Global News Podcast

A powerful typhoon passing Japan's east coast is bringing heavy rainfall and major disruption. More than 1.9 million people in and around Tokyo have been told to evacuate. Winds from Typhoon Dujuan have caused power cuts for thousands of people, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. Large events - including the Asian Games and Tokyo Game Show - have been postponed or called off.
Also in this podcast: Nearly 500 people have been arrested in a major transatlantic operation targeting criminal gangs; officials in Gaza have announced plans to demolish more than 250 buildings; Vladimir Putin's political party is on course to retain its majority in Russia's parliamentary elections; a new trial aims to help dementia patients remain in their own homes and out of care facilities; and how arguments over sunbeds on European beaches have turned deadly.
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
Photo: Pedestrians wait at Shibuya crossing under heavy rainfall triggered by Typhoon Dujuan in Tokyo.
Credit: Franck Robichon - EPA/Shutterstock

Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls a state election result in Germany a "disaster" for his ruling CDU party but vows to remain in office. Preliminary results indicate the CDU has suffered heavy losses to the far-right AfD party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while in Berlin it was defeated by the far-left party Die Linke. Also: US officials say 18 suspects in the assassination of the Haitian president Juvenal Moise five years ago are being extradicted to Florida to face trial. The sister of Pakistan's imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, has been arrested ahead of planned opposition protests. President Trump speaks about plans to turn his triumphal arch in Washington DC into a military complex. In Indonesia, BBC Eye investigates allegations of sexual abuse at a  prominent  Islamic boarding school. And Earl Spencer says the treatment by the press of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan echoes that of his sister Princess Diana before she died in a car crash.
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
Photo: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addresses the media following the state elections in Berlin, Germany, 20th September 2026.
Credit: EPA/Shuttershock

As the midterm elections in America approach, the economy is one of the deciding factors for how people will vote.
Before his second term started, President Trump promised to tackle the so-called affordabilty crisis. But since then, the war in Iran has led to soaring gas prices and a range of tariffs have made some goods more expensive.
How do global events impact people’s finances and in turn how they vote in elections? The talk show host and financial expert Dave Ramsey joins us to discuss.
For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.

Ed Sheeran has spoken out at the start of his first show since the rapper Macklemore was dropped from his US tour over pro-Palestinian comments. The British singer said the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 were horrific, but Israel's subsequent response had been disproportionate. He said his heart had been broken by the scale of devastation. Also: for the first time since those Hamas attacks on Israel sparked the war on Gaza, half a million children inside the territory are returning to formal education. Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen say they have carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as energy sites on the country's Red Sea coast. Germany is holding two state elections this weekend in the wake of the recent successes of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland - or AfD - party which recorded its best ever result. And Google has confirmed that its AI system, Gemini, hacked into three companies during a test in May.
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
Photo: Ed Sheeran performs at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2025 - Liverpool.
Credit: BBC/Jamie Simonds

Meena and Minal were born in India, but adopted by different families and raised near each other in the Netherlands. When they first met in their early teens at an event hosted by the adoption agency their parents had used, they were struck by the uncanny similarities in their appearance and mannerisms. This year, Minal took a DNA test, which revealed the Meena she already knew was her biological sister.
Also, we hear from the Cateura Orchestra of Recycled Instruments -- a group in Paraguay which play music on instruments made from landfill waste. Plus, Brad Ryan and Grandma Joy's adventures to visit every national park in the United States, before going on Safari trips around the world. For them, it wasn't about the sights, but healing their relationship, after they had not spoken in ten years. Why probiotics could help corals, and the table tennis club helping people with Parkinson's disease.
Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Image: Meena Geltink and Minal Tijssen holding a picture of their younger selves. Credit: Reuters
Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson