Newshour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a visit to China - offering a mixture of friendliness and warnings. We assess US-China relations and ask what, if anything, this visit could change.

Also in the programme: the father of a US-Canadian aid worker killed in Gaza tells us the message he'd like today’s memorial service to send to the world; and the possible dangers of yet another artificial sweetener - one that's hard to avoid if you like soft drinks, cakes or chewing gum.

(MAGE: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, China, April 25, 2024 / CREDIT: Mark Schiefelbein / Pool via REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden says Ukraine will receive more arms and equipment within the week after the US Senate approved a $60bn aid package. But what difference will this make to the people there?

Also on the programme: we hear the conflicting claims about the mass graves found in Gaza; and the ‘lost’ painting of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt that has been sold at auction in Vienna.

(Photo: US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the National Security Supplemental. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

US to deliver more arms to Ukraine after Congress approved multi-billion dollars aid package to Kyiv; also in the programme we look into claims of mass graves in Gaza; why have Tesla’s profit’s dropped?; and a lost Klimt painting goes on auction in Vienna.

(Photo: Ukraine supporter holding American and Ukrainian flags outside Congress. Credit: Shutterstock)

The US government says allegations that Israeli forces buried more than three hundred Palestinians in a mass grave at a medical complex in Gaza are incredibly troubling. A spokesman for the US state department said it was seeking a response of the Israeli government. Israel's military had earlier rejected the Palestinian allegation as baseless and unfounded.

Also the US Senate is set to vote later today on a major aid package for Ukraine, with its passage all but certain after the House of Representatives approved the assistance with broad bipartisan support. And more than a hundred and thirty people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at New York University in the United States.

A new law in Britain aims to send people arriving on small boats to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed. The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the plan made clear that people who arrived in Britain illegally would not be able to stay. The United Nations says the bill is the wrong solution and sets a dangerous precedent.

Also in the programme: What Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline think about the supply of new American weapons; and Aboriginal people reclaim spears taken from Australia by Captain Cook in 1770. We speak to one of them.

(Photo: Legal challenges meant the first Rwanda flight was cancelled shortly before take-off in June 2022. Credit: Reuters)

An independent review of the UN's operations in Gaza says it needs to improve its neutrality. We ask the head of the review whether countries that suspended donations because of Israeli allegations should resume them.

Also on the programme: US prosecutors have accused Donald Trump of a conspiracy over hush money paid to a porn actress at the start of his criminal trial in New York; and we speak to the first woman to run the London Marathon topless to deliberately show the scars from her double mastectomy.

(Photo: Catherine Colonna, Chair of the Independent Review of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The head of Israel's military intelligence has resigned over his role in failing to stop the Hamas attacks on October the seventh. Aharon Haliva is the highest-ranking official to step down over the assault, in which about twelve hundred people were killed and more than two hundred others abducted. He said his department had not lived up to the task it was entrusted with.

Also in the programme: we look at the impact of Hindu nationalism with our Newshour's correspondent Jamie Coomarasamy reporting from the city of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh; and we hear why senior officials in Milan want to ban afterhours ice-cream.

(Photo: Maj Gen Aharon Haliva (L), Gaza in December 2024 Credit: IDF)

In a bonus episode from Delhi, James Coomarasamy explores identity and politics in India as the country conducts the world’s biggest election. He’s joined by journalists Divya Arya and Rajesh Joshi.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa is seeking support for tough measures to tackle gang violence, including plans for armed forces to work alongside police. We hear from Quito on the day of the vote, and ask how one of the safest countries in South America ended up with the region's highest recorded murder rate.

Also in the programme: the ultra-orthodox battalion of the Israeli Defence Forces that may face US sanctions; and new plans in France to revitalise the national cuisine.

(Photo: People wait in line to vote in a referendum proposed by Ecuador's government in Quito, Ecuador, Credit: Jose Jacome/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's recent lack of air defence systems has been blamed for Russian forces capturing hundreds more square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. So what difference will the aid make? We speak a defence analyst and get reaction from the capital, Kyiv.

Also on the programme: Newshour’s James Coomarasamy asks if India can stick to its ambitious plans to tackle climate change and develop renewable energy sources; and we ask if the government of Sierra Leone is serious about tackling the drug, called kush, which is devastating the country’s youth?

Photo: Supporters of Ukraine wave US and Ukrainian flags outside the US Capitol after the House approved aid packages to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

After months of wrangling, US politicians have agreed on a 60-billion-dollar aid package for war-torn Ukraine. We hear reaction from an MP for Ukraine's governing party and a former advisor to the US Republican Party.

Also in the programme: the Zambian foreign minister explains why his country is seeking international aid to help deal with an unprecedented drought; and the courageous man who rescued hundreds of people during ethnic killings in the West Darfur region of Sudan.

(PHOTO: Supporters of Ukraine wave US and Ukrainian flags outside the US Capitol after the House approved foreign aid packages to Ukraine. CREDIT: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

After months of delay, the US House of Representatives is poised to vote on tens of billions of dollars in American military aid for Ukraine and Israel. The aid could reshape Kyiv’s war effort. We hear from Kyiv where every minute counts.

Also in the programme: we’ll hear from an anti-mass tourism protest in the Canary Islands; and how the ruling BJP has had a slick social media operation ahead of the elections there.

Photo: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at the US Capitol in Washington. Credit: SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Following a presumed Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins renewed international calls for de-escalation. Israel has not commented on the attack, which saw projectiles reach deep into Iran. Also on the programme: the US Congress moves closer to approving $60 billion of aid for Ukraine; in India voting begins in the world’s biggest election. (Picture: Antony Blinken at the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Capri, Italy, April 19, 2024.Credit: REUTERS/Remo Casilli)

US officials say Israel hit Iran with a missile overnight on Friday, in what appears to be a retaliatory strike after weeks of escalating tensions between the two countries. There are competing claims about the scale of the attack on the Isfahan region and the extent of any damage, with Iranian state media downplaying its significance. It comes after weeks of soaring tensions between the regional rivals, which have already seen an Israeli attack on an Iranian compound in Syria, and Iran launch an unprecedented assault against Israel.

Also in the programme: we speak to Newshour's James Coomarasamy in Uttar Pradesh as voting has ended in the first phase of India's general election and we hear why so many of China's cities are sinking.

(Photo: Anti-Israel billboards in Tehran following explosions around central city of Isfahan, Iran- 19 Apr 2024. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Unseasonably warm temperatures in southern Russia and Kazakhstan have triggered fast-melting snow, causing unprecedented high rivers and flooding close to major cities. We speak to residents in Kazakhstan's badly affected areas.

Also in the programme: Arizona Supreme Court reinstates near-total abortion ban from 1864; and we hear about the contentious reform adopted by the EU parliament to adopt stricter migration rules and shared responsibility.

(Photo: KAZAKHSTAN EMERGENCIES MINISTRY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The Israeli military has recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza. It accused the Islamic Jihad group of murdering Elad Katzir, who was snatched from a kibbutz in southern Israel during the Hamas attacks in October. His sister blamed the Israeli government for his death, saying it had failed to strike a second ceasefire deal to allow his release. There have also been protests in Israel demanding the release of all the remaining hostages in Gaza.

It’s six months since the beginning of the war in Gaza – we speak to our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet in Jerusalem. Also on the programme: Ecuador sparks international outrage by storming the Mexican Embassy in Quito; and why boxing icon Muhammed Ali's shorts might sell at auction for six million dollars.

Picture: People attend protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling for the release of the hostages in Gaza. Credit: Hannah McKay/Reteurs)

Aid organisations have stressed the need for an independent investigation into the deadly Israeli drone strike on an aid convoy after the IDF published its first account of the event.

Also in the programme: The BBC's analysis of Israel's evacuation warnings in Gaza; we remember the Nirvana singer, Kurt Cobain, thirty years after his death; and will a new currency stabilise Zimbabwe's economy?

(Photo: Clothes of members of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) inside their destroyed car in southern Gaza Strip. Credit: EPA).