A report by Human Right Watch alleges the M23 rebel group killed at least 140 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last month in one of the worst atrocities committed since its insurgency in 2021. The overall number of victims could exceed 300. We hear from an eye witness and the DRC foreign minister, who says the alleged massacres violated a ceasefire agreement.

Also in the programme: the Israeli Defence Force has called around 60,000 reservists in what is being seen as evidence of an imminent operation to take over Gaza City; and the scientific research giving hope to people who have lost their sense of smell.

(Photo: a member of the M23 rebel group walks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, March 2025. Credit: Reuters / Z. Bensemra)

A day after Hamas accepts a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman tells us Israel is not interested in a “partial deal. We ask what's changed since Israel backed a very similar proposal three months ago.

Also in the programme: the White House says work continues on hammering out security guarantees for Ukraine; and a cocoa connoisseur on new scientific insights into what makes great chocolate.

(IMAGE: Israeli tanks deployed along the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, 19 August 2025. / CREDIT: Photo by ATEF SAFADI/EPA/Shutterstock (15447793c))

President Volodymyr Zelensky says work has already started on security guarantees for Ukraine after talks in Washington about how to end the war. But there's been no let up in Russian attacks on Ukraine - with oil and gas infrastructure targeted overnight.

Also in the programme: Mediators await Israeli response to new Gaza ceasefire proposal; entire church begins two-day journey across Swedish city; and the women trapped in Afghanistan's mental health system.

(Photo: President Volodymyr Zelensky. Credit: EPA)

The Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky visits the White House, six months after an Oval Office dressing down, and three days after Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin. Several European leaders also flew to DC to show support for Ukraine. But is there any evidence of any progress towards peace? And on what terms?

Also in the programme: as Hamas says it accepts the latest Gaza ceasefire offer, our correspondent Lucy Williamson reports from the West Bank, where she witnessed Palestinian farmers being attacked by settlers; plus a cartographer explains why many maps literally distort our picture of the world - a problem the African Union has now joined calls to correct.

(IMAGE: United States President Donald J Trump (R) meets President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 18 August 2025 / CREDIT: Photo by PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Zelensky has condemned the latest deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine, ahead of his talks with President Trump and European leaders in Washington. Mr Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out what he called demonstrative killings to 'humiliate diplomatic efforts' to end the war. Ukraine says at least ten people have been killed in strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.

Also the Egyptian foreign minister and the Palestinian prime minister are visiting the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to highlight the need for more food aid to get through. We have an interview with the Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa.

And Croatian ultra-nationalist mega-gig exposes divided society.

(Photo: A residential area damaged by strikes in Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine, on Monday. Credit: EPA)

Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says Vladimir Putin has agreed to 'robust' security guarantees for Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has welcomed the US offer - we'll get more details about what was discussed at the summit in Alaska.

Also in the programme: the robots that imitate athletes; and we look back on the life of the English actor Terence Stamp, who has died aged 87.

(Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Brussels; 17 August 2025. Credit: OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA/Shutterstock)

What next for Ukraine? EU leaders have said they intend to travel to Washington as President Zelensky prepares for talks with Trump.

(Photograph: President Zelensky and Ursula Von der Leyen in Brussels. Credit: Shutterstock)

Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a freezing of front lines elsewhere. The Russian president made the demand during Friday's meeting with President Trump in Alaska, according to sources involved in the talks. We speak to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Also in the programme: Environmentalists have welcomed a deal signed by Mexico, Belize and Guatemala to protect the second large rainforest in the Americas; and are mangoes good for diabetes?

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Donald Trump has said he, along with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, have determined that a peace agreement was preferable to a ceasefire in the conflict between the two warring nations.

The announcement comes after Mr Trump's high-profile summit in Alaska with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin ended without an agreement.

We'll hear a Ukrainian response to the sight of President Putin being given a red carpet welcome in Alaska and get reaction fom the foreign minister of the Czech Republic.

Also in the programme: Violent clashes erupt in Serbia's capital after demonstrations by pro-government and anti-corruption groups; and we mark 80 years since the publication of George Orwell's Animal Farm.

(Photo shows US.president Donald Trump at a press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska,on 15th August 2025. Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

The world’s media watches as the presidents of Russia and the USA meet in Alaska. Russian officials say they want to discuss broad US-Russian relations, but on Air Force One President Trump said he wanted to focus on Ukraine.

Also on the programme: we hear from an Indian soldier who saw the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the people trying to crack an unsolved code sitting right outside the CIA’s headquarters.

(IMAGE: Trump and Putin meet in Anchorage, Alaska, 15 August CREDIT: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)