Global News Podcast - Kurdish rebels burn guns in step towards ending Turkey conflict

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

Kurdish militant PKK group begins disarming, starting a process designed to end the Turkish conflict. Also: Southern Gaza’s last hospital is forced to stop admitting patients as Israeli troops surround the facility.

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 1300hrs GMT on Friday the 11th of July these are our main stories. After four decades of armed struggle against the Turkish government and the death of 40,000 people, the Kurdish PKK has held a ceremony to mark the process of laying down its arms. In Gaza, the last big hospital has closed its doors to the wounded as Israeli forces continue their military action nearby. Srebrenica remembered.

Thirty years after the massacre of 8,000 people, ceremonies are held to commemorate the dead. Also in this podcast scientists believe a mystery interstellar object could be the oldest comet ever seen. First, members of the Kurdish rebel group the the PKK, arrive for a disarmament ceremony near the city of Sulaymaniyah in the autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq's north. It comes two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. But the symbolic burning of weapons is just the start of a process lasting for months, during which the PKK will gradually

disarm. BBC Arabic's Salih Nabil is in Northern Iraq and she explained why the group is doing this. They are doing this to start a peace process and end a chapter of military confrontations that caused tens of thousands of lives to be lost. They have been fighting the Turks for over 40 years. They initially wanted to have an independent country for the ethnic Kurdish minority in Turkey. And since the Turks refused and considered the PKK a terrorist organization, they started a military confrontation that took decades and thousands of life was were lost as a result. So this is the start of laying down arms, hopefully for a peace negotiation to kick

off afterwards with the Turks. But what we don't know whether or not the Turks will give them the guarantees they want the PKK want more rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey. They want their Kurdish language to be considered an official language in Turkey. They want their leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in solitary confinement in Turkish prison since 1999, to be freed. A list of demands that has to pass by the Turkish parliament, as they put it, to guarantee that no one could change that afterwards. And what triggered this change of heart? Why are they now doing this?

That's a big question and I don't think there is a clear-cut answer to that. But what we know is that Abdullah Ojelan inside his prison has been holding a series of meetings with some people from the Turkish side, from the Iraqi side, from the Iraqi Kurdistan government that paved the way for this big announcement that he made two months ago when he asked for the PKK to be disbanded and disowned. There are some interpretations that say that the Turkish President Erdogan, he needs the Kurdish votes if he wants to introduce some amendments to the Turkish constitution that would guarantee that he would stay in power after his current term ends. So it's not a clear-cut answer that we can give to this question. But at this

stage, we are yet to see whether or not the Turks will be able to respond positively to the demands put forward by the PKK or not. Salina Abil, the last major hospital still functioning in southern Gaza, says it's been forced to stop admitting casualties as Israeli troops close in on the facility. The Nasser Hospital in Hanyunas had been the largest medical facility in the whole of Gaza, following the Israeli's destruction of much of the larger Al-Shifa hospital further north in Gaza City. But NASA halted all admissions after Israeli troops approached to within 200 metres. One doctor posted this video of the scene inside the hospital's neonatal unit as emergency alarms sounded after generators shut down, cutting

power to babies' life support systems. We need that electricity as soon as possible for the incubators, for the mechanical ventilation. This is one of the most serious complications of the electricity and lack of fuel in Gaza and in our medical complex nowadays. I got more details from our Gaza correspondent, Rashdi Abou Elouf, who's reporting for us from Cairo. Two or three doctors posted different videos from the hospital last night and yesterday and this morning. Just to update you that the Israeli troops withdrawn from the cemetery which is about 200 meter from the hospital after they conducted an operation in the area and digging and searching in the place but the area is still dangerous described by the doctors

in the hospital because it's under Israeli evacuation order for the last three four days this is the biggest medical center in the entire of Gaza Strip. It's essential for all the medical staff in the south of Gaza, Khan Younis area. The hospital has been suffering for a very long time, but yesterday the main generator of the hospital was running out of fuel. The essential operation in the operation rooms, intensive care unit and incubators for the new babies were partially functioning. Their conditioning is not functioning. I saw this video of the doctor sweating inside and hearing the alarm from the life-saving machines and appealing for any fuel. Israel did not allow any fuel into Gaza since March.

There was a 2 million liter fuel reserve tank in some of the area and sometimes the Israelis are allow the hospitals to take some of that fuel but I understand from the Hamas run Health Ministry that there is no longer a fuel in this tank and the hospital are in really dangerous situation especially a Nasser hospital. And to be clear do we know the Israelis are reported to have pulled back but does that still mean that the hospital is not taking in new admissions new wounded? Well according to the director of the hospital he said we are going to assist the situation now because about two three days ago the

Israelis issued warning to all residents around the hospital to evacuate so the hospital is having multiple problem one is the troops around it second is the fuel now one of the problems seems to be easing a little bit but the fuel problem remains. Rashdi Abu al-Luf. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the national anthem was played in a memorial centre near Srebrenica, followed by a minute silence to mark 30 years since the genocide took place there. Tens of thousands of people gathered to pay their respects, following what's described as the worst atrocity on

European soil since World War II. Bosnian Serb forces killed 8,000 people, mostly Muslim men and boys, and buried their bodies in mass graves. Our Balkans correspondent Guy Delaney is in Srebrenica for those commemorations, and he told me first about the atrocities that took place three decades ago. So we're looking back to July 1995 and Srebrenica was supposed to be a safe haven under UN protection and many Bosniaks who were mostly Muslims had

gone to Srebrenica because they thought they would be safe there but the Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica. The Dutch peacekeepers who were there stood aside and basically allowed the Bosnian Serb forces under the command of the notorious General Ratko Mladić to separate men and boys from the women and girls. And the women and girls were mostly sent off on buses to majority Bosniak parts of the country, but the men and boys over the succeeding days, Mladić oversaw a systematic murder of those people over those following days. As we said, it's more than 8,000 people, most of the men and boys,

but the people of Srebrenica do want to emphasise that there were women and girls who were also victims of Srebrenica as well. We can hear the singing behind you. How is it being marked today? Well, I'm standing in Potichary Cemetery, which is across the way from Srebrenica Memorial Center. And that's actually at the time where a lot of the murders actually occurred at what is now the Srebrenica Memorial Center. But in the cemetery here, there was thousands of people have come to the graves here to pay their respects. And just in front of me there are seven freshly dug graves. And they'll be for the most recently identified victims of the Srebrenica massacre.

And they'll be laid to rest in a funeral in a couple of hours' time. And the work to identify the victims is still going on. Still around a thousand people have not been identified and laid to rest. We've got DNA testing, some of the best DNA testing in the world, that was pioneered here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been helping relatives to identify their family members. But for many people this is an agonising weight and it's stretching now into its fourth decade in terms of finding their relatives, laying them to rest and finding some sort of peace.

And what about the relationship between communities 30 years on? Well the contrast is stark. As we came to Srebrenica this morning we went through the town of Bratunac, which is a majority Serb town, and along the roadside there they've placed placards with photos on them. And these are photos of Serb people who died in the Bratina Srebrenica area between 1992 and 1995. And a Serb minister that I spoke to yesterday was saying, why aren't these people treated in the same way as the victims of the Srebrenica massacre? Why do Bosniaks only talk about Bosniak victims and Serb perpetrators?

Why aren't perpetrators from all ethnic groups equally held to account? And that's just one reflection of the divisions here, which don't seem to be healing, but getting deeper with many Bosnian Serb politicians denying the genocide took place, and also pushing for more secessionist legislation, which would allow the majority

Serb area to draw away from Bosnia and closer to Serbia. Guy Delany in Srebrenica. The recent peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda was promoted as an end to hostilities in eastern DRC, though people remain divided over the prospects of peace coming any time soon. Decades of fighting have killed millions, with rival armed groups imposing their dominance in areas rich in mineral resources. Now, the United States, which negotiated the peace deal, says it also wants a stake in the minerals.

