live from washington, this is bbc news. as title 42 ends, us officials say border crossings remain lower than expected — but there are fears that the numbers could rise significantly. plus pakistan's former leader is free on bail. his arrest has led to turmoil in the country. the boss of russia's wagner paramilitaries has accused the regular army of fleeing in the face of a ukrainian advance near bakhmut. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us.

we start at the border of the united states and mexico, and concerns there will be a surge of migrants following the expiration of title a2. that's the measure put in place three years ago, and it was invoked during the trump administration to slow the spread of covid—19 across the us—mexico border. while in doing so, us authorities were allowed to turn away asylum seekers, and while title 42 was in place, around 2.8 million people were expelled — that's according to us customs and border protection. but with the end of the us's health emergency, title 42 has now also officially expired. well, a potential surge of migrants to the us—mexico border could strain local communities and present a humanitarian challenge. and us officials said on friday they — quote — "did not see a substantial increase" in migrant crossings. but many have pointed out that this is only the start of a new reality at the border, and not the end. mexico's government is trying to deter migrants from making the treacherous journey, and has ordered the closure of more than 30 temporary

processing centres for migrants. mexico's foreign minister has also said his country will only accept a maximum of 1000 deportees a day from the us. ur reporter angelica casas has more on what title 42 expiring means for the border. for the last three years, migrants and asylum seekers trying to reach the us have beenin trying to reach the us have been in limbo. title 42 has kept them mostly on the mexican side of the border, but that policy has now expired, and us officials are bracing for an influx of migrants. 13,000 eo - le influx of migrants. 13,000 peeple coming _ influx of migrants. 13,000 people coming across - influx of migrants. 13,000 people coming across the | influx of migrants. 13,000 - people coming across the border illegally every single day. so how did the us get here? in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the centres for disease control and prevention issued an emergency public health order, restricting immigration at us land borders. title 42 enabled

authorities to swiftly expel migrants trying to cross into the country illegally and to block access to asylum in those cases. the policy has been used at least 2.5 million times. donald trump welcomed it as a tool to control immigration. joe biden defended the policy for more than a year. in april 2022, dc the cdc sought to left title 42, saying it diminished health risk. —— citing a diminished. it was blocked by a court challenge until now. as title 42 ends, republicans accused presidentjoe biden allowing open borders and blame him for the spoken migrant arrivals. the white house says there will be strict penalties for those who cross illegally and asylum seekers will be screened quickly and removed if they don't qualify. what happens here at the border will determine who wins that argument.

well, the expiration comes as a 17—year—old migrant from honduras, who arrived to the us without a parent or guardian, died in government custody in a shelter in florida. government figures show that more than 8000 unaccompanied migrant minors are currently under the us department of health and human services' care. with an average custody period of 29 days. the white house spoke about the tragedy this afternoon. it is sad news, deeply saddened to hear and we're certainly aware of the tragic loss and our hearts go out to family and it is, as ijust mentioned, being a mother and celebrating mother's day on sunday, it is very devastating news. there is a medical investigation that was opened on may ten and i don't want to get ahead of that. we need to let the investigation go through. and so any specific questions, certainly i would have to refer you to hhs. there is a medical investigation that was open on may ten and we will let that

go. let's go now to our correspondent will grant who's in mexico city. welcome to you, will. the first day of what some might call a new era with the expiration of title 42. new era with the expiration of title a2. how is it being received across the region? 1 received across the region? i think a lot of governments will be hesitant to take on the biden administration by outwardly criticising that immigration policy at this stage. and it isjust the immigration policy at this stage. and it is just the first few hours or the first few days we are moving into after total a2 has been lifted and the new biden administration version of title eight will replace it. but we have seen almost universal condemnation by ngos and human rights ngos, large ones like save the children through to smaller organisations that deal with, for example, patient migrants or venezuelan migrants, or here

in mexico. they all seem to be saying the same thing, that the new rules system simply denies them their inherent right to be able to apply for asylum at the — as they enter or once in the united states and that it is, of course, very difficult, and the migrants are finding it very different to use the new technique, which is an app called cvp1, which leaves them unable to do the things that the biden administration says they must do because they will not be able to stay and then will be banned from re—entering for five years. the will be banned from re-entering for five yew-— for five years. the mexican government _ for five years. the mexican government has _ for five years. the mexican government has been - for five years. the mexican | government has been trying for five years. the mexican - government has been trying to put deterrent is back in place, also saying they would only accept around 1000 deportees from the united states. the question is what happens to people if they are in the united states, the us authorities say we won't grant you asylum, but mexico says we

are already at capacity for the day. what happens to those people? it day. what happens to those --eole? , . day. what happens to those eo le? , ., , day. what happens to those --eole? ,., , people? it is a very good question- _ people? it is a very good question. there - people? it is a very good question. there is - people? it is a very good question. there is an - people? it is a very good - question. there is an extremely high likelihood, i think, or something like that happening to certainly groups, potentially large groups of migrants. we don't know yet. we have to say that because it is still very early after the rule change but as you say there could be people who have been basically told that they can't come into the united states almost leave will be deported and mexico is simply saying we won't have them. that would then have basically the biden administration deporting them to countries where they themselves are saying that they are dangerous, and haiti being an example. 0n are dangerous, and haiti being an example. on top of that, when we actually think about it, the biden administration is also saying that a safe third country, trying to argue, potentially, that mexico is a safe third country, at the same time, because, as you well know, there is a debate raging in washington and around the

united states that somehow the united states that somehow the united states that somehow the united states should be involved in tackling the cartels on mexican soil over the fentanyl crisis. that in itself suggests it is a hard sell to suggest mexico is a safe country.— sell to suggest mexico is a safe count . �* . ., , , , safe country. and what happens to those who — safe country. and what happens to those who say, _ safe country. and what happens to those who say, ok, - safe country. and what happens to those who say, ok, i - safe country. and what happens to those who say, ok, i will- to those who say, ok, i will wait in my country, will, until i can apply for a silent with these new centres that have been promised by the biden administration. how long will they have to wait? what kinds could they be waiting in? == could they be waiting in? -- what kinds _ could they be waiting in? -- what kinds of _ could they be waiting in? » what kinds of conditions. we don't know when they will be openedin don't know when they will be opened in colombia and guatemala. there could be two more in costa rica and ecuador. we don't have a timeframe. but if they were such a key part of the northern we wouldn't probably be waiting too long, but we could be waiting months at this stage. but some people are now taking a moment, taking are now taking a moment, taking

a breath before taking the journey. cuba, again, a good example. if there will be humanitarian visas to come through the front door with the right to work and the right to remain, that is preferable, obviously, for many who would otherwise have to make a very treacherous journey down through nicaragua all the way through nicaragua all the way through central america, through central america, through here in mexico, in the hands of people smuggling gangs, very expensive and very treacherous. there will be wanting to make people wanting to do that, but that isn't open to do that, but that isn't open to many millions on this continent.— to many millions on this continent. _, , . continent. our correspondence there, continent. our correspondence there. will— continent. our correspondence there, will grant, _ continent. our correspondence there, will grant, reporting . there, will grant, reporting from mexico city. thank you, will. many people have travelled long distances, often facing dangerous conditions along the way. what you are looking at is the beast, a freight train used by some to travel from southern

to northern mexico, a journey of more than 1000 miles. migrants are exposed to extreme temperatures and some have even been injured or even killed while hitching a ride. now from riding trains to crossing jungles, every migrant at the border has their own story. this is that of roxana.

pakistan's former prime minister, imran khan, has been released on bail, after four days in custody. let's take a look at how we got here. mr khan was elected prime minister in 2018. he is a populist who was a renowned cricketed before entering politics. pakistan's parliament ousted him in a vote of confidence vote last year, and he has since been charged with embezzling more than $200 million, accusations he denies. now, on tuesday, paramilitaries seized him from the grounds of islamabad's high court. almost immediately, his supporters took to the streets. on wednesday, the protests spread and turned violent. ten people have since died, and pakistan's government have

accused mr khan of trying to take power by force. yesterday the country's supreme court ruled his detention was unlawful, but mr khan was ordered to attend court before he could leave custody. that takes us to today. islamabad's high court granted him bail, and ordered that he not be arrested again for two weeks. he left custody and has since returned to his home city of lahore. defiant probably sums up imran khan's attitude today. when he arrived at court, he was met in court by some of his supporters who were chanting slogans, there were journalists and lawyers there too, and the paramilitaries that were there to protect him in riot kit, as well as police officers. this was quite an unruly crowd making its way through the court complex, occasionally knocking people off their feet. when he arrived in court he then, during the times that the court was not in session, allowed journalists to have a conversation with them. so i was speaking to him and asked him whether he condoned the behaviour that we have seen in the course of the last few

days, the violence that we have seen in some parts of pakistan. now, he said that he had always promoted peaceful protest, but that he could not be held responsible for what had happened during the course of the last few days because he was in police custody. now, that is not the view that is taken by the pakistan government here, who do put this chaos that has happened in the last few days, they put it down to mr khan's responsibility. this evening mr khan is on his way back home to lahore. we are expecting to see him appear in court again on monday when his bail runs out, but i think one of the most significant things is that imran khan has politically survived the course of this week. and there were points during the course of this week where it was not certain what would happen to the pti, his political party, that movement, how it was going to be affected by mr khan being in police custody. but the fact that he has come through to this weekend is being celebrated by his supporters will presumably make mr khan feel even stronger.

let's go to the frontline in ukraine, where the military said it has recaptured some ground in bakhmut. kyiv said its forces advanced two kilometres in a week, that's 1.2 miles, a rare advance after months of heavy fighting. earlier russia's defence ministry said russian troops in one bakhmut area had changed their position for strategic reasons, but russia's wagner mercenary group disputed that claim. 0ur hugo bachega has more. the ukrainian authorities said ukrainian forces had made some advances near the city of bakhmut in east of the country, a city that has been key to russian forces in don yates. earlier today we had a statement from the russian defence ministry rejecting any ukrainian breakthrough in the region and the authorities also

said that the russian forces had repelled an offensive by the russian military near bakhmut near a town that has been under occupation since january. the russian authorities said this ukrainian push included 1000 troops and “p push included 1000 troops and up to a0 tanks a ukrainian push towards the town of soledar, near bakhmut. russian authorities also indicated that some russian forces had to abandon one position in the area of bakhmut. now, yevgeny prigozhin, leader of the wagner group, that has been leading the russian efforts to seize bakhmut described the situation as a rout and said that russian forces had abandoned positions in large numbers. we haven't had independent confirmation of these latest developments and

it still isn't clear whether these ukrainian attacks are part of a larger campaign. we know that the ukrainians are preparing a counter offensive to take back territory that is now under occupation. earlier this week, president zelensky told me that the ukrainian still needed more time before they could launch this counteroffensive. there's been more fighting in sudan, despite the country's rival military factions signing a "humanitarian" deal they claim will help protect civilians. fighter aircraft have again been in action over the capital khartoum with reports of loud explosions. sudan's rival leaders are former allies — the head of the army abdel fattah al—burhan and the paramilitary commander mohamed hamdan daglo. now they're fighting each other for control of the country. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher reports. for nearly a month, sudan's warring generals have been battling for control of khartoum. a brutal power struggle between the army and paramilitary troops. both of them think they can win, but the conflict has

trapped civilians in desperate conditions. you're in constant worry that you be laying in bed and a bomb will fall into you and break your building or bomb your house. so every time you hear an aeroplane, every time you hear a bomb, you'll be on edge on your toes. despite a week of intense talks, the two sides are still far apart, but they have reached an agreement. they promised to protect civilians and allow delivery of aid. now they have to secure a truce so that can actually happen. they can't even look at each other. in the streets of khartoum, it's a battle for survival. there's a constant hunt for dwindling supplies. this is one of the few shops still open. the dead are piling up. the fighting's forced some to dig graves in their gardens. the red cross has been able to collect a few bodies.

a truce would allow more to be buried. that's something this lady is thinking about. her grandparents got stuck in the heat of the fighting. her grandfather, a british citizen, was shot, leaving her disabled grandmother alone at home. weeks of frantic phone calls failed to get help. three days ago she heard she was dead. it's quite painful to think that she was alone with no electricity in the midst of it's really hot in sudan right now, in the midst of a heat wave. bombs waking up to bomb. sounds of ammunition. the british embassy was across the road, but she says, they didn't respond to her pleas. and the evacuation point was at an airfield her grandparents couldn't reach. if the british embassy is able to bring in cars, evacuate their staff that are stuck inside. surely they can drop off water at least, or surely they can come pick up.

it's literallyjust picking up one of your citizens. the fighting still hasn't stopped and at night, power cuts blanket the capital with blackness. unless this deal is serious, things will get worse quite quickly. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, nairobi. in turkey, president tayyip erdogan will be facing his biggest challenge on the ballot on sunday. recent polls show erdogan's biggest rival kemal kilicdaroglu, who is a career politician, has a slight lead in the first round of voting. 0ur seniorjournalist selin girit reports from istanbul. this is one of the most important elections in modern turkish history. for the very first time in decades, there's a real possibility that president recep tayyip erdogan's rule could come to an end. he has won five parliamentary elections, two presidential elections, three referendums. he even survived a coup attempt.

but now this political giant of turkey, whom many consider, whom many think of as invincible, could actually lose his seat to the main opposition blocs candidate kemal kilicdaroglu. according to the recent polls, mr kilicdaroglu is five to six points ahead of mr erdogan, but he is short of securing the presidency. in the first round, the polls say. mr kilicdaroglu is a 7a—year—old former bureaucrat. he's a soft spoken person and described as an exact opposite of mr erdogan. he pledges to reverse erdogan's economic policies, to restore the independence of the central bank and to bring back the parliamentary system. economy has been a major subject in the run up to this election, especially because last year the inflation hit a record high of over 80%. currently, it stands at aa% officially, but still there is a cost of living crisis. that is why all the candidates are pledging better wages,

better pensions, higher living standards, and better prospects, betterjob prospects for the young. nearly 5,000,001st time voters will be casting their votes on sunday, and whom they choose to support may determine the outcome. before we go, let's turn back to the uk. music lovers are counting down to the grand finale of the eurovision song contest in liverpool. it's been a busy week of music, joy — and some tears — with more than 37 countries whittled down to 26 finalists. with final rehearsals complete, they'll take to the stage again on saturday. among them australia — pop metal band voyager continued a strong showing for the aussies, who have been in the competition since 2015. right there in liverpool to cheer them on was co—founder of aussievision, dale roberts, who you see here. i spoke to him a little earlier.

dale, thank you so much for joining us, welcome to the programme. we are on the countdown now to the final. firstly i want to touch on the semifinals, because some people have been saying online that without the jury that things got a little bit more out there than usual, if that's possible with eurovision, what is your take? i with eurovision, what is your take? ~ . , ., take? i think we are starting to see a little _ take? i think we are starting to see a little bit, _ to see a little bit, definitely, back in the 2000 it was all telly vote we got some pretty wild stuff and it has gotten a little bit more mainstream recently. the introduction of telly vote for just the semi—finals has seen somebody out there performances, especially watcher from croatia, performances, especially watcherfrom croatia, it is performances, especially watcher from croatia, it is a very interesting one indeed. still grabs your attention. that is what eurovision is about of course. the final tomorrow, finland, sweden being mentioned as contenders, what you make of the entries, which are the ones to really watch was yellow it is definitely between finland and sweden, it

is going to have a two horse race. the entry from finland is wild and out there and the artist is fantastic. he might win the public vote, while the winner back in 20121 think she might take thejury winner back in 20121 think she might take the jury vote and she has a cracking entry. it will be who does better on the opposite side. i think personally sweden will win it. all right, that is your pick for the potential winner. any other big moments you think we should be watching out for, maybe scoring on our eurovision bingo cards?— bingo cards? you've got to go for the australian _ bingo cards? you've got to go for the australian entrant, - for the australian entrant, obviously, hello. there is a guitar solo, a car on stage as well, it is fantastic. i've got to see the show and is fantastically well with the uk entrant, the host entrant as well. there are some really wonderful moments in the arena. i am going to have to say, some people may say it's a little bit strange that australia is in eurovision.— bit strange that australia is in eurovision. ., , ., in eurovision. look, eurovision is all about— in eurovision. look, eurovision is all about breaking _ in eurovision. look, eurovision is all about breaking the - is all about breaking the rules, look at the performances

we get out there. it is a global phenomenon and australia has been broadcasting it for a0 years. we have loved this for so long, we have great connection with europe, israel is there, morocco has competed in the past, why can't australia be there? i in the past, why can't australia be there? i have is that your — australia be there? i have is that your enthusiasm - australia be there? i have is that your enthusiasm is - that your enthusiasm is certainly infectious. 0ne that your enthusiasm is certainly infectious. one thing i thought was interesting was, listening through the songs, no key changes this year. why do you think that is? i key changes this year. why do you think that is?— you think that is? i think the competition _ you think that is? i think the competition is _ you think that is? i think the competition is evolving, - you think that is? i think the | competition is evolving, let's say. i think we have the very standard to the boxes sort of eurovision song in the 2010s, but we're seeing a of foreign—language songs, a lot of songs representing national identity, people looking for authenticity, even if it is a bit crazy and kooky.- authenticity, even if it is a bit crazy and kooky. and how did ou bit crazy and kooky. and how did you personally _ bit crazy and kooky. and how did you personally are - bit crazy and kooky. and how did you personally are i'm i bit crazy and kooky. and how did you personally are i'm in | did you personally are i'm in how did you first become this expert and also eurovision superfan? expert and also eurovision soper fan?— expert and also eurovision suer fan? ., �* ~ ., super fan? oh, i don't know. i dare remember _ super fan? oh, i don't know. i dare remember it _ super fan? oh, i don't know. i dare remember it was - super fan? oh, i don't know. i dare remember it was the - super fan? oh, i don't know. i. dare remember it was the mid-19 dare remember it was the mid—19 90s when an artist from jenas

—— college energy from australia represented the uk and i thought what is this contest, it is like the olympics but singing, and it 0lympics but singing, and it has elements of sport and politics of music and competitiveness and i love that kind of stuff, so i'd dived straight into it and they haven't looked back since. i loved the contest. eye and there with you. they have to say, they have never gotten over that gina g moment, they dress, that song, absolutely fabulous. 0ne dress, that song, absolutely fabulous. one last thing, i know you have been there all week meeting the artisan soaking in the atmosphere, what is it like for those of us who are not there?— is it like for those of us who are not there? oh, look, you are not there? oh, look, you are missing _ are not there? oh, look, you are missing out. _ are not there? oh, look, you are missing out. it's - are not there? oh, look, you| are missing out. it's amazing. this is my fourth eurovision on the ground and they think it might be the best. the people of liverpool are so friendly, they are putting on such a great contest, and the way they have unified the uk and ukraine and represented them so well, it is just fantastic and it's also just a giant party, it's amazing. also just a giant party, it's amazing-— amazing. all right, aussievision, - amazing. all right, i aussievision, founder amazing. all right, - aussievision, founder of --

aussievision, founder of —— dale roberts, founder of aussievision, thank you for being with us and have an amazing time tomorrow night. thank you. and in honour of eurovision the team here in dc has even put the disco lights on for us. stay with us here on bbc news. where would you go? hello there. we had big contrasts in weather on friday. west was best in terms of sunshine, so blue skies like these were pretty widespread. and in cardiff we had the warmest weather in the uk with temperatures reaching 20 degrees. but east scotland and most of england were stuck under this area of cloud, a blanket of cloud, if you like. not that it was much of a blanket around the north york moors in fylingdales, temperatures only got to eight degrees. and with the northeaster, i'm sure that felt more like wintertime. now where we did see those temperatures struggle across eastern areas, eventually over the weekend, we should see some sunshine break out and that will lift temperatures quite widely into the high teens to low 20s. so, eventually it will get warmer. before we get there, though, we have this pesky low cloud with us again. most of england, east wales, eastern areas of scotland thick enough for an odd spit of rain. and these are the kind of temperatures, perhaps, if you're up early in the day.

now, high pressure is in charge of the weather on saturday. so, we are looking at dry weather conditions. the best of the early morning sunshine is likely to be across west scotland, northern ireland, wales and western england. cloudy elsewhere, but that cloud will get munched away by the may sunshine. eventually, there could be one or two areas that keep the cloud across eastern areas of england, around the east coast. same for eastern scotland. but for the majority it's dry, it's sunny and it's getting warmer. temperatures high teens to low 20s, perhaps reaching 22 in northern ireland. if that happens, it would be the warmest day of the year so far, not that 22 is that impressive. by this stage of the year, more often than not, we've already had warm spells with temperatures into the mid to even high 20s. so, 22 this stage of may. bah! now the second half of the weekend, we do have a cold front that's going to be dropping rain and dropping the temperatures across northwestern areas. so a cooler day for scotland and northern ireland with rain here. and the rain eventually will reach northwest england and across wales as well. to the east of that, well, i can't rule out an odd shower, but there will be hazy spells of sunshine and it could stay quite warm with temperatures again, high teens to low 20s. cooler, though, in the northwest. that's our weather

this weekend. but i want to tell you about a serious cyclone that's heading towards the bangladesh/myanmar border region. this is home to many hundreds of thousands of rohingya refugees. and the weather looks horrendous, damaging winds, huge falls of rain and a storm surge. this could have potentially devastating impacts.

this v0|ce—0ver: 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. further one month we have been following a group of ukrainian refugees, all seven of them prominent actors and directors in their home country. my life backin in their home country. my life back in ukraine was totally connected with theatre. they faced unprecedented - connected with theatre. they faced unprecedented challenges, fleeing their country to seek sanctuary overseas. i fleeing their country to seek sanctuary overseas.- fleeing their country to seek sanctuary overseas. i do find it hard because _

sanctuary overseas. i do find it hard because i _ sanctuary overseas. i do find it hard because i am - sanctuary overseas. i do find | it hard because i am worrying about my