welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: the us announces a further $1 billion in military aid for kyiv and urges allies to provide more weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. police searching the amazon for two missing men say they've found human remains. more than a million children in afghanistan, are facing malnutrition, as the country struggles with an economic crisis. we hear from families desperately trying to survive. i feel ashamed ifeel ashamed in i feel ashamed in front of my family that i am so poor, i cannot afford to provide good food. my sons are really thin because they are not eating well.

the us central bank announces the biggest rise in us interest rates in nearly 30 years, to combat surging inflation. and, spain, southern france, and parts of italy swelter through an extreme heatwave. authorities are warning of water shortages. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. new us aid for ukraine, worth a billion dollars, has been announced by president biden. it includes additional artillery and coastal defence weapons, as well as ammunition for artillery and advanced rocket systems. new pledges came from nato members who met in brussels. the us defence secretary said he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine gets the weapons it needs to combat russia's invasion. here's a little of what lloyd austin had to say.

we can't afford to let up, and we can't lose steam. the stakes are too high. ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield. and we're seeing what president zelensky warned us about. after failing to take kyiv and reassessing its combat aims, russia has shifted its focus to the donbas. and we can't underestimate the challenge that ukraine faces. president zelensky thanked president biden and said he was grateful to the united states for mobilising its partners to help. translation: the united states announced the strengthening - of our defences, an extra £1 billion support package. it is coastal defences, artillery and modern rocket systems. we are waiting. i am grateful for the support which is particularly

important for our defences in the donbas. i am nowjoined by retired general wesley clark, former supreme commander of nato forces. he's in little rock, arkansas. thank you very much for making the time for us and a very good evening to you there in arkansas. $1 billion of an additional us military support, what is your reaction to this? glad to see it announced and a hope other countries will follow suit. i will say that the ukrainian perspective of we often hear as they are very impressed and pleased from the level of support from great britain and i hope that britain and all the other countries in europe will follow suit.- europe will follow suit. what would you — europe will follow suit. what would you like _ europe will follow suit. what would you like to _ europe will follow suit. what would you like to see - europe will follow suit. what would you like to see other i would you like to see other countries promising to give? look, we are at an inflection point in really global history here. if ukraine goes down, all the talk about human rights and

the talk about human rights and the international legal system, rules—based international order of the united nations itself, everything is thrown up in the area injeopardy. it's a simple fact that vladimir putin is an aggressor, he wants to restore the soviet union and countries' independence. that is what world war ii was about, we set after that it would never happen again and now it is happening right in front of us that the question is, can the countries of the west including britain put enough armaments in there, given the ukrainians' willingness to mobilise and fight, can we give them the means to resist the russian onslaught? that is the question and it has to be brought in there quickly because they are under enormous pressure. saying we are going _ under enormous pressure. saying we are going to — under enormous pressure. saying we are going to send _ under enormous pressure. saying we are going to send more - we are going to send more weapons is one thing. actually getting the artillery there, especially these heavy rocket systems to the front lines is

another matter altogether. took us through some of the call challenges in delivering what is needed to ukraine. this three principal _ is needed to ukraine. ti 3 three principal challengers. first of all, you've got to get the weapons through 700 miles of contested territory. of course the closer you get to the front, the more risk there is to the delivery of the weapons. you've got to get people trained on the weapons system and every nation's weapons are a little bit different. the french system is certainly different from the systems britain has committed to send, and the third thing is people have got to be trained on it and the fourth is you've got to get the logistics training, including the ammunition so the spares, the manuals on how to do the checks and repairs on it. all of that has to be blocked together so you know, it was one thing when you know, it was one thing when you were sending an star street

and stinger missiles and things that were hand—held. they either work or they don't, maybe you need to send occasional batteries and spares but when you are dealing with heavy weapons you are dealing with lots of logistics, maintenance and support, to support, factory support. it requires a real strong planning process and that has been what has slowed them down so far. $1 billion is a lot of money but then by the same token america's military is the biggest and best funded in the world, nato is the biggest military alliance in the world. are you disappointed that more hasn't been done thus far with yellow you asking my personal opinion? you bet i'm disappointed.- opinion? you bet i'm disappointed. opinion? you bet i'm disauointed. , ., ., disappointed. we should have done a lot _ disappointed. we should have done a lot more _ disappointed. we should have done a lot more sooner, - done a lot more sooner, starting before the invasion we should have declared a no—fly zone. but we didn't, either we did about it or we didn't want to do it. stopping maybe we thought that ukraine would only last a few days but this too was stopping the first war,

ukraine won. that was the rush by the russians to get to kyiv, they lost. this is a different battle in donbas and we are in a competitive race to restructure, rebuild, retrain or train to be able to fight mobile armoured warfare in open terrain. so the loan javelin gunner, standing against the tree, who moves the tank from behind when it's stuck on a road, that was the last war, they won that war it stopping this one is going to take mobil artillery, and here is the problem, there isn't really enough left in the old stock held by our east european allies to do what ukraine needs and some of that equipment is no good anyway. so some are going to have to start

transitioning to nato equipment. that means challenger tanks, logistics, a whole set of training that has got to be done during wartime. it is going to be a tough matter but we have got to get going on this. mil matter but we have got to get going on thie— going on this. all right, we will have — going on this. all right, we will have to _ going on this. all right, we will have to leave - going on this. all right, we will have to leave it - going on this. all right, we will have to leave it there, | will have to leave it there, former supreme of nato forces. we are very grateful for your time, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the uk government says its disappointed the european union is launching legal action in response to its plans to change the post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. the european commission said the measures announced on monday were "illegal" and there was no justification for them. a second ethics advisor to the british prime minister has tendered his resignation in a move that has taken downing street by surprise. christopher geidt said he felt it was the right thing to do. he has previously said he thought there were legitimate questions over whether boris johnson had broken the ministerial code.

the man accused of shooting dead ten people last month in the us city of buffalo has been charged with multiple hate crimes. payton gendron, a suspected white supremacist, is the first person in new york state to face charges of domestic terrorism motivated by hate. the government of el salvador has dismissed ongoing worries about its public finances after economists raised further concern about its adoption of bitcoin. a crash in cryptocurrencies has affected investors worldwide, with tokens such as bitcoin losing billions of dollars' worth in value. a civil law suit brought by brigitte macron, the wife of the french president, has begun, in which she accuses two people of spreading rumours that she is a transgender woman. the fake news story was spread on social media last year. mrs macron says that as a victim of cyber—harassment, she wanted to speak out and set an example

more than a million children face severe malnutrition as afghanistan struggles with an economic crisis. humanitarian aid is being delivered, but there are warnings that much more help is needed. as the taliban focus on curbing the rights of women, many families have resorted to desperate measures, as our afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani reports from kabul. we're in one of afghanistan's busiest markets. there's plenty for sale, but for most families, money is tighter than ever. this stall tells you how much some are struggling. these sacks are full of stale, leftover bread, normally fed to cattle. now more people than ever are eating it themselves. translation: the better quality | bread is on the top of the bag. i

when poor people come to buy, they pick these better ones. look, this one cannot be eaten. before, five people used to buy this bread in a day. now it's more than 20 people. what does it feel like, doing this job and seeing so many people having to buy this bread? translation: i pray to god to get rid of this misery - and poverty from my country. the life of afghan people right now is like a bird which has been locked in a cage with no food or water. bread is the staple food here in afghanistan. but there's a deep economic crisis. international development funding the country relied on has largely been cut off and central bank reserves frozen by the west over concerns about the taliban's hard—line treatment of women. but it's poor families like hashmadullah's who are now struggling with rising food prices. before, did you ever used to have to buy bread from here?

translation: in the past, - i used to make over $6 per day, but now i barely earn $1. i've been working since this morning, and all i can afford to buy is this bread. leftover bread is handed over by bakeries, restaurants and homes to scrap collectors like 14—year—old mohammed. but with around half the country going hungry, there's less bread, less of everything. "there's not enough work, and myjob is very hard," mohammed says. hashmadullah is making his way home after another disappointing day at the market. he's doing his best to keep his three young sons in school rather than sending them out to work. but it means surviving mainly on stale bread, softened with tomatoes and onions. you work hard for your family. how does it feel just being able

to bring this home for them? translation: | feel ashamed in front - of my family that i'm so poor, i cannot afford to provide good food. there is nothing i can do. even if i try to borrow money, no one will lend it to me. my sons are really thin because they're not eating well. i cannot afford meat, even once a month. 0utside kabul�*s bakeries, women wait for loaves of fresh bread to be donated. even when billions were pouring into this country, corruption, the war, meant that life here was a struggle. now the war might be over, but for many, the struggle is getting even harder. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: record temperatures as spain, southern france, and parts of italy swelter through an extreme heatwave.

there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act which, for 40 years, forcibly classified each citizen according to race. just a day old and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home. | early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and fatherl to their apartments . in kensington palace. germany's parliament, the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of - the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think we might be able to persuade the wife it would be a good idea, if i could, to get her to go

up there for a little while. this is bbc news. our main story: the us announces a further $1 billion in military aid for kyiv and urges allies to provide more weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. the us central bank has announced a rise in interest rates of three quarters of a percentage point — the largest since 1994. the federal reserve is trying to curb inflation which reached an annual rate of more than 8.5% last month. nina trentmann, bureau chief at the wall streetjournal, joins us now from new york. good to see you. it is the biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years. why now was yellow well, you just mentioned it, basically because of recent inflation figures that came out

on friday. inflation figures that came out on friday-— inflation figures that came out on frida .j~ ~ ., . on friday. 8.6 four may, which is an increase _ on friday. 8.6 four may, which is an increase from _ on friday. 8.6 four may, which is an increase from 8.3 - on friday. 8.6 four may, which is an increase from 8.3 in - is an increase from 8.3 in april, similar to what we saw in march. i think wejust april, similar to what we saw in march. i think we just saw in march. i think we just saw in recent days there was this momentum building up in the markets and among market participants and also then federal reserve officials are saying, well, 0k, federal reserve officials are saying, well, ok, maybe we should wait untiljuly to increase rates by that much, but we should do it now, given that the fed also faces criticism of having waited too long before it started raising rates and wound down is quantitative easing programmes that were launched in the pandemic to help the economy. now, of course, we are seeing inflation being persistently high, influenced by various factors and, in effect, just trying to take action and trying to take action and trying to take action and trying to tab down inflation —— the fed. trying to tab down inflation -- the fed. . , trying to tab down inflation -- the fed. ., .. , ., trying to tab down inflation -- the fed. ., , ., ., , the fed. tragically, what does the fed. tragically, what does the interest _ the fed. tragically, what does the interest rates _ the fed. tragically, what does the interest rates mean - the fed. tragically, what does the interest rates mean for. the interest rates mean for day—to—day living for most people was yellow one thing to

watch will be mortgage rates. mortgage rates have gone up significantly in recent months and so the expectation is that will continue with the rates increasing. we will also see increases in financing costs for companies, as well as increases in, sort of, interest charged for consumer loans as banks start to pass on these high interest rates to their customers, which includes consumers, corporate clients, so this of course is going to be gradual because rates are still comparatively low after a very long time when they were near zero. so was going to take time until they are at a low level where one would say this is now a significantly higher rate, rememberwe is now a significantly higher rate, remember we have gone from 1.5 two rate, remember we have gone from 1.5two 1.75 rate, remember we have gone from 1.5 two 1.75 metres still historically speaking relatively low. but still it will show, and consumers as well as businesses will see it.

on that business run, it is often smaller businesses, they don't have the cushioning that larger businesses have, they tend to be affected by these things more quickly, what will happen to businesses, what will they have to do to mitigate against this? i they have to do to mitigate against this?— against this? i think as you ointed against this? i think as you pointed out _ against this? i think as you pointed out quite - against this? i think as you pointed out quite rightly, l against this? i think as you j pointed out quite rightly, it depends very much by who we mean by business. because the large us corporate s&p 500 and it was a 500, they have seen this coming and, of course, since the summer of last year basically started refinancing existing maturities and have pushed out any upcoming debt maturities to 2024— 2025, so there is not necessarily that many companies in the investment rate space that will be impacted by this are largely impacted by this, it is of course different if we are document smaller businesses and talking about companies that don't have very strong credit ratings that are below investment rate space. the expectation is that pressures will rise for those companies

and there is going to be an increase in defaults and in financial stresses. of course, coming from a low base, defaults have been pretty low in recent months, but there is going to be a change for those businesses and what we are seeing is that companies across the board are, of course, reviewing the financial statements and they are looking at the voser and, of course, trying to take mitigating actions, including seeking additionalfunding, if needed, additional funding, if needed, as additionalfunding, if needed, as well as, as a pointed out earlier, pushing out maturities and trying to prepare for more interest rates to come, because the fed was also pretty clear today that today's rate hike was just one of several more to come, so the expectation from a corporate perspective is from now on and even before was that just financing costs will keep going up. the expectation is for next year in 2023 to have a federal funds rates of around

3.75, which, of course, is quite an increase from previous projections from the fed. so that 3.75% gets us to a level where also things will start getting... where also things will start getting- - -_ where also things will start getting- - -— where also things will start caettin... �* ., ., getting... ok, we'll have leave it there. nina _ getting... ok, we'll have leave it there. nina trentmann, - it there. nina trentmann, bureau chief at the wall street journal in new york. thank you. let's get more on ukraine. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has been given rare access to the us military base in germany where they're co—ordinating supplies of military aid. western weapons have been arriving in ukraine and are being used to deadly effect. more recently, they've been sending more heavy equipment... ..artillery guns like this, but ukraine says it's still not enough. and they're vastly outgunned by russia. but from this us military base in stuttgart, germany, western nations are working hard to keep the weapons flowing.

and the us commander of this highly sensitive operation insists ukraine is getting what it needs. we are giving the ukrainians what they need. we're co—ordinating with them daily. we have a liaison officer here, it's a three—star general, that sets their priorities, shares it with us and our allies in our daily co—ordination sessions. and we're able to adjust very rapidly in the donations that are provided across the allies. so, you don't think ukraine's going to run out of weapons and ammunition? we're going to make sure they don't run out of weapons and ammunition. from this austere building, they're working round—the—clock to prevent russia from winning this war. the attic of this barracks behind me has now become the nerve centre, the hub for co—ordinating western weapons supplies to ukraine. we've been told we can't film

inside for security reasons, but inside, there are military personnel from 26 countries trying to ensure ukraine gets the ammunition and the weapons it needs. this has become a lifeline for ukraine. these are the first photos from inside cleared by the us military. so far, dozens of soldiers from dozens of countries have already helped deliver 66,000 tonnes of military equipment to ukraine worth nearly $8 billion. and they believe it's just the start. here, they're preparing for a very long war. it's not going to be months. well, how long is it going to be? i think we'll be here for a number of years. they're already preparing to send in american and british multiple rocket launchers. they say once they arrive at secret locations in eastern europe, weapons can get to the front line within 48 hours. ukraine still says it's not enough, but the message from stuttgart is that it's keeping them in the fight. jonathan beale, bbc news,

patch barracks, stuttgart. police in brazil searching for the bodies of two men, a britishjournalist dom phillips and a brazilian expert on indigenous people, bruno pereira, have found human remains. police in the city of manaus, in the state of amazonas, say a suspect has confessed to killing the two men and he apparently led detectives to the place where the bodies were found.

there are warnings of water shortages in italy. michael le vell reports. five days on, spain's searing heat wave is all the talk at the school gates. translation: , ., translation: there is fainting, heatstroke. _ translation: there is fainting, heatstroke, children _ translation: there is fainting, heatstroke, children unable - translation: there is fainting, heatstroke, children unable to i heatstroke, children unable to pay attention in class. i heatstroke, children unable to pay attention in class.- pay attention in class. i had thou~ht pay attention in class. i had thought of— pay attention in class. i had thought of taking _ pay attention in class. i had thought of taking the - pay attention in class. i had thought of taking the kids l thought of taking the kids swimming are not to school, at least _ swimming are not to school, at least this— swimming are not to school, at least this week wallet is 40 degrees. least this week wallet is 40 de . rees. �* , , least this week wallet is 40 decrees. �* _ degrees. but even by the pool in madrid _ degrees. but even by the pool in madrid people _ degrees. but even by the pool in madrid people are - degrees. but even by the pool in madrid people are being - in madrid people are being urged to take care. translation: ~ ., , translation: when we have these hi . h translation: when we have these high temperatures _ translation: when we have these high temperatures it _ translation: when we have these high temperatures it is _ translation: when we have these high temperatures it is crucial- high temperatures it is crucial to hydrate, use sun protection and what your every half—hour. waiting tables is also becoming a challenge. translation: ~ , a challenge. translation: , ., a challenge. translation: ~ , ., ., ., translation: we try to rotate colleagues — translation: we try to rotate colleagues between _ translation: we try to rotate colleagues between inside - translation: we try to rotate colleagues between inside and | colleagues between inside and out so we can get a bit of time with air—conditioning, which is very nice. with air-conditioning, which is very nice-— with air-conditioning, which is very nice. these temperatures are of particular _ very nice. these temperatures are of particular concern - very nice. these temperatures are of particular concern to - are of particular concern to spain's feathery friends. translation:— spain's feathery friends.

translation: , ., , ., translation: this early and intense heat _ translation: this early and intense heat wave, _ translation: this early and intense heat wave, which - translation: this early and intense heat wave, which willj intense heat wave, which will be more frequent in the future due to loma change, especially affects birds that are breeding and baby birds. many will die forged or will have to jump out of the nest before they are ready to unfold to the ground. with temperatures in spain expected to ease over the weekend, france is expecting its dose of extreme weather, where temperatures could pick above 40 celsius in the south—west between thursday and saturday. there is lots more background on all the stories we have been covering on our programme on the bbc website, including the us announcement of $1 billion of new aid for ukraine. that is all on the website. 0ryou ukraine. that is all on the website. or you can download the bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. please drop me a note, would love to hear from you. and the rest of the team here in london, thank you for your company. they will be back shortly with the latest

wellhead lies. until next time, see you soon, bye—bye. —— world headlines. well, we're certainly turning up the heat over the next couple of days. for southern parts of the uk, this is going to be a short—lived heat wave. and this is the peak — by friday, london and the southeast up to around 33—34 celsius. look at the average — so we're significantly higher compared to what we would normally see this time of the year. not unprecedented — the record is actually a little above 35 celsius. so we're not beating any records, but it's not that far away, if you think about it. now, this is what's happening on the satellite picture. here's the heat coming in from the south. we've got cooler air in the north atlantic — that cooler air will eventually win, i think by the time we get to saturday into sunday, things will start cooling off and storms will come our way as well, but not in the short term. this is what it looks like thursday morning — clear skies across england and wales, a bit more cloud in the northwest here with these atlantic weather systems just brushing the northwest of the british

isles, and bits and pieces of rain. some of the showers could turn a little heavy in the western isles, perhaps the north of northern ireland through the day. there's another weather front heading our way, but that's to come thursday night. but look at the temperatures — 28 in london, widely mid—20s into yorkshire, for example. we could actually hit 30 celsius on thursday. now, here's a reminder of the pollen levels — if you've been struggling with your nose and itchy eyes, the pollen levels are very high. and also, it's worth mentioning the uv levels — we are approaching the longest day of the year, the sun's high in the sky. you know, make sure you're very careful if you're out for any lengthy period of time in that sunshine. so, here's a look at the weather for friday. this will actually be the peak of the heat — so these south—southwesterly winds draw up that hot air from the south, 33—34 celsius, all the hot air coming in from france. the northwest of the country, much fresher here — this is that cooler atlantic air already starting to spread in.

17 celsius in glasgow. and this is what happens during the course of saturday — so that cooler atlantic air wrapping around this low pressure spreads across the country, here's the cold front. the heat is pushed to the south, back into france, and we get into this area of storminess. so come the weekend, whether you like it or not, after a hot and sunny friday, it's all going to go "bang".

this is bbc news, the headlines: united states has announced a new practice of airy aid to ukraine worth $1 billion and urged allies to give more military aid to kyiv. you pledges a couple nato members meeting in brussels. police in brazil searching for the bodies of two men have found human remains. detectives in the city in the amazon onset as suspect has confessed to killing the two men. the us central bank has announced its biggest rise in interest rates since 1994.

the 0.75% increase