Zambia: President Hakainde Hichilema faces challenges over proposed constitutional changes
Why Zimbabwean short film RISE deserves an Oscar nomination
Should footballers from the diaspora be allowed to join African national teams after they qualify for the World Cup?
Presenter : Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Yvette Twagiramariya, Alexander Lathbridge, Stefania Okereke, Joseph Keen, and Mark Wilberforce
Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne
Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
Zambia: President Hakainde Hichilema faces challenges over proposed constitutional changes
Why Zimbabwean short film RISE deserves an Oscar nomination
Should footballers from the diaspora be allowed to join African national teams after they qualify for the World Cup?
Presenter : Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Yvette Twagiramariya, Alexander Lathbridge, Stefania Okereke, Joseph Keen, and Mark Wilberforce
Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne
Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
Harriett Gilbert welcomes bestselling author Philippa Gregory into the World Book Club studio to discuss her celebrated historical novel, The Other Boleyn Girl.
This novel, about to celebrate its 25th anniversary, is a vivid portrayal of ambition, love, and betrayal in the Tudor Court, told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, sister to the ill-fated Anne. As Mary becomes the mistress of King Henry VIII, Anne sets her sights on the throne. Set against the splendour and peril of sixteenth-century England, Philippa Gregory’s masterful novel explores power, desire, and the price women paid in a world where one man’s whims were considered sacrosanct.
Philippa Gregory answers readers’ questions on what drives her fascination with women’s untold histories, the clash between love and ambition in the fraught world of the English court, and whether sisterhood can survive when the ultimate prize is the crown of England.
The BBC has visited a camp where people are taking refuge after the fall of Sudan's El Fasher - one of the most brutal chapters of the civil war. People fleeing the besieged city described witnessing atrocities by RSF fighters. Also: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks to be pardoned; an investigation into Georgia's potential use of chemical weapons against anti-government protesters; the US hosts "productive" peace talks to end Ukraine-Russia war; Dignitas founder dies through assisted suicide; the testimony of a woman held captive in Iraq; an update on the rescue operations in flood-hit Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand; the latest from Pope Leo's Lebanon trip; and rage bait is Oxford's 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
Luciano Benetton rose from poverty in postwar Italy to found a chain of 7,000 high street fashion stores and create some of the most controversial advertising campaigns in history, becoming a billionaire along the way.
Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack discover how it all started for Luciano Benetton with a yellow sweater knitted by his sister, on a journey that takes in Benito Mussolini, Dolce Vita, Formula One, and Princess Diana. But Benetton wasn’t just about fashion; with photographer Oliviero Toscani, the entrepreneur launched a series of highly controversial ad campaigns that tackled race, religion, AIDS, and the death penalty, that made the fashion brand infamous.
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 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 billionaire stories of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility to explore how they achieved financial success, before asking the audience to decide if they are good, bad, or just billionaires.
Some of the people we've featured previously on Good Bad Billionaire include Tyler Perry, Evan Spiegel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Ford, LeBron James, Selena Gomez and Martha Stewart. Every episode is available to listen wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
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
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the country's president, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon over corruption cases he has been battling. We speak to an opposition member of the Israeli Knesset who opposes a potential pardon for Mr Netanyahu.
Also on the programme: local media in Hong Kong report that police have arrested a university student who was part of a group petitioning for an independent inquiry into the huge, deadly fire at a housing complex; and the musical featuring Britain’s most beloved bear, Paddington.
(Photo: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, October 22, 2025. Credit: Reuters)
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been facing a long-running corruption trial, has submitted an official request to the country's president to pardon him. Mr Netanyahu, who denies wrongdoing, released a two and a half minute video saying that a presidential pardon would advance much needed national reconciliation, but he added that he'd be happy to continue with the trial.
Also in the programme: The extraordinary story of a woman who survived torture in Iraq; Nigerian troops have rescued twelve young women who were abducted from their homes in Borno State by suspected Islamic State fighters last week; and 'Paddington the musical' hits the stage in London's West End.
(Photo: Netanyahu said a pardon would lead to national reconciliation in Israel. Credit: EPA)
Miss Universe 2025 has been rocked by controversies and chaos, from stage falls and contestants storming out, to judges quitting and allegations of vote rigging – which the organisers deny.
The pageant – styled as a celebration of women of all backgrounds and nationalities – has suffered waning international attention in recent years, with many questioning the ideals of femininity it seems to espouse.
Could the drama of this year’s competition get people watching again?
BBC journalist and Miss Universe expert, William Lee Adams, joins us to discuss.
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: Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch is crowned as Miss Universe 2025. Rungroj Yongrit/EPA
Armed gangs now control much of Port-au-Prince and more than a million people have been forced from their homes. In this Global News Podcast special, Nick Miles and Nawal Al-Maghafi hear from Haitians on the front line, including a pro-democracy activist, a feminist campaigner supporting survivors of sexual violence, and a medic trying to keep emergency services going in a city under siege. They tell us how people are resisting, what real change would look like, and why so many people still believe Haiti has a future worth fighting for.
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
Venezuela has condemned as a "colonialist threat" President Trump's warning that its airspace should be considered closed. The US does not have the authority to shut another country's airspace and the foreign ministry described his social media post as an illegal and unjustified aggression. Also: the number of people killed as a result of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in the past two years has risen above 70,000 according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory; rescue operations are continuing in Indonesia after floods and landslides killed more than 300 people in Sumatra; and King Charles leads tributes to the British playwright and Oscar winning screenwriter, Tom Stoppard, who has died at the age of 88.
