Fifa scraps controversial investment plan

Kelsey Pfendler has completed a record-breaking journey across the Pacific Ocean, where she became the fastest person to row solo from California to Hawaii -- as well as the youngest and the first American woman to do it alone. She hopes it will inspire more women to take risks.Plus, the four Welsh grandmothers who met a professional wrestler by chance could have their story told on the big screen. Rose and her friends Lynne, Suzie and Christine met DeReiss on a flight to Las Vegas, where they were going to scatter her husband's ashes. Why people in some major cities are raving in sauna's. The potential breakthrough in the medical condition called 'twin to twin transfusion syndrome' and the seniors in Singapore taking up Parkour. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.(Image: Kelsey Pfendler on her rowing boat. Credit: Carlos Andina)Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has scrapped the controversial plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other football competitions to private investors following global outrage. He said it had become clear the project had "created divisions" that are "no longer in the interest" of its original objective. Also: Hugging Face, the tech company hacked by OpenAI's rogue agent, calls for accountability. The UN warns El Niño will intensify extreme weather in the coming months. A discovery in the Amazon rainforest sheds light on ancient indigenous civilisations. And the unlikely friendships forged in the animal world. 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] Photo: Illustration showing the FIFA logo, the numbers "20%" and a rising stock graph. Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Spain's interior ministry says more than half of the migrants who arrived in the Spanish North African territory of Ceuta since Thursday morning have now returned to Morocco. Visiting Ceuta, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the influx as an attack, and violation of Spanish sovereignty. He blamed smuggling gangs and promised the state would use all means to protect Ceuta's security. Also: a top advisor to the head of FIFA has resigned over plans to sell private stakes in the World Cup, hours after Asia's Football Confederation added its voice to the growing condemnation. Hamas says it's accepted a peace deal for Gaza which would see it lay down its arms, on condition that Israel withdraws from the territory and ends its attacks. Rescuers in Pakistan have recovered the bodies of several climbers near the site of an avalanche on the world's 12th highest summit, Broad Peak. We meet the man who filmed what is believed to be the first ever drone footage of a humpback whale giving birth. And the history of kissing.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]: Migrants swim across to Ceuta from Morocco, Spain Credit: Reduan Dris - EPA/Shutterstock

Hamas says it's agreed to a plan put forward by President Trump's Board of Peace to completely disarm in Gaza. The BBC understands that the proposal provides for the inventory and storage of Hamas's remaining heavy weapons under Palestinian oversight. There's been no comment yet from Israel, but Mr Trump said they would eventually withdraw from Gaza. Also, we hear from a settler in the occupied West Bank who says that God chose Jews to live there and not the Palestinians. Uefa votes to boycott the World Cup if Fifa goes ahead with a plan to sell off a stake in the tournament. Thousands of migrants from Morocco overwhelm border controls to get into Spain's African enclave of Ceuta. A team of experienced mountaineers is feared missing on one of the world's highest mountains in Pakistan. And the library book that's returned after being loaned out for 150 years.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]: Armed fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Gaza Strip, February 2025. Credit: Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The US military says American forces hit dozens of targets across Iran in a two-hour wave of strikes after Iranian missile attacks on US forces in Jordan were intercepted. Iranian state media reported that the islands of Qeshm and Abadan, both central to the oil industry, were among the areas hit. Jordan and Kuwait have come under further attack from Iran in retaliation. Also: More than thirty people are known to have died in Japan's earthquake. An object that violated Polish airspace overnight was 'most likely' a Russian missile, according to the Polish Prime Minister. African migrants forced to leave South Africa after a wave of anti-immigration protests speak about their difficulties in rebuilding their lives. A French teenager falls foul of laws in Singapore over an incident with a straw, and in a world dominated by devices how small moments can help us reconnect with the physical world.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] Photo: A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab from a handout video released on July 29, 2026 Credit: US Central Command

Donald Trump suggests introducing controls on artificial intelligence following OpenAI's admission that it lost control of systems under test. But the US president said any restrictions should not allow China to win the AI race. Also: Germany says deportations to Afghanistan are no longer limited to criminals. A special report from a train journey across Iran. A mystery illness kills elephants in Kenya. BTS decides not to compete in the Grammys - we find out why. And fancy a private tour of Stonehenge? It could be yours.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] Photo: A mobile phone display showing the icons of artificial intelligence (AI) apps Deepseek, Chatgpt and Gemini. Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA/Shutterstock

There's a growing backlash after Fifa announced plans to sell stakes in a $20bn subsidiary to manage its competitions. The EU's sports chief accused Fifa of relentless and corrosive commercialisation of football, while European football's governing body UEFA said the World Cup was not an "asset to trade". Also: after the resumption of fighting between the US and Iran, we hear more about a militia group in Iraq which was targeted in US-Saudi strikes. At least 14 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck the Japanese island of Kyushu. Russia's Federal Security Service has charged the ‌Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and issued an international arrest warrant. We speak to one of the people who helped rescue horses from an equestrian centre caught up in the wildfires in France; videos of them galloping through the town have gone viral. The actor and musician Jared Leto is facing allegations of criminal sexual conduct by four women. Nepal says its tiger population is bouncing back... and why raving in a sauna is becoming popular in major cities around the world.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] Photo: Fifa President Gianni Infantino during World Cup 2026 press conference Credit: Reuters/Henry Romero

US targets militant groups in eastern Iraq aligned with Iran, in strikes co-ordinated with Saudi Arabia. It comes after Iran said it targeted a US military base and command centre in Jordan with ballistic missiles. Also: Donald Trump meets Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington for the first time since the conflict with Iran began; the death toll mounts in Japan's earthquake; FIFA boss, Gianni Infantino, criticised for commercialising football; Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank reach a record high, according to the United Nations; Keiko Fujimori is sworn in as Peru's first elected female president; and a museum in the US makes the most of a terrible online review.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] Photo: An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock

Japanese firefighters say many people are trapped inside a shopping centre after a powerful earthquake in the southern prefecture of Kumamoto, on Kyushu island. Witnesses say there was an explosion and fire at the mall after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Also: French firefighters have likened efforts to contain wildfires there as a David versus Goliath struggle, despite some progress tackling blazes ravaging parts of France and Spain. We report from the front line of Ecuador's war against drugs. The French football star, Zinedine Zidane, has been appointed as the coach of the men's national team. And how to become a Big Ben apprentice. 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] Photo: Aerial view showing the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre, after the earthquake in Japan's Kumamoto prefecture Credit: Kyodo via Reuters

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has promised to commit every available resource to contain the flames from the raging wildfires. In Spain, the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has warned of difficult times ahead with temperatures forecast to hit forty Celsius from Tuesday. Also, the United Nations body which fights AIDS has said the world risks a resurgence of ‌the HIV epidemic due to funding cuts. President Trump has told reporters that the US is in "very deep talks with Iran" but that he would be ready for "strong military action" if diplomacy failed. In Kenya, activists launch a high-profile legal case which claims hazardous pesticides and herbicides that are meant to make farming more efficient have been harming people's health. Gianni Infantino, the head of football's world governing body, FIFA, has told critics of his handling of several high-profile controversies at the recent men's World Cup that they had missed the joy and togetherness experienced by millions of fans. And the UN cultural organisation, UNESCO, has unusually awarded World Heritage status to a battle ground: the Normandy beaches used for the D-Day landings in 1944.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] Photo: A Military Emergencies Unit (UME) worker carries a hose during a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Madrid, Spain, July 26, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Ana Beltran