British spies and special forces named in Afghan data breach

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary
BBC World Service – Released July 17, 2025
Episode Title: British spies and special forces named in Afghan data breach

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1. British Spies and Special Forces Named in Afghan Data Breach

[01:08] Alex Ritson:
The episode opens with one of Britain's most severe data breaches, surpassing initial fears. The leak, originally reported in 2022, exposed not only the personal details of thousands of Afghans allied with UK forces but has now been revealed to include British spies and special forces personnel.

[02:45] Danny Eberhardt (Reporter):
“This was already a huge scandal. Initially, it was about thousands of Afghans at risk from the Taliban, but now it’s clear that over 100 British officials, including members of Special Forces and spies, had their personal details compromised.”

[03:59] Lord Beamish (Chair, Intelligence and Security Committee):
“I’m just astounded. Members of MI6 should never have been on this list. Why was this information communicated on a low-security system rather than a high-security one?”

[04:34] Alex Ritson:
Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, discusses the grave implications of this breach.

[04:43] J.D. Rhodes (Professor of Security Studies):
“Having your name and details exposed is potentially a career killer for MI6 officers and Special Forces members. This leak not only endangers current personnel but also compromises former members and their families still in Afghanistan.”

[06:04] Alex Ritson:
The breach's impact extends beyond British officials, severely affecting approximately 600 former Afghan soldiers and their 1,800 relatives still in Afghanistan, heightening the risk of Taliban reprisals.

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2. Monsoon Flooding in Pakistan

[06:04] Alex Ritson:
Over 60 people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab Province within 24 hours due to severe monsoon flooding, marking one of the deadliest flood days of the season.

[06:27] Joel Gunter (Correspondent):
“The main reason for the public holiday was to encourage people to evacuate or stay safe at home. Tragically, many were killed when rooftops collapsed or were swept away by strong currents.”

[08:19] Alex Ritson:
The discussion shifts to climate change’s role in exacerbating such extreme weather events.

[08:21] Joel Gunter:
“Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change despite its low carbon footprint. Scientists warn of more frequent and severe weather events, increasing the country’s risk profile.”

[09:24] Alex Ritson:
Personal stories highlight the human cost, with residents expressing frustration and blaming the government for inadequate response and infrastructure.

[09:51] Azadeh Mashiri:
Briefly mentions a separate story about a French appeals court releasing a long-serving prisoner, George Ibrahim Abdallah, but this segues into other topics.

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3. Release of George Ibrahim Abdallah

[09:51] Azadeh Mashiri:
A French appeals court has ordered the release of George Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant, after over 40 years in custody.

[09:58] Azadeh Mashiri:
“Abdallah was convicted for involvement in the murders of a US military attache and an Israeli diplomat in France, as well as an attempted murder of a US consul.”

[10:24] Azadeh Mashiri:
The decision to release Abdallah is controversial, with the Israeli embassy labeling him a terrorist. Despite opposition from the US and French prosecutors, the court ruled his lengthy imprisonment was disproportionate, conditional upon his permanent departure from France.

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4. Meta Settles $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit

[10:38] Alex Ritson:
Mark Zuckerberg and Meta have settled an $8 billion lawsuit filed by shareholders over user privacy violations, notably following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

[11:05] Lily Jamali (Tech Correspondent):
“The lawsuit accused Meta’s board of failing to protect user privacy and shielding executives from accountability. The settlement allows executives to avoid testifying under oath, raising questions about the financial burden of the settlement and potential insurance coverage.”

[12:15] Alex Ritson:
The settlement's financial implications for Meta's executives remain unclear, with speculation that company insurance policies may cover the costs.

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5. Sale of the 'Rosebud' Sled from Citizen Kane

[13:34] Alex Ritson:
A prop central to cinema history—the wooden sled named 'Rosebud' from Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane—sold at auction for nearly $15 million, becoming the second most valuable movie prop ever sold.

[14:08] J.D. Rhodes (Cinema Professor):
“The ‘Rosebud’ sled is pivotal to the film’s narrative, representing the last word of the protagonist and the film’s central mystery.”

[16:25] J.D. Rhodes:
Despite the high bid, Rhodes questions the cultural implications: “Hasn't the world gone mad paying $15 million for a sled?”

[17:20] Azadeh Mashiri:
Comments on the prop's cultural significance, linking it to how objects in cinema shape our collective memories and cultural narratives.

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6. UK Votes Age Lowered to 16

[18:04] Alex Ritson:
The British government has confirmed plans to lower the voting age for UK general elections from 18 to 16, aligning with existing provisions in Scotland and Wales.

[18:52] Alex Ritson:
Minister for Democracy, Roshanara Ali, argues that this change will restore trust and boost democratic engagement among youth.

[19:24] Joel Gunter:
“This is a seismic change in how our democracy functions, giving young people a voice in politics and the country's future.”

[20:10] Rob Watson (Political Correspondent):
“The government aims to modernize democracy and address declining voter turnout. Critics, particularly from the Conservative Party, question the consistency of allowing voting at 16 while other adult responsibilities remain at 18.”

[21:18] Rob Watson:
Polling suggests younger voters tend to lean left, potentially benefiting Labour and the Green Party, though some right-leaning groups may also gain support.

[22:33] Julia Parthimuller (Senior Scientist, University of Vienna):
“Austria’s experience since 2007 shows limited impact on turnout and voting patterns, suggesting that merely lowering the voting age may not significantly transform political engagement.”

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7. Polish Court Convicts Doctors Over Abortion Case

[24:52] Alex Ritson:
A Polish court has convicted three doctors for endangering a pregnant woman's life, Isabella, who died from septic shock after being denied an abortion despite severe fetal defects.

[25:20] Danny Eberhardt:
“Isabella’s death has become a symbol for Polish women fighting for broader legal abortion access. The court found that doctors were influenced by restrictive laws, leading to delays that contributed to her death.”

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8. Record Transfer Fee in Women's Football

[25:57] Alex Ritson:
Arsenal has broken the women's football transfer fee record by paying $1.3 million for Canadian forward Olivia Smith, marking a significant milestone 46 years after the men's £1 million transfer.

[26:38] Frank Gardner (Sports Correspondent):
“Olivia Smith, a 20-year-old Canadian international, is a highly talented forward with proven performance in the English Women's Super League. Her move underscores the growing investment and popularity in women's football.”

[27:28] Frank Gardner:
“This milestone reflects the expanding market and increased spectator interest in women's football, with sellout crowds at tournaments like the Women’s Euros.”

[28:26] Alex Ritson:
Discussion on gender pay disparity in football, with Gardner expressing hope for eventual parity despite current slow progress.

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9. Passing of Singer Connie Francis

[28:39] Alex Ritson:
Connie Francis, the pioneering American singer known for hits like “Stupid Cupid” and “Vacation,” has died at 87. Recently, her music experienced a resurgence on social media platforms like TikTok.

[29:30] J.D. Rhodes:
Recalls Francis’s career beginnings and her breakthrough with “Vacation,” which became a global hit.

[29:59] Danny Eberhardt:
Francis not only achieved fame but also became an advocate for victims of crime, influenced by her personal traumas.

[30:34] Alex Ritson:
Despite facing significant personal challenges, Francis maintained a lasting legacy in the music industry, celebrated across generations.

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Conclusion

The episode of the Global News Podcast delves into critical global issues, from national security breaches affecting both British and Afghan personnel to the profound impacts of climate change in Pakistan. It also highlights significant legal and societal changes, such as the UK's decision to lower the voting age and landmark cases in Europe that reflect ongoing tensions in privacy, human rights, and gender equality in sports. Additionally, cultural reflections on cinema and the enduring legacy of iconic figures like Connie Francis provide a comprehensive overview of current events and their broader implications.

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Notable Quotes:

• Lord Beamish: “[03:59] I’m just astounded… why was this information being communicated on a low-side rather than high secure system?”

• J.D. Rhodes: “[04:43] Having your name and details exposed is potentially a career killer for MI6 officers…”

• Frank Gardner: “[26:38] Olivia Smith… is a highly talented forward with proven performance…”

• Roshanara Ali: Explains the rationale behind lowering the voting age, emphasizing trust and democratic engagement. (Timestamp not specified)

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This summary provides a structured and comprehensive overview of the key topics discussed in the episode, incorporating direct quotes with proper attributions and timestamps to enhance understanding and provide context.

Transcript

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[Alex Ritson]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson and in the early hours of Friday 18th July, these are our main stories. What may have been Britain's biggest ever data breach was even worse than first feared. It's now emerged the personal details of British spies and special forces were leaked. Monsoon flooding in Pakistan kills at least 60 people in the last 24 hours. Investors in Facebook's parent company Meta settle an $8 billion privacy lawsuit with its founder and other executives. Also in this podcast, new plans to give 16 year olds the vote in UK general elections.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

And it's probably the most famous prop in the history of cinema.

[Alex Ritson]

The wooden sled from Orson World. Citizen Kane becomes the second most valuable movie prop ever sold. Earlier this week we reported on a security breach here in Britain that's been described as one of the worst in the country's history. The names of thousands of Afghans who'd worked with UK forces and were trying to flee the Taliban were accidentally leaked by a military official in 2022. But a special court order kept the news hidden from the public and until now. And as the veil of secrecy lifts, it's emerged that the leak was far worse than originally reported and included the details of British spies and special forces personnel. Our correspondent Joel Gunter reports this was.

[Danny Eberhardt]

Already a huge scandal. On Tuesday, the country learned that the details of thousands of Afghans at risk from the Taliban had been accidentally leaked by someone in UK Special Forces headquarters and a secret scheme had been set up to bring them to the uk. Now we can report that the data breach was much, much worse than previously thought. It contained personal details of more than 100 British officials, including those whose identities are most closely guarded, members of Special Forces and spies. The revelations began emerging when a rare super injunction over the whole affair was lifted. But the judge in the case issued a new injunction that prevented our reporting that British spies and Special Forces were involved. That could only last so long, though. In Parliament, the Defence Secretary, John Healey, revealed that British military and government officials were affected. And details began to come out in newspapers. Not party to the court case. Today, in an emergency hearing at the High Court, the Ministry of Defence relented. Media organizations could report the most damning revelations that officials with some of the most closely guarded identities in the country had been compromised. Lord Beamish, the chair of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, expressed dismay.

[Alex Ritson]

I'm just astounded at this is the idea that members of MI6 should be on this list. First question, why was this information being communicated on what we call the low side rather than high secure system? And the other point is that we.

[Rob Watson]

Get quarterly reports from all the agencies.

[Alex Ritson]

And we have not heard anything about this breach at all. And that question needs to be asked why?

[Danny Eberhardt]

Taken together, the leak of the personal information of both at risk Afghans and British security personnel make this one of the worst security breaches in modern British history.

[Alex Ritson]

Joel Gunter, our security correspondent Frank Gardner considers the potential consequences of this data breach.

[J.D. Rhodes]

For a case officer in the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. Having your name and details outed in public is potentially a career killer for serving and former members of the equally secretive Special Air Service and Special Boat Service. Such leaks can, in theory, expose them to the risk of deadly reprisals, given the lethal covert operations that some of them will have taken part in during their time with Special Forces. So the new revelations about the data breach in 2022 are certainly shocking. But the leak was belatedly discovered in August 2023. That's given Britain's intelligence and Special Forces communities the nearly two years to come up with ways to mitigate this disaster. Amongst the worst case scenarios that they will have had to consider is that Russia, China and Iran may also now be in possession of those leaked names. But for now, those who have most to fear are the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1800 relatives who are still in Afghanistan, whatever routes out were being suggested to them will have now been compromised. The publicity surrounding this whole story will also inevitably re energize some within the Taliban to hunt down those on the leaked list and exact what they perceive as rightful revenge against those who cooperated with British forces over a period of two decades.

[Alex Ritson]

Frank Gardner. More than 60 people have been killed in Pakistan's Punjab Province in the past 24 hours because of heavy monsoon rains. It's been one of the deadliest days of the rainy season in the country so far this year. Our Pakistan correspondent, Azadeh Mashiri, has been visiting the city of Rawalpindi, where a public holiday has been declared. She told me why.

[Joel Gunter]

The main reason for that was to encourage people to either evacuate or to stay home and stay in safety. The situation is safer now. But throughout the day, helicopters were rushing to find people who were either stranded on rooftops and they were pulling them up to those helicopters with ropes, or there were people who were unfortunately being pulled away by some of the streaming currents. And some people survived, others didn't. And when you speak to people, there is real shock at the fact that across this one province, in just a single day, more than 60 people were killed.

[Alex Ritson]

Yeah. How devastating have these floods been compared to what normally happens?

[Joel Gunter]

Well, Pakistan is no stranger to flooding. It's no stranger to monsoon season. In fact, it desperately needs monsoon season because Pakistan also goes through periods of very serious droughts. And so farmers need them to replenish their water supplies. But they carry great risk here. A lot of people were killed, most of them, in fact, officials say, because rooftops collapsed. There are homes that are in poor condition. They're dilapidated is what officials have told us. And so many people were crushed under the pressure of that. Others were electrocuted. Some people drowned. This did cause general disruption. Flights were cancelled, some were delayed and motorways were shut. And since late June, nearly 200 people have been killed since the start of this monsoon season. But if you compare it to other seasons, Pakistan has suffered greatly from monsoons. And people that you speak to still remember what happened three years ago when about 1700 people were killed. And so this doesn't approach that level of devastation, but people are very concerned because the forecast is warning there should be more floods and rainfall in the next few days.

[Alex Ritson]

Is global warming a factor in this?

[Joel Gunter]

Well, Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, and that's despite the fact, in fact, it's got one of the lowest carbon footprints. And scientists warn that climate change puts the country at risk of more frequent and extreme weather events like these. So in that sense, yes, it does have a role in this. And so when you speak to people, they do feel like there's inevitability in terms of what has been happening. But despite that, a lot of their anger is also very much directed towards the government, especially when it comes to people who've suffered real loss. Today in Rawalpindi, I met at one man, Shaukat, and he said rescuers were too late for his 16 year old son. Bilal fell into a sewage stream that was overflowing today and Shaukat said he and his neighbors were the ones who had to pull the body out, that rescuers had arrived too late. And what he said simply was that he expects the government to do more. He said, today I lost my child, but tomorrow it could be more children and other families could suffer.

[Alex Ritson]

Azadeh Mishiri A French appeals court has ordered the release of one of the country's longest serving prisoners, the pro Palestinian Lebanese militant George Ibrahim Abdullah. He spent more than 40 years in custody, despite numerous attempts by his lawyers to get him released. The Israeli embassy in Paris said Abdullah was a terrorist who should spend his life behind bars. Europe regional editor Danny Eberhardt has more details.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

George Ibrahim Abdallah founded a Marxist Lebanese.

[Alex Ritson]

Militant group that was mainly active in the 1980s.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

Pro Palestinian, it targeted Western and Israeli officials. It was behind the killings in Paris.

[Alex Ritson]

Of a US military attache and an Israeli diplomat.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

Abdullah was given a life sentence for.

[Alex Ritson]

Involvement in those murders and the attempted.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

Murder of a US consul in France.

[Alex Ritson]

Now the French court has ruled he's no longer a threat to the public.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

Calling his lengthy spell behind bars disproportion.

[Alex Ritson]

The US has consistently opposed his release.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

As have French prosecutors who've argued that.

[Alex Ritson]

He'S not changed his views. They may yet try to block his release.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

That's set for Friday next week on condition he leaves France for good.

[Alex Ritson]

Danny Eberhard Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and its parent company Meta, has settled a lawsuit filed by his company's shareholders just one day after the case went to trial. The agreement was announced just before Mr. Zuckerberg and other senior executives were expected to testify about violations of user privacy. Our tech correspondent Lily Jamali, has been following the case.

[Lily Jamali]

It was an $8 billion case and it was brought by shareholders a couple years ago after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in 2018. So for people who don't quite remember the details there, that's where we saw the Data of millions Facebook users leaked through a third party app, and that data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, which is this now defunct political consulting firm that had worked with Donald Trump's campaign back in 2016, his successful first presidential campaign. Meta ended up paying millions and ultimately billions of dollars in fines stemming from privacy violations, including one to an entity called the Federal Trade Commission, that's our top antitrust watchdog here in the United States. It was a $5 billion record fine. And shareholders said that the board of directors that's supposed to oversee executives like Mark Zuckerberg not only failed in their duty to protect user privacy, but then by signing off on these huge fines, they were protecting executives.

[Alex Ritson]

So what does this settlement mean for Mr. Zuckerberg and the other Meta executives and the Meta shareholders?

[Lily Jamali]

This allows these executives and directors to avoid testifying under oath at trial. These are some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Not just Zuckerberg, but Sheryl Sandberg, who was his right hand at the company for a very long time. And then there's this host of past and present board members, people like Peter Thiel, Reed Hastings, who's the co founder of Netflix.

[Alex Ritson]

As you say, this was an $8 billion lawsuit. We don't know the value of the settlement, but assuming money has changed hands, where is it coming from?

[Lily Jamali]

We're going to find out eventually just how much money these executives are paying out. Oftentimes, companies carry something called DNO insurance. So there is this insurance policy that companies have. It's possible that Mark Zuckerberg will never pay a dime out of his pocket that that insurance will fully cover. All of us in the press corps are very curious what that number is. How much did Mark Zuckerberg and these other figures pay or agree to have the insurance pay? Perhaps in order to make this case go away, we should know probably in just the next few weeks.

[Alex Ritson]

Lily Jamali, a prop central to one of the most famous opening scenes in cinema history, has sold at auction for nearly $15 million. It's the sled from the Orsonwor film Citizen Kane. Professor J.D. rhodes of Cambridge University writes about cinema and has just published a book on props. Owen Bennett Jones asked him why this sled is quite so valuable.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

The film's entire mystery is constructed around the identity of something called Rosebud. That we only realize in the very, very last moments of the film is the name of this sled. It's the most celebrated films in the history of world cinema and American cinema in particular, but its entire mystery, and it's a film that proceeds by peeling away one layer after another of the mystery of the identity of its central eponymous character, Citizen Kane. That whole mystery hinges on the identity of this object, this prop called Rosebud.

[J.D. Rhodes]

I mean, I think one other prop fetched a larger sum, which was the red shoes in the wizard of Oz.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

Exactly. I mean, you could argue as to whether or not those are items of costume or actually props. But in any case, one of the other most valuable props to have been sold on the auction is, of course, one of the several copies of the Maltese Falcon that were produced for that film's production. And that's another film that's. That's a film that is named after its. Its central prop as well.

[J.D. Rhodes]

It's funny you should say that. I was just thinking, if I wanted to, you know, if I rustled up $15 million, wanted to buy a prop, the Maltese Falcon would be quite a good one, you know, if you had limitless funds, what would you be buying?

[Azadeh Mashiri]

I mean, immediately, for some reason, the knife in Psycho comes to market. That's probably the wrong answer.

[J.D. Rhodes]

Slightly grim, yes. Well, in your book, what did you conclude about the role and importance of props?

[Azadeh Mashiri]

I mean, cinema depends on many things, but people always have to be doing things and they do things with things. So part of the pleasure of narrative cinema is watching people go about their business. And that business can't happen without objects, the objects that surround us, of course, in our everyday lives. So the book, which I wrote with my friend and collaborator Elena Gorfinkel at King's College London, sort of takes this uncelebrated part of the film production process and puts it in close up and looks at it in some detail, because part of the film production process that's been taken for granted throughout most of film history. And we thought it would be interesting to sort of look at what does film look, say, from the prop's eye view from the bottom up.

