Newshour BBC Podcasts

An Israeli deadline looms for Hamas to respond to its offer of a ceasefire in return for the release of some hostages. We hear from Israeli politician Ohad Tal who is with the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism party.
Also in the programme; US senator Bernie Sanders; and Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling on the Fall Guy
(Picture: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with the families of the hostages outside of a hotel, in Tel Aviv. Credit: Reuters)

Chaotic scenes on US university campuses after police raid a sit-in protest at Columbia University in New York making more than 100 arrests, and violence breaks out between rival demonstrators at UCLA in Los Angeles.
Also in the programme: protestors in the Georgian capital Tbilisi clash with riot police as a proposed new law polarises opinion between pro EU and pro Russian elements; could this have far wider consequences? And we reflect on the life of American novelist Paul Auster who has died.
(IMAGE: CHP officers put on their gear amid clashes near an encampment (not pictured) by supporters of Palestinians in Gaza, on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 1, 2024 / CREDIT: Reuters / David Swanson)

Binyamin Natanyahu reaffirms his intention to send troops to Rafah; UN Secretary-General says such an assault would be devastating. We unpick the latest developments, including speculation about a possible ceasefire deal, with analyst Ya'akov Katz.
Also in the programme: Donald Trump is fined for contempt of court; and a Finnish cyber-criminal is jailed for trying to blackmail thousands of people with their confidential psychotherapy notes.
(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 18, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun//File Photo)

Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University in New York City have escalated their protest over the war in Gaza by occupying an academic building. Also on the programme: we speak to New Yorkers as their city is set to become the first in America to adopt a congestion charge; And a BBC investigation uncovers chilling details of an Iranian teenager's death in detention.
(Photo: Protestors link arms to barricade themselves in Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, in New York city. Credit: REUTERS)

Western diplomats have expressed 'cautious optimism' over a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Our Gaza reporter and an Israeli journalist tell us more about the negotiations in Cairo.
We also speak to the family of one of the hostages still being held captive in Gaza and we hear about the realities of reporting from the territory.
Also in the programme: women in Amsterdam win the right to 'urination equality'; and the twelve-sided Roman mystery object that has been baffling experts for centuries.
(Photo: U.S.Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks to the U.S.-Arab meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Credit: REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein / Pool)

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is talking up an Israeli offer to Hamas – does this mean Israel and Hamas are on the verge of a new deal to pause hostilities? We also hear about the perils of being a journalist in Gaza.
Also in the programme: Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he'll stay on, despite allegations about his family; and Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on competing freedoms and the dangers of neoliberalism.
(IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the World Economic Forum's special meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 29 Apr 2024
CREDIT: Deepu Das/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)