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00:00:01you are. Business on BBC News. Make
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00:00:09MUSIC
00:00:17These are the latest headlines from BBC News. The UK's Defence Secretary
00:00:21Secretary calls the attack on Riyadh's
00:00:23Riyadh's international airport dangerous dangerous escalation and contemptible
00:00:27contemptible after 12 people are are killed, Saudi authorities blamed
00:00:29blamed the Houthis for the attack attack after President Trump accused
00:00:33accused him of prolonging the war. war. President Zelensky says Ukraine
00:00:37Ukraine will stop striking Russian Russian oil refineries if Moscow
00:00:39Moscow stops hitting Ukrainian energy
00:00:42energy infrastructure. The leader leader of India's Cockroach Janta
00:00:45Janta Party has released, along with with two other senior leaders after
00:00:48after protests in Delhi. Earlier, Earlier, the police said thousands thousands of protesters detained
00:00:51detained on Saturday had also been been released. Nepal's authorities
00:00:55authorities called for the evacuation evacuation of villages on the banks banks of the Budhi Gandaki River
00:00:59River after severe flooding in the the centre of the country. Five people
00:01:02people are reported missing and Pope Pope Leo is to have an operation
00:01:05operation in the coming days for for what the Vatican says is a nodule
00:01:09nodule in his lungs. Welcome back
00:01:18back to BBC News. I'm Mark Logan. Logan. We're going to go back to to the war in Ukraine. President
00:01:23President Trump has said he thinks thinks it's time for the country country to get a new president. As
00:01:26As he responded to Volodymyr Zelensky's
00:01:29Zelensky's criticism of the US diesel diesel deal with Russia, the British
00:01:32British Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, Streeting, was asked by my colleague
00:01:35colleague Victoria Derbyshire if if the UK supports President Zelensky
00:01:38Zelensky continuing to lead Ukraine. Ukraine. Yes, the choice as to who
00:01:42who leads Ukraine is one for the
00:01:44the Ukrainians at the heart of this
00:01:47this war is that fundamental principle
00:01:52principle of self-determination, self-determination, freedom and democracy, democracy, and we should be in no
00:01:55no doubt in this country. We are
00:01:56are in no doubt that the aggressor
00:01:59aggressor here was Vladimir Putin. Putin. He is the person who chose
00:02:02chose to start this war. He is the
00:02:04the person who could end this war war tomorrow, and he chooses not
00:02:08not to. So we stand with Ukraine. Ukraine. We stand with President
00:02:12President Zelensky. And in terms terms of what we've seen overnight,
00:02:15overnight, it's not the first time time that we've seen a public disagreement
00:02:19disagreement between Washington and and Kyiv. And when these things happen,
00:02:22happen, we see it as our responsibility responsibility as the UK to try and
00:02:25and bring our friends back together together again. It's not just the the leadership you can expect from
00:02:29from Andy Burnham and the rest of of the team. It's not just a public public disagreement, is it? President
00:02:33President Trump has actually made made a deal with the Russian president,
00:02:37president, the aggressor when it it comes to Ukraine, a deal that
00:02:41that will help President Putin continue continue to fund his war against
00:02:44against Ukraine. Well, that's why
00:02:46why the UK has been trying to maximise
00:02:49maximise pressure on Russia economically economically as well as through the
00:02:52the support we're mobilising from from the UK and other allies to support support Ukraine's military effort
00:02:56effort to defend their territory. territory. But if our. Greatest ally
00:02:59ally in the US is making deals with
00:03:03with Russia, it doesn't really matter matter what the UK does if you're
00:03:05you're being honest, does it? Well, Well, as Paul Johnson was setting
00:03:09setting out there in terms of the
00:03:12the impact both on Russia's war effort, effort, but also, you know, candidly
00:03:15candidly on cost of living in the the United States isn't isn't great,
00:03:19great, but it's not what we want
00:03:20want to see. We want to see strong strong Western unity and resolve
00:03:24resolve in support of Ukraine. And And to be fair to the United States
00:03:27States because I think, you know, know, as listening to some of the the panel discussion there, in my
00:03:31my experience in the first few months months taking on this responsibility
00:03:35responsibility as Defence Secretary, Secretary, I found that sometimes sometimes there's an understatement
00:03:39understatement of US support for for Ukraine. We actually do a lot
00:03:42lot of procurement with and through through the United States to support
00:03:45support Ukraine with things like like missile defences. There is clearly
00:03:49clearly a big effort being led by by the United States on the diplomatic
00:03:53diplomatic track. So let's not overstate overstate the impact of President
00:03:57President Trump's decision on, on on purchasing oil from Russia. And
00:04:00And let's not also understate the the US support for Ukraine. What
00:04:04What we want to see, though, is maximum
00:04:08maximum unity across Ukraine's allies. allies. And it's in that context
00:04:10context that we're trying to increase
00:04:12increase economic pressure on Russia, Russia, not to give President Putin
00:04:16Putin any sense of a weakening of of Western resolve, which remains
00:04:19remains absolute. Well, it doesn't,
00:04:22doesn't, though, does it, given the the deal that President Trump has
00:04:24has just done with President Putin, Putin, it's not resolute Western
00:04:28Western resolve, I wouldn't. Why Why do you think Donald Trump's doing
00:04:30doing it? Well, look, in common with
00:04:34with lots of countries around the the world. We're all facing challenges
00:04:37challenges with the cost of living. living. Fuel and energy is part of
00:04:40of that. And there are mid-term elections elections under way in the US. So
00:04:42So let's be just kind of clear about
00:04:44about the context for the decision.
00:04:47decision. We've obviously seen a
00:04:49a very strident response from President President Zelensky, which is understandable
00:04:53understandable given the position position that he's in the war he he is fighting and the effort he
00:04:56he is leading every day to secure secure the freedom of his people.
00:04:59people. And I have seen first-hand
00:05:01first-hand having visited Kyiv, the
00:05:04the impact of Russia's Russia's aggression
00:05:07aggression in terms of the children's children's toys that were lying in in the rubble of the flats that had
00:05:11had been destroyed, bombed out shopping shopping centres. And, you know,
00:05:15know, just to give people a sense sense of what that is like, one person,
00:05:18person, one ask them how their night night had been following a heavy
00:05:22heavy night of Russian bombardment, bombardment, said they'd had a great great night's sleep because they
00:05:25they had slept in the underground underground car park beneath their their apartments. Now, I don't know
00:05:29know about you, but for me a great great night's sleep is when I sleep
00:05:32sleep for 8 or 9 hours in my own own bed or in a nice hotel room,
00:05:35room, a great night's sleep is not not sleeping an underground car park.
00:05:38park. So that tells you something something about the impact of this this war on the people of Ukraine.
00:05:42Ukraine. But people should be in in no doubt both about the resolve
00:05:45resolve of the Ukrainian people, people, the courage of their president,
00:05:49president, or the determination of of the UK and our allies to stand
00:05:52stand with Ukraine for as long as as it takes the responsibility for
00:05:56for starting this war sits squarely squarely with the Kremlin. And they
00:05:59they could end this war tomorrow. And despite all that, there
00:06:03there may well be some British voters
00:06:06voters who are like American, some some American voters who are so squeezed
00:06:10squeezed financially right now they they might like to see the cost of of filling up their car come down.
00:06:14down. But I think we were certainly certainly would agree. We want to
00:06:17to see cost of fuel coming down. down. And there are lots of things things that the government is doing
00:06:21doing to help with the cost of living,
00:06:22living, but also let's just see this
00:06:25this war in its context and its cost,
00:06:28cost, both economically but also also most importantly, the toll it
00:06:31it is taking on innocent lives. The
00:06:34The longer this war goes on, the the higher that cost in human terms
00:06:38terms and in financial terms. So So it's in all of our interests to
00:06:41to maximise pressure on Russia, on on President Putin, to bring an end
00:06:44end to this war. And that's the leadership leadership you can expect from Andy
00:06:47Andy Burnham and the rest of the the government. Wes Streeting, the
00:06:50the Defence Secretary. Let me just just bring you a little bit more
00:06:53more on that news from Pope Leo XIV
00:06:55XIV that they have discovered a small
00:06:58small nodule on his lung and he's he's to be operated shortly. He actually
00:07:02actually delivered the news at the the Angelus prayer there on Saint
00:07:05Saint Peter's Square, a traditional traditional weekly address. He said
00:07:09said in recent checks, the doctors doctors found a circumscribed nodule
00:07:12nodule in the lung. That's a very very small growth detected at a very
00:07:15very early stage and well localised. localised. The doctors deemed it
00:07:19it appropriate to intervene and so, so, following their advice, I've
00:07:22I've decided to undergo surgery to to remove it, he said. The procedure
00:07:25procedure is already scheduled for for the coming days. I thank you
00:07:29you and entrust myself to your prayers.
00:07:32prayers. Pope Leo XIV, 71 years old,
00:07:34old, very active Pope elected, of
00:07:37of course, last year in that conclave
00:07:39conclave to succeed Pope Francis.
