US launches new strikes on Iran

Summary

---

Global News Podcast – "US Launches New Strikes on Iran"

BBC World Service – May 26, 2026
Host: Charlotte Gallagher

---

Episode Overview

This episode covers urgent global developments, leading with the US launching what it calls "defensive strikes" on southern Iran despite a fragile ceasefire and ongoing peace negotiations. Additional stories include the status of Iran’s internet blackout, escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah, impacts of the Iran war on Saudi Vision 2030, a looming Russian threat against Kyiv, an Ebola outbreak in Africa, Europe's extreme weather, the controversial Enhanced Games, and the legacy of Sierra Leone's "Peace Diamond." Each segment features direct expert analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and perspectives from those most affected.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. US-Iran Tensions: New Strikes and the Ceasefire ([01:22]–[05:21])

• Strikes Overview

  • The US struck missile sites and boats in southern Iran targeting mine-laying efforts.
  • US Central Command claims actions were in self-defense to protect troops.
  • Strikes occurred despite an April-established ceasefire; the impact on negotiations is unclear.
  • Explosions reported near Bandar Abbas, an important Iranian airbase.

• Impact on Diplomacy

  • Discussions reportedly focused on a 60-day ceasefire extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran's nuclear program.
  • No final agreement; the most divisive issues, especially nuclear enrichment, remain unresolved.
  • President Trump is eager for a resolution before US midterm elections.

Notable Quotes:

• "US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats..." – David Willis, US Central Command Statement ([02:38])
• "The Trump administration almost seems to me to be willing a conclusion to this crisis. President Trump has made very little secret of his impatience..." – David Willis ([04:04])

---

2. Iran’s Internet Blackout and Skepticism Over Restoration ([05:21]–[09:00])

• Current Situation

  • Iran has experienced months-long national internet shutdown amid anti-government protests and war.
  • President Masoud Petashkian promises restoration, but skepticism is high.

• Regime Control & Public Response

  • Internet increasingly seen as a regime privilege—access granted only to loyalists and certain sectors.
  • Skepticism centers on whether real, open access will return or just controlled connectivity.
  • Even before the shutdown, most information was accessed via VPNs, a practice further hindered by recent restrictions.

Notable Quotes:

• "It's as if you create a mass digital jail and put 90 million people in it." – Bahman Kalbasi, BBC Persian ([08:20])
• "A lot of people are very skeptical of these announcements until they see real connectivity." – Bahman Kalbasi ([07:15])

---

3. Israel-Hezbollah Escalation: The Eroding Ceasefire ([09:00]–[11:29])

• Ongoing Hostilities

  • A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been largely ignored; near-daily exchanges persist.
  • Netanyahu is calling for intensified operations against Hezbollah.

• Consequences

  • Over 400 Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began; Israel reports 10 soldiers killed.
  • Escalation could complicate US-led ceasefire negotiations with Iran, but may also signal US tolerance for Israel's current actions.

Notable Quotes:

• "We are not taking our foot off the pedal. On the contrary, I said to press on the pedal even more." – Benjamin Netanyahu ([09:29])
• "Any Israeli escalation in Lebanon could certainly complicate those negotiations. But it could also signal that Israel has been given a window to press ahead..." – Lucy Williamson ([11:09])

---

4. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: Ambitions vs. Reality ([11:29]–[14:03])

• Project Overview

  • Vision 2030 was conceived as a trillion-dollar diversification from oil, boasting projects like NEOM and The Line.
  • Recent months brought scaling back due to financial/logistical constraints, especially following the Iran conflict.

• Outcomes

  • Shift to smaller, more achievable projects like luxury Red Sea resorts.
  • The largest source of foreign visitors remains the Hajj; oil dependency continues.

Notable Quotes:

• "I think loser number one is the Saudi people because it's their money at the end." – Abdullah Al Awda, Saudi human rights activist ([13:31])

---

5. Russia’s Threats Against Kyiv ([14:03]–[15:19])

• Escalating Rhetoric
  • Russia vows significant strikes on Kyiv, targeting supposed Ukrainian military-industrial sites and drone programs.
  • Warns international staff and civilians to evacuate.
  • Justifies escalation as a response to alleged Ukrainian attacks, which Ukraine denies.

