Newshour

The new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago but spent many years living and working in Peru where he was made a bishop. We speak to a Peruvian Catholic, who welcomes Leo's election, and hear from our correspondent, Ione Wells, in the Peruvian city of Chiclayo where the new Pope lived.Also in the programme: Russia celebrates the 80th anniversary of Victory Day and the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. We speak to a former Russian military officer; and two men are convicted of cutting down an iconic tree on the historic Hadrian's Wall in the north east of England. They could face up to 10 years in prison. We hear why trees are so important to people and the environment. (Picture: Sister Margarita Ramos Chanduvi poses with an image of Pope Leo XIV at a convent in Lima. Credit: RENATO PAJUELO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Pope Leo has delivered his first homily as spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Also on the programme, Russia is holding a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War; and the first samples of rock drilled from the Moon in nearly 50 years have arrived in the UK.(Photo: Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with the Cardinal electors in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Vatican City State Holy See - 09 May 2025 VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock )

US-born Robert Prevost, who once lived as a bishop in Peru, has been chosen as the new pope. It marks the first time an American man will serve as the leader of the Catholic Church. We hear from the BBC’s Mark Lowen at the Vatican and get reaction from the US on this historic day. Also in the programme: we speak to billionaire Bill Gates who says he will give most of his wealth away by 2045; and on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we hear the memories of a woman who lived through the Blitz in London.(Photo: Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost of the US, delivers the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the world) message from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, 8th May 2025. Credit: Yara Nardi, REUTERS.

Britain has held a service at Westminster Abbey in London to mark the eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. The King and Queen and Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer attended. Other European capitals are holding their own events. Also in the programme: there's been two inconclusive votes by Cardinals this morning on who will succeed Pope Francis; India and Pakistan have accused each other of mounting drone attacks, including on targets far from the disputed region of Kashmir; and the American academic and policymaker Joseph Nye, who coined the phrase "soft power", has died aged 88.(Picture: King Charles III speaks to a veteran at the end of the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Credit: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

Pakistan has condemned India’s overnight missile strikes on its territory as acts of war. We hear from the Pakistani cabinet minister Ahsan Iqbal.Also in the programme: The Papal conclave in the Vatican begins to elect a successor to Pope Francis; and in his first interview since leaving the White House the former US President, Joe Biden, tells the BBC that the Trump administration is guilty of what he described as "modern-day appeasement" because of the way it has been pressuring Ukraine to give up territory to Russia.(Photo: Members of the media film the inside of a building after it was hit by an Indian strike in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, 7 May 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Pakistan says Indian missile attacks on its territory have "ignited an inferno in the region," and Delhi shall bear the responsibility for its consequences. It said twenty six people were killed in the attacks. After a meeting of its National Security Committee, Pakistan said it reserved the right to respond. India said it had targeted terrorist camps at nine locations, in response to a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir two weeks ago.Also, the former US President, Joe Biden, has condemned Donald Trump's position on Ukraine - saying that putting pressure on Kyiv to give up territory to Russia amounts to "modern day appeasement".And cardinals from around the world have gathered in the Vatican to begin the secretive process of electing a new Pope.(Photo: A city view of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administrated Kashmir. Credit: Getty Images)

Newshour reports from Syria again, as the country tries to emerge from the ruin of civil war and dictatorship. Tim Franks has met a man whose job under Bashar al-Assad was to collect bodies from a military hospital: "the hardest part to see was how they were tortured". Also in the programme: Canadians elected Mark Carney to see off Donald Trump's ambition to annex Canada - today they met at the White House; and Germany has a new Chancellor, after a rocky start. (Photo: Fighters inspect the site of a mass grave from the rule of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, according to residents, after the ousting of al-Assad, in Najha, Syria, December 17, 2024. Reuters/Ammar Awad)

Newshour reports from Damascus on the doctors who say they are fighting against crippling sanctions when trying to look after their patients. Also on the programme: Friedrich Merz has suffered a shock defeat in a parliamentary vote, failing to win the majority needed to become Germany's new chancellor; and Port Sudan is again attacked by paramilitaries. (Photo: A child injured in an airstrike receives medical treatment at a hospital in Idlib, northern Syria, 01 December 2024. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Five months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, can Syria overcome immense problems under its new Islamist rulers? Also in the programme: an army reservist speaks about the plan by Israel's government to send more troops into Gaza; and Donald Trump says he could hit movies made in foreign countries with a 100% tariff - but how?(File photo: A drone view shows people waving flags adopted by the new Syrian rulers during celebrations in Umayyad Square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 20, 2024. Reuters/Amr Alfiky/File Photo)

Five months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, we ask can Syria overcome its immense problems under its new Islamist rulers? Also in the programme: Europe commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in 1945; and the end of the road for Skype.Photo: A torn poster of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus suburb. Credit: Reuters.

Israel military has confirmed that tens of thousands of call-up orders are being sent to reservists, to prepare for another expansion of the war in Gaza. Israel says it's aiming to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Aid agencies have condemned Israel’s continued blockade of the territory.Also, Newshour's Tim Franks reports from Syria, looking at the huge challenge of rebuilding this shattered country.And as Cardinals concentrate on the spiritual aspects of a new pope, we look at the sartorial side.(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Romanians vote for a new president after suspected Russian interference in 2024 poll. The nationalist presidential candidate, George Simion, a self described MAGA candidate, has said his only objective is “to put the Romanian people first”. Also in the programme: We explore the ongoing impact of President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression tactics on ordinary Syrians; and we hear from International Booker prize nominee Solvaj Balle, alongside the translator who brought her work 'On The Calculation Of Volume' into the English literary canon. (Photo: Banners showing U.S. President Donald Trump and Marian Cucsa, candidate of Republican Party of Romania, on the day of Romanian presidential election, in Bucharest, Romania, May 4, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Labor's Anthony Albanese has defied the so-called "incumbency curse" to be re-elected Australia's prime minister in a landslide. Also on the programme, the medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, says one of its hospitals in South Sudan has been bombed and that there are reports of deaths and injuries; and, Warren Buffett - regarded as one of the world's most influential investors - has surprised shareholders by announcing he'll retire from his firm by the end of the year.(Photo: Australia holds Federal Elections, Sydney - 03 May 2025 LUKAS COCH/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Less than a week after the Liberals came from behind to win in Canada, Australia's governing Labor Party has won the election there. Is the Trump effect in play once more? Also in the programme: Israel ramps up airstrikes on Syria, claiming to be defending the Druze minority; Poland boosts its defences in the face of the Russian threat; and we hear from an author shortlisted for the International Booker Prize – whose novel’s main character is based on her late sister.(IMAGE: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrates at a Labor party election night event, after local media projected the Labor Party's victory, on the day of the Australian federal election, in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2025 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Hollie Adams TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)