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US envoys arrive in Moscow Sep 05, 2026

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Donald Trump's top envoys have arrived in Moscow, as part of a renewed diplomatic push to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Also on the programme, Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland party is aiming to secure a majority in the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt; people are still being rescued ten days after devastating floods in Nepal; and, the enduring appeal of Fleetwood Mac's most celebrated album, by the man who produced it.

(Photo: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions listen as Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS)

Nepal flooding: Two workers rescued from tunnel Sep 04, 2026

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Rescue crews in Nepal have freed two workers from a blocked hydropower tunnel, nine days after they were trapped by debris from flash floods that devastated an area on the border with Tibet. Shortly after the two survivors were released, the body of a third person was found.

Also in the programme: Germany's far right AfD party looks set to dominate a state election in the east of the country this weekend; a special report from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta where sexual assaults are on the rise; and the pig's kidney that has kept a man alive for a record nine months.

(Photo shows rescuers at the site of the flash floods in Nepal. Credit: Nepal Army/Reuters)

Spain's prime minister under pressure over migrant crisis Sep 03, 2026

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The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is under pressure over his government's handling of influx of 72,000 migrants in the exclave of Ceuta.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in marches backed by opposition parties against the Spanish government's handling of the migrant crisis.

Also in the programme: New warnings on the supersized El Nino; a voice from flood-lashed Tibet; and a rare mission to Mercury.

(Photo shows Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a session at the parliament in Madrid, Spain on 3 September 2026. Credit: Susana Vera/Reuters)

Venezuela oil deal: who wins? Sep 02, 2026

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Washington and Caracas have signed an agreement which gives a US-led company rights over Venezuelan oilfields amounting to about a fifth of the country's reserves.

Also in the programme: growing discontent in Spain at the government's handling of the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa; and as the British Museum launches its exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry, why does it still speak to us almost a millennium after it was made?

(Photo: Venezuelan acting president dolce Rodriguiz talking to the US energy secretary. Credit: Shutterstock)

Iran and US trade strikes in the Gulf Sep 02, 2026

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Iran and the US trade strikes in the most intense round of attacks in weeks. Iran says the US struck a wedding party killing four people including children, and retaliates with strikes on US bases in the Gulf. The US responded by denying it attacks civilians.

Also in the programme: we speak to a friend of Joshua Wong, the face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, who has just pleaded guilty to foreign collusion; and in football, the English Premier League transfer window breaks another spending record.

(IMAGE: A view of the destroyed remains of a building which was hosting a wedding ceremony following a US airstrike, in the city of Sirak, Bandar Abbas province, southern Iran, 02 September 2026. The Iranian Red Crescent says four people, including a child, were killed when shrapnel from a US missile hit the building / CREDIT: Handout picture made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society)

The death toll in Nepal from floods reaches 1,000 Sep 01, 2026

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The death toll in Nepal from devastating floods on the border with Tibet has crossed 1,000, according to the country's disaster agency.

Also on the programme, a special report from within Afghanistan looking at the thousands who have fled since the 2021 Taliban takeover; and we hear from the former girlfriend of Freddy Mercury, who stayed by his side until the end of his life.

(Photo: Relatives of Nakul Sharma, 36, who lost his life in the deadly flash floods and a mudslide, mourn during his cremation rituals on the premises of Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

Six million forced to return to Afghanistan since 2023 Sep 01, 2026

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Millions of Afghans have in recent decades fled across the borders to Pakistan and Iran, seeking refuge or employment. But as the numbers leaving Afghanistan have risen, especially since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, so have deportation efforts by Pakistan and Iran. We have a special report by the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who has been to the main border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Also in the programme: as a new law comes into force in Austria banning girls under the age of 14 from wearing a headscarf in schools, we hear from the government, and a critic of the ban; shares in the ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein have plunged on their first day of public trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and the population of New Zealand’s critically endangered flightless parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in decades.

(Photo: Trucks carrying returnees parked along the highway near the Torkham border crossing, October 2025. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Nepal: Rescuers are trying to reach more than seven hundred trapped workers Aug 31, 2026

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The authorities say they have made progress using controlled explosions and heavy machinery to access the hydropower tunnels. Nepal says that at least nine-hundred people have died in the floods, and more than four-thousand are still missing.

Also on the programme, football legend Lionel Messi retires from international competitions. British fashion designer, John Galliano, has withdrawn from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Met had come in for severe criticism for hosting the exhibition, Galliano was arrested in Paris in 2011 for antisemitic insults and hateful remarks he made against Jews and Asian people at a bar near his home in the city. And the Nomad Games get underway in Kyrgyzstan, featuring sports like Kok Boru (polo but played with a dead goat instead of a mallet). We'll hear from a fan in attendance.

(Picture: Rescue workers in Nepal. Credit: Reuters)

Nepalese MP: the search for survivors is still on Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

As the death toll continues to rise and rescue teams try to reach people still trapped by Wednesday's flash floods in the Himalayas, a senior Nepalese MP tells us the search for survivors is still very much on, along with a major effort to identify bodies and carry out burials.

Also in the programme: as Tim Cook prepares to step down after 15 years in charge of Apple, we assess his legacy; and how late is too late for a top tennis player to be playing a match?

(IMAGE: An undated handout photo of rescue workers taking part in a rescue operation near the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, following deadly flash floods and mudslides, in Rasuwa, Nepal. / CREDIT: Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS)

Eight dead in Cyprus ferry disaster Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

The crew and captain of a ferry have been taken into custody after the vessel capsized off the northern coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Eight people have been confirmed dead with a further 17 still missing.

Also on the programme: Spain asks for help from the EU to process hundreds of migrants who crossed into its North African territory of Ceuta; and the director of a new biopic about Charles de Gaulle tells us how the general’s self-belief persuaded Winston Churchill that Free France could fight back against the Nazis.

(Image: Survivors arrive on shore after being rescued from the sea following a boat capsize off northern Cyprus, August 30, 2026. Credit REUTERS/Stringer)

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