Global News Podcast - Israel opens Rafah border crossing

Episode Date: February 2, 2026

The reopening of the Rafah crossing is a key part of President Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza, but only about 50 Palestinians are being allowed to cross in each direction, each day. Also: Pakistan begins a nation-wide anti-polio campaign to vaccinate more than 45 million children; Syria's only woman in the transitional government tells the BBC about the challenges facing her country; technology companies in Japan try to help those living with dementia; the UK's former ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, resigns from the governing Labour Party after more revelations in the Epstein scandal; and the price of gold and silver continues to fall, after records highs. 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]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs.

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm John Sudworth and at 16 hours GMT on Monday the 2nd of February, these are our main stories. Israel has opened the Rafa border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which, has largely been kept closed for two years, but with strict limits on the number of Palestinians who are being allowed to cross in each direction. Pakistan has begun a nationwide anti-polio campaign to vaccinate more than 45 million children. Syria's only woman in the transitional government tells the BBC about the challenges facing her country. Also in this podcast, how high-tech is

helping dementia patients in Japan. If doctors can use motion-capture data, such as walking patterns or posture, they can intervene earlier, prescribe treatment and delay the onset of dementia. But first, the Rafa border crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been reopened. The territory's only gateway to the outside world is seen by Palestinians as a vital lifeline. And, apart from a brief period during the temporary ceasefire last winter, The crossing has remained shut since May 2024 when Israeli troops took control of it in the eighth month of their war against Hamas.

Although the number of people will, initially at least, be strictly limited with some reports suggesting a cap of 50 a day in each direction, the opening is expected to provide desperately needed relief for wounded and sick Palestinians seeking medical care abroad. Gaza remains strictly off limits to foreign journalists, and so our correspondent Yoland Nell is monitoring events from Jerusalem. A short time ago we had this announcement from an Israeli security official saying that the strategically important Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt

is now fully open. That's for the entry and exit of Palestinian residents after a lot of delays. And this after a test opening, which took place on Sunday as well. This official confirming that there are European monitors from the European Union in place, They're going to be working alongside Gaza and staff with Israel carrying out its own border checks at a separate checkpoint inside Gaza. From the Egyptian side, Al-Kahara News, close to the Egyptian intelligence, has said that the Rafa crossing received the first batch of Palestinians returning from Egypt to the Gaza Strip this morning, and Egyptian correspondents who are near to the crossing saying they saw ambulances going inside

so they can pick up some of the sick and wounded Palestinians who were going to be exiting. And according to the figures, about 20,000 people sick and wounded are waiting to come out of the Gaza Strip. And you've also got other groups of people, you know, students, for example, that are waiting to leave to take up scholarships abroad in some cases. And remember that medical and educational facilities are in a dire condition in Gaza. Many buildings have been destroyed. And we've also been hearing that there are about 30,000 Palestinians who have registered with the Palestinian embassy in Cairo to go back to the Gaza Strip.

for family reunification. The Egyptians are keen to show that this is going to be movement going on in two directions, people coming in and going out. There were reports leading up to the opening that Israel was going to impose strict limits on the numbers allowed to cross with possibly different limits in both directions. What do we know about that? Yes, definitely. That's what we've been hearing according to reports. We haven't got like official statements about numbers, but it's understood according to the media reports, it's going to be about 100 or 150 Palestinians that are able to go through the crossing each day.

And of course, that is just a tiny number of those who want to cross through. Those who are sick and wounded will be able to go out with one or two carers. And those who are entering back really will just be able to take the minimum amount of luggage, nothing metal, limited medicines. This is according to the Israeli media reports, about the restrictions that are in place. It's been made clear at the moment that no foreign journalists will be able to go into the Gaza Strip

through the Raffa Crossing. But it's Egypt in particular that had these fears that Israel could use the crossing opening to push Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. It's been insisting that movement via the crossing takes place in both directions. We've mentioned the concerns, this question of limits,

but nonetheless, for many people in Gaza, a sense of relief that this day has come? I would say so definitely. We've been speaking remotely and via freelancers who work with us on the ground to Palestinians and they constantly use this phrase that this is their gateway to the world

or else their lifeline to the world. That's how they see the Rafa crossing. It is the only crossing point that doesn't go into Israel. And prior to the war, this was really the main route for Palestinians who wanted to exit. Yoland.

in Jerusalem. One of those hoping to make the crossing is Aunt Sardia. She's 28 years old and has been anxiously waiting for the chance to leave the territory to meet her fiancé for the first time in years so they can finally get married. She's been speaking to my colleague Rob Young. It is, it feels like freedom at last after two very, just for years. And once you do go out, you're obviously hoping to get to see your fiancée, it's and get married. Do you have any plans yet for the wedding? Well, yeah, lots of plans, lots of waiting. You know, we've been waiting for two years since the war happened, and it's been, you know, a very long process of waiting and planning and plans not working out, trying to figure

out a way out so that, you know, we can meet up and, you know, start planning the wedding and get married, but nothing happening, nothing working. But now it's like there's some hope at last. So, yeah, definitely as soon as I can, you know, go out with my family. Top of the list, you know, meet my Vianz and get married. What is daily life like at the moment? We know there's been a big surge of food going into the Gaza Strip. Is there enough to eat? Yeah, so it's definitely way better at the moment than compared to, say, last October,

you know, when the ceasefire came into effect. So there's definitely, you know, more food now. Things are plenty. If you go to the supermarket, a lot of options. it's almost like before the war. So as far as, you know, food goes, things are much better. And is everybody talking about the reopening of Rafra? I just wonder among your friends and your family.

Definitely. It's like the hottest topic at the moment. Everyone's talking about the Rafah crossing because, you know, we're stuck. We've been stuck here for two years and the option of going out is not given to us. So the prospect of, you know, being granted freedom to live at well is intoxicating, honestly. and everyone has plans, but almost nearly everyone I know has dance also to come back. Well, that was Aunt Sardier in Gaza. Mona Al-Absi wants to go the other way. She's a 29-year-old mother of two.

Her boys are seven and four, and she, like Once, is originally from the north of Gaza, but she's currently in Cairo. She travelled from Gaza last year, one of the rare medical evacuees, as she accompanied her injured and ill son for treatment. Now, though, it's time, she says, to return. She told us why. My husband is still in Gaza. My family, my mother, my sisters,

and all the members of my family are staying in Gaza. And here in Cairo, I can't find a job. I can't provide for my family well here in Cairo. I don't have a job. I don't have anybody to provide for me. So I can't live by myself here. Mona al-Absi in Cairo. For more on this story, you can go to YouTube, search for BBC News, click on the logo, then choose podcasts and global news podcast.

There's a new story available every weekday. Now, there are only two countries where polio has not been eradicated, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's why the authorities in Islamabad have begun a nationwide anti-Pyghans. polio campaign to vaccinate more than 45 million children. Thousands of police officers will be providing security. In the past, health workers have come under attack by militants who claim the vaccination program is a Western conspiracy. Our global affairs reporter and Barrison Etherajan told me more about the campaign.

This is the first anti-polio campaign in Pakistan for 2026. They have been making various attempts to eradicate polio, which affects mainly children under the age of five. And this scale of this exercise is huge, where we are talking about 400,000 health workers, many of them women, going from door to door to vaccinate children. And, you know, this last year, the number came down to 31 cases compared to 74 in 2024, but still they have a long way to go because about four years ago, Pakistan's case number was almost zero, but then they're still struggling to contain this.

Only two countries, as you mentioned, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is still not been eradicated. But then there is also a vaccine hesitancy among the public. But this is the first campaign of the year, and I hope to conduct more campaign so that they can contain the disease. I mean, 45 million children unvaccinated seems an extraordinary number. why is polio still a problem after so many campaigns and millions of dollars spent? Is it just vaccine hesitancy? The UN and other agencies point out various issues. For example, there's a mass movement of people in Pakistan,

especially if there is any military action in the northwest of the country. There are 10,000 of people move to other cities. And also, in recent years, Pakistan also forced many Afghans, hundreds of thousands of Afghans, who had been living in the country for decades or many years. Many of them didn't have these vaccine. They were forced to go back to Afghanistan. So there is a break in the cycle of follow-up doses.

And the second thing is about hardline Islamists. They claim, falsely claim, that giving vaccine is also a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslims. And there is awareness or lack of awareness. And I've also point out coordination between federal and state authorities. So they all contribute to this. disease, particular disease is while most of the world they have eradicated this. Even Nigeria have eradicated a couple of years ago. So that is why it's still endemic in Pakistan.

Do those militants pose a threat to this campaign? And how long is it expected to last? This campaign will go on for a week. And that is a major challenge because dozens of health workers and security personnel have been killed. Almost more than 90 people have been killed in the last 20 years in terms of campaign, various attacks by the militants. That is a security challenge. is high-risk areas where people or health workers won't go to. And even if they go, then they

come under attack and that is a big challenge for the Pakistani government. And Barisan Etherajan. To Japan now, where it's estimated that one in five people over the age of 65 are living with dementia or early symptoms of the condition. That challenge may seem overwhelming. But local technology companies are trying to step in to help those in need. Serangana Tuari reports. In a lab at Tokyo's Waseda University, half a dozen humanoid robots are being tested to perform various tasks. The idea is that they'll become future caregivers for those seeing a decline in capabilities and to solve a chronic shortage of care workers. IREC is a 150 kilogram humanoid robot that can already handle several tasks,

from nursing care like changing positions and putting on socks to daily house. work like scrambling eggs and folding laundry. Assistant Professor Tamwamiaki says developing such robots takes incredible precision. It's extremely challenging because robots must precisely control the force they apply when interacting with people. That requires full body sensing and adaptive understanding. But robots like IREC are still prototypes. Researchers here say it may take another five years before they can provide physical care. Here's Tammon Miyaki again.

Robots should supplement, not substitute human caregivers, so while they may take over some tasks, their main role will be to assist both caregivers and patients. Tech companies are also developing new ways to screen for dementia, including one tool from Fujitsu. A camera films, a person moving, and then AI analyzes their posture. and gait. Changes in how a person moves, like shuffling while walking, slowing down, or difficulty

in turning can be some of the earliest signs of dementia. A.I. Gait analyzes posture and movement using skeleton recognition. It's non-invasive and easy to deploy in clinical settings. Hedinori Fujiwara from Fujitsu explains why the technology is so useful. If doctors can use motion capture data, such as walking patterns, or posture, they can intervene earlier, prescribe treatment and delay the onset of dementia. Developers are also turning to robotics for emotional support, including one that looks like a teddy bear. Sharp's tiny robot is called Pocateomo. At just 12 centimetres tall, it can fit in your hand or hang on your bag, and yet it's smart enough to listen and remember. Here's Miho Kage, development master.

at Sharp. I believe elderly users can benefit. For example, it can remind them to take their medication, or simply serve as a conversational companion for those living alone. In the years ahead, Japan faces major pressures, shrinking workforce and rising social care costs. Innovations may not replace humans just yet, but they could help ease stretched resources,

from screening to caregiving support, and ensure older people stay active and engaged for longer. Suranjana Tuari. Still to come in this podcast after the record highs, sharp falls in the price of gold. You'd be forgiven for being a little bit confused. All I can tell you is right now, the price is going down after a huge, huge rise,

and it's going to be an interesting week, I think. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story.

What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Hind Kabawat is a pioneering politician. She is Syria's Minister for Social Affairs and Labor, the only female in the transitional government which took over following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Her portfolio means she's having to tackle some of Syria's toughest issues from providing help to war widows and orphans, the millions displaced, and those fleeing the still smoldering sectarian. violence. So how much difference can she make? Our chief international correspondent, Leis Doucette, has been speaking to her. You have said that not including more women at that cabinet level was one of the biggest mistakes of the first year in power. The first day we were there, I told them, why there is no more woman? He said, it's coming. We will. We are transition.

So I hope that next year, when they change, they will bring five, six women because they are very qualified, not because of women. Oh, wow, look at this, wazir. Yeah, no, but I didn't change my furniture. Hind is a lawyer, a former opposition leader in exile, educated in the east and west, with contacts in many capitals. Now she's tackling some of Syria's toughest issues. You don't feel that Hind Kabawat is the token woman in the government?

I don't feel myself a Christian or a woman when I do my job. The minute, I don't see I have the freedom to do my own strategy, my own plan, my own budget. Why? I'm not a window dressing. Hello, I'm not a window dressing. We travel with her to Idlib in the northwest. To the former stronghold of the fighters now in charge. To this bleak, tented camp on barren land. Millions of Syrians still live like this, needing everything. My husband is sick and my daughter has two holes in her heart.

She needs an operation urgently. We live in complete poverty, below zero. Our villages were completely destroyed. The civil defense forces had to open abroad so we can tell our houses apart. there was massive distraction. This is Hind, always hugging the children, bringing her humor, even a bit of hope. But she's empty-handed. Do you fear that people's patience will run out?

Of course. Of course, and they're right. You put yourself into their shoes. And we don't have the money. And if we don't have united effort from the international community to help at least, some houses for those people because this is hard for them. What members of the international community say is the government is too slow, that you're not moving quickly enough on establishing a new legal framework, on transparency. We are moving, but you have to understand.

It's only one year now. We get a country that's been completely destroyed. Take a walk through the old city of Damascus. You can see why they call Syria a mosaic. so many rich traditions and religious sects. The long war created deep cracks, and some fear they're getting worse. Alawites, Druze, Kurds,

they've all accused the government of turning its guns on them. One of Hinn's most urgent tasks is building trust. In the past year, there was this massacre in the coastal areas, 1,400 people killed, and the inquiry said possible war crimes were committed. Again, violence in the South against the Druze. This has opened a wound.

Did the government make mistakes in how it responded? Mistakes happen in transition and post-conflict. But more than just mistakes? Yeah, but what happened? Immediately there is a commission of inquiry. There is investigation. and I know now so many of those who committed those crimes are in prison. Am I happy about it? Of course not.

Not even the president. Everyone, we're not happy. End Kabawatt speaking to Lise Doucette in Damascus. Last week's release by the US Department of Justice of many more files concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to reverberate. In Britain, the former ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, has resigned from the governing Labor Party after the most recent revelations.

Our political correspondent, Rob Watson, told Tim Franks Moore. Peter Mandelson was at the heart of what was known as the New Labor Project. Of course, everyone will associate that with Tony Blair, who became Prime Minister in 1997 after Labour had been in the opposition for a long time. And Peter Mandelson was all about reforming, modernising labour, and long story short, he became a government minister. and it now turns out, of course, that these files that have been dumped appear to suggest that he'd received something like $75,000 from Mr. Epstein, and that he'd also leaked government emails or passed on government emails to Mr. Epstein concerning financial matters,

and indeed had lobbied the government on behalf of Mr. Epstein and the sort of finance industry saying that they should think of not having a tax on bankers' bonuses at the heart, if you remember, of the financial crash around 2009. I mean, and this was a moment of extreme peril for the British Treasury, as it was for finance ministries around the world. He was at the heart of it as a business minister. And I mean, this email trail is not, it's not altogether clear that every single email comes from Peter Mandelson, but, I mean, the circumstantial evidence does suggest that he was passing very sensitive information on to a financier in another country. Absolutely. I mean, including one email, which essentially is, to the Prime Minister, I mean, to the Prime Minister at the time, about the state of the UK economy

in the midst or just in the immediate aftermath of that crash. I should say that Lord Mandelson, Peter Mandelson, he is saying that he doesn't recognise these payments and that, of course, while he admits to lobbying the government on behalf of the financial industry, he says it was on behalf of the finance industry rather than just Mr. Epstein and that bankers and financial institutions across the world were against things like taxes on bankers' bonuses. Peter Madelson has been written off before and has somehow managed to come back. It is likely that his career in politics is now over. But are there still going to be potentially embarrassing questions for this government,

for this Prime Minister, about the fact that despite the fact it was known that Madison had some historic links to Epstein that he was still appointed ambassador to the US? You raise an interesting wider point, I think, about this crisis. Yes, it's been terrible news for those who were friends or had relationships with Epstein, that includes Mr. Mandelson, but lots of other famous Americans and obviously former Prince Andrew. And then there's a sort of second tier of people who are in the firing line, and that is, as you say, people like Secere Stama, who's being asked, why on earth, you know, did you select Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States

when his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was well known? But I would introduce a third category to him, and that is, you know, yes, bad news for the mandelson's of this world for secure starma. But I think it's just bad news more generally for the sort of the rich, the wealthy, the powerful, the well connected, because all of this email dump the names it reveals people like Richard Branson, Howard, Lutnik Commerce Secretary, the co-founder of Google. It makes ordinary voters think, do you know what? There's just nothing you wouldn't really put past the rich, a powerful and the wealthy. So if you like it, it just increases the incredible levels of skepticism already.

there amongst voters, I think not just in this country, Tim, but probably everywhere about the rich and the powerful. Rob Watson. The governing Conservative Party's candidate in Costa Rica, Laura Fernandez, has won Sunday's presidential election. With the former planning and economic policy minister sweeping to victory in the first round, there was no need for a runoff, as our Central America correspondent Will Grant reports. At just 39 years old, Laura Fernandez will be one of the youngest.

presidents of the modern era in Costa Rica and represents continuity to the electorate, hailing from the governing sovereign people party. The handpicked successor of the outgoing president, Rodrigo Chavez, Laura Fernandez stood on a platform of extending the conservative policies of her predecessor, particularly on the issue of security. Many Costa Ricans voted over the question of rising crime amid fears that an uptick in drug-related violence could threaten the traditionally stable democracy. The former planning and economy minister has proposed declaring a state of emergency over the security situation,

something which her critics say is an imitation of another conservative Central American leader, Naib Buckele of El Salvador. Mr. Buckele was among the first to congratulate the President-elect of Costa Rica, saying he had called her to wish her the greatest of success in her government. While her party is expected to perform well in the parliamentary election, in which the votes are still being tallied, it is believed they may fall short of the supermoder. majority they want in order to change the makeup of the Supreme Court.

Costa Rica was already under conservative rule, but it is another vote in Central America, following Honduras last November, in which a candidate allied to Washington, has won. Will Grant. The price of gold and silver has continued to drop on Monday. In fact, gold has seen its biggest fall in more than a decade. But all of this, hot on the heels of a remarkable two-year rise for press. precious metals. Nick Marsh is our business reporter in Singapore trying to make sense of what's going on and he spoke to Rob Young. We've seen morphals in the price of gold and when you consider these precious metals they're normally known as safe haven investments when everything else looks

risky, you know, bonds and stocks and things like that and interest rates are low and they're not giving you a good yield. You can turn to these metals and they're a solid investment. At the moment though, yeah, it looks quite volatile actually. Gold's seeing its big. drop in over a decade, which is something that if you'd asked me last week, I would definitely not have said. I wouldn't have predicted that at all, because like you say, over the past two years, gold and silver, particularly gold, has gone up and up and up and up. And just to put it in perspective, though, I mean, an ounce of gold is still worth more than twice as much now than it was a couple of years ago. So a huge, huge rise, but now maybe, yeah,

the beginning of a fall. Yeah, we've been hearing in recent months that because the price of gold and silver was so high, people were selling jewelry because they just couldn't believe the amount of money they were going to get for it. And now this has gone into reverse. And is it going to cause a bit of chaos, maybe short term, on financial markets when it comes to currencies and company share prices and things like that? Because it is incredibly dramatic and unusual what we're seeing. It is unusual. It's kind of a reflection of the uncertainty that is coming out of, you know, the United States, US foreign policy has been affecting global markets. Donald Trump's policy tariffs has also been affecting global markets, uncertainty over who's going to be running

the America's central bank, the Federal Reserve, that sets interest rates, which ultimately has a big impact on stock markets and on whether gold's a good investment or not. We were expecting a certain kind of pick than someone else called Kevin Walsh was actually picked. Interest rates might not fall as much as we thought. You know, it's all complex. It's all quite volatile, all a bit uncertain. and we'll be speaking tomorrow,

I might be telling you something completely different, we just don't know. You know, these are professional investors who are not sure. So if you're just someone at home who's thinking, do I buy gold, do I not? I mean, I'm in Singapore now. We're coming up to Chinese New Year. Plenty of people buying gold in the run up to that.

Lots of people buy it in India for weddings and things like that, seen as an investment. You know, you'd be forgiven for being a little bit confused. All I can tell you is right now, the price is going down after a huge, huge rise, and it's going to be an interesting week, I think. Nick Marsh in Singapore. 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 NewsPod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story, available wherever you get your podcasts. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Charlotte Adroitogimska, producers were Masaffa Shakir and Oliver Burlowe.

The editor is Karen Martin. I'm John Sudworth. Until next time, goodbye. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it.

it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.