US and Iran exchange fire

Summary

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Global News Podcast – US and Iran Exchange Fire (May 28, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Will Chalk, covers a range of significant global stories, focusing primarily on renewed military tensions between the United States and Iran despite an ongoing ceasefire and tentative peace discussions. The show also features updates on FIFA World Cup ticket price controversies, the legal aftermath of Matthew Perry's death, the influence of the manosphere in Kenya, the economic ripple effects of conflict on Indian mango exports to the US, and cultural news involving an Ozzy Osbourne avatar.

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Key Segments and Insights

1. US-Iran Military Action Amid Ceasefire Talks

Timestamps: 01:29 – 05:15

• Restarted Hostilities:

  • The US conducted new strikes in Iran near Bandar Abbas, described by US officials as self-defense after Iranian forces allegedly targeted four ships, including a US oil tanker, near the Strait of Hormuz.
  • US Central Command claimed the attacks targeted four Iranian attack drones and a ground control station poised to launch more drones.

• Ceasefire and Peace Negotiations:

  • Despite ongoing peace talks and reports of a preliminary deal—purportedly involving the lifting of a US naval blockade in exchange for restoration of commercial shipping—the White House dismissed the draft as "complete fabrication."
  • The lack of mention regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions and enriched uranium stockpile remains the main sticking point.

• Analysis:

  • Both US and Iran signal the ceasefire is fragile, with the threat of renewed conflict ever-present.
  • “President Trump just on Monday again repeated that if a deal can't be reached, to use his words, we'll have to just finish the job.” – Peter Bowes (04:38)

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2. Laos Cave Rescue: Five Gold Miners Found Alive

Timestamps: 05:15 – 06:57

• Five villagers, trapped for a week by floods while panning for gold, found alive by an international team of divers.
• The ongoing rescue faces hazardous conditions due to torrential rain and narrow waterlogged passages, but brings hope as food and drink are delivered while the search for two missing men continues.

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3. FIFA Under Investigation for World Cup Ticket Pricing

Timestamps: 07:06 – 10:41

• Consumer Outrage:

  • Fans complain about confusion, limited access, and steep prices, particularly for US matches.
  • Attorneys general of New York and New Jersey allege FIFA engaged in “a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices.” (07:14)
  • Reports of price manipulation and changes to seat categories post-purchase spark legal action seeking internal FIFA documents.

• Possible Outcomes:

  • Legal options could include forcing refunds for price gouging or holding FIFA accountable in other ways, but little can change before the tournament begins in two weeks.

• Impact on Fans:

  • “Communities and families don’t feel like this is accessible to them anymore…that’s really hurt the sport and what it’s all about.” – Neda Torfik (10:24)

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4. Fantasy Premier League: New Champion Emerges

Timestamps: 10:41 – 13:18

• Erik Ibsen, a 23-year-old Danish student, wins the FPL on his first attempt after investing up to four or five hours daily on spreadsheets, without relying on AI.
• “I had so many bad weeks and I still end up winning. Don't let those weak results define your whole season.” – Erik Ibsen (12:59)
• The winner receives a UK holiday and VIP tickets to a Premier League match.

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5. The Legal Fallout of Matthew Perry’s Death

Timestamps: 16:35 – 19:27

• Courtroom Sentencing:

  • Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal assistant, sentenced to over three years in jail for injecting the actor with ketamine—despite no medical training—and concealing evidence after Perry’s death.

• Emotional Testimonies:

  • Matthew Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, expressed the family’s sense of betrayal by Iwamasa.
  • Iwamasa apologized directly to the family: “I’m so sorry to have done these illegal acts that I will forever regret and take to the grave.” (17:45)

• Judge’s Decision:

  • Considered both Iwamasa’s knowledge of Perry's addiction and subsequent evidence tampering in sentencing.

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6. Manosphere Influence in Kenya: Andrew Kibe Profile

Timestamps: 19:27 – 23:33

• Spotlight on Controversy:

  • Andrew Kibe, a Kenyan manosphere influencer, espouses misogynistic views with a following of over 530 million TikTok views.
  • “How do I respect somebody I want to sleep with? The word respect is useless to a woman.” – Andrew Kibe (20:48)

• Impact on Youth:

  • Female university students report classmates’ social withdrawal and growing gender division as a result of Kibe's messaging.
  • Professor Awino Okech warns of real-world consequences, including normalizing male violence.

• Memorable Confrontation:

  • When pressed by BBC reporter, Kibe abruptly ends the interview: “You're asking me the wrong questions. I don't like your questions. I think I'm done.” (22:32)

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7. War in Iran Hits US Mango Supply

Timestamps: 24:23 – 26:21

• Importers of Indian mangoes in the US face doubling cargo costs due to war-related supply chain issues and higher airline prices.
• “The supply chain price is high, gas is high… everything is adding too much.” – Bharat Kumar Prasanna (25:31)
• Despite prices reaching $5–7 per mango, demand remains strong because of the fruit’s seasonal rarity and cultural value.

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8. Ozzy Osbourne Returns as Interactive Avatar

Timestamps: 26:59 – 29:59

• An “Ozzy avatar” will allow fans to interact virtually and attend digital performances, following the late rocker’s death last year.
• “If it’s worked for ABBA, then it will probably work for Ozzy… but heavy metal fans are a bit more brutal.” – Dan Hudson (29:02)
• Dan Hudson laments Birmingham’s lack of recognition for its metal music heritage: “We're a global embarrassment that we don't do anything really to protect our cultural assets…” (27:58)
• Recommended Black Sabbath song: “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath” for capturing Ozzy at his best.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the ceasefire's fragility:

  • “The focus now, though, I think is on the talks. And I think the real challenge is to see through the rhetoric…just to try to get a measured assessment of where we are with the war.” – Peter Bowes (05:05)

• On exploitative pricing:

  • “It's not an invitation to exploit consumers. That's what they are alleging FIFA has done.” – Neda Torfik (08:25)

• Cultural impact of controversy:

  • “We are ending up with a society of young men who are being fed the idea that the only way to be a man is to be violent.” – Professor Awino Okech (21:54)

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Additional Content

• Listeners are directed to the BBC World Service YouTube and podcast series “Manosphere Messiahs” for a deeper dive into the manosphere phenomenon. (23:35)
• For music history, “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath” is recommended as an essential Black Sabbath song (29:59).

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Conclusion

This edition of the Global News Podcast delivers comprehensive, swift coverage of pressing world events, from geopolitical flashpoints to cultural trends and economic consequences. The episode’s tone is insightful yet urgent, mirroring the fast pace of global developments.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Will Chalk]

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Will Chalk and in the early hours of Thursday 28th May, these are our main stories. There are reports of fresh US military action in Iran despite the ceasefire. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey launch an investigation into football's governing body FIFA, about World cup ticket prices. Matthew Perry's personal assistant is jailed for his involvement in the death of the Friend Star from a ketamine overdose. Also in this podcast, the BBC spends time with a controversial manosphere influencer in Kenya.

[Andrew Kibe]

You're asking me the wrong questions. I don't like your questions. I think I'm done. Okay, thank you.

[Shaima Khalil]

Foreign.

[Will Chalk]

The US has launched another round of strikes against Iran despite the ongoing ceasefire and those optimistic noises we've been hearing about a potential peace deal. An American official said the attacks near the port city of Bandar Abbas were fired in self defense. Iranian state media says its forces fired on four ships that were attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, one of which was a US oil tanker with its radar system turned off. Our North America correspondent Peter Bose is following developments.

[Peter Bowes]

Well according to U.S. central Command, that's the U.S. military that's responsible for overseeing military operations and security interests in the Middle east. It says that U.S. forces shot down four Iranian one way attack drones that it says posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz. It also says that it hit an Iranian ground control station in the port of Bandar Abbas, which it says was about to launch a fifth drone drone. Crucially, the military is insisting, though, that these actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire. But clearly it is a fragile peace, given that this is the second time in three days that the US has attacked targets in Iran.

[Will Chalk]

Yeah. And all this happening not just while this ceasefire is supposedly in place, but also as the peace talks are continuing as well.

[Peter Bowes]

Yeah. And just hours after, Iranian state media reported the existence of a preliminary unofficial draft deal. Now, reportedly this included a claim that the US Would lift its naval blockade of Iran's ports. In return, Iran would restore commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to pre war levels within a month, with the management and routing of vessels to be handled by Iran and Oman. But it doesn't mention Iran giving up nuclear ambitions or handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which are the key issues at the heart of the dispute between the two countries. And the White House was pretty quick to dismiss this draft deal as complete fabrication.

[Will Chalk]

So does this suggest then that this could just as easily progress into more peace talks or indeed renewed war?

[Peter Bowes]

Well, you know, I think for all the talk of a breakthrough, both sides have made it clear that the ceasefire could collapse, the war could resume. President Trump just on Monday again repeated that if a deal can't be reached, to use his words, we'll have to just finish the job. Iran has made it known that it is prepared for that eventuality. The focus now, though, I think is on the talks. And I think the real challenge is to see through the rhetoric that we're hearing from both sides just to try to get a measured assessment of where we are with the war, which today is entering its fourth month.

[Will Chalk]

Peter Bowes. There a story now from Laos where after a week trapped inside a flooded cave, five villagers have been found alive by an international rescue team of divers. They were part of a group of seven who had gone into the cave to look for gold. And the search operation is continuing to try and find the two others. Our Southeast Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head reports.

[Jonathan Head]

After a grueling search success, two divers record the moments they found five men who'd been trapped underground for a week, exhausted and very distressed, but alive. They'd gone into pan for gold but found their exit blocked by rising flood waters. Their rescuers, one Thai and one from Finland are veterans of the famous cave rescue in Thailand eight years ago. With their experience of extracting the young Thai footballers, they were part of a team which came from Thailand to help. They found themselves facing extreme conditions, moving through waterlogged spaces barely wide enough for a human body. For days they were within just a few meters of the trapped men, but had to battle torrential rain which brought huge volumes of mud into the cave. So a real sense of achievement for this rescuer. Announcing that they'd been found at 4:30 this afternoon and promising he would keep searching for the two who are still missing. They've left food and drink with the gold miners. Now they must plan how to get them out once they've recovered their strength.

[Will Chalk]

Jonathan Head reporting. We're only a fortnight away from the start of something that has been very, very hyped up.

[Dan Hudson]

Get ready, champions of the world for the greatest event history in 2026.

[Will Chalk]

We will bring. That is one of the official adverts. Very understated, isn't it? Put out by the governing body, FIFA, for this year's Football World cup, which is being played across the us, Canada and Mexico. For months now, fans have been complaining about the ticket prices they're being expected to pay, particularly for the matches in the U.S. now the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have officially launched an investigation into FIFA, calling the way it set those prices a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices. I asked our correspondent in New York, Neda Torfik, whether at the heart of this was that this is claimed to be the most expensive ever tournament.

[Neda Torfik]

That's right. And you know, fans have reported feeling scammed, feeling like they've been ripped off. And it was that that really prompted the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey to launch this investigation. Because certainly there are reports of this happening in states, but this at the heart of it is a consumer protection case. They say that while it's an honor to host the World cup, that it's not an invitation to exploit consumers. That's what they are alleging FIFA has done. And they say it's through the whole ticketing selection process, saying that it was confusing, that it was done in phases and that on average, FIFA's tactics may have allowed the organization to boost prices by 30, 40 at a time when this was already the most expensive World cup ticket wise compared to any previous one. And beyond that, fans have also said that after purchasing tickets they were assigned into different categories that put them further from the field. And sometimes behind the goal. And that FIFA even changed the stadium seating categories after purchases had already been made. So all of this is why the attorneys general want to have subpoenaed FIFA to provide information, internal information, and to examine this further. The BBC reached out to FIFA, but they haven't, they declined to comment. And just to know that they can, you know, try to fight this. So this is going to be far from settled by the time the tournament kicks off.

[Will Chalk]

Yeah, which is in two weeks time. And then obviously that means most of the tickets have already been sold. So what powers to the attorneys general have to change anything here?

[Neda Torfik]

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, look, first they have to be able to prove their case. Right. So this is going to be a long legal process. If they are able to prove their case, you know, whether it's through a settlement or through an ultimate trial, they can, you know, get FIFA to have to pay back some of that, you know, price gouging that they are alleging here. That could in a way go back to consumers eventually, or they could find some other kind of settlement in a way that they feel holds FIFA accountable. That's typically how these consumer protection cases go. But that's really going to give little comfort to the fans who have already faced these frustrations and as you say, will already have to deal with the tickets they have or the tickets they weren't able to get and won't be able to watch in person. I think that's what's really kind of put a damper on this World Cup. Despite the excitement, the fact that communities and families don't feel like this is accessible to them anymore has really for many hurt the sport and what it's all about.

[Will Chalk]

Nether Torfik in New York there, and let's stick on football for a couple more minutes. Or more accurately, the much more nerdy football prediction game known as Fantasy Premier League, or FPL, if you're not familiar with it. 11 million people around the world give up their free time to try and pick the best squad they can week in, week out, made up of players from different British clubs. And after the actual Premier League season here in the UK came to an end at the weekend, the FPL winner has for obvious reasons now been announced. Our reporter Alfie Habersham, an FPL superfan himself, has this report is done. FPL 2025 season.

[Alfie Habersham]

10 months of agonizing over transfers.

[Will Chalk]

Again, this game, which I love, which does not love me back, it has

[Jonathan Head]

come and it has haunted me.

[Fantasy Premier League Narrator]

An all consuming hobby that borders on the torturous fantasy football, of course. Can you reliably predict every week for 10 months a combination of players who will perform the best and do this better than 11 million other people is a sport of the mind because we

[Shaima Khalil]

obviously know Magnus Carlsen as well is a good fantasy Premier League player. What skills do you guys have as chess players that make you good at fantasy Premier League?

[Erik Ibsen]

I think he's very unpredictable when he choose some players, probably in chess as well, he makes some moves which no one can expect.

[Fantasy Premier League Narrator]

Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and top Russian chess players often jostle near the top of FPL alongside other data gurus. But this year on his first attempt, there was a new winner.

[Erik Ibsen]

Dude, it's, it's completely insane. Of course there's been some luck involved, but I have also put some time into it and it's taking a lot of my energy and it just kept going up and up and up. I mean, if you had told me at the start of the season I'd even be close, I would have thought it was a joke.

[Fantasy Premier League Narrator]

23 year old Erik Ibsen, a student from Denmark.

[Erik Ibsen]

Yeah, you should see my Excel sheet. It's completely insane. I think I was sitting with it like four or five hours a day. I have an exam in three weeks and I haven't even started studying for it at university.

[Fantasy Premier League Narrator]

15 hours a week of spreadsheet headache got me when I played fantasy football to around the top 30 in the UK rankings. But 10 years on, it's now a lot tougher with the best players also turning to AI to make selections. But not Eric.

[Erik Ibsen]

I didn't really use AI to plan it, especially because I felt like I didn't really take accounts for scenarios like other things did. Just have patience. I had so many bad weeks and I still end up winning. Don't let those weak results define your whole season.

[Fantasy Premier League Narrator]

As a result, he now wins a seven day holiday to the UK with his family and VIP tickets to see his first ever Premier League match.

[Will Chalk]

That's our reporter Alfie Habershon, a self proclaimed FPL superfan. Still to come in this podcast, metal music legend Ozzy Osbourne is getting the AI treatment.

[Ozzy Osbourne Avatar Promoter]

You can go and talk to Ozzy and ask him anything you want and he'll talk back to you. You could have your photo taken with Ozzy. You can ask him anything you want and he will talk to you.

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new summer fragrance collection. Discover transportive clean [e-mail] Dondec Valas Ganas Puntos como un pro con la nueva Target, American Express and my Los pro rewards encompras el eibles gana tres puntos porcada do la en los. This is the Global News Podcast. When Matthew Perry was found dead in his hot tub from a drug overdose, an investigation was launched into those close closest to the Friends actor and how they may have played a role in his death. Four people, including doctors and a drug seller dubbed the Ketamine Queen, have already been sentenced. Now the live in personal assistant who injected Matthew Perry with ketamine several times with no medical training, has been told he'll spend more than three years in jail. Our correspondent Shaima Khalil was inside the Los Angeles courtroom as Kenneth Iwamassa was sentenced on I asked her what the atmosphere was like.

[Shaima Khalil]

It was pretty charged. You could feel that there was tension there, that there was anger. Emotions were high. Even though it was mostly silent, you could still feel that at one point, Matthew Perry's stepfather, Keith Morrison, took to the stand and he confronted Kenny Iwamasa, told him that the family trusted him, that they considered him to be one of the family and that he wanted control of of Matthew Perry's life. He wanted the kind of lifestyle that working for someone like Matthew Perry afforded him. He also said that the one thing that the family wanted from him was that when the actor slipped because of his long fight with addiction, that he informed them. And not only did Mr. Iwamasa not inform the family at any point, he continued to procure ketamine and inject Matthew Perry with the drug. Now, the defense has time and time again argued during the hearing that Mr. Omalsa was an employee, that he was doing what he was told to do, that there was a discrepancy in the power dynamics. At one point, Mr. Omassa himself then took to the stand, and he turned around to face the family. And at that point, you could just see that some of them were getting really emotional, really teary. And then he said, I'm so sorry to all of you. I'm so sorry to have done these illegal acts that I will forever regret and take to the grave. And then he said that I hope that mine would be a cautionary tale for anyone in my position to make a better judgment, to make a better decision. And then he offered them his condolences.

[Will Chalk]

And you mentioned the charged atmosphere in court. What were the comments from the judge to the defendant?

[Shaima Khalil]

In sentencing him, the judge took into consideration two things. One, Iwamasa's knowledge of Matthew Perry's long fight with addiction. She told him, you were privy to his struggle. You knew that he shouldn't have used that amount of ketamine as much as you administered and gave him. And you also saw the effect on him, because there were a number of instances where the late Matthew Perry would freeze up and he would be incapacitated after being injected with ketamine. And even though that happened, Mr. Iwamasa continued to administer and continued to give him, inject him with ketamine. The second thing that she mentioned was the fact that even though Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distributing ketamine, which caused death, and even though he came forward eventually and helped the legal authorities build a case and helped give evidence and give information, she said that immediately after the death of Matthew Perry, he concealed evidence, he cleaned up the scene, he cleaned up ketamine containers. And so when she was sentencing him, she took those two things into consideration.

[Will Chalk]

Shaima Khalil, there. Now, you might have already heard of the manosphere. It's a truly global but massively controversial industry. Accounts can generate millions of dollars, often using misogyny and rage bait to get views Critics say it's fueling a growing gender divide. Our correspondent Jackie Wakefield has been speaking to one influencer in Kenya, Andrew Kibe, and sent this report. You might find some of its contents disturbing.

[Dan Hudson]

Missing something in your life? Wake up with us.

[Alfie Habersham]

Andrew Kibe is a former radio host who, around the time of the COVID pandemic, turned into a content creator. He's tripled his followers in just a few years with the same misogyny and anti feminist views you hear in the global manosphere.

[Andrew Kibe]

Women lie all the time.

[Alfie Habersham]

In 2023, he was suspended from YouTube, it's believed for misogynistic content. I interviewed Kibe before and asked him if he knew what misogyny is. He had to look it up.

[Andrew Kibe]

Where is it? Misogyny. Misogynist. A person who dislikes, despises or is strongly prejudiced against women. Who in the world is like that? No man hates a woman. We love you. We are like gods to you. Worship us.

[Alfie Habersham]

Why not just respect both ways?

[Andrew Kibe]

How do I respect somebody I want to sleep with? The word respect is useless to a woman. I shouldn't respect you. I mean, when I look at you, you're a sexual being.

[Alfie Habersham]

On TikTok alone, Andrewkebay has had 530 million views. a university in western Kenya. Male students have been waiting for hours for Kibe to arrive. They're mostly aged between 18 and 21.

[Andrew Kibe]

You guys all read the book.

[Alfie Habersham]

But some of the female students objected to Kibe's visit.

[Female Student]

I totally disagree with Kibe's content. Like one of my classmates, this boy, he has been influenced by Kibe's content. He can't socialize with any lady in our class. I can say it's getting worse for those who follow Kibbe's teachings. They will find themselves like saying ladies are less capable. That's really hurting us as ladies because we all believe that we are capable of everything.

[Alfie Habersham]

Professor Awino Okech, Gender, sexuality and Security academic says there are real world consequences.

[Professor Awino Okech]

We are ending up with a society of young men who are being fed the idea that the only way to be a man is to be violent. That's a real world consequence in terms of the next generation of men in our society who will end up leading our countries and propagating these same ideas into the laws and policies of how our countries are governed.

[Alfie Habersham]

Kenya has seen a rise in the number of cases of femicide women killed because they're women. It doesn't mean influences are to blame, but words matter. Kibe invited us to come along on his book tour. The book's subtitle is A Journey into Manhood. And he said he wrote it because men today are lost. After four days following him, it's time to talk to him. Do you think it's fun when you speak to women in the way that you speak to women?

[Andrew Kibe]

I don't speak to women.

[Alfie Habersham]

Yeah, I guess you don't. Because the other day at the uni, there was. You walked past a couple and you spoke to the young man asking if you could have like a go with the young woman next to him, his girlfriend. Do you think that's an appropriate way to speak about women? I mean, you didn't even address her.

[Andrew Kibe]

No, I didn't speak about her. I spoke to him. Told him, hey, listen, because I know you in campus cannot hold on to that girl of yours. I know. So please make sure when you're done, you holler at your dog. It was a joke, though. Everybody saw it as a joke. The only person who wasn't laughing was him.

[Alfie Habersham]

So he didn't see it as a joke then?

[Andrew Kibe]

Yeah, but to hell with him. Who cares about him? You're asking me the wrong questions. I don't like your questions. I think I'm done. Okay, thank you.

[Will Chalk]

Jackie Wakefield in Kenya there. And if this is a story that interests you, there's plenty more content on it. You can find Search for Manosphere Messiahs on the BBC World Service YouTube for a full visual documentary. And there's also a podcast series as well which is available wherever you get your podcasts. Now we've reported a lot on this podcast about the effects of the war in Iran on world economies across Asia into Europe. But in the US it's being felt in somewhere you might not. Mangoes. It's mango season in India and America usually imports a lot of them, but shipping costs are going up. The BBC's Samira Hussain reports from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

Fresh off a plane from India, some very precious cargo. Oh, it's exquisite. That is the real mango smell. Indian mangoes are only available a few weeks a year, but in high demand in America and big business. How much money would you say that you brought in last year in mangoes?

[Will Chalk]

More than a million dollar.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

That's just 7% of last year's Indian mango imports to the US you. I cannot even describe that smell. It is so sweet. Importing mangoes is a side hustle for Bharat Kumar Prasanna, a chemist by trade. Mangoes by passion. The mangoes that you get in the US would Have.

[Will Chalk]

It's like a potato. It's a double fruit.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

Okay, so 488 boxes in here and probably like $50 a box average.

[Will Chalk]

40 to $50.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

You're looking at about a little more than $20,000 worth of mangoes. Since they can only be imported by air, the ephemeral fruit comes at a bitter price of the war.

[Will Chalk]

The airline jumped the cargo price.

[Alfie Habersham]

Yeah.

[Will Chalk]

So that's why it's like more than double price this year. The supply chain price is high, gas is high. Paying to the people is high amount. So, yeah, everything is adding too much.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

Viral Shah delivers the mangoes from the airport to a nearby Indian grocery store.

[Viral Shah]

Actually, it's an amazing feeling, man. This is coming from home, motherland, you know, and this, this season is. Everybody's waiting for it the three months, you know, they know we're gonna get. After that, we won't see it for another year, you know, so it's actually a great feeling.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

In India, the mango would cost about 70 cents, but in the store in New Jersey, it's seven times that price.

[Will Chalk]

You want it, you can eat like expensive, doesn't matter. Right. Once in a year.

[Bharat Kumar Prasanna]

But the taste of home is priceless.

[Will Chalk]

Samira Hussein there reporting from New Jersey. Ten months after the death of the British hard rock star Ozzy Osbourne, in true dramatic metal fashion, he's being brought back to life, sort of. His family have announced an avatar which won't just perform songs as the ABBA voyage avatars do, but also interact with fans. Ozzy Osbourne's widow, Sharon has told the BBC she's hoping the avatar will have its debut in Birmingham in the English midlands, where the singer was born and where he gave his final performance three weeks before he died.

[Ozzy Osbourne Avatar Promoter]

You can go and talk to Ozzy and ask him anything you want and he'll talk back to you. You could have your photo taken with Ozzy. You can ask him anything you want and he will talk to you.

[Will Chalk]

Well, for more on this, let's hear from Dan Hudson. He's a Birmingham based music journalist, a Black Sabbath superfan, and the founder of the Aussie airport campaign to rename the city's airport in Aussie's honor. Dan told Sean Lay what he made of the initiative.

[Dan Hudson]

I think it's interesting. I mean, heavy metal fans are some of the most unforgiving, brutal fans there are. So I think if this doesn't end up sort of going to plan, then, you know, it's quite a high risk. Move better not be right. Exactly. But I would never bet against Sharon Osbourne or the Osbourne family. And I think, you know, if she's behind it and she's really pushing it, Jack's really behind it as well. I just think. I just think it will be a success.

[Sean Lay]

Do you think Birmingham as a city makes enough of its metal heritage?

[Dan Hudson]

Absolutely not. I mean, if you compare it to other international cities around the world, for example, like Nashville or Memphis, when you go to Nashville, you know you're in the home of country music. When you're in Memphis, you know you're the home in the home of blues. Here in Birmingham, there's barely anything to suggest that this is the birthplace of a global genre. And I should suspect many people listening around the world right now probably aren't even aware of that. And that's highly embarrassing. It's a global embarrassment. We're a global embarrassment that we don't do anything really to protect our cultural assets and to shout about all the things that we've done in a way that almost every other city around the world seems to do.

[Sean Lay]

We all know about. A lot of people know about the Mersey Beat and the association with the Beatles of the city of Liverpool, as you say, perhaps less known about Birmingham, even in this country and its importance to metal music. It was sort of demonstrated by that concert that Ozzy Osbourne himself gave his final performance in last July. I wonder, though, also about this kind of. This kind of human aspect of it. Is this just a little bit creepy about these ideas of avatars you can interact with?

[Dan Hudson]

Potentially. But if you look at the success of the ABBA thing, I mean, people sort of had a lot to say about that, but that's sort of been like. Couldn't have been more successful, really. So if. If it. If it's worked for abba, then it will probably work for Ozzy. The only caveat, I would say is I do think heavy metal fans are a bit more brutal. You know, there's. There's famous incidents of support bands not going down particularly well with big bands like Iron Maiden. And they're a nice bunch, but they are unforgiving. So it's not the target market that I would want to sort of necessarily experiment on. But if it works for abba, in some ways, it's not necessarily, for me, someone who's had the opportunity to see Aussie and Black Sabbath live. It's not really aimed at me, is it? It's sort of aimed at people who never did get that chance. It's not necessarily, I think for me or for other people to sort of take that away from them if that's what they want.

[Sean Lay]

Just in the last 15 or 20 seconds. If people want to stream something from Black Sabbath that you think captures Ozzy Osbourne at his best, what would you recommend?

[Dan Hudson]

I think the best song, the best Black Sabbath song is Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath. It's just got an incredible riff. His vocals are amazing. It's heavy. It stands the test of time. It's just an amazing song.

[Will Chalk]

That's Birmingham based music journalist and Black Sabbath superfan Dan Hudson talking to Sean Lay. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email [e-mail] you can also find us on X@ BBC World Service. You can use the hashtag Global Newspod. Don't forget we have a sister podcast called the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Holly Smith. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Will Chalk. Until next time. Goodbye.

[Dan Hudson]

Yes you can. A five minute quick and easy calorie burning workout.

[Will Chalk]

Give it a try.

[Dan Hudson]

Come join our sweat sesh on TikTok.