The World Tonight

BBC Radio 4•www.bbc.co.uk

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In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective

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Episodes

Is Marine Le Pen really the victim of a political stitch-up?

The leader of France's hard right has come out fighting, after being barred from holding public office for five years. We ask if Marine Le Pen really is the victim of a political stitch-up. Also on the programme: Birmingham City Council has declared a major incident - because of the bin strike which has left 17,000 tonnes of rubbish on the streets - and residents furious. We ask whether there's an end in sight. And the hunt is on for a missing bell - to complete the restoration of one of the UK’...

Mar 31, 2025•38 min

Hundreds dead in Myanmar after earthquake

Hundreds of people are dead in Myanmar with fears for many more after a powerful earthquake struck the centre of the country. The tremors were felt throughout the region. In Thailand's capital Bangkok, rescuers have worked through the night and into the early morning to find survivors from a partially-built skyscraper which collapsed during the quake. Also on the programme, the Labour MP Diane Abbott has criticised the government's intervention against the Sentencing Council, which has rejected ...

Mar 28, 2025•38 min

King Charles cancels engagements following cancer side effects

Buckingham Palace says the King had to return to hospital briefly - after experiencing temporary side-effects from his cancer treatment. Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, says the US is no longer a reliable partner. Words with no English equivalent make it into the OED. Economic competition in the Artic. And the Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer on his hit Netflix show.

Mar 27, 2025•37 min

Chancellor defends cuts to disability benefits

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has defended the cuts to disability benefits announced in the Spring Statement. The Department for Work and Pensions’ own assessment warned that the changes would push 250,000 people into poverty. Also on the programme: Donald Trump announces new 25% tariffs on cars from overseas. And a new film audiences have called ‘intense’ and ‘overwhelming’ - the work of five artists, all autistic, who want us to experience the world as they do.

Mar 26, 2025•38 min

Democrats slam US Signal security breach

Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives have sharply criticised the Trump administration after a journalist was added to a group chat featuring top officials discussing matters of national security. President Trump has dismissed the breach as ‘a glitch’.

Mar 25, 2025•38 min

Crew member missing and vessels on fire after collision in the North Sea

Fires are still burning on two ships which collided off the East Yorkshire coast. A Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, carrying fifteen containers of highly toxic sodium cyanide, struck an American oil tanker. Thirty-seven crew members from the ships have been brought safely ashore but one crew member remains missing. The American ship was carrying aviation fuel, some of which is pouring into the sea. Also in programme: we assess whether the Government’s new planning legislation can placate resident...

Mar 10, 2025•38 min

Three Bulgarians guilty of spying for Russia in UK

Three Bulgarian nationals have been found guilty of spying for Russia, in what police have described as “one of the largest” foreign intelligence operations in the UK. Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, were part of a group who travelled Europe carrying out surveillance on journalists, a former politician and a US military base in Germany between 2020 and 2023. We explore how Russia is ramping up its espionage and sabotage campaign in Europe. Neuroscientists workin...

Mar 07, 2025•38 min

Zelensky says he'll meet US officials in Saudi Arabia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he'll meet US officials in Saudi Arabia next week, where he'll discuss peace with Russia. European leaders are scrambling to boost defence spending, while in Washington DC President Trump again questioned the value of NATO. The Pope has released an audio message to well-wishers after three weeks in hospital. And we speak to a photographer whose image of a Canadian goose fending off an attack by an American eagle was seized upon by Canadians as a metaph...

Mar 06, 2025•38 min

EU leaders prepare for emergency security summit

As Washington confirms it has suspended some intelligence sharing with Kyiv, EU leaders prepare to hold an emergency summit in Brussels. We ask what Europe needs to do to defend itself and Ukraine, while Latvia's defence minister tells us his country could join a 'coalition of the willing' in Ukraine. Also in the programme: the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has publicly distanced herself from new sentencing guidelines, which say a defendant's faith and ethnicity should be considered when d...

Mar 05, 2025•37 min

Zelensky says he's prepared to work with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is ready to hold peace negotiations and is prepared to work under US President Donald Trump’s ‘strong leadership’. The announcement comes after the US suspended all military aid to Ukraine. We hear from Republican Congressman Tim Burchett and Ukrainian opposition MP Lesia Vasylenko. Also on the programme: we hear from the doctors treating wounded Gazans in Jordan; and is it acceptable to sip on an alcohol-free beer at work?

Mar 04, 2025•38 min

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