00:07:41Francis. There you can see him next next to the Spanish Prime Minister
00:07:44Minister on a recent trip to Spain.
00:07:47Spain. So Pope Leo XIV telling worshippers worshippers on Saint Peter's Square
00:07:51Square that he's got a small nodule
00:07:53nodule on his lung, it'll be operated operated in the coming days. And
00:07:56And he has asked for the prayers
00:07:59prayers of the Faithful. We'll continue continue to watch that. And all the
00:08:02the other stories do stay with us
00:08:04us here on BBC News. Much more to
00:08:07to come.
00:09:09latest news, interviews, results results and goals as we follow every every twist of the Premier League
00:09:13League season here on BBC News. MUSIC
00:09:25MUSIC This This is BBC News. And now a weekly
00:09:28weekly dynamic discussion on the
00:09:30the US presidency. The President's
00:09:32President's path. You kind of almost
00:09:36almost have a perfect storm of criteria
00:09:39criteria for how to lose an election. election. There's kind of a yearning
00:09:42yearning for authenticity from their their candidates that I think is
00:09:44is kind of a reflection on what they
00:09:47they have, how they perceived the the last few administrations. Just Just because you might have some
00:09:51some voters turning against Republicans Republicans and President Trump, Trump, that doesn't mean that they're
00:09:55they're going to vote for Democrats.
00:10:03Democrats. Hi, you two. Great to to see you again. You know, last
00:10:06last week we finished off talking talking about the Democrats. And
00:10:09And I know this is the President's President's path, but one of the,
00:10:13the, let's say, hurdles on the President's President's path right now could could be the Democrats in these mid-term
00:10:16mid-term elections. So I think it's it's worth delving into where they
00:10:20they stand, especially with polling polling show that the Democrats feel feel really good about the mid-terms
00:10:23mid-terms right now. Not only do do the Democrats feel really good
00:10:26good about the mid-terms, the Republicans Republicans in some cases are feeling
00:10:30feeling really bad about the mid-terms, mid-terms, aren't they? So it's not
00:10:32not just overconfidence on one side, side, it seems that they're all seeing
00:10:36seeing the same trends. They're all all reading the same tea leaves.
00:10:40leaves. While President Trump is is at least publicly very dismissive dismissive of those tea leaves, when
00:10:43when you speak to Republican strategists
00:10:46strategists kind of off the record record or in a more informal setting,
00:10:50setting, there is definitely a sense sense of panic about some of those
00:10:53those key state races. They think, think, you know, perhaps some of
00:10:56of them are kind of already already
00:10:58already lost. And I think that's that's kind of pervasive across the
00:11:01the party right now. And a lot of of these states. Yeah. And I think
00:11:05think there's no better sign of that
00:11:07that than the fact that we saw Republicans Republicans pulling money out of
00:11:10of the Senate race in North Carolina. Carolina. There you have Roy Cooper
00:11:14Cooper running against Michael Whatley Whatley and Roy Cooper, former governor
00:11:16governor is very popular as a Democrat Democrat in that state. And the Republicans,
00:11:20Republicans, the fact that they're they're pulling money out of, you you know, the big ad push before
00:11:24before the mid-terms seems to indicate indicate that they don't think they they have a chance to catch up there.
00:11:28there. The same is happening in Georgia, Georgia, where Democrat Jon Ossoff, Ossoff, who's really broken onto
00:11:32onto the national scene as well in
00:11:34in his campaigning, seems to be fairly fairly secure in his lead there.
00:11:37there. So, you know, there is an an analyst telling me, yeah, you you might not believe the polls,
00:11:42polls, but look at what the Republicans Republicans are doing. That should
00:11:44should tell you how they're feeling. feeling. And in North Carolina, it's
00:11:48it's not just the Republicans who who have pulled money out seemingly
00:11:51seemingly giving up on that race. race. The Democrats are starting starting to pull money out of there
00:11:54there as well, seeing in their view view that it's a lock step. But we
00:11:58we should, I suppose, just take a a step back and explain what's at
00:12:01at stake in terms of the Senate, Senate, because there are 35 Senate
00:12:05Senate seats up for grabs in this this cycle. Currently, Republicans
00:12:09Republicans hold a majority in the
00:12:12the Senate, 53 to 47. When you factor factor in the two independents that
00:12:15that generally vote with the Democrats. Democrats. So the maths of all of
00:12:19of that is that the Democrats need
00:12:21need to flip at least four. But from
00:12:24from their perspective, preferably preferably five, to have comfortable
00:12:28comfortable control of the Senate. Senate. I was speaking to a very
00:12:31very senior Republican strategist strategist this week who said their
00:12:34their polling is showing them they
00:12:36they are going to lose six Senate
00:12:40Senate seats, which would be quite quite the blue wave for Democrats.
00:12:43Democrats. Would really change everything everything as far as President Trump's
00:12:46Trump's last two years in office, office, if the Senate goes and the
00:12:50the House potentially goes as well. well. I think, you know, that really
00:12:53really changes the tone of the next next two years compared to what we've we've been talking about. But in
00:12:57in North Carolina, I think it's interesting interesting because, you know, Roy
00:12:59Roy Cooper is almost from the perspective
00:13:02perspective of the party writ large, large, kind of a unicorn in terms
00:13:05terms of being such a good candidate candidate because he already has
00:13:07has so much name recognition in the the state. You know, he's someone
00:13:11someone that, you know, is kind of of a household name in the state.
00:13:13state. And I think that really set
00:13:16set them up well. So I mean, it almost
00:13:18almost became kind of a less party party election than it was. You know,
00:13:22know, Roy Cooper is someone that that everyone knows and that kind
00:13:26kind of he started out ahead in that that race to a certain extent because
00:13:29because of that. But then Michael Michael Whatley is such an ally of
00:13:32of President Trump. I mean, he was
00:13:34was so significant in terms of President
00:13:38President Trump's 2024 campaign helping helping get him elected, leading
00:13:41leading all of that, so endorsed endorsed by President Trump. And
00:13:44And to see him now. I mean, it must must be, you know, quite embarrassing
00:13:47embarrassing for him for everyone everyone in his team putting all
00:13:50all of that work in. And then you're you're seeing the party and also
00:13:53also the superPACs and the supporters supporters all just taking their
00:13:56their money away from you and saying saying it's over now. Of course it's
00:14:00it's not over till it's over. But
00:14:01But still it's quite the indicator. I think one of the points points that you just made, Bernie,
00:14:05Bernie, that's important is the question question of candidate quality. I
00:14:08I remember having this conversation conversation so often in 2022. If
00:14:11If you remember President Trump, Trump, there was at that point a
00:14:14a somewhat disgraced former president. president. Many Republicans didn't didn't want to be seen around him
00:14:18him because of the January 6th riot riot on the Capitol. And he put his
00:14:21his endorsement behind a number of of candidates who didn't perform
00:14:24perform well in the mid-terms. Think Think of Herschel Walker in Georgia.
00:14:27Georgia. And the point there was
00:14:29was that it was the candidates themselves themselves who were not strong. And
00:14:32And that was one of the reasons Republicans Republicans couldn't win those races.
00:14:36races. Well, fast forward to this this year and you're seeing that
00:14:38that same point being made. Even Even if President Trump can be seen
00:14:42seen in some races as a drag on the
00:14:45the party because of his unpopularity, unpopularity, the war in Iran, the
00:14:48the economy, affordability, all of of these issues we've been talking
00:14:51talking about week in, week out. out. It is particular candidates
00:14:54candidates themselves who also have have not been able to kind of punch
00:14:57punch above their weight. And I'm
00:14:59I'm thinking of Ken Paxton in Texas, Texas, who obviously, as I keep saying,
00:15:02saying, is someone who is impeached impeached by his own party in Texas. Texas. And, you know, that tells
00:15:06tells you kind of all you need to to know about what a difficult path
00:15:10path he's had, let's say, to come come to being the Republican nominee
00:15:13nominee there. But that question question of the individual candidates
00:15:16candidates and how strong they are are really going to play out quite quite big. I think the Paxton example
00:15:20example is quite interesting too, too, because I mean, in retrospect,
00:15:24retrospect, I think a lot of Republicans Republicans will be wondering, you you know, why President Trump ended
00:15:27ended up supporting him when he has has so much obvious baggage about,
00:15:31about, you know, his personal life, life, the impeachment. I mean, he's
00:15:34he's at best, you know, considered considered by many to be a very,
00:15:37very, very imperfect candidate. And And against him you have Talarico Talarico who's kind of, you know,
00:15:41know, kind of a rising star within within the Democratic Party and coming
00:15:44coming at it from quite an interesting interesting different perspective
00:15:47perspective in a way that seems to to be speaking to a lot of people.
00:15:49people. I think it's, you know, if
00:15:52if Talarico were to win that race, race, that's a huge defeat for the
00:15:55the party and for President Trump.
00:15:56Trump. Exactly. And I think the issue