Author: BBC World Service

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)

The Japanese parliament elects the new leader of the Liberal Party, Sanae Takaichi, as the country's first female prime minister. She holds conservative views and is not known to push for women's rights. Also, the US Vice President JD Vance arrives in Israel, just two days after the Gaza ceasefire was tested by deadly clashes, and how deep brain stimulation helped a woman with Parkinson's regain her ability to play the clarinet. 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 last ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been released from a treatment centre in Kasai province. Can the country now be declared free of this latest outbreak?

What is behind the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea over control of the Red Sea?

And we hear from the Nigerian scientist, who has been recognised with a global award from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, on how her pioneering work is protecting yam and cassava crops and making them more resilient.

Presenter: Nyasha Michelle Producers: Mark Wilberforce, Yvette Twagiramariya, Stefania Okereke and Alfonso Daniels Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

As US tries to shore up the ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian groups warn of continuing disruption in aid supplies.

Prominent Israeli writer, David Grossman, gives us a rare interview - with a bleak assessment of the land his country has become.

Also in the programme: Japan has its first female prime minister, but what does the change tell us about the place of women in Japan; and the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy begins a five year prison sentence.

(Photo shows a member of the Palestinian Civil Defense walking next to a fire truck surrounded by destroyed buildings in Gaza City on 20 October 2025. Credit: Ebrahim Hajja/Reutersj