Newshour

Reports suggest growing protests in Iran

Mass protests across Iran: but how will the authorities respond? We hear from the BBC Persian Service, where journalists are trying to monitor events amid an information blackout, and discuss Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's options with Iranian-American journalist Hooman Majd. Also in the programme: Colombian President Gustavo Petro's views on United States policy in Latin America; and Elon Musk's former partner Ashley St Clair explains her concerns about sexualised images made by the Grok AI chatbot on X, formerly known as Twitter. (Photo: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, taken on 3 Jan 2026; Credit: IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

Iranian Supreme Leader denounces protests

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has described demonstrators as vandals aiming to please a foreign power - as he faces the biggest wave of anti government protests in over a decade. Also in the programme: we'll hear from the Greenlanders tired of President Trump's talk of take over; and the British government accuses the social media platform X of insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual abuse. (Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency)

Trump officials defend officer who shot woman in Minneapolis while protests continue

Vice-President J.D.Vance insists Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer in self defence. We hear the latest from the city amid conflicting accounts of what happened. Also in the programme: reports of clashes between Iranian security forces and protestors across the country; political prisoners released in Venezuela; and what it's like to be sick in space. (Photo: US Vice-President Vance addresses the media in the White House; Credit: WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock)

Hundreds attend Minneapolis vigil after ICE shooting

Hundreds of people have attended a vigil in the US city of Minneapolis to protest against the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent. The woman, identified in the media as 37-year-old US citizen Renee Good, was shot at close range as she drove her car. The mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey has bluntly rejected the Trump administration's assertion that the agent had shot her in self-defence. Also in the programme: the Lebanese military says it has completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, and the most exciting new species of plants and fungi identified last year, including a spider-eating fungus. (Photo: People protest against the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. US, 8 January, 2026. Credit: Tim Evans/Reuters)

US seizes Russian-flagged tanker in Atlantic

The United States says it has seized two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil - one in the Caribbean and a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic. We'll hear from a former head of NATO reflecting on President Trump's recent foreign policy moves. Also on the programme: we speak to the son of a prominent Venezuelan political prisoner; and the story of Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer who became one of America's most damaging double agents, who has died aged 84. (Photo: A US Coast Guard official looks through binoculars at the ship Marinera (Ex-Bella 1) in this handout image released January 7, 2026. Credit: X/Reuters)