Global News Podcast - Hezbollah names a new leader

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

Hezbollah has chosen a new leader after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. Also: Georgia announces a partial recount of its disputed election results, and a lost city in Mexico is uncovered.

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Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC podcasts. You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 14 Hours GMT on Tuesday, the 29th of October. Hezbollah names a new leader to replace the assassinated Hassan Nasrallah. Meanwhile, Israel is accused of killing more than 90 Palestinians in a residential building Hasbalan aims a new leader to replace the assassinated Hassan Nasrallah. Meanwhile, Israel is accused of killing more than 90 Palestinians in a residential building in Gaza. And Georgia announces a partial recount of its disputed election. Also in the podcast...

It's like going to make up for film, to see a film festival that opens in a stadium of 60,000 people and that the whole city of Ogadougou is a standstill. It's incredible. Why Africa's best-known film festival faces an uncertain future and what is the impact of celebrities in the US election? Hezbollah has a new leader but he may already have fled Lebanon. The group's previous chief, Hassan Nasrullah, was assassinated in a huge Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut last month. A few days later, his likely successor was also killed. In fact, the new

man in charge, Naim Hassam, is one of the few Hezbollah leaders to have survived Israel's decapitation campaign. His current location is unknown with reports suggesting he may be in Iran. His appointment came a short while after Israel released footage of its ground offensive inside Lebanon. Israeli tanks and ground troops operating in the south of Lebanon. But the most devastating Israeli attacks have come from the air. Lebanon's health ministry says 60 people were killed, including two children, in an overnight airstrike in the eastern Beqar Valley. I spoke to our security correspondent, Frank Gardner, and he started by telling me about

the new Hezbollah leader. Well Naeem Qassem was the widely expected candidate for this. He'd been the deputy head of Hezbollah since 1991 so he hadn't really kind of changed jobs. I think that he if he stays in Lebanon he's going to have about the life expectancy of a first world war subaltern frankly because the Israelis will have a big red dot on his back and they've made no secret that they will try to eliminate him in their words, which is why these reports are that he may be in Iran. Even there he may not be safe, given that that's where Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated at the end of July.

He is somebody who has kind of been absolutely instrumental in building up Hisbala in the early 1980s. He was born in Beirut in the 1950s. He's 71 years old. He doesn't have quite the same credentials or the gravitas of Fatim Nasrallah. He's not what's called a Sayyid, so he's not a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. So he wears a white turban rather than a black turban. And I think the problem for his Balaar is that it takes quite a lot of long time for

somebody to build up a following, a reputation to build up their charisma. I mean, Hassan Nasrallah was relatively unknown when he took over from Abbas Musawi back in 1992. But you know, at the time of his death he was a huge figure for he was Iran's front man in the Arab world. I don't think that this guy Naeem Qasem is going to have the luxury of that time. First of all he's old, he's 71 and secondly he's got he's got a bounty on his back as far as the Israelis are concerned. So it's you know he's not going to be able to make the kind of public appearances that Hassan Nasrallah

– well, to be fair, he's done three television appearances, but all from undisclosed locations. So he's got a job on his hands. And remember that Hezbollah's entire communications network is compromised by those exploding pages and walkie-talkies and they are under constant bombardment. It's an open war with Israel, between Hezbollah and Israel. So it's a tough job for Hezbollah and a tough job for him. Given that, the decimation of the Hezbollah leadership and foot soldiers as well, airstrikes, a a ground offensive and yet it's still able to launch rockets into Israel and kill Israeli troops operating in the south.

So how damaged is it? Well it's had 18 years to prepare for this. They perhaps didn't expect the intensity of this but nevertheless they knew when the the short 34 Israel Lebanon war ended in 2006 in the summer of that year which I covered it from Jerusalem and I remember very clearly you know us all saying this ain't over it ended in a very messy stalemate and Hezbollah since then has built up this big hostel they've still got a lot of stuff buried in tunnels and caverns and caves under the ground of South Lebanon and Eastern Lebanon. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner. Well at the same time as attacking

Lebanon, Israel's also been carrying out an intense military campaign in northern Gaza. It says it's aimed at stopping Hamas from regrouping, but it has proved deadly for civilians too. Gaza's civil defence agency said that an overnight Israeli airstrike killed 93 people in a residential building in the town of Beit Lahya. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military. This man described what happened. Dozens of displaced people were living in this house when it was hit. The house was bombed without prior warning. As you can see, there are martyrs, dead, here and there, with body parts hanging off the

walls. The latest airstrike comes amid widespread criticism of Israel's decision to ban UNRWA from operating in Gaza, as well as the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency was founded to help Palestinians forced from their homes during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel. It's long been criticized by Israelis, and nine members of its staff were sacked

after being accused of involvement in the October the 7th massacre. Martin Griffiths is the former UN representative for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. He gave his reaction to the Israeli parliament's decision Martin Griffiths is the former UN representative for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief. He gave his reaction to the Israeli Parliament's decision to ban UNRWA. It's not quite a shock. It's worse than that. It's a predicted outcome of the Knesset debates. But that doesn't make it any the less deeply, deeply shocking that there are more issues here than even the law, I believe. And of course, immediately, as I would say, the impact on aid and protection

for Palestinians, not just in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, and Lebanon, and Syria and beyond. I mean, they are the linchpin of the humanitarian operation in Gaza and these other places. And there is no substitution for that. They don't just do humanitarian aid, they do basic services. There are 650,000 children needing education, UNRWA provides it, and it'll stop whenever this begins to be implemented.

So it's deeply, deeply worrying. And as a former UN staffer, finally, I would say, and I believe profoundly, that it sets a terrible precedent for other places who will say, well, you didn't really object to Israel shutting down a UN agency, we'll do it over here. Thank you very much. Israel's argument is that there are other agencies that can step in, indeed suggesting Israel itself can be more involved.

And their argument about the education is that actually it perpetuates the cycle of violence because they say Hamas is so embedded in UNRWA that what children are learning in schools in Gaza is not something that's conducive to peace. How do you respond to that? And of course, and I haven't even mentioned the fact that they say there were, and UNRWA has admitted, got rid of nine people who were involved in October the 7th. Well, first of all, I would say that, look, UNRWA has operated for 75 years, deeply embedded in the Palestinian population. It's their mandate from the General Assembly, as you know, in addition, which is very unusual, very powerful, inclusive global forum.

And of course they're embedded in the Palestinian population. They wouldn't be doing their job if they weren't. Of course they have a great majority of their staff are Palestinian. That's a good thing, not a bad thing. They have 30,000 staff at any day. Even today, they have three to 5,000 staff in Gaza, in the horrors of Gaza. So they

are the lynch pit. Now, in the Colonna report, you remember the report written by a former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, which came out as a result of the accusations from Israel on some complicity by some UNRWA staff in that terrible day. No evidence was provided, first of all, to the UN's own internal oversight service that could lead to a conviction. They were very clear in their report that the evidence that was provided by Israel

was not authenticated, was not, as it were, court ready. So these allegations that UNRWA is somehow complicit in the activities of Hamas, very important to allege, even more important to provide evidence that it's true. Martin Griffiths, a former UN representative for humanitarian affairs, talking to Sarah Montagu. The Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou or Fespaco is one of Africa's oldest film festivals. Since 1969 it's been held every two years in the Burkina Faso capital. It only accepts entrance by African filmmakers and the productions must be largely

made on the continent. But the festival's future is in doubt after a military junta seized power in Burkina Faso in 2022. However, Fesbaco is being celebrated at another festival here in London and Richard Hamilton went along to find out more. An extract from Mohammed Shalouf's documentary about Fesbaco called Waga, screened at Film Africa in London. Fesbaco's opening night, recorded in this scene, is always held in the National Stadium in Ouagadougou. Chalouf explores the history of the festival from its inception in 1969 and includes the assassination in 1987 of the president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, who had championed the event. But Mohamed Chalouf says Fesbaco now faces a new challenge, the current military regime.

Yes, there are problems in Burkina Faso. Everyone knows that. I myself have not been back since 2016. But the coup has not interrupted the festival, though of course participation has been badly affected. For example, there are many people who stayed away from last year's festival. There are others who are afraid about the security situation. For many Africans, it's still an opportunity to meet other filmmakers. But there are lots of people from north of the Mediterranean who dare not go there,

who are boycotting it because it's being held in a country which has adopted a new kind of politics firmly against France. One visible sign of that anti-French sentiment came during demonstrations that followed the coup in 2022 when the French Institute in Ouagadougou was ransacked and two of its screening rooms were destroyed. It's like going to make up for film. The first time I went there in 1989, it's just something that I just stayed in my head to see, a film festival that opens in a stadium of 60,000 people. And that the whole city of Ouagadougou is a standstill for those 10 days of the festival.

It's incredible. Keith Shiri, who's originally from Zimbabwe, is the curator of Film Africa in London. There has always been challenges with this festival. I mean, if you consider that Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the continent. But its wealth, the festival started in 1969, and it's been consistent. Different governments, the death of the champion of the festival, Thomas Sankara, there's been so many incidents that have happened. Quite recently, yes, I mean, people are really thinking about what's going to happen given

that these military governments have been at odds with the government of France. But the French have been always been supportive of Fesbaco. They put so much investment in Fesbaco to the point where by some of the organisations and institutions I might not be able to go there because they are being discouraged from attending because when you go in there as a citizen of France you never know what might happen.

So I think that in itself it could be something that might affect the festival, but it's going to go on. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have all been overrun by military junters, which are fighting Islamist insurgencies. There's no doubt that Fesbaco has suffered as a result, but the organisers say the show must go on and the next edition of this famous festival is due to be staged in Ouagadougou in February next year. That report by Richard Hamilton and Film Africa here in London is showcasing more films from the continent until Sunday 3rd November.

Next to an incredible statistic, toxic waste and pollutants from gas stoves cause around 40,000 deaths a year in Europe, twice the number of road accidents, according to a study from Joom University in Spain. The researchers are now calling for more awareness and cleaner cooking options. The lead author, Dr. Juana Mari Delgado Saboreit, told us more. We have been assessing the impact in terms of premature mortality, so people that would die earlier than they should be. Also we have looked at the number of cases of children that would have asthma and the number of total population that would have asthma associated with breathing the toxic fumes that comes

out from the gas cookers. What we have found is that France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and UK are the ones that are more affected by either if you look at premature mortality or if you look at number of children that have asthma or total population that have asthma. The ones that are most affected is because mainly they have a larger population that are cooking with gas stoves. I think that one of the important things of these studies that sort of gives the magnitude of how big is the problem. So as citizens, we sort of are aware of like

the risk that is associated with cooking with gas stoves and also for the policymakers to be able to see how big is the problem and what are the options that they have to reduce those exposures and promote health between their populations. Cooking with electricity stoves is a safer option because in electricity you don't combust anything so you don't have any gases coming from the process of cooking itself. So that's definitely one of the cleaner options. Dr. Juana Amare Delgado-Sabaret talking to the BBC. And still to come on the Global News podcast. I was expecting to see a lot of houses.

I was not expecting to see palaces, temples, causeways, the full spectrum of Maya urbanism. A PhD student finds a lost city in Mexico. Did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC podcasts. The Electoral Commission in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia has announced a partial recount of the weekend's disputed election. Polling stations will be selected at random for inspection.

The West leaning opposition there accused the governing Georgian Dream Party of fixing the vote and tens of Party of fixing the vote. And tens of thousands of people joined a protest rally in the capital Tbilisi on Monday. We heard from one of them. The ruling party is trying to bring us back to Russia and the USSR, which is definitely not what Georgian people want. We are ready to fight for our rights, to fight for our freedom and democracy. Georgia's government rejects allegations of vote-rigging and violence and claims of interference

have also been dismissed by Russia. The BBC's caucus' correspondent, Rehan Demetri, is in Tbilisi. So will protesters be satisfied by the announcement from the Electoral Commission? I think the recount of the votes won't really address those concerns that were raised by local and international observers, and namely that is the use of ID cards or fake ID cards to cast ballots, and also pressure on voters, pressure on public sector workers and on socially vulnerable people. So we haven't heard any reaction from the local observers to this latest development, which was the proposal from the Central Election Commission that they will randomly select

polling stations in each electoral district and recount the ballots. So do protesters perhaps think the authorities are maybe playing for time through this? I think the protesters will probably follow what the opposition suggests. And the latest what's happening right now in Tbilisi is the visit by Viktor Orbán. And he, a short while ago, he addressed the Georgian people.

If the liberal parties win, then democracy will win. Viktor Orbán, and he, a short while ago, he addressed the Georgian people. VLADIMIR ORBÁN, Hungarian Prime Minister, Hungarian Parliamentary Assembly When liberal parties win, there is democracy. When the conservatives win, there is no democracy. These debates are the same, be it Hungary or any country already in the E.U. If the liberals won in Georgia, the headlines would be all over Western Europe, that democracy is doing great. So, that was his assessment when he was addressing the Georgian people at a joint press conference with the Georgian prime minister. I mean, does he have a point? Tell us about the divisions in Georgia. How many people

roughly would be sort of leaning towards Russia and how many towards Europe? Well there are definitely supporters of the Georgian Dream and it is the most popular party I would say. But I think the opposition also has a point because if you look at the results of these elections it suggests roughly that every second voter cast ballot for Georgian Dream and the opposition says it simply cannot be true. Rayhan Demetri in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. An extraordinary discovery has been made in Mexico, the remains of an underground Maya

city. It was revealed by accident when a PhD student, Luke Auld Thomas from Tulane University, examined images gathered by environmental scientists. The discovery was entirely serendipitous. I read an academic paper that some colleagues wrote where they reanalyzed some environmental data from Mexico, data collected by environmental scientists and looked at it for its archaeological value. And I thought that's pretty cool.

Where there's one, there's usually more. And so I just set about poking around online and did a deep dive and eventually turned up with this real treasure of a dataset. And so we downloaded it and looked at it from an archaeological perspective. And through a very happy coincidence, the survey happened to target an area of great archaeological interest, but about which relatively little was known. Luke Ald Thomas from Tulane University in the US. The site itself is in the Mexican jungle. Michelle Hussain spoke to Professor Elizabeth Graham of University College London, an expert on the Maya civilization. It's forest and you can miss structures easily. You might not miss a structure that's 31 metres high but or you might know it's there like the locals and not comment on it. But even

where I'm working now no one has worked north and south of us along the lagoon and there are large structures. Would you be keen then to go and see this site for yourself and see what is visible above the ground? Well I don't think they've excavated it so I think it's just the topography that reveals these buildings. But it wouldn't be unusual to have those features, it's just that that area hasn't been explored. But also the important thing is, which they mentioned in their article, that some of my colleagues have been skeptical about the lidar that's been carried out over the last 10 years, let's say.

This is the radar. Yeah, the lidar. It's conducted when people work at particular sites and then manage to get the funding to do the lidar survey. So it tends to focus on these sites and the managed to get the funding to do the LIDAR survey. So it tends to focus on these sites and the periphery. But then my colleagues, some of them say, well, that doesn't prove that there are sites everywhere. You know, it just proves that there are sites near. It does seem from these images that there is quite a lot under the ground here. What are the chances of this site being excavated? What are the rules, what's the inclination

or the funding for that in Mexico today? Someone would have to get a grant to work there, so maybe one of the Mexican researchers will do that. But it's very expensive and it's difficult these days to get funding for those kinds of excavations. So we see fewer of them. But hopefully, perhaps, you know, a Mexican scholar can get a grant. And it sounds as if the topography is particularly difficult as you were saying right in the middle of the jungle. Well, yeah, it is.

Expert Elizabeth Graham talking to Michelle Hussein. In Nigeria, witchcraft accusations can destroy lives with the accused at risk of social isolation, unemployment and even physical violence. The BBC's Jonathan Griffin met Dr Leo Igwe who uses social media tip-offs to try to locate those accused of witchcraft so he can protect them. I've travelled to Lancaster in the north west of England to speak to a Nigerian man who's addressing a conference on witchcraft and human rights. He helps people like this. This fight is too much for me to carry. I cannot continue like this. I'm not walking. I'm just begging for help. They have killed my image.

This is the voice of Nika from Asaba, a widow who says that she was banished from her community in southeastern Nigeria after she was accused of witchcraft. Accusations that she was using killer magic in her catering business have destroyed her income, she says. We've also been told that she was beaten until she fainted. Dr Leo Igwe says that he was sent a video of Nika lying helpless on the floor and decided to support her. He helps people through his organisation, Advocacy for Alleged Witches. His prevention work focuses on Nigeria, but his work extends to a number of other countries. There is actually nothing that could make me refrain or stop from intervening.

My realisation is that I have to step forward and try to provide leadership. In Nigeria, like in many parts of the world, there is still a fear of witches and witchcraft. The people who are accused are often vulnerable. Some have mental or physical disabilities. It's an offence to accuse, or threaten to accuse, any person of being a witch or having the power of witchcraft under Nigerian law. It carries a maximum two year prison sentence. In 2021, the UN Human Rights Council also passed a resolution condemning human rights violations associated with witchcraft. Yet witchcraft allegations continue to persist in this region. Leo helps support people who've been accused of being witches. What happens is that when people are accused, they withdraw.

You know, socially they're not active. So what we encourage them is that, what do you need? Come out, dress well, let people know that there are people giving you attention, there are people accepting you. Our work is just to empower the accused person to do what he or she wants to do. According to Leo, letting local people know the accused has support can often lead to a slowing down of witchcraft accusations. Leo rejects the idea that witchcraft accusations are an African cultural tradition that shouldn't

be tampered with. Instead, he says he wants Africans across the continent to disrupt and rebuild societies with the values that they think are best. We should not romanticise it in any way by trying to say, oh, it's part of our culture. It's not part of our culture. Killing our parents is not part of our culture. Killing innocent people is not part of our culture.

Dr Leo Igwe, ending that report by Jonathan Griffin. This time next week, Americans choose their next president. And Democratic and Republican candidates are redoubling their efforts to win over voters. At a rally in Ann Arbor in the swing state of Michigan, Kamala Harris preached her message of hope for the future. In Atlanta, Georgia, another swing state, Donald Trump hit back at critics who'd labelled him authoritarian, insisting he wasn't a Nazi. Both candidates have been joined at recent events by some of the most famous faces in America,

hoping that stars of film, music and TV can swing the knife-edge contest their way. But how important are celebrity endorsements in presidential campaigns, and can they shift the dial? Mark Harvey, author of a book about celebrity influence, explores that question. You can't start a fire without a spark. This guns for hire, even if we're dancing in the dark. Yeah, that was Bruce Springsteen. He appeared at a campaign event with Barack Obama and doing quite a bit of campaigning for Kamala Harris lately. Made his first appearance back campaigning for candidate John Kerry a long time ago, so long-term Democratic supporter. We all have a role to play to make this a reality. We're all part of something much

bigger. We must vote. So Beyonce made an appearance on Friday with Kamala Harris that did not go unnoticed by Donald Trump. Trump seemed to be a little bit put off that Beyonce would make this appearance with Harris. Seemed a little bit upset that he were dancing and having a good time, at least a little bit defensive about that. Joe Biden is asleep. Kamala is at a dance party with Beyonce. One thing I think is really interesting and may be applicable in this situation is the role of

identity. And I think that's one reason why the Harris campaign is not just deploying Beyonce everywhere, but she's actually putting Beyonce in Houston, which is her hometown. Daily, Memorial, Southwest side, North side, all the way down to Mo City. And in that way, she can identify with the audience in a way that a typical celebrity would not. That's why Harris is also deploying Julia Roberts in Georgia, Eminem in Michigan, probably trying to make that personal connection with those audiences. I'm not just MAGA, I'm Dark Gothic MAGA. One of those high-profile people to support Donald Trump is Elon Musk.

And of course he is super rich and super famous, but for those of us who study celebrities academically, we don't exactly put him in the celebrity box. Why? Because we generally know that rich and famous people with lots of money tend to be pretty influential. So there's not really anything that interesting in that question. The only thing I see in here are a bunch of hardworking men and women that are real Americans, brother. So if we're talking about celebrities, there are a few who have come out on behalf of Donald Trump.

He had a Madison Square Garden appearance the other night where Hulk Hogan spoke. Hulk Hogan also spoke at the Republican National Convention. Kid Rock is another really high profile person. Let me see where you're at. Say fight, fight, fight, fight. Say fight, fight, fight, fight. Another example of identities at play has a lot to do with the Harris campaign

trying to court the Puerto Rican vote. There are lots of Puerto Rican communities all over the United States, and especially in swing states. While Harris is out there trying to court the Puerto Rican vote. There are lots of Puerto Rican communities all over the United States, and especially in swing states. While Harris is out there trying to court the Puerto Rican vote, we have a split screen where Trump at Madison Square Garden has a comedian up there who refers to Puerto Rico as an island of trash. And the next thing you know, Bad Bunny, a very high profile Puerto Rican pop star Dime, dime, dime, esto es lo que tu querías

Yo soy fino, esto es tab de galería With 46 million followers on Instagram, now has endorsed the Harris campaign. And from that standpoint, that may be a really significant thing. And that was Mark Harvey from the University of St. Mary in Kansas. And that's all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by James Piper and produced by Chantal Hartle, our editor's Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts

like Global News, Americast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC podcasts.