US and Iran hold crucial talks mediated by Oman

Summary

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Global News Podcast – US and Iran Hold Crucial Talks Mediated by Oman

BBC World Service | Host: Alex Ritson | Date: February 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode covers several major global stories, focusing primarily on the crucial nuclear talks in Geneva between the US and Iran, mediated by Oman. Other key topics include Congress hearings involving the Clintons and Jeffrey Epstein, North Korea’s shifting diplomatic posture, Europe’s move toward sustainable wooden construction, drone warfare in Sudan, Ukrainian post-war reconstruction hopes, the neuroscience of “superagers,” and Norway’s historic Oscar nomination. The podcast features direct reporting, expert analysis, and notable interviews.

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1. US–Iran Nuclear Talks in Geneva (Main Story)

[01:05–06:15]

Key Points

• US and Iranian negotiators are meeting in Geneva for talks widely seen as a last hope to avoid military conflict over Iran’s nuclear program.
• The US has increased military presence in the Middle East, and multiple governments warn citizens to leave the region.
• President Trump insists Iran must declare it will never develop nuclear weapons; Iran’s leadership reiterates their nuclear intentions are peaceful.
• Oman plays mediator: Omani Foreign Minister describes the talks as involving “creative and positive ideas” ([03:24]).
• This is the first series of direct talks (not just indirect), indicating a heightened commitment.
• Chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet reports from Geneva, emphasizing the tense atmosphere, media attention, and fragile trust.
• The differences in negotiating styles are highlighted, with Iran presenting experienced diplomats and the US relying on Trump’s associates, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Notable Quotes

• Lyse Doucet: “They exchanged creative and positive ideas. We’re taking a break and then we’re going to come back again. … If it is just confined to the nuclear program of Iran in exchange for sanctions, a deal is difficult, but it is doable.” ([03:24])
• On trust and negotiation: “There is so little trust between the two sides. … We don’t want to be, in their words, surprised. And that’s why they, like the Americans, are preparing for war if indeed it does come to war this time.” ([04:31])

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2. Congress Hears from Clintons over Jeffrey Epstein

[06:20–10:04]

Key Points

• Bill and Hillary Clinton are set to testify before Congress as part of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
• Hillary will testify Thursday; Bill, Friday. Their presence is seen as a major milestone for the Republican-led Oversight Committee.
• The Clintons’ names appear in documents, but there’s no implication of wrongdoing.
• Hillary Clinton claims she never met Epstein; Bill Clinton is expected to answer questions about photographs and flights with Epstein.
• The hearings are filmed but will be released after a delay.
• Democrats argue the depositions are a distraction from issues involving Donald Trump.

Notable Quotes

• Rep. Yasmin Ansari: “I really don’t know. I’m just as disgusted when I see photos like that. … But that’s why this deposition is important.” ([07:17])
• Sarah Smith: “For Hillary Clinton herself, she insists that the only reason she and her husband are being called … is to try and distract from Donald Trump and the trouble he’s in over the Epstein files.” ([08:00])

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3. North Korea’s Conciliatory Rhetoric and New Demands

[10:04–13:28]

Key Points

• Kim Jong Un signals openness to better relations with the US, provided North Korea is recognized as a nuclear power.
• He announces plans to further increase the size and technology of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, including a nuclear-armed submarine and anti-satellite missiles.
• Speculation about a Trump–Kim reunion, with Trump expected to visit Beijing in April.
• Washington maintains readiness for talks, but North Korea dismisses South Korean reconciliation as “mere deception,” frustrating Seoul.

Notable Quotes

• Jake Kwon: “[Kim] said he’s going to have a nuclear submarine … and also missiles that could hit enemy satellites in the sky. … If you accept this as the path of North Korea, then we can get along, we can do some talks.” ([10:56])
• “North Korea desperately wants to be recognized as a normal country that can hold these weapons … for Donald Trump, this is an opportunity … to declare that he is a peacemaker.” ([12:56])

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4. Europe’s Turn to Wood for Sustainable Construction

[13:28–18:14]

Key Points

• The construction sector is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions in Europe; wooden buildings are seen as a solution.
• In Portugal, modular wooden homes are growing in popularity due to foreign demand, housing shortages, and a lack of builders.
• Wood’s behavior in a fire is discussed; “mass timber just chars and protects itself, just like these trees.”
• Sweden’s experience is presented—legal requirements for tree replanting and ongoing forest growth.

Notable Quotes

• Prof. Alex de Rijke: “Ironically, you know, wood is much better behaved in a fire than say steel. Steel collapses suddenly at 500 Celsius, whereas engineered timber … just chars and protects itself.” ([15:27])
• Sandra Frank (Sweden): “We only develop in wood… I asked the factory how long [the wood] would take to grow and they said 44 seconds.” ([17:15])
• “Today we are planting about four trees for each tree that you take down. The Swedish forest is actually growing a lot every year.” ([17:52])

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5. Drone Warfare in Sudan and Beyond

[22:49–25:01]

Key Points

• Marked increase in deadly drone attacks in Sudan, with civilian areas being targeted.
• Both Sudanese army and RSF paramilitaries deploy drones primarily sourced from Turkey and China.
• Drone warfare is becoming a default tactic in conflicts across Africa, highlighting both accessibility and risks.
• The US wants both sides to cease drone use but has limited leverage.

Notable Quotes

• Richard Kagoi: “Both sides… have been using drones to strike against not just military positions, but … civilian infrastructure like bridges and also power stations.” ([23:13])
• “We have seen an incremental use of drones not just in Sudan, but in other conflicts across Africa. … A very growing and disturbing trend.” ([24:05])

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6. Ukraine’s Post-War Reconstruction Hopes

[25:01–26:56]

Key Points

• US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet Ukrainian officials to discuss future economic assistance and reconstruction, estimated at $800 billion.
• No direct meetings with Russian negotiators, but Kremlin’s Kirill Dmitriev is also in Geneva, suggesting post-war economic cooperation with the US.
• Experts view Russian investment estimates skeptically.

Notable Quotes

• Paul Adams (Kyiv): “Ukraine is looking to secure a package of support for the next 10 years. … The Kremlin’s economic envoy … is also going to be meeting the Americans because the Russians are also dangling the prospect of huge economic investments.” ([25:27])

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7. The Science of “Superagers”: Preserving Brain Youthfulness

[26:56–30:40]

Key Points

• New US study shows “superagers” at 80 retain twice as many new neurons in the hippocampus as peers.
• The study, conducted on post-mortem brain tissue, links neurogenesis to memory preservation and cognitive resilience in old age.
• Genetic factors account for ~25% of variability, but exercise is a modifiable factor that boosts brain health and neurogenesis.
• Implications for future treatments of Alzheimer’s and age-related cognitive decline.

Notable Quotes

• Prof. Tara Spears Jones: “All of us can boost our brain resilience a bit. The most well substantiated evidence goes to exercise … it also directly boosts this adult hippocampal neurogenesis.” ([29:17])
• “It’s a long-term path, but as we get more and more little pieces of this picture, we will … work towards drugs that can boost brain health.” ([30:20])

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8. Norway’s First Best Picture Oscar Nomination: “Sentimental Value”

[30:40–33:47]

Key Points

• “Sentimental Value,” a Norwegian family drama directed by Joachim Trier, is the first Norwegian film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
• The film explores complex family relationships, especially the dynamics between sisters and their father, resonating across cultures.
• Trier celebrates the film’s global success despite limited arts funding in Norway.

Notable Quotes

• Joachim Trier: “I guess I am interested in behavior more than I am in telling stories. I’m interested in trying to get into the head of people.” ([32:09])
• “I come from a country of 5.5 million people and … a film from Norway travels like this—it’s not to be taken for granted. So we’re, you know, we’re grateful.” ([33:28])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:05–06:15] US–Iran nuclear talks and context
• [06:20–10:04] Clintons, Congress, and the Epstein investigation
• [10:04–13:28] North Korea–US relations and potential summit
• [13:28–18:14] Sustainable construction in Europe
• [22:49–25:01] Drone warfare in Sudan/Africa
• [25:01–26:56] Ukraine reconstruction diplomacy
• [26:56–30:40] Neuroscience: “Superagers”
• [30:40–33:47] Norway’s Oscar-nominated film

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Memorable Moments

• Direct, tense sound bites from Geneva’s US–Iran negotiations, with diplomats rushing between residences and media clusters ([03:24–04:27])
• Kim Jong Un’s “wish list” for new nuclear weapons and submarines ([10:56])
• Sandra Frank’s revelation that Swedish wood for skyscrapers “grows back in 44 seconds” ([17:23])
• Science revelation: regular exercise “boosts your brain resilience … and also directly boosts adult hippocampal neurogenesis” ([29:17])
• Personal humility from Norway’s Joachim Trier: “I come from a country of 5.5 million people … grateful for the [global success].” ([33:28])

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This summary covers the Global News Podcast’s blend of diplomatic drama, investigative scrutiny, scientific discovery, and cultural achievement—providing essential context and voices from around the world.

Transcript

[Alex Ritson]

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[Alex Ritson]

this is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson and at 16 hours GMT on Thursday 26th February, these are our main stories. US and Iranian negotiators are in Geneva for talks widely seen as the best chance of preventing a military conflict. Bill and Hillary Clinton prepare to give evidence to Congress about the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un says he could get along well with the U.S. if the communist state is recognized as a nuclear power. Also in this podcast While a tree

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

grows, it consumes carbon dioxide and it stores it in the tree for as long as these buildings are standing.

[Alex Ritson]

Why Europe's construction industry is turning to wood to cut carbon emissions Iranian and American officials have been meeting again in Geneva for what are being seen as crucial talks about Tehran's nuclear program. It comes as the United States continues to strengthen its military presence in the Middle east, with a number of countries urging their citizens to leave. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Trump said he would never allow what he called the world's number one sponsor of terror to have nuclear weapons. But Tehran insists it has no intention of building such a bomb and that its program is purely for civilian purposes. Iran's president, Massoud Peseshkian, said his orders came directly from the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump says that Iran must announce we will never have a nuclear weapon. The supreme leader has stated that we will never have a nuclear weapon. Maybe you can say that I'm like those politicians and I lie. But the leader of a society, the religious leader of a society cannot lie. When he says that we will never have a nuclear weapon, that means we will never have it. Aman, which is acting as mediator, says the negotiations will resume on Thursday evening. This third round is being viewed by some as a last chance for diplomacy. Our chief international correspondent Lee Stucet is in Switzerland covering the negotiations for us.

[Lyse Doucet]

Well, I'm speaking to you from outside the Omani residence here in Geneva. You may hear the hubbub of other journalists, such as the interest and the significance of these talks, that there is a large contingent of media from around the world. We saw the American convoy leaving here about an hour ago. Then the Iranian delegation left. What is really significant is that in all the other times when the Iranians and Americans met for mainly indirect, but not completely, we understand they have been talking face to face as well. They meet for a few hours and then they go their separate ways. This is the first time that they're coming back. The Omani foreign minister, Badr Al Ghassaidi, who is the main mediator, said on social media, on X, he said they exchanged creative and positive ideas. We're taking a break and then we're going to come back again. And we understand they are trying to work out the details of some kind of a draft. And I think the general assessment is that if it is just confined to the nuclear program of Iran in exchange for sanctions, a deal is difficult, but it is doable.

[Alex Ritson]

So the Iranians do respect the U.S. negotiators?

[Lyse Doucet]

Well, they have very, very different negotiating styles. There is so little trust between the two sides. Bear in mind that Iran was involved in negotiations with the Americans headed by Steve Witkoff last year. And it was just days before the sixth round of talks that Israel attacked Iran, which triggered the 12 Day War, which drew in the United States. And don't forget that President Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018. So Iranian officials continue to say that we want to do a deal, we're going to continue to negotiate, but we don't want to be, in their words, surprise. And that's why they, like the Americans, are preparing for war if indeed it does come to war this time as well. And also there are very different individuals. You have the foreign minister of Iran who has more than a decade of experience on the nuclear file. He was very much involved in the last landmark negotiations which led to that multilateral deal. His deputy, Majitak Ravanchi, also has more than a decade of experience. They know every part of these nuclear issues. Whereas Steve Witkoff, who is President Trump's golf buddy, President Trump's preferred envoy, you remember that when he first came into the White House for a second time, he said, my envoys may not know about the height of the mountains or the depth of the rivers, but they know how to do a deal. Steve Witkoff is a property dealer, just like President Trump was, and he has been sent to do these deals. The Iranians are encouraged that this time it's not just Steve Witkoff, it's Jared Kushner, the President's son in law. They see that as an even more direct link to the President and that he pays closer attention to the negotiations. And as I was told by a few diplomats, that Jared Kushner takes notes, whereas Steve Witkoff never did.

[Alex Ritson]

Lyse Doucet in Switzerland, the committee in the US Congress which is investigating the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Well, here evidence from two of the most important figures in American politics, Bill and Hillary Clinton. She will give evidence on Thursday, while the former President will do so on Friday. The Clintons feature in the millions of documents released on Epstein, but this doesn't imply any wrongdoing. And Mr. Clinton said that he broke ties with him before he was convicted of child sex offenses in 2008. Mr. Clinton also denies any knowledge of the crimes of Epstein, who killed himself in 2019. There are photographs of the former President in a hot tub with a woman and a swimming pool with Maxwell. The Democratic Congresswoman, Yasmin Ansari, serves on the committee and she was asked if she thought Mr. Clinton knew about Epstein's behaviour.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

I really don't know. I'm just as disgusted when I see photos like that because I know everything that I know. I mean, I hope not, but that's why this deposition is important. And not that we'll get all of the information, but that's why ultimately, getting the entirety of these files in an unredacted form and ending this cover up is so important.

[Alex Ritson]

The Clintons had initially resisted appearing before the Republican led House Oversight Committee. But they agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in criminal contempt of Congress. Mrs. Clinton, a former US secretary of state, told the BBC that they had nothing to hide. With more, here's our North America editor, Sarah Smith.

[Sarah Smith]

This is a very, very big moment because these are the two most senior former politicians to have been called in front of the Oversight Committee to give evidence. It's a sign that the committee is managing to do its job in terms of speaking to the people it wants to, as they insist that they're conducting an investigation that ought to have been done by the FBI, but that they're doing it instead. They've pledged to try and get justice for victims of Jeffrey Epstein in a way that they think they've been failed by law enforcement. Now, in terms of how much we will learn about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal activities, that's a rather different question with the Clintons, because Hillary Clinton insists she does not recall ever meeting Jeffrey Epstein and that she had only very glancing interactions with Ghislaine Maxwell. Bill Clinton, though, of course will have more questions to answer when he has to sit for a deposition because he has been pictured multiple times in photographs contained in the Epstein files, including pictures of him in a swimming pool and separately in a Jacuzzi and with a woman whose face is blacked out. He flew several times on Jeffrey Epstein's plane so he'll have more to talk about. But for Hillary Clinton herself, she insists that the only reason that she and her husband are being called to testify at all is to try and distract from Donald Trump and the trouble he's in over the Epstein files and the ongoing claims that not enough of the files have been released, that there are still millions of documents that ought to be put into the public domain. It's happening behind closed doors, but it is being filmed. What's happened with similar sessions to this is that some hours after the deposition is finished, the tape, the television pictures of it, are made publicly available. So we may have to wait until the next day. It might be 24 hours before we get to some see and hear exactly what Hillary Clinton said, maybe into the weekend before we can do the same for Bill Clinton's testimony. But we ought to see all of it at some point and quite shortly after the deposition, we're likely to hear from members of the committee of what happened whilst she was giving evidence.

[Alex Ritson]

Sarah Smith Every five years, the ruling Communist Party in North Korea holds its Congress. It wrapped up with a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang. And during the week long gathering, there was the usual roaring approval the leadership. Normally there are also vicious comments about the U.S. but this time, at least at first glance, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, sounded somewhat more conciliatory. He said that the two countries could get along well should Washington recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear power. Last year, Mr. Trump said he was 100% open to a meeting with the North Korean leader. I asked our correspondent in Seoul, Jake Kwon, what else Mr. Kim had said.

[Jake Kwon]

Kim Jong Un also had said that he is going to make more nuclear weapons and missiles, that his nuclear bombs are not going away anytime soon. And then he also laid out some wish list of the weapons he wants to acquire in the next five years. He said that he's going to have a nuclear submarine that can launch missiles from anywhere on earth, that can hit anywhere on earth, and also missiles that could hit enemy satellites in the sky. He laid out some of these ambitious plans. And at the same time, he was saying to the United States that if you accept this as the path of North Korea, then we can get along, we can do some talks. And this is happening. As you said, there's some speculation that Donald Trump might be willing to see and sit down with Kim Jong Un again. Last time they did was in 2019. And Donald Trump will be traveling to Beijing in April this year. So there has been a lot of speculation that this might be the time the two countries can restart the peace process.

[Alex Ritson]

Any reaction publicly anyway, from Washington?

[Jake Kwon]

Well, the Washington had said that they are open to talks, but I mean, this is something that they repeat many times now. Of course, the one that might be most joyed by this is South Korea, which has been pushing for the two leaders, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, to meet as part of their peace process. But at the same time, North Korea had singled out South Korea, saying that, you know, the relationship between the two countries is really a foregone conclusion, that they do not consider South Korea as part of their brethren anymore, that whatever South Korea has been trying to thaw the relationship with the north, they consider it a mere deception. So South Korea was quite disappointed by this comment. And we heard from Seoul that this kind of comment does not help. And yet they will keep trying to really thaw the relationship and make peace with North Korea.

[Alex Ritson]

Let's come back to that possible meeting with Donald Trump. When are we going to know if this could be real and what could it achieve?

[Jake Kwon]

North Korea and the United States have some things that they could achieve from the other side. Of course, North Korea desperately wants to be recognized as a normal country that can hold these weapons, which, of course, is something that America traditionally has considered a no go. But for Donald Trump, this is an opportunity for him to again declare that he is a peacemaker, that he had brought peace on the Korean peninsula. So if these considerations meet, maybe there Is a slim chance of this meeting happen later this year.

[Alex Ritson]

Jake Kwon in Seoul. One of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in Europe is the construction industry. The making of cement and reinforced concrete accounts for around 40% of CO2 emitted on the continent. Flights make up less than 3%. Research suggests huge reductions could be made by building in wood. In Portugal, an influx of well off foreigners and a shortage of houses and construction workers is driving an increase in ready made wooden houses. As Alastair Leathead reports

[Alastair Leathead]

on a little piece of land in remote rural Portugal, professor of wood architecture Alex de Ryker has big plans for his retirement.

[Alex Ritson]

This is where the house will be above our heads on stilts.

[Alastair Leathead]

It's a very steep hill and there's a couple of old cork oak trees.

[Alex Ritson]

I want this wooden house to nestle amongst the canopies of these trees.

[Alastair Leathead]

An abandoned piece of land on Portugal's wild western coast is not where you'd expect to find the winner of Britain's top architectural prize. Alex der Reicker pioneered building in engineered wood.

[Alex Ritson]

This makeshift cover is keeping the wood dry and ventilated. Oh, wow.

[Alastair Leathead]

Okay, here it is. This is the wood you're talking about.

[Alex Ritson]

This is one piece of wood that's 13 meters long and 3 meters.

[Richard Kagoi]

Wow.

[Alex Ritson]

I did an experimental house for an exhibition in Oslo called Naked House where the whole house was made of cross laminated timber panels. I basically cut the furniture from the walls. So think table cut from wall becomes window which lights the table. So the off cut is the furniture. And now I've brought it here.

[Alastair Leathead]

Right, so that's the house that you're going to put up here. Critics say wooden houses are a fire risk, but Alex isn't worried. Despite a wildfire near miss a couple of years ago.

[Alex Ritson]

Ironically, you know, wood is much better behaved in a fire than say steel. Steel collapses suddenly at 500 Celsius, whereas engineered timber mass timber just chars and protects itself, just like these trees here. You know, the only trees after the fire are the cork trees because they're the oak. It's dense timber and the eucalyptus that caused the fire. They're all stripped away.

[Alastair Leathead]

Professor de Reicha is one of many new foreign arrivals to Portugal buying up an abandoned plot of land. Locals have been leaving the countryside for decades and with a shortage of builders, wooden houses are a good option.

[Alex Ritson]

This is a two bedroom house, 56 square meters. It's made of three different modules. We can step inside if you want.

[Alastair Leathead]

One of the biggest suppliers in Portugal is Jula Amaro Santos showed me around the factory, the homes leave here 95% finished.

[Alex Ritson]

One of the main advantages besides the

[Jake Kwon]

sustainability, it's the certainty that we can

[Alex Ritson]

provide to the customer on budget, on time and with the quality that has been contracting with us. This is not easy to have that result with regular and traditional methods of construction for sure.

[Alastair Leathead]

He says demand for modular houses is growing like a tide that can't be stopped.

[Jake Kwon]

With the labour shortage, it's easier to

[Alex Ritson]

have people that are working here and living nearby. On most part of the country there

[Jake Kwon]

is no labor, there is no people available whatsoever.

[Alastair Leathead]

But the other question is, what about the forest? Sweden's been making wooden houses for decades.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

So I'm Sandra Frank and I'm one of the founding partners at Arvit developers in Sweden. And we only develop in wood or wooden buildings.

[Alastair Leathead]

Arvit built the world's first eight story apartment block entirely out of engineered wood. Sandra asked the factory how long that

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

would take to grow and they said 44 seconds. I realized that we didn't question using concrete or steel, which is also materials that you take from the nature. But it never grows back. While a tree grows, it consumes carbon dioxide and it stores it in the tree for as long as these buildings are standing.

[Alastair Leathead]

And there's a hundred year old law in Sweden saying every tree cut down must be replaced.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

And today we are planting about four trees for each tree that you take down. The Swedish forest is actually growing a lot every year.

[Alastair Leathead]

Regulatory pressure to use biomaterials and the laws of demand and supply are driving a revolution here. And even the big construction companies are starting to see the wood for the trees.

[Alex Ritson]

Alastair Leathead still to come in this

[Joachim Trier]

podcast, I guess I am interested in behavior more than I am in telling stories. Yes, I mean interested in trying to

[Alex Ritson]

get into the head of people we speak to. The director of the Norwegian film that could win big at the Oscars.

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[Alex Ritson]

This is the Global News Podcast. In Sudan, there's been an upsurge in drone attacks with deadly consequences. This month alone saw more than 40 people, including children, killed in separate strikes. Now the US has condemned the rival factions for using these unmanned devices. I heard more from our global affairs reporter Richard Kagoi, who's covering the story from Nairobi.

[Richard Kagoi]

We've seen growing use of drones since the recapture of Khartoum. The military from the RSF and both sides, that's the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support forces, have been using drones to strike against not just military positions, but we've seen a focus on civilian populated areas like markets, homes, kamsa for the displaced and also targeting civilian infrastructure like bridges and also power stations. So that has really been the major point of focus by both sides. And these drones are mojely sourced from outside of Sudan. So there have been conflict observatory groups which have been saying that most of them are Turkish made and Chinese made drones.

[Alex Ritson]

This is inevitable though, isn't it? They've proved what a cheap and effective tool they are in Ukraine and now they're going to be in every war.

[Richard Kagoi]

It seems so because as you mentioned, I mean these are widely viewed as low cost assets and we have seen an incremental use of drones not just in Sudan, but in other conflicts across Africa. We saw that during the conflict in Northern Tigray, in Ethiopia, in Somalia we've also seen that as well being used in the Sahel region, particularly in West Africa. And this not just by governments, you know, targeting positions by militants, but we've also seen like jihadist groups have been using this to carry out attacks in countries like Burkina Faso, in Mali, Cameroon and also in Nigeria. So a very growing and disturbing trend that we can say we have seen.

[Alex Ritson]

So briefly, Richard, what does the US want to happen and does it stand a chance?

[Richard Kagoi]

Well, the US wants a boat size to stop use of drone attacks. Well, that's difficult, you know, just making that appeal and that call. But then I guess it has to put pressure on countries that have been accused of supplying drones to both sides.

[Alex Ritson]

Richard Kergoy, we heard earlier about US Negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner being in Geneva for crucial talks with Iranian officials. But Ukraine is also on their radar and on Thursday they'll be meeting a Ukrainian team about post war reconstruction. Kyiv is hoping to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in funding over the next decade to rebuild the country. Paul Adams is in the Ukrainian capital.

[Alastair Leathead]

This is going to be very much an economic session. This is not a meeting of the full delegations. And we're not going to see meetings between the Russians and Ukrainians. They're going to be meeting separately with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the US Mediators, to discuss primarily Ukraine's economic future. Ukraine is looking to secure a package of support for the next 10 years. It's thought to be something in the region of $800 billion to try and reconstitute this war ravaged economy and really put Ukraine back on its feet. Once a peace agreement is reached, there's an awful lot of elements to thrash out about that, and that will be, I think, the primary focus. There was some talk also that maybe they would be discussing the next round of prisoner swaps and we might get word on that separately. The Kremlin's economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is also thought to be in Geneva today, and he is also going to be meeting the Americans because the Russians are also dangling the prospect of huge economic investments that the United States and Russia could engage in together after the war. With Kirill Dmitriev talking about trillions of dollars worth of economic advantages and investments. I think a lot of economists regard that as a wildly inflated figure, but it is part of Russia's effort to keep the Americans focused on what Russia would like to see.

[Alex Ritson]

Paul Adams in Kyiv. Why are some older people's minds as sharp as they were when they were young? Many of us find that our memory and cognition deteriorate as we reach old age. But some people, so called super agers, have brains that remain almost perfectly intact. A new study out of the US has found that at the age of 80, these people have about twice the number of new neurons as a typical person. In other words, they're continuing to grow new ones throughout their lives. Tara Spears Jones is professor of neurodegeneration at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She wasn't involved in this piece of research, but she Spoke to James Menendez about the findings.

[Tara Spears Jones]

This is a really interesting paper. And they focused on neurogenesis, which is the production of new neurons. When I trained as an undergraduate and a Postgraduate student over 25 years ago, the dogma was, you don't make new neurons. But over the past decade or so, now we understand that in some parts of the brain, you do make new neurons. One of those parts is the hippocampus, which is what this study was examining. It's really important for learning and memory and spatial orientation. And what they found was that in people who were super agers, that is, they had more of this neurogenesis than in other people who were older and much more than in people who had Alzheimer's disease. So one of the things they're proposing is that making these new neurons in this part of the brain might be boosting cognitive function in these people.

[Alastair Leathead]

And how were they able to. Was it comparing the brains of older people who seemed to have great cognitive ability with those who didn't, or with younger people?

[Alex Ritson]

How did it work?

[Tara Spears Jones]

So what the authors did is they looked at postmortem brain samples from this relatively small group of people. They isolated individual nuclei. That's the part of the cells that contains the DNA. And they looked at thousands and thousands of these individual nuclei from these dozen or so people. And it's from the patterns of the gene expression that they can tell which cells were likely to be newborn neurons. This is a snapshot of dead brain.

[Alex Ritson]

Right.

[Tara Spears Jones]

So they couldn't prove for certain that these were newborn neurons. But based on work in animals over the years, we know the pattern of expression of genes that happens in these newborn neurons. And so they were just then comparing that pattern of both gene expression and how available the genes were for reading across these different groups.

[Alastair Leathead]

So is it just luck, then, if we become a superager?

[Tara Spears Jones]

Partly. Partly it's luck in terms of the genes you inherit. So, in the wider fields, we know that about a quarter of the variability in cognitive decline and cognitive ability in aging is due to your genes. But there is some modifiable factors. So not all of us can be superageous if we got really unlucky with our genes. But all of us can boost our brain resilience a bit. The most well substantiated evidence goes to exercise, which you won't be surprised. It's good for you. Exercise boosts your brain resilience, it boosts your vasculature, it reduces inflammation, and both of those things are known to impact brain aging. And it also directly boosts this adult hippocampal neurogenesis. So you make a chemical called brain derived neurotrophic factor when you exercise and that stimulates this neurogenesis in that part of the brain.

[Alastair Leathead]

Is it possible that if scientists can identify the sort of genetic differences between superagers and people who aren't that, that could then at some point lead to genetic treatments for people who Alzheimer's or to prevent Alzheimer's? I mean, do you see where I'm going? Is that a possible path?

[Tara Spears Jones]

Yeah, it's a long term path, but genetic treatments? I mean, I don't think we'd be going for gene therapy to make you a superager, at least not in the next coming decades. The brain is phenomenally complex, but as we get more and more little pieces of this picture, we will be able to, as scientists and clinicians, work towards drugs that can boost brain health.

[Alex Ritson]

Neurologist Professor Tara Spears Jones. The more than 10,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will begin marking up their ballots on Thursday to choose next month's Oscar winners for Hollywood's biggest night of the year. For the first time, Norway has secured a nomination for the most prestigious award, best picture. The film Sentimental Value is set in Oslo. It has already won at Cannes, the British Academy film awards, the BAFTAs, and it swept the board at the European Film Awards. The director of Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier, has collected many of them and Tom Brook caught up with him in Berlin.

[Joachim Trier]

I don't know, man. I'm very happy that people care about films from Norway. It didn't used to be like that.

[Alex Ritson]

Meet Joachim Trier, the director of Sentimental Value. His profile has been boosted by the success of his modestly budgeted Norwegian family drama, which has picked up an impressive nine Oscar nominations and numerous other accolades.

[Tara Spears Jones]

My father is

[Podcast Advertiser/Host (e.g., Schwab or BritBox announcer)]

very difficult person.

[Alex Ritson]

It's the story of a family in Oslo, the relationship between two sisters. And at its center, it details the estrangement between one of the sisters, an actor played by Renate Reinzer, and her film director father, portrayed by Stellan Skarsgard, who's trying to reclaim his former glory. Why didn't you want to do the role?

[Tara Spears Jones]

I can't work with him.

[Joachim Trier]

I guess I am interested in behavior more than I am in telling stories. I'm interested in trying to get into the head of people.

[Alex Ritson]

Joachim Trier told me of the genesis of Sentimental Value.

[Joachim Trier]

What is different with this film, as opposed to the previous ones, I think, is that I made something which deals with very fundamental issues of communication and discommunication. In family between siblings, parents and children. Things that I imagine are more universal almost than anything I've done because it's about two sisters, grown up women, who's trying to deal with their father, who has been quite a narcissistic, difficult character, quite avoidant, and they're trying to reconcile. So many people see that as an allegory of dealing with men in power or men that are of that generation that don't know how to have that more intimate type of communication. This film was made in a collaboration between Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France and the uk and everyone came along to tell a story about a family grappling with lack of communication. So that's my experience and that was a good one, you know.

[Alex Ritson]

But what Ryo Kimchi is perhaps most excited about is how his film has traveled to audiences in distant lands to become Norway's most successful film globally in history.

[Joachim Trier]

I come from a country of 5.5 million people and it's not to be taken for granted that a film from Norway travels like this. So we're, you know, we're grateful for the.

[Alex Ritson]

It's a very impressive achievement, isn't it?

[Joachim Trier]

At the moment everyone's really struggling in Norway as well because the arts funding hasn't really increased. We're having that fight too.

[Alex Ritson]

But anyway, Sentimental Value is the first Norwegian film ever nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. But quite apart from the Oscars, Joachim Trier has already given audiences a piece of well crafted cinema with a very resonant, tenderly told human story that seems to touch people quite deeply. Tom Brooke reporting. 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. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story, available wherever you get your podcasts. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Russell Newlove and the producers were Muzaffar Shakir and Daniel Mann. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time. Goodbye.

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