US demands Syria act to prevent massacres

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Syria to deploy its forces to prevent radical jihadists from carrying out further massacres, following days of sectarian clashes in the south of the country. We get the insights of British-Syrian novelist Robin Yassin-Kassab, who joins the programme from Damascus.

Also in the programme: as Meta settles an $8 billion lawsuit brought by its own investors over data leaks to Cambridge Analytica, we explore the case's implications for digital privacy; and we speak to director Femi Elufo-woju Junior about his revival of two obscure 20th century operas.

Joining presenter Paul Henley are Melanie Garson, Associate Professor in International Conflict Resolution & International Security at University College London, and Nicki Kindersley, senior lecturer in African history at Cardiff University

(Pictured A Bedouin fighters sits on a car at an Internal Security Forces checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi).