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. and baseball sensation shohei ohtani has made his regular season debut with the la dodgers in seoul, sending his fans into a frenzy. voice-over: live from our studio in singapore, - this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. let's start in sudan where the conflict is described as the war the world forgot. civilians caught up in the country's civil war share graphic accounts to the bbc of rape, ethnic violence and street executions at the hands of the paramilitary group rsf.

we will shortly show you first—hand testimonies, but before that, top united nations officials met today, saying the war has plunged the country into "one of the worst humanitarian "nightmares in recent history". edem wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, told the un security council of the severity of the situation in sudan. sue dan is on sue dan is on course sue dan is on course to become one of the worlds worst hunger crisis. already 80 million people and one third of the country are facing food insecurity. by the time the season arrives in may, people could face what we term ipc phase five level acute food insecurity. we call this stage a catastrophe. since april last year, sudan has been torn apart by fighting between these two men. one is the head of the country's military,

general abdel—fattah al bur—han and the other is his former ally, general mohammed hamdan dagalo, who leads a paramilitary group called the rapid support forces. together, they took power in 2019. but the power sharing agreement that resulted has now broken down and there is fierce fighting. and within sudan lies another humanitarian crisis in the western region of darfur, where the rsf is accused 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, this could trigger the world's largest hunger crisis. and the bbc has uncovered harrowing evidence of the violence experienced by women in the ongoing conflict in sudan. the bbc�*s merchuma reports on the chad/sudan border in adre.

and a warning that some viewers may find this report distressing. yesterday, 19—year—old amina found out that she is pregnant. within minutes, she will begin an abortion, desperately hoping that her family never knows. translation: it happened in sudan. i'm not married, and i was a virgin, except for the incident that happened. this young woman, whose name we have changed, says she was trying to flee fighting in her hometown when she was captured, held for a day, and repeatedly raped. translation: i didn't tell anyone and i don't think anyone knows. i couldn't even tell the doctor, but i told a female psychologist. she approached me and i told her. the un says the sexual violence experienced by women like amina is a defining characteristic of the conflict in sudan. it has been used as a weapon of war. amina 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 medecins sans frontieres. but other 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, and we have been given privileged access to join this group and film a meeting run by zahra. maryamu is a former university student who has been speaking to zahra. she says 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: zahra spends time with me 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. women have been victims of violence across sudan during the civil war. the fighting has also seen a resurgence of a bloody ethnic conflict. 20 years ago, the un says 300,000 members of the black african community were killed in the darfur 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: as for raping | or not raping, if we rape your daughter or your girl, it's an eye for an eye. this is our country, and this is our right, and we took it. the rapid support forces told us the majority of accusations against it are untrue, that its troops are held accountable when incidents occur. but zahra says black african women are being

targeted. translation: this is - because rape leaves an impact on society and the family. they use it as a weapon of revenge. with this conflict, cases of sexual violence are widespread. but this is a taboo topic here, and 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. ordinary 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. merchuma, bbc news, on the chad—sudan border. earlier i spoke to david shinn, former us deputy head of mission in sudan, and i started by asking him whether the violence we've seen in sudan is escalting or whether it's that we're just hearing about it now.

i think it is escalating and to some extent, we're hearing more about it. the united nations organisations and some of the non—governmental organisations, relief organisations have been getting information out. there are some of the few people who are in and reporting back to to folks who are then reporting on the international media. but there are so few reporters in sudan and they stay for a relatively short period of time that there just isn't much media coverage, unlike a situation like gaza where it's intense. well, david, the un security council believe that more than 18 million sudanese are facing acute food insecurity. how much is the fighting on the ground impacting getting aid to the areas most in need? well, it's having a huge impact. in fact, it accounts for almost all of this inability, and neither the sudan armed forces nor the rapid support forces are being very helpful in allowing aid agencies to get in. and, of course, it's dangerous to go in.

and with different countries supporting different sides in this conflict, how hard is it going to be to find a resolution and help the sudanese people who desperately need more support? well, it's going to be — it's it's been very difficult for some time now. there has been not much collaboration among outside organisations or countries to try to bring this to an end. different countries have different interests in sudan. you have, for example, the united arab emirates that has been supportive of the rapid support forces. you have egypt that has been supportive of the sudan armed forces. russia has been with its wagner group, has provided minor support to the rapid support forces. so everyone is not on the same page. and that makes it very, very difficult to bring international leverage to bear on this conflict. and how are events in sudan impacting its neighbours? are people fleeing to other countries? yes, this is a big issue.

there are about 2 million refugees, sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries, most of them in chad, egypt and south sudan. now, that's almost the entire population of gaza, and those are just the refugees. in addition, there are 6.5 million internally displaced persons in sudan. that's almost three times the population of gaza. so, you have a situation where gaza, ukraine are getting enormous amounts of publicity, and rightfully so. but sudan is not. the us secretary of state is visiting the middle east to bolster international efforts to secure a truce in gaza as the threat of famine looms. anthony blinken has been meeting the saudi leadership injeddah on his first stop. saudi arabia has announced it will donate a0 million dollars to the un agency for palestinian refugees. mr blinken will also travel to egypt where he will meet arab foreign ministers and he will also go to israel. mr blinken�*s visit comes

after he warned that gaza's population is starving, saying that its two million people are experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity. the uk's largest delivery of aid to gaza crossed the border on wednesday. it's being distributed by the world food programme. a full uk field hospital has also been set up in the territory. meanwhile, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says that preparations are underway for the invasion of rafah in the southern gaza strip. our correspondent, mark lowen, has this update from jerusalem. once again, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared his intention and determination to send the israeli army into rafah in southern gaza, where some 1.5 million people are thought to be sheltering. it is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warnings of atrocities that could take place there. he has said that he has approved the operational plan for rafah and that he will soon approve the evacuation

of civilians, but added that it would take time for the incursion to begin. now, it doesn't spell much hope really for the continuing ceasefire talks that are ongoing in the qatari capital, doha. and a senior hamas official has said that israel's response to the latest proposals there seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. now, all of this is likely to take centre stage of talks with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, when he comes to israel on friday at the end of a middle east tour that has taken him to saudi arabia and on thursday to egypt, that was the israeli side, the israel leg of the trip was previously unscheduled and comes amidst this increasingly acrimonious relationship between the us biden administration and the netanyahu government here in israel. and antony blinken�*s aim, i think, will be to try to restrain an israeli leader who seems increasingly intent on pushing on with this fight, both in the war

and for his political survival. russia's president putin has gathered his celebrity supporters for a lavish event in moscow after winning his fifth term as president at the weekend. it was an election that western leaders have called neither free orfair. the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg got a rare invite to the kremlin. vladimir vladimirovich putin! they say that location is everything, if you want to impress an audience. applause so, vladimir putin invited his celebrity supporters to one of the swankiest parts of the kremlin. he wasn't easy to see, but the messaging was clear. in the hall where russian tsars had been crowned... ..russia's president thanked the vips for backing his re—election. we were there, too. a rare invitation inside the kremlin. a sign, perhaps, of president putin's growing confidence.

even though the west has dismissed the election as a sham. this is, in effect, vladimir putin's victory lap. having won the race, a race so designed that he couldn't lose it, the kremlin leader wanted to thank his most famous fans for cheering him on, and was clearly happy to receive their congratulations. and his guests loyally defended a widely criticised election. do you believe the election was free and fair? laughter we created, i think, the most open and democratic elections in the bloody world! was there a serious challenger in the election, a serious opponent? is there a need for a serious opponent? why? why is there no need for a serious opponent? why do you always think the way you live is better than the way we live? even the way you ask questions.

"why don't you guys do the way we do it?" because we're not you, and we don't like you much, really. in the kremlin, vladimir putin referred to events in russia's belgorod region. it's come under sustained shelling from across the border in ukraine. and civilian casualties have been rising. this never happened before russia invaded ukraine. translation: we can, of course, respond in the same way, - striking civilian infrastructure and all similar sites that are the enemy is targeting. we have our own views on that, our own plans, and we will follow them. and, post—election, vladimir putin will claim he has a popular mandate for whatever plans he makes, and whatever decisions he takes. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. indonesia's defence minister prabowo subianto has been declared the official winner of the country's presidential election, which was held last month. the final tally shows mr prabowo and his running mate gibran rakabuming raka, who is the eldest son of the current presidentjoko widodo, secured nearly 60% of the total votes. it largely confirms the unofficial results which were released by independent pollsters last month. prabowo is expected to take over as president of indonesia in october. for more analysis, we can speak now to dewi fortuna anwar. she's served as an adviser to one indonesian president and two vice—presidents, and she's currently professor at the national research and innovation agency in indonesia. probowo pitched himself as the "continuity candidate" in the election and he's again said he'll continue to use jokowi's economic policies as a guide.

are you optimistic about indonesia's outlook under his presidency? well, we have to be optimistic. it seems likely he will be the next president. there will be some contest. they announced they will go to the court to report some irregularities and challenge the validity of the election results. we still have to wait until mid april at least that the final confirmation by the court, whether the victory of prabowo is confirmed. probably continue the major infrastructure projects that are ongoing, such as the new capital and then the various down streaming industries, the nickel sweltering. i am sure he will

not simply want to be someone who is just following the patterns set by his predecessor. every president wants to have his own mark, his own special projects, so we will have to see the continuity but i am sure there will be some tweaks or change. the camps of the two losing candidates in the election both claim voting irregularities and say they'll will challenge the results. do they have legitimate concerns? was this a free and fair election? there have been some... i myself have expressed these concerns, and academics and organisations throughout the country, they have been expressing concerns about various violations of ethics, legal violations as well as the improper use or you might even say illegal use and deployment

of state resources and the interventions carried out by presidentjokowi himself. to president jokowi himself. to ensure presidentjokowi himself. to ensure that his son could be accepted as vice president candidate, and even the fact that according to the original law, someone who is under a0 is not eligible to run for president or vice president. there have been a lot of complaints about the irregularities in the fact that the selection in this area is considered to be less free and fair compared to previous elections. fair compared to previous elections-_ fair compared to previous elections. �* . elections. are you concerned that this raises _ elections. are you concerned that this raises fears - elections. are you concerned that this raises fears of - elections. are you concerned that this raises fears of a - that this raises fears of a resurgence of patronage politics in the country that is just 25 years ago transitioning from the authoritarian rule to democracy?—

from the authoritarian rule to democracy? from the authoritarian rule to democra ? �* , �* , democracy? inaudible. they were the criticisms _ democracy? inaudible. they were the criticisms by _ democracy? inaudible. they were the criticisms by scholars _ democracy? inaudible. they were the criticisms by scholars and - the criticisms by scholars and scientists. underjokowi in particular, the economy has really grown very rapidly but the cost of good governance and the cost of good governance and the cost of increased corruption because one of the things that presidentjokowi did is in the second term in particular, he brought various parties together so that the government in his second term is basically an oppositional of government with over 80% of parliament members in the coalition. this has been very much considered an oligarchic system. much considered an oligarchic s stem. ~ ., . much considered an oligarchic s stem. ~ . . ., system. we will watch that coin: system. we will watch that going forward _ system. we will watch that going forward as _ system. we will watch that going forward as well. - system. we will watch that i going forward as well. thank you so much for your thoughts today. dewi fortuna anwar, professor at the national research and innovation agency in indonesia. the irish prime minister leo varadkar has announced he is stepping down as taoiseach and leader of fine gael for reasons which are both "personal "and political." speaking in dublin, he said that being taoiseach had been

the most fulfilling time of his life, with ireland becoming a more equal and modern place. here's our ireland correspondent sara girvin. just days ago, marking st patrick's day in washington, there was no sign of the shock resignation to come. my reasons for stepping down are both personal and political. i believe this government can be re—elected. but after careful consideration and some soul—searching, i believe that a new taoiseach and a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve that. leo varadkar�*s appointment as taoiseach for the first time in 2017 was history—making. at 38, he was the youngest ever irish prime minister, the first from an ethnic background and the first gay leader. his appointment personified a changing and more modern ireland. he championed referendums legalising same—sex marriage and abortion. but it was the brexit negotiations that saw him make his mark on the world stage, with other leaders

describing him as a sharp shooter and straight talker. today, the prime minister, rishi sunak, thanked leo varadkar for his dedicated service. but political opponents who want their party to take the top job next called for an early election — today's resignation doesn't immediately trigger one. it's not a time for a rearranging of the deckchairs, and ultimately, it's for the people to decide who will be the taoiseach. so i think it's now over to the people. there should be an election. the republic of ireland is grappling with a cost of living crisis, issues around immigration and massive problems around housing. that's led to a lot of frustration with the current government, particularly among young people. ifeel like everyone in ireland is struggling at the moment, like, with the housing crisis, cost of living. there's not one person we'd speak to who actually like the government that's in now. you think, like, you're going to be living with your parents until a0 years of age, like, you know what i mean? you don't want to be living there. you want to go out

and be independent. the republic of ireland has witnessed much change during leo varadkar�*s political career. even if there's no early general election, one is looming within a year, and with a new taoiseach set to be named within weeks, there will be much more change to come. sara girvin, bbc news in dublin. baseball sensation shohei ohtani has made his regular season debut with the la dodgers in seoul. the japanese sports hero sent his fans into a frenzy on wednesday — with game tickets and ohtani merchandise selling out since he landed in south korea last week. for more on this i spoke to sports pundit mike carlson. he has been a star in the past few years, twice the most valuable player of his league but what makes him special is that he is an exceptionally good hitter who also is a very good hitter who also is a very good picture. good hitter who also is a very good picture-— good hitter who also is a very good picture. even a babe ruth back in the _

good picture. even a babe ruth back in the 1920s, _ good picture. even a babe ruth back in the 1920s, when - good picture. even a babe ruth back in the 1920s, when they . back in the 19205, when they realise what a great hitter he was, they stopped him in pitching and he played every day as a hitter. nobody has done what ohtani i5 day as a hitter. nobody has done what ohtani is doing before. he plays every day, he pitches every fifth day and although he hurt his elbow late last season so he is not going to pitch this year, he is still hitting and he was in the designated position for the dodgers in their opening game against the san diego players. he is a lead in both of those fields, pitching and hitting? he is very elite. he is very good as a pitcher and delete as a hitter. probably one of the top ten are started in the american league. when they gave him his ten year, $700 million contract, they were paying for two players, notjust one. we two players, not 'ust one. we do have some _ two players, notjust one. we do have some breaking news for you regarding ohtani. they have

confirmed they have filed his interpreter after his representative 5aid interpreter after his representative said he had been the victim of a massive theft are reported to have involved illegal gambling and millions of dollars. we will have more on that story as it comes in. thank you for your company. bye for now. hello there. it's been very mild to start this week, very spring—like indeed. and in fact, on wednesday, we saw a temperature of 19 celsius in charnwood in surrey, making this the warm spot of the day, but also the highest temperature in england so far this year. things are set to change, though, for the end of the week into the weekend — colder air moving in behind this low pressure system will extend across all areas. it'll feel very different to how the week's begun. but still some mild air for england and wales on thursday, much windier with outbreaks of rain. scotland and northern ireland, thanks that area of low pressure, gusts up to 60 mph for the northern and western isles.

a bit of sunshine here and there. for england and wales, rather cloudy, some 5un5hine at times. we're still in the mild air mass here. so, given some sunshine, could see temperatures up to 16 or 17 degrees again, but it will be cooler across the north with a stronger wind5. as you move through thursday night, the cooler air and this band of rain, a cold front will sing southwards across england and wales. behind it's much colder, there'll be a rash of showers, the5e wintry on the hills across scotland. you can see the temperatures there to start friday, but milderfor england and wales. but it won't last as that cold front sinks southwards across the midlands, southern england through friday. eventually, it'll clear through. skies will brighten up, but we'll all be into the cooler air by the end of friday and there'll be a rash of blu5tery showers again for scotland, northern ireland, maybe north west england. they will be wintry on the hills across scotland. last, the mild weather across the south east, 12 or 13 degrees into the weekend. it'll be noticeably colder and windier for all areas, though a mixture of sunshine and showers and these showers will have a wintry element to them, certainly on the hills. you can see the colder

air moving in behind that cold front. by the time we move out of friday night into saturday, we're all into that colder air. lots of isobars and the charts, so it's going to be blustery, windy, particularly in exposure with strong west—northwesterly wind5. lots of showers rattling through, as you can see. the white colour5 indicating hail, maybe some 5leet, 5now over the hills, some 5un5hine in between. it's not going to be raining all the time. these are the temperatures, though, 7—10 degrees. factor in the wind, it could feel even colder than that, so a bit of a shock to the system after such a mild start to the week. sunday marginally better, i think, although a blu5tery day, not quite as windy and we should see more 5un5hine around. there'll still be few showers dotted around northern and eastern areas, but more 5un5hine around, 5lightly lighter wind5. it may feel a little bit better across the board. take care.

sipho sipho no change to interest rates in the us a5 inflation per5ist5. we'll look at what lies ahead for the world's largest economy. and how one asian airline is dealing with challenges as it tries to meet sky—rocketing demand. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us, where the federal reserve has left interest rates unchanged

at the end of its two—day policy meeting, in a widely expected decision. the central bank has been trying to cool inflation in the world's largest economy, that is still above it's 2% target. the bbc�*s erin delmore has more from new york. to hear chairmanjerome powell tell it, the federal reserve is looking for its goldilocks path forward, making sure the bank doesn't reduce interest rates too much too soon or too little too late. officials decided wednesday to keep the benchmark interest rate at between 5.25% 5.5%. interest rate at between 5.25% and 5.5%. it remains unchanged sincejuly. and while the suspense lie5 around when the fed will cut interest rates, powell didn't give any hints. he did say that the fed wants to see inflation falling sustainably toward the 2% goal before going ahead with any rate cuts. he made the case for a cautious path forward. inflation has eased substantially, while the labour market has remained strong. and that is very good news. but inflation is still too high.

ongoing progress in bringing it down is not assured,