Newshour BBC Podcasts

Israel has told tens of thousands more Palestinians to leave Rafah, as it intensifies military operations in southern Gaza. Flyers dropped from the air and posts on social media told residents in the city’s eastern districts go to al-Mawasi, a narrow coastal area which Israel calls an ‘’expanded humanitarian zone’’. We hear from Jerusalem and Rafah.
Also on the programme: Flash floods in Afghanistan claim the lives of hundreds; and reflections on the illustrious career of The Beach Boys.
(Picture: Internally displaced Palestinians leave Rafah after Israeli evacuation order Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Israeli military has ordered another evacuation of tens of thousands more Palestinians from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Residents of eastern districts of the city were told to go to al-Mawasi, a narrow coastal area designated as a humanitarian zone by Israel. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, told the BBC that the area had no running water or proper sanitation.

Also in the programme: More than 150 people killed in flash floods in the north of Afghanistan; and a solar storm produces spectacular lightshows in many parts of the world.

(Photo: A Palestinian boy sits atop a vehicle loaded with belongings as he flees Rafah, after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of the southern Gaza City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, May 11, 2024. Credit: Reuters/Hatem Khaled)

President Zelensky says Russian forces have launched a surprise cross-border attack into Ukrainian territory near the city of Kharkiv. We hear from Kharkiv MP Mariia Mezentseva.
Also in the programme: BBC tracks downs a notorious people smuggler; and free wine hidden in the small print.
(Picture: At least two injured, including child, in Russian missile strike in Ukraine's Kharkiv. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A BBC investigation has located one of Europe's most wanted people smugglers in Iraq. Barzan Majeed, nicknamed the Scorpion, admitted trafficking thousands of people, knowing it was illegal and dangerous. He is still operating, after being deported from the United Kingdom eight years ago.
Also in the programme: UNWRA closes it headquarters in Jerusalem following attacks; and why the future of the African penguin is threatened with extinction.
(Picture: Barzan Majeed. Credit: BBC)

Israeli tanks mass near the southern Gazan city of Rafah - as tens of thousands flee the area. Meanwhile US President Joe Biden faces fierce criticism at home for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel.
Also in the programme: a BBC investigation uncovers evidence that police in Saudi Arabia were authorised to kill people resisting the vast and controversial Neom development project. And we hear about Ukraine's plans to recruit prisoners for the frontline, after Russia's convict recruitment programme attracted widespread disapproval.
(IMAGE: Israeli military vehicles are seen near the Israel-Gaza Border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in southern Israel, May 9, 2024 / CREDIT: Reuters / Amir Cohen)

A British girl born deaf can now hear unaided after a ground-breaking gene-therapy treatment. Opal Sandy was treated shortly before her first birthday and six months on can hear sounds as soft as a whisper and is starting to talk. Opal is part of a trial recruiting patients in the UK, US and Spain.

Also in the programme: the advocacy group Human Rights Watch has accused Sudan's Rapid Support Force of possible genocide in the city of El Geneina in Darfur; and US president Joe Biden has issued his strongest warning yet to Israel against launching a full-scale military assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.

Picture: Opal Sandy, who has received a ground-breaking so that she can hear unaided, reads with her mother Jo at their home. Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)