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Twenty for twenty percent off your

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first system. These

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discussions with paramilitaries were a play

1:06

with them. Remarkable personal stories from

1:09

around the world. They don't speak

1:11

with words, they speak with guns.

1:13

Lives less ordinary from the Bbc

1:16

World Service. Find it wherever you

1:18

get your Bbc podcasts. This.

1:23

Is the global news podcast from the

1:26

Bbc World Service. I'm

1:29

Andrew. Preach Hundred Thirty knows Gmt

1:31

on Wednesday the twenty fourth of

1:33

April. These are our main stories:

1:35

America's top diplomat is visiting China

1:38

with a warning again support for

1:40

Russia. President Biden promises more weapons

1:42

for Ukraine. of the senate approved

1:45

a multi billion dollar aid package

1:47

and Australian police arrest seven teenagers

1:49

in counterterrorism operations. Also

1:53

in this podcast it's both to say

1:55

they lead to sustainable company. but now

1:57

Brazil Learn has been taken to court

1:59

over. environmental record. This

2:02

was a lake three meters deep

2:04

where we had a project to

2:06

raise fish. After the

2:08

mine started trapped in there, waste came

2:11

down and fell into the stream. And

2:14

did artificial intelligence help to discover

2:16

the grave of the father of

2:18

Western philosophy? The

2:23

status of Taiwan, the war in Ukraine, the

2:25

situation in the Middle East, just some of

2:27

the issues the world's two biggest economies the

2:29

US and China don't agree on. So it's

2:31

not going to be an easy trip for

2:33

the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who's

2:35

in China for key talks. While

2:38

Mr Blinken was on his way to

2:40

Shanghai, Congress in Washington approved a major

2:42

US foreign aid package which included more

2:44

help for Taiwan, and that's angered the

2:47

Chinese. It's their Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang

2:49

Wenbin. I'd like to emphasize

2:51

that the strengthening of military ties between the

2:54

United States and

2:59

Taiwan will not bring about

3:01

security for Taiwan, nor

3:03

can it save the doomed fate

3:05

of Taiwan independence. It will

3:07

only increase tensions and the risk

3:09

of conflict across the Taiwan Strait,

3:11

and will ultimately be an act

3:14

of shooting oneself in the foot.

3:16

And China correspondent Laura Bicke says

3:18

the issue of Taiwan remains a

3:20

major sticking point between the US and

3:22

Beijing. For China it

3:24

is a red line. They see

3:26

the self-governing island as part of

3:28

China and that the United States

3:30

should not get involved. And

3:33

the latest aid package they say

3:35

is a betrayal of that policy.

3:37

They say that it will encourage

3:39

separatism within Taiwan and they

3:41

will push against it strongly. I think that

3:43

will be the key message from Beijing's side.

3:46

Lots on Mr Blinken's agenda, Laura,

3:49

including trying to warn China off

3:51

getting involved in Russia's war in

3:53

Ukraine. China says it

3:55

is not giving any weapons to Russia and

3:57

certainly they say they have not given it.

4:00

any weapons since Russia's invasion of

4:02

Ukraine. But the US

4:05

says that China is providing

4:07

components in its trade with

4:09

Russia that Russia could use

4:11

as weapons. They want that

4:14

to stop and they want to

4:16

find a way for China to

4:18

work with Washington to persuade Russia

4:20

to come to the table and

4:22

look at peace talks. So I

4:25

think that's one thing on Anthony

4:27

Blinken's agenda that will be pretty

4:29

tough for China and the

4:31

United States to get on the same page

4:33

about. And just stepping back

4:35

from the specifics, how do you

4:37

assess the state of US-China relations

4:39

right now? I

4:42

think both sides are trying to take steps

4:44

towards one another. These are very tentative steps

4:46

and every time they take a step forward

4:48

something else comes along to kind of derail

4:50

them from their path. I think it's going

4:53

to be very difficult for both sides to

4:55

find a way to work together. But

4:57

they are managing to find bright spots.

5:00

Climate change, they can work together on

5:02

climate change issues. But when it comes

5:04

to trade, when it comes to Taiwan,

5:06

the South China Sea, the Middle East

5:08

and Ukraine, all these big issues taking

5:11

steps towards one another is very very

5:13

difficult. But the world wants these two to

5:15

prepare us to find a way and both

5:17

of them do want to come

5:19

to some agreement. For the United States

5:21

it's about finding a way to work

5:23

with China as well as compete with

5:25

China. And for China they want American

5:27

businesses to come and thrive here. So

5:30

there are common interests there. It's just finding a

5:32

way to get to it. Our China

5:35

correspondent Laura Vicker with me

5:37

from Beijing. The United States

5:39

Senate has approved three major

5:41

aid packages for Ukraine, Israel

5:43

and Taiwan. President Joe Biden

5:45

said the deals which total almost a

5:47

hundred billion dollars show his country stands

5:50

against tyranny and oppression. He

5:52

said more military assistance will be sent

5:54

to Ukraine within days after he signs

5:56

the legislation into law. The

5:58

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the

6:00

passing of the bill. This is

6:02

an inflection point in history. Western

6:05

democracy faces perhaps the greatest test

6:07

since the end of the Cold

6:09

War, and this supplemental is essential

6:11

to meeting the challenges. Failure

6:14

to pass the supplemental would have

6:16

been a gift to Putin, to

6:18

Iran, to she, and hurt America

6:20

politically, militarily, economically, and culturally. I'm

6:23

glad that when it mattered most, finally,

6:26

finally, finally, both

6:28

parties came together to do the right thing

6:30

for our nation's security. Our

6:33

North America correspondent, Peter Bowes, told us

6:35

the bill was passed despite opposition from

6:37

some Republicans. This

6:39

was a long time in coming,

6:41

held up for months, in large

6:43

part by Republicans in the House,

6:46

some of whom would rather see more money

6:48

spent here in the United States on immigration

6:51

and on the issues affecting the

6:53

southern border of the US with

6:55

Mexico. But there does

6:57

seem to be a change of heart amongst some

7:00

Republicans, notably the Speaker of

7:02

the House, which allowed it to pass

7:05

through that stage, that part

7:07

of Congress, at the weekend. Now,

7:10

rubber stamps, you could say, or at least passed in

7:12

the upper house, the Senate as

7:14

well, just remains for it to

7:16

be signed into law by President

7:18

Biden. And the President already issuing

7:20

a statement indicating that that's military

7:23

aid that President Zelensky in Ukraine

7:25

has said that is so desperately

7:27

needed. That military aid

7:29

will be on the way, which hold

7:31

by the end of this week, defense

7:33

weaponry in particular, that is so desperately

7:35

needed. That's part of the $61 billion

7:38

package for Ukraine. Then

7:41

there's $26 billion for

7:43

Israel, also humanitarian aid for

7:45

the people of Gaza, and

7:48

about $8 billion for

7:50

Taiwan to stave off

7:53

potential advances by China and some of

7:55

the issues in the

7:57

Indo-Pacific region. in

8:00

this bill, perhaps most controversial for

8:02

some Americans at least, is the

8:04

potential ban on TikTok. And this

8:06

is part of the security measure

8:08

that is part of this very

8:11

large bill, which is

8:13

essentially an ultimatum to a bank

8:15

dance, which is a company, the

8:17

Chinese company that owns TikTok, that

8:20

they should divest and sell the

8:22

platform to an American owner or

8:24

face a ban in this country.

8:27

Now, nothing is really going to happen

8:29

quickly. It's quite likely that white

8:31

dance will take this to the

8:33

courts, claim that this move is

8:36

unconstitutional, and also suggest that the

8:38

concerns of Americans are misplaced, or

8:40

the concerns of Washington are misplaced,

8:42

and that is that the Chinese

8:45

government could invoke security measures to

8:47

in some way get hold of

8:49

the personal data of

8:51

Americans that is part of that

8:53

app. And white dance, like I

8:56

said, they've already taken measures to

8:58

ensure that that doesn't happen. Our

9:01

North America correspondent, Peter Bowes. So how has

9:03

this news gone down in Kiev, especially

9:05

in view of new Russian missile

9:08

attacks on Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv,

9:10

during the night? Our Ukraine correspondent

9:12

is James Waterhouse. It's

9:14

two hurdles out of three cleared now for

9:16

this enormous $60 billion

9:19

military package coming from America. President

9:21

Zelensky has described the US as

9:23

being a beacon for the free

9:26

world and almost cementing itself

9:28

as a major supporter of democracy.

9:32

He's once again extended his thanks to the

9:34

US Senate on this occasion, but we've seen

9:36

a change in tone from him really, where

9:38

with his evening addresses and when he speaks

9:40

at press conferences of late, he's been sort

9:42

of pleading for help. But now

9:44

he's planning. He's very much in planning

9:47

mode. He's announcing different defense

9:49

contracts being drawn up. Most

9:51

of this package will involve ammunition,

9:53

missiles, shells, air defense systems, which

9:56

will allow Ukraine to sort

9:58

of reignite its war. I

10:01

think what's widely accepted is that the

10:03

goal for 2024 is simply to try

10:05

and hold the line once more, to

10:08

try and stop these Russian advances before

10:10

in the hopes of Kiev shaping for

10:12

more liberations next year. But Ukraine has

10:14

been here before, a counter-fensors

10:17

has been talked up before, and

10:19

what Russia has proven is that it can

10:21

hold on to what it has taken. So

10:24

I think we're in a week where it's

10:26

been significant for Ukraine in a diplomatic sense,

10:28

knowing that this is a huge moment,

10:31

the return of America, which keeps Ukraine in

10:33

this fight, but it also extends the duration

10:35

of what has been a gruelling

10:37

war. But it's interesting to

10:39

think that even this sort of amount of

10:41

money, tens of billions of dollars, may

10:44

not be enough to have a

10:46

game-changing effect on the conflict, just to

10:48

hold Russia at bay for a bit

10:50

longer. This is the fact of

10:52

the battlefield really, where in the six

10:55

months of political delays in Washington, we

10:58

have seen Russia continue with

11:00

its so-called meat grinder tactics of launching

11:03

wave after wave of soldiers to try and

11:05

take as much Ukrainian territory as possible. And

11:08

crucially for Ukraine, settlements have fallen,

11:10

towns like Abdysekha and more and

11:13

more villages, places that are continually

11:15

reduced to rubble, and

11:17

it brings other cities into the firing

11:19

line. So to change that, when your

11:21

back is facing the enemy, if you

11:23

like, and where you have the Ukrainian

11:25

forces building new defensive

11:27

lines, new trenches, that takes time

11:30

to turn around. The

11:32

former Leon Passer here said, for the

11:34

deadlock to be broken, several

11:37

innovations need to happen at

11:39

once, being technological, the use

11:42

of drones, weapons manufacturing, smart

11:44

military thinking. And

11:46

from James Waterhouse in Kiev to Berlin.

11:56

British Prime Minister Rishik Sennak has been greeted with

11:59

officials and military He honours on his way

12:01

to a meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,

12:03

Ukraine and the Middle East on the agenda

12:06

of course, but Mr Sunak also touched on

12:08

the issue of defence spending. We

12:10

stand here today together as the

12:12

leading defence spenders in Europe, unshakable

12:15

NATO allies and the

12:17

two largest military supporters of

12:20

Ukraine in Europe. And

12:22

together we will continue to provide unwavering

12:24

support for our Ukrainian friends, as you

12:26

said, for as long as it takes.

12:29

I asked how Berlin correspondent Jessica Parker, what

12:31

else had come out of that news conference?

12:34

Yeah, I mean it was a pretty

12:36

friendly news conference. Both men actually

12:38

attempting each other's language at one

12:40

point. Rishi Sunak saying mind-throwing as

12:42

he addressed Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor

12:45

here in Berlin. And look,

12:47

the main issue as expected that they

12:49

talked about and were asked about was

12:51

defence. Lots of compliments going back and

12:53

forth about things that Germany's done to

12:55

help Ukraine, things that the UK has

12:57

done to help Ukraine. But

13:00

of course, actually, this is all

13:02

the sort of diplomatic nicety. But there have

13:04

been tensions in the past about

13:06

respective aid. So, for example, Germany's

13:08

still refusing to send Taurus Cruz

13:10

missiles to Ukraine. Olaf Scholz reiterating

13:13

again today when asked that he

13:15

wasn't going to send those long-range

13:17

missiles, I think when you speak

13:19

to officials in private, to the

13:21

Brits of frustration. And

13:23

then, of course, Rishi Sunak announcing 2.5%

13:26

ending target for UK by the end

13:29

of the decade yesterday puts a bit

13:31

of pressure on Germany. But I mean,

13:33

they've only just hit 2% themselves this

13:35

year for the first time since the early

13:37

90s. But look, that

13:40

being said, I think there was a

13:42

big effort to show unity for Ukraine,

13:44

send a message to President Putin, and

13:46

I think also send a message across

13:48

the Atlantic as well that Europe is

13:50

starting to really take its defence and security

13:52

seriously. So Britain and Germany are big contributors

13:54

to Ukraine and are spending a

13:56

large amount of public money here with

13:59

these announcements. dwarfed by what's just

14:01

come from the US. Yeah, I mean

14:03

the US is by a country mile. When you look

14:05

at things like the Kiel Institute that sort of tracks

14:07

day and age and pledges, it's

14:09

far out ahead. But this $60

14:11

billion package of aid for Ukraine

14:14

obviously got stuck in Congress for

14:16

months. And that was

14:18

very bad news. The Kieves, obviously they've been

14:20

struggling on the battlefield against Russia. But

14:23

I think it also probably sharpened

14:25

the challenge here in Europe. And

14:28

the stark realization that, and some

14:30

leaders speak about this more openly

14:32

than others, they were pretty diplomatic again today

14:34

about, for example, the prospect of a Trump

14:36

presidency going forward. But I think

14:39

it does make European leaders realize

14:41

that they need to be more

14:43

self-reliant, not just in terms of

14:45

supporting Ukraine, but also just supporting

14:47

themselves. There was a pretty unfavorable

14:49

report recently about the state of

14:51

Germany's armed forces. So there's

14:53

a wide recognition here that there's much more

14:55

that Germany needs to do. And of course,

14:57

not just about spending, spending large sums of

14:59

money, it's about spending it well and countries

15:01

in the NATO Military Alliance looking at each

15:03

other's different capacities, which is why these countries

15:05

have to keep talking about exactly what they're

15:07

doing and what they're spending the money on.

15:10

Jessica Parker with me from Berlin. Campus

15:13

protests in the United States against the

15:15

war in Gaza have spread from Colombia

15:18

and Yale to other universities as officials

15:20

attempt to calm a growing and in

15:22

part aggressive movement. On Monday,

15:24

police broke up a demonstration at New

15:26

York University and made dozens of arrests.

15:29

The university said it received reports

15:31

of intimidating chants and anti-Semitic incidents.

15:34

Protest groups say their criticism is not

15:37

anti-Semitic and is reserved for the Israeli

15:39

state and its supporters. Here's

15:41

our North America editor, Sarah Smith. When

15:45

police clashed with students outside New York University

15:47

and arrested over 100 of them when they

15:49

wouldn't leave, it created another

15:52

flashpoint in the spreading pro-Palestinian

15:54

campus protest. students

16:00

took up their placards once again to show

16:02

their defiance. Esmah

16:06

Ben Gebdier is a protest organiser. You

16:08

describe to me what happened to the police. The

16:10

police brutality was egregious and extraordinary. Police

16:12

officers have arrested students, maced them.

16:15

There were students there with medical challenges and

16:17

disabilities. We will not

16:19

be murdered! Some

16:22

Jewish students have complained that the protests

16:24

are intimidating and say

16:26

they have faced harassment and anti-Semitism on

16:28

campus. I'm scared to wear

16:30

a Jewish star here. I've gotten very

16:32

nasty anti-Semitic comments on me. And

16:37

I just don't understand how this is accepted. Three,

16:39

three, four, five. Many

16:42

of the protesters in New York are wearing

16:44

COVID-style masks to hide their faces because they

16:46

say they've been bullied online if they've been

16:48

recognised. Dylan is a

16:50

demonstrator who didn't want to give his surname for the

16:52

same reason. We are facing very

16:55

good, very well organised Zionist

16:57

agitators who weaponised their

16:59

claim of Jewishness in

17:01

order to shut down what is legitimate protest. Accusations

17:04

of intolerance from both sides are

17:07

a common feature of these demonstrations. It

17:09

looks like this may now be growing

17:11

into a nationwide movement because every time one

17:13

of these protests has been broken up, it

17:17

simply inspired more demonstrations on more

17:19

campuses right across America. Protests

17:24

have spread to universities right across the

17:26

US. From Yale on the

17:28

east coast where almost 50 students were arrested last

17:30

night to California State

17:33

University Humboldt where students barricaded themselves

17:35

inside a building and the police were sent

17:37

in to remove them. Calling

17:39

the cops is a highly controversial move

17:42

on any campus where students demand their

17:44

right to protest. In

17:48

New York, Columbia University has taken some

17:50

classes online as campus protests continue there

17:53

and look set to carry on. Universities

17:56

across the country are now braced for

17:58

even bigger protests disrupting greater graduation

18:00

ceremonies this summer. Our North America

18:02

editor Sarah Smith reporting. Still

18:06

to come on this podcast, mass

18:08

protests in Argentina over a de

18:10

facto cut in university funding. I

18:21

knew right at that moment that my

18:23

whole life was gone. I'm going to

18:26

jail for a very very long time.

18:28

There was no doubt about it. Lives

18:30

Less Ordinary is the podcast with astonishing

18:32

personal stories from across the globe. And

18:34

honestly even at that point of reporting to a

18:36

journalist, I don't think I really knew that that

18:38

was in itself an act of whistleblowing. Expect

18:41

the unexpected. The only future is

18:43

death here. So if we live,

18:45

we might have a chance. We

18:47

would die anyway, but we would

18:49

die trying. Lives Less Ordinary from

18:51

the BBC World Service. Find it

18:53

wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

19:00

The police in Sydney have arrested seven people

19:03

as part of a counterterrorism operation. The

19:05

detentions follow a series of raids carried out

19:07

by the Australian security forces in the aftermath

19:10

of the stabbing of a bishop in a

19:12

church last week. The police

19:14

said the suspects, all aged under

19:16

18, were part of a network

19:18

that shared a violent extremist ideology.

19:20

They were, the police said, motivated by

19:23

religion. Our correspondent in Sydney, Phil Mercer,

19:25

gave me more details. This

19:27

is coming off raids on more

19:30

than a dozen houses in Sydney

19:32

and also in another

19:34

community called Goulburn, which is on the

19:36

way to Canberra here in eastern Australia.

19:38

Now these seven suspects are aged 15,

19:41

16 and 17. And

19:45

the police allege that they

19:48

follow this religiously motivated violent

19:50

extremist ideology, similar

19:53

to that of a teenager

19:55

arrested following a stabbing at

19:58

a church here in Sydney just over. a

20:00

week ago that 16 year old

20:02

boy has been charged with

20:05

terrorism offences. Now these seven

20:07

teenagers apparently under surveillance by

20:10

the authorities but the

20:12

intelligence service here in Australia says

20:14

that this group was such a

20:16

danger to the community that they

20:18

posed an unacceptable risk to the

20:21

people of New South Wales prompting

20:23

these raids by more than 400

20:26

officers here in Sydney

20:28

and in Galban. And this extremist

20:30

network they're in, is

20:32

that all teenagers or is it a wider

20:34

range of ages than that involved in it?

20:37

Well investigators are stressing that

20:39

they believe further raids and

20:41

potentially further arrests will be

20:43

made so at the moment

20:45

it seems that we have

20:48

an alleged cell made up

20:50

of teenagers. Now investigators believe

20:53

that it was likely an

20:55

attack may have been about

20:57

to take place. No specific

21:00

target has been identified but

21:02

the authorities do say that

21:05

any alleged conspiracy is not

21:07

linked to Anzac Day

21:09

that takes place on Thursday

21:11

that commemorates Australia's military veterans

21:14

along with those from New

21:16

Zealand or any other religious

21:18

events. And Australia's national terror

21:20

threat level remains that possible.

21:23

This is the second lowest

21:25

rating in a five category

21:27

system. Anzac Day is certainly

21:29

a big deal in Sydney, I've

21:31

been there for it myself and the

21:34

police as you say are distancing any suggestion

21:36

that this is anything to do with that.

21:39

Yes and they say that

21:41

it's targeting radicalisation not religion.

21:43

This is part of an

21:45

investigation into a stabbing

21:48

of a bishop and three

21:50

other people at an Assyrian

21:52

Orthodox Church here in in

21:55

Sydney on Monday of last week

21:57

and that led to very serious

21:59

disturbance. is outside of

22:01

the church and the authorities say that

22:03

the investigation into that alleged

22:06

act of terror has led them

22:08

to today's raid in which seven

22:11

teenagers have been arrested. Our

22:13

correspondent is Sydney Phil Mercer. A

22:16

British mining company is facing allegations

22:18

of damaging both the environment and

22:20

local communities in Brazil. The

22:22

company, Brazil Iron, describes itself as a

22:25

sustainable mining company and says it can

22:27

be a world leader in making the

22:29

steel industry greener. But dozens

22:32

of local residents are launching a legal

22:34

claim in a British court today accusing

22:36

the firm of damaging their health, crops

22:38

and water supplies. Our South

22:40

America correspondent Ione Wells has been to

22:42

the site in Brazil. I'm

22:45

looking at the mine now. It's a

22:48

huge hunk of grey amid a big

22:50

sea of green in these mountains. Brazil

22:53

Iron claimed that it's uniquely placed here

22:55

in Bahia to produce a certain type

22:57

of iron pellets which in turn can

22:59

be used to make steel in a

23:01

greener way that produces less carbon. Now

23:03

we all need steel, it's in our

23:05

homes, our cars, our trains, so there's

23:07

reasons to try and make it more

23:09

carbon friendly. But the big question here

23:11

is whether that's coming at the cost

23:13

of the environment on the ground. Help

23:18

urgently. Who is asking you is the spring

23:20

from which clear waters have always flowed?

23:22

This is a poem written by

23:25

Katarina. She's a member of the

23:27

Kilombolo community here in Bahia,

23:29

descendants of African slaves in Brazil whose land and way

23:31

of life is protected under Brazilian

23:36

law. They live a few hundred metres below an iron ore

23:38

mine where the British-owned company

23:41

Brazil Iron was mining and now wants a license to

23:43

continue. We're

23:51

walking through the riverbank now which is

23:53

completely dry. This river would have supplied the

23:57

community with water but also with water.

24:00

have supplied her business a lake

24:02

with water too. This

24:05

was a lake three meters deep

24:07

where we had a project to

24:10

raise fish. After the mine started

24:12

attracting there, waste came down and

24:14

fell into the spring. With that

24:16

it burried to this entire lake.

24:19

Three more meters of silt and ore

24:22

is left and our project

24:24

went down the drain. It's

24:26

hard to believe that what I'm looking at

24:29

now was once a lake that was meters

24:31

deep because now it is totally dry but

24:33

it is completely overgrown with vegetation.

24:39

We're now at the house of Edjimoni

24:42

who is a member of the Kilambola

24:44

Burkina community who live in the valley

24:46

below where the mine is. My question

24:48

is, it was a respiratory issue with

24:50

my daughter. She practically didn't sleep the

24:52

whole night trying to scratch her throat.

24:55

I had to take her to the

24:57

doctor who gave her an inhaler. Not

25:01

everybody here in the community is against the

25:03

mine though. Some feel that it's brought opportunities

25:05

and jobs to the area. This is

25:07

Erevelton. He works for Brazil Irons. I

25:13

joined the company in 2019. I

25:15

had the opportunity to learn on

25:18

heavy vehicles. Then I asked for

25:20

the opportunity to learn a machine.

25:22

I think one of the main

25:24

benefits that the company brought was

25:26

the opportunity to live close to

25:29

family. It is something that money can't

25:31

buy. The

25:35

company is faced far from here, in London

25:37

and funded by shareholders around the world. It

25:40

says the allegations it faces are untrue

25:42

and could hurt the local economy but

25:44

its environmental manager Rafael Genous says its

25:47

doors are open. All

25:50

our monitoring indicates that

25:52

the mine had no

25:54

impact. We have to check

25:56

those water sources that have been dried up.

26:01

There is an open communication channel with

26:03

these communities that includes an ombudsman. The

26:06

company always has its ears open. The

26:12

community here is divided, but this legal

26:14

action centres around some members of the

26:16

community, like local geographer Rogerio

26:19

Mukujet, arguing those with a greener way

26:21

of life shouldn't have to change to

26:23

provide solutions for carbon emissions caused elsewhere.

26:27

There are two realities. Do

26:30

we need to sacrifice everyone

26:32

in rural areas for the city, where

26:35

people have a 600-year-old day of life? I

26:38

believe the communities here should be respected. If we're

26:41

saying this model is sustainable, that will generate clean

26:43

energy. Is it clean to kill a

26:45

river? Rogerio

26:49

Mukujet adding that report from Ione Wells

26:51

in Brazil. Mass

26:53

protests against budget cuts to higher education

26:55

have swept the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires

26:57

and other cities, with students and professors

27:00

saying funding for this year has in

27:02

effect been reduced by some 80% because

27:05

of the country's spiraling inflation. Bruno

27:08

La Plasa is a student who went

27:10

to Tuesday's demonstration. My colleague James Cottnall

27:12

asked him to describe the scene. Well,

27:15

you would have seen a sea

27:18

of students, professors, teachers,

27:20

professionals, families, and

27:22

people who were there defending our right

27:25

to higher education. In

27:28

Argentina, education has been public

27:31

and free of access

27:33

for everyone since the

27:35

mid-20th century, and that's

27:37

a right that we give forgiven. It's

27:41

not something that we're willing to lose. So

27:45

that's what you would have seen. It was a

27:48

very moving situation, hundreds

27:50

of thousands of people just protesting

27:53

for one of the most valued

27:55

human rights here. And

27:58

is that why you went? are

28:00

very concerned about your

28:02

future, the future of the universities? I'm

28:05

a student. I'm a student of the University of Buenos

28:07

Aires. Not only am

28:09

I concerned for the future of universities,

28:11

which I'm most

28:13

certainly worried about,

28:16

we do not know at this moment if

28:18

we're going to be able to finish this

28:20

semester, but I'm also

28:22

worried about the future of my

28:25

country. Education is

28:27

fundamental for any plans

28:29

of progress for a country and

28:32

the whole system of science is

28:35

also fundamental and it is also

28:37

being defunded. So that

28:39

is why I was there because

28:41

I believe that Argentina can progress,

28:43

that we can be a better

28:45

country, a more wealthy

28:47

one, and that requires education for

28:50

everyone. The newish president, Javier Mille,

28:52

has quite often suggested

28:54

that the state-run universities are centers

28:57

of socialist indoctrination, that in

28:59

some ways the cuts are

29:01

justified because so

29:03

many of the universities have different viewpoints

29:05

to him. I mean, I think

29:08

data speaks for itself. More

29:10

than half of his cabinet

29:12

comes from public universities. So yeah,

29:15

I would be at least

29:17

puzzled by these statements.

29:20

There's definitely a diversity of

29:23

thought within public universities. He

29:25

came to office on a

29:27

promise of making big

29:30

cuts to almost all areas

29:32

of the national budget, really. Why

29:35

should universities escape from that?

29:38

Education is the base for progress. It is the base for

29:40

a wealthy economy. It

29:42

is the base that you

29:45

need for an economy to industrialize

29:48

and for economies to grow. There's

29:50

no future for Argentina if

29:52

we catch spending

29:56

on university, on the people who are

29:59

most likely to contribute. attribute the most to

30:01

the economy. It is not

30:03

one of the most expensive things that

30:06

we have and it

30:08

is definitely one of the most

30:10

rewarding things for the economy. So

30:13

if we just focus on the economy,

30:16

that is that. But

30:18

there's also the value that it gives

30:20

to society, right? Bruno La

30:22

Plata with my colleague James Cottnell. Plato,

30:25

known as the father of Western

30:27

philosophy, died around the year 348

30:30

BC. Unusually for an

30:32

ancient thinker, nearly all of his

30:34

works have survived. The exact location

30:36

of his burial has always been

30:38

a mystery until now. With the

30:40

help of artificial intelligence, Italian researchers

30:42

claim to have found the long-lost

30:44

grave of the Greek philosopher. Rebecca

30:46

Wood has the story. Why

30:48

is men talk because they have something to

30:51

say? False because they have

30:53

to say something. That's

30:55

one of Plato's quotes and one I'm

30:57

hoping on this occasion the first part

30:59

can apply. Arguably the

31:01

greatest of all the Greek philosophers,

31:03

Plato's works form the foundations of

31:05

Western society. He was born

31:08

a nobleman in ancient Greece but rejected

31:10

his social privilege to devote his life

31:12

to philosophy. He wrote about

31:14

love and government, ethics, friendship, law

31:16

and his writing set out the

31:19

terms of much of what we call

31:21

Western philosophy today. But,

31:23

as with many illustrious figures of the

31:25

ancient world, his burial place has been

31:27

a subject of speculation. We

31:30

know that he was buried at the

31:32

Academy, a famous school founded by the

31:34

philosopher Imathins, but the grounds

31:36

are large and exactly where was a

31:38

mystery. Here's where some

31:41

charred papyrus comes in, the

31:43

Herculaneum scrolls. They survived the

31:45

eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy in

31:48

79 AD. In their burnt state

31:50

though, the 2,000 year old

31:52

documents would crumble if anyone attempted

31:54

to unroll them. But,

31:56

using computer technology and advanced artificial intelligence, they

31:59

were not able to be found. intelligence, researchers

32:01

have been able to take a closer look.

32:04

And it's this research by Graziano

32:06

Ranocchia from the University of Pisa

32:08

and his team that has pinpointed

32:11

an exact location, a private

32:13

garden in the academy, near to a

32:15

sacred shrine to the Muses. The team

32:17

believe they'll have the whole of the

32:20

papyrus analysed by 2026. So perhaps I

32:22

should leave them with some

32:24

apt words from the man himself. No

32:27

one should be discouraged who can make

32:29

constant progress, even though it

32:31

be slow. Rebecca Wood reporting.

32:33

From Plato to Taylor Swift, whose fans

32:35

have been flooding to a pub in

32:37

London, after it was name-checked in one

32:39

of the songs on her new album.

32:42

Staff had the Black Dog in Vauxhall,

32:44

think their pub is referred to in

32:46

the song called The Black Dog. It

32:48

was supposedly frequented by the singer when

32:50

she lived in the British capital. And

32:52

now as Dan Simpson reports, it seems

32:54

many Swifties are keen to follow in

32:56

her footsteps. Mel,

33:06

so I've stopped you because I saw you take a

33:09

phone out. You were getting a picture of the Black

33:11

Dog. Why is this so important to you? Because I

33:13

love Taylor Swift. So when

33:15

you heard the song, what

33:17

went through your mind? Immediately ran down here? No,

33:20

we're actually in London from Canada. So we've travelled a long

33:22

way and thought, well, if we're all this way, we've got

33:24

to walk past the Black Dog. What does

33:26

her music mean to you? We've come all this way so we

33:28

can go to Lisbon and see her next month. So

33:31

you're en route? We are en route to the Eris tour.

33:33

So this is a perfect stop-off for you? It

33:36

is indeed, yeah. Lily,

33:38

you work here at the Black Dog. Tell

33:40

us about the last few days. It's

33:43

been crazy to be honest with you,

33:45

but super, super positive. We've loved having

33:47

all of the Swifties down. We've definitely

33:50

seen an increase of people coming in.

33:52

The Taylor Swift effect is real. It's

33:54

been positive vibes. So if we've had

33:56

sing-alongs, we've got a couple of new

33:58

menu items, dedicated. Taylor going

34:01

on so yeah we're just loving it. And

34:03

then you need to work really quickly right?

34:05

Do you have a desk on for a

34:07

meeting? What can we do? Thousands of fans

34:09

will be here? Yeah well we're a small

34:11

company so thankfully we can act really quickly

34:13

on stuff like this so it was just

34:16

a matter of getting the social media set

34:18

up properly. You know we launched a TikTok

34:20

that now has nearly too many views, accumulative

34:22

over about four or five videos. We've tripled

34:24

our Instagram following, we've got merch dropping as

34:26

well which is really exciting as this is

34:28

as excited for so definitely working

34:31

around the clock for the next couple of days

34:33

I think but we're loving it. Well she named

34:35

checked the track because it seems like she's been

34:37

here. Do you remember any of this? Yeah I

34:39

couldn't possibly confirm once and I but we do

34:41

have a certain blonde regular. What do you do

34:44

at that point? Because she's just such a star

34:46

it must be a big deal for you but

34:48

you want to kind of treat them like they're

34:50

normal people. A hundred percent everybody who walks into

34:52

the pub is just a patron. We just want

34:54

to serve them a good pint and you know

34:56

a really good pub meal and we're so thankful

34:58

that this is facilitated. How

35:01

you don't miss me in

35:03

the black dog when someone

35:05

makes a sign Dan Simpson reporting

35:08

from the black dog in London. And

35:11

that's all from us for now there'll

35:13

be a new edition of the Global

35:15

News Podcast later. If you'd like to

35:18

comment on this edition and the stories

35:20

we included drop us an email the

35:22

address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk or on X we

35:24

are at Global News Pod. This edition

35:26

was mixed by Chris Hansen the producer

35:28

was Oliver Burlau the editor is Karen

35:31

Martin. My name is Andrew Peach thanks

35:33

for listening and until next time goodbye.

35:43

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35:51

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