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BBC World Service

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

Newshour

Mass protests across Iran: but how will the authorities respond? We hear from the BBC Persian Service, where journalists are trying to monitor events amid an information blackout, and discuss Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's options with Iranian-American journalist Hooman Majd. 

Also in the programme: Colombian President Gustavo Petro's views on United States policy in Latin America; and Elon Musk's former partner Ashley St Clair explains her concerns about sexualised images made by the Grok AI chatbot on X, formerly known as Twitter.

(Photo: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, taken on 3 Jan 2026; Credit: IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

Reports suggest growing protests in Iran

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has described demonstrators as vandals aiming to please a foreign power - as he faces the biggest wave of anti government protests in over a decade.

Also in the programme: we'll hear from the Greenlanders tired of President Trump's talk of take over; and the British government accuses the social media platform X of insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual abuse.

(Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency)

Iranian Supreme Leader denounces protests

Vice-President J.D.Vance insists Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer in self defence. We hear the latest from the city amid conflicting accounts of what happened. 

Also in the programme: reports of clashes between Iranian security forces and protestors across the country; political prisoners released in Venezuela; and what it's like to be sick in space.

(Photo: US Vice-President Vance addresses the media in the White House; Credit: WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock)

Trump officials defend officer who shot woman in Minneapolis while protests continue

Hundreds of people have attended a vigil in the US city of Minneapolis to protest against the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent. The woman, identified in the media as 37-year-old US citizen Renee Good, was shot at close range as she drove her car. The mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey has bluntly rejected the Trump administration's assertion that the agent had shot her in self-defence.
 
Also in the programme: the Lebanese military says it has completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, and the most exciting new species of plants and fungi identified last year, including a spider-eating fungus.
 
(Photo: People protest against the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. US, 8 January, 2026. Credit: Tim Evans/Reuters)

Hundreds attend Minneapolis vigil after ICE shooting

The United States says it has seized two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil - one in the Caribbean and a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic. We'll hear from a former head of NATO reflecting on President Trump's recent foreign policy moves. 

Also on the programme: we speak to the son of a prominent Venezuelan political prisoner; and the story of Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer who became one of America's most damaging double agents, who has died aged 84. 

(Photo: A US Coast Guard official looks through binoculars at the ship Marinera (Ex-Bella 1) in this handout image released January 7, 2026. Credit: X/Reuters)

US seizes Russian-flagged tanker in Atlantic

US President Donald Trump has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including use of the military, the White House said. The White House has told the BBC that acquiring Greenland - a semi-autonomous region of fellow NAT member Denmark – was a "national security priority". We hear from a former senior commander of NATO and a politician from Greenland's parliament. 

Also in the programme: US officials say that a mission to board a Russian flagged oil tanker sailing in the North Atlantic is underway; and the discovery of the trumpet from the Iron Age on the east coast of England. 

(File photo: People gather for a protest outside the Embassy of the United States of America in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 29, 2025. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

US says it could use its military to seize Greenland

After a meeting in Paris of the European allies who call themselves the "coalition of the willing", with the Ukrainian president and two senior US envoys also in attendance, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky signed a joint declaration on security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire. We hear military analysis of the Ukraine agreement and also the latest US threats to annex Greenland.

Also in the programme: as the authorities in Venezuela turn up the repression, we hear from a one-time protestor in Caracas; and why anger is growing over an AI-powered tool for sexual content on Elon Musk's social media platform X.

(IMAGE: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer deliver a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine during the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing' summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026 / CREDIT: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS)

European leaders commit to post-ceasefire security guarantees for Ukraine

The Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has said the removal from power of President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces is a huge step for freedom despite being sidelined by Trump. We hear from inside the country amid a crackdown in Caracas. 

Also on the programme, European leaders meet in Paris to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, and a battle to save a historic monument to one of the great Antarctic explorers, Ernest Shackleton.

(Photo: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado looks on, outside the Grand Hotel after she was in the audience at the Royal Palace in Oslo, Norway, 12 December, 2025. Credit: NTB/Ole Berg-Rusten/Reuters)

From the sidelines, Venezuela's opposition praises US intervention

The Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty in New York to drug trafficking and other charges while Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president. Can she command the support of regime insiders as well as Washington?
 
Also on the programme: we'll hear how ordinary Venezuelans are responding to the upheaval; and ask a Republican member of congress about President Trump's astonishing use of raw American power and the diplomatic conundrum for the US allies.
 
(Photo: A screen grab taken from a handout video screenshot made available by Venezuela's state television VTV shows Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez being sworn in as acting president of the country in Caracas, Venezuela. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Venezuela's Maduro pleads not guilty to drug charges

The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are being transferred to a court in New York to face drugs charges -- two days after they were seized by US troops. Meanwhile in Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez is due to be sworn in as Venezuela's interim leader. She's offered to cooperate with Washington, after President Trump threatened further action. 

Also in the programme: A French court has found ten people guilty of spreading lies online about President Macron's wife Brigitte; as protests in Iran continue for a ninth day, the Speaker of Parliament has said that the protesters' demands must be heard; and Venezuela has the world's biggest oil reserves, what happens to that now?

(Photo credit: Reuters/Adam Gray)

Trump warns new Venezuelan leader as Maduro set to appear in court

The United States has captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and launched a “large-scale” strike against the country, according to US President Donald Trump. It follows weeks of heightened tension as the US president ramped up pressure on the Venezuelan leader. We get reaction from the US and wider region.

Also in the programme: the Swedish workers trialling a “friendship hour” to combat loneliness.

(Photo: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro holds Simon Bolivar’s sword as he addresses members of the armed forces, Bolivarian Militia, police, and civilians during a rally against a possible escalation of US actions toward the country, at Fort Tiuna military base in Caracas, Venezuela, November 25, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo)

US launches strikes on Venezuela and captures president

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