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In Indonesia, 19 people are convicted of trafficking at least 34 babies. The leader of the group, a 70 year-old woman, was sentenced to seven years in prison. The trafficking ring illegally bought babies in West Java and sold them for adoption in Indonesia and Singapore. Also: a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah faces its first test on the ground. US military says it struck at Iran's ability to launch attacks into the Strait of Hormuz, on the tenth night in a row of US strikes. A mansion in north London, which provided vital intelligence during the Second World War, opens to the public for the first time. The deadly Ebola outbreak continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo, affecting several provinces across the country. Why no Italian tour guides will be taking visitors up Mont Blanc this week. And we look at the rise of live shopping on TikTok.

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.

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Photo: Indonesia sentences members of a baby trafficking syndicate up to 7 years in prison, Bandung - 21 Jul 2026

Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

US President Donald Trump has announced a new 50% tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada. We hear from a group representing auto manufacturers.

Plus, another blow for Paramount in its bid to take over Warner Brothers

And we look at the challenges facing clothes-makers in Bangladesh

Presenter: Gideon Long

Producer: Victoriya Holland

Editor: Naomi Rainey

Kenyan authorities have denied reports that seven aid workers are quarantined in an Ebola facility in Central Kenya. Members of the public and civil society groups have raised concerns following reports that the aid workers who worked at Ebola health facilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are quarantined at a US military base in the country.

And, we shed the spotlight on foundational learning in Africa. According to UNICEF, four out of five children across Africa are unable to read or understand a simple sentence by the age of 10.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, and Blessing Aderogba

Senior Producers: Caroline Mwangi and Charles Gitonga

Technical Producer: Maxwell Onyango

Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Nineteen people in Indonesia have been convicted and jailed for trafficking dozens of babies, selling some of them for adoption in Singapore.

Also in the programme: Kuwait says several desalination and power plants were damaged in Iranian attacks as Tehran continues to strike its neighbours as part of its war with the US; the sixteen year-old Indian who's proud to call herself one of the cockroaches; and the spread of childhood obesity in Italy, the home of the Mediterranean diet.

(Photo: Indonesia sentences members of a baby trafficking syndicate up to 7 years in prison, Bandung - 21 Jul 2026. Credit: EPA)

Do you ever get distracted by something fun? A side quest is where you do something that's different to your main task. Learn how to use this expression with Feifei and Phil.

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& Sir Chris Bryant appointed as new NI Secretary of State. What should he prioritize?

Children who are so obese they’re banned from their local gyms. Two and three year olds who are so used to juice and fizzy drinks they find it difficult to drink water. This is the child obesity epidemic hitting Italy. The country is often considered the spiritual home of the fabled mediterranean diet, celebrated as the secret to a long, healthy life. But Italy’s children are now the second most overweight in the EU. The reasons for this change in a generation are complex and hotly disputed. Experts are putting it down to a daily diet heavy in pasta, pizza, potatoes, bread and meat proteins. Parents say their teenage children are eating a family dinner then going out to binge on fast food. Others accuse the parents themselves of overindulging their children from an early age. Italy is acting. It recently became one of the first countries in the world to formally recognise obesity as a chronic disease. Twenty five secondary schools in the Campania region of Southern Italy, including Naples, will take part in an ambitious clinical trial to try and get their pupils to eat more healthily in a bid to prevent a looming health crisis. Can Italy turn its child obesity crisis around? And what lessons does its experiment hold for other countries struggling with the same problem? Sofia Bettiza reports from Naples.

Producer: Bob Howard

Sound engineer: James Beard

Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman

Editor: Penny Murphy

(Image: Medical assistant weighing young girl at the university hospital in Naples, Italy. Credit: Sofia Bettiza/BBC).

Houthis in Yemen are seeking to broaden the impact of the US-Iran war with a blockade of Red Sea ports. The Tehran-backed group warned it would impose an "embargo" on the top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, after the two sides traded fire for the first time in years. Disruption to maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb could further compound the turmoil caused by the confrontation between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

Also: Donald Trump announces 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. Italy's struggle with childhood obesity. How 3D-printed batteries could change the ability to store renewable energy from solar and wind. What will the UK's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's foreign policy look like? The social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate appear in court in the US in connection with new British rape and sex-trafficking-related charges. And how fitness trackers can alert women that they are pregnant before they know it themselves.

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: Aramco tanks and oil pipe at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia

Credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo

Ed Miliband becomes foreign secretary, Shabana Mahmood stays at the Home Office, and Angela Rayner returns to the cabinet in her former role of housing secretary. We'll report live from Downing Street, assess the economic challenges facing the UK's new prime minister, and explore whether 'empathy' can be at the core of a governing philosophy.

Also in the programme: influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have appeared in court in Miami as they fight extradition to the UK over an investigation into alleged sexual offences. And former Liverpool striker David Fairclough shares his memories of ex-England captain and manager Kevin Keegan, who's died at the age of 75.

The United Kingdom has its seventh prime minister in just over a decade. Like many leaders the world over, Andy Burnham has vowed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and revive economic growth. But is it within his gift?

And we find out why millions of passengers from outside Europe are finding long queues waiting for them when they land at airports across the continent.

Also, as Spain celebrates its historic World Cup victory over Argentina, we drop in on the party in Madrid.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Overs/BBC