The Global Story

When the ceasefire deal was announced more than six months ago, there was celebration and relief in Gaza and Israel. But since the US-led Board of Peace announced plans to rebuild Gaza, the Trump administration’s attention has been occupied by other matters.
The success of the ceasefire deal hinges on Hamas disarmament and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops. So what progress has been made?
We speak to Yolande Knell, the BBC's Middle East correspondent, about life inside Gaza since the Iran War began.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Lucy Pawle and Xandra Ellin
Studio managers: Dafydd Evans and Mike Regaard
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo credits: A displaced Palestinian woman stands on a balcony inside a building damaged during the war at Al-Aqsa University, now used as a shelter, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, April 5, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Haseeb Alwazeer.

In 2024, reports emerged of a highly sophisticated cyber espionage campaign against US telecoms companies, which some analysts believe went all the way up to the Chinese government.
The group behind this campaign would later be codenamed Salt Typhoon, and it is believed to have quietly infiltrated critical US telecoms infrastructure in order to collect private information on influential Americans – including presidential candidates. In the process, it may have also swept up data from millions of ordinary Americans. The Chinese government has denied responsibility for Salt Typhoon.
We speak to former Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger, who was working inside the White House when the attacks were first uncovered. We also speak to BBC cyber correspondent Joe Tidy about how this hack unfolded – and what it reveals about who may be winning the cyber war.
Producer: Aron Keller
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Executive producer: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Analysts in the Security Operations Center at the Dell Secure Works office in South Carolina, US. Credit: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

Anthropic, one of Silicon Valley’s leading AI firms, have built a new model which they say is too dangerous to be released to the public.
Instead, they are only giving access to Claude Mythos Preview to a handful of big companies to help them find and fix security vulnerabilities. The company says the model has already found weak spots in “every major operating system and web browser”. Is this a genuine example of an AI company acting responsibly, or more of a carefully calibrated publicity move?
We speak to the BBC’s North America tech correspondent, Lily Jamali, about whether this is a watershed moment for AI.
Producers: Viv Jones and Aron Keller
Digital producer: Matt Pintus
Mix: Travis Evans
Executive producer: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
Credit: Jurassic Park (1993) / Dir: Stephen Spielberg / Universal Pictures
Photo: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Reuters/Denis Balibouse.

Pope Leo XIV has said he has “no fear of the Trump administration”, after his criticism of the Iran war drew scorn from President Donald Trump.
On Sunday, the US President called the Pope “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy”, and posted a now-deleted AI image of himself depicted as a Christ-like figure.The posts caused outrage among Catholics and the religious right, but he has said he will not apologise to the Pope.
We speak to BBC presenter and author Edward Stourton, who has reported on religious affairs and US politics for decades, about what happens when an American president takes on an American Pope.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Xandra Ellin and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Pope Leo XIV addresses journalists during the flight heading to Algiers on April 13, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Alberto Pizzoli.

The United States began implementing a blockade of all ships entering and exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. President Trump took to social media and warned that any Iranian ships trying to approach the blockade would be “immediately ELIMINATED.”

The blockade and escalating threats come after weeks of Iran being in control of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
And over the weekend, delegates from the US and Iran failed to reach a resolution after 21 hours of peace talks.

The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted it’s winning the war, but so has the government in Tehran, which believes it is negotiating from a position of power.

To help us understand why - and what Iran wants - Tristan and Asma are joined by Parham Ghobadi from the BBC Persian Service.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Xandra Ellin and Aron Keller
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Executive producer: Richard Fenton Smith
Senior news editor: China Collins