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Sudan's RSF rebels claim capture of El Fasher
00:26:38
The Sudanese army has not confirmed the fall of the city of El Fasher
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This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janak Jalil and at 16 hours GMT on Monday 27th October. These are our main stories. With the Sudanese city of Al Fasha reported to have fallen to rebels, the UN calls for its trapped civilians to be allowed to leave. Paul Beer, the 92 year old President of Cameroon wins a controversial eighth term in fiercely disputed elections. President Trump meets the Japanese emperor Naruhito on the latest leg of his trip to Asia. Also in this podcast, how doctors are reducing the need for anesthetic during surgery by playing music. What works for the patient is music that is not jarring, that is dishonest. To increase the anesthetic experience as far as making it a good one. We begin this podcast in Sudan, where the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military continues to leave devastation in its wake. On Sunday, the RSF announced it had taken control of the city of Al Fasha, the Sudanese army's last remaining foothold in the Darfur region. A claim disputed by the military, which says fighting is still continuing. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in the city, enduring atrocious conditions after an 18 month siege. Some of them spoke to the BBC. Some children have fallen seriously ill and are currently in the hospital and several have already died from hunger. On some days we receive a single meal, while on others we receive nothing at all. We are enduring extremely harsh conditions both for ourselves and our children. Even when we have money, there is nothing available to buy. The price of animal fodder has soared to 12,000 Sudanese pounds, or about $20, yet it is nowhere to be found. We also cannot find medicines to treat wounds. Gauze is unavailable, forcing us to use the fabrics of the mosquito nets to cover injuries. The UN has expressed deep alarm over the reports of civilian casualties as fighters push further into Al Fasha. And the Governor of Darfur has called for the protection of the city's residents. Our Africa correspondent, Barbara Pletasa, is monitoring the fighting from Nairobi. The UN has also warned previously of the danger of ethnic cleansing if the RSF captures Al Fashr, targeting non Arab populations like was reported after the RSF captured the nearby Zamzam displaced persons camp and with the Masalit tribe in the city of Janina at the beginning of the war in West Darfur, there are also revenge attacks against populations seen to support the army. Concern about that, actually, both sides do this. They target populations that they believe supports the other side when they seize territory. So these are some of the concerns, I think, that is behind the UN's expression of alarm. And around half of the population of Al Fasha are children. As you say, atrocious conditions for a long time. How is the RSF likely to respond to this call for the un, given that they basically built a wall around the city for the past year and a half and kept civilians trapped there? Yeah. In fact, the RSF authorities have issued a statement saying that they are dedicated to protecting civilians, that they will provide safe corridors for those who want to leave, that they'll ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need. So that's their official position. We had seen signs actually already a few weeks ago that seemed to be an attempt by the RSF authorities to create a counter narrative to this atrocity one and to this one about them having starved the population. I spoke to one analyst about it. She said perhaps they're trying to distance themselves from their foot soldiers who post horrific videos of killings. But either way, obviously the proof is going to be in what actually happens. And if El FA has fallen, what does this mean for the war overall? Does it mark a turning point? Well, it's an important moment. It would strengthen the RSF after its defeat in Khartoum in Central Sudan. So militarily, if they do fully take Al Fasher in the rest of North Darpur state, that would then cement their control of borders with four different countries. And in the case of North Darfur with Libya especially. So that would mean it would be easier to bring in weapons and also if they control the full western region of Darfur, which is what would happen if they got fully Al Fashr, that would give them the sort of safe rear base to relaunch attacks to the east, including Khartoum, if that's what they wanted to do. But politically what it would mean is that it would, you know, getting full territorial control of Darfur, which is the heartland of the tribes that support the rsf. That would strengthen their claims to being a counter government they've set up there themselves in the south at the moment. And it would also strengthen their position in any upcoming talks with the Sudanese armed forces, if that actually happens. I think what analysts say is that the RSF is trying to stay relevant as a national force rather than be relegated to a kind of regional militia. And this would probably help Baba Pletasa. Now, most of us would be happy just to be alive at the age of 92. But Cameroon's President is not only still going strong personally, he's won re election for an eighth term that could keep him in office until he's nearly 100 years old. Paul Beer first came to power in 1982 and has held a tight grip on Cameroon ever since. This is a moment when his victory was announced. Order of the candidates according to votes obtained. The opposition have accused Mr. Bea of stealing the election. After the results were announced, the main opposition challenger, Issa Jiroma Bakari, said people gathered outside his home were being shot at. Protests have been banned by the authorities. On Sunday, several people were killed in clashes between opposition supporters and security forces. I got more on the reaction to the election result from BBC Africa's Paul Njie. In Cameroon, people have been surprised by the fact that the 92 year old ran for the election, but they weren't as much surprised that he might be declared winner because he had never lost an election. But it took a little twist when opposition candidate Isa Chiroma Bakari declared himself the legitimate winner of the polls. He said that he had won incumbent President Paul biya by over 50%. And today the Constitutional Council just announced the result giving Paul Bias the victory with nearly 54%. So people are wondering, you know, what might have gone wrong because the opposition decried the fact that there were in their words, electoral malpractices, alleged fraud and vote irregularities. Although the ruling party is already celebrating this victory. And tell us more about Paul Beer because when he first became president, Ronald Reagan was in the White House. Indeed, Paul Beer is one whose name would definitely be etched in the annals of Africa's history. He is currently the world's oldest president. He has served in Cameroon as president for 43 years. But I should also tell you that Mr. Biya came into the public service sometime around 1962, shortly after the country gained independence. He returned from France and has since been active in public service. So this is a man whose entire life has been in the public domain. So Paul Biya, many had thought that this would be the last stretch, just thinking that he would have passed the torch. But he said that he still had much to offer to the country. But I should tell you that his victory as well hasn't come without contestation. The opposition challenger Issachiruma Bakari just put out a brief statement on social media today saying that his home is being attacked. It really points to the fact that like analysts have been warning, there might be a post electoral crisis in Cameroon. Paul Nga in Cameroon the latest leg of President Trump's week long trip to Asia saw him land in Japan a few hours before we recorded this podcast. Much has been talked about his meeting the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takeichi, the first woman to hold that role in what will be the first major test of her diplomatic skills as Japan's leader. She's described the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as an inspiration. But first, Mr. Trump went to the Imperial palace in Tokyo for an audience with Emperor Narahito six years after they first met there. I asked our Tokyo correspondent Shaima Khalil, how important the meeting between the US President and the Japanese emperor is this time around. Well, it's quite significant because of course, it's the symbolism, it's the pomp and ceremony which Donald Trump loves. It really sets the tone for his visit to a country. It sets the mood for how he does business. You know, when he's welcomed in that way, it puts that country and it puts the diplomacy in very good stead. So I think setting the tone being received by Emperor Naruhito is quite favorable. But I also think symbolically the first time that Donald Trump was received by Emperor Naruhito was in May 2019 and he was the first head of state to meet Emperor Narihito when he ascended to the throne after his father stepped down. And it was the first time this had happened in 200 years. The way that he ascended to the throne. And at that time, Donald Trump acknowledged the rarity of that moment. It was a very historic moment. And so to come back and be received by him, I think will be quite special. But remember, he's also here for another first, which is that he's also about to meet Japan's first female prime minister. And there is a lot of anticipation ahead of that meeting because she's spoken in admiring terms about Margaret Thatcher, who's also a hero of Mr. Trump's. And they're both quite hawkish on China. I think they have a lot in common, not least the relationship with the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He was her mentor. She brings a lot of his economic convictions and his economic policies into her leadership, the Abenomics, but also he had a very close friendship with President Trump. And so in one of his first comments on Air Force One about her, he said, you know, I heard so many good things about her. I was very close to Shinzo Abe. She really loves him. So I think when it comes to ice breaking exercises between leaders that meet each other for the first time, they've got that one covered because they have a lot to talk about in what they have in common. But also there are going to be challenges when it comes to getting down to business. Whether they're going to talk about defense spending or trade ties, Donald Trump is going to have a lot to say that will need Sanai Takaichi to walk a very fine line and to achieve a balance really between overtures to the United States, making sure that relationship works, but also standing her ground as a new leader in her first week of leadership. Shaima Khalil in Tokyo. People in Jamaica are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which is forecast to unleash destructive winds and bring catastrophic flooding to the Caribbean nation in the coming hours. Melissa has been upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, the maximum strength residents are preparing as best they can. We are just preparing for the less worse to happen, you know, and we are getting ready. And because since it's a supermarket we open for public for necessity commodities, hopefully the Melissa will give the less damage and God bless us, you know, and we are just praying for the less worse to happen. But the authorities fear that the hurricane, which has already killed several people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, could even become the strongest in to ever hit Jamaica. The Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued this warning. We are already experiencing rain and overcast conditions. Based on current assessments, all of Jamaica will likely be affected by hurricane conditions, meaning heavy rains and winds above 100 mph. It is also likely that hurricane conditions could linger over Jamaica due to the slow moving nature of this system. Given the extended days of rains leading up to landfall and the expected inundation from the actual passage, we can expect general flash floodings across the island. With more details, here's Will Grant. In the hours before Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica, the authorities have issued evacuation orders for several areas, including the coastal town of Port Royal, and warned people to seek immediate shelter. The storm is expected to be one of the strongest to hit the island on record, with Meteorologists warning of 225 kilometer an hour winds and up to a meter of rain being dumped on Jamaica in the coming days. The US National Hurricane Centre has said the storm could bring catastrophic flooding to some parts of the island. Some residents have been forced to take shelter in government storm shelters or with relatives on higher ground. Others remain determined to ignore the official advice and try to ride the storm out. However, they only need look at the Dominican Republic and Haiti to see the effects of Melissa's ferocious power, where several people have been killed in flooding and landslides. Civil emergency authorities are concerned about how slowly Hurricane Melissa is moving, which brings additional problems once the eye of the storm passes over populated areas and time is running out. In the last minute scramble to secure homes and businesses before the storm makes landfall later this week. Will Grant still to come Here in Britain, King Charles unveils a memorial to to LGBT military personnel. We're all getting older. Given another 20, 30 years, none of us will be left, but the memorial will be there. And that's really important, that we've always been there. We've always been willing to give our lives for this country. America is changing and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, DC. I'm Tristan Redman in London and this is the Global story. Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. As the shaky ceasefire in Gaza enters its third week, the Queen of Jordan, Rania, has, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, criticized the international community for, as she put it, failing to stop the war. For two years, the Queen, who is of Palestinian descent, praised President Trump for his efforts in bringing about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying he'd used America's diplomatic, military and financial support as leverage on Israel. She was speaking to our special correspondent, Virgil Keane. The ceasefire is fragile and for the people of Gaza, there's a reckoning with tens of thousands of deaths and vast destruction. Jordan's Queen Rania, who's of Palestinian descent, is appealing for international health. The ceasefire, obviously, after such unbelievable suffering, comes as somewhat of a relief to them and to many people around the world who have been agonizing over the images that we've been seeing. But it's also weighed down by a lot of grief. The road to reconstruction and recovery is going to be long and arduous, and I think it would require enormous support from the global community. But it can't happen unless the ceasefire holds. Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle east, something that people said was never going to. American pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and regional powers pushing Hamas helped bring about the ceasefire deal. Together, we've achieved what everybody said was impossible. At long last, we have peace in the Middle East. To his credit, Trump was the first president in a long time to actually apply pressure on Israel. Beforehand, when they crossed lines, the US President would just maybe just say a few words of rebuke, or they just get a slap on the wrist. President Trump actually got Netanyahu to actually agree to a ceasefire, and I hope that he continues to be engaged in this process, because this is only the first step. For Israelis, the ceasefire has seen the living hostages welcomed home. Two years after Hamas killed more than 1200 and abducted 251 people in the October 7 attacks, the looming question is whether a genuine peace can be built. After the agonies of the last two years, I truly believe that Palestinians and Israelis can exist side by side. In the current atmosphere. There's too much animosity, too much anger and grief and hatred and cynicism between the two peoples to actually forge a peace on their own. I'm not being naive here, but I think with the push of the international community, that is the only way. I mean, you know, so many times during the past two years, hope had felt elusive. It was. Choosing hope is not easy. You know, it's hard, it's heavy, but it's the only path that doesn't deny Palestinians or betray their struggle or our humanity. You know, choosing hope is not just naive optimism. It is a form of defiance. The plan is to rebuild from the ruins. It will be the work of years. That was Fergal Keen there, speaking to Jordan's Queen Rania. India is the world's largest democracy with nearly a billion voters. Its election commission says it's now revising Electoral rolls in 12 regions as part of what it says is a nationwide plan to update the voter register. But opposition parties are crying foul, saying this is an attempt to manipulate future elections and that millions of people could be disenfranchised. This despite reassurances from officials that people can appeal if their names are excluded. Our global affairs reporter Ambras Etirajan has more details. In this phase, the voter list will be revised in 12 Indian states and federally administered territories. The top poll body argues that the exercise is needed to avoid duplication and to delete the names of the dead. A final list will be announced in early February. The commission has promised that no eligible voter will be left out. However, opposition parties strongly criticize the initial phase of the exercise carried out in Bihar state, saying millions of names were. They said the initiative favoured the governing Hindu nationalist bjp. The electoral authorities and the BJP have dismissed the allegations as baseless. Opposition parties also argue that vulnerable people and minority groups may find it difficult to produce the extensive paperwork required to prove their citizenship. Ambrasan Esirajan Here in Britain, King Charles has unveiled the UK's first national memorial to LGBT military personnel personnel. The monument at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire in central England was recommended by an independent review into the historical treatment of people who were sacked or forced out of the military for being gay until the ban was lifted 25 years ago. Josh Parry is our LGBT and identity reporter. The King's visit and the dedication of the LGBT Armed Forces Community Memorial is a result of decades of campaigning. First to lift the ban on gay service personnel, a law which wasn't repealed until the year 2000, and then to make reparations for those who suffered. It's the first time the King has taken part in an official engagement for the LGBT community, a step which will be seen by some as a move towards a more modern monarchy. But for those veterans affected by the band, it's also a new era, one which leaves behind the shame and stigma and celebrates their service. The Ministry of Defence says it deeply regrets the historical treatment of LGBT veterans and that it hopes all personnel can now feel valued and respected. Josh Parry well, Professor Andrew Hartle was publicly shamed and hounded out of the armed forces after lurid newspaper headlines about his consensual relationship with another man. He is trustee of the charity Fighting With Pride and he was at the unveiling. Clearly, those headlines were horrific and intrusive, but they were in my lifetime, very clearly. It's important that today we remember all of the raf, army and Navy veterans who suffered during the ban between 1967 and 2000, when LGBTQ personnel in the military were treated differently to the rest of society. It's really important to remember about today that every single veteran and every person serving today in the armed forces swears an oath of allegiance to the monarch and to their heirs and successors. And that most of us lived our lives under Queen's regulations or King's regulations, and indeed many of us were dismissed under Queens and Kings regulations. And the very fact that today, His Majesty is attending today's memorial is a really important message to everybody that we have moved on. Porigin Nairailey served as an RAF telegraphist before she was sacked in the 1980s for being a lesbian. She says the monument means a lot for people like her. We're all getting older. Given another 20, 30 years, none of us will be left, but the memorial will be there. And that's really important, that we've always been there. We've always been willing to give our lives for this country. Porigin Nai Riley Scientists in India have discovered that playing music to unconscious patients undergoing some relatively minor forms of surgery significantly reduces the amount of anesthetic they need to keep them under. It also improved their recovery and stress response. Here's a sample of the specific music they used. So in this experiment, patients before they went under got a choice of either flute or piano and strings. Very slow paced pieces of music, as you just heard. The study just published in the journal Music and Medicine, builds on years of earlier work on the medical benefits of music in different contexts. Dr. Fred J. Schwartz is a pioneer and champion of the use of music in medicine. He was an anaesthetist himself for many years and is on the editorial board of the journal that just published this research. He's based in Atlanta, Georgia, and has been speaking to Paul Henley. Well, it was very impressive because it measured the anesthetic depth using a process to EEG so they could tell how much anesthetic the patients needed. So it was kind of a loop system. So the patients in the music group needed less anesthetic to maintain the same depth of anesthesia, which was very beneficial because there's less decrease in blood pressure and hemodynamic instability. If you can lessen the amount of anesthetics, how much less anesthetic do they need? It was about 15% less Propofol. Right. We heard the kind of music that was used and patients did have some choice. Does the form of music matter? I think what the patient picks is probably the best thing, or a music therapist or someone can help design a playlist. But the music should be totally different for the operating room. The operating room responds well to music, and they might work better together and faster. But the patient needs a separate music delivered through headphones. And what works for the patient is music that is not jarring, that is designed to increase the anesthetic experience as far as making it a good one. Because some patients, when they have a scan and they need to relax and stay still, choose heavy metal music, saying that's what works for them. Well, that's kind of an outlier. And those patients might need different types of approaches to relaxation. But most patients respond better to music that is not jarring. And just underline why it is desirable to minimize how much anesthetic is used. If you minimize the amount of anesthesia, you will have a faster awakening and you'll have less hemodynamic instability, such as drops in blood pressure. It's to do with the stress hormone as well, is that right? Yes. By decreasing the stress response, we have less stress on the heart, a decreased inflammatory response, and there's a lot of metabolic effects that are better for the patient as far as healing. We've heard quite a lot actually by now about the use of music during surgery. Do you think it'll become standard in the future? I think this study shows that there are some definitely outcome parameters. And I think that once the studies are done in large groups, we'll see that patients that have music while they're asleep under general anesthesia will do better. And that can be actually measured as far as faster awakening, decreased cost of anesthetic drugs and decreased cost of medical care because there are less complications. And that was Dr. Fred J. Schwartz. And that's all from us for now. But there will be a new edition of of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. this edition was mixed by Holly Smith. The producers were Carla Conti and Muzaffa Shakir. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janet Jalil. Until next time. Goodbye. America is changing and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just the cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. i'm Tristan Redman in London. And this is the Global Story. Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.