The World Tonight

In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective

Pro-Palestinian remand prisoners staging the largest organised hunger strike in over 40 years are to continue, after the government refused a meeting. We hear from the sister of one of them - and ask whether the government should now intervene.Also on the programme:The latest Epstein files include an email from Balmoral in which Ghislaine Maxwell is asked if she's found some new "inappropriate friends". We have the latest.And what do Christmas cracker jokes do to our brains?

The government says it will prohibit trail hunting too as part of its Animal Welfare Strategy, 21 years after banning fox hunting. We hear from a former Conservative minister and a Labour MP on a tradition that divides the country - and ask whether Labour's relationship with farmers is terminally broken.Also:Remembering Chris Rea, the self-effacing singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough whose deep gravelly voice beguiled millions, though not always himself.And amid calls for every school to have a choir, we hear what impact regular singing has had in one primary school in London.

The US justice department has released some of the so-called Epstein files - the long-awaited documents related to its investigations into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The justice department faced a legal deadline to release the files by Friday, following months of pressure on Trump from both inside and outside his party. A number of famous faces are pictured - including former US President Bill Clinton, and musicians Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.Also on the programme: Two Palestinian men have told the BBC they were beaten and sexually abused by prison guards while in Israeli detention.And we hear live from Miami ahead of the controversial boxing bout between influencer Jake Paul and former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

European leaders are locked in to negotiations tonight about seizing frozen Russian assets to help fund a major loan for Ukraine. But opposition remains, including from Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban.Also on the programme: The bookmakers favourite, Rory McIlroy, is the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. We'll have reaction from a former Irish golfing champion.Why are younger people the most lonely in the UK? We put that question to three people in their 20s and 30s. And English Heritage draws flak from historians - for promoting an erroneous theory about Christmas.