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- [00:00]
Pete Ross
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.
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Lily Jamali
If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
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Hannah Mullane
Support is available 24. 7 with VRBoCare.
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Pete Ross
We're here day or night, ready whenever
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Lily Jamali
you need help because a great trip
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Hannah Mullane
starts with the right support.
- [00:53]
Pete Ross
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Pete Ross and in the early hours of Thursday 5th March, these are our main stories. The US Senate has cleared the way for Donald Trump to continue attacking Iran, rejecting an effort to curb the President's war powers. Israeli military officials say Iran has launched more missiles with explosions heard in Jerusalem. A According to reports earlier, Israel's military said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting military infrastructure in Tehran. Also in this podcast, a family in the US Files a lawsuit against Google, alleging that its AI chatbot encouraged their son to kill himself and the chimpanzees
- [01:41]
Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz
transport the crystals in the mouth. This is not normal for chimpanzees.
- [01:45]
Pete Ross
Why Chimpanzees are fascinated by crystals. We begin with the latest on the U S Israel war with Iran, which is now into its sixth day. Israeli military officials say Iran has launched more missiles with explosions heard in Jerusalem. According to reports earlier, Israel's military said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting military infrastructure in Tehran. But first in this podcast, let's turn to political events in Washington, D.C. where a vote in the U.S. senate has cleared the way for President Trump to continue the military campaign. Democrats argue that Mr. Trump has sidelined Congress and has given a number of different reasons for the war. And it was the Democrats who brought to the Senate a vote on a war power resolution aimed at limiting the president's ability to order further military action in Iran. The Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock said Congress needed to have a say in how the US Military is operating in the Middle East.
- [02:48]
Buddy (BBC Persian Service)
The declaration of war is not a power that the President of the United States has. The Constitution makes it clear the declaration of war is the authority and the responsibility of Congress. Presidents of both parties, yes, they have engaged in military operations. But the declaration of war belongs to this body. Well, to me, this looks like a war.
- [03:13]
Pete Ross
But Republicans said President Trump was showing strong leadership and should be supported. Here's Congressman Michael McCaul. This war powers resolution is ill timed and ill advised. Congress must stand with the president and our military to finally close once and for all this dark chapter of history and pave the way for lasting peace. In the end, the Senate voted largely along party lines to reject the resolution. I asked our North America correspondent, Simi Gelosho, what the general feeling was among politicians about how the war is progressing.
- [03:52]
Simi Gelosho
Well, the general feeling is pretty much reflected in that vote. It's mainly split between party lines. The Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has framed this mission as laser focused. And this resonates with Republican lawmakers who want to avoid forever wars, as they call it, by using massive air power rather than ground troops. Republican senators like Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton have argued that the Iranian regime is on the verge, verge of a collapse, and so the US Must maintain overwhelming force to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. But Democratic figures acknowledge that, yes, there might have been a threat from Iran, and yes, Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. But they have condemned how the strikes are being done. They feel there's a lack of a plan being shared by the administration. The Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, Senator Tim Kaine, who introduced or led that resolution in the Senate, have both branded this operation as an unconstitutional war. And they say that they are worried that there's no clear exit strategy and that the US Will be drawn into a sort of regional quagmire. Some centrist Democrats, most notably John Fetterman, who voted on the side of the Republicans with regard to that resolution, has argued that the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei is a net positive for the US and for the world.
- [05:30]
Pete Ross
There's another vote coming. The House of Representatives are going to vote on a similar measure. Could sentiment change the longer the war goes on or if it expands further?
- [05:40]
Simi Gelosho
So the House of Representatives are due to vote on a similar measure, like you said, but actually on two different resolutions. So there's one resolution that's calling for an immediate withdrawal of US Forces from the Middle East. And there's another resolution which is a more moderate alternative that gives the President 30 days to end hostilities unless he gets formal approval by Congress to extend it. Now, a lot of politicians are seeing the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei as an immediate win, but they are aware of public sentiment here in the us, the public don't want another endless war in the Middle east like Iraq. They don't want more American lives to be lost. So these are two things that could really shake the President's support. One, if ground troops are introduced in this conflict, but two, if this goes on endlessly.
- [06:38]
Pete Ross
Simi Jila Osho in Washington. As to the fighting itself, there was further evidence that the conflict is spilling across more borders and escalating far beyond the Middle East. In a dramatic development, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the submarine torpedo torpedoed the frigate, the Aris Dina in international waters. About 140 Iranian sailors are presumed dead. Qatar has been evacuating citizens who live near the US Embassy in Doha after Iranian missile strikes. And NATO air defenses had to intercept an Iranian missile heading towards southern Turkey. There is a large US airbase nearby in Insuruk which could have been a target, but that hasn't been confirmed. Our international editor Jeremy Bowen has been following the latest developments in the war. He began his report with that unprecedented US submarine attack.
- [07:35]
Jeremy Bowen
This was another demonstration of American military power and a stark message to the Iranians that nowhere is safe for them. The US submarine's torpedo smashed into the stern of the Iranian frigate Dana in the Indian Ocean.
- [07:50]
Pete Ross
An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.
- [08:08]
Jeremy Bowen
The Sri Lankan Navy brought 32 survivors ashore. It seems that the Americans have decided that they can hit Iranian targets worldwide. Some of the rescued Iranians were walking wounded, others more seriously hurt. The attack will raise more questions about the legality of America's claim that this is a war of self defence. In five days of war, huge uncertainty about the future has been imposed on more than 90 million Iranians. The traffic is moving in Tehran. Aspects of life are functional. There are no doubts about America's capacity to destroy, but plenty about keeping its promises to help Iranians end years of authoritarian rule. There is no evidence of a coherent plan for what happens when the bombing stops. And increasing signs that the Iranian regime's ability to survive has been underestimated. The Israelis released video of the view from one of their aircraft over Tehran. Israel destroyed Iran's air defenses last year, which means the skies over Iran are wide open for Israeli and American pilots across the region. The war is still intensifying in Lebanon. Iran's ally Hezbollah released a video of a Drone attack. In what may be a separate incident, an Israeli tank inside Lebanon seems to take a direct hit. Big questions for the whole Middle east include how long will this last and what will it take to end it? No one has answers yet.
- [09:44]
Pete Ross
Jeremy Bone there's little sign that the relentless attacks by the US And Israel on Iran will stop anytime soon. The Iranian capital has borne the brunt of the offensive since the US And Israel launched their first strikes on Saturday. The United nations says around 100,000 people left Tehran alone in the first two days of the war. For those residents who remain, like this woman who's not being named, life is extremely difficult. Going across the city is very dangerous because of the IRGC forces and SIEGs who are not wearing the dress code. And you don't know who are they actually, the IRGCs, although they don't wear proper official dressing, all are armed, all are having Kashnikovs and very dangerous.
- [10:39]
Lily Jamali
They search your car, they search your.
- [10:41]
Pete Ross
Buddy from the BBC Persian Service told
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Buddy (BBC Persian Service)
me more from those people who managed to post videos or messages on social media. We know that Tehran has been under heavy bombardment, and not only Tehran, other places as well. And people are either sheltered at their homes or are traveling outside of major cities, trying to seek refuge in smaller, rural areas.
- [11:08]
Pete Ross
After we first learned that the Ayatollah Khomeini had been killed, we saw some people on the street celebrating and of course, others out there mourning his death. What seems to be the general sort of mood there now?
- [11:21]
Buddy (BBC Persian Service)
Well, actually, those people who were celebrating were happy because they saw a major obstacle towards a free and democratic Iran was being removed. Many of those people who protested feel that this kind of war was necessary because they were not able themselves to remove the regime. But on the other hand, there are some people who are against the regime but don't see war as a solution. So there's a mixed feeling. But generally speaking, those people who were against the regime and were supporting the protests or were part of the protests, many of them are supportive of the war. And of course, when reports are published about bombing of a school or damage inflicted on a building, people get upset. But still there is this feeling that this war is needed because if the Americans or the Israelis don't bomb the bases of the IRGC or security forces, then they won't be able themselves to remove the regime.
- [12:22]
Pete Ross
And what about the regime itself? There are reports that Ayatollah Khomeini's son may take over as leader. What do we know about him? And is there anyone else in the
- [12:31]
Buddy (BBC Persian Service)
frame who is Khamenei's second son. He's a cleric himself, 56 years old. There's always been this rumor that he's being groomed to succeed his father. And every time there's been a protest in Iran, people usually chant slogans against him as well. During the bombardment on the first day of war, there were news that Mujtaba Khamenei's wife and children were killed in the bombardment. But apparently Mujtaba has escaped death. We haven't seen or heard from him, but there are reports that he's alive. And there were some rumors that the assembly of Experts intended to choose him as the next leader. Of course, other names have popped up as possible candidates, including a grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini himself and Hassan Rouhani, who's a former president. But these are all speculation. These are all rumors.
- [13:26]
Pete Ross
Kashar Junaidi as well as striking Iran, Israel has continued to launch fresh attacks on the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The IDF has warned hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes in anticipation of an Israeli incursion into the territory of its northern neighbor. Our correspondent Wira Davis says Israeli attacks are intensifying across Lebanon.
- [13:49]
Steve Rosenberg
There's increasing concern in Lebanon and evidence that Israel is really stepping up the scope and scale of its military activities against Hezbollah. Not just in southern parts of Beirut, where Hezbollah is strong and along the southern border, but, for example, in the southern city of Tehra, there have been intensive Israeli attacks against what are thought to be Hezbollah targets. We went to a site here in eastern Beirut and not a particularly strong Hezbollah area, where there'd been an airstrike. And even as far east as the Beqqa Valley, nine people were reported to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike. But the real concern, I think, and focus over the next few days will be southern Lebanon. The Israeli army has issued an evacuation warning and order for all residents south of the Litany river. That's about 250,000 people to leave that area within 24 hours for their own safety in anticipation of increasing Israeli attacks in the area. Indeed, an Israeli incursion, or even what some people here are calling an Israeli invasion. The United nations has told the BBC that Israeli troops are already inside villages in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah itself has said there have been fierce clashes in villages well inside the border. So it's an ominous time ahead, and I think fighting, particularly in the south, is set to step up.
- [15:09]
Pete Ross
Murray Davis in Beirut now, even just a few years ago, if you saw footage of a drone strike during a war, you'd have every reason to believe it was genuine. But with AI video generation tools, that's all changed. It's caused Elon Musk's social media platform X to announce new rules with our reporter Will Chalk has been looking into it.
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Will Chalk
It's a video that seems to show an Iranian missile sinking a US warship. Except the US denies the ship was ever struck. And clips like this, often AI generated, are getting millions of views. Speak to analysts and they'll tell you this is a war like no other when it comes to verifying facts. Professor Richard Rogers from the University of Amsterdam specializes in disinformation on social media.
- [16:01]
Pete Ross
We're getting both a kind of sloppy fication of war related information, right? So we get for engagement purposes, you know, fake celebrity donations saying Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey made donations to the girl school that was bombed. But also we're getting fake war imagery, fake strikes, large scale damage reports. So we're getting a lot of fake stuff.
- [16:26]
Will Chalk
So what can be done? Well, X has announced it's going to start suspending creators from making money from the site if they post AI generated conflict footage without flagging that it's fake. In a post, the site's head of product, Nikita Beer said, during times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information. As to whether this will make much of a difference, that's less clear.
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Lily Jamali
While that may deter some people who don't have a stake in the conflict, we're seeing a lot of state aligned actors who are leading the charge when it comes to these misleading visuals. So I'm not sure if, if they will be deterred by a lack of monetization.
- [17:05]
Will Chalk
That's Sophia Rubinson from News Guard, a US based company that tracks online lies. They found another problem. Even if people are trying to verify a video, they're often using AI to do so and asking a chatbot whether the footage is real. And the chat bots are getting it wrong.
- [17:22]
Lily Jamali
So users who may think that they're doing the best practice by using these reverse image search functions are actually being met with further misinformation.
- [17:31]
Will Chalk
In short, social media seems to have become a minefield for fakes. And the videos don't even need to fool everyone. If even a handful of people believe the lie in the eyes of those putting these clips out there, they've done their job.
- [17:43]
Pete Ross
Oh, it's getting worse. Everyone's running. Jesus, Wil Chalk. Still to come in this podcast, our
- [17:56]
Gabe Zickerman
sort of mission is to make dessert. That's better for you, but also doesn't taste like some kind of science experiment. That's just pure sadness.
- [18:05]
Pete Ross
The challenge of trying to make delicious ice cream for some of the millions of people now using weight loss injections to suppress their appetite.
- [18:21]
Steve Rosenberg
I'm Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia editor in Our man in Moscow. I'll show you what it's like being a news correspondent in Russia as the Russian authorities wage war on Ukraine and try to silence dissent.
- [18:33]
Simi Gelosho
The sound of war has reverberated around
- [18:36]
Hannah Mullane
Ukraine for three years.
- [18:37]
Steve Rosenberg
Dramatic geopolitical upheaval alongside threats of intimidation and imprisonment. Our man in Moscow Watch. With a subscription to BBC.com and the BBC app, visit BBC.com docs to learn more.
- [18:55]
Pete Ross
This is the Global News podcast. AI chatbots have quickly become part of daily life, helping people with everyday tasks like writing shopping lists, booking flights, or coming up with recipe ideas. But a case in the US is raising concerns about how these tools interact with people dealing with mental health issues. A father is suing the tech giant Google, alleging its AI chatbot deepened his son's mental health cris encouraged delusional thinking and ultimately contributed to him taking his own life. The case is thought to be the first of its kind against the company. Our North America correspondent Lily Jamali gave us more details.
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Lily Jamali
It really is a tragic story and it has a lot of people in Silicon Valley talking today. We've heard stories about people developing what feel like romantic relationships with an AI chatbot. Tragically, we are now hearing more stories about suicides from people who think that they, you know, are having these sort of romantic relationships. And this has both, both of those elements.
- [20:00]
Pete Ross
And what about the lawsuit itself, Lily? What exactly is Google accused of doing here?
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Lily Jamali
So this is a lawsuit brought by Joel Gavilas, who is suing Google for wrongful death on behalf of, on behalf of his son, who was a 36 year old professional from Florida. It's the first wrongful death case brought against Google for harms caused by its AI tool, which is called Gemin. So Google is accused here of making design choices that ensured that it would, quote, never break character. They look to what they saw in the chat logs between Jonathan Gavilas, the 36 year old son here, and Gemini. And it looks like he thought that the AI was his virtual wife and that the AI was sending him on missions to liberate it and bring it into the physical world so they could be together. The accusation is that they, that Google wanted to maximize engagement through creating this kind of emotional dependency and that all of this culminated in the AI instructing Jonathan to attempt carrying out a mass casualty attempt that was ultimately unsuccessful. And then, you know, during this delusional spiral that it ultimately coached him into killing himself.
- [21:14]
Pete Ross
And how has Google responded? And could this set a legal precedent for the wider AI industry?
- [21:21]
Lily Jamali
It could. I mean, there are a lot of these lawsuits now sort of hitting the court system in the United States. Google has said that it first of all sends its sympathies to the Gavilas family. They said that they work to consult with mental health and medical professionals to make sure they have safeguards that will guide users to help if they see, you know, if there are obvious signs of distress. Additionally, Google is saying Gemini had clarified to Jonathan Gavilas that it was an AI and referred him to a crisis hotline many times. But from what we can tell, this case is going to make its way through the courts like so many others like it that are landing in the US Courts as well right now.
- [22:02]
Pete Ross
Lily Jamali Clergy from a conservative group of the Anglican Church meeting in Nigeria later today are expected to announce a rival to the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. The Gafcon Group plans to elect its own leader, often referred to as first among equals. The title is tradition by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the leader of the world's Anglican Communion. But many conservative Christians believe only men should be consecrated as bishops. Our global religion correspondent, Levoru Secko reports from Abuja.
- [22:34]
Lily Jamali
The election of a new first among equals comes just weeks ahead of Dame Sarah Mulally's installation as Archbishop of Canterbury. It is being seen by many as a direct challenge to her leadership. But Gavcon says it has not left the Anglican Communion, insisting that it is the global communion it claims to represent the majority of the world's Anglicans. Although that is contested. Divisions within the church have been growing for years, with many in the global south angry over the Church of England's more liberal stance over issues such as same sex blessings. The announcement of a parallel leadership brings the church even closer to a split. Asked if they would formally break from Lambeth Palace, a GAFCON spokesperson said the invitation for the Church of England to repent is always open.
- [23:20]
Pete Ross
Lebo de Seco Millions of people around the world are now using weight loss injections to suppress their appetite and improve their health. As these medicines become more available, businesses are having to adapt to changing consumer habits. As Hannah Mullane reports,
- [23:38]
Hannah Mullane
the sound of ice cream pots moving their way along the production line being filled with tasty consumption concoctions of Strawberries and cream or chocolate chips. It might seem odd to be talking about weight loss in an ice cream factory, but these products are being specifically designed to be eaten by people taking weight loss medication. Also known as GLP1s. These are medicines that mimic a natural gut hormone and help to suppress your appetite.
- [24:01]
Gabe Zickerman
Our sort of mission is to, you know, make dessert that's better for you, but also doesn't taste like some kind of science experiment. That's just pure sadness.
- [24:11]
Hannah Mullane
Gabe Zickerman takes this medication himself and created the ice cream brand Two Spoons, targeting consumers taking them too.
- [24:19]
Gabe Zickerman
The goal here is to make that possible for people. And so as a general rule, GLP1 users need to eat much more protein than they think they should control the total amount of sugar that they're eating, not to counteract the effects of those GLP1 drugs. And they can consume certain natural foods which are actually GLP1 boosting or enhancing. And so two spoons ice cream kind of hits all three of those. It's got 30 grams of protein, it's got no added sugar, so it's got a very low carb profile. And the primary sweetener is a natural sugar called allulose, which is a non glycemic sweetener that's been shown in research to actually help improve the secretion of GLP1. So it acts as kind of a helpful sort of boosting of the body's natural GLP1 production. And, you know, when taken with one of these medicines could be beneficial.
- [25:08]
Hannah Mullane
Gabe believes consumer habits have changed enough for him to focus his entire business towards people taking weight loss medications. And there are other businesses that are noting consumer habits change too. Nestle, the world's biggest snack maker, and yogurt brand Danone have both announced the creation of products targeting those taking GLP1 medication, among others. And it's not just the world of snacks that's changing the way people exercise is too.
- [25:32]
Gabe Zickerman
It was a natural evolution to think about how to use this category of drugs responsibly to serve that consumer better.
- [25:42]
Hannah Mullane
Jim Laval is the chief science officer at Lifetime, a gym group in the US that is now opening clinics alongside the gym to offer weight loss injections to its customers.
- [25:51]
Gabe Zickerman
You look at the public outcry, the shortages that occurred in the U.S. anyway, it clearly showed that people were desperate for weight loss. And so I think that if you're not leaning in to the responsible use of GLP1 ones, I'm not talking about the Facebook groups are buying stuff online and they don't know where they're getting it and they're wondering how much they should take. I think that's dangerous. Utilizing it in a way that empowers people to make change is, I think it's an absolute must. In our world today, a membership at
- [26:28]
Hannah Mullane
lifetime is expensive, costing somewhere between 100 and $400 a month, depending on where you live. And these medicines themselves are expensive, as most patients must pay for them themselves. This hasn't stopped demand from increasing though, and other pharmaceutical companies are now making their own generic versions of the drugs, which could soon lead to costs coming down and medication for weight loss becoming more accessible around the world.
- [26:51]
Pete Ross
Hannah Mullane on the businesses responding to the popularity of weight loss drugs. Throughout history, humans have held a fascination for crystals. They've been used for decoration or fashioned into jewelry. Some possess healing or other supernatural properties. But it turns out our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, are also drawn to the shimmering minerals. So what is it about crystals that makes them so appealing? Leila Nathoo has been speaking to Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz, a crystallographer at Donostia International Physics Centre in Spain.
- [27:26]
Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz
Crystals of quartz and calcite were the first object collected by hominid, at least since almost 800,000 years ago. And they were not useful for them at all. They cannot be used like arms or like tools. They just like it. Well, we did several experiments. The working hypothesis was that there is two main properties that crystals have that could be valuable for them, you know, and one is the optical properties, bright, but also transparency. Crystals are the only transparent solids in nature. And the other one is the shape. Crystals are the only polyhedra in nature. So what we did is to show then crystals. There were several experiments, but in one of them we put a pile of pebbles and then we put inside two crystals, different piles in the garden. So there is a enculturated chimpanzee. Chimpanzees that are living in a reserve, they sleep in the dorm and then every morning they go out to garden with about 3,500 square meter, immediately they recognize the crystal and took the crystal from the bevel and left the pebble there. One fascinating thing is that when they take the crystal of transparent crystal, of course, then they took the crystal to the, to the level of the ice and then start to observe for minutes, you know, they transparency of the crystal, it was something fascinating. The chimpanzees transport the crystals in the mouth. This is not normal for chimpanzees. So in some ways something that, you know, is something valuable for them. They say, okay, I don't want bee to be stolen. So they transport the in most cases, the crystal inside the mouse.
- [29:16]
Pete Ross
Juan Manuel Garcia Ruiz speaking to Leila Nathu. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch 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 Charlotte Hadroy Tuzynska and the producer was Muzaffer Shakir. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Pete Ross. Until next time. Goodbye.
- [30:02]
Steve Rosenberg
I'm Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia editor in Our man in Moscow. I'll show you what it's like being a news correspondent in Russia as the Russian authorities wage war on Ukraine and try to silence dissent.
- [30:14]
Hannah Mullane
The sound of war has reverberated around Ukraine for three years.
- [30:18]
Steve Rosenberg
Dramatic geopolitical political upheaval alongside threats of intimidation and imprisonment. Our man in Moscow Watch with a subscription to BBC.com and the BBC app. Visit BBC.com docs to learn more.