The Global Story

For two decades, PEPFAR, the US program to curb AIDS/HIV, enjoyed support and financial backing from both Republicans and Democrats, saving an estimated 26 million lives in what is described as the largest ever commitment by any nation to address a single disease.
Previous presidents - including Donald Trump in his first term - continued to praise and support the effort. But last week, the State Department announced that it would be ending its support for PEPFAR in South Africa. The UN has warned the decision could end up costing lives.
US officials told the BBC that the funding cut was in part a response to South Africa's alleged failure to protect the white-minority Afrikaner community, an accusation Pretoria rejects.
Asma speaks to the BBC’s Senior Africa Producer Ed Habershon about what drove this decision and what the impact could be.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Valerio Esposito and Aron Keller
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Digital producer: Richard Kenny
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Bottles of antiretroviral ARV drugs used to prevent HIV. Credit: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

The United States has been a staunch ally of Israel for decades, and Americans used to be steadfast in their support for the country. But in recent years - and recent weeks - the special relationship between the two counties has come under fire.
Several polls indicate that Americans have increasingly negative views of Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. And as the midterms approach, support for Israel is on the ballot in some races.
Asma briefs Tristan on shifting US public and political opinion on Israel. And Jon Donnison discusses how fluctuating US sentiment on Israel is affecting domestic Israeli politics.
(Photo: President Donald Trump (R) gestures with an extended index finger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) as they stand face to face in front of an Israeli flag. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Growing concerns over young people using anti-aging products, have prompted industry regulators in Italy to investigate claims that some brands are using young influencers to promote skincare products to other children.
Investigators say that the practice is linked to the broader issue of ‘cosmeticorexia’ - a new term coined by some healthcare professionals to describe an obsession with skincare.
Asma speaks to the BBC’s health and wellbeing reporter Ruth Clegg, about how harmful skincare is for the social media generation.
Producer: Sam Chantarasak
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Digital producer: Tom Bage
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Young content creator Ellie-May. Credit: Sophie/BBC)

Britain has had six prime ministers in the past decade. It’s about to get a seventh after Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday. The country used to be seen as a bastion of political stability. But this latest resignation comes ten years - almost to the day - that Britain voted to leave the European Union.
In this episode we speak to The BBC’s Adam Fleming, Brexit expert, and host of the BBC podcast Newscast. And we ask if Britain is still experiencing the same political forces that produced Brexit.
Why Britain keeps losing prime ministers: bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct8mks
Producer: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle

Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Editor: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, June 22, 2026. Credit: Jaimi Joy/Reuters)

During the pandemic, for the first time in most of our living memories, the balance of power shifted from employer to employee. By 2021, the percentage of people in the US quitting their jobs was the highest it had been in decades, with tens of millions of people quitting in a single year, confident that they could find something better elsewhere - a trend dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’.
Five years on, and the quitting rates are way down. People are staying in jobs longer, if they are lucky enough to have one. Why?
On today’s show, Tristan is joined by Anthony Klotz, a professor of organisational behaviour at University College London and author, who coined the term ‘The Great Resignation’ and Sarah O'Connor, a columnist for the Financial Times and author of We Are Not Machines: The Fight for the Future of Work, to explore how the world of work has been changed by AI, political and economic instability, and to consider how we can better enjoy the jobs we are in.
Producer: Hannah Moore
Mix: Travis Evans
Executive producer: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Woman working on laptop at home)