The Global Story

“Cuba’s assault on the United States was never, at root, a quarrel over economic policy or sovereignty or even ownership of a particular territory,” reads the US Department of State’s new report on the communist state 90 miles from the Florida coast. “It was a revolution against Western civilization itself”.
Over the course of 100 pages, Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism draws lines between Cuba and the Black Panthers, the Pan-African movement, radical feminism, Antifa and more, concluding that international sympathy for the island’s dire humanitarian crisis overlooks a sinister reality; that, “its power was always ideological, subversive, and parasitic.” The Cuban government has dismissed the report as, “a mediocre propaganda pamphlet.”
How much validity is there to its arguments, and why release it now? Michael Bustamante, a professor of history at the University of Miami, joins Asma to discuss.
Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, July 23, 2026. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/ Pool via Reuters.

Venezuelans are still searching through the rubble a month after two devastating earthquakes, which left thousands dead and tens of thousands more still missing.
The disaster came at a moment of acute political and economic uncertainty, following the toppling of president Nicolas Maduro. The new government is led by Delcy Rodriguez, with US oversight, and the Trump administration has taken control of Venezuela’s lucrative oil industry – to the tune of billions of dollars. But where is that money now?
The BBC’s Will Grant reports from Venezuela, and has spoken to survivors, grieving families, and government officials leading the response.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Workers use a jackhammer on debris from a collapsed building, in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria.

President Trump has announced a new round of tariffs against a range of Canadian goods, including hockey sticks and cement. Trump says the tariffs are in retaliation for what he called Canada’s “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol. But earlier in the week he also threatened retaliatory tariffs over Canada’s wildfire smoke which has been drifting into US cities.
We speak to Jayme Poisson - host of the CBC podcast Frontburner - about what Trump actually wants from Canada, and whether Canadians are bracing for a world in which the US is no longer their closest ally.
Listen to Frontburner: link.mgln.ai/FBxGlobalStory
Producers: Aron Keller, Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: U.S. President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and FIFA dignitaries at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium. Credit: Reuters/ Evan Vucci.

The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth faced senators on Tuesday as the White House asked for tens of billions of dollars more to help fund the Iran war.
It comes after over a week of consecutive US strikes, the deaths of several US service members, and the Iran-backed Houthis announcing a ‘maritime blockade’ in the region.
We speak to BBC world news correspondent Joe Inwood about the trouble brewing on three fronts for the US.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: A projectile is fired during what the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said was a round of strikes against Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 11, 2026. Credit: U.S. Central Command/Handout/Reuters.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a mainstay of the US political calendar, a barometer of the Republican party mood, and has become, in recent years, a pro-Trump event, with a big budget and crowds in the thousands.
Its first outing to the United Kingdom last week brought less of the bombast, but much the same flavour of politics, as figures from across the hard right assembled for debates on topics including migration, race, British identity and cryptocurrency, under the slogan ‘Save Britain. Save The West’.
One of our producers, Hannah Moore, attended the conference to find a conservative movement reckoning with its identity, and divided on whether importing MAGA-style politics can unite the right.
Producers: Aron Keller and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks at the CPAC GB conference in London, Britain, 17 July 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock