the us house of representatives has passed a crucial aid bill for ukraine totalling nearly $61 billion. if passed by the senate, the long—awaited funds will provide roughly $23 billion to replenish us weapons, stockpiles and facilities, more than $11 billion to fund current us military operations in the region. and another $14 billion to help ukraine buy advanced weapons systems and other defence equipment. republican house speaker mike johnson — who brought the bill to a vote — said it was the right thing to do. from the capitol, our news correspondent helena humphrey, told us more about today's vote. it now heads to the senate.

president biden has called to advanceit advance it swiftly so you can head to his desk in the oval office so he can sign off on it. the pentagon for its part watching the political infighting going on has been trying to pre—position weaponry where it can so that those weapons can head to ukraine, head to troops on the ground sooner rather than later. potentially even days as opposed to weeks. that doesn't rule out the prospect of further political infighting despite the fact that congress woman nancy pelosi had called to sign off on the bill for ukraine. we know that it had been facing resistance from the republican party. they had wanted tied to strict immigration laws, stricter border security with a us— mexico border. in that particular vote failed. they needed to two thirds majority so that did not come to pass. instead what you saw with the ukraine bill is that more republicans voted against it.

and actually voted in favour. we know that republican congress woman marjorie greene has signalled her intention to potentially oust the republican house speaker mousejohnson house speaker mouse johnson over this house speaker mousejohnson over this filing a motion to vacate. —— mikejohnson. that's not to say it couldn't come in days or weeks ahead. the vote had been _ days or weeks ahead. the vote had been delayed _ days or weeks ahead. the vote had been delayed for- days or weeks ahead. the vote had been delayed for more - days or weeks ahead. the vote | had been delayed for more than six months because it ukraine to lose ground for the ukrainian president zelensky on twitterfor ukrainian president zelensky on twitter for the ukrainian president zelensky on twitterfor the passage ukrainian president zelensky on twitter for the passage of the bill saying... this will keep history on the right track for the visa democracy and freedom will always have a global significance and will never fail as long as america helps to protect it. the vital usaid bill passed by the house today will keep the war from expanding. and save thousands

and thousands of lives and help both of our nation to become stronger. this bill passing has been a painful, because 86 months for ukraine. while this support package, the sizeable offer from the us is got bogged down in washington ukraine has lost men and it has lost territory with soldiers finding themselves with dwindling ammunition in the face of the greater, larger russian invaders. this is a big boost for ukraine. this is a war when good news has been rare for a kyiv of late. this package will provide much—needed ammunition, air defences and reports suggested could be arriving within days. so that will certainly beat the hopefuls of it is by no means a silver bullet. this does not mean

ukraine is suddenly going to be liberating territory as it did in 2022. what a crucially does for heave as it keeps it in the fight. ithink for heave as it keeps it in the fight. i think the near—term 999 fight. i think the near—term egg objective will simply to be to try and send the fight of russian occupation as it continues to seize hundreds of square kilometres in the east. —— in kyiv for that and where we see ukrainian cities in an increasingly perilous position it keeps ukraine in the fight and it keeps the negotiating table at bay. i think this is a huge moment for ukraine to feel the weight of americans support behind it. the foreign secretary described it as a bad day for vladimir putin. that may be the case but his invasion has many more days left in it. for now it's a private moment first celebration for heave in this time of war. —— kyiv. live now to brad bowman, senior director of foundation for defence of democracies

on ukraine aid bill. what does the passage of this bill mean for ukraine? i what does the passage of this bill mean for ukraine?- bill mean for ukraine? i think this is a big — bill mean for ukraine? i think this is a big deal. _ bill mean for ukraine? i think this is a big deal. i— bill mean for ukraine? i think this is a big deal. i think - this is a big deal. i think this is a big deal. i think this is a big deal. i think this is six months later, several months later than it should've been. as they say, better late than never. this really is the united states stepping up to its responsibilities to secure its interest and begin to serve once again as the arsenal of democracy. we have ukrainians willing to fight defend their homes, theyjust asked of the means to do it. the delay has been costly. the ukrainians have had to ration some of their munitions. we seen the russians making gains as a result. but once the senate passes this and the president signs it into law without delay some of the vital weapons and munitions can begin to arrive as your correspondent said within days. some is already in europe and just waiting for this funding to arrive. it will start to help the ukrainians. i

agree, it's not a silver bullet. you can view it as a catastrophe avoidance strategy for now to stop the bleeding, if you will in terms of forcing retreats. this is unambiguously good news for those who want ukrainians to succeed and defend their home against the largest invasion in europe since world war ii. 50 largest invasion in europe since world war ii. so not a silver bullet. _ since world war ii. so not a silver bullet. where - since world war ii. so not a silver bullet. where does i silver bullet. where does ukraine on the battlefield go from here? is thisjust ukraine on the battlefield go from here? is this just a matter of making sure it doesn't lose any more territory to the russians or can it have some sort of ambition for more of a counter offensive and try to advance forward? fix, of a counter offensive and try to advance forward?- to advance forward? a great question- — to advance forward? a great question. using _ to advance forward? a great question. using ukrainian i question. using ukrainian infantry losing their lives because they haven't had the utility dues support they need for the avon rationing shells. that will begin to help provide more air defence capacity. we know that russia has been pulverising ukraine's electricity generation infrastructure. it will give ukraine many of the things it

needs. america has a unique role to play here. europeans are increasingly stepping up but it's going to take time for them as they start to spend more and defence and invest in industrial bases to help ukraine and many of the ways that they want to end that they should. in this interim one to two year period the united states can use this existing defence industrial base to help get heave through this particular months and years of danger and tell our allies can step into the fray and carry more of the burden. —— kyiv. looking at this in the us is clear house speaker had a change of heart and he became a supporter of this bill. what do we make of the fact that the majority of republicans in the house of representatives voted against aid for ukraine? it’s against aid for ukraine? it's significant. _ against aid for ukraine? it�*s significant. more republicans oppose the ukraine billed and supported. i would say this is not your father's party of ronald reagan. that would be

the shorthand. there are a few amendments offered. one by marjorie taylor greene, republican of georgia who is been a thorn in the side, if i'm being polite and the speaker of the house. she offered an amendment that with zero out the funding for ukraine. that failed on a vote of 71-351. but ukraine. that failed on a vote of 71—351. but a representative republican florida introduced another that would strip out nonmilitary assistance. back up more support among republicans failing on a vote 150 for — 272. i say you still have majority support in house of representatives for ukraine but only a minority of them a publican majority supported it. his support among republicans for nonmilitary assistance our european allies or can it continually need to step up and help ukraine in the nonmilitary domain for the years to come. and continue do more to build their defence and industrial base up only to better arm themselves but help our ukrainian allies as they

confront this aggression from vladimir putin.— vladimir putin. there were other parts _ vladimir putin. there were other parts of— vladimir putin. there were other parts of the - vladimir putin. there were other parts of the bill- vladimir putin. there were other parts of the bill in i vladimir putin. there were | other parts of the bill in the package. one would also provide assistance and funding to taiwan and us allies in the indo—pacific. what impact do you think that bill will have? i think this is landmark legislation. individually and collectively. i think deterrence failed in ukraine. it's failing arguably in the middle east. if it fails in taiwan in the coming years the cost for americans and i would say for the west more broadly will be even more catastrophic. these bills will help our ukrainian allies, they will help in the middle east. and they will hopefully prevent a war in the indo—pacific. we know deterrence is much cheaper than dealing with a war we could have prevented. around $95 billion — could have prevented. around $95 billion of _ could have prevented. around $95 billion of foreign - could have prevented. around $95 billion of foreign aid - could have prevented. around $95 billion of foreign aid in i $95 billion of foreign aid in that bill likely to pass in the same in the coming days. thank you very much.

alongside money for ukraine, the aid package would also see the us send $26 billion to the middle east. $17 billion of which would go to israel — to buy things like air defence missiles and advanced weapons systems. and $9 billion will go to humanitarian relief for gaza — something democrats insisted be included, over the objections of some conservative republicans. that boost in aid and in weapons comes as unrwa, the un agency responsible for getting aid to palestinians, says the risk of disease in gaza is rising. the un warns the situation could deteriorate if israel goes ahead with a planned ground offensive against hamas in the southern city of rafah — where an estimated 1.5 million palestinians are sheltering. wyre davies reports. the effect of six months of war has created a desperate humanitarian crisis in gaza. but amid the ruins of conflict, in some areas, aid is now getting through and can make the difference between surviving or dying of hunger.

