welcome to bbc news. we start with president biden who s made an impassioned defence of the good friday agreement 25 years after it was signed. he said northern ireland will not go back that the enemies of peace will not prevail. he was talking to students at ulster university where he talked about the need for renewal and repair it matters to me personally he said. the president is expected to land at dublin airport in the next half an hour the start of three days in ireland a mix of politics and events linked to his strong irish roots. more on that in a moment. but it s been a busy, busy day for the president. it started with a meeting with rishi sunak, both expressing their hope that power sharing can be restored. joe biden also met the leaders of the five main parties off camera he said he was in listening mode. these the pictures after the president spoke at the university, he clearly was enjoying every bit of the visit it was so obvious the way he en
And coming up in Sportsday On Bbc News the best manager in the world Claudio Ranieri is honoured by fifa for taking leicester to the Premier League title. Good evening. An honest discussion is needed about the way people use accident and Emergency Departments in englands hospitals. Thats the message from jeremy hunt the Health Secretary as hospitals Report Unprecendented demand during the winter months. Hes also suggested that patients with less Serious Problems might no longer be covered by a commitment to be seen within four hours. But he has denied suggestions from the red cross that the nhs is facing a humanitarian crisis. Our Health Editor hugh pym has the latest. Whatever the intense pressure on the nhs theres a commitment for hospitals to assess or treat almost all patients within four hours of arriving at a e. But at a time when the service in england is creaking under the strain thats been thrown into doubt. Secretary jeremy hunt. The Health Secretary jeremy into doubt. Secret
Britons on a beach in tunisia in 2015 hears that the shooting could have been stopped sooner. And a young woman abducted as a baby 18 years ago has now been reunited with both her biological parents. Its five oclock. Our main story is the political crisis in Northern Ireland, where the Power Sharing Executive has collapsed following sinn feins refusal today to nominate a new Deputy First Minister to replace Martin Mcguinness. The First Minister and dup leader, Arlene Foster, has accused sinn fein of risking Northern Irelands stability for political Self Interest by forcing an election. The Northern Ireland secretary is expected to make a statement within the hour. The crisis was provoked by the mishandling of an Energy Scheme which could cost the taxpayer half a billion pounds. Sinn fein have accused Arlene Foster of failing to take responsibility for it. My colleague Annita Mcveigh is in stormont for us. Thank you very much. Good evening from stormont, where in the last few moments, t
Deputy first minister, Martin Mcguinness has announced hes to retire from frontline politics, and wont seek re election to the Stormont Assembly in march. He says hes planning to stand down in may, on the tenth anniversary of devolved government and power sharing. Hes been speaking to our Northern Ireland Political Editor mark devenport. In the aftermath of the Assembly Election last year i agreed to stay on. I was very honoured to be asked to stay on by the party as deputy first minister, but i said i would do it for a further year, which would bring me to 8th of may. This year would have been the tenth anniversary, and say ian paisley said it was an historic moment. I thought it was an appropriate time for me to stand aside as debbie first minister, and make for a new Sinn Fein Deputy first minister. But of course, the best laid plans Of Mice And Men came into play deputy first mr. I have had two situations to deal with, one is the crisis at stormont, and my own health problems, whic
Dozens are missing, feared dead, after an avalanche engulfed a hotel for skiers in central italy. And a french win in record time in the Vendee Globe Race one of the Worlds Toughest sporting challenges. And coming up in Sportsday On Bbc News another Series Defeat for englands cricketers in india, as they lose by 15 runs in the second one dayer. Good evening. Donald trump is in Washington Dc tonight, on the eve of his inauguration as 45th president of the United States. The ceremony, on capitol hill, is expected to draw Hundreds Of Thousands of spectators to the nations capital, as mr trump takes the oath of office, before taking up residence at the white house. His Vice President , mike pence, said today that the Transition Team had been working flat out to ensure theyd be ready to implement mr trumps policies. Our North America Editorjon Sopel is in washington tonight. Thank you, and washington this evening is a city in a city undergoing profound change. Tonight, the obama is well spe