Global News Podcast - The Global Story: Is ISIS having a resurgence in Syria?

The US military has begun to transfer up to 7000 Islamic State (IS) group detainees held in prisons in Syria to Iraq, which officials say is to prevent prisoners breaking out and regrouping. The transfer comes weeks after the US led large-scale strikes on IS group targets in Syria. The move comes after clashes between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which last week ended in a deal that would see the gradual integration of Kurdish forces and institutions into the state, and transfer control of the prisons to Damascus. Today we talk to Josh Baker, investigative journalist and host of the BBC podcast I Am Not A Monster, about the state of the IS group, and whether the country’s instability could lead to a resurgence in Syria

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: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans

Photo: A member of the Syrian security forces stands in front of the gate of the Al-Hol camp, which houses families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Credit: Mohammed al-Rifai/EPA/Shutterstock

WSJ What’s News - How AI Is Reshaping the Advertising Industry

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest day of the year for football… and also for the advertising industry. One of the things that’s different this year is that artificial intelligence has found its way into the process of making an ad in ways both obvious and subtle. And this year’s Super Bowl will feature ads from AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic as competition for name recognition ramps up. Host Alex Ossola speaks with Journal reporters Katie Deighton and Suzanne Vranica about what to expect from the ads at today’s game, and how AI will shape the industry into the future.


Further Reading: 

AI Is Accelerating Tech Giants’ Dominance of the Ad Market 

Meta Overshadows Microsoft by Showing AI Payoff in Ad Business

Coca-Cola Injects ‘Holidays Are Coming’ Ads With an Upgraded Dose of AI

Anthropic Takes Aim at OpenAI’s ChatGPT in Super Bowl Ad Debut 

OpenAI Set to Run Another Super Bowl Ad as Chatbot Competition Heats Up

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Up First from NPR - How the Presidency is Making Trump Richer

Before President Donald Trump’s first term, he was in a “tight spot” financially, according to New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick. At the start of his second term, Kirkpatrick says, Trump was in an “even tighter” spot. But six months later, Trump’s financial situation had substantially improved.
Kirkpatrick has done a full accounting of the money, that’s flowed into the Trump family coffers. Kirkpatrick says even using the most conservative estimates, the Trumps have made almost $4 billion dollars “off of the presidency,” in just about a year.
Today on The Sunday Story, we turn to our friends at NPR’s Planet Money to help us understand how President Trump and his family have found ways to profit from the presidency.

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Global News Podcast - Winter Olympics disrupted by protests and ‘sabotage’

The Winter Olympics in Italy are disrupted by violent protests and the authorities launch an investigation after severed cables cause mass delays on the railway network. Also: The veteran French politician, Jack Lang, resigns as head of the Arab World Institute in Paris over his links to the late American sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. France urges people to have more children to boost the population because there were more deaths than births last year. Spain carries out the world's first face transplant from a woman who gave consent before she underwent an assisted dying procedure. President Zelensky says the US wants a peace deal agreed between Russia and Ukraine by June. Voting is underway in a general election in Thailand, where the governing Conservative Party faces tough competition from the People’s Party. Critics are sceptical about Elon Musk's plans to build AI data centres and send them into space. Washington Post CEO, Will Lewis, steps down after mass layoffs at the newspaper, and a new exhibition about Iran's new wave of cinema opens in London.

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 - President Trump sets June deadline to end war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has set a deadline for the end of the war in Ukraine - June. President Volodomyr Zelensky has said he will be sending a delegation to Miami for US-brokered talks in Miami. We get a Ukrainian MP's reaction to the latest deadline and hear about life in Kyiv as Russia targets the country's energy infrastructure.

Also in the programme: the rush to get key AI components into outer space; and the small change in French rural life that could be fuelling the rise of the far-right.

(Photo: A person with a flashlight in a dark street during a power cut in Lviv, Ukraine. Credit: Mykola Tys, EPA/Shutterstock)

Newshour - Britain’s former PM calls for ethical reforms in public life

The UK’s former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who appointed Peter Mandelson as a cabinet minister, has called for an ethical shakeup in public life in the wake of the Epstein scandal. Mr Brown also defended Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a man of principle who could tackle the problem.

Also in the programme: Russia attacks more energy infrastructure in Ukraine; political analysis of President Trump’s racist Truth Social post; and will the Japanese prime minister's decision to call a snap election pay off?

(IMAGE: Former prime minister Gordon Brown speaks at a child poverty event, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group (Cpag), at Somerset House, in central London, Thursday November 6, 2025 / CREDIT: James Manning/PA Wire)

Up First from NPR - U.S.-Iran Talks Continue, Texas Politics, 2026 Winter Olympics Begin

U.S. and Iranian envoys have held talks aimed at averting possible U.S. strikes on Iran. Debates over immigration enforcement are front and center in a Texas primary contest. Plus, it’s a busy weekend for sports fans with the 2026 Winter Olympic Games and the Super Bowl.

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Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: Sharing stories, one phone call at a time

We speak to Joe Bloom, the man behind the social media account 'A View From A Bridge' which shares people's meaningful conversations to millions online. The idea is simple: an old-school phone is placed on a bridge and strangers are invited to pick it up and share their stories. Famous faces such as Max Richter, Cynthia Erivo, Paul Smith and many more have all bared their souls. Plus, the 13-year-old boy who saved his family after they were swept out to sea off the coast of Australia - Austin Appelbee has been described as a 'hero' by emergency services. We meet Leo Gottesman, the 82-year-old goalkeeper. We also hear from the first female mayor of Addis Ababa who has pledged to make it the best city in Africa to be a mother and raise a child -- and, as the Winter Olympics get underway in Milan, we look at the hotel in Scotland producing the world's best curlers. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

Presenter: Celia Hatton. Music composed by Iona Hampson.

(Image: Cynthia Erivo contributing to A View from a Bridge. Credit Joe Bloom/@aview.fromabridge)

WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Gartner Woes, Super Micro Surge, Coinbase Volatility

Why are Gartner investors so spooked by AI? And how is the AI infrastructure buildout supercharging Super Micro shares? Plus, what’s behind the selloff of Coinbase shares? Host Jack Pitcher discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.


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