The BBC's Poulton GA has gained rare access to the Rabiah mining site in eastern DRC, where coltan and other mineral extractions could potentially be a key US target and he sent us this report. I'm on a commercial motorbike and we're taking a bumpy ride on the hill headed to the Rubiah mining site. After the long road journey I finally make it to the mining site nestled in the lush hills of Masisi. I mean, awe of what I see. It's a vast expanse of territory, valleys, hills and meanders. For me to walk I have to be aided by a walking stick, otherwise I wouldn't have my balance.

Mine workers like Peter Roziasse owe their entire lives to the mines. Mining has really helped me. It paid for my wife's dowry when I was getting married. This is how I earn my living. Thousands risk their lives here almost every day, scoping coal-turn, which is essential in producing electronics. Peter knows all too well the dangers of digging minerals in the deep, dark mining tunnels. Whenever we're in the mines, temperatures are very high. When they exceed normal averages, cold air is pumped inside so that we can continue working. The problem here lies mostly in accessing the

mines and the hot temperatures. Thousands of miles away from the mines, Congolese and Rwandan officials who had been accusing Thousands of miles away from the mines, Congolese and Rwandan officials, who had been accusing each other of fueling a decades-long deadly conflict in eastern DRC, finally signed a peace deal at the White House in June. U.S. President Donald Trump wants America to get a piece of Congo's mineral resources as part of Washington's mediation. But Congolese analysts like Akram Tomsifu, based in Goma, say more work still needs to be done, especially involving one of the most active armed groups in the area today, the

M23. DRC says Rwanda is supporting these rebels, despite it repeatedly denying this. The deal signed between the DRC and Rwanda is good for peace between both countries, but it's far from resolving internal crisis. For peace to return, the negotiation and talks between the Congolese government and M23 must be successful. Rubaia, which is now under the control of the M23, holds one of the world's richest coltan deposits. It's reportedly on the radar of US investors. Patrice Mousafiri, who manages the Rubaia site, has a clear message about any possible

takeover. Any foreign investor can come here as long as they come with development for our people and increase daily wages for the miners. We don't know whether the presence of industries will increase or reduce jobs, or whether they will build schools, hospitals and roads. Above all, if our economies improve, we will have no problems. Patrice's call echoes the sentiment of the residents of Rubaya mining town, who live in extreme poverty despite their abundant mineral wealth. Now, many are unsure whether their livelihoods will be affected by this deal, which is designed to bring peace, but may very well also bring much uncertainty.

Paul and Jie. Still to come in the Global News podcast. Equality doesn't end with a logo. Same pool, same respect. Paralympic swimmers criticized plans for a scaled down pool at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Astronomers now believe a mystery interstellar object discovered on the 1st July is probably the oldest comet ever seen and more than three billion years older than our solar system. Scientists realised it was from a different planetary system because of its

elongated orbit and its rapid speed of 60 kilometres a second. Mark McCrochran is an astrophysicist and former senior adviser for science and exploration at the European Space Agency. He told me what scientists have discovered from the comet. Well, the first thing is to establish where it was from. So if you just have one picture of something, it could be from anywhere, it could be from inside our own solar system, but it was rapidly established that this is moving on, as you said, a very elongated orbit that comes from outside of our solar system and it's moving so fast that it won't stop, it won't slow down, it'll just go straight through. It doesn't come particularly close

to the Earth or to the Sun. I think it's the closest approach to the Sun at the end of October and then relatively close to the Earth, let's say, at the end of the year. But then it's gone, it'll be back out into interstellar space again. And I understand there are possibilities that in the quite near future we will be able to intercept these objects from other galaxies, is that right? Well exactly, so this is the third of these objects discovered in the last eight years or so and you would argue, well are they all suddenly arriving now? Now that's just a question of the technology we have, we're able to

see them now. In fact a big new telescope came online very recently called the Rubin telescope which will be surveying the sky in the southern hemisphere every three days. And so we'll be able to find these rapidly moving objects. And the European Space Agency is currently building a small mission called comet interceptor. And it's designed to go and hang out in the solar system, not with a target in mind, nothing is not going anywhere specific until one of these objects comes through. Now it might be one from the outer reaches of our own solar system but if we

could detect one of these early enough and then redirect comet interceptor to fly past it that would be amazing because it gives us immediate access to objects which were not born like the rest of our solar system something from much further away. And what do we hope to learn from comets like this? Well in our own solar system comets are the remnant material from the birth of our solar system four and a half billion years ago. So this one, 3i Atlas, if it's shown to be correct, may be billions of years older from a completely different part of the Milky Way galaxy and that means that it will have formed out of different material with of course the same kind of molecules and atoms but maybe different compositions,

different mixtures of those things. And so it would give us a really very direct way of sampling material from another solar system that was born earlier in the life of our Milky Way and then we can perhaps try to understand how those chemicals are mixed together, how they may be different to the ones that we find in our own solar system. I mean how big a deal is this for scientists, how exciting is this for you as an astrophysicist? I think it's you know it's amazing that we've discovered three of them just in the last few years and the prospects are we'll discover many

more of them with these new telescopes but the fact that this one has turned out to be potentially much older than our own solar system, of course there was an expectation that might happen but here we have one now so we're not in the realms of theory anymore we actually have one. Unfortunately people won't be able to see this one that's not going to be bright enough to be seen with a naked eye, you need a fairly large telescope but it's an exciting thing for science, it's a great moment. Mark McCaukran, since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago,

the Kremlin has been trying to rally the Russian public behind the war, using propaganda, using fear and other efforts to boost patriotic fervour. Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, travelled to a patriotic festival almost 50 kilometres from Moscow to see how Russians are being encouraged to love their country and to hear what they think of Russia's war. So I'm in the town of Noginsk, which is about 35 miles from Moscow and the event I'm at has been billed as a patriotic festival.

Now these kind of militaristic events take place a lot now. There are lots of stalls here set up just like you'd see at a village fete but unlike a village fete the little tables are packed full of weapons so there are rocket launchers there are kamikaze drones and all of this is being shown off to passers-by in the park. In a corner of the park Valentina shows me some of the items that she and her fellow volunteers have been knitting and sewing for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, including camouflage costumes, underpants and socks. This will definitely end with our victory, Valentina says.

Otherwise, why are we doing all of this? Valentina introduces me to her friend Lyuba. We chat and get on to the subject of Donald Trump. Lyuba doesn't trust America's president on Ukraine. He's a businessman, Lyuba says. Trust America's president on Ukraine. He's a businessman, Ljuba says. Buying, selling, that's what Trump does. One day he wants to get Canada, the next day Greenland.

He doesn't really care if he'll be on good terms with Russia or not. There are lots of children here. Some of them are wearing red berets and are in military uniform. These are members of what's called the Unaromia, the youth army, which is a youth organisation linked to the Russian Defence Ministry. And at one of the stalls, children are queuing up to have their chance to assemble and then disassemble a Kalashnikov rifle at speed. Russians are being told, and from an early age, that they are a nation of winners. They are also being told that by fighting in Ukraine, Russian soldiers are defending their country, and that their army

is on the right side of history. But as I talk to people at the festival, I detect a definite fatigue with the war. Alexander hopes the fighting will end soon. It would be better if there was peace, Alexander tells me, so that we don't touch Ukraine and they don't touch us, and we all lead separate lives. I've often said that Russia is a country of huge contrasts and contradictions, and you really feel that in this park. I mean, on the one hand, I can see these giant, colourful models of Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs in a children's playground. On the other hand, I can see some women who are weaving camouflage netting for Russian soldiers on the front line in Ukraine. So you have this very odd mixture, sort of Snow White and the Russian Army. Steve Rosenberg reporting. The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles may still be three years away, but venue announcements have already caused a stir among competitors. While Olympic swimmers have been promised a high-profile stage, para swimmers have voiced frustration over the scaled-down plans for the Paralympic venue. More from Ella Bicknell. Los Angeles is the city of stars, and organisers of LA 2028 have promised a games like no other.

When we welcome the games, we'll show the world the real LA. Swimming will dominate the second week of the Olympic calendar, a slot usually reserved for athletics. And it's set to take place in SoFi Stadium, the most expensive stadium ever built and home to American football teams, the LA Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. Welcome to the Rams house. We're inside one of the most high tech football stadiums of all time.

And it's the largest venue in the entire NFL. But for LA 28, it would be the home of... Swimming. Last month, the organizers announced very different plans for the Paralympic Swimmers, a much smaller venue outside LA in the nearby city of Long Beach. The temporary pool, approved by the International Paralympic Committee, will be built in the car park of the Long Beach Convention Centre. The committee said that the venue's backdrop of ocean views would

bring energy to an action-packed competition. But it means it will be the first time since the 1980s that Olympic and Paralympic swimmers won't share the same pool, many of them expressing their frustration on social media. LA 28, if the message you were trying to get across was unity, you did an amazing job failing at that. US Paralympic gold medalist Anastasia Pagonis posted a video on Instagram tearing up a sign with the word equality. And the Paralympics will be in a second tier pool. Or should I say an outdoor pool in the middle of a parking lot, not even in Los Angeles? Equality doesn't end with a logo. Same pool, same respect. When announcing the venue, LA28

chief executive, Reynolds Hoover, said the plans not only the venue, LA 28 chief executive, Reynolds Hoover, said the plans not only elevates Paralympic sport, but brings it to the next level. He said accessibility was at the top of their minds, with all venues located within a 56-kilometer radius. But like Anastasia Pagonis, other swimmers say that's coming at the expense of equality. Australia's most decorated Paralympic swimmer Ellie Cole called the decision

extremely disappointing. And US Paralympian Martha Ruffa wrote, when it's our turn to host, we still can't have equality. Ella Bicknell. A simple trip to the beach took a terrifying turn when 19-year-old Darcy De Foltz was swept away in his surfboard. But the Australian teenager was miraculously rescued on a remote island off the coast of New South Wales when his hometown banded together after an online plea for help. Terry Egan has the story. Darcy Default left his home in Woolleye near the coast of New South Wales in Australia

on Wednesday afternoon. He was heading for the beach on his bike and toting a surfboard. But when the 19-year-old didn't return, his father, Terry, contacted the police. More than that though, he also took to the internet to make an appeal. I need boats, he wrote, asking for anyone with a seaworthy vessel to meet him at the town's boat ramp. He also called for drone users and others to help him in the search. The waters off Wulai Beach are very popular with anglers, divers and surfers, but dangerous. Just in March last year someone fishing off rocks didn't come back after a trip north of Wulai Beach

and was later found dead near North West Solitary Island. The local police also got involved. Here's Matthew McLennan from Marine Rescue New South Wales. Local community had organised a fairly extensive sort of private search, so we joined in and helped out with that. It's rare that we ever get the opportunity to be participating in a search with an outcome such as this. Finally, on that same remote rocky northwest solitary island 13 kilometres off the coast, Darcy was located. A Facebook group set up to look for him made the announcement. His father, who'd feared the worst, said he'd been swept off there and that it was a one-in-a-million chance he'd been found.

Darcy is now in a stable condition at Grafton Base Hospital and doing well. Terri Egan giving this podcast a happy ending. And that's it from us for now, but there'll be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, send us an email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Holly Smith and produced by Charles Sanctuary and Isabella Jewel.

The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye bye.