Global News Podcast - Ceasefire in Lebanon begins

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect after it was brokered by the United States. Hezbollah have indicated they will observe the truce, though Israeli troops are to remain in Lebanese areas they have occupied. Iran has welcomed the development but wants a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. President Trump says Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, one of the key sticking points in negotiations to bring the war to an end. Fresh talks, he said, could resume as early as this weekend with Washington and Tehran "very close" to making a deal.Also: the British Prime Minister is facing calls to resign, after it emerged that his former ambassador to the US was appointed despite failing security vetting. Peter Mandelson was sacked last year over his friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The future of the Saudi-funded golf tour LIV hangs in the balance as cash appears to be running out. The four astronauts of Nasa's Artemis II say their Moon mission gave the world a sense of hope and unity at a time when both feel in short supply. After a row over tennis tech rules at the Australian Open, tennis stars will be allowed to use trackers and watches to monitor their performances at upcoming majors such as the French Open. And how the escaped wolf Neukgu captured headlines in South Korea, setting firefighters and police on a week-long chase. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

You're listening to the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Friday the 17th of April. Israel and Lebanon have begun a 10-day ceasefire after pressure from the US. President Trump says Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium ahead of possible talks this weekend. And could this season be the last for the Saudi-backed breakaway golf tour? Also in the podcast. Every time I've been waking up, I thought I was floating, and I had to convince myself I wasn't. I put a shirt in the air and it went, how the Artemis crew are adapting to life back on earth.

Last week, a young wolf borrowed under a fence at his zoo and disappeared, becoming South Korea's newest, furriest, fugitive. South Korea's long hunt for an escaped wolf. Israel has been at war with the Lebanese. group Hezbollah for decades, with Israeli troops invading and occupying parts of Lebanon. But the Iranian-backed organisation is still able to fire rockets into northern Israel. Their latest conflict erupted on the 2nd of March when Hezbollah attacked in response to Israel's assassination of Ayatollah Khomeini. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon, according to the authorities there, including some 300 in a devastating

10-minute bombardment just hours after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was declared. The Iranians were deeply unhappy about that attack and insisted Lebanon must be included in any deal. Now, under pressure from President Trump, the Israeli Prime Minister has agreed to a 10-day truce with the Lebanese government. I agreed to a temporary ceasefire in order to try to advance negotiations. We have two fundamental demands. The disarmament of Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. agreement. In order to achieve the ceasefire, Hezbollah insisted on two conditions that Israel withdraw from all Lebanese territory up to the international border and are for quiet arrangement.

I did not agree to either of these. We remain in Lebanon in a 10-kilometer reinforced security zone. Hezbollah, which is often seen as a state within a state, said it had the right to resist because the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese soil. So will the group abide by, the ceasefire. A question the BBC's Noel Al-Maghafi put to Hezbollah official Wafik Safa. Let's see. It depends what the ceasefire is like. If it is a ceasefire like it was in 2024, then this is certainly not acceptable to us. We will certainly not accept it, because then we will return to the way that we were. We will not go back to how things have been in the last 15 months of Israel. Will Hezbollah ever disarm?

Never ever. Not until a proper ceasefire, a real one, not until Israeli withdrawal, before the return of prisoners, before the return of displaced people, and before the reconstruction. Until then, it is not possible to talk about Hezbollah's weapons. Well, announcing the ceasefire, President Trump said

he would invite the Israeli and Lebanese leaders to the White House for talks. Dr. Najat-un Saliba is an independent Lebanese MP. We're happy that the ceasefire agreement came into place so that the killing machine is going to stop. And from there on, it's going to be negotiations and discussion face to face for the first time in more than 30 years. We call on Hezbollah to really rally behind the president and the government to put forward a peaceful negotiations so that we can really take our people from one miserable place to a better future. In the past few hours, the Lebanese

