this is bbc news, the headlines: the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, announces he's going to step down before the next general election. sudan — what's described as a �*war the world's forgotten�*. we'll have the latest —

on the crisis and the response. the uk government has banned 15 synthetic opioids, as a bbc investigation reveals its data may be underestimating their spread. and who will be picked in the draft for cricket's newest, brashest competition — the hundred? we have the latest. we will talk to our critic correspondent. all of that is before the sport — correspondent. all of that is before the sort. , .,, correspondent. all of that is before the sort. , , correspondent. all of that is before thesort. , , “ the sport. olly foster is in the bbc sort the sport. olly foster is in the bbc sport centre- _ the sport. olly foster is in the bbc sport centre. good _ the sport. olly foster is in the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. - shohei ohtani made his long—awaited debut since signing a record ten—year $700 million contract with the la dodgers as his rbi single helped his side overcome the san diego padres 5—2 in seoul. a crowd of almost 16,000 was on hand to watch 0htani's debut in seoul in major league baseball's first game in south korea. the japanese star registered his first hit at the top of the third and then, with the dodgers 4—2 up at the top of the eighth, drove in his first run as part of a four—run inning to ensure his debut was a successful one.

i think the bigger picture is significant because you've got such a generational talent that, you know, is on your ball club in a big market in los angeles. you know, there are a lot more eyeballs on the la dodgers and on major league baseball. we got a lot of good players outside shohei 0htani. the fence came alive at the end, so it was a good ball game and i expect more games like this. a spanish court has ruled that the former barcelona and brazil footballer, dani alves, can be conditionally released from jail on a i million euro bail, pending an appeal against his conviction for rape. the ao—year—old has served about a quarter of his [ls—year sentence. he has been detained since january last year after being charged with raping a woman in a barcelona nightclub in december 2022. he was found guilty of the offence at trial last month. his bail conditions include relinquishing both his brazilian and spanish passports, so he cannot leave the country and an obligation to appear before the court

on a weekly basis. the former world number one, caroline wozniacki, says simona halep shouldn't have been given a wild card into the miami 0pen after her doping ban and needs to work her way up from the bottom again. this was halep's first tournament since having a four—year doping ban — that started in october 2022 — reduced to nine months on appeal. that meant that she could play again straightaway. she won the first set of her match against spain's paula badosa, but lost in three. halep, a two—time major champion, blamed contaminated supplements for her positive test for a blood—boosting drug and earlier this month the court of arbitration for sport accepted that she had unwittingly doped and freed her to play again. this is not directly it, but if someone purposefully cheats, this is not directly at someone, but if someone purposefully cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping... i understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournaments,

but it is my personal belief — and it is not a knock on anyone — but it is my personal belief that i don't think that people should be awarded wild cards afterwards. if you want to come back... and it has been a mistake, i understand. ..you should work your way up from the bottom, that is my personal opinion on things. why did she say that? in the press conference. yes, but why? because i didn't do anything wrong, i didn't cheat, i didn't dope, so it is better if we read the decision, that it was a contaminated supplement, it was not doping. i never had something to do with doping, so i never doped, so i am not a cheater. the 17th edition of the indian premier league starts this friday, as ms dhoni's defending champions, chennai super kings, take on royal challengers bangalore. the ipl continues to attract t20 cricket's biggest and its chairman the ipl continues to attract t20 cricket's biggest stars and its chairman says the league has

transformed the sport. yes, as you have seen, it is going over the years, the ipl. every year you find amazing talent coming out of ipl and this season is going to be no different. over the last 15, 16 years, in such a short span ipl has become the number two league in terms of the value globally. so there is a part of ipl, it has transformed world cricket for good. so that starts on friday, matthew, but they have only scheduled the first two weeks of the ipl this season because it clashes with the indian elections, so we will see exactly when that final will be. complicated. 0lly foster, thanks very much. as promised, let's get more on sudan and a conflict described as the war that the world has actually forgotten. civilians caught up in the country's civil war have given graphic accounts to the bbc of rape, ethnic violence and street executions. top 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. the fighting erupted in the capital, khartoum, in mid—april last year, after two men, who once took control of the country in a power—sharing agreement, fell out. and within sudan lies another humanitarian crisis. in the western region of darfur, where african and arab communities have long been at loggerheads. 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, it could trigger the world's

largest hunger crisis. let's speak to bashair ahmed, who is the ceo of shabaka, who have been supporting the ongoing response to this crisis in sudan. thank you very much for being here on bbc news. our alarmed are you at the humanitarian situation on the ground? the humanitarian situation on the round? . ~' ,, , the humanitarian situation on the round? ., ~ i. , . the humanitarian situation on the round? ., ~ , . ., ground? thank you very much for havin: ground? thank you very much for having here- _ ground? thank you very much for having here. we _ ground? thank you very much for having here. we are _ ground? thank you very much for having here. we are very - ground? thank you very much for. having here. we are very concerned about the situation because what we are seeing for the last 11 months, and obviously sudan has had other conflicts for several decades, is this is an escalation at a completely different level where the humanitarian response cannot be the same as previously, previous attempts. i same as previously, previous attempts-_ same as previously, previous attemts. ., ., ., , , . attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment _ attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment or— attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment or two, _ attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment or two, but _ attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment or two, but in - attempts. i will come to that aspect in a moment or two, but in terms . attempts. i will come to that aspect| in a moment or two, but in terms of the fears, we are looking at pictures on the ground because so much violence we have seen over recent months. do you share the fears in darfur, in particular, that we may see a repeat of the genocide of 20 years ago? stare

we may see a repeat of the genocide of 20 years ago?— of 20 years ago? are already seeing it, so it not — of 20 years ago? are already seeing it, so it not something _ of 20 years ago? are already seeing it, so it not something that, - of 20 years ago? are already seeing it, so it not something that, we - of 20 years ago? are already seeing it, so it not something that, we are| it, so it not something that, we are likely to see it. so the level of violence has escalated to unprecedented levels, not notjust in darfur, but also across the country, and this is actually impeded by the current international shutdown will stop sudan has been in the dark for communication since february, so information is patchy, making information gathering and humanitarian response almost impossible. he humanitarian response almost impossible-— humanitarian response almost im ossible. .. , ., , impossible. he said in your first answer what — impossible. he said in your first answer what is _ impossible. he said in your first answer what is required - impossible. he said in your first answer what is required is - impossible. he said in your first answer what is required is a - impossible. he said in your first| answer what is required is a real shift, a change of approach from organisations, from governments. are you seeing any real sign of that? that you seeing any real sign of that? git the current time, the un has an appealforjust over 4 the current time, the un has an appeal forjust over 4 billion us dollars in aid and in refugee hosting countries, but the reality is the un and ngos, the majority do not have access, so it is the communities themselves who have been holding the fort for the past 11 months. there are numerous... asking

for the getting aid to these front line responders and only a handful of international agencies are working with them, so it is rather unacceptable and callous at the current time to talk about a response when it is not including the communities themselves. yes. isn't one of — the communities themselves. yes. isn't one of the _ the communities themselves. yes. isn't one of the basic— the communities themselves. yes. isn't one of the basic difficulties here, though, that both sides are convinced they can win this militarily?— convinced they can win this militaril ? , , ., , militarily? this is the reality, so for example. — militarily? this is the reality, so for example, humanitarian - militarily? this is the reality, so i for example, humanitarian access militarily? this is the reality, so - for example, humanitarian access is an impressive strategy to stop aid reaching people by both warring parties. and unfortunately with the international community, they have really been kind of stuck in this ping—pong game in terms of, what does it mean to seek access and humanitarian response? sudan has numerous neighbouring countries and borders. however, access through thatis borders. however, access through that is going through official channels or... and it has been very slow to get agreements from the various warring parties. it has been

very difficult. however, front line responders such as emergency response rooms really have been the ones who are taking all the risks and delivering this sustenance, but they are not getting any support. just over the weekend i had one if the responders in darfur calling me, saying they are out of money and they are dealing with several idp camps. they are dealing with several idp cam s. g . they are dealing with several idp cam s, g , ., they are dealing with several idp cam s. g , . ., they are dealing with several idp cams. , . . , ., camps. just a final question, because you _ camps. just a final question, because you would - camps. just a final question, because you would know- camps. just a final question, | because you would know what camps. just a final question, - because you would know what is happening in the war. there is of course the worry of fatigue in the international community, you have the ukraine war, you have a walk in the ukraine war, you have a walk in the middle east, you have the ethiopian crisis now. is there a way, do you think, to change the dynamic of thinking here? absolutely. for example, the... government can fill a void and produce credible options and be a convenor with african stakeholders. at the moment it is generally a disconnect in terms of the key messaging of the advocacy, so people are going on the track of the human

rights or the political or the humanitarian, but that actually need to be coalesced together and everyone should be talking from the same sheet in terms of the key messaging. same sheet in terms of the key messaging-— same sheet in terms of the key messaging. same sheet in terms of the key messauuin. . ~ ., ., messaging. bashair ahmed, we have to leave it there. — messaging. bashair ahmed, we have to leave it there, but _ messaging. bashair ahmed, we have to leave it there, but thank _ messaging. bashair ahmed, we have to leave it there, but thank you _ messaging. bashair ahmed, we have to leave it there, but thank you so - leave it there, but thank you so much forjoining us live here on verified alive.— the uk government has banned 15 synthetic opioids, as a bbc investigation reveals its data may be underestimating their spread. the department of health recorded just 19 non—fatal overdoses in the second half of last year linked to nitazenes, but there have been more than 100 deaths since last summer. the bbc�*s midlands correspondent, navteonhal, has spoken to one man who nearly died from an accidental overdose. drugs cause so much chaos and disaster. it's horrible. i want people to stop. so on august �*23, i took nitazene, and i never want to take it again. last summer, while using

what he thought was heroin, matt ended up in hospital. it had been laced with a new super strength street drug known as a nitazene. it plays a big impact on your mental health... what did they tell you had happened to you? that i had died. that i died that day. nitazene is the most terrifying thing i've ever experienced, everfaced. i'd never, i wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. i wouldn't. it's terrifying. that's why matt's been off drugs ever since and is working with the charity change grow live to help with his recovery. nitazenes can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin, and just a tiny amount can cause users to stop breathing. it's believed that a crackdown on heroin production in afghanistan has led to a rise in synthetic opioids here. the national crime agency says nitazenes are being created in illicit labs in china and often enter the uk in the post. nitazenes are a whole new, whole new ball game.

experts we've spoken to believe the government is behind the curve on nitazenes. there is currently no national system for tracking nonfatal overdoses, despite more than 100 deaths being linked to nitazenes since last summer. in a similar period, the department of health recorded just 19 nonfatal overdoses. i think that figure is an enormous underestimate. and i think it's worse than useless to be suggesting that there's maybe only 19. the government says it's trying to address these concerns. this is one of its drug testing facilities. it says it will analyse waste water for the presence of synthetic drugs, record spikes in overdoses, and from today, 15 synthetic opioids will be controlled as class—a drugs. well, over the last nine months, we've pulled together an early warning system, drawing on tests done at the border, tests done on samples that have been seized, postmortem toxicology, as well as overdose reports,

that i think does give us a complete picture. meanwhile, the department of health says it has a surveillance system in place to collect information on the nature and location of novel drug use. and that work is ongoing to improve it. but for those who know first hand the damage nitazenes can cause, they're worried about what's to come. please stop using. and the dealers don't care. they want your money. don't give it to them. your life's worth more than a £10 bag. navteonhal, bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you are alive with bbc news. ——

you are alive with bbc news. -- you are alive with _ you are alive with bbc news. —— you are alive with bbc news. now, the draft in american football is one of the big calender events in sport. today, in cricket, the hundred competition has its auction of top players at the shard in london. it's a competion that perhaps the purists are a bit snobby about, with its fireworks and bands, but the action—packed format of 50 balls a side, the most runs wins has proved popular with younger, neweraudiences. and who will be the most sought after players in the draft today? in the men's game, teams will be keen to get west indies�* nicholas pooran. and in the women's game, australia's meg lanning will peak the interest of teams picking first. let's speak to tim wigmore, cricket journalist at the telegraph and authour of crickonommics: the anatomy of modern cricket. welcome here to the programme. a real flurry of excitement around this draft. just tell our viewers a little more about how it actually works. . little more about how it actually works. , ,., ., , little more about how it actually

works. , ., , ., works. yes, so the draft is at 5:30m works. yes, so the draft is at 5:30pm today _ works. yes, so the draft is at 5:30pm today in _ works. yes, so the draft is at 5:30pm today in the - works. yes, so the draft is at 5:30pm today in the shard. l works. yes, so the draft is at| 5:30pm today in the shard. it works. yes, so the draft is at i 5:30pm today in the shard. it is works. yes, so the draft is at - 5:30pm today in the shard. it is a bit of an odd one because most teams have already signed most of their players for the coming season, each team has four or five slots free for these new players they are signing. a bit like in american sports, actually, we have the snake draft where the team who gets first pick in the first round will then get the last pick in the second round and so on to make it fair, the first pick in the men's game will be done by the superchargers, whose coaches andrew flintoff, of course, the hero in 2005, is now doing his first full—time coaching job in cricket. and how competitive does it get? do you tend to have most of the teams after the same players? yes. you tend to have most of the teams after the same players?— after the same players? yes, so because, after the same players? yes, so because. in _ after the same players? yes, so because, in the _ after the same players? yes, so because, in the indian _ after the same players? yes, so because, in the indian premier i because, in the indian premier league, which we talked about before, there is an auction there, so you can bid as much as you like to try and get players. here it is, you just have a slot, so the first round of an hundred and £25,000 in the men's draft and then whoever has first pick can choose that player,

so in a sense, when you have your pick, you have a free hand, there is no competition and you don't need to worry about other teams, so that is a different structure between this and say, the ipl, where you have these bidding wars between very, very rich owners in india and you get amazing amounts that are bid on players. here i guess teens often have who they want in their minds before they go and they sort of, i know teams in their planning will actually say, we think that team are going to sign that player first, which means this player should be free for us. which means this player should be free for na— free for us. yes, so a lot of strategy — free for us. yes, so a lot of strategy and _ free for us. yes, so a lot of strategy and game - free for us. yes, so a lot ofj strategy and game playing, free for us. yes, so a lot of- strategy and game playing, even in terms a you actually go for? we were playing pictures as you are talking there are some of the razzmatazz, there are some of the razzmatazz, the bands in the hundred. i mean, purists are a bit snooty about it, but it has been really popular and popular among new audiences that cricket is trying to attract? yes. cricket is trying to attract? yes, that's right. _ cricket is trying to attract? yes, that's right. it _ cricket is trying to attract? yes, that's right, it has _ cricket is trying to attract? yes, that's right, it has been - cricket is trying to attract? yes that's right, it has been divisive because it has sort of taken away a

section of the english summer that she would have had test cricket playing before, but this summer actually some of the matches of the hundred are clashing with test cricket. so the ecb in cricket ball, they are saying, actually, you can watch the hundred if you like, but also we have test cricket on the time. but also the rationale behind it is to get young players and people involved in the game, but also an english point of view, it is to get interest in the global point of view because there are worries about how much cricket is going to be worth in the future and by having a competition at home but hopefully you can build up that is worth a lot of money, that is a way of having a guaranteed income for whoever is coming. so actually the sum of the test matches are against the sri lankan and the west indies, who are not to the most attractive opponents, to be honest, so in a way a really big here this time for the hundred because it has a chance of being the big main event in a way that it was never going to be against the ashes last summer. well, certainly the —

against the ashes last summer. well, certainly the tickets _ against the ashes last summer. well, certainly the tickets are _ certainly the tickets are considerably cheaper than test match cricket, but as you say, so many families and younger people and women getting involved and coming to these games, which of course are in these games, which of course are in the evening, after work, and proving to be very popular. thank you so much forjoining us here on the programme, tim wigmore. today is the international day of happiness, so what is the happiest country in the world? according to a un report published today, finland is at the top — for the seventh year. sofia bettiza has been looking at the data. what determines the happiness of a country? well, the world happiness report, which was published today, measures social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and the absence of corruption. and — once again — finland was crowned the happiest country in the world, for the seventh year in a row. as you can see, it is closely followed by denmark and iceland. in fact, scandinavian countries dominate the top five. so why are people there so happy?

wealth does matter, but especially how wealth is distributed. in finland, denmark and in other scandinavian countries, you will find wealth is way more evenly distributed, so more people benefit from the wealth that's being generated in these countries. so wealth is an important factor, but it is more than that. something that really stands out in scandinavian countries is that society is built on trust. essentially, people tend to trust each other. they trust institutions and they feel supported by the state. now, at the bottom of the rankings are lebanon and afghanistan, which remain the two unhappiest countries in the survey. now, what is interesting is that for the first time since the report was published, the united states and germany are not among the 20 happiest nations.

and that is linked with a worrying trend which shows that in the us and in some countries in western europe old people are much happier than younger people. the report doesn't say why, but what is different about this younger generation is how much time they spend on social media, feeling lonely, the difficulty of buying a house and fears about climate change. 0ne one more story. the crown is leading the way in this year's nominations for the bafta television awards which have just been released. let's get more with lizo mzimba. many critics might not have loved the final series of the crown, but it leads the way at the baftas with eight nominations. i don't want to go scouring and searching through the newspapers

page after page for negative coverage of diana. i want positive coverage of mrs parker—bowles to be glaringly, screamingly obvious! dominic west is recognised for playing prince charles... have i made myself clear? ..lesley manville for princess margaret... you know the princess of wales. ..and salim daw, who plays mohamed al—fayed, is also nominated... we met years ago. yeah, we met. ..alongside elizabeth debicki, who plays princess diana. i mean, don't get me wrong, i'm very proud of my 30 years. i'm the best copper that ever lived. but code 11 — job done. the final series of crime drama happy valley was watched by more than 10 million. it's just behind with seven nominations, including best actress for sarah lancashire and supporting actress for siobhan finneran. always been like that. you've always been like that. oh, yeah, but i'm feeling it now. rock on. also with seven nominations is demon 79, an episode of black mirror where a young woman accidentally releases a demon. you're not real. you're not real, you're not real, you're not real. its nominations include best limited drama and best actress for anjana vasan. channel 4's dispatches programme,

which accused russell brand of multiple sexual assaults, is nominated in the current affairs category. he's denied their allegations. wow! my god, it has been an absolutely brilliant night so far... among the four nominations for the eurovision song contest are best live event and best entertainment performance for hannah waddingham. we still have one more song to hear. 555 of us now. 2024's headline—making drama, mr bates verses the post office, mr bates versus the post office, isn't eligible this year, as the nominations cover 2023. but one of the most influential programmes of recent years is already being talked about for next yea r�*s baftas. lizo mzimba, bbc news. great stuff. headlines are here next on bbc news.

hello there. 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 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 horizon. we've also got damp conditions loitering in eastern scotland. for the north and west of scotland and northern ireland, though, the weather system is disappearing off into the horizon with sunshine following. indeed, that stripe of cloud on the horizon in 0rkney is the weather system disappearing over the horizon. through the rest of today, damp and drizzly conditions for wales, the midlands, a swathe of northern england. eastern scotland drizzle reluctant to clear away. given some sunshine for south—east england, temperatures could get up to 17—18. but in the north of the uk

the weather will be feeling quite chilly, particularly for the east coast of scotland, where temperatures could be 7 degrees for quite a lot of the afternoon. 0vernight tonight there could be one or two mist and fog patches and then later in the night we will see some rain moving into scotland and northern ireland. that 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 plus. some damp weather for northern ireland and the far north of england in the afternoon. further south you might see the cloud thinning and breaking, and again, we could see some pretty high temperatures for the time of year. friday, a cold front pushing south across england and wales, and with that, cloud and rain, followed by sunshine and showers. the showers across scotland, northern ireland, the north—west of england and wales could be heavy, with some hail mixed in. temperatures near average for the time of year, 10—12, but feeling quite a bit cooler than it has. 0n into the weekend, low pressure stays in charge, a day of 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 the uk. there will be a chilly wind knocking the edge off these temperatures, feeling cool. further showers are in the forecast on sunday, but probably with bigger gaps between them. there will be some places that stay dry. on monday, with colder air moving in across the north of the uk, we might actually see a spell of hill snow in parts of scotland.

live from london, this is bbc news. the irish prime minister leo varadkar announces he's going to step down. politicians are human beings and we have our limitations, we give it everything until we can't any more. and then we have to move on. millions of people in sudan are at risk of disease and starvation in what's described as a "war the world's forgotten". we have a special bbc report.

the uk's largest delivery of aid arrives in gaza as america's top diplomat visits saudi arabia amid a renewed diplomatic push. the london hospital which treated the princess of wales says it will investigate after reports that staff tried to access her private medical records. hello, i m matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. we start in 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 taoiseach in 2017 when he became leader of fine gael.