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BBC World Service

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

Newshour

Ukraine suffers widespread power cuts after a night of Russian air attacks described by President Zelensky as “massive”. We hear from a resident of the city of Odesa on the Black Sea coast. 

Also in the programme: a Venezuelan former diplomat tells us what he makes of the current US pressure campaign, and a retired US admiral tells us what he makes of the president's plan for big new "Trump-class" warships; and we hear the story of Mary Ann Macham, an enslaved woman who escaped across the Atlantic from America in the 1830s and was welcomed in by a local community of Quakers in North East England.

(IMAGE: Firefighters extinguish a burning cargo vessel damaged during Russian overnight drone and missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a port in Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released December 23, 2025 / CREDIT: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUTERS).

"Massive" Russian airstrikes cause more power cuts in Ukraine

The total number of people killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire took place in October has reached 400, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Flooding, low temperatures and makeshift shelters have also presented issues for those in the region. We speak with a Gazan resident about what life is like now for her and her peers. 

Also in the programme: More children abducted from a Nigerian Catholic school last month look set to be released; CBS News faces criticism for delaying a ’60 Minutes’ special on the US deportation of migrants to an El Salvadoran megaprison; and Ukraine takes part in a morale-boosting Secret Santa scheme, offering gifts to soldiers on the frontline.

(Photo: Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike on Friday, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Credit: Dabou Abu Alkas, Reuters)

What is life in Gaza like after the ceasefire?

Myanmar’s military rulers promise to hold an election this week. We have a rare report from inside the country, where government campaigning appears to involve bombing schools and churches in rebel-held areas. 
 
Also in the programme: the US navy is in pursuit of another oil tanker near Venezuela; but what is this "shadow" fleet? And after the mass killing at Bondi Beach, more details emerge about the alleged Islamist gunmen, while the state government prepares to crack down on guns and hate speech.

(IMAGE: Primary school in Vanha village, Chin state, Myanmar / CREDIT: Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO))

Myanmar military appears to bomb schools and churches

There are reports that the US coastguard may be trying to intercept another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, but why is US oil firm Chevron still operating in the country?

Also in the programme: Israel's security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank; and an elegy for the US penny that is no longer being produced after 230 years.

(Photo: Government supporters participate in a protest against US President Donald Trump's order to blockade sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela on 17 December 2025. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

US pursuing another Venezuelan oil tanker

The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has been booed at a ceremony in Sydney to remember the fifteen people who died in the Bondi Beach shooting. A minute's silence was held across the nation to mark the time that the attack began, and candles were lit. Tens of thousands of people gathered at Bondi Beach to pay their respects to those who were killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish celebration a week ago.

Also in the programme: The US seizes another oil tanker in the Caribbean; and Morocco prepares for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations. 
 
(Photo: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the 'Light Over Darkness' vigil honouring victims and survivors of a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, in Sydney, Australia, December 21, 2025. CREDIT: REUTERS/Hollie Adams)

Thousands gather at Bondi Beach to pay their respects

We get reaction to the Epstein files, which were released on Friday but were heavily redacted and represent only a fraction of the number held by the FBI. There is more information, but are Epstein survivors satisfied that enough is being done? We are joined by Lisa Bryant, director and executive producer of a Netflix documentary series titled Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.

Also on today’s programme: President Zelensky says he is open to US proposals for direct talks with Russia, though there are conditions; will the prizefighter vs YouTuber bout change boxing? And a new lemon-shaped planet has been discovered -- and it’s really weird.

A sheet of redacted pages in connection with late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is shown on a computer screen (19 December, 2025. U.S. Justice Department/Reuters)

Epstein victims and lawmakers criticise number of files released and redactions

The US justice department has released a tranche of some of the so-called Epstein files, including photos of the interiors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's homes, his overseas travels and celebrities. Survivors and some US politicians have criticised the release as incomplete, overly-redacted and providing no context of when and where photos were taken. We hear from survivor Marina Lacerda.
 
Also in the programme: US fighter jets attack targets linked to Islamic State in Syria; and a rare sighting of a "pink" platypus in Australia.
 
(Photo: Undated handout photo issued by the US Department of Justice of a photograph appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the laps of five people. It has been released in the latest tranche of Epstein files. He appears to be smiling with his eyes closed and his head nearly resting on a woman's lap while Ghislaine Maxwell (now a convicted associate of Epstein) stands above peering and smiling in the undated picture. Issue date: Friday December 19, 2025. PA Photo)

Politicians and survivors criticise Epstein file release

The US justice department has released hundreds of thousands of highly anticipated documents related to Jeffrey Epstein ahead of a Congressional deadline. The issue divided the Republican Party after the department initially refused to publish the files, despite President Trump's campaign promises.
 
Also in the programme: President Putin says Russia is ready to end the conflict in Ukraine, but only on his terms; and a comet, that's only the third known interstellar object to enter our solar system, is making its closest approach to Earth.

Photo: One of the Epstein files released today in Washington, DC USA Credit: US Department of Justice

The US justice department releases Epstein files

European Union leaders have agreed to loan Ukraine $100bn to cover the cost of its military and public services, but they failed to reach on a deal on using frozen Russian assets.

They instead opted to secure the oan against EU borrowing rather than Russian assets. What signal does that send to Moscow?

Also in the programme: We'll hear from the Ukrainian widows cut off from compensation because their soldier husbands took their own lives; excitement builds in Morocco as it prepares to host Africa's biggest football tournament; why the boxing influencer Jake Paul may be risking more than his reputation in tonight's big fight.

(Photo shows Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, European Council president Antonio Costa, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the EU Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium on 19 December 2025. Credit: Olivier Hoslet/EPA)

EU leaders agree Ukraine loan

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says key parts of the Ukrainian war machine will have to be scaled back unless Europe approves the use of frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv.

Also on the programme: the EU's top court rules that Denmark's 2018 "ghetto law," which relocates residents from minority-heavy areas, could amount to ethnic discrimination; and what could the new documentary about Melania Trump tell us about the American first lady?

(Photo: A woman holds a banner as people demonstrate outside the European Commission in support of using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine. Credit: Reuters)

Zelensky urges EU to reach deal on Russia's frozen assets

A sperm donor who unknowingly harboured a genetic mutation that dramatically raises the risk of cancer has fathered at least 197 children across Europe, a major investigation has revealed. Also on the programme, 5alf a million people have been forced from their homes in Thailand and Cambodia as their deadly border conflict escalates; and, the politics of typeface fonts.

(Photo: Getty)

Sperm with cancer-causing gene used to conceive almost 200 children

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