affected have spoken how rape is being used as a weapon of revenge. top united nations officials say, the conflict has plunged the country into "one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history". the latest round of violence started in april last year — the un says, around eight million people have been displaced — tens of thousands have been killed — a backdrop that could trigger the world's largest hunger cirsis. our correspondent has been speaking to women who have fled sudan which you may find distressing. yesterday, 19—year—old found out she is pregnant, within minutes, she will begin on abortion, desperately hoping that herfamily will begin on abortion, desperately hoping that her family never knows. it happened in sudan. i'm not married and i was a virgin, except for the incident that happened. this ounu for the incident that happened. this young woman _ for the incident that happened. this young woman whose name we have changed was trying to flee fighting in her hometown when she was captured, held for a day and repeatedly raped. i captured, held for a day and repeatedly raped.— captured, held for a day and repeatedly raped. i didn't tell an one repeatedly raped. i didn't tell anyone and — repeatedly raped. i didn't tell anyone and i _ repeatedly raped. i didn't tell anyone and i don't _ repeatedly raped. i didn't tell anyone and i don't think - repeatedly raped. i didn't tell i anyone and i don't think anyone knows. ,, , , ., knows. the un says the sexual violence experienced _ knows. the un says the sexual violence experienced by - knows. the un says the sexual| violence experienced by women knows. the un says the sexual - violence experienced by women is a defining characteristic of the conflict in sudan and has been used as a weapon of war. she is one of more than 600,000 people who have fled sudan for camps like this one in neighbouring chad. she was helped by the international charity. 0ther voluntary groups have also sprung up to support the large number of women who have been affected by either physical violence or sexual attacks. it's a side of the conflict that's not often seen that we have been giving privileged access to join this group. a meeting ran by this woman. she is a former university student that has been speaking to her, she was attacked by armed men in her home in sudan. when she called for help, they fired a bullet inches away from her mother as she tried to stop what was happening. translation: saw tried to stop what was happening. translation:— tried to stop what was happening. translation: , , , translation: saw spends time with me at home. translation: saw spends time with me at home- she _ translation: saw spends time with me at home. she talks _ translation: saw spends time with me at home. she talks to _ translation: saw spends time with me at home. she talks to me. _ translation: saw spends time with me at home. she talks to me. she _ at home. she talks to me. she says what happened to you happen to a lot of people and you must be strong and positive. of people and you must be strong and ositive. ~ ., �* , ., of people and you must be strong and ositive. ~ ., �*, ., , positive. women's have been the victim of violence _ positive. women's have been the victim of violence across - positive. women's have been the victim of violence across sudan i victim of violence across sudan during the civil war. the fighting has also seen a resurgence of a bloodied ethnic conflict. 20 years ago, the un says 300,000 members of the black african community were killed in the dark for region amidst accusations of genocide. much of the violence against women in sudan during the current conflict has been blamed on the rapid support forces and its allies. in a chilling online video, one prominent member sets out why he feels fighters have the right to assault women. translation: figs to assault women. translation: is for raping or not raping. if we rape your daughter or your girl, for raping or not raping. if we rape your daughter oryour girl, it for raping or not raping. if we rape your daughter or your girl, it is an eye for an eye, it is our country and it is our right and we took it. the rapid support forces told us the majority of accusations against our unsure, but it trips are held accountable when incidents occur. zohar says black african women are being targeted injarfour. this zohar says black african women are being targeted in jar four.— being targeted in 'ar four. this is because rape — being targeted in jar four. this is because rape leaves _ being targeted in jar four. this is because rape leaves an - being targeted in jar four. this is because rape leaves an impact i being targeted in jar four. this is | because rape leaves an impact on society and the family. they used it as a weapon of revenge. this conflict, _ as a weapon of revenge. this conflict, cases _ as a weapon of revenge. this conflict, cases of _ as a weapon of revenge. this conflict, cases of sexual - as a weapon of revenge. this conflict, cases of sexual violence are widespread, but this comes with are widespread, but this comes with a lot of shame and stigma. this means that those who speak out or seek medical attention are only a fraction of those who are affected. 0rdinary women are paying the price for the brutality which has been unleashed by the conflict in sudan with no end in sight, many more people could end up suffering in silence. to head to our bbc website, much more background information there on the bbc website and the bbc news app. turning to ireland where the prime minister leo vardkar has resigned. in an unexpected announcement, mr varadkar described the period leading his country as "the most fulfilling time of his life". he will step down before the next general election in the republic of ireland. mr varadkar became ireland's youngest pm in 2017 when he became leader of fine gael. let's listen to mr varadkar announcing his resignation from the steps of government buildings earlier today. i know this will come as a surprise to many people and a disappointment to some, and i hope at least you will understand my decision. i know that others will, how shall i put it, cope with the news just fine. that is the great thing about living in a democracy. there is never a right time to resign high office, however, this is as good a time as any. budget 2024 is done, negotiations have not yet commenced on the next one, the institutions of the good friday agreement are working again, and our trading relationship with the uk in the post—brexit era is settled and stable. let's speak to fionnan sheahan, ireland editor at the irish independent. welcome to bbc news. we sort of knew it was coming, but perhaps not now. where you surprised to hear that announcement a little earlier in the day? announcement a little earlier in the da ? �* , , ., ., announcement a little earlier in the da ? �*, , ., ., day? it's been flagged for some time that there was _ day? it's been flagged for some time that there was dissatisfaction - day? it's been flagged for some time that there was dissatisfaction with i that there was dissatisfaction with his leadership of his party and his poll ratings as t—shirt and for his party haven't been performing very well since the last general election where they emerged very badly bruised. —— taoiseach. he was at a reception for st patrick's day, so we weren't expecting it to happen right now. we have local and european elections coming up in less than three months' time, so it was expected that he would stay on, but nonetheless, there was an expectation that his party would perform badly then and question marks would arise about his leadership. so he's effectively preempted that and gone out before that can actually happen. in terms of him as the taoiseach of the country, he will remain in place for another three weeks until his successor is picked by his party and then he will hand over, and his coalition partners have indicated they are happy for this government to see out its term. is they are happy for this government to see out its term.— to see out its term. as you are talkin: , to see out its term. as you are talking. we — to see out its term. as you are talking, we see _ to see out its term. as you are talking, we see those - to see out its term. as you are talking, we see those pictures| to see out its term. as you are - talking, we see those pictures from the white house, he meeting withjoe biden. he was talking about expanding ireland's diplomatic footprint. that was clearly evidently true, wasn't it, during his time? he evidently true, wasn't it, during his time? . ., evidently true, wasn't it, during his time? . . ., ., his time? he had a view that in a post-brexit _ his time? he had a view that in a post-brexit world, _ his time? he had a view that in a post-brexit world, ireland - his time? he had a view that in a post-brexit world, ireland really| post—brexit world, ireland really did need to reach out and offer a lot more, because brexit had such a profound impact on ireland, north and south, and we effectively were losing one of our main diplomatic partners who were sitting around the table with us at eu level and we needed to adapt to that, and our operation, the irish lobby in washington is very strong. there were other parts of the world that were other parts of the world that we need to strengthen, and that became a big part of the over arc to tenure as mentor to now and over the past 18 months and during his previous term in office for four years. previous term in office for four ears. . , , ., , , previous term in office for four ears. , , years. he was the first openly gay ride years. he was the first openly gay pride minister— years. he was the first openly gay pride minister as _ years. he was the first openly gay pride minister as well. _ years. he was the first openly gay pride minister as well. just - years. he was the first openly gay pride minister as well. just make | years. he was the first openly gay i pride minister as well. just make an assessment for us. in terms of legacy, the successes, the failures. the successes were probably the height of covid—19 four years ago in a period of deep uncertainty for the country and globally as well, varadkar was seen to step up to the plate and really show leadership there, show that somebody was in charge, was making decisions and that policies were having... ultimately any assessment of ireland's performance during covid—19 was certainly coming off an awful lot better than the experience in the uk and in many other countries. the low points were probably things like the 20/20 general election where his party lost many seats and they were never really seen to recover from that apart from a boost in popularity during co—bid when you do have this experience of people rallying around the flag. —— covid. he passed a very important referendum on abortion in ireland making the country more liberal in that regard, but only two weeks ago, he lost probably less significant referenda on the definition of family, on the definition of family, on the definition of family, on the definition of mothers in our constitution. and that was probably seen to be an example of the over arced or not being in touch with the will of the people and what ordinary people were thinking on the ground. there we have to leave it, but thank you very much. turning to the middle east, because the israeli army says its continuing what it calls precise operations in the area around al—shifa hospital in gaza city. in a statement, the idf said, it had, so far, killed 90 people around the complex and had questioned over 300 suspects. hamas have denied israel's claim and say all of those killed inside the hospital were wounded patients and displaced people. meanwhile palestinian media says israeli air strikes killed dozens more people overnight, including at least 23 organising security for aid deliveries to gaza city. today, the uk's largest delivery of aid to gaza has crossed the border and is being distributed by the world food programme. a full uk field hospital has also been set up in the territory. i'm nowjoined byjames elder who is the spokesperson for unicef. he is currently in gaza. james, welcome to the programme. you've gone back to gaza. tell me a little of what you have seen and heard in the past few days. hi. heard in the past few days. hi, mathew, heard in the past few days. h , mathew, look, in the south, and rafah, the nutritional situation you can now see, you can see gluttonous in some children despite the fact that malnutrition is three times worse. in the north, there is a level of desperation, just exhaustion and people. i always promised myself i will never say it's become impossible to describe but i do wish that sometimes i could capture the number of women and mothers who held my hand and cried in the last couple of days because theyjust in the last couple of days because they just don't in the last couple of days because theyjust don't know how they are going to protect their children from the bombs, the drones you can hear now and from starvation. this is what people are facing and i went into con eunice where i spent a couple of time a few months ago. i've never seen such devastation. —— khan younis. which makes everyone shiver to think that there are discussions about potentially here rafah. i discussions about potentially here rafah. . , ., rafah. i was mentioning in the introduction, _ rafah. i was mentioning in the introduction, the _ rafah. i was mentioning in the introduction, the british - rafah. i was mentioning in the introduction, the british aid i rafah. i was mentioning in the i introduction, the british aid that has got into the gaza strip, including a field hospital. just generally, take us through how difficult it is to go about distributing any aid. we know it is a trickle, but any aid getting in. it is difficult, but the united nations, this is what we do. so whether it's from afghanistan or from somalia or front whether it's from afghanistan or from somalia orfront lines in ukraine, a lot of people who are well—trained and doing distributions and difficult areas. people talk about insecurity and so on. there is the desperation that people face, one very clear way to ensure that those people don't feel that way is to have a constant flow of aid, but they haven't seen flower for a week or they may not see it for two weeks. so a consistent flow of aid. that is what the united nations and partners as you mentioned, world health organization, that is what we geared up to do. so it is difficult, people are desperate, it's very insecure, we have seen people killed during a distributions, but mostly the problems are simply bureaucratic and obstructions. it is the idea that ten miles from me, matthew, very hungry children very near me, ten miles are hundreds of trucks back to back. we need those trucks in here. they've got food, water, medicines that people desperately need. ., ., ., ., ., ., need. you mentioned rafah and, of course, need. you mentioned rafah and, of course. we — need. you mentioned rafah and, of course, we have _ need. you mentioned rafah and, of course, we have been _ need. you mentioned rafah and, of course, we have been reporting, i course, we have been reporting, benjamin netanyahu again talking about the plan to move into rafah and talking about moving civilians. so let me ask you two questions that are linked to that. is it remotely possible to remove the sorts of numbers we are talking about over a million people and, will the humanitarian agencies have any involvement in that process? great cuestion. involvement in that process? great question- it — involvement in that process? great question- it is _ involvement in that process? great question. it is simply _ involvement in that process? great question. it is simply not. - involvement in that process? great question. it is simply not. we - involvement in that process? the physical scars, there malnutrition, there simply isn't anywhere to go. it's been destroyed. rafah really is gaza, gaza's children, it's a city of children, it is gaza's last hope.- children, it's a city of children, it is gaza's last hope. james, we have to leave — it is gaza's last hope. james, we have to leave it _ it is gaza's last hope. james, we have to leave it there. _ it is gaza's last hope. james, we have to leave it there. thank - it is gaza's last hope. james, we | have to leave it there. thank you once again for your time and talking to us here live on bbc news. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. you are live with bbc news. 2024 will be the year the economy bounces back according to rishi sunak. this comes as figures boasted 3.4% in february. rishi sunak said he believed the country had, "turned a corner" he has been sticking to our economics editor who asked him about the economic backdrop but also what it was like to have his own mps in his party plotting against him. have a listen. �* i. his party plotting against him. have a listen. �* y., , a listen. and you will be prime minister after _ a listen. and you will be prime minister after the _ a listen. and you will be prime minister after the may - a listen. and you will be prime i minister after the may election? yes. because the things that we are doing _ yes. because the things that we are doing or— yes. because the things that we are doing or making a difference. they will always— doing or making a difference. they will always be noises, there will always— will always be noises, there will always be — will always be noises, there will always be people focused happening -- focused _ always be people focused happening —— focused on what's happening in westminster. when i go around the country— westminster. when i go around the country every week talking to petiole. — country every week talking to people, that is not what they are talking _ people, that is not what they are talking to — people, that is not what they are talking to me about. they are talking — talking to me about. they are talking to _ talking to me about. they are talking to me about. they are talking to me about. they are talking to me about us making sure that inflation comes down that energy— that inflation comes down that energy bills and mortgage rates are falling _ energy bills and mortgage rates are falling that we are cutting taxes so that their— falling that we are cutting taxes so that their family have more money in their bank— that their family have more money in their bank account every month. they are talking _ their bank account every month. they are talking to be a better plan to roll out — are talking to be a better plan to roll out childcare, too many more people _ roll out childcare, too many more people with little ones injust roll out childcare, too many more people with little ones in just a few weeks' time. the state pension going _ few weeks' time. the state pension going up— few weeks' time. the state pension going up £900. that is what we are delivering _ going up £900. that is what we are delivering on the economy. it's a plan _ delivering on the economy. it's a plan that's— delivering on the economy. it's a plan that's working. we are a new economic— plan that's working. we are a new economic moment now after the shocks of the _ economic moment now after the shocks of the past _ economic moment now after the shocks of the past few years and if we stick— of the past few years and if we stick to— of the past few years and if we stick to our plan i can deliver what people _ stick to our plan i can deliver what people want and they are starting to see that _ people want and they are starting to see that. , ,, ., ,, , , ., ,, see that. rishi sunak speaking faisal islam. _ turning to rwanda, i will talk you into the pictures live in the house of lords, because in the last hour, the government's flagship rwanda bill has just suffered another defeat with peers at voting 271—288 to push their demand at the legislation must have "due regard for domestic and international law." it is the first in a series of votes. early this week, mps in the house of commons overturned ten changes previously made to the bill tiy changes previously made to the bill by the house of lords. so it continues to ping—pong between the lords and the commons, but more defeats again they are in the house of lords. it's not the only bad news for the government's immigration policy, as it would seem rishi sunak�*s plan to save taxpayer money by moving asylum seekers out of hotels is in shambles. the national audit office says the home office expects to spend 1.2 billion pounds on housing asylum seekers in large accommodation sites and latest estimates suggest that will cost 46 million pounds more than using hotels — and will house hundreds fewer migrants than planned. with me is our home editor mark easton. mark, just tell us more about those figures that certainly certainly have been raising eyebrows. thea;r have been raising eyebrows. they have been raising eyebrows. they have because _ have been raising eyebrows. they have because you _ have been raising eyebrows. they have because you will— have been raising eyebrows. tue: have because you will remember have been raising eyebrows. tta: have because you will remember this is the result of a home office that was overwhelmed by a number of asylum—seekers coming over in small boats. they didn't have enough asylum while they were waiting for the claims to be processed, that processing was taking forever as well. they got in a real mess. they were spending and still are spending millions of pounds a day on hotel bills for asylum—seekers. you can imagine how well that goes down with voters. there was a huge push in the home office to try to get those people out of hotels as quickly as possible and into these large sites. they looked at a whole range of things, holiday camps turning old office blocks into accommodation. as you say, former raf bases and barges, they actually have got one barge, the bibby stockholm which is home to a few hundred migrants now. so the national audit office which is the official auditors of the government has been looking at the numbers. you know, are really rather embarrassing finding because the whole point of this exercise was to get people out of hotels to save taxpayers money. what they are saying is, as you said in your introduction, actually when you look at all the costs because they've literally threw everything to try to get this to happen as quickly as possible, you take into account all the costs, than it is going to cost a little bit more than it would to keep them in a hotel. in a little bit more than it would to keep them in a hotel.— a little bit more than it would to keep them in a hotel. in terms of reaction, what _ keep them in a hotel. in terms of reaction, what have _ keep them in a hotel. in terms of reaction, what have the - keep them in a hotel. in terms of. reaction, what have the home office said in terms of explanation and response, and what have the opposition parties been saying about this? ~ , , this? well, it is interesting because the _ this? well, it is interesting because the report - this? well, it is interesting because the report itself i this? well, it is interesting i because the report itself sort this? well, it is interesting - because the report itself sort of quotes home office officials saying that they accept that more money will be spent on this new form of accommodation than on keeping people in hotels. but there is something in there, bit of an argument about sunk costs should be included in the calculation. so the home office in a statement issued overnight said, actually, we think it will be £153 million less expensive over this. to keep asylum—seekers in these large sites. but they are not including what are called the sunk costs. all the money they spent on what the audit office calls progress enterprises. all the money they spent on boats that they never actually used, on camps they never actually used, on camps they never actually got anywhere with some of the national audit office is really saying, look, it is right that we should try to move people out of hotels because it's not suitable accommodation and there is some progress of that. in fact, today, the home office is saying they will have closed by the end of the month. but, in doing it so fast, in not following the normal rules on contracts and all the rest of it, actually, the home office has wasted money and they should've just kept to the traditional way of doing these things, even if it was politically difficult for them. mark, thank you so much for taking us through all that. thank you. the london hospital which treated the prince of wales says it will investigate any breach of patient information after reports that staff tried to access her private medical records. 0ur correspondent has this report. privacy and the princess — the mirror makes a splash with a story about an attempt to access private medical information regarding kate, the princess of wales. she was here two months ago for an abdominal operation. since then, she's been out of sight, but hardly out of mind. from the palace, silence. from the hospital, a statement. "we firmly believe that all our patients, no matter their status, deserve total privacy and confidentiality regarding their medical information." all of this, the hospital visit, the long recovery was supposed to be ordinary. a woman, wife and mother getting better after an operation. the palace has been flabbergasted by the response. the concern often that the princess's right to privacy has been shredded in a world of phone and feed. this is not the first time that the princess's private medical records, some of the most protected personal data there is, have come to others' attention. a decade ago, phone pranksters duped a nurse into revealing some petty details. profile is part of royal duty. for a monarch, opting out is not an option, but the prince and princess of wales are less bound by law and tradition. that's one reason they issued their own photo last week, a move that backfired as its authenticity was questioned by publishers worldwide. the couple may have thought they'd be able to step back a little for a long recovery from an operation, but events and rumours and their own mistake have conspired against them. jonny dymond, bbc news. 0ne one more story to take you through because it is happening this hour here in london, because the draught in american football is one of the big calendar events in sports. today, cricket's the 100 competition has its auction. that's going on in the next few minutes. it's a competition that perhaps the purists, they are a bit snobby about it with all of its fireworks and bands, but the action—packed format, the most runs, wins the competition. that has proved popular with younger newer audiences who will actually be the most sought after in the draught and point you towards the west india's nicholas pu ran is expected in the men's game and in the women's game, australia's we will bring you more on that story here in the next half hour. hello there. in the area of low pressure brought a lot of cloudy weather, across the uk on wednesday. an area of low pressure brought a lot of cloudy weather, some damp, drizzly conditions into the afternoon for some. and across parts of eastern scotland, even into the early part of the afternoon, temperatures were just around seven degrees. so it felt chilly here. but across southeast england, we had some sunny spells break out in relatively warm air. and so that sent temperatures surging. we had highs up to around 17 degrees celsius, making it one of the warmer days of the year. now, overnight tonight, a few mist and fog patches are possible across england and wales, but later in the night we'll see some rain move in to scotland and to northern ireland as well. the rain here is associated with a warm front that's set to bring milder weather. conditions back in across the uk now might well be turning a bit milder, particularly across northern areas of the country, but it will be a wet and a windy day. now the heaviest rain will be in scotland. the strongest winds for northern scotland with gusts of wind running into the fifties of miles an hour. the rain trickles southwards into northern ireland and northern england through the day. but across wales, the midlands, east anglia and southern england we may well again see the cloud thin and break at times to give some spells of sunshine. we could see temperatures reaching 17 degrees. colder air moves back in on friday. this type of cloud, a bit of rain is a cold front pushing southwards across england and wales. sunshine follows that feature through, but there will be quite a lot of showers, heavy ones of that across scotland, northern ireland and the north west of both england and wales. some of the showers will have hail mixed in, temperatures down, but actually quite close to average at ten to 12 degrees. the weekend dominated by low pressure that will be sending in loads of showers across the uk. and saturday is going to be one of those days where most places will see several showers during the day, some of them heavy with hail. and across the northern half of the uk it will be cold enough over the hills to see a bit of sleet mixed in temperatures a bit below average, but feeling chilly, particularly factoring in the wind. now the same area of low pressure pulls away on sunday, but we'll continue to see a feed of showers affecting northern and eastern scotland and eastern areas of england. bigger gaps between the showers. so of the two days of the weekend, sunday looks like bringing us slightly better weather, if you like. but then into monday, we get some colder air moving in, bumping into a weather system and that could bring a spell of hill snow into parts of scotland. this is bbc news, the headlines. inflation falls to its lowest level in almost two and a half years — as price rises slowed for food and eating out but continue to rise for housing and fuel. vaughan gething becomes the first minister of wales — the first black leader of a european country. and netflix drama the crown's final season takes the most nominations at the bafta tv awards. now for sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. we're gearing up for a feast of international football this week — including european championship qualifying. wales are one of the sides in action, in a crucial playoff tie with finland. manager rob page said he had no concerns around picking aaron ramsey in the squad, despite cardiff boss erol bulut saying he was unhappy about not being contacted by wales before ramsay's recall. the cardiff city midfielder only returned to training last week after spending the majority of the season on the sidelines with a knee injury. wales could face a playoff final against poland or estonia — for a place in this summer's euros. we're in because of communication. i just my medical team for the i know my physio— for the i know really well. the club doctor is are under 21 is doctor, there's never been a better relationship. i don't know what the fuss is all about.