US Senate approves bill to avoid government shutdown - a podcast by BBC World Service

The US Senate has approved spending plans to avoid a government shutdown. We get an update from the BBC's Michelle Fleury in New York. At the same time, Democratic leaders are also trying to reach an agreement over a multi-trillion dollar spending programme. The BBC's Rob Young examines the background to the current impasse.
Also in the programme, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, German company CureVac was thought by many to be one of the best prospects to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. The company's chief executive Franz Haas explains why their vaccine candidate was not as effective as had been hoped, and how the firm hopes to move forward with a second generation vaccine for the disease.
And as Thailand eases Covid-related restrictions for visitors, we hear from our correspondent Jonathan Head in Bangkok how the country needs to revive its tourism industry.

Rahul Tandon is joined throughout the programme by Tribune columnist Sushma Ramachandran in Delhi and by Paddy Hirsch, contributing editor at NPR in LA.

(Picture: The US Capitol building. Picture credit: Getty Images)

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