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Gaza babies dying from the cold as winter temperatures drop
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Six newborns have died in recent days
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Valerie Sanderson
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson at 1400 hours GMT on Tuesday 31st December. These are our main stories. The health authorities in Gaza say six newborn babies have died within two weeks as temperatures drop in refugee camps. Touch with your hand. He's frozen. Frozen. All eight of us. We don't have four blankets. What can I do? I see my children dying in front of me. Also in Gaza, a new report from the UN says Israeli attacks on hospitals raise concerns about war crimes. More details emerge about Sunday's plane crash in South Korea as relatives of victims demand answers. Ukraine says one of its sea drones has shot down a Russian helicopter in what officials claim is a world first. Also in this podcast, I don't want to say very much about that, except to say it was a very difficult time. Angelina Jolly and Brad Pitt appear to have finally resolved their eight year long divorce battle. We start this podcast in the Middle east where six babies in Gaza have died from the cold weather within a two week period, according to local health officials. With hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tents and temperatures expected to drop further in the coming days, the UN children's agency UNICEF has warned that more children's lives are at risk. The BBC has worked with two freelance cameramen in Gaza who met families who've lost loved ones. Our correspondent Emir Nader compiled this report from Jerusalem. Mahmoud Faseeh is walking through the courtyard of a hospital in Gaza's Khan Younis. He's cradling a small bundle with both of his arms. A baby shrouded in white cloth. Little Sila was just 20 days old. When her father couldn't wake her in the morning. I found her stiff like wood. I took her to the hospital and they told me, your daughter has been dead for an hour due to the cold. I have no clothes, no food, no drink. Only God knows our condition. Inside the hospital, Dr. Ahmed Al Farah saw Sila and he's seen more cases over the past week. She suffered from severe hypothermia leading to the cessation of vital signs, cardiac arrest and eventually death. Yesterday as well, two cases were brought in. One was a three day old baby and the other was less than a month old because of course, there's life in the tents. Mahmoud's family have been displaced over 10 times throughout the war, finally arriving here to Mawasi camp where tens of thousands of Gaza's nearly 2 million displaced people live on the beach suffering from the winter and flooding from the rain and the sea with almost no infrastructure and a lack of food amid heavy restrictions by Israel on food and other aid deliveries to Gaza, says the United Nations. Israel denies it restricts aid. I felt heartbroken for her because of the conditions. I did everything I could to keep her warm, but I couldn't manage to do so. Inside their spartan tent, the pain from losing her daughter is written across the face of Sila's mother, Nariman. I never thought I would give birth living in a tent in such cold and freezing conditions with water dripping on us. Water leaks into the tent, pouring down on us. At times we had to run to escape the water for the baby's safe. Without a phone, the family doesn't have a single photo of Sila when she was alive. Only three weeks of memories and little Silas clothes. On Wednesday, Mahmoud carried Sila's lifeless body to a makeshift graveyard under the sound of Israeli drones above the smallest of graves dug out of the soft sand well meanwhile, the United nations has warned that Gaza's health care system is on the brink of total collapse. It published a report this morning on what happened over the period until June. That's before the more recent escalation in the north of Gaza. It says Israel's attacks on hospitals raise serious concerns about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel doesn't allow the BBC independent access into Gaza. Imogen Fuchs told us more about the contents of the report. Well, this is a very detailed report, a good 24 pages long and it looks at not the immediate period, it looks at the period from October 23rd to the end of June of this year and it catalogs a pattern really of attack, besiege, invade, evacuate hospitals in Gaza by Israeli forces. It says that patients have died as a result or even been killed, medical staff taken away, detained, some reports of torture there and basically that the the systematic this report claims destruction of these hospitals has been catastrophic for the population of Gaza. Basically other the basic elements to sustain human life are systematically been taken away and one of these is health care. Imogen Folks, South Korea has begun observing seven days of national mourning following the loss of 179 people killed in the worst ever plane crash in the country. Despite demands for answers from relatives of the 179 people who died when the Jeju airplane skidded off the Runway and exploded after hitting a wall. We still don't know exactly what happen. Now experts from the US Government and from Boeing have joined the investigation. BBC Koreans spoke to Song Joon Hoon, a relative of two of the victims who were aboard the Jeju flight. He was waiting for the plane to arrive at Mueon Airport. I still can't believe it even now. I started the morning in tears. My heart was pounding on the way here. The most frustrating part was that the list of identified victims wasn't being released promptly. The accident happened at 10am, but it wasn't until over six hours later that we were handed handwritten notes that were nearly impossible to read. Families had to take photos with their phones and zoom in just to identify their names. Watching people break down in tears was heartbreaking. As investigations continue, the authorities are reviewing the rules around using concrete barriers as a navigation aid because the plane crashed into one on Sunday. I spoke to our Asia correspondent, Rupert Wingfield Hayes. Well, what we've heard this afternoon here is the CEO of Jeju Air. He's in Seoul, not here at the airport where the crash happened. And this is the second time we have heard from him since the crash on Sunday. He came out briefly on Sunday with a team from his company to make an apology to the families. But this is the first time we've heard him speak more. He really was focusing on the families today. He said Jeju Air would help the families with funeral arrangements. Also that they were arranging a compensation package for families. That's something that they have been calling for here, wanting to know what sort of help they're going to get as so many of them have lost so many family members. So I think that was one objective of his press conference. The other was to reach out to the South Korean people because of course his airline. A lot of questions are being asked about the safety of Jeju Air and he was saying that it has a rigorous training regime, it has a significant maintenance staff, and has all the modern equipment to train its pilots properly. So I think really trying to rehabilitate or save the reputation of his airline, which obviously has been very, very badly damaged by this terrible disaster here. What we didn't hear anything about is the investigation or any speculation as to the reason why this crash happened. That's not really a surprise because it would just be speculation at this moment. The investigation is only just beginning. Do we know if they've managed to recover the black boxes yet which would give us an idea of what happened in the minutes before the crash? Yes, we do. They have been recovered. They have been cleaned up. There is a team now from the United States has arrived here. Seven member team from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Bureau. And also from the manufacturer of Boeing, they have arrived. They are on the ground here and they will be working with South Korea's own investigation team. They've got the black boxes, which is a data recorder and a voice recorder. We understand the data recorder may have been damaged, so it's not clear how much data they'll be able to get off that. But that is absolutely crucial to finding out what happened. And we understand that the airport is going to remain closed for another week. Are the relatives intending to stay there? At the moment, there's no sign of the relatives leaving. We know from speaking to families yesterday that there is a great deal of anger, particularly about the time that it is taking to recover the bodies and return them to their families. That's their main, their number one concern from everybody we've seen here. That has now begun. Four bodies have been handed over today so far. That is just the start. They still have a number of bodies, I think about five bodies they have not identified yet. To be fair to the authorities, it is an extremely difficult task they are facing. The plane when it landed, it was going at perhaps 200 miles an hour when it crashed, bursting into flames and basically disintegrating. So recovering the human remains and identifying them is a very, very difficult task and it is going to take time. But you can understand the tremendous frustration and anger on the parts of the relatives who want this to be done quickly. Rupert Wingfield Hayes. It's been eight years since the Hollywood couple named Brangelina announced they were breaking up. And now Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolly seem to have reached a divorce settlement. The couple had been together for 12 years, but Angelina filed for a dissolution days after a private jet flight on which she claimed her husband had been abusive. Rachel Wright compiled this report. Describe how you first met. It was in Colombia, Bogota, five years ago. Six. Right. Five or six years ago, in fact. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie first met on the set of Mr. And Mrs. Smith, the tale of a couple in a lifeless marriage that find out they are actually assassins that have been hired to kill each other. People magazine coined the term Brangelina in 2005, something which the couple were reported to have disliked. Angelina said it sounded like a breakfast cereal. They preferred Kitty and Miffy, apparently. Anyway, the celebrity couple adopted children from various parts of the world. And after being together for around 10 years, they got married finally. Then in the summer of 2016, there were rumors about the couple falling out over their wine estate in Provence, Chateau Miraval. They took a private jet from France to the U s on which Angelina reported the Mr. Pitt was abusive towards her and the children. He was never charged and has always denied the incident. But Angelina filed for divorce and less than a year later she was asked about the incident by Yalda Hakeem for a BBC interview while she was filming in Cambodia. We know that an incident occurred which led to your separation. We also know you haven't said anything about this, but would you like to say something? Only that I don't want to say very much about that except to say it was a very difficult time and, and we are a family and we will always be a