live from london, this is bbc news. the headlines: both sides in the conflict in sudan agree to extend a ceasefire for another three days despite reports of heavy fighting in the capital, khartoum. former vice president of the united states mike pence appears before a grand jury examining attempts by donald trump to hang on to power after losing the 2020 election. james corden is preparing to host the late late show for the final time, eight years after he took over the prestigious late—night programme.

hello and welcome to the programme. i'm victoria valentine. we start with some breaking news from ukraine. local media is reporting loud explosions in kyiv and the surrounding region. no reports as of yet on any specific targets or damage, but there were earlier reports of explosions in cities from central ukraine to the mykolaiv region. air raid alerts sounded throughout the country. the uk ambassador to ukraine, dame melinda simmons, has tweeted: and these pictures on social media, shared by our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse, apparently show an apartment building ablaze in the town of uman, which is in central ukraine. the bbc has not yet independently verified the pictures, but they are being widely shared.

both sides in the conflict in sudan have agreed to extend their ceasefire for another three days. the ceasefire had only been partly effective with heavy fighting taking place in parts of the capital, khartoum. almost two weeks of clashes between the two factions, the sudanese army and its rival, the rapid support forces, have left hundreds of people dead and forced tens of thousands from their homes. diplomatic efforts to persuade the two rival generals to stop the fighting have been continuing, with the un, the us and african countries all involved. the world health organization said it expected there to be "many more" deaths due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of services. health officials say most hospitals in conflict areas are not functioning, and more than 60% of health facilities in khartoum are inactive. thousands of people are still trying to flee sudan. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley reports now from cyprus, where some evacuees have been arriving.

at the airfield in khartoum, desperate crowds with just one hope — to escape. everyone here has made a dangerousjourney. a military operation described as even more complex than the evacuation from afghanistan, and no—one knows when the last flight out will go. larnaca airport — first stop to safety. hundreds of british nationals airlifted out of sudan have now arrived here for flights back to the uk. just a very sad and very ugly war. we lose everything there. i'm really sorry. so, we escaped for our life. i see myself, too many people die in front of me, so...yeah, yeah, yeah. even too many guns. they took our hotel over. we went to one hotel. they set it on fire. - the second one, - they put us at gunpoint. terrifying. made us lie on the ground — women and children

and everything. - they shot two people. in front of you? - yeah, in front of me. - thank goodness you're safe. yeah. — yeah, hamdullah. hamdullah. others also spoke of looting and attacks by rsf fighters. old and young traumatised by what they've been through. "it's better here," ten—year—old asma told me. "here is safe, there is not. there, there's war." everybody here has a story of the absolute terror that they've lived through over the past few days, and obviously, they're happy to be out and to be safe, but many british nationals have had to leave people they love behind because they don't have uk visas. these children made it to the airfield with their aunt, who pleaded with a british official to allow them on the raf flight. only british citizen who hold passport were allowed. and i was begging him, "this is immediate family." this is war. this is war done.

those vulnerable kids, they should be allow to come in with me. they were already in the — like, 12 metres away from the airplane. this is where their family are now stranded. the scars are everywhere of ten days of a vicious power struggle between two sudanese generals. a city where food, drinking water and medical supplies are all precious commodities, but where fighters have made life cheap. and so, from various points in sudan, an ever—growing exodus. phone rings this is a call from port sudan. we spoke to a british man, gary. he's managed to get to port sudan airport where he says several countries are flying their nationals out. standing outside here, all isjust mayhem. mayhem. people just want to get out of here. at midnight tonight, the ceasefire ends. nobody exactly knows what the outcome will be after midnight tonight. a british warship has arrived in port sudan but the government says it's for command and control and won't be used

to evacuate british nationals. there are people here from many countries propelled by fear that once the ceasefire ends, the conflict will only intensify. caroline hawley, bbc news, larnaca. let's get some of the day's other news now. the uk government has rejected demands foran inquiry into the evacuation of british and afghan nationals from kabul. the defence select committee had called for a review of the withdrawal and britain's wider role in the war in afghanistan. but the ministry of defence said internal inquiries had already taken place. the un security council has unanimously condemned afghanistan's taliban rulers for banning afghan women from working for the united nations. it called for the taliban to swiftly reverse them. the taliban seized power in 2021, and females have been banned from attending universities and girls�* secondary schools have been closed. brazil says it will continue

farming according to its own regulations despite a european union law banning the import of products linked to deforestation. brazilian producers have criticised the eu legislation, which will affect coffee and beef exports. surging deforestation in the amazon has sparked international concern. the pope is beginning a three—day official visit to hungary today. it's seen as one of the more politically sensitive trips of his career. hungary's prime minister, viktor orban, has repeatedly criticised immigration to europe, and has warned that different races shouldn't mix. pope francis by contrast condemned hungary's decision to build a wall to keep migrants out. the former us vice president mike pence has appeared before a grand jury investigating donald trump's role in efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. it's unknown exactly what testimony he provided. with more details, here's our north america correspondent, david willis.

mike pence is the man who witnessed events in the run—up to the insurrection of the us capitol building on the sixth of january 2021, both from his position in the white house and on the day itself. in his role as leader of the senate, the man providing over the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. before that, he withstood a considerable pressure from his boss at the time, donald trump, who wanted him to reject the certification of the presidential vote. and indeed, that made mr penn is himself the target of many of those who stormed the capital on that fateful day, some of whom were calling for mike pence to be hung outside the capitol building itself. his testimony is seen as crucial to the grand jury is seen as crucial to the grand jury that is being led by the special prosecutorjack smith, a man appointed by the us

justice department, to look into allegations that donald trump and his allies attempted to overturn the presidential election result. we don't know what mike pence had to say to the grand jury, that is all a secret, but we do know according to us media reports that he testified for more than seven hours much of the donald trump whose lawyers had gone to a federal appeals court yesterday before in an attempt and unsuccessful attempt to get mike pence barred from giving testimony to the grand jury. mike pence himself is said to be weighing his own run for president in 2024, a move that will put him in direct competition with his former boss, donald trump, who announced last november that he is seeking his party's nomination for a second term in the white house. james corden, the english actor and comedian, is preparing to host the late late show for the final time, eight years

after he took over the prestigious late night slot. cordon, who was relatively unknown in the us when he began hosting, became famous around the globe for his carpool karaoke segments, featuring stars such as paul mccartney, stevie wonder and adele. live now to lorraine ali, who is the tv critic for the los angeles times. what's america's verdict onjames cordon? it isa it is a mixed verdict. when he was coming in, he was quite beloved. there was a sense of a jovial late—night presence on tv in troubled times that they have been, and now it is kind of a mixed verdict because he lost that nice guy persona when we found out more about him kind of behind—the—scenes, and he got a little obscured and eclipsed by the other late—night hosts that were more political, political satire. interesting. he offered

something different from his late—night peers, but the thing that set him apart was the thing ultimately that sort of was the issue for him, because if you are mr nice guy, it is tricky to keep that up all the time, right? it tricky to keep that up all the time. right?— tricky to keep that up all the time, right? it is. when that is our time, right? it is. when that is your age. _ time, right? it is. when that is your age, when _ time, right? it is. when that is your age, when your - time, right? it is. when that is your age, when your edge j time, right? it is. when that. is your age, when your edge is being a nice guy, being the soft guy who brings the situation, when that is your one age and you blow that or it gets blown and your cover gets blown, it is a problem, and he is up against other... not in the same timeslot, but stephen colbert who is incredibly sharp, seth myers is in the same timeslot, and it was really hard for him to keep up. after a while, i also think that kind of feel good glad handing people, you know, as the news shows today with mike

pence and everything going on here, there is a little bit more jaded and is among americans i believe, and he just didn't play the same way as he did when he started eight years ago. as he did when he started eight years age-— years ago. looking at the viewin: years ago. looking at the viewing figures _ years ago. looking at the viewing figures here. - between 2017—2022, viewing figures came off by a third. what do you attribute that to? is that a james courtney factor or is that the fact that talkshow hosts in that format isn't what it once was —— james cordon. what is going on? i cordon. what is going on? i think the format is losing its power. the format, this is a 50—year—old, six—year—old format and it is looking —— losing its power and use generations are not looking —— watching talk shows like their parents did. to his credit i will say that if you look at his popularity across youtube or his hits online, they are into the millions. this dichotomy of the slipping

ratings on television, but then the individual skips being pulled out online, those being incredibly, incredibly successful. it is pretty much the format, the late—night format is really, really difficult now.— format is really, really difficult now. ~ , difficult now. as you say, he managed — difficult now. as you say, he managed to _ difficult now. as you say, he managed to take _ difficult now. as you say, he managed to take it - difficult now. as you say, he managed to take it on - difficult now. as you say, he managed to take it on a - managed to take it on a different way by giving it a second on social media and a third party platforms such as youtube. you get the sense he is popular with all his celebrity guests or not? yes. i think this _ celebrity guests or not? yes. i think this is — celebrity guests or not? yes. i think this is what _ celebrity guests or not? yes. i think this is what is _ celebrity guests or not? yes. i think this is what is really - think this is what is really interesting. even as he kind of lost his sheen with audiences, he has this sort of... he has endeared himself to all the celebrities. the last episode tonight, he has tom cruise showing up, harry styles, will ferrell, it is going to be... and that isjust ferrell, it is going to be... and that is just too we know right now. it is going to be a lineup that is probably going to be unparalleled in terms of a going away, it is kind of

