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- [00:00]
Alex Ritson
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
- [00:07]
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- [00:36]
Ashley Akinetti
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- [01:17]
Alex Ritson
This is the global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson and in the early hours of Saturday 25th April, these are our main stories. US envoys will travel to Pakistan for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran. Tehran's foreign minister is already there. A leaked email suggests Washington is considering punishing allies for not supporting its war in Iran. Also in this podcast I believe in
- [01:49]
Alex Sinclair
a two state solution. I believe that just as the Jewish people have a right to self determination and statehood, so do the Palestinian people have a right to self determination and statehood.
- [01:57]
Alex Ritson
Our British Israeli academic describes the moment he was confronted by Israeli police for wearing a Jewish kipper embroidered with a Palestinian flag and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are calling on King Charles to meet with them during his upcoming visit to the us. We begin with the latest peace talks between the US and Iran set to take place in Pakistan. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are due to fly to Islamabad for negotiations. An Iranian delegation led by the Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi arrived in the Pakistani capital on Friday. It follows President Trump's decision earlier this week to extend the current ceasefire indefinitely at the request of Pakistan so Tehran could come up with what was described as a unified proposal on issues such as the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's nuclear program. The White House press secretary Caroline Levitt suggested progress had already been made The
- [02:58]
Caroline Levitt
Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person. And so the President is, as I've said many, many times to all of you, always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting, and we will see. And the President, the vice President, the Secretary of State, will be waiting here in the United States for updates. And the vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time.
- [03:30]
Alex Ritson
On a separate issue, reports suggest the US Is considering punishing NATO allies it believes have failed to support its war on Iran. Spain and Britain are two nations thought to be on the blacklist. Our North America correspondent is David Willis. I firstly asked him about whether progress was likely in Islamabad.
- [03:50]
David Willis
Maybe a little. Maybe none at all, really, Alex, given that Iran is saying that although its Foreign Minister, Abbas Aranchi, has arrived in Pakistan, in the capital, Islamabad, he has no plans to meet with U.S. negotiators. And they say that he's there for bilateral talks with Pakistan and will then be traveling to Oman and Russia for bilateral talks there as well. It's always possible, of course, that Mr. Aranchi could then circle back to Pakistan to meet Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but that doesn't appear to be on his itinerary. At the White House, for its part, is striking a more upbeat tone. However, the press secretary, Caroline Levitt, told reporters that the last few days had seen what she called some progress towards negotiations. But I think it's significant, Alex, that the US vice president, J.D. vance, who led that first round of talks with Iran, currently has no plans to travel to to Pakistan, although the White House said that he's on standby. Should there be what I called any major developments?
- [04:55]
Alex Ritson
Yes, because a lot of the major sticking points remain, not least the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Is Washington under any kind of pressure to revise its position?
- [05:06]
David Willis
It is. I would say so. There are some, indeed, who would say that President Trump has painted himself into a corner here. Since the US And Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, the Iranian regime hasn't collapsed as some predicted it would. There's been little sign of a popular uprising in Iran, and militarily, the country has proven remarkably resilient. Added to which, Iran's blockade of ships entering and leaving the Strait of Hormuz is driving up global oil prices and The US blockade of Iranian ports that was intended to bring Iran to the negotiating table doesn't appear to have succeeded. So the US and the world is arguably in a worse position than it was before this was launched. And the priority is for Donald Trump getting the Strait of Hormuz open once again before the two sides can hammer out some of the key issues, chief among them the future of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. Yeah.
- [06:06]
Alex Ritson
And this leaked memo about US threats to NATO allies. What has Washington been saying?
- [06:12]
David Willis
Yeah, this relates to an internal report that was leaked to the media here, which suggests that the US could review its position on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands in retaliation for the uk as the US sees it failing to support the war on Iran. That same leaked report also suggests that Spain, whose government has been fiercely critical of the conflict with Iran, could be kicked out of NATO. It was clearly meant to be leaked this report. Downing street has said the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not in question. But all of this puts a further strain, of course, on UK US relationships only days before King Charles arrives here for a state visit to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Alex.
- [07:01]
Alex Ritson
David Willis. So if there was peace between the United States and Iran, what would that look like? And what about the lasting effects of the Trump administration's aggressive rhetoric towards its NATO allies? I've been getting the thoughts of our World affairs editor, John Simpson. First, the possible peace deal.
- [07:19]
John Simpson
I think we know the broad outlines of it. One element will be lifting the sanctions on Iran, or some of them. And on the Iranian side, opening the Strait of Hormuz is an obvious one, and so is some kind of willingness to talk about, to re enter negotiations about the future of Iran's nuclear industry and where it takes us. And I think, frankly, Iran will be lucky to get a sizable number of controls over its economy and its exports and so on lifted. I think he can't hope for too much. And I think President Trump would be extremely lucky if he gets anything like as good an agreement as President Barack Obama got in 2015, 2016 with Iran over the nuclear issue.
- [08:10]
Alex Ritson
But the way you're talking, the Iranian regime survives. What's the future for the Iranian people? Is it more of the same?
- [08:17]
John Simpson
At the moment, I think that's all we can say. One of the sort of side issues in Iran has been the strengthening of the Revolutionary Guards and their line. Their view, it was already strengthening, but the destruction of the old Guard of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, that now removes somebody who was actually less aggressive and assertive than the IRGC want to be. So if you've got that change of government to that extent the extra powers that the Revolutionary Guards have got, it doesn't bode very well for a peaceable future for the people of Iran.
- [09:00]
Alex Ritson
You've been reporting on world events for the BBC for a long time now. How does this crisis rank up there with the ones that you've seen over the years?
- [09:10]
John Simpson
Well, you mustn't forget that I did a lot of coverage of the what were in some ways the most disturbing period of the Cold war in the 1970s and 80s, when really there were moments somebody actually had the choice of pressing the button to launch an all out nuclear war or not doing it. And this isn't anywhere near up there. What this is is much more disturbing for kind of traditionally minded people perhaps like myself. We've got used over the decades, ever since I was a kid, ever since I was born, to the notion that the west is a big force, that it's a moral force, that its leadership was the United States and the United States looked after the membership and the membership backed the United States fully. That now I think has gone. Of course, a new president will come in in 2028 and he'll be or she. But it always seems to be males, doesn't it will no doubt reverse everything that Donald Trump's done, including strengthening NATO better, but no NATO government, no sensible government in Europe and Canada will ever forget what Donald Trump's done. And they will always have at the back of their minds the possibility that another president might do that or even worse. So we've come to the parting of the ways. It won't be an extreme parting, but we all know in NATO that the relationship isn't what it was. And nobody will, I think, trust the United States in the way that we trusted them explicitly for what, 60, 70 years.
- [10:58]
Alex Ritson
John Simpson in the Gaza Strip, rotting bodies underneath more than 61 million tons of rubble have created a new crisis. There's been a surge in rats, rodents and other pests, compounding the misery of hundreds of thousands of displaced people who've endured more than two years of war. The Newsroom's Ira Khan reports.
- [11:19]
Ira Khan
Around three quarters of Gaza's 2.2 million population are currently living in makeshift accommodation. Entire families are cramp into thin tents made of old blankets and fabric scraps. They use open fires to cook food and holes dug in the ground as makeshift bathrooms. Tents wedged among rubbish, open sewage and rubble have created fertile breeding grounds for rodents and insects, leading to a steady increase in rat bites, especially amongst children and the elderly. Many residents say they find rat droppings in their food and mice eat their clothes, destroying the few belongings they have left. The World Health Organization has said that more than 17,000 cases of rodent linked infections have been reported this year. Here's what one resident has to go through.
- [12:05]
John Simpson
I have suffered greatly from weasels and mice. My children have been bitten. One of my sons was even bitten on the nose. I'm unable to sleep throughout the night because I must constantly watch over the children. The weasels have eaten through my tent.
- [12:19]
Ira Khan
Added to this, 80% of shelters are reporting skin infections such as scabies, lice and bed bugs. These can cause fever, infections and rashes. In the Gaza Strip, where hospitals have been destroyed and access to medicine is limited, the consequences can be severe.
- [12:36]
Emma Jones
We're living in tents and schools flooded with sewage and you never know what you might find. My son is suffering from a rash covering his body. I've taken him to doctors and hospitals, but they're not helping with anything.
- [12:48]
Ira Khan
When President Trump announced the Israel Gaza ceasefire in October 2025, his peace plan pledged the immediate resumption of full aid to Gaza with the rebuilding of its central infrastructure, including water, sewage and electricity. A new report released this week by the European Union and United nations stated that more than $71 billion will be needed over the next 10 years for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza. But there's no idea yet of who will pay for it.
- [13:16]
Alex Ritson
Ira Khan Millions of men in Israel put on a kippah, the Jewish religious head covering every day. They do so in the belief that living in the Jewish state means they won't be harassed for wearing one, which could happen in any other country. But this wasn't the case for Alex Sinclair, a British Israeli academic at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem who was detained by the police for wearing a kippah embroidered with the flags of both Israel and Palestine. He said that he had his kippah confiscated and when he got it back it only had Israel's flag. My colleague James Kumarasamy spoke to Mr. Sinclair.
- [13:54]
Alex Sinclair
I live in Israel, I'm an Israeli, I call myself a Zionist and Israel is trying to make Israel better. Who believes in Israel's right to exist along with the rights of the Palestinians to exist and to have a state. I live in a small town in the middle of Israel called Moti' in and I have a kippah, a yarmulker, a Jewish cap, a Jewish ritual hat that I wear the Whole time as a religious Jew, as somebody who is an observant Jew, but because I, I'm a left leaning Jew, I believe in left leaning Israeli, I believe in a two state solution. I believe that just as the Jewish people have a right to self determination and statehood, so do the Palestinian people have a right to self determination and statehood. And so because of that, for many, many years I've worn a kippah yarmulke with both the Israeli flag and the Palestinian flag on it. I have them both woven into it.
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James Kumarasamy
Yeah, so that's the background. Just tell us then, what actually happened on Monday.
- [14:43]
Alex Sinclair
I was sitting in a cafe in my town, a cafe where I often sit, I call it my second office, and somebody came up to me and started shouting at me. My kippah, my yarmulke is against the law. It's not against the law in Israel to have a Palestinian flag. There are attempts by the Minister of Security of Internal Security, Itamar Ben gvir, who's a cabinet minister who I don't find particularly pleasant, or whose politics don't really represent mine at all. There have been attempts by him to ban that flag, but it isn't against the law. Anyway, this guy called the police and the police, who unfortunately have become more and more infused by the politics of Ben gvir, took me to the police station, put me in a cell, and to cut a long story short, they let me go after 20 minutes or so, but they cut the Palestinian flag out of the kippah. The only way they would let me go is to cut that flag out.
- [15:30]
James Kumarasamy
Just tell us about what happened at the station. Because we turned to the police to get their side of this and their statement. They say that the individual you was brought to the police station, but was neither interrogated nor arrested. They said that you were brought there and following clarification, these are the words of the police. The individual was subsequently released. Is that how you would view your
- [15:55]
Alex Sinclair
experience sitting on a cell on your own, not being allowed to speak to your wife or to a lawyer, and not knowing for how long you're going to sit in that cell? It may be technically correct to say that I was not arrested or interrogated and it was just a clarification process, but it doesn't feel much like a clarification process when you're in that. So it felt to me like I was in a situation where I didn't know what the end result was going to be. I didn't know how long I was going to be there. And like I said I somebody who is a Zionist, who believes in Israel's right to exist, who loves Israel and certainly loves parts of Israel, although there are parts that drive me absolutely crazy and frustrate me and infuriate me, like this kind of thing. But to be a citizen of a country and feel that the police are seeing you as a problem, that's not a very nice feeling.
- [16:35]
James Kumarasamy
So what now? Will you wear another kippah with a Palestinian flag?
- [16:39]
Alex Sinclair
Yeah, I mean, I have to get a new one made. It's not a common item, so I'll have to go back to the shock.
- [16:43]
James Kumarasamy
As far as the specifics of, of what happened to you in the police station, is it right that you filed a complaint? Have you?
- [16:49]
Alex Sinclair
I filed a complaint in the, in the official police investigation department for internal investigations. I've received the kind of official, you know, you get an SMS to your phone that the, that the file has been opened. I've not received any official response to the file yet, to the petition yet. You know, watch this space. I'm hopeful that common sense might prevail. I want them to pay for a new, a new Kuphami, and I want a letter from the police saying that I'm allowed to, you know, to walk around with it without further harassment in the future and that others as well,
- [17:17]
Alex Ritson
maybe Alex Sinclair from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Still to come in this podcast,
- [17:28]
Teresa Helm
a
- [17:28]
Will Chalk
hair dryer applied to the sensor being, according to the accusers, the most obvious weapon of choice.
- [17:35]
Alex Ritson
Did this everyday household item play an important role in suspicious bets placed on the weather in France?
- [17:50]
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Alex Ritson
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Alex Ritson
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- [21:22]
Alex Ritson
This is the global news podcast when King Charles visits the United States next week. Starting on Monday, he will not be meeting the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, despite calls by some U.S. lawmakers and survivors themselves. The family of one of the most prominent accusers of Epstein and former Prince Andrew Virginia Giuffre has asked people to gather in Washington, D.C. on Sunday ahead of the King's visit to pay tribute to her on the first anniversary of her death. The BBC's Neda Torfik has been speaking to one of Epstein's survivors, Teresa Helm, who told her that she really hopes the king changes his mind.
- [22:01]
Reporter interviewing Teresa Helm
I do feel like it potentially is a missed opportunity.
- [22:05]
Teresa Helm
Teresa Helm is one of the Epstein survivors who, along with some lawmakers, is disappointed King Charles won't be meeting them during his state visit to the United States. Many have even written him letters urging a private meeting. Teresa believes it would be a grand humanitarian gesture.
- [22:23]
Reporter interviewing Teresa Helm
It would really support and demonstrate this gesture of human dignity that we are seen and acknowledged and respected and worthwhile, worth the king's time.
- [22:37]
Teresa Helm
And can I just ask what you would want to tell the king?
- [22:41]
Reporter interviewing Teresa Helm
First and foremost, thank you for the steps that he has taken. And then I would also ask him not to ignore any of the claims that have been made against his own brother.
- [22:57]
Teresa Helm
For Buckingham palace, there are serious concerns that even a symbolic meeting could jeopardize the legal process underway following the arrest of the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. But some lawmakers have rejected that. Representative Ro Khanna, co author of the Epstein Files Transparency act, told the BBC News Channel that a private meeting wouldn't compromise the king's legal standing.
- [23:25]
Liberty Mutual Advertiser
He doesn't have to discuss the specifics of his brother's case, but he would show that the modern monarchy actually listens to the people who've been discarded and abandoned.
- [23:36]
Teresa Helm
The former Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein's crimes. King Charles has said that the authorities have his full support and cooperation and that the law must take its course. Teresa says she doesn't know if the legal concerns are a legitimate factor.
- [23:53]
Reporter interviewing Teresa Helm
Stopping a meeting, could it be sort of a deflection? Yes, it could be. And would that be further disappointing? Of course it would be. You know, I think that there's been some of that, you know, throughout this entire process, this kind of deflection of, well, we can't do this because of that. And sometimes I just don't think that that's really the full truth.
- [24:17]
Teresa Helm
Some Epstein survivors in the family of Virginia Jaffre, one of Epstein and the former Prince Andrew's most vocal accusers will be in D.C. before and during the state visit, sharing their perspective from the sidelines as the ceremonial engagements between king and president take center stage.
- [24:35]
Alex Ritson
Eda Tawfik, with that report Officials in Syria say the main suspect in one of the most notorious massacres of the country's civil war has been arrested. Amjad Yousef was wanted over the mass killing of civilians in 2013 in the Tademon district of Damascus. Human rights groups say uniformed Syrian army officials and members of a militia loyal to the then president Bashar al Assad killed at least 41 people in just one day. This report from our senior international correspondent Ola Guerin contains details which you may find distressing.
- [25:16]
Ola Guerin
The sound of celebrations rising up from the streets of Damascus as news broke of the arrest of Amjad Yousuf, one of Syria's most wanted men. The full horror of what happened in Tadamon in 2013 was revealed in footage leaked by a whistleblower. Almost a decade later, a series of videos showed Syrian army officials and members of a pro Assad militia leading bound and blindfolded civilians to a pit and shooting them dead. The killers were laughing and smoking as they pulled the trigger. Then they set the bodies alight. Today at the site of the massacre, roses were scattered on the ground amid calls for Yusuf to be hanged in a public square. Syria's Islamist government will be hoping this high profile arrest proves it is delivering on promises to bring a measure of justice for the dead. Some have their doubts and point to other regime officials who have done deals with the new authorities and remain free.
- [26:28]
Alex Ritson
Orla Guerin A film about the life of the dead pop star Michael Jackson has just been released. It's had mixed reviews and there's controversy about what it doesn't show. So while nostalgic fans can enjoy the music, others are unhappy that it depicts a sanitized version of the singer's life and career. The film controversially does not address the sexual abuse allegations that dogged Michael Jackson's later life. Critics have described it as a whitewash and soulless cash grab that ignores the elephant in the room. Emma Jones from BBC Talking Movies gave her review to James Reynolds.
- [27:07]
Emma Jones
This is the story of Michael Jackson up until 1988, really. So it starts off in his childhood with how they got to success with the Jackson 5, and then the making of his two first solo albums, particularly Thriller, of course. And Michael is played by his own nephew. That's Jafar Jackson. Great performance, I have to say, by him, really. The story of how he becomes independent from his father, the patriarch of the family, Joseph Jackson, played with very convincing menace, I suppose, by Colman Domingo. They were originally intending to deal with some of the abuse allegations, but for legal reasons those scenes could not appear in the final movie. So that led to a year of delays with the release of this biopic while they were readjusting it. So it finishes in 1988, well before the first allegations against Michael Jackson surfaced.
- [28:04]
John Simpson
But I wonder what audiences might make of the fact that large parts of his life are simply not covered.
- [28:11]
Emma Jones
I have to say none of the allegations against Michael Jackson have ever dissuaded his family from supporting him. If you think about the fact that MJ the musical on Broadway in the West End has made a staggering sum of money, 300 million, his estate and his back catalogue is incredibly successful. I believe he's the most successful deceased celebrity ever. So he has legions of fans. And of course he, he denied these allegations during his lifetime. In fact, he was acquitted at trial on some of those allegations.
- [28:40]
John Simpson
Is the kind of film like this about such a big star essentially critic proof that it doesn't matter what the critics say. There is still a welter of people who want to see a film and also who will really enjoy being in a cinema listening to those songs.
- [28:55]
Emma Jones
On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator site, you know of reviews and audience reviews, it is 96% positive for the audience, 40% for the critics.
- [29:05]
John Simpson
And I think that's a real difference.
- [29:07]
Emma Jones
I've never seen such a discrepancy in what the critics are saying about it and what audiences are saying about it. And I think that this really shows in this case, critical reviews are irrelevant. There is a massive appetite to go and see this movie. It's on course to possibly be the biggest musical biopic ever. If pre sales for tickets are anything to go by, don't know yet. Bohemian Rhapsody is the most successful musical bio so far. Made 900 million at the box office. Will Michael make a billion at the box office? It's not impossible to imagine and I think that shows the sheer scale of his fandom.
- [29:47]
Alex Ritson
Emma Jones from the BBC's Talking Movies. And finally, a story that involves sunshine, an airport, a lot of money and possibly a hairdryer. They all play a part in allegations of fraudulent betting. Here's the BBC's Will Chalk with more.
- [30:08]
Will Chalk
It's got everything to do with polymarket, a crypto powered platform where users can bet on, well, basically anything. It's been making the headlines a lot lately.
- [30:19]
Alex Ritson
Just hours before news broke of the
- [30:20]
Caroline Levitt
military operation, an anonymous user on the
- [30:24]
Teresa Helm
prediction market placed a significant beta.
- [30:28]
Will Chalk
But the alleged rigged bet at the heart of this story is somewhat more low key. French police are investigating after hundreds of thousands of dollars was made betting on temperatures in Paris over recent weeks, and as it happens, the winnings coincided with some unusual temperature readings at the city's Charles de Gaulle Airport. Take 5 April as an example. Three separate users made more than $280,000 by betting that the temperature would reach 19 degrees Celsius, and the reading at the airport unexpectedly jumped by 5 degrees that evening. It's led to some online speculating that there may have been some tampering
- [31:09]
Ola Guerin
a
- [31:10]
Will Chalk
hair dryer applied to the sensor being, according to the accusers, the most obvious weapon of choice. French police have confirmed they received a complaint from France's meteorological agency and they're investigating Will Chalk.
- [31:24]
Alex Ritson
We have contacted Polymarket for comment. We've had no response yet. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us@globalpodcastbc.co.uk. 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. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Joe McCartney. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time. Goodbye.