Global News Podcast - Hegseth attacks Europe over migration in D-Day speech

Episode Date: June 7, 2026

Pete Hegseth has used a D-Day anniversary speech in northern France to criticise European nations for allowing what he described as an "invasion" on their shores. The US defence secretary said Europe's beaches were being ''stormed by migrants with dangerous ideologies.'' His comments mark a further criticism of European migration policy by senior members of the Trump administration. Also: Iran has accused the United States of violating its obligations as a World Cup host because of its refusal to grant visas to some staff travelling with the Iranian football team. Ukraine launches another major drone attack on the Russian city of St Petersburg. More foreign migrants are evacuated from South Africa following a surge in attacks on immigrants. A funeral is held for a seven-month-old Palestinian baby shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank. People in Peru are voting in a highly polarized election to choose their ninth president in a decade. And the Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva has won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open.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]: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth giving a D-Day anniversary speech in France Credit: Reuters

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Pete Ross and in the early hours of Sunday the 7th of June, these are our main stories. At an event commemorating the D-Day landings in Normandy, US Defence Excery, Pete Hegseth criticises Europe for not doing enough to stop the arrival of migrants on its shores. Iran accuses the US of discrimination after several members of its World Cup delegation are denied visas. and Peruvians prepare to elect our ninth president in 10 years. Also in this podcast, more evacuations in South Africa following a wave of attacks on migrants.

A teenager who's crowned the women's French Open Tennis Champion and... I brought my skills definitely to the crushers. We found that using the humble potato masher turned out to be an excellent way of crushing grapes. Could Irish wine give the French and Italian are run for their money. The European migration policy has once again become a target of criticism from the Trump

administration, showing a clear divide in attitudes on either side of the Atlantic. This time that message came from the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegeseth, who has criticised European nations for allowing what he described as an invasion of migrants on their shores. He was speaking in Normandy in France, 82 years after Allied forces stormed French beaches, to liberate Nazi-occupied northwestern Europe in 1944. Hegseh said in the years since D-Day, some European capitals had grown too comfortable with their hard-fought freedoms.

Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain, in Italy, in Greece, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do? something about that invasion? Or is it too late? I pray not and I believe not. On Friday, the US Vice President J.D. Vance blamed the murder of a British student by a British Sikh man on what he called the mass invasion of migrants. Downing Street responded by criticizing those, it says, are seeking to stir up division on our streets. Tobias Elwood is a former British government Minister. HECF remarks would be discourteous, irresponsible, coming at any time from any, indeed,

any American, let alone a senior representative. But the fact that it's happened on the anniversary of the day landings is particularly telling. And many veterans and families will rightly see this as misguided, indeed insulting. Our correspondent in Washington, Tom Simons, told me more about what Pete Hedkseth had been saying. He suggested that European countries were not doing enough to defend Western values. He said that the men who stormed ashore on D-Day knew that liberating Europe, these are his words, took industry and courage, not empty slogans, lavish summits and not communicates. And that seemed to be a reference to the US administration's feeling that some European countries

are too relaxed and insufficiently prepared to invest in in fighting wars. but he also made these comments about migration. He said that Mediterranean beaches were being stormed by people, and that was the words he used, with different dangerous ideologies. And he asked, when will European capitals do something about that, quote, invasion, or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not, he said, but he was clearly very critical of that situation.

Any sense why Washington is weighing in on this issue, no? Well, there's a clear and obvious. difference in approach and policy about migration. Donald Trump's administration, frankly, prides itself on preventing as many migrants as possible from reaching America, whereas in Europe, governments have signed up to protecting the rights of refugees

through the Refugee Convention. And so there's a tone and a content here that really does demonstrate that there are differences of approaches on both sides of the Atlantic. I think the American administration is very happy as often as possible to make clear its feeling,

about its own stance and its own view of these issues. And it's clearly a cultural difference between the Trump administration and, as it would see it, European governments. Of course, he is not necessarily talking about all of the ways in which immigration is dealt with in Europe. I mean, the British government has a policy of stopping small boats coming to British shores. But clearly, Peter Hegeser is prepared to use an event,

albeit a memorial event to make a clear political point. Tom Simons. Later this week, the Men's World Cup kicks off in Mexico, who's hosting the tournament along with Canada and the US. Given this is the first men's football World Cup ever, where one of the host nations is receiving a country it's at war with, Iran's participation in the tournament in the US was never likely to be straightforward.

The Iranian team are scheduled to play at least two games in the US, and while the players themselves have been granted visas, Tehran says 15 members of its backroom staff have been refused. The team has also had to base itself in Mexico. And Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Aboufazzo Pasandide, says the team will have to cross into the US on match day and leave the same day. In this case, traveling for so long, going back and forth on flights, will make the players tired.

The coordination issues and loss of time. could affect the performance of our national team. Washington says some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas under false pretenses. I got more details from Manny Jasmy, a reporter for BBC Sport. The day after America first attacked Iran, the president of the Football Federation said on television that he sort of hinted that there was doubts about Iran going to the World Cup

and there were similar sentiments from the sports minister. I never thought there was any chance of Iran pulling out of the World Cup. They tried to get FIFA to move their games to Mexico, and there was never any chance of that happening either. But they have, as you say, moved their training ground to Mexico, and that will be a huge relief to the Iranian Football Federation because they were worried that being in America would attract a lot of anti-regime Iranians living in the community, and the whole thing would become a circus.

So that has been allayed now, and the players have their visa, the coaches have their visas. It's just largely peripheral staff who haven't been given their visas. Two of them are important because they're media officers. They would expect to be at press conferences. And another two are analysts. And quite often what happens in football is at half-time. analysts using data guide the coaches about the trend of the match, which the coach may not have been aware of. The analysts won't have a visa either, but all of them have gone to Mexico and the

plan is that they will continue to lobby for everyone to get a visa for the States. You've talked a little bit about the impact there that's going to have on Iran's chances, but what chance do you give them and how has this going to affect them? Well, on paper, I think they're in a group that they can progress from. They've got Belgium, who are the toughest team in the group, and then New Zealand and Egypt. But leaving the visa issue aside, there's a question about whether they'll be allowed into the US the night before their matches, so they can train at the stadium, which is part of the FIFA statutes. And then when the matches start, the atmosphere in the stadium among Iranian Americans, where the anthem plays, I'd be astonished if it isn't booed.

These players, the Iranian regime, wants them to display certain gestures that is in their favour. The opposition, the monarchists and anti-region, want them to do the opposite. And I think it's really unfair. These players are playing at the pinnacle of their sport, some of them for the last time, because of their age, but they don't have the headspace that other players have that allows them just to turn up, train, eat, sleep and play. I think there will be controversies throughout. We've seen ticket price controversies. We've seen water bottle controversies. And I think they will run and run throughout the tournament.

Mani Jasmy. Ukraine has launched another major drone attack on the Russian city of St Petersburg, the commander of a Ukrainian military unit involved in the overnight strikes, has told the BBC that it was very easy to reach Russia's second largest city as it hosted the final day of an economic forum. The local governor described the scale of the attack as unprecedented. Our correspondent in Kiev, Vitaly Shivchenko, sent this report. Yvhen Karas, commander of the 413th regiment of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces, told me that Russian air defences had been struggling to intercept his drones. Operations in St. Petersburg and operations in occupied Crimea.

And in both directions, north and south, we fly in Russia like it's our own territory. Almost no resistance, not hard to reach a target. It seems very bright predictions for future what we can do in occupied or Russian territory to press Putin to stop a word. The Ukrainian military say they hit weapons. doors, a naval base and an oil depot outside St. Petersburg. President Zelensky called the attack a just response to Russia's aggression. The authorities in St. Petersburg say hundreds of local residents were evacuated from an area

near a military facility which had caught fire. According to them, 144 Ukrainian drones were shot down near St. Petersburg and hundreds more across the country. The attacks come a day after Vladimir Putin rejected Vladimir Zelensky's arms. offer of peace talks and a ceasefire. Russian drone attacks have continued in Ukraine as well. They killed at least two people and injured 11 others in the southeastern city of Zaporizia. In occupied parts of Ukraine, movement on two key roads linking them to Russia has been restricted

because of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian logistics. The Moscow installed authorities in occupied Luhansk region banned bus and coach services under two motorways, leading to Marupil and Crimea, for security reasons. Earlier this week, the Russian authorities said a number of civilians were killed in Ukrainian strikes on a bus and a commuter train in occupied territories. Vitali Shivchenko In Peru, people are heading to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president. The choice is between the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, who's pledged a tough military crackdown on organized crime, and the left-wing Roberto Sanchez, who's promised to expand the state and give it greater control over the country's natural resources.

Peru has had eight presidents in 10 years. Rapidly rising homicide rates have meant insecurity, as well as political instability, have become top issues for voters. From the capital Lima, our South America correspondent Ione Wells, has been finding out what's driving people's votes. Peru's capital Lima is a bustling metropolis, known for its food, its architecture, its sweeping sea views.

And the bus network here is the backbone of its transport network for its 10 million or so. residents. But in recent years, there's been a surge in extortions of bus drivers, leaving some fearful to take a seat near them. They shot me in the legs an afternoon. I was out of work for four months. Now I work with fear. This driver, who doesn't want me to use this real name, was shot after his company was threatened by criminals, trying to extract money. Although my wounds are dry, I walk and it hurts. I've never been so afraid to leave my young children. The next leader has to have a strong hand against crime.

If I had money, I'd leave the country. Extortions like this have soared in recent years here in Peru, with nearly 30,000 cases reported last year. There were 239 drivers killed last year alone, according to an independent observatory of crime and violence. The conservative Keko Fughe Mori is running for a fourth time, ledging an iron-fist approach to tackling crime and restoring order, including deploying troops to the streets to combat violence.

And in the government of my father... In my father's government, we work together to defeat terrorism, and we will do that again. I declared war on the extortionists. I declared war on these criminals. She's invoked the memory of her late father Alberto Fulhamori, the former president of Peru, who was known for his hardline approach on tackling insecurity, was also convicted of crimes against humanity. Her supporters want a similar tough stance now.

One of her proposals is to put a heavy hand on crime. It's something sorely lacking in these times that no authority dares to do, one young supporter says. For economic stability and for democracy, we choose Fuhimori, another says. Fulhi Mori's left-wing challenger, Roberto Sanchez, has promised sweeping changes to tackle inequality and corruption, including expanding government spending, nationalizing more natural resources and reforming the tax system. The hour has come for the people, a people who have never been in power,

a people who are not asking for luxury or privileges, but for dignity and rights. Of course there will be nationalization, but we're also going to accept foreign countries that want to contribute to our country, the supporter Maria says, don't believe this negative idea that communism throws out foreign investors. Another supporter, Raul, says he thinks Sanchez will bring more investment in his. health, education and infrastructure outside the capital. I'm at a park near the Pontifical Catholic University in Lima to ask some students how they feel about the election and what they want for their future.

I think there's a political exhaustion with the political class that has mobilized especially younger people who are tired with how politics is being conducted with no real inclusion of younger voices. If Fuhimori or Sanchez wins, there will be a lot of instability. I will vote critically for Sanchez, not because he's my favourite option, but it is the only option that I feel can at least try to block Fujimori.

I don't think she'd bring a government of change. I'd like a more modern right. Speaking to Peruvians of all different ages, one thing that unites them as they go to vote for their ninth president this decade is they want an end to the political instability that has rocked this country. To tackle issues like corruption, crime, inequality, they want somebody who will be able to stay in the job long enough. to really be able to make change.

Ione Wells reporting from Peru. Still to come in this podcast, a funeral's been held for a seven-month-old Palestinian baby, shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. To say it happened by mistake, that I didn't know you were coming here or that the bullet passed through by accident, no. This is the global news podcast.

Another group of foreign migrants were evacuated from South Africa, on Saturday following a recent surge in attacks on immigrants. The BBC's Nomsomisiko in Johannesburg told Rebecca Kesbby more about the background to this story. There has been an intensified drive in terms of anti-illegal immigration protests that have been taking place. It started late last year around October. There have been protests at least once a month, but those protests have now intensified almost every day. There was a protest even in the east of Johannesburg. in Davidson, where thousands of South Africans have gathered to, I suppose, put their message

across about how they feel about undocumented or irregular migration. There's not even an actual number. And also because South Africa has local government elections in November this year, and whenever it's an election year, you see an intensity of these anti-foreign or anti-illegal migrant protests. It first started out as just politicians. pitting citizens against each other. But in poor townships where the poverty, the anger and the frustration of South Africans not having jobs and blaming foreigners for being behind the high levels of crime in the country, that's quite palpable on the ground.

And also the fears of this 30th June deadline. Remind us what that's about the deadline? The protest organizers have said that all undocumented migrants need to leave South Africa by the 30th of June. And that is seen as a threat against those who have not left the country, even those who are documented. I've seen in the last couple of weeks, businesses, which I know belong to African migrants, have been closed down for their own safety and security. So there is a fear. And it's quite justified because 2008, 62 people were killed. 2009, there were also more, 2015, 2019.

And this is now 26 and it's getting much bigger. But these protests are kind of forcing the government's hand into actually doing what they have been promising to do, to ensure that because of the country's constitutional, the labor laws that say that small-scale farming or a laundromat or a car wash, those businesses are only supposed to be than by South Africans, but the lines have been blurred, and that is why South Africans are feeling that they have been ignored by their government for far too long. They see that in other countries there are no protests,

but undocumented foreigners or anyone who has overstayed their welcome gets deported. South Africa is the only country where actual protests have taken place, and unfortunately they have been deadly in the past. Nomsomaseko speaking to Rebecca Kasby. The Israeli military says it's launched 150 strikes on southern Lebanon in the past 48 hours. Targeting what it said were sites connected to Hezbollah. On Saturday, the Lebanese army reported that three members of a military vehicle, including a senior commander, were killed in an Israeli strike in the south of the country,

calling it an act of brutal, deliberate and repeated aggression. Israel acknowledged targeting the vehicle and says it's launching an investigation. Our correspondent in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Lena Sinjaab has this update. It's a vehicle that is clearly marked as a military one. And this is not the first time that military soldiers come under fire. Since the start of the war, several have been killed as well. But this is like the one that is with a clear target on them.

It happened around the city of Nobatia on a road leading to Nobatia in the south. And this is really coming days after making this agreement where it, basically says there will be pilot zones where the Lebanese army would be deployed to clear the south of any presence of armed, non-government armed, basically, to clear it from any presence from Hezbollah. And now this is really shaking the confidence of this army that they are under fire from the Israelis and may well be under fire from Hezbollah, who is categorically rejecting the negotiations, rejecting the outcome of these negotiations. And, basically, basically rejecting the terms of this ceasefire and continue firing on Israel.

It really puts the government in a very difficult position who was really adamant. The only way forward is negotiations and his direct talks for the Israelis to find a lasting solution and putting the Lebanese army at risk, at high risk, that they will be a target. Lena Sinjab. A funeral has been held for a seven-month-old Palestinian baby, shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Friday. Samfad Abu Haikal's family say they posed no danger. They say they were driving through Hebron.

They were told to stop their car, which they did, but the soldiers fired anyway from about 10 metres away. The child's mother was wounded and is still in hospital. The Israeli military says soldiers thought the vehicle was speeding up, but has expressed deep sorrow that uninvolved civilians were hurt. The baby's father says nothing can bring back his son. What happened to us is not a matter of apology. What happened is not that shots were fired by mistake and led to this tragedy.

An apology in this case would amount to clearing a criminal perpetrator. To say it happened by mistake that I didn't know you were coming here or that the bullet passed through by accident, no. There is no such thing as by mistake in this case. Our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher has been to the scene of the shooting. This road is where the family was coming from Bethlehem. They were coming back to their home. A small patrol of Israeli soldiers called on the family to stop their car,

which the man who was driving the car, the father of a young baby who was killed, says they did stop. The grandmother was also in the car said they did stop. They say that there was daylight. There was no reason not to be able to see inside the car who was in that. What we've heard from people nearby eyewitnesses is that two shots were fired. One of these shots that we've heard from the family hit three members of the family. The mother and the father, the mother was quite seriously injured, the father not,

and the baby was very seriously injured, and he died later in hospital. The whole sense we get from this area is that this is a place where it's continually under stress. Up there is a checkpoint. This family's house is just beyond that checkpour. and then after that there is a settlement. And that is what causes a lot of the stress and the pressure that is happening here. The IDF has expressed deep sorrow for what happened and said that those who were in the car were uninvolved civilians and that the case is under investigation.

Our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher. We all know about how wonderful French, Italian, German or even Portuguese wines are, in Europe. But did you know about the vineyards of County Cork in Ireland? Global warming, or indeed heating, has been helping drive a whole new wine industry in the country. Coleman Eiffa McCann have a small vineyard in Shanagery, County Cork, in the south of Ireland, joining the ever-growing number of Irish vineyards. Carolyn Wyatt spoke to both of them and began by asking Collum how he ended up choosing to make wine. It's very much feels like frontier land or a pioneering spirit and the types of varieties, they are what are known as the hybrid grapes or pee-wee or

interspecific grapes. So names such as Salaris, Rondo, Orion, yeah, more and more of those grape varieties that we will see more of, I think, and they are being planted in some classical wine regions as well. So yeah, it's only a matter of time before these names become more familiar. Eva, were you the chief grape picker to begin with? Yes, I suppose I am the enthusiastic amateur, so I brought my skills definitely to the crushers. We found that using the humble potato masher turned out to be an excellent way of crushing grapes. It is something that's fun and very much has an Irish vibe to it all, plus cookery school vibe.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring that as a way of crushing grapes. What should people be drinking the wines with? Oh, good company, mostly. It's a new taste, a new flavor. They will be slightly higher maybe in the acidity line. So I think definitely with chakuseries and lots of lovely crisps and that sort of thing, I think they would go well with fish because of the nice balancing acidity. Maybe some lighter pottery dishes would be nice.

delicious. I'm pretty sure the redder ones should be really good with a bacon and cabbage as well to put in a nice Irish twist it. Do you think they will become eventually a drink that could rival Guinness or Irish whiskey or are they something in a class of their own?

For me I think they're on a class of their own. Guinness and whiskey are obviously magnificent drinks but these are very much of their area, of their place. It reflects the Irish almost hedgerow appeal. And given that it's such a small country, I suppose,

we will all know or know of the people and the place where they're made. So there's a lovely connection. I think it will be a thing on its own, and it'll be fun to watch it develop. IFA and Column McCann. To tennis now, and the Russian player Maria Andreva has won the French Open Women's single title in Paris. The 19-year-old beat Poland's Maya Fulner.

Filinska, the first qualifier to reach the women's French Open final. Russell Fuller was watching and told Charlotte Gallagher more. Mira Andrava has won a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career at the age of 19 years and 39 days. She is the youngest French Open women's champions since Monica Sellers won three titles in a row at the start of the 1990s. And also the third youngest female Grand Slam champion this century. Only Maria Sharpova at 17 at Wimbledon in 2004, and Britain's Emma Radacarno at 18 in the US Open of 2021 have been younger. And she beat the qualifier, Maya Filinska 6362 on a windy day in Paris.

It was a very tight start. There were four breaks of serve at the beginning of the match, but Andrava took control, which her ranking would suggest she should have because she's a top 10 player and has long been tipped to become a Grand Slam champion. And Maya Flinska, I was reading that she kind of came out of nowhere in this competition. And when she went to Paris, she didn't even know if she's going to be able to afford a hotel room for the whole tournament. Yet she got to the final.

I think it was a short-term booking because she was in the qualifying competition. And you're right, she had a few cash flow problems when she moved hotels. And a sponsor stepped in and helped with the hotel bills. And she will be able to pay them back fairly swiftly once the prize money check is cashed, because she will almost treble her career earnings with this run to the final. Quite a story. To win three matches in qualifying is one thing. To go all the way to the final is another.

Yes, Emma Raducanu did manage to do it at the US Open five years ago and won the title as a teenager, but it is extraordinarily rare for this to happen. And she has beaten four top 50 players and the Olympic champion from China, Jun Chen, went along the way, but didn't really have any answers to Mira and Draver today. I think we could see the signs of fatigue as she played her 10th match here in Paris. And Draven looked a lot more confident and she looked like she felt she was going to win as well.

She's been doing a lot of work on the psychological side of the sport. She has developed in front of our eyes. She first came onto the tour as a 15-year-old and was always a charming company in the press conference room. You could see her building her career, winning titles on the WTF. tour getting further in Grand Slam, so she felt ready for this. Russell Fuller. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at global podcast at BBC.co.uk.

You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global Newspot. And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed. by Chris Hansen and the producer was Emma Joseph. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Pete Ross. Until next time, goodbye.