BBC

Spain's interior ministry says more than half of the migrants who arrived in the Spanish North African territory of Ceuta since Thursday morning have now returned to Morocco. Visiting Ceuta, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the influx as an attack, and violation of Spanish sovereignty. He blamed smuggling gangs and promised the state would use all means to protect Ceuta's security. Also: a top advisor to the head of FIFA has resigned over plans to sell private stakes in the World Cup, hours after Asia's Football Confederation added its voice to the growing condemnation. Hamas says it's accepted a peace deal for Gaza which would see it lay down its arms, on condition that Israel withdraws from the territory and ends its attacks. Rescuers in Pakistan have recovered the bodies of several climbers near the site of an avalanche on the world's 12th highest summit, Broad Peak. We meet the man who filmed what is believed to be the first ever drone footage of a humpback whale giving birth. And the history of kissing.

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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Photo: Migrants swim across to Ceuta from Morocco, Spain

Credit: Reduan Dris - EPA/Shutterstock

Asian markets rebound strongly after a turbulent week for some of the world's biggest chipmakers. We look at what's behind the turnaround and whether investors are still worried about AI spending.

Also, opposition grows to FIFA's plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

And another Ukrainian drone attack targets Russia, while China's factory activity unexpectedly contracts.

Africa's video gaming industry is booming. The sector generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024, with mobile gaming making up around 90% of the market, according to KPMG. Although the industry has long been dominated by men, more women are entering the space, building careers as content creators, professional gamers and esports competitors. But breaking into the industry isn't always easy. Many female gamers continue to face abuse and harassment online. So what is it like to be a woman in Africa's gaming community? And why are more young Africans choosing gaming as a full-time career?

Focus on Africa's Nkechi Ogbonna speaks to 30-year-old Techna from South Africa, who left her job to become a full-time gamer, and 25-year-old Saphra from Kenya about the opportunities, challenges and future of gaming on the continent.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Fana Negash, Carolyne Jotham, Bella Twine and Brian Khisa

Senior Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Priya Sippy

Technical Producer: Davis Mwasaru

Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Hamas says it's agreed to completely disarm if Israel withdraws forces and ends its attacks. But the Israeli government has yet to confirm whether it will comply.

Also in the programme: Spain's prime minister has condemned the influx of tens of thousands of people from Morocco into Ceuta as an attack on Spain's territorial integrity; a top advisor to the head of FIFA has resigned over plans to sell private stakes in the World Cup, hours after Asia's Football Confederation added its voice to the growing condemnation; and the first drone footage of a hump back whale giving birth -- we will speak to the young man who got the shot!

(Photo credit: EPA)

Nolan talks to Niall McClean, co-chair of the Fleadh

Hamas says it's agreed to a plan put forward by President Trump's Board of Peace to completely disarm in Gaza. The BBC understands that the proposal provides for the inventory and storage of Hamas's remaining heavy weapons under Palestinian oversight. There's been no comment yet from Israel, but Mr Trump said they would eventually withdraw from Gaza. Also, we hear from a settler in the occupied West Bank who says that God chose Jews to live there and not the Palestinians. Uefa votes to boycott the World Cup if Fifa goes ahead with a plan to sell off a stake in the tournament. Thousands of migrants from Morocco overwhelm border controls to get into Spain's African enclave of Ceuta. A team of experienced mountaineers is feared missing on one of the world's highest mountains in Pakistan. And the library book that's returned after being loaned out for 150 years.

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]

Photo:

Armed fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Gaza Strip, February 2025.

Credit: Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

What does it mean to inherit a faith that served as a fortress for your father, but feels like a contradiction to you? Throughout his childhood in Oxford, Silas Gray was surrounded by the sights, sounds, and symbols of his father’s Rastafarian identity. He was even named after the Rastafarian spiritual figurehead, Emperor Haile Selassie I.

But this legacy weighs heavily. It anchors him to a complex world leader he’s not sure he’s aligned with. And he feels like an imposter carrying a name associated with a faith he doesn’t practise.

Desperate to find a version of this legacy he can comfortably own, Silas decides to do what his father spent forty years dreaming of but never actually did: he books a flight to Ethiopia and travels to the Rastafarian spiritual motherland of Shashamane, the land granted to the global black diaspora by the Emperor himself.

Silas encounters a living, breathing community where three generations of Rastafarians exist under one roof.

This is a deeply personal pilgrimage about a son trying to see what his father sees, heal a generational disconnect, and finally make peace with his name.

All 55 European footballing nations have voted to boycott the men's and women's World Cup if Fifa goes ahead with plans to sell stakes in the tournaments to private investors. We speak to the vice president of Uefa, which governs European football.

Also on the programme: a cross-party group of British MPs slams the Ministry of Defence for a data leak which could have imperilled thousands of Afghans; and who should take over as the next boss of the United Nations?

(Photo: Fifa President Gianni Infantino attends a Fifa reception at Trump Tower in New York City on July 17, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

North and Central America football associations join Uefa in rejecting Fifa’s proposal to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors. We explore the finance of football and hear reaction from a former chairman of England’s Football Association, David Bernstein.

Also in the programme: The United Nations begins its search for the organisation’s next secretary-general. And with heat-related deaths on the rise in England, what’s being done to protect homeless people from heatwaves?

We hear why UEFA is threatening to boycott future World Cups in a major showdown with FIFA over plans to create a new commercial entity to run its tournaments. As the row intensifies, we'll ask what it means for the future of football's biggest business with the New York Times' Tariq Panja.

Also, the BBC's Nawal Al-Maghafi reports from Iran after a new wave of US strikes, looking at the impact on a country already facing deep economic and security pressures.

And we look at Washington's move to restrict Chinese-made robots from entering the US market on national security grounds, and what it means for the future of automation and global trade.

Photo Credit: Reuters