Polls open in first Bangladesh election since uprising
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Voters cast their ballots in Bangladesh for the first time since authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina was forced from office in 2024. They'll be choosing a new government and deciding on constitutional reforms. Also: our correspondent reports from inside Iran. We have the latest on the deadly shooting in Canada. The US attorney general gets a grilling at a congressional committee meeting. New figures suggest China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell in 2025. We'll hear about the European robin that made it all the way to Canada. And the student who had a good excuse for not handing in her homework on time - she was taking part in the Olympics.
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. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.4 | I'm Alex Ritson, and in the early hours of Thursday, the 12th of February, these are our main stories. |
| 0:19.2 | Voting is underway in Bangladesh in the first election |
| 0:22.3 | since the uprising in 2024 that toppled long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Asina. President Trump |
| 0:29.3 | tells Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu that he'd prefer to do a deal on Iran's nuclear program |
| 0:34.6 | than take further military action. Meanwhile, in Iran, the President apologises |
| 0:40.0 | for government failings on the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Also in this podcast, |
| 0:51.9 | bird watchers are flocking to the Canadian city of Montreal |
| 1:00.1 | after what's believed to be the first recorded sighting of a European Robin in Canada. |
| 1:09.9 | We start in Bangladesh, where voting is underway in what's perhaps the most important election to take place there for many years. |
| 1:18.2 | This is the first national poll since the country's former Premier, Sheikh Asina, was deposed in 2024 after several months of violent unrest. |
| 1:31.2 | Since then, Bangladesh has been run by a caretaker government headed by the Nobel Prize winner Mohamed Eunice. He says he'll step down after the vote. More than 50 |
| 1:38.5 | political parties are hoping to win a share of the 350 parliamentary seats being contested. |
| 1:44.9 | The party of Sheikasina, the Awami League, has been banned from contesting the election. |
| 1:50.3 | So, who are the main contenders? |
| 1:52.5 | Our correspondent in Dhaka is Azaday Mishiri. |
| 1:56.3 | There are several main parties that are contesting here. |
| 2:00.5 | One of them is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party or the BNP. |
| 2:04.4 | I'm actually at a polling booth in Dhaka where Terry Krahman, the leader of the BNP, is expected to turn up and vote here, |
| 2:11.7 | perhaps even say a few words. So there are a lot of BNP supporters around me with red and green caps. |
| 2:17.1 | And there's also a lot of media as well as security forces, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.