An audit exit if this is put in charge of this years climate complement. And a look at whats happening in the front line town of soledar as russia and ukraine fight for control. Welcome to the programme. We start with the controversy in washington. The white house has confirmed that a second set of classified documents has been found in the garage of President Biden� s home in delaware. Its thought the documents are linked to Barack Obamas time in the white house Whenjoe Biden was Vice President. And in the last half hour, us Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Special Counsel to investigate joe biden� s handling of the documents. This Appointment Underscores for the public the departments commitment to independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters and to Making Decisions guided only by the facts and the law. Heres what the us president told reporters a little earlier. As i said earlier this week, and by the way my corvette in a locked garage. 0k . So, its not like it sitting out on the street. So those documents were in a locked garage . Yes, as well as my corvette. As i said earlier this week, people know i take classified documents and classified materials seriously. I also said we are cooperating fully and completely with theJustice Departments review. More now from our North America editor sarah smith. Biden is expected to run again and this was certainly over shower that and could drag on for months and months. As information leaks out of these investigations with potentially a another inquiry going out this good dog biden for months if not years. Lets take a look at how we got here. Joe biden served as Vice President betweenjanuary 2009 to january 2017. After this, and until 2020 he periodically used an office space at a think tank in washington dc. Fast forward to late last year and we now know that a first batch of classified material was found at this office. Which brings us to this week and a second batch of documents found at a separate location. This is a former us attorney. The current us attorney who is a trump holdover, will be looking at the same issue. Did then Vice President biden, current President Biden, know what she was doing was in violation of the law . Or, as the white house seems to be arguing, was this an inadvertent, at worst, a reckless act by not carefully putting these documents in a secure location. If there is no proof that the president knowingly violated the law, that President Biden knowingly violated the law. There will be no criminal prosecution. Lets put this into context. When us president s and Vice President s leave office, they have to transfer all of their documents and e mails to the National Archives, which maintains historic white house records. We dont know the content of the documents in question. But according to biden� s Special Counsel, they were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the archives. Adding that biden� s team is co operating to ensure all records are appropriately in the possession of the archives. Lets cross life and speak tojulia. But to talk to you. We have heard from Merrick Garland and he is doing a special consulate. What from Merrick Garland and he is doing a special consulate. A special consulate. What does that mean . Essentially a special consulate. What does that mean . Essentially we a special consulate. What does that mean . Essentially we are a special consulate. What does that mean . Essentially we are seeing i a special consulate. What does that l mean . Essentially we are seeing that the Department Ofjustice under President Biden is moving in an independent direction. They are not taking this politically and ignoring the situation. They are tackling this head on and looking at it from a independent point of view. The Special Counsel appointed by Merrick Garland is a trump appointed attorney. That is independent and it shows they are taking this very seriously. At the time when Merrick Garlands justice seriously. At the time when Merrick GarlandsJustice Department has had to navigate fraught political waters while trying to remain neutral. Remember it was Merrick Garland who signed off on the Search Warrant to go into mara lago to search for President Trumps set of classified documents. It shows that this is a very independentJustice Department. Very independent Justice Department. What very independentJustice Department. What does this mean for president writing . It what does this mean for president writin . ,. ,. ,. ,. , writing . It is not good for president writing . It is not good for President Biden writing . It is not good for President Biden right writing . It is not good forl President Biden right now. Writing . It is not good for. President biden right now. I writing . It is not good for President Biden right now. I dont necessarily mean it is a Doomsday Scenario for his administration but is not what his administration wants to be dealing with at this time. He is expected to announce a 2024 president ial run. He is coming off a successful Midterm Election season for democrats where they got the majority in the senate. He is trying to boost the economy and look forward to working with democrats in the senate. It comes after republicans had a fraught week in the House Of Representatives trying to choose a speaker and making the democrats look better. Now the attention is shifting to the administration, and President Biden has the answer all of these questions. It will be compared to the President Trumps situation. These situations from what we know at the moment are very different. It seems like the biden team found these documents and were forthcoming and going to the National Archives and going to the National Archives and reports in them. It also seems that there were simply more documents at President Trumps position in a position to bite his fist up and we know that trump did not hand over his documents. So very different situations but they will be compared. Different situations but they will be compared different situations but they will be comared. ~ ,. Be compared. Thank you very much julia. Now you might rememberformer President Trump found himself embroiled in a case involving classified documents last year. box these are pictures of the police raid on trumps mar a lago estate last august. They reportedly found more than 150 sensitive documents. At the time, President Biden called trumps mishandling of documents totally irresponsible. So thats led to trump saying today when is the fbi going to raid the many homes ofjoe biden, perhaps even the white house . And theres been a swift reaction from the republican party. I think congress has to investigate this. This is an individual in office for more than 40 years and said on 60 minutes that she was concerned about president drums documents and now we find that as a Vice President he was keeping it out in the open in different locations. So lets go through the comparisons. Back to Julia Manchester in washington. You mentioned the similarities between whats happening but there are Big Differences. Are Big Differences. There are absolute to are Big Differences. There are absolute to differences. Are Big Differences. There are absolute to differences. In. Absolute to differences. In President Trumps case we saw that the fbi and Justice Department had to force their way in to get those documents. Signing off any Search Warrant and contacting the former president and his staff multiple times until it led to what we sought last august to stop that search. There are also a lot more documents, as far as we know, in the former president s position. There are also wes edens, and this isjust going off, it seems like in President Trumps situation that they were in less secure situations. In President Biden skate looks like they were locked away in his garage or his office. Not as close to the public as they could be at mara lago. There are still questions that need to be asked of President Biden. Why have these documents taken care of earlier . Why were they in his position after he left the white house . In these cases there is the broader question of how outgoing and incoming us officials handled these information. ~ incoming us officials handled these information information. Thank you to talk to was always information. Thank you to talk to was always julia. 0n on average patient having Heart Attacks and strokes had to wait more than 90 minutes which is 30 minutes more than it used to be in october. The target is 18 minutes. 0ur Health Editor hugh pym has been allowed into the royal Bolton Hospital in lancashire, england. He went into a e, to see for himself what patients and staff are experiencing. We are at ten on the corridor. Weve no capacity. We are going to come out and assess them in the ambulance so it will be one nurse coming out to each patient. Sue has worked here in a e for over 30 years. The last six, 12 months have been more challenging than i have ever known in the time i have worked here. The department was built to treat 21 patients. Right now, there are 60 waiting. We are running two and three times above our capacity continually, and often more than that. Is it sometimes so busy that you cant prevent delays for the Ambulance Crews . Yes, it is, yes. And then that is when we have the big delays and backlogs and when we get to that point, we are very often having to go out to the ambulances to see and assess them. We cant even get them in. And how much has that happened in the last few weeks . Its happened quite a lot, quite a lot, yes. Away from the noise of a e is Intensive Care the sickest patients. And it is nearly full. We have got one empty at the minute. The lady hasjust gone down to the ward. Sojust one empty bed. Its manic, to be honest. Obviously, there is significant pressure on the nhs, but it has felt busy in as much as it has been really difficult to try and get people home and get discharged from the ward and discharged from here. Um, itsjust felt blocked everywhere. It has been really, really difficult. Back in a e. Loud hubbub. The noise of staff and machines is striking. So as you can see, um, this is the quad. All the bays are full. We have even had to have some people waiting by the triage area, the assessment area. This is the heart of a e patients tucked into any available space. They have made it off the corridor. Some are waiting to be assessed. Most are waiting for a bed. Sometimes, we can have trolleys in all the spaces. So we have had trolleys all around, all around the assessment areas. Here, there is never a quiet moment, with so many patients to care for. A e is full because bolton, like other hospitals we have been to, says beds are hard to find. Here, 100 patients are fit to leave but cant because of Community Care issues. The government has recently given £200 million for extra Social Care Beds in england. How much will it help here . It may be a little bit too late to deal with the current pressures we are facing. But money is always welcome. That is your zimmer frame. Royal bolton is doing all it can to prepare patients for leaving the hospital. Oh, you are doing marvellous. We saw how, soon after they arrive, staff begin the rehab process. Perfect. But flu is adding to the pressure. Diane was so poorly, her husband took her to see the gp, who told him to get her to hospital fast rather than waiting for an ambulance. He were holding me up. I couldnt walk straight. And the gp saw me and she got the. Typed the note and sent me straight to a e. So. So i would say that gp saved my life. Staff say flu and Covid Pressures mean it is harder than during the worst of the pandemic. The staff is exhausted. It feels as difficult as it was during covid. But in fact, slightly more difficult because during covid, a lot of services, we stopped, but now we are keeping on all elective services, plus we are managing the pressures at the front end. The hospital is pointing as many patients as possible who are less seriously ill to other areas of care, but the corridor still looks like this. Despite everything, susan is philosophical. The workload is tough. We have had to adapt and change our ways of working. But we are a e nurses, and we take what is put in front of us, and we deal with it the best we can. Hugh pym, bbc news, bolton. Now lets talk about the war in ukraine. As always, its hard to be certain what the situation is on the front line but lets look at what we know. That front line is still in eastern ukraine. Ukrainian and russia are fighting for control of a mining town called soledar. If russia take soledar, it could help them to encircle nearby bakhmut another town it wants to take. And, russia hasnt taken a key ukrainian town or city for months, so theyre looking for a victory. And so theyre attacking soledar aggressively. Take a look at this Satellite Picture its how soledar looked in august. Those are peoples homes and apartments. This is it now. The buildings are completely destroyed. Heres another picture of soledar from august. More homes there you can see, and a school. This image of the same place shows how it looks now. We heard more from a ukrainian analyst. You could say that hundreds and hundreds of people on each side are dying every day, and the munition is being used on a grandeur scale. For example, we dont really know that Ukrainian Forces use up to 50,000 shells per day, only near soledar and bakhmut alone. So, basically, we could say that one of the biggest and the most fierce battles on European Continent since world war ii. And the pictures weve seen from there suggest that there might be truth to that. This video was posted by ukraine. You can see an injured person being stretchered out of a building, then carried into a first aid truck. The entire area is destroyed. Heres another video. It shows the Ukrainian Military near soledar, firing multiple rockets. The governor of donetsk gave this update to ukrainian tv. Translation there are 559 people still left in soledar, including 15 children. Thats as of today. They had the opportunity to leave before the 5th ofjanuary, but they chose not to. The city was then closed because of active fighting and enemy attacks. Melinda haring is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Councils eurasia centre. Thank you forjoining us. Let me ask you. Why is this small town is so important to the russians propaganda wise . 50 important to the russians propaganda wise . ,. ,. , �. ,. , wise . So the russians havent had a victo in wise . So the russians havent had a victory in months wise . So the russians havent had a victory in months and wise . So the russians havent had a victory in months and that wise . So the russians havent had a victory in months and that is wise . So the russians havent had a victory in months and that is why victory in months and that is why they are fighting so hard. They havent had any victory since summer and they have to show up momentum. The news is out that the battle is not going well. We saw a major reshuffle in the Russian Military structure this week and that is why they are to getting there. We structure this week and that is why they are to getting there. They are to getting there. We have had conflicting they are to getting there. We have had conflicting information they are to getting there. We have had conflicting information about | had conflicting information about who actually controls this area. Absolutely both sides are saying they control more area than the other side does, and the analytical reports i have read say that the city has not been fully captured by the russians. It is unlikely that the russians. It is unlikely that the russians. It is unlikely that the russians will be able to capture bakhmut. The city nearby that is really the prize. It is one to watch but i think there are bigger signs to keep your eye on as well. Talk to me about other to keep your eye on as well. Talk to me about other big to keep your eye on as well. Talk to me about other big elliptical to keep your eye on as well. Talk to me about other big elliptical issues| me about other big elliptical issues that are going to be a focus of the moment. , ,. ,. , moment. The big issue right now our tanks. Moment. The big issue right now our tanrs ukraine moment. The big issue right now our tanks. Ukraine needs moment. The big issue right now our tanks. Ukraine needs tanks moment. The big issue right now our tanks. Ukraine needs tanks and moment. The big issue right now our tanks. Ukraine needs tanks and the l tanks. Ukraine needs tanks and the British Government has indicated it is looking at this issue. The bullish government has said it would like to send a company of german tanks that ukrainians have been begging for four tanks that ukrainians have been begging forfour months. Tanks that ukrainians have been begging for four months. The tanks that ukrainians have been begging forfour months. The problem is the germans dont want to green light it. Even if the polls want to give german tanks they need berlins position. And berlin has been hesitant to give permission in the past. It depends on washington and berlin cutting a deal and saying lets do it. Theres a difference because the germans have tanks that work in ukraine but the tanks we have here in the us are big and heavy and the sink in the ground and eat up a lot of gas. The ukrainians cant meet ten them so he doesnt make sense. The pentagon doesnt want to send them for those reasons. While that is happening on the ukrainian side on the russian side another change in military command. I think it is a second in three months or something along those lines. What difference will this new general would make to the conflict . Nothing. That is the headline. This structure at the top is still confused. To give you one summary. There was a big fight within the russian mod and paramilitary groups in russia and the mod comes out on top. So this new general has been put at the top again and he has three generals underneath him but it is not expected to make any difference on the battlefield. Thank ou ve difference on the battlefield. Thank you very much difference on the battlefield. Thank you very much melinda difference on the battlefield. Thank you very much melinda it difference on the battlefield. Thank you very much melinda it was difference on the battlefield. Thank you very much melinda it was good to talk to. Now im sure youve heard of cop the annual global un Climate Change conference. Well, theyve picked the Cop President for next years summit which is being hosted by the United Arab Emirates. And the uae is one of the worlds biggest producers of oil and gas. The new president is an oil boss. Its this man. Sultan ahmed aljaber. Hes currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Abu Dhabi National oil company. And the Minister For Industry and advanced technology for the uae. In a statment he said the uae was approaching cop28 with a strong sense of responsibility and the highest possible level of ambition. And that they would bring a pragmatic, realistic and Solutions Oriented approach that delivers transformative progress for climate and for low carbon Economic Growth it is one of the 20 largest polluters of gas. They pump out around 4 Million Barrels of crude oil a day. Its accounts for 71 of Greenhouse Gas emissions. So Climate Campaigners have criticised the appointment. Tasneem essop, from Climate Action International Said if he does not step down as ceo, it will be tantamount to a full scale capture of the un Climate Talks by a petrostate National Oil Company and its associated fossil fuel lobbyists. Some though point to his work in Renewable Energy. Hes ceo of abu dhabis Renewable Energy firm and oversaw its mandate to adopt renewables in the uae. And, the uae was the first country in the region to ratify the paris agreement. Its also committed to Reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050. Some have welcomed the move. Heresjohannes lelieveld, professor at the cyprus institute. Of course when countries in the middle east are being selected for the cop or organising the cop you can expect there will be some conflicts of interest. This decision has been made so that they have to wait and see and we have to give the emirates a good chance to do a job. And, we heard from the former un climate chief, yvo de boer the uae has adopted a sound green Growth Strategy and is a major investor in Renewable Energy, he said. Im joined now by catherine ah bray you , the founder Executive Director of destination zero, a Nonprofit Organisation offering advice on Climate Change. Shes a long time watcher of Climate Talks. os dtl this unprecedented appointment of an oil and gas executive. I am not muted. � , oil and gas executive. I am not muted. � ,. ,. , muted. Thats not a problem catherine muted. Thats not a problem catherine i muted. Thats not a problem catherine i think muted. Thats not a problem catherine i think we muted. Thats not a problem catherine i think we can muted. Thats not a problemj catherine i think we can hear muted. Thats not a problem catherine i think we can hear you. Let me ask you first of all. What is your reaction to this appointment. I think theres a bit of a delay in the sound and pictures so dont be put off by it. Always working through this technical did difficulties. This is an unprecedented appointment. Its quite alarming. The issue isnt with his personality or indications. Yes, he has invested in Renewable Energy. The issue is with his political and economic space that he occupies in the past. Given the fact that he is tasked with making the most profits for oil and gas extraction for his company, he cannot be the same person achieving the most ambitious outcome from Climate Talks. Abs, lat person achieving the most ambitious outcome from Climate Talks. Outcome from Climate Talks. A lot of Eo Le Outcome from Climate Talks. A lot of peeple have outcome from Climate Talks. A lot of people have talked outcome from Climate Talks. A lot of people have talked about outcome from Climate Talks. A lot of people have talked about his people have talked about his experience promoting Renewable Energy and it skills it at being the forefront of that side of things. Surely, that does give them some experience, orsome surely, that does give them some experience, or some credibility in terms of pushing a new agenda for Climate Change. Particularly in the middle east. So, it is absolutely the case that hosting these conversations in this region is important. It is one of the regions in the world most exposed to the impacts of those changes. They have a big role to play in the Global Energy transition away from possible fuels and towards renewables. This is not where the cop is being hosted and nuts again about the individual modifications. The issue is with putting someone into such a position of influence over Climate Talks who has such a Conflict Of Interest because that is the promise with building and increasing profits with oil and gas extraction with climates activist was that is incompatible. That is what we have to talk about. In egypt we saw countries calling for an outcome to phasing out fossil fuels and there was influence at that clock that prevented that from happening. We need to be continuing that composition. That composition. Thank you very much catherine. That composition. Thank you very much catherine. I that composition. Thank you very much catherine. I am that composition. Thank you very much catherine. I am afraid that composition. Thank you very much catherine. I am afraid we i that composition. Thank you very i much catherine. I am afraid we have run out of time to stop stay with us on the bbc. Hello there. The heavy rain weve seen over recent days is taking a toll in terms of flooding, and thats caused some disruption. Weve had problems on the Railway Network across the south of wales today and at times, roads have been turned to rivers. I think the main message with lots of Flood Warnings still in force is check the conditions for your journey ahead before setting out on the journey. Now, on the Satellite Picture, this area of cloud is what brought todays heavy rain. But out in the atlantic, the next area of low pressure is brewing, and thats going to be bringing another dollop of heavy rain across those flood affected areas through friday night, so were certainly not out of the woods. Overnight, it stays windy, rain at times across northern england, north wales, Northern Ireland as well. The brisk winds stop it from getting that cold for a january night. Overnight lows, 3 7 degrees yes, its going to be another frost free night. Tomorrow, still pretty blustery of a band of rain crossing Northern Ireland, where its going to be quite cloudy. The rain arriving across Northwest England and western scotland through the day. Otherwise there should be some bright or sunny spells, but still a number of showers around and temperatures still very mild 4 degrees above average in london with highs of ii. Its through friday night that were likely to see another round of flooding because that area of low pressure i showed you developing, well, here it comes, pushing a band of heavy rain across england and wales. So, in other words, the flooding quite likely to get worse before it gets better. Now, through the weekend, the worst of the heavy rain does clear out of the way. What follows is rather windy conditions with some blustery showers following to many areas. So a wet start to saturday, ongoing flooding in places. And through the day, the winds pick up across Northern Ireland, across parts of western scotland, the north west of both england and wales with gales for some still very mild across parts of the south, 12 degrees celsius in london. But through the weekend it is set to get colder. And by the time we get to sunday, well start to see some showers moving in here, turning increasingly wintry in nature. But its not the only place that will see showers. Temperatures across the board dropping, struggling to get much above freezing in scotland in places further southwards, highs of around five to seven degrees celsius and into next week it gets even colder. Still cold enough for some snow showers to move in. Now we are certain that it is going to get a lot colder and with that, therell be some widespread frost around, some icy patches to watch out for. And those snow showers will the air gets cold enough to see those come right down to very low levels. Hello, im Maryam Moshiri. This is outside source. More pressure on President Biden after a second set of classified documents are found at his delaware home. Whether he mishandled classified documents. Stated that an additional document was identified at the president s personal residence in wilmington delaware. The personal residence in wilmington delaware. ~. , personal residence in wilmington delaware. ~. ,. , delaware. The imf warns of a looming debt countries. Tens of millions face extreme hunger. And how dolphins struggled to communicate properly with each other as a result of increasing human noise pollution. Merrick garland � s announce the appointment of Special Counsel to investigate joe bidens appointment of Special Counsel to investigatejoe bidens handling of sensitive documents. Lets cross life to washington and Gary Oconnell gary odonoghue. What does this mean for the president . It means legaljeopardy because this council is looking into whether or not any entity or person committed a crime by holding onto these documents after leaving office. Youre meant to hand over documents to the National Archives, classified and unclassified, and it seemed joe biden had some hanging around and another batch hanging around and another batch hanging around in his garage in his home and willing him wilmington. This is a Serious Development and notjust of the problems with the documents, but hes accused of hypocrisy, having gone after donald trump for holding onto hundreds of classified documents. He of course is facing possible criminal charges on the stool. The Attorney General will have to play evenhandedly as possible, and thats the reason to bring in the Special Officer in this case. ,. ~ i. , bring in the Special Officer in this case. ,. , bring in the Special Officer in this case. ,. The International Monetary fund has warned that many low Income Countries are at risk of defaulting on their debts because of rising Interest Rates. It comes from the groups deputy director, mark flanagan. Lets have a listen. Many countries have emerged from the pandemic with higher fiscal deficits that have driven higher and rising debt ratios. Theres a big chunk of Debt Service Coming Due for a lot of people in middle Income Countries over the next five years because they did a lot of borrowing back in the last decade. They face constraints from their fiscal adjustment because many of them are poor and have many needs to fulfil, and theyre just one shock away from being tripped up and forced into a default situation. Lets take a look at why higher Interest Rates particularly in the us are such a problem for developing nations. Well, 90 of the debt held by emerging Market Countries is denominated in dollars. From early last year, the Us Central Bank has been raising Interest Rates aggressively to try to combat inflation. And thats made the us dollar more attractive to investors, driving up its value against other currencies. This chart shows the value of the dollar against six other major currencies. Its at a 20 year high, with the strong Dollar Making Repayments for those highly indebted countries punitively expensive. Heres professor tobias broer from the paris school of economics. Technically, this happens in times of boom in us economy. That is typically the time of a booming world economy. When most poor countries have strong export performance, that partly offsets these increased costs of their external debt. Right now, its Monetary Policy because right now, its Monetary Policy because of unprecedentedly High Consumer Price Inflation, but partly reflects Consumer Price inflation, but partly reflects rising prices or rising Commodity Prices following the russian Commodity Prices following the russian invasion of ukraine. But what russian invasion of ukraine. But what that russian invasion of ukraine. But what that means is that poor countries what that means is that poor countries get hit twice. They get hit countries get hit twice. They get hii with countries get hit twice. They get hit with higher costs on their externai hit with higher costs on their external debt, and they get hit with higher import costs. Well, an increasing number of countries are having problems paying their debts, because of not only the strong dollar, but also inflation and surging Commodity Prices. The United Nations has identified 54 developing economies with severe Debt Problems. Those countries account for little more than 3 of the Global Economy, but they represent 18 of the worlds population, and more than 50 of People Living in extreme poverty. Heres the imf� s managing director, kristalina georgieva. Well, sri lanka is an example of a country thats already defaulted on their debts. You might remember last year the huge economic crisis in sri lanka. There were food and fuel shortages and violent Anti Government protests that led to the Prime Minister resigning. Now, its negotiating an imf bailout, and the crisis is still ongoing. This week, the government announced spending cuts and warned it barely has enough revenue to pay public salaries and pensions. Whats happening in sri lanka shows the impact a debt crisis has. Countries can no longer finance themselves or provide safety nets for people. Heres the imf� s Mark Flannagan again. One way to think about this, in fact, about the total exposure. In fact, about the total exposure is to think about the most vulnerable. Those who are subject to extreme food insecurity. And we have estimates on that from the world bank and un agencies. Right now, those estimates say that between 700 and a billion people, over the next decade, are exposed to extreme food insecurity. Those are the kind of people who would be very affected by a debt crisis. Now lets take a look at pakistan, another country struggling with an economic crisis. A lot of its infrastructure was destroyed in flooding last year at one point, almost a third of the country was under water. This week, International Donors pledged more than 9 billion to help it with the recovery effort. But its National Debt is huge 274 billion. Thats almost 90 of its Gross Domestic Product or economic output. And it owes around 100 billion in external debt to lenders including the world bank and china. Pakistan has negotiated a deal with the International Monetary fund to help relieve its debt crisis. But the imf wants Economic Reforms before releasing more aid. Speaking in geneva earlier this week, pakistans Prime Minister appealed for a pause in those demands. You know the plight of poor people in developing countries. So, kindly be considerate and compassionate and give us some breathing space. Shehbaz sharif has been in abu dhabi today, where the United Arab Emirates agreed to lend pakistan 1 billion and roll over an existing 2 billion loan. Most of the countries with Debt Problems are in the global south, but experts say there will be effects on the global north, too. Heres former greek finance minister yanis varoufakis. In poverty, and the failure to pay their banks, their loans, increasing poverty, and the failure to pay their banks, their loans,. In the south, in the global south, is going to make the already mounting Credit Crunch in Western Societies in the united states, in britain, in the european union. Its going to make it worse. And, therefore, there is going to be | this doom loop of greater austerity| | for many people in the west whichl resonates and feeds back into loop. Rather the nasty loop with poverty for many in the global south. Joining me is heidi chow, director of debtjustice, which describes itself as part of a Global Movement to end unjust debt. Hi dee, its so good ill be on the programme. Heidi. How does what were seeing now compared to what happened before . Goad were seeing now compared to what happened before . Happened before . Good evening, ma am. Happened before . Good evening, maryam this happened before . Good evening, maryam. This is happened before . Good evening, maryam. This is certainly happened before . Good evening, maryam. This is certainly a happened before . Good evening, maryam. This is certainly a very l maryam. This is certainly a very serious situation. 54 countries are currently in a debt crisis, so this means that their payments are so high that its undermining the ability of governments to deliver basic needs. Debt repayments are now at their highest levels since 2001. I think a big difference. Sound cuts out. Is i think a big difference. Souno curs our. I think a big difference. Sound cuts out. Is the global context. Global sound cuts out. Is the global context. Global countries sound cuts out. Is the global context. Global countries are i context. Global countries are Feeling Pressure from crises, so in addition, theyre also on the front lines of the emergency and Feeling Pressure from the fuelled price heights. Also by the expected inflation, and Financial Markets on Commodity Prices. All of these are putting increasing pressure on Debt Repayments. Putting increasing pressure on Debt Repayments putting increasing pressure on debt rea ments. ~. � ,. , repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it to repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it to say repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it to say we repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it to say we can how realistic is it to say we can counsel these countries debts, given that the Global Economy is potentially about to enter a recession . How realistic to say lets start from fresh . I recession . How realistic to say lets start from fresh . Lets start from fresh . I think thats the lets start from fresh . I think thats the only lets start from fresh . I think thats the only sustainable i lets start from fresh . I think thats the only sustainable solution when it comes to a debt crisis. This was recognised by the Global Community at the beginning of the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, the 620 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, the g20 set up a Debt Relief Scheme in order to address. The only problem with the g20 scheme was that its not really had many countries that applied for it. Only three countries applied for it. Only three countries applied up till now. Going to applied up till now. Going to applied as well. None of them have seen consolation altogether ghana applied. There was no way to compel private lenders to come to the table and negotiate their consolation. Given that almost half of all Global Health Debt Repayments are paid to the private creditors such as banks and hedge funds, without them coming to the table, its very difficult to negotiate effective debt cancellation. Negotiate effective debt cancellation. ,. , ~. , cancellation. Looking to the future, otentiall cancellation. Looking to the future, potentially where cancellation. Looking to the future, potentially where the cancellation. Looking to the future, potentially where the answer cancellation. Looking to the future, potentially where the answer lies, l potentially where the answer lies, whats the impact going to be if the answer isnt found soon . I whats the impact going to be if the answer isnt found soon . Whats the impact going to be if the answer isnt found soon . I think the im acts answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are going answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are going to answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are going to be answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are going to be very, answer isnt found soon . I think the impacts are going to be very, very l impacts are going to be very, very serious, and your report or earlier talked about the impacts of the most vulnerable. We are going to see essentially debts being prioritised over basic human needs, and in particular, undermine the ability of governments to deliver Public Services Like Health Care and education. In these areas, when they are underfunded, they have potential future ramifications for peoples life chances. Future ramifications for peoples life chances. , life chances. Heidi child, thank you once again another big problem facing hospitals is the number of patients fit to leave but dont have anywhere to go. Ros atkins have been looking at the issues surrounding the crisis in social care. This week, the government highlighted one because of the crisis. ~. , highlighted one because of the crisis. ~. ,. , 11 11 crisis. We have around 13,000 atients crisis. We have around 13,000 patients in crisis. We have around 13,000 patients in hospital crisis. We have around 13,000 patients in hospital who crisis. We have around 13,000 patients in hospital who are i crisis. We have around 13,000 i patients in hospital who are ready to leave hospital. They are often delayed because of challenges and social care. � ,. , social care. And these challenges are acute social care. And these challenges are acute. Social social care. And these challenges are acute. Social care social care. And these challenges are acute. Social care refers social care. And these challenges are acute. Social care refers to i are acute. Social care refers to support services for older people and People Living with a disability or illness. How social care is organised as been called. And it is. To understand the crisis in the nhs, we need to understand the crisis in social care. Les began with a staffing. Nearly 1. 8 Million People work in Adult Social Care in england. Thats more than the nhs. There are also over 10 million unpaid carers. Social care requires a lot of people. Right now, there arent enough. The current vacancy rate is over 10 . Thats the highest since records began. Its caused by a range of since records began. It� s caused by a range of factors since records began. Its caused by a range of factors higher sickness rates, brexit too. One thing tenant notes. Not yet at least. But the biggest cause of Staff Shortages is wage levels. ,. ,. ,. , ,. , levels. You earn more money with so much less responsibility levels. You earn more money with so much less responsibility and levels. You earn more money with so much less responsibility and stress. I much less responsibility and stress. Theres much less responsibility and stress. Theres not much less responsibility and stress. Theres not a lot of Emotional Stress theres not a lot of Emotional Stress that you take home with you. Working stress that you take home with you. Working in stress that you take home with you. Working in all the dust pay more. Working in aldi. Competition for staff isntjust working in aldi. Competition for staff isnt just from working in aldi. Competition for staff isntjust from supermarkets. A career in care isnt considered an attractive a career in care isnt considered an attractive proposition. Attractive proposition. Unfortunately, attractive proposition. Unfortunately, low attractive proposition. | unfortunately, low pay attractive proposition. Unfortunately, low pay due to funding, unfortunately, low pay due to funding, but unfortunately, low pay due to funding, but also unfortunately, low pay due to funding, but also where unfortunately, low pay due to funding, but also where in funding, but also where in competition funding, but also where in competition with funding, but also where in competition with the funding, but also where in| competition with the nhs, funding, but also where in competition with the nhs, that funding, but also where in competition with the nhs, that seems more appealing competition with the nhs, that seems more appealing tare competition with the nhs, that seems more appealing more appealing. Care workers can earn more more appealing. Care workers can earn more in more appealing. Care workers can earn more in similar more appealing. Care workers can earn more in similar roles. More appealing. Care workers can earn more in similar roles. With l more appealing. Care workers can l earn more in similar roles. With the higher cost of living, that means for some, social care payjust isnt viable any more. As weve just heard, that level of pay connects to funding. This goes back to 1948, when the nhs was founded. It was decided health care would be free for everyone. Social care would be funded by local councils and by charging some users. 75 years later, the systems probably the same, but an ageing population means more demand for care and in turn, costs are higher. Funding isnt keeping up. For example, this local councils spending. As the kings front that fall has increased pressure on social care budgets. As has the pandemic and rising inflation. Care providers are saying now that the councils arent paying enough. This is one of the councils arent paying enough. This is one of the few councils arent paying enough. Tn 3 is one of the few vacant rooms we have available at the home at the moment, it would probably be rented out for £1200 a week. What moment, it would probably be rented out for £1200 a week. Out for £1200 a week. What were seeinr is out for £1200 a week. What were seeing is draw out for £1200 a week. What were seeing is draw challenge. Out for £1200 a week. What were seeing is draw challenge. Theres| seeing is draw challenge. Theres also pressure on how and social care work together. The government says its mindful of this. Its establishing what are called Integrated Care Boards in england, which aim to. This, though, remains a work in progress, and these core challenges arent new. ,. ,. ,. , and these core challenges arent new. , new. There is no Political Party with clean new. There is no Political Party with clean hands new. There is no Political Party with clean hands in new. There is no Political Party with clean hands in this. New. There is no Political Party with clean hands in this. Tonyl new. There is no Political Party with clean hands in this. Tony blair promised us with clean hands in this. Tony blair promised us that he was going to reform promised us that he was going to reform social care. We are seven prime reform social care. We are seven Prime Ministers down from that. We have all Prime Ministers down from that. We have all been told by all of them they would do something, and none of them have a they would do something, and none of them have a. The they would do something, and none of them have a them have a. The five Prime Ministers have them have a. The five Prime Ministers have been them have a. The five Prime Ministers have been from i ministers have been from conservatives. The first was david cameron. He was led by this man, and in 2011, his report concluded the system was. It proposed a range of reforms which werent implemented. If wejump forward reforms which werent implemented. If we jump forward to 2019, Boris Johnsons time as Prime Minister began. T johnsons time as Prime Minister bean. , johnsons time as Prime Minister bean. ,. ,. ,. , began. I am announcing now on the ste s of began. I am announcing now on the steps of downing began. I am announcing now on the steps of Downing Street began. I am announcing now on the steps of Downing Street that began. I am announcing now on the steps of Downing Street that we began. I am announcing now on the | steps of Downing Street that we will fix the steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in social steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in social care steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in social care once fix the crisis in social care once and fix the crisis in social care once and for fix the crisis in social care once and for aii~ fix the crisis in social care once and for all fix the crisis in social care once and for all. , �. , , and for all. That hasnt happened either. And for all. That hasnt happened either one and for all. That hasnt happened either. One tax and for all. That hasnt happened either. One tax rises and for all. That hasnt happened either. One tax rises designed i and for all. That hasnt happened either. One tax rises designed toj either. One tax rises designed to help fund Social Care Reformed was announced, but cancelled by the next Prime Minister. Now its rishi sunak� s turn, and his government this week committed. Thats in addition to £500 million announced last year. But the governments delayed a key reform. A proposed cap on care costs for individuals. I do believe in on care costs for individuals. I do believe in those on care costs for individuals. I if believe in those reforms that andrew has champion very much, but in the end, this two year delay means we can increase funding available to local authorities by £4. 7 billion over the next two years. Local authorities by £4. 7 billion over the next two years. There is a caveat here over the next two years. There is a caveat here because over the next two years. There is a caveat here because as the over the next two years. There is a caveat here because as the bbc. Caveat here because as the bbc alison holt tells us. In fact, we dont know how much new money there will be, this is the verdict of a man whose proposals the government says it believes. Brute verdict of a man whose proposals the government says it believes. We have a s Stem Government says it believes. We have a system that government says it believes. We have a system that is government says it believes. We have a system that is creaking government says it believes. We have a system that is creaking and a system that is creaking and falling a system that is creaking and falling apart, putting pressure on the wonderful people who deliver the care as the wonderful people who deliver the care as well as the individuals who need care as well as the individuals who need it care as well as the individuals who need it and care as well as the individuals who need it and their families. Its hard need it and their families. Its hard to need it and their families. Its hard to think of a more Vulnerable Group hard to think of a more Vulnerable Group than hard to think of a more Vulnerable Group than people in that position, and our group than people in that position, and our system is something that we should and our system is something that we should all and our system is something that we should all be ashamed of. It� s should all be ashamed of. Its a s stem should all be ashamed of. Its a system the should all be ashamed of. Its a system the nhs should all be ashamed of. Its a system the nhs needs should all be ashamed of. Its a system the nhs needs to should all be ashamed of. Its a system the nhs needs to lean l should all be ashamed of. It� s a. System the nhs needs to lean on this winter, but social care is struggling to stair share the load. It needs two systems that can act as one. Right now, that remains act as one. Right now, that remains a goal. Not a reality. Stay with us an outside source dolphins are struggling to communicate because of human noise pollution. Well tell you more. Mel c, aka sporty spice, and known for her backflips, is starring in a contemporary dance show at sadler� s wells theatre, here in london. Our arts reporter, sophie van brugen, has been to meet her. Its taken months of hard work and rehearsals. Mel cs first foray into the contemporary dance world. And it was a challenge that she was ready to take on. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I danced from a really young age. I think i started when i was about three. Kind of got more into it and serious when i was about eight years old. And i think when i went into secondary school, i was, like, performing is definitely a career that i want and to have that i want, and to have an opportunity to dance at sadler� s wells is. I still actually cant believe it. When i hit the stage, ill be 49 years old. And, you know, who knew id be dancing professionally at that age . And i feel very proud of that. You can still go to do the things you love. Its hard work. Theres been lots of ups and downs. Theres been lots of tears, but i know at the end of the day, im going to really appreciate the work that ive put in and how much faith everyones put in me. Will the other spice girls be coming to see you . Cos youre all so supportive of each other. Yeah, absolutely. I was recently on stage with emma, and everyones just so excited. I know mel b will be there, geri will be there. Yeah, ill have to see if victoria is going to come down. The last time the spice girls performed together was 2019, but minus victoria beckham. So, are there any plans for posh to join them again . I think you might have seen us on social media having a little boogie at geris 50th. Were definitely luring her back in so were working on her she laughs this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. Our top story. President biden comes under more pressure as a Special Counsel is appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents. Now, lets talk about dolphins, because a new study says theyre struggling to communicate with each other as a result of increasing human noise pollution. Dolphins use whistles and Echo Location to communicate with each other. That means their calls bounce off objects underwater, helping them with navigation. Heres what they sound like. Dolphin clicking wonder what he was saying there. Rising noise levels from human activity, like construction and shipping, are drowning out the dolphins messages. Thats a big problem for dolphins because they rely on sound to work together, hunt for food and reproduce, so their survival can depend on it. Researchers from Bristol University and the Dolphin Research centre in florida discovered that dolphins are fighting to be heard above the noise. What we saw was that as noise increased, the dolphins would adjust their Vocal Behaviour by calling louder, and by increasing the duration of their calls. And we also saw that they might swim closer towards each other to see where each other was. Despite the fact that they use these mechanisms, which we actually already know a lot about from previous studies. About from previous studies, they were still less successful. So, that means that, actually, animals working together are highly impacted by noise despite the fact they are using these. For more on this, we can speak to our climate and science reporter, esme stallard. Thank you forjoining us, and i want to ask you forced of all, weve touched on it a little bit, but if dolphins cant communicate property, that will have a negative impact on their lives . , that will have a negative impact on their lives . Their lives . Exactly, so theyre art of a their lives . Exactly, so theyre part of a group their lives . Exactly, so theyre part of a group called their lives . Exactly, so theyre l part of a group called cetaceans, which is a type of aquatic mammal, so they communicate to co ordinate when catching prey. Males ordinate to protect females in their pause or put off other males. When they have babies, its really important they stay close to their mothers. If they get lost or separated, they rely on sound to reunite. If there is a lot of interference from noise pollution, it means he could really affect their ability to reproduce, to hunt. ~. , affect their ability to reproduce, to hunt. ~. ,. ,. , to hunt. What can be done about it . What is the to hunt. What can be done about it . What is the solution to hunt. What can be done about it . What is the solution being to hunt. What can be done about it . | what is the solution being proposed . Taking the study, now its told us that there are real problems of communication. What they can do is look at the pollution. Shipping was mentioned. We look at majored sitting sure shipping corridors. You can work to maybe change those during key times a year like breeding or make sure areas of the ocean remain protected so that that noise isnt interfering with them. Theyre not the only Marine Mammals impact by this, are they . Hat theyre not the only Marine Mammals impact by this, are they . Impact by this, are they . Not at all. Impact by this, are they . Not at all whales impact by this, are they . Not at all. Whales and impact by this, are they . Not at all. Whales and porpoises impact by this, are they . Not at all. Whales and porpoises are i impact by this, are they . Not at l all. Whales and porpoises are part of those. They heavily rely on sound. There have been as evidence from other studies that when there is a lot of noise position, there could be a could cause them to die suddenly which is really exciting. They can get stranded, so it really is problematic, notjust for dolphins, but also for many other Marine Mammals. 5 for dolphins, but also for many other Marine Mammals. As may, Thank Ou Ve Other Marine Mammals. As may, thank you very much other Marine Mammals. As may, thank you very much indeed. Lets ta ke lets take you once more to washington, because the news coming out of there is the Attorney General has announced an independent lawyer will investigate President Bidens handling of classified documents. These are all pertaining to files which are found injoe bidens delaware home. Similarfiles are also discovered by aid, people helping him at a washington, dc office that he used after his term as Vice President. There will be an investigation, and currently, the president is saying he takes classified material very seriously indeed. More on that story on her website on our live page, bbc. Com news. Im Maryam Moshiri and you can reach me on twitter at bbc maryam. Do stay with us on the bbc. Bye bye. Hello there. The heavy rain weve seen over recent days is taking a toll in terms of flooding, and thats caused some disruption. Weve had problems on the Railway Network across the south of wales today and at times, roads have been turned to rivers. I think the main message with lots of Flood Warnings still in force is check the conditions for your journey ahead before setting out on the journey. Now, on the Satellite Picture, this area of cloud is what brought todays heavy rain. But out in the atlantic, the next area of low pressure is brewing, and thats going to be bringing another dollop of heavy rain across those flood affected areas through friday night, so were certainly not out of the woods. Overnight, it stays windy, rain at times across northern england, north wales, Northern Ireland as well. The brisk winds stop it from getting that cold for a january night. Overnight lows, 3 7 degrees yes, its going to be another frost free night. Tomorrow, still pretty blustery of a band of rain crossing Northern Ireland, where its going to be quite cloudy. The rain arriving across Northwest England and western scotland through the day. Otherwise there should be some bright or sunny spells, but still a number of showers around and temperatures still very mild 4 degrees above average in london with highs of 11. Its through friday night that were likely to see another round of flooding because that area of low pressure i showed you developing, well, here it comes, pushing a band of heavy rain across england and wales. So, in other words, the flooding quite likely to get worse before it gets better. Now, through the weekend, the worst of the heavy rain does clear out of the way. What follows is rather windy conditions with some blustery showers following to many areas. So, a wet start to saturday, ongoing flooding in places, and through the day, the winds pick up across Northern Ireland, across parts of western scotland, the northwest of both england and wales with gales for some still very mild across parts of the south, 12 celsius in london. But through the weekend, it is set to get colder, and by the time we get to sunday, well start to see some showers moving in here, turning increasingly wintry in nature. But its not the only place that will see showers. Temperatures across the board dropping, struggling to get much above freezing in scotland in places further southwards, highs of around 5 7 celsius and into next week, it gets even colder still, cold enough for some snow showers to move in. Now, we are certain that it is going to get a lot colder and with that, therell be some widespread frost around, some icy patches to watch out for, and those snow showers well, the air gets cold enough to see those come right down to very low levels. Hello, im Maryam Moshiri. This is outside source. A setback for President Biden, as a Special Counsel is appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents. This morning, President Bidens personal counsel called and said more classified documents were found at the president s personal residence in delaware. Also on the programme and a look at whats happening in the front line town of soledar as russia and ukraine fight for control. The imf warns of a debt crisis looming. And how dolphins struggle to communicate properly as a result of increasing human noise pollution. Hello, a very warm welcome to the programme. We start with the controversy in washington. The white house has confirmed that a second set of classified documents has been found in the garage of President Bidens home in delaware. Its thought the documents are linked to Barack Obamas time in the white house Whenjoe Biden was Vice President. And in the last half hour, us Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Special Counsel to investigatejoe bidens handling of the documents. Under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances require the appointment of a Special Counsel. This Appointment Underscores for the public the departments commitment to independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters and to Making Decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law. Here is what the us president s told reporters a little earlier. As i said earlier this week. And by the way my corvette in a locked garage. Ok . So, its not like it sitting out on the street. So those documents were in a locked garage . Yes, as well as my corvette. But as i said earlier this week, people know i take classified documents and classified materials seriously. I also said we are cooperating fully and completely with theJustice Departments review. More now from our North America editor, sarah smith. We are expecting President Biden to announce he wants to run again for president in 2024 in the next few months. This will certainly overshadow that and could drag on for months and months. As information leaks out of these investigations, with potentially a congressional inquiry going on, this could dog biden for months if not years. Lets take a look at how we got here. Joe biden served as Vice President between january 2009 to january 2017. After this, and until 2020 he periodically used an office space at a think tank in washington dc. Fast forward to late last year and, as the New York Times reported, reported, a first batch of classified material was found at this office. Which brings us to this week and a second batch of documents found at a separate location. This is a former us attorney. The current us attorney in chicago, who is a trump holdover, will be looking at the same issue. Did then Vice President biden, current President Biden, know what he was doing was in violation of the law . Or, as the white house seems to be arguing, was this an inadvertent, at worst, a reckless act by not carefully putting these documents in a secure location . If there is no proof that the president knowingly violated the law, that President Biden knowingly violated the law, there will be no criminal prosecution. You might remember former you might rememberformer President Trump found himself embroiled in a case involving classified documents last year. These pictures are the Mara Log Arrayed Last August mara log arrayed. These are pictures of the police raid on trumps mar a lago estate last august. They reportedly found more than 150 sensitive documents. At the time, President Biden called trumps mishandling of documents totally irresponsible. So thats led to trump saying today. And theres been a swift reaction from the republican party. I think congress has to investigate this. Here is an individual in office for more than 40 years and sat on 60 minutes, saying he was concerned about President Trumps documents, and now we find that as a Vice President he was keeping it out we spoke toJulia Manchester from the hill. Essentially we are seeing that the Department Ofjustice under President Biden is moving in an independent direction. They are not taking this politically and ignoring the situation. They are tackling this head on and looking at it from a independent point of view. The Special Counsel appointed by Merrick Garland is a trump appointed attorney. That is independent. It shows they are taking this very seriously, at the time when Merrick Garlands Justice Department has had to navigate fraught political waters while trying to remain neutral. Remember, it was Merrick Garland that signed off on the Search Warrant to go into mar a lago to search for President Trumps set of classified documents. It shows that this is a very independentJustice Department. What does this mean for President Biden . It is not good for President Biden right now. When i say not good, i dont necessarily mean it is a Doomsday Scenario for his administration, but its not what his administration wants to be dealing with at this time. He is expected to announce a 2024 president ial run. He is coming off a very successful Midterm Election season for democrats, where they grew their majority in the senate. Very much trying to boost the economy and look forward to working with democrats in the senate. It comes after republicans had a fraught week in the House Of Representatives, trying to choose a speaker and making the democrats look better. Now the attention is shifting to the administration, and President Biden has to answer all of these questions. It will be compared to former President Trumps situation. These situations, from what we know at the moment, are very different. It seems like the biden team found these documents and was forthcoming in going to the National Archives and reporting them. It also seems that there were simply more documents at President Trumps mar a la then in President Bidens position. Marala then in President Bidens osition. ,. , so very different situations, but they will be compared. Now to ukraine. As always, its hard to be certain what the situation is on the front line, but lets look at what we know. That front line is still in eastern ukraine. Ukrainian and russia are fighting for control of a mining town called soledar. If russia take soledar, it could help them to encircle nearby bakhmut another town it wants to take. And russia hasnt taken a key ukrainian town or city for months, so theyre looking for a victory. And so theyre attacking soledar aggressively. Take a look at this Satellite Picture its how soledar looked in august. Those are peoples homes and apartments. This is it now. The buildings are completely destroyed. Heres another picture of soledar from august. More homes there, you can see, and a school. This image of the same place shows how it looks now. We heard more from a ukrainian analyst. We can say that hundreds and hundreds of people on each side are dying every day, and the munition is being used on a grander scale. For example, we know that Ukrainian Forces use up to 50,000 shells per day, only near soledar and bakhmut alone. So, basically, we could say its one of the biggest and the most fierce battles on the European Continent since world war ii. And were getting new footage in from the ground. This video was posted by ukraine. You can see an injured person being stretchered out of a building, then carried into a first aid truck. He is evacuated under heavy gunfire. The entire area is destroyed. Heres another video. It shows the Ukrainian Military near soledar, firing multiple rockets. The governor of donetsk gave this update to ukrainian tv. Translation there are 559 people still left in soledar, including 15 children. Thats as of today. They had the opportunity to leave before the 5th ofjanuary, but they chose not to. The city was then closed because of active fighting and enemy attacks. Melinda haring is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Councils eurasia centre. She told me why this town was so important to the russians and the propaganda perspective. The russians have not had propaganda perspective. The russians have not had a propaganda perspective. The russians have not had a victory propaganda perspective. The russians have not had a victory in propaganda perspective. The russians have not had a victory in months. Have not had a victory in months. You nailed it. And that is why theyre fighting so hard. I do not think they have it any big victory since the summer, so they really have to show some momentum, and the news that the battle is not going well. We saw a major reshuffle in the Russian Military structure this week, so that is why people are really digging in there. find week, so that is why people are really digging in there. Week, so that is why people are really digging in there. And we have had some conflicting really digging in there. And we have had some conflicting information, i had some conflicting information, havent we, about whom exley controls this area . Absolutely. Both sides are saying controls this area . Absolutely. Both sides are saying they controls this area . Absolutely. Both sides are saying they control controls this area . Absolutely. Both sides are saying they control more l sides are saying they control more area than the other side does. The analytical reports i have read say that the city has not been fully captured by the russians, it is unlikely the russians will be able to capture bakhmut, the city nearby thatis to capture bakhmut, the city nearby that is really the prize, so it is definitely one to watch, but i think they are some bigger signs to keep yourion they are some bigger signs to keep your ion as well. find they are some bigger signs to keep your ion as well. Your ion as well. And talk to me about other your ion as well. And talk to me about other political your ion as well. And talk to me about other political issues your ion as well. And talk to me about other political issues veryj about other political issues very much in focus at the moment. 50 about other political issues very much in focus at the moment. So the bi issue much in focus at the moment. So the big issue right much in focus at the moment. So the big issue right now much in focus at the moment. So the big issue right now our much in focus at the moment. So the big issue right now our tanks. Big issue right now our tanks. Ukraine really needs tanks and the British Government has indicated that it British Government has indicated thatitis British Government has indicated that it is looking at this issue. The Polish Government has said that it would like to send a company of tanks, german tanks, that the ukrainians have been begging forfor months, but the problem is that the germans dont want to green light it, so even if the polls were to give german tanks, they would still need berlins permission and berlin has been very, very hesitant to give permission in the past. It really depends on washington and berlin cutting a deal, shaking hands to say, lets do it. There is a big difference, though, because the germans have the tanks, and those work in ukraine, but the ones we have here in the united states, they are big, they are heavy, they seek in the ground and the eat up a lot of gas and ukrainians cannot maintain them, so they do not make sense. The pentagon here does not want to send them for those reasons. Stay with us on outside source, because still to come, rishi sunak has to the highlands for his first trip to scotland as Prime Minister. We will be live in inverness. Day one of Operation Desert Storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. Tobacco is americas oldest industry, and its one of its biggest. But the industry is nervous of this report. This may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. There is not a street that is unaffected. L huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. This woman said she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. She stood outside the ruins of her business. J tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the countrys new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. Tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long running play, the mousetrap. When they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonights performance, but Agatha Christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. This is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. Our lead story President Biden comes under more pressure as a Special Counsel is appointed to investigate his handling of classified documents. The International Monetary fund has warned that many low Income Countries are at risk of defaulting on their debts because of rising Interest Rates. It comes from the groups deputy director, mark flanagan. Lets have a listen. Many countries have emerged from the pandemic with higher fiscal deficits that have driven higher and rising debt ratios. Theres a big chunk of Debt Service Coming Due for a lot of people in middle Income Countries over the next five years because they did a lot of borrowing back in the last decade. They face constraints from their fiscal adjustment because many of them are poor and have many needs to fulfil, and theyre just one shock away from being tripped up and forced into a default situation. Lets take a look at why higher Interest Rates particularly in the us are such a problem for developing nations. Well, 90 of the debt held by emerging Market Countries is denominated in dollars. From early last year, the Us Central Bank has been raising Interest Rates aggressively, to try to combat inflation. And thats made the us dollar more attractive to investors, driving up its value against other currencies. This chart shows the value of the dollar against six other major currencies. Its at a 20 year high, with the strong Dollar Making Repayments for those highly indebted countries punitively expensive. Heres professor tobias broer from the paris school of economics. Typically, this happens in times of boom in us economy. That is typically the time of a booming world economy. When most poor countries have strong export performance, that partly offsets these increased costs of their external debt. Right now, the fed tightens it Monetary Policy because of unprecedentedly High Consumer Price Inflation that partly reflects rising prices or rising Commodity Prices following the russian invasion of ukraine. What that means is that poor countries get hit twice. They get hit through higher Financing Costs on their external debt, and they get hit through higher import costs. Well, an increasing number of countries are having problems paying their debts, because of not only the strong dollar, but also inflation and surging Commodity Prices. The United Nations has identified 54 developing economies with severe Debt Problems. Those countries account for little more than 3 of the Global Economy but represent 18 of the worlds population and more than 50 of People Living in extreme poverty. Well, sri lanka is an example of a country thats already defaulted on its debts. You might remember last year the huge economic crisis in sri lanka. There were violent protests, and the government collapsed. Now, its negotiating an imf bailout. And the crisis is still ongoing. This week, the government announced spending cuts and warned it barely has enough revenue to pay public salaries and pensions. Now lets take a look at pakistan, another country struggling with an economic crisis. A lot of its infrastructure was destroyed in flooding last year at one point, almost a third of the country was under water. This week, International Donors pledged more than 9 billion to help it with the recovery effort. But its National Debt is huge 274 billion. Thats almost 90 of its Gross Domestic Product or economic output. And it owes around 100 billion in external debt to lenders, including the world bank and china. Pakistan has negotiated a deal with the International Monetary fund to help relieve its debt crisis. But the imf wants Economic Reforms before releasing more aid. Speaking in geneva earlier this week, pakistans Prime Minister appealed for a pause in those demands. You know the plight of poor people in developing countries. So, kindly be considerate and compassionate and give us some breathing space. Heidi chow is director of debtjustice, which describes itself as part of a Global Movement to end unjust debt. She told me of the gravity of the situation. This is certainly a very serious situation. 54 countries are currently in a debt crisis, so this means that their payments are so high that its undermining the ability of governments to deliver basic needs. Debt repayments are now at their highest levels since 2001. I think a big difference. Sound cuts out. Is the global context. Countries are Feeling Pressure from crises, so in addition to debt crisis, theyre also on the front lines of the emergency and Feeling Pressure from the fuel and food price hikes, also by the expected inflation, and Financial Markets on Commodity Prices. And the strengthening Interest Rates and the dollars. All of these are putting increasing pressure on Debt Repayments. Whats the answer here . How realistic is it to say we can counsel these countries debts, given that the Global Economy is potentially about to enter a recession . Given also that this is that in the hands of private debtors. How realistic is it to say, lets start fresh . I think thats the only sustainable solution when it comes to a debt crisis. This was recognised by the Global Community at the beginning of the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, the g20 set up a Debt Relief Scheme in order to address these crises. The only problem with the g20 scheme was that its not really had many countries that applied for it. Only three countries applied up till now. This week, a fourth country, ghana has applied. None of them have seen consolation altogether. And that is the problem with the scheme. There was no way to compel private lenders to come to the table and negotiate their cancellation. Given that almost half of all Global Health Debt Repayments are paid to private creditors, such as banks and hedge funds, without them coming to the table, its very difficult to negotiate effective debt cancellation. Lets talk about elephants, because dolphins can indicate through the sea and of course lets talk about dolphins. Now, lets talk about dolphins, because a new study says theyre struggling to communicate with each other as a result of increasing human noise pollution. As mae stallard explained. Despite these mechanism, there was still less successful. That means that actually, animals working together are impacted by noise, this fact. They are part of a group called cetaceans. So they communicate to co ordinate when catching prey. Males co ordinate to protect females or put off other males. When they have babies, its really important they stay close to their mothers. If they get lost or separated, they rely on sound to reunite. If there is a lot of interference from noise pollution, it means it could really affect their ability to reproduce, to hunt. The kind of key things that they need the kind of key things that they need to the kind of key things that they need to survive. What can be done about it . What is the solution being proposed . Taking the study, now its told us that there are real problems of communication. What they can do is look at the key sources of noise pollution. We look at major shipping corridors. You can work to maybe change those during key times a year, like breeding, or make sure areas of the ocean remain protected so that that noise isnt interfering with them. Theyre not the only Marine Mammals impact by this, are they . Not at all. Whales and porpoises are part of that, also heavily rely on sound. There have been as evidence from other studies that when there is a lot of noise position, it can cause them to dive, which is really upsetting, they can get stranded, so it really is problematic, notjust for dolphins, but also for many other Marine Mammals. Turning now to the uk. Rishi sunak is making his first visit to scotland as british Prime Minister. He is set to hold private talks with the Scottish First minister Nicola Sturgeon. It is not mr sunak will use the trip to highlight the benefits of remaining in the uk as Nicola Sturgeon continues to push for independence. Scotland voted to stay in the uk in a referendum in 2014. Lets cross live now to our correspondent lorna gordon in inverness. What will they be talking about . I think there were two things to look for this evening. One is the tone of the talks and the other is the substance. Nicola sturgeon has seen a few Prime Ministers come and go in her time as first minister. This will be the fifth Prime Minister in hertime as in her time as first minister. She has met rishi sunak before, they had talks in blackpool in england back in november. They were described as cordial and constructive, despite the fact they had some pretty Big Differences politically. It will be interesting to see the mood music, the tone that emerges after these talks this evening. It is talks over a private dinner, but there are some interesting areas where the discussions might focus in on. Of course there are those Public Sector strikes here in the uk. Earlier on today, scotlands first ministers that she was fundamentally opposed, strongly opposed, to legislation At Westminster that will cover england, oils and scotland that will curb the rights of people striking in key Public Sector areas, the idea behind that legislation At Westminster is to protect fundamental and very important Public Services on strike days. She says she is fundamentally opposed to this legislation and strong supports the right of workers to strike. So i think it is very likely that will form part of the discussions this evening. Of course, that other Big Point Of Difference is the referendum on scottish independence. Nicola sturgeon is at the head of the snp, green government here in scotland. They would like to hold a second referendum on independence. They took it to the Supreme Court a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court said they would not support moves for holyrood to unilaterally hold that second referendum, it would have to be okayed by the government At Westminster, so points of difference there because rishi sunak does not want that second referendum to happen. And another area where the make the point of difference is to do with gender recognition laws. Very controversial, but here in scotland, they proposed new laws that would make it easier for people to change their gender. That is not supported by the government At Westminster and they indeed could block it through the statutes. Interesting to see what fundamental, key areas they agree on and what key areas they disagree on, but cohen will also be important as well. Lorna, think you very much indeed tone will also be important. You have been watching outside source. Stay with us on the bbc. Hello there. The heavy rain weve seen over recent days is taking a toll in terms of flooding, and thats caused some disruption. Weve had problems on the Railway Network across the south of wales today and at times, roads have been turned to rivers. I think the main message with lots of Flood Warnings still in force is check the conditions for your journey ahead before setting out on the journey. Now, on the Satellite Picture, this area of cloud is what brought todays heavy rain. But out in the atlantic, the next area of low pressure is brewing, and thats going to be bringing another dollop of heavy rain across those flood affected areas through friday night, so were certainly not out of the woods. Overnight, it stays windy, rain at times across northern england, north wales, Northern Ireland as well. The brisk winds stop it from getting that cold for a january night. Overnight lows, 3 7 degrees yes, its going to be another frost free night. Tomorrow, still pretty blustery of a band of rain anothrt band of rain crossing Northern Ireland, where its going to be quite cloudy. The rain arriving across Northwest England and western scotland through the day. Otherwise there should be some bright or sunny spells, but still a number of showers around and temperatures still very mild 4 degrees above average in london, with highs of 11. Its through friday night that were likely to see another round of flooding because that area of low pressure i showed you developing, well, here it comes, pushing a band of heavy rain across england and wales. So, in other words, the flooding quite likely to get worse before it gets better. Now, through the weekend, the worst of the heavy rain does clear out of the way. What follows is rather windy conditions with some blustery showers following to many areas. So, a wet start to saturday, ongoing flooding in places, and through the day, the winds pick up across Northern Ireland, across parts of western scotland, the northwest of both england and wales, with gales for some. Still very mild across parts of the south, 12 celsius in london. But through the weekend, it is set to get colder, and by the time we get to sunday, well start to see some showers moving in here, turning increasingly wintry in nature. But its not the only place that will see showers. Temperatures across the board dropping, struggling to get much above freezing in scotland in places. Further southwards, highs of around 5 7 celsius, and into next week, it gets even colder still, cold enough for some snow showers to move in. Now, we are certain that it is going to get a lot colder, and with that, therell be some widespread frost around, some icy patches to watch out for, and those snow showers well, the air gets cold enough to see those come right down to very low levels. Happens this is bbc news. We will have the headlines happens this is bbc news. We will have the headlines and happens this is bbc news. We will have the headlines and all happens this is bbc news. We will. Have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. As cop27 winds up in egypt, this week, well look at some of the latest tech thats trying to clean up our planet. Well muster up a mass of moss thats mopping up