Global News Podcast - French supermarkets say fridges targeted in cyberattack

Episode Date: October 12, 2026

Major French supermarket chains have reported being hit by a cyberattack that caused their refrigerators to defrost. More than 150 Intermarché stores were targeted, along with almost 100 Coopérative U outlets. The hackers may have also hit other major chains in France and neighbouring countries.Also: Saudi airspace remains heavily disrupted, as Yemen's Houthis continue a barrage of missile attacks. President Zelensky says Washington has to make Russia respect the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump, after Russian strikes hit Ukrainian power plants overnight. Thousands have rallied in Delhi for what they call a March for Democracy, aimed at removing the head of India's electoral commission, following fraud allegations. Why AI data centres could be a major issue for voters in the US midterms. Pakistan detains the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after sacking him and his government and declaring a local emergency. We speak to the president of Microsoft about the dangers of AI going rogue... and the case of a Qing period porcelain bowl found mysteriously smashed inside the British Museum.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.Get in touch: [e-mail]: FILE PHOTO: A customer shops in a supermarket in Nice, France, March 1, 2023. Credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret, of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students, he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be destroyed. This is World of Seward.

Secrets, Catching My Teacher. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Hello, this is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Ankara and at 1500 GMT on Monday the 12th of October. These are our main stories. French supermarkets say a cyber attack has remotely defrosted fridges in hundreds of stores nationwide, causing food to spoil. Saudi airspace remains heavily disrupted as Yemen's Houthis continue their barrage of missile attacks.

President Zelensky says Washington has to make Russia respect the energy ceasefire, announced by President Trump, after Russian strikes hit Ukrainian infrastructure overnight. Also, in this podcast, thousands are rallying in Delhi for what they call a march for democracy, aimed at removing the head of India's electoral commission. And we have a report from the U.S. as data centers. powering the AI expansion of becoming a political flashpoint. It's near elementary schools, community centers. I mean, outside of just being near my home,

it's going to have a lot of bad effects for the area. We start in France where supermarkets say a cyber attack has caused havoc with fridges in their stores. The hackers reportedly targeted a company that provides software for the refrigeration systems, causing fridges to heat up, destroying stocks of fresh and frozen food. I asked our Paris correspondent,

Hugh Schofield, what we know so far and whether there was a motive for the reported hack. Well, nothing about the motive. All we're getting now is rather sketch information about what's happened. One big chain, Antemarche, confirms that up to 200 of its supermarkets were hit. And there's another chain owned by the same group called U, which has also been hit. There are reports that others like Leclair and Monoprey have been hit, but that's not being confirmed. But in all cases, it seems that it was this, as you say, this Danish system manager that was hit. I had no idea, and most people probably didn't either, that, you know, the cold and freezer units in supermarkets are actually controlled centrally by software, which

was hackable and which would then impact on all the supermarkets. It seems that whoever did this got into the software which regulates the programs of de-frosting of these units because they have to go through regular periods of slight increases in temperature in order that the frost disappears. And instead of them just getting up slightly in temperature, they went up way up into sort of 30, 40, 50 degrees Celsius overnight, with the result that all the food inside was contaminated and unusable. So it is a very, very interesting development. I mean, it's a terrible one. But if they can get into the design for all these supermarkets and their freezer units, then they can wreak havoc. Hugh, any word from the authorities or the companies themselves?

Well, I mean, only to say that they deplore it, obviously, and that from the authorities's point of view, there is an investor. open into who might have been responsible. I mean, obviously there's all sorts of speculation with Russia obviously being in the mix there, but I mean, there is no evidence of anything at the moment and we'll just have to wait until we are given more guidance about what leads are developing. Ever so briefly, any incidents similar to this in France before? No, absolutely not. I mean, that's what everyone is saying that, yes, there have been incidents in supermarkets, various, you know, sometimes you have animal rights people or anti-big-business people, the left who act, but nothing on this scale.

I mean, had known as aware that there was this kind of weak point as a centralised regulation of cold units that could be tapped into in this way. That is definitely very new. Hugh Schofield, next to the Middle East, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have renewed their warnings against people using Saudi airports after two deadly strikes on Riyadh's main international airport over the weekend and reports of ongoing threat. from missiles and drones. One person was killed and 11 were wounded

at King Khalid International Airport on Sunday. That came a day after 13 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a missile strike on another terminal at the airport, the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade. Speaking at a conference in Riyadh on Monday, the Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman,

said the word fear in the Saudi dictionary does not exist and that oil would continue to flow. The event of recent weeks are serious. Our response must be equally serious. For Saudi Arabia, these circumstances have tested our infrastructure, our institution, our people and our resilience. They have also tested decisions made long before the present crisis, because resilience is built before.

crisis began. Fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia has escalated dramatically in recent weeks. A global affairs correspondent, Sebastian Usher, told us more about the impact the Houthi attacks are having on Saudi Arabia. Well, you could see the impact actually where he was speaking at that Congress. Some energy executives, chief executives of major oil companies like ExxonMobil BP, who were scheduled to appear there aren't. That on one level shows the impact economically, also reputationally for Saudi Arabia. These conferences are very big events for Saudi Arabia. It's a big way that they're trying to sell themselves. Across the world, if you go on the streets,

in Riyadh, you'll find that the schools aren't open. Students are studying at home. Up in the skies above people's heads, planes aren't going by. So this is having a very very, very big impact, both economically in terms also of human life, but also in terms of the mood, the atmosphere in Saudi Arabia. This is a country that was pushing towards 2030 an extraordinary ambitious goal, but to have a very new sort of economy which welcomed millions of people who once upon a time wouldn't be accepted in Saudi Arabia at all. Tourism wasn't a thing. This will have another big knock on effect after the one that the Iran war had, and we're seeing it. we're seeing it. As I say, on the streets of Riyadh, you're seeing it across the country.

Even an app, a very popular app that people use now has an extra device that allows Saudis to monitor if there are any suspicious sounds or sites in the sky, but they then will post them. And so how is this being presented within Saudi Arabia? Well, as you heard there, I mean, that's very much the line that the oil minister was giving there, but they are steadfast, that they are not going to bend in any way. to the Houthis. The problem is the Houthis can hurt the Saudis quite easily, really. Those missiles are able to get through. I was having a bit of a discussion with a contact I have who's quite close to MBS and the leaders in Saudi Arabia over there saying, how could a major airport be hit, you know, three days out of four? And he's saying, well, it's such a big country, but there's so many different facilities but need to be looked after. It doesn't really explain. I don't think that will come across to Saudis or expats there. The de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, haven't really heard anything from him for a week or so.

There were reports. I was just looking in the Wall Street Journal saying he's moving from palace to palace with lots of bodyguards. I don't think he's under any personal threat, but there isn't a sense coming from him at the moment that he's standing there and he's speaking up for the Saudi people. But as I say, the general sense from officials will be that we're taking care of this. Just one very thing briefly. that has been posted a video of what happened at the airport on Saturday,

very unusual in Saudi Arabia to show that. I think one of the keys is to show that lots of the people who were there were dressed as pilgrims and to say, look, what the Houthis are doing, they're hitting Muslims, not just Saudis, but Muslims across the world. Sebastian Usher. President Zelensky has said that an energy ceasefire with Russia could be a major step towards ending the war in Ukraine with American support. He's been speaking in a video address to,

a security forum in Warsaw and following another night of intensive attacks on Ukrainian power plants. These took place, despite claims from President Trump, that an energy ceasefire had been agreed. Putin does not read through social and his chequedrons follow a different set of instructions. But these posts is actually about something that affects the lives of millions of people and that makes it very, very important, first of all, in Ukraine. Because Russia is trying to use another winter, another period of cold weather, against our country, taking our power plants, power greets, and all parts of our energy infrastructure every single day.

Our correspondent in Kiev, Dan Johnson, gave us this update. He began by telling us how relations are between President, Trump and President Zelensky. It's been absolutely fractious over the weekend since Donald Trump announced the deal that he'd done with Vladimir Putin to enable Russia to export diesel once again. Vladimir Zelensky responded to that saying the US was again being weak on Russia, the country that had started this war. And then Donald Trump responded saying that Vladimir Zelensky should be out of his job

that Ukraine should have elections. Then we got the surprise announcement of an energy ceasefire that Donald Trump posted. about. President Zelensky confirmed this morning that he'd been unaware of that until it was posted on truth social, but he seems to have adopted it. He's taken the pragmatic approach that this is what Ukraine had been calling for.

It's what the Ukrainian people need to get them through the winter. So however it was negotiated or announced, he's going to sign up to it, but he's reiterated that Russia must respect it too and that the US will need to put pressure on to ensure that because the early

evidence was that Russia was not adhering to this. There were further attacks on Ukrainian power stations last night, which have caused more energy problems across the country. And Dan, there were hints that a ceasefire, an energy ceasefire could be a step in the right direction towards finally ending this conflict. Yes, President Zelensky said if this could work, if it was respected by both sides, that it would bring huge benefits to the Ukrainian people and that Russia would get a cessation of attacks on its oil refineries as it wants, but also that this could perhaps build some trust and move things forward towards looking at other issues towards ending the war. It's early to be talking about any sort of

peace, but it would be a step in the right direction, a major step. So Vladimir Zelensky definitely throwing his weight behind this and highlighting how significant it could be, but it all depends on the Kremlin's approach. And their only comment so far has been through their spokesman Dmitri Peskov, who said just a few minutes ago that the Kremlin has nothing to say on the subject of an energy truce for now. He said contacts were ongoing and that Russia wanted lasting peace, not just a ceasefire. So whether the Russians are actually going to respect this ceasefire and stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, that's what everyone here now is waiting to see.

Dan, just very, very briefly, how are Ukrainians feeling ahead of another tough win? especially with the energy situation. Yeah, it's been difficult already before the temperatures have even dropped here. People have been experiencing planned power outages and some interruptions without having planned for it. So they already know the reality of being without light, without heat and without water

because that's needed to pump water to some of the flats at the top of apartment blocks. The public transport's already being disrupted and people have been considering whether they can actually remain in Kiev and other big cities through another cold, bitter winter. They've experienced this before. They knew how tough it could potentially be.

So that's why they're so hopeful that this will bring some relief. Dan Johnson reporting from Keev. Let's look now at another issue playing into America's midterm elections. The data centres powering AI expansion. President Trump is championing them and supporters point to investment and America's technological future. But people who live near them say they're bothered by incessant noise and heat. Arizona is one of the country's data center hubs,

and its Attorney General has called for a pause on new approvals amid residents' concerns about water and electricity demand. A North America correspondent, Shama Khalil, has been to meet residents living near the giant facilities. The backlash against the data center boom is spreading across America. Here in Arizona, protesters outside Mesa City, Council are fighting plans for yet another development. The point of technology is to make things more efficient, not to coat the earth in rapidly

depreciating chips that heat neighborhoods, produce noise, and make the area less livable. It's near elementary schools, it's near community centers, I mean, outside of just being near my home, and it's going to have a lot of bad effects for the area. We can't have another data center. We don't have enough water as it is. You can hear the hum as soon as you enter this suburban neighborhood. Just across the street from people's homes, machinery keeps these vast windowless buildings running. Inside are rows of computer servers processing information around the clock. This is the infrastructure behind America's AI progress.

Any slowdown, President Trump warns, means losing to China. But this AI revolution can make for a very noisy neighbor. Maureen and Richard Bechtol moved here to be closer to family. Now this noise carries into their backyard. We love our house, but if we had known that was going in, we never would have bought here. But it's enough to make the difference between a pleasant lifestyle and wondering how much noise is going to be coming up and what's next.

We've only heard one generator at a time. And we can't be outside. Do you foresee yourself continuing to live here, or would you want to leave? Well, I would like to leave today. But financially, I don't think I can lose that much money. You think you'll lose on the value of the house? Oh, I would lose big time. Oh, I'm sure of it.

I'm sure of it. This is essentially a data logger. Professor David Saylor, the director of the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, has been the... studying how heat released by data centers is making communities in the already scorching state even hotter. Driving around this neighborhood, what worries you about its proximity to that data center? This neighborhood is in the downwind wash of that data center. And so the residents here are all going to feel a couple of degree Fahrenheit warming on a typical day. And that will

translate to higher energy costs for them running air conditioners, as well as a slight increase in the risk related to adverse health outcomes. Tech companies say newer designs can reduce water and energy use, and some residents see data centers as essential to the technology they already rely on. I don't think it's a problem, and I'm kind of excited. I just recently bought a Tesla with full self-driving, and I know that uses a lot of data, and it's awesome. In Casa Grande, we walk around Nancy Kaywood's family farm.

Generations of her family have grown cotton, barley, and lettuce here. Now we're standing on dry brown earth where crops once grew. She says around 85% of the farm lies unplanted because of the prolonged drought. We need that water, and if it's not there, how do we farm? And even though times are tough, she's refused offers from data center developers to buy the land. What do you say to President Trump? because he's a big advocate of data centers. Can't eat data centers.

Can't eat them. They're not going to provide food for you. As voters head to the polls in November, many issues will weigh heavily on their minds. Among them, the expansion of AI, changing their lives and the landscape around them. Shai Mikhailil. Still to come in this podcast,

the president of Microsoft says the UK is the global leader in AIC safety. If you ask them, name the country that is the leader in having this technical capability. It's very simple. It's the United Kingdom. They are the best. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students he's trying to silence. This is World of Secrets, Catching My Teacher.

Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Let's turn our attentions to Pakistan, which has seen protests in recent weeks demanding the release from prison of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Now his colleagues in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunqwa, who were involved in the protests, have been sacked, and the government has declared a local emergency there. Mr Khan's party, the PTI,

claim the chief minister of the province, Sohelle Afraidi, has been arrested. Military trucks have been deployed, schools closed, and official building sealed off in the state capital, Peshawar. Pakistan's federal justice minister justified the measures. So the fundamental grounds for imposition of emergency are law and order, fight against terrorism and to save innocent people from the dreadful consequences of terrorist activities. A Pakistan correspondent Carrie Davies is in Islamabad, she told us more. This is definitely a significant step.

And in terms of what exactly has happened and why it's happened, it depends who you ask. So you mentioned about Sahel Afridi, the chief minister of KP, according to the PTI, Imran Khan's party, he has been arrested. but according to the information minister for the federal government, he's obviously based here in Samberg covering the whole country, he has said that Sahel Afrii is in protected custody, and that is to control any unrest. I've been at a press conference today where questions were asked

about how long he's going to be held in protected custody, how many other people might also be in protected custody, and we didn't get answers to those questions at this stage. And you heard, of course, just then from the ministry as well, talking about the reasons why this has been implemented. the government were adamant during the course of this press conference. This is about trying to control terrorism. They say that not only has the PTI government,

who've been in power in the British government of Khyber Putzunqa, since 2013, so for 13 years, they say that during that time they've not done enough to try to curb militancy, but instead, according to the information minister's words, that they work hand-in-glove with militants. When again he was asked for further evidence to back that up, he said that there was clear evidence, in fact that they were in touch,

with the Pakistani Taliban, and he also said that there was other evidence as well. We didn't get given or presented any of that during the course of this Prince conference. But the government are very adamant that this is all about terrorism, and the reason they've taken control is to try to diminish terrorism in this particular state. But of course, if you speak to PTI or any of the supporters for Imran Khan, as quite frankly quite a lot of other observers, they would point you to what has been going on in the province recently, i.e. the protests that have been going through the province demanding that Imran Khan

is released. These protests have been going on for just over a week now before this announcement was made. The government keep on saying that the march could continue, but in effect, when you've taken the chief minister, he was leading these protests out for mix, whether he's been arrested or whether he's in this protective custody, it's quite difficult to see how that momentum could keep going. So a lot of people are saying that is just too much of a coincidence. Carrie, just briefly then, what more do we know about Imran Khan's condition right now and off the back of those protests and marches regarding his release? the arrest of some of the members of his party and some of his family members too.

Well, very little, really, about what has happened to Imran Khan. Of course, in August there was the fact that he was allowed out to go to hospital, a different hospital, so the one that the Supreme Court had allowed him to go, and there have been very few visitors to him. In fact, no visitors, according to his party, since that time. So it's very difficult to know much more. At that particular point, the reports were that his health was good, but as there have not been many other people that have gone to see him,

it's difficult to know what his condition is at the moment. India's opposition parties and thousands of their supporters are marching to the Supreme Court in Delhi to demand the resignation of the election chief over electoral fraud, defying a strict security clampdown. The leader of India's opposition Congress Party, Rahal Gandhi, is calling it a march for democracy and justice and calling on everyone who believes in democracy to attend. They want to submit a petition to the court about the removal of millions of names from voter lists. The Electoral Commission denies any wrongdoing. There's a heavy police presence on the streets and key metro stations have been closed.

A reporter, Jugal Purait, is there. For days now, protesters have been trying to make themselves seen and heard in India's national capital. However, what we are seeing today is unlike what we've seen on any other day. There is a huge crowd coming being led by India's opposition leader, Gandhi and several other parliamentarians. The plan is to march from here to the Supreme Court of India, and the idea is to press for the resignation of India's chief election commissioner and initiate a slew of electoral reforms.

Now, the government says that this area is, there's a notification which prevents the assembly of more than four people at any place in this vicinity. That particular piece of law has been breached and the police is moving in because there's also a huge police deployment and now they're moving in to try and make sure that the protests remain confined to this spot. Jugal Purahead reporting. It's being increasingly woven into everyday life, but what can we do to make AI safe?

It's a question that leaders around the world are grappling with after a series of hacking incidents with AI agents, with AI agents going rogue, illegally accessing government systems and global institutions. President Trump has insisted that the sector regulate itself so that U.S. firms don't lose out to Chinese rivals. But the president of Microsoft disagrees. Brad Smith's been speaking to the BBC's Wilbane. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection. We know how to do this for other products.

we should build on that knowledge and start to think about how to apply at the AI. Well, the big question I have is who is doing that? Interestingly, it's really at its best, a bit of a combination. You often get your best work done, especially on something like a safety break, for example, when the industry itself starts to develop common standards. That means identify the best practices, build out the standards. and then the regulators then take that standard and they make it a legal obligation. I think one of the things, especially in the realm of evaluation, safety inspection that one has to remember is somebody always has to go first.

Somebody has to be at the forefront. And it's going to be international, right? And in an early stage technology like this where people are racing, right, that people are still trying to establish who is where in it. that presumably is much more difficult than say with something, I don't know, where we're coming to a consensus after the event. One of the most interesting things is I actually think the country and the government that is in the best position to advance AI safety standards and even rules is here. It's the United Kingdom. It's the AI Security Institute. It started with the name AI Safety Institute. You need capability to do this well. You need to have trained people. And the UK was at the forefront.

It started to build this up. The U.S. started and then it slowed down. And so the U.K. has kept pace much more with the technology. In the world of technology in the tech sector, most people that I know would say, if you ask them, name the country that is the leader in having this technical capability. They would say, oh, it's very simple. It's the United Kingdom. They are the best. Now that the U.K. is the best.

I think the question is how to build on that. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith. Next to a very strange incident at the British Museum here in London. Staff is said to be totally baffled as to how a chin-period porcelain bowl was smashed in room 95 of the museum when no one was in it. What's even more curious is that there is no damage to the casing where the bowl was being kept or to the shelf it was on. But the bowl, which is said to be working,

worth a considerable amount, is totally smashed. Understandably, the incident has sparked great concern in China. Rebecca Kesbby got more details from Jan Shua, an independent curator based in London and director of Chinese porcelain across the sea, a documentary series about exported Chinese porcelain. First, she spoke more about the bowl. It's a large bowl, about 22 centimetre. They are 17 central Kangxi period porcelain.

but imitate the Ming Dynasty 16, 15 central states. They are quite rare. They were made during the turning point around 1680. China were in civil war. It changed from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. Country Emperor became the emperor at the age of seven. At the time, country emperor wanted to win over a lot of the Han scholar and government official. So he encouraged the revival of the classic Ming style.

The porcelain this time damage is a concierge copy. So it's a real tragedy that this has happened, but also a complete mystery. Now, I don't know whether you've seen the pictures of the shards of the bowl, but it's very strange because nothing else seems to be damaged in any way. The shelf that it was on is not damaged. There's no sort of obvious way that it would have happened, as we're told nobody was in the room when it happened. But it is.

It looks destroyed. Have you seen the pictures? What do you think happened? I've seen the picture online. And strangely, I was in the British Museum in the same room, doing my documentary film about Chinese export porcelain about end of April this year. And then we have to film before the audience come in. And we can see all the porcelain were well-look-after, well-display.

So it's really a mystery. I mean, we are hearing from the British Museum that they're promising to restore this bowl. But looking at it, I mean, it looks so damaged. Is it going to be possible? I know this is a bit of an area of expertise of yours as well. Do you think it's going to be possible to fix it? It's very likely they can fix it. I think the first time that Chinese porcelain got serious damage,

it's in 2004, three larger can see whysis in the Fifth Wheelham Museum in Cambridge University was smashed. They were able to restore. And now on display, the porceling conservation, technique is very advanced now. I'm sure that all these damage piece will be restored and go back to display. I think their educational function will never lose. People can still wield the damage unless they use a professional ultraviolet lie or x-ray. Otherwise, for naked eyes, people will not notice the mark. Independent curator Zan Shua. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch,

You can email us at Global Podcast at BBC.com.uk. You can also now watch our episodes in full. Just search for the Global News Podcast on YouTube. This edition was mixed by Dapheth Evans, and the producer was Stephanie Tillotson. The editor is Karen Martin, and I'm Ankara to sign. Until next time, goodbye. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret.

of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else. And the investigation led by students, he's trying to silence. If this is leaked to the media, I'll be destroyed. This is World of Secrets, catching my teacher. Listen on BBC.com, the BBC app or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.