Author: BBC World Service

A BBC investigation uncovers dozens of social accounts using stolen identities of Somali and Muslim influencers and posting political propaganda content. We hear more about what was uncovered and who might be behind this widespread operation.

Chad’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a controversial constitutional amendment removing presidential term limits. What will this mean for 41-year-old President Mahamat Idriss Deby’s hold on power?

And why the Kenyan Catholic Church took the decision to introduce a new brand of altar wine.

Presenter: Nyasha Michelle Producers: Mark Wilberforce, Stefania Okereke, Sunita Nahar and Elphas Lagat Technical Producer: Gabriel O'Regan Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Maryam Abdalla and Sam Murunga

King Charles becomes the first head of the Church of England to publicly pray with the Pope, five centuries after King Henry VIII broke with Rome. The British monarch joined the head of the Catholic Church for a service in the Sistine Chapel, in a powerful symbol of unity.

Also: the European Union joins the US in announcing new economic sanctions on Russia over war in Ukraine as President Zelensky holds talks in Brussels with EU leaders. A court in Northern Ireland has acquitted a British soldier of killing unarmed civilians on Bloody Sunday in 1972. The metabolic ceiling that limits calories burnt during exercise by endurance athletes. And the café owner trying to make his customers connect - by locking away their phones.

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 US has announced new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies in an effort to persuade Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

The announcement came one day after US President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be shelved indefinitely. Could this put pressure on Vladimir Putin to end his war with Ukraine?

Also in the programme: A former British paratrooper has been found not guilty of murdering two people in shootings at a civil rights march in Northern Ireland in 1972 - an event which became known as "Bloody Sunday"; and the youngest-ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafszai, tells us what it was like being accompanied by a security detail at university.

(Photo shows US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington DC on 17 October 2025. Credit: Aaron Schwartz/EPA)

The United States has imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure Moscow into peace negotiations. President Trump says his conversations on Ukraine with President Putin have got nowhere, but he hopes the measures will be short-lived and lead to a breakthrough. Also: The US says it destroyed a boat smuggling drugs off the Colombian coast. The UN's top court has found that Israel has a legal obligation to ensure humanitarian supplies reach the population of Gaza. The Louvre museum in Paris has re-opened, three days after the French crown jewels were stolen. Why fake football agents are a danger for young athletes in Senegal. An exhibition in LA turns the Confederate statues that launched US protests into art. Two jailed journalists win the coveted Sakharov Freedom of Thought Prize for speaking out against injustice... and we look at why Hollywood A-listers can't resist getting involved in UK football teams.

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 International Court of Justrice, the UN’s top court, has found that Israel has a responsibility to ensure aid reaches the people of Gaza and cooperate with UN agencies, including UNRWA. Israel severed ties with UNRWA last year, accusing it of collusion with Hamas.

Also on the programme: the price Chinese people are paying for a slowing economy; and Donald Trump takes his brand of property development to the White House.

(PICTURE: Palestinians carry aid supplies in Zawaida, in the central Gaza Strip, October 21, 2025 CREDIT: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)

The US Vice-President JD Vance meets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. Donald Trump's deputy warned of a ‘tough task’ ahead to disarm Hamas and rebuild Gaza, but said the US was ‘committed’ to the process. Meanwhile, the WHO calls on Israel not to limit aid into Gaza. Also: a state of emergency is declared in Peru, the jailed former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to have permanent police protection in prison, and why people in Venezuela are being encouraged to snitch on their fellow citizens.

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

Sudan war: Can Khartoum airport reopen just hours after a drone attack?   15 years after Boko Haram militancy started, why does a jihadist threat still remain in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state   Ivory Coast: With the main opposition candidates barred from running, is President Alassane Ouattara set  for a controversial fourth term?     Presenter: Nyasha Michelle Producers: Stefania Okereke, Alfonso Daniels, Mark Wilberforce and Yvette Twagiramariya in London Technical Producer: Chris Ablakwa Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Editors: Sam Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

China's ruling Communist party is meeting to discuss the country's economic plans, at a time of international uncertainty. The party has a grand bargain with its citizens — people will accept one party rule and restrictions on freedoms in exchange for a better life, but, is that bargain no longer so secure?

Also in the programme: an international force has seized illegal drugs worth an estimated billion dollars in the Arabian Sea, is the Gulf region becoming a major market? And the EU’s top human right prize goes to two imprisoned journalists.

(Image: Delegates in the Great Hall of the People. Credit: Reuters)

President Trump has said he doesn't want a "wasted meeting" after plans for a summit on Ukraine with Vladimir Putin in Bucharest were put on hold. Also: a court in Colombia overturns two convictions against the former president, Alvaro Uribe; the US vice-president JD Vance says he's optimistic that the Gaza peace plan will work, despite the killings of dozens of Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers on Sunday; the tech company OpenAI launches a new AI-powered web browser called ChatGPT Atlas; and a 33-year-old socialist is leading the race for mayor of New York City.

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 former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has started his five- year sentence at La Santé prison in central Paris. Sarkozy was convicted of criminal conspiracy to finance his election campaign with funds from the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. He denies wrongdoing.

Also in the programme: A rare interview with the Israeli writer David Grossman on what he calls his country's moral test; and the German pastor who made a startling discovery about his grandfather while watching a documentary about the Nazis.

(Photo: Nicolas Sarkozy has maintained his innocence and has lodged an appeal. Credit: Reuters)