live from london. this is bbc news. president biden gives his state of the union address, and makes an impassioned pitch for a second term whilst taking swipes at his rival donald trump. here's the simple truth. you can't love your country only when you win! cheering. former conservative prime minister theresa may is to stand down as an mp at the next general election. it's ten years since a malaysian airliner carrying 239 people on a flight from kuala lumpur to beijing vanished — we look back at one of the greatest aviation mysteries. and coming up it's international women's day — a time to reflect on the achievements of women and progress towards gender equality.

we will have a special programme in 30 minutes. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start in the united states where president biden has delivered his last state of the union address before the presidential election in november. in a fiery speech he warned that the us is facing a greater threat to its freedom and democracy than at any time since the presidency of abraham lincoln — in the 1860s. he repeatedly took swipes at donald trump, using the term, "my predecessor" 13 times. he described mr trump's recent remarks about nato as unacceptable. mr biden said he had inherited an economy "on the brink" after the turmoil of covid pandemic, but it was now the envy of the world. but it was his repeated attacks on mr trump which drew the biggest cheers on capitol hill. nomia iqbal has the story from washington. cheering.

this was president biden�*s make—or—break moment to show americans why he should be re—elected. no pressure. good evening. if i were smart, i'd go home now. laughter. it was a more fiery speech than usual as the 81—year—old tried to prove he's not too old for office. the speech turned quickly into campaign mode. what makes our moment rare is the freedom of democracy under attack at both at home and overseas at the very same time. though he never referred to his election rival by name... now my predecessor, a former republican president, tells putin — quote — "do whatever the hell you wa nt". ..but donald trump was on his mind — he reminded america of what happened in this very building onjanuary the 6th three years ago. many of you were here on that darkest of days. we all saw with our own eyes — the insurrectionists were not patriots. shouting. there were some heckles and boos by his republican opponents. he touched on issues that voters care about —

immigration, the economy, and reproductive rights. many of you in this chamber — and my predecessor — are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. my god, what freedom else would you take away? chanting: fight like hell for the living! i but the journey to get here wasn't straightforward. chanting: people want a ceasefire! protesters are gathered here, blocking the main road from the white house to the capitol. president biden ended up taking a longer route to make his address on time. but his handling of the war in the middle east is proving to be one of the biggest issues he's facing ahead of the election. i think he's already lost votes from many people — from younger voters, from arab and muslim voters, from jewish voters. the war wasn't ignored in the speech — he paid tribute to the families of israeli hostages who were invited to the address. mr biden said he was also working to help deliver aid to palestinians. i'm directing the us military to lead an emergency mission

to establish a temporary pier in the mediterranean on the coast of gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter. chanting: four more years! the state of the union was mr biden�*s big opportunity to get some fresh momentum ahead of the election. if he loses in november, it would be the last one he delivers. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. let's get some more reaction and speak now to amanda renteria — democratic strategist — who'sjoining us from california. thank you for being with us. it was a fiery speech but what did you make of it? it a fiery speech but what did you make of it? ., , , , a fiery speech but what did you make of it? . , , , , of it? it was definitely fiery but i think the big _ of it? it was definitely fiery but i think the big question _ of it? it was definitely fiery but i think the big question for- of it? it was definitely fiery but i think the big question for a - of it? it was definitely fiery but i think the big question for a lot l of it? it was definitely fiery but i | think the big question for a lot of folks as does president biden have the strength and feistiness to enter this election cycle ready to go given for this at stake and he really did surprise folks i think on both sides of the aisle with how much he came out from the very

beginning and there wasn't a pleasant you usually see at the beginning, he started out with a real understanding of what is at stake for america but also democracy around the world. putting a stake in the ground and saying this is who we are, i will not bow down and i think that kicked off notjust a speech, a state of the union speech but a message to both donald trump and his supporters that this will be an election cycle, he is ready and understands exactly what is at stake. it understands exactly what is at stake. . , . ., understands exactly what is at stake. ., . ., ., stake. it was much more about attackin: stake. it was much more about attacking mr — stake. it was much more about attacking mr trump _ stake. it was much more about attacking mr trump than - stake. it was much more about attacking mr trump than his i stake. it was much more about - attacking mr trump than his record in a lot of ways so is that a taste of the election campaign to come, rather than trying to defend what he has done in the last four years? i think they are at a point they are well aware this election cycle is down to two people and one of the things joe down to two people and one of the thingsjoe biden has said as he has waited for this moment to be able to

contrast. here are your options, trump and me and the speech last night was really about kicking that of. and you didn't hear as much about his policies although they were weaved in but what you heard was the way, the style, the strength, that firing is that he intends to run in this campaign cycle and it is a lot of what folks have been talking about behind—the—scenes when they work with joe behind—the—scenes when they work withjoe biden. i have seen that fire and feistiness and there's a lot of talk about whether he was ready and last night was his moment to show america and the world that not only is he ready but he has a vision for the future that really is and speaks to what america has been in the past and wants to continue to be in the future. he in the past and wants to continue to be in the future.— be in the future. he addressed the issue of his _ be in the future. he addressed the issue of his age _ be in the future. he addressed the issue of his age which _ be in the future. he addressed the issue of his age which has - be in the future. he addressed the issue of his age which has become i be in the future. he addressed the i issue of his age which has become an issue of his age which has become an issue head on but do you think the white house team will breathe a sigh of relief that there were no stumbles or gas?— of relief that there were no stumbles or gas?

of relief that there were no stumbles or as? ., , ., ., ., stumbles or gas? there was a lot of si . hs of stumbles or gas? there was a lot of sighs of relief. _ stumbles or gas? there was a lot of sighs of relief, not _ stumbles or gas? there was a lot of sighs of relief, notjust _ stumbles or gas? there was a lot of sighs of relief, not just this - sighs of relief, notjust this narrative that the democratic party is not excited about him but he walked in the room and as he does, he takes forever to get to the front because he's enjoying and taking selfies so there was that aspect of it, the pomp and circumstance that he leaned into. the last guy in the room but there was his ability to call out and be joyful about the banter between the republican party and ten and that was another piece, the confidence with which he was up there and the huts for to actually come out in a fighting spirit all the way to the very end and fire up the way to the very end and fire up the crowd and even those that were watching that work independence, he was speaking to them and you saw him fire up himself as he was getting into that speech at the very end, you saw the energy come to a big role in the room and more and more you are seeingjoe role in the room and more and more you are seeing joe biden understand that this election cycle is going to be tough and energised and that is

why he kicked off his speech. amanda, thank you very much for your time. president biden has warned us about humanitarian system should never be used as a bargaining chip. on foreign affairs, president biden confirmed that he had ordered the us military to build a temporary pier off the coast of gaza. he said it would ensure a massive increase in aid for palestinians. protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority. as we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two—state solution over time. applause. and i say this. as a lifelong supporter of israel, my entire career, no—one has a stronger record with israel than i do. i challenge any of you here. i'm the only american president to visit israel in wartime.

but there is no other path that guarantees israel's security and democracy. all there is no other path that guarantees that palestinians can live in peace... with peace and dignity. let's speak to our middle east correspondent yolande knell who's jerusalem. —— who is injerusalem. we have heard that message that aid should never be used as a bargaining chip but how has that been received? that alon: with but how has that been received? that along with a — but how has that been received? t�*isgt along with a promise from president biden that israeli hostages remain in the gaza strip will be released, he is dedicating his efforts towards working on that and we know there were some is really families and former israeli hostages in the chamber last night. a lot of focus here is on the plan for a new

temporary port for gaza, a temporary causeway that would be built to allow supply ships bringing aid to get close to gaza. at the moment it does not have any deep sea port, a longer explanation of what that means because there was a briefing given by the white house in advance of the state of the union address. it appears aid ships will go to cyprus and there, israeli security checks will be carried out and then there will be us warships, us military personnel involved offshore in overseeing proceedings but there will be no us military boots on the ground in gas are involved in the construction of the causeway. we understand it could take a month or two to complete and of course that will not address the immediate need to get aid into gaza but it looks like president biden wanted to have some sort of a concrete step to show us military action was being taken amid a lot of frustration with its

close ally israel, it's been calling for weeks now to increase the flow of aid going into gaza. d0 for weeks now to increase the flow of aid going into gaza.— for weeks now to increase the flow of aid going into gaza. do you think the fact they _ of aid going into gaza. do you think the fact they are _ of aid going into gaza. do you think the fact they are having _ of aid going into gaza. do you think the fact they are having to - of aid going into gaza. do you think the fact they are having to build - the fact they are having to build this peer is a sign benjamin netanyahu is not listening about getting more aid in?— netanyahu is not listening about getting more aid in? because from the us and un _ getting more aid in? because from the us and un agencies _ getting more aid in? because from the us and un agencies have - getting more aid in? because from the us and un agencies have beenj getting more aid in? because from i the us and un agencies have been for israel to open up more border crossings into the gaza strip to allow aid to get through. and to allow aid to get through. and to allow aid to get through. and to allow a distribution to take place more effectively. what we have seen is the us and jordan, other countries resorting to a jobs in recent days which is not a very effective way of getting aid to those who need it the most. israel has its own container portjust about a a0 minute drive to the north of the gaza strip, there's been a lot of resistance in israel to using its facilities to bring in eight so its facilities to bring in eight so it is mostly going in via egypt,

flown in there and comes in through the crossings in the south of the gaza strip. the crossings in the south of the gaza strip-— the crossings in the south of the gaza stri -. ., ,, ,, , . you can get more reaction and analysis to president biden's state of the union address from our team of correspondents and experts in the us on the bbc news website and app. including this article on how it draws the battle lines for november's presidential election. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the government's counter—extremism commissioner says london has become a "no—go zone forjews" during weekend pro—palestinian marches. robin simcox urged ministers to "be bolder and be willing to accept higher legal risk" when tackling extremism. last week prime minister rishi sunak warned of forces "trying to tear the country apart". mps are warning that the uk will be left increasingly reliant on military allies due to a £29—billion financial black hole in defence spending. the influential public accounts committee warned the government currently lacked a "credible plan" to fund the ministry of defence. the chancellor says

defence spending will rise to 2.5% of gdp when "economic conditions allow". new rules on paternity leave come into effect today in england, scotland and wales. fathers will be allowed to take their statutory two weeks' leave in two separate chunks — instead of in one go — but campaign groups want all fathers to be given more time off work at better pay. you're live with bbc news. an investigation into one of the british army's top intelligence sources during the northern ireland troubles will be published today. the interim report is part of operation kenova — which was set up to investigate the activites of the agent known as stakeknife. it's expected to call for an apology from the government and the ira. here's our ireland correspondent sara girvin. don't take any more photos of

this house, i'm telling you now. because if you, i'll come out and i'll- do you. - this is freddie scappaticci. his double life personified the so—called dirty war between the ira and the british state during the troubles in northern ireland. on one hand, he was the ira's chief interrogator, tasked with identifying informers inside the terrorist group, a role that saw him linked to 17 murders. 0n the other, he was himself a british agent codenamed sta keknife. the investigation into stakeknife's actions will deliver an interim report today. 0peration kenova has taken a seven years and cost almost £a0 million. 32 people were considered for prosecution in connection with the agent stakeknife case, and charges that range from murder to misconduct in a public office. those questioned included ira members, former military personnel, including the agent's handlers, and a former police officer.

but the public prosecution service says no—one will be charged due to what it calls insufficient evidence. that's a decision that has frustrated some. it might tell the relatives how their loved ones died, but that seems to be about the height of it. if no—one's going to be charged, then it's a whitewash. former ira members who knew scappaticci described him as a traitor. he was a disgusting human being. in any army, in any organisation, the person who gives away the organisation's secret is a very, very unsavory character, a character that no—one likes. those involved in intelligence gathering during the troubles say there was no other option. there's no perfect solution. and intelligence is far from perfect. but it was — in the circumstances, it's as good as it gets. i would say if this happened again, we'd actually do precisely the same again.

it would be intelligence—led and it would be, who are the people within these organisations who you can talk to to give you information to try and stop these organisations? with no prosecutions, there is concern that the 0peration kenova report will raise more questions than it will answer. for many of the families whose loved ones were interrogated as suspected informers, and then brutally murdered by the ira, the report represents their last chance for truth and for closure. but will they get it? 0peration kenova has investigated one of the murkiest periods of time in northern ireland's history, a time that may never truly see the light. sarah girvin, bbc news. we are expecting that report out in the next couple of hours and we of course will cover it on bbc news. it is still one of the greatest aviation mysteries — today marks the tenth anniversary

of the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight mh370. the boeing 777 airliner carrying 239 people vanished on a routine flight to beijing. radar and satellite data showed it veering off—route and heading to the southern indian ocean. the families of those on board have been campaigning for search for mh370 to be resumed, after it was suspended six years ago, and the malaysian government says it is negotiating with an american underwater surveillance company to start looking again. let's speak to our correspondent — jonathan head — in kuala lumpur. jonathan. it is indeed ten years since the flight took off from this airport in kuala lumpur, nothing indicated there was any problem with that but in less than an hour all communications and electronic signals from the plane had been shut down and it went into a black hole essentially. we know from radar data it did a 180 degrees turn and headed

south into oblivion but even though they guessed where it had gone, and they guessed where it had gone, and the search involving multiple countries were so big they were not able to find it and that is why we have had this loss of momentum, family is very frustrated but they do hope now with this talk of a renewed search possibly this year that new analysis and methods of analysing the skimpy data that exists and he underwater search technology may improve the chances of finding the aircraft this time. for ten years, li eryou and his wife, liu shuang fong, have been waiting for news of their son, yan lin. they've come back to malaysia from their small village in china to mark the tenth anniversary of his disappearance on board flight mh370. translation: the airline said they had lost contact. - all these years, i keep asking,

"what does that mean?" i've been searching for my child for the past ten years, and i think that if you lose contact with someone, surely you should be able to reconnect with them? the search for mh370 was the largest and most expensive in aviation history. all communications on the plane had been cut, but rudimentary satellite data suggested it had turned back and flown to the remote southern indian ocean, where it's presumed to have crashed. a few pieces from the plane were eventually discovered on beaches in east africa. but six years ago, the search was suspended. now a retired british aerospace technician thinks he's pinpointed a much smaller search area by analysing signals sent out by short wave radio enthusiasts. you can imagine a huge fisherman's net across the globe, full of radio signals.

and every time an aircraft passes through this net, it sort of breaks a hole, and you know exactly where the aircraft was because you know you've now got a hole in the net at a particular point. the families badly need a breakthrough. they hold events like this every year to remind us that their loss is still unexplained. mr li's message was to his son, yan lin. "your mum and i have come to take you home," he wrote. these battered fragments are some of the very few pieces ever recovered from mh370. the lack of answers after all this time is a source of enduring pain for the families of those on board, and there's a lot of frustration, too, over the lack of progress in the search for the missing plane. this year's event was attended by malaysia's transport minister, after complaints that his

government's been dragging its feet. "we are already negotiating a new search," he promised. there's no reluctance on the part of the malaysian government? no reluctance. as i've mentioned numerous times, as far as the malaysian government is concerned, we are committed to the search, and the search must go on. # when you feel so tired but you can't sleep...# i mh370 is an unfinished story, with aviation safety lessons yet to be learnt. and for all the families, it is an unending tragedy. the success of the search if it takes place at the end of this year will depend a great deal on the area they choose. as you saw on that piece richard godfrey is hoping the search area will be smaller which will allow any searches to be concentrated and make sure any

underwater drums they use, if the plane has fallen into deep underwater canyons so a lot depends on what area they choose and how they interpret the data but the family say it does not matter, you've got to keep searching, you cannot allow a player like this used all over the world, a modern airliner to disappear without finding out why.— airliner to disappear without findin: out wh ., ., ., ., finding out why. jonathan in kuala lumur, finding out why. jonathan in kuala lumpur. thank — finding out why. jonathan in kuala lumpur, thank you. _ some royal book news. prince harry's memoir, spare, has been nominated for two british book awards, or nibbies as they are known. it's estimated the book sold more than 3 million copies in its first week of publication. his father, king charles, won one in 199a for his children's book the legend of lochnagar. the former british prime minister, theresa may, is to stand down as an mp at the general election. she's represented maidenhead in berkshire since 1997. in a statement to the maidenhead advertiser, she says she's taken the "difficult" decision because her work on issues including modern slavery and human trafficking is taking up increasing amounts of her time.

let's speak to our political correspondent hannah miller, who is in our westminster newsroom. she made the announcement in her local paper but what else did she have to say? she local paper but what else did she have to say?— have to say? she spoke to the maidenhead _ have to say? she spoke to the maidenhead advertiser - have to say? she spoke to the maidenhead advertiser for - have to say? she spoke to the j maidenhead advertiser for this announcement which in and of itself is significant for someone who has been prime minister and stayed on as a backbencher and chose to give this announcement directly to her constituents when frankly she could have had much broader national media article had she chosen to do that and i think that say something about the kind of values in the way she conducted herself since being prime minister. she said the causes that she has been championing have taken up she has been championing have taken up an increasing amount of time and that as a result she has concluded she will no longer be able to do her job as an mp in the way that she

believes is right and that her constituents to serve beyond the next general election. important to say she makes very clear in her statement that she continues to support rishi sunak and the government and go so far as to say she believes the conservatives can win the next general election. brexit dominated her premiership, do you think that a sa the history books will remember her? she certainly did — books will remember her? sie: certainly did not want books will remember her? s“ie: certainly did not want a premiership to be defined by brexiter though i think it is one of those things, the way things played out, and i most certainly was. she was the longest serving home secretary of modern times during which he presided over cuts to the police and the windrush scandal also began to unfold during her time in office and i think it's fair to say perceptions of her very much changed since she was prime minister. she has championed causes such as diabetes and eating disorders. she has done a lot of

work on modern slavery as well and she was also critical of boris johnson and the partygate scandal when all of that emerged so she is someone who in her time since being prime minister, the way in which she is perceived by colleagues in the way she has continued to serve that kind of public service and duty is something i think the history books will look back on as well.— will look back on as well. thank ou. it is international women's day and we are taking out life to islamabad. the theme this year is investing in women, accelerating progress in the event itself is marked originally in 1911, the united nations started

marking the event in 1975 and we can expect thousands of events to take place. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. 0ur reasonably dry and settled spell of weather continues for another couple of days. things do turn a little more unsettled as we head into the weekend, but certainly for today, a pretty chilly wind coming in from an easterly direction, but most of us should see some spells of sunshine. fairly cold air mass with us. we've got high pressure to the north and the low pressure to the south—west, and that combination is drawing in these fairly brisk winds from the near continent. i think the best of the sunshine today will be across parts of east anglia, southern england, also west wales. but where we've had a lot of cloud over recent days, so north—east england and eastern scotland, we've still got the cloud but it's tending to be a little bit thinner, so some brighter intervals breaking through. these are the gusts of wind we are likely to see, so 30, possibly a0 miles an hour, the windiest weather down towards the far south—west. we could see some big waves around

some of the coasts as well. 6 or 7 degrees in the north—east, 10 or 11 towards the south. but wherever you are, it's going to feel a touch colder when you add on that wind chill. most of us, dry tonight, a little bit of low cloud drifting north. but some rain, as you can see, across parts of central and southern england, into wales, by first thing tomorrow. so with more cloud and that wet weather, it won't be as cold here as it was last night, but we are still expecting a touch of frost, i think, across the sheltered glens of central scotland. now, into saturday, high pressure to the north, low pressure to the south. we've still got that easterly wind. that low pressure will bring some showery rain, particularly for parts of wales, perhaps the midlands. a few splashes into northern ireland as well. nothing particularly heavy. any of that rain will be quite showery in nature. more moving into the far south—west with blustery winds later in the day. but elsewhere, actually a fair amount of dry, bright weather, some sunny spells. 13 degrees or so for london, but only 6 in aberdeen. into the second half of the weekend, and that low stays with us towards the south. this frontal system just pushes a bit further north, so i think by sunday we could see some slightly more persistent rain, initially for southern and eastern parts of england,

drifting across other parts of england and wales. probably the best of any brighter weather will be in scotland and northern ireland, towards the far north—west. but still a few showers possible here. just 5—11 degrees, so a little below par for the time of year, feeling chilly with the wind and the rain around for some of us too. but that low pressure eventually drifts off towards the east as we head through the day on monday. a ridge of high pressure working in behind it, so i think we'll see a little bit of a drier interlude but there will be plenty of rain symbols, as you can see on the outlook charts here. so a bit of a mixed picture but things turn a little bit milder into next week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news in central london for international women's day. the un says more than 8 million women and girls will need humanitarian assistance this year. we speak to ukraine's female minister of the economy. five months into the war, more than 30,000 people have been killed in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry, and they say more than 70% were women and children. in israel, dozens of women were abducted in the october the 7th attack, and mothers still wait for their loved ones to come home.

we speak to the mayor of freetown in sierra leone,