Cuba's revolutionary exhaustion

The governments of Cuba and the United States have been at odds since at least 1959 - with periods of high tension alternating with times of apparent bridge-building. The Trump administration makes no secret of its wish to get the Cuban Communist Party out of power, and during 2026 it's tightened its economic measures against the island ever more intensely. Now the American legal system is also being employed as a way to pressure Cuba's leadership further. Will Grant has been in Havana hearing how Cubans feel about these tactics.

Israel's air and artillery strikes in southern Lebanon have escalated over the past week, as the Israeli Defence Forces and the Iranian-linked militia group Hizbollah continue to fight for control of strategic territory. John Sudworth talked to civilians in Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley about their fears for the future of the country - and the risks of this conflict aggravating divides between Lebanese communities.

Greeks already work some of the longest hours in Europe - and since October, it's been legal, under certain conditions, for employers to introduce shifts of up to 13 hours. Caught between rising prices and stagnant wages, many workers feel they're cracking under the strain. Heidi Fuller Love heard a chorus of indignation in one taverna.

For children who are adopted, it's not unusual to grow up wondering where you first came from - and that urge may be particularly strong among those adopted from one country and raised in another. Tanya Datta recently travelled to Maharashtra state in India, accompanying a friend brought up in France who wanted to find out how, and why, she had been given up for adoption.

Introduced by Pascale Harter.

Producer: Polly Hope
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

(Photo: People attend a rally outside the US Embassy in Havana in May 2026. Credit: Adalberto Roque/ AFP)