need to win over. this is a key swing state that donald trump narrowly won last time. if it's a rematch, will they choose biden? no. why not? i just don't like the things that he's doing to the country. ijust don't like his politics. i feel like he hasn't done much good for our country at all. baseball always attracts some pretty dedicated fans. joe biden, if he is going to be re—elected to the white house, he cannot relyjust

on die—hard supporters. he's going to have to generate the excitement and enthusiasm that will persuade people to come out and vote for him next year. i like biden. i'm concerned with his age. if there was a much younger republican candidate, would that be difficult forjoe biden, do you think? i don't think so. no? with the policy differences, most people are going to find that the most important factor. nida allam is a young, progressive democrat in north carolina who twice supported the radical left—wing candidate bernie sanders in primary elections. now she believes the party has to unite behind joe biden. right now this election is turning out to literally be between good and evil, and we need to elect a president biden, we need to all coalesce and work to elect a president biden for a second term, because this is about protecting our rights, this is about passing progressive legislation across this country, and it's about stopping extremism. you could take the five worst. presidents in american history and put them together, and they would not have done -

the damage thatjoe biden has done to our nation injust a few short years. i donald trump is looking like biden�*s most likely challenger. next year's election could be a rerun of the last one — a prospect 95% of voters say they don't want to see. the question is... radical left... _ when you shut up, man? president biden is offering four years of relative stability. it might not be exciting, but he hopes it will be enough. it's time to finish the job, finish thejob. he's got another 18 months to go before he'll know if voters want him to finish the job. four more years, four more years! sarah smith, bbc news, washington. joe biden the candidate does not generate much enthusiasm, and his approval ratings are currently very low, but part of his pitch will be,

don't worry about me, have you seen the other guy? and whether the other guys donald trump or anyone else, he will paint his opponent as a dangerous extremist and offer himself as the moderate alternative. sarah, many thanks again, sarah smith, our north america editor. central to president biden�*s re—election campaign is his claim to be transforming the us econom, bringing new life to old manufacturing areas in the famous rust belt of america. the us government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars of public money into the green industries of the future, including electric vehicles, microchips and renewable energy, partly to counteract chinese dominance of these markets. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, reports from kentucky. in the fields of west kentucky, the farms are giving way to a different type of green harvest. the spades are in the ground, the excavators are shifting tonnes of soil, the united states of america is digging for victory

in the green hi—tech industries of the future, and they are in a hurry. literally, we are shovel—ready to go with our project when we receive the support from the us government. it really is like the gold rush. this is, you know, it's so big. this work started here at the ascend elements facility for electric vehicle battery parts the day after $500 million of government money was granted from their infrastructure plans and the new inflation reduction act. buyers of cars will also get subsidies — only if they are made in america. the lithium, the cobalt and the nickel... the result is that these powders, the most expensive ev battery inputs, almost entirely made in china, up until now, will, thanks to recycling old batteries, be made in america, and the us has leapfrogged europe, second only to china in this market. this is no less than a total transformation of the us economy with thousands of projects like this funded by trillions of dollars

of public money, in order to wrest control of the industries of the future from china. but it could also be the start of a giant carve—up of globaljobs in those industries, because european governments are very worried that european manufacturers are also having their head turned and are setting up shop here in america now too. so the eu is going to do exactly the same thing, which raises very serious questions for the united kingdom — whether to follow suit, whether we can afford to follow suit, or whether it is just too late. if the uk is going to compete with what is happening here in the us, you know, a similar level of incentives or favourable legislative environment or framework needs to be put in place. and so that has not taken place yet, but it certainly could. this facility is focused on electric vehicle battery inputs, but a similar strategy is at work

for microchips and for green energy. indeed, the pylon servicing this facility transfers electricity from clean hydroelectric dams on the tennessee river. here comes the outline of the tennessee valley... in an echo of us history, those tennessee valley authority dams were one of the landmark developments 90 years ago of roosevelt's new deal. he had in mind the tremendous national investment... but now, as then, the primary motivator here is not the environment, butjobs in left—behind areas. when they shut this mine down, and you see, this isjust one of a hundred mines that they shutdown here in western kentucky. these coal areas of the usa have been long left behind and notjust because of the transition to green energy. so these massive investments are being channelled by the biden white house very purposefully into regions such as west kentucky, a green form of america first. in some cases, old miners are being paid their union wages actually to fill in the mines and prepare the new green

industry factories. it should transform the heart of the rust belt, but some doubts remain. when you hear government, president biden saying the rust belt, which is what we can see here, can turn into a battery belt, what does that make you think? we welcome the funding, we welcome the jobs. but i want him to come from washington, dc down here and see first—hand how these people have suffered for several years now. he needs to see it first—hand. soon enough, the rust belt railroad will be carrying electric vehicles rather than coal. the us government pouring trillions in to ensure its green future is made in the usa, with economic consequences for everyone else. faisal islam, bbc news, in kentucky. the welsh government has today officially apologised for the practice of forced adoptions. thousands of unmarried women were pressured into giving up their babies for adoption in the post—war years. today's apology follows one given by the scottish government

last month and comes after a series of reports on bbc news highlighting the pain caused to the birth mothers and their children. the former first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon says the past few weeks have been beyond her worst nightmares. she was speaking at the scottish parliament for the first time since her husband peter murrell, the former chief executive of the snp, along with colin beattie, the party's former treasurer, were both questioned by police and released without charge pending further investigation. ms sturgeon denied that there was any connection between her decision to stand down as leader and the police investigation. i understand the view that some people might have that i knew all of this was about to unfold and that's why i walked away. nothing could be further than the truth. i could not have anticipated in my worst nightmares what would have unfolded over the past few weeks.

nhs dentistry in england needs complete reform, according to health minister neil 0'brien, who gave evidence to a committee of mps today. he said the time for small tweaks to the system had passed and a much deeper change was needed. the committee is holding an inquiry into the state of access to nhs dental care, after a bbc investigation found the vast majority of practices weren't accepting any new patients because of long waiting lists and a shortage of dentists. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes has the story. terrible gum disease wrecked danielle's teeth, but without access to an nhs dentist, she had to take drastic action herself. i've extracted 13 of my own teeth. we first met last summer, when danielle told me how she lived with pain every day and felt ashamed about how she looked. she just couldn't find an nhs dentist.

there are no dentists. i'd love to be able to ring a dentist up, but every time i do, it's like, "sorry, we're not taking on nhs patients any more." private treatment would cost thousands of pounds — money danielle simply didn't have. she was at the end of her tether. but then something amazing happened. i can smile. i don't have to hide any more. you look amazing. you look very different. i mean, you can see it. you can absolutely see it. i do feel... it's almost like i feel tingly, buzzy, not being afraid, really. i can smile at people and not hide. following our report last year, one of danielle's friends suggested they try a fundraising website, and through the generosity of strangers, she was able to raise enough money to pay for private treatment and dentures. to be able to talk to somebody face on, to be able to smile at somebody, it's something that i haven't done for several years.

0rder, order, good afternoon. this is the health and social care select committee. mps say access to nhs dentistry is a huge issue for many of their constituents. they're holding an inquiry into the nhs contract, which dentists say doesn't adequately pay them for the work they're meant to do. and there was an admission from the health minister that the system was just not working. my ambition is to get backi to a good level of provision and to do quite a thorough overhaul of the contract and l the current system, because i think that's what is needed now. | we're not into small tweaks. we're prepared to work in an incremental way, | but the system does need quite a lot of overhaul. i thank you very much. and for danielle, the fact that she's had to rely on charity to get the help she needed brings mixed emotions. i feel very guilty as well as being incredibly grateful. the cost of living crisis, everything, people still put their hands in their pockets and gave what they could. the government says it's working on a dental recovery plan, but there are no details what that might look like. meanwhile, danielle had

to rely on the kindness of strangers to get help with her crippling dental problems. dominic hughes, bbc news, bury st edmunds. the american singer, actor and human rights activist harry belafonte has died at the age of 96. his success with calypso—inspired pop music helped to break down racial barriers — at a time when segregation was widespread in the united states. 0ur arts correspondent david silitto looks back on his life. # day—o, day—o # daylight come and me want go home... harry belafonte — the king of calypso. # me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day—o # daylight come and me want go home... and now it says here tonight

that we're going to have the fabulous harry belafonte. here he comes! he was born in new york, but his sound was caribbean. if the fragile ceasefire will hold, but who can act as peacemaker in the country, not least for fear of contagion in the region? there are seven countires bordering sudan. can any of them, or other international players stop the country going up in flames? we will speak to experts in sudan and the international community to ask what next.