Deadly train crash in Spain

Summary

Global News Podcast – BBC World Service
Episode: Deadly Train Crash in Spain
Date: January 19, 2026
Host: Alex Ritson

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Episode Overview

This edition of the Global News Podcast brings listeners up to date with the world's major headlines, centering on a devastating high-speed train crash in Spain. Alongside this breaking story, the episode covers escalating transatlantic tensions between the EU and the US over Greenland, a new ceasefire deal in Syria, dramatic scenes in the Africa Cup of Nations football final, Chilean wildfires, human trafficking in Sierra Leone, economic updates from China, and a conservation milestone for New Zealand’s rare kākāpō parrot. The tone is urgent, informative, and at times reflective, with firsthand reporting and expert analysis.

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Key Stories & Insights

1. Deadly Train Crash in Spain

[01:05–04:43]

• Incident Overview:
  At least 21 people have died and dozens were injured in a collision between two high-speed trains in Spain. The crash occurred about an hour into the journey of a train from Malaga to Madrid, when it derailed and collided with another train heading south.
• Rescue Efforts:
  Emergency workers and the military were deployed. Survivors have been pulled from one train, while rescue attempts continue for the other.
• Context & Mystery:
  Spain’s high-speed rail network is among the largest in the world, but such accidents are rare. Authorities are puzzled because the derailment did not occur on a sharp bend, and no clear cause has been identified yet.
• Historical Parallel:
  Last major high-speed rail crash in Spain was in 2013, resulting in 80 fatalities.
• Official Responses:
  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls it a “night of pain.” King Felipe, the royal family, and government officials are closely monitoring the situation. Local mayor Rafael Moreno (Adamouth, Andalusia) describes the aftermath as “like a nightmare,” with intertwined wreckage.

Notable Quotes:

• “There was twisted metal all over the place, these two trains sort of intertwined. And he described it as being like a nightmare.”
  — Guy Hedgeko reporting the mayor’s words ([03:55])

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2. EU-US Dispute Over Greenland

[04:43–09:31]

• Tensions Escalate:
  President Trump’s push to annex Greenland has provoked a crisis. The US threatens tariffs on EU allies if Denmark refuses US demands on Greenland. European leaders are convening an emergency summit to craft a response.
• European Unity and Division:
  Norway and other Nordic countries express full support for Denmark’s sovereignty but warn that NATO unity and Western security ties are at risk.
• Public Reaction:
  In Nuuk, Greenland, locals express outrage and determination to resist US pressure: “He can’t scare Greenlanders. We’re not scared. We’ll fight them to the end.”
• Analysis:
  Europe is caught—wanting to avoid escalation but fearful of looking weak. The crisis tests NATO's foundations and the Western order.

Notable Quotes:

• “Norway, like all other Nordic countries, European countries and Canada, stands fully behind the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark.”
  — Norwegian Foreign Minister, Espen Barthe ([05:31])
• “If Europe continues to play it softly, softly, to try and manage Donald Trump... then it risks looking extremely weak… the concept of the West… is crumbling.”
  — Katya Adler, BBC Europe editor ([07:21])

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3. Syria Ceasefire & Kurdish Autonomy Ends

[09:31–12:39]

• Ceasefire Agreement:
  The Syrian government secures a ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, ending two weeks of violent clashes.
• Terms of Agreement:
  Kurdish troops to be integrated into the national army; Syrian government assumes control of IS prison facilities. Kurdish autonomous administration effectively dissolved.
• Significance:
  Considered a major consolidation of power for President Ahmed Al Shara. US pressure reportedly forced the Kurdish leadership to capitulate.
• Superficial Concessions:
  Kurdish language recognized as a “national,” not official, language and Newroz declared as an official holiday—seen as symbolic rather than substantive steps toward autonomy.

Notable Quotes:

• “What we can say is that it appears to be an end to their autonomous administration, to their independent military entity, which is now going to be collapsed and a big success [for the president].”
  — Amberin Zaman ([11:23])
• “A lot of sort of cosmetic stuff that really falls way short of the Kurds real demands.”
  — Amberin Zaman ([11:48])

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4. Africa Cup of Nations Final: Senegal Triumphs amid Chaos

[12:39–16:42]

• Match Highlights:
  Senegal wins 1-0 against Morocco after extra time. The final is marred by several controversial refereeing decisions: a disallowed Senegal goal and a VAR-awarded penalty to Morocco, both sparking Senegalese protest.
• Disruption & Recovery:
  Senegal's players, encouraged by coach Pap Chow, walk off in protest; fans invade the pitch, creating a chaotic scene that takes over ten minutes to calm.
• Resolution:
  Sadio Mané plays a key role in calming players and fans, allowing the match to finish. Senegal clinches victory with a spectacular goal in extra time.
• Aftermath:
  The final is remembered as one of the most controversial in tournament history. The Moroccan team’s hopes, and heavy investments, end in disappointment.

Notable Quotes:

• “It was Pap Chow who was encouraging his players to leave the field of play. We then… saw some very ugly scenes with the small group of Senegalese supporters that are here inside the stadium, a number of them spilling out onto the pitch and with angry violent confrontations with the security personnel and police.”
  — Lee James ([13:17])
• “It actually took the actions of Sadio Mané to try and restore some calm.”
  — Lee James ([15:07])

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5. Chilean Wildfires

[19:27–21:12]

• Emergency Declared:
  President Gabriel Boric declares a state of emergency in two southern regions as wildfires force 50,000 people to evacuate and claim at least 19 lives.
• Impact:
  Firefighters contend with multiple blazes under extreme heat. Military deployed to assist. The situation is worsening due to drought and climate patterns, with similar fires in Argentina’s Patagonia.

Notable Quotes:

• “We're working with all the resources we have available, deployed in all the advancing zones of this fire to try to stop it as soon as possible.”
  — Norma Peres, forestry official ([20:30])

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6. Human Trafficking Crisis in Sierra Leone

[21:12–25:16]

• Widespread Exploitation:
  Police and Interpol raid a trafficking network in Makeni, rescuing youths lured with false job promises.
• Victims’ Testimonies:
  Survivors, including teenage girls, describe dire conditions and being forced into sex work for survival. Traffickers use fake travel papers and the name of a legitimate health company (“Qnet”) as cover.
• Corruption & Resistance:
  Traffickers attempt to bribe police for the release of captured gang members. Police insist they will not accept bribes but acknowledge the difficulty in resisting negotiation tactics.
• Consequences:
  Many rescued individuals can't return home for fear of shame and financial debt.

Notable Quotes:

• “You have to sell your body and go to sleep with men so that you can get money.”
  — Anonymous trafficking victim ([22:50])
• “I was scared to go back home. I had told my friends I had traveled abroad. I had told my family the same. I was thinking about all the money they had given me to get there. So when I pray, so when I pray, I pray to forget about what happened.”
  — Survivor ([25:00])

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7. China’s Slowing Economy and Demographics

[25:16–28:45]

• Growth Figures:
  China’s economy grows by 5% in 2025, on target but among its slowest in decades. The population shrinks by over 3 million—a growing concern.
• Export Resilience:
  Despite weaker US trade, exports to Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa help sustain growth. Trade surplus hits $1.2 trillion.
• Skepticism & Challenges:
  While headline numbers are trusted, detailed Chinese economic data is questioned due to government control. The real domestic challenges include a tepid property market, weak consumption, and youth unemployment.

Notable Quotes:

• “5% is one of the slowest rates of growth that China has seen in a long, long time… But you compare it to 1%, 2% rates of growth, if that, that we see in most developed Western democracies, and it suddenly looks really, really big, doesn’t it?”
  — Nick Marsh ([25:47])
• “The population shrinking is a long term problem that China is going to have to deal with.”
  — Nick Marsh ([28:00])

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8. Conservation Success: New Zealand’s Kākāpō Parrot

[28:45–31:05]

• Species Comeback:
  Through decades of work, kākāpō numbers have doubled in ten years, with 236 birds counted, thanks in part to a bumper fruit crop boosting breeding prospects.
• Natural History:
  The kākāpō is the world’s fattest, flightless parrot—bright green, nocturnal, and famed for its booming mating call.
• Ongoing Threats & Challenges:
  Predation by stoats and feral cats still threatens survival. Conservationists are now faced with the challenge of finding more suitable predator-free habitat as the population slowly grows.

Notable Quotes:

• “They're the only lek breeding parrot in the world, so they don't form pair bonds, but the males advertise and compete for females… they're the best dressed bird in the forest in New Zealand.”
  — Deirdre Verko, New Zealand Department of Conservation ([29:27])
• “We've been able to double the population over the last ten years and we're heading in the right direction. 236 kākāpō as of today, which is still a critically small number, but some quite good population growth.”
  — Deirdre Verko ([30:28])

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Notable Moments & Timestamps

• High-speed train crash coverage: [01:05–04:43]
• EU-US Greenland standoff: [04:43–09:31]
• Syria ceasefire and Kurds: [09:31–12:39]
• Africa Cup of Nations final drama: [12:39–16:42]
• Chilean wildfires: [19:27–21:12]
• Sierra Leone trafficking raid: [21:12–25:16]
• China’s economic figures and challenges: [25:16–28:45]
• Kākāpō conservation breakthrough: [28:45–31:05]

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Final Thoughts

This episode weaves breaking news with reflective, occasionally emotional narrative, from the horror of Spain’s train tragedy to the quiet triumph of parrot conservation in New Zealand. The reporting is thorough, demonstrating the BBC’s global scope and commitment to human-centered journalism, with direct voices from those impacted most.

Memorable Quote:
"What you have here is the biggest, most powerful member of NATO going up against so many of the other member states... potentially the whole thing crumbling. That's why European leaders don't want to jump to any action." — Katya Adler ([07:21])

Transcript

[Alex Ritson]

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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 Monday 19th January, these are our main stories. At least 21 people are killed in a high speed train crash in Spain. Europe weighs up retaliatory measures against the United States as their dispute over Greenland continues and the Syrian government agrees a ceasefire with Kurdish led forces. Also in this podcast, stay Global banks stay. The BBC joins a police raid in Sierra Leone on a suspected people trafficking network and there's a dramatic end in men's football to the Africa cup of nations as we record this podcast. At least 21 people have been killed and dozens injured after two high speed trains collided in Spain. One survivor described the moment of impact as feeling like an earthquake. Emergency workers were trying to rescue those trapped inside carriages. Footage shows people being pulled through smashed train windows. The Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country was enduring a night of pain and our Madrid correspondent Guy Hedgeko is following developments.

[Guy Hedgeko]

We know that one of these trains which crashed was heading from the city of Malaga in the south of Spain up towards Madrid where I am in the centre of the country and about an hour into its journey it derailed or some of its carriages derailed, crashing into another oncoming train that was heading into in the opposite direction down to the south of the country. Now we've been told that there were victims on both of those trains and we understand that the emergency workers have managed to pull all the survivors out of one of the trains. But they're still working to pull survivors out of the other one and the military has been deployed to help them.

[Alex Ritson]

Because these were both high speed trains and they go at an incredible rate, don't they?

[Guy Hedgeko]

Yes, both high speed trains. And Spain has a vast high speed rail network, one of the largest in the world. The strange thing about the accident seems to be, the thing that seems to be mystifying the authorities is that the train that derailed did not seem to be going round a corner, going around a bend rather, or certainly a steep bend when the accident happened. So there's not been a sort of an obvious reason for the derailment to happen. We haven't had an accident like this on the high speed rail network since 2013, when 80 people were killed up in the northwest of the country.

[Alex Ritson]

And the King and queen speaking out.

[Guy Hedgeko]

Yes, King Felipe is following events very closely. After the news came out, we heard that the royal household was following this closely. Obviously the government is following this. We've heard from transport Minister who has said that it's too early to know about causes and we're not going to know more certainly for several weeks. Someone else we have heard from was the mayor of Adamouth, which is the town right next to where the accident happened, down in the region of Andalusia in the south of the country, Rafael Moreno. He was one of the very first people on the scene after the accident happened and he said there was twisted metal all over the place, these two trains sort of intertwined. And he described it as being like a nightmare.

[Alex Ritson]

Guy Hedgeko the dispute between European countries and the United States over Donald Trump's determination to annex Greenland continues to escalate. A full EU summit will be convened on Thursday to consider a collective response that after an emergency summit of European ambassadors on Sunday, that they decided it would be best to continue to pursue a diplomatic solution with the US they don't want to get involved in a trade war with Washington. President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on European allies from February 1 to force Denmark to hand over Greenland. The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway have also held talks in Oslo to discuss the crisis. Afterwards, the Norwegian foreign minister, Espen Barthe, was anxious to stress European unity.

[Lee James]

Norway, like all other Nordic countries, European countries and Canada, stands fully behind the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark. But we are also communicating very clearly that if there are security concerns in Greenland or anywhere else in the Arctic, we stand ready to work together in the NATO alliance to deal with those issues.

[Alex Ritson]

Some European voices want tougher action. One German lawmaker even raised the possibility of boycotting the football World cup finals later this year in the United States. Despite all this, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besant, told NBC News he remained confident President Trump would get his way. The European leaders will come around and they will understand that they need to.

[Guy Hedgeko]

Be under the US Security umbrella.

[Alex Ritson]

What would happen in Ukraine if, if.

[Guy Hedgeko]

The US Pulled its support out, the.

[Alex Ritson]

Whole thing would collapse. And that's regardless of what people think in Greenland itself. Here are the thoughts of some people in the capital. Nuuk. I think he has lost his mind. I hope that there soon will be.

[Nick Marsh]

Some clever people in the States who.

[Alex Ritson]

Will tell him, no, no, no, it's.

[Nick Marsh]

Not going to work.

[Lee James]

He can't scare Greenlanders. We're not scared.

[Seydou Bar]

We'll fight them to the end. We will never give in. And we are so happy.

[Lee James]

We have so good allies. I think the man is out of reach. It's ridiculous.

[Alex Ritson]

We have a lot of allies and.

[Lee James]

Now they are stepping up.

[Alex Ritson]

There's no doubt that President Trump's threats have given European leaders a huge headache. Our Europe editor Katja Adler reflects on the febrile mood in Brussels and, and how the collective leadership should respond.

[Katya Adler]

They're so concerned that EU leaders have announced this evening they're going to be holding an emergency summit here in Brussels on Thursday. There's all sorts of back channel conversations going on about what action to take or not to take. Because there's a feeling in Europe that they're damned if they take action, they're damned if they don't. If they get more confrontational with Donald Trump over the proposed Greenland tariffs, France wants to do that. Other member states of the EU have said, no, no, we want to hold fire for now. Because what they worry is that could alienate the United States even further. And the brutal truth is Europe needs Donald Trump for now. They need him to get a sustainable peace deal in Ukraine. They need the United States for their own security. But if Europe continues to play it softly, softly, to try and manage Donald Trump, as it has done pretty much since he returned to the White House, then it risks looking extremely weak with the sovereignty of an EU member state, a NATO member state, and in this case, Denmark, and being threatened and watching, of course, from the sidelines, Russia and China probably with a big box of popcorn, because in their eyes, that concept of the west that's dominated global politics for decades, with Europe and the United States tightly knit at its core, they think that's crumbling. This is the biggest crisis in The Defense Alliance. NATO's history. What you have here is the biggest, most powerful member of NATO going up against so many of the other member states, the U.K. france, Germany, Western Europe has relied on NATO since the Second World War for its security. Here, what you're looking at is potentially the whole thing crumbling. That's why European leaders don't want to jump to any action. What else are we looking at? We're looking at potentially a full blown transatlantic trade war that would affect all of us. And that will happen if Donald Trump goes ahead with his Greenland tariffs and if the eu, for example, retaliates strongly against the United States. So with so much at stake, that's why you're hearing strong pronouncements from European leaders. But they're really worrying about what action should they take. That's why there's going to be this emergency summit of EU leaders here on Thursday.

[Alex Ritson]

Our Europe editor, Katya Adler. The Syrian government has agreed an immediate ceasefire with the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces. It follows nearly two weeks of fighting that have seen the military advance into Kurdish held areas. The peace agreement would also see Kurdish troops integrated into the national army and the government take responsibility for prisons where Islamic State militants are held. My colleague Paul Henley spoke to Amberin Zaman, who's chief correspondent for the Arab American news website Al Monitor and has recently returned from Syria. She said the president has now gained more control of the country.

[Amberin Zaman]

It's a huge win for Ahmed Al Shara as he seeks to consolidate his rule over Syria because, you know, he got off to a very shaky start back in December 2024 when he first took charge and ran quite a bit of trouble with various ethnic minorities, notably the Druze and the Alawites. And his forces have been accused of committing huge massacres of both those ethnic groups. And for a long time it seemed like he wouldn't last. And there was a lot of international outrage and all of that. But now what we're witnessing is something quite extraordinary because the group with which he signed this ceasefire, and I would qualify this as more of a capitulation, are the Syrian Kurds, who for the longest time were the biggest allies of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State. And what we've witnessed now is a lot of US Pressure being brought to bear on the Kurds to basically just cave to all of Ashara's demands. And that's what they did.

[Nick Marsh]

Is this the end of the Kurds as an influential force inside Syria?

[Amberin Zaman]

I think it would be premature to say that, but what we can say is that it appears to be an end to their autonomous administration, to their independent military entity, which is now going to be collapsed and a big success.

[Alex Ritson]

As you say, for the president. How does he capitalise on that going forward, finally?

[Amberin Zaman]

Well, obviously, if he can market this as a very, you know, peaceful, good agreement with the Kurds, and he was very clever. On Friday, he signed this decree under which the Kurdish language is now recognized not as an official language, but a national one, saying that it can be taught in government and private schools, that the Kurdish New Year that's celebrated on March 21st is now an official holiday. A lot of sort of cosmetic stuff that really falls way short of the Kurds real demands, which is for a decentralized form of government, which they say is the only formula for Syria, where you have not just the Kurds, but, as I mentioned previously, many other ethnic groups who are also calling for autonomy.

[Alex Ritson]

Ambarin Zaman. Senegal have won the Africa cup of nations in men's football for the second time. After an amazing and sometimes chaotic final, they beat Morocco 10 in extra time, but not before the match was interrupted when the Senegal east players walked off in protest at two decisions in favour of the host nation. For Morocco, the defeat couldn't have been more bitter after so much money had been invested in staging the tournament. Lee James from the BBC World Service's Sports World Programme was at the game and spoke to me just after the final whistle.

[Lee James]

Plenty of controversy. One of the most controversial finals in African cup of nations history. The reason we got to that situation with the second Senegal players leaving the field, encouraged to do so by their coach Pap Chow, is because of the controversy. Late on in this game, Senegal had a goal disallowed. Adris Gay's header against the post with Ismail Sar putting in the rebound. But the whistle had gone before the ball hit the net. With Adris having a judge to have brought down Hakimi, that stirred up the controversy. And then to compound Senegal's frustration, Morocco were awarded a penalty after a var check. El Haji Malik Juf appearing to drag Brahim Diaz to the ground by his neck. Both those decisions on review, and we've seen the replays a number of times, feel like they were fair ones. But that didn't mean the Senegal coaching staff agreed with that. It was Pap Chow who was encouraging his players to leave the field of play. We then, Alex, saw some very ugly scenes with the small group of Senegalese supporters that are here inside the stadium, a number of them spilling out onto the pitch and with angry Violent confrontations with the security personnel and police here. It took a very lengthy delay, over 10 minutes before they returned to the field of play, encouraged to do so by Sadio Mane. And then the penalty, Alex, Well, a remarkable one from Brahim Diaz. He attempted the panenka where you try and deceive the goalkeeper into making a dive before you chip it down the middle of the goal. But Edouard Mendy didn't move at all. It was a comfortable catch and yeah, incredible scenes even before Senegal score that goal in extra time.

[Alex Ritson]

Is that chaos a bit of a sad end to what has been an amazing tournament?

[Lee James]

It really has been. We've been praising the organization of the tournament, certainly the infrastructure. The stadium where this final was played, the Prince Moulay Abdullah, is state of the art, One of the finest stadiums in world football. It will host World cup matches here in in 2030. But yes, I think the controversial scenes do leave a very sour taste. And for the organizers, they will be the images that will inevitably be remembered from this tournament. It took several minutes to get control from the fans from Senegal who were causing those problems. Away to our left. It actually took the actions of Sadio Mane to try and restore some calm. He was the one that was encouraging his players not to walk down the tunnel. He was telling them to come back onto the field of play. And then he went over to the Senegal fans after the full time whistle, begging them to calm down so the match could resume in extra time. So he deserves great credit for that. But with a World cup in four years time, certainly not the scenes that the organizers here would have wanted from this final.

[Alex Ritson]

So the long wait continues for Morocco, but Senegal worthy winners.

[Lee James]

Yes, absolutely. I think with the goal that was scored in extra time from Pratial because it was a stunning strike hammered into the top corner just off the bar. And yes, that long wait goes on. It's been over 50 years now for Morocco. They have spent so much here, they've invested so much in football. They wanted a return with a trophy. It is not to be, but Alex will be talking about this final for a long, long time to come.

[Alex Ritson]

Lee James Coming up later, the sound almost lost to extinct. Conservationists celebrate the Kkpoo Parrot's comeback.

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[Deirdre Verko]

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[Alex Ritson]

The Chilean president Gabriel Boric has declared a state of emergency in two southern regions where wildfires have forced 50,000 people to leave their homes. At least 19 deaths have been confirmed in Nublay and Bio Bio regions. Bernadette Keough has the latest.

