live from washington, this is bbc news. fighting is continuing in parts of sudan despite a 72—hour ceasefire largely holding. the government, the un, and everyone, please, save sudan and save the people of sudan. the south korean and the us presidents have vowed that any north korean use of nuclear weapons will prompt an overwhelming joint response and ukraine's president zelensky holds his first phone call with his chinese counterpart since the war began. hello i'm sumi somaskanda, here in washington. we start in sudan,

where renewed fighting is threatening a fragile three—day ceasefire. the united nations has warned that 250,000 sudanese people could be heading for the country's borders to escape the fighting. lines of buses and other vehicles continue to leave the capital khartoum, despite the extremely high price of tickets and of fuel. un officials say they're in contact with both sides of the military conflict to try to sustain the ceasefire after fighting was reported in some areas overnight. 0ur correspondent tom bateman sent this report from neighbouring egypt. and a warning, you may find some of the content in his report graphic and distressing from the outset. nowhere is safe, even when the guns are supposed to have stopped. this is a hospital in the city of 0mdurman, after local reports a projectile hit the roof. the staff here reported three wounded, all taken to another hospital. "we are against the war because the worst affected

"are innocent civilians," says this eyewitness. and the attempts to escape go on. this was the view from the home of one woman in khartoum ten days ago. she fled with her elderly mum to the red sea coast, the only lifelines out still mean risking death on the road. and then the wait to be saved, where she says the sudanese are being sidelined. we're trying to get on the saudi boats, ships, that take you from port sudan to jeddah, but that's proving a little bit difficult because priority... my understanding is that priority is given to saudi nationals and foreign nationals, so we're literally last on the list. the truce is holding in places, but there are no signs of a wider deal between the army and the paramilitaries whose rival bids for control unleashed the fighting. those left trying to survive face a growing humanitarian crisis.

many have spent days without food, clean water or fuel. translation: people have nothing to eat. i how did this happen? we are suffering just trying to live, day by day. the un continues to call for a long—term ceasefire but said overnight neither side is ready to seriously negotiate. and here in egypt, more than 10,000 civilians, mostly sudanese, have crossed the border in four days. for the ngos, the governments and for the un and everybody, please, save sudan and save the people of sudan. 0thers cross a lake straddling the border. many have no idea where this journey will end. tom bateman, bbc news, abu simbel in southern egypt. meanwhile un officials say they are worried about a further breakdown of law and order in sudan.

several former government officials suspected of war crimes have been able to leave prison in khartoum, including close allies of deposed president 0mar al—bashir. earlier i spoke to nureldin satti, a former sudanese ambassador to the us, and began by asking him about that. iam i am extremely worried. i am extremely worried, i'm extremely worried, because the statement that was made by the man indicted by the icc, the former governor, in the case that they are going to engage in the ongoing war between the two factions, he said we are going to fight, in order to put an end to the rebellion,

meaning the iss. so we have known since the beginning that the islamists, those of the former regime, have been involved in this war since the beginning, the ones who triggered the fighting between the two parties. this is an extremely worrying development, because it might be seeing a new escalation of war. you are saying a new escalation, and we have in the meantime seen this shaky ceasefire holding, the army says they are willing to extend perhaps this ceasefire and sent a convoy to south sudan the talks. how optimistic are you that this diplomatic effort could work? well, i only, you know, believe it when i see it, because we heard before that one side so they are ready, the other said they are not ready. i hope they are genuine and sincere at this time,

and for a change they take their people seriously and the safety of their own people seriously. i hope that this will happen, and that if it does happen, that they will engage wholeheartedly and seriously in a critical manner in any talks that are going to take place, because the question remains, how are these talks going to be organised, and who will take part? we do not want a power—sharing between the military, as has been done in the past. ambassador, if i could jump in there, what is it that both sides want to get out of these talks? well, as i said first, we have to be sure they are serious about it, and if they are this means both of them do not believe that they are going to win this war, as they thought they would, and if they arrive at this conclusion, then it is a good development, and from there and i think they would like, and then they would like to consolidate their position, and be part of whatever form of governance would be agreed upon,

and that's the way i see it. if they are genuine, i'm saying. nureldin satti. here in washington, president biden hosted south korean president yoon suk—yeol for talks at the white house. that's yoon arriving at the white house tonight for the state dinner. the two presidents are meeting with the nuclear threat from north korea high on their agenda. south korea and the us laid out a new agreement called the washington declaration aimed at deterring an attack on seoul. it gives south korea more insight into the us�*s nuclear planning and bigger voice in strategy, in exchange for seoul remaining a non—nuclear state. during theirjoint press conference, president biden sent this warning to pyongyang. a nuclear attack by north korea against the united states or its allies and partners

is unacceptable, and will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action. biden also announced that the us would send nuclear ballistic missile submarines to dock in south korea for the first time in decades. and joining us to discuss isjean lee who was formerly based in pyongyang. she's the host of bbc�*s the lazarus heist podcast that dives into an elite north korean hacking ring responsible for the theft of billions of dollars. it is great to see you and good to have you back on the show. south korea and the us have had an alliance for seventy yea rs. why did president biden feel he needed to do this now? i think this reflects the changing nature of the threat from north korea and the conflict on the korean peninsula. we have to remember this visit comesjust peninsula. we have to remember this visit comes just after north korea launched a new

intercontinental ballistic missile that is designed to target the mainland united states and the pace of testing has been so intense over the last more than a year and i think this reflects the concerns underpass of the south korean that if they do not have their own nuclear weapons, or access to nuclear weapons, they could be vulnerable. and i have to mention for the golfer south korean nuclear weapons has been rising and it is alarming because it raises the question of a nuclear arms race. this is president biden sherry president biden sherry president yoon suk—yeol and if the south koreans that we have your back, we will protect you and we will bring out some of our biggest if necessary. haw our biggest if necessary. how do ou our biggest if necessary. how do you think _ our biggest if necessary. how do you think north _ our biggest if necessary. how do you think north korea will react to this? i do you think north korea will react to this?— do you think north korea will react to this? i think we shall exect react to this? i think we shall exoect north _ react to this? i think we shall expect north korea _ react to this? i think we shall expect north korea to - react to this? i think we shall expect north korea to have l react to this? i think we shall - expect north korea to have some pretty strong words in that

state media. we have not seen anything yet. kimjong—un, the leader of north korea, does use actions like this, for example, for example when they send a nuclear armed submarine in the waters, to use it as a justification. we are in a phase of tensions which will last through the 70 year anniversary of the signing of the armistice, coming up in july, and we will have tense weeks and months ahead and we should brace ourselves. what weeks and months ahead and we should brace ourselves.- should brace ourselves. what do ou think should brace ourselves. what do you think president _ should brace ourselves. what do you think president yoon - you think president yoon suk—yeol�*s visit in the united states say about its place on the world stage?— the world stage? this is a second state _ the world stage? this is a second state visit - the world stage? this is a i second state visit president biden has hosted after the visit by the french leader president macron and the first time in a dozen years that the

south korean president visited washington by the time is significant, 70 years since south korea and the united states have had a military alliance that was forged on the battlefield during the korean war is. south korea 70 years ago was a war—torn, poor country, and now it is of the 10th largest economy in the well, leader in technology, electronics, pop culture, just really emerging under the global stage as a powerhouse in many ways and at this trip was interesting. i was there for the arrival, it is an interesting moment for south korea to step out on the stage as a partner of the united states and the united states acknowledging it is notjust protecting south korea but think south korea is a partner. beyond this nuclear deal agreement, there is a lot more being discussed about partnership in the economy, climate change, clean energy and across—the—board where and across—the—boa rd where south and across—the—board where south korea can really show its

leadership in many other areas. and it is going to be an asset. what did you learn at the white house, you said you were there for the arrival? it house, you said you were there for the arrival?— for the arrival? it was a moving _ for the arrival? it was a moving moment - for the arrival? it was a moving moment for - for the arrival? it was a l moving moment for me, personally, i heard the anthems of both the united states and south korea and it was a moment of pride, of recognition that i am the product of this alliance, to be absolutely honest with you, somebody whose parents were born during the korean war and that was a moment of pride for me as a korean—american to understand and honour how this relationship has brought about and uplifted my community and created people like me who can have a voice on the international stage. great to have you _ international stage. great to have you on _ international stage. great to have you on the _ international stage. great to have you on the show. - international stage. great to | have you on the show. thank ou.

in other news: disney has accused florida governor ron desantis of organising a campaign of "government retaliation" in a lawsuit. the new legal action sharply escalates the battle between the entertainment giant and the republican politician. the two sides have been fighting since disney criticised a state law banning discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools. nbc news is reporting desantis is set to jump into the 2024 presidental race in mid—may. republicans in montana's house of representatives have voted to formally punish democratic representative zooey zephyr. zephyr is a transgender politician, and has been blocked from speaking since last tuesday. that was after she told supporters of a bill that would ban gender—affirming care for minors, that she hoped they would see �*blood on their hands�*. now, zephyr is banned from attending or speaking during floor sessions. on top of that, she will only be allowed to vote remotely for the rest of the legislative session. we will speak to her in the next hour.

ahead of hearing into detention, dozens of leaked documents reveal us assessment of the war in ukraine as well as sensitive secrets about american allies. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. a lot of people say to me, i didn't know you painted. many years it's been going on like this, but it's great, it's another string to my bow that i've always done ever since i was little. i've always done ever since i was little-— was little. i've heard that ou've was little. i've heard that you've painted _ was little. i've heard that you've painted or - was little. i've heard that you've painted or drawn i was little. i've heard that - you've painted or drawn some of the members of the royal family. _ the members of the royal family, is that true? well, i did the duke _ family, is that true? well, i did the duke and... - family, is that true? well, i did the duke and... prince | did the duke and... prince

phili? did the duke and... prince philip? yes. _ did the duke and... prince philip? yes, he _ did the duke and... prince philip? yes, he was - did the duke and... prince philip? yes, he was a - did the duke and... prince - philip? yes, he was a favourite character _ philip? yes, he was a favourite character of — philip? yes, he was a favourite character of mine _ philip? yes, he was a favourite character of mine and - philip? yes, he was a favourite character of mine and a - philip? yes, he was a favourite character of mine and a just . character of mine and a just caught him on canvas and prince william loved what he saw. it william loved what he saw. if you had to choose, you are on a desert _ you had to choose, you are on a desert island and you can only take _ desert island and you can only take a — desert island and you can only take a guitar ora desert island and you can only take a guitar or a paintbrush and — take a guitar or a paintbrush and paints, a canvas, what would _ and paints, a canvas, what would you choose? if and paints, a canvas, what would you choose?- and paints, a canvas, what would you choose? if they only had a guitar— would you choose? if they only had a guitar or _ would you choose? if they only had a guitar or a _ would you choose? if they only had a guitar or a paintbrush? l had a guitar or a paintbrush? it's very difficult. i'd just smuggled the paintbrushes inside the guitar and then i'd have both. inside the guitar and then i'd have both-— you're live with bbc news. turning to ukraine, where presidnt volodymyr zelensky said he had a �*long and meaningful�* phone call with chinese president xi jinping for the first time since russia�*s invasion. shortly after the phone call, zelensky tweeted that it was a �*meaningful call�*, and that in addition to appointing a new ukrainian ambassador to china, it should help in giving a �*powerful impetus to the development�* of bilateral relations.

president zelensky has repeatedly reached out to president xi since the beginning of the invasion but was met with no response. earlier this month, xi told european commission chief ursula von der leyen he would speak to zelensky when "conditions and time are right." we are covering this in both countries. james waterhouse has more in kyiv. 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 wants, and 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. that�*s the view from james waterhouse in kyiv. let�*s hear how the call came about from the other end of the line, from our correspondent stephen mcdonnell in beijing. we were asked to come to the foreign ministry for an unusual evening press conference and it was not until we entered the room that we found out that xi jinping and vladimir zelensky had had this phone call. crucially, we were told that there is to be a high—level chinese government delegation which will travel not only to care but to other countries as a means of pushing forward this piece proposalfrom china

and we were told that vladimir zelensky welcomes china�*s proposals and welcomes china�*s efforts to bring about a diplomatic solution. drones have become a pivotal element to the war effort. the country has purchased more than 3,000 drones as part of its drone army campaign. military leaders say even small drones that you and i might use forfun, can help give ukraine fighters a competitive edge over russia. 0ur cyber correspondent joe 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 instructor slava 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 in bakhmut. 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 3,500 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 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. the war in ukraine came up during a meeting between brazil�*s president luiz inacio lula da silva and spain�*s prime minister pedro sanchez. the talks in spain were aimed at making progress on a trade deal, but the two were at odds

when it came to the war. 0ur correspondent guy hedgecoe has more. brazil�*s president and spain�*s president share ideological grounds. they are both on the political left and mr sanchez did say that brazil was being welcomed back into the international old with a return to the brazilian presidency of lula. mr sanchez did also make specific mention of the brazilian rainforest and climate change and that seemed to be a reference to lula�*s predecessorjye bolsonaro. however, there was another issue which was rather more thorny the two leaders which they discussed here in madrid and that was the issue of ukraine mr sanchez has been very much behind the position of the us and nato on the issue of the us and nato on the issue of ukraine, providing military support to the country since

the war began. by contrast, lula has been quite critical at times of the eu�*s sending of military support ukraine. here in madrid lula did not repeat those criticisms but what he did say was that not enough effort had been put into preventing the war before it began and not enough effort had been put into stopping the war since it has begun and so he said that the priority for the international community now was not to provide weapons to ukraine but rather to sit down at the negotiating table and try to bring an end to the war. former columnist and author ejean carroll has described in candid detail an alleged sexual assault by donald trump more than 20 years ago. she alleges the former us president attacked her in a department store in the 90s and then lied about it, and told jurors he�*d shattered her reputation. mr trump has strongly denied the accusations. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has been following the case. ejean

e jean carroll was for the most part calm and collect that as she testified for her first day on the stand but there were some emotional moments as she recounted her story. she told jurors that she was plagued by the moment that she walked into that fitting room where she alleges donald trump forced himself on her and raped her. she said she constantly questioned a decision but that she was proud she was able to get out of that situation. she also told jurors that while she might not recount the exact date the attack happened she can still remember the feeling of the extreme pain of that alleged attack. she says she remembered it as she was sitting there on the stand. and then later on when she talked about the impact this has had, ending her romantic life, hurting her career, impacting her reputation to the public, she also got emotional saying that she was just so happy to have her day in court, that she had been waiting so long to try

to rehabilitate the whole entire reputation. this of course was just her first day on the stand, donald trump�*s lawyers will have the opportunity to challenge her account when they do cross examination but also donald trump has been vocal on social media, blasting vests as a made up media, blasting vests as a made up scam saying her lawyers are political operatives. that got some choice words from the judge in this case who warned donald trump�*s lawyer to speak to donald trump to tell him to stop, saying that the former president was opening himself up president was opening himself up to further legal trouble if he continued to post about this case. and before we go, it�*s just over two weeks to go until the eurovision song contest. three, two, one! and king charles and the queen consort stepped on to the stage as it was revealed for the very first time. 50 years ago, eurovision�*s own royalty, abba, won the contest. this time, the set has

quite the upgrade. the royals also met with the uk act who will perform on that stage. we will have more in the next hour including an interview with a montana lawmaker who was banned from the legislature. hello, there. particularly warm days have been few and far between so far this spring. in fact, the highest temperature we�*ve recorded this year was in highlands, scotland, 21.2 celsius. for england and wales, temperatures have not yet got above 18 degrees celsius. we have to look back all the way to 1986 to find a year when we�*ve had to wait this long for temperatures higher than that across england and wales. but that may be about to change. over the next few days, some warmer air pushes its way northwards. the one place that won�*t get an awful lot warmer is the far north of scotland. so, through the rest of the week, we will see some spells of rain through the day ahead,

and then it turns warmerfor many into the start of the weekend, albeit still with some scattered showers, some decent dry weather as well. but for thursday, a couple of different frontal systems, this one pushing in from the southwest, this one just easing its way in towards the western side of scotland. so two different areas of rain, really. this one grazing the north coast of northern ireland and then pushing its way eastwards and north eastwards across scotland, maybe some snow over the highest ground here. and then this area of wet weather pushing in across the south west of england, some of that rain will then get up into wales, parts of the midlands, east anglia, certainly some rain into the south east. there is likely to be a drier slot between our two areas of wet weather. temperatures between 7—14 celsius. now, as we head through thursday night, we will continue to see some outbreaks of rain, oerhaps the odd thundery burst here and there. a lot of cloud around as well to take us into the start of friday. so, with that extra cloud in place, it is not going to be a particularly cold night. temperatures typically between three 3—11 celsius. so actually a very mild night indeed down towards the south. into friday, well, we will start off

with cloud and some patchy rain across parts of eastern england, that will tend to ease. and then for england and wales, northern ireland too, we should see some spells of sunshine developing. southern scotland will see a little bit of sunshine, northern scotland, more cloud, some bits and pieces of rain. still chilly in shetland, but further south, temperatures of ten to 18 celsius. now as we head into the weekend, it will be parts of scotland, particularly in the far north, that struggle in terms of temperatures, and we�*ll also see some rain at times. further south, some dry spells, a few showers, but it�*s southern parts that will see the highest of the temperatures, particularly on saturday, up to 19 degrees.

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. priyanka chopra jonas wears many hats. she�*s an actress, a producer and a businesswoman. she came into the spotlight after winning the miss world pageant in the year 2000, went on to to become a successful bollywood star. now, she�*s perhaps the only person from india to have made

a real space for themselves in the entertainment industry in the west.