The Global Story

Mexico’s most wanted man – Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho” – was killed during a security operation to arrest the cartel leader on Sunday. In the days that followed, the operation was celebrated by President Trump in his State of the Union address. But it came at a cost, as cartel members carried out retaliatory rampages across Mexico and turned many towns and cities into w...

As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the prospect of peace feels as distant as ever. President Trump hasn’t yet succeeded in striking a deal, and negotiations between the US, Russia and Ukraine have yet to produce a breakthrough. Fiona Hill is one of the foremost authorities on Vladimir Putin and a former White House advisor on Russia during Trump’s first term. Over the course of her caree...

This week marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since WW2. Ukraine has put its official losses at 55,000 soldiers, and the BBC has verified the deaths of more than 180,000 on the Russian side, although the true toll is likely to be much higher. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded, and millions...

Tensions between the US and Iran are once again escalating, as President Trump has threatened military strikes if Iran refuses to accede to its demands. Iran has responded with warnings that any US strikes will lead to all-out war in the region. The Iran nuclear talks come as the Iranian government faces the biggest challenge to its survival since 1979. Last month, a protest about the rising costs...

More than 50 years since the last Apollo mission, Nasa is preparing to send astronauts back to the Moon. Artemis II will take its crew farther from Earth than any human has travelled in decades - a crucial step towards landing on the lunar surface once again. At the same time, China has been quietly advancing its own plans for a crewed Moon landing. Some experts say this signals the start of a new...

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince and brother to King Charles, was arrested by British police on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest came after police said they were assessing a complaint that Andrew allegedly shared confidential material with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. W...

***This episode contains discussions of body dysmorphia, self-harm, sex and drug use, and references to language that may cause offence*** A controversial internet streamer who goes by the name Clavicular has taken the internet by storm, going to extreme lengths to try to enhance his looks – from using steroids and testosterone to hitting his face with a hammer. Clavicular has become the poster bo...

Next week marks four years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In that time, there’s been an intense crackdown on freedom of speech and dissent in Russia, which has led to many western media organisations leaving the country. Today, we speak to Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, on the tightrope of reporting from Moscow under Vladimir Putin. Producer: Sam Chantarasak Executive produce...

***This episode contains distressing details of rape and sexual assault*** Gisèle Pelicot earned international recognition after waiving her anonymity at her mass-rape trial in 2024, in which her former husband, Dominique, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for drugging her and inviting dozens of other men to their home in the south of France to rape her while she was unconscious. In court, Gisèle...

**This episode contains discussion of bullying, abuse and suicide** A landmark trial is underway in Los Angeles where tech giants Instagram and YouTube will face a jury for the first time over claims that their platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive for children. Lawyers for the plaintiff – a 20 year-old woman – say she developed mental health issues after becoming addicted to the soc...

Two weeks after the latest release of the Epstein files, the headlines keep pouring in. In just the past few days, revelations in the documents have nearly brought down a British prime minister, and implicated politicians and royals from around the world. The files are even fueling speculation about whether the late sex offender could have been a spy. We speak to Nomia Iqbal, BBC World Affairs Cor...

On Monday, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the city's controversial national security law. The family of the 78-year-old, who is a British citizen, have appealed to foreign governments to call for Lai’s release. Lai’s sentence, which is the harshest yet under this law, has caused global concern over whethe...

During Sunday's Super Bowl in California, a flurry of ads from drug manufacturers and telehealth companies implored viewers at home to "ask their doctor” about a class of weight loss drugs, known as GLP-1s. These medications — like Mounjaro and Wegovy — have become ubiquitous. In just a few short years, they’ve transformed the way we live, move, and eat, whether we take them or not. And access and...

The top official from ICE – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – will testify in front of Congress this week, for the first time since two people were shot and killed in Minneapolis. Democrats are demanding changes to the way ICE operates, including banning face masks and requiring agents to have warrants signed by a judge before they can enter private properties. Republicans say these measure...

2026 has already been a huge year for international news, from Venezuela to Greenland to Iran. We wanted to get our heads around what other seismic changes we can expect in the rest of 2026: from Europe’s new dynamic with Washington, to President Trump’s meeting with President Xi of China, to the rebuilding of Gaza. So we sat down with two foreign policy experts: Tom Bateman, the BBC’s State Depar...

Warning: this episode contains themes of sexual abuse. Following the release of the latest tranche of Epstein files, renewed scrutiny has fallen on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s links to powerful figures in the United States. In the UK, attention has shifted to a related controversy that is now sending tremors through Westminster. Newly surfaced email exchanges between Epstein and f...

On Sunday, Bad Bunny will perform at the Super Bowl half time show to an audience of more than 100 million people across the world. But the NFL’s choice of the Puerto Rican star has proven controversial, because he has long been outspoken in his criticism of the US government, including most recently at the 2026 Grammy Awards, when he called for ICE agents to be removed from the streets. In today’...

For three weeks, the world has been watching to see whether Donald Trump will order military strikes on Iran. The US military has been building up forces close to the Islamic Republic, including an aircraft carrier and several warships which President Trump has been calling an “armada.” Trump says he wants to do a deal with Iran, and the two sides appear to be talking. White House special envoy St...

President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement for the second time and also announced plans to leave the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In his first year back in office, Trump has rolled back restrictions on oil, gas and coal – and has urged other countries to do the same. China, meanwhile, has spent the past decade consolidating its expansion into clean energy t...

The US military has begun to transfer up to 7000 Islamic State (IS) group detainees held in prisons in Syria to Iraq, which officials say is to prevent prisoners breaking out and regrouping. The transfer comes weeks after the US led large-scale strikes on IS group targets in Syria. The move comes after clashes between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which last w...

Palantir isn’t just another tech firm - it’s reach cuts across almost every aspect of modern life, from AI to healthcare to Formula 1 racing. Founded in 2003 to support US counter-terrorism efforts, the company has since grown into a global powerhouse and is central to the Trump administration's policies, from its military to immigration enforcement. At the centre of it all is billionaire co-found...

Over the weekend, some TikTok users in the United States claimed the social media platform was censoring content critical of the Trump administration. Users reported that they couldn’t upload or view videos related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. But TikTok disputes that functionality issues were political, attributing them instead to data center outages. The critic...

When US Special Forces captured Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro several weeks ago, many wondered whether his ouster would bring about further changes to the country. So, what has changed in Venezuela? And while President Trump has made it clear he sees oil as a very important priority for the United States’s future relationship with Venezuela and increased American involvement in the c...

In September 1999, just weeks into Vladimir Putin’s first premiership, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings, over a period of twelve days, killing hundreds and plunging the entire nation into fear. The government blamed Chechen militants, a conclusion corroborated by many journalists at the time. But whispers of a darker conspiracy persist to this day. A new BBC podcast, The History Bureau:...

The US and Cuba have for decades had a troubled relationship, with the former imposing sanctions and travel restrictions on its close Caribbean neighbour. Now, in its attack on Venezuela, and the capture of president Nicolas Maduro, the US has dealt Cuba a blow so significant that President Trump has warned the socialist state is, “ready to fall”. Today, BBC Central America and Cuba correspondent...