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.

这里是BBC新闻，大家好，我是乔纳森·伊泽德。今天，参议员达成了为期两年的预算协议，避免上个月政府关门的窘境。这份协议经过了“共民”两党领导人同意，但是依然需要国会通过。这份协议将为政府带来数千亿美金，其中包括军事用途和基础设施建设，以下是杰诺·布莱恩特在华盛顿发回的报道。周四，政府资金即将面临困难，该协议对于避免政府关门打下了坚实一步。几个月以来，美国一直处在边缘化预算状态，而此项为其两年的协议增加了军事和基础设施建设的上限，另外救灾资金也有所增加。该协议不需要再经过众议院通过，特朗普在签署之前还需要立法者的同意。但该协议是否可以顺利通过不得而知。许多民主党对此极为恼火，称它没有解决三周前引发政府关门的移民问题。另外一些财政保守主义者也对该协议感到愤怒，因为这将增加预算赤字。

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.

日本外相河野太郎称国际社会对朝鲜的制裁开始生效，并将最终迫使朝鲜协商其核武器计划。但是在接受BBC采访时，他警告道这需要一些耐心。这些制裁不会在几天或是几周内生效，它将花费几个月的时间，我们要做的就是耐心等待。这是唯一的方法，另外的方法就是发动军事行动，没有人想要这种结果。他还提到朝鲜决定参加此次韩国冬奥会，这表明他们已经感到了压力。

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.

委内瑞拉当局已经确定了总统选举日期，大选将会在4月22日举行。此前随着在多米尼加举行的会谈失败，反对派联盟要求举行选举，以下是我台南美记者凯蒂•华生发回的报道。多米尼加总统达尼洛•梅纳迪呼吁双方回到谈判桌。反对派强烈指责政府，称政府操控选举。反对党领袖朱力欧•博尔格斯在圣多明各说到，总统尼古拉斯•马杜罗在委内瑞拉并不实行民主，并敦促他举行公平自由选举。BBC国际新闻。

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.