live from london. this is bbc news. pakistan's former prime minister imran khan is released from custody — what next for the country, after days of violent unrest? a man in the uk who evaded justice for 30 years has been found guilty of murdering seven—year—old schoolgirl nikki allen. thousands of migrants gather near the us border after new rules are brought in. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start in pakistan, where the former prime minister imran khan has been freed from custody, a day after the supreme court ruled his dramatic arrest on corruption charges was illegal.

imran khan was released on protected bail, meaning he can not be re—arrested for at least two weeks. what you can see now was the scene as mr khan arrived at court — he's in the middle of this crowd, wearing sunglasses at the centre of the crowd. earlier, he told the bbc he believed he would be detained again immediately after his release. nearly 2,000 people have been arrested for violence since his detention on tuesday and at least eight have been killed. we are still waiting to see his departure. this is the scene hours later, you can see the assembled security forces around that court building and numerous press and media waiting to hear from the former prime minister. it has been a dramatic 2a hours with the

intervention of the supreme court and before that the extraordinary arrest on tuesday that the supreme court deemed it illegal that sparked so much unrest in many parts of pakistan. we are continuing to watch the pictures and haven't seen or heard from imran khan since he was granted bail and soon—to—be released there. the bbc�*s urdu correspondent kept us up—to—date earlier from a slammer bad. imran khan didn't speak to the media. i mean, he has been talking to media off camera and in which he, you know, he answered few of the questions at one point he also blamed the leadership of pakistan's military and said that they are responsible for whatever is happening in the country and whatever is happening to him. so this is what he said. but otherwise, he didn't speak to the media. he stayed in the court. while we speak, imran khan, is still inside the court premises and he's not ready to leave the court until, and unless he gets a written, written verdict from the court. his lawyer has spoken to the media

and said that they have requested the court to grant a written order ensuring that imran khan won't be arrested if he travels back to his residence in lahore. so imran khan is still inside the court waiting for a written verdict and we see a huge deployment of of law enforcement agencies outside the court. many of them, we have been hearing, from different reports, that many of the policemen are out there with some arrest warrants and to arrest imran khan on some other charges which have been filed in the last 2 to 3 days, when there were there were protests going on across the country. so that is the reason that imran khan has, you know, he has chosen to stay inside the court unless he has the order in writing that he will not be arrested till monday morning. i'm joined now by the politcal scientist ayesha siddiqa, senior fellow at king's college and author of �*military inc'.

thank you for being here on the programme. your assessment on what we have seen over the most extraordinary 2a hours. we have seen over the most extraordinary 24 hours. definitely, it is extraordinary. _ extraordinary 24 hours. definitely, it is extraordinary. on _ extraordinary 24 hours. definitely, it is extraordinary. on the - extraordinary 24 hours. definitely, it is extraordinary. on the one - it is extraordinary. 0n the one hand, imran khan is waiting for orders and we also have the group which has announced its supporters will surround the supreme court and protest outside. things are not looking good and i think part of the problem is that imran khan has named and said to the bbc correspondent in pakistan that his thanks and anxiety, anger and fight is not with the army but with one man, the army chief. 0n the other hand, he is trying to get his army together. this is to push back imran khan.

there is a divide within the army and thejudiciary and there is a divide within the army and the judiciary and political system. a very fractured and heavily under the pressure of this conflict. as you are talking we are watching the live pictures. heavy security, as you were intimating. in terms of the protests we have seen since tuesday, is that your assessment that his release will help to quell those protests? 0r that his release will help to quell those protests? or does it have the potential to fuel further protests given the long list of grievances from him and his supporters? what i see is that if his supporters see him getting pushed further, even if he is released, if the decisions are against him, they are going to protest further. and if you put him injail, they protest further. and if you put him in jail, they are definitely going to retaliate a bear will be more

violence. as i mention, the real question here is that given the army general headquarters are the heart of the army as a politically strong institution, there seems to be critical divide. and this divide remains there. you will see more of this violence. individually, politically, pti burke is very motivated and want to protect imran khan who for them as a symbol of democracy. a final question, as we are looking at the situation politically, the military is part of the equation. when he came to power it was thought he had the backing of the military. there was always denied and he lost it and became a vocal critic of the military. they have a pivotal role, don't they? where do you think they are in all of this and likely to go on all of

this? i of this and likely to go on all of this? , ., of this and likely to go on all of this? , . ., , this? i see that the military right now is critically _ this? i see that the military right now is critically divided - this? i see that the military right now is critically divided from - now is critically divided from within. the military fraternity which isn'tjust serving officers but retired officers, the families etc, they are very supportive of imran khan and believe in him. he by the way is not a symbol of democracy or strengthening of democracy if he comes back. what to do these protesters want to support from the army? they want to see them army chief support imran khan. this is not about civil strengthening in comparison to the military. there is one leader and supporters trying to push back the military so they can bring him back power. this is where the army's role is critical the army chief has to put his head around, trying to force his way to see if he

can get his people together. recently, very recently, we heard the lahore commander sitting in decision—making with army chief has been removed. that is a critical thing which is happening. so let's see how he brings his men together. it's a very fluid and unstable situation in pakistan. thank you for joining us. we will keep our eye on that and if there are developments, we will return straightaway back to pakistan. there has been an important breaking story here in the uk in the last 60 minutes. a convicted child abuser has been found guilty of murdering a seven year old girl in sunderland in the north east of england — more than thirty years after the killing took place. nikki allan was beaten and stabbed before her body was dumped in a derelict building. just a short while ago,

a jury convicted david boyd. danny savage reports. a little seven—year—old girl brutally murdered more than 30 years ago. last seen skipping after a man she was being lured to her death by the river wear. we now know who that man was. david boyd, 25 years old at the time, now 55. advances in dna evidence found traces of him on nikki allan's clothes. nikki lived in a ground floorflat on this estate in sunderland. her killer lived on the third floor of the block. the whole estate has since been demolished. sharon is nikki's mum. it's hard to comprehend the effect this has had on her life. your life just changed and nobody...

i'm sitting there and... i felt like a zombie. my sister came in. "what shoes did nikki have on her feet?" i said i couldn't remember. the search ended when nikki's body was found dumped in this derelict building not farfrom her home. there was uproar at leeds crown court today when a jury acquitted a 24—year—old man of murder in 1993. the family had to endure a trial where another man was cleared of nikki's murder. thatjury in leeds were right. but it was a terrible ordeal for her relatives. horrendous, terrible. for three decades after this photo was taken, david boyd thought

he'd got away with it. one of northeast england's most notorious crimes has now been solved. nikki allan's killer has finally been convicted. danny savage, bbc news, newcastle. a controversial immigration policy in the us has expired, and officials are warning about a potential surge in migrants at the us—mexico border. before we look in detail at the policy itself, here are some of the latest pictures from the us—mexico border, where large groups of people are waiting near the barbed wire, poised to make that crossing. officials have said 10 thousand people have made their way to the areas around the southern us border. president biden acknowledged earlier in the week — the situation may be chaotic in the coming days. these pictures from last night show you some of the contingencies — a heavy presence of armed guards patrolling, reinforcing the barriers — in anticipation of what could develop. as for the policy itself, title 42 was the temporary law

introduced by donald trump, which meant illegal migrants could be removed quickly, and it expired at midnight washington time. the policy made it easierfor the us to send people back to mexico, using the coronavirus pandemic as justification. live now to el paso and our north america correspondent sophie long. title 42, the demise of it. just set the scene where you are. i am title 42, the demise of it. just set the scene where you are.- the scene where you are. i am in downtown _ the scene where you are. i am in downtown el _ the scene where you are. i am in downtown el paso, _ the scene where you are. i am in downtown el paso, just - the scene where you are. i am in downtown el paso, just a - the scene where you are. i am inj downtown el paso, just a stone's throw away from one of the crossings to the city. there have been hundreds of migrants sleeping on the streets of el paso for months. that is largely of the result of a clearance operation in preparation for the anticipated influx of people coming across the border when title 42 was lifted. at the moment, we

haven't seen that. things remain very much the same as they had been for several days now. having said that, as you pointed out, there are tens of thousands of people on the other side of the border waiting to come in. many of them have been there for months. people on the other side of the border had told us that the scenes there are very similar to those we saw yesterday, very long queues of people going to the border to come on over. if you people have turned round and go back. this restriction was lifted and new in place which make it more difficult to claim asylum. that has attracted huge criticism from human rights organisations and as is the subject of some lawsuits. some people are very against that now you need to demonstrate that you have already sought asylum in a third country if you travelled through others to get here. human rights

organisations say that doesn't fit in with international law and you should be able to seek asylum however you got here. figs should be able to seek asylum however you got here.- should be able to seek asylum however you got here. as you were talkin: to however you got here. as you were talking to me. _ however you got here. as you were talking to me, the _ however you got here. as you were talking to me, the very _ however you got here. as you were talking to me, the very latest - however you got here. as you were talking to me, the very latest from | talking to me, the very latest from the homeland security officials say that's us border authorities did not see any substantial increase of migrants crossing the us—mexico border when those restrictions ended at midnight on thursday. they are not seeing in these immediate hours any increase in number at the texas department of public safety has said over recent days that they were worried of a stampede at a football match, that was the parallel they were drawing. that was the worry but what are people saying to you? the people who made it over the border, you have been talking to some of them. what have they said you? i think the thing to remember is that whenever there is a policy change or rumour of a policy change along the

us southern border, there is huge confusion amongst the many thousands of people desperate to come in. when you talk to people who have made it over to the side and i asked them over to the side and i asked them over the last couple of days, why are you aware, are you aware that there is a change in the rules coming? and each and every one of them said no. you have to remember these are people who do not have a plan b. they have used all their savings, gone into debt, done everything they can to get to this point. whether it is title 42 or 48, they don't speak much english and are very unaware of changes happening. they only have hope. when i asked them if they are more or less hope for under the new rules, they say they are just hoping they will be able to stay. in terms of the regulations are what they mean to people here, it is very little. they will come whatever the rules and whoever the president is of the united states. find and whoever the president is of the united states.— united states. and of course it is so politically _ united states. and of course it is so politically charged, _ united states. and of course it is so politically charged, that - united states. and of course it is so politically charged, that is - so politically charged, that is likely to dominate over the next few

months. thank you for the latest and we will talk again in the coming hours. we'll get the latest from the mexican side. this is bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news now. the uk economy grew only weakly in the first three months of the year — with the strikes, the cost of living pressures and wet weather all having an impact. the uk economy grew by 0.1% between jaunuary and march, the uk economy grew by 0.1% between january and march, according to the office for national statistics, though it did avoid recession. the uk's largest cancer treatment centre, has been downgraded by the care quality commission, amid allegations that it tried to stop staff speaking openly when inspections took place. the christie hospital in manchester has now been rated improvement�* in terms of safe care and leadership. the christie said it is working hard to make the necessary improvements. the uk's wave of strikes continue — this is time it is train passengers

facing cancellations. it's the start of two days of disruption on the railways, which will hit thousands of passengers — some of them trying to get to the final of the eurovision song contest in liverpool. you're live with bbc news. ukraine says it has recaptured ground in bakhmut — after months of the fierst fighting for the city. the country's deputy defence minister said they advanced 2 kilometres in a week. moscow state military bloggers have reported the ukrainian advances as well. and the head of the russian wagner military group earlier even accused regular russian troops of abandoning positions in bakhmut. the kremlin has denied any reports of ukrainian gains. live now to security correspondent frank gardner.

he has been given a visit to the quick reaction pilots at an airbase in estonia where the uk while air force has taken over from germany in leading the baltic air patrol. thank you for being here on the programme. there is the change, talk me through it. i there is the change, talk me through it. , , , ., ., ., it. i 'ust spent the afternoon with the it. i just spent the afternoon with the r0 al it. i just spent the afternoon with the royal air— it. i just spent the afternoon with the royal air force _ it. i just spent the afternoon with the royal air force typhoons - it. i just spent the afternoon with the royal air force typhoons at l it. i just spent the afternoon with l the royal air force typhoons at the airbase, what used to be a soviet airbase, what used to be a soviet air bullet airbase it is now a very busy nato airbase. it is not directly connected to ukraine but it one thing that has changed since the invasion in february last year is that there are a lot more nations involved now. there is a lot more concerned that if russia is going to cross the border and invade a country, nato needs to bolster and

strengthen its defences and be more alert on its borders. i was able to see the raf typhoons taking off, landing and actually talk to some of the pilots who are basically sitting at almost no notice whatsoever. they might be watching tv, they might have their feet might be watching tv, they might have theirfeet up, might be watching tv, they might have their feet up, having a cup of coffee and then the blue light goes and it is all pandemonium as they scramble for the aircraft to intercept. we're not talking about aircraft invading but suspicious activity would be ones that for example haven't followed a flight plan. they are not letting the flight concluded is in the flight information region know what their plans are. that makes them look suspicious and special if they have got what is called dirty wings, carrying missiles, that makes people doubly worried. that is what the air patrol is doing on a daily basis.

ukraine, this is a separate but not disconnected story, the ukrainians advancing two kilometres, it is insignificant simply because it is the first real advance we have had about four months. but if you look on the map, you won't see any difference. we are talking about almost first world war level changes here. there are some on the russian side who are concerned that this is the beginning of ukraine's big promise of the summer offensives. the president of ukraine has said they are not ready yet and they would do it when the time is right, if they do it now they would lose too many people. they think it will cost a lot of lives. that could possibly be a deliberate attempt to mislead russia. there is still a lot of mystery about when this offensive will start and where. the fact that the ukrainians are making some headway around bakhmut is leading

some people to think that may be thatis some people to think that may be that is where in the use of the country they are going to make their big move. there would not makes make sense strategically but areas where they think ukraine are going to attack. wow thank you. figs they think ukraine are going to attack. wow thank you. as frank was talkin: , a attack. wow thank you. as frank was talking. a line _ attack. wow thank you. as frank was talking, a line is _ attack. wow thank you. as frank was talking, a line is being _ attack. wow thank you. as frank was talking, a line is being reported, - attack. wow thank you. as frank was talking, a line is being reported, a i talking, a line is being reported, a line we were bringing you yesterday about stuart storm shadow cruise missiles from kyiv. the kremlin says it is very hostile so more action emerging from moscow after that move. we had from ben wallace about the missiles being sent to ukraine in advance of the counter offensive. we will keep an eye on that and return to it if there is more. let's

return to it if there is more. let's return to it if there is more. let's return to the story we were hearing about earlier about the expression of title 42. that expired at midnight and we hear of the worries of thousands of people heading to the borders in the last few days. let's speak now to jennifer who is an immigration attorney based in texas. thank you for being here on the programme. in terms of the people you are seeing, talking to, give us a sense of what they are saying to you and the sort of help they need to go full and understand this change come into effect. ,., ., understand this change come into effect. , ., ., ., understand this change come into effect. ., ., ~ understand this change come into effect. ., ., ., effect. good morning, thank you for have me.

effect. good morning, thank you for have me- this _ effect. good morning, thank you for have me. this is _ effect. good morning, thank you for have me. this is a _ effect. good morning, thank you for have me. this is a situation - effect. good morning, thank you for have me. this is a situation of - have me. this is a situation of desperation for many people in mexico to be able to claim asylum in the us. the number one need right now prior to being able to enter is just legal information and an understanding of what is to come. presenting yourself to a body official —— border official in the us. humanitarian reception and save transit to theirfamily us. humanitarian reception and save transit to their family and friends in the us. ., , ., ., transit to their family and friends in the us. ., , ., . , transit to their family and friends in the us. ., , ., ., , ., in the us. people who are trying to cross illegally _ in the us. people who are trying to cross illegally are _ in the us. people who are trying to cross illegally are barred _ in the us. people who are trying to cross illegally are barred from - cross illegally are barred from asylum for five years. they are saying they are going to increase the legal avenues to get into the united states. does that work is a combination? i united states. does that work is a combination?— combination? i think those

announcements _ combination? i think those announcements are - combination? i think those - announcements are misleading. the ministration has announced that they are setting up refugee processing centres in guatemala. these can be complementary to asylum but in no way a replacement to legal access via a land bought. she way a replacement to legal access via a land bought.— via a land bought. she was saying that everyone _ via a land bought. she was saying that everyone she _ via a land bought. she was saying that everyone she has _ via a land bought. she was saying that everyone she has spoken - via a land bought. she was saying that everyone she has spoken to l via a land bought. she was saying i that everyone she has spoken to us saying about missing information being given by smuggling gangs. they don't know what the facts are and arriving at the border. is that part of the problem that explains some of the numbers we are seeing?- the numbers we are seeing? firstly, i think the numbers _ the numbers we are seeing? firstly, i think the numbers we _ the numbers we are seeing? firstly, i think the numbers we must - i think the numbers we must acknowledge, the numbers we are seeing are based on the fact that title 42 has been in place for three

years. in addition, human smuggling does contribute to misinformation. that said, organisations have been working for years to inseminate information and educate migrants for how to know what the actual way to enter and claim asylum is. we how to know what the actual way to enter and claim asylum is.- enter and claim asylum is. we are almost at a _ enter and claim asylum is. we are almost at a time, _ enter and claim asylum is. we are almost at a time, thanks - enter and claim asylum is. we are almost at a time, thanks for- almost at a time, thanks for explaining the legal difficulties and what those people are actually grappling with. we are monitoring the situation and seeing pictures from el paso on the american side, the texas side of the border and waiting to talk and get analysis on the mexican side of the border. don't forget, the vice president kamala harris was tasked byjoe biden at the start of the administration to try to get to groups with everything happening on the border. we are seeing yet

another explosion of this is a political issue. more to come. the weekend is just hours away. how is weather looking? it's not looking bad at all for most of us. saturday in particular will be a nice day with some warm sunshine widely across the uk. today, the weather is hit and miss. across the uk. today, the weather is hitand miss. a across the uk. today, the weather is hit and miss. a weather front has been crossing the south—east and central, southern parts of england. cloud and rain and many of the country are shrouded with cloud today. it is cool on the north sea coast, may be only 10 degrees in some spots. the best of the weather will be in the west with temperatures up to 20 celsius. this evening and overnight, it is going

to be dry for most of us, clear spells across many northern and western areas of the uk and this is where the sunshine will greet us on sunday morning. —— saturday morning. many eastern parts. cloudy and then sunshine will develop later in the afternoon. after that it is a case of sunny skies, 20 degrees in all the major cities. a beautiful day on the major cities. a beautiful day on the way but the uv index is high. the strong sun is very strong at this time of year. the forecast for saturday night into sunday shows a change in our weather. a cold front approaches the north—west and introduces 50 cloud and some outbreaks of rain. that warmth on saturday will be replaced by cooler

and showers and cloudy conditions. that's sunny weather will contrast to the east and south—east but as high as 22 degrees in london on sunday. 20 degrees into parts of yorkshire. next week, cold weather returns so the brief summer —like weather won't last long. temperatures heading into monday, tuesday and wednesday, we are back into the teens but it looks like it will be dry.

this is bbc new. the headlines: pakistan's former prime minister imran khan is released from custody. what next for the country after violent unrest? a man in the uk who evaded justice for 30 years has been found guilty of murdering nikki allan. at eurovision, where we know the line—up for the final, but train strikes me and many fans don't know how they will get here to watch it. more on those stories in a moment or two. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre,

here's sarah mulkerrins. hello from the bbc sport centre.