BBC

The Nobel Peace Prize winner arrives in Oslo after a clandestine journey from her hiding place in Venezuela. We hear the inside story of how she slipped out of the country.

Also in the programme: French police's crackdown on drug gangs in Marseilles, and a rare public display for Mary Queen of Scots' final letter before execution.

(Photo: Maria Corina Machado waving at her supporters from a balcony in Oslo. Credits: Lise Aserud/EPA/Shutterstock)

Gideon Long speaks to a former Venezuelan diplomat about the US seizure of an oil tanker off the country's coastline. Where was it going and what could it mean for global oil supplies?

Plus, the typhoon survivors from the Philippines taking oil giant Shell to court.

And how does the World Cup ticket ballot actually work?

Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group says it has captured Uvira town near DR Congo's southeastern border with Burundi. This comes after US President Donald Trump brokered a peace deal between DR Congolese leader Felix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Washington DC last week. We look at what the renewed fighting means for DR Congo and the peace agreement.

Also, a housing deficit poses a threat to Africa's young people with increased difficulty in renting or acquiring homes. Where will Africa's youth live?

Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya and Madina Maishanu

Technical Producer: Davis Mwasaru

Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga

Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

NIPSA's Deputy General Secretary Patrick Mulholland talks to Nolan.

After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects he and his experts have tackled. In this sixth of his choices, we hear Melvyn Bragg and his guests in 2017 discussing new discoveries about dinosaurs. Their topic is the development of theories about dinosaur feathers, following discoveries of fossils which show evidence of those feathers. All dinosaurs were originally thought to be related to lizards (the word 'dinosaur' was created from the Greek for 'terrible lizard') but that now appears false. In the last century, discoveries of fossils with feathers established that at least some dinosaurs were feathered and that some of those survived the great extinctions and evolved into the birds we see today. There are still many outstanding areas for study, such as what sorts of feathers they were, where on the body they were found, what their purpose was and which dinosaurs had them. With Mike Benton Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol Steve Brusatte Reader and Chancellor's Fellow in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh and Maria McNamara Senior Lecturer in Geology at University College, Cork Producer: Simon Tillotson Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid escalating tensions. President Trump said it was done for "very good reason" but Caracas accused Washington of "blatant theft" and "international piracy". Also: María Corina Machado arrives in Norway for her Nobel Peace Prize; the latest on Ukraine peace talks; we hear from Palestinians as severe storms hit Gaza; scientists shed light on the discovery of fire; Nicolas Sarkozy's new book on his experience in prison; Italian cuisine gets the UNESCO stamp of approval; film critics are panned in the digital age; and would you hand over your social media history for a trip to the US?

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How do you get vital medical support to those most in need?

Could Americans finally get some financial relief? The Fed has cut interest rates to a three-year low, and President Trump promises to make ‘America affordable again.’ We speak to a business owner and a former Federal Reserve economist.

Why is silver hitting record highs?

And in Italy, the nations food has been granted the world’s first-ever heritage status.

You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.

(Photo: US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell attends a press conference at the Federal Reserve, Washington, DC USA, 10 December 2025.

Credit: WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock (16075439n))

Next week's strike by resident doctors in England may be averted after ministers offered the British Medical Association a fresh deal. Wes Streeting's offer includes a rapid expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees. The doctors' union has agreed to put the offer to members over the coming days, we hear from one resident doctor.

Also on the programme: The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, in an escalation of the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Nicolas Maduro.

And Israeli pop star and actress Noa Kirel condemns a decision by European broadcasters to pull out of next year's Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel's participation.

President Trump has said the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela - an operation reported to have been led by the US Coastguard. The seizure is certain to increase tensions between the United States and Venezuela, which is already being threatened by the deployment of a US fleet. Oil futures rose following news of the seizure.

Also in the programme: tourists from more than forty countries may have to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the US under a new proposal; and new evidence suggests humans made fire much earlier than previously thought.

(Photo: US President Donald J Trump makes remarks in a roundtable with high-tech business executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 December 2025. Credit: AARON SCHWARTZ/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)