[J.D. Rhodes]

I've always been rather impressed with the Rosebud story, so I was a bit disappointed to see that Orson Welles, the director, as he got older, said it was rather corny.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

I mean, the film is, in a sense, kind of hamil, constructed around this central mystery, which is delivered with great portentousness and then pursued across the film by this investigative journalist. But the film, I think the. The film productively and interestingly plays with the corniness of this central conceit, and it sort of redeems itself from this potential excess of sentiment, partly by the way in which it manages the mystery and the gratuitousness of the sled, which we actually only see really twice in the film. But we of course hear about it and are fascinated by its identity across the film's duration.

[J.D. Rhodes]

Hasn't the world gone mad paying $15 million for a sledge?

[Azadeh Mashiri]

I mean, there are other indications that the world has gone mad, but this is probably one of the leading minor indications. But it's a testimony, I suppose, to the power that the history of cinema and that films have over us and the way in which the objects, not just the bodies of the performers, but the objects that constitute cinematic mise en scene, have over our memory of cinema and also the way that they help us construct our own cultural memories, our experiences of being in the professor.

[Alex Ritson]

J.D. rhodes. Still to come, the biggest transfer fee in women's football ever, as Arsenal pay $1.3 million for Canadian forward Olivia Smith.

[Joel Gunter]

It's a privilege and an honor.

[Frank Gardner]

Everything that they've accomplished is just so.

[Alex Ritson]

Massive and for me to now be.

[Joel Gunter]

A part of that, I'm very excited. Travis fell in love with the perfect woman. She listened. She cared. There was just one catch. She wasn't human. She was an AI companion. But when her behavior takes a disturbing turn, Travers finds himself at the center of a much darker story. This is Flesh and Code, a true story of love, loss and the temptations of technology. Listen to Flesh and Code wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alex Ritson]

The British government has confirmed plans to lower the voting age for UK general elections from 18 to 16. 16 and 17 year olds are already allowed to vote in elections for the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales. The governing Labour Party made the promise before it came to power last year. Ministers say the move will help restore trust and boost democratic engagement in a changing world. The Minister for Democracy, Roshanara Ali, explained the government's reasoning.

[Joel Gunter]

This is a really important change. This is a seismic change in terms.

[Frank Gardner]

Of how our democracy works and giving.

[Joel Gunter]

Young people a say in the future of our politics and our country.

[Alex Ritson]

Young people at the moment can work.

[Joel Gunter]

At the age of 16, pay taxes, join the army, so there's no reason.

[Frank Gardner]

Why they shouldn't have the right to.

[Joel Gunter]

Vote from the age of 16.

[Alex Ritson]

These teenagers welcomed the lowering of the voting age.

[Joel Gunter]

I think that there's so much opportunity for young people to become more involved in the political system.

[Azadeh Mashiri]

I feel like more could be done.

[Alex Ritson]

To ensure that we know exactly what parties are about.

[Joel Gunter]

When you're 16, you can join the armed forces. You know, you can have a job, you can pay taxes, taxes. But it just Seems right, not right, that they don't have the right to vote.

[Alex Ritson]

Our UK political correspondent Rob Watson told Oliver Conway just why the government is doing this.

[Rob Watson]

I can tell you their argument, and that is that it's all about modernizing democracy. That as you said, you have 16 year olds voting in parts of the United Kingdom in Scotland and Wales, and the government says why on earth not in England? And they point out that you can do things like pay taxes, get a job at 16, so why on earth shouldn't you be able to vote? But I don't think there's any doubt that the broad idea is to recognize that, you know, voter turnout is going down and that if there was anything you could do to reverse that, you should give it a try. Of course they've been criticized by the main opposition Conservative Party saying, well, they haven't thought this through very properly and how come you could be able to vote at 16 but you can't get married until you're 18 or fight in a war until you're 18. So there's been some sniping from the sides, although I think it's not entirely clear if the Conservatives will actually oppose it.

[Danny Eberhardt]

Yeah.

