Top US diplomat visits the Middle East

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Jordan today for discussions with representatives of Arab nations who are expected to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Yesterday, Mr Blinken's call for humanitarian pauses were rebuffed by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who said there would be no break in its attacks on Gaza until all hostages there were freed.

Also in the programme: a Ukrainian general says the war against Russia has reached a stalemate; a new study suggests that rates of dementia in the western world are declining.

Joining presenter Julian Worricker are Julie Norman, associate professor in Politics and International Relations at University College London, and Afzal Ashraf, an expert on defence, security and international relations at the University of Loughborough.

Produced by Henry Tang, Usman Azad, Robin Banerji, Thomas Copeland and Brian McCluskey. Presented by Julian Worricker.

(Picture: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane in Israel for Jordan. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)