Forensic medical experts in Tel Aviv are trying to confirm the identities and cause of death of four Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas. It is the first time Hamas has returned captives dead since the ceasefire began last month,The bodies, taken by convoy from Gaza earlier, are believed to be those of a mother and her two young children and an elderly peace activist. Also in the programme: As the rift deepens between the US and Europe over whether the Ukrainian president is a dictator or a democrat, how should the British prime minister handle his visit to the White House next week? and the former boss of Spanish football is found guilty of kissing a player without her consent.(Photo shows a young woman holding an Israeli flag reacting as a convoy transports the bodies of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas nearby in Tel Aviv, Israel on 20 February 2025. Credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
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47:15
Trump calls Zelensky a 'dictator'
Donald Trump has stepped up his verbal attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky, branding him a dictator who could lose his country, after the Ukrainian leader said the US president had been taken in by Russian disinformation. Also in the programme: The Netherlands is to return more than a hundred Benin bronze sculptures to Nigeria, where they were looted by British forces in the nineteenth century; Microsoft has unveiled a chip powered by a new state of matter, which it says shows a quantum computing revolution is only years away; and two months after a failed coup, we hear from supporters of South Korea's impeached and imprisoned president. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
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47:21
Zelensky says Trump is living in a Russian ‘disinformation space’
President Volodymyr Zelensky has hit back at US President Donald Trump's suggestion that Ukraine started the war and that his popularity ratings are low. In forthright comments from a former close US ally, Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump was trapped in a disinformation bubble created by Russia. It comes as he is due to have talks with US envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. We get the reaction of a Ukrainian MP and hear from the city of Odesa. Also in the programme: Hamas says it’s willing to release all remaining hostages in one go in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza; and the discovery of the first ancient Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb in more than a century.(Picture: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 19, 2025. Credit: Tetiana Dzhafarova/Pool via REUTERS)
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43:39
US and Russia agree to work on ending the war in Ukraine
Diplomats from Moscow and Washington agree to press ahead with negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. The talks, which are taking place in Saudi Arabia, are underscored by the absence of any Ukrainian representative. We talk about the latest diplomatic developments and the role of sanctions in the conflict.Also on the programme: we hear from the patients in Nigeria who are affected by cuts in USAID’s HIV care; and Britain’s new National Poetry Centre.(Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attending a press conference after negotiations with US officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Credit: Shutterstock)
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47:28
US-Russia talks in Riyadh on Ukraine war
The US and Russia have met in Saudi Arabia to begin negotiations on ending the Ukraine war. The high level meeting, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, was the first since Moscow's full-scale invasion three years ago. Also in the programme: Israel pulls out of villages in southern Lebanon as part of its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, but leaves some hilltop outposts in a move the UN says violates the deal; and as the first legal challenge to an action by the Trump administration reaches the US Supreme Court - will it shift the limits of the president's powers?(IMAGE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. / CREDIT: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Ireland