Global News Podcast

Syria's new rulers pledge to protect minority Alawite community in Latakia after recent attacks. Also: Germany’s chancellor loses vote of confidence, and hundreds of new species are found in Mekong in south east Asia.

France to provide relief and security to people in Mayotte, after Saturday's destructive cyclone. Also: Western powers step up their engagement with the new rulers of Syria. And Serbia accuses journalists of spying.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, are feared dead in cyclone-hit Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Also: the previously unheard stories of women inside Iran’s Evin Prison, and the world's biggest iceberg - on the move again.

South Korea's Parliament impeaches President Yoon over failed martial law bid. The USA says it’s engaging with Islamists who ousted Syria’s President Assad - and cyclone Chido wreaks havoc on French territory Mayotte.

We hear from a cafe in Massachusetts that spreads joy by asking customers to dance as they enter. Also: the toys made from cigarette butts; a community library destroyed by fire reopens; and Italy's festive Krampus Run.

Revelations of how the secret police controlled society under Assad. Also: the mystery of huge drones spotted in the US, and how fidgeting can drive others mad - and what psychologists can do to help.

Streets were packed and revolutionary music blared out across Syria to mark the end of the Assad regime. Also: health misinformation on the Diary of a CEO podcast, and why pets are the big winners this Christmas.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken holds talks with President Erdogan on establishing stability in Syria. Also: an 18-year-old Indian becomes youngest world chess champion, and Kyrgyzstan wants to update its national anthem.

US president commutes around 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people. Also: inside Syria's abandoned presidential palace, recreational use of cannabis banned in Japan, and the secret to being happy at work.

Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted president Bashar, in the family's home town of Qardaha. Also: "Christmas lights" galaxy reveals how Universe formed.

Security guards at presidential office in Seoul try to stop police from getting martial law documents. Also: new Syrian PM promises to guarantee rights for all religions, and humpback whale makes epic migration.

Israel attacks Syria's naval fleet as part of efforts to neutralise the country's military assets after the fall of the Assad regime. Also: New Zealander wins Spanish Scrabble championship - without speaking Spanish.

Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has met the outgoing PM to discuss the "transfer of power" - a day after Bashar al-Assad fled the country. Also: Google unveils 'mind-boggling' quantum computing chip.

Civil defence workers in Syria are trying to reach underground cells to release some of the nation's tens of thousands of political prisoners. Also: More than 150 mostly elderly people are killed by gangs in Haiti.

Moscow has given asylum to Syria's former president, Bashar al-Assad. Also: Trump threatens to take the US out of NATO, and Zelensky says 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the conflict with Russia.

Syrian President's grip on power wanes as another strategic city falls to Islamist rebels. Also: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is rededicated in front of world leaders and the conman in India who duped families into thinking he was their long lost son.

Syria's army says it's bolstering defences around the capital, Damascus, as rebels intent on overthrowing President Assad converge on the city.

We're at an Italian film festival with a difference, for actors who become the voice of Hollywood stars and achieve fame in their own right. Also: California's canine mayor; and why diplomacy can work better in a sauna.

Both candidates in Romania's presidential election have denounced a court's decision to quash the results. Also: why it's hard to be a woman in Iceland, and the bid to save handwriting in the age of the computer.

In Syria, Islamist-led rebels continue their rapid advance. The UN says 300,000 have fled their homes as rebels reach the outskirts of Homs. Also: Romania will rerun its election, and how to survive a polar bear attack.