If the artificial intelligence bubble were to burst, every company would be affected, the head of Google's parent firm Alphabet has told the BBC.
Sundar Pichai said, while the growth of AI investment had been an "extraordinary moment", there was some "irrationality" in the current AI boom. Is a bubble burst inevitable and would it be painful?
Also in the programme: the US hails UN security council backing for its Gaza peace plan; and does the world -- or the world's restaurants -- need a universal spice index?
(Photo shows Sundar Pichai during an interview at Google's California headquarters on 17 November 2025. Credit: BBC News)
At least 20 schoolgirls are still missing in Nigeria's north-western Kebbi State after they were kidnapped at dawn from their dormitories at a secondary school. How can mass abductions in Nigeria be stopped?
South Africa fears a "cleansing agenda" after the controversial arrival of 153 passengers from Gaza in the country.
And how Ethiopia plans to tackle its housing crisis, which has been fuelled by rapid urbanisation.
Presenter: Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Yvette Twagiramariya and Joseph Keen in London
Technical Producer: Gabriel O'Regan
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
The UN Security Council has approved a US-drafted resolution to move to the next stage of Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. It aims to set up a transitional administration and international stabilisation force, but the details remain vague. Israel has taken issue with parts of the resolution and Hamas has rejected it. Also: Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; students are kidnapped from a girls' boarding school in Nigeria; an explosion in Poland fuels fears of hybrid war; the latest from COP30; an exclusive interview with Google's boss about AI; how to stop ticket resellers ripping off fans; Netflix confirms Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua boxing fight, and what's the word 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
Sheikh Hasina, in exile in India, was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. The former Prime Minister was found guilty of ordering the use of lethal force against protesters, resulting in the deaths of around 1,400 people. Hasina denies the charges and her supporters say they are politically motivated.
Also on the programme: we ask what led to Donald Trump’s sudden U-turn on the Epstein files; and the discovery of two organ pieces by a teenaged Johann Sebastian Bach.
(PICTURE: Bangladeshi Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman addresses the media in Dhaka, 17 November 2025 CREDIT: MONIRUL ALAM/EPA/Shutterstock)
Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. A tribunal in Dhaka found she had ordered security forces to kill protesters during student-led anti-government demonstrations in 2024. The UN estimates up to 1,400 people died during the uprising, most by gunfire. Sheikh Hasina was tried in her absence and has been living in exile in India since being forced from power. She has dismissed the court's verdict as politically motivated.
Also: a plea from the UN aid chief to stop the supply of weapons to the rival armies in Sudan. A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence raising doubts about the trial of US marines over the killings of Iraqi civilians in 2005. Researchers look to artificial intelligence to treat a type of brain cancer, by detecting early signs that tumours are returning. And we drop in on a knitting session in Denmark to find out why young people are driving a boom in traditional crafts.
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 DR Congo and the M23 rebels sign a framework agreement in Qatar for a peace deal to end fighting
Will Nigeria's seemingly endless academic staff strikes end?
And Nigeria's Eagles to miss the World Cup after defeat by DR Congo's Leopards
Presenter: Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Sunita Nahar and Joseph Keen in London with Madina Maishanu in Abuja.
Technical Producer: Jack Graysmark
Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in abstentia over her crackdown on student-led protests, which led to her ousting.
Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year. Where does the verdict leave Bangladesh?
Also in the programme: Donald Trump u-turns on releasing the Epstein files; Chileans face a presidential choice - the hard-left or the far-right; and the rom-com hero now cast in bronze in London.
(Photo shows the then-Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina visiting New Delhi, India on 22 June 2024. Credit: Harish Tyagi/EPA)
Ecuador's Los Lobos drug cartel leader, Wilmer "Pipo" Chavarria, has been captured in Spain. He'd been hiding in Europe after faking his own death. The arrest came as Ecuadorians voted not to allow foreign military bases in their country. Also: President Trump calls for the release of the Epstein files; violence erupts in Bangladesh ahead of the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's trial verdict; an auction of items from Nazi concentration camps is cancelled; Chile's election results; we visit the Amazon rainforest as COP30 debates soya beans; and Sky Sports ditches its "patronising and sexist" new TikTok.
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
Lakshmi Mittal grew up in Kolkata, where he gained early experience in his father’s steel business before founding his own steel mill in Indonesia in his twenties. By adopting mini-mill technology and electric arc furnaces, Lakshmi Mittal produced steel more efficiently than traditional methods and began acquiring underperforming state-owned mills around the world, setting him on his path to becoming a billionaire.
Journalists Zing Tsjeng and Simon Jack trace his journey of entrepreneurship from one mill in Indonesia to leading ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker. They explore how Lakshmi Mittal navigated a split from the family business, executed bold global acquisitions, and reshaped a fragmented industry into a profitable, consolidated powerhouse.
Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. There are business leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility, before asking the audience to decide if they are good, bad, or just billionaires.
To contact the team, email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or send a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. Find out more about the show and read our privacy notice at www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire
The British government has set out plans for sweeping changes to its asylum system to address public concerns about uncontrolled immigration. Under the proposals, refugees granted asylum will have to wait twenty years before they can apply for permanent settlement instead of five years.
Also in the programme: a planned auction in Germany of artefacts from prisoners of Nazi concentration camps has been cancelled; people in Ecuador have been voting in a referendum on on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases to help combat organised crime; and we speak to writer Jana Bakunina on her new book The Good Russian: In Search of a Nation's Soul.
(File photo: A group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel on July 17, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)
