The Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to derail the government of President Nicolas Maduro, which he has accused of turning Venezuela into a "drug-running regime". The leader of the country's opposition, Maria Corina Machado, travelled to Norway in secret to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. We ask if her influence could wane now that she is out of the country. Also in the programme: intense rain is wreaking havoc on thousands of Gazans living in displacement camps; and UNESCO declares Swiss yodelling a form of Intangible Cultural Heritage.(Photo: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado attends the opening of the official Peace Prize exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center, in Oslo. Credit: Lise Åserud / NTB)

The Nobel Peace Prize winner arrives in Oslo after a clandestine journey from her hiding place in Venezuela. We hear the inside story of how she slipped out of the country. Also in the programme: French police's crackdown on drug gangs in Marseilles, and a rare public display for Mary Queen of Scots' final letter before execution. (Photo: Maria Corina Machado waving at her supporters from a balcony in Oslo. Credits: Lise Aserud/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Trump has said the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela - an operation reported to have been led by the US Coastguard. The seizure is certain to increase tensions between the United States and Venezuela, which is already being threatened by the deployment of a US fleet. Oil futures rose following news of the seizure.Also in the programme: tourists from more than forty countries may have to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the US under a new proposal; and new evidence suggests humans made fire much earlier than previously thought.(Photo: US President Donald J Trump makes remarks in a roundtable with high-tech business executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 December 2025. Credit: AARON SCHWARTZ/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

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)

In a wide-ranging interview with the Politico news website, President Trump said "decaying" European countries had failed to control migration or take decisive action to end Ukraine's war with Russia, accusing them of letting Kyiv fight "until they drop". We hear from a German parliamentarian and envoy.Also in the programme: A revolutionary gene therapy has successfully treated patients with previously incurable blood cancers; and we look at the life of pioneering zoologist and elephant conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton.(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump attends a roundtable discussion on the day he announced an aid package for farmers, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 8, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The Thai military said there were clashes in five border provinces, and three of its soldiers had been killed since hostilities resumed. Cambodia says Thai attacks have killed seven civilians. We explain why this has happened.Also on the programme: in Australia, the law banning children under 16 years from social media has come into effect - one of the most dramatic moves so far by a government against the tech companies that own the platforms. And the revolutionary new cancer treatment, which uses DNA editing, to save the lives of patients with previously incurable blood cancers. (Picture: Thai soldiers on patrol at the border with Cambodia. Credit: Reuters)

An Israeli-Russian woman held for two and half years by militants in Iraq has told the BBC how she was trussed and hung from the ceiling, whipped, sexually abused and electrocuted. Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was freed in September, suffered extreme abuse for over 100 days, leaving her physically and mentally scarred. Elizabeth believes she was held by members of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iran-back militias in Iraq, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and others. In this special edition of the Newshour podcast she speaks to Tim Franks about her ordeal and how she is determined to continue her work on the region. This interview contains some graphic testimony that listeners could find distressing

Syria celebrates a year since the fall of Assad, and an end to a brutal fifty-year dictatorship. But what sort of rule and what sort of future does Syria face? Also in the programme: Ukraine's President Zelensky pleads for Europe and the US to remain to united over ending the war with Russia – we hear from former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt; how China's trade surplus hit a trillion dollars; and the blind football fan who says that, thanks to a virtual reality headset, he can for the first time literally watch a game. (IMAGE: People gather during a parade marking the first anniversary of the ousting of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Idlib, Syria, 08 December 2025 / CREDIT: BILAL AL-HAMMOUD/EPA/Shutterstock (16051801r))

Syrians are holding celebrations to mark the first anniversary since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power after a lightning rebel offensive. Also on the programme, President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet key European leaders in London amid peace negotiation, and the making of the very first dictionary of ancient Celtic.

UN human rights investigators have said that the cycles of vengeance and reprisal must be brought to an end in Syria, as the country commemorates the first anniversary of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. A UN independent commission of inquiry commended the steps taken by Syria's new leadership to address the crimes and abuses of the Assad era. But it said violent incidents in the past year had raised worries about the future direction of the country. Newshour's Lyse Doucet is in Damascus.Also in the programme: we profile Formula 1's new champion Lando Norris; and a new documentary looks at what senior US military officials know about UFOs. (Photo: A drone view shows the parliament in Damascus, Syria, September 21, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Mahmoud Hassano)

Will the recent deadly fire at a housing complex in Hong Kong - and the angry response to it - have an impact on today's elections to the Legislative Council? Also on the programme: a failed coup attempt in the west African country of Benin; we'll be in Syria - a year on from the ousting of the Assad regime - and the prison diaries of Nicolas Sarkozy - written after a mere three weeks behind bars.(Image: A voter checks on the candidates at a polling station in Tai Po during the Legislative Council general election in Hong Kong on December 7, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Lam Yik)

It's the most widely viewed sporting event in the world. The 2026 World Cup will be played across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Today fans and teams discovered where matches will be played and at what sorts of temperatures.Also today: A survivor of Sri Lanka's devastating floods tells us how he ran up a hill, carrying his grandmother, as water rose around him; and Bethlehem celebrates Christmas lighting for the first time since the start of the war in Gaza.(Photo: The World Cup trophy displayed at the Fifa World Cup 2026 draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, December 5, 2025. Credit: Pool via Reuters/Mandel Ngan)