interesting, sort of comparison to his popularity among his fans or among the viewing audiences and just how he has kept that love with his celebrity friends. i kept that love with his celebrity friends. i know you will be watching _ celebrity friends. i know you will be watching it, - celebrity friends. i know you | will be watching it, lorraine, so do let us know what it is like, and do come back and talk to us on bbc once you have seen it and give us your verdict. thank you very much, lorraine. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. it has just it hasjust gone it has just gone 3am and i have managed to get 1.5 hours in which is not bad for me but i am looking as rough as a bag of spanners. am looking as rough as a bag of sanners. .,, spanners. dan hill has struggled _ spanners. dan hill has struggled to _ spanners. dan hill has struggled to get - spanners. dan hill has struggled to get to - spanners. dan hill has i struggled to get to sleep spanners. dan hill has - struggled to get to sleep for nearly a decade, but the problem is notjust about how long it takes him to drift off when he hits the pillow. you know, when he hits the pillow. you know. getting _ when he hits the pillow. you

know, getting to _ when he hits the pillow. gm. know, getting to sleep is not theissue, know, getting to sleep is not the issue, but i can be awake again within an hour, and that can be for any reason. we could be a knock at the door, a dog barking, someone walking past and that is me for the day then. it is not a case of going back to sleep because that is not possible. in back to sleep because that is not possible.— not possible. in a 24-hour eriod not possible. in a 24-hour period how _ not possible. in a 24-hour period how much - not possible. in a 24-hour period how much sleep i not possible. in a 24-hour- period how much sleep roughly are you getting?— are you getting? probably two hours. sometimes _ are you getting? probably two hours. sometimes i _ are you getting? probably two hours. sometimes i am - are you getting? probably two hours. sometimes i am lucky| are you getting? probably two i hours. sometimes i am lucky to get three and i think sleep deprivation is a massive issue. i think it has health implications. i think it has working life implications — relationships especially. you know, it needs addressing. you are liable with bbc news, and let's just remind you of our breaking news this hour. we know that ukraine has been hit by a wave of missiles fired by russia at several cities. the capitol kyiv has been heavily attacked for the first time in over 50 days. officials say 11

missiles and to attack drones were shot down by the air defence system. pictures on social media such as this — this is from the central town of uman showing a collapsed nine story apartment building after it had been hit. in the central city of dnipro a man and a child have been killed. we will have more as we get it and we will cross live to our correspondent in kyiv in about an time. kenya's security minister has declared a dusk to dawn curfew at a huge ranch — the scene of alleged mass cult deaths. for the next 30 days, no public gatherings or movement will be allowed in the shakahola forest area in eastern kenya. authorities are still uncovering bodies in dozens of grave sites in the area used by the good news international church.

the official death toll stands at more than 90 people. dorcas wangira reports. sadness over her loved ones, a nephew and niece already found dead. hersister, dead. her sister, brother—in—law and dead. hersister, brother—in—law and six more relatives missing. in all, ten family members all part of the good news international church. translation: were ever my sister is she needs to be helped as fast as possible before she does. i understand she has already _ before she does. i understand she has already fasted - before she does. i understand she has already fasted for - before she does. i understand she has already fasted for 22 l she has already fasted for 22 days. she has already fasted for 22 da s. , ., , , , ., days. rights groups estimate there are more _ days. rights groups estimate there are more than - days. rights groups estimate there are more than 60 - days. rights groups estimate i there are more than 60 shallow mass grave sites here. people had come from across kenya to what some say is a cult believing salvation would take them to heaven. jacob is looking for his son. he has not seen him in four months. translation:— seen him in four months. translation: ~ ., ,~ translation: when i asked him what he had _ translation: when i asked him what he had involved _ translation: when i asked him what he had involved himself - what he had involved himself in, he told me that man does not live by eating and he wanted to fast. that is what

made me come.— wanted to fast. that is what made me come. . . ., made me come. the church leader paul mckenzie _ made me come. the church leader paul mckenzie is _ made me come. the church leader paul mckenzie is to _ made me come. the church leader paul mckenzie is to appear - made me come. the church leader paul mckenzie is to appear in - paul mckenzie is to appear in court on the second of may. he and other group members are being held, suspected of claims including murder, pride and localisation and threatening public safety. although the government has already assigned gilts will any verdict. the government _ gilts will any verdict. the government of _ gilts will any verdict. the government of kenya - gilts will any verdict. iie: government of kenya will do whatever it takes to ensure that we convict mr mckenzie and all those who helped him perpetuate these heinous crimes — that they are paid with the severest and most painful punishment available. and, therefore, we do not expect that mr mckenzie will get out ofjailfor the that mr mckenzie will get out ofjail for the rest of his life. ., ., , life. the government has admitted _ life. the government has admitted that _ life. the government has admitted that this - life. the government has. admitted that this incident should never have happened, but still, local say that intervention came too late. the

head of this operation and says that they have barely scratched the surface and this could end “p the surface and this could end up being one of kenya's most horrific deaths in recent times. the two main public morgues in the coastal county are already full. so, a mobile morgue with a space for 300 bodies has been brought in and with it a sickening feeling that the worst is yet to come. we do actually have plenty more available on that story if you would like to know more on the website. it is bbc.com/news including a profile of this cult leader in kenya, but we know about him from his very own sermon. so to go and have a look at that if you are interested in that story. tributes have been paid to the talk show host, jerry springer, who's at the age of 79. his family said he'd had a "brief illness". thejerry springer show

known for its outrageous confessions and on—stage punch—ups and it was a mainstay of popular culture for nearly three decades. our arts correspondent, david sillito, takes a look back at the life of the man who jokingly described himself as the "ringmaster of civilization's end". when it began, thejerry springer show had aspirations to tackle serious issues and they soon realised where the ratings were. who are you? marquise says he is scared the truth will get him in big trouble. and in the middle, the ringmaster, jerry springer. she does now, she's watching backstage. calm and confident and completely relaxed amid the madness. the show is stupid, but i always thought it was stupid.

most of the people on my show i really kind of like, not everyone, but most of them. theyjust didn't get the breaks in life that i get. the luck he had come at the centre ofjewish refugees who had been born during an air raid in london's at highgate tube station took him to america. i amjerry springer and i want to be your governor. and a political career which wasn't helped by this revelation in a campaign ad. some nine years ago, i spent time with a woman i should not have. i paid her with a cheque. i wish i hadn't done that. a failed politician who became a tv star and to some a symbol of moral decay. you brought to the chaos which, warmth and always a jerry final thought. warmth and always a jerry final thou . ht. ., , , ., thought. there has never been a moment in _ thought. there has never been a moment in the _ thought. there has never been a moment in the 25 _ thought. there has never been a moment in the 25 years - thought. there has never been a moment in the 25 years of- thought. there has never been a moment in the 25 years of doing j moment in the 25 years of doing this/ that i thought i was

better than the people who appear on our state. i am not better. only luckier. until next time, take care of yourself and each other. jerry springer, who has died at the age of 79. david yontef is a reality tv commentator and host of the behind the velvet rope podcast. jerry springer described himself as the ringmaster of civlisation's end. would you agree with him? i would. i mean, iwould. i mean, ithink i would. i mean, i think he actually said that when he was on my podcast one of the times. i mean, look — you look at where we are today in the world, real housewives, kardashian's. he wasjoking. it is not the end of civilisation but he really is the godfather. people for social media and anything we had in reality tv, thatis anything we had in reality tv, that is whatjerry springer was

doing. he was taking ordinary, for lack of a better word, people, and giving them a voice. so i think it was a trailblazer and so ahead of his time. ., ., time. you met him and interviewed _ time. you met him and interviewed him. - time. you met him and interviewed him. what| time. you met him and - interviewed him. what was he like? i interviewed him. what was he like? , ., like? i interviewed him several times actually. _ like? i interviewed him several times actually. i _ like? i interviewed him several times actually. ithink- like? i interviewed him several times actually. i think we - like? i interviewed him several times actually. i think we evenj times actually. i think we even just saw it in the package there. he was such a down—to—earth guy. when he says, "the thing about me was i never felt better or higher than the people i interviewed," he really means that. he really was this ordinary guy who wanted to be a politician and he was a lawyer and he happened to step into this tv career and you would walk down the streets of new york or where ever you would see him and he would just be like an average everyday person. i think that is what was so special about him — he wasn't relatable. he never bought into that celebrity lifestyle. —— he was very relatable. he was relatable to the people that watched him and he had on as gas. pm the people that watched him and he had on as gas.— he had on as gas. an ordinary iu that he had on as gas. an ordinary guy that was _ he had on as gas. an ordinary guy that was at _ he had on as gas. an ordinary guy that was at one _ he had on as gas. an ordinary guy that was at one point - he had on as gas. an ordinary. guy that was at one point more famous than oprah and made a

