The Global Story

It has been a week since President Trump announced that the Board of Peace had reached an, "historic agreement” in Gaza for the, “complete disarmament” of Hamas.

But in the days since, the situation has become more uncertain. Hamas has said that it will only disarm when Israel withdraws its forces from Gaza, but Israeli officials insist they will not withdraw until the weapons are handed over. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had not agreed to the plan.

To explain what comes next, we turn to the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen, and the BBC's Gaza correspondent, Rushdi Abualouf.

Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Digital producer: Matt Pintus

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza. Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Salem/File Photo

A group of prominent, controversial influencers made a visit to Russia this summer. They included Andrew Tate, Candace Owens and British far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson. They argue that Russia is upholding the traditional conservative values they fear are in decline at home.

It is certainly an image Vladimir Putin is keen to project. Two years ago Russia set up a special “shared values” visa, which makes it easier for Westerners to move to the country if they align with its supposed ‘traditional spiritual and moral beliefs’. Russia claims thousands of Westerners have applied.

We speak to the BBC’s Dan Hardoon, whose documentary ‘The Russian Dream’ follows Westerners who have moved to Russia, and to Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of the podcast In Moscow's Shadows.

Listen to Dan Hardoon’s BBC documentary, The Russian Dream:

Producer: Lucy Pawle

Executive producer: Bridget Harney and James Shield

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin winks during his annual televised year-end press conference. Credit: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

Why did tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco suddenly attempt to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta by sea last week? In the days since the sudden border crisis left at least 72 people dead, a variety of theories have circulated.

The Trump administration blamed the incident on “radical left-wing globalist policies”, and many European leaders condemned what they say is Spain’s lax immigration policy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez denied those claims and blamed trafficking gangs. Others have blamed Morocco, and accused it of ‘weaponising’ migrants for political purposes.

We speak to the BBC’s Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, to find out how and why the Ceuta crisis happened.

(Photo: Hundreds of migrants swim across to Ceuta, Spain from Morocco. Credit: Reduan Dris/EPA/Shutterstock)

Producer: Aron Keller and Cat Farnsworth

Executive producer: James Shield

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

On February 28th, in the opening hours of the first day of the US-Israel war against Iran, an attack on a school in the southern city of Minab killed 156 people, including 120 children. To date, it is the deadliest single incident for civilians during the Iran war.

Experts say the school was hit by a precision guided Tomahawk missile - a weapon that neither Israel nor Iran are known to possess. Yet five months on, the US government has not formally accepted responsibility.

We speak to the BBC’s senior international investigations correspondent, Nawal Al-Maghafi, who recently returned from Iran where she visited Minab and met with survivors of the strike and the families of those who were killed. We also hear from the BBC’s State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, about his attempts to get answers from US officials.

Producers: Xandra Ellin, Cat Farnsworth, Lucy Pawle and Aron Keller.

Photo: The Minab school damaged by a strike on February 28, 2026. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters.

IVF is responsible for about 2% of all births in the United States each year. The revolutionary technology has not only reshaped society's beliefs about fertility, but enabled geneticists and expectant parents to screen for certain genetic conditions and to select and implant the healthiest possible embryos.

Producer: Xandra Ellin

Photo: File photo dated 19/05/08 of a woman looking through a microscope. Credit: David Davies/PA Wire

Senator Lindsey Graham spent decades as one of Washington’s most prominent foreign policy hawks - a fierce opponent of Russia, relentless advocate for Israel and supporter of Iranian regime change.

Graham’s funeral this week drew the likes of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and both men took the opportunity to meet with Donald Trump in an effort to keep the president invested in the wars that both their countries are fighting.

On today's episode, we speak to the BBC’s Washington Correspondent Daniel Bush and documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, who has rare access to Lindsey Graham to unpack how the late senator helped shape Trump’s foreign policy approach.

Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: Sam Bonham

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Guests stand for during the funeral for US Senator Lindsey Graham at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC USA, 28 July 2026. Credit: Will Oliver / EPA/Shutterstock

This episode contains details of alleged sexual offences and misconduct.

In an exclusive BBC investigation, four women have accused Oscar-winning actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto of criminal sexual conduct. The woman say the alleged offences took place when they were teenagers.

Despite repeated attempts to contact Jared Leto before publication, he did not respond to the allegations put to him by the BBC. After this episode was published, Leto said in a statement released by his representatives to the BBC: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false”.

Alice McShane, the director of the BBC documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, tells us the stories of three of the women.

Read the full investigation: bbc.com/news/articles/cd7lg2nz2x2o

Producer: Sam Chantarasak

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Clip: Requiem For A Dream/Artisan Entertainment/Thousand Words/Protozoa Pictures/Darren Aronofsky

Photo: Jared Leto attends the “Tron: Ares” premiere on September 30, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Credit: Gerald Matzka/Getty Images.

When the Trump administration announced last week that it had signed a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, the agreement was held up by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright as evidence that ”the American nuclear renaissance is underway”. Although the text of the deal has not yet been made public, US media report that it could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in the future.

But shortly after the announcement, President Trump took to Truth Social to qualify the news – saying that the deal hinges on Saudi Arabia’s willingness to recognise the state of Israel.

Is that likely? And could the deal derail ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran? We speak to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.

Producers: Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Studio manager: Mike Regaard

Digital producer: Matt Pintus

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in Washington. Credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

“Cuba’s assault on the United States was never, at root, a quarrel over economic policy or sovereignty or even ownership of a particular territory,” reads the US Department of State’s new report on the communist state 90 miles from the Florida coast. “It was a revolution against Western civilization itself”.

Over the course of 100 pages, Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism draws lines between Cuba and the Black Panthers, the Pan-African movement, radical feminism, Antifa and more, concluding that international sympathy for the island’s dire humanitarian crisis overlooks a sinister reality; that, “its power was always ideological, subversive, and parasitic.” The Cuban government has dismissed the report as, “a mediocre propaganda pamphlet.”

How much validity is there to its arguments, and why release it now? Michael Bustamante, a professor of history at the University of Miami, joins Asma to discuss.

Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, July 23, 2026. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/ Pool via Reuters.

Venezuelans are still searching through the rubble a month after two devastating earthquakes, which left thousands dead and tens of thousands more still missing.

The disaster came at a moment of acute political and economic uncertainty, following the toppling of president Nicolas Maduro. The new government is led by Delcy Rodriguez, with US oversight, and the Trump administration has taken control of Venezuela’s lucrative oil industry – to the tune of billions of dollars. But where is that money now?

The BBC’s Will Grant reports from Venezuela, and has spoken to survivors, grieving families, and government officials leading the response.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Workers use a jackhammer on debris from a collapsed building, in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria.