Newshour

Pro-Western opposition parties in Georgia have refused to accept results that hand victory to the increasingly authoritarian ruling party, after a pivotal election focused on the country's future path in Europe. We hear from an international observer who says the ballot was flawed and spoke of a string of violations across the country, from ballot stuffing inside polling stations to intimidation of voters outside.

Also on the programme: we hear from the MSF medical aid agency in Gaza after one of its doctors was detained by Israeli forces during a siege on Kamal Adwan hospital, and we consider undecided voters in the United States.

(Picture: Fireworks over the Georgian Dream party headquarters after the announcement of exit poll results in parliamentary elections, in Tbilisi, Georgia Credit: REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze)

President Biden says Israel's attacks on Iran seem to have only struck military targets and that he hopes they mark the "end of hostilities". Tehran downplays the significance of airstrikes, while saying it has a duty to defend itself. The Israeli government says it has achieved its goals - so did calls from the White House actually succeed?

Also on the programme: the exit polls are in for Georgia's election, with the ruling Georgian Dream party projected to win, and we hear from Professor Kehinde Andrews on whether or not the UK should pay reparations to its former empire.

(Picture: A screengrab shows an Israeli Air Force plane, which the Israeli army says is departing to carry out strikes on Iran, from a handout video released on October 26, 2024. Credit: Israel Defense Forces/REUTERS)

Israel has finally retaliated for Iran's missile strikes earlier this month, carrying out a series of relatively restrained air attacks overnight. The Israeli army struck Iranian military sites, including air defence batteries and missile manufacturing facilities, killing two Iranian soldiers. Tehran denies there's been any serious damage, but says it has a right to defend itself and may strike back - although the US and UK have urged de-escalation.

Also on the programme: We hear from north Gaza, where the UN human rights chief says the "darkest moment" of the war is taking place, and get an update on elections in Georgia, which are being seen as the most consequential in 30 years.

(Picture: A general view of Tehran after several explosions were heard, in Tehran, Iran, October 26, 2024 Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS)

Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander of the notorious Ugandan rebel group, the Lords Resistance Army has been sentenced to forty years in prison for war crimes. We speak to Peter Oloya, who was eleven when he was abducted by the rebels to fight. Also on the programme: a second major US newspaper has announced that it will not be endorsing either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the presidential election; and rockstar Bruce Springsteen, tells the BBC's Music correspondent he has no plans to retire.

(Picture: Thomas Kwoyelo, sits in the dock at the International Crimes Division court sitting in Gulu, Uganda October 25, 2024. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa)

Following a meeting with the the Lebanese prime minister US Secretary Antony Blinked said a resolution to the current conflict is urgent. We hear from Ibrahim al-Jazie, former Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs in Jordan. Also on the programme: the search, rescue and release of a baby monkey abused online; and in Mexico Newshour's James Menendez discovers what is at stake in these elections for the USA's largest trading partner.

(Picture: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in London, Britain, October 25, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

The United Nations is warning that the world is on its way to "catastrophic" climate change, unless huge efforts are made to curb carbon emissions. It says the current goal of limiting warming to one-and-a-half Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, will soon be dead. Current projections are closer to three degrees. We will speak to one of the authors of the UN report.

Former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris have continued to attack each other as the US election draws closer. Immigration remains one of the major election issues and a top concern of American voters. Newshour's James Menendez has been travelling from Mexico to the southern United States to find out what's driving the debate.

Also, grief and chaos for Palestinians as Israel predicts a ‘sharp conclusion’ in northern Gaza. We hear form a nurse, who filmed moments after an Israeli strike.

And why the Foreign Minister of the Bahamas believes reparatory justice from the UK for the slave trade will happen at some point.

(Photo: Drought destroys local farmer's harvest in Zambia, Mazabuka - 20 Mar 2024. The dry spell from mid-January due to El Nino conditions and climate change is affecting most of the central and southern half of Zambia, leaving 1 million hectares of maize destroyed, almost half of the country's maize cultivation, according to the United Nations (UN). Credit: EPA)

Former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris have continued to attack each other as the US election draws closer. Immigration remains one of the major election issues and a top concern of American voters. In this special edition of Newshour, James Menendez has been travelling from Mexico to the southern United States to find out what's driving the debate.

Also in the programme: Commonwealth leaders at their summit in Samoa are expected to defy the United Kingdom and debate ways of securing reparations for historical slavery; and we meet the director Tim Burton who is known for his eccentric and gothic filmmaking.

(File picture: Texas National Guard troops patrol the border for migrants in Eagle Pass, Texas on March 20, 2024. Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/REUTERS)

The US and South Korea have said that about 3,000 troops from North Korea are now in Russia, raising concerns that they may fight in Russia war in Ukraine. Also on the programme, the World Health Organisation has postponed a huge polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza because of worsening violence; and, a recently discovered piece of music written by a Polish prisoner whilst he was held in the Nazi concentration camp - Auschwitz.

(Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the headquarters of the 2nd Corps of North Korean army, October 17, 2024, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS )

WHO has suspended its polio vaccination campaign in Gaza due to the ongoing violence.

Also in the programme: rape victim Gisele Pelicot takes the stand in the mass-rape trial in France; and the film-maker sentenced in absentia by Russia.

(Photo: Palestinian families leaving Jabalia camp in the north of Gaza Strip. Credit: Reuters)

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch and his partner have been arrested and charged with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business. Also on the programme, after Moldova voted for pro-EU constitutional changes by only 0.16 of a percentage point, there are now accusations that there was meddling and interference in the referendum; and, Barack Obama is back on the campaign trail.

(Photo: Press conference with federal authorities on former Abercrombie & Fitch chief Mike Jeffries arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, New York, USA - 10 Oct 2024. SARAH YENESEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstocki)