BBC

Also, NI is first UK region to introduce two weeks miscarriage leave for bereaved parents

Iran and the US have announced a two-week ceasefire which includes the reoping of the Strait of Hormuz and safe passage for ships. Peace talks will continue between the US and Iran in Islamabad on Friday. We have reaction and analysis from the US and Iran. Israel has issued a statement pointing out that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement. Also: Major divisions surface in Zimbabwe over attempts to amend the constitution and extend the Presidency of Emmerson Mnangagwa. And, the fourteen-year-old set to become the first American under the age of eighteen to appear on the ballot in a US state gubernatorial election.

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.

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***Contains descriptions of scenes which some may find upsetting***

Hilik Magnus is Israel’s foremost search and rescue specialist. He has performed missions, public and private, for over 30 years across six continents. He has worked under the radar during disasters such as 2004’s tsunami and 2008’s Mumbai attacks. He has worked with everyone, from grieving families to cartels and the Taliban, all for the simple purpose of returning people to where they belong. The start, in the 1990s, was simple. His operating base was an abandoned train carriage in the southern desert of Israel with three telephones and a dial-up connection. Hilik did not know what awaited him. All he knew was that he felt a ‘shlichut’ – ‘higher purpose’ in Hebrew – to help save lives, to return the unburied to their grieving families. Now, he opens up about this secretive world, and talks frankly about his origins and values.

The US president has given Iran until 1am UK time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying that otherwise ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight’. Pope Leo, an American, has condemned Trump’s threats, while Pakistan has called on the US to extend the deadline by two more weeks. 

Also on the programme: US Vice President JD Vance travels to Hungary to endorse its right-wing Prime Minister Victor Orban ahead of this weekend’s general election. 

And we hear from historian William Dalrymple about three millennia of Persian history.

A countdown is underway as President Trump says 'a whole civilisation will die tonight' in Iran without a deal to fully re-open the Strait of Hormuz. Plus, we return to Cambodia's scam centres with a rare visit inside. And is Universal Music which is home to Taylor Swift, about to be sold?

(Picture: Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani speaking during a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, USA, 07 April 2026. Credit:SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock)

The White House says Donald Trump is the only person who knows his plans for Iran, after his threat that a ‘whole civilisation will die’ if Tehran doesn't do a deal to end the war. The President's latest deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of key infrastructure, expires within hours.

Also in the programme: As the Artemis II astronauts make their way home from the far side of the Moon, we speak to former Nasa boss Charles Bolden; and Kanye West, now known as Ye, won't be allowed to perform in London this summer because of antisemitic remarks.

(Photo: An Iranian national flag is placed on the debris of a damaged building at the Sharif University after an airstrike in Tehran, Iran, 07 April 2026. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA)

Adam has some news for David, and George ponders his impending fatherhood.

President Trump has warned that "a whole civilisation will die tonight", as his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approaches. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have said they'll retaliate beyond the Middle East, and deprive the US and its allies of oil and gas if Washington crosses 'red lines'. Also, the US Vice-President, JD Vance, is in Hungary, trying to bolster the campaign of Prime Minister Victor Orban's party in advance of Sunday's parliamentary elections; the organisers of the British music festival, Wireless, have cancelled the event following a row over its headline act, the US rapper, Kanye West, who has now been banned from entering the country; and why Australia's most distinguished living war hero has been arrested.

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]

Astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft have begun a four-day journey back towards the earth after completing a flyby of the far side of the moon. The mission began on April 1, when the rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, and has raised significant interest around the world. We heard from a representative of Africa2Moon - a project working towards Africa's first mission to the moon.

Also, the African Union Development Agency says foreign aid won’t be enough to bridge Africa's trillion-dollar funding gap. What does this mean for the continent's young population?

Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Daniel Dadzie, Keikantse Shumba, Chiamaka Dike and Blessing Aderogba

Technical Producer: Mbarak Abdallah

Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga

Editor: Maryam Abdalla

Over several days, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck oil export facilites in Primorsk and Ust-Luga in the Baltic Sea, and Novorossiysk in the Black Sea. Seaborne exports of Russian crude oil have been reduced as a result.

Troubled airline Air India is on the lookout for a new CEO after Campbell Wilson announces he's stepping down as chief executive.

And a US hedge fund has launched a takeover bid for the world's biggest music company, Universal Music Group.