at the clinic in london which treated the princess of wales tried to access her private medical records. the bafta tv award nominations have been announced for 2024 with the final season of netflix drama the crown the most nominations. hello, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start in irland where the prime minister leo vardkar hasjust resigned. the prime minister leo vardkar in an unexpected announcement, mr varadkar described his 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 taoiseach in 2017 when he became leader of fine gael. let's listen to him announcing his resignation from the steps of government buildings a short while ago.

i know this will come as a surprise to any 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. are 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. the new taoiseach will have a full two months to prepare for the local and european elections, and up to a year before the next general election. my reasons for stepping down are both personal and political. i believe this government can be elected and i believe my party, fine gael, can gain seats in the next dail.

most of all, i believe the re—election of this three party government would be the right thing for the future of our country, continuing to take us forward, protecting all that's been achieved and building on it. but after careful consideration and some soul—searching i believe that a new taoiseach and a new leader would be better placed than me to achieve that. to renew and strengthen the team, to focus our message on policies, to drive implementation and after seven years in office, i don't feel i'm the best person for thatjob anymore. pa rt part of the statement in the last couple of hours from leo varadkar. i am joined now by a correspondent from the irish times. this is described as a political earthquake, it was a very emotional statement at times. what is the reaction there? yes, the reaction basically is shock, i think leo varadkar has taken his coalition colleagues very much by surprise with this announcement, not to mention memos of the press who did not expect

this, this morning, this was supposed to be a very quiet political week. and leo varadkar, he appeared outside government buildings, he spoke about how he has both personal and political reasons for stepping down as the leader of fine gael, and when he talked about some of the personal reasons, he did not get too deep into it but he did basically indicate there is talk of, we are all human as politicians, we all have our limits, and i think maybe he was referring to the pressure that is on modern politicians now, whether that be online, through social media, and then of course he referenced political reasons which i believe probably is where the real pressure is coming from, within fine gael. just explain a little bit more about that background. we have seen two recent referendum defeats, with a general election expected within the next year or so. general election expected within the next year or 50-— next year or so. that's right. exactly- _ next year or so. that's right. exactly- last _ next year or so. that's right. exactly. last week _ next year or so. that's right. exactly. last week we - next year or so. that's right. exactly. last week we had i next year or so. that's right. i exactly. last week we had two referendums on the role of family and carers within our constitution, both of those were resoundingly

defeated, in fact we had the highest ever percentage no vote in the history of irish referendums. and the government there was accused of being out of touch effectively with the electorate, but i don't believe that that is the reason why he has chosen to step down now. i think realistically the party and the wider government, they are under pressure on a number of different fronts, most notably in relation to immigration policy at the moment. i think he gave a good insight into the reason why he chose to do this now as opposed to not waiting closer to a general election and he talked about how we have local and european elections coming up and how he did not believe that he would be the right leader to lead those candidates and effectively to become elected, because fine gael has been in a bit of a stasis at the poll but it is important to say it is not like he has been in the absolute political doldrums recently. he hasn't. and i think that is why this hasn't. and i think that is why this has taken people so much by surprise. has taken people so much by surrise. ~ . . ., ., surprise. what are the immigration oli surprise. what are the immigration policy difficulties? _ surprise. what are the immigration policy difficulties? so, _ surprise. what are the immigration policy difficulties? so, obviously i policy difficulties? so, obviously since the war— policy difficulties? so, obviously since the war in _ policy difficulties? so, obviously since the war in ukraine - policy difficulties? so, obviously since the war in ukraine we - policy difficulties? so, obviously| since the war in ukraine we have seen a massive influx in the number

of ukrainian refugees who are coming over to ireland but also a huge increase at the same time of international protection applicants, asylum seekers from other countries, towards december of last year, the government effectively said we have run out of space to house those asylum seekers come a particularly single males, and what happened last week, when there were st patrick's day trips, government ministers were flying across the globe to promote that agenda, there were tents outside the international protection officers, they were pickup in a coach, the men in the tents, they were brought down to a mountain, they pitched their tents there and it created a huge controversy, whose idea was this, the men who were brought there said the conditions were not good, that it was very, very cold and there was a lot of pressure due to come on today in the dail, which proceedings have actuallyjust kicked off. so, this was what is going to was going to lay out today, i don't think it is the only reason, but it is hard to escape that political context and as

you said he referred to speculation about any personal reasons in particular, i'm sure, what mark is you going to have left on irish politics? he you going to have left on irish olitics? , . ., ., , politics? he is half indian, he was very young. _ politics? he is half indian, he was very young. he — politics? he is half indian, he was very young. he is _ politics? he is half indian, he was very young. he is gay. _ politics? he is half indian, he was very young, he is gay, very, - politics? he is half indian, he was very young, he is gay, very, very| very young, he is gay, very, very different from the traditional cut of cloth of someone at the top of irish politics?— of cloth of someone at the top of irish olitics? ~ , ,., , . irish politics? absolutely, and when he took over. _ irish politics? absolutely, and when he took over, when _ irish politics? absolutely, and when he took over, when he _ irish politics? absolutely, and when he took over, when he first - irish politics? absolutely, and when he took over, when he first came i he took over, when he first came into fine gael as a ministerfor transport, for health, and then became the youngest ever taoiseach in 2017, he brought in this kind of young dynamism, a whole new generation of fine gael tds who were younger, came in with him into cabinet and he refreshed that party, he also is known to be a very straight talker, he shoots from the hip and that does not suit everybody, that is not to everybody�*s taste, particularly. and sometimes when you say things that may be have not been fully thought out, it can tank with the electorate. i think if he is going to be remember, he will be but as a younger leader who brought a new

dynamic into a kind of more modern politics, like you said, an immigrant, this new face of irish politics, as a divisive figure, often, but i think he has chosen to go perhaps at a time that would see him be able to point towards successes he has had, and that the government have had, whether that be in relation to brexit, that being relation to the economy, which is currently doing welcome and rather than going out on the back of a very damaging public setting. thank than going out on the back of a very damaging public setting.— damaging public setting. thank you ve much damaging public setting. thank you very much for— damaging public setting. thank you very much forjoining _ damaging public setting. thank you very much forjoining us, _ damaging public setting. thank you very much forjoining us, from - damaging public setting. thank you very much forjoining us, from the l very much forjoining us, from the irish times. just to say, responding to this decision, the prime minister in the uk, rishi sunak, the official spokesman, have said that ireland is a vital partner of the uk and we wish him well in his next steps and we will work closely with him and his successor. of course, the brexit fallout, of course, led to a lot of attention on mr varadkar in the last

few years, as far as the uk was concerned, and there will be continuing questions about why this decision has been made now. moving on. civilians caught up in sudan's civil war have given graphic accounts to the bbc of rape, ethnic violence and street executions. senior united nations officials say the war has plunged the country into "one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history". sudan — a predominantly muslim country — is one of the continent's largest nations, but also one of the poorest — with 46 million people living on an average annual income of 750 dollars. the fighting erupted in the capital khartoum in mid—april last year after two men who once controlled the country in a power—sharing agreement fell out. general abdel—fattah al—bur—harn, commander of the sudanese armed forces, and the head of the powerful paramilitary rapid support forces, general mohammed ham—dan dagalo

are now bitter rivals. and within sudan lies another humanitarian crisis. in the western region of darfur, where black african and arab communities have long been in conflict, witnesses have accused the rsf of targeting and killing non—arabs, with reports of hundreds of deaths. the rsf have repeatedly denied any involvement in the violence in the region and have called for an independent international investigation. the united nations says that with 8.1 million people forcibly displaced, and tens of thousands killed, the conflict could trigger the world's largest hunger crisis. bbc arabic�*s feras kilani, has been given rare access with the sudanese army, and sent this report from the front line of the fighting close to the capital, khartoum.

gun shots. the front line of a war the world has forgotten. sudanese army troops, celebrating success as they push towards the capital. a fragile victory over their rivals, the rapid support forces. this market used to be the life of the city. now look at it. normal life here, destroyed. we heard stories of rape, looting and indiscriminate violence at the hands of the rsf. this war is taking everything from people. millions across the country have had to leave their lives behind. few have stayed. 64—year—old mukhtar took us to see what used to be a town square, now a makeshift graveyard. translation: there are 150 people here. | i knew many of them. mohammed, abdullah, jalal. ..

there's just me left. a moment to remember their names. for many, a grave is only a number. the un says both sides face accusations of horrific abuses, even war crimes, claims both deny. the army was keen to show us the damage they say was inflicted to the city and its people by the rsf. they tightly controlled what we saw and where we went. children in sudan are facing a living nightmare. aid agencies warn an entire generation is at risk. 300 families are crammed into the school here in port sudan. these classrooms should be full of children learning. instead, desperate people

from across sudan are sheltering here for safety. but there are horrible stories hidden here. five people died of cholera and others are suffering from severe diseases. zubaida, a mother of eight, has leukaemia. she hasn't been able to get her medication since the war erupted last april. translation: my last pills finished three days before the war. - from that moment on, i'm suffering. i'm in constant pain. i'm so tired. zubaida's husband is fighting in khartoum with the army. she hasn't heard from him for two months. this clinic feels like a front line of a humanitarian disaster the world doesn't know is happening. starving children getting what little help they can.

we meet a woman who has lost all hope, struggling to keep her three—year—old daughter alive. she could barely tell us the rsf stole her home, stole her life. families clinging on for survival, but it could get a lot worse. so we're facing right now a lethal combination of displacement, mass displacement, hunger and disease outbreaks, and that's putting sudan on the brink of famine. the world has been distracted with other wars, other suffering, but the appeal from here is clear — the world is being urged not to forget sudan. feras killani, bbc news, sudan.

an investigation has reportedly begun at the clinic in london which treated the princess of wales over claims staff tried to access her private medical records. the daily mirror alleges at least one staff member at the london clinic in marylebone was involved. sarah campbell, our presenter and former royal correspondent, joins us now. this clinic is a private clinic, it is not part of the national health service, yet obviously everybody is entitled to privacy over their health records? this is a place that we have seen many times on the news over the years, because it is the place that the late queen was treated, prince philip was treated there, and in january of this year, both the king and catherine princess of were both treated at the london clinic. so, catherine spent 13 nights there, two weeks, going in on the 16th of january, we were told, for abdominal surgery. and so, as you know, since then, there has been a huge amount of speculation, social media,

whatever, about what exactly was the nature of her condition. she is convalescing in windsor with her family, as we know. and then this news was broken by the daily mirror overnight, that the information commissioner's office said it had received a breach report, so, effectively, what the daily mirror are alleging is that at least one member of staff tried to access catherine's private medical records at the london clinic, which, as you say, it does not matter who you are, thatis say, it does not matter who you are, that is clearly a huge breach of privacy, if that is true. so, what we have now, the london clinic has been under huge pressure to provide some sort of statement today and in the last hour or so we got that statement, from the chief executive, who said everyone at the london clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality, we take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to

deliverfor care and discretion we aim to deliver for our patients who put their trust in us, we have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and in the case of any breach, or appropriate investigator become a regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken. and it finishes, there is no place at our hospitalfor and it finishes, there is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach of the trust of any of our patients or colleagues. so, we take that to mean that an investigation is ongoing with look to the london clinic. and it is not just about royals, there have been lots of health organisations that have been coming forward, general medical council, which regulates doctors, reiterating patient must have confidence that their personal information is protected at all times. ,,. . information is protected at all times. ., ., ,, information is protected at all times, ., ., ,, ., , times. sarah campbell, thanks very much indeed- _ times. sarah campbell, thanks very much indeed. this _ times. sarah campbell, thanks very much indeed. this story _ times. sarah campbell, thanks very much indeed. this story is - times. sarah campbell, thanks very much indeed. this story is not - much indeed. this story is not going away in one form or another. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. vaughan gething has been formally nominated as the new first minister of wales. the economy minister and former health minister narrowly won the welsh labour leadership contest by 51.7% to succeed mark drakeford who's stepping down after more than five years in the post. he is the only black leader of a national governing in europe. after the vote he set out his vision for wales. i the vote he set out his vision for wales. , . ., , ., ., wales. i believe the wales of today and the future _ wales. i believe the wales of today and the future will _ wales. i believe the wales of today and the future will be _ wales. i believe the wales of today and the future will be owned - wales. i believe the wales of today and the future will be owned by - wales. i believe the wales of today and the future will be owned by all| and the future will be owned by all those decent people who recognise that our parliament and our government should look like our country is people who recognise that our hope and ambition for the future relies on unleashing the talent of all of us. a wales that recognises that we can celebrate our differences and take pride in all those things that draw us together and make us who we are. that is the wales that i want to lead. a wales

full of hope, ambition and unity. let's get more on this now and speak to tomos morgan. just first of all, terms of today, and the fact that we have got the first black political leader in europe and a very diverse set of political leaders in the uk, thatis set of political leaders in the uk, that is a big moment that should be marked? , ., ., ., , marked? yes, a huge moment really somethin: marked? yes, a huge moment really something which _ marked? yes, a huge moment really something which vaughan _ marked? yes, a huge moment really something which vaughan gething i marked? yes, a huge moment reallyl something which vaughan gething did touch upon at the end of his speech, really, said it was a huge source of pride but also a daunting prosper for him. he said he was expecting his identity to be questioned once again, now that he has formally come into this role. and some would question maybe why he is bringing up the race card but he says, if you have had your identity questioned, thatis have had your identity questioned, that is why, but it is still a huge source of pride for him and that part of his speech deemed a resounding round of applause from all of the members in the chamber in

the senedd this afternoon as he was voted in. but you mentioned a couple of other things in that speech, began by thanking his predecessor, mark drakeford, they became very close during covid, almost number one and number two in command, really, vaughan gething is a health minister, a key part of the decision—making process in all of those covid—related matters over the pandemic. he also talked about the division in uk politics at the moment, the racial division as well, really, and i guess he was hinting towards the uk general election that might happen at some point later this year and hoping that that might bring some of us together and also spoke about devolution in wales, really, that there has not been a close relationship in recent times between the uk government and the welsh government, was hoping to push,in welsh government, was hoping to push, in his role as the first minister now, to get that relationship closer as they move forward. , , relationship closer as they move forward. , ., _ forward. this is obviously labour dominated _ forward. this is obviously labour dominated wales, _ forward. this is obviously labour dominated wales, if— forward. this is obviously labour dominated wales, if there - forward. this is obviously labour dominated wales, if there is - forward. this is obviously labour dominated wales, if there is a i forward. this is obviously labour| dominated wales, if there is a uk general election, you know, with labour ahead here as well, how would

that change the picture in wales, would it change the funding model? i think it would, certainly, i think welsh members of the senedd would hope that maybe there would be some more positivity towards funding in wales, because it is a difficult dynamic because the majority of funding does come from westminster but all the big decisions are made by the first minister and his cabinet here in wales when it comes to things like education, local covenant, agriculture and the health service, of course. so, there is a hope that actually those dialogues can be closer and using to maintain and there is a hope of course for more money, how realistic that is in a cost crisis, when budgets are stretched across the whole of the uk, i guess we will have to wait and when that you government comes in. tomos morgan, thank you very much indeed. let's turn to the world of tv now because this year's nominations for the bafta tv awards have just been released, and it's the crown that leads the way. the sixth season of the netflix

drama about the royal family has eight nominations, including best leading actor for dominic west, who plays charles, and best supporting actress for elizabeth debicki, who plays diana. us hit show succession has also been recognised with six nominations. with me is our bbc culture reporter noor nanji. have you watch all of these nominated shows?- have you watch all of these nominated shows? , . �* nominated shows? pretty much, i'm not sure what _ nominated shows? pretty much, i'm not sure what that _ nominated shows? pretty much, i'm not sure what that says _ nominated shows? pretty much, i'm not sure what that says about - nominated shows? pretty much, i'm not sure what that says about me. i not sure what that says about me. what else came out today? 50. not sure what that says about me. what else came out today?- not sure what that says about me. what else came out today? so, it is the awards — what else came out today? so, it is the awards season _ what else came out today? so, it is the awards season continuing - what else came out today? so, it is the awards season continuing and i what else came out today? so, it is the awards season continuing and itj the awards season continuing and it is the crown that is leading the way in the bafta tv nominations, with eight nominations in total, including best leading actor for dominic west who plays charles, and best supporting actress for elizabeth debicki who plays diana. i thought the critics were fairly mixed about the crown when it came out last year, there was praise for individual performances but criticism for the way that events in the late 1990s were depicted, particularly around the death of princess diana and the events in the

aftermath of her death, but that has not stopped it from storming ahead with the most nominations today. they can barely compete with real life at the moment. black mirror also did really well? it life at the moment. black mirror also did really well?— also did really well? it did, so this is a black _ also did really well? it did, so this is a black mirror - also did really well? it did, so this is a black mirror episode | this is a black mirror episode called demon 79, picked up seven nominations. it is a british sci—fi series that was created by charlie brooker. there was a four—year wait to have the latest episode but they came out last year and demon 79 was the final episode in the series, it got a number of nominations including best limited drama and best actress.— including best limited drama and best actress. what else did well? there were _ best actress. what else did well? there were seven _ best actress. what else did well? there were seven nominations - best actress. what else did well? there were seven nominations for happy valley, the bbc crime drama which was a smash hit when it came out, this was the third and final instalment and it got best lead actress for sarah lancashire and a number of other nominations as well. it also picked up the most memorable moments, decided by the public, and that was for the final showdown in the kitchen, anyone who has watched

it, between catherine and tommy. slow horses and the sixth commandment also got six nominations each and there were also four nominations for eurovision which took place in liverpool last year. it got nominations for the best live event and also best entertainment performance for hannah waddingham. and notjust british television? ida. and not 'ust british television? no, there and notjust british television? no, there were also _ and notjust british television? iifr, there were also nominations for some international hits including succession, about logan roy and his family and the struggles about who is going to take over when he steps down. that got six nominations including best leading actor for brian cox as logan roy, and pull the last of us also has five nominations including best leading actor for bela ramsey, the first time she has been nominated for a bafta tv award. if you are confused where some of your favourites are, the if you are confused where some of yourfavourites are, the reason if you are confused where some of your favourites are, the reason they have not been mentioned is because you have to have come out last year, so they may be eligible next year. the ceremony is on the 12th of may

and it will be on bbc one and iplayer. i and it will be on bbc one and ipla er. ., ,, and it will be on bbc one and ipla er. ., , , ., iplayer. i cannot stop singing i am ken after that _ iplayer. i cannot stop singing i am ken after that amazing _ iplayer. i cannot stop singing i am ken after that amazing ryan - iplayer. i cannot stop singing i am i ken after that amazing ryan gosling performance at the oscars. we will see if the bas baftas can compete with that. much more coming up, and also on the website. breaking news today, on the resignation of leo varadkar. we are back soon. for england and wales we have got weakening low pressure this afternoon, cloudy with a drizzle, damp conditions loitering in eastern scotland, the north and west of scotland, the north and west of scotland and northern ireland the weather system is disappearing with sunshine following, the stripe of cloud on the horizon in 0rkney is the weather system disappearing over the weather system disappearing over the horizon. for the rest of today, damp and drizzly conditions for wales, the midlands, a swathe of

northern england, eastern scotland, drizzle, reluctant to clear away. some sunshine for south—east england, temperatures could get up to 17-18 england, temperatures could get up to 17—18 here. in the north of the uk the weather will be feeling quite chilly, particularly for the east coast of scotland. 0vernight tonight there could be one or two mist and fog patches and then later in the night we will have rain moving into scotland and northern ireland. the rain is associated with the next weather system moving in off the atlantic. this warm front will be bringing some milder air back into northern areas of the uk so temperatures will be climbing by a few degrees. however, it is going to be a wet day, particularly for scotland on thursday, with some strong winds across the far north where we will see gusts running into 50mph, wales and northern ireland and the far north of england in the afternoon, further south you might see the cloud thing and break and we could see some pretty high temperatures for the time of year. —— thinning and breaking. friday, a

cold front pushing across, bringing cloud and rain, followed by sunshine and showers. across scotland, northern ireland and the north—west, could be heavy, with some hail. temperatures near average for the time of year, 10—12, but feeling quite a bit cooler. for that we pressure stays in charge, sunny spells and showers on saturday, the showers having some hail mixed in with them, and we could have a bit of sleet over the hills in the north of sleet over the hills in the north of the uk for there will be a chilly wind knocking the urge of these temperatures, feeling cool. further showers are in the forecast on sunday but probably with bigger gaps between them. some places will stay dry. 0n between them. some places will stay dry. on monday, with colder air moving in across the north of the uk, we might actually see a bit of hill snow in parts of scotland.

cashing in on chips. the us gives billions of dollars to intel to try and keep ahead in the global race for computer chips. and polish farmers continue their protests, despite the eu limiting the amount of agricultural produce that comes in from ukraine.

welcome to world business report. i'm ben thompson and we're going to start in the united states. president biden's government says it's throwing billions of dollars more into the global battle over computer chips. many countries are trying to get ahead in an industry that is crucial to the future of the global economy, powering everything from electric vehicles to artifical intelligence. vehicles to artificial intelligence. $8.5 billion is going directly to the chip—maker, intel, to help it make more chips in the us. it's also getting billions more in loans. the aim is for 20% of the world's computer chips to be made in the us within a decade. 0ur correspondent, erin delmore, is in new york. she is there for us live. took us through the announcement today. then, if you say the goal is 20% of us chip production to be the share of the world's chip production, think about where we are now, hovering around 12%, that was the

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