Global News Podcast - Biden promises a 'peaceful and orderly transition'

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

Joe Biden has promised a 'peaceful' transition and praised Kamala Harris; Elon Musk's plans for America as he prepares to join the Trump administration, and arm-wrestling in Africa.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. A search for the truth behind an international drug smuggling plot. How are we going to unravel this all? From the BBC World Service, this is World of Secrets, season five, Finding Mr. Fox. Search for World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Search for World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Valerie Sanderson and in the early hours of Friday the 8th of November, these are our main stories. In his first public address since the US presidential election, Joe Biden has commended Kamala Harris, saying she led an inspiring campaign and has promised a peaceful transition for Donald Trump. President Zelensky says calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine without guarantees of security for the country are dangerous and irresponsible. Scientists say the amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced by private flights has increased by almost 50%. Also in this podcast... The federal bureaucracy has gotten out of hand and we just need to pare it down to a sensible level. There are all these fake jobs. The country's going bankrupt.

Elon Musk's plans for America as he prepares to join Donald Trump's administration. as he prepares to join Donald Trump's administration. The US President Joe Biden has made his first address to the nation since the resounding victory enjoyed by Donald Trump in Tuesday's election. Speaking from the Rose Garden in the White House, Mr Biden called on Americans to put their differences aside following a long, bitter and divisive election campaign. We're in a democracy, the will of the people always prevails.

Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I've said many times, you can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbor only when you agree. Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature.

Mr. Biden paid tribute to his Vice President and the defeated Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, and he promised an orderly handover to the president-elect, Donald Trump. On January 20th, we'll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America. It's been a historic presidency, a presidency for all Americans. Together we've changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish the term. Let's make every day count. That's the responsibility we have to the American people. So was it President Biden's intention to sound conciliatory? I asked our Washington

correspondent Will Grant. Yeah, I think that's true. I was particularly struck by the line about bringing down the temperature. As you said, it was after a long and often bitter, bitter campaign between the two rivals. So I think the president was aiming to do exactly as he said, sort of hope that things will now cool down after the tension and the stress and the frenetic kind of speed of a long campaign. He also spoke of things like you can't love your country just when you win, you can't love your neighbor only when we agree. So trying to make sure Americans begin to see each other

as fellow Americans rather than adversaries. So I think it was interesting that regard and of course congratulating Mr. Trump specifically and saying there would be a peaceful transition of power. So Donald Trump we know has a Republican majority in the Senate and possibly in the House of Representatives. I mean where are we now on results? It will be huge I think if he does take that. They are on course to do so. It is very tight in terms of the House of Representatives but I think the predictions are it will go the Republican Party's way. Certainly the Senate is already

in Republican hands. I think if he then has full legislative backing for his executive agenda, that will be the absolute icing on the cake for Donald Trump. He's already taken of course the Electoral College. He has the popular vote. If he then has the legislative in both chambers then he obviously will have had an extremely, extremely powerful victory. Will Grant in Washington. Will Donald Trump's election victory has been at the top of the agenda at a European security summit in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Mr Trump has been critical of NATO and the European Union, fuelling concerns that he could cut US funding to Ukraine for its war against

Russia. President Zelensky says what he calls current rhetoric about a ceasefire in Ukraine is dangerous and irresponsible, as it offers no guarantee of security for his country. Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest. Mr Zelensky's comments came in response to a call by the host of the gathering, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, for an immediate ceasefire to be followed by negotiations. The Ukrainian leader has said that a ceasefire is only possible when the victim of aggression receives security guarantees. Without that, a ceasefire would be a prelude for Russia to ruin and destroy our sovereignty," he said. Mr Zelensky has cut a lonely figure

at this meeting. EU leaders, previously critical of Donald Trump, took it in turns to say they're prepared to do business with the US President-elect. Nick Thorpe. Well, President Putin, meanwhile, has made his first comments since Donald Trump's victory. During a speech in Sochi, he said he'd offered his congratulations to the President-elect, adding he was ready to hold talks with him about the war in Ukraine. Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, was listening. Donald Trump will have absolutely loved what Vladimir Putin said about him. Speaking at a political discussion club in southern Russia, the Kremlin leader praised the way Trump had handled himself during the attempt on his life back in July and called him a courageous man.

Then more praise for the US President-elect's stated desire to improve relations with Russia and help end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin will be hoping to build a productive relationship with the Trump administration, one that does indeed help to end the Ukraine war on terms beneficial to Russia. Mr Putin added that he was ready for discussions with Donald Trump. Steve Rosenberg. Well, just how Donald Trump will govern all depends on the team he appoints. And there's one person we know will have a role. That's Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla, SpaceX, and now X, or Twitter. He was involved in Donald Trump's campaign, and the President-elect paid tribute to him

in his victory speech. Elon Musk has already been speculating about what he might do in government, telling the Joe Rogan Experience podcast about the efficiencies he'd make. We've got far too many government agencies, the federal bureaucracy has gotten out of hand and we just need to pare it down to a sensible level. There are more productive things they can do in the economy. There are all these fake jobs. That doesn't make sense. So, look, we've got to do this

because the country's going bankrupt. Peter Barden-Flethansen worked for Tesla for 10 years, reporting directly to Elon Musk. So just how excited is he about what his former boss will do for the new US administration? I don't know if excited is the right word. I slightly fear it I guess because I know Elon and I know how efficient he is. You could say that's a great thing, efficiency needs to be in place. However, I don't think you necessarily can align running a private company and running a country using the same levers. Can he influence things in a positive direction? I've never met anybody who's as uncompromising as Elon and he definitely does what he says

he will do, although sometimes that timeframe can be somewhat longer. But you saw it in Twitter, he said he was going to make that more efficient. He cut 80% of the staff in the first year. He used to do like him and still does like an annual purge of the Tesla staff of about 10% to ensure efficiency remains high, that everybody's running a dual pace. And one could say, well, he's made some of these companies the world's richest, most valuable companies. So why not do the same for the US? As he says, it's going bankrupt unless they start doing something else.

So you can see him making a difference? I can see that there are definitely elements in this that could help. However, he's also very, very cynical. He has a very uncompromising plan. What is in it for him, do you think? It's always difficult with Elon because he's like playing chess with somebody who's like five moves ahead of you and you never really find out what the end game is until you're there. Of course, ensuring that he can deregulate the requirements for autonomous vehicles in the US, increase government contracts for SpaceX, get more military input in relation to also SpaceX, get less regulations on Starlink.

So basically this is all strengthening his hold on the world if you like. Not necessarily in the nation's interest? No, I wouldn't necessarily say there there's a complete alignment between the nation USA and Elon. Is he going to fall out with Donald Trump? He did in 16. He may do. I mean these are two enormous egos. So as Peter Thiel, Elon's former partner in PayPal said, never ever bet anything against Elon. Peter Bardenfleck-Hansen talking there to Sarah Montagu. Next a story about a

president battling a drop in his popularity and how he's chosen to deal with it. The president of South Korea and his wife have been associated with several scandals, not least of which involved a luxury handbag. I got more from our Asia-Pacific regional editor, Mickey Bristow. Well, the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yul, is halfway through his five-year term, only served one term in South Korea, but his popularity has really plummeted. It's below by some surveys less than 20%, which means he's pretty unpopular. Now, in order to try and resuscitate his popularity amongst the South Korean public, he's on Thursday given a televised address to the nation in which he tried to apologize for some of the

mistakes he's already made. And quite noticeably, he also blamed his wife for some of the problems surrounding his presidency. He said she should have shown greater caution in some of the things she's done. He also said the fact that she has caused concern amongst the public is unquestionably wrong. So really criticising his wife to a certain extent in order to try and make himself more popular with the public. And what has she actually done?

I mean there are certain issues and certain questions around her public appearances, her duties, her role behind the scenes and there's certainly questions to answer. For example, she accepted a luxury handbag some time ago as she's been accused of stock manipulation. She's been accused of getting involved in politics, helping choose candidates for a by-election. And so there are certainly questions to answer about whether or not she is entirely to blame for the president's lack of popularity. I doubt that because he's done certain things. For example, there's been a strike of dots as earlier this year.

They had nothing to do with the first lady, but as often happens in politics, you often, the dry debate about policy often gets overshadowed by the more kind of high profile, glitzy subject matter of politics and a president's wife is one such subject. So she's actually effectively been handbagged by her husband, hasn't she? She has to a certain extent. As I say, the questions to answer, what he's tried to do the husband is try to say from now on there's going to be an office looking after her duties. He's also going to establish a post in which people look at the way relatives of presidents act.

He is though trying to defend her by saying there should be no independent investigation in it. So he hasn't completely thrown her under the bus. And how is this all going down in South Korea? Well, it's predictably been broken down along party political lines. The opposition blame the president's wife for a lot of things which have gone on and I think she's got a real case to answer. It should be investigated.

The president and his party think she's being made a scapegoat and being involved in politics because she's an easy target. So that's how it breaks in the South Korean public. Perhaps a better question and one which I can't really answer is how this is going to turn out in the household of the president. Mickey Bristow Still to come Can I have Chesnagor please? to come. The Gaming Platform Roblox Neurals.

My talent as an athlete is swimming long halls over the curvature of the earth. Lives Less Ordinary is the podcast with astonishing personal stories from across the globe. My past is very bad and I survived. You have to tell the story. Expect the unexpected. All of a sudden the car exploded. Lives Less Ordinary from the BBC World Service.

Here's a thing that happened to me. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Climate scientists have warned that the ultra-rich are using jets like taxis. In the most comprehensive study to date, researchers calculated how much private jet setting by the world's wealthiest adds to the planet's greenhouse gas emissions. More from our climate and science reporter Georgina Ranart. Everyone has a carbon footprint but some are much larger than others. Using a flight tracking website, Professor Stefan Gosseling traced

private flights and the associated fuel consumption. We find that global private aviation is emitting about 15.6 megatons of carbon dioxide. In global terms that might not seem much, but we should remember that this is a tiny fraction of humanity, that each of these individuals is emitting more than a small city in Central Africa. The research has found peaks in private jet travel around major events like the FIFA World Cup or the Cannes Film Festival.

Traces of what looked like holidays were there too. Private flights increased to Ibiza or Nice on weekends during the summer months. But some trips appear to be for business. The scientists found an increase in jets landing in Dubai at the same time as the COP28 UN climate conference last year. The emissions are small compared to global greenhouse gas emissions. But Professor Gosling says that people with the largest carbon footprint should set an example. I believe that 10 years from now people will wish we had done a lot more in order to stop climate change. The UN assessment report has just found that countries are not doing enough to limit climate change

and I would say we need to cut down on certain activities and we need to start at the top in order to make the statement that everybody needs to have a role in cutting down emissions. The researchers say that all emissions should have a price tag and that governments need better regulation of private jets. Georgina Ranard. Now to Israel where the parliament has passed a law allowing the government to deport the family members of people convicted of terrorism offenses including Israeli citizens. Israeli human rights organisations, though, say the law is unconstitutional. John Donnison in Jerusalem explains what the law entails.

So this law passed through the Israeli Knesset. It was introduced by a Likud member of parliament. That's the same party as the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and what it says is that relatives of anyone convicted of terrorism offences can be deported for up to 20 years. Now it applies to what are called first degree relatives, so that's parents, children and siblings of anyone convicted of an offence. And it's not just relatives of those who carry out attacks. It could also be relatives of those who maybe show support or sympathy for terrorism or terrorist organisations in Israel's eyes.

And that includes posting on social media. Now, the law doesn't explicitly say this, but in the Israeli Parliament a number of members of the Knesset said look this is clearly aimed at Palestinian citizens of Israel sometimes called Israeli Arabs and no one is imagining that it's going to be applied to Jewish citizens of Israel who might be convicted of terrorism offenses who actually include Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Ghavia who has a conviction

for supporting a terrorist organization. It is very controversial and I think it will almost certainly be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. John Donison, recognize this? Recognise this? Well, those are just some of the strange sounds that fans of the free online gaming platform Roblox will be familiar with. And it's been a hit with gamers across the world. Some 70 million of them log in to play every day. Roblox is particularly popular with children,

but there have been complaints about young people being exposed to harmful content on the platform. Turkey banned access to the site in August due to concerns about children's safety. Well, now Roblox is introducing fresh safety features for children under 13. And our technology reporter Tom Gerken told me more. Starting on the 3rd December, people who make games are now going to have to say whether

what they've made is suitable for under 13s. If the game isn't suitable then under 13s won't even be able to see it, let alone play it. But that's also true for any game which hasn't been rated. That means that a massive amount of the games on Roblox suddenly under 13s aren't going to be able to play. They're also introducing some significant changes around what it's sort of called social hangouts. These are games which aren't really games, they're more like chat rooms. They're areas where people go to talk to each other either by text or of course by voice. And that also includes what it's sort of quite funnily described as whiteboards

where people might write something down which other people can read. So these are quite significant changes because those two areas under 13s simply aren't going to be able to use any more. Some people might question why they're even allowed to use them to begin with. But are the measures going to work because as I understand it, it's all about self-certification, isn't it? So kids say, well, I am 13, therefore I'll put in perhaps a fake birthdate and that means I can use it. I mean, how do you check on that and stop underage children using it? What you've just described is one of the biggest questions that tech firms in general are facing right now. How on earth you're meant to actually,

accurately age verify users. Because what you've said is right. Technically there are lots of different measures that these firms are trying to bring in and Roblox is one of them, trying to bring in different ways of verification. But I think the truth is that actually you are going to be reliant on people to be either accurately saying their age or in the case of under 13s, for parents to be making sure that the age their child is putting is correct. And where Roblox is leading, do you think other gaming companies are going to follow that this idea of children being checked about their age is really something that is very key?

These age ratings are specifically trying to age-gate conversation. They're trying to put a line on children being able to communicate with adults, which obviously is something a lot more significant than people perhaps just playing a video game that's got a bit of violence in it. So I do think that this is a big talking point and a big area which a lot of video games are going to move towards, where they make sure that people who are using voice chat are of a certain age, just in order to put to rest any idea

that an under 13 might be able to communicate with an adult. The reality is a game like this is humongous. 70 million active players, I just said. If you have that many players, there's absolutely no way that the conversations that are happening there could be moderated. It would be impossible. And therefore, the only way to make sure

that nothing untoward is happening would be to age gate it. So I think we're going to see a lot more of this as time goes on. Tom Gerken. And meanwhile, Australia is planning to become the first country in the world to ban children from social media. And to propose new laws, anyone under 16 will be barred from Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and similar sites. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the legislation had been drawn up in consultation with social media firms. Our Australia correspondent Katie Watson reports from Sydney. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was introducing this legislation for the mums

and dads. Those who, like him, were worried sick about the safety of children online. New rules will mean accessing apps such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X will be off limits to anyone under 16. A key point is there won't be any exemptions to the rules, not even with parental consent. There won't be penalties for young people or their parents. The onus will be on social media platforms to show they're taking reasonable steps to prevent access.

Once the law is passed, it will take another 12 months until it comes into force, giving social media companies enough time to work out how to prevent access to under-16s. While the proposal has cross-party support, there is concern about how it will work in practice. There has been some criticism of the proposal, with experts warning that a ban just delays a child's exposure to social media. It doesn't teach them how to stay safe online. Katie Watson. Ghana has announced plans to build a state-of-the-art training centre for the sport of arm wrestling. It's just the latest example of the growing popularity of the sport in Africa. So what does it take to make it as an arm wrestling champion?

Well, UBC Sport Africa's Eislinne Veddan has been finding out. Are you guys ready? Go! Ahhhh! Members of the supernova arm wrestling club here in Gauteng in South Africa showing off their skills in a sport, which according to the Ultimate Arm Wrestling League has a history dating back more than 4,000 years. Don't move. Ready, go! Arm wrestling is one of those sports where you don't have to be the strongest to be the best.

You just have to know what you're doing, you've got to understand the technique. Rosemary Bota is a former multiple national arm wrestling champion and represented her country at the world championships. She's now president of the South African Arm Wrestling Federation and mentors budding competitors here at the Supernova Club which is based at her home. They include 14-year-old Mary Prince Lu who won a bronze medal at this year's African Games in Ghana. It was just wow. I was very happy that I could go that far. It was very stressful because

I'm a good in front of crowds and those women were very strong. A total of 28 arm wrestling titles were on offer in Accra where the sport made its African Games debut. Bota had no hesitation in sending Prince Lu. The first time I pulled against her she kicked me. It was like down. I was down so fast it was just not funny. I then realised that I'd have to use all the technique I have in the book to beat her. So the choice to take her to Ghana was a no-brainer. Arm wrestling is a sport with low cost and can be promoted among people with disabilities. Bota also wants to encourage more women to take up the sport. I promote it as a feminine sport, not just as a sport to show off your testosterone and

ego. I was terrible when I started on wrestling. I wasn't able to win a single medal, but I still loved it. I just loved that camaraderie, that family vibe, that opportunity to try and be better than the next person. And I arm wrestled against bodybuilders that had these big muscles, and I was this not so conditioned little fat girl. And I actually was able to stop them.

I was holding them. They eventually beat me and then I realized but if I actually put some effort in I might be able to also beat them. Bota says more inroads should also be made in previously disadvantaged areas to help expand the arm wrestling scene. I know some of our strongest arm wrestlers come from farming communities which is out in the middle of nowhere. Then they come to the table and they are killing it because they just have natural raw talent because of the type of lifestyle that they're leading. My dream as president

of South African Arm Wrestling is to see us get the sports going in schools so that they also have the opportunity to join us to go to a World Championships one day. As part of the new generation, 14-year-old Mary Prince Lou is keen to break the stereotypes which depict arm wrestling as a pub sport. It's not really a bar sport. The bar sport is you go, you're drunk and you arm wrestle. But arm wrestling is you go to the table and you're an athlete and you know what you're doing. It's not just you're pushing your goal, it's technique and you have a passion for the sport. Although still at high school, Prince Lu is hoping to build on her African Games success.

And who knows, maybe she can achieve her dream of becoming a world champion one day. Ready, go! Winner! becoming a world champion one day. Ready, go. Winner. That report by Eislinne Verdan. And with that, we give this edition the elbow. Because that's it from us for now. But there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it,

send an email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on x at globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Chris Hansen. The producer was Alison Davis. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye bye. An adventure of a lifetime. Sailing around the world. Delivering a renovated yacht thousands of miles around the globe, from Brazil to Europe. It was an opportunity to gain a lot of experience.

My path to my dream was beginning. But for the sailors selected, this dream job quickly turned into a nightmare. Rodrigo, the police are here. There's something on this boat. Whoa. But 10 of cocaine. And a key suspect was miles away. Fox called the shots. He was in charge.

But we've found him. Brazilian police say that you are an international drug trafficker. Well, I'm not. From the BBC World Service. World of Secrets, Season 5. Brazilian police say that you are an international drug trafficker. Well, I'm not. From the BBC World Service. World of Secrets, Season 5, Finding Mr Fox. Search for World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts.