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Rachel Naylor visits the Booker Prize-winning author Thomas Keneally in his home in Sydney, Australia, to see how he writes his latest book. He gives Rachel a tour of his neighbourhood Manly, a seaside suburb in the Northern Beaches, famous for its ferry, surfing and his beloved Sea Eagles, the rugby league team. Rachel accompanies Thomas, known for writing Schindler’s List, on his daily walk around North Head, in Sydney Harbour National Park, taking in the breathtaking views, navigating the swamp and avoiding the spiders. Thomas, who has written more than 50 books, shows Rachel round his library and they discuss ageing, feeling adrift and his first rejection. As he contemplates retirement, he also talks about his recent ill health and how he wants to write the best book written by someone aged over 90.

Ukraine sent nearly 600 drones into Russia overnight, the biggest single attack on the country since the start of the war. Targets in Moscow and a patrol ship in the Caspian Sea were hit, with at least four killed in the offensive.

We hear from The Economist's Shashank Joshi about the significance of the strikes, and from Russia analyst Professor Nina Khrushcheva about how President Putin might respond.

Also in the programme: The Democratic Republic of the Congo fights to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak; and what does Che Guevara's daughter make of recent US hostility towards Cuba?

(Photo: A man inspects a damaged apartment building following a drone attack outside Moscow on May 17, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

At the outset of the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump suggested that regime change was one of its goals. He later said it had been had achieved, a claim that is disputed by critics who point out that the same repressive forces in Iran still hold power.

American attempts at regime change in Iran have a long history. In 1953 the CIA, assisted by British intelligence, led a deadly coup that toppled Iran’s last democratically elected leader. It’s a moment in history that poisoned US-Iranian relations, and helped launch the theocratic revolution to come. But the immediate success of ‘Operation Ajax’ would convince the CIA to carry out a wave of similar plots around the world.

We get the full story from Scott Anderson, author of King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah and the Revolution That Forged Modern Iran.

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: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Supporters of the Shah of Iran in Tehran, 1953. Credit: Getty/Bettmann

Leonard presses his case, and Kirsty shares some news.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO said the outbreak in DR Congo's eastern Ituri province, which has seen around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not yet meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. We hear from the man who first identified the virus.

Also in the programme: will the US and China come to an agreement on artificial intelligence?; and the Iranian family saga in the running for the International Booker Prize.

(Photo: Ugandan doctors wear their personal protective equipment at the Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital Isolation Centre in Entebbe, Uganda, 20 October 2022. Credit: ISAAC KASAMANI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Nearly ninety deaths have been recorded so far in the Democratic Republic of Congo with medical experts warning that the current strain of the Ebola virus has a very high mortality rate. The DRC's health minister said that no vaccine or specific treatment was available. Also, more than fifty children between the ages of two and five are abducted in northeast Nigeria during attacks on three schools in the same town. Several people are seriously injured after a car is driven into pedestrians in the Italian city of Modena. Two rival marches are held on the same day in London with pro-Palestinian demonstrators and British far-right activists kept apart by the police. And Bulgaria stuns Eurovision to become the surprise winner at the song contest in Austria.

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Listener Ndanusa in Ghana, is gazing up at the stars, and wondering what keeps our universe in balance? Ndanusa knows a thing or two about the stars, and he knows that they use up hydrogen as they burn, and release helium. And he’s wondering, is there something out there which does the opposite? Something that uses up helium, and produces hydrogen, to keep the universe in perfect, chemical equilibrium? Presenter Alex Lathbridge goes on a journey to answer his questions and delves into the blackness of deep space, the ancient origins of our universe, and the complex physics of the stars. He pops into the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory, just outside Accra, where astrophysicist Dr Proven Adzri helps him peer into the earliest few seconds of our universe, and find out what set the stars burning. And at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Linus Labik talks him through what’s going on at the atomic level. And in the deep blackness of the night, up above the tree canopy of Kakum National Park, he takes a peek at the stars for himself. Local guides Chris and Kwabena explain how much meaning there is behind the stars in the night sky.

A rescue diver from the Maldives has died after searching for the bodies of five Italians who were exploring an underwater cave. The team from Italy were diving at depths that are not permitted for recreational divers. We hear from a government spokesperson about the rescue operation and from a former military diver about the conditions in the cave.

Also on the programme: more than 50 children have been abducted in Nigeria; and the Eurovision 2026 finals take place in Vienna.

(Photo: A police boat joins a search and recovery operation in the Vaavu Atoll, Maldives. Credit: SOPHIA NASIF/EPA/Shutterstock)

We meet a teacher whose college fashion designs have gone on display at the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Nadia Pinkney says she was shocked when the curator said they wanted to display her collection, which was inspired by a family history of Alzheimer's disease. She describes seeing the exhibition as an out-of-body experience and hopes it will encourage more people to talk about difficult topics like dementia.

Also: the passengers catching a bus to nowhere in Switzerland. The project is designed to encourage people to slow down and talk to new people face to face.

The mother who's found comfort from being able to hold her late daughter's hand again, after it was donated for a rare transplant.

The Polish influencer who's raised millions of dollars for a cancer charity by hosting a livestream for nine days, non-stop.

The grandmother fighting to preserve Chile's wetlands for the next generation.

Plus the Canadian truck driver who rescued a moose called Rebel; and why musicians in southern England are holding improvised concerts with nightingales.

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

(Photo: Nadia Pinkney with her designs on show at the Met in New York. Credit: Nadia Pinkney)

Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Nigeria and the United States say they have killed a senior Islamic State leader in a joint operation. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki oversaw IS-linked activities across Africa and was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Washington in 2023. We speak to a spokesperson for the Nigerian president and a regional security expert.

Also on the programme: where has this week's US-China summit left Taiwan?; and the Swiss bus service on the road to nowhere.

(Photo: Nigerian soldiers walk past military tanks prepared for deployment during a tour of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole by Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, November 7, 2025 Credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi/File Photo)