Joko Widodo: Our hospitals couldn’t handle the pandemic

Joko Widodo: Our hospitals couldn’t handle the pandemic

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has spoken of his country’s struggle with the pandemic earlier this year, describing how hospitals and facilities could not cope. Speaking exclusively to the BBC’s Asia presenter Karishma Vaswani, Mr Widodo said that the situation in the country had greatly improved and steps were being taken to address discrepancies in facilities…

Arnold Schwarzenegger calls leaders ‘liars’ over climate

Arnold Schwarzenegger calls leaders ‘liars’ over climate

The actor and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaks to the BBC ahead of the COP26 climate summit. He has become a champion of clean air and renewable energy and speaks powerfully about tackling climate issues. In an interview for Radio 4’s ’39 Ways to Save the Planet’, the Terminator star criticises countries for…

‘Extremist parties sound an alarm for all of us’ – Bruno Le Maire

‘Extremist parties sound an alarm for all of us’ – Bruno Le Maire

The presence of far-right candidates will mean that the stakes will be very high in next year’s French presidential election, the country’s finance minister has said. Bruno Le Maire told BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur that the country had “questions about our own identity” and the kind of role it could play on the international stage…

Josh Cavallo: ‘It’s my freedom day and I’ve never been so happy’

Josh Cavallo: ‘It’s my freedom day and I’ve never been so happy’

Australian footballer Josh Cavallo has come out as gay, making him the only current top level male professional player in the world to do so. The Adelaide United player told BBC World News’ Yalda Hakim that the decision to make the announcement took a long time. “There was over six years of pain,” he said,…

Covid: Charlize Theron wants fairer distribution of vaccines

Covid: Charlize Theron wants fairer distribution of vaccines

Charlize Theron says countries have to start sharing vaccines if we are to reach the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the planet next year. The actress, who has joined the social justice organisation Ford Foundation, wants the World Trade Organization to agree a waiver on vaccine patents – so countries can manufacture…

Sir David Attenborough urges nations to take climate action

Sir David Attenborough urges nations to take climate action

Sir David Attenborough has urged developed nations to “take moral responsibility” for climate change as the world meets for COP26, the UN climate summit, in Glasgow in November. He talked with BBC Science Editor David Shukman on the set of his new documentary series, The Green Planet, which uses time-lapse to capture the world of…