Global News Podcast

French students set fire to bins and erected blockades outside schools, as they protest against overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and crumbling facilities. Hundreds of people have been arrested and dozens injured. Fires have broken out at some schools that are being blockaded. President Macron said concerns over funding and studying conditions were legitimate but do not justify violence.
Also, from the US: the family of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, is suing the Trump administration. The Tennessee prisoner who survived a botched execution, Christa Pike, is critically ill in hospital. New York's Attorney General Letitia James is appointed to investigate the alleged Cornell University gang rape. British scientists launch a clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against lung cancer. And Cristiano Ronaldo walks away from the Portugal football team.
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: Clashes occur between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France, 01 October 2026.
Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

The US state of Tennessee fails to execute a woman on death row, who survived two lethal injection attempts. Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder thirty years ago, has been taken to hospital. The governor of Tennessee has ordered a temporary halt to executions.
Also: A sell-off in global bond markets intensifies; government forces in Ethiopia appear to have captured the strategic town of Alamata, in the Northern Tigray Region; Cubans living in Florida create a new organisation to plan for investment in a post-communist Cuba; Benjamin Netanyahu reacts to the apparent attempt to crash a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv; we hear from a critical care physician on working in Gaza; examining the winning entry of a prestigious scientific photography competition - was it made using AI? And on World Sake Day, we look at how sales of the drink have fallen in Japan.
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: Death row inmate Christa Pike entering a Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, US on December 4, 2007
Credit: Reuters

The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it's too early to say who was behind the foiled attempt to crash an airliner travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israeli passengers have described how they overpowered the co-pilot after he stabbed the pilot and sent the plane into a nosedive. Two other aircrew who were on board then took control and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Mr Netanyahu said investigators would examine whether the attacker had accomplices or ties to Iran. Also: Switzerland's glaciers lost more than five per cent of their ice this year as a result of Europe's record-breaking heatwaves, according to a new study. Six Flags Magic Mountain, an amusement park in California, has announced it will permanently close a popular rollercoaster after more than 100 riders alleged they suffered brain injuries. Latest research reveals that children are far more likely than adults to judge a person's emotions by what they hear rather than what they see. And a new AI-generated commercial by movie star Greta Garbo advertising ball bearings decades after her death has reignited debate about the ethics of re-animating dead stars.
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: Yaniv Hayun (pictured on the left), one of the men who helped incapacitate the attacker on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, speaks to the media after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, September 30, 2026.
Credit: Reuters

An Israel-bound flight with about 170 people on board has landed safely in Saudi Arabia after a fight broke out between pilots, triggering a hijacking alert. Two Israeli officials said the co-pilot is believed to have stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane. Officials from Tabuk airport, where the Flydubai flight landed, say they are being treated in hospital. Also; Russia has carried out another massive overnight attack on Ukraine's Kyiv region, hitting energy infrastructure and residential buildings. President Zelensky says seven people have been killed and 24 injured across Ukraine in the latest drone and missile strikes. Africa's richest man has launched the construction of a giant oil refinery on Kenya's coast, describing it as a new chapter in the continent's industrial journey, and we find out the winner of the 2026 Fat Bear Week in Katmai National Park in Alaska, a contest in which 16 bears took part with two million votes cast from 100 countries 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: A Flydubai aircraft sits on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, 30 September 2026.
Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

After talks with AI industry executives at the White House, President Trump says they've signed a deal to police themselves which is "morally binding". Meanwhile, he has ruled out a joint venture with China on Artificial Intelligence, saying it would amount to "giving away secrets" to Ameria's main economic rival. Also: South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation amid growing alarm about violence against women. The English Premier League confirms Manchester City have been found guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules. A man who spent 41 years on death row in the US for murder is released on bail after newly analysed DNA evidence did not link him to the crime. The UK's Prime Minister Andy Burnham sets out an ambitious agenda in a major speech to his party. A rare painting of Rome by the renowned artist William Turner returns to the eternal city. And a week-long dance-a-thon in Nigeria.
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: Anthropic's Tom Brown, SpaceXAI's Elon Musk, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Atreides Management's Gavin Baker at the launch event for America.gov, a new AI-powered US government website.
Credit: Reuters/Kylie Cooper