Newshour

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)

A journalist in Khan Younis tells Newshour that the ground has been shaking because of the intensity of the bombardment. Also on the programme: how a North Korean family risked everything to defect to the South earlier this year; we speak to Colombia's environment minister about her plans to move away from fossil fuels; and is it time to stop professional golfers hitting the ball so far? (Photo: Palestinians react as they check the damage at the site of Israeli strikes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Credit: Reuters/Ahmed Zakot)

Israel says it's had "the most intense day" of fighting since its ground operation began in late October. The Israel Defense Force says its troops are in "the heart of Khan Younis" after bombarding the southern city overnight. We'll hear from one of Israel's staunchest supporters in the US Congress. Also in the programme: As the UK signs a treaty with Rwanda to find a new way to deal with asylum-seekers, can the Rwandan government allay fears over its human rights record?; and the regime-backed phenomenon that's sweeping football in Turkmenistan. Photo shows people reacting following Israeli strikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on 5 December 2023. Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

The World Health Organisation says the situation in Gaza is getting worse by the hour, with bombardments by Israeli forces around Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza. But the head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee tell us that Israel is not trying to force everyone out of the Gaza Strip. Also in the programme: the Nigerian president has called for an investigation into the deaths of at least 85 civilians after an army drone accidentally struck a village; and we speak to a scientist who is studying the world's biggest iceberg. (Picture: An Israeli artillery unit operates at the border with Gaza. Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

As Israel intensifies its offensive in southern Gaza, the US says it sees an improvement in the way which Israel is narrowing its targets. A resident of a southern Gazan city tells us it doesn't feel that way. We will also hear questions asked about the UN's response to the evidence of widespread sexual violence in the Hamas attacks. And why, at the UN climate summit, a poet young is trying to make some noise. Photo: A woman feeds a baby as Palestinians, who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes, shelter at a United Nations-run school, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 4, 2023. Credit: Reuters.

As Israel mounts a ground offensive against Hamas in southern Gaza, a surgeon at a hospital in Khan Younis says it has more than 360 people on the operating list, which is "impossible to deal with", and supplies of anaesthetics and painkillers are running out. Also in the programme: a Ugandan climate activist tells us that she is sceptical about change at the COP28 summit in Dubai; and voters in Venezuela have overwhelmingly approved its claim to territory in neighbouring Guyana, although the turnout in the referendum was low. (Photo: A Palestinian boy reacts after he was rushed to hospital following an Israeli strike at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Credit: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

With the collapse of the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, Southern Gaza has again become the focus of the Israeli military's offensive. As the language from the aid agencies still working in southern Gaza is becoming increasingly desperate, we hear from UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder. Also in the programme: Venezuela is holding a controversial referendum, where the government wants voters to support its claim to a large part of neighbouring Guyana; and we hear from a Welsh man who kept a live bomb as a garden ornament. (Picture: Israeli tank in southern Gaza Credit: Getty Images)

Ministers from more than 60 countries are meeting at the UN climate conference in Dubai to discuss the health challenges posed by global warming. It is the first time the agenda of the annual event has dedicated an entire day to public health. Also in the programme: Israel concentrates its renewed offensive on the south of the Gaza Strip; and we hear about the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela. (Picture: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Credit: MARTIN DIVISEK/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Hamas has said there will be no more hostage exchanges until a permanent ceasefire is in place. Also on the programme: governments and oil companies at COP 28 have signed a pledge to triple the use of renewable energy by the end of the decade. And we mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary opera singer Maria Callas. (Picture: Rockets fired at the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Credit: Getty Images)

The Palestinian Red Crescent says the first humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza since a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed on Friday. About fifty vehicles are reported to have been allowed through the Rafah crossing. Aid agencies say there's still a desperate shortage of supplies. Also in the programme: We get the latest from the annual climate summit and ask to climate activists who have broken the law to support their cause; and we hear from the veteran feminist Gloria Steinem. (Photo: Palestinians travel toward safer areas to avoid air strikes. Credit: EPA)

Fighting has resumed in Gaza after the seven-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended. We ask a member of Hamas politburo about the reasons for the end of the temporary ceasefire and about the remaining hostages. Also in the programme: world leaders agree to tackle the huge carbon footprint of food and agriculture; and how penguins have perfected the “power nap”. (Photo: Israeli soldiers ride in an armoured personnel carrier (APC), after a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas expired. Credit: Reuters.)

The UN's Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has told the BBC the war in Gaza's resumption after a humanitarian pause is "a mistake". Ms Albanese has been an outspoken critic of Israeli treatment of Palestinians for years. Both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict have blamed each other for the resumption of hostilities in Gaza. Deadly fighting restarted immediately after the seven-day truce had expired. We'll hear from our correspondent in the south of Israel, where the resumption of explosions in Gaza is clearly visible and a senior advisor to the Israeli prime minister about why they have resumed hostilities. Also in the programme: We'll hear the latest from Dubai where the second day of the UN's annual climate change conference is taking place and the head of the UN has a stark warning for the hosts, the UAE, one of the biggest oil producers in the world; and our royal correspondent tells us about anger at Buckingham Palace over the naming of two senior royals alleged to have made racist comments. (Photo shows smoke rising over Gaza following an Israeli strike, as seen from southern Israel on 1 December 2023. Credit: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the "loss and damage" fund was essential to delivering climate justice to the most vulnerable. The first pledges -- after a three-decade campaign -- amount to a few hundred million dollars. Also in the programme: the legacy of the late US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Chile; and the lead singer of the Anglo-Irish band The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, has died at the age of 65. (Photo: UAE chief climate negotiator for COP28, Hana al-Hashimi, during the climate change conference 2023, Dubai. Credit: EFE)

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who played a pivotal and polarising role in US foreign policy during the Cold War, has died at the age of 100. He served as America's top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Despite leaving office in the mid-1970s, he continued to be consulted by generations of leaders for decades. We'll hear about his impact on international relations. Also in the programme: The world's most important climate talks have just got underway in the United Arab Emirates; and how the genetic data of half a million people in the UK could help scientists around the world them understand diseases and find new treatments. (Photo shows Henry Kissinger on a visit to China in January 2012. Credit: David Gray/Reuters)

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

What it's like to hold your mother, freed after fifty days of being held hostage? We speak to Noam Sagi, reunited with his 75 year old mother Ada last night. We get the latest on the ceasefire and the negotiations from our correspondent in Jerusalem. Also in the programme: a mass trial of pro-democracy activists resumes in Hong Kong. And why Finland is about to close its last border crossing with Russia. (IMAGE: Israeli hostage Ada Sagi in an ambulance after getting out of an Israeli army helicopter at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer neighbourhood in Ramat Gan, Israel, 28 November 2023. Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire mediated by Qatar, the USA, and Egypt, which came into effect on 24 November and includes a deal for the release of people held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons / CREDIT: EPA/ABIR SULTAN)

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)