dc

Polls open in Russia’s presidential election, but few are in doubt about the eventual result, with Vladimir Putin certain to win another six year term. Any serious challengers to the President, including anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin, have already been disqualified from the ballot.Also on the programme: we investigate what many are calling an epidemic of suicide among young Americans; and UNESCO recognition for Berlin's techno scene -- overdue or the kiss of death for the city's clubs?(Picture: A woman walks to cast her ballot in Rostov-on-Don March 15, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov)

Israel's military says it plans to move displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what it called "humanitarian islands" in the middle of the strip, ahead of any offensive in Rafah, but critcs say they haven't offered many details on who they will operate. Also in the programme: thousands of Haitians are deported every day from the Dominican Republic despite the chaos in the former French colony; and Elon Musk’s Space X Starship goes "farther than ever".(Photo: Palestinians fleeing north Gaza due to Israel’s military offensive move southward. Credit: Reuters).

We hear how Ukrainians under Russian occupation are being forced to vote for Vladimir Putin. Also on the programme: a former hostage who was taken by Hamas on 7 October and held captive for 54 days. And, four months after the general election took place, why has Gert Wilders been unable to become Prime Minister of the Netherlands, despite winning the most votes?(Photo: President Putin of Russia in a crowd of supporters. Credit: Getty Images)

The US House of Representatives has passed a landmark bill that could see TikTok banned in America. It would give the social media giant's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell its controlling stake or the app will be blocked in the US.Also in the programme: The UN says one of its staff has been killed in southern Gaza in an apparent Israeli airstrike, and the Korean village surrounded by one million landmines.(Photo: TikTok creators gather before a press conference to voice their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," on Capitol Hill in Washington US, March 12, 2024. Credit: Reuters/Craig Hudson)

The UN says a new land route has been used to deliver food to northern Gaza for the first time in three weeks. The Israeli military said six lorries from the World Food Programme crossed via a gate in the Gaza border fence.Also in the programme: A close ally of Alexei Navalny is violently attacked in Lithuania; we will hear a rare report from inside the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea; and a rare happy ending for doctors treating a form of brain tumour in children.(Photo: Men carry bags of flour taken from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza City last month. Credit: Getty Images)

The US State Department says it expects a transitional council in Haiti to be appointed within the next 48 hours. Once established it will nominate a new prime minister to succeed Ariel Henry who announced his plans to resign on Monday. His departure had been a demand of the gangs which control much of Haiti, but even though he's now going, they're maintaining their blockade of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Much of the city remains closed, and people are running out of essential goods. We hear from residents of the capital, a former Haitian government minister, and an expert on the gangs. Also in the programme: How Ukrainian sea drones are proving a potent weapon against the Russian navy; and are Hollywood stars a good thing for London theatres and audiences? (Photo: People fleeing violence receive food outside a Haitian National Police station, following a shootout between rival gangs, in Port-au-Prince. February 12, 2024. Reuters/Ralph Tedy Erol)

The prime minister of Haiti has quit, calling for a return to stability in the country -- where armed gangs have taken control. A leading aid official tells us time is short to avert a catastrophe. Also, the BBC has seen footage of doctors, nurses, and other staff at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza being mistreated and beaten when Israeli forces overran facility last month. And the global online home rental platform, Airbnb, says it is banning the use of most cameras at its properties to ensure privacy.Plus how customers and cultivators may need to change their approach to bananas.(Photo: Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry. Credit: EPA)

The US State Department says it's trying to expedite the deployment of a UN- backed multinational police force to Haiti where gang violence is dragging the country into anarchy. A resident of the capital, Port-au-Prince, tells us that he has a bag packed ready to flee, if the gangs show up in his neighbourhood. And we speak to Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations, who is at the Caribbean Community meeting in Jamaica, about what needs to happen to stop the violence.Also in the programme: a rare interview with a man who gave up being a farmer to become the commander of a rebel group fighting the military junta in Myanmar; and the Oscar winner who said "I wish I never made this film".(Photo: Police patrol a street after authorities extended the state of emergency amid gang violence that has threatened to bring down the government, forcing thousands to flee their homes, in Port-au-Prince. Credit: REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol)

There's little for Palestinians to celebrate at the start of Ramadan as fighting continues in Gaza and Israel enforces tight security around al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Also in the programme: The Princess of Wales apologises for digitally manipulating the first official photograph since her recent operation; and the airline passenger who saw others pinned to the ceiling as their plane suddenly plunged.(Photo: Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah. Credit: Reuters)

As Palestinians prepare for Ramadan, extra police have been deployed in the Old City of Jerusalem where tens of thousands of worshippers are expected daily at the Al Aqsa mosque. And we hear about the new maritime routes planned to get aid to Gaza.Also on the programme, we speak to a nun who works with impoverished children in Haiti, amid increasing violence in the country, and we get the latest on the abduction of hundreds of school children in Nigeria by gunmen. And Oscars 2024 predictions: Who will win?(Photo: Muslim worshippers take part in the evening 'Tarawih' prayers at Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City. Credit: Reuters/Ammar Awad)