Venezuela Crisis: Opposition Calls for General Election

Today on the show we start in Venezuela. Last week hundreds of thousands of people protested against President Nicholas Maduro after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself president. Since then Nicolás Maduro, has rejected an ultimatum by several European countries to hold a general election within eight days. Daniel Garcia from BBC Mundo gives us the latest on that story.

Also in the show: A story that has gone viral on Chinese social media. It involves Chinese students at Duke University in the US. A university professor has been removed as director of a graduate programme, amid a furore over an email she sent urging students not to speak Chinese. Our China Media Analyst Kerry Allen will give us the latest on that story.

And we’ll hear from the The BBC’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet who has been to Hodeidah, in Yemen. She travelled with forces from the United Arab Emirates, a key player in the Saudi-led coalition which backs the Yemeni government against Houthi rebels aligned to Iran who control most of Hodeida.

Also we have an update from Brazil. 300 people are still unaccounted for three days after a dam collapse at an iron ore mine near the town of Brumandinho. The BBC’s Julia Carneiro will join us from a treatment centre where survivors have been taken.

(Picture:Venezuela's National Assembly head and self-proclaimed 'acting president' Juan Guaido speaks to the press. 27 Jan 2019. Credit:Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)