US and Iran trade strikes in Gulf

Summary

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Global News Podcast — "US and Iran Trade Strikes in Gulf"

Host: Ankur Desai, BBC World Service
Date: July 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers breaking international news with a primary focus on escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran following reciprocal strikes in the Gulf region, particularly around the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Additional reports include analysis on global misinformation during the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Microsoft’s perspective on the AI revolution, the environmental status of endangered species, notable cultural obituaries (Bonnie Tyler), and coverage of the World Cup quarterfinals.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. US-Iran Escalation in the Gulf

• Renewed Military Strikes & Tensions

  • The US launched a second night of strikes against 90 Iranian sites, some near the critical Strait of Hormuz (00:36).
  • Reports of explosions in Bushehr, Iran’s main nuclear plant location.
  • Iran alleges civilian infrastructure was hit, accusing the US of war crimes.
  • President Trump, speaking on Air Force One, emphasized disproportionate retaliation:

    “Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20.” (02:18 – President Trump)

• Iran’s Counterstrikes & Shifting Control

  • Iran targeted American assets in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation, signaling a return to earlier high tensions.

  • Analysis by Middle East expert Sebastian Usher (02:55):

    • Explosions reported in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.
    • Concerns over the possible collapse of the recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
    • The fight for control over the Strait of Hormuz remains Iran’s central strategic aim.

  • Usher on Iran’s motivations:

    “[If Iran] doesn't carry out some drone or missile strikes… that shows they are losing that group... they haven't got what they want from the deal, so they have to continue doing this.” (03:47 – Sebastian Usher)

• Impact of Domestic Iranian Politics

  • Massive crowds in Mashad as Iran commemorates its assassinated former supreme leader.
  • The funeral’s unity could be short-lived, and questions remain if the regime will take a harder line post-assassination.

    “It does seem to have pulled people together… but that unity… could be short-lived.” (04:52 – Sebastian Usher)

2. Oil Shipping Crisis at the Strait of Hormuz

• Shipping Throughput Drops Dramatically

  • Phil Belcher of Intertanko, interviewed by Sean Farrington, details the shipping crisis:

    • Only about 30 ships now passing daily versus the usual 130. Half the previous week’s number.
    • Central shipping route closed due to mine threat.

  • On the volatile environment:

    “This cycle of violence... is having an enormous impact both on the business but on the seafarers themselves.” (07:33 – Phil Belcher)

  • Mounting crew anxiety, with civilian seafarers’ safety at risk, and calls for “cooler heads” to halt escalation (08:26).

3. US Political Scandal: Graham Platner Senate Campaign

• Candidate Suspends Campaign Amid Misconduct Allegations

  • Democratic candidate Graham Platner ends his US Senate campaign in Maine following multiple sexual assault accusations (08:41).

  • Emotional video cited:

    "We are suspending campaign operations… This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt and it most certainly is not." (09:25-09:33 – Graham Platner)

  • Reporting by Anthony Zircher explains support evaporated after the Democratic Party and donors withdrew endorsements and funds amid a flood of past scandals and social media revelations (09:47).

  • Platner denies allegations, but public pressure made the campaign untenable.

4. Violence and Misinformation in the Ebola Crisis (DR Congo)

• Misinformation Fuels Violence & Disease Spread

  • BBC Verify’s Marco Silva documents 12 incidents where Ebola falsehoods incited attacks against health workers in DR Congo (16:49).

  • Example: Red Cross volunteers attacked based on rumors the "coffin was empty"—demonstrating the lethal impact of misinformation (17:19).

  • Dr. Ayme Mbonda Nulle (Red Cross, Bunya):

    “When communities don't believe in the disease… we will not be received… this misinformation is directly affecting our operation… and the security of our volunteers.” (18:59)

  • Solution: Building trust through local voices and survivor stories, though "this is painstaking, slow work" (19:31).

5. Microsoft President on the AI Revolution

• Youth Seen as AI’s Key Beneficiaries

  • Microsoft’s Brad Smith asserts younger generations are best positioned to thrive in an AI-driven future (21:05).

  • Smith’s encouragement:

    “You were made for this moment... you can master new skills faster than somebody like I can... I think the young people today can use AI and ensure that it is better for the planet.” (21:28 – Brad Smith)

  • Despite layoffs in the gaming/Xbox division, Smith frames internal retraining and broader entry-level skill-building as the future, not AI-driven job loss (22:33).

6. Conservation: Red List and the Desert Rain Frog

• Threatened Species Highlighted

  • The IUCN’s updated Red List spotlights nearly 50,000 species at risk.

  • The desert rain frog, native to southern Africa, faces disappearing habitat due to mining and human expansion (24:01).

  • Helen Briggs on environmental pressure:

    “Nature is under pressure across the world and it's now starting to affect even the creatures that live in the most hostile and unusual habitat.” (24:38 – Helen Briggs)

  • Some conservation success stories give hope, e.g. the Numbat in Australia rebounds with intense intervention (25:56).

7. Cultural Highlight: Remembering Bonnie Tyler (1947-2026)

• Tribute to the Singer Behind “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

  • Bonnie Tyler’s death at 75 is marked with reflections on her music legacy (12:28).

  • Her words on fame and perseverance:

    “How on earth I got to where I am now from where I was then is, you know, it's a bit of a journey. My mother always brought me up to believe in myself.” (12:34 – Bonnie Tyler)

  • Welsh musician Mal Pope describes her:

    “She needed that big voice to be able to carry those James diamond songs... She'd take no nonsense from anybody, but she wasn't one to fling it about either.” (13:46 – Mal Pope)

  • Lizo Mazimba notes her unique raspy vocals, the result of post-surgery change, allowed her to deliver authentic emotion (14:19).

8. World Cup Quarterfinals: France vs. Morocco

• Anticipation and Context for the Next Big Match
  • Fans flood Boston ahead of France vs. Morocco; both sets confident (26:42).
  • Joe Curry: France are favorites, but Morocco’s investment in football infrastructure has made them "a real force" despite key injuries (28:14).
  • Morocco’s ambitions underscored by massive state investments and a global search for diaspora talent; future World Cup hosts (29:19).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• President Trump on Retaliation:

  “Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20.” (02:18)

• Sebastian Usher on Iran’s Calculus:

  “…It’s how much this is the hill that they’re going to die on in terms of a strait of Hormuz… if they give up all control… they are losing that group and that’s their key card.” (03:36)

• Phil Belcher on Shipping Crisis:

  “This cycle of violence... is having an enormous impact both on the business but on the seafarers themselves.” (07:33)

• Graham Platner in Suspension Video:

  “We are suspending campaign operations… this is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt and it most certainly is not.” (09:25-09:33)

• Dr. Ayme Mbonda Nulle on Misinformation:

  “When communities don't believe in the disease… we will not be received… this misinformation is directly affecting our operation… and the security of our volunteers.” (18:59)

• Brad Smith, Microsoft, on Young People & AI:

  “You were made for this moment... you can master new skills faster than somebody like I can... I think the young people today can use AI and ensure that it is better for the planet.” (21:28)

• Bonnie Tyler on Her Life’s Journey:

  “My mother always brought me up to believe in myself. If you think you've got a talent, go for it... People often ask me, you know, don't I get fed up of singing Total Cliff? Of course I don't. I love it, you know.” (12:34, 13:03)

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Timestamps for Key Moments

• US-Iran Gulf Strikes & Analysis: 00:36–05:41
• Strait of Hormuz Shipping Disruption: 05:41–08:41
• Maine US Senate Campaign Suspended: 08:41–11:49
• Obituary: Bonnie Tyler: 11:49–15:18
• Ebola Violence & Misinformation (DRC): 16:14–20:36
• Microsoft & the AI Revolution: 20:36–23:17
• Red List Conservation Discussion: 23:17–26:42
• World Cup: France vs. Morocco Preview: 26:42–31:17

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Summary

This episode offers sharp, on-the-ground updates on a rapidly evolving US-Iran confrontation threatening energy security and regional stability, situates them amidst shifting Iranian political dynamics, and exposes the fragile nature of international agreements. It further highlights consequential issues like the power of misinformation in public health crises, challenges and opportunities of the AI revolution for youth, urgent conservation efforts for threatened species, and celebrates the life and enduring impact of artists like Bonnie Tyler. The sports segment adds context and color to a globally watched World Cup showdown.

Listeners receive critical international news, expert analysis, diverse human stories, and insight into both high-level geopolitics and cultural events, all structured for clarity and depth.

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Transcript

[Ankur Desai]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

[Asma Khalid]

Is the American Dream still possible? I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports the United States has ever sold the world. Is the American Dream that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life, but is it still attainable?

[Lizo Mazimba]

I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well.

[Asma Khalid]

For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ankur Desai]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hi, I'm Ankar Desai and at 16 GMT on Thursday 9th July, these are our main stories. The latest from the Middle east as the US And Iran trade strikes for a second night. It comes as large crowds are lining the streets in the city of Mashad, where Iran's late supreme leader is due to be buried. Later, the BBC finds false claims about Ebola are fueling violence against health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the president of Microsoft says young people are best placed to take advantage of an AI revolution, reshaping jobs and the workplace. Also in this podcast, people often ask

[Bonnie Tyler]

me, you know, don't I get fed up of singing Total Cliff? Of course I don't. I love it, you know.

[Ankur Desai]

We mark the life of singer Bonnie Tyler, who has died at the age of and the quarterfinals of the World cup begin today. France and Morocco kick it all off in Boston. The prospect of a proper peace between the US And Iran is looking even dimmer after a second series of American strikes on Iranian targets and defiance from Tehran. The the US military says it struck 90 sites, some near the very Strait of Hormuz, which is now at the center of the conflict. There are also reports of explosions in Bushehr, where Iran's main nuclear plant is located. Iran suggested some attacks had hit civilian infrastructure and accused America of a war crime. President Trump spoke about the latest strikes on Air Force One as he returned from a NATO summit in Turkey.

[Brad Smith]

We just hit them very hard and I say we hit up 20 to 1. Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20. And we did it last night. It did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night. They hit actually three boats, not two. And when they hit, we hit back much harder.

[Ankur Desai]

But the American military might wasn't deterring Tehran. In response to the US Attacks, Iran targeted American assets in neighboring Bahrain and Kuwait. All of which appears to suggest we're close to being back where we were earlier. Our global affairs reporter and Middle east expert Sebastian Usher talked me through the latest developments.

[Sebastian Usher]

There do appear still to be strikes going on. Reports in the Iranian media saying that the coastal city of Band Abbas there been explosions in Bushehr, which is where Iran's main nuclear power plant is. We've heard differing accounts, but one account saying that the perimeter of it was hit. So this is certainly causing concern over that memorandum of understanding and how long it can withstand this kind of pressure. We have been here before. It's a question of how much is it being calibrated, despite the talk from President Trump that, you know, they're going to hit harder and harder, that essentially that memorandum is now over. It's what he actually does, what the US does that matters. And I think from the other side, from the Iranian side, it's how much this is the hill that they're going to die on in terms of a strait of Hormuz if they give up all control of that, which I think is what they're concerned about at the moment. And they don't carry out some drone or missile strikes on ships that they say are going in areas that they haven't authorized. This is Iran, you know, nobody else then that shows that they are losing that group and that's their key card. And they feel that they haven't got what they want yet from the deal, so that they have to continue doing this.

[Ankur Desai]

And of course, all the while, with the backdrop, Iran is onto the last day of the funeral of its former supreme leader.

[Sebastian Usher]

Yes, I mean, we're hearing just now in Mashad, which was his birthplace and also one of the holiest cities in Iran. Again, tens of thousands of people lining the streets. This has been six days that the Iranian authorities, I think, will have been quite happy with. They've allowed foreign journalists to come in. Now, of course, over the years, there's been a sense that people are being bused in for these shows of solidarity with the regime. But certainly there is a genuine element to this as well. It's what comes after. Does this show a country that has been united to some extent despite the huge divisions? There were the mass protests that there were just back in January, or does it show that temporarily there can be a sort of coming together, but beneath that those divisions are growing and that's reflected in the leadership. We really don't know if the leadership now has become more hardline, with the Revolutionary Guards now completely calling the shots, or whether those who sign the memoir of understanding the president, the speaker of Parliament, those who are more pragmatic whether they had the upper hand, that really, while their attentions are still going on, while strikes are still being carried out, we're not able to see through that. And I think today, again, will be a moment in which the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, though he certainly wasn't popular amongst many in Iran, his death, his assassination does seem to have pulled people together to some extent right now. But that unity, as I say, could be short lived.

[Ankur Desai]

Sebastian Asha well, unsurprisingly, the renewed fighting and the uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz is taking its toll on shipping in the region. Not just on the number of ships using the straits, but on the lives of the sailors in the oil shipping industry in the region. To find out more, my colleague Sean Farrington spoke to Phil Belcher from the International Organization for Independent Tanker Owners, Intertanko. He says very few vessels are choosing to use the route.

[Phil Belcher]

The number of ships who are going through overnight is sort of about single figures in the southern route, which is maintained off the coast of oman by the US and about 20 going through a northern route done by Iran. The central main kind of highway through the strait is currently closed due to the mine threat which is going on there. So we've got about 30 ships or so going through when the normal number would be about 130 ships. So you can see the impact has been enormous at the moment. And this has fallen from about 70 or so just a week ago. So we really need to look to the future.

[Ankur Desai]

So there has been a drastic change in the last couple of days compared

[Sebastian Usher]

to where you were a week ago?

[Phil Belcher]

Yes, there has been falling from about 70, which was about half the amount of the oil and gas which we were seeing going through before the conflict back in February, starting there. And so the drop has been dramatic. Yes.

[Ankur Desai]

And so has the confidence. The mood changed around about shipping in the region.

[Sebastian Usher]

Speaking to consultants advising businesses about the

[Ankur Desai]

region this morning, they've been saying that in a way, the advice hasn't changed

[Sebastian Usher]

in recent weeks because the volatility has been expected. But is that the case with shipping?

[Ankur Desai]

It sounds like there was some optimism.

[Phil Belcher]

Yeah, and I think there was an exuberance of optimism following the signing of the MoU between Iran and the US there was this quite a large increase in the number of ships. The threat assessment was reduced to the lowest it's been for four months or so. But now the threat is very much there. I mean, on Monday night, nearly half the ships which were on the way out in the southern part were struck by the Iranians who were shot at there with a real flagrant disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers board those ships. This cycle of violence, this cycle of up and down positive, negative news, it's having an enormous impact both on the business but on the seafarers themselves. These are civilian seafarers coming from the Philippines, from the UK from Norway, India, etc. Who know all that's going on. Their families at home are hearing all of this as well. So the support that we have to give across the board with seafarers ashore as well as onboard the ship has been there and it's, it's going to get worse now over the next few days. Hopefully we can have some cooler heads looking at this and we can break this cycle. But at the moment, the strait is not very open.

[Ankur Desai]

Phil Belcher and we have more on this on our YouTube channel. Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News podcast in the podcast section. There's a new story available every weekday to the US Where a scandal plagued Democratic candidate Graham Platner has announced he suspended his campaign in Maine's U.S. senate at Race after days of mounting pressure over allegations of rape and sexual assault. He has denied the allegations. He posted an emotional video on X explaining his decision.

[Sebastian Usher]

We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made and for that reason

[Brad Smith]

we are suspending campaign operations.

[Sebastian Usher]

This is incredibly difficult because I know

[Ankur Desai]

that some will think it's an admission

[Sebastian Usher]

of guilt and it most certainly is not.

[Ankur Desai]

We're not doing it because of the allegations.

[Brad Smith]

We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us

[Ankur Desai]

by those in power. North America correspondent Anthony Zircher has more on what led up to this announcement.

[Anthony Zircher]

It was a gut wrenching video. He clearly was very emotional. He had to pause multiple times as he was delivering his remarks. It didn't even seem like it was all that scripted. He blamed the system. He denied that there was any truth to the accusations being made against him. But he said that it was the system and the structures of the system that were being denied to him that forced him to announcesuspending the campaign and his withdrawal from this race. Of course, earlier this week, multiple individuals, leaders of the Democratic Party had rescinded their endorsements. But even more importantly, the Democratic committees that were funding his campaign spending millions of dollars to support him. All of that had been frozen. So he would have had to fundraise and finance on his own. And with his support collapsing nationally, that would have been a very difficult task, essentially forcing his hand here. He entered the race last August and built a remarkable grassroots movement in Maine. Over 15,000 volunteers in that state. He campaigned in all of their counties. He defeated the incumbent Democratic governor who was running against him. But from the very beginning, there were also all of these allegations dogging him. Allegations, evidence of incendiary posts, anti woman, anti gay posts he made on social media. There was a report shortly before the Democratic primary last month about him being verbally and even physically intimidating during his relationships with women over his dating career. There was a report about after he got married in 2024 that he was sexting, sending text messages to other women. And of course he had a Nazi themed tattoo on his chest that was revealed. He's since had it covered up and said that he didn't know the origins of the skull and crossbones on his chest. He denies most of these most serious allegations, but the social media posts, the text, you know, once he confirmed.

[Ankur Desai]

Anthony Zircher now you might be familiar with the classic power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart. Well, it's Singer Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75. She'd been unwell for some time after having emergency surgery in Portugal. Total Eclipse of the Heart topped the charts in the United States and across Europe in 1983, and it's still popular today, passing a streams on Spotify earlier this year. It was written and produced by Meatloaf's regular collaborator, Jim Steinman, the Wagner of rock and roll, according to the LA Times, who brought his trademark operatic bombast to the track. This is Bonnie speaking about it to the BBC in 2023.

[Bonnie Tyler]

Well, I've done a lot in the last 40 years, but I never get tired of singing Total Eclipse of the Heart. You know, the very first time I sang that song was with two of Bruce Springsteen's musicians and, you know, it was just awesome to be singing with this band. Oh my God. I never thought, you know, I mean, I've grown up in a council house and believe it or not, I was a very shy little girl, you know, so how on earth I got to where I am now from where I was then is, you know, it's a bit of a journey. My mother always brought me up to believe in myself, right? Believe in yourself. If you think you've got a talent, go for it. People often ask me, you know, don't I get fed up of singing Total Cliff? Of course I don't. I love it, you know.

[Ankur Desai]

Born in Wales to a coal mining family, Bonnie Tyler's breakthrough came in 1976 when Lost in France made the UK top 10. Her other hits included Hold it out for a Hero, which featured in the films Footloose and Shrek, and her breakout single, It's a Heartache. She also represented the UK in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. A friend of Bonnie Tyler's, the Welsh musician Mal Pope, said her personality matched her distinctive musical style.

[Phil Belcher]

She needed that big voice to be able to carry those James diamond songs.

[Ankur Desai]

She was big all round.

[Phil Belcher]

Okay, she had that big voice, big hair, but she had a big character. And, you know, if you're going to go into that world, you would need that. The humility is knowing how to treat people in a local superstore in Swansea. And she would be the same to everybody. But she knew she could sing with the best. You know, she knew she was. She'd take no nonsense from anybody, but she wasn't. She wasn't one to fling it about either.

[Ankur Desai]

Our entertainment correspondent Lizo Mazimba has more.

[Lizo Mazimba]

People will be very shocked by today's news because she was a much loved singer. Those songs were absolutely huge. And she was one of those people when you heard that voice, you knew exactly who it was. And you know, those raspy vocals, you know, that gravelly voice that was actually the result of. In the 1970s, she had an operation on her throat for nodules and one day afterwards she kind of screamed in frustration and that kind of produced this permanent, incredible voice. Now it would have been easy to think with a voice like that, all you did was kind of belt out these kind of like power songs and action packed hits, but that actually what she had the power to do was bring a huge range of emotion into that. I mean, Total Eclipse of the heart. I mean, what a song. And you know, the songs ranged from, you know, just kind of real action images to real genuine heartbreaking emotion. She could do all that within the range of her voice and she was somebody who just loved what she did.

[Ankur Desai]

Liiso Mazimba still to come in this podcast, this desert rain frog is an endangered species. Now we tell you why its habitat is threatened by open cast mining and human encroachment.

[Asma Khalid]

Is the American Dream still possible? I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports of the United States has ever sold the world is the American Dream that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life. But is it still attainable?

[Ankur Desai]

I feel like the American dream is

[Lizo Mazimba]

alive, but not well.

[Asma Khalid]

For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ankur Desai]

This is the global news podcast. BBC Verify has found evidence that false and misleading claims about Ebola are fueling violence against health workers and making it harder to tackle a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 1,700 infections have been reported and 600 people have died from the virus since May. Yet doctors and aid workers say some people in affected communities falsely claim that Ebola doesn't exist and distrust those trying to treat it. Marco Silva is the reporter who's been looking into this story for us.

[Marco Silva]

So, fundamentally, we identify 12 different incidents where Ebola misinformation appears to have fueled real world violence. Seven of them we verified using social media footage. Others were confirmed through local news reporting. And just to give you a sense of the types of incidents that we're talking about here, we're talking about attacks on treatment centres and equipment, we're talking about assaults on health workers, but also repeated attempts to disrupt the safe burial of people who died of Ebola. In one incident in particular, four Red Cross volunteers were attacked and severely injured as they attempted to safely bury someone who had indeed died of Ebola. I spoke to one of these volunteers. His name is Daniel Wello. They grabbed me from behind and started punching me, hitting me with spades and machetes. So the crowd turned on Daniel and his colleagues on that day because of a rumor, a rumor that the coffin being buried that day was actually empty. Daniel told us as well that some of the people at the cemetery on that day, the people who attacked him, some of them didn't believe Ebola was real. Others thought that the Red Cross was only there to make money, which was clearly not the case here.

[Ankur Desai]

So what impact then is this having on efforts to try to contain the disease? Marco?

[Marco Silva]

So, for this report, I spoke to several organizations that are involved in the response to this particular Ebola outbreak. They all say that rumors and falsehoods about Ebola are having a very tangible effect on their ability to do their job. And this isn't just about the safety of those response teams. These organizations say that because of misinformation, some people also aren't seeking treatment until it's way too late. And of course, they are dying as a result. And that misinformation is also making it harder to stop the virus from spreading further in this part of the Dr. Congo. Just have a listen to Dr. Ayme Mbonda Nulle. He's with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Bunya Ituri Province.

[Ankur Desai]

When communities don't believe in the disease, when communities don't believe on our action immediately, when we are coming to support the communities, we will not be receiving the community. They will immediately be resistant. So all of this misinformation are directly affecting our operation on a daily basis and also affecting the security of our volunteers, but also of our staff. So it's incredibly difficult and challenging, I imagine, to tackle this disinformation. How do you fight it?

[Marco Silva]

Well, experts say that part of the reason why these claims are spreading so far and wide in the eastern DRC is because within some of these communities, there is a profound sense of distrust, not just of the central government, but of outsiders in general. And as a result, if the response teams really want to get into these communities, experts say they need to tap into local voices, local networks, trusted community voices that can make the case that this is indeed a real virus and that there are ways that you can protect yourself from this virus. Slowly. Some say, you know, perceptions are already changing, but this is painstaking, slow work. Another idea that is being put forward involves telling the stories of Ebola survivors. Of course, if people see that people have been infected and survived the disease, then perhaps they will also seek help, help from the authorities and from health workers.

[Ankur Desai]

Marco Silva reporting. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has told the BBC that young people are best placed to take advantage of the AI revolution, despite concerns about its impact on entry level jobs. He said the challenges they had faced included being educated during the COVID pandemic, as well as being digital natives meant that they were in a very strong position to be able to adapt and work with the new technology. He's been speaking to our tech editor, Zoe Kleiner.

[Brad Smith]

We need a future where AI can be used to create better jobs for more people. And if we don't do that, then I think we're letting not just ourselves down, but future generations down as well.

[Ankur Desai]

There is a backlash, though, isn't there? Particularly among younger people who are very

[Helen Briggs]

concerned about the impact of AI on their futures and on the planet and everything else. What do you say to those people?

[Brad Smith]

You were made for this moment. You've had to endure hardships that the rest of us did not, including going to school through a pandemic, learning through a screen. Those things were not easy. You've seen the pros and all the cons of social media, including its impact on mental health. But because you've been through all of that, you were made for this moment. You are a digital Native, you can master new skills faster than somebody like I can go to work, learn everything. You can act with ambition, make the world a better place. You too will leave work for your successors. We always do. But I think the young people today can use AI and ensure that it is better for the planet and every country and help us all build the future that we would be proud to create.

[Ankur Desai]

Microsoft this week has announced that it's

[Helen Briggs]

cutting nearly 5,000 jobs. Now that is not as a result

[Ankur Desai]

of AI, is it? The gaming department has been hit hard.

[Brad Smith]

Sometimes you have to restructure a business when it's not doing well and that was true with our Xbox business. So we're restructuring it. We all need to adapt and we are adapting to remain successful. What I'm more enthusiastic about is the 4,000 people in the last year who we retrained and moved from one job that we didn't need to a new job that we did. And I think that's gotta be the ultimate measure. We're bringing in entry level workers in new ways. We're exposing them to broader disciplines so they have a broader range of skills. We're supplementing that with AI skills. In that way, I think we're building a workforce for people.

[Ankur Desai]

The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, speaking to Zoe Kleinman. Now that's the sound of the desert rain frog, which is about the size of a ping pong ball. It's sand colored and speckled with bulging eyes. And it lives In a narrow 10 kilometer wide part of coastal southern Africa. But its habitat is threatened by open karst mining as well as human encroachment. It's one of the nearly 175,000 species which are included in the new Red List report from the International Union for the Conservation of nature. Almost 50,000 of them are heading towards extinction. Our science correspondent Helen Briggs has been reading the reports and told us more about it.

[Helen Briggs]

It's the latest update from the iucn, the International Union for Conservation for Nature, their Red List. So they're a sort of global health check of all the plants, animals and fungi on the planet. So they go through species in a very rigorous way and, and just look at how they're faring on the planet, how close they are to extinction. And they update and, and talk about the things they're most concerned about, one of which is the, this desert rain frog which lives in southern Africa.

[Ankur Desai]

And I guess we wanted to know and understand why this is happening. Do we know why it's happening?

[Helen Briggs]

The point they're making really from this latest update is that nature is under pressure across the world and it's now starting to affect even the creatures that live in the most hostile and unusual habitat. So they've survived in really unusual places, like deep sea mollusks, tiny sea creatures living around hot vents on the sea floor. This desert rain frog, now it's confined to just a small stretch of coastal dunes in Namibia and South Africa, and it survives by burrowing into the sand. So really, it's not like a normal frog in terms of it doesn't live in water, actually lives in sort of wet pet sands and burrows down. And it only comes up to eat and to breed. So it's very rare. And obviously scientists find it very, very difficult to come across. Its habitat is under pressure from diamond mining and also a future green hydrogen project. And also they're worried about frogs as a whole because they're under lots of pressure across the world. Climate change, pollution, and also the pet trade.

[Ankur Desai]

So can this report be catalyst, maybe to help preserve and save the species?

[Helen Briggs]

Well, I think by highlighting what's going on, that's the first step. And also we have so many gloomy stories about conservation. They're actually highlighting some success stories, showing that if the work is put in, there are winners. And they're highlighting the Numbat, which it's a little stripy marsupial that lives in Australia. And it was under threat. It was down to just a few hundred species, again losing its habitat, also preyed upon by cats and red foxes. But there's been this massive conservation effort to try and protect it, and now there are 2,000, 3,000 numbats. So with concerted conservation efforts, then we can save these animals and these plants and these fungi.

[Ankur Desai]

Our science correspondent, Helen Briggs, after the first rest day of the World cup, we are well and truly at the business end of the tournament. Now with the best eight teams left, the first of the quarterfinals gets underway later in Boston. Boston with France, the favorites in many people's eyes, taking on the team they knocked out in the semi finals four years ago. That's Morocco. Many of the two sets of supporters have already descended on the city, but it's going to be far rowdier than a Boston Tea Party. Have a listen to this. From a downtown park, more than a thousand Morocco fans set off fireworks and chanted Dima Maghreb, always Morocco. As they sang and danced. And the French fans were also celebrating in another part of the city. So let's hear from the fans. Both groups, as you can imagine, are pretty confident the French have sauntered through the competition with typical flair and aplomb, Morocco, well, four years ago they were the first African nation to reach the last four of the World cup and they hope to emulate that achievement. Right now we have to actually revenge what we did and we're super, super excited. I think we're going to make history. We're going to go to the semifinal again. We're going to make history for first time ever for Africa. It will be tough in the ground, in the field, but it will be tough as well in the stands. Yeah, we are here to push them until the final for sure. So can Morocco do it? I asked our sports correspondent, Joe Curry.

[Joe Curry]

Well, even before this tournament started, many were tipping France to be the ones to win the World cup and so far they haven't shown shown anything to say that that can't happen. But Morocco are proving to be a real force themselves. If they are to win tonight though, which they are capable of doing, they're going to have to do something they haven't done all tournament and that is play well for 19 minutes. They were really poor and lethargic in the first half against Canada in the last round. They're a team who have spells and games where they look impressive. They just can't maintain it. They've got power, they've got skill, but the problem for them tonight is they are without key forward Ishmael Sabari. He's injured. It's a real blow and it makes them quite a bit weaker if I'm honest. Meanwhile, we've seen some real character from France. Calm, of course, in the face of that provocation from Paraguay last time out. We already know about their quality and they will start as favorites, but I suspect this is going to be a much closer match than many are expecting.

[Ankur Desai]

Yeah, really interesting one as well. Contrast of styles and also contrast of development as well. We know France have been brilliant for so many years because of the investment in infrastructure, but that seems to be also the case in Morocco now. Are they on the verge of becoming not just an African powerhouse, which they already are, but more of a global powerhouse potential?

[Joe Curry]

I mean, certainly from the outside looking in, they are incredibly ambitious. There's been this sustained investment in the game which has filtered down from the King. We've had significant sums of money pumped into a state of art training facility, a national academy, regional training centers, stadium redevelopments, and thousands of amateur pitchers as well. And of course they're building what will be the globe's largest ever football stadium ahead of co hosting the next World cup in four years time, it's going to have a capacity of 115,000. To put that into perspective, that's 25,000 more than Wembley on the pitch. Of course, they've got a lot of young footballing talent coming through. Many players are often born and raised outside of the country, but then go on to represent Morocco through their heritage. They're literally searching for any Morocco talent they can find around the world. 19 of the current squad, 26 players were born outside of Morocco. That gives you some perspective. And this, of course, has all been done to give the team the best possible chance to become the first African team to win the World cup in four years time. On home soil, they finished fourth. Who said at the last World cup in 2022, if they get victory tonight would mean at the very least they would do the same again this time around.

[Ankur Desai]

Yeah, I love the French Bor Badi, who's in that center midfield? Absolute talent. Okay, so away from this game still, fallout from the Egypt Argentina match. Lo Messi and company coming from 2N behind and then Egypt unhappy with the refereeing in that one.

[Joe Curry]

Yes, Egypt had a 20 lead. They also had another goal ruled out, they say, controversially, and then went on to lose 32 to Argentina. Yesterday, the Egyptian Football association said it asked FIFA to kick the officials in charge of that game out of the tournament. They said they wanted an investigation into double, double standards of officiating. Well, today, FIFA chief refereeing officer Pierre Luigi Collina has responded by saying nobody can question the integrity of the World cup match officials and described Egypt's comments as unfounded allegations. Of course, there will always be an element of subjectivity in some decisions, but FIFA are happy with how this principle has been applied throughout the tournament. So another day, another day of chaos.

[Ankur Desai]

Our sports correspondent, Joe Curry. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us [e-mail] and you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Just 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 Volodymyr Muzeca and the producer was Adrienne White, and the editor is Karen Martin. I'm Ankur Desai. Until next time, goodbye.

[Asma Khalid]

Is the American dream still possible? I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports, the United States has ever sold the world is the American dream that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life, but is it still attainable?

[Lizo Mazimba]

I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well.

[Asma Khalid]

For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.