BBC

As government borrowing costs and debts rise around the world, we take a closer look at Japan, the UK and the US, and ask why?

Hannah Mullane speaks to New Zealand's minister of immigration Erica Stanford as the Antipodean country plans to open up their housing market to foreign investors as part of a golden visa programme.

Elsewhere we discuss how TSMC, the biggest semi-conductor producer making chips for electronic products, has become the latest company to face restrictions from the US government as it looks to limit China's access to American technology.

And amid its tariff war with the US, we find out why some grocers in Canada have been ticked off for falsely labelling goods as Canadian.

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

President Xi Jinping welcomed North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and many other leaders at a huge military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Also in the programme: we report on the disappearance of opposition activists in Tanzania; and after a series of legal setbacks for the Trump Administration, could the coming term be crunch time for both the president and the Supreme Court?

(IMAGE: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and heads of foreign delegations arrive to attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, 03 September 2025. / CREDIT: Alexander Kazakov/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Xi Jinping says China will 'never be intimidated' at a display of military might in Beijing where he was joined by the leaders of Russia and North Korea. The parade was held to mark the anniversary of the victory over Japan in the Second World War. President Trump accused the three leaders of conspiring against the US. Also, the number of people killed in Sunday's earthquake in Afghanistan rises to 1,400, and the wreck of Captain Scott's polar ship, Terra Nova, has been filmed in detail on the sea floor for the first time.

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]

If you 'play it by ear', you don't make a plan. Learn this phrase and more in this podcast.

TRANSCRIPT

Find a free transcript for this episode and more programmes to help you with your English at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/s5english_in_a_minute

FIND BBC LEARNING ENGLISH HERE:

Visit our website

✔️https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish

Follow us

✔️https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followus

LIKE PODCASTS?

Try some of our other popular podcasts including:

✔️ 6 Minute English

✔️ Learning English Grammar

✔️ Learning Easy English

They're all available by searching in your podcast app.

Professor Mark Taylor on efforts to tackle "ridiculous" waiting lists in Northern Ireland.

Aftershocks have struck eastern Afghanistan - two days after a powerful quake in the same region killed more than a thousand people and injured thousands of others, according to the Taliban government. Rescue efforts following Sunday's quake have been complicated by landslides that have blocked roads, making land travel difficult. Helicopters have been deployed to search for survivors. The Taliban government has appealed for international help. The UN has released emergency funds. Also: Trial of Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro enters final phase, and Trump orders US Space Command to move from Colorado to Alabama.

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]

BBC Trending: Why are some Americans yelling at clouds?

On 4 July, just hours after flash floods hit the US state of Texas, killing more than 130 people, social media was inundated with unfounded theories about the causes of this tragedy.

The main allegation was that the extreme rainfall was somehow man-made, with many users blaming Rainmaker, a weather modification company based in California.

These baseless claims were quickly debunked by scientists.

And yet, online, calls for the company’s CEO, Augustus Doricko, to be arrested, punished - or, more sinisterly, executed - continued to multiply.

Suggestions that sinister forces may be controlling the weather by spraying chemicals in the atmosphere may have once been the preserve of niche websites and forums. Not anymore.

As several US states consider banning weather modification and geoengineering, BBC Trending investigates how fringe conspiracy theories have gone mainstream.

Reporter: Marco Silva

Editor: Flora Carmichael

China is preparing to host a massive military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of WWII. World leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un will be looking on, but most Western leaders will not be there. We explore what the display of military might means for the world and speak to the man dubbed the "architect" of Trump's China policy in his first term.

Comedy writer and co-creator of Father Ted, Graham Linehan, has been arrested in London over social media posts concerning trans issues. Tomorrow Nigel Farage will speak to the US Congress about the issue about free speech in the UK and promised to raise the issue. We speak to one of the Congressman Farage will be addressing.

And as a review finds Scotland's police need better uniforms, we ask a fashion designer to lend his expertise.

US President Donald Trump says Washington DC is a 'safe space' after announcing he will send National Guard troops into Chicago . Do businesses agree?

Elsewhere in the US, Google won a court case meaning it doesn’t have to sell its popular Chrome web browser.

Russia and China are working together on a major new gas pipeline deal.

North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un has made a very rare trip to Beijing.

And could you go a month without spending? We hear about 'No Spend September', the social media trend about saving money.

He is accused of masterminding an attempt to stay in power after losing his bid for re-election in 2022, which culminated in his supporters breaking into and vandalising government buildings in the capital, Brasília. Bolsonaro has always denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated. His cause has been adopted by US President Donald Trump, who has called the trial a "witch-hunt" using it as justification for imposing 50% tariffs on some Brazilian goods and sanctioning the Supreme Court judge leading the proceedings.

Also on the programme: will a new boss at one of fashion's biggest magazines bring the glory days back? And we hear about the mysterious disappearance of the Lebanese cleric, Musa al-Sadr in Libya, back in 1978.

(Picture: An inflatable figure depicting Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stands near protesters outside party headquarters.Credit:REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli)