BBC NewsHour

Taiwan to spend extra $40bn on defence to counter China

Loading player...
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has announced a plan to spend an extra $40 billion dollars on the military over the next eight years to resist Chinese aggression.

Also on the programme: at least 13 people have died in a fire in a tower block complex in Hong Kong; and the new "Russian cultural code” from fashion to music, aiming to define what it means to be Russian.

(Photo: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te gestures as he delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in Taipei on October 10, 2025. Credit: Reuters)
26 Nov 10AM English United Kingdom News

Other recent episodes

Will Netanyahu be pardoned?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the country's president, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon over corruption cases he has been battling. We speak to an opposition member of the Israeli Knesset who opposes a potential pardon for Mr Netanyahu. Also on the programme: local media in Hong Kong report…
30 Nov 5PM 49 min

Benjamin Netanyahu seeks pardon from Israel's president

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been facing a long-running corruption trial, has submitted an official request to the country's president to pardon him. Mr Netanyahu, who denies wrongdoing, released a two and a half minute video saying that a presidential pardon would advance much needed national reconciliation,…
30 Nov 9AM 47 min

Venezuela slams Trump's airspace warning

Venezuela has condemned President Trump's warning that its airspace should be considered closed. It called it a colonialist threat and an unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people. Mr Trump's post could lead to travel uncertainty and deter airlines from operating in the area. We hear from the capital Caracas. Also…
29 Nov 5PM 50 min

Nigeria's School Kidnapping Crisis

After the kidnapping of hundreds of children, we hear from a Nigerian minister about the difficulties that the government has in providing security to the Nigerian people. The government has declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the recruitment of 20,000 more police. Also on the programme: President Trump has…
29 Nov 9AM 43 min

Ukraine president's top adviser resigns

The top adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has resigned after anti-corruption investigators raided his home in the capital Kyiv. Andriy Yermak was the president's chief of staff and headed the Ukrainian delegation at talks about ending the war with Russia. Also in the programme: Airbus says it's ordering immediate…
28 Nov 5PM 46 min
All episodes