live from belfast, this is bbc news. applause a partner in peace — president biden recommits us support for the good friday agreement. so let's celebrate 25 extraordinary years by recommitting to renewal, repair, by making this exceptional peace the birthright of every child in northern ireland for all the days to come. the president will now move on to the republic of ireland, where he'll explore his family roots. our other main story: regrets? he's had a few. elon musk talks exclusively to the bbc about his difficult acquisition of twitter.

the pain level of twitter has been extremely high. this hasn't been some sort of party. welcome to belfast, to the ulster university, where you can still see a very heavy security presence here, as there has been across the city for the past few days with the us president in town, everyone has been listening to the speech that president biden has made to a small group to mark 25 years since the signing of the good friday agreement. he seemed to hit all the notes in his speech, that is what is being said, particularly poignant when he talked about the pain and suffering of families who lost loved ones

during the troubles. have a listen. thousands of families have been affected by the troubles. losses a re real. the pain was personal, i need not tell many people in this audience. every person killed in the troubles left an empty chair at the dining—room table. and a hole in the heart that was never filled for the ones they lost. peace was not inevitable. we can't ever forget that. there was nothing inevitable about it. as george mitchell often said, the negotiations had 700 days of failure and one day of success. 700 days of failure and one day of success. but they kept going because george and all the other members never stopped believing. this is the only official event that president biden is doing in belfast, there had initially been some

expectation that he might go to stormont, but there is now power—sharing here in northern ireland. that is a fundamental part of the good friday agreement that was signed 25 years ago, but it is not functioning at the moment because the democratic unionist party withdrew their support in protest at what they say is the post—brexit trading agreements that have been made. now, we know that president biden is a big supporter of the windsor framework, and he said that he really did help that power—sharing could resume. now, i know the uk's departure from the european union created complex challenges here in northern ireland. and i encourage the leaders of the uk and the eu to address the issues in a way that serves northern ireland's best interest. i deeply appreciate the personal leadership of prime minister sunak and european commissioner von der leyen to reach an agreement. the windsor framework addresses a practical reality of brexit and is an essential step to ensuring

hard earned peace and progress of the good friday agreement that they are preserved and strengthened. we know that president biden did to briefly with all the leaders of the political parties here, and there were handshakes and a few warm comments were made, before he gave the address. earlier in the day, there was not a bilateral meeting between the british prime minister, rishi sunak, and president biden, it is being called a bilatte meeting because they met over to kathy at the hotel. let's have a listen to what rishi sunak had to say about that. it's great to welcome president biden to the uk for the fourth time since he's become president, but particularly to a part of the uk that is very special and dear to him. it also reminds us of the contribution that america made to the peace process as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement. and president biden and i spoke a lot about that, and we spoke

in particular about the incredible economic opportunities that are there in store for northern ireland. and we talked about the investment potential that is there. the companies that want to invest in northern ireland, i think that's incredibly exciting, it will bring growth, jobs and prosperity to northern ireland. and i know he shares my ambition to see the institutions here back up and running. that's what people and businesses in northern ireland deserve. you're the british prime minister. why aren't we seeing more of you and him standing together, speaking together? you're not even going to his speech. has this trip really been worth it for you? well, it's the fourth time that president biden has visited the uk since he's become president. and he and i had a very good discussion today about a range of issues, economic investment in northern ireland, but also a range of foreign policy issues, the importance of economic security. and that comes on the back of a meeting i had with him last month in the us. i'm seeing him again next month at the g7 and then i'm going to washington injune.

look, we're very close partners and allies. we cooperate and talk on a range of things, whether that's supporting ukraine or, as i said, economic security. i think actually the relationship is in great shape and the president and i have lots that we're working on together. we have also been hearing from the leader of the main opposition party in the uk, he has been talking about president biden�*s visit. the us is a very important ally and played an important part in the good friday agreement. it is in everybody's interest that we move forward in the spirit of the good friday agreement, and we all want to see the institutions up and running, that is the best outcome from all of this, and america as a close ally has had a part in the history of that and the present as well. so that was sir keir starmer. we have a line to bring you about some political reaction here in northern ireland, the leader of the democratic unionist party, we have been talking a lot about the dup,

has said that the visit to northern ireland will not change his party's more than a year long boycott of the power—sharing government. there had been some help that because president biden is supportive of power—sharing and once devolved government to return to stormont, that he might be influential. jeffrey donaldson has said it doesn't change the political dynamic in northern ireland, we know what needs to happen. so this is coming just in the past few minutes, he says, we believe the british government needs to go further in terms of protecting northern ireland's place within the uk and our ability to trade within the uk internal market, that is what needs to happen to enable us to move forward towards the restoration of political institutions. so that is the response from the dup in the past few minutes to president biden. let's bring in a professor of social

policy here at ulster university, and we'll talk about those comments in a moment, but firstly, you are a professor at this university, how did it feel to have the us president arriving at your gleaming new university?— university? well, as you can imagine. — university? well, as you can imagine. we _ university? well, as you can imagine, we are _ university? well, as you can imagine, we are delighted, | university? well, as you can - imagine, we are delighted, thrilled, that we were picked to host this event, and of course we thought it was very symbolic, because when we look at this campus, a £350 million new investment in the north of the city, part of the city that was disproportionately affected by poverty, deprivation, bombings and violence, so to say this, i think it is symbolic of prosperity and peace and our hope for our young people, of course, because universities are all about young people. {iii of course, because universities are all about young people.— all about young people. of course, president biden _ all about young people. of course, president biden made _ all about young people. of course, president biden made that - all about young people. of course, president biden made that clear. all about young people. of course, i president biden made that clear from the start of his speech, that glass buildings like this, just to remind people, wouldn't have existed 25 years ago. it people, wouldn't have existed 25 ears a . o. ., ., people, wouldn't have existed 25 ears auo. ., ., , years ago. it would have been unthinkable, _ years ago. it would have been unthinkable, people - years ago. it would have been unthinkable, people would . years ago. it would have been l unthinkable, people would have years ago. it would have been - unthinkable, people would have been thinking, what are you doing? an explosion and it is all over. so it

is about the confidence in our city and in ourselves as a university, and in ourselves as a university, and i think his speech was perfect in tone and content. it felt very personal. i have been at other speakers where you just feel they are reading this from an autocue but do not believe it, but he talked about how you personally was invested in peace, how he has been here before and realised what people had gone through to get peace, and then talked about peace and prosperity and actually saying america stands ready to support you, we know that the gdp of northern ireland has doubled since the good friday agreement 25 years ago, and he is saying, look, the possibility is that it could triple, we could supercharge your economy, so whilst he was not saying get back to the power—sharing institutions, he was saying, these are the possibilities that are out there... it saying, these are the possibilities that are out there. . ._ that are out there... it was a little bit _ that are out there... it was a little bit of — that are out there... it was a little bit of carrot _ that are out there... it was a little bit of carrot and - that are out there... it was a little bit of carrot and stick, l little bit of carrot and stick, wasn't it, saying that? well, i

thou~ht wasn't it, saying that? well, i thought it _ wasn't it, saying that? well, i thought it was _ wasn't it, saying that? well, i thought it was interesting, i wasn't it, saying that? well, i thought it was interesting, he didn't refer to any one party or show any blame, and he was very careful to say that all of america is behind you and we are here for all of the people, an important part of the speech. i all of the people, an important part of the speech-— all of the people, an important part of the speech. i know you were here when he arrived _ of the speech. i know you were here when he arrived and _ of the speech. i know you were here when he arrived and all _ of the speech. i know you were here when he arrived and all the - when he arrived and all the political leaders were gathered, what was the atmosphere like? there was real excitement _ what was the atmosphere like? there was real excitement in _ what was the atmosphere like? there was real excitement in the _ what was the atmosphere like? ii—iiff was real excitement in the room, very friendly towards each other, there is no animosity, they can make small talk, they were taken out of the room before the address so that they could have a short private meeting with him, but i believe that would just have been niceties, no real political talk here. but i think there will also be some relief from rishi sunak thatjoe biden was very careful not to get involved in the day—to—day politics here, really just giving an overarching positive view of what could happen, but not saying this is what you need to do. that was very important, and he said, you need to get the institutions back up and running, but that is for you to decide. just

this one event _ but that is for you to decide. just this one event in _ but that is for you to decide. just this one event in belfast, he is not here for long, and is off to the republic of ireland now. do people say that as a snub, or is it not the minutes that count? i say that as a snub, or is it not the minutes that count?— minutes that count? i think it is extraordinary, _ minutes that count? i think it is extraordinary, and _ minutes that count? i think it is extraordinary, and i _ minutes that count? i think it is extraordinary, and i think- minutes that count? i think it is i extraordinary, and i think perhaps only in northern ireland could we have the most powerful politician in the world come to visit us and we would see it in some way as a snub. we are a population of 1.9 million people, we have extraordinary access to the white house, to washington, to the white house, to washington, to soft power, to diplomacy, and the fact that president biden made it his business to come here to visit us, i don't think we should see that in a neat negative light. in fact, what with the optics look like if he had gone to stormont and the politicians...? they had all arrived for the day and people would have said, are you kidding me, is this a stunt?! so i think the optics were much better, he had a number of meetings on this campus, and it is not about the length of time he

spent here, yes, a lot of people would say blink and you will miss it, a fleeting visit, but what did they really expect the president to do? go around the garden centres? he was here at a seat of learning, it was here at a seat of learning, it was symbolically important, he gave the message and reiterated the fact that america is behind us and they will support us with investment, and we didn't mention the fact that he broughtjoe kennedy, his economic envoy, he was not leaving today, he is staying until friday, he will have in—depth meetings with political parties and voluntary and community sectors and businesses, and that is where the real work will be done, where they will be saying, get on with it, move on, these are the possibilities.— the possibilities. when you say that, net the possibilities. when you say that. get on — the possibilities. when you say that, get on with _ the possibilities. when you say that, get on with it, _ the possibilities. when you say that, get on with it, how - the possibilities. when you say that, get on with it, how deep | the possibilities. when you say. that, get on with it, how deep is this level of frustration in northern ireland that there isn't political progress?— political progress? people are exasperated, _ political progress? people are exasperated, exhausted, - political progress? people are exasperated, exhausted, and| political progress? people are - exasperated, exhausted, and when you walk down the streets, they will say, why can they notjust get on with it? we need a government. and you only have to talk to people

about their own personal lives, the health service, the poverty and deprivation, the unemployment, the economic activity, and the things we cannot access because we do not have a government. some people saying, well, we are in limbo, but if you are treading water, you are moving backwards. we don't have a minister for health, there is no—one to address a waiting list, no—one to look at the crisis in a&e, so people are saying, who is in control? because at some point, rishi sunak is going to have to say, either we go to the dup timetable and let them decide if we ever have a government again, all he says to the dup, no, thatis again, all he says to the dup, no, that is it, we will have a different type of coalition, a weighted coalition where you do not have to be in it, or he will take the power entirely away from northern ireland and say we are going to direct rule. because what we cannot have is this indirect direct rule, where who is

indirect direct rule, where who is in charge? no decisions are being made, and we are going backwards. i don't think it would be tolerated in any other region of the uk, and i don't think we should have to tolerate it. 50 don't think we should have to tolerate it.— don't think we should have to tolerate it. ., ., . tolerate it. so great to hear your thou:hts, tolerate it. so great to hear your thoughts, thank _ tolerate it. so great to hear your thoughts, thank you _ tolerate it. so great to hear your thoughts, thank you for - tolerate it. so great to hear your thoughts, thank you forjoining l tolerate it. so great to hear your. thoughts, thank you forjoining us on bbc news as we continue our live coverage of the visit to northern ireland. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. brandon wanted to experience what it was like to experience a piece of art. a painting described to him inspired him to create its own textured pictures out of broil. when eo - le textured pictures out of broil. when peeple say. — textured pictures out of broil. when peeple say. i _ textured pictures out of broil. when peeple say. i have _ textured pictures out of broil. when people say, i have seen _ textured pictures out of broil. when people say, i have seen a _ textured pictures out of broil. the�*uéi�*i people say, i have seen a shooting star, or look at this rare creature in our garden, ijust thought, i can't see any of that, and then when they bought the picture, it clicked. brandon has never seen a bird before, so he will feel a model to get the general shape and type out

the shape in braille check it with his family to make sure it represents what it is meant to be. his mentor has been helping him to turn his greeting cards into a business. he turn his greeting cards into a business-_ turn his greeting cards into a business. , ., ., , business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the — business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea _ business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea is _ business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea is that _ business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea is that he - business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea is that he has - business. he is so innovative in his ideas, the idea is that he has got. | ideas, the idea is that he has got. at the _ ideas, the idea is that he has got. at the moment, he is working on a personalised card order, but he also plans to help local businesses make themselves more accessible to blind visitors. another big story to bring you today, a remarkable interview that james clayton has managed to get with elon musk, who has told him that his takeover of twitter was not only painful, but he described it as being like a roller—coaster. it was a live interview in which he defended sucking most of twitter�*s 8000 staff, saying that twitter would have gone bankrupt otherwise.

we all know, i think, who elon musk is, the multi—billionaire who also told james that he would indeed sell twitter if the right person came along. he said it was roughly breaking even. it is a fascinating interview with those insights that he gives, he has been an elusive figure at times, let's have a listen to the conversation he had with james. there's a lot going on, so this might be a good opportunity to answer some questions. and, you know, i guess, maybe get some feedback. what should we be doing different? i know the bbc were not thrilled about being labelled state affiliated media. n ot exa ctly. i was going to get to that later, but let's get to that now, it has officially objected to that term. yeah, we want to be as truthful and accurate as possible, so i think we are adjusting the label to be publicly funded,

which i think perhaps is not too objectionable. we are trying to be accurate. i am not the bbc, but... ..publicly funded is how the bbc describes itself. so that would be accurate. if we use the same words the bbc uses to describe itself, presumably that would be ok. i'm not asking you for a yes or no since you are not running the bbc per se, it probably seems to pass a reasonability test. so you are going to change the labels on the bbc twitter feed and npr's? yeah, publicly funded. basically we are trying to be as accurate as possible. all right, fine. almost immediately, you fired a lot of twitter employees, and i spoke to them. what they said was that it felt quite haphazard, and a little bit uncaring.

i wouldn't say uncaring. the issue is that the company will go bankrupt if we do not cut costs immediately. this is not about caring or not caring — if the whole ship sinks, nobody will have a job. you let go of a lot of staff and started making some policy decisions. one of those decisions was to bring donald trump back. he hasn't actually tweeted yet. do you expect him to come back? have you spoken to him? i haven't spoken to him. he may or may not come back. the point is that twitter should be a town square that gives equal voice to the whole country and ideally the whole world. it should not be a partisan politics... moreover, partisan politics that are on the very far

left of the spectrum. san francisco berkeley politics normally is quite niche. twitter effectively acted as a megaphone for very niche regional politics and megaphoned that to the world. so in order for something to serve as a digital town square, it must serve people from all political persuasions... free speech is meaningless unless you allow people you don't like to say things that you don't like. otherwise, it is irrelevant. the point at which you lose free speech, it doesn't come back. i think the issue some people have is a lot of people were brought back. some people brought back who were previously banned for spreading things like qanon conspiracies. you had people like andrew tate brought back who were previously banned for things like hate speech. do you think you prioritise freedom of speech over misinformation and hate speech?

who is to say that something is misinformation? who is the arbiter of that? is it the bbc? are you literally asking me? you are the arbiter on twitter, because you own twitter. who is to say that one person's misinformation is another person's information. who is going to decide that? but you accept that misinformation can be dangerous and cause real world harm? the bbc itself has, at times, published things that are at times false. do you agree that that has occurred? i am quite sure that the bbc has said things before that turn out to not be true in its 100—year history, i am quite sure. even if you aspire to be accurate, there are times where you will not be.

in the grand scheme of things, the bbc does strive to be accurate. but you accept that there has to be a line in terms of hate speech? you are not looking at 100% unrestricted free speech? i am generally of the opinion that if the people of a given country are against a certain type of speech, they should speak to their elected representatives and pass a law to prevent it. james clayton speaking to elon musk. more on the website, of course, the bbc news website, and james' thoughts about that interview as well, remarkable really, he was only given half an hour to prepare for it, but not in interview that you turn down. well worth going on to the website and taking a look at all of his comments about what it was like to interview elon musk. a small piece of breaking news that

comes from london, but it is from rishi sunak, the british prime minister, who says there is going to be a uk—ireland bed for the 2028 euros. he says if it is successful, the games would be the biggest sporting event that our islands have jointly staged. football has a habit of creating special memories, and in 2028 we want to create new memories for a new generation across england, scotland, wales, northern ireland and ireland, the biggest event of the islands have ever staged. rob watson is with me, because he has been watching president biden�*s speech, i will ask you to comment first on this footballing moment. it is not often that i would castigate a dear colleague, but did you describe that as a small news?! john lloyd i can tell you, for millions of us football fans... i

lloyd i can tell you, for millions of us football fans. . .— of us football fans. .. i am a massive _ of us football fans. .. i am a massive football _ of us football fans. .. i am a massive football fan! - of us football fans. .. i am a - massive football fan! seriously, for fans across — massive football fan! seriously, for fans across the _ massive football fan! seriously, for fans across the islands, _ massive football fan! seriously, for fans across the islands, the - massive football fan! seriously, for fans across the islands, the island l fans across the islands, the island of ireland and the rest of the british isles, it is huge, and because one of the products, one of the british products best known around the world, apart from the bbc, of course, is the premier league, so the idea of bringing a football contest to britain and ireland is a big deal, and i will be curious to see whether it gets off the ground. the, curious to see whether it gets off the ground-— curious to see whether it gets off the round. �* , ., ., . . the ground. a showcase of all that the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and — the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and ireland _ the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and ireland has _ the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and ireland has to - the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and ireland has to offer, i the ground. a showcase of all that the uk and ireland has to offer, a | the uk and ireland has to offer, a landmark moment, i am immensely proud to be backing the bid. i will]! proud to be backing the bid. i will certainly be _ proud to be backing the bid. i will certainly be going _ proud to be backing the bid. i will certainly be going for— proud to be backing the bid. ithe ii. certainly be going for tickets! on a more serious note, given that brexit put a strain on relations between britain and ireland, which since the good friday agreement, saying that is what we came here to talk about, that has made a huge difference. if you think, for hundreds of years,

relations between dublin and london were very difficult, the good friday agreement partly was possible because those relationships had changed, and brexit has put a strain, there are no two ways about it, so the idea of britain and ireland jointly bidding for such a major sporting tournament does suggest that they are on better terms again. tide suggest that they are on better terms again-— suggest that they are on better terms again. suggest that they are on better terms aaain. . . , ., ., terms again. we have 'ust heard from president biden, — terms again. we have 'ust heard from president biden, and — terms again. we have just heard from president biden, and it _ terms again. we have just heard from president biden, and it was _ terms again. we have just heard from president biden, and it was a - terms again. we have just heard from president biden, and it was a speechl president biden, and it was a speech that many people are saying hitjust the right note, the right sort of town. what did you make of it? i think that he did what we thought he was going to do, and that is to remind people that, you know, yes, northern ireland has its problems and it is clearly still an immensely segregated society, two communities in parts where they are separated by walls. yes, we all know how the power—sharing element has fallen down. the key message that president biden wanted to put out there was

this is peace and there has been nothing inevitable about peace, but there was something precious about peace, and i think you genuinely felt that, look, people take it for granted in northern ireland and around the world, people who had seen the conflict before, and i was going to use the phrase gentle, but i guess a quiet reminder, hey, count your blessings, it is extraordinary that such a vital conflict came to an end. ., , that such a vital conflict came to an end. .,, ., ., that such a vital conflict came to an end. .,, an end. people in the room said it reall felt an end. people in the room said it really felt like _ an end. people in the room said it really felt like he _ an end. people in the room said it really felt like he meant _ an end. people in the room said it really felt like he meant it, - an end. people in the room said it really felt like he meant it, there | really felt like he meant it, there was an authenticity to it.- was an authenticity to it. yes, i think peeple — was an authenticity to it. yes, i think people who _ was an authenticity to it. yes, i think people who have - was an authenticity to it. yes, i think people who have watched president biden talk about this and other issues sort of feel there are things that he genuinely cares about, this is clearly one of them. he mentioned how we had this long history of interest and how the stated states as now, it is complicated, because what is referred to as the unionist community, those who want a united ireland are historically suspicious of american involvement, but i think

you could tell he meant what he said. , ., ., you could tell he meant what he said. , . ., . you could tell he meant what he said. , ., ., ., you could tell he meant what he said. , . ., . y., , you could tell he meant what he said. , ., ., . , ., said. great to have you with us and net our said. great to have you with us and get your thoughts, _ said. great to have you with us and get your thoughts, thank _ said. great to have you with us and get your thoughts, thank you - said. great to have you with us and get your thoughts, thank you for i get your thoughts, thank you for joining us here in bbc news. some stormy weather affecting southern and western parts of the uk, and if we look at the satellite picture, we can see why. this beautiful swirl of cloud, an area of low pressure initially named by the french weather service as storm noa, and it has been adopted here because of the impact it is having here. there is a swathe of strong winds, and so i met office warning for parts of southern england and south south—west wales, gusts of up to 75 mph for the most exposed coasts but pretty windy inland as well. even further north, blustery for a time.

we will see showers or longer spells of rain, thunderand we will see showers or longer spells of rain, thunder and lightning mixed in, hail, sleet for high ground in wales and north—west england, snow over the highest ground in scotland. some sunny spells between all of that, temperatures of 9—12 , so feeling chilly. through tonight, the wins will slowly ease we will keep some showers going, still some wintry ones of a high ground in scotland, clear spells as well, and temperatures will drop fairly close to freezing, so they could just be a touch of frost in places. tomorrow, then, we will still see some showers, some of which will be heavy and possibly thundery, sunny spells between the showers. it isn't going to be as windy, but it will still feel relatively cool, with top temperatures of 9 degrees in aberdeen and newcastle, 12 or 13 for norwich and london. as we look ahead to friday, another weather system running in from the west, the wind is not as strong this time, but outbreaks of rain affecting parts of

wales, the midlands, into southern england. further north, spells of sunshine, but showers will pop up, some on the heavy side, may be something wintry over the mountains in scotland, temperatures still between nine and 12 degrees. as we head through the weekend, there was temperatures start to climb, we are losing the chilly air, and instead we pick up more of a southerly breeze, see the orange coloured spreading across the child. temperatures will be on the rise, through the weekend and into next week, easily up into the high teens, but some places could see highs of 21 or 22 degrees.

inflation in the us slows by more than expected — but the imf tells the bbc that central banks must stand firm on raising rates. elon musk says he's confident twitter�*s advertisers will return and he can make the company profitable again — he speaks exclusively to the bbc. and two thirds of vehicles should be electric within a decade — the us announces ambitious plans to cut greenhouse emissions. welcome to world business report.