NewsHour

Malaysia starts sending thousands of refugees back to war-torn Myanmar. Human rights groups say it risks returning Rohingya muslims to danger. We hear from a fearful refugee.

Also in the programme: Israel's military says more than a hundred settlers have attacked a village in the occupied West Bank; we hear from Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who was held in a Russian prison for more than 400 days; and how the youngest ever female chess grandmaster learnt to play.

(IMAGE: Myanmar nationals due to be repatriated from Malaysia sit inside a bus at Lumut, Malaysia September 29, 2026 / REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain)

The men were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. The base has been used by the US Air Force to attack Iran.

Also on the programme: our reporter is on the front line in Yemen as government forces take on the Houthis. And 100 years of stories as we celebrate the centenary of Route 66.

(Picture: Police at RAF Fairford Air Base, England. Credit: Getty Images)

In Yemen, fighting is intensifying around the Yemeni city of Taiz, where government forces are trying to halt a new advance by Houthi fighters closing in on the city. We have a frontline report from the BBC's international investigations correspondent.

Also on the programme: investigations continue into a suspected terror plot at an air force base in southern England; and a potential breakthrough in the storage of mRNA vaccines, which could revolutionise rural healthcare.

(Photo: A displaced Yemeni woman, Fatma Mohammed Saleh, speaks to the BBC. Credit: Liam Weir/BBC)

Counter terrorism police in Britain are investigating a major incident near a Royal Air Force base that's used by the United States as a forward operating location - including to launch strikes on Iran. Five men have been arrested on explosives and terror charges. We ask why the base might be a target.

Also on the programme: who's really in charge in Uganda after the head of the armed forces tells a minister he can't leave the country? and is panda diplomacy effective at selling China's image abroad?

(Photo: B‑1B Lancer bomber parked at the RAF Fairford airbase which hosts United States Air Force personnel. Credit: Reuters/Toby Shepheard)

In Northern Ireland, Roman Catholic protesters have blocked a road in the town of Portadown along which members of the pro-British Orange Order were planning to march. It's the first time they've been granted permission to go ahead with the march along the Garvaghy Road for nearly 30 years. But Roman Catholic residents oppose it and have refused police orders to disperse. The road was a major flashpoint of the conflict between largely Catholic, pro-Irish republicans and Protestant, pro-UK unionists in the late 1990s.

Also in the programme: British police declare a major incident near an air base used by the US air force; and how trees shaped Russian history and people.

(Photo: A member of the Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge No 1 outside Drumcree Church ahead of the planned march. Picture date: Sunday September 27, 2026. Credit: Peter Morrison/PA Wire)

Police in South Africa say that they have discovered another body in a Johannesburg suburb, bringing the number of women found dead there in recent months to ten. The deaths have increased pressure on the national government less than a year after ministers declared gender-based violence a national disaster.

Also in the programme: President Trump reject's Iran's offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; and has the Pope with a grandfather born in France mastered the French accent?

(Photo: Residents of Cape Town in an awareness walk denouncing gender-based violence. Credit: Reuters)

The US artificial intelligence giant OpenAI says it has alerted governments, universities and other global institutions that their websites may have been accessed improperly by rogue autonomous models. We hear from the head of a group called METR, which checks AI for threats.

Also in the programme: How are Manchester City fans reacting to the news that their football club has been found guilty of more than 100 financial misdemeanours? Plus- from schoolboy band to rock super-stardom: the band U2 at 50.

(Photo: An OpenAI logo. Credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria)

As fighting escalates between federal government forces and an alliance of armed groups including the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, we ask what's behind it and hear from a former TPLF spokesperson.

Also in the programme: as the Pope warns we are in danger of “losing our humanity” to AI machines, how can we make AI safe? Could President Xi's wife Peng Liyuan be China's "soft power super-weapon"? And Manchester City football club is found guilty of breaking financial rules.

(IMAGE: TPLF forces sit along a street in Mekelle, capital of Tigray Region, Ethiopia, September 24, 2026 / CREDIT: Obtained by REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping have exchanged warm words at a lavish White House state dinner but gave little indication of progress on pressing issues. Xi stressed that they should ensure artificial intelligence remains "under human control", while Trump toasted a future of "harmony, peace and success" for both nations.

Also in the programme: As the Tigrayans go on the offensive in Ethiopia, where is that conflict headed? And a new test for brain tumours that can slash diagnosis time to just two hours.

(Photo: Presidents Xi and Trump in Washington DC. Credit: Reuters)

Xi Jinping -- on a visit to Washington -- has called for China and the United States to cooperate despite their differences, and to ensure AI remains under human control. Newshour hears from Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner.

Also in the programme: the FBI investigates a major cyber hack; and a new study on the origin of bats.

(Picture: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk back to the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters)