welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. fighting continues in sudan despite pledges to honour a ceasefire, as the un warns of an escalating humanitarian disaster. fire and fury in france. police make 300 arrests as pensions protesters come out in force for the may day rallies. the californian bank first republic becomes the third american lender to collapse this year. and the stars are out — the annual fashion fixture the met gala is under way in new york.

live from our studio in singapore — this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. we start in sudan, where the united nations is sending its top aid official to help co—ordinate relief efforts. it comes as the agency's humanitarian coordinator in sudan says that the situation there is turning into a "full—blown catastrophe" — warning that more than 800,000 people may flee the country as a result of the ongoing violence. meanwhile, fighting continues in the capital khartoum despite a ceasefire agreed by both sides. evacuation flights are still taking off from port sudan on the red sea.

those not able to leave there by plane are taking boats across tojeddah in saudi arabia. 0ur correspondent andrew harding reports. 0n sudan's coast, the scramble to escape goes on. foreign nationals register for a boat ride to safety. this morning, some 300 of them arrived here injeddah, saudi arabia, having crossed the red sea from port sudan. all sorts of embassies on hand to claim their own. several british families were on board, having made their own way to sudan's coast, each with grim stories. it was scary. terrifying. there was a few shells that hit the house. your own house? yes. 0n the roof of the house. a few neighbours, a girl, she was 16 years old. rogue bullet in the house, killed her. killed her? yes. i left behind my family. i don't want, i really don't i want to go, but my husband, my kids, in the us. in a few days, it's - going to be really bad

because there is nothingi to eat, there's no water, there's no electricity, it's really damaged. i these foreign evacuations are happening more regularly now. indeed, some countries like britain are already starting to wind their operations down. but the conflict that triggered all this rages on. sudan's two warring generals, despite agreeing to yet another ceasefire, seem determined to settle this militarily. the proof of that, black smoke still rising today from the banks of the river nile. sudan's capital, khartoum under heavy bombardment. 0n the streets, the paramilitary rsf vow to fight on.

0utside, food queues for the millions still stuck in khartoum. a global relief operation has barely begun to address the humanitarian crisis growing here and across sudan. this is one of africa's biggest countries, but it is now at risk of total collapse. these families, already fleeing west across the border into neighbouring chad, with the un warning today that hundreds of thousands could soon follow suit. andrew harding, bbc news. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, travelled to port sudan and met some of the people fleeing the fighting. she is now injeddah in saudia arabia, where many of the vessels evacuating people have been arriving. this fighting is now in its third week. and with every day, you feel this crisis deepening, the united nations has said tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes,

to flee their lives they lived. to head in whatever direction, across whatever border, into whatever country they think will take them. and there are predictions now that this will get worse, much worse. 0ne senior un official was quoted today as saying the exodus could reach as high as 800,000 and others say it will be millions. this is a crisis that sees no easy solutions. it is accelerating, as the united nations put it, at a speed and scale that is unprecedented. the un's humanitarian chief, martin griffiths, spoke of a situation that was at breaking point and that's what you see on the faces, the people that we meet here in the port city ofjeddah, arriving on the saudi warships or on the ships that have been laid on by the americans, the british, the indians, whatever nation has the resources to send the vessels across this red sea crossing, a journey which can take anywhere from ten to 18 hours to, well,

to rescue their nationals or people, foreigners with many nationalities, sudanese who are lucky enough to have second passports. so many people told us they didn't want to leave. they were sad and fearful about leaving sudan, about leaving sudanese behind. but they knew they had no other choice. and for so many sudanese, those choices are narrowing by the day. 0ur chief international correspondent on that story for us. in france, nearly 300 people have been arrested and more than 100 police injured as protesters used traditional may day rallies to show their continued opposition to the change in the pension age. the government said three quarters of a million people took to the streets — unions said the real figure was three times higher. violence erupted in cities including lyon, nantes, strasbourg and in the capital paris, from where our europe correpsondent nick beake sent this report. singing.

the may day march, a french tradition reaching back decades, but fuelling this year's protests, the vision of a future where people must work longer. grandmother clara, a retired postal worker, is refusing to accept the new law. and we are in the street making a mess, a mess, a real mess, i think it is possible to win. i am here to win. within minutes, the soundtrack of the city changed. the hard core clashing with some of the 5000 parisian police on patrol. a cloud now hangs over president macron�*s second term in office after he bypassed parliament to get his signature policy through. this pension reform may have already gone through, but still people are extremely angry. this is the hardcore element, but it reflects a wider anger

of the french people. this was the western city of nantes. of course it is hard to know how much of all of the day's trouble was actually linked to the pensions. in the east, strasbourg, more protests that turned violent after a rejection of the president's claim he is only bringing the official french retirement age into line with other european powers. this evening, hundreds remain on the streets of the capital, but no sign yet any of this will make the french government change their minds. nick beake, bbc news, paris. another major american bank has gone bust, the third this year. regulators say first republic is now being sold to the investment giant, jp morgan chase, with the deal, is expected to cost the us government's insurance fund,

around $13 billion. as of monday, first republic customers turning up at their bank are in fact customers ofjp morgan chase. the signs above will soon change. first republic had been under pressure since the collapse of silicon valley bank and signature bank two months earlier. last week, it revealed deposited had removed $100 million in the space of a few months. investors are convinced it was about to fail. riding to the rescue of america's financial system the boss of america's biggest bank, jamie dimon. this is getting near the end of it and hopefully it helps stabilise everything. i think all the regional banks, they actually had some pretty good results. first republic is the biggest us bank failure since 2008. it invariably brings back

memories of the collapse of lehman brothers and bear stearns and the global financial crisis that followed. industry experts say the causes this time are very different. it's about two things, it's about the speed with which interest rates had to be hiked and the monetary excess which really preceded it, which is quite different to what happened in say 2007. for the biden administration, the 11th—hour rescue package is a win. all depositors are protected, and the taxpayers are not on the hook. these actions are going to make sure the banking system is safe and sound, and that includes protecting small businesses across the country. despite assurances that the banking system in the united states is safe, three lenders have failed in less than two months, and as the us economy seems to teeter towards its slowdown, there are fears here on wall street that more banks could fail. samira hussein, bbc news, new york.

with washington as tensions rise with china in and unsafe conduct" in the south china sea. the us and the philippines held their largest everjoint military drills last week. during the meeting, both leaders reiterated their pledge to face their challenges together. the united states also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defence of the philippines, including the south china sea, and we're going to continue to support the philippines�* military modernisation goals. you know, when we met in new york last year,

you told me that a strong alliance has to continue, "to evolve as we face the challenges of this new century." and we are facing new challenges. and i can't think of any better partner to have than you. in the difficult times that we are facing ahead of us, we need to find many ways to strengthen our alliances and our partnerships in the face of the new economy that we are facing post—pandemic. beyond that, there are also the issues, geopolitical issues that have made the region where the philippines is possibly arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now. richard heydarian who is a senior lecturer at the university of the philippines.

military relationship is being viewed. well, this is the first visit by the philippine president to the white house in almost a decade. you know, the former president completely boycotted not only the united states but any western capital. so it was extremely important for a philippine president who is traditionally choosing washington, dc as one of the first destinations to come there and to iron out the details and also the future direction of the philippine—us military cooperation just days before visiting the white house, he attended one of the biggest war games, close to 18,000 troops participated in exercises simulating a potential war with china. if you look at marcos jr, during his visits, he emphasises wanting to talk about economics, because it's also feeling the jitters, as the philippines tighten their security cooperation

with the us, there is a growing risk of more and more military harassment if not confrontation with china just in the south china straits close to taiwan. on that, you know, that relationship with china for the it's particularly tricky, because on the one hand, they have a security alliance or some kind of relationship of the united states, but they depend on china for economic investment and trade. how is the philippines navigating this? yes, as far as the philippines is concerned, i think it's exposure to the chinese... singapore, thailand, malaysia, especially as in countries which are geographically very close to china, including vietnam, which has very tricky geopolitical relationship it really relies on china big time for imports and trade.

in the philippines we have a much more diversified portfolio things to japan and the united states. if they are in the mix talking about the big ticket infrastructure investments, if we are talking a larger trade volume standard. i think that's why what i think marcus wants to do is further expand economic relationship with the united states under the specific economic framework. in order to make sure that should china retaliate against the philippines, should chinese aim for some kind of de facto embargo to make its displeasure with the new system with americans across the philippines, then he would have an option. so he is looking for an economic conclusion. but i'm not really optimistic about whatever president biden is really in a position to give something major to the philippines in terms of market access in terms of trade and investment deals. i think that's where this meeting is going to be quite challenging for marcos jr. is it possible to say, you know, which side the philippines would choose

in the event of a possible conflict between the united states and china over something like taiwan, for instance? right. taiwan is closer to the philippines geographically than practically all of their south asian asean countries. it'sjust over 100 nautical miles. it's just a two—hour flight from major cities to the north of the philippines. as far as where marcoer has come from culturally. so it is too geographically close for us to sit it out. and at the same time, we are us treaty ally and getting access to american troops as far as some sites close to taiwan are concerned. so definitely the philippines will be on the american side, but this is precisely why president marcos jr wants to make it look as if his relationship of the united states is notjust about the military bases, it is much more comprehensive. because he wants to have a comprehensive relationship with all superpowers, and i wouldn't be surprised in the coming months

and weeks he will try to say things to appease china. but if he will be in a position to appease china having already given an american so much military access to the philippines... i think he wants a goldilocks level of american presence in the philippines, so china think twice about invading taiwan. but not too many americans on philippine soil to provoke china into inviting economic sanctions and other kinds of retaliation from china. you are watching bbc news. this bay is absolutely beautiful today and we have to beautiful today and we have to be 100% sure before we do anything that could damage this beautiful environment. a canadian company plans to capture and store carbon in these waters by pumping in an

alkaline mineral called magnesium hydroxide lawyer and outfall pipe. it has the community concern, with the question remaining, why here? they say after extensive research on potential sites, the cornish coast provides the ideal conditions, because the water is shallow and turbulent, and the current to keep water near the surface for a long time. a very small trial took place last autumn and the environment agency has asked for more information on the potential impact on this marine habitat. the climate credentials are under scrutiny. as more questions are being asked, the company hopes for a may orjune two trial are looking uncertain.

local authorities say 3a civilians have been injured. ukraine's energy ministry says these overnight attacks have also resulted in thousands of people being left without power in parts of two regions to the east of the country. ukraine military says it shot down 15 of the 18 cruise missiles that were fired, and ukraine correspondent has more. the ukrainian military said 15 of the 18 cruise missiles fired by russia were intercepted by the country's air defence, including all missiles fired at the capital kyiv, where the air raid alert sounded at four o'clock this morning. the city

of pavlohrad was attacked. pictures of widespread damage in that city and local officials said an industrial facility was hit, dozens of buildings damaged and more than 30 people were injured. russian commentators said military targets were hit in this city. this happens as the ukrainians say they are finishing their plans for a major counter offensive after receiving military support from western countries, and offensive in which they will try to take back territory now under occupation. covid—19 vaccine requirements for foreign travellers to the united states will be withdrawn next week, to coincide with the end of the three—year public health emergency. the white house said the end of the vaccine mandate on may 11th would also apply to federal employees and contractors. the pandemic killed more than a million

americans, though the white house emphasised thatjabs had saved millions more. the programme faced a significant political backlash and non—compliance by anti—vaxxers. a number of people have reportedly been killed in a pile—up involving dozens of vehicles in a dust storm in the american state of illinois. police said as many as 60 cars and lorries were involved in the crashes. around 30 people were taken to hospital. hundreds of properties have been destroyed in virginia beach in the us after a powerful tornado swept through in the early hours of monday morning. authorities said there were no injuries or loss of life but a state of emergency�*s in place in the city while some of the damage is assessed. germany's launched a travel card that enables people to make unlimited public transportjourneys for 49 euros a month. 0nly high—speed long—distance trains are excluded. the government which is subsisidsing the scheme

says it's to help people with inflation and to encourage more environmentally friendly travel. ed sheeran and his guitar have been back in court in new york he's accused of copying marvin gaye's let's get it on on his track thinking out loud. he was cross—examined in a sometimes testy exchange with the prosecution and found himself playing the track in court as part of his evidence. thousands of people are due in liverpool this week as the city prepares to host the eurovision song contest on behalf of last year's winners, ukraine. today sees the start of the two—week cultural festival, eurofest, which runs alongside eurovision. ian haslam has more from liverpool. liverpool's nelson monument encased in two and a half thousand sandbags to reflect what's happening in ukraine. at the centre of the piece — a short film. eurofest has 2a

brand—new commissions, 19 a combination of liverpool and ukrainian artists from theatre, through to the installations you see here, whether it's purely eurovision, or pieces of incredible work like this. it's got something for everyone. among those looking at the work — sisters yulia and yanna from ukraine. in ukraine, we have all of this. it is very emotional to see this here, so wejust started to cry a little. it's very important for your support. we are very grateful. around the corner is this mural — titled sound of freedom. this piece expires the cultural identity of nations via music. it's a bit set back where it is, but if you walk past it, you certainly won't miss this. it's beautiful, it's colourful. an exciting time for the city. it's like everyone is coming together, the music is always so bouncy and happy. it is great. the nightingale is the national bird of ukraine — 12 of them —

called the songbirds — have now popped up. people like me come to take pictures, it is bringing a little bit of a vibe to the city. we've seen loads of them. do like these birds? yeah? while at pier head — works beginning on the eurovision fan zone. at the moment not too much to see, but they've started to put a few fences up. it will change rapidly over the coming days. it's going to be absolutely amazing to have some of eurovision in liverpool. a childhood dream, really. excitement levels ten out of ten? also out and about today — monica — lithuania's eurovision entrant. monica, what a stroke of luck seeing you here. are you excited about performing at eurovision? yes, i'm excited. and now we are just spending the free day in a good way. i want to share my music and spread the message,

and open as many people's hearts as possible, and that is the thing, you know? one of the biggest nights in fashion is under way — with some of hollywood's a—listers arriving at the met gala in new york. anna wintour — the editor in chief of vogue who controls the guest list — was one of the first to walk the red carpet, alongside bill nighy. the actress penelope cruz and singer dua lipa — who are among the co—chairs for this year's event — have also been showing off their looks. the event takes place at the metropolitan museum of art in new york, and raises money for its costume institute. this year's outfit theme is karl lagerfeld, a choice that's not been without controversy. the fashion designer had been criticised for body shaming and making racist and mysogynistic comments. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello. bank holiday monday did not feel the same everywhere. in wales, it was the warmest day of the year so far, 19.7 celsius in cardiff, very close to 20 celsius. compare that with just 6 celsius across many parts of shetland, some cold arctic air digging its way down from the north. behind this strip of cloud here, a very weak weather front, but that will still be with us into tuesday in the form of this band of cloud, which will be slung across many parts of the uk to start the day. underneath this cloud, some spots of rain and drizzle. through the day, the south west of england should see some sunshine, albeit with some fog around the coasts. wales, the west midlands brightening up too,

northern ireland as well, although there is the chance of catching a shower. more cloud further north and east, although northern scotland should stick with some brighter skies. it will be rather chilly across some northern and eastern parts, whereas out towards the west, say western counties of northern ireland, we could be looking at 18—19. through tuesday night, more cloud will topple its way across northern ireland into western scotland with the odd spot of rain. the clearest of the skies and the lowest of the temperatures will be found across eastern england. some places in east anglia getting close to freezing. but into wednesday, it will be southern parts of england, wales, the midlands, east anglia that see the best of the sunshine. more cloud for northern england. northern ireland cloudy at first, although it should brighten up a little here. for scotland, the cloud will produce some spots of rain, particularly up towards the north west. temperatures between 10—16 celsius. the breeze strengthening in the south later with the odd shower down towards the far southwest. and for thursday, we will see more widespread showery weather pushing its way northwards across a good part

of england and wales, into northern ireland. something a little bit drier but rather cloudy across scotland. and with this keen easterly breeze coming in off the chilly waters of the north sea, if you're spending your day along the east coast, it will feel really rather cool. and even further west, not as warm as it has been, 17 celsius the high for london. now into next weekend, it's another bank holiday, it is the coronation weekend, of course. and this is not great news if you were hoping for dry weather, because we've got low pressure in charge, a frontal system pushing in from the west. so that brings at least the chance for some rain at times. we'll firm up on the details, and we'll keep you up to date.

another one bites the dust — first republic becomes the third bank to collapse in the us since last month. will it be the last? is australia doing enough to keep its carbon emissions on tech? we will have the latest.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm karishma vaswani.