i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to the show. we begin tonight with the debt ceiling showdown in washington. lawmakers in the house of representatives voted to advance a bill which will avert a government default. lawmakers are racing to approve the deal before the june 5th deadline. that's when treasury secretary janet yellen has warned that the us would face a "catastrophic" default and fail to pay all of its bills. the house passed the bill in the past few hours. now it needs to pass the senate before heading to president biden�*s desk. we heard from president biden, shortly after the vote. he said: this is kevin mccarthy defended the bill after the vote passed. we decided that you had to spend less and we achieved that

goal. spend less and we achieved that coal. ~ . , spend less and we achieved that oal. ~ ., , , goal. was it everything i wanted? _ goal. was it everything i wanted? no. _ goal. was it everything i wanted? no. but- goal. was it everything i wanted? no. but sitting| goal. was it everything i - wanted? no. but sitting with one house, a democratic senate and a democratic president who didn't want to meet with us, i think we did pretty darn good for the american public. our north america correspondent nomia iqbal joins me from capitol hill. tell us about some of the reactions you have been hearing after this bill passed?— after this bill passed? when the bill passed, _ after this bill passed? when the bill passed, there - after this bill passed? when the bill passed, there was i after this bill passed? when the bill passed, there was a | the bill passed, there was a sigh of relief in the chamber, certainly by the moderate democrats and republicans who were glad it finally cleared the first hurdle. there was unhappiness, of course we expected that, from other members of the democratic party and the republican party who voted no to the bill. interesting when you look at the numbers, they got well over 218. 314 yes votes in the end, but there was a significant rebellion by the republicans, 71 opposed the bill, including members of the freedom caucus,

who are ultraconservative. they wanted deeper spending cuts. and 46 democrats voted against it, including members of the progressive part of the party who are really concerned about some of the welfare restrictions that have been included in the bill. the kind of reaction we expected from those people. we expected that. but overall there is a sense of relief by most lawmakers. but of course the next battle is the senate.— of course the next battle is the senate. take us through what happens _ the senate. take us through what happens next - the senate. take us through what happens next in - the senate. take us through what happens next in the i what happens next in the senate, nomia. ., , , senate, nomia. ultimately, they need to get _ senate, nomia. ultimately, they need to get 60 — senate, nomia. ultimately, they need to get 60 votes _ senate, nomia. ultimately, they need to get 60 votes in - senate, nomia. ultimately, they need to get 60 votes in the - need to get 60 votes in the senate, there are 51 democrats, they controlled the senate by a slim majority. it goes to the senate, if there is unanimous consent, they will skip the debate and go straight to a vote. however, there are some people who have indicated they do plan to hold a debate, certainly from the republican side. for example, the south carolina republican senator lindsey graham have said he

would do that. so that could drag it on for a bit longer. again it has to get republican support. we understand there are at least six republicans that have said, republican senators, who have said they will vote for the bill. so if it does passed the senate, again it's going to be a very bipartisan bill. it will get to president biden's desk and he will sign it. it's worth remembering, the way the bill has been structured, it has been done intentionally so both sides, republicans and democrats, can say to their constituents and voters, we got what we wanted.— what we wanted. nomia iqbal, thank you _ what we wanted. nomia iqbal, thank you so — what we wanted. nomia iqbal, thank you so much. _ i spoke to members of both parties after the vote. democrat representative annie kuster praised the deal. a huge relief to the american economy and economies around the world.

i'm proud to have been a part of something to ensure we didn't default on this manufactured crisis by our republican colleagues. the good news is our government will continue with the full faith and credit of the usa. what made you decide to support this agreement? i am the chair of a group that's called a new democrat coalition, and we are all about the economy, jobs and opportunity. we are very compassionate, and at the end of the day, i believe the agreement negotiated by president biden and by his advisers is the best deal possible for us. look, i don't think we should have been in this position. i don't think the republicans should hold our economy hostage. but once we were here, we needed to negotiate, first of all a clean debt ceiling, and second of all, an agreement going forward

on future spending. and i'm confident we got the very best deal for our constituents. some democrats are not confident that this was not the best deal they could have gotten, and some talked about the caps on federal spending... your colleague in the senate bernie sanders said he is going to vote no, and he said, quote, at a time of massive wealth and income inequality, i cannot in good conscience vote for a bill that takes vital nutrition assistance away from women, infants, children, seniors, while refusing to ask billionaires who have never had it so good to pay a penny more in taxes. what do you think of that from senator sanders? look, i don't think the statement is wrong, but i think what we have to deal with in the house, democrats don't control the house of representatives. that ship sailed in november 2022. we don't have the majority.

so given a divided government, the voters that sent us here to washington, dc chose a divided government... i'm hoping that in november 2024, democrats prevail, and we can take even more compassionate steps. but what i do know about this bill is, for the first time, we've increased services to our veterans, we protect those who are homeless, or housing insecure. we have protected foster children up to age 24. so we've taken steps that are very compassionate. but, yes, i am hurt by the fact some people's lives will be more difficult. i want to win the election in november 2024, and i'm going to do everything we can to make a difference for those people. democrats are in control of the senate. are you confident they will pass this bill in the senate as well?

i am. it's a must pass bill. we have to avoid the default and the total meltdown, not just of our economy, but frankly, it would impact the economies all around the world. and what i would say is it will pass in the senate, they will get to 60 votes, i'm hoping they do that expeditiously, and so the markets can be calmed over the weekend, and they will open on monday knowing that we will not default on our obligations. and people can keep their homes, their mortgages, their credit card interest rates, and keep theirjobs. that's the most important goal, and that's why i voted yes. speaker of the house kevin mccarthy was just holding a press conference and he accused president biden of waiting far too long to negotiate. did the white house make a mistake there? no, absolutely not.

frankly, we were waiting for speaker mccarthy to put his point of view on the table. one thing about negotiating, you don't ever negotiate against yourself. so president biden had put his proposed budget out there. i might point out that president biden's proposed budget would have cut $3 trillion from the deficit. and the agreement we just voted on was far less than that. so frankly, if we had just voted to pass the president's budget, we would have lowered the deficit by even more. i want to ask you about your colleagues on the other side of the aisle. some members of the freedom caucus have indicated there will be a reckoning for this bill passing through the house of representatives. are you worried that the speaker of the house essentially made a deal that could cost him the speakership and end up with more turbulence in congress?

here's what i expect will happen. if the freedom caucus does move forward with a motion to vacate, i don't believe the democrats will support that move, and i think it will fail miserably on the floor of the house. and i think, finally, at long last, all of us together will put an end to the freedom caucus making decisions for our government, and for people all across this country. congresswoman kuster, democrat from the state of new hampshire, who just voted in support of this agreement on the house floor, thanks forjoiniong us. 0n the republican side of the aisle, representative ken buck explained his vote against the bill. there's 4 trillion reasons to vote against this deal. the debt in the united states will

rise by $4 trillion, from 31 trillion to 35 trillion, absolutely unacceptable, we cannot continue to sustain ourselves if we continue to add that much debt to our ledger. i that much debt to our ledger. i want to tell you what some of your republican colleagues have said about this deal today. speaker mccarthy, who negotiated this agreement, said this bill is a small step on putting the country on the right track. we know it will now head to the senate and a republican senator said this bill provides the first reduction in non—defence discretionary sending in a decade, a $1.5 trillion reduction. do you agree? no, that's nonsense. _ reduction. do you agree? no, that's nonsense. when - reduction. do you agree? i457, that's nonsense. when you add $4 trillion, you don't do that by reducing spending by 1.5 trillion. they know this doesn't reduce spending at all, frankly. they know this bill isn't going to be accepted by the american people, there is already a huge amount of pushback, and this isjust a failure. speaker mccarthy said

to the public that this was a victory. he said there was nothing in this bill for democrats. more democrats voted for this bill than republicans, because they realise under this bill, presidentjoe biden will be able to spend more money on the programmes he is so interested in promoting. share interested in promoting. are you concerned _ interested in promoting. are you concerned about what would have happened if there was no deal that passed through the house? the treasury secretary warned they would be a catastrophic economic collapse if there is no ingredient in place to raise the debt ceiling. place to raise the debt ceilinu. place to raise the debt ceiling-— place to raise the debt ceilinu. ., . , ceiling. -- no agreement. this is the same — ceiling. -- no agreement. this is the same secretary - ceiling. -- no agreement. this is the same secretary who - ceiling. -- no agreement. thisj is the same secretary who said there would be no sustained inflation in this country. she was wrong on that and she is wrong on this. the reality is we would have passed a short—term extension on the debt ceiling to give ourselves more time to negotiate. default was never an issue. it is one of those things people used to try to scare the public, to try to move people in the wrong direction. and they succeeded

in this case, because this bill goesin in this case, because this bill goes in the wrong direction. what is the mistake you think the speaker of the house kevin mccarthy made? he the speaker of the house kevin mccarthy made?— mccarthy made? he made the fundamental _ mccarthy made? he made the fundamental mistake - mccarthy made? he made the fundamental mistake of - fundamental mistake of misreading the american people and thinking that having $5 trillion more national debt was acceptable. that is not acceptable. that is not acceptable. we need spending caps. we need to make sure the biden administration is limited in how much more money it can spend. in how much more money it can send. ., . in how much more money it can send, ., ., in how much more money it can send. ., ., ., , spend. you have said after this vote there _ spend. you have said after this vote there will _ spend. you have said after this vote there will need _ spend. you have said after this vote there will need to - spend. you have said after this vote there will need to be - spend. you have said after this vote there will need to be a - vote there will need to be a discussion on whether to vacate kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house. will you be having that conversation with your colleagues? taste that conversation with your colleagues?— that conversation with your collea . ues? ~ . ., colleagues? we will have that conversation _ colleagues? we will have that conversation next _ colleagues? we will have that conversation next week. - colleagues? we will have that conversation next week. it - conversation next week. it already started on the floor. the democrats jumped on already started on the floor. the democratsjumped on the opportunity to support this bill. this speaker negotiated a bill. this speaker negotiated a bill that was more popular with the democrats than the republicans. frankly, there are 72 republicans now who voted against this bill who are ready to have that discussion about whether kevin mccarthy should

continue to be the speaker. [30 continue to be the speaker. do ou continue to be the speaker. do you think you will have enough votes for this motion? i you think you will have enough votes for this motion?- votes for this motion? i don't know. votes for this motion? i don't know- it _ votes for this motion? i don't know- it only _ votes for this motion? i don't know. it only takes _ votes for this motion? i don't know. it only takes five - votes for this motion? i don't know. it only takes five or . votes for this motion? i don'tj know. it only takes five or six votes, unless the democrats support kevin mccarthy for speaker, and that creates a whole new dynamic which really undermines his ability to get programmes through with a republican majority. [30 programmes through with a republican majority. republican ma'ority. do you still trust _ republican ma'ority. do you still trust the — republican majority. do you still trust the speaker - republican majority. do you still trust the speaker of. republican majority. do you| still trust the speaker of the house kevin mccarthy to lead congressional republicans? i don't trust kevin mccarthy as a fiscal conservative. i don't believe kevin mccarthy understands the significance of spending, and the threat to the united states. look, china is going around the world right now... we have been getting reports, talking to the governments of foreign countries in africa, asia, latin america, about how the united states is out of control with spending and debt, and china is a better partner, economic partner, than the united states. that's a very serious consequence of this kind of irresponsible bill.

congressman, what do you expect to see next from your colleagues in the senate? i think that zenit will have a very similar dynamic. i think there will be a large percentage of democrats who will support this bill. —— i think the senate. some republicans willjoin them. and they will declare victory and talk about what a great effort this was. the reality is the american people are going to be losers. ., , , ., ., ~ , ., losers. congressman, thank you so much for— losers. congressman, thank you so much forjoining _ losers. congressman, thank you so much forjoining us _ losers. congressman, thank you so much forjoining us on - losers. congressman, thank you so much forjoining us on bbc. so much forjoining us on bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. this could be the most equal friendly way to navigate the norfolk broads. but this hire boat comes a pretty close second. electric powered, it can run on a single charge for 16 hours. can run on a single charge for 16 hom— can run on a single charge for| 16 hours._ james'

16 hours. step aboard. james' family has— 16 hours. step aboard. james' family has been _ 16 hours. step aboard. james' family has been in _ 16 hours. step aboard. james' family has been in the - 16 hours. step aboard. james'l family has been in the business for 40 years. he says the move from diesel to electric is a no—brainer. from diesel to electric is a no-brainer._ from diesel to electric is a no-brainer. �* , , no-brainer. the broads is where we live and _ no-brainer. the broads is where we live and work. _ no-brainer. the broads is where we live and work. it's _ no-brainer. the broads is where we live and work. it's up - no-brainer. the broads is where we live and work. it's up to - no-brainer. the broads is where we live and work. it's up to us i we live and work. it's up to us to make sure we do absolutely everything we can to preserve that environment. and now charging technology has come on so much in the last ten years, it becomes far easier to do it more or less off the shelf. 50 more or less off the shelf. so wh not more or less off the shelf. so why not switch bigger hire boats to electric? 125 miles of navigable waterway, it's not that simple. and so the talk is of converting weekly cruises to hydrogen power, but that is still work and technology in progress. you're live with bbc news. kyiv has once again been rocked by russian strikes tonight. ukrainian officials say three people have been killed in the attack. two were children. it comes just hours after the us announced

the country is set to send a further $300 million worth of weaponry to ukraine, with a focus on air defence. and in an exclusive interview with the bbc, former us military chief general david petraeus was optimistic about the ukrainian military�*s chances of success in the anticipated upcoming counteroffensive. by by their public announcements, they have at least six additional armoured brigades. and others that they have equipped with western tanks and fighting vehicles. they have been training at our training centre in germany and the uk, eastern poland and ukraine. they are positioning those forces now, and when the ground is sufficiently dry, the tanks can go cross country, because you have to get off the road. without being mired. and with the arrival of some additional equipment that president zelensky has identified in the past, i think we will see this counter offensive, and i think it's going to be very impressive. earlier, i spoke to john bolton, former us national security advisor to president trump, to get

his thoughts on the us support for ukraine. it's great to have you on our show. today, the white house announced further aid to ukraine, munitions for patriot air defence systems, anti—aircraft systems, ammunition and anti—armour systems. i ammunition and anti-armour s stems. ~ ammunition and anti-armour system-— systems. i think additional assistance _ systems. i think additional assistance is _ systems. i think additional assistance is certainly - assistance is certainly welcome, but you don't win a conflict by providing a laundry list of weapons and ammunition and the like. you do it by deciding your objectives and then marshalling the resources necessary to achieve those objectives. that is called strategy. instead, for 15 months or more, the us and nato have said, we are going to give this weapon system, that weapons system, and it has not contributed really to a coherent effort for ukraine to repel the russian aggression. we are about to start a spring offensive, we are all waiting for it and we wish the ukrainians do best. but i think we have made their task more difficult by not being able to

say, at a much earlier point, this is how we are going to remove the russians from ukrainian territory. the pentagon _ ukrainian territory. the pentagon released - ukrainian territory. the pentagon released information on what it has provided so far. it includes 10,000 javelin anti—armour systems, over 345,000 mortar rounds, 72 howitzers, 31 abrams tanks. it all adds up to $38 billion in security assistance. some would say that is a coherent strategy of vigorous and robust support for ukraine.— for ukraine. with all due reapect. _ for ukraine. with all due reapect. it _ for ukraine. with all due respect, it is _ for ukraine. with all due respect, it is not. - for ukraine. with all due respect, it is not. it's . for ukraine. with all due respect, it is not. it's a i for ukraine. with all due i respect, it is not. it's a list of inputs. this is the way government talks, we have spent $31 billion on x, that is great, but what is the output? we want the removal of russian forces from ukrainian territory. hopefully we speak on the eve of a spring offensive and maybe that will achieve the desired result. but at this point, we have been through one debate after another over an extended period

of time. providing me gets to the ukrainians. the united states first said no and then yes. —— mi gjets. and the tanks, first we say no, the germans say no, then we say yes. providing f—16s, first we say no and then yes. this is not the way to runner railroad let alone a war. bill not the way to runner railroad let alone a war.— let alone a war. all of this has been _ let alone a war. all of this has been calibrated - let alone a war. all of this has been calibrated to - let alone a war. all of this | has been calibrated to what let alone a war. all of this - has been calibrated to what the west fears might be a response from russia. do you think those concerns are valid? i from russia. do you think those concerns are valid?— concerns are valid? i think the wa ou concerns are valid? i think the way you phrased _ concerns are valid? i think the way you phrased the - concerns are valid? i think the way you phrased the question| way you phrased the question shows the problem. we have been deterred by russia. we failed to deter russia in their invasion in february last year, by definition. and yet we are the ones who are intimidated. so let me ask the question of those who think this is so well calibrated... what army is russia going to use to escalate this conflict?

where are they hiding? and if it's such a great army, why isn't it in ukraine today trying to win the war? the only thing the russians have that we should justifiably fear is the threat of the use of nuclear weapons. and yet we know from open testimony by american intelligence officials that, essentially, in every prior mention of nuclear weapons by the kremlin, there is no evidence of any change in deployment of russian nuclear forces. meaning it has been entirely a bluff. so, yeah, we are calibrating forfear of a russian response. but let's be clear what happened. russia, in an unprovoked fashion, invaded a peaceful country and has doubled the amount of territory it now controls. what escalation is it that we fear when russia can do that and, so far, get away with it? so you think the threat of employing nuclear weapons is an empty threat? i think it has been

an empty threat so far. we should always take it seriously, but if merely threatening achieves the objectives, then russia gets it forfree. the tactical nuclear weapons we have been talking about would be used on ukrainian soil. and yet, how afraid are the ukrainians of that? it doesn't seem to me that they are so afraid that they are willing to forego the spring offensive. so i think if we follow the ukrainian resolve a little bit more, this war might be over sooner, and fewer civilians on the ukrainian side would be dying. ambassador, you have essentially said this white house administration, nato, don't have clearly defined goals of what they want to see in ukraine. what do you think that goal should be? the declared position of every nato ally is ukraine should be restored to full sovereignty and territorial integrity, meaning as of the date of the dissolution of

the soviet union, december 26th 1991... it means out of donbas and out of crimea. what is our strategy to achieve that? and if that's not our goal, if there are those in europe who don't think getting russia out of crimea is part of the strategy, why don't they say so publicly? that's part of the problem. we have a declared position but our strategy is not fixed to achieve that objective. what do you make of republican presidential candidates like the former president donald trump and the current governor of florida ron desantis who are not strongly supporting ukraine in this conflict? i think desantis and trump have different positions, and i do worry that the isolationist virus is loose in the us again. but i think the campaigns are at a very early stage. i think at this point, support among the general population to continue to aid ukraine is overwhelming.

i want to ask you about a possible path to peace, we spoke to richard haas last week. while we are continuing to help ukraine, can we introduce a diplomatic dimension? i'm not talking about peace, not talking about letting bygones be bygones, but at least bring about something of a ceasefire. what do you think of that? i would quote douglas macarthur, who once said, "in war, there is no substitute for victory." ambassador, thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. let's turn to conflict in sudan. there are reports of ongoing fighting in the north of the capital khartoum, hours after the army suspended ceasefire talks with the paramilitary rapid support forces. both sides have accused each other of breaking ceasefires, the latest of which is supposed to be in place until saturday. merchuma has this report from nairobi.

i think the withdrawal of the army really puts the situation in sudan into a very complex place for all the players and people who are trying to just sort things out and bring the warring sides to the table. and most importantly, you know, to reduce the suffering, at least for the people who are stuck in sudan, those people who are leaving sudan because of the conflict. but with the current announcement and the current position of the army, it means a couple of things. first of all, people are afraid this may mean fighting really intensifies, because there has been a lull in some areas, and this means fighting may intensify. and number two, the humanitarian efforts that have been in place, especially from the beginning of this week, where we have seen humanitarian organisations like wfp distributing food aid to people, they were really hopeful that they could stretch their distribution and get to the people who are most in need. but now there are fears that aid trucks would be stopped,

they could be looted and things may get worse. unfortunately we cannot really tell, as of now, what this means tomorrow or next week for the people of sudan. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. the weather for half—term week continues to frustrate some but glorious for others. west has certainly been best — wednesday was the warmest day of the year so far in scotland, just shy of 25. once again along the east coast of scotland and england, it was cool and grey at times. that is because the high—pressure centred to the far north—west, and with the wind direction swinging round clockwise, it's always going to be driving in cloud off

the chilly north sea. thursday, we start off grey and gloomy, damp enough for some drizzle but the sunshine will come through, and into the afternoon once again we have those contrasts. south west england and wales, the west midlands and south coast — dry, sunny and warm. east anglia and east of the pennines, cool and breezy at times. more sunshine west of the pennines and into northern ireland, and for western scotland the temperature peaks in the low 20s. so really a tale of two halves. where we have the best of the sunshine, that's where we will have the highest pollen, grass pollen as well at this time of year. low to moderate, especially on the east coast. high pressure just drifts a little further east. then we see subtle differences with that high, but it will mean more sunshine coming through on friday. slightly drier air and lighter winds and a good deal of dry, settled and sunny weather. it will still feel cooler along

the exposed east coast, but sunshine to go with it, which will hopefully compensate and once again sheltered western areas will see highs into the low 20s. the weekend sees the high pressure continue to push steadily eastwards, so some subtle differences. if you are heading to the beaches, west is best once again, with the temperature into the low 20s, but along the east coast we have sunshine as we head into the weekend. just that little bit fresher, and we still continue to see the breeze coming from the north—east, and guess what? as we head into early next week, very little in the way of change, largely dry with the warmest and driest weather out to the west. take care.

this is bbc news. will have the headlines and all the main new store for you at the top of the hour, straight out of the hour, straight after this programme. south africa has entered a dark age. as winter sets in, the power is off for up to 12 hours a day. it's notjust power failure. on a host of basic services. housing, policing and jobs,

south africa's government is struggling to deliver.