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Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

At least 85 Palestinians have been killed in overnight Israeli air strikes in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry has said and the IDF said it had started a ground invasion in northern Gaza. Hamas has launched retaliatory missiles aimed at central Israel, with fragments landing in the central city of Rishon Letzion. No casualties or injuries were reported. Meanwhile thousands of Israelis protestin...

Turkish authorities have detained Ekrem Imamoglu, from the secular opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), just days before he was due to be selected as a presidential candidate. Also on the programme, the United Nations says one of its international staff has been killed when an explosive was dropped on or fired at a UN compound in central Gaza; and a conversation with Hans Zimmer about his 4...

Ukraine reacts with resignation to Russia attacking its infrastructure, hours after Vladimir Putin told President Trump he was halting such strikes. Also in the programme: we hear from a doctor in Gaza as attacks by Israel resume; and after a federal court rules that actions taken to shut down USAID by Elon Musk and DOGE 'likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways', we hear fr...

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have had a phone call where Russia has agreed to pause its attacks on energy and infrastructure in Ukraine for thirty days. Russia has not committed to a full ceasefire and demands complete cessation of foreign military aid. Also on the programme: Israeli strikes on the Gaza strip last night that have reportedly killed 400 people...

Hamas officials say more than four hundred people have been killed. Does this mean that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is over? Also on the programme: President Trump and President Putin are to have a phone call to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. We discuss the historical parallels of this occasion; and the legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock is one of the winners of the Polar...

President Trump and Vladimir Putin have confirmed they will hold talks tomorrow about ending Russia's invasion. The Kremlin has set out a number of strict conditions for agreeing a peace deal. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she doesn't think President Putin is serious about ending the conflict. Also in the programme: our reporter in Syria visits the sites of recent crimes against t...

Western countries, Arab countries and Syria's new authority are all attending. We'll also have a special report from the areas of Syria affected by last week's massacres. Also on the programme: the first official call between the US and Russia on the Ukraine conflict is confirmed to be taking place; and we hear the story of an art critic turned thief, whose theft of a painting by the Flemish artis...

Officials say more than 155 have been injured in the blaze, which broke out at the Pulse club in Kočani, a town around 100km east of the capital, Skopje. We speak to a surgeon treating some of those injured, and a spokesperson for the State Public Prosecutors Office about the status of the investigation into the fire. Also on the programme: A significant conflict in the Middle East seems to be on...

Iran says it will retaliate if President Trump carries out his threat to hold the country accountable for the actions of the Houthi group in Yemen. The Houthis - who are backed by Iran - have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza. Mr Trump issued his threat as US forces launched massive air strikes against Houthi targets, killing more than thirty people. We speak to a Hout...

An online meeting of world leaders has just ended here in London, hosted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to discuss concrete commitments to strengthen Ukraine's security. Also on the programme: huge crowds are demonstrating in the centre of Serbia's capital denouncing government corruption; and can a rocket rescue two astronauts who have been unable to leave the International Space Station? (P...

The British prime minister Keir Starmer says an online summit with twenty-five fellow leaders has built momentum towards setting up a peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. We speak to an Italian MP on why his country is not ready to send troops. Also in the programme: Tens of thousands march against alleged government corruption in Serbia’s capital Belgrade; and Sri Lanka con...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he is "cautiously optimistic" about a Ukraine ceasefire, but admitted a deal wouldn’t be easy or straightforward. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused President Putin of deliberately setting conditions that drag out talks. We get the assessment of a former senior US intelligence officer. Also on the programme: Canada's new prime m...

The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed on what it called information for Donald Trump at a late-night meeting in Moscow with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. In a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin’s spokesperson added that a phone call between US President Trump and Putin was expected. A Russia analyst take us through the likelihood that the country’s leader trul...

President Trump has welcomed what he called a very promising statement from Vladimir Putin on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, but said the deal was not yet complete. President Putin said fighting must end in Ukraine, but said there were elements of the American ceasefire proposal that need further discussion. We speak to a former US diplomat in Europe. Also on the programme: southern African le...

A senior aide to President Putin has indicated that Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine -- saying it would only give the Ukrainians an opportunity to regroup. Also, a UN report has accused the Israeli military of systematic sexual violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has rejected the report as unfounded. And a special report from the frontlines of Mex...

Donald Trump has confirmed that US officials are travelling to Russia, to discuss a proposed 30 day ceasefire with Ukraine. Kyiv accepted the proposals during a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, led by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Mr Trump said an agreement from Moscow would go "eighty per cent" towards ending what he described as "a bloodbath". The Kremlin earlier said it would wait...

The US will speak to Russia today about the plan for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, its top dplomat Marco Rubio says. He said "the ball is now in Russia's court" after Ukraine accepted American proposals for an initial ceasefire. Earlier, Russia said it would wait to be briefed by American officials before commenting - and that it was "studying statements". So what might the Russian response be?...

Ukraine has backed a US proposal for a 30 day ceasefire in the war with Russia, subject to the agreement of Moscow. The announcement follows eight hours of talks between Ukrainian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (who wasn't at the talks) said the proposal included a truce along the entire front line, not just in the air and at sea. The US Secretary of Sta...

Ukraine has launched its biggest drone attack yet on Moscow as its diplomats are meeting the US to discuss how to end the war. Also on the programme: gunmen in Pakistan seize a passenger train with hundreds on board; and the police in the Philippines arrest the former president Rodrigo Duterte over his seven year war on drugs. (Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets well-wishers upon arri...

Canada's most populous province has imposed a twenty-five percent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States in response to tariffs imposed by Washington. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, said he would be prepared to cut off power supplies altogether unless the US changed course. He said the surcharge would raise a total of up to four hundred thousand dollars a day from the states of...

Canada's next PM, former central bank governor Mark Carney, has swapped his former persona as a central bank governor for fighting talk against the US administration led by Donald Trump and the tariffs its seeking to impose on trade partners. Mr Carney has very little political experience - he has never been elected as an MP, let alone served in a cabinet post. But as Governor of the Bank of Canad...

Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened Hamas with “hell” to pay if hostages from the October 7th attack on Israel were not released. Today, Israel’s energy minister, Eli Cohen, says the country will now cut its electricity supply to Gaza “immediately.”Also in the programme: Canada’s governing Liberal Party prepares to elect a new leader following the resignation announcement of PM Justin...

Syrian state media say there have been clashes between the security forces and followers of former President Assad in the country's coastal region, after interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa claimed the area was under control. More than a thousand people are reported to have keen killed in several days of violence. We speak to a Syrian woman from the minority Alawite sect in the region and hear from...

Over 500 people have been killed in violent clashes between gunmen loyal to ousted President Bashar al Assad and the authorities. Assad is from the Alawite religious minority and there are reports suggesting that the community is being targeted - with many civilians being killed. We speak to a Syrian woman trying to contact her family from abroad and an expert helps us understand Syria's new gover...