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Thailand's new Prime Minister: Business tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul
00:30:29
Thailand's new Prime Minister pledges to address the country's economic crisis
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A
This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm John Sudworth and we're recording this at 13 hours GMT on Friday 5th September, Thailand's parliament picks business tycoon Anutin Chanwarikun to be the next prime minister, the country's third in two years. In a major blow for the British government, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigns following an investigation into her taxes. Moscow says any Western troops in Ukraine would be a legitimate target. Also in this podcast, solving the mystery of the winged bronze lion.
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What we know for sure is that the style of the lion is certainly Chinese and the chemistry of the copper used is certainly from China.
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A
A new study sheds light on the origins of one of Venice's most iconic monuments. After a turbulent week in Thai politics, the country has a new prime minister. The construction tycoon Anutin Chanwarikun secured enough votes in Parliament to become Thailand's leader, the third in two years. His predecessor, Patongthan Shinawat, was dismissed by the Constitutional Court over an ethics breach. And just hours before the parliamentary vote, her father and former leader Thaksin Shinawat abruptly left the country for Dubai. Thailand's new leader comfortably defeated the candidate of the Shinawat family's once dominant ruling party. But how did he do it? A question for our South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head.
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C
In order to get the number of votes to get a majority in Parliament, to get the Prime Minister's job, he's had to seek the support of the most reformist party in Parliament. In Thailand, that's also the largest party, the People's Party has got more than double the number of seats Mr. Anitin has. And they are at ideological opposite ends of the spectrum. Mr. Anitin is a great deal maker. He's generally viewed as very transactional, very flexible. But his party is very conservative, it's staunchly royalist, and in the past has really disliked and shown a lot of animosity towards the Reformist People's Party. So this is very much a marriage of convenience. Now, the reformists have only backed him on condition that he calls an election very quickly, within four months, that he doesn't attempt really to have any ambitions in government, essentially saying, you've got to be a caretaker government. He's agreed to those conditions. I'll be fascinated to see if he sticks to them. He's a very wily operator and I'm sure he's got some idea about how he might wriggle out of them. And last a Bit longer, as you say.
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A
There's this promise to call an election. Thailand's been through this long period now of political turbulence. What is the public mood after this latest political crisis?
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C
It's pretty weary, John, and pretty disillusioned. I mean, only two years ago there was enormous enthusiasm in the then election for the Reformist Party. They did, unexpectedly. People really believed there was a groundswell of public opinion wanting change. This is a country that seems very stuck. You know, its economy is not growing anymore, it's aging. There are huge issues inside it in terms of inequality. I think people want a change. But every time reformists get into a position of power, these unelected bodies, deeply conservative like the Constitutional Court and there are many others, intervene and are able to sack prime ministers and dissolve parties on quite trivial matters. And they've been doing it. The problem is you can have another election in Thailand and maybe Mr. Anatin could put it off for a while, but there'll have to be another one, certainly by 2027. And we expect the same pattern to be repeated. Young people and many others will vote for change, but conservative forces in Thailand arranged around the monarchy are incredibly powerful and they usually find an effective way to block them.
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A
It's a country of political dynasty, few bigger than the China. What happens to them now?
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C
Fascinating. I mean, the Shinawat name has hung over Thai politics for a quarter of a century. Taxing Shinawat, brash, ambitious, controversial, came back from exile just a couple of years ago. He's had his party in government again. He seemed like the comeback kid, but I think this time round the reputation is damaged. They've failed to deliver anything meaningful for the people. A lot of controversy still swirling around him. He's actually left the country. And just before this vote for the new prime minister, some are wondering because he does have outstanding cases against him, whether he will come back or whether he goes back into exile again.
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Jonathan Head in the Thai capital Bangkok. Next to more political turbulence here in the uk The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner has resigned following an investigation into the payment of the incorrect amount of tax on a seaside flat in southern England. She was also the Housing Secretary. Earlier this week, she admitted to underpaying by tens of thousands of dollars, which she said was because of incorrect legal advice. I took expert counsel advice on all of my affairs to ensure that everything was done proper and that expert counsel said that the advice that I received was inaccurate because of the trust and also contacted HMRC to say that there is additional tax owing on this and that I'm prepared to pay that. That admission was met with calls from the opposition for her to be sacked. And just before we recorded this podcast, the government's independent adviser published his assessment in a letter to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. He said Masrayna had acted with integrity but had failed to meet the highest possible standards of proper conduct. More on this from our UK political correspondent, Rob Watson.
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D
It is a grim moment for Sir Keir Starmer, for his government, and for the governing Labour Party on three fronts. Really, John. I mean, on the first case a year ago when Labour won the general election in this country after 14 years Conservative government, they said, we're going to be different. We're not going to have sleaze, we're not going to have scandals, we're not going to have drama, we're not going to have emotion. Well, this violates that pledge. Secondly, they've become very unpopular in the years since they've been in government. And Sikhir Starmer had made this week all about relaunching that government with the start of the parliamentary term. Well, clearly that has been blown off course. And then briefly, the third problem that all of this raises is that there will now need to be an election within the governing party, a governing Labour Party for a new deputy leader. And there is a chance that such an election will reveal all sorts of splits in the party and all sorts of unhappiness with the way Sikhistama has been running the party and the country.
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A
Who is likely, in terms of the list of candidates who might replace her?
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D
Well, I mean, the list is bound to include sort of senior members of the government now. I mean, it could include people like former leader Ed Miliband. I mean, the issue is really the nature of the contest that's going to come up, John, because the governing Labour Party is broadly split between those on the right and center, like the Prime Minister, Secure Starmer. And those on the left of the party who would wish it would take a much tougher line, for example, on Gaza, who would like to see more taxation of the wealthy, more government spending. And one suspects that this election of a deputy leader will throw up all of that bad blood, which, you know, given that the government is already profoundly unpopular and struggling to govern, it really will not help secure at all.
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A
Is it possible, Rob, to calibrate just how big a scandal this is in the broad historic sweep? And she says it was an inadvertent mistake. What do you make of it?
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D
It's a very good question, John. And I think the Answer is that it's not some great scandal, but it's more that this was a government. This was a government that absolutely, absolutely promised there's not going to be any scandal, there's not going to be any drama. And they have been unable to deliver on that. So it's that more than the scale of the money or anything else involved.
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Rob Watson after his high profile visit to Beijing, where he met the Chinese and North Korean leaders, Vladimir Putin is back in Russia at an economic forum in Vladivostok in the Far east. And he is once again asserting his claims over Ukrainian sovereignty, saying any Western soldiers deployed there would be a legitimate target for the Russian army. He was speaking a day after the French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries had committed to contributing troops or other resources to guarantee security in Ukraine after any ceasefire or peace deal with Moscow. Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg spoke to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Vladivostok. The main reason of the conflict was the attempt of NATO to infiltrate into Ukraine, thus endangering our country. So we consider it a danger for US Presence of international forces or any foreign forces or NATO country forces on the soil of Ukraine next to our borders. So in our understanding, it's, it will not help us get closer to the solution of Ukrainian culture.
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But why doesn't Ukraine have the right, as far as Russia is concerned, to invite whoever it wants, whichever soldiers it wants, on it onto its territory? I mean, Russia is inviting North Korean.
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Troops, then it's a danger for us. It's a real danger for us because we are an enemy of NATO.
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North Korean troops are a danger to.
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Ukraine, written in NATO's documents. So we cannot afford that. And we'll do whatever is necessary to ensure our security, preferably would like to reach our goals by diplomatic and peaceful means when we don't have these possibilities will continue. Special military operation Mr. Peskov also went on to say that despite all that, Russia is still optimistic about a diplomatic solution. For more on this, here's Steve Rosenberg in Vladivostok.
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E
Well, Russia continues to talk about diplomatic solution and that Russia is ready to talk. The reality is that when Russian officials talk about a diplomatic solution, they mean, I think, a solution, a deal on Russia's terms. That is what Russia is pushing for. So, for example, when Vladimir Putin said today that in theory he would be prepared to meet Volodymyr BER Zelensky, he then added in Moscow, that is a non start. I mean, the Ukrainians have already said the president of Ukraine is not going to get on a plane and fly to Moscow for a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin. But this is the position of Russia. Vladimir Putin is feeling increasingly confident. He is not budging on anything at the moment. There's no ceasefire, no compromise on the question of foreign peacekeepers. As we've heard, Moscow continues to oppose the idea of any Western troops as a reassurance force in Ukraine post war. And the Russian president came out with an extraordinary argument today. He said that, well, if there is a peace deal in Ukraine, then there'll be no need anyway for foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine because Russia will stick to the agreement. In other words, his argument is, you can trust Russia. Well, you know, try telling Ukraine that. I don't think Ukraine trusts Russia. And certainly Western leaders will be very skeptical about an argument like that.
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A
And given then the seemingly impossible nature of Moscow's condition, should we doubt, Steve, whether this is really a genuine good faith desire for peace? Is Mr. Putin playing the US president here?
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E
I think Vladimir Putin's greatest desire is victory. That is what Russia is pushing for. You know, three and a half years ago, when Moscow launched this so called special military operation, the Russians thought that, you know, it would get, it would be over and done with very quickly in a matter of weeks that Ukraine would be forced back into Russia's orbit. And it didn't go at all according to plan. But now, three and a half years on, despite the very huge Russian casualties, there is a confidence in the Kremlin that if they carry on and keep pushing on, that at some point they will achieve something they can present to their people as victory.
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Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg. Venice is renowned as one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world, filled with stunning architecture and Renaissance masterpieces. One of its most iconic monuments is the winged bronze lion that sits atop a column overlooking the Grand Canal on St. Mark's Square or Piazza San Marco. But much about its origins have remained shrouded in mystery. Until now, that is. A new study claims to shed light on where it came from. And James Kopnell spoke to one of the authors, Massimo Vitale, an archaeologist at Padova University.
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B
We were very excited when we found out that the bronze with which the lion was made had the lead isotopes of ore districts mines from China from the lower basin of the Yangtze river near Shanghai. So, as you say, the most iconic symbol of Venice actually was made with copper coming from China. We have no historical sources speaking about the arrival of the lion and its eventually transformation, change or casting in Venice. And we have no notice whatsoever about Chinese casters working in Venice at the time. We are speaking of the mid 13th century in Venice. What we know for sure is that the style of the lion, reconsidered in this light, is certainly Chinese. And the chemistry of the copper used is certainly from China. So the easiest solution for us is to think that it was imported, probably in pieces and remounted in Venice with a totally different look. Yeah.
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Would that change, then, our understanding of that period of Venice's history?
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B
Sure. We have to give more substance to the idea that there were very important contacts between the court, probably of. We think, at least of Kubyl Icano, the Mongol emperor, and the Republic of Venice. It was a very, very crucial period. The church in Rome, the Pope and kubulaicano were in contact politically because the Pope wanted the Mongols to attack them and the Muslim power in the Near East. And so there was a very dense network of diplomatic intelligence contacts. We think the lion could have been sent to Venice in this context.
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You've made some findings, too, about the granite used from the column, which also takes us to geopolitics of the time.
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B
We did not analyze specifically the granite of the column in this research, but one of the leading experts in Italy of marbles and precious says that it could come from Anatolia. So probably the columns come from Constantinople, modern day Istanbul. Yeah, Istanbul, the modern name.
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Yeah. And then to make the picture more complex, the lion itself has got wings.
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B
This is not your typical lion, exactly. We believe actually, that the original form of the lion was a kind of chimaera, a Chinese chimaera, probably a tomb guardian. They made these monsters, this hybrid creature which are partially, partially human, partially lion, and they put them to guard the tombs of very important people. So originally it had wings, but when it came to Venice, the wings were changed. They were shifted from the shoulders of the monsters to the back. So the image of the lion that we know today, that we see today, has the wings on the back.
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Massimo Vitaly, an archaeologist at Padova University. Still to come in this podcast, the.
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Time of day that you eat matters. Better to eat earlier in the day because your metabolism is higher. And that's due the circadian system, or your body's internal biological clock.
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Why you shouldn't wait for breakfast. The Democratic Republic of Congo has declared a new outbreak of Ebola. Fifteen deaths have been reported in Kasai province, with 28 suspected cases. The World Health Organization says the virus, first confirmed last month, has spread across two zones in the Southern Province. Dr. Jean Cassea is the Director General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and is currently in the DRC.
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Since 1976 we had the first identified Ebola case. We have already 40 outbreaks out of them 16 in DRC and the latest one that was declared yesterday by the minister. We are suspecting an index case coming from a 34 year old woman who was pregnant and that one was known almost around two weeks ago. And now the government is taking action with support from partners to see how to contain this outbreak. Because what is wondering me as that of General Africa CDC is to see the spread in the neighboring country that could be Angola. To contain the outbreak, we need first to conduct the rapid detection and to isolate all cases. This is why the government with support from Africa cdc who we are sending epidemiologists and other colleagues to support to detect quickly. The second one is to protect health workers. We have some health workers who passed on because they didn't have appropriate information, but also they didn't have the gloves, the mask to protect themselves. We need also to have a strong community mobilization activities for people to know what to do and what not not to do. And lastly we need to have treatment and vaccination.
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Dr. Jean Casea of the Africa CDC. First it was Los Angeles, then Washington DC. Now Chicago is in President Trump's sights as the next place where he wants to deploy the National Guard. He claims crime is out of control in the Democrat led city even though FBI data shows the murder rate falling in recent years. Democratic leaders say the White House is using law enforcement as a cover for an immigration crackdown. Tom Bateman has this report from Chicago.
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Well, we're driving through the south side of Chicago and around here they call it the wild hundreds. Doesn't take long to see why this is one of the highest crime areas of Chicago.
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The headquarters of the Chicago Police Department is that building. The shooting happened down there. Where that light at?
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I meet Rob White as he coaches young men trying to prevent them getting drawn into a nightly spiral of gun attacks and revenge. In the city where President Trump plans to send in troops, Rob says blunt force won't work.
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Having the militia come in is not going to be the answer to this problem. Right.
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H
What is the answer?
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There is no one answer. There's no one cure that will cure our illness. Low education, you've got malnutrition, you got inadequate housing, you got living below the parking lot, you got drug abuse. And all of these are not just things that young people are under, they are directly involved in it. Like the stats over the weekend, 54 shots, seven dead.
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As we just heard, those numbers have both gone up. We drive west and the right wing talk radio presses for the President's deployment fast. After LA and Washington D.C. chicago will be the third city targeted alongside the threat of a crackdown on undocumented immigrants. This is a march by workers who are striking. They work at a steel packaging plant and this is almost entirely Hispanic work.
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Course from the local neighborhood here.
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They're unhappy with the company about conditions but also want written into their contract terms that would protect them from immigration.
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Raids.
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In their neighborhood of Little Village. Music pours from the stores and flags drape the streets as people get ready to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. But rumors swirl that the event will be a target for for impending raids by the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ice.
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My name is Rosalo Ramos.
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What are people feeling in these communities? What's the mood?
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Fear.
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A lot of them don't want to.
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Go out and come out anymore because of it. I just think it's really unfair of how he's attacking other immigrants for no reason.
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ICE raids have been continuing in other cities. The Trump administration says it is delivering on its promise to voters for the biggest deportation exercise in history. That message goes down well in Canaryville, one of the few pro Trump strongholds in Democrat dominated Chicago. Tom Stacks spots us and comes out of a bar to appeal for the troops to arrive.
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I don't even go out at night. I'm scared to go out at night. If you do, you gotta carry a gun. The police, they're overworked. It's hard to do their job.
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H
At the police headquarters, Chicago's Superintendent Larry Snelling points out that violent crime has fallen significantly.
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We have 700 less shooting victims than.
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We had the year before.
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People have to have a clear understanding of the National Guard and what the National Guard does. The National Guard does not have police powers. They don't have the powers of arrest.
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H
Now the leaders of this Democrat run city and state are preparing to clash with the Trump administration. A showdown channeling America's divisions in one city.
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Tom Bateman reporting. The U.S. is making a big push to help Ecuador handle its drug cartels. A great deal of cocaine is processed through the country and the violence surrounding that has greatly increased. In a bid to deal with it all, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced nearly $20 million in security assistance in the capital Quito. Mr. Rubio also told a news conference that the US was designating two Ecuadorian gangs as terrorist groups. We have designated as terrorist organizations 2 groups that operate here in Ecuadorian territory, one is Los Lobos and the other is Lo Chnedos.
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J
We've designated them as foreign terrorist organizations.
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And that brings with it all sorts.
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Of options for the United States to.
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Work in conjunction with the government of.
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Ecuador in the future to stamp these groups out.
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So to find out More about what Mr. Rubio had to say, Ankadesai spoke to our correspondent Luis Fajardo.
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He said that the United States was declaring two powerful crime groups of Ecuador as terror groups that have been having a powerful impact on the security situation in Ecuador. He also suggested that the US could possibly be interested in reactivating military bases that they used to have in Ecuador more than a decade ago for anti drugs purposes and that had been removed after a former government, a former leftist government in Ecuador, had objected to this base, specifically a base in the port city of Manta. And Rubio floated the possibility of conversations to reactivate this again.
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What's happened in Ecuador? Why does it feel in particular in the last five years it's become so bad over there?
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Ecuador is not a major drug producing country. A lot of the cocaine comes originally from Colombia. But criminal gangs use ports in Ecuador to export it, to smuggle it to places like Europe and North America. And in the process of gaining access to these ports and to this infrastructure, they have caused a lot of criminal activity in Ecuador. Ecuador used to be considered one of the actually one of the safest countries in South America and now it faces one of the highest crime rates and murder rates in the region. So a very complicated situation. That helps explain why the President of Ecuador, Noboa, he has strongly campaigned on improving the security conditions in the country and also specifically establishing alliances with other countries, with Western countries to try to obtain help.
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A
Also, is it seen as somewhere to deport illegal migrants?
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At the moment, one of the topics of conversation between the US and Ecuador during this visit by Marco Rubio was concerning Ecuador's willingness to take deportees from the U.S. ecuador had previously signaled that they would be willing to take in maybe even even hundreds of deportees and not only Ecuadorians, but people from other countries. The government of Ecuador presented this as part of the cooperation ties that they were expecting to build with the US which would also of course include security help for Ecuador from the US and in return Ecuador. One of the things that they were offering was this possibility of receiving deportees.
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A
From the US Luis Fajardo as we age, what and when we eat tends to change, but what is the impact of meal Timing on our health. New research from the United States indicates that later breakfast times in particular are associated with physical and mental health conditions such as depression, fatigue and oral health problems. Two experts in nutrition gave us their insights. In a moment, we'll hear from Marianela Herrera, a professor at the Central University of Venezuela. But first, Courtney Peterson from the Harvard School of Public Health.
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F
The time of day that you eat matters where it's better to eat earlier in the day. So again, this suggests that breakfast actually is really important because we find your metabolism is higher earlier in the day and that's due the circadian system or your body's internal biological clock. So for instance, in most people, they have their best blood sugar control in the mid to late morning. That's going to be between maybe about 10am to noon time. So if you can eat a large breakfast in the morning and, or I would even say a large lunch in the morning, your body's going to be better at metabolizing that food. And what that means is your blood sugar levels won't spike as high. You might burn slightly more fat, you might burn slightly more calories from eating earlier in the day. Whereas if you eat most of your food later in the day, your metabolism is actually slower later in the day. So for instance, if you ate the same bowl of ice cream in the morning, the afternoon and the evening, your blood sugar levels will start spike significantly higher in the afternoon and the evening. So as much as possible, it is better to eat earlier in the day. By and large, there have been meta analyses finding that eating early in the day does help for weight loss, it lowers their blood pressure. And the fascinating thing is in women it even improves fertility.
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A
I have something to add to that. I'm just think how important has been historically eating an early breakfast for the workers. In ancient times, breakfast was developed in fact to nurture those agricultural workers that had to start very early in the morning. So they felt that with breakfast that would be better and they could have better and improved jobs across the day. More effective, even more alert. Marianela Herrera, a professor at the Central University of Venezuela. And before that, Courtney Peterson from the Harvard School of Public Health. Finally on this podcast, thrift shops, second hand stores or charity shops, places where you can pick up items other people no longer want, can sometimes be a real treasure trove for those who know what to look for. Aaron William Connolly, a designer in New York, has gone viral on social media after making an extraordinary bargain. He told Roger, hearing what happened, I.
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J
Go thrifting a lot and I walk into my thrift store and I see that somebody had just donated a marble table. And I thought to myself, oh, that must be a replica. Nobody's gonna donate a real knoll table. So I walked over it to kind of check it out and then I looked underneath and I saw the null sign and I realized it was a real table, but it hadn't been priced yet. So I had to sit there and wait for the manager for like over an hour.
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A
So what's this no sign you talked about? What is it?
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J
Noel is like a famous American mid century manufacturer of furniture. So they work with a lot of like the best furniture designers and have since like the 50s. Like Noel made all like the Ray and Charles Eane stuff back in the day. So it's all like these very famous furniture designers and they manufacture their furniture. So Noel is like always a marker of like some of the best furniture you can buy.
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A
So when the guy came over, what.
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Did he, what did he charge you for it?
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J
She's great. I'm in there all the time. So she said it was 200, but for me and if I took it away today, I gotta have it for 100.
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A
And come on, tell us, how much.
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Is it actually worth?
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J
I mean, if you went to the store to buy it today, you would spend $8,000 on it. If you bought it secondhand today, like on a cherish or first dibs, it would be like probably 45 to 6,000.
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A
Gosh. So you really got a bargain, didn't you?
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J
Yeah, I'm looking at it right now. It's a beauty.
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A
Are you gonna keep it?
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J
Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna keep it. Now it's, it's, it's part of the family. I definitely like to have nice things in here.
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A
Aaron William Connolly. And that's all from us for now. But there will 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 Louis Griffin and produced by Tracy Gordon and Stephanie Zakrisen. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm John Sudworth. Until next time. Goodbye.