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BBC World Service

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

Newshour

The President of Switzerland says the fire at a ski resort early on New Year's Day which killed around 40 people is one of his country's worst tragedies. Witnesses at the bar in the ski resort of Crans Montana say the entire ceiling was ablaze within seconds. 

Also in the programme: There have clashes in a number of small towns across Iran, on the fifth day of anti-government protests; China has introduced a series of tax incentives - including levies on contraceptives and exemptions for childcare - to try to boost its falling birth rate; and new tax regulations are taking effect today in forty-eight countries over the personal ownership of cryptocurrency. 

Plus punk rock is 50 years old this year. Why does this rather simple music keep influencing musicians even now? 

(Photo: Officials say around 40 people were killed and 115 injured in the fire. Credit: Getty Images)

Around 40 people killed and 115 injured in New Year fire at Swiss bar

Swiss police say dozens of people have died in a fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana. More than a hundred others were injured, many seriously. The fire broke out early in the morning in a bar packed with people celebrating the New Year. We hear from the scene. 

Also in the programme: as the latest US visa bans and restrictions take effect in a large number of countries, mainly in Africa, we hear from the Nigerian government; plus what's behind the latest purges of China's top military officers?

(IMAGE: Furniture pieces lie on the ground as an ambulance stands at the site of an explosion and fire at the "Le Constellation" bar, where several people died and others were injured after an explosion tore through a crowded New Year’s Eve party, according to Swiss police, in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, January 1, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from video / CREDIT: Valais Canton Police/Handout via REUTERS)

Dozens of people die after fire at Swiss ski resort

Some international humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say they cannot comply with Israel’s demands to supply details of Palestinian staff due to data infringement and safety concerns.

Also in the programme: we ask why there is a shortage of female toilets in Japan’s parliament; conservation efforts saving albatrosses in South Africa; and we look at the best moments from Newshour in 2025.

(Photo: A Palestinian man carries food items collected from aid packages dropped from an airplane, amid a hunger crisis, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)

Will Israel’s NGO ban in Gaza impact the ceasefire deal?

The EU says a new Israeli ban on nearly 40 aid groups working in Gaza and the West Bank would prevent lifesaving assistance from reaching Palestinians.

 Also in the programme: How did thieves use a drill to steal €30m in a German bank heist? And the best moments from Newshour in 2025.

(Photo: MSF treat displaced Palestinians in Rafah. Credit: Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

EU objects to Gaza NGO ban

Supporters of southern Yemen's separatist movement have taken to the streets in Aden to protest at an ultimatum delivered by Saudi Arabia to the group's main backer, the United Arab Emirates. The UAE said on Tuesday it would abide by a Saudi demand to end its military involvement in Yemen. Riyadh has been angered by separatist advances towards the Saudi border. Overnight on Monday, a Saudi-led strike force attacked a port in southern Yemen, where Riyadh said two UAE ships had docked with weapons for the separatists. The UAE has denied this.

Also in the programme: Another day of street protests in Iran as inflation soars and the currency tanks - how will the government respond? And after 400 years, Denmark’s national postal service has delivered letters for the last time.

(Photo: The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) seeks independence for southern Yemen. Credit: Photo by Najeeb Mohamed/EPA/Shutterstock)

UAE says it will withdraw from Yemen

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to withdraw its forces from Yemen after a Saudi bombing of the port of Mukalla. Saudi authorities say it targeted weapons intended for UAE-backed separatists who threatened its security. 
 
Also in the programme: the latest search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 begins today; why a Japanese folk tale of a ghost that haunts school toilets still persists; and we look ahead to some of the big stories of next year with our correspondents who cover health, the environment and sport.
 
(Picture: People hold a South Yemen flag during a rally calling for South Yemen's independence, in the southern port city of Aden on 25 December 2025. Credit: NAJEEB MOHAMED/EPA/Shutterstock)

Is Yemen's civil war escalating again?

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met President Donald Trump in Florida to discuss Gaza's future, including the issue of Hamas' disarmament. The two leaders also spoke about Iran's nuclear programme and the fragile Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire in Lebanon.

Also on the programme: British boxer Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car crash in Nigeria; shopkeepers in Tehran have been demonstrating over the depreciating rial; and a special report on songbird poaching in China.

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Netanyahu and Trump discuss second phase of Gaza ceasefire

Taiwan has put its forces on high alert after China began a live-fire rehearsal of a blockade of the island. Is Beijing responding to a recent US-Taiwan arms deal?
 
Also in the programme: a special report from Myanmar, where some people have been voting in elections for the first time since a military coup five years ago; and how the discovery of a silver coin has excited historians in Scotland.
 
(Photo: Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare for takeoff at an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, 29 December 2025. Reaction in Taiwan after China announces live fire drill around Taiwan - 29 Dec 2025. Credit: Photo by Ritchie B Tongo/EPA/Shutterstock)

Taiwan on high alert as China holds military drills

Zelensky and Trump hold peace plan talks in Florida. We hear reaction from Kyiv and from our correspondent in Washington. 

Also on the programme: dark energy may change the fate of the Universe, ending in what astronomers call a "Big Crunch". And Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend, dies aged 91, we look at her legacy as a feminine icon.

(Photo: President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy upon his arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 28, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Zelensky and Trump hold peace plan talks in Florida

Voting has ended in the initial phase of Myanmar's first election since the military seized power almost five years ago. Most opposition parties were banned, including that of the deposed democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Also in the programme: The titan of French cinema, Brigitte Bardott has died aged 91; President Trump will meet Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Florida later on Sunday as efforts continue to reach a peace deal with Russia; and Sabalenka vs Kyrgios: in tennis - a true battle of the sexes or an opportunity for critics to belittle women's sport?

(Photo: Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cast his ballot in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Credit: Win Kyaw Thu/BBC)

Polls close on first day of Myanmar's widely criticised 'sham' election

A ceasefire has come into force along the border between Thailand and Cambodia, where weeks of clashes have forced a million people from their homes. The seventy- two- hour truce was agreed by the two countries' defence ministers following extensive diplomacy by Chinese officials.

Also in the programme: Saudi Arabia's defence minister has warned the main separatist movement in southern Yemen to withdraw from territory it's recently captured in two provinces, amid rising tensions in the area; Ukraine says overnight Russian air strikes in the capital Kyiv have injured at least eight people and caused power cuts; and ahead of the winter games in Italy - we meet Slovenia's world champion ski-jumpers targeting Olympic gold.

(Photo:Cambodia's Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit after the ceasefire was agreed during a special meeting at a border checkpoint in Chanthaburi province, Thailand. Credit: Reuters)

Thailand and Cambodia agree ceasefire after weeks of deadly clashes

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