Army said Israel was still shelling areas of southern Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire. For the view from Israel, we spoke to our Middle East correspondent, Lucy Williamson. We're in the northern town of Naharia, fairly close to the northern border. We haven't heard any incoming fire since the ceasefire went into effect, but I can tell you in the hour or so before that, there was quite a lot. Three waves of rockets sent into northern Israel, intercepted right above. us and we're hearing from ambulance services that at least eight people have been injured, two of them seriously, in those attacks. And talking to people here in the northern communities, there is a

great deal of skepticism about this ceasefire, about whether it will hold, but about also Benjamin Netanyahu's choice in agreeing to it. One young woman said she felt the government had lied to them. They promised it would end differently this time, she said, but it seems like, again, we're heading towards a ceasefire agreement that solves nothing. I mean, you heard there Hezbollah saying that it wouldn't work if this was a ceasefire along the lines of the 2024 ceasefire. And when you look at the text of the agreement, that does seem to be the terms that Israel has signed up to. I mean, the text says that Israel has the right to take all necessary measures in self-defense at any time against any planned imminent attacks. That is what happened under the previous ceasefire and Israel carried out almost daily strikes against targets that it deemed.

to be a threat. So I think when you put that together with the mood music of Benjamin Netanyahu's statement when he said, we're there and we're not leaving, we didn't agree to Hezbollah's two conditions. You know, this ceasefire came as a surprise to many people in Israel and I think has confirmed the impression that Netanyahu is once again bowing to pressure from his US ally to align with Washington's interests. Lucy Williamson in northern Israel. If the truce holds it could help President Trump's efforts to reach a long-term peace deal with Iran. He told reporters new negotiations will probably, maybe, happen this weekend, though he didn't say where. He also suggested Iran had made concessions agreeing to hand over its supply of

highly enriched uranium. Iran's agreed to that, and they've agreed to it very powerfully. They've agreed to give us back the nuclear dust. It's way underground because of the attack we made with the B-2 bombers. So we have a lot of agreement. with Iran and I think something's going to happen very positive. So has Iran softened its negotiating position? I asked our North America correspondent Peter Bose. If what Donald Trump is talking about there actually comes to pass, he appears to be talking to some extent off the cuff, as he often does.

But if what he has described there in terms of the nuclear dust being handed back and those very key issues to Iran never getting a nuclear weapon, If they actually happen, that will be a very significant breakthrough. But I think it remains to be seen there. But certainly what's happened in the last 24 hours involving Lebanon and Hezbollah is also very significant. And that is what Donald Trump has been pushing for because, well, Hezbollah is Iran's ally. If it is still fighting with Israel and the US tries to negotiate with Iran, Tehran could use the argument that its ally was still under attack and therefore why should they make peace? So it seems as if that hurdle has been overcome, at least for,

the next 10 days if this ceasefire holds. In fact, in a social media post, Donald Trump has written, I hope, Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. I think an indication of how important the president sees this. What more do we know about these possible talks between the US and Iran? Certainly Donald Trump in the last few hours sounding quite positive. He was asked about the ceasefire with Iran and whether he believes it needs to be extended beyond next Wednesday, and he said that he didn't think that would be necessary,

suggesting that he thinks that there can be some sort of deal over the next five days. He's using language like we're dealing with them very nicely. We have a very good relationship with Iran right now. Interestingly, he says that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been incredible, and he thinks that it's been more powerful than the bombing, as he put it, in terms of focusing minds of the Iranians. and I think all of that seems to come into play as far as his optimism is concerned

that some sort of peace deal can be reached in the coming days. Peter Bow is talking to me from Los Angeles. It seemed like a good idea at the time, pick a veteran politician, a former cabinet minister and a lord, no less, as Britain's ambassador to Washington. But the appointment of Peter Mandelson has come back to haunt the British government

and the Prime Minister. Sarkier Starrma is now facing calls to resign after being accused of misleading Parliament by telling MPs that full due process had been followed. In fact, we now know Lord Mandelson actually failed the vetting process and was appointed anyway. He was sacked last year when the full extent of his relationship with the sex offender Geoffrey Epstein became public. Ed Davy is leader of Britain's opposition Liberal Democrats. If the Prime Minister has misled Parliament and the public about this, he will have to go. We already know he showed catastrophic.

political misjudgment in appointing Mandelson to be the UK's ambassador to America. He was relying on the vetting process as his defence. It looks like the vetting process was ignored. This is hugely serious and I think he will probably have to go. Well, there's no sign of that so far, but the top official at the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, has been asked to step down. Our political correspondent Rob Watson told me how we got here. What's gone on is that it has emerged that Peter Mandelson actually

failed the sort of deep security vetting carried out by what's known as the cabinet office, but was appointed anyway. So that raises the question, well, who knew what when? And what Downing Street's response has been is to say, well, actually, Sakeer Starman knew nothing about Peter Mandelson failing this vetting process. In fact, neither did any other government minister. So in other words, they're blaming this on the foreign office saying, well, they went ahead and appointed Peter Mandelson, despite him failing the vetting process. But of course, this has got opposition leaders, opposition politicians saying, well, hang on, how come Sekeir Stama told Parliament and the public on repeated occasions

that Peter Manelson had, in fact, passed all sorts of vetting processes and the charges that either he was lying when he told the public that then, or he was just incompetent in not knowing about what was going on. I mean, isn't it possible that prime ministers don't know everything that goes on in their governments? Yes, absolutely. And that, of course, is the defence that Downing Street is mounting and allies of Secure Stama are mounting, that, look, you can't be expected to be across every single decision, every single appointment. But the argument against that that's being made is that, look, this was an incredibly senior appointment.

it was always incredibly confidential. And why on earth, critics say, was Sekeir Stama repeatedly saying that, look, all of these proper processes had been followed when it now turns out that Peter Mandelson had failed one of those processes. That is the problem that the Prime Minister faces. And it's just the latest in a long line of things that seem to go wrong for Kier Stama. Can he survive? It's the big question. I think had this happened a couple of weeks ago, a couple of months ago,

before the crisis in the Middle East, things would have looked very, very difficult indeed. I think there's an argument to say that in Britain, as and of course so many other countries around the world, the extent, the gravity of the crisis in the Middle East and the effect that it's having on the economy, on diplomacy, on defence issues, it is so huge that maybe, just maybe this won't prove a fatal. blow for the prime minister, but there are certainly many politicians within his own governing

Labour Party and beyond who think that he is in deep, deep trouble once again over this appointment that really seems to have blighted his prime ministership like no other issue. But of course it is worth remembering that he was appointed Peter Manelson because he was seen as the one person who could handle the American President Donald Trump. Yes, absolutely. And again, that is something. of an additional embarrassment for Secere Stama because if people with long memories, well, memory is

longer than two months, Oliver, will remember that one of Sekear Stama's proudest boasts as Prime Minister and his supporters would say this as well was his ability, as they saw it, to manage the relationship with Donald Trump and the United States and the administration in a way

that other leaders had struggled to do. Well, now, of course, that has turned full circle, and Secre Stammer has been busily trying to distance himself from the president as much and as often as he possibly can. Our political correspondent, Rob Watson. When it launched four years ago, the Live Golf Tour triggered near civil war in the game and was seen as a template for shaking up other sports.

Named after the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes played in each Live event and backed by huge amounts of Saudi cash, it attracted some of the world's top golfers. Now, though, there are suggestions the money may be running. running out, with reports that Saudi Arabia's public investment fund will only finance it until the end of this season. Our golf correspondent Ian Carter told us what the head of Liv has been saying. Scott O'Neill, the chief executive of Liv, has emailed staff and says that the 2026 season will continue uninterrupted. Full throttle was the phrase that he used. I think what is telling, though, is that he didn't specify any date beyond that.

As I understand it, players were told only last month at the tournament in South Africa that funding was in place until 2032. Now, whether that situation has changed, and certainly the reporting around this would suggest that that may well be the case, we wait to see. But clearly, there is a lot of uncertainty around Live at the moment. I've spoken to people who are on the ground in Mexico, where the next tournament is just about to get underway. and one of the phrases that was used to me was chaotic.

And as I understand it, the players are in the dark. People are fearing for their jobs, no doubt about that at the moment. You have to realise that the Saudi Arabian public investment fund has plowed something like $5 billion into this project since it began in 2021. You look at accounts that show that the London arm of Liv lost over 400 million in 2024 alone. So it is some way from making any kind of return on the level of investment that has been made so far. It has become apparent that the strategy of trying to attract the biggest names has ceased

ever since the big money arrival of John Rahm. They've gone for younger players and less expensive players in terms of filling out their roster of 57 players. They have had notable successes. Their tournament in Adelaide, their tournaments in South Africa, Africa was sellout crowds in excess of 100,000 and they were celebrated. But in terms of television viewing figures, they haven't made any kind of impact whatsoever. So they're not able to charge big right fees.

And you just wonder what the future holds. Of course, there is a separate element to this in terms of the soft power that Saudi Arabia is able to potentially glean from backing a golf tour such as this. but whether or not the changing dynamics in the Middle East have changed their view on that remains to be seen. BBC golf correspondent Ian Carter. Still to come on the podcast? Empire has me straight away. If this is the tracker, I said yes, and this is a remove.

Why tennis players will be allowed fitness trackers at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. You're listening to the Global News podcast. Returning now to Lebanon, and a few days ago, our correspondent Hugo Bershaga, had a report on the work of a paramedic named Fidel Sahan. Before the ceasefire came into effect, Lebanese officials announced that Fadel was one of three medics killed in recent Israeli strikes. Hugo went to his funeral in Beirut.

A mother's tears. Dressed in black for mourning, Asma, hugs her son's work vest that is covered in blood, a symbol of his life as a paramedic, and now a symbol of his death. Asma's son, Fade al-Sirhan, was 43, and a first responder in Abatir. He was killed in a triple-tap attack on paramedics by Israel on Wednesday,

as they were on a rescue mission. The Israeli military hasn't explained why it attacked the paramedics in a war where it is. fighting his bolah. She was inconsolable. I used to ask him to stay home, but he would say, no, Mom, who's going to rescue the dead and the wounded? This is what he wanted. I'm proud of him. We are at a makeshift cemetery where hundreds of people have gathered

to pay their final respects. His colleagues are here, all in uniform, carrying placards with a picture of him smiling. It's too dangerous to bury him in his village and they hope that one day he will be laid to rest along his relatives. He's someone very generous, responsible, kind. At the same time he's serious and he can take decisions. He's someone dependable, accountable. Ali is also a paramedic and worked alongside Fado.

Earlier this month, we spent days with them in Abatir, as they told us how they worked in fear of being attacked by Israel. Ali and Fado had been friends since there were children. What happened was very clear. They directly targeted our guys. Was there anything that was happening that could justify targeting him and the teams? Was there any military activity happening? Never.

They cannot justify what they did. We're helping other people, providing help, if they don't want us to be there. They could have warned us. They could have done anything other than targeting our people, our guys. Back at this improvised graveyard, Fidel has not been buried, but a lot of people have stayed. There are dozens of other graves here decorated with flowers and also posters. were the faces of those who have been lost in this war. Hugo Bershege in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Astronauts from NASA's Artemis II mission say the global response to their 10-day journey around the moon has given them hope for the future. At a news conference on Thursday, the crew said they were still coming to terms with what they'd experienced. The details from our science editor, Rebecca Morell. Roger, roll pitch. Roger, roll pitch. Security splashdown, sending post-landing command now.

All four crew members now out of integrity. A new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete. After their history-making mission to the moon and back, the four Artemis astronauts have been speaking to the media from mission control in Houston. They spoke of feeling isolated during their epic voyage and only discovered when they got home how much their mission had captivated the world. Reid Wiseman is the Artemis II commander. We would also be remiss if we didn't thank the world for just tuning in for a second

and getting hooked on this mission. We were certainly hooked on this mission, but when we came home, we were shocked at the global outpouring of support, of pride, of ownership of this mission. The four astronauts spent 10 days in their cramped capsule, eating, exercising, working and sleeping. Christina Cook said it's left a lasting impression. Every time I've been waking up or in the first few days,

I thought I was floating. 100. I truly thought I was floating, and I had to convince myself I wasn't. I put a shirt in the air, and it went... Artemis 2 was a test mission the first time anyone has flown in the Orion spacecraft. During its return to Earth, it hurtled through the atmosphere at 24,000 miles per hour. Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover said it was quite a ride for the crew. I've never been base jumping.

I've never been skydiving. if you dove off a skyscraper backwards, that's what it felt like for five seconds. And then the mains, the pilots and the mains came out and it was glory. After their extraordinary experience, Jeremy Hansen said the astronauts were still struggling to take it all in. The astronauts say they're now happy to be home and they're spending time with their families. But NASA is already planning for the next mission. They've scheduled a moon landing for 2028. Science editor Rebecca Morell.

On to tennis now and a change in regulations. After a row at the Australian Open in January, players at the upcoming French Open and other major tournaments will be allowed to use their wearable tech, i.e. smartwatches to collect physical performance data. Our sports presenter, Maz Faruqi, got the details from BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller. It's been allowed on the women's WTA tour

and the men's ATP tour for some time, and there was surprise among Arena Sabalenko, Yanik Sinner and Carlos Alcorath at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January, Mazz, when they were asked to remove devices before they played matches wearing this tech. And the reason was that an agreement to use this approved technology, and when I say approved technology, companies that have been signed off by tennis as a whole as being appropriate, had not yet been agreed at that point, but it has now, and a trial will take place over the summer at Roland Garros, at Wimbledon from late June,

and then also at the US Open, which begins at the end of August. And clearly, especially for the top players, having this data could be very useful in terms of offering that level of support, and also it opens up, I imagine, massive sponsorship opportunities as well. Yes, it might be another watch to be showing very proudly to the camera as players tend to do before an interview or a trophy presentation, strap the watch on their wrist that they weren't wearing during the match. This one they would need to wear at all times,

and it could improve that performance by a further 0.1%, which can make a difference at the highest level. You can imagine that if you're playing, let's say, in the case of the men's singles, a match that lasts the best part of five hours, you're going to gather a lot of data from that time, which will be very useful the next time you play a match. of that length, useful for injury prevention strategies. And the data is not going to be shared more widely. It's purely for the players and their coaches and their trainers to peruse over.

Tennis correspondent Russell Fuller. Finally, to a story that has gripped South Korea for more than a week. 300 firefighters, police officers and troops have been deployed to find a two-year-old wolf that escaped from a zoo. Our reporter in Singapore, Co-U, has been following the animal's journey. Last week, a young wolf borrowed under a fence at his zoo and disappeared, becoming South Korea's newest, furriest, fugitive. For nine long days, he captured national attention while evading capture himself. Now the wolf, named Nukku, has finally been found, bringing an end to a hunt that has seen twists and turns and taken hundreds of searches on a wild wolf chase. There were a couple of times when the search party came close to getting him. Last week, he was spotted walking

among trees near his zoo, according to thermal imaging cameras. But authorities lost track of him while replacing the camera's battery. He was spotted another time on a road, seen in a video taken from a vehicle. But even though authorities pounced from a leap, he managed to escape again. At one point, authorities expanded their search after seeing an image that looked like Muku trotting down a city street. But that image turned out to be AI generated. Born in In 2024, Nukku lives in a zoo in the city of Dejon. He's part of a program to restore the Korean wolf, which once roamed the Korean peninsula, but is now considered extinct in the wild.

After a life in captivity, it is unclear what remains of Nuku's feral instincts. Nuku has little, if any, hunting experience. That's why many were concerned about his survival in the wild. As the hunts for Nuku went viral, many, including South Korea's president, rooted for his safe return home. Someone even made a meme coin out of Nukku hailing the young wolf as a symbol of independence. In the early hours of Friday, Nukku was finally captured, according to the Dejohn city government. His pulse and body temperature are normal, and here's what authorities have to say.

To everyone who worried about Nukku's safety and cheered us on, thank you all so much. Kew reporting. And that is all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Daniel Fox and our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye.