Author: BBC World Service

Donald Trump wants to broker peace in two of the world’s most intractable wars: Gaza and Ukraine. But this week, both crises have escalated – and the man he’s tasked with solving them has no previous diplomatic experience.

Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul and Trump’s closest confidante, is now at the centre of American foreign policy as the ‘envoy for everything’.

On today’s Global Story, we speak with the BBC’s State Department Correspondent, Tom Bateman, and ask whether Witkoff’s unconventional style is a weakness – or a strength.

Every weekday, this is The Global Story. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, 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.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: President Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff. Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock

The hostages' families have said Israel's strike on Qatar has blocked the captives' return and an end to the war in Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said every time a deal approached, the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu sabotaged it. Mr Netanyahu has defended the attack. Also: two women become Finland's first same sex ice dancing pair, and the Super Mario video game turns 40.

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

Nepal's major political parties have demanded parliament be reinstated a day after it was dissolved following deadly anti-corruption protests. Anti-government protests this week sparked by a now reversed social media ban saw at least fifty one people killed and more than a thousand injured.

Also on the programme: 100,000 people have joined a far- right march in London featuring violent clashes, calls to send migrants home, and a message of support from Elon Musk; and we'll hear about the three Austrian nuns who have run away from the retirement home to return to their former convent.

(People take part in a candlelight vigil in memory of people who died during the protest against anti-corruption triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 13, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)

The widow of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist in the US, says she will never let his legacy die. She said her cries would echo around the world like a battle cry. Charlie Kirk was President Donald Trump's bridge to young Republicans. We ask if his death is likely to aggravate political tension in the US? Also in the programme: a Qatari official, Majed Al Ansari, tells the BBC that his country remains on high alert as the government cannot rule out another Israeli strike; and the three Austrian nuns who refuse to stay in their old peoples' home.

Photo: Charlie Kirk with his wife, Erika Kirk, celebrating Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., in January Credit: Getty

A man who survived alone on a glacier for six days after a near death fall says it's made him appreciate what really matters. Alec Luhn slipped during a solo hike after deciding to mend his broken shoe with tape, rather than turn back. He says his only regret would have been not spending more time with his family, and urges others to understand how fragile life is. Also: a rare discovery of a huge store of fresh drinking water, deep under the Atlantic Ocean, that could help tackle the mounting global shortages. The vaccine being rolled out to protect Australia's much loved koalas from a disease that's threatening their survival. How a new farming method can boost food production in Malawi -- with help from a solar-powered tractor. Why thousands of single people have put down their dating apps and flocked to the small Irish town of Lisdoonvarna in the hope of finding love the old-fashioned way. Plus, the female iguana who's had eight babies - despite never having been in contact with a male. The process, known as parthenogenesis, is extremely rare. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

Officials say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested in connection with conservative activist Charlie Kirk's murder after he confessed to his father who recognised him from police photos. Also: a special report from frontline communities in eastern Ukraine; and a four-year manhunt to find the identity of a wedding guest.

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

US officials say they've arrested a 22-year old man suspected of shooting dead the prominent right wing youth leader, Charlie Kirk. Also on the programme, a Nobel prize-winner weighs in on the Trump administration's vaccine policies; and, a new push to get museum visitors to spend more time in front of art.

(Photo :A Washington County sheriff’s deputy joins Washington City police officers outside a residence in Washington, Utah, associated with Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, U.S., September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Steve Marcus)

The International Criminal Court concludes hearings into war crime charges against the Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and will decide whether he should face trial. But who is Joseph Kony and what are the charges against him?

How some South African schools are fighting childhood obesity.

And as Malawi gears up for elections, how can the participation and representation of women in the country's politics be increased?

Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Sunita Nahar and Priya Sippy in London Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Pat Sissons Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

President Trump has announced that the main suspect in the assassination of the US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, named as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, has been caught. We get the latest from the US and talk to a political historian about the recent upsurge in political violence in America.

Also in the programme: Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has been found guilty of plotting a coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison - we hear from one of his former ministers; and what are the little red dots in space? Could they be “black hole stars”?

(IMAGE: FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 12, 2025 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Cheney Orr)