Is Flu Different This Winter?

Today, the number of people in hospital with the flu has risen by more than half this week.

Doctors say an earlier start to the flu season plus an unexpected mutation in this years primary strain has led to a lower rate of immunity amongst the general public for this time of year.

BBC health editor Hugh Pym and Doctor Jamie Lopez Bernal, consultant epidemiologist from the UK Health Security Agency breakdown the data.

Plus, US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in an escalation of the US government’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

The news came as Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado collected her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, appearing despite a travel ban and a threat from the Venezuelan government that she would be labelled as a fugitive

BBC News presenter, Lucy Hockings and Latin America editor for BBC Online Vanessa Buschschlüter explain the situation in Venezuela and the story behind Miss Machado’s journey to Oslo.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Adam Chowdhury. The social producers were Sophie Millward and Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.