this is bbc news, the headlines a fragile ceasefire in sudan and the rush to get out 300 british nationals are flown out of the country and these are the pictures as the first evacuees arrive in london. disney takes legal action against the florida governor ron desantis over the future of its resort. and... us officials say that the taliban have killed the is leader behind the kabul airport bombing that killed nearly 200 civilians last august.

we continue the programme in the capital of khartoum where there's messed with him and amongst the prisoners is a former sudanese logician wanted for alleged crimes against humanity. he was being held in the capital and is facing charges by the international criminal court. he was a key player in the sudanese government brutal response to two long—running and unresolved wars. he was serving a sentence alongside former others year, students former president who is no being reportedly held at the military hospital. the former un were negative for sedan told me he is not surprised about what is happening in the country. the signals have been there for some time and quite honestly they have been there all the time since the genocide in darfurfor 20 years ago, and yes i know these characters and i recall about this time the sharing

the star between the two in the presidential palace in 2003 when i was a un coordinator and as security minister he not only masterminded that incident but with a gatekeeper who allowed humanitarian aid into darfur which is what i was battling him about. his freedom means that i don't know what the future is going to bring them up but it certainly isn't going to be a good one in the short term. just isn't going to be a good one in the short term-— short term. just remind our audiences. _ short term. just remind our audiences. you _ short term. just remind our audiences. you were - short term. just remind our audiences. you were there | short term. just remind our. audiences. you were there and short term. just remind our- audiences. you were there and you cite all, as you said you sat down and broke bread and your role is critical at a time where gross human rights violations were being committed in darfurand rights violations were being committed in darfur and other parts of sedan. there were attempts by the un, led by you, to bring about some

kind of resolution. just remind our audiences how bad the situation was. it was as the international criminal court to find it an act of genocide. they indicted the president and his courtroom including this man and the first time that happened to a head of state. there are roughly about 200 million or 300 million people displaced. a minimum of 300,000 people killed and many people are still displaced and a cause of the worlds first genocide of this millennium and also the most successful one because the ethnic cleansing has meant that new groups of people i've invaded and taken over the character of the old black african citizens of darfur. so, the current conflict is, in a sense, the grievances of the past, allied with numerous other grievances, for example this man was known as a butcher of a new by mountains and i

have been there several times myself and seen old swedes of countryside turned black with bombings from the air and all the other atrocities committed. so, in a sense, we are not going to have peace incident by short chaining justice and accountability and while we managed to get the indictments in the international criminal court and security council resolution at a time when the security council was still working, it still paralysed nowadays, unfortunately he has been under protection in khartoum by the military as these two sudanese generals are key characters in. there would not be justice. the there would not be 'ustice. the former w h there would not be justice. the former un coordinator for sedan there thank you. the entertainment conglomerate disney are taking legal action against the republican governor of florida, ron desantis, seeking to overturn state efforts to exert control over the company's

theme parks in orlando. an oversight board appointed by ron desantis has endorsed a legal opinion that declared as void an agreement on future development of the sites. disney said it had no choice but to file a lawsuit against what it called a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against it. the state and the company have been at loggerheads since disney criticised a state law banning classroom discussion of sexuality and identity in schools. live now to michelle fleury in new york. good to see you and no surprises that disney and ron desantis are going to end up in court.- going to end up in court. yeah, i mean these _ going to end up in court. yeah, i mean these two _ going to end up in court. yeah, i mean these two have _ going to end up in court. yeah, i mean these two have been - going to end up in court. yeah, i i mean these two have been feuding going to end up in court. yeah, i - mean these two have been feuding for a while as you said there, this bechtel began a year ago when disney under pressure, really from its customer base came out against, in opposition of a law that was supported by the republican governor of florida and now we are seeing a potential white house contender, and one of america's biggest companies, headed to court. it seems to be a test of how far this new republican mantra can go in terms of taking on

corporations who are deemed to be woke. how successful they can be and we are seeing a test of that here. disney has said that robert —— ron desantis efforts to control it has violated its constitutional rights. i have read that there are many political appointments on disney's board and they had to rejig the way their contracts were done. so this tension has been going on for some time. , , ~ ., , time. yes, but i think where it goes to a new level— time. yes, but i think where it goes to a new level is _ time. yes, but i think where it goes to a new level is that _ time. yes, but i think where it goes to a new level is that the _ time. yes, but i think where it goes| to a new level is that the companies are increasingly, because of their customer base, are being pushed to take stances on social issues at the time when we are seeing increasing culture wars taking place. 0bviously, culture wars taking place. obviously, this particularfeud has focused the minds on that. interestingly, there are some who say that she has been outmaneuvered at several turns by disney which

found a workaround to some of the moves by ron desantis, you also have bob iger, the ceo of disney saying this is anti—business and anti—florida and that is getting some traction with rival republicans, whether that is the governor of newjersey, chris governor of new jersey, chris christie, governor of newjersey, chris christie, or others considering presidential runs who would sing they would open their arms to florida to their state. our suggestion that traditionally or historically that hasn't been the republican party playbook but in this case they are not going as the part of business they are calling out corporations of what you seem to be woke behaviour and how far that will go we will see but it's not without cost. and that lawsuit may be the first example of that. m50. be the first example of that. also, it's interesting _ be the first example of that. also, it's interesting that _ be the first example of that. also, it's interesting that a _ be the first example of that. also, it's interesting that a brand - be the first example of that. also, it's interesting that a brand or - it's interesting that a brand or name like disney, which you know

every american household has a relationship with, so interesting that other states are almost opening their arms and saying come here. yes, and that is why it is such a risk for ron desantis, and that's what needs it so fascinating to watch this play not. you're talking about a company that is a huge tourist attraction for the of florida and is a huge employer for the state of florida. i think it was something like 75,000 employees in states, and also when you think about the visitors who come to the states, the kind of knock on effect that has four other local businesses because the hotels and local restaurants benefits and local transport and infrastructure benefit from all of this. then there's a tax revenue that florida clinics. perhaps ron desantis is thinking because it has a large footprint here, picking it up and moving it to another state, while it sounds good on paper, is more complicated than

it seems, so maybe he's rolling the dice. , as i think it is rolling the dice. , as i think it is rolling the dice and we will see how far either side will go on this.— side will go on this. thank you so much for your— side will go on this. thank you so much for your and _ side will go on this. thank you so much for your and insist - side will go on this. thank you so much for your and insist there . much for your and insist there michelle. let's turn to afghanistan now the islamic state leader believed to have been behind the devastating bombing at kabul airport in 2021 has been killed by the taliban. 170 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. for more on this i spoke to michael semple, professor at queen's university belfast and former deputy eu special representative in afghanistan. very, very closely. every week we get an account of raids which are being conducted

by the taliban against suspected ice cells or people they've chosen to label as isis and also of operations which isis are conducting against the taliban. these two groups are now locked in a bitter turf war against each other. and this time it happens that somebody who the the us was interested in was killed, but he was killed not on the basis of cooperation with the united states. he was killed because the taliban and islamic state are bitter enemies. yes. i mean, that's what i kind of wanted to get from you, whether there was often chatter about whether the taliban would work with the united states on counter—terrorism or whether the united states would rely on its own intelligence and over the horizon sort of operations rather than working directly with the taliban. you don't think anything like that has happened here? i'm absolutely clear. i watch these things very carefully and one way

or another has a chance to, you know, to follow what both sides, the taliban and the us are doing. i can say i haven't seen the slightest shred of evidence of counterterrorist cooperation between the united states and the taliban in the struggle against daesh. they are both operating independently against daesh, and frankly, it would be politically impossible for the americans to cooperate with the taliban against daesh. the taliban have just crossed so many red lines. so yeah, it's something that sometimes when their representatives meet together, they can talk about. but the taliban are running their own indigenous operation against islamic state, not to do favours for anyone else, but because they consider them mortal enemies. yeah, michael, i was actually at the beginning of last year, the taliban escorted me to one of these so called cells in kandahar where they said they'd

launched an operation. it was quite difficult to understand how they actually do lead these operations, whether there's any kind of method to it or i couldn't quite figure out whether they'd sort of sent in one of their own suicide bombers to take out isis fighters who were hiding in the cell. so we're dealing with two groups who virtually operate in the same way when it comes to counter—terrorism. yes, absolutely. and i mean, ithink that's a that's a very point. very good point. but i think there is a method that the the taliban do have skilled fighters also. they've always made a great investment in intelligence, particularly intelligence using using human sources. and this is also why that the islamic state,

have been successful in infiltrating the taliban, for example, letting off a suicide bomber inside the ministry of interior of the taliban, because these people were at one stage, you know, ten years ago, you know, they at the start of islamic state, they were comrades. they essentially it's like, you know, the one say, batch of graduates from a terrorist training camp. half of them went on to tojoin islamic state. half of them stayed with the taliban. ten years later, we shouldn't be surprised that they're each good at infiltrating each other. so the taliban try to infiltrate taliban cells, to get information, to work out where they are, and then they send in their fighters at the same time as islamic state are essentially doing the same against the taliban, trying to find ways of infiltrating. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

my my name is kyra and i'm eight years old. �* �* ., . , my name is kyra and i'm eight years old.�* �*., .,, ., my name is kyra and i'm eight years old. .,�* old. i'm amon campell and i'm here at the hospital— old. i'm amon campell and i'm here at the hospital because _ old. i'm amon campell and i'm here at the hospital because my - old. i'm amon campell and i'm here| at the hospital because my daughter is having _ at the hospital because my daughter is having her infusion of blood plasma — is having her infusion of blood plasma. in is having her infusion of blood lasma. , ., , is having her infusion of blood lasma. , . , ., ., ., plasma. in my hand is a cannula and i have to come _ plasma. in my hand is a cannula and i have to come every _ plasma. in my hand is a cannula and i have to come every four— plasma. in my hand is a cannula and i have to come every four weeks - plasma. in my hand is a cannula and i have to come every four weeks for| i have to come every four weeks for it but every time i have it i get more and more use to it. two years auo we more and more use to it. two years ago we started _ more and more use to it. two years ago we started and _ more and more use to it. two years ago we started and over _ more and more use to it. two years ago we started and over sympatric, | ago we started and over sympatric, she had _ ago we started and over sympatric, she had difficulty walking and she -ot she had difficulty walking and she got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition _ got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition. from there, we realised she needed — condition. from there, we realised she needed blood plasma. a year down the line _ she needed blood plasma. a year down the line of— she needed blood plasma. a year down the line of having these treatments and infusions from blood plasma, she's— and infusions from blood plasma, she's like — and infusions from blood plasma, she's like a — and infusions from blood plasma, she's like a normal 8 euros. it she's like a normal 8 euros. [it feels she's like a normal 8 euros. feels really she's like a normal 8 euros. it feels really nice that sometimes, some little boys or girls can get help by my dad or some other people when they go give plasma. you're live with bbc news

breaking news in the british governments illegal migration bill which seeks to bar refugees seeking help a christian. it has been passed in the house of commons. it now passes to the upper house, the house of lords where it could be amended or delayed so that is the bill unveiled earlier this year in march which is a key part of prime minister's sunak plan to stop boats crossing the english channel. the ukrainian president voldmyr zelensky says he had a long and meaningful call with china's president xi — the first between the two, since russia's invasion. china says it maintains a neutral

stance, and president xi has so far refused to condemn moscow's invasion. in february beijing offered a 12 point paper calling for a political settlement to the crisis. here's our kyiv correspondent james waterhouse to tell us more... well, kyiv will see this as a bit of diplomatic progress. why? just last month president zelensky signalled he wanted to speak to xijinping of china. he even invited him to kyiv after he met with vladimir putin in moscow, but xijinping decided not to make that extra journey. nevertheless, we are told it was a long and meaningful phone call. we are not hearing much in terms of detail, but ukraine is desperate to improve relations with china, a country that to date has refused to condemn russia's invasion. it has even strengthened its economic ties with moscow. so, while ukraine will see this as serious progress, there are still huge ideological differences on how to end this war because what beijing what, we are told after this phone call, it sees negotiations and talks as the only way out of this conflict.

ukraine sees a military victory as the way out, to avoid just that, any kind of political compromise. so, politically we have seen progress today for kyiv. what difference it will make, we won't knowjust yet. the government says its ramping up the home—grown production of drones , as it struggles to cope with the demand for the technology on the front line. the country has so far purchased more than three thousand drones as part of its "'drone army�* campaign collecting donations from around the world. hundreds have been posted directly by the public — as military leaders say even small hobby drones are giving them a rare competitive edge over russia. 0ur cyber correspondentjoe tidy went to ukraine and sent this report 0n the outskirts of kyiv, the latest group of drone pilots being trained for the front line.

the location is being kept a secret but this instructor is teaching recruits how to use the small drones to spot signs of enemy troops and help guide artillery attacks. 0leka has nearly finished her training. this is her new brigade in action. the drone used to help the military aim. this has become a major tool for both sides. so much so, the chinese manufacturer's has banned sales to russia and ukraine. still, thousands flow to the front line.

the demand for drones is so great, ukraine has upped its own manufacturing recently relaxing import laws to speed up production lines. it has also launched design competitions like this one, paid for from a successful public campaign. backed by celebrities like star wars actor mark hamill, the campaign has raised more than $108 million since last summer. nearly 3500 drones have been acquired so far. 400 hobby drones have been sent direct in the mail. and it is notjust foreigners being asked to donate. in service stations and many shops, the fundraising is prominent. this man was until recently deputy prime minister. in his government office, he shows me the secret design for a new type of kamikaze drone. he says the campaign is about front line combat and protecting the lives of soldiers defending ukraine but the minister has posted online

about new drones able to fly to moscow and back. and russia has accused ukraine of carrying out offensive drone strikes on its territory. it claims this one was shot down near moscow. you are asking people around the world to donate drones, money for drones, for the defence of ukraine, but what about the tax but what about the attacks on russia, offensive attacks over the border? but as a leader of the country, would you condone drones going over the border? ukraine's mod is refusing to say if its army of drones is being used on the offensive in russia. meanwhile, the donations continue to pour in and more drones take to the skies.

joe tidy, bbc news steve. microsoft's 55 billion pound or 70 million dollar bid to buy the video games company behind hits like call of duty and candy crush has been blocked in a surprise move by british regulators a decision that could scupper the biggest ever deal in gaming history altogether. and it all centres around the changing face of the gaming industry and how people will interact with it in future as our gaming correspondent, steffan powell, explains. call of duty... world of warcraft. .. candy crush. loved by millions, made by activision blizzard, wanted by microsoft. to own these would put it in a strong position to encourage more players to choose its devices and services in the years to come. this deal, though, is on life support, all because it has been judged by the cma to reduce innovation in the fast developing cloud gaming market.

the theory is that cloud gaming will eventually become the kind of de facto distribution, you know, way that games are distributed to the end—user, streamed to the end user like we do when we watch netflix videos. the news has not gone down well, with activision saying in a statement that the uk was clearly closed for business. microsoft added that the cma had a flawed understanding of the market. they will now appeal. microsoft's xbox console may be lagging behind sony playstation in terms of sales but the company does have a big presence in cloud gaming. we didn't want a situation where the current dominant most powerful platform in cloud gaming purchased an important input to its competitors and therefore undermined that growth. the deal needs approval in the uk, eu and us to go ahead, so today's decision,

the first from those jurisdictions, could scupper it. should this merger now collapse, it will be a major relief to bosses here at sony playstation, who have consistently opposed the deal. at one stage, it looked like this would go through, so today's result has come as a surprise to many. the appeal process could take several months. steffan powell, bbc news. here in the uk, the majority of workers at amazon's warehouse in coventry havejoined the gmb union. this could mean the company recognising a trade union in the uk for the first time, and lead to negotiations with staff about their wages, holidays and sick pay. 0ur employment correspondent zoe conway has more. at the amazon distribution centre in coventry, workers could be about to make history. nearly 700 of them have joined the gmb trade union. the union says that's a majority of the workforce, and it's written to the company asking to be recognised.

recognition would mean that amazon has to negotiate with the gmb over pay and working conditions. so, at the moment the workers at amazon coventry don't have any say in what happens to their terms and conditions. their employer decides how they're going to get paid, the employer decides about pay awards and what their contracts are going to look like. trade union recognition effectively gives those workers a voice in those changes. we get to negotiate on their behalf. actually, they get a stronger say in what happens to them. their voice is heard. it's workplace democracy. the coventry workers held the first ever strike at an amazon warehouse in january. since then, amazon has increased the starting rate of pay to between £11 and £12 an hour. the gmb is calling for £15 an hour. an amazon spokesperson says... "we offer competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, "opportunities for career growth.

"these benefits and opportunities come with the job, as does "the ability to communicate directly with the leadership of the company." if amazon doesn't recognise the union, the gmb could apply to an organisation called the central arbitration committee to intervene. it will grant recognition if it's persuaded that a majority of the workforce want the union to act for them. zoe conway, bbc news. just over two weeks to go until the eurovision song contest takes place in liverpool and today king charles and the queen consort stepped on to the stage as it was revealed for the first time. 0ur entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, was watching. three, two, one! eurovision's most famous act abba sang dancing queen. here, we had a real—life king. king charles and the queen consort, revealing the stage for this year's competition. and their eurovision tour included

meeting the presenters of the show. they were really excited for it as well. yeah. i mean, they've got their own party going on the same week, so... quite a busy week! quite a busy one for them. this is the ninth time the uk's hosted eurovision and, oh, how the set designs have advanced over the years. the first time in 1960, it was all a bit chelsea flower show, with the world's biggest snooker cue being used for the scoreboard. when abba won in brighton nearly 50 years ago, there was a remarkable kaleidoscope of 1970s colours. and as for the set revealed by the royals... so this is where the acts will be run in. this is the big catwalk right here. as you can see, the floor is all made out of video. this feels big. it's massive, yeah. 0ur set design resembles a hug, as if to say the people of liverpool and the uk are welcoming the people of the ukraine. let's go backstage. yeah. there's basically a crew that comes in, looks at the next act, brings it on stage while the other delegation from the other artists is exiting.

it's like a grand prix pit stop. pretty much. # instead i wrote a song...#. the uk act who'll perform on that stage is mae miller. and she, too, got to meet the royals. we'll be watching with great interest. thank you. egging you on. thank you! hoping you'll go far. no pressure! no nul points this year. no. hope we haven't ruined your chances! douze points from the king. colin paterson, bbc news, liverpool. that's it from me and the team. now here's the weather with stav. hello there. we've started this week off on a largely settled note, but it has been chilly for the time of year. we've seen variable cloud and some sunshine. now the second half of this week will be turning much milder but more unsettled. some of us will see quite a bit of rain around, especially on thursday. now, tonight, it's going to be mostly dry. variable clouds, some clear spells. most of the clear spells will tend to be across central areas. so it's here where it could be quite

chilly but thicker cloud for southwestern and western areas into northern ireland and also western scotland. so no problems with frost here, but another chillier one further north and east. now for thursday, we've got a couple of weather fronts working in thanks to low pressure, top and tail of the uk. so many places through central areas certainly will start dry a little bit early brightness, but it will be quite chilly, but temperatures will be lifting through the day. this weather front bring rain, some mountain snow to scotland and then it turns wet across wales, central and southern england. some of this rain could be heavy and thundery as we move through the afternoon. so we've got temperatures reaching close to the mid—teens, central and southern areas, but still quite cold for the northern half of scotland. now through thursday night, it stays rather cloudy with further rain at times. this low pressure system pulling away from england and wales. but because of the breeze, the cloud and the rain, i think most places should be frost free. but there could still be a few chilly spots across the far north of scotland. now for friday, it looks like that area of low pressure across england wales pulls way into the near continent. this weather fronts across northern scotland tends to weaken. so it's a bit of a quieter day

and improving day as low pressure moves away. and we're all, virtually all of us in this milder wedge of air. so it's a slow process. the breeze, the cloud, the rain clears away from eastern england, increasing amounts of sunshine for northern ireland, parts of wales, the midlands, southern england, where we get the sunshine with the milder air mass. it really will feel quite mild indeed, with temperatures up to around 18 degrees at best, but mild even through the central belt of scotland. still cold for the northern isles. now, the bank holiday weekend, it looks like it's going to stay mild for most of us, but it won't be completely settled. there will be variable clouds, some sunny spells, but also scattering of showers, showers pretty much each day. but i think sunday will see the most widespread and at times heavy and thundery showers. but given some sunshine, it really will feel quite warm in places for a time. it looks like those showers will tend to ease down as high pressure starts to build back

in on monday. hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. so, they're choosing to make that additional crossing. they are essentially asylum shoppers, even if they ultimately came from a place of danger. in effect, asking this house to give legislative sanction to at least the possibility that a minister of the crown will deliberately disobey the international law obligations of this country. when we want to have a conversation with china about abiding _ by international rules—based order, i think itjust makes it more - difficult for us to do that . when we are offending our own treaty obligations.