hello, i'm victoria valentine, welcome to the programme. the us house of representatives has passed a bill which will increase the amount of money the country's government can borrow, after weeks of tense negotiations. the legislation still requires approval from the senate before monday to avoid defaulting on its debts, which would have serious economic consequences. president biden released this statement after the vote. kevin mccarthy, the most senior republican in congress, defended the bill after the vote passed. we decided that you had

to spend less and we achieved that 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 dang good for the american public. our correspondent, nomia iqbal, has the latest from capitol hill. there was a sigh of relief in the chamber when it was finally announced the bill has passed the house of representatives. remember, the magic number was 218. in the end, 314 voted yes, so they overwhelmingly backed the bill. in terms of breaking it down in numbers, ultimately more democrats supported the bill, 165. 149 republicans backed it. in terms of the republicans that opposed the bill, many of them were ones that we suspected, the ultra conservative members of the party, the house freedom caucus, who felt that the bill didn't go far enough in spending cuts.

and then over on the democratic side, there were members of the more progressive parts of the party who voted no as well. they were really angry that president biden even negotiated in the first place. the president has said he was happy to talk about spending cuts, but he wouldn't tie it to the debt ceiling. the fact that he did in the end, for many of the progressive members of the party, is seen as a betrayal. president biden himself, he is in colorado at the moment giving a commencement speech at the air force academy. he released a statement. in it, he said, to quote him, speaker mccarthy, he thanked speaker mccarthy and his team for what he said was negotiating in good faith. lets speak now to jared mondschein. he's the director of research at the united states studies centre at the university of sydney. thank you very much forjoining us. what does this say about these two as negotiators? and

what does this say about bipartisanship in the states? is it working? in bipartisanship in the states? is it working?— bipartisanship in the states? is it working? in america and overseas. — is it working? in america and overseas, people _ is it working? in america and overseas, people are pretty l overseas, people are pretty worried about the state of american politics and democracy more broadly, but this is a point of evidence that there is some bipartisan work going on. the first couple of years of the biden administration, a couple of bipartisan efforts, on semiconductors, infrastructure. now you are seeing a budget deal that would actually postpone further negotiations until 2025 on this issue. again, that shows bipartisanship is in many ways alive and well. a big part of that, i should say, is president biden. he comes to the white house with half a century of experience. he knows from his time in the tenet how to negotiate these deals. and you have mccarthy as well, a lot of folks have underestimated his ability to

get a package out and to get enough of his caucus voting in favour of it. something both president biden and speaker mccarthy are proud of, and as i said, this is altogether a rare occurrence sometimes in american politics.- occurrence sometimes in american politics. i've been readin: american politics. i've been reading an _ american politics. i've been reading an article _ american politics. i've been reading an article that - american politics. i've been reading an article that you i reading an article that you wrote on may 29th. in it, you say most us citizens and politicians will agree washington is broken, when the government doesn't function as well as it should. how should it function? is it possible to function better than it currently does, given that it is a divided government? that is a divided government? that is a divided government? that is a aood is a divided government? that is a good question. _ is a divided government? that is a good question. if- is a divided government? twat is a good question. if you look at the last budget negotiation, during the obama administration, 2011, he was facing the republican speaker john boehner. in that instance, the obama administration came tojohn boehner and they got a

deal called the budget control act. a lot of folks, including myself, think we are still suffering from that. it still has an impact on us foreign policy. defence spending. many years later. so what you are seeing with biden and mccarthy on the other hand, they may be learning from that experience and trying to find a way to avoid those sorts of incidents happening again. not talking about this again until 2025, potentially during a lame duck administration between two administrations, the quiet period of the year... i think it shows awareness that they have learned their lesson in not wanting to go through this again, at least for a couple of years, and two, they want to try to quiet down the discourse, to try to find more accommodation between each other. , , ., .,

accommodation between each other. , , . ., , other. just explain what this economy — other. just explain what this economy means _ other. just explain what this economy means to - other. just explain what this economy means to the - other. just explain what this economy means to the rest| other. just explain what this i economy means to the rest of the world, and what the debt means in so far as the underpinning of the global financial system is that we have in place.— financial system is that we have in place. so, yeah, we have in place. so, yeah, we have heard _ have in place. so, yeah, we have heard the _ have in place. so, yeah, we have heard the cataclysmicl have heard the cataclysmic impact that a default would have. because the us economy and the us government debt is so central. in many ways, it's hard to completely quantify accurately, because it's like the wallpaper. we don't even notice it in many ways, in terms of how integral it is to the economy. you have that aspect, and a lot of folks have heard about how dangerous the default would be. and as i said before, then you have the actual budget. whether the us stopped spending money on foreign policy, defence, in the way they have before, that really has a major implication for other people, like where i am in australia. the

indo—pacific. asia. has not been followed through in the way it has been hoped, to a certain extent because of the budget spending. a lot of allies including the uk, australia, overseas in capitals around the world, they want more stability from the us on this. and i think this budget deal helps give them that. so it's notjust the economic component, it is also the budget certainty when you are engaging with the us government. i engaging with the us government.- engaging with the us government. engaging with the us covernment. . , ~ government. i am 'ust thinking about math government. i am just thinking about what happens _ government. i am just thinking about what happens next. - government. i am just thinking about what happens next. we l about what happens next. we know that obviously the next thing, this is going to go to the senate. but i wonder what this means in terms of how other countries around the world are going to look at the us strengths, both home and abroad, as a result of this. the ability to coalesce around an idea... don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. exactly,

that is the _ the enemy of the good. exactly, that is the way _ the enemy of the good. exactly, that is the way democracies - that is the way democracies work, they are not always the most efficient but in many ways they are the most sustainable. the us government and congress has not landed on this budget deal in a very clean ways. no one really wants to get this close to a default. but with that said, it is likely to occur, a deal is likely to occur, a deal is likely to occur, and a default is likely to be avoided. and it's because of the way president biden and speaker mccarthy were able to realise that they could not get everything they wanted, but they were able to compromise, and that is the pathway forward on this. as i said in the piece you referenced earlier, that sort of political noise going on in america continues to be a lingering concern by countries overseas, about whether america is stable and reliable. that flies in the face of all the

other confidence america has going for it right now in terms of more energy independence, in terms of more diplomatic accomplishments overseas, altering alliances around the world. there's a lot going on in favour of the us right now, and this budget deal is yet one more thing. but i think many in washington on both sides of the aisle are hoping it doesn't have to follow this pathway so close to the edge next time. let's hope not. thank you very much for your time and analysis. we will be keeping with the story in the business news as well, looking at some of the ramifications. and plenty more on the website. we have written a big piece on this, and what it means for the rest of the world. you can see analysis from washington, and from my colleagues as well on what all this means. let's get some of the day's other news now. officials in ukraine say three people have been

killed in a night—time air attack on kyiv. the city's military administration said two of the dead were children. four people were injured. there's been a series of russian missile and drone strikes on the ukrainian capital this week. a major summit bringing together dozens of european leaders will take place today in moldova. it's one of the countries most affected by the war in ukraine. the meeting will also address challenges such as cyber security, energy supply and migration. a man's been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a girl aged 12 and boy of 17 died in hospital following an incident off bournemouth beach in the south of england. they were among ten people recovered from the water. the european union and the united states say they're close to finalising a set of voluntary rules on artifical intelligence. there have been growing calls to regulate the industry. on tuesday, leading industry experts warned that al's rapid development could lead to humanity's extinction.

the uk government has until 4pm this afternoon to hand over borisjohnson�*s unredacted whatsapp messages, notebooks and official diaries to the covid public inquiry. the head of the inquiry has warned that legal action could be taken if the government fails to provide the full documents. the former prime minister's spokesman says he has already supplied them to the cabinet office. ione wells has more. accountability for those who made decisions. lessons for those in charge now. answers for those still grieving. that's what the covid public inquiry hopes to provide. the inquiry says it needs unredacted whatsapp messages, diaries and notebooks of the former prime minister borisjohnson to do this work. the government says it shouldn't have to hand over material that is unambiguously irrelevant. it fears this would compromise politicians�* right to privacy,

and could affect policy—making in future. the inquiry says it is for them to decide what is relevant, and that not handing over the requested material could be a criminal offence. borisjohnson could hand over the material himself. his spokesman says he will if the inquiry asked him to. yesterday, mrjohnson handed the cabinet office remaining documents of his that they didn't have. the cabinet office has until 4pm this afternoon to decide their next steps. key figures here suggest it's unlikely the government will back down and hand them over. or that the inquiry will back down and accept this. time is running out to reach a compromise before this could turn into a thorny legal battle. the un war crimes tribunal has

increased the prison terms of two former officials who were convicted of training death squads accused of mass killings during the break—up of yugoslavia in the 1990s. they will serve 15 years instead of the 12 they were originally given. it's the last major verdict to be delivered by the tribunal, 30 years after it opened. our international editorjeremy bowen has more. i think they'll see it as a very significant way of marking what had happened, getting some of the culprits, setting up the historical record. i testified in four separate trials at the hague. and if you look back at what was going on in bosnia 30 years ago, exactly to this week, which is when the united nations did the vote in the security council that set up the tribunal, no—one thought it was going to work. no—one thought it was going to make a difference. war crimes were going on and there seemed to be a sense of impunity, that anybody could get away with it. particularly on the bosnian serb side. in sarajevo, where i was, this very week then,

there were hundreds and sometimes thousands of shells every day hitting the city, killing civilians, killing children. and they seemed to be getting away with it. but what the war crimes tribunal did, through many years of very hard work by lawyers, judges, investigators, lots of other people, they got the main people who were responsible for what was happening. it wasn't perfect. a lot of people weren't got lower down the line, but people like milosevic, you mentioned, the serbian leader, the leaders of the bosnian serbs, they are now in prison, serving life for genocide, etc etc. so that was a remarkable achievement in doing all of that. now these processes, these verdicts today, the tribunal itself ended in 2017. this has still been going on, because war crimes procedures are very, very complicated.

if we fast forward to ukraine, some people are saying, let's try and have the same thing for ukraine. it's not going to happen, not in this same form, because for yugoslavia, it was set up by the united nations security council, it had that legitimacy and legality. russia is a veto—wielding permanent member of the security council. they are not going to vote for a tribunal to investigate what they are doing. jeremy has recorded a great new podcast called the front lines ofjournalism, available on bbc sounds and on bbc radio 4. he goes on his own experiences as a reporter, a war reporter, over many decades. he poses a fundamental question, really, is it enough to just report it straight? this series is looking at where reporters should draw the line in a job

that essentially often required entering people's lives at the very worst moment. so do have a look at that, go check that out, i promise it's worth it. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. the popularity of vapes, ecigarettes, is showing no sign of slowing down, and it's the use of these products among young people that is causing the most concern. vapes were introduced as a less harmful alternative to smoking, but a doctor in wales says he is seeing some patients admitted to hospital with severe respiratory problems due to vaping. respiratory problems due to vain. ~ w respiratory problems due to vauin, ~ ., respiratory problems due to vain. ., ., vaping. most of them make a aood vaping. most of them make a good recovery _ vaping. most of them make a good recovery of _ vaping. most of them make a good recovery of their - vaping. most of them make a good recovery of their lungs i vaping. most of them make a | good recovery of their lungs in time, but a lot can be leading to other health problems from being in intensive care. it is a real risk. being in intensive care. it is a real risk-— being in intensive care. it is a real risk. an industry leader sa s a real risk. an industry leader says more — a real risk. an industry leader says more needs _ a real risk. an industry leader says more needs to _ a real risk. an industry leader says more needs to be - a real risk. an industry leader says more needs to be done i a real risk. an industry leader.

says more needs to be done to stop some retailers breaking the law. t stop some retailers breaking the law. ~ the law. i think the fine should be _ the law. i think the fine should be at _ the law. i think the fine should be at least - the law. i think the fine - should be at least £10,000 per instance — should be at least £10,000 per instance. and that the only thing — instance. and that the only thing that's going to stop these _ thing that's going to stop these retailers who frankly don't — these retailers who frankly don't care what they sell to who — you're live with bbc news. novak djokovic has defended making controversial remarks about kosovo at the french open. on monday, the serbian tennis star wrote the phrase "kosovo is the heart of serbia — stop the violence" on the lens of a television camera. the french sports minister said the comments weren't appropriate. but speaking after his latest win on wednesday, djokovic said it was an issue he stood for. there's been unrest in kosovo this week after the authorities forcibly installed ethnic—albanian mayors in serb—majority areas. serbia has never recognised kosovo's independence.

a nasa panel investigating unidentified flying objects has collected around 800 mysterious reports, but researchers say only a small fraction are truly unexplained. the space agency set up the panel last year to explain its work in this area, as emer mccarthy reports. we've all wanted to know if we are alone in this universe. and on wednesday, we got that little bit closer, with nasa holding its first public meeting on ufos. or, as they call them, uaps. now, uap stands for unidentified anomalous phenomena. but that's a bit of a tongue twister, so we're going to stick with uaps. so let's take a look at some of the findings from wednesday's meeting. firstly, uap sightings are defined as sightings that can't be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective.

and there's been around 800 mysterious reports. only a small amount of those, though, are truly unexplained. nasa gets about 50—100 new reports each month, but only 2—5% of the total that nasa has are possibly really anomalous. now, uap related data is often difficult to interpret, and of course that means it can be easily skewed. let's take a listen to scott kelly, a former astronaut who thought he had a bit of a run—in with a uap. i remember one time i was flying in the warning areas off virginia beach, military operating area there. and the guy who sits in the back of the tomcat was convinced we flew by a ufo. so i didn't see it, we turned around, we went to go look at it. it turns out it was bart simpson, a balloon. laughter researchers are set to release

a report later this year, so it may be a little time yet until we know if we are truly alone in the universe. australia's most decorated living soldier will find out shortly if he's won a defamation case over newspaper claims he committed war crimes in afghanistan. ben roberts—smith is suing three australian newspapers over a series of articles in 2018 which he says defamed him. the case is a civil, not a criminal, trial. phil mercerjoins us now from sydney. and this case has rocked australia. tell us about the man at the centre of this case. ben roberts—smith received the victoria cross, australia's highest military honour, for an act of heroism during a tour in afghanistan, when he

single—handedly took on the taliban during what is described as a heroic battle. he is, as you say, australia's most decorated living soldier. in 2018, three newspapers began a series of articles about ben roberts—smith, accusing him of involvement in the murders of six unarmed prisoners or civilians, including an allegation that he used a machine—gun to kill a prisoner and then took the dead man's artificial leg as a trophy. now, ben roberts—smith has always denied any wrongdoing. his lawyers believe the trial evidence against him is fanciful and inconsistent, and that the claims made against him are the result of smears and lies from former special forces colleagues of ben roberts—smith. in the last couple of minutes, the judge has started making his

long—awaited judgment, has started making his long—awaitedjudgment, given long—awaited judgment, given that the long—awaitedjudgment, given that the newspaper articles began back in 2018. so this has been a lengthyjourney for both sides. the newspapers involved in this civil matter are relying on a truth defence, essentially saying that what they printed was true. so ben roberts-smith _ they printed was true. so ben roberts-smith denying - they printed was true. so ben roberts-smith denying all. roberts—smith denying all allegations. he claims this series of articles are not true. throughout this trial, there has been an astonishing amount of evidence that has come to light, some of which to do with this in the articles, and some to do with the man himself and the circumstances in which he has been living over the last few years. yes, there were — over the last few years. yes, there were allegations - over the last few years. yes, i there were allegations printed in the newspapers of domestic abuse, perpetrated by ben roberts—smith. and you have to remember, this is a civil matter. this is not a criminal

case. here in australia, defamation proceedings require a lower burden of proof. so ben roberts—smith has not been charged with any criminal offence. he denies any wrongdoing. so what he alleges is these newspaper stories defamed him, and essentially ruin his reputation by presenting him as a talisman who ignored the legal and moral codes of war. what we are hearing now inside the federal court that's sitting in sydney todayis court that's sitting in sydney today is the judge beginning his long—awaited verdict. and of course, this is a case that has gripped australia for many years. so very shortly, we will hear a verdict in this case. it might not be straightforward, it might be quite messy. this is a very complicated case. but safe to say, the home stretch, so to speak, is now within sight. so to speak, is now within siuht. . �* , ~

sight. that's right, phil. we are looking _ sight. that's right, phil. we are looking at _ sight. that's right, phil. we are looking at the _ sight. that's right, phil. we are looking at the federal. are looking at the federal courtjustice on screen now. he has arrived, he is reading his summary of thejudgment. has arrived, he is reading his summary of the judgment. we understand he has actually started already delivering a summary of his decision only, and he says this... this summary is intended to assist in understanding the outcome of this proceeding and is not a complete statement of the conclusions reached by the court. an authoritative statement of the court's reasons is contained in the published reasons forjudgment. published reasons for judgment. so published reasons forjudgment. so at the moment, he is updating on the basic details of the case, but as you say, people right across australia are waiting for this verdict, to find out whether or not this man is a hero or a villain. and man is a hero or a villain. and this really _ man is a hero or a villain. and this really plays _ man is a hero or a villain. and this really plays into - man is a hero or a villain. and this really plays into a - man is a hero or a villain. jifuc this really plays into a far bigger picture. a few years ago, november2020, there bigger picture. a few years ago, november 2020, there was an official investigation that

suggested there was evidence of broader misconduct by australian soldiers in afghanistan. so this is part of the very bigger picture. thanks very much. _ the very bigger picture. thanks very much, phil, _ the very bigger picture. thanks very much, phil, reporting - the very bigger picture. thanks very much, phil, reporting live| very much, phil, reporting live from sydney on ben roberts—smith. the verdict, the judgment being handed down in the former australian soldier's defamation case. stay with us 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.

live from london. this is bbc news. one down but one left to go. the us house of representatives passes the debt ceiling package, it's now heading to the senate for a final vote. in china — what's next for the 11 million university graduates entering the toughest labour market in years? and we'll be speaking to this year's winner of the veuve clicquot bold woman award — celebrating female high achievers in business. it's tessa clarke — founder of the food sharing app olio.