Newshour

The strikes on the city were timed to coincide with the final day of a prestigious international economic forum. Russian authorities called the attack ‘unprecedented’, and St Petersburg residents were advised to remain indoors for the first time since the start of the war. We hear from a Ukrainian drone commander and the UK’s former Ambassador to Moscow, Sir Tony Brenton.

Also on the programme: migrants in South Africa under pressure to leave the country after a surge in xenophobic attacks; and why mass banquets are causing controversy in France.

(Photo: Smoke after a Ukrainian drone strike on St Petersburg, Russia, 3 June, 2026 Credit: Reuters)

Iran targets Bahrain and Kuwait after renewed US strikes. We speak to a former Kuwaiti minister as the American-Iranian stalemate continues. Also in the programme, India's Cockroach Janta Party takes to the streets to demand the resignation of the education minister; and the African-American musician Brian Jackson on his work and collaboration with Gil Scott-Heron.

(Photo: CCTV image of Iranian drone above Kuwait airport on 3rd of June. Credit: Reuters)

Astronauts onboard the International Space Station were ordered to prepare for evacuation after an air leak suddenly got worse. The situation returned to normal after two Russian cosmonauts completed repairs. We talk to retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who served as commander of the ISS in 2013.

We'll also hear from the Sherpa who went missing on the upper slopes of Mount Everest for six days and survived; and we remember Kanya King, the founder of the MOBO awards recognising Black music and its impact.

(A view of Earth from the Cupola on the earth-facing side of the International Space Station is seen in this NASA handout photo taken June 12, 2013 and provided June 17, 2013. Credit: Reuters)

One of the biggest artificial intelligence developers, Anthropic has warned that the latest models might escape human control. It has proposed a co-ordinated global slowdown on building AI systems. One of the firm's co-founders, Jack Clark has been speaking to BBC.

Also in the programme: the latest from Russia's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg; and how an outsider reached the French Open tennis final.

(Photo: Anthropic logo. Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Lebanon's government says it will use the army to keep Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, following a truce with Israel. But can that work without Hezbollah’s consent?

Also in the programme: we hear from a member of Curacao’s first ever World Cup soccer team; and a Sherpa feared dead on Everest reaches base camp after six days on the mountain.

(IMAGE: Smoke billows from southern Lebanon, following Israeli strikes, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 4, 2026 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Stringer)

The US State Department has announced Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of "pilot" security zones inside Lebanon in which Hezbollah operatives would be banned. Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.

Also in the programme: Tech executives are calling for stricter regulations to prevent AI from being used to develop biological weapons and find out why a 62-million-year-old Egyptian fossil is exciting scientists.

(Picture: The US, Israel and Lebanon agree to a ceasefire at the State Department in the US. Credit: REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

It's now five months since the United States removed the then Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas by force to face trial on drug charges. What has changed in the interim in Venezuela?

Also in the programme: The leader of the Cuban Five - Gerardo Hernández - speaks to us about Raúl Castro's 95th birthday, and US pressure for change in Havana; and the German film director Wim Wenders says he's withdrawing his 1975 film Wrong Move because of complaints by the actress Nastassja Kinski who appeared topless in it when she was 13 years old.

(Photo: Members of Venezuelan opposition political parties, public sector workers and students protest demanding higher wages, better working conditions, and an electoral calendar for the presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, 3 June 2026. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

Ukraine says it hit a warship and an oil terminal in a large-scale drone attack on Russia's second city St Petersburg - just ahead of a major international economic forum being held there.

Also on the programme: A leading Venezuelan opposition activist tells us his country needs elections as soon as possible - but he doubts that interim president Delcy Rodriguez shares his view.

And scientists uncover living yeasts in the frozen body of a man who lived five thousand years ago -- and then manage to bake some bread with it.

(Photo: Heavy smoke billows after Ukrainian drones hit infrastructure, according to local authorities, in St Petersburg, Russia, 3rd June 2026. Credit: Reuters/Stringer)

Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon have been meeting in Washington for a fourth round of talks as Israeli forces continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon. We speak to a member of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah on why it has no plans to give up its weapons. Also in the programme: As the head of the UN gives a stark warning about the most catastrophic El Niño yet, farmers around the world remind us what's at stake; and the meaning of new research into the magnetic fields of planets beyond our solar system.

(Photo: Destroyed buildings after an Israeli airstrike that targeted the city of Tyre, Lebanon. Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA/Shutterstock)

Just hours after the US announced a fresh ceasefire in Lebanon, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have started - again. We hear from Lebanon's deputy prime minister, Tarek Mitri.

Nearly 250 people in Africa have died of Ebola over the last few weeks. We speak with the regional director of the World Health Organization, who has just visited the epicentre of the outbreak.

And a Paralympic athlete who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident may become the first person with a physical disability to live in orbit. What would that look like?

(Photo: Smoke billows from southern Lebanon, following Israeli strikes, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 2, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/ Stringer)