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narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". ♪ >> becomes the first sitting u.s. president to join the picket lines as autoworkers continue their strike. five days is how long u.s. lawmakers have to avoid a shutdown. as france withdraws its militar forces from niger, the bbc gets rare asks us to the country with a special report on life after the coup.

welcomto world news america. joe biden has joined hundreds of water -- autoworkers on the picket lines in michigan. it makes him the first sitting u.s. president to do so. john thain -- shawn fain was there to welcome him. mr. biden told workers they were entitled to much more. pres. biden: you should definitely companies are doing incredibly well and you should also be doing incredibly well. you deserve a significant raise and benefits. >> uaw workers have walked out

and america's big three carmakers. their demands include a 40% wage increase and a four-day workweek. the strikes began september 15 with local members walking out of three plants. a week after, the union expanded its strike against all distribution centers in 20 states. it is now the 12th day of the strengths and there are warnings of more factory shutdowns. donald trump will also make an appearance at the picket line in detroit on wednesday. so far, the uaw has declined to support either candidate. for more, i am joined by the vice president of the local 51 uaw chapter from detroit. great to have you. what did you think of president biden's message today? >> it was good, followed in line

with what shawn fain has said. >> listening to what president biden has said, they are saying it is very much in line with what the union is saying. we are also seeing that donald trump will be in detroit on wednesday. what do you make of these visits? does it help autoworkers? >> it will only help autoworkers when presidents, those attempting to be president, and other legislative people come to support us, and finally doing something that will possibly have legislative range. we have been a lot over the decades but the important thing would be to get actual laws changed. >> what specifically when the save legislative changes are you looking for joe biden to do? >> something as simple as the

renegotiation of nafta for not having nafta in the first place would be good. the 1980's was the beginning of the devastating effect in the automotive manufacturing districts. >> it is the 12th day on strike. some workers are still going to their jobs. your branch is one of them. what has this experience been like? >> it is exciting, nerves in the air. we are operating under an expired contract which is not happened in our generation. there are some differences we are working through and some things the company is trying to do that we are combating. good thing we have a union combating all these issues. >> by want to ask you about what the ceos have said. they said meeting the uaw's demands and fall would bankrupt the company's. why is it important to have a

40% wage increase and a cost-of-living increase? >> it represents cap generation of a workforce that was gutted when the bailouts happens. this has been my message and all autoworkerss' message -- we saved the company. they came to us asking for concessions. i came in at $40 an hour in 2010. it took nearly 13 years for me to be made whole just on the wages aspect. but things typical of what autoworkers fought for -- pensions, health care after you retire. they are no longer a thing. if you were hired after ordering the bankruptcy, you no longer have that path to retirement. that is what created the middle-class and really good automotive jobs. >> what do you think about the fact that auto companies safe the industry is moving toward

electric vehicles. we cannot sustain these increases. >> i do not believe it. i do not think the numbers support it. when they have outsourced work, sent it to mexico or china and ships the product to the u.s., they have charged more. if you have a $20,000 vehicle built in america, now it is built in asia-pacific or china or mexico, that vehicle is now $21,000. if an increase in wages increases the price of a vehicle, why does a decrease in wages not decrease the price? >> do you think there has been progress made in negotiations so far with auto companies? >> there has been some progress. ford, i am assuming, has been making better progress than the other two, which is why they are

not completely part of the strike. to me, that indicates that ford is at least bargaining properly and coming to the table with something substantial. at least coming back to the table with our demands. >> if the strike does stretch on, are you worried about the impact not only on workers and uaw members, but on the industry? >> i will always be worried. we have beewary the last 15 years that prices have been increasing and wages and benefits have not increased with that. we are concerned that the ceos are making 300% and 400% more than workers and vehicle prices have gone up 30% to 40% and wages have not gone up. we have concerns that we cannot retire after 30 years or more in an industry that we have dedicated our lives and our time to.

>> interesting to get your perspective. thank you. lawmakers in washington have just five days to agree on a new budget or face a government shutdown. this would be the first since 2019 and could leave hundreds of thousands of fertile workers on furlough. the new york times reports a bipartisan agreement for funding through november has been reached in the senate. the upper chamber could vote before the end of the week that the bill faces an uncertain future in the house. chuck schumer says the agreement will continue funding the government at current levels while maintaining their commitment to ukraine, a sticking point in the house. meanwhile, kevin mccarthy is pushing ahead with his plan with four for your spending bills. he faces pushback from hard-line numbers of his party who think

spending cuts are not enough. earlier i spoke to one of those republicans. ray to have you. you have set you will not support a short-term funding bill. we know that kevin mccarthy is pushing for cuts to ensure he n get more conservative votes on board. your colleague gary told reporters that house leadership plans to cut funding -- spending on discretionary programs by 27 %. is that enough to win your vote? >> no. my colleague has a self-appointed role. i do not know that he speaks for anybody other than himself. the truth is a continued resolution is just complete capitulation. we are required to do one thing and that is pass a budget. a continued resolution is not that.

they tell us we need to compress the steaming -- continued resolution so we cannot pass anymore. we have been doing this for almost dirty years. -- 30 years. they passed one continued resolution, then another, then they pass in on this. -- an monibus. they put these cherries on top but what is it have. you're looking at an omnibus bill, remember speaker pelosi said we have to pass that so we know it is in, that is exactly what these those are. most parties put all their projects in ere. this poor, lowly congressman reads this 2000 page document, gets to the fifth page, the sixth page, says there is stuff for my folks back home. i am good with it. 1998 other pages full of goodies

-- >> does that mean you are indeed preparing for a shutdown? >> i am not going to vote for a continued resolution. we have had since january. september 30 comes around about this time every year. we know it is coming. yet here we are. we went home the entire month of august. we should have been here working i work at home more than i do appear. this is not work. these groups up here, they start their meetings at 10:30, caterer in a lunch, take a couple hours off in the aftnoon, and end out -- up at 430, walked out there brooks brothers jacket talking about how hard they work. people in east tennessee literally dig ditches for a living, work with their hands. there is plumbers, lawyers,

doctors, single moms that work two jobs because they have a deadbeat husband somewhere. >> what is your message to military personnel, air traffic controllers who will not get paid if there is a shutdown? >> the federal government can make choices about where they want to check. where they cut is what hurts the most. they will all receive back pay. nobody will miss anything. the myth that military will lose their houses is just not true. laws prevent that. this is just an attempt to scare them. we had over 20 shutdowns. they happen, they average around three to four days. it is unfortunate, but we take in $5 trillion a year. these folks who are mad at me, they want to spend $7 trillion a

year. that is the bottom line. >> i have to ask. the deficit grew every year under the trump presidency. his administration set the record. >> i voted against his budgets as well. check your history. >> why do you think the buck stops here? on this spending? >> because now there is more people who realize we are running off a cliff. we cannot afford to spend $7 trillion a year when we take in $5 trillion. >> we spoke to don bacon. he supports working with democrats to get a budget bill passed. this is what he told us. >> the conservative movement has been undermined. americans, we like conservative values, but we also like governance and effectiveness. what a lot of americans are

seeing today is dysfunction. it is not happening because republicans versus democrats. it is happening because a small number of republicans do not want to cooperate with the rest. >> what is your response? >> down is a good man, but there again, you cannot spend $7 trillion when you only take in five trend dollars. that is conservativism. physically strong, morally upright. this administration is neither. republicans need to stand up to it. we cannot continue down this path of deficit spending. there are 50 states. the past budgets. they might not follow it as well as they should, but they do pass a budget. if you go to a church, or temple, i guarantee you they have a budt. the united states of america does not have a budget and has

not had one in 30 years. we have a budget committee. we could bounce it in 10 years. if we just went back to pre-covered spending levels -- and not many americans could name one thing they have gotten extra since covid that they cannot do without now -- if we want back, we could balance our budget. they can talk about everything, but not the numbers. the numbers do not lie. we take in $5 trillion. we are spending $7 trillion. that will bankrupt this country. likely use used to see in pre-world war ii europe when people were going down the street with a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread, that is where we are headed. >> thank you for sharing your perspective. the u.k. home secretary facing criticism, including from the u.n. refugee agency, two comments that she made.

suella braverman said fearing discrimination for gay or a woman should not be enough to qualify for international refugee protection. she called for changes to the global asylum system. >> just a few miles frowhere they home secretary made her speech today, they are debating the idea of universal human rights. but suella braverman came to washington to argue that the refugee convention does not make sense ia world of jet travel and the internet. >> it is incumbent upon politicians and the leaders to ask whether the refugee convention and the way it has, through our courts is fit for our modern age or in need of reform. >> today, he and his kind are leaving their homes as evacuees. >> more than 60 million people displaced by the second world war. amid determination to ensure global warfare can never happen

again, world leaders agreed a universal declaration of human rights and a refugee convention promising protection to those who cannot return to their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution. the home secretary argues persecution no longer means what was intended. >> we have created a system of almost infinite supply, incentivizing millions to try their luck, knowing full well that we have no capacity to meet more than a fraction of the demand. >> there is undoubtedly a growing global challenge. over the last 50 years, the number of people seeking protection each year has increased to more than 10 million. the countries that host the most refugees are turkiye, colombia. the u.k. has around 230,000. does this mean the current

asylum model is broken or that the need for it is even greater? the guardians of the refugee convention and the rights of those seeking asylum here the home secretary's interventions may think -- undermined international consensus of displaced people. >> we are always concerned whenever the relevance of the convention is called into question. >> give her ideas became reality, what impact would that have on people fleeing persecution? >> certainly more restrictive interpretations of the convention would become risky. >> suella braverman says she is more about domestic politics and international policy. >> the home secretary has totally failed to cap holding tori's asylum. she is looking for someone to blame. >> suella braverman's comments

likely to boost her's -- popularity amongst right-wingers ahead of what many anticipate will be a bitter fight for the soul of the tory party. >> russia seeking to rejoin the u.n. human rights council. the bbc has obtained a copy of russia's position paper promising what it called adequate solutions for human rights issues. our global correspondence as this will be a test of russia's global standing. >> this is interesting. russia has chosen to apply for this post. it does not have to do that. there is no need to make an application, russia has chosen that it wants to. it is showing that russia is still interested in the internatnal system, the international order. it wants to get elected to

bodies, see if it can regain some international credibility that lost as a result of the invasion of ukraine. the second thing that is interesting is what happens at this about. -- this vote. this would be a snapshot of international opinion about russia. we have not had a vote at the u.n. about russia for some time. last year there were some folks where the u.n. overly -- votes where the u.n. overwhelmingly voted to criticize the invasion of ukraine. about 140 members said they oppose data and called for russia to instruct. this would be the latest version of that. it would be a chance for the global south in particular to express their opinion. that is where this argument will lie. the west is trying to woo the global south, russia is trying to woo the global south.

russia's argument is that the west is using this human rights council is a political tool. the west is saying you cannot have a country like russia, which they say is guilty of almost daily war crimes and crimes against humanity, being a member of the u.n.'s main human rights council. that will be a test that we see on october 10. diplomats say russia is campaigning hard, that it is offering countries arms and grain. votes can get transactional at the u.n. sometimes. it will be a big test of its national opinion. >> james landau reporting there. the bbc has gained rare access to niger two months after the military coup threatening to further destabilize an already

volatile region. the team spoke to its regime, its supporters, and those opposed. >> driving across niger, the countryside appears peaceful. but despite the veneer of normality, this is one of the 10 deadliest countries in the world for terrorism. these protesters have been camped out at a french military base for weeks. they say the french have failed stop the terror attacks. >> every friday, friday prayers have been held here, right outside the french military base. hundreds are in attendance. today, they were talking about patients, saying niger and france will take time. >> for this man, perceived a

french hypocrisy is to blame for the anger. >> why is emmanuel macron now saying he does not recognize our authorities when he is recognized june has in other countries? that is why he makes us angry. they think france takes us -- we think france takes us for any its. -- for idiots. >> ask of the newly appointed governor whether the june pet can keep -- whether the junta can keep his country safe. >> he implies that nigerian forces have on injured the safety of their people and can defend their country without foreign partners, but those opposed to the who believe the departure of french troops could be dangerous. >> in the fight against the terrorists, france is a key

partner that provides more intelligence, helps us beat the terrorists trying to attack niger. >> but many nigerians are frustrated with the lack of progress with the war on terror. this man is originally from one of the regions worst affected by jihad he violence. she tells me her mother's cousin was assassinated by terrorists, killed by slitting his throat. he does not believe the french have successfully reduced terrorism. there has been some progress. last year, terror related deaths in niger fell. no one critical of the june to -- the junta will speech was on record. and clear what portion of the population wants the french to say. but this is france's last base

in the sigh help. it -- in the sahel. influence has been dealt a blow. >> that is our show. thank you for watching. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. on the “newshour” tonight, in an exclusive newshour interview, vice president kamala harris speaks with geoff bennett about the ongoing auto workers strike and the impeachment inquiry into president biden. vp harris: i think that we are very clear that we're not going to be distracted by political games, and we're going to stay focused on what we've been doing. amna: congress wrestles over a deal to avoid a shutdown as far-right republicans continue to stymie the process. and we report from on the ground