Neda Tofik (4:00)

It was a very ceremonial welcome when the royal flight touched down at Joint Base Andrews. All smiles, White House official and as well as the British ambassador greeting the king and queen. A very sweet moment where two kids of British families from the military who are stationed here in the US Gave them flowers and then the country's national anthems were played. So just by looking at the pictures, you would never know that there's any strain in relations at all between the US and the UK A very celebratory mood to mark the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Celia Hatton (4:35)

All smiles as you say, Neda. But here's the key question. President Trump has been very critical of the British prime minister, Keir Starmer recently. Could this trip help repair the relationship between the U.S. and Britain?

Neda Tofik (4:48)

Well, it's interesting because the BBC asked President Trump that question and he said, sure, sure, it could. And he had very glowing words about King Charles. And we've always known that President Trump has a deep affection for the royals. He views the UK Government very differently. There are differences on everything from the Iran war and perceptions that the UK prime minister hasn't supported the US Enough, to issues on immigration, for example, and climate change. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. So King Charles is here on this mission to go on this charm offensive, to use his soft power, to use those private moments with President Trump to soften some of those tensions.

Celia Hatton (5:36)

Neda, is there any personal friendship between the president and the king?

Neda Tofik (5:41)

President Trump recalled in his book the Art of the Deal, being a six year old watching Queen Elizabeth's coronation with his Scottish mother and how that kind of set up his love of showmanship and pomp and circumstance. And so he has always had this fascination with the royals. He has always invited King Charles, when he was a prince, to his wedding with Melania, for example. He has at times at Palm beach, you know, tried to socialize with him. And he speaks very highly of King Charles. And despite the fact that they are almost polar opposites in terms of their demeanor, but also their values, the two do seem to get on quite well when they are together. We certainly know that President Trump does value King Charles time in having the opportunity to put on a spectacle like this. I mean, think about it. In the midst of the Iran war, after the White House correspondent's dinner shooting, this is the optics that President Trump loves, the pomp and circumstance, the showmanship.

Celia Hatton (6:40)

Neda There were calls from some Democrats for the king to meet with some of Jeffrey Epstein's victims during this visit, a nod to the fact that the king's brother Andrew is under investigation for his links to the late sex offender. How has the palace responded to the situation?

Neda Tofik (6:57)

Well, Buckingham palace has said that even a symbolic meeting, in their view, there is a serious concern that that could jeopardize the legal process. So this has been one of those issues threatening to overshadow this visit. But that is one where the survivors are literally here in D.C. very nearby, holding these interviews and trying to continue to push for a very short private meeting, saying it would be a grand gesture.

Celia Hatton (7:24)

Neta Tofik Ahead of the royal visit, there was talk about increasing security for the trip. That was prompted by a gun attack in Washington on Saturday evening at a dinner for White House correspondence. As Netta mentioned which President Trump and other top officials were attending. A suspect was arrested at the scene and on Monday he appeared in court. Cole Allen, who's 31 and from California, has been charged with trying to assassinate the president. Her North America correspondent, Shaima Khalil, was at the courthouse.

Shaima Khalil (7:55)

The courtroom fell silent as 31 year old Cole Thomas Allen was brought in by law enforcement officers. Wearing a blue jumpsuit and a wristband, he appeared calm as the judge read him his rights. When asked about his education, he replied a master's degree. Besides being charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, Allen also faces two other the interstate transportation of firearms to commit a felony and the discharge of a firearm in a crime of violence. He did not enter a plea. Jeanine Pierrot, the U.S. attorney for the District of Colombia, who was in court later said in a press conference that there were likely to be more charges.

Kohler Ambassador (8:31)

Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States with the defendant making clear what his intent was and that intent was to bring down as many of the high ranking cabinet officials as he could.

Shaima Khalil (8:48)

Cole Allen will be detained until the next hearing, which is expected on Thursday, when the court will decide whether the suspect will be remanded in custody pending trial. The 31 year old, who describes himself online as a mechanical engineer, game developer and teenager teacher, traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, then to Washington D.C. where he stayed at the Hilton Hotel in the days leading up to the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Officers investigating the attack say a document allegedly written by the suspect appears to include plans to target Trump administration officials and likely the president himself. On Saturday, the document was reportedly sent by the suspect to his family who alerted the police.

Celia Hatton (9:29)

And we have an uplifting postscript to this story from the CBS journalist and president of the White House Correspondents association, weijiajiang. She sat next to Donald Trump at Saturday's dinner. She says the Washington Hilton Hotel has donated the 2,600 dinners they couldn't serve. After the event was abruptly halted, the hotel freeze dried the steak and lobster and has now given the food to two shelters for abused women and children to Mexico now two months ago the Mexican security services killed El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, one of the country's fastest growing and most powerful criminal organizations. Now in the latest move against the drug traffickers, a second man, a top commander from the same cartel, has been captured during a shootout in the west of the country. Audio Flores was nicknamed the Gardener. He was detained by Mexican special forces. The cartel's operations stretch well beyond Mexico's borders to South America, including Colombia and Ecuador. And in recent years, the Jalisco cartel has been trafficking synthetic drugs like fentanyl to the United States. So who is the captured man known as the Gardener? Luis Farjado is our Latin America specialist from BBC monitoring in Miami.

Luis Farjado (10:50)

There was a $5 million US government reward for his capture and some people talked about him as a potential successor as a leader of the Jalisco cartel after the killing of alias El Mencho a few months ago. Some people have even said that since he played an important operational role, he was a leader in the western part in the Pacific coast region of Mexico for this cartel. That his arrest may even have a bigger effect on the cartel day to day operation than even the killing a few months ago by the security services of the top leader of the Jalisco cartel cartel. So in all it seems to be a substantial action and a substantial success for the Mexican government security forces.

Celia Hatton (11:38)

I Mean, as you say, it comes just about two months after the killing of the cartel's top leader. Tell us more about the authorities tactics against the cartels. The so called kingpin strategy, part of,

Luis Farjado (11:53)

or an important part of that strategy has been to go after the top leaders of the cartels, the kingpins. Of course, this is not entirely new. This is something that has been occurring in Latin America since the 1990s when the US government helped the Colombian government go after the top leaders of the Medellin cartel. People like Pablo Escobar and critics of this policy would say that after several decades of going after these top leaders and in many cases killing them or incarcerating them, what has happened is not a reduction in actual drug trafficking activity, but sometimes even more instability within these cartels, within these organized crime groups, as other lower ranking figures try to occupy those places that have been left vacant and start infighting within these criminal organizations. So a lot of dispute about how effective it is, but still the Mexican government is going to show this as an important proof of their continuous efforts against drug trafficking. They will certainly make the point with the Trump administration that they have continued to fight drug trafficking and they have this to show once again.

Celia Hatton (13:00)

And what has been going on since the killing of the top leader in the past few months. Has violence been going up?

Luis Farjado (13:07)

Violence, of course, in Mexico has been recurrent and it's a long standing problem. There has been also a lot of diplomatic controversy about the role of the US in these anti drug efforts. Of course, just a few days ago, two US citizens were killed in what was described as an accident. And it later emerged that they seem to have been security agents participating in anti drug activities in Mexico, which in theory would go against the policies of the Mexican government. So there's a lot of discussion, serious domestic discussion in Mexico about the extent of US participation and how this drug trafficking issue remains a very, very thorny issue in the bilateral relations between the US and Mexico. Nobody really expects drug trafficking or the drug cartels to be a problem to be solved. In the short term, there are continued efforts and certainly there's going to be continued discussions about how effective these policies have been.

