The Happy Pod: Hugs from Texas

Israel says it's killed a senior Hamas official in a strike on a block of flats in Gaza City. Abu Obeida was a spokesman for the military wing of the group. Hamas hasn't confirmed his death. Also: China and India pledge to be "partners not rivals"; and seagull screech-off judged by reigning European champ.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

Yemen’s Houthi movement has confirmed that an Israeli airstrike on the capital, Sanaa, on Thursday killed its prime minister as well as other senior officials. The Houthis' have vowed to avenge the PM's death, although Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi was not considered part of the inner leadership. The Houthis have frequently fired on Israel, and on ships in the Red Sea, in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Also: Prominent Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy is shot dead in Lviv, and an AI stethoscope could detect major heart conditions in seconds.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

We meet the woman sending hugs from Texas in the form of a quilt. Connie Kortz set up a network of volunteer quilters, who make them for people who are in need. Called 'Hugs from Texas' -- the group donated quilted blankets to the families affected by the devastating floods earlier this year.Also, find out about the traditional ceremony that takes place for the first time a baby laughs. We go to the football match between Dulwich Hamlet FC and Altonaer which is celebrating 100 years of friendship.The Happy Pod is our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

The World Health Organization says a resurgence of cholera in a number of African countries is putting more strain on already stretched health services. The WHO says more than 400,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide this year, fuelled by conflict, poverty and flooding. Also: President Trump cancels Secret Service protection for the former US Vice-President Kamala Harris, and why more Germans are opting for non-alcoholic beer.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.Get in touch: [email protected]

Thailand's prime minister has been removed by the constitutional court, plunging politics into turmoil and dealing a blow to Thailand's most powerful political dynasty. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was dismissed for violating ethics in a leaked June phone call, where she could be heard calling Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen 'uncle', and criticising the Thai army, amid worsening border tensions with Cambodia. We’ll also get the latest from Gaza, where the Israeli military has recovered the body of a hostage; we’ll hear about the dangerous conditions in El-Fasher in Sudan; and the aftermath of deadly strikes on Kyiv in Ukraine. In Pakistan, the government of Punjab launches large flood rescue operations; the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni expresses outrage after a website posted pornographic and altered images of women including herself; in the United States, new trade tariffs begin on packages coming from abroad; the BBC speaks to Rohingya refugees deported from India. Also: how studying an 800-year-old oak tree could help save tomorrow's forests, and South Korea’s new approach to tackling crime, using hologram police officers. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

Twenty years on, Americans remember Hurricane Katrina, which killed nearly 1,800 people and caused $125bn in damage to the city of New Orleans. Also: the battle over control of the US's public health agency, and the hunt in New Zealand for a partner for a rare snail.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

President Zelensky says the world must respond firmly after Russia attacked Ukraine with one of its heaviest bombardments of the war. He accused Moscow of deliberately killing civilians and spurning ceasefire attempts. Russian missile strikes on Kyiv also damaged the offices of the European Union. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accused Russia of targeting the EU and of stopping at nothing to terrorise Ukraine. Also: new research points to climate change encouraging the spread of wildfires; people have taken to the streets in Indonesia for the second time this week to protest against what they see as excessive pay and benefits for lawmakers, and Rwanda has received the first US migrants deported to the African country under a controversial new deal. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

All members of the UN Security Council -- apart from the United States -- have released a statement saying the famine in Gaza is man-made. They've urged Israel to lift all restrictions on aid immediately. Also: President Trump discusses post war plans for the Palestinian territory, as his Secretary of State meets the Israeli foreign minister; the killing of two children at a school church service in the US is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

Steep tariffs have been imposed on India by the US, doubling an existing duty, as President Donald Trump seeks to punish India for buying Russian oil and weapons. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has called it economic coercion and is urging Indians to buy more locally produced goods. Also: there's a growing diplomatic row between Denmark and the US over reports of covert influence operations in Greenland; we have a report on how some people are exploiting emotions surrounding the Holocaust by creating fake images produced by AI to earn money; the role of peat in boosting a country's natural defences; and the successful launch of SpaceX's tenth test- we get a former NASA employee's view on Elon Musk's efforts to go to the Moon and ultimately Mars.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]

The Israeli military says in its initial report about the attack on the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza that it was not targetting journalists but a Hamas camera. Twenty people died in the attack, among them five journalists. Most of the casualties were caused by the second strike which came ten minutes after the first. Also, US Fed governor Lisa Cook says she'll sue President Trump for ordering her dismissal, and Taylor Swift announces her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. 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. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [email protected]