live from london, this is bbc news. president biden�*s set to sign a $95 billion foreign aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan into law today, after us lawmakers gave it final approval. israel thanks the us for approving military aid, as palestinians say they've seen some of the heaviest shelling of gaza in weeks. after more migrants die in the english channel, we ask how new measures the government here wants to implement might affect migrants trying to reach the uk. and former labour minister and welfare campaigner frank field, an mp for a0 years, has died aged 81.

hello, i'm in nicky schiller, welcome to the programme. we start this hour with reaction to the news that us lawmakers in the senate have approved a $95 billion aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan. president biden says he will sign the bill later today and that more arms and equipment will be sent to ukraine within a week. the overwhelming vote in favour of the deal marks the end of six months of deadlock amongst us politicians. the measures approve around $61 billion in long—awaited aid for ukraine alone. it also designates more than $26 billion in aid for military support for israel and humanitarian aid for gaza. and $8 billion for taiwan and us indo—pacific allies. president biden said it showed that america stood resolutely against tyranny and oppression. president zelensky said it reinforced america's role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world. the senate majority leader chuck schumer said america had shown its allies it would not turn its back on them.

a lot of people inside and outside the congress wanted this package to fail, but today those in congress who stand on the side of democracy are winning the day. to ourfriends in ukraine, to our allies in nato, to our allies in israel and to civilians around the world in need of help, help is on the way. to ourfriends in ukraine, america will deliver more ammo and air defences and basic supplies that you need to resist putin on the battlefield. that is chuck schumer. we have just had some reaction from china because some of that money is going to taiwan and china is saying that at military support only increased the risk of conflict along the strait. this statement from the foreign ministry spokesman said "i would like to emphasise that the united states and taiwan strengthening military ties will not bring about

security for taiwan. it will only increase tensions and the risk of conflict across the taiwan strait." that's in reaction to the money going to taiwan from china. as part of the vote the lawmakers also approved a controversial landmark bill that could see tiktok in america. it gives the apps chinese owner, bytedance, nine months to sell its stake or tiktok will be blocked in the united states. our north america correspondent peter bowes has more on the overall package of measures that were approved. this was a long time in coming, held up for months in large part by republicans in the house, some of whom would rather see more money spent here in the united states on immigration and on the issues affecting the southern border of the us with mexico. but there does seem to have been a change of heart amongst some republicans, notably the speaker of the house, which allowed it to pass through that stage of that part of congress at the weekend.

now rubber—stamped, you could say, or at least passed in the upper house, the senate as well, just remains for it to be signed into law by president biden. we expect to see that happening in the next few hours. the president already issuing a statement indicating that that military aid that president zelensky in ukraine has said that is so desperately needed, that military aid will be on the way, we're told, by the end of this week, air defence weaponry in particular that is so desperately needed, that's part of the $61 billion package for ukraine. then there's 26 billion for israel, also humanitarian aid for the people of gaza, and about eight billion for taiwan to stave off potential advances by china and some of the issues in the indo—pacific region. one of the measures in this bill, perhaps most controversial for some americans, at least, is the potential ban on tiktok.

and this is part of the security measure that is part of this very large bill with essentially an ultimatum to bytedance, which is the company, the chinese company that owns tiktok, that they should divest and sell the platform to an american owner or face a ban in this country. now, nothing is really going to happen quickly. it's quite likely that bytedance will take this to the courts, claim that this move is unconstitutional, and also suggest that the concerns of americans are misplaced or the concerns of washington are misplaced, and that is that the chinese government could invoke security measures to in some way get hold of the personal data of americans that is part of that app. bytedance are likely to say that they've already taken measures to ensure that that doesn't happen.

peter bowes reporting. as we heard from peter the us approved military aid for israel. live tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. what has been the reaction to that because it is both military and for some humanitarian aid in gaza. that's correct, we have had israel's foreign minister israel katz coming out quite quickly thanking the us congress for this, noting there was overwhelming bipartisan support, saying that this sends a strong message to israel's enemies. of course this package was passed after there had been some congressional democrats have been saying in recent weeks that further military aid to israel from the us should come with conditions attached because of concerns about the conduct of the war in gaza. but this doesn't seem to have been the case, if you break down that $17 billion that's heading the way of israel, it's about 5

billion for replenishing and expanding its air defence system, the real value of that has been proved time and time again in the past six months or so as the war in gaza has raged on and we have had the new threats emerging to israel, the new threats emerging to israel, the likes of the direct attack by iran using drones and missiles earlier this month for the first time coming directly from iranian soil. then you have also included in this money further billions of dollars that were going towards advanced weapon systems, to enhancing weapons production, to buying supplies and services from the us. and then if you look at that separate money which is included in the same legislation for aid going to israel, that is $9 billion of humanitarian assistance said to be for civilian suffering in conflict zones around the world, but a big portion of that going to palestinians in gaza. ~ . ., palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on the round palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on the ground we _ palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on the ground we have _ palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on the ground we have had _ palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on the ground we have had more - palestinians in gaza. meanwhile on i the ground we have had more shelling in gaza. ., , ., .,

in gaza. indeed, more israeli air strikes targeting _ in gaza. indeed, more israeli air strikes targeting in _ in gaza. indeed, more israeli air strikes targeting in particular . in gaza. indeed, more israeli air. strikes targeting in particular what they say our rocket launch sites with rockets fired from, again at israel, including some of the southern israeli cities in recent days. and intense shelling reported by palestinians up—and—down the length of the gaza strip. they have also been evacuation notice is given to palestinians living in certain neighbourhoods in the north. this is an area israel had previously declared it had cleared and had withdrawn its forces from that area, and it shows many analysts are saying that this really is evidence that hamas has an ability to regroup and come back and pose a threat in these different areas that are said to have been cleared —— cleared already by the israeli military. the israeli media is looking forward to what might happen after thejewish passover holiday, expecting that

this long delayed operation, ground offensive in rafah in the south of the gaza strip could finally start with the israeli military said to be preparing plans to evacuate large numbers of people. the us and others have really been against the idea of a ground offensive against remaining hamas battalions in that area, saying there would be huge humanitarian consequences with something like1 million palestinians cramped up against the egypt border, people that fled the fighting in other parts of the gaza strip. fighting in other parts of the gaza stri -. ., . strip. yolande knell, live in jerusalem. _ strip. yolande knell, live in jerusalem, thank _ strip. yolande knell, live in jerusalem, thank you. - the middle east and ukraine are both set to be discussed as rishi sunak is visiting germany to meet his german counterpart — chancellor olaf scholz. it's mr sunak�*s first trip to berlin since becoming prime minister in october 2022. defence spending is firmly on the agenda. let's speak to our berlin correspondent — jessica parker. no 10 saying it will open a new chapter in partnership. what's likely to be discussed today?

as you are saying defence spending and the defence picture overall, european security i think is top of the agenda. there are some details in there about specific areas of cooperation, types of weapons that the uk and germany can develop jointly together. but i think this is also very much about the politics and the signals that it sends, so rishi sunak of course yesterday in poland announced the uk would be hiking defence spending to 2.5% by 2030, that certainly the ambition, anyway. there is a uk general election happening later this year. that was big news, is a key member of the nato military alliance. for germany i'm told there will not be any major announcements today along those lines. germany has onlyjust started to hit the 2% nato military alliance spending target, the first time since the early 90s, and it looks like it is having to do that

through some one—off funds and it isn't quite clear how they are going to sustain that. but all of that being said and all of that mathematics, both the uk and germany have been key backers of ukraine, the top tier after the us in terms of that country, so they will want to send a direct message to president putin that there will continue supporting ukraine. there is probably some messaging going on from europe as well to donald trump, because of course donald trump hoping to be re—elected as president of the united states and has made it pretty clear that he got very annoyed with countries who he felt were not meeting their spending commitments last time. he made it clear he would not be supporting countries who felt were not meeting those commitments, so there are some signals they are probably to send across the pond as well to the us ahead of the american elections later this year as well.— later this year as well. jessica parker in _ later this year as well. jessica parker in berlin, _ later this year as well. jessica parker in berlin, thank - later this year as well. jessica parker in berlin, thank you, l later this year as well. jessica l parker in berlin, thank you, we later this year as well. jessica - parker in berlin, thank you, we will keep an eye on the talks later

today. more than 50 survivors of a migrant boat disaster — in which five people died off the coast of france — are recovering in england, having declined to be rescued by french authorities. the incident took place just hours after parliament approved a bill to allow the uk to send some asylum seekers to rwanda. the government has said the new law will reduce illegal channel crossings, but some migrants have said it won't deter them from trying. graham satchell reports. the beaches of northern france and what's becoming an almost nightly ritual is about to play out — this time with fatal consequences. a group of migrants protected by people smugglers heads to the shore. above, french police are watching every move, communicating with colleagues on the ground. as the authorities move in to stop the boat, a battle. fireworks are thrown. smugglers use sticks to protect the migrants. eventually, it works and the boat moves out to sea. "we're not allowed to go in the water," this policeman says. "did you notice they had sticks? and there are children, too,

so we had to be careful." we now know five people died here, just offshore — three men, a woman and a seven—year—old girl. you can hear the cries for help. help! the prime minister, rishi sunak, on a visit to poland, said new legislation to send migrants to rwanda will act as a deterrent. this will help us stop the boats. people need to know that if they come to our country illegally, they won't be able to stay. the processing centre in rwanda has been ready for almost two years. the government hopes some asylum seekers will arrive in the summer. opposition parties have called the rwanda plan ineffective and more than a quarter of a billion pounds expensive. what i would do is use that money to build up our border security, to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade and stop those boats arriving in the first place. it's thought almost 300 migrants made it to dover yesterday. numbers arriving are up,

as are the numbers of those perishing in the sea. graham satchell, bbc news. let's speak to the bbc�*s simonjones — who's in dover. there were 300 people arrived yesterday and over. what happens when they arrive? i yesterday and over. what happens when they arrive?— yesterday and over. what happens when they arrive? i reckon 350, 300 arrived yesterday, _ when they arrive? i reckon 350, 300 arrived yesterday, we _ when they arrive? i reckon 350, 300 arrived yesterday, we will _ when they arrive? i reckon 350, 300 arrived yesterday, we will get - when they arrive? i reckon 350, 300 arrived yesterday, we will get the i arrived yesterday, we will get the number confirmed later by the home office. initially people are brought ashore in dover having been picked up ashore in dover having been picked up by ashore in dover having been picked up by the lifeboat or the border force and taken to the area just behind me for an initial processing that usually involves a health check. then there will be some sort of screening before people are taken on to a migrant processing centre a few kilometres from here at manston. people will generally spend a couple of days they're having security checks. they may express interest in

claiming asylum here and then be dispersed around the country. now, given the law has changed, these people are being told they will not be allowed to pursue the asylum claim in the uk, and instead the government will look to transport them to rwanda. we know yesterday that among the people brought back to shore by the lifeboat was a group of 58 people who had been on board that dangerously overloaded boat that dangerously overloaded boat that got into difficulty resulting in five people losing their lives. so in addition to the processing here, i know the authorities, the national crime agency and kent police, will be wanting to speak to them about exactly what happened on that boat, what led to those five deaths. that information will be fed back to an investigation on the other side of the channel that is being led by the french authorities. you've covered this story for many years from dover. particularly during the summer, the calm waters do seem to allow those people to take the risk to get across the water to the uk. we

take the risk to get across the water to the uk.— water to the uk. we have had numerous _ water to the uk. we have had numerous government - water to the uk. we have had i numerous government initiatives water to the uk. we have had - numerous government initiatives over the years to try to reduce the number of people making the crossing. but people point out that the biggest deterrent is the weather. on a day like today, although the sun is out, it is pretty choppy out there on the water, and particularly over in northern france. it is very windy. we are unlikely to see any crossings at all. yesterday it was a very different picture, the sea was incredibly calm and that's why we saw multiple boats launching from the beaches of northern france, pretty much simultaneously, in the early hours of yesterday morning in an effort to overwhelm the authorities. in terms of the boat that got into difficulty, we understand that initially 50 people had paid smugglers to get on board that boat, but then as it was launching, a group of around 60 people emerged from woodland nearby and basically tried to storm that boat to get on board it, so when it took to the water, 112 people on board, unprecedented in terms of

numbers, so unsurprisingly quickly it did get into difficulty. but that is now part of an investigation here and on the other side of the channel. ,, ., and on the other side of the channel-— and on the other side of the channel. ,, ., g ., , channel. simon jones live in dover, thank ou channel. simon jones live in dover, thank you very _ channel. simon jones live in dover, thank you very much _ channel. simon jones live in dover, thank you very much indeed. - thank you very much indeed. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the former labour minister and crossbench peer, frank field, has died at the age of 81. he'd been a leading voice on welfare reform for much of his career — and had served as the mp for birkenhead on merseyside for a0 years. we have had this statement from lord field's family issued by his parliamentary office a few minutes ago.

let's speak to our political correspondent harry farley. harry, a0 years as an mp for birkenhead and also a minister in tony blair's first government back in 1997. , ., , tony blair's first government back in1997. , ., , , , in 1997. yes, a minister briefly in tony blair's _ in 1997. yes, a minister briefly in tony blair's first _ in 1997. yes, a minister briefly in tony blair's first government, . in 1997. yes, a minister briefly in| tony blair's first government, and actually a number of the tributes have made reference to his independent thinking. tony blair said that himself, he said he was an independent thinker, never constrained by conventional wisdom, always pushing at the frontier of new ideas. perhaps he spent a lot longer actually rather than a minister as a chair of different select committees, backbench committees of mps, and as you say,

his particular passion was welfare. he spoke passionately in the house of commons a number of times about food poverty, about conditions for his constituents in birkenhead. and that really was his life work. he published many pamphlets and leaflets and reports looking at welfare, looking particularly at the issue of food poverty. and a number of the tributes, i think it is worth saying, are coming in from across the political spectrum. i mentioned tony blair, there are also tributes from iain duncan smith, priti patel from iain duncan smith, priti patel from conservative party, wes streeting, the labour shadow health minister, shadow health minister at the moment, and he was one of those figures who was respected across the political divide really. the range and warmth of the tributes that are pouring in today reflect that. yes. pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went _ pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went on _ pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went on to _ pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went on to sit _ pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went on to sit as - pouring in today reflect that. yes, then he went on to sit as a - then he went on to sit as a crossbench peer in the house of lords. , ., �* , crossbench peer in the house of lords. , . lords. yes, that's right, crossbench eer in lords. yes, that's right, crossbench peer in the — lords. yes, that's right, crossbench peer in the house _ lords. yes, that's right, crossbench peer in the house of— lords. yes, that's right, crossbench peer in the house of lords. - lords. yes, that's right, crossbench peer in the house of lords. he - peer in the house of lords. he resigned from the labour party,

stepped down from the labour party in protest at what he saw as anti—semitism underjeremy corbyn's leadership. then went to become a crossbench peer of the house of lords and in he announced he announced he was suffering from a terminal illness and he sadly passed away in a care home in london on tuesday night. sir lindsay hoyle, speaker of the house of commons, among the tributes paying tribute to what he described as a former colleague, and he watched in admiration, this is sir lindsay hoyle saying, as frank field navigated a career as a formidable mp, ministertaxed navigated a career as a formidable mp, minister taxed with thinking the unthinkable and social care. he was neither cowed by the establishment or whips which made his campaigns against hunger and food poverty even more effective. a number of other tributes also making reference to frank field's faith. he had a deep christian faith and he frequently reference that as a motivating factor for him and reference that as a motivating factorfor him and his political career. factor for him and his political career. ., , ., , factor for him and his political career. . , ., , ., factor for him and his political career. . , . . , , career. harry farley at westminster, thank ou career. harry farley at westminster, thank you very _ career. harry farley at westminster, thank you very much _ career. harry farley at westminster, thank you very much indeed. - the mother of a student fatally

stabbed in nottingham has written an open letter to a police officer who wrote graphic whatsapp messages about the crime scene. barnaby webber was one of three people killed lastjune. his mum emma said the officer should "show the respect that was not given to her son". america's top diplomat is due to arrive in china shortly, secretary of state antony blinken is expected to urge beijing to end its military support for russia. he is due to meet with senior officials in beijing and shanghai. china and the us, the world's two biggest economies remain deeply at odds over trade, technology, taiwan and ukraine war. laura bicker is our correspondent in beijing. she gave this assessment of the likely conversations ahead for the two countries. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is heading to china

to try to stabilise ties between the two world's largest economies. and there will be discussions from everything to trade to human rights. but top of the agenda, certainly for both sides, will be ukraine, middle east and taiwan. now, let's deal with, first of all, the taiwan bill that has gone through congress. there has been reaction here in beijing. they strongly oppose the united states aid package to taiwan, and they say that this will encourage separatists on the island. now, china believes that the self—governing island is part of the mainland. it is one of china's red lines that they believe america should not cross. so antony blinken should expect some strong reaction from his counterparts when he meets them over the coming days when it comes to ukraine, the united states believes that china is supplying russia with components that could be used for weapons. now, beijing has not supplied moscow with any arms since the start of russia's invasion in ukraine. however, the us believes that china is supplying moscow with components that can be used for weapons.

they want those supplies to stop and that is something that antony blinken is here to say. now, when it comes to that accusation, beijing says it is preposterous and they oppose that also. but they have also got a part to play when president putin is expected to visit here in the next coming months. so it may well be that washington will want to push china to try to encourage president putin to end his war in ukraine. and then, of course, there is the middle east, where america will also be looking to china's leadership in the middle east if they can work together on that. and that's before they come to even the tricky conversations over trade where president biden has accused china of cheating by subsidising their firms. this is a tough agenda overjust two days. and it's one that is trying to, as i said, stabilise ties. but it will be tricky

for both sides. laura bicker reporting. a guitar played byjohn lennon and paul mccartney is going up for auction — after spending the last 50 years hidden in an attic. the framus12—string hootenanny was used in sessions for the beatles albums help! and rubber soul. the auctioneers expect it to fetch up to $800,000 when it goes under the hammer in new york next month. finally this half hour, the us military are trained to deal with the unexpected, but take a look at what turned up on the runway at macdill air force base in tampa in florida. a three metre — or ten foot — alligator. the large reptile was spotted next to the land gear of a refuelling aircraft. as you can see the gator was wrangled and captured by wildlife experts. officials say it may have wandered into the base searching for a mate. it was released into a nearby river with the air force posting, "our newest toothy airman has been relocated to a more

suitable environment off base." stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. rather like the last few days, west is best in terms of temperatures today, but even here, temperatures are a bit lower than they have been. if you have an allergy to tree pollen, oak tree pollen is at its peak at the moment and the levels today england and also wales. we're still pulling in this northerly flow, the air coming straight down from the arctic, blowing in a lot of cloud and some showers along the east coast. but the wind really accentuating the cold feel to the day, and here we will see some showers on and off as we go through the course of the afternoon. a few showers getting in across south—west wales and also into south—west england, but a lot of dry weather. areas of cloud at times, but sunny spells. and these are our temperatures, up to 13 degrees. but don't forget, it will feel

cooler than these temperatures are suggesting because of the wind in the east. now, through this evening and overnight, we start dry. there'll be some clear spells. we've also got a weather front moving southwards across scotland, getting into northern england by the end of the night with some showers, wintry on higher ground, and it's going to be cold wherever you are. a few showers in wales, the southwest, and also the southeast, certainly by the end of the night. this is the weather front that's moving southwards through the night and will continue to do so through the course of thursday. still bringing in some showers, and as we go through the morning, they're not going to be particularly heavy. but as they get into central southern england into the afternoon, you could catch the odd sharp one here and there. a lot of dry weather around, too, but there'll be some scattered showers and it's not going to be as windy, so it's not going to feel as bitter as it has done along the east coast. but temperatures still out towards the west, 11 to about 13 degrees. beyond that, we've got an area of low pressure that brings showers into the south on friday. but then another one brings rain up

from the south, heading northwards during the course of sunday. now, with it, it's going to bring in some milder air. so you can see the first one. and here's the second area of low pressure moving north, butjust how far north it gets is still open to some question. so with it, it's notjust going to bring higher temperatures than we've had, but also some rain. so as we go into the outlook period, it certainly does remain unsettled. there'll be rain, or indeed, there'll be some showers, but note how the temperature slowly rises.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president biden's set to sign a $95 billion foreign aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan today, after us lawmakers gave it final approval. it comes as israeli strikes intensify across gaza in some of the heaviest shelling in weeks. after more migrants die in the english channel, we ask how the british government's new plans might affect those trying to reach our shores. former labour minister and welfare campaigner frank field, an mp for a0 years, dies aged 81. and — low battery! tesla profits slump as the road gets rockier for the electric car industry. but a promise of new models recharges the share price.