Global News Podcast - Israel expands offensive in Gaza

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

An Israeli air strike is reported to have killed at least 19 people at a UN clinic in northern Gaza, after Israel announced an expansion of its offensive in the territory. Also: the American actor Val Kilmer has died.

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13 Hours GMT on Wednesday, the 2nd of April, these are our main stories. An Israeli airstrike is reported to have killed at least 19 people at a UN clinic in northern Gaza after Israel announced an expansion of its offensive in the territory. Myanmar's army admits to opening fire on a Red Cross convoy from China that was bringing aid to victims of Friday's huge earthquake and last night at the bank I noticed something about two face. I know you called me here for this. The bet signal is not a

beeper. The American actor Val Kilmer who appeared in Top Gun The Doors and Batman Forever has died at the age of 65. Also in this podcast, the Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti goes on trial in Spain for alleged tax fraud and the exponential rise of the one-minute drama. Defeating Hamas in Gaza is proving far tougher than many Israelis thought following the October 7 massacre. 18 months after that attack, the defence minister Israel Katz has announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza, promising to seize large areas of the Palestinian territory which he said would be added to the security zones of the State of Israel. As ever though, civilians seem to be paying a heavy price. The Hamas-run

Health Ministry said that 19 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UN clinic, nine of them children. Israel's military confirmed it did strike a United Nations facility, which it said had been used by Hamas. Our Middle East correspondent Yolande Nel is in Jerusalem. Well overall at least 41 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza in the course of the day according to the Hamas run health ministry that's just put out its latest figures and that includes 19 killed at this UN health clinic turned shelter for displaced people in Jabalia in the

north of Gaza. Now the Israeli military has put out a statement saying that it was targeting Hamas terrorists with an airstrike here saying that they were using this site as a command and control center. We're still waiting for more details a lot is still sketchy but there's been condemnation from the internationally backed Palestinian authorities calling this action by Israel a massacre and there's really harrowing footage which the BBC has not yet verified which show a baby among those killed, a small child as well. You can see smoke just pouring out of this building. And let's turn now to this statement by the Defense Minister Israel Katz. Do we know exactly

what's being planned and what he's asking of the Gazans? I mean he put out this statement this morning basically saying that large areas of the Gaza Strip would be seized and incorporated into what he called security zones with large scale evacuations of the population. Already Israel has really widened the buffer zone that previously existed around Gaza has retaken this strategically important corridor which divides the strip into two. We're hearing from Israeli Army radio but no more confirmation of this yet that Israeli tanks and ground forces have begun to advance into central and eastern Rafah in southern

Gaza and there's also these comments from Israel cats basically asking the population of Gaza telling them they should rise up against Hamas and free the hostages. It's believed that there are 24 living hostages that were seized from southern Israel in the seventh October attack, still alive being held by Hamas in Gaza. Of course, we have seen some protests against Hamas by Gazans increasingly desperate in recent days, but on the whole you're talking about unarmed civilians and it's been nearly 18 months now that Israel with its military offensive has been trying to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and crush it militarily as well. So far it hasn't managed to do that.

Yolan Nel in Jerusalem. In Myanmar, the army has admitted it opened fire on a convoy of nine vehicles from the Chinese Red Cross as it was driving through northern Shan state on its way to provide earthquake relief. No one appears to have been injured. The military said it hadn't been told about the convoy beforehand. Our correspondent Nick Marsh is following developments from neighbouring Thailand. Myanmar's military hunter has said that this Chinese convoy of aid workers failed to stop in a zone of conflict and therefore they sent out some warning shots. But it does just go to show how incredible this situation is, that war, that armed conflict is ongoing

while people are suffering in the midst of this humanitarian disaster. Some of the armed militant organisations have actually declared a temporary ceasefire though, haven't they? They have, yes, but it's a unilateral ceasefire. The military hunter has rejected it. They were talking in state media this morning and they said that because these rebel groups were continuing with their training of militants, because they were continuing with their planning of future attacks, the hunter considers this

an attack in and of itself and therefore they're not going to stop with their campaigns. You know, ground offensive in Sagayin, which is one of the worst hit areas by the earthquake, that's still going on. Bombing campaigns are also ongoing. There was a village just, what, 80 kilometres from the epicentre, which was hit less than 24 hours after the earthquake struck. The people of Myanmar are having to deal with this absolute devastation

of an earthquake while still having to live in a zone of conflict. Well, you mentioned Sagaing. I know a BBC team has arrived there. What have they found? That's right, Jackie. They say that this is the worst situation that they've seen so far. They've already been to the capital, Mapuador. After that, they went all the way up to Mandalay, very near the epicentre. Bridges had collapsed, roads were unusable. They said that it's essentially a picture of utter destruction there. They've already smelt bodies in various parts of Myanmar, but also in Sagayang. And they've said that there is no rescue work going on in many of these places. That was Nick Marsh. The true picture in the more remote areas of Myanmar remains

unclear because communications are still down. The authorities are also barring some foreign journalists from entering the country. Our correspondent Nick Beek has been trying to piece together the picture in the once popular tourist destination of Inle Lake in Shan State, which was once one of the country's biggest visitor attractions. Inle Lake was once Myanmar's aquatic tourist paradise. A world of bamboo homes perching above the surface. Fishermen holding oars with their legs to glide their boats through the serene waters. It's now a floating disaster zone. Crumpled houses, submerged restaurants, fallen pagodas.

An Austrian charity sent us video after they'd driven 14 hours from the largest city, Yangon, to reach the lake. Around 100 people died here, many from drowning, as this woman, now taking refuge in a nearby monastery, explained. When the house collapsed, my niece was swept away in the water and died. She was only four years

old. There were 256 houses in the neighborhood but nothing could be recovered. I'm here in Nyangshui at the Inle Lake in northeastern Myanmar. Jochen Meisner from the charity called Sonne spoke to us after spending the day giving out aid in what is a devastated landscape. The earthquake has hit massively there. More than a thousand houses are destroyed. We've been to the two worst affected villages, Jotar, which is still 80% destroyed, and Kela, which is even bigger, 70% destroyed. He says they are the first international organisation to reach the area.

Other local charities have arrived and the military have been helping. He says they are the first international organization to reach the area. Other local charities have arrived and the military have been helping. That's a stark contrast from where nearby their planes have continued to bomb rebel-held areas, including near the epicenter of the quake. Jochen says people on the lake are now getting some help. The Myanmar Red Cross, also the Myanmar Fire Brigade were very active and many, many local volunteers. So now at least all the people affected by the earthquake, they have at least the most basic necessities to survive for the next weeks.

The picturesque refuge of Inle Lake once drew hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors every year, at least before the military coup in 2021. Civil war stole their livelihoods, the earthquake stole their lives, misery upon misery for the Burmese people. Nick Beek reporting. The head of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde says Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs, due to be announced later on Wednesday, will have a negative impact across the world. There will be much more on what President Trump has called Liberation Day in the next edition of the podcast. Meanwhile, Mr Trump's Republicans have suffered a setback in Wisconsin, where voters have elected a

liberal judge to the US state's highest court. Susan Crawford took about 54% of the vote, defeating a conservative opponent backed by the president and Elon Musk. It was the most expensive judicial election in US history. Groups linked to Mr Musk spent heavily on campaigning. He travelled to Wisconsin to give two voters a million dollars each for signing a petition against what he called activist judges. Judge Crawford's supporters were jubilant. Susan Crawford says her victory proves justice in Wisconsin can't be bought. Just moments ago I received a phone call from Judge Brad Shimon conceding the race as a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls.

I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin and we won. Our correspondent Normia Iqbal spoke to us from Wisconsin. Susan Crawford is a county judge, she's formerly a private lawyer for Planned Parenthood and had made abortion rights a big issue on the campaign trail. Now the Supreme Court election here in Wisconsin is always significant, always closely watched, always has a lot of money pumped into it, but of, that was taken to a whole other level with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, being involved.

Here in Milwaukee, which leans democratic, election officials said that they had run out of ballot papers, and they said it was due to what they described as an unprecedented and historic voter turnout. This result is a setback for President Trump. He won the swing state of Wisconsin by a small percentage last year in the presidential election. Interestingly, he didn't actually come here to publicly endorse Brad Schimel, preferring to do it on social media and also preferring

to let his close ally, Elon Musk, come here and be active. This is no doubt a boost for the Democratic party but I think the Republican party can be consoled by the fact that they held on to two congressional seats in the much warmer state of Florida. That was Nourmia Iqbal. The American actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in some of the biggest Hollywood movies of the 1980s and 90s including Top Gun and Batman Forever has died. He was 65. His daughter said he'd had pneumonia. Lee Zoma Zimba looks back at his life. At the heart of Top Gun's testosterone-fuelled action was the rivalry between Val Kilmer's Tom, Iceman Kazanski and Tom Cruise's Pete Maverick Mitchell.

You up for this one, Maverick? Just a walk in the park, Kizanski. Both in the air and on the ground. What's your problem, Kizanski? You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous. Some said Kilmer might have been playing himself.

Talented, opinionated, supremely self-confident. I feel better! After Top Gun, he showed his versatility in fantasy film Willow. Come to daddy, little darling. And he went on to become one of Hollywood's hottest stars. The high-profile roles piled up. Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's Dawes biopic,

Doc Holliday in the Western Tombstone. Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave. And he replaced Michael Keaton in cinema's then biggest franchise in Batman Forever. Last night at the bank I noticed something about Two-Face. Keaton in cinema's then biggest franchise in Batman Forever. But for the following decades, partly because of a reputation for being difficult to work with, his career mostly stalled. Until in 2022 he was welcomed back in the blockbuster sequel Top Gun Maverick, Iceman suffering from the same throat cancer that Kilmer had been diagnosed with in his final years. The kid needs Maverick. That's why I fought for you. That's why you're still here. For this final high profile role, his voice recreated using the latest AI technology.

Liz Oma Zimba on the life of Val Kilmer, who's died aged 65. Still to come on the Global News podcast, a radical new approach in the battle to save the rhino from poachers. By making a horn slightly radioactive, we make it less desirable for the people who want to own a Rhino horn, who want to use it for traditional medicine. Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of the Spanish football club Real Madrid, has gone on trial accused of tax fraud. Mr Ancelotti, who's Italian, has denied the allegations and he's been speaking in court. Guy Hedgeco is in Madrid. The prosecutors are saying that Mr Ancelotti, during a previous spell when he was Real Madrid coach in 2014-2015 that he hid from the Spanish tax authorities his image rights and that there was substantial revenue from those

image rights and he didn't tell the authorities about it and therefore he defrauded the tax authorities in Spain of around a million euros during that time so that's the charge which is obviously a very serious one and has with it potentially a jail sentence of up to four years and nine months. And what does Mr. Ancelotti say? Well he said he's done nothing wrong. In court today he said he was not aware at all of having committed any kind of fraud that was not his intention. Basically he's been saying in court that he didn't know anything illegal was being

done. At one point, when he was being questioned, he said, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't understand any of these questions. So he was basically saying that he was not aware of this as far as he was concerned. This was normal practice. He was told this was normal practice, the way that he was being paid and the way that his money was coming in and the way that he was paying his taxes.

And how long is this case expected to take? Well the trial itself is just three days between today and Friday we've been told then the verdict we don't expect an immediate verdict these with these sort of cases it might take a few days it might even take a few weeks and obviously it will be widely awaited because of the fame that Carlo Ancelotti has in Spain he's a very well-known figure and he's a well-known figure in the sports world in general. And just briefly Guy, he's by no means the first famous football name to be investigated by these Spanish authorities over tax, is he?

No, not at all. I mean there have been a number of football coaches and players in Spain who've been investigated and charged with tax fraud fraud among them Leo Messi and and Cristiano Ronaldo a few years back in those cases they were actually given jail sentences but they were much lower than the prosecutor was asking for so they didn't obviously go to jail and they ended up paying large fines so we don't know what will happen with this but I think people will be following the case very closely with Carlo Ancelotti. Guy Hedco in Madrid.

Residents of the city of Mirbele in Haiti are caught up in a terrifying confrontation between criminal gangs and the police after the local prison was stormed on Monday and hundreds of inmates were freed. Many people have fled the town to escape the fighting but others are reported to have armed themselves to carry out patrols and to kill some of the escaped prisoners. America's regional editor Leonardo Roscia told Jeanette Jalil more about the situation in Mirbalet. From what the authorities are saying it's really getting out of control you have this coalition of gangs called

Vivansins. They are the ones who stormed this police and prison compound and freed more than 500 inmates. But they are different gangs and they're fighting in the streets of the city. It's a city of about a hundred thousand people not far from Port-au-Prince, about 60 kilometers from there, and they set up their base at the high school in the city. Many buildings have been destroyed, reports of real violence. Many people left and as you mentioned others have set up their own armed militias to fight the gangs and the gangs are fighting between themselves for control of the city. It's a

worry in development because gangs already control about 80-85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They charge tolls, basically extortion money from people for travelling in buses from one city to the other. They are stopped, they're forced to pay money. So it might be the case that they are expanding to other parts of Haiti. That seems to be the case. And this all comes despite the deployment of a Kenyan-led security force that was supposed to help the Haitian police battle the gangs but have instead themselves come under attack?

That's right. What I saw on local media is that two members of this international force led by the Kenyans have already been killed and the overall impressions they've had very little impact on the situation on the ground. A year ago there was a lot of hope for Haiti because this transitional council was installed with the support of the international community, the main donors, the United States, Canada, and the European Union. And they were hoping to restore order within 18 months, it hasn't happened, and set up elections for February next year. It all looks very, very weak at the moment, very difficult to

believe that that will happen unless in October when the UN meets to renew a mandate for this multinational force and unless they decide to beef up the force and to deploy troops in Haiti, which is something very controversial but might be the solution that they agree at the time. That was Leonardo Roscia. The global rhino population has fallen dramatically from an estimated half a million at the beginning of the 20th century to just 28,000 today largely because of poaching for their horns. Scientists in South Africa have now gone nuclear literally

to try to protect these magnificent beasts. Our reporter Ayanda Charlie traveled north of Johannesburg to find out more. I'm standing in what is essentially the middle of the wilderness. Anywhere I turn in every direction I see a rhino either on the ground from having been just sedated or feasting on a heap of grass awaiting its turn to be sedated. And there is a team of vets and scientists about two meters away from me huddled around a sedated rhino taking measurements, recording vitals. Why am I in the middle of the wilderness? Well, six months ago, scientists here took what you might call an atomic approach to

stopping poaching by putting radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos. Today I've joined a team of vets and scientists in the reserve as they health check the rhinos to make sure they're okay following their nuclear treatment. The whole process from implanting the radioactive isotopes to today's checks is a far gentler method than say de-horning. Professor James Larkin of the University of the Witwatersrand has been leading what's known as the Rhizotope project. This whole project works on two key thoughts. By making a horn slightly radioactive, we make it less desirable for the people who want to own a rhino horn,

who want to use it for traditional medicine. And the second is the level of radioactive material in the horn makes these horns significantly easier to detect as they're moved. There are nuclear detection systems at many border crossings and other transport hubs. If a poached horn passes through one, it would be detected and considered a nuclear security incident. And instead of simply being a poaching offence, it becomes something far more serious. But it isn't just about making the horns radioactive. The project has a wider ambition of breaking the cycle of power

that poaching gangs hold over nearby communities, by providing new services and facilities paid for by fundraising in the name of rhino conservation. They're also in the early stages of teaching children in the area about the importance of protecting rhinos. Co-lead of the project, Jessica Babich, ultimately wants to create a network of so-called rhino champions. Everybody needs to be a rhino champion as far as I'm concerned.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, you need to understand that the rhino as a species is an ambassador of living things. Rhinos have this amazing ability to unite us when we start understanding how by helping them we actually help ourselves. Rhinos saving people and people saving rhinos. That report was by Ianda Charley. Several studies have found that people with high levels of cholesterol in the blood are more likely to develop dementia. Statins are used to lower cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes and some scientists believe they also offer protection against dementia. Now new research from South

Korea has added more weight to that theory. The findings were published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Professor Tara Spires-Jones is the president of the British Neuroscience Association. She wasn't involved in the study but she has read it. This is a very interesting study. Dr Lee and team from 11 university hospitals in South Korea had a look at data from over half a million people to ask the question of whether their LDLC or low density lipoprotein receptor cholesterol was associated with dementia risk.

And the top line is low LDL cholesterol was associated with 26% reduced risk of dementia, including a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia. And statins, as you mentioned, help even a little bit more. So statins were protective. Statins lower that type of what some people call bad cholesterol. So this is good. It's showing that there's a risk factor that we can have some control over, but it's not the end of the story. So about 40% of dementias could be prevented by lifestyle factors like eating well and exercising and keeping

your brain active. But that's not to blame people living with dementia because the other 60% are a bad luck combination of genes and age. This is adding to the data suggesting that we really do need to take care of our blood vessels in order to reduce our own brain risk. So at the minute, this is data that's been published in a peer-reviewed journal and it's adding to scientific knowledge. And eventually this will translate into changes in practice. So you can speak to your GP about whether you have had cholesterol, because there are things we can do today to lower our own cholesterol. So it may eventually change practice to help us reduce our risk of, of dementia.

Right. We want to encourage people to lead an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise, eating well, not banging your head, not smoking, that type of thing. There are 14 risk factors we can control. And some of those can be aided by medications but we really want to look at the whole picture and make sure that we're doing our best to protect our brains as we age. That was Professor Tara Spires-Jones. Now many of us enjoy immersing ourselves in

television box sets, binging on them for hours on end. Now though more and more viewers are enjoying dramas which run for no more than one minute. You belong with me, falling for a superstar. My unwanted billionaire ex are some of them. Here's half of another one, my secret agent husband. Lucas! You remember Senator Thompson and his lovely daughter Sophia?

What are they doing here? To discuss our marriage, you moron. Dad, I told you not to get involved in my personal affairs. I don't want to get wrapped up in some political marriage. Of course you do! Senator Thompson's gonna pass a bill that will benefit us tremendously. They want to be part of the family. Ew, don't say family!

It's never been about family. It's about your profits and your stocks. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You still haven't changed. Are you gripped yet? The trend which started in China has become known as vertical drama series because they're films to be seen on smartphones.

It's also been described as TV for the TikTok generation. My colleague Emma Barnett spoke to Rory Chambers who started making them after he left London Film School and Jen Cooper, a big fan who runs a website, Vertical Drama Love. I think it's just the convenience because it's on your phone. I also really like the fact that you get a whole film broken up into the clip so you can stop and start as you want. It's a lot easier as well because obviously you're acting on a phone, you're not trying to get to a cinema. I've also invested in too many TV series over the years that then get cancelled. So I like something that I can finish the project in one.

And what would you say Rory to the question? Are they any good? It's complicated. I personally don't watch them, but I can see the appeal. You make them but don't watch them. I make them, I watch them for research. When I'm going to make one, I'll sort of do a bit of research into the tropes and the style. But they're very gripping. They're very addictive, is what I would say. Is there any sadness about making this?

No, not at all. I mean, I've always wanted to be a director and my biggest fear leaving film school was like how am I going to get work? And a year ago I didn't even know this existed. I didn't know it was a thing and just to be doing directing for my job I'm happy to be doing it. I mean sadness perhaps isn't the word but I'm struck that you don't watch them you know it's it's it's an interesting tension that to make content that you don't want to watch. Well I love

movies I love cinema when I watch something I want to be in a cinema yeah in a big screen environment I do like I, I do occasionally watch them for research purposes. Jen, for you, what are people telling you about why they're turning to these dramas? So I've set up a site and I'm ending up talking to fans all around the world and some of these shows, they're getting 200, 300 billion views worldwide. It is global. And I think for a lot of people, they want the escapism, they want a dopamine hit, they want good overcoming evil, they like that the tropes are recognisable, they kind of know what

they're going to get and the talent and creativity in it is phenomenal. It's just the ideas, the acting talent, it really is I think much more interesting than a lot of mainstream media at the moment. I think it does feed into that attention span of we want something quicker, shorter. And these things, they're the master of the clickbait title. They are the master of the cliffhanger. And it moves on really fast. And I think it's just where people's brains and attention span is now. And they're joyous. They're just, they're so much fun. That was Jen Cooper. And before her, we heard from Rory Chambers. And that's it from us for now. But there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast for her we heard from Rory Chambers. the hashtag global news pod. This edition was mixed by Darcy O'Brie, who apparently

loves a good vertical drama. The producer was Emma Joseph. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard and until next time, goodbye.