rachel reeves, the shadow chancellor, is there and they promise they will bring back the rate of interest tax to fund nhs staff. other news this afternoon. a moment of history in italy georgia meloni looks set to become its first far right leader since the second world war and its first female prime minister. a school shooting in russia has left at least 13 people dead, seven of them children. and nasa prepare to crash a space probe into an asteroid to find out how hard it would be to save the planet. welcome to bbc news, very good to have your company and it is going to be a busy afternoon. the pound fell overnight to its lowest level against the dollar for half a century. asian markets were reacting in part to the government s announcement last week of tax cuts and increased borrowing to pay for them. of course, that had come too late for their trading week on friday. at one stage, sterling plunged to around $1.03, before regaining ground. a weaker pound raises the cost
role in gaza. hamas will not be entirely eradicated. there will still be hundreds, if not thousands, of gunmen wandering around. there will have to be some sort of international force. i think we can rule out the un after the sort of anaemic, feckless role that they have played in lebanon, allowing hezbollah to rearm intervention of un security council resolution 1701. i don t think israel would deign to accept the un. let s get a bit of analysis and length if he were we are and what happens next. we can bring in the panel for the first time. leigh ann caldwell, washington post live anchor. tim montgomerie, founder of the political website conservative home. looking to you both. things are coming on the programme. let s start with the us playing a key role clearly. the language from the us seems to be shifting slightly. what is your take? it seems to be shifting slightly. what is your take? is your take? it has shifted slightly- is your take? it has shifted slightly. the
president biden also promised another m5 billion, which would need to be passed by congress. the president told ukraine that the united states will stay with you as long as it takes . some of the money promised will go towards a new patriot missile system it s a sophisticated air defence system that will help ukraine to protect its cities from missiles and drones. our first report is from nada tawfik, who has being following what s been happening. and we will get to some analysis of the visit soon. ukraine s president, volodymyr zelensky, was embraced by us lawmakers with a long, standing ovation, as he entered the house chamber. wearing his trademark military fatigues, he came here on this, his first trip abroad since the start of russia s invasion with a clear mission to secure america s continued support for the ongoing war in his country. as ukrainians brace for a potential
if short, visit to prepare for the next phase of the war. nada tawfik, bbc news, washington. in a moment, we will hear from the former commanding general of the united states army in europe, lieutenant general ben hodges. but first let s speak to hanna shelest. she s head of security programmes at the foreign policy council ukrainian prism. thank you for talking to us. how important do you think this visit is because of the eye to eye contact and building relationships with republicans, those voices within the republicans, those voices within the republican party who have queried the amount of money the us is giving in aid to ukraine? in aid to ukraine? definitely we understand in aid to ukraine? definitely we understand the i in aid to ukraine? definitely we | understand the ukrainian question i in aid to ukraine? definitely we - understand the ukrainian question is following the domestic policies and the competition because of the election. that is why we understand