Newshour

The two men face charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania and the UK, which they deny.

Also on the programme: we look ahead to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's first face to face meeting with President Trump; and we pay tribute to the Hollywood star Gene Hackman, who has been found dead, alongside his wife, in their home in New Mexico.

(Picture: Controversial influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate in Bucharest, January 2025. Credit: Ganea / Reuters)

US President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing Ukraine's mineral resources. Mr Zelensky says he's still looking for American security guarantees.

Also on the programme: A far-right presidential candidate in Romania arrested and charged on his way to register for elections in May; and the foodies gatecrashing a Chinese funeral home to sample their tasty noodles.

(Photo: US President Donald Trump holds first cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says a major minerals deal has been agreed with the US. But the details are not yet clear. We ask an adviser to the Ukrainian government.

Also, an interview with the president of the think tank which drew up what is essentially a manifesto for the second Trump term, called Project 2025, and we look at how the energy giant BP says it will pump $10 billion a year into boosting oil and gas production while slashing spending on cleaner renewable energy sources.

(Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has announced an increase in defence spending to two point five percent of GDP by 2027. International development aid will be cut to pay for the rise. Sir Keir said he'd been forced to act by exceptional circumstances. He meets President Trump in Washington on Thursday.

Also, Ukrainian officials say a deal has been reached with the United States on the joint exploitation of Kyiv's mineral riches. Such an agreement has been a key demand of President Trump.

We have a special report from eastern Congo on the terrible cost of the rebel advance.

And as the impeachment trial of south Korea's president has its final hearing, we'll hear from the man who thinks he could replace him-- Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the National Assembly from the president's own party, the PPP.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK will increase defence spending to 2.5% just days before meeting Donald Trump in the US. We will explore the direction of the transatlantic alliance under President Trump. Also on the programme: Syria holds a national dialogue meeting; and the man who broke a marathon record on crutches.

(Photo: Challenger Megatron main battle tank, seen here being demonstrated as part of Project Virtuo at Lulworth Range in the UK. Credit: UK MOD)

President Trump has said the cost and burden of securing peace in Ukraine must be borne by the nations of Europe, following talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House. President Macron said Europeans were committed to taking part in such security guarantees in Ukraine, and more fairly sharing the burden for wider European security. But he stressed that any peace needed to be lasting, and could not constitute a surrender by Ukraine. We'll hear a US response to Europe's concerns. Also on the programme: On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a psychologist and mother tells us what war has done to her; and farewell to a music legend: we'll look back at the life and career of Roberta Flack.

(Photo: US President Trump meets French President Macron at the White House, Washington, 24 Feb 2025. Credit: SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock )

The man due to become Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has issued a stark warning to Europe that the United States has become indifferent to the continent's fate and it must become independent. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had a record second-place result of 20.8%. We're in Berlin to cover the election result. Also in the programme: On the third anniversary of Russia's full- scale invasion of Ukraine, we speak to a member of parliament who is also a soldier; and the winners of the Screen Actors Guild Awards. (Photo: A poster of Friedrich Merz, the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader, hangs at the party headquarters near a poster of rival Olaf Scholz of SPD, after the general election in Berlin, Germany, February 24, 2025. Reuters/Angelika Warmuth)

The centre-right Christian Democrats look likely to lead in the German election, with the far-right AfD party coming second with around a fifth of the vote. We ask what it all means, and hear from politicians of both parties.

Also in the programme: Christians across the world pray for the health of Pope Francis, who remains in hospital in Rome; and after major cuts to jobs in the US federal government, Elon Musk shocks civil servants with an email asking them to justify their positions.

(Photo: Christian Democratic Union (CDU) supporters dance after the first exit poll results are announced in the 2025 general election in Berlin, Germany. Credit: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)

Israeli tanks have been sent into the northern part of the occupied West Bank for the first time in decades. Israel has expelled the residents of three refugee camps in the territory as it steps up its military presence there. Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said Palestinian camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams were now empty and would be occupied by the military for a year.

Also on the programme: Germans are voting in one of the country's most consequential parliamentary elections of recent times; and we hear from a former BBC entertainment correspondent about the changing art of interviewing stars from Bette Davis to Ethan Hawke.

(Photo: Israeli soldiers stand near a tank as it is positioned just outside the occupied West Bank on the Israeli side of the north barrier between Israel and the occupied West Bank on February 23, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Rami Amichay)

Economic woes, worries about immigration and the rise of the far right have loomed over the campaign ahead of Sunday's election in Germany. We hear the latest from our team on the ground in Berlin.

Also in the programme: President Trump fires the United States' highest-ranking military officer; and the Vatican says Pope Francis is in a critical condition after a week in hospital.

(Photo: German Chancellor Scholz holds final rally ahead of general election, in Potsdam. Credit: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)

Hamas has released more Israeli hostages at highly stage- managed events in Gaza. In all, six men have been freed so far on Saturday. Television pictures of them being handed to the Red Cross were met with cheers by crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square. In exchange, more than six hundred Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel.

As Germany's far right AFD party is in second place before tomorrow's election, we hear from one recent Syrian immigrant about her life in Berlin.

And And we take a look at the Trump policies on American science – a Harvard professor tells us what's being cut.

(Photo: The moment hostage Omer Shem Tov is released at the handover. Credit: Reuters)

The Israeli prime minister has accused Hamas of a cruel and evil violation of the ceasefire in Gaza, after forensic testing revealed the body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas. We hear from Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son was one of the hostages released by Hamas last Saturday.

Also in the programme: Apple is removing its highest level of data security for customers in the UK; and Newshour's James Coomarasamy is in Germany ahead of Sunday's election.

(Photo: Israelis sit together as they light candles and hold posters with the images Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. Credit: REUTERS/Itay Cohen)

Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal after forensic testing revealed the body returned from Gaza on Thursday was not that of Shiri Bibas.

The three other bodies handed over have been identified as her sons, Ariel and Kfir, who would have been aged five and two, and peace activist Oded Lifschitz, 84, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Hamas have said Shiri's remains seem to have been mixed up with other bodies under the rubble of a structure after an Israeli air strike.

Also in the programme: Can Arab countries come up with a plan to change Donald Trump's mind on Gaza?; and a BBC investigation looks into the companies fuelling West Africa's opioid epidemic.

(Photo shows Israeli soldiers carrying the coffins of deceased hostages on 20 February 2025. Credit: Handout via REUTERS)

The news conference with General Keith Kellogg and President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to take place in Kyiv, where they met on Thursday; the cancellation followed a heated exchange between the Ukrainian leader and President Trump. Also on the programme: Spain's former football federation boss Luis Rubiales has said he'll appeal after a court found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing football player Jenni Hermoso without her consent; and we hear from Martin Campbell, the director of two James Bond films, about Amazon taking full creative control of the franchise. (Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the US chief envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, attend their meeting in Kyiv Ukraine on 20 February 2025. Credit: SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)