hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the us house of representatives has just voted to pass presidentjoe biden s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill. the cash would be extended as emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state governments. unemployment in the us is close to 10%, with some ten million jobs lost in the pandemic. the vote comes in the same week the us passed 500,000 coronavirus related deaths the largest figure of any nation in the world. the republicans who say it is too expensive had fought to get it defeated in committees. 0ur washington correspondent lebo diseko sent us this update. it s not a surprise that this bill has passed in the house. democrats hold a majority there and it was just a simple majority that was needed to get it through. the real battle will come in the senate. democrats are using a special process called budgetary reconciliation and it means that there are two in the senate it willju
that s been knocked sideways is the travel and tourism industry. one in ten people around the world work in the sector and it accounts for $9 trillion of global gdp. has the travel industry been transformed for ever? and could some of the changes actually be good for us? and the planet? that s global questions, travel in a post global world. travel in a post covid world. well, to bring you this edition of global questions, our two panellists and our questioners join us live via video link. let me tell you who is in the hot seat this week giving the answers. paul theroux is an internationally acclaimed american author and explorer who has been described as the world s most perceptive travel writer. he has a new novel set in hawaii called under the wave at waimea out in april. and gloria guevara is ceo and president of the world travel and tourism council, which represents the travel and tourism private sector globally. so she is deeply involved in all the current negotiations
worst slump in over 300 years, and we ve moved from a protect and survive mode to a support mode and then a growth mode is what we need next. if there s one thing that is the most powerful weapon to bring down debt as a percentage of your economy it is growth. if you ve got this debt to gdp relationship, one of the best ways to get that down is increase the denominator, gdp, keep that going. if you have that, then you can also keep unemployment down, which will then keep the numerator of that fraction under control. so there will be a big emphasis on growth, and i expectjobs, jobs, jobs to be the mantra running through the chancellor s mind. you have a furlough, the wild card is what happens when there is measures are removed. it seems to me almost guaranteed that he will extend the furlough scheme that supports wages. people also extend the business rates and business tax holiday. but he will say that he has to be honest about the challenge of the public finances. it is almo
hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the us house of representatives has just voted to pass presidentjoe biden s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill. the republicans, who say it is too expensive, had fought to get it defeated in committees before it reaches the house floor. this was the moment when the speaker gave the final tally to members. on this vote, the yays are 219, the nays are 212. the bill is passed without objection. the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. applause its passage faces challenges in the senate, whose rules expert blocked a section of the bill that would double the mimimum wage to 15 dollars per hour. the american rescue plan would pay for vaccines and medical supplies and send a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments. our washington correspondent lebo diseko sent us this latest update. it s not a surprise that this bill has passed in the house. democr