hello, i'm victoria valentine, welcome to the programme. the us senate has approved a bill to suspend the government debt limit, averting the threat of an unprecedented default. the deal secured bipartisan support, with 63 votes in favour and 36 opposed, although most republicans voted against. president biden described it as a big win for the economy and the american people. the bill will now be signed into law by the president. the leading democrat in the senate, chuck schumer, said default would have been catastrophic, inflicting unnecessary pain on tens of millions. default was the giant sword

hanging over america's head, but because of the good work of president biden as well as democrats and the house and democrats and the house and democrats in the senate, we are not defaulting. democrats said from the start and we must take default of the table. for a long time republicans, many republicans in the house resisted, house republicans ready to take default hostage in order to pop —— as a radical heritage to gender that never could have passed with the american people. so tonight's outcome is very welcome news for our economy and for american families. i sank my colleagues for the good work tonight. i commend president biden and his team for producing a sensible compromise under the most difficult circumstances. so many of the destructive provisions in the republican bill are gone. senate majority leader chuck schumer there, welcoming the outcome of the vote and praising the work of democrats. our north america correspondent

jessica parker has been following this. this piece of legislation went through the house, the lower chamber, now the senate, the upper chamber, and it will proceed tojoe biden cos desk, probably the most predictable part of this process, we know what will happen, he will sign it into law. this follows extensive wrangling and negotiations between senior republicans and the white house over this debt ceiling deal. interestingly, joe biden will address the nation on friday night and he's been keen to try and demonstrate that this agreement contains some wins for him. he has talked about protecting core government programmes that are a priority for him, investment in clean energy. and forjoe biden, he was very keen or will be very relieved, that the us is not

going to default on monday as the us treasury warned it might because it would have happened on his watch, even if he had tried to blame republicans. so there will be a relief for the white house and it's a two—year deal so it means it lives on beyond the next presidential race. he wouldn't want to have had a similarfight like race. he wouldn't want to have had a similar fight like this as he bids for election. for the republicans, kevin mccarthy has talked a lot about how he has talked a lot about how he has won back spending curbs and buffer of arms and how the white house didn't even want to do any kind of negotiation over the debt ceiling, ijust wanted a clean debt ceiling deal, so he's been trying to chalk up victories there. at the truth is there are people from both democrats and republicans who have been critical of the agreement was reached, and this whole episode has once again exposed notjust those exposed not just those ideological and exposed notjust those ideological and political divisions between republicans and democrats, but within those parties as well.

plenty more available on that story on bbc website. there's a explainer on what in this deal and who won. plus, you could say, parties won over this, averting a us default which would have rocked the financial markets. and we will be talking all about this in the business news in about 20 minutes. let's leave that for the moment. let's get some of the day's other news now. senegal�*s interior minister has announced that nine people have been killed in clashes that erupted after the main opposition leader was given a two—yearjail term. 0usmane sonko was found guilty of immoral behaviour, but cleared of rape. the internet has been partially blocked by the authorities. the largest wildfire ever recorded in the canadian province of nova scotia is continuing to grow. it is now estimated to cover more than 20—thousand hectares with witnesses reporting

flames 100 metres high. the emergency services say scorching temperatures are hampering their battle to control the fire. the white house says president biden is fine after he fell over at a public event in colorado. the president had been standing for about an hour and a half to shake hands with each of the 921 graduating cadets. he was helped back up to his feet and appeared to be unhurt. the british tv presenter phillip schofield says he has lost everything and feels nothing but blackness, sadness and regret — after admitting to lying about a relationship with a younger male colleague. speaking for the first time since resigning from itv last week, he told the bbc he'd become close to the man after exchanging messages on twitter — but it was "just chat" before they worked together at this morning.

