Newshour

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

Forty- one construction workers trapped for seventeen days inside a collapsed road tunnel in northern India are now being rescued; our correspondent is at the site in Uttarakhand. We ask an an earth scientist what lessons should be learned. Also in the programme: the truce between Israel and Hamas enters a fifth day, with more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners due to be released. We hear from the ICRC, at the heart of the handover. Plus the first transatlantic flight fuelled entirely by reprocessed waste, and a spat between the British and Greek prime ministers. (IMAGE: Local villagers watch the site of a tunnel on the Brahmakal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, 28 November 2023. 41 workers became trapped after an under-construction tunnel collapsed on 12 November 2023 / CREDIT: EPA / Abhyudaya Kotnala)

Qatar says Israel and Hamas have agreed to a two-day extension to the current truce. We hear from senior Israeli and Palestinian figures. Also in the programme: UAE’s plans to use its role as the COP28 host to strike oil deals; and historian Serhii Plokhy on whether the West has forgotten about the war in Ukraine. (Picture: Palestinians walk among the rubble, amid the temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, at Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Salem)

A fourth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners scheduled for today while efforts continue to secure an extension of the truce. We hear from Likud MK Boaz Bismuth. Also in the programme: New Zealand cancels smoking ban; and Booker prize winning author Paul Lynch. (Picture: Avihai Brodutch hugs his children Oria Brodutch, 4, and Ofri Brodutch, 10, and wife Hagar Brodutch after being reunited with them in Israel on November 26. Credit: REUTERS/3rd Party)

Hamas has said it's seeking to extend the four day truce with Israel that has seen dozens of hostages released from Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners. President Biden has also said that his goal is to keep the pause in the fighting in Gaza going beyond Monday, so that all captives can be brought home. We will get the latest from our correspondent in Jerusalem. Also in the programme: a nationwide curfew is still in place in Sierra Leone after armed men attacked the armoury of a military barracks in the capital Freetown; and the winner of this year's Booker Prize for fiction is set to be announced. (Picture; Israeli scout hold Israeli flags as they gather outside the Schneider Children's Medical Center waiting for released hostages. Credit: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Sierra Leone has been placed under a nationwide curfew as armed men broke into a prison, setting inmates free. We are live in the capital Freetown with our correspondent Umaru Fofana and we speak to the Information Minister. Also in the programme: the latest on the hostages in the Israel Gaza conflict- including the elated mother of a Thai captive, just released; and the women who could be the last shepherdesses of the Pakistani mountains. (Photo: Hooded armed men in military fatigues stand on a street after unidentified gunmen attacked military barracks and attempted to break into an armoury in Freetown, Sierra Leone November 26, 2023. Reuters/Umaru Fofana)

Another 13 Israeli hostages and several foreign nationals held in Gaza have been handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross. An earlier delay to the release of the hostages was resolved following mediation with Egypt and Qatar. We hear from our correspondent in Jerusalem, and voices on the ground. Also on the programme, we hear how the civil war in Sudan has been over shadowed by events in the Middle East, and the war in Ukraine; how the El Nino weather pattern is causing this year to be the hottest on record, and a rare book owned by Jane Austen goes to auction. (Photo: A boy looks at placards as people wait for news of hostages to be released by Hamas. Credit: Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko)

Israeli authorities say 14 hostages held by Hamas will be released on Saturday, the second day of a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Meanwhile, aid is being allowed into Gaza.137 lorries carrying medical supplies, fuel and food entered from Egypt. We'll hear from the UN's Palestinian agency on what Gazans need most during this temporary reprieve. Also in the programme: Russian authorities are limiting access to abortions in an attempt to confront the country's longstanding demographic crisis; and the killing of a young woman in Italy has prompted a reckoning about violence against women. (Picture: Palestinians gather to fill liquid gas cylinders during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Israel says 24 hostages released by Hamas in Gaza are all in good health and are having medical tests in Israel, before they're reunited with their families. We hear from the brother of a female hostage still to be released. Also in the programme: the mystery cosmic ray; and Joan Armatrading's new symphony. (Picture: Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel are handed over by Hamas militants to the International Red Cross. Credit: REUTERS)

As part of a temporary ceasefire deal with Israel, 39 Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails are due to then be released to the West Bank. Also on the programme: there is shock in Ireland as far-right rioters trash parts of central Dublin; and the former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is granted parole by a South African court. (Image: People look at an installation which shows the pictures of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 24 November 2023. Credit: Reuters/Zvulun )

