Global News Podcast

The Oxford University jab, developed with the drug company AstraZeneca, is cheaper and simpler to store than its rivals. As a result, it should be easier to supply to developing countries. Also: the 23 year-old who’s created a home cancer test kit, the words that have been making headlines this year, and the American kid who survived life in Syria under the Islamic State group.

G20 leaders said they will "spare no effort" to ensure fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Also: Ethiopia PM issues 72-hour ultimatum to Tigray, and the environmental problems caused by disposable synthetic gloves.

Millions face stay-at-home orders as the US faces a surge in coronavirus infections. Also: a virtual G20 summit opens in Saudi Arabia, and Sentinel-6 - a "dog-kennel" shaped satellite blasts off on ocean mission.

The UN secretary general Antonio Guterres blamed the situation on Yemen's continuing war. Also: Georgia officially certifies Joe Biden as winner, and the travel writer Jan Morris dies aged ninety-four.

Outspoken presidential candidate released after being charged with spreading coronavirus. Human rights groups say the virus charge is pretext to suppress opposition ahead of election on Jan 14. Also, Japanese retail store introduces robots to make customers comply with Covid restrictions, and Melania Trump's home town in Slovenia uses pastries to celebrate its links with her.

US health officials say coronavirus infections were spreading rapidly and they were alarmed at the speed at which intensive care beds were filling up. Also, President-elect Joe Biden has warned that the US faces a "dark winter" due to the pandemic, and how a mass extinction millions of years ago is helping to understand our current environmental problems

The Secretary of State is the first top US official to tour a West Bank settlement. Also: Australian troops 'killed Afghan civilians', and turning the weather on Mars into music.

Return to remote learning comes as US approaches 250,000 Covid deaths. Also: vaccines ready for distribution across US within weeks, Boeing's 737 Max cleared to fly and understanding our digital legacy.

Democratic Republic of Congo say it's Ebola-free after more than 40 days without a case. The country has seen 11 outbreaks since virus was discovered there in 1976. Also, Trump fires top election official who contradicted his claims of voter fraud, and how Rocky the disabled dog found a new life in a new country.

Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey have been grilled by US Senators over their platforms' election role. Democrats questioned whether the social media giants had done enough to flag up disputed claims. Also: the Pentagon confirms that Donald Trump will almost halve America's troop presence in Afghanistan before he leaves office, and the human cost of Ethiopia's action in Tigray.

UNHCR fears for civilians fleeing fighting in Tigray. Also: A BBC investigation on the treatment of women working in India's garment industry, the European scientists creating an archive of historic smells and the business of royal fashion.

Experts say poorer countries could struggle to access new vaccinations, once they are approved. Also, Greek police have charged an Afghan asylum seeker whose son died at sea. And Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are set to buy a little Welsh football club.

US firm, Moderna, claims clinical trials show its jab is nearly 95% effective. Also: BBC investigation uncovers evidence of illegal child theft and trafficking in Kenya, IOC says Tokyo 2020 Games likely to go ahead with spectators and a new device which helps drinkers sober up.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The pact is seen as an extension of China's influence in the region. Also: the founder of the German firm behind the first successful coronavirus vaccine says he is confident that life can return to normal by next winter, and the British racing driver Lewis Hamilton becomes the most successful driver in the history of Formula One motor racing.

An internal conflict over Ethiopia's Tigray region is spreading, with thousands of civilians fleeing. Also, pro-Trump protestors hold rallies as tensions grow, and Egypt unveils ancient coffins and mummies found in huge necropolis.

The US president, who has yet to concede, focused on the US response to Covid-19.  Also: Biden takes Georgia to solidify victory, and Australia showcases its diverse indigenous languages.

Officials say 2020 presidential election was the 'most secure in American history'. They spoke after Mr. Trump alleged that 2.7 million votes for him had been 'deleted.' Also, France remembers victims of deadly attacks in Paris in 2015 by Islamist militants, and how one young man in Siberia went to great lengths - and heights - to access the internet.

Fighting between the federal army and Tigrayan forces broke out last week. Also: scores die in migrant shipwreck off Libya, and the popularity of playing music during Covid-19 lockdown.

Beijing says the move is a blatant challenge to its authority. Also, the Armenian prime minister defends his peace deal with Azerbaijan and how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting some provinces in Russia.

Ethiopia's northern region orders the total mobilisation of its population as a crisis escalates. Also: UK coronavirus death toll passes 50,000 and why did the cuddle of a panda by a K-pop band raise hackles in China?

Opposition legislators quit after Beijing forced removal of four of their colleagues. The dismissal of the four is seen as China's latest attempt to restrict Hong Kong's freedoms - something Beijing denies. Also, several wounded in bomb-attack on Remembrance Day ceremony in Saudi city of Jeddah, and Britney Spears loses court bid to end her father's control over her estate.

The 450-page report includes testimonies and dozens of letters and transcripts from Vatican and US Church archives. Mr McCarrick is alleged to have assaulted a teenager in the early 1970s, while working as a priest in New York. Also: a new species of monkey is found in the remote jungles of Myanmar, and the co-creator of the TV cartoon character Scooby-Doo Ken Spears has died at the age of 82.

Celebrations and protests greet the deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia is deploying hundreds of peacekeeping troops. Also: the BBC is to investigate how a reporter gained an interview with Princess Diana 25 years ago, and the veteran Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat has died at the age of sixty-five, after contracting coronavirus.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it is still early days and the US President-elect Joe Biden said the virus was far from over, while the World Health Organisation also remained cautious. Also: the former Bolivian leader Evo Morales returns home from exile in Argentina, and a look at the future of transportation.

The developers - Pfizer and BioNTech - described it as a "great day for science and humanity", and say they plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month. There are still huge challenges ahead, but the announcement has been warmly welcomed and the international stock markets have soared. Also: Azerbaijan's president rejects eye-witness accounts by BBC journalists of civilians being targeted in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The president-elect of the US received congratulatory messages from leaders around the world including the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Also: Luis Arce is sworn in as President of Bolivia a year after the resignation of Evo Morales, and why Joe Biden’s win was extra special for one American boy.

The president-elect of the US called for the country to unite and heal, Kamala Harris will be the first woman of colour to become vice-president but says she hopes not to be the last, and President Trump says he'll go to court on Monday.

Mr Biden won the key state of Pennsylvania, taking him beyond the necessary 270 electors, Kamala Harris will be the first female vice-president; Also: President Trump says he'll go to court on Monday.

Biden overtakes Trump in Pennsylvania; if he wins the state, he wins the presidency. Also: Johnny Depp is sacked from a major film role after losing his libel case, and Swiss employers object to the world's highest minimum wage.

Democratic candidate has pulled ahead of Donald Trump in two key battleground states. If Mr. Biden wins Pennsylvania, he will secure overall victory in election. Also, Ethiopian PM insists that army operation in Tigray state has 'clear, limited and achievable objectives', and how an English couple earned a fortune from the contents of some rubbish-bags.

The Trump campaign launches lawsuits in key states as Joe Biden moves nearer to the presidency. Also: France increases security following terror attacks, and the Formula One controversy over human rights in Saudi Arabia.

The final result hinges on the states of Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The Trump campaign is taking legal action in several states. Also: a new hotline in Hong Kong to encourage people to snitch on their neighbours, and we look at America’s election through African eyes.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden says it is clear he is winning enough states to take the US presidency, despite key results still outstanding. Also: Austria’s intelligence service is criticised over Monday's deadly shootings by a convicted Islamist, and more European nations introduce coronavirus restrictions.

Donald Trump and his rival Joe Biden are neck-and-neck in key swing-states. The final result may not emerge for days. Also, Ethiopia's PM orders a military response to 'attack' in Tigray state, and why a South Atlantic island is under threat from a gigantic iceberg.

Both Donald Trump are Joe Biden are optimisitic of victory after a nail biting night which saw the president projected to hold the key states of Florida and Ohio. Mr Biden told supporters that he was still on track to win but President Trump accused him of trying to "steal" the election. We take you through the night as it came down to a handful of states in the American midwest.

Austria has been mourning the four victims of an Islamist attack in Vienna. Fourteen people are held but authorities now believe the dead gunman may have acted alone. Also in the programme; the world's biggest stock market listing has been postponed just two days before shares were to make their debut, and a new study which examines the effects of light pollution on different species.

Voting begins in one of the most divisive elections in recent US history. Also, in the wake of a deadly act of terrorism in Vienna, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says the country’s real enemy is intolerance. And a company in Tunisia is creating 3-D printed body parts for amputees.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are using the last hours before election day on Tuesday to exhort supporters in battleground states to get out and vote. Also: Austrian police describe a shooting in Vienna as a terrorist attack, and more lockdowns are introduced across Europe as coronavirus cases climb.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden hold last rallies in swing states. Also, nineteen people are killed in an attack at Kabul university, and Hollywood actor Johnny Depp loses libel case against a newspaper that labelled him 'wife beater'.

Both candidates are making last ditch appeals to voters in battleground states that could determine the outcome of Tuesday's presidential election. Also: Hong Kong police arrest seven pro-democracy MPs after a parliamentary meeting descended into violence, and security forces in Belarus fire stun grenades and warning shots at protesters in the capital Minsk.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a second national lockdown from Thursday. Also: a Greek Orthodox priest is seriously wounded in a shooting in the French city of Lyon, and the search for survivors continues in the Turkish city of Izmir, after Friday's powerful earthquake.

There were fatalities in Turkey's Izmir province and on Greece's Samos island, with a mini tsunami triggered. Also: France increases its security at places of worship and schools following stabbings in Nice, and Qatar to prosecute officials over forced examinations of women at airport.

Reports of deaths and injuries due to powerful quake centred off Turkey's Izmir province. Tremors were felt as far away as Athens and Istanbul. Also, troops deployed on French streets following deadly knife-attack in Nice, and what do Russian politicians and public expect from US election ?

Three people were stabbed to death in Nice in what France says was an "Islamist terrorist attack". Also: Argentine police evict hundreds of families from makeshift homes in Buenos Aires, and what does the DNA show us about dogs as man's "best friend"?

Three people were stabbed to death at a church in the southern city of Nice. France has raised its terrorism alert to the highest level. Also: The German chancellor has warned of a long, hard winter ahead as Europe tries to contain coronavirus cases, and why scientists have printed the first 3-D replica of the human tongue.

Non-essential businesses in France will close, but schools and factories will remain open. Also: Tech chiefs face tough questions over internet law, and remembering John Blanke - the black trumpeter at the royal court of Henry VIII.

Both nations are preparing to further tighten Covid restrictions as cases rise. An EU advisor says 1000 Europeans are now dying every day from the virus. Also, Philadelphia rocked by further protests over shooting of black man by police, and why Kim Kardashian West's birthday party has created controversy on social media.

In Georgia, Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic; in Michigan, Donald Trump warned the state's "economic survival" was on the line if Mr Biden won the US presidential election. Also: Hong Kong activist Tony Chung detained near US consulate.

The UN says malnutrition rates among the under-fives are the highest ever recorded. Also: immunity to Covid-19 may not last long, and an Islamic religious school is bombed in Pakistan.

NASA says there is water on the Moon in far larger quantities than previously thought. Also, US Senate to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice, and a BBC investigation into a mass poisoning in Malaysia.

The Republican-controlled Senate moves to confirm Amy Coney Barrett's appointment. Also: the general strike in Belarus, and the clock - frozen in time by Beirut's huge explosion.

A coronavirus state of emergency with immediate effect - hits Spain; President Trump's coronavirus expert admits infections are still rising, and Lewis Hamilton has now won the most races in Formula One history.

France recalls its Ambassador to Turkey after President Erdogan launches personal attack on Emmanuel Macron; Trump comment on 'blowing up' dam angers Ethiopia, and hopes artificial intelligence could help diagnose Alzheimers disease.

We team up with the award-winning Brexitcast team to bring you a special update on what Britain leaving the EU means for you. You’ve sent us questions from around the world and Jackie Leonard puts them to the experts from the podcast that’s all about Brexit. There’s also cake, phew. Spread the word! #GlobalNewsPod #Brexitcast Find the Brexitcast podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/brexitcast