Could the War in Ukraine be About to End?

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.

Today, we ask what a peace deal for Ukraine might look like, as European leaders gather in Paris for an emergency summit.Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK was "ready and willing to put troops on the ground", while President Trump is expected to be meeting President Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon”. Adam is joined by our Europe editor, Katya Adler and Lord Kim Darroch, former UK Ambassador to Washington. We also speak to Joe Pike, political investigations correspondent and James Landale, diplomatic correspondent.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 Chris Flynn and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Victoria and Paddy are joined by Newsnight political editor Nicholas Watt to discuss the latest developments between the UK, US and EU. The UK government has set out a road map to increase defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP, as Starmer seeks to build a “bridge” between Trump and Europe. An emergency summit is being planned by Europe‘s leaders, as the US and Russia prepare for separate peace talks in Saudi Arabia next week.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 Victoria Derbyshire and Paddy O'Connell. It was made by George Dabby with Nancy Geddes. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Paddy and Adam are joined by Lyse Doucet to discuss developments on the global stage at the Munich Security Conference. JD Vance shocked delegates with an attack on Europe and the UK, who he accused of neglecting their values and ignoring the issue of migration and free speech. Plus, Hamas has released three Israeli hostages in return for over 300 Palestinian prisoners as the Gaza ceasefire holds in the balance. 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 and Paddy O'Connell. It was made by George Dabby with Nancy Geddes. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Adam Fleming, Chris Mason, Caitríona Perry and James Landale discuss if the war in Ukraine might be about to end. And, what Donald Trump’s intervention means for Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of Europe. And the UK economy unexpectedly grew in the final months of 2024 but the figures also indicated living standards last year were slightly lower than in 2023 on average. 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/NbuxWnmYNewscast 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 Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at President Donald Trump’s claim that there’s a “good possibility” that the Ukraine war could be about to end.He spoke to Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during separate phone calls. Chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet and Russia editor Steve Rosenberg talk through what we know.Chris is on to talk about stories regarding the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s CV, and her expenses when she was working for a bank in a previous job.And, the CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness is warning about the “threat” AI poses to people using it to access 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://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 Chris Flynn with Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at a BBC investigation which has revealed that MI5 lied three times in court to protect one of its own violent, neo-Nazi agents.As it was defending its handling of their agent who had attacked his girlfriend with a machete, MI5 lied to three courts when they said they had stuck to its policy of not confirming or denying their agents’ identities. They had actually given information about this agent to BBC investigations correspondent Daniel De Simone as they tried to persuade him not to continue his investigation. MI5 has apologised to the BBC and all three courts.Adam is joined by Daniel who explains the details of his investigation.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/newscastcommunityhereNewscast 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 with Shiler Mahmoudi and Adam Chowdhury. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the commissioner of the Met police Sir Mark Rowley saying they have been left in a “hopeless position” after a High Court ruling. The High Court today ruled the force could not dismiss officers by removing their vetting clearance. The ruling has huge implications for the ability of police chiefs to sack officers and is a major blow to Sir Mark's pledge to root out people who he says should not be in the force. Adam is joined by Sima Kotecha, Senior UK correspondent and former chief inspector of constabulary Zoe Billingham.Also, a bill for assisted dying to be made legal in the UK has been changed causing some anger among MPs. The bill had previously said that a High Court judge must check each person is eligible for assisted dying, and had not been coerced into making the decision to die. Now, MP Kim Leadbeater says a panel of voluntary experts, including a psychiatrist, social worker and legal expert, would be better suited than a judge. Adam and Alex discuss if this changes the likelihood of the bill passing. 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 . The technical producer was Dafyyd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at President Trump’s announcement that he will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the U.S.He made the announcement to reporters aboard Air Force One after becoming the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, where he and Taylor Swift got mixed reactions from the crowd.Adam and Chris talk about the implications of the tariffs for the UK and the rest of the world with Sumi Somaskanda, BBC News chief presenter in Washington.And we look at the latest suspension of a Labour Party MP as more WhatsApps are leaked. 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 Chris Flynn with Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the latest Government minister to be forced to leave their role. Health minister Andrew Gwynne has been sacked after a newspaper revealed he sent a string of offensive and abusive WhatsApp messages. Gwynne said on X that he was sorry for any offence caused by the "badly misjudged" comments. Laura, Paddy and Henry discuss.Meanwhile, the deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner spoke to Laura about accusations she was “aggressive” during a Grenfell Tower demolition meeting. 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 Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell . It was made by Jack Maclaren with Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.