Hong Kong fire kills at least 128 people

The authorities in Hong Kong say fire alarms weren't working properly in the tower blocks where a blaze killed more than 100 people. The buildings were being renovated, and police say they've found materials that are believed not to be fireproof. Also: rescue services tackling heavy floods in South East Asia say they're struggling to cope as roads and communication infrastructure have been severely damaged; how 70 species of sharks and rays are to receive better international protection; and a stand-off between three nuns and their convent in Austria may have reached a resolution.

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: [email protected]

National Guard member dies after shooting in Washington DC

President Trump says that one of the US National Guard soldiers who was shot on Wednesday in Washington has died. Sarah Beckstrom was twenty. Mr Trump said the other soldier, Andrew Wolfe, was in a serious condition, as was the suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He's an Afghan national who'd worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. Also: Video has emerged showing Israeli security forces shooting dead two Palestinians who appeared to have surrendered in the occupied West Bank. More than ninety people are now known to have died in Hong Kong's worst fire in decades. Surprising and rather gruesome new evidence has been found about how cats became domesticated; and we hear about a church in the US where worshippers are encouraged to hold poisonous snakes.

Pope calls for peace on Turkey visit

Pope Leo has called for peace on the first day of his visit to Turkey, and urged Ankara to embrace the role of mediator in the world's conflicts. His host, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he doesn't believe the differences between people, including religion, should be a source of conflict. Also: US officials issue an update on the two National Guard officers shot in Washington DC. The suspect is an Afghan immigrant who worked with US forces in Afghanistan. Two Chinese teenagers are arrested in South Korea, accused of spying on a military air base. A lawyer critical of the government is freed from detention in Tunisia. And the Japanese brewing giant Asahi says beer production has been disrupted by a cyber attack.

Dozens killed in Hong Kong fire

More than forty people have died and hundreds are missing after a fire engulfed high-rise apartment blocks in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. Firefighters have been battling to contain the blaze for nearly 24 hours. Also: a "targeted shooting" near the White House critically injures two National Guard troops; Nigeria declares a nationwide security emergency; the military in Guinea-Bissau stages a coup; a special report from Lebanon on the anniversary of Israel's ceasefire with Hezbollah; a warning about ocean noise; the latest scandal from the Miss Universe beauty pageant; and what Warner's partnership with Suno means for the future of AI in music.

Taiwan to boost defence spending

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te says China is stepping up military preparations to take the island by force. He's announced a $40 billion supplementary defence budget that underscores Taiwan's determination to protect itself, with a focus on drones and missile systems. President Lai said giving up and making compromises to aggression would only bring war. Also: the US-Palestinian teenager who's been in detention since February for stone throwing -- with no trial in sight. The joy of discovering a rare flower in Indonesia. Two Australian teenagers go to court to challenge their government's up-coming ban on social media for under-16s. And an elderly couple enjoy a last, surprise dance on the ballroom floor.

Brazil's Bolsonaro begins jail term

The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to begin his 27 year prison sentence for plotting a coup after the last election. The Supreme Court said he'd exhausted all appeals and will serve his time behind bars at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

Also: Italy makes femicide – the murder of a woman, motivated by gender – a crime to be punished with a life sentence. Refugees who've fled Mali tell the BBC about alleged atrocities committed by Russia's Wagner group. New Zealand's "suitcase murders" trial comes to an end. The Popemobile is converted into a medical clinic in Gaza. LGBT campaigners celebrate the top EU court's ruling on same-sex marriage in case brought by Polish couple, and how children's author Roald Dahl's secret life as a spy inspired his script for a Bond movie.

Has the Ukraine conflict reached a turning point?

The Ukrainian authorities say Kyiv has reached a common understanding with the United States on the key terms of a peace agreement with Russia. Moscow says it has yet to see the amended version of an earlier draft, which included many of the Kremlin's demands. Also: there's been heavy criticism of the Nigerian authorities after hundreds of students were abducted from a school last week. The US Government tells holidaymakers to dress properly at airports. And what's more important? A billion dollars' worth of shipwreck treasure or the preservation of an important underwater archaeological site?

Criminal cases against Trump critics dropped

A federal US judge has dismissed the criminal cases against the former FBI director James Comey and the New York Attorney General Letitia James, who've both led high-profile investigations into Donald Trump. The judge found that the prosecutor overseeing both cases, Lindsey Halligan, had been hired unlawfully. The White House has said the Justice Department will appeal against the ruling. President Trump has denied accusations that he uses the criminal justice sytem to target his enemies.

Also: Mexican police arrest a man accused of recruiting people involved in the murder of a popular mayor, Carlos Manzo. We look back at the life of the singer Jimmy Cliff who helped popularise reggae around the world. Meanwhile, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads tributes to the Bollywood actor Dharmendra who has died at the age of 89. A new location feature on the social media platform X raises questions about the origins of politically provocative content. And a woman in Thailand has been found alive in her coffin moments before she was due to be cremated.

Nigeria to recruit extra police officers after abductions

The Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria says 265 people are still missing after a mass kidnapping from a school in Niger state on Friday. Among those unaccounted for are dozens of nursery and primary school children and 12 members of staff. The Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, ordered the recruitment of an extra thirty thousand police officers in the latest attempt by the federal authorities to bring an end to the chronic insecurity in the north of the country. Also: American-led hopes of a breakthrough in the Ukraine peace talks have been tempered by European leaders who have stressed that Russia must come to the table. A suicide bombing attack kills several people in Pakistan at a paramilitary headquarters in Peshawar. Police said the bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the compound and two other attackers were shot dead. The US designation of the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation comes into force as Washington ramps up its pressure on the president Nicolas Maduro. South Korea's most prolific online sex criminal is sentenced to life in prison, after being convicted of exploiting dozens of people by spreading thousands of sexual abuse materials using an encrypted messaging app. And how conservation efforts in Kenya are starting to revive the fortunes of endangered Black rhinos.

US hails 'tremendous' progress at Ukraine talks

The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has given an upbeat assessment of talks with Ukrainian officials about how to end the war with Russia. Mr Rubio said sticking points which remained were "not insurmountable". US, Ukrainian and European officials have been meeting in Geneva in Switzerland to discuss a peace plan that US negotiators devised with their Russian counterparts. It has been widely criticised as sympathetic to Moscow's aims.

Also: a BBC investigation has exposed people in Sierra Leone who claim to supply human body parts for ritual ceremonies. More than 50 of the 300 pupils abducted by gunmen in Nigeria have escaped their captors, but parents are voicing their frustration over the lack of security at schools. Hezbollah confirms its chief of staff has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. A three-year-old boy from California has astounded doctors with his progress after becoming the first person in the world with Hunter syndrome to receive a ground-breaking gene therapy. A daughter of the former South African President Jacob Zuma is accused of recruiting citizens to fight in Ukraine. And an Argentinian writer recalls the moment she learned her childhood nanny was actually a KGB agent.

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The Global Story: The oil lobbyist who tried to sink the first big climate deal

The American lawyer, oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman is said to have chain-smoked his way through almost every UN climate gathering from the early 1990s until his death in 2005. Some of those who saw Pearlman operate in Kyoto, where the first legally binding international agreement on climate change was agreed in 1997, say he created the playbook for stalling climate talks. The Kyoto protocol was never ratified by the United States, and Pearlman is now the subject of a major play, Kyoto, which has just transferred from London to the Lincoln Center in New York. As the COP30 climate summit takes place in Brazil, we speak to BBC climate journalist Jordan Dunbar, who’s been trying to piece together the true story of the man once nicknamed ‘the high priest of the carbon club’.

With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.

Producers: Aron Keller and Cat Farnsworth Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Don Pearlman at the Kyoto summit / BBC.

COP30 deal fails to mention fossil fuels

The UN climate summit in Brazil has closed with a commitment to triple adaptation funding for developing countries, but there was no explicit mention of the fossil fuels that drive climate change. A bitter row at COP30 saw oil-rich nations led by Saudi Arabia overcome more than 80 countries that wanted a deal advancing previous commitments to transition away from oil, coal, and gas.

Also: President Trump says his plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is "not his final offer" as Kyiv and its allies push back on proposals they see as too favourable to Moscow. Several airlines suspend flights to Venezuela after the US warned of dangers from heightened military activity. Princess Diana's personal designer Paul Costelloe dies aged 80. How new technology, the size of a grain of rice, is tracking the migration of Monarch butterflies across North America. And a watch worn by Titanic passenger Isidor Straus as the ship sank fetches a record price at auction. 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: [email protected]