Newscast

Today, Spain and Portgual have been hit by large power cuts. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says the cause is still unknown. Adam is joined by Rachel Morison, Energy Editor at Bloomberg, and Professor Keith Bell, Professor of Future Power systems at the University of Strathclyde, to discuss what we know - and what we don’t - about the huge power outages on the Iberian peninsula. Plus, what is the UK energy grid’s plan for if something similar were to happen here? And the Kremlin has announced a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, just after Donald Trump said he might be ready to walk away from negotiations and accusing Vladimir Putin of not wanting to end the war. Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg joins from Moscow to discuss what concessions Russia is seeking in a peace deal. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9 New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Miranda Slade with Alix Pickles and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today we look at what politicians are saying on camera and behind the scenes about the local elections coming up on Thursday. Laura, Paddy, and Henry discuss whether it could be a good week for all the parties apart from Labour and the Conservatives. And there’s talk of a future coalition between Reform and the Conservative Party. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9 New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O'Connell with Henry Zeffman. It was made by Chris Flynn and Bella Saltiel. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The weekend series editor is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we discuss the pictures coming from The Vatican of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump meeting in St Peter’s Basilica before Pope Francis’ funeral. Laura and Paddy discuss whether it could be an important moment as discussions about an end to the war in Ukraine continue. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9 New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The weekend series editor is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we’re looking ahead to local elections taking place in England on Thursday 1 May. Adam and Chris are joined by friends of the podcast Matt Chorley and Professor Jane Green, Director of the Nuffield Politics Research Centre at the University of Oxford, to discuss the upcoming local elections, and tips for interpreting the results. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9 New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Miranda Slade with Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we discuss whether the EU and UK are about to do a deal on a youth visa scheme. Labour has previously said it has "no plans" for such a scheme, which would make it easier for young people to study and work abroad. But today, the government is no longer ruling it out ahead of a bit summit next month. Adam and Chris discuss the possible “reset” And, tensions are rising between India and Pakistan following an attack that killed 26 people in Kashmir. Adam speaks to Shruti Menon, Senior Journalist at BBC Verify and Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC South Asia Region Editor for BBC News. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9 New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.