Trump says Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary BBC World Service | Episode: Trump says Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday | Release Date: February 27, 2025

---

1. Ukraine Mineral Resources Agreement

Overview: President Donald Trump has announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington on Friday to finalize an agreement concerning the sharing of Ukraine's mineral resources. This deal is seen as a pivotal step in bolstering Ukraine's economy amidst ongoing conflicts.

Key Points:

• Preliminary Nature of the Deal: Zelenskyy regards the agreement as preliminary, seeking additional security assurances alongside the economic components.
• Security Guarantees: Zelenskyy emphasizes the need for robust security guarantees, potentially paving the way for NATO membership or equivalent protections.
• European Involvement: Trump indicated that extensive security guarantees are not within his purview and suggested that European nations take on this responsibility.

Notable Quotes:

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy [01:26]: "I'm still looking for American security guarantees."
• Elon Musk [02:00]: "We are ready, you know, to be flexible in this deal."
• Elon Musk [02:07]: "Next steps have to be about it. Without future security guarantees, we will not have really just peace."

---

2. Elon Musk’s Influence on US Government Efficiency

Overview: Elon Musk, though not an elected official, wields significant influence within the Trump administration through his role in the Department for Government Efficiency. His initiatives aim to reduce the federal workforce and curb the national deficit.

Key Points:

• Efficiency Measures: Musk and his team have implemented cuts, focusing on retaining only essential personnel.
• Deficit Concerns: Musk highlighted the unsustainable $2 trillion deficit, emphasizing that interest on the national debt now surpasses Defense Department spending.
• Controversial Tactics: His demand for government employees to list their accomplishments has caused unease among Cabinet members.

Notable Quotes:

• Elon Musk [06:21]: "We spend a lot on the Defense Department, but we're spending like over a trillion dollars on interest."
• Elon Musk [06:26]: "If this continues, the country will go become de facto bankrupt."
• Noamia Iqbal [06:48]: "There are a lot of controversy over what he's doing... concern about, you know, is Elon Musk taking advantage of his position?"

---

3. Israel-Hamas Hostage Exchange

Overview: A significant development in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict involves the exchange of four Israeli hostages' bodies by Hamas for the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners. This exchange marks the final phase of the initial ceasefire agreement.

Key Points:

• Exchange Process: The bodies will be transferred to the Red Cross in a private ceremony facilitated by mediators in Cairo.
• Palestinian Prisoners: Among the prisoners, some are serving life sentences, while others face long-term incarceration. Many have been detained without charges since October 2023.
• Future Negotiations: The exchange is part of a multi-phase ceasefire deal, with subsequent negotiations needed for further hostages and broader peace initiatives.

Notable Quotes:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [08:29]: "We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets."
• Elon Musk [09:18]: "For Palestinians, I mean, this really goes to the heart of how they feel about the whole situation."

---

4. Escalation of Conflict in the West Bank

Overview: Israel has intensified its military operations in the West Bank, particularly targeting densely populated refugee camps like Tulkarum and Jenin. These operations aim to dismantle terrorist infrastructures but have resulted in significant civilian displacement and infrastructure damage.

Key Points:

• Operation in Tulkarum: Residents were given minimal notice to evacuate, leading to the destruction of homes and disruption of lives.
• Displacement Impact: Approximately 40,000 people have been displaced, with many seeking refuge in public buildings or with relatives.
• Israeli Perspective: The Israeli government asserts that these actions are necessary for security, targeting areas where violence against soldiers and civilians is planned.
• Palestinian Perspective: Officials describe the operations as a declaration of war, causing financial and mental devastation to residents.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Abdullah, Tulkarum Governor [13:58]: "It is a declaration of war and a declaration that oversteps all agreements between the Israelis and the Palestinians."
• Israeli Forces [14:05]: "We are eliminating terrorists commanders. We're doing very, very important work against Hamas and other terrorist organizations."

---

5. Afghanistan Cricket Amidst Gender Restrictions

Overview: The Afghanistan men's cricket team recently secured an eight-run victory against England in Lahore, Pakistan. However, the team faces scrutiny due to the Taliban's prohibition of women’s participation in sports, sparking debates over boycotting matches against Afghanistan.

Key Points:

• Rapid Progress: Raees Ahmadzai, former captain and current U19 head coach, highlighted the team’s remarkable rise from refugee camps to international competition.
• Boycott Discussions: Despite Afghanistan not meeting International Cricket Council (ICC) requirements for a women's team, the ICC permitted the men’s team to compete, emphasizing non-punishment for players.
• Human Rights Concerns: Critics argue that the lack of a female team perpetuates gender discrimination, calling for boycotts to pressure the Taliban regime.

Notable Quotes:

• Raees Ahmadzai [17:21]: "Afghan players, they are giving so much happiness right now in the country."
• Tonya Antonia, Labour MP [19:13]: "Afghan women should be given the same chance to play. It's absolutely unbelievable."

---

6. Illegal Organ Sales in Myanmar Driven by Poverty

Overview: Amidst a severe humanitarian crisis following the 2021 military coup and ensuing civil war, residents in Myanmar’s refugee camps are resorting to selling their kidneys to survive financially. This illegal trade, though lucrative, poses significant health risks to the sellers.

Key Points:

• Economic Desperation: Individuals like Ze, a farm worker, sell their kidneys to pay off debts and provide for their families, despite legal prohibitions in both Myanmar and India.
• Operation Mechanics: Organ brokers facilitate the transactions by forging documents to make the sales appear legitimate, allowing sellers to undergo surgeries abroad.
• Health and Social Impact: While some sellers report successful recoveries, many face long-term health issues and remain unable to improve their living conditions despite the financial gains.

Notable Quotes:

• Ze [21:43]: "I just wanted to own a house."
• Zaya [21:45]: "For my family and I have a child. That's why I decided to sell my kidney."

---

7. Massive Blackout in Chile and Its Aftermath

Overview: Chile experienced a nationwide blackout on Tuesday, disrupting daily life and prompting a temporary state of emergency. The incident, caused by a failure in the transmission lines, has been primarily attributed to safety mechanisms malfunctioning unexpectedly.

Key Points:

• Cause of the Blackout: A transmission line failure triggered an unplanned safety mechanism, resulting in widespread power outages across the country.
• Impact on Citizens: Approximately 2.3 million people were affected, particularly those using the underground transit systems who had to evacuate trains in darkness.
• Government Response: Power has largely been restored, and the president has lifted the curfew and state of emergency. However, the incident has raised concerns about the reliability of Chile’s power grid, previously considered one of the most stable in South America.

Notable Quotes:

• Brian Cox [24:36]: "There won't be any public staging of the event. And that then should lead to the release of all those more than 600 Palestinian prisoners."
• Brian Cox [24:56]: "It has had a massive impact on millions of people."

---

8. British Mother’s Hunger Strike for Son’s Release from Egypt

Overview: Leila Suwayf, a British mother, has been on a hunger strike for 150 days to secure the release of her son, Allah Abdel Fattah, who is imprisoned in Egypt on charges of spreading false news. Her deteriorating health has prompted urgent calls for governmental intervention.

Key Points:

• Personal Struggle: Leila's severe health decline, including dangerously low blood sugar levels, underscores the desperation behind her protest.
• Government Actions: The British government asserts ongoing efforts to negotiate Abdel Fattah’s release, with political leaders like Keir Starmer pledging support.
• Public and Political Reaction: There is growing frustration among the public and advocacy groups over the perceived inaction and slow progress from the Foreign Office.

Notable Quotes:

• Leila Suwayf [19:56]: "It's a miracle that she's conscious and she's speaking. She doesn't understand. The nurse came over and said to pay attention because she might faint any moment."
• Leah Suwayf’s Daughter, Sanaa [26:37]: "I'm really frustrated. I feel like the Foreign Office has wasted so much time."

---

9. Cryptocurrency Heist and the Bounty Hunter Initiative

Overview: In response to a massive $1.5 billion hack on Bybit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange, the company is recruiting online bounty hunters to track down and recover the stolen funds. The suspected perpetrators are linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group.

Key Points:

• Nature of the Attack: Hackers exploited malware to gain high-level access to Bybit’s wallets, swiftly transferring funds to obscure addresses.
• Bounty Hunter Program: Bybit incentivizes individuals to monitor blockchain transactions and notify exchanges upon identifying illicitly obtained funds. Successful recoveries reward bounty hunters with 5% of the reclaimed amount.
• Challenges in Recovery: The decentralized and anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies complicates tracking and recovering stolen funds, making the bounty hunter approach a novel solution.

Notable Quotes:

• Joe Tidy [28:26]: "We can see this $1.46 billion worth of crypto going out of the Bybit Exchange wallets into the hacker's address."
• Joe Tidy [31:07]: "In the crypto world, you are your own bank, as they say. Unless you interact with a company that does play ball, there's nothing you can do."

---

Conclusion

This episode of the Global News Podcast delved into a range of pressing global issues, from geopolitical maneuvers in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to humanitarian crises in Myanmar and technological challenges in the cryptocurrency sphere. The discussions highlighted the intricate interplay between politics, economics, and human rights, underscoring the multifaceted nature of contemporary global affairs.

---

Notable Production Credits:

• Mixed by: Jancis Haycocks
• Producer: Daniel Mann
• Editor: Karen Martin

For more information or to share feedback, visit globalpodcastbc.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @BBCWorldService using the hashtag #globalnewspod.

Transcript

[Robin Ince]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. Hello, I'm Robin Ince.

[Brian Cox]

And I'm Brian Cox. And we would like to tell you about the new series of the Infinite Monkey Cage. We're going to have a planet off Jupiter versus Scepter. It's very well done that, because in the script it does say wrestling voice.

[Chris Barrow]

After all of that, it's going to.

[Robin Ince]

Kind of chill out a bit and talk about ice.

[Brian Cox]

And also in this series we're discussing history of Music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature shapes.

[Robin Ince]

So listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chris Barrow]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Chris Barrow and in the early hours of Thursday 27th February, these are our main stories. President Trump says Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing Ukraine's mineral resources. Mr. Zelensky says he's still looking for American security guarantees. Elon Musk has told Mr. Trump's cabinet that America could go bankrupt if he failed in his role at the Department of Government Efficiency. Hamas is handing over the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the stalled release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Also in this podcast, Afghan players.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

They are giving so much hotness right now to everyone in the country. They love to see Afghan men playing cricket.

[Chris Barrow]

Afghan men can play internationally cricket, but women can't. A former captain tells us why. President Trump has confirmed that Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing the country's Mineral Resources. But Mr. Zelenskyy has described that deal as preliminary and wants further security guarantees in the event of a possible ceasefire with Russia. Speaking in Kyiv, he said that he hoped the negotiations would pave the way for NATO membership or equivalent security provisions.

[Elon Musk]

We are ready, you know, to be.

[Chris Barrow]

Flexible in this deal.

[Elon Musk]

There are only basic things about that.

[Chris Barrow]

Yes, security guarantees and etc.

[Elon Musk]

Next steps have to be about it. Without future security guarantees, we will not have really just peace and we will.

[Chris Barrow]

Not have really ceasefire what Trump spoken about. And if we don't have it, nothing will work. So we will have nothing. Nothing will work. Mr. Trump indicated that he wasn't going to grant any extensive security guarantees. He said that European countries should do that and he remained confident that he could secure a deal to end the fighting. Our Europe regional editor, Danny Eberhard, has more on the Ukrainian minerals deal.

[Robin Ince]

Reuters has seen a draft. I mean, this is all supposed to be a framework agreement, according to the Ukrainians, on establishing what's known as a reconstruction investment fund. What does that mean? We're not precisely sure at this stage and further negotiations will have to take place on a more detailed binding agreement. But according to Reuters, the fund will be jointly managed by the US And Ukraine. Ukraine will pay in about half of its revenues from new state owned extractions, basically not current ones. So not ones it's already actually pulling out of the earth. And that these contributions were meant to be apparently reinvested in Ukraine for its security and prosperity. It hasn't defined what sort of minerals are being taken out, but it involves things like titanium, graphite, lithium, rare earths that Donald Trump is often going on about, but also oil, natural gas, and it's linked into port infrastructure and other critical infrastructure. And it makes no mention of the fact that Ukraine owes the US any particular debt. There was talk from Donald Trump about $500 billion earlier that has disappeared. But it also offers no firm security guarantees to Ukraine. And that's a really critical. The only thing it mentions, according to Reuters, is this phrase. The government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. It doesn't say who would give those security guarantees. So in terms of concrete things, it means precisely nothing at all. And it does talk about the US providing a long term financial commitment. But what's not clear, and this is really important at this stage, is how would the US extract money from the fund or would it take resources? All those details are not really clear at this stage. And given the fact that Donald Trump has been pushing so hard for this agreement, obviously that is a very important part of it. The Ukraine government is reviewing the deal to give permission basically for it to be signed. And then if it does get signed, there'll be further negotiations.

[Chris Barrow]

Yeah, there's still a lot more to come, clearly. And just talk us through Europe's position on this potential deal, because there have been discussions between Zelenskyy and Europe with security guarantees potentially there as well.

[Robin Ince]

Yeah, so the whole issue of security guarantees, Donald Trump, he was asked about this and he said he wasn't going to give very much in the way of security guarantees and that that is basically Europe's responsibility because it's their neighbourhood. Several European powers have indicated a willingness to potentially deploy troops at some point in Ukraine, but that's a very thorny issue where they would be deployed. They've said, not on the front line, what they're called, whether they're called peacekeepers or reassurance forces. And there is so many questions still to be asked about that, even including whether Russia actually will accept the deployment of NATO member countries forces in Ukraine.

[Chris Barrow]

Danny Eberhard, the billionaire Elon Musk has been speaking about his efforts to make the US Federal government more efficient in he was attending President Trump's first Cabinet meeting since he returned to the White house last month. Mr. Musk, who isn't in the Cabinet but wields significant power, has described his work as providing tech support to the federal government. He and his team at doge, the Department for Government Efficiency, have already made extensive cuts. Mr. Musk said that he wanted to keep on all employees who were doing essential jobs and doing them well. He was adamant, though, that money had to be saved. We simply cannot sustain as a country $2 trillion deficits. Just the interest on the national debt now exceeds the Defense Department spending.

[Elon Musk]

We spend a lot on the Defense.

[Chris Barrow]

Department, but we're spending like over a.

[Brian Cox]

Trillion dollars on interest.

[Elon Musk]

If this continues, the country will go become de facto bankrupt.

[Chris Barrow]

It's not an optional thing. It is an essential thing. Tensions have emerged between Elon Musk and several Cabinet members, especially since he issued his demand that all government employees summarize a list of what they accomplished at work will be fired. Washington correspondent Noamia Iqbal watched the televised Cabinet meeting.

[Noamia Iqbal]

Quite remarkable, but also underlines just how close him and President Trump are. Elon Musk is unelected. He wasn't confirmed by the Senate, but he does have this outsized influence with the administration. And there's a lot of controversy over what he's doing. Exactly. He was tasked to try and reduce the federal workforce to make government more efficient. But in terms of how he's doing, it has made some people uneasy. There are reports that some of the Cabinet members in that room are uneasy about his influence, but if they were, they didn't say it. They certainly didn't show it on their faces. Even when Mr. Trump asked them if anyone was uncomfortable, they didn't say anything. And then he said, well, if you are, we'll throw you out, and sort of made a joke about it, which was probably a bit of a half joke. But I think there's also concern about, you know, is Elon Musk taking advantage of his position? He has a lot of government contracts. He's the owner of Exxon, formerly Twitter, Tesla Space X. Is he somehow benefiting financially? Those are questions that Mr. Trump has been asked, as is his press secretary. And they've always said that if there's any conflict of interest, if there's anything not right, they will deal with that. You know, they're making sure that there's no conflict of interest, but also there is concern. There's not a huge amount of transparency when it comes to Elon Musk, but he did stand there and he did take questions from reporters and defended his work.

[Chris Barrow]

Nomia Iqbal as we record this podcast, Israel is due to receive the bodies of four hostages from Hamas once it's confirmed. Israel has said it will release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners after refusing to free them last Saturday, claiming that Hamas had violated part of the agreement. The hostage prisoner exchange would mark the final part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Sebastian Usher is in Jerusalem.

[Elon Musk]

Essentially, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not countenance any more of what he called degrading and humiliating exhibitions. The mediators seem to have worked overtime, as they have over the past few weeks in Cairo, to get Hamas to agree to do this in private. And that is what is happening now. The four bodies will be handed over to the Red Cross. There won't be any public staging of the event. And that then should lead to the release of all those more than 600 Palestinian prisoners. I think Hamas was relatively easy perhaps to persuade because they want the ceasefire to continue. I think perhaps more so than the Israeli Prime Minister does at the moment.

[Chris Barrow]

What do we know about the Palestinian prisoners? We know there's just over 600 of them, but do we know any further details?

[Elon Musk]

We know that more than 400 of them were arrested and detained. I mean, some of them again held without charge after October 7, 2023, when, I mean, Israel arrested thousands of Palestinians. In these exchanges, there will be some Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences and some who are serving long sentences, more than 100 of them, and some of those who are seen by Israel as too much of a security risk will not be allowed to stay either in Gaza or in the occupied West Bank. They'll be expelled and will go into exile. I mean, one has to remember that whatever offenses they've been sentenced for, and as I say, quite a large number won't actually have been charged. For Palestinians, I mean, this really goes to the heart of how they feel about the whole situation. There isn't a Palestinian family that hasn't had someone arrested at some point. So the kind of feelings that they have, they may not match quite the intense grief and sorrow that Israel will feel when four dead bodies are returned, but there will be again feeling of joy, a feeling of relief.

[Chris Barrow]

And this is, in theory, the final part of stage one of the ceasefire deal. There's presumably more negotiations that need to happen before the further stages. What's next in terms of paving the way for that? What has to happen next?

[Elon Musk]

That is a question that we really don't have an answer to at the moment. I mean, phase one, this would be the end of it in terms of the exchanges. That's due to run out on Saturday. In the original deal, ceasefire deal, there were three phases. So the next one would be the one in which all the remaining Israeli hostages, alive or dead, would be released and there would be a full troop pull out by Israel and hopefully, as far as most people in the region, I think, are concerned, there will be an end to the current round of hostilities. Those are big questions, essentially. Especially the role of Hamas, I think is key. What we've seen in these staged hostage handovers is that Hamas wants to present itself still very much as a force that needs to be reckoned with in Gaza's future. What Israel wants is a total disarmament of Hamas and for it to have no place in the governance of Gaza. I don't think that that gap between the two sides has come anywhere close to being bridged. I mean, at the moment, these things are very vague and a lot of people here in Israel and in Gaza not very hopeful about where this is going to end up.

[Chris Barrow]

Sebastian Usher away from Gaza. The deepening conflict in the occupied west bank has been causing major concern. The head of the United nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees, unwra, said that it was becoming a battlefield. Paul Adams sent us this report on Israel's recent security operations in the West Bank.

[Brian Cox]

I'm looking down the hill here to the eastern edge of Tulkarum refugee camp. It's a densely packed area of houses built right next to each other. But in the middle of it, there's what looks like a street, but it's not a street because there were houses there. A week ago, the people in those houses were given two hours to come and collect their belongings before the entire area was demolished. When Israel's military operation in Tulkarum began a month ago, camp residents were given very little time to leave. In the offices of the local Palestinian Authority, we found displaced people with a host of problems. Alaofi's wife is about to give birth. He needs paperwork, but hasn't been allowed home to get it.

[Elon Musk]

The army forced us out.

[Chris Barrow]

Me, my family, my wife.

[Robin Ince]

We took nothing with us on the way out.

[Brian Cox]

We left our documents behind.

[Chris Barrow]

Our clothes and everything we had at home.

[Brian Cox]

Israel says the army had no choice but to enter the camps. It's here, the government says, where acts of violence are planned against soldiers, soldiers and civilians alike. But Tulkaram's governor, Dr. Abdullah, sees it differently. It is a declaration of war and a declaration that oversteps all agreements between the Israelis and the Palestinians. You are talking about an operation of destruction, the financial and mental destruction of the residents. At the weekend, Israel ordered tanks into Jenin, clearing the camps it said could go on for a year. It's already the biggest operation of its kind in the west bank for more than half a century. The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, donned a flak jacket and went to the west bank himself to drive home the message.

[Chris Barrow]

We're entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

That terrorists use and their homes.

[Brian Cox]

We are eliminating terrorists commanders. We're doing very, very important work against.

[Chris Barrow]

Hamas and other terrorist organizations desire to harm us.

[Brian Cox]

The main road into the camp here in Jenin is a desolate scene. Earth bulldozed to the sides of the roads, shop fronts damaged and huge puddles of water in the middle of the road. These camps have been around for 75 years. They've never been evacuated like this before. Israel says everything it's doing here is about security. But this place is home to more than 20,000 people and they're being told they may not be able to go home for a year. Around 40,000 people have been displaced. Some families have moved into public buildings. Others are staying with relatives or in rented houses. For the children playing here in the grounds of a charity for the blind, education has stopped. Majida Zuwayda is here with her children and grandchildren.

[Chris Barrow]

They told us to leave and that.

[Tonya Antonia]

They would later tell us when to come back. Up until now, it's not clear when we will be able to return to the camp. We wake up every morning and they hope we go back.

[Brian Cox]

However, there's still little hope. With the war in Lebanon over and the war in Gaza on hold, Israel is focusing its attention on the West Bank. The government says the threat posed by armed groups in the camps is real. But in dealing with it, Israel is doing a great deal of damage. This isn't Gaza, but lives and homes are being destroyed with no immediate end in sight.

[Chris Barrow]

Paul Adams. Next, cricket. On Wednesday, England played Afghanistan in a one day match. The men's team, of course, as the Taliban doesn't allow a women's team. Afghanistan beat England by eight runs in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Now, there had Been calls to boycott the match because of the Taliban's treatment of women. Afghanistan doesn't meet the requirements of the International Cricket Council. But the ICC decided that the male cricket players shouldn't be punished for the men only policy of the government in Afghanistan. My colleague Evan Davies spoke to Raees Ahmadzai, who once captained the Afghan team and is now the U19's head coach.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

During the Russia war we left the country and we went Pakistan and we learned cricket there. And we start with very basic kind of facilities, I mean with no proper bat or with no proper balls. So we learn cricket there in Peshawar in the refugees camps.

[Evan Davies]

That's obviously incredible. And then you ended up playing in like one day international. That's quite a big jump.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

Yeah, if you start from a zero level facilities and then you will be able to play against top nation. If you can see now we are head to head with England. So that means in a very short time we had a fantastic journey in world cricket.

[Evan Davies]

You didn't have proper cricket spikes, did you? You were just playing in tricks.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

Exactly. I played my first ODI in a, in a normal shoes, not with spikes.

[Evan Davies]

How popular is the game for spectators? How many people come and watch it? Is it, is it a popular sport in Afghanistan?

[Raees Ahmadzai]

Everyone is talking about cricket. You know, like recently, I think the whole, whole country will be, will be sitting in front of television to watch England versus Afghanistan match. So it's very, very famous.

[Evan Davies]

You will know, of course, Rice, there are calls for the England team not to play Afghanistan, the men's team not to play Afghanistan, because Afghanistan doesn't have a women's team, which, you know, the International Cricket Council say is part of the game and is a requirement. What do you think of that boycott idea? The idea that England should boycott?

[Raees Ahmadzai]

I must say thanks to the English Cricket Board and thanks to all the cricketers. We want that everyone have a rights about education, about the work and how all human have a rights to do everything that everyone is doing. So but sometimes, you know, something is not in your control. We raise our voice all the time about the education, about the work for women. So that's in our control. We cannot challenge the government. And look, Afghan players, they are giving so much happiness right now in the, to everyone in the country.

[Evan Davies]

I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? Because obviously western sporting organizations may say we can get Afghanistan to change. If we don't play the men's team, they will change. And that's, you know, that'll be good for the game.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

I'm not sure if someone will not want to play with Afghanistan, the things will be changed here. What will be the another problem? There will be more sadness for lots of people, which is they love to see Afghan men's playing cricket.

[Evan Davies]

It's worth saying that, I mean, the cricket players in Afghanistan are not people all who are coming from very privileged backgrounds. A lot of you, I think, have come from a refugee background, from playing in refugee camps, as you had.

[Raees Ahmadzai]

Yes, exactly. You know, when we start. But right now in our national team, most of the players, they train here in Afghanistan and around thousands and thousand kids playing cricket everywhere in the country as Raees Ahmadzai.

[Chris Barrow]

Well, Tonya Antonia is an MP from Britain's governing Labour Party. She said that she appreciated his ability to overcome poverty, but Afghan women should be given the same chance to play.

[Tonya Antonia]

It's so dystopian. It's absolutely unbelievable. And I find it really hard to believe that we just have to sit back and say nothing because what's involved, politics, money, men, you know, we've got to stand up and say, I mean.

[Evan Davies]

He was a displaced refugee, obviously he was outside his country when he learned to play cricket with a tennis ball on the bat.

[Tonya Antonia]

Yeah. And isn't that wonderful? Isn't it absolutely a joy to behold that he had those opportunities and those other displaced refugees should have those opportunities as well. And this is where the ICC could be really positive and actually make a contribution that displaced Afghans, refugees can have that joy as well.

[Chris Barrow]

Tonya Antonietzi, still to come.

[Tonya Antonia]

It's a miracle that she's conscious and she's speaking. She doesn't understand. The nurse came over and said to pay attention because she might faint any moment.

[Chris Barrow]

The woman on hunger strike trying to free her jailed son.

[Robin Ince]

Hello, I'm Robin Ince.

[Brian Cox]

And I'm Brian Cox. And we would like to tell you about the new series of the Infinite Monkey Cage. We're going to have a planet off Jupiter Versus. It's very well done that because in the script it does say wrestling voice.

[Chris Barrow]

After all of that, it's gonna kind.

[Robin Ince]

Of chill out a bit and talk about ice.

[Brian Cox]

And also in this series, we're discussing history, music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature's shapes.

[Robin Ince]

So listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chris Barrow]

Since the military coup in 2021 and the civil war that followed, 20 million people in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance. Some people are struggling so much with poverty that they're selling their kidneys. Sophie Smith has the story.

[Tonya Antonia]

A few hours drive from Myanmar's largest City Yangon lies a small village where thatched houses line dirt roads. In one of these houses lives Ze, whose name we've changed to protect his identity. A farm worker with a young family, they live in his mother in law's house. After four years of civil war, Zaya has struggled to feed his family and to pay off his debts. So desperate, he looked for any means of survival. And he saw that other locals were doing something that he'd never dreamt of. They'd been traveling to India and they'd been selling their kidneys.

[Chris Barrow]

I just wanted to own a house.

[Elon Musk]

For my family and I have a child. That's why I decided to sell my kidney.

[Chris Barrow]

I learnt that a lot of residents around my village made money by selling.

[Elon Musk]

Their kidney, and no one died after the operation.

[Chris Barrow]

I also wanted to pay off my debt, so I sold it.

[Tonya Antonia]

Although buying or selling human organs is illegal in both Myanmar and India, Zeher soon managed to find what he calls an organ broker. He says the man found someone needing a kidney. A Burmese woman matched them up and arranged for them to travel for the surgery.

[Chris Barrow]

I contacted a broker.

[Elon Musk]

I took a medical checkup to check my blood type.

[Chris Barrow]

A couple of months later, the agent made a passport for me and I flew to India.

[Tonya Antonia]

Laws in India make it difficult to donate to someone who isn't your relative. But Zaya says the broker forged documents putting his name in the recipient's family tree. When they got to India, he was questioned by four people, but they believed his story. He was put to sleep and operated on in a large hospital, where he stayed for a week afterwards, unable to move without pain. Zaya is one of eight people from his small village who have traveled to India to sell their kidneys. Another woman, Ms. Teeda, said she wasn't even sure if she was breaking the law.

[Joe Tidy]

The broker didn't explain properly whether this.

[Chris Barrow]

Process was legal or not, but I figured it out.

[Joe Tidy]

They said they had to forge documents.

[Chris Barrow]

To make a fake connection to the person getting the kidney.

[Tonya Antonia]

Illegal kidney sales, driven by poverty, have risen in recent years across Asia. Last year, a senior Indian Health Ministry official told several states to beware of a surge in transplants involving foreigners, and he called for better monitoring. Saya did get his 7.5 million Myanmar chats. These are worth somewhere between $1,700 and $2,700. He's managed to pay off his debts, but several months after his surgery, Sayer still has not been able to buy the house he wanted for his family. He bought a small plot of land, but he couldn't afford to build a house and he hasn't been able to construct one with the pain of recovery.

[Chris Barrow]

Sophie Smith, Most homes and businesses in Chile have had their power restored after a huge blackout on Tuesday plunged the country into darkness. A curfew that was imposed over much of the country by the president has been lifted along with a state of emergency. Gabrielle Borit said the blackout was outrageous and blamed electricity firms for not doing their job properly. Chile has one of the most reliable power grids in South America. Its last major outage occurred 15 years ago. Luke Jones heard more from our Latin America editor, Vanessa Bushleuter.

[Brian Cox]

We know what the company behind it has told us, which is that one of the transmission lines failed. It said that there was a safety mechanism that was triggered unplanned and unscheduled fashion and then knocked out the electricity for almost the entire country, from cities in the very north to cities in the very south.

[Elon Musk]

And what has the impact been on people?

[Brian Cox]

It has had a massive impact on millions of people. Some of the worst affected where the people in the capital, especially those who were on the underground at the time. 2.3 million people use that underground every day and many were on trains when this power cut happened. They had to be evacuated from the stations in the dark. Some described the situation as being like sardines in the dark in those carriages. Others were trapped on escalators or in lifts. And luckily the hospitals had backup generators so that most people there had no detrimental effect to their care. Luckily.

[Chris Barrow]

Vanessa Bushleuter Here in the United Kingdom, a woman who's been on hunger strike for the past 150 days on behalf of her jailed son has been declared to be at risk of sudden death. Leila Suaif has urged the British government to help secure the release of Allah Abdel Fattah from a prison in Egypt. He was arrested in Cairo under the charge of spreading false news. Ella Bicknell reports.

[Robin Ince]

Allah Abdel Fattah rose to prominence as a blogger during the 2011 Arab Spring. In 2019, he was given a five year sentence over a social media post. His mother has been on hunger strike for 150 days, lobbying the British government to secure his release. After months of only consuming herbal tea, coffee and rehydration salts, the 68 year old was taken to hospital on Monday, her blood sugar dropping to life threatening levels.

[Tonya Antonia]

It's a miracle that she's conscious and she's speaking. She doesn't understand. The nurse came over and said, pay attention because she might faint any moment.

[Robin Ince]

Leila Suwayf's daughters, Sanaa.

[Tonya Antonia]

I'm really frustrated. I feel like the Foreign Office has wasted so much time. I really am struggling to believe that the British government is unable to get considered access to one of its citizens in an ally country. I don't think they're doing their best.

[Robin Ince]

The British government says they are making repeated pleas to the Egyptian authorities. Keir Starmer was pressed on the issue during Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday. I did meet the mother and the.

[Brian Cox]

Family just a few days ago and it is an incredibly difficult situation for them. I will do everything I can to ensure the release in this case and that includes phone calls as necessary. I've raised it before, I'll raise it again. We raise it and will continue to do so. I gave my word to the family that that's what I do. That I will do and I will.

[Robin Ince]

Doctors say Leah Suaif is at immediate risk of death. She's been put on a saline drip to maintain her sodium levels, but has refused glucose treatment in order to continue her hunger strike.

[Chris Barrow]

Ella Bicknell, a cryptocurrency company in Dubai is looking to recruit online bounty hunters to help track modern day cybercriminals. Bybit recently had nearly one and a half billion dollars stolen by hackers in what's believed to be the world's biggest ever theft. It's asking volunteer bounty hunters to go after the thieves suspected to be from North Korea's notorious Lazarus Group. I heard more from our cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy.

[Joe Tidy]

Bybit, like other crypto exchanges, allows you to exchange your different cryptocurrencies for various things. So for example, I could go to an exchange with dollars and I could buy myself some Bitcoin, some Ethereum, that kind of thing. And this attack, they would have taken months over this. And they got lucky as well because they managed to find some people with really high level access that they managed to trick into downloading the malware. And then the whole thing probably took a few minutes. By the time they planned everything, pressed a few buttons, and the money is siphoned to their own wallets. And now this incredible cat and mouse chase around the blockchains around the world, you can see the hackers moving the money and trying to cash it out and there are legions of people trying to stop them.

[Chris Barrow]

And how does it work for the bounty hunters? So they find, let's say, some money in somebody's wallet. What are they supposed to do then?

[Joe Tidy]

So, yeah, so the amazing thing about cryptocurrencies, and especially when you've Got a situation like, this is all the money. You can see everything. It's on the blockchain, this, this giant database of transactions. So we can see this $1.46 billion worth of crypto going out of the Bybit Exchange wallets into the, the hacker's address. And now we know that the way they work, the North Koreans, they are splitting it into smaller chunks and sending it to various places around the cryptocurrency network to try and obscure the origins. And eventually when they can cash it out into money they can actually use, we think, and research has been saying this for years now, that that kind of theft is being used to help them develop their nuclear weapons and sort of military apparatus in the country, and of course, avoid sanctions as well. So right now, what the bounty hunters are doing are watching those transactions take place. And whenever the money is hitting an authoritative company, for example, an exchange, they're racing each other to message the exchange and say, look, we think this money has come from the Bybit hack. Freeze it. And if they're successful, Bybit is giving 5% to the bounty hunters and 5% to the companies for playing ball. And largely it's working. So far, they've managed to rescue, I think it's about 100 million or something. Sounds like a lot, but when you've got 1.46 billion at stake, it's early.

[Chris Barrow]

Days and there's no sort of central bank or regulator. So this is really the only way of them getting the money back.

[Joe Tidy]

That's right, yeah. In the crypto world, you are your own bank, as they say. Unless you interact with a company that does play ball, there's nothing you can do. You watch your money fly out the door.

[Chris Barrow]

Can anybody just sign up to be a bounty hunter? I'm presuming you have to have some kind of awareness of crypto and technological kind of skills, but I guess you don't have to have any real qualification, you just kind of know, have a go.

[Joe Tidy]

You do, you do, yeah. So all they ask you for is if you, you have a bitcoin or a crypto wallet, as soon as you are successful in your bounty, they will deposit the 5%. And I have spoken to someone who has already been given some of that money as well. They've earned about 150 grand so far from their activity, but I will say it's extremely specialized, highly skilled work. It's way beyond me.

[Chris Barrow]

Oh, I've got no chance. Thanks to our cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy. And that's all from us for now. But there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later on. If you'd like to comment on the podcast or the topics we're covering, do 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 Jancis Haycocks and the producer was Daniel Mann. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Chris Barrow. And until next time, thanks for listening. Goodbye.

[Robin Ince]

Hello, I'm Robin Ince.

[Brian Cox]

And I'm Brian Cox. And we would like to tell you about the new series of the Infinite Monkey Cage. We're going to have a planet off Jupiter versus Scepter. Well, it's very well done that, because in the script it does say wrestling voice.

[Chris Barrow]

After all of that, it's going to.

[Robin Ince]

Kind of chill out a bit and talk about ice.

[Brian Cox]

And also in this series, we're discussing history, music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature's shapes.

[Robin Ince]

So listen, wherever you get your podcasts.