UK announces European plan for peace in Ukraine

Summary

Global News Podcast Summary: "UK Announces European Plan for Peace in Ukraine" – BBC World Service, March 2, 2025

The latest episode of the BBC World Service’s Global News Podcast delivers an in-depth exploration of significant global events, ranging from European initiatives for peace in Ukraine to humanitarian crises in Gaza, judicial victories in the Congo, and advancements in space exploration. This detailed summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented throughout the episode.

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1. UK and European Plan for Peace in Ukraine

European Summit and Keir Starmer’s Vision

The episode opens with a comprehensive analysis of the recent European summit in London, where European leaders, led by the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, unveiled a new plan aimed at securing peace in Ukraine amidst ongoing conflict. Prime Minister Starmer characterizes this initiative as a "crossroads in history," underscoring its potential impact on the geopolitical landscape (02:11).

Formation of a Coalition of the Willing

Starmer emphasized the formation of a "coalition of the willing," consisting of European nations prepared to contribute military aid and support Ukraine’s sovereignty and security. He stressed the necessity of strong US backing, stating, “Together, we are at a crossroads in history. Today, this is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act” (02:11).

European Commission’s Defense Spending Surge

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a significant increase in defense spending across Europe. She highlighted the critical need for sustained investment in defense to ensure the EU’s security, particularly in the current geostrategic environment (03:17).

Insights from Correspondents James Landale and Rob Watson

James Landale discussed the strategic attempt by European leaders to assert their own role in peace negotiations, independent of previous US-dominated initiatives. He noted, “Europeans are trying to agree our own position, we need to make our own offer” (04:00). Rob Watson commented on Prime Minister Starmer’s leadership, describing the summit as potentially Starmer’s strongest week in office and emphasizing his focus on maintaining US-European unity despite recent tensions between Presidents Trump and Zelensky (06:46).

Russian Dismissal of the Summit

Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev, dismissed the summit as an "anti-Trump, anti-Russian coven," suggesting that the European leaders are intent on continuing the war (10:09). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the proposal for European peacekeepers in Ukraine, deeming it a tactic to prolong the conflict (10:09).

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2. Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

Ceasefire Impasse Between Israel and Hamas

The podcast addresses the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, highlighting that the second phase of the deal—intended to commence on Saturday—has failed to initiate. Israel has halted all humanitarian aid to Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian situation (12:23).

Challenges in Implementing Phase Two

Phase two of the ceasefire involves the release of more hostages and Palestinian prisoners, along with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. However, Israel demands an extension of phase one without agreeing to withdraw its military presence, citing the ongoing threat posed by Hamas (12:23). The suspension of aid is leading to rising prices and increasing hardship within Gaza, raising fears of a return to military conflict (12:23).

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3. Austria’s New Government Formation

Coalition After Prolonged Negotiations

Austria has successfully formed a new government after five months of coalition talks. The coalition comprises the Liberal Party, the Conservative People’s Party, and the Social Democrats, marking the first time a government has been formed by three parties in Austria’s history (14:05).

Exclusion of the Freedom Party

Notably, the right-wing Freedom Party, which secured the largest share of votes in September’s elections, is excluded from the new government. Party leader critics have labeled the coalition as a "losers’ coalition," expressing concerns over its legitimacy and potential voter backlash (15:37).

Challenges and Future Outlook

The coalition formation process was described as "very complicated," with initial talks between the Freedom Party and Conservatives failing before centrist parties reunited to form the government. Polls indicate that the Freedom Party may regain support in upcoming elections, adding an element of uncertainty to Austria’s political future (15:49).

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4. Iran’s Financial Turmoil

Impeachment of Finance Minister

Iran faces severe economic challenges marked by soaring inflation and a plummeting currency. The Iranian Parliament voted to impeach Finance Minister Abdel Nasser Hammati after just eight months in office, reflecting the gravity of the financial crisis (18:04).

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s Defense

President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the ousted minister, attributing the economic woes to systemic issues beyond Hammati’s control. He highlighted the influence of the Iranian Supreme Leader and external pressures, particularly from US policies under former President Donald Trump, which have exacerbated the economic downturn (18:33).

Impact of US-Iran Relations

Pezeshkian criticized the US for its “maximum pressure” campaign, which has crippled Iran’s ability to sell oil globally and recover debts from allied nations. This relentless economic warfare has significantly weakened Iran’s financial stability, leading to unprecedented economic hardship for its citizens on the eve of Nowruz, the Persian New Year (18:33).

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5. Restoration Efforts Post-Floods in Valencia

Preservation of Family Memories

In the aftermath of devastating floods in Valencia, Spain, students and volunteers are undertaking the monumental task of restoring precious family photographs damaged by the disaster. Led by Dr. Pedro Vicente from Valencia's Polytechnic University, the team has received over 280,000 photographs from survivors (25:47).

Innovative Restoration Techniques

To manage the sheer volume of damaged photos, the team employs both traditional restoration methods and cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI). Vicente explained, “We are trying to train artificial intelligence to restore digitally some of those photos... it will be much faster and quicker than if a human restores the image” (28:41).

Emotional Narratives

The project not only preserves physical memories but also holds profound emotional significance for survivors. One poignant story shared by Vicente involved a man who lost everything except a single photograph of his late father, underscoring the critical role of these restoration efforts in maintaining personal and cultural histories (26:38).

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6. Congolese Women’s Legal Victory Against Belgium

Historical Context of Forced Separation

The podcast recounts the harrowing history of the Belgian Congo, where thousands of mixed-race children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in Catholic institutions during colonial rule. Marie Jose Lochi, one of the five women who brought the case to court, shares her personal trauma of being abducted at four years old (20:48).

Legal Battle and Triumph

Decades later, these women successfully took the Belgian government to court, accusing it of kidnapping and racial persecution. Despite initial setbacks where the court ruled that too much time had passed to prosecute, the women appealed and ultimately won the case on December 2, 2024 (23:48).

Personal and Collective Healing

Marie Jose Lochi expressed immense relief upon hearing the verdict: “We didn’t know what to expect... we were told we had won. It was a miracle” (23:48). This victory not only serves as a personal catharsis for the women but also as a pivotal moment in acknowledging and rectifying historical injustices inflicted during colonial times.

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7. US Company’s Moon Landing

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission

In a remarkable achievement for private space exploration, the American company Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its spacecraft, Blue Ghost, on the lunar surface. This marks only the second commercial lander to reach the moon, following Texas company Intuitive Machines’ mission last year (24:03).

Scientific Significance and Future Missions

Dr. Nicky Fox of NASA highlighted the mission’s importance in studying the moon’s regolith and understanding the impact of landings on scientific equipment. The success of Blue Ghost is a milestone that paves the way for numerous private sector missions aimed at supporting NASA’s long-term plans for a sustained human presence on the moon (24:26).

Industry Implications

The episode notes the growing interest and expertise within the private sector to contribute to lunar exploration, suggesting a future where commercial entities play a pivotal role in space missions and research (24:30).

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Conclusion

The episode of Global News Podcast effectively navigates through a spectrum of pressing global issues, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of each topic. From geopolitical strategies and humanitarian crises to technological advancements and historical justice, the podcast provides valuable insights and expert perspectives. Notable quotes from key figures, such as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Masoud Pezeshkian, enrich the narrative, making the content both informative and engaging for audiences worldwide.

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Notable Quotes:

• Keir Starmer: “Together, we are at a crossroads in history. Today, this is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act.” (02:11)
• Ursula von der Leyen: “We have understood that after a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period.” (03:24)
• Marie Jose Lochi: “We didn't know what to expect... we had won. It was a miracle.” (23:48)
• President Masoud Pezeshkian: “Iran is in a state of war, economic warfare with the United States.” (18:33)

For a more detailed account, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode or visit the BBC World Service’s website.

Transcript

[Robin Ince]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. Hello, I'm Robin Ince. 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. After all of that, it's going to kind of chill out a bit and talk about ice. And also in this series we're discussing history of music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature shapes. So listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrew Peach]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Andrew Page and in the early hours of Monday 3rd March, these are our main stories. A new plan for Ukraine after a summit of European leaders in London. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer describes it as a crossroads in history. The UN humanitarian chief says Israel's suspension of aid into Gaza violates international law. Also in this podcast, the Congolese women who took the Belgian government to court for forcibly separating them from their families and won.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

We didn't know what to expect. I remember feeling really hot and nervous. That's when Madame Isha's phone rang and we were told we had won. It was a miracle.

[Andrew Peach]

And a US company has landed a spacecraft on the moon. It was, according to the British Prime Minister, a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe, a summit of primarily European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine. It was arranged before the fractious meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday. But that extraordinary falling out gave it much more significance. After two hours of talks at Lancaster House in London, Zakir Starmer outlined the plan. They'd agreed, including support for Ukraine with military aid and ensuring Ukraine's sovereignty and security. He said they'd form a so called coalition of the willing which would then help preserve the peace. If a deal was signed to end.

[Robin Ince]

The war, not every nation will feel able to contribute. But that can't mean that we sit back. Instead, those willing will intensify planning. Now with real urgency, the UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting. But to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing. We're working with the US on this point after my meeting with President Trump last week. And let me be clear, we agree with the President on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver Together, we are at a crossroads in history. Today, this is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.

[Andrew Peach]

For her part, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, pledged a massive surge in defence spending in Europe.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

We all have understood that after a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time. It's for the security of the European Union and we need, in the geostrategic environment in which we live, to prepare for the worst. And therefore, stepping up the defence's crucial for analysis.

[Andrew Peach]

I spoke to our political correspondent, Rob Watson and our diplomatic correspondent, James Landale. First, I asked James about the next steps.

[James Landale]

It is just a plan at the moment. Essentially, it's an attempt by the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and the French President Macron, to try and take some ownership of this process. If you think about it, the discussions about a ceasefire in Ukraine have been dominated by US initiatives in recent weeks, primarily begun by a long conversation between President Trump and President Putin. And I think what we've seen today is an attempt by the Europeans to say, look, we need to enter that conversation, we need to agree our own position, we need to make our own offer in terms of this coalition of the willing of more European countries that are willing to try and deploy their own military forces in principle to guarantee Ukraine's security after some kind of a ceasefire, so that they can take that to the Americans. They, look, this is what we Europeans are prepared to do, but we need that, as the Prime Minister said, to come with an American military backstop, too. And I think that's the aim, is to get the Americans back on track to that sort of discussion. Because both in his talks with Mr. Macron and Sir Keir Starmer last week, the US President made it very clear at the moment that he's very reluctant to get involved in talking about a US military backstop.

[Andrew Peach]

Now, in the questions after his news conference, Keir Starmer said, I wouldn't be announcing this if I didn't think the US would sign up to it. After my conversation with Donald Trump yesterday, is he trying to bounce him into it?

[James Landale]

No, I think he genuinely believes that the Americans are still biddable on this. That's not a position held by everybody simply because of the scale of the antipathy expressed towards President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday night. But clearly, Mr. Sikir Starmer has said explicitly in terms today that he trusts Mr. Trump's motives, that Mr. Trump, in his view, is still determined to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine. Again, that is not an analysis shared by everybody. Others think that Mr. Trump is too trusting of Mr. Putin, that he's too willing to agree a rushed ceasefire that will not endure, that is to Russia's favor and not in Ukraine's favor. But at the moment, what we've seen today is the Europeans saying, we still think we can get the Americans back on side and get a united position on this, so that there's an element of optimism about that. We still don't know whether or not that is going to work.

[Andrew Peach]

And Rob Watson, Keir Starmer's front and center of this whole thing. Many people are saying it's his strongest week in office since he was elected last year. Why is he taking the lead?

[Rob Watson]

I think he feels that he just has to. I mean, you might characterize the way he's handled it as playing a bad hand as well as he could. Because if you think about it, would Keir Starmer have chosen to be holding this summit, which was long planned, after Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky had had the most spectacular falling out? Absolutely. No, he would not. But, I mean, he takes the view, and he's articulated this, that it's just. It wouldn't. It just wouldn't be in Britain's or Europe's interest to put your hands up and say, oh, my good, Trump is a monster. What are we going to do? It's all just too important for that. And so, as James was essentially saying, Mr. Starmer and French and other leaders in Europe are sort of biting their lip, biting their tongue and thinking, right, keep your eye on the main prize. What is the main prize? Getting a sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine and making sure that the United States remains engaged with its European allies and doesn't go drifting off to Vladimir Putin.

[Andrew Peach]

James, what happens next? We promised a load more announcements of different European countries on defence spending. More from the European Commission coming up as well.

[James Landale]

Yeah, I think Mr. Kirstan was very clear that he wasn't going to make announcements on behalf of other countries. So I think there'll be other countries that will announce that they will join this coalition of the willing, that they'll be willing to, you know, put some kind of, you know, military chips onto the table as part of a security guarantee going forward. I think there'll be other announcements about defense spending. Contribution, contributions. I spoke to the Finnish President, Alexander Stubbe, early this morning. And Finland has made announcements about its own defence spending increases in recent days. So I think we'll see other decisions about that. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, again hinted at the possibility of the Europeans, the European Union, relaxing some of its debt rules to allow extra spending on defence that currently they can't do. So I think there will be an attempt to put forward something to the Americans saying, look, Europe is stepping up again. The question is, will that be enough? Will it happen fast enough? And will it be enough to get the Americans and the Europeans back on the same page?

[Andrew Peach]

And final thought, Rob, in the week when Donald Trump had that invitation from the King, Volodymyr Zelensky has been meeting the King.

[Rob Watson]

Yes, absolutely. And I don't think any of that happened by accident. I mean, I think it's partly to show British support. It continues very strongly for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people. And I think part as well, to sort of chip away at perhaps some unease that many voters in Britain will have where they see Donald Trump and think, hang on a minute, you know, why is it that our prime Minister and other European leaders seem to be, I don't know, looking quite so desperate or undignified in cozying up to a man who's revealed himself to be a bully? So I think part of it is setting setting minds at rest in this country and trying to assess that danger, which, of course, exists for Keir Starmer and other leaders in continuing to deal with President Trump the way they do in the light of the extraordinary, extraordinary events in the Oval Office on Friday.

[Andrew Peach]

Our correspondents, Rob Watson and James Landale. Russian politicians have dismissed the summit, saying it's produced no plan to settle the war in Ukraine. Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg reports from Moscow.

[Steve Rosenberg]

Riding on social media tonight, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who is now the deputy head of the Russian Security Council and someone who's quite close to Vladimir Putin, he wrote this about the London summit. He called it an anti Trump, anti Russian coven, in other words, a gathering of witches. And so that those people who were taking part want to continue the war. Now, what's interesting about that, I think, is that phrase, anti Trump, because the Russian government newspaper on its website tonight used the same phrase, anti Trump, to describe the meeting in London. And I think after this, the message from Moscow to the White House will be, dear President Trump, those European leaders who met in London, they are against you, they are against Russia, they are against peace. We know what Russia is against, and that is the idea of European peacekeepers in Ukraine after some kind of deal. We know that because Russian officials have made that clear several times over the last few weeks. And in an interview published today, a new interview, the Russian Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said this. He said the plan for peacekeepers in Ukraine is a continuation of attempts to egg on the Kyiv regime to fight a war with Russia. So it seems that Russia's position hasn't changed on European peacekeepers. It's a big no. Russian state television and its big weekly news review show not only criticized the idea of peacekeepers from Europe, it mocked the idea. It said, what troops can they afford to send? You could fit the whole British army into Wembley Stadium and still have room for some of the French.

[Andrew Peach]

For more on the fallout from the summit, BBC.com news the second phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas should have started on Saturday, but it hasn't. Hamas didn't agree to an extension of the first. Now Israel has stopped all humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. There are fears the six week process could soon collapse. Our World affairs correspondent Paul Adams is in Jerusalem.

[Robin Ince]

The Gaza ceasefire has had many uncertain moments over the past six weeks and this is another Phase one is over and phase two should already have begun. Phase two involves the release of more Israeli hostages, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and crucially, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Now Israel says it wants an extension to phase one, more hostage and prisoner releases, but no withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip. Israel argues that since Hamas is still there, a force on the ground, that it is not the right time for the Israeli military to relinquish its grip on the Gaza Strip. So they're asking for an extension. They say that they have American backing for this, but Hamas is saying no, we must stick to the original agreement and start implementing phase two. That is the impasse that we have reached. Israel is attempting to pressure Hamas and as part of that, has cut off the supply of aid to the Gaza Strip starting from today. Now that's not having an immediate impact in terms of hunger inside the Gaza Strip. Over the last six weeks, aid agencies have been able to get a lot of supplies in. But the moment the supply of aid is cut off, prices inside the Gaza Strip start to rise. So it will cause hardship. It may be that a negotiated agreement to this is still possible. It's not in sight at the moment and there are many here who fear that what we're seeing now is a gradual slide towards a resumption of a Military conflict in Gaza.

[Andrew Peach]

It took some time, but after five long months, a new government in Austria is ready to come to power. On Sunday, the small Liberal Party decided to join the Conservative People's Party and the Social Democrats in a coalition. The first time a government has been formed of three parties. The winners of last September's election, the right wing Freedom Party, won't be in the government. Our correspondent in Vienna, Bethany Bell, explained.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

This took a very long time. It took five months. That's the longest in Austria since the Second World War. So this is a really, it's been a long and tortuous period of coalition negotiations. First of all, it was these three parties who were trying to form a coalition. They spoke until the beginning of January and then their talks failed after that. The president said to the far right Freedom Party, which as you said, won the election in September. They then began talks with the Conservatives, but in February, that collapsed as well. And then these three centrist parties got back together again, the Conservatives, the Social Democrats and the small Liberal neos. And they have been able to put together a coalition which now has had the green light from the party members of the Liberal Party. So tomorrow the government will be sworn in and Austria will have a government. But it's been very complicated.

[Andrew Peach]

Obviously this is how it works. And no one's suggesting the process hasn't been followed, but presumably there's some questions about legitimacy, bearing in mind the winners of the election get to be in power.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

Yes, this is a, it's been a very complicated decision. The head of the Freedom Party was given a chance to try to form a government in February. He didn't. In January and February, he didn't manage that. His reaction today, though has been that this three party coalition is, in his words, a bitter pill for Austria. And he said it's their fear of new elections which is the heart of Austria's democracy, in his words. And he's called this a coalition of losers. And the polls have actually suggested that were there to be an election quite soon, the Freedom Party would be likely to increase its share of the vote. It got about 29% in September, but it's at the moment that the poll suggests that it wouldn't get enough to get a majority. So the sort of difficult difficulties in the coalition forming have just expressed a general difficulty here in Austria. But for now, the government is set to take to take shape tomorrow and we'll see what happens then.

[Andrew Peach]

Bethany Bell with me from Vienna. Still to come in this podcast, after the floods in the Spanish region of Valencia last year. Students and volunteers are attempting to save.

[Pedro Vicente]

Family photos when people who have lost everything, they hold on to memory and photographs hold memory.

[Robin Ince]

Hello, I'm Robin Hinz. 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 Saturn. It's very well done that, because in the script it does say wrestling voice. After all of that, it's gonna kind of chill out a bit and talk about ice. And also in this series we're discussing history, music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature's shapes. So listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrew Peach]

Soaring inflation and a plummeting currency. Iran's finances are in dire straits now after an impeachment. Vot in Parliament. The finance minister, Abdel Nasser Hammati, has been sacked. Two thirds of deputies voted for him to be removed from his post, which he'd had for just eight months. The president, Masoud Pezeshkian, tried to come to his defence, saying the economic problems of the Islamic Republic were not the fault of one man alone. Parham Gabadi is a senior reporter with BBC Persian.

[Parham Gabadi]

We are right before the Persian New Year, Nowruz, and Iranian people are suffering economically in an unprecedented manner. Inflation has been soaring in the past seven months that this new government has taken office. The Iranian currency has lost its value over 50%. And so the soaring inflation and the plunging value of Iranian currency has made the Iranian lawmakers impeach the Iranian finance minister. However, probably both parties, they know that the buck does not stop with him. And that's what the Iranian president, reformist President Masoud Pezechyan said in his speech in today's Parliament in defense of his finance minister, that such major decisions in Iran is made by the head of different branches like the government and the judiciary and the parliament. So Iranian finance minister has not that much of a power in this economy. And that's what the Iranian critics have been saying all along, that major decisions in Iran are made by the Iranian supreme leader. And Pezeshkian said that, you know, I was in favor of negotiating with the west and that's how he managed to get the 50% of the vote. But he said that the Iranian supreme leader said that he banned the negotiations with the United States after Donald Trump took office. He said that Iran is in a state of war, economic warfare with the United States. He said that those countries that have good relations with Iran, such as Qatar, such as Turkey, such as Iraq, they are not giving our money back, the money they owe us. And he said that since Donald Trump has taken office and he signed that memorandum to exert a maximum pressure campaign again on Iran, Iranian tankers around the globe are in the seas and they are not able to sell their oil or their gas. And what Donald Trump has promised is to make Iranians not be able to sell even a gallon of oil.

[Andrew Peach]

Now, back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in what was then the Belgian Congo, thousands of mixed race children were forcibly taken from their families and placed in Catholic institutions. Decades later, five women, now elderly, took the former colonial power Belgium to court, seeking justice for themselves and many others. The BBC's Caine Pierre spoke to one of them.

[Pedro Vicente]

Congo?

[Rob Watson]

S?

[Pedro Vicente]

Kiye do puer na pue na.

[I]

In June 1960, Congolese people take to the streets singing a song of hard won independence. Before then, large parts of today's Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo were under Belgian colonial rule. It was during that time that one day, Belgian soldiers enter a village and forcibly removed a four year old girl from her family.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

My name is Marie Jose Lochi. I am Metis, mixed race. When they stole me from my mother, I felt lost. I was crying. I was abducted from my mother and dropped off among strangers who didn't even speak my language.

[I]

Marie Jose Lochi is now 76 years old and her story is not a one off. Under colonial rule, Belgian officers stormed villages, seizing children with mixed race heritage whom authorities saw as a threat to the colonial state.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

So we have to maintain.

[I]

Bam B. Kuppens is a senior researcher at the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

Every single mixed race child was seen as well. It literally showed that racial segregation could not be maintained. It was racist. It was gender. It was taken for granted that the children would identify with their white father because he was superior to their black mother.

[I]

Marie Jose spent her childhood in a Catholic institute, 600 km away from her family.

[Andrew Peach]

With independence coming so suddenly after 80 years of Belgian rule, the Congolese are furiously divided.

[I]

As more African countries gained independence in the early 19th century, so did Marie Jose and the friends she had made at the institute. Some chose to stay in the newly emancipated Congo, while others sought refuge from the conflict that ensued during the country's struggle for independence. Marie Jose ended up in France after she was denied Belgian citizenship. But in 2021, she and four other women who suffered the same treatment launched a legal case against the government of Belgium, accusing it of kidnapping and racial persecution. Michel Hirsch is their lawyer.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

The first thing that motivated me to help them was the courage of these women. For the first time, they were breaking this silence. Even their own children had never heard of this story. By speaking out, they believed they could prevent the repetition of a trauma. La repetition et traumatism.

[I]

During the first trial, the judges said that too much time had passed since the alleged crimes were committed. But the women appealed the court's decision, and on December 2, 2024, they were summoned to their lawyer's office to face the verdict.

[Marie Jose Lochi]

We didn't know what to expect. I remember feeling really hot and nervous. That's when Madam Isha's phone rang and we were told we had won. It was a miracle, that.

[Andrew Peach]

Report from Kane Pierre. A spacecraft owned by a private American company has begun gathering data on the surface of the moon after touching down on Sunday. Blue Ghost is only the second commercial lander to reach the lunar surface. And as our science correspondent Pallav Ghoshnow reports, staff at the firm behind the latest mission, Firefly Aerospace, have been celebrating the successful landing.

[Rob Watson]

Y'all suck the landing.

[Andrew Peach]

We're on the moon.

[Robin Ince]

Delight from the mission control team as confirmation came that the uncrewed spacecraft was stable and upright. The first image it sent back shows a rocky pockmark terrain. The golden lunar lander is about the size of a hippopotamus and carries 10 scientific instruments. Dr. Nicky Fox of NASA said that the mission would provide vital knowledge about the layer of dust on the moon's surface, which is called regolith. We have an instrument on there that is going to actually look at how the regolith kicked up, what kind of plume it made as that lander came down, which is so important as we start landing more and more things and we start to set up that sustained presence on the moon, we need to understand when one lands next to you, what it does to your scientific equipment. Until today, just one private sector spacecraft had successfully touched down on the moon. That was a landing last year of a craft built by Texas company Intuitive Machines, which will be attempting a second landing in a few days time. And there are likely to be many more private sector missions to the lunar surface as firms across the world build up the expertise and capability to support NASA's plans for a long term human presence on the moon.

[Andrew Peach]

After the devastating floods in the Spanish region of Valencia last year, students and volunteers are attempting to save some precious memories. In the days just following the disaster, which killed more than 220 people, a team from Valencia's Polytechnic University sifted through the wreckage for some old family photos and they're now working painstakingly to restore what had been damaged. They've received thousands of photos from other survivors, too. Pedro Vicente, who's leading this project, spoke to Paul Henley about what they're doing.

[Pedro Vicente]

When we started to do the project, we thought we were going to get, I don't know, maybe 10, 20, 30,000, but now we have got 280,000 photographs. So it was massive, the response that we got, because there were those photographs that were damaged.

[Robin Ince]

And a lot of people do say, don't they, that they're their most treasured possessions. When the house burns or the house.

[Pedro Vicente]

Floods, that's what they run to. Yeah, absolutely. I think when people who have lost everything, they hold onto memory and photographs hold memory, so that's why it's so important. Or family photographs, they say who we are, who we were, and probably who we are going to be. A few weeks ago, a man came to us with just one photograph. Just one. Normally people came with hundreds of them, but this man only had one. It was the only photograph he had of his father, who died when he was five years old. He had lost everything because the flood, everything. And the photograph was the only thing that he had left. So you can imagine the pressure on us, the big responsibility and incredibly moving and emotional, to be able to clean that photograph and ultimately to save it.

[Robin Ince]

Now you're dealing with lots of soggy bits of paper that have been submerged for days, in some cases weeks.

[Andrew Peach]

How do you go about restoring them?

[Pedro Vicente]

Well, the first thing we do is we freeze them, because there's a lot of bacteria on the papers that are destroying, literally eating the paper. So if we can't intervene, then immediately we freeze them, and then when we restore actually the paper, we clean them with clean water, with several baths of clean water, around 10 baths, very, very carefully, one photograph at a time, one by one, with some brushes and trying to get out all the bacteria, all the mud that you still have on the paper. And then we clean them, we scan them, because we also give a digital copy of all the photograph and then we mount them on clean piece of cardboard to give the family back. Well, not the album as it was, but at least as close as it is possible to how it was.

[Robin Ince]

And if you have lost some of the image. There's a role for artificial intelligence, I hear.

[Pedro Vicente]

Yes. We are starting now with this second stage of the project in which we are trying to train artificial intelligence to restore digitally some of those photos. We are thinking that we could restore around 80, 90,000 photographs with this AI. The problem is, I mean, is that to restore these images using Photoshop or any other program for retouching, for retouching photographs is quite easy. It's not difficult. The problem that we have here are numbers. We have 80, 90,000 photographs that need to be digitally restored. And with artificial intelligence, what we are trying to do is to automatize, so it will be much faster and quicker than if a human restores the image.

[Andrew Peach]

Dr. Pedro Vicente from Valencia's Polytechnic University, leading a team restoring images damaged in the floods last year. And that's all from us for now. There'll be a new edition of Global News to download later. If you'd like to comment on this podcast, drop us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk you'll find us on XBCWorldService. Just use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll. The producer is Stephanie Tillotson. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Andrew Peach. Thank you for listening and until next time, goodbye.

[Robin Ince]

Hello, I'm Robin Ince. 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. After all of that, it's gonna kind of chill out a bit and talk about ice. And also in this series, we're discussing history, music recording with Brian Eno and looking at nature shapes. So listen, wherever you get your podcasts.