Newsnight s Nicholas Watt reports from tees valley. An icon of a vibrant industrial past, now out of action, symbolising an area struggling to find its feet. Tees valley, an infant hercules in its days as a World Capital of iron and steel making, is now clearing sites of past glories and looking for new ventures. A painful process with economic decline, alongside pockets of affluence. That has placed this area on the National Political map, and now a mayoral contest with high stakes for the two main parties. A Rumbustious Conservative mayor became the first poster boy of the redwall, after his narrow win here in 2017. Re elected in a landslide in 2021, ben houchen is now hoping to buck the national trend. A local labour stalwart hopes to win back what was once a heartland for his party a win for chris mcewan would ease keir starmer s path nationally. And the lib dem outsider placing the fight of Child Poverty at the heart of his campaign. Over the past decade or so, Tees Valley Felt ne
Of course. I would go. As the war continues, the Arsenal Player says ukraines break with its russian neighbour is for good. Since this invasion, we cant be friends with them any more. We will never forget what they have done to us, to our people. Hes donated over £1,000,000 to ukraine, and now he says he wants to do the best for his country. I cant be more proudly than i am right now to be ukrainian. So whats next for zinchenko and the fighting, which has claimed Tens Of Thousands of lives . Every single day, i am watching some videos from ukraine with the kids, where theyre hiding themselves in a bunker. And i was just trying to put myself in their position, you know, when i was at that age. I didnt have that, so i was living my proper life. And now i feel sorry for them because they dont deserve it, honestly. And, you know, just again, once again, yourejust asking yourself, like, theyre doing that for what . To achieve what . I i cannot find the answer, honestly. You must have frien
Us officials have indicated that deliveries of munitions and air Defence Systems are ready to go as soon as there is approval in the senate. A Military Aid Package to item that has been improved. It has also voted to ban the run that cut its ties with china. Tiktok. Lets speak tour correspondent in washington, helena humphrey. It has been six months in the making. It has been six months in the makinu. ,. , ,. , making. Now one step closer to aurantin making. Now one step closer to granting that making. Now one step closer to granting that longawaited making. Now one step closer to granting that longawaited aid l making. Now one step closer to l granting that longawaited aid to granting that long awaited aid to ukraine to the tune of some 61 billion us dollars. It happened with much needed bipartisan support. We saw 311 votes in favour. A simple majority was needed, 218 were the votes we needed so it passed with 93 extra votes on its side. We will see it going to the senate now. Senate
To the yes. The bill has passed. This is the moment the House Of Representatives approved a 60 Billion Dollar package of military aid for ukraine. It was a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation in the binary world of american politics, with democratsjoining moderate republicans to see off opposition from the hard right. Us officials have indicated that deliveries of munitions and air Defence Systems are ready to go as soon as there is approval in the senate. Our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, has been telling us the funding has been welcomed by the Ukrainian President , volodymyr zelensky. Yes, hesjust said, im grateful to the United States House Of Representatives, both parties and personally speaker mikejohnson, for the decision. He says that keeps history on the right track. He talks about democracy and freedom always having global significance and will never fail as long as america helps to protect it. And a slight reagan quote where he says, just peace and security can o
A flour delivery, organised by the world food programme, allowed this bakery in gaza city to reopen for the First Time Since the war began. Translation finally, i there is something to eat. You can go to the bakery and buy bread. Just a few days ago, it was hard, we were looking for wood, flour, and you couldnt find anything to feed the children. But for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is a constant companion. At the hospital in rafah, parents and siblings consoled each other after several civilians, including children, were reported killed in overnight air strikes. Israel said fighterjets and other aircraft struck dozens of terror sites. Among the targets, it said, was military infrastructure, compounds and armed terrorists. The us has repeatedly urged israel not to launch what is expected to be a major offensive in rafah. We cannot support a Major Military operation in rafah. We believe that a Major Military operation, with a large presence of a civilian population, would have