With the Trump administration threatening to redirect America's foreign defence spending from Ukraine and Europe to other parts of the world, European leaders are grappling with what the future of their security could be without US support. Jonny Dymond is joined by the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale. The... more
Gaza has an incredibly young population, with pre-war estimates suggesting around half of those living in the territory are under 18, according to health ministry figures. When the conflict began in October 2023, Israeli authorities told civilians to move to a 'humanitarian zone' to ensure their safety. But, BBC analys... more
On this episode of The President’s Path, Caitríona Perry, Sumi Somaskanda and Bernd Debusmann Jr discuss a week of major foreign policy developments in Washington DC. The proposed meetings between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could herald a new dawn in US-Russia relations, while critics fear Ukraine could be sidelin... more
In a surprise move this week, US President Donald Trump announced that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The pair held what Washington described as a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call, ending an effective boycott of high-level diplomatic dialogue... more
Antimicrobial drugs like antibiotics have saved countless lives and transformed the health of humanity. Before these drugs were discovered, even something as simple as a papercut could be life-threatening. Some of the greatest advances in the development of these drugs have been forged in wartime. But now those same wa... more
President Bukele has offered to house US criminals in El Salvador's mega-jail, built as part of his crackdown on drug gangs. Since taking office he has arrested thousands of people, but many remain in jail without facing trial. Host Jonny Dymond speaks to BBC Mundo's Leire Ventas who is one of the few journalists to ha... more
Will Canadians sour on this special relationship amid Trump’s tariff threats? Canada and the US share the world’s longest undefended border and one of the closest alliances in the world. But President Trump’s new tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, and his comments about making Canada the 51st US state, have strai... more
Luis Rubiales, the former president of Spain's football federation, is on trial accused of sexual assault for kissing the player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup medal ceremony.Hermoso told the trial last week that the incident "stained one of the happiest days of my life". Rubiales, who has denied any wrongdoing, i... more
As world leaders line-up to visit the new President at the White House, Donald Trump has started outlining the first major foreign policy plans of this administration.Caitríona Perry, Sumi Somaskanda and Courtney Subramanian chat about Trump's disruptive foreign policy plans and how the US interacts with the rest of th... more
Many companies are calling staff back to the office for more or all of the working week. When the Covid-19 pandemic upended the usual way of doing business around the world, most firms were forced to change their typical operating practices, allowing employees to work remotely where possible. But what may have looked l... more
President Donald Trump wants to take over Gaza and rebuild it as an international hotspot for business and tourism. The plan could drastically change the future of the Middle East. For decades, US presidents have said that establishing a sovereign Palestinian state, to exist alongside Israel, is the only way to achieve... more
The long-running economic battle between the world's two biggest economies has escalated. This week US President Donald Trump brought tariffs against China in an effort to strongarm the growing superpower into submission and strengthen American markets. But Beijing hit back, raising its own tariffs, escalating a trade ... more
The deposed President Bashar al-Assad has been linked to the multi-billion dollar trade of a narcotic called Captagon. Syria's new rebel leaders have promised to stamp it out. So what will it take to end the country's association with the drug? Presenter Caitríona Perry speaks to the BBC's Emir Nader, who has been repo... more
Since the end of World War Two and Nazi rule, Germany has been hyper-vigilant about keeping right-wing hardliners out of government. For decades, mainstream politicians have shunned parties like the AfD. But now, with a federal election just weeks away and the AfD rising in the polls, a frontrunner in the race for chan... more
President Trump has been criticised for his combative response to the Washington air crash. With the investigation into the fatal collision between a passenger aeroplane and a military helicopter just beginning, the president suggested that diversity, equity and inclusion hiring policies could be to blame, drawing cond... more
Tetiana and Oleh Plachkov have spent their whole lives in Melitopol, a city in eastern Ukraine. They fell in love, married and had a daughter Lyudmila. They started a business, running two restaurants, popular with their neighbours for special occasions. But since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, their family has ... more
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are heading north to find out what is left of their homes after 15 months of war. On this episode, our host Jonny Dymond speaks to Farida Alghol, who has made the journey back to Gaza City and her parents. We also ask our correspondent Nick Beake what the future holds for the peopl... more
The speed at which the new Chinese chatbot app DeepSeek has risen to prominence has taken many by surprise. Now the most downloaded free app in the US, DeepSeek seems to require less powerful computer chips than its American tech rivals. The release of this low-cost AI model sent shockwaves through US stock markets, wi... more
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has made a string of expansionist foreign policy announcements, angering several of his international counterparts. After reiterating his ambitious intention to purchase Greenland, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico, the US president doubled down on his insistence that Was... more
It’s 80 years since the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated. As we commemorate the memory of the six million Jews and other groups murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, a survivor of Auschwitz tells us why it’s more important than ever to remember what happened there.On today's episode Lucy Hockings s... more
Donald Trump has begun his second White House stint with a flurry of executive orders. The new president began signing them more or less immediately after being sworn in for the second time. Eight years on from his first inauguration, the early signs are that he and his team have arrived in Washington ready to hit the ... more
On Thursday, Thailand's long-awaited same-sex marriage law came into effect, with more than a thousand couples thought to have officially tied the knot already. The legislation comes after years of campaigning, and at a moment when a public yearning for change is being increasingly felt on the political stage. Characte... more
For centuries, people have pursued the dream of eternal youth. It might seem like the stuff of myth or science fiction, but researchers have been making fascinating progress in understanding what happens in our bodies as we age. There’s optimism that we might soon be able to use drugs to slow down or even reverse how w... more
It's a moment of change in the Middle East. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in retreat in Lebanon. Iran and its proxies are weakened and Syria has slipped from its grasp. Now, with President Trump officially installed in the White House, what impact might his presidency have on the region? W... more
Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th US president. In his inaugural speech he promised to put America first and said "the golden age of America begins right now". The ceremony, held inside the Capitol building because of freezing temperatures in Washington, saw Mr Trump flanked by his family, political allies, a... more