**This episode contains descriptions of abuse and violence**

In November, the Italian parliament voted unanimously to introduce the term “femicide” into the country’s legal code. The murder of a woman – on account of her gender – is now a distinct crime, punishable with a life sentence.

The United Nations reported that last year nearly 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members.

Italy is the latest country to adopt a specific law in an effort to curb violence against women following a string of brutal murders of young women.

One of the most publicised was Giulia Tramontano, who was repeatedly stabbed by her partner while seven-months pregnant. Her murder - along with another case – sparked fierce outrage across Italy, culminating in the new law being passed.

In this episode, we hear from Giulia’s sister, Chiara Tramontano, and the BBC Southern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford.

Producer: Valerio Esposito

Executive Producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior News Editor: China Collins

Photo: A framed photo of Giulia Tramontano at her funeral. Credit: Alessandro Memoli/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Europe is facing the prospect of ‘civilizational erasure’. That is the official view of the Trump administration, as put in a radical policy document that was released late last week.

The US government’s new National Security Strategy paints the most complete picture yet of who the administration sees as its allies and its adversaries, and it has left Europe’s leaders reeling.

Today, we speak to the BBC's State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, about how Trump has turned traditional US foreign policy on its head.

Producer: Viv Jones, Lucy Pawle and Hannah Moore

Executive producer: James Shield

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

(Photo: US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, 9 December, 2025. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

This week, Syrians have been celebrating the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime and the end of almost 14 years of civil war. In the year since, the former jihadist turned leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been on an international charm offensive. But has life improved for ordinary Syrians back home? And has Sharaa proven himself to be the reformer the west wants him to be?

Today we’re joined from Damascus by the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen.

Producer: Sam Chantarasak

Executive producer: James Shield

Senior news editor: China Collins

Mix: Travis Evans

Photo: A young girl sits on her father's shoulders during a parade marking the first anniversary of the ousting of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Idlib, Syria. Bilal al-Hammoud/EPA/Shutterstock

**This episode contains discussion of bullying and suicide**

Australian teens are bracing for a new law coming into effect this week that will ban social media accounts for anyone under the age of 16. The Government says the legislation is designed to protect the mental wellbeing of Australian children and teens – but it’s already proving controversial, not least among American tech companies and some politicians who see the ban as a threat to free speech.

In today’s episode, we are joined by Katy Watson, the BBC’s Australia correspondent, to discuss how the country became a global test case for a bold new policy – and crucially, whether it will succeed.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior News Editor: China Collins

Photo: A teen using her phone ahead of social media band for users under 16. Hollie Adams/Reuters

After an Afghan national was charged with shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC, President Donald Trump called for sweeping changes in immigration policy and pledged to "permanently pause migration" from all "third world countries".

Afghan nationals, especially those who worked with the US mission in Afghanistan, may now find themselves in a particularly precarious position. Asma and Tristan discuss these rapid recent policy changes, and the BBC’s Mahfouz Zubaide shares recent reporting on how Afghans in America are getting caught up in the crackdown.

Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin

Executive Producer: Bridget Harney

Senior News Editor: China Collins

Mix: Marty Peralta

Photo: People leave flowers at the scene where two National Guard members were shot in Washington DC. Credit: Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, is widely expected to award Donald Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize on Friday, at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington DC. The prize has led to scrutiny over Infantino’s close relationship with Trump, along with concerns that Trump might move matches from host cities and fears over visa delays or refusals for travelling fans and officials.

We speak to Dan Roan, the BBC’s sports editor, about why Infantino is cosying up to Trump, and what it means for football and global diplomacy.

Producer: Sam Chantarasak and Aron Keller

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

(Image: Fifa President Gianni Infantino shows US President Donald Trump the World Cup Trophy in the Oval Office. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

When China began cracking down on the spiritual movement Falun Gong in the 1990s, its leader and some followers moved to the United States. From there, they started the Epoch Times, a free newsletter.

But in the past decade, the organisation has grown to become a conservative media empire – with a Pentagon press pass, a slick TV arm, and many millions of dollars in revenue. How did they do it? The story involves a mysterious spiritual leader, a dance troupe, and even a federal indictment.

What does the meteoric rise of the Epoch Times say about how media and politics in the United States have changed in the last decade? We speak to Brandy Zadrozny, who has investigated the Epoch Times for NBC News.

Producer: Lucy Pawle and Cat Farnsworth

Sound engineer: Martin Peralta and Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Members of the Falun Gong protesting in New York. Credit: Alex Segre/BBC Images)

President Donald Trump has pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of Honduras who was serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking and weapons offences.

It was only last year that Hernández was convicted in a New York courtroom of being part of a huge drug trafficking conspiracy, after being extradited to the US. Prosecutors said the operation flooded America with cocaine and turned Honduras into a “narco-state”. But Trump has claimed the investigation was a Biden administration “set up”, and Hernández is now a free man.

As the Trump administration ramps up its military threats against Latin American drug cartels, including multiple strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, why has it pardoned Hernández? Will Grant reports.

Producer: Xandra Ellin, Hannah Moore and Viv Jones

Executive producer: James Shield

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

(Photo: Juan Orlando Hernandez being escorted by US agents for extradition in 2022. Credit: Fredy Rodriguez/Reuters)

Are we living through the slow death of reading - replaced by an addictive screen culture that fragments our attention and floods us with trivial or unreliable information? Writer and voracious reader James Marriott believes we are entering a post-literate age with profoundly negative consequences for education, culture and democracy itself. In today's episode, James traces how an 18th century ‘reading revolution’ shaped the modern-world - and what might follow its sudden decline. Producers: Aron Keller and Sam Chantarasak Editor: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: The al-Nahda al-Arabiya library in central Baghdad. (Credit: Ahmed Jalil/EPA)

Last June, Israel and the United States carried out coordinated strikes on nuclear and military sites across Iran in what became known as the 12-day war. The aim was clear: destroy Iran’s nuclear-enrichment facilities amid warnings that Tehran was dangerously close to developing a nuclear weapon. But conflicting reports in the immediate aftermath left the public uncertain about how effective the operation really was. Six months after the bombings, we speak with Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter for BBC Persian, about what the war actually achieved, the current state of Iran’s nuclear programme, and what daily life inside Iran looks like today. Producer: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Credit: US Air Force)

Pope Leo is on his first official visit abroad, and there are already signs he’s willing to use his position to speak out on controversial matters. His recent comments about abortion and the rights of migrants have created headlines in the United States, and raised eyebrows from some conservatives who see the first American pope challenging President Trump’s policies.

It wouldn't be the first time that a pope has weighed in on politics. From Nazism to communism and the Cold War, from refugees to climate change, popes have used their position to influence global affairs.

In this episode we speak to author and presenter Edward Stourton, who has covered religious affairs and the USA extensively for the BBC, about what power Pope Leo XIV has, and what lessons he can learn from his predecessors.

Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam Chantarasak

Executive producers: James Shield and Bridget Harney

Senior news editor: China Collins

Mix: Travis Evans

Image: Pope Leo XIV visits Ankara, Turkey on 27 November. Vatican Media Handout/EPA/Shutterstock