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The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades on financial markets ahead of public announcements by President Trump, including during the Iran war. It's raised suspicions of insider trading, where bets are made based on information that's not available to the general public. However, some argue that certain traders have become more adept at anticipating the president's interventions. Also: potential peace talks between the US and Iran have been thrown into doubt after American marines seized an Iranian-flagged ship. A strong earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered tsunami alerts. And a warning about a new and very powerful AI model.

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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Learn these three hat phrases! Phil will take his hat off to you if you do!

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Also, why has Dept of Infrastructure not been collecting data on taxis using bus lanes?

The untold story of a young couple falling in love and getting married against the backdrop of disaster. Serhiy first laid eyes on Iryna under the swirling lights of the best disco in town. She was wearing a cool jumpsuit with a bright red belt, which drew attention to her waist as she wiggled to the pulsing beat. Serhiy was freshly discharged from the Red Army and was happy to be able to let his hair down. He thought Iryna was beautiful and couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wouldn’t work up the courage to ask Iryna out until a few days later, but once they started dating, Club Edison 2 became a favourite haunt and they looked forward to the weekly discos.

The man behind the decks was DJ Alexander Demidov, a legend on the night life scene, known for his pioneering shows. He wasn’t just choosing tracks; he was the pilot, the chief guide, the organiser of the dance. He was constantly talking to the crowd to say how, what, and where they were going next. Club Edison2 quickly became known as the best disco in Ukraine. He did have to jump through some hoops first though. It was 1986 and DJ Alexander had to have his playlist approved by the Soviet state. Often he would sneakily play banned foreign records that had been illegally smuggled in for a rapturous crowd hungry for anything from the West, from beyond the Iron Curtain, from outside the Soviet Union. His disco became something more: a sanctuary where forbidden Western songs pulsed through speakers, fashions were improvised, and young people tasted freedom despite the watchful eye of the state.

It was risky, but a risk worth taking for this was no ordinary crowd. This was a dance floor full of the brightest and best from across all 15 countries that made up the Soviet union. This was a disco for the people of Pripyat, an ‘atom-grad’, or nuclear city, built especially for the scientists and workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was a place designed to embody the future.

It was in Pripyat that Serhiy and Iryna would fall in love. The city was one of the best places to live in the Soviet Union: good jobs, full shops, beautiful scenery and great nightlife. It’s where they planned their future together, in a city that seemed safe.

They planned to get married on Saturday 26th April 1986. But the night before the wedding, they felt the ground shake and heard a booming sound. It came from the direction of the nuclear power plant. On the morning of the wedding, as Serhiy went to pick up his best man from the station, he found the streets full of soldiers wearing gas masks and washing the streets down. Rumours swirled that there had been an accident at the Nuclear reactor, but nothing official was said. They called the authorities who told them they must still hold their wedding. As engineers and firefighters battled an unfolding nuclear catastrophe, the city’s residents were told nothing. Iryna and Serhei married, smiling for photographs, but stumbling during their much practiced waltz, as unease rippled through the room. By the end of the wedding reception, the celebration descended into chaos. Still in her wedding dress, Iryna ended up running barefoot through the streets as evacuation orders spread, leaving behind her home, her possessions, and the city where their love had begun.

The Last Dance Floor in Chernobyl tells the story of DJ Alex, Serhiy and Iryna and what happens to them after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear accident the world has ever seen. Jordan Dunbar follow’s their lives before and after, through forced exile, confusion, health fears, and the struggle to rebuild a life shaped by disaster. Jordan Dunbar traces the paths of Iryna, Serhiy and DJ Alex across decades, from the last dance floor in Chernobyl to new beginnings elsewhere. This is a story of love and music, of ordinary people caught up in history, and of a love strong enough to survive what felt like the sudden end of their world.

Presenter; Jordan Dunbar

Producers; Phoebe Keane and Neal Razzell

Voice over actors: Hanna Komar, Oleksandr Begma, Anatolii Panchenko and Gregory Zhygalov

The contributors all feature in the TV documentary What Happened at Chernobyl, directed by Paul Harris, Executive Producer Vara Szajkowski, Assistant Producer Ellie Jacobs. It’ll be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and the BBC World Service Youtube channel

The US military says it has intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman as part of its naval blockade. Iran has promised to retaliate. The announcement came after the White House confirmed US Vice-President JD Vance would lead another delegation for a second round of talks on ending the war with Iran in Pakistan. Tehran has not yet confirmed its attendance. Iranian state media has reported that officials will not participate while the US blockade remains in place. Also, a gunman in the US state of Louisiana kills eight children - aged from one to fourteen years old. How DNA databases are helping dozens of Kenyans track down the British soldiers who fathered them and then disappeared. And a humanoid robot breaks the half marathon world record in Beijing.

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]

President Trump says a US delegation will arrive in Pakistan on Monday for negotiations with Iran. The White House says it will again be led by Vice-President JD Vance. But reports from Iran say hardliners in the leadership are against attending as long as America's blockade of Iranian ports continues.

Also in the programme: The party of the pro-Russian former president, Rumen Radev, is on course to win Bulgaria's general election and more than 150 authors leave a prominent French publisher, but why?

(Photo: A police officer gestures to a vehicle at a check post along a road near Faisal Masjid, as Pakistan prepares to host the U.S. and Iran for the second phase of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan April 19, 2026. CREDIT: REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)

Anthropic - one of Silicon Valley’s leading AI firms - recently announced that they have built a model which is too dangerous to be released to the public.

Instead, they are only giving access to the model to a handful of big companies, to help them find security vulnerabilities.The company says the model has already found weak spots in “every major operating system and web browser”. Is this a genuine example of a company acting responsibly, or more of a carefully calibrated publicity move?

We speak to the BBC’s North America tech correspondent, Lily Jamali, about whether this is a watershed moment.

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 Aron Keller

Digital producer: Matt Pintus

Mix: Travis Evans

Executive producer: James Shield

Senior news editor: China Collins

Credit: Jurassic Park (1993) / Dir: Stephen Spielberg / Universal Pictures

Photo: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Reuters/Denis Balibouse.

Lilian tries to reassure Alice and there are more entries for the Battling Bulls logo.

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, which it calls a "breach of the ceasefire". We'll hear from inside Iran from Lyse Doucet.

Also on the programme, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat to his leadership; and, amid our modern technology, people rush to independent record stores to celebrate vinyl records. 

(Photo:The Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arrives in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra,Iraq April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty)

Patti LuPone – three-time Tony and two-time Grammy Award winner – has long reigned as one of Broadway’s most formidable leading ladies. In this edition of In The Studio, we join her in New York for a highly anticipated solo concert at Carnegie Hall. Best known for defining roles in Evita, Les Miserables, Gypsy, and Sunset Boulevard, LuPone has also sustained a decades-long parallel life on the concert stage – a career she says began simply to “offset unemployment” between Broadway runs. What started as late-night cabaret after Evita evolved into meticulously structured touring shows, each built around narrative, character and the power of lyrics. Her current programme, Matters of the Heart, weaves a tapestry of love stories – from romance and heartbreak to family and devotion – revealing her instinct to treat every song as theatre. Patti describes her routine on the day of the concert: the soundcheck, the balancing of quartet and voice in a hall famed for its natural acoustics, and the quiet rituals that precede performance. LuPone reflects on nerves, storytelling and the audacity of standing alone before 2,800 expectant faces. Alongside her collaborators, including musical director Joseph Thalken, she reveals the discipline and trust behind the scenes. This is a portrait of craft at the highest level – the artist, the venue and the alchemy of live performance.

Presenter and producer: Victoria Ferran

Executive producer: Susan Marling

A Just Radio production for BBC World Service

Image: Patti LuPone (Credit: Emilio Madrid)