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BBC World Service

Where the world and America meet. Every weekday, this is The Global Story.

The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it.

With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.

The Global Story

The controversial right-wing podcaster Candace Owens is being sued by the French president and his wife in a US court. The Macrons are accusing Owens of spreading a conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man. So where has this theory come from?

We speak to the BBC’s Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, host of the Fame Under Fire podcast, about what the Macrons are risking by filing the lawsuit – and whether it’s only adding more fuel to the flames.

Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle 

Executive producer: Annie Brown 

Senior news editor: China Collins 

Mix: Travis Evans 

Image: Candace Owens. Rebecca Cook/Reuters.

Why is the French president suing Candace Owens?

President Trump is in Asia this week to strike deals with several countries, including with China. 
 
One of the big questions overshadowing the trip is Taiwan’s future. China has long vowed to "reunify" with self-governing Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force. 
 
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US wouldn’t abandon the island in exchange for a favourable deal with China. But a tug of war has been playing out inside the Trump administration over whether a military battle for Taiwan – if China did try to seize it – would be in America’s best interests. 
 
We speak to writer and analyst James Crabtree about what to expect from Trump’s visit to Asia and where Taiwan goes from here. 
 
Producers: Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin 

Executive producer: James Shield 

Mix: Travis Evans 

Senior news editor: China Collins 

Image: Taiwanese people observe the changing of honor guards in Liberty Square in Taipei. Ritchie B Tongo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.

If China attacked Taiwan, what would Trump do?

Giorgia Meloni is Italy’s first female Prime Minister, and her political star has risen rapidly - from working class roots in Rome, to becoming one of the most important and divisive leaders in Europe. 
 
A populist whose party has roots in Italian fascism, and who takes a hard right stance on migration and family values, she has formed a kinship with Donald Trump, who this month alone has promoted her autobiography and her speeches online, and called her “beautiful” on stage. 
 
In today’s episode, journalist Barbara Serra joins us to discuss Meloni’s increasingly crucial role in US-European relations. 
 
Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito 
Executive producer: James Shield 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: YOAN VALAT/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

How Giorgia Meloni became Trump's best friend in Europe

Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, the US has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan for food and medical care – a lifeline in a country ravaged by two decades of war. 

 
But earlier this year, following deep cuts to USAID under the Trump administration, more than 400 USAID-backed medical clinics have closed, and for pregnant women in desperate need of care, the impacts are devastating. 

 
The BBC’s South Asia and Afghanistan correspondent, Yogita Limaye, tells us about the families she met on her recent reporting trip, and the lives lost because women did not get the care they needed. 

Producer: Hannah Moore 

Mix: Travis Evans 

Senior news editor: China Collins

Picture: Taliban bans female medical education, Afghan female doctors and midwives face setback, Kabul, Afghanistan, 24 Dec 2024. Samiullah Popal/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The cost of USAID cuts to women in Afghanistan

***This episode contains themes of sexual abuse and grooming*** 
The memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most well-known accusers, was published posthumously this week, repeating allegations against Epstein as well as Prince Andrew. The revelations come as Prince Andrew gave up his royal titles, amongst renewed and increasing scrutiny over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Epstein. Prince Andrew continues to vigorously deny all the allegations, but the loss of his titles is a big symbolic moment that allows the rest of the Royal Family to distance themselves from him. 

His downfall was accelerated by a disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC. We speak to the interviewer Emily Maitlis, now host of the News Agents podcast, about that day, and how Prince Andrew’s story gives us an insight into the ways in which Jeffrey Epstein functioned. 

Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Lucy Pawle and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: China Collins

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

(Photo: Prince Andrew. Credit: Toby Melville/Reuters)

Jeffrey Epstein and the downfall of Prince Andrew

The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed for 2 days as the police investigated a brazen heist which resulted in the theft of France's “priceless” crown jewels. Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight items of jewelry of great historical significance.

Erin Thompson, Professor of Art Crime at The City University of New York, tells us about the crime that has stunned France - and the rest of the world. 

Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller, Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth 

Executive producer: Annie Brown

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: A security employee near the glass Pyramid of the Louvre Museum, Paris. Benoît Tessier/Reuters

The Louvre daytime heist that shocked the world

AI companies are seeing a monumental surge in investment – but some experts are now warning of the risks of an economic bubble. 

Could AI be the biggest market bubble since the dot-com crash? Or is it a genuinely transformative technology that’s simply taking time to deliver? We speak to the BBC’s Evan Davis. 

Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin 

Executive Producer: James Shield 

Mix: Travis Evans 

Senior news editor: China Collins

Is the AI boom actually a bubble?

On Wednesday, President Trump confirmed that he has authorised the CIA to take covert lethal action in Venezuela. The revelation came off the back of a series of US strikes on Venezuelan boats accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea, which resulted in the death of 27 people in what some human rights experts are calling "extrajudicial executions". 
 
The US military operation has the region on edge, leaving analysts wondering whether this is just part of a new war on drugs, or a push to bring down the Maduro regime. The BBC's Will Grant briefs us on these latest developments, and the CIA's history in Latin America. 

Producers: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito 

Editor: Annie Brown and James Shield 

Sound engineer: Travis Evans 

Senior news editor: China Collins 

Image: Miguel Gutierrez/Shutterstock

Why has Trump authorised CIA action in Venezuela?

Reporting on the war in Gaza has only been possible because of the work of Palestinian journalists, because the Israeli government will not let foreign broadcasters – including the BBC – inside the territory to report freely, even now a ceasefire is in place. 

One month ago, freelance journalist Ghada Al-Kurd began sharing voice notes with us, talking about her life, her family, and her days reporting in Gaza City. Her job is dangerous – almost 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza in the past two years – and even with a ceasefire in place, safety is far from reach.

Ghada has continued to report for us through her displacements, sharing her treasured memories of pre-war Gaza, and her fears and hopes for its future.

Producer: Hannah Moore.

Executive producer: James Shield.

Mix: Travis Evans.

Senior news editor: China Collins.

Image: Ghada Al Kurd

A Gazan journalist’s diary

“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end”, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, of the increasingly fierce trade war playing out between the US and China. 

As President Donald Trump threatens imposing 100% tariffs on goods coming from China, his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, has restricted US access to its rare earth minerals – which are vital to producing everything from smartphones to fighter jets. 

With the two leaders due to meet in South Korea later this month, can they break the stalemate, or will they plunge the world’s two biggest economies into a global trade war? BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell joins us to discuss how the world’s two largest economies got locked in stalemate – and what it could mean for the cost of the goods we all buy.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Hannah Moore
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
Image: Russian Matryoshka wooden dolls, depicting US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Is the US-China trade war back on?

Forty-seven of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy campaigners have been in jail for more than a thousand days since the government’s crackdown on the movement in 2019. Ahead of their verdict, we examine whether there is still room to protest in Hong Kong, how the national security law has affected the region and what it could mean for Taiwan. We delve into the story with the BBC’s Asia Pacific editor Celia Hatton, and our Hong Kong-based correspondent Danny Vincent. 

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC experts around the world, with Katya Adler. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. #TheGlobalStory We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note on WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. 

Today’s episode of The Global Story was made by Beth Timmins. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

What happened to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters?

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