Newscast

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing for a trip to Washington on Thursday that he hopes will move Donald Trump away from a quick deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and get European allies back at the negotiating table. The prime minister will have to walk a diplomatic tightrope in order to avoid the crossfire between Washington and Kyiv and repair transatlantic relationships. 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/NbuxWnmY Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O'Connell. It was made by George Dabby with Teodora Agarici. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham

The past week has seen international diplomacy turned upside down as the US began talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The decision to exclude Ukraine - and Europe - from these talks led to an emergency summit in which European countries sought to establish some influence over the process. But with the US and Ukrainian presidents embroiled in a dispute that led to President Trump calling President Zelensky a “dictator”, is their relationship beyond repair? And will Ukraine have any say over the terms of a peace deal? Newscast, Americast and Ukrainecast gathered in the studio for a special collaboration to unpack the enormous shift in international politics that’s unfolding. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/NbuxWnmY 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 and Anna Harris. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we discuss Germany’s upcoming elections. With concerns about immigration and the economy dominating, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could increase their seat share in the Bundestag. But can they get power? Adam speaks to BBC Europe editor, Katya Adler, and German historian and author, Katja Hoyer. And, Ukrainian President Zelensky and the US Chief Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg are holding talks in Kyiv, but a scheduled press conference with the two of them was cancelled. Mark Urban, former Newsnight diplomatic and defence editor looks at why. 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/NbuxWnmY 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 Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at what looks like an increasingly hostile relationship between President Trump and President Zelensky. In a press conference on Monday evening, US President Donald Trump has appeared to accuse Ukraine of being responsible for the war with Russia. In response President Zelensky has accused Trump of living in “disinformation space”. Adam is joined in the studio by the former armed forces minister, and Conservative MP, James Heappey for an in depth interview on the state of the negotiations, and how we got here. Plus, the Treasury has warned of a “bumpy” road to lower inflation after an unexpected jump to 3%. Adam and Alex speak to Claer Barret, Consumer Editor of the Financial Times and host of the Money Clinic podcast. 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/NbuxWnmY 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 Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Russia and the US hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia, but a noticeable absentee was any representative of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergi Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have agreed to appoint teams to start negotiating the end of the war in Ukraine after talks in Saudi Arabia. Speaking after, Lavrov said his country wouldn’t accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine. Are relations between Russia and the US thawing? And are we on the brink of a deal? We speak to the BBC world affairs editor, John Simpson. And, President Trump has said he wants access to Ukraine’s rare minerals. But what exactly are they? We speak to Dr Julie Klinger, author of Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes. 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/NbuxWnmY 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 Teodora Agarici and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.