Gaza: Rafah border crossing reopens

Kate Adie introduces stories from the Gaza-Egypt border, Cuba, Bangladesh, Ukraine and Slovenia. The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt reopened this week after being mainly kept shut since Israel captured the Gazan side in 2024. It’s opening has brought relief to many Palestinians who see it as a lifeline to the world. However, there has been frustration over delays and the small number of people being allowed through each day. Yolande Knell has been following developments. Outside Venezuela, nowhere was last month’s US military action in Caracas felt more keenly than in Cuba. Venezuela has helped prop up the Communist-run island for twenty-five years, with subsidised supplies of crude oil. Will Grant reports from Havana on the island's growing economic crisis. Bangladesh goes to the polls next week in its first election since a student uprising forced the previous Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to flee for India. However, a new student-led political party is already in crisis. Azadeh Moshiri reports from Dhaka. Ukraine continues to endure heavy Russian bombardment of its energy grid - in the capital more than a thousand buildings are still without power. But locals are finding innovative ways to keep warm amid freezing temperatures, as Abdujalil Abdurasulov discovered at a disco on a frozen river. The Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina are officially underway and one of Europe’s smallest countries is hoping to fly higher than the rest. Guy De Launey met the Slovenian brother and sister who are favourites for ski-jumping gold. Producer: Serena Tarling Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

You can listen to Gaza: Rafah border crossing reopens online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Gaza: Rafah border crossing reopens is an episode from From Our Own Correspondent Podcast by BBC.

This episode is 28:29 long.

This episode was published on Feb 7, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from From Our Own Correspondent Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.