Janet Jalil

The UN's James Elder speaking to Owen Bennett-Jones. In Italy, Giorgia Maloney's right-wing government is seeking to introduce a scheme which would reward lawyers with a financial bonus if they convince their immigrant clients to return to their home countries. The move is part of the Italian government's latest security bill and it's drawn criticism from across the legal and political spectrum. Our reporter Carla Conti has more.

To Beijing now, where people witnessed a leap or perhaps a sprint forward in robot technology. A humanoid robot ran a half marathon faster than ever before, smashing the world record set just last month by the Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo. The bot finished the 13-mile course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, around 7 minutes faster than Kiplimo. Pete Ross reports.

Kiitos.

The sound of the winning competitor, cheered on by a young fan speeding across the line of the Etown Half Marathon in Beijing. The race in only its second year saw dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots easily surpass hundreds of human runners taking part in the race, while also showing off their rapidly improving agility and autonomous navigation skills. Not only did the winning robot complete the course in a time that shattered the best time ever recorded by a human runner,

Se teki näin suurta parantumista viime vuoden robotin ympäristöjen kanssa. Viime vuoden alkuperäinen edistys oli huomattavasti järjestetty haasteita. Robottien klipsejä, jotka olivat vahvistaneet ihmisiä, jotka olivat ympäristöjen päässä, eivät pystyneet mukaan. Viime vuoden ympäristön ympäristö huomioi kaksi tuntia 40 minuuttia aikaa. Se oli yli kaksi aikaa ympäristön ympäristön ympäristön ympäristön ympäristön ympäristön.

But one year on, the difference in performance from the robot athletes could not have been more stark. Not only did the number of competitors grow from 20 to over 100, but many were noticeably faster than the professional athletes in the human race. That's not to say that this year's race wasn't without its issues. The winning robot toppled over close to the end, crashing into a barrier, and had to be helped to make it over the finishing line.

But despite the odd hiccup, many spectators seemed impressed with what they saw, including this man. Robots are just really fun, so I wanted to bring my kids to experience it. Technology is developing so fast, I think robots will soon beat humans in many ways. Not just in speed, but also in things like AI-driven behavior. So yeah, I wanted to come and see them before they actually surpass us.

For now it remains to be seen what practical use these speedy robots could be put to. Viable applications of humanoid robots mostly remain in a trial phase. This woman worried about what the robot tech on show might mean for the future. I grew up in the 2000s and I watched a lot of robot science fiction movies. Back then people would imagine things like what if robots gain consciousness one day and turn against us humans.

I grew up on those films, but now seeing this event, I can't help but wonder if those fantasies might actually come true someday.

After this year's robot domination of the podium, there's little doubt about the rapidly improving physical prowess of the machines and the potential to reshape everything from dangerous jobs to battlefield combat. Pete Ross reporting. Cultural products from Korea from K-pop to K-drama to K-beauty have hooked people all over the world in recent years.

The latest addition to this trend are books, as exports of translated Korean literature more than doubled in 2024. Female authors are propelling the growth, and they're also developing an extensive community of readers inside Korea itself. Lee Hyun Choi reports from Seoul.

Olen rannassa Teijan kaupungin etelästä, yhden ja puoli tuntia Suomesta. Olen käynyt kirjallisuuskeskustelun, jonka järjestäjä on hieno feministin kirjastaja Ha Min Na. Tällä hetkellä kirjallisuuskeskustelut ovat kasvaneet yhä suurempana suomalaisen kaupungin välillä. He tulevat myöhemmin Teijan kaupungista.

It's really widened my perspectives. Gahyeon is one of many women finding inspiration in boundary-breaking stories abundant in Korean literature today. I'm calling Shin Arumi, who is one of those authors pushing those boundaries.

And now, through a growing Gulpang community, even more emerging writers have been able to carve out a space to share their voices. And that report was by Lee Hyun Choi in Seoul.

And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can always email us at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Jack Wilfan. The producer is Siobhan Nihi. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janet Jalil. Until next time, goodbye.

Aika yllättää äiti, vaikkapa kuvakirjalla tai mukilla, sillä tämän päivän nauru on huomisen lempilahja. Tila äitien päiväksi viimeistään 26. huhtikuuta.

Huhu, äiti tulis käymään. Äiti, mä koodaan. Katoppa, DNAlta tuli sulle postia. Siis kananmunia. Eiku mitä nää on? Ne siis näyttää mulle närhemunat. Niin, voi kuolta pieni kun DNAn uusiin liittymiin kuuluu turvallinen nettiselaus. Se estää ihmisiä menemästä sun huijaussivustoille. Kirottua DNA. DNA huoleton on uuden ajan liittymä turvallisella nettiselauksella.

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jonat Jalil, and at 15 hours GMT on Monday the 13th of April, these are our main stories. Pope Leo has responded to scathing criticism from Donald Trump by saying he has no intention of debating with the US president, but will continue to speak out against war. A US blockade of the Iranian coastline is coming into force as Tehran warns of retaliation.

Hungary's incoming prime minister Peter Modor has promised to usher in a new era for the country which he said had become the poorest and most corrupt in Europe. Also in this podcast... We need to design something original for the astronauts to use to indicate zero gravity. ...how a plushy toy designed by an eight-year-old became part of the Artemis moon mission.

In what has turned into an extraordinary spat between the world's most powerful man and the first American head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo has said he has no fear of the Trump administration and plans to continue speaking out against war. This comes after Donald Trump lashed out at the Pope over his opposition to US immigration policy and the war in Iran.