[Deirdre Verko]

The region's worst affected, with fires blazing for two days, are about 500 km south of the capital, Santiago. Fire crews are contending with flames fueled by gusting winds. Images on local television showed widespread gutted buildings, charred cars and hospital evacuations the most ferocious blaze, which is burning across more than 20km, has raged through dry forests and plantations bordering the coastal city of Concepcion. The declaration of emergency means the armed forces will now get involved. A forestry official, Norma Peres, urged extreme caution.

[Alex Ritson]

We are working with all the resources.

[Deirdre Verko]

We have available, deployed in all the.

[Alex Ritson]

Advancing zones of this fire to try.

[Amberin Zaman]

To stop it as soon as possible.

[Alex Ritson]

And we're trying to contain this emergency.

[Amberin Zaman]

With the numerous fires across the region.

[Lee James]

And I want to reiterate the call.

[Alex Ritson]

To people to take extreme precautionary measures.

[Deirdre Verko]

The authorities said firefighters were battling 24 active fires across the country early on Sunday, with most areas under extreme heat alerts. Chile has experienced a series of devastating fires in recent years, worsened by long term drought and climate patterns, with similar fires breaking out in Argentina's Patagonia earlier this month.

[Alex Ritson]

Bernadette Keho Thousands of people across West Africa are being lured by the promise of a job abroad, only to find themselves being held captive and pushed into forced labor and exploitation. The problem is rife in Sierra Leone, where about two thirds of young people are unemployed. Women and children from poor communities are most vulnerable. Our reporter, Seydou Bar, was given exclusive access to a raid by Sierra Leone police and Interpol's anti trafficking unit in the city of McKinney.

[Seydou Bar]

This is McKenny in the north of Sierra Leone. Police officers raid a concrete building where dozens of young people are held captive. Some of the captives are as young as 14, held in poor conditions, clothes and suitcases thrown all over the floor. The human traffickers who trapped them here appear to have fled. Young people are tricked into paying money with the promise of a job abroad. The traffickers used the name of a legitimate wellness and lifestyle company called qnet to offer work opportunities as a front for their illegal activities.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

A friend introduced me to this program, qnet.

[Seydou Bar]

On the outskirts of Makeni, I met a young trafficking survivor wearing short braids and a black T shirt. She told me she paid $1,000 for a supposed job in the U.S. she did not want me to use her name.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

When they first meet you, they feed you, they take care of you. But as time goes by, they stop. So we women had to go the extra mile to survive. You have to sell your body and go to sleep with men so that you can get money.

[Seydou Bar]

Victims like her are often pushed to recruit more people in the scam.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

So if you call 10 when you call and try to convince your friends to join, the traffickers will give you an international number. Then they take you to the airport. They Give you a passport, give you fake travel papers. Then they take your photos so you can send them to your friends and family and persuade them to come.

[Seydou Bar]

The name Qnet has become a byword for this type of trafficking in West Africa, prompting the company to publicly distance itself from these activities. Meanwhile, one of the trafficking bosses has been in contact over the phone with the police. A member of his trafficking gang was arrested in an earlier raid and they want to secure his release.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

Let's find a way to cool this thing down. Maybe leave something in the envelope and we can put this police thing on hold. I don't have the power to do that. I have to call somebody.

[Nick Marsh]

You say you don't have the money.

[Seydou Bar]

But.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

What I can do is call.

[Seydou Bar]

One or two people. Whatever they tell me, I will tell you. We can give you one or two million, no problem.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

I listen to you from now to morning. Thank you.

[Seydou Bar]

The police tells me that they will not accept money from the traffickers and that this is just a tactic. Yes, this is just a method we.

[Nick Marsh]

Are using to get in.

[Seydou Bar]

So it's like a bit. It's a bit. But it is still shocking to me to see how easy it is for them to negotiate in this way. The police say they have conducted over 20 raids in the last year, rescuing hundreds of victims of human trafficking. But many of the victims find it difficult to return home.

[Trafficking Gang Member]

I was scared to go back home. I had told my friends I had traveled abroad. I had told my family the same. I was thinking about all the money they had given me to get there. So when I pray, so when I pray, I pray to forget about what happened.

[Alex Ritson]

That report from BBC Africa eyes Seydou bar. New data shows that China's economy grew by 5% last year, despite it being in line with government predictions. It's not anywhere near the stellar growth figures China has had over years past. And the economy faces a number of problems, not least a continuingly weak housing market. The population also fell by just over 3 million last year. I asked our Asia business correspondent, Nick Marsh to put these numbers into context.

[Nick Marsh]

5% is one of the slowest rates of growth that China has seen in a long, long time. We're used to spectacular growth from this very fast growing economy. But you compare it to the 1%, 2% rates of growth, if that, that we see in most developed Western democracies, and it suddenly looks really, really big, doesn't it? Another reason that China's government will be happy with these figures is basically the year that China had last year when you Think about the Trump administration's campaign of tariffs, of tariff threats, of trade tensions and so on. And in the face of all of that, Chinese exports still continued to explode. They announced a trade surplus of $1.2 trillion last week. $1.2 trillion more goods and services sold than were imported in China. So yes, trade with the United States was down, but China found customers in places like Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa to sell to. And it actually accounted for a third of China's GDP growth. So in spite of all these pressures from the outside, Chinese exports go from strength to strength and they are the main contributing factor to this 5% growth.

[Alex Ritson]

And yet the compilation of these figures, it's not done quite as independently as in some other countries, is it? Can we trust them?

[Nick Marsh]

It's a very difficult question to answer, Alex, to be perfectly honest. I think the broad direction of the numbers, the sort of broad picture they paint, I think are widely respected and recognized by economists in and outside of China. When you dive down into the nitty gritty details, yeah, it becomes more difficult because we know China is a one party state and all institutions are ultimately controlled by, by the Communist Party. China's never missed a growth target, you know, put it that way. But that doesn't mean that there aren't problems with the Chinese economy at the moment and that policymakers, they're not hiding the fact that China is facing challenges economically, domestically.

[Alex Ritson]

Yeah. And the population shrinking, that's, that's a significant item, isn't it?

[Nick Marsh]

The population shrinking is a long term problem that China is going to have to deal with. It's not the only Asian nation that's going to have to deal with that. Right now the biggest problems really are to do with domestic consumption. So basically households not feeling like they have much money to spend, that's been really exacerbated, created actually by a property crisis in which property prices have plummeted. Lots of Chinese people have their money in property invested, so people aren't spending as much as they want to. So even though China's selling a lot abroad, people domestically aren't spending. There's a graduate jobs crisis as well with high unemployment there. So this year expect growth to be lower than and expect the government to actually start intervening with some stimulus packages and maybe even lowering interest rates as well.

[Alex Ritson]

Nick Marsh. Now some good news from the natural world. People in parts of New Zealand can hear more of this distinctive sound. That's the mating call of the kkpoo, an intriguing species that's been brought back from the brink of extinction over the past three decades. They are the world's fattest parrots. Bright green, flightless and nocturnal. And a bumper fruit crop this year means they're gearing up for a hefty breeding season. Conservationist Deirdre Verko says it could lead to the biggest boom in chicks yet.

[Deirdre Verko]

KKP are a really unusual parrot. They're the only lek breeding parrot in the world, so they don't form pair bonds, but the males advertise and compete for females. And they do that with that beautiful booming sound that you just heard. And they're making that sound from some thoracic air sacs that are kind of inflated in their chest. So they've got this big spongy boom sac and it has the most beautiful whiskers. They're the best dressed bird in the forest in New Zealand. I think they're exactly like a dappled forest light. So they're very camouflaged. It's very hard to see them when you're in the forest, but yet they have very forward facing eyes. They've got kind of that wise owl look to them, big beak, beautiful whiskers. They do have reasonably big wings, even though they can't fly. But they've got very strong, sturdy feet and they can climb right up into the tops of the canopies and then they're very agile. Actually, once they're up there, 20, 30 meters off the ground, moving through the trees at speed, there are quite a few things out there that could bring KKP to harm and definitely drove them to that brink of extinction. So stoats are enemy number one. Feral cats. Rats potentially could take young chicks or eggs from nests. So we've been able to double the population over the last 10 years and we're heading in the right direction. 236kkp as of today, which is still a critically small number, but some quite good population growth. So that that does bring a few challenges. And one of those challenges is where to put them next. We're actually running out of predator free real estate here in New Zealand that suitable for kkp. That's our kind of challenge for the next five to ten years.

[Alex Ritson]

Deirdre Verko from the New Zealand Department of Conservation. 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 code. You can also find us on x@BBC world service, use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Pat Sissons. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time.

[Lee James]

Goodbye.

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