Global News Podcast

Tens of thousands protest despite postponement of controversial reforms. Also: A leading Ukrainian Orthodox cleric has appeared in court on suspicion of supporting the Russian invasion, and why the role-playing game dungeons and dragons could be a good form of therapy.

Our new weekly collection of the happiest stories in the world. This week, how an amateur digger in Australia hit the jackpot, the boy who spent three years camping out for charity, and could the secret to happiness lie in our sweat? Presented by Andrew Peach. Music produced by Iona Hampson.

Mass casualty event declared with hundreds reported injured. Also: Two thousand Ugandan troops have moved into the Democratic Republic of Congo to take up peacekeeping duty in the eastern part of the country, and Lolita the killer whale set for freedom after more than 50 years in captivity.

His lawyer says he is upset and angry, but not worried. Also: we hear from Bucha one year after its liberation from Russian occupation, and do plants talk back to us?

He is the first former US president to face criminal charges, over alleged hush money paid to a porn star. Finland will become the thirty-first member state of NATO, after the Turkish parliament voted to back its application to join the alliance, and the lengths being gone to to get 2 Chinese pandas in a Danish zoo to mate.

The controversial far right former president returns after his self-imposed exile. Also; concerns after a Wall Street Journal reporter is arrested in Russia, King Charles becomes the first British monarch to address the German parliament, and why moths are crucial in pollinating plants.

Low-lying Vanuatu has pushed for a legal opinion that could be cited in climate court cases. Also: Pope Francis has been taken to hospital with a respiratory infection, and Shaun the Sheep gets a hero's welcome following his trip around the moon.

The European Court of Human Rights hears a case brought against the Swiss Government over lack of action on climate change. Also, hundreds of people ask for a pause in the development of Artificial Intelligence, and young British men told to stay away from Amsterdam.

The Olympic committee wants the athletes to compete as neutrals amid the ongoing ban in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Also: the scientists on a mission to make meatballs from the long-extinct mammoth, and the amateur Australian gold digger who has found a massive nugget.

The facility houses people detained while trying to enter the US. Also: Police say a mass shooting at a school in Nashville was a carefully planned attack, Elon Musk announces further changes to Twitter's blue tick, and the winners of the 2023 Polar Music Prize.

Benjamin Netanyahu's plans provoked an outpouring of anger across Israeli society. Also: a heavily-armed young woman has killed six people, including children, at a school in the US state of Tennessee, and rehabilitating fictional villains - from being portrayed as ugly or disabled.

Israeli Prime Minister faces huge backlash, with widespread strikes and thousands protesting. Also: New leader of Scotland's main party pledges independence, and the eagerly awaited puffin migration to Northern Ireland.

Yoav Gallant had called for plans to overhaul the judiciary to be scrapped. Also: NATO allies condemn Moscow's plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, Lebanon gains an extra time zone, and we look back at the life of the founder of one of the world's biggest dumpling empires.

Russian President says move wouldn't violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements. Also: Israel's defence minister calls for a freeze of planned changes to the judiciary following another day of mass protests, and we meet the creator and author of the Oscar winning animated short film The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.

Our new weekly collection of the happiest stories in the world. This week, an unusual cow brings joy to Australia, the happiest places in the world are revealed and how shrimps are saving lives. Presented by Andrew Peach. Music produced by Iona Hampson.

Paul Rusesabagina's life inspired a Hollywood film about the 1994 genocide. Also: The UN has expressed grave concern about the summary killings of civilians and prisoners of war during Russia's war in Ukraine, highlighting a litany of other abuses, and The City Killer asteroid that's set to make a close-ish call with earth.

There has been violence in some French cities in the latest round of demonstrations against proposals to raise the state pension age. Also: The US state of Utah gives parents control over their children's social media, and how a drawing by a Russian child sparked a police investigation.

Video-sharing app accused of being an agent of the Chinese Communist party amid calls for it to be banned. Also: The Israeli prime minister vows to press ahead with his planned overhaul of the judiciary but says he wants to unite the country behind the changes, and the campaign in New Zealand to help youngsters navigate their breaks ups amicably.

Israel's parliament has passed a law limiting how a prime minister can be removed from office. The Israeli opposition says the legislation is aimed at protecting the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges. We hear the view of former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Also: A Nigerian senator and his wife have been convicted of trafficking a man to harvest a kidney for their daughter, and the good and the bad news about drinking coffee.

The former British prime minister was grilled about whether he lied about breaching Covid lockdown rules. Also: The White House warns Uganda of possible economic repercussions if a new law banning people from identifying as LGBT comes into force, and could the mystery surrounding what killed Beethoven finally have been solved?