Global News Podcast

The Federal Aviation Administration in the US has said that if the government shutdown continues, it will cut air traffic by ten per-cent across forty busy airports from Friday, in order to maintain safety. Air traffic controllers have been working without pay for more than a month and some of them are now calling in sick. The Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, insists air travel is still safe, and the decision to cancel the flights is being made to ensure efficiency. Also: the BBC has been allowed to enter Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire was declared last month; Mexico's first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has called for sexual harassment to be made a crime in the country after footage showed a man trying to grope her in the street; and a typhoon which has caused devastating floods across the central Philippines has killed at least 114 people. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Zohran Mamdani is promising change and a template to defeat Donald Trump after winning the vote to become the New York City mayor. Also: the United Nations calls for more action to halt atrocities in Sudan; Chinese fast-fashion brand Shein launches its first store in Paris; and Monopoly is 90 - we look at the history of the popular board game. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Zohran Mamdani has won New York’s mayoral election after defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, making history as the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in more than a century. The 34 year old surged to victory with promises to tax millionaires to pay for expanded social programmes. Meanwhile, Democrats are projected to win governor races in Virginia and New Jersey. Also: a cargo plane has crashed at Louisville airport in Kentucky, sparking a huge fire and killing at least seven people; the UN says new restrictions by the Taliban have forced it to suspend operations at a crucial border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran; Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said his government will seek an independent investigation into a police raid in Rio de Janeiro that left more than 120 people dead; the American man who faked his own death and fled to Scotland after being accused of rape; and Paris residents are offered a chance to be buried alongside the rich and famous. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Dick Cheney, who became one of the most powerful vice presidents in US history as George W Bush's number two during 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died Monday. He was 84. Also: Sudan's military government meets to discuss its response after its last stronghold in the Darfur region was seized by paramilitaries; New Yorkers vote for their next Mayor, and scientists in Kenya find evidence that the first humans used stone tools. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The government shutdown in the United States is set to become the longest in the country's history as Democrats and Republicans fail to agree on a new budget, leaving more than 40 million Americans who rely on food stamps facing great uncertainty. The White House says it will use emergency funds to provide reduced food aid. Also: the Israeli military's former top lawyer is arrested over the leak of a video allegedly showing Palestinian detainee abuse; dozens of people are killed after an earthquake in northern Afghanistan; the BBC visits India's Bihar state ahead of elections; what's causing an Antarctic glacier to rapidly retreat; Starbucks sells part of its operations in China; fast fashion giant Shein bans sex dolls on its online platform; the latest from Prince William's trip to Brazil; a conversation with Salman Rushdie; and Indonesians rail against "ugly" glass elevator on Bali cliff. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, begins her second term in office following hundreds of reported deaths in violence linked to a contested election. Also, as the tentative ceasefire in Gaza continues, plans are being made to rebuild the devastated territory. Valencia's provincial leader resigns after criticism over his response to devastating floods last year. Three people will stand trial in Hong Kong accused of organising events to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen killings. And the actor Anthony Hopkins reflects on a life of highs and lows at age eighty-seven. He said it had been a laugh. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump has suggested the US could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out air strikes to stop what he called the killing of Christians by Islamist insurgents. Unfounded claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria have been circulating in American right-wing religious circles for months. A Nigerian presidential adviser said jihadists in the Muslim-majority north of the country were attacking all religious communities, but that Abuja would welcome US help in tackling the Islamist insurgents. Also: the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has told the BBC that he feels he is the luckiest man alive. Officials in Iran warn the main source of drinking water for residents of Tehran is at risk of running dry within two weeks. Flight delays continue across the US, as air traffic controllers working without pay due to the government shutdown are now calling in sick. The Maldives brings in the world's only generational smoking ban, and cricket fans across India celebrate the women's national side winning their first ever World Cup. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

In the UK, counter-terrorism police are leading an investigation into a mass stabbing on a train near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Nine people are in critical condition after an attack described by witnesses as ‘like a horror film’ with passengers trying to flee through carriages and barricading themselves in bathrooms. Armed officers boarded the train and arrested two men at the scene. Also: President Donald Trump threatens military action in Nigeria, saying an attack would be ‘fast, vicious and sweet’, after accusing the government there of allowing mass killings of Christians. Spain’s foreign minister has offered one of the country’s clearest acknowledgements yet of the brutality of the sixteenth-century conquest of Mexico, and we hear from Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa has killed at least nineteen people and left hundreds of thousands without food, power or clean water. Plus, the Pushkin Institute in Moscow unveils what it says is the longest word in the Russian language. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Messages in a bottle from two Australian World War One soldiers have been found on a beach and are now back with their relatives. Debra Brown's family were cleaning up on Wharton Beach when they found a thick glass bottle with the notes inside. Herbie Neville, the great nephew of one of the soldiers, says it's unbelievable to receive the letters. Plus, the memorial unveiled in the UK for veterans who were expelled from the armed forces because of their sexuality. The oldest woman to finish the Iron Woman competition. The students here in Britain helping to restore an Ancient Egyptian mummy. Happy stories and positive news from around the world - our weekly collection. Presenter: Alex Ritson. Music composed by Iona Hampson.

Diplomats in Tanzania say there's credible evidence at least five-hundred people have been killed in days of clashes between protesters and security forces over disputed election results. The protests broke out after the President's main challengers were excluded from the ballot. A senior opposition politician told the BBC that police and foreign mercenaries were killing "with impunity". Tanzania's foreign minister has denied reports of widespread killings. Also: US judges rule the Trump administration must maintain food aid for millions of Americans, despite the government shutdown. The Israeli judge who has resigned after revealing evidence that a Palestinian prisoner was sexually abused. Scientists create a single anti-venom that protects against 17 different poisonous snakebites. And Egypt's long awaited billion dollar Grand Museum finally opens its doors. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

China's President, Xi Jinping, leads the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in South Korea, which President Trump chose to leave. Chinese media said Mr Xi told a closed-door meeting of regional leaders that they should deepen economic co-operation in the face of challenges unseen in a century. Also, the United Nations has said that the "horror" continues in El-Fasher, with aid agencies warning that too few civilians are being allowed to leave the Sudanese city, which has fallen to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. A friend of King Charles tells the BBC that the monarch would have been frustrated and angry with his brother, Andrew, who's now been stripped of the title 'prince' following a damaging sex scandal. Another high-profile, broad-daylight robbery in France, just weeks after a raid at the Louvre museum in Paris. And why bats are finding sanctuary in churches. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Britain's King Charles has begun the process of removing his younger brother's "prince" title and told him to vacate the Royal Lodge in Windsor. It comes as controversy swirls over Andrew’s friendship with the late child sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre. In a statement, Giuffre's family call her "an ordinary American girl who brought down a British prince". Andrew has denied, and continues to deny, all allegations made against him. Also: relief efforts are being stepped up in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa; Victoria becomes the first Australian state to approve a treaty with its Indigenous peoples; the BBC speaks to Russians refusing to be silent in the face of Putin's repression; Hamas returns the bodies of another two hostages to Israel under the Gaza ceasefire deal; President Trump caps refugee admissions with priority given to white South Africans; a squeeze in US public broadcasting funding forces Radio Free Asia off the air; what causes brain fog; and the bizarre deathball sponge lurking on the deep sea floor. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The UN’s top humanitarian official has said there must be accountability for those carrying out the killings and sexual violence in Sudan's El-Fasher. Tom Fletcher said people who wanted to leave the city, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces at the weekend, must be allowed to do so safely, and those who remained must be protected. The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has declared an investigation into what he called violations committed by his soldiers, but denies accusations they massacred hundreds of civilians at a hospital in El-Fasher on Tuesday. Also: Jamaica counts the cost of Hurricane Melissa; five more suspects are being questioned by police in Paris after they were arrested in connection with this month's robbery at the Louvre museum in the French capital; the Netherlands swings to the centre in elections at the expense of the far-right Freedom party; and Universal Music Group has struck an unprecedented licensing deal with an artificial intelligence music generation startup to launch an AI creation platform. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have met for the first time since 2019 to discuss a possible truce in the US-China trade war. The leaders of the world's two biggest economies shook hands and spoke of friendship ahead of the "amazing" meeting in South Korea. President Trump said they agreed a cut in tariffs and a rare earth minerals deal. Also: the US says it will begin testing its nuclear weapons to keep up with Russia and China; Hurricane Melissa moves towards the Bahamas and Cuba after causing unprecedented devastation in Jamaica; Brazil's president condemns the police raid that killed more than 130 people in Rio de Janeiro; the long lost wolf spider is re-discovered in the UK; what drives those who want to live forever; and the art of presidential gift giving.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says a wave of Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday night killed more than a hundred people, including a number of children. The Israeli military said it had killed "dozens of terrorists". It launched the attacks after accusing Hamas of killing a soldier in violation of the US-brokered ceasefire. Israel says it's now resuming the truce, which President Trump has warned must not be jeopardised. Also: Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in eastern Cuba after causing widespread damage in Jamaica. As Tanzanians take to the polls in a tense general election, there have been violent clashes between protestors and the police. And messages in a bottle written by two Australian soldiers in 1916 have been found more than a century later on the country's south-western coast. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Israeli strikes ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kill at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza. It comes after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by shooting at IDF soldiers and not handing back hostage bodies. The US President Donald Trump said Israel “should hit back” at Hamas if Israeli soldiers were killed, but added “nothing’s going to jeopardise” the truce. Also: President Trump arrives in South Korea; Hurricane Melissa pummels Jamaica; scores of people killed and 81 arrested in a massive drugs raid in Brazil; rapper Flavor Flav becomes official hype man and sponsor of the US Bobsleigh and Skeleton team for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Hurricane Melissa, the world's strongest storm of the year, hits Jamaica, bringing catastrophic flooding, with several deaths reported. The authorities have been making extensive preparations for the Category Five storm, but officials are concerned that not enough people are heeding evacution orders. Also, Sudanese RSF rebels deny reports of atrocities against civilians in the captured city of El Fasher, and Prunella Scales, one of Britain's best-loved actresses, dies at the age of ninety-three. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

World's strongest storm of 2025 expected to cause widespread damage in Jamaica. The Caribbean island braced for record winds and catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Melissa. Also: record numbers of racehorses die in Australia from injuries in the past year; Korean beauty products trend investigated; one long walk beats short strolls for healthy heart, says new study; and US pop star Katy Perry and former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau make relationship public in Paris as they are pictured holding hands. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Rebels from the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, in Sudan claim to have taken El Fasher, the strategically important city in the western Darfur region. The army has so far not acknowledged the capture of the city, and the governor of Darfur calls for civilians there to be protected. Also, the leader of Cameroon, Paul Biya, is declared winner of the presidential election, for what will be his eighth consecutive term in office, and King Charles unveils Britain's first national memorial to LGBT military personnel. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The BBC visits camps and a prison in north-eastern Syria where Islamic State fighters and their families are being held. The caliphate has been regrouping in the vacuum left by the collapsed Assad regime. Also: Victory for President Javier Milei's party in midterm elections in Argentina; tensions rise as another US warship joins those floating off the coast of Venezuela; two arrested in connection with the Louvre jewel heist; India and China resume direct flights; mechanics take on Tesla in Sweden; and the importance of rebuilding Gaza's heritage sites.