Global News Podcast - $7.4bn settlement over painkiller that fuelled US opioid crisis

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

US states reach a $7.4bn settlement with the makers of OxyContin, a painkiller that fuelled a nationwide opioid epidemic. Also: President Trump tells international businesses to move to the US or face big tariffs.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. What does it take to go racing in the fastest cars in the world? Oscar Piastri. Your head's trying to get rid of one way, your body's trying to go another. Let's stroll. It's very extreme in the sense of how close you're racing wheel to wheel. We've been given unprecedented access to two of the most famous names in Formula One, McLaren and Aston Martin.

I'm Landon Aris. They build a beautiful bit of machinery that I get to then go and have fun in. They open the doors to their factories as the 2024 season reached its peak. I'm Josh Hartnett. This is F1, back at base. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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at West Edmonton Mall. Grand opening week happening now. Come in today. You're listening to the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Friday, the 24th of January. US states reach a $7 billion settlement

with the makers of a painkiller that fueled the American opioid epidemic. President Trump tells international business leaders US states reach a $7 billion settlement with the makers of a painkiller that fuelled the American opioid epidemic. President Trump tells international business leaders to move production to the US or face big tariffs. And why Mount Everest is becoming even more expensive to climb. Also in the podcast? His family still doesn't know where he is, says Zaki. They still don't know until they can confirm it. The harrowing search for the missing in Gaza.

And Amelia Perez becomes the most nominated foreign film ever at the Oscars. In the late 1990s, Perdue Pharma aggressively promoted the use of opioids, specifically Oxycontin. Some patients may be afraid of taking opioids because they're perceived as too strong or addictive. But that is far from actual fact. Less than 1% of patients taking opioids actually become addicted. Its actions helped fuel the drug addiction crisis in America, which has led to 700,000 overdose deaths over the past two decades. Now the firm and its owners, the Sackler family, have agreed a $7.4 billion payout to settle thousands of lawsuits. I got the details from Neda Taufik in New York.

The Sackler family was the wealthy owners of Purdue Pharma. And Purdue made massive amounts of money selling opioid painkillers. It made the family billionaires. They had their names on, you know, art museums and other institutions. And OxyContin was promoted through doctor's offices, through advertisements. There was firms that worked with Purdue Pharma to work on exactly how to market the opioid. And they really downplayed just how addictive OxyContin was. And what resulted was just an explosion of prescriptions across America for Americans in pain. But the opioids became so addicted that it really fueled this crisis where people didn't get the right treatment for their addiction and then would go on to

even harder drugs like cocaine or heroin. And so this is something that was rampant through the suburbs of America. It affected everybody. It didn't discriminate by age, by skin color. And at one point when this was clear, it was a real public health crisis. That's when the examination of Purdue pharmacies themselves, doctors really came under scrutiny. That's why we have so many lawsuits in this country trying to get justice for some of these victims who suffered greatly by the opioid crisis. Okay, so take us through this latest settlement. Well, this settlement, it's interesting because this is the second settlement.

About seven months ago, the Supreme Court actually blocked the initial agreement between Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. As all these lawsuits were coming through, Purdue wanted to file bankruptcy. And so as part of that, this settlement with states, local governments, and individuals who were suing Purdue and the Sacklers, they kind of came to an agreement about how much the Sackler family would put forward of their individual fortune and how much Purdue would also put forward. But that initial settlement made it so that nobody could then sue the Sackler family after

that settlement. And the Supreme Court said that that was a misuse of the bankruptcy system, that you couldn't just shield a third party, which in that case was the Sackler family, and they blocked the deal. And many people were devastated. I remember several victims said it was a long, hard-fought settlement, that 95% of the creditors had agreed to the deals and terms, and they felt like they were going back to the drawing board. But here, several months later, we have a new settlement, which means that those who

don't want to be a part of this settlement can still go after the Sackler family on their own. They can file their own civil lawsuits. The Sacklers are also putting up $500 million more than they were in the initial settlement, and they will no longer have control of Purdue Pharma as a company. So this $7.4 billion is going to go not just to individuals who were hurt but also to governments for working out treatment options for those who are addicted and just other kind of preventive tools throughout the community.

Neda Taufik in New York. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump threatened to impose a tax on all imports into the United States, including 60% on goods from China. He even declared that tariff was the most beautiful word in the dictionary. After his swearing in, he backed away from earlier promises to act immediately. But on Thursday, he made clear he still wants foreign companies to contribute to the US economy. My message to every business in the world is very simple. Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth. We're bringing

them down very substantially even from the original Trump tax cuts. But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have The US president was speaking by video link to business leaders at the World Economic Forum in the luxury Swiss resort of Davos. He also said he wanted Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the price of oil, saying it would help end the war in Ukraine. So what should we make of it all? Our North America business correspondent is Ritika Gupta. His rhetoric has not been that different to what he said on this campaign trail or his inauguration. I mean, this was the first major speech to these global business leaders, the

financial elite. I mean, the irony is that Davos is all about international cooperation of business, but Trump's nationalistic instincts, again, very much full on display. In terms of how serious he is, many will say this is Trump, the negotiator coming out on tariffs. This is something that business leaders wanted more clarity on, especially after that 10% threat on tariffs on Chinese imports.

The 25% on Canada and Mexico that he said could come by February the 1st. So it is hard to say whether this is more of a negotiating tactic. The only thing that he has yet committed to is a trade review by April the 1st, which does give China and some of those other tactic. The only thing that he has yet committed to is a trade review by April the 1st which does give China and some of those other countries time to address it and try to avert some of those levies. And do we have any idea of how companies are likely to respond? How hard would it be for for many of them to move

their production to America? Well the risk here and this is something that the head of the World Trade Organization has warned, that imposing these tariffs could have catastrophic consequences for the global economy because it's likely that there will be a risk of tit for tat. There could be a global trade war. If you remember, the first Trump administration suggests that countries will indeed try to retaliate if the US does impose tariffs, but maybe in a way that is a bit more measured and trying to minimize those escalating tensions with Washington. Some countries did succeed in getting those tariffs lifted, but if they conceded to wider deals, to reform trade agreements

or increasing the purchase of U.S. goods, Europe has said that Valdis Dabrowski, he's the European Union's commissioner for the economy, he said that Europe will respond to any tariffs imposed by Donald Trump in a proportionate way. Similarly, Canada's Trudeau has said that they will responding to the Trump tariffs too. He also said he wanted lower interest rates and specifically he wanted the price of oil to be brought down.

How does he think that will work? Yes, he did demand interest rates drop immediately and this is something that the US president cannot directly control. This is up to what is an independent Federal Reserve, but there are concerns that he will try to influence that. He has previously said that he believes the US president should be able to influence interest rates. Similarly, with OPEC, the US is not an OPEC member and he cannot directly influence OPEC's decision on its supply of oil.

But again, it's something that he is clearly trying to influence. And North America business correspondent Ritika Gupta. And a reminder that if there's anything you'd like to know about Donald Trump's first week in power, now is your chance. We're planning to do a special question and answers edition of the podcast and we need your help. So please send in your questions to globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk and even better if you can record it as a voice note.

Thank you. Strange though it may seem, stand-up comedy is booming in Ukraine. Many performers report that humour, no matter how bleak, is helping people cope with the war. The BBC's Vitaly Shevchenko has been finding out what's been making Ukrainians laugh and why. On October 14th 2023, an unusual event took place at Ukraine's most prestigious venue, Palace Ukraine. Anton Tymoshenko became the first Ukrainian comedian to give a solo performance there. Anton Tymoshenko! Who recalls being told that the event was never going to happen because the popularity

of stand-up comedy had not reached that level in Ukraine? Well, it has now, to a large extent, because of the full-scale invasion launched by Russia. It turned many Ukrainians away from the previously popular and lavishly promoted Russian acts and triggered a renewed interest in Ukrainian culture. Anton Tomashenko says his jokes help people deal with the grim reality of war. ANTON TOMASHENKO, Russian actor and comedian

Stand-up comedy is a budget version of psychotherapy. I like to relieve social tension with my jokes. Popular performer Nastia Zuhvala says Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 gave stand-up comedy in Ukraine a boost, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The demand for comedy looks totally natural to me now, because comedy supports and unites. It can also make reality look less catastrophic. It's a tool which can help us process this stream of depressing information.

So what is making Ukrainians laugh? Time for an example. A joke from Anton Tomashenko's performance at Palace Ukraine. I never worried about a nuclear attack because I know it would mean death for rich residents of Kiev. I live on the center of Kyiv. I live on the outskirts, but the nukes will hit central parts. Before fallout reaches me, it will have to make two changes on the metro.

My most realistic death is the Iranian shahed. More realistically, I'll get killed by Iranian shahed drones. The sad thing is, did you hear the noise they make? They sound very demotivating, like the cheapest kind of death. There's also a very practical side to what stand-up comedians are doing for Ukraine now, helping its army. Many of them raise funds for it, perform for the military and some have joined the army. Mr Tomoshenko says he's collected and donated about $700,000 since the start of the full-scale invasion. Laughter heals, but turns out it can also help collect money for attack drones.

Vitaly Shevchenko. Scaling the world's highest peak is on the bucket list of many a mountaineer, but the sheer number of climbers attempting Everest has led to both overcrowding and a build-up of waste. Now the Nepalese government says it's increasing permit fees by more than 35% from $11,000 to $15,000. But will it make much of a difference over what is already a costly adventure? Theo Leggett spoke to Tim Mosdale, who's reached the top himself seven times and who runs a company offering expeditions to the Himalayan peaks. In real terms, it reflects probably a 3% annual increase year on year since it was increased

about a decade ago to $11,000. So although it's a hike of $4,000 in one go, in real terms, it's an incremental increase. It's fairly standard. It's a difficult one. It will partly perhaps reduce numbers. Unfortunately, that then becomes a bit of a differential between those that can afford and those that maybe can't quite afford. But a lot of the money is put back into, there's rubbish on the mountain and they do have some cleanup operations occasionally. And some of those are funded by the Nepalese government. Is there a case for saying Everest needs fewer climbers paying more?

a case for saying Everest needs fewer climbers paying more? Unfortunately, that then becomes a bit elitist. The outdoors hopefully is for everyone to enjoy but there are plenty of other mountains around the world where you have to pay to enjoy that environment. So it's not as if it's the only mountain that you have to pay for. If it was a cheaper option, undoubtedly it would be busier and that in turn could create some big problems. So, you know, I think there's a very delicate balance and, you know, we'll see next season, spring 26, you know, we'll see what happens in terms of numbers then, I guess. Tim Mosedale. If you were listening to the podcast last week, you may have heard about the appalling conditions at hospitals in the Afghan city of Kandahar.

Our reporter saw overflowing wards with not enough staff and patients unable to pay for the medicines they need. For a long time, Afghanistan's health service received a crucial part of its funding from the International Committee of the Red Cross, but that was reduced after the Taliban takeover. But as the ICRC spokesperson in Kabul, Ashil Dupre, explained to my colleague Paul Moss, their work hasn't stopped. We are continuing to support the healthcare system all across Afghanistan. We have several programmes to do that. We are also maintaining capacity to respond to emergencies, either involving mass casualties or natural disasters.

And we are operating in Afghanistan, our largest physical rehabilitation program worldwide that supported last year more than 200,000 people. These are people with disabilities, many of them victims of mines or victims of the wars that have been unfortunately Afghanistan's history for the last four decades. Now, the ICRC has had to reduce some of its funding to the Afghanistan healthcare system, which I know has caused concern in some areas. Why did that happen? Just to give a bit of context, after the change of authorities in August 2021, we put in place

an emergency program that was intended to prevent the tertiary healthcare system from collapsing following essentially the power transition, the abrupt departure of many development actors, and also financial sanctions that affect the Afghan economy. So this is in this context that we assume the payment of salaries of health staff, also payment of drugs and materials, and the monthly running cost for 33 public hospitals across the country. But this was clear from the beginning, and we were transparent with the authorities, that this was intended as a temporary measure

to maintain the country's healthcare system and prevent it from collapsing, and also allowing the authorities to get time to get organized to gradually assume their responsibilities. So this is the reason why, in full transparency with the authorities who have expressed their willingness to assume the control of the healthcare system, we have handed over the financial responsibilities on that in August 2023. Now we've heard reports about hospital corridors full of people,

children in the malnutrition ward waiting for a long time to be seen. Why do you think the health service in Afghanistan seems to be deteriorating? This is clear that the situation in Afghanistan for communities is extremely difficult not just in terms of health care access to health care but what is clear also is that no single humanitarian actor can respond to the massive humanitarian crisis in this country. So providing health services to the massive humanitarian crisis in this country. So providing health services to the population, this is clearly the responsibility of the authorities and no international actor,

humanitarian or otherwise, can do that. Given the challenges, what more can be done by the international community to try to deal with these kinds of problems which the Afghan health system faces. One thing is clear, we cannot look away when we see the massive humanitarian needs within the country. It's clear that this needs engagement from many, many different actors. This needs funding and this needs attention

from the international community. This is one thing for sure. Of course, there are other crises happening around the world, but this one deserves attention as well. ICRC spokesperson Ashile Dapre. And still to come on the Global News Podcast. I think it's unacceptable and disrespectful to our land and region and above all to those who lost their lives fighting the mafia. Why a board game about mafia wars in Sicily in the 1980. Oscar Piastri. Your head's trying to get roofed one way, your body's trying to go another. Lance Stroll. It's very extreme in the sense of how close you're racing wheel to wheel.

We've been given unprecedented access to two of the most famous names in Formula One, McLaren and Aston Martin. I'm Landon Aris. They build a beautiful bit of machinery that I get to then go and have fun in. They open the doors to their factories as the 2024 season reached its peak. I'm Josh Hartnett. This is F1 Back at Base. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. The health authorities in Gaza say more than 10,000 people are missing in the rubble of bombed out buildings. Since a ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, teams of rescuers have been fanning out

across the Palestinian territory to search for those who are unaccounted for, many of them thought to have been killed by Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli government has banned the BBC and other international news organisations from entering Gaza but with the help of trusted local journalists our correspondent Fergal Keen has compiled this report which contains upsetting details. They work with their hands, a piece of rubble at a time, dust rising around them. Shreds of clothing are pulled out, bones tumble free, a skull is found, teeth, fragments of broken humanity to which the searchers seek to give a name.

Often though they must write the Arabic word marjul, unidentified on the white body bags. Osama Salah lives in Rafa and returned home to find the remains of a war victim in his house. I swear it is a painful feeling. I cried. We are humans with feeling, seeing people torn. I can't convey to you how miserable the tragedy is. The remains are taken to hospitals where families can come and check. In the courtyard of the European Hospital in South Gaza, body bags are laid out in several rows.

Body bags are laid out in several rows. Zaki Shukba stands over clothes and bones, thought to be his nephew, 19-year-old Abd al-Salam. Zaki awaits the arrival of the boy's brother to confirm. His family still doesn't know where he is, says Zaki. They still don't know until they can confirm it. Abd al-Salam's brother, Muhammad, comes. He touches the clothes, the skull of his brother. In this way, the death of Abd al-Salam is confirmed. Uncle and brother walk away, trying to comfort each other.

In the family video to the sound of a popular song, Aya Aldaba, aged 13, is blowing up a lilac at the edge of the sea in Gaza. A younger sister plays between the waves. Happy days before the war. Aya was shot in the chest, her family says by an Israeli sniper near Gaza City at the start of the war. She was buried in the grounds of a school where they'd taken refuge. Then the family fled south. It was only with the ceasefire that relatives were able to check on the grave.

fled south. It was only with the ceasefire that relatives were able to check on the grave. Her mother Lina received shocking photographs. I recognize her clothes. We had dropped her with a blanket when we buried her and I used that to confirm it was her. For Lina there's grief without end and a question that has no answer, one that sits with so many parents who lost children in Gaza. What could they have done differently, the circumstances of the war being what they were? I couldn't take her from where she was buried, Lina says, before asking where could I have taken her? Fogelkeen in Jerusalem with that report. Uber and Indian rival Ola have been put on notice by the authorities in India

over claims they charge users different prices according to whether they used an Apple or an Android phone to hail a cab. India's consumer watchdog is to look into allegations that iPhone users had to pay more for the same journeys. India is one of Uber's biggest markets outside the US. I heard more from our South Asia regional editor Anbarasan Etirajan. For several months there have been reports on Indian media about how the iPhone users are being charged more by these cab firms, both Uber and Ola. Even though there is no conclusive proof that it is happening. But what is interesting is in India, most

people use Android based phones like Samsung or Huawei, nearly 95%. iPhone users are only 5% because Indian consumers are very cost conscious. iPhone is very expensive, we're talking about $1,200, $1,300 per unit. Whereas for $300, we're talking about thousand, two hundred, thousand, three hundred dollars per unit, whereas for three hundred dollars you can get in locally made phone or Chinese made phones, almost giving the same amount of facility. So the iPhone is seen more as a status symbol in India unlike in the West. So there is a perception that if you are owning iPhone means you have more money to spend. It may not be true, but what is interesting here is this is only a perception about whether these firms are charging more and that's why the Central

Consumer Protection Agency issued notices to these two firms saying, are you doing any differential pricing? There is a difference in what you charge for somebody booking the cab using Android phone or using iPhone. But some experts also point out when you book a cab through any of these apps, it also depends on your timing, whether you are booking it on a busy time or early morning, midnight. So the prices automatically changes.

You have algorithms and how the pricing is working that is different. But again, it is an interesting debate what's going on. Yeah, the authorities clearly taking this seriously by calling the firms in. Have they responded at all? Uber has responded. They have denied that they are charging based on the software or the phones. They said they don't do this kind of differential pricing and it is the same for everyone.

And they were very happy to work with the Consumer Protection Agency to clear any misunderstanding. And we haven't heard from OLA or from other companies. But what is interesting here is the Consumer Affairs Minister was on X. He was saying he wants to extend this to see how food orders as well as online ticketing portals. You know, in India, online ticketing is huge. For example, this band Coldplay, they are performing in India. The tickets sold out in a matter of minutes. It's massive. Concerts are being held in different places. So they want to see whether there is any pricing difference if you book it on iPhone or on Android.

Our South Asia regional editor Anbarasan Etirajan. After a delay caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles, the contenders for the Oscars have been announced and despite President Trump's recent executive order recognising only two unchangeable genders, it was the transgender cartel musical, Emilia Perez, that got most nominations. Are you English? No, I'm not English. Why? No, because you are pretty. Meanwhile

Sebastian Stan was nominated as Best Actor for his role as Donald Trump in The Apprentice. The 97th Academy Awards are due to be handed out on the 2nd of March. I spoke to the arts journalist Vincent Dowd first about the contenders for Best Picture. Vincent Dowd Remember there are now 10. Once upon a time there used to be five. Sometimes I thought it was a bad idea to stretch to 10. Not this year. 10 really good movies. We've already heard about Amelia Perez, by no means my favourite film of the 10, but really good films like Anorah. And they're interesting. You get something

like Anorah, which is quite edgy. and then Conclave. Conclave is almost like a really good Sunday night TV film but really well made by Edward Berger and with terrific performance by Ralph Fiennes. So really good and films which is good why you should have 10 films things which are less well known so far like Nickel Boys for instance set in the 1960s in the USA. Overall, really good selection of movies. And pick a couple of favourites out of those for the likely winner. Okay, I think The World Thinks that The Brutalist is likely to win. So that's a very, very heavyweight film partly about architecture set in America after the Second World War. I didn't love it, but what's my opinion going to count? I really loved Anora.

I won't begin to explain it. It's a strange film to explain. But the middle hour of that two-hour, 10-minutes film, I thought was the funniest thing I'd seen on screen for 20 years. And you know what? It's quite difficult to find really funny films anymore. Anora would be my pick. So undoubtedly, I've doomed it totally.

And take us through the best actor and best actress nominations. So best actress very briefly Cynthia Arevo, Carla Sofia Gascon who we've briefly mentioned once upon a time. He was Carlo Gascon, Mikey Madison for Nora, Demi Moore making a big comeback for The Substance and Fernando Torres for I'm Still Here. That's probably the least known of all these films. I think that might well go to Mikey Madison, very briefly, best actor, Adrian Brody, Timothy Chalamet, well you've got to have Timothy Chalamet, good heavens, it's Hollywood, Coleman Domingo, Ralph Fiennes and Sebastian Stan, you've already mentioned

playing a very interesting political role in The Apprentice, a movie which almost didn't get distributed but now people are taking a much bigger interest in. Okay, and when we come to the 2nd of March, what should we look out for? I think it's already been announced, Ollie, that some things are not going to be quite the same that Sunday in LA. There's going to be an awful lot of, I suspect, rather serious tributes to the firefighters. For instance, there aren't going to be any songs as I understand. It's changing all the time. But at the moment, they're saying there's going to be no songs this year. Instead of that, they're going to be quite serious mini

documentaries about the five writers of the songs. And there's going to be a lot of people talking about working in LA during the fires and the firefighting. In some ways, I think it's going to be a rather serious evening but it undoubtedly will have some laughs as well and we hope it will have a few people bursting into tears because what would the Oscars be without a few people bursting into tears. But overall a vintage crop of films? Vintage is a big word isn't it? A very good crop of films. Arts journalist Vincent Dowd. A German board game about the Mafia Wars on the Italian island of Sicily has caused outrage after it was translated into Italian. The sister of a murdered

anti-Mafia judge has described the game as offensive. Rachel Wright has this report. La Familia, the great Mafia War, transports you to the brutal turf battles of 1980s Sicily, where Mafia families fought for control. The basic premise of the game is for players who represent various mob families to compete against each other to take control of Sicily, to dominate as many regions as possible using car bombs, killing soldiers, building drug labs and boats for transporting and smuggling drugs. It was invented by a German company, Board Game Italia, and has proved so successful that it won the prestigious As-D'or or Golden Ace, awarded by a jury at the Festival International des Jeux in Cannes in 2023.

But then it was translated into Italian and distributed on various online retail sites, causing upset amongst some. The sister of a prominent judge Giovanni Falconi, who was killed by a carbon planted by the Sicilian mafia, otherwise known as the Cosa Nostra, has said the game offends the memory of all those who contributed to freeing this land of organised crime. Merciless mafia battles in the 1980s wrecked much of the southern Italian island. More than a thousand people were killed within the first two years of the decade. And Alessandro De Leo, a politician with Forza Italia, is also outraged.

I learned with great surprise that a German company has made a board game called The Family, which represents the mafia crime wars of the 1980s in Sicily. I think it's unacceptable and disrespectful to our land and region and above all to those who lost their lives fighting the mafia." The game's designer, Maximilian Mariatil, has apologised for any offence caused but doesn't see a problem as he says in the game mobsters only kill each other. Thiel, who lived in Italy at the time of the Mafia turf wars, says the murder of innocent people is not what the board game is about, it's solely about the internal Mafia battles.

The Mafia is still active in Sicily but has moved away from violence towards more white-collar crime a long way from the murderous battles of the 1980s and it is unlikely that given the popularity of La Familia the board game is going to be pulled anytime soon. Rachel Wright. And that is all from us for now but the Global News podcast will be back very anytime soon. What does it take to go racing in the fastest cars in the world? Oscar Piastri. Your head's trying to get rid of one way, your body's trying to go another. Lance Stroll.

It's very extreme in the sense of how close you're racing wheel to wheel. We've been given unprecedented access to two of the most famous names in Formula One, McLaren and Aston Martin. I'm Landon Aris. They build a beautiful bit of machinery that I get to then go and have fun in. They open the doors to their factories as the 2024 season reached its peak. I'm Josh Hartnett.

This is F1, back at base. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.