BBC

Iran has seized two cargo ships and warned that reopening the Strait of Hormuz will be “impossible” if a US blockade continues. Sarah Rogers asks what that means for the US and hear from a business operating inside Iran.

We also hear how businesses are expecting to benefit from a $100 billion EU loan to Ukraine.

And Tesla reports higher than expected first-quarter profits.

(Picture: Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Will the re-opening of a pipeline pumping Russian oil and the unfreezing of an EU loan to Ukraine, change the dynamic of the Russian-Ukrainian war? We hear from a Ukrainian MP and from Keith Kellog, the former US general who was Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine.

Also on the programme: The funeral of a child killed in the occupied West Bank turns into a confrontation; and the Foo Fighters on the new album, My Favourite Toy - for one band member, its Lego.

(FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference in Middelburg, Netherlands on April 16, 2026. CREDIT: Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

The countryside is coming to life at the Rewilding, and Chelsea is preparing a bride for her wedding day.

EU ambassadors approve a promised $100bn loan to Ukraine after Hungary dropped its veto, following Viktor Orban's election defeat. Ukraine has now started pumping Russian oil towards Hungary again. Also: three container ships have been targeted by Iranian gunfire trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz; a new report says Colombian mercenaries backed by the UAE helped Sudanese paramilitary fighters capture the city of el-Fasher last year; why South Korean police are preparing to arrest the mogul who created the Kpop supergroup, BTS; how weather and natural disasters influence elections; a new book gives a voice to the many extraordinary women at the Nuremberg trials; and how an amateur fossil hunter found a rare fragment of the world's oldest marine crocodile.

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]

A major gas pipeline is being planned from Nigeria to Morocco, running along the Atlantic coast through countries including Ghana and Senegal, before potentially linking up to Europe. The $25 billion project is aimed at boosting energy access across West Africa, but it is still awaiting a final green light, expected later this year.

Also, Masai giraffe numbers have fallen by more than half in the past 30 years. Now, scientists in Tanzania are using artificial intelligence to track the species more quickly, offering new hope for their recovery.

Presenter : Charles Gitonga

Producer: Chiamaka Dike

Technical Producer: Davis Mwasaru

Senior Producers: Blessing Aderogba and Keikantse Shumba

Editors: Priyanka Sippy and Maryam Abdalla

Conflict Insights Group tracked Colombian mercenaries fighting in Sudan for the RSF via their cell phones. They were recruited and trained at the behest of the United Arab Emirates, the report claims, allegations refuted by Abu Dhabi.

Also in the programme: European Union ambassadors have approved a $100 billion loan to Ukraine; and a playwright who dramatised Leicester City's improbable Premier League title of a decade ago, on how the club have been related to the third tier of English football.

(Photo: Supporters of Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive for a meeting in Aprag village, Sudan, on 22 June 2019. Credit: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

The European Union has unlocked a $100 billion loan for Kyiv - money that’s been stuck for months. Hungary had been holding it up, arguing it wasn’t receiving Russian oil through a key pipeline that runs across Ukraine. That line was damaged after a Russian strike earlier this year, but Kyiv says repairs are now complete and oil is flowing again.

Plus, we get a rare insight into what it’s like trying to run a shop or even buy bread in Iran these days.

And we look at the rise of quality Chinese retail brands, challenging the perception that “Made in China” means cheap and of poor quality.

Also, funeral of 81 yr old woman - without any known relatives - is attended by mourners

President Trump has announced an extension to the ceasefire with Iran until talks come to a conclusion. In a social media post, he said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue until Tehran presented what he called a "unified proposal". The truce between the two sides was due to expire on Wednesday. Mr Trump said he'd been asked to hold off on attacking Iran by Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator. Also: the Lebanese group, Hezbollah, says it has launched drones and fired rockets into northern Israel. The Iranian-backed movement called the attacks a response to ceasefire violations by Israel. OpenAI is facing a criminal investigation in Florida into whether ChatGPT advised a man on the best way to carry out a mass shooting at a university last year. A diplomatic row has broken out after a well-known Russian television host made offensive remarks about the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. And pop superstar Madonna is offering a reward for the return of a costume she wore on stage at the Coachella music festival in California, after several outfits went missing.

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]

Mandatory Credit: Photo by ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA/Shutterstock (16839879i)

DNA detectives track down the British soldiers who fathered children in Kenya then disappeared, leaving the children and their mothers without support.

In the latest season of World of Secrets, we access every stage of this cutting-edge process, we follow as a team of lawyers and a leading geneticist travel to Kenya to help locate the British soldiers who fathered children then vanished. We witness the groundbreaking legal and scientific detective work used to find the missing dads.

To hear more, search World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Searching for Soldier Dad is a BBC Long Form Audio production for the BBC World Service.

Please note, the image being used is for illustrative purposes only and the child depicted is a model.