live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. the us supreme court blocks new restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill. western allies meet in germany to discuss further backing for ukraine. and the uk's deputy prime minister resigns, following an inquiry into bullying allegations. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we start here in washington. the us supreme court has ruled in favour of maintaining access to an abortion pill, while a legal appeal against its use is still considered. the decision temporarily blocks a lower court's ruling in texas that restricted

the use of drug. that restricted the use of the drug. the drug, mifepristone, is used in more than half of all abortions in the us. this decision is a victory supporters of abortion rights, as it defends broad acces to this pill, and a victory for the biden administration. president biden has responded: with me is our correspondentjess parker. jess what does this ruling mean? it means axis ii mifepristone remains but the uncertainty goes on. mifepristone is used

by an enormous number of women, more than half who have abortions in the united states and is part of a two drug regiment and for now we will be able to access it. of course, some states who overturned roe v. wade have looked to either bad abortion or severely contain it so this will be particularly significant where abortion has remained legal and access it remained relatively easy. it is all kicked into the coming months. fix, easy. it is all kicked into the coming months.— easy. it is all kicked into the coming months. a lot of people lookin: coming months. a lot of people looking at _ coming months. a lot of people looking at this _ coming months. a lot of people looking at this closely _ coming months. a lot of people looking at this closely to - coming months. a lot of people looking at this closely to see i looking at this closely to see where that supreme court lads. what does the ruling tell us about these injustices and how they see access to this appeal? it is not unanimous. justice thomas, who does not write much, just as he would deny an application for a state of this block. justice alito goes into substantially more detail as to

why he descends. it talks about saying the manufacturer food and drug administration said they were likely to suffer irreparable harm in the interim period. so 87—2 ruling. one legal expert said they were not surprised because it would have been dramatic overnight change even for this conservative card but he was surprised by the numbers. a 7—2. it will now be taken back to the lower court and look at the case in its substance. this was always an emergency stayed. it is possible by the end of the year in ends up back with the supreme court and then you could get a decision from the supreme court which would be a permanent decision on ii mifepristone by the end of the or possibly by summer next year

so we could be talking about this for a little while. we saw a ile of this for a little while. we saw a pile of republicans - this for a little while. we saw a pile of republicans after. this for a little while. we saw| a pile of republicans after the texasjudge decision. 46% a pile of republicans after the texas judge decision. 46% of republicans believe the appeal should be available. —— pill. 54% say it should not be available. it 54% say it should not be available.— available. it is notable. president _ available. it is notable. president biden, - available. it is notable. . president biden, obviously available. it is notable. - president biden, obviously a democrat, has been extremely vocal and the government taking an active part in trying not to have these restrictions come into place. borne by the mid— times last year, the republicans have been a little bit more quiet. some people in the republican party warning about what is seen as an extremist stance so there is nervousness because it may not

be a winning issue amongst the electorate. be a winning issue amongst the electorate-— electorate. jess parker, great to have you — electorate. jess parker, great to have you with _ electorate. jess parker, great to have you with us. - gloria feldt, the former president of planned parenthood said there are still big challenges ahead for access to the abortion pill. with this decision really means almost nothing. the lower courts, the ruling they were looking at, has a ready made some restrictions that are going to continue to confuse women, they again to make mifepristone harder to get. it is important to step back for a minute and understand what is going on here both politically and medically and really i would say from the perspective of whether women will ever in the usa have full equality. those are really the issue. from a political perspective i suspect the court is going more slowly because they know they have a big political tiger by

the tail and whatever way they 90, the tail and whatever way they go, they are going to be criticised in many different ways, so, ithink criticised in many different ways, so, i think you have to understand the politics of all of it. i have had the opportunity to testify before the fda when mifepristone was being considered and before a scientific committee who had been studying it for years, and we have so much data, as you mentioned it was approved 20 years ago, there is so much data that shows it is safe, effective, you do not have to make women wait, you can use it for pregnancy. all of the regiment that has been used recently is perfectly safe and effective. we also spoke with the president of texans for life coalition kyleen wright about the decision. well, i have a lot of confidence in the fifth circuit court of appeals and i would say this decision is not a surprise at all. this has sort

of been a trademark at this particular court to protect the status quo while things are being litigated and so this is pending appeal for being litigated and so this is pending appealfor us. being litigated and so this is pending appeal for us. the being litigated and so this is pending appealfor us. the most important thing for this dangerous drug is the doctor visit. abortion activists and abortion providers talk about it being the same as a miscarriage but nowhere do you ever hear anyone recommend that a woman experiencing a miscarriage should skip a doctor's exam. it is the doctor examined before and after this abortion pill is essential. to germany now, where representatives from 50 countries have been meeting to discuss how they can give ukraine more support in the war effort. jenny hill has more. these meetings of ukraine's

international allies at the us airbase in germany have two purposes, the first is to co—ordinate the supply and delivery of military supplies and weaponry to ukraine but they are also about sending a message, a message of reassurance to keep and of defiant to moscow. —— kyiv. defence secretary lloyd austin praised ukraine's capability and courage and said well over and courage and said well over a year into this war, the ukrainians were still fighting and that the ukraine international allies have their backs and would have their backs and would have their backs for as long as it takes. president zelensky of ukraine would no doubt be rather disappointed at the lack of detail coming out of today's meeting in terms of what those allies might provide next and in particular kyiv has recently

intensified its calls, rather urgent calls, for defence systems but specifically modern fighterjets, fi6's. it is systems but specifically modern fighterjets, f 16's. it is an issue that rather divides allies, countries like germany and the us. they are worried about further escalating the conflict and they worry that even though ukraine says it will not do that, they worried ukraine might use them to strike targets inside of russia, for example. so we have no commitment from the allies gathered today. in the last hour the new york times has reported that the airman and discord user jack teixeira shared intelligence more widely and for longer than was previously know. according to the times, they collected digital evidence showing that teixera was posting classified information into a larger, more accessible chat group soon after russia invaded ukraine. earlier, i spoke to the us national security council spokesman john kirby about the us position in ukraine.

i want to start with an announcement we saw from the defence department saying the aprons takes the us promised to deliver to ukraine will get to the battlefield this form, earlier than expected. do you think however these tanks getting their earlier will still be enough. == getting their earlier will still be enou:h. a . ., , still be enough. -- abrahams tanks. still be enough. -- abrahams tanrs- we — still be enough. -- abrahams tanks. we also _ still be enough. -- abrahams tanks. we also providing - tanks. we also providing hundreds of other vehicles and combined arms trading for you created battalions outside the country to get ready for the fighting. in the weeks and months ahead. it is notjust the abrahams tanks, there are also taking possession, the ukrainians, of leopard tanks produced by germany and other nations are providing that leopard tanks and many, many different types of armoured vehicles notjust different types of armoured vehicles not just from different types of armoured vehicles notjust from the us but from around the world so it is a concerted effort to get

into ukrainian hands of the full scope of capabilities we think they will need in the weeks and months ahead. tanks and armoured vehicles, it is just one of them. ammunition, and defence also key needs. the secretary of _ and defence also key needs. the secretary of defence lloyd austin was speaking in germany earlier today when he was meeting with international defence chief and he did discuss the linked documents... as i discussed this issue with allies— as i discussed this issue with allies and _ as i discussed this issue with allies and partners, i've been struck— allies and partners, i've been struck by— allies and partners, i've been struck by your solidarity and your — struck by your solidarity and your commitment to reject efforts_ your commitment to reject efforts to divide us. and we will— efforts to divide us. and we will not _ efforts to divide us. and we will not let anything fracture our unity. it will not let anything fracture our unity-— our unity. it does not sound like this _ our unity. it does not sound like this issue _ our unity. it does not sound like this issue has _ our unity. it does not sound like this issue has divided . like this issue has divided allies but from what you have seen, is this going to be an issue of trust among allies, especially with ukraine? we're certainly going _ especially with ukraine? we're certainly going to _ especially with ukraine? we're certainly going to do _ certainly going to do everything we can to make sure this does not become an issue

