Newshour

Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has officially become the new leader of the British Labour Party. He is expected to take over as the UK’s prime minister on Monday, when Sir Keir Starmer will step down after spending two years in the role. We hear from a Labour MP, who’s supportive of Burnham, about what the new leader’s foreign policies might be.
Also in the programme: China hits back at US President Donald Trump as he accuses the country of interfering in the 2020 presidential election; and a new Japanese law upholds the country’s ban on female monarchs.
(Photo: Andy Burnham speaks after being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the UK's next Prime Minister, 17th July 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls)

Mykhailo Fedorov stands down after only 6 months. Critics of President Zelensky say that he looks weak after accepting the loss of his innovative Defence Minister. Also in the programme: wildfires in Scotland's Cairngorm Mountains and Christina Kahlo on her famous great aunt, Frida.

Protests have been taking place in several Ukrainian cities against President Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise dismissal of popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. We get reaction from an opposition Ukrainian MP.

Also on the programme: a court in Italy has given a 12-year sentence to the former motorway boss blamed for the fatal collapse of a bridge in Genoa in 2018; and we hear from Nasa's head of science about its new super-powerful telescope.

(Photo: Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, after a meeting of Nato Defence Ministers at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, 12 February, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Ukraine's military has intensified its attacks near Russian-annexed Crimea, following up strikes on Russia's land corridor to the peninsula by targeting maritime supply routes as well, as it tries to heap pressure on the Kremlin to end the war.
Also in the programme: The United States says it's carried out another wave of strikes against Iran, aimed at degrading its ability to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; Turkey marks 10th anniversary of July 15 failed coup; and the actor Andy Serkis on why he's giving Animal Farm a makeover!
(Photo: A cyclist uses a flashlight in a dark street during a temporary power outage, after local authorities limited electricity supplies to households to avoid overloading the strained network, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Black Sea resort city of Yevpatoriya, Crimea, July 5, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak)

The US State Department has said it's supporting efforts by Iraq and Syria to restore a crude oil pipeline between them, in an attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Also in the programme: Australia has announced wide-ranging plans to regulate AI, including enhanced copyright and restrictions on data centres; and as England and Argentina prepare for their World Cup semi-final, we'll explore a fraught relationship between the two countries that goes back many decades.
(Photo: US President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi at the White House - 14 Jul 2026 Credit: Photo by GRAEME SLOAN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)