live from jerusalem. this is bbc news. the european union says a maritime aid corridorfrom cyprus to gaza could begin operating within hours. the first vessel is being loaded now. but as the humanitarian situation becomes ever more desperate, the united states says it could take up to 60 days for a temporary port to be built. and as we see more aid being dropped into gaza, the push to get additional supplies into the area accelerates. live from london. i'm nicky schiller. thousands of people march in central london in support of gaza — the tenth major protest in the city since the october 7 attacks. an urgent search continues

in nigeria to find nearly 300 school children abducted by gunmen. you are with bbc news. i'm anna foster. there is a development in the aid effort towards gaza. a ship has been loaded in cyprus and we can show you pictures of that happening which is going to mark the start of a new maritime aid corridor. it was announced yesterday by ursula von der leyen and is expected to become operational in the next few hours. it would be a new way to get large amounts of aid into gaza and is considered absolutely crucial to change the situation for people in the gaza strip, many of whom the un has warned are facing famine, and

they say a quarter of the population at the moment in gaza, especially women and children, are finding themselves at risk of famine, starvation, and the hamas run health ministry says 23 people have died from malnutrition in the last few days. they are hoping this shipment can change the dial in terms of the situation in gaza. this is the scene live in larnaca in cyprus where, as you can see, the 200 tonnes of food and medical supplies are being loaded onto a ship. it will be towed by a spanish ship to gaza. we know people are desperate in gaza. we have seen aid convoys being mobbed by people who are desperate to get their hands on the dwindling

numbers of supplies in gaza. the sea corridor is a joint operation between the eu, us, uk and united arab emirates — aiming to take supplies from cyprus to the gazan coast. they are hoping to expand this but because it is early days the moment. the pressure continues to encourage people in israel to encourage the israeli authorities to get more aid in and the pressure is coming from the uk, the us and others, and i spoke earlier to a former washington post middle east correspondent. earlier i spoke to david 0ttaway, hes a fellow at the woodrow wilson center and the washington post's former middle east correspondent. he told me about the us administrations plans for the aid port.

i think the us military knows how to build temporary piers and causeway are but the physical part is probably the easiest in my mind because the military is totally in control of the operation —— causeways. it is notjust the us, but eu, the outsize powers are getting involved in setting up a new corridor, a major new corridor to provide assistance outside israeli control. this is a major change. yes, it will take a month or six weeks to get this thing going, but the problems are not going to be offshore. the problems will be onshore, how do you distribute this and how do you protect those who are distributing it? we will see but this is a major game changer and the

us involvement in the whole conflict. . , , , , conflict. even as we see the ship are bein: conflict. even as we see the ship are being loaded, _ conflict. even as we see the ship are being loaded, we _ conflict. even as we see the ship are being loaded, we know- conflict. even as we see the ship are being loaded, we know that| conflict. even as we see the ship - are being loaded, we know that when it gets to gaza, getting the aid sure and having it distributed throughout the strip to the people who need it is going to be absolutely key. the charity 0pen be absolutely key. the charity open arms is in charge of what is going on. the spanish ship towing the barge is owned by charity open arms. its owner has told the bbc the exercise is "quite a challenge". wyre davies reports from jerusalem. in the cypriot port of larnaca they have been working around the clock. the spanish ship, open arms, is preparing to tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food with medical aid all the way to gaza. it's a precarious, untested plan with obvious risks. translation: yes, we will tow this

platform to gaza, where the last - mile will be the most complicated operation. the disembarkation will be done on a pier that is being built right now by the world central kitchen. how the aid will be unloaded into gaza, where there is no port orfunctioning harbour, is not clear. air drops and some land deliveries were often swamped by thousands of desperate, hungry people. some aid agencies say that the plan is misguided and ineffective. the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. the un says there is a danger of famine, and children are already reported to be dying of malnutrition. all of this is happening because israel and hamas have been unable to agree a ceasefire that would have allowed more aid in by road through israel — still the preferred, most effective route. and the fighting continues. a tower block in the southern

city of rafah was hit in an air strike overnight. and israel, despite growing international pressure for a truce, says the military campaign is not yet over. wyre davies, bbc news. it is worth underlining that even though the new maritime aid corridor is being put into place and even though the us announced as part of joe biden�*s state of the union address that they will build a pier to get the aid into gaza, many world leaders and foreign ministers around the world are very clear that their preferred option right now would be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire but that still seems as far away as it has been for a while. the talks have been going on again in cairo this week, brokered by the egyptians and the qataris, and this week israel chose not to send a delegation to cairo even though they

say they are constantly looking at what is on the table, they are still considering it from afar. hamas had negotiators there but they were withdrawn at the end of the week and it was less than two weeks ago when the us presidentjoe biden said he hoped that humanitarian ceasefire could be in place for ramadan, he was confident that could happen, but ramadan is due to start tomorrow or on monday in the way things stand at the moment, the humanitarian ceasefire will not be coming into effectjust ceasefire will not be coming into effect just yet. thanks, anna. thousands of people are gathered in central london for a pro—palestinian rally. it is the tenth major demonstration in the capital since the 7th october attacks by hamas on israel. the march comes after the uk governments counter—extremism commissioner, robin simcox, said weekends in london have become a no—go zone forjewish people. let's speak to our correspondent louisa pilbeam, who has been

following the rally. we are at the concluding part of the march just outside the us embassy and when we were at the start of the march, there were thousands of people which were significantly lower than in previous weeks and i have been here and witnessed the numbers which were very large numbers which were very large numbers of people but being here along the way, tens of thousands of people are here now. the government's anti—extremism commissioner has spoken about the fact that during these marches, it is a no—go zone as he put it for jewish people to come into central london. when i spoke to the organiser of this march and put those comments to him, we can have a listen to what he had to say in response.

his remarks are disgraceful. one of the things he ignores is that on every single march you'll see it again today we have a block of members of the jewish community, usually about 3000 strong, who marched with us. if there are members of the jewish community who feel afraid, then possibly that is something to do with hearing people say things like, "these are hatemongers, these are islamist mobs, "these are people chanting genocidal chants" where the reality, as you will see, is these are people from all walks of life, young and old, from many, many backgrounds who are here marching for peace. and as the police themselves have meant, these marches are overwhelmingly peaceful. in response to those comments from the organiser, we have seen groups ofjewish people and from jewish organisations here and they said they feel comfortable being here. the organiser also said that he feels in response to policing numbers, there are around 1500 police from across the country

policing this kind of event, week after week, and upwards of £25 million has been spent over the first couple of months since the 7th of october attacks on israel, and he said, the organiser, he feels this is over policed in his words, he feels that creates a sense of anticipation of trouble. i have to say it has been very well organised from what i have witnessed and it is very peaceful and calm down here. louisa, thanks forjoining us. in nigeria, the hunt for nearly 300 schoolchildren — abducted by gunmen — goes on. but the governor of kaduna state has told the bbc that at least 28 of those children have escaped their captors. the nigerian army is leading the search for the children, who were abducted from the north west town of kuriga in kaduna state.

reports say students between the ages of eight and 15 were taken, along with a teacher. the abductions have been blamed on a breakaway faction of the militant islamist group boko haram. victims of kidnappings usually pay a ransom to secure their freedom. a controversial law passed in 2022 made it a crime to make ransom payments, with a potentialjail sentence of at least 15 years. but many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. early tallies from friday's two referendums in ireland — regarding the redefinition of family and women's roles — show a trend towards a "no" vote, signaling a setback for the government. voters were asked if they wanted to expand the definition of family to include those not based around marriages. and they also voted on whether to remove a reference in the constitution to the role of women in the home, and replace it with one recognising care provided by family members. the votes took place on international women's day, with final results expected soon.

in the past hour mary lou mcdonald, leader of sinn fein, spoke about the early results. it is important now that the people have spoken, that they are heard, and it is a moment of reflection for the government, who went on a solo run on these matters. they failed to collaborate in any way and they also failed to convince the electorate. line is this, the issue of caring and carers, the rights of people with disabilities, to their full rights as equal citizens, to their rights as equal citizens, to their rights to support and services, are now centrestage, and in the end i suppose, a government that has such a bad record in terms of supporting

people with disabilities, in terms of recognising and supporting caring and carers was never may be in a position to win a referendum like this with the people. we can cross now to dublin and our correspondent darren marshall. so the government said they were to reflect a modern and inclusive society but it seems the public have voted no. it is important to look at what the public were voting on yesterday, they were handed two ballot papers, one on family and they were asked to expand the definition of family beyond those just focused around marriage but the government used the phrase or other durable relationships which caused confusion with people. voters were also asked to remove a reference to women in the home and replace it with a more

gender neutral one recognising care provided by all members of the family, and advocates for a no vote felt doctored up we will hear what advocates felt, in fact —— a no vote felt.... what is your reaction to what we are hearing so far? this felt. . .. what is your reaction to what we are hearing so far? this is a aood what we are hearing so far? this is a good day — what we are hearing so far? this is a good day for _ what we are hearing so far? this is a good day for irish _ what we are hearing so far? this is a good day for irish democracy, - what we are hearing so far? this is| a good day for irish democracy, the people _ a good day for irish democracy, the people i_ a good day for irish democracy, the people i won, and the government provided _ people i won, and the government provided two proposals to the constitution which were meaningless and did _ constitution which were meaningless and did not— constitution which were meaningless and did not provide any real benefits— and did not provide any real benefits to people and in the case of the _ benefits to people and in the case of the care — benefits to people and in the case of the care reference, reduced the ability— of the care reference, reduced the ability of— of the care reference, reduced the ability of carers and people in need of care _ ability of carers and people in need of care to _ ability of carers and people in need of care to actually get support. i’eopie — of care to actually get support. people recognised that these were

meaningless and these were not going to provide _ meaningless and these were not going to provide help and that is why they voted _ to provide help and that is why they voted no _ to provide help and that is why they voted no in — to provide help and that is why they voted no in such large numbers. gn voted no in such large numbers. international voted no in such large numbers. q�*i international women's day, will people look at this and say, conservative ireland voted to enshrine the place of a woman in the home? we enshrine the place of a woman in the home? ~ ., ., ., , ., home? we have got to understand the context. home? we have got to understand the context most — home? we have got to understand the context. most people _ home? we have got to understand the context. most people would _ home? we have got to understand the context. most people would have - context. most people would have liked to _ context. most people would have liked to see the language updated but the _ liked to see the language updated but the actual article states that by her _ but the actual article states that by her work in the home, that work is valued _ by her work in the home, that work is valued and — by her work in the home, that work is valued and makes a massive contribution to society and it says a woman — contribution to society and it says a woman should not be forced out of the home _ a woman should not be forced out of the home by economic necessity and

she should _ the home by economic necessity and she should have the choice, so all peopie _ she should have the choice, so all people want is that women and fathers — people want is that women and fathers have a choice to work in the home _ fathers have a choice to work in the home or— fathers have a choice to work in the home or outside the home if they want _ home or outside the home if they want and — home or outside the home if they want and that is what the constitution really says and i think peopie _ constitution really says and i think people saw past the narrative of the government on this and they knew it was incorrect. they wanted a fair representation and they wanted to see the _ representation and they wanted to see the ability of people to be family— see the ability of people to be family members protected and most peopie _ family members protected and most people would like to see the words updated _ people would like to see the words updated but what the government wanted _ updated but what the government wanted to do was reduce the protections of families and reduce

the support to people in need of care _ the support to people in need of care. , , ., the support to people in need of care. ,, ., ., care. this is not conservative catholic ireland _ care. this is not conservative catholic ireland fighting - care. this is not conservative catholic ireland fighting back| catholic ireland fighting back against progressive moves? there is an element of— against progressive moves? there is an element of the _ against progressive moves? there is an element of the liberal _ an element of the liberal conservative vote in this but there is also _ conservative vote in this but there is also the — conservative vote in this but there is also the fact that the government when _ is also the fact that the government when using — is also the fact that the government when using the referendum as a backdrop to upcoming elections and they wanted to put the badger progressiveness on their lapel but in actual— progressiveness on their lapel but in actual fact what they were doing is reducing — in actual fact what they were doing is reducing the rights of families across— is reducing the rights of families across the country, families want to see bread and butter support, they do not want empty and meaningless actions _ do not want empty and meaningless actions. ., , , , , actions. no result yet but it is clear from tally _ actions. no result yet but it is clear from tally is _ actions. no result yet but it is clear from tally is taken - actions. no result yet but it is| clear from tally is taken across actions. no result yet but it is - clear from tally is taken across the country that ireland has voted no decisively in both ballots. thanks for “oininu decisively in both ballots. thanks forjoining us- — back to nigeria and the hunt for nearly 300 school children who have been abducted by gunmen. let's speak to west africa correspondent mayeni jones. there are real concerns about the conditions in which their children are being kept and when —— whether they have enough food and water. there is a lot of international concern and antony blinken released a statement condemning the attack and saying the perpetrators should be taken to justice, and unicef said more needs to be done to make sure the safety of children in north—western nigeria. we are not sure who carried out the attack and nobody has claimed responsibility but it is believed to have been

carried out by a group that has close links to al-qaeda and is very active in the region.— close links to al-qaeda and is very active in the region. some children did manage _ active in the region. some children did manage to _ active in the region. some children did manage to escape, _ active in the region. some children did manage to escape, any - active in the region. some children did manage to escape, any news . active in the region. some children| did manage to escape, any news on them? trio did manage to escape, any news on them? ., . , did manage to escape, any news on them? ., ., , ., ., , them? no details, unfortunately. the covernor them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said — them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said he _ them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said he did _ them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said he did not _ them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said he did not say - them? no details, unfortunately. the governor said he did not say any - governor said he did not say any more so as not to jeopardise the security operation which is ongoing. nigeria of course is known for these kind of kidnappings in the past? absolutely. everybody remembers the kidnapping of the girls in 2014 and the anniversary is in just a few weeks, so these kidnappings are bringing those memories back. thanks for “oininu bringing those memories back. thanks forjoining us- — now it's time for a look at today's sport. the england captain ben stokes has admitted that they were completely outplayed for the last four tests in india but has dared anyone to write them

off at their own peril. they lost the final test inside three days in dharam—shala by an innings and 64 runs, losing the series 4—1. the only highlight of the day was jimmy anderson bringing up his 700th test wicket at the age of 41. he dismissed kuldeep yadav to reach the milestone. only the late shane warne and sri lankan spinner muttiah muralitharan — both spin bowlers — have taken more wickets. they dismissed india for 477 in their first innings but were then skittled for just 195, 84 from joe root the only meaningful resistance. they now return home for test series in the summer against west indies and sri lanka. we came here with the high hopes and we were very confident about what we could achieve out here, and we started off very well but losing the series 4—1, notjust myself, but the team, we are big enough to say we

have been completely outplayed in the last four games. england came here with a very experienced batting line—up, and their inexperience was in their bowling. and they had the ascendancy with bat in hand, and we needed to respond. our experience was in the bowling and we won those contests. there are five matches in the premier league today, they are aproaching fulltime in the game between manchester united and everton at old trafford. united led 2—0 at half—time thanks to penalties from bruno fernandes and marcus rashford. everton missed a string of chances. arsenal will be looking to go top

of the table with a win over brentford in the late kick—off. it could only be for 24 hours with leaders liverpool facing manchester city tomorow. every point helps, we have played them twice already, it is always tough against brentford. we always suffer against brentford. and on saturday i expect a difficult match. anthonyjoshua took less then two rounds to win his fight against former ufc champion francis ngannou in riyadh last night. joshua was in completecontrol, flooring him in the first round, and twice in the second, ngannou needing medical treatment. so what next forjoshua? talk has inevitably turned to tyson fury and 0lexander usyk, the curent world heavyweight champions who are due to face each other in may, but hasjoshua, a former world champ, proved that he's back

to at that elite level? why not fight them both? it should not be one of the other, i should have the opportunity to compete with them both, but notjust those two, there are so many other fighters i want to compete with. i think both of them are very credible fighters, and i would love the opportunity to face them at some stage. it's the penultimate round of matches in the six nations championship, italy have just kicked off against scotland in rome. later on the grand slam champions ireland will retain their title with a game to spare if they get a bonus point win over england at twickenham. irish captain peter 0'mahony has praised every member of his squad in their three wins so far. we have players who have been left out of the squad. who would be in most teams in the world. but that has to be the case, if you want to be competitive. we push each other hard. i have spoken about the people

before. it is all about the team before. it is all about the team before. it is not about you. you cannot be that selfish. it is all about the team.— cannot be that selfish. it is all about the team. ., . ., ,_, about the team. scotland have scored a leauue about the team. scotland have scored a league and — about the team. scotland have scored a league and they _ about the team. scotland have scored a league and they are _ about the team. scotland have scored a league and they are 5-3 _ about the team. scotland have scored a league and they are 5-3 macro - about the team. scotland have scored a league and they are 5-3 macro up i a league and they are 5—3 macro up against the italians —— have scored an try and they are 5—3 up. it is 7-3 an try and they are 5—3 up. it is 7—3 after they scored the conversion. and that's all the sport for now. a fertility clinic in london has had its operating licence suspended because of "significant concerns" about the unit. the homerton fertility centre has been told it must not start new procedures, but can continue to see existing patients. the clinic said there had been three separate errors

in the freezing of embryos. 0ur correspondent ellie price sent us this update. it is affecting around 150 embryos, although the trust have not put a number on the number of patients affected, but it centres around the issue of how the embryos are frozen and there were errors in the process which has led to some of the embryos either not surviving the thawing process is meant not being detectable after that, and the clinic here has called in external clinical experts to investigate, and so far they have not been able to pinpoint exactly what happened but the investigation is ongoing. the clinic has apologised and they have changed some of their working practices, so the likes of increased security and they have asked a number of members of staff to work in pairs so they can essentially crosscheck what everybody, what each other is doing. there has also been, we have had the apology, and this

clinic has been referred to the fertility watchdog in the past, a couple of years ago there were whistle—blowing allegations surrounding compliance, leadership and patient welfare, and it kept its fertility licence then but that licence has now been suspended which means the clinic cannot take on any new patients although those receiving fertility treatment currently, if they are taking it on the services so far, will be able to continue to do so. sham; the services so far, will be able to continue to do so.— continue to do so. any price reporting- — you can get more on that story on the bbc news app and you can look ahead to the oscars. there is a preview of some of the people that we think might be up for an oscar. stay with us here.

the rain is driven by a big area of low pressure to the south, a swirl of cloud and we are on the northern flank and we have a strong easterly wind blowing across the uk today. when you are exposed to the wind, especially the north sea coast where it stays cloudy, it will feel decidedly cool, some bits and pieces of rain in the mix, especially over the south west of england by the end of the afternoon and limited bright orsunny of the afternoon and limited bright or sunny spells and generally quite a lot of clout and as we head through the evening the winds will ease a bit over the south and it was stay blustery in the northern half of the uk with extensive cloud and outbreaks of slightly heavier rain pushing north in england and wales and generally damages holding between five and 9 degrees. the low

pressure will be with us but the low tending to weaken and they will sow the wind is easing over southern parts and it stays blustery in northern parts and again there will be a lot of cloud and if anything, more clout for many areas then we have had today and more rain as well. across many parts of england and wales, may be holding onto some brightness in north—west scotland and may be something brighter into the south—west of england and sunshine for the channel islands. the strongest winds for sunday in northern areas and again exposed to the win, aberdeen just six celsius, and further south and west, london, plymouth and cardiff, 12 degrees. into monday, the easterly wind continues to ease but we will keep a lot of cloud and there will be bits and pieces of rain here and there, quite a lot of dry weather as well and temperatures between six and 11 degrees. there is a change on the way later in the week because we will start to see areas of low pressure pushing in from the atlantic and that will change the

wind direction and we will lose the easterly wind and pick up what they south or south—westerly wind and that will bring a milder feel to proceedings. temperatures climbing as we head to the middle and end of the week but do not expect blue skies and sunshine all the day. they will be some rain at times.