of trust without allies and partners and as secretary austin noted, it has not. we have been working very, very hard to keep allies and partners informed as we learn about disclosures, to let them know what we have seen, listen to their concerns and make sure they know we're going to keep them informed of the way we have seen no breach of any of the confidence that we have in our many relationships, whether bilateral or multilateral, and that the munition of support and resolved by so many allies and resolved by so many allies and partners were supporting ukraine. in the uk, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary dominic raab has resigned from government after a report upheld some bullying claims against him. today's report says his behaviour was at times "intimidating", "insulting" and "unreasonably and persistently aggressive". in his resignation letter mr raab said he believed the findings were "flawed" and that the report had set the threshold

for bullying too low. this is the third senior member of the uk government to resign since rishi sunak became prime minister, and the second over bullying claims. our political editor, chris mason, has the details. the man who was deputy prime minister until this morning. the man who was justice secretary but now claims something of an injustice in how his conduct is seen. the man who said he'd resign if an allegation of bullying was upheld, and has now resigned. but thinks the inquiry that finished him off was flawed. is this a stitch—up? look, i wouldn't describe it that way. i resigned from cabinet today because i said i would if there was any adverse finding from this inquiry and i am true to my word. politicians should be. but i do think it sets a very dangerous precedent. if you look at the tolley report it dismissed almost all the claims against me. it found i have never once in four and a half years lost my temper, sworn, shouted, anything of that nature. but it also highlighted maybe two or three instances where i've

been what they described as unintentionally abrasive. so what is in adam tolley kc�*s report? the senior lawyer says dominic raab the senior lawyer says dominic raab... adding he went.. mr tolley also says mr raab was abrasive and had described work done for him as "utterly useless and woeful". a description " reasonably understood "as insulting personal criticism". turning now to sudan. it appears another ceasefire, supposedly agreed so people can celebrate the muslim holiday of eid al—fitr, hasn't held. there are reports of more fighting between sudan's army

led by abdel fattah al—burhan and the paramilitary rapid support forces, led by mohamed hamdan dagalo. this was the capital, khartoum, earlier friday — gunfire and explosions heard across the city. the un says more than 400 people have now been killed in the fighting. we go live now to kalkidan yibetal, who is monitoring the situation from the ethiopian capital, addis ababa. it's good to see you. the general has been speaking since the first time since the fighting began. what has he been saying?— fighting began. what has he been saying? yes, he gave a televised _ been saying? yes, he gave a televised statement - been saying? yes, he gave a televised statement and - been saying? yes, he gave a i televised statement and during which he expressed his hope that they will emerge victorious. there was a 72 hour ceasefire and now by the rapid support forces and the army, but what is happening on the

ground is not calm or a infighting, but what we're hearing is continuation of the violence. residents have reported hearing gunfire and there is also air strikes, so this means the warring parties are still at each other. the general seems to suggest that he wants to continue heading on and trying to defeat his enemies.— enemies. fighting it continuing. - enemies. fighting it continuing. it- enemies. fighting it i continuing. it appears enemies. fighting it - continuing. it appears there is no sight and food and water supplies as we have heard from civilians is running low. is there a way to get aid in? the ho -e there a way to get aid in? the hope was _ there a way to get aid in? the hope was that _ there a way to get aid in? the hope was that the _ there a way to get aid in? tue: hope was that the three there a way to get aid in? tte: hope was that the three day ceasefire would give a chance to residents to increase their food stocks, their food supplies, and the people who are trapped in conflict areas to leave those areas, to be evacuated, and to aid agencies to provide aid as well as for

facilities, health facilities to have breathing space to increase their supplies. but if the fighting is still going on, it is going to be difficult for aid agencies to provide relief efforts. it's going to be difficult for health facilities to provide support. and it will be very difficult for civilians to get any support or leave the areas. ~ ., to get any support or leave the areas. ~ . ., . , areas. we have heard concerns the fighting _ areas. we have heard concerns the fighting is _ areas. we have heard concerns the fighting is a _ areas. we have heard concerns the fighting is a darn _ areas. we have heard concerns the fighting is a darn good - the fighting is a darn good even ripple beyond the borders. tell us about that. yes, we've already heard an increase in a number of people leaving the capital, khartoum, as soon as people get a chance to move around, they try to escape the violence and leave the capital to other relatively safe areas, but we also have reports of many people leaving sudan altogether and crossing borders to neighbours, for example,

countries like chad. if the conflict will drag on and the violence is going to continue in escalation, there are concerns that many sudanese people can face this real possibility of migrating, moving into the neighbouring countries. neighbouring countries. neighbouring countries have this real concern of the possible influx in refugees coming from sudan. kalkidan yibeltal reporting for us from addis ababa, great to speak with you. survivors of this year's devastating earthquake in syria have told the bbc they feel forgotten and still haven't received the aid they need. more than 7,000 people died when the tremor hit the country's rebel—held north—west, which is already suffering from the effects of 12 years of war. anna foster reports from the syrian province of idlib. first, there were the scars of a long and painful conflict. then, the fresh wounds of a devastating earthquake. this home carries them both.

more than four million people fled to idlib looking for safety, but on that february night, in this war—ravaged land, they didn't find it. the twin earthquakes killed thousands. 300 died in this building alone. sedra is 13. she and her brother abdullah have cerebral palsy. the extra care they need isn't possible now. translation: i was very scared. we started screaming for help but no one could hear us. everyone in the building had left, but we were stuck because the door handle broke. this is where you really see the impact of a devastating and long—lasting conflict like this one. this home was already partly destroyed by an air strike. and just imagine how terrifying it must have been to wake in the dark, feeling those first tremors of an earthquake, and knowing

that this was all you had for protection. this family was lucky to even escape alive. in azmarin the living sleep next to the dead. ali sheikh hazem ghannam, the surviving patriarch, remembers them all. ahmed. adil and his children. alaa. men, women and children, all buried together in this mass grave. majed. fauzl amir, just three years old. children who only ever knew conflict in their short lives. translation: tie buildings collapsed on the residents and people and children went missing. we were already suffering from the war and everything the criminal bashar

al—assad did to us. then this earthquake came and increased our suffering. 7,000 fresh graves, a new level of destruction in a country that's already lost so much. anna foster, bbc news, idlib. turning to france, where a court in paris has convicted a lebanese—canadian professor of carrying out a terror attack on a synagogue more than four decades ago. four people were killed, and dozens injured. the judges decided that hassan diab was the young man who planted the motorcylce bomb. the bbc�*s hugh schofield has more. this occurred after so long after the event, it occurred in 1980, 40 after the event, it occurred in 1980, a0 years ago it was the famous attack on the synagogue

steve, which injured four people and killed many more. for a long time investigation hit a brick wall. it was clear that there was a middle eastern connection but who was responsible, no—one knew. in 1989, the name of hassan diab was linked for the first time to the attack and since the french authorities have been trying to put a case against him and get him to come back to france to face trial. in the meantime he become a canadian citizen, he was a leper lebanese and palestinian extraction, in 201a he was extradited, but 2018 a judge through the case out because there was no evidence against him and he has returned to canada and is a teacher of sociology in a university in ottawa. what's happened now is anotherjudge ruled there was a case in the trial as happened, which heard both sides of the argument that the defence arguing that this is not the man, it's a mistaken identity, and that the evidence is so old

it can't possibly be regarded as reliable. but the court chose to prefer that the version of the prosecution, on the base of intelligent documents, particularly a passport linking him to the scene, established that hassan diab was indeed the man who planted the bomb back and in 1980. so he is being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but is not the end of story because he is still in canada and the next stage will be, i imagine, another long and protracted tradition battle to get him to come to france, at which point there will probably have to be another trial. now, you may have noticed twitter looks a little different. the blue tick,the verified badge, has been removed for those who haven't paid up. that includes the pope, beyonce, andjk rowling. for those hoping to keep their blue tick, they must pay to subscribe to what's called twitter blue. here's our correspondent, marianna spring. there is confusion on twitter today because the blue check, language we use identify people

