live from washington. this is bbc news, welcome to viewers on pbs in america negotiations on the us debt ceiling continue into the night. president biden and the speaker of the house say there's still no deal — but they call their talks productive. i think the tone tonight was better than any other time we've had discussions. russian authorities say they're battling a group of �*saboteurs�* that's crossed the border into the bel—gorod region — from ukraine. and coming up — inside russian defences — the new bbc verify service takes a look at moscow's preparation for an expected ukrainian counter—offensive.

hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we start in washington tonight, where negotiators have been working to avoid a us debt default. negotiations have been described as �*productive�* — but there's still no deal. earlier, presidentjoe biden and speaker of the house kevin mccarthy led talks on raising the debt ceiling to ensure the us can continue to pay its bills. biden and republican congressional leaders now have just ten days to avoid a default. president biden said: wwe reiterated once again that default is off the table. and the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement." kevin mccarthy spoke outside the white house — and the bbc�*s nomia iqbal was watching. he said the meeting was productive. he said the tone was good. he appeared in an upbeat mood and he said there was still a way to go before they make a compromise. he did say that he believed the president does want to make a deal. bear in mind, we are fast approaching the deadline, and if a deal is passed,

it would take more than a week, or about a week, to get through congress. the speaker appeared confident that would happen. i never wanted to be here. i do not like the idea that you govern by chaos, you govern by a deadline. so all the way back in january, i requested meetings with the president after i won speaker, only on this issue, we always knew it was coming. february i got the meeting and i said, mr president, we should work together to find where we have common ground to raise the debt ceiling, but curb our spending so we stop doing this. i told the president two things. not going to raise taxes. and we are not going to pass a clean debt ceiling. but for 97 days, he said he wouldn't meet with me. and now what the republicans did in the house, we passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling, saved us money, put us on a trajectory where we could go to balance.

this was long before secretary yellen said the deadline wasjune 1st. we don't want to govern that way. unfortunately, denying our ability to meet put us in this situation. i believe we can still get there. i believe we can get it done. any deal that is reached has to be bipartisan, and i asked the speaker what he thought about members of the house republicans to the far right who have said they won't accept anything less than a house—backed bill, what was he doing to assure them of that? he said, look, we are going to have to compromise, that's the only way to get the deal forward. both parties don't want to concede on any of the key issues that the constituents care about, that voters care about and that party members care about. but he said, when asked, should americans prepare for default, he was quite clear, he said no.

earlier in the day treasury secretary janet yellen told congress that it's �*highly likely�* the agency will be unable to pay all its bills by earlyjune. so if that prediction is correct, what exactly is at risk? according to the financial services company moody's analytics — if the debt limit is breached for even just one week, the us economy would shrink so much, so quickly, that around 1.5 million jobs would be lost. and if a government default were to last into the summer, 7.8 million american jobs could vanish. that would mean the unemployment rate would soar from the current 3.4% figure to 8%. and the stock—market could plunge — wiping out trillion in household wealth.

if you look at the messaging we heard from the meetings of the white house today, we heard they were productive, defaulted off the table, you encouraged? i am more encouraged than i would be. ithink i am more encouraged than i would be. i think it is a good sign they met and it's a good sign they met and it's a good sign positive things came out of the meeting, but i still think we have a long way to go before any of us should be feeling comfortable at the situation, before anyone should be optimistic. they have to agree on a deal, there has been no agreement on work requirements and safety, no agreement on plummeting reform. what seems like democrats may be getting more comfortable with the idea of spending cuts, there is no agreement on the specifics of what the spending

cuts would be. even after there is an agreement between the principles, between speaker mccarthy and president biden, speaker mccarthy has to sell that to republicans at the house of representatives. that could be difficult.— could be difficult. there is a lona could be difficult. there is a long way — could be difficult. there is a long way to _ could be difficult. there is a long way to go. _ could be difficult. there is a long way to go, is _ could be difficult. there is a long way to go, is a - could be difficult. there is a long way to go, is a default| long way to go, is a default really off the table? i long way to go, is a default really off the table?- long way to go, is a default really off the table? i do not think a default _ really off the table? i do not think a default is _ really off the table? i do not think a default is off - really off the table? i do not think a default is off the - think a default is off the tablo _ think a default is off the tablo i_ think a default is off the table. i think that it always possible they can't reach this kind — possible they can't reach this kind of— possible they can't reach this kind of agreement. you know, you heard _ kind of agreement. you know, you heard the speaker say we are willing to negotiate on everything except most things, like would be a key way in which _ like would be a key way in which one would fight fiscal imbalances, along with cutting spending. he's going to have to negotiate — spending. he's going to have to negotiate on things he doesn't want _ negotiate on things he doesn't want to— negotiate on things he doesn't want to negotiate on. the democrats don't want to cut their— democrats don't want to cut their key— democrats don't want to cut their key spending packages that have shown what biden has

been _ that have shown what biden has been able to accomplish four pe0pie~ _ been able to accomplish four pe0pie~ i_ been able to accomplish four people. i do think there is a lot that's _ people. i do think there is a lot that's going to have to happen _ lot that's going to have to happen. i think what could happen— happen. i think what could happen is they could agree that they are — happen is they could agree that they are not getting there by june — they are not getting there by june the _ they are not getting there by june the 1st and past some sort of temporary increase in the deht— of temporary increase in the debt ceiling that says, 0k, we need — debt ceiling that says, ok, we need to— debt ceiling that says, 0k, we need to come to some agreement, we are — need to come to some agreement, we are going to agree to keep negotiating and in the meantime we will— negotiating and in the meantime we will take some of the pressure off us.- pressure off us. that essentially _ pressure off us. that essentially would - pressure off us. that essentially would be | pressure off us. that - essentially would be kicking the can down the road, you talked about what president biden would have to do, what further concessions might he have to make to reach a deal? i have to make to reach a deal? i think all along, it is unfortunate we are in this situation _ unfortunate we are in this situation because the debt ceiling _ situation because the debt ceiling shouldn't be tied to these _ ceiling shouldn't be tied to these negotiations. but they are and _ these negotiations. but they are and what we saw in 2011 was everybody — are and what we saw in 2011 was everybody had to give a little bit of — everybody had to give a little bit of something. the thing is, if we _ bit of something. the thing is, if we are —

bit of something. the thing is, if we are going to do spending cuts, — if we are going to do spending cuts, it— if we are going to do spending cuts, it can'tjust be the sort of key— cuts, it can'tjust be the sort of key pillars of things biden has accomplished in his administration, it's going to be administration, it's going to he across— administration, it's going to be across the board and combined with some sort of revenue _ combined with some sort of revenue raising measures. the house — revenue raising measures. the house bill— revenue raising measures. the house bill not only includes cutting _ house bill not only includes cutting spending, but reduces tax revenue because it cuts the funding — tax revenue because it cuts the funding for the irs that allows them — funding for the irs that allows them to— funding for the irs that allows them to go after tax cheats. the — them to go after tax cheats. the compromise would have to be a little _ the compromise would have to be a little bit — the compromise would have to be a little bit on the spending and — a little bit on the spending and a _ a little bit on the spending and a little bit on the revenue side — and a little bit on the revenue side i— and a little bit on the revenue side. ., ., ., ,., and a little bit on the revenue side. ., ., ., i. y., side. i want to ask you your take about _ side. i want to ask you your take about republicans, . side. i want to ask you your. take about republicans, what side. i want to ask you your- take about republicans, what do you think republicans will have to concede on to be able to get some sort of deal? i to concede on to be able to get some sort of deal?— some sort of deal? i think the most likely — some sort of deal? i think the most likely deal— some sort of deal? i think the most likely deal is _ some sort of deal? i think the most likely deal is a _ some sort of deal? i think the most likely deal is a deal- some sort of deal? i think the most likely deal is a deal that| most likely deal is a deal that cut spending, but cut spending by less than republicans woodlice, by less than what republicans had in the bill

that passed the house of representatives and it raises the debt ceiling. i think it is unlikely they will attempt to do a short—term extension as suggested, that would be a way to give them more time. it is unlikely because i don't think they want to do this twice. so, what is left? work requirements and safety net programmes. i imagine that will be the item that republicans say, we wanted to include that but we didn't get everything we wanted. but again, speaker mccarthy has to get that through the house and there are members of the house that want to see that included. we know those negotiations are continuing. i want to zoom out a little bit, we have a lot of viewers around the globe, what would the impact of a us debt default mean for the rest of the world? it default mean for the rest of the world?—

default mean for the rest of the world? ., ., . ., .,, the world? it would mean chaos on the financial— the world? it would mean chaos on the financial markets. - the world? it would mean chaos on the financial markets. we . on the financial markets. we would see the beginnings of a global financial crisis. we would see massive reductions in the value of us equities, reductions in equities in other nations as well. we would see probably a flight to safety, at least a first where a bunch of dollars poured into the united states because of concern about the stability of the global financial system. the stability of the global financialsystem. i the stability of the global financial system. i think that situation would not persist for very long. there was talk about massive amounts ofjob loss and that nature, and that might happen if the default were a prolonged default. but my view on this is the us protocol system could withstand probably a few hours of being in default, it may be a day of

being in default. then there would be so much pressure from financial markets, from investors on members of the house and the senate and on the president that a compromise would be found very quickly. in would be found very quickly. in our current political system which is divided government and incredibly polarised, if we keep reaching this point regularly, what is a long—term solution looking like to ensure the us can continue to pay its bills? i the us can continue to pay its bills? ~' the us can continue to pay its bills? ~ ., ., bills? i think a long-term solution _ bills? i think a long-term solution will _ bills? i think a long-term solution will have - bills? i think a long-term solution will have to - bills? i think a long-term solution will have to be i solution will have to be thinking about how to bring spending and revenue in balance. but i really want to touch — balance. but i really want to touch on _ balance. but i really want to touch on what is likely to happen— touch on what is likely to happen and give you a different scenario. — happen and give you a different scenario, the one i am most worried _ scenario, the one i am most worried about. which is, we are all counting on financial markets to essentially save as by starting to freak out enough that it — by starting to freak out enough that it disciplines congress. but what if they don't freak out, _ but what if they don't freak out, what if they take it in stride? _ out, what if they take it in stride? the truth is, maybe treasury— stride? the truth is, maybe treasury will go ahead and pay

the treasury bills and pay the interest— the treasury bills and pay the interest that is due and delay payments. but they will delay payments, but they will be able to make — payments, but they will be able to make those payments the next day or— to make those payments the next day or the — to make those payments the next day or the day after and then they— day or the day after and then they will— day or the day after and then they will get an influx of revenue onjune the 15th due to tax day~ — revenue onjune the 15th due to tax day. things won't actually -et tax day. things won't actually get bad — tax day. things won't actually get bad untiljuly. my concern is, if— get bad untiljuly. my concern is, if that— get bad untiljuly. my concern is, if that were to happen people _ is, if that were to happen people would say, you have been crying _ people would say, you have been crying wolf, it isn't that bad. but — crying wolf, it isn't that bad. but it— crying wolf, it isn't that bad. but it will— crying wolf, it isn't that bad. but it will be that bad. it will— but it will be that bad. it wiiijust_ but it will be that bad. it willjust be a slower burn their— willjust be a slower burn their what people are predicting. it could be that financial markets will come and terrorise — financial markets will come and terrorise everything right away, _ terrorise everything right away, and congress won't make it a few— away, and congress won't make it a few hours, as michael said before — it a few hours, as michael said before they go and try to solve the problem. but it is also possible _ the problem. but it is also possible with people being late receiving their paycheques or bills— receiving their paycheques or bills being paid a couple of days— bills being paid a couple of days late, just doesn't cause the chaos— days late, just doesn't cause the chaos that many people had predicted. the chaos that many people had redicted. , ., ., ., predicted. great to have you both on the _ predicted. great to have you both on the programme, - predicted. great to have you i both on the programme, thank you for sharing your analysis.

let's turn to events iin russia — where officials say the army is fighting a group of saboteurs who crossed the borderfrom ukraine in the belgorod region. according to the local governor, eight people have been wounded, buildings have been damaged and local residents had been evacuated from the area. ukraine has denied having anything to do with the attack. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. smoke in the distance. the first hint of the drama ahead. russia said saboteurs had forced their way from ukraine into russian territory. the bbc has located this video to a border checkpoint south of belgorod. it appears to show military vehicles having crossed over. ukraine denied responsibility. it said russian citizens from two paramilitary groups were behind the attack. the russian army sent in reinforcements. local residents couldn't believe what was happening.

the local governor, vyacheslav gladkov, announced a counterterrorist operation. he said he would take special measures and impose temporary restrictions. tonight, russian tv claimed the ukrainian army was behind the incursion. it said civilians had been wounded and people were being evacuated. in recent months, this part of russia has felt increasingly like a warzone. with a series of explosions in belgorod — suspected ukrainian drone attacks — forcing people here to take cover. attacks on russian territory are putting the kremlin under pressure. one of the kremlin's justifications for launching the so—called special military operation was national security — making people here feel more secure. but before russia's war in ukraine, life in belgorod region and in other russian

regions close to the ukrainian border was calm and peaceful. there were no explosions, no sabotage groups breaking through. it very much looks as if the full—scale invasion of ukraine has had the opposite effect. for now, though, there is no sign of those in power in russia changing direction. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. so that's russia. we want to bring you now some images from inside ukraine. satellite images like this have revealed the extent of defences being built by russia in the areas they currently occupy in the east of the country. that's in preparation for an expected ukrainian counter offensive. those images have been analysed by bbc verify. it's a new service bringing together 60 journalists with a range of forensic and investigative skills, to fact—check data and help explain complex stories —

as well as counter disinformation. our analysis editor ros atkins has more. ukraine's expected to launch a counteroffensive soon and here at bbc verify we've been looking at how russia is bolstering its defences. here's the front line with territory controlled by russia marked in red. we've highlighted bakhmut, the city has hosted some of the fiercest fighting in the war. and we know that around bakhmut both sides have been using trenches. this is a ukrainian soldier. we also know that trenches are a crucial part of russia's effort to fortify the entire front line. that process has been documented by the open source analyst brady africk. all these black dots here mark new russian fortifications. let's focus on a couple of locations. first of all, tokmak. it's a small city, but it's strategically important. you can see it at the bottom of this satellite image. further north would be where the ukrainian positions are. and look what the russians have done. they've built one new defensive

line, a second one behind it, and then a third one around the city. we also know that in ukrainian media there are reports that civilians are being removed from tokmak in order that the russians can further fortify it. and to understand all of these fortifications, looking at these types of satellite images is also useful. here, furthest from the front line, you have artillery positions. then the trench network for the soldiers. then what are called dragon's teeth. these are concrete obstacles the russians are using in the hope of stopping ukrainian tanks. tanks are also the focus of these enormous ditches, produced by these digging vehicles. and if we go back to this satellite image you can see the first line of defence is an anti—tank ditch. so that's one location. this is a second one that bbc verify has looked at. on the peninsular of crimea, which was annexed by russia in 2014. this picture shows us a beach on the west coast of crimea. you can again see dragon's teeth. this time running alongside the shore of the black sea.

further north on the beach is a bunker. running through it is this trench. bbc verify has measured it at around 15 miles. also note these piles of wood. they are being used by the russians to reinforce the trenches that they are building. i'd also highlight this. a fortification of this nature could be used by a tank or an armoured vehicle should it want to face the sea. now, we should add that we don't know if ukraine has the capacity to attack crimea from the sea. what we can be more certain of, though, is the resources that russia has committed to fortifying all along the front line. and now it waits to see if ukraine attacks. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. padel is the tennis/squash hybrid that's becoming the must—play sport of 2023. anyone can play it and then

you sort of get addicted — it's a very social sport, so it's a lot of fun. it's a cross between squash and tennis. it's tennis scoring, but you can play off the backboard like you can with squash. well, it couldn't be simpler — bats instead of rackets, and the rest is pretty obvious. i mean, it is a sign ofjust how popular the sport is becoming that it is attracting this kind of investment. each of these courts cost £30,000, and here they've got 14 of them. but the uk is embracing it, and a national team — yes, there is one — well, they're doing pretty well. we were in the world padel finals last year, and that's 13 countries, so it's pretty good! so just down the road is the centre that was actually the first one to open in bristol, and only in august last year. back then there were just four courts in the city — now there are more than 30. you're live with bbc news. to sudan now — where there are reports that a new ceasefire has been violated as soon as

it's come into force. witnesses in cities across the country say they've seen air strikes and clashes after the week—long truce was announced. let's take a look at how we got here. conflict between the sudanese army and the paramilitary group this latest ceasefire is the seventh to be announced since the conflict began. our correspondent barbara plett usher sent this report on this latest agreement. this ceasefire agreement is different than the others because it's the first one that's been formally negotiated and signed by the two parties. there isn't a mechanism to enforce it, but there is one to monitor it, and that will include representatives from both sides and also from the two mediators, the united states and saudi arabia. so this will be the platform where complaints can be brought about any violations. it will try to resolve disputes, and it will also help to co—ordinate with humanitarian agencies for the delivery of aid. there's been 48 hours between the signing of the agreement on saturday

night and the ceasefire coming into effect, and the two sides were supposed to use that time to inform their forces on the ground about the terms, and to instruct them to comply. they also said that they would not try to take military or seek military advantage during this period. but we have seen fighting continue, so that's not been very encouraging. this ceasefire is strictly focused on relieving the humanitarian situation, which is dire. to give you some idea, the sudan doctors syndicate says only 29 hospitals are operating throughout the country, and not at full capacity. and only six in the capital. so the ceasefire really does need to work. in other news. a writer who was found to have been sexually abued by donald trump has filed a new complaint against him. ejean carroll is seeking unspecified damages for disparaging remarks mrtrump made during a broadcast on the television news channel cnn

earlier this month. mr trump has not yet commented publicly on the new filing. spanish prosecutors are investigating racist chants aimed at real madrid's forward viniciusjunior, during a match on sunday. the 22—year—old brazil international was targeted by a home supporter at valencia. real issued a statement saying such attacks constitute a hate crime. vinicius has been the target of racist abuse multiple times this season. former deputy prime minister, dominic raab, says he will stand down as an mp at the next general election. he resigned as deputy prime minister last month following an investigation into claims of alleged bullying. an image of an explosion at the pentagon briefly went viral early today — causing a ten—minute long dip on the stock markets. the image, which we are not showing you, depicted black smoke billowing out of a building. it was picked up by news outlets outside the us — before officials jumped in to clarify no blast actually took place — and that the picture was fake. experts now say the image had signs of an ai forgery.

for more on this i spoke with the bbc�*s us national digital reporter, mike wendling. mike, explain how this spread so quickly. just after the markets opened this morning, this photo started circulating on twitter. it must have came from ex conspiratorial finance accounts, people who are into cryptocurrency and bitcoin that are extremely online, they started spreading it rather rapidly. if fooled some more mainstream people, as you indicated in your introduction. that caused the markets to react until authorities came out and said it was a hoax. the whole thing lasted a matter of minutes. can you tell us how you could tell that this image was fake? well, i suppose including our own open source researchers at bbc verify quickly spotted the tell—tale signs these images were false. now, if you zoom in on the photo, if we were to show it to you, we could show you some details that clearly

looks unreal. the fences around the pentagon, for instance. the cars that were driving around, if you zoom in they looked like boxes on wheels, they didn't look real at all. some of the landmarks in the street around the building, it didn't really correspond to reality. you can do that by checking on a map. but you don't really need to be open source experts to realise that this was classic fake news. there was no people in the photographs, odd for a monday morning. and no other news organisations or eyewitnesses were reporting on it. there were no sort of stories, further details, written stories or eyewitnesses and whatnot. these are all classic signs that it was a hoax or a fake. do we know who created these images and why they did so? we haven't been able to pinpoint the exact origin yet. but i found an even earlier copy on a facebook account that's devoted to qanon, that's the sprawling conspiracy theory, its popular in the far right,

the right wing and popular among some dedicated fans of donald trump. it's tough to tell why this person may have been spreading it, without first, i suppose, getting a bead on exactly where the image originated from. but usually in these cases, we find there is a number of reasons. it either boils down to people chasing those likes and views and follows. all people are wanting to be first with the news and they don't check it properly so they spread it that way and sometimes they deliberately try to cause trouble and they are trying to have an online fight. it is probably one of those reasons that is behind this in fake image. reasons that is behind this in fake image-— reasons that is behind this in fake image. very interesting, thank you _ fake image. very interesting, thank you for _ fake image. very interesting, thank you for that _ fake image. very interesting, thank you for that analysis. i thank you for watching bbc

news. download our app for all the latest news and analysis. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. our spell of fairly settled late spring weather is set to continue for another few days yet. so high pressure in charge and, through the next couple of days, then, things looking largely dry and fine. spells of sunshine around — and the sunshine really quite strong at this time of year. we did have largely clear skies in norfolk as the sun set. had a bit more cloud elsewhere during monday evening. but, as we head through into the early hours of tuesday, here's the high pressure in the atlantic that's pushing its way in — just a couple of fronts at times just pushing around the north of that area of high pressure. so there is a bit more cloud, we've got a warm front bringing more cloud to northern ireland through tuesday morning. some early brightness for the east of scotland, but it will cloud over through the day. a few splashes of light rain in the far north, there. for england and wales,

things are looking mostly dry with some sunshine. but, as the cloud bubbles up, could just produce a rogue shower here and there — perhaps through parts of wales, the midlands, eastern england. temperatures 19 or 20 degrees in the warmest spots, but a bit cooler around the east coast and under the cloud further north. but, where you do see the sunshine come through, moderate to high levels of uv — so certainly another day for the sun cream with that strong sunshine breaking through. tuesday evening, any rogue showers fading away, so it's looking dry and settled once again. another very weak front — or the remnants of an old front here — just bringing more cloud across the far northwest as we head into the early hours of wednesday. but, again, most places looking frost—free with temperatures generally about five to ten degrees — could be a little bit lower than that where you do keep the clear skies. wednesday brings us another dry day with light winds. it'll probably be a little bit warmer compared to tuesday because we've got a bit of a different air mass, bit of a change in wind direction. under the cloudier skies in the north, 17 or 18 degrees, but further south we'll likely see 21, possibly 22 degrees through the middle part of the week. moving into the latter part of the week, then, another couple of very weak fronts moving to the north of that high pressure.

but, as we move into friday, it sits right across the uk. so for thursday, then, another largely dry day, bit of cloud around here and there, fairly light winds, and you'll probably notice those temperatures just starting to creep up by a degree or so. so, across scotland and northern ireland, 18, possibly 19 degrees. england and wales, we're looking at 22, 23 inland, but a little bit cooler close to the coast. and it looks like the fine, settled weather continues through the end of the week into the bank holiday weekend, and temperatures are going to be on the up. bye— bye.

welcome to hardtalk from johannesburg. i'm stephen sackur. south africa is a proud democracy, and in democracies, voters get to give their verdicts on their leaders. it's called accountability, and it might be about to bite the ruling african national congress. they've been in power here for 29 years, since the apartheid system was overthrown. but right now, south africa is in a big mess,

with a protracted energy crisis, shocking levels