US debt ceiling talks ‘productive’ as Biden and McCarthy to meet | First Thing

Sunday night phone call between president and Republican House speaker reported to have struck a more positive tone. Plus, how solar farms took over the California desert

Good morning.

Joe Biden and the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, have held a productive" phone call on the continued impasse over the debt ceiling and promised to meet today after the president returned to Washington.

What will happen if a deal isn't struck? Less than two weeks remain until the 1 June deadline, upon which the Treasury department has said the federal government could be unable to pay all its debts. Without raising the debt limit, the US government will default on its bills, a historic first, with likely catastrophic consequences. Federal workers would be furloughed, global stock markets would crash and the US economy would probably drop into a recession.

What has PNG's prime minister said? James Marape denied that US staff would have legal immunity and said no amendments would be made to the constitution or laws of the country. He said the country faced significant security challenges. I need to strengthen and protect my country's borders and ensure the safety of my people," he said. So this has nothing to do with geopolitics, this cooperation will strengthen our defence and help build our capacity."