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 couldn't find anything to feed the children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is a constant companion. at the najar 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 terrible consequences for that population. words that seem to have little impact on benjamin netanyahu. he has repeatedly said the offensive in rafah must happen if hamas is to be defeated and israeli hostages released. for most gazans, survival is still a daily struggle. retrieving food parcels from the sea — after an air drop — shows how chaotic the delivery of aid often is, as agencies warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis. wyre davies, bbc news, jerusalem. more from wyrie, now, on the latest developments in the region. the very real threat seems to diminish after both sides played down or completely ignored the events of recent days.

events and tensions in the region remain very high. in less than 2a hours an iranian military base in iraq appears to be attacked. nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack in which one person is said to have been killed. images seem to show the aftermath of a big explosion on israel's northern border there's been exchanges of fire across the frontier with iranian allied militants engaging with israeli troops and the palestinian occupied west bank israeli troops have been involved in a two day operation which is left apparently ten people dead, including a senior commander from palestinian islamichhad. it's events in gaza after six months of war which are again saturday marks twenty—five years since the 1999 mass shooting at columbine high school that killed 12 students and one teacher — and wounded more than 20 others. the massacre is widely—regarded as the first major mass shooting at a us school in the modern era —

marking a turning point for the country. on the eve of the anniversary, community members gathered in denver, colorado to remember the lives lost. candles flickered on 13 empty chairs — one for each of the victims — as short biographies were read out. after each, the crowd replied together "never forgotten." "never forgotten. " since columbine, gun violence in the united states has become increasingly severeboth in schools and in wider communities. according to data collected by the washington post, there have been more than 400 school shootings since 1999 — exposing more than 370 thousand students to gun violence. so far this year alone, there have been 120 reported mass shootings — that data coming from the gun violence archive. on saturday, us presidentjoe biden issued a statement to mark the anniversary of columbine and condemn gun violence. in it he said quote — "i've met with countless families who've lost loved ones because of gun violence.

their message is always the same: do something." but gun control is a highly polarizing issue in the us. many democrats advocate for stricter gun laws, while republicans tend to view gun ownership as a fundamental right. to take stock on gun violence prevention efforts in the us, i spoke to david hogg. he's a survivor of the parkland school shooting, and a co—founder of march for our lives — an organization advocating for gun control legislation. great to have you here on bbc news. you say that you end people of your age are part of what you call the school shooting generation. curious if you could describe what that means. i you could describe what that means. ~' . you could describe what that means. ~ ., l, l, , means. i think what that means is a generation _ means. i think what that means is a generation that _ means. i think what that means is a generation that is _ means. i think what that means is a generation that is live - is a generation that is live through the aftermath of columbine. our generation has gone through school shooter drills in our classrooms, we lived in constant fear whether it's in a movie theatre, our classroom or on the street in front of our homes. kids are dying not only in school shootings but daily gun violence as well it really

makes it on the news. you were born one _ makes it on the news. you were born one year — makes it on the news. you were born one year after _ makes it on the news. you were born one year after the - born one year after the columbine high school shooting. i'm curious, do you ever think back and think the us might�*ve missed an opportunity 25 years ago to take stronger action to prevent similar school shootings like the one that ended up affecting you and your classmates at parkland? yes. yes. classmates at parkland? yes. yes- the _ classmates at parkland? yes. yes. the bottom _ classmates at parkland? yes. yes. the bottom line - classmates at parkland? yes. yes. the bottom line is - classmates at parkland? yes. yes. the bottom line is if - classmates at parkland? yes. yes. the bottom line is if the| yes. the bottom line is if the federal government acted and pass comprehensive gun laws following columbine that raise the standard of ownership for all people to own a gun in the united states i probably would not be talking with you right now. the shooter in my high school was a 19—year—old with a long history of mental illness and also anti—semitism and hatred towards people of other races. he was able despite being a known threat able to go out and legally obtain in ar 15 is a 19—year—old. out and legally obtain in ar 15 is a 19-year-old._ is a 19-year-old. what do you make of some _ is a 19-year-old. what do you make of some of _ is a 19-year-old. what do you make of some of the - is a 19-year-old. what do you make of some of the ways - is a 19-year-old. what do you | make of some of the ways that

this country is dealing with and trying to prevent gun violence in school? they're talking about things like metal detector, active shooter drills, even some states, some republican states mostly deciding or trying to arm teachers do you think those are effective methods of protecting students? ., , ., ., students? know, they are not. i can tell you _ students? know, they are not. i can tell you because _ students? know, they are not. i can tell you because in - students? know, they are not. i can tell you because in my - can tell you because in my school they had a police officer. and you've all day they had hundreds of police officers. unfortunately, too often is there patrolling good guys with gun turn out to be cowards with good guns when it counts. if we're able to stop shooter by the time to get into a high school parking lot we're failing. countries whether it's the uk, countries across europe or australia they don't have these type of shootings on what seems like a weekly basis in terms of school shootings. it's not because they are cops in every school, not because they have metal detectors, it's because they actually passed comprehensive gun laws that

raise the standard of ownership. even in countries that do have guns pretty widely accessible like switzerland. they have stronger gun laws that help prevent things like things that happen in parkland from happening again. effectively what these "solutions" which are propose a really band—aid solutions to much bigger problems that is caused by the easy accessibility of firearms that we have here in the united states was up it's not to say we should be able to access them isjust we should be able to access them is just to say there's no reason why our country has to be any different from other high income countries with the level of gun violence that we have here in the united states was up it's not to say we should be able to access them is just to say there's no reason why our country has to be any different from other high income countries with the level of gun violence that we have. we need to simply act and realise that simply adding more guns to the situation likely done for the past two decades is not going to be good for our safety, it can be good for profits for the gun industry. in the 25 years since columbine so many students have since been affected by gun violence in their schools with are the co—founder of march for our lives, student led organisation

supporting gun control legislation for that i'm curious, what role do you think young people like yourself have played in that movement to write for tougher restrictions on firearms? i write for tougher restrictions on firearms?— on firearms? i think young --eole on firearms? i think young people like _ on firearms? i think young people like in _ on firearms? i think young people like in the - on firearms? i think young i people like in the movement on firearms? i think young - people like in the movement to prevent gun violence like many movants throughout american history a bit on the vanguard of creating this change of challenging the status quo at the park on so many people told us it's great that you kids care, you want to create change but you really don't understand that this is florida. things don't change her. the musket weaker here. we said, ok, watch us and we did change gun laws the age to buy guns at 21 and were able to pass a red flag law that's been able to be used 12,000 times in florida alone since parkland was up get to usesit since parkland was up get to uses it the most? is republican sharers these are bipartisan solutions being passed to do work, we pass across party lines was up there a reason why

largely in my opinion a lot of thatis largely in my opinion a lot of that is happened is because of the courage of young people to stand up and not accept a country where we're told the only solution that we had to keep it safe in their schools is to teach them how to potentially survive a school shooter instead of addressing how that shooter gets the gun of the first place. the shooter and parkland was a criminal but not a mastermind. he was a deranged 19 years old that was able to legally access in ar 15. ., ., , ., able to legally access in ar 15. ., l, able to legally access in ar 15. how hopeful are you that the us can _ 15. how hopeful are you that the us can take _ 15. how hopeful are you that the us can take action - 15. how hopeful are you that the us can take action to - the us can take action to prevent another columbine or another parkland? i prevent another columbine or another parkland?— another parkland? i think sometimes _ another parkland? i think sometimes it _ another parkland? i think sometimes it can - another parkland? i think sometimes it can feel- another parkland? i think| sometimes it can feel like there's a fine line between hope and delusion. with this issue, ultimately it's not hope that drives me it's righteous indignation in the understanding that there is no other high income countries in the world that deals with this level of gun violence for that there's no reason why we should accept this as being a daily reality in our country. whether that's a school shooting or an individual act of gun violence

or even a gun suicide that represent two thirds of gun deaths in this country that i know are also preventable. we did to keep working until no person lives in fear of gun violence in their communities no matter that's in a school or their own neighbourhood. we have to keep working until nobody has a fear.- have to keep working until nobody has a fear. david hogg, survival of— nobody has a fear. david hogg, survival of the _ nobody has a fear. david hogg, survival of the parkland - nobody has a fear. david hogg, survival of the parkland high i survival of the parkland high school shooting and co—founder of march for our lives in leaders we deserve. looking to gun control advocates across the country. thank you very much. at least 50 people have been killed, most of the 300 passenger on an overcrowded ferry were travelling to attend a funeral. in the uk, the body advising the government on climate change policy, has attacked prime minister rishi sunak�*s commitment to cutting carbon emissions. chris stark, from the climate change committee, told the bbc that the prime minister had set back progress towards reaching

net zero, and says he"clearly" hasn't made it a priority. net zero, and says he "clearly" hasn't made it a priority. here's justin rowlatt. the climate change committee's job is to mark the government's homework on climate, says chris stark, and he is marking rishi sunak down in dramatic fashion. the reason? in the autumn, the prime minister delayed a ban on petrol and diesel cars and watered down targets for phasing out gas boilers. we seem to have defaulted an approach which will impose unacceptable costs on hard—pressed british families, costs that no—one was ever really told about. here is what mr stark had to say about that. i think it set us back. so i think we have moved from a position where we were really at the forefront, pushing ahead as quickly as we could on something that i believe to be fundamental to the uk economy, fundamentally beneficial to the people living in this country, whether you care about the climate or not.

a government spokesperson said the uk was the first major economy to halve greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 and said that record speaks for itself. mr stark was critical of other parties, too. he told the sunday with laura kuenssberg programme that politicians, across the political spectrum, have a collective fear of talking about climate. and he said he was disappointed by the snp government in edinburgh's decision to drop a key carbon reduction target this week, saying the targets had been overambitious from the start. the scottish government chose to choose an even more ambitious path than the one that we'd advised. and that's fine — i mean, i love ambition — but it only matters if you actually deliver against that. a scottish government spokesperson said the country remains steadfast in its commitment to reaching net zero by 2045. the interview with mr stark comes as marine experts warn the world's coral reefs are experiencing their fourth mass bleaching event —

driven, they say, by record high sea surface temperatures. justin rowlatt, bbc news. a nigerian chess champion has shattered a world record for the longest chess marathon — after playing the game unbeaten for 58 hours straight to raise money for underprivileged children. tunde onakoya started his epic session on wednesday, at a chessboard in new york's times square. he broke the record on saturday and continued to play for two hours beyond the previous record time. he set out to raise one million dollars for children's education across africa. that was a moment i was ready to give it up and go to bed. nigerians from all over the world and when we met overnight, nobody went home, people went from london,

tennessee, we're singing and dancing together. i couldn't just give up. a reminder you can get updates around the clock on our websites. you can follow all of the latest from capitol hill on that aid bill for ukraine. stay with us here in bbc news. hello there. it's been a chilly start to the weekend. we've got some cold weather overnight where we have the clearer skies. temperatures may be a bit higher in scotland, mind you, because we've seen this cloud moving down from the north and we'll continue to see a bit of light rain or drizzle on that weak weather front there as it runs into our area of high pressure. now, in between those two weatherfronts, the potential for some slightly warmer air across scotland where we get some sunshine, and particularly northern ireland. but for england and wales, we're still in the cold air. so it's not going to be too hot for the runners in the london marathon. it should stay dry. there will be a cool

northeasterly breeze and a top temperature 11 or 12 degrees. we will see some cloud developing in east anglia in the south east that could bring the odd light shower here and there. otherwise, some sunny spells for other parts of england and wales, plenty of sunshine for northern ireland, much more cloud in scotland. we've got this rain and drizzle in the east pushing into the far north of england, pegging temperatures back here, a little bit warmer in western scotland where we've got some brighter skies, but the highest temperatures are going to be inland in northern ireland, a pleasant 17 or 18 degrees. the center of the high pressure is just getting pushed towards the west of the uk. it allows these weather fronts to take the cloud and rain southwards and this time we've got a cloudy picture. on monday we're going to find some rain and drizzle at times for england and wales. it should turn drier and brighter with some sunshine in northern scotland. it may stay dry in northern ireland, but we've got more cloud around on monday. there is still some semblance of some warmer air in western scotland and northern ireland, but it's pretty cold elsewhere, particularly so across the south east of england after a chilly night and that cloud then coming in over the top and that cloud

continues to push its way southwards together with those weather fronts and with the high out towards the west, we're left with a northerly breeze again on tuesday. still a bit of patchy light rain or drizzle to clear in the south. otherwise that northerly wind will bring a lot of cloud to eastern areas and maybe the odd shower near the coast. but out to the west, this is where we've got the best of the sunshine. and those temperatures getting up to 13, maybe 11l degrees, but particularly cold across the eastern side of the uk, 8 to ten celsius here. now, when is it going to warm up? well, no time soon. it looks like through the rest of the week we're still in this colder air. and if anything, with the pressure tending to fall, there's a risk of a bit more rain as well.

hello, everybody. a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go and take a look at what's on the show. definitely a big advantage compared to petrol and diesel. obviously the environmental benefits are that on the high—mileage driver, but i have to admit it's been a frustrating experience with public charging. yep, love them or hate them, it is the electric vehicle revolution. but is the boom time over? as generous government subsidies end and electricity prices surge, sales of evs are slowing around the world. so what can governments

and carmakers do to recharge consumers' interest? i'm going to be discussing all of that with these three. there they are, the boss of the organisation working to make charging evs easier. a global ev battery expert and the state secretary for the norwegian ministry of transport, who explains just how norway has become a super player in the electric vehicle market. also on the show, one carmaker showing no signs of a lack of confidence in evs. the boss of general motors europe explains why it's committed to an all—electric range. wherever you'rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. well, as i said, love them or hate them, or even if you're simply not sure, but one day we're all going to be plugging in, switching on and driving electric vehicles. that's the plan. it's part of a strategy by governments worldwide to reduce carbon dioxide

emissions and limit global warming.