Syria rebel leader discusses 'transfer of power' after Assad is ousted

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary

BBC World Service | Released on December 10, 2024
Host: Andrew Peach

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1. Syria’s Transition of Power After Assad’s Ouster

In the aftermath of President Bashar al-Assad's removal, Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al Jilani has initiated coordination with the former regime’s prime minister to facilitate a “transfer of power”. The transition involves the formation of a transitional government, with Mohammed Al Bashir from the Islamist HTS group slated to serve as the interim prime minister. Additionally, the rebels have declared an amnesty for Syrian army conscripts, signaling a move towards national reconciliation.

Public Sentiment and Stability Efforts
Leena Shaikhuni, reporting for the BBC, highlighted efforts to maintain peace and stability amidst the transition:

“There’s been some kind of messaging that’s being circulated among social media users telling people, you know, don’t panic if you see checkpoints, don’t panic if you see people asking you for IDs. All we were trying to do is just to hold the peace and the stability.”
[02:04]

Yoghurt Hilimay provided a ground-level view from Damascus, describing the celebratory atmosphere as residents marked the regime change:

“People have come with their whole families, their children, there are women. And I was just speaking to a man earlier who said I’ve come here because I wanted to celebrate with my people.”
[02:58]

Ongoing Challenges: Search for Missing Prisoners
Barbara Pletosha reported on the desperate attempts by families to locate loved ones believed to be held in secret underground cells at the Saidnaya prison complex:

“Everything has a desperate story to tell of loved ones jailed for years... How can this country move forward without dealing with the horrors of its past?”
[08:14]

Despite the official release of thousands of prisoners, the Associação para Detenidos en el Olvido (Association for Detainees in the Missing) remains skeptical about the completeness of the amnesty, suspecting that some detainees are still hidden underground.

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2. European Asylum Policies for Syrians Under Scrutiny

In response to the shifting political landscape in Syria, several European nations—including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, and France—have paused their asylum programs for Syrian refugees. Austria has taken a more drastic stance by contemplating a repatriation program and reviewing previously approved visas and settlements.

Impact on Syrian Refugees
Shireen, a Kurdish Syrian student residing in the UK since 2016, expressed frustration over the abrupt policy changes:

“It's not going to be brilliant and heaven again in, like, 24 hours. Their house being destroyed on the floor, schools, universities, hospitals, everywhere.”
[09:32]

Expert Analysis
Damien McGuinness from Berlin elaborated on the ramifications of these policy shifts:

“Officials... are all saying because of the political uncertainty, they don’t feel they can make a decision about whether Syria is a safe country or not.”
[10:04]

He further discussed the political motivations behind these decisions, noting that some European governments are adopting tough stances on migration to gain voter support and counteract far-right movements. This has sparked significant controversy among NGOs and left-leaning politicians, who argue that such measures are “inhumane and irresponsible”.

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3. Arrest in High-Profile U.S. Murder Case

U.S. authorities have apprehended Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old man, as a person of interest in the murder of Brian Thompson, a health insurance executive in New York. Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on firearms charges after being identified by a McDonald's employee who recognized him from police-issued images.

Details of the Arrest and Investigation
Neda Tawfiq provided comprehensive coverage of the case:

“The suspect was in a McDonald's and was recognized by an employee who then called local police... Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.”
[14:05]

Further details revealed that Mangione possessed multiple fraudulent IDs and a ghost gun, which are 3D-printed firearms:

“They also found a three-page document that spoke to his potential motive, saying that he had ill will toward corporate America.”
[16:05]

The police continue to investigate whether Mangione acted alone or if he received assistance, emphasizing the ongoing nature of the case.

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4. Link Between Football and Dementia Confirmed in UK Study

A British study, partly funded by the Football Association, has confirmed that higher rates of dementia among football players are not attributable to lifestyle factors such as drinking or smoking. Instead, the research underscores the role of repetitive head trauma, particularly from heading the ball, as a significant risk factor.

Personal Impact and Study Findings
Former Premier League defender Gary Pallister shared his concerns:

“We’re dealing with something in the game and that's head injury and head impact.”
[18:40]

Natalie Perks reported on the study’s implications:

“Now we know these other risk factors aren’t contributing to the dementia risk in footballers.”
[18:40]

In response, the FA has implemented a ban on heading the ball for players under nine, which will extend to 12-year-olds in the coming years. This measure is part of proactive steps to mitigate the long-term health risks associated with football.

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5. Google’s Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Google has unveiled a new quantum chip named Willow, which reportedly solved a complex problem in less than five minutes—a task that would take the world's fastest conventional supercomputers an estimated 10 septillion years (10²⁴ years) to complete. This milestone demonstrates the potential of quantum computing to tackle problems beyond the reach of classical systems.

Insights from Google's Quantum AI Lab
Hartmut Nevin, leading Google's Quantum AI lab, emphasized the revolutionary nature of quantum computing:

“Quantum computers solve problems in a fundamentally different way to the computers in laptops and phones.”
[20:37]

Despite the impressive achievement, Nevin acknowledged the ongoing challenges in making quantum computing practical for real-world applications, such as designing car batteries or discovering new medicines.

Industry Perspectives
Matthew Cuthbert, head of the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre, described Willow as an “impressive milestone”, though he noted that significant advancements are still required to fully harness quantum technology’s potential.

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6. Golden Globes 2025: Major Nominations Announced

The Golden Globes nominations have been revealed, spotlighting a mix of anticipated and surprise contenders across various categories.

Top Contenders

• Emilia Perez: A Spanish-language musical thriller about a Mexican drug lord undergoing a gender transformation, nominated in multiple categories including Best Film, Acting, and Directing.
• Conclave: A papal thriller centered on the selection of the next pope, featuring Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini. Nevin aptly captioned it as a “Vatican movie”:

  "The Pope is dead, the throne is vacant. The Conclave begins now."
  [22:22]

• Wicked: A popular musical featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, receiving nominations in Best Actress (Musical/Comedy) and other key categories. Despite high expectations, its director, John M. Chu, was notably not nominated.

Notable Performances and Surprises

• Pamela Anderson received a Best Actress nomination for her role in "The Last Showgirl," joining esteemed actors like Kate Winslet and Tilda Swinton.
• June2, a drama film, earned a nomination for Best Film (Drama), with leads such as Demi Moore making a significant comeback.

Charlotte Gallagher’s Commentary
Charlotte Gallagher provided insights into the nominations, highlighting the diversity of genres and performances:

“It’s a very dramatic, very clever film, brilliantly acted... I think this could do very well at the Oscars as well.”
[22:28]

The Golden Globes have thus set the stage for a competitive awards season, with a blend of mainstream and critically acclaimed films vying for top honors.

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Conclusion

This episode of the Global News Podcast delved into significant geopolitical shifts in Syria, evolving European asylum policies, a high-profile U.S. murder case, groundbreaking advancements in quantum computing, health concerns in professional sports, and the latest buzz from the Golden Globes. Through comprehensive reporting and insightful interviews, the BBC World Service provided listeners with a thorough understanding of these diverse and impactful stories.

For more information or to share your thoughts on this episode, you can contact the podcast via email at globalpodcastbc.co.uk or through their X handle @GlobalNewsPod.

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Production Credits:

• Mixed by: Darren Garrett
• Producer: Liam McSheffrey
• Editor: Karen Martin

Transcript

[Andrew Peach]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

[Simon Jack]

Hello, Simon Jack here from Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast from the BBC World Service exploring the minds, the motives and the money of some of the world's richest individuals. Did you know there's an easy way to get new episodes automatically? Whether it's Good Bad Billionaire or any of your other favorite BBC World Service podcasts, find the show on your podcast app and then just click Follow or Subscribe. And if you switch on notifications, you'll get a reminder too. It's that easy. Follow or subscribe and never miss an episode.

[Andrew Peach]

This is the global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Andrew Peach and in the early hours of Tuesday, 10th December, these are our main stories. The victorious Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al Jilani has met the ousted regime's prime minister to coordinate the transfer of power. The insurgents have issued an amnesty for Syrian army conscripts. Several European countries have suspended their asylum programs for Syrians following the downfall of President Assad. In other news, U.S. police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a health insurance executive in New York last week. Also in this podcast, the throne is vacant. The conclave begins now. The papal thriller is among the nominations for next year's Golden Globes.

[Damien McGuinness]

As the.

[Andrew Peach]

The euphoria in Syria begins to die down. The transfer of power is underway. A day after capturing Damascus and ousting President Assad, Syrian rebels are working on forming a transitional government. Mohammed Al Bashir from the Islamist HTS group will be the interim prime minister. There's an amnesty for army conscripts. Cafes, markets and bakeries are reopening, but what sort of country will emerge? The Syrian parliament and Mr. Assad's Baath party have pledged their allegiance to the new rulers and their support for the transition. I heard more from from the BBC's Leena Shaikhuni.

[Leena Shaikhuni]

I heard from a lot of people that, you know, they're trying to calm people down. They're trying to tell everyone that they don't want to rule in any brutal way. They're just there to hold the stability and the safety of Damascus and other areas. You know, there's been some kind of messaging that's being circulated among social media users telling people, you know, don't panic if you see checkpoints, don't panic if you see people asking you for IDs. All we were trying to do is just to hold the peace and the stability. So the messaging has been at least, you know, an attempt to calm people down and tell them this is part of the process.

[Andrew Peach]

The rebels say their forces have established order across almost all of Damascus with fighters occupying public buildings. Our correspondent Yoghurt Hilimay has been assessing the mood in the Syrian capital.

[Yoghurt Hilimay]

There was celebratory gunfire here at the central Umedia Square in Damascus. We've seen seeing people from all directions packed in cars, coming here. This is like a street party in front of me. I can see people standing here, taking selfies, taking photos of each other, celebrating, clapping, cheering. People have come with their whole families, their children, there are women. And I was just speaking to a man earlier who said I've come here because I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to celebrate with my people. At the moment it's still not clear who's running this country, but the capital very much continuing a second day of celebrations here. It's hard to estimate how many people are here, but I can, you know, suddenly say looks like a few thousand people to me coming and going. Some of them members of the HTS of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the rebel group that has taken over large parts of this country. But most of the other people are civilians, just families from Damascus who've come out here to celebrate.

[Andrew Peach]

Yoga Salimai in central Damascus. Huge crowds gathered at the Syrians capital's prison on Monday, a day after the toppling of President Assad, to try to find evidence of loved ones who went missing under the former regime. Thousands of prisoners were released from the jail by rebels on Sunday, but former inmates suggested other detainees were still locked in secret underground cells. The hopes of anxious relatives appear to have been dashed by the Syrian campaign group, the association for Detainees in the Missing, which said it had found the entire complex to be emp. Our correspondent Barbara Plet Usher spent the day at the prison.

[Barbara Pletosha]

I'm about 30 kilometers outside of Damascus by one of the main prison complexes. It's called Said Naya and I can see two prisons in the distance on a hill. The one to the right is the main prison. There hts freed the inmates already. The one to the left is called the Red Prison and there it's believed that some prisoners are still locked in cells underground. And there is a stream of people walking up the hill towards it. Sadnaya is a symbol for some of the darkest abuses of Bashar Al Assad's rule. Thousands of opposition supporters were tortured and killed here. Now there's a stampede of family members taking the chance of finding those still missing. Everyone has a desperate story to tell of loved ones jailed for years. Mundar Tarqui is looking for his brother in law.

[Simon Jack]

I know my experience with the Syrian regime since more than 13 years. I've lost a lot of my friends in prisons. But I think we could, I don't know. We pray for that. We try. We are trying to find him everywhere. We asking everyone we came to here, like everyone.

[Barbara Pletosha]

Call me the wounded mother, says this woman, because of the children she's lost. May God take revenge on Bashar. We're climbing the hill now to reach the top where the prisons are joining that long stream of people who are also doing the same, wanting to find out if the search efforts in the prison are going to turn up any people still locked up there. Just days ago, rebels freed thousands of prisoners here on their march to Damascus. But many believe others are still trapped in underground cells. The Syrian civil defense group the White Helmets has joined the search. We spoke with one of its volunteers.

[Simon Jack]

Based on the information we've gathered, we believe there's a network of cells with prisoners beneath the jail, but we haven't yet been able to find the entrance. We don't have any details on how many people are underground, but we were informed of this by others.

[Barbara Pletosha]

We just pressed into the prison. We came in in a real crush because there was this sudden belief that they the entrance to the underground prison. But it looks like it's been a false alarm. They're searching the bowels of the prison, looking for tunnels that lead to hidden cells. Pounding away at the earthen floor, frantic efforts to break through to anyone who might still be alive. Elsewhere, men sift through a litter of documents for any evidence of their loved ones or clues to the underground prison. Many are convinced it exists, but there are some doubts, including from a prisoner support group outside. An older woman with a steady gaze tells me she's looking for her son. She used to visit him in prison, but then he was moved. After the past two weeks, Syria has entered a new era. But she is still caught in the dark grip of the old one.

[Yoghurt Hilimay]

Our priority is our sons who are the future of this country. Do you believe that we, the elderly, can do much now? We want our boys back. We want our country back too.

[Barbara Pletosha]

How can this country move forward without dealing with the horrors of its past?

[Andrew Peach]

Barbara Pletosha in Damascus. Meanwhile, Syrian media reports say Israeli warplanes have carried out dozens of attacks across the country, including on Damascus. A Britain based war monitor said there were more than 100 strikes. A research centre suspected of links to chemical weapons production was among the sites hit. Israel says it's acting to stop such weapons falling into the hands of extremists. The civil war in Syria forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes. Most of them fled to other parts of Syria or sought refuge in neighboring countries. Others traveled further to safety in countries such as Germany or Sweden. In recent days, many exiled Syrians have expressed their hope, hopes of being able to go home. Now it looks like a raft of host countries are thinking the same thing, announcing their pausing decisions on asylum applications for Syrians. These countries include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and France. Some are going even further, with Austria's government talking about a repatriation program and even saying it might review those who've had visas or settlement approved. Reacting to all of that, here's Shireen, who's a Kurdish Syrian student who left the country in 2016 and settled in the UK.

[Yoghurt Hilimay]

That's really ridiculous to hear because as I just left yesterday, right, and this country's been damaged for how many years? It's not going to be brilliant and heaven again in, like, 24 hours. Their house being destroyed on the floor, schools, universities, hospitals, everywhere. I just can't believe, like, they would just make such a quick decision in, like, 24 hours. Oh, yeah, like, Assad is gone. Everyone go back. It's just really hard.

[Andrew Peach]

I spoke to our correspondent in Berlin, Damien McGuinness.

[Damien McGuinness]

Well, effectively, Andrew, it's just about putting on hold the asylum applications that are now pending. So that means that if a Syrian has put forward an application, is waiting for an answer, they will now have to wait longer because officials in Germany, Austria, other European countries as well, including Norway, Greece, the uk, it sounds like as well, are all saying because of the political uncertainty, they don't feel they can make a decision about whether Syria is a safe country or not. So what that means here in Germany, for example, is that There are over 47,000 Syrians here who are still waiting for an answer to their application for asylum. So it doesn't affect those who have already been granted asylum. You know, that's the vast majority. You've got almost a million Syrians living here in Germany, and most of them came as asylum seekers. It doesn't affect them, but it affects those who are waiting for a decision. It also affects those who would like to apply for asylum. But I think the real controversy around it is the signal it sends out, because, of course, you and I were talking yesterday about the celebrations that Syrians were holding out in the streets, in towns and cities across Germany and across Europe, indeed, about the fall of Assad and Now many of those people are going to be incredibly worried about their status in Germany and in other European countries about whether they'll be able to stay here or not. So there's a lot of outrage among NGOs who deal with refugee rights, but also among lots of politicians from the green parties right through to left wing politicians who say, well, this is simply inhumane and is irresponsible populist talk at a very delicate time for Syrians.

[Andrew Peach]

And you get the sense that France and Germany and the UK are quite comfortable moving as a bloc. Austria is the country that's gone further and started talking about repatriating Syria.

[Damien McGuinness]

Yeah. There the rhetoric is even more ferocious and again with the political backdrop of they've had elections and now they're in coalition talks and there the conservative caretaker government is trying to form a coalition without the far right. And again, a similar story of conservatives talking really hard line on migration, refugees, because they feel that's how they're going to get political support from voters to undermine the far right effectively. But others would say, well actually if you're just mimicking the rhetoric of the far right, well actually you're doing their job for them and then you're making them more powerful. This is the question and a debate that we've had in Europe really for years, how to deal with the far right and do you mimic the rhetoric or do you actually try and undermine the rhetoric by going the other way? And I think that this particular debate is showing the issue there very starkly indeed.

[Andrew Peach]

Damien McGuinness with me from Berlin. And still to come, the systems behind.

[Yoghurt Hilimay]

Our universe are quantum mechanical.

[Andrew Peach]

Google unveils a computer chip that can solve a problem that would have taken the world's fastest systems 10, septillion years.

[Simon Jack]

Hello Simon Jack here from Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast from the BBC World Service exploring the minds, the motives and the money of some of the world's richest individuals. Did you know there's an easy way to get new episodes automatically? Whether it's Good Bad Billionaire or any of your other favorite BBC World Service podcasts. Find the show on your podcast app and then just click Follow or subscribe. And if you switch on notifications, you'll get a reminder too. It's that easy. Follow or subscribe and never miss an episode.

[Andrew Peach]

US Police have arrested a person of interest in connection with the murder of the health insurance executive Brian Thompson in New York. The 26 year old man was detained in Pennsylvania on firearms charges after a tip off from a member of staff at a Fast food restaurant. He's been named as 26 year old Luigi Mangione. New York's police Commissioner is Jessica Tisch.

[Neda Tawfiq]

The suspect was in a McDonald's and was recognized by an employee who then called local police. Responding officers questioned the suspect who was acting suspiciously and was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs as well as a US passport. Upon further investigation, officers recovered a firearm on his person as well as a suppressor, both consistent with the weapon used in the murder.

[Andrew Peach]

Brian Thompson was shot dead in central Manhattan last Wednesday. I heard more from our correspondent Neda Tawfique who's following developments from New York.

[Neda Tawfiq]

After a five day manhunt, police do believe they have their suspect in the killing of the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Calling 26 year old Luigi Mangione a strong person of interest. New York's mayor is saying he matches the description of the identification they were looking for. That he was also in possession of several items that they believe connect him to the incident. So this 26 year old, he is originally from Maryland, born and raised there, but he had connections to California, Pennsylvania, where he went to school, and also Honolulu, Hawaii. They say that he was spotted by an employee in a McDonald's who recognized him from the images that police have been circulating. And they say that employee at McDonald's called the local police when the police arrived. They say he was eating and reading but started to act susp suspiciously when they were then trying to question him. They say he was carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, that he was in possession of a ghost gun. Those are kind of guns that are made on 3D printers. So they say they need a ballistics test to make sure it's the same gun that was used. But again, more evidence here. They also said they found a three page document that spoke to his potential motive, saying that he had ill will toward corporate America.

[Andrew Peach]

So we got a fair few new details about. There's a lot of media interest in this. Around the world. Still a big police operation underway. Actually, that's what I took away from the press conference.

[Neda Tawfiq]

That's right. I mean, they said that there's been a combination of old school detective work and new age technology that led to this, but that the investigation is ongoing. For now. They believe that he acted alone. But they said they're going to of course look into whether somebody provided him with information about, you know, Brian Thompson's whereabouts that day. That will still be part of a longer investigation. As I said, they have to look into the gun that the suspect was carrying versus the one used on the day. So many pieces that have to come together. But I think the main message that police kept hammering home during this press conference was just how important it was to put this image out to the media and for people to report what they did see. The old saying, if you see something, say something.

[Andrew Peach]

Neda Tawfiq in New York. A study in Britain partially funded by the Football association has found higher rates of dementia in players are not caused by lifestyle factors like drinking or smoking. The report examined the impact of heading the ball after previous research found footballers are almost three and a half times more likely than everyone else to be diagnosed with dementia. Our sports correspondent Natalie Perks has been talking to one player who is concerned about the impact of his career on his health.

[Natalie Perks]

Gary Pallister was one of the biggest names in football as a Premier League defender, but little bouts of forgetfulness as he approaches 60 have got him thinking about the migraines that blighted his career.

[Andrew Peach]

We're quite disabilitating, you know, the vision, speech, the tingling, the violent headaches. I can only deduce the heading of the football was causing migraines to be a lot more severe.

[Natalie Perks]

In the last few years, he's watched fellow Manchester United players Nobby Styles and Gordon McQueen die with CTE, a form of dementia that can be diagnosed only after death and is thought to be linked to repetitive head trauma. A study in 2019 by the neuropathologist Dr. Willie Stewart showed footballers were three and a half times more likely to get dementia than the general population. His latest report, which was part funded by the FA, studied almost 12,000 footballers in Scotland. The results show that it wasn't factors like alcohol and smoking that were putting footballers at higher risk.

[Andrew Peach]

We've been working along the presumption that footballers have a risk of dementia and probably to do with head injuries and head impacts. But we haven't been certain because these other risk factors are also in play. Now we know these other risk factors aren't contributing to the dementia risk in footballers. We're really dealing with something in the game and that's head injury and head impact.

[Natalie Perks]

In England, under nines are now banned from heading the ball. Over the next few years, that will extend up to 12 year olds. The FA says that ban is part of the proactive steps it's taking to address the potential risk factors which may be associated with playing football. And it continues to support projects to gain a greater understanding of this area.

[Andrew Peach]

A new quantum chip unveiled by Google spent less than five minutes solving a problem that would have taken one of the world's fastest supercomputers 10, septillion years. That's a 10 followed by 24 zeros. This new chip, called Willow, was built in California. It's the latest development in the field of quantum computing, which uses the principles of particle physics. Let's get more from our senior technology reporter, Chris Valance.

[Yoghurt Hilimay]

The systems behind our universe are quantum mechanical.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

They shift and change.

[Hartmut Nevin]

The sound of a slick promotional video by Google announcing its latest quantum chip. The tech giant is keen to champion its performance in a so called benchmark test in which it solved a theoretical problem it would have taken one of the fastest conventional supercomputers 10, septillion years to solve. Hartmut Nevin leads Google's Quantum AI lab that developed it.

[Simon Jack]

That's an astounding number. It's 10 to the 25, so 1 followed by 25 zeros. So that shows that even if you wouldn't develop the chips any further today, there are tasks that classical computers will never be able to do that quantum processors can solve.

[Hartmut Nevin]

Quantum computers, which are based on the principles of quantum mechanics, solve problems in a fundamentally different way to the computers in laptops and phones. Google hopes that by the end of the decade, its machines will start solving practical problems, for example, in the design of car batteries and the discovery of new medicines. But Mr. Nevin, who admits he is the chief optimist of his lab, acknowledges there's a lot more work to be done to reach that point. And there are many competing approaches to the path chosen by Google. The head of the UK's new National Quantum Computing Centre, Matthew Cuthbert, said Willow was a milestone rather than a breakthrough, but was clearly impressive work.

[Andrew Peach]

Now the awards season is underway, with the nominations for next year's Golden Globes being announced ahead of the ceremony next month. Among the films with the most nominations, the Spanish language musical thriller Emilia Perez, the papal thriller Conclave, and the musical Wicked. Our culture reporter Charlotte Gallagher told me about Amelia Perez.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

First, the critics and the people that are voting putting forward these nominations obviously love it. It's about a Mexican drug lord who changes gender and it's really swept the board in all the categories. So acting, directing, best film, music or comedy film. And it's done really well. It's got Selena Gomez in it, who many people will know, Zoe Saldana, they've both been nominated for awards. Whether that will translate into actual wins, I don't know. But I think this is the thing that's taken people by surprise. Everyone is expecting Wicked to have the most number of Nominations. And it's in fact this much smaller film that a lot of people just haven't heard of.

[Andrew Peach]

Let's talk about Conclave. This is a Vatican movie.

[Barbara Pletosha]

Yes.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

A very different mood. This is a film about choosing the next pope.

[Simon Jack]

The Pope is dead, the throne is vacant.

[Andrew Peach]

The Conclave begins.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

It's a very dramatic, very clever film, brilliantly acted. A lot of suspense, a lot of drama. It's Ralph Fiennes, he's the lead character. He's been nominated for best actor. And also Isabella Rossellini, she's been nominated in the supporting category. This has been a real hit with the critics. It's based on a Robert Harris novel. I think this could do very well indeed. And I think this is something that's going to do really well at the Oscars as well.

[Andrew Peach]

Okay, let's talk about Wicked. I went to see it a couple of weeks ago when it came out in the uk. My daughter and I have not stopped singing the soundtrack since.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Me neither. It's brilliant. I obviously can't sing like either Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo. It's had really good reviews from the vast majority of critics and we've seen that Cynthia Erivo, she's been nominated for best actress in the music or comedy section and then also Ariana Grande, she's got her first Golden Globes nomination in the supporting category. It's been nominated for best movie, comedy or musical. What it hasn't got is a nomination for best director. So John M. Chu, that people thought he would definitely get one. He hasn't got a nomination. So his film is considered one of the best films. But he hasn't got a director nomination and neither has the director of June2. So June2 has been nominated for best film in the drama section but he's not got a nomination. I have to say the substance that's done very well. Demi Moore, a real Hollywood comeback. She's been nominated for best actress and Margaret Qualley has got best supporting actress nomination. And there's another Hollywood comeback that people are really smiling about today and that is Pamela Anderson. She's been nominated for best actress for a drama film and that's for the Last Showgirl. And that category really is a who's who. That's Kate Winslet, Tilda Swinton and Pamela Anderson. The list goes on and on. So I think that'll be a really hard fought category.

[Andrew Peach]

Our culture reporter Charlotte Gallagher on the Golden Globes nominations. And that's all from us for now. There'll be a new edition of Global News to download later. If you'd like to comment on this podcast and the stories we included, drop us an email globalpodcastbc.co.uk globalpodcastbc.co.uk or on X. We are at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Darren Garrett. The producer was Liam McSheffrey. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Andrew Peach. Thanks for listening and until next time, goodbye.

[Simon Jack]

Hello, Simon Jack here from Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast on the BBC World Service exploring the minds, the motives and the money of some of the world's richest individuals. Did you know there's an easy way to get new episodes automatically? Whether it's Good Bad Billionaire or any of your other favorite BBC World Service podcasts, Find the show on your podcast app and then just click Follow or Subscribe. And if you switch on notifications, you'll get a reminder too. It's that easy. Follow or subscribe and never miss an episode.