A day after the US's indictment of former Cuban president Raul Castro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Havana has accepted an offer of $100m in aid but that the chances of a negotiated settlement was "not high". Could the US be considering an imminent invasion of Cuba? Also on the programme: Amid a growing number of cases, a hospital treating Ebola patients in Congo is set on fire; and the new research suggesting that Beluga whales recognise their own reflections. (Photo: Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, May 21, 2026 Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS)

There has been international condemnation of Israel's treatment of pro-Palestinian activists who were on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli naval forces. Also on the programme: the first case of Ebola has been announced in the rebel-held territory in eastern Congo; and an online political group in India called The Cockroach Janta Party ‌has amassed nearly 15 million followers on Instagram in less than a week.(Photo: Activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, gather at a port before their departure in the southern Turkish resort of Marmaris, Turkey on May 14, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

The US Justice Department has indicted Cuba's former leader, Raul Castro, on criminal charges. The allegations centre on a Cuban military offensive against US civilian aircraft in 1996. The planes were operated by an organisation called Brothers to the Rescue and were searching for people who wanted to leave the island, when they were shot down by the Cuban military, which was led by Castro at the time. We get the latest from the BBC’s Cuba correspondent.Also on the programme: Israel's far-right security minister has been condemned for taunting handcuffed Gaza flotilla activists; and we hear from the winner of this year’s International Booker Prize. (Photo: Cuba's former President Raul Castro watches a May Day rally in Havana, Cuba 1st May, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Norlys Perez)

Why was the Ebola outbreak able to spread so quickly? We speak to the co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response about Ebola testing shortfalls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also on the programme: we examine the relationship between Russia and China as Vladimir Putin fails to reach a gas pipeline deal during a visit to Beijing. Plus, we hear why the Tyrannosaurus Rex had such short arms.(Picture: A health worker takes the temperature of an M23 rebel in Goma, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: Arlette Bashizi/Reuters)

We hear from a journalist in eastern DR Congo on how situation is becoming more and more difficult for people in the city of Goma, a major transport hub - and we speak to Tom Frieden, a leading US scientist involved in fighting the last major Ebola outbreak. Also on the programme: An interview with former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, pardoned by Donald Trump, now in hiding in the US. We have a rare report from inside Afghanistan. And an age-old mystery at sea has been solved - we hear how biologists rumbled the whale.(Photo: UNICEF staff receive medical supplies from an aircraft in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 19, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

The World Health Organisation has sent six tonnes of medical supplies to the Democratic Republic of Congo as it continues to sound the alarm over the scale of the Ebola outbreak in central Africa. We hear why the authorities are battling against the widespread local belief that symptoms are caused not by the Ebola virus, but witchcraft.Also, a look ahead to today's primary contests in the United States with Kentucky becoming the most expensive race ever, and the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, tells our correspondent why he believes he was the victim of “lawfare” and “a witch-hunt” by a vindictive Biden Administration.(Photo: Fatima Tafida, the Regional Supply Chain Lead for Emergencies at the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Africa pastes stickers on shipment pallets as the WHO mobilises 4.7 tonnes of essential medical supplies and emergency kits to support the affected regions in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 18 May, 2026. Credit: World Health Organization/Handout /Reuters)

A deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus is spreading in central Africa. We'll talk to a doctor with experience of both treating and contracting the disease. A report from Ukraine's "kill-zone". Elon Musk loses AI lawsuit against Sam Altman. and a survivor of the Blitz on her recollections of the horrors of that bombing campaign on the UK.

An ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. The World Health Organisation has said that the virus has spread beyond the DRC, with confirmed cases reported in neighbouring Uganda. Two other neighbours - Rwanda and South Sudan - are also now on "high alert". The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines. Also on the programme: A decade after Britain voted to leave the European Union... could it be heading back in? And the daughter of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara gives us her reaction to the US blockade of her country (Image: REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)

Ukraine sent nearly 600 drones into Russia overnight, the biggest single attack on the country since the start of the war. Targets in Moscow and a patrol ship in the Caspian Sea were hit, with at least four killed in the offensive. We hear from The Economist's Shashank Joshi about the significance of the strikes, and from Russia analyst Professor Nina Khrushcheva about how President Putin might respond.Also in the programme: The Democratic Republic of the Congo fights to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak; and what does Che Guevara's daughter make of recent US hostility towards Cuba?(Photo: A man inspects a damaged apartment building following a drone attack outside Moscow on May 17, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO said the outbreak in DR Congo's eastern Ituri province, which has seen around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not yet meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. We hear from the man who first identified the virus. Also in the programme: will the US and China come to an agreement on artificial intelligence?; and the Iranian family saga in the running for the International Booker Prize.(Photo: Ugandan doctors wear their personal protective equipment at the Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital Isolation Centre in Entebbe, Uganda, 20 October 2022. Credit: ISAAC KASAMANI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A rescue diver from the Maldives has died after searching for the bodies of five Italians who were exploring an underwater cave. The team from Italy were diving at depths that are not permitted for recreational divers. We hear from a government spokesperson about the rescue operation and from a former military diver about the conditions in the cave.Also on the programme: more than 50 children have been abducted in Nigeria; and the Eurovision 2026 finals take place in Vienna.(Photo: A police boat joins a search and recovery operation in the Vaavu Atoll, Maldives. Credit: SOPHIA NASIF/EPA/Shutterstock)

Nigeria and the United States say they have killed a senior Islamic State leader in a joint operation. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki oversaw IS-linked activities across Africa and was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023. We speak to a spokesperson for the Nigerian president and a regional security expert. Also on the programme: where has this week's US-China summit left Taiwan?; and the Swiss bus service on the road to nowhere. (Photo: Nigerian soldiers walk past military tanks prepared for deployment during a tour of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole by Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, November 7, 2025 Credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi/File Photo)