Newshour

Binyamin Natanyahu reaffirms his intention to send troops to Rafah; UN Secretary-General says such an assault would be devastating. We unpick the latest developments, including speculation about a possible ceasefire deal, with analyst Ya'akov Katz.

Also in the programme: Donald Trump is fined for contempt of court; and a Finnish cyber-criminal is jailed for trying to blackmail thousands of people with their confidential psychotherapy notes.

(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 18, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun//File Photo)

Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University in New York City have escalated their protest over the war in Gaza by occupying an academic building. Also on the programme: we speak to New Yorkers as their city is set to become the first in America to adopt a congestion charge; And a BBC investigation uncovers chilling details of an Iranian teenager's death in detention. (Photo: Protestors link arms to barricade themselves in Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, in New York city. Credit: REUTERS)

Western diplomats have expressed 'cautious optimism' over a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Our Gaza reporter and an Israeli journalist tell us more about the negotiations in Cairo.

We also speak to the family of one of the hostages still being held captive in Gaza and we hear about the realities of reporting from the territory.

Also in the programme: women in Amsterdam win the right to 'urination equality'; and the twelve-sided Roman mystery object that has been baffling experts for centuries.

(Photo: U.S.Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks to the U.S.-Arab meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Credit: REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein / Pool)

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is talking up an Israeli offer to Hamas – does this mean Israel and Hamas are on the verge of a new deal to pause hostilities? We also hear about the perils of being a journalist in Gaza.

Also in the programme: Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he'll stay on, despite allegations about his family; and Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz on competing freedoms and the dangers of neoliberalism.

(IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the World Economic Forum's special meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 29 Apr 2024 CREDIT: Deepu Das/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ministers in Israel’s government are divided over a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas, which could see the return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet, said the government would have no right to exist if it prevented a deal, but far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said a ceasefire would amount to a humiliating surrender.

Also on the programme: As South Africa marks 30 years since the end of apartheid, voters ask whether the ANC can still deliver on the promise of freedom and democracy; and Iranian authorities clamp down on the Egyptian hit TV series Assassins.

(Picture: Benny Gantz at a march by supporters of hostages in Gaza near Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 1, 2024 Credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

The Palestinian President says only the US can prevent an Israeli attack on Rafah. Efforts are underway to negotiate a truce between Israel and Hamas to safeguard the southern Gaza city where more than a million have fled. The US Secretary of State is meeting Arab leaders to discuss the situation.

Also in the programme: South Africa's democratic credentials, 30 years after the country's first true elections; Sophie Trudeau, wife of the Canadian prime minister, on separation and survival.

(Photo: A Palestinian girl at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah last week. Credit: Reuters)

About 100 people have been detained at Northeastern University in the US city of Boston as police broke up a pro-Palestinian protest. It's the latest standoff in a wave of pro-Palestinian sit-ins at campuses around the United States.

Also in the programme: A resident of Haiti tells us he wants his country to be "occupied" to stop gang violence; and celebrations in South Africa marking 30 years since the first ever free and fair election in 1994.

(Photo: Police watch as pro-Palestinian students occupy a tent encampment in the grounds of Northeastern University while calling for the school to divest from Israel. Boston, USA, 26 April 2024. Credit: CJ Gunther/ EPA-EFE /REX/Shutterstock)

South Africa is marking 30 years since its first democratic elections, but the ANC could lose its grip on power due to endemic corruption, record levels of crime and unemployment, and infrastructure problems.

Also in the programme: thousands of people in Australia take to the street to demand action following a surge in violence against women; and a hole in the ozone layer is causing problems for wildlife in the Antarctic.

(Photo: Supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) in Soweto, South Africa. Credit: Reuters).

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

In an interview with the BBC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says China is “helping Russia perpetuate its aggression against Ukraine”. But is there anything the US can do to stop it?

Also in the programme: large scale trials begin of the first personalised anti-cancer mRNA vaccines, given in combination with antibodies as a treatment for the skin cancer melanoma; and Denmark abolishes a public holiday - to spend more money on defence.

(IMAGE: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, April 26, 2024. / CREDIT: Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)