Newshour

There have been clashes between protesters and police in several French cities, as demonstrators call for more investment in schools. Police fired teargas in the southern city of Toulouse, while in Lyon police say they responded when missiles were thrown at officers. The student protests - over a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings - started last month in Paris then spread. Hundreds of schools have been closed.

Also in the programme: OpenAI apologises to the Australian government, but is it enough? Germany's former intelligence chief has been arrested on suspicion of espionage; and a Nobel Prize for the Belgian scientist who discovered ghost particles at the South Pole.

(Photo: French police officers pictured with a burning street barricade in Lyon. Credit: Reuters)

Downing Street says it won't comment on foreign nations' military operations - after the US removed twelve bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire - which has been the subject of an investigation into a suspected terror plot. But officials insist the base is safe. Six men have been arrested by counter-terrorism police, but they've all been released on bail. The US Vice President JD Vance said the move was a precaution.

Also in the programme: The Saudi backed government in Yemen says it's launched an offensive to retake the capital, Sanaa, from the Iran-backed Houthi movement; Spanish PM Sánchez calls early election after housing protests; and an American neuroscientist and two German biophysicists have been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for revealing how nerve cells shape memories and feelings.

(File photo dated 29/09/26 of a United States Air Force Rockwell B-1 Lancer Bomber at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Credit: PA)

Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has announced a snap election in November - saying he needs the support of the people to push through reforms. Also on the programme, Brazil's presidential election is going to a run-off in three weeks, with the challenger Flavio Bolsonaro leading President Lula; and the humble Australian phone box that's been granted heritage status.

(Photo: Spain's Prime Minister calls early elections for November 29, Madrid - 05 Oct 2026. Office of the Prime Minister of Spain/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

As voting ends in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, we hear from supporters of the two main candidates, Flavio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Also in the programme: a resident of the Tigrayan regional capital, Mekelle, in northern Ethiopia describes the city now that pro-government forces have taken control; after the FlyDubai near-disaster, will pilots now face further vetting? And we hear from the Facebook whistleblower who inspired a film.

(IMAGE: People wait in line outside of a polling station to cast their votes during Brazil's general election, in Salvador, Brazil, October 4, 2026 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Antonello Veneri)

A woman who froze pieces of Ovarian tissue at the age of 19, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, gave birth to a baby boy 25 years later. We speak with Kassandra Bacon, whose tissue was frozen for 23 years ago.

(Photo: A doctor holds a stethoscope, August 15, 2014. CREDIT: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire)

The pilot of the FlyDubai plane has told Isareli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu how he was repeatedly hit on the back of the head by his co-pilot on Wednesday. We also hear a former pilot explain how disaster was averted after the plane went into a nosedive.

Also in the programme: TPLF rebel forces move out of Tigray's regional capital, Mekelle, as Ethiopian government troops move in. We ask what it means and how strong the TPLF is now; and a special report on how some traumatised children in Gaza are finding solace in swimming.

Demonstrations are taking place in Spain over the national housing crisis, after parliament rejected the government's proposals to protect tenants. Also on the programme, one scientific researcher has reportedly died of pneumonic plague in Siberia and hundreds are now being monitored there; and in Gaza, the story of one group that's offering a special experience to children that have been traumatised by war.

(Photo: Protesters hold placards as they demand political action to stop evictions and alleviate the housing crisis, in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2026. REUTERS/Alejandro Martinez Velez)

There have been violent scenes outside schools across France as a dispute over learning conditions continues. The French government has accused left-wing party La France Insoumise of stoking up the disturbances. One of the party’s MPs tells us that the accusation is “absurd” and reflects the government’s disdain for young people.

Also on the programme: we hear from the lawyer of Renee Good's family as they file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over her killing during a Minneapolis immigration crackdown; and the Beatles album Rubber Soul is re-released with previously unheard studio tracks.

(Picture: A protest over conditions in the education system in Montpellier, 02 October 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

More colleges have been damaged by fire in France as student protests continue, demanding more investment in education. Hundreds of high schools and colleges are closed. The French government has condemned what it called urban violence.

Also, the hero Fly-Dubai pilot - who survived being stabbed by his colleague - describes how he fought to save the lives of all on board.

And will Europe release diesel reserves as requested by the US? And what are the possible consequences?

(Photo: French CRS riot police apprehend a protester during clashes outside the Lycee Deodat-de-Severac high school as part of nationwide protests by high school students to demand the hiring of substitute teachers, increased resources and better learning conditions, in Toulouse as more than 400 schools remain closed following days of student protests that have escalated into violence in some places, France, October 2, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is 'receiving life-saving care' in hospital, after surviving two lethal injection attempts, leading the state's governor to halt all executions for the year. So how common is it for the procedure to go wrong?

Also in the programme: Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the co-pilot responsible for the attack on board a plane bound for Israel had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination", though he has said it is too early to say if Iran was involved; and what elephants' low-frequency rumbles reveal about their lives.

(Photo shows WPLN reporter Catherine Sweeney recounting the planned execution of Christa Pike at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on September 30, 2026. Credit: Denny Simmons/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK)