The US avoids government shutdown

The United States has narrowly avoided a government shutdown after both houses of Congress approved a short-term funding bill in a rare show of cross-party unity. The last ditch resolution will keep the government running for a further 45 days, but excludes further aid for Ukraine.

Also in the programme: former Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico beats his rivals in the country's election but will need to win over allies to form a government; and we meet the American musician and photographer Henry Diltz.

Joining Krupa Padhy to discuss this and more are Christina Lamb, who is chief foreign correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, and Silo Boccanera who is a Brazilian journalist based in London.

Presented by Krupa Padh. Produced by Usman Azad, James Beardsworth, Salma Nurmohamed, Damian Quinn and Martin Vennard.

(Picture: Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gives a thumbs-up after the Senate passed a stop-gap measure to fund the government in the US Capitol in Washington. Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)