Four people are injured after horses bulled through central london. And gustav klimt� s lost masterpiece is sold for an asking price of 30 Million Euros. Hello, im lucy grey, welcome to verified live three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. President biden has said that the us will begin sending new Military Assistance to ukraine within hours, after he signed a long awaited bill passed by congress. Speaking at a Press Conference at the white house, mr biden said the ai, worth 61 billion, would make america and the world safer. He said ukraine had the will and skill to win the war against russia. The package also includes billions of dollars in aid for israel and taiwan, as well as 1 billion in humanitarian assistance to gaza. Its a good day for america, a good day for europe, and a good day for world peace and freedom. This is consequential. Ijust signed into law the National Security package that was passed by house representatives this weekend and by the senate yesterday. Itll make america safer, itll make the world safer, and it continues americas leadership in the world, and everyone knows it. It gives vital support to americas partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and the lives and freedom of their citizens. And its an investment in our own security, because when our allies are stronger and i want to make this point again and again when our allies are stronger, we are stronger. Im gratefulfor all those in Congress Democrats and republicans, and independents who voted for this bill. Lets speak to our North America correspondent will grant. Its been a long time coming, ukraine has been waiting for it for a long time in particular. Just talk us through how this will work. Hes saying some of the aid will be arriving in ukraine within days of. Its been a long time coming, and mr biden acknowledged that, saying it had been a difficult path to his desk and it shouldve gotten there sooner. But obviously he was also very thankful to the members of congress and senate who made it possible. I think the fact is that this has been a torturous process to get to this point, but the aid is there and good to go part of it is anyway, the military aid will start rolling out almost immediately particularly in terms of armoured vehicles, munitions, and so on that the pentagon has lead to one side but ran out of funds allocated by congress to do so. So well start seeing that roll out in the next couple hours. And of course, President Biden as you heard in that clip there, his core messages that this is good for the United States of course thats part of the sale hes making to the american people, it has been such a divisive issue all the way through, but it was also pointed out that a lot of the munitions that will be built and sent to the United States to the ukraine will be built here in the United States, helping our economy too some point he talked about the vital support for israel and that ironclad commitment to helping israel defend itself against iran and those it supports, and he also talked about this 1 billion in aid going to gaza, and called on israel to make sure palestinians get that, he was very clear about that about that need for it to be facilitated, wasnt he . He that need for it to be facilitated, wasnt he . That need for it to be facilitated, wasnt he . ,. ,. , wasnt he . He was, now his critics will say the wasnt he . He was, now his critics will say the waiting wasnt he . He was, now his critics will say the waiting is wasnt he . He was, now his critics will say the waiting is clearly wasnt he . He was, now his critics will say the waiting is clearly in will say the waiting is clearly in favour of what he called that ironclad commitment this is about the 26 billion in aid to israel and much less about, for example, the aid going to gaza and other humanitarian support around the world, he mentioned haiti for example. But he does make that commitment to israel clear, mentioning the Drone Attacks earlier this month, attacks from iran and putting into that context. So i think that again was underlined. But youre right, the humanitarian assistance is important for him particularly to the left wing of his party to make sure that that billion dollars was made clear, and the urging of israel to make it possible for that aid to get into gaza was noteworthy too in his speech. Touching on all the difficulties within this bill, some of the hardest issues on his desk at the moment. , ~ ,. , hardest issues on his desk at the moment. , ~ ,. , hardest issues on his desk at the moment. , ~ ,. ,. Moment. Thank you very much, will rant it, moment. Thank you very much, will grant it. And moment. Thank you very much, will grant it, and washington. The uk and germany have pledged to support ukraine for as long as it takes, after talks in berlin on toughening europes defence. Rishi sunak and the german chancellor olaf scholz have agreed a new Defence Initiative to combat the threat from russia. Chancellor scholz underlined the scale of the threat posed by moscow. Translation russias aggression against ukraine has marked a watershed moment, i have repeatedly stated that. And that, of course, also means that we need to take note of the fact that the russian War Of Aggression has changed and put at risk the European Security architecture. So in europe and the world, we need to make it clear that this order not be shifted by the use of force for us in europe, that means we need to strengthen the european pillar of nato, also an especially when it comes to sufficient potential of deterrence. Because our european capabilities to deter and defend must always remain credible. Europe is divided over how to respond to the russian war in ukraine, but mr sunak praised germanys shift in defence policy. In this dangerous moment, the bond between our two nations is stronger than ever. We meet as a war rages on our continent and new threats arising around the world. And olaf, i want to gradually you on your leadership, and you taking the historic decision to increase germanys defence spending. And we stand here today together as the leading defence spenders in europe, unshakeable nato allies, and the two Largest Military supporters of ukraine in europe. And together, we will continue to provide unwavering support for our ukrainian friends, as you said, for as long as it takes. President zelensky has reiterated the importance of the fast delivery of Military Assistance, saying every leader who does not waste time is a life saver. Lets speak to patrick bury, defence and Security Expert at the university of bath, and a former nato analyst. Hello to you. I suppose the question is, weve seen this announcement from rishi sunak yesterday talking about increasing spending to 2. 5 of gdp about increasing spending to 2. 5 of gdp so the question more generally is, how ready is europe for battle . Is it battle ready . Is, how ready is europe for battle . Is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lu. I is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lucy i think is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lucy. I think its is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lucy. I think its coming is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lucy. I think its coming from, is it battle ready . Good afternoon, lucy. I think its coming from, in l lucy. I think its coming from, in terms of defence spending, a low start, its Getting Better quickly. It depends what it needs to be ready for, doesnt it . And i think what they call the Pacing Challenge is one where a confident russia that has potentially one hour eked out a draw on favourable terms in ukraine, then in 3 5 years decides to try something highly dangerous against a nato member, potentially estonia which is talk is talked about a lot. So it depends what it has to be ready for, but if you look at 2014, there were only three members of nato that met the 2 2023, it was 11, now its 18 and increasing. This is reflective of Global Defence spending, which is at the highest level its been i think ever, so things are afoot. figs level its been i think ever, so things are afoot. Level its been i think ever, so things are afoot. As this ukraine war toes things are afoot. As this ukraine war goes on things are afoot. As this Ukraine War Goes On And things are afoot. As this Ukraine War Goes On And on, things are afoot. As this Ukraine War Goes On And on, how things are afoot. As this Ukraine War Goes On And on, how much l things are afoot. As this ukraine | war goes on and on, how much is things are afoot. As this Ukraine War Goes On And on, how much is this sustainable in terms of the billions being spent on it every year chris back and i suppose the other question is, will be get to a point where personnel will have to be sent to . Because weve seen ukraine is having an issue with mobilisation at the moment. It having an issue with mobilisation at the moment the moment. It certainly is, theyve robabl the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left it the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left it too the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left it too late the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left it too late by the moment. It certainly is, theyve probably left it too late by their probably left it too late by their admission, and the units on the front line are exhausted, a lot of them, and until us aid past, they were increasingly demoralising which was worrying. So there was that picture that it was a ukrainian problem. I dont think nato would ever put their boots on the ground, its more likely to use the air force to protect. But potentially if there was some sort of catastrophic lapse at the front, which i dont think is likely, you could potentially see that happen, but i still think its unlikely. And as per the bigger question about defence spending, whether this can be sustained, i think the question really is, modern western societies are based on three principles a luxury, liberty, and security and you can have a level of all three but not to the same level all the time. The money can be found if you deem the problem such a sufficient threat that it needs to be found the question is, do you . And as you mentioned in your introduction, some states dont view the threat in the same way as others. The ournalists were asking same way as others. The ournalists were asking rishi h same way as others. The Ournalists Were Asking Rishi Sunak same way as others. The jOurnalists Were Asking Rishi Sunak and same way as others. The jOurnalists Were Asking Rishi Sunak and olaf. Were asking rishi sunak and 0laf scholz what they both thought about a potential donald trump back in the white house in terms of the issue of, i suppose, white house in terms of the issue of, isuppose, nato white house in terms of the issue of, i suppose, nato and white house in terms of the issue of, isuppose, nato and his commitment to them. 0laf Scholz Shrugged it off and said us president s have always asked for europe to increase its spending and the like what did you make of that . I the like what did you make of that . , the like what did you make of that . , the like what did you make of that . ,. That . I can see the us perspective, havin that . I can see the us perspective, having worked that . I can see the us perspective, having worked in that . I can see the us perspective, having worked in nato, that . I can see the us perspective, having worked in nato, i that . I can see the us perspective, having worked in nato, i know that . I can see the us perspective, having worked in nato, i know theyj having worked in nato, i know they use diplomatic channels for decades to ask europe to pay and contribute more. And part of that as being the worlds superpower and having to bankroll it but on the other hand, when it gets to this situation where everyone is strapped for resources and there is a major threat of increasing in europe, i think its legitimate and right to say, look, if you cant meet the 2 , why should you be under our Umbrella Equipment this is the Membership Criteria for the club and i think thats fair enough. Trump has obviously rattled that cage much more publicly than before which put a lot of peoples noses out, but the real instigator of that was the 2014 Russian Annexation Of Crimea which woke up a lot of Eastern European and baltic nations. So i think thats been the real instigator and the rise has been explained since then, and 2020 to just push that further and faster. ~ ,. , to just push that further and faster. ,. ,. Faster. Thank you very much, patrick, for faster. Thank you very much, patrick, for your faster. Thank you very much, patrick, for your thoughts. I the Uks National Crime agency has arrested three men on suspicion of immigration offences, after five migrants died while trying to reach the uk yesterday. A seven Year Old Girl was among the victims. They were on board a small overcrowded boat, carrying more than 100 people. It set out to cross the English Channel, one of the busiest Shipping Lanes in the world, on tuesday morning. But, not far from shore, panic took hold among the passengers. 0ur reporter victoria bourne, who is at the National Crime agency, gave us this update. The National Crime agency says that three men were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the uk illegally. The group are aged between 19 22, and from Sudan And South sudan. The raids where they were detained took place overnight and in the early hours of this morning, and they have been taken to Police Stations in kent where they are now being questioned. Early this afternoon, clive turner from the National Crime agency gave a statement to reporters. Craig turner. This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings, and brings into focus why it is so important to target these criminal gangs involved in organising them. The nca with partners and also partnered with french counterparts will obviously collect evidence and identify those responsible for this event, and bring them tojustice. Put this in the context for us because it is, of course, coming just shortly after the governments rwanda bill passed. Just give us the wider context. Yes, thats right. As you said, it happened just after the Uk Parliament flagship rwanda bill passed and that has taken months of political wrangling. The bill would see some Asylum Seekers taken to the east Central African country to have their claims processed. Its seen rwanda designated as a safe country. Something criticised by human Rights Groups and political opposition. Ministers argue this will be a deterrent to stop people from making the journey across the country to try to reach the uk. Across the channel in small vessels and boats. Home Office Figures suggest that the number of people making that perilous journey has increased this year, compared to the same period last year. Rishi sunak maintains that the deaths serve as a reminder as to why its so important to tackle people smuggling. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. To Northern Ireland where former Democratic Unionist Party leader Sirjeffrey Donaldson has appeared in court, accused of historical sex offences. His wife faces for charges connected to search every� s alleged offences. 0ur ireland correspondent sara girvin was at the court and gave this update. They were only what i could describe as chaotic scenes outside the courthouse this morning. This is the first time Sirjeffrey Donaldson has been seen since stepping down as the leader of the dup, Northern Irelands largest unionist party. And since the charges against him, the news of that has broken, he was joined in the dock this morning by his wife and co worker, lady eleanor donaldson, and we heard about the charges they are facing. Jeffrey donaldson is facing 11 charges and all, one count of Gross Indecency towards a child, nine counts of assault, and one count of rape. Those involved to individuals spanning from 1985 until 2006. Eleanor donaldson is facing for charges, amounting to the aiding and abetting of the charges faced by her husband four charges. This morning a Police Officer connected the donald sins to the charges against them, there were no pleas today of guilty or not guilty, but we have previously heard from sir jeff really that he will be strangely contesting the charges against him sirjeffrey. The hearing this morning lasted for around seven minutes, and outside there was a massive crowd of members of the public, police and media as the donald sins entered court and left again. They were both released on their own bail