BBC news with Charles Carroll.

Republicans in the United States have proposed a temporary increase in the amount the government can borrow to avert a debt default. The Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner has said that he would advance the measure if President Obama agreed to further negotiation on the budget dispute that has led to the partial shutdown of the U.S. government. From Washington, here's Jenner Bryon.

In the budget crisis dominated by blame games and name throwing, today's move towards even a temporary solution is being seen as a reason for optimism. Republican House Speaker John Boehner says raising the government's borrowing limit for another six weeks would give both sides time to talk about broader spending cuts. President Obama is likely to agree to the extension, but says he won't start budget negotiations until congress passes a funding bill that would reopen the government. He's meeting 18 Republican lawmakers at the White House to try to persuade them to end the standoff.

The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde has warned that the continuing deadlock in Washington could do serious damage to both the American and global economies. She said the IMF did not take sides in the political dispute, but the fiscal health of the United States must be put in order.

The president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta has asked the International Criminal Court in the Hague to stop his trial before it begins. His lawyers said the defense witnesses had been intimidated. Mr. Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are accused of orchestrating a wave of violence that followed contested elections in 2007. Anna Holligan has more on the document presented by Mr. Kenyatta's lawyers.

They say there is serious evidence to prove that three prosecution witnesses and one intermediary were involved in a series and sustained conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. They say the witnesses paid other witnesses to change their evidence to support the prosecution's case. They also accused the prosecution of failing to investigate the authenticity of its own witnesses. According to Uhuru Kenyatta's lawyers, to continue with the trial now could results in a serious miscarriage of justice.