Barana Basi (3:03)

We have different accounts from Iranian media. The State TV says that a warship was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz. Some warning shots were fired and it had to turn back. But the Forest News Agency, affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Gold Cause has a different account. It says that the warship had entered straight of hormones. Two missiles were fired at it after it ignored warnings from the Iranian Navy. The missiles hit the warship and it had to turn back. So we have different accounts, but the US Central Command has denied this report, saying that its warship had not been struck. What we can say is that the reports of this confrontation comes after Iran's explicit warnings that if the U.S. forces enter the state of Hormuz, they will be struck. And also if commercial ships want to have have a safe passage through the state of Hormuz, they have to ask permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards cause and have to go through a designated route that the Iranian forces have announced just today they have changed the route that tankers and commercial ships are allowed to go through. So they are maintaining that they have full control of the Strait of Hormuz and they will not allow any ships to pass through without their permission.

Oliver Conway (4:24)

Yeah. The US Military didn't deny the claims that the warship had been forced to turn back. But it comes against the backdrop of Operation Freedom. President Trump's effort to try to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, possibly by sending extra ships into the area. How perilous a moment is this?

Barana Basi (4:45)

It's potentially one of the most dangerous moments between the two countries since they ceasefire on 8th April. Both sides are adamant that they have control of the Strait of Hormuz. The US has blockaded Iran's ports. That is putting a lot of pressure on Iran economically. And Iran is choking off the oil and gas flows through the Strait. And Iran has adopted a harsh rhetoric over the past few days, saying that the United States has to accept a bad deal or an impossible war. It certainly believes that it is holding the cards by holding the world's economy hostage. And we are already saying that projectiles have been fired at the uae. And now with this new operation by the United States, there's a risk of miscalculation, that any escort of tankers through the strait might be considered a hostile move by the Iranian navy. And we could see a further escalation and maybe a resumption of full scale war.

Oliver Conway (5:45)

Baron Abbasi from the BBC Persian Service. And after we spoke, the US Military announced that its warships had helped two US Flagged vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz, breaking the Iranian blockade, it said. But there are doubts about how much difference the US Operation will make. Here's maritime security expert Martin Kelly I

Martin Kelly (6:05)

think the terminology here is really quite important. The term guide does not reference any sort of military or naval escort through the Strait of Hormuz. I've said since the beginning of the conflict that this is far too dangerous. It's inherently different from any sort of escorting that we've seen in the past. What it probably does refer to is a sort of coordination cell where shipping companies and insurance companies could coordinate with the US Military to try to request approval diplomatically to pacify the straight reform use. I think that the US Announced this on social media and we should be really skeptical about any foreign policy that is announced first on social media. There's already been several examples where Trump has made announcements on Truth Social that don't accurately reflect any sort of bilateral agreement and more importantly, dangerous. We saw quite serious examples this when Trump posted a couple of weeks ago that the Strait of Hormuz was open for business. Then some ships did move towards the Strait of Hormuz and was ultimately attacked by Iran. So I don't think that this is enough to persuade shipping companies and insurance companies that the Strait of Hormuz is freely open.

Oliver Conway (7:15)

Maritime security expert Martin Kelly set up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European political community has been holding a summit in the former Soviet republic of Armenia. More than 30 leaders are there, including President Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and the first non European to attend, Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada now we have to actively take on the world as

Richard Hamilton (7:38)

it is, not as we wish it to be. We know nostalgia is not a strategy, but we don't think that we're destined to submit to a more transactional, insular and brutal world. And gatherings such as these point to

Oliver Conway (7:51)

a better way forward. President Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to help bolster European defense resources and that Europe needed to be involved in any negotiations with Russia.

Isa Lutebemberwa (8:02)

We need to focus on what we will do if Russia does not end this war. We need continued pressure and we need peace. And of course it's number one. We need to find a workable diplomatic format.

Oliver Conway (8:19)

At the same time, Russian State TV warned Armenia against developing closer ties with the west, saying it would lose out economically if its relations with Russia were weakened. If politicians get ahead of economic realities, Ukraine shows how it can end, said the commentary in Rossiya24. I got the latest from our South Caucasus correspondent Rehan Dmitry, who was at the summit in the Armenian capital Yerevan

Rehan Dmitry (8:45)

a short while ago. There was a kind of panel discussion with Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer and Italy's Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, who founded this format, the European Political community format in 2022. He delivered very direct assessment on where Europe stands. And he named the over dependence on America, quite bluntly calling it elephant in the room. But he also offered Europe a role as an honest broker on Iran. He said that Europe was not at war with Iran. And he said that Europe is trusted by both Washington and also respected by Tehran. We also heard a speech you just mentioned, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And what I thought was quite interesting is that he said that their assessment is that this summer Putin will decide whether to expand the war or move to diplomacy. And he said that Russia must be pushed to diplomacy. And quite interestingly he mentioned the May9 parade in Moscow, which is where Russia usually showcases all its military equipment and been announced that this year there won't be a show of military equipment. And Zelenskyy assessment was that it's because they don't have much to show and there's a threat of drone attacks in Moscow. Also earlier there were quite interesting remarks from Mark Carney. I quite like him describing Canada as the most European non European guest. And he framed Canada's presence around shared values. He talked about democracy, rule of law and freedom and pointed to the commitments that Canada has. He said it was one of the largest contributors in Ukraine.

Oliver Conway (10:38)

Just wanted to ask you about Armenia, Russia relations, of course, where you are used to be a key part of the Soviet sphere of influence.

Rehan Dmitry (10:46)

Absolutely. Armenia is still Russia's ally in the South Caucasus. It hosts a military base and up until recently it was a member of Russia's military alliance. That membership is currently frozen. Many reasons for that, but mainly because Russia's military alliance did not intervene when there were incursions by its neighbor Azerbaijan.

Oliver Conway (11:09)

Reyhan Dmitry in the Armenian capital Yerevan, three people have died on board a cruise ship that was crossing the Atlantic following an outbreak of a respiratory illness believed to be hantavirus. A fourth person has been airlifted to hospital for intensive care. The MV Hondius was traveling from Argentina and is now off the coast of Cape Verde in West Africa. The ship's Dutch operator says it's seeking permission to evacuate two sick passengers from the vessel. The World Health Organization says the risk posed by hantavirus to the wider public remains low. Richard Hamilton reports.

Richard Hamilton (11:44)

According to the tracking website Marine Traffic, the cruise ship has not moved from Cape Verde and For the last 24 hours its operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said no authorization had been granted from the Cape Verdean authorities to allow people requiring medical care to disembark. The World Health Organization said at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed by laboratory testing on a British national who had been airlifted to hospital in Johannesburg. So what exactly is hantavirus? Susie Wilds is a microbiologist at the University of Auckland.

Susie Wilds (12:26)

It's actually a group of related viruses that normally live in rodents, lots of different kind of rodents in different parts of the world. And they don't cause any disease in those rodents. They just make those rodents basically shed lots of virus for their entire lives. And that virus is found in their droppings, in their saliva and in their urine. People get infected by either breathing in kind of dust and dander that's got that urine and the virus from those things in it, or from being bitten by a rodent, possibly even by eating food that's been peed on by an infected rodent. There's been some very rare cases of human to human transmission, so normally somebody would pick it up from the environment.

Richard Hamilton (13:07)

Other medical experts say that the Andes strain of hantavirus, the most common form in South America where the cruise began, is not easily spread from person to person, but can be occasionally, hantavirus is reported to be fatal in around 40% of cases. There are two illnesses, one that leads to a build up of fluid in the lungs and another that affects the kidneys. In this case, the symptoms are more severe and include internal bleeding. The incubation period for the virus takes up to eight weeks, so a passenger may have been unknowingly infected before the cruise began. There's no vaccine or specific treatment for hantavirus, and patients normally require specialist hospital equipment such as ventilators, which are not available on board cruise ships.

Oliver Conway (14:02)

Richard Hamilton during the pandemic, shares in the video retail chain GameStop surged when an online campaign turned it into a meme stock. The firm is now worth nearly $12 billion, but it has recently had to close hundreds of stores across the US and Europe. So there is some surprise that it has now launched a $56 billion bid to take over a much bigger firm, eBay. GameStop chief executive Ryan Cohen told the Wall Street Journal he saw potential to make the online marketplace a much bigger rival to Amazon. Ebay has not yet commented. Our business reporter Nick Marsh told me

Nick Marsh (14:39)

more GameStop is having to close its physical stores. Obviously we know the way that shopping trends and commerce trends are going. If you're a video game store, you're not going to get anywhere near as much custom as you might have done 10, 15, 20 years ago. In fact, GameStop was really struggling until that meme stock, that surge on the Internet happened during the pandemic. So the idea would be take over a really well known E commerce platform and move more smoothly into the digital, digital space that way. Ryan Cohen, the chief executive, he's talked about using the stores that GameStop does have still for live streaming, live e commerce, that sort of thing. And he's convinced that there are massive cuts to be made in ebay as well, you know, to make it more profitable. Apparently it spends $1.2 billion on marketing, which if that's true, is an absolutely huge amount. So he wants to slash the budget there. So he, in his head, it all adds up to a really, really good idea. You buy ebay, you make it into a massive $100 billion company and you do something very, very good for GameStop share price as well, which wouldn't hurt his pay packet because that's the way his compensation is structured as well. That's what he is laying down in theory. Might be something different in practice.

Oliver Conway (15:56)

Yeah, I mean, how can a $12 billion company do a $56 billion takeover?

Nick Marsh (16:04)

Yeah, I mean, the numbers don't seem to quite add up. Ryan Cohen billion in loans secured 9 billion that GameStop has in cash assets. But that still leaves a pretty big gap. You're going to need to get some pretty big investment from elsewhere. Not just that, though. Ebay hasn't commented. Like you say, there's no indication at all that eBay's board is happy with this offer. So it's going to have to be a hostile takeover. Essentially, GameStop's going to have to say to ebay's shareholders, look, we're giving you a really good deal here. We're going to give you 20% more than your shares are worth. We want you to essentially overpower, to outvote the board and create some kind of hostile takeover. So there are a few hurdles here financially, but also from a governance point of view, if it does happen, it would be a pretty curious and pretty remarkable takeover, but like I say, quite, quite far away.

Oliver Conway (16:57)

Nick Marsh and still to come on

Nemo Kim (17:01)

this podcast, they really worked long and hard on orchestrating how the two teams will move around for meals and training in the hotel so that there would be absolutely no chance of them bumping into each other.

Oliver Conway (17:15)

The logistics of getting north and South Korean footballers together.

Martha (Kohler Ambassador) (17:26)

When Kohler, the global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, came to me and said, Martha, we need an ambassador for our timeless, elegant, durable cast iron products. I said, I'm in. Now let me see the factory. Weeks later, I was suited up in coveralls and work boots, walking through their Kohler, Wisconsin cast iron foundry. I stood next to the molten iron furnace, saw the hand applying enamel, and touched the gorgeous finished products waiting to be sent out into the world. Since 1883, Kohler cast iron products have been forged and finished by the incredible craftspeople right in Kohler, Wisconsin. I'll tell you, I gained a newfound respect and appreciation for Kohler's cast iron craftsmanship. So now I'm lending my discerning staff of approval to my most beloved Kohler cast iron products for their durability, beauty and timelessness. Shop my Kohler Cast Iron favorites curated on Kohler.com bring the warmth, character and enduring style of these timeless products into your kitchens and bathrooms. As the Kohler cast Iron ambassador, I say, long live cast iron.

Trace Dominguez (18:48)

Your social media feed says, eat more protein. Track your sleep, boost your VO2 max. Wake up in cold plunge. Cleanse yourself of parasites. You're intrigued but confused. So where can you turn? Welcome to Health versus Hype, the show where we take the loudest wellness trends on the Internet and ask the questions only science can answer. What's real, what's exaggerated, and what is completely wrong. I'm Trace Dominguez. Each episode, we show the science behind viral health claims. From high protein diets to cold plunges, detoxing to sleep. Tech obsession. And we talk to the people in the middle of it all. Influencers, the curious, but more importantly, doctors and researchers. Not to cancel the trend, not to hype it more, but to understand it. Listen to Health vs Hype with the American Medical association on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Slow the scroll. Start asking better questions.

Ashley Iconetti (19:47)

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Ryan Seacrest (20:26)

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Oliver Conway (21:00)

You're listening to the global news podcast. Australia has begun public hearings into the killing of 15 people in a gun attack on a Jewish event on Bondi beach in December. The inquiry chief said a sharp spike in anti Semitic incidents in Australia seemed linked to events in the Middle East. Shana Gutnik's father was killed in the shooting. She spoke to reporters after giving testimony at the hearing.

Shana Gutnik (21:24)

On one hand, he would be happy that we are having an opportunity to have our voices heard. His main goal would be to instill our Jewish community with pride for who we are and what we stand for, but at the same time ensure that measures are taken to eradicate this hatred that unfortunately he grew up with my parents, grew up with my great grandparents faced.

Oliver Conway (21:45)

We heard more from our correspondent in Sydney, Katie Watson.

Shana Gutnik (21:49)

This is the first block of public hearings which form part of this royal commission, which is the highest level of public inquiry here in Australia. And it's very much focused on the lived experience of people who've experienced anti Semitism. And there will be later public hearings on different issues such as the circumstances around or the attack itself. But there were 12 witnesses. And the first, you know, we heard from Shayna Gutnick's father, Reuven Morrison was one of the 15 people killed. He had, in fact, he was filmed hurling objects at one of the gunmen to try and stop them from carrying on the attack. And she talks about the fact that her father had come to Australia at the age of 14 from the Soviet Union. He had met her mother on Bondi Beach. She talks about those special childhood memories. It held a special place for her in many ways, but yet it was also a very heavy place for her family. Now she talked about her fear as a Jewish mother, concern for her children especially feeling, you know, particularly threatened as part of the Jewish community. You know, she talks about the increase in anti Semitism, especially after the events of October 2023, and talked about as if it was it was almost anti Semitism was okay and out in the open. And that was a huge dramatic change for her and scared the community. But several people, I think it was interesting, talked about this, this idea of a golden age for the community. There had been for many years this feeling that Australia was welcoming, it was a safe space. But again, many witnesses that I heard today talked about this era no longer being the case. And a couple of people who emigrated from different parts of the world, one from, from the UK who said they thought Australia was better to to bring up their children, but they no longer believed that to be the case. And perhaps Australia wasn't the place for their grandchildren and the future of their family.

Oliver Conway (23:48)

Katie Watson in Australia. A BBCI investigation has found that scammers in Uganda are posting online content of dogs in distress in a shelter to get money from international donors. Undercover filming shows that instead of benefiting the dogs, most of the money has gone towards funding the scammers luxury lifestyles. Nyasha Michel has this report.

Nyasha Michel (24:10)

Across social media you can find videos of dogs in distress, pleading captions and urgent calls for help. But behind some of these posts lies a darker reality. After reviewing hundreds of fundraising pages for dog shelters and talking to online animal activists, the BBC found one town, Mitiana in Uganda, to be at the center of the global scam. Mitiana police said they have previously investigated animal cruelty at dog shelters and made arrests. Locals the team spoke to are aware of the scammers but fear challenging them. Asheraf is an animal lover who looks after chickens in his garden and cares for goats which graze around Mitiana.

Asheraf (24:59)

To others, especially young people, dogs are

Isa Lutebemberwa (25:01)

seen as a source of money.

Oliver Conway (25:03)

Some people are afraid to speak out

Isa Lutebemberwa (25:05)

about the scammers because they could use their wealth and power to retaliate.

Oliver Conway (25:09)

They have fear binamo fear.

Nyasha Michel (25:13)

To understand how the scams work, BBC Africa Eyes sent an undercover team posing as aspiring content creators. They were introduced to a shelter owner known as Charles, who has been very active online. For a small fee, Charles allowed them to film dogs kept in cramped and sanitary cages. He openly described how to deceive supporters.

Isa Lutebemberwa (25:37)

You tell the white people that you are being evicted and the landlord has given you one month notice to leave. They will then start a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for you to build land and once you receive the GoFundMe money, use it to buy a car or build a house.

Nyasha Michel (25:55)

He also claimed that some scammers fake treatments and have maimed dogs.

Isa Lutebemberwa (26:01)

You pretend to the donor that you are treating the dog and you show the medicine, but in reality, you have only injected it in the far. When they ran out of content, some people started intentionally cutting the dogs and asked for money.

Nyasha Michel (26:18)

One dog, known as Russet, became a symbol of the crisis. His injuries appeared across multiple fundraising accounts. Charles admitted to the BBC undercover reporter that he had at one point owned Russet. We contacted him for comment. When shown images of Rasset, he said he did not recognize the dog. He acknowledged that content creators paid to film at his shelter, but he denied injuring dogs. Fighting Back is an international network of volunteers called We Won't be Scammed, led by British activist Nicola Baird, herself a former donor. They expose scam operations, but their methods have caused controversy with the online animal welfare community.

Shana Gutnik (27:03)

So we work with our partners in Uganda who work undercover. Some of them pretend to be scammers. Some of them literally just hide out to watch the shelters. And when the scammers are away, we will then just take the dogs.

Nyasha Michel (27:19)

So what's Nicola's response to criticism of stealing the dogs? And to those who say it fuels the problem?

Shana Gutnik (27:26)

The dogs that we steal are the ones that are the most severely abused. I don't feel bad about stealing a dog that's being abused by a scammer.

Nyasha Michel (27:38)

Rasset was eventually taken away to a veterinary clinic ran by Dr. Isa Lutebemberwa.

Isa Lutebemberwa (27:44)

I'd made an assessment. The chances of this being an accident are low. Why? Because if you look at these bones, all of them were broken almost in

Nyasha Michel (27:53)

the same positions as he was operated on. But a few days after surgery, Rassat died.

Isa Lutebemberwa (28:00)

He had a bright life ahead of him because, I mean, he even had a person who was willing to foster him. These dogs which have no one to speak for them, the voiceless animals out there, they need someone who can advocate for them.

Oliver Conway (28:13)

That report by Nyasha Michel, the former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, is seriously ill in hospital. A spokesman said the 81 year old is in a stable but critical condition. Mr. Giuliani became known as America's mayor after leading New York City through the aftermath of the 911 attack in 2001. He later became a vociferous supporter of Donald Trump. But his career ended in disgrace after he lost a $148 million defamation case over the false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. President Trump wrote on social media that Rudy Giuliani was a true warrior. Our White House correspondent Bernda Boozman told us more.

Asheraf (28:55)

He really was the ultimate Trump loyalist and really stuck with him through all Trump's legal issues and really backed him with Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. But even beyond that, this is a man with whom President Trump has had a long, long relationship long before President Trump got into US Politics. President Trump, of course, began his career as a Republican real estate developer in New York City and has known Rudy Giuliani for a very, very long time, since the 1980s. And I think his statement, which came just moments after arriving back in Washington, D.C. just shows the depth of that relationship and that President Trump really did value his loyalty through all the various legal issues, which really earned was very troublesome for Rudy Giuliani. He was disbarred in New York and Washington. He faced state charges, although he denied all wrongdoing. He really did stay with President Trump through President Trump's kind of darkest hours between his administrations. I think in the coming days, President Trump, when he does speak to reporters, he will almost certainly address this. This is something that I think will be very big news to President Trump, just given the depth of those ties and that President Trump really, as a president, he really values loyalty above else and all those who have stuck with him, he's kind of come out and support it when they need it. And so I think it's very likely we'll hear from President Trump in the next day or two, if not tonight, more about Mayor Giuliani.

Oliver Conway (30:22)

Bernda Boozman in Washington. North and South Korea rarely engage in any kind of cultural or sporting exchange. The two countries are still technically at war, since they didn't sign a peace treaty when their conflict ended in 1953. But later this month, a team of North Korean women footballers is due to cross the border to play their neighbors in the semi final of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League. It's the first time athletes from the north have traveled to South Korea since 2018. So what will this visit look like for the two Koreas? Nemo Kim is a journalist in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Nemo Kim (30:59)

It is fairly rare to have teams from both sides playing each other. In fact, it'll be the first visit by a North Korean sports delegation to South Korea in over seven years. The last time we had a sports delegation from the north, we had table tennis players competing at an event back in December of 2018. I think it was in Incheon. And it's also the first visit by a North Korean women's football team since the 2014 Asian Games, also held in Incheon. They will be staying at the same hotel, but dining arrangements and travel routes, you know, going back and forth between the gym and their rooms. They are expected to be totally separate, making encounters between the two teams almost impossible outside official match settings. And I've been told by South Korean Football association officials that they really worked long and hard on orchestrating how the two teams will move around for meals and training in the hotel so that there would be absolutely no chance of them bumping into each other or even, you know, taking glances at each other.

Oliver Conway (32:12)

Journalist Nemo Kim and that is all from us for now, but the Global News Podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Chris Murphy and produced by Siobhan Leahy and Chantal Hartle. Our editors, Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time. Goodbye.

Ashley Iconetti (32:36)

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