jon sopel, bbc news, rome. pope, president biden went on for talks with his french counterpart, a manual macron. relations between the us and france had been strained by what's known as the aukus deal which brought closer military cooperation between america, australia and the uk while sidelining france from a deal to sell submarines to australia. president invited admitted things could've gone a little better. what happened was to lose that an english race. what we did was clumsy. that an english race. it was not done with a lot of grace. i was under the impression certain things that happened, but france is an extremely valuable partner. for a bit more on that, here's john sobel again. i think the french would want to move on, even though they are clear he is. america's relationship with france is the oldest relationship. both formed out of the revolution of 200 plus years ago — i think it was a really serious breach and i thinkjoe biden is trying to make it better. it's hard to see what the french have got o

our north american editor jon sopel is travelling with the president and sent this report.er of the world's pre—eminent superpower en route to meet the world's most powerful religious leader. but forjoe biden, only america's second roman catholic president, this is an audience with his spiritual guide and clearly someone he admires enormously. you are the most significant warriorfor peace i have ever met. and with your permission, i'd like to be able to give you a coin. i know my son would want me to give you this to you. the president gave him a coin as a gift, and thenjoked about his irish heritage. i'm the only irish man you've ever met who's never had a drink! and the pope chose the bbc today — in particular, thought for the day on radio 4 — to deliver a firm message to the political elite ahead of next week's crucial c0 p26 summit. translation: the political- decision-makers who will meet at cop26 in glasgow are urgently summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological crisis and, in this way, to offer concrete hope to future generations. joe biden agr

jon sopel, bbc news, rome. our north america editorjon sopel our north america editorjon sopel.e president biden went on for talks with his french counterpart emmanuel macron. relations between the us and france have been strained since washington announced the security deal with australia and the uk. the aukus deal to sell submarines to australia sidelined france and was said to have cost the country billions. president macron said they were rebuilding confidence while president biden admitted things could have been done better. what happened was, using english phrase, what we did was clumsy. it was not done with a lot of grace. i was under the impression certain things had happened that had not happened but i want to make it clear france is an extremely, extremely valuable partner. saudi arabia has cut diplomatic ties with lebanon following criticism of the kingdom's military involvement in yemen. the saudi foreign minister announced it was recalling its ambassador to lebanon and requested the lebanon follow suit. also declaring a complete ban on imports from its fellow arab s

jon sopel, bbc news, rome.etween the us and france had been strained by what's known as the aukus deal which brought closer military cooperation between america, australia and the uk while sidelining france from a deal to sell submarines to australia. they were worth thousands of euros. that enraged paris and led to some frantic diplomacy to smooth things over, and president biden now says things could have been done a little bit better. what happened was to lose that an english race. what we did was clumsy. it was not done with a lot of grace. i was under the impression certain things that happened, but the friends is an extremely valuable partner —— france. the friends is an extremely valuable partner -- france.— partner -- france. france with the us because _ partner -- france. france with the us because my — partner -- france. france with the us because my first _ partner -- france. france with the us because my first ally _ partner -- france. france with the us because my first ally during - partner -- fra

jon sopel, bbc news, rome.imate goals, and the president of the cop26 6lasgow summit has said the 620 conference is make or break for 6lasgow because the 620 make up collectively 80% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, so getting agreement on them is absolutey essential. so these 620 leaders are still arriving for their dinner. we have got the president of the eu commission, ursula von der leyen, who is posing for her meeting with the italian president and the italian prime minister, and in fact the meetings have moved on from the diocletian baths, those ancient imperial baths, to the presidential palace. so these pictures are from the italian presidential palace. next to ms von der leyen, you will see italy's president and prime minister, mario draghi, who held those introductory talks, and we are waiting for the other leaders to arrive that special gala dinner. perhaps overshadowing the main theme somewhat of 620 talks are the bilateral disputes, and there are some tensions in the air between some wester

jon sopel, bbc news, rome.sident biden went on for talks with his french counterpart emmanuel macron. relations between the us and france had been strained since washington announced a security deal with australia and the uk. the aukus deal to sell submarines to australia sidelined france and was said to have cost the country billions. president macron said they were rebuilding confidence while president biden admitted things could have been done better. what happened was, to use an english phrase, what we did was clumsy. it was not done with a lot of grace. it was was under the impression certain things had happened that had not happened and, but i want to make it clear france is an extremely, extremely valuable partner. let's discuss this with a visiting fellow at the centre on the united states and europe at bookings and joins us life. thank you forjoining us. this did join —— thank you forjoining us. this didjoin —— fora thank you forjoining us. this did join —— for a wedge between these two allies. is the

jon sopel thereit live in the vatican city.high—speed rail link, have uncovered what they've described as an "astounding" set of roman statues. two complete figures, appearing to be a man and a woman, and a head of a child, were found at an abandoned medieval church, in buckinghamshire. to mark the 150th anniversary of the royal albert hall, a new festival is opening tonight, to celebrate the contribution of immigrants to british life and culture. a concert by the musician nitin sawhney begins a week of events at the hall, showcasing the immigrant experience. nitin, has been speaking to our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson. nitin sawhney at the royal albert hall rehearsing his new work highlighting the contribution immigrants have made to the uk. it is the opening concert of a festival he has created, which focuses on this topic. he has created, which focuses on this to - ic. ., he has created, which focuses on this to - ic. . ., , he has created, which focuses on this toic. . ., , ., this topic. the idea was to coun

stephen mcdonell, thank you. _ jon sopel is in rome.is view was not enough and president biden is now pointing the finger of blame. he president biden is now pointing the finger of blame.— finger of blame. he is trying to oint the finger of blame. he is trying to point the finger _ finger of blame. he is trying to point the finger of _ finger of blame. he is trying to point the finger of blame - finger of blame. he is trying to point the finger of blame at - finger of blame. he is trying to i point the finger of blame at china and russia, but looking at the situation in the united states, yes, joe biden wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on tackling climate change but he can't get it through the senate where there is a 50-50 through the senate where there is a 50—50 split and one of his democratic senators from west virginia where cole is king doesn't want anything to do with it, so he is stuck. he is not providing the leadership he hoped to be able to. let's not get too granular about us politics, let's go with a wider lens

our north america editor jon sopel reports from the summit in rome. good to go. with that thumbs up from the american president the biggest gathering of world leaders since covid arrived could get under way. and everyone is relearning social etiquette. to mask or not to mask. unmask. to shake hands or not. shake. and with everyone back in the same room, the host, the italian prime minister, made a tentative call to order. i think we can start. and after so long apart, he urged a renewed commitment to working together. multilateralism is the best answer to the problems we face today. in many ways, it's the only possible answer. from the pandemic to climate change, to fair and equitable taxation, going alone is simply not an option. the great set piece of these occasions is the family photo, but then something unexpected happened, the men in white coats arrived. no, not to take them away, but to underline the role that first responders have played since the pandemic took hold, and how to speed up vaccine distribution to the poorest nations. there is also mounting c

jon sopel, bbc news, rome. our political editor laura kuenssberg is in rome for us tonight.ere any confidence both sides may be able to see eye to eye on this when borisjohnson and emmanuel macron meet on sunday? clive, not at this stage. downing street doesn't want this to plunge into a massive political punch—up, especially not when there is so much else to be talking about, and boris johnson earlier tried to play down the chances of this descending into some very serious stand—off over trade, but at the same time it's not something that they can ignore. the government took its own action today by summoning the french ambassador, being hauled in for a telling off at the foreign office and it all makes for a rather bumpy conversation between the president and the prime minister here on sunday. but the main business _ minister here on sunday. but the main business in _ minister here on sunday. but the main business in rome _ minister here on sunday. but the main business in rome for- minister here on sunday. but the main business in rome for the i minister here on sunday. bu

jon sopel, bbc news, rome.e united states, france and germany have issued a fresh appeal to iran to end its stand—off with the international community over its banned nuclear programme and return to the negotiating table. the 2015 nuclear deal unravelled after then—u.s. president trump withdrew from it in 2018, prompting iran to breach various limits on uranium enrichment. borisjohnson, presidentjoe biden, president emmanuel macron and chancellor angela merkel urged tehran to return to compliance with the deal to ensure it cannot acquire nuclear weapons. church bells are ringing out this evening ahead of the cop26 conference in glasgow as a "warning" of the dangers of climate change. churches across the uk are ringing their bells bells for half an hour. let's have a look at some of them now.. let's go first to st paul's cathedral in london. you can hear the bells ringing out. and the organisers are saying that it is the idea of an environmentalist who said it is a historic function of church bells to send a war

jon sopel, bbc news, rome. 0n the all important climate goals, and the president of the cop26 summitbecause it makes up 80% of the world�*s greenhouse gas emissions, so getting agreement on them is essential. so these 620 leaders are still arriving for their dinner, we have got the president of the eu commission, ursula von der leyen, who is posing the hair meeting with the italian president and prime minister, and meetings have moved on from the diocletian baths, the ancient place, to the presidential palace next. presidential palace next baths, the ancient place, to the presidential palace next to ursula von der leyen, you will see the prime minister and president of italy, holding those introductory talks and we are waiting for the other leaders to arrive that special gala dinner. perhaps overshadowing the main theme somewhat of 620 talks are the bilateral disputes, and there are some tensions in the air between some western allies, not least between britain and france at the moment over post brexit fishing rights, with both countries threatening to withhold licences from the othe

jon sopel, bbc news, rome. on the climate crisis that are going to fill the second day of this 620 summit, and that draught communiqu appears to have even softer language than previous draughts on the climate commitments that the 620 could reach at this summit. they talk for example about the need for meaningful and effective actions to reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, not immediate actions. and while the aim is to cap local warming at 1.5 degrees, it seems at the moment to be a largely avoiding firm commitments. that will be a difficult sell as we go into an all—important un climate conference in glasgow next week because the president of that summit in glasgow has said that this 620 meeting is make or break were 6lasgow has said that this 620 meeting is make or break were glasgow to succeed. beyond the main themes and talking point at this summit, there have been a lot of bilateral meetings as well, and bilateral tensions noticeably between britain and france at the moment, who ar

and to change that will require a major shift as the bbc's north america editor jon sopel explains.way industry operates. asjon says, this comes down to personal and political choices. not least on energy. president biden wants us energy to be carbon free by 2035. key to the plan is how america makes its electricity. we just set a record in 2020 of building the most wind and solar we've ever built here in the us and we've ever built here in the us and we need to continue growing those sources and clamping down fossil fuels especially coal—fired generation. using fewerfossil fuels is one thing. producing fewer is another. the president has acted on this too. he announced a moratorium on all new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters. but as the ap notes here — us drilling approvals increase despite biden climate pledge — that s on land already leased. the president also cancelled the keystone xl oil pipeline. but as the new york times notes here: — other pipelines are being allowed to proceed. it's a decidedly mixed picture fossil fuel production, on energy — and another cruci

with a look back at his extraordinary life, here's jon sopel.me a household name, as america's first black commander of the us military. he developed the powell doctrine — don't start a war unless you know how you are going to end it. in many ways, he was a reluctant warrior, having been injured during the vietnam war, but if force is to be used, then let it be overwhelming. our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. first, we're going to cut it off and then we're going to kill it. born in the slums of harlem, the son ofjamaican immigrants, and drifting as a teenager, few would have imagined that he would rise to such heights. culminating in being appointed america's top diplomatjust before 9/11. it's a great honour for me to submit the name to the united states senate of colin l powell, as secretary of state. and at the un, he made a case for the invasion of iraq that he would later ruefully admit was based on incorrect information. there can be no doubt that saddam hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly prod

our north america editor, jon sopel, is travelling with the us president, we can speak to him now. whatanxious ——joe biden is keen to show his green credentials. he was trying to get this bill passed $1.5 trillion that would much of it going green issues. he has got his work cut out persuading people and he wants to show america that america is back —— people that america's back stop he is much more in tune with what borisjohnson wants. we just heard another�*s report about getting the big nations to pony up with more money and the americans have already done that, the british were delighted with that.— were delighted with that. people miaht aet were delighted with that. people might get a _ were delighted with that. people might get a little _ were delighted with that. people might get a little confused i were delighted with that. people might get a little confused about the sort of diplomatic, business, economic decisions and deals that are come to and some of those, these world leaders will not have met. there are little issues that have knocked around along the way and they get toge