phillip schofield was talking to amol rajan — and he strenuously denied claims he had groomed the man. you met someone who's a child. you were in a position of power over them. you used your power eventually to give them something they craved, which is a shot at a job in the media. you nurtured a relationship, and then that relationship became sexual. they might ask, what's the difference between that and grooming? well, i would say that your initial list of things was not right anyway. tell me why. because it was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent twitter follow of which i follow 11,400 people. and and then it was a completely innocent, backwards and forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers. i mean, you do that. what — what's wrong with that? what's wrong with talking to someone no matter what age they are? does that mean that if — if you are, if you're

following anyone on twitter that you absolutely don't talk to anybody else or you don't give advice? so i disagree with the summation that you just gave because that does paint a very grave picture. in which case, why do you say it was unwise? because you're clearly sensitive to the power differential and you're clearly mindful of the dangers of abuse of power. the brief communications backwards and forwards up to the point that that he came to work on this morning, i think was just chat. what was unwise was the fact that it happened. and that was a very, very grave error. now, it was consensual. but it was my fault. if you're watching in the uk — you can see the full interview on bbc iplayerfrom 6am. so injust so in just under so injust underan so injust under an hour. there

is plenty more content on that interview, so it is worth watching, certainly. but before you do that commercially talk a more about this? —— can we talk. live now to chicago with andre phillips, a news and entertainment journalist. schofield breaking his silence, was it wise to do so? doesn't change perception of phillip schofield in the uk and internationally? == phillip schofield in the uk and internationally?— phillip schofield in the uk and internationally? -- dazz eight. i think at internationally? -- dazz eight. | think at this _ internationally? -- dazz eight. i think at this point, _ internationally? -- dazz eight. i think at this point, you - internationally? -- dazz eight. i think at this point, you have l i think at this point, you have to look at the entire interview. he can't do any worse, he is using a bright coloured disposable vapour during his interview and it's full on narcissism. nobody has a problem with him being gay or if the young man is reportedly gave us of the issue that a lot of us over here are questioning is the boundaries. you know, this was a 15—year—old young

man, who doesn't know anything about life, and you are an older seasoned man who could have taken the opportunity to school him on life, not groom him, but the other term in terms of grooming is mentor, and he looked at mentoring in a different light. just the embarrassment that this man has caused his family and not only to this as a young man's family but also just himself in the community. i but also just himself in the community-— but also just himself in the communi . ., ., ., community. i would argue that phillip schofield _ community. i would argue that phillip schofield is _ community. i would argue that phillip schofield is saying - phillip schofield is saying that the relationship with the man actually began when he was 20 years old, not 15, and he has strenuously denied any accusations of grooming. he said categorically that interview, i am said categorically that interview, iam not said categorically that interview, i am not a groomer. the term mentoring is like the same thing wise—mac while, it's not, it's very different. i think everyone knows that.

there is some truth to that. but at 15, you have got to be very clear, despite boundaries, if there is a clear age gap and even at 20 years old, if it is someone that looks up to you, once to work in the entertainment industry, then it should have never gone past that. yes, they were two consenting adults, but still, it's just an odd relationship to reallyjust have. and then for him to label him as a mate, and then a boyfriend, basically you're saying he isjust and then a boyfriend, basically you're saying he is just a friend with benefits. but you're saying he isjust a friend with benefits. but there will be plenty _ friend with benefits. but there will be plenty of _ friend with benefits. but there will be plenty of people, - will be plenty of people, consenting adults all across the world who are not necessarily in relationships or situations or anything else they want to call them, the boundaries are blurred, that's just the nature of human relationships, does it need to have a label that he was a boyfriend, does it make any difference whatsoever? they

were consenting adults, as assessed phillip schofield there is not an arthur narrative to say otherwise. i think that it doesn't matter at this point because for one, at the time this allegedly happened, phillip schofield was still married. 50 happened, phillip schofield was still married.— still married. so now you are havin: , still married. so now you are having. you _ still married. so now you are having, you know, _ still married. so now you are having, you know, certain i having, you know, certain relationships with this young man who you took under your wing? you have to think about it, this happens every day, we are in news, all this has happened before, we have seen it before, so it's really nothing new, that it does blur the lines of what you said between professional and personal, just having to work with this person that you have a consenting relationship with, and that's what becomes odd about the situation. and like i said, if you would have used his power in a different light, thenjust, you know, going after this young man, this could have been totally different.— could have been totally different. ~ ., ., ., ., different. we are going to have to leave it _ different. we are going to have to leave it there _ different. we are going to have to leave it there for _ different. we are going to have to leave it there for the - to leave it there for the

moment. thank you very much. thank you. another rail strike in the uk begins within the next few hours. 0nly around half of normal services will run. england is the worst—hit, but services running into scotland and wales are also affected. train firms and the government have said they've made fair offers to the rmt union. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin reports. it's the second of three strike days this week on the railway. today it's rail workers in the rmt union, such as train guards and station staff. tomorrow, thousands of train drivers in the aslef union. that means travel to a number of big events, including the fa cup final, is being disrupted. for rail passengers, it all adds up to more frustration. got to get the coach back on saturday, which is an absolute pain. yeah, so it's taken a lot of time out of the weekend and means i can't stay as long.

previously we were travelling by train quite a lot, but it's made us a little bit nervous about making bookings, hasn't it, because it did quite a few different events where we had to cancel or make other arrangements. i mean, everyone's in the same boat, i no—one's had... i haven't had a pay. rise for many years, but it'sjust had a knock—on effect on people now - and i think people are just getting fed up with it. - i think the government need to do something about it and actually listen to what the union as well and what people are saying. after nearly a year of strikes, the rmt dispute is once again at a standstill. hopes that members at the 1a train companies involved might get a vote on a new offer came to nothing in april, when the union rejected the industry's latest proposals. they included a 5% pay rise for one year and 4% the next, dependent on agreeing changes to ways of working at individual operators. the rmt says it regrets the inconvenience caused by more action. we wouldn't be calling 20,000 members out today without a good reason. this is over 20 times now we've done this

and our members are losing a lot of money and it's an inconvenience caused. we have to pursue the dispute until we have a fair deal for our members. the rail delivery group has accused rmt negotiators and leaders of being at odds with each other. they and the government described the proposals on the table as fair. both sides insist they are open to more talks, although none are currently in the diary. without a breakthrough, an end to these strikes could still be a long way away. katy austin, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. a group of children risking their lives at llantwit railway station, shocking footage but something rail bosses happens all too often at stations across wales. but now there is across wales. but now there is a warning that the danger is

even bigger. these are the new overhead cables carrying huge voltage above our heads. this s stem voltage above our heads. this system is _ voltage above our heads. this system is alive _ voltage above our heads. this system is alive and _ voltage above our heads. ti 3 system is alive and carries 24,000 system is alive and carries 211,000 volts. part of our metro, ourtram 211,000 volts. part of our metro, our tram and train system for the cardiff and valleys lines.— system for the cardiff and valleys lines. that will mean faster and — valleys lines. that will mean faster and cleaner _ valleys lines. that will mean faster and cleaner trains - valleys lines. that will mean faster and cleaner trains in l faster and cleaner trains in the years ahead but also a bigger risk. the years ahead but also a bigger risk-_ bigger risk. things like collecting _ bigger risk. things like collecting your - bigger risk. things like collecting your mobile | bigger risk. things like - collecting your mobile phone if you drop it, going to get you for but if you kick it over the fence, things like that now have an added danger. you don't actually have to touch the equipment to receive a shock. coming too close can mean the electricity can actually jump. the warning is also very clear and very visible. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. your live with bbc news. russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, is in south africa ahead of a summit of major economies — the so—called brics group — in august. south africa is coming under increasing pressure to decide whether president putin will be

allowed to attend that meeting after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for mr putin over war crimes in ukraine. 0ur africa correspondent, andrew harding, reports from cape town. at the southern tip of africa today, russia is hard at work assembling allies. the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov, joining his chinese, indian, brazilian and south african counterparts. a growing alliance seeking to challenge the west on many issues, including the war in ukraine. mr lavrov lashed out at a "selfish west", accusing it of exploiting and imposing its will on poorer nations. stop putin, stop the war! 0n the seashore outside the venue, a small group of ukrainians, protesting against russia's invasion of their country. we want minister lavrov to immediately stop an unjust

and unprovoked war. to stop killing civilians, to stop killing our children. russian officials watch from their balcony. for russia, the point of all this is to show that it's not isolated. yes, the west may be united against it because of ukraine but huge countries like india, like china are still supporting moscow, and large parts of africa too are at least trying to sit on the fence. officially, south africa is neutral on ukraine, butjust down the road from today's gathering, a naval base from where it's claimed weapons were recently shipped to russia, an act allegedly caught on this amateur video. we are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel and i would bet my life on the accuracy of that assertion. south african officials insist that's not true, but they have an even bigger headache now. vladimir putin, wanted by the

international criminal court, is due to come here in august for a summit meeting. so if putin comes here, what will it achieve for him? yet another propaganda coup. "i'm strong, i'm not alone and the west is helpless to stop me going where i want." minister, andrew harding from bbc. if president putin coming here in august, will you arrest him? yes or no? the south african government is currently looking at what the various legal options are. but it sounds to a lot of people like a fudge. the answer is clear cut, your obligations are to arrest him. the obligations are clear but the answer is not fudged. the answer is the president will indicate what the final position of south africa is. privately though, officials here are hoping for a deal that avoids a putin visit and spares south africa's struggling economy from a furious western backlash. andrew harding,

bbc news, cape town. the social media personality andrew tate has denied using his influence among young people to fuel a culture of misogyny and intolerance. he made the comments in his first tv interview with a major broadcaster while under house arrest. he's currently under investigation by romanian prosecutors following accusations of rape, human trafficking and exploiting women. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson has been following andrew tate's case for some time, and put to him in romania some of the claims about his views, public statements and alleged offences. andrew tate has built his image around cars, cigars and controversy, his followers swallowing his sexism along with his success. you know i'm innocent. he's said little in public since his arrest in romania five months ago for rape and human trafficking. today, the bbc was the first major media outlet to challenge him on those allegations

and on concerns from police, schools and rights organisations that he's spreading misogynistic attitudes among boys and men. andrew tate. hello. have you raped anybody? absolutely not. have you trafficked anybody? absolutely not. exploited any women for money? absolutely not. but you have admitted using emotional manipulation to get women to work in the webcam industry for you. no. the bbc has spoken to somebody since your arrest who says exactly those things — that with you, it's all manipulation. there's an ulterior motive to everything... 0h, sophie. the fake name. no face. "i was so intent on wanting to please him and wanting him to be "happy that i was just kind of, �*yeah, 0k, do whatever you want.”' has she accused me of a crime, this imaginary sophie? she's making the point that there... has she accused me of a crime? ..emotional or psychological manipulation... i've asked you a question. and i allowed you into my house. i'm asking you a question. correct.

but you're not the boss here because i've allowed you into my house. i'm asking you the questions... correctly, and i'm telling you... you get to decide the answers. no, we are equal here. i've allowed you into my house. you don't come here with a position of authority. i'm doing you the favour as legacy media, giving you relevance by speaking to you. and i'm telling you now — this sophie, which the bbc has invented, which there is no face of, nobody knows who she is... the bbc did not invent her. of course not. because you never invent anything. we've got the chief executive of rape crisis naming you individually as spreading a dangerous ideology of misogynistic rape culture. absolute... it's the comments you make that are leading people to say things like this. absolute garbage. national organisations who are saying, blaming you for increasing levels of misogyny, schools that are saying they are having increased incidents of girls being attacked, of female teachers being harassed... if that was true... ..by pupils, because of you and your teaching, and your influence. that's absolute garbage. i have never, ever encouraged a student to attack a teacher, male orfemale, ever. i preach hard work, discipline. i'm an athlete.

i preach anti—drug. i preach religion. i preach no alcohol, i preach no knife crime. every single problem with modern society i'm against. i've presented you with case after case after case with quote after quote after quote of people who are genuinely concerned about the impact you're having and you brush it off as if it's nothing. no, what you have done is come here with an agenda. you've come here with loaded questions. things taken out of context. you come here with things that you don't understand are satirical and you expect me... satirical, sarcastic and jokes. that's how you explain the comments you make. for you to sit down... would you like to apologise for any of them? for you to sit down and say that one woman said that her boyfriend watched an andrew tate video and now he won't do the dishes or whatever your argument is, and that i'm somehow the worst, most dangerous man in the world because i have a car, isjust disingenuous. andrew tate's arrest and detention haven't dented his influence. he's followed by media to the prosecutor's office, followed by millions on twitter. an indictment in this case, expected here within weeks,

will mark a new phase in his fight with romania's legal system, as teachers across the uk continue to battle his message. lucy williamson, bbc news, bucharest. just to say that sophie is now helping romanian prosecutors with the investigation! france is now the first country in europe to regulate influencer marketing on social media, with a new law passed on thursday. here's emily brown. the global influencer market is worth billions of dollars. influencer marketing is where social media users with a big following on sites like tiktok or instagram promote certain products or endorse certain products on their posts and stories in return for money. and with so many of us using social media, it has an enormous reach. but there are calls for more regulation. in the past few weeks, adverts promoting vaping products were banned by a uk watchdog after they were found to have broken advertising rules.

and most recently, france has become the first country in europe to introduce an influencer marketing law. this is to regulate the marketing on social media, cracking down on what people can monetise and promote online. it's after an inspection carried out found that all of the influencers who were inspected did not comply with the rules on the transparency of the commercial nature of their publications. the new law was passed in the french national assembly chamber. it was said to have been passed in record time and unanimously. the law makes it unlawful for influencers to make paid content promoting cosmetic surgeries, online sports betting sites or products like cryptocurrencies. influencers and companies caught violating the law could face up to two years in prison or could face fines of up to 300,000 euros.

and they could see their ability to post revoked. where will be back with your business news in a few minutes. i will see you soon. hello there. the next couple of days should bring a bit more in the way of sunshine to some parts of the uk that haven't seen that much of it recently. the brightest and warmest of the weather has been found in the west of the uk, whereas some spots further east have had a lingering cloud and onshore breeze which has made it feel cool, even chilly. during thursday, some eastern parts only got to around 11 celsius under cloudy skies. 0ut west, 211—25 in some sunshine. but what is coming our way shows up clearly here on the earlier satellite picture — some thinner cloud, which will be in place for friday morning, particularly across england and wales. but because that cloud is thinner, it should break up a little more readily, so i'm hopeful that

more places will see sunshine during friday. just a bit of cloud close to the east coast of england, and also some more cloud into the western isles. but otherwise, largely sunny skies overhead, still a little bit on the chilly side for some eastern coasts with the breeze off the sea, highest temperatures in the west 23 celsius. with more of us, though, seeing sunshine, i think high uv levels will be an issue pretty much wherever you are. and then, as we head through friday night, we'll keep largely clear skies overhead, a few patches of cloud will float in from the north sea, and a bit more cloud hugging the coast of north—west scotland. but unusually chilly for an earlyjune night — temperatures perhaps down to 3—4 celsius in a few places. but after that cool or chilly start, saturday will be a predominantly dry day, with high pressure still firmly in charge, and most of us should get to see quite a lot of sunshine. there will be some patches of cloud close to this eastern coast at times. a bit more cloud maybe for the north coast of northern ireland, certainly for northwest scotland, and there isjust

the small chance, a very small chance of catching a shower in scotland, particularly over high ground. highest temperatures again in the west, up to around 22—23 celsius. now as we move through saturday night, our area of high pressure slightly changing shape, and i think we will pull a bit more of this cloud back around that high into some eastern counties of england. i don't think it'll linger in many places, it mayjust stay a little bit grey for some along the coast. but further west, again, lots of sunshine and highs of 23 celsius. and if you're looking for some rain, well, very little in the forecast next week — any that does turn up will be very short—lived. it'll stay predominantly dry with some spells of warm sunshine.

live from london. this is bbc news. the us senate passes the debt ceiling bill, sending it to president biden for signing — this means the us won't default on its debts. ending plastic pollution — we check in on the progress of the global plastic treaty. the cannabis market is booming, yet it's a hard space to be in — we take a look at why. i'm victoria valentine. the us congress has approved a deal to lift

the country's borrowing limit.