Hezbollah's leader killed... Is wider war now inevitable?

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that with Trump in the White House, he is certain the war with Russia will “end sooner”. And, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken to Putin on the phone in the first call between a major western leader and the Russian leader since December 2022.Laura and Paddy discuss what it means for Ukraine, plus news of a “impasse” in government over social care. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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. 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 Chris Flynn with Bella Saltiel. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Adam and Chris are joined by Stephanie Flanders, head of economics and politics at Bloomberg, and Lucy Fisher, Whitehall editor at the Financial Times, to discuss all the political news of the week. They discuss an increasingly heated debate about assisted dying legislation, the chancellor announcing “the biggest pension reform in decades” and President-elect Trump announcing more details of his team. 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://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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 . The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today we look at the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan.World leaders, diplomats and climate scientists have gathered in Baku for the annual UN climate summit. Adam speaks to BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt and host of The Climate Question Graihagh Jackson to find out what they’re hoping to achieve and why so few And, Emma Pinchbeck the incoming chief executive of the Climate Change Committee speaks to Adam about Keir Starmer’s plans for the climate and the impact of a Trump presidency on international climate cooperation.You can sign up to Justin’s Future Earth newsletter here: bbc.co.uk/futureearthnewsletterYou 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://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhereNewscast 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 Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Daniel Ehrlich. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at President-elect Trump’s first administration appointments and Wes Streeting’s much-trailed NHS reforms.Adam speaks to BBC News Chief Presenter Caitriona Perry and Social Media and Disinformation Correspondent Marianna Spring about what happened when Biden and Trump met and what Elon Musk’s new role as head of a Department of Government Efficiency mean.And, BBC Health Editor Hugh Pym decodes what reforms the Health Secretary Wes Streeting has proposed in a speech at the NHS providers conference this morning. 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://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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 Anna Harris and Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.He has resigned after growing pressure due to a report which found that he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of abuse of young boys and men by John Smyth. In his resignation letter, he said the report "exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth”. Adam speaks to the BBC’s religion editor Aleem Maqbool to discuss what has changed in the past 24 hours to cause the Archbishop to resign and what it means for the Church of England. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this podcast, support services can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/ You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhereYou 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. 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 Gemma Roper and Anna Harris. The technical producer was Ricardo Mccarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the assisted dying legislation that’s been published ahead of a vote in Parliament. Under the bill, adults with less than six months to live would be given the right to end their own life. They would need to meet several requirements - including approval from two independent doctors and a High Court judge. Adam is joined by the BBC’s deputy political editor Vicki Young and medical editor Fergus Walsh to discuss the safeguards set out in the bill, how leading politicians are saying they’ll vote and the concerns those who oppose the bill have raised. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhereYou 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.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 Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the relationship between President-elect Donald Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has denied media reports that Donald Trump held a call with Vladimir Putin, in which he is said to have warned Putin against escalating the war in Ukraine. Adam speaks to Christopher Steele, the former head of the Russia Desk at MI6, Author of “Unredacted: Russia, Trump and the Fight for Democracy” and a director of Orbis Business Intelligence about what Trump’s election means for the US-Russia relationship. And, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is facing pressure to resign due to a review which found that he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of abuse of young boys and men by a man associated with the Church of England. Mr Welby acknowledged he should have more rigorously followed up the details and said last week he had considered resigning, but decided to stay in his role.You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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.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 Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Laura’s been trying to get answers from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, about when the UK Government will meet its target of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence. Laura and James are joined by Henry to discuss possible points of difference between the Treasury and the UK chief of defence Admiral Sir Tony Radakin - who told Laura he wants ‘resources’ to match ‘ambitions’. And, did Laura have the next British Ambassador to the US sitting on her panel? You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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.Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and James Cook. It was made by Miranda Slade with Anna Harris. The technical producer was Johnny Hall. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham

Today, we look at who is tipped for key roles in President-Elect Trump’s White House. Donald Trump has announced that his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, will be his new Chief of Staff. Laura and James speak to Gary O'Donoghue, BBC’s Senior North America Correspondent, about what her role will be and what challenges she might face - as well as which other famous faces from his campaign team might take key roles in the Trump administration.Plus, Laura and James look at the reaction to the election from the international defence community. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere 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.Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and James Cook. It was made by Miranda Slade with Anna Harris. The technical producer was Johnny Hall. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham

Today, we look at what a Donald Trump victory means for the UK and Kemi Badenoch’s first week as leader of the opposition.Adam Fleming, Chris Mason, Alex Forsyth and Nick Watt discuss the political and economic impact of Donald Trump winning the US election. They also talk about the planned increase in tuition fees and the Bank of England’s interest rate decision.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://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming, Chris Mason, Alex Forsyth and Nick Watt. It was made by Chris Gray with Anna Harris and Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.