
The investigation has expanded to Texas, where the suspect lived
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Narrator
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Nick Miles
This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles and at 14 hours GMT on Thursday 2 January. These are our main stories. The first victims of the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans are named. Syria's new Islamist led administration has updated the school curriculum, prompting concerns in some communities. Forty years on from the deadly gas leak at an Indian factory, toxic waste is finally removed from the site. Also in this podcast, El Salvador's government records a record low homicide rate. But all is not as it seems.
Narrator
And I was basically clearing the clay and I was hitting a hump and I thought it's just an abnormality in the ground. But then it got to another about 3 meters long. It was hump again.
Nick Miles
What a set of huge footprints tells us about how dinosaurs got around. Details are emerging of some of the 15 people killed in New Orleans as they celebrated the New Year. A truck was driven at high speed into crowds before the driver was shot dead by police. The FBI has identified the attacker as Shamshud Din Jabbar, a US citizen and army veteran from Texas. The families of some victims have released their names before the authorities complete post mortem examinations. Just before we recorded this podcast, I got an update from our correspondent in New Orleans, Tom Bateman. I asked him what's behind speculation that Shamshud Din Jabbar wasn't the only suspect involved.
Tom Bateman
It was a theme that was emerging throughout New Year's Day from the FBI really suggesting that he could have had accomplices. I think one of the elements to this was that they had seen some security camera footage which at first officials believed may have been people planting improvised explosive devices. Now, our understanding is that they have stood down that belief over that particular bit of footage. They think that was actually innocent. But we have still had the continuing line from the authorities that they believe others are involved. The Louisiana Attorney General last night saying that she was certain that there were likely other individuals, multiple individuals, she said, involved. And one of the parts of the inquiry they're focusing on, there is an Airbnb property a few miles from where we are, here in the heart of the city where a fire broke out early New Year's Day morning before the attack took place. And the Attorney General saying that their line of inquiry there is that may have been used to purpose improvised explosive devices, you know, potentially by Jabbar and other accomplices.
Nick Miles
Meanwhile, Tom, we're beginning to hear more details about the people who died. Aren't we. Yeah.
Tom Bateman
And the first thing that strikes you, I mean the police haven't confirmed officially any of the names yet, but they're being widely reported by local media is just the ages of those involved. You know, this was 3:00 in the morning on New Year's Day. Virtually all of the victims named so far are in their 20s or late teens. These were young people and some of them well known. Martin Beck, who was a well known American college football player, his brother posting tributes to him on social media. Love you always, brother, he has said. Another an 18 year old aspiring nurse, Nicaira Deux, who had her mother said snuck out with a friend and another 18 year old cousin to come to the New Year's Day party here where we are. Her relatives describing how they had seen the truck, fled out of its path only to realize that she had succumbed and been hit by the truck itself.
Nick Miles
One imagines that the atmosphere is still pretty dour there and a lot of security around.
Tom Bateman
Absolutely. I mean, we're standing at a spot at the moment, we're parallel with Bourbon street, that very famous thoroughfare. And a big police closure continues around this area. I'm looking at a Louisiana state trooper van and state troopers opposite us here, barriers still in place as they continue to search for evidence on the street itself. I mean, one thing I would say about New Orleans and particularly around here is just the sense of resilience you get. This is a place that is absolutely filled with music. Every street corner you pass, every music venue, a bar you walk past continues to blare out music. People are still coming here because of why people come to New Orleans, but people are concerned and continuing to come back to the scene to pay tribute.
Nick Miles
Tom Bateman in New Orleans, despite the Islamist nature of the new authorities in charge of Syria, they've made a point of saying that they will govern for all Syrians and protect the rights of minorities. But there are growing concerns that will not be the case in practice. Now the Education ministry has posted the new school curriculum on Facebook and it has done nothing to allay those fears. I heard more from our Middle east regional editor, Sebastian Ussher, who's in Damascus.
Sebastian Ussher
This has been published ahead of the new school term, which begins in a couple of days. And it's for all ages. I mean, the things that kind of stand out that people have picked out here are, for example, in science teaching, that evolution will not be taught anymore. The Big Bang theory won't be taught in religious studies. Some people feel that there's been a move more towards kind of strict Sunni Islamic way of thinking. There has been the removal also in religious studies of any reference to pre Islamic gods and goddesses, and pictures of their statues, which make up very much the history, obviously of the country, are gone. Queen Zenobia, one of the great heroines of Syrian history back in the Roman era, seems to have been somewhat diminished in terms of the coverage that she will get. As you would expect, everything to do with the Assad era also is gone. That includes poems praising the Assads, but also in history, in French, all the examples that are given over that they've been excised. I mean, I think that was done just bang, to get rid of it without any kind of sense of changing it or what they'll do with it. So it's a work in progress and clearly something that the officials felt had to be done before the reopening of schools.
Nick Miles
And Sebastian, which of the changes you've mentioned do you think will most worry minority groups then?
Sebastian Ussher
Well, it's partly minority groups. I mean, what I've felt in the way that it's been reacted to is it's really this sense of civil society, which, of course, with the fall of the Assad regime, has had a resurgence. And many people who were exiled or in exile have returned, even if it's only for a short time, and are meeting and trying to think up, you know, ways that they can push Syria forward, forward in this new era. And they feel that this is something that they need to nip in the bud now. And what they're particularly grieved by is not just these examples I've given, but the fact that the authorities who are in place now have made decisions without input from the whole of society, which is what they've been saying. There's a national dialogue conference that's due to take place possibly this month, which is meant to bring all these communities together to discuss the way forward. And they feel that this has preempted that. And because it's education, it's the way that young minds are shaped, it's seen as particularly important. So protests have been called for for Friday and anytime, really until Sunday, in an attempt to forestall this. So I think that's really where the alarm has gone off and civil society activists feeling we have to make a stand now, we have to make our message clear now.
Nick Miles
Sebastian Asha in southern Gaza, the sandy strip of land along the coast, Al Mawasi has been designated by Israel as a safe humanitarian zone, despite Israel has previously attacked the site, accusing Hamas operatives of hiding among displaced people there. Hamas now says the latest Israeli airstrike in the area has killed 11 people, including its police chief and a number of Palestinians sheltering in those makeshift tents. Our Middle east correspondent Yolan Nell is in Jerusalem.
Yolan Nell
We're now hearing of two strikes that have taken place in this Khan Younis area, what's called the humanitarian zone. The first of them happened in the early hours of the morning. And you can see on social pictures of tents ablaze and at least 11 people killed there. We heard from a Hamas Interior Ministry statement that the director general of Gaza police and his assistant were among those killed. And then we had a separate statement from the Israeli military a short time ago which just addresses one other individual they said was targeted. The head of internal security for Hamas in Gaza. And they accuse Hamas of hiding among civilians in this area and also say that they took steps to avoid harming civilians. But the BBC has also spoken to the father of three boys who were killed in that strike, aged seven and 11 and 13. Their funeral took place a short time ago. And in this latest strike, well, the Israeli military says that it's been targeting Hamas fighters using a municipality building in the humanitarian zone. But local people have telling us that it was civilians who were sheltering in this area.
Nick Miles
That was Yolande Nell. One of the largest discoveries of dinosaur footprints in the world has been revealed in a quarry in the south of England. The tracks were made 166 million years ago in the Jurassic period. Excavations by Oxford and Birmingham univers found some of the trackways reach 150 meters long. Our science editor Rebecca Morell went to take a look.
Narrator
Dewar's Farm quarry in Oxfordshire is a hive of activity with trucks, diggers and tippers excavating the limestone from the ground. But it's also the site of a remarkable discovery. I was basically clearing the clay and I was hitting a hump and I thought it's just an abnormality in the ground. But then it got to another about 3 meters long. It was hump again. And then he went another three meters hump again. Gary Johnson is a worker at the quarry and the bumps and dips he uncovered were in fact huge dinosaur footprints. It was so surreal. It really was a bit of a tingling moment really. This summer, scientists, students and volunteers came to excavate the quarry and they unearth the largest dinosaur trackways ever found in the uk. This site really is extraordinary. It takes a moment to notice the footprints, but when you do, you suddenly realize there are hundreds of them. Running off in various different directions. Now I'm standing next to a trackway made by a sauropod, a huge, long necked dinosaur. Its footprints are about a meter long and you can see them evenly paced, running across the floor of the quarry. We're trying to extract the earth with a series of trowels in order to.
Rebecca Morel
Reach the bottom of the track.
Narrator
Professor Kirsty Edgar is a micro paleontologist from the University of Birmingham. Well, this is one of the most impressive track sites I've ever seen. I've been to all of the track sites in the UK now, and in terms of scale, in terms of the different types of tracks that we see, the size of the tracks, you step back in time and you can sort of get an idea of what it might have been like, these massive creatures just roaming around about their own business. The trackways that crisscrossed the quarry were made by two different types of dinosaurs, large four legged sauropods and a smaller carnivorous dinosaur called Megalosaurus that walked on two legs. Compared to the sauropod prints, which are those large sort of subtle circular prints, this is smaller. Dr. Emma Nichols is a vertebrate paleontologist from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It's almost like a caricature of a dinosaur footprint. So it's what we call a tridactyl print. It's got these three toes that are very, very clear in the print. And it's not just one print here, they kind of go off into the distance. Yeah. We've not uncovered the start or the end of this trackway. So in both directions it goes under material in the quarry. These footprints were made 166 million years ago. As the animals ambled across the mud in what was once a shallow tropical.
Tom Bateman
Lagoon, something must have happened to preserve these in the fossil record.
Narrator
Professor Richard Butler is a paleobiologist from the University of Birmingham.
Tom Bateman
It might be that there was a storm event, something like that, that came in, deposited a load of sediments on.
Nick Miles
Top of the footprints and meant that.
Tom Bateman
They were preserved rather than just being washed away.
Narrator
He says a footprint can reveal a lot.
Tom Bateman
You can learn things about how that animal moved, you can learn how fast.
Nick Miles
It was moving, you can learn exactly.
Tom Bateman
What the environment that it was living in was like. So tracks give us a whole different set of information that you can't get from the bone fossil record.
Narrator
The future of the footprints isn't yet known, but the scientists are working with the quarry's operators and Natural England on options for preserving the site. They believe there could be more footprints, these echoes of our prehistoric past just waiting to be discovered.
Nick Miles
That report was by Rebecca Morel. Still to come in the global news podcast, Football in Paris is a bit.
Hugh Schofield
All over the place, which means that.
Martin Eickhoff
If you want a big second club, you've got to focus on the long term.
Hugh Schofield
I've invested a lot to make a club that is gradually contesting the leadership.
Nick Miles
Of PSG is the only top flight football club in Paris about to gain a new rival. When a country announces a record low number of murders, it should be seen as an achievement. But it's also a time for questions. Firstly, is it credible? And secondly, how has it been achieved? Both questions are particularly valid for El Salvador, which only a decade ago had by far the highest homicide rate in Latin America. The government says 114 murders were reported last year. More evidence. President Nayib Bukele would say that his campaign against organized and violent crime is working. Our online Latin America editor, Vanessa Bushlute told me what we should make of those claims.
Rebecca Morel
I think they have to be taken with a large pinch of salt. If you look at a report which was published this year by the renown news magazine Foreign Policy, they looked at how these figures were collated and they found that from 2021, the Government of Nayibukele left out some of the murders which happened in the country. First, for example, they stopped counting those bodies that were found in mass graves or clandestine graves. Then they stopped counting the people who were killed by the police or military. And finally they also stopped counting those who were killed inside prisons. And the Foreign Policy report estimates that the undercount amounts to 47%.
Nick Miles
Nevertheless, most people would agree there has been some kind of reduction over the last few years, but the way that has been achieved is incredibly controversial.
Rebecca Morel
Tell us why that's right. President Nayib Bukele started declaring a state of emergency some years back, and that allowed him to arrest many people and hold them in pretrial detention without any kind of deadline. So 1.6% of the population are actually now in jail. That's one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. And as a result, the rate of violence in the country has gone down. And his measures are incredibly popular. These measures have got a support rate of 92% in the country. But of course, human rights and constitutional rights are being trampled on. And also the US Justice Department has accused his government of actually negotiating with some of the gang leaders. So talking to the leaders, the top echelons of these gangs, and getting them to kill fewer people or hiding the bodies. So that's something that's happening across Central America, where gangs are no longer leaving the bodies lying in the streets or stringing them up at lampposts, but just hiding them in clandestine graves. And therefore those figures are then massaged.
Nick Miles
Vanessa bushleta now, in December 1984, one of the world's deadliest gas leaks occurred in a chemical factory in Bhopal, India. Several thousand people died immediately and many more in the years to come from the effects of the gas. Here's how it was reported by BBC correspondent Mark Tali at the time. Hospitals in Bhopal have had to set up tents to treat the victims of gas poisoning. Most of them are suffering from respiratory and eye problems. Some patients say they were afflicted with temporary blindness. Most of them come from the slum.
Martin Eickhoff
Areas near the insecticide plant of the multinational union carbide.
Nick Miles
Now, 40 years on, the Indian authorities have at last moved hundreds of tons of hazardous waste from the site. I heard more from our correspondent in Delhi, Arundhoi Mukherjee.
Arundhoy Mukherjee
Nearly a dozen trucks were used to transport the waste in tightly packed containers under very stringent security measures. In fact, one official who was overseeing this entire operation was quoted as saying India had not witnessed the movement of hazardous waste at this scale in the past. So what's happened now is that the waste has been moved over 200km away to a dedicated site where it will now be incinerated. Officials say that this is going to be done between a period of three and nine months and a small batch will be burnt first at high temperatures to first examine the impact on the environment. And based on those results, the pace of the incineration for the remaining waste will be decided because many locals and activists in the area have raised red flags saying that when you incinerate this, it could pollute the water bodies in the area. But the government has denied all of these worries, saying all safety measures will be taken into account while going through this process.
Nick Miles
So for 40 years this waste has been sitting there at the site of this terrible disaster. Only now is something being done about it. Why has it taken so long?
Arundhoy Mukherjee
And that is really the big shocker. In fact, court on the 3rd of December last year, just last month, incidentally, had given a four week deadline finally to authorities for disposal of the toxic waste. In fact, they even pulled up authorities questioning why there has been such a long delay in doing this. In fact, they blamed it on inertia by officials. That was the word used. And also asked whether authorities were simply waiting for another tragedy to happen.
Nick Miles
Arundhoy mentioned there the opposition from some people living near the disposal site. Rashna Dhingra is part of a campaign group seeking justice for the survivors of the Bhopal disaster.
Yolan Nell
It is a big greenwash and a big media frenzy that the government has made this out to be the waste that has been transported to a substandard facility where it will harm more people. So this is absolutely no relief to people of Bhopal. And actually people and survivors of Bhopal are very concerned of a slow motion Bhopal that is going to happen in a place 300 km from here, in a place called Pithampur, where they plan on incinerating this waste and tripling the amount of waste and then burying it in a landfill which is already leaching and possibly will contaminate the only water source of this another big city called indoors.
Nick Miles
That was Rachna Dhingra from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. For the last 80 years, the details of hundreds of thousands of people in the Netherlands accused of collaborating with the Nazis have been tucked away in an archive in the Hague open only to researchers and direct descendants. From today though, anyone will be able to access those files. And as you can imagine, that's making some of the families of those named rather uncomfortable. Three quarters of the Dutch Jewish population, more than 100,000 people, were murdered whilst the country was under Nazi occupation during the Second World War. Martin Eickhoff is the director of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam. He told the BBC's James Menendez More about the archive.
Hugh Schofield
It has more than 300,000 files of individuals who were suspective of collaboration in Dutch society after the German occupation which ended in 1945. And in the end about 20% of them was convicted by a special court. And while the files are part of this central archive, which will now become a public archive due to the Dutch Archive act, and what we also did in the Netherlands was to make this archive digitally available so it would become publicly online. But that was withdrawal a little bit due to privacy concerns.
Tom Bateman
But it is digitized though, so although people can't access it through the Internet, if they go to the archive, they will be able to search it in a digital way, Is that right?
Hugh Schofield
Yeah, exactly. So in the past you could only search on the name of the perpetrators or the suspected perpetrators, and now you can also search on the basis of the names of victims. And that's a huge progress of course for historical research, but also it has societal impact for families.
Tom Bateman
Well, let's talk a little bit about that. Are you worried about the possible consequences of opening this up? I mean, one can imagine that the descendants of people named as collaborators might be nervous.
Hugh Schofield
That's true. Well, there are many stakeholders in the first place, of course, there are our families. And then I speak of the first, second, third and even the fourth generations of families that have a history of collaboration. But there's also families who were persecuted, being Jewish or having been part of the resistance. And I think it's important not to generalize here. There are many organizations in Dutch society who represent these groups and in general they are in favor of making this information available online. But there's also the fear of a kind of renewed public condemnation of the families of collaborators involved. And that is of course something we should take very serious as well.
Martin Eickhoff
And why are some of those groups.
Tom Bateman
In favour of opening this up? I mean, is there a belief that generally it's better to have all this out there and in public?
Hugh Schofield
Again, opinions are different, but I know from talks to these people, I've talked to them, that some expect a kind of closure because new information becomes available. And there's also an expectation that it will lead to renewed discussions on the history of collaboration in Dutch society, which can well be an incentive for a kind of reconciliation on this topic. But you have to be careful because it's a very complex archive. It was a very complex time. Dutch society wanted to restore the rule of law and prevent people from take personal revenge based on collective hatred. And for us, it's very important that we explain to people that you should not take the information at face value, but the context is important. You should do some source criticism. But I expect, and I also see this happening already, that the Second World War and the complexities of living under occupation are discussed again in Dutch society, which is of course a good thing, because every generation has new questions.
Nick Miles
That was Martin Eickhoff. Now, if you're a football fan in Paris, there is really only one team to follow. Paris Saint Germain psg, as it's known. Unlike other big European capitals, there really is no other top flight Parisian team. Now, though, that may be about to change. A little known second division club called Paris FC has just been sold to France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, in an alliance with the drinks company Red Bull. And as Hugh Schofield reports, their sights are set high.
Martin Eickhoff
They make a lot of noise, the Paris FC Ultras. But let's face it, up till now they haven't had that much to chant about. The club's been stuck in Division 2 for years, always nibbling at promotion, never quite making it. Suddenly, though, things are shifting. Big money has come and with it, the prospect of a place at French football's top table.
Nick Miles
Yes, it would be great to have a local derby. Paris FC against Paris Saint Germain against psg. That would be great.
Martin Eickhoff
That's Darren Tulet, presenter on Bean Sports Television, who relishes the idea of at last, a true Paris football rivalry.
Nick Miles
They had to create back in the 90s, a rivalry between PSG and Marseille, and it really was something which was set up by TV companies and the presidents or owners of the clubs at the time. But if you've got a local rival, that's something which is a little bit more real, isn't it? If you just got a neighbor from just down the road wanting to knock you off your perch, I think that's kind of exciting.
Martin Eickhoff
Antoine Arnault, son of the LVMH luxury goods magnate Bernard, is the man in charge of the investment. Teaming up with Red Bull, which has its own expertise in managing football, he's bought a majority stake in the club from its owner, French businessman Pierre Ferrachi. When I met Pierre Ferracci at his headquarters, he told me the plan was to move slowly, nothing too flashy. The main task to get Paris FC up into Division 1 this season, then stay there next to PSG.
Hugh Schofield
Football in Paris is a bit all over the place, which means that if.
Martin Eickhoff
You want a big second club, you've got to focus on the long term.
Hugh Schofield
I've invested a lot to make a club that is gradually contesting the leadership of psg.
Martin Eickhoff
But there's a long way to go.
Hugh Schofield
And now with the Arnault and Red Bull, we have the means.
Martin Eickhoff
Among the fans at Paris fc, there are mixed feelings. They pride themselves here at not being psg. Indeed, many Paris FC fans are ex PSG fans who left when the Qataris started putting in the mega money. Members of the old clan fan club who meet in a bar near their Charlati stadium, see themselves as the original Paris football fans. Unpretentious, authentic, working class. The money is both good and bad, says one. Good that will get the spotlight on us, but bad if it attracts the wrong kind of person. What we don't want is to become a brand like psg, says another. We don't want to be an image to bring in the stars and sell shirts. Stars are fine, but we just want to be a football club. Next stop for Parisie, A new stadium. Their current one is unsuitable. In the immediate term, they get a share with the rugby club Stade Francais. But later, there's the intriguing possibility that they might replace psg, who are looking to move at the historic Parc des Princes, which would then ring to a new set of charts.
Nick Miles
Hugh Schofield reporting from Paris. And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later on. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. Email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on x@globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Sydney Dundon and the producer was Chantal Hartel. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Miles and until next time, Goodbye.
Narrator
Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by. And in 2017, Miranda, a university tutor from London, joins a yoga school that promises profound transformation. It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After the yoga classes, I felt amazing. But soon that calm, welcoming atmosphere leads to something far darker. A journey that leads to allegations of grooming, trafficking and exploitation across international borders. I don't have my passport. I don't have my phone. I don't have my bank cards. I have nothing. The passport being taken, the being in.
Yolan Nell
A house and not feeling like they can leave.
Narrator
World of Secrets is where untold stories are unveiled and hidden realities are exposed. In this new series, we're confronting the dark side of the wellness industry, where the hope of a spiritual breakthrough gives way to disturbing accusations. You just get sucked in so gradually and it's done so skillfully that you don't realize. And it's like this. The secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me, was for some spiritual reason that I couldn't yet understand. Revealing the hidden secrets of a global yoga network. I feel that I have no other choice. The only thing I can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. I want truth and justice and for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future.
Rebecca Morel
To bring it into the light and.
Narrator
Almost alchemize some of that evil stuff.
Rebecca Morel
That went on and take back the power.
Narrator
World of Secrets Season 6 the Bad Guru Listen wherever you get your podcasts. SA.
Global News Podcast Summary BBC World Service | Episode: "First victims in New Orleans attack named" | Release Date: January 2, 2025
1. New Year's Day Attack in New Orleans
The episode opens with a harrowing account of the first victims identified in the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans. Host Nick Miles reports that the attack occurred at 3:00 AM when a truck was deliberately driven into a crowd, resulting in 15 fatalities. The assailant, Shamshud Din Jabbar—a U.S. citizen and army veteran from Texas—was subsequently shot dead by police. Families of the victims have preemptively released their names pending official post-mortem confirmations.
Notable Discussion: BBC correspondent Tom Bateman provides insight into recent developments suggesting that Jabbar may not have acted alone. According to Bateman, "the Louisiana Attorney General last night saying that she was certain that there were likely other individuals, multiple individuals, she said, involved" (02:53). The investigation is focusing on an Airbnb property near the attack site, suspected of being used to manufacture improvised explosive devices.
Impact on the Community: Bateman describes the somber atmosphere in New Orleans, highlighting the city's resilience. "This is a place that is absolutely filled with music... but people are concerned and continuing to come back to the scene to pay tribute" (04:43). The community remains united in mourning while grappling with heightened security measures.
2. Syria's New Education Curriculum Sparks Concerns
The podcast delves into the recent overhaul of Syria's school curriculum under its new Islamist-led administration. Sebastian Ussher, Middle East Regional Editor, reports that the changes have ignited fears among minority groups and civil society activists.
Key Curriculum Changes:
Minority and Civil Society Reactions: Ussher explains, "There is this sense of civil society... they have made decisions without input from the whole of society" (06:39). Activists argue that these changes preempted a planned national dialogue intended to unify diverse communities. Protests are scheduled from Friday until Sunday in response to the unilateral curriculum revisions.
3. Toxic Waste Removal in Bhopal After 40 Years
Reflecting on the infamous 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the podcast updates listeners on the recent removal of hazardous waste from the disaster site—a process that has taken four decades to initiate.
Historical Context: In December 1984, a gas leak at a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal resulted in thousands of deaths and long-term health repercussions for the local population. Decades later, Indian authorities have transported hundreds of tons of toxic waste over 200 kilometers to a designated incineration site.
Current Developments: Arundhoy Mukherjee, correspondent in Delhi, details the meticulous process: "Nearly a dozen trucks were used to transport the waste in tightly packed containers under very stringent security measures" (18:06). Initial incineration will proceed cautiously, with environmental impacts being closely monitored before scaling up operations.
Community Concerns: Rachna Dhingra from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal voices skepticism: "This is absolutely no relief to people of Bhopal... they plan on incinerating this waste and tripling the amount of waste and then burying it in a landfill" (19:44). Local activists fear environmental contamination and mistrust the government's assurances of safety.
4. El Salvador's Record Low Homicide Rate Under Scrutiny
The podcast examines El Salvador's claim of achieving a record low homicide rate of 114 murders in the past year, a significant drop from its notorious status a decade earlier.
Investigative Insights: Vanessa Bushlute, Online Latin America Editor, highlights reports from Foreign Policy magazine, which suggest that the government undercounts murders by approximately 47%. The official statistics exclude killings in mass graves, deaths caused by police or military actions, and deaths in prisons.
Government Actions and Controversies: President Nayib Bukele credits his administration's aggressive stance against gangs for the reduction in violence. However, measures such as indefinite pretrial detentions have led to one of the world's highest incarceration rates (1.6% of the population). Bushlute notes, "President Nayib Bukele started declaring a state of emergency... the rate of violence in the country has gone down" (15:51). Nonetheless, human rights concerns persist, with accusations of negotiating with gang leaders to manipulate murder statistics.
5. Discovery of Massive Dinosaur Footprints in England
Shifting to a lighter yet fascinating topic, the podcast covers the recent discovery of some of the largest dinosaur footprints ever found in the UK, located in Dewar's Farm quarry, Oxfordshire.
Excavation Details: Rebecca Morell, Science Editor, describes the site as "a hive of activity" where scientists uncovered numerous trackways made by sauropods and Megalosaurus. Professor Kirsty Edgar praises the site as "one of the most impressive track sites I've ever seen" (11:43).
Scientific Significance: These footprints, dating back 166 million years to the Jurassic period, offer invaluable insights into dinosaur behavior and environmental conditions. Paleobiologist Professor Richard Butler explains, "You can learn things about how that animal moved, you can learn how fast it was moving" (13:26).
Preservation Efforts: Conservation of the site is underway, with discussions between scientists, quarry operators, and Natural England to ensure the footprints remain preserved for future study.
6. Football in Paris: The Rise of a New Rival to PSG
In a sports-related segment, the podcast explores the evolving football landscape in Paris with the emergence of Paris FC as a potential rival to the dominant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Investment and Ambitions: Paris FC has recently been acquired by Bernard Arnault's LVMH and Red Bull, aiming to propel the second-division club into the top tier. Martin Eickhoff reports, "Their sights are set high" (24:42), detailing comments from club officials about long-term plans to establish Paris FC as a formidable competitor.
Fan Perspectives: Fans express a mix of excitement and apprehension. Darren Tulet envisions a vibrant local derby: "If you want a big second club, you've got to focus on the long term" (25:17). However, some fans worry about maintaining the club's authentic, community-focused identity amidst significant financial backing.
Future Prospects: Plans include building a new stadium and potentially sharing facilities with the rugby club Stade Français. The ultimate goal is to secure a place alongside PSG in French football's elite, fostering genuine rivalry and enhancing the sport's popularity in the capital.
7. Open Access to Nazi Collaboration Archives in the Netherlands
The episode also touches on the recent decision to make 80 years of archives on individuals accused of collaborating with Nazis during WWII publicly accessible in the Netherlands.
Archive Details: Martin Eickhoff, Director of the NIOD Institute, explains, "It has more than 300,000 files of individuals who were suspected of collaboration" (21:21). The transition to public access aims to support historical research and provide transparency, though it raises concerns among descendants of those named.
Societal Implications: Hugh Schofield highlights both the potential for historical reconciliation and the risk of renewed stigmatization of families: "There's the fear of a renewed public condemnation of the families of collaborators involved" (22:31). The initiative seeks to balance academic openness with sensitivity towards affected communities.
8. World of Secrets: The Dark Side of the Wellness Industry
Concluding the episode, the podcast previews the new series "World of Secrets," which investigates sinister activities within the wellness and yoga industries, exposing stories of grooming and exploitation disguised under the guise of spiritual transformation.
Series Introduction: Miranda's narrative illustrates how seemingly benign environments can conceal darker motives: "You just get sucked in so gradually and it's done so skillfully that you don't realize" (29:54). The series aims to shed light on these hidden abuses and advocate for truth and justice.
Conclusion
The episode of the Global News Podcast from BBC World Service provides a comprehensive overview of diverse global issues, ranging from tragic attacks and controversial governmental policies to groundbreaking scientific discoveries and evolving sports dynamics. By incorporating firsthand accounts and expert analyses, the podcast ensures listeners receive a nuanced understanding of each topic.
Production Credits:
For feedback or comments on this episode, listeners are encouraged to email globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk or connect via @globalnewspod.