Global News Podcast - Yemen's humanitarian crisis

Episode Date: October 23, 2026

Our senior international corrrespondent Orla Guerin reports from Yemen where fighting has intensified between government forces and Houthi rebels. Also: Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong steps into the limelight as rumours swirl over the health of the North Korean leader. Demonstrators stage peaceful protests across Venezuela calling for the safe return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. President Trump is ordered to answer questions under oath in BBC lawsuit. New York city council votes to ban the use of horsedrawn carriages in Central Park after a long campaign by activists who say the animals suffer. A retired decorator becomes a millionaire after Pokemon cards sold at auction. And Raye wins the 2026 Mercury Prize for her album This Music May Contain Hope.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] Photo: Yemeni families seek refuge in a camp near the port city of Aden Credit: Lee Durant - BBC

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Listen now on BBC. The BBC.com, the BBC app, or wherever you get to your BBC podcasts. This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Mars, and in the early hours of Friday the 23rd of October, these are our main stories. We have a special BBC report from Yemen, a country at war and in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, as malnutrition takes its toll. We hear from North Korea, where with the Supreme Leader said to be sick, we're seeing his sister step into the limelight.

Could she replace him? And thousands of Venezuelans are out on the streets calling for the safe return of the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Also in this podcast, Nepal becomes the first country to benefit from a new UN fund to help deal with the impact of climate change. This album, I feel like, is finding the ears of people who'd like it or need it or even use it some sort of medicine, because at the end of the day, that's what music is for me.

That is Ray. is winner of the hugely prestigious Mercury Prize, but what sort of career boost can it give an artist? We begin in Yemen, where the country's humanitarian crisis is worsening. More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced as the war between Houthi rebels and Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces intensifies. Parts of Yemen have been cut off from aid, leaving people with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel.

The World Food Program says that more than 2 million children, under the age of five are acutely malnourished. Our senior international correspondent Ola Garen reports from the Port City of Aden on one family's struggle for survival. I'm in the emergency room, but a father has just arrived. His name is Bajash Ali Hassan. He has come in with his wife and all five of his children. The two youngest are twins, a boy and a girl.

They're 45 days old, but they are absolutely too. tiny. They have wizened arms and legs. Their health looks very, very poor. And their father had to flee from the war to get them here. Were you scared on the journey? Were you frightened for the family? Yes, we were afraid because of the bombs and the shooting at us, as well as the drones hitting any civilian cars. How hard has it been to get food for the twins? It's very difficult. We buy small amounts of milk. A can of milk is very expensive because of this war. We feed them twice a day, whatever is available.

Sometimes they only have water. I'm in the malnutrition unit and this is a place where you really see the impact of years of war, of poverty and of malnutrition. Since we've been here, children have been coming our hour out. coming hour after hour. There are 22 beds in this unit, but staff have been telling us

they can only take in 13 patients at a time because they don't have the resources, they don't have the nurses, they don't have the doctors. Money this unit used to receive from international organisations is no longer coming and that's had a really big impact.

A young doctor, Noor Muhammad, examines the twins. Ragad and Rad, a girl and a boy. She says malnutrition is increasing before her eyes. Now the war has flared up again. So it's very, very bad and every day I see this. And every day I become sad for them. Because it is very, very horrible.

Given all of these conditions, are you losing many patients? Sad to say death, but yeah, we lose patience. We don't have any good medical equipment for them, like ventilation machines, oxygen bottles. The medical equipment here is very low. Well, the twins have now been admitted. They are both sharing a bed. Hospital staff tell us they are suffering from severe acute mannutrition.

Their mother, Lena, has just been feeding them with a special fortified milk. from a tiny bottle. Lena, how do you think they're doing now? Things are better than before for the girl. But not for the boy. He is even worse than before. Lena, when they are discharged from the hospital,

will you be able to go back home? No. There's fighting there. The Houthis are in our village. Is there somewhere you can stay? Not yet. My husband is still looking for a place. Maybe a tent.

That night, Bajash couldn't find anywhere, so he and the couple's three other children, all aged under five, slept on the street. Orla Gherin, reporting from Yemen. And the latest reports on the conflict say the Saudi State Oil Company, Aramco, has evacuated its headquarters amid feuds of Houthi attacks. The former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratley,

told the BBC what he's, been hearing since he left the region nearly two weeks ago. Yemen is just a humanitarian nightmare for its population. But what we have on our hands is this conflict with the Houthis trying to murder Saudi civilians, it affects damage to Saudi infrastructure. The Saudis feel obliged as a matter of national security to respond. And it has been escalating. It's pretty grim. It was escalating by the time I left about 10 days ago. and in the last couple of days it's gotten worse evacuation of the Aramco headquarters in the eastern province. And I saw a report that the DeMam Airport, that's the nearby airport in the eastern province, was also hit late last night.

Michael Ratney. As you might expect from a place that's known as the Hermit Kingdom, North Korea is a secretive place where it's hard to find out what's really happening. However, all week, questions have been swirling about the health of the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang denies he's unwell. What it is not contesting is the far more prominent role Mr Kim's sister is playing in public. On Wednesday, Kim Yo-jong was seen inspecting the border with South Korea. She said that propaganda loudspeakers will be reinstated along the entire length of the frontier. Our correspondent Jake Kwon told me more about Kim Yo-jong.

Kim Yo-Jong is North Korean leader's very powerful sister, and she is holding one of the top jobs. and she has been playing a bit of a spokesperson for the leader, and what we see is that she's often playing the bad cop to Kim Jong-un's good cop. You might remember the last month three South Korean officers were badly wounded when they stepped on a North Korean mine at the border. But since then, we've seen her far more often than we have before, and she has been issuing fiery statements every few days.

And the latest one she calls South Korean officials idiots and tells them to shut up about North Korea. Yeah. And she has said that they have new fire teams at the border and they will be ready to deploy loud propaganda speakers at the border in a few days. So she's been really turning up the heat there. And not so long ago, we were hearing that it was going to be Kim Jong-un's daughter who was being primed to take over should he stand down at any point. What's happened with that? Yes. I mean, that is certainly what the South Korean spy agency believes. She has been selected as heir to the throne of North Korea. This is what the spy agency has been telling us. But she was seen

also wearing these matching leather coat and sunglasses on the state TV, inspecting troops and missiles with her father. And she was also recently pictured with her father, but prominently given the same importance as her father. And this is a very important detail in North Korean state media. But at the same time, she's only 13. And North Koreans are patriarchal on another level. So those who escape from North Korea have told me that it is fairly difficult to imagine her as the new leader. And all this is a bit moot, isn't it? Because the Pyongyang says that the Supreme Leader is in fine health. What do we know about an update on that? Well, you know, there has been rumors swirling about Kim's hell. Some people saying he's died and whether North Korea will have a new

leader. But first of all, I should say that no expert we know is taking this rumor seriously. And we've just seen him again making appearances as normal. But, Part of why this rumor keeps cropping up is because right now it is unclear who will take over North Korea should something happen to Kim. You know, despite its formal name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea runs more like a hereditary kingdom, and Kim's daughter is only 13. And they never reveal who the air is until the leader's health is obviously failing. And we're talking about an absolute leader of a nuclear armed country who has been getting involved in world conflicts. And, you know, really that should speak itself on why this topic is a frequent subject of speculation. Jake Kwan in Seoul.

Now, to Venezuela, where the main opposition party of Vente Venezuela is holding a nationwide protest demanding the safe return of the party leader. And 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado. Last week, an alliance of Venezuelan opposition parties confirmed Ms. Machado as its leader. She's currently living in exile in Panama, but has made several things. failed attempt to re-enter the country. Here's a global news reporter. Mimi Swaby. Thousands of opposition supporters have filled the streets across Venezuela,

holding flags, placards, and wearing the Vente colors blue. They're demanding three things. Firstly, the release of all political prisoners. Since January, we've seen a slew of political prisoners be released as part of a exchange with the interim president of Rodriguez, backed by the US government, as a sort of reconciliation efforts. However, since then, there has been a... trickle. It really has slowed down and rights groups believe there are still between 300 and 500

political prisoners detained in the country. Secondly, protesters are demanding the safe return of the opposition leader Maria Kriene Machalo. She is currently in Panama where she's been for several months despite repeatedly trying to get back into the country. In September alone, we understand that she tried to get into the country three times but was blocked. She tried to by air and by sea. Now, this is something we've been hearing a lot, that the opposition are calling a demanding that their leader is allowed safely back into the country to return to Caracas. This is something the US has said isn't the right time for. They've said that the opposition leader is not going to be involved in opposition and interim government talks again, backed by the US.

So she has very much been pushed to the peripheries of any kind of discussion between the opposition and interim government. Lastly, demonstrators are demanding for free and fair elections. They're saying that they are demanding there is a date set for next year. Again, something we've heard repeated calls for. However, President Trump has said Venezuela isn't ready for elections just yet. These demonstrations, which are on a very large scale, come after Del Rodriguez, the interim president and President Trump have really solidified their relationship moving forward. And this is mainly because the US and Venezuela have struck a very significant oil deal,

resulting in around 65 billion barrels of oil being allowed to be used by the US for at least of 100 years. So that is something, again, pushing the opposition leader to the peripheries. It also comes after the third round of talks between the interim government and the Venezuelan opposition being held in Caracas, again backed by the US, Macorubio, US Secretary of State, has a heavy influence in these. However, the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machalo, is not involved in these negotiations. Mimi Swaby. The horse-drawn carriages in Central Park are one of New York City's most familiar sites.

but the popular tourist attraction will soon take its final ride. The New York City Council has voted to ban the carriages from 2008. Helena Burke has the details. For more than 160 years, horse-drawn carriages have been transporting tourists around Central Park. But over the past few decades, opposition to the practice has been growing. Animal rights activists argued that the horses are mistreated, being forced to live in small stables built inside multi-story buildings. I've been around horses. I volunteer at sanctuaries. I take care of horses. They do best when they're in a field where they're able to be with their friends and run around and do everything a horse would love to do naturally where they can't get that here. When they're living in a concrete building in a concrete city, it's not a place for a horse to live.

Opponents of the practice also point to its safety issues. According to the Manhattan Borough President's Office, 40 horses working in Central Park have died since 1982. The deaths were blamed on. issues including overheating and collisions. And it's not just the horses who face safety risks. The Bush to ban the carriages recently gained new momentum after a tourist died in June when he fell out of a carriage after the horse bolted. Dozens of animal rights activists gathered outside the New York City Hall on Thursday as the City Council voted in favour of banning the carriages from June 2008. Also outside the building were several carriage drivers who say their livelihood is being taken away. Christina Hansen is a carriage driver and spokesperson for the industry. The city council today is taking the unprecedented step of voting to ban a lawful regulated

business. They are taking people's horses, they're taking their carriage medallions, they're taking their jobs with only a vague promise that somewhere down the road the mayor's office will be able to fix it. This should really concern anybody who has a license with the city of New York that they can just change the terms and decide they don't want you anymore. The new bill requires the mayor of New York, Soramam Darni, to produce a transition plan for the approximately 150 carriage drivers affected by the ban. Our focus is on providing real support to the workers and the owners in this industry. That support can look like equipping them with skills for a new kind of job.

It can also look at the importance of compensation when it comes to medallion. And as for the horses, the bill stipulates that they can't be sent to a slaughterhouse or be transferred to any other carriage businesses. Helena Burke, reporting. Still to come in this podcast. The Trump's either offered some dates in January. The judge has said, no, no, no, it has to happen by December the 11th. Crucially, that the Trump side weren't being quick enough in disclosing documents

and said they risked having the case thrown out if they didn't speed up on that. A US judge sets a deadline for Donald Trump to answer questions, under oath in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. Growing businesses deal with the same problem. Too many tools, too much back and forth, and not enough time. Odu helps bring it all together. It's an all-in-one business management platform, fully integrated from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, so your team can spend less time chasing information and focus on growth. Whether you're in retail, manufacturing or service, Odu gives you one place to manage your business.

Visit Odu.com to book a demo. It's ODbolo.com. An observatory in space. This is the real deal. This is going to revolutionize astronomy. Capable of capturing light from the dawn of the universe. It could be real exciting for the astronomical community, I guess, and for the whole world to see what Hubble really can do.

From the BBC World Service, 13 minutes, Trouble with Hubble. the story of the Hubble Space Telescape. Listen now on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Three years ago, the UN at Climate Conference agreed to set up a fund aimed at supporting poor countries hit by climate disasters. And now money's been distributed from that fund for the first time. It's going to Nepal, which was devastated by floods eight weeks ago. More than 1,400 people, were killed. Our global environment correspondent, Navin Sincadka, told Celia Hatton how much money Nepal will get and what it will be spent on. It's 20 million US dollars, 1.6 million extras and

overhead costs that is administrative, but to basically deal with this massive loss, the Rassau-Potechushi Trisholi corridor that we saw on August 26 to rebuild it, the bill is five billion US dollars. They're saying it's actually nothing. But yet, officials are telling mean that it has its own significance. So this is the loss and damage fund. All these developing poor countries, they had been fighting for many, many years now. Essentially, it started with the concept of compensation because these countries have always argued that they are suffering from the problems that they didn't create and therefore they need to be compensated. This loss and damage funds, it makes it clear that this is not going to be about compensation.

And that's why they're calling themselves fund for responding to loss and damage. not compensating. That is because developed countries are aware or they're a bit wary, in fact, that if they start giving out compensation, then there will be floodgates off all the claims from developing countries. It was established three years ago. The fund became operationalized last year, and the money, of course, will come from developed countries. It's established under the UN Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement combined. The World Bank is the trustee. But yes, it's developed countries money to go to developing countries, including less developed countries or small island developing states.

So Nepal is the first recipient. How will other countries be able to get some of this money? 119 countries had already made requests. And the bill is close to $3 billion, whereas the fund has not even $350 million. Now, even within that, because Nepal has had this very, very extraordinary. ordinary situation and it submitted this request that we want an urgent help and there were board members who start lobbying for this and that's why this extraordinary meeting took place to set aside this money but like I said 119 countries already waiting for their projects some of them

will be considered during this upcoming December meeting. Navin Sin Katka a judge in the United States has given President Trump a deadline of December the 11th to answer questions under oath in connection with his defamation. lawsuit against the BBC or risk having it thrown out. Mr Trump accuses the BBC of intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring a speech he gave outside the Capitol in Washington on the 6th of January 2021. Our Chief North America correspondent Gary O'Donoghue told us more about what the judge had to say. Well Donald Trump was due to give that deposition last Friday and he cancelled citing issues of national importance and it came out in court today that the BBC

C pointed out that actually what he was doing was a political rally and a fundraiser on that day. So the Trump side that are offered some dates in January. The judge has said, no, no, no, it has to happen by December the 11th. It could change. But the judge said it should be videotaped. And also said, crucially, that the Trump side weren't being quick enough in disclosing documents and said they risked having the case thrown out if they didn't speed up on that. The BBC's point is that, and they haven't said anything formally since the hearing, by the way,

that it's being slow walked. getting from the Trump side is sort of stuff off the internet, some documents that they themselves have handed, overhanded back to them, that they're not really getting the financial disclosures. They've issued a number of subpoenas. There was another small victory for them today, which means they can demand documents relating to Mar-a-Lago, the president's club. Trump's side had tried to argue that was outside of this jurisdiction, but the judge ruled in the BBC's favour on that one. And the idea, really, is that this is being sort of, as I say, slow walked to cost the BBC a lot of money.

That's certainly what the BBC side would argue. But, you know, crunch time is coming. This deposition and the disclosure period has to end at some point. It could be extended a little bit. The BBC wouldn't necessarily oppose that, we understand. But there is a provisional trial date, and that is two weeks in the middle of February. Gary O'Donoghue.

The Mercury Prize is widely regarded as the British Isles' most prestigious music award. It's given every year to the best. music album by a UK or an Irish artist. This year's winner is Ray for the album, this music may contain hope. She fought off strong competition from the likes of Olivia Dean, Jade, Swade, Florence, The Machine and even Paul McCartney. Our music correspondent Annabel Rackham was at the awards ceremony in the English city of Newcastle. I asked her what it was about Ray's album that stood out for the judges. One of the big considerations at the Mercury Prize

is whether an album is conceptual or not, whether it takes you on a bit of a journey. And I think that is certainly one of the biggest parts of Ray's album is the way that it world builds. It's all about love and relationships, but it takes it through four distinct seasons. So you've got the autumn, the winter, the spring and the summer and how that compares to being in love

and going through the kind of motions of a relationship. And there was also a real emotional element to the album. When I spoke to her this evening, she was really emphatic about how important it was that she was reunited with the songbooks, that she'd written the music for this album on, that actually got stolen from her. Two years ago, she wrote saying that her car had been stolen with all of her music for her new album in it, and that she just couldn't go on making that album, obviously, without such an important part. That was eventually found, and speaking to her, it seems like it gave her some more impetus to really put her heart. and soul into this album. And we can hear a little bit from her about how important it was the people making the decision about this prize were really invested in the music industry as a whole.

It's just that critical acclaim or just being seen by people who really, really take music seriously believing that my album deserves this. I think that means a lot for me as a music lover. I dedicated my life to it. Like a headstrong 14 years old, all in. Plan A, No Plan B. I feel really grateful that I took risks and not everyone liked it, but I'm just so grateful that this album I feel like is finding the ears of people who do,

who like it or need it or even use it as some sort of medicine, because at the end of the day, that's what music is for me. She is clearly incredibly proud of this album, isn't she? What does it mean winning this prize for an artist's career? You win a bit of money, but I think it's quite inconsequential when you think about how much money can be made from touring and streaming and things like that. But what this is, this is a prize that is awarded by the greatest people in the industry, whether that's music journalists, whether that's producers, other artists.

So it does mean a lot. Most of the time it will lead to an increase in streams, or it might help further sell a tour that that artist has. So it can vary, but one of the things to remember about Ray is she does have this massive platform now. She is this huge star, but this is only. her second album. So I'm sure she's going to be recording new music soon. So it probably gives her that boost of confidence in herself and also faith in the music that she's making because she does kind of stand out as this artist that's able to transcend genres from pop to jazz to

R&B. She's amazing at doing that. So I think it will only give her more impetus to continue with that. Our music correspondent, Annabel Rackham. And now, a story that might inspire all of us to take a second look at items that might be stored away in our homes. A retired decorator in England has struck it rich, thanks to a collection of Pokemon cards. He left in his attic for 15 years. The man from Woking near London made around $2 million by selling the trading cards at auction.

This report from our correspondent, Duncan Kennedy. Pikachu, Charazard, Blastoyce, squirt. They are the names to conjure up a golden cardboard childhood. Pokemon's came to the UK from Japan in 1999 and playgrounds turned into exchange grounds as millions of youngsters sought to bolster their collections. At 100,000 we sell 100,000 pounds is with the online buyer. That 100,000 pounds was only for one folder of these pristine Pokemon's.

The whole collection sold for 1.6 million pounds. Auctioneer Alex Eubank says the anonymous owner found them whilst looking around his house. In his attic that he collected 25 years ago, he had a group of Pokemon trading cards, master sets, sat him down, talked to him about how much they might fetch at auction and, well, here we are now. The auction attracted hundreds of online buyers. Now a man really has come across cash in the attic by turning his childhood pastime into a pokey monstrous fortune. Duncan Kennedy. And that is all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at global

podcast at BBC.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global Newspot. And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Paul Mason and the producer was Emma Joseph. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Miles and until next time. Goodbye. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kabilame was laid off from his job at a factory in Italy. He began posting videos on TikTok and in just a few short years, he's become the platform's most followed user with over 160 million followers.

As well as the face of major luxury bands and even a judge on Italy's Got Talent. On Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service, we're exploring the rise of billionaire influencer Kabilame. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.