The World Tonight

The World Tonight

By BBC Radio 4News
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The World Tonight episodes

  • Pope has surgery for lung cancer

    Doctors took out the tumour during a ninety-minute procedure at the Gemilli Hospital in Rome. Also on the programme: a warning from MI5 on terrorists using AI; the woman who cast RJ Mitte in Breaking Bad remembers a star who broke down barriers for actors with disabilities; and computer-generated birdsong to help endangered species.

    39 min
  • Andy Burnham to push for new post-Brexit deals at EU summit

    The PM says "deeper cooperation" on some key issues - including youth mobility, food and drink, and energy - would help drive economic growth in the UK. But Oliver Lewis, who worked for Boris Johnson as deputy chief negotiator for the UK Government in the UK-EU trade negotiations, tell us the move would be "a real step backwards".

    Also in the programme: We speak to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay. And we hear from a group of 21 shanty singers testing out the acoustics of a soon-to-reopen tin mine in Cornwall.

    38 min
  • Trump - Putin deal: Russia to release diesel into global market

    President Donald Trump says he has reached a deal with Vladimir Putin to "immediately release" Russian diesel into the global market. The agreement is designed to lower fuel prices in the US - Ukraine's President Zelensky described the US actions as a "gift to Putin".

    Also on the programme: New US sanctions could "dismantle" the International Criminal Court (ICC). Former prosecutor Sir Geoffrey Nice discusses what this could mean for the institution. A Russian journalist tells us why he is now viewed as persona non grata in Latvia over his views on the war in Ukraine. And we hear how AI is cloning the voices of actors for use in advertising.

    39 min
  • Polls close in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election

    Polls have closed in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to choose a new MP after former Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he was standing down from Parliament last month. Labour is hoping to fight off a challenge from the Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, who has come under renewed criticism for a policy adopted by Green members declaring Zionism as racist.

    Also on the programme: Thames Valley Police has accepted that warrants obtained to search the homes of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor were unlawful. What does this mean for the ongoing investigation? And the Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

    38 min
  • Conservatives to scrap inheritance tax on family homes

    Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to scrap inheritance tax on family homes. But rival parties have criticised the proposal saying it would prioritise support for the wealthiest people in the country. We speak to a leading economist and a member of the shadow cabinet.

    Also on the programme; we'll hear about the legal arguments over the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. And we speak to Karl Bushby the adventurer who's spent nearly three decades walking across the world and has finally returned to the UK.

    38 min
  • Tear gas fired but most pupil protests peaceful in France

    Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across France, as a wave of protests by high-school pupils spread to their parents, university students and unions. There was less violence than in previous days, though some protesters clashed with police, who responded with tear gas. We hear from Marseille and Paris and look behind the protests to the acute fiscal and political difficulties facing France.

    Also on the programme: is Kemi Badenoch right to say she'll reduce inheritance tax? We debate the morality and efficacy of the tax.

    In India, the youth-led Cockroach Movement is back on the streets protesting against changes to voting lists.

    And, a week after it emerged that the Victorian novel Jane Eyre has been added to school curricula in China, the book has been banned in some schools in Texas. We hear why.

    38 min
  • Author and former politician Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86

    Archer's publisher HarperCollins said the author died "suddenly and peacefully at home" on Monday between writing sessions. His fellow former Conservative MP and friend, Gyles Brandreth tells us he’ll be remembered as “a great storyteller”.

    Also in the programme: As President Trump says the US moved its bombers out of RAF Fairford because of "some threats" to the base, we ask the former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office whether such locations can ever be fully secured. And hear from the three-year-old who may be the youngest person to hike all 214 of the Wainwright fells in the Lake District.

    39 min
  • Widdecombe suspect charged with planning terror act against Farage

    The man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe has also been charged with preparing acts of terror including against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Counter terror police said Joshua Kerry, 28, was charged on Friday with one count of preparation of terrorist acts.

    Also in the programme: An MP from the radical left La France Insoumise party rejects claims they’re responsible for student protests that continue to grip the country. And fans queue to get their hands on new Pokémon cards as the Japanese brand celebrates its 30th anniversary.

    37 min
  • Netanyahu says Flydubai attacker had 'Islamist radical indoctrination'

    The plane plunged more than 17,000ft two hours into its journey on Wednesday, before passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and retook control to land safely. We hear from one of the passengers onboard during the attack and explore how pilots flying into Israeli airspace are vetted.

    Also on the programme: The couple swapping their journalism jobs to become farmers on an island where Manx shearwater birds outnumber humans by about 2,500-to-one. And as one former minister recommends work experience be made mandatory for 14- to 16-year-olds, do such placements really help students decide on a future career path?

    39 min
  • Dame Esther Rantzen dies at 86 after lifetime of campaigning

    Dame Esther Rantzen, who presented BBC show That's Life! for 21 years and launched the charity Childline, has died at the age of 86. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the veteran broadcaster and campaigner had "changed countless lives". We speak to colleagues from her professional career and her career in advocacy, as she campaigned to change the law on assisted dying.

    Also on the programme: we hear the latest on what the Israeli government is calling an attempted hijacking of an airliner; French President Macron's 'welcome back' message to the possibility of the UK re-joining the EU, and cellist Steven Isserlis illustrates why the 300th birthday of his Stradivarius is worth celebrating.

    38 min

About The World Tonight

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In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective

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