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BBC World Service

The breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. 
 
Hear the most important global stories from the BBC, the most trusted name in international news. 
 
With reporters on the ground in every country, we’re always where the story is. We bring you unparalleled access and exclusive updates that you won’t get anywhere else. 

Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. From Trump’s White House to Putin’s Kremlin, from the Ukraine War to the Israel-Gaza conflict. From Damascus to Delhi, from Silicon Valley to Singapore, from Washington DC to Wuhan. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Also listen to The Happy Pod, every Saturday, for the best global good news.

Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Global News Podcast

We're at an Italian film festival with a difference, for actors who become the voice of Hollywood stars and achieve fame in their own right. Also: California's canine mayor; and why diplomacy can work better in a sauna.

The Happy Pod: Meet Italy's Tom Cruise and Blake Lively

Syria's army says it's bolstering defences around the capital, Damascus, as rebels intent on overthrowing President Assad converge on the city.

Syria special

Syrian President's grip on power wanes as another strategic city falls to Islamist rebels. Also: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is rededicated in front of world leaders and the conman in India who duped families into thinking he was their long lost son.

Syrian rebels enter Homs and close in on Damascus

US president commutes around 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people. Also: inside Syria's abandoned presidential palace, recreational use of cannabis banned in Japan, and the secret to being happy at work.

Biden in largest single-day act of clemency

We hear from a cafe in Massachusetts that spreads joy by asking customers to dance as they enter. Also: the toys made from cigarette butts; a community library destroyed by fire reopens; and Italy's festive Krampus Run.

The Happy Pod: The cafe spreading the joy of dance

A man filmed playing the piano while homeless went viral. Now he's raising money for others and says it's saved his life. Also: showing love with Christmas lights; how a cat saved its owner; and AI spots dolphin accents.

The Happy Pod: Playing the piano saved my life

The happiest stories of 2024 - from the extraordinary achievement in raising Notre Dame Cathedral from the ashes, to the success of the chopsticks manoeuvre to catch a rocket booster; and the baby hippo who went viral.

The Happy Pod: 2024 News Review

Memorial events have been held around the Indian Ocean to mark 20 years since the tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people. Also: Did Russia down an Azerbaijani plane? And the rise of non-alcoholic wine.

20 years on: Remembering the tsunami

We meet the family who kept their shop open on Christmas Day to help locals feel less lonely. Also, the parents creating visual memories for their children and the restaurant where most of the staff have Down's Syndrome.

The Happy Pod: The shop that opened for hugs at Christmas

Meet the Buz Stop Boys, a group of volunteers helping to clean the streets of Ghana. Also, the treehouse escape for people with chronic illnesses, and the Hawaiian crow which went extinct in 2002 returns to the wild.

Presenter: Nick Miles. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Syrian rebels enter Homs and close in on Damascus

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