Global News Podcast

The Happy Pod: The simple plastic sheet saving lives

Sat, 30 May 2026

Researchers say a simple sheet of plastic is helping to prevent women dying after childbirth. The drape measures blood loss, which allows doctors to provide faster treatment. It's been successful in Nigeria, and now the health professionals want it used across the globe.

Plus, meet Joy and Diane who have been friends for 60 years. It all started with one letter when they were 12 years old and they have been pen pals ever since. Also, the fishing group helping people with breast cancer. The woman trying to save endangered Indian Skimmer water birds. The rare rainforest that is being restored in Northern Ireland over the next 100 years, and the homes in Australia which are being adapted to help people with ADHD.

Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Picture credit: Gates Foundation/Nelson Owoicho

Ghana passes bill criminalising promotion of LGBTQ rights

Sat, 30 May 2026

Ghana's parliament has approved a bill that contains some of the most repressive anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. The legislation bans any promotion of LGBTQ rights and activities. It still needs to be approved by the president. Also: A US judge orders the removal of Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center; Laos rescuers extract the first of seven men trapped inside a flooded cave; Novak Djokovic is knocked out of the French Open; the former head monk of China's "kung fu temple" is sentenced to 24 years in jail; and the hugely popular video game Call of Duty is under fire for its Korean war storyline.

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.
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Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Russia blamed for drone crash in Romania

Fri, 29 May 2026

Romanian authorities say a Russian drone has crashed into a residential building in eastern Romania, causing a fire and injuring two people in the major port city of Galati. The episode has sparked a chorus of condemnation from NATO and EU leaders, who have accused Russia of acting recklessly. The Romanian president, Nicușor Dan, has described this as the most serious security incident to occur on Romanian territory since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Also: eight students have been arrested on suspicion of arson after a deadly fire at a girls school in Kenya; Anthropic, the firm behind the Claude chatbot, overtakes OpenAI to become the world's most valuable AI startup; WHO chief lands in the Democratic Republic of Congo to address rare Ebola outbreak; what two decades of anonymous Google searches tell us about our habits over time; and Lucian Freud’s muse Sue Tilley tells us what it’s like to be the subject of a painting worth a fortune.

Drones become Hezbollah's primary weapon against Israel

Fri, 29 May 2026

The BBC reports from the Israel-Lebanon border, where fibre-optic drones have become Hezbollah's primary weapon of war. Also, Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israeli troops to take control of even more of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the UN has added Israel and Russia to its blacklist for sexual violence in conflict zones. A 21-year-old Austrian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for planning a jihadist attack on a Taylor Swift concert. The people of Kenya are coming to terms with one of the worst school fires in the country's history. Jannik Sinner is out of the French Open in the biggest shock of the tennis tournament so far, but how much was Europe's heatwave to blame? And an underwater recording of bearded seals is named the sound of the year.

Deadly fire rips through boarding school in Kenya

Thu, 28 May 2026

The fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy started in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 16, as the students were asleep in the dormitory block. More than 800 children were in the school at the time. Kenyan officials say the cause of the fire has not yet been established. Boarding schools in the country have experienced several fatal fires in recent years, with overcrowding and poor safety standards frequently blamed for the high number of casualties.

Also in this podcast: Israel conducts airstrikes in Lebanon's Tyre, Sidon and Beirut. The US says it wants to treat Americans with Ebola abroad - we ask a doctor if that is the most efficient way to curb the spread of the disease. Why the price of coffee has surged. Australia sues the manufacturing giant 3M for a record sum over its alleged use of toxic chemicals such as PFAS in firefighting foam. A Google engineer is charged with insider trading after winning $1.2m on Polymarket betting. A buffalo in Bangladesh is spared from Eid sacrifice - after it went viral for what people say is a likeness to Donald Trump. And is a black flowing gown an acceptable tennis outfit at the French Open?