President Trump hails the golden age of America

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I’m Pete Ross with Wednesday’s edition at 16 hours GMT, bringing Trump’s marathon address, new UN sanctions in Sudan, Japan’s missile plans near Taiwan, updates from Sri Lanka and Mexico, a warning on emperor penguins, and a skywatcher’s treat.

Let’s start in Washington: after that unusually long State of the Union, what were the big beats?

He sold a feel-good economy and vowed tougher immigration, no tax on tips, and higher tariffs, as the chamber lurched between cheers and Democratic protests. Iran got brief mention, and the opposition accused him of misleading voters while he cast Republicans as authors of the next chapter.

On the numbers, can we fact check his cost of living claims?

He said prices are falling, but overall inflation is about 2.4 percent, down from roughly 3 percent at the end of Joe Biden’s term, so it’s easing rather than a reset. Some items moved more, like eggs dropping year on year and beef edging down month to month, but that does not change the wider picture.

He also took a victory lap on the border; how does that stack up?

Saying zero people were admitted mixes entries with approvals, since authorities still detect roughly six thousand illegal crossings a month. It is far below some months under Biden, when detections topped two hundred thousand, but it isn’t zero.

And on Iran, did he shift policy or signal anything new?

Despite a major U.S. buildup, he left Iran to the end and said little, even as diplomats say a narrow nuclear understanding may be close if Tehran accepts verification. What stood out was a fresh warning about Iranian ballistic missiles reaching the United States, an issue Iran resists putting into any deal.

To Sudan now: who has been sanctioned over the bloodshed in El Fasher, and why?

The UN listed four RSF figures, including deputy commander Abdurrahim Dagalo, citing their operational role in the city’s fall and atrocities seen on video, and it also named a commander dubbed the Butcher of El Fasher who posted himself killing civilians.

What bite do these measures have?

Travel bans, frozen assets, and tighter financial scrutiny add stigma and complicate access to services, but earlier designations have not stopped abuses on the ground, even as repeated targeting of the same leaders builds pressure.

In Spain, one hundred fifty three files on the 1981 coup attempt have been opened to public view, ending the old default of secrecy; what should we watch for?

Armed civil guards once stormed parliament, only for the monarchy’s stance to steady the transition, and the papers include police and court reports plus notes of talks with the King. Historians will revisit whether Juan Carlos’s role was as heroic as told, though big surprises are uncertain.

Scientists warn emperor penguins are in trouble; what does the data show?

Record low Antarctic sea ice in recent years stripped the platforms penguins need to molt, likely forcing many into the water before they were waterproof and causing heavy losses in colonies we track.

Satellite views suggest thousands may have died in West Antarctica, though some groups appear to be shifting to safer ice.

To Sri Lanka, police have arrested the former intelligence chief over the 2019 Easter bombings; why is this moment significant?

Those coordinated attacks on churches and hotels were the worst violence since the civil war, so this is the most prominent arrest yet and matches the new president’s justice pledge amid claims the establishment had prior warning and political motives, which the general denies as the probe continues.

Japan has set a first timeline to place surface to air missiles on Yonaguni, a remote island near Taiwan; why now, and how does politics factor in?

Tokyo set a window between April 2030 and March 2031, a step Beijing will watch closely after sharper rhetoric and air scrambles, and the prime minister’s new mandate gives her room to harden defense policy and even open debate on revising the pacifist constitution.

In Mexico, after the army killed El Mencho, violence flared; what did people on the ground face, and how is Puerto Vallarta recovering?

A convoy of heavily armed trucks boxed me in and took my vehicle within minutes of leaving home.

Cars were wrecked outside a busy store and fear swept a tourist city, but cleanup is moving fast and the mayor says the priority is restoring services and trust without fueling cartel infighting.

Before we go, a quick sky guide: six planets will line up this week; how can listeners catch it safely?

Look just after sunset with a clear western horizon and, ideally, binoculars, since Venus will be very low and bright and Jupiter obvious higher up, while the others are trickier; never look before the sun is down.

That’s all for now; email us at GlobalPodcast at bbc dot co dot uk, find us on X at BBC World Service with the hashtag globalnewspod, and check out The Global Story for more in depth coverage; mixed by Sarah Kimberley, produced by Ariane Couchy and Carla Conti, edited by Karen Martin. I’m Pete Ross, until next time.