Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says Vladimir Putin has agreed to 'robust' security guarantees for Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has welcomed the US offer - we'll get more details about what was discussed at the summit in Alaska.
Also in the programme: the robots that imitate athletes; and we look back on the life of the English actor Terence Stamp, who has died aged 87.
(Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Brussels; 17 August 2025. Credit: OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA/Shutterstock)
What next for Ukraine? EU leaders have said they intend to travel to Washington as President Zelensky prepares for talks with Trump.
Also in the programme: Hostage families have called a general strike in Israel; and the great Mayan forest and efforts to save it.
(Photograph: President Zelensky and Ursula Von der Leyen in Brussels. Credit: Shutterstock)
Vladimir Putin is reported to have told President Trump that he wants Ukraine to hand over more of its sovereign territory in the east, in return for Moscow freezing front lines elsewhere. According to sources involved in Friday's talks in Alaska, the Russian president said it should gain all of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including parts that Ukraine currently controls. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he will not give up sovereignty of any territory. On Monday, he is due to meet the US President Donald Trump in Washington. Also: Orwell's "Animal Farm" at 80, and are mangoes good for diabetes?
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
Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a freezing of front lines elsewhere. The Russian president made the demand during Friday's meeting with President Trump in Alaska, according to sources involved in the talks. We speak to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Also in the programme: Environmentalists have welcomed a deal signed by Mexico, Belize and Guatemala to protect the second large rainforest in the Americas; and are mangoes good for diabetes?
In the Swiss mountains, handwritten notes left on mountain peaks have been turning scenic climbs into unexpected matchmaking journeys, bringing nature lovers together one hike at a time.
Dubbed “Mountain Tinder”, couples are meeting through notebooks tucked into mountaintop letterboxes. The movement is spreading beyond Switzerland, inspiring similar efforts as far away as Argentina. With no swipes or algorithms, it’s a love story written in the clouds.
Also: the couple in Tasmania who have taken tackling homelessness into their own hands; a group of actors who bring the joy of theatre to remote communities in Finland -- by touring on a boat; and how Strictly Come Dancing's first celebrity with Down's Syndrome is inspiring others.
Donald Trump has said he, along with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, have determined that a peace agreement was preferable to a ceasefire in the conflict between the two warring nations.
The announcement comes after Mr Trump's high-profile summit in Alaska with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin ended without an agreement.
We'll hear a Ukrainian response to the sight of President Putin being given a red carpet welcome in Alaska and get reaction fom the foreign minister of the Czech Republic.
Also in the programme: Violent clashes erupt in Serbia's capital after demonstrations by pro-government and anti-corruption groups; and we mark 80 years since the publication of George Orwell's Animal Farm.
(Photo shows US.president Donald Trump at a press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska,on 15th August 2025. Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have finished their meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, held to discuss a potential end to the war in Ukraine. It lasted less than three hours. And while the leaders said it was productive, they failed to reach a deal. In this special edition of the Global News Podcast, we bring you reaction and analysis from Anchorage and gauge the feeling in Ukraine and Russia. We also look at the true cost of the war in lives and money, and find out what's next for Washington, Moscow and Kyiv on the road to peace.
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.
After ending their much-heralded summit in Alaska, the US and Russian leaders have said their meeting was "productive" and "positive", despite failing to come to a firm agreement on ending the war in Ukraine. Also, the United Nations says more than 1,700 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May; African leaders want world maps to better reflect their continent's true size; and at more than 3 million years old, the fossilised remains of Lucy - a human ancestor are going on tour.
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
The world’s media watches as the presidents of Russia and the USA meet in Alaska. Russian officials say they want to discuss broad US-Russian relations, but on Air Force One President Trump said he wanted to focus on Ukraine.
Also on the programme: we hear from an Indian soldier who saw the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the people trying to crack an unsolved code sitting right outside the CIA’s headquarters.
(IMAGE: Trump and Putin meet in Anchorage, Alaska, 15 August CREDIT: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
When listener Rob from Devon, UK, heard of a newly detected planet light years away, he was struck by the sheer scale the light must travel to reach us here on Earth. It got him wondering: How long does light last? What’s the oldest light we’ve ever observed? And does light ever die?
To find out, presenter Anand Jagatia calls on some of the brightest minds in astronomy and physics.
Astronomer Matthew Middleton from the University of Southampton describes himself as “a kid in a sweet shop” when it comes to physics, and that enthusiasm comes in handy, because scientists still struggle to define exactly what light is. What we do know is that light comes in many forms, and choosing the right kind can peel back the cosmic curtain, revealing the universe’s deepest and darkest secrets. That knowledge will prove vital in Anand’s search for the oldest light ever observed.
At the European Southern Observatory in Chile, staff astronomer Pascale Hibon gives Anand a behind-the-scenes look at the Very Large Telescope, one of the most advanced optical instruments on Earth, perfectly placed under some of the clearest skies on the planet. Light from the objects Pascale studies has often travelled for billions of years, making her images snapshots of the distant past. In a sense, she’s pretty much a time traveller.
If light has crossed the vastness of the universe to reach us, it must be unimaginably ancient. But what will become of it in the far future? Could we trap it and preserve it forever?
“If we knew what light is, that might be an easier question to answer,” says Miles Padgett at the University of Glasgow, who has spent his career trying to pin it down. As Anand discovers, physics can be more philosophical than you might expect.
From redshifted galaxies at the edge of the observable universe to exotic materials that can slow light to walking pace, CrowdScience explores whether we can catch light, how it changes over time, and why truly understanding it remains one of physics’ most stubborn challenges.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Harrison Lewis
Editor: Ilan Goodman
(Image: An area of deep space with thousands of galaxies in various shapes and sizes on a black background. Most are circles or ovals, with a few spirals. More distant galaxies are smaller, down to being mere dots, while closer galaxies are larger and some appear to be glowing. Red and orange galaxies contain more dust or more stellar activity Credit:ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Östlin, P. G. Perez-Gonzalez, J. Melinder, the JADES Collaboration, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb))
