live from washington, this is bbc news. us officials claim the taliban have killed the is leader behind the kabul airport bombing. it's time to finish the job, finish thejob! joe biden announces he'll run for re—election next year, and will be the oldest president to do it. and a shaky ceasefire allows thousands of people to flee sudan. hello i'm sumi somaskanda. the islamic state mastermind believed to have been responsible for the 2021 bombing that killed dozens at kabul�*s airport has been

killed by the taliban. that's according to us officials. 70 civilians and 13 american troops were killed when a bomber detonated his device among packed crowds as people tried to flee afghanistan, in august 2021. the officials did not reveal the name of the man, who was the leader of an islamic state cell. they said the leader died weeks ago, but it took time to confirm his death. us officials say intelligence gathering and monitoring of the region led them to conclude the leader had died, though they did not provide further details on how they learned that he was responsible for the bombing. the us began notifying families of the deceased troops about the death of the is leader on monday. live now to sethjones, senior vice president of the center for strategic and international studies. it to see you. what we know about what happened and who this leader of this is cell is?

what us officials have talked about is that the taliban killed the leader of the islamic state cell that was responsible for the suicide bombing attack at the kabul international airport that killed us marines and then killed us marines and then killed those civilians. they have not released the name of the individual but we also know that us government officials have reached out to some of the relatives of marines that have been killed to also relay that in relation to them. find been killed to also relay that in relation to them. and what about the _ in relation to them. and what about the specific _ in relation to them. and what about the specific cell - in relation to them. and what about the specific cell that i about the specific cell that you mentioned, what do we know about them?— about them? what we do know is that the islamic _ about them? what we do know is that the islamic state _ about them? what we do know is that the islamic state in - that the islamic state in general has been active in conduct attacks in afghanistan, more broadly. we know that in part from some of the leaks that came from the us military official in attitudes that put the on discord, what some of

those documents indicate is that us intelligence believes that us intelligence believes that the islamic state has increased its attacks in afghanistan as well as has some external operations capabilities, so this sale was a cell within the islamic state that had not only plotted attacks against us officials during the withdrawal but had also been conducting attacks against the taliban and the delavan and islamic state have been fighting entrenched battles for nearly a decade in afghanistan.— battles for nearly a decade in afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say — afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say in _ afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say in the _ afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say in the us - afghanistan. and the fact the taliban say in the us has - afghanistan. and the fact the i taliban say in the us has now confirmed this, that they have killed the leader of this is cell, what does this tell us about the power dynamics in afghanistan right now, the control that the taliban has? i don't think it says too much. we don't know exactly the specifics around how this individual within the islamic

state khorasan was killed. i think the data that has come out in the security council reports on afghanistan as well as the leaked documents, what they indicate is that there is significant terrorism going on within afghanistan so i think what we can say is that while the taliban controls the government in kabul, that afghanistan has a very concerning terrorism problems. this case was the taliban effectively conducting an attack against islamic khorasan but don't think it tells us that the situation is under control. the biden administration says it's not partnering with the taliban but this is a significant outcome. does this mean they should consider engaging more? i don't think so. i think it is certainly worthwhile to engage the taliban in diplomatic activity, including there have been discussions about on the

financing side, since the us sanctioned the taliban and frozen assets but i think in terms of counterterrorism, the challenge is that the minister of interior of the delavan has very close relations to al-qaeda and other international terrorist groups, he is still a us designated terrorist so i think the us has to be very careful in counterterrorism intelligence cooperation with a delavan regime with such links. 50 cooperation with a delavan regime with such links. so how can the us _ regime with such links. so how can the us engage _ regime with such links. so how can the us engage more - regime with such links. so how| can the us engage more widely with afghanistan without engaging with the taliban itself? ~ ., engaging with the taliban itself? ~ . ,, ., , engaging with the taliban itself? ~ . ,, ., engaging with the taliban itself? . ,, ., , itself? what the us has done is continue to _ itself? what the us has done is continue to collect _ continue to collect intelligence through some opposition groups in afghanistan, and probablyjust afghanistan, and probably just as afghanistan, and probablyjust as importantly, flown in drones generally from the golf into afghanistan, that was the drone that was used in kabul. those

drones can collect intelligence, they've got video footage and they can also strike targets, so i think there are some intelligence collection capabilities, the us can do without a close cooperation with the delavan. seth jones, cooperation with the delavan. sethjones, senior vice president for the centre of strategic and international studies, very good to have you on our programme. in sudan, a shaky ceasefire seems to be holding in the capital city khartoum, while foreign nationals are evacuating from the country. these picures are from cyprus late tuesday local time, when the first uk evacuation flight carrying 39 people landed in larnaca. two more fights are expected to bring more than 200 evacuees to cyprus overnight. the uk government is under growing pressure to evacuate its citizens. in an abrupt policy reversal, the foreign office is now urging all british citizens and theirfamilies in sudan to head straight to an airfield north of khartoum. this was prime minister rishi sunak on tuesday, visiting the foreign office crisis hub. he defended his government's

approach, adding that there will be more flights out of sudan on wednesday. meanwhile, people who can't reach the airfield are heading in different directions to seek refuge. our correspondent tom bateman is in egypt near the border with sudan, that's where many people are crossing. he had this update earlier. tonight we have just witnessed hundreds of this region's newest refugees passing from northern sudan, here, into southern egypt. we have just been at the border crossing. this is where the egyptians have allowed thousands of people to pass. they're mostly sudanese, but we also saw foreign nationals, including british citizens who were crossing, there. i'vejust been speaking to one family — a man who is a cardiac surgeon in khartoum — and spoke about days of terror, in his words, before the family made the arduous two—day journey to this border crossing.

he said that they were trapped in the city for nine days without power and, he said, with no clean water. but the worst, he said, was the sound of bombing, which was leaving his family in fear of their lives. now, they made the decision to leave before the military evacuation by the uk was announced in put into place today, and so they arrived crossing over that border. but behind them are many, many thousands more, mostly sudanese desperately trying to escape and while the egyptians are allowing the elderly and women and children to pass — we are hearing stories of some men who are being turned back for the visas to be processed in the nearest sudanese city. the queues are growing longer. the conditions by day are baking and cold and we have had a sandstorm here at night. this crisis is only deepening for the refugees trying to cross to egypt. brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva was in portugal, where the left—leaning leader received mixed reactions.

often referred to simply as lula, brazil's president was in portugal to commemmorate the 1974 carnation revolution, which toppled dictator antonio de oliveira salazar. supporters of lula's visit were seen dancing in the street to celebrate his arrival, holding signs that said messages like "democracy — yes, fascsim — no." his opposition, meanwhile, formed protests outside portugal's parliament, where lula was visiting. protestors shouted lines such as quote, "lula's place is in prison" and held signs calling the brazilian president a thief — referencing his 2018 jailing for corruption charges. it wasn't just civilians in the street who were heckling lula. the visit of brazil's president to portugal, his first official trip to europe since he was elected for a first term has triggered passion and protest,

nearing the political divisions resilience have experienced over the last few years. earlier today demonstrations took place inside and outside the portuguese parliament where mr lula da silva made a speech, speaking to portuguese, lola praised the brazilian democracy and called for peace talks to bring the war in ukraine to an end. he also criticised the russian invasion of ukraine. has official visit to portugal has been marked by questions over the resignation of his top security adviser, but first and foremost over his stance on ukraine. lula has been strongly criticised after he claimed that both russia and ukraine are responsible for the ongoing was. on a recent trip to china, he also accused the us and eu of contributing to the conflict. his remarks have been strongly condemned and lula has been accused of parroting

russian and chinese propaganda by the us and eu. lula has now left portugal through spain where he is due to meet the spanish prime minister and king tomorrow. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. they are having fun making music at saint paul's community hall in grangetown but the squire also has a serious message. it aims to help empower homeless and marginalised people to achieve change in their lives. one of the first members tells me his story. the first members tells me his sto . ., the first members tells me his sto . . ., story. the mental health, it hels story. the mental health, it helps so — story. the mental health, it helps so much _ story. the mental health, it helps so much more. - story. the mental health, it helps so much more. you . story. the mental health, it. helps so much more. you don't need medication or a tablet, you need this.— need medication or a tablet, you need this. the group that meets once — you need this. the group that meets once a week— you need this. the group that meets once a week considers | meets once a week considers singing helps deal with the

stress of homelessness and living in temporary accommodation. aha, living in temporary accommodation. �* ~ accommodation. a place like this you can _ accommodation. a place like this you can come and - accommodation. a place like this you can come and you i accommodation. a place like | this you can come and you can sing, socialise with other people, you don't have to worry about those kind of things. and about those kind of things. and when the singing is all done, they are given a hot meal in essential nourishment. we come to . ether, essential nourishment. we come together. we _ essential nourishment. we come together, we sing _ essential nourishment. we come together, we sing and _ essential nourishment. we come together, we sing and feel - together, we sing and feel good, hopefully people leave with a smile on their face. we are notjust — with a smile on their face. we are notjust acquire, we are family. _ are notjust acquire, we are family. we _ are notjust acquire, we are family, we are a unit. you're live with bbc news. president biden has formally announced he'll run for re—election in 202a. he says his second term will "finish what he started". the question we are facing is whether in the years ahead, we have more freedom or less freedom. more rights orfewer. i know what i want and i think you do to. this is not a time to be complacent. that's why i'm running for re—election. to get more on this,

i spoke with former democratic congresswoman from florida val demmings, former republican congressman in florida francis rooney, and presidential historian nicole hemmer. good evening to all of you, thanks forjoining us. we have just seen this video with the campaign renouncement. it starts with a dark opener and a focus onjanuary six. what do you make of this video and images that his team chose, val? it's great to be with you and i am glad that the president has officially announced — there is or is that little bit of doubt until the announcement is made. but i was in the capitol onjanuary six. i was there and experienced it firsthand. it was a dark and terrible time for our nation and i think that the american people really should be reminded of what is at stake in this election. we all, i think, were supposed to go to congress and work hard on behalf of the people

that we represent. but boy did we get way off track and so even though the video started off with that dark reminder, i also think it was very inspirational. he reminded us of who we are as a nation, that we are good, decent, hard—working, honest people, who can accomplish so much when we remember who we are and when we work together. so i was glad to see the video and hear the announcement. and francis, what did you think? i think the whole situation was horrendous, as val referenced. we have some institutional reinforcement to accomplishment in our country to overcome what happened with the election and january six. we behave like a banana republic. and i spend half my life in latin america dealing with banana republics. i never thought we would see that here. and hopefully we can overcome it and have another four years of stability, whether it be

joe biden or someone else, hopefully not donald trump, who can keep our country on our sound course. nicole, americans have often used the term happy warrior to describe the president they want to see, so a strong president, but a positive one. did this video reflect that? it certainly had a positive vibe by the end of it - but i think it also struck a more measured tone. j this wasn't "it is morning again in america" - it was "we have - come a long way from the chaos of a few years ago but we have a lot of work - to do, that freedoms have not been secured for all americans of the last two or three years l of the joe biden's presidencyj and there is a looming threat out there that requires a kind of constant vigilance. - and i think that tempered - message was a very important one and fits the national mood more than if it had just been .

a happy warrior, sunny, morning and america kind of messaging. | joe biden's approval rating is at 39% this month, near the lowest of his presidency. ahead his announcement was cbs released a poll saying nearly half democrat do not want him to run again, 86% saying it is because of his age. a majority still say, however, that they would vote for him. so francis, are you worried that that is what the general electorate will also do? at my age i don't want to criticise anyone for being old but i do think that the president's health is important and i worry a little about that, judging from some of the things that i have seen, and it could be that a younger more vibrant person would be a better leader for the democrats to go forward with, just like i think we need the same thing. i don't think we need donald trump. we need some younger leadership, people who are a little less contentious and disruptive,

as we might say, to move towards the middle, to be like val and me, who can help find solutions for this country. val, are you worried the age ofjoe biden might depress voter turnout? i'm not. the american public have a right to worry about a lot of things that they have a right to be worried about when electing somebody to so much responsibility. the president more than we can help when he was born. a lot of people focus on age was not the prisoner ——president that replaced me in congress is 25 years old, and i remember a lot of people questioning his age. but when we look at what is going on in our nation,

these tough times, i believe there are so many things that have been threatened like our freedom and democracy, women's reproductive rights, we need the right leader who is going to work hard to protect those things and to get things done. so do the american people do they have the right and, you know, it is alright to be concerned? of because it is ok. but let's look at what the president has done and, quite frankly, under some very tough times, he has been able to achieve some pretty amazing pieces of legislation. i want to take your take on that as well. voters may say i wish we had a younger candidate voters may say i wish we had a younger candidate but when it comes to the general election, particularly with donald trump, that is not how young voters will be approaching the election. democrats will be asking who can best beat donald trump and the country will be asking do we want what we have had over the past few years or return to the chaos of the donald trump years. amge matters but i do not think it will be the primary thing voters are thinking about as they go into the booth. nicole, a lot of focus on showing diverse faces.

how do presidents hold onto their coalition, to that base of voters that might falter a second election? i think it is very important they do voter service. it is one of the things we saw from barack obama, trying to return the coalition of the ascendance in 2008 when, they asked, have i done something for immigration? have i done something for working americans? he gives a speech in kansas where he talks about the problems of the i% of wealthiest americans and the need to help out people who are not doing as well and so i think a lot of the next year or so will see biden every zero in on those parts of the coalition represented in the video to make sure they have a reason to turn out. what do you think the president needs to do to win over young voters, voters of colours or liberal voters? i think the president needs to continue to do

what he has done. the president has to represent everybody and we don't get to pick and choose who we represent as so i think the president has done a decentjob of that but he needs to continue to demonstrate that he and his administration really is that bridge for the future, making sure that young people can go to college, if that is their choice, that they can go to a trade school if that is their choice. we know the president has focused on those things so i think the president has to get out and also utilise his surregates and remind americans that our diversity is our strength. we are different ages, gender and race. the fewest interviews since the reagan presidency is that a smart strategy?

president biden has been in politics for a long time, he served in seante and as vice president and started out coming through a pandemic, trying to get out of the pandemic, so most of us were... i did interviews on zoom but i do believe the american people need to feel good again and seeing their president out onto the road is so very important. i think he's off to a start but expect to see him on the road more and i do believe he will be there. francis, what do you think of this? i think that president biden has done a lot of good things. i would rather see some republicans in there, but not donald trump and probably not some of the more right super conservative people.

i have spent a lifetime trying to convince the republican leadership that we are on the wrong side of history on guns and the environment, climate change, and sooner or later we have to get with the programme to align with the groups that val is talking about, the younger voters. immigration reform is a national need that no—one seems to be able to resolve on either side of the spectrum. but it looks like your party will go for donald trump? well, i think he will get the nomination if things stay the way they are, and that is a sad situation. i do not think he can beat president biden and i don't think he should given what he is but we need to look to the future. you are both from florida, does president trump stand a chance to win in florida?

i would never give up on my home state. it seems like next year is right around the corner. what is going to happen, is going to be president trump, president biden riding against each other? it very well could be but a lot could happen over the next year. i would expect to see president biden campaigning in florida just as we did the last cycle or two so i am not giving up on florida and as far out as we are from the election, i would not call any race right now. francis, we know the governor of florida, ron desantis has not announced he is running for president but he is making signs he will announce. do you think he could win a republican primary in the state of florida against donald trump? that is a very good question and i do not know if he can or not. donald trump's strength in the hard—core republican

areas in florida is very intense and i do not know if ron could take him or not. but i do know the recent immigration of the venezuelans to dayte county is what swayed florida for donald trump and the republican candidate will probably win again because of the resurgence of non—puerto rican spaniards. what kind of trends do you look like in a state like florida? you do keep an eye on things like voter registration. that was one of the early sides going into 2016 and 2020, suggestion there was real strength for the republican candidate but i also think in florida as well, that has been the generator of so many of these moral panics and cultural, political thatjoe biden used in his campaign announcement today because they are so unpopular for so many americans so i would keep an eye on what florida is doing

politically as well because it has a big impact on national politics. very interesting. thank you all for your perspectives. i am sure we will be talking more as campaigning heats up. thank you. and finally, the singer, actor and civil rights activist harry belafonte has died, at the age of 96. # oh, island in the sun... he was one of the most successful african—american pop stars in history, he first came to fame in the 1950s as a calypso music performer, later becoming the first black man to win a tony on broadway. he was also a major force in the us civil rights movement working alongside martin luther king jr. tributes have been pouring in. the reverend al sharpton wrote that he was a history—changing activist and a culture—changing entertainer. oprah winfrey described belafonte as a trailblazer and hero while the musician, john legend said he was the epitome of what it meant to be an artist and activist.

thank you for watching. hello there. here in the uk, spring warmth is in short supply at the moment. another rather chilly day lies ahead, but it's a very different story in spain and portugal. in fact, a concerning early season heat wave building here — temperatures over the next couple of days could well climb to 38, maybe 39 degrees celsius. that heat has been building to the south of the jet stream. we find ourselves to the north of the jet stream, and so we remain in this rather chilly air mass, at least for the time being. and a really cold start to the day, particularly in the north of scotland. not as cold further south, because here, there is more cloud in the mix. and for many of us, it is going to be a rather cloudy day, particularly across the south

of england, into southern wales and also northern ireland. extensive cloud producing some bits and pieces of rain at times. now, through north wales, the north midlands, northern england, southern scotland, it's a mix of patchy cloud, somesunny spells and the odd shower. the best of the sunshine will be found in northern scotland. but, again, the odd shower here. temperatures of 7—13 celsius, so a little disappointing for the time of year. now, through wednesday night, we'll tend to keep large amounts of cloud. we'll see some rain getting close to northern ireland, into the western side of scotland, some pushing towards the southwest of england, as well. another rather chilly night, particularly in the north of the uk, not as cold further south. but as we head into thursday, well, this is a rather messy weather chart. there are a couple of different weather systems — one here, one here— likely to bring some outbreaks of rain. this first band of rain is likely to be pushing northwards across scotland. could be some snow over the highest ground for a time, and then outbreaks of rain pushing northwards across parts of england and wales. there may be a drier slot in between those

two rain bands. temperatures, if anything, starting to climb a little. a sign of things to come, because as we head towards the end of the week, we will start to pull in some slightly warmer air. now, we're not talking about spanish or portuguese heat wave here, but we are talking about something a little bit less chilly. and, actually, on friday, while there will be some showers around and perhaps some more persistent rain in northern scotland, we should actually start to see a little bit more in the way of sunshine for many of us. and those temperatures climbing just a touch. and into the weekend, it is going to feel just a little bit warmer. there will be some dry spells, a bit of sunshine around, but still some showers.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. you want them to be better than you, have more than you. —— as a parent, you always want to give your child the best start in life.

you want them to be better than you, have more than you.