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Uganda’s election campaign enters its final days ahead of voting on January 15th, with President Yoweri Museveni seeking to extend his four decades in power. His main challenger, opposition figure Bobi Wine, has rallied younger voters amid concerns raised by the UN about the political climate. We hear from voters and from the BBC in Kampala on the mood in the country. Then, we travel to Benin’s coastal city of Ouidah, where thousands gathered for Vodun Days, celebrating a spiritual tradition and its growing global appeal.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga

Producers: Blessing Aderogba, Bella Twine

Senior Producer: Daniel Dadzie

Technical Producer: Terry Chege

Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

More details emerge of Iranian security suppression of protests, witnesses say thousands were killed, as telephone services are partially restored. Also in the programme: The Russian woman luring foreigners to fight for Russia; and the enduring appeal of Agatha Christie the world's-best selling author.

(Photo: Iranian men in a square in Tehran. Credit: Shutterstock)

Plus, pressure mounts on Grok - X's AI chatbot - as Justice Minister seeks law change.

Learn this expression which means do something for attention or praise.

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President Trump says countries trading with Iran will face an immediate 25% percent tariff on business with the United States, in response to Tehran's deadly suppression of protests. China alone is estimated to buy around 90% of the oil that Iran exports to the global market. As Washington considers additional action, we hear from Iranians who have lost loved ones in the lethal response to the nationwide demonstrations.

Also: we hear from a Syrian man who was duped into fighting in Ukraine by a former Russian teacher, who promised hundreds of foreign recruits they could avoid combat. The US states of Minnesota and Illinois sue the Trump administration to try to halt mass deployments of ICE agents. A mobile app has gone viral in China as young people living alone seek reassurance that someone will be alerted if they go missing. More than 100 environmental officers in India are searching for an elephant that's believed to have killed at least 22 people in the state of Jharkhand in the past week. Archaeologists celebrate the discovery of what could be the largest ever Roman villa in Wales. And the man whose body began brewing its own alcohol.

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*** This programme contains very strong language ***

Over the past year, BBC Eye has followed the journeys of young men from Syria, Egypt, and Yemen who travelled to Russia in search of work, only to end up on the frontlines in Ukraine. Why are these men risking their lives in a war that is not theirs?

Many, including students, say they were tricked into fighting for the Russian army by a recruiter.

BBC Eye investigates their stories, meeting a family grieving the loss of their son and a young Yemeni man now trapped in a prisoner-of-war camp.

Watch the film Into the Void Putin's Foreign Fighters on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y7ruSvJfn_g

President Trump has said that any country doing business with Iran will pay a tariff of 25 per cent on all business with the US. We also hear from an Iranian living in the UK who has just returned from Tehran, where she joined protestors on the streets. And as the UK government says it's concerned about the amount of time under fives are spending on screens, we look at how the content they're seeing and its impact on them is changing.

Sam Fenwick examines a growing political storm at the world’s most powerful central bank, as US prosecutors investigate the Federal Reserve and its chair.

At Meta, a former adviser to Donald Trump steps into one of Silicon Valley’s biggest jobs, prompting new scrutiny of Big Tech’s relationship with Washington.

And in the Caribbean, Cuba faces a potential energy crunch after oil shipments from Venezuela come to a halt.

(PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speak during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has hailed a day of rallies in support of the government, as estimates of the number of anti- regime protesters killed by his security forces continue to rise. The Ayatollah said it was a historic day which had thwarted Iran's enemies. He described the rallies as a warning to the United States and what he called its domestic mercenaries. A Norway- based Iranian rights group (Iran Human Rights) says it's now confirmed almost 650 victims of his government's violent crackdown on dissent. But it warned that some estimates exceed 6,000 dead. Witnesses have told the BBC the scale of the use of force was unprecedented.

Also in the programme: Three former chairs of the US Federal Reserve have come to the defence of the current incumbent, Jerome Powell, who says he has been threatened by the Justice Department; and could a robot soon be doing your dishes?

(Photo: Mourners carry a coffin during a funeral procession for members of security forces and civilians said to be killed in protests on Sunday, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab from a video released on January 11, 2026. Credit: IRIB/Handout via Reuters)

The very latest developments in the world of space science with Roland Pease, recorded at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in New Orleans, where thousands of space and planetary scientists come together to promote discovery in space science for the benefit of humanity.