that wasjohn that was john herbst speaking to us a little earlier. stories in the headlines. pakistan is appealing to the international community for help with flood relief efforts. it comes as the country struggles to cope with the aftermath of weeks of monsoon rains and devastation that has killed more than 800 people and made thousands homeless in the south and south—west of the country. most hospital patients and care home residents in england will no longer be tested for covid unless they have symptoms. the government said uk covid rates have fallen. free testing for the general public ended in april in england, but continued in some high—risk settings. angolans have been voting in presidential and parliamentary elections. the governing mpla party, which has been in power for more than four decades, is up against opposition group unita. the governing party remains the favourite to retain a majority but has been criticised for not tackling inflation and poverty despite huge oil wealth. china has re—opened forforeign students for the first time si

john herbst, thank you.d a decree to increase russia's army by 10% to about two million people. just over half the total personnel will be soldiers, though it's not yet clear if the numbers will be boosted through volunteers, or broader conscription. while no official death tolls are available, russian forces have suffered heavy losses as a result of the war in ukraine. the increase is due to come into effect from january next year. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: as parties and going out return after the pandemic, it seems sky—high heels are back in fashion. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything, save the moon — our neighbouring planet, mars _ horn toots. there is no doubt that this election| is an important milestone in th

the former us ambassador to ukraine and senior director of the atlantic council's eurasia centre, john herbstginia. it is great to get you on the programme, john. in the first instance, what do you think the size of the package tells us about perhaps what the biden administration is thinking about how long this conflict might last? i think it is a very good step. it is a way to confirm or to make clear the biden administration understands this war may not be over tomorrow and ukraine has to be able to defend itself not only in the coming months but in the coming years. how strong, john, is but in the coming years. how strong, john. is the — but in the coming years. how strong, john. is the support _ but in the coming years. how strong, john, is the support from _ but in the coming years. how strong, john, is the support from american i john, is the support from american people, though, for these kind of financial aid packages? this isjust the latest in a number of packages that have come from the us. is the support going to continue? the chicano support going to continue? the chicago world _

john herbst, thank you. to increase russia's army by 10% — to about two million people. just over half the total personnel will be soldiers — though it's not yet clear if the numbers will be boosted through volunteers, or broader conscription. while no official death tolls are available, russian forces have suffered heavy losses as a result of the war in ukraine. the increase is due to come into effect from january next year. let's go to east africa, and a five—month humanitarian truce in northern ethiopia has been broken, with renewed fighting breaking out between the government and tigrayan forces. fears are now growing for the millions of people in desperate need of humanitarian aid. the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal sent this report from addis ababa. northern ethiopia has witnessed a brutal civil war. tens of thousands have been killed. millions of others left hungry and in need of urgent humanitarian aid. the conflict here has been intense and unforgiving. both the government and tigrayan forces have blamed

well, let's bring and john herbst is a former us ambassador to ukraine and joint us live from fairfax in virginia. and ambassador hubs good to have you with us. so this latest u. s. security aid package to ukraine brings the total spend to somewhere around $10000000000.00. you think this war is fast becoming a financial quagmire for the biden administration? i think it's a military quagmire. for aggressive problem, and i think that by demonstration understands it. prudence objectives go beyond archiving ukraine, but to establishing great influence over nato countries. and therefore, the smart things the united states to do is to help you crane defend itself and stop russia in ukraine. and, but some critics would say though, that, but all the security aid being given by washington just escalates the military situation. on the ground. i mean, the ukrainians now have high tech, high mas artillery. the russians now say they're deploying hypersonic missiles. i mean, the battle space is clearly getting much more kinetic, much more deadly. well, actually, it's really more deadly for the russ

lao and former united states ambassadors to europe uh john herbst.be on our program very often and e taylor, that is, they are demanding to increase the supply of weapons, since they appeal to the fact that right now is a critical moment in the course of the military conflict, but the biden administration is not yet clearly ready, e, to comply with this requirement about this is not unambiguous. yesterday , an official representative of the state department spoke out. no price list listen we have provided ukraine with everything necessary so that it can defend itself against an external aggressor. however, we have repeatedly said that this is not in the interests of ukraine, nor in the interests of nato. it is in the interests of europe and not in the interests of the united states that russia's aggression against ukraine turns into a larger fire, that this war spreads beyond ukraine into europe, or potentially brings russia into conflict with nato and the united states is of no interest to anyone. well, i’ll add as a cherry on the cake that today th