Global News Podcast

Russia launched a big attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight, striking blocks of flats, a school and a children's hospital. Ukraine has appealed to its allies for more ballistic missile interceptors. The Ukrainian air force implied that none of the missiles was shot down. Also: captured Ukrainian-born soldiers tell the BBC why they fought for Russia. Disgraced property tycoon Hui Ka Yan - who was once Asia's richest man - is sentenced to life in prison in China and fined billions. We hear about the efforts to preserve Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland by removing coins that tourists wedged into the rocks, and why a crude, cheap animated Chinese film about a baby cow is a success at the box office.

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
Photo: A bombed apartment block in Kyiv.
Credit: EPA

Israel's military has confirmed for the first time that its troops opened fire on a car carrying Hind Rajab, the five-year old Palestinian child who was killed alongside six of her relatives in Gaza in 2024. The IDF is opening a criminal investigation into the deaths, as well as those of two paramedics sent to rescue her. A separate inquiry will examine the killing of fifteen emergency and aid workers in Rafah last year. Also: after six years in the US state of California, Prince Harry and his family are moving back to the UK, but will not be undertaking royal duties. At least five people have been killed by Russian missile attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday morning. The US pharmaceutical giants, Moderna and Merck, say trials of an experimental treatment for melanoma have shown signs of success. US public debt has soared to a record 40 trillion dollars. A former Meta employee, turned whistleblower, tells a court in California that Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, put growth in Facebook and Instagram before child safety. We have a special report about the gold rush in Kenya that's causing security and safety concerns. Scientists say giant whales are taking advantage of the ice disappearing from East Greenland, and shares in the Chinese robot maker, Unitree, soar as it launches its new humanoid robots.

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

Photo: Five-year-old Hind Rajab who was killed in Gaza, January 29th 2004, by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the Gaza war.
Credit: Family

Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has fired one of his top aides, who is reported to be the target of a corruption investigation. Iryna Mudra, the president's deputy chief of staff, was sacked after Ukraine's anti-corruption agency said it had raided the homes of a senior official on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile the former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov - whose removal last month prompted widespread street protests - has called for elections. Also: Israel opens up bids for construction of more than 1,000 new homes east of Jerusalem, that would contravene international law. We hear from Gaza about families searching for their relatives - some of the thousands of people missing presumed dead in the conflict with Israel. Plus, the impact pollution controls have had on the lungs of children in London; why South Korea and the US have cut short joint military exercises, and the message it sends to North Korea; the SpaceX rocket drifing in the South Pacific; and the water lilies that can take the weight of a grown person.
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
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during visit to Serbia, August 8, 2026.
Credit: Reuters

The technology giant Meta has gone on trial in California over allegations its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, are deliberately designed to keep young people hooked. Nearly thirty US states are seeking changes to the platforms and financial penalties amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. California's prosecutor told the court Meta had put profits over safety and deliberately misled the public. Meta strongly denies the accusations. Also: the United States announces sanctions against the president and a senior lawyer of the International Criminal Court; the head of the WHO warns that the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is far from being under control; Earl Spencer is to publish a book telling the life story of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, from his perspective; and could tree shrews help us correct short sightedness in humans?

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
Photo: The Meta logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026.
Credit: Photo by ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA/Shutterstock

Ukraine says at least 17 people were killed in overnight Russian attacks, with most of the deaths in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. In one attack in the city of Kharkiv at least 10 people - including children - were killed and several others injured after a Russian air strike hit an apartment block. Moscow has threatened the UK with "consequences" after it was confirmed that Ukraine used British-made drones in recent attacks. Also: a court in Syria has issued a death sentence to a cousin of the ousted leader, Bashar al-Assad, after convicting him of crimes including murder and torture during the country's civil war. Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term. Scientists say the impact of rising global temperatures on the health of older people has been significantly underestimated. And why sheep farmers in Wales are feeling happier.

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
Photo: Drone launched by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv region, Ukraine
Credit: Reuters