Global News Podcast BBC Podcasts
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- News
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The day’s top stories from BBC News. Delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily at weekends.
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Genocide warning in Darfur
The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan are facing allegations of war crimes and genocide in West Darfur. The New York-based Human Rights Watch says the leaders of the RSF and its Arab allies should be sanctioned for deliberately targeting non-Arab communities. It says the international community has failed to respond to the scale of the crisis in Sudan. Also: Saudi Arabia is accused of using lethal force to clear land for a futuristic desert city, why Russia is opening an embassy in Sierra Leone - after more than three decades, Japan announces expansion of whale hunting, a supplier to the aircraft manufacturer Boeing says major parts left its factory with serious defects, and a trial to send a former Paralympian into orbit.
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US to halt more arms supplies if Israel invades Rafah
President Joe Biden has warned that if Israel launches a ground operation into Rafah he will not supply the offensive weapons that have been used in the past. Also: European Union to give profits from Russian assets to Ukraine, and Malaysia offers trade partners "orangutan diplomacy".
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Oceans suffer from record breaking year of heat
Sea temperatures broke records every day over the past year, hitting marine life hard and driving a new wave of coral bleaching.
China's President Xi Jinping visits Serbia. A BBC investigation uncovers clear ties between members of Germany's AfD party, and former neo-Nazi networks. Russia's last Eurovision contestant says she won't stop protesting against the war in Ukraine. And how a peanut and milk allergy trial is transforming lives. -
Tense exchanges as Trump lawyer spars with Stormy Daniels
The porn star provided a detailed salacious account of her alleged sexual encounter with the former US president Donald Trump. Also: Israel takes Rafah crossing as truce talks continue, and the Swiss army knife maker is to produce a version without a blade.
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Ukraine says it's stopped sophisticated assassination plot against President Zelensky
It says the plot involved recruiting military officers who would abduct Mr Zelensky and then murder him. The assassinations, according to the statement, were to be timed for President Putin's inauguration, as a present. President Putin has now been sworn in for a fifth term. Humanitarian agencies say the closure of the two main crossings into southern Gaza is making it almost impossible to deliver aid, as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas. Rescuers in South Africa have made contact with some of the construction workers trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building. How AI is helping to identify victims of the Holocaust, and how major music artists are turning their attention to India.
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Israel hits Rafah as Gaza ceasefire deal hangs in balance
Hamas said on Monday it had approved a ceasefire proposal put forward over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he could not agree to the proposal - but is willing to negotiate. Meanwhile, the Israeli military is conducting what it called "targeted strikes" against Hamas in eastern Rafah. On Monday morning, Israel urged 100,000 Palestinians to leave eastern Rafah ahead of a "limited" military operation. Also: Russia announces drills involving tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine, and authorities in South Africa search for survivors trapped in a collapsed building.
Customer Reviews
Generally Unbiased
Excellent unbiased reporting on world affairs. Sometimes skews to the left on Climate and UK Politics stories. Random stories and the Happy Pod and generally irrelevant and have no bearing on world news.
Public broadcaster puts up paywall.
Shameful practice of locking out information to lower income people. Making news and nuanced perspective the purview of the privileged is corrosive and leads to the disintegration of an informed public. That BBC paywalls the information like this is a disgrace to its core mission of public broadcasting.
A Long Tradition of Careful, Thorough and Balanced Reporting
All news from professional journalistic sources once aspired to the caliber of reporting the BBC World Service routinely delivers still. The value of thorough, neutral fact finding from experienced and talented professional journalists cannot be overstated in the current “news” marketplace. The Global News Podcast is one of my most trusted sources for news and information. I rarely miss an installment. I choose to subscribe specifically because I want the BBC to realize your listeners value what you provide. Don’t tell the higher-ups, but I would pay more.
Do tell them, however, it is critical that you continue. Every western public broadcaster is periodically asked to make cuts. Please don’t cut this podcast when the next request comes. Remind those higher-ups that one of your American competitors has the mast-head slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. And while you could once be forgiven for thinking that a tad melodramatic and self-important, as I once did, I do so no longer. The January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol in Washington shocked advocates of the rule of law and the democracies it underpins. The malignancy allowed to grow into that attack is a darkness of sorts, certainly, one with its roots in the real “fake news”.
This podcast, your BBC colleagues and the select few around the globe that adhere to the same standards of journalistic excellence, are the best protection democracies have against the spread of anti-democratic extremism around the world. Look no further than the number of democracies electing and re-electing authoritarian leaders. Without the understanding your journalistic rigor brings, ignorance and its progeny extremism, will spread. Remind those higher-ups of this, right after you extend to them my thanks for helping to push back that darkness.
Scott Nicoll
Vancouver, BC Canada