live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers on pbs in america. president biden arrives in belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the historic good friday agreement. the pentagon says it's taking the leak of classified us documents about the war in ukraine extremely seriously. we will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it. brazil's president lula da silva heads to china to discuss a peace plan for ukraine.

hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. us presidentjoe biden has touched down in belfast for the start of his visit to northern ireland and the republic. the four—day trip marks the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement. the deal largely brought an end to the 30—year conflict in northern ireland known as the troubles. but political turmoil persists, even if less violent in nature than the past. here's president biden�*s schedule. on wednesday, biden will deliver a speech at ulster university, before travelling to the republic of ireland. there he'll celebrate his own family's roots, attending events in louth and mayo. there will also be official discussions in dublin, where biden will meet with irish president michael d higgins. he'll then head back to america on friday. the bbc�*s lucy hockings has more from belfast. so president biden has arrived and there was a small crowd

that came down to the centre of belfast to greet him. they braved the wind and the rain. the weather has truly been atrocious. to welcome him to belfast. anna spoke to one northern ireland politics student and he said the reason he had come was because a visit by one of the most powerful people in the world, a us president, offers hope, hope at a time when there is no power—sharing at stormont, at a time when people say that vacuum could be filled once again by violence. he says that president biden visiting offers a real sense of hope to that process. it has really been a day of reflection here and also anticipation around the arrival of president biden. it is 25 years since designing of the good friday agreement in this country has changed enormously. if you can imagine the streets around me here in belfast 25 years ago, there were armed bullies on the street. you

didn't see cars in this part of town very often because there were worries of ence goes, if you went into a shop people searched your bags. there was an ever present threat of violence. you wouldn't go out onto the streets around here at night. so the good friday agreement has led to pco, but it is an imperfect piece. i mean, yes, the killings have stopped, but the political stalemate, as i mentioned, has now ended power—sharing at stormont. against the hope is from people here is that american presidents have been influential before and now with that sense of anticipation people are wondering ifjoe biden could use his influence, his famous negotiating skills, to once again kickstart the process. it is expected to meet with all political leaders here all at the same stage, so there is not a huge amount of expectation that something will come of that meeting. but words matter here in northern ireland and it is his speech tomorrow that will be keenly watched by all sides,

that will be keenly watched by allsides, including that will be keenly watched by all sides, including the democratic unionist. it's also thought tomorrow that he will remind younger people that they may think at times that the good friday agreement belongs in the history books, but that peaceis in the history books, but that peace is fragile and it is an agreement that still lives and is vital to the future of northern ireland. we go live now to tom foley, former us ambassador to ireland, who worked to re—establish the devolved government in northern ireland under the good friday agreement. ambassador, thank you for joining us on the programme. why do you think it's important for a us president to make this visit and mark the good friday agreement anniversary? well, the us government is an independent third—party and friendly to both sides, both the republic of ireland and the catholic population in northern ireland as well as the uk and the prison population there. so we have a unique position to help. a, we have a unique position to hel. �* ., ., we have a unique position to hel.�* ., ., , help. a unique position to help and obviously _ help. a unique position to help and obviously the _ help. a unique position to help and obviously the us _ help. a unique position to help and obviously the us played i help. a unique position to help and obviously the us played al and obviously the us played a big role in helping negotiate

the good friday agreement as well, but we had from our correspondence that this has been an imperfect piece in northern ireland, so looking back now 25 years later, how successful has this agreement been? ~ ~ , successful has this agreement been? ~ ~ _ ., been? well, i think by all standards _ been? well, i think by all standards you _ been? well, i think by all standards you would - been? well, i think by all| standards you would have been? well, i think by all. standards you would have to been? well, i think by all- standards you would have to say it's very successful. the violence has been brought down to a bare minimum. i think the agreement was essentially a civil right agreement that made parity between catholics and protestants in northern ireland, which hadn't existed prior to that and it was really the reason behind the troubles. and that parity has remained. it is the inability of the leaders of the parties to make an agreement but the benefit to the population has been huge stop president biden will be meeting with some of those very leaders as we heard from his schedule that. but leaders as we heard from his schedule that.— leaders as we heard from his schedule that. but right now a translation: _ schedule that. but right now a translation: in _ schedule that. but right now a translation: in northern - translation: in northern ireland, we know the union is not taking part in the power—sharing agreement, what

are you expecting president biden to do in his position? i would hope you would take a leadership position and try to get the parties to agree. when i was ambassador there on 8 may of 2007 we stood up stormont for the second time, it has worked for more than ten years and the devolved governments has broke down or is having trouble getting set up again, but i am hopeful it can be set “p but i am hopeful it can be set up and having somebody like president biden take it as a project and a goal for himself to appoint somebody like george mitchell, who negotiated the original agreement, mitchell, who negotiated the originalagreement, i mitchell, who negotiated the original agreement, i think could be very helpful. [30 original agreement, i think could be very helpful. do you think this _ could be very helpful. do you think this trip _ could be very helpful. do you think this trip will _ could be very helpful. do you think this trip will help - think this trip will help prepare those relations? well, i'm not sure — prepare those relations? well, i'm not sure that _ prepare those relations? well, i'm not sure that was - prepare those relations? well, i'm not sure that was the - prepare those relations? well, i'm not sure that was the goal| i'm not sure that was the goal of the trip. if it is, i'm not part of the biden administration, i'm not familiar with the policies right now with respect to northern ireland, but if they took an honest goal, which i

think their will, they could be very helpful. think their will, they could be very helpful-— very helpful. tony blair was the premise _ very helpful. tony blair was the premise at _ very helpful. tony blair was the premise at the - very helpful. tony blair was the premise at the time - very helpful. tony blair was the premise at the time of. very helpful. tony blair was i the premise at the time of the good friday agreement and called biden �*s visit significant but he also urged to tread carefully. what you think needs to look out for here? ~ , ., ., here? well, if you are in the role of a _ here? well, if you are in the role of a mediator _ here? well, if you are in the role of a mediator you - here? well, if you are in the role of a mediator you can i here? well, if you are in the| role of a mediator you can be seen to be taking side and george mitchell was very much that sort of a player is appointed by president clinton, took this on and did an excellentjob to get the original agreement in place, president bush, george w bush followed behind him, there are a lot of qualified people who understand policy and i think they would tread lightly as recommended by tony blair. let's talk about what this trip means to president biden, he has cool today homecoming, we know he has taken his son and sister along on the trip. how

much is this really a personal trip, do you think, for the president?— trip, do you think, for the president? trip, do you think, for the resident? ~ , president? well, everything the resident president? well, everything the president of _ president? well, everything the president of the _ president? well, everything the president of the united - president? well, everything the president of the united states l president of the united states does is political, so it's a political trip and there are 4.5 million people in the republic of ireland, there are 44 million people in the united states who have at least one irish ancestor, so it's very important political group in the united states, so i think it will get some points for that. and i think it's nostalgic. when president reagan went there, you know, the very fond memories, it's heartwarming to go back to your homeland and visit may be an ancestral home or meet some people that you are related to, so i think this is all a big positive. so i think this is all a big positive-— so i think this is all a big ositive. ,, ., , ., , positive. he speaks very fondly of his irish _ positive. he speaks very fondly of his irish roots. _ positive. he speaks very fondly of his irish roots. how - positive. he speaks very fondly of his irish roots. how do - positive. he speaks very fondly of his irish roots. how do you l of his irish roots. how do you think you will be received there? , , there? very well, very well. the irish _ there? very well, very well. the irish people _ there? very well, very well. the irish people are - there? very well, very well. i the irish people are extremely

nice and welcoming and i'm sure he will have a very good time, as i did. ., ., , ., , as i did. tom foley, former us ambassador — as i did. tom foley, former us ambassador to _ as i did. tom foley, former us ambassador to ireland, - as i did. tom foley, former us ambassador to ireland, thankl ambassador to ireland, thank you very much forjoining us on the abc. you very much for “oining us on the abc. ., ~ , ., -- bbc. turning now to the fallout of the massive document leak out in the us. the files, some marked �*top secret�*, are circulating on social media. us officials say it's still not clear who's behind it. and for the first time since the leak, we've heard from the us defence secretary lloyd austin. now, i can't more wildig wildig justice department department's investigation is ongoing, but we take this very seriously and we take this very seriously and we will continue to investigate and turnover every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it —— can't much more. and the us is taking this investigation seriously because officials say this leak is a risk to national security. so let's look closer at what's in those documents and the impact they may in the us and abroad. here's the bbc�*s barbara plett usher. there's been an alarming hit on

us intelligence, dozens of apparently classified documents from the defence department, some of them are top—secret, circulating on the internet. so what's in these documents and what's in these documents and what impact will this have a national security? there are maps, charts, and photographs, and they paint a detailed picture of the war in ukraine, including its air defences. there is also sensitive information about other american allies and it seems that many of the documents from daily pentagon intelligence briefings, although some of them appear to have been altered. the defence department is working around the clock to try to figure out how big the leakers, most damage it might have caused, and who did it. what we know is that the documents first appeared at the beginning of march on a chat forum for a minecraft videogame. they don't contain detailed battle plans, it's more like a us a snapshot of the conflict, but they could give the russians useful information, could us intelligence sources at risk and is a diplomatic embarrassment. as barbara mentioned, the leaked documents detail a lot of information about the war in ukraine. our correspondent in kyiv,

hugo bachega, has more. washington and its allies are still dealing with the fallout of a massive leak of secret documents, one of the largest in recent years, and most of these documents are related to these documents are related to the war here in ukraine. now, the war here in ukraine. now, the washington post reported that egypt was planning to secretly produce and supply russia with 40,000 missiles, we know that there have been recent reports suggesting that russia was perhaps running missiles especially after the campaign targeting ukraine's essential infrastructure, now, and a visual image of rejected these allegations and said this was a baseless claim. now, also on the washington post, a report suggesting that us officials had questioned the ability of the ukrainian military to achieve major gains with a counter influence —— counteroffensive, we know the ukrainians are planning a defensive to try to take back

territory that is now under occupation, this offensive it is expected to start within weeks. we also know that the ukrainian military is facing a number of challenges, including a lack of ammunition, despite all the help that has been provided by nato countries. a fifth of this country remains under occupation and we've seen evidence that russian forces are fortifying some of their positions. i think some of the leaks give an indication of the conversation that happening behind the scenes in the us, which has been one of ukraine's most important allies in this war. now, we still don't know how much has been leak and for american officials investigating the leaks, two key questions remain, who was behind it and why? hugo bachega there in here. china is set to host another world leader this week, as it seeks to expand its global influence. brazil's president, luiz inacio lula da silva, also known as lula,

is headed there right now for an official visit. the war in ukraine and trade between china and brazil are top of the agenda. he's first going to shanghai, then beijing, to meet with china's president xijinping on friday. china is brazil's largest trading partner. trade between brazil and china was nearly $153 billion last year. lula is looking to strengthen those economic ties. live now to the bbc�*s leandro prazeres in shanghai — he will be travelling with lula during his visit in china. brazil had taken a more isolationist role on the world stage under lula's conservative predecessor, jair bolsonaro. but now it seems lula is eager to get brazil back to the table. how viable are the peace efforts? ~ how viable are the peace efforts?— how viable are the peace efforts? ~ , ., ., , ., efforts? well, diplomats i have been talking — efforts? well, diplomats i have been talking to _ efforts? well, diplomats i have been talking to is _ efforts? well, diplomats i have been talking to is what - efforts? well, diplomats i have been talking to is what brazil . been talking to is what brazil has been presented so far is more of a statement of good intentions than a pop—up piece plan and what we have heard from other sources is the

chinese government will hear what they have to say about ukraine but they do not expect china to make a move towards this piece club that brazil, that lula is proposing our. that is interesting. we have seen brazil in recent years with lula's predecessorjair bolsonaro zach moore isolationist approach, lula has taken a back out on the global stage, what role does he see them on the global stage? since lula took office _ them on the global stage? since lula took office in _ them on the global stage? since lula took office in january - lula took office injanuary this year he and his ministers have been repeating the slogan thatis have been repeating the slogan that is more or less that brazil is back, back of course to the international stage. it is of course a criticism of the foreign policy adopted by his predecessor, jair bolsonaro. but what we're seeing now is sort of a continuation of lula's foreign policy during the period of 2003 and 2010 when he led the country, because lula and his close advisers have always placed

multilateralism as a way of asserting brazil's role in the international stage considering brazil is not an economical military superpower.- brazil is not an economical military superpower. yes, lula has said very _ military superpower. yes, lula has said very clearly _ military superpower. yes, lula has said very clearly that - military superpower. yes, lula has said very clearly that he i has said very clearly that he sees the us and relations with us as a time is taking the trip to china, we know the us and china have very strained relations right now. we have seen commentators in brazil saying that essentially brazil has been caught between this two superpowers. how do you think this triple effect lula's relations with the us? well, what we have _ relations with the us? well, what we have seen - relations with the us? well, what we have seen is - relations with the us? well, what we have seen is the . what we have seen is the brazilian government is trying to avoid this situation as much as it can. we must remember that before coming to china, lula hasjust that before coming to china, lula has just visited the us presidentjoe biden. on the other hand there are clear that biden's administration is watching very closely the brazilian moves towards china a few weeks ago, a senior state

department official, gray—nicolls, said the united states are focused on going to latin america that the united states is the best partner for the region, especially for brazil, but for the moment there is no indication whatsoever that the united states could retaliate brazil for its recent diplomatic moves. ., moves. so we mentioned as well that a lot of _ moves. so we mentioned as well that a lot of the _ moves. so we mentioned as well that a lot of the strippers - that a lot of the strippers about economic ties and trade and we mentioned the trade between brazil and china nearly hundred $53 billion, what —— lula hope to walk away with from this trip? —— a lot of the trip. from this trip? -- a lot of the tri -. ., , from this trip? -- a lot of the tri . _ ., , ., from this trip? -- a lot of the tri. ., ,., ., trip. that is one of the most interesting _ trip. that is one of the most interesting questions - trip. that is one of the most i interesting questions because lula hopes to attract chinese investment to brazil because the country is struggling to make its gdp growth. here in shanghai, lula will meet with chinese businessmen from different sectors, technology, communications and energy and infrastructure lula is trying to convince these businessmen to convince these businessmen to put their money in brazil right now. one of the deals thatis right now. one of the deals that is likely to be announced here is the signing of a car

plan from a chinese company called bit which is famous for its electric cars.— its electric cars. leandro, this trip _ its electric cars. leandro, this trip is _ its electric cars. leandro, this trip is being - its electric cars. leandro, this trip is being watched | its electric cars. leandro, - this trip is being watched very closely during us. tell us what it's like being in shanghai to cover this really important to. well, it's been a fantastic experience. actually, it's my first time here in china and there is a lot of anticipation regarding this visit. a few days ago, i was reading in the newspapers, local newspapers, and they were talking about this trip is a very strategic trip. brazil is considered one the most important partners for china not only in latin america but around the rest of the world. �* , ,., but around the rest of the world. �* , ,, , world. as we said, you will be travelling _ world. as we said, you will be travelling with _ world. as we said, you will be travelling with lula _ world. as we said, you will be travelling with lula during - world. as we said, you will be travelling with lula during his| travelling with lula during his visit in china. leandro, thank you so much forjoining us.

ahead of president lula's trip, the us announces a new decade—long deal to help counter china in the region. we'll have those details in a moment. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. so, i'm going to start here with you... a students—led wellbeing workshop at this secondary school in abergavenny. here being open about mental health and supporting people's wellbeing is a key focus, especially since the pandemic. a national school survey of 11— to 16—year—olds found girls were almost twice likely as boys to experience high levels of mental health symptoms. spending too much time on my phone, but also it doesn't have to be on screens. i find that i am impacted what has been lots of time just not doing anything. the survey, which is carried out every two years, found that between 2017 and 2021, fewer teenagers said they were exercising regularly. there was an increase

in the amount who said they were looking at screens before going to bed. and when it comes to diet, fewer said they ate breakfast on weekdays before school. it's hoped the findings of the latest survey will continue to influence changes in communities across wales. you're live with bbc news. us and filipino forces have started their largest—ever joint military exercise — in the philippines and it's —— joint military exercise in the philippines and its waters. you can see that's across from the disputed south china sea and the island of taiwan around which china finished military exercises a day ago. and us defense secretary lloyd austin and us secetary of state antony blinken met their filipino counterparts and announced a new diplomatic and defence agreement. let's get more on this from bbc�*s shaimaa khalil in tokyo. one. shaimaa, what's in this agreement? two. this agreement is part of the

us philippines defence alliance and it aims to strengthen the philippines military capabilities and military power in as part of that, the us is agreed that it will deliver priority equipment such as radars, military transport aircraft and drones within the next 5—10 years. this was announced by the us defence secretary lloyd austin and the optics i think were also quite telling in that strengthening of relations between washington and middle. you have the us defence secretary and the secretary of state blinken and their philippine counterparts. we've seen a much warmer relation between the us and philippines under president ferdinand marcosjunior, much ferdinand marcos junior, much more, ferdinand marcosjunior, much more, much closer than they were under his predecessor, president duterte who was beijing leanings i think this again further strengthens that

relations and defence alliance the philippines was after. band the philippines was after. and it comes as — the philippines was after. and it comes as we _ the philippines was after. and it comes as we are _ the philippines was after. and it comes as we are seeing these massive military exercises. tells what these joint drills involve. tells what these “oint drills involve. ., �* , involve. that's right, the exercises, _ involve. that's right, the exercises, which - involve. that's right, the exercises, which meansl involve. that's right, the - exercises, which means shoulder to shoulder, now the largest exercises, involving 17,000 troops, and 5400 philippine troops. —— balikatan exercises. they involved for the first time live fire exercises at sea and live fire exercises on a sunken ship in the south china sea. rememberthese sunken ship in the south china sea. remember these were preplanned and they were announced when the us secured event —— a defence deal with the philippines. we now know there are going to be for naval bases established in philippine islands so we knew they were going to happen, we knew these would be the largest, how big they were going to be that i think the timing of them could

not come at a more sensitive. here in the region because they, because of the china's drills around taiwan.- drills around taiwan. very sensitive _ drills around taiwan. very sensitive indeed. - drills around taiwan. very sensitive indeed. the - sensitive indeed. the philippines could be used as a staging ground to counter a chinese attack on taiwan. so how is china reacting to this? well, none of this is diffusing tension with china. beijing is already quite angry about this. they voiced their concern and criticism. last week they said this could only add more tension and less peace and on monday they said that these exercises should not disrupt the disputed, the dispute of the disputed, the dispute of the south china sea. member, these exercises are happening and waterways around the philippines and the south china sea. this is a very busy area when it comes to trade but it's also highly disputed by china. so none of this is making beijing happy and i think they are going to be watching this quite closely and we are likely to hear more criticism as these

exercises go on for the next three weeks. that exercises go on for the next three weeks.— exercises go on for the next three weeks. at the same time we've seen _ three weeks. at the same time we've seen the _ three weeks. at the same time we've seen the philippines - three weeks. at the same time we've seen the philippines as l we've seen the philippines as well say earlier this week to china that it will not have its bases used for any offensive action. so where does manila stand on all of this? are they concerned about being caught in between? it’s concerned about being caught in between? �* , , , between? it's very interesting because it _ between? it's very interesting because it is _ between? it's very interesting because it is quite _ between? it's very interesting because it is quite a _ between? it's very interesting because it is quite a delicate i because it is quite a delicate part they are treading, the philippines. on one hand they want closer ties with washington, defence ties, but hopefully economic ties and on the other, they do not want to angen the other, they do not want to anger, they do not want to anger, they do not want to anger china because beijing of course is still the economic superpower in the region and it's been under a great deal of pressure when it comes to disputes around the south china sea so it's a fine balancing act that manila has to strike but remember, different parties want different things from this agreement, orthe want different things from this agreement, or the philippines, it is closer ties in with the united states, for the united states and actually here in japan, the philippines, the

closest defence alliance with the philippines means this as a deterrent against china but also could be strategic if anything happens, any more tension for a further crisis happens in the taiwan straight. so there are many moving parts that philippine has to join here. that philippine has to 'oin here. �* , here. an interesting time in the region- _ here. an interesting time in the region. thank _ here. an interesting time in the region. thank you - here. an interesting time in the region. thank you very l the region. thank you very much. in the taiwan defence ministry is just deporting —— in the taiwan defence ministry isjust deporting —— reporting it is spotted 35 chinese aircraft and eight chinese ships around taiwan. as we just said, china has wrapped up three days of military drills in the waters around taiwan and it appears the defence ministry from taiwan is saying those aircraft, those warships essentially are still around taiwan, carrying out those drills knitting up those drills so we will keep an eye on that situation and bring you any updates as they come into us. the world bank is ready to help rebuild ukraine but is asking western european countries

to contribute more. the bank's president, david malpass, made those comments at the spring meetings for the world bank and international monetary fund here in washington, where global economic leaders are gathering this week. the imf lowered its forecast for global growth to just 2.8%. but it says most economies would avoid going into recession this year. our business correspondent samira hussain has more. the us economy is set to grow by1.6%. that is better than what was originally forecasted. and then it's going to grow by another 1.1% next year. and it is better than some of the other economies. and we see that the uk economy is meant to contract, and germany's economy is also meant to contract. and really what a lot of that has to do with the energy prices and inflation that remember, because of the war in ukraine, you're seeing a lot more pressure on oil and energy prices for countries in europe versus what you're seeing

here in the united states. also, the united states still has really strong —— here in the united states. stay with us here on bbc news. stormy weather is expected to continue through tonight and into wednesday. and that's because we've got this powerfuljet stream up above that weather system, developing it very rapidly in the past 24 hours, giving those severe gales, unusually windy weather, a lot of rain to go with it. it means the conditions on the roads have been pretty atrocious. and now, we've got cold air tucking in around that low pressure across scotland, so turning progressively you to snow, several centimetres over the hills here and even will the showers further south following the rain band could be a little bit wintry.

it's certainly going to be a chilly end to the night under the clearer skies further south, within a degree or two of freezing. but really, that's not the story. the story is these powerful winds once again battering many western and southern areas during the day. we're expecting gusts up to, if not above, 70 miles an hour, which will cause disruption. bring down the odd tree. 50 miles an hour inland is really quite unusual. and, given that it's already been very windy through tuesday, we're going to see some very large waves around the south—west approaches through the channel into the english channel as well. and that could overtop the coastlines as well. so, some dangerous conditions. it also looks on that north—westerly to be a very windy end to the morning, start to the afternoon across northern ireland. and we will keep very strong winds around that band of rain across the northern isles. so nowhere really exempt. and there'll be a lot of showers after the bright start. those showers rattling in really quite cloudy and wet for much of the day, potentially northern ireland, northern and western scotland. still that snow risk on the hills, perhaps as high as 12 in the south.

but really we will notice a coolerfeel, those showers rushing in, becoming frequent with hail and with thunder and still around into thursday, but fewer in number potentially. that low pressure with us in the north sea. it stays put actually through thursday into friday. but you can already see friday's rain is due in some uncertainty on that. but temperatures might recover just a little bit more on thursday, given a bit more sunshine. but it might be then that as we go into friday, we get the next area of low pressure pushing more rain in with some fairly strong winds. it doesn't look as windy as the current stormy conditions. and perhaps starting to settle down as we get into the latter part of the weekend. and next week, there's the hint that we might see the first 20, 21 of the year. but between now and then, a lot of nasty weather to come.

optimistic and yet pessimistic, the imf paints a fuzzy picture forward for the global economy. we will have the latest. plus, too big to ignore, spain's vice—president speaks to the bbc on china and the shift in the international world order. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm karishma vaswani. ourtop business report. i'm karishma vaswani. our top story for you today, the international monetary fund has worn that global growth is expected to slow to levels not seen since the 1990s. in his latest report, the imf says chronic

inflation and high interest rates, and banking