US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid escalating tensions. President Trump said it was done for "very good reason" but Caracas accused Washington of "blatant theft" and "international piracy". Also: María Corina Machado arrives in Norway for her Nobel Peace Prize; the latest on Ukraine peace talks; we hear from Palestinians as severe storms hit Gaza; scientists shed light on the discovery of fire; Nicolas Sarkozy's new book on his experience in prison; Italian cuisine gets the UNESCO stamp of approval; film critics are panned in the digital age; and would you hand over your social media history for a trip to the US?
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.
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President Trump has said the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela - an operation reported to have been led by the US Coastguard. The seizure is certain to increase tensions between the United States and Venezuela, which is already being threatened by the deployment of a US fleet. Oil futures rose following news of the seizure.
Also in the programme: tourists from more than forty countries may have to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the US under a new proposal; and new evidence suggests humans made fire much earlier than previously thought.
(Photo: US President Donald J Trump makes remarks in a roundtable with high-tech business executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 December 2025. Credit: AARON SCHWARTZ/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)
The Catholic Church is wading into a deeply partisan issue. The Archbishop of Chicago weighs in.
This fall, the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz – an aggressive immigration crackdown campaign in Chicago.
It was met with outcry from many communities around the city including the Catholic Church, and that sentiment goes all the way to the very top of the Church with Pope Leo calling on the government to treat undocumented people humanely.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, featuring reporting from NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef.
It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Patrick Jarenwattananon.
P.M. Edition for Dec. 10. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point, as concerns about the cooling job market outweighed stalled progress on curbing inflation. Plus, investors are betting that higher bids are coming in the Hollywood megadeal for Warner Bros. WSJ reporter Ben Dummett walks us through the signs, and who investors are betting on to take home the prize. And Nobel laureate María Corina Machado snuck out of Venezuela by boat in an effort to claim her Peace Prize in Norway. Alex Ossola hosts.
For more analysis on the Federal Reserve’s decision, go to wsj.com/video.
Starting next year, babies born from 2025 to 2028 can receive $1,000 to start investment accounts. The initiative has gotten corporate America excited, with financial institutions vying for a role in the program, and philanthropists like Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell pledging billions of dollars in donations. WSJ’s Alexander Saeedy unpacks how the accounts work and why Wall Street is buzzing about them. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
Life for Russians has changed in myriad ways since the start of the full scale war in Ukraine in 2022. It has affected everything from what they can say to what they can buy. But perhaps the most far reaching change is in what Russians learn. Our correspondent in Moscow tells us about a new undercover documentary that shows the changes to Russian schools.
A sperm donor who unknowingly harboured a genetic mutation that dramatically raises the risk of cancer has fathered at least 197 children across Europe, a major investigation has revealed. Some children have already died and only a minority who inherit the mutation will escape cancer in their lifetimes. Denmark's European Sperm Bank, which sold the sperm, said families affected had their "deepest sympathy" and admitted the sperm was used to make too many babies in some countries.The sperm came from an anonymous man who was paid to donate as a student, starting in 2005.
Also: the daughter of the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Coria Machado has collected her mother's Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. The new sound therapy offering hope to sufferers of tinnitus. We hear from the border between Thailand and Cambodia as half a million people flee the fighting. The leader of the National Rally in France, Jordan Bardella, who is favourite to win the French presidential election in 2027, speaks to the BBC. We hear from the creator of the typeface Calibri after the US State Department bans it. And why humans are apparently 66% monogamous - far above chimpanzees and gorillas – and more similar to meerkats and beavers.
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.
In Tanzania, Independence Day protests stall following stern government warnings but questions over the country's human rights record remain.
And also, tragedy in an attempt to strike gold. We hear how unregulated and risky gold mines are cutting short the lives of school-going teenagers in Sierra Leone.
Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, Ayuba Iliya and Daniel Dadzie
Technical Producer: Davis Mwasaru
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla
