Israel strikes Iran's Fordo nuclear site in fresh wave of attacks

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary: "Israel Strikes Iran's Fordo Nuclear Site in Fresh Wave of Attacks"

Release Date: June 23, 2025
Host: Oliver Conway
Source: BBC World Service

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1. Escalation of Conflict: Israel’s Renewed Strikes on Iran

At the outset of the episode, Oliver Conway reports on Israel's latest offensive against Iran, targeting the Fordo nuclear site and the infamous Even Prison in Tehran. This attack follows a recent U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, raising significant concerns about the stability of the Middle East.

Key Points:

• Location & Targets: Israel launched strikes on Fordo, Iran’s deepest nuclear site, and Even Prison, known for housing political detainees.
• U.S. Involvement: President Trump previously claimed that American strikes had effectively neutralized Iran's nuclear ambitions, though the actual damage remains uncertain.
• Nuclear Concerns: The Fordo facility houses 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, raising alarms about potential environmental and security repercussions.

Notable Quote:

"Less than 36 hours after the US bombed Iran, Israel has launched a new attack on Fordo, the deepest of the Iranian nuclear sites." – Oliver Conway [00:00]

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2. Iran’s Domestic Reaction and Public Sentiment

Joe Inwood, the BBC World Affairs correspondent, delves into the Iranian public's response to the escalating attacks. Using shaky footage from Isfahan, he portrays a nation grappling with conflict and uncertainty.

Key Points:

• Public Outcry: Pro-government rallies in Tehran featured chants of "Death to Israel. Death to America," showcasing defiance against foreign aggression.
• Diverse Voices: While some Iranians express unwavering support for the government, others reveal anxiety and a desire for peace.
• Personal Stories: Citizens like Fazana and Dosakani voice their frustrations and hope for a resilient Iran, despite the ongoing turmoil.

Notable Quotes:

"What America did is truly unforgivable, she says. And they should not think they can harm our country by doing this." – Fazana [03:55]

"My child will be born in a few days and I hope she will be born in a new Iran with a new approach to national and international affairs." – Anonymous Iranian [03:23]

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3. UN Nuclear Watchdog’s Assessment

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provides an expert analysis of the situation in Tehran, emphasizing the potential environmental and security risks posed by the attacks.

Key Points:

• Environmental Risks: Grossi warns of "far-reaching and devastating environmental consequences," including radioactive contamination.
• Nuclear Security: The integrity of the nuclear materials at Fordo is compromised, heightening regional tensions.
• Historical Parallels: Grossi draws comparisons to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, highlighting fears among political prisoners and their families.

Notable Quotes:

"These unlawful attacks may have far reaching and devastating environmental consequences, posing serious risk radioactive, chemical and radiological contamination." – Rafael Grossi [04:23]

"It's very dangerous. It's bad. The sky belongs to the Israelis, so they can do what they like." – Rafael Grossi [17:38]

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4. Broader Regional Implications: Russia and China’s Stance

The podcast explores the geopolitical ripple effects of the conflict, focusing on Russia and China's reactions and their strategic partnerships with Iran.

Key Points:

• Russia’s Position: President Vladimir Putin condemns the attacks as "absolutely unprovoked aggression," while maintaining a strategic partnership with Iran that does not entail military alliances.
• China’s Approach: China advocates for de-escalation and urges restraint, emphasizing the need to keep crucial trade routes like the Strait of Hormuz open.
• Strategic Interests: Both Russia and China leverage their relationships with Iran to balance against Western influence, particularly the U.S. and Israel.

Notable Quotes:

"President Putin condemned what he described as absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran." – Steve Rosenberg [08:32]

"Everybody needs to basically immediately cease fire." – Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson [14:18]

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5. U.S. Domestic Perspectives and Political Dynamics

The episode highlights diverse American viewpoints on President Trump’s actions against Iran, reflecting broader sentiments about military intervention and foreign policy.

Key Points:

• Public Opinion: Mixed reactions among American voters, with some supporting the strikes as necessary for national security, while others fear further destabilization in the Middle East.
• Political Contradictions: President Trump hints at regime change for Iran, conflicting with official statements from other administration officials who deny such intentions.
• Historical Context: References to the U.S. involvement in Iraq underscore the electorate’s wariness of extended military engagements.

Notable Quotes:

"I voted for Trump. I totally agree with it because there is countries in this world that won't use a nuclear weapon..." – American Voter [10:30]

"It's not politically correct to use the term regime change, but if the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn't there be a regime change?" – Donald Trump [12:56]

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6. Humanitarian Crisis: Evacuations from Tehran

Ola Guerin reports from the Turkey-Iran border, where civilians are either fleeing the conflict or attempting to return home amidst the chaos.

Key Points:

• Evacuation Efforts: Increased movement across the Kapikoi border crossing as Iranians seek refuge or return to support loved ones.
• Personal Accounts: Stories like that of 13-year-old Dariush highlight the dreams of a peaceful future, while others express sheer fear amid ongoing bombings.
• Safety Concerns: The lack of effective defense systems in Tehran exacerbates the peril faced by its inhabitants.

Notable Quotes:

"They're just coming in, they just bomb and go and nothing there to stop him because they've got this guy." – Rafael Grossi [17:45]

"God willing, Iran will be free soon. All of us will live in freedom, he says, and the Islamic Republic will be gone." – 13-year-old Dariush [18:04]

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7. Global Reactions: Russia’s Continued Offensive in Ukraine

Amidst condemning Iran, Russia intensifies its military actions in Ukraine, demonstrating the multi-faceted nature of global conflicts.

Key Points:

• Continued Strikes: Russia launches a combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv, resulting in casualties and further destabilizing the region.
• Peace Prospects: Ongoing military engagements and limited U.S. support for Ukraine diminish the likelihood of a swift ceasefire or peace agreement.
• Diplomatic Efforts: President Zelenskyy seeks to garner continued international backing amidst escalating warfare.

Notable Quotes:

"This was another combined missile and drone strike on the capital following a very large similar strike last week." – Joel Gunter [20:07]

"The prospects of a peace deal... are seeming dim." – Joel Gunter [20:30]

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8. Human Interest Stories: Education in a Heatwave

Shifting focus, the podcast highlights the challenges faced by millions of students in northern China who are taking high school entrance exams amidst extreme heat conditions.

Key Points:

• Heatwave Impact: With temperatures soaring to 38°C in Beijing, authorities deploy ambulances equipped with saline drips and rehydration solutions at testing sites.
• Educational Pressure: The Zhongkao exams play a crucial role in determining students' futures, adding stress during already harsh environmental conditions.

Notable Quotes:

"Temperatures reached 38 Celsius in Beijing on Monday and are expected to climb." – Fazana [21:41]

"There's a growing belief that Zhongkao exams to enter the right high school play a bigger role in determining a child's future than college entrance tests." – Celia Hatton [21:41]

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9. Scientific Advancements: Vera Rubin Observatory’s First Images

The episode celebrates the unveiling of the Vera Rubin Observatory's initial images, marking a significant milestone in astronomical research.

Key Points:

• Observatory Features: Located in Chile, the telescope boasts the world's largest digital camera, capable of capturing unprecedented amounts of celestial data.
• Scientific Goals: The observatory aims to explore dark matter, dark energy, transient phenomena, and map the Milky Way over a decade-long survey.
• Innovative Initiatives: Plans to sonify astronomical data aim to make the universe’s sounds accessible to the public.

Notable Quotes:

"The Vera Rubin Observatory is hoping to make it audible too. Stephanie Depa is an astronomy content strategist and the co-lead on sonification here." – Oliver Conway [24:26]

"If you took your finger and held it at arm's reach and put it up to the sky and you took an image with LSSTcam... tens of thousands of galaxies will fit into that one little portion of the sky." – Fazana [24:29]

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10. Cultural Shift: The Rise of Gardening in Gaming

Concluding with a lighter note, the podcast examines the surge in popularity of gardening-themed video games like Roblox's "Grow a Garden," reflecting a societal yearning for growth and tranquility amidst global unrest.

Key Points:

• Game Popularity: "Grow a Garden" has surpassed Fortnite with 16.4 million active players, indicating a shift towards "cozy games."
• Generational Appeal: Younger generations find solace and satisfaction in virtual gardening, appreciating the slow, nurturing process it mimics.
• Cultural Insights: Experts discuss the broader implications of this trend, linking it to historical fascinations with nature and the desire for mental respite.

Notable Quotes:

"It's certainly showing them the satisfaction, I think, of things growing. The fact that the plants grow offline replicates how plants do it in the real world." – Anna Foster [19:20]

"These games are actually really popular... there's all sorts of games that do really, really well." – Chris Dring [27:10]

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Conclusion

This episode of the Global News Podcast offers a comprehensive overview of the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran, the international geopolitical ramifications, and shifts in global societal behaviors. Through in-depth reporting, expert interviews, and poignant personal stories, Oliver Conway and his team provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of the current global landscape.

For further updates and detailed analyses, listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the Global News Podcast and engage with the content through provided channels.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the June 23, 2025, episode of the BBC World Service's Global News Podcast.

Transcript

[Oliver Conway]

You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 13 hours GMT. On Monday 23rd June, Israel hits Iran with another wave of attacks, striking even prison and the Fordo nuclear site. The Iranians have warned of a decisive response to the US bombing. At the weekend, we'll hear what Russia, China and American voters make of it and get the assessment of the UN nuclear watchdog. Also in this podcast, potentially, depending on where you're looking at, tens of thousands of galaxies will fit into that one little portion of the sky that is covered by your finger. The first images are released from the world's most powerful telescope. Less than 36 hours after the US bombed Iran, Israel has launched a new attack on Fordo, the deepest of the Iranian nuclear sites. President Trump insisted the American strikes had wiped out the Iranian nuclear program. But no one knows for sure how much damage has been done and what has happened to the 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium stored in Fordo. The BBC isn't allowed to report from inside Iran, but our World affairs correspondent, Joe Inwood has compiled this report.

[Joe Inwood]

It is a shaky video filmed on a phone in Isfahan in central Iran. In the far distance, huge explosions can be seen, points of light in an otherwise black sky. It is one of the very few records of an event that has shaken the Middle east and may yet transform it. By the afternoon, the US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities had brought crowds onto the streets of Tehran. They cheered the president, Masoud Posen.

[Oliver Conway]

And.

[Joe Inwood]

Chanted, death to Israel. Death to America. At this pro government rally, the mood was one of defiance. Fazana is young, maybe in her early 30s, and wears a loosely fitting headscarf over a green dress. What America did is truly unforgivable, she says. And they should not think they can harm our country by doing this. Iran is stronger than they perceive. Wearing a pink shirt and holding his young son in his arms, Dosakani uses a common insult for the United States. This is how the Great Satan functions, he says. Deception. This is all deception. America and Israel do not understand anything other than the language of force. But those who attend pro government rallies and speak openly on camera are not representative of all Iranians, many of whom are concerned about the involvement of the world's most powerful military in their war with Israel. Since the outbreak of fighting, the BBC's Persian service has heard from people who want their voices heard, but identities protected.

[Oliver Conway]

My days and nights are the same. I feel paralyzed. I just Stare at the ceiling all day and all night. I keep wondering what is happening next. And we are constantly caught by surprise. No one listens to us. Iran is smart enough to know that any reaction to the US is suicide. My child will be born in a few days and I hope she will be born in a new Iran with a new approach to national and international affairs.

[Fazana]

I'm very angry and upset. I don't think I've ever been this upset. The war is between three people, three leaders and their egos.

[Oliver Conway]

Now report by Joe Inwood, the UN nuclear watchdog. The IAEA has today held an emergency meeting in Vienna to discuss the U.S. bombing. The agency's chief, Rafael Grossi, appealed for a ceasefire to allow Iran's nuclear sites to be inspected. And this was Iran's IAEA Ambassador, Reza Najafi.

[Rafael Grossi]

These unlawful attacks may have far reaching and devastating environmental consequences, posing serious risk radioactive, chemical and radiological contamination, not only for Iran, but for the entire region. Furthermore, the physical security and containment of the nuclear materials, including enriched uranium, have been severely compromised.

[Oliver Conway]

As well as targeting Fordo, Israel also launched a heavy bombardment of the Iranian capital, Tehran today, knocking out power and hitting the notorious even prison, home to many political detainees. I heard more about that from Kasranagi of the BBC Persian Service in Vienna. But first I asked him about the IAEA assessment of the damage done to Iran's nuclear program.

[Rafael Grossi]

The Board of Governors is still meeting and they still debating. And the Director General gave a report to the Board of Governors here giving some details. He says nobody knows how much damage has been inflicted on Fordo, which is the main enrichment center in Iran, which produces highly enriched uranium, 60% enriched uranium there, he says. But the fact is that there are centrifuge machines there, assemblies of them, thousands of them, and they are very, very sensitive to any vibration. And he says that given that, we can presume that the damage to the facility has been extensive. He also expressed concern about this 400 kg of highly enriched uranium that Iranians have moved to a secret place.

[Oliver Conway]

At the same time, Israel has hit Fordo again and Tehran, including the notorious Even prison. What do you make of that?

[Rafael Grossi]

It's interesting. It reminded me of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, soon after the collapse of the Shah's regime. People rushed there and they broke the doors open and freed the political prisoners inside. Now in Iran, there's maybe some people who have loved ones inside Evin Prison, which has a good number of political prisoners inside. Maybe they are thinking that their loved ones may be a step closer to freedom. But nevertheless, from the pictures I've seen, the damage is to the actual entrance of the prison. And I'm not sure how extensive the damage is and what the consequences is. But as I said, many people with political prisoners inside are very concerned and they looking to see what happens next and whether their loved ones are safe in there.

[Oliver Conway]

Now, Iran has been hitting back at Israel, but not yet a US Target. Does that surprise you?

[Rafael Grossi]

Yes and no. I mean, attacking targets, US Targets in the region takes a little bit of time and needs a little bit of thought. So they don't want to do something, I suppose that is suicidal as far as Iran is concerned. So they have to choose their time and place carefully if they're going to do anything at all.

[Oliver Conway]

Kazranaji of the BBC Persian Service at the IAEA in Vienna. Well, after a relatively quiet night in Israel, some Iranian missiles got past the extensive air defense network. Today. An industrial area near a power station in Ashdod was struck and electricity supplies disrupted. Strikes were reported in Tel Aviv, Haifa in the north and another to the south of Tel Aviv. Rescue services said at least 23 people had been injured. Hugo Bochega gave us this update.

[Hugo Bochega]

There were more air raid alerts this morning here in Israel as Iran launched a new wave of missiles. There have been no reports of casualties, but I think after those American airstrikes on three key nuclear facilities in Iran, the question here is about what's next. There have been reports that some senior defense officials in Israel are saying that the goal here is to finish this campaign within days. Now, this would obviously give space for diplomacy, for negotiations to try to reach some kind of deal with Iran, although it's very difficult to see how that's possible at the moment because at least in public, Iran has been repeating its position that it will not abandon the enrichment of uranium. They've been saying that this is their right and this has been a key US Demand, part of what President Trump says, you know, has described as unconditional surrender by Iran. And the Israeli authorities have been celebrating what they see as a successful operation. So far, they have significantly damaged Iran's nuclear program and also Iran's missile capabilities. So for many here, it is now time to stop.

[Oliver Conway]

Hugo Bochega in Tel Aviv. In recent years, Iran has supplied Russia with weapons for its invasion of Ukraine. And today, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin welcomed the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Arakchi to Moscow, saying there was no justification for the attacks on Iranian territory. From Moscow, our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg reports Russia and Iran are allies. The two countries have a strategic partnership agreement. But what does that mean in practice? What assistance, if any, will Moscow offer Tehran? At the start of today's talks in the Kremlin, President Putin condemned what he described as absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran. This meeting, he said, was an opportunity to think together about finding a way out of the situation. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Arakchi, spoke of his country's close and friendly relations with Russia, which were now, he said, of a strategic nature. But the Russian Iranian partnership deal is not a military alliance and does not oblige the Kremlin to provide military assistance to Tehran. Up till now, Moscow has been careful to maintain good relations with both Iran and and Israel. Steve Rosenberg in Moscow. Many Americans remain wary of military action in the Middle east as a result of the U.S. s long and bloody entanglement in Iraq. Some four and a half thousand American soldiers died in that conflict, which went on for nearly a decade after the then US President George W. Bush had declared victory in 2003. It's also why President Trump's claim to be a peacemaker with went down so well with US Voters. So what do they think of his attack on Iran? I voted for Trump. I totally agree with it because there is countries in this world that won't use a nuclear weapon, and there's countries that will. And Iran definitely would have used a nuclear weapon on somebody very close to them and then the whole world would have been done. That's my take on it. I'm a little hesitant to disturb the unrest that's already there in the Middle east and make it even worse. So, and you know, it's what are we gaining out of it and what are the. I know we're trying to back Israel and support them, but I've always been opposed to attacks on other countries and try regime change and those types of things. The deal with Iran and Israel is Iran and Israel and it's not necessarily America's place to step in. I would say that I would agree with his choice to protect the American people if a strike were to happen against the US But I really don't see them being able to do anything against us against America. Too much is just not finding an end to the conflict and just drawing it out like past presidents had before. Well, in some of his latest posts on Truth Social, President Trump hinted at an objective beyond the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities, appearing to call for regime change, which the US has previously ruled out. So what's going on our North America Editor Sarah Smith explains.

[Sarah Smith]

Yeah, this is really confusing. He posted on social media it's not politically correct to use the term regime change, but if the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, we why wouldn't there be a regime change? He said. And he posted that at the end of a day when every other senior official from the administration had been out on television trying to reassure people that that was absolutely not what they were doing. The Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said this mission was not and has not been about regime change. You had the vice president, J.D. vance, saying, we're not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear program. And then at the end of the day, this deeply confusing post comes from Donald Trump where he suddenly is talking about regime change again, something he has argued vociferously against for years and years and years, ever since America got involved in the Iraq war back in 2003.

[Oliver Conway]

Sarah Smith in Washington. China has joined the calls for de escalation in the Middle East. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing said a spillover of the conflict had to be avoided and a political resolution found. Yesterday, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio called, called on China to use its influence to persuade Iran not to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route for oil and gas. I heard more from our correspondent in Beijing, Steven McDonnell.

[Steven McDonnell]

One of the big ticket influence aspects would be the amount of oil that China buys from Iran, which is huge, like it's Iran's biggest customer. Also important for China, it's like not, I think, roughly 20% of China's needs or something along those lines, 20 or 30% come from Iran. So again, it's not. That's the big driver, if you like. And I'm sure there are also the geostrategic considerations in that China is using the likes of Russia and Iran to play off against the West. And so it likes to keep Iran close for those reasons. And that's why it is that the Trump administration have called on Beijing to try and lean on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open because it will affect, of course, the supply of oil to much of the world. If that crucial shipping lane was shut down now, China, they would say, well, okay, if we're going to lean on them to do that, how about you lean on Israel to get them to stop attacking Iran? Because China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong, called for restraint in terms of the impulse towards force, as he described it, to avoid exacerbating conflicts he said that everybody needs to basically immediately cease fire. But this, that, this especially applies for Israel and, you know, China, along with Pakistan and Russia, put that resolution to the Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire. But now, of course, that will be vetoed though by the us which is one of the five countries which can veto anything in the Security Council, partly because the resolution criticizes the attacks on Iran in the first place.

[Oliver Conway]

Now many analysts are saying this US attack on Iran undermines international law. Will it have any impact on China's attitude towards Taiwan?

[Steven McDonnell]

What you mean in terms of emboldening it to sort of do this sort of thing? I mean, every time one of these countries invades another, whether it be Russia's invasion of Ukraine or, you know, the US just out of the blue attacking Iran for the first time, of course other countries around the world are going to think, well, maybe we can get away with that. Because if you're going to toss out the rules order and it becomes might equals, right? Well, yeah, you'd have to think that Beijing would be putting that into its calculations in terms of if the day was to come where we were going to try and seize Taiwan by force, how much blowback might we expect?

[Oliver Conway]

Stephen McDonnell in Beijing. When the first Israeli air raids hit the Iranian capital, Tehran 10 days ago, many packed their bags and drove away, heading to the Caspian Sea or the mountains. But some are trying to cross the border into Turke. Our senior international correspondent Ola Guerin is there.

[Ola Guerin]

Turkey's border with Iran, flanked by mountains and now a gateway to and from a country under attack. At the Kapikoi crossing, we found movement in both directions. Some fleeing the bombing by Israel and America, others rushing back home to be with loved ones. Amir, a retired British Iranian, had just fled Tehran. And what was your feeling when you got across the border here?

[Rafael Grossi]

Feeling relieved, really, to be honest with you, I feel relieved, yes.

[Ola Guerin]

How dangerous was the situation in Tehran?

[Rafael Grossi]

It's very dangerous. It's bad. The sky belongs to the Israelis, so they can do what they like. They're just coming in, they just bomb and go and nothing there to stop him because they've got this guy. And that's it.

[Ola Guerin]

Very scary for you.

[Rafael Grossi]

Very, very scary for everyone.

[Ola Guerin]

This is what he left behind. A country under fire, a regime that is holding on and a war that may now escalate. But some, like 13 year old Dariush, are hoping that a new Iran may emerge from the ashes. He crossed the border with his younger brother and his mother. He told me he'll go home if change comes. God willing, Iran will be free soon. All of us will live in freedom, he says, and the Islamic Republic will be gone. But among those going back into Iran today, there was more caution. We found no one willing to speak on camera. One man told us, we're too afraid.

[Oliver Conway]

Olagarin on the Turkey Iran border. Now we need your help with a special episode about the Iran crisis. We'll be putting your questions to a range of BBC correspondence. They can be as simple or as complex as you like. Please send us an email or voice note to globalpodcastbbc.co.uk and still to come on this edition of the Global News.

[Anna Foster]

Podcast, it's certainly showing them the satisfaction, I think, of things growing. The fact that the plants grow offline I think replicates how plants do it in the real world.

[Oliver Conway]

The popular new video game about gardening. Even as President Putin condemned what he called the unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Iran, the Russian military has again attacked Ukraine. At least eight people were killed and dozens injured in an air raid on the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched more than 350 drones and 16 missiles overnight at Ukrainian territory. Our correspondent in Kyiv, Joel Gunter, gave us this update.

[Joel Gunter]

This was another combined missile and drone strike on the capital following a very large similar strike last week. We know that rescuers are still searching the rubble, meaning that the death toll could potentially rise. This was a wave of drones that hit the city as well as missiles, and a strike that once again overwhelmed the city's air defenses.

[Oliver Conway]

Now, President Trump, of course, had been involved in trying to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. He's obviously more distracted now. What are the prospects for any deal there?

[Joel Gunter]

Well, they are beginning to look dim. This was, as I mentioned, the second massive strike on Kyiv within a week. Ukrainian officials have vowed to retaliate against Russia with increased strikes. The previous round of talks between Russia and Ukraine finished some three weeks ago with virtually nothing agreed apart from a limited exchange of prisoners and exchange of the dead. Now, with US Support for ongoing military aid to Ukraine uncertain, the prospects of a peace deal, as you say, are seeming dim. President Zelenskyy will be in London today to visit the prime minister and will be hoping to shore up ongoing support.

[Oliver Conway]

From the UK Joel Gunter in Kyiv. Millions of students in northern China are taking high school entrance exams during a heat wave, prompting the authorities in Beijing to send specially equipped ambulances to testing sites. More details from our Asia Pacific editor, Celia Hatton.

[Fazana]

Students in China usually write the high school entrance exam. The zhongkao when they're 15. It's a grueling test that spans several days, and this year it's happening in a heat wave. Temperatures reached 38 Celsius in Beijing on Monday and are at expected to climb. Ambulances outside the testing sites are carrying saline drips and rehydration drinks. There's a growing belief that Jonao exams to enter the right high school play a bigger role in determining a child's future than college entrance tests.

[Oliver Conway]

Celia Hatton the first photos have been released from the world's largest digital camera. The telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile will catalog billions of new objects in space and map the night sky for 10 years. The aim is to answer the mysteries of the universe, including how it began and what dark matter really is. The BBC was granted access to the telescope just before it went operational from Chile. Here's Ione Wells.

[Fazana]

From the outside, this telescope is a huge chunk of metal amid a desert landscape. It's on top of the mountain, Cerro Pachon in the Chilean desert. This is an ideal place for watching the stars because it's dry, it's high, and it gets very, very dark. My name is Leanne Guy. I'm the associate director for system performance at Rubin Observatory and I've been working on the project for seven years. Vera Rubin was a pioneering astronomer in the 20th century.

[Oliver Conway]

Thanks to working mum Vera Rubin, I picked the outcome sides of galaxies because that was the problem.

[Fazana]

She did a lot of work trying to study the nature of dark matter. The amount of data that Rubin Observatory will collect will be able to answer a lot of questions, hopefully about what is the nature of dark matter. So the design of Rubin Observatory in the Legacy survey of space and time has been driven by four science. Probing the nature of dark energy and dark matter, exploring the transient optical sky, taking an inventory of the solar system and mapping the Milky Way. And so what that really means is that we've built a telescope that is a discovery machine. It will also be able to bring to light questions that we haven't even thought about yet. It will open up the unknown. The sheer scale of the camera on this telescope is so impressive. It's the biggest digital camera in the world. It's taller than me, about 1.65 meters tall, weighs 2,800 kilos. It's got a 3200 megapixel camera that's 67 times more powerful than the iPhone 16 Pro. It's so high definition, it could see a golf ball on the moon.

[Oliver Conway]

This camera has A field of view, that is.

[Fazana]

Sean McBride is one of the camera scientists here.

[Oliver Conway]

If you took your finger and held it at arm's reach and put it up to the sky and you took an image with LSSTcam and took all the stars and galaxies that could fit inside your finger, by the end of the survey, it'll be thousands. Potentially, depending on where you're looking at, tens of thousands of galaxies will fit into that one little portion of the sky that is covered by your finger. And now imagine that over the entire southern sky, we're getting an unprecedented data set.

[Fazana]

Okay, now we're gonna cure this spiral galaxy. As well as trying to visualize the night sky, the Vera Rubin Observatory is hoping to make it audible too. Stephanie Depa is an astronomy content strategist and the co lead on sonification here. The process of creating sound from these images of the stars and galaxies. What we're trying to do with sonification is instead of represent an astronomical image visually with pixels on a screen, we're trying to represent it musically. Audio ly with notes for your ears. What I'm going to play right now is a prototype.

[Oliver Conway]

And that report from Chile by Ione Wells. Finally, to a new Roblox game in which players tend their own virtual gardens, planting seeds and harvesting and selling their crops. Grow a Garden is one of the biggest games in the world right now, and last week beat Fortnite's record for the largest number of active players at any one time. 16.4 million. Here's one gaming YouTuber's experience. Planting my blueberries some orange tulips. Is that a palm tree with coconuts on it? Look at how big those cactus are, man. This is nuts. Got anything to sell? Dude, these orange tulips, they are worth so much. Look how big my strawberry is. So is this a new generation getting into gardening or another example of the online world taking over? Anna Foster spoke to Chris Dring, editor of the Games business, and to Alice Vincent, gardener and author of rootbound, which explores how young people are discovering the power of plants.

[Anna Foster]

It's certainly showing them the satisfaction, I think, of things growing. The fact that the plants grow offline, I think replicates how plants do it in the real world. The fact that gardening is a slower process that it does take away from digital lives, although obviously this is happening on screen and not irl.

[Fazana]

Yeah, Chris, What I find sort of particularly interesting is that so many games that do so well are all about kind of guns and bombs and shoot them up or driving somewhere very fast. And this One seems so different to that. I was absolutely stunned when my 13 year old told me that him and his friends were obsessed with it. What is it that you think is sucking people in?

[Oliver Conway]

Well, actually, this genre of game, we call them cozy games, are immensely popular at the moment. There's games like Animal Crossing, which is a sort of you build a house and you make friends and the neighbors and you clear your mortgage. I think Peska, the chaos in the world at the moment, again, which is quite relaxing, emotionally comforting in some ways, is drawing quite a lot of people in. And it is quite, it is satisfying. It is a sort of beautiful little thing to play. And as I say, these games are actually really popular. We're associated with, you know, shooter games and action games. There's all sorts of games that do really, really well. And these ones, this one's bigger than we've ever seen before, but it's not unheard of.

[Fazana]

But also, you know, as you were saying, Alice, the idea of planting things and making them grow and tending them, I suppose that the real world is a little harsher in that way because on your garden, if you lose it, you just start again, whereas it's a little bit harder to sort of start again in real life. Not impossible, but just not quite as simple.

[Anna Foster]

It's not quite simple, no. But that is part of the lessons, I think, and one of the kind of deep satisfactions that literally grows with gardening. I think, you know, as someone who is a self trained gardener who came to it, you know, my mid-20s, which was surprising to think a lot of my friends at the time, you want initially instant gratification and then the more you do it, the more you realize that actually it's about tracking the seasons. It's about those seasons of rest and seasons of growth that teaches you sort of a lot about other things in life. And I think that's something that has always been important to generations who have engaged with nature in a way that might be seen as unconventional. We're talking about teenagers getting into gardening here, but, you know, in the Victorian era, teenage girls were obsessed with ferns. You know, we've always had generations who have had unlikely fascinations with it, whether that's Tulip mania in the 17th century or now.

[Oliver Conway]

Alice Vincent and Chris Dring talking to Anna Foster. And that is all from us for now. But the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Tom Bartlett. The producers were Paul Day and Stephanie Tillotson. Our editors, Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye.