The former US President Jimmy Carter - who came to politics after a successful career as a peanut farmer – is credited with bringing peace between Egypt and Israel for which he received a Nobel prize. We hear from those who worked with him and those who prepared catfish suppers for the late president.

(Photo: Former President Carter holding peanuts in a field. Credit: Jimmy Carter Library/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Palestinian officials say seven people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital in the centre of Gaza City. The Hamas authorities say other people were seriously injured in the attack on al-Wafaa hospital -- one of the last remaining medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel said the strike was aimed at Hamas fighters and the building hit was no longer a hospital. We speak to the head of a group of Israeli doctors campaigning to stop Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

Also in the programme: Georgia’s outgoing president vows to defend democracy; and the latest controversy over the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.

(Picture: Damage is seen after an Israeli strike on al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defence. Credit: Reuters)

A plane carrying 181 people has crashed on landing at an airport in Muan County, South Korea. Officials say they believe nearly everyone on board has died. Two survivors have been found, both flight staff who were rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital.

Also in the programme: Protests as Georgia's swears in a new president; and a look back at Vladimir Putin's 25-year-stint as Russian leader.

(Picture: Scene of a plane crash at Muan International Airport, South Korea. Credit: EPA)

A former advisor to the party of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Newshour. It follows the strike on a Yemeni airport on Thursday which was carried out by Israel. The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom, earlier told the BBC that Israel should have known he was in Sanaa International Airport when the missile struck and says the site should not have been hit.

Also on the programme: Russian President Vladimir Putin apologises over a passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan but does not officially acknowledge Russia’s responsibility; and chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen quits a tournament after being told he can’t wear jeans to play.

(Photo: An airport staff member stands beside shattered windows at Sanaa airport, a day after Israeli airstrikes targeted the airport, 27 December 2024. Credit: YAHYA ARHAB/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The head of the World Health Organisation has told the BBC that it was public knowledge he was in Yemen on Thursday when Israel launched airstrikes on Houthi targets. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the main target, the International Airport in Sanaa was a civilian facility and should not have been hit.

Also in the programme: Taliban forces from Afghanistan are reported to have clashed with Pakistan's army on their border as tensions between the two countries grow; the phenomenon of mass violent attacks in China; and a new BBC documentary about Maria Callas, one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century and why her amazing talent didn't last longer.

(Photo: Dr Tedros. Credit: Getty Images)

Houthis vow to continue attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israeli air strikes on Yemen. We ask the US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, where this escalation could lead.

Finnish police have boarded a ship which they believe was operating as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The Lithuanian defence minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, tells Newshour she wants to see additional US sanctions on Russia.

Memorial events have been held across the Indian Ocean to mark 20 years since the tsunami that killed more than 220,000. Also on the programme, China has approved controversial plans to build what will be the world's largest hydropower dam on the Tibetan plateau; and the promise of non-alcoholic wine.

(Photo: People light candles during a memorial for the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami at a tsunami wave-shaped monument erected for the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, December 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer)

The new HTS administration said the footage is from earlier this month. Large rallies have been seen in the cities of Tartus and Latakia, strongholds of the deposed president Assad's Alawite minority.

Also on the programme: We hear from locals in Bethlehem, in the Occupied West Bank, who are doubling their efforts to find hope during the Christmas holidays amidst an economic downturn and tensions with Israel; and the Newshour presenters compete in the Christmas quiz.

(Photo: A Syrian opposition flag is seen beside a defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a wall in Damascus on 14 December 2024. Credit: ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says Russia made a "conscious choice" by launching a major attack on his country's energy infrastructure on Christmas Day.

Ukraine's air force said it had detected 184 missiles and drones, but many were shot down or missed their targets. We speak to an MP in the city of Kharkiv, which was hit by the strikes. Moscow confirmed the attack and said its goal had been achieved.

Also in the programme: we'll hear about a deadly gang attack on a hospital in Haiti; what an Israeli former hostage negotiator makes of the stalled talks between Israel and Hamas; and the Newshour Christmas quiz.

(Photo shows people taking shelter at a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine during an air raid alert on 25 December 2024. Credit: Thomas Peter/Reuters)