The Global Story

On Sunday, many of the film industry’s biggest stars will gather in Los Angeles for Hollywood’s biggest night: the 98th annual Academy Awards.
Looming over the celebrations are some major upheavals in Hollywood: big corporate mergers, the incursion of AI, and mass layoffs. And it’s against that backdrop that the Oscars are increasingly nominating films, filmmakers, and actors from elsewhere in the world.
BBC film reporter and critic Tom Brook explains how the Oscars went global, and what it can tell us about the status of American soft power.
Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Workers make preparations for the 98th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles Credit: Reuters / Caroline Brehman

At a recent White House event, President Trump assessed how America’s allies have responded to the US-Israel war in Iran. He praised some, but was angry with others, notably Britain and its prime minister Keir Starmer. His anger with the UK seemed to centre around a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean, which he referred to as “that stupid island”.

The island is one of about 60, known as the Chagos Islands. Tropical, remote, and very mysterious. So mysterious that one person who knows what goes on there said that if you did too, it would give you vertigo.

The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale joins us to discuss what happens on the Chagos Islands that makes them so important to President Trump. What have they got to do with Iran, and why are they at the centre of an ever-growing diplomatic row?

Producer: Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: File photo of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Credit: Reuters

As the US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue and the death toll continues to rise, so too does the war of words.
President Trump has described Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's choice for new supreme leader, as "unacceptable". He has also said he believes the war will be over “pretty quickly”, but it’s not clear how - or when.
Nate Swanson, a former State Department official who spent nearly two decades in the US government working on American policy towards Iran, answers our questions on how the next stage of the conflict is likely to unfold - and whether a negotiated peace with Iran is still an option.
Producers: Chris Benderev, Cat Farnsworth and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Studio managers: James Piper and Mike Regaard.
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: People walk past a banner depicting the Iran's supreme leaders since 1979. The late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and his son, the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters.

Oil prices surged to a four-year high on Monday, before dipping after President Trump said the Iran war will end “very soon”. Just days ago, Trump said that he would not stop the war until Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
Turmoil in the region had led to the near complete shutdown of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has reportedly said it will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the Gulf if US-Israeli attacks continue.
We speak to BBC economics correspondent Andy Verity about the lessons both the US and Iran might be learning from the oil crises of the 1970s, and ask whether oil could determine how and when the war ends.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Studio manager: Mike Regaard
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: 3D-printed oil pump jacks, Iranian flag, and a rising stock graph appear in this illustration. Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

As European leaders have struggled to find a unified response to the US-Israel war in Iran, Pedro Sanchez has stood out as a voice of dissent. He said in a televised address last week: “The position of the government of Spain can be summarised in three words: no to war.”
The Spanish Prime Minister and US President have butted heads on many issues; the war in Gaza, immigration and defence spending among them, but in the past week their relationship got even more fiery, with Donald Trump threatening to cut off all trade with Spain. What makes Sanchez willing to stand up to Trump? And will his gamble be worth it?
Guy Hedgecoe, a reporter for the BBC based in Madrid, joins us to discuss.
Producers: Hannah Moore, Valerio Esposito and Chris Benderev
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech during closing ceremony of the 'Spain, Vanguard in the Green Industry', in Madrid, Spain, 08 September 2025. Credit: Daniel Gonzalez/EPA/Shutterstock.