Notable Quotes:

• "Russia would carry out what it called systematic strikes against Ukrainian military industrial facilities in Kyiv..." – Steve Rosenberg ([14:25])

---

6. Ebola Outbreak in the DRC and Uganda ([16:50]–[21:02])

• Crisis Details
  • Over 200 deaths, more than 900 cases suspected; spread hampered by insecurity and distrust.
  • Local health services under-resourced, crowding possibly fueling the outbreak.
  • Attacks on medical facilities and distrust of the virus’ existence hinder response.
  • Traditional funerals seen as super-spreader events.

Notable Quotes:

• "You just really have to be very disciplined in following practices, particularly of washing your hands." – Declan Walsh, NYT ([20:28])

---

7. Europe’s Extreme (and Volatile) Weather ("Climate Whiplash") ([21:02]–[23:53])

• Record Temperatures

  • UK records highest May temperature since 1944; France similarly affected.
  • "Climate whiplash" describes the drastic swings between cold and heat.

• Scientific Insight

  • Scientists emphasize these records are clear evidence of accelerated climate change.

Notable Quotes:

• "Normally, records are broken by less than a degree, a couple of points of a degree... but see the UK record beaten by a whole 2 degrees... it's a good indication of climate change in action." – Greg Dewhurst, UK Met Office ([21:25])
• "This weather is not caused by climate change, it's just supercharged and made worse." – Hannah Cloak, University of Reading ([22:07])

---

8. Enhanced Games: The Olympics on Steroids ([23:54]–[26:27])

• Event Summary

  • Las Vegas hosts the Enhanced Games, permitting performance-enhancing drugs.
  • Framed by organizers as a "transparent" alternative to traditional sports, but heavily marketed as a business for anti-aging drugs.

• Reactions

  • Significant criticism from global sports bodies citing health risks, fairness, and ethics.
  • One world record set (recognized only by the Enhanced Games).

Notable Quotes:

• "The entire thing was an advertisement... a thinly veiled attempt... to use elite athletes to promote anti-aging drugs..." – Ross Tucker, sports scientist ([24:15])
• "It was everything you'd expect from a Las Vegas spectacle... sports, rock concert, and a launchpad for performance-enhancing drugs." – Shaima Khalil ([24:52])

---

9. The Peace Diamond: Lasting Impact in Sierra Leone ([26:27]–[31:29])

• Backstory

  • Coyardu village received $6.5 million for the "Peace Diamond" in 2018.
  • Original diggers spent their share quickly, with few long-term personal benefits.

• Community Gains

  • Funds brought a new school, a maternity clinic (saving lives), water access, and improved infrastructure for the community.
  • Ongoing support comes from NGOs and philanthropists, while state support remains minimal.

Notable Quotes:

• "It's created a shift in thinking and it's showing that resources like diamonds can have a real impact on local communities... the legacy of the Peace diamond is in fact the people." – Martin Rapoport ([31:06])

---

Memorable Moments

• The metaphor of Iran’s "digital jail" ([08:20]): A vivid encapsulation of life under government internet blackouts.
• "Climate whiplash" definition ([22:07]): Concisely explains how climate is becoming more volatile, resonating with listeners' recent experiences.
• Las Vegas spectacle at Enhanced Games ([24:52]): Highlights the merging of sport, entertainment, and commercial drug marketing.

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:22 – US launches new strikes on Iran; ceasefire status
• 05:21 – Iran’s internet blackout, regime control, and public skepticism
• 09:00 – Israel-Hezbollah violence, Netanyahu vows escalation
• 11:29 – Saudi Vision 2030 scaled back amid Iran war
• 14:03 – Russia threatens "systematic strikes" on Kyiv
• 16:50 – Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda: response challenges
• 21:02 – UK's and France's record heat, "climate whiplash"
• 23:54 – Enhanced Games: sports and steroids
• 26:27 – Sierra Leone's Peace Diamond: transforming a village

---

Tone & Presentation

The episode maintains the BBC’s authoritative, calm, yet urgent tone, emphasizing factual clarity and first-hand perspectives. Direct quotes and on-ground interviews bring immediacy to fast-evolving global stories.

---

Transcript

[Narrator/Reporter]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Summer smells like summer road trips, ocean breezes and long evenings under the stars. It's a feeling you want to hold onto. Restore your sense of place with Pura's new Summer fragrance collection. We've captured the magic of the season in clean premium scents that transform your home into your favorite destination. Discover the art of sunscaping and bring the summer in. Visit pura.com to explore the collection.

[Starbucks Advertiser]

What's up y'? All? Summer's got a different tempo. Everything's a little looser, brighter. One plan turns into another. You hear something, you stay a little longer. Next thing you know, you're somewhere you didn't plan to be. It's those in between moments. That's where the ideas hit. Conversations stretch out. Little memories sneak up on you. And sometimes it's just about what's in your hand. That color, that chill. The new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. Guava and passion fruit flavors with mango pineapple flavored pearls. Yeah, that feels like summer before you even taste it. Funny how one small stop becomes the best part of the day. Start your summer rhythm with Starbucks. Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher and in the early hours of 26 May, these are our main stories. The US launches what it's calling defensive strikes on southern Iran. We ask what it means for the ceasefire in place since April and the chances for a peace deal between the two countries. Also, will the Internet finally be restored in Iran after months of a digital blackout? Also in this podcast, how climate whiplash is hitting more of us.

[Hannah Cloak]

What it means really is that our climate is becoming more volatile. So when we are seeing these swings between different weather patterns, they are just becoming more violent, more energetic.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

And we get the verdict on the enhanced games in Las Vegas. As Washington and Tehran claim they're inching closer to a peace deal. U.S. forces say they've launched airstrikes on Iranian targets. The two sides had been observing a ceasefire since early April. Iran has not responded yet. I asked our North America correspondent David Willis what we know so far.

[David Willis]

Well, Charlotte, the US has attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines. According to US Central Command. A statement from them says that US forces conducted self defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Lists the target but doesn't give any details of the attacks. And that statement concludes U.S. central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire. While there are reports, unconfirmed reports, of explosions near Bandar Abbas, which is a key Iranian air base near the Strait of Hormuz. Precisely what impact, if any, these strikes will have on that fragile ceasefire. It's been in place for more than six weeks, of course, since the 8th of of April, isn't entirely clear. Throughout that ceasefire, Iran has maintained control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy has been blockading Iran's ports. Now, President Trump wrote earlier in the day that a deal with Iran would either be great and meaningful, as he put it, or there would be no deal at all.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Has this come as a surprise to people, given that 24 hours ago we were saying it looked like a deal was getting there? Almost.

[David Willis]

Well, you're absolutely right. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, suggested earlier that a deal could be reached within a day, as he put it, although that was swiftly rebuffed by a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, who said that whilst progress had been made in talks between the two sides, no such agreement was imminent. Now they are thought to be discussing delegate delegates from Iran and the United States, a memorandum of understanding which would involve a 60 day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and further negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. That, of course, is not a final settlement. It leaves some of the thorniest issues still to be resolved, including the future of Iran's nuclear enrichment program, which this whole conflict was all about in the first place. Or supposed, supposed to be. The Trump administration almost seems to me to be willing a conclusion to this crisis. President Trump has made very little secret of his impatience, his desire to achieve a solution to this crisis. With the, of course, midterm elections coming up less than six months away.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was David Willis. Meanwhile, Iranians are facing one of the longest running national Internet shutdowns in history. People there have been in digital darkness most of this year during a brutal crackdown on anti government protests that shook the country. And then, as the US and Israel went to war with Iran before the latest US strikes, the President Masoud Petashkian announced the Internet blackout will end, with state media saying access could be restored in the coming hours. But BBC Persian's Bahman Kalbasi told me people are skeptical.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

The regime is intent on on much more stringent control on the Internet and it has taken major steps to make Internet as something of a privilege, available to the few, available to those loyal to the regime, available to businesses that are close to the regime or even students and professors who would have to go through regime channels. Are they suddenly prepared to give all that up? It very much remains to be seen. It's very hard to judge. There is a clear attempt by a lot of especially the most hardline elements of the regime to say Internet is not necessary for everyone. They have actually come out and said it publicly. So is the President overriding all of that, given that he's not a major player in the irgc? The Revolutionary Guards are the ones who make these calls? That is a question that I will believe it when I see it.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Because there have been times during this particular conflict where the President has come out and said something and then he's been contradicted by the Revolutionary Guards throughout his entire tenure.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

That has been the case and more so obviously since the war began and the power shifted even more than before to the hands of the generals. There's the reality, of course, that the economic impact of this Internet shutdown is, is extremely grave. A lot of businesses are basically dying. Many young people who depend on Internet connectivity can't do their basic work. So those pressures are boiling up. But is it enough or has it been enough for the entire government to recalculate and decide to not go forward with their plans of creating a North Korea style Internet system? That really is the question right now. A lot of people are very skeptical of these announcements until they see real connectivity.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

And I imagine that even if the Internet is restored, a lot of websites presumably are blocked. It's not totally free access.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

I mean, even before the war, Internet in Iran was very much restricted and many people accessed what they wanted to see or hear or listen to via VPNs. So that is the state of life in Iran has been for decades. But since the war, even that has gotten very, very difficult. Many of the VPNs don't work. People go through incredible hoops just to get connected to WhatsApp for a few minutes. So it is as if you create a major a mass digital jail and put 90 million people in it.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Bachman Kalbasi from BBC Persian. There have been more cross border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah. In Lebanon, a ceasefire between the governments has largely been ignored as both sides exchange fire on a near daily basis. Ahead of the latest barrage, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to crush the Iranian backed group.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

We are in a war with Hezbollah. Only in recent weeks our heroic fighters have eliminated more than 600 terrorists. I want you to know this. More than 600 terrorists. But we are not taking our foot off the pedal. On the contrary, I said to press on the pedal even more. We will hit them.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Lebanese officials say more than 400 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the ceasefire began last month. Israel says 10 soldier soldiers have been killed. Here's our Middle east correspondent, Lucy Williamson.

[Lucy Williamson]

Any pretense of a genuine ceasefire in Lebanon disappeared tonight with that statement by the Israeli Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu said we are at war with Hezbollah, he said, and he talked about the need to increase strikes and deal them a crushing blow. Now, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as you say, has continued through the five or six weeks that the ceasefire there has been in place. But I think people across Lebanon tonight will be wondering what this new announcement means. And certainly the Israeli military tonight said it had carried out more than 70 strikes across the country, including in areas such as the Bekar Valley in the east, also in Tyre. I think what's interesting tonight to look at is US officials appear to be briefing support for Israel's right to attack Hezbollah. They've been talking about how Hezbollah has repeatedly resisted requests to stop firing at Israel. And Israel, the US Official said, will never be expected to passively absorb attacks. So I think all of that does point to some very delicate timing. The US is currently negotiating the terms of a potential ceasefire deal with Iran. And any Israeli escalation in Lebanon could certainly complicate those negotiations. But it could also signal that Israel has been given a window to press ahead in Lebanon and that it may shortly find itself under pressure to limit its attacks.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Lucy Williamson. Nearly a decade ago in Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Vision 2030, an estimated trillion dollar program of infrastructure and tourism projects designed to wean the kingdom off its dependence on oil. It's the second largest oil producer in the world and currently under pressure as a result of the Iran war. But as our global affairs reporter Sebastian Usher explains, some of the biggest projects are already being scaled back or shelved.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

The world needs neom, because the world needs change. That's what we mean when we say

[Sebastian Usher]

made to change the great fanfare. Back in 2017, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made a surprise announcement intended to thrust Saudi Arabia forward into a new uncharted future, which was dubbed Vision 2030.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Today, as the chairman of the Board of Directors of neom, I present you the line. A city of a million residents, 170km long, with zero cars, zero streets and zero carbon emissions. You can fulfill your daily requirements with a five Minute walk.

[Sebastian Usher]

Other extraordinary giga projects were touted such as the Cube in Riyadh, a futuristic city within a city with A capacity of 20 Empire State Buildings in the country's northwestern mountains. Trojena, an all year round ski resort. But a recalibration in recent months in response to both financial and logistical limitations has meant that such jaw dropping ambitions have been scaled back. Abdullah Al Awda, a Saudi human rights activist, says they're now going for smaller wins with more achievable projects like luxury resorts in the Red Sea.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

A lot of the ministers are trying to say that oh, we didn't fail, but we knew all along that we're going to rethink, curate as the market needs.

[Sebastian Usher]

I think loser number one is the

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Saudi people because it's their money at the end.

[Sebastian Usher]

Vision 2030's aim was to finally wrench Saudi Arabia away from its dependence on oil and generate unprecedented tourism. Some of this has been achieved, but the war Iran has exacerbated uncertainty. Oil is still the main draw for foreign investors and the biggest influx of foreign visitors is once again Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage which started today under the furnace of the Saudi sun. And the threat of renewed conflict.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Sebastian Usher. Shameless blackmail. That's the verdict of the Ukrainian government on Russia's threat to launch large strikes against Kyiv. Moscow said the attacks would be aimed at targets linked to the Ukrain army. Earlier, it advised foreign nationals to leave the Ukrainian capital. Our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg has the latest.

[Steve Rosenberg]

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said Russia would carry out what it called systematic strikes against Ukrainian military industrial facilities in Kyiv, including locations where Moscow says Ukraine is designing, producing, programming and preparing drones for use. Decision making centres and command posts would be targeted too. It said it called on foreign diplomats and staff of international organizations to leave Kyiv as soon as possible and on the city's residents not to go near military and administrative buildings. Moscow is framing this as a response to what it claims was a deliberate Ukrainian drone attack last Friday on a college and student dorm in Starobilsk, a town in Russian occupied eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has denied deliberately targeting civilians. It says that that night it struck an elite Russian drone unit in the area.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Steve Rosenberg. Still to come in this podcast, how a tiny community in Sierra Leone was transformed when a teenager found a massive diamond. Summer smells like salt in the air and warm sand. Restore your sense of place with Pura's new summer fragrance collection. Discover transportive clean [e-mail] if you're into

[Lucy Williamson]

tech you will love this.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

TikTok is a live lab where users post instant reviews of the latest trends. Download TikTok and check it out. Hello,

[Narrator/Reporter]

Madera compuesta palaterrasa. Send stock trikes, naturals. Interiores y Contra Tormentas

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Projecto Cigan and Marcha Nuestra Existencia. Yes you can. A five minute quick and easy calorie burning workout. Give it a try. Come join our sweat sesh on TikTok.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

This is the global news podcast. The head of the World Health Organization says it's a race against time to try and stop the spread of Ebola and that initial detection of the disease was too slow. More than 200 people have died and more than 900 cases are suspected in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cases have also been rising in neighbouring Uganda. Insecurity in the region is hampering efforts to curb the outbreak, which began in the northeast of the country where thousands of people are displaced. Awareness campaigns have been telling people to wash regularly with soap and clean with ash, but those there say it's not always possible.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

We don't even have anything to wash our hands with or soap to protect us from disease.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We're appealing for the authorities to help.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

We're in the midst of an epidemic,

[Narrator/Reporter]

but we don't even have soap. If we don't get help, we're all going to die. Here we clean the insides of our jerry cans with ash. But finding ash is becoming difficult because we can't find any coal anymore. Unfortunately, we don't have the money to buy it.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Please help us to buy coal so we can get ash.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Declan Walsh is the chief Africa correspondent for the New York Times. He's been reporting from the epicenter of the current outbreak in Etori Province. It was where the first cases were detected 11 days ago. He spoke to the BBC's James Kumasami.

[Declan Walsh]

On the surface, shops are open, traffic is circulating, but it doesn't take you very long to realize that there is this deep current of apprehension and even fear among many residents who've really just been starting to come to terms with the amplitude of this outbreak.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

What kind of testing is going on there now?

[Declan Walsh]

It's not great, to be honest. There is one government testing laboratory in Bunye. It's testing perhaps at most 40 or 50 tests a day. And that is entirely insufficient. Nearly all of the suspected patients are being kept in public health facilities that are under resource, under equipped. What that means is that you've got people who are probably not in fact mingled in with people who are, and that's almost certainly spreading the dis further.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

And to make matters worse, there have been these attacks on health facilities.

[Declan Walsh]

Some of the handful of isolation tents that have been erected, at least three of them have been burned in recent days. And then last night, a group of perhaps over 100 young men gathered outside the hospital demanding the body of a Christian leader who had just died. And there were running battles outside that hospital. There are many people in some of the worst affected areas who unfortunately don't believe the virus is real, or they believe that it is somehow the responsibility or has been caused by the people who are trying to treat it.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

And to be clear, the reason these bodies are not being given over to relatives is because it is during the preparations for the burial, during the funerals themselves, that that Ebola is often spread.

[Declan Walsh]

That's right. When someone dies, their body is almost at its most contagious. Usually mourners come to view the body of the deceased and they will hug them or touch them. And unfortunately, that is a disastrous practice. It effectively turns the funeral into a super spreader event.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Declan, what about the precautions you'll take?

[Declan Walsh]

Yeah, I mean, look, but nothing really prepares you for coming into an environment like this. You know, you just really have to be very disciplined in following practices, particularly of washing your hands. You know, you see people wearing face masks here, which certainly do play some role. But the experts will tell you that it's not a disease that's spread by respiratory means. It's spread by touch. It's spread by touching someone who is contagious, or it's spread by touching a surface that they have touched. We are extremely conscious about maintaining our safety protocols in that regard.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Declan Walsh from the New York Times. Parts of Europe have been experiencing extreme heat for this time of year, with the UK breaking a record for the highest temperature in May since 1944. The UK's Met Office recorded a temperature of 34.8 degrees Celsius in London. Greg Dewhurst is a scientist there.

[Sebastian Usher]

Normally, records are broken by less than a degree, a couple of points of a degree. But see the UK record beaten by a whole 2 degrees, and also the whales record beaten by a whole 2 degrees. It's, you know, a good indication of climate change in action. The world is warming, we're seeing more extremes and the records prove it.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

The record high follows a period of cold weather, torrential rain and even hailstones in parts of the UK two weeks ago. Experts call this climate whiplash. And it's also been seen recently in France and Belgium. Hannah Cloak is a CL professor at the University of Reading in England.

[Hannah Cloak]

What it means really is that our climate is becoming more volatile. So when we are seeing these swings between different weather patterns, they are just becoming more violent, more energetic. So if we see heavier rainfall, we see perhaps really hot temperatures. Those are the things that are extremely swinging between two different things. We do have kind of variable weather in the UK and that's really important to understand. It is just that superchargedness that is being injected into these weather system and that is what we can really feel. This weather is not caused by climate change, it's just supercharged and made worse. The temperatures are higher, our rainfall becomes heavier. And I would like to say to everybody listening, you know, this is really what climate change feels like.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

France's weather agency has also said that new monthly highs for May were recorded at more than 350 weather stations. Our correspondent Hugh Schofield is in Paris and sent this report late on Monday.

[Narrator/Reporter]

These exceptional temperatures are being felt across France, but particularly in the west. Remarkably, as the sun came up this

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

morning, it was hotter in the Brittany port of Brest than it was in Corsica. 18 departments or counties are on the

[Narrator/Reporter]

first alert level for heat, including the capital Paris.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

But this afternoon it's been in the

[Narrator/Reporter]

early 30s Celsius and people are venturing out with caution.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

It's really hot. I'm pregnant so it's kind of difficult. So I have a water spray and I have hats, sunscreen and everything and I try to find a shadow.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

So actually we had a kind of cold May so I was quite happy. But yeah, I need more water. Now we have to plant things like

[Declan Walsh]

having water, having sunscreen, it's just like

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

we have to be very careful.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Next, the Enhanced Games have taken place in Las Vegas. They're essentially the Olympics, but on steroids. The athletes competing were all allowed to take performance enhancing substances and huge cash prizes were on offer. Three clean athletes also won their events. Ross Tucker is a South African sports scientist.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

The entire thing was an advertisement. It was a platform for an anti aging drugs campaign. It seemed like a thinly veiled attempt on the part of its backers to use elite athletes to promote the idea that healthy, otherwise healthy people, older people, should use drugs for off label use. That's really what it boiled down to. The Enhanced Games. They spoke about transparency and they spoke about redefining sport. I don't think any of that happened. But whether those billionaire backers continue to think that there's a market will determine whether we see another Enhanced Games.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Our correspondent Shaima Khalil was there and I asked her what it was like.

[Shaima Khalil]

I think it was everything that you would expect from a Las Vegas spectacle. It felt like a sporting event, slash rock concert, slash this big launching pad for all sorts of performance enhancing drugs sold to the general public, not just to elite sports. There was booming music, flashing lights, there was a concert in the end. And of course there were the competitions in swimming, in track, in weightlifting. And there were many athletes, former Olympians, that got another shot at their sport after retiring. Many walked away with big money. There was one world record that was broken and that was Christian Golomaev, the Greek swimmer. He walked away with a million dollars. What's important, of course, to say is that this world record will be recognized only in the enhanced games because the games themselves have been dismissed and condemned by world bodies, including world aquatics and world athletics. They all see this as an affront to fair play. They also see that this is a dangerous precedent because the health implications, the long term health implications, they say are dangerous. That at the heart of this are the banned substances. What the organizers say is that this has existed for years in elite sport and they're bringing out in the open. I think it's important to say that again, this is also a business. They're selling this to the general public. And it is widely considered this event to be a launchpad for their big business.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Shaima Khalil. Nine years ago, one of the most remote and underdeveloped communities in one of Africa's poorest economies, Sierra Leone, received an unexpected windfall. Villagers unearthed one of the biggest rough diamonds ever discovered. Ed Butler was there after the discovery and has just returned to see how the sale of the diamond has affected those involved.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This was the scene on the day in early 2018 that Coyardu learned its so called Peace diamond had sold at auction for some six and a half million dollars.

[Lucy Williamson]

We befeed joy now we act, we

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

dance, we dance, we jubilate, we laugh with granny Too much Komba.

[Narrator/Reporter]

John ball was the 15 year old boy who discovered the stone in a local open cast pit. You're suddenly a rich man, right?

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

And that movement, Yeah, I was a rich man. Sure.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It must have felt exciting.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Very feel happy at that moment. At that time I was happy, yes, sir.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Komber and other diggers each received over $100,000 for their find. He recalls now how he used the money to try to emigrate to Canada. The application and months of waiting cost him most of his earnings.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

We are spending a lot of Money on feeding. We were also going out to bars and enjoying ourselves. So we indeed spent a lot of money.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It was party, party, party for you, was it?

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

No, no party. If now that. Looking back, I think that I could have done better, much better. And all we thought was that whatever, we could make twice as much as we got from the diamond. But it didn't turn out to be that way.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The Canadian visa was rejected. Gomba now works as a welder in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, regretting much of his youthful ignorance. But for the wider community in Koryadu, it's perhaps a different story.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

I told the government that where we found this diamond, there's no good school, no facility for education, no good road, there's no pure water.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is Pastor Emmanuel Momo, the owner of the pit where the diamond was found. He did a deal with the government in return for him declaring it to them they would provide the village with much needed development. They promised all of those things. A school, a clinic, water and a road. So did that happen?

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

We want to make the future bright for the people, especially the kids that are going to school now. With education, they can change this community.

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's Abubakar Amara, the head teacher at the large new primary school he now runs in the village. With multiple classrooms and solar power, it does feel like a world away from the husk of a building that I saw nine years ago. A shiny zinc roof on the new maternity clinic also speaks of progress.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Can I come in?

[Narrator/Reporter]

The village midwife, Judith Sia Lamine, introduces me to Koreadu's most recent arrival, a newborn infant. So this is a little baby boy,

[Charlotte Gallagher]

two days old, very handsome.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Judith tells me that some 6% of expectant mothers used to die on the roads trying to reach the main hospital in town. They haven't had a single maternal death here since the clinic was built. Pastor Momo is proud of what's been achieved, although he says the government has done the bare minimum to fund the running of these new facilities, which is now paid for by foreign aid money.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

They know that what they promise, they have never met the promise.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The Minister of Mines declined to speak to me about this story, but some do defend the government's record. Martin Rapoport is a philanthropist and campaigner whose charitable support helps maintain the Diamond Peace Project.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Now, we were providing rice, and now the government is providing the food for the children, which is an amazing thing. So what happened is we hooked them into the development cycle and environment, and you got to understand how difficult that process is when you're dealing in a place like Coyardu when you're dealing with with absolutely starting from scratch.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Tell me then, what would you say the legacy of the Peace diamond has been?

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

It's created a shift in thinking and it's showing that resources like diamonds can have a real impact on the local communities. You have to have patience to do development properly and you have to let the people do their own development. The legacy of the Peace diamond is

[Charlotte Gallagher]

in fact the people that report by Ed Butler. 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 XBCWorldService. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Abby Wiltshire and the producer was Marion Straughan. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Charlotte Gall. Until next time. Goodbye.

[Various Interviewees/Field Reporters]

Yes you can. A five minute quick and easy calorie burning workout. Give it a try. Come join our sweat sesh on TikTok.