this is bbc news. the headlines at 12:00: as the world faces its larges humanitarian crisis since 1945 — the un calls for urgent action as more than 20 million people face famine in parts of africa and the middle east. prison staff assess the damage caused by a fire at guys marsh jail in dorset after an inmate climbed on to the roof, and started a fire in protest against conditions. former professional cyclist jess varnish says she is relieved the truth is finally coming out, as a leaked draft report criticises what it calls the dysfunctional and inept leadership of british cycling. if you ajudge has been criticised for telling women who drink to excess that they might find themselves at greater risk of being raped. also in the next hour: the government cracks down on ticket touts. computer software which buys hundreds of tickets within seconds is to be made illegal with law breakers facing unlimited fines.

and in sport — as wales ends ireland's hopes of winning the six nations, england has the chance to retain their crown later today when they take on scotland. and in half an hour, looking at ways to tackle air pollution, click go out on the streets of london to test a new thermal imaging camera that can identify gases invislbe to the human eye: good morning and welcome to bbc news. the united nations has issued a stark warning saying the world is facing its biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945, with more than 20 million people at risk of starvation and famine. the un's humanitarian chief has issued an urgent plea for help for people in yemen, somalia, south sudan and nigeria. unicef has already warned that 1.4 million children

could starve to death this year. andy moore reports. a child called fatima. she lives in yemen, where two thirds of the population need food aid, and seven million are hungry. the united nations has been told the famine across four countries is now the biggest crisis for the organisation since it was founded in 1916. we stand at a critical point in our history. already, at the beginning of the year, we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the united nations. now, more than 20 million people across four countries face starvation and famine. in south sudan, more than one million children are acutely malnourished, and there is a cholera outbreak to deal with as well. the un says billions of dollars is needed from the international community to feed the hungry, but so far only a fraction of that money has got through.

the overall requirement for south sudan this year stands at $1.6 billion us dollars. as of now, we have received 9.3% of that amount, and more funding is urgently needed. some food aid is being delivered. the united nations says famine can be averted, but the world needs to dig deep into its pockets, right now. with me is lily caprani who is an exective director for the charity unicef. those pictures were spelling it out starkly but just those pictures were spelling it out starkly butjust give us a sense of how bad it really is. when you work for an organisation like unicef you get used to hearing terrible things but this genuinely is the worst crisis we have seen since the un was formed. there are

literally millions of children facing starvation and my colleagues on the ground are saying they are meeting mothers who are absolutely at their wits end. even those who have newborn babies. the mothers are so have newborn babies. the mothers are so malnourished themselves now that they cannot produce breastmilk to breast—feed their baby so they have no way of getting food to them. we know how to deal with this and unicef is delivering life—saving food to hundreds of thousands, but there are still others that cannot yet reach. we are very frustrated and we want to reach every child who needs us. what has happened to make it so bad at this point? it isa at this point? it is a complex picture but this is a man—made famine. a man—made crisis. there has been drought and there are some natural causes but largely, this is about fighting. fighting caused by people who are worried with each other, who are displacing whole villages, families and they believe safety, leaving behind weather crops and livestock are and they have no means to get to food. we have to go and reach

children have been malnourished or weeks and months that leaves them very vulnerable. it is notjust our patient that threatened you but you might be too weak even fight off a minor infection because your body is just so we can. it is about getting emergency assistance to prevent a really big'. what is needed 7 really big'. what is needed? some really basic and fundamental things? we are appealing for help from governments and generous members of the public. for £5 you can feed a malnourished child for a whole week. very basic fundamental things are getting that therapeutic food to babies will be life—saving. but politically we also needs all the parties to different context to give us an hindered humanitarian access. children will starve to death otherwise. you have another aide at the moment on the ground? would you need more phonein on the ground? would you need more phone in urgently? we have supplies of the always plan ahead. we are always ready to go on the ground but the scale of this emergency of biggest one we have

seen emergency of biggest one we have seenin emergency of biggest one we have seen in our lifetimes. which means that we need more. we need members of the public to public to donate to the appeal to make sure we can get more food out there and we also need governments around the same. if we do not do this, we face an entire generation being lost across east africa. it is not a humanitarian disaster but for the prosperity and peace of the world for everyone this isa peace of the world for everyone this is a kind of critical moment in history. you've got a window of opportunity now to meet that need, to save those lives in and prevent a catastrophe but we need right now. given what you are saying, you made an appeal for people to put down their arms and at the aden. has it been hard at all? there are still hundreds of thousands, particularly in south sudan, where there is a famine already, that we cannot get access to. it is too dangerous and the infrastructure is not there so we are calling to parties to the conflict to see we can get access. is it dangerous to get access?m

is. is it dangerous to get access7m is. humanitarian workers are the greatest people in the world. we cannot let them risked death as well. we need an hindered access. these are completely neutral people. they do not take sides. all the interested in doing a saving lives and we must let them do that. thank you. around 60 inmates were evacuated after fire at a prison near shaftesbury in dorset. it is understood a prisoner clambered on to the pitched roof of one of the house blocks at hmp guys marsh, took off his clothes and set fire to them. the blaze is believed to have damaged the roof and inmates in the block were taken to a secure area. the prisoner has been brought down from the roof and the prison service said there was no risk to the public. ican i can tell you first of all that in the last few minutes for fire rent and have now left the prison and we understand the incident is now under

control. it all began at five it pm yesterday when a prisoner started a process. we understand that he was drunk and angry exchanges in the prison regime. she climbed up onto the prison roof. he started ripping off tiles. he also took off his clothes and set fire to them. at about 8pm last night the emergency services were called. a prisoner was brought down from the roof. he was seen brought down from the roof. he was seen by paramedics and he was not arrested. we understand that 64 prisoners were evacuated from one of the blocks here. there are seven blocks in all. and they were kept in a secure zone within the prison overnight. we have been told by the police but this was an isolated incident. they are now investigating and they wanted to reassure members of the community that there was no immediate risk to those living in the surrounding area and the incident is now under control. tell us about the prison itself.

the prison holds about 600 prisoners. it is a category c prison, which means that many of the prisoners here have got life sentences. 0thers prisoners here have got life sentences. others are here on drug rehabilitation programmes. it was last inspected in 2015, and are amongst the judgments that were made there, prison staff were said to have all but lost control and the prison was said to be in crisis, with gangs operating openly. apparently, there was a very high risk of levels of violence that was linked to the drugs and alcohol use. the cyclistjess varnish has told the bbc she feels she was "thrown under the bus" after making allegations of sexism in the sport. a leaked report, published in the daily mail, claims british cycling sanitised its own inquiry into the claims. the olympian told the bbc‘s sports editor, dan roan, she believed the truth was finally coming out.

representing great britain, jess varnish! she is the medal winner who became a whistleblower. jess varnish‘s allegations of sexism last year plunged british cycling into crisis. it has been really hard. i've been really low. nothing has been in control, everything has been out of control. out of my control. i had nobody to turn to within the organisation. i was just sort of left on my own. coach shane sutton, who dropped varnish from the squad for the rio 0lympics last year, was found to have used sexist language towards her, but was cleared of eight of nine allegations against him. he resigned, but denies wrongdoing. according to a draft report of an investigation leaked to the daily mail, findings of an internal review into varnish‘s allegations were reversed by british cycling's board. i am relieved that the truth is coming out. i have been pulled from pillar to post just to get this, and to see that it was

a cover—up is huge. in a statement, british cycling admitted it did not pay sufficient care and attention to the well—being of staff, but it said that reforms were under way. those people who say it is sour grapes because you weren't selected for rio, you will have heard those arguments, what's your response to that? when people say it's bitterness, that's all they have to say about me. if people knew me and saw what i was doing with my life and how i have turned things around, they would know the truth. they would know that i'm not bitter at all. should shane sutton work in cycling coaching again? from my experiences, no. varnish says she is now considering whether to sue british cycling for unfair dismissal. her fight for justice continues. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. iraqi special forces say resistance

among so—called islamic state fighters is weakening in the northern city of mosul. iraqi government troops now control about half of western mosul and are closing in on the densely populated old city. but iraq says it's found no evidence that i.s. fighters have used chemical weapons. earlier this month, the un said twelve people had been treated for possible exposure to chemical agents in the city. pope francis has said the catholic church should consider allowing married men to become priests. speaking to a german newspaper, he said lifting the ban on married men being ordained would only apply in specific circumstances, like remote areas of the world where priests are in short supply. the conservative former chancellor, lord lamont, has criticised plans

to increase national insurance for more than 1.5 million people. the peer said the proposal announced by the chancellor, philip hamond, in the budget was a "rookie error" and a "tax raid". ministers insist they haven't broken a conservative election pledge because the promise not to increase national insurance only extended to employees. lord lamont says he's concerned about future taxation policy: well, i think it's a dangerous error to increase national insurance contributions for the self—employed. they do get less benefit, that's why they have lower rates. most of them prefer to leave it that way. this includes people like white van men, plasterers, plumbers, self—employed people like taxi drivers. this is going to be very unpopular, but

also, the chancellor indicated that this was just the first increase and there might be other increases later. given the very, very strong reaction, that, ithink, would be a profound mistake to prolong this controversy. basically, i think he ought to think again about all this. you can't please everyone, and people think that there is a box just full of money and the chancellor can give it away, but you've got to be very, very careful when you put up taxes on a particular group, particularly when it is one that is as entrepreneurial as the self—employed. the whole point about this measure is that 15% of the labour force in this country are self—employed. it's one of the reasons that we have such a flexible economy. these are people who don't have the same welfare benefits. they have to knuckle down, get on with it, whatever the conditions. really, this will be much resented. i think in the interest of the government and the interest of

themselves, it would be better to rethink it and certainly not go on putting more tax increases on the self—employed. the headlines on bbc news: a plea for help from the un which says the world faces its worst you managed every crisis since 1945, as many people face famine in africa and the middle east. ifi and the middle east. if i has caused damaged in a fire in dorset at a prisoner started a fire on the roof. bob and 60 prisoners have now been moved to safety. the former professional cyclistjess varnish says she is relieved the truth is finally coming out as a reportedly twitch criticises the dysfunctional and inept leadership of british cycling. a femalejudge hearing herfinal trial before retiring has made a plea to women to protect themselves if they get

drunk on a night out. judge lindsay kushner qc told manchester crown court that potential rapists gravitated towards girls and women who'd been drinking. francis fitzgibbon is the chair of the criminal bar association agrees with thejudge. thank you forjoining us. what do you make of the comments? the comments about the judge or the dutch‘s comments? thejudge's comments. dutch‘s comments? the judge's comments. it dutch‘s comments? thejudge's comments. it is dutch‘s comments? the judge's comments. it is very unusualfor a the judge's comments. it is very unusual for a dutch to the judge's comments. it is very unusualfor a dutch to make the judge's comments. it is very unusual for a dutch to make those kind of wide—ranging comments that go beyond the case that she is dealing with but i suppose because it was her last day" she felt that she could do it. it seems to me that she could do it. it seems to me that she is lamenting the prevalence of attacks on young, vulnerable women by rapists. and one of the things that makes women vulnerable to that sort of attack is when they get very

drunk. she was very careful not to blame the victims of the rape for what has happened to them. she said it woman can do with her body whatever she wants and a man will have to adjust his behaviour accordingly. and i don't think anyone could disagree with that. it seems to mean that what she was really saying is that when a person, any person, does something that is potentially risky, like getting extremely drunk, they need to be aware of the risks that they are taking and have some understanding of where it may lead them. so i do not think... think it is unfair to characterise what she said as blaming victims for what happens to them. but she is shifting the responsibility somewhat, isn't she? no, i don't think so. but she makes it very clear that the violent behaviour of rapists is the full... is the problem and they are 100%

responsible for what they do. but it seems to mean more as a parent than asa seems to mean more as a parent than as a lawyer, that it is just sensible to tell 1's children when they start going out on their own to be alert, to look out for danger, to stay with their friends and make sure they can get home afterwards and to look after each other as well so that people don't get separated. that seems to me to be just plain common sense. in any circumstances. the campaign group ended of violence against women says whenjudges group ended of violence against women says when judges blame the victims for rape by suggesting how much alcohol a woman drinker or what she wears is part of the cause of rape we remove responsibility from the man who did it and that is really alarming. it could be interpreted by that. you can interpret it like that if you want to but if you read what the judge was saying, it seems to me it isa judge was saying, it seems to me it is a very long way from that and what she is lamenting is the

prevalence of attacks by men on vulnerable women. is there an equivalent for instance on the male side, for a young male? yes, there is. young men are not immune from being raped by predatory other men and exactly the same thing would apply. there are lots of good reasons for not getting drunk to the point of oblivion, mystery to do with long—term effects on oneself but you just don't not know what a scourge haven't you. it doesn't mean you're responsible for bad things when they do happen. but as you think it is controversial to say that you are taking a bit of a risk. legally, is there any chance that what she said, though, could be taken and what she said, though, could be ta ken and used what she said, though, could be taken and used in another court case? no. these are really of the cuff remarks and they're not binding on thejudge orjury in

remarks and they're not binding on the judge orjury in another trial. thank you very much forjoining us. turkish president recep erdogan has described the government of the netherlands as "nazi remnants and facists" in an escalating diplomatic row between the two countries. the us defence secretary has promised a full investigation into military personnel who shared nude photographs of female colleagues on social media. in a statement, james mattis said the practice was unacceptable, showed a lack of respect and undermined cohesion. andy beatt reports. the pentagon's been shocked and embarrassed by revelations of servicemen posting naked images of servicewomen online. reports last week uncovered widespread photo

sharing and cyber bullying by current and former marines on facebook. fire in the hole! now the bbc has seen evidence that the problem's far more extensive, involving personnel from other branches of the us military. in some cases, names, ranks and contact information were also posted, together with a welter of offensive and demeaning comments. you know, we claim that being a marine is a special title and something that you earn. there's honour here. but there is no honour in denigrating a fellow marine in any way, shape orform. we're going to be self—critical, self—analytical. we've got to recognise that there's a problem and we've got to figure out how to solve it. victims say the posting of photos is notjust a violation of trust, but a threat to their safety. multiple victims recently began speaking out about those unauthorised posts,

but they received threats and backlash in an attempt to quiet them. we will not be silenced. i can tell you that this exact behaviour leads to the normalisation of sexual harassment and even sexual violence. a facebook group called marines united with 30,000 members has been shut down. the naval criminal investigative service has launched an investigation. it's asked more whistle—blowers to come forward with information. only then, will the full scale of the problem be known. 0nline touts, who bulk buy tickets and sell them for inflated prices, will face unlimited fines under government plans. an amendment to the digital economy bill means it will be illegal to use software to buy thousands of tickets, as holly hamilton reports. tickets to see some of our favourite

artists can sell out in just a matter of minutes. but thousands of those tickets will not be going to fans. instead, they're being purchased by bots. used by professional touts, the software can grab hundreds of tickets in one go. within hours, they end up on secondary websites for hundreds if not thousands of pounds more than face value. this is currently legal, but now the government is taking action. now touts who use this software will face unlimited fines, while resale sites will face harsher measures if they do not prove they are taking action to deal with the touts. it is hoped these measures will curb the growing power of secondary websites and make it easier for genuine fans to get their hands on a reasonably priced ticket. experts have revealed that the author, jane austen, was virtually blind towards the end of her life, possibly

because of arsenic poisoning. tests on her glasses show that medicine she had been taking could have contained arsenic, which may have contributed to her early death. ben moore has this exclusive report. for one of history's greatest writers, just reading her own novels would have been very difficult without these. jane austen's specs have been at the british library for 20 years, but only now can they bring focus to her life. back in the early 19th century there were prescriptions, similar to what we have today. so what we did was have somebody bring in a portable lensmeter so we could very, very carefully have it examined. austen was longsighted. firstly low perception, but her eyesight deteriorated. the final pair revealed that she would have had great trouble reading and writing. this could help reveal the mystery of why she died so young. the possibility of her being poisoned accidentally with a heavy metal such as arsenic.

we know now that arsenic poisoning can cause cataracts. arsenic was often put into medication for other types of illness, so potentially for rheumatism, which jane austen suffered from. using modern optometry, we are able to see just what jane austen's eyesight would have been like. that is 4.75. i cannot see your face at all. i can only see my hand when it's about there. so that's what she needed, to correct her vision. the british library wants optometrists to get in touch and offer their professional opinions. a rare chance to see things through the eyes of one of our best—loved authors. time for a look at the weather. this is just an

this isjust an hour or so this is just an hour or so ago. close to 16 degrees. i would not be surprised in the south—east of wicked highs of up to 17 or 18 today. slightly different story farther north and west. 0utbreaks today. slightly different story farther north and west. outbreaks of drizzly rain here and that will gradually drift southerly. we will see the rain picking up a little overnight. coastal mist and fog and another weather front waiting to bump into that one and bring some more rain for tomorrow. it will be a slightly different story tomorrow, places will be seen the best of the sunshine across parts of eastern england, east anglia, south—east england, east anglia, south—east england are lucky to stay grey and wet day. frightening behind and this weather front really weakening. there will be some sunshine for western areas. sunny spells and a few isolated showers, highs and 10-14d but few isolated showers, highs and 10—14d but in london it will feel

noticeably disappointing, particularly in comparison to today. all change for tomorrow. west will be best in terms of the sunshine. there will be some rain around, particularly in eastern areas and it will feel a little bit fresher. enjoy today. hello. this is bbc news with me, maxine mawhinney. the headlines. the un has warned that the world is facing its biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945. more than 20 million people in yemen, nigeria, south sudan and somalia are facing starvation. guys marsh prison in dorset has been badly damaged by a fire. the blaze was started by an inmate who climbed on to the roof yesterday. around 64 inmates were taken to a secure area while the fire was brought under control. track cyclistjess varnish says she was "thrown under the bus" after making allegations of sexism in the sport. a leaked draft report claims british cycling reversed the findings of its own investigation. a female judge has been criticised for saying that women should protect themselves from rapists, by not getting too drunk.

lindsey kushner made the comments at manchester crown court, during her last criminal trial. and now the sport. hello, mike. good afternoon. we have rugby union sick nations. it is a huge day, the quarterfinal stage of the fa cup. giant—killing link play arsenal. 0ne game is already under way at the riverside, where middlesbrough are hosting manchester city and an early goal. city have taken the lead, taking three minutes. about 20 minutes gone — city lead 1—0. commentary continues on 5 live. today's six nations match between england and scotland has taken on new importance because of wales beating ireland last night. it means england could clinch their second title running if they can beat the scots at twickenham. it was an important night for the welsh, who needed to bounce

back after two defeats. george north was unstoppable scoring two of three welsh tries, and after holding off an ireland fight back, jamie roberts rounded off the win late in the second half, making the most of some tired irish challenges to make it 22—9 in the end in cardiff. we knew there would be a reaction and against one of the best sides in by and against one of the best sides in rugby you have to play like that. there has been hurt in the camp and they are delighted, i am delighted and proud of the players. they deserve that. they have taken a lot of stick, the coaches and players. and we beat them emphatically, as well. it's the penultimate weekend in the women's six nations and the pressure is on both england and ireland who could the championship to a dramatic winner—takes—all final clash. ireland are currently in action against wales at cardiff arms park and went into the lead. the visitors went into the lead just

before half time thanks to a lindsey peat try. back in the men's tournament, and france play italy in the first of game today and after that attention turns to the calcutta cup. thanks to that wales win, england could pick up the title with victory today, while scotland can go top, and claim pole position, if they can get a first win at twickenham in over 34 years.