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This the BBC News. Hello, I'm Jonathan Izard.
Senators in the US have announced a two-year budget deal to avoid a repeat of last month's government shutdown. The agreement was reached by the leaders of both Republican and Democratic parties, but still needs the approval of Congress. It will increase government spending by hundreds of billions of dollars including on the military and infrastructure. Jeno Bryant reports from Washington. The deal takes a major step towards avoiding a government shutdown when money runs out on Thursday. The two-year solution to the months of budget brinkmanship raises caps on military and domestic spending and increases funding for disaster relief. The bill will not go back to the House where lawmakers will need to approve it before President Trump can sign it into law. But its success is not guaranteed. Some Democrats are angry that it does not address the immigration issues that sparked government shutdown three weeks ago and fiscal conservatives are also angry that it will increase budget deficits.
The Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono says international sanctions against North Korea are starting to bite and will eventually force Pyongyang to negotiate over its nuclear weapon program. But in the BBC interview, he warned that this will take patience. The sanction is not gonna work in days or weeks. It takes months and we just have to be patient. That's the only way. The alternative is some kind of military action which no one wants. Mr. Kono added the Pyongyang's decision to participate in the Winter Olympics in South Korea which start on Friday was one sign that it was feeling the pressure.
The Venezuela authorities have set a date for presidential elections. The poll will be held on the 22nd of April. This follows the collapse of talks hosted by the Dominican Republic when the various opposition parties on the conditions for the vote. Here is our South America correspondent Katy Watson. The Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina calls the two sides to return to the table and continue dialogue. The opposition has been deeply critical of the government, accusing it of rigging elections. Speaking from Santo Domingo, opposition leader Julio Borges says Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro did not own democracy in Venezuela and urged him to allow free and fair elections.
This is the latest world news from the BBC.
