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Episode details

World Service,24 Oct 2026,23 mins

Israel election: Netanyahu's big test

From Our Own Correspondent

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces correspondents' stories from Israel, Albania and Chile. The coming general election in Israel is not just about choosing the country's next leader. It also poses deeper questions about what kind of country Israelis want to live in. Lucy Williamson has been following the campaign so far and reflects on the different visions of the future expressed by Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu. It's been an autumn of revolt in Europe - from Spain to Serbia. Housing, education, fuel prices and the cost of living have all sparked public protests - some of which turned violent. In Albania, the "flamingo revolution" demonstrations over a controversial seaside development project have combined with youth protests over university tuition fees, crumbling education infrastructure and alleged corruption into a wider campaign to unseat PM Edi Rama's government. Nick Thorpe reports from Tirana. In the southern hemisphere it ought to be the season where spring turns to summer - but in Chile's capital, conditions have been far from pleasant. Residents of Santiago have been drenched by record rainfall, battered by hailstorms and threatened by mudslides and flash flooding. Jane Chambers explains how the city's reacted to the extreme weather - and what it has to do with this year's unusually intense El Nino climate pattern. Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

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