Global News Podcast

The mayor of the Californian city of Arcadia has agreed to plead guilty to charges she acted as an illegal agent for China. Prosecutors say Eileen Wang was directly co-ordinating with a Chinese official to disseminate news stories downplaying human rights concerns in China, with the aim of trying to influence US government and public opinion.

US authorities say the extent of China’s covert activity and espionage in the United States goes well beyond this case. According to the FBI, Chinese counterintelligence and espionage efforts are a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States”.

We speak to Andrew Badger, former CIA case officer and co-author of The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets.

The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts

Producer: Viv Jones and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins

(Photo: Eileen Wang. Credit: City of Arcadia City Hall/ Reuters)

President Trump says an agreement with Iran to end the war has been "largely negotiated", writing on social media that the deal will include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Contradicting his statement, Iranian media reports say the vital waterway will remain under Tehran's control. Our North America correspondent assesses the latest claims. Also: US secret service agents kill a shooter who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint; the Pentagon releases a further batch of previously classified files on alleged UFO sightings; the latest on the Democratic Republic of Congo where more than 200 people have died in the current Ebola outbreak; a new law in Japan finally allows divorced couples to share custody of their children; and we hear about the Norwegian based film, Fjord - winner of this year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

We find out why art could be the secret to living longer and how you can view the National Gallery's world-renowned collections from the comfort of your home, wherever you are, with its virtual tours.

Plus, the German golfer Leonie Harm wins her first professional title, 13 years after she was given a 1% chance of survival. She was hit by a drunk driver and ended up in a coma. Also, we meet the man who risked his life to save critically endangered Mountain Bongos and, the woman in the UK who is knitting blankets for newborn babes to say thank you to hospital staff for saving her sight.

Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.

(Photo: Van Gogh's Starry Night on display at the National Gallery in London. Credit: NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona Hampson

Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigns, citing her husband's recent cancer diagnosis - but Ms Gabbard had also struggled with the president's decision to enter into foreign wars. Our North America editor looks back at another tumultuous week for Mr Trump. Also: the Democratic Republic of Congo says Ebola cases have now been reported across several conflict-hit eastern provinces; demonstrators in Cuba hold a rally in support of the island’s former leader, Raul Castro, who has been charged by the US with murder and other crimes over the shooting down of two US civilian planes in 1996; the British scientists trying to create a gym for astronauts in space; the legacy of Carlo Petrini, the founder of the global slow food movement; and the tennis legend Billie Jean King finally graduates at the age of 82.

At a summit in Sweden, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says the Trump administration is constantly reviewing its relationship with NATO. The chief of the military alliance, Mark Rutte, insists it has grown closer and will become less reliant on the United States.

Also: students at one of Turkey's oldest private universities protest over its closure; the WHO upgrades its risk for ebola in the DRC; two sisters share their experience of living in Iran during the US and Israeli attacks; the TV programme, The Late Show, is broadcast for the final time in the US; ahead of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas on Sunday we hear more about which athletes are competing and Manchester City's coach, Pep Guardiola, has confirmed that he's leaving the club.

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.
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