Global News Podcast - Russia scales back Moscow Victory Day parade

Episode Date: April 29, 2026

Russia has announced that its annual military parade in Moscow, which commemorates its victory in World War Two, will be scaled back this year because of the threat from Ukraine. For the first time since 1945, there will be no armoured vehicles or missiles systems on show across Red Square. Also: the British Government rules that a woman abused by the late Harrods owner Mohammed El-Fayed was a victim of modern slavery; a new report suggests extreme heat, wildfires and record sea temperatures have affected much of the continent of Europe; police in Colombia say they've arrested a guerrilla leader accused of orchestrating the country's deadliest bomb attack on civilians in decades; and London Zoo is planning a new wildlife health centre to allow people to see everything from animal medical checks to post mortem examinations.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 is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. Hi, I'm Ankara Desai, and on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 29th of April, these are our main stories. Russia has announced that its annual military parade in Moscow, which commemorates its victory at World War II, will be scaled back this year. The Kiev regime is now engaged in full-scale terrorist activity, and therefore all measures are being taken to minimize the danger. The British government rules that a woman abused by the late Harrod's owner,

Mohammed Elfayad was a victim of modern slavery. We'll be hearing from her. Also in this podcast, inspire the next generation, perhaps just inspire the people of today to actually care that little bit more for wildlife. They're so critical to us and we know populations are declining. London Zoo will for the first time allow visitors to watch life procedures inside a planned state-of-the-art animal hospital.

And do women's footballers need their own? stadium. One English club have released their plans for Europe's first purpose-built women's football stadium. We start this edition in Moscow, which is gearing up for Russia's annual Victory Day parade on the 9th of May. It's usually an occasion to show off the country's military might, with hundreds of tanks and thousands of soldiers parading in step through Red Square. But for the first time in nearly two decades, the Kremlin has announced there will be no military equipment on display this year. I asked our global affairs, reporter Paul Moss, why they're doing this?

Well, I can give you the official reason, which is that there is a threat of a terrorist attack. Now, in some ways, this parade has always presented an obvious target. I mean, you have military kit going down the streets. As you said, tanks also missiles, some of the country's top troops, not to mention lots of dignitaries all in one place. And if you don't mind me being crass, it's sort of presenting all your, putting all your eggs in one basket. Now, it seems the Russia's defense people are taking the threat of an attack more seriously. This was the Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov speaking on Wednesday. It's all about the operational situation.

The Kiev regime, which is losing ground on the battlefield every day, is now engaged in full-scale terrorist activity. And therefore, against the background of this terrorist threat, of course, all measures are being taken to minimize the danger. It's an interesting claim there, isn't it? that Ukraine is losing ground on the battlefield. Therefore, Russia needs to take more precautions protecting this parade. I mean, I'm not quite sure of the logic there.

But the context, of course, is Ukraine having a lot more success recently with its drone attacks. I mean, as we speak, there's a fire still burning at an oil refinery in the Russian Black Sea Port of Tuap. So that was hit on Tuesday. Overnight, Ukraine said it hit a pumping station in the city of PURB. Now, if that's true, it's a major development because Pirm is 1,500 kilometres. inside Russia. And Ukraine's President Zelensky has said that they're going to continue to increase the range. All of this said, there could be another reason why this parade is being scaled back, nothing to do with threat of attack. And that's simply, as some have speculated, because they don't

have spare military kit to parade through the streets or spare numbers of troops because they're all at the front. But either way, there must be a very good reason to make this scaling back, because as you suggested, this parade has always been an excuse to show off, to show. off about Russia's military strength to have dignitaries along from all over the world. Last year they had China's Xi Jinping, Brazil's lula de silver. President Putin will not be happy that it's a more modest affair this year. So has this speculation then, Paul, about kit shortage, come out of the blue somewhat? Well, not really. There has been general speculation the last few weeks that Russia and particularly

Vladimir Putin are feeling under pressure. One sign of this is there's been a lot more boldness of people criticising what's going on within Russia. We've seen articles and bloggers suggesting things aren't going well. Bear in mind that at some points that's been a one-way ticket to a Russian labour camp for anyone saying anything negative. If people are now feeling they can speak out, say things aren't going well, suggest that there are shortages. I think we can be sure that's a sign that they're not happy on the domestic front.

Our global affairs reporter, Paul Moss, reporting. The BBC understands that the British government has for the first time acknowledged that a woman abused by Mohammed al-Fayyad, the late owner of the luxury London department store Harrods was a victim of modern slavery. Rachel Lowe says she was trafficked by the Egyptian businessman and his brother Salah in the UK and in multiple areas of France over a three-year period. Hundreds of women have accused Muhammad Al-Fayyad of rape and sexual assault. He died three years ago, age 94, having never faced charges.

Rachel Lowe, who's waived her right to anonymity, has been speaking to Sarah Montague, about the implications of the British government's decision. It's a validation and a vindication of a two-year struggle to have it confirmed officially on the record that I was a victim of modern slavery. And this is a significant development in the survival struggle to have our cases recognized as modern slavery and within that context,

victims of human trafficking. The fact that you are now recognized by the state as a victim of modern slavery and of human trafficking, what difference does it make to your hope of a wider justice? Because Mohammed al-Fayed and his brother, Sala, are both dead. The lens of the trafficking investigation is much different from just going after a few of the individuals. There are layers to this. There were locations that women were moved to. We were flown on airplanes from airport to airport. There were doctors. There were accountants. There were security forces. There were very, very many people that knew and enabled it.

And unless this is investigated as trafficking, the true extent and accountability will never be known. Rachel Lowe. Our correspondent, Ellie Price, has been following the story. She gave this update to Owen Bennett Jones. There had been rumours over the years, but I think the big moment was that BBC documentary about two years ago, which heard from more than 20 female former Harrod's employees who said, Mohammed al-Faid had sexually assaulted them or raped them. That became the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of women have now come forward. Mohamed Al-Faird, who owned the iconic luxury department store

in London between 1985 and 2010. Of course, died in 23, age 94. And he never faced any charges or justice. And that's why I think it's so important for many of the survivors I've spoken to to get the next best thing, if you like, when it comes to justice. If not him, then looking into those who may have aided and abetted him. Right. So what actually is the significance of the British government's decision? Well, as you heard from Rachel there, I think first of all, it's psychological. She said it was validation and vindication. And I've spoken to three other women going through this process. And I think that official recognition is really important to them. They want to look into what they believe was this network of facilitators. And the point they tell me about trafficking is it's more

than just about the perpetrators and the victim. It's about the potential network that allowed it and identifying who was in that network. Of course, there are practical implications too. Legal experts have told me that a decision like this lends credibility to a witness in a criminal court and may have an impact on the way that the police investigate such a case. What have the Metropolitan Police, the main police force in the UK, what have they said?

Well, the Metropolitan Police, London's Police Force, as you said, said it had broadened its fired abuse investigation to include human trafficking. It's understood it's to have strengthened that team of officers by adding extra offices with a background in modern slavery. Met Police told me that there is no automatic requirement for them to refer a suspected victim of trafficking to the Home Office, that's the Interior Ministry here in the UK. If the offences took place before a new law of modern slavery was brought in in 2015,

but the force says it will contact victims who it feels it can now refer to the Home Office. The investigation known as Operation Corn Poppy was launched in the autumn of 2024. The Met says it's now had 154 people who's reported into that investigation. Right. And just sort of bringing your list together, where are we in this fight for justice for the survivors? Well, it's a good question, isn't it? In March, the Metropolitan Police announced that three women and a man had been interviewed under caution over offences, including human trafficking for sexual exploitation and facilitating rape. Separately, there are ongoing civil cases going on here in the UK. Harrod says it's settled more than 70 claims so far. Harrods, by the way, said it welcomed all steps forward in the police investigation.

And like I say, I think we'll hear more from the different civil claims. Of course, there's this broader question mark about trafficking networks. We've heard plenty about Geoffrey Epstein and his victims. I think there is now a lot of obvious parallels between rich, well-connected men and the potential networks that may have enabled their behaviour. and I think a official recognition like this from the government only adds to growing calls by some survivors and even MPs here in the UK for a public inquiry into trafficking networks like that.

Ellie Price reporting. New reports suggest extreme heat, wildfires and record sea temperatures have affected much of the continent of Europe. Scientists at the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which looks at the environment for the benefit of European citizens, says at least 95% of the continent, has been experiencing above average temperatures. Dr Samantha Burgess, the deputy director at the Copernica's Climate Change Service,

spoke to Justin Webb about the findings. Europe is the fastest warming continent on Earth. And last year in 2025, the Arctic Circle hit 30 degrees and had a heatway for over three weeks. This has never happened before. Wildfires across Europe burned over a million hectares. Alcés are the warmest on record for the fourth year running. but at the same time, wind and solar outproduce fossil fuels in Europe for the third year in a row. So the transformation is happening, but so is the climate emergency.

Why is it happening faster in Europe than elsewhere, do you think? So there's four reasons, really. One is our proximity to the Arctic. The second one is our changing weather conditions, so changing atmospheric dynamics. The third one is changing albedo, so how reflective Europe is, both in terms of snow loss and cloud loss. and we're losing cloud cover, particularly low-level cloud cover, because we've invested a lot of effort in improving our air quality, which is having a direct benefit of saving lives.

What is the longer-term balance? And if you're looking ahead, I don't know, five years, ten years, can you predict things from the findings that you're talking about this morning? Yes, so the trajectory is clear. At the current rate of warming, we are incredibly likely to reach, the 1.5 degree Paris threshold before the end of this decade. And that's more than 10 years earlier than was anticipated when the agreement was signed 11 years ago. Dr. Samantha Burgess.

Police in Colombia say they've arrested a guerrilla leader accused of orchestrating the country's deadliest bomb attack on civilians in decades. 21 people were killed in the assault on Saturday. Images posted by the Colombian authorities show Jose Vitonku wearing a bulletproof vest, being escorted by heavily armed police. Warren Ball reports. Hundreds of mourners accompanied vehicles carrying the coffins of victims of Saturday's bomb attack in the southwest of Colombia before they were buried.

21 people died and dozens were injured in the assault on a highway in Cachabillo, in the largest loss of civilian life in a single incident in the country since 2003. Soldiers joined police in the operation to capture its alleged perpetrator, Jose Vitonko, which was a lot of civilian life. announced by the head of the National Police, General William Rincon. In a police intelligence operation, we've captured Jose Vitonko. He's the head of the criminal network, Dagoberto Ramos. The capture of this terrorist was carried out between the town of Palmyra and Palo Alto. Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, who came to power

vowing to tackle drug gangs with force, has praised the security operation. He said Jose Vittonko was the leader of a cocaine smuggling group with links to to Colombia's most wanted criminal, Ivan Mordiscoe, who rejected the landmark 2016 peace deal signed by the FARC. Ten years on, there's a renewed sense of uncertainty among Colombians as they prepare to elect a new president in May, and insecurity has once again become the country's biggest concern. Warren Bull reporting, in London, two people have been injured after a man armed with a knife ran through a Jewish neighborhood, Golders Green, attempting to stab people outside a synagogue. A man has been a man.

been arrested. The police have called it a terrorist incident. It's the latest in a series of violent attacks on Jewish communities in Britain. Virginia Vidingathan is at the scene. I'm just looking out at the police cordon here on Golders Green Road. And it's usually a very busy, baffling streets. I'm looking out at the kosher supermarket, a butcher's, a fruit shop, a baker's. This really is the hub of the Jewish community in this part of Golders Green. northwest London. And in the distance, I can see police officers at the junction of the road where we understand these stabbings took place. Now, police say that they happened just after 1115 in the morning here. A man with a knife was seen running down the high street, attempting

to stab Jewish people. Witnesses say that one of the men who is being treated was stabbed outside a shop near the bus stop where we understand the stabbings took place is where just a few weeks ago there was an arson attack on a number of ambulances you might remember run by the Jewish medical charity Hatsola. So for people here, this is just another example of how they feel that their Jewish community is being targeted and there have been in recent weeks as well other incidents in northwest London of arson attacks near a synagogue or at a synagogue. So I think the sense here is there's already tightened security for many people if they want to get into their worship. They have to go through layers of security.

And I think the question, again, is how much more can people do to try and protect themselves? So I think this definitely is a community that's in shock. Regina Vidingathan reporting. Still to come in this podcast. Is this familiar? Incessant, constant, obsessive thoughts about food and about eating. It is the inability to switch that off. It is constantly dominating your thoughts and how you approach everyday life. Food noise, can we switch it off without using weight loss jabs?

This is the Global News podcast. The United Nations says that since the start of the US-Israel war-war, Iran. The Iranian regime has executed at least 21 people and arrested more than 4,000. Gabrielle Sengelate has this report. Since the start of the war, the Iranian regime has used the conflict to intensify internal repression, especially against activists and journalists. Many of the detainees have been arrested under Iran's vaguely written national security law. The UN statement said most prisoners were victims of forced disappearances and torture as well as televised confessions and mock executions.

The UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the rights of Iranian people were being stripped away in harsh and brutal ways. Rights groups say Iran executes more people each year than any country in the world except China. Gabriel Sungay Latte. And we have more on our YouTube channel. Search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find Global News podcast in the podcast section. There's a new story available every weekday. Four Indonesian soldiers have been charged with serious premeditated assault

for their alleged role in an attack last month on an activist. Andre Yunis, a vocal critic of moves to increase the power of the military in Indonesia's government, suffered serious burns when acid was thrown at him from a scooter. Lisa Tambunan is in Jakarta. The four soldiers dressed in official uniform stood in court as military prosecutors read out that charges against them. They say the accused, Army intelligence officers were angered when Mr. Eunice stormed a meeting to protest against the decision

to allow more military officers to be appointed to government posts. The acid attack on Mr. Eunice last month drew widespread condemnation in Indonesia and abroad. President Prabhu Zubianto labeled the attack terrorism. But human rights watchdogs continue to criticize the fact that this case is being handled by a military court, saying that it may result in lenient sentencing for the officers. Tanbunin reporting from Jakarta. The conservation charity which runs London Zoo is planning a new wildlife health centre with a public viewing gallery so people will be able to see everything from animal health checks to post-mortem examinations.

The Zoological Society of London, which set up the zoo, is celebrating its 200th anniversary today. Here's an archive clip of a baby elephant, arriving at the zoo's hospital in 1949. A near six months old, this displaced person from the Indian jungle makes the crossing on condensed milk and corn plates. Bound for the London Zoo, Dumbo is first examined for traces of air sickness. But according to her parrot, she was the ideal passenger. The zoo says the new health centre will also support research into animal health and serve as a training hub for wildlife vets from around the world.

Catherine England, who's the chief executive of the Zoological Society of London, told us the centre would help to demonstrate the value of its conservation work. What we're trying to do is bring what is actually quite a hidden, discipline to the forefront of people's minds. But at the same time, we're really hoping that it will be able to inspire the next generation and perhaps just inspire the people of today to actually care that little bit more for wildlife. They're so critical to us and we know populations are declining. Our climate editor, Justin Rowlett, told us more about the veterinary hospital. I said to the head of the press at the Zoological Society of London celebrating its 200th birthday

today. I said, what sort of things might people be able to see? She said, oh, I don't know. I don't know, porpoise post-mortems and Ardvark ultrasounds? I thought that, like, that's one of those sentences you never expect to hear. So, I mean, the idea is they get a viewing gallery and you see the kind of routine health checks the animals go through. So that could be, I don't know, a giraffe getting its teeth checked or a penguin being weighed, that kind of thing. And then if there is, and they say it's actually quite rare that they need to do surgery. If there is some surgery that's needed, they told me, I said, what sort of surgery if you done recently? They said, oh, we did a gallbladder operation on a mountain banana frog, was that? No, you know, I mean, just sort of

of utterly bizarre stuff. And they said, are also, you know, if a, I don't know, a dolphin or a porpoise is washed up in the Thames, we might do an autopsy on that and the public would be able to see that as well. So that is one aspect of the work, is drawing the public in and they say that, obviously that's a really intriguing spectacle, isn't it? But also the idea is, like they say, disconnect people to the work the vets do and understand better the kind of conservation work they do. But there's a big, much wider purpose, as you heard from Catherine England, the CEO there, about studying research, understanding how animals need to be conserved in the wild, and also about bringing in conservation experts and vets from around the world to train them in the kind of state-of-the-art

wildlife medicine. So they see it as the kind of new heart of the zoo and trying to kind of give it a sense of purpose into the future, you know, projecting that message of conservation out into the world. And there's been a huge donation as well today. A mystery donation. Everybody seems captivated by the idea that it's a mysterious benefactor, has given them £20 million on their 200th birthday, and the idea is that is going to be the basis for this new wildlife health centre.

So they're absolutely delighted to get this donation. But look, there are critics, we should say, there are critics who say, look, you know, keeping animals, I mean, I've just been at the penguin beach, the penguin pool, 71 penguins, say they shouldn't be, you know, keeping animals in those kind of conditions. The zoo says, look, we're also about connecting people with the wonder, the miracle of nature, and they serve an important function, is what they say. Justin Rowlatt.

Do women footballers need their own stadiums? One club in southern England certainly thinks so. Brighton and Hove Albion have released their plans for Europe's first purpose-built women's football stadium. The club say the ground will provide a permanent home and identity for the women's team in an attempt to drive long-term fan growth. It will cost around $100 million and will open in time for the 2030-1 season. Former England International and current Brighton player Fran Kirby believes this is a positive and much-needed step for the women's game.

It's another statement in the right direction. It's something that not many clubs are doing, probably not many clubs are thinking about doing either. And I think it just shows the ambition of the club. We've always known that Brighton want to be ambitious in women's football. It's something that they've spoke about so vocally, but to actually see something down on paper, to see the pictures, to see how beautiful the stadium would be, it's incredible and I'm really, really proud to be part of it.

Zoe Johnson is managing director of women's and girls football at Brighton and Hov-Albion Football Club. We think it's really important to give the players the actual home. That's their own. That's built bespoke for them, and it's got the changing facilities which are right for female athletes. But it's also a smaller and tighter stadium. We know the game is and the trajectory that the game is on,

and it's growing, but we want to be able to fill the stadium and make them really feel the atmosphere to be able to perform. We know the demographic is different to the men's game and we know the female audience is slightly different in terms of what they would like on the concourses when they come. We've done a lot of research into looking at what they would normally cut. There's not a lot of pints being sold. There's not a lot of pies being sold.

So we've got to make sure we cater to that to a female fan as well, which isn't easy to do when you're in the men's stadium because everything is catered towards the male demographic. That's why we've come to this decision that we think it's right for the female players to have a stadium that feels like theirs and it doesn't feel like they're just a tenant or just being able to borrow the stadium for the day,

that actually when they walk in there, it has a real sense of home and purpose for them. Zoe Johnson from Brighton and Hove Albion. Now, do you ever find yourself wondering what is in the fridge, when you should be working, or thinking about whether you should open that packet of biscuits, or resist the temptation. This internal chatter is called food noise.

Use of the term has increased significantly when weight loss injections like Wigovi and Manjaro became widely available back in 2022. Researchers are trying to figure out what exactly is food noise. Where does it come from? And can we turn it off by other means and find out what causes obesity in the first place? Justin Webb has been speaking to Professor Giles Yo,

an obesity expert from the University of Cambridge, and Fran Fox, who writes on Substack about her experience of using weight loss drugs. I would say it's totally different to hunger. Food noise is insecticides. constant, obsessive thoughts about food and about eating. It is the inability to switch that off.

It is constantly dominating your thoughts and how you approach everyday life. So it's really significant to then be able to turn the volume of that down or turn it off entirely because it changes your life to be able to do that, to go from thinking about something all of the time to then barely giving it a second thought.

it is life-changing. And in a sense, Professor Yeo, then the GLP-1s, whether or not people are taking them, they've done us all a favour because we can at least identify and talk about this thing, which is a real thing. It is a real thing. But what's interesting is I've never heard of the term food noise till these GLP-1 medications have come along. But I think that we, certainly within the field of obesity, have been studying sort of a version of it.

We've been studying appetitive drive, so the drive to eat for a miracle. out of different reasons. I think what the GLP ones have done is shone a light on this effect. And for some people, such as Fran, you can see it because suddenly it's no longer there. So I think that food noise is a new thing, but yet an old thing. Does it damage, Fran, your enjoyment of food and indeed of life? Because that's one of the suggestions, isn't it, that this thing, food noise is part of a noise in people's lives that actually leads them to enjoy life. And When you suppress it, you suppress more than just your eating. Yes, I think that on the balance of whether to have food noise or not,

a lot of people who have it would probably rather not have food noise. I think I certainly prefer my life now where I don't have food and eating dominating my thoughts. So it does suppress that, and that's what it's supposed to do. Does it suppress other parts of your life? well, it's hard to know because I'm not measuring those things in a kind of before and after way as I am with the food noise. But what I would say is that even if I didn't lose weight using Manjaro or Wigovee, which I've also used, even if it just turned off the food noise, I would still do it because the significant difference is so great and is so worthwhile. And that's why I think it's brilliant that they're going to start researching this more and looking into it more.

because if other people are out there thinking, well, that sounds a bit like me, but actually I don't want to lose weight, then to be able to switch that off and have medications that deal with just that would be a brilliant thing for people. How much hope do you have, Presbyo, that they will be able to identify something and identify causes of noise that are then, in a sense, treatable, but potentially treatable without drugs without chemical intervention? Oh, without chemical intervention.

That's a difficult question. I think what we within the field, rather than me personally, have been trying to identify genes that influence our feeding behavior. And I think that probably is that food noise. And there are over a thousand genes we now know that influence feeding behavior and hence probably this food noise. The trick now is trying to sort of put which genes influence what type of food noise, because not all food noise is the same. So Fran is talking about not eating more because she's hungry, but because she's obsessing about food. Other people will be eating more because they're more hungry, and that could be their food noise. The question is whether or not we can ascribe specific pathways and genes and mechanisms

to specific types of food noise, because I think if we can do that, then we can begin to say, oh, okay, so for Fran's type of food noise, this is the approach we might take if you chose not to take a JLP1-based drug, for example. It sounds as if that's quite a long way off, actually, getting to that position. It is a little while away because, look, a thousand genes is complicated. Some of them we don't know the biology to how do we target them. But I guess the first step to solving a problem is enunciating the problem. And I think the presence of these GLP1 drugs mean that people can say, oh, wait a minute,

this is my food noise because now it's no longer there. Whereas previously, how would we know? If you never had it not there, how would you actually describe and enunciate what it was to begin with. Professor Jelz-Yo from the University of Cambridge and Fran Fox, speaking to Justin Webb. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at Global Podcast at BBC.com.

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. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed. by Abby Walshire, and the producer was Vanessa Hini. The editor is Karen Martin, and I'm Ankara to sign. Until next time, goodbye.