SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2025

SAT 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt0tn2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 00:06 Unexpected Elements (w3ct72x0)
Some Beautiful Science

The Miss Universe pageant final has us considering the science of beauty. How much of our perception of beauty is genetic, and how much is down to personal experiences? We also look at the science behind competitions and the audience effect. Why do we sometimes perform better when we’re watched?

Also on the show, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy explains why maths can be beautiful, and former Miss Universe Ireland and NASA datanaut Fig O’Reilly talks about balancing pageants and a career in science outreach.

Plus, the science behind death metal singing, why civet coffee tastes so good, and how ugly plants inflame allergies, on this week’s Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Katie Silver and Sandy Ong
Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Lucy Davies, Robbie Wojciechowski and Alice McKee


SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt0yd6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx70bdl)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdq9nl)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:32 The Global Story (w3ct7153)
Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?

The US is essentially boycotting this weekend’s G20 summit in South Africa over accusations that the white Afrikaners are ‘being killed and slaughtered’ and that white farmers are having their land ‘illegally confiscated. The South African government say the claims are "widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence".

Today we speak to BBC correspondent Andrew Harding, who lived and worked in South Africa for over a decade, to find out where these claims came from.

Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: China Collins

Senior news editor: China Collins

Mix: Travis Evans


Photo: Afrikaner farmers rally to show support for President Trump in Pretoria, South Africa. Credit: Kim Ludbrook/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock


SAT 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt124b)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx70g4q)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdqfdq)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:32 Stumped (w3ct6zk6)
South Africa win first Test in India for 15 years

We celebrate South Africa’s first Test win in India for 15 years, and Charu Sharma tells us what India will look to do differently to ensure they do not lose the two-Test series.

The Ashes is upon us, so Nikesh Rughani and Jim Maxwell discuss how pivotal the first ball of the series can be. We hear from former Australia opener Justin Langer and from England psychologist Gilbert Enoka on its significance.

Plus, the Indian Premier League have announced their release and retention lists for next year's tournament. The team discuss the surprises and debate which is tougher – captaining your national side or being the captain in a franchise?

Photo - South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma, Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton celebrate their team's win at the end of the first Test cricket match between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 16, 2025. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)


SAT 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt15wg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 03:06 Outlook (w3ct6wht)
Outlook Mixtape: The butterfly effect

Rena Effendi felt she barely knew her father. Rustam Effendi was one of the most notable butterfly scientists in the Soviet Union but Rena only remembers meeting him for the first time when she was six years old; just seven years later he died of cancer. Decades later Rena, now a professional photographer, discovered that one of Rustam’s friends had named a butterfly after him – the Satyrus effendi. But she would have to cross a warzone to find the butterfly. She shared her journey with Outlook earlier this year in an episode called ‘The rare butterfly that led me to my father.’

Romy McCloskey is an American costume designer and butterfly enthusiast whose embroidery skills came in handy when one of her beloved butterflies suffered a broken wing. Her mother’s death from cancer left her with a love of butterflies. 'Anytime you see a butterfly, know that I am always there,' her mother told her. Romy spoke to Outlook in the January 2018 episode ‘Performing surgery on a butterfly wing.’

Andrew Fusek-Peters turned the fear of a cancer diagnosis into something remarkable. As he was undergoing treatment, he worked on new techniques to photograph butterflies in flight and taking off from flowers. Since he first spoke to us in October 2023 he's published a book with pictures of all the UK's native species of butterfly, called Butterfly Safari.

Isaac Kehimkar from India is also known as the 'Butterfly Man'. This is because he's spent forty years chasing butterflies and he reckons there's nothing more beautiful in nature... Outlook's Divya Arya went to meet him in this interview first aired in January 2017.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Hetal Bapodra

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape spooled halfway through and lying on a white background. It bears a slim white label with the words ‘THE OUTLOOK MIXTAPE’ written in black. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 03:50 Witness History (w3ct744s)
How the Bosnian war ended

The Dayton Peace Accords were signed on the 21 November 1995, ending the three-and-a-half-year war in Bosnia.

The war was part of the break-up of Yugoslavia; it is estimated that 100,000 people were killed.

In 2010, Lucy Williamson spoke to Milan Milutinović who was one of the leading negotiators for the Serbian delegation about the final 24 hours of negotiations.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia (left), President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and President Franjo Tudjman of Croatia sign the Dayton Agreement. Credit: Paul J Richards/AFP via Getty Images)


SAT 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt19ml)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 04:06 Unexpected Elements (w3ct72x0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:06 today]


SAT 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt1fcq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx70td3)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdqsn3)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:32 Dear Daughter (w3ct7zqy)
Leaving for college

Shelley’s daughter leaves for college – it’s a thrilling moment for everyone, but at the same time there’s a sense of loss. What will happen to their family when one piece of it is missing?

So Shelley writes her daughter a letter with all the advice and memories she wants her to take as she heads off on her new adventure. She hides it in her daughter’s suitcase to find when she gets there.

And then she shares it with Dear Daughter! She tells Namulanta about keeping in touch, staying connected – and the surprising upsides of your child leaving home. Plus Namulanta and her daughter Koko reflect on what it’ll be like when Koko leaves home one day.

Letter writer: Shelley

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a WhatsApp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter


SAT 05:50 More or Less (w3ct6vzv)
Is there a stock market crash coming?

For months, the share prices of tech companies have marched seemingly-ever upward, driven by fevered excitement about the potential of Artificial Intelligence. But many are now voicing fears that this surge might turn out to be a bubble, which could burst with damaging effects.

So do we have to rely on vibes? Or can we use data to tell us about the risk that AI might go pop?

Nathan Gower discovers what the numbers tell us about the health of the stock market.

Guests:
Katie Martin, markets columnist at the Financial Times
Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at investment company Panmure Liberum

Presenter and Producer: Nathan Gower
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: Andy Mills


SAT 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt1k3v)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 06:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwyg93tt)
Trump gives Kyiv Thursday deadline

Donald Trump has given President Zelenskyy until next Thursday to accept a US. peace plan widely viewed as favouring the Kremlin. In a national address, Zelenskyy said he was working constructively with Washington on the proposals.

Also on today’s programme: Zohran Mamdani makes his first trip to the White House after being elected mayor of New York City; two states in northern Nigeria order all public schools to close amid rising security concerns; and climate delegates struggle to reach agreement on key issues -- particularly a roadmap to move the world away from fossil fuels.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Ayala Panievsky, a researcher specialising in media under attack, right-wing populism, and democratic backsliding at City, University of London, and George Parker, the Financial Times’ political editor.

(Photo: President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, Washington, USA - 17 Oct 2025)


SAT 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt1nvz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 07:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwyg97ky)
Zelensky warns Ukraine risks losing US support

President Zelensky warns that Ukraine risks losing US support over a White House plan on how to end the war with Russia.We've been speaking to US republican congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

Also in today's programme: Family of missing Columbian man seeks answers after a US strike on an alleged drug boat; and how climate change is worsening Iran's water crisis.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Ayala Panievsky, a researcher specialising in media under attack, right-wing populism, and democratic backsliding at City, University of London, and George Parker, the Financial Times’ political editor.

(Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (front) and US President Donald J. Trump (R) participate in a bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, 17 October 2025.)


SAT 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt1sm3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwyg9cb2)
G20: Will Trump's no-show eclipse South Africa's moment ?

G20 summit in South Africa is underway but the US is a no-show. Ukraine is likely to dominate talks on the sidelines as Kyiv's allies discuss how to react to President Trump's Ukraine peace plan.

Also in today's programme: Climate diplomats inside a clandestine negotiating room say talks have become difficult, with one participant telling the BBC there "is a lot of fighting". UK's climate envoy Rachel Kyte is at the talks in Belem and joins us; and, scientists have now found an innovative way of tracking individual monarch butterflies.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Ayala Panievsky, a researcher specialising in media under attack, right-wing populism, and democratic backsliding at City, University of London, and George Parker, the Financial Times’ political editor.

Photo:UK prime mininster Keir Starmer is greeted by Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile as he arrives at the G20 Summit on November 22, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Leon Neal/Reuters. 22 Nov 2025


SAT 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt1xc7)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct6rnj)
Raising children on a warming planet

Another round of global climate talks has been taking place, but some are questioning whether there is much point to these gatherings. In our conversations we bring people together who have decided to take their own action.

One of our guests, Gwynn, suggests the best way to save the planet is to not have children. She has even had surgery so she cannot get pregnant.

“Forests and oceans and prairies are being destroyed so I can exist, so I can have my life,” Gwynn tells us. “I decided that I didn’t want to do that, I didn’t want to continue that, and I realised that the most impactful thing I could do is to not make more people.”

Gwynn, who is in the US, is joined in conversation with another environmental campaigner, Maja in Sweden. She has three children.

We also explore what happens when families disagree about the environment. We hear from an airline pilot, Rich, and his son, Finn, a climate activist. Can they find common ground?

Presenter: Luke Jones
BBC producers: Luke Hastings and Angela Sheeran
Boffin Media producer: Richard Hollingham

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production in partnership with the OS team

(photo/credit: Maya, who lives in Sweden and has three children)


SAT 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdr8mm)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:32 Americast (w3ct8byr)
Marjorie Taylor Greene v Donald Trump

The Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is being celebrated by Democrats for being one of the few Republicans to stand up to Donald Trump in recent weeks. From the Epstein Files to the cost of living, Greene has been vocal in her criticism of the current administration. It’s notable because MTG has been one of Trump’s most loyal allies and a powerful leader of the MAGA movement, and also because her interventions have been influential.

Sarah, Anthony and Marianna look back at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rise and why she has been such an influential figure within Donald Trump’s MAGA base.

And, Anthony’s in Tennessee for a special election where a House seat is being contested. We assess the Democratic party’s chances of winning this traditional Republican seat.


SAT 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt213c)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 10:06 Not by the Playbook (w3ct878n)
Hello England's Roses

Dame Laura Kenny is the most decorated female cyclist in Olympic history with 5 gold and one silver medal. Alongside her husband Sir Jason Kenny who has 7 golds and two silvers, they are the most golden family in Olympic history! Both are now retired and are busy raising their three children. But far from falling away from the public eye, Dame Laura has used her platform to talk about subjects that are considered taboo, like her ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. Talking openly is something that has helped Laura throughout her life and career and it could have been very very different. As a child Laura suffered with asthma, a chronic respiratory condition which resulted in her having a collapsed lung. For many it would have put them off from pushing themselves athletically, but for Laura that wasn't an option.

Marlie Packer was a member of the squad of the recently crowned Rugby Union World Champions. The Red Roses enjoyed the ultimate success by beating Canada in a final watched by a record breaking crowd of more than 80,000 fans. Marlie was also part of the England set up that won the World Cup in 2014. Now 36, her career has coincided with the growth of the women's game from the early amateur days where Marlie juggled her international career alongside her job as a plumber.

Millie Bright has just about won it all. She led the England women's football into the 2023 World Cup final, and the year before she was part of the team who won the European Championships. So her decision to withdraw from this years European championship was a shock to all. Domestically she has more than 300 appearances for Chelsea, during which time the west London side have won eight league titles, and nine FA and League cups and all through out there was Millie. So how has she done it?

In 2007 English triathlete Chrissie Wellington surprised everyone by wining the prestigious World Ironman Championship in Hawaii. It turned out to be the first in a series of victories and world records... the remarkable thing is that Wellington only became a professional athlete in her late 20s after giving up a successful career in development.

PHOTO: Gold medallist Dame Laura Kenny (nee Trott) of Great Britain celebrates after winning the Women's Omnium Track Cycling at the London 2012 Olympics (CREDIT: Phil Walter/Getty Images)


SAT 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt24vh)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx71jvw)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdrj3w)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:32 Health Check (w3ct6vk9)
The disappearing mid-life crisis

Global health journalist Andrew Green has been looking at the impact of US funding cuts on the global HIV response, and reports his findings from Botswana about the impact is it having on HIV and AIDS services there, and what new agreements may be reached on healthcare funding.

New research shows that the trend in human happiness is changing, with young people now experiencing more unhappiness than those in middle-age. Claudia speaks to Alex Bryson, Professor of Quantitative Social Sciences at University College London, to find out what is driving this change.

How can we reduce phantom limb pain in war amputations? Professor of anaesthesiology and pain medicine at Northwestern University, Doctor Steven Cohen, explains how Botox injections are helping Ukrainian patients recover post-amputation and improving their quality of life.

A new law in Karnataka, India will allow women a day of paid menstrual leave each month – but how is it being received? Plus, the remarkable HPV vaccination success story, and what that means for global cervical cancer rates.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producers: Helena Selby & Georgia Christie


SAT 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt28lm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 12:06 The Documentary (w3ct8h7p)
‘No justice, just kills’

***This programme includes descriptions of death and violence some listeners may find upsetting***
On 19 November 2005, US Marines killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, many of them women and children. The incident led to the longest US war crimes investigation of the Iraq war. But in the end, no one went to prison. A four-year investigation by BBC Eye has uncovered footage, legal documents and marine testimonies that have never before been made public.

Reporter Lara El Gibaly speaks to the forensic investigator and lawyers involved in the case, who are speaking out about what happened, and why those responsible for the deaths walked free. And she travels to Iraq to take this information to the survivors, Safa and Khalid, who have been searching for answers about the killing of their families for 20 years.


SAT 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt2dbr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 13:06 Newshour (w172zssfmmb6jxc)
Will Ukraine accept the American peace plan?

US and Ukrainian talks set to take place in Switzerland, but will Ukrainian public opinion accept the proposals?

Also in the programme: Key MAGA figure Marjorie Taylor Green to quit Congress after falling out with President Trump; and Rosalia, the multilingual Spanish singer on her new album.

(Photo: Zelensky and his wife place wheat sheaves at statue. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)


SAT 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt2j2w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 14:06 Sportsworld (w172ztqvy62q4gb)
Live Sporting Action

Sportsworld presents live Premier League commentary from Anfield as Liverpool host Nottingham Forest.

Lee James will be joined by the former Liverpool and Crystal Palace defender Martin Kelly and the former Nottingham Forest and Brentford manager Mark Warburton to discuss Saturday's seven games, including updates and reaction from the early game as Burnley host Chelsea at Turf Moor.

Sportsworld will also be in Perth to reflect on day two of the first Ashes Test between Australia and England. There will also be the latest from rugby union's Autumn Nations Series, tennis' Davis Cup and F1's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

(Photo: Nottingham Forest's Neco Williams, Elliot Anderson and Murillo vie with Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah during the English Premier League football match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at The City Ground in Nottingham, 14 January, 2025. Credit: AFP)


SAT 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt302d)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx72d2s)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 18:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdscbs)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:32 Dear Daughter (w3ct7zqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:32 today]


SAT 18:50 Sporting Witness (w3ct7zsl)
2005 Ashes: Pratt runs out Ponting

In the 2005 Ashes series in England, substitute fielder Gary Pratt grabbed the headlines when he ran out Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the fourth test. Ponting questioned England’s use of a substitute fielder. It was a pivotal moment which turned the game in England’s favour and they went on to lead the series 2-1. Gary Pratt tells Uma Doraiswamy how it all played out.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Gary Pratt celebrates with the England team after running out Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Credit: Jon Buckle/PA Images/Alamy)


SAT 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt33tj)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:06 The Inquiry (w3ct723j)
Is the new Pope woke?

Cardinal Robert Prevost made history earlier this year, when he became the first American pontiff to lead the Catholic Church. And when he stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, dressed in traditional papal robes, some conservatives in the church took it as a sign of a symbolic shift away from what they saw as the liberal drift of his predecessor the late Pope Francis.

Francis, who had put social justice at the heart of his papacy, divided opinion. Some Catholics praised his stance on issues like same-sex blessings, whilst others claimed that he had abandoned tradition for wokeness.

Now six months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV is also coming under similar scrutiny, he’s already been criticized by some Catholics from the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement in the United States for blessing a block of Greenland ice. Whilst on the issue of same-sex blessings, his stated intention is to continue the same course as Pope Francis, that the Church’s teaching is not going to change on this issue.

But though he may also be advocating diversity, equity and inclusion, Pope Leo XIV may not necessarily be a carbon copy of his predecessor. As he prepares for his first apostolic visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV already appears to be charting a more nuanced path, grounded in pastoral instincts rather than divisive politics.

So, on The Inquiry this week we’re asking, ‘Is the new Pope woke?’

Contributors:
Dr Massimo Faggioli, Professor in Ecclesiology, Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Inés San Martín, Vice President of Communications, The Pontifical Mission Societies, New York, USA
Christopher White, Author ‘Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of New Papacy’, Associate Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
Elise Ann Allen, Senior Correspondent for Crux, Author ‘Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century’, Rome, Italy

Presenter: William Crawley
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in May 2025. Credit: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images)


SAT 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdsh2x)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:32 Happy News (w3ct6tz7)
The Happy Pod: Donating my kidney transformed a child's life

We hear about a rare meeting between a living organ donor and the child whose life was transformed by receiving her kidney. Aly Coyle says she was delighted to see five-year-old Xaviar happy and healthy after the transplant. His parents tracked her down through social media to say thank you, and describe her as an angel who is now part of their family.

Also, how a new machine could dramatically increase the number of liver transplants, by improving the way the organs are stored outside the body.

A media company run for and by young disabled people that is hoping to challenge stereotypes and promote discussion.

A grand prix with a difference - why cows, and their riders, race through a small Swiss village.

Plus, the newly rediscovered works of Bach that have been performed for the first time in over three hundred years. And why more men are taking up knitting.

Presenter: Vanessa Heaney
Music: Iona Hampson

(Photo: Aly Coyle with Xaviar (the boy who received her kidney) who is now six. Credit: Xaviar’s family)


SAT 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt37kn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 20:06 The Arts Hour (w3ct6zv7)
Wicked: For Good and Pluribus

Director Jon M Chu talks about Wicked: For Good - the themes, working with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, and he reveals his favourite scene in the film.


Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan and star Rhea Seehorn discuss their new series Pluribus.


British actor Riz Ahmed on being a man of few words in the thriller Relay.


And Nikki Bedi is joined by cultural critic, Larushka Ivan- Zadeh

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures


SAT 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3c9s)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfmmb7hwd)
COP30 fails to secure fossil fuel pledges

Nearly 200 nations agree on a compromise deal on tackling climate change at the COP30 summit in Brazil - but without any commitment to phase out fossil fuels. We speak to Sierra Leone Minister of The Environment and Climate Change Jiwoh Abdulai, who represented the Least Developed Countries group on finance and transition talks.

Also in the programme: All educational institutions in Niger state have been ordered to close following a mass abduction on Friday of more than three hundred children and staff from a Catholic boarding school; and we reflect on the lasting cultural relevance of beloved Pixar film series Toy Story.

(Pictured: André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, sits as Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, left, speaks with other U.N. officials during a plenary session at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner)


SAT 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3h1x)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx72w29)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdsvb9)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:32 This Is Africa (w3ct72dw)
Inez

Inez is a Dutch-Moroccan singer who became a viral sensation with her very first song. As she tells DJ Edu, she really had no idea what she was doing, and yet somehow she found herself with more than 100,000 streams in the first 24 hours.

Inez’s first hit was a mash-up of various existing songs, and, as she explains, it took time to gain the confidence she needed to create her own original music. Her sound now draws heavily upon the Arabic classics she grew up listening to, but also American and European pop, and many of her songs combine Darija (Moroccan Arabic) with the Dutch language.

Inez is now selling out venues in a number of European cities, including London.


SAT 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3lt1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:06 Not by the Playbook (w3ct878n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:06 today]

SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2025

SUN 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3qk5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 00:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct6rnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:06 on Saturday]


SUN 00:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdt2tk)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 00:32 The Documentary (w3ct8p0q)
China’s global spending spree

China has been on a giant global shopping spree. Since 2000, Chinese state banks have fueled investments and acquisitions at a surprising rate- some four times what was previously thought. Brand new data, shared exclusively with the BBC, reveals that many of Beijing’s state-backed spending has targeted rich countries. Such deals are strictly legal, though not always easy to trace. Observers in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are alarmed at the potential for Beijing to dominate key technologies and turbo charge its technological might.

Celia Hatton investigates the sometimes murky ways in which Chinese state money can be traced to sensitive industrial sectors. But she also discovers that shutting out Chinese influence is not easy or, in some cases, desirable.

Producer: Mike Gallagher


SUN 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3v99)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx7379p)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdt6kp)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 01:32 Dear Daughter (w3ct7zqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:32 on Saturday]


SUN 01:50 Sporting Witness (w3ct7zsl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:50 on Saturday]


SUN 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt3z1f)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx73c1t)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdtb9t)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 02:32 Health Check (w3ct6vk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:32 on Saturday]


SUN 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt42sk)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 03:06 The Documentary (w3ct8h7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Saturday]


SUN 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt46jp)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 04:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3ct6tsf)
The story of Abdelrahman and the oud

Pascale Harter introduces stories from Gaza, Jordan, Bangladesh, Spain and Ukraine.

11-year-old Abdelrahman lost his leg after he was injured during an Israeli attack in Gaza. He was selected to travel to Jordan for hospital treatment, to be fitted with a new prosthetic limb. Fergal Keane met him while he was undergoing treatment there - and learning to play the traditional Middle Eastern musical instrument, the oud.

The former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced to death this week for crimes against humanity. She was tried by a special tribunal which accused her of having given orders to use lethal force during anti-government protests last year, which led to hundreds of deaths. Arunoday Mukharji was in Dhaka, when the verdict was announced.

It's been 50 years since the death of Spain's dictator Francisco Franco, yet his legacy still divides the country. On both the political left and right, there are accusations that the other side has used the rituals and sites of burials from the Civil War period and beyond for political ends. Linda Pressly recently met the dictator’s great-grandson in Madrid.

In recent weeks, Russian troops have advanced in Ukraine's east, while Russian strikes on cities across the country have spiked. Ukraine's postal services, rail network and energy grid have all been attached. Also among the targets are the country’s nuclear power plants – with Europe’s largest located in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia. Vitaliy Shevchenko recounts a recent discovery he made about his own childhood home there.


Producer: Polly Hope
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison


SUN 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdtkt2)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 04:32 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txl)
What’s in the wording of the COP 30 negotiations?

COP 30 delegates from around the globe are about to depart the Amazon city of Belem in Brazil. But not before some very important documents are drawn up. Camilla Born, former advisor to Cop 26 president Alok Sharma speaks to Tom Whipple about the scientific significance of the language negotiators choose to use.

And it’s the eve of The Ashes. As England Men’s Cricket Team line up against their Australian counterparts in Perth, cricket fans on both sides will be hoping for sporting records to fall. But is breaking those records getting increasingly less likely? And can some maths explain all? Tom asks Kit Yates, author and Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement at the University of Bath.

Plus science broadcaster Caroline Steel is in the studio to discuss this week’s brand new scientific discoveries.

If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University to take the quiz.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell, Ella Hubber, Tim Dodd, Alex Mansfield and Clare Salisbury
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


SUN 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4b8t)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 05:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx73q96)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdtpk6)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 05:32 The Documentary (w3ct8p0q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:32 today]


SUN 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4g0y)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 06:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwygd0qx)
COP30: No mention of giving up fossil fuels

Weeks of discussions and all-night haggling at COP30 in Brazil have resulted in a draft deal. It includes steps to review trade barriers and to triple the financial aid to developing countries affected by extreme weather events. But there was no mention of phasing out fossil fuels.

Also in today's programme: After President Trump pushes his plan for peace in Ukraine, European leaders scramble for a seat at the negotiating table; and K-pop demon hunters go on tour across Europe.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Kate Orkin, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Oxford, and Charlotte Kilpatrick, an American journalist based in the UK who specialises in politics and health issues.

(Photo: UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, Belem - 22 Nov 2025/ Andre Borges -EPA/ Shutterstock)


SUN 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4ks2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 07:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwygd4h1)
COP30: Climate diplomats at an impasse on finance and fossil fuels

The UN climate summit in Brazil has ended with a deal that no makes no direct mention of the fossil fuels that are the main cause of global warming.

Also in today's programme: The continuing divisive legacy in Spain of the fascist dictator, General Franco; and the Argentinian writer who found out her nanny was a KGB killer.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Kate Orkin, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Oxford, and Charlotte Kilpatrick, an American journalist based in the UK who specialises in politics and health issues.

(Photo: Members of the Ethiopian delegation celebrate the announcement that the country will host COP32 during the closing COP30 plenary session at the Hangar Convention Center in Belem, Brazil, 22 November 2025. EPA/ Shutterstock)


SUN 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4pj6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 08:06 Weekend (w172zw8fwygd875)
Trump says US plan to end Ukraine war not 'final offer' for Kyiv

President Trump insists his plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is "not his final offer" -- ahead of talks on the draft deal in Geneva. We'll have the latest on that meeting.


Also in today's programme: We discuss the viability of solar panels in space as a means of generating energy for Earth; and, we hear from a couple of musicians who are breathing new life into Jazz, a quintessentially 20th century musical form.

Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by Kate Orkin, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Oxford, and Charlotte Kilpatrick, an American journalist based in the UK who specialises in politics and health issues.

(President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, Washington, Usa - 17 Oct 2025. Aaron Schwartz /EPA/Shutterstock)


SUN 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4t8b)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 09:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3ct6tsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:06 today]


SUN 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdv5jq)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 09:32 The Food Chain (w3ct70zf)
The servers: The highs and lows of waiting on tables

What are the highs and lows of waiting on tables? Ruth Alexander speaks to restaurateurs from London, New York and Mumbai to find out about the inner workings of one of the hardest jobs in the business.

Ruth hears from French celebrity Maitre D, Fred Siriex, Mumbai based restaurateur Gauri Devidayal and Michael Cecchi-Azzolina, the New York based author of Your Table Is Ready.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Image: The torso of a waitress, carrying two plates of food, against a purple background. Credit: Maria Korneeva/Getty Images)


SUN 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt4y0g)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 10:06 People Fixing The World (w3ct5tvr)
How literacy can change a life

Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, to an app teaching tens of thousands in Somaliland. Plus how adults in the UK are improving their reading skills thanks to an army of volunteer teachers using a method developed in prison.

Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter/producer: Claire Bates
Series producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Sound mix: Andrew Mills

(Image: Jahura Begum, Shabnur Akhter, Rashida Begum at Friendship class in Bangladesh, Friendship)


SUN 10:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdv98v)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 10:32 The Fifth Floor (w3ct70tx)
Inside India's war on Maoists

For nearly 60 years, the Indian government has been fighting a violent group of Maoists in the country. They are followers of the late Chinese leader, Mao Zedong and have carried out bombings and killings in different parts of India.
Now, the Indian authorities claim to be on the brink of defeating these insurgents and has said that they will be fully removed by March 2026. There is one group that has been attributed with the recent success against the Maoists, known as the DRG or District Reserve Guard. They are part of the police, with the sole purpose of defeating the Maoists. But although they have successfully reduced Maoist attacks in recent years, critics have questioned the use of force by the DRG. Jugal Purohit, who reports for the BBC in India, recently travelled to the frontline of this nearly 60 year war, to meet the DRG and the locals who have been affected by the violence.

Rare access: Inside India’s claims to eliminate Maoist insurgency https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848zVNZV7ss

In Thailand, for the past 154 years, people have come together for the annual Buffalo Racing Festival. The festival honors the vital role of buffaloes in Thai agriculture, offering thanks for their hard work throughout the year. BBC's Thuong Le is based in Bangkok and she recently traveled to Chonburi province where the festival takes place to grab a front row seat.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.

Presented by Faranak Amidi.

Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean.

This is an EcoAudio certified production.


SUN 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt51rl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx74frz)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdvf0z)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 11:32 Dear Daughter (w3ct7zqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:32 on Saturday]


SUN 11:50 More or Less (w3ct6vzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:50 on Saturday]


SUN 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt55hq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 12:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct6rnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:06 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdvjs3)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 12:32 Assignment (w3ct6rch)
Fifty years since Franco: Spain, the valley and a troubled legacy

Fifty years after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, Spain continues to feel its way towards an accommodation between its once-warring factions. And nowhere in Spain is more emblematic of the lasting divisions provoked by the Spanish civil war than the place known for decades as El Valle de los Caidos – the Valley of the Fallen.

Built partly with the forced labour of political prisoners, this is a monument that symbolised Franco’s Nationalist victory over Republican Spain. The Valley became a pilgrimage place for people who revered the dictator – especially after he was buried behind the basilica’s altar.

But in the 21st Century, the debate has been about the place of such a monument in modern Spain. And since 2018, Spain’s Socialist government has been determined to change the narrative. In 2019, the remains of Francisco Franco were removed. Then the site was renamed El Valle de Cuelgamuros. And just this year - after lengthy negotiations - the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Spain accepted the government’s plans to make the site, ‘a place of democratic memory’, rather than somewhere paying homage to the dictatorship.

But it seems no one is happy. Esperanza Escribano and Linda Pressly explore the story, legacy and future of El Valle de Cuelgamuros.

Producer/presenter: Esperanza Escribano and Linda Pressly
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound engineer: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

Photo: El Valle de Cuelgamuros, previously known as the Valley of the Fallen, completed by Spain's dictator, Francisco Franco in 1959. Credit: Esperanza Escribano)


SUN 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt597v)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 13:06 Newshour (w172zssfmmb9ftg)
Senators ask if Trump's Ukraine peace plan really is a US plan

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that President Trump's 28 point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was drawn up by the US -- contradicting senators who said he told them it was a Russian "wish list". We look into that suggestion.

Also in the programme: What do the bandits kidnapping schoolchildren in Nigeria really want? How a celebrated Argentinian writer discovered that her nanny was a KGB agent; and the BBC's climate correspondent shares some reflections as the COP climate talks come to an end.

(Photo: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a high-rise residential building in Ternopil, western Ukraine, 21 November 2025. Credit: Maxym Marusenko EPA/Shutterstock)


SUN 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt5dzz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 14:06 The Climate Question (w3ct703t)
Can "sponge cities" help protect us from flooding?

Engineers across the globe, from China to East Africa and the US, are turning to a new, nature-based solutions to fight floods, which are becoming more likely in many places because of climate change. They’re taking a pickaxe to asphalt and concrete and instead are restoring wetlands, parks and riverbanks, turning our metropolises into so-called "sponge cities". Plants, trees and lakes act just like a sponge, mopping up rainwater instead of letting it pool and eventually flood our homes.

In a programme first broadcast in 2024, Professor Priti Parikh tells Jordan Dunbar how these spongey solutions have many benefits beyond flooding, encouraging biodiversity, helping our mental health and storing the planet warming gas, carbon dioxide. The BBC’s China Correspondent, Laura Bicker, meets the man who came up with the concept, Professor Kongjian Yu, and visits Zhengzhou, a sponge city in the making. And Katya Reyna tells Jordan how her NGO is helping low-income communities in Portland in the US to ‘depave’ disused car parks, turning them into plant-oases.

Professor Yu died in a plane accident in Brazil in September 2025 while working on a documentary about "sponge cities".

Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

Contributors:
Priti Parikh, Professor of Infrastructure Engineering and International Development, University College London and a Trustee at the Institution of Civil Engineers
Laura Bicker, BBC China Correspondent
Professor Kongjian Yu, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Peking University in Beijing
Katya Reyna, Co-Director of Depave, in Portland, USA

Producers: Graihagh Jackson, Ben Cooper and Joyce Liu
Mixing: Tom Brignell and Andy Fell
Editor: Simon Watts


SUN 14:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdvs8c)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 14:32 Happy News (w3ct6tz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:32 on Saturday]


SUN 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt5jr3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 15:06 Sportsworld (w172ztqvy62t53k)
Live Sporting Action

The North London derby is the Premier League commentary game as leaders Arsenal host Tottenham. History is on Arsenal’s side – they haven’t lost at home to Tottenham since 2018. The former Tottenham defender Seb Bassong joins Delyth Lloyd afterwards to look back over all the action, while there'll also be updates and reaction from Leeds United against Aston Villa.

There’s also a big derby in Italy on Sunday where AC Milan face city rivals Inter, and it will be one of the last at the iconic San Siro Stadium, which is due to be demolished.

Sportsworld also has reaction to Day Three of the first Ashes Test; the final of tennis’ Davis Cup; and the Las Vegas Grand Prix as the Formula One Drivers’ Championship nears its thrilling conclusion.

Photo: Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal is challenged by Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham Hotspur during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Kai Tak Sports Park on July 31, 2025 in Hong Kong, China. (Credit: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)


SUN 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt60qm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx75dr0)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdwd00)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 19:32 Over to You (w3ct8sh0)
The climate and COP30

With COP30 taking place, presenter Qasa Alom looks at how climate is covered on the network. He hears from listeners and speaks to Angus Foster, the BBC News climate and science lead.He explains how climate is prioritised when there are competing stories.

The flagship climate programme for the BBC World Service, The Climate Question, launched its first visualised episode in November 2025. Anna Doble, the commissioning editor, talks to Qasa about how visualisation is helping the network reach a younger audience.

And finally, Qasa speaks to Richard Kenny, a producer on People Fixing the World, about how the stories they cover help give listeners a “a sense of hope and agency that they can do something”.

Presenter: Qasa Alom
Producer: Jill Achineku
Executive producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC World Service


SUN 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt64gr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 20:06 Unexpected Elements (w3ct72x0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:06 on Saturday]


SUN 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt686w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfmmbbdsh)
Rubio: ‘tremendous progress’ made at Ukraine peace talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a “tremendous amount of progress” has been made in talks to finalise a Ukraine peace deal. Talks in Geneva between Ukrainian, US and European officials are focusing on a 28-point draft plan and will continue on Monday. Kyiv and its European allies have raised concerns about the proposals, saying they mirror Russia’s demands, and that more work is needed to reflect Ukraine and Europe’s needs.

Also in the programme: we speak to the UN’s climate chief on the deal passed at the COP30 summit; and the animated musical phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters hits Europe.

(Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press following talks to finalise a Ukraine peace deal in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: MARTIAL TREZZINI/EPA/Shutterstock)


SUN 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt6cz0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfkx75rzd)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SUN 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdwr7d)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 22:32 The Fifth Floor (w3ct70tx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:32 today]


SUN 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzfpt6hq4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SUN 23:06 The Climate Question (w3ct702v)
How can the world speed up climate action?

How can the world speed up its efforts to fight climate change?

It’s been a dramatic fortnight at the COP climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem, with torrential rains and floods, protests and even a fire. A deal has finally been done but it’s divisive and has left many wondering whether we'll really avoid the worst effects of a warming world.

Join Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson as they take a deep dive into the results of the negotiations and find out what they mean.

The BBC’s Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt joins us from Brazil. Plus, our panel of experts discuss the future of climate action.

Guests:
Adil Najam, Professor of International Relations and Environment at the Pardee School, USA
David Victor, Professor of Innovation and Public Policy at the University of California, USA
Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands

Production Team: Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle, Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock, Melanie Stewart-Smith, Steven Bailey
Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question or a comment? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com


SUN 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxswfdwvzj)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SUN 23:32 Assignment (w3ct6rch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 today]

MONDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2025

MON 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3bgqf)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 00:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3ct6tsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:06 on Sunday]


MON 00:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq0tzt)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 00:32 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 on Sunday]


MON 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3blgk)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5j9zgy)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq0yqy)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 01:32 Discovery (w3ct6swx)
Bodies

The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are presevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to train surgeons in the procedures which may one day save your life.

Journalist Jenny Kleeman gains rare access to a surgical training course at Brighton and Sussex Medical School which uses these "fresh" donor bodies. She talks to the people who work with them every day and the surgeons who have come to be trained to find out how they feel about the people who have given the ultimate gift and if we still need real human cadavers in medical education.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Ella Hubber


MON 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3bq6p)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jb372)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq12h2)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 02:32 CrowdScience (w3ct6stn)
Why do we cry?

Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of frustration or tears of pain - humans are thought to be the only animals that cry tears of emotion. CrowdScience listener Lizzy wants to know: why do we cry for emotional reasons? What is its evolutionary benefit? And why do some people cry more than others?

It turns out that humans cry three types of tear: basal, reflex and emotional. The first kind keeps our eyes nice and lubricated and the second flushes out irritants such as fumes from the pesky onion, but the reasons for emotional tears are a bit harder to pin down.

Using a specially designed tear collection kit, presenter Caroline Steel collects all three kinds of tears. With them safely stashed in tiny vials, she heads to the Netherlands, to Maurice Mikkers’ Imaginarium of Tears. Looking at her crystallised tears under a microscope will hopefully unveil a mystery or two.

Marie Bannier-Hélaouët, who grew tear glands for her PhD, explains how the nervous system processes our emotions into tears. But why should we cry for both happiness and sadness, and for so many other emotions in between? Ad Vingerhoets, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Tilburg University, suggests we cry for helplessness - our bodies do not know how to process such intensity of feeling.

But do these tears bring relief? Lauren Bylsma, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, has been studying heart rates during crying episodes to find out. With her help, we also explore if women do in fact cry more than men, and why that might be.

Presenter: Caroline Steel

Producer: Eloise Stevens

Editor: Ben Motley

Photo: Fisheye woman having a cry - stock photo Credit: sdominick via Getty Images)


MON 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3btyt)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 03:06 People Fixing The World (w3ct5tvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:06 on Sunday]


MON 03:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq1676)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 03:32 The Fifth Floor (w3ct70tx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:32 on Sunday]


MON 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3bypy)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 04:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jbbqb)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq19zb)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 04:32 The Conversation (w3ct709n)
Weavers reviving an ancient technology

Across continents and generations, the art of weaving has connected humans for thousands of years. But it’s dying out. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two women from The Netherlands and Turkey about their passion for preserving the traditional craft.

Turkish social entrepreneur Damla Saydam founded Qirqit Studio to help preserve the endangered tradition of handwoven Turkish rugs. She was inspired by her family’s weaving heritage and memories of helping her aunt weave as a child. Damla collaborates with village women, many of whom have been weaving for decades and otherwise would have stopped, to ensure they receive fair wages and recognition for their craft.

Erna Janine from The Netherlands runs Freeweaver Studio in London, driven by her love of sustainable fashion and enthusiasm to share the joy of weaving with others. Both her grandmothers inspired her love of the craft: one was a shepherd who processed her own wool and the other was one of the last women in Holland to wear traditional costume.

Produced by Emily Naylor

(Image: (L) Damla Saydam courtesy Damla Saydam. (R), Erna Janine credit Ben Veasey.)


MON 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3c2g2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 05:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fj9ggn)
US and Ukraine give positive account of their talks

The White House says the consultations reaffirmed that any future agreement must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty and deliver a sustainable and just peace.

A senior official in the Lebanese milotant group Hezbollah has been killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut. The country's president is urging the international community to do more to end Israel's attacks. We'll hear from an expert on Lebanon's conflict with Israel.

And we'll hear about the UNESCO World Heritage Site Machu Pichu in Peru - it is lucrative source of funds for the government. But there are conflicts about how that money is being spent and whether it is benefiting the tourists and locals.

(Photo: US presidential envoy Witkoff, second left, and US Secretary of state Rubio, right, at the beginning of talks in Geneva; Credit: AP)


MON 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3c666)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 06:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fj9l6s)
'Tremendous progress' made to end war in Ukraine

Ukraine and its European allies had expressed concern over leaked proposals, seen as favouring Russia and welcomed by Vladimir Putin as "the basis" for settlement.

Hezbollah's chief of staff has been killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital as the country's president urges the international community to do more to end Israel's attacks - we'll hear from a Lebanese MP and former deputy prime minister.

And as the United Nations Climate Change Conference has come to a close - we'll look at whether any progress has been made with a senior UN climate scientist who attended the conference in Brazil.

(Photo: A firefighter works at the site of a Russia drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv; Credit: Reuters)


MON 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3c9yb)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 07:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fj9pyx)
US and Ukraine draft an updated peace framework

US Secretary of State, Rubio said there was "still some work to be done", while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were "signals that President Trump's team is hearing us".

Hezbollah's chief of staff has been killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital as the country's president urges the international community to do more to end Israel's attacks - we'll speak to an envoy of Israel's foreign ministry.

While more aid is now entering Gaza, the World Food Programme says it’s been getting in only about two-thirds of the volume of food supplies it hoped, and that there are still access constraints.

(Photo: Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Yermak and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio talk to the press; Credit: AP)


MON 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3cfpg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 08:06 The Interview (w3ct7x0l)
Twinkle Khanna: Indian women’s aspirations have changed

‘When it comes to women's lives, things have progressed, maybe not always in a linear way.’

Devina Gupta speaks to author and columnist Twinkle Khanna about the lives of women in 21st century India.

Khanna’s column in the Times of India, Mrs Funnybones, captures the contradictions of being a modern Indian woman — one day praying to a cow, the next filing a tax return. It was turned into a book in 2015 that sold over 100,000 copies in its first year alone.

Born into a family of Bollywood royalty, Khanna initially followed her parents Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna into acting. However, despite appearing in dozens of films and receiving accolades for her performances, she considers herself to have been a ‘failed actress’.

After a short stint as an interior designer, she turned her hand to writing, and soon realised how much she could make people laugh.

As a prominent writer, however, Khanna has faced significant backlash - including for comments challenging both traditional roles within marriage and religious customs that label women impure during menstruation. Her outspoken views on gender norms and marital expectations have led to heated debate on social media, and made her the subject of widespread trolling.

So with the follow-up Mrs Funnybones book coming out over a decade later, she’s now asking the much larger question: what, if anything, has changed for Indian women in that time.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Devina Gupta
Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson and Aakriti Thapar
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Twinkle Khanna: Credit: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)


MON 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq1syv)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 08:32 Business Daily (w3ct6ryl)
Monetising Machu Picchu

Peru is home to Machu Picchu - the ancient Inca city in the Andes mountains.

It's one of the seven wonders of the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The popular tourist destination attracts millions of visitors, making it very lucrative for the government, local and international businesses.

But Machu Picchu is in trouble.

Social conflicts, fights over who benefits from the money being made through ticket sales and transport are just some of the problems its facing.

Jane Chambers visits Peru to find out what's going on and if there are other local sites for tourist to visit instead.

Produced and presented by Jane Chambers
Editor: Helen Thomas

(Image: A group of tourists waves while leaving on foot due to a protest by residents in Machu Picchu on 16 September 2025 over which bus company should run the local route. Credit: Getty Images)


MON 08:50 Witness History (w3ct7472)
Toy Story: the first digitally-animated feature film

Released in 1995, this buddy movie about a cowboy doll and a toy astronaut was the first to use entirely computer-generated images.

