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Global News Podcast
Israel says Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida killed in Gaza
00:27:33
Israel says it has killed a senior Hamas official in a strike on a building in Gaza City
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- [00:00]
BBC Announcer
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. At the BBC we go further so you see Clearer. With a subscription to BBC.com, you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7 from less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted Internet, independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more@BBC.com unlimited.
- [00:38]
Janat Jalil
This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janat Jalil and in the early hours of Monday 1st September, these are our main stories. Israel says it's killed one of the most prominent figures in Hamas's military wing. Its spokesman Abu Ubaidah. A judge in the United States has blocked plans by the Trump administration to deport hundreds of Guatemalan children who entered the US alone. The leaders of China and India say they are now partners, not rivals, after years of tension, including a long running border dispute.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
Also in this podcast, Russ Archaeologist yes, it's quite exciting. So the fact that the lake recedes and brings again to light all these sites is fantastic.
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Janat Jalil
A drought in Iraq has exposed ancient tombs dating back more than 2,000 years. Israel says it's killed a key Hamas figure, Abu Ubaidah, the spokesman for its military wing, in a strike on a block of flats in Gaza City. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israeli Defense Forces and Israel's security agency Shin Bet for what he called the four flawless execution of the killing. Hamas has not confirmed the death. At least 30 people were reported to have been killed by Israeli strikes on Sunday, a dozen of whom were trying to get aid. At the same time, as people continue to also die of malnutrition, a flotilla carrying hundreds of pro Palestinian activists has left Spain and is heading towards Gaza after Israel blocked two earlier attempts to deliver aid by ship. The Spanish Palestinian activist Saif Abu Keshek spoke to reporters before the flotilla set sail.
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BBC Announcer
The starvation that we are seeing in Gaza is intentional. It's man made. We talk about the humanitarian aspect. This is a nonviolent mission that is aiming to open a corridor of humanitarian.
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Janat Jalil
Aid, but for a political reason that.
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BBC Announcer
Is happening in Palestine. What is happening there is not a natural disaster.
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Janat Jalil
I got more on the flotilla with our correspondent in Jerusalem, Emir Nada, but first I asked him to tell us more about Abu Ubaidah and what his killing, if confirmed, means for Hamas.
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BBC Announcer
He was the military spokesperson for Hamas for many years, around nearly two decades and he was always wrapped in a Palestinian scarf as a mask, and really became known throughout the Middle east as a prominent voice of Hamas. He became an idol to Hamas supporters throughout the Middle east, regularly giving these very long, eloquent, indeed, diatribes against Israel. And throughout the war, he'd become one of the last well known figures that had survived. So if indeed he is dead, then it is a big symbolic blow to Hamas.
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Janat Jalil
And his is not the only death in Gaza in the past 24 hours. Just tell us what the latest is there.
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BBC Announcer
Well, we've seen this ongoing beginning of Israel's invasion of Gaza City, around a million people there. And now we've seen lots of heavy attacks in the northern areas with over 60,000 people being reported by the UN to have been displaced daily. We're seeing people from those outer neighborhoods where the military is attacking moving inwards and also turning up in hospitals. There's been airstrikes, artillery, and indeed this new phenomenon that we're seeing more and more explosive robots, as they're being called, which are essentially armed personnel vehicles that are going in to destroy particular buildings. So we're seeing those outer neighborhoods really becoming flattened in these early stages of Israel's push into Gaza City. And indeed, this strike that killed the spokesperson, Abu Obeidah was a very heavy strike. We've heard from eyewitnesses there. There was numerous airstrikes on this one particular apartment block. And indeed seven people died, 20 others injured, children among the casualties. And we've seen some of the aftermath videos, very distressing, children covered in dust and very bloody. So it does look like Israel's escalating its campaign on Gaza City. And in this week we also see the call up of tens of thousands of Israeli troops ahead of this planned invasion.
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Janat Jalil
And yet again, a humanitarian flotilla is trying to reach Gaza. It set sail from Barcelona in Spain, as we are hearing more deaths being reported in the territory from malnutrition.
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BBC Announcer
That's right. We've had daily reports of deaths from malnutrition continuing. Naturally. What's really alarming people is because Gaza City, where famine was declared just last week, this is obviously the focus of this huge military campaign now by Israel. And they've also announced that they will cease what they call their tactical pauses in airstrikes, which they introduced under very heavy international pressure to allow more aid to get into Gaza. So they said during daylight hours we'll limit our attacks so there could be more movement of aid. They've now said for Gaza City, they will no longer observe that. And indeed there is reporting in Israeli military that they intend to limit the amount of aid getting into Gaza City. So there is real fear that the famine situation will deteriorate as the military campaign by Israel unfolds.
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Janat Jalil
Emir Nada in Jerusalem A judge in the United States has ordered an emergency halt to plans to deport hundreds of Guatemalan children, some reportedly within hours. The temporary order, issued at a hastily scheduled hearing on Sunday, followed an emergency request from immigrant rights groups who call the Trump administration's plans illegal. More details from Elektra Naismith. The migrants range in age from 10 to 17 and cross the border into the US alone. They're currently in the custody of the Health Department's Refugee Resettlement Office, which is supposed to house them until they're 18 or can be placed with a suitable sponsor. Immigration advocacy groups say plans were instead underway to repatriate them, some in a matter of hours. Lawyers say they were given no chance to contest the deportations. The Trump administration has reportedly agreed a pilot pilot program with Guatemala to allow for the removals. Lawyers say it's simply an effort to skirt round protections established by Congress. Electra Naismith China and India have been at loggerheads for years, partly because of a history of deadly clashes along their Himalayan border. But Donald Trump's trade war has led to a thaw in relations between the world's two most populous nations. Beijing and Delhi have reassured each other that they are partners, not rivals, as they try to repair ties. Their leaders, leaders Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi were speaking at a regional summit hosted by China in the port city of Tianjin. Here's our China correspondent, Laura Bicker. President Xi said that China and India should be partners, not rivals. Mr. Modi added that there was now an atmosphere of peace and stability between them. They met on the sidelines of an annual summit organized by Beijing, which is being attended by more than 20 other world leaders, including Russia's President Putin. This year, the event is overshadowed by trade wars with the United States. President Trump imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods last week, which appears to be pushing Mr. Modi closer to China, something that President Xi welcomes.
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BBC Announcer
As the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century.
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Janat Jalil
With intertwined turbulence in the international landscape. China and India, two ancient Eastern civilizations.
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BBC Announcer
And key members of the global south, bear an important responsibility to benefit their.
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Janat Jalil
Peoples, promote unity and revitalization among developing countries, and advance human progress. President Putin arrived to a red carpet welcome and according to Kremlin aids, he's been disclosing the details of his meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska during talks with the Chinese leader. He will also meet Mr. Modi. For President Xi, playing the host and presiding over this gathering will help further.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
His image as the leader of a new world order.
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Janat Jalil
Noor Bicker Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has declared sweeping measures to address violent nationwide protests that have rocked the country in recent days and left at least four people dead. Protesters were angered at extra allowances being dished out to parliamentaries. Palosa Yashinya Yoshiweda is a student president of the IASI University in Jakarta.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
While citizens are struggling with rising costs of living and economic hardship, members of Parliament or the politician appear to live comfortably enjoying high loans and privileges. Actually, this has created a deep sense of injustice.
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Janat Jalil
President Prabowo now says some of those state funded perks for politicians will be reversed. He's also ordered security forces to take action against those who acted illegally to the police and the Indonesian National Armed Forces. I order them to take the strictest actions against those who have committed acts of damage to public facilities, looting of individual homes or public places or economic centers. Our correspondent in Jakarta, Astudestra Ajengrastri told us more about what he said.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
So Prabowo basically when he announced the discussions with the cabinet members and also the head of the political parties, he was accompanied by these politicians and also former President Meghawati Sukarnaputri, showing that all of these politicians backed him up on this decision. So what he said was first he apologized again for what happened, the victims that has died in this chain of protest. He said that the police have initiated now a criminal investigation to the seven police officers who is inside the tactical vehicle when he'd run over afan Kurniawan, a 21 year old motorbike taxi driver who's in the protest. And then he said the second one is he revoke the membership of the parliament members who may have been made incorrect statements. That's what he said. So previously before the protest happened, some of the parliament members were saying statements that is insensitive to the protesters. So they are now revoked the membership of the Parliament. He also said that the parliament will now revise the allowance. And now he said they would put a moratorium on overseas working visit. Not only that, but he also addresses the protesters because the last two days the protests in Indonesia ended with chaos and the protesters torched some parliament buildings both in Jakarta and other cities. He said that to the police and the army to take strong measures to the protesters who are caught up destroying public facilities and creating unrest.
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Janat Jalil
Astutestra Ajengrastri In Indonesia, the drought gripping Iraq has cracked the earth, withered its crops and dried up its rivers. But in the parched north, it has also peeled back layers of history. Archaeologists have discovered 40 ancient tombs after water levels in the country's largest reservoir fell to their lowest this year. Here's our Middle east regional editor, Mike Thompson.
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BBC Announcer
Around five years of consecutive droughts have blighted Iraq's agricultural land and caused numerous power cuts during the sweltering summer months. But now they've actually been a help to archaeologists. A team working in the northern Dahuk province had spotted parts of the tombs two years ago, but couldn't access the site because much of it was underwater. Now, in one of the driest years since 1933, with water reserves down to just 8% of capacity, the burial site is both fully exposed and accessible.
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Janat Jalil
Mike Thompson. Well, Krupa Padi spoke to Paola Sconzo, associate professor of archaeology of Western Asia at the University of Palermo in Italy, who monitors sites across the Mosul Reservoir and was part of that team which discovered the ancient tombs.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
For us archaeologists, yes, it's quite exciting. I mean, not just the discovery of the cemetery, but I mean the discoveries, the fact that so many archaeological sites, features and also villages which we thought that disappeared for good in 1988 when the Mosul Dam was buil, are actually reappearing, sometimes cyclically, sometimes also periodically because of the changing level of the lake.
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Janat Jalil
Yes, you talked about the water levels.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
Rising again and the risks that come with that.
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Janat Jalil
Just explain to us both the opportunities and challenges which are created when drought.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
Opens up windows like this for archaeologists. Actually, for the people of Iraq and for people of the Kurdistan region, these droughts which bring the lake to recede are very difficult because, I mean, they are living of the water of the lake. But of course, for us, for archaeologists, it's incredible because Tigris and Euphrates is where the area of the Fertile Crescent is, an area which was fully and legally populated, populated from the Neolithic to, I mean, present time. And the construction of dams, which is not just the Mosul Dam, but also the dams on in Turkey, the Liso Dam, and also the dams which were constructed in Syria, have inundated and destroyed thousands and thousands of archaeological sites, features, and also modern villages. So the fact that sometimes the lake recedes and brings again to all these sites is fantastic as very challenging and important for us.
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Janat Jalil
Archaeologist Paola Sconzo. Still to come, are these seagulls or humans mimicking the birds in the latest seagull screeching competition. We'll tell you shortly.
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BBC Announcer
At the BBC we go further so you see clearer With a subscription to BBC.com you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7 from less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more at BBC.com unlimited.
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Janat Jalil
As Europe faces the threat of increasing Russian aggression, Norway has agreed a $13 billion deal for anti submarine warships that will be built in the UK and will see the two countries carrying out joint patrols. In its largest ever military procurement, Norway will buy at least five Brit frigates that will primarily be built in Scotland by BAE Systems. Under the agreement, the UK and Norway will operate a combined fleet of eight British anti submarine frigates and five Norwegian ones. The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the deal, which will be a major boost for the British defence industry. Our World News correspondent Joe Inwood reports.
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BBC Announcer
It's not only the UK that views Russian submarines in the North Sea as a major strategic threat. Norway's purchase of five British built frigates specifically designed to detect, track and if necessary, defeat hostile submarines is a mark of not only how seriously both countries take the issue, but also of the closeness of their alliance. Luke Pollard is the Armed Forces Minister and welcomed the deal. This is the biggest British warship deal in history. It's a huge vote of confidence in British workers and the British defence defence industry, securing 4,000 jobs for the next 15 years and beyond. Once they're all on the water Sometime in the2030s, the combined fleet will have 13 frigates, eight British and five Norwegian. In winning the contract to build the ships, the UK beat rival bids from Germany, France and the United States. Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gar Sture said there were two reasons for the choice. We have asked two fundamental who is the best strategic partner for Norway when purchasing new frigates and can the country.
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Janat Jalil
That is the best partner for us deliver a competitive frigate? The answer to the first question is the United Kingdom and the answer to the second is yes. Overall, this is the best frigate for.
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BBC Announcer
Norway, geir Starmer said. It was an historic moment for European security, one that showed the extent to which Russia's invasion of Ukraine had led to the rearming of the continent.
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Janat Jalil
Jo Inward the Trump administration has repeatedly accused the largely public funded broadcaster Voice of America of being radical and a waste of taxpayers money. Now it's moving to fire most of its remaining journalists. More than 500 employees have been told they'll lose their jobs. The decision is being challenged in the courts. Patsy Wida Kuswara has until now been the Voice of America's White House bureau chief and told us that she believes, believes it's part of an erosion of press freedom in the United States.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
I think it's quite clear that press freedom in the United States is under attack, not just what's happening with us with Voice of America, but also our colleagues, you know, public broadcasters such as public radio, NPR and then pbs, as well as private stations. They're also under attack from the White House. And if you just look at any White House briefing, you see a lot of very right wing influencers and outlets that it would be a stretch to call them journalists were being given the opportunity to be there rather than AP and Reuters and other wires who are being pushed aside. There's a lot of our colleagues who are in the U.S. they're on what's called a J1 visa, right? And so now that they're no longer employed with us, they have to go back to their home countries and they are at risk of being harmed. We're also concerned about our stringers who work in various places around the world who are anti us. And these people can no longer find jobs because they have worked for voa. So it's just really sad to think about how these journalists in the past, they have been targeted by authoritarian regimes and we have been the ones like the United States, have been the ones standing up for them and now the United States is the one targeting them.
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Janat Jalil
Patsy Widdha Kuswara for decades, millions of people with heart disease have been advised by their doctors to take a low dose of aspirin every day to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes. But a study due to be presented on Monday to a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology and the World Congress of Cardiology Madrid, suggests that another blood thinner could be more effective.
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BBC Announcer
Peter Goffin reports Thinning the blood was always the goal. Coronary heart disease, which affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide, is caused by a buildup of fatty material along a person's artery walls that can cause blood clots and slow or even stop the flow of blood to the heart, which can lead to a heart attack. Aspirin is a common, relatively inexpensive, over the counter pain reliever, but it also thins the blood, helping it pass through the arteries and prevent clotting. But a new study co authored by medical researchers from universities and hospitals across the us, Europe and Asia found that daily use of the blood thinner clopidogrel could be even more effective. They tracked nearly 29,000 heart disease patients and found that over an average of five and a half years, people who took clopidogrel were 14% less likely than those taking aspirin to suffer a heart attack, stroke or death from a heart related condition. They also found that the risk of major bleeding, one of the most severe possible side effects of long term aspirin use, was no greater with clopidogrel. The Chief Scientific Officer of the British Heart Foundation, Professor Brian Williams, who was not affiliated with the study, has said the findings are likely to affect which medications doctors prescribe to their patients.
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Janat Jalil
Peter Goffin Climate change is having an increasing impact on the number and the range of pests and diseases which trees and plants are exposed to. Rising temperatures are also allowing them to spread to new habitats. But there are signs of success in the fight against the AN eight tooth beetle, which eats growing Christmas trees. The spruce bark beetle has been devastating commercial forests around Europe and is increasingly found here in the uk. The pest is seen in the industry as enemy number one. As our climate editor Justin Rolatt reports.
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BBC Announcer
Two tree experts from the UK's Forest Research Agency, armed with binoculars, are scanning the spruce trees in a wood in Hampshire for the tell tale signs of a rapacious predator. The IPS typographus beetle is tiny, the size of a large grain of rice. But they can destroy entire forests. This is what we've called our remote IPS trap. The idea is it captures insects over a set period of time. We're on the country's first line of defence. A network of elaborate traps that stretch across southern England. An early warning system to alert the researchers to the beetle's presence in the uk. So you could show us now what you were looking for out in the forest. And these are the galleries that the adults and the larvae produce. And eventually lots of these conjoined will girdle that tree and eventually kill it. But you've got to imagine this could be all up and down that tree. It's incredibly extensive. Dr. Max Blake of the Forest Research Agency is showing me a piece of bark from an infested spruce tree. Tiny tunnels dug by the beetle larvae scour the inside of the bark. The actual insects themselves are in here. So when we get one of those trap samples that we looked at earlier on, this is what the clean version of that looks like. So they're actually tiny, aren't they? They're really, really small things can do so much damage. There's thousands and thousands of them, potentially millions, on these individual trees, so that many of them can easily, easily kill them. The beetles are blown across the channel and can quickly take hold in the uk, especially as climate change drives up temper, allowing them to breed more than once in a year. Having two generations of beetles massively increases the potential for damage to healthy trees in the uk. So typically each generation of beetles is going to produce about 60 larvae. So hold on, two could have 60 and then they could all have another 60. So we're talking 3,600 from two in a single year. So this is explosive population growth. Yeah, it can be, it can be enormous. And year on year you can get this very, very rapid buildup in the natural environment. Drones are used to detect infested trees. Spruce trees are IPS favorite. They're often used as Christmas trees, but they also make up over half of the UK's commercial timber. If IPS spreads, it will change how our forests look, as well as costing up to 3 billion pounds a year, the government warns. And it's just one of many threats that need to be tracked, says Andrea Dior of the Forest Research Agency.
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Janat Jalil
Climate change is an important consideration in.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
Terms of expanding pest and diseases, natural.
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Janat Jalil
Range and so forth. So we can see different types of pests and diseases more able to establish.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
In different places than they might have done in the past.
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BBC Announcer
And the team have some new recruits, dogs. They've been trained to sniff out the beetles in cut wood. Once infestations have been identified, the trees and the beetles within them can be destroyed. And the effort appears to be working. The researchers are finding increasing numbers of beetles in the uk, but they are not taking hold.
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Janat Jalil
That report by Justin Rolatt, an 11 year old boy who gained worldwide fame for his seagull mimicking skills, has been back in the spotlight this weekend. Cooper Wallace was the guest of honour at the first ever Western Super Mare Seagull Screeching Championship in the southwest of England. Judith Ecot has the story. Seagull boy became an overnight sensation, aged just nine, when he won the European Gull Screeching Contest in 2024. Today, the seagull enthusiast became head judge for two competitions in Western Super Mare, one for under 12s and the other for teenagers. And speaking to the BBC, he was clear what he'd be looking for.
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Guest/Expert Correspondents
The pitch, the volume of it and then how they act like a seagull.
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Janat Jalil
Basically, people in the seaside town flocked to the event at a shopping centre near the pier. One local could barely contain his excitement.
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BBC Announcer
It's not very often we get an event as prestigious as the Seagull Championships in Western Couldn't miss it.
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Janat Jalil
In the end, only four people entered the main event, although the standard was high with local Scott Melton taking the title. Next up were the children. With three year old Miles awarded top spot dress for the occasion, as he often is in a white fluffy seagull costume, Cooper Wallace said he'd had an absolute whale of a time. Something to crow about that report by Judith Ecot and that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk this edition was mixed by Graham Wright. The producers were Liam McSheffrey and Becky Wood. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janak Jalil. Until next time. Goodbye.
- [28:48]
BBC Announcer
At the BBC we go further so you see clearer With a subscription to BBC.com you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7 from less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more@BBC.com unlimited.