
US tells Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agrees to free all remaining hostages.
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Tristan Redman
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.
Asma Khalid
This is the story of the One. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces.
John Sudworth
Plus 24.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
Nick Miles
This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles and at 5 hours GMT on Saturday 4th October, these are our main stories. President Trump has urged Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza, saying he believes Hamas is ready for a lasting peace. The American rapper Sean Diddy Combs has been sentenced to just over four years in jail following his conviction on prostitution related charges. Also in this podcast, scientists race to make living computers powered by lab grown mini brains.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
We shouldn't be scared of them.
John Sudworth
They're just computers made out of a different substrate of a different material each. It happens to be biological tissue.
Nick Miles
And after another deadly shark attack in Australia, we look at solutions.
Asma Khalid
I personally as a surfer, feel safer with a drone.
Tristan Redman
It's not just someone watching from the.
Asma Khalid
Water'S edge and maybe spotting a fin.
Tristan Redman
It is being able to cover a.
Asma Khalid
Kilometre of beach and 500 meters out to shore.
Nick Miles
There have been many false dawns when it comes to finding a solution to the Gaza conflict to two ceasefires came and went, but now it seems that President Trump feels confident it can be resolved and he praised those who'd assisted in the process.
John Sudworth
I want to thank the countries that helped me put this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and so many others. So many people fought so hard. We were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in one wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle east and we're very close to achieving that. Thank you all and everybody will be treated fairly.
Nick Miles
Well, the President has told Israel that it must stop bombing Gaza immediately. That's after Hamas indicated it could be ready to release all remaining hostages, living and dead, as part of its response to Washington's 20 point proposed peace plan. An official speaking on behalf of Hamas said the group had accepted in principle, but sought to make some changes. So which parts of President Trump's plan is Hamas agreeing to and which part is it seeking to amend? Our correspondent in Jerusalem is John Sudworth.
John Sudworth
On face value, it appears to accept some of the broad principles. An end to the war, a prisoner exchange, it says. And then in another part of this statement, it appears in word at least, to agree to the release of hostages, although it does say that's going to be subject to, to the correct field conditions being met and possibly further negotiations. And it also, in one part of the statement appears to accept the idea, a key part of this peace proposal, that the governance of Gaza would be handed over to a committee of sort of technocratic Palestinians. All of that, of course, will be read by some as Hamas having embraced at least parts of the plan. On the other hand, what has it rejected? Well, nothing explicitly, but there are huge parts of this plan that simply aren't mentioned. The disarmament of Hamas, of course. I mean, that's a key part of the plan absolutely insisted upon by the Israelis. There's no mention of that. And further to that, Nick, right at the end, it mentions that in terms of the future of the Gaza Strip and what it calls the inherent rights of the Palestinian people. It talks about further discussion within a national framework, and it talks about a unified Palestinian movement of which Hamas will be a member and which it will contribute responsibly. But the question is, is this a genuine engagement with the broad principle of the plan as well as some of the key elements, or is this an exercise in buying time?
Nick Miles
John, I'm just reading on the Reuters news agency that a Hamas official saying that we're not going to disarm until, in his words, the Israeli occupation ends, which parts of the things that Hamas are rejecting will be most difficult for Israel to swallow.
John Sudworth
Israel has always said that this war is about the complete defeat of Hamas. The idea that Israel would agree to a peace plan, and in particular this current Israeli government would agree to a peace plan that sees Hamas remaining as an armed force is impossible. And the idea, therefore, that Hamas is linking that prospect to other conditions, I think will at least suggest to skeptics in this Israeli administration that this is an attempt to sort of go back to first principles, long drawn out negotiations, which this peace plan was meant to avoid. I mean, everybody admitted that some of the detail was lacking, but the broad principles were laid out in those 20 points and it was a kind of take it or leave it. And I think on that point in particular, the idea of equivocating over the idea of disarmament will be very likely to be seen by the Israeli government as playing for time and a sign that this is not an acceptance in anything like good faith.
Nick Miles
John Sudworth well, as John was saying, there is likely to be opposition from some in Israel to ending the military campaign in Gaza now. So let's take a closer look at why President Trump is sounding so positive about the peace plan. Our U.S. state Department correspondent is, is Tom Bateman.
Tristan Redman
He has absolutely embraced the statement from Hamas and said that he believes that they are ready for a lasting peace, as he puts it, and then goes on to say, and this is an extraordinary statement given this is the president of the United States talking about his absolutely key ally in the region, Israel, must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly. For the Israelis, they are going to realize the sort of urgency and pressure that Donald Trump is putting on this. He wants his deal done yesterday. The only nod in Donald Trump's statement is the fact that there is still really quite a complex road to go down. He says, we are already in discussions on the details to be worked out. So I think the point is we're still in the situation that neither Israel nor Hamas is prepared to say no to Donald Trump. But to get the whole of his 20 point plan done, there still needs to be mediated negotiations between the two. So that remains critical. But he is, I mean, there is extraordinary momentum now, I think, to this process.
Nick Miles
I think, I mean, it will take an extraordinary amount of pressure from Donald Trump on Israel to accept these things, which for many in the Israeli cabinet are unacceptable.
Tristan Redman
Yeah, absolutely. And I think what we've seen in the Hamas statement, the very final paragraph, which is written in quite sort of esoteric language, is basically about the demand for their disarmament as part of Donald Trump's proposal. And what they are saying there is that that is a matter for the Palestinians and for it to be decided between the Palestinian factions as part of an ongoing. So they are rejecting the parts of Mr. Trump's plan that say they should be demilitarized and disarmed and that they should be exiled or agreed to an amnesty where they agree to no longer pose any kind of military threat. Now, that is not going to be acceptable to the Israelis. They're going to point that out very strongly to the Americans when they start responding to this, both privately and publicly after Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath is over. I'm sort of reminded a bit of what's happened with the process between Russia and Ukraine when it comes to Donald Trump, in that he has repeatedly sort of put these frameworks out there. And what you've seen is the Ukrainians accept, but the Russians sort of play for time and run rings around him. And, you know, it shows you that despite the demands and the urgency, there is still the ability for one or either side to use the process to try to stall and therefore to sabotage if they are not in a position to do so. So, you know, you've got both sides still really unhappy, very, very, unh. With parts of this package. But Donald Trump basically wanting to be able to stand up and say, I've got the hostages out. I've ended the war.
Nick Miles
Have we now potentially reached the moment, finally when Washington may say to Netanyahu, look, make a deal or we're going to reduce or cut off weapons completely?
Tristan Redman
I don't know if Donald Trump will ever get there, but it's clear that he has become increasingly irritated with the Israeli leadership in the last few weeks. And I think he's doing two things here. He has listened very carefully, actually, to the Arab and Muslim countries, particularly in. In that meeting they had at the United nations in New York last week. The proposal that he put out to end the war, they were pretty happy with. They feel, some of them, that it then got rewritten under pressure from the Israelis or key parts of it over the weekend. And so it ended up more favorable to Israel than what they had understood it would be. But he has listened. And that, I think, for Qatar and for other Arab and Muslim countries has been a very, very important moment. They feel that he has been drawn far more towards their position. But the other point, go back to what happens next, because in terms of leverage and pressure to get Netanyahu to sign up to it, no other American president has managed to do that so far. Now, I think Mr. Trump feels he's got enough credit in the bank in terms of what he's done for Netanyahu to be able to just pull him along. But in the end, if a deal costs Netanyahu his coalition and his job, because the far right reject it and bring down the government, that becomes a very, very strong motivation for him not to do and to find ways out of it. So Donald Trump's sort of going to have to push against that if that becomes the block in this process.
Nick Miles
Tom Bateman in Washington. The American rapper Sean Diddy Combs has been sentenced to just over four years in prison for his conviction on charges related to prostitution. He flew people across the US for drug fueled orgies he called freak offs. At a court in New York, the federal district judge said a substantial sentence must be given to send a message that abuse against women was met with real accountability. Gloria Allred is a lawyer for some of the alleged victims of Sean Combs. She had this to say outside the court.
Asma Khalid
Mr. Combs will be in prison for a while. The judge basically had a lot of good things to say about Mr. Combs and his contribution to the community over many years and to racial justice. But on the other hand, he has to pay the price for what he did.
Nick Miles
Claire Richardson has been speaking to Anushka Mutanda Doherty, host of the Fame Under Fire podcast, which takes a look at celebrity legal battles.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
Diddy, if we remember, was charged with sex trafficking, transportation for prostitution and racketeering with conspiracy, the big ones there being RICO and sex trafficking. He was acquitted of those two, but he was convicted on two counts of transportation for prostitution. Now we've been building up to sentencing for a while. We wanted to see how long he was actually going to get behind bars. The defense were asking for 14 months. That's pretty much time served. And the prosecution 11 years. The judge made the decision for 50 months. That's just over four years. Taking off the time he's already served inside the mdc, the Metropolitan Detention Center. He'll be in there for just over three years and then a five year probation period.
Suranjana Tiwari
So how will victims and their families feel about this?
Asma Khalid
It's quite short of the 11 years.
Suranjana Tiwari
That prosecutors wanted to see him put away for.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
You know what the reaction has been from the lawyers of victims that they felt that Judge Arun Subramaniam had a very victim centric response to what the defense presented, that he very much came down on the side of saying you have done irreparable harm to two women, Jane and Cassie, Jane using a pseudonym there, and that we do not feel that you have shown enough remorse to warrant you being released from jail right now. He thinks that he still needs to serve more time and be more repentant. And I think what we're seeing reflected from Cassie's attorney, what we're seeing reflected from some of the other attorneys who have other people in civil litigation against Diddy is that they feel that the judge definitely took into consideration what they got up and testified to on the stand.
Asma Khalid
And what about from Diddy himself? What have we heard from him in this sentencing?
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
You know, Diddy spoke, he made the decision to speak. He did make a point of saying, you know, it's been hard to stay quiet this entire time. I will point out that he could have taken the stand during the trial. So he chose not to do that and speak. At this point, he really begged for mercy from the judge to return him to his family. I mean, he did have all of his six adult children there. And he was speaking about the fact that, you know, some of them have lost their mother, Kim Porter passed away, and for them, and then their father has been incarcerated. That being him, he wants to return look after his family. He's a change man. His experience inside the MDC has made him, you know, grow in ways he never has before. When the sentence was revealed, he was sighing, tipping his head back, looking at his family. I mean, we didn't get a massive reaction like we did at the verdict, but he was looking towards his children, some of whom were crying, but who were generally quite quiet and calm. But other members of his, like more distant family and friends and supporters in the overflow room were in tears and visibly upset.
Nick Miles
Anoushka Mutada Doherty, a firm in Switzerland, is trying to create a computer powered by clusters of lab grown brain cells, which it says could one day be a replacement for silicon. Final Spark says its synthetic brain organoids can now survive for four months before they die. And they respond to very basic keyboard commands with a burst of energy. Here's our technology editor, Zoe Kleiman.
Asma Khalid
Biocomputing is a fascinating and weird branch of science which involves trying to make machines out of living cells. The idea is that they'd be more environmentally friendly and use a lot less power than traditional hardware. FinalSpark is replicating human cells from an anonymous donor bought via a clinic, which it then cultures into neurons, brain cells that cluster into groups called organoids, essentially lab grown mini brains. They're nowhere near as complex as human brains, but when these organoids are attached to an electrode, they can respond in a very basic way to some commands. Fred Jordan is the co founder of Final Spark.
John Sudworth
I mean, in science fiction, people have.
Asma Khalid
Been living with these ideas, okay, for quite a long time.
John Sudworth
And when you start to say, I'm going to use a neuron like a little machine and I can a transistor, it's a different view on our own brain.
Asma Khalid
A rival firm, Cortical Labs in Australia has so far succeeded in training its cell clusters to play the early video game Pong.
Nick Miles
Zoe Kleiman still to come in this edition of the Global News podcast, I'm.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
Going to kick the habit.
Asma Khalid
This is the end of all my thoughts. All sham Charlie Brown a failure face if I ever saw one.
Nick Miles
Peanuts, the comic strip featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy the dog turns 75.
John Sudworth
This is the story of the one as a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger, because when a drive belt gets damaged, Granger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs, and next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
This is the story of the One as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces.
John Sudworth
Plus 24.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
Asma Khalid
This is the story of the One As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. America is changing, and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.
Tristan Redman
Tristan Redman in London, and this is the Global Story.
Asma Khalid
Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.
Tristan Redman
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Nick Miles
Next, imagine paying $10,000 for a cruise, but never setting sail. More than 100 people who booked cabins on a cruise being advertised on Facebook and Instagram say they were scammed after it emerged. The company didn't even have a ship VCL has refunded some customers but refused refunds to dozens of others. The company has threatened those who complain online with legal action. Our business correspond. Suranjana Tiwari has been investigating.
Suranjana Tiwari
It's thought this company, which is called Victoria Cruises line or VCL, may have taken almost $1 million in deposits, possibly more, and they were advertising a fully fledged cruise, but they don't seem to have a lease or a charter for a ship. Now, this cruise was a retirement cruise where passengers would live on the ship for a minimum of three years and they'd have the choice and to extend. And what happened was the departure date just kept on getting postponed. Some people sold their homes, they stored their belongings. One even put down an elderly pet. And they thought they were going to live out their retirement on a cruise. And it's really turned into something of a nightmare now. I traveled to Perth in Australia to meet one couple, Dennis and Tirinia Wan. They told me about their experience.
Asma Khalid
Victoria, who is the owner of the company, her son claimed that we've never said we had a ship. We've never promised we had a ship. And yet when you go to their website, you're able to book the exact cabin that you want.
Tristan Redman
So stay well away from them and.
Asma Khalid
Hopefully Facebook will shut them down.
Suranjana Tiwari
I've been looking into VCL for some time now and what I found was a tangled web of registrations and business uses for the company. There's little evidence that I saw that it was ever registered or had the documentation in order to operate a cruise. Now, this website of VCL is very sophisticated. It's still operational, it's still advertising the cruise at discount, although I did reverse image search a lot of the pictures on there and they are stock shots which are widely available on the Internet. Meta told me that it hasn't taken the ads down because it did not find any evidence that the page violates its policy. I asked VCL its response to accusations that it's running a scam and VCL denied it, saying there are no victims because they had stipulated that they needed to reach a roughly 80% occupancy to be able to charter a ship. VCL says it hasn't yet reached this target and that's why it hasn't chartered a vessel yet.
Nick Miles
Suranjana Tiwari. Australia is the deadliest country in the world when it comes to fatal shark attacks. There aren't all the that many of them, but when they come, they make the headlines. With the summer approaching there, the beaches are filling up and after a recent Attack in Sydney that killed a surfer. Sharks are on the minds of many people. It's also reignited the debate in New South Wales over how to keep people safe, as our correspondent Katie Watson has been finding out.
Asma Khalid
It's a stunning afternoon here in dy. A popular surfer is beach in the north of Sydney. There are a couple of surfers out on the water, lots of families who've come down here with young children to enjoy the beach after school. The buzz of drones on the beach is reassuring to people here. There's a growing number of drone operators employed by the New South Wales government to monitor the coastline during school holidays when the beaches are padding. I personally as a surfer feel safer with a drone fly over than with, you know, no drone. Just because Isaac Hales is one of them.
Tristan Redman
The eyes in the sky.
Asma Khalid
It's not just someone watching from the.
Tristan Redman
Water'S edge and maybe spotting a fin.
Asma Khalid
It is being able to cover a kilometre of beach and 500 meters out to shore. We wanted to see though what other measures are being used in New South Wales to ward off sharks. So we got on a boat and traveled to down Sydney's coastline. We've traveled about an hour and arrived off the coast of Bondi beach, probably Sydney's most iconic beach. And there are some surfers on the water. But what I hadn't noticed before was the infrastructure around shark protection. So for example, just beside me are four small white boys that marks out where the shark net is in the bay. Bondi is one of 51 beaches that has a shark net. Often dolphins, turtles and other fish can get trapped in these nets too and end up dead. But that's not the only criticism of the shark nets. There's a net here, but it's not a fail safe barrier that doesn't let sharks in at all. In fact, the net sits a few meters below the surface and it doesn't reach the bottom either. And it's about 150 meters long. But compare that to the size of the bay, that means sharks can swim over, under and around it. The state government had planned to remove some nets as there's public support to get rid of them. But that's been halted since the recent attack. All along the coast of populated areas of New South Wales there are also what's known as smart drum lines, a set of buoys that have bait attached to them. When a shark bites align, it triggers an alert. Authorities come and tag the shark within 30 minutes and then it gets released. These tag sharks can then be tracked on an app available to the public on their phones or smart watches. We're back on dry land and right in the distance you can see the shark monitoring equipment. It's really, really far in the distance. Very hard for people to think about it, really. I've been asking people how they feel about getting in the water.
Nick Miles
You're definitely going to feel more safer with a net.
Asma Khalid
Absolutely, yeah.
Nick Miles
Like just having that conscience that they.
John Sudworth
Have a net up that they can't come in as far as here, then.
Asma Khalid
Yeah, if you ask all my friends, they'd know that I'm a right chicken going into the sea. Animals and seaweed are like my two phobias. More of us are venturing into the sea. Millions of of people enjoy Australia's beaches every year, and still the odds of being bitten by a shark are minute. But risks of political fallout after an attack are much bigger. Chris Pepin Neff is associate professor of public policy at the University of Sydney. If politicians in Australia could put a.
Jeannie Schulz
Shark net around it, they would.
Asma Khalid
Shark nets are a political tool.
Jeannie Schulz
They've been here for 88 years.
Asma Khalid
It is time for more modern technology and that's happening. But seasoned surfers are clear. If you choose to go into the ocean, you choose to be in the shark's world. Reducing the risk to zero is impossible.
Nick Miles
Katie Watson reporting. This week, the comic strip Peanuts is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Drawn by the American cartoonist Charles Schulz, it tells the story of a young boy, Charlie Brown. Brown, his friends and his dog Snoopy. It began on October 2, 1950, and today marks the anniversary of Snoopy's first appearance. Jonathan Fenton Fisher has been speaking to the widow of Charles Schultz, genie Schultz, about 75 years of a pop culture phenomenon.
Jeannie Schulz
When Charles Schultz sat down to draw his first Peanuts comic strip, he could have no idea of what was to come. In the beginning, it ran in just seven newspapers. But by the end of his life in the year 2000, there was barely a person on the planet who hadn't heard of Snoopy the Beagle and his owner, Charlie Brown. Thousands of papers ran the comics. Millions of people read them. Not just on this planet, but beyond Charlie Brown.
Asma Khalid
Houston, we're reading.
Jeannie Schulz
That'S Apollo 10, the NASA mission that circled the moon in 1969. Its lunar module was named Snoopy, the command module, Charlie Brown. That's how big Peanuts had become. Schultz was known as Sparky to his friends and family. And 75 years after he drew that first four panel daily comic strip, his wife Jeannie is looking back, it is amazing.
Asma Khalid
I mean, 1975. It seems to me we just had the 25th and then the 50th. And I think back to what Sparky said, that art will be defined a hundred years from now. So I keep thinking, well, we are kind of creeping up on that hundred years. What is it when you have that blanket?
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
I need my blanket. I admit it.
Jeannie Schulz
The Peanuts TV specials began in the 1960s and also drew millions of viewers with their jazz soundtracks. They reflected Schulz's world, a world of children with children's problems and worries. In this case, the need to cling on to a blue, scruffy comfort blanket. But it was also a world that adults could relate to. Say, taking your problems to a psychiatrist.
Asma Khalid
May I help you? I'm in sad shape.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
Wait a minute. Before you begin, I must ask that.
Asma Khalid
You pay in advance. Five cents, please.
Jeannie Schulz
For someone whose work became Charles, Schulz remained a shy, modest man throughout his life, not even convinced by his own artistic skills. As he told the BBC in 1977.
John Sudworth
Unfortunately, I'm not highly educated. I'm merely a high school graduate.
Asma Khalid
I studied art in a correspondence course.
John Sudworth
Because I was afraid to go to art school. I couldn't see myself sitting in a.
Asma Khalid
Room where everyone else in the room.
John Sudworth
Could draw much better than I. And this way, I was protected by drawing at home and simply mailing my drawings in and having them criticized.
Asma Khalid
He used to say, I'm not an artist. I'm a cartoonist. I think if you look at the drawing and the expressions and the drawings, it is art. It tells a story.
Jeannie Schulz
Speaking to me from his studio and museum in California, Jeanne told me more about her husband and how 75 years after it was first published, Peanut still.
Asma Khalid
Remains relevant these days of social media. The comic strip, which takes four seconds to read, is perfect for social media, for people's attention span these days. And that is how Snoopy and Peanuts are living in this world.
Jeannie Schulz
Happily, in the world of Peanuts, some things never change. Remember that psychiatrist? That's Lucy, who frequently promises to make Charlie Brown's dream come true, to kick an American football for a scoring win.
Asma Khalid
Why, oh, why do I let her do this to me? Why?
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
Why?
Jeannie Schulz
She holds the ball and time and time again pulls it away at the last moment.
Asma Khalid
This time, I'm really gonna kick it. I'm gonna kick the habit. This is the end of all my faults.
Anushka Mutanda Doherty
Ugh.
Asma Khalid
All sham Charlie Brown, a failure face if I ever saw one.
Jeannie Schulz
After 75 years of trying, Charlie Brown still hasn't succeeded, but Peanuts certainly has.
Nick Miles
Jonathan Fenter Fisher with that report on 75 years of peanuts. And that's all from us for now. But there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want a comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspot. This edition was mixed by Zabihullah Kourouche and the editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Miles. And until next time, goodbye.
Asma Khalid
America is changing and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm.
Tristan Redman
Tristan Redman in London.
John Sudworth
And this is the Global story.
Asma Khalid
Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet.
Tristan Redman
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Date: October 4, 2025
Host: Nick Miles (BBC World Service)
Main Theme:
This episode centers on the breaking development that Hamas has agreed, at least in part, to a US-brokered peace plan for Gaza. The episode also covers a range of international headlines, including the conviction and sentencing of Sean "Diddy" Combs, advances in biocomputing, a cruise scam, shark safety in Australia, and the 75th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip.
President Donald Trump has called for an immediate halt to Israeli bombing in Gaza, asserting that Hamas is now ready for a "lasting peace." Hamas has signaled acceptance of parts of the US's proposed 20-point peace plan, with modifications. This potential breakthrough is discussed with correspondents from Jerusalem and Washington, scrutinizing both the opportunities and the obstacles that remain.
President Trump’s Announcement
President Trump urges Israel to stop bombings, claims Hamas is prepared for a peaceful resolution, and acknowledges the help of regional actors:
"I want to thank the countries that helped me put this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and so many others... Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East and we're very close to achieving that."
— President Trump (Statement quoted by John Sudworth, 02:32)
Hamas's Public Position
Israeli Red Lines
Negotiation Dynamics
“No other American president has managed to do that so far. Now, I think Mr. Trump feels he's got enough credit… But in the end, if a deal costs Netanyahu his coalition and his job... that becomes a very, very strong motivation for him not to do [the deal].”
— Tom Bateman (09:22)
On Hamas’s Statement:
“Is this a genuine engagement with the broad principle of the plan as well as some of the key elements, or is this an exercise in buying time?”
— John Sudworth (04:26)
On Israel’s Position:
“Israel has always said that this war is about the complete defeat of Hamas... The idea that Israel would agree to a peace plan... that sees Hamas remaining as an armed force is impossible.”
— John Sudworth (05:21)
On US Pressure:
“He has absolutely embraced the statement from Hamas and said that he believes that they are ready for a lasting peace... For the Israelis, they are going to realize the sort of urgency and pressure that Donald Trump is putting on this.”
— Tom Bateman (06:35)
Headline: Combs sentenced to 4+ years for transportation for prostitution, acquitted on sex trafficking and racketeering (10:48).
Quote:
“The judge basically had a lot of good things to say about Mr. Combs and his contribution... But on the other hand, he has to pay the price for what he did.”
— Gloria Allred, lawyer for accusers (11:24)
Discussion covers:
Timestamps:
FinalSpark's Lab-Grown Brain Computers
Memorable quote:
“They’re just computers made out of a different substrate… It happens to be biological tissue.”
— John Sudworth (01:48, referencing AI and lab-grown brains)
Timestamps:
Cruise scam via Facebook/Instagram: Victims describe selling homes and upending their lives, only to discover there was no ship (19:19).
Investigative segment details the shifting justification from the cruise company, VCL.
Quote:
“Stay well away from them and hopefully Facebook will shut them down.”
— Victim quoted by Suranjana Tiwari (20:28)
Timestamps:
Beach and Surfing Safety Advances
Quote:
"If politicians in Australia could put a shark net around it, they would... Shark nets are a political tool. They've been here for 88 years. It is time for more modern technology and that's happening."
— Chris Pepin Neff, University of Sydney (25:28)
Timestamps:
Cultural Segment:
Notable Quotes:
“It is amazing... I think back to what Sparky said, that art will be defined a hundred years from now.”
— Jeannie Schulz (27:17)
“He used to say, I'm not an artist. I'm a cartoonist. I think if you look at the drawing and the expressions and the drawings, it is art. It tells a story.”
— Asma Khalid (28:50)
Memorable Lucy/Charlie Brown dialog:
“This time, I'm really gonna kick it. I'm gonna kick the habit. This is the end of all my faults.”
— Charlie Brown (29:52)
Timestamps:
This episode investigates significant breaking news: Hamas has symbolically endorsed key principles of a US peace plan, with major conditions remaining—particularly concerning the group's disarmament. Correspondents analyze the interplay of international, U.S., and Middle Eastern politics.
Other stories—ranging from celebrity legal accountability, the frontiers of synthetic biology, consumer scams, neighborhood responses to animal dangers, and comic strip milestones—round out a broadcast that mixes urgent developments with cultural context and expert insight.
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