Global News Podcast - Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted president Bashar, in the family's home town of Qardaha. Also: "Christmas lights" galaxy reveals how Universe formed.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritzen and in the early hours of Thursday, the 12th of December, these are our main stories. Fighters have destroyed the tomb of the late Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, father of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia has officially been chosen to host the 2034 Men's Football World Cup despite criticism of its record on human rights and the environment. Dozens of soldiers and civilians are reported to have been

killed in attacks by jihadists in Niger. Also in this podcast... I just love this sparkle galaxy with its Christmas lights shining as it was when the universe was just 600 million years old. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of a galaxy so far away that it offers an insight into the formation of the universe. We begin in northwestern Syria in the town of Qadaha at the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the father of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Between them, the two men ruled the country for more than 50 years. In the town, rebel fighters broke into the mausoleum and set parts on fire.

Images show three starred flags, the symbol of Syria's opposition, displayed next to a smouldering coffin. A local resident, Mohammed Nasif, described what he saw. We are at the tomb of Hafez al-Assad. We came and saw it burnt and destroyed by the people of his village because he starved them, because they hated him and because he destroyed us. He displaced them and displaced us. 350 kilometres south of the town of Qadaha lies the Syrian capital Damascus. From there our Chief International Correspondent, Lise Doucet reports. Third day of these momentous times draws to a close.

The nighttime curfew here in Damascus has been lifted, a sign that the new leadership believes that it is getting the situation under control. But these are still very heady times, very conflicting signals coming from the new leadership. Rebels have now been able to enter the mausoleum, which is the burial place, not just of Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafiz al-Assad, but also his mother, Anissa, and his brother, Basel. We were able to visit that mausoleum in Kardaha several years ago. It took a long time to get permission because they held the place in such reverence that they were very careful about who could go and visit.

Now today it is going up in smoke. Rebels we're seeing are still fired up by the need they believe to hold those responsible for multiple war crimes. But there are the signals too from the new caretaker government. They want to send a message of calm to Syrians, saying that they understand the need for stability. A cabinet meeting was held today chaired by the new caretaker prime minister, but it is still a cabinet dominated by Islamists. A temporary government, they say, and Syrians are daring to hope that this is truly a new

chapter and that promises will be kept, that this will be a government for all Syrians in this very diverse society. Lees Doucet and as Lees was just saying there are still some tensions after the new Islamist authorities said they'll hunt down anyone who tortured or killed detainees under the previous Assad regime. Earlier in the day our international editor Jeremy Bowen sent this report from Damascus as a crowd gathered in one part of the city. We come to a poor district of Damascus called Tadamon. There is a crowd that is big and

getting bigger. When we arrived it was, I don't know, maybe a couple of thousand. I mean they're double trebled in size. They're here for what they hope is going to be the public execution of a man called Abu Muntaza. He is believed to be one of the perpetrators of a massacre in April 2013 in this part of Damascus, which left at least 40 dead in a ditch. And now I see them waving flags. I can feel here a real sense of expectation, of excitement, of anger. They want to see this man dead, and they want to see it being done. They want to see him die.

Not just, I think, because of his crimes, crimes they're convinced he's committed, but because he's a symbol of the regime and the total cruelty of so many years of Assad rule. Any friends of yours killed? And my family, no. My friend, yes. My friend, too. And so, today, Abu Muntazab, do you want them to kill him today? Yes. Yes. Kill him now.

In the end, there was no execution, at least not yet. It was probably a rumour, but thousands wanted it to be true. When the weight of dictatorship is lifted, powerful forces are unleashed. How they're dealt with shapes what comes next. Jeremy Bowen in Damascus. In a separate development, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the world is witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East. Speaking in South Africa, he said there were signs of hope in Syria with the end of what he called

the dictatorship after President Assad was overthrown at the weekend. Mr Guterres said the UN would help ensure a seamless transfer of power. The UN is totally committed to supporting a smooth transition of power with an inclusive political process in which the rights of all minorities will be fully respected and paving the way towards a united sovereign Syria with its territorial integrity fully re-established. Antonio Gierrez. Iran has blamed Israel and the US for the rebel offensive which toppled the Assad government. Russia has criticised Israeli strikes on Syrian military installations. Our correspondent Barbara Pletasha reports. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has responded to the downfall of a key ally

for the first time. He accused Israel and the US of plotting to overthrow President Assad, along with an unnamed neighboring state, an apparent reference to Turkey. Analysts say of the three, Turkey almost certainly had a hand in at least approving the rebel offensive. It backed some of the groups involved and was frustrated with Mr. Assad's refusal to negotiate with them. The US seems to have been caught by surprise. It has a $10 million bounty on the Islamist rebel leader

because he's been designated a terrorist and is working out how to deal with the new government. Since the fall of the regime, Israel has destroyed Syria's military infrastructure to prevent hostile forces from taking it over, it says. Regional powers and Mr. Assad's other main ally, Russia, have responded with dismay. They say this will only further destabilise the country.

One of the first states to react positively to the change in Damascus was Qatar, announcing that it planned to reopen its embassy there more than 10 years after the building was stormed by supporters of President Assad. Barbara Platt-Asher in Syria. Now to other news. Attacks by suspected Islamist militants in Niger have left dozens of soldiers and civilians

dead. Local sources said the gunman launched two simultaneous attacks in the Tila Bery region in the west of the country. The BBC's Chris Iwaka reports. Multiple sources, including security blogs, said the gunman believed to be allied to the the country. The BBC's Chris Iwaka reports. The twin fire are soldiers and patrol in the weekly markets. Chattomanie village is in the restive three border region between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. All three countries are currently under military rule but continue to face persistent attacks by armed jihadist groups. Chris Iwaka, the host country of the 2034 Football World Cup for Men has been officially announced. The president of FIFA is Gianni Infantino. It is a great pleasure that I can confirm FIFA World Cup 2034 will be Saudi Arabia.

Mabroub to our friends in Riyadh. Mabroub to everyone. Speaking after the announcement, the Saudi Minister of Sports, Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Saud, said it was a historic day. It's a day of pride, a day of honour, a historic day. Thank you to the whole world and to football lovers. As we promised when we announced our intention to submit our candidacy and I reiterate it today this edition of the World Cup will be exceptional and impressive for everyone. But the Saudi

selection has been fiercely criticized by human rights groups and environmental campaigners. Ollie Foster is from BBC Sport and told me more about the decision. FIFA say they did everything by the book and they went to great pains at their extraordinary congress which was held virtually today with over 200 of their member associations from around the world dialling in. They say it was all part of their rotation between confederations, the continental rotation which means that a continent can't have a World Cup less than every 12 years and Saudi Arabia was the only bidding nation for 2034 so FIFA say well this is the one we had to go for so they didn't really have a vote today

they had this acclamation this spectacle of all those member associations sort of giving a round of applause with how FIFA had arrived at this decision but there have been some dissenting voices. They said, look, you've engineered this to make it Saudi Arabia in 10 years' time. Yeah, because there are plenty of people who aren't happy with the outcome. You mentioned human rights campaigners, also environmentalists and even football clubs and some players. Absolutely. Remember, this is going to be a bumper World Cup because it's being expanded at the next World Cup to 48 teams.

There's going to be needed a lot of infrastructure to be built to get up to the 15 stadiums. Another 11 stadiums are going to have to be built. And with that, human rights organisations, looking at the examples and the cautionary tales that they had from the last World Cup in Qatar, well they say that this is a great moment of danger because of what they say is Saudi Arabia's abysmal human rights record. They say that there's the repression of women, criminalisation of homosexuality, restriction of free speech, employment law and the treatment of migrant workers, alleged abuses and deaths

already. And that's even before they start this huge infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia to get ready over the next 10 years for what is a huge global event. Saudi Arabia though will say, well this is something that we're trying to do in order to move away from being an oil-based economy. Yeah, it's all part of their vision 2030 that they brought in a good 10, 15 years ago and that's they're trying to diversify their economy and modernize it, you're right, to move away from the oil-based economy, tourism and sport has become a cornerstone of that. It's been called sports washing, of taking all these sports to just try and gloss over

what's actually going on within the kingdom. And they say, look, this can be a catalyst for change. Just as Qatar said that hosting the last World Cup would be a catalyst for change. But since then, with all the reports and the reviews since then, the legacy promises that have been broken there, well Saudi Arabia will be under the spotlight like never before over the next 10 years to see if they can deliver on their promises of sustainability and human rights and see exactly whether it will be a catalyst for reforms within the country.

Ollie Foster. Still to come. A rescue vessel run by the Charity Compass Collective was heading to an emergency in the early hours of Wednesday morning when they heard calls in the darkness. An 11-year-old girl has been rescued after clinging to tire inner tubes for many hours in stormy weather in the Mediterranean.

My name is Ken Morioka and I somehow found myself trapped in my grandpa Alan's 18 year old body in World War II. Purple Heart Warriors, the new time-b bending drama series from the BBC World Service. Maybe the whole reason I was there was to change something. Listen now by searching for dramas wherever you get your BBC podcasts. In the United States, the director of the law enforcement agency, the FBI, has announced he'll resign next month. Christopher Wray told staff he'll leave the role at the end of President Biden's term. Donald Trump has already said he intends to replace Mr Wray on his return to the White House. Mr Trump's preferred choice for taking over the job is Cash Patel, a staunch ally who's vowed to sack the agency's

leadership. Ben Brown got the latest from our Washington correspondent Gary O'Donoghue. I mean I think this is the most high-profile casualty, if you like, so far of Donald Trump's victory. This is one of the big consequences. We thought this would happen. Nevertheless, for an FBI director to leave before the end of their term is a big deal. And the reason it's a big deal is that they are meant to serve for 10 years.

And this came in after the Watergate scandals in the 70s, designed really to put them above the political fray, to put them above the sort of the goodwill or otherwise of presidents. And here we've got one going a couple of years early, one who was actually appointed by Donald Trump back in 2017, who described him at this time as having impeccable credentials. Yeah, but now no love lost between them. I mean, what's the reason for that? I think it's pretty clear. I mean, Donald Trump doesn't hide his animosity towards Christopher Wray and the FBI.

He believes the FBI was weaponized by the justice or the injustice department, as he puts it. Of course, there were two federal criminal investigations against Donald Trump. They searched his house at Mar-a-Lago, didn't they, in August of 2022, when he was accused of hiding secret government documents, mishandling secret government documents, he called it a raid, it was a legal search. And so today, Donald Trump, when he heard this news, said it was a great day for America.

His statement was, it was interesting, kind of said, you know, I don't know what's come over and I don't know what happened to him. But Christopher Wray, he addressed his staff today, his final speech, and he said, and you don't need to be a clairvoyant to understand what he's pointing to, he said, unfortunately, all too often people in today's world, they regard what's fair in terms of the justice system on whether they like the result or whether their side won or lost. And I don't think you need to look too far to wondering who he's talking about there. Right, and I mentioned Kash Patel as a potential successor, is that right? Yeah, I mean he's the one Donald Trump has said publicly he wants to be the nominee.

He does have to be approved by the Senate, don't forget. He's been working the senators on the hill to make sure he gets through that vote. And he has been pretty clear about his desire to go after some of those people who are Donald Trump's opponents. Retribution is the word that's been used. As you say, dismantle parts of the law and order establishment. He's a hard liner, there's no question about that. We'll see what happens when he gets into office. One thing we do know, Donald Trump did threaten to ask his FBI's and his Justice Department in particular to come up with a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden.

He says he's now not going to do that, but other people will I think be more worried that they may have a rather litigious future in front of them because of Kash Patel heading for the directorship of the FBI. Gary O'Donoghue in Washington. Next to Afghanistan, the Islamic State group says it was behind the suicide bombing that killed the country's refugee minister Khalil Haqqani was blown up as he left his office in Kabul on Wednesday. Several other people are reported to have been killed in the blast.

Mr Haqqani was designated a global terrorist by the United States. He was the most senior member of the Taliban government to die in an attack since the group took power three years ago. James Menendez heard more from the Afghan journalist Bilal Sawari. Daesh has said that it was their work that they had carried out the assassination, which is a brazen security failure. There are quite credible reports that the attacker posed as someone who had a broken arm, and that he was detected at a scanner with some sort of metal being detected. And he said that he just simply wanted to greet the minister.

The irony here is that the Haqqani network introduced suicide attacks in Afghanistan along with Al-Qaeda with the group. They have a generational, historical, and ideological relationship. And today they are the victim of that tactic. However, there is a history of quite a lot of differences between Mr. Khalil Haqqani and Mullah Biradar, who's a senior figure from the Kandahari faction. There was a famous fist fight, there was gunfire, and termoses and teacups were thrown at each other when

the Taliban first came into power after a verbal clash turned into a physical fight inside a Taliban cabinet meeting at the time. How did Khalil Haqqani fit into that Haqqani family or network? Well, to Sir Ajuddin Haqqani, who's the interior minister and leader of the Haqqani network, Khalil was a father figure after the elder Haqqani died. This is a figure who was involved for quite a bit in many different wars and conflicts, starting from the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. And he was quite a colorful character as well.

I mean, there are reports that he was a heavy drinker and he always carried his pistol and never had in his love for M4 American rifle, which he carried. So the irony is that a minister who was so well protected came from a very powerful faction of the Taliban, always carried a gun, could not actually protect you know, protect

his own life. And this goes against the very popular narrative that the Taliban would like everyone to believe that there's no security threat, that everything is safe in Afghanistan is perfectly secure. But just briefly, I mean, is it possible then that this was sort of factional fighting within the Taliban? Well, one cannot rule that element, especially when Sirajuddin Haqqani has been castigating Mullah-e-Batullah Khunzada. It is hardly a secret that Haibatullah in Kandahar has limited the Haqqani's power and influence. And one also has to mention that two cabinet positions were offered to the Harkanis. One was taken by his nephew as the

interior minister and the second was taken by him. So Sir Ajuddin preferred his uncle rather than many of his brothers and that kind of shows you what a big blow that is to the Harkani family because they have been losing a lot of their family members as well. Bilal Sawari. Now to a story of survival against the odds. An 11-year-old girl has been rescued after clinging to tire inner tubes for many hours in stormy weather in the Mediterranean. Rescuers think she's the sole survivor of a migrant boat which sank off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. Rachel Wright reports. A rescue vessel run by the charity Compass Collective was heading to an emergency in the

early hours of Wednesday morning when they heard calls in the darkness. They were coming from an 11-year-old girl, floating in the sea, clinging to inner-tire tubes filmed with air and wearing a simple life jacket. A doctor who examined her said the girl, who's from Sierra Leone, was probably floating in the water for at least 12 hours. The girl told her rescuers that she'd set off three days earlier from the town of Sfax in Tunisia with 44 other people. She said the metal boat she was in had been hit by strong winds and high waves and had sunk. Italian media said the Coast Guard and police boats are searching the area but have found no other survivors or any traces of clothing.

The charity, said the girl, who had no drinking water or food, was hypothermic and very tired. They said she was now recovering in hospital on the Italian island of Lampedusa after her ordeal. An estimated 1,600 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Rachel Wright. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has obtained the first image of what our galaxy,

the Milky Way, may have looked like just as it was forming after the Big Bang. The image shows ten balls of stars of different colors appearing like Christmas tree baubles hanging in the cosmos or a cluster of multi-colored fireflies, hence the name scientists have given it, firefly sparkle. The light from the galaxy has taken more than 13 billion years to reach us. One of those celebrating was astrophysicist and astronomer royal for Scotland, Professor Catherine Haymans. I just love this Sparkle galaxy with its Christmas light shining as it was when the universe was just 600 million years old. And I find that amazing that humans now have built a telescope

that allow us to peer so far back in time that we can see this very, very, this nascent phase of the galaxies forming in such a beautifully festive way. Our science correspondent, Pallabh Ghosh, tell me more. The further you look in space, the further back in time you see because it takes so long for the light to get to us. So what the James Webb telescope, which is the most powerful space observatory ever built, is seeing is a galaxy that is like our own in the very early stages of formation that started to be created 600 million years after the Big Bang. That seems like a long time but it's actually a blink of an eye in terms of the creation of the universe which is 13.7 billion years old. So right at the beginning of space and

time we see something like the Milky Way and it is absolutely stunningly beautiful. And the most extraordinary thing is that even with the most powerful observatory ever built it should be too small and too far away for even James Webb to see. But because of an amazing cosmic coincidence it was magnified by galaxies between James Webb and Firefly Sparkle that acted like a gigantic magnifying glass, blowing it up, enabling us to see things that we had no right to see. And so, presumably, given just how far away it is and how long ago it was, we're looking at something that may well not even exist now. Indeed, so who knows what happened, whether it did go on to form a galaxy like ours or not. But just in terms of what, if we turn the clock backwards on the formation of our own Milky Way, astronomers think that what they're seeing with this galaxy, which they have called Firefly Sparkle, because

it looks like a swarm of fireflies. That is what our own galaxy looked like at its beginning stages of formation. And how could this be useful in, well, learning about what's going to happen to us in the future? So, there are lots of theories of how galaxies form, but just to be handed, because of this amazing coincidence, details of what it actually looked like and boosted by the magnification of, they call it gravitational lensing. So to be able to see inside these star clusters, see the stars actually in the process of forming, will enable us to see how our own galaxy was

formed brick by brick. Palab gosh. And that's all 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, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod.

This edition was mixed by Chris Lovelock. The producer was Liam McShepery. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritzen. Until next time, goodbye. Couple Heart Warriors, the new time-bending drama series from the BBC World Service. Maybe the whole reason I was there was to change something. Listen now by searching for dramas wherever you get your BBC podcasts.