BBC

Suspicions are aroused for Pip, while David is left disappointed.

President Trump says the Iranians are talking "seriously" with the United States about curbs on their nuclear programme. Iran's supreme leader warns if America attacks, there'll be regional war.

We'll be asking where concessions might be made to prevent a military confrontation.

Also in the programme: A second woman says she was trafficked to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein for sex with the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; a new exhibition explores the legacy of Japan's Samurai warriors; and Carlos Alcaraz triumphs over Novak Djokovic to become the youngest man to win a career Grand Slam in tennis.

(Photo shows Donald Trump speaking after disembarking from Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 31, 2026. Nathan Howard/Reuters)

In September 1999, just weeks into Vladimir Putin’s first premiership, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings, over a period of twelve days, killing hundreds and plunging the entire nation into fear.

The government blamed Chechen militants, a conclusion corroborated by many journalists at the time. But whispers of a darker conspiracy persist to this day.

A new BBC podcast, The History Bureau: Putin and the Apartment Bombs, tells the story of those bombings and re-examines how these tragic events helped propel Vladimir Putin to power. Asma talks to the host of the series, Helena Merriman.

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

Executive producer: Bridget Harney

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Moscow apartment buildings in the 1990s. (Credit: BBC)

A second woman has alleged she was sent to Britain by the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who has always denied wrongdoing. Also: there are explosions in Iran amid heightened tensions; a US federal judge allows ICE to continue the immigration crackdown in Minnesota; Pakistan's army kills rebels in Balochistan province; European and non-English movies gain momentum ahead of the Oscars; the ethics of AI creating life; and do dogs need clothing?

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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Can diplomacy alone end the war in Ukraine in the absence of a compromise? After nearly four years of fighting and countless deaths, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the US and Europe have been hard at work trying to hammer out a peace deal. Indeed, this work has produced several multi-point peace plans amid proclamations of “productive talks”, creating the impression that peace is around the corner. The Global Jigsaw compares the Russian and Ukrainian wish lists to reveal two parallel realities of peace that cannot coexist. What are the peace negotiations achieving?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that US-mediated talks planned to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday may be delayed. In his Sunday. Zelensky said Kyiv was prepared to work on peace plans and that Kyiv was preparing for them to take place next week. His remarks came as Ukraine faced rolling power cuts amid freezing temperatures.

Also on the programme: the renowned Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei tells us about his first return to China in ten years; and new evidence about the world’s earliest pandemic, the Plague of Justinian.

PICTURE: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Ukraine January 16, 2026 CREDIT:REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

سرکوب معترضان در دی ۱۴۰۴ با چنان قساوتی همراه بود که گویی دستگاه نظامی و امنیتی حکومت با قصد انتقام‌جویی چنین کرد. چرا؟ این انتقام‌جویی به چه خواهد انجامید؟ میهمان‌ها: حسین دباغ، استاد دانشگاه اسفندیار طبری، استاد دانشگاه

More than 200 people have been killed in a mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rebel authorities have said.

Women and children were among those mining coltan - a mineral used to manufacture electronics such as smartphones and computers - at the time in the town of Rubaya.

Also in the programme: The search for truth and justice continues after more than three million new documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are released; we'll hear about the legacy of the Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti, who has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy; and we'll discuss the implications of AI being used to create new forms of life.

(File photo of labourers working at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo March 24, 2025. Credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

A top Russian archaeologist is currently under arrest in Poland. Alexander Butyagin is waiting for courts to decide on a request from Ukraine for him to be extradited. He is a scholar at the Hermitage, Russia's largest art museum in St Petersburg, and has been digging in an ancient site in Crimea since 1999. Ukrainian authorities claim that he is criminally damaging and looting the site, making the most of Russian occupation, Butyagin himself denies all charges. It is a story that Grigor Atenesian of BBC Russian has been looking into.

The Kalbeliya community is a nomadic tribe from Rajasthan in India, known for its distinctive folk music and the Kalbeliya dance form. Traditionally, Kalbeliya families have led a nomadic life, though some have settled permanently over the years. They follow a type of Hinduism in which burial, rather than cremation, is a religious requirement after death. Community members say that even those who are settled often do not have legal access to land for burial, leaving families struggling to perform last rites. Ashay Yegde, who reports for the BBC in India, recently travelled to meet the Kalbeliya to hear their story.

AI-generated caricatures of middle-aged men decked out in street wear, clutching an iPhone have gone viral on social media in South Korea. They are being called 'Young 40s' by younger generations. Teasing of an older person is very unusual in South Korea, where age difference, even by a year, forms the basis of social hierarchy. But the Young 40 memes also represent Korean youth's growing scepticism of this reverence for elders. Hyojung Kim of BBC Korean has been looking into the internet phenomenon, and shares what it tells us about South Korean society today.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi

Produced by Laura Thomas and Caroline Ferguson

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

We meet a woman whose near death experience as a teenager inspired her to study why some people are willing to risk their lives for others. Dr Abigail Marsh was rescued by a stranger after a car accident and wanted to understand what drove him to help her. She says altruists, those who instinctively help without expecting anything in return, are more sensitive to the needs of other people -- but we can all learn to be kinder.

Also: we hear from a man whose willingness to help others led him to donate a kidney. It went to a woman he'd become friends with after he supported her through a personal tragedy.

We find out about an Australian scheme to help dads and their kids be healthier, which also showed the benefits of rough and tumble play. And it's inspired a project at a prison in Scotland that aims to make dads better role models by playing with their kids. It's hoped that helping them become better parents will make them less likely to reoffend.

Plus, why a crying horse soft toy has been a surprise hit with young workers in China, and what its like to be a patient helping to develop new medical treatments by volunteering for a clinical trial.

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

(Presenter: Jannat Jalil. Music composed by Iona Hampson)

(Photo: Dr Abigail Marsh. Credit Georgetown University)