Global News Podcast

Preschool teacher Carissa got tested as soon as she heard her former pupil, 5 year old Ezra, needed a liver transplant. She tells us she didn't think twice about donating and wants him to be able to do 'five year old things'. Ezra's mum Karen says she's overwhelmed that someone would be willing to do something so selfless and giving for her son. Also: A new drug that could protect women from getting HIV with just two injections a year. The extraordinary Euro 2024 football victory that's helped a country believe in itself. How volunteers managed to save priceless works of art at the start of the war in Ukraine. We're back in Finland for an equestrian competition with no animals - where people jump and ride wooden stick toys called hobby horses. And we hear from Debbie Wileman - whose lockdown social videos have led to a new career as a Judy Garland impersonator. Our weekly collection of happy news and positive stories from around the world.

US President Joe Biden has spoken at a rally in North Carolina - his first public event since he struggled in the first televised debate of the 2024 presidential campaign. He directly addressed concerns about his age, admitting he doesn't debate like he used to, but "when you get knocked down, you get back up". His Republican opponent, Donald Trump, also held a rally. He boasted to voters in Virginia about his past presidential record and claimed victory in Thursday's debate. Also: The roof of the main airport terminal in the Indian city of Delhi collapses in heavy rain, and the Colombian schoolchildren being lured by rebels on TikTok.

After president Joe Biden's faltering performance in the TV debate with Donald Trump there are calls to replace him. Also, Iranians are voting to elect a new president to replace Ebrahim Raisi who was killed last month in a helicopter crash, and why radioactive rhino horns help conservation efforts.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be using the stage at the CNN debate in Atlanta to try and convince voters to back them in November. Also: Palestinians flee Gaza City's Shejaiya area amid heavy bombardment, and Elon Musk's SpaceX hired to destroy International Space Station.

He is thought to organise illegal boat crossings between France and the UK, including a trip in April which resulted in the death of a seven-year-old girl. Also in this podcast: Joe Biden and Donald Trump prepare to go head-to-head in their first election debate, Bolivia's opposition says the attempted military coup on Wednesday was staged by the president, and Denmark introduces the world's first tax on cows.

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, seems to have defeated a military coup attempt in the city. He later made a social media address from inside the presidential palace, a short time after a tank knocked down a main gate, allowing troops to enter the complex. Also: Sunak and Starmer clash in final UK election debate, and music festival blamed for gazelle deaths in Spain.

Julian Assange returns to Australia a free man after a court appearance on a remote Pacific island. Also: American journalist Evan Gershkovich has gone on trial in Russia on spying charges, an Islamist rebel is found guilty of war crimes in Mali and who is filling the Legend slot in this year's Glastonbury festival?

The court on the island of Saipan is expected to allow the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, to walk free and return to his native Australia. Also: the Kenyan president, William Ruto, has described violence during huge protests against tax rises as an unprecedented attack on the country's democracy, and scientists in Japan are working on creating human-like skin for robots.

Julian Assange has for years fought extradition to the United States, accused of leaking a huge quantity of classified defence documents. He will now return to Australia, where his wife Stella Assange is waiting for him. But first, he has to appear in court in a United States territory in the pacific. Also on this podcast, protests erupt in Kenya over new tax proposals, Israel's supreme court orders ultra-orthodox religious students can no longer avoid being drafted into the military, and why a sample of dirt and rocks from the far side of the moon has scientists excited.

The head of the UN children's agency says Sudan is one of the worst places in the world for children. Also: France's Macron warns of civil war if extremists win snap polls, and Spanish nuns are excommunicated for rebelling against Vatican over property deal.

Footage posted on social media show people shooting at police cars. Among the dead are 15 police officers. The attacks targeted churches and synagogues in Derbent and Makhachkala. Investigators say five gunmen were killed. Most of the attackers, they said, came from one small area of Dagestan. In its first comments, the Kremlin dismissed the possibility of another wave of Islamist violence in the Northern Caucasus. Also: a huge fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea kills 22 people including 18 Chinese workers, and Princess Anne - the sister of King Charles - has been admitted to hospital in England after an incident involving a horse.

Gunmen in the southern Russian republic have killed police officers and a priest in what officials are calling acts of terror. Also: the US prepares to receive two new pandas from China, and the man whose home was turned into a cannabis farm.

The Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for Toomaj Salehi who was sentenced to death after speaking out in support of protests that had exploded across Iran. Also: the new documentary about the designer of the wrap dress, Diane von Furstenberg, and the world's ugliest dog.

When Celia's daughter asked about regrets, she posted a message about a puffin sweater she wished she'd bought. Just days later, a man she'd never met sent her the exact same one for free - saying it felt so good to be kind. Also: The earthquakes being caused by enthusiastic fans during Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. A BBC radio programme reaches 46 people celebrating mid winter in Antarctica. How artificial intelligence could help us understand what dogs are trying to say. Why a sculptor decided to create dozens of art galleries and museums around the world - underwater. And the festival celebrating the enduring traditions of Flamenco dancing - and bringing it into the twenty first century.Our weekly collection of happy news and positive stories from around the world.

Court in Switzerland sentences four members of the billionaire family to jail for exploiting domestic staff. Also: the fierce battle for a small Ukrainian town, and John F. Kennedy's watch will go under the hammer.

Lobby groups say at least 200 people were injured and more than 100 arrested across Kenya. Protesters say the controversial finance bill that includes additional taxes would choke the economy and raise the cost of living. Also: parts of southern China have once in a century flooding, while the north is hit by extreme temperatures and drought, how wild chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants, and Stonehenge marks the summer solstice - the longest period of daylight in the northern hemisphere.

The US ambassador to China tells the BBC that despite a competitive relationship, the two countries are now talking more regularly to prevent escalation in the disputed South China Sea. Also on the podcast: India's government is accused of failing the education system after cancelling an exam taken by nearly a million people, a look back on the life of Canadian film star, Donald Sutherland, and the Spanish feline that looks to be saved from extinction.

Demonstrators, many of them young, were armed only with their smart phones. Police in Nairobi came on horseback and used water cannon. The Kenyan government plans to raise more than two-and-a-half billion dollars in new taxes. Also: a day after signing a defence agreement with North Korea, Russia's President Putin visits Vietnam, the new treatment that leaves heart attack victims more active than they were, and the British musician Rapman on his Netflix show about superheroes in London.

Many of the most brutal cases took place in Aleppo between 2011 and 2013. Also: hundreds of people are reported to have died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as temperatures in Mecca exceeded fifty degrees, and scientists shed light on why some people do not get Covid-19.

Accord signed on Vladimir Putin's first visit to Pyongyang in more than twenty years. Kim Jong-un said he unconditionally supported Russia's military action in Ukraine. Mr Putin said he appreciated North Korea's unwavering support. Also: Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in for a second term as President of South Africa, Nvidia becomes the world's most valuable company, and the flower that stinks of rotting meat.