Newshour

The Iranian foreign minister has again said Tehran is ready for talks with Washington on the basis of mutual respect -- as the US continues to threaten military action over Iran's nuclear programme. Newshour speaks to former US national security advisor Nate Swanson.
Also in the programme: Inside the Roj prison camp in Syria; and forty years of Poems on the Underground.
(Picture: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Turkey, Istanbul. Credit: EPA)

Donald Trump's "border tsar" Tom Homan says he is working on making ICE operations in Minneapolis "safer, more efficient, by the book". Also on the programme, the bodies of 15 Palestinians have been returned as the Gaza ceasefire moves into its next stage; and, the hidden, subconscious forces behind our everyday choices.
(Photo: US Border Czar Tom Homan speaks at his first news conference after replacing Greg Bovino as the lead of ICE operations at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 29 January 2026. CRAIG LASSIG/EPA/Shutterstock)

The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says "good progress" was made in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping of China. Our China correspondent will give us her assessment.

Also on the programme: as President Trump steps up the rhetoric on Iran, what could happen if the US strikes it? And the musical director who stood in for Puccini’s challenging Turandot when the star tenor suddenly fell ill.

(Photo: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer shakes hands with President Xi Jinping of China ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during his visit to China. Credit: PA)

Is the United States about to launch a larger attack on Iran, than last June, when 'Operation Midnight Hammer' targeted its nuclear programme? Earlier this month President Trump told protesters that "help was on the way," and now thousands are dead. We hear from a former US envoy to Iran.
Also on the programme: Tensions over ICE agents persist in Minnesota - we get a view from the Democrats; and we hear the extraordinary story of mathematician Dr Gladys West, who has died at the age of 95.
(Photo: The USS Abraham Lincoln shown in 2019; Credit : US Navy via Reuters)

The UK's prime minister Keir Starmer has arrived in China for a three-day visit - the first by a British prime minister in eight years.
Sir Keir is seeking to strengthen trading and cultural ties between the two nations after years of acrimony.
Also in the programme: We'll hear from people inside Iran as families and friends try to count the number of dead during the recent crackdown; and new research into the late novelist Terry Pratchett suggests a person's use of words could help diagnose dementia much earlier.
(Photo shows UK prime minister Keir Starmer arriving in Beijing, China on 28 January 2026. Credit: Carl Court/PA)