BBC

50 years after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, Spain continues to feel its way towards an accommodation between its once-warring factions. And nowhere in Spain is more emblematic of the lasting divisions provoked by the Spanish civil war than the place known for decades as El Valle de los Caidos – the Valley of the Fallen.

Built partly with the forced labour of political prisoners, this is a monument that symbolised Franco’s fascist victory over Republican Spain. The Valley became a pilgrimage place for people who revered the dictator – especially after he was buried behind the basilica’s altar.

But in the 21st century, the debate has been about the place of such a monument in modern Spain. And since 2018, Spain’s Socialist government has been determined to change the narrative. In 2019, the remains of Francisco Franco were removed. Then the site was renamed El Valle de Cuelgamuros. And just this year - after lengthy negotiations - the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Spain accepted the government’s plans to make the site, ‘a place of democratic memory’, rather than somewhere paying homage to the dictatorship.

But it seems no one is happy. For Assignment, Esperanza Escribano and Linda Pressly explore the story, legacy and future of El Valle de Cuelgamuros.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood laid out a string of reforms to the asylum system that would see refugee status become temporary, guaranteed housing support for asylum seekers end and new capped "safe and legal routes" into the UK created. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mahmood told MPs the current system is "out of control and unfair", and said: "If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred."

Also on the programme: as Syrians search for those who disappeared during the 13-year civil war, questions remain over missing American Austin Tice.

And an off-duty pilot who tried to cut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines passenger flight with more than 80 people on board, after having taken psychedelic mushrooms, has been sentenced.

Myanmar government takes effort to dismantle Southeast Asian-based call centre scams and human trafficking networks. We hear more from Erin West, Founder and President of Operation Shamrock and former Deputy District Attorney in Santa Clara County.

Also, why are we witnessing so many mergers in the US business environment?

And the Amazon rainforest could face a renewed surge of deforestation as efforts appear to be growing to get a long-standing ban on deforestation overturned.

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

Sheikh Hasina, in exile in India, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. The former Prime Minister was found guilty of ordering the use of lethal force against protesters, resulting in the deaths of around 1,400 people. Hasina denies the charges and her supporters say they are politically motivated.

Also on the programme: we ask what led to Donald Trump’s sudden U-turn on the Epstein files; and the discovery of two organ pieces by a teenaged Johann Sebastian Bach.

(PICTURE: Bangladeshi Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman addresses the media in Dhaka, 17 November 2025 CREDIT: MONIRUL ALAM/EPA/Shutterstock)

The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are presevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to train surgeons in the procedures which may one day save your life.

Journalist Jenny Kleeman gains rare access to a surgical training course at Brighton and Sussex Medical School which uses these "fresh" donor bodies. She talks to the people who work with them every day and the surgeons who have come to be trained to find out how they feel about the people who have given the ultimate gift and if we still need real human cadavers in medical education.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman

Producer: Ella Hubber

Jakob faces an unexpected diversion, and Helen makes the best of a tricky situation.

Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. A tribunal in Dhaka found she had ordered security forces to kill protesters during student-led anti-government demonstrations in 2024. The UN estimates up to 1,400 people died during the uprising, most by gunfire. Sheikh Hasina was tried in her absence and has been living in exile in India since being forced from power. She has dismissed the court's verdict as politically motivated.

Also: a plea from the UN aid chief to stop the supply of weapons to the rival armies in Sudan. A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence raising doubts about the trial of US marines over the killings of Iraqi civilians in 2005. Researchers look to artificial intelligence to treat a type of brain cancer, by detecting early signs that tumours are returning. And we drop in on a knitting session in Denmark to find out why young people are driving a boom in traditional crafts.

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Shares in Japanese retail and travel-related companies have fallen sharply in Tokyo, after China urged its citizens not to visit the country. The tensions spiked after Japan’s prime minister suggested Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan, which China claims is its sovereign territory.

Meanwhile, why has Bitcoin lost more than $600 billion in market value, just weeks after hitting a record high?

And for Bridget Jones fans, the rom-com icon is getting her own statue, joining the likes of Harry Potter and Paddington Bear on a new trail celebrating 100 years of British cinema.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne

Producer: Niamh Mc Dermott

Editor: Justin Bones

The DR Congo and the M23 rebels sign a framework agreement in Qatar for a peace deal to end fighting

 

Will Nigeria's seemingly endless academic staff strikes end?

 

And Nigeria's Eagles to miss the World Cup after defeat by DR Congo's Leopards

 

Presenter: Nyasha Michelle

Producers:  Sunita Nahar and Joseph Keen in London with Madina Maishanu in Abuja.

Technical Producer: Jack Graysmark

Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga

Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in abstentia over her crackdown on student-led protests, which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year. Where does the verdict leave Bangladesh?

Also in the programme: Donald Trump u-turns on releasing the Epstein files; Chileans face a presidential choice - the hard-left or the far-right; and the rom-com hero now cast in bronze in London.

(Photo shows the then-Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina visiting New Delhi, India on 22 June 2024. Credit: Harish Tyagi/EPA)