Global News Podcast - Sudan government demands international ceasefire guarantees

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

The Sudanese government calls for international guarantees that RSF rebels will stick by a ceasefire they have signed up to, before it agrees to do the same. Fears grow of a return to conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia, where government forces and rebels from the northern Tigray region accuse each other of launching attacks. A 17-year-old student in Indonesia is suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at a school in Jakarta, which injured more than 50 people. The EU tightens visa rules for Russian citizens amid growing security fears, after nearly four years of war in Ukraine. The musical composition inspired by a world-leading space observatory. And the government tax lawyer in Washington who is using the federal shutdown to realise a childhood dream: to run a hot dog stand.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. I'm Ankara to sign at 16 hours GMT on Friday the 7th of November. These are our main stories. Sudan's government says it needs international guarantees before agreeing to a ceasefire proposal from the paramilitary RSF. Indonesian police say the main suspect behind an explosion at a school mosque which injured dozens of students is a fellow pupil. And China launches its most advanced aircraft carrier with tech to rival the US. Also in this podcast, It is a functional hot dog stand.

And part of what I'm trying to do in a very small way is create a space where people can just hang out, chat, swap stories and just have fun. The tax lawyer who's making the most of the U.S. government shut down by trying out his dream job. We begin in Sudan, where the government has called for guarantees from the international community that paramilitary rebels the rapid support forces will stick to a ceasefire they signed up to on Thursday before the army does the same. Hopes of the pause in the fighting have been dented by reports of drone strikes near a military base and a power station in the army-controlled capital of Khartoum. The two sides have been coming under growing international pressure to agree a ceasefire.

But Sudan's ambassador to South Africa, Osman Abu Fatima, Adam Mohamed, said the RSF had broken previous truces and explore. exploited them to gain more territory. From our experience, we had many trusses in the beginning of the war. But every time we made the ceasefire, there was no respect for the ceasefire from the militia. Actually, they are using this truces to position themselves in new areas and to make new tactics against the government. Our Africa correspondent, Mayenne Jones, was at the Ambassador's News Correspond.

conference in Pretoria and told me more about it. It tells us that there's a lot of skepticism within the Sudanese government as to whether the RSF will stick to the terms of the ceasefire. As the ambassador said in the clip in your introduction, there have been ceasefire proposals before that both sides have said that they would adhere to, but he claims that every single time the RSF would seize the truces as opportunities to gain more territory or to smuggling more weapons or to find a way to have an advantage over the government forces. So I think what these comments express is this level of skepticism.

I think it also emphasizes how unwilling the government, the Sudanese government, is to deal with the RSF. They don't see them as equals. They say that they are a terror group and have forcefully taken Sudanese territory and are trying to create a parallel government. One of the things the ambassador emphasized today is that the international community should not recognize any government that includes the RSF, any kind of parallel government.

And I think ultimately what it shows us is that it's going to be very difficult to get both sides of this conflict to come together and bring about some sort of agreements that would make the life of civilians on the ground a lot easier. And then how much more has it been damaged by those reports of massacres and other human rights abuses in the capture of Elfasha if people are to take the ceasefire offer from the RSF more seriously and more genuinely? I think the latest images over Elfasha have been incredibly damaging for RSF leadership and I think that's demonstrated in the fact that the head of the RSF, General Hermetti, has tried to placate the international community by claiming that some of the perpetrators had been detained, that an investigation would be carried out.

I think this seems to suggest that he is understanding how damaging these images have been and trying to create a little bit of PR, a little bit of diplomacy to try and iron out this reputation. But the reality is, as more and more testimonies are coming out of civilians who managed to escape Elfashire to the neighboring town of Tawillo, I think it's becoming increasingly clear to the international community to just how barbaric some of this violence has been. And I think trying to change the image of the RSF and get people to believe them when they say something is going to become increasingly difficult. And international pressure for a ceasefire has been mounting. How much is that likely to win the sides in the civil war, but also as well, the UAE and their role with the RSF militia

as well. How does that play into this? I think that's the influence of external players like the United Arab Emirates can be underestimated. And for many Sudanese commentators and people who have been following the war since the beginning, they've often emphasized that the difference between this wave of violence in Darfur and the last wave 20 years ago is just how much more sophisticated weaponry is that the RSF have access to. And many analysts have argued that this is because they're partly funded by the United Arab Emirates. So there's a real feeling that without pressure on the UAE, there won't be an end to this conflict. that unless the UAE can be convinced to reduce its funding to the RSF or to put pressure on the RSF leadership to limit their attacks, that bringing an end to this conflict is going to be very challenging. Miami Jones reporting. Well, from Sudan, we turn to neighbouring Ethiopia, another country recently torn by civil war.

The conflict, which ended three years ago, pitted government forces and their allies against rebels from the northern Tigray region. It's estimated to have claimed half a million. million lives. Now there are fears of a return to war after both sides accused the other of launching attacks. A correspondent, Kalkidan Yibeltel, who's based in Addis Ababa, told me more. Yesterday, in a region called Afar in northern Ethiopia, which neighbors Tigray, the authorities there accused that the grand forces of essentially crossing into their borders, firing shells,

killing civilians and controlling at least six villages. Now that the grand forces, they denied these accusations, but they came up with their own accusations today. They said that overnight there had been drawn strikes by the federal government in support of that region, and now the peace deal that they signed three years ago ending one of the dealless conflicts in Africa might be in danger. The federal government has not said anything regarding these allegations of drone strikes, but this is the first time that there had been these sorts of skirmishes or military engagement between the two parties after that were ended. Is this being seen now then as a serious threat to the Peace Accord, which ended that

conflict in Tigray? Could we start seeing the fighting flare up again? Yes, that's the fear. Because for the past few months, there had been several warnings from political actors in Ethiopia, as well as from, you know, the international community who saw signs that the war could flare up again and even it could expand to other Horn of African countries. There have been accusations that neighboring Eritrea might be involved and there could be another war between Ethiopia and Eritrea and also involving the ground forces as well. So there had been these fears for the past few months to begin with.

And now this incidents had happened or had been reported that the fears are becoming ever more realistic and ever more present. Kalkidan Yibeltel reporting. The authorities in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, say more than 50 people have been injured in two explosions at a mosque on a school campus. A 17-year-old student at the school is the main suspect and is currently receiving medical care. The BBC's Jerome Viravan is in Jakarta and gave me more details. Dozens of people have been injured in an explosion during Friday prayers at a mosque inside a high school complex.

This is quite a unique because the school located inside the housing complex of the Navy, Indonesia Navy. So it caused panic and outrage. What do we know so far about a suspect? The authorities have identified someone. Yeah, the Indonesian deputy house speaker said the suspect is a 17-year-old and currently in surgery. Indonesian media have quoted some students in that high school saying, that the alleged perpetrator is a pupil at the school, and he made a homemade bomb, and he also often been bullied by other students. Indonesian news outlet quoting students saying that

the suspect was a loner who often made drawings depicting violence and had been found lying on the ground following the explosion. But we cannot independently verify this statement, and the police trying to update and keep up with the investigation. Has this sort of thing happened before in Jakarta or across Indonesia? A bomb explosion happened a few years ago because of the terrorist attacks. But an alleged perpetrator, a student behind these explosions, no, we haven't seen this yet. Jerome Verran in Jakarta.

Now, as I record this, it's 38 days into the U.S. government show. shutdown and federal workers are still waiting to get back to their jobs with no real idea when that may be. But one government tax lawyer in Washington, D.C., is staying busy by living out a childhood dream. He's using his time on furlough to run a hot dog stand. And get this, he's still wearing his office suit. Isaac Stein spoke to my colleague Leanna Byrne about his new life for now. I loved the idea of running a hot dog stand as a little boy when I was six or seven. Then when I was in grade school. There was an event where at the elementary school gym, and so at that event, they had a concession stand. I think the intent was that each boy on the team would spend a

half hour manning the concession stand, but I had way more interest in the concession stand. And I got so much energy from connecting, hanging out, chatting, just making small talk and learning about people's day to day. I knew that I wanted to do this later in life. So in June, I made the decision, I'm just going to go for this and actually set up the hot dog cart business. And I was fully permitted by the 23rd of September and I started selling that week. And then I was doing my full-time office job and then also selling on Fridays and weekends. And then on October 8th, when the shutdown happened, what changed for me was that I had the time to now do this full-time. My plan is to go back to the office job as soon as possible and then continue to operate the hot dog stand in the way that I intended it to operate, which was as a side project.

I'm sure you come across a lot of people even just talking to you at the hot dog stand and you're swapping stories. Oh, absolutely. It is a functional hot dog stand, but most of the intent is as an art project. And part of what I'm trying to do in a very small way is create a space. space where people can just hang out, chat, swap stories and just have fun. I've been really overjoyed seeing people have organic conversations and just talk to each other in the line because unfortunately I can only steam six buns at a time. So there's been a bit of a line. That is a unique side hustle. Isaac Stein speaking to Leanne Burne. Still to come in this podcast, a special celebration for 80th anniversary of a radio

Telescope that changed the world. At Total Bank, Cheshire, the greatest radio telescope in the world is nearing completion. It's driven with such precision that it can pinpoint galaxies so remote in time and space. Next, can China hope to equal the naval might of the United States? Well, that moment could be getting closer with the launch of its latest aircraft carrier. It's the first that China has both disqual. designed and built by itself, and it's part of a massive overhaul and expansion of the Navy. I asked our China correspondent Laura Bicker to tell me more about the new carrier.

So this is China's third and its most advanced aircraft carrier, and it has these electromagnetic catapults. That's what makes it a bit different, that can launch three aircraft types, and that's according to these reports in Chinese state media. Now, this tech allows planes to take off with heavier weapons and larger fuel loads. So that means they can strike enemy targets at far greater distances. Now, the only other aircraft carrier with this kind of technology is in the United States, and that's the USS Gerald R. Ford, and that had these operation systems back in 2022.

Now, we saw in state media today that the whole ceremony to launch this aircraft carrier was overseen by President Xi Jinping, and you talk about the expansion of China's Navy. He has overseen it personally. and today the reports in Chinese state media said it was his idea and his decision to adopt this technology for the Fujiam. Now, regional security is a big topic. So what does it mean for that particular area? And could this carrier now be employed in the waters around Taiwan in any future military confrontation? I think when it comes to this particular aircraft carrier and shipbuilding in particular,

China's Navy is now the largest in the world in terms of ship numbers. but I think when people are looking at China's shipbuilding, 60% of the world's orders this year have gone to Chinese shipyards. China is building far more ships than any other country because it can do it faster than anyone else. And what that means is that when it comes to building new Navy ships, it can build them and replace any. If we were to go into any theatre situation, any wartime situation,

China would be in a position with its ports to replace any Navy ships, perhaps went down extremely quickly. Now, when it comes to leading the way, the United States still leads the way with regards to submarines and with regards to the amount of technology it's able to deploy. But many experts believe that China is catching up,

that the gap between the two superpowers is narrowing. So is this a bit of a flex then from President Xi then? Should the US be worried about this latest commission? I think the United States has certainly seen the danger. We've heard from Donald Trump in the last few months, especially when it comes to shipbuilding, looking at South Korea as a partner, wondering exactly where United States assets should be deployed. But I think in terms of if you asked China, and I have asked China, and I have been to their shipping ports, if you ask people here, they'll say that China is

no danger, that out of all the wars in the world, China has not been involved. So what they say is they're building it because they can rather than to pose a threat. Laura Bicker. Now, the European Union says it's introducing tougher visa rules for Russian citizens because of growing fears about security after nearly four years of war in Ukraine. Here's Will Vernon. Sabotage, disinformation and drone incursions into Europe are on the rise, say officials in Brussels, and the culprit is Moscow.

So the EU is clamping down on the issuing of visas to Russian nationals. Under the new rules, they will no longer be given multi-entry visas and must apply for a new document for every trip to the EU. Exceptions will be made for Russians living abroad, as well as for human rights activists and independent journalists. Announcing the measures, the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaya Kallas, said Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine had created the most dangerous security environment in Europe for decades.

Moscow denies that it poses a threat to Europe. Now to a brand, that's a staple in school canteens in Hanoi, tea houses in Marrakesh and Michelin-starred restaurants in New York. The classic glass tumblers from the French company Duralex have achieved this reach, while also invoking nostalgic memories of childhood for French people who use them at school. Now the company has been saved from bankruptcy by a crowdfunding campaign. It asks for just under $6 million. Within 48 hours, it had been sent four times as much. Hugh Schofield has this report from Paris.

Durelex doesn't chip. That was the claim that for decades led to the iconic glasses being used in school canteens across Europe. Here in France, every boy and girl knew the game of looking at the bottom of the Durelex glass to find the number, anything between 1 and 50, which then became, to much amusement, the child's real age. The happy memory goes some way to explaining the attachment. to the brand and the willingness of so many people now to save it. Because like so many other French manufacturers, Durelex has been in trouble. The tumbler has tumbled. Founded in 1945, the company created two glasses, the round Gigogne and the nine-sided Picardy, which became classics of design. But competition from Asia, unscrupulous investors and soaring energy prices

brought it close to bankruptcy. And last year, it was rescued in extremis when start bought it up and it became a cooperative. Now, there's a surge of optimism. The people have answered the call. There'll be new machines and new designs. The brand, like the glass, is proving ultra-resistant. Hughes-Ga-Field reporting. Now, we're on a cusp of knowing much more

about the brain health of babies, it seems. And it's all thanks to what looks like a modified swimming cap. Researchers at a maternity hospital in the British city of Cambridge are using a new technique to try and speed up the diagnosis of children with long-term health conditions and learning difficulties. Professor Topin Austin is a consultant neonatologist at Cambridge University Hospitals, and he told us more. What we've got is a sort of cap, it's like a swimming cap, which instead of imaging the brain and looking at sort of the structure of the brain, actually gives us an idea of how the brain works.

And the reason we're interested in this is that we look after. very sick and very premature babies, and a lot of these babies can end up having problems later on, such as cerebral palsy or learning difficulties. And the current technology that we use for imaging, such as MRI or conventional ultrasound, gives us a lovely picture of what the brain looks like, but doesn't really predict very well about how it's working and which children are going to end up perhaps having problems later on. What this technology does is gives us a handle on how the brain is actually working, and we think will give us a way of predicting earlier on which babies are going to run into trouble. We're using two different technologies together for the

first time. We're using a light technology, which covers the top of the brain and measures oxygen in different parts of the brain. And when the brain is active, different parts of the brain lights up. The trouble is we can't look deep into the brain with this technology. So we're combining with a new, what's called ultra-fast ultrasound, which can measure all the brain. the tiny little vessels deep within the brain itself. And so if we combine them together, we've got the deep structures being imaged by the ultrasound, the surface being imaged by the light. And so we've got a whole brain image at the cot side of brain function. There cannot be anything more stressful than having a tiny baby on a neonatal unit. And, you know, sometimes

the children, the problems only emerge when they get to sort of school age. And if we can't diagnose early and sort of help them with sort of early therapies and try and get these babies to reach their full potential, we've missed a window. And so we hope this technology can be sort of translated in a way that we can predict earlier and then make sort of specialist referrals earlier. Professor Topin Austin. Now let's end this podcast with some music and scientific wonder. In 1945, a British scientist called Sir Bernard Lovell turned a muddy field in Northern England into what is now the Jodrell Bank Observatory, an astronomical research centre that transformed our understanding of the universe. To mark its 80-year anniversary, the BBC has

commissioned award-winning composer Hannah Peel to create a piece of music in its honour. Jay McGubbin has this report. First, we could only use our eyes to imagine what was beyond the night sky. Then optical telescopes used light to let us see further. But 80 years, ago, Sir Bernard Lovell's giant telescope pioneered the use of radio waves to listen to the universe, and the universe spoke. That sound, that story and that telescope became the inspiration for composer Hannah Peel. 80 years and all those stories and mysteries and the things that have been watched and discovered, how do you put that into music? The answer is this. Pulsar performed here with the BBC Philharmonic.

We only knew about a tiny fraction of the universe that we can see with our eyes. So at Jodrell Bank, we began looking at the universe with radio eyes. Tim O'Brien is director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement. And it sort of unveiled this completely new universe. We had no idea was there. So instead of the stars in the night sky, what we see with our radio telescopes are black holes

in the hearts of other distant galaxies. This was a vision which began with Sir Bernard Lovell. At Total Bank, Cheshire, the greatest radio telescope in the world is nearing completion. It's driven with such precision that it can pinpoint galaxies so remote in time and space that some of the radio waves received began their journey through space long before our Earth came into existence. And yet his project was almost scrapped, and he almost jailed as building costs soared and doubts mounted.

But then? came the space race. And as the famous telescope locked first onto Sputnik and later Apollo 11, its value was undeniable. That's one small step for man. One giant leap for man. And not even Bernard Lovell could have dreamt of all that was to be revealed by his work.

Pulsars, Quasars, the Lovell telescope tracked them all. We see sort of electrons spiraling around the magnetic field, of the galaxy moving at almost the speed of light. And we even see the fading glow of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. And all of that history and discovery is celebrated in music. What are you thinking as you're playing?

What stories are you weaving in your head there? Before I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be an astronomer or something. Rachel James is from the BBC Philharmonic. And I remember getting my first telescope and just looking at the moon for hours and hours. what we've recorded today just starts with, it's so quiet. And it just makes you feel like I'm this big in the universe,

and then it just grows. And just imagining what it would feel like to be up there and it'd be quite windy and that you are literally listening to space. This has been a journey of exploration which its creator once said would never end. And Jodrell Bank will keep listening for whatever comes next. I thought 20 years ago that we knew all that we wanted to know about the structure and evolution of the universe, and now we know almost nothing. People are And so on the United States,

And... ...and... ...and... ...and... ...and... ...and... ...and... ...and...

...you... Jane Montgomery with that report and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Great Voice. That's it from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast a little later. If you want to comment on this podcast, all the topics, covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is Global Podcast at BBC.com.com. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service, and you can use the hashtag Global NewsPod. This edition was mixed by Chris Kuzaris and the producers were Stephanie Prentice and Stephen Yensen. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Uncle Desai. Until next time, goodbye.