First human trial of experimental Ebola vaccine

Summary

Global News Podcast – BBC World Service

Episode: First Human Trial of Experimental Ebola Vaccine
Date: July 24, 2026
Host: Will Chalk

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on major global headlines, leading with the groundbreaking first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine targeting the Bundibujo species. Additional topics include intensifying US-Iran hostilities, Europe’s wildfire crisis, the largest-ever divorce settlement in South Korea, India’s youth protest movement, commentary on sleep and work culture in Japan, political decentralization in the UK, and an inspiring story of Ugandan dancers at the World Cup final.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. First Human Trial of Experimental Ebola Vaccine

[00:00-04:33]

• Main Point:
  The Oxford Vaccine Group has begun its first human trial of a vaccine for the Bundibujo strain of Ebola, which lacks any approved vaccine.

• Details:

  • The first volunteer, Ed Hunt (37), was inspired to participate after seeing media coverage of the DRC outbreak.
  • Trial involves 50 healthy volunteers (ages 18–55) in Oxford; a similar trial will soon start in Uganda.
  • Focus is on safety and immune response; a strong response could lead to rapid deployment.
  • 600,000 doses already produced by the Serum Institute, ready for use if trials go well.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “The volunteer is a man called Ed Hunt. He’s 37, and he volunteered after he saw news reports of what’s happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
    — Fergus Walsh [01:26]
  • “If the jab produces a very strong immune response... then it can be used actually to protect people who may be contacts of Ebola patients within a matter of months.”
    — Fergus Walsh [02:41]
  • "There is already a successful and very effective vaccine against the Zaire species of Ebola... This vaccine could be effective."
    — Fergus Walsh [03:17]
  • “There’s no money going to be made here... It’s not a money-making venture.”
    — Fergus Walsh [03:49]

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2. Escalating US-Iran Conflict & Global Oil Shock

[04:33-08:20]

• Summary:

  • Ongoing strikes by both sides continue; at least four dead in Iran from US attacks.
  • Iranian retaliation includes drone attacks on US bases in Jordan and Bahrain.
  • Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers cause oil prices to surge above $100/barrel.
  • Peace negotiations appear to have stalled, with inflammatory rhetoric from both the US and Iran and concerns about expanded regional conflict.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “There appears to have been about two hours of US strikes on Iran... with explosions reported in Iranian media in several of Iran’s southern coastal cities.”
    — Yo Lam Nell [05:25]
  • “The price of Brent crude... spiked overnight... to about $100 a barrel. That’s the highest level it’s been since May.”
    — Yo Lam Nell [06:30]
  • “President Trump has talked about how he’s weighing up a massive attack on Iran because in his words, it’s not received enough pain yet.”
    — Yo Lam Nell [07:16]

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3. Record-Breaking Wildfires in France & Spain

[08:20-10:34]

• Summary:

  • Massive evacuations (60,000+) from France’s Atlantic coast, especially the Cap Ferret peninsula and Biscarrosse, as winds drive deadly wildfires.
  • Emergencies declared in Spain near Madrid as two separate fires merge.
  • Reinforcements and firefighting aircraft mobilized from across Europe; outlook remains grim due to drought and heat.

• Memorable Moments:

  • “We got the evacuation alert at 6 am, so without really knowing what to do, we just took the boat straight to Arcachon. It all went really very smoothly.”
    — Evacuee [09:17]
  • “In France, these are the most severe yet. The great fear is that the worst is yet to come.”
    — Hugh Schofield [10:20]

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4. “Divorce of the Century” in South Korea

[10:34-13:05]

• Summary:

  • Tech tycoon Chey Tae-Won ordered to pay over $640m to ex-wife Noh So-young.
  • Their high-profile marriage (daughter of ex-President, heir to SK Hynix) dissolved after public revelations of infidelity.
  • Legal battle over business assets – court ultimately awards one-third value to Noh, not half as she attempted.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “It’s called the divorce of the century because it was previously called the marriage of the century... It was a real fairy tale wedding one might see in a K drama.”
    — Jake Kwon [11:16]
  • “She is entitled to one third of the company’s value.”
    — Jake Kwon [12:38]
  • “This is going to be a divorce that we need to watch until the end.”
    — Jake Kwon [12:54]

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5. India’s Youth Protest Movement – Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)

[13:19-16:05]

• Summary:

  • Mass protests over exam paper scandals, unemployment, and government accountability.
  • Hunger strike by protest leader ended after government promises parliamentary discussion; pressure remains for Education Minister’s resignation and further reforms.
  • Youth demands for political change grow louder, with continued protests planned.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “We will get this to the end. We will finish what we started.”
    — Swarav Das, CJP Spokesperson [14:23]
  • “The students... say they will settle for nothing else but the resignation of India’s federal government Education Minister who they say holds moral responsibility for everything that has happened.”
    — Arunade Mukherjee [15:30]
  • “The message from all those gathered here continues to be that they are undeterred and they will carry on.”
    — Arunade Mukherjee [15:58]

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6. Japanese PM’s Sleep Schedule & Work Culture Debate

[16:05-17:37]

• Summary:

  • PM Sanae Takaichi reveals surviving on zero to three hours of sleep nightly, sparking debate on overwork and national expectations.
  • Discussion of “karoshi” (death from overwork) and calls for improved work/life balance in Japanese society.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “Japan’s Prime Minister says she survives on zero to three hours a night and people are reacting.”
    — Kurumi Mori [16:45]
  • “Instead of praise, Takaichi’s sleep schedule has ignited a conversation about work, life, balance.”
    — Kurumi Mori [17:32]

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7. UK’s “Number 10 North” and Political Decentralization

[17:37-20:41]

• Summary:

  • New UK PM Andy Burnham sets up a “Number 10 North” in Manchester, aiming for greater regional inclusion and decision-making.
  • Debate: bold innovation or administrative duplication? Early reviews see Burnham as proactive but long-term success unclear.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “The long-term ambition is to have something like 300 senior officials working in number 10 north... with the idea to spread [decision-making] out from London.”
    — Rob Watson [18:20]
  • “Burnham likes to play the outsider card, ‘I’m a working class northerner,’ but he’s also been a professional politician almost his entire adult life.”
    — Rob Watson [19:25]
  • “We still know remarkably little about Burnham’s longer term vision...”
    — Rob Watson [20:04]

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8. The Ghetto Kids – Ugandan Dancers at the World Cup Final

[20:41-24:22]

• Summary:

  • Members Sierra and Josephine of Kampala’s Ghetto Kids dance troupe share their excitement performing with Shakira and Burna Boy at the World Cup halftime show.
  • They discuss the transformative power of dance, international recognition, and encouragement for disadvantaged children to believe in themselves and their talents.

• Memorable Moments:

  • “The people were so, so very happy to see us. They were shouting. I wasn’t nervous at all. I was smiling.”
    — Sierra [21:09]
  • “Dancing changed my life. I went to school because of dance.”
    — Sierra [22:21]
  • “What I remember—I had the talent of dance and dance is what I know... that makes me happy because that’s my talent.”
    — Josephine [22:37]
  • “To love themselves, believe in God and pray to be with their talents.”
    — Sierra, advice to other children [24:13]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ebola vaccine trial: 00:00–04:33
• US-Iran escalation & oil shock: 04:33–08:20
• France/Spain wildfires: 08:20–10:34
• South Korean divorce: 10:34–13:05
• India youth protests: 13:19–16:05
• Japanese PM’s sleep/work culture: 16:05–17:37
• UK Number 10 North: 17:37–20:41
• The Ghetto Kids at World Cup: 20:41–24:22

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Memorable Quotes Summary

• “If the jab produces a very strong immune response...then it can be used...to protect people who may be contacts of Ebola patients within a matter of months.”
  – Fergus Walsh [02:41]
• “President Trump has talked about how he’s weighing up a massive attack on Iran because in his words, it’s not received enough pain yet.”
  – Yo Lam Nell [07:16]
• “We will get this to the end. We will finish what we started.”
  – Swarav Das [14:23]
• “Instead of praise, Takaichi’s sleep schedule has ignited a conversation about work, life, balance.”
  – Kurumi Mori [17:32]
• “The people were so, so very happy to see us. They were shouting. I wasn’t nervous at all. I was smiling.”
  – Sierra [21:09]

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Tone and Final Thoughts

The episode balances urgent global crises with human moments of resilience and hope, featuring insightful, on-the-ground reporting and personal stories that connect listeners to global headlines in real time.

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For further stories and updates, listeners are directed to the BBC News YouTube channel and are encouraged to engage with the Global News Podcast on social media and via email.

Transcript

[Will Chalk]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Will Chalk and in the afternoon of Friday, the 24th of July, these are our main stories. An experimental vaccine against the Ebola virus ravaging Central Africa has been administered to a volunteer for the first time. There have been more strikes and counter strikes across Iran and the Gulf. Also in this podcast, India's massive youth movement, the Cockroach Janta Party, has been putting its case to government. Government ministers.

[Swarav Das]

We will get this to the end.

[Will Chalk]

We will finish what we started. The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than a thousand people. And this particular strain or species known as the Bundibujo, has no approved vaccine. But there is hope. Several are currently being trialled. One of them being developed by the Oxford Vaccine Group, part of Oxford University, has taken a major step forward. Today someone had the first ever dose of the experimental vaccine.

[Kurumi Mori]

Okay.

[Will Chalk]

Right, so I'm just going to administer the ejecting here. Sometimes it can be a bit stingy when it goes in, but be over with quite quickly.

[Fergus Walsh]

That's fine.

[Will Chalk]

And just relax as much as you possibly can.

[Fergus Walsh]

Thank you.

[Will Chalk]

The BBC's medical editor, Fergus Walsh, was in Oxford for the event. He began by telling me about that first volunteer who we just heard in that clip.

[Fergus Walsh]

So the volunteer is a man called ed Hunt. He's 37, and he volunteered after he saw news reports of what's happening in the Democratic Democratic Republic of Congo. In fact, he told me he'd wanted to volunteer for the COVID vaccine trials, but he wasn't able to at the time. So he's had his name down, as it were, and he's one of 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 who are currently being recruited for this trial in Oxford. They'll all receive one dose of the experimental Ebola vaccine, which is against the Bundibujo species of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine at the moment.

[Will Chalk]

If it works, then, and if this is successful, how quickly can the help then get to the people who need it in the drc?

[Fergus Walsh]

So what will happen pretty soon is a similar smallish trial will begin in Uganda where people will be immunised. And those vaccine trials currently are to look primarily at safety. But if they're successful, they will then expand the trial in the Dr. Congo, and that will be in the affected areas. Now, what they're doing, as well as monitoring the safety of the vaccine, is they're checking for immune responses. Obviously, none of the volunteers will be given Ebola, but if the jab produces a very strong immune response, which they're hoping it will, then it can be used actually to protect people who may be contacts of Ebola patients within a matter of months. And indeed, the Serum Institute, the biggest vaccine manufacturer in the world, has produced 600,000 doses of this Oxford Ebola vaccine, which are waiting in the wings should the trials prove successful, so they will have the doses they need. There is already a successful and a very effective vaccine against the Zaire species of Ebola. And there's a lot of optimism that, that this vaccine could be effective. And it's actually one of four vaccines that have been developed against the Bundy Biddle species. But it's the first one to go into human trials and of course, it is desperately needed.

[Will Chalk]

These vaccines can cost millions, if not tens of millions to develop. How is this all going to be paid for ultimately in the long run?

[Fergus Walsh]

It's actually getting funding from a variety of sources, including cepi, which is the coalition of pandemic preparedness. And there's no money going to be made here. It's not a money making venture. And indeed, the big vaccine company Moderna is also producing an MRNA vaccine against Ebola. MRNA vaccines first came to the fore during COVID So it's really not being seen about making money. There's a recognition in the global scientific community that this is a terrible outbreak which is producing a high level of risk in Central Africa, particularly in Dr. Congo. And so it's about being prepared for these outbreaks.

[Will Chalk]

Fergus Walsh there. The fighting that started up nearly two weeks ago between the US And Iran shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. The Iranians say the United States targeted commercial and military sites overnight, while with at least four people killed. Tehran says it carried out drone strikes on US Military facilities and bases in Jordan and bahrain. It's the 13th consecutive night this has happened. But President Trump is threatening to escalate even further and launch what he's calling a massive attack on Iran. The war also seems to be widening. On Thursday, the Houthis in Yemen, who were backed by Iran, said they'd attacked two tankers in the Red Sea transporting oil from Saudi Arabia. And that sent the price of oil shooting up to over 100 doll a barrel. Our Middle east correspondent in Jerusalem, Yo Lam Nell, told me about the latest developments.

[Yo Lam Nell]

There appears to have been about two hours of US Strikes on Iran, with explosions reported in Iranian media in several of Iran's southern coastal cities. Places like Bandar Abbas and Kashmir island that have been targeted before. Places with naval facilities but also strikes being reported in the west, the center of the country, even in the north on a Revolutionary Guards base. And the Iranians saying at least four people have been killed. There's also activation of air defenses in Tehran. And we've now had the Iranians saying that they launched drone attacks in the last few hours on US Military bases in retaliation in Jordan and Bahrain. Sirens reported in Bahrain, the Jordanians saying they intercepted missiles. And there are now reports coming that there have been smoke and explosions heard near Ta' El International Airport in the north of Iraq, which hosts U. S led coalition troops for Iraq. It said the air defenses were activated there.

[Will Chalk]

That's all very much a continuation of what we've been seeing. But then we've got these Houthi attacks on the Saudi oil tankers. So how have they complicated this even further?

[Yo Lam Nell]

They have complicated things with their big impact immediately on global energy markets and on the global economy. The price of Brent crude, a barrel of oil, which is the kind of international standard, spiked overnight went up by more than 6% to about $100 a barrel. That's the he highest level it's been since May. So you're going back well before the interim peace deal that was signed by both the US And Iran last month, which helped bring prices back down, led to some stabilization. But now, of course, it seems to have basically collapsed.

[Will Chalk]

Now, when this fighting resumed a couple of weeks ago, I think people were maybe hoping it was a blip and then it would be back to peace talks. But it doesn't feel like that, does it? It feels like it's going in the opposite direction.

[Yo Lam Nell]

Yeah, there's a lot of inflammatory rhetoric around as well. And so President Trump has talked about how he's weighing up a massive attack on Iran because in his words, it's not received enough pain yet. The New York Times has a report that a ceasefire proposal that was presented by the Iraqi prime minister to Tehran on his recent visit was turned down. And that rhetoric coming from the Iranians to Iran's Foreign Minister Abbasirakchis appeared to criticize President Trump by He said that damage to the cargo and ships that Iran has caused in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf will be paid with Iranian money that is under U.S. control. Those frozen assets have been held for decades in the US it's not clear legally how that would happen. But Abbasa actually said that this would set an incendiary precedent. And there were also those threats in the past day from the Iranians when it comes to the UK because it's saying that British bases have been used in some of the latest attacks on Iran. For the Iranians, well, they are suggesting that this makes the UK Party to the campaign.

[Will Chalk]

Yoland Nel. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing one of France's most popular holiday areas on the Atlantic coast, hundreds of them by boat. As forest fires continue to burn. Spain has appealed for assistance to tackle fires outside the capital, Madrid, where two major wildfires west of the city have merged. A national emergency has been declared there. Hugh Schofield field reports from Paris.

[Hugh Schofield]

Overnight, things took a turn for the worse. A forest fire just north of the holiday resorts around the Bay of Arcachon leapt forward. Homes suddenly were under threat. Driven by winds from the northeast, the fire risked cutting off the exclusive Cap Ferre peninsula. Early this morning, orders were given to evacuate. Some 40,000 residents and holiday makers left their homes and campsites. Most came by car. Others were taken out by boat across the bay to the town of Arcachon.

[Fergus Walsh]

We were on holiday for the week in Cap Ferry. We got the evacuation alert at 6am so without really knowing what to do, we just took the boat straight to Arcachon. It all went really very smoothly.

[Hugh Schofield]

The area west of Bordeaux is one of the most popular for summer visitors on France's Atlantic coast. Firefighting reinforcements have been drafted in from across France and also from other European countries. They're sending extra planes for dropping water and flame retardant. But the outlook is not optimistic. The winds are shifting and unpredictable, and months of heat and drought have created alarmingly dangerous conditions. Around 80 km to the south, there's a second fire raging. This one has destroyed homes around the town of Biscarross, from where some 20,000 people have been evacuated. Here, they're having to share firefighting resources with the bigger blaze up the coast. In Spain, too, the government has asked for European help to tackle wildfires that are out of control near Madrid. It's already been a terrible year for forest fires, but in France, these are the most severe yet. The great fear is that the worst is yet to come. There's no prospect of rain, and for the next week at least, it's more very high temperatures.

[Will Chalk]

That was Hugh Scofield. We're going to South Korea for this next story, where a court has ordered the tech billionaire to pay more than $640 million to his former wife. Unsurprisingly, it's the largest divorce settlement in the country's history. Che Taewon's marriage to no so Young, the daughter of a former president, broke down after he publicly admitted to having an extramarital affair. And the legal battle over how much he should pay her has been run for a decade. Mr. Choi is the chairman of the South Korean semiconductor maker SK Hynix. He's thought to have a fortune of $5.6 billion. Our correspondent in Seoul, Jake Kwon, told us about what's been called the divorce of the century.

[Jake Kwon]

It's called the divorce of the century because it was previously called the marriage of the century. It was a real fairy tale wedding one might see in a K drama. Choi was the heir to the major corporation and Noh was the daughter of the country's leader. And the story is that they met while studying in Chicag. They marry in the Presidential palace. The Prime Minister is officiating the wedding. This was South Korea's royal wedding. Now that was 1988. Fast forward to 2015. After years of rumor that the marriage was shaky, Choi finally announces that he has a mistress and that he has a child with her. And couple years later, he files for divorce. At first, Noh refuses to sign the papers, but gives in when Choi does the unthinkable. Showing up to public events with his mistress. But then Noh demands that Choi give her not only the alimony, but nearly half of the business empire.

[Will Chalk]

In terms of that ultimate figure, how did the court wrangling go over that? Because it's so much money, isn't it?

[Jake Kwon]

It is. And this is where it gets interesting. Normally the court would deny any claim of assets held before the marriage. So no was really fighting uphill when she demanded half of the company. But she gives evidence that her father, the President, had secretly funded Choi's company using slush fund back in 1991. But the court eventually denies that she has any claim to it because it was illegal fund. It does acknowledge that the company had really grown in value. So she is entitled to one third of the company's value.

[Will Chalk]

And is this all over, done and dusted, or could there be more to come?

[Jake Kwon]

Well, the case can still go to the Supreme Court if any side appeals against the ruling. And Choi Tae Won might as well do that. He has to now come up with $640 million in cash to pay his ex wife. I think the reason many people are suddenly paying a lot more attention is because his K group is really shot up in fortune. But this is going to be a divorce that we need to watch until the end.

[Will Chalk]

Jake Wanner still to come in this

[Sierra]

podcast, the people were so, so very happy to see us. They were Shouting. I wasn't nervous at all. I was smiling.

[Will Chalk]

How it feels to dance alongside Shakira and Burna Boy at a World cup final. The huge youth led protests that have been taking place across India have become one of the biggest challenges for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The demonstrations began over an exam paper scandal. But the protest movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party, or cjp has evolved to include other concerns facing young people such as unemployment. Now, a prominent supporter of the CJP has ended his hunger strike after receiving assurances from the government that the issue of accountability in the failing exam system would be discussed on the floor of the Indian Parliament. But leaders of the movement still called for nationwide protests to take place. Swarav Das is a spokesperson for the cjp. It was about time that he broke his fast and we are all very

[Swarav Das]

happy that he did.

[Fergus Walsh]

However, we will not let his hunger

[Will Chalk]

strike go to waste.

[Swarav Das]

We will get this to the end.

[Will Chalk]

We will finish what we started. After a meeting with the authorities on Friday, leaders of India's youth protest movement say further talks with the government are due in the next 24 hours. Our correspondent Arunade Mukherjee spoke to us from a demonstration in the capital.

[Swarav Das]

Representatives of this protest movement held another meeting with senior members of the Indian government earlier in the day. It was the second meeting in five days between both sides, indicating that there is growing pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to try and find some sort of a way out of this ongoing impasse. The minister in charge of negotiations after the talk said that the talks went on for about two hours. They were held in a cordial atmosphere and they will continue the conversations on Saturday as well as they also need time to discuss internally with other cabinet members on their next course of action. The students who continue to gather here in hundreds have been very clear about their demands. They say they will settle for nothing else but the resignation of India's federal government Education Minister who they say has to go because he holds moral responsibility for everything that has happened. The students here have also given a call to others in other parts of the country to come out in large numbers and protest in a peaceful manner to try and draw attention to their demands. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day made another appeal to the protesting students through his social media handle, saying that he is looking at this as a serious problem and he wants to solve it in a way in which he is proposing to bring in legislation as well. Next week in Parliament which will address the critical concern of examination paper leaks. But the message from all those gathered here continues to be that they are undeterred and they will carry on. And all of this means the pressure will continue to grow on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

[Will Chalk]

Aruna Day Mukherjee there. And we've got lots more on this story on our YouTube channel. You can search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News Podcast in the podcast section. There's a news story available every weekday. Now, if I had something important to do like, say, I don't know, running a country, I'd probably make sure I got a good night's sleep in before I started. Not so Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She's revealed in a post on X that she usually gets between zero and three hours sleep each night. The BBC's Tokyo correspondent Kurumi Mori explains how this has sparked a conversation about Japan's work culture.

[Kurumi Mori]

Imagine running an entire country on just a few hours of sleep. Japan's Prime Minister says she survives on zero to three hours a night and people are reacting. Prime Minister Sanae Takechi revealed on X that she recently got five hours of sleep for the first time in a while since taking office. She says she normally works through weekends, reviewing policy, answering thousands of emails and handles some household chores too. Supporters say she's just showing the reality of what is like to work in public service. But critics warn that chronic sleep deprivation can impair judgment, with some questioning whether a leader should be working this much. Others also pointed to Japan's long standing culture of overwork, including the issue of karoshi, which means death from overwork. So instead of praise, Takaichi's sleep schedule has ignited a conversation about work, life, balance.

[Will Chalk]

Kurumi Mori there. Well, to another Prime Minister, now the new one in Britain, his dilemma isn't sleep well, as far as we know, it's this. How do you stop people who live hundreds of kilometres from your seat of power from feeling separate or alienated from the process of government? Well, Andy Burnham thinks he's got a solution, a second seat of power. He's been holding his first meetings today in what he's dubbed Number 10 north, an office designed to run alongside the other number 10 in London, but based in the city of Manchester in the north of England. So is this an unrivalled piece of political genius, a massive gimmick or something in between? Our correspondent Rob Watson told me more.

[Rob Watson]

It's been a historic problem in Britain going back Actually to Roman times even before I joined the BBC. In practical terms, yeah, there will be a difference. I mean the long term ambition is to have something like 300 senior officials working in number 10 north with the more kind of rather difficult to pin down idea that decisions about economy, what sort of development to have, what the idea would be to spread it out from, from London, which is where most big decisions are taken now, to number 10 in the north but also to other local areas. And you know there is an argument to be said for that because Britain is a very centralized state. I mean the counter arguments are what is the guarantee that local government would do any better at central government? And isn't there a danger, some fear that you just essentially have bureaucratic duplication?

[Will Chalk]

This caps off though, isn't it a busy few days for Andy Burnham? And I think like this there's been a lot of eye catching announcements, things that grab headlines. Does that equal a good first week though?

[Rob Watson]

Good, I think in the sense that he's been setting the agenda, I mean albeit with small as you say, eye catching measures designed to help ordinary people in certain businesses. And I think that's a reminder, well that while Andy Burnham likes to play the outsider card, I'm a working class northerner. He's also been a professional politician politician almost his entire adult life. That's 30 plus years, unlike Keir Starmer and is therefore a better politician than his predecessor and has been pretty slick in his first week.

[Will Chalk]

Looking ahead then, I mean he came in with a big speech on the steps of Downing street, didn't he? Promising big change. How are his chances of keeping those promises do you think?

[Rob Watson]

Well, I guess that's what we'll find out in the next one to three years. And you're right in the sense that we have been big promises but we still know remarkably little about Burnham's sort of longer term vision and how on earth he will square his particular promise to honor the rather modest manifesto of policies that Labour was elected on two years ago with that rather extraordinary pledge to carry out the biggest change in Britain in 40 years. He said on the steps of Downing street earlier that as you said that he meant he would, he promised he would publish a ten year plan later this year. So I guess maybe we'll, we'll find out then but you know, undoubtedly huge challenges ahead.

[Will Chalk]

Well, Rob Watson now if you watch the football World cup final you may well have seen the next people we're going to hear from. They're called Sierra and Josephine and they're part Of a dance group formed more than 10 years ago in kampala in Uganda called the ghetto kids. You'd have seen them in the halftime show. They were dancing alongside megastars Shakira and burna boy. No big deal. I know. My colleague Anne soy first asked ciara how it felt being on the pitch.

[Sierra]

I was feeling good. The people were so, so very happy to see us. They were shouting. I wasn't nervous at all. I was smiling. And after all, people, they said, us, congratulations.

[Anne Soy]

Were you excited?

[Sierra]

Yes.

[Anne Soy]

And what about you, Josephine? How did it feel in that moment performing and knowing that so many people were watching in the stadium and around the world?

[Sierra]

We went to the stadium. I was so happy. I saw Messi and lanin Yamal. I was so happy to see Messi and people watching us. Yeah. I felt so excited and I was smiling and a little bit nervous. When I went back to the hotel, I was celebrating how I was dancing and smiling.

[Anne Soy]

Tell me about how you came to join the ghetto kids and started this journey of dancing. And you have been traveling quite a lot internationally now.

[Sierra]

I was still young. Dancing changed my life. I went to school because of dance.

[Anne Soy]

Josephine, tell me your story. Do you remember when you started dancing and why you fell in love with dancing?

[Sierra]

What I remember I had the talent of dance and dance is what I know. And that makes me happy because that's my talent. It means a lot, dancing and people watching us dancing.

[Anne Soy]

And then when Shakira reached out and you were told that Shakira wants you to dance with her and tell me about that moment, how you felt.

[Sierra]

We felt so good. We are training and then we were so happy. We jumped, shout and do everything.

[Anne Soy]

Did you know Shakira before then?

[Sierra]

Yes.

[Anne Soy]

You had danced waka waka.

[Sierra]

Yeah, yeah.

[Anne Soy]

And Sierra, tell me how it was meeting Shakira, getting to dance with her. How did you feel?

[Sierra]

I was very good. I was happy. Shakira, she's very kind.

[Anne Soy]

How was it meeting her, practicing with her and finally being on the pitch with her?

[Sierra]

That was very, very, very, very, very good.

[Anne Soy]

And did you know that president Donald trump was watching you?

[Sierra]

Yeah.

[Anne Soy]

How did that feel?

[Sierra]

That felt very good.

[Anne Soy]

What about Josephine?

[Sierra]

Yes.

[Anne Soy]

What's your message to other children who are talented but come from disadvantaged backgrounds like you and Sierra did, to love

[Sierra]

themselves, believe in God and pray to be with their talents. They don't die them and we love them.

[Will Chalk]

That's a feel good way to end the podcast, isn't it? Sierra and Josephine from the ghetto kids. That's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email [e-mail]. we're also on X BBC World Service. We have a sister podcast too, the Global Story. Be sure to check that out. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Craig Kingham. The producer was Stephanie Tillotson. The editor is Karen Martin. And I'm Will Chalk. Until next time, goodbye.