Afghanistan five years after the Taliban return

Summary

Podcast Summary: Global News Podcast (BBC World Service)

Episode: Afghanistan Five Years After the Taliban Return

Published: August 14, 2026

Host: Oliver Conway

Episode Overview

This edition of the Global News Podcast marks five years since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, focusing on the subsequent restrictions placed on women and girls—what some call “gender apartheid.” The episode features in-depth reporting from Afghanistan, highlighting the lived realities of individuals resisting repressive policies. Additional reports explore humanitarian crises, rising executions in the U.S., LGBT rights in Ghana, innovative environmental solutions, and lighter stories from sports and science.

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Main Themes & Key Discussion Points

1. Afghanistan: Five Years Under Taliban Rule

(00:54–07:53)

• Severe Restrictions for Women and Girls:

  • Girls are barred from school above grade six (age 12).
  • Women excluded from universities, most jobs, parks, and gyms.
  • Some describe the situation as ‘gender apartheid.’

• Resilient Resistance: Secret and Online Schools

  • Lise Doucet reports from Afghanistan, visiting hidden classrooms for girls:

    • Secret schools operate with escape plans in case of Taliban raids.
    • Teachers and students risk themselves to pursue education.

  • Quote

    • “Because I’m also a father and I have girls also.”
      — Afghan teacher on why he risks running a secret school (03:11)
    • “First is the feel that I'm gonna learn something. And after that, this some fear that what will happen if they find us?”
      — 13-year-old student (03:36)

  • Impact on Young Women:

    • Former university students forced into home-based businesses (e.g., jam making).
    • Even these small enterprises become increasingly restricted—women cannot sell products in public (05:40).

  • Online Learning as a Workaround:

    • Girls who finished 6th grade now continue studies online where possible.

    • Quote:

      • "They forgot it, but I can totally tell them that we are unstoppable and we would never give up."
        — Afghan schoolgirl on the world’s attention (07:16)

• Consequences of Restriction:

  • Early marriage becomes common for girls without access to education.
  • Lise Doucet remarks:
    • "A new society is being created in Afghanistan." (07:53)

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2. Prolonged US Military Deployments and Mental Health

(07:53–11:39)

• USS Abraham Lincoln’s Record-Breaking Deployment:

  • Over 200 days at sea; crew suffering from isolation, alleged shortages.

  • Reports of suicide attempts contested by the U.S. Defense Secretary.

  • Senator Richard Blumenthal raises concerns about sailors’ mental health.

  • Quote:

    • “There was an incident where one sailor had attempted to jump off the ship and that sailor was kept from doing that by watchstanders who were nearby.”
      — Alison Barth (08:30)

• Military’s Response & Political Stakes:

  • Navy denies reports of shortages; claims crew wellbeing is prioritized.
  • Critics argue even in war, such prolonged isolation is unusual.

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3. Sharp Increase in U.S. Executions

(11:39–14:56)

• New Record: Three Executed in One Day

  • Executed individuals: Carlos Cuesta Rodriguez (OK), Anthony Hines (TN), Jeremy Williams (AL).

  • Rise in executions, particularly in Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis.

  • Quote:

    • “A lifetime of memories we were denied because she was taken from us.”
      — Melissa Jenkins, victim’s daughter (12:21)

• Background and Trends:

  • Fourfold increase in executions since 2021.

  • Trump-era policies reinstated the death penalty; public support at a historic low (52%).

  • Quote:

    • Trump: Capital punishment is “an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who commit the most heinous crimes.” (13:25)

• Concerns Over Execution Methods:

  • Botched lethal injections due to drug sourcing problems.

---

4. Environmental Innovation: Biodegradable Balloons

(14:56–17:46)

• New Product: Bioloon – a Biodegradable Party Balloon

  • Developed by Imperial College scientists to address marine plastic pollution.

  • Breaks down in nine months, versus years for regular balloons.

  • Quotes:

    • “We’d just hosted a large event and I was surrounded by thousands of popped balloons— it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
      — Charlotte Melia, party planner (15:46)
    • “Whereas our balloon, we start with biodegradable materials…so it retains the biodegradability.”
      — Juliana Cumming, co-inventor (16:55)

• Potential Impact:

  • Novelty could extend to gloves, medical apparatus, and even condoms.

---

5. Ghana’s Anti-LGBT Law and Rising Fear

(20:27–24:46)

• New Legislation:

  • Ghana’s parliament passes a bill imposing prison terms on LGBT people and allies.

  • Awaiting presidential sign-off; draws broad cross-party and religious support.

  • Quote:

    • “We are criminalizing people who carry themselves to be in that society… If you are attracted to another man and… indulge in the art of kissing a man, it’s unnatural before us. I mean, that is uncultural.”
      — MP Emmanuel Besra (21:08, 21:18)

• Effects on the LGBT Community:

  • Many have fled the country; those remaining live in fear and secrecy.

  • Law’s delay partly due to some religious leaders wanting harsher penalties.

  • Quote:

    • “Sometimes I’m drawn to tears…When you are going out, you have to check, oh, is this person safe?”
      — Bediak Boateng, Ghanaian who fled (22:26)

• International Criticism and Local Pushback:

  • MP Besra rejects biological explanations and calls for global intervention as “colonial interference.”

---

6. Colombia Earthquake Aftermath

(24:46–27:06)

• Ongoing Crisis Following a Major Earthquake:

  • Over 270 killed, thousands homeless.

  • Family members await news of survivors.

  • Quote:

    • “So many people have been affected, so many houses are just uninhabitable…we’re going to have to start from zero.”
      — Johanna Jimenez, relative of the missing (25:29)

---

7. Jogging With a Pushchair: Injury Prevention

(27:06–30:09)

• New Study Findings:

  • Running with a stroller reduces injury rates among parents.

  • Pushchair use encourages “unweighting,” relieving strain on legs and feet.

  • Quotes:

    • “We think that the reason… is because when you push a stroller… that puts some of your weight through the stroller and not all of it goes through your legs.”
      — Dr. Alison Altman, Pennsylvania State University (27:37)
    • “It’s a great idea, especially if you’re spending extra time with your kids or getting outside as a family.”
      — Altman (29:29)

• Implications:

  • The type of stroller doesn’t affect injury rates; benefit may be similar using treadmill handlebars.

---

8. Sporting Inspiration From Geese

(30:09–31:40)

• Japanese Rugby Coach’s Teamwork Strategy:

  • Eddie Jones uses videos of geese flying in formation to teach rugby players about teamwork.

  • Quotes:

    • “The head of the flock is like the ball carrier…The geese fly thousands of miles in formation, and they follow the one goose in front.”
      — Eddie Jones (30:30)

  • Historical Note:

    • Sir Alex Ferguson employed a similar analogy for Manchester United and Europe’s Ryder Cup golfers.

    • “These geese fly 4,000 miles to get better sun. All I’m asking you to do is play 38 games to win a week. I don’t think I’m asking too much.”
      — Sir Alex Ferguson (31:07)

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “When you sit in the classroom, how does it make you feel? First is the feel that I'm gonna learn something. And after that, this some fear that what will happen if they find us?”
  — Afghan Girl Student (03:36)
• “If I cannot go to university, then I will find work. But I am 100% sad. I loved my degree and I really wanted to finish it.”
  — Afghan woman, former university student (05:11)
• “We are unstoppable and we would never give up.”
  — Afghan Girl Student (07:16)
• “There was an incident where one sailor had attempted to jump off the ship and that sailor was kept from doing that by watchstanders who were nearby.”
  — Alison Barth, Stars and Stripes (08:30)
• “Only 52% of Americans say the death penalty is morally acceptable, and that's the lowest number since the 1970s.”
  — Nadine Saad (14:03)
• “We don't want them there. Seriously.”
  — Ghanaian anti-LGBT MP on gay citizens (24:28)

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:54 — Start of news content and overview by Oliver Conway
• 02:22–07:53 — Afghanistan: Secret schools and women’s resistance under Taliban
• 07:53–11:39 — US aircraft carrier deployment crisis and sailor wellbeing
• 11:39–14:56 — US executions and death penalty trends
• 14:56–17:46 — Biodegradable balloon innovation
• 20:27–24:46 — Ghana’s anti-LGBT law and its impact
• 24:46–27:06 — Colombia earthquake aftermath and survivor accounts
• 27:06–30:09 — Jogging with a pushchair and injury prevention
• 30:09–31:40 — Rugby and geese: sports teamwork analogies

---

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a vivid, multi-faceted snapshot of global affairs—combining deeply personal stories (from Afghanistan, Ghana, and Colombia) with significant news analysis, scientific developments, and even sporting innovation. Each segment reveals the human impact behind the headlines, interweaving personal resilience, political choices, and scientific creativity in confronting today's challenges.

Transcript

[Eddie Jones]

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[Oliver Conway]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway and this edition is published in the early hours of Friday 14 August, five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. We have a special report on the restrictions they've imposed on women and girls. U.S. democrats demand answers about poor conditions on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf and why America is executing more prisoners. Also in this podcast, the climate of fear in Ghana after Parliament votes to jail gay people.

[Emmanuel Besra]

This legislation being passed in Parliament has led to rhetoric that has left gay people here fearful. Some of them have fled the country.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

They have to go. We don't want them there.

[Oliver Conway]

And the benefits of jogging with a push chair. It is five years since the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan and life for women and girls is still severely restricted. Girls can only attend school until grade six around the age of 12. And women are barred from university and many jobs. There are even rules over visiting public parks and gyms. Our chief international correspondent Lise Doucet has returned to Afghanistan to to meet those trying to keep learning and working despite what some call gender apartheid.

[Lise Doucet]

The sound of a school almost anywhere in the world. Afghan boys and girls in primary school laughing and learning with their teachers. But now we're going down a dark hallway into a far corner. And this is how young girls in Afghanistan beyond grade six are being educated. Now this is what's called a secret school.

[Charlotte Melia]

Hello.

[Alison Altman]

How are you?

[Oliver Conway]

Are you okay?

[Lise Doucet]

So you teach the girls what to do if the morality police come?

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Lise Doucet]

This is one escape door?

[Emmanuel Besra]

Yeah, one escape door.

[Afghan Girl Student]

One is.

[Emmanuel Besra]

The second one is here.

[Lise Doucet]

Where do the girls go? Downstairs.

[Oliver Conway]

This is Bakov to the back east.

[Lise Doucet]

So they escape out the back door. Did they ever catch you?

[Emmanuel Besra]

No.

[Lise Doucet]

Why do you take this risk?

[Emmanuel Besra]

Because I'M also a father and I have girls also.

[Oliver Conway]

This is risk for us also. I accept.

[Lise Doucet]

Just going up the stairs now. Some other classrooms of the oldest girls studying here.

[Afghan Girl Student]

I'm 13 years old and it's two years. And I'm sitting in a secret school. And we are so happy to have a school like this.

[Lise Doucet]

When you sit in the classroom, how does it make you feel?

[Afghan Girl Student]

First is the feel that I'm gonna learn something. And after that, this some fear that what will happen if they find us?

[Lise Doucet]

What do you fear?

[Afghan Girl Student]

What could happen if they find us? Maybe something happened for us and also for our school. But even with this fear, we're coming to study and learn something.

[Lise Doucet]

Sometimes you get sad.

[Afghan Girl Student]

Yeah. Sometimes I'm thinking that what will happen in the future? Sometimes I get sad. It's like sometimes these feelings come. Where do you find hope from thinking about my future? That maybe it will be good.

[Lise Doucet]

You're a very brave girl.

[Afghan Girl Student]

Thank you.

[Lise Doucet]

We've driven about an hour from Kabul and come to this village where we're going to meet women who are learning how to make jam. It's one of the many enterprises that are being set up by Afghan women because it is one area where the Taliban seem to have no objections. What were you doing before the Taliban came to power? During the Republic, I was a university

[Joanna Jimenez]

student during the Republic and I was studying political science. I completed six semesters of my studies there. I had only two semesters left. That was when, unfortunately, the universities were closed to girls.

[Lise Doucet]

And now it's been five years. You're learning to make jam. How does that feel?

[Joanna Jimenez]

If I cannot go to university, then I will find work. I knew that it was if I stayed at home, I would not make any progress or better myself. But I am 100% sad. I loved my degree and I really wanted to finish it. When I apply for jobs and send my CV in or go to interviews, the first thing they ask is for my university certificate. But I never got one.

[Lise Doucet]

Even this space getting squeezed as of last year, women can't take the products themselves to the shops to sell. A man has to do it. And if there's a trade fair, they can no longer be at the stalls. They have to send a man in their place. So year on year, it just keeps getting harder. We're on our way now to meet another young Afghan girl who doing whatever she can to keep being educated. And it's less risky, both for the students as well as the teacher, and that's studying online. There's a growing number of initiatives outside and in Afghanistan to educate women in this way. And I'm going to meet one of these students.

[Afghan Girl Student]

I'm 13 years old and I finished my 6th grade lessons and after that I'm studying online my lesson.

[Lise Doucet]

And you were sitting in a classroom with your fellow schoolgirls for six years. Now you're by yourself online. How does it feel?

[Afghan Girl Student]

It feels very bad. I think we studied six years. We were classmates, we were friends and we all studied together.

[Lise Doucet]

We're talking in a shop. And you're getting trained for a new kind of skill?

[Afghan Girl Student]

Yes. Right now I'm doing goldsmithing, which I make some geules to.

[Lise Doucet]

What if your life was that you were a jewelry maker instead of a doctor? Would that be okay?

[Afghan Girl Student]

No, I won't be happy. Becoming a doctor I think is much better than becoming a jeweler.

[Lise Doucet]

Do you sometimes feel the world has forgotten Afghanistan and Afghan girls?

[Afghan Girl Student]

Yes, I think the same. They forgot it, but I can totally tell them that we are unstoppable and we would never give up.

[Lise Doucet]

Such impressive determination. And there are other girls like her, but there are many, many more who don't have access to the Internet, online education, secret schools, or even Islamic madrasas. For them, usually the only option is early marriage, sometimes as young as a teenager. And this is not just an issue of girls education. Five years on, a new society is being created in Afghanistan.

[Oliver Conway]

Lise Doucet reporting from Afghanistan. President Trump initially said the war against Iran would be over in weeks, but nearly six months in, there is no sign of it ending. As a result, US Military deployments are being extended indefinitely, and that is reportedly harming the mental health of some personnel stuck in the Gulf, particularly among the 5,000 crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln. They haven't been on dry land for more than 200 days, said to be a record for consecutive days at sea. Alison Barth from the military newspaper Stars and Stripes has been speaking to some of the crew.

[Lise Doucet]

I learned from two sailors aboard the ship that there was an incident where one sailor had attempted to jump off the ship and that sailor was kept from doing that by watchstanders who were nearby.

[Oliver Conway]

Other reports said multiple sailors had tried to jump overboard amid food shortages, water problems and unsanitary conditions. The allegations have been dismissed by the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. Our North America correspondent, Daniel Bush, told me more.

[Alison Barth]

There are claims coming in from a couple of different sources. Ali There was a contentious meeting between spouses and other family members of the sailors on board with Navy officials in which they claimed that their family Members on board the USS Abraham Lincoln had written home complaining of lack of food, clean water supplies. And we also now know that a Democratic Senator, Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut has written a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raising serious concern about the same issues, potential shortages of supplies of clean water, food and other materials. Now, the Navy has come out with a statement to the BBC saying that after a review did not find an increase in suicidal attempts on board. But there have been reports that multiple sailors jumped overboard from the USS Lincoln, one of whom was wearing apparently a life jacket and was quickly rescued by the Navy. So that is the state of affairs right now. And as you said, this particular aircraft carrier has now been deployed for more than 250 days in the Middle east supporting the US war with Iran, and has not had a port of call in over 200 days, which the Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says is a modern day record.

[Oliver Conway]

And so what has Pete Hegseth said about all this?

[Alison Barth]

Well, he has pushed back, as has the Navy. They again say that they keep the well being of service members, top of mind that there are no shortages aboard this aircraft carrier, that there is a steady supply of food, water, that there are clean living conditions on board. You know, this comes as President Trump is facing increasing pressure to wind down this war and the Navy has extended the deployment of this aircraft carrier without a certain return date. So this is a moment where morale apparently on board is very, very low, as these sailors are now there for months on end for a war that has no end in sight.

[Oliver Conway]

And I guess some might argue that if you are a sailor or a soldier at war, you just have to put up with these kind of things.

[Alison Barth]

Supporters of the war are saying this is part of what it means to be in a war zone. But what critics who are focusing on these living conditions are arguing is that even in wartime, this is unusual. Again, this seems to be a modern day record for the length of time that a aircraft carrier is deploy in a war zone without a port of call. There have been news reports just recently from Reuters that the Navy is sending a separate aircraft carrier or group of ships to the region to replace the Abraham Lincoln. The Navy itself has not confirmed this yet, so we're waiting to see whether that is the case. But it does suggest that the military is trying to respond to this moment.

[Oliver Conway]

Daniel Bush in Washington staying in the US and for the first time in 16 years, three people there have been executed on the same day. The first was Carlos Cuesta Rodriguez in Oklahoma. An hour later, Anthony Darrell Hines was put to death in Tennessee.

[Joanna Jimenez]

By the order of the Supreme Court,

[Oliver Conway]

the Tennessee Department of Correction carried out the death sentence of Anthony Hines by means of lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Inmate Hines was pronounced dead at 10:43am and his last words were, tell my son hello. This concludes my statement. Statement Hines had killed Catherine Jenkins in 1985. Melissa Jenkins is Catherine's daughter.

[Alison Barth]

For four decades our family has endured the unimaginable pain and grief of her death. There is a deep void that will never be filled. A lifetime of memories we were denied because she was taken from us.

[Oliver Conway]

The third to die was Jeremy Williams in Alabama. He was convicted of raping and murdering a five year old girl in Georgia in 2021. There's been a steep rise in US executions recently, with four times as many people put to death last year as in 2021. But why is that? Luke Jones asked our North America reporter, Nadine Saad.

[Nadine Saad]

There are a total of 37 executions across 11 states in 2025. That's a marked increase from only 25 executions in 2024. But about 40% of the deaths in 2025 were in Florida, and that's the biggest factor contributing to the US's rise in executions. And just halfway through 2026, 12 of the 19 executions were out of Florida. Why? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has wide breadth of ability to authorize these executions and he, like President Donald Trump, was very pro death penalty and believes it's a deterrent. President Trump has long been a major supporter of the death penalty. He describes capital punishment as, quote, an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who commit the most heinous crimes, unquote. In 2020, during his first term, he A nearly two decade moratorium on the federal death penalty and the moratorium returned under President Joe Biden. But on his first day back on his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that reinstated the death penalty. I should add that no federal executions have been carried out since, though these executions are happening amid a steady decline of support for the death penalty in the United States and globally. You see it being phased out in Europe and you see it waning in Africa. A Gallup poll in the US has shown that just 52% of Americans say the death penalty is morally acceptable, and that's the lowest number since the 1970s. There's also been a decline in the number of death sentences that are issued by juries. In the 1990s, juries across the country could issue upwards of 300 death sentences in a year. In 2025, they issued only 23.

[Oliver Conway]

Hasn't there also been some upset not just at the fact that executions are happening, but sometimes how they are happening? And there have been a few botched cases.

[Nadine Saad]

Those are the ones that are making the biggest headlines. Those have been with lethal injections, some issues with the three drug cocktail. Then you have pharmaceutical companies coming in and saying that they don't want their drugs to be used in this way. And so the drugs being obtained for these punishments have their own issues. And that is a contributing factor to these botched executions as well.

[Oliver Conway]

Nadine Saad According to a recent study, balloon fragments are the marine debris most likely to kill seabirds that ingest them. Scientists at Imperial College London have invented what they claim is the world's first fully biodegradable party balloon. They say it can break down within just nine months, as opposed to traditional balloons that take years. Lakshmi Gopal has this report.

[Emmanuel Besra]

In some parts of the ocean, it's

[Oliver Conway]

estimated that there are now over 1

[Emmanuel Besra]

million pieces of plastic for every square meter.

[Charlotte Melia]

Highlighting how plastic pollution harms wildlife, the series Blue Planet 2 sparked action against single use plastics such as straws. Now there's action against the environmental impact of another everyday item. It was the mission of high end party planner Charlotte Melia.

[Oliver Conway]

We'd just hosted a large event and I was surrounded by thousands of pop balloons at the end of the party and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Charlotte Melia]

So how was it made? Juliana Cumming is the co inventor of Biolune.

[N]

We have a modified natural rubber and we just cut bits off of that and that's what's in here. And we have a biodegradable semi crystalline polymer which is just in here. We blend them together in a solution and we pour it into this dish and we leave it to evaporate. It's a really thin film and this contains a cross thinking agent. So we just put this in the

[Afghan Girl Student]

oven 50 degrees

[N]

and we just leave it there for 10 minutes.

[Charlotte Melia]

This really is like cooking, isn't it?

[N]

It is, yes.

[Charlotte Melia]

After different versions of material proved too stretchy or too stiff. This one was just right.

[Oliver Conway]

There you go.

[Charlotte Melia]

That's looking more like a balloon. It's hoped it'll pose less risk to wildlife. A recent study found that balloon fragments with the marine debris most likely to kill seabirds that ingested it. The Bioloon researchers say while standard balloons can take many years to break down, theirs should fully biodegrade within nine months.

[N]

A regular balloon you need to add in sulphur and other additives which prevent it biodegrading and cause toxic chemicals to leach into the environment. Whereas our balloon we start with biodegradable materials and we join them together just with what is present in there so it retains the biodegradability so there's no additives.

[Charlotte Melia]

Despite using a different process, the team claims it would be no more expensive and what's more would be easier to blow up than a traditional balloon. As for the materials use, the sky's the limit. Party planner Charlotte Melia we're starting with

[Oliver Conway]

balloons, but we hope to work into gloves, surgical and non surgical latex, medicinal apparatus and medicinal balloons, clothing and even condoms in the future.

[Charlotte Melia]

The team says the new greener balloons will be produced commercially within the next two years.

[Oliver Conway]

Luxmigo Pal with that report and still to come in this podcast, these geese

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

fly 4,000 miles to get better sun. All I'm asking you to do is play 38 games to win a week. I don't think I'm asking too much

[Oliver Conway]

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[Alison Barth]

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[Oliver Conway]

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[Alison Barth]

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[Oliver Conway]

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[Alison Altman]

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[Alison Barth]

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[Oliver Conway]

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[Nadine Saad]

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[Nadine Saad]

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[Oliver Conway]

This is the global News Podcast A law in Ghana which would hand prison terms to members of the LGBT community and those seen as promoting homosexuality is awaiting its final sign off by the country's president. It was approved by Ghana's parliament earlier this year with cross party support. Critics say it puts lives at risk. Our religion editor Alim Mqbal has been to Ghana to find out more.

[Emmanuel Besra]

There are more than 60 countries in the world where homosexuality is a crime. Around half of them are in Africa. And Ghana is in the process of becoming another that sends gay people to prison.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

We are criminalizing people who carry themselves to be in that society.

[Emmanuel Besra]

People who are gay, people who are gay.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

If you are attracted to another man and you express it openly and you are, you indulge in the art of kissing a man. It's unnatural before us. I mean, that is uncultural.

[Emmanuel Besra]

That's Emmanuel Besra, Ghanaian Member of Parliament and one of the architects of a bill that doesn't just outlaw being gay, but also outlaws being an LGBT ally.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

We thought the spread of all this comes from people who are supported. And so if you are an ally or you are promoting it and you are caught, it means you want it spread. And so you also be it's a criminal.

[Emmanuel Besra]

And if you're seen as an ally, if you're seen as somebody who expresses being gay, that could lead to prison terms.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

Of course you should be in prison.

[Emmanuel Besra]

More from Mr. Besra later. The bill he sponsored has been passed by Ghana's parliament and is now waiting to be signed into law by the president. But some gay Ghanaians have already fled the country, like Bediak Boateng, who hears from those left behind.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

Sometimes I'm, I'm drawn to tears because I've had my first experience of that, of what they are going through. When you are going out, you have to check, oh, is this person that I'm talking, is he safe? Can I trust this person with who I am.

[Emmanuel Besra]

Do you feel now not only that you can't live in Ghana, but how do you feel about even visiting Ghana?

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

Visiting Ghana will be difficult. It's a sad situation for me, especially having a family there. But I can't visit because I really want to live who I am without needing to pretend, without needing to lie to anybody. It's very sad. Our society frown on some of these things.

[Emmanuel Besra]

And so back to the MP Emmanuel Besra, one of those who drew up the anti LGBT law. How can you criminalize something that people can't control in themselves?

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

I just gave you one example that people sometimes have desire to steal, but

[Emmanuel Besra]

this is very different. This is about living their own lives, expressing themselves.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

So there's a boundary in every society and one of the boundaries is that don't steal.

[Emmanuel Besra]

But is it a crime that somebody is born in a way that they feel affection for somebody that is of

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

their own gender, born in a way who born them in that way. You were born in men.

[Emmanuel Besra]

So do you accept that if somebody is gay they were born that way?

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

No, we don't accept no at all. So don't even go there.

[Emmanuel Besra]

There are some calls from human rights activists from the international community to raise the issue more, but for that could seem like colonial interference.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

We think that gays and homosexuality, all these acronyms, the lgbt, are import from the Western world.

[Emmanuel Besra]

The process over recent years that has led to this legislation being passed in Parliament has led to rhetoric that has left gay people here fearful. Some of them have fled the country.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

They have to go. We don't want them there. Seriously.

[Emmanuel Besra]

The law's only been held up because some Christian and Muslim leaders want it to be more severe. But it seems jail terms of up to three years could soon be a reality for anyone found to be gay in Ghana.

[Oliver Conway]

And Liam McBull reporting from Ghana. Colombia is still reeling from the powerful earthquake which hit on Monday, destroying thousands of homes and businesses in the west of the country. More than 270 people are known to have died and the death toll continues to rise as rescue efforts continue. Families face an anxious wait to find out if their relatives are still alive under the rubble. A 10 year old boy called Martine, who lived with his mother and grandmother was on the third floor of an eight story apartment block when it collapsed. His cousin Johanna Jimenez told the BBC that signs of life in the building have given her hope that her relatives may have survived.

[Joanna Jimenez]

The building Anapilar in Cali collapsed with the earthquake. They have managed to locate Martin, who is in this collapsed building. They confirmed that they were signs of life in the building. But as you can imagine, it's very slow, the whole process. So in the early hours they said that there were some people who were alive and that they heard signs of life. And I hope that the signs of life of my aunt Amparo and my cousin Alejandra, and we're praying that they can take Martin out of the rubble. It's been very hard and very hurtful. In a way, it's tough because we were a close knit family and Martin is a lovely boy. He's a very happy boy and so is my cousin Alejandra and my aunt. And we've been feeling this deep love everybody's been giving us. And we believe that God will make this miracle happen. And ever since we saw that the building had collapsed, we've been here and we've been really positive about the outcome of being able to find them. So many people have been affected, so many houses are just uninhabitable or they look like they might collapse. So the city, Cali, is paralyzed. And the parts that haven't been so badly affected, people from those parts have come to our aid. Nationally, people have come, internationally, people have come. And the thing is, we're going to have to start from zero because our homes are uninhabitable.

[Oliver Conway]

Joanna Jimenez in Colombia A few days ago, a dad in the US State of Ohio set an unofficial world record by running a mile in in 4 minutes and 17 seconds while pushing his daughter along in a pushchair, or stroller, as they're known in the US and while that may seem like a tiring way to jog, a new study has found it might actually help prevent injuries. I heard more from lead researcher Alison Altman, singles of Pennsylvania State University.

