Newshour BBC Podcasts

The United Nations says half the people of Gaza are starving and nine out of ten can’t eat every day. We speak to Carl Skau from the UN World Food Programme. He says nothing could have prepared him for the 'fear, chaos and despair' he is witnessing in Gaza. We speak to a senior surgeon about the anguish of not being able to feed his own family.
Also in the programme: life for refugees in Rwanda as the British government grapples with legal challenges to its controversial scheme to deport asylum seekers there; and the UN declares that Italian opera will be added to its Cultural Heritage list.
(Photo: Palestinians search the rubble of destroyed homes as Israel continues to strike Gaza, Deir Al Balah. Credit: Saber / EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has accused the United States of being complicit in war crimes, after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in the territory says more than seventeen thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed since October the seventh.
Also: Zimbabweans vote in controversial by-elections; EU agrees landmark deal on regulation of artificial intelligence; and a report about why the demand for Star Wars' collectables still going strong, decades after the films' release.
(Photo: Wounded children at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis today. Credit: Reuters)

The head of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has urged members of the Security Council to vote for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, saying the territory is at breaking point.
Also in the programme: we speak to one of the Lebanese journalists who survived an Israeli strike across the Israel-Lebanon border; and the Scottish cheesemaker who may have developed one of the world's smelliest cheeses – the Minger.
(Picture: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting. Credit: JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The row over antisemitism on some of America’s most prestigious university campuses – we’ll hear from a Harvard rabbi who resigned his post after a controversial appearance by the college’s president on a Congressional committee.
Also on the programme – Vladimir Putin to run again for president; the existential threat climate change poses to small island states; and crowds of well-wishers and celebrities turn out in Dublin for the funeral procession of the Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan.
(Image: Harvard President Claudine Gay. Credit: Oliver / EPA)

The United States and Guyana announce joint military exercises after the president of Venezuela threatens to take part of Guyana’s territory. Nicolas Maduro claimed the oil-rich region of Essequibo after holding a referendum on annexation. Brazil has deployed extra troops along its border with Venezuela. We hear from Venezuela’s attorney general and a former US ambassador to Guyana.
Also on the programme: is anywhere in Gaza safe from Israeli bombardment? We hear from a woman in a UN shelter in Khan Younis. And a surreal encounter between our Russia editor and the former Austrian foreign minister who defected to Moscow.
(Picture: Two United States Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jets Credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

Civilians struggle to escape intense fighting in southern Gaza as Israeli forces go after the Hamas leadership including its Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar; what would his death mean?
Also on the programme: we hear from the Seychelles after a huge explosion on the main island; and a surreal encounter between our Russia editor and the former Austrian foreign minister who is close friends with Vladimir Putin.
(IMAGE: Smoke rises over Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, December 7, 2023. CREDIT: REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha)