Judge blocks part of Trump's USAID freeze

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary Episode: Judge blocks part of Trump's USAID freeze
Release Date: February 8, 2025
Host: Valerie Sanderson
BBC World Service

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1. U.S. Judge Blocks Partial Freeze of USAID

At the forefront of today's headlines, a pivotal legal decision in the United States has emerged concerning the Trump administration's attempt to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Key Points:

• Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee based in Washington, issued a temporary restraining order halting the administration's plan to place over 2,000 USAID employees on administrative leave. (03:15)

• The freeze targeted nearly 10,000 individuals, aiming to halt USAID's operations across approximately 120 countries—a move that would disrupt decades-long efforts in fighting epidemics, providing education, ensuring clean water, and supporting various humanitarian programs.

• Beatriz Grinstein, President of the International Aid Society in Brazil, emphasized the gravity of the situation:

  “Taking the support from USAID will truly be a disaster for HIV globally.” (02:54)

• USAID's impact is substantial, accounting for over 40% of all humanitarian aid reported by the United Nations last year. The frozen funds have already led to the shutdown of clinics and the layoff of thousands of health workers, severely affecting HIV treatment and prevention in over 50 countries. (01:29)

• Peter Bowes, BBC's North America correspondent, provided insights into Judge Nichols' rationale, highlighting the irreparable harm to the employer-employee relationship and the minimal immediate impact on the government, suggesting possible reinstatements pending further decisions. (03:15)

Reactions:

• The decision has elicited a mixed response within the United States. While supporters of Donald Trump laud the move as a necessary step against what they perceive as USAID's inefficacy, many USAID workers and international partners express shock and fear over the potential rollback of critical aid programs. (05:01)

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2. Ecuador’s Election Amidst Rising Gang Violence

Ecuador is gearing up for a significant election this weekend, with President Daniel Aboa seeking re-election in what many view as a referendum on the nation's escalating crime rates.

Key Points:

• Once a safe haven for tourists, Ecuador has transformed into the most dangerous country in South America, largely due to its position between Colombia and Peru—two of the world's largest cocaine producers. (05:01)

• Ione Wells, BBC's South America correspondent, visited Guayaquil to shed light on the rampant gang violence. She reported:

  “A person is killed every two hours. Seven are kidnapped a day.” (07:03)

• Personal stories underscore the brutality faced by citizens:

  Michelle Roberts: “They wanted $100,000.” (07:51)
  Ione Wells: “They left my father's body with his finger in a bottle tied to his hand as a taunt.” (07:57)

• The government's crackdown on gangs has been met with mixed reviews. While some view it as necessary to restore order, others accuse the military of committing human rights abuses, further destabilizing communities. (08:48)

  Geeta Narayan: “But what about the human rights of good people, of people who are working, people who need to be rescued from kidnaps?” (09:21)

• The personal tragedies of the Arroyo family highlight the extreme consequences of both gang violence and the government's harsh measures:

  Geeta Narayan: “Many more children are lost because of the military and the government do nothing.” (10:14)

Election Stakes:

• Voters are torn between supporting a strong law-and-order platform and voicing concerns over the excessive force used by authorities. The critical question remains: Which threat do citizens perceive as more severe—the gangs or the government's response? (10:20)

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3. UK Government Seeks Access to Apple's Encrypted Data

In a groundbreaking and controversial move, the UK government has formally requested Apple to grant its security agencies access to encrypted data stored by users worldwide.

Key Points:

• Under the Investigatory Powers Act, the Home Office seeks the ability to penetrate Apple’s encryption, particularly targeting data stored in iCloud accounts. (11:30)

• Zoe Kleinman, BBC's technology editor, explained:

  “The problem is that Apple physically can't show it because it can't see it itself. And the only way it could make that work would be to create a backdoor...” (11:19)

• Matthew Feeney of Big Brother Watch expressed significant concerns:

  “The worry...is that key can be stolen by hackers or foreign adversaries.” (11:27)

• Apple's stance remains unwavering; the company has previously stated it would rather withdraw from markets than compromise its encryption systems.

• The debate pits privacy advocates against law enforcement, highlighting the global struggle between individual privacy rights and national security imperatives. (13:08)

  Geeta Narayan: “Every person has a right to privacy and that their data should be kept in a way that's only access.” (13:13)

Implications:

• If successful, this request could set a precedent for other governments seeking similar access, potentially jeopardizing the security of millions of users worldwide.

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4. Sweden Tightens Gun Laws After Deadly Mass Shooting

In response to the nation's worst mass shooting in history, Sweden is overhauling its gun laws to prevent future tragedies.

Key Points:

• The recent massacre in Urugro resulted in ten fatalities, prompting Prime Minister Ulf Christson to advocate for stricter regulations:

  “Ensuring that only the right people have guns.” (14:18)

• Michelle Roberts, BBC's health reporter, detailed the proposed changes:

  “It’s about tightening up the regulations to get permission to have a weapons license... banning certain types of semi-automatic weapons.” (14:18)

• The focus is on making the vetting process more robust, particularly for high-powered rifles like the AR15, a weapon commonly associated with mass shootings in the U.S. (15:20)

• Despite the legal ownership of over half a million firearms by Swedish civilians, the country grapples with a high rate of gang-related gun violence. (15:24)

  Michelle Roberts: “It does have a high rate of gun violence... associated with gang violence.” (16:15)

Public Reaction:

• The community remains on edge, with limited information on the shooter's motives and the victims. Authorities are cautiously sharing details to avoid compromising ongoing investigations. (16:48)

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5. Alarming Rise in Child Abuse in Haiti Amidst Gang Control

Haiti faces a severe humanitarian crisis as armed gangs exert control over 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to a tenfold increase in sexual violence against children.

Key Points:

• James Elder, spokesperson for UNICEF in Geneva, highlighted the dire situation:

  “I think it's quite typical... necessity for financial resources through ransom payments.” (19:37)

• Geeta Narayan, UNICEF's representative in Haiti, detailed the systematic abuse:

  “For the girls, it often starts with domestic chores... then they may be taken as wives... experiencing sexual violence.” (20:18)

• The closure of approximately 1,000 schools has left children vulnerable, forcing many into the streets where gangs forcibly recruit them as child soldiers. (20:06)

• Personal Testimonies reveal the brutality faced by families:

  Michelle Roberts: “A staggering 1000% increase in sexual violence against children...” (18:53)

• The government's inadequate response has left communities devastated, with families like the Arroyo's bearing the brunt of both gang violence and governmental inaction. (10:16)

Human Rights Crisis:

• The intertwining of armed gang control and the exploitation of children underscores a profound human rights violation, exacerbating Haiti's already fragile state.

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6. Mapping the Uncharted Depths of Earth’s Oceans

Despite advancements in space exploration, Earth's oceans remain largely unexplored, with 75% of the seabed unmapped.

Key Points:

• Viktor Vescovo, an explorer advocating for comprehensive ocean mapping, discussed the importance of understanding marine environments:

  “We would find new animals... crucial for understanding climate models because 71% of planet Earth is ocean.” (22:40)

• Traditional mapping methods, like sonar from small boats, are time-consuming and costly. Vescovo is pioneering the use of satellite technology to enhance mapping efficiency. (23:35)

• Ambitious goals aim to complete the seafloor mapping by 2050, contingent on significant financial investment and technological innovation. (24:18)

  Michelle Roberts: “It's a question of resources... with modern technology, hopefully by 2050.” (24:20)

Environmental Significance:

• Comprehensive mapping is essential for climate science, marine biology, and geopolitical strategies, as it provides insights into ocean currents, biodiversity, and resource distribution.

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7. U.S. Approves Non-Addictive Painkiller Amid Opioid Crisis

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new non-addictive painkiller from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, marking the first new pain medication in over two decades.

Key Points:

• This novel painkiller targets pain-sensing cells, preventing pain signals from reaching the brain without inducing the euphoria associated with opioids. (25:31)

  Michelle Roberts: “It's non-addictive because it's blocking the pain before it even gets to the brain.” (26:22)

• Approved solely for acute short-term pain, the drug demonstrated effectiveness in post-operative settings with minimal side effects, such as minor rashes and muscle twitches. (26:17)

• While intended to be a game changer in pain management, its application is currently limited to short-term scenarios:

  Michelle Roberts: “In the trials, it seemed to be working really well for that kind of post-op pain.” (26:30)

• Concerns remain about side effects and the potential for expanded use, with ongoing discussions about approvals in other countries beyond the U.S. (27:14)

Implications:

• This approval could significantly impact pain management practices, providing a safer alternative to opioids and potentially reducing the rates of addiction and overdose deaths. However, its limited use for short-term pain restricts its immediate widespread impact.

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8. The Super Bowl: A Battleground for Advertisers

As the Super Bowl approaches, brands are strategizing to capture the massive audience's attention through high-profile and creative advertisements.

Key Points:

• Matt Edwards from Big Small highlighted the competitive nature of Super Bowl ads:

  “The challenge...is the battle for attention.” (17:23)

• Companies are investing millions for prime ad slots, with some opting for innovative approaches:

  Seals and iconic movie recreations are among the most anticipated ads, like Meg Ryan’s reenactment of a famous restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally. (28:13)

• Doritos is leveraging user-generated content by holding a contest where consumers create their own Super Bowl ad, offering a $1 million prize for the winning submission.

• Edwards emphasized the necessity for ads to be "bigger, better, more original, more unexpected" to stand out in a saturated media landscape. (17:36)

Cultural Impact:

• Super Bowl ads have transcended traditional advertising, becoming event-like spectacles that generate buzz both during and outside the game, often treated akin to movie premieres.

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Conclusion

Today's Global News Podcast covered a diverse range of critical issues, from international aid and political upheavals to technological challenges and public health breakthroughs. The unyielding focus on global crises—such as the judiciary's intervention in U.S. aid policies, escalating violence in Ecuador and Haiti, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding digital privacy—underscores the interconnectedness of our world. Meanwhile, advancements in technology and medicine offer glimmers of hope amidst ongoing struggles. As the podcast adeptly illustrated through firsthand accounts and expert analyses, the complexities of today's global landscape require nuanced understanding and collaborative efforts to navigate effectively.

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Notable Quotes:

• Beatriz Grinstein (02:54): “Taking the support from USAID will truly be a disaster for HIV globally.”

• Viktor Vescovo (01:21): “When you look at usaid, that's a fraud. The whole thing is a fraud...”

• Geeta Narayan (09:21): “But what about the human rights of good people, of people who are working, people who need to be rescued from kidnaps?”

• Michelle Roberts (25:31): “This one’s special because it’s doing it looking at the pain sensing cells...”

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For more updates and detailed stories, subscribe to the Global News Podcast on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Katya Adler]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

Hello, I'm Katya Adler, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. Each weekday we break down one big news story with fresh perspectives from journalists around the world. From artificial intelligence to divisive politics tearing our societies apart from the movements of money and markets to the human stories that touch our lives, we bring you in depth insights from across the BBC and beyond. Listen to the Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

[Valerie Sanderson]

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and in the early hours of Saturday 8th February, these are our main stories. In the US, a judge says he'll order the Trump administration to halt some elements of its attempt to dismantle usaid, the world's largest aid agency. Voters in Ecuador head to the polls this weekend. We hear from those affected by the country's gang violence. The UK government asked Apple to provide its security agencies with access to encrypted data stored by users across the world. Also in this podcast, for the first time in more than 20 years, the US approves a new type of painkiller.

[Viktor Vescovo]

And later we would find new animals. We would discover new things about the ocean currents and temperature and how much salt was in the water.

[Valerie Sanderson]

The quest to map all of the seabeds on planet Earth. As we record this podcast, a judge in the US has announced he'll block parts of the Trump administration's attempt to dismantle usaid, the world's largest aid agency. The plan to shut down the agency will mean a stop to work in around 120 countries. That's taken place over 60 years and is aimed at fighting epidemics, educating children, providing clean water and supporting a free program Press According to the United Nations, USAID accounts for more than 40% of all humanitarian aid last year. Beatriz Grinstein is the president of the International Aid Society based in Brazil. Taking the support from USAID will truly be a disaster for HIV globally. USAID supports HIV testing, treatment and prevention in over 50 countries. So the freeze of funding has shut down clinics and laid off thousands of health workers. This means that people cannot get their life saving HIV treatment and prevention. The Trump administration had been seeking to put nearly 10,000 people, all but a handful of essential staff, on administrative leave by midnight on Friday, Washington time, including many thousands based abroad. On Friday, the president told reporters, why.

[Viktor Vescovo]

When you look at usaid, that's a fraud. The whole thing is a fraud, very little being put to good use. Every single line that I look at in terms of events and transactions, is either corrupt or ridiculous.

[Valerie Sanderson]

I asked our North America correspondent, Peter Bowes about the judge's decision to intervene.

[Katya Adler]

The judge is based in Washington. He has made an announcement that is quite limited in scope. It's a temporary restraining order. It puts on hold a US Government order, clearly signed by Donald Trump, to place just over 2,000 agency employees on administrative leave. The fate, he says, of 500 who are already on leave is to be decided later with the possibility that they could be reinstated. It is unclear to me where the remaining staff, a total workforce of 10,000, where they stand at this moment regarding their jobs. But it's very clear that there could be a further announcement later in the day. This is Judge Carl Nichols. He is a Trump appointee. And he said that the plaintiffs in this case and this lawsuit it was brought by the unions had established irreparable harm in terms of the employee employer relationship and showed enough of a success on the merits so that he would announce this decision. He said, frankly, there is zero harm to the government to pause this administrative leave for a short term.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So how long is a short term? Do we know?

[Katya Adler]

We don't know. We are just waiting to see what the judge means in terms of short term. As I say, he's indicated that there could be a further announcement before the end of the day, before the end of Friday US Time. So these people were expecting to be put on administrative leave by midnight U.S. east coast time. We're just a few short hours away from that deadline, but it looks like there could be a further legal intervention before then.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And what's been the reaction in the States to this? Because this is an incredibly important aid agency, isn't it?

[Katya Adler]

It is a hugely important aid agency. And there has been. Well, there's been a mixed reaction. Certainly many supporters of Donald Trump agree with him. And Donald Trump has been very outspoken in terms of his opinions of this agency. He says it doesn't represent a valuable use of US Taxpayers money. He's described much of the agency's work as corrupt or ridiculous. That said, this has shocked many, many agency workers, current and past, and put fear into the hands of many organizations overseas who rely on the cooperation of this agency to run health programs in many countries around the world. Just as an example that this organization, this agency is involved in offering polio vaccinations in countries where the disease still circulates. And it also is involved, involved in helping to stop the spread of viruses, which have the potential to cause new pandemics. So the potential to cease work that is hugely important, especially in Third World countries, is enormous.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Peter Bose in just a few years, Ecuador has transformed from being one of the safest havens for tourists in South America to the most dangerous country on the continent, sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, the two largest producers of cocaine in the world. It's now a global global hub for cocaine exports to the uk, to Europe and the us. And as consumption soars, so does related gang violence. Ecuador's president, Daniel Aboa, is up for re election on Sunday in what's been called a referendum on crime. He positions himself as a law and order candidate, but some say his attempts to crack down on gangs have been just as violent as the gangs themselves. A South America correspondent, Ione Wells, visited Guayaquil in southern Ecuador, a key hub for drug dealing. A warning. This report contains distressing descriptions of violence.

[Ione Wells]

From this high viewpoint of Guayaquil. I can see the water of the estuary here, stretching for miles and miles towards the ocean, encasing the urban sprawl. Much of the world's cocaine is shipped through this lucrative water route, turning this city into one of the most dangerous places on earth. A person is killed every two hours. Seven are kidnapped a day. We've come to a gated community in Guayaquil. I can't say where it is because we're trying to protect the identity of the man we're speaking to. His father was kidnapped and brutally murdered by one of the big drug gangs.

[Valerie Sanderson]

I received a video of my father.

[Michelle Roberts]

Tied up on the floor while they're.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Cutting off a finger on his hand.

[Michelle Roberts]

They wanted $100,000.

[Ione Wells]

He managed to borrow $5,000 to offer, but it wasn't enough.

[Michelle Roberts]

They left my father's body with his.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Finger in a bottle tied to his hand as a taunt. What would you say to people who.

[Ione Wells]

Are using cocaine for leisure in the uk, in US and Europe do not.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Contribute to the destruction of our world? That is all I can ask.

[Ione Wells]

Businesses are impacted too. Here in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, bus drivers, like other workers, are forced to pay fees to the gangs to avoid violent threats. One I spoke to, who was too afraid to share his name, told me gangs make all 300 buses in his company pay $8 per day.

[Valerie Sanderson]

The impact is not just an economic one, but also a psychological one. The knowledge that you are in danger every day.

[Ione Wells]

We're in a car now with armed security forces. They're on the way to carry out a raid. Police think that they have found someone in this house. They've Got a tattoo which identifies them as probably working for one of the big gangs. They're searching him at the moment. These police say the government's military crackdown is working in this case. They found evidence this man had been involved in a kidnap. The hostage was freed the next day. But what do they say? To those concerned, the crackdown is also enabling human rights abuses.

[Katya Adler]

Human rights, yes.

[Geeta Narayan]

But what about the human rights of good people, of people who are working, people who need to be rescued from kidnaps?

[Ione Wells]

That's no consolation for the Arroyo family. Sitting in the bedroom of two teenage boys, Ismael and Jose Arroyo, their father, Luis, clutches their football boots. Last year, when they were coming home from training, they were grabbed by the military and pulled into a pickup truck over an alleged theft.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Ismael wanted to fulfill his dream, a.

[Geeta Narayan]

Dream that was taken away by these 16 soldiers.

[Ione Wells]

Their bodies were later found burnt. All that was left was one finger and one foot. Members of the military have been detained and charged, but they deny murder, saying they eventually let these boys go.

[Geeta Narayan]

Many more children are lost because of.

[Valerie Sanderson]

The military and the government does nothing.

[Ione Wells]

These stories capture this tension at the heart of the election. Some homes torn apart by gang violence, others by the government's response to it. Security is a key issue for voters in Sunday's election. The question is, which do they think is worse?

[Valerie Sanderson]

Ione Wells. The BBC has learned the UK government is asking for access to secret encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide. The Home Office isn't confirming the request, but it's known to have been made under law to combat illegal activity, including terrorism. Organizations like the nspcc, a children's charity here in Britain, back the Government's move, saying it'll aid investigations of child abusers hiding illegal material. But others have criticised it. Matthew Feeney is from Big Brother Watch, a privacy and civil liberties campaign group.

[Katya Adler]

This kind of request is unprecedented, at.

[Geeta Narayan]

Least in liberal democracies.

[Katya Adler]

The worry, with the creation of a backdoor key to all of the hundreds.

[Geeta Narayan]

Of millions of people's privacy, is that that key can be stolen by hackers or foreign adversaries. It puts the privacy of law abiding people at risk.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Our technology editor, Zoe Kleinman. Tell me more.

[Zoe Kleinman]

This request is so shrouded in secrecy that legally nobody can talk about it. Apple's not allowed to say whether or not it has received it, and the Home Office here in the UK will neither deny nor confirm that the notice was issued in the first place. But we do know from sources that are familiar with the matter that it has been issued. And what it demands is the ability to access Apple user data that's encrypted, that's stored in the cloud. So that can be anything that is stored on an icloud account. Now, unless you opt in to Apple's privacy tool, which is called Advanced Data Protection, then not all of your data is encrypted in the cloud by default. But if you use this particular tool, then it is, and that means nobody can see it apart from you, even Apple. And if you lose access to your account, there's no way of getting this data back. It's a super secure way of storing your contents. The UK government, under the Investigatory Powers act here, wants to be able to access this sort of data. If there's a national security risk, it would have to get a warrant, but it wants to be able to see it. The problem is that Apple physically can't show it because it can't see it itself. And the only way in which it could make that work would be to create a backdoor, if you like, a kind of way in for the authorities if they needed it. The concern there is, if it does that, it's only a matter of time before bad actors and criminals also find that backdoor. And the firm has previously said that it would rather withdraw its services from the market than have them compromised like that around the world.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Is the UK government the only one who wants access, or are there others?

[Zoe Kleinman]

There are other governments that would also like access. Certainly encryption is a controversial issue. People who like it say that every person has a right to privacy and that their data should be kept in a way that's only access. And however, law enforcement authorities say it is a way for criminals to share data and interact in a hidden way. But no country so far has succeeded in forcing a tech company. And Apple isn't the only one, of course, to bust its encryption and its security systems.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Zoe Kleiman Sweden's government has announced plans to tighten gun laws following Tuesday's mass shooting, the worst in the country's history. Police have also now released some details of the 10 people killed in the attack in Urugro. It was previously confirmed that the perpetrator, named in the media as Rickard Anderson, legally owned four rifles, three of which were found at the scene. The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Christson, said he wanted to ensure that only what he called the right people have guns.

[Michelle Roberts]

In Sweden, it's about tightening up the regulations to get permission to have a weapons license at all. It's about banning certain types of these semi automatic weapons. And we're also adding a further proposal that the police and social services need a better opportunity to investigate whether there are medical reasons not to grant a person a gun license.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Our reporter Joel Gunter is in Urban and told us about Sweden's latest gun proposals.

[Michelle Roberts]

Effectively, there is political consensus around making the vetting process for purchasing a gun more robust and making it harder to get certain types of guns. They haven't gone into a huge amount of detail, but one of the weapon mentioned was the AR15. We don't know which weapons the gunman used in this attack, but many people will be familiar with the AR15 from news reports about mass shootings in the US. It's a high powered, high capacity magazine rifle, often described as an assault rifle or military style weapon.

[Valerie Sanderson]

How widespread is gun ownership in the country?

[Michelle Roberts]

It's pretty widespread for a European country. Another bit of information that came out today that about three and a half thousand AR15s have been purchased since they were made legal for hunting in Sweden a couple of years ago. According to figures from the Swedish broadcaster svt, a little over half a million Swedes have a weapons license out of a population of about 10 and a half million. There was a Swiss study from 2017 which said that there were about 2.3 million guns in Sweden in total held by civilians. That is, which puts it a little bit behind Norway, but still quite far behind the US for example.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And those of course, are the weapons held legally. I mean, there is a problem, isn't there, with violence in Sweden, with guns? I'm thinking of the gangs there.

[Michelle Roberts]

Absolutely. It does have a high rate of gun violence again for a European country. And you're absolutely right, it's largely associated with gang violence, which has been a problem in Sweden in recent years. What we're dealing with in Orebru here at the moment is clearly something slightly different and something we're perhaps more used to hearing about in the us, which is a sort of active shooter type situation, a targeted mass shooting.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And talking about Urbu. The police have been giving more information about the victims there, haven't they?

[Michelle Roberts]

They have, but not much. One of the striking things here has been just how little information has been coming about the killer, about his motive and about the victims. They have said that there were seven women and four men among the dead. We believe that includes the gunman. They gave their age range, which was between 28 and 68 years. Police say that they are being cautious about confirming details while the investigation goes on.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Joel Gunter still to Come on. The global News Podcast.

[Matt Edwards]

The challenge for all advertisers and for all brands in the world now is the battle for attention. And therefore you do have to go bigger, better, more original, more unexpected than ever before. If you want people to pay you.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Any attention, advertisers, gear up for the biggest American TV event of the year, the Super Bowl.

[Katya Adler]

Hello, I'm Katya Adler, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. Each weekday we break down one big news story with fresh perspectives from journalists around the world world. From artificial intelligence to divisive politics, tearing our societies apart from the movements of money and markets to the human stories that touch our lives, we bring you in depth insights from across the BBC and beyond. Listen to the Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Now. A story of appalling abuse in Haiti. The deployment of hundreds of international peacekeepers has made little difference to the power of armed gangs who are now estimated to control 85% of the capital, Port au Prince. And with that control comes the increased recruitment of children by the gangs and the horrific treatment of those recruits. Sexual violence is up tenfold in the last year, that's according to the UN children's agency, UNICEF. Their spokesman in Geneva is James Elder.

[Michelle Roberts]

A staggering 1000% increase in sexual violence against children in Haiti has turned their bodies into battlegrounds. So the tenfold rise between 2023 and last year comes as armed groups inflict unimaginable horrors on children. Now remembering, of course, that these are verified reported incidents, so the real number is likely to be much worse.

[Valerie Sanderson]

He cited the horrific case of one young girl abducted by armed men. She was beaten, drugged and raped repeatedly for about a month and only released when the armed group realised she had no one to pay a ransom for her. Geeta Narayan is UNICEF's representative in Haiti and Julian Marshall asked her how typical that case is.

[Geeta Narayan]

I think it's quite typical. I think it does happen with quite some frequency because the armed groups, they need resources and one of their ways of getting resources, financial resources, is through the payment of ransoms. And so we do see peaks over the few months of abduction of different people. Often it's women and girls, just because they may be an easier target. But it's also, we've seen adult men, we've seen children. So it is something that does happen a fair bit. In Port au Prince in particular, this.

[Katya Adler]

Is abduction in the hope of obtaining a ransom. But there is also forcible recruitment of children to work as child soldiers.

[Geeta Narayan]

Yes, that is correct. We see in the streets Of Port au Prince, for example, we see children not going to school. About 1,000 schools across the country have closed. And so as you drive through the streets of Port au Prince, you can see children who are just on the streets know they're, they're passing the time. And this of course, makes them vulnerable to being taken by the gangs or being lured by the gangs in some cases. These are often children who not only are not in school, but they don't have any other alternatives. They may be children living in extreme poverty. They don't have an option. And so for them, joining the gang may seem like a good option in terms of having safety and security, getting money in some cases, you know, having some power. Once they are a member of the gangs, there's many, many reasons why children are in the gangs. They're abducted, including being lured by the promise of a better life in some way.

[Katya Adler]

But safety and security is not what they get, is it? They get subjected to violence, to sexual violence.

[Geeta Narayan]

They get subjected to all kinds of abuse and exploitation. For the girls, it often starts with domestic chores such as cooking for the gang members or doing their washing, et cetera. And then as the girls have been in the gang for some time, then they may be taken as wives. They will experience often sexual violence, gender based violence, rape, sexual assault, all of that. For the boys, it's a bit different, you know, depending on the age. Sometimes they may start out as spies or messengers on behalf of the gangs, and then as they get older, they may then end up carrying weapons and actually being involved in active shooting and fighting. So no, it is not safety and security. Any safety and security they may have really is just due to the weapon in their hands.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Geeta Narayan, speaking there to Julian Marshall. We may be discovering more about space, including mapping Mars and plotting new trips to the moon, but it's still the case that a huge amount of our own planet remains unexplored. Three quarters of the bottom of the Earth's oceans still haven't been mapped in detail. Viktor Vescovo, who became the first person to reach the deepest point in each of Earth's five oceans back in 2019, is trying to change that by advocating a project to map the entire glob global seabed. He told Evan Davis what researchers have already learned through their exploration of the seas.

[Viktor Vescovo]

We would find new animals, we would discover new things about the ocean currents and temperature and how much salt was in the water. Many things that are very important for understanding climate models because 71% of planet Earth is ocean, which we Just don't seem to remember that it's really not about life on Earth in any respect. It's what happens in the ocean that really matters. I mean, you have entire areas of the ocean and coastal regions, even in the Pacific, where the last time anyone mapped them was Captain Cook and his ships, using a weighted cable, seeing how deep it was. And I'm sure that those have changed a little bit. And so the issue is that the ocean is opaque and so kind of out of sight, out of mind. Tends to happen with humans where you can plainly see what's on the moon and what's on Mars. But the ocean is not just difficult to see through and therefore map. But I think that people, some are, you know, a bit afraid of the ocean.

[Katya Adler]

And I mean, you're not going to use a piece of string with a weight on the bottom. What are you using to do it?

[Viktor Vescovo]

So there are two sets of technologies for the coastal areas. Typically people would go out in small boats and use sonar bouncing sound waves off the bottom to map the ocean. But that can be very slow and quite expensive. So we're trying to use new technology using satellites that can actually see through the water and reflecting light to see how deep it is. But in the very deep ocean we have to use different techniques. I'm trying to develop and build what I hope is the most effic ocean mapping vessel ever constructed.

[Katya Adler]

When will we do you think? You've said 2030 would be very ambitious. I mean, will we ever really map the ocean floor given the scale of.

[Michelle Roberts]

It, the cost of it?

[Viktor Vescovo]

It's a good question, but I imagine the same question was posed to the explorers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Will we ever map this incredible world? And it is a question of resources. We could map the seafloor within 10 years if there was a multi billion dollar effort to do so like there is in space. With just a single ship ship, it would take maybe 100 years, but with 10, we could do it in maybe 10 or 20 years. I'm hoping that using all the tools of modern technology that we might be able to map the entire seafloor, hopefully by 2050.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Victor Vescovo speaking there to Evan Davis. The United States has been in the grip of a full blown opioid epidemic for years with hundreds of thousands of people dying from overdosing since the 1990s. The crisis had its origins in both illegal sources and medical prescriptions of strong, addictive and inexpensive opiates, including OxyContin and fentanyl for pain relief, for the first time in more than 20 years, the U.S. food and Drug Administration has approved a new type of painkiller from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which could be a game changer. Michelle Roberts is the BBC's health reporter.

[Michelle Roberts]

There are other drugs out there that can block pain, but this one's special because it's doing it looking at the pain sensing cells. So it's not acting within the brain, it's stopping the signals before they even get there. And that, that's what makes it unique. Now, you've probably heard of lots of other stronger painkillers, opioids, particularly very effective medicines, but they can be addictive and that's because they do act in the brain and they can cause some euphoria. So feel good chemicals which can then make it addictive. So the hope is that having this type of treatment available could be another option to help people who have pain. But importantly, this one at the moment is just for acute short term pain.

[Valerie Sanderson]

It'S not for chronic pain and crucially, it's non addictive. Is that the main difference? Yes.

[Michelle Roberts]

It shouldn't be addictive because it's blocking the pain before it even gets to the brain.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And what will it mean for pain management then? Because you said it could only be used short term.

[Michelle Roberts]

Yeah. So in the trials they looked at people who'd had an operation either for bunch onions or for tummy tucks and they were just trying to see if it would work as well as some other painkillers. So they gave some people a fake dummy drug. They gave other ones this new one and some more conventional medicine and compared them and it seemed to be working really well for that kind of post op pain.

[Valerie Sanderson]

What about side effects?

[Michelle Roberts]

Any drug as we know can have some side effects. This one's no exception. So some people did get a bit of a rash. There were other things like muscle twitches or itching, but by and large in the trials it looked safe. And the fda, the US regulator has now approved it for this specific type of use.

[Valerie Sanderson]

It's been approved, as you said, in America. So will other countries, do you think, follow suit? Is that what usually happens?

[Michelle Roberts]

So it's Vertex that make this drug. They often will look at one country to launch it in and then contact regulators in other countries. We don't know whether that paperwork has been put in, but I wouldn't be surprised if they've been speaking with the European and the UK regulators to.

[Valerie Sanderson]

This doesn't happen very often, does it, that they come up with a new drug. I see that it's the first approved medication for pain in more than 20 years.

[Michelle Roberts]

That's the thing. The pain is quite complex. So you obviously get different types of pain in different parts of the body. So trying to get in the way of those pathways can be tricky.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And you've been talking to lots and lots of medics. Is it your sense they're really excited about this?

[Michelle Roberts]

Obviously there are lots of people out there with different types of pain and it's a really important area. So having anything new that seems to be safe and effective is really important.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Michelle Roberts the NFL super bowl will be played in New Orleans on Sunday between the Philadelphia Eagles and the reigning champions the Kansas City Chiefs. Ticket prices average more than US$6,000 each, but that's still much less than the cost of TV ads. During breaks in the game, big brands pay as much as $8 million for a 32nd slot at what's the most watched television event in America. Some of the ads have been previewed and have received lots of attention already, such as Meg Ryan recreating the iconic restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally. The singer seal is doing one ad as, wait for it, an animated seal. Matt Edwards is from the creative agency Big Small.

[Matt Edwards]

Being named a Super bowl ad puts a tag on your commercial that elevates it beyond others even before people have seen it. So people are interested to see the super bowl ads and what is it allows you to treat the commercial as more like a movie release. So nowadays it's not that only the people watching the super bowl are going to see that spot, but they're going to see your trailer. They're going to be watching it on YouTube maybe the day before the Super Bowl. Even so, it's almost treated like a movie event. These are launches of these commercials. So it's not just the people that are watching the super bowl spot, it's all of that circus that goes with it. Certainly David Beckham and Matt Damon in the same commercial. Commercial. It doesn't come cheap. There are other ways of doing it. And it was interesting that Doritos, they actually use user generated content. So they run a big contest ahead of the Super Bowl. They get users to create what they think the Doritos super bowl ad should be. And they've narrowed it down now to three commercials and whichever one goes out will win a million, a million dollars. The challenge for all advertisers and for all brands in the world now is the battle for attention. We're so saturated with, with incredible TV shows, movies, computer games, books that it's really really hard to get someone to spend their time looking at your brand. And therefore you do have to go bigger, better, more original, more unexpected than ever before if you want people to pay you any attention.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Matt Edwards and that's it from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk you can also find us on X@ BBC World Service. Use the hashtag at globalnewspot. This edition was mixed by Ricardo McCarthy. The producer was Stephanie Zacharison. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time. Bye bye. Foreign.

[Katya Adler]

Hello, I'm Katya Adler, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. Each weekday we break down one big news story with fresh perspectives from journalists around the world. From artificial intelligence to divisive politics tearing our societies apart from the movements of money and markets to the human stories that touch our lives, we bring you in depth insights from across the BBC and beyond. Listen to the Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.