Pakistan warns of imminent military strikes from India

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary
Episode: Pakistan Warns of Imminent Military Strikes from India
Release Date: April 30, 2025
Host: Valerie Sanderson, BBC World Service

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1. Escalating Tensions Between India and Pakistan

The episode opens with a critical examination of the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan following a lethal attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that resulted in 26 fatalities. The incident has intensified longstanding hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Key Points:

• India's Response: Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened high-level security talks and appointed his armed forces the autonomy to decide on retaliatory measures. This directive has raised alarms in Pakistan.

  • Valerie Sanderson [01:00]: "Prime Minister Modi has given the armed forces the green light to decide on their own actions."

• Pakistan's Warning: Pakistan's Information Minister announced credible intelligence pointing towards imminent Indian military strikes, potentially within 24 hours.

  • Barasan Ettarajan [01:23]: "Pakistan has credible intelligence that India is planning an attack... it's increasingly likely that the government of India will be forced to take some action."

• Historical Context: The episode references previous conflicts, including a 2019 exchange where limited airstrikes led to the downing of an Indian jet but did not escalate further.

  • Barasan Ettarajan [04:41]: "If they start it, they don't know how to end it."

• Expert Analysis: Regional editor Barasan Ettarajan highlights the economic strains and internal insurgencies in Pakistan, underscoring the mutual devastation a full-scale war would inflict.

  • Barasan Ettarajan [04:32]: "War is not an option for both the countries given the economic and then the human costs."

Notable Quotes:

• Barasan Ettarajan [03:23]: "Pakistan is saying it might be within 24 hours."
• Barasan Ettarajan [04:41]: "They don't know how it will end up."

2. North Korea's Enhanced Military Capabilities

North Korea has conducted strategic missile tests from a newly built warship, showcasing advancements in their military technology.

Key Points:

• Missile Tests: The tests included supersonic and strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and electronic jamming equipment.

  • Celia Hatton [05:38]: "North Korean state media reported the successful testing of their new arsenal."

• Russian Assistance: Analysts suggest that Russia has provided technological support for these developments, coinciding with North Korea's involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

  • Celia Hatton [05:38]: "Russia is believed to have supplied the military with technological assistance."

Notable Quotes:

• Celia Hatton [05:15]: "Kim Jong Un calls for the navy to accelerate its ability to launch nuclear attacks."

3. Vietnam Commemorates 50 Years Since Saigon's Fall

Vietnam marks the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, reflecting on the nation's transformation and rapid economic growth since reunification.

Key Points:

• Reunification Celebrations: Parades and fireworks have been held across Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, to honor the end of the Vietnam War.

  • Rupert Wingfield Hayes [06:49]: "Soldiers march along the very same street North Vietnamese tanks rolled down in 1975."

• Economic Growth: Vietnam has experienced substantial economic reforms and growth, aiming to become a high-tech hub with annual growth rates of 5-6%.

  • Rupert Wingfield Hayes [09:21]: "They are developing incredibly fast, transforming Vietnam into the next Asian tiger."

• US-Vietnam Relations: The relationship with the United States has improved, although recent tariff wars introduced by President Trump pose threats to this progress.

  • Rupert Wingfield Hayes [10:06]: "The big worry is the tariff war declared by President Trump, affecting US-Vietnam trade relations."

Notable Quotes:

• Rupert Wingfield Hayes [09:21]: "Growth rates have been around 5 or 6% per year for the last 10 years."
• Rupert Wingfield Hayes [10:06]: "Gas prices in the US are up slightly since Trump took office, contrary to his claims."

4. High-Profile Trial in Australia

Australia is witnessing the high-profile trial of Erin Patterson, accused of poisoning three relatives with poisonous mushrooms, drawing intense media scrutiny.

Key Points:

• Case Details: Patterson allegedly served poisoned beef Wellingtons to her in-laws under the pretense of sharing a cancer diagnosis, leading to multiple deaths.

  • Dr. Ellie Urban [28:42]: "Metagenomics allowed us to identify leptospirosis, leading to the correct treatment for the victim."

• Defense Argument: Patterson's defense claims the incident was a tragic accident, emphasizing a lack of intent.

  • Colin Mundy [11:33]: "Is it possible a person might lie when they find out people are seriously ill from food they served up?"

• Juror Protection: To prevent media influence, jurors are kept isolated, reflecting the case's sensational nature.

  • Ella Bicknell [11:25]: "People see it as a real ghost town, really."

Notable Quotes:

• Katie Watson [14:56]: "Gas prices in the US are up slightly since Trump took office."
• Dr. Ellie Urban [28:42]: "Metagenomics was transformative in diagnosing my condition."

5. President Trump's First 100 Days: Claims Under Scrutiny

President Trump touted his first 100 days in office as the most successful in US history, with BBC Verify investigating these assertions.

Key Points:

• Economic Claims: Trump claimed significant reductions in gasoline prices and substantial cuts in government spending through an initiative led by Elon Musk.

  • Katie Watson [15:16]: "Gasoline prices are down by a lot... hitting $1.98 in a lot of states."

  • Barasan Ettarajan [17:32]: "They've saved $150 billion on waste, fraud, and abuse."

• Verification Findings: CNN Verify debunked the gasoline price drop, noting a slight increase since Trump's inauguration. Similarly, the spending cuts attributed to the Elon Musk initiative lacked substantial evidence.

  • Katie Watson [15:17]: "Gas prices on average are up slightly since Trump came into office."

• Immigration Statistics: Despite controversy, Trump's administration achieved record lows in illegal border crossings, contrasting with previous administrations.

  • Katie Watson [16:21]: "In March, illegal border crossings stood at just over 7,000, the lowest on record since 2000."

Notable Quotes:

• Katie Watson [15:16]: "Gasoline prices are not way down as Trump claimed."
• Katie Watson [16:21]: "Immigration over the southern border has significantly dropped."

6. Israel's Actions in Syria Amid Sectarian Violence

Israel has conducted strikes targeting what it identifies as extremists in Syria, specifically in Druze-majority areas near Damascus, amidst rising sectarian violence.

Key Points:

• Military Strikes: Israel's recent actions aim to deter Syrian authorities from harming the Druze community, a minority also present in Israel.

  • Barasan Ettarajan [18:56]: "Israel's military activity in Syria has grown increasingly aggressive since Assad's overthrow."

• Regional Stability: Clashes between Syrian authorities and Druze fighters have heightened concerns over the region's security.

  • Barasan Ettarajan [19:37]: "Armed clashes have left at least 13 people dead, raising fresh concern over security in Syria."

Notable Quotes:

• Barasan Ettarajan [19:37]: "Israel's latest strike is a warning to show its commitment to defending the Druze."

7. Turkey's Expanding Military Presence in Iraq

A BBC investigation reveals a significant increase in Turkish military bases within the Iraqi Kurdistan region, leading to the displacement of local farmers.

Key Points:

• Forbidden Zone: The region has seen the establishment of 136 Turkish military bases, primarily in areas governed by the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).

  • Celia Hatton [20:12]: "We’re venturing into the Forbidden Zone, a mountainous area in northern Iraq near the Turkish border."

• Civilian Impact: The military operations have resulted in casualties and the displacement of innocent civilians, with local groups seeking justice and compensation.

  • Celia Hatton [21:40]: "Hashem is fighting for compensation for his cousin's death and seeking acknowledgment of Turkish aggression."

• Government Accountability: There are indications of possible cover-ups by Iraqi Kurdish authorities regarding Turkish strikes, obscuring the true causes of civilian deaths.

  • Celia Hatton [21:39]: "BBC has seen documents suggesting the Iraqi Kurdish authorities may have covered up the true cause of Alan's death."

Notable Quotes:

• Barasan Ettarajan [21:18]: "711 people have been killed and injured in Turkish military operations since 1991."
• Rupert Wingfield Hayes [23:18]: "They don't want to reveal the true cause of the death."

8. Withdrawal of Italian Cardinal from Papal Conclave

Italian Cardinal Angelo Becci has withdrawn from the conclave to elect a new pope amidst scandal, impacting the dynamics of the election process.

Key Points:

• Cardinal's Background: Once poised as a potential future pope, Becci resigned in 2020 following severe allegations of financial misconduct.

  • Ella Bicknell [24:38]: "Cardinal Becci was forced to resign after allegations of embezzlement and corruption."

• Conclave Implications: His withdrawal reduces the number of conservative votes, potentially influencing the selection towards a more progressive candidate.

  • Ella Bicknell [25:27]: "Being a conservative and Italian means one less vote for that demographic."

• Historical Context: The Catholic Church has a history of financial scandals, with recent efforts by Pope Francis to reform Vatican finances.

  • Ella Bicknell [26:31]: "Financial scandals are nothing new in the Catholic Church."

Notable Quotes:

• Ella Bicknell [25:29]: "He was attending pre-conclave meetings as late as Monday."
• Ella Bicknell [26:31]: "The most famous one is the Banco Ambrosiano affair of the early 1980s."

9. Medical Breakthrough Saves Doctor's Sight

A pioneering metagenomics test has successfully diagnosed and treated a mysterious eye infection, saving Dr. Ellie Urban's vision.

Key Points:

• Diagnosis Challenge: Dr. Urban suffered from an elusive eye infection for five years, resisting standard treatments and threatening her sight.

  • Dr. Ellie Urban [28:42]: "Metagenomics allowed us to find leptospirosis in my eye, enabling the correct antibiotic treatment."

• Technological Innovation: The test employs genetic sequencing to identify pathogens without prior assumptions, proving crucial in unexplained medical cases.

  • Professor Judy Brewer [28:43]: "It uses genetic sequencing of all material in a sample and compares sequences to a database for diagnosis."

• Patient Impact: Dr. Urban emphasizes the transformative potential of metagenomics for patients with undiagnosed illnesses, highlighting its life-saving capabilities.

  • Dr. Ellie Urban [29:01]: "It can be really transformative, and it certainly was in my case."

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Ellie Urban [28:42]: "I had leptospirosis in my eye, and the correct treatment made all the difference."
• Professor Judy Brewer [28:43]: "Metagenomics looks for any bug without having a prior idea of what it might be."

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Conclusion

This episode of the Global News Podcast delves into a spectrum of pressing global issues, from geopolitical tensions and military developments to significant legal trials, technological advancements, and transformative medical breakthroughs. Through expert analysis and firsthand accounts, the podcast provides listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics shaping our world today.

For further insights and updates, subscribe to the Global News Podcast and engage with the BBC World Service community.

Transcript

[Valerie Sanderson]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 1400 hours GMT on Wednesday 30th April. These are our main stories. India holds security talks and Pakistan warns of imminent military strikes from India following the deadly attack on tourists in Indian administered Kashmir. A BBC investigation has found increased Turkish military presence in northern Iraq. Also in this podcast, Vietnam.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Vietnam.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Vietnam marks the capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese troops 50 years ago. In Australia, the trial of a woman accused of poisoning three relatives with mushrooms is underway and we hear about a medical breakthrough that saved a young doctor's sight. We start with the dispute between India and Pakistan following a deadly attack in Indian administered Kashmir which left 26 people dead last week. The Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Modi has been holding high level talks with his cabinet in response to the attack which it blames on Pakistan, a claim repeatedly denied by Islamabad. Pakistan's information Minister says his country has credible intelligence that India is planning to.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Attack Pakistan open heartedly offered a credible, transparent and independent investigation by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth. Unfortunately, rather than pursuing the path of reason, India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation which will have catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond.

[Valerie Sanderson]

World leaders have expressed deep concern and urged restraint by the uneasy neighbors who have fought several wars and who both have nuclear weapons. Our South Asia regional editor and Barasan Ettarajan told me about the rising tensions.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Now the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure to act after this incident in Kashmir in which 26 people were killed. The Indian government describes it as a terrorist attack. And following this incident there have been w widespread anger and dismay in India. So all these ultra nationalist television channels having a debate about India should react very quickly, decisively because Indian government is accusing Pakistan of supporting the militants who have been waging a war against Indian security forces in Indian administered Kashmir, a charge denied by Islamabad. Now the government has been meeting security chiefs as well as the cabinet committee to evolve a consensus on what kind of action they can take. And last evening Mr. Modi said the armed forces are free to take their own decisions and they can choose the targets, basically giving them a green light to decide on what action can be taken. And that is what prompted the Pakistani minister whom we heard earlier about. They have credible intelligence about an imminent attack. We don't know when this attack will happen but it is increasingly likely that the government of India will be forced to take some action. Action at some point, but we don't know when and in what form.

[Valerie Sanderson]

But I think Pakistan is saying it might be within 24 hours. Is that correct?

[Barasan Ettarajan]

See, the Pakistanis have been closely monitoring what is happening across the border. See in a country like India where if you want to move forces or mobilize forces, you can't, you know, do it in secret. It has to be in the open because you're moving very large amount of forces. And there is a real concern in Pakistan itself because any kind of escalation will lead to consequences and any tit for tat attacks also can lead to major escalation and nobody knows how it will end up. So it is always easy to start a war or a conflict but we don't know how it will end. Look at the Russia, Ukraine war. It's been going on for more than three years. So Pakistan's economy is not in great shape. And also they have active insurgencies in Balochistan and Northwestern province. So this war is actually benefited Pakistan or this tension has benefited Pakistan in a way that it has united everyone to come behind the army. But they are also worried because war is not an option for both the countries given the economic and then the human costs.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And you've covered this region for many years. I'm Barasan, I mean how dangerous do you think this situation is at this point? Can they both pull back?

[Barasan Ettarajan]

See the politicians have whipped up a lot of emotions. The television and the media, social media, they've also whipped up a lot of emotions. So it is difficult to contain this growing public anger. And that is where you need very seasoned politicians, very mature politicians to calm things down. But because of this expectation, the government thinks it has to act. But what we saw in 2019 when there was an attack on Indian security forces, 40 soldiers were killed. India conducted a limited airstrikes that prompted a response by Pakistan and then one of the Indian jets was shot down and a pilot was captured. Luckily it stopped there. It did not escalate further. So that is always at danger for these two countries that if they start it, they don't know how to end it.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And Barasan Efrajan, North Korea has test fired strategic and cruise missiles from its new warship. Analysts believe it was built with assistance from Russia. With more, here's Celia Hatton.

[Celia Hatton]

North Korean state media said the country's leader Kim Jong Un had watched as the new 5000 ton destroyer tested its arsenal including supersonic and strategic cruise missiles, anti aircraft missiles and automatic and electronic jamming guns. He then called for his navy to accelerate its ability to launch nuclear attacks. North Korea's military capabilities are booming after signing a mutual defense pact last year. Russia is believed to have supplied the once isolated military with technological assistance, while Pyongyang has sent troops to fight in Russia's war on Ukraine.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Celia Hatton Fifty years ago, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, bringing down the US supported regime in the south and ending more than two decades of war. In Saigon, now officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City, they've been celebrating Reunification Day with parades and fireworks. Our Asia correspondent, Rupert Wingfield Hayes is in Saigon to witness an incredibly dynamic country which still tightly restricts foreign media reporting.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

In the center of Ho Chi Minh City, soldiers of the People's army of Vietnam are marching to commemorate the day their grandfathers defeated the greatest military power on Earth. They are marching along the very same street North Vietnamese tanks rolled down as they made their final assault on the city. In front of me is the old presidential palace building of the South Vietnamese regime. North Vietnamese tanks came rolling down this road and smashed through the gates in front of me here on April 30, 1975. It brought a dramatic end to the South Vietnamese regime, to the country of South Vietnam, and to more than 20 years of incredibly bitter and brutal conflict between the north and the south that had taken anywhere between 2 and 3 million lives. Most locals still call this city Saigon. In a narrow back street, I've come to meet 75 year old veteran Lei Than. He points to the places on his body where he was hit by shrapnel and bullets. One in his hand, another in his lower back, another in his leg. Lei survived four years on the front lines, including the final assault on Saigon. Many of our comrades were lost, he tells me. There were battles where it seemed like we would all be killed, but somehow some of us survived and in the end we achieved victory.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

We are now in the middle of an air raid on the palace.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Here comes the plane again now. They achieved victory, but their country lay in ruins. In just four years, the US had dropped a greater tonnage of bombs on Vietnam than it did on Japan and Germany in World War II. Some of those bombs are still exploding, still taking lives and limbs. Back in Ho Chi Minh City, the festivities are now in full swing.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

My grandparents, they are fighting in the.

[Valerie Sanderson]

War and we have many years to get this future Today, now we can.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Look at the sky and see the.

