Newshour - Emir of Qatar criticises Israel as ‘cowardly’

The emir of Qatar has called last week's Israeli attack on his country a cowardly act of terrorism intended to derail peace talks. For his part, the Israeli prime minister has refused to rule out more attacks on Hamas leaders. Newshour hears from Qatar and Israel.

Also in the programme: China and the US secure a possible deal on TikTok; and Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov condemns Israel's actions in Gaza.

(Picture: Journalists watch on a screen as Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, speaks during the opening of the emergency Arab-Islamic summit, to discuss the Israeli attack on Hamas on the Gulf country's soil, in Doha, Qatar. Credit :Reuters)

Unexpected Elements - Pirate science ahoy!

For International Talk Like a Pirate Day on 19th September, we dig up a treasure chest full of pirate-inspired science.

First up, we peer down our microscopes at a bacterium that takes its inspiration from a pirate warship. Next, we turn our attention to scurvy, the disease that plagued mariners and is now making a comeback in the modern age.

We then get on the line with marine archaeologist Dr Sean Kingsley, who is about to set sail on a mission to survey the unexplored wrecks of Nassau.

Plus, we delve into the tricky topic of modern-day piracy and copyright, before testing our pirate knowledge in a swashbuckling quiz.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Kai Kupferschmidt and Sandy Ong Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and Margaret Sessa Hawkins, with Robbie Wojciechowski and Imaan Moin

Global News Podcast - US blocks another UN Gaza ceasefire attempt

The United States has, for the sixth time since the start of the war in Gaza, vetoed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the Palestinian territory. The US said that the resolution failed to recognise Israel’s right to defend itself as well as condemn Hamas. Also: President Trump floats the idea of removing broadcasting licences from US networks that show programmes which criticise him; the "mileage clock" inside a rat's brain which could help in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; the former tennis champion, Björn Borg, on how he is battling cancer like a Wimbledon final; and Intervision is Russia's answer to the Eurovision Song Contest but is it entertainment or propaganda for President Putin?

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

Newshour - Trump ends UK trip with little progress on international issues

Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have spoken of the enduring friendship between Britain and America, on the final day of the US president’s state visit to the UK. At a joint news conference the two leaders addressed a range of issues, including Ukraine, Gaza and illegal migration which Mr Trump suggested Britain could solve by calling in the military.

Also in the programme: A day of protests over planned budget cuts in France and we hear from Brazil's president, Lula da Silva, on his relationship with his US counterpart.

(Picture: US President Donald J. Trump (L)and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R). Credit: Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

Newshour - Trump and Starmer press conference

President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer take questions from the media at the end of Mr Trump's state visit. We have full coverage of the press conference at Chequers, the PM's country residence And we speak to Fred Fleitz, a former member of the National Security team in the first Trump administration

(Picture: U.S. President Donald Trump with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers. Credit: Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS)

Science In Action - Stephen Hawking gets it right again

Gravitational waves show two black holes merge just how Hawking predicted. Plus, a space mission without a target. And a Space probe without a confirmed budget.

In January 2025 the LIGO gravitational wave observatories witnessed two distant black holes spinning into each other. In the ten years of LIGO’s operations, that’s not a first. But the instruments have been improved to such an extent that this time some very important predictions of General Relativity and out understanding of black holes could be tested. As Birmingham University’s Alberto Vecchio says, the elegant simplicity of the mathematics of black holes has passed a test, in particular Stephen Hawking’s prediction that the surface area of merging black holes can only be increased.

Space craft have met comets before. But because spaceflight takes so long to plan and fund, we’ve only sent them to comets with human-lifetime orbital periods so far, because we know when they’re arriving. ESA wants to meet one we’ve never seen before, one that has never or seldom been in close to the sun, and never been barbecued and seared by the radiation. Colin Snodgrass of the University of Edinburgh explains the plan to launch and park a comet chaser in space to wait for one of these elusive extraterrestrial objects to come in from the cold.

That, says Meg Schwamb of Queen’s University Belfast, is going to be much easier in the next few years as the Vera Rubin Telescope begins its ten year survey cataloguing anything in the sky that changes. The type of sky survey it will provide will identify, it is hoped, many candidate first-time comets for the small fleet of spacecraft to intercept.

Having a spacecraft ready in position rather than having to launch a new one anytime you want to do some science is a good place to be, one would think.

NASA’s Juno mission has been delivering science from Jupiter since its launch, and is still functioning and able to deliver more. Yet NASA funds are under considerable threat, and as Scott Bolton tells Roland, at the end of this month Juno could be left slowly spiralling into the gas giant, silently collecting data but with no budget to keep the science going.

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Alex Mansfield Production Coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Global News Podcast - Trump criticises Putin as his UK state visit ends

US President Donald Trump says his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "let me down" at a news conference at the end of his historic state visit to the UK. The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, says the visit has renewed the special relationship for a new era. Also; in France, hundreds of thousands of people protest against the government’s plans to cut spending; Australia announces a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions further; how AI is changing journalism in newsrooms across the world; and we look at research showing that chimpanzees consume the equivalent of a bottle of beer a day.

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

Focus on Africa - UN accuses South Sudanese leaders of ‘systematic looting’

South Sudan: UN report accuses leaders of "systematic looting" The government denies the allegations

Why was the Gambia’s auditor general forcibly removed by police from office?

Plus, why domestic worker jobs are on the decline in South Africa

Presenter :Charles Gitonga Producers: Sunita Nahar, Stefania Okereke, Nyasha Michelle and Mark Wilberforce in London. with Jewel Kiriungi in Nairobi. Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Editors: Samuel Murunga, Andre Lombard, Maryam Abdalla and Alice Muthengi

Newshour - US and UK sign tech partnership on Trump state visit

On the final day of his visit to Britain, US president Donald Trump has been meeting the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in talks dominated by trade and business deals.

The US president has also signed what the UK prime minister says is a "groundbreaking" technology partnership between the two countries.

Also in the programme: Thousands more Palestinians are fleeing south in the Gaza Strip, but hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City; and Australia, one of the world's biggest polluters per capita, will aim to cut its carbon emissions by at least 62% over the next decade.

(Photo shows US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Keir Starmer as they hold a press conference at Chequers on 18 September 2025. Credit: Leon Neal/Press Association)

Global News Podcast - US TV host Jimmy Kimmel suspended over Charlie Kirk shooting comments

The American television network ABC has suspended late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, indefinitely over comments he made about the shooting of the right-wing influencer, Charlie Kirk. The announcement has reignited the debate about free speech in the US. Also: the latest on Donald Trump's state visit to the UK, thousands of Palestinians flee Israel's bombardment in Gaza City, an exclusive BBC interview with Brazil's President Lula, Indian-administered Kashmir's fruit industry on the brink of collapse, and how AI could predict your health in ten years' time.

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