[Alison Altman]

What we found is that fewer runners that are running with strollers get injured and they're getting injured at lower rates per 1,000 miles. We think that the reason for that is because the way that they're running with the strollers. So when you push a stroller, you sort of lean forward onto it, hold onto the handlebars, and that puts some of your weight through the stroller and not all of it goes through your legs. So it almost has like an unweighting effect, kind of like when you're using a walker, how it kind of gives you a little bit less on your feet and more through your arms, so they're getting less force through their body, which causes fewer overuse injuries in the runners.

[Oliver Conway]

Is it surprising that if you have something to lean on, you're less likely to get injured.

[Alison Altman]

I don't think it's super surprising. And in fact, we've heard of anecdotal studies of people using something similar to a stroller for balance as they exercise, as they age as well, which we love.

[Oliver Conway]

If you run with a stroller, do you tend to go faster or slower?

[Alison Altman]

You tend to run a little bit slower, but even if you run the same speed, you still get this benefit from the strollers.

[Oliver Conway]

What about the guy who just broke the record for running a mile with a stroller?

[Alison Altman]

When you run on a smooth, flat surface, it doesn't take too much more effort to push a stroller. So it's awesome that he broke the record. And I think that there's still potential out there that we could be running fast miles with strollers.

[Oliver Conway]

And does it make any difference, the type of push chair that a person uses when running?

[Alison Altman]

For speed, probably, but for injury, it does not seem like it makes a difference. In our population, we expected to see most people using like a three wheeled, directionally locked front wheel type of jogging stroller. We saw some people using four wheeled strollers, some people using three wheeled strollers, some using directionally locked wheels, some that were not locked directionally. And so seeing this bend over a wide variety of strollers is actually encouraging to us.

[Oliver Conway]

So would you advise people who are going out for a jog to take a stroller with them?

[Alison Altman]

I think it's a great idea, especially if you're spending extra time with your kids or getting to get outside as a family.

[Oliver Conway]

How common is it for people to run in this way with their children in a pushchair?

[Alison Altman]

I believe it's very common for mothers. I don't know how common it is for the rest of the world. This study only covered parents. We got a higher response rate from females, especially in the stroller group. So I think it tends to be more female dominated. However, I think everyone can benefit from

[Oliver Conway]

pushing a stroller and other alternatives for people who don't have a baby or a stroller at hand when they want to go for a run.

[Alison Altman]

I think running on a treadmill and holding the handlebars on a treadmill may have a similar effect to pushing a stroller.

[Oliver Conway]

Dr. Alison Altman, singles from Pennsylvania State University. Finally, the coach of Japan's rugby team has revealed an unusual strategy for preparing his players for their game against Australia this weekend, showing them videos of geese. Our sports correspondent Andy Swiss has the story.

[Eddie Jones]

The reason we watch videos of geese, Eddie Jones said, is that the head of the flock is like the ball carrier. Jones explained his unusual coaching method was an attempt to improve his players teamwork. The geese fly thousands of miles in formation, he added, and they follow the one goose in front and it's the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball carrier does. He's not the first coach to have used such bird based strategies. Sir Alex Ferguson would often tell his players to observe the geese during Manchester United's training sessions. In an interview after his retirement, he said it was a way of motivating his squad.

[Ghanaian LGBT Rights Opponent]

I said to them, these geese fly 4,000 miles to get better. Son, all I'm asking you to do is play 38 games to win the week. I don't think I'm asking too much.

[Eddie Jones]

Sir Alex Ferguson passed his analogy onto Europe's Ryder cup golfers before their match in 2014. The team's victory, notorious captain Paul McGinley said, Remember the geese became a phrase they used throughout the competition. Just one small linguistic point for Eddie Jones. He should of course have referred to a skein, not a flock, the correct collective noun for geese when they are in flight.

[Oliver Conway]

Andy Swiss and that is all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed with by Chris Ablakwa and produced by Emma Joseph. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time. Goodbye.

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