Global News Podcast

There's a growing backlash after Fifa announced plans to sell stakes in a $20bn subsidiary to manage its competitions. The EU's sports chief accused Fifa of relentless and corrosive commercialisation of football, while European football's governing body UEFA said the World Cup was not an "asset to trade". Also: after the resumption of fighting between the US and Iran, we hear more about a militia group in Iraq which was targeted in US-Saudi strikes. At least 14 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck the Japanese island of Kyushu. Russia's Federal Security Service has charged the ‌Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and issued an international arrest warrant. We speak to one of the people who helped rescue horses from an equestrian centre caught up in the wildfires in France; videos of them galloping through the town have gone viral. The actor and musician Jared Leto is facing allegations of criminal sexual conduct by four women. Nepal says its tiger population is bouncing back... and why raving in a sauna is becoming popular in major cities around the world.
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: Fifa President Gianni Infantino during World Cup 2026 press conference
Credit: Reuters/Henry Romero

US targets militant groups in eastern Iraq aligned with Iran, in strikes co-ordinated with Saudi Arabia. It comes after Iran said it targeted a US military base and command centre in Jordan with ballistic missiles. Also: Donald Trump meets Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington for the first time since the conflict with Iran began; the death toll mounts in Japan's earthquake; FIFA boss, Gianni Infantino, criticised for commercialising football; Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank reach a record high, according to the United Nations; Keiko Fujimori is sworn in as Peru's first elected female president; and a museum in the US makes the most of a terrible online review.
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: An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran.
Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock

Japanese firefighters say many people are trapped inside a shopping centre after a powerful earthquake in the southern prefecture of Kumamoto, on Kyushu island. Witnesses say there was an explosion and fire at the mall after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Also: French firefighters have likened efforts to contain wildfires there as a David versus Goliath struggle, despite some progress tackling blazes ravaging parts of France and Spain. We report from the front line of Ecuador's war against drugs. The French football star, Zinedine Zidane, has been appointed as the coach of the men's national team. And how to become a Big Ben apprentice.
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: Aerial view showing the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre, after the earthquake in Japan's Kumamoto prefecture
Credit: Kyodo via Reuters

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has promised to commit every available resource to contain the flames from the raging wildfires. In Spain, the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has warned of difficult times ahead with temperatures forecast to hit forty Celsius from Tuesday. Also, the United Nations body which fights AIDS has said the world risks a resurgence of ‌the HIV epidemic due to funding cuts. President Trump has told reporters that the US is in "very deep talks with Iran" but that he would be ready for "strong military action" if diplomacy failed. In Kenya, activists launch a high-profile legal case which claims hazardous pesticides and herbicides that are meant to make farming more efficient have been harming people's health. Gianni Infantino, the head of football's world governing body, FIFA, has told critics of his handling of several high-profile controversies at the recent men's World Cup that they had missed the joy and togetherness experienced by millions of fans. And the UN cultural organisation, UNESCO, has unusually awarded World Heritage status to a battle ground: the Normandy beaches used for the D-Day landings in 1944.
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: A Military Emergencies Unit (UME) worker carries a hose during a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Madrid, Spain, July 26, 2026.
Credit: REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Firefighters have warned they are still not in control of a major wildfire near Bordeaux and fears grow that the situation in France and Spain will worsen as a fresh heatwave arrives. More than 300,000 people have been evacuated. Also: the Sudanese army says it has taken control of a major highway from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces which links the capital Khartoum to the besieged town of el-Obeid. Three people are killed in a shooting at a food festival in Seattle in the United States, despite the city's strict gun laws. The German anatomist, Gunther von Hagens, sometimes called Dr Death, has died; he was known for developing a technique called plastination, allowing him to display and dissect human bodies and animals in detail. A documentary film is being released about how the British pop duo Wham! made history in 1985 by becoming the first western band to perform their music in China. And the curse of County Mayo's Gaelic football team is over as it triumphs in the all-Ireland final after 75 years.
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: Firefighters battle wildfires in Gironde department, France
Credit: REUTERS