BBC

Keir Starmer has hit back at Donald Trump’s claim that NATO forces stayed away from the front line in Afghanistan, calling it “insulting and frankly appalling”. We hear from an American who served alongside British troops and later became a senior Pentagon official under Trump.

Also on the programme: decision time for Andy Burnham, who has less than 24 hours to decide whether to plot a return to Parliament.

And Minneapolis grinds to a halt as opponents of immigration enforcement raids hold a general strike in the city.

World leaders and army veterans have rejected President Trump's claim that Nato service personnel did not fight on the front lines or play a key part during the US-led war in Afghanistan. We speak to a former secretary general of Nato, whose alliance sent thousands of international troops to fight during the invasion.

Also in the programme: grim reports continue to emerge from Iran; why Nelson Mandela's family is fighting to keep his belongings from an auction; and does celebrated political scientist Francis Fukuyama believe this is the end of the "rules-based" international order?

(Photo: US President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, US, October 22, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Writer: Katie Hims

Director: Kim Greengrass

Editor: Jeremy Howe

David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck

Kenton Archer.... Richard Attlee

Lilian Bellamy.... Sunny Ormonde

Harrison Burns.... James Cartwright

Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin

Ruairi Donovan.... Arthur Hughes

Amber Gordon.... Olivia Bernstone

Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison

Emma Grundy.... Emerald O'Hanrahan

George Grundy ... Angus Stobie

Will Grundy.... Philip Molloy

Brad Horrobin.... Taylor Uttley

Chelsea Horrobin.... Madeleine Leslay

Paul Mack.... Joshua Riley

Jazzer McCreary.... Ryan Kelly 

Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey

Fallon Rogers.... Joanna Van Kampen

Andy’s returned from The Ashes and is back in the News Quiz chair. He’s come home to a selection of defections, some serious U-turning and 30,000 properties without water in his hometown of Tunbridge Wells. He was only away for one week! Helping Andy make sense of it all is Susie McCabe, Paul Sinha, Cindy Yu and Scott Bennett.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Eleanor Morton and Dee Allum

Producer: Georgia Keating

Executive Producer: Richard Morris

Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu

Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

A spokesman for Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said President Trump was wrong to diminish the role of NATO troops during the war in Afghanistan. There's been an angry backlash to the US president's claims that NATO allies avoided the frontline during the conflict. The Polish defence minister said the sacrifice of their troops should not be forgotten. The Dutch foreign minister described Mr Trump's comments as false. Roughly a third of coalition soldiers killed in Afghanistan were non- American. Also: the BBC is granted rare access to one of Ukraine's few operating nuclear power plants; South Africa says Nelson Mandela memorabilia can be auctioned; women's health is on the agenda at the World Economic Forum; limit on liquids is scrapped at London's Heathrow airport; and can ageing novelists retire?

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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The social media giant has finalised a deal to allow it to continue to operate in the United States where its famous algorithm will be retrained exclusively on American user-data.

For the past year TikTok's been at the heart of a dispute between its Chinese owner Bytedance and the US government over data privacy.

Plus we'll give you a rare glimpse into life on board one of the ships in Russia's shadow fleet.

The first three-way talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine are due to be held later today. It's a new development - but will it bring peace closer?

Senior officials from all three nations are involved, but it is unclear whether they will be in the same room together at any point.

Also in the programme: A deal has been done to keep Tiktok in the US; we go inside the secret prisons of southern Yemen; and we find out how to eavesdrop on villains in 17th century London.

(Photo shows Russia's top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev and US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on 22 January 2026. Alexander Kazakov/Sputnikl/EPA)

Around the world, more women are choosing to delay motherhood. In countries like Italy, Spain and South Korea, the average age of first-time mothers has risen to around 32. While many African countries still have some of the youngest ages of first-time mothers - a shift is also happening in parts of continent. So, what’s behind this change?

Focus on Africa: The Conversation host, Nkechi Ogbonna spoke with Vanessa Tloubatla, from South Africa, who became a mother at the age of 46; and Barbara Mugeni from Uganda who had her third child at the age of 45.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Carolyne Kiambo and Fana Negash

Technical Producer: Maxwell Onyango

Senior Producer: Priya Sippy

Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

And-ahead of the BBC final of the Traitors contestant Matthew talks about his experience

Long-running negotiations to secure TikTok’s future in the US have ended. The Chinese social media app will split its American operations from the rest of its global business. Also: Ukraine's President Zelensky says Kyiv and the US have reached a deal on post-war security guarantees, ahead of the first set of trilateral peace negotiations; the BBC is given rare access to facilities in Yemen where former detainees report being blindfolded, beaten and sexually abused; the US concludes the complicated process of withdrawing from the World Health Organisation; and a 410-million-year-old fossil may have been an entirely different form of life no longer found on Earth.

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: