Global News Podcast

A BBC investigation uncovers new evidence about how model agencies, scouts and powerful fashion figures helped Jeffrey Epstein gain access to young women after his conviction for sex offences. A woman raped by the financier says the president of her model agency put her in danger when he sent her to two photoshoots at Epstein's Florida beach house. At the time, in 2009, Epstein was serving a jail sentence for sex offences against a minor but was allowed to work each day from his home.
Also: dozens of soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are sentenced to death by a military court for offences including cowardice and mutiny. Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US begin two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, aimed at ending the war. One of Russia's few independent news outlets, Novaya Gazeta, is shut down. In a unique experiment, movie fans in the Netherlands are hypnotised before watching their favourite film, so they can experience the movie as if for the first time. A round-the-world cruise ship, which left passengers stranded in Cambodia after its operator ran out of money, has been seized in Singapore. And five stars are shortlisted for the 2026 BBC World Service Women’s Footballer of the Year.
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: Jeffrey Epstein
Credit: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry

President Trump has said the resumption of US strikes against Iran is "quite unlikely and unnecessary". He expressed support for his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, after a Republican Congressman, Thomas Massie, introduced articles of impeachment against him for waging war in Iran and elsewhere without Congressional approval. Also: President Trump says the FBI is investigating claims that Jensen Huang, the boss of the US tech giant Nvidia, had an affair with a suspected Chinese agent. He said he'd spoken to Mr Huang - who'd told him he had no idea that the woman was a spy. France has accused Iran of being behind cyberattacks last month that heated up supermarket fridges and freezers, spoiling millions of dollars' worth of food. The former British comedian and actor, Russell Brand is beginning a prison sentence of ten-and-a-half years for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others between 2004 and 2009. We have a special report from the Libyan city of Derna, which has been rebuilt after Storm Daniel triggered the worst flood disaster in the world this century. Astronomers say the Earth has another temporary moon that's fallen into our planet's gravitational pull. And the author M John Harrison is awarded the prestigious Booker Prize for his dystopian novel, The End of Everything.
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: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaking at the Pentagon in March.
Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

Nvidia says it's investigating CEO's affair with tech executive Alice Huang, as shares in the firm fall in pre-market trading. Also: BBC investigation finds one of Europe’s most powerful drug gangs recruits teenagers from across France to carry out murders and kidnappings. COP31 UN Climate summit gets underway in Turkey, focusing on delivering on past promises. The former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who's facing the death penalty in her home country, requests a new passport and identity card so she can return. Pope Leo, who's on a tour of South America, criticises Argentine president Javier Milei over austerity measures. Eight years after Australian cricket was rocked by the infamous "sandpapergate" scandal, one of the players involved - David Warner - breaks his silence, saying the whole team knew about ball tampering. And could a vibrating mattress help fight Alzheimer's disease?
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: Alice Huang attends a dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a restaurant in Taiwan in May 2025
Credit: CTI/Reuters

The US tech giant Nvidia has opened an independent investigation following reports its chief executive, Jensen Huang, had a relationship with a woman suspected of spying for China. Mr Huang apologized to his wife and his children for being unfaithful. The chip maker said it had no reason to believe its secrets or US national security were compromised. Also: an anti-terrorism investigation is launched in Poland after a mass shooting in the city of Krakow left six people dead. In Egypt two trains have crashed south of the capital, Cairo, killing seven people and injuring more than 100. South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, has recorded its worst result in local elections since Nelson Mandela led the country into democracy. The Indian capital Delhi records very poor air quality during Diwali celebrations. Billionaires on the ballot in California - should they pay more tax? And a miraculous rescue in the Pacific Ocean as cruise ship pianist is picked up by fishermen.
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: Nvidia boss Jensen Huang at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, 8th October.
Credit: Reuters

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many Russians who opposed the war – or feared being sent to fight in it – fled the country. In much of the West, they were welcomed as courageous dissidents. But four years on, the number of Russians being forcibly returned from the US to Russia is rising. Is the tougher stance on Russian asylum seekers evidence of the Trump administration seeking closer ties with Moscow? Or is it part of a wider immigration crackdown, driven by domestic politics? In this episode, Tristan Redman speaks to the BBC’s Will Vernon about the Russian refugees he has met who face persecution if they are forced to return home. The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.