Newshour

Venezuela's government has promised that aid will reach affected areas- but already criticism of their response is growing. We speak with a professor of politics in Caracas to find out what she thinks of the response.

A crucial World Cup match between Egypt and Iran in Seattle later today will unfold against the backdrop of the city’s annual Pride celebrations, Homosexuality and any symbols of pride are criminalized in both Iran and Egypt. We take you there to hear what it sounds like.

And movie music instead of Bach? Symphony orchestras across the United States - and in Europe - are increasingly offering film score performances. We speak with a conductor at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on what he thinks about it.

(Photo: A view of the donations received from locals in Caracas, Venezuela, June 26, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba)

With many believed to still be buried beneath rubble, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has said UN-certified rescuers would be joining the search for survivors. The United States is deploying two warships, along with transport planes and helicopters. Specialists from Turkey, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK will also be involved.

Also on the programme: a World Cup match between Iran and Egypt in Seattle causes friction as it coincides with the city’s Pride celebrations; the discovery that Mars once had Earth-like magma systems beneath its surface raises the possibility of life on the red planet.

(Photo: People inspect the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, 25 June, 2026. Credit: Gaby Oraa/Reuters)

At least 180 people are now confirmed to have died in northern Venezuela after two powerful back-to-back earthquakes. Thousands are still unaccounted for.

Also in the programme; the owners of Hong Kong's last independent bookshop are arrested; and how scientists have managed to read ancient papyrus scrolls burned to a cinder when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.

Photo: People on motorbikes drive past damaged buildings following the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela Credit: RONALD PENA R/EPA/Shutterstock

A huge rescue and recovery operation is underway across northern Venezuela after two back-to-back earthquakes struck overnight. At least 164 people have died, but experts say the number could well rise to thousands as the extent of the damage becomes clear.

The UK today broke its June temperature record as a heatwave continues to engulf Europe. In Finistere in north-west France, 68, 000 people are without power, after the heat knocked out generating equipment

(Photo: A young man jumps from a bridge to cool off in the Canal Saint-Martin, in Paris, France, 20 June 2026. Credit: Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock)

Ukraine has been intensifying attacks across Crimea as it attempts to cut off the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. The authorities have been forced to suspend fuel sales to the public.

Also on the programme: hundreds of schools in the UK are closed as temperatures in Western Europe hit new highs; and why sperm whales use different dialects depending on where they swim in the Mediterranean Sea.

(Photo: A satellite image shows burning oil storage tanks and smoke rising from the Crimea Bridge amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict Credit: Vantor/Reuters)

A searing heatwave in western Europe is continuing to break records, with France registering its hottest-ever average daily temperature. Forty people have drowned in heatwave-related deaths there since Thursday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said.

Also on the programme: Afghanistan’s Taliban government says a delegation has met European Union officials in Brussels, to discuss migration; and the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC is set to be drained as US President Donald Trump again blamed vandals for bright green algae and peeling paint that has appeared just weeks after a multi-million-dollar renovation.

(Photo: France's sports minister Marina Ferrari warned that too many people were heading for reservoirs and rivers without taking the risks into account. Credit: Getty)

Schools have closed in France. A nuclear power plant near Toulouse has been forced to switch off a reactor. Nuclear power plants cannot operate correctly without enough water of the right temperature to cool down reactors. When these temperatures climb too high, the reactors need to be shut down to avoid environmental damage caused by hot water being discharged into local water courses.

Also on the programme: the newly discovered manuscript containing composition lessons by Mozart; and the continuing woes of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC.

(Photo: Young people cool off in the Fontaine de l'Observatoire fountain as temperatures rise in Paris Credit: Reuters/Abdul Saboor)

As British Prime Ministerial hopeful Andy Burnham is sworn in as a Member of Parliament, we ask one of his supporters in the government when she decided Keir Starmer should go.

Also in the programme: Former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan dies aged 100; and we hear about the "ballista spider" that sets an elasticated trap is discovered in the Australian rainforest.

Photo: Andy Burnham is sworn in as a Member of Parliament in London, UK. Credit: HOUSE OF COMMONS HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock

He has said he will stay on as UK prime minister until his successor is in place.

Also on the programme: Colombia's new president promises to take a tough stance on drug traffickers and armed gangs; and Cape Verde’s World Cup fairytale continues.

(Photo: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer on the steps of 10 Downing Street, London, after his speech where he said he will resign as leader of the Labour Party Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire )