Today, we look at what a new government in Syria means for the Middle East and why Israel has launched airstrikes on key military targets. The BBC’s Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale tells Adam about the historic relationship between Syria and Israel and why Israel has decided to launch strikes now. And, BBC Monitoring’s Jihadist Media expert Mina Al-Lami explains how an opportunistic IS might seek to capitalise on abandoned weapons stashes and wider instability in the region. Plus, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has again warned against government waste. She’s launched a spending review, promising to identify "efficiency savings" across government departments. Chief Political Correspondent Henry Zeffman joins Adam to explain how the review might shake up the political landscape in 2025. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Maddie Drury. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.
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This week on Witness History.
On 17 December 2014, United States President Barack Obama and the leader of Cuba, Raul Castro announced the normalization of their country's relations, ending 54 years of hostility.
It was a shock to most except a few trusted aides who had worked for 18 months to make it happen.
Raul Castro's son Alejandro was the Cuban representative while Ben Rhodes, Obama's speechwriter, was sent by the US.
He says the US government made a liar out of him after President Trump reversed much of the progress to get the behind the scenes story of the Cuban Thor.
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BBC Sounds.
Music Radio Podcasts hello, There is some exciting news about newscast coming your way in the next few days, but I'm just teasing you with it now.
Like a sort of podcast based Advent calendar where you have to just count down until the day itself.
But it's going to be worth listening to and I just wanted to get the thrill of sort of mentioning it but not telling you.
So instead we'll just have to focus on the actual news that's happening in the world in which we live.
That's what we'll do on this episode of Newscast with a big update on what's happening in Syria and also some of the domestic implications of that in the uk.
Plus there's some Westminster political news as well.
So that's all coming up on this episode of Newscast Newscast Newscast from the BBC.
I like landscapes.
I don't think I'm being rude.
Jabbing unemployed people who are overweight.
That is not the agenda.
It's the fun police working overtime.