Global News Podcast - Is Israel planning a full-scale ground invasion of Lebanon?

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

Israel’s defence minister has announced that his country is expanding its ground campaign in Lebanon. Israel Katz warned of a prolonged operation against the Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, after the Israeli government ordered the destruction of all crossings over the Litani River. The Israeli military also says it expects several more weeks of fighting against Iran. Meanwhile, Tehran has warned it will fully close the Strait of Hormuz if Washington follows through with President Trump's threat to "obliterate" power plants in Iran. Also: in France's local elections, the Socialist candidate, Emmanuel Grégoire, claims victory in Paris, while in a boost for the nationalist right, an ally of Marine Le Pen is set to become mayor of Nice; hundreds of Syrians protest in Damascus against strict new alcohol laws; the new AI robots that can repair themselves and adapt to their environment; and a critic's view of Saturday Night Live UK's debut.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]

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the Darkest Web follows their shocking investigation. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get to your 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 5 o'clock GMT on Monday the 23rd of March. Israel says it's expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon after bombing a key bridge. Iran says it will completely close the strait of Hormuz if the US attacks its power. power plants. And after local elections in France, are we any clearer about whether the far right will take power next year? Also in the podcast, imagine a robot that is not just one robot,

but it is made of parts that are themselves robots. The new AI robots that can keep going, even if they lose a leg. But first, is Israel about to launch a large-scale ground invasion of Lebanon? That's the fear of the Lebanese president after Israeli forces were ordered to destroy all bridges over the Latani River. Israel's defense minister said this was aimed at stopping Hezbollah fighters moving south towards Israel. He also ordered the demolition of homes in some villages near the border. Fellow minister Amichai Chikli says the operation is aimed at keeping Israelis safe. Our mission is to create a buffer zone just like we've created in Gaza and to make sure that the villages that Hezbollah has turned into a fortress of terror, loaded with ammunition in every second home,

missiles, anti-tank missiles, rockets, motor cycles, waiting for invasion. That's our mission to push backwards the terrorists of Hezbollah and to make sure that our villages on the northern border will be safe. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health says Israel has killed more than a thousand people in Lebanon since its war with Hezbollah resumed on the 2nd of March after rockets were fired at Israeli territory. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says Israel's actions amount to a policy of collective punishment against civilians and that its goal is to occupy Lebanese land. The head of the Israeli military said his forces were preparing for a long campaign. So what will the offensive look like?

This assessment is from our former Middle East correspondent Jim Muir, who is in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Well, I don't think it's going to be a great big push up to Beirut or whatever like we saw in 1982. I think it's going to be much more incremental. They're talking about destroying all the remaining homes along the border strip, most of which have been destroyed already, actually, systematically as well as collateral damage. And then I think they will probably want to secure the whole of the area up to the Littani River and it was across that river that the main coastal highway bridge was blown up today after warning, leaving a huge crater where the bridge was. So I think they want to basically go

very slowly and very methodically up to the Litani and that would be their new sort of front line, as it were. And then once that's consolidated, press further forward. They've already told the people living in the area in the next kind of batch of territory up to the Zaharanie River. to evacuate and no doubt they will receive the same kind of treatment. But if they want really to finish off Hezbollah, and that seems to be the aim, they'll have to go up into the Beqar Valley because it's from there that Hezbollah has been firing rockets. So the other day it fired a big missile from the northern part of the Beqar Valley all the way down to

near the Gaza Strip. So that's a clear message that they've got weapons stashed away there, that the Israelis actually at the moment don't really know where they are. So the speculation, they might, to eat their way up slowly into the Bekhar Valley, possibly doing a flanking movement through Syrian territory with armor and coming out into Lebanon from the east. That's kind of speculative, but it's a possible military way of doing things. I don't think they're going to do a big sort of what you call a full-scale invasion,

a la Putin trying to get into Ukraine or whatever, or themselves back in 1982. I don't think it's going to be like that. It's going to be very piecemeal, very, slice by slice and very methodical and trying to really clear up. So it doesn't have to keep coming back and hitting Hezbollah again and again. Jimior in Beirut. Meanwhile, it's just over a day since President Trump issued his threat to obliterate Iran's power plants if the country doesn't open the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. With less than 24 hours to go until the

deadline expires, it doesn't look as if Iran will comply. In fact, the Iranian, have issued a threat of their own, saying if their energy infrastructure is attacked, they will retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz completely and striking the energy and water systems of their Gulf neighbours. So how might President Trump respond to that? I asked our Washington correspondent Simi Jollosha. The Strait of Hormuz clearly has become a central pressure point for President Trump. It's made it difficult for him to end the war on his own terms.

It's exposed fractures in the relationships he has. has with his allies and it's just become something he can't ignore. How he will respond, well, we've just received a report from a journalist from Israel's Channel 13 who says she spoke to President Trump earlier today and she asked him that very question. And all he said was you'll find out what's going to happen. He said it's going to be very good. The total decimation of Iran, it's going to work out very well. It's not very clear what he means by that. He has one option, which is to end the war. He could say he's degraded Iran's missile and nuclear capabilities

and their military. So he's achieved their objectives, which he's already said on Truth Social that the US is close to meeting. Or he could choose to escalate the war. So further attacks along Iran's shoreline to try and force them to reopen the strait. He could go ahead with his threat

and strike Iranian energy infrastructure, the power plants, the grid, or he could also introduce ground forces and try and maybe seize Haag Island, which is a key hub for the Iranians. Yeah, and do we know what the American public think of those options, which perhaps they would prefer? The American public are very mixed with this. You've got a majority, so just over 50%,

if we're to go by recent polls, who oppose sending troops to Iran and oppose this war in its entirety. But when you look at just Republicans, A recent poll by CBS found that 84% of Republicans do support the strike. And within Trump's MAGA base, even higher, around 92% do support further military action against Iran. Now, Republican lawmakers have said they are supporting President Trump through this war, but extending ground troops would be a sort of red line. One Republican congressman said he would require more of a briefing,

more of an explanation and what exactly the mission is. Then you've got Democrats who have said from the beginning this is a war of choice and they've criticised how costly this war is becoming as well, saying that President Trump needs to focus on affordability in America. So yeah, very expensive. And now the Pentagon is asking for another $200 billion of funding. Is Congress likely to approve that? President Trump has said this $200 billion is for a lot of reasons beyond Iran.

He says it's also to replenish military equipment and ammunition. Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth says it takes money to kill bad guys. And it's also for what the military may have to do in the future. Now, this is in addition to the Department of Defense's annual $830 billion. So it is a lot of money. military funding does tend to get bipartisan support, but when you consider public opinion and public polls around the lack of support for this war, politicians here will definitely have to try and justify this massive spending request because it could come at a political price if the war and economic disruption from it drags on. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said it's important to adequately fund defence and that it's a dangerous time in the world. but the Democrats have been highly critical, firstly because of the size of the request,

and secondly, because President Trump decided to strike Iran without consulting Congress in the first place. It's a media law show in Washington. So what's been the view in Iran following this latest US threat? Gonche Habibi Azad is from the BBC Persian Service. It's very, very difficult to know exactly what's going on inside the country amid the internet outage imposed by. the government on Iranian people, but some young tech-savvy people who have access to Stalin, which is satellite internet, have been able to connect, although there is a crackdown by Iranian authorities on Starlink as well. And the voices that I'm hearing are from some

young people, especially in Tehran, in the capital, and they don't obviously represent the whole society. I don't hear the voices of people who have lost the home or don't have food to bring to their table of the economic pressure that the war has had on them. But from what I'm hearing, they're very anxious, very tense. And even some of those who supported the war, they were saying that this is not right. This is a war on people if they attack the infrastructures. That's not helping the people against the regime. They're saying even some might turn to the Islamic Republic if the attacks happened on infrastructure.

One of my friends in Tehran, she was saying that she got straight into shower, because last time that the war happened in June, she was stressed because the water was out for three weeks and she couldn't take a shower. They're very stressed, some of them that I've been hearing from, but obviously, as I said, I'm not hearing the voice of everyone. Conche, Habibazad of the BBC Persian Service. Some other news now, and researchers in the US

have used artificial intelligence to create a robot that can evolve and adapt to its environment. They say it's even able to function if it loses a leg. The studies lead off. is Sam Kriegman from Northwestern University in Chicago. He's been talking to Paul Henley. Imagine a robot that is not just one robot, but it is made of parts that are themselves robots.

So here, these parts look like a sphere with a cylinder running through them, and these parts can bend like a joint at the knee. And so they're basically like a bunch of building blocks, similar to Legos, but that can move. and that are smart, and you stick them together to build a robot that, well, if something happens to one part like a leg, it's fine because all of the other parts can continue to run. What's the robot fool?

There's many possible uses for a robot that can move quickly in the world that is also resilient. So we can imagine in the future such machines could operate in construction sites, clearing mines or just in environments that are risky like a brittle cliffside. And how has artificial intelligence enabled this advance? Okay, so now imagine you have this Lego kit of possible robot parts. How are you going to put them together? If I close my eyes and I imagine what a robot should look like, it's really hard not to just imagine familiar objects, something like a human, a dog, or a car, or a plane. When we want to think outside the box, it's good to use AI. to help us expand our imagination.

So we use computers to run a kind of Darwinian process of evolution, sticking together these smart building blocks in different ways. And it's like a survival of the fittest inside of the computer. And the best ones pop out. We quickly assemble them out of our robotic Legos, and they hit the ground running. What do you say to people who are worried by the idea of a robot that can adapt to a changing environment and that doesn't need our help to self-perpetuate? These robots are actually a lot more like Legos than self-adapting robots.

So they need to be put together by us or another robot. And I think this is really fun. So, you know, Legos are great. They're different from other kinds of machines. You can think of a car, for example. If you use all the parts in that car to build something, you can really only build that car. But with Legos, you can build a car or a cathedral or anything in between. So this allows everyday ordinary people to build their own robot for uses that only they care about.

But it's human intelligence that's in charge? It can be human intelligence that's in charge of deciding what task we ask the robot to do and how we design them. And so, you know, if you think about the stakeholders and robotics now, the people who are in charge of designing robots because they're so expensive and only companies and states can afford to build. them and maintain them and decide what they should do, then you get certain kinds of jobs that robots are doing. But if everyone can build their own robot using their own robotic Lego kit, then it's more likely that those robots will do good than bad. Professor Sam Creedman. Still to come in the podcast, an American comedy institution debuts in Britain. Cirque here is trying to set boundaries with the president while preserving their special

relationship. I see. Okay. So you're looking at it. for more of a special situation shit. So what did Brits make of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live? We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about. It's called the Dark Web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the dark web, US Special Agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse.

Move in now. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, The darkest web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get to your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast. Now, a year from now, France will be gearing up for a presidential election that could be won by the far right. On Sunday, all eyes were on the French local elections

for any indication of what might happen in 2027. With the results in, the mainstream left-wing socialists are celebrating after seeing off separate right-wing challenges in Paris and Marseilles, although a candidate allied to the far-right national rally was elected mayor of Nice. I heard more about the significance of the results from our correspondent Hugh Schofield. Let's start with Paris, because it's obviously the city which is drawing all their headlines. There was this challenge from the right, from Rashida Dati, the former minister, but it's failed quite comprehensively.

She got 40%. Eminel Grigua, the continuity candidate got 50%. And I think what's happened is that Rashida Dati proved to be rather divisive. She's a very strong personality, but she's someone who's very anchored on the right. And I think Paris is essentially a left-wing city with pockets of right-wingness in it. And she put a lot of people off, particularly after she accepted the support of a far-right candidate who dropped out after round one. But the other thing that's very important about Paris, and I think also reflects a situation across the country, is that the socialist candidate in Paris, Manuel Grégo-Ward, did not accept the idea. of a link up with the far left.

The far left candidate came through in round one with 11, 12% of the vote and said, let's team up. And this happened in lots of towns and cities across France. The far left saying, let's get together to beat off the right, the fascists. And Emmanuel Gregor said, no, I'm going to do this by myself. And he did that, and he won.

And he won convincingly because a lot of centrist who might otherwise, if he'd linked up with the far left, said, well, I don't want that, went with him this time. In other cities in France, where the left and the far left, did form these alliances because the left were worried about losing and felt that they'd be safer by having this big block of votes from the far left. Where they did that, ignoring calls to boycott the LFI because of recent scandals regarding the murder of that student, if you remember a month ago,

and the alleged anti-Semitic remarks by its leader, Rod McNeilshaw. The socialists and Greens allied with the LFI. They lost. The voters turned to the right and the centre. They said, we don't want LFI near power. in our city. To Luz is a clear example of that. But you could also cite Clermont-Feron, Brest. These are cities which have for decades been socialist strongholds but have gone to the right because the socialist candidate there allied with the LFI. So there's a clear, clear lesson

there for the left. And the socialists will take great heart in saying, right, we can do this by ourselves. We do not need the LFI on our outside flank. In fact, they lose us votes rather than win us votes. Now, the socialists held off a challenge from the far right in the second city, Marseille, but in Nice, an ally of Marine Le Pen won. Do we know anything more about what will happen in the presidential election next year as a result of what we've seen now? In general, the mainstream parties have drawn confidence and hope from these elections. The centrist parties, the mainstream centre-right Republicans party, more than held on to their own. They control the main city of France still. And so that will give a lot of encouragement to them when it comes to the presidential

election because quite clearly voters do not want the extremes. The big worry for next year is that there are going to be too many candidates in round one and it could be a candidate from the far right and the far left get through to the runoff. And that is quite possible. So that's the big worry for the mainstream parties, the traditional parties, of course, have been very much on the back foot in recent years. But from these results, they'll be saying, no, if we stay united, we can still win these next year. Hugh Schofield in France. Well, Italy has also been voting.

It's currently in the middle of a two-day referendum on judicial reform, which is being seen as a popularity test for the right-wing government. Prime Minister Georgian Maloney, who has clashed with the courts over some of her controversial policies, backs the proposed changes. But opponents say they are a threat to democracy. Sarah Rainsford sent this report from Rome. For Georgia Miloni, this was a new kind of campaigning. It is his Prime Minister swapped her usual trouser suit for a sparkly jumper,

and she joined a celebrity rapper on his podcast. It was part of her last big push for a yes vote in a referendum that's all about reforming the justice system here. But as her host pointed out, it's morphed into a test of the Prime Minister herself. If they no wins, this will be a defeat. I do not expect Melone to resign. This is Roberto Delimonte from Lewis University here in Rome. She will be politically wicked. This would be the first serious defeat of Meloni's government in three and a half years. I'm just walking through the giant archway onto the Piazza del Popolo.

This beautiful big square and there's a crowd gathering here. Lots of trade union flags. At the front there's a stage and a big sign. Vote no to defend democracy. The left-wing opposition in Italy are very protective of a constitution that was written after the defeat of Mussolini and fascism. One to guarantee nothing like that ever returned here. And they are wary of Georgia Maloney. The judicial reform she's proposed is complex and its potential impact isn't clear. But Maloney has clashed publicly with the courts in the past over her migration policies for one. For people I spoke to in this crowd, there is one fear. With this change, justice is under stricter control of politicians. George Maloney says that this is about making the justice system for everybody.

It is not true. No one can be so stupid to think that. the justice for the normal citizen can be faster. Nothing changes to that side. So what's it for? It's for government control, you think? Yeah. There's a point. Just up the road in Villa Borgesi, the buskers are back. And people sit, eyes closed, soaking up the sun on their faces. But Georgia Maloney's own shine has faded lately. She was once proud of her close ties to Donald Trump. And yet his war on Iran isn't popular here, nor are the price rises that's causing.

For Maloney and her party Frateri di Italia, this vote is bad timing. My name is Andrea Di Giuseppe. I'm elected Frateri of Italia. The opposition can say you should not touch the constitution, etc., etc. We need to make the right amendment to the good of the people. The geopolitical situation is very tough, of course. I completely understand that. But this referendum, we need to stay focus on the purpose. Georgia Maloney says that purpose is simple.

On social media, she's been telling voters to put the X on their ballot papers next to yes for a more just justice system. But the result is touch and go. And losing this referendum would be a blow to Maloney. For the first time, the strong woman of Italian politics would seem vulnerable. Sarah Rainsford in Rome. Hundreds of people have protested in Syria against tough new laws on alcohol. The demonstrators in the capital fear it's part of a wider crackdown on personal freedoms by the Islamist authorities.

This report from Jacob Evans. Bab Tuma is one of the major Christian neighbourhoods of the historic city of Damascus. Christians gathered on Sunday for a silent press. protest because they feel targeted. Targeted because earlier this week, the governor of the city issued a decree banning the sale of alcohol in restaurants and nightclubs. The move also limits private purchases to just a handful of Christian neighborhoods, where drinks can only be taken away in a closed bottle. It's a move that's not gone down well, with critics saying it's sectarian. Rami Kusa is among the protesters.

If the purpose of these decisions is to test the waters, in order to pass similar decisions to restrict public freedoms and change the city's identity, the message should have been received. This kind of decision will not pass. And if these decisions were issued carelessly, without calculating their repercussions, then this experimentation must stop. Islam forbids alcohol,

but about 10% of the 1.5 million inhabitants of Damascus are Christians. The protesters also fear the restrictions show that the new Islamist government of Ahmed al-Shara is becoming more conservative. Other new rules issued since he took power include female government employees in Latakia being banned from wearing makeup and that modest swimwear must be worn at beaches and pools. However, following the initial outrage over the alcohol ban, the Damascus government has issued an apology. It said sorry for

singling out the Christian community and said the ban wouldn't affect tourist establishments like hotels. Also at the protest was Marelle Abu Shanab. She says the decision should be reversed in full. We have the right to receive an apology, but the order has not been withdrawn. They said they would reconsider it, but we have no confirmation that it will actually be reversed. It threatens people's livelihoods and divides Damascus. We have always lived as one. This is a personal freedom issue. Whoever wants to drink should drink and whoever does not want to, should not. Businesses will have three months to implement the new rules. But these demonstrations in Damascus underscore a growing public unease over which way Syria may go.

Jacob Evans. The comedy sketch show Saturday night. Live has been an institution on US TV since the 1970s. It's inspired many international copies with its mix of live comedy, musical guests and political satire. A UK version of the show had its debut over the weekend and the reviews are now coming in. Here's a flavour of the first episode, a sketch in which the British Prime Minister Kyr Stama seeks advice from a Gen Z advisor on how to deal with the US. Sir Kier is trying to set boundaries with the president while preserving their Special relationship. I see.

Okay, so you're looking for more of a special situation. First thing you've got to do, you've got to forget the phone call these days. It's all about the voice note. I'll try anything. I'll do anything. Except take a stand. President Trump even shared the clip on his social media. But did the format as a whole translate?

Eric McElroy is an American stand-up comedian and knows some of the writers on Saturday Night Live, UK. He spoke to Paul Henley. I grew up with Saturday Night Live. I remember staying up to watch it in like 1978 with a babysitter. It was magical. So it's always been part of my life. But the whole idea of that cold open

where they start with a strong sketch and then go to the host and then go into the sketches, that's new to some people here. And I thought it landed it really well. I enjoyed the opening sketch with Kirstarmus struggling to talk with Donald Trump and I thought it was really funny. Is it worth doing everything live?

It's inviting disaster. with cue cards and people forgetting stuff, isn't it? But that's part of the magic of it. This is different than, you know, film sketch or even watching stand-up, like watching someone live on the Apollo. A lot of that is cultivated over time and created. But here, this is a show that's created within a week. And having it live makes it special.

It's more like watching an improv show where they've got the games that improv players use. You're giving them a time and a place and an action, and they've got to make it happen right there. And because the show is pulled together so quickly, it's got that element to it. And that's what the live makes it. stand out even more. Would you like to see it a little more topical? Some of them were quite

bizarrely not of the day, weren't they? You're saying Shakespeare isn't topical? Well, I like topical humor a lot. I'm biased towards that. But at the same time, it's fun to have weird sketches that are culturally significant as well, like the 45 seconds with four acres that was about Irish heritage and accents. And that, to me, was a very British piece, but not topic at all, but fun and weird and funny. Some of it just didn't land, right? That's part of Saturday Night Live. They've written these sketches within the last seven days. They've never had the chance to perform them in front of a live audience or very limited chance.

I have not yet to watch an episode in the US where I was like, I didn't really get that one. But then the next one comes along. So you get that chance. And sometimes it is a bit hit and miss. So people need to give it that space because that's actually part of the show. The Princess Diana impersonation was a standout moment for me. What did you think? I thought, yes, Jack Shep, the actor that did it, stole the show.

He was off camera, but doing these coquettish looks and little smiles. He just stole the sketch. And that's another part of Saturday Live, is you get to see people come forward. And most of these aren't, you know, household names. I know a couple of people involved in the writing, and I know Larry Dean, who's in the cast. But most of these aren't names that most people have heard of yet. And that's another thing that Saturday Night and U.S. has done. It's launched the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy in the world.

Was it a good translation of US humor? You're in the right position to judge that, maybe? Well, I think we use the US format and structure, but the humor was British. And I think the other thing they've done, which is crucial, is they invested in a huge writing team. And that's what makes these things work, is I think they've got 15 to 20 writers,

and you need that because the cast is writing as well. Eric McElroy. And that's all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Pat Sissons and produced by Paul Day. Our editors, Karen Martin, I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about.

It's called the Dark Web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the Dark Web. US Special Agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse. Moving in now. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, The darkest web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get to your BBC podcasts.