Global News Podcast

US sends warning to Venezuela's new leader

Mon, 05 Jan 2026

The US has warned the new interim leader of Venezuela to do as it says - or face the consequences. Donald Trump says if Delcy Rodriguez "doesn’t do what’s right, she's going to pay a very big price". The ousted Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, is due to appear in court in New York. Also in this podcast, Denmark's prime minister has told Donald Trump to "stop threats" about taking over Greenland. Police in Switzerland say they have now identified all forty victims of the New Year's Day fire in a bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana. Iran's government has announced that it will begin paying a new monthly allowance to every citizen. The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has markedly increased his defence budget for 2026. The movie Avatar: Fire and Ash has made more than a billion dollars at the global box office.

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The Happy Pod: Christmas with the man I saved

Sun, 04 Jan 2026

A US woman whose bone marrow saved a father of three in Australia has spent Christmas with him and his family. Gennaro Rapinese, whose leukaemia was cured by the donation, greeted Cassidy Feeney at the airport in Perth with the words 'you saved my life'. Cassidy, who'd never met Gennaro before, says she decided to donate because she'd want someone to do the same for her loved ones - and believes everyone should care more about others and less about themselves.
Also: How a community rallied around to help after customers left a restaurant in Montreal without paying a large bill. The owner of Mama Khan's uses his profits to run a soup kitchen and deliver free meals to those in need.
The company in Sweden that's tackling loneliness by giving employees time off dedicated to working on their friendships.
A chance encounter and a small act of kindness that led to a couple getting engaged.
Plus a very rare pink platypus, and why millions of people around the world sing the Scottish folk song, Auld Lang Syne, to mark the new year.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

Presenter: Oliver Conway. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Captured Venezuelan leader Maduro in New York

Sun, 04 Jan 2026

Nicolas Maduro has arrived at a detention centre in Brooklyn, New York where he will be held ahead of an expected first court appearance on Monday. Live TV showed Mr Maduro being led away in a hooded jacket and handcuffs by US agents after the plane transporting the captured Venezuelan president and his wife arrived at an air base north of the city. In 2020, Mr Maduro was charged in absentia over alleged drug and weapons offences. He has always maintained that the accusations are a pretext for regime change and denied links to drug trafficking.

Trump says US will 'run' Venezuela

Sat, 03 Jan 2026

Following the capture of the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by the US military, President Trump has said the United States intends to run the South American country until there can be a "safe, proper and judicious transition". The president was pressed by reporters about who would be running Venezuela during the transition period and offered few details on who exactly would be in charge. He added that Washington wasn't afraid of putting boots on the ground. The announcement comes as the United Nations Security Council plans to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Venezuela's future and the US actions, which U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres views as setting "a dangerous precedent." Nicolas Maduro's vice -president has called for his immediate release, but the exiled opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, says Venezuela's hour of freedom has arrived. We look at what may happen next and whether Donald's Trump's actions have any legal justification.

President Trump says US captures Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro

Sat, 03 Jan 2026

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country", writes President Trump on his Truth Social website. Venezuela has declared a national emergency and says military personnel and civilians were killed in the attacks. Caracas has demanded proof that Mr Maduro and the Venezuelan first lady are alive. The US attorney-general, Pamela Bondi, says the couple will stand trial on charges of drug trafficking and terrorism, and will soon face "the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts".