this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. famine in parts of africa and the middle east could lead to the biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945, according the united nations. a retiring judge is criticised for saying women can protect themselves against potential rapists by not getting too drunk. critics say her remarks blame victims for the crime. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says it would be absolutely fine for scotland to hold a second independence referendum. the government cracks down on ticket touts, banning computer software which buys hundreds of tickets within seconds. and it's victory for england at twickenham. .. ..as the hosts win against scotland and claim the six nations trophy. arsenal lead 1—0 over lincoln in the fa cup quarter final. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. the world's facing its largest humanitarian crisis since 1916. that's the assessment of the united nations, which says more than 20 million people face the threat of starvation and famine in four countries in africa and the middle east. £3.5 billion are said to be needed — byjuly — to avert disaster. this report from our world affairs correspondent richard galpin contains images you may find distressing. for months now, it's been known that millions of people, including young babies like this, in yemen, have been starving. she was just four months old when a bbc team

met her in december. across yemen, hundreds of thousands more children have so little to eat they are struggling to stay alive. and the threat of mass starvation is affecting three other countries. this is a refugee camp in south sudan, which, like yemen, has been torn apart by conflict. families forced to flee their homes and left with little to eat. already a famine has been officially declared here, with almost half the population in urgent need of help. 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.

without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death. the number of people the un says is now in danger is huge. almost two million in nigeria. nearly five million in south sudan, nearly three million in somalia and 1a million in yemen. the un predicts without serious help, 1.4 million people could die before the end of the year, unless more aid money is found. they're calling for 5.6 billion to tackle this crisis. aid agencies on the ground say they don't have enough money to deal with this. children with malnutrition, u nless this. children with malnutrition, unless they are treated, it is highly likely they will die. if they are treated, you can recover

completely. the cost of that treatment can be as little as $80. apart from conflict, another major cause of the crisis is drought. this is somalia, which has been particularly hard hit. in this hospital alone, almost 50 children have died from dehydration. with lives at risk, the un believes the global response must be quick. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening evening in the papers. my my guests tonight arejoe phillips and nigel nelson. a female judge has been criticised after warning women who get drunk that they are putting themselves in danger of being targeted by rapists. lindsay kushner qc said what she called ‘disinhibited behaviour‘ could put women at risk. her comments have been described by the campaign group rape crisis as ‘outrageous‘ and ‘misguided'.

frankie mccamley reports. jailed for six years for what police described as a horrifically prolonged attack. he was found guilty of two counts of rape. but sentencing, judge lindsay kushner qc used her final words to sentencing, judge lindsay kushner qc used herfinal words to issue sentencing, judge lindsay kushner qc used her final words to issue a sentencing, judge lindsay kushner qc used herfinal words to issue a rate warning to women. she said... while many might see her comments as useful advice, others believe this isa useful advice, others believe this is a backward step. i'm very anxious that whatever message she meant to send, it's fairly clear that what it has sent as a message that there's

not much point in reporting. that is wrong. whatever amount of drink you have had, do report, you will be treated better than this suggests. he rape survivor herself, this woman now helps others through the ordeal. it makes us quite angry and notjust because they are arrogant, factually incorrect comments, but because, it's one thing to go on making these comments when you sit in a courtroom altaic and are engaging in one aspect of society, without actually engaging with them women experiencing this. the judge is not the first to comment on this subject. others have faced criticism in the past. but campaigners hope this will not stop other rape survivor is coming forward in the future. turkey's foreign minister has called a dutch decision to not allow him

into the netherlands a "scandal" and says it won't be accepted. the minister had been due to speak in the dutch city of rotterdam in support of a turkish referendum giving mr erdogan greater powers. turkish people in western europe are allowed to vote in that referendum — which has led to efforts by the turkish government to hold campaign events. but the dutch authorities were concerned about a risk to public order and security — and the foreign minister's plane was stopped from landing in the netherlands. earlier at a rally in istanbul, president recep tayyip erdogan has described the dutch as "nazi remnants and fascists". they don't know anything about politics or international diplomacy. they are very nervous and they are cowards. they are nazi remnants and they are fascists. the decision by the netherlands will

not go unanswered. the dutch prime minister has condemned the remarks. he said his country had been willing to consider a planned event, but it said it would respond to threats. this morning on television, he made clear that he threatened the netherlands with sanctions and of course we cannot negotiate under such threats. we decided it was betterfor him not to come to the netherlands. he described the dutch as nazis. what is your reaction to those remarks? crazy remarks. i understand he's angry but this is way out of line. an intruder has been arrested in the grounds of the white house,

the us secret service has confirmed. president donald trump is thought to have been in residence when secret service agents arrested the intruder, who was carrying a backpack. although the backpack was screened, no dangerous materials were found, authorities said. reports from syria say at least a0 people have been killed — and dozens injured — following two explosions in the capital damascus. it's thought two suicide bombers targeted buses transporting shi'ite pilgrims near an ancient cemetery in the city. it's not yet clear who was behind the attack. our correspondent alan johnston reports. these explosions went off in a sacred place that draws visitors from across the shi'ite world. when they struck, they targeted and area where coaches park when they bring pilgrims. around them were belongings

of some of the victims of the attack. shoes, items of clothing, a wheelchair. there were reports that most of the dead were iraqi citizens. it's not yet clear who was behind this, but the islamic state group has set off bombs before, causing casualties among pilgrims, who the militants regard as religious heretics. online ticket touts who buy in bulk and then sell tickets for inflated prices will face unlimited fines under new government plans. it will also be illegal to use so—called "bots" — or automated computer software — to bypass limits on the maximum amount of tickets that can be bought. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. when it comes to seeing your idols up when it comes to seeing your idols up close, people will sometimes pay

large sums, but increasingly, fans are being priced out by robots or bots that snap up tickets in seconds and resell them at inflated prices. and fans and often squeezed out. it stops you from going to these places and seeing these shows. is that really fair. it's people making money out of something, you shouldn't put supped a premium on it. the rise of the internet has enabled tyrants to use software known as bots to buy up thousands of tickets in seconds, and that's what the government wants to make a criminal offence, with unlimited fines. we think it's unacceptable that fans are being ripped off by these bots buying the tickets and selling them at inflated prices. were going to make that illegal, so people can buy tickets would easily and fans can get to the concerts and sports daily they want to. kindly ever fully remove illegal ticket

touts? there's always more that can be done. as long as there are people out there wanting to profit on the back of tickets, there will be people wanting to buy those tickets. the important thing is to distil it toa the important thing is to distil it to a good market, a market that works well for the industry and works well for the industry and works well for consumers as well. that might mean official ticket sellers were popular shows will have to be far more vigilant when someone tries to suddenly by suddenly sell a lot of tickets. criminalising these bots that snap up tickets that fans otherwise want good work, but if the overseas, there is little the government can do. ticket experts say the bots might actually be real human beings being paid paltry sums of money by the illegal ticket touts to do their work. criminalising them could be fraught with problems. england have won their match against

scotla nd england have won their match against scotland in the six nations cup. this has equalled the weakest national victory in this fixture. it's so equal of the longest ever run among the rugby nations. we'll bring you more detailed plenty of reaction at half past seven. more than 60 prisoners were evacuated from a jail in dorset last night after a large fire was started by an inmate. it's believed he climbed onto the roof of hmp guys marsh near shaftesbury after complaining about a change of regime,at the prison. regime at the prison. fiona lamdin reports. flames and thick smoke filled the night sky above hmp guys marsh. after an inmate thought to be drunk, wearing many layers of clothes, set light to them on top of the prison roofjust after eight o'clock last night.

as firefighters controlled what they described as the large fire outside, inside, 64 prisoners were moved from their cells to the safety of the gym. in an unannounced inspection, two—and—a—half years ago, investigators found this place in crisis. they said staff and managers had all but lost control. they said one in four prisoners felt unsafe as gangs operate openly. from where you are here, what could you actually see? we could see out of our bedroom windows some flames. george bolton lives opposite the prison. as i understand it, he ripped tiles off the roof and set fire to his clothes and it caught the timbers alight. that's where the fire came from. we didn't see flames, because we can't see past that house there, but we did see the glow. another blaze in another prison. it's just one in a long string,

50 fires are reported each week in prisons in england and wales. these figures have doubled in two years, a strong indication of the problems going on behind the country's prison fences. fiona lamdin, bbc news. lets have a look at our headlines. famine in parts of africa and the middle east could lead to the biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945, according to the united nations. a retiring judges criticised for saying women can protect themselves against potential rapists by not getting too drunk. critics say her remarks bring victims for the crime. jeremy corbyn says it would be absolutely fine for scotla nd says it would be absolutely fine for scotland to hold a second independence referendum. supporters of the ousted south korean president, park geun—hye, have clashed with police for a second day following ms park's removalfrom office.

she's been linked to a corruption scandal involving some of south korea's top businesses. there have also been demonstrations in favour of the court decision to impeach her. the two sides are being kept apart by barricades patrolled by police officers dressed in riot gear. three people died in scuffles. stephen evans sent this from the capital, seoul. supporters of the ex—president have been out demonstrating their anger. they say the judges who dismissed park geun—hye were motivated by politics. this is the centre of seoul. this is one of the main streets in the centre of seoul. that's the police barrier right down the middle of the street. what you can't see is that right behind that barrier there are hundreds of police and vehicles and then beyond that, anti—park people. they've set up effigies of the disgraced ex—president and the others like the head of samsung, facing corruption accusations.

a left of centre government may well win here. in washington, the white house was unperturbed. it's a domestic issue, in which the united states takes no position in the outcome of that election. it's up to the korean people and their democratic institutions to determine the future of their country. in north korea, people probably speaking under supervision, have voiced pleasure at park geun—hye's demise. he says, "during the last four years, park geun—hye has brought suffering to our people. she should be punished very severely." in north korea, leaders are not elected. the news from the south may play two ways there, it shows disarray in the south, but also that leaders can be removed. stephen evans, bbc news, seoul. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said it would be absolutely fine

for scotland to hold a second independence referendum. the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, hasn't ruled out holding another vote next year because of brexit. with me is our political correspondent alex forsyth. to the referendum, there has been growing talk about a second referendum on independence, because the majority of people in scotland wa nted the majority of people in scotland wanted to stay inside the eu. jeremy corbyn was asked about this today, and he said it would be absolutely fine. but his party is opposed to referendum. the clarification later was that he was saying this is not for westminster to decide, to the scottish parliament votes were there to bea

scottish parliament votes were there to be a referendum, that is absolutely fine. if there were to be absolutely fine. if there were to be a referendum, labour would campaign against independence, but the opposition to the idea of a second referendum should come from scotland, this is not something for westminster to oppose its will on scotla nd westminster to oppose its will on scotland about. that is in line with the labour party wider view. presumably, that is good news for nicola sturgeon, who is meeting a big wall of resistance of this idea. she did tweet that it is nice to have jeremy corbyn campaigning she did tweet that it is nice to havejeremy corbyn campaigning in scotland. you can see it is something she has jumped scotland. you can see it is something she hasjumped on to further the cause. she said the latest was she hadn't ruled out the possibility of a referendum as early as next year. this is something snp has wanted for some time and with the uk set to be the single market, she sees this as an opportunity to have a second referendum. but this isn't just

have a second referendum. but this isn'tjust up to her, it is down to westminster to give the final safer referendum in scotland. jeremy corbyn and many of the other big players in westminster recognise that in doing that, that would be imposing the will of westminster in scotla nd imposing the will of westminster in scotland and none of them want to be seen to do that. where do you think this leaves the wider issue of a second referendum 7 this leaves the wider issue of a second referendum? most people have said if there was an appetite for it, the snp would come forward. nicola sturgeon has always wanted and the snp has fought for it. the dominate politics in scotland at the moment. so this is an issue that hasn't gone away. nobody has ruled out the possibility, not even the prime minister. but what they have said is it shouldn't be the focus 110w. said is it shouldn't be the focus now. they have consistently said this question was settled in the previous independence referendum and that i was not). previous independence referendum and that i was not ). jeremy corbyn later clarified that this does still

remain his position. thanks very much. police have clashed with rioters in italy, dispersing hundreds of people who broke away from a peaceful march and started throwing rocks and petrol bombs. a labour mp is calling for abortion legislation to be updated. the rules that say a woman must have the consent of two doctors to end her pregnancy have been unchanged for 50 years. critics say a change in the law could pave the way for sex—selective abortions and terminations on demand. jayne mccubbin reports. my first reaction was, i don't want to have a baby. straightaway, how am i going to care for this being when i can't even care for myself? emily tells me why she had an abortion. she was broke, she had depression, she couldn't cope. she had to wait one month for a termination.

that was the worst month of my life. i was googling ways to induce miscarriage and i think that in itself proves it's too long. you're risking women's lives because i could have really hurt myself during that time. you could have faced a jail sentence. i don't have any words for that. to punish a woman who is already in such an unstable and vulnerable position, what do you think you're doing to that woman's life? just under 200,000 abortions were carried out in the uk in 2015, most in rooms like this. the nhs says women should wait around two weeks, but it can be more than twice that. figures indicate these tablets used to miscarry are increasingly being bought illegally online by women who refuse to wait. two doctors sign off every abortion. now, this is unlike any other medical procedure. but no other procedure involves ending a life

and that's what's key here, isn't it? we're in the 21st century. we trust women to make decisions about their lives, about their healthcare, and abortion should be no different. but others say the delay that comes with not one but two gps is essential when deciding the fate of not one but two lives. many women go for that initial consultation and by the time they come back they actually change their minds. it's an important step in the process to make sure women are making the right decision for them. do you have any statistics to back that argument up? we do know that about 30% of women who go for initial consultations never go through with the process. the difficulty with the termination is once you have done that, if it's a rushed process, you can't change your mind. her office later said this figure had been given by a leading clinician. we could find no evidence of it. abortion is an emotive subject. but while the royal college of midwives has backed the proposal, more than 1,000 midwives have joined

a "not in my name" petition. they fear it could pave the way for sex—selective abortions on demand. we didn't achieve what i always believed was what women needed, which was choice. diana monday was a key figure calling for change in the ‘60s, just as she is today. i was a lone public voice, but i was not a lone person who had had an abortion. they were all there, the voices, but they were unheard and unfortunately they still are unheard. i am appalled. 50 years later on, we are still fighting for this. oh, my goodness. this is the hate mail? yes. she shows me the hate mail her campaign attracted in one file. but letters from women who begged for help in another. that fine line between the rights of a woman and the rights of an unborn child will be scrutinised again on monday.

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. the first pair are low prescription, 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 475. 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. a giant green sea turtle has been

returned to the seas off florida after getting tangled. i release is timely. the nesting season i release is timely. the nesting season starts in april, so she could be out there on time to date and lisa meggs. reading is all the more crucial in terms of the green tu rtle's crucial in terms of the green turtle's listing as a threatened

species. it's really important to get a turtle this mature back out into the world. they are sexually mature, which means a reproductive, and sea turtles are not reproductive to learn about 20 years old. she's probably 50 years old, so that's why we wa nt probably 50 years old, so that's why we want to get out so she babies. she could lead to a hundred or more, so well worth shooting out for her treatment and care. a driver in china has ended up on the roof of a house after trying to avoid an accident. he said that as he tried to get out of the path of a motorised tricycle and an oncoming car, he accidentally put his foot on the accelerator rather than the brake. the result was, to say the least, embarrassing. fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident —— was injured in the incident — and he was rescued by local police. let's get a look at the weather with

helen. not the sunshine we witnessed in florida, but we did have sunshine today, this was essex this afternoon. and we did have about 18 degrees in gravesend. 16 degrees in northern ireland, which makes it the warmest day for northern ireland so far. cloud will thicken up during the night, and another weatherfront joining forces with it by morning. perhaps in the glens of scotland, a little chilly, but for others it's just a murky night. between the weather systems, windows of drier, brighter weather. the western side of the uk looks better later on, but it would feel as warm as it did today. slightly cooler they are coming in off the atlantic. as for the new week, chilly, but a lot of dry weather to come. i'll fill you

ina bit dry weather to come. i'll fill you in a bit more than half an hour. —— in halfan in a bit more than half an hour. —— in half an hour. this is bbc news. the headlines: more than 20 million people are at risk of starvation in yemen, nigeria, south sudan and somalia — in what the un says is the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of the second world war.