Newshour BBC Podcasts

An independent review of the UN's operations in Gaza says it needs to improve its neutrality. We ask the head of the review whether countries that suspended donations because of Israeli allegations should resume them.
Also on the programme: US prosecutors have accused Donald Trump of a conspiracy over hush money paid to a porn actress at the start of his criminal trial in New York; and we speak to the first woman to run the London Marathon topless to deliberately show the scars from her double mastectomy.
(Photo: Catherine Colonna, Chair of the Independent Review of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The head of Israel's military intelligence has resigned over his role in failing to stop the Hamas attacks on October the seventh. Aharon Haliva is the highest-ranking official to step down over the assault, in which about twelve hundred people were killed and more than two hundred others abducted. He said his department had not lived up to the task it was entrusted with.
Also in the programme: we look at the impact of Hindu nationalism with our Newshour's correspondent Jamie Coomarasamy reporting from the city of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh; and we hear why senior officials in Milan want to ban afterhours ice-cream.
(Photo: Maj Gen Aharon Haliva (L), Gaza in December 2024 Credit: IDF)

In a bonus episode from Delhi, James Coomarasamy explores identity and politics in India as the country conducts the world’s biggest election. He’s joined by journalists Divya Arya and Rajesh Joshi.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa is seeking support for tough measures to tackle gang violence, including plans for armed forces to work alongside police. We hear from Quito on the day of the vote, and ask how one of the safest countries in South America ended up with the region's highest recorded murder rate.
Also in the programme: the ultra-orthodox battalion of the Israeli Defence Forces that may face US sanctions; and new plans in France to revitalise the national cuisine.
(Photo: People wait in line to vote in a referendum proposed by Ecuador's government in Quito, Ecuador, Credit: Jose Jacome/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's recent lack of air defence systems has been blamed for Russian forces capturing hundreds more square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. So what difference will the aid make? We speak a defence analyst and get reaction from the capital, Kyiv.
Also on the programme: Newshour’s James Coomarasamy asks if India can stick to its ambitious plans to tackle climate change and develop renewable energy sources; and we ask if the government of Sierra Leone is serious about tackling the drug, called kush, which is devastating the country’s youth?
Photo: Supporters of Ukraine wave US and Ukrainian flags outside the US Capitol after the House approved aid packages to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

After months of wrangling, US politicians have agreed on a 60-billion-dollar aid package for war-torn Ukraine. We hear reaction from an MP for Ukraine's governing party and a former advisor to the US Republican Party.
Also in the programme: the Zambian foreign minister explains why his country is seeking international aid to help deal with an unprecedented drought; and the courageous man who rescued hundreds of people during ethnic killings in the West Darfur region of Sudan.
(PHOTO: Supporters of Ukraine wave US and Ukrainian flags outside the US Capitol after the House approved foreign aid packages to Ukraine. CREDIT: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)