The story, about a group of toys who come alive when humans are not around, appealed to audiences around the world.

In 2017, animator Doug Sweetland spoke to Ashley Byrne about his work on the Pixar film. This was a Made in Manchester production.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Woody and Buzz Lightyear toy figures. Credit: Getty Images/Oli Scarff)


MON 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ckfl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 09:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jbyfz)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq1xpz)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 09:32 CrowdScience (w3ct6stn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:32 today]


MON 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3cp5q)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 10:06 The History Hour (w3ct71wr)
Juan Carlos becomes King of Spain and ending the Bosnian war

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Our guest is Mercedes Peñalba- Sotorrío, a senior lecturer in modern European history at Manchester Metropolitan University, England.

We start with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975 ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain.

Then, we use archive to hear how King Juan Carlos reclaimed the Spanish throne in 1975 and led the country to a democracy. This episode was made in collaboration with BBC Archives.

We hear from a Social Democrat politician about Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to suspend asylum rules for Syrians fleeing war in 2015.

How the Bosnian war ended with the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995.

Next, how a substitute fielder ran out the Australian captain in the fourth test of the 2005 Ashes, turning the game in England's favour.

Finally, we use archive to hear about cold war diplomacy in the Geneva summit in 1985.

Contributors:

José Antonio Martínez Soler - a journalist.

King Juan Carlos - the former King of Spain (from archive).

Aydan Özoğuz - a Social Democrat politician and former minister of state for immigration.

Milan Milutinović - a negotiator in the Dayton Peace Accords.

Gary Pratt - a fielder in the England cricket team in the 2005 Ashes series.

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev - The former US President and former Soviet leader (from archive).

(Image: King Juan Carlos, 1975. Credit: Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty images)


MON 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3csxv)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jc5y7)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq2567)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 11:32 The Global Story (w3ct717d)
The decision facing Zelensky

American, Ukrainian and European negotiators met in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss a US-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was faced with a dilemma last week – either make concessions to Putin, or risk losing US support. But Zelensky said there were "signals that President Trump's team hears us", and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a "tremendous amount of progress" had been achieved.

We’re joined by the Oscar-winning Ukrainian film-maker Mstyslav Chernov, and by BBC Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse, to discuss how Ukrainians feel about the leaked peace plan.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky sits inside a vehicle. Credit: Susana Vera/Reuters.


MON 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3cxnz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 12:06 Outlook (w3ct6wqm)
Lee Miller’s secret lives made it hard for her to be my mum

Growing up Antony Penrose didn’t get on with his mother, Lee Miller. He saw her as a cruel alcoholic during much of his childhood. It wasn’t until she died that he discovered how extraordinary she was; she’d been a fashion model in the 1920s, a groundbreaking surrealist artist in the 1930s, and a war photographer in World War Two.

She witnessed first-hand the battle for liberation in Europe and the discovery of concentration camps. Antony knew nothing of this painful experience while she was alive. Realising what she had been through helped him understand his own relationship with his mother.

This episode contains references to childhood sexual abuse.

Lee Miller, an exhibition of over 250 of Lee Miller's photographs is at Tate Britain in London until February 2026.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Julian Siddle

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Lee Miller, Self-portrait New York studio. Photo is a black and white image side profile of Lee Miller in crushed velvet dress looking over the back of an armchair. Credit: Lee Miller Archives, England)


MON 12:50 Witness History (w3ct7472)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


MON 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3d1f3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 13:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jcffh)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 13:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq2dph)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 13:32 The Conversation (w3ct709n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]


MON 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3d557)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 14:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmj9qv)
US and Ukraine signal peace plan progress after Geneva talks

Negotiations on a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine are continuing after the United States said progress had been made on Sunday. Moscow says it's not been informed of changes to a draft widely seen as favouring Russia.

Also on the programme: a three year old boy from California suffering from a rare, genetic disorder called Hunter syndrome, has become the first person in the world to be treated with a gene therapy developed in England; and Jimmy Cliff, the musician credited with introducing Jamaican reggae to the world, has died aged 81.

(Photo: Russian missile and drone assaults on Ukraine continue as its leaders hold talks with the US on a potential peace deal. Credit: Reuters)


MON 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3d8xc)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 15:06 The Interview (w3ct7x0l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


MON 15:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq2n5r)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 15:32 Business Daily (w3ct6ryl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


MON 15:50 World Business Express (w3ct886d)
Vodafone boss on the threat to the world’s internet

We hear from Vodafone's boss Margherita Della Valle on rising threats to vital undersea internet cables.

We're days out from the UK's budget, what do we need to know? Britain's finance minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, is under presure to balance the country's books.

And Japan once dominated the chip industry, but decades of decline left it trailing behind the likes of Taiwan and South Korea. Now, Tokyo is investing billions of dollars to try and turn that around. We hear from our Asia Business Correspondent Suranjana Tewari in Japan, to find out if the country can reclaim its tech.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producer: Haider Saleem
Editor: Justin Bones


MON 16:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ddnh)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 16:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhg8sg)
Trump hints at 'big progress' in Ukraine talks

The US and Ukraine held weekend talks in Geneva, and Donald Trump says "don't believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening". The Kremlin's spokesman says Russia has received no official information regarding the talks. President Zelensky says giving Ukrainian territory to Russia is the "main problem". We have the latest on the talks and speak to regular Ukrainians about what they think the country should concede for peace.

Jimmy Cliff, one of the most prominent and beloved proponents of reggae music, has died at the age of 81. We look back at his life and career and speak to music journalists in Jamaica.

The Pacific archipelago nation of Palau was the site of fierce battles in the final stages of The Second World War, when US troops wrested it from Japanese control. Our colleague at the BBC's Global China unit has been to Palau to look into Chinese influence there.

The US designation of the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation comes into force today as Washington ramps up its pressure on the president Nicolas Maduro. Our global affairs reporter gives more details.

Presenter: Luke Jones.

(Photo: Several killed, dozens injured after overnight Russian strikes in Ukraine's Kharkiv - 24 Nov 2025. Credit: SERGEY KOZLOV/EPA/Shutterstock)
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MON 17:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3djdm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 17:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhgdjl)
Abductions in Nigerian schools

A father has told the BBC he felt powerless as he witnessed gunmen on motorbikes abduct dozens of children, including his son, after storming a Catholic boarding school in northern Nigeria in the early hours of Friday. The Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria says 265 people are still missing after a mass kidnapping from a school in Niger state on Friday. We speak to our reporter who has been speaking to parents.

A three-year-old boy is the first person with Hunter syndrome to receive a pioneering gene therapy. We explain what gene therapy involves and hear from parents of children living with the condition.

We hear tributes for Dharmendra Deol, one of India’s most celebrated actors and Bollywood action stars, who has died at 89.

The social media firm X has begun identifying which region users access their account from. BBC Verify has been assessing what this means for transparency and tackling disinformation.

Presenter: Luke Jones.

(Photo: Parents of kidnapped schoolchildren wait outside St. Mary's Private Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, Nigeria, 24 November 2025. Credit: AFOLABI SOTUNDE/EPA/Shutterstock)


MON 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3dn4r)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 18:06 Outlook (w3ct6wqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


MON 18:50 Witness History (w3ct7472)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


MON 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3drww)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jd4x8)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq3458)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 19:32 Sport Today (w3ct6z5y)
2025/11/24 GMT

BBC sports correspondents tell the story behind today's top sporting news, with interviews and reports from across the world.


MON 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3dwn0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 20:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3ct6tsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:06 on Sunday]


MON 20:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq37xd)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 20:32 Discovery (w3ct6swy)
The animal employment agency

We live in a time of automation and robotics; the machines run the factories, and AI will soon take all the jobs. Yet, even today, there are certain niche jobs where only an animal will do. Comedian and biologist Simon Watt meets some of them and the people who train them, study them, and love them.

He starts with a business of ferrets (yes, that is their collective noun) at the National Ferret School in Derbyshire, who have swapped rabbit holes and trouser legs for drain-clearing, rewiring, and laying fibre optic cables. Ferret Trainer James McKay demonstrates why they are perfect for the job, as he casually folds one trainee into a tight pretzel.

Simon visits the HQ of Medical Detection Dogs, a training facility in Milton Keynes where dogs are being trained to sniff the tell-tale signs of a host of diseases. You may have heard of their 'cancer dogs', but it goes much further - epilepsy, malaria, Parkinson's, even Covid-19. Dr Claire Guest explains.

Although we have no real idea exactly how dogs do what they do, AI may be on the cusp of solving this puzzle for us. Simon speaks to Dr Andreas Mershin from start-up Realnose, which is developing “electronic noses".

Finally, Simon meets some real heroes - HeroRats, to be precise. Not the same species that haunts our sewers, these are African Giant Pouched Rats, and their job as landmine detection specialists is saving lives across Thailand, Mozambique, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. Dr Cynthia Fast from UCLA trains them for the job.

Presenter: Simon Watt
Producer: Emily Knight


MON 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3f0d4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmk4yr)
Zelensky warns against giving away territory

President Zelensky has hailed what he called "important steps" in peace talks for Ukraine, but said making territorial concessions to Russia's leader would be rewarding him for theft.

Also in the programme: A judge has dismissed charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James; we meet the 3 year old with a deadly genetic disorder who's been treated with a pioneering new therapy; and Gaza food kitchens still missing essential products despite ceasefire.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)


MON 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3f448)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jdj4n)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


MON 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq3hdn)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 22:32 World Business Report (w3ct76tr)
Goodbye Doge

The US federal government's Department for Government Efficiency, Doge, has ended its cost-cutting mission eight months early. Bisi Adebayo examines whether it achieved what it set out to do.
And as the latest iteration of the Wicked movie franchise hits the big screen, we ask what its success can tell us about the resilience of Hollywood.
Photo by SARAH YENESEL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock. Federal workers picket against Doge cuts by Elon Musk, New York, USA - 25 Mar 2025


MON 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3f7wd)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


MON 23:06 The Interview (w3ct7x0l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


MON 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq3m4s)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


MON 23:32 The Conversation (w3ct709n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]

TUESDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2025

TUE 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fcmj)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 00:06 The History Hour (w3ct71wr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:06 on Monday]


TUE 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fhcn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jdwd1)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq3vn1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 01:32 The Global Story (w3ct717d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:32 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fm3s)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jf045)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq3zd5)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 02:32 Assignment (w3ct6rcj)
Stemming the tide in Normandy

Coastal erosion has become a serious problem for many seaside communities, no more so than in Normandy, in north-west France, where rising sea levels, strong tides and stronger storms have swept away homes, sand dunes and beaches.

Every year the sea here is reclaiming several metres of coastline. But there are arguments over what to do about it.

In the area around Coutainville beachfront homeowners, oyster producers and campsites are confronting local and national authority plans for some of them to move and to allow nature to take its course. Some locals, suspicious of outside influence, argue this is a conspiracy by environmentalists to get rid of them. And yet others say the growing impact of climate change on coastal erosion is there for all to see.

Carolyn Lamboley speaks to those on both sides of the debate about what can be done to stem the tide.

Producer: John Murphy
Studio mix: Neil Churchill
Production coordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Editor: Penny Murphy

Photo: BBC/John Murphy


TUE 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fqvx)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 03:06 Outlook (w3ct6wqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Monday]


TUE 03:50 Witness History (w3ct7472)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Monday]


TUE 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fvm1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 04:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jf7mf)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq46wf)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 04:32 In the Studio (w3ct6vvc)
The Shiralee: D'Arcy Niland's 1955 Australian western

The Shiralee is a 1955 novel by D'Arcy Niland, telling the story of a wandering swagman on a journey through the Australian outback, accompanied by his 10-year-old daughter. It was made into a 1957 film by Ealing Studios, starring Peter Finch, and now it is being brought to the stage of the Sydney Opera House by the Sydney Theatre Company.

Mark Burman talks to the show's cast and crew, including playwright Kate Mulvany, about this Australian classic's journey to the stage.

This episode contains a reference to suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org

(Image: Ziggy Resnick, Josh McConville and Kate Mulvany in rehearsals for the Shiralee. Credit: Prudence Upton)


TUE 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3fzc5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 05:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjdccr)
Judge dismisses case against ex-FBI director Comey

The White House says "The facts of the indictments against Comey and James have not changed and this will not be the final word on this matter."

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv has been under a massive air attack by Russia in the early hours of Tuesday. Reports say apartment blocks have been hit -- with fires in at least two residential buildings. We'll bring you the latest.

Two high-profile officials in the US who've previously investigated Donald Trump have had charges against them dismissed by a federal judge. The prosecutions have been described by Trump critics as politically-motivated. We'll speak to a former government lawyer.

(Photo: The Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse is seen during a motion hearing for former FBI Director James Comey; Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)


TUE 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3g339)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 06:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjdh3w)
Ukraine comes under Russian attack

Russia and Ukraine have traded air attacks, with civilian deaths reported on both sides. we go live to Kyiv

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan ratchet up with the Taliban government accusing its neighbour of bombing a number of Afghan provinces. We'll have the very latest from Kabul.

And we have a special report on the so-called scam centres in South East Asia which are now firmly in the sights of international prosecutors and even Myanmar's military.

(Photo: A firefighter assists residents during an evacuation at the site of an apartment building in Kyiv; Credit: Reuters)


TUE 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3g6vf)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 07:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjdlw0)
Russia and Ukraine trade deadly strikes

Ukraine's air defence units responded to the attack as explosions were heard across Kyiv and residents were urged to take shelter in underground car parks and bunkers. Ukraine's Ministry of Energy also confirmed a "massive, combined enemy attack" on the country's energy infrastructure facilities.

The Venezuelan government has said it is "ridiculous" for the US to designate a drug gang allegedly run by President Nicolas Maduro as a terrorist organisation. A lawyer who previously advised the Venezuelan government gives us her take.

And why many Haitians face a very uncertain future in the US

(Photo: Residents wait in the balcony for evacuation at an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike; Credit:Reuters)


TUE 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3gblk)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 08:06 People Fixing The World (w3ct6xyk)
Preserving Peru’s food heritage

Peru is famous for its diverse and innovative cuisine - but how is it making sure its venerable food heritage is preserved for decades to come? We meet the indigenous Quechua people who are cultivating more than 1300 species of potato, working with scientists to safeguard seeds in community banks as part of both ecological and cultural efforts. And we hear how communities in the high Andes are turning back to crops like quinoa and kiwacha in the face of climate pressures and the desire to boost nutrition.

People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.

Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Jane Chambers
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Annie Gardiner

(Image: Peruvian farmer Victoria Quispe on her farm, Jesus Infantes, SIMPLi)


TUE 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq4pvy)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 08:32 Business Daily (w3ct6s7m)
Is this the end for South East Asia's scam centres?

It’s one of the biggest human trafficking operations of modern times. Scam centres across South East Asia have been making hundreds of billions of dollars annually, it’s estimated, conning people into fake crypto-currency investment schemes.

But now these centres could be coming under threat, with both military and legal moves by global enforcement challenging their apparent impunity.

Presented and produced by Ed Butler

(Picture: An aerial photo showing the KK Park complex in Myanmar, taken in September 2025. Credit: Getty Images)


TUE 08:50 Witness History (w3ct74nn)
Colombia's Salt Cathedral

In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine in Colombia.

The idea came from the miners building makeshift altars in the mine in the 1930s, to pray for their safety before starting their shifts.

It’s now a major tourist attraction, attracting more than 600,000 visitors a year.

Rachel Naylor speaks to the engineer behind it, Jorge Enrique Castelblanco.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Tourists in the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Credit: Phil Clarke Hill / In Pictures via Getty Images)


TUE 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ggbp)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 09:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jfvc2)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq4tm2)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 09:32 Assignment (w3ct6rcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:32 today]


TUE 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3gl2t)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 10:06 The Arts Hour (w3ct6zv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:06 on Saturday]


TUE 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3gpty)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jg2vb)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq523b)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 11:32 The Global Story (w3ct71cx)
Can Trump’s Gaza plan turn a ceasefire into permanent peace?

A ceasefire took effect in Gaza just over six weeks ago, and although both sides have accused the other of multiple violations of the agreement, there has not been the return to full-blown war that many feared. But the ceasefire agreement that was signed in early October was not a complete peace settlement. It left many issues still to be negotiated.

That ceasefire was part of the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. Last week, that plan came a step closer to reality when a resolution endorsing it was adopted by the UN Security Council. Within that 20-point plan - which covers everything from how to disarm Hamas, to who should govern Gaza – there are many sticking points that are still unresolved.

We speak to Yolande Knell, the BBC's Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem, and ask whether Trump’s plan can still bring a permanent peace to Gaza. And what could happen if it fails?

Producer: Viv Jones

Executive producer: James Shield, China Collins

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Hamas militant in Gaza city. Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas


TUE 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3gtl2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 12:06 Outlook (w3ct6x59)
Ash Atalla and The Office: how I started a TV phenomenon

Ash Atalla is the original producer of the hit TV show, The Office, and the proud recipient of multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs and British Comedy Awards.

But that success was by no means a given, as his life was almost over before it began. Born in Cairo in 1972, Ash contracted polio when he was six months old and was sent home by doctors to die. Although he eventually pulled through, the virus had taken its toll and his parents decided that life as a wheelchair-user would be better supported in the UK. The family moved to Northern Ireland and then to England where Ash excelled at his studies before getting himself a junior TV role at the BBC. It was there, as a researcher in the comedy department, that Ash was introduced to two men who would change his life.

A young BBC trainee called Stephen Merchant and his friend, Ricky Gervais, had made a film called Seedy Boss and showed the tape to Ash. He loved it and felt certain it would make the perfect comedy series. Ash took it to the TV commissioners and made the unlikely pitch of a sitcom based in an office performed by unknown actors. It was a long-shot, but they saw the potential, commissioned a series and The Office was born. Since the original UK series in 2001, The Office has been made into 14 international versions with millions of viewers worldwide. Ash reflects on the fame, accolades, parties, and the challenge of moving on after spawning a global phenomenon.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Anna Lacey

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Ash Atalla is wearing a brown sport jacket with white piping. He has a shaved head and a short beard and has a slight smile. Credit: Roughcut TV)


TUE 12:50 Witness History (w3ct74nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


TUE 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3gyb6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 13:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jgbbl)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 13:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq59ll)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 13:32 In the Studio (w3ct6vvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]


TUE 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3h22b)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 14:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmm6my)
US officials claim progress in Ukraine peace talks

As American officials brief that they're making progress in peace negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine war, we get a view from Moscow on what kind of deal might be acceptable to Russia.

Also in the programme: why is femicide – the killing of women – especially by intimate partners or close relatives, still so common around the world? We hear from the UN about what needs to happen to bring the numbers down; and ash from a volcano in Ethiopia which has erupted after many dormant years forces flights out of India to re-route.

(IMAGE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a joint press conference with Belarusian Foreign Minister in Moscow, Russia, 25 November 2025 / CREDIT: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)


TUE 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3h5tg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 15:06 People Fixing The World (w3ct6xyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


TUE 15:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq5k2v)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 15:32 Business Daily (w3ct6s7m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


TUE 15:50 World Business Express (w3ct888g)
Can the UK Budget balance the books?

Britain's finance minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, is expected to raise taxes for both individuals and businesses in the UK's budget tomorrow. We hear from a restaurant owner on his concerns for the hospitality sector.

And why Serbia says its main oil refinery may shut down within days.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producer: Haider Saleem
Editor: Justin Bones


TUE 16:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3h9kl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 16:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhk5pk)
Do Ukrainian soldiers want the war to end?

US officials have told the BBC they believe Ukraine is ready to sign a peace agreement, and that progress is also being made with Russia following three days of negotiations. A US team is in Abu Dhabi where consultations with both countries have continued in an attempt to bridge considerable differences over territory and security guarantees. We speak to Ukrainian soldiers and their wives about their hopes for peace.

Four more people have been arrested in connection with last month's theft of priceless jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris. We hear the latest from our correspondent.

We hear a conversation with a father and son about the generational differences on views around climate change. Rich is an airline pilot of many years, and his son Finn is a climate activist.

(Photo: Ukrainian servicemen ride a military buggy along a road near the front line town of Pokrovsk, November 23, 2025. Credit: Reuters/
Anatolii Stepanov)


TUE 17:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3hf9q)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 17:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhk9fp)
Kidnapping in Nigeria

There has been another kidnapping in Nigeria, this time in the west of the country. 11 people are reported to have been abducted from the village of Isapa in Kwara state, close to where 35 people were taken last week. This comes amid a wave of high profile mass abductions across the country in recent weeks. We speak to people affected.

In the US over a million people rely on a scheme called Temporary Protected Status. It allows people to live and work in America if their country of origin is unsafe to return to. In February, 350,000 Haitians will lose that protection and face a very uncertain future if they’re returned home, where gangs now control 90% of the capital. Five months on from her last visit to Port au Prince, Nawal al-Maghafi has been to Florida, where a Haitian-American family looks set to be split up by Trump’s immigration policies.

We speak to the owners of 'hero' dogs - after the story went viral of a golden retriever who helped save her owner's life when he suffered a cardiac arrest in his sleep.

(Photo: Parents of kidnapped schoolchildren wait outside St. Mary's Private Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, Nigeria, 24 November 2025. Credit: Afolabi Sotunde/EPA/Shutterstock)


TUE 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3hk1v)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 18:06 Outlook (w3ct6x59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


TUE 18:50 Witness History (w3ct74nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


TUE 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3hnsz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jh1tc)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq612c)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 19:32 Sport Today (w3ct6zbg)
2025/11/25 GMT

BBC sports correspondents tell the story behind today's top sporting news, with interviews and reports from across the world.


TUE 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3hsk3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 20:06 Assignment (w3ct6rcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:32 today]


TUE 20:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq64th)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 20:32 Tech Life (w3ct6zpr)
Should we allow AI into the classroom?

Does AI have a role in education? Some private schools in the United States are swapping traditional teacher-led classroom lessons for laptops and personalised apps. We speak to pupils and the co-founder of the school network embracing AI-assisted learning.

Also in this edition: We're lifting the lid on online scams around the world. Hear how one woman was conned out of a large sum of money, and an expert tells us what we should be wary of online.

Presenter: Chris Vallance
Producer: Tom Quinn

(Image: Rear view of a large group of high school students in a computer lab. They have laptops on their desks. Credit: Getty Images)


TUE 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3hx97)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmn1vv)
Ukraine calls for Trump-Zelensky meeting in US this week

Ukraine's President Zelensky says he's ready to meet President Trump to discuss the most sensitive points of US- drafted peace agreement with Russia. But he said his country's European allies should also join the meeting. Mr Zelensky was addressing a gathering of the Coalition of the Willing - a group of nations which supports Kyiv. We will hear from an Ukrainian MP who is in London to meet with British lawmakers.

Also in the programme: Scientists in the UK have established that the brain ages through five distinct stages over its lifetime; and Los Angeles' most famous modernist-styled house goes on sale for the first time.

(Picture: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine on 25 November, 2025. Credit: MAXYM MARUSENKO/EPA/Shutterstock)


TUE 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3j11c)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jhf1r)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


TUE 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq6d9r)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 22:32 World Business Report (w3ct76c1)
Half of Venezuela flights cancelled

An airline industry body in Venezuela tells Will Bain flights in and out the country have already been cut by half, with major disruption looming as a dispute over the safety of Venezuelan airspace intensifies.

Also, are American consumers starting to feel the pinch? We examine a series of data points suggesting confidence may be on the wane.

And how a misplaced passkey left one of the world’s leading internet security firms red-faced.

Photo by MIGUEL GUTIERREZ
Passengers wait in a line at Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves Caracas, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, 24 November 2025.


TUE 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3j4sh)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


TUE 23:06 People Fixing The World (w3ct6xyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


TUE 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq6j1w)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


TUE 23:32 In the Studio (w3ct6vvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]

WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2025

WED 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3j8jm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 00:06 The Arts Hour (w3ct6zv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:06 on Saturday]


WED 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3jd8r)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jhs94)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq6rk4)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 01:32 The Global Story (w3ct71cx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:32 on Tuesday]


WED 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3jj0w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jhx18)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq6w98)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 02:32 The Climate Question (w3ct702v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:06 on Sunday]


WED 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3jms0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 03:06 Outlook (w3ct6x59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Tuesday]


WED 03:50 Witness History (w3ct74nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Tuesday]


WED 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3jrj4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 04:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jj4jj)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq73sj)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 04:32 Cyber Hack (w3ct89yf)
Evil Corp

6. Fatherland

Investigators hunting for Maksim Yakubets, allege he is working with the FSB – Russia’s security agency. They say the Evil Corp gang has stolen more than $100m from at least 300 victim organisations in 43 countries - but who is the powerful man in Moscow said to be protecting Maksim, their alleged leader? We follow his family’s journey from a humble sausage factory in Ukraine to the Russian high-life – and the frontier of cybercrime.

Hosted by Joe Tidy, the BBC’s cyber correspondent – one of the few Western journalists to have met an alleged member of Evil Corp – and the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford, who spent more than two decades reporting from Moscow.


WED 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3jw88)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 05:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjh88v)
Taiwan to increase defence spending

Taiwan's president has confirmed a big increase in defence spending, saying China is speeding up military preparations to take the island by force.

President Trump says US negotiators are making progress in their efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, developing a deal that's good for both sides. He confirmed that territorial concessions by Ukraine were still on the agenda, and said the big concession from Russia would be to stop fighting.


And authorities in Nigeria say 24 schoolgirls abducted in the western state of Kebbi a week ago have been freed. The kidnapping of the girls was the latest in a wave of mass kidnappings in the country.

Presenters: James Copnall and Pria Rai

(Photo: Commissioning ceremony for Taiwan's first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu. Yi-Chin Lee/Reuters)


WED 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3k00d)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 06:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjhd0z)
Taiwan to increase defence spending by $40 billion

Taiwan's president has confirmed a big increase in defence spending, saying China is speeding up military preparations to take the island by force.

President Trump says US negotiators are making progress in their efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, developing a deal that's good for both sides. He confirmed that territorial concessions by Ukraine were still on the agenda, and said the big concession from Russia would be to stop fighting.

Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to start serving his 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the last election. The Supreme Court has now concluded his case, meaning he can no longer appeal.

Presenters: James Copnall and Pria Rai

(Photo: Taiwanese soldiers stand guard next to USA- made M1A2T ABRAMS tanks during the launching ceremony for the M1A2T Tank Battalion, in Hukou Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. Credit: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA)


WED 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3k3rj)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 07:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjhhs3)
Taiwan to boost defence spending

Taiwan says it is to spend 40 billion dollars more on defence saying it needs to defend itself as it faces a rising threat from China. We talk to an official from Taiwan's National Security Council.

Donald Trump says Russia is "making concessions" in talks to end the Ukraine war. He also says that Ukraine is "happy" with the way the talks are progressing. We speak to a Ukrainian politician to find out if they are.

And Italian politicians have unanimously voted to make femicide, the murder of women motivated by gender, a crime punishable with a life sentence.

Presenters: James Copnall and Pria Rai

(Photo: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference on defence spending in Taipei, Taiwan. Credit: Yimou Lee/Reuters)


WED 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3k7hn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 08:06 The Interview (w3ct7x7c)
Sir Nick Clegg: Social media’s power paradox

Amol Rajan speaks to Sir Nick Clegg - former deputy Prime Minister of the UK and, more recently, former President of Global Affairs at Meta - about big tech, AI and the future of social media.

Sir Nick first appeared on the world stage back in 2010, when he became the UK’s deputy prime minister after his Liberal Democrats party went into a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservatives.

After leaving Westminster in 2017, he surprised many political observers when he was hired by Facebook, now known as Meta, to head up their global affairs and communications. In 2022, Sir Nick was then promoted to become the company’s president of global affairs, where he oversaw policy and government relations.

Sir Nick subsequently worked closely with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for several years, but decided to step down at the beginning of this year.

And now, amid growing concerns over the regulation of big tech, the growth of AI and the future of the internet itself, he’s drawing on his vast experience from both Westminster and Silicon Valley to offer insight into what could be ahead.

Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for their help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Ben Cooper, Anna Budd and Lewis Vickers
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Sir Nick Clegg. Credit: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)


WED 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq7ls1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 08:32 Business Daily (w3ct6sd4)
The cocoa conundrum

Can Europe be weaned off cheap chocolate? EU efforts to block cocoa linked to deforestation were due to come into force at the end of this year – but have faced multiple delays. Another vote is due to take place soon. Some parties are pushing for further delay and modifications, but others are keen to see the rules come into force as planned. They apply to a number of raw materials, including cocoa.

There’s a big challenge facing the world’s biggest market for chocolate: balancing sustainability goals and the price consumers are willing to pay.

If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, you can send us an email at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presented and produced by Hannah Bewley
Additional reporting: Matthew Kenyon

(Picture: Close up of three cocoa beans hanging from a cocoa tree. Credit: Getty Images)


WED 08:50 Witness History (w3ct74qx)
The Howard Hughes literary hoax

In 1971, the publishing world was rocked by one of the biggest hoaxes in literary history – a fake autobiography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

Hughes was an aerospace engineer, film producer, record-breaking aviator and business tycoon, who’d built a $2 billion fortune to become one of the richest people in the world.

But for years he’d been living as a recluse, reportedly so terrified of catching a disease that he had almost no contact with the outside world.

That's why the publishers, McGraw Hill, were delighted when Clifford Irving, an American author, persuaded the billionaire to talk. They paid him a $750,000 advance.

But Irving had faked the entire manuscript, and after his scam was discovered, he was sentenced to jail. Jane Wilkinson has been through the BBC archives to find out how it happened.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Howard Hughes, 1947. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)


WED 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3kc7s)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 09:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jjr85)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq7qj5)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 09:32 The Climate Question (w3ct702v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:06 on Sunday]


WED 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3kgzx)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 10:06 The Documentary (w3ct8h7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Saturday]


WED 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3klr1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jjzrf)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq7z0f)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 11:32 The Global Story (w3ct71g5)
The international drama of Miss Universe

Miss Universe 2025 has been rocked by controversies and chaos, from stage falls and contestants storming out, to judges quitting and allegations of vote rigging – which the organisers deny.

The pageant – styled as a celebration of women of all backgrounds and nationalities – has suffered waning international attention in recent years, with many questioning the ideals of femininity it seems to espouse.

Could the drama of this year’s competition get people watching again?

BBC journalist and Miss Universe expert, William Lee Adams, joins us to discuss.

Producers: Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins


WED 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3kqh5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 12:06 Outlook (w3ct6xd6)
The human cannonball family

In the late 1960s, David Smith was a bored high school maths teacher in the US when he ran away to join the circus. He made his name as a gifted trapeze artist before deciding to build a cannon out of which he would be launched, and soar into the air at great speed. This new act, as 'Cannonball Smith', electrified audiences across America. As his reputation grew, so did his family, and together with his wife Jeannie he raised six children on the road. As soon as they could walk, they were swinging on trapezes and as teens they got their first experience of getting shot out of a cannon themselves. Five of his children went on to become professional human cannonballs, with record-breaking results. Mobeen Azhar talks to David 'Cannonball Smith' and his children, Jennifer 'Cannon Lady' Smith and Dave 'The Bullet' Smith Jnr, about their unusual family dynasty.

Fatimatu Bachir Mustafa was born in a refugee camp in Algeria deep in the Sahara, home for the Sahrawi people displaced from Western Sahara when the war began there in 1975. As a teenager, a project called Summers in Peace saw her and other children placed with families in Spain and the UK to escape the deadly summer temperatures. Fati, as she is known, loved her holidays in Spain but her favourite place was Manchester in the north of England. She got on well with the host family there and loved the rainy climate, but she didn't like their food. They welcomed her with a vegetarian feast, something very different from the Sahrawi diet which traditionally contains a lot of meat. Years later, back in the camp and pregnant, Fati became anaemic and realising she was lacking nutrients decided she wanted to grow vegetables - in the Sahara. Despite the extreme conditions, with the help of her surrogate family in Manchester she set up an extraordinary vegetable-growing project in the desert, transforming the diet in her community. She tells Mobeen about that fateful meal and how learning to love vegetables sparked a food revolution.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producers: Zoe Gelber and Rachel Oakes

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photos from left to right: The Smiths with Jay Leno; David Smith Snr in front of his cannon; Dave 'The Bullet' Smith Jnr getting fired out of a cannon. Photos courtesy of Dave Smith Jnr.)


WED 12:50 Witness History (w3ct74qx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


WED 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3kv79)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 13:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jk77p)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 13:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq86hp)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 13:32 Cyber Hack (w3ct89yf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]


WED 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3kyzf)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 14:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmq3k1)
Taiwan to spend extra $40bn on defence to counter China

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has announced a plan to spend an extra $40 billion dollars on the military over the next eight years to resist Chinese aggression.

Also on the programme: at least 13 people have died in a fire in a tower block complex in Hong Kong; and the new "Russian cultural code” from fashion to music, aiming to define what it means to be Russian.

(Photo: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te gestures as he delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in Taipei on October 10, 2025. Credit: Reuters)


WED 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3l2qk)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 15:06 The Interview (w3ct7x7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


WED 15:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq8fzy)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 15:32 Business Daily (w3ct6sd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


WED 15:50 World Business Express (w3ct88bj)
Taxing more to cut the debt

The UK's net financial debt this year will be £2.6tn, meaning "one in every £10 the government spends is on debt interest". How are UK markets reacting to this? Leanna Byrne examines with our experts.

Also, in Australia, two 15-year-olds are taking their government to court over a new law that bans anyone under 16 from using social media.

And Iran is bringing in a higher fuel price, but only in certain situations.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producer: Ahmed Adan
Editor: Justin Bones


WED 16:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3l6gp)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 16:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhn2ln)
At least 13 dead in Hong Kong tower block fire

The number of those killed in a fire at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong has risen to at least 13. Flames have taken hold across all eight blocks of the development in the northern Tai Po district. We get more information from our reporter.

We hear from people in Taiwan about the government’s plans to increase defence spending, following China’s warning that resistance to reunification will never succeed.

We explain why Australia’s landmark social media ban for children is now being challenged in the country’s highest court.

We hear a conversation with three women who turned their own struggles with menopause in the workplace into a mission to educate others about perimenopause and menopause.

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: A man reacts, as smoke rises while flames engulf bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, November 26, 2025. Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters)


WED 17:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lb6t)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 17:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhn6bs)
Russia casts doubt on Ukraine peace deal

President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has indicated that its war in Ukraine is not ending anytime soon. Another Kremlin official confirmed the amended US peace plan had been received. We speak to our reporter with BBC Russian and hear a conversation with regular Russians about what they make of the developments.

Guinea-Bissau’s military says it has taken full control of the country after detaining President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, three days after the presidential election. The officers say they’ve suspended the electoral process and closed all borders indefinitely. Our global affairs reporter gives more details.

A Palestinian-American teenager is expected to appear in court in Israel later this week after nine months in detention without being charged. We speak to our correspondent in Jerusalem.

We hear from people in Taiwan about the government’s plans to increase defence spending.

Hong Kong chief executive John Lee has told a press briefing that 36 people have died in the fire in Tai Po, with at least 279 people not accounted for, in a tower block fire.

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) and Togo's President of the Council of Ministers Faure Gnassingbe (not pictured) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 19, 2025. Credit: Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters)


WED 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lfyy)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 18:06 Outlook (w3ct6xd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


WED 18:50 Witness History (w3ct74qx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


WED 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lkq2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jkyqg)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq8xzg)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 19:32 Sport Today (w3ct6zdq)
2025/11/26 GMT

BBC sports correspondents tell the story behind today's top sporting news, with interviews and reports from across the world.


WED 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lpg6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 20:06 The Climate Question (w3ct702v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:06 on Sunday]


WED 20:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq91ql)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 20:32 Health Check (w3ct6vkb)
Childhood hypertension becomes more common

A recent meta-analysis finds that childhood hypertension rates (commonly known as high blood pressure) are increasing significantly around the world. Professor of cardiovascular medicine and population health at the University of Oxford, Kazem Rahimi, explains what is driving this trend.

Recent changes in hormone therapy labels in the US come after years of lobbying by physicians and activists. Presenter’s friend, Dr Ann Robinson, explains how our understanding of hormone therapy – its risks and its benefits – has changed over time.

Can stress during pregnancy impact a baby’s development even after birth? Claudia speaks to associate professor Ying Meng at the University of Rochester School of Nursing in the US to find out more about the surprising impact of cortisol on baby teeth emergence.

Can weight loss drugs reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease? A new study sheds light on the answer. And, Health Check hears about an artificial tongue with a taste for spice.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producers: Helena Selby & Georgia Christie


WED 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lt6b)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmqyry)
Fire engulfs Hong Kong tower blocks

At least 36 people have been killed in a huge fire that has engulfed multiple high-rise buildings in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. Also on the programme, three people, including two soldiers from the US National Guard, have been shot in Washington, a few blocks from the White House; and, how noise in the ocean is affecting marine life.

(Photo:Fire burns bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)


WED 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3lxyg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jl9yv)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


WED 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq996v)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 22:32 World Business Report (w3ct76jq)
What does the UK budget show us about global debt challenges?

What’s the right approach when major economies are weighed down by growing debt? As the UK Government unveils its latest budget, Will Bain examines how debt is increasingly shaping economic decisions.

We also look at the rise of California-based live-stream shopping platform Whatnot, now valued at around $11 billion and fast becoming a serious challenger in retail.

And finally, what’s the big deal about wearing pajamas on planes?

(Photo: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves holds her budget box outside number 11 Downing Street in London. Credit: Tolga Akmen/EPA Images)


WED 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3m1pl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


WED 23:06 The Interview (w3ct7x7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


WED 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq9dyz)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


WED 23:32 Cyber Hack (w3ct89yf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]

THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2025

THU 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3m5fq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 00:06 The Documentary (w3ct8h7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Saturday]


THU 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3m95v)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jlp67)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq9ng7)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 01:32 The Global Story (w3ct71g5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:32 on Wednesday]


THU 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3mdxz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jlsyc)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pq9s6c)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 02:32 The Documentary (w3ct8vcl)
The Chinese Cryptoqueen

Between 2014 and 2017 thousands of ordinary Chinese people handed their money over to a company that promised them fabulous riches by helping them to ride the wave of the future - cryptocurrency. That vision collapsed when the shadowy figure behind it, Qian Zhimin, fled to the UK with a Bitcoin stash bought with their money.
She settled down in London, planning her comeback as the Queen of Liberland, a scrap of land on the banks of the Danube. But her downfall began when she botched an attempt to buy a north London mansion. This alerted the police, who arrested Qian and seized a stash of Bitcoin now worth billions of dollars.
Many investors put everything they had into the company. Several have now told the BBC how they were persuaded to invest, and how the company’s collapse led to personal and financial ruin.
Now, as Qian is sentenced, the question remains: will the victims get their money back?


THU 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3mjp3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 03:06 Outlook (w3ct6xd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Wednesday]


THU 03:50 Witness History (w3ct74qx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Wednesday]


THU 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3mnf7)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 04:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jm1fm)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqb0pm)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 04:32 The Food Chain (w3ct70zg)
To tip or not to tip?

Ruth Alexander explores the art and etiquette of tipping and how it varies around the world.

She hears from staff and customers in countries where tipping is essential and in places where it can be taken as an insult.

Ruth also talks to servers and bartenders about what your gratuity means to them and how tipping can sometimes bring out the best and worst in their customers.

Producer: Lexy O’Connor and Rumella Dasgupta

Sound mixing: Hal Haines

Image: A jar full of coins and notes has the word “tips” written on it. It floats on a red background. Credit: Nikola Stojadinovic / Getty


THU 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ms5c)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 05:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjl55y)
Dozens killed and hundreds missing in Hong Kong fire.

We examine the dramatic incident in Hong Kong yesterday after mulitple high-rise apartment buildings were engulfed by flames, More than forty people are now known to have been killed with many hundreds still unaccounted for.

In Washington DC two National Guard members are in critical condition after being shot just a few blocks away from the White House. The attack - described by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser as a targeted shooting - happened in the early afternoon on Wednesday. According to police, the suspect was shot four times at the scene, before being arrested and given medical treatment. President Donald Trump later confirmed the suspected shooter is a 29-year old Afghan national called Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered the US in 2021.

Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a nationwide security emergency, ordering the Nigerian Police and Armed Forces to recruit additional personnel to tackle rising insecurity across the country. These include an extra 50,000 new police officers in total. It comes as the country reels from multiple kidnappings of school children which have made international headlines in recent weeks.

Presenters: James Copnall and Anne Soy

(Photo: Smoke billows from an apartment fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China. Credit: Leung Man Hei/EPA)


THU 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3mwxh)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 06:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjl8y2)
At least 44 people killed in Hong Kong fire

At least 44 people have been killed in a major fire that engulfed public housing apartments in Hong Kong yesterday. More than 270 people are still not accounted for. Three construction company executives have been arrested. We speak to a journalist in Hong Kong.

The US Department of Homeland Security says it has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals indefinitely, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded in Washington. President Trump has said the suspect in Wednesday's shooting is a man who entered the country from Afghanistan in 2021.

As negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine gather pace in multiple capitals, sustained attacks continue on the ground. We hear from a resident of in the south-eastern city of Ziporizhzhia.

Presenters: James Copnall and Anne Soy

(Photo: A drone view shows flames and thick smoke rising from Wang Fuk Court housing estate during a major fire in Hong Kong. Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters)


THU 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3n0nm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 07:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjldp6)
Hong Kong firefighters searching for survivors

Firefighters in Hong Kong are searching for possible survivors from a huge fire that broke out at a complex of high-rise apartments housing more than four-thousand-six-hundred people. Hundreds are still missing: more than forty are confirmed dead. Police have arrested three men from a construction firm on suspicion of manslaughter.

The US Department of Homeland Security says it has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghan nationals indefinitely, after two National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded in Washington. President Trump said the suspect in the shooting is a man who entered the country from Afghanistan in 2021.

Pope Leo is today beginning his first foreign trip. He's going first to Turkey, where he's due to meet the leader of Orthodox Christians to mark the anniversary of a major council of the early church.

Presenters: James Copnall and Anne Soy

(Photo: A drone view shows flames and thick smoke rising from Wang Fuk Court housing estate during a major fire, in Tai Po, Hong Kong. Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters).


THU 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3n4dr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 08:06 The Inquiry (w3ct723k)
Is Cyprus moving closer to reunification?

The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the north after a military coup backed by Greece. Since then, the northern third has been run by a Turkish-Cypriot government. This self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised as an independent state only by Turkey, while the rest of the world sees it as part of Cyprus. The southern two-thirds of the island is run by an internationally recognised government led by Greek-Cypriots. Whilst the physical division between the two is maintained by a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Negotiations aimed at reunification have been attempted over the years and stalled. One of the biggest barriers has been the differences over what a future settlement would look like, with Turkey pushing for a two-state solution and the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The last formal attempt, supported by the United Nations, was in 2017 and took place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. And even though informal talks have continued since then, there has been little progress. Key sticking points remain over issues including political equality and what it means between the two communities, issues of governance and security.

But in October of this year, a new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, was elected. He supports federation and is in favour of the resumption of reunification talks. Is Cyprus moving closer to reunification?

Contributors:
Mete Hatay, Senior Research Consultant, PRIO Cyprus Centre, Oslo, Norway
Lefteris Adilinis, Political Analyst, Cyprus
Dr. Dorothée Schmid, Director, Middle East Programme, French Institute of International Relations, Paris, France
Kathleen Doherty, Former United States Ambassador to Cyprus, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: A United Nations worker rides bike through the UN Buffer Zone. Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)


THU 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqbhp4)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 08:32 Business Daily (w3ct6s33)
What makes a basketball team worth $10bn?

We look at the record-breaking sale of the Los Angeles Lakers which has just been approved by the board of the NBA - or National Basketball Association.

The Buss family had owned the team since 1979.

The new majority owner of the franchise is TWG Global CEO Mark Walter.

Mr Walter also has a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the professional US baseball team that won the World Series last year, as well as investments in Chelsea FC.

Produced and presented by Guy Kilty
Edited by Helen Thomas

(Image: Los Angeles Lakers star player LeBron James drives to the basket during the game against the Utah Jazz during the game on 23 November 2025. Credit: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)


THU 08:50 Witness History (w3ct74k7)
India goes to the UN

In 1946, an Indian woman made history by leading her country’s first delegation to the United Nations.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit described it as a moment that reshaped her life.

As the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, she was already in the public eye, but stepping onto the global stage was far from easy. She grappled with doubt before accepting the role at the United Nations.

This programme is made in collaboration with BBC Archives. Produced and presented by Gill Kearsley.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit speaking at the United Nations. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


THU 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3n84w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 09:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jmn58)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqbmf8)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 09:32 The Documentary (w3ct8vcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:32 today]


THU 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ncx0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 10:06 The Explanation (w3ct7yt0)
The Media Show: Another day, another BBC editing row?

Pressure on the BBC has continued after a line about Donald Trump was removed from the Reith Lectures on legal advice. Dame Caroline Dineage, Chair of the Culture Media and Sport Committee, and Lionel Barber, Former Editor of The Financial Times discuss the implications. Also on the show, Dr Alice Enders of Enders Analysis explains why The Telegraph has been sold to the owners of the Daily Mail in a £500m deal. And CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan on his new documentary investigating why claims about white farmers in South Africa continue to circulate in US politics

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Content producer: Lucy Wai
Production co-ordinator: Ruth Waites
Technical co-ordinator: Craig Johnson
Sound engineer: Robin Schroder


THU 10:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqbr5d)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 10:32 The Global Jigsaw (w3ct7yvg)
What is the 'Russian cultural code'?

Why the traditional kokoshnik headdress is en vogue in Russia, and how it has become a poster image for the Kremlin’s vision of national identity. When President Putin talks not of tanks but of tiaras, it’s a signal that symbolism matters. We unpick the dress code of the Russian “patriot” to explore a deeper idea at the heart of everything from fashion and music to entertainment and literature. We go on a mission to decode the “cultural code” that, in the eyes of Russia’s leaders, makes the nation unique - and morally superior.

Contributors: Veronika Malinboym, Yulia Volovik
Producer: Kriszta Satori
Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg
Music: Pete Cunningham


THU 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3nhn4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jmwnj)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqbvxj)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 11:32 The Global Story (w3ct719n)
Shein: How the fast fashion disruptor ran into real world problems

The backlash over the opening of Shein’s first brick and mortar store in Paris this month is just one in a series of controversies and complaints over the ultra-fast fashion retailer. As the company looks to go public, we explore whether its business model can withstand the world’s scrutiny.

Laura Bicker, the BBC’s China Correspondent, tells us what she found in the Guangzhou factories supplying Shein, and co-host Tristan Redman heads to the Paris store.


Producer: Hannah Moore

Executive producers: Bridget Harney and James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins


Photo: A customer shops at Shein in Paris, France. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters


THU 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3nmd8)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 12:06 Outlook (w3ct6wyd)
My private trauma was leaked to the press - so I fought back

When Jenny Evans was sexually assaulted and confidential details appeared in a national newspaper, she decided to investigate - uncovering police corruption, tabloid spying, and phone-hacking.

Jenny got a role in her first feature film when she was just 19 years old. At a film party in London she became separated from her friends and was sexually assaulted by a public figure she'd just met. At first she was too traumatised to report what had happened. But later, when other women came forward with similar stories about the same man, she finally felt able to go to the police. She provided a full testimony, but was shocked to see details from her police interview appear in a tabloid newspaper just a few days later. Jenny could not understand how this had happened, and the repeated tabloid stories about her led to a building sense of paranoia - she no longer knew who to trust. She eventually refused to talk to the police, the case against her attacker collapsed, and he was never prosecuted.

Jenny decided to train as a journalist to discover what had really taken place between the police and the press. She teamed up with the well-known investigative journalist Nick Davies, and helped to uncover corruption in London's Metropolitan Police Service and illegal newsgathering practices by some national newspapers including phone-hacking and spying. Their investigations contributed to some high-profile resignations, and the closure of one of the newspapers at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal. Jenny eventually received an apology and substantial payout from the Metropolitan Police.

This interview contains a description of sexual assault at the outset.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Rebecca Vincent and Elena Angelides

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Jenny Evans. Credit: Josh Adam Jones)


THU 12:50 Witness History (w3ct74k7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


THU 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3nr4d)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 13:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jn44s)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 13:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqc3ds)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 13:32 The Food Chain (w3ct70zg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]


THU 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3nvwj)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 14:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmt0g4)
Hundreds missing after fire engulfs Hong Kong tower blocks

Emergency teams in Hong Kong are still working to extinguish fires at a giant housing complex a day after the blaze broke out. Sixty- five people have now been confirmed dead. Over two hundred are still missing.

Also in the programme: Hamas has urged mediators to pressure Israel to grant safe passage for dozens of its fighters holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza; the Australian fifteen year-olds taking their government to court over its social media ban for kids; and John Lennon's son on why his father's political activism still hits home today.


(Photo: One 51-year-old resident - with the surname Wan - tells Reuters she bought her apartment in Wang Fuk Court over 20 years ago. Credit: Reuters)


THU 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3nzmn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 15:06 The Inquiry (w3ct723k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


THU 15:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqcbx1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 15:32 Business Daily (w3ct6s33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


THU 15:50 World Business Express (w3ct88qx)
What a cyberattack means for Asahi beer

Japanese brewing giant, Asahi, has delayed publishing its latest financial results because of the major cyberattack that began in September. Leanna Byrne hears from an expert in Japan.

Also, why has Venezuela banned six international airlines, including Iberia, TAP and Turkish Airlines?

And the Swiss tariff deal with the US that's facing a backlash.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producer: Ahmed Adan
Editor: Stephen Ryan


THU 16:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3p3cs)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 16:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhqzhr)
Hong Kong fire kills at least 65

Emergency teams in Hong Kong are working to extinguish fires at a giant housing complex a day after the blaze broke out. At least 65 people are now known to have died, and close to 300 are still missing. We speak to residents and our reporter in Hong Kong.

The Israeli military has carried out strikes on what it says are targets linked to Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon. Our Middle East correspondent gives details.

And with the first part of the final season of Stranger Things now streaming on Netflix, we explore its cultural significance and the impact it has had on streaming and pop culture.

France's President Emmanuel Macron has launched a drive for volunteers to serve 10 months in the military, to counter what he described as "growing threats".

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: People affected by the apartment fire in the Tai Po district rest at an emergency shelter, Hong Kong, China, 27 November 2025. Credit: LEUNG MAN HEI/EPA/Shutterstock)


THU 17:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3p73x)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 17:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhr37w)
DC shooting suspect worked with CIA in Afghanistan

The head of the FBI, Kash Patel, has called the shooting of two National Guard officers in Washington DC a "heinous act of terrorism." The two young National Guard officers, Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolf, are in critical condition in hospital. The Afghan suspect in the shooting previously worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, the CIA director says. The US has stopped processing all immigration requests from Afghans in response to Wednesday's shooting. We have the latest on the incident and hear reaction from an Afghan in the US.

Premier League champions Liverpool are struggling, with nine defeats in their last 12 games. We speak to a podcaster and a journalist about what's gone wrong.

President Putin has said there is no point signing any kind of deal with the Ukrainian government to end the war between the countries because Russia regards it as illegitimate.

Emergency teams in Hong Kong are working to extinguish fires at a giant housing complex a day after the blaze broke out. At least 65 people are now known to have died, and close to 300 are still missing. We speak to residents in Hong Kong.

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference with U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and other authorities about the shooting of two National Guard members, in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 27, 2025. Credit: Nathan Howard/Reuters)


THU 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3pbw1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 18:06 Outlook (w3ct6wyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


THU 18:50 Witness History (w3ct74k7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


THU 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3pgm5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jnvmk)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqctwk)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 19:32 Sport Today (w3ct6z86)
2025/11/27 GMT

BBC sports correspondents tell the story behind today's top sporting news, with interviews and reports from across the world.


THU 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3plc9)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 20:06 The Documentary (w3ct8vcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:32 today]


THU 20:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqcymp)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 20:32 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txm)
Why aren’t gene therapies more common?

This week, a world first gene therapy treats rare Hunter syndrome. Could these personalised medicines be used more widely? We speak to Claire Booth, professor in Gene Therapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

And high in the Chilean desert, the last bit of 13 billion year old light has hit the mirror of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope for the last time. Dr Jenifer Millard, a science communicator and host of the Awesome Astronomy podcast, tells us what it’s been up to for the past 20 years.

And Penny Sarchet, managing editor at New Scientist brings her pick of the latest new discoveries.

Think you know space? Head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science, and follow the links to the Open University to try The Open University Space Quiz.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producers: Alex Mansfield, Ella Hubber, Jonathan Blackwell, Tim Dodd and Clare Salisbury
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


THU 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3pq3f)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmtvp1)
80 dead after Hong Kong's worst fire in decades

The authorities in Hong Kong say more than 80 deaths have now been confirmed after the city's worst fire in decades. Officials think that number will grow, with more than 200 people still missing. It's unclear what caused the fire but the eight residential blocks were undergoing renovations. The contractor is reported to have breached safety requirements on multiple occasions during construction projects. We speak to a former firefighter who is an expert in tower fires.

Also on the programme: How Israel's offensive on Lebanon has continued, despite a ceasefire; and a scientific study casts new light on how cats came to be domesticated and part of the daily life of so many human beings.

(Photo: Smoke billows from an apartment fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, 27 November 2025. Credit: Leung Man Hei/ EPA Shutterstock)


THU 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3ptvk)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jp6vy)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


THU 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqd63y)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 22:32 World Business Report (w3ct75ym)
Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades

With Hong Kong's emergency services dealing with their deadliest fire in decades, that's so far claimed the lives of 83 people at Wang Fuk Court, we look at the safety of the world's tallest buildings.

Andrew Peach hears how relations between the United States and Venezuela are deteriorating, and what impact it is having on the aviation sector.

And we look at the risks posed by the multi-million pound trade of illegal English Premier League football shirts.

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

(Picture: Firefighters operate outside an evacuation centre after a deadly fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong. Credit: Reuters / Maxim Shemetov.)


THU 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3pylp)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


THU 23:06 The Inquiry (w3ct723k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


THU 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqd9w2)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


THU 23:32 The Food Chain (w3ct70zg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]

FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2025

FRI 00:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3q2bt)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 00:06 The Explanation (w3ct7yt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:06 on Thursday]


FRI 00:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqdfm6)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 00:32 Happy News (w3ct6tz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:32 on Saturday]


FRI 01:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3q62y)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 01:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jpl3b)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 01:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqdkcb)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 01:32 The Global Story (w3ct719n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:32 on Thursday]


FRI 02:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3q9v2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 02:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jppvg)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqdp3g)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 02:32 Tech Life (w3ct6zpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:32 on Tuesday]


FRI 03:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3qfl6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 03:06 Outlook (w3ct6wyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 on Thursday]


FRI 03:50 Witness History (w3ct74k7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Thursday]


FRI 04:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3qkbb)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 04:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jpybq)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 04:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqdxlq)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 04:32 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vpv)
Twin spirits: A lost bond that lives in dreams

Claire grew up in a multi-faith household that often looked beyond traditional beliefs for solutions. At 17, everything changed when her mother discovered that Claire was speaking to “dead people.” Convinced it was ungodly, her mother turned to both a medium and her charismatic Christian sect for guidance, asking priests to intervene so that Waswa, Claire’s twin brother who had died at birth, would no longer appear. Soon after, the dreams that had been Claire’s source of comfort vanished, leaving her lonely and confused.
Searching for help, Claire eventually encountered a spiritual teacher who introduced her to a path blending African spiritualism and Christianity. Through this, she began to find her voice and discovered others with similar experiences. She is now feeling less alone in her new spiritual community.

Producer/presenter: Eric Mugaju
Producer: Matt O'Donoghue
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
Editor: Chloe Walker

(Photo: Claire Nakato. Credit: Allan Busby)


FRI 05:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3qp2g)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 05:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjp231)
National Guard member dies after shooting in Washington DC

The suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal is an Afghan national who'd worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. The United States says it is going to re-examine the permanent residency status of every person from Afghanistan and eighteen other countries in the wake of the shooting.

At least 94 people have died and 76 injured after a huge fire engulfed a high-rise public housing complex in Hong Kong. We go live there

(Photo: A picture of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom is displayed at a press conference; Credit: Reuters)


FRI 06:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3qstl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 06:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjp5v5)
Trump to pause migration from 'Third World countries'

In a lengthy social media post, President Trump wrote that he would terminate all of what he called the millions of illegal Biden admissions. President Trump was writing after it was announced that one of the US National Guard soldiers who was shot on Wednesday in Washington had died. The suspected gunman is an Afghan national.

More than 90 people are now confirmed to have died in the blaze that engulfed high rise housing complex in Hong Kong... Rescuers continue to search for hundreds who are still missing

So many questions have been raised on this incident that's been called the worst fire in decades in the territory - we will be speaking to a fire expert

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media following a call with military service members; Credit: Reuters)


FRI 07:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3qxkq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 07:06 Newsday (w172zspz9fjp9l9)
US announces tough migration actions after shooting

In a lengthy social media post, Mr Trump wrote that he would terminate all of what he called the millions of illegal Biden admissions.

At least 94 people have died after a huge fire engulfed a high-rise public housing complex in Hong Kong - many more are still missing. we hear from a resident

Russian President Putin doubles down on demands for Ukrainian territory ahead of talks with the US in Moscow. we go live to Moscow and speak to a Russian member of parliament

(Photo: US. President Donald Trump participates in a call with service members of U.S. Army; Credit: Reuters)


FRI 08:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3r19v)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 08:06 The Interview (w3ct8c42)
Maria Ressa: The information apocalypse is threatening democracy

Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, speaks to Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder of the independent Filipino news outlet Rappler.

With over 40 years in journalism, Maria describes today’s information landscape as a war zone, where online attacks, including doxxing, misogynistic hashtags, and manipulated images don’t just stay online. They spill into real-world intimidation and violence.

This conversation explores the rise of online misogyny, the weaponisation of social media by authoritarian regimes, and the global impact on press freedom. Maria draws on her experience in the Philippines to offer insights for resisting digital repression and calls out tech giants for failing to protect democracy.

She also shares her vision for accountability and action and what needs to happen to safeguard journalism and democracy in the digital age.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Marianna Spring
Producer(s): Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Maria Ressa Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)


FRI 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqfdl7)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 08:32 Business Daily (w3ct6rt2)
Business Daily meets: Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales

We hear how a free online encyclopaedia, run by volunteers, became one of the internet's most popular sites.

Co-founder Jimmy Wales tells about the ideals which helped him build the site, and the challenges its now facing, from AI to political criticism.

Presenter: Chris Vallance
Producers: Hannah Bewley and Niamh McDermott

(Image: Jimmy Wales photographed at Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: Getty Images)


FRI 08:50 Witness History (w3ct744t)
Ravi and George

Following the Beatles' final concert tour, George Harrison travelled to India in 1967 to learn sitar under the renowned musician Ravi Shankar.

Fleeing Beatlemania he travelled in disguise to Mumbai and then to Srinagar in Kashmir.

Listening to BBC archive and using excerpts from a Martin Scorsese documentary, we hear one of the world's most famous guitarists challenge himself to learn a new instrument.

The moment influenced George’s spirituality and his burgeoning solo musical career, as well as the Beatles'. It also propelled Ravi Shankar further into the limelight.

The musicians remained lifelong friends. Ravi says they last saw each other on 28 November 2001, the day before George died.

Produced and presented by Surya Elango.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: George Harrison and Ravi Shankar in 1975. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)


FRI 09:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3r51z)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 09:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jqk2c)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqfjbc)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 09:32 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:32 on Thursday]


FRI 10:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3r8t3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 10:06 Unexpected Elements (w3ct72x1)
The unexpected science behind Klimt's artwork

The Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt has recently sold for $236m, making it the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.

Inspired by this headline, the Unexpected Elements team delve into the story of how microbiology may have influenced Klimt’s work.

Speaking of microbiology, we find out that bacteria could help restore frescoes to their former glory.

We also get on the line with Dr Siyakha Mguni, an archaeologist and senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town, who tells us about ancient artworks far older than anything Klimt ever painted.

Plus, the world’s biggest spider’s web, and why mosquitoes are impressive 3D printers.

All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.

Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Edd Gent
Producers: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, with Margaret Sessa Hawkins, Alice McKee, Lucy Davies and Robbie Wojciechowski


FRI 11:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3rdk7)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 11:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jqskm)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqfrtm)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 11:32 The Global Story (w3ct7154)
When popes get political

Pope Leo is on his first official visit abroad, and there are already signs he’s willing to use his position to speak out on controversial matters. His recent comments about abortion and the rights of migrants have created headlines in the United States, and raised eyebrows from some conservatives who see the first American pope challenging President Trump’s policies.

It wouldn't be the first time that a pope has weighed in on politics. From Nazism to communism and the Cold War, from refugees to climate change, popes have used their position to influence global affairs.

In this episode we speak to author and presenter Edward Stourton, who has covered religious affairs and the USA extensively for the BBC, about what power Pope Leo XIV has, and what lessons he can learn from his predecessors.

Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam Chantarasak

Executive producers: James Shield and Bridget Harney

Senior news editor: China Collins

Mix: Travis Evans

Image: Pope Leo XIV visits Ankara, Turkey on 27 November. Vatican Media Handout/EPA/Shutterstock


FRI 12:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3rj9c)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 12:06 Outlook (w3ct6whv)
Outlook Mixtape: Unseen yet powerful

While Silicon Valley moguls revel in their wealth, Tim Berners-Lee, the man behind the first web browser, has never sought money or fame. He tells us where his values come from and why his children were told not to mention his work at school.

Afghan medical physicist Shakardokht Jafari is developing an innovative way of improving cancer care which was inspired by common glass beads. But when she was a child refugee in Iran her family were determined to marry her off as soon as possible despite her outstanding school performance. The interview was first broadcast in 2023.

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu is a distinguished British-Nigerian nano-pharmacologist developing medicines on a scale so tiny that they are invisible without an electron microscope. And yet, at the start of her career she was a young woman with three children, no money and nowhere to live.

Japanese student Eimi Haga employed a different invisible technology to write her history project: the secret ink used in the past by Japanese spies called ninjas. The story was first broadcast in 2019.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape spooled halfway through with a white label with The Outlool Mixtape written in black. Credit: Getty Images)


FRI 12:50 Witness History (w3ct744t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


FRI 13:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3rn1h)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 13:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jr11w)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 13:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqg09w)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 13:32 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]


FRI 14:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3rrsm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 14:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmwxc7)
Trump vows immigration policy changes after shooting

President Trump has said he'll "permanently pause" immigration from what he called Third World countries, following the shooting of two young National Guard soldiers in Washington on Wednesday, allegedly by an Afghan gunman. In a strongly worded post on social media, he said immigration had eroded living conditions in the United States and that he would remove or denaturalise migrants who "undermine domestic tranquillity," as he put it.

Also in the programme: a top Ukrainian official resigns; and Pope Leo XIV travels to Turkey.

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on Thanksgiving, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 27, 2025. CREDIT: REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden)


FRI 15:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3rwjr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 15:06 The Interview (w3ct8c42)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


FRI 15:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqg7t4)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 15:32 Business Daily (w3ct6rt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


FRI 15:50 World Business Express (w3ct88gn)
India economy grows faster than expected

India’s economy grew 8.2% year-on-year for the period of July-September. The figures are largely being attributed to a boost in consumption, which makes up 60% of India’s GDP.

General strikes are taking place across Italy today over the government's proposed 2026 budget law.

And why are American retailers hiring a record low number of temporary workers this holiday season?

Presenter: Stephen Ryan
Producer: Ahmed Adan
Editor: Justin Bones


FRI 16:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3s08w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 16:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhtwdv)
Zelensky's chief of staff resigns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned following an anti-corruption raid on his home. Yermak has been Zelensky's closest adviser throughout Russia's full-scale war, but has come under increasing pressure over a corruption scandal - even though he was not accused of any wrongdoing. We speak to our correspondent in Kyiv.

Hong Kong's fire service says alarms were not working properly in the tower blocks which were engulfed by flames on Wednesday. The number of people confirmed to have died has risen to 128. We hear from volunteer doctors helping those affected.

A Japanese court has ruled the country’s ban on same-sex marriage constitutional. We hear from same-sex couples about what this means for them.

The death toll from heavy floods across South and South-Eastern Asia is rising, with more than 170 people confirmed dead in the Indonesian island of Sumatra alone. We speak to our language service reporters and BBC Weather.

Presenter: James Reynolds.

(Photo: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak walk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine 22 January, 2024. Credit: Gleb Garanich/Reuters)


FRI 17:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3s410)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 17:06 BBC OS (w17306846zhv04z)
Trump wants to pause migration from 'third-world countries'

US President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate his crackdown on immigration - pledging to "permanently pause migration" to the US from all "third world countries" as he hit out against his country's "refugee burden". Trump's social media post came after he announced that a US National Guard member had died after a shooting in Washington DC - for which an Afghan national has been blamed. We speak to our correspondent and Afghans in the US.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned following an anti-corruption raid on his home. Yermak has been Zelensky's closest adviser throughout Russia's full-scale war, but has come under increasing pressure over a corruption scandal - even though he was not accused of any wrongdoing. We speak to Ukrainian MPs.

Iran says it's boycotting next week's World Cup finals draw in Washington after members of its delegation were denied visas. Our sports correspondent with BBC Persian explains.

Presenter: James Reynolds.


(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media following a call with military service members, on Thanksgiving, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 27, 2025. Credit: Anna Rose Layden/Reuters)


FRI 18:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3s7s4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 18:06 Outlook (w3ct6whv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


FRI 18:50 Witness History (w3ct744t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


FRI 19:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3scj8)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 19:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5jrrjn)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 19:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqgqsn)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 19:32 Sport Today (w3ct6z3p)
2025/11/28 GMT

BBC sports correspondents tell the story behind today's top sporting news, with interviews and reports from across the world.


FRI 20:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3sh8d)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 20:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct6rnk)
Brain fog and perimenopause

Earlier this month BBC Tech Editor Zoe Kleinman was about to go live on TV to explain a global outage affecting dozens of websites and apps. Millions would be watching, but she kept forgetting a key technical phrase and had to resort to reading from notes.

The ‘brain fog’ Zoe experienced coincided with perimenopause – the start of the menopause and time in life for women where hormone levels are changing. She wrote about the experience on social media, attracting thousands of views and hundreds of supportive comments.

Zoe says that, at the time, she felt she had failed and her “professional pride had been dented.” We bring together Zoe with two women with similar experiences.

“I thought I was truly coming down with early dementia,” Shantaquilette in Texas tells us. “I was forgetting conversations, losing my train of thought in mid-sentence, and walking into rooms like a Sims character waiting for instructions, it scared me enough to start googling things I had no business googling.”

A recent report from the UK-based women’s rights organisation, The Fawcett Society, found that one in 10 women have even had to leave their jobs as a result of menopause. We bring together Katie in the UK, Karen in South Africa and Geet, an airline pilot in India.

Host: James Reynolds
BBC producers: Ben Davis and Ash Mohamed
Boffin Media producer: Richard Hollingham
Editors: Arja Haikonen and Harriet Oliver

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production in partnership with the OS team.

(Photo: Karen, a menopause coach in South Africa. Credit: Karen)


FRI 20:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqgvjs)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 20:32 CrowdScience (w3ct6stp)
How big is a rainbow?

When listener Sakura’s husband came home from his morning walk in Cambridgeshire, UK, he told her about a massive rainbow he’d seen. But when he showed her a picture, she didn’t think it was particularly large. So how big is a rainbow really? Are they always the same size? And if some are bigger than others, is there a limit?



To find the answers, presenter Marnie Chesterton meets independent rainbow expert Philip Laven in a pitch-black studio to simulate how a rainbow is formed. He demonstrates how they are created by sunlight, reflecting and refracting in millions of little water droplets.



But what does that mean for their size? Raymond Lee, retired professor from the US Naval academy, says that rainbows are not objects and don’t have a linear size, just a specific angular size that’s relative to the person seeing it. But Marnie doesn’t give up so easily – some rainbows still look bigger than others.



In her journey to discover other ways to size up a rainbow, Marnie hears from Australian aerial photographer Colin Leonhardt who stunned the world with a beautiful picture. Next, assistant professor Ping Wah Li from The Chinese University of Hong Kong explains why it’s possible to come across more than one rainbow at a time.



And finally, atmospheric scientist Harald Edens shares another way to consider size, as well as how much he struggles to explain the complexity of rainbows to his four-year old daughter.



Presenter: Marnie Chesterton

Producer: Florian Bohr

Editor: Ben Motley

Photo: Rainbow of Dreams - stock photo stock photo Credit: Laurent Fox via Getty Images)


FRI 21:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3sm0j)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 21:06 Newshour (w172zssfzwmxrl4)
Ukraine president's top adviser resigns

The top adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has resigned after anti-corruption investigators raided his home in the capital Kyiv. Andriy Yermak was the president's chief of staff and headed the Ukrainian delegation at talks about ending the war with Russia.

Also in the programme: Airbus says it's ordering immediate modifications to six thousand of its aircraft after finding a fault that could affect flight controls; and eight more people have been arrested over Wednesday's fire in a group of Hong Kong tower blocks that killed at least 128 people.

(File photo: Andriy Yermak, former adviser to President Zelensky, pictured on January 22, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo)


FRI 22:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3sqrn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 22:06 The Newsroom (w172zwlfy5js3s1)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


FRI 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqh311)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 22:32 World Business Report (w3ct76p7)
US Black Friday sales

Bisi Adebayo examines the sales statistics for Black Friday in the US to find out how confident the US consumer is feeling in an economy squeezed by higher prices and tighter budgets. And as Chancellor Merz writes to the EU Commission to ask for a reprieve on a deadline to phase out petrol and diesel cars, we speak to an auto-industry expert to find out why the German car industry is finding it hard to turn electric.

(Picture: Shoppers stand in a queue at the Dolphin Mall during Black Friday in Miami, Florida, USA, 28 November 2025. Credit: CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA/Shutterstock)


FRI 23:00 BBC News (w172zwwzsz3svhs)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


FRI 23:06 The Interview (w3ct8c42)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:06 today]


FRI 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172zwxt7pqh6s5)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


FRI 23:32 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 04:32 today]