Newshour

Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is projected to win in the snap election, while in Thailand a party calling for liberal change is challenging for power again. We report live from Tokyo and Bangkok.
Also in the programme: a Russian soldier who fought in Ukraine, fled to Kazakhstan and now faces possible deportation back to Russia, tells us why he deserted; the chief executive of The Washington Post steps down after sacking 300 journalists; and sixty years after the Monkees were formed to rival the Beatles, we hear from the last surviving member, Micky Dolenz.
(IMAGE: TV staff gesture in the direction of the cameras as Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), gives an interview at the LDP headquarters on general election day in Tokyo, Japan, February 8, 2026 / CREDIT: Kim Kyung-Hoon/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock (16528062x))

US President Donald Trump has set a deadline for the end of the war in Ukraine - June. President Volodomyr Zelensky has said he will be sending a delegation to Miami for US-brokered talks in Miami.
We get a Ukrainian MP's reaction to the latest deadline and hear about life in Kyiv as Russia targets the country's energy infrastructure.
Also in the programme: the rush to get key AI components into outer space; and the small change in French rural life that could be fuelling the rise of the far-right.
(Photo: A person with a flashlight in a dark street during a power cut in Lviv, Ukraine. Credit: Mykola Tys, EPA/Shutterstock)

The UK’s former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who appointed Peter Mandelson as a cabinet minister, has called for an ethical shakeup in public life in the wake of the Epstein scandal. Mr Brown also defended Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a man of principle who could tackle the problem.
Also in the programme: Russia attacks more energy infrastructure in Ukraine; political analysis of President Trump’s racist Truth Social post; and will the Japanese prime minister's decision to call a snap election pay off?
(IMAGE: Former prime minister Gordon Brown speaks at a child poverty event, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group (Cpag), at Somerset House, in central London, Thursday November 6, 2025 / CREDIT: James Manning/PA Wire)

Indirect talks between the US and Iran took place in Oman as the US seeks to curb Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. The talks were mainly procedural: was anything achieved? We hear from Iran nuclear expert Professor Sina Azodi, Director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University.
Also in the programme: a deadly suicide attack on a Shia mosque in the Pakistani capital Islamabad; the EU orders TikTok to redesign its 'addictive' features; and the opening of the 25th Winter Olympics in northern Italy.
(Photo: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Oman ahead of Iran-US talks. Credit: OMANI MINISTRY OF INFORMATION/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Trump is seeking to curb Tehran's nuclear and missile programme; he has threatened to use military force if Tehran doesn't make big concessions.
Also in the programme: Venezuela's parliament takes the next step towards an amnesty for political prisoners; and how babies can anticipate rhythmic surprises in music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.
(Photo: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is welcomed by an Omani official upon his arrival in Muscat, Oman, on February 6, 2026. Credit: Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA via REUTERS)