Tanzania: Hundreds feared dead in post-election violence

Summary

Global News Podcast – BBC World Service

Episode: Tanzania: Hundreds feared dead in post-election violence

Date: November 1, 2025
Host: Paul Moss

---

Overview

This urgent edition of the BBC Global News Podcast, hosted by Paul Moss, delves into widespread post-election violence in Tanzania, where claims have emerged of hundreds being killed, a charge fiercely denied by government officials. The episode also covers major developments in US food assistance amid a government shutdown, the controversy in Israel over a military lawyer’s resignation, new funding for a Woody Allen film by Madrid, Egypt’s grand new museum opening, the closure of Berlin’s historic gay club Schwutz, and scientific advances in universal antivenoms for snakebites.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Post-Election Violence in Tanzania

[01:08–05:30]

• Context: Once seen as a bastion of stability in East Africa, Tanzania faces turmoil post-election with President Samir Hasan’s likely re-election following the banning of opposition parties.
• Allegations:
  • John Kitoka (Chadema Party spokesman) claims over 500 have been killed by security forces and possible foreign mercenaries, with evidence of bodies and human rights abuses.
  • Quote (02:53):

    “Our own reports indicate that more than 500 people have been killed by the police. But there are also elements that considered to be mercenaries from a neighboring country who have actually been hired to carry out the massacres.”
    — John Kitoka (02:53)

  • Government response is dismissive; Foreign Minister Mahmoud Tabit Kombo calls the numbers “hugely exaggerated” but is unable to provide any concrete data on injuries or damage.
  • Quote (03:47):

    “Nobody can state how many were injured, how many suffered or how many properties were burnt. We are continuing to receive also the reports of the vandalized properties…”
    — Mahmoud Tabit Kombo (03:47)

• On the Ground:
  • BBC’s Victor Kinani, reporting from the Kenyan border, relays that protests are widespread, the military is allegedly conducting nighttime door-to-door arrests, and there is growing fear among citizens and human rights organizations.
  • Quote (04:34):

    “There’s talk that then there is a crackdown that happens as soon as the night enters… the army is said to be going door by door and picking them up, especially young people who are told to be part of the protests.”
    — Victor Kinani (04:34)

• Takeaway: Lack of media access and communications blackouts make verification difficult, but reports of violence and repression are mounting, raising alarm among international observers.

2. US Food Stamps and Shutdown Ruling

[05:30–09:34]

• Background: Millions rely on food stamps (SNAP) in the US, but a government shutdown threatened suspensions.
• Vulnerable Populations:
  • Recipients and charities stress food as a basic human right, highlighting particular risks to families with children.
  • Policy expert Lamonica Jones points out that families with children are the largest group affected.
  • Quote (06:33):

    “We know that households with children are the highest percentage of SNAP recipients in the country. … Food is a basic human right. However you align yourself politically, people still need to eat.”
    — Lamonica Jones (06:33)

• Legal Decision:
  • Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to continue the food assistance program, using emergency funds if required, arguing suspension is arbitrary and dangerously harmful.
  • BBC’s Pratiksha Gildial explains the rulings, noting the Agriculture Department's claims of insufficient funds, yet the court insists the government must disburse contingency funds to avoid irreparable harm.
  • Quote (07:14):

    “One of the judges called the decision arbitrary. He said that this decision is just going to cause irreparable harm if it hasn’t already to many people and the terror it may be causing to some people the fact that they may not be able to buy groceries.”
    — Pratiksha Gildial (07:14)

• Outlook: The Trump administration’s next steps are uncertain; using contingency funds may only cover about 60% of recipients.

3. Israel Military Video Leak and Legal Fallout

[09:34–12:51]

• Incident: Leaked video of Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee led to charges against five soldiers, but also to the resignation of chief military lawyer Yifat Tomah Yerushami after she admitted responsibility for the leak.
• Reactions:
  • Deep political divide: right-wing critics call it “blood libel” and unpatriotic; left-wing and legal advocates argue she did the right thing in standing by the rule of law.
  • Quote (11:26):

    “If you’re on the right … then it’s seen as entirely wrong and unpatriotic. … If you’re on the other side, the more leftist side, then you believe that she did the right thing. It again reveals the chasm politically that there is in Israel.”
    — Sebastian Asher (11:26)

• Implications: The government is likely to appoint a new military legal head more aligned with its policies, reflecting growing tensions between political and legal institutions in Israel.

4. Madrid’s $1.7 Million Film Bet on Woody Allen

[12:51–16:23]

• Aid with Strings: Madrid’s government is investing heavily in Woody Allen’s next movie, provided Madrid is in the film’s title – a tourism branding strategy previously used with “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
• Changing Context:
  • Since MeToo, Woody Allen faces revived abuse allegations (which he denies), complicating film financing and talent acquisition.
  • There’s debate whether such investments—tying city branding to filmmakers' reputations—make sense in a changed social climate.
• Parallel with TV: Tourism booms credited to “Emily in Paris,” “Sex and the City,” showing the power of city-centric storytelling.
• Key quote:
  • “But that was almost two decades ago in a pre MeToo world. Since then, Woody Allen has faced a resurfacing of sexual abuse allegations, allegations he’s always strongly denied … But they have impacted his reputation in the industry and made booking talent and financing films harder.”
    — Stephanie Prentice (13:44)

5. Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum Opens

[17:43–21:57]

• Significance:
  • Massive new museum near Giza, after 20 years and $1 billion, becomes one of the world’s largest, a centerpiece for Egyptian national pride.
  • All 5,500+ artifacts found in Tutankhamun’s tomb will be displayed together for the first time.
• Cultural Resonance:
  • “When the Tutankhamun collection opens, then can you imagine? The whole world will come back and come back many times because this is an iconic pharaoh, the most famous king of all antiquity and the most intact tomb.”
    — Museum guide Ahmed Siddiq (18:46)
• Artifact Repatriation Debates:
  • Demands from scholars for the return of the Rosetta Stone and Nefertiti’s bust from European museums.
• National Impact:
  • “Having been in charge for this project for four and a half years, it’s a great moment to see the Egyptian people happy about it.”
    — Dr. Tariq Taufiq, ex-Director General (19:58)

6. Closure of Berlin’s Historic Schwutz Club

[21:57–25:23]

• Context: Schwutz, among Europe’s oldest gay clubs, is closing after bankruptcy, symptomatic of pressures on Berlin’s arts and LGBT nightlife due to gentrification and economic challenges.
• Cultural Importance:
  • “It’s the oldest gay club in Germany. I had my coming out there, my drag career started there … always been like the place for subculture, for free queer movement. So it’s so sad that it’s closing.”
    — Drag queen Gloria Viagra (22:30)
  • Spokesman Emiko Gaetz highlights the economic, cultural, and social centrality of queer spaces in Berlin, calling the current situation “stupid” for a city built on its creative scene.
• Economic Pressures: Development, commercial real estate, and lack of city support are blamed for the loss of essential cultural venues.

7. Universal Antivenom Breakthrough

[25:23–28:18]

• Problem: Snakebites cause thousands of deaths and amputations in sub-Saharan Africa, but antivenoms are species-specific and hard to obtain in rural areas.
• Scientific Solution:
  • Dr. Andreas Lauren’s team in Denmark developed a “nanobody” cocktail that neutralizes venom from a wide range of snakes (cobra, mamba, and ringhail species).
  • This could make treatment simpler and more accessible everywhere.
• Quote:
  • “We have developed a surprisingly simple mixture of a particular type of antibodies called nanobodies, that work across all cobras and mambas and ringhail snakes in Africa.”
    — Dr. Andreas Lauren (27:26)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tanzanian violence:

  “We can provide evidence of dead bodies, we can provide evidence of those perpetrators of human rights violations in the country. And why is it that they have shut down Internet? What are they trying to hide?”
  — John Kitoka (02:53)

• On Berlin’s shifting scene:

  “The city has completely changed. Everything has been sold out and commercialized to a massive scale. So the art and culture scene, also the funded art and culture scene, is struggling massively … it’s also extremely stupid to let the scene die.”
  — Emiko Gaetz (24:36)

• On Tutankhamun’s full presence:

  “I had the idea of displaying the complete Tutankhamun, which means nothing remains in storage, nothing remains in other museums in Egypt from the tomb and you get to have the complete experience the way Howard Carter had it over 100 years ago.”
  — Dr. Tariq Taufiq (20:29)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tanzania’s Post-Election Crisis: 01:08–05:30
• US Food Stamps Shutdown Ruling: 05:30–09:34
• Israel Military Video Leak & Fallout: 09:34–12:51
• Madrid’s Deal with Woody Allen: 12:51–16:23
• Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum: 17:43–21:57
• Berlin’s Schwutz Club Closes: 21:57–25:23
• Universal Snakebite Antivenom: 25:23–28:18

---

Summary

This podcast captures a world in flux: Tanzania’s democratic backsliding and violence shakes regional stability, while elsewhere courts and activists fight for the welfare of the vulnerable, be it food programs in the US or the cultural lives of Berliners. Science, meanwhile, brings hope in the form of a universal antivenom, and Egypt’s long-awaited museum renewal stirs not only national pride but debates over global restitution for ancient artifacts. These stories together underscore the tensions between crisis and resilience, repression and creativity, the local and the global.

Transcript

[Paul Moss]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

[Stephanie Prentice]

This is the story of the one As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Save over $200 when you book weekly stays with VRBO this winter if you need to work, why not work from a chalet? If you haven't seen your college besties since, well college you need a week to fully catch up in a snowy cabin. And if you have to stay in a remote place with your in laws, you should save over $200 a week. That's the least we can do. So you might as well start digging out the long johns because saving over $200 on a week long snowcation rental is in the cards book [e-mail].

[Paul Moss]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Paul Moss and we're recording this edition in the early hours of Saturday 1st of November. Diplomats say there's credible evidence that hundreds of people have been killed during post election violence in Tanzania, an allegation the government denies. U.S. judges have ordered the Trump administration to continue funding a program which feeds millions of poor Americans despite the government shutdown. Also in this podcast, when the Tutankhamun.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Collection opens, the whole world will come back because this is the most famous king of all antiquity and the most.

[Paul Moss]

Intact tomb, Egypt's long awaited billion dollar museum finally opens its doors. There was a time when Tanzania was seen as a beacon of relative stability in East Africa, indeed on the continent as a whole. While other countries succumbed to bitter ethnic conflict, Tanzania was largely spared. And while it may not have been a perfect democracy, there were elections, results were respected. But when Tanzanians went to the polls this week, several opposition parties had been banned and the announcement that President Samir Hasan was in the lead and likely to be re elected was greeted by widespread protests. Protests which the opposition say were viciously put down. John Kitoka is a spokesman for the Chadema Party and is one of those who's made the claim of widespread deaths and at the hands of Tanzania's security forces and perhaps others who are helping them.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Our own reports indicate that more than 500 people have been killed by the police. But there are also elements that considered to be mercenaries from a neighboring country who have actually been hired to carry out the massacres. Over the past 48 hours, they have been shooting anyone who we can provide evidence of dead bodies, we can provide evidence of those perpetrators of human rights violations in the country. And why is it that they have shut down Internet? What are they trying to hide?

[Paul Moss]

Tanzania's foreign minister has insisted these claims are hugely exaggerated. But then when Mahmoud Tabit Kombo spoke to the BBC program Focus on Africa, he he seemed to admit that he didn't actually know what had happened, suggesting that no one else did.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Nobody can state how many were injured, how many suffered or how many properties were burnt. We are continuing to receive also the reports of the vandalized properties, private properties. I'm struggling to believe that, Minister, because I believe as government you have the capacity, the resources. There are government hospitals that can tell how many people have been brought in injured. There are security agencies that also carry out these jobs. Have they not given you a rough figure that you can help us with? No, at the moment there is no rough figure. You are very right. The government is very capable. We don't provide the figures today.

[Paul Moss]

It's been hard to get any on the ground reports from inside Tanzania. But the BBC's Victor Kinani is on the Kenyan border hoping to get into Tanzania. He gave his reaction to the latest allegations of a crackdown.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

They are staggering and worrying at the same time. And looking at the protests that were happening in major cities across Tanzania. Most of these people are most likely killed during the protest. But there's talk that then there is a crackdown that happens as soon as the night enters. And we've been speaking to some of the people here and they're worried that they have seen Tanzanian military and they're not sure what will become of the night because the army is said to be going door by door and picking them up, especially young people who are told to be part of the protests. And people are worried now that what will become because there's literally very little opposition. And that has been expressed by the different civil societies, expressed by different nations saying they are worried about what is going on in Tanzania in terms of the high handedness of the government against critics, against the media and even against the opposition.

[Paul Moss]

Victor Kinani, now here's a statistic for you. One in every eight Americans receives food stamps, government fund funded assistance which allows poorer people to access free food from grocery stores and supermarkets. And for the tens of millions dependent on the scheme. It was obviously a blow when the US Government announced no more credit could be issued until a budget deal had been reached, something Congress has been arguing about for weeks. Jessica Alicea and Taya Iglesias were both recipients of food stamps and went on to found a food charity.

[VRBO Advertiser]

It's important that we remember that humans deserve to have food and water and housing and medical care for free.

[Yulan Nell]

This shut down, like there's so many other things that you could have pulled back on, you know, cut off other.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Than people's food source when they have none.

[Paul Moss]

Lamonica Jones is a policy expert on hunger in the U.S. she says any cuts to food stamps, also known as SNAP payments, would affect children especially.

[Yulan Nell]

We know that households with children are the highest percentage of SNAP recipients in the country. And so you think of the benefit that those SNAP allotments, as we're going.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Through several waves of the pandemic, we're.

[Yulan Nell]

Still dealing with price inflation. We were dealing with supply chain shortages. Food is a basic human right. However you align yourself politically, people still need to eat.

[Paul Moss]

It seems the fears of lamonica Jones and others may turn out to be unnecessary. A federal judge in the US has ordered that the SNAP program continue using emergency funds if necessary. To find out more, I spoke to the BBC's Pratiksha Gil dial and asked first of all, what the judge actually said.

[Pratiksha Gildial]

There were actually two different judges who issued their rulings pretty quickly, one after the other, one in Massachusetts and the other in Rhode island, both responding to lawsuits that sought to block the US Government from suspicion pending this food benefits program, which was brought by cities, nonprofits, unions, and even a dozen Democratic states. One of the judges called the decision arbitrary. He said that this decision is just going to cause irreparable harm if it hasn't already to many people and the terror it may be causing to some people the fact that they may not be able to buy groceries. And therefore the government must release as soon as possible and at least partially, some of the contingency funds that it has, because the government had argued, specifically the Agricultural Department, which is responsible for the rollout of this, had said that it has insufficient funds to pay benefits to over 40 million low American Indians because they cost up to $9 billion per month. But the judges disagree.

[Paul Moss]

So the judges have said that the system must continue even with emergency funds. But Donald Trump's administration has in the past had a reputation for defying court orders or at least delaying implement them. What does it look like this time?

[Pratiksha Gildial]

That's absolutely correct. There are so many lawsuits, everybody seems to have lost count. And this is yet another one. Well, in a truth social post, the president did seem to say it would be his honor to go ahead and issue these funds or help in the release of these funds. But he said he needs a little more legal clarity. How are the judges proposing they roll this out? So he said he's instructed his lawyers to get a little more information about how this can legally be done because the Department of Agriculture is still saying it has insufficient funds. And there are experts who say that even if the government uses the contingency funds, they might only be able to cover about 60% of the beneficiaries because it costs about 9 billion pounds per month, like I said.

[Paul Moss]

Pratiksha Gildial There was widespread revulsion and anger when a video was leaked last year which seemed to show Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee. It was broadcast on Israeli television and and five soldiers were subsequently charged. Now the country's chief military lawyer has resigned after admitting she leaked it. Yifat Tomay Yerushami said that this led to her being accused of favoring terrorists over her own troops and that she was threatened for what she said was simply standing by the rule of law. Sebastian Asher in Jerusalem has been following the controversy.

[Sebastian Asher]

A criminal investigation was launched earlier this week into the leaking of the video. Very much as far as the Israeli government and ministers were concerned. Concerned. Focusing on her, Major General Yifat Tomah Yerushami, the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said that she would not be allowed to return to her post. She had been suspended since her investigation was launched. She then issued a resignation letter in which she said that she took full responsibility for anything that was given to the media from the unit. She didn't specifically say that she was responsible for leaking that video, but she said that it it was her responsibility. She said also the reason for allowing the video to go out was to counter those who were attacking the legal apparatus within the army for pursuing this. There had been big protests against these revelations and many on that side had essentially said that it was a fabrication. So that's why she said that this video was released.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

And Seb, what's the wider reaction been to the resignation but also to this news and the leaking of this footage?

[Sebastian Asher]

If you're on the right and you essentially believe that the gloves should be 100% off since October 7, then it's seen as entirely wrong and unpatriotic. And the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, essentially described it as a blood libel against the Israeli army to allow such information to circulate. If you're on the other side, the more leftist side, then you believe that she did the right thing. It again reveals the chasm politically that there is in Israel. If listeners remember, before the Gaza war, the biggest protests in Israel were about trying to protect, according to those on the streets, the Israeli legal system from what they saw as moves by the Netanyahu government to limit and restrict its ability to act as a kind of guard over potential abuse. And that is essentially what she did. I mean, I've spoken to people who said, you know, she's essentially been dismissed and, you know, treated as a kind of outcast for finally doing her job. I think what is very likely to happen is that the government, the Israeli defense minister who has the final say in this, will ensure that the person who next takes this position will be someone that they believe is on their side and will not do the same thing.

[Paul Moss]

Sebastian Ascher, speaking to Anka Dessai. Madrid's regional government says it'll put money into a new movie by the veteran director Woody Allen, to the tune of $1.7 million, but on one condition. The word Madrid must be in the film's title. It's a soft advertising move that Spain has used before. It gave money to The American director's 2008 film Vicky Cristina Barcelon. But as the newsroom Stephanie Prentice reports, a lot has changed since then.

[Stephanie Prentice]

Vicky Cristina Barcelona followed two American friends on a summer trip to Barcelona, using the city as a character itself, exploring emotional turbulence amid gaudy masterpieces and scenic coastal views.

[Terry Egan]

I am Palantonio and you are Christina.

[Pratiksha Gildial]

And this is my friend Vicky.

[Stephanie Prentice]

The Catalan government gave Woody allen more than $1 million of the film's $15 million budget and said it made its money back several times over in tourism revenue. But that was almost two decades ago in a pre MeToo world. Since then, Woody Allen has faced a resurfacing of sexual abuse allegations, allegations he's always strongly denied and wasn't charged for. But they have impacted his reputation in the industry and made booking, talent and financing films harder. His last project, coup de Chants, premiered at the Venice film festival in 2023, where the Red carpet was crashed by protesters chanting slogans about platforming rapists. Then Woody Allen, who's 89, said the romance of filmmaking had gone for him and alluded to retiring. Now it seems he'll go again and is happy to accept Madrid's terms. They include Madrid being used in the title, featuring identifiable locations, and the film having its premiere at an international film festival. Emily Cooper Bonjour.

[Emiko Gaetz]

Bonjour.

[Stephanie Prentice]

Over in the world of television, stories based around major cities have been praised by tourism boards. Emily in Paris, about an American girl's life in a romanticized version of the city, has been credited with driving younger crowds there. Paris is the most exciting city in the world and you never know what's going to happen next. And increasing foreign property investment, with President Emmanuel Macron telling Variety he will fight to keep the show there. Sex and the City, which ran from the late 90s onwards, has been called one of the all time great commercials for the city of New York.

[Sebastian Asher]

Have you seen the New York Times style section?

[Stephanie Prentice]

You know I can't handle hard news before noon. Boosting its reputation as a global fashion capital and driving international interest. When life gets this confusing, sometimes there's.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Only one thing to do.

[Stephanie Prentice]

Attend a fabulous party. With tour guides still taking hundreds of people a week to visit shooting locations like Carrie Bradshaw's townhouse back in Madrid, officials have said in a statement that a Woody Allen project offers excellent potential for impact and called it an ideal channel for promotion. But it's not clear if any big stars are attached to the project, and it will be audience numbers that decide if Madrid's decision to buy a starring role was worth the money.

[Paul Moss]

Stephanie Prentice still to come on the Global News podcast, we have developed a.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Surprisingly simple mixture of particular type of antibodies that work across all cobras and.

[Paul Moss]

Mambas and ringhouse snakes, the single anti venom that protects against 17 different snake bites.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Save over $200 when you book weekly. Stays with VRBO this winter. If you need to work, why not work from a chalet? If you haven't seen your college besties since, well, college you need a week to fully catch up in a snowy cabin. And if you have to stay in a remote place with your in laws, you should save over $200 a week. That's the least we can do. So you might as well start digging out the long johns because saving over $200 on a week long snowcation rental is in the cards book [e-mail] hello, it's Ray Winstone.

[Paul Moss]

I'm here to tell you about my podcast on BBC Radio 4, History's Toughest Heroes. I've got stories about the pioneers, the rebels, the outcasts who define tough. And that was the first time that.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Anybody ever ran a car up that fast with no tires on. It almost feels like your eyeballs are gonna come out of your head.

[Paul Moss]

Tough enough for you? Subscribe to History's toughest heroes wherever you get your podcast. It's taken two decades to build and cost more than a billion dollars. But now, after countless delays, Egypt's Grand Museum is finally ready to share its treasures, giving visitors a glimpse into life in ancient Egypt. Such is the national pride about the building's official opening on Saturday that the government has made it a public holiday. Yulan Nell has been to the museum for a sneak preview.

[Yulan Nell]

Not far from where tourists flock to see one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, Egypt is officially opening. A cultural highlight of the modern age. The vast Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the biggest museums globally and it's packed with 100,000 artifacts. It's expected to bring millions more tourists. And guide Ahmed Siddiq is in no doubt about what's about to become the main highlight.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

When the Tutankhamun collection opens, then can you imagine? The whole world will come back and come back many times because this is an iconic pharaoh, the most famous king of all antiquity and the most intact tomb.

[Yulan Nell]

Visitors have already been able to go to most other galleries at the museum since last year. Some British tourists have planned their trips around this epic opening.

[Emiko Gaetz]

We thought why not give it a.

[Paul Moss]

Try when we get here?

[Sebastian Asher]

You know, it's a once in a.

[Emiko Gaetz]

Lifetime opportunity was pretty chaotic and so.

[Stephanie Prentice]

Hopefully the Grand Museum will be a lot easier to take in all the.

[Emiko Gaetz]

Tutankham commun and all the treasures.

[Yulan Nell]

It's nearly 20 years since a colossal statue of Ramses II was moved in a complex operation from downtown Cairo in preparation for the new museum. It's been that long in the works. Revolutions, an economic crisis, Covid and regional wars have all added to delays. But now the full opening has brought a sense of national pride.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Having been in charge for this project for four and a half years, it's a great moment. It's a great moment to see the Egyptian people happy about it.

[Yulan Nell]

Egyptologist Dr. Tariq Taufiq is a former Director General of the Grand Egyptian Museum. He's also overseen important restoration works by Egyptian experts on site and had a hand in designing the new setting for Tutankhamun and all of his more than five and a half thousand treasures discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter Tutank.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Amon puzzled me for a moment because I had to think how can we show him in a different way? So I had the idea of displaying the complete Tutanki Amun, which means nothing remains in storage, nothing remains in other museums in Egypt from the tomb and you get to have the complete experience the way Howard Carter had it over 100 years ago.

[Yulan Nell]

But while Egyptian law ensured the Tutankhamun finds stayed in Egypt, there are key historic artifacts that are missing from national collections. Prominent Egyptian Egyptologists, including Dr. Monika Hanna, say this is the time to demand their return from Europe.

[Emiko Gaetz]

On the occasion of the inauguration, Egypt should start asking officially for the restitution and repatriation of the different objects that were looted in the 20th century and the 19th century as well. Important objects for the history of Egyptology, such as the Rosetta Stone and the bust of Nefertiti, need to be part of of the display of museums in Egypt.

[Yulan Nell]

For now, the British Museum says it's not received a formal request from the Egyptian government for the return or loan of the Rosetta Stone. But with the opening of the Grand Museum, Egyptians have an impressive new attraction to showcase more of their ancient past.

[Paul Moss]

Yoland Nel and from that grand opening in Egypt to a Berlin institution that is closing its doors for good this weekend. Schwutz is one of the oldest gay nightclubs in Europe, but filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The German capital has long been considered a great party city. So has gay and lesbian culture in Berlin changed, or is it the city itself? We're going to hear from Emiko Gaetz, a spokesman for the Union of Berlin Clubs. But first, one of Schutz most famous residents, the drag queen Gloria Viagra.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

It's the oldest gay club in Germany. I had my coming out there, my drag career started there. And it's always been like the place for subculture, for free queer movement. So it's so sad that it's closing Amico.

[Yulan Nell]

I mean, obviously it's been a place for dancing and parties and gathering, but it's also had quite an importance in the activist movement as well. For LGBT communities.

[Emiko Gaetz]

Yes. So all the subcultural spaces that host queer events and are safer spaces for queer and LGBTQ communities are extremely important to Berlin, to the cultural life, to the social life. They have political importance. And in the past years, a lot clubs in general were closing. In Berlin, there's an ongoing gentrification and eviction of club space. It's hard to find new spaces. So those spaces are extremely important and it's a big loss when they are closing down.

[Yulan Nell]

Is it mainly a financial issue, Gloria, or do you think that people are just going out less? Generally, there's the culture changed.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

I think time changes because Berlin was always known a little, like, rough, but always lovely. And now people are, like, even attacking or throwing, like, stuff, bottles and cans, just over the streets and stuff. So it became rougher.

[Yulan Nell]

Is there a hope though, that there will be a chance that you can rebuild, maybe something smaller again and start again?

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

I hope so. I really hope so. Because now, yeah, I mean, maybe, yeah, in a smaller space because this space was really huge. And maybe that's also has been the problem, especially after the pandemic. And. Well, hope is what we live for, amico.

[Yulan Nell]

I mean, something only becomes fashionable and trendy when trendy, fashionable people say it is. Could this be a spark to maybe start somewhere else?

[Emiko Gaetz]

All this issue that we're talking about is not a matter of trend or reputation or being popular. It's really an economic situation. The city has completely changed. Everything has been sold out and commercialized to a massive scale. So the art and culture scene, also the funded art and culture scene is struggling massively. So this is also, I think, a bigger political decision to make. What kind of city do we want to live in? Because right now we are building on a massive scale. Offices and hotels and all art and culture is being evicted. But Berlin relies on that so much. Not only for just because it's like a social scene and a cultural scene, but also economically, it's the reason why people move to Berlin, why tourism is coming to Berlin. So it's also extremely stupid to let the scene die.

[Paul Moss]

Emiko Gaetch. And before her, we heard from the drag queen Gloria Viagra, both speaking to Rebecca Kesby. If you get bitten by a venomous black mamba snake, you've probably got just hours to live. But the problem of snake bites is particularly acute in remote parts of Africa, where even if you can get hold of anti venom, you need to know exactly which kind of snake bit you. But now, as Terry Egan reports, scientists have found a general antidote which they hope could save countless lives.

[Terry Egan]

Snake bites are a global problem. In sub Saharan Africa alone, up to 300,000 people are bitten every year and over 7,000 die. Even if someone doesn't die, they may need to have a limb cut off. Antivenoms are crucial, but the trouble is they're not at all easy to get hold of in remote areas. And even then, you have to know which species of snake you were bitten by, because the treatment will need to match that particular snake. A team in Denmark, though, has a solution. Here's Dr. Andreas Lauren.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

We started out listening to which snakes are the medically important ones that need to be neutralized in sub Saharan Africa. We divided them into different groups and looked at what venoms are there, what toxins are in these venoms? And how can we make the simplest cocktail of antibodies that can neutralize as broadly as possible?

[Terry Egan]

Coming up with antivenoms is a long and difficult process. It entails skillfully forcing the venom out of the snakes and giving it in small doses to a big animal, such as a horse, that can withstand the biochemical attack. The aim is for that animal to produce antibodies which can fight the effects of the bite to come up with their cocktail. The team here, though, have used other big animals, an alpaca and a llama and a variety of snake venoms all at once. From the black mamba, the cape cobra and the nubian spitting cobra, among others.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

We have developed a surprisingly simple mixture of a particular type of antibodies called nanobodies, that work across all cobras and mambas and ringhail snakes in Africa. So we used a lot of advanced techniques to study toxicity, to study how venoms varied across species, and then we used methods in the laboratory where we simulated the immune system and developed this small mix of nanobodies.

[Terry Egan]

It's been shown that mice injected with the solution were largely able to withstand otherwise fatal doses of venom. The antivenom also substantially prevented the death of tissues where the bite occurred, something that can lead to amputation. The aim, of course, is to completely get rid of that problem of having to determine which kind of snake has bitten its victim. And the scientists are now much closer.

[Paul Moss]

Terry Egan reporting. And that's all from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Philip Bull, and the producers were Chantal Hartle and Guy Pitt. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Paul Moss. Until next time, goodbye. Hello, it's Ray Winstone. I'm here to tell you about my podcast on BBC Radio 4, History's Toughest Heroes. I got stories about the pioneers, the rebels, the outcasts who define tough. And that was the first time that.

[Various Interviewees/Experts]

Anybody ever ran a car up that fast with no tires on. It almost feels like your eyeballs are going to come out of your head.

[Paul Moss]

Tough enough for you? Subscribe to History's Toughest Heroes. Wherever you get your podcast.