Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has turned up at a mass rally in Caracas, defying government calls for her arrest.

The September 11 pardon given to the perpetrators has been revoked as torture was used against them in Guantanamo Bay. Also in the programme: a Druze eyewitness recounts last week’s attack in the Golan Heights which killed 12 children; and we hear from the prisoners released from Russia.

(Photo: Woman in the 9/11 memorial in New York. Credit: Reuters)

Two of the most high-profile Russian dissidents freed as part of a major prisoner swap say they refused officials' demands to plead for mercy from President Putin to secure their release. Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin said they considered him a tyrant, a murderer and a war criminal.

Also in the programme, the Venezuelan government cracks down on protests against last weekend's disputed election.

And North Korea is hoping that Donald Trump becomes the next US President - that's according to a senior North Korean defector.

(Photo: Released prisoners make press statement in Bonn following prisoner swap between Russia and the West, Germany - 02 Aug 2024. Credit: EPA)

The Kremlin has admitted that Vadim Krasikov, a convicted killer released as part of the prisoner exchange with the US, was a Russian spy working for the FSB.

We'll hear from the investigator who first uncovered his identity and helped negotiate the deal: We will also get reaction from Washington and from a Russian politician loyal to Vladimir Putin.

Also in the programme: An exclusive interview with a high-ranking North Korean defector who tells us why Kim Jong-Un is hoping Donald Trump will be re-elected as president; and why there is controversy surrounding the women's boxing at the Olympics in Paris.

(Photo shows Russian citizens released after the Russian-US prisoner swap disembarking from a plane at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia on 1 August 2024. Credit: Sergei Ilyin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool via EPA)

Three US citizens - reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva - imprisoned in Russia are expected to be released today under a major prisoner exchange deal between Russia and the West.

The exchange will involve 24 prisoners held in Russia, the US, Germany and three other Western countries.

Also in the programme: Israel says its received information confirming that the head of Hamas' military wing in Gaza was killed in an airstrike; and the US says it's reached a plea deal with three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks - but some families of the victims say they're furious at the way the cases have been handled.

(Photo shows the journalist Evan Gershkovich standing inside a glass defendant's cage in Yekaterinburg's Sverdlovsk Regional Court, Russia on 19 July 2024, Credit; Stringer/EPA)

Israeli PM says his country dealt crushing blows to its enemies, it was his first statement since killing of Hezbollah’s Shukr and Hamas’ leader Haniyeh. Also in the programme: Columbia’s former president on the Venezuelan elections; Sudan’s army chief survive an attempt on his life; and the Kosovan music festival organised by Dua Lipa.

(Photo: protesters in Tehran hold the picture of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader killed in Tehran. Credit: Reuters)

The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, says its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has been killed in Iran. Will this lead to a regional escalation?

Also on the programme: Costa Rica has said it is prepared to offer the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, asylum after reports the government in Caracas had issued an arrest warrant for her; and Australia starts the world-first peanut allergy treatment for babies.

(Photo: Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, pictured in March. Credit: Reuters)

Mass protests in Venezuela as Maduro’s win is disputed as he faces more challenges even among his former supporters. Also in the programme: Israel says it targeted a Hezbollah commander in a Beirut strike, it says he was responsible for Saturday’s deadly attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; and the Turkish parliament passes a law to rid the streets of stray dogs.

(Picture: Supporters of the Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in Caracas. Credit: Shutterstock)

There have been protests across Venezuela against the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, which the opposition says was fraudulent. Caracas has ordered diplomats from seven Latin American countries to leave because of their refusal to recognise Maduro's official victory.

Also on the programme, the Israeli government has vowed a harsh response to a rocket attack three days ago that killed 12 young people from the Druze community in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; and, at the Paris Olympics, athletes have expressed frustration after the men's triathlon was postponed by a day because of pollution in the River Seine.

(Photo: A demonstrator reacts when Molotov cocktails hit the ground in front of security forces during protests against election results after Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez claimed victory in Sunday's presidential election, in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Samir Aponte)

Tension in Lebanon as Israel vows to strike Hezbollah following Saturday’s deadly attack on the Golan Heights. Also in the programme: President Biden proposes an overhaul of the Supreme Court; Venezuela’s president, Nicholas Maduro claims victory; and could Zambia honour its commitments for free primary and secondary education?

(Photo: Empty hall in Rafik Hariri International Airport as airlines cancel their flights to Lebanon. Credit: Shutterstock)