Romanian court criticised for annulling election results

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary
BBC World Service
Episode: Romanian Court Criticised for Annulling Election Results
Release Date: December 7, 2024

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1. Annulling Romania's Presidential Election: A Democratic Crisis

The episode opens with a critical examination of the recent decision by Romania’s Constitutional Court to annul the presidential election results, a move that has sparked intense debate both domestically and internationally.

Key Points:

• Court's Ruling: The Constitutional Court nullified the election due to alleged Russian interference, halting the runoff between pro-Russian candidate Kaline Georgescu and his rival Elena Lasconi.
• Political Fallout: Georgescu, initially trailing in polls and unexpectedly leading after a TikTok-driven campaign, now labels the court’s decision as a "coup" (02:15).
• Evidence of Interference: The court based its decision on declassified intelligence reports revealing a state-sponsored TikTok influence campaign and approximately 85,000 cyberattacks targeting electoral institutions (04:56).

Notable Quotes:

• Kaline Georgescu: “Today's decision by the Constitutional Court represents more than a legal controversy. It's practically a formalized state coup.” (02:15)
• Elena Lasconi: “We should have gone ahead with the vote. We should have respected the will of the Romanian people.” (03:20)
• Sarah Rainsford: “The judges have been meeting since the morning to discuss whether or not they might annul the election… [it] began with the first round win of a far-right candidate who nobody really had ever heard of before.” (03:47)

Analysis: Sarah Rainsford highlights the unprecedented nature of the court’s intervention, suggesting a significant undermining of democratic processes. The episode delves into concerns over potential future interference, emphasizing the broader pattern of Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics across Europe.

2. Escalating Conflict in Syria: Assad’s Regime Faces New Threats

The podcast shifts focus to the intensifying conflict in Syria, where rebel forces are making significant advances against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Key Points:

• Rebel Advances: Rebels have reached the outskirts of Homs, and Islamist-led and Kurdish forces have seized key border crossings with Jordan and Iraq (07:09).
• Assad’s Predicament: Assad’s regime, already beleaguered by years of civil war, faces its most significant threat since 2015. Support from Russia and Iran, which previously helped maintain the regime, is waning due to other geopolitical commitments, such as the conflict in Ukraine (07:49).
• Regional Implications: The shifting alliances and military movements threaten to destabilize neighboring regions, particularly with Turkey’s historical backing of Syrian rebels and emerging Kurdish power in Deir Ezzor (09:36).

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Cox: “This is the biggest threat. This is an existential threat to the 60-year-old regime of the Al Assads in Syria.” (07:49)
• Rami Jarrah: “A lot of what's going on right now obviously does not represent the attitude and environment in which the Syrian revolution began in 2011.” (11:33)
• Brian Cox: “Turkey, which has historically backed the rebels, is probably in a stronger position, but it'll be worried about the Kurds who have taken the city of Deir Ezzor in the East.” (10:57)

Analysis: Rami Jarrah provides a personal perspective on the militarization of the Syrian conflict, underscoring the shift from peaceful protests to violent rebellion. The episode explores the precarious balance of power in Syria and the broader Middle East, highlighting the diminishing support from traditional allies like Russia and Iran.

3. Gender Parity vs. Gender-Based Violence in Iceland

Transitioning to social issues, the podcast examines Iceland's reputation as a leader in gender equality juxtaposed with alarming statistics on gender-based violence.

Key Points:

• Gender Equality Achievements: Iceland has topped global rankings for gender parity, offering extensive parental leave and high female employment rates (15:30).
• Persistent Violence: Despite these advancements, nearly 40% of Icelandic women have experienced physical or sexual violence, with over 80% of such cases not reaching the courts (18:00).
• Cultural and Systemic Challenges: Survivors like Gudrun Ionstotir argue that societal pressures to remain silent perpetuate violence, prompting legal action against the state for systemic misogyny (18:26).

Notable Quotes:

• Sofia Betitsa: “Close to 40% of Icelandic women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence. And with more than 80% of reports of sexual violence never making it to court.” (17:21)
• Gudrun Ionstotir: “We are not any more safe than women anywhere else. Violence thrives in silence.” (17:39)

Analysis: Reporter Sofia Betitsa uncovers the stark contrast between Iceland’s public image and the hidden struggles of its women. The segment highlights ongoing efforts by activists to hold the government accountable, revealing deep-seated issues that belie the nation’s progressive façade.

4. Notre Dame Cathedral Reopens: Balancing Restoration with Acoustics

The podcast also covers the official reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, focusing on the meticulous restoration efforts and the challenges of maintaining historical acoustics.

Key Points:

• Restoration Efforts: After the devastating fire in 2019, five years of restoration have transformed Notre Dame into a “building flooded by light” through the cleaning of stained glass windows and removal of centuries-old dust (19:33).
• Acoustic Considerations: Brian Katz from Sorbonne University discusses the complexities of restoring acoustics, noting that the removal of historical tapestries and enhancements aimed at modernizing the space have impacted sound quality (29:13).

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Katz: “The idea of a very clean, empty cathedral is rather a modern conception. Historically, there would be times when the cathedral was full of tapestries and hanging drapes.” (29:13)
• Brian Katz: “We are being faced with the cathedral in its brand new state and that's something that, you know, we haven't had in 800 years. I'm very excited.” (29:13)

Analysis: The restoration of Notre Dame balances reverence for historical authenticity with modern preservation techniques. The discussion underscores the ongoing challenges in maintaining the architectural and acoustic integrity of ancient structures while adapting to contemporary standards.

5. EU-Mercosur Trade Deal: Economic Implications and Political Contestation

In the realm of international business, the podcast explores the European Union’s landmark trade agreement with Mercosur nations, highlighting both its potential benefits and the opposition it faces.

Key Points:

• Trade Agreement Details: The deal aims to eliminate tariffs between the EU and Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), facilitating the free exchange of goods such as cars, machinery, and agricultural products (21:19).
• Opposition and Challenges: French Trade Minister Sophie Prima and other EU member states like Italy and Poland oppose the deal, citing concerns over agricultural impacts and national interests. The agreement requires qualified majority voting, making its passage uncertain (22:05).
• Impact on Citizens: If approved, consumers may benefit from lower food prices and increased availability of goods, while European farmers could face competition from cheaper imports (23:06).

Notable Quotes:

• David Waddell: “From Mercosur's point of view, it will be good for their farmers because they'll be able to more easily enter the European Union.” (21:50)
• David Waddell: “If Latin American countries that are members of MERCOSUR can trade more effectively with the EU, they'll be sending cheaper products into the EU, especially beef products.” (23:06)

Analysis: David Waddell provides a comprehensive overview of the economic stakes involved in the EU-Mercosur deal, balancing the prospects of enhanced trade against the contentious political dynamics within the EU. The segment emphasizes the delicate interplay between economic benefits and national opposition.

6. The Sale of the Observer Newspaper: A Shift in British Journalism

The podcast addresses the controversial sale of the UK's oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, to the digital news startup Tortoise Media, amidst significant unrest among its journalists.

Key Points:

• Ownership Change: The Observer, established in 1791, is being acquired by Tortoise Media, led by James Harding, former editor of The Times and head of BBC News. The sale is attributed to declining sales and strategic refocusing by owner media trusts (24:00).
• Journalist Reactions: The acquisition has triggered a 48-hour strike, with many journalists viewing the sale as detrimental to the newspaper’s legacy and editorial independence (24:00).
• Future Prospects: Concerns revolve around Tortoise Media’s ability to maintain the Observer’s journalistic standards and its integration with a startup’s paradigm (24:00).

Notable Quotes:

• David Sillito: “The decision to sell De Tortoise, a small loss-making news website and podcast producer… is being seen by many of its journalists as a catastrophe.” (24:00)

Analysis: The sale of The Observer symbolizes a broader trend in traditional journalism grappling with digital transformation and economic pressures. The podcast highlights the tension between preserving journalistic heritage and adapting to new media landscapes.

7. Handwriting in the Digital Age: Educational Debates

A segment on education debates the relevance of penmanship in an increasingly digital world, featuring opinions from authors and educators.

Key Points:

• Educational Importance: Proponents argue that handwriting enhances cognitive processes crucial for reading and spelling development in children (25:23).
• Skepticism and Alternatives: Critics like tech journalist James Ball question the necessity of traditional handwriting, advocating for diverse literacy tools that cater to individual strengths and future digital demands (26:32).

Notable Quotes:

• Melissa Prunte: “Handwriting is really important for early education because it has a very deep level of processing.” (25:23)
• James Ball: “I was terrible at handwriting at school… it really made me hate the written word.” (26:32)

Analysis: The discussion presents a balanced view on handwriting’s role in education, weighing its cognitive benefits against the practicality and adaptability required in a digital-centric world. The debate underscores the need for flexible literacy strategies that accommodate diverse learning preferences.

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Conclusion

The episode of the Global News Podcast offers a comprehensive exploration of significant international and social issues, from democratic crises in Romania and escalating conflicts in Syria to gender-based violence in Iceland and major shifts in global trade and journalism. Through in-depth reporting and expert insights, the podcast provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the complexities shaping our world today.

Selected Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Kaline Georgescu on the court ruling: “02:15”
• Elena Lasconi on respecting the will of the people: “03:20”
• Brian Cox on the threat to Assad’s regime: “07:49”
• Gudrun Ionstotir on gender-based violence in Iceland: “17:39”
• David Waddell on the EU-Mercosur deal’s implications: “21:50”

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For those interested in the intricate dynamics of global politics, social issues, and economic changes, this episode of the Global News Podcast provides a detailed and insightful analysis, ensuring listeners are well-informed on the pivotal matters shaping our world.

Transcript

[Oliver Conway]

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[Brian Cox]

Hello, I'm Brian Cox.

[Robin Ince]

And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe.

[Brian Cox]

And so does Robin.

[Robin Ince]

Well, do you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, the Infinite Monkey Cage, because we are joined by experts at Bletchley park who we're talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society. Plus we'll be talking about de extinction, elasticity and embryology.

[Brian Cox]

And there will be comedic interludes and Pam Ayres on hedgehogs. I mean, she's not riding the Listen.

[Robin Ince]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unknown Speaker]

Megacon Orlando is the largest Comic Con event that we produce in the us. We're able to bring celebrities and our executive level team members as well. Luxury hotels, Michelin restaurants, easy access through the airport. Orlando really can be that destination where you can innovate, collaborate and look to the future.

[Oliver Conway]

You're listening to the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Saturday 7th December. The pro Russia candidate in Romania's presidential election says a court decision to scrap the poll amounts to a coup. President Assad's forces are struggling on several fronts across Syria as Islamist led and Kurdish rebels gain ground. And the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, the observer, is being bought by an online news site. Also in the podcast, at home, we.

[Unknown Speaker]

Are not any more safe than women anywhere else. Violence thrives in silence.

[Oliver Conway]

Iceland may top the world rankings in terms of gender parity, but what is life really like for women there? We'll start with an update on a breaking news story we covered in our previous podcast. The cancellation of the results of Romania's presidential election because of alleged meddling by Russia. The ruling by the Constitutional Court has been criticised by the apparent frontrunner, pro Russia Kaline Georgescu.

[Brian Cox]

Today's decision by the Constitutional Court represents more than a legal controversy. It's practically a formalized state coup. The rule of law is in an induced coma and justice is subordinated to political orders and has practically lost its essence.

[Oliver Conway]

It's no longer justice, it's on orders. Khalin Georgescu, the far right candidate, was the surprise winner of the first round of the election. He'd been trailing in the opinion polls and apparently spent zero campaign funds, campaigning only on TikTok. But Romanian intelligence then revealed details of a major operation to boost his profile on the platform and influence the vote, funded and coordinated from abroad with Russia the chief suspect, his rival in the now cancelled runoff, Elena Lasconi insisted the vote should have gone ahead. This is the moment when the Romanian state trampled on democracy. We should have gone ahead with the vote. We should have respected the will of.

[Sarah Rainsford]

The Romanian people, whether we like it or not.

[Unknown Speaker]

From a legal and legitimate point of.

[Sarah Rainsford]

View, 9 million Romanian citizens expressed their preference for a certain candidate.

[Oliver Conway]

By voting, we cannot ignore their will. Meanwhile, the current Romanian president, whose term is due to end in two weeks, has said he will stay on until his successor is chosen. I asked our correspondent in Romania, Sarah Rainsford, what she made of the decision to scrap the poll.

[Sarah Rainsford]

Well, it's pretty shocking, this move, a very bold move by the Constitutional Court and one that's proving pretty controversial here in Bucharest. The judges have been meeting since the morning to discuss whether or not they might annul the election, because, of course, for the last two weeks, there's been all sorts of controversial goings on in politics here, all of it utterly unprecedented. And it began with the first round win of a far right candidate who nobody really had ever heard of before. And after, he campaigned purely on Tick Tock. So the allegation is that there was Russian interference in the vote. And right at the last minute, just before the second round of presidential elections, the runoff on Sunday, the court has intervened and said they're canceling the whole thing. So right now we're expecting a complete rerun to take place perhaps early next year. But in the meantime, there's a huge number of questions about, you know, how this decision was taken, how it's going to play out in Romanian society, whether people will come out in protest and what the candidate himself, at the heart of all of this, Colleen Georgescu, might actually have to say.

[Oliver Conway]

Yeah. And have they provided any evidence of Russian interference?

[Sarah Rainsford]

Well, yeah, I mean, the decision taken by the court was based on intelligence documents that were declassified on the orders of the outgoing president just a couple of days ago. And they appear to document what they say is external meddling in the vote. They talk about a state sponsored actor. They talk about a massive influence campaign on Tick Tock that was conducted with a lot of money from outside of the country. They also talk separately about cyberattacks, something like 85,000 attempted cyber attacks on. On sites and institutions linked to the electoral process. So there's obviously a huge amount to look at. And when you join up all the dots of all those intelligence reports, they do suggest that Russia might have been behind it, something that Moscow at this point has denied. Colleen Georgeski himself. I did meet him. I asked him, you know, is he Moscow's man? And he denied that. He said he was Romania's man and that the only reason that all of this is happening, according to him, is because he is a man who's battling the established system and that they don't like it and they're pushing back.

[Oliver Conway]

And if Russia did indeed influence the result, what's to, to stop them doing it again when the vote is rerun?

[Sarah Rainsford]

Well, it's a good question. And of course the only answer is that they'll be far more alert to that, I guess, this time. But, you know, I think what's interesting in all of this is the extent now of allegations and accusations of what is essentially hybrid warfare by Russia all across this region and right through Europe. So this is just the latest example when things are happening, strange things are happening. In this case, an unknown emerging to be the possible winner of a presidential election. A man who is pro Russian, you know, has talked about ending aid to Ukraine, totally really changing Romania in terms of its foreign policy orientation. So a man who would be really quite useful to Russia could have been in the presidency here in Romania. And that's happening at a time when you have a Russian sympathizer in the leadership of Hungary and Slovakia. So three countries that border Ukraine, all at the heart of, of Europe, essentially NATO members. So the suspicions are quite clear, the accusations are quite clear that Russia really has been doing an awful lot in different ways right across Europe.

[Oliver Conway]

Sarah Rainsford in Romania, just before we recorded this podcast, rebel forces in Syria announced they'd reached the edge of the city of Homs and had given President Assad's forces there a final ultimatum to defect. If Homs falls, it will mean the Islamists hold three of Syria's four largest cities, leaving just the capital, Damascus in government hands. Another rebel group in the south has reportedly seized a border crossing with Jordan, while Kurdish led forces said they'd captured the main city in eastern Syria and a border crossing with Iraq. I asked our security correspondent Frank Gardner just how big a threat this was to the Assad government.

[Brian Cox]

Oh, it's massive. This is the biggest threat. I mean, it's an existential threat to the 60 year old regime of the Al Assads in Syria. So before Bashar Al Assad, there was his father, Hafez Al Assad, who ruled Syria as part of this Ba'athist regime since the 1960s. And this is the most serious threat in Bashar's time. I think the big difference is that the last time There was a serious threat was 2015, and Russia wasn't as stretched as it is today. In Ukraine, Iran was much stronger. Both Iran and Russia and Hezbollah in Lebanon all came to Bashar's aid and drove back the rebels. That isn't happening to the same extent this time. Russia is bombing. It's got a track record of doing an awful lot of bombing in Syria, but they are not able to give the same level of support that they were as before Hezbollah. It's a bit of a mystery what forces if any, they're able to send to help prop up the regime of Bashar Al Assad because they've been absolutely pummeled by the several weeks of war that they've had with Israel. Iran is also weakened. Iran says they're sending forces, Israel's warned them not to. It's a very unstable situation with the fast moving, kind of moving pieces around the chessboard where with some pretty clear winners and losers. So I would say that the Bashar regime, Syria, Syria's government, as it were, Iran and Russia are all on the losing side. Turkey, which has historically backed the rebels, is probably in a stronger position, but it'll be worried about the Kurds who have taken the city of Deir Ezzor in the East. Turkey won't be happy about that because it doesn't want to see the Kurds get any stronger.

[Oliver Conway]

Yeah, I mean, we're seeing a meeting of foreign ministers from Iran, Russia and Turkey tomorrow. But as you're saying, they've got conflicting agendas. After all, we heard the Turkish president saying he hopes the advance will continue. So will they be able to agree anything?

[Brian Cox]

Well, I'd love to be a fly on the wall of that meeting in Doha because I imagine the conversation is going to be something along the lines of from Russia and Iran to Turkey. What the heck are you playing at? What are you doing? You know, this is completely upsetting the chessboard in the Middle east, certainly going against the interests of Russia and Iran. For Iran, this is, I think, particularly worrying because Israel is determined to break Iran's so called axis of resistance, which is Iran's sort of galaxy, as it were, of proxy and allied militias. So the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza. And one by one it is doing that. And its big ally in terms of a nation in the Arab world has been Syria. If the Al Assad regime falls to a Sunni Islamist militia, who by the way, are no friends of the west, but if it falls to them, then that's pretty bad for Iran. It's also not going to look good for Russia, especially if it has to evacuate its naval base of Tartus to the west. Pulling back to Libya, probably.

[Oliver Conway]

Our security correspondent, Frank Gardner. Syria has been embroiled in conflict since 2011 with various opposition groups hoping to overthrow President Bashar Al Assad. Demonstrations first sprang up as part of the so called Arab Spring, but they were brutally put down and eventually morphed into a civil war that's left more than half a million people dead. Rami Jarrah took part in the original pro democracy protests before becoming a journalist. He fled Syria in 2011, but has often returned to report on the fighting and told Julian Marshall what he thinks about this current rebel offensive.

[Rami Jarrah]

A lot of what's going on right now obviously does not represent the attitude and environment in which the Syrian revolution began in 2011. When the revolution started, they were peaceful protests calling for change within the system. And many people actually expected that the Assad regime, that Assad himself would welcome that change. And that didn't happen. Peaceful protests were very quickly met with extreme violence that went on for months and escalated. The death toll rose to unprecedented numbers. We're talking about 2011 here. The protests began in March, but in July 2011 is when we saw the first signs of the revolution becoming militarized. So I don't blame the revolution for moving into a more offensive stance, given that I lived it, I saw how it escalated, I saw what sort of actions were taken by the Syrian regime, atrocities that were committed.

[Oliver Conway]

Isn't that what we're seeing at the moment, Rami, a militarized revolution?

[Rami Jarrah]

Definitely. I think the difference is in the beginning when it became militarized, the rebels were mainly formed of defectors from the government forces. That I think was to some extent representative of the aspirations of Syrians. As the conflict went on and on for years, what we had is prisoners that were released from prison intentionally by the Assad regime. There were jihadists that were coming from Iraq. Turkey had a very loose border policy. There was an Islamification of the uprising. And because of the fact that there was really a very clear absence of seriousness to provide support to the rebels that would, you know, essentially bring down the Syrian regime that opened the way for jihadist groups.

[Oliver Conway]

Are you concerned that this uprising insurgency, call it what you like, seems to be led by jihadists?

[Rami Jarrah]

Very concerned. Jelani, who is the head of the hate Al Sham hts, was the head of Jabhat Al Nusra, which at some point had pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda. And this was after Jelani had basically defected from isis.

[Oliver Conway]

He says he's a changed man.

[Rami Jarrah]

You know, there's no way that I could dig inside his head and really see if there's any honesty to this claim.

[Oliver Conway]

So the overthrow of President Assad outweighs any concerns you might have about this jihadi led rebellion.

[Rami Jarrah]

You have the chicken and the egg in this situation. Assad is the chicken and all these other groups are basically repercussions of Assad staying in power and they are the eggs. So I honestly, even if this group had not provided the amount of assurances that it has provided so far, I would still be in favor of an end to the Assad regime and let alone the situation we're in today. I've honestly seen a lot of signs that there is some hope that religious diversity, minorities, cultural practices, people's personal space to some extent is going to be respected. And I say this because we've seen how the fighters on the ground are. They're basically, I don't, you know, the opposition pro Assadists will say that they're just parroting what you know, the leader of HTS is asking them to say. But in that process where you give orders to your, your fighters and you tell them that, you know, this is what you're going to do, you're not allowed to harm people, you're not allowed to interfere in people's personal affairs and you have to respect religious minorities, giving those orders in itself creates a culture where I think to some extent it's a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Oliver Conway]

Syrian journalist Rami Jarrah Iceland is generally regarded as a good place to be a woman. Topping world rankings for gender parity for the past 15 years. Mothers and fathers each get six months of parental leave. Nearly 90% of working age women have jobs and there are many female managers and executives. But the country also has persistently high rates of gender based violence. For the BBC 100 Women season, our gender and identity correspondent Sofia Betitsa explores whether Iceland really is the gender equality paradise it's made out to be.

[Sofia Betitsa]

I am strong. The battle cry let out by one young girl as she hurls a painfully heavy log across her nursery playground. The other girls are encouraged to shout words of support. I'm at a preschool in central Reykjavik. Here they use a teaching method called kiatli. Boys and girls are separated for most of the day and they're encouraged to do things usually associated with the opposite sex. The method was pioneered by Margaret Palla Olafstotir. We need to start at the very beginning, two years old.

[Sarah Rainsford]

They have formed their idea of what it means to be a boy or.

[Sofia Betitsa]

A girl and that will limit them for the next years, especially when they are having this concrete way of thinking.

[Sarah Rainsford]

Boy or a girl, you know, so.

[Sofia Betitsa]

We need to start early. What I have just witnessed reflected reflects the progressive attitude to gender roles that has seen Iceland become the most gender equal country in the world. But women's rights campaigners believe things are not as perfect as they might appear. On the surface.

[Oliver Conway]

We have been marketed as this feminist.

[Unknown Speaker]

Paradise in which we are not.

[Sofia Betitsa]

I sit down with Holder, a survivor of domestic abuse. She's one of several women in Iceland who believe the justice system has systemically let them down at home.

[Unknown Speaker]

We are not any more safe than women anywhere else. Violence thrives in silence.

[Oliver Conway]

And we have been taught since we were young to forgive and to forget and stay quiet at night or during the weekends. I was still being molested by my.

[Unknown Speaker]

Grandfather and I didn't dare say anything because I did not want to shame my family.

[Sofia Betitsa]

Close to 40% of Icelandic women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence. And with more than 80% of reports of sexual violence never making it to court, campaigners have taken the Icelandic government's failure to the European Court of Human Rights. The state is being sued for misogyny. Gudrun Ionstotir initiated the lawsuit.

[Sarah Rainsford]

We thought it was completely unacceptable that women were not taken seriously and we decided to use the European Court of Human Rights to sue the Icelandic state. Now we are just crossing our fingers that we will win.

[Sofia Betitsa]

We're at a vigil in Reykjavik. Each person is holding account to remember all the Icelandic women who were killed by men. It just shows that even in a country that is supposed to be a great place to be a woman, things are far from perfect.

[Oliver Conway]

That report by Sofia Betica. And still to come on the global news podcast All Eyes on Paris for the official reopening of the rebuilt Notre Dame Cathedral.

[Brian Cox]

Hello, I'm Brian Cox.

[Robin Ince]

And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe.

[Brian Cox]

And so does Robin.

[Robin Ince]

Well, do you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, the Infinite Monkey Cage, because we are joined by experts at Bletchley park who we're talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society. Plus we'll be talking about de extinction, elasticity and embryology.

[Brian Cox]

And there will be comedic interludes and Pam Ayres on hedgehogs. I mean, she's not riding the.

[Robin Ince]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, megacon.

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Rami Jarrah]

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[Oliver Conway]

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[Rami Jarrah]

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[Oliver Conway]

The European Commission has called it a historic milestone. A huge trade deal between the EU and four South American nations agreed on Friday after more than two decades of negotiations. However, it is opposed by many European farmers as well as countries like France, which has called it unacceptable. Our International Business correspondent is David Waddell.

[David Waddell]

This is a free trade deal between the four countries of Mercosur, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the 27 countries of the European Union. It will cover all sorts of things, but essentially it's about allowing these two regions and countries within those regions to trade freely without tariffs. From Mercosur's point of view, it will be good for their farmers because they'll be able to more easily into the European Union. For the European Union, it will mean they'll be able to sell things like cars, machinery, chemicals into the Mercosur region.

[Oliver Conway]

Now I read some analysis which suggested that this deal was snuck through against France's wishes by the European Commission because of all the troubles that President Macron is having back home. I mean, there's a lot of anger in France. Will this go ahead?

[David Waddell]

The French Trade Minister, Sophie Prima, has said that France is opposed. The deal won't go through with France's blessing if it goes through at all. She said that signing the deal, it only binds the European Commission, not the member states. Now, if the deal is passed, it will pass on what's called qualified majority voting. Now that means one that more than half of the EU member states, that's 15 out of 27 will need to pass it. Two, it needs a simple majority in the European Parliament and three EU members representing 65% or nearly 2/3 of the EU population, would need to pass it. Now France has against, Italy has said it's against. Poland has indicated it is probably against as things stand. And those three countries between them represent 36% of the EU population, which would be Enough to block the deal. That doesn't mean it won't pass, but it does mean it's tricky.

[Oliver Conway]

Okay, if it does pass, albeit with changes to win over those opposed to it, what would that mean for ordinary citizens in Europe?

[David Waddell]

Probably lower food prices. It may mean that some European businesses, particularly representing those industries that are strong in Germany, for example, cars, machinery, that they'll be more successful. Ursula von der Leyen has said that 60,000 companies are exporting to America Sewer right now. 30,000 of them are small and medium enterprises. So they represent many workers across the eu. And if they can trade more with those Latin American countries, then of course that will be stronger for their businesses and their jobs. On the other hand, farmers, of course, especially in France and Poland and Italy and maybe even in some other countries that are broadly in favor of the deal, like Germany, may be hurt by this. Because if Latin American countries that are members of MERCOSUR can trade more effectively with the eu, they'll be sending cheaper products into the eu, especially beef products. And that of course may hurt farmers businesses.

[Oliver Conway]

Our international business correspondent, David Waddell. Here in the uk, the sale of the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, the observer, has been approved despite a 48 hour strike by journalists. It's being bought by news startup Tortoise Media. David Sillito reports. Founded in 1791, one of the Observer's first stories was the death of Mozart. And for decades it's been a liberal voice in British journalism. But this deal is being seen by many of its journalists as a catastrophe. The decision to sell De Tortoise, a small loss making news website and podcast producer run by James Harding, a former editor of the Times and head of BBC News, was made by the trust and parent company that owns the Guardian and the Observer. A decision driven, it says, by falling sales and a desire to concentrate on one brand. David Sillito. Now have you ditched pen and paper in favour of smartphone and computer? Well, certainly handwriting skills are a lot less important than they used to be. But a group of best selling authors is hoping to change all that. They're auctioning off some of their own handwritten notes as part of a campaign to encourage children to learn penmanship. But is it essential? Johnny diamond got the opinion of tech journalist James Ball and Melissa Prunte, chair of Britain's National Handwriting Association.

[Unknown Speaker]

Handwriting is really important for early education because it has a very deep level of processing. So when children are learning to read and spell for the first time, what they'll do is they map the sounds of the letters to the visual representation of the letter and then the instructions for writing the letter and they write it. So it's got a very deep level of encoding which supports spelling development and reading development.

[Oliver Conway]

And you are convinced that that encouragement.

[Robin Ince]

That writing brings is not replicated on screen based communication?

[Unknown Speaker]

It depends on the age of the child. Because when I'm having these conversations, the single biggest factor is speed. It's how fluent a person is at that mode of writing. So we know that the number of wor that somebody can handwrite in a minute or the number of words that somebody can type in a minute, that predicts how much they would write in a free writing task, but crucially, how good that piece of writing would be. So things like composition, grammar, spelling, cohesion, idea development.

[Oliver Conway]

James, you are a handwriting skeptic.

[Unknown Speaker]

I have an ax to grind in that. I was terrible at handwriting at school. An otherwise excellent and kindly teacher described it as a dying spider crawling across the page. But genuinely, I had to do remedial handwriting in detentions for years and it's really made me hate the written word. And really it almost put me off reading. And given I now work as a writer, that's quite bizarre. And so I tend to just be worried of anything too prescriptive. Handwriting will work brilliantly for some children and it will work terribly for others. And when we're in a digital world where even keyboards are quite outdated now, most people under 25 tap screens. I think we need to sort of look at what works once the child's got the language and they understand how to write, what works for them, what will they be using most and what prepares them for the world.

You know, we've got lots of different tools for literacy. I mean, we write in lots of different ways. We write by hand, we send text messages, we send voice notes, we type, we put stuff into AI. We need tools for literacy. And that's how I would see handwriting. I saw some land surveyors on the side of the road the other day in the pouring rain and they were holding paper in a pen. So I don't think every profession has moved into this digitalization world, but having it as a tool is how we would see it.

[Robin Ince]

James, can I ask you just on the sort of sentimental front, if you.

[Oliver Conway]

Do, I don't know if you ever do anymore, if you ever get a handwritten note or a card with writing inside it, do you think it's a little bit more warmth in your heart.

[Robin Ince]

Than a text message or an email?

[Unknown Speaker]

I think there's still a place for it, isn't it? I mean, most of us talk to our partners far more over a text message than we ever will in a note. And so there's a place for it. I don't want to kill robots just before Christmas, but let's be honest, most of us are tapping, aren't we?

[Oliver Conway]

James Ball and Melissa Prunte talking to Johnny diamond, the US President elect, Donald Trump, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and the Prince of Wales are among the guests. Guests due in Paris this weekend for the official reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. The building was badly damaged by fire in 2019, but after five years of painstaking restoration work, a building flooded by light has emerged, thanks to the cleaning of the stained glass windows and the removal of hundreds of years of dust and dirt. What, though about the sound inside the building? That has also been considered, as Brian Katz explains. He's the acoustic researcher from Sorbonne University in Paris.

[J]

When the fire first happened, there was a general discussion of how the restoration should be done. You know, should it be back to its original state, should it be restored to before the fire, or should it be modernized? From the research that we've done, the idea of a very clean, empty a cathedral is rather a modern conception. And historically there would be times when the cathedral was full of tapestries and hanging drapes. I mean, one of the most notable of those is the coronation of Napoleon, where almost every surface is covered in some kind of fabric. I mean, he wrapped the columns in velour and there's carpeting. So the acoustics were much more variable in the past and probably more tempered. The 2019 version of the acoustics is not the most ideal acoustics for a certain kind of music or for preaching how the organ on one side of the transept is heard on the other side of the transept is really affected by where the organ is and what height it's at. Late last year, we were actually asked by the restoration committee to do an acoustic study on the proposals for the new choir organ, which didn't survive the fire. So the grand organ needed to be cleaned but wasn't destroyed while the choir organ didn't survive. And so they had a number of propositions from organ builders. And some of those propositions had the organ up on the triforium level to project better. And what we found is it doesn't actually project as well because of that triforium and transept separation. In this day and age, it's hard to imagine having the opportunity to basically go into a Gothic cathedral that's just been built. And I think that's kind of what we're being faced with. The stone has been so cleaned in the task of removing the lead contamination, they basically sprayed liquid latex on every square centimeter of stone because that helps suck out the lead dust, but it also sucks out all the dust and dirt over the ages. So you're kind of getting the cathedral in its brand new state and that's something that, you know, we haven't had in 800 years. I'm very excited.

[Oliver Conway]

Brian Katz, acoustic researcher at the Sorbonne University. And that is all from us for now, but the global news podcast will be back at the same time tomorrow. This edition was mixed by Zabihula Kourouch and produced by Alison Davis. Our editor's Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time. Goodbye.

[Brian Cox]

Hello. I'm Brian Cox.

[Robin Ince]

And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe.

[Brian Cox]

And so does Rob.

[Robin Ince]

Well, do you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, the Infinite Monkey Cage, because we are joined by experts at Bletchley park who we're talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society. Plus, we'll be talking about de extinction elasticity and embryology.

[Brian Cox]

And there will be comedic interludes and Pam Ayres on hedgehogs.

[Oliver Conway]

I mean, she's not riding the Listen.

[Robin Ince]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Unknown Speaker]

Megacon Orlando is the largest Comic Con event that we produce in the US we're able to bring celebrities and our executive level team members as well. Luxury hotels, Michelin restaurants, easy access through the airport. Orlando really can be that destination where you can innovate, collaborate and look to the future.