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Political commentator Alex Kane reacts to interview.

Anticipation is growing in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv where families and friends of the remaining Israeli hostages have gathered ahead of their expected release by Hamas after two years of captivity in Gaza. Around twenty of them are thought to still be alive. As part of an exchange Israel will free nearly two-thousand Palestinian prisoners under the terms of the ceasefire deal brokered by the Trump administration. The US president, who is travelling to Israel, has said that he believes the ceasefire in Gaza will hold and that the war is over. Also: the leader of an elite army unit in Madagascar that sided with demonstrators against the president has been sworn in as the chief of the country's armed forces, leading to talk of a possible coup; how the temperature of your nose can determine your stress levels; and the actor, Tom Hollander, tells the BBC that live performance is crucial in fighting the growing use of AI on screen.

How fixed is the borderline between human music and the sounds of nature? That is a question that guides the work of Los Angeles-based composer Alexey Seliverstov. In this programme, Regan Morris follows Alexey’s creative process from recording the dawn chorus in the Santa Monica mountains, through the ingenious transformations of the field recordings to the finished multi-channel and multi-sensory installation for the Shelemay Sound Lab at Harvard University.

There is more to Alexey’s music than first meets the ear: some of the ‘birds’ are actually the sounds of his own and his brother’s voices recorded when they were children and altered beyond recognition by Alexey’s sophisticated processing. Adding ear-prints of empty spaces to the sounds of chirping synthesisers, similar to the effect of repeated exposures on an old-fashioned camera film, draw us further into Alexey’s imaginary landscapes. Are these soundscapes artificial or still mostly natural? How does mixing the sounds of nature and sounds that we associate with humans, such as pianos, alter our idea of what music can be?

Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence agency says it has finished counting the living Israeli hostages and has transferred them to different locations ahead of their release which is due to take place on Monday. We also get the latest from Gaza.

Also in the programme: Has there been a coup in Madagascar? And does classical music help you study?

(Photo: People look at pictures and messages displayed at "Hostages Square" amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 12, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Hannah McKay)

The Grundys make plans, and there's tension at the Bull.

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

The billionaire Larry Ellison could soon control huge portions of America’s AI, attention economy and legacy media. He already owns swathes of AI infrastructure and is preparing to takeover TikTok, whilst his son, whose company already owns Paramount, is preparing a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. So who is this ‘CEO of everything’, and how is his family dynasty becoming the 21st Century’s Rockerfellers?

With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, 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.

Fierce fighting is taking place between the Pakistani army and Afghan Taliban forces at multiple points along the Durand Line. It's the latest flare-up between the neighbours as insecurity rises in the border region. Also: Hamas says it will start releasing Israeli hostages on Monday as part of the Gaza peace process, the EU introduces new travel regulations for the Schengen area, we look back at the life and career of Diane Keaton who's died, Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado speaks to the BBC after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, a doctor's view on young people's relationship with plastic surgery, and the Cape Verde men's football team prepare for a match that could earn the island nation a spot in the World Cup.

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]

During the Brazilian military dictatorship, the Krenak indigenous people were banned from speaking their language, imprisoned in reformatories and forcibly displaced from their land. In 2024, the State asked them for forgiveness. Can it be granted?

Journalist Pūlama Kaufman travels to the remote city of Resplendor in the south-east of Brazil to meet up with Brazilian environmental journalist, Cristina Serra. Together, they are welcomed into the Krenak Indigenous territory where they speak with Karnak elders, philosophers and community leaders.

The Documentary uncovers the many layers to what Brazilian Civil Prosecutor Edmundo Dias calls an intentional, “genocide” of the Krenak, lead by Brazilian federal agencies. For decades, very little was known about what the Krenak suffered during the dictatorship, but now they are speaking out. And in 2024, the Amnesty Commission made its first ever apology to an Indigenous group when the president of the Commission got down on her knees in front of the Krenak.

President Trump's Middle East envoy has told a packed rally of relatives of Israeli hostages and their supporters in Tel Aviv that they were coming home. Steve Witkoff's remarks come ahead of Monday's expected release of 48 living and dead hostages by Hamas, as part of the Gaza peace deal. Mr Witkoff praised President Trump -- to cheers -- as well as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu -- whose name was booed. We speak to a doctor at one of the Israeli hospitals where they're expected to arrive.

Also, protests in Madagascar, where at least twenty two people have been killed in recent weeks.

And the Hollywood actress Diane Keaton has died. She was 97. Known for her versatility, Diane Keaton first became famous in the early 1970s when she appeared in the Godfather films. She later won an Oscar for her role as Woody Allen's love interest in the 1977 romantic comedy, Annie Hall.

(Photo: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks at "Hostages square", flanked by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 11, 2025. Credit: Reuters)