Newshour

At least 68 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a Spanish high-speed train collided with another train south of the capital Madrid. Spain's transport minister says an "inexplicable" decision by the control centre led to the collision after a computer failure initially caused trains to halt.Also on the programme: a day after Israel's election produced no clear winner, will Israeli Arab parties be crucial to forming a government? And Flavio Bolsonaro has landed in the United States after fleeing Brazil. (Photo: Rescue personnel work at the site of the collision of two high-speed trains between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, near Toledo, Spain, October 28, 2026. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura)

Votes are still being counted in Israel's election - but with no clear winner still, the parties look to negotiate coalition deals.We'll hear from the parties vying for power and those who could be kingmaker.Also in the programme: A train collision in Spain kills at least 30 people near the capital Madrid - we'll bring you the latest from the scene; the cruise of a lifetime turns into a nightmare with passengers stranded in Cambodia after the company runs out of cash; and Hollywood actor Michael Douglas looks back on his career, reflecting on life as a nepo baby.(Photo shows Israeli prime minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gesturing after exit polls in Jerusalem on 28 October 2026. Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

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

Election officials in Israel say early turnout in the first general election since the Hamas attacks three years ago is the highest for more than half a century. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is hoping to extend his time in office after three years of warfare, called on Israelis to vote "the right way". His main challenger is the former military commander, Gadi Eisenkot, who urged voters to replace what he called the worst government in Israel's history. Also, King Charles visits the Bahamas, with the issue of reparations for slavery likely to be raised. Plus, the meme, the footballer and China. Why Kylian Mbappe has upset Beijing. And a localised ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump begins in a small Ukrainian town, occupied by Russia - can it bring much needed humanitarian assistance, to the few thousands residents trapped there?(Photo: An Israeli man, accompanied by a boy, votes at a polling station during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, 27 October, 2026. Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has refused to concede Brazil's presidential election and says he will dispute the result. His opponent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to govern for all Brazilians after winning his fourth non-consecutive term. We hear from supporters of both candidates.Also in the programme; artificial intelligence giant Anthropic has revealed details of its business ahead of its much anticipated IPO; and we'll focus on the race for a senate seat in Michigan ahead of next week's midterm elections in the United States. (Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro speaks after losing the presidential runoff election, in Brasilia, Brazil on October 25, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Adriano Machado)

Brazil's left-wing incumbent President Lula da Silva has won a record fourth term in office.The 80-year-old won a dramatic run-off victory against right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro, who has refused to concede defeat. We'll be discussing how the result has gone down in a divided country.Also in the programme: Serbia's long-standing leader Aleksandar Vucic has admitted defeat to a student-led protest movement in snap parliamentary elections; with elections tomorrow in Israel, we hear from an opposition politician; and why eating the Australian spread Vegemite isn't a human right.(Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrating after victory in the presidential runoff election, at Paulista Avenue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 26 October 2026. Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed public transport had been disrupted in some cities, while his opponent Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign claimed bad weather affected voters in a number of locations.The vote will now close two hours after they were originally scheduled to, but Supreme Court minister Cristiano Zanin says this only applies at polls where voting has not yet been finalised.Also on the programme: Aleksander Vucic - who has held a grip on power in Serbia for fourteen years - has admitted defeat in the general election; the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado has returned to the country after almost a year in exile; and we hear from one of the scientists have finally figured out why Roman glass buried for 2,000 years changes colour when light shines on it.(Photo: People attend the voting at a polling station during the Brazilian presidential runoff election, on the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil on October 25, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Diego Herculano)

We go to the West Bank city of Hebron where an Israeli military operation is underway. Residents are wondering what difference the Israeli elections on Tuesday might make. We also speak to an advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Also in the programme: Brazilians vote in a pivotal presidential run-off; and is the British Prime Minister Andy Burhnam opening a debate about the UK's possible membership of the EU?(Photo: Palestinians cross on foot past a military gate at an entrance to the West Bank city of Hebron, 25 October 2026, as the Israeli military enforced a closure on the city and surrounding villages for a third consecutive day. Credit: Atef Safadi, EPA/Shutterstock)

For a second week running, France has taken to the streets in protest about the cost of living. Most marches were peaceful but nearly one thousand people have been arrested and two have been seriously injured. Most clashes came as police dispersed crowds, including with teargas and water cannon. We hear from our Paris correspondent and a young French content creator.Also in the programme: a former Confucius Institute Director reacts to the US designation of China's cultural centres as threats to national security. And Hitler's former mountaintop retreat is gutted by fire.(Picture: A masked protester wearing a French flag throws a tear gas sub-munition amid clashes with French police during an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris as part of nationwide protests called by the "Yellow Vests" movement joined by French high school and university students against the cost of living and rising fuel prices, in France, October 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Israel has been bulldozing Palestinian homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, where two Israeli soldiers were killed on Friday. Local sources say about 250 families have been forcibly removed from their homes in the city. Earlier Israel announced a major military operation had begun in Hebron. The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised to destroy the neighbourhood where the gunmen involved came from. Also in the programme: Protests start across France as authorities try to prevent a repeat of last weekend's looting and violence; and Back to Black at 20: we hear from some of those who worked on singer Amy Winehouse's award-winning album.(Photo: Debris at the site of a shooting on Friday, after Israeli forces demolished Palestinian businesses in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, October 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma)

The Israeli military has begun demolishing Palestinian buildings in the city of Herbon, following the killing of two Israeli soldiers in an attack by two Palestinian gunmen. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanuahu has pledged to “destroy” the neighbourhood where the two attackers came from. We hear from a Palestinian resident who lives in the area.Also in the programme: the White House says that US First Lady Melania Trump has secured a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Olesky; and we hear from a man who witnessed the Hungarian Revolution, which began 70 years ago today. (Photo: Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian house following a shooting attack, in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 23rd October, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma)

The founder of India's Cockroach Janta Party Abhijeet Dipke speaks to Newshour, saying "brute force" should not be used against India's youth. He tells us Prime Minister Modi feels threatened by the student-led movement. Also in the programme: The BBC has found evidence that the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan systematically destroyed healthcare infrastructure during the paramilitary group's brutal campaign to capture the city of El Fasher; and treadmill or dreadmill... would you compete in a race to be a treadmill champion? (Photo: Abhijeet Dipke's youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has drawn thousands onto the streets in recent months. Credit: Getty Images)

The discovery of two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the programming language that underpins much of the internet, has led to governments and businesses taking down their websites to prevent hacks. We hear from the security engineer in residence for the organisation behind PHP, the PHP Foundation. Also on the programme: next week Israelis will go to the polls in the first elections since the October 7th attacks, but how do the country’s Palestinian citizens feel about the vote? And we ask whether a celebrated Scottish museum was right to withdraw an ancient Egyptian mummified head from display. (Picture: "Security Vulnerability" phrase and PHP code appears in this illustration taken October 22, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Ukraine's capital has come under a new missile attack, hours after Russia said it was "ready in principle" to resume peace talks and the US president said the world was "the closest we've been" to ending the war.Also on the programme, could Arab Israelis hold the balance of power in a new Israeli government? And why the iconic horses and carriages will be banned in the New York.(Photo: Aftermath of overnight Russian ballistic missiles attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, 22 Oct 2026. Credit: Maxym Marusenko EPA/Shutterstock)

The United States and Russia say they are ready to resume three-way peace talks with Ukraine. Earlier, Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher, who had been held in custody since 2022. We speak to Mr Hubbard's American lawyer, Martin De Luca.Also on the programme: the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control has urged countries to share information about Nigeria’s first confirmed case of Ebola; and we hear from one of France's leading public intellectuals, Edouard Louis, on the wider reasons behind the country's demonstrations. (US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Saint Petersburg Credit: Reuters)

The Kremlin says President Putin is ready in principle to resume three-way peace talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia in mid-November. But a Kremlin spokesperson said Ukrainian and European plans lacked substance.Also in the programme: How Mahvash Sabet, a prisoner from Iran's Baha'i religious minority wrote her memoir in prison; why the British government is giving the green light to more production of natural gas; and how will President Trump's deportation drive play in next month's midterm elections.(Photo credit: Getty Images)

After the Sudanese army is blamed for killing more than 300 civilians in two separate drone strikes, we hear how both adversaries and their backers are using the country as a 'laboratory for drone technology'.Also on the programme: US author Michael Lewis on his latest book "Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State", about career civil servants resisting the sweeping cuts sought by the short-lived Department for Government Efficiency; and a young Palestinian writer reflects on food in Italy, where she now studies, and back home in Gaza.(Photo: Medical workers treat injured people at Ameth Bek hospital after a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, 19 October 2026. Credit: Reuters/Medecins Sans Frontieres/Handout)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected as "scandalous" accusations that Ukrainians are dying because the US is withholding intelligence from Kyiv.He was speaking after President Zelensky's military technical adviser, Serhii Beskrestnov, told the BBC that the lack of reliable US warnings meant lives were being lost.Also in the programme: how many young Israelis appear to have tilted rightwards ahead of next week's election; how an AI tool can appear to predict cancer survival chances from a single selfie; and new research unlocks a Shakespearean mystery.(Photo shows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Mumbai, India on 20 October 2026. Credit: Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

A Kenyan court has found the doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 29 accomplices guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult. Also on the programme: the French government imposes overnight curfews in parts of central Paris and other major cities in a bid to end the violence and looting that has scarred France since Saturday; and as the western Canadian province of Alberta votes in a referendum on independence, we hear from one of the leaders of the separatist movement.(Photo: Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan cult leader accused of ordering his followers, who were members of the Good News International Church, to starve themselves to death in Shakahola forest, appears in court for his judgement at the Mombasa High Court, Kenya 19 October 2026. Credit: Reuters/Laban Walloga)

After a weekend of violent protests, the French prime minister has given some cities the power to impose curfews to try and bring order back to the streets. We hear from a French senator who is part of the Centrist Union Group.The United Nations World Food Programme is warning that funding for its operation in Gaza has fallen by half, warning that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will go hungry this winter. We hear from a resident in Gaza City.Also in the programme, the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan is hoping to travel to the planet - grab a sample - and be the first to make a return trip.(Photo: Police clash with protesters during second day of high cost-of-living protests in Paris, France, Oct 18, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock) Mohammed Badra,