Author: BBC World Service

Tsunami warnings have been scaled back across much of the northern Pacific after a huge earthquake off eastern Russia. The earthquake, which hit near Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, is one of the most powerful ever recorded. Tsunami warnings have since been downgraded in Japan, Russia and Hawaii. Also, health officials in Gaza say seven more people have starved to death in the last twenty-four hours. And, UK gets first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years. (Credit: Photo by The Russian Academy of Sciences)

The UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza", its prime minister Keir Starmer has said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move "rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism".

Also in the programme: As tsunami waves reach the US west coast after Russian earthquake, we'll look at what's behind the earthquake and tsunamis; and the UK gets its first female astronomer royal in 350 years.

(Photo shows Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking during a press conference in Jerusalem, Israel on 21 May 2025. Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters) )

Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, says he'll recognise Palestinian statehood, unless Israel takes measures to end, what he called the appalling situation in Gaza. The dramatic shift in policy comes a week after a similar announcement by France. The British leader gave Israel until the UN general assembly in September to meet conditions, including taking steps towards a ceasefire. Israel's foreign ministry has condemned Britain's move - saying it constitutes an award for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

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

UK will recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a Gaza ceasefire and other conditions. Israel says the move rewards Hams.

Also in the programme: Ex-Colombian president Álvaro Uribe has been found guilty of witness-tampering; and an Australian woman - Joan Anderson - who went largely uncredited for her leading role in the creation of the hula hoop has died at the age of 101.

(Photo: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer making a statement in Downing Street, London, following a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza. The UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September before the UN General Assembly, unless the Israeli government takes steps to end the "appalling situation" in Gaza, the Prime Minister has told the Cabinet. 29 July 2025. Credit: Toby Melville/PA Wire)

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitoring system, has warned that “the worst-case scenario of famine” is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip. It comes as the territory’s health ministry says 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel's offensive began. Also: floods hit Beijing; the Ukrainian hackers targeting Russia’s Aeroflot airline; farmers in the US and Mexico caught in a water crisis driven by a decades-old treaty; a gunman kills four in New York; a shaky ceasefire holds along the border with Thailand and Cambodia; the former Colombia president who’s been convicted of witness tampering; and can Greenland’s Inuit majority achieve independence?

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

More than 40 people including women and children were killed in an attack by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in the town of Komanda, east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The militia group is linked to the so-called Islamic state, a jihadi militant group. Majority of those killed were worshippers at a local church, nearby shops were also attacked and looted.

Also, why Cameroonian opposition leader Maurice Kamto is challenging his disqualification from October’s presidential election list.

And what's the impact of Africa's disappearing Wetlands?

Presenter: Richard Kagoe Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Nyasha Michelle and Yvette Twagiramariya Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has said what it calls "the worse case scenario of famine" is now unfolding in Gaza. The UN's World Food Programme says that the unfolding disaster is reminiscent of famines seen in Ethiopia and Biafra, Nigeria, in the last century.

Also in the programme: Google launches a new AI search tool in the UK; and as England's women's football squad celebrates its triumph at the Euros with an open-top bus parade in central London, we'll look at how the game is growing commercially around the world.

(Photo: Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen. CREDIT: REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi)

For the first time, two leading Israeli human rights organisations, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have accused their own country of committing genocide in Gaza. In reports published on Monday, they said “Israel is taking co-ordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip" and that it is “systematic” in its targeting of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure. Israel has denied the allegation and has called the case "wholly unfounded" and based on "biased and false claims". Also: The BBC’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen views Gaza from above in one of the Jordanian planes delivering aid from the sky, the investigation into a deadly mass shooting in Ecuador, and why Catholic influencers are gathering in Rome.

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

President Trump said there is 'real starvation' in Gaza that cannot be ‘faked’, contradicting claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reports starvation in the territory was exaggerated. We hear from the Doctors Without Borders on the ground in Gaza city, and one of the first Israeli rights groups to label Israel's campaign in Gaza 'genocide'.

Also in the program: Thailand and Cambodia announce an immediate ceasefire after days of border clashes, and the Shaolin Temple's chief monk is stripped of his position after accusations of embezzlement and breaking his vows of celibacy.

Picture: A Palestinian child suffering from malnutrition receives treatment at a healthcare center, amid widespread hunger, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A stand off as Somalia demands release of a cargo ship carrying military equipment that was seized by semi-autonomous Puntland. The ship was reportedly transporting military equipment to Turkey’s military base in Mogadishu.

Why indigenous plants are making a comeback in African diets?

And after Nigeria's Super Falcons historic victory at WAFCON, in Morocco, we ask what does this mean for the future of African women's sport ?

Presenter: Richard Kagoe Producers: Charles Gitonga in Nairobi with Sunita Nahar and Patricia Whitehorne in London. Technical Producer: Philip Bull Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi.