from new york, here s the bbc s north america business correspondent, michelle fleury. stubborn inflation pushes back the timing of the first rate cut. the us federal reserve voted to keep its benchmark lending rate at a 23 year high on wednesday. officials have said they want more certainty that inflation is under control before they lower borrowing costs. they do not have that yet. here is chair, jerome powell, during his press conference. the economy has made considerable progress towards our dual mandate objectives. inflation has eased substantially over the past year, while the labour market has remained strong. and that is very good news. but inflation is still too high, further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path forward is uncertain. we are fully committed to returning inflation to our 2% goal. while the prices of many goods have fallen, from cars to furniture, an increase in housing and petrol prices have contributed to a recent rise in consumer
world ahead of the commonwealth games in australia. and not one, not two, but three boaty mcboatfaces. the little yellow submarines, named by the public, set off on their first scientific expedition. and carol has the weather. thank you and good morning. they call thank you and good morning. they ca ll start thank you and good morning. they call start to the day with frost around first thing and we have a wea k around first thing and we have a weak weather front sinking south bringing cloud and patchy rain. for most of us it will be dry and right with sunshine. more details in 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story. the legislation paving the way for theresa may to begin the formal negotiations for withdrawing britain from the european union faces its final test in parliament today. ministers hope mps will reject the two changes made to the brexit bill in the house of lords. peers want to guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the uk and ensure parliament has a vote
officially begins divorce proceedings from the eu gets underway in parliament today. tory mps and peers paving the way for theresa may to trigger article 50 as early as tomorrow morning. and aid agencies are warning that time is running out to save an estimated 20 million people facing famine in four african countries. we ll be live in those four affected countries and ask whether the world is doing enough to tackle a humanitarian crisis. hello and welcome to the programme. we re live until iiam. we will bring you the latest breaking news and developing stories. we are going to talk about a case in the supreme court which could have profound legal implications for policing because it will determine whether officers can be sued by victims if they don t investigate a case adequately. plus, find out who was in this box and why. get in touch. use #victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. the bill which gives theresa may the power to trigger
it is not a great service as it is. when things like this happen, it only makes it worse. the diplomatic row between turkey and the netherlands shows no sign of abating, with ankara accusing the dutch of breaking the vienna convention by expelling a visiting turkish minister. netherlands upholds a general election this week. holds. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the queen is launching the commonwealth games baton relay today at buckingham palace. the relay marks the start of the countdown to the games which will be held in april next year. over 388 days, the baton will visit all 71 commonwealth countries, before arriving at the australian gold coast for the opening of the 2018 games. and later, members of the royal family will attend a service at westminster abbey to mark commonwealth day. let s join simon mccoy now, who s in canada gate. thank you very much. i m keeping an eye on the flag behind me because we are expecting the queen to arrive here at buckingh