Newscast

Today, the US has seized two oil tankers — one Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic and another ship in the Caribbean. Both vessels have links to Venezuela.The UK supported US efforts to seize the Russian-flagged ship, which is accused of breaking US sanctions by shipping Iranian oil.What do we know so far and is this the closest Russia and the US have been to confrontation since the Cold War? Adam is joined by BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen and Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward.Also in the studio is BBC economics editor Faisal Islam, who’s back from a visit to Google HQ in California, where they are developing a quantum computer which could have capabilities beyond anything the world has yet seen. Faisal fills us in on what he learned from his trip.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://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.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://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Rufus Gray with Shiler Mahmoudi and Laura Cain. The social producers were Beth Pritchard and Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Stephen Bailey. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Adam and Chris discuss the latest agreement between the Coalition of the Willing and the US to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire with Russia.The talks in Paris saw the UK and France agree to put troops on the ground "in the event of a peace deal".Plus we look at why President Trump has his sights set on Greenland and whether he really might annex the island.Adam is joined by the Economist’s defence editor Shashank Joshi and Dr Gabriella Gricius, senior fellow at the Arctic Institute to discuss the strategic importance of Greenland to security in the Arctic. 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://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.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://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producers were Joe Wilkinson and Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, the seized President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro has appeared in a New York court charged with narco-terrorism. As Maduro pled not guilty he told the court he was a “decent man” and “still the president of his country”. The highly televised spectacle of the Venezuelan leader being transferred to the court came as the UN security council held an emergency meeting across the city and President Trump reiterated his interest in annexing Greenland in the name of American national security. Adam is joined by chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, BBC News chief presenter Caitríona Perry, and Vanessa Buschsclüter, BBC Online’s Latin America and Caribbean editor.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://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.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://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi and Chloe Scannapieco. The social producer was Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at who’s in power now in Venezuela, after President Donald Trump said the US will ‘run’ the country.Maduro's Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez has been named interim president, who Trump says is talking to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman is also in the studio to talk through Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s interview with Laura in which he reacted to the news from South America, as well as his future and the UK’s relationship with the EU.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://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.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://bbc.in/4guXgXdNewscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The social producer was Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producer was James Piper. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

As the new year begins, Laura's had a long chat with the Prime Minister Keir Starmer. There's speculation about his future, but he says he'll see out the year in the job.The interview was recorded on Saturday, as the news about President Nicolás Maduro's capture was breaking. Laura also asks Starmer if he's is supportive of Donald Trump's actions.And, how does he see the UK's future relationship with the EU?This is the interview in full. There's a regular episode of Newscast on the way later today!