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Global News Podcast
President Trump says he is 'not happy' with deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv
00:34:28
Mr Trump previously accused Ukraine's president of being main obstacle to peace
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- [00:00]
Zing Singh
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. I'm Zing Singh. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast exploring the lives of some of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names. Yep, LeBron James and Martha Stewart, to name just a few. And as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, bad or just another billionaire that's good. Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Foreign this is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Bernard Echio and in the early hours of Friday 25th April, these are our main stories. President Trump says he won't be happy if Vladimir Putin continues to bomb Ukraine, and he insisted he was putting a lot of pressure on Russia. Reports from Mali say dozens of people have been executed after being arrested in a market by soldiers and Russian mercenaries. And doctors in Brazil say the health condition of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has deteriorated. Last week he underwent intestinal surgery. Also in this podcast, embarrassed faces in the Netherlands after it emerged that an anti Warhol print was probably taken out with the rubbish. This isn't how you treat valuable items, masshorst mayor observed. Ever since he returned to the White House, President Trump has rarely criticized the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. Mr. Trump's disparaging remarks have usually been aimed at the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. But on Thursday, following a Russian attack on Kyiv that killed at least 12 people, Mr. Trump wrote on social media, Vladimir, stop and let's get the peace deal done. The rare rebuke for the Russian president came after weeks of urging Mr. Zelenskyy to agree to a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Kyiv is refusing to sign up to Mr. Trump's latest peace plan, parts of which have been leaked, and Moscow hasn't indicated it's ready to agree. But the US President remains confident.
- [02:24]
Donald Trump
Putting a lot of pressure. You don't know what pressure I'm putting on Russia.
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Gary O'Donoghue
They're dealing.
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Donald Trump
You have no idea what pressure I'm putting on Russia. We're putting a lot of pressure.
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Yogita Limai
Can you maybe tell us how many.
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Donald Trump
Times we're putting a lot of pressure on Russia and Russia knows that. And some people that are close to it know or he wouldn't be talking right now. And we're putting a lot of pressure. I think he wants to make a deal. We're going to find out very soon. But it takes two to tango and you have to have Ukraine want to make a deal, too. They're being hit very hard and I do believe they want to make a deal.
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Zing Singh
Donald Trump also said he's not happy with the deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv. I heard more about Mr. Trump's criticism of President Putin from our Washington correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue.
- [03:07]
Leonardo Rocha
Well, I think this is a small departure, if you like, because he shies away from criticizing Vladimir Putin quite often. And the attacks on Kyiv over Wednesday night obviously left at least a dozen people dead and almost 100 so far injured. And his words were quite strong on that. Nevertheless, when he was asked directly what pressure he was putting on Vladimir Putin in terms of coming to the table to do a deal, he wouldn't specify. He wouldn't say. He simply said, look, he wouldn't be talking if we weren't putting lots of pressure. And of course he's putting pressure on Ukraine at the same time. So he says a deal is close. At one point he talked about one week. At one point he talked about two weeks. But clearly American patience is running out and they have said, you know, they could walk away from this.
- [03:58]
Zing Singh
Now President Trump's plan for peace seems to be more acceptable to Russia than Ukraine. How confident is he of Kyiv agreeing?
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Leonardo Rocha
Well, what we know of this seven point plan is that it seems to freeze the current front lines roughly where they are. It does seem to recognize the annexation of Crimea, which is something the first Trump presidency didn't do. It suggests that the Russians might have to hand over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which they control at the moment, which would be handed over to American control. Not sure that's something that Moscow will accept. And it does allow or appears to allow for Ukraine to join the EU, though not NATO. Now, there are a number of problems on the Ukrainian side, not least that, you know, the constitution wouldn't allow, as things stand, than just simply giving up Crimea or allowing that to be formally recognized as an annexation. And, you know, in terms of public opinion, handing over parts of those provinces in the east that Russia already occupies without any kind of further discussion is also going to be problematic. So there are a lot of problems with this deal that the president is says he's confident can be sorted out. But it's difficult to see a path through at the moment that either of these sides could really actually agree to.
- [05:14]
Zing Singh
Gary O'Donoghue Under President Trump, there have been dramatic changes in American policy towards the war in Ukraine. Moscow has also adjusted the way it portrays its relations with Washington. Here's our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg.
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Donald Trump
Donald Trump may have criticized the Russian strike on Kyiv, but in Moscow, they know very well that most of his public criticisms of the war have been directed at Ukraine's leader. President Trump says openly he wants better relations with Russia, and Moscow feels the same way. Here's one sign of that a new exhibition in Moscow celebrating a moment of US Russian friendship 80 years ago, when American and Soviet troops met at the Elbe river in Germany. More recently, the war in Ukraine has put Russia and America on opposite sides. But since Donald Trump's return to the White House, they've been talking again about boosting ties and economic cooperation. And the Kremlin has worked out something rather important about Mr. Trump that with him, flattery will get you, if not everywhere, then certainly a very long way. Artist Nikas Safronov tells me about the portrait of Donald Trump he painted and which President Putin sent to the US President recently as a gift. President Trump is reported to have loved it. For Russia's president, mission accomplished. I got a call. It was from President Putin. The artist tells me, thank you. He said, what you did was very important. He goes on to say, we think that Trump is the man who can help end the war and bring our countries together. Donald Trump was also the man who had promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine in 24 hours, but that never happened.
- [07:11]
Zing Singh
Steve Rosenberg in Moscow. In a separate development, a former Russian commander who criticised the way the top brass were conducting the war in Ukraine has been found guilty of fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. General Ivan Popov, who commanded Russian units in southern Ukraine, was convicted of stealing $1.5 million worth of metal intended for fortifications. Following the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries two years ago, General Popov's concerns were made public in a voice message. In it, he complained about poor leadership and lack of weapons and ammunition. He was sacked soon afterwards, with influential military bloggers saying he was being punished for speaking truth to power. Witnesses in Mali say dozens of people were shot dead days after being arrested in a market by soldiers and Russian mercenaries. Survivors said they were accused of collaborating with Islamist militants. Our Africa regional editor Will Ross reports. One witness said he was interrogated and whipped at a Malian military camp. He said more than 60 people were then taken outside the camp to be executed by white men who are widely reported to be working for the Russian security company Wagner. Another witness said there were bursts of gunfire and he fell to the ground. But he survived and lay there for Several hours. A local NGO said the victims were mostly Fulani herdsmen, who are often accused of being linked to the Islamist militants in the Sahel region. Mali's army and the Russian troops have.
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Leonardo Rocha
Repeatedly been accused of human rights abuses.
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Zing Singh
Will Ross. The former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro has been in and out of hospital since he was stabbed in the abdomen during a rally in 2018. Now his doctors say his condition has deteriorated after surgery. To fix complications related to the attack, they've advised a no visitor policy as he remains in intensive care. But on Wednesday, a court official delivered a summons to his hospital bed related to an alleged coup attempt against President Lula. Our America's regional editor, Leonardo Rocha, told me more.
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Gary O'Donoghue
A medical report has been released saying that his blood pressure has gone up and that his liver function, his liver exams have worsened. He's at intensive care in hospital, but he's conscious. He had an operation just over a week ago, a very long operation, 12 hours for this persistent problem that he's had in the gut and intestines. And he was recovering. But the fact that he had to be summoned by the Supreme Court, that's what his supporters are saying, has affected his health. The stress of having to be summoned by the Supreme Court in hospital, that might have had an impact. Others, I mean, who are opposed to former president, said that he's just trying to maximize that for political gains.
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Zing Singh
Well, yes, let's go back to that summons. He's been told he's got five days to present a legal defence against an alleged attempt to stage a coup. So how is that likely to play out?
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Gary O'Donoghue
Well, the deadlines from this court, from the Supreme Court, they have been very strict. And that's something that the Bolsonaro camp has been saying, that we're not being given much time. He was indicted a month ago. It was confirmed exactly a month ago. And they basically, they are trying to have this trial finished by the end of the year. There are many, many accusations that he staged a military coup to prevent the inauguration of President Lula when President Bolsonaro lost the election. There's many, many people involved and they are trying to do that because next year there are presidential elections in Brazil and the pressure is from the government. And I think the Supreme Court, they don't want to contaminate. That's the word they use, the elections with that. So you have the health situation there. That is real. President Bolsonaro was stabbed during the electoral campaign in 2018. He's been operated on six times since then. I don't think he is very healthy. I don't think that Very, very serious now. But his health is not good. I don't know if he would be able to run on a health basis next year even if he was legally allowed. But I think that you have the political game here with the government trying to speed up this trial. Basically everyone expects him to be sentenced, to be convicted. And you have the Bolsonaro camp trying to delay that as much as possible so that he comes closer to the election.
- [11:47]
Zing Singh
Leonardo Rosha. Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased following the killings on Tuesday of 26 people. Delhi has blamed Pakistan for the attack in Pehalgam in Indian Administered Kashmir and introduced a series of measures including the suspension of a water sharing treaty. Pakistan has said any attempt to limit waters from the Indus would be regarded as an act of war. Its Defence Minister is Khawaja Asif.
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Donald Trump
You work actually depriving us of water, which is our right, which was acknowledged by India as it is written in that treaty.
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Zing Singh
Islamabad has announced retaliatory measures including the expulsion of diplomats and the closure of its airspace. Speaking at a public event, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to track down those responsible.
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Donald Trump
India will identify and punish every terrorist. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth.
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Zing Singh
Indian police have named a number of suspects, two of whom it says are Pakistani nationals. I spoke to our South Asia correspondent, Yogita Limai, shortly after she'd been to the site of the attack.
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Yogita Limai
So the search operation is still ongoing. When you look at the terrain, it's basically very thickly forested, tall Himalayan mountains, some of which are snow capped. The weather was also, it was rainy, it was cloudy, all of it making it a very challenging task for Indian security forces to find the attackers. We've spoken to top police officials today who've told us they believe there were four attackers. The police department has released the the sketches of three attackers. Two of them they say were Pakistani nationals. They've also announced a 2 million rupee reward which is roughly $23,000 for anyone who comes forward with information about the attackers. And they've told us that They've rounded up 1500 people from different parts of the Kashmir region. They say that they suspect these people were in contact with terror networks and might hold clues about where the attackers came from, who they are and how they can be found.
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Zing Singh
Now, of course, India has blamed Pakistan for the attack and has introduced a series of measures in response. Tell us about them.
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Yogita Limai
We heard the Ministry of External affairs announce a series of measures directed at Pakistan. They appear to be intended to hit Pakistan economically. Key among them is the closure of the main border crossing between India and Pakistan at atari in India. And the other significant one is the suspension of a water sharing treaty, which could have pretty significant impact. That was announced yesterday. And today we've, of course, also heard from Pakistan, which has announced its own countermeasures.
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Zing Singh
You're there on the ground, Yegita. What are you hearing from local people?
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Yogita Limai
Firstly, about the attack itself. There continues to be shock and anguish about it, because while this is a region that's no stranger to conflict, there is, you know, even among locals here, you know, there is opposition in some parts to Indian rule. So it's seen a lot of that. And in that violence in three and a half decades, tens of thousands of civilians, tens of thousands of security forces have been killed. But rarely ever in all of that time have attacks ever been directed at tourists in this manner. And so it is something that has really shocked people. I was speaking in pehalgam to somebody who takes tourists around pehalgam on mountain bikes, and he said he was one of the people who responded to that attack and brought some of the injured down, brought some of the dead bodies down. And he said he's utterly shocked. He said he's 30 years old, and in all of his life, he has never seen such an event happen. So I think there is shock and there is nervousness because when there are tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, this is the region that feels the effect of that. But it is very hard to predict where we are at this moment and what could come next.
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Zing Singh
Yogi to lemai A Dutch mayor has apologized after it emerged that a print by the artist Andy Warhol was probably taken out with the rubbish during renovations to a town hall. Warhol's print of queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was part of his reigning queen series, painted in 1985. Here's our Netherlands correspondent, Anna Holligan.
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Yogita Limai
For his 1985 print of the then queen Beatrix, Warhol adapted an official state photograph and presented the monarch in vivid colors in his pop art style, wearing.
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Zing Singh
Her royal tiara, gemstone earrings and a brooch. But local officials have admitted that this.
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Yogita Limai
Rare silk screen print was among 46.
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Zing Singh
Valuable artworks which were probably accidentally taken away with the bins. They'd been stored in a basement during.
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Yogita Limai
Renovation work at the town hall, and their disappearance only came to light when the municipality carried out an inventory of the paintings.
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Zing Singh
This isn't how you treat valuable items. Masshort's mayor observed, Andy Warhol often turned the detritus of his everyday life into art. But here his work appears to have been treated as rubbish. Anna Holligan still to come, as we record this podcast, a pianist in London is in the middle of a 24 hour marathon on stage playing Vexation by the French composer Eric Sati. I'm Xing Singh. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast exploring the lives of some of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names. Yep, LeBron James and Martha Stewart to name just a few. And as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, good, bad or just another billionaire. That's good. Bad billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Now to Rome. And it's estimated that over 90,000 people filed past the body of Pope Francis on Thursday, who's lying in State inside St. Peter's Basilica. Our correspondent Mark Lohan asked some of those in St. Peter's Square for their reflections on the late Pope. I feel like he brought so many people to the Catholic faith and he inspired me to sort of reach out and think about the marginalized and the people on the fringes of society. And you come with your, with your kids.
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Donald Trump
Guys, are you excited about going inside and seeing this beautiful church?
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Zing Singh
Yes. What did you think of him? I thought he was very, very nice and kind person to spread the faith around the world.
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Leonardo Rocha
What are the kind of values that you want to see embodied in the next leader of your church?
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Zing Singh
I would just love to see more, kind of bringing more people together, traditional wings and really both sides to be able to find something that we can all kind of connect with each other again. I feel like, you know, there's been a little bit of division and we would love to see something like to bring everyone together, that we can all feel more united again. Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend Pope Francis Funeral in St. Peter's Square on Saturday with delegations from all over the world. The BBC's religion editor Alim McBoule is also there near St Peter's Basilica.
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Gary O'Donoghue
It's a stunning backdrop, of course, and it looks empty, but that's only because it's being prepared for the funeral and it seemed really quiet. But I can tell you because I've just walked through there along the entire avenue leading to St. Peter's Basilica, there are thousands of people waiting in an atmosphere of fraternity, of patience, as well, people are being rushed past the Pope's body. We hear about 40aminute. And yet people here feel it's worth it because there are so many have talked about the connection they felt with Pope Francis. And they only have a short amount of time, more to be able to say their goodbyes in person. Because at 7 o'clock in the evening, the doors of St. Peter's will be shut. An hour later, the coffin will be closed ahead of the funeral. And while we hear that Pope Francis asked that elements of the funeral be toned down, this is still going to an extraordinary event filled with ceremony, with ritual, with tradition. 130 foreign delegations, 50 heads of state, not all of them ones that Pope Francis saw eye to eye with always and 10 sitting sovereigns. So it is going to be a moment. Catholics believe that God's representative on earth is changing. And because of that, this is going to feel like a moment of history. It is going to feel like a momentous event.
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Zing Singh
The BBC's religion editor Alim China's Foreign Ministry has denied claims from Donald Trump that Beijing and Washington have been engaged in talks which could end the trade war between them within weeks. The US President said on Wednesday that the two superpowers were actively negotiating. Our China correspondent Stephen McDonnell reports from Beijing.
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Donald Trump
China's foreign ministry has essentially accused U.S. president Donald Trump of lying about talks.
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Leonardo Rocha
Between the two countries to end the.
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Donald Trump
Tariffs which Washington and Beijing have placed on one another.
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Zing Singh
All these reports are false, said spokesperson.
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Leonardo Rocha
Guo Jiakun, who added there have been.
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Zing Singh
No consultations or negotiations between China and the US on tariffs, let alone any agreement. He said that although China was open.
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Donald Trump
To such talks, the country was also.
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Zing Singh
Up for a fight to end a.
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Leonardo Rocha
Trade war which was initiated by the US Last week.
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Zing Singh
President Trump claimed that China and the US had had very good trade talks involving top officials, but Beijing has now.
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Leonardo Rocha
Denied that any discussions have taken place.
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Zing Singh
Stephen McDonnell in Beijing as we just heard, given the current political relationship between Beijing and Washington, news that China is sending the United States some gifts may come as a surprise. The gifts are moon rocks from China's recent explorations into space. China's space agency is sending the rocks on loan to universities in the U.S. including Brown and the State University of New York. So what will scientists at those institutions be looking for? Rebecca Kesbi spoke to John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University and also a member of the NASA Advisory Council. So what can we learn from moon rocks?
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Donald Trump
A lot. We can learn about the origins of the moon, the origins of the Solar system, whether there's water embedded in the lunar soil. We've been studying lunar samples now for over 50 years, and there's still more to learn. One of the things about the Chinese samples is, is they seem to be a billion years younger than the samples from Apollo 11 or from Apollo in general. So it suggests that volcanic activity went on in the Moon more recently than people had thought.
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Zing Singh
Interesting. And, I mean, I don't know if you've seen pictures of these rocks, how big they might be, and also, what sort of experiments will scientists be doing on them?
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Donald Trump
Well, first of all, they're not very big. These are measured in grams, not kilos, and they'll be subject to anything that a scientist can think of.
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Zing Singh
Were you surprised to hear that these samples were being loaned to universities in the United States at the moment, given the. The nature of the relationship politically between the US And China?
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Donald Trump
Well, this has very little to do with politics. It's international cooperation in science which is the norm. The United States shared its moon rocks from Apollo with scientists from over 15 countries. And President Nixon at the time sent tiny samples of the Moon to the heads of government in 135 countries. So that sharing has taken place well over 50 years ago.
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Zing Singh
But, I mean, are there any difficulties in sharing information about space? Because normally space programming is usually secret, isn't it?
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Donald Trump
Well, I mean, the controls on sharing are controls on technology, not controls on lunar samples or the science of examining lunar samples. There's nothing of military significance related to this.
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Zing Singh
And in terms of the Moon, which was obviously such a key part of the space missions decades ago, and then it sort of went quiet, didn't it, for a few decades where focus was elsewhere in space. Now everybody's keen to get back to the Moon. What do you read into that, and why is that the case?
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Donald Trump
Well, the Moon is basically the only place where you can, in the solar system, where you can formally go and do field work in a geological term. We've gotten samples from asteroids, and we think that some meteorites landing on Earth are coming from Mars. But the Moon is a place where you can go and be a geologist.
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Zing Singh
Professor John Logsdon from George Washington University, a mayor in Israel is facing backlash from members of the government and on social media after he used his speech on Holocaust Memorial Day on Thursday to say that Jewish morality means that Israelis and Jews mustn't be silent about any atrocities, even if he said they were committed in their name. Our correspondent Sebastian Usher reports from Jerusalem.
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Donald Trump
Once again, a siren brought Israel to a standstill in memory of The Holocaust, the second Memorial Day since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza, Israeli leaders have made solemn speeches with President Isaac Herzog attending a ceremony in Auschwitz with both Holocaust survivors and hostages freed from Gaza. One Holocaust Day speech has drawn particular attention as the mayor of Hod Hasharon, Amir Kochavi, said that Israelis must not remain silent about any atrocities, even those committed in their name, adding that what he called the lust for revenge, blood and destruction had not brought back the remaining hostages. His words drew criticism from some quarters, with the Culture Minister Mickey Zoha saying they were a spit in the face of Holocaust survivors.
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Zing Singh
Sebastian Usher as we heard in Poland, Israelis who were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 and since released joined Holocaust survivors at an event to remember the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Naz. The annual March of the Living at Auschwitz took place 80 years after the camp was liberated. One million Jews and more than 100,000 others died at the site between 1940 and 1945. One of the former Israeli hostages, an Israeli soldier, played a violin that belonged to a Jewish musician who died in the Holocaust. A correspondent in Poland, Adam Easton, reports.
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Gary O'Donoghue
The Shofar, a ram's horn being blown, signaled the start of the march between the Auschwitz memorial's main gate and Birkenau, 3km away. At its head, 80 elderly Holocaust survivors riding in specially provided golf carts. Behind them, the presidents of Israel and Poland, Isaac Herzog and anzej Duda, and 8,000 people, many Israeli high school students, draped in the Star of David flag. When the marchers arrived at Birkenau, home to the tangled remains of the gas chambers the Nazis used to murder innocent men, women and children. The skies darkened and the rain came streaming down. Sheltering under umbrellas, the participants watched Agam Berger, an Israeli Defense Force surveillance soldier who was held hostage in Gaza for 482 days, play a 1 3, year old violin that survived the Holocaust and.
- [29:18]
Zing Singh
Was brought to Israel.
- [29:27]
Gary O'Donoghue
90 year old Holocaust survivor Sarah Weinstein sang a Yiddish song used to encourage Jewish children to learn the Hebrew Alphabet. One million Jews were killed in Auschwitz, which has come to symbolize the Holocaust. Survivors and the young return every year to march and show the world that they are still living.
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Zing Singh
Comets are live. Adam Easton reporting from Warsaw. Next to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where this year's international prize for Arabic fiction has been announced. The Egyptian author Mohammed Sameyonada won the $50,000 prize for his novel the Prayer of Anxiety. I spoke to Arts journalist Vincent Dowd and asked him what the winning book was about.
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Donald Trump
You could say it's a historical novel about the Six Days War, but that might be slightly misleading. So the author was born in 1978. This is his third novel, so he's quite well known. In parentheses. His day job is as a finance director in the tourism industry, or as I think it's worth knowing, what people do in real life, so to speak. His book is set in a small, very obscure, very fictional village in Egypt called Naga Al Manassi. We see what happens over the years through the eyes of various people who live there. The period is basically 1967-77. In other words, the decade after the Six Days War in Egypt. It would be called the Naxa, the Setback, as it's usually translated. It's not trying to narrate a decade of total Egyptian history. It's investigating Egypt's self image in recent decades. The book becomes more fantastical as it goes along. The chair of the judges said the Prayer of Anxiety had won because it resonates with the reader and awakens them to pressing existential questions. The author blends symbolism with captivating poetic language.
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Zing Singh
Well, Vincent, this award is often labeled the Arabic Booker Prize. Has the Arab Fiction Prize become an important event?
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Donald Trump
Well, it's been going for 18 years now. Broadly, it was based on the Booker, though there's no direct connection. It goes to what the judges think is the best novel in Arabic in the previous year. It's financed basically through Abu Dhabi. But I think it's very interesting that people around the world are definitely asking if the heyday of the big literary awards has passed. I don't mean just this one. I mean things like, as it were, the real Booker. In some ways, I think these newer awards could be a bit more interesting for readers. Perhaps we've become a bit more bored with the others.
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Zing Singh
Vincent, what distinguishes Arabic literature and do you think the shortlisted books reach an international audience?
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Donald Trump
Well, I don't think we've seen Arabic literature in translation obviously have its. What we might call its butterfly moment. South Asian literature did. South American literature did relatively little. Of these six shortlisted works is definitely political. Oddly enough, the stories in the main are told through a prism, a fractured prism, you might say, of history and imagination and fantasy. But look at what goes on in the Middle east now. It would be fascinating to know if eventually there'll be a fantastic novel, maybe a fantastic film out of today's headlines. But, you know, it is so time consuming to move from the headlines to a great work of art. But one day it will happen.
- [32:52]
Zing Singh
Vincent Dowd as we record this podcast, a pianist in London is more than 13 hours into what's been billed as one of classical music's most arduous and demanding works, Vexation by the French composer Eric Satie. Igor Levitt is expected to play for up to 20 hours and won't be allowed to leave the stage. Charlotte Gallagher has been listening. There's an irony here. Vexation by Eric Satie is not in itself a long composition. In fact, it only lasts a few minutes. Perhaps not the obvious choice for a musical endurance event, but Sati himself did raise the idea of performing it 840 times in a row, saying any performer would need to prepare one's himself beforehand. In the deepest silence. Through serious immobilities, Igor Levitt took to his piano to take on the challenge. Under the direction of performance artist Marina Abramovic, Levitt has undertaken the feat. Before playing vexation for 15 hours and 29 minutes in his Berlin apartment, he says his mind did wander. I thought about, you know, people and friends and what about, you know, anything, what comes to mind. And sometimes I would think about back pain. Sometimes I would think I'm hungry. Sometimes I would think, what the heck am I doing here?
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Gary O'Donoghue
Sometimes the varieties were very wide.
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Zing Singh
But again, bottom line, it was really a feast to do that. He's not planning to leave the stage, not even to go to the toilet. When nature calls, a screen will be erected so he's able to answer that call with modesty and dignity. Assistants will bring him food, water and mop his brow, and he might lie down for a few minutes while at his piano. Tickets have been sold for hour long slots, but some people have bought multiple and are planning to stay until the end. That report by Charlotte Gallagher and that's all from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk you can also find us on X@BBC World Service, use the hashtag Global Newspod. This edition was mixed by Jack Wilson. The producer was Liam McSheffrey. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Bernadette Keough. Until next time. Goodbye. I'm Zing Singh. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast exploring the lives of some of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names. Yep. LeBron James and Martha Stewart, to name just a few. And as, as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, bad, or just another billionaire. That's good. Bad billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.