A crescent of flames looms over Los Angeles as wildfires continue to burn. But firefighters have managed to bring under control the blaze that had been threatening Hollywood.

Also on the programme: Lebanon has a president for the first time in two years. He's Joseph Aoun, the Maronite Christian who leads the army; and we will hear from Ireland's ex- president Mary Robinson in Washington for the funeral of her friend, the former US President Jimmy Carter.

(Photo: A firefighter walks next to a burning home, as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, in Malibu, California. Credit: Reuters)

President Biden says he has instructed the US military to provide extra assets to help firefighters battle a series of devastating wildfires currently raging in and around Los Angeles. Newshour hears from Malibu resident Marika Erdely.

Also in the programme: Greenland's strategic significance and new artefacts shed light on Egypt's Queen Hatshepsut

(Picture: People embrace as they evacuate following powerful winds fuelling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Firefighters are working through the night in Los Angeles to contain wildfires that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Also in the programme, European governments continue to react to President-elect Trump's latest threats about Greenland; and, could HMPV spark the next pandemic? 

(Photo: A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S. January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu)

The social media giant Meta is ending third-party fact checking of Facebook and its other platforms, relying instead on a community notes system. Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said recent elections felt like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritising free speech, arguing that fact checkers were too politically biased. We hear two views of the change.

Also in the programme: Donald Trump refuses to rule out economic - or military - intervention to gain control of the Panama Canal - and Greenland - what do the locals think about that? And we hear from a mountaineer on Mount Everest about what it was like when the earthquake hit.

(IMAGE: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., September 25, 2024 / CREDIT: Reuters/Manuel Orbegozo)

Jean-Marie Le Pen, a Holocaust denier and an unrepentant extremist on race, gender and immigration who founded the French far-right National Front party in 1972, has died aged 96. Also on the programme, a powerful earthquake close to Mount Everest has killed more than a hundred people in Tibet and affected the city of Shigatse, and can alcohol-free wine still be considered wine?

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Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying he will leave office as soon as his party chooses a new leader as slumping polls and internal division took their toll. We hear from Catherine McKenna, a former minister in Trudeau's government.

Also in the programme: Austria asks far-right leader to commence coalition talks; and the Capitol Hill cop on duty on January 6th 2021.

(Picture: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters, announcing he intends to step down as Liberal Party leader. Credit: Reuters)

The former French president Nicholas Sarkozy has gone on trial today in Paris. He is accused of illegally taking funding from the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Prosecutors allege the men struck a deal to fund Mr Sarkozy's ultimately successful campaign for the presidency in 2007. In return, they say he promised to help Colonel Gaddafi shed his pariah status on the world stage. The former French president denies the accusations.

Also in the programme: Hamas has released a list of 34 hostages that it says it is willing to release in the first stage of a potential ceasefire agreement with Israel. We speak to the daughter of one of those on the list; and the efforts to save the endangered Iberian Lynx in Portugal and Spain.

(Picture: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives on the first day of his trial. Credit: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Thousands of rival demonstrators have been protesting in South Korea's capital Seoul where the impeached president President Yoon Suk Yeol is refusing to hand himself in to investigators.

Also on the programme: Venezuela's opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, is touring South America ahead of the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro who he insists lost last year's presidential election; and we ask - after 15 months of war - is there anywhere in Gaza where Palestinians can still get medical treatment?

Photo: People take part in a protest against the impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol near his official residence in Seoul, South Korea, January 5, 2025. (Credit: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)

A bell tolls 39 times outside the childhood home of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, as commemorations for his life and service to his country begin. We hear from his grandson and Democrat activist, Angelo Fuster who was working in the state capitol of Georgia when Jimmy Carter entered politics in the 1960s.

Also on the programme: A supporter of the new government in Syria defends its decision to remove the teaching of evolution from the school classroom; and how the new teenage darts champion of the world is helping the game attract talent even younger.

(Photo: A military body bearer team carries the casket of former President Jimmy Carter Credit: Brynn Anderson/Pool via REUTERS)

Foreign ministers from France and Germany have met in Damascus with Syria's de facto leader to discuss the future of the country. Also on the programme,

(Photo: Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani meets with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Damascus, Syria January 3, 2025. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via REUTERS)