Sumi, we are learning new details tonight of what that Security Assistance programme now includes. I want to bring you details about that Security Assistance programme which President Biden committed to in terms of the weaponry he has committed to. More air defence is something he was asking for, and those rocket launchers. What was not mentioned was the long range missiles that president zelensky has been calling for but we know the abrams tanks will be on the ground in ukraine from next week. Now, this was also an opportunity for president zelensky to meet and be introduced for the first time to penny pritzker, the us special representative, but i think its the mood on the ground here is one that feels apart from economic recovery right now. Lets take a look at what both president s had to say about that bilateral meeting. Our countries are really truly allies and strategic friends and we greatly appreciate the vital assistance provided by the united states. Together with our partners and allies, the American People are determined to see to it that you can do all we canl to ensure the world stands with you, and that is our. Overwhelming objective right now. This appeal comes at a time when we are seeing close allies, poland saying it will not commit new weapons to the water to support ukraine. Do you think there is a sense of warfatigue you think there is a sense of War Fatigue Setting you think there is a sense of Warfatigue Setting in . I you think there is a sense of War Fatigue Setting in . I think that is a really War Fatigue Setting in . I think that is a really important that is a really important question to ask and it is fair to say the questions from the polish Prime Minister expose a larger question. At least some tension i think despite the united front we have seen from the allies. Increasingly questions are being asked. We are also seen questions asked of Kevin Mccarthy when it comes to accountability. They say they will not write blank checks for ukraine and they want to see checks and balances and it is notable that we have also seen in the White House PressStatement TodayPresident Biden saying that he has spoken to president zelensky about corruption and it is something that president zelensky is also clearly addressing. We have seen him recently launched an investigation and fire a number of his defence cabinet. Tell investigation and fire a number of his defence cabinet. Of his defence cabinet. Tell me about the of his defence cabinet. Tell me about the messaging of his defence cabinet. Tell me about the messaging we of his defence cabinet. Tell me about the messaging we saw i of his defence cabinet. Tell me i about the messaging we saw from President Biden in this meeting . President biden in this meetinu . ,. , President Biden in this meetin . ,~. ,. , meeting . He was very clear and reiterated meeting . He was very clear and reiterated that meeting . He was very clear and reiterated that they meeting . He was very clear and reiterated that they will meeting . He was very clear and reiterated that they will do reiterated that they will do what it takes but the centre is that a 2k Billion Us Dollar package which would have to be approved by congress and instead President Biden had a message for congress and that was that ultimately he trust them to find a way to approve this package because in his words there is no alternative. Our correspondent Helena Humphrey reporting from the white house. Thank you so much. And as weve mentioned, zelensky courted lawmakers on capitol hill as he tries to push through more defence and humanitarian aid in congress. This is what he said after meeting with lawmakers. We spoke about everything, about support, about the situation on the battlefield, about our plans. I cant share with the media all the details, but i think we have a very strong dialogue with senators. But that us aid is caught up in a Budget Battle as House Republican lawmakers threaten to block a Spending Bill that could trigger a partial Government Shutdown at the end of the month. They want Republican House speaker Kevin Mccarthy and President Biden to agree to spending cuts. I spoke to democratic illinois congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi about what that means for ukraine funding and about zelensky� s visit. Congressman, thank you again forjoining us on bbc news today. I want to start with the Ukrainian President s visit to washington. We know he met with congressional leaders. You did not meet with him personally, but what message do you think he was able to convey . I think he probably conveyed the urgency of the situation right now in terms of making sure that the ukrainians have what they need to continue their progress on the battlefield, sumi. As you know, they have made some progress, some meaningful progress recently, and we need to make sure that they have what they require to continue that progress. We saw that Speaker Mccarthy opted to not have Ukrainian President zelensky speak directly to all congressional members but rather to hold private meetings. What message do you think that sends to president zelensky about where the us stands . I think Speaker Mccarthy actually supports, along with leaderjeffries, further aid for ukraine, so i am going to defer to them in terms of the strategy on how best to persuade certain members to go along with further spending for ukraine, but i think the message to mr zelensky is that we stand united with him, and i think that we want to make sure that he has what he requires to continue progress on the battlefield, but at the same time, there is going to be concerns that need to be allayed, probably in a private setting as opposed to a public one. Well, if we talk about some of the concerns there was a cnn poll last month showing 71 of republicans oppose new funding while 61 of democrats support it, so that is going to make president zelensky� s ask to get this new funding bill, 24 billion, through. It will make that more difficult. Is ukraine funding going to continue from the us in the way that we have seen it in the past . I think it will, though it is probably going to require probably more oversight. It is going to require probably more verification of where the money is being spent and so forth. I think American People want to spend the money or want to give resources to the ukrainians. They want to make sure that it is going to the intended purposes, and that it is effective, and so i think those are the types of provisions that might accompany further aid. I want to also ask you about Republicans Holding up a Spending Bill passage. Would americans do americans need to prepare for a shutdown . Possibly. I hope not. I think a shutdown would really hurt millions of people, but at this point i think that speaker Kevin Mccarthy has adopted, i believe, a wrongheaded principle for the type of support that should govern any Spending Package that goes forward in the house. So, basically, he wants to do it solely on republican votes, and as you know, we are a closely divided house, and so i would just respectively submit that he should not stick to that principle because if he does he is going to be held up by hostages, hostage takers, on the far right. On the other hand, if he decides that he would like to invite democrats to the deliberations and to support the package, he will be much more successful in getting something passed. Are you worried about the message it sends to the rest of the world if there is a us Government Shutdown . 0h, sure. This is exactly what xi jinping, Vladimir Putin and our adversaries would relish. Its chaos. Its dysfunction. It is the federal government the Us Government not being able to take care of business, and in a world where we are in a competition of ideas, of forms of governance where we put forward that a democracy is really the best way to move forward, obviously our adversaries like xi jinping and the Chinese Communist party will use whatever is happening here as evidence for why our model of governance and democracies dont work. Congressman, thank you so much for your insights today. Thank you so much, sumi. So thats the view from the democratic side of the aisle, so lets hear from a republican now. For that i spoke with congressman don bacon of nebraska. Congressman bacon, good to have you on bbc news. Thank you forjoining us. We have seen a right wing part of the Republican Party again block a defence bill from coming to the floor today. What do you make of that . Well, its irresponsible. Its a good defence bill. To have five people on the Republican Party oppose the bill and, by the way, all of them actually like the bill. Theyre voting no for other reasons, not with that bill, so i call it the dysfunction caucus and ive encouraged the speaker to start reaching across the aisle. We need to do a bipartisan solution to this. You cannot count on these 5 10 republicans out of our 222. Theyill never get to yes. They move the goalposts. And, in the end, youve to work with the senate anyway, so lets just start working across the aisle and get a bipartisan deal now. What do these 5 10 republicans actually want . Well, these five or ten have a moving goalpost. One wants impeachment. One wants 30 reduction in non defence spending. They all have different goals out there. We really have a four seat majority and i thought it was a fools errand anyway to try to pursue 218 votes all the time out of our 222, knowing i think we have five or ten members that dont want to be reasonable. In the end, youve got to get a bipartisan agreement because we have decided government. So, lets just do that now, instead of going through all this mess and then work on a bipartisan deal with the senate, lets just work with them right now and our democratic colleagues in the house and get a reasonable deal. I will tell you, we i work with the Problem Solvers Caucus and we have an agreement within the 64 republicans and democrats on how to move forward. Are you worried about the impact that this dispute is having on your party . Yes, iam. I think these five people today, but some ten other days, Have Hurt Conservative the conservative movement, the conservative team has been undermined. Americans, we like conservative values. We also like governance and effectiveness. And what a lot of americans are seeing today is dysfunction. And its not happening because republicans versus democrats. Its because we have a small number of republicans who dont want to co operate with the rest. And so, i think we should learn from that and weve got to start governing and i think that, yes, these five people are hurting us and if it continues, we continue going down this path, well lose our majority next election. How likely do you think a shutdown is at this point . I think its still minimal odds because most of us know a shutdown would be unfathomable, its not needed, its unnecessary and we dont want it, so, ten people should not be able to shut down a house with 435 members. So, i have a bipartisan continuing resolution bill that will extend the government through 11 january but also provides money for disaster relief, money for ukraine which i believe is necessary but also, a very secure Border Policy that we need. We spoke to a democratic congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi earlier, who said if there was a Government Shutdown, that plays into the hands of our adversaries like xijinping and Vladimir Putin. Do you agree . I do. I think it weakens us. Its, again, its 5 10 who are very short sighted and i assume they have noble goals in their own mind but its not wise, its foolish, and but yes, it weakens like, a lot of our military may not get paid for example, right . You are asking people to work at our airports, not being paid, but we want to weve got to keep flying. Its not the right thing to do for our country and we have a lot of people who work in the federal government, that creates instability they have to make mortgage payments, pay utilities and its not the right thing to do. Congressman, thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. Thank you. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. Police have found a large quantity of fentanyl, other drugs and paraphernalia hidden under a trapdoor at a New York City nursery. A one year old died of a suspected Drug Overdose at the daycare last friday, and three other children were admitted to the hospital. Fentanyl had been hidden in the bronx nursery� s nap room under a mat, police said. Syrian president Bashar Al Assad is making his first visit to china since 2004 in hopes of ending more than a decade of diplomatic isolation since syrias deadly civil war began. Assad will meet with chinas president xijinping on friday, then attend the Opening Ceremony of saturdays asian games. More than half a Million People have been killed in syrias conflict. An Indigenous Group in brazil is celebrating a ruling by the countrys Supreme Court in favour of restoring territory to the group. They were evicted from their land by Armed Militia Groups in the 1950s. The decision is expected to set a precedent for hundreds of indigenous land claims, and define the future of land rights in south americas largest country. Youre live with bbc news. One of the worlds most influential media tycoons, rupert murdoch, is stepping down as chairman of his two news and sports empires, News Corporation and fox. The 92 year olds eldest son, lachlan will replace him. The transition comes amid a turbulent year for the news network that included a nearly 800 million settlement with Voting Machine Company dominion over its reporting of the 2020 president ial election. And its parting ways with longtime host tucker carlson. Our Correspondentjohn Sudworth sent this update from Newscorp Headquarters in new york. From that First Australian newspaper, mr murdoch has built up an extraordinary global empire and although at the age of 92 there has long been speculation about this moment, now that it is here there is still a sense of shock, notjust from his employees like those here at fox news but Around The World because of the huge political, cultural and social influence he was able to wield for so many decades across so many publications. In a statement sent to staff he described his son, lachlan, as a passionate and principled leader who will take the company into the future. His brand of right wing Populist Content as well as his revolutionising approach to the Media Industry made him a hero to some and the opposite to others. Reinforced in recent years as a result of those scandals. The Phone Hacking Scandal in the uk as well as those claims of a rigged election here in America For Which Fox News eventually had to settle for 800, almost 800 million us dollars. Although mr murdoch steps down formally from the post of chairman he stays on in an advisory role and although this marks, undoubtedly, the beginning of the waning of his influence it will not be gone entirely. Something hinted at by todays statement. My companies are in robust health, he said, and so am i. Canadas Prime Minister has urged india to cooperate with an investigation into the killing earlier this year in canada of a sikh activist. Tensions have been growing between the two countries, Afterjustin Trudeau said india may have been behind the killing. He addressed the issue on the sidelines of the Un General Assembly on thursday. There are credible reasons to believe that agents of the Government Of India were involved in the killing of a canadian on canadian soil. That is something of the utmost and foundational importance in a country of rule of law, in a world where International Rules based order matters. India says the allegations are absurd and has suspended Visa Services for canadians. Meanwhile sikh communities across canada protested this week. Earlier i spoke with Jaskaran Sandhu of the World Sikh Organization of canada. The sikh canadians are tired. They are tired for fighting for interference on their own and we have seen now it can take a violent turn in the assassination of a sikh canadian on canadian soil, and that is enough and that is what the community is saying in protest that will continue to happen as the story expands. India and canada are trade and security partners, as well as both being strong us allies. Talks between the United Auto Workers union and automakers remain at a standstill. Uaw president fain said he would announce an expansion of the strike on friday, barring serious progress. Earlier, i spoke with former us labor secretary robert reich. The uaw is saying if there is not progress by tomorrow friday 12pm not progress by tomorrow friday 12pm that not progress by tomorrow friday 12pm that they will expand the you at 12pm that they will expand the you at all optimistic that there you at all optimistic that there has been some movement . I dont there has been some movement . Dont think there has been some movement . I dont think there has been much movement. From what i can hear and see the two sides are very far apart. The big three automakers are holding out. They do not want to cave in to the uaw. The uaw has been very insistent with the major wage increase, cost of living increase, cost of living increase and also some benefiting. Lets talk about those wage increases. Em benefiting. Lets talk about those wage increases. An oped was written those wage increases. An oped was written in those wage increases. An oped was written in the those wage increases. An oped was written in the washington i was written in the Washington Post that said that the uaw demands for a pay hike is untenable in the automaker is countering with 20 which would still be a record. Is that a fair offer . Fair offer . What is a fair offer . The fair offer . What is a fair offer . The ceos fair offer . What is a fair offer . The ceos of fair offer . What is a fair offer . The ceos of the l fair offer . What is a fair offer . The ceos of the Chief Executive Officer of the big three, they have seen their pay go three, they have seen their pay 9 up three, they have seen their pay go up about 44 over the last quarter years and it is not just them, it is also the top executives under them. There has been in every major auto manufacturer, a huge amount of money going to buy back stocks, shares of stocks to keep this shares of stocks to keep this share prices up which is a big subsidy to major investors. If i wore a worker i would say to myself, what about me . My wages over the last ten years have gone up 6 . I am the last person who is being fought about here and i have a lot of wages and benefits to make up for. I wages and benefits to make up for. ,. , wages and benefits to make up for. ,. Wages and benefits to make up for. ,. ,. , i. Wages and benefits to make up for. ,. ,. ,. , for. I want to ask you about the industry for. I want to ask you about the industry as for. I want to ask you about the industry as a for. I want to ask you about the industry as a whole. The industry as a whole. Chrysler have joined gm and ford in furloughing employees because of the ripple effects. We are concerned about the effect that these strikes could have more broadly on the industry . I have more broadly on the industry . Have more broadly on the indust . , ~ , have more broadly on the indust . , ~ industry . I am. Nobody likes a stroke. Anybody industry . I am. Nobody likes a stroke. Anybody who industry . I am. Nobody likes a stroke. Anybody who thinks i industry . I am. Nobody likes a. Stroke. Anybody who thinks that workers enjoy going on a strike, they do not know anything about what is going on. Workers sacrifice a great deal by going out on strike and it does not make up for what workers lose in pay. Other workers lose in pay. Other workers are ancillary combatants in all of this. They may lose their jobs combatants in all of this. They may lose theirjobs and it is not pretty it is not enjoyable. But workers are doing and saying to themselves, look, we will take the sacrifices for the long term gains that we think we are entitled to. This is a labour management relations ioi. Is a labourmanagement relations 101. Is a labourmanagement relations 101. We are seeing the first strike relations 101. We are seeing the first strike of relations 101. We are seeing the first strike of the relations 101. We are seeing the first strike of the Big The First Strike of the big three automakers in the more than 80 years since it was founded. Why does it come to this impasse now. All this impasse now. Because of all of the this impasse now. Because of all of the concessions this impasse now. Because of all of the concessions that this impasse now. Because of| all of the concessions that the uaw and workers made starting in in too thousand and ten, in the Great Recession when gm was bailed out, when the automakers got a lot of benefits from the government and the auto workers said, well, we will participate in that. But since then there has been a tremendous turnaround. Over the last few years the automakers have done extraordinarily well, the profitability is way up and a lot of workers are saying to themselves, look, we have been forgotten and we have a lot of wages to make up for. This forgotten and we have a lot of wages to make up for. Wages to make up for. As a former secretary wages to make up for. As a former secretary of wages to make up for. As a former Secretary Of Labor l wages to make up for. As a former Secretary Of Labor what would you advise both sides of the Negotiating Table to do here and how to go forward . I think the ultimate goal has got to be, obviously, agreement with the question is what kind of agreement. The big three have to go much further than they have gone so far. I think that the uaw has got to understand that they cannot put the big three in a totally uncompetitive position vis a vis foreign manufacturers and tesla but at the same time what the uaw wants to do, as i understand it, is to bring all workers, auto workers, up to the standards of the big three rather than have the big three lower their standards to the rest of the auto industry. The uaw and auto workers used to be the best paid workers in American Industry and what is happening over the last 50 or 60 years is that the uaw has agreed not only to a 2 tiered wages where younger workers coming in for the first time get paid much less. So they are not nearly the benefits that they got before. Not nearly the benefits that they got before. Robert wright, thank ou they got before. Robert wright, thank you for they got before. Robert wright, thank you forjoining they got before. Robert wright, thank you forjoining us they got before. Robert wright, thank you forjoining us on they got before. Robert wright, thank you forjoining us on bbc| thank you forjoining us on bbc news. Reich king charles has become the first member of the British Royal family to address the Senate Chamber of france. The king is on a three day visit to the country, and received a warm welcome from french lawmakers. He addressed the body in both english and french, calling for the two countries to Work Together to protect the world from climate change. And he spoke about the important bond that ties the two nations. Notre dame cathedral to see the Restoration Work Taking place there. On friday he and Queen Camilla will wrap up their visit to france at bordeaux to see an organic vineyard and a forest that is charting the effects of climate change. Thats all from us here in washington. Im sumi somaskanda. We leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand off to our colleageus there. Stay with us here on bbc news. Hello. Its been a particularly wet week for many, autumnal feeling. Some of the wettest spots have seen 160mm of rain, the likes of the Lake District and north wales. Now, some of that moisture was wrapped around this deep area of low pressure which are the remnants of hurricane lee, so thats why weve had so much rain. But that low pressure is still influencing our weather weve still got showers thrown up across its eastern flank here, as you can see, to southeastern parts, and then were picking up a northerly wind as its continuing itsjourney into the north sea, and thatll be a different feel to friday. Near Gale Force Winds in the north but a stronger wind ushering those showers further south and east. Hopefully, those across the east of england clear away fairly soon and then weve got the showers coming down from the north. No area exempt to catching a shower and temperatures similar to thursday, i think, but, with more breeze, it will feel cooler and therell still be some lively showers with rumbles of thunder. But, actually, through the night on friday, the winds ease away, the showers also ease, the skies clear, and it really looks like a chilly night, chillier than thursday night into friday with A Touch Of Frost potentially in the glens of scotland, which means a fine start to saturday morning. There might be just the odd pocket of mist underneath this ridge of High Pressure, but its reallyjust a brief window of drier weather because we already have this next low rolling in. This is the remnants of hurricane nigel, so more tropical air heading our way. But, for the meantime, its going to be chilly, as i say, to start saturday morning. And as we start saturday morning, well see some good spells of sunshine, just patchy, fair weather cloud. But, as the day wears on, we will find more cloud piling in across the southwest into Northern Ireland in particular and western scotland. And for Northern Ireland, actually, the latter part of the afternoon might bring a few splashes, the first splashes of rain from the next Weather Front. But ahead of that with sunshine and with light winds, it should feel quite pleasant at 16 17 celsius, and were losing that northerly breeze because were picking up instead a milder South Westerly wind but, with it, more wet, more rain and the tightly packed isobars indicate that the wind will be strengthening once again, so the likelihood is we will see further gales, particularly around the coast, and we will have further heavy rain. Again, we could see similar totals perhaps 50mm in the wetter spots, even more over the hills. But theres some uncertainty, but it does still look as if some southern and eastern parts of england might escape and stay dry with more cloud but warmer 20 21 again because were switching the wind direction. We are tapping into this South Westerly and starting with that High Pressure close by but, eventually, on monday, that Weather Front does slip through across central and eastern areas. By then, perhaps not that much rain around it, but it will freshen things up again behind with showers sunny spells and showers as we go through towards monday. And potentially something a little bit more unsettled looking towards the west. But look at those temperatures 19 21 celsius, feeling quite pleasant. And thats because were still keeping this South Westerly. Then there is some uncertainty as we go further ahead, then, into next week. Low pressure looks more dominant, doesnt it . But theres always the chance that a ridge of High Pressure mightjust start to build across southern areas, so its more likely that well see the wetter and windier weather taking shape across northern and western parts but, even further south this stage, it does look set to stay very changeable but still quite warm temperatures into the low 20s into next week here, and up into the high teens further north. As ever, theres more on the website and well keep you up to date here. Voice over this is bbc news. Well have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. After two years of restored taliban rule in afghanistan, two thirds of afghans are experiencing Food Insecurity and close to 900,000 children face acute malnutrition. At the same time, the kabul regime has barred girls from Secondary School and university and banned women from many workplaces. So there is a massive ethical dilemma facing the International Community to engage or not to engage with the taliban. My guest is shaharzad akbar, former chairperson of afghanistans independent human rights commission. What would morally acceptable engagement look like . Shaharzad akbar, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. Its good to be here. Its good to have you here. If i may, im going to start with some powerful words of yours. You wrote recently, i spend every day with a fire burning in my heart with the pain of injustice that women