say they are, is gone. under elon musk, the new twitter was the owner, you have to buy a blue check and subscribe to twitter blue which means lots of people have lost their checks. some of the trust a sources, like the bbc, the bbc news official twitter account, for example, have yellow checks, but they momentarily disappeared earlier today, and of sometimes got the square profile images. other accounts like this are bbc account which is not the bbc news, which does not have it anymore and i've lost my ability because well, i used to have one, which means in theory an account or person who wants to change their name or image to look like mine can pretend to be me and impersonate me. it'll be more difficult twitter users to at least at first glance figure out whether that's really marianna spring or the fake marianna spring or the fake marianna spring. that's a worry because when it comes to people pushing this information and hate,it pushing this information and hate, it makes it easier and only that you can purchase a bluetooth, and that might make people think that you are an

account to be trusted when you are not. there are other famous people, pope francis, for example, celebrities have lost their checks or who have agreed check whether used to have a verified lunatic. there are some people like lebronjames who, to say i am not going to buy a bluetooth and anyone mask decided to buy one for him. now lebronjames has this twitter blue subscription. note means would want to account if an account is who they say they are, we need to look for other clues including how many followers they have, taylor swift has a $92.5 million so we can be pretty sure the account is has. there are other clues, look at their old suites, whether what they're sharing now is what you'd expect from them. it's important to remember that it happens amid a culture of chaos and change at twitter with job losses affecting the people who protecting against impersonations, hate and disinformation today is a day to be wary on twitter. marianna spring reporting.

stay with us here on bbc news. iam sumi i am sumi somaskanda in washington. stay with us. hello. a beautiful day on friday across scotland and northern ireland — quite warm, too. the coming days, however, are going to be pretty chilly in the north. a cold wind will set in even some wintry showers to come across the scottish hills, maybe even the pennines. here's the forecast for the short term — outbreaks of rain across parts of northern england and eventually reaching northern ireland by the early hours of saturday morning. some clear spells overnight, too, in scotland and the south of the country. that does mean a touch of frost, especially outside of town. but for most of us, around 5—6 degrees tonight. let's pick up on that rain in the north — you can see showers in northern england. that weather front reaching the southern uplands by lunchtime or so and certainly looking quite wet there in northern ireland, but also showers clustered in the south—west

of the country. so these areas will be pretty chilly, 10—12 degrees, the south—west, northern ireland, the south of scotland, but where the sun does pop out briefly, i think on saturday, maybe 13—15 degrees. now, talking about colder weather, there's that chilly atmosphere spreading in from the north on a east, north—easterly, so that change really starts to happen on sunday. in the north, frequent showers, really strong winds up to gale force, increasingly falling as wintry across the hills, and then elsewhere it's a real mixed bag, even a crack of thunder here and there. the temperatures on sunday will struggle again in the north — 7—8 degrees, 12 degrees expected in liverpool in the south, maybe a couple of degrees high. but the winds will be strong everywhere, so we really will start to feel that chill. and then, sunday into monday, we'll see even stronger winds and colder air spreading into parts of scotland. notice the wintry showers there across the hills spreading further southwards and really chilly along that north sea coast. and then elsewhere, i think a mixture of sunny spells and showers.

so the temperatures really disappointing on monday — six in aberdeen, eight in birmingham, maybejust about double figures there for cardiff and for london where showers are expected. and that chilly atmosphere spreads right across the uk and into the continent, into scandinavia as well on tuesday. warmer weather will reach us, but not until later next week. so, here's the outlook for this weekend. chilly mixed bag on the way, that chilly air relatively for the time of the year is with us until wednesday, then from thursday, should warm up. bye— bye.

at first glimpse, it is a typical training session for the academy kicks under 8's but these bromsgrov boys are wearing kits made completely from recycled materials. right at the start, there were not any great solutions out there but, yes, actually now we can get to the day where we can see these lads running around, its just fantastic. and it is notjust the clothing. take the average kit bag and there is plastic everywhere — the water bottles, shinpads, the bibs are made of polyester, the cones, this wooden handle is because the plastic original one broke, even the bags themselves, they are made of plastic. birmingham county fa have already won awards for their green initiatives on plastic, with 5,200 clubs and 80,000 players, they can make a big difference. over time, the message is starting to get through

and people see the benefits now in obviously making the game