[Alex Ritson]

Is there any consensus about what impacts this will have on the way the whole population votes?

[Rob Watson]

Well, yes, in the sense that opinion polling suggests that the younger you are, the more likely you are to vote on the left. Right. I mean, and Oliver, that's the same pretty much in most countries in Western democracies. But I think if anyone was really hoping that this was going to sort of transform low voter turnout, there'd be cause for concern because turnout at the last election was 60% of eligible voters, which was the lowest it had been in 20 years. And you know what's going to come next, Oliver, which was the group, the age group with the lowest turnout, 18 to 24 year olds. So it's probably going to be an uphill struggle based on what's already out there, the evidence already out there. But absolutely, I mean, in terms of, of if people do vote, young people do vote, are they going to vote more on the left? You betcha.

[Alex Ritson]

Although there have been suggestions that say across Europe and perhaps in America, some younger people are actually turning rightwards now.

[Rob Watson]

Yeah, there was some interesting polling done which absolutely suggested that the biggest beneficiary of 16 year olds being given the vote would be Labour and also the ecological Green Party. But absolutely the other big beneficiaries would be the anti immigration and clearly right of center Reform Party. So it wouldn't all be cream and votes for Labour and the left.

[Alex Ritson]

Rob Watson There are a handful of countries that have already brought down the voting age to 16, including Brazil, Argentina and Austria. So how successful has it been in Austria? Karine Giannoni asked Julia Parthimuller, senior scientist at the University of Vienna's center for Electoral Research.

[Julia Parthimuller]

It was introduced in 2007, so already 18 years ago. And regarding the impact we have, have recently evaluated quite comprehensively and it was surprisingly limited. So while the hope of the politicians introducing this reform was to boost turnout and foster long term engagement among young voters, the results were somewhat modest. So the young voters, they vote at similar rates like the 18 year olds, but it didn't really boost turnout. On the other hand, it also didn't have any negative impact.

[Joel Gunter]

I wonder, did it make a difference between right and left? Did voting gravitate leftwards with a load of young people now voting for the first time? No.

[Julia Parthimuller]

So we observed surprisingly little impact, both with regard to turnout, but also with regard to political extremity or voting patterns. So overall, the young voters, they are also of course, rather small cohorts. So it did not fundamentally transform the political landscape of Austria. So as a result of it, we didn't find much change in either direction.

[Joel Gunter]

And I wonder, you know, it's been, what, 18 years now since Austria introduced voting for 16 year olds. Have you noticed a difference in political engagement? Did that have any effect that people are more politically active and continue to vote more consistently as they age?

[Julia Parthimuller]

Unfortunately not really. It wasn't that transformative as it was hopefully hoped initially? Well, there was a bit of indication that there was a bit of a boost in the first election. So maybe due to the novelty of the measure, in the long run we didn't see so much of a difference. But on the other hand, it is of course a good idea to have a very inclusive democracy and in that sense it may still be worthwhile to promote young people with this opportunity to be able to vote.

[Alex Ritson]

Julia Parthy Muller A court in Poland has convicted three doctors of directly endangering a patient's life after a pregnant woman died from septic shock in a case that outraged abortion rights campaigners. The woman, identified only as Isabella, was admitted to hospital in the 22nd week of pregnancy, carrying a fetus with severe developmental defects. Adam Easton reports from Warsaw.

[Danny Eberhardt]

Isabella's face has become a symbol of Polish women's fight for broader access to legal abortion. Her death in 2021 caused street protests across the country months before a constitutional court ruling took effect. Banning abortions performed because of fetal defects, which before the ruling accounted for 98% of legal pregnancy terminations. Isabella's baby had been diagnosed with such malformations, her family say the ruling meant doctors at the hospital in the city of Pstjuna were afraid to intervene, contributing to her death, an investigation found. The court ruling did not affect the doctor's actions.

[Alex Ritson]

Adam Easton A new transfer fee record has been set for women's football the deal struck by the Londonside Arsenal to buy Canadian forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool is especially notable for UK newspaper headline writers as it makes her the first million pound female player in the history of the game, that being about $1.3 million. It's also 46 years after the same milestone was reached in the men's game when Nottingham Forest signed Trevor Francis for a million pounds. Our correspondent Delith Lloyd, who's at the Women's Euros in Switzerland, told me more about Olivia Smith.

[Frank Gardner]

Smith, she's still only 20, Olivia Smith, she's a Canadian international. She made a debut for Canada at just 15 years of age and luckily for Arsenal, she's already had one season in the English Women's Super League under her belt. She joined Liverpool a year ago from Sporting in Portugal, where she perhaps first caught the eye in Europe as well. She scored seven goals in 20 appearances last season. She's very attacking as well, so I think she be an exciting addition to what is already a very exciting Arsenal side. Remember they won the Champions League title in May. It's understood a number of clubs were chasing her, but Olivia Smith opted for Arsenal saying it's her dream to compete for the biggest titles in England and Europe and it is a huge statement from the Gunners.

[Alex Ritson]

Yeah. What does this milestone say about the popularity of women's football?

[Frank Gardner]

Well, it clearly indicates, doesn't it, that the women's game continues to grow. It has been for a number of years. The women's game in England professional in 2014. We know United States of America have long since led the way, haven't they with the nwsl. I think it was only a matter of time before we broke the £1 million barrier as well. As recently as January we saw Chelsea of the WSL splash out £900,000 on the USA defender Naomi Gilmer from San Diego Wave. Up until then it was Rachel Kundanangi from Zambia who was the world's most expensive footballer following her move to BFC a couple of years ago for £675,000. It was only a matter of time for this to happen and I'm out in Switzerland, like you say, for the women's euros, and it just continues to attract more people. Many of the matches out here have been sellouts. I was at Italy against Norway last night, on Wednesday night in Geneva. More than 26,000 fans in attendance. So, yes, it's on the up and up.

[Alex Ritson]

Briefly, will women ever be paid the same as men?

[Frank Gardner]

Perhaps not in mine or your lifetime. But I'd like to believe that one day it will be possible, because we are hopefully getting there, even if it is slowly but surely.

[Alex Ritson]

Daleth Lloyd the American singer Connie Francis, who had a string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, has died. Aged 87. She was the first woman to reach number one in the US Connie Francis had recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after one of her songs began trending on social media. Our media and arts correspondent David Sillitow looks back at her life. It was in 1957 that Concetta Franconero, a young singer from New Jersey, was on the verge of giving up. She'd grown up being taken to talent shows by a father who was desperate to make her a star. She had one record left on her contract.

[J.D. Rhodes]

My first nine records were Bond that.

[Alex Ritson]

Added up to 18 songs that were nowhere.

[Lily Jamali]

I had one more session left on my contract, one more shot at making it. As usual, my father was convinced he had the answer. As usual, I thought otherwise.

[Alex Ritson]

That song was who's Sorry?

[Danny Eberhardt]

Now she had her hit.

[Alex Ritson]

The tunes that followed Stupid Cupid, you're stupid Cupid. Lipstick on your collar, Lipstick on your.

[Danny Eberhardt]

Your color toe, tail on you and.

[Alex Ritson]

Vacation B A C A T I O M made her a star not just in America, but across the world. This is Vacation in Japanese. She was also a campaigner for the rights of victims of crime. The consequences of a violent rape in 1974 and the murder of her brother had left deep scars in the 80s. I had 17 involuntary commitments in nine.

[Lily Jamali]

Years in five states to mental institutions.

[Alex Ritson]

As the years passed, she returned to the stage and a new generation in recent months have discovered her music through TikTok. Pretty little baby Lip syncing to the song Pretty Little Baby brought her a Viral hit aged 87, a career she feared might have been over before her 20th birthday had lasted more than 70 years.

[Joel Gunter]

Years.

[Alex Ritson]

David Sillitoe on the life of Connie Francis, who's died at the age of 87. And that's all from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later if you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was produced by Judy Frankel and Peter Goffin and mixed by Pat Sissons. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time. Goodbye.