lot of money from this career. do you think tv, whether it is possible for tb to row back from where jerry possible for tb to row back from wherejerry springer initially steered it? ——tv. i think it was possible at one point. i think that train has left the station and now it has taken a two—hour — you look at the real housewives and the reality we have here in the us and across the pond where you are, now i think there is not. the train has left the station and there is such an appetite for this type of tv. i think at one point there probably was but i think now we have just taken it to a whole new level. you set a little earlier that he gave a voice to ordinary people. do you think you would have worked in the era of social media if he was starting out his programme now? i think it could have _ out his programme now? i think it could have worked, _ out his programme now? i think it could have worked, but - out his programme now? i think it could have worked, but i - it could have worked, but i think now social media is really be jerry think now social media is really bejerry springer show. now, if you have any type —

best of all, anyone could turn on the tv now. they can turn on their phone and look at tiktok, so i think it would have worked but i don't think it would have been as revolutionary or as big. i don't thinkjerry springer would have beenjerry springer would have been jerry springer would have beenjerry springer because what would be so novel about what he was doing in today's day and age? which i think makes him a trailblazer and so revolutionary and i think that is why he was met with such controversy because it was such a different time. i think anyone that is the first to be anyway gets criticised, but now it is like we all are living the jerry it is like we all are living thejerry springer show reality. the jerry springer show reali . ., ., ,, reality. david yontef, thank ou for reality. david yontef, thank you for your _ reality. david yontef, thank you for your time _ reality. david yontef, thank you for your time and - reality. david yontef, thank you for your time and your. you for your time and your thoughts on a jerry springer who has died at the age of 79. thank you. ijust want i just want to remind you ijust want to remind you of our breaking news. ukraine has been hit by a wave of missiles fired by russia at several cities including the capital kyiv. the capital has been heavily attacked for the first

time in over 50 days. officials say 11 missiles and to attack drones were shot down by the air defence system. to stay with us for the business news. hello. well, it's a very damp picture out there at the moment, a lot of cloud shrouding the uk. but if we have a look at the satellite picture, you can see some big gaps in the clouds to the west and southwest of us. that is heading our way, so there will be some sunshine on friday. let's have a look at the outlook, though, for the next few days. so, yes, sunny spells to come on friday, particularly by the time we get to the afternoon. but overall, the bank holiday weekend is actually going to be quite warmer compared to what we've been used to in the last few days. having said that, showers are also expected. so the forecast then for early friday — a lot of cloud. you can see where it's still raining across parts of scotland, the north of england,

but by this stage, it's already starting to dry out, particularly across wales and the southwest. and as we go through the morning, into the afternoon, we'll see sunny spells developing widely. first, across the southern half of the uk and then eventually a little bit further north too. but one or two showers certainly on the cards for friday. temperatures at best around 19 or even 20 celsius in the southeast, about 14 celsius expected in glasgow and not far off that in belfast. now, as we go through the weekend, we'll continue to see relatively mild air coming in from the south, not as hot, anywhere near as hot, as it has been in spain, the south of spain and portugal. now, our air is actually coming all the way from the azores, so, yes, the mild direction, but we're not going to be getting the heat you may have heard about across iberia. so saturday then, a scattering of showers on the cards but sunny spells too, and here are the temperatures — around 19 celsius again in london, but quite chilly across parts of scotland. aberdeen, for example, no higher than around 8 celsius. and here's a look at sunday again — a real mixed bag on the way.

some of the showers could turn out to be really heavy on sunday, perhaps even with some cracks of thunder on the way. now, the temperatures around the mid teens across the northern part of england and into the lowlands. warmest spots again in the south. and then as we go into monday, bank holiday monday, high pressure is expected to build across the uk, but it's not going to be completely dry, because, again, in the north, especially in scotland, we are anticipating some showers. so here's the outlook from saturday onwards — it is a bit of a mixed bag, especially through the weekend, and actually into next week, you can see those temperatures easing once again. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. delivering again: amazon sharesjump as the online retail giant makes much more money than expected, adding to hopes that the slump in big tech is over. also coming up, high stakes: the uk unveils the biggest shake—up in gambling rules in two decades. but campaigners say the odds are still stacked in the industry's favour. plus, making themselves �*herd': british beef farmers say they can be carbon neutral amid concern about the climate impact of red meat. we'll be hearing from one of them.

now, for the business news, i'm victoria valentine.