R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, gave her second day of testimony as the prosecution's key witness in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Ventura detailed beatings and sexual violence she says she experienced during the relationship and described the toll it took on her mental and physical health.

The BBC's Nada Tawfik runs through the key points in Ventura's testimony, so far.

You can find organisations offering mental health support and advice through the BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide, external or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.

Co-op narrowly avoided an even worse cyber attack, BBC learns

1 hour ago Share Save Joe Tidy Cyber reporter Share Save

Getty Images

Co-op narrowly averted being locked out of its computer systems during the cyber attack that saw customer data stolen and store shelves left bare, the hackers who claim responsibility have told the BBC. The revelation could help explain why Co-op has started to recover more quickly than fellow retailer M&S, which had its systems more comprehensively compromised, and is still unable to carry out online orders. Hackers who have claimed responsibility for both attacks told the BBC they tried to infect Co-op with malicious software known as ransomware - but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action. Both Co-op and M&S declined to comment.

The gang, using the cyber crime service DragonForce, sent the BBC a long, offensive rant about their attack. "Co-op's network never ever suffered ransomware. They yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value," the criminals said. But cyber experts like Jen Ellis from the Ransomware Task Force said the response from Co-op was sensible. "Co-op seems to have opted for self-imposed immediate-term disruption as a means of avoiding criminal-imposed, longer-term disruption. It seems to have been a good call for them in this instance," she said. Ms Ellis said these kinds of crisis decisions are often taken quickly when hackers have breached a network and can be extremely difficult. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the criminals claimed to have breached Co-op's computer systems long before they were discovered. "We spent a while seated in their network," they boasted. They stole a large amount of private customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware, but were detected. Ransomware is a kind of attack where hackers scramble computer systems and demand payment from victims in exchange for handing back control. It would also have made the restoration of Co-op's systems more complex, time-consuming and expensive - exactly the problems M&S appears to be wrestling with.

Radio 2 breakfast audience drops after Zoe Ball's exit

1 hour ago Share Save Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter Share Save

BBC Scott Mills took over from Zoe Ball, who hosted the breakfast show for six years, in January

The BBC Radio 2 breakfast show lost more than 360,000 listeners following Zoe Ball's exit, new audience figures show. The presenter hosted her final breakfast programme in December after six years in the slot, and recently took up a new role fronting Saturday afternoons on the station. After her departure, DJ Mark Goodier covered the show for most of January, until new host Scott Mills took over at the end of that month. Radio 2 still comfortably has the most popular breakfast show in the UK, attracting an audience of 6.45 million between January and March, a 5% drop on the previous quarter, according to industry ratings body Rajar.

Ball had added more than 200,000 listeners during her final three months on the programme. After taking over the breakfast show, Mills was replaced on his former afternoon slot by Trevor Nelson, whose evening programme was taken over by DJ Spoony. Vernon Kay attracted an audience of 6.73 million in the first three months of 2025, meaning his mid-morning show retained its crown as the most popular radio programme in the UK. The show is down, however, on the audience of 8.2 million achieved by his predecessor Ken Bruce, who left in 2023.

Trevor Nelson (left) took over Mills' afternoon slot, while Vernon Kay hosts the station's popular mid-morning show

Mosquito-borne killer disease threatens blackbirds

55 minutes ago Share Save Helen Briggs • @hbriggs BBC environment correspondent Gwyndaf Hughes BBC climate and science team Share Save

Getty Images The blackbird is one of the UK's most common and familiar birds, known for its cheerful song

A mosquito-borne disease freshly arrived in Britain has spread large distances, with scientists racing to understand the risks to wild birds. Infected insects can spread the deadly Usutu virus to blackbirds, raising fears for the famous songsters. New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations. Scientists are monitoring its spread amid warnings that mosquitoes and the diseases they carry may expand their range under climate change. "We've seen that the virus has spread further than we thought it might do, and it's persisted," Dr Arran Folly of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) told the BBC.

Getty Images Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito, has been found to carry and transmit the Usutu virus

Scientists at the APHA in Weybridge, Surrey, have been tracking mosquito-borne diseases in wild birds for decades, amid warnings that climate change is turning Europe into a potential breeding ground for the insects. Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating conditions for the nuisance insects to move into areas that were previously inhospitable to them. Until 2020, all results came back clear. Then, after the summer heatwave of that year, Usutu was detected in several blackbirds in Greater London. "Blackbirds specifically are quite susceptible to the virus and since 2020 we've found a decline in blackbirds of approximately 40% in Greater London," said Dr Folly. "It gives an indication that in the future we might get other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes emerging in the UK." Diseases such as Usutu are a growing threat to wild birds, amid a host of other pressures, including habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.

What is Usutu?

Usutu virus was first detected more than half a century ago around southern Africa's Usutu River It has since spread around the world, reaching Europe three decades ago, and was picked up for the first time in the UK in 2020 Blackbirds are particularly susceptible to the virus, which can also infect horses and, from time to time, humans. The virus is regarded as generally of low risk to people, and there have been no human cases reported in the UK to date.

The latest data shows that Usutu has spread further than the scientists expected. It has now been detected in wild birds across much of southern England, at least as far west as Dorset and as far north as Cambridgeshire. How big a risk Usutu poses to wild birds is uncertain. The virus has been linked to mass die-offs of blackbirds elsewhere in Europe, though that doesn't seem to be the case in Britain. And the blackbird remains one of the commonest garden birds with numbers holding steady in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and in the north.

Getty Images In May, blackbirds are nesting and rearing young, with fledglings eventually leaving the nest

To untangle the puzzle – and gather more data on blackbird numbers – the scientists have joined forces with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). They are calling for volunteers to count blackbirds in their gardens over the summer months to find out more about the comings and goings of the birds. Around now blackbirds are breeding and raising their young, frequently seen hopping along the ground and singing from the branches of trees on summer evenings.

Gwyndaf Hughes/BBC Lucy Love in her garden within metres of the sea near Selsey, Sussex

UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch's yacht was toppled by 'extreme wind', report says

54 minutes ago Share Save Joe Inwood & Tom Gerken BBC World correspondent & technology reporter Ian Aikman & Eve Webster BBC News Share Save

EPA The Bayesian, pictured sailing near Palermo, in a photo released by manufactures Perini Navi

A luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, killing the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch along with six others, was knocked over by "extreme wind" and could not recover, according to an interim report into the disaster. The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which has led the international investigation, said winds of over 80mph "violently" hit the vessel, causing it to flood within seconds. The Bayesian sank near the town of Portofino on 19 August of last year during freak weather, with reports of water spouts. Seven of the 22 people onboard were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Investigators say the yacht was knocked to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds at 04:06 am local time, causing people, furniture and loose items to fall across the deck. "There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells," the report says. The MAIB's chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said the situation was "irrecoverable" once the yacht tilted beyond 70 degrees. The Bayesian was also "vulnerable" to lighter winds, according to the report, with speeds of 73mph able to tip it over. The owner and crew of the yacht were unaware of this, as it was not included in the onboard stability information book, it adds. The MAIB is investigating the incident as the Bayesian was registered in the UK. No date has been set for when its final report will be published. It said its report was based on "a limited amount of verified evidence" as a criminal investigation by Italian authorities has restricted access to the wreck. An operation to raise the 56-metre vessel from the seabed was paused over the weekend after a diver died while working on the wreck. Work is set to resume on Thursday.

EPA The recovery process is expected to take several weeks

The report lays out more detail as to how the sinking unfolded. Investigators say the yacht sailed to the site where it sank on the previous day, in order to "shelter" from forecast thunderstorms. The sails were furled at the time. Wind speed was "no more than eight knots (9mph)" at 03:00 - about an hour before the incident. Some 55 minutes later it had increased to 30 knots (34.5mph), and it had accelerated to 70 knots (80.6mph) by 04:06 when the yacht capsized. As the storm intensified, several crew members were working in response to the conditions. The deck hand went onto the deck to close the yacht's windows. Five people were injured "either by falling or from things falling on them" and the deck hand was "thrown into the sea", the report says. Two of the yacht's guests used furniture drawers "as an improvised ladder" to escape their cabin, it adds.

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer at the University of Southampton, said the Bayesian was in "the wrong place at the wrong time". "The priorities for the crew would have been to shut the hatches and the doors, which they did," he told the BBC. This means speculation about water flooding in because everything was open is "obviously not the case". "The next priority would have been to start the engines - so they would have some manoeuvrability to position themselves within a storm - and to then lift anchor, which the crew did, but this takes time," he added. "It's not like a car where you jump in and turn the key. It would take 5 or 10 minutes before you can start the engines with a vessel of this size." Survivors escaped on the Bayesian's life raft and were rescued by a small boat dispatched from another nearby yacht, the report says.

Getty Images Mike Lynch pictured in 2014

Meet the 'invisible crew' who have 35 seconds to prevent a Eurovision blunder

25 minutes ago Share Save Mark Savage Music Correspondent Share Save

Getty Images Icelandic boyband VÆB were the first act to perform on the Eurovision stage this year

Thirty-five seconds. That's all the time you get to change the set at Eurovision. Thirty-five seconds to get one set of performers off the stage and put the next ones in the right place. Thirty-five seconds to make sure everyone has the right microphones and earpieces. Thirty-five seconds to make sure the props are in place and tightly secured. While you're at home watching the introductory videos known as postcards, dozens of people swarm the stage, setting the scene for whatever comes next. "We call it the Formula 1 tyre change," says Richard van Rouwendaal, the affable Dutch stage manager who makes it all work. "Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody. "It's a bit like ice skating."

Watch a 30-second set change at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool

The stage crew start rehearsing their "F1 tyre change" weeks before the contestants even arrive. Every country sends detailed plans of their staging, and Eurovision hires stand-ins to play the acts (in Liverpool 2023, it was pupils from the local performing arts school), while stagehands start shaving precious seconds off the changeovers. "We have about two weeks," says Van Rouwendaal, who's normally based in Utrecht but is in Basel for this year's contest. "My company is around 13 Dutchies and 30 local guys and girls, who rock it in Switzerland. "In those two weeks, I have to figure out who's right for each job. Someone's good at running, someone's good at lifting, someone's good at organising the backstage area. It is a bit like being good at Tetris because you have to line everything up in a small space, in the perfect way." As soon as a song finishes, the team are ready to roll. As well as the stagehands, there are people responsible for positioning lights and setting pyrotechnics; and 10 cleaners who sweep the stage with mops and vacuum cleaners between every performance. "My cleaners are just as important as the stage crew. You need a clean stage for the dancers - but also, if there's an overhead shot of somebody lying down, you don't want to see shoeprints on the floor." The attention to detail is clinical. Backstage, every performer has their own microphone stand, set to the correct height and angle, to make sure every performance is camera perfect. "Sometimes the delegation will say the artist wants to wear a different shoe for the grand final," says Van Rouwendaal. "But if that happens, the mic stand is at the wrong height, so we've got a problem!"

SRG / SSR Construction of this year's stage began in early April, three weeks before rehearsals kicked off

Spontaneously changing footwear isn't the worst problem he's faced, though. At the 2022 contest in Turin, the stage was 10m (33ft) higher than the backstage area. As a result, they were pushing heavy stage props – including a mechanical bull – up a steep ramp between every act. "We were exhausted every night," he recalls. "This year is better. We've even got an extra backstage tent where we prepare the props."

Getty Images Spain's giant staircase is one of several props that Richard (pictured, inlay) and his team have to build in the middle of a performance at this year's show

Props are a huge part of Eurovision. The tradition started at the second ever contest in 1957, when Germany's Margot Hielscher sang part of her song Telefon, Telefon into (you guessed it) a telephone. Over the intervening decades, the staging has become ever more elaborate. In 2014, Ukraine's Mariya Yaremchuk trapped one of her dancers in a giant hamster wheel, while Romania brought a literal cannon to their performance in 2017.

This year, we've got disco balls, space hoppers, a magical food blender, a Swedish sauna and, for the UK, a fallen chandelier. "It's a big logistics effort, actually, to get all the props organised," says Damaris Reist, deputy head of production for this year's contest. "It's all organised in a kind of a circle. The [props] come onto the stage from the left, and then get taken off to the right. "Backstage, the props that have been used are pushed back to the back of the queue, and so on. It's all in the planning."

'Smuggling routes'

During the show, there are several secret passageways and "smuggling routes" to get props in and out of vision, especially when a performance requires new elements half-way through. Cast your mind back, if you will, to Sam Ryder's performance for the UK at the 2022 contest in Italy. There he was, alone on the stage, belting out falsetto notes in his spangly jumpsuit, when suddenly, an electric guitar appeared out of thin air and landed in his hands. And guess who put it there? Richard van Rouwendaal. "I'm a magician," he laughs. "No, no, no… That was a collaboration between the camera director, the British delegation and the stage crew." In other words, Richard ducked onto the stage, guitar in hand, while the director cut to a wide shot, concealing his presence from viewers at home. "It's choreographed to the nearest millimetre," he says. "We're not invisible, but we have to be invisible."

Reuters Sam Ryder's performance in 2022 included a stylised space rocket and a magically-appearing guitar

What if it all goes wrong? There are certain tricks the audience will never notice, Van Rouwendaal reveals. If he announces "stage not clear" into his headset, the director can buy time by showing an extended shot of the audience. In the event of a bigger incident – "a camera can break, a prop can fall" – they cut to a presenter in the green room, who can fill for a couple of minutes. Up in the control room, a tape of the dress rehearsal plays in sync with the live show, allowing directors to switch to pre-recorded footage in the event of something like a stage invasion or a malfunctioning microphone. A visual glitch isn't enough to trigger the back-up tape, however - as Switzerland's Zoë Më discovered at Tuesday's first semi-final. Her performance was briefly interrupted when the feed from an on-stage camera froze, but producers simply cut to a wide shot until it was fixed. (If it had happened in the final, she'd have been offered the chance to perform again.) "There's actually lots of measures that are being taken to make sure that every act can be shown in the best way," says Reist. "There are people who know the regulations by heart, who have been playing through what could happen and what we would do in various different situations. "I'll be sitting next to our head of production, and if there's [a situation] where somebody has to run, maybe that's going to be me!"

Sarah Louise Beennett British act Remember Monday perform on top of a giant fallen chandelier during their song at this year's Eurovision

Sarah Louise Bennett French star Louane poses a particular challenge this year, as her performance involves several kilograms of sand being poured onto the stage. To compensate, she performs on a large canvas that can be folded over and carried off stage.

Jails 'on brink' and 'stalling' post-Brexit talks with Brussels

32 minutes ago Share Save Share Save

A mix of stories lead Thursday's papers, but several focus on new plans to address overcrowding in prisons announced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The government is going "soft on criminals", the Daily Mail writes, after announcing that some inmates who are recalled to prison for breaking the terms of their release will be released early after 28 days. But Mahmood warns of a "total breakdown of the justice system" if the issue remains unaddressed.

Jails are "on brink", leads the Times. It says the early release of sexual offenders will put the public "at risk", according to the government's victims' commissioner. Justice Secretary Mahmood had "no choice" but to take action, the paper also reports, with space in male prisons due to run out in November.

Plans for prisons also feature on the front page of the Guardian. But the paper leads with an exclusive on accusations that Science Secretary Peter Kyle is "too close" to US big tech firms. Kyle led a 70% "surge" in meetings with people in or close to firms like Google, Amazon and Meta, compared to his predecessor, the paper says. A spokesperson for his department told the Guardian: "We make no apologies for regularly engaging with the sector - one that employs nearly 2 million people in the UK."

Fresh criticism of another Labour policy - cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners - leads the Daily Express, after a new poll found more than 81% of over-65s could not afford basics on the state pension. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately says the government is "punishing pensioners and pushing them to the edge".

Images of US President Donald Trump's milestone meeting with Syrian interim president Ahmed al -Sharaa top the Financial Times. But the paper leads with a "stall" in talks between the UK and EU ahead of a summit next week, after Brussels "demanded further concessions" over fishing rights and youth mobility. As part of a post-Brexit "reset", the EU wants its students to pay the same fees as British students and long-term fishing access to UK waters.

Sealing a deal on food safety standards with the EU could help bring food prices down, the i paper reports, as rising prices "threaten" Labour's pledge to boost living standards. Higher national insurance contributions and levies on packaging are to blame to soaring costs, according to the Food and Drink Federation.

The Daily Telegraph reports the NHS is treating nursery-age children who believe they are transgender, after removing an age limit on access to specialists. The children are not given "powerful drugs such as puberty blockers", according to the paper, but "are offered counselling and therapy". "Fewer than 10" children have been referred to the service, according to a Freedom of Information Act request.

A "family feud" fronts the Sun, which reports on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "secretly supporting" Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz. Beckham's absence from his father's 50th birthday celebrations fuelled speculation of a fallout, but according to an unnamed source, Prince Harry offered his "unwavering support as someone who has been through similar".

Metro leads with the jailing for 14 years of Reece Galbraith, a drug dealer whose cannabis sweet factory exploded last year, killing seven-year-old Archie York, and decimating several homes. Katherine Errington, Archie's mother, told the dealer in court: "You killed our beautiful boy... we'll never forgive you".

Photos of a handcuffed 18-year-old Bella May Culley at a court in Georgia lead the Daily Mirror, as details of her "dream hol to jail hell" story continue to emerge. The British teen was arrested on suspician of drug offences. "She's not a drug trafficker... She must be terrified," her grandfather William, 80, tells the paper.

Bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty says Universal Studios will have to "battle" travellers for the site of a new theme park, according to the Daily Star. The My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star warned Universal that residents of a caravan park near the proposed 476-acre site "won't be moving for anyone".

Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of Sudan's civil war

35 minutes ago Share Save Barbara Plett Usher BBC News Share Save

Reuters Port Sudan, which was once considered a relatively safe city, has been hit by a series of drone attacks targeting key infrastructure

Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan's civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a "shock and awe campaign". Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country. The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages. "It's a level of power projection within this region that we haven't seen yet," says Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group. "I think it raises the stakes quite a bit," he added. The barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial losses. And it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa.

Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the country. In recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power stations. But their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength.

Reuters Some people had fled more dangerous parts of the country to seek safety in Port Sudan, like these women who were pictured sheltering at Abdallah Nagi camp

"The RSF is trying to show that they don't need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair. The group is trying to achieve a "narrative shift" away from "the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum," she says. "It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: 'You can take Khartoum back, but you'll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won't be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable'... They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so." The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war crimes. Both sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass rape and genocide. The change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological advancement. The RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to crash into targets and can carry out coordinated attacks. It seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase. He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the base. The make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year. The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated Chinese manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range strikes. Jeremy Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane's, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape.

Reuters Sudan's war is taking a massive humanitarian toll with citizens fleeing their homes being hit in strikes

One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF's anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still unproven. The South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month. Some experts see the RSF's bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as retaliation. Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins

Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening The escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan's civil conflict. "This is a war of technology," says Justin Lynch, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation. "That's why the foreign supporters are so important, because it's not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They're being given this stuff." The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the attacks. The UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the RSF. But Mr Lynch says the evidence is overwhelming. He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with "near certainty" the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo. He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan attacks. He also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the sale of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence firm. Iran has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied involvement. The increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the region. Over a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country's only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army's supply lines. The city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this "major escalation" could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties. "This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it's also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war," says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army. "The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor," he says "and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head."

The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine. "These weapons have more precision, you don't need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets," says Mr Binnie. "This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa." The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take "effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia," a reference to the UAE. Mr Lynch believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war. "This war is always evolving, always changing," he says, "but you'll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it."

More about Sudan's civil war from the BBC:

Getty Images/BBC