Newshour

The President of Switzerland says the fire at a ski resort early on New Year's Day which killed around 40 people is one of his country's worst tragedies. Witnesses at the bar in the ski resort of Crans Montana say the entire ceiling was ablaze within seconds. Also in the programme: There have clashes in a number of small towns across Iran, on the fifth day of anti-government protests; China has introduced a series of tax incentives - including levies on contraceptives and exemptions for childcare - to try to boost its falling birth rate; and new tax regulations are taking effect today in forty-eight countries over the personal ownership of cryptocurrency. Plus punk rock is 50 years old this year. Why does this rather simple music keep influencing musicians even now? (Photo: Officials say around 40 people were killed and 115 injured in the fire. Credit: Getty Images)

Swiss police say dozens of people have died in a fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana. More than a hundred others were injured, many seriously. The fire broke out early in the morning in a bar packed with people celebrating the New Year. We hear from the scene. Also in the programme: as the latest US visa bans and restrictions take effect in a large number of countries, mainly in Africa, we hear from the Nigerian government; plus what's behind the latest purges of China's top military officers?(IMAGE: Furniture pieces lie on the ground as an ambulance stands at the site of an explosion and fire at the "Le Constellation" bar, where several people died and others were injured after an explosion tore through a crowded New Year’s Eve party, according to Swiss police, in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana in southwestern Switzerland, January 1, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from video / CREDIT: Valais Canton Police/Handout via REUTERS)

Some international humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say they cannot comply with Israel’s demands to supply details of Palestinian staff due to data infringement and safety concerns.Also in the programme: we ask why there is a shortage of female toilets in Japan’s parliament; conservation efforts saving albatrosses in South Africa; and we look at the best moments from Newshour in 2025.(Photo: A Palestinian man carries food items collected from aid packages dropped from an airplane, amid a hunger crisis, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)

The EU says a new Israeli ban on nearly 40 aid groups working in Gaza and the West Bank would prevent lifesaving assistance from reaching Palestinians. Also in the programme: How did thieves use a drill to steal €30m in a German bank heist? And the best moments from Newshour in 2025.(Photo: MSF treat displaced Palestinians in Rafah. Credit: Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Supporters of southern Yemen's separatist movement have taken to the streets in Aden to protest at an ultimatum delivered by Saudi Arabia to the group's main backer, the United Arab Emirates. The UAE said on Tuesday it would abide by a Saudi demand to end its military involvement in Yemen. Riyadh has been angered by separatist advances towards the Saudi border. Overnight on Monday, a Saudi-led strike force attacked a port in southern Yemen, where Riyadh said two UAE ships had docked with weapons for the separatists. The UAE has denied this.Also in the programme: Another day of street protests in Iran as inflation soars and the currency tanks - how will the government respond? And after 400 years, Denmark’s national postal service has delivered letters for the last time.(Photo: The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) seeks independence for southern Yemen. Credit: Photo by Najeeb Mohamed/EPA/Shutterstock)