Celia Hatton (14:06)

Luis Farhado staying in Mexico the FIFA Men's World cup begins in Mexico City in just six weeks time. But with hundreds of thousands of football fans heading to the capital for the tournament, the main airport still isn't ready. It's been beset by problems for years. One president proposed a new facility in 2014 only for the plan to be shelved by his successor to the tune of billions of dollars in wasted contracts. An army of construction workers has been working round the clock at the airport and another at the Azteca Stadium, site of the opening game, in a race to finish both buildings before kickoff. Our correspondent Will Grant reports from Mexico City.

Narrator/Host (14:51)

For the past year, passengers at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport have endured constant construction noise. In addition to the sound of airplanes landing and taking off, however, the noise at Benito Juarez is the least of its problems. One of the busiest hubs in the world, the experience for most is less than ideal outdated, insufficient infrastructure and long queues at passport control, luggage carousels and taxi racks. On social media, travellers have posted videos of broken ceiling tiles, exposed electrical cables and leaking roofs during downpours mid renovation. I was given a tour of the airport by its director, Admiral Juan Jose Padilla Olmo, who admits he inherited a facility on the brink of collapse. This isn't just aesthetic, he tells me. We're in the guts of the airport fixing the drainage, air conditioning and fire systems. The whole sanitation works. This is not just a quick fix. Admiral Padilla says that there was a chronic lack of investment in Benito Juarez by successive administration administrations. Benito Juarez fell into disrepair under President Claudia Scheinbaum. The airport is finally undergoing a major overhaul before the FIFA World Cup. Admiral Padilla is confident they'll be finished on time. Some passengers, though, aren't convinced. Do you think they're going to get it ready in time for the World Cup?

Reporter/Correspondent (16:26)

I'm not sure. If it hasn't been ready for a long time, why so going to be ready in a couple of months or less than a couple of months. The services are not where it should be and what Mexico represents internationally.

Narrator/Host (16:46)

Of course, the issues don't end when the football fans come out of the airport either. In recent weeks there have been protests by taxi drivers over the role of ride sharing apps like Uber and Diddy. And there are real questions about whether the city's hugely over saturated public transport system, from metro lines to buses, can cope. Beyond the airport, taxis and public transport. Once fans reach the stadium, the authorities believe they'll have one of the most memorable experiences in world football. The iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, site of Maradona's infamous Hand of God 40 years ago this summer has also been revamped ahead of the first ball being kicked and was recently unveiled with a friendly between Mexico and Portugal. Most fans agree the Azteca looks resplendent with refurbished facilities on and off the pitch, from changing rooms to seats from new floodlighting to a new name. It's now officially the Banorte Stadium, after a Mexican bank. But even this temple of football has prompted criticism. Its capacity shrank from 110,000 spectators to under 90,000, and some have complained of more emphasis on hospitality suites than ordinary fans. Still, the stage is set for the first match, Mexico versus South Africa, within weeks. Security is another headache altogether for the Mexican government in this unusual World cup, stretched out as it is across the nations of North America. But in terms of ironing out any kinks in the new infrastructure, they're now into the final moments before kickoff Will

Celia Hatton (18:37)

Grant in Mexico City. Still to come in this podcast, she

John Sparks (18:43)

twisted my head so she could look straight at my eyes and put her finger into my mouth and then made this belch vocalization. So I did my best to respond.

Celia Hatton (18:54)

As nature broadcaster Sir David Attenborough Prepares to turn 100, he reflects on his incredible encounter with mountain gorillas.

Reporter/Correspondent (19:07)

Foreign

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Celia Hatton (21:27)

Can a royal visit help fix the so called special relationship between the US

Advertiser/Commercial Voice (21:32)

and the UK this week King Charles

Neda Tofik (21:34)

is visiting America, but it's a tense moment for the US and the uk.

Celia Hatton (21:39)

I'm Tristan Redman. And I'm Asma Khalid and we host the Global Story podcast from the BBC.

Advertiser/Commercial Voice (21:44)

We speak to the first former British

Celia Hatton (21:46)

Ambassador to the United States who knows

Neda Tofik (21:48)

a thing or two about getting on the wrong side of President Trump.

Celia Hatton (21:51)

For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast. We're going to head to Mali in East Africa where insurgents are reported to be making gains at the expense of government forces and Russian backed paramilitaries providing extra security to for the military junta that's been in charge for the past five years. The insurgents, made up of Tuareg separatist fighters and a jihadist group which is allied to Al Qaeda, are reported to have made further advances. Barry Marston from BBC Monitoring has been following developments closely since the attacks began on Saturday morning. He's been talking to Tim Franks.

Reporter/Correspondent (22:36)

Things are moving incredibly fast. Two days ago on Saturday when this kicked off, there were attacks by the jihadists across the entire country, right from Bamako, this capital in the south, up to more than a thousand kilometers away, cities up in the north of the country. What we have seen over the last 24 hours is the fighting appearing to coalesce to the northern Sahara half of the country, with a succession of bases and positions seemingly falling into the hands of this alliance of jihadists and separatists. Very similar actually to a situation we saw in 2012 when similar forces came together and pushed the government out of the entire top half of the country for many months.

Narrator/Host (23:22)

And this is an alliance presumably entirely of convenience. I mean, it's difficult to see them being ideologically connected.

Reporter/Correspondent (23:29)

It is somewhat, yes. There have been reports of them cooperating in the past. But both sides have tended to strenuously deny it because it undermines each of them. So the fact that they have come together in this fight is quite remarkable. On one hand you have Al Qaeda aligned force very much committed to hardline version of Islamic law in the country and nominally committed to the vision of global jihad aligned with Tuareg separatists. What we have seen is Al Qaeda side sort of claiming that they now all share this vision for an Islamic state. But yeah, as I mentioned, we saw this in 2012 and it ultimately all fell apart when the two sides ended up fighting each other. French supported troops were able to take back the country by the sort of middle of 2012.

Narrator/Host (24:19)

I mean, how far do you think that the authorities in Bamako are really facing a particularly grave threat?

Reporter/Correspondent (24:26)

I would still say that if they went head to head with each other, you tend to find that the jihadists would not be able to meet the army in a straight fight. What we saw in the capital Bamako on Saturday was they were able to make incursions and stage quite audacious attack, but they were quite quickly pushed out of the capital. The biggest threat to the regime may be a further coup because that's what's happened on several occasions when they've come under pressure from rebel forces. Parts of the military staged a succession of coups which inevitably on several occasions has had the effect of weakening the country and making matters worse. And certainly been rumors that we could see a similar scenario this time around.

Celia Hatton (25:09)

Barry Marston of BBC monitoring on that developing situation in Mali. Now to the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the US Israel war with Iran. President Trump is reported to have met his national security team on Monday to discuss Iran's latest proposals. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi says the US has asked for further negotiations about the war. Mr. Aragchi made the comments during a visit to Russia where he thanked President Putin for his country's support. More from our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams.

Paul Adams (25:43)

With direct talks to end the war on hold, Iran's foreign minister has been on the move for several days, visiting Pakistan twice and Oman before arriving in Russia. Speaking in St. Petersburg, Abbas Aragchi blamed the US for the lack of diplomatic progress and said Iran was standing up to the world's greatest superpower. He said Washington had asked for more negotiations. His host, Vladimir Putin, praised Iran for fighting, in his words, courageously and heroically for its independence and sovereignty. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow was ready to mediate. Earlier, the news website Axios said Iran might be willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for postponing talks on its nuclear program. There's been no official confirmation of this from any of the parties or mediators involved. With a ceasefire still in place and the White House saying it's not in a hurry, it seems clear that diplomacy has not yet run its course. Earlier, speaking to students in his constituency, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said he couldn't see what exit strategy the US Was choosing. The Iranians, he said, were stronger than previously thought and negotiating very skillfully.

Celia Hatton (26:59)

Paul Adams with that report. So what's at stake for Moscow in its latest interactions with Iran? Here's our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg.

Steve Rosenberg (27:08)

In recent times, Russia has been losing global influence and that is partly because its allies around the world have been losing power. Maduro in Venezuela, Assad in Syria, Orban in Hungary. For Moscow, it is vital that this doesn't happen too in Iran so that it can demonstrate that Russia is still a key player in such a strategically important region as the Middle East. Hence talks in St. Petersburg between President Putin and Iran's foreign minister. It feels like the Kremlin wants to show the United States that Russia has the power to escalate or de escalate this conflict, that it could provide its strategic partner Iran with additional military support, or it could help negotiate a diplomatic resolution. In other words, that Russia either way has influence. How receptive Washington is to such messaging is far from clear. In the meantime, Russia is benefiting financially from conflict and instability in the Gulf. High oil prices mean additional revenue for Moscow from its energy exports.

Celia Hatton (28:20)

Steve Rosenberg and last, the world famous wildlife writer and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday next week when a BBC documentary has been made that tells the story of the making of the series Life on Earth, which gave many of us a better understanding of our planet. Since its release in 1979, it's estimated around 500 million people have seen that series. Most famous moment, Sir David's encounter with mountain gorillas. 50 years after filming began on the series, Sir David Attenborough and his producer, John Sparks have been looking back at that remarkable chance encounter.

John Sparks (29:05)

After months of planning, he traveled traveled to Rwanda for one of the last shoots of the series. We had no idea what we were about to witness.

Narrator/Host (29:18)

There's one ape, however, that spends nearly all its time on the ground. It lives here, 10,000ft up on the flanks of the volcanoes of Central Africa, on the borders of Rwanda and Zaire.

David Attenborough (29:32)

The gorilla that I was responsible for the 12th program in the series, which was about the innovation that primates had with the opposable thumb, which enables a precision grip and also enables monkeys to hang onto branches. They only had the expectation of filming David with mountain gorillas in the background. And so, in a sense, the situation there was quite unlike what I expected because far from just getting a shot with mountain gorillas in the background and David in the foreground, suddenly you could be in a situation where you're surrounded by them in a clearing. There was this big female having her lunch, and I told David if he could crawl a little bit closer to us so he could get a nice two. Next thing we know is that her two youngsters come out and actually sit on him. And my jaw dropped. I mean, everyone's jaw dropped. Didn't expect this at all.

John Sparks (30:38)

And I was just about to start talking about the opposition of the thumb and the forefinger when I felt a hand come out on my head. And it was this adult female. And she twisted my head so she could look straight in my eyes and looked inside my mouth and put a finger into my mouth and then made this belch vocalization. So I did my best to respond.

David Attenborough (31:05)

And you saw her look into one of his eye and then into his other arm. And I thought, my God, his head's going to come off. And we haven't finished the series yet, which was a very uncharitable thing.

John Sparks (31:16)

Just think, you don't stare at a gorilla. That's a challenging thing to do. So you keep your head down and you make these belch vocalizations all the time. And that's a sort of conversational acknowledgement that you're in their presence. There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla

Narrator/Host (31:51)

to any other animal. Right now,

John Sparks (31:55)

we're so similar. Their sight, their hearing, their sense of smell are so similar to ours that we see the world in the same way as they do. Extraordinary, really. I mean, it was one of the most privileged moments of our life.

Celia Hatton (32:21)

Really mesmerizing. Sir David Attenborough and his producer, John Sparks, reflecting on the making of life on Earth. Sir David turns 100 a week on Friday 8th May. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us@globalpol podcastbc.co.uk you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global Newspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Nick Rendell. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Celia Hatton. Until next time, goodbye.

Reporter/Correspondent (33:07)

Foreign.

Advertiser/Commercial Voice (33:12)

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