Global News Podcast - Venezuelan opposition leader speaks to BBC

María Corina Machado, Venezuela's Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaks after her first public appearance in 11 months. She has mostly been in hiding since the country's disputed presidential election in 2024. She confirms the US helped her escape the country. She says President Maduro's regime is weaker than ever - partly as a result of the actions of President Trump, who announced the seizure of a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Also: France battles to control violent drugs gangs that are exploiting children. In the worst affected city, Marseille, the number of teenagers caught up in the drug world has risen six fold in recent years. Victims of a typhoon, that battered the Philippines four years ago, sue the oil company Shell, accusing it of contributing to climate change and therefore making such weather events more severe. A BBC investigation discovers endangered species - including tigers and sharks - are offered for sale on Facebook. Research finds that living in extreme heat can severely affect children's development. And the last letter written by Mary Queen of Scots is going on public display for the first time in a generation in the city of Perth, Scotland.

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

Newshour - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado vows freedom for her country

The Nobel Peace Prize winner arrives in Oslo after a clandestine journey from her hiding place in Venezuela. We hear the inside story of how she slipped out of the country.

Also in the programme: French police's crackdown on drug gangs in Marseilles, and a rare public display for Mary Queen of Scots' final letter before execution.

(Photo: Maria Corina Machado waving at her supporters from a balcony in Oslo. Credits: Lise Aserud/EPA/Shutterstock)

Bad Faith - Episode 534 – The Case for Kasky (w/ Cameron Kasky)

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Twenty-five-year-old Parkland survivor Cameron Kasky joins Bad Faith discuss his run for Jerry Nadler's seat in New York's 12th Congressional district and to weigh in on debates around Zohran's anti-endorsement of Chi Ossé and pre-endorsement of Hakeem Jefferies for Speaker, Jasmine Crockett's Senate run, the male loneliness crisis, and more.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Armand Aviram.

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Focus on Africa - DRC rebels take town despite Trump deal

Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group says it has captured Uvira town near DR Congo's southeastern border with Burundi. This comes after US President Donald Trump brokered a peace deal between DR Congolese leader Felix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Washington DC last week. We look at what the renewed fighting means for DR Congo and the peace agreement.

Also, a housing deficit poses a threat to Africa's young people with increased difficulty in renting or acquiring homes. Where will Africa's youth live?

Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya and Madina Maishanu Technical Producer: Davis Mwasaru Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Marketplace All-in-One - When the job market is a “complicated, unusual, difficult situation”

The Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates again at its meeting this week, partly because Fed officials think the labor market is weaker than it appears. This morning, we'll hear why Fed Chair Jerome Powell says estimating job growth can be so tricky. Also on the show, we'll dig into the drone warfare industry, central to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Plus, are we past tariff inflation yet?

Native America Calling - Thursday, December 11, 2025 – Tribes fight for solutions to dwindling clean water sources

Paiute and Shoshone tribes in California’s Owens Valley are facing a shortage of water—an issue that spans decades, but is now exacerbated by climate change. The city of Los Angeles, more than 200 miles away, is guzzling one-third of the groundwater in the region. The city’s diversion of water from the valley began in 1913. L.A. drained Owens Lake dry within a decade. The land, once lush with springs and streams, is now a parched landscape that hinders tribes’ access to culture and economic development.

Also, we’ll hear about how a proposed weakening of federal protections for the majority of the country’s wetlands could affect tribes. Tribes manage millions of acres of wetlands. The Trump administration seeks to limit the EPA’s authority on how it regulates pollution under the Clean Water Act. Scaling back those protections has potential consequences for much of the country’s sources of clean drinking water.

GUESTS

Daniel Cordalis (Diné), staff attorney with Native American Rights Fund and leads the Tribal Water Institute

Teri Red Owl (Bishop Paiute), executive director of the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission

 

Break 1 Music: The Four Essential Elements [Diigo Bee’iináanii] (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 Music: She Raised Us (song) Joanne Shenandoah (artist) LifeGivers (album)

Marketplace All-in-One - ICE raids harken back to COVID-era hardship

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the economic circumstances of many, creating demand for direct aid, interrupting consumer spending, and altering the nature of work. Today, there are people across the country in lockdown again — mixed-status immigrant families, who are experiencing disruptive economic pressures that mirror the pandemic. Today, we'll draw parallels. Plus, more people admit to stealing at self-checkouts. And, what can we expect from the Federal Reserve in 2026?

Marketplace All-in-One - Mexico raises tariffs on imports from Asia

From the BBC World Service: Mexico’s parliament has voted in favor of a bill imposing tariffs of between 5% and 50% on more than 1,400 products from Asian nations, including China. Mexico states that the aim is to boost jobs and domestic production. Then, survivors of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim in Britain against the oil and gas giant Shell. And later, we'll hear about the lucrative business of making drones and developing the technology to thwart them.