[Celia Hatton]

Plane and not scared at all.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And I heard more on how Vietnam has fared since reunification from Rupert.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Initially, I think in the initial Decade after the unification in 1975, it did really rather badly as the northern regime in Hanoi, the Communist party regime in Hanoi, tried to implement central planning policies here in the south. But then they began to reform. And that has accelerated in recent years and accelerated even faster since the beginning of this year. And they are on a, you know, they are a very ambitious country with an ambitious government. Growth rates have been around 5 or 6% per year for the last 10 years. So it is developing incredibly fast. And as I say, they are very ambitious to become a high tech center, to really transform Vietnam into the next Asian tiger.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And what is the relationship like now with the United States?

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Yes, surprisingly, when you talk to people here, they say there is no continuing animosity. What happened was in the past, we want to have a good relationship with the United States. President Obama in his second term visited Vietnam, the first president sitting president to do so. Relations have got much better and they are very dependent on US Trade with the United States, exports to the United States. The big worry right now is this tariff war that has been declared by President Trump because they've been slapped with 46% tariffs. They have been suspended. But those would really put in jeopardy the economic reforms and the economic plans that the government has here for the future of Vietnam.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Rupert Wingfield Hayes. In Australia, the long awaited trial of Erin Patterson is underway. She's accused of killing three relatives and seriously injuring another by serving a lunch with poisonous mushrooms at her home, mainly on Gatha in the state of Victoria, something she denies. The case has drawn attention from the world's media, so much so that jurors are being kept isolated for fear of being influenced. The trial is taking place in the small town of Morwell in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. Locals have mixed feelings about the attention it's brought to the area.

[Celia Hatton]

I think everybody's got an interest in.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

It because it's a bit unusual and.

[Celia Hatton]

Everyone seems to have an opinion on it.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So there's a lot of discussion.

[Katie Watson]

There's a good talking point in that sense.

[Ella Bicknell]

There's not really much to do here usually. So I think people just sort of see it as a real ghost town, really.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Anything that happens in Tro Valley is generally seen by the media in Australia as being negative. There's a lot of positive things about.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

This region and we get negative press all the time.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Our correspondent Katie Watson reports from outside the court.

[Dr. Ellie Urban]

This is a case that's gripped Australia and gained global attention. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers began by setting out details of the fatal lunch in July 2023 in the dock, watching on mother of two Erin Patterson. Jurors were told that Ms. Patterson had invited relatives for lunch at her home with the intention of telling them she had been diagnosed with cancer. Attending were her in laws, Don and Gail Patterson, along with Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian. It was here, the court heard, that all of the guests sat down to eat individual beef Wellingtons served with mashed potato and green beans. But within hours, all four fell ill. The next day in hospital, they were diagnosed with death cap mushroom poisoning. Don, Gail and Heather all died within a few days. Ian Wilkinson eventually recovered after spending a substantial time in hospital. The court heard that Heather Wilkinson spoke to her nephew, Simon Patterson, as she waited for an ambulance. I noticed Erin put her food on a different plate to us. Her plate had colors on it. I wondered why that was, Ms. Wilkinson said, according to the prosecutor. Does Erin have a shortage of crockery? I've been wondering about it since yesterday. Much of the first full day of this trial was spent listening to the prosecution's case. They accuse Erin Patterson of deliberately poisoning the four guests with murderous intent. That she invited the guests over on the pretence that she had been diagnosed with cancer, which was a lie. The defence opening statement was much shorter, but her lawyer said that what happened at that meal was a tragedy, a terrible accident, but that Erin Patterson was innocent of the charges. Colin Mundy accepted his client lied to the police about having never foraged for mushrooms, but maintained she never sought out death cat mushrooms. He also accepted she'd lied about coming here to her local tip and dumping a food dehydrator that had been used to prepare the fatal meal. The jurors were shown a CCTV picture of her carrying a black box later found to contain the device. Might someone panic in a situation like that? He asked the court. Is it possible people might do things that are not well thought out and might make them look bad? Is it possible a person might lie when they find out people are seriously ill from food they served up? On Thursday, first witnesses will give evidence. The trial is expected to last six weeks.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Katie Watson still to come, we hear why one Italian cardinal has withdrawn from the conclave process to elect a new pope. On Tuesday, President Trump celebrated the first 100 days of his administration. Speaking in Michigan, he insisted that he was experiencing the Most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of the United States. BBC Verify has been checking his claims regarding his achievements, from inflation to immigration. The BBC's Lucy Hawkins spoke to Luke Horton.

[Katie Watson]

Bringing the price of everyday goods down for Americans was a key issue in the campaign, and it's been a key issue for his administration in the first hundred days. And specifically on the price of gasoline. So petrol President Trump said this last night in his rally, so gasoline prices are down by a lot. We just hit 198 in a lot of states.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Think of it.

[Katie Watson]

So both of those things are not accurate. So gas prices in the US on average are actually up slightly since Trump came into office. So on 20 January, Trump's first day in office, the average price across the nation for regular gasoline stood at about $3.13. And this week it's about $3.16. So it's ticked up just slightly, but it's certainly not way down, as Trump claimed in his rally last night. And he also made the quite specific claim that in a lot of states it hit $1.98. And there's no evidence for this either. So the American Automobile association, which tracks gas prices, says the lowest it is in any state is actually in Mississippi, and that's the lowest across the US and there it sits at $2.67 currently. So quite a way off that $1.98 that Trump called out in his rally last night.

[Celia Hatton]

One of his big promises has been on tackling immigration. What did he say about that?

[Katie Watson]

So, yeah, another key issue for his administration. And in his rally last night, he boasted about their record in their first three months in office. And this is what he said on immigration.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

We've set all time records for the lowest number of illegal border crossings ever recorded.

[Celia Hatton]

Think of that. Ever recorded.

[Katie Watson]

So that is actually backed up by border patrol statistics at the US Southern border in the first two months, the first two months of data that we have from the Trump administration. So February and March, they have reached record lows. So in March, they stood at just over 7,000 encounters of migrants illegally crossing the US border with Mexico. Now, that is the lowest on record as far back as 2000, when monthly records began. And to give you some context, in the Biden administration in March last year, immigration over the southern border, for comparison, stood at 140,000 for the month of March. So it's a significant drop off from the two administrations. However, think tank, migration, think tank, think tank policies, experts who track these sorts of things say that it's not the lowest ever recorded. They say that in the 1960s, if you look at the monthly average, it was lower then, but it's certainly a significant drop off for current records it's been controversial.

[Celia Hatton]

The Department of Government Efficiency along with President Trump's relationship with Elon Musk, did he tackle that last night?

[Katie Watson]

Yeah. So this is all about the Elon Musk initiative to dramatically cut US Government spending. And when he talked about that, he praised Elon Musk and said this in his rally last night.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

They've saved $150 billion on waste, fraud and abuse.

[Katie Watson]

Doge so Doge and Elon Musk in the campaign said they aim to cut about $2 trillion of US federal government spending. They since half this target to about $1 trillion. And its website at the moment says they've so far cut an estimated $160 billion. So round about the ballpark figure that President Trump gave last night. But BBC verify we've looked into this and we found that a lot of these figures are not actually backed up by any solid proof. You can see that overall 160 billion dollar claimed estimated saving. But only about 61 billion dollars of this is backed up by individual items. And even less of this, about half of that is backed up by proof in the form of a receipt or a government contract attached to those individual items. So it's very hard to independently verify exactly how much Doge has saved when they provide very little evidence for most of their claim savings.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Luke Horton Israel has struck what it calls extremists in Syria amid an outbreak of sectarian violence in mainly Druze areas near Damascus. Israel said it was a message to the Syrian authorities to take action to prevent harm to the Druze. Sebastian Usher reports from Jerusalem.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

In recent days, armed clashes between forces linked to the new Syrian authorities and fighters from the Druze community have left at least 13 people dead in an area near Damascus, raising fresh concern over the security situation in Syria. Israel regards the Islamist group that toppled Bashar Al Assad as a potentially hostile force on its border as it emerged from Al Qaeda. Israel says its latest strike in Syria is a warning to show its commitment to defending the Druze, who represent a minority group not just in Syria, but in Israel too. Since the overthrow of Bashar al Assad, Israel's military activity inside Syria has grown increasingly aggressive.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Sebastian Usher A BBC investigation has exposed the full scale of Turkey's growing military presence in Iraq, which has forced farmers off their land. Turkey says it's in Iraq to pursue the pkk, a Kurdish militant nationalist group which is based in the Iraqi Kurdistan mountains. BBCI investigations from the World Service has gained access to this area known as the Forbidden Zone, and can reveal the huge number of recently established Turkish military bases there. As Simona Fulton.

[Celia Hatton]

We'Re venturing into the forbidden Zone, a mountainous area in northern Iraq near the Turkish border. It's often targeted by Turkish airstrikes against the pkk, a Kurdish nationalist group hiding in caves beneath the mountains. The PKK is banned by the UK and other governments. Two years ago, Hashim Shaker, an Iraqi Kurdish civilian, was injured in a strike. His 24 year old cousin Alan was killed. Here's Hashem speaking to the BBC from his home shortly after the attack.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

The flames on the car were like.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Something out of hell. I stayed calling him for a while and looking around, but I didn't see anything. I said, that's it, he's dead.

[Celia Hatton]

Hashem says his family has nothing to do with the pkk. The family is now working with a human rights group called Community Peacemaker Teams to try and get justice. All those killed in warfare in the region have the right to be recognized as martyrs and to receive compensation. We spoke with the group's coordinator, Kamaran Osman.

[Ella Bicknell]

Since 1991, until now, 711 people have.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Been killed and injured only in the Turkish military operations. There were not any PKK guerrillas, there.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Were not any armored people in inside the farm.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

It is the Iraqi government role to.

[Celia Hatton]

Investigate, arrest these people and then having.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

A fair court hearing.

[Celia Hatton]

The BBC has seen documents suggesting the Iraqi Kurdish authorities may have covered up the true cause of Alan's death. The original police report blames a Turkish drone, but as the case progressed, all references to Turkey vanished. Alan's death certificate cites explosive fragments as the cause. Kamaran also claims to have gathered 250 similar death certificates.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

In most of the death certificates they.

[Celia Hatton]

Only wrote in Fijar, which means explosion.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

Explosion can be a bottle of gas exploding, it can be a mine exploding.

[Valerie Sanderson]

It can be anything exploding.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

So they don't want to ride the right cause of the death.

[Celia Hatton]

Kurds in Iraq live in a largely autonomous region. The government there is dominated by the Kurdish Democratic Party, or kdp, whose close ties with Turkey have contributed to the region's economic success. But our investigation suggests Turkey's influence in Iraqi Kurdistan is expanding. By examining open source satellite imagery, we found 136 Turkish military bases on Iraqi soil. 89% were built in the past seven years and all but one were in KDP governed areas. When we put this to Hoshiar Zebari, a senior member of the kdp, he told us that Turkey's main concern is the PKK not detaining or harming the local population. Back in the Forbidden zone. Hashem would disagree, of course.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

It was a Turkish plane. Kurdistan in northern Iraq gets struck only by Turkey. He has to be registered as a martyr because he was unjustly killed. It's a terrible crime and there is no justice.

[Celia Hatton]

The BBC asked the Turkish Ministry of National Defense for more information about the incident. They denied having carried out a strike on that day and declined the BBC's repeated requests for an interview. Hashem is still fighting for compensation for his cousin's death, or at least for the KDP government to acknowledge that he was another casualty of Turkey's hidden war.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And if you want to watch the full documentary from bbci Turkey's Hidden the Forbidden Zone, you can find it on BBC iPlayer or the BBC World Service. There are more than 250 cardinals in the Catholic Church, but only 133 of them will determine the future of the papacy. Anyone over the age of 80 is ineligible to elect a new Pope. Some have withdrawn due to health reasons and one won't be taking part due to scandal. Despite initially suggesting he would vote, the Italian Cardinal Angelo Becci has now formally withdrawn from the Conclave process, saying he's doing so to obey the will of Pope Francis. Ella Bicknell told Alex Ritson all about it.

[Ella Bicknell]

Cardinal Becci was once a very senior figure in the Vatican, Alex. He rose to prominence under Pope Benedict XVI and was also a close advisor to Pope Francis as the head of the Vatican's Saint making office and was was actually once tipped to be a future Pope. But in 2020, Pope Francis forced his resignation after allegations came through of embezzlement, extortion, corruption, money laundering and all sorts of financial crimes related to this huge scandal involving Vatican spies and property investments in the ultra rich London borough of Chelsea, as well as accusations of Becci sending Vatican money to his brother in Sardinia. And in 2023 he was tried and sentenced to five and a half financial crimes, a sentence that he's still appealing.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Despite being disgraced.

[Barasan Ettarajan]

It was believed he was going to participate in the Conclave when all of.

[Ella Bicknell]

This happened, this sentence for these financial crimes. Pope Francis let Becu keep his title and his Vatican lodgings, which created actually a lot of confusion of whether or not he could participate in the Conclave. And it was revealed that Pope Francis wrote him two letters before his death saying that he should withdraw from the process, which he has now done. But he was attending pre conclave meetings as late as Monday. So this is somewhat a last minute decision. But in a statement through his lawyer, he says he will be obeying the will of the Pope, while, in his words, remaining convinced of his innocence. And he's doing all of this for the good of the church. And you might think, what difference does this make? But only 130 or so cardinals get to choose who the Pope is. And being a conservative and Italian, it does mean one less vote for someone of that demographic vying for the papacy.

[Rupert Wingfield Hayes]

Financial scandals, though, Ella Nothing new in the Catholic Church.

[Ella Bicknell]

No, Alex. The most famous one is the Banco Ambrosiano affair of the early 1980s, when banker Roberto Calvi scanned the Vatican of vast waves of its reserves and he was later found dead. Initially thought to be suicide, and later inquest said it was probably murder. And there have been financial scandals since. And that is something that did weigh heavily on the recently deceased Pope Francis. And he really wanted to lead by example as a more humble pastoral pope. In 2013, he declared that the Church should be poor and for the poor, and, and tried to reform the Vatican's finances, bringing in external financial experts, all sorts of cost cutting measures, including reducing the salaries of cardinals. And although those efforts did help, problems of trust and high expenses within the Catholic Church still exist and will certainly be on the plate of whoever is voted to succeed Pope Francis.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Ella Bicknell. And we're preparing a special conclave edition of the Global News podcast, answering your questions around how the new Pope is chosen, the timetable and who may succeed Pope Francis as pontiff. Just send us your question in a voicemail or an email to globalpodcastbc.co.uk and finally, a cutting edge test has saved the eyesight of a woman from the UK who was left contemplating having an eye removed after she developed a mysterious infection. Ellie Urban, a young doctor, suffered pain and blurred vision for five years after swimming in a river in the Amazon rainforest. Standard tests failed to identify what was causing it, but then she was offered a type of analysis called metagenomics. Professor Judy Brewer is professor of virology in London and helped design the test that saved Ellie. It's a test that allows us to look for any bug without having a prior idea of what it might be in a patient with suspected infection. And it uses genetic sequencing of all the material in a sample and then it looks at the sequences and compares those to a database and that allows us to make the diagnosis. And normally when we get a sample.

[Ella Bicknell]

We have to sort of culture it.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Grow the bacteria in the lab. We have to decide what specific tests we want to do by pcr. And it's when those are negative that our test becomes really important. Professor Judy Brewer. Ellie Irwin spoke to Catherine Birahanga about the struggle to find answers.

[Dr. Ellie Urban]

By far the most challenging thing I've ever been through. I started off getting blood, vision and redness in my right eye. And despite multiple treatments, hourly steroid drops every single day, we just couldn't get on top of things. I just felt so frustrated and tired at the fact that nothing was working. We'd done so many tests to try and look for the cause of things, including infections, because it did always feel slightly odd that it was just affecting one eye and that it was so resistant to all the treatments that normally work against autoimmune conditions. However, all of the tests had come back negative and no infection was ever found. So I was really at breaking point when metagenomics kind of first entered the picture. There's so many people who are dealing with undiagnosed illnesses.

[Celia Hatton]

Have people reached out to you since this story was published, and what's the.

[Ella Bicknell]

Reaction been to it?

[Dr. Ellie Urban]

I think it is really important. It's obviously got to be used in the correct setting and for the correct patient group. But I think for those patients where all other tests haven't found anything, it can be really transformative, and it certainly was in my case. It allowed us to find that I had leptospirosis in my eye. And that was so important because I then was able to have the correct treatment, which is three weeks of some antibiotics, which just made all the difference.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Dr. Ellie Obed and that's it from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk you can also find us on XBCWorldService. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Louis Griffin. The producer was Marion Straughan. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye.