BBC

We meet a Ghanaian woman who is challenging stereotypes of beauty and disability by modelling with her prosthetic leg wrapped in colourful kente fabric. Abena Christine Jon'el had her leg amputated when she was just two years old because of an aggressive form of cancer. She says she's fought through so much to survive that she's determined to fight for anyone who's ever felt defeated by life.

Also: A mobile gaming app that's helping teenagers in Brazil learn how to support their friends with mental health issues.

A scheme teaching gardening skills to prisoners in the UK to help cut the numbers who reoffend after their release.

The Washington museum curator who's adopted Gen Z slang to get younger people interested in its works of art. Alison Luchs has attracted over nine million views with two social media posts, and is challenging others to submit similar videos about other exhibits.

Plus big baby elephant news, some unusual guard animals, and how one new family helped bring an entire community together, just by showing they cared.

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

(Photo: Abena Christine Jon'el on the catwalk in Ghana. Credit: Vino Studio / Nineteen57 Events)

The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and opposition leaders have laid flowers at a memorial in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, to the eight victims of a teenage killer. The estranged father of the suspect has offered his condolences. Also: the leaders of France and Germany have urged the continent to be more assertive in President Trump's new world order. The UN calls on Israel to reverse plans to give itself new powers in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, saying it jeopardises the prospect for a two-state solution. With inflation at around sixty per cent in Iran and the local currency in free-fall against the dollar, we talk to locals in a market in the capital, Tehran. Gisèle Pelicot, the woman at the centre of the largest rape trial in French history, tells the BBC she was "crushed by the horror" of her ordeal - but describes herself as a "survivor". And as couples across the world mark Valentine's Day, we look at why people are increasingly drawn to romantic historical dramas?

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]

An advert shown during this year’s Super Bowl has prompted a backlash on social media. In the ad, tennis champion Serena Williams promotes a weight loss injection, saying she is "healthier" thanks to the product. Many fans have expressed disappointment that a woman associated with strength and body positivity, is now selling being thinner as the ideal. So, is body positivity out and fat shaming back? In our conversations, we discuss the cultural pressure to lose weight now these drugs, known as GLP-1s, are widely available.

This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC OS Conversations, bringing together people from around the world to discuss how major news stories are affecting their lives.

When it comes to keeping our homes warm nearly all of us rely on just a handful of big energy suppliers. And during the winter, especially with the cold temperatures, we rely on those suppliers to do their job. When they don't customers can firstly complain to their supplier but, if they're still not happy, they can take their complaint to something called the Energy Ombudsman. It's a free, impartial service and gets thousands of complaints every year. In most cases, when the ombudsman makes a decision, that decision is followed to the letter, quickly, by suppliers. But in some cases that doesn't happen - we investigate one listener's battle over a £1,700 bill.

HMRC has told MPs it's going to take more care in how it handles its effort to crack down on fraud and error, after a mistake which led to thousands of families wrongly losing their Child Benefit.

It was the Scottish government's Budget this week and there were quite a few changes promised for people's pockets, we'll round up the details.

And, there's a huge amount to think about when buying a home, from sorting the mortgage to getting quotes for removal companies, but one thing you might not be expecting is that your new home might come with rules telling you what you can and cannot do with it. Restrictive covenants are binding conditions written into the actual property deeds or contracts. What can you do to protect yourself from any financial impacts?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

Reporters: Dan Whitworth, Eimear Devlin and Phil Simm

Researcher: Jo Krasner

Editor: Jess Quayle

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 17th January 2026)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has told other world leaders that 'our freedom is not guaranteed' in an era of big power politics. Opening the annual Munich Security Conference, Merz said that Europeans must be ready to make a 'sacrifice'. He also admitted that 'a deep divide has opened between Europe and the United States'. We'll speak to a senior German politician and a former member of the first Trump administration.

Also in the programme: a BBC Investigation uncovers devastating side effects of a set of widely used prescription drugs that can trigger impulsive behaviours; and we speak to the Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins about his memoir.

(Picture: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)

Two men have been given life sentences for planning a gun attack on Manchester’s Jewish community. The plot was foiled by an undercover officer, and Greater Manchester Police said if it had gone ahead it could have been the deadliest terror attack in British history.

Also on the programme: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tells the Munich Security Conference the rules-based world order no longer exists, and that this has consequences for America, too.

And Matt Weston triumphs in the skeleton to win Team GB’s first gold medal at this year’s Winter Olympics.

Cuba goes dark as fuel shortages affect power supplies. We hear from the people affected by the outages, and the price the island nation is paying as the darkness spreads.

As we approach the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we speak to the man in charge of keeping the power going as Ukraine approaches a humanitarian crisis.

In Bangladesh, we get reaction as the Bangladesh National Party and allies win a commanding, two‑thirds‑plus majority in the first general election since the student‑led uprising that drove Sheikh Hasina from office in 2024. And we ask - what next for an economy hit so hard by US tariffs?

And PlayStation has surprise‑launched a new God of War game, Sons of Sparta, on the PS5. We hear from a gaming expert on why this franchise is such a big deal.

(Picture: A bicitaxi rides in a street of Havana, on February 13, 2026. Credit: YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images.)

Writer: Tim Stimpson

Director: Pip Swallow

Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood

Ben Archer … Ben Norris

David Archer … Timothy Bentinck

Josh Archer … Angus Imrie

Pip Archer … Daisy Badger

Ruth Archer … Felicity Finch

Lilian Bellamy … Sunny Ormonde

Alice Carter … Hollie Chapman

Ruairi Donovan … Arthur Hughes

Amber Gordon … Olivia Bernstone

Emma Grundy … Emerald O'Hanrahan

George Grundy … Angus Stobie

Will Grundy … Philip Molloy

Chelsea Horrobin … Madeleine Leslay

Tracy Horrobin … Susie Riddell

Jazzer McCreary … Ryan Kelly

Stella Pryor … Lucy Speed

Fallon Rogers … Joanna Van Kampen

Is there a way out for Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson scandal? Who fled ‘under the cover of darkness’ from their royal lodgings? What exactly is a humble address? And why are iguanas falling out of trees? Helping Andy answer some of the big questions of the week are Desiree Burch, Pierre Novellie, Daniel Finkelstein and Catherine Bohart.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Eve Delaney and Sarah Mills

Producer: Georgia Keating

Executive Producers: Richard Morris and James Robinson

Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu

Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

A crucial security conference in Munich has heard the German chancellor stating that the rules- based world order no longer exists and Europeans must be ready to make sacrifices for their freedom in an era of big power politics. Friedrich Merz acknowledged that a rift had opened between Europe and Donald Trump's America. It's the first major global event since President Trump threatened Denmark's sovereignty with a pledge to annex Greenland. Also: a landslide victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist party in the first election since a mass student uprising in 2024. Britain's High Court rules that a Government decision to ban the protest group, Palestine Action, under anti-terrorism legislation was unlawful. Mozambique is bracing itself as cyclone Gezani heads its way; heavy rain has been reported in some coastal areas. And the designer behind the global brand, Hello Kitty - one of Japan's most famous cultural exports - is stepping down.

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]