Newshour

US Vice President J.D. Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference. As Ukraine’s President Zelensky warns about Vladimir Putin’s European ambitions, is Europe now on its own when it comes to defence? Also in the programme: why did six federal prosecutors resign in protest in New York and D.C. yesterday? And the study explaining why humans feel there IS a separate stomach for pudding. (IMAGE: US Vice President JD Vance speaks during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, Germany, 14 February 2025 / CREDIT: Ronald Wittek/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has accused President Trump of appeasing Russia over Ukraine. Newshour hears from NATO's former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Gen. Sir. Richard Shirreff. Also in the programme: Israel's hostage families speak of captivity ordeal; and the rise of Germany's AFD. (Picture: U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth holds a press conference during a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels. credit: Reuters)

European countries are left reeling after Donald Trump cuts them out of negotiations with Russia over Ukraine: we speak to Estonia's foreign minister, and hear from Kyiv on how Ukraine sees its future. Also in the programme: unearthing a major piece of Roman history in an office basement in London; and we get the latest after a man drives a car into a crowd in Munich. (IMAGE: Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna speaks to the media as he attends Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 27 January 2025 / CREDIT: Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Donald Trump has announced that talks to end the war in Ukraine will start immediately. The US President had 'a lengthy and highly productive' phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a call to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky. We hear from a former NATO Deputy Secretary General and a Ukrainian MP about the path going forward. Also in our programme: is the United States in the midst of a constitutional crisis? And we hear about a historic raid targetting the Sicilian mafia. (Photo: US President Trump Welcomes Released Russian Prisoner Mark Fogel. Credit: Shutterstock)

The new US defence secretary has delivered an uncompromising message to Ukraine three years after Russia's full-scale invasion began, saying Nato membership is unrealistic. We get a response from Ukraine's former prime minister. Also on the programme: A BBC investigation has uncovered allegations that the energy giant Shell ignored repeated warnings that a one-billion-dollar clean-up operation of polluted land in southern Nigeria has been beset by problems and corruption and why a Dublin city councillor is campaigning for the removal of key lockboxes. (Photo: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on the eve of a Nato defence ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 February, 2025. Credit: Johanna Geron/Reuters)

American schoolteacher and former diplomat Marc Fogel has been released from prison in Russia and is on the way home to the US. The sixty-three year old teacher was detained in 2021 after he was found to be carrying a small amout of medical marijuana. He was then given a fourteen year prison sentence. Newshour speaks to his sister, Anne Fogel. Also in the programme: Donald Trump faces Jordan's King Abdullah in The White House in their first meeting since the US president proposed moving Gaza's population to Jordan; the European Union says it will respond "fimly" to Trump's new proposed steel tariffs while also adding the EU is committed to finding a mutually beneficial solution; and mounting concerns over the Covid-19 whistleblower's health in a Chinese prison as reports suggests she's on hungar strike. (Photo: Marc Fogel (right) pictured with his sisters. Credit: Anne Fogel)

As the Gaza ceasefire comes under increasing strain, the King of Jordan prepares for a tough meeting in the White House with President Donald Trump insisting Jordan, like Egypt, should make room for two million evicted Gazans. Also on the programme: at an international summit on Artificial Intelligence in Paris, the UK and the US refuse to sign the final communique; and we will hear from the governor of Kentucky on how his state could be caught in a new international trade war. (Photo: Palestinians make their way after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near Gaza City, February 9, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

The Palestinian militant group accused Israel of "delaying the return of displaced persons to northern Gaza", "targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Strip", and of breaching the agreement on aid supplies. In response, Israel accused Hamas of a "complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages." Also on the programme: A global AI summit has kicked off in Paris- we'll hear from one of French President Emmanuel Macron's tech advisers; and we'll speak to Oscar-nominated actor Renée Zellweger on her reprise of the character of Bridget Jones for the film Mad About The Boy. (Photo: Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, attends a protest in Tel Aviv in support of the hostages kidnapped during the October 7th attacks in Israel on February 10, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Shir Torem)

President Trump has said he'll announce further tariffs on America’s trading partners in the coming days, including a 25% charge on all steel and aluminium imports. We'll hear from the country most exposed - Canada. Also on the programme: Can an Artificial Intelligence summit in Paris deliver new global rules; and the East Jerusalem bookshop raided by Israeli police, and its owners in court, over disrupting public order. One of their brothers says it's an assault on free speech. (File Picture: Workers weld steel at Steelcon, a structural steel design and fabrication company, January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)

Israeli forces have withdrawn from a military zone cutting off northern Gaza from the rest of the territory, allowing hundreds of Palestinians to return home. The Netzarim Corridor had effectively cut the Gaza strip in two, trapping hundreds of thousands of people in the south. Meanwhile, Israeli negotiators have returned to Qatar to continue talks on the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. We speak to our correspondent in the region as well as an analyst on Middle Eastern conflict resolution. Also on the programme: An expert on human trafficking in Libya takes us through the motivations of smugglers, after the bodies of more than 50 migrants were found in a mass grave in the south-east of the country; and Donald Trump expected to make history as the first sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl. (Picture: Palestinians travel from the southern Gaza Strip towards the north following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim Corridor, central Gaza Strip Credit: Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Israeli forces withdraw from a corridor bisecting the Gaza Strip - will they now commit to pulling out of Gaza entirely? We hear from an Israeli government minister. Also in the programme: President Trump accuses South Africa of seeking to seize white-owned land with a new law - we ask the minister responsible if that's true; and the joys of going to a concert in the dark. (IMAGE: Palestinians wait to cross through a checkpoint run by U.S. and Egyptian security contractors after Israeli forces withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor, allowing people to travel in both directions between southern and northern Gaza, February 9, 2025 / CREDIT: Reuters / Dawoud Abu Alkas)

The Red Cross says it's uncomfortable with the way the exchange of hostages for prisoners under the Gaza deal is handled. It's urged both sides to conduct future exchanges in a private and dignified way. Also in the programme: Why Baltic nations are only now joining the European energy grid – we hear from Latvia’s energy minister; and a Spanish member of the European Parliament tells us why the new Patriots Group of radical parties of the right believe they can change Europe. (Photo: Hamas fighters escort Ohad Ben-Ami, one of the three Israeli hostages released today, onto the stage before handing them over to the Red Cross. Credit: Haitham Imad / Shutterstock)

Three more Israeli hostages are released in Gaza: we hear from the brother-in-law of one of the hostages and about the medical challenges that lie ahead. Also in the programme: African leaders call for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and as the Trump administration slashes the 'indirect' element of all National Institute of Health grants, how will this affect medical science in the US? (IMAGE: Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are released by Hamas militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025 / CREDIT: Reuters/Hatem Khaled)

Dozens of countries have expressed "unwavering support" for the International Criminal Court (ICC) after US President Trump imposed sanctions on its staff. We'll hear from a leading French politician. Also on the programme: Meeting violence with violence - critics say that the crackdown on crime by Ecuador's President has eroded human rights, but the security forces defend the approach; and the similarity between whales song and human speech astonishes scientists. (Photo: The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands. Credit: Reuters / Piroschka van de Wouw)

In a social media post earlier today, US President Donald Trump seemed to double down on claims his country would fight to control the territory of Gaza. He had also suggested recently at a press conference that Palestinians should leave the region and be taken in by neighbouring nations. We explore to what extent a US takeover of Gaza would be in violation of international law. Also on the programme: A US immigration lawyer weighs in on whether President Trump can end birth-right citizenship, after the US leader tried to have the constitutional right rescinded; new findings on where Indo-European languages originated; and the launch of lab-grown meat for dogs in a world first. (Photo: Demonstrators attend a protest against US President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, in front of the US consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, 6th February 2025. Credit: Umit Bektas/REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump has restated his plan for a US takeover of the Gaza Strip, after his idea was rejected by Palestinians and leaders around the world on Wednesday. Writing on social media, Trump said Gaza, "would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting." We speak to a former foreign minister of Jordan about the idea and an Israeli politician. Also in the programme: European Union scientists say the world has just experienced the hottest January on record; and reggae legend Bob Marley's birthday. He would have been 80 today. (Photo: The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US President Donald Trump during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, 04 February 2025. Credit: Photo by Shawn Thew /POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

We hear from a resident of Gaza who gives her reaction to Donald Trump's announcement that he wants to take over Gaza and move out the 2m people living there while it's redeveloped; also on the programme, are President Trump's orders to shut down a federal agency and fire federal employees legal; and the legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath say they'll play their final concert in July. How influential were they? (Picture: Palestinian children repair a portion of a building destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza. Credit: Reuters/Hatem Khaled)

There's been international condemnation of plans by US President Donald Trump to seize control of Gaza. He said he wants the US to take a "long-term ownership position" and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", while Palestinians could be resettled in other countries. We have reactions from a Palestinian representative in London and a former Israeli official. Also in the programme: The spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims worldwide, the Aga Khan, has died in Portugal at the age of eighty- eight; and the new study which shows people usually feel their best in the mornings. (Picture: US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington on 4th February, 2025. Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Israeli PM has said that this shows how close the bond is between the two countries and the two men. But is that really so? Also on the programme: Sweden experiences the worst mass shooting in its history as ten people are killed in the central city of Örebro; and we hear from Pokrovsk in Ukraine; a place only two kilometres from the Russian forces. (Image: Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carry flags, in Washington. Credit: Reuters / Nishimura)

China is retaliating against US tariffs by restricting exports on a group of rare metals crucial to defence and other industries. Also, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet with president Trump for talks in Washington later today. And Spain's scientists search for solutions to a fungus that ravages valuable olive crops. (Photo credit: REU)