family. Well, technically, according to Angelina Jolie's lawyer, they are not anymore. They say they have agreed a divorce settlement after eight years. The showbiz journalist Gene Wolf in Los Angeles says the length of time has taken a huge toll on the family. It's been a very emotional, very complicated divorce settlement. Eight years is a very long time and a big toll on the people, the children and the couple involved. We do know that these are people who were madly in love, who were devoted to six children and now legally split even though they've been officially single for many years. Maybe this is finally going to end. But Chris Melcher, who is a Hollywood celebrity divorce lawyer, says it might not all be over yet after all. Brad Pitt's lawyer has not yet commented on the settlement. They initially had fights over custody and then it revolved around this Miraval winery that they owned together. After they separated, she sold her half to somebody else without any consent or knowledge by Brad and that left him now trying to run this winery with an involuntary partner. But really the only way to settle this thing is to bring that third party involved. If he isn't part of this deal, there is really no effective agreement. The chemistry the couple found on the set of Mr. And Mrs. Smith was plain for all to see. But now instead of pointing guns at each other, they used lawyers much safer. Rachel Wright. Victims of this winter's floods in Spain have been remembered in church services. More than 200 people were killed in the Valencia region after a year's worth of rain fell in a matter of hours. There's been a huge clear up operation ever since. But many survivors say they've received little help and are facing a bleak year ahead. Our Europe correspondent Nick Peake has been back to Valencia to meet some of them. With this site in the heart of Pay Porta, next to one of the main bridges, kind of sums up what's happening this Christmas and New Year because there is a really large Christmas tree, but it's very sparsely decorated. The lights aren't on. Some of the kids from local schools have written messages on the tree and this one says, don't lose your smile. But the reality is, for a lot of people here, they've got nothing to smile about. They've been devastated, devastated by what's happened. And the prospects for 2025 look pretty bleak. We meet siblings David and Christina in the flood ravaged home of their brother Fidel. He was swept to his death from outside the front door when the water came. He was a good man, always helping out everybody who needed him. So helpful. I would write to him to give me a hand and within a minute he'd turn up at my door to help me. We don't want to celebrate the New Year. It'll be another night like the others. It will be just another day. I don't want to see celebrations. How much help have you had from the authorities? Zero. They promised us aids, both from the local and central government, and we haven't received anything. The authorities, both local and national, have promised millions of euros will be allocated to the reconstruction. But rebuilding feels a long way off. Looking around today, the streets have been cleared of the thick mud that cakes so much of this area. But it's been replaced by this dust that hangs in the air. It gets on your clothes and you can feel it in your throat. They've done a huge amount to clear up, but you still see entrances to buildings that have been wrecked, the glass that was shattered by the force of the water. Some, though, do have hope. Among them Mario, an 18 year old barber who's moved his business outside into the local square. I wish that things go back to normal. Obviously it won't be possible for everybody, as many lives were lost here. I was lucky as nobody in my family died. Everything material can be rebuilt and we'll get our lives back because we aren't really living at the moment. Helping clean her street is Laura, who's Argentinian and only arrived here in Piporta a few months ago. Her two year old son Joaquin, with broom in hand, is enthusiastically playing his part too. I have hope. I have hope because I look the people and they like communities. They work very well all together, like community. I think that it's going to be difficult and long, but I think that it's going to be okay. Nick Beak reporting. Still to come in this podcast, there will be an area here for a care home and then next door there'll be a public garden with a play area. For the children. How and why a surprise pot of cash from a stranger is changing the face of one French town now to a military first, on the last day of the year, as Ukraine says one of its sea drones has shot down a Russian helicopter. The claimed attack off the coast of occupied Crimea has not yet been independently verified, but if confirmed, it would be unprecedented. Meanwhile, strikes are continuing on either side of the border between the two countries as the clock winds down on 2024. Our Europe editor, Danny Eberhard has been monitoring this and gave us his view. Intriguing, if true. So the video that the Ukrainian military intelligence has published, Val, is black and white. It's apparently been shot at night. It's very jerky, which one would expect from a camera mounted on a naval surface drone. And it's also been ed. It appears to show the drone being attacked with the kind of splashes all around it that you'd see from if it was being strafed from above with bullets and appears to fire back with missiles. You can see one or two helicopters in the video and what appears to be an explosion in the sky and then later, big splash in the sea. But obviously it's not clear where the video is taken. The military intelligence of Ukraine says it was taken on a cape on the western side of Crimea, but we haven't been able to confirm that. And it's not clear precisely from the video whether that helicopter was indeed struck with a projectile from the drone. The military intelligence has also released what it says is a radio intercept of a Russian helicopter pilot from the second helicopter. It says in that attack that apparently got back to base but was shot down. And we know from the Russian side that Ukraine launched an attack with maritime drones. The governor of Sevastopol in Crimea said two were shot down. We also know that in May, Russian media reported attacks from a Ukrainian maritime drone, apparently with missiles mounted on it. It was destroyed by Russian helicopter and photos showed the destroyed drone with a destroyed missile on the shore of Crimea. So the technology is interesting. Analysts say it appears to be what they call a Franken sm, like a cobbled together air to air missile taken from a Soviet plane that's been flipped upside down and mounted in pairs on these drones. And meanwhile, other conventional attacks are ongoing in both Russia and Ukraine. Yes, so we've had overnight, there's a town in the north of Ukraine in the Sumy region, a place called Shostka, that said it's been hit by Russian rockets. This town is close to the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia. And that attack apparently destroyed infrastructure, they didn't say what, and damaged 12 residential blocks and educational institutes. And in Russia, an oil depot was hit in a Ukrainian drone attack. Danny Eberhard. Well, let's stay with Russia. And it's now been 25 years since Boris Yeltsin resigned as Kremlin leader, handing power to his prime minister, a man called Vladimir Putin, and instructing him to take care of the country. As 2025 approaches, President Putin is still in power and waging a war on Russia's neighbor Ukraine. The conflict has had devastating consequences for both countries. But after nearly three years of fighting, how do Russians view their country's position? Ahead of the big New Year holiday, Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, went onto the streets of Moscow to find out. On the surface, Moscow right now is all peace and goodwill. You hear banter from the Russian Santa, a chap called Grandfather Frost, and on Red Square, whoops of joy from children on the swinging carousel. Below ground, metro trains have been decorated with snowmen. Then you see them, the soldiers with their backpacks, in trains, at bus stops, in cafes. And suddenly this picture of a winter wonderland is replaced by an ice cold reality that for nearly three years now, Russia has been waging war on Ukraine. I get off the metro at Gorky park and I'm struck by the decorations. Two years ago, as well as the fir tree here, there were giant letter Z's, the symbol of what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine. Patriotic slogans, too. None of that this year, just a tree and lights. I think the authorities sense that nearly three years in Russians. Russians don't want to be constantly reminded of this war. They talk about it, though. When I ask passersby what they're hoping for in 2025, everyone replies, we want the war to end now. This woman tells me it will only end when Russia wins. But not everyone mentions victory. This man says he hopes for a negotiated settlement. Nothing can be solved with weapons, he adds. I want it to end so that we can forget all about it, she says, so that everyone can be friends again and no one else dies. I'm a bag of nerves. She adds that she trusts Russia's commander in chief, Vladimir Putin. This pensioner says he trusts Putin too, but that Russia needs to focus more now on its economy because his pension isn't enough to live on. At the age of 74, he's had to take a job as a courier. He hopes that Putin will raise pensions. I ask him, do you think the Russian people can influence their future? Our people are patient, he replies. They stay silent. Steve Rosenberg reporting. With U.S. president elect Donald Trump's inauguration just three weeks away, U.S. companies are rushing to protect their businesses from new tariffs. The incoming president has promised to impose 25% import duties on goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on anything coming from China. A correspondent, Michel Fleury, visited one company pushing through orders before January 20th to avoid expected increases in costs. So these are some of the bags that we have at the warehouse. Handbag designer Shahril Mehzi takes time out of her day to show me around her company, Minky Blues Warehouse in Philadelphia, and you can unzip the shelf and open it up. She immediately took action after the election, reaching out to a Chinese manufacturing partner. Ms. Mersey said she didn't want to risk delays, especially with the Chinese New Year fast approaching at the end of January. After the election, I'm like, okay, we got to get these bags in before you go on your vacation. By shipping her bags ahead of schedule, Shahril Mersey is working to avoid the tariffs on Chinese imports that Donald Trump has promised to impose on day one of his presidency. Standing here in Sherill's warehouse, it's worth remembering the tariffs in theory are designed to boost U.S. manufacturing by making imported goods more expensive, expensive compared to products made in America. But the big question is, will companies actually move manufacturing back to the U.S. one American firm with no plans to bring manufacturing back to the United States is Steve Madden, the well known shoe brand. But it is speeding up its relocation efforts. Two days after the election, the company said it would cut its Chinese production in half to avoid Trump's tariffs. Have a listen to what CEO Edward Rosenfeld told investors. Our goal over the next year is to reduce that percentage of goods that we source from China by approximately 40 to 45%. The proposed tariffs are already changing how goods are being handled. Warehousing giant prologis is seeing an uptick in interest from businesses looking for space to stock up. In the last few weeks, there has been a pickup. There have been more tours, there's been more proposals, there's been more trading paper on signing leases. Chris Cayton is managing director for global strategy and analytics at prologis. These types of requirements have really been on the margin, but you are seeing some goods come into the United States. Our customers are telling us that they're finding spare places to store goods. I can put my shoes in here, my workout gear. Sherrelle Mosey selling her backpacks on Instagram live. Mozi doesn't believe she can pass the added costs on to her customers. Instead, she's now looking for new suppliers in Cambodia and India. If you're talking about adding tariffs on everything that comes up, people are going to be more concerned about buying their kids clothes and things that they need in their home, not a bag. With the disruption already being felt, the threat of Donald Trump's tariffs are already imposing real world costs on businesses. Michel Fleury Christmas came early for one village in northern France after a wealthy man left a sizable chunk of his fortune to the place in his will, despite having never visited it. The money will transform the lives of the village's some 2,000 residents. But why did he do it? Isabella Jewell has the story. It's the stuff of fantasy. Receiving a surprise donation in the will of a mysterious millionaire. Well, for the small village of Thiberville in Normandy, that dream has become a reality. They've been left a whopping 10 million euros. Why? Simply because the village shared the same name as their benefactor, Roger Thiberville. Not much is known about him, but according to French newspapers, he was a weather engineer and inherited the wealth of his winemaking family. He didn't have any children and apparently lived a discreet life in Paris. But for this village, he's now a local hero. It's a miracle. You've given a small town the means to do things, and we're inferior as it's going to a public body. There will be no inheritance tax to pay on the donation, and the sum is worth five times the village's operating budgets. The mayor, Guy Paris, explained what it means for the community. It means serenity for the years to come. It means avoiding tax hikes, which also means a better quality of life. And many of the villagers have opinions on how the cash should be spent. It can be used for anything from schools to local organizations. Redo the college. I think the mayor has already decided on a couple of projects. There will be an area here for a care home for people losing their independence. And then next door, there'll be a public garden with a play area for the children. Guy Paris added that the municipality will manage the money carefully and use it to pay off some of its debt. To thank their benefactor, the local authority will build a memorial in the cemetery where, according to reports, his ashes will be placed. So, despite never having visited while alive, Roger Thiberville's legacy will live on in this French village. Isabella Jewell for anyone looking to take up a new hobby in 2025, you may be interested to hear that researchers in the US have determined how to perform the perfect hula hoop. The art of spinning a plastic hoop around your waist isn't just for children. Many adults use it for fitness and fun. But despite its popularity, hula hooping ain't easy. Our reporter Anna Aslam breaks down the science. American mathematicians have spent five years studying hula hooping because they say there are fundamental questions about how the hoop stays up. The team at New York University 3D printed a series of plastic shapes, mounted them on gyrating poles and used high speed cameras to record hoops whirling around the robots. They found that hula hooping is easiest for those with an hourglass figure. A narrow waist and large hips help keep the hoop hoop spinning in a stable position for longer. But if you don't have a curvy physique, you can compensate by making larger hip movements at a faster pace. The researchers say hula hooping should be possible for most people and offer plenty of tips. They say the best strategy is to launch the hoop with plenty of vigor. With both the hoop and your body displaced to the same side. It's also easier if you use a hoop with a larger circumference. Its weight doesn't seem to be important. And of course, when mastering the art of hula hooping, it always helps to have good core strength and a willingness to look a little ridiculous. Anna Asler and that's it 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, send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk, you can also find us on X@global newspod. This edition was mixed by Jack Grark. The producer was Stephanie Prentice. The editor, as ever, is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye bye. 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 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 a house and not feeling like they can leave. 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, to bring it into the light and almost alchemize some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power world of Secrets. Season 6 the Bad Guru Listen wherever you get your podcasts SA.