Charlotte Gallagher

The editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Charlotte Gallagher.

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and at 16 hours GMT on Thursday, the 12th of February, these are our main stories.

China's annual carbon emissions have fallen for the first time, raising hope they may have peaked.

And Ukrainian skeleton Bob Racer is disqualified from the Winter Olympics for planning to compete wearing a helmet depicting athletes killed by Russia.

Also in this podcast, a woman abused by Jeffrey Epstein calls on the British royal family to do more.

And has the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chosen his teenage daughter as his heir?

China may still be the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, but levels have been falling due to a push for clean energy.

And now new data says 2025 was the first full year to show a decline.

The reported drop in emissions is small, but campaigners say it could be a milestone.

Our climate editor, Justin Rowlett, spoke to Oliver Conway about the figures.

And for more on this story, you can go on YouTube, search for BBC News, click on the logo, then choose podcasts and Global News Podcast.

There's a new story available every weekday.

The Ukrainian skeleton racer banned from competing in the Winter Olympics has said he still doesn't understand which rule he violated.

The IOC says it withdrew Vladislav Hariskevich's accreditation because he intended to wear a helmet in

featuring athletes killed in Russia's war on his country.

Our reporter Sarah Mulkerins told us more.

Vladislav Horescovich ending that report from Sarah Mulkerins.

The messaging service WhatsApp is very popular in Russia.