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

Qatar has announced that the four-day halt to fighting in Gaza agreed by Israel and Hamas will begin on Friday morning. A foreign ministry spokesman in Doha, Majed Al-Ansari, said humanitarian aid would start to be delivered as soon as possible. He said 13 hostages abducted by Hamas would be released later on Friday, along with a number of Palestinians released from detention in Israel. Also in the programme: Victory for the far-right in Dutch elections; and reports of an outbreak of pneumonia in China. (Picture: Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Credit: Getty Images)

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal to release 50 hostages being held in Gaza during a four-day pause in fighting. Hamas says 150 Palestinian women and teenagers will be released from Israeli jails under the deal. The start of the pause will be announced in the next 24 hours - if successful it will be the first break in fighting since 7 October. We'll hear from a former senior Qatari diplomat about the role his country played in bringing about the agreement and also from a family member of one of the hostages held in Gaza since the start of the conflict about their feeling on the situation. Also in the programme: What the return of a fired and re-hired artificial intelligence boss means for the future of the technology; and why South Africa's parliament has voted to close the Israeli embassy and suspend all diplomatic relations with the country. (Photo shows a man holding an Israeli flag with the date of 7 October 2023 on it during a demonstration to demand the liberation of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel on 21 November 2023. Credit: Amir Cohen/REUTERS)

We hear from the father of a nine year-old girl believed to be held by Hamas and we look at what a deal would mean for the next stage of the war. A senior Palestinian official also outlines his plans to govern Gaza. Also on the programme: Can elections in the Netherlands launch a new era in politics? And the Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler on auctioning his mighty guitar collection. (Photo: A person calls for a deal to release people kidnapped by Hamas, near the The Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, 24 October 2023 Credit: ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The leader of Hamas earlier said they were close to reaching a "truce agreement" with Israel, raising hopes of a pause in hostilities that could see hostages freed. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that they "are making progress" on the release of hostages snatched by Hamas on 7 October and taken to Gaza. We'll speak to a senior advisor to the Israeli government and hear how Qatar has huge influence negotiating in the Hamas-Israel war. Also in the programme: A rediscovered BBC interview with the mysterious artist known as Banksy on his art and reaction from the public to it; and we'll hear about the debates at the heart of the OpenAI stand-off. (Photo shows smoke rising after Israeli air strikes in Gaza on 21 November 2023. Credit: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Thirty-one premature Palestinian babies were evacuated from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has described as a "death zone". We hear the latest on Gaza from the BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem and from Gil Dickmann, one of the relatives of those Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. Also on the programme: Open revolt at OpenAI as hundreds threaten to resign after the firing of the tech company's co-founder Sam Altman. And we hear about the strategies that Argentina's new radical right wing president could employ to mend a broken economy. (Photo: Medics treat premature Palestinian babies evacuated from Gaza at the New Administrative Capital (NAC) in the east of Cairo Credit: Egyptian Health Ministry/via REUTERS)

Argentines have elected far-right outsider Javier Milei, 53, as their new president. The radical newcomer's victory has been described as "a political earthquake". Mr Milei has promised drastic changes, which include ditching the local currency, the peso, for the US dollar and "blowing up" the central bank in order to prevent it from printing more money, which he argues is driving inflation. We'll analyse the political and economic effects of his win. Also in the programme: Why there are international calls to curb violence in the occupied West Bank as a result of the the Israel-Hamas war; and we'll hear the extraordinary journey of the "Amazing Grace" hymn. (Photo shows Argentina's president-elect Javier Milei addressing supporters in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 19 November 2023. Credit: Agustin Marcarian/Reuters)

Thirty-one premature Palestinian babies have been evacuated from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital. The babies have been taken to an Emirati hospital in the southern town of Rafah, close to the Egyptian border. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society explains to Newshour how the delicate evacuation was completed. Also in the programme: polls have closed in Argentina to decide who will lead the country for the next four years; and an outspoken pro-war Russian blogger says he wants to challenge Vladimir Putin in next year's presidential elections. (Picture: Premature babies evacuated from Al Shifa Hospital receiving treatment in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture credit: Reuters)

Most of the patients and medical staff have had to leave al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, as the situation there deteriorates. An international team of health and humanitarian workers - led by the World Health Organisation - was able to make a short visit to the hospital, Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, who's WHO regional director, speaks to Newshour about what they found. Also in the programme: Queues of trucks have built up on Poland’s border with Ukraine due to a protest by Polish truckers; and we get the latest on the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia. Picture: A humanitarian assessment team led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) visits Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza, November 18. Picture credit: WHO/Handout via REUTERS