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announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" e world today with samantha e simmonds. we have the second of our special report on the sudan crisis described as a war the world has forgotten. harrowing evidence of the violence experienced by women in the ongoing conflict. >> this is because rape on society -- leaves an impact on society and family. >> the irish prime minister announces he will step down. >> politicians are human beings and we have our limitations. we give it everything until we can't anymore and then we have to move on. >> the uk's largest delivery of

aid arrives in gaza as america's top diplomat visits saudi arabia amid a renewed push for a cease-fire. also coming up, the u.k. government has banned 15 synthetic opioids as a bbc investigation reveals its data may be underestimating their spread. ♪ hello and welcome to the world today. an hour of international news from the bbc. i'm samantha simmonds. sudan's conflict is described as the war the world forgot. civilians caught up show graphic accounts of rape, ethnic violence, and street executions at the hands of our sf. we will show you testimony, but top united nations officials met today, saying the war has plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian

nightmares in recent history. >> this is the fastest displacement crisis in the world today. all the positive indicators, access to health care, reproductive health, we have seen these rapidly declining and what we see our negative indicators, malnutrition, child protection issues, access to health, and rising food insecurity. these negative indicators on the rise. >> since april last year, sudan has been torn apart by fighting between these two men, one the head of the country's military, and the other is his former ally. who leads a paramilitary group called the rapid support forces. together, they took power in 2019, but the power-sharing agreement that resulted has

broken down and there is fierce fighting. within sudan lies another humanitarian crisis in the western region of darfur for where the rsf is accused of targeting and killing non-arabs. they 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 a .1 million people forcibly displaced and tens of thousands killed, this could trigger the world's largest hunger crisis. the bbc has uncared -- uncovered harrowing violence experienced by women in sudan. a report on the chat-sudan border. a warning that some viewers may find this report distressing. >> yesterday, 19-year-old ameena found out she is pregnant. in minutes, she will begin an 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 young woman whose ne we have changed was trying to flee fighting in her hometown and she was captured, held for a day, and repeatedly raped. >> i didn't tell anyone and i don't think anyone knows. >> the sexual violence experienced by women like her 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 neighboring chad, she was helped by an international charity. other groups have sprung up to support a large number of women affected by either physical violence or sexual attacks. it is a side of the conflict that is not often seen, but we access to join this group.

and film a meeting friend by this woman. a former university student has been speaking, 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. >> she spends time with me at home and talks to me, she says what happened to you happened 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, 300,000 members of the black african community of the darfur region were killed amid accusations of genocide. much of the violence against women in sudan during the current conflict has been blamed

on the rapid support forces. in a chilling online video, one prominent member sets out why he feels fighters have the right to assault women. >> as for raping or not raping, if we rape your daughter or your girl, it is an eye for an eye, we took it. >> the forces told us the majority of applications -- allegations are untrue. most troops are held accountable when incidents occur, but they say black african women are being targeted in darfur. >> this is because rate leaves an impact on society and family. they used it as a weapon of revenge. >> in 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 unleashed by the conflict in sudan. with no end in sight, many more people could end up suffering in silence. bbc news, on the chad-sudan border. >> the reuters news agency has just reported that the u.s. state department has announced more than7 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for emergency response in sudan and neighboring countries including chad and south sudan. the irish prime minister has resigned in an unexpected announcement. he 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. he became ireland's youngest in 20 when he became leader. let's him listen to announcing

his resignation a short while ago. >> i knew that one part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else and then having the courage to do it. that time is now. i'm resigning as president and leader today. i will resign as soon as my successor is able to take up the office. i have asked our party general secretary and executive council to provide for the new leader to be elected saturday, april 16, thus allowing a new one to be elected after the easter break. i know this will come as a surprise to many people and a disappointment to some and i hope you will understand my decision. i know that others will cope with the news just fine, that is the great thing about living in a democracy. there is never a right time to resign my 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 u.k. is settled unstable. there will be a full two months to prepare for the 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 reelected and i believe my party can gain seats in the next doll. i believe the reelection of this three party government will be the right thing for the future of the country, continuing to take us forward, protecting all that has been achieved and building on it. but after careful consideration and some soul-searching, i believe that a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve that. to renew and strengthen the

team, to focus our message and policies, to drive implementation, and after seven years in office, i don't feel i'm the best person for that job anymore. there are loyal colleagues and good friends, and i want to give them the best chance possible and i think they have a better chance under a new leader. i'm standing aside in the absolute confidence that the country and economy are in a good place and that my colleagues in government from all three parties will continue to work hard for the nation's best interest. on a personal level, i have enjoyed being a leader and cabinet member since march 2011. i have learned so much about so many things, met so many people who i would have never got to meet, been to places i would never have seen at home and abroad, and i'm deeply grateful for it. despite the challenges, i would

wholeheartedly recommend a career in politics to anyone considering it. however, politicians are human beings and we have our limitations. we give it everything until we can't anymore and then we have to move . >> we spoke to our ireland correspondent and asked her about the timing of this announcement. >> it was a massive shock to a lot of people. it was really history making for a number of reasons when he was appointed, the youngest at the age of 38. the first from an ethnic background and the first gay leader. during an emotional address today, you heard some of the press conference, he talked about personal and political reasons for sounding down. he said he was not right the man -- not the right man for the job to lead his party into the next election.

we have heard a lot of political reaction today. i will give you a flavor of that. the prime minister said they have worked on many things together, he said he wished him well and look forward to working with his successor. we heard from the deputy irish prime minter, who said he was really surprised to hear about the plans. others have taken it as a call for a fresh election. we heard from mary lou mcdonald, the woman who wants to be ireland's first female taoiseach . she says that early next year is too late to have an election and she wants one now. as for who will be the next, we don't expect to wait too long. we expect to hear about who that

might be in the next few weeks. previously, he said he would retire from politics before the age of 50. today, he stepped down at the age of 45. >> now to the middle east and the u.s. secretary of state is visiting the region to bolster efforts to secure a cease-fire in gaza as the threat of famine looms. saudi arabia says it will donate to the palestinian refugees. he will also go to israel. mr. blinken's visit comes after he warned gaza's population is starving, saying its 2 million people are experiencing acute levels of food insecurity. today, the largest delivery of aid to gaza is being distributed by the world food program.

four u.k. field hospitals are being set up in the territory. israel's prime minister says that preparations are underway for the invasion of rafah in the southern gaza strip. a spokesperson for the children's charity unicef give us more details from gaza. >> in the south in rafah, you can now see the nutritional situation. malnutrition is three times worth -- worse in the north. there is a level of desperation. i would never say it has become impossible to describe, but i wish i could capture the number of women and mothers who have held my hand and cried in the last number of days because they 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. i have never seen in my 20 years with the united nations such

devastation to an entire area, which makes everyone shiver to think that there are discussions about potentially a military offensive here in rafah. >> earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in jerusalem. >> there are 1.5 million thought to be sheltering in rafah. that is why there are these dire warnings of what could happen if the israeli military does go into rafah. benjamin netanyahu he had approved the operational plans for the incursion and soon he would approve the evacuation plans, but he said it would take some time for the incursion to begin because the evacuation would have to go first. this is all at the center of the acrimonious relationship between the israeli government and the biden administration. the two leaders spoke for the first time in a month and

president biden said that the incursion would be a mistake. it is likely to be the center of talks friday when the secretary of state comes to israel on a previously unscheduled leg of his middle east tour. was that a snub to israel? we don't know. but the two governments are at loggerheads over several parts of the war and they will discuss it all on friday during those talks. >> we are just learning that the foreign ministers of a number of countries and the uae international cooperation officer are going to meet with the u.s. secretary of state in cairo thursday. for many months now, we have been talking about hopes of a hostage return cease-fire agreement. what do you read into the fact that antony blinken is here and gog to meet with all these officials and as you said with the israeli leaders given he wasn't expected to do that? i think he is trying to give

impetus to those cease-fire talks that are ongoing in doha, but we have had a senior figure already from hamas saying the proposals have been negatively received by israel and he said he thought that constituted a step backward in those cease-fire talks that are continuing at the qatari capital. i think antony blinken will be desperately trying to breathe life into the cease-fire talks. but also talking about the day after when the guns fall silent in gaza and who and what could tried to reconstruct that territory. saudi arabia is key to all of this because the saudi's have said that if israel agrees to a cease-fire and agrees to a future independent palestinian state, then saudi arabia could normalize relations with israel, which is a huge prize for the israelis. the day after seems a million miles off at the moment because the present is the acute suffering another ground where as we heard earlier in the week

famine could be declared in northern gaza unless a cease-fire is in place very soon and unless there is a sudden and huge injection of aid on the ground. >> still to come on the world today. u.k. government bans 15 powerful synthetic opioids after more than 100 deaths since last summer. and today is the international day of happiness, so what is the happiest country in the world? we find out later on the program. this is the world today on bbc news. ♪

♪ ♪ >> the u.k. government's flagship rwanda bill has suffered another defeat with peers voting 271-288 to push their demand that the legislation must have due regard for domestic and international law. it is the first in a series of votes. earlier this week, mp's

overturned 10 changes previously made to the bill by the house of lords. for more, let's speak to our political correspondent who joins us from westminster. it seems not really a week goes by that the story doesn't bubble up somewhere or another. exain what has happened and remind us of what this bill is. >> yes, many hours of debate and votes on this particular issue in the house of commons and lords going back many months. we have had five government defeats in the house of lords this evening on this flagship piece of legislation that is designed to address concerns that the u.k. supreme court raised that rwanda was not a safe place to send people to. the opposition is still there addressing concerns about the legality of the rwanda bill, whether or not children soon -- should be sent. the last defeat would require

the government to carry out aids verification to check -- age verification before sending them to rwanda. what this means ultimately is that there is a lot of opposition out there to it. but eventually the house of lords is gng to do what tends to happen. what has annoyed a lot of members of the second chamber this evening is the fact that the government has not changed anything, has not compromised at all and that is usually the way it goes. we have the system of ping-pong where it goes from one house to the other. they have done none of that. there is a real sense of determination that they will send it back to the house of commons. the government could have decided to bring this back at the start of next week.

this is going to be pushed back further. once people see these flights going off to rwanda, opinion polls might start to improve. they say will happen at some point in the spring. it is still achievable if used think -- if you think it could go on until the end of may. the longer this could go on, it could be a big test that is increasingly unlikely. >> peter, thank you. the u.k. government has banned 15 powerful synthetic opioids linked to the death of more than 100 people in the country last summer. the drugs can be hundreds of times ronger than heroin. it is believed a crackdown in

afghanistan has seen a rise in synthetic opioids here. the national crime opioids say they are being created and elicit labs in china and entered the lab -- the u.k. by post. the crime and policing minister announced the u.k. is enhancing and surveillance and early warning system for banned substances. at the conference, he met u.s. secretary of state antony blinken to disss how both countries will work together to tackle the increase in synthetic opioids. >> we have put together an early warning system drawing on tests done at the border and in samples that have been seized, postmortem toxicology, as well as overdose reports. it does give us a complete picture. our american colleagues say that is the most important thing. >> let's speak to dr. judith yates who has been researching the number of deaths caused by these drugs. good to have you with us. tell us more about them, what makes them so dangerous, and how

widespread do you think their use is? >> synthetic opioids are as we have just heard many times stronger than fentanyl and most of us have heard that fentanyl has caused so many deaths in america over the last five years , increasing numbers. the threat to the u.k. and europe at the moment is these new synthetic opioids. they were first discovered in the 1950's, but never used for medical use are tested on humans because they are just too potent. the window between the amount it might take for pain relief and the amount that might kill you is too small. a tiny grain might be the difference between living and dying if you take one of the stronger ones. >> do u.k. government has banned 15 of these synthetic opioids. will that make a difference,

will that help? >> i welcome the u.k. government's focusing on the problem because i'm very frightened. i'm concerned about what will happen in 2024. 2023 was the firth dess -- deaths linked to heroin and the synthetic opioids in any large number, but i think 2024 is likely to be much worse. classifying them as class a drugs, we can't ban our way to a drug world. we've been trying that to a 50 years. heroin became a class a drug for that whole 50 years and they have just increased. >> very briefly, what does need to change to protect people? is it awareness? >> yes, we need a broad-based public health approach and we know how to do that. i'm pleased that the government is trying to turn around and

help us, but the criminal justice approach is sometimes going after bad. we need to focus on information and understanding what is happening. >> dr. judith